A/N: Hmm...I don't really got much to say except thanks for all the continued support!
New York
April clutched little Mira in her arms as she paced her small apartment. The young turtle had yet to stop crying. "I want Mommy!" She sobbed into April's shoulder. "I want Daddy!"
April rubbed her head and arms as she'd seen Sarah do a million times, but the girl would not quiet. "It's alright, Mira. They'll be back soon. I promise." The problem was that as confident as she sounded, she knew Mira could sense her worry, which in the end was probably making her cry more.
April's cell rang and she fumbled for it with the small turtle in her arms. She didn't bother to look at the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Hey, April. I know I'm a bit late, but could you-"
Her eyes widened. "Leo! Oh, God. Leo thank goodness, we've all been so worried about you."
"Well, I've been trying to get a hold of the guys but no one's answering. I was wondering if you could come get us from the airport." He paused. "Wait, is that Mira? Why is she crying?"
She collapsed into her sofa. "You're back in town." She patted Mira's shell. "Shh, it's going to be alright now. Uncle Leo's back."
This seemed to quiet her just a bit and she lifted her head to gaze at April. "Uncle Leo?"
"April, what's going on? Is something wrong?" There was true concern in his tone now.
"I don't know exactly what's going on. Someone broke into the lair and kidnapped Cat, Kala and Sarah. The guys went after them."
"How long ago? Do you know where they were headed?"
April rubbed her throbbing temple. "A few hours ago. They were headed for a warehouse at 21rst and Malcomb, I think."
"Got it."
"Be careful Leo."
"Don't worry, April. You just watch over Mira."
He hung up and she dropped the phone on the couch beside her. Relief washed over her. Now that Leo was back, everything would be alright. As a foursome they could do anything. She blinked. "Did he say 'us'?"
Leo landed on a rooftop across the street from the warehouse. He looked down at Amaya in his arms. "It's probably not a good idea to take you into battle with me, but I'd be too afraid to leave you behind. Once we're inside, you'll need to stay very close and very quiet."
She nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Please, stop! Leave him alone!" Kala cried as Shredder struck Mikey across the face again. After Kassic's warning blast had seared Kala's hair, the turtles had stopped cold. It was an unfortunate fact that the malicious Neutrino had the upper hand. He had forced them back and into shackles like the girls.
Kassic had signaled Dimension X upon their capture and Shredder had arrived soon after. He had noticed the absence of the fourth turtle and proceeded to interrogate them on their brother's whereabouts. "You'll tell me where Leonardo is. You will all pay for your impudence."
Mikey spit out a mouth full of blood. "Bite me."
Shredder turned to Raph. "Tell me." He struck him hard in the head. Raph just glared as if the blow had meant nothing, which earned him another fist across his beak. On the other side of the room, Cat pulled against her shackles with every blow her husband received. She bared her teeth. This was her first encounter with Shredder and she already hated him.
Raph's eyes shot in her direction for a brief moment before locking with Shredder's and pulling himself back to his full height. "Go to hell."
Shredder continued down the line to Donnie. He pressed the sharp tips of his gauntlet against the turtle's neck. "You'll tell me or you'll suffer."
Donnie said nothing, just glared as Raph had done. Until Shredder jabbed the spikes of his gauntlet into his already injured right side. Sarah shrieked in both pain and outrage. Forgetting the chain around her neck, she jerked forward. It caught hard, slamming her against the floor. She pushed herself back to her knees. "Stop it! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just stop!"
"Sarah, no…" Donnie lifted his head to look at her over Shredder's shoulder. Blood trickled down his side to land on his thigh and trail down his leg to form a small puddle upon the floor.
Her eyes widened as Shredder turned his cold gaze on her. "So there is a weak one among you." He approached her slowly. "Tell me girl, where is Hamato Yoshi and Leonardo?"
Sarah grit her teeth as the others urged her not to speak. She had no intention of telling Shredder where Leonardo was. She had stopped the assault on her beloved and the others, and that was all she had hoped for. She bit her lip.
"Fine, I'll resume my interrogation." He started to turn away.
"No! Please!" Tears welled in her eyes. "Master Splinter is…he died."
"What!" Shredder roared. "He died before I could take my revenge!"
"What are you doin', Sarah!" Raph yelled.
She narrowed her eyes on the man before her. "Yes, he died peacefully in his sleep with his loved ones surrounding him."
Donnie had caught on. She's stalling for time. But why? There was no help forthcoming.
Shredder stomped forward and jerked Sarah up so hard it snapped the chain from the floor. She gave a cry as it dug into her neck. "You little whore! I'll get my revenge no matter what! And if that means taking it out on these miserable turtles and you three weaklings, I will!"
Donnie growled, straining against his shackles. "Leave her alone, Shredder!"
The man in metal didn't even glance his way. "And I'll start with you."
He threw her into Kassic's waiting hands, who grinned devilishly. "It would be my pleasure. This little troublemaker has been a thorn in my side for a while now." He took hold of what was left of the chain and raised his fist.
The door suddenly flew open and there stood Leonardo ready for battle. Everyone gasped as he threw a dagger that jabbed right through Kassic's upraised hand. The man gave a howl of pain, dropping Sarah to the floor and stumbling back. He clutched at his wrist.
Amaya watched from outside the doorway. She could see inside many bright glowing souls. But two seemed different, distorted and dark. One in particular looked as though it were being swallowed by darkness. The soul was so dark, that only a tiny speck of light could be seen within it.
Leo shot forward meeting Shredder's gauntlets with his katana. "Sarah! Get out of there!"
The small brunette made a dash for the panel that would unlock the brothers' shackles, only to be slammed to the floor a few feet away. Kassic turned her over and held Leo's dagger above her. "I've had enough of you!"
"Damnit!" Donnie cried. "Keep your hands off her!"
Sarah flinched as the dagger descended to stab her in the chest. There was a flash of green as Leo crashed into Kassic. She scrambled back as the two rolled away from her. Sarah pulled herself up along the wall, her hand on the button. Suddenly, her face was rammed into the wall and Shredder's gauntlet pressed against the back of her neck, while no more than three feet away Donnie snarled.
Amaya watched the darkened soul come close. The desire to rid the world of the incredible evil overcame her and she stepped out.
There was a sudden flash of light and Shredder cried out his body crumpling to the floor, writhing in pain. Amaya knelt next to him, the prayer beads clasped in her hands and her eyes narrowed. She extended her hand and there was another flash of light.
"Amaya!" Leo cried, taking his eyes off Kassic for a split second and receiving a punch to his stomach.
Shredder's body quacked and he thrashed his head from side to side. She gave a cry as one more flash of light left her hands and he at last lay still, his eyes rolling back into his head.
Sarah stared at the strange woman for a moment, where she slumped against the wall. Then coming to her senses she pressed the button to release the shackles.
"Amaya!" Leo called as he threw Kassic over his shoulder and dashed towards them. He stroked her cheek. "Amaya, are you alright?"
"Yes." She said softly after a moment. He let a sigh of relief leave him.
Sarah caught Donnie as he began to fall to his knees. They crumpled slowly to the floor, clutching one another. Mikey dashed to the other panel that released the cuffs from the girls. He pressed Kala to his chest whispering softly in her ear.
Raph gently ran his thumb along Cat's split lip. He growled as he turned to glare at Kassic. "How dare you hurt her again! I'll gut you for sure this time."
Mikey stepped away from Kala. "Not before me." He pulled a dagger from his belt and narrowed his eyes on Kassic. "You and I have a score to settle." His voice was cold and deadly serious. Raph blinked at him. He'd never heard his brother use such a tone. Mikey stalked forward his intentions very clear.
Kassic grabbed his laser riffle and fired. Mikey dodged the blast and Raph charged in, fire blazing in his eyes. He didn't give the man another chance to fire as he caught the riffle in his twin sia. The large turtle and the large Neutrino fought with brute strength for a moment until Kassic twisted the riffle sending it, along with one of Raph's sia, flying across the room. Kassic slammed his elbow into the turtle's chin. Raph stumbled back a few paces, giving Mikey the chance to attack.
Leo caught Raph as he stumbled. "I've got you, bro."
Raph rubbed his chin. "Stay out of this, Leo. This guy is ours."
The youngest brother flew through the air, dagger aimed for Kassic's throat. But the man caught his hand and countered with Leo's dagger. Mikey caught his hand as well. His eyes bore into the Neutrino. "You won't ever lay a hand on her again!"
Kassic laughed. "I must say it was fun. I enjoyed teaching them all a lesson, but especially Kala. Her screams always did thrill me."
Mikey bared his teeth and snarled. He bucked against Kassic's hold and the Neutrino twisted throwing him across the room. Raph was back on him before he could recover fully laying blowing after blow into his stomach. Across the room, Mikey pushed himself to his knees, staring at the abandoned sai in front of him.
Raph ducked as Kassic threw another punch at his head. He jabbed with his one sai, embedding it to the hilt in the large man's midsection. At the same moment, Mikey jumped at Kassic and the other sai stabbed him in the neck. Kassic made no sound as his body fell backwards, unmoving.
"That's for thinkin' you could put your hands on our wives." Raph kicked him in the side.
"Yeah, nobody messes with our girls." Mikey growled.
Leo felt Cat and Kala rush past him to embrace his brothers. And for once there was no since of longing in his heart. He turned back to watch Amaya stand, her hands moving to grasp the doorframe. He went to her side and pulled her against him.
Donnie had watched the entire battle with his head resting on Sarah's shoulder. She had torn a piece of her shirt and tucked it into the wound on his side. He sat back and gently stroked the side of her swelling face. His eyes fell to the chain around her neck. He grasped it in both hands, carefully avoiding the reddening skin of her neck, and gave one hard yank snapping it in two. It fell away and he frowned worriedly at her. "He hurt you."
"I'll be okay." She reassured him, before pulling him back down into her arms.
A groan from the floor made everyone flinch. Leo pushed Amaya gently behind him. He prepared for another fight as Shredder began moving on the floor.
Oroku Saki groaned again and a hand came up to pull the metal mask from his face. "What is this?" It was like he was seeing things for the first time. Donnie pulled Sarah a little tighter against him as the man shifted to his knees. The turtles went unnoticed as he pulled his helmet off to gaze at it in wonderment. "Why…?"
"What's wrong with him?" Raph asked as he brandished his blood stained sai.
This made Oroku Saki look up. He blinked in surprise at them. "What are you?" He grabbed at his head. "Oh, my head feels like it's going to split in two."
Amaya slowly stepped around Leo, but he didn't let her get far as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "You had a demon attached to your soul. I have never seen such a powerful demon. It must have been attached to you for a very long time. But I was able to remove it."
He looked up at her with clear brown eyes. "Are you a miko? Do I know you?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Do you know who you are?" Kala asked. Mikey had her pressed against his side with an arm of steel.
He blinked. "Yes, I'm Oroku Saki."
Leo relaxed a little, though he did not release Amaya. "Do you know who the Shredder is?"
He stood slowly and everyone took a reflexive step back. "No, should I?" He rubbed his head again. "The last thing I remember is becoming angry at my sensei. Then there was a voice in my head and I don't remember anything after that."
Everyone lowered their weapons and relaxed their stances. Relief rimmed his voice as Leo spoke. "Then you should go home and forget about us. We're just figments of your imagination."
Oroku Saki stood and wandered out into the hall and down the street beyond. Never to be heard from again.
Donnie released a heavy breath. "Did that really just happen? Is he really gone for good?"
Leo looked down at Amaya. "Yes, it's finally over."
Sarah helped Donnie to his feet, as she gazed at the young woman in Leo's arms. "Not to be rude, but who exactly are you?"
Amaya blinked and Leo's arm tightened around her a bit. "This is Amaya. She was born in the same village as Master Splinter."
Raph frowned. "Is that what took you so long? You were pickin' up some girl! If you'd have been any later-"
Leo glared at his brother. "No, Raph, that was not what I was doing at all! And Amaya isn't just some girl either!"
Cat stepped between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, everyone chill. Let's go home before we have any family squabbles." She smiled at Leo. "It's good to have you home, Leo."
"Yeah, it is bro." Mikey chimed in with a grin.
"Yes, we missed you." Kala agreed.
Sarah chuckled. "Yeah, that's for sure."
Donnie smiled. "Welcome home, Leo."
Leo smiled brightly. "It's good to be home."
A/N: Yes, I know I pulled a little writers trick on you but fudging with timeframes. But I had to so it'd flow right. Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ There's still a few more chapters to come and some more sneaky surprises too...
