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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"What did you just call me?"
"You heard me, Leonardo." Donnie said, "Or should I just call you Leo?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Leo said.
"Well, considering that there is only one Leonardo in this palace and he's pretty famous, I think you do." Donnie said, "Come on. Let's get out of here and go to my room. It should be safe for us to talk there."
Leo obediently followed Donnie down the passageway.
"Don," he said, "No one can know about this. Not even your brothers."
"Don't you mean your brothers?" Donnie asked, pulling the lever that opens the passageway.
"Fine," Leo said, "Just promise me you'll keep this a secret."
Donnie looked at Leo, and stepped out of the passage without answering him.
"It's important." Leo said, "Trust me on this."
"We'll talk in my room." Donnie said.
The two of them, now out of the passageway and in Raph's room, poked their heads out of his bedroom door. As soon as the coast was clear, Leo led the way to Donnie's bedroom.
"Alright," Donnie said, locking his bedroom door, "I haven't been in here in a while, but I don't think any ninjas are going to be searching my room anytime soon. It should be safe for us to talk in here."
"Don," Leo said.
"And then I'm going to have to find a way to keep you safe from Saki," Donnie continued, "That's not going to be easy, but now that everyone knows how Saki's been treating you we can hide you in one of the passageways."
"Donnie." Leo repeated.
"And once we tell them who you are-"
"You can't." Leo interrupted.
"What?" Donnie asked, turning to look at him.
"Don, you can't tell them. Or anyone." Leo said.
"Why not?" Donnie asked.
"Because of Saki."
Donnie walked up to Leo and gestured for him to take a seat on one of the chairs in the room.
"What has he done to you?" Donnie asked, "Leo, it's okay. No one is going to tell Saki that we know about you."
"Trust me, he'll find out somehow." Leo said, "Don't you think there's a reason I never complained? Don't you know why Saki doesn't want me to speak to you?"
"So what?" Donnie asked, "We know now."
"No, you know now." Leo corrected, "Saki doesn't know that I even remember who I am. And I want to keep it that way."
"What?"
"Do you remember those fairy tales that mom used to tell us at night, before we went to bed?" Leo asked.
"Fairy tales? I-uh, no, not really. She did that?" Donnie asked, sitting down in the chair opposite Leo.
"Yes, she did." Leo smiled, "Raph always asked for the one about the dragon, you liked the one about the inventor. Mikey was too little to ask for one, but he liked it when she made those funny noises."
"I don't remember that." Donnie said, frowning.
"Raph might." Leo said, "Anyone, those fairy tales always had a happy ending. But that's not how real life is like, Donatello. I learned that a long time ago. I've been trying to protect you, Donnie. You and Raph and Mikey. If Saki even thinks that you know what he did to get the throne, your life would be in danger. Please, Donnie. Promise me that you won't tell anyone who I am-at least, not until Saki is overthrown."
"Leo-"
"Donnie, please." Leo said.
"Alright," Don said, "On one condition. You have to stay here, and not go back to the kitchens. Or the stables, or the fields, or wherever else you go."
"I can't do that," Leo shook his head, "If I did, Saki would know what's going on. He keeps me close to him on purpose, Donnie."
"Leo, you're not safe around him." Donnie said, "And besides, once he realizes that Dad's coming with an army we're not going to be safe either."
"Why do you think that?" Leo asked, "You'll be fine. Even if Saki fights alongside the Purple Dragons against the Daimyo's army, he can't hurt any of you. Not with the people in the castle looking over his shoulder."
"But we're not safe now." Donnie said, "As soon as we find out what he did to get Dad's throne, we're as good as dead, remember? It doesn't matter what the people think, Saki's the one in charge."
"So what do you want me to do?" Leo asked.
"Stay here." Donnie said, "We'll hide you from him, just like we'll hide Usagi. We'll make it look like you ran away or something. And in return I'll-well, I'll keep your secret for you. But only until Saki is overthrown."
"I appreciate that Don, I really do," Leo smiled, "But I still don't think that will work. Saki doesn't know that Usagi came back, so he won't be looking for him. But as soon as Saki learns that I'm gone, I think he's going to assume that I told you who I am. He knows I've talked to you before."
"Then maybe it's time for all of us to leave." Donnie said.
"What?" Leo asked.
"While you and Mikey were moving the dresser earlier, I heard Usagi tell Raph that we might not be able to stay in the palace much longer." Donnie said, "Things will get dangerous once Saki hears that Dad went to the Daimyo. We might have to escape the palace."
"Oh." Leo said, "That's...pretty big news."
"Yup," Donnie said, "We'll probably have to take April and Casey with us too, to make sure they're safe."
"So, to escape you're either going to have to take the passageway to the guardhouse, or the river route." Leo said, "And the guardhouse is currently the Purple Dragon headquarters."
"Right," Donnie said, "So, you know, it would be helpful if we had someone with us who knows the underground river. You know, other than Mikey."
"Fine." Leo said, "I'll go with you guys then. But in the meantime, I have to act as if nothing happened."
"But something has happened." Donnie said, "You've been spending the day helping us out. You've been gone too long, Leo."
"Not necessarily," Leo shook his head, "As long as I get everything done today, it doesn't matter if I start late. Saki's busy with the war, so not going to know when I start working again, or where. He'll just know when I stop."
"Leo," Donnie said, "I know I don't remember you. But you're my brother, and I want to get to know you. I don't want you getting in trouble with Saki again."
"Trust me, I can handle myself." Leo said, "I'll be fine, Donnie. I've been doing this for years now. A little longer won't hurt."
"It better not." Donnie said, "I don't like this. Alright, look. Don't bother coming back to move things today, I'll cover for you. Get your work done. Then if there's time, come see us again in Raph's room. We'll let you know as soon as we have a plan."
"Right." Leo nodded, "Thanks Don. But you can't tell-"
"I know," Donnie interrupted, "Fine. I'll wait until after the danger's gone. But once it is, I'm not going to keep it a secret anymore."
"That's good enough for me." Leo said, "I trust you, Don."
Quickly he stood up.
"I'd better get going," Leo excused himself, "If I want to get done by tonight."
He headed for Donnie's bedroom door.
"Leo?" Donnie asked.
"Yes?" Leo asked, turning to look at him.
"Maybe sometime when this is over, you can tell me more about Mom and Dad."
Leo smiled. "I would like that."
There had been more chores than Leo realized. Some of them were additional duties that had to do with the war, but some of them were assignments that should have been done days ago. Apparently, everyone in the Palace was waiting for him to get back so they could give him more work.
It was nice to know he had been missed.
He managed to get done everything that could be done. It wasn't easy. But neither was knowing that Saki, also known as the Shredder, might soon go after his brothers.
When Leo finally entered Raph's room that night, he was so tired that he almost fell over. He almost didn't notice April and Casey there.
"It's about time." Raph said, and Leo felt rather than saw Usagi lead him to a chair.
"Yeah, we need you for this next part." Casey said.
"We've figured out a way to make the move work." Raph explained.
By 'the move' he meant moving the treasure, of course.
"Hey bro, you okay?" Mikey asked.
Suddenly Donnie was in Leo's face. "Everything alright?" He asked, suddenly concerned.
"I'm fine," Leo said, sitting up straighter to prove it, "What's the plan?"
"Well, we're gonna have to just move everything using the hallway outside." Mikey said, gesturing towards the hallway outside Raph's bedroom door.
"What?" Leo asked, "But how can we make sure that no one sees us move?"
"Don't worry, we've got that covered." April smiled.
"It's not the best plan, but it's the best we could come up with." Raph said.
"We have devised a method to keep the guards and servants from interrupting us while we move." Usagi said, "All that remains is to ensure that Lord Saki does not wander onto this floor while we are transferring the items."
"That's where you come in." Casey said.
"You and Donnie." Mikey said.
"If you're up to it," Don said, looking at Leo almost as if he was asking for permission.
"What do I have to do?" Leo asked.
"You two are gonna distract Saki while we move." Raph said, "Hopefully it won't take up too much of the day tomorrow."
"I've already drawn up the plan." Donnie said, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Leo, "It involves mixing certain chemicals and placing them in various positions around the castle. We might have to sneak out tonight for some of the organic ingredients."
Once again, he looked at Leo as if he was asking for permission.
"We figured, you know, that you know the Palace pretty well and won't get lost." Raph said, "So you and Donnie can do the distracting without getting caught."
"Okay." Leo said, "When do we get started?"
"Now." Donnie said, folding up his map. "We'll get everything set for tomorrow, and the guys will move everything first thing in the morning. I don't know how much longer we've got before we run out of time."
"So we're leaving afterwards?" Leo asked.
"Yup." Raph said, "Soon as everything's moved into Leo's room, we're going out the basement."
"But we've got to be very careful." Donnie said, "If Saki even gets a hint about what we're doing, we might not have time to escape."
"So it's all up to you guys. No pressure or anything." Mikey said.
"Got it." Leo nodded.
"You sure you're not too tired or anything?" Don asked.
Leo looked him right in the eye. "I'm fine. I would die for you guys." He said.
"Right," Raph said, "Okay, so Don's got the plan, and April and Usagi have it memorized. We'll start moving as soon as we get his first signal, and we'll let you guys know once we're done. Get to the basement as soon as you get our signal, got that?"
Leo and Donnie nodded.
"We'll see you guys then." April said, "Good luck!"
"Wait, we're not seeing you tonight?" Mikey asked.
"We'll be fine, Mikey." Donnie said, heading towards the door, "Come on, bro. We'd better get started."
Leo got up to follow him.
"Really?" Raph asked, "You're doing the 'bro' thing too, Don?"
"See you tomorrow, Raph." Donnie smirked, "You too, Mikey, Casey and Usagi. And uh, you too, uh, April."
"Good luck, Donnie." April repeated, smiling back at him.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Casey said.
"Good luck, young Prince. Good luck, my Friend." Usagi bowed.
"Don't forget about me!" Mikey waved.
Leonardo bowed at them all as Mikey enveloped Donnie in a farewell hug. Mikey then surprised him with a hug of his own, and at last Leo found himself on the other side of Raph's door with Donnie.
"Come on," Donnie said, "We've got to get started if we want to get things ready by morning."
He started to walk in the direction opposite to his bedroom.
"Where are we going?" Leo asked.
"To the Private Library," Donnie said, "I need to make sure some of my calculations are correct before we start mixing chemicals. Just be sure to hide if anyone comes in, you're not allowed in there yet."
"Alright. Can I make a suggestion?" Leo asked.
"What kind?" Donnie asked, looking at Leo in confusion.
"Shouldn't we head this way?" Leo asked, pointing backwards with his thumb, "It's shorter."
"There's a shortcut?" Donnie asked, dumbfounded, "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?"
Leo didn't answer, but he turned around and began to lead the way. He lead Don through a series of twists and turns, until finally they made it to the Library.
"On second thought," Leo said to Don, "I'm not sure I should go in there. It would be too easy for Saki to walk in and see me."
"I think we should risk it." Donnie said, "We're not going to be in there long, but I need to review some of the books without taking them out of the room. Saki might realize what I'm doing if he realizes which books I took. Besides, our uncle should be asleep by now."
Donnie carefully opened the door and poked his head inside.
"All clear," he said, "Come on, Leo. Let's get this started."
