Wow, I haven't updated in a while. Sorry again. First my computer gets a virus…and then I get one. It was not fun, let me tell ya. But I'm glad that's over so I can get back to writing! I hope you enjoy this chapter as I did my best—and as always, I'd be happy to know what you think. And the story continues once more…
Leo felt anxious, craning his neck to see over the tall bushes that surrounded him and his brother. Finally, he caught sight of King just making his way over to the clearing that Leo had been called to by the wolf a couple days ago. Leo could barely make out what was happening from his hiding place, but he knew he would have to make do with the situation. He strained to hear what King was saying.
"You incompetent fools," King spat out at the small group of wolves that surrounded him. "Bringing me to investigate a human camp, and it was a false alarm! I should have you all—"
"—Be at ease, King," a wolf interrupted. "Please, sit. We will serve your every need."
King gave an irritated scowl but haughtily made his way to his large bone chair. Leo bit his cheek as he watched. In a moment, it would all start.
King started to give commands to the wolves and said, "Get me my fan, and then I want—" he cut off instantly as his chair collapsed into pieces as soon as he sat on it. For a moment, King stared at the remains of his prized throne, bewildered. He started to shake with rage and let out an outraged shriek. "WHO DID THIS?" King screamed, spit flying from his mouth. He looked around wildly at the wolves around him. Their faces mirrored the stunned expression that King had worn a second ago, but Leo knew that they were just acting. And they were damn good at it too, the turtle concluded.
"I WANT TO KNOW—" King started to shout again, only to be cut off by the water that drenched him from above. King speechlessly looked up and faced an entire bucket-full of silverware about to crash down on him. He let out a yelp and tried to run, but was too late as the sharp utensil collection stabbed and scratched him on its way down to the ground. King looked up again to catch a shadow jumping into the tree branches that towered above him. His face distorted into an ugly grimace from the pure hatred he was feeling, and he boomed, "I saw you in that tree up there, you conniving piece of trash!" He waited for an answer, but when he got none, he growled loudly and swiveled his head around to find the one responsible. The group of wolves had backed away ever so slowly, and by the time they had escaped King's sight, he had already forgotten about them. He was livid, and had the urge to kill something—or someone.
"SHOW YOURSELF!" he bellowed, panting from his vehement fury. And before King could respond, another round was thrown at him. The shriek that came from the arrogant leader sent the wolves around him in fits of laughter. King had been pelted with raggedy stuffed-toy animals, and sounded like…a little girl. The large black wolf opened his eyes and let out a surprised gasp at the cuddly toys that lay strewn across the ground beside him. He then looked up at his army of wolves, in hysterics. For a split second, Leo could see an embarrassed expression on King's face, but it was wiped away almost instantly and replaced with a look of true anger. King took a deep breath and gave an ear-splitting howl, making Leo and the rest of the wolves jerk in alarm. Everyone went silent at the terrible noise.
Suddenly, Dagger burst onto the scene, cackling loudly. King ceased his furious howl and turned to the wolf that stood in front of him. "Dagger," he growled venomously, "you and your wolf army will be punished for this disgraceful behavior. I want whoever is responsible dead. Stop laughing and obey me NOW!" King looked ready to explode in rage at that point. But to his surprise, it seemed to have no effect on Dagger, who still wore a suspiciously mischievous smile.
"Come now King, surely you aren't too embarrassed," Dagger crooned in a mocking voice. His smile grew wider. "After all, that girly scream sounded far more fearful than the ones we've heard in this forest before. You should be proud."
At Dagger's comment, King's eyes grew wide. "You…" he started shakily, "…you were the one…"
"…who did these pranks?" Dagger finished. "Of course I did; who else but me would know your true cowardly nature? I am your second-in-command, remember?"
For a moment, King stood there dumbstruck. But anger consumed him again and his face formed a hostile grimace. He let out a snarl. "You will face my wrath, Dagger, I cannot even—!" King desperately tried to calm himself down and cut off his enraged shout. He closed his hung-open mouth, which made his face look even more distorted with rage. After he calmed down a bit, he let out an evil laugh. He turned around to the crowd of wolves that had gathered at the commotion. "My wolves, your army commander will face his fate today and submit to me for this blasphemy. His punishment will be…" he slowly turned to Dagger beside him, "…death!" A chorus of gasps rang out from the group of wolfs, and soft murmurs of their shock could be heard.
From behind the tall bushes, Leo couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh and grin. His plan was working! Now, all that was left…was the arrangement of the duel. He looked down at Mikey and gave a reassuring smile. With a strong urge to know what had happened, Mikey strained to lift his head up. At the movement, Leo put a hand to his brother's chest and pushed him back down, mouthing to Mikey, save your strength. Mikey begrudgingly obeyed and reached for Leo's hand again instead. With a gentle smile, Leo took his brother's hand then turned back around to watch King and Dagger.
"I am to die, you say?" asked Dagger nonchalantly.
Ignoring Dagger's strange indifference, King responded with a cruel laugh. "Yes, but don't worry; you'll be slain honorably…by me."
Dagger smirked. "And what if I resist?"
"You will not escape destiny I have given you!" King shouted haughtily. He stopped for a second, realizing something. "You think that you can defeat me?" King snarled.
Dagger stood, unfazed by King's threat. "Yes."
"This foolishness ends now!" King yelled, unable to contain his rage any longer. He launched himself at Dagger, only to see his target dodge him completely. "YOU!" he screamed, "Do not defy me, or else—"
"—or else what?" Dagger interrupted. "You cannot kill me, King, and I do not want to be ruled by you any longer."
"Not want to be ruled by—" King repeated, in shock. "I am the leader of you filth, the most powerful of all!"
"Then how about this, King." Dagger took a deep breath. "You will duel me for the tile of leader. "
"You think that you are superior enough to duel me and become leader? Impossible!" King exclaimed.
"Are you afraid to duel with such an inferior being as myself?" Dagger pressed. "I am strong enough…to defeat you."
King was outraged. "Why you…" he trailed off, barely able to speak from anger. He let out a low growl instead. "Fine. I will show you—no, I will show your entire wolf army why I am leader, and why I am to be feared!"
"We will see," Dagger answered evenly.
Leo held his breath in anticipation. The outcome of this deadly battle would determine the future of the entire wolf army and he desperately wanted to help, but he knew the rule—Dagger alone would be the one to duel King, not him. Leo could feel Mikey's hand tighten around his and he squeezed back, knowing that Mikey was equally worried about the fight. Suddenly, King's bitter voice cut through the forest and Leo lifted his head up to find Dagger and King facing each other.
"You amaze me, Dagger. Doing all this—" King gestured behind him to the broken chair and polluted ground, "—for a silly little duel that will end your silly little life. I thought I taught you better than that."
Dagger puffed out his chest at the insult. "You have taught me nothing, except for what a leader should not be. And that is why you will die, here and now."
King snickered. "If you want to bestow me the honor of ending your wretched life, then so be it, Dagger."
The wolf army formed a large ring around the pair, their full attention on them both now. Leo and Mikey watched as both wolves tensed and took their defensive stances. The fight had begun.
Dagger then started to approach King slowly, his lips curled and his fur bristled. A menacing low growl came from King as he too began to move towards his challenger. The black and dark gray wolves circled each other with fierce glares which threatened that neither would cede dominance to the other until one was dead. Both readied themselves to pounce, and a split second later—the two wolves had clashed, tooth and claw lashing out for the kill. Dagger drove King to the ground and the wolves started to roll on top of each other, locked in a struggle for control. And as the fight progressed, Leo had a hard time keeping track of which wolf was which, for the black and dark gray colors seemed to mix in the fray.
Finally, the wolves broke apart and started to circle each other once more. Rugged gashes were bleeding freely on both their flanks, but neither seemed to notice them. Dagger snapped viciously at King, who bared his teeth and snarled back. Again they shot at each other, and their jaws made an impact that sent them both sprawling back. King got up first and flew at Dagger, who was desperately struggling to get up from the hard-hitting collision. Leo silently cringed as King bit viciously into Dagger's neck and watched fearfully as their friend gave a strangled cry and thrashed about, determined to release himself from the painful hold. Finally, Dagger head-butted King, making the black wolf loosen his jaw with just enough time for Dagger to rise up and sink his fangs deeply into King's ear. Instantly, King let out a pained howl and completely let go of Dagger.
Though Leo could not bear to be distracted from Dagger's decisive fight, a sound from the forest made him swiftly turn his head away from the bloody battlefield. He fixed his narrowed eyes beyond the tight circle of the wolf army, and could barely make out something walking through the trees and bushes of the forest, shaped like—his brothers! His breath caught in his throat as he willed himself to calm down. He knew he couldn't make a scene, especially if he wanted Dagger to defeat King. All he had done would be for nothing if his brothers decided to interrupt the fight. He looked down at Mikey and touched his brother's cheek, who looked up and whispered, "What is it, Leo?" Mikey's heart began to race at Leo's wide-eyed stare.
"Mikey, I think Donnie and Raph are here," Leo whispered. Mikey opened his mouth in surprise and Leo clamped his hand on it and put a finger to his own lips, signaling for Mikey to be quiet. With a hand still on his brother's mouth, Leo said softly, "I'm going to stop them before they do anything that could jeopardize the duel." At Mikey's nod, he took away his hand from Mikey's mouth and continued, "I need you to stay here while I go to them, okay? And I know it's asking a lot, but try not to cough too loudly. We can't risk King finding out about us."
As if on cue, Mikey coughed faintly, but he put his own hand over his mouth to silence it. "No problem, bro," he rasped. "M'so glad they came."
"Yeah." Leo gave a loving smile to his brother and patted Mikey's forehead tenderly before he silently started to move away from their hiding place. Dagger and King were still going at it, and Leo wondered how much longer the duel was going to last.
Stealthily, he made his way to the moving shapes, checking behind him every few seconds to make sure he wasn't seen. Finally, he was close enough to be sure it was his brothers and ran the last several yards.
"Raph!" he whispered fiercely. "Don!"
The two turtles turned around, startled. "LEO!" they both shouted. Instantly, Don's and Raph's mouths were covered by their brother's hands.
"Guys, you have no idea how glad I am to see you, but you have to be quiet!" Leo whispered, taking his hands away.
"Bro, you have no idea how much we're glad to see you," Don whispered back. "We thought that…" he trailed off. "We thought…"
Raph slung his arms around Don and Leo with a crooked smile. "It don't matta' anymore. 'M glad we found ya."
Suddenly, Don picked his head up and looked around. "Leo, where's Mikey?"
"He's hidden in the bushes, just a little ways off from here," Leo replied. "We should really get back to him, but before that, I—"
"—Is he okay?" Don said, cutting off Leo.
Leo heaved a sigh and gave a troubled frown. "In all honesty, no. He…he's really in bad shape."
"Then what are we standin' around for?" Raph said. "Let's get 'im and bust the shell outta here!"
"About that…well it's a long story…" Leo paused, trying to find the best way to explain the current situation.
"Well give us the short version, then," Raph retorted impatiently.
Leo sighed again, looking from Raph to Don. "Fine. I'll make it quick."
By the time Leo had finished relaying what had happened, he could tell his brothers were not taking it well.
"You want to stay here?" Don exclaimed, only to be shushed by Leo. "That's the craziest thing I have ever heard you say!"
"It's only until Dagger wins the duel," Leo reasoned. "And it won't be long, believe me."
"Okay bro, but as soon as it's over, we hit the ground runnin'," Raph said.
"Thanks for understanding guys." Leo gave one last strong hug to his brothers before he turned away and started to walk toward his hideout. "Let's—"
Suddenly, Leo stopped when he heard the distinct sound of coughing. It sounded bad, and if he could hear it, then…"Mikey!" he cried. He started to fun at full speed to his brother, with Raph and Don following close behind.
Dagger was panting hard from exhaustion, and he could tell King was in no better condition. For the past several minutes, the wolves had been at a deadlock; their attacks seemed to come one after the other, but neither wolf was close to giving in. As Dagger was about to lunge at King yet again, a strange noise made the two wolves freeze for a moment. Coughing—the wolves instantly realized that this was what was echoing through the forest, and it could only come from one being. Dagger growled loudly, hoping to recapture King's attention.
But King had already heard enough. He looked back at Dagger with wide-eyes for a second, then took off running toward the source of the disturbance.
"King!" shouted Dagger. He stood fixed in place, dumfounded, before he realized what was about to happen. He rushed after King and let out a shrill howl, hoping to warn Leo. "King!" he desperately shouted again.
At the panicked call of his name, King started to laugh maniacally. "I WILL DRINK THAT BLOOD AND KILL YOU ALL!" he screamed madly.
In the distance, Leo suddenly caught sight of King racing toward Mikey. "NO!" he screamed, petrified. He tried to run as fast as his legs could carry him, but he soon realized the inevitable truth. As much as he pushed himself, he knew he wouldn't make it there in time to stop King. He wouldn't be able to save his little brother. "MIKEY!" Everything was a blur as he watched King leap up and hurl himself at Mikey, mouth open and teeth exposed. He sprinted still faster as he felt the world play out in slow motion.
And in the midst of the attack, Mikey let out a blood-curdling scream. "LEOOOOOOOO!"