Yay! I got it done! Whoo hooo! I couldn't decide how this part was going to go and now I finally got it! So I hope you enjoy it. : ) And review too please.
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Chapter 17
Shade blinks looking around. Everything is blurred. It all feels... he doesn't know. Not right. Yeah that's it. Something seems not right, but familiar at the same time. Slowly the images around him clear, allowing him to see everything. He sits in the center of a training dojo, a mat beneath him. A few other mats are scattered around the room. A weapons rack sits near the door adorned with many types of weapons. No one else is in the room. He finds his hand moving of their own accord, polishing a long gleaming sword. He tries to stop what he's doing, but he can't. He has no control over what is happening. As he realizes this, he growls to himself. It's another one of those dang flashbacks! They are so infuriating!
His hands keep polishing the long blade until he sees his reflection in it. What he sees startles him. Chocolate brown eyes stare up at him from behind a blue mask. His skin is green. How can he look like this? Hasn't he always been human? Wearing black gloves for so long, he hasn't seen his fingers in a very long time. He stares at them now, the three green fingers holding the hilt of the sword. It's not long until the rest of his body starts moving again. He grabs another blade, it's matching twin from the looks of it, and starts to polish that one as well. Why did he have such a fascination with cleaning these katana blades?
"Leo?"
His head slowly tilts upward, towards the entrance to the dojo. "Yeah Mikey?"
Wait... his name isn't Leo. And why would he answer Mikey? He's an enemy.
Mikey walks into the dojo, staring at him with puppy dog eyes, lower lip out slightly. "Nobody wants to play with me."
"What did Raph say?"
Mikey blinks and straightens his pose, putting his hands on his hips. "If you think I'm going to come down there and play those stupid video games right now, you're absolutely stoned!" His voice is low and growly to match that of Raphael's voice. Once that was done, he grins stupidly.
A smile stretches across his face after Mikey's impersonation.
Wait just a minute! Since when did he, Shade, hater of these turtle, find that amusing?!?
"Raph working on his bike again?" he found himself asking.
Mikey nods. "Yeah. Second time this morning. You'd think he'd fallen in love with that thing or something." He makes a face and snickers.
"What about Don?"
Mikey disappears and comes back with a chair. He sit on it and puts his arms up like he's typing on a computer. "Not now Mikey... still working... I'm almost done... maybe later... Go ask Raph..." his voice imitating Don.
"I already asked him," Mikey continued in his normal voice. "He said I would be stoned to think he'd come down and play."
Mikey's voice once again changed to match Don's. "You can't turn into stone Mikey."
The orange banded turtle erupts into laughter.
He finds himself laughing along with Mikey, watching the other turtle soon fall out of the chair from hysterical laughter. He sets his gleaming sword aside and stands, helping Mikey up.
"Thanks bro," Mikey says standing and wiping tears from his eyes.
He nods. "Come on. I'll play with you."
Mikey stares at him. "Really Leo?" he asks hopeful.
He nods. "Really."
Mikey let out a whoop and dashed off.
He shook his head, replacing his swords in his sheaths. Walking towards the door of the dojo, he was nearly bowled over, arms wrapping around him.
"Thank you Leo! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
He just grins as the image fades away. When they clear again, Mikey is no where in sight. He's now in the lab, facing Don, who is sleeping at his computer again. He mentally shakes his head. Man that dang turtle is going to get a backache like that. Not that Shade cares any, but he seems to in this flashback or whatever it is as this blue masked turtle. He doesn't really want to believe it was a flashback anymore. If it was true, then Mikey really is his brother. He doesn't like that idea very much.
He walks forward and puts his hand on Don's shoulder, nudging him. "Wake up Don."
Mumbling greets him.
He shook him slightly harder. "Come on Don. You'll get a backache."
"Almost done..."
"Donatello."
Don sits up quickly, looking around the room. His eyes finally rest on his brother. "Oh um... hi Leo."
He crosses his arms. "Do you know what time it is?"
Don looks around for a clock. "3:23am to be precise."
He stares at Don.
"Yeah yeah I know. Got to bed."
He chuckles. "Yep."
Don smiles slightly and stands up, stretching his back. "See you in the morning Leo. Well... it is morning... See you in a few hours."
He smiles. "Night Donny. Err... morning."
Don grins and disappears out of the lab.
The images fade again, becoming clear back in the dojo. He blinks looking around. When is this flashback going to end? None of the others ever lasted this long. Never. He would have growled if he could, but he doesn't, can't being more like it.
His katana are in his hands. He faces a dark green turtle in a red mask. Raphael. He doesn't look too happy. But he seems to always look that way.
"Ya know I'm gonna whip your butt Leo," Raph taunts.
"Really? I don't think so Raph."
"And why not?" Raph spin a sai, flipping it up and catching it by the hilt.
He just shrugs. "I just don't think so."
"Well let me prove ya wrong there bro." Raph smirks and darts forward.
Their blades clash and gleam, twang and bang together. Each punch is dodged, each swing of the blade is ducked. He jumps and swings his leg around, missing his target.
Oh yeah. That turtle is so going down! Shade actually likes this part, loving to see that red masked turtle go down.
Raph rolls to the right and lands a kick to Leo's side.
He flips to the right and rights himself.
Oh no you don't!
He waits until Raph gets close enough, then raises his leg, kicking Raph in the chest, flinging a punch to the red turtle's jaw.
Yes!
Raph wiped his mouth and looked up at Leo. "Lucky shot."
"Not
lucky. Just practiced." He held his hand out to Raph to help him
up.
No! What are you doing?! Don't help him up! Why should he help that dang turtle up? It is unthinkable. He's supposed to kill him.
Raph took his hand and stood, smirking. "I'll get ya next time bro."
"Yeah right." He shook his head. "When that happens I'll drink coffee instead of tea for a month."
Raph laughed. "I'm gonna hold ya to that Leo."
He laughed as well.
The images fade again, this time replaced by a small room. A screen for a door is shut. A small table sits in the center of the room, two candles on either side, a bed in the corner. A robed rat sits at one side of the table. He himself sits at the other side. When is this going to end?!
The rat, Splinter, hands him a cup of tea. He takes it and starts to sip it.
Wait! He can't drink that! The rat could have poisoned it!
But he can't stop. He keeps drinking it until it's half empty. Only then does he set the cup down on the table and finally look at Splinter.
"What is wrong my son?"
He sighs, not seeming to want to tell the rat what was wrong.
"Leonardo."
He looks up into the rat's eyes. They look gentle and caring.
"You can tell me my son."
He sighs again. "I never meant for Mikey to get hurt."
Splinter watches him for a moment before responding. He nods. "Though you care a great deal for your brothers, it was not your fault Michelangelo was hurt tonight. Donatello is patching him up and Raphael has surprisingly not left his side. If it wasn't for you Leonardo, I might have lost my youngest son. For that, I am in your debt." His head bows.
He stares, completely floored. Him? In Leo's debt? Now that couldn't be. He would never do anything for that rat.
But he finds his head bowing. "As you wish father."
Splinter looks up at him, a gentle smile on his face. "You must get your own injuries attended to my son."
He looks down to see blood on his arm and leg, dozens of cuts across them. He nods and stands, limping to the door. Looking back, he looks at Splinter, sees the hope and strength in those eyes. He smiles back and continues out of the room.
The image fades to black, leaving him in a void of unconsciousness. He can't wake up, but the flashback is gone as well. Well good riddance! He didn't need to see all that. And yet... for some strange reason... he did. He can't remember what his skin color is anymore. Is it really green? Does he really have three fingers? And why does he dream about those three turtles and the rat. It's like he knows them. But he doesn't. He can't. Why would he? He just can't. If he knew them, if he was close to them, then... what do they think of him, doing all that he had done. He tried to kill the one called... what was it? Raphael. Yeah that was it. But no! He refused to believe that. He was who he was. And he was no freaking turtle!
Splinter's voice from earlier rang through his head. "You must calm down my son."
Why had the rat called him son? He thinks back to the fourth part of his recent flashback. Of him having tea with Splinter and talking civilly. The kind words. The understanding...
The darkness disappeared. He found himself looking around the mostly empty lab. Raphael lay sleeping halfway across the room. The others were gone. He looks down at the straps, remembering why he is strapped down. How he had tried to kill Raph.... Raph. His own brother. His own flesh and blood. A lone tear snuck down his face. He is not Shade. No. His name is Leonardo. And he had just tried to kill his own family. Every single one of them. More tears snake their way down until he can no longer hold them back. He sobs quietly, then loudly, horrified at what had happened.
