Chapter 9: Into the Abyss
A/N: I'm back with the next chapter, and now things are going to get kind of messy for the Turtles. Now it's Leo's turn, and it's not going to be pretty for him or the rest of the family. I can't say any more without giving it away, so you'll just have to read on to find out. Thanks to all of those who have stuck with this story and who have taken the time to leave me feedback. Your kind words have been great and keep me moving. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: TMNT is owned by Nickelodeon. I only own Lynn and the plot.
Leo sat bold upright in bed. Once again he'd been plagued by another nightmare. He clenched his fists in anger. Why did these stupid nightmares continue to plague him? He hoped that their confrontation with Lynn would stop the nightmares. They had planned to do this at a slower pace, but Oyuki's murder had changed that. It was time to get the answers they needed.
"Are you okay, Leo?" a voice asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Miwa framed in the doorway. Leo was surprised to see her since Raph was the one who usually came to him after he'd had a nightmare.
"I'm fine," he answered. "It was just a stupid dream. You can go back to bed." He hated the fact that she had to see him this way. Leo always prided himself in not showing any fear because he thought a true ninja never showed fear to anyone. Sure, he had fears as everyone else did, but he always tried to hide that fact from his brothers which was why they had given him the nickname Fearless Leader. Yet after the ordeal with Robyn, Leo had let the fear consume him and didn't face it as he should have. And now Miwa had to witness this and see how vulnerable he really was. He would never live this down as long as he lived.
Miwa smirked. "Sure you are," she teased. "You don't have to pretend to be brave, Leo. We're all afraid of something."
"A true ninja never shows fear," Leo recited.
She snorted. "Oh please!" she scoffed. "That phrase is so unrealistic. And after what you went through, no one would blame you for being afraid. Do you want to know why you keep having these nightmares, Leo? Because you can't swallow your pride and admit to yourself that it's okay to be afraid. Maybe if you just acknowledge that and think about it, the nightmares will go away."
Leo glared at her. "You have no idea what I went through," he told her. "Who are you to tell me to accept that I was nearly killed? After all, it would have been a good thing for you anyway."
Miwa returned his glare. "Do you really think it would have been a holiday for me if you had died, Leo?" she asked him. "Do you believe I hated you that much? Well, let me set you straight right now. I love you, Hamato Leonardo. I've loved you since the first time I met you, and I never stopped. And I know you still loved me, too."
Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought she had given up on him as he had given up on her. "I don't love you anymore, Miwa," he said. "Not the way you want me to. I have moved on and love someone else. I appreciate that you continued to care for me despite the fact that we were enemies, but what you're suggesting can't happen anymore, especially now."
Miwa sighed. "Leo, we aren't blood related," she reminded him. "And no matter what you think, that girl will never understand you the way I do." She took her hand in his, her eyes filled with longing.
He yanked his hand away from hers. "You're wrong," he stated. "Madison understands me just as much, if not more, than you do, Miwa. You have to let go of these feelings for me and find someone else."
"Don't you think I tried?" she asked. "I did everything I could to get you out of my head. I even tried to have a relationship with someone I was less than fond of."
You were in a relationship with Bradford?" Leo asked her.
She shook her head. "No, it was Xever," she answered. "I did my best to get you out of my head, but it didn't work. Xever knew I wasn't into it, so he gave up on me. He was upset that I couldn't return his feelings."
"Did you tell him about me?"
"No, I didn't. I knew that if I did, he'd be the first to tell Shredder and then I'd really be in trouble. I just told Xever I couldn't return his feelings."
"Was he angry?"
"Yeah, I think he was really hurt by it, though I can understand why." She smiled. "You have no idea how badly that fish wants to get laid. He kept telling me about this girlfriend he once had and how she was such a good lover to him."
Leo laughed. "Yeah, I can see that. So did the two of you ever sleep together?"
"We did once, but I just wasn't into it," she replied. "I think that's what hurt him the most. I tried to feel the same way he did, but I just couldn't. I kept thinking about you and how I wanted you more than him. But at least you were able to move on."
Leo smiled as his thoughts turned to Madison. "Yeah, I was, and I'm glad I did," he said. "I think you and Maddie would get along great together." Then he told her about how he'd met Madison and how their friendship had formed.
Miwa laughed. "So she's as obsessed with Space Heroes as you are?"
He nodded. "Yep, and we even went to see the new movie together, and she dressed up as Luna Mercury." Then his face clouded over as he remembered that Robyn had been there, too. She had been bored by the movie, but she had pretended to have enjoyed it. Now he realized that it had all been a lie to lure him and his brothers into her trap.
Miwa noticed his expression. "Leo, are you okay?" she asked. "Was the movie that bad?"
"No, the movie was good. I was just remembering that Robyn was there, too."
Her eyes filled with sympathy. "Yeah, I can see how that would be a bad memory. I guess we both know how it feels to be betrayed."
"Well, Robyn's betrayal was probably karma for how I betrayed you by going after Shredder."
Miwa shook her head. "That wasn't a betrayal, Leo," she told him. "You were just doing what you thought was the right thing to do. Splinter filled me in on your first encounter with Shredder, and now that I know more about it, I can understand what you were trying to do. I probably would have done the same thing if it had been me."
"So if I didn't betray you, then who did?"
"The Foot," she answered. "Actually, ti was Xever who told Shredder what I was doing. I think it was revenge for me not returning his feelings. When Shredder exiled me, I couldn't believe that he would do that to me. That's when I realized he really wasn't my father and that Splinter was truly my father and the one who cared about me."
"He's not the only one," Leo said softly. "I do care about you, Miwa. We can't be lovers as you want us to be, but we can still care for each other as brother and sister. Do you think you could do that?"
Miwa nodded. "It's going to be hard for me not to think of you the way I did before, but I think I can try," she promised. "Maybe Madison could help me find a hot model to date."
Leo laughed. "I'm sure she'd love to do that for you," he answered.
"So are you going to be okay?"
He nodded. "I think so," he replied.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" she teased.
"Actually, I think that would be a good idea as long as you don't try anything," he told her.
Miwa raised her right hand in the air. "I promise on my honor that I won't try anything I shouldn't," she swore.
"That works for me," Leo said and scooted over to that she could lie beside him.
"I always wondered what this would feel like," she noted.
"When we were younger, we used to do this all of the time whenever one of us would have a bad dream," Leo told her. "It always made us feel better to just be together."
"I can see why. You don't do that anymore though?"
"Yeah, sometimes we still do. Usually Mikey's the one who needs it the most after watching one of those horror movies he loves to watch."
Miwa laughed. "I can definitely believe that. What about Raph?"
"He doesn't ask us to do that," Leo told her. "He always insists that he's fine and that he can handle it."
"Sounds like another Turtle I know," she teased.
Leo laughed at those words. "Okay, you got me," he confessed. "But if you tried to get into Raph's bed, he'd throw you out."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because he did it to me a few times," he replied.
"But he would always stay with you if you wanted him to?"
"Yeah, he would. I never had a lot of nightmares before this whole thing started, but when I did, Raph was always there for me. Mikey and Donnie stayed with me a few times, too, but it was mostly Raph who did it."
"I'm surprised it was Raph who rescued me," Miwa said. "He never hid the fact that he hated me all of this time. I thought maybe he would just let me die."
Leo shook his head. "Raph may have a temper and be reckless at times, but he's not totally heartless. He rescued you because he knew if he didn't, Splinter would be heartbroken, and he didn't want Splinter to lose his daughter."
Miwa smiled. "Yeah, and I remember you weren't happy about it at all," she remembered.
He blushed, remembering how horrible he was to her. "That definitely wasn't my best moment. I'm surprised Sensei didn't throw me out."
"I'm not. Splinter loves you Leo, and I think he knew what you were going through at the time. He realized it would take time for you to come around to the fact that I was here, and you did. I know it was hard for you to accept what happened, and it was hard for me as well. I felt so guilty for what I did to you and I wished that I could take it back. I still think about it and sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be here with you guys."
Leo took his hand in hers shocked that she would say such a thing. "You should never feel that way, Miwa. I've forgiven you for what happened, and you should forgive yourself. You're family to us, and we will never turn our backs on you."
Miwa squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Leo," she said. "I always knew there was a reason I loved you."
"Same here," Leo agreed.
"By the way, Raph did want to come in here, but I told him I'd handle it."
"I'm surprised he didn't argue with you,"
"No, he said it was fine and went back to bed."
"Speaking of which, I'm getting tired," said Leo. "We'd better go to bed so we don't fall asleep in practice."
"That's true," she said. "Plus, you have an important mission, and you need to get your rest."
"I think I can do that now that you're here," he said sleepily. She said something in reply, but Leo fell asleep before he could process what it was. He had no nightmares for the rest of the night, but he didn't know that he would relive his worst nightmare and that it would change him forever.
22222
"Focus, Leonardo!" Splinter commanded.
Leo flinched at the reprimand by his sensei even though he knew he deserved it. He definitely wasn't focused on the task at hand because he was distracted by the mission he hoped to accomplish that night. He wished Splinter would have cancelled practice, but his sensei had a policy of never postponing practice unless it was needed. He saw Miwa, who was in a sparring match with Mikey, give him a concerned look, and Leo tried to communicate that he was fine. But as he was doing that, Donnie, who was sparring with him, managed to get the upper hand on him and pinned Leo to the floor. Mikey tried to take advantage of Miwa's distraction, but she caught him and scored the victory.
"Yame!" Splinter called out, signaling that the matches were over.
"Aw, man, I was so close!" Mikey lamented.
"Well, I guess you'll have to try harder next time," Miwa teased him.
Mikey stuck out his tongue at her and blew a raspberry before taking his place next to Raph.
Don stared at Leo. "Are you okay?" he asked him.
Leo glared at him. "I'm fine, Donnie," he replied. "Stop worrying." Muttering to himself, he took a seat on the other side of Mikey. The orange-clad Turtle put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Leo, you'll get him next time," he reassured him.
Leo ignored his brother and focused on the fight between Donnie and Miwa. Both of them circled each other and then Miwa dove in for the attack. Donnie blocked it and came back with one of his own, but Miwa parried it, swept Don's legs out from under him, and pinned him to the floor.
"I win again," she gloated.
Don groaned. "Why do you have to be so fast?" he complained.
She laughed. "It's a gift, Donnie. You just have to learn to be faster than me."
"Yame!" Splinter called out. "Well done, Miwa. You are very quick and precise in your attacks. Your ability to take your opponents by surprise with your speed and precise attacks is a very important skill."
Miwa bowed to him. "Thank you, Sensei," she said.
"Donatello, you also possess skill, but you allow yourself to become an easy target at times. You must try to control that instinct. Do you understand?"
Don bowed. "Hai, Sensei," he replied.
"Good. Practice is over. Leonardo, a word if you please."
Leo got up and followed his sensei to his room. He knew he was in troubl for being distracted in practice. He sat down and waited for his father to speak.
"I understand you were distracted in practice today, my son," he began. "Did you have another nightmare?"
"Yeah, Sensei, I did," Leo told him. "I guess I was just thinking about what I have to do tonight. I really hope that we can an find Lynn and get the answers we need to solve this mystery for good."
"I believe that you will, Leonardo," said Splinter softly. "You are not one to give up o something so easily."
"But what if she refuses to answer us?" asked Leo.
"Do not give up until you get the answers you seek," replied Splinter. "Sooner or later, she will tell you what you need to know."
"We'll do our best, Sensei," promised Leo.
Splinter put a paw on his son's shoulder. "That is all you can do."
Leo bowed to his father and went to prepare himself for what he had to do that night. It wasn't going to be easy, but Leo knew this was the only way to get the answers they sought from Lynn. Leo hoped she would consent to give the answers herself because if she didn't, Leo was prepared to force the answers out of her, something he really didn't want to do if he could help it. The best thing to do was to wait and see what would come. With that last thought in his head, he joined his brothers and Miwa in watching episodes of Super Robo Mecha Force Five, a new show Mikey had discovered. It would never hold a candle to Space Heroes, but it was still a good show it its own right.
"So did Splinter ream you out good?" Raph asked him.
"Not really," Leo replied, not wishing to go into the matter. "He just told me not to get distracted and to stay focused."
"Well, hopefully, all of this will end after tonight," Raph told him.
Leo nodded and focused on the show. Soon it would all be over and they could get on with their lives like always.
22222
The night was cloudless as the Turtles started their nightly patrol. Even though their goal was to find Lynn, they were still going to try and stop any crime they came upon. Mikey tried to challenge them to race, but Leo wasn't in the mood for such games.
"We're on a mission, Mikey," Leo reminded him. "This isn't the time to be fooling around."
"Aw, c'mon, Leo, it's just a short race!" Mikey protested.
Leo shook his head. "Stay focused, Mikey," he chastised. He motioned for them to follow him, and they continued their run on the rooftops. Mikey sighed in annoyance as he followed his brothers.
As they were passing by a water tower, they heard a voice say, "Hey, guys, up here!" The Turtles looked up to see Lynn leaning against the water tower. She grinned down at them. "You should totally come up here and check out the view," she said. "It's awesome."
Raph looked questioningly at Leo who nodded that they should go up. When the Turtles were up there, Lynn smiled.
"I missed you guys," she said. "Where were you?"
"We had to leave early because our friend had to go back to work," Leo replied.
"Bummer," Lynn said. "I was looking forward to hanging out with you guys some more."
"Well, we can hang out now," Don told her.
"True. So what's been going on?"
Leo knew this was the time to get some answers. "There was a murder here recently," he began. "A woman was found in a Dumpster."
"Oh, that Japanese woman?" asked Lynn.
"Her name was Oyuki!" snapped Mikey. His blue eyes were filled with a rage none of the others had seen before.
Lynn laughed. "Sounds like you knew her a little too well, right, Mikey?" she teased.
"That's enough!" Leo snapped. "Did you have anything to do with Oyuki's murder?"
"My, aren't you a little touchy, Leo," she replied. "You might want to loosen up a bit. You're too uptight."
"Answer the question!" snarled Raph.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered.
"The hell you don't!" snappd Mikey. "You killed her and you know it. Stop lying to us, Robyn."
"Not it," she singsonged.
"What did you say?" gasped Donnie.
"Not it," she repeated.
"Who are you?" Leo demanded.
Lynn stopped laughing and held her arms out. "I'm Lynn and I'm fabulous," she told him.
"Stop lyin'!" Raph ordered her. "We know you're Robyn."
"Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing," she recited. "Later, boys." She turned to go, but Leo grabbed her arm.
"You're not going anywhere until we get some answers," he threatened.
Lynn glared at him. "You can't tell me what to do," she said. "Let go of my arm."
"Not until you tell us what we want to know."
"None of your business, freak!" she spat. She kicked him in the stomach and tried to get away, but he recovered and tried to grab her again, causing them to struggle. Leo tried to render her unconscious with a pressure point, but she punched him in the face and pushed him, causing him to slip over the edge of the water tower. He grabbed onto the ledge and looked up. Lynn was looking down at him, an evil smile on her face.
"Leo!" cried Raph. He tried to get to his brother, but Lynn pulled out a gun and pointed it at the three brothers.
"Stay where you are or your brother dies," she threatened. Then she turned back to Leo. "Oh, Leo, I wish it didn't have to be this way," she said. "I thought we were friends."
Leo flashed back to the time he'd been hanging over a raging inferno. He stared at his tormentor and knew that he wasn't going down without a fight this time. "I guess not," he said and tossed a smoke bomb. She staggered back, allowing Leo to get back on the water tower. Lynn rubbed her eyes and then lunged for Leo who gave her a roundhouse kick to her face, causing her to fall off of the water tower. The Turtles watched as she fell into the abyss and landed on the roof of the building. For a moment, they just stared at her form lying on the roof, but then Don made a move as it to go for her.
Leo grabbed his arm. "No!" he barked. "Leave her!"
"But what if she's alive, Leo?" Don asked. "She might need help."
Leo's glare was hard. "There's no help for her now. If she's alive, then she'll just cause more damage than she already has. We can't risk helping her. It's over, Donatello. She's not our concern anymore."
Don appealed to the others. "Raph, you can't seriously just want to leave her, do you?"
Raph nodded. "Leo's right, Donnie," he said. "We gotta let it be."
"Mikey, what about you?"
The orange-clad Turtle glanced down at Lynn's body. "That was for you, Oyuki," he whispered.
"Guys, we need to at least see if she has a pulse!" protested Don. "If she does, then we can call for an ambulance."
"And what do we do when they get here and don't see a body on the ground, Donnie?" Raph asked him. "She's on the roof. They aren't gonna be lookin' up here to search for a body."
"Maybe we could move her," Don suggested.
Leo glared at him. "We're not doing anything, and that's final," he said firmly. Don looked like he wanted to say more, but closed his mouth at Leo's look. The blue-clad Turtle led them back to the Lair in silence. Splinter and Kirby were there while Miwa was in her room. Kirby often visited to talk with Splinter when he felt lonely.
"How did it go, my sons?" Splinter asked them.
Leo explained everything that had happened with their encounter with Lynn. "I'm really sorry, Mr. O'Neil," he concluded. "I had to defend myself from her attack."
"Are you sure she was killed?" Kirby asked.
"No, we're not because Leo just wanted me to leave her there!" Don burst out. "I wanted to see if there was a chance that she was alive. If there was, we still could have gotten answers out of her!"
"And she still could have killed us!" Leo pointed out. "We know she killed April, and she would have still been held responsible for that. She was there to trap us and try to kill us again. She wasn't going to own up to anything or tell us what we needed to know. If she would have gone to the hospital, she could have broken out."
"Leo's right, Donnie," Kirby interjected. "Robyn was the type to never own up to any mistakes she made. And judging by what Leo told us, it seems like she wanted to get rid of you. If Leo hadn't done what he did, she would have killed him and gone for you guys next."
"We will discuss this later," said Splinter. "For now, you should all get some rest."
"Hai, Sensei," chorused the Turtles. They bowed to him and went their separate ways. Don sent Leo a mean look, but Leo ignored him and went to his own room.
As he got ready for bed, Leo knew that he'd made the right decision. He had looked his fear in the eye and had conquered it at last. He knew he couldn't let Robyn control him any longer, and that was why he had acted in the manner that he did. Don resented him for it, but he didn't care about that at all. Robyn was no longer a threat, and they could live their lives without fear of retaliation. But things aren't always what they seem, and Leo would soon realize that the decision he thought was the right one would turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
A/N: Dun dun duuuuun! I love putting those cliffies in. So what do I mean by that? Well, you'll have to read on to find out. Is Robyn really dead? Was she masquerading as Lynn all along, or is she still out there ready to seek her vengeance? So many questions yet to be answered. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.