A/N: Here's my Christmas present to you guys! A surprise update! I hope you like it, and it WILL be moving a lot faster now that everything has caught up. Well, I'll leave you to read. Enjoy, and please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
One Week Later
"Maybe we can work this out, man. How much money? Name a price! Any price! I swear I'll pay it!" A panicked male voice cried out in the dark house. The man was strapped down to a table, his arms and legs were tied down with a lot of duct tape. The man wore wrangler jeans and a long sleeve shirt. His forehead was taped to the table as well; his eyes darted about though, searching for his captor.
There was a sighing sound. "I'm not interested in any material gain. That's definitely not going to save you, Chester." A calm voice said from the dark. His captor stepped into the candle light and Chester froze at the sight. His captor looked like some sort of green demon. Upon closer inspection he appeared to be a turtle. The turtle wasn't too tall, maybe about five feet at the most, but he was muscular. The turtle was toned like an Olympic athlete. Chester swallowed uneasily at the sight of the turtle's gray gaze underneath a blue mask. Chester found opened and closed his mouth, trying to get something out. "Speechless, Chester? That's not what your victims would say, now would they?" The turtle asked, tossing several photographs at him. Chester's eyes followed each one; they were all women and children. His blue gaze flashed back up to the turtle's. "No I-I didn't mean to kill them! It was an accident!"
"An accident?" The turtle asked incredulously. "Twenty seven murders is an accident? I don't think that's how they felt about it." He said, nodding his head in the direction of the photographs that lay scattered about the floor and table. Chester's breathing quickened. "Why are you doing this?!" He screamed at the turtle.
The turtle leaned against the island countertop. "First, killing is an excellent stress reliever. Second, you're a murderer who escaped the "system". I can't very well kill an innocent. It's against my code. I kill people like you so that innocents can live. With you gone, there's one less killer on the streets. Now, there's no way I could let you go. You know who and what I am now. It would be a really dumb move on my part for me to just let you… Oh, hold on. I'm getting a phone call." Leo said as his shellcell vibrated in his belt. He shoved a dirty rag into Chester's mouth and answered the phon.
"Hey, Mikey. Hm? Eggs? But I don't have any cash on me… Fine. Fine. I'll figure it out. Alright, yeah, I'll be home soon. Yes, I'll be there for dinner. Alright. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Bye. Yes. Bye. Bye. Goodbye, Michelangelo." Leo sighed and hung up. His brother just never stopped talking. Leo glanced back at his victim. Leo was in Chester's house. It was dark and extremely cluttered. Leo removed the man's gag. He leaned up against an island countertop and gave another sigh. "Do you have any eggs?" Leo asked, he turned to look at the knives sitting on the counter in a block of wood. Chester stared at him incredulously. "Why would I answer that, ya' psychopath?!"
Leo traced a finger over the knife hilts, studying them. "Because when I'm done talking, you die." He answered as he picked through the knives. His victim groaned. "There's a pack of eggs in the fridge. I didn't use any."
Leo nodded an opened the fridge. He pried the eggs from the cluttered fridge and set them down on the counter. He turned towards Chester and approached the table. He leaned on it with both hands, bowing his head between his shoulders. "I still haven't gotten my brother a Christmas present. I'm a terrible person. I should've gotten him something already." Leo admitted with a sigh. Chester stared at him. Leo shook his head and pushed off the table, standing straight. "Do you know what a rough and tumble sort of guy would want for Christmas? I sure as hell can't figure it out." Leo asked Chester. He glanced at the knives and walked over to them. He hand-picked a butcher knife. He looked the blade over.
Chester tugged at his bonds. His left hand slipped some. His eyes widened. He needed to get his hand free if he had any hope of surviving.
"You don't sharpen these knives often, do you?" Leo asked as he walked back to Chester. The human's eyes went wide as Leo drew closer. "A rough and tumble sort of guy, r-right?"
Leo paused and stood there with the butcher knife in hand. "Yes. Why?"
"Have you gotten something like a gun?"
"He doesn't like guns."
"How about a… A…"
"A what?"
"An electric guitar?" Chester asked, he wriggled his left hand as he said this and it began to slide through the tape. The tape tore at his skin but he ignored it. He needed to keep this crazy killer turtle occupied. "An electric guitar. That sounds promising. Do you have one?"
Chester nodded enthusiastically. "It's in my bedroom." Leo nodded once. He walked around the table, turning his shell to Chester. The human tugged his left hand vigorously. His hand slipped through the tape and he sighed in relief as he stretched his fingers and lifted his arm up.
A butcher knife slammed down on Chester's left arm, just between the elbow and the upper arm. Chester screamed in pain, tears blurred his vision. Leo tugged the blade free with a sucking sound and repeated the blow.
Crack!
Chester's forearm fell to the ground with a thump, spattering blood about. The butcher knife was stuck to what remained of Chester's arm. The human whimpered. Leo released his grip on the blade, leaving it stuck. "Let's see if you were really telling the truth about this guitar of yours." Leo said, turning on his heel and heading down a hallway. He walked down it and opened the door to the bedroom. Sure enough, a mint condition electric Epiphone guitar sat in an open guitar case on the bed. It was crimson in color with black edging. Leo couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. He turned back and walked towards his captive.
Chester was pale and dark crimson blood pooled beneath his body. It began to stream down to the ground in a flood that pulsed with his heart beat. Leo removed the blade from Chester's arm, pulling it out with a sickening sound. "I have to thank you for the eggs and the guitar. You saved Christmas, Chester. I'll keep this short since you were so helpful. Bye." Leo said before bring the butcher knife down on Chester's neck. Blood spurted with the strike but Leo didn't allow it to land on him. He was becoming good at this killing thing. He released his grip on the butcher knife and walked over to the sink. He lifted the handle of the faucet and washed away any blood that may have stained his hands. He then grabbed the eggs and hurried to Chester's bedroom. Chester's neighbors weren't home yet, but he knew that someone had probably heard the screams. Leo closed the guitar case and opened the window across the room. He stepped out and onto a fire escape. He closed the window behind him. He walked down the fire escape and dropped into an alley. He had only killed one tonight. That would be Chester. He was actually saving five others for tomorrow. A little Christmas present for himself.
Lately, though, he'd only killed a few, but he had spent a lot of time with those few. His first real kill, the mohawked gang leader name Karen Shinigami, had been messy but special. He had learned a lot from that one. He had learned that he couldn't let his excitement get the better of him. He had killed five more that night. It was great. However, something had been missing from his kills and it wasn't one of his katanas. He realized then that he had been senselessly killing. He needed to know his victims. He needed to talk to them. Get a feel for them. Then he could really enjoy killing them. The first time he had spent that kind of time on a kill was just three days ago. A male rapist named Gerard Halls. Leo had really enjoyed killing him.
The blue masked terrapin removed a manhole cover and dropped into the sewers before placing the cover back on. His brothers still didn't know about his killing sprees. They didn't need to. He had watched the news with them concerning the recent killings; the dead had all died at his hand. His brothers only showed their contempt for the murders. Raphael was the worst. He wanted to stop all the gang violence and find that one gang who had done it. Yes, the police still thought it was gang violence and they suspected that the gang Leo had dealt with was rising in power.
He snorted at that. Rising in power? That gang was history now. He had killed their leader, they were done and over with.
Leo calmly walked through the sewers, heading to the lair. Ever since he had begun killing, he'd experienced a stress free sensation. He hadn't fought with Raph or anyone else. He was really enjoying his time with his brothers… as well as his time spent with cutthroats and murderers.
Leo's nightmares about the accident had become rare. He laughed at that. The accident didn't even bother him now. He was so well accustomed to seeing blood now that all the flashbacks had become distant memories.
He entered the lair with a serene expression. "Mikey, I got the eggs." Leo called out softly. He stashed the guitar behind the Christmas tree that had been set up near the T.V.s.
"Good! We can't have eggnog without eggs!" Don called from the kitchen. Leo walked towards the kitchen and placed the eggs on the counter. "Wow, you guys are cooking together? There's something new." Leo said with a chuckle. Michelangelo, wearing a flowery apron that said "kiss the cook", stood at the mixer, pouring ingredients into it. Don stood at the stove, stirring some sort of broth. Raphael sat at the kitchen table, rolling cookie dough into little balls and placing them on cookie sheets. He had cookie dough on his face, which led Leo to believe that not all of the dough was going to make it into the oven. The two resident cooks shot Leo a glare while Raph grinned at him. "Weird, right?"
"Raph! Quit eating all the cookie dough!" Don cried, mortified. Mikey snickered and Raph replied by munching on a large chunk of dough. Leo chuckled. Don glanced at his brother and frowned. "Leo, you look… a little under the weather." The older turtle frowned. He felt fine, healthier than ever. "Go look in the mirror if you don't believe me." Don said.
Leo, still frowning, turned and headed to the bathroom. He turned to the mirror and froze. His gray eyes scanned his reflection. He brought a hand up to his face and his breath quickened. He swiftly closed the bathroom door and turned back to the mirror. He yanked his mask off and stared in horror. A faint trace of red was splashed from the corners of his eyes and pale yellow lines were streaked down his face. The markings were faint and his mask could hide the red marks but it worried him. He had thought they were gone for good after he had turned seven. His brother didn't have any markings like him. They never had after they had mutated. He had had them since he was a normal turtle. They didn't fade away after he mutated, until he was seven. Leo cursed under his breath. What did it mean?
He needed to have Don get a look at the markings but he was afraid Don would find out about his secret. He didn't care about the accident anymore, but his brothers… they didn't know the half of what had gone down that day. They didn't know about… Naito.
Leo released a ragged breath. Naito. It had been so long since he had thought of that name. Naito. He swallowed. His brothers could never find out about Naito. Never. He couldn't let Don have a look at his markings. He didn't want any trace of evidence about Naito being discovered. Leo placed his mask back on, hiding the faint red marks. The faint yellow marks would have to be covered with green paint or something of the sort.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Naito stood. Yes. He stood. He was not sitting. He was not laying. He was standing on two legs. Two fully recovered legs. Naito flexed his left arm. It was nearly as muscular as his right arm. Still, he knew he was not whole. Naito had been searching for Leo for about a week now. He had found no trace of the turtle except for subtle scents here and there. He was getting closer. He knew it.
Naito had been feeding on the rats he had found here and there, it had helped him. His body was recovering at a steady but quick rate. It was strange. He had spent years with no strength. No ability. He had not even been able to feed himself, yet now he was so much stronger. He could do things on his own now. He knew he owed someone though. He owed Leo for the help he had given him. Naito had to find the turtle now, he was indebted to him. Naito leaned against a wall, his clawed hand clicked lightly as it touched stone. He had heard voices.
"Run, Mikey! Raph's gonna' catch us!" A soft and young voice echoed through the sewer tunnel. Naito crouched down and pressed himself against the stone. He didn't want to be seen. His one eye scanned the darkness, swallowing the little light that was available underground. There was a sound of feet splashing in the water and panting as small bodies ran. Naito's sharp eye caught sight of them. His breath caught in his throat. Turtles. They were turtles, almost identical to Leo. One wore a purple mask and the other wore an orange one. Naito stared. Masks. Just like Leo.
The turtles were running from something. Naito froze in shock. It was another turtle. This one had a red mask instead. The red masked turtle was gaining on the other two. He released a cry of victory as he tackled the pair. Naito watched from deep within the shadows. His one eye flicked down the tunnel to another set of padding feet. He stiffened. A blue masked turtle.
Leo, for that was who it was, leaped onto the other three turtles. He was laughing. "You guys should have been worried about me!"
Naito dropped his gaze to the ground. He didn't understand. Leo wasn't hurt. He wasn't captured. Leo was okay. So… why hadn't he come to help Naito? Why hadn't he given Naito food? Naito clenched his hands into fists. He could feel his muscles tense up. He knew the answer. He knew it, but he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Naito watched the turtles laugh and run back in the direction they had come from. Something wet touched his cheek and his one good eye blurred. He blinked in confusion. What was this?
He brought his un-clawed hand up to feel… water? His eyes gave off water? That couldn't be right. He swallowed, his throat suddenly felt raw and cold. He glanced back in the direction the turtles had disappeared. A soundless gasp escaped his mouth. He dropped to his knees and hugged himself.
He knew the answer.
Leo had abandoned him.
Leo had left him to starve.
He released an anguished cry and more of the strange water streamed from his eyes. His small frame wracked with sobs.
Leo had left him to die.
-.-.-.-.-.-
The blue masked turtle sat on the couch, sipping a cup of tea as Mikey sat in front of the Christmas tree, bouncing eagerly. He glanced to the other two brothers who sat beside him. They were watching Mikey bounce up and down. Leo gave a small snort and sipped from his tea. Mikey was waiting for Santa Clause to deliver gifts to all the good turtles. Leo knew that his three brothers would likely fall asleep before any fat man arrived to leave presents.
It was his duty to set them out while they were asleep. He had stashed away the gifts that Splinter had left behind for this very purpose… as well as a letter from their sensei.
Leo knew that no fat man would ever come to give away free stuff all wrapped up and topped with a little bow. His brothers suspected it as well, but presents still seemed to show up under the tree without them knowing. Leo chuckled, of course his brothers didn't believe in Santa Clause. Leo and Master Splinter had just kept up with the tradition. The others liked to believe that there was some Christmas magic to it all.
Leo liked to think that as well. There were five criminals waiting for him with no familial ties or friends. That was a magical gift in itself, wasn't it?
A/N: I did say that I would reveal more about Naito, now didn't I? Please, do review, it'll be my little Christmas present from you guys :) Alright. Happy holidays, everyone! I'll be updating in a few days.