A Son for a Daughter - Chapter 2
He fought with them in the confined space, wrestling against elbows thrown and knees jamming into him. Minutes passed as the futile struggle went on in the back of the van. Finally, gasping for breath that refused to pull inside his squeezing chest, he fell still; limp against the seats and floor. The men laughed and cursed at him. Insulted and spat at him. Tried to shame him with insinuating taunts and cruel words. He understood most of what they were saying and hinting at. It was the things they were assuring him would happen that he didn't understand which sent icy spears of fear through him. Above all else was the pulling sense of abandonment, dragging him down to drown in the waters of despair.
He gave me up. He traded me for his daughter.
He would not allow the tears to fall, so they choked him instead. He flinched as one of the men rubbed the back of his shell. The gesture felt lewd and strangely humiliating.
Chuckling, the masked ninja said, "Time to meet your new daddy."
Splinter ran. Dashing through the tunnels in a blind determination to get Karai home where she belonged and start on his plan to rescue his son. The guilt tore at his stomach and heart. Rending any joy of being reunited with his long lost daughter to shreds. He knew it would be difficult. He knew it was risking much. But what father wouldn't risk so much to protect the ones he loved?
"Leonardo," he whispered it like a prayer. "I have not forsaken you."
His son, his beloved one, his prized pupil would need to be strong. Splinter believed in him. He knew he would endure whatever the Shredder had planned for him. He had to. He believed that the boy would not be killed on sight as Saki had assured him in return for the knowledge that Karai would not be harmed in any way. They were exchanged on an even basis. One child for another. One's life for the other. But the dread in his heart and the frantic terror clawing at his mind urged him to hurry. He had not a moment to spare.
When Splinter had received the message of a possible truce from his enemy, he scarcely believed it. It was too good to be true. But after several nonviolent attempts to contact him, Splinter finally gave into his curiosity. One night he slipped away, trepidation filling his heart, to meet with his old foe.
It was laid out and explained quite simply. Shredder's empire was expanding and the feud between their clans was something he wished to be freed from, once and for all. Splinter's heart was nothing but skeptical. And even with Saki's continued reassurances that this was no trickery, Splinter doubted. But then they had met again and again over a period of weeks in secrecy. Each time the story was the same with the Shredder taking no actions that could be considered aggressive or deceitful. Finally, Splinter made it clear that he would not be able to forgive the man for taking his daughter from him. After some consideration, Saki agreed to return Karai to her rightful clan. There was one catch. In doing so, the Foot Clan would be losing a valuable solider. A ninja of great skill and cunning. There would need to be an exchange to make up for this loss.
Splinter scoffed at the proposal, calling Saki's offer merely yet another way of bringing pain into his life. But that was when Saki added that his child would be cared for, taken in as his own son, trained and allowed to live in peace. Much like the rest of the Hamato clan. Karai was to be given the same protection. They would be bound by honor to adhere to the stipulations of their truce.
And so it was the old rat's turn to ruminate and come to a decision. And ponder it he had. Several weeks of meditating on the possibilities. Ah, but to have his daughter back. To have a second chance at knowing her, loving her. To see Tang Shen's spirit living on in her. To be able to reconnect, even if the possibility was slim, was too good to simply turn his back on.
In the depths of his heart, Splinter hoped and in the inner workings of his clever mind, he planned.
To Shredder he returned and accepted. The contract was agreed upon. Splinter signed his name to the paper, agreeing to the conditions they had worked out over the surreal span of weeks, all the while scheming his own plot of gaining his daughter and keeping his sons in one fell swoop. For the Shredder had assumed that Splinter would simply forgive the years of pain that he had caused him and his children all in the name of giving him peace of mind to continue in his slow conquest of the underground world he ruled. Splinter was no fool. And he would not so easily forgive.
Shredder wished for Leonardo to cut ties with Splinter completely and thus it was agreed upon that he would not know of their pact. He would only know that he was being exchanged. A son for a daughter. Splinter agreed to this as well, convincing himself that his son would forgive him the deception once he understood his motives. Leonardo would only suffer in this falsehood for a short time. Then Splinter would bring him home.
He would only need a day. Twenty-four hours. Just one day. And his family would be complete. Forever.
They brought him down a long hallway, through a set of double doors and into an elevator. The feeling in his stomach curdled and shrank, bounced and flipped with the motion. He thought he was going to be sick. One of the men had struck him in the mouth and his teeth had split his bottom lip. His tongue ran along the gash. The taste of blood was bitter. The pain centered him. They shoved him and led him down another long corridor to a much larger set of double doors.
They opened up to an enormous room. The rippling reflection of water along the dark walls danced all around him. With weak legs he moved forward. Men flanked his sides, moving him along with the occasional shove. Above on a raised dais sat the Shredder. Hidden mostly in shadow, Leo could only feel the presence of the man as he stared down at him from above. Leonardo felt his stomach turn to water; his legs, rubber. He wondered if this was the end of him. For surely they brought him here to execute him.
They came to a stop and someone kicked the back of his knee. He dropped forward onto his hands and knees. The Shredder stood up. He stepped down off the stairs. The armor he wore clinked softly with his movements. It was the only sound above his own racing pulse in his ears.
Keeping his head down, staring at the floor in front of him, Leonardo suppressed a shudder as he felt the Shredder's eyes roving over him. Without his weapons, pads and mask, Leonardo felt like a peasant child shaking before a king. The man clad in spikes and heavy armor made a deep sound in the back of his throat as though assessing what he saw and not feeling impressed with it.
"Hamato Leonardo," the Shredder said and it took all his strength not to flinch at the sound of his name coming out of the Shredder's mouth. "Stand."
Not seeing the point of defiance at the moment, he did as was told. He climbed to his feet. Hands clasped in tight fists to keep them from trembling.
"I was told that you are the leader. The best of your clan. The one whose skill and training surpasses the others. Is this true?"
Blinking, Leonardo gave the smallest of nods. He was the best student of the four of them, and Splinter had assigned him as leader. There was no point in denying any of that. But the thought of the praise he had striven for, the very reason he had always trained the hardest, to please his father, to prove to his father that he was good. Good enough. Good enough to love. It was all for nothing. His entire life had been to earn a love that was never meant for him, it seemed. The years of encouragement, tender moments of bonding, it all seemed empty and jaded now. It was all a lie.
He never wanted me. I was a substitute for a daughter long thought dead. The realization left him feeling light-headed and sick. As if he'd just awaken from a vivid and beautiful dream to a reality filled with pain and horror. A reality that he could not escape from no matter how badly he wanted to. Couldn't he just go back to dreaming? A lump formed in his throat as his eyes burned. He bit at the gash inside his mouth, flooding his tongue with blood. The sharp pain focused him.
I will not cry. Not here.
The Shredder stood in front of him, towered over him. Their eyes met and locked. Leonardo could only make out twin pools, fathomless and black.
"We will see." To the men around him, the Shredder said, "take him to the dojo."
Once again, Leonardo was engulfed by the ninja, pulling and yanking on him, roughly removing him from the chamber back into the hallway. A short trip in the elevator brought him to yet another hallway, to another large set of doors. He was doing his best to gauge where he was in order for a chance at escaping, but the corridors were all so similar. His racing heart sank. Even if he were to escape, where would he go? His father made it clear that he was disposable. Would it be wise to try to make for home? Would he only be handed back to the Foot once he arrived? The thought made any hope for attempting escape plummet.
The doors opened and he was ushered into a large training room. Men were gathered all around, crowded up against the walls. A few were perched upon the exposed pipes hanging above in the tall ceiling. Silence hung like a heavy blanket over the space. No one made a sound as the smaller group brought Leonardo to the center of the room. The men parted to let them through then moved back into place once more. Leonardo swallowed dryly. There were easily a hundred ninja gathered here. Some were fully in uniform while others had their masks off. All were silent. All were staring at him. His heart started to pound furiously. He never felt more exposed and helpless in his young life.
What were they going to do to him? Was he to fight them all? How long would he last? He clenched his jaw as he shoved away at the mounting panic rising within him. Stay calm. You still have your honor, he told himself. But it did little good to quell the tide of frantic terror clawing at his mind. His head whipped around as the sound of another set of doors opening reached him. The men opposite him parted to allow the Shredder to enter the center of the room.
He stood eyeing the small terrapin who stood shaking with eyes like saucers in his shadow. Then with care, the Shredder began striping himself of his armor. Each piece was handed to a man and taken away with gentle reverence. Shredder shed all of the plating, the spiked gauntlets, the heavy caplet over his shoulders, until finally he removed his helmet and face plate. He stood before Leonardo, in dark stockings, pants and a matching tank top. He stretched his arms back, expanding his chest, then crossed them in front of himself back and forth. The scarred and thick muscles rippled and bunched. He cracked his head from side to side, positioned his feet in a wide stance and brought his fists up.
Realization dawned on Leonardo like a blow to his stomach. The Shredder wanted to fight him. Leonardo fell into a defensive pose. Trembling hands curled into fists in front of him.
"Now we'll see how well your sensei has trained you."
Splinter burst through the turnstiles as Karai shifted in his arms, moaning softly, before falling still. Donatello jumped up from where he sat next to Michelangelo. Raphael stopped his pacing and turned to face his father. The three of them raced up to him, stopping a few steps away as if a physical, though invisible, barrier stood between them and their sensei. Splinter's eyes snapped from one to another before he turned to Donatello who had just finished wiping his wet cheeks with the back of his hand. He opened his mouth to speak but Raphael cut him off.
"You did it," he said incredulously, "You really did it!" He strode closer to Splinter, his face a mask of fury and indignation. His shouting filled the room, "How could you!? How could you do this!? How could you do this to him?!"
Donatello pulled at the strap across his chest. "Sensei, I can't believe this. I th-th-thought you had a plan, maybe . . . something. I-I can't believe this."
"Where's Leo, Sensei?" Mikey asked, eyes round though free of tears. "You didn't really give him to the Shredder . . . I don't believe it. It's not true. Is it, Father?"
Raphael's flashing eyes went to the girl in Splinter's arms. He pulled his sais out and stepped forward, murder in his expression.
"I swear to god, I'm gonna-"
With one swift movement, Splinter laid Karai down on the couch and spun to meet his son before he could take more than a step in her direction. Raphael had no choice but to back up as Splinter crowded him back and back until his shell hit the wall.
"You will do what?!" Splinter roared at him.
Raphael sputtered, then moved to go around him, but Splinter blocked him, keeping him eye to eye, less than an inch from his face. Raphael gritted his teeth together. He fidgeted and tried to go around the other way. Splinter blocked him. Raphael growled in frustration. The tears spilled from his eyes. He struggled as his throat worked but no words came. Only a soft desperate, grating sound.
"You will do what?!" Splinter repeated, no less quiet; amber eyes bouncing between Raphael's.
Kill her! His mind screamed. But on the outside, Raphael quailed before his father's dominance. His body shook violently as he warred with himself. He wanted to kill Karai. This was all her fault! He wanted to fight with Splinter and demand they go bring Leonardo back this instant. He wanted . . . he wanted Leonardo home. But his father . . . his brother . . .
The anguish he was feeling was too much. It was too big. He felt himself imploding with fury and rage and the unfairness of his brother being traded for a human girl who none of them even knew or liked for that matter. A girl that had tried to end their brother's life when she captured him and endangered each of them on more than one occasion. And now again, she was at the center of this misery and chaos. Raphael would do it. He would. He had to do something. The burning betrayal and fury he felt flared wild and nearly uncontrollable within him. But under the harsh stare of his master, the unrelenting gaze, he buckled.
He didn't want to feel this angry at his father. He didn't want to hate him. He didn't want to have to deal with this pain he felt. He . . . He just wanted his brother back. He turned his face away from Splinter's with a growling sob. His sais dropped to the floor with a clatter.
"F-Father," he choked out.
He jumped as he felt Splinter's hands cup each shoulder with a gentle touch. Splinter's shoulders slumped. A tremor went through him. Raphael's green eyes, glassy with tears, met his. His fright and sadness were reflected there.
"My son," he said in a voice laced with exhaustion and worry. "My sons," he amended as he turned, still holding Raphael's shoulders. His eyes fell on Michelangelo, clutching Donatello's arm for support. Both boys' faces were pale and drawn. Both had eyes round with fear and distress. Again, the guilt welled up within Splinter's chest. Again, he reassured himself that this would all be worth it once everything was said and done. He would have his family back once more. All of his children. They would be together as it was meant to be before the Shredder tore his world apart.
"We will bring Leonardo home. I have a plan." At the last word a collective exhale came from the brothers. Michelangelo and Donatello brightened immediately.
"I-I knew it," Donnie said to Michelangelo in a quivering voice, full of relief, but hoarse from crying.
"I know where they have him. He will be home this time tomorrow." He turned to face Raphael. His son was breathing heavy, chest rising and falling rapidly as the tears continued to fall. Splinter squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. "I promise."
"Will . . . Will he be okay, though?" Michelangelo asked the question that no one dared to utter.
Splinter dropped his head, fingers kneading Raphael's trembling shoulders, giving no answer.
Twenty-four hours. He could hold on. He had to.
A/N:Leave it to me to start a Drabble Collection only to fill it with stories that I need to expand on. XD Okay, so it'll probably be another chapter or two. I can't help myself. But I don't think you mind, do ya?