This chapter has been an absolute bear to write. It has fought me every inch of the way. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, and not much happens, but it transitions from what happened in the last chapter to what is coming up. The only part I like is the character that shows up at the end of the chapter; I have plans for him as the story continues. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.
Throughout the fight between Leo and his former fellow trainees, Raphael and the others could only watch in horrified awe. There was something terrifyingly beautiful about how the combatants moved. Leo danced through the darkness and shadows like he was some sort of shadow himself, barely visible unless he wanted to be, while Bishop was merely a blur of black on black. Watching them, it was no wonder Leo, no, Shadowblade, had ordered them to stay out of the fight. It also begged the question of how they managed to survive the initial fight against Bishop. It was painfully obvious that he could have easily taken any one of them out, despite Leo's timely intervention. In fact, he could have finished them off years ago when their paths first crossed. The fact that he hadn't, in addition to the tense but civil conversation they'd observed taking place between he and Leo upon the brothers' arrival, suggested there was a lot more going on that than they were aware of.
Although Raphael understood why he and his brothers couldn't get involved in the fight, it didn't alter the fact he hated being helpless, especially when his brother was in danger. He couldn't help Leo with the battle, but at the same time he couldn't sit still through it either, so he prowled, and paced, and growled as he watched his brother fight for his life. When Leo was hit by the hidden archer's arrows, it took the combined efforts of Donatello and Michelangelo to keep Raphael from interfering. As much as they wanted to rush to their brother's assistance, they knew the gray-skinned knife-wielding alien was still a threat; one they had no chance of defeating on their own. When Leo dispatched him at last, the three turtles were on the move before the now dead alien hit the ground.
Taking no thought for the potential danger from the distant archer, the brothers rushed across the rooftops toward the fallen Leo. It was immediately clear upon reaching his side that matters were more than serious. If the amount of blood pooling around Leo wasn't clue enough, the blank look on Donatello's face would have clued Raphael in. He younger brother only looked that way when he knew a situation was urgent, and he wasn't certain there was anything he could do.
Raphael's concern was confirmed when Donatello said softly, almost to himself, "That strike to his right side must have hit his liver."
Mikey sounded incredibly young when he asked, "But you can fix it, right?"
Donatello had to fight back the emotion trying to clog his throat to say, "He's bleeding out too fast. And even if we could stop that, I'm not set up for the major surgery it would take to repair the damage."
The words were like an ice cold dagger in Raphael's heart. The only coherent thought he could on to from the many racing through his mind was: this is all my fault. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was his actions from earlier that evening (had it only been that evening?) that had driven his brother out of their home. If he hadn't hurt Leo, then his twin wouldn't be dying on this miserable rooftop.
The grief and guilt were so consuming, Raphael didn't realize Bishop was back on his feet until the human had slipped around them and placed some sort of pendant around Leo's neck and activated it, encasing the oldest turtle's body in a cocoon of shimmering blue energy.
"What the shell is that," Donatello demanded of the human.
"A stasis field," Bishop responded evenly. "I figured our gray-skinned friend had to be carrying one since his orders were to bring your brother back with him. Given Shadowblade's level of skill, administering a mortal, or near-mortal, wound would have been the only realistic or reasonable way to attempt to bring him back. Once he was incapacitated they would have placed him in stasis until their healers could repair the damage."
"And you know this how," Raphael challenged.
"It was standard practice back during my time among the Chi'Tarri," Bishop told him. "For a long time, the Chi'Tarri, or Pale Ones as many call them, used to prefer seasoned warriors as slaves, since they were already trained. A master would simply form the bond with the trainee while he was being healed, and then use it to force the slave's obedience. In the wake of my…desertion, they decided children and youth, though requiring more time to train and mature, were a better option since their minds and wills are more malleable and trainable. Hence the reason they took your brother at such a tender age."
"This is all fascination," Donatello said, "but what do we do now? I'm sure that stasis field will only sustain him for so long. What happens when it starts to fail?"
"It's feeding off my will," Bishop told him. "As long as I'm alive and of sufficient strength, it will keep him alive. Fortunately, it won't have to support him for long. My people will be here soon to clean up and contain this mess. They'll help get him to my…facility where we can get him the medical attention he needs."
"What the shell makes you think we're letting your people get their hands on him," Raphael growled, shifting to put himself more fully between Bishop and his unconscious brother.
"You don't have much of a choice if you want him to live," Bishop replied coolly. "If that blow did indeed hit his liver, and there's no reason to doubt Donatello's diagnosis, then your brother is going to need extensive surgery, requiring blood transfusions and life support equipment, and I have the best medical facility in the galaxy. It would seem to me the decision is clear."
"You would say that," Raphael spat. "Why the shell should we trust you not to hurt him if we let you get your creepy hands on him?"
"Because we have no choice," Donatello told his older brother sharply. "He's dying, Raphael. None of us have wanted to say it, but that's the truth. And I can't save him; I don't have the skills or the equipment that Bishop's people do. All we can do is go with them and keep an eye on things."
The decision was all but taken out of the brothers' hands by the arrival of Bishop's crew, though the turtles were surprised that Bishop indicated for them to stay back until Donatello gave them the go-ahead. As the medical team rushed to load Leo onto the gurney, Mikey noticed that of all those working for Bishop, a third or more of them weren't human.
"There's something really weird going on here," he whispered to his brothers. He didn't take into account a companion with the ability to heighten his hearing.
"There is a great deal you don't know, Michelangelo," Bishop said as a medic worked to bandage the shoulder the arrow had pierced. "I told your brother earlier this evening, before we were so rudely interrupted. Since I have no doubt he was planning to share what I told him with the rest of you, there is no reason I cannot extend you the same courtesy; as soon as we are safely off the streets, of course. Now is neither the time nor the place for such things."
"What about those guys," Mikey asked, gesturing to where the other three fallen trainees were being secured. "What's going to happen to them?"
"The two live victims will receive the care they need, though by necessity their bonds will be cauterized. We can't have them reporting back to their masters, but at the same time I will not be responsible for turning them into drudges. Once they are well enough they will be allowed to decide what they want to do from there, whether it's return home or stay to work with us."
"And Mr. Knife-happy over there that Leo had to take out," Donatello queried. "What will happen to him?"
"I know what you think of me, Donatello, but I am not a monster," Bishop said. "If we can determine where he came from, we will try to find his family, or at the very least follow the burial customs of his people. If that's not possible, we will perform an autopsy and cremate the remains. We can learn a lot about the enemy this way, and we've garnered a lot of goodwill from numerous races across the galaxy that have lost people to the Chi'Tarri. Now, I suggest you follow us if you plan on remaining with your brother." With that, he disappeared into the black helicopter-like vehicle that had silently landed on the roof.
TMNT
The relatively short trip was basically one big blur for Raphael and his brothers. So much had happened over the past several hours, and they'd had very little time to process it all. From the party, to Master Splinter's return, leading up to Leo's fight, and ending with his being shot and stabbed…Raphael suddenly jerked straight up in his seat.
"The archer," he yelped. "I forgot all about him! What happened to him? Why didn't he shoot us too when we went to Leo's aid?"
"If I were to guess, I'd say because you weren't his assigned targets," was Bishop's bland explanation. "This is one of the downsides of the bond; it can sometimes so overwhelm the mind of the trainee until he becomes incapable of independent thought. Given my experience with the Chi'Tarri I'd say his orders were simply to disarm your brother in order to give the others a chance to take him down; he could do no more and no less than that."
"But he shot you," Michelangelo pointed out.
"Only to keep me from interfering," Bishop said. "Once it was clear your brother had won the fight, there was nothing left for him to do. Given his choice of a long-range weapon, my guess is his close-quarters fighting skills are minimal at best, so he was probably long gone by the time you reached Leonardo's side."
The turtles didn't get a chance to say anything else as the sudden activity around them indicated they had reached their destination. Wisely, the three younger turtles stayed out of the way as the medical personnel hustled Leo off with the kind of controlled chaos that accompanies true emergencies. The brothers were about to follow, only to be stopped by Bishop.
"I acknowledge you are not going to like this, but you need to remain here," he told them. "Your brother is going straight into surgery, and most likely will be there a while. I have sent a messenger for your sensei; he will be here shortly. In the meantime, I will have guest quarters set up for you. I ask that you stay here until that is done. I will send someone to guide you to them when they are ready."
The turtles didn't have a chance to argue since Bishop was gone before their tired minds fully processed what he'd said. Instead, they sat huddled together, with Raphael between his younger brothers, a supportive arm wrapped around each of their shoulders. With a sigh, Mikey laid his head on his older brother's shoulder.
"Can we go back and start this night over," he asked plaintively. "How did things go so sideways?"
"Because that's how our luck runs," Raphael said pulling his baby brother just a tad closer. "But we'll get through this just like everything else, as long as we stick together."
Anything the brothers might have said was cut off by the arrival of what must have been their guide; they just weren't expecting him to be a five-foot mutant white rabbit.
"Greetings," he said, something about his gentle tone instinctively making the turtles want to trust him. "My name is Usagi. I will be your guide during your stay with us. If you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms. Given what you've been through tonight, I'm certain you could use some rest. Afterwards, I will show you to where your brother is being cared for."
Too emotionally drained to do anything else, the three turtles followed him silently from the hanger and deeper into Bishop's lair.
So, I'm not sure how much I will get written over the winter break. Between Christmas and my little sister's wedding, we are going to be busy. Besides, my muse seems to have settled down for a long winter's nap. I'm trying to wake her up, but she's being rather recalcitrant. Wish me luck.