So. Yeah. Hi. Long time no see. I know; bad me. And I know this isn't a very long chapter, and not much really happens, we we're getting closer to the climax. Hope you enjoy.
With the green light to begin preparing for the mission against the Chi'Tarri home world things began to move quickly. Donatello was elbow deep in the mechanical and electronic planning, while Raphael worked with Bishop's tactical people to develop a plan for removing and stabilizing the rescued slaves. In the meantime, the turtle left Bishop to take care of getting the genetic sample.
It was during one of the rare down moments in all this that Raphael decided he needed to talk to Leonardo about everything that had happened. It took a little asking, around, but he finally tracked his older twin down in one of Bishop's various workout rooms. He was unsurprised to see his brother silently working out with his beloved blades. For a long while, Raphael just stood and watched his brother, and it slowly dawned on him he wasn't watching Leo, he was watching Shadowblade.
"I know you're there, you know," Shadowblade called out to him, his voice just above a whisper. "You might as well turn around and go back upstairs."
"I'm not going anywhere until we've talked," Raphael told him.
"Yes, you are, because I have nothing to say to you right now," Shadowblade responded.
"But I have something to say to you," Raphael argued.
"No! You are not understanding me," Shadowblade thundered. "I am not going to talk to you because I can't afford to talk to you right now. Or, more specifically, Shadow can't afford to talk to you right now."
"But you and Shadow are the same person," Raphael said, his confusion clear.
"Yes and no," Shadowblade said, an element of frustration coloring his voice. "Look, I don't know if you will understand this, but me, Shadow, and Leo, we're all parts of the same whole. Take me, for instance. I'm the weapon the Chi'Tarri were trying to craft. I was the one who could be bloodthirsty and follow orders when necessary. I could be coldblooded where Leo couldn't. Leo was the 'good' one. He was the one the Chi'Tarri tried their hardest eliminate. He's the leader, the protector, the…the moral one; everything the Chi'Tarri couldn't stand and wanted to abolish. And then there was Shadow. In his own way, Shadow was the strongest of us. He could bend where Leo and I couldn't. He faced the humiliation and the pain, and survived it. Leo and I, our pride was too much; we'd have been killed. But Shadow could cringe and cower. He knew that bowing and scraping was the only way to survive, and he was capable of that where Leo and I were not."
"I don't understand," Raphael said. "What does this have to do with what happened that night?"
"At heart, Leo is both Shadow and me. He is the balance between my strength and unflinching willingness to do whatever it takes to survive and protect those we care about, and Shadow's humility and ability to bend. Up until that night, Leo was slowly pulling himself back together, re-blending both myself and Shadow back into his…psyche. He knew he could never really be your brother again until he had, for want of a better term, reabsorbed us and integrated us into a single whole. And then that night happened. It wasn't all your fault; seeing April was like having the stiches on a half-healed gash torn partially out. On top of that, what happened with your sensei and you that night was like taking a kick to the re-opened wound. Between Shadow's panic and my rage, Leo got lost again. The balance he'd been trying to restore was spoilt. Since then, he's been floundering trying to regain lost footing. But the true problem has been Shadow. I've had to take over completely because if I hadn't, Shadow would have consumed us entirely, and I don't know that either Leo or I would have ever reemerged. And that's why we can't talk about that night. It's taking everything I have to keep Shadow secure enough to let me do what needs doing. If I let you dredge up the memories of that night, I won't be in any condition to see this mission through. And Raphael, if Leo is ever to recover, and Shadow heal, it will only be because the threat of the Chi'Tarri is gone once and for all."
"I…I understand," Raphael said, emotions thick in his throat. "I'll leave you alone then." The red-masked turtled turned to leave.
"Raph," Leo's soft voice called, pulling his brother's attention back to the exercise floor. "It'll be okay; I promise."
Raphael just nodded, and then silently left the room.
TMNT
After his heartbreaking talk with Shadowblade, Raphael threw himself into the preparations for the operation. Everything was coming together, except for one extremely important detail: Bishop still had not provided the necessary DNA sample.
"The ultimate success of this whole mission rests on you providing that sample," Donatello told the stubborn human. "Until you get it to us, we can't proceed any further."
Bishop turned to the oldest turtle and said, "I gave her up to keep her out of this. I never wanted to drag my daughter into this world."
By now the whole story about Bishop's daughter was common knowledge, but the intractable man was still refusing to reveal who she was, or approach her about obtaining the necessary blood sample. With everything else all but ready to go, Leo/Shadowblade decided enough was enough. It seemed Bishop was going to need a rather strong kick in the ass to get himself back on track.
"She's already been dragged into this," the oldest turtle said harshly. "Just by the sheer fact that she's living here in the city. The Chi'Tarri scouts are just as busy looking for her as they are looking for us. Would you rather they find her first? They'll either torture and kill her, or drag her back to their world where she'll be tortured and twisted into a monster like they are. Right now, from what I can see, bringing her is the safest option."
"And just what do you suggest I tell her," Bishop roared. "How do you think she'll feel to have her father suddenly show up in her life after all these years, and that only to ask for a blood sample?"
"Then don't tell her you're her father," Michelangelo suggested. "She already works for one of your subsidiaries. Just give her a raise, or have her transferred here. You can make the blood work part of the process or something. No one ever said you had to tell her you're her father."
"Even if she has the right to know," Donatello said quietly. "Don't forget, I know April exceedingly well. She'd much rather know the truth than be kept in the dark. Besides, she's really, really good. As good as your people here are, I'd still rather have her help. Hers and Casey's, actually. Together, their ability to think outside the box is unparalleled. And you're not going to convince her to move to safety without taking him, too. Your daughter has chosen her mate; you want one, you have to take both."
"However you're going to do, you had better get it done," Shadowblade told Bishop. "We've been luck so far, but we're not going to be able to keep the Chi'Tarri off our backs forever. Let's just get this thing done so we can all move on with our lives."
So a lot of you had already guessed who Bishop's daughter was. Not really a big surprise; too much pointed to it. Just to let you know, I probably won't be doing any scenes between the two of them for a reveal, but if anyone would like to tackle it, feel free. Just let me know; I'd like to see your take on how that would go.