Hi again! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! :'( It's all going to come to an end, but trust me when I say this...you will not be disappointed! Have I disappointed you, before? I hope not! And, just so you all know, I'm doing another chapter after this, to explain what happens afterwards, okay? But, this is technically and officially the last chapter. I'm so sad! :( But I'll post the other one soon, okay? Read on, my fellow friends!
Leo's eyes flickered open, as he felt something sharp touch his neck.
He felt warm liquid, he knew was his blood, trickle down to his carapace. He didn't know what was going on, until the feeling returned to his body, and he felt himself lifted up from the ground.
He gazed in front of him, only to see his brothers and his father looking back at him with worried and angered expressions.
"Please, Shredder, let go of Leo!" Mikey wailed.
Leo heard, who he knew must be the Shredder, say, "I will if you surrender and hand over your father!"
Leo had to say something, and as much as his body was painfully telling him not to, he said, "D- don't surrender."
But he immediately wished he didn't say anything, for unimaginable pain coursed through him, and especially at his shell...he knew it had been cracked, and was anxious for what would become of it, but he tried to focus his mind on his family.
After he spoke, Leo couldn't help but give out a small whimper, but it was loud enough to hear.
"Ah, poor turtle," taunted the Shredder, as he spoke to Leo. "Did that hurt?"
Leo didn't say or do anything else. He didn't want to give the Shredder the satisfaction of knowing that it did, so he just looked at his brothers and his father. Seeing their faces together again made him feel a small joy running along inside him. He never thought he would see all of them again together, like this.
But then, his joy was quickly devoured by fear and pain.
The Shredder, dissatisfied with no response from his victim, pushed his blade only a few more millimeters onto his neck, causing more blood to spill out his fresh wounds. It wasn't much, but having a blade at your neck hurt. Leo felt as though he would choke at any moment.
"Stop it!" Raph yelled.
He couldn't see his only older brother be hurt like this, anymore. It was too much for him, and the rest of his family. The pain that Leo suffered through...it was overwhelming.
"Then give me Hamato Yoshi!" the Shredder boomed, clearly agitated. "Surely, you won't let your own son die, Hamato. After all, you failed to save your beloved wife, Tang Shen, and now you will fail to save your son? How pitiful. How weak...How selfish!"
Splinter knew that his enemy was only saying these things to break him and make him surrender, but he was taking these words to heart. He wasn't strong enough to save his wife, and it was all of his fault that she was killed. And now, he was going to watch Leonardo, his eldest son, die in front of him and his other sons? No...he wasn't going to let that happen.
So, Splinter turned himself in to the enemy, in exchange for his son's life.
"You're right," the poor rat said.
"What? No-" but Donnie was cut off, by his father.
"No, Donatello," he continued. "Oroku is right. I can't let my own son die in front of me, like I did with my wife...so I have to surrender. Don't you fear for you brother's life?"
"But we also fear for your life, father," Donnie countered.
"My sons," Splinter said. "It is the right thing to do," he said, as he made his way over to the Shredder.
"No!" Mikey yelled. "We- we need you!"
"Father, please come back!" Raph also yelled.
"Why..." Donnie trailed off.
This was possibly the hardest thing poor Splinter has ever done: ignored his sons' pleas for him to turn around and come back.
He wanted to turn around. He wanted to go back. He wanted to hug his sons and tell them that he would always be there...but he continued forward, towards his enemy. He had to save Leonardo. Without him, his other sons would be broken. They would be lost and wouldn't know who to turn to. Losing a sibling is like losing a part of your soul. It's irreplaceable, and you can't ever get them back.
Splinter would turn himself in for any of his sons, though. If Raphael was held, instead of Leonardo, he would still do it. It's the same with Michelangelo and Donatello, as well. He wouldn't care, as long as they would be okay.
When Splinter reached his enemy, the Shredder said, "Drop the katanas."
Splinter, hesitantly, lowered his son's precious weapons to the floor. The Shredder then kicked the swords, out of reach, from the rat.
"Now, put down my son," Splinter said, sternly, narrowing his eyes at the Shredder.
"If you say so," the Shredder said, deviously.
The Shredder threw Leo into the nearest wall, with so much force, that the poor turtle managed to make a small dent in the wall.
Leo felt completely fine, at first, but then a shooting pain went through his whole body, and doubled over, letting out a cry.
"Leonardo!" Splinter yelled, then returned his gaze to the enemy in front of him.
"You said to put him down," said the Shredder. "So, I did. Are you not happy with the way I did it?"
"What game are you playing at!?" Splinter yelled, anger rising. He had enough of this. All of this. He wanted his sons to be safe, again, and not hurt, like this.
"I guess I'll have to throw him again. Maybe this time, it will be more to your liking," the Shredder said, with a twisted smile spread across his face. "Bradford, seize the rat," he said quickly afterwards.
Dogpound grabbed Splinter from behind and turned him to face his Master.
"What- what are you doing!?" he yelled.
"You will suffer the way I suffered when you made me kill Tang Shen!" the Shredder answered, turning his gaze towards the helpless turtle, against the wall.
"No!" Splinter called out, but the Shredder pretended he did not hear him.
He advanced towards Leo, his eyes narrowed.
Chills ran through Leo. He didn't want to suffer anymore. He didn't want to go through anymore pain. He wanted- no, he needed someone to rescue him and save him from...from him. Poor Leo couldn't even think about his name, as the man in armor strode towards him. Leo was broken outside and in. He couldn't feel, couldn't think, and couldn't even talk. He was broken. Just broken...
He picked up poor Leo, which made him wince, and then he threw him face down onto the ground.
Leo was barely alive, and didn't even yell when he came in contact with the ground. Pain consumed him, and he sank into unconsciousness, yet again, the Shredder haunting him in his dreams.
"No, my son..." Splinter trailed off, tears forming in his eyes. He wished that the pain was meant for him, not Leonardo. He would do anything for his sons not to go through something like this.
Raph was beyond enraged. He was infuriated!
He has had quite enough of what the Shredder was doing to his family, especially Leo.
Yes, Raph has gotten into a whole lot of fights and arguments with all of his brothers, but he never lashed out on them with all that he's got. Every time Raph and one of his brothers were fighting, he'd limit himself on what he'd say and do, but even then he sometimes crossed over the line. This time, Raph wasn't going to hold anything back against the Shredder...this was for Leo.
Fortunately, the Shredder was too caught up in Splinter and Leo, that he forgot about the other turtles, and suddenly noticed a very angry- looking Raph running straight for him.
Raph's stare was like shooting daggers to the Shredder. He seemed to grow taller, as, the once mighty Japanese warrior, shrunk down to the size of a breadcrumb. The turtle's amber- colored eyes shown a raging fire he has tried so hard to keep in all of these years...but now it was out. The Shredder has never seen that much fire and pure hatred in someone...not even he could get so violent.
For once in his life...the Shredder was scared of one of his enemies.
Mikey and Donnie knew that Raph could get mad. But, he was never this mad before. The Shredder must have drove him over the edge this time. When they saw their hot- headed older brother sprint towards the Shredder, they instinctively followed, weapons in hands.
Raph lashed out in a wave of fury, when he attacked the Shredder.
Sais blazing, he struck, and he struck hard. He slashed the wound the Shredder received form his father, which made him wail in pain. The wounded Shredder managed to kick Raph away, but that definitely wasn't enough to douse the fire roaring inside of him! He got back up, quick as a flash, and ran right back towards his enemy.
"Master!" both Fishface and Dogpound yelled together.
Dogpound, who clearly wasn't thinking straight, let go of Splinter and ran with Fishface to aid their Master.
Big mistake.
Splinter immediately got up, and punched Dogpound ferociously, sending him to the ground, knocking him out. Fishface turned around, only to be brought to the same fate as his colleague.
Two down. A bunch of Foot ninjas and the Shredder, to go!
Taking out the Foot was easy. Mikey and Donnie had the time of their lives, as they cut down the remaining ninjas, so determined to end the whole thing. Splinter helped, of course. He wouldn't leave his two sons alone in a fight.
When Splinter and his two youngest sons turned around to face the Shredder, they saw the unimaginable. It was so shocking, even Splinter's eyes widened.
There, in the middle of the room, on the floor pleading for mercy, was...the Shredder.
Raph had knocked his helmet off during the fight, and his scarred face shown in the light of the oncoming day, coming though the windows. Raph had one of Leo's katanas in his hands, pointing it straight at the Shredder's neck.
Raph looked back, as his father strode over to his son, who was towering above the Shredder. Raph was bruised, head-to-toe, and had a thin cut on his left forearm, but besides that, he was perfectly fine.
"Bro, it looks like your anger does prove useful," joked Mikey, trying to put a light on things.
"Take this, Master," Raph said, as he kneeled down, bowed his head, and presented Leo's katana to his father.
"Thank you, my son," Splinter said, as he took Leo's katana.
The Shredder was breathing heavily, lying down on the floor, looking up into the eyes whom belonged to someone who used to be his friend. Blood was already spilling out of his chest wound. He was wide-eyed, and locked gazes with Splinter.
Splinter stepped over him.
"What you did was unforgivable, Oroku Saki," said Splinter. "Now, you will pay for what you have done to me, Tang Shen, and my sons."
"It was all worth it," the Shredder said, trying to keep the rivalry until the end.
Splinter raised the ancient Japanese katana into the air.
The Shredder closed his eyes and said, "I love you, Tang Shen."
Then, down went the blade.
Splinter drove the katana straight into the Shredder's heart. He gave a jolt, and then he lay still, eyes still open. Donnie went over to him, checked his pulse, and confirmed what everyone else was thinking...
The Shredder was dead.
Splinter knelt down beside his fallen foe, and whispered, "Why did it have to come to this?"
Then, without a second thought, Splinter rose to his feet, and told himself that it was the right thing to do. The Shredder had to die. He had no remorse, no regret, no sorrow, for he knew what the Shredder has done to him and his family...he would live on, knowing that his family was now safe. They were safe from the Shredder.
The rat took the katana out of his enemy, and wiped the evil blood off of its tip. He found the other katana, and swiped that one off of the ground, too.
Donnie went up to his father and asked, "What about Dogpound and Fishface? Aren't they still going to be a threat to us?"
"No, my son," Splinter said, quite confident in his answer. "With their Master gone, they would have no one to lead them. They will wander the city, leaderless, looking for another Master. But, I know that you, my sons, will be there to make sure that doesn't happen," he finished, as he gave him a quick smile.
"You're sure as shell we ain't gonna let that happen!" Raph said, as a smile found his way across his face, too.
And they were right. Years after, when all of this was just a memory, Fishface and Dogpound never found anyone who would lead them. They would constantly keep getting beat by the turtles, if they tried doing anything sneaky, and after a while, they stopped bothering them completely. They never heard from Fishface or Dogpound ever again, after they stopped.
"Guys!" shouted Mikey, unexpectedly. "It's Leo! He's, he's..." he couldn't finish.
"Mikey what!?" Donnie yelled, as he Raph and his father sprinted over to them.
Donnie feared the worst for his eldest brother. He can't be...no. Is he?
But what they saw made their breath hitch, for it was a shock.
But what they saw...also made them smile.
"G- guys?" Leo said, his voice weak.
"Bro, you're awake!" Raph said, as he knelt down beside his older brother. "I was so worried about ya! I mean, I thought you were, ya know..." he trailed off.
"It's okay, R- Raph," Leo said. "I- I'm here. I'm okay," he said as he looked into his brother's eyes.
But Leo thought of something that made him shiver. Donnie saw this and also knelt down beside him.
"What's wrong, bro?" Donnie asked, concern growing in his voice.
"What happened t- to, you know..." Leo trailed off.
"The Shredder?" Mikey guessed.
Leo stood bolt upright when he heard the name. But, he regretted it as soon as he did so. His body felt as though it was mangled by a tiger, and his cracked shell, he knew, wasn't making it any easier on the pain.
He let out a small cry, but he tried to ignore the pain that shot through him. Adrenaline pumped through his blood and his heart rate increased. He tried to bolt for the exit, but his legs gave away, and was caught by Donnie, before he hit the ground. He didn't want the Shredder here. He wanted nothing to do with him. He was just so...scared of him.
"Woah, there bro!" Donnie yelled. "The Shredder isn't-" but he was cut off by Leo.
Leo's face turned pale, and he backed against the wall.
"No! No!" Leo wailed. "I- I don't want him to do anything to me anymore!" he yelled, as tears formed in his eyes.
"Why did you say his name again!?" Raph screamed. After the first time Leo freaked out about the Shredder's name, he would have thought that his smart- aleck brother would know better than to say it again. "It freaks him out, bro!"
"I didn't know the- I mean, he, actually got to Leo...he broke him!" Donnie said, pointing to Leo, who had his head in his hands, sobbing at the name of the Shredder.
"Move aside," Splinter said, who watched the whole scene play out in front of him. "Let's take Leonardo back home."
They all agreed as they left the unconscious Fishface, Dogpound, and Foot ninjas there in the building...and the, now dead, Shredder.
I hoped you all loved it! Poor Leo, but I'll explain everything next chapter. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, but I just thought you all would like to know what happens to him. This is officially the ending of my first ever fanfiction story. I am so honored to be writing these chapters for you all, and I will be sure to thank each and every one of you in the beginning of the next chapter. I love you all! I'll post soon!