Leo was barely aware of the pair of hands that moved along his body, but the feeling had nonetheless made him stir. Voices. There were voices. Was he dead? Had he gone to turtle heaven? The throbbing pain that hit him proved otherwise. One eye opened into a slit. It was bright, but not to the degree that the jungle had to offer during the day. He was underground. He made out the roof of the cave that stood a hundred feet above him, it was brown and littered with stalactites.

He turned his head, only to find none other than Pablo starring back at him with curiosity. Santiego came into view and pulled his son back, afraid that the strange creature might lash out.

Leo's mind was groggy, and though he tried, he couldn't make out the situation. His eyes drifted from the frightened humans, to his right arm. The gaping hole that was there, last he checked, had been stitched up, which had stopped the bleeding. Upon further inspection Leo discovered that his limbs were all tied down with pieces of rope.

Fear tugged at him when he saw the bindings. He thought of Bishop and the time he had been cruelly tied down to that horrible operating table.

The turtle's eyes were wide and scared. Santiego couldn't understand how an animal could show such emotion. It let out panicked grunts as it tugged at the ropes. Pablo was shoved behind his father to be protected against the struggling beast.

"Parada!" he yelled. The turtle stopped and looked at him. Santiego was holding out a cane towards the animal, expecting it to jump up at any moment and attack him and his son.

Exhaustion hit Leonardo, and his body relaxed back onto the stones beneath him. His vision threatened to fade away, but Leo managed to keep his eyes open and take in as much of his surroundings as he could. Santiego pulled out a short knife and carefully walked towards the injured turtle. Leo's heart stopped, he didn't know what was going on, and his mind was in no shape to think critically. As the man got closer, Leo's muscles tensed. Santiego noticed this and pointed his palm outwards, in an attempt to show he meant no harm. Leo relaxed a bit, but was still rigid.

The priest reached just above Leo's head, who's eyes shut in fear.

When nothing happened, Leo carefully opened them. Santiego stood beside a foot away and held something green in his hand. An avocado!

At the sight of the familiar food, Leo's mind began to clear. He watched as Santiego cut open the fruit, and then scooped out some of the soft inside. He held out the knife, which had a generous amount of avocado on it, and kneeled down beside Leo.

Pablo laughed at the stupid, wide-eyed grin the turtle had unknowingly adopted. His father smiled, but concentrated on the possible danger that lay in front of him. The knife flicked in his hand, offering the food to the wild beast.

Leo instinctively nodded his head in response, not taking his eyes off of the green deliciousness. The man chuckled, amused, and reached the knife closer to Leo's mouth, careful not to poke him. Once it was close enough, Leo stretched his neck forward, and claimed the food that sat atop it.

He closed his eyes in delight and hummed. Normally he didn't care for avocado, but right now; it tasted like a five-star dish. As he swallowed, his mouth started to water, begging for more.

Again, Pablo let out a laugh at the turtle's reaction. Santiego glanced at his son, who was now almost as close to the creature as he was. Both of them seemed a little more at ease.

Leonardo was a turtle of manners, and immediately felt the need to give thanks. The sound he made however, was anything but a word, and quickly he regretted it. His throat burned as if he had swallowed razor blades. He clenched his teeth at the feeling, waiting for it to die down.

Both humans smiled at the raspy squeak that the animal had made. They thought that it was the noise it was born to use. Pablo giggled, to him it was quite cute - that such a large animal would make such a pitiful sound.

Santiego said something to his son, who promptly took off out of the cave skipping in delight.

The man continued to scoop out the goo from the avocado and feed it to Leo, who ate it graciously, though he didn't dare attempt to speak again. Already he could feel the food restore some of his strength.

Santiego watched in wonder as the creature ate. He had lived in this deep part of the world all his life, but never had he seen such a creature. Unmistakeably a turtle, but with the features of a man. And though he figured it could not speak, it showed signs of intelligence. And it's brown eyes were so human, he was simply amazed.

Soon the Avocado was nothing but a soft skin and pit.

Leo licked his lips - savouring the flavour. He looked up at his saviour, who went to wash off his knife in the water.

Once done, the man returned to the tied up being and looked it in the eyes.

Leo stared back, and again tried to speak, but nothing but a strangled squeak left his mouth.

Santiego smiled and bent down so that he was within whisper distance, then he spoke something in Spanish, which to Leo's dismay, meant nothing to him. He did catch one word: " espíritu", which was repeated several times.

The priest placed one hand on Leo's plastron, above his heart, and put his index finger to his lips and nodded. Leo felt he sort of understood what the man was trying to convey, so he nodded his head in return.

Pulling the knife forward again, Santiego cut the rope that restrained Leo's left hand. He gestured at the turtle to stay down, and backed up towards the entrance of the cave, where he took off, the same as his son had done. Leo understood their rash actions; in their eyes he was a wild animal.

He reached over and began untying his bonds. The pain was much less now, but any sudden movements from his injured arm or leg shot bolts of pain up his spine. Slowly he stood up and took in his surroundings. Immediately he noticed his katanas were gone. Panic struck him as his eyes darted all over the cave, searching for them. Not far from where he stood, he saw the sheathes, along with his elbow/knee pads and his mask - all of which had been cleaned off. No katanas.

Something gleamed in the darkness next to a small cliff that stood above the water. It was covered in loose vines and other tropical plants. Leo started towards it with hope.

Sure enough, both katanas lay nestled in the foliage. How did they gotten there? He wondered. How did I get here? How long have I been here? And how on Earth did Pablo and Santiego find me?

As he bent down to grab the swords, he tried to remember what had happened. He was able to recall the pit, and his struggle to get to his cave, but how he had winded up in the cenote was blank.

Limping back to the rest of his belongings, he sat down to put them back on. He closed his eyes to concentrate on remembering; he didn't like having a lapse in his memory.

He could see the darkness of the cave, but felt the morning sun. Then he felt himself fall, causing him to jumped out of his trance.

He shrugged, the katanas must have fallen into the vines when he toppled over. But that didn't explain how the two humans had found him. Then his eyes caught sight of the answer. At the back of the cave, past the pool of water, stood a white, wooden cross. They must have dropped by to pray (or something, he wasn't entirely savvy when it came to religion), and they would have found him there. The young ninja didn't particularly believe in the Christian God, but he couldn't help in acknowledging a bizarre feeling regarding his luck.

The odds that Leo had beaten gave him chills, and he shuddered at how close he had come to death.

With all of his gear on, the still ridiculously-tired-and-pained turtle took one more glance around the cave. His eyes stopped and opened wide in disbelief. They almost teared up at the sight.

Another avocado.

He lunged at it, ignoring the pain, and picked it up in both hands. For a while he just stared at the lumpy green object.

Soon enough he grabbed one of his katanas and began to peel away the tough skin.

In a not so flattering manner, he began to devour it. His tongue darted back and forth, trying to pick up every ounce of the much needed nutrients. The seed was scooped up in the process, and was sucked clean of any green mush that it bore.

Once there was nothing left but the skin and pit, the hungry teenager began nibbling on the skin. After eating away a quarter of the lumpy exterior, Leo decided it wasn't really edible and dropped the remnants on the ground.

Next to where the discarded parts fell, Leo noticed a large brown cloth. He picked it up and checked it out. It was something between an old, mangled blanket and tattered tarp. Something was endearing about it, and Leo decided to keep it. Gathering stuff like that could come in useful. The turtle promptly wrapped it around himself into a makeshift cloak.

He still felt a little light-headed, and his body ached. He tried to clear his throat, but again, it burned. Instantly he felt the overwhelming feeling of thirst envelop him. After making his way to the pool, he knelt down and lowered his beak into the cool, refreshing liquid. The water felt so good running down his throat. He gulped it back for a long while, and when his stomach couldn't hold any more, he kept his face resting in the pool. He felt a sense of peace that his soul had been missing for what felt like a lifetime.

As Leo stood, he coughed and tried to clear his throat again. Gradually the wheezing sounds turned into sounds that could be recognized as words. He felt bad for not thanking Santiego for his help, but figured his silence would be for the best in the long run.

He started for the light of the jungle; and for his cave that still awaited him.