Chapter Thirteen

Donnie looked absolutely horrified. "Kill?" he echoed shrilly. "Leo, I know we're ninjas, but we're not that kind of ninja. We don't..."

He let out a shudder and shook his head. "We don't do that."

"It's either her or us," Leo said calmly. "Remember, once she's finished with me, she'll be coming after the rest of you."

He didn't think Don would be next, though. A new thought was niggling at the back of his mind, but he was too distracted to listen to it right now. Don was still shaking his head.

"Leo, we're supposed to protect people, not hurt them."

"She's not a person," Leo said simply. "She's a monster. A soulless demon."

"She's convinced you," Don corrected, "that that's what she is - boy, has she ever convinced you, but..."

"But nothing," Leo interrupted, losing patience. "We need to act now, before it's too late. Before she figures out what I'm doing."

Maybe she already knows, he thought, the idea chilling him to the bone. Maybe she was listening to his thoughts this very moment. He imagined a brick wall surrounding his mind and plunged ahead.

"I understand if you're not worried about me," he hurried on. "But think about the others. Think about Splinter. Think about..."

Leo trailed off. That thought wasn't niggling anymore. It was scratching, clawing, ripping through his mind as it roared for his attention. Leo felt himself go pale. "Mikey," he whispered.

That was what was bugging him; he hadn't seen Mikey when he went home last night, and he hadn't heard his voice as he sat outside all day today.

He grabbed at Don's arm. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"I don't know," said Don, his expression turning worried. "He took off yesterday, right after you kicked Raph across the room. He never came back."

Leo felt the blood in his veins, flowing so nice and hot with excitement a minute ago, turn cold. "She has him."

"You don't know that," Don said uncertainly.

"I do know it!" Leo hollered. He let go and hurried for the nearest route topside. "Believe me or don't, just know this; if we don't go look for him now, we're never going to see him again."

Not alive, anyway.

It was enough to make Don follow him. "Shouldn't we go get Raph?" he asked as they moved through the alley above.

"No time; between him wanting to beat me up and me not being able to keep from hurting him as I defend myself, it would take hours to convince him."

It was funny; Leo thought he had known the shadows as a ninja. That he was one with the night. He knew now that even his most flawless act of stealth was nothing compared to how he moved that night, how each slant of darkness seemed to beckon him, welcome him, embrace him as he darted through back alleys, around signs, through throngs of people.

He was almost to the movie theater when he noticed that Don was having a hard time keeping up. While he waited, he absently hefted a chunk of concrete that had broken away from the sidewalk and shattered the light at the street corner - the buzzing sound it kept making was annoying him. Getting rid of the light wouldn't help with Arella, but it would keep them hidden from everyone else. Plus it made his eyes feel better.

Standing there in the complete darkness, Leo found he could see better than he ever could - at night or any other time of day. Everything was shades of gray and silver, every edge sharp and in perfect clarity.

When Don caught up, he stopped to lean against the side of the building next door with him, panting to catch his breath. "I don't know how you got by that couple coming out of that club," he said, sounding amazed. "I had to wait until they stopped talking and left, but you-"

Shaking his head, he made a swooping motion with his hand. "Right between them."

Without humor, Leo described what he was seeing. Don looked impressed. "You know, that sounds pretty useful - for us ninjas, I mean."

He was trying to lighten the mood, but Leo didn't smile. Instead, he reached over and gripped his brother's face, turning his head until his throat was exposed. "Right now I can instinctively locate all the major veins and arteries on a person's body. Every spot that thumps with blood is like a neon sign to me. How's that for useful?"

He smiled ruefully; Don edged away from his grasp. "Right." He cleared his throat. "Which apartment is hers?"

Leo looked - and frowned. "The one with the ladder outside it."

He darted over to it, and Don started to follow - then stopped with a sound of dismay. "Careful, there's glass everywhere," he warned.

"I know."

Leo wasn't worried; his injuries from last night were almost healed already. Shards crunching beneath his feet, he mounted the ladder and vaulted into the apartment. It was empty.

"So, where did she go?" Don wondered when he climbed in beside him.

"Where did they go," Leo corrected blackly.

There was a bag of candy on the table. It wasn't the same one he had knocked out of Mikey's hand yesterday, which had been cleaned up since then anyway. He looked ruefully down at the small stain still on the floor.

"Do we have a plan or something?"

Don sounded frustrated and tired. Leo had to admit, running over here without a plan of attack had been foolish; now he sat down to think. "Like I said, we can forget the Hollywood rules," he muttered. "She shrugs off sunlight, she has a reflection, and..."

And she had licked his mouth right after he ate garlic pizza - and laughed. She had been thinking about these silly superstitions and laughed.

"She takes showers, too."

Why was running water supposed to be bad, anyway? He had never understood that one.

When he realized he was trying to find logic in ancient folklore spread about creatures that weren't supposed to exist, he almost started laughing hysterically again.

"I think that only works if the water is holy," said Don doubtfully.

"Right. You can go rob the nearest church; I'll wait here."

Don made a face and sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, there's wooden stakes," he said slowly, sounding like he was saying it only to humor him.

That's right, Leo sighed inwardly. Humor you insane big brother.

"I think that's because wood is natural and pure," he went on. "Like how silver is supposed to work against werewolves. Pure silver is, well, pure. In ancient times it was used to fight disease and infection."

Don gave himself a shake like he couldn't believe he was even having this conversation.

"No good," said Leo. "She's too strong. We'd never be able to get close enough to stab her."

Don gave a helpless shrug. "There's fire," he said doubtfully.

Leo sat up straighter. Fire, he repeated mentally.

Something about that element - what was it Arella had said about the ocean? A living, viable entity? Fire could encompass and destroy just about anything. It was a raging force all its own.

He thought about the pain light caused him. Sunlight was often said to kill a creature like her, but maybe they were wrong. Light hurt him, but only his eyes. It didn't burn; maybe that honor was exclusive to something else entirely.

Leo stood. "There's a gas station down the street," he said, his excitement quietly growing.

Don eyed him warily. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we might be able to burn her to death. You're sure about fire, right?"

Don looked like he regretted having said anything. "I read about it once," he replied tiredly. "When I was studying legends and fables across history. It described how people who were suspected of being vampires were killed. First they put a stake through their heart, then cut the head off and set it either on their chest or stomach. Then they burned the body for good measure."

It was probably the only thing that would truly work, Leo mused. Her body wasn't ancient, but it was old enough that other methods wouldn't be strong enough. But fire could decimate her - he was sure of it.

"And this was really practiced?"

Don's eyes were tired - and fearful. "It was. They've found graves with bodies laid out just like that. But vampires aren't real, Leo; they were innocent. Just like the people who were drowned because they were accused of being witches."

"Witches are real," Leo pointed out as he moved to the window.

"You mean people who practice witchcraft," Don corrected. "They're still just people. People who do things differently than other people. But that doesn't make them..."

He gestured vaguely. "An inhuman monster?" Leo supplied.

He could tell that Don was wearying of all this. He was ready to quit and go home. "Look," he said, rising from the bed slowly, "I think we both need some rest. Let's go home; we'll talk to Splinter. We'll work this out."

Leo reached for the ladder. "Fine. But let's find Mikey first."

Once they found Mikey, Don would see. He had to - otherwise he was next. Leo was sure of it.

After climbing back down, Leo hurried to the gas station. Don followed wordlessly, silently disapproving of him as he broke into the closed garage and swiped a container full of gasoline. He made sure to grab one with a nozzle that sprayed. He also snatched up a book of matches.

As they headed around to the backs of the buildings again, Leo could tell that Don was torn between letting him continue with what Don thought was Leo's private delusion or finally stepping in and putting a stop to it. Leo would knock him out and drag him along if he had to.

"Is there anywhere nearby that Mikey would go?" Leo asked.

He was trying to smell the wind, but he was much too turtle to pick out any one scent in the millions that permeated the air around him.

Don shrugged. "There's an old half-pipe a few blocks from here," he said doubtfully. "It's pretty rundown and no one goes there anymore."

No one except a lonely young turtle who was angry at his brother and trying to impress a pretty girl with his skate moves. "Show me."

Sighing, Don led the way. As they walked in silence, Leo could tell that Don had abandoned any glimmer of belief that he'd had about Leo telling the truth; now he only believed that he was out of his mind. He didn't think for a second that they would find Arella at the half-pipe, with Mikey unconscious at her feet.

But that was exactly what they found.

Still dressed in her coat and boots, with her hood pulled forward, Arella was pacing the wooden half-pipe, though her feet didn't make a sound. Lying face-down, one arm dangling off the half-pipe to the weed-covered pavement below, was Mikey.

Don gave a cry of horror and started to bolt forward; Leo quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Don't," he warned.

Arella laughed and turned her back on the prone body. "You can take him," she said carelessly. "I'll come back for him later."

Leo slowly let go of Don's arm, and he hurried forward and knelt beside Mikey. He tried to revive him for a moment, then gave up and half-carried, half-dragged him back to where Leo was standing.

Leo blinked, and then Arella was sitting at the top of the half-pipe, legs crossed. Don did a double-take.

Arella 'tsked'. "I really expected more from a group of ninjas," she chided. "But each of you have been so easy to figure out."

She nodded at Leo. "He was so lost, so withdrawn and pitiful when I found him - getting into his mind was painfully simple. He didn't even notice. Most people notice, you know. They know that something is trying to go where it doesn't belong, they just don't know what. They toss up guards, go stiff and try to resist."

Chuckling, she shook her head. "Not Little Leo," she sighed, in the most condescending, hateful way possible. "He welcomed me with open arms."

She snorted. "Pathetic little whiner; 'Oh, my brothers aren't paying attention to me. I spent all this time isolating myself and now I'm sad because they're having fun without me. They're changing without my permission while I'm busy acting like the big grown up - because I'm too stupid to figure out that that's how they're growing up. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!'"

Leo flinched and lowered his head. Don was staring at him. "Is that really what you thought?"

Tears were burning his eyes; he forced himself to nod. "Jeez, Leo, why didn't you say something?"

"Oh, he said plenty," taunted Arella from her perch. "To me, anyway. Of course," she went on, lithely dropping down to the ground, "he probably couldn't tell you which of those nasty thoughts he had about you were really his and which were the ones I planted there myself."

Leo jerked his head up and glared at her, eyes blazing. He didn't know if she was just making fun of him, or if she was really to blame for all his recent heartache, and he didn't care.

"Leo, don't," Don cried, as Leo started spraying the ground. "I admit she's pretty messed up, but that doesn't make her-"

"A monster?" Arella supplied smoothly.

She was watching Leo drench the ground at her feet with gasoline. She didn't look remotely concerned.

The half-pipe was tucked at the back of a long alley, wedged between two abandoned buildings. A brick wall was behind them, blocking them from sight from anyone who might be passing on the street. It was the perfect isolated area; the fire would stay contained. No one would get hurt.

No one except Arella.

Arella 'tsked' again. "Is this too much for the big brain to handle?" she mocked. "Go ahead and check for yourself."

Leo knew what she meant. And somehow, Don did too.

Slowly, he lowered Mikey to the ground, cradling his head carefully as he rested him on the pavement. His fingers checked him over carefully - and he let out a sound of disbelief. Of fury. He pulled away, his fingers wet with blood.

Leo could tell that he was about to protest his own conclusion, to say that she could have punctured his neck with something - but Arella beat him to it by smiling. Her curved teeth glinted white. "You think you know everything," she cooed, "but you don't. There are things you'll never know or understand. Too bad; your stupidity will probably kill you in the end."

"Don isn't stupid," Leo spat.

Defending his brother right now probably wasn't the best thing to do, but he couldn't help it. Nobody spoke about his family like that. Teeth clenched, he unleashed his fury in the form of the gasoline spray. Most of the half-pipe was soaked now.

"No," Arella amended. "Just too smart for his own good."

"Leo, we should go," Don suddenly begged. "Let's just get out of here."

"No," said Leo stonily. "I'm not leaving until she's dead. If I don't kill her now, she'll come back and kill me. And then you."

Arella shook her head. "No," she corrected, "After you're gone, Mike goes next. I had planned to use both his and your deaths as a way to get to you-" she smiled at Don- "but that plan will have to change. I knew your scientific little mind wouldn't bend to me as easily as theirs, but a little stress and trauma caused by the death of two of your brothers could change that in a hurry."

She glanced down as gasoline sprayed across her boots. "That other one, though," she continued thoughtfully. "Now, he's going to be a real challenge. I've never found a creature outside of the animal kingdom with that kind of will - humans just don't have it in them. The last creature I came across with a will to match my own was a wolf, about a hundred years ago."

She smiled wistfully, eyes distant. "He was special, a real treasure. I kept him for as long as I could, but he eventually grew too old to follow me."

Leo dropped the container and pulled the matches out from where he had tucked them under his belt. "Leo," Don said weakly, his voice full of warning, of fear.

"Get Mikey back," Leo ordered. "Both of you get back."

Don obeyed, dragging Mikey's limp body to the safety of the other side of the wall. To his dismay, Don came running back around a moment later.

"Don, I said get back!"

"Leo, I can't let you do this," Don said desperately. "I admit that she's seriously messed up, and maybe even what you say she is-" He eyed the fangs with wide, disbelieving eyes, "-but you can't just-"

Leo lit a match and tossed it. Flame erupted on the ground with the force of a small explosion; he had to shield his eyes and take a step back.

Arella stayed where she was by the half-pipe, hands tucked in her pockets in a sign of indifference. "I wouldn't like any of you three as a pet," she commented. "But Raphael...he's something special. I enjoy a spirited soul like that, so I think once I get to him, I just might keep him around for a few hundred years or so."

"It won't be easy, of course," she went on, as the flames licked at her boots. "I don't think even seeing the three of you dead would break his spirit. That's why once I drink the three of you dry, I'm going to find some way to get to your little master. It won't be easy - somehow he instinctively knew to keep me away - but I'll figure it out. I always do. Then I'll leave his broken little body somewhere for Raphael to find; I think that, with no one left for him to turn to, will be sufficient to break him. Don't you?"

Leo's hands shook as he struck matches and threw them, until there weren't any more to throw. Behind him, Don made a sound and ducked behind his hands as the flames roared like a wild animal. In a matter of seconds they had stretched into the air above their heads like a wall, engulfing the entire alley behind them. Arella, who was standing in the center of it all, vanished from sight.

"We have to go," Don yelled over the roar of the fire. "Someone's going to see this and call a fire truck!"

"I'm not leaving," Leo said calmly. "Not until I know she's dead."

"Are you crazy?"

Don sounded hysterical. "No one can survive that. No one, not-"

His voice was drowned beneath a scream of wood breaking; the old half-pipe tearing apart and falling over. Somewhere in the middle of the sparks shooting into the air, Leo thought he saw a shadow.

No...

Boots clacked on the pavement. The heat was unbearable, but Leo felt rooted to the spot. All he could do was stare as an angelic figure emerged from the wall of fire.

Her expression was one of amusement as she slapped the flames off her clothes, which were in scorched tatters. Her skin looked scorched, too, entire patches of it black and brittle and flaking off. But even as Leo watched, the blackened flesh healed, turning speckled red, then pink, then white and perfect again.

Arella shook out her curls with one hand; in her other she was cupping a chunk of wood, which was still in flames. "What do you take me for?" she demanded, sounding insulted. "A mere fledgling?"

Scoffing, she flicked the wood at him. Leo held his ground, expecting it to leave a burn and bounce off. Instead, the spot on his arm where it struck erupted in small tongues of flame.

Yelling in fear and pain, Leo backed away and frantically slapped the flames out. Arella chuckled - how the hell had he ever thought that that sound was nice? - and approached him slowly.

"I really ought to grab you and toss you into your little inferno," she said, "but I hate to waste good food. I'm a savor it kind of person, but in your case I'll make an exception. You're too unruly to just let go anymore."

Before Leo could react, she had pounced on him, slamming him into the brick wall. He slid down to the ground, shell screeching in protest. Arella's fingers tightened around his throat; they felt like tiny steel bars. Her fangs gleamed in the firelight as she bared her teeth, preparing to strike.

A figure loomed behind her, and suddenly she was being pulled away from him. Her fingers slipped from his throat; a shriek of angry protest escaped her lips.

Leo blinked to clear his head and realized that Don had locked his bo around her neck. He was struggling to hold it in place; Arella was kicking and shrieking and fighting like a cornered animal. Her flailing hands found and gripped the bo; to Leo's horror, she snapped it in two like a twig.

He scrambled to his feet as she whirled on Don, fingers drawn like claws. Leo had never paid any attention to her nails; now he realized that they were like tiny daggers. Daggers that she drew across his brother's skin, leaving trails of blood in their wake.

Don recoiled with a pained yell, stumbling as he tried to get away. The fire was still raging, and blindingly bright; Leo couldn't see where Don had gone. Arella turned and faced him again, smiling her most twisted, dimpled smile.

"You're a troublesome little snack, aren't you?"

"I'm a helluva lot more than that," Leo growled.

He realized that he was pointing the tip of his katana at her throat. He hadn't even noticed that he'd drawn it.

Arella shook her head slightly, stretching out a single finger. She pressed it to the tip of the blade and slowly pushed it downward. Her glittering eyes were hard and cruel. "You're not going to hurt me with that," she said smoothly, voice dripping with false charm and allure.

"Aren't I?"

She shook her head again. "No. You're going to lower it. You're going to put it away. Then you're going to kneel down and bare your throat to me."

Leo flashed his own teeth, as harmless as he knew they looked compared to hers, as he snarled. "Never."

Only he was doing it. He had moved the blade away from her throat. Placed it safely at his side. Arella smiled her pouty lips. "Good boy," she purred. "Now put it away."

Leo felt his arm lift, like it was obeying the words she was speaking instead of the signals coming from his brain. His wrist shifted, moving his katana into position to slide back into its sheath.

His mind was raging, replaying all the images of the last few days. His pain and loneliness. Fighting with his family. Feeling lost and alone and confused. Was anyone of that even real? Or had it all just been because an inhuman beast was playing with her food before going in for the kill?

And then he thought about what she had just told him. After she was done with him and Mikey, she would go after Don. And then...

And then she was going to kill Splinter. Not feed on him - just kill him. All as part of her plan for playing with Raph. Nothing more. Leo's hand stalled, a tremor running through it and clear down his arm.

"Put it away," Arella purred. "That's a good boy."

Leo didn't want to think about it. But he forced the image into his mind. Forced himself to picture Splinter - broken and dead. He pictured his sensei - his father - clutched in Raph's arms. He pictured Raph's will shattering like it never had as he cried.

That was what was going to happen. If he didn't end this right here, right now.

No...

Arella frowned. "I don't think you're listening to me," she said, sounding like she was growing impatient. "Put your arm up, put the sword back, and get on your knees. Now."

Leo's entire body was trembling now as he raised his arm. Sweat was streaming down his face from the effort to fight the command his own body was forcing him to obey. His arm continued to raise, until it was high above his head. His left hand reached up to join the right, clenching tightly around the hilt of his katana.

And with a sharp exhale of breath, he brought his katana down with all of his might.

There was a flash of silver. For a moment it was like time had stopped.

And then Arella's head fell from her body and rolled next to his foot. Her body crumpled to the pavement.

There was a clatter as his katana slipped from his fingers. Leo brought his trembling hands up to grip his head, which suddenly started to throb sharply. Oh, god...

"Oh god, what have I done?" he whispered.

He hated Arella. But he had loved her, too. And he had killed her. He wasn't supposed to kill - he was supposed to protect.

What had he done?

Still clutching his head, he dropped to his knees and started to sob as he was flooded with more emotion than he could control. He kept expecting the body in front of him to change - that was what happened in the movies - but it didn't. Arella didn't move. No blood gushed out of her neck. The black eyes staring sightlessly at him from her severed head didn't blink.

She was dead.

A hand rested on his shoulder; Leo looked up and saw Don standing over him. There were tears in Don's eyes, and he was shaking, but he was reaching for him. Comforting him.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Don whispered as he held him. "You did what you had to do."

For a moment Leo didn't understand why Don was holding him - and then he realized that he was clinging to his brother. Clinging to him like he was life itself as he sobbed harder than he had since he was a child.

"I'm so sorry," Don whispered as he held him tighter. "I had no idea you felt like that. We all thought that we were helping you by keeping out of your way; we didn't know we were hurting you, too. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Leo whispered back, sniffling. "I shouldn't have been so gung-ho about it. I should have taken a break once in a while."

Everyone was to blame. Everyone and no one. And now all they needed was to exchange a few words, a simple apology, maybe an awkward laugh or two, and then everything would be the way it was. It was all so simple, so clear now. The throbbing pain in his head had faded, and now it was like a fog had been lifted from his mind. For the first time in weeks, it felt like he was thinking clearly.

Leo wiped his eyes, let go of Don slowly and stood. "Everything's going to be all right now."

There was just one more thing that had to be done.

Understanding, Don helped him wordlessly. He gripped Arella's feet while Leo took her arms, and together they placed her carefully in the flames. Then, almost as an afterthought, Leo lifted her head and placed it on her middle.

The two of them backed away after that and watched from the shadows until the firemen came and put out the flames. By then, there was nothing left of Arella except a small pile of black ash.

It was truly over. He was safe. His family was safe. Feeling physically and mentally exhausted beyond words, Leo took a minute to compose himself, then helped Don take Mikey, who was just starting to wake up, back home.

It was time for all of them to go home.