Chapter 15

"We've been there before," Mina added quietly. Raph turned towards her, confusion written on his face.

"We might be able to get you in," Talia added.

"How?" asked Nora.

"Maybe we could ask Connie. If she's still there, of course," said Layla. What followed was a fast-paced conversation in French.

"I neva heard them speak French before," Raph whispered. "Hey Don, you speak French?"

"I wish," Donnie whispered. They didn't need to say it to one another…they all thought it was hot.

"Useless," Mikey and Raph said simultaneously, rolling their eyes.

The six men sat there silently, however Gen was becoming increasingly heated. Not one for patience, he again slammed his fists on the table. "What is going on? Speak plainly!"

The four women eyed him nervously. Layla shushed her sisters, and said in a decisive tone,

"Pour le bien de nos invités, peut-être devrions-nous expliquer en anglais, puis en discuter ce soir." The girls nodded in agreement.

"Sorry," Layla said quietly.

"We're just trying to figure out how to get you there," Nora added.

"And where is there, exactly?" Usagi asked.

Mikey, who, like Leo, knew a bit of what they were talking about, nudged Nora, encouraging her to speak. She pursed her lips. "It's like this fighting arena, but all the fights are death matches. There's a lot of high stakes gambling. And not anyone can just fight."

Talia added, "Some people own and tame creatures to fight, but a lot of them are genetically modified just for fighting. People own these creatures, but a large portion of the money earned from the fights goes towards the arena. Occasionally someone can be invited to compete. I've only seen that happen once."

"I think it only happens to set someone up to die," Mina said. Talia and Layla hmmed in agreement.

"Anyways," Talia continued, "a lot of the owners who buy mods get them from this other place that, well they do that for people. And they mod them from children. So like, they could 'adopt' orphans or they will let debtors sell their kids."

"The owners pick how they want them to turn out. They pay for it," Mina added. "Every once and a while they'll do it as punishment for a criminal, but that's rare."

"Connie is someone we know who is, well she's more of an indentured servant at this point. We know her because we worked at this place for a little bit, but that was over ten years ago," Layla explained. Leo put his arm around the back of her chair. "Anyways, I can try to contact her. That's really the only way I can think of to get in."

Talia clarified further. "It's not someplace you can just go to, because it changes locations."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Do it!" Gen demanded over-enthusiastically, almost aggressively.

Leo subtly shifted forward, and Raph leaned his elbows on the table right across from Gen.

Usagi quickly interjected. "Thank you so much for any help or information you can give us."

"You can stay here tonight, if you'd like," the Splinter said.

"That would be much appreciated," Usagi replied.

"Where are they going to stay?" Mikey asked.

"We will set up room for them in the dojo. Now, let them eat."

Donnie nudged Talia and led her to his lab, shutting the door behind him. He needed to know everything she knew about this place. She sat in the chair he had fixed up for her, wrapping herself in the blanket he kept there for her.

"Tallie," he started his gentle questioning.

"I know I should have said something to you before Donnie, and I really wanted to. It's just very difficult for me to talk about. And there's, um, well, it's a lot."

"That's ok. I have all the time in the world."

Talia took a deep breath and fidgeted with her hands. They were a little shaky, so Donnie took a deep breath and grabbed them, holding them gently.

"It's ok. You can tell me anything."

"I know," she whispered, letting out a shaky breath. He rubbed a hand up and down her arm soothingly.

As Splinter and Mikey were gathering bedding into the dojo, Raph leaned over to whisper to Mina.

"What was that all about, tiny?"

"Later?" she whispered. He nodded, but leaned close to her, placing a hand on her knee.

"Bike ride?" He offered, thinking that they could use some alone time now that the house was crowded.

She nodded yes and gave his hand a little squeeze.

Leo trudged down to the living room after showering. He briefly glanced at the guest room door. She must already be asleep, but it's a bit early for that. He frowned, having wanted to discuss this new situation, but he also wanted to check up on his friend.

Usagi and Gen were on the couch talking with Mikey and Nora.

"Leonardo-san!" Usagi greeted him as he sat down. Mikey and Nora stood up to go to bed for the night, followed soon by Gen.

"Usagi. It's good to see you again."

"It seems as if you've settled into a more domestic life," the rabbit smirked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I wish," Leo smiled.

"It feels more homey here than last I visited, courtesy of your friends I assume?"

"Yeah well, it feels more like a nice home at any rate." Leo studied the living room and kitchen, smiling. It was the little things, touches here and there, that made it really feel like a nice home to live in. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, sure they decorated it a bit, but it was the way it was so together that gave their sewer abode a different energy. Something serene

"Is Layla your lover?" Usagi desperately attempted to keep a straight face as he posed the question, knowing full well how his friend would react.

Leo choked, and cleared his throat, a deep blush forming on his lips. Eyes wide, he searched for words. "Um, she's uh, um she's my girlfriend," he finally stammered out.

"What exactly is the difference?"

Leo thought for a moment before answering. "I think the biggest difference is commitment. Like mentally, emotionally, everything really, she's my one and only. And she," he stopped, voice lowering as he looked to the ground. A soft smile formed on his face, "she has all my love, and I hers. Calling her a lover feels cheaper than that."

Usagi's grin turned into a tender smile. "I am very happy for you. Although, I must say I am hardly surprised she's now your…girlfriend."

Leo raised a brow ridge at him. "You're not?"

Usagi huffed, rolling his eyes. "Please, I saw the way you looked at each other. Anyone with eyes could see that."

Leo sat back, embarrassment welling up in his chest.

Usagi continued. "Regardless, I have noticed a change for the better in you. You seem quite serene. I am happy for you."

"Thanks."

They bid each other goodnight.

He was surprised to find his bedroom door was open, and Layla curled up on top his bed, having fallen asleep. Well…that's certainly a nice surprise.

"Layla?" he whispered, hovering above her.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she sat up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I don't mind," he chuckled. Instead of helping her out of bed, he crawled under the covers and brought her with him. Tucking her in next to him, he opened his laptop to turn on something to watch. "You can go back to sleep, I'm just not tired yet."

"No, it's ok. She hasn't messaged me back yet."

"And how do you feel about that?" He already knew she was apprehensive about contacting that woman. He could read it in her posture, hear it in her tone of voice.

"A little relieved, to be honest. It's not that I don't want to help your friends, I just," she stopped, and sighed heavily, "I feel very anxious about going." He could feel the tension in her body.

"I could tell," he crooned as he wrapped her up tighter and placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered. "And I know it's awful, but I wish I could tell your friends to figure it out for themselves. I feel guilty about that."

"Well, it's easy to figure out what you're going to do. You're not going," his voice was firm.

"Leo –" she started, but he cut her off.

"I'm not letting you go." There was a finality in his voice that Layla recognized when he ended his argument with Raph.

"Leo, you can't make the decision for me," she said determinedly.

"You said you didn't know what to do. But I do." His grip around her tightened instinctively.

Layla sat up, and tucked her knees up to her chest. "I'm not one of your brothers. You can't just order me around without discussing it."

"I'm not trying to treat you like them. But I'm also not having you put yourself in that kind of situation. It's dangerous." His voice was stern. He wasn't yelling at her like he did with Raph, but his tone was just as decided.

"You can't control –" she started, voice sharp.

"I'm not being controlling," he snapped at her. "But I don't think you thought this all the way through."

"And if I didn't?" she replied sardonically. "That doesn't give you the right to be a control freak about it." She immediately regretted her words. She didn't want to use that tone with him, it sounded disrespectful.

Leo propped himself up on his elbows, studying her face. He didn't say anything for a minute. It was a sore subject, being called controlling. His body was stiff.

He managed to keep himself from yelling at her, which took more effort than what he would have liked.

"Don't call me –," his voice was low and harsh, "Look, I'm just being protective." Normally the sentiment would have sounded pleasant, but the icy tone his voice took stripped the word of any sentiment.

Layla didn't want to argue with him, and the anxiety that gnawed within her threated to erupt in the form of tears. She looked towards the bedroom door, then down at her hands. I didn't mean what I said. I didn't want to make him angry.

Her voice, which just a few minutes ago was confident, even biting, trembled. "I just wanted to talk about it. When I said I didn't know what to do, I meant that I wanted to discuss it with you about it because I value your opinion."

He opened his mouth to say something, but she hadn't noticed, as she was still staring at her hands. She croaked out, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to argue."

She didn't look at him when she got out of his bed and headed to the door. Despite how quickly she got up, he still noticed the single tear fall down her cheek.

Fuck. he showed up in my bed and the first thing I did is argue with her. I'm doing great at this.

He leapt up and made it to the door before her. He put his hand on the door, hovering over her.

"No, wait. Please," he whispered hoarsely.

She looked down at her feet, fidgeting nervously. He wiped a tear away with his thumb.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to argue either."

"I didn't mean what I said." She started to really cry then and leaned her head on his chest.

"I know, sweetheart. I shouldn't have taken that tone with you. I'm sorry." He pulled her closer, swaying gently to comfort her.

"I – I didn't mean to sound," she sniffed, "that way either. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, you don't have to keep apologizing." He guided her back to his bed, sitting on the edge next to her.

"I was being controlling," he admitted. "I tend to feel very over-protective of you. I realize it makes me a bit…reactive" he chuckled.

"I don't mind. You know, no one has ever been that protective of me before. It's really nice." As she said it, she reached up, lips meeting his for a gentle kiss.

"And I really didn't think about it before I messaged her. I was just trying to help your friends, and my sisters thought it was an ok idea. I just didn't think about how I felt about it at the time."

"You have to put your feelings first sometimes. At least," he cupped her chin so she would look at him, "take your feelings into consideration before making a decision. They're important too." She smiled at him, nodding in agreement.

He sat back on the pillows and pulled her into his lap. "Which part are you nervous about?"

"It wasn't that my memories there were all horrible, although if I really think about it was kind of a horrible place to be in, especially that young. I'm just afraid someone would recognize us. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so bad."

"Someone besides your friend, you mean?" Like the people you escaped from.

"Yeah."

He kissed her forehead. "Even if someone recognized you, there's not a damn thing they could do about it. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know," she murmured. Leaned against his chest and listening to his strong steady heartbeat, she was utterly content. "A part of me is very curious about how it is now."

"Honestly, I'm curious about it too." He wanted to know everything about where she came from.

"I'm sorry we're so complicated."

"I'm not. And you're not any more complicated than we are. Besides," he reached down to nuzzle her cheek before placing a lingering kiss, "it's completely worth it."

He held her for a few more minutes, completely immersed in the moment. Never had he imagined he would get to spend time like this or comfort a woman like this. And now I have my girlfriend cuddling with me in MY bed. Holy shit.

He laid down, bringing her with him, turning her so he could spoon her. He turned on something to watch. As they relaxed, he found his hand splayed across her stomach.

Leo had once again ignored what was on his laptop in favor of focusing on how closely she was pressed up against him.

"Have you ever done something like that?" she asked, right after a man pulled a dangerous stunt to get out of a collapsing building.

"More times than you would be comfortable with," he chuckled.

She turned on her back, giving him a playful glare. "One is too many times."

He drummed his fingers on her stomach. "I'll try my best not to do it again, but I can't make any promises." Leo gave her a devilish smirk.

She pouted and traced the almost healed bruise still on his collar bone.

"I know it makes you worry. I never had to think about someone else before, waiting for me at home. I'll try my best to be careful. I promise." As he spoke, he brought a hand up to play with her hair, which was quickly becoming a favorite pastime of his.

"Thank you. And I don't want you to think that I'm doubting your skill, I just worry because I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt. Or what if you didn't come –"

As she spoke, he reached across her to pause the tv show. With the laptop closed, the only source of illumination came from a small light on his bedstand.

"Don't say it," he silenced her with a kiss. Grazing her cheek with his thumb, he added, "I'll always come home." Another kiss, this one deeper, and she parted her lips more as he settled on top of her. Her hands trailed down his shoulders, tracing every groove of his muscles.

He's never kissed me like this before. Heat pooling in her abdomen, on instinct she bent on knee, as if she was about to wrap it around him. He traced his hand down her side, pulling at the fabric of her shirt. His hand snaked its way down further, stopping briefly at her hip. Tracing her thigh, he pulled her leg up around him.

His hand stayed on her outer thigh, caressing her soft skin. He pressed against her just a little more. A soft moan escaped her lips. He broke away for a moment, taking his hand from her thigh to her waist. Nuzzling against her beak, he gently started to trail kisses from her lips down her neck. I hope I'm doing this right. He was trying to be very very hard to stay gentle, but need was building. With their bodies like this, he was acutely aware of how much smaller she was than him.

He could feel her shudder underneath him when he placed a ticklish kiss on the crook of her neck. Her nails scraped against his shoulder blades, and before he could hold it in, a low groan escaped his lips.

Fuck that's nice.

Leo nuzzled the side of her head. "Do you want me to stop?" His voice was gruff, deep, and lusty.

Any nerves he had flew out of the room when she softly traced his cheek in a reassuring way, shaking her head no.

He immediately made his way back to her lips, this time diving in, trying not to overthink his every move. The arm that propped him up entangled in her hair. He trailed his hand from her waist upwards, thumb grazing gently over the nipple that was peeking through her taught tank top. He could feel the intense fluttering of her heart. She let out a quiet moan and wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him in deeper.

With hesitancy, he traced his tongue along her lips, asking for permission. Her lips parted further, and suddenly he was kissing her harder and deeper than he ever had, as if he would never be able to kiss her again.

All her senses at once were overwhelmed.

She arched her back, wanting to feel him closer still. There was a sudden sense of urgency to her touch, and she tugged at the elbow and wrist wraps that interrupted her tracing his smoothing skin. Without breaking the kiss, he ripped them off, unceremoniously tossing them to the floor.

She wrapped one hand in his mask tail. He groaned softly, low in his throat, and cupped her cheek roughly.

She melted against him, the weight of his body on top of hers felt exquisite. His hands were everywhere, still controlled but wanting.

She pulled away just briefly with a little gasp. There was something marvelous about how breathless she was. Hooking his hand on her thigh once more, he eased them onto their sides.

Resuming the kiss, he ran his hand along the seam of her shirt, grazing the soft skin of her lower back. Her whole body tingled, and Layla let out another soft whimper. Her toes curled at the feel of his calloused hands against her bare waist.

He kissed her as if he was laying claim to his territory. She traced his plastron, and everything inside of him quivered. Even through it, she should feel the strong fast pounding of his heart.

They weren't sure how long they kissed, but they were sure that when they broke apart for the last time that they were both thoroughly satisfied yet completely left wanting for more.

Layla sat up frantically to her phone buzzing several times in a row as message after message popped up on her screen. She looked at the time. 7:37 am, that's too early for me.

"Who is it?" Leo asked. He had already been awake, but instead of meditating he chose to stay in bed, preferring to think about what happened the previous night. And not to be a creep, but I like watching her sleep. She looks so peaceful. He was consistently in awe of the whole situation, and considered it a huge blessing that they even found each other.

"It's her," she whispered, brows furrowing as she read the messages. Leo sat up and draped an arm lazily around her.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, nothing's wrong, per say. Here," she handed him her phone to read.

He squinted at the harsh lighting. "Wait, she runs it now?"

"Apparently? It's confusing for sure."

"She would love to see you though. That's good, at least."

"She sent instructions on how to get there too."

The group stood in a dark alley in front of an unassuming door.

"This really it?" Raph asked.

"I guess so," Donnie said.

Once they traced the symbol on the doorway, they could immediately feel a shift in the atmosphere. Loud music with a rumbling bass could suddenly be heard on the other side of the doorway. It opened for them.

"Yo! Come on in! Big fight is in like an hour!" A young man dressed in colorful streetwear answered, ushering them in. He threw his arms around Usagi and Donnie.

"Ok before we go any further, imma just need to confirm your identities."

He pointed to each one of them, asking for their name and who they knew.

"Oh! Right! Connie's friends! Yes I was told you guys were coming. Follow me!"

"I like him," Mikey winked at Nora.

The dark entry way led into a large open room with an arena in the middle. The room was dark and grimy, dimly lit with neon lights. Several tiers surrounded the area, and they spotted two loud bars. The arena itself was well lit but had no protective barriers between the concrete balconies and the fighters. A large open doorway leading to a shabby casino was across the bar. The air smelled of blood, smoke, and alcohol. It was crowded with aliens and humans alike. In the far corner was a stall to place bets.

Up on the top tier was a glassed off room with its own balcony.

When they turned to face the arena, Leo inhaled sharply. Just as Layla had described, a gigantic version of that hideous statue they had discovered at Cecelio's brooded over the arena.

"Imma let Connie know you're here. In the meantime, enjoy. Everything is on the house!" He left them as quickly as he spoke.

Talia leaned over to her sisters, whispering, "I'm gonna head to the casino. After all these years, it's my turn to play." She smirked as she dragged Donnie along by the hand. What she didn't tell him until later was that she knew how to count cards, and also knew how to win and lose in such a pattern that no one would be suspicious.

"Mmmm food!" Gen and Mikey said at the same time. Both dashed to the line, dragging Usagi and Nora with them.

"Wanna watch the next fight?" Mina said to Raph.

"After we get a beer," he said, leading her by the waist to the bar.

"Come on," Layla led Leo by the hand to a separate bar.

"What are you doing?"

"We should wait to speak to Connie before we start snooping around, and we can relax in the meantime. I know the guy who bartends there." As she walked up to the bar, it hit him. This bar didn't sell drinks, it sold drugs. He gave her a withering look.

"LAYLA!" A booming voice sounded from behind the counter. A large sloppily dressed bartender with four arms greeted her.

"Rix!" she beamed. "How have you been?"

"It has been such a long time! And things are going well here...finally. How are you sweetie?"

"I'm good! This is Leo," she intertwined her arm in his, introducing him proudly.

Rix leaned forward over the counter, getting close to Leo's face. "You takin' good care of her, bud?"

"Of course. It's nice to meet you."

"You too," he said. "What on earth are you doing back here?" And so she told him, and he listened intently, only stopping her to serve other patrons.

"Listen sweetie, as far as I know they haven't brought any kids here since Connie took over. Now, I ain't sayin' it's not happening, cause it is, but Connie ain't letting them do experiments and training here no more. As far as I know."

"Thanks Rix. It was good to see you again."

"You two enjoy yourselves. Here lollipop, I know these are your favorite." He handed her a joint, before reaching over the bar to envelop her in a huge. "I'm glad you got out, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss working with you."

"I missed you too Rix."

Leo felt on edge. The place was shady as hell, grimy, dark. "I can't imagine you working in a place like this. It doesn't suit you at all. It's loud, and very grim." He had to duck down and talk next to her ear.

"I know. I'm glad it was only for a short time."

"Still feel nervous?"

"Yeah, a little."

"C'mon, let's get a drink and we can watch the fights. Take your mind off things."

"Ok."

Leo guided her to the opposite bar with his hand on the small of her back. He had to admit, it felt good to walk around a bar with his girlfriend, and get her a drink. It was something so innocuous, but not something they could every do anywhere else. He also didn't mind having her on his arm. He took another glance at her, admiring her skimpier than normal outfit. Whatever kind of top that was, he liked it. Fuck she's hot.

When they approached the bar and she leaned against the counter, and he leaned around her, with one arm behind her, resting against the counter.

"What would you like, sweetheart?"

"Um, a cosmo. Those are my favorite." He smiled and ordered for them both, choosing for himself just a beer, something he knew he would like.

"Try some?" she offered. He took a sip carefully.

"It's good. Strong though," he grinned at her, wrapping his arm around her waist, and leading her to more secluded section. They sat on a concrete bench.

"I was uh, going to tell you, you look really pretty tonight. I mean, you always do, but…" he shamelessly eyed her up and down, and smirked at her when her face flushed.

"Thank you," she kissed his arm before leaning her head against him, and in response he kissed the top of her head. "You always look good."

He snorted, but deep down it always boosted his already large ego when she complimented how he looked. She was probably the only one who thought that, but he didn't care. Her opinion was the only one that mattered to him regardless.

The music died down for a moment as a portly announcer walked into the middle of the arena. Usagi and Gen sat down next to Leo, and the rest of them soon followed suit.

"How did it go, Tallie?" Layla asked.

"Very, very, well," she grinned. Donnie sat next to her, looking rather shocked still.

"Don?" Leo asked.

Donnie leaned behind Leo, discretely whispering, "She won an incredible amount of money."

"How much?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Folks! It's the fight you've all been waiting for! Sargon's battle-hardened beastie versus the sleek but deadly Cragen."

"Jesus," Raph whispered to Mina. "They're huge." He placed a hand on her thigh.

The beefy rock-like monster and the sleek armored creatures circled each other. The bony projections from the rock monster acted as weapons. Cragen had several appendages with bony blades protruding from each end. It whirled around Sargon's beast, landing a flew blows into its back. Blood and flesh flew across the arena, splattering some of the contestants. Sargon's beast, while slower, managed to grab hold of one appendage and, with a violent roar, ripped the limb off of Cragen.

Its cry pierced the air.

The spectators and gamblers were in an uproar, cheering.

"Shit," Leo whispered. Layla kept a stony face but was still unused to the violence. His grip around her tightened as her posture tensed.

Mina winced. Raph gave her thigh a squeeze. "You weren't kidding about it being rough, babe," he whispered.

Cragen recovered, and swung around Sargon's beast, slicing off several of the bony appendages in one blow. The creature growled, grabbing Cragen by the neck and slamming it into the arena wall. A crack formed in the concrete.

Blood splattered the arena, and as Sargon's monster crushed Cragen's neck, the slender creature stabbed Sargon's monster between its bony armored plates, drawing out a long string of intestines. The creature screamed and stumbled to its knees.

It was painful to watch it struggle to stand. Cragen stood over it, placing a clawed foot on its chest, forcing it down. They locked eyes.

Cragen opened its wide jaws and took the beast's face into its mouth like a snake consuming its prey. The crunch of the beast's breaking skull echoed in the arena.

The crowd was in an uproar, and several fights broke out, likely from losing bets.

"They were kids once," Layla whispered to Leo.

"That's disgusting." He shook his head, horrified. The violence was extreme, but the apathy of the crowd was worse.

"This is a nightmare," Usagi said to Leo. "They are simply mutilating one another for entertainment."

"She's ready to see you now," the upbeat greeter ushered them up a dark back staircase.