Happy Leap year everyone! First leap year in four years!

References to my earlier fanfic '13 Candles' and 'Aftermath' appear in this chapter along with a reference to the TMNT 2003 episode 'The Prodigal Son'.

Chapter Ten

Guilt

Earlier in Japan…

Back at the House of the Ancient One, Kemeko sat staring into space with Leonardo looking at her in concern.

Both were sitting in the main sitting room as the rain had started to pelt down outside, earlier it had sounded soothing and calming, but after the rumbling thunder they heard earlier, it didn't feel calm at all, and both felt scared as they felt like a darkness had washed over them.

Leonardo had made them both some tea to soothe their nerves and had decided to ask Kemeko what she had seen in her meditation.

"Lotus?" he asked stroking his daughter's back gently "What is it? What did you see?"

Kemeko blinked as a few tears fell.

"Pandora…" she said "I…I saw her!"

"You saw her?" Leonardo asked "How, How Exactly?"

Kemeko looked over at her adopted father.

"I don't know," she replied, "I can't describe it but…" she paused "I was just meditating along with you, I was all relaxed, and then suddenly I heard screams, shouts of anger then an explosion like a bomb…." She took a breath "And it was then I saw her standing before me, almost as clear as I can see you now."

Leonardo swallowed hard as he listened.

"She was soaking wet, covered with burns and her clothes had been ripped away…" Kemeko started to weep "Something's happened, I know something's happened!"

Leonardo felt his stomach flip, he could remember many years ago when he was studying under the wisdom of the Ancient One those years in Japan and the old sensei had had a vision that Karai was attacking his brothers and Sensei and had told him he needed to return home to save them.

Remembering that day, Leonardo knew the Ancient One wasn't bluffing, and he knew Kemeko wouldn't do so either, and just looking at his daughter, he wondered if she had had the same vision as his Sensei had before, and that something had happened.

As he pondered, he felt his shell cell vibrate and he saw a text message from Tyroth.

"Meet me on Skype, Right away!" the text read and Leonardo felt his blood run cold.

Kemeko noticed his look and she too felt worried.

"Dad?" she asked.

Leonardo didn't answer but we went to their bedroom and found his computer which he opened and switched on before finding Skype and he sent a message to Tyroth to contact him.

Kemeko crawled over to the blue masked turtle as he activated skype and before long Tyroth's icon appeared.

Leonardo bit his lip as he answered the call and he saw Tyroth appear before him.

"Tyroth!" he cried.

"Leonardo." Tyroth replied bowing his head to the turtle.

Leonardo studied the dragon and he saw how deeply hurt and drained his friend looked, almost like he had been spiritually drained, which was unlike the dragon, and he started to fear the worst.

"Tyroth?" Leonardo asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Tyroth took a few deep breaths.

"Leonardo…" he said, "I wish I didn't have to tell you this, given where you are with Kemeko and the training and healing you are doing, but myself, the Knights, and your family agreed that yourself and Kemeko needed to know,"

"What?" Leonardo asked with dread and Kemeko looked over, looking pale and her eyes watering.

Tyroth closed his eyes as he tried to compose himself to tell Leonardo the truth.

"Leonardo." He said, "I wish I was there in person, and this is news I don't wish to deliver when you are thousands of miles away, but you must be told."

"What?" Leonardo asked.

Tyroth sighed.

"It is about Pandora." He forced out "I regret to inform you that Pandora is Missing in Action."

Leonardo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he heard that!

"No!" he gasped he then grasped his chest feeling like he had been stabbed and he fell on his hands.

"No!"

A shriek made the turtle look over and Tyroth's eyes widened on the screen as he heard the same scream.

Kemeko had fallen on her knees and tears fell from her eyes.

"No! No! No! No!" she wept "It was true! Pandora's gone! She's dead! No! Please no!" she wept.

Leonardo as much as he wanted to go over and comfort Kemeko he looked over at Tyroth on the screen of his computer.

"It's not true!" he cried "Pandora…. she can't be!"

"We don't know Leo!" Tyroth said "She's only missing! And I won't believe she's dead until I find evidence!"

"But how?" Leonardo demanded "How did it come to this?"

Tyroth sighed then began to explain everything.

Both from when he had heard news from Hugh topside about strange goings on, like attacks on criminals then all the events that followed to Sonia and the Geckolings finding out Pandora's secret then how they had followed Pandora to the confrontation at the warehouse where a bomb had been planted and how it had exploded and how by some miracle all the Knights and the Hamato Clan had survived, but that Pandora had not been found.

"…Sharky searched the Chicago River and Devina scanned the area above with her life detection vison, but Pandora wasn't located, and we have no idea where she is!" Tyroth had ended "But I'm not giving up! I will not rest until she is found!"

Leonardo listened to Tyroth's words, as did Kemeko and they both looked at each other in shock.

"No!" Kemeko breathed "She didn't!?"

Leonardo shook his head.

"No…" he breathed "I always knew she was her parent's daughter, but I never imagined she would go this far! To leave the sanctuary alone, take on the most dangerous ones on her own!"

"I'm so sorry Leonardo." Tyroth's voice was heard on the screen.

"It's okay Tyroth." Leonardo gasped "Thank you for informing us." He took a few breaths to control himself.

"How…how are Raph and Mona?" he asked dreading the answer.

"Not good." Tyroth reported "In fact, Donnie, Mikey and Master Splinter are devastated."

Leonardo lowered his head as tears fell.

"Oh Pandora." He lamented "How could you!?"

He looked back up at Tyroth.

"We will be home as soon as we can." He said, "Look after Mona, Raph, Donnie, Mikey and Master Splinter, won't you?"

"I will." Tyroth said "They've got our full support."

"That's all I can ask of you, my friend." Leonardo said in a controlled voice.

"Okay." Tyroth replied "But in the meantime we will keep you informed should anything happen, or we find anything."

"Thank you Tyroth." Leonardo replied then hung up before turning to Kemeko who was on her hands and knees weeping.

"Lotus?" he asked.

"My vison was right!" Kemeko cried "I saw it! Pandora's lost to us!"

Leonardo went over to Kemeko and pulled her to him, cradling her close to his plastron.

"No Lotus! No!" he tried to soothe "She's not gone! Tyroth says she's only missing!"

Kemeko sobbed more into her father and Leonardo felt helpless as he knew deep down, he couldn't comfort her and that his words couldn't calm her, no more than they could calm him.

For a long time, they held each other weeping in grief and helplessness until Kemeko looked up at her father.

"It's my fault!" she sobbed "It's my fault!"

Leonardo looked at his daughter in shock.

"What?" he asked.

"It's my fault!" Kemeko wept "I started all this!"

"Lotus…" Leonardo started but Kemeko started to lament as the tears fell.

"I left the lair!" she wept "That day I found out the truth about my parents and that the Shredder was my grandfather! I left the lair! Pandora followed me! She tried to stop me! But we were captured by Hanako!"

She then began to speak of the events that followed, how the battle at the end almost cost Monalisa, Donatello and Raphael their lives and how Raphael could no longer speak, and how the reason for that was Pandora's actions and how it led to her current situation.

"I did this daddy!" Kemeko wept "I did this! I did this!"

She began to pound Leonardo's chest sobbing then collapsed at his feet.

"I did this! I did this!" she wept.

Leonardo felt tears flow from his eyes as he knelt before his daughter and pulled her to him.

"No Lotus! No!" he protested "You did not do this! You didn't cause this!"

He hugged Kemeko and kissed her head.

"You didn't do this!" he said "You didn't! Please believe me!"

Yet as he continued to hug his daughter, Kemeko continued to sob against him and claw his plastron and repeat how what happened to Pandora was on her conscience.

Trying to control his own sobs, Leonardo rocked Kemeko back and forth and looked to the roof.

"Ancient One," he prayed "Yoshi, Tang Shen, Karai, Chaplin, Klunk, if Pandora is with you…. please…. let us know….so we know she's safe if she's not alive…please! And if she is still alive…that she's safe…. Please!"

He held Kemeko closer as he prayed, both to his friends and family long gone as well to all the powers that be that Pandora was alive and safe.

So Tyroth has informed Leonardo and Kemeko of what happened to Pandora and Kemeko is blaming herself for what happened to her cousin.
If only she knew what had happened and where her cousin is right now...