Fearless Leader - Chapter 01
A TMNT story
by Truebluewarrior
1
Panting, trying to run away, the hurt turtle in purple eye mask try to flee the Shredder place, he was hurt...very hurt, he needed to speak to his brother he needed to find him, but it was so dark he felt like passing out, until
"Hey there, you're head okay? Or did I knock you out too hard?"
That voice for Donnie was so familiar, could it be, he then look down he was tied into a chair...
Donnie try to recover his consciousness until Leo spoke again in an angry manner.
"Are you gonna talk? Or should I force you?"
Donnie then look up to his older brother, is like Leo didn't recognize him anymore, he then spoke in a groaky voice.
"..Leo?..."
Donnie started to freak out as he remain chain from his back, has Leo lost his mind.
"Hmmm... how do you know my name! ... you know what forget it... tell me were are my brothers!"
Leo then sat down in front of his younger brother, not knowing who he really was talking to.
"My brothers are missing now speak!, are you going to be a good little rat and tell me where they are, or am I going to have to torture you for it?"
Donnie then spoke in fear trying to release himself.
"Leo...it's me...Donatello!... And I know... where Mikey and Raph are...Leo you gotta believe me..."
Leo gets really confused, that voice sound so familiar, he couldn't distinguish before until now his rage took over him.
"Wait wait..calm down...that voice...Donnie!? Is that you?!"
Leo looks shocked he then puts down the katanas, he clears his eyes and getting closer where it was brighter, it was really Donnie, he was hurt, who did this to him and were are Raph and Mikey... Leo immediately cut down the rope attach to Donnie. And helped him up.
"it was the Shredder...he has them... He's doing horrible stuff... l tried to run... Bu don't know... I left them behind... Forgive me Leo I failed you, i should have stay with them!"
Leo grabs Donnie into a hug
"Don't worry, it's okay, Donnie, you couldn't control it. I'm just happy you're safe. It wasn't your fault, you know? If they took Mikey and Raph, we need to save them, we will! I promise, Let's go..."
Leo begins walking to the door, waiting for his younger brother to catch up, Donnie did his best to catch up, he was limping, he was hurt, he was in a lot of agony.
"We'll get back to Mikey and Raph, I promise!"
Leo walk to a near by abandoned place, he saw a a first aid kit that was conveniently nearby and got near his little brother and started wrapping the bandages around his wounds.
"Don't worry, I'll get you back on your feet... We need to get you back to the sewer, okay?'
Donnie only yelped in pain, and cover his mouth in pain, Leo felt horrible seeing his brother like this, once he finish he reassure his brother.
"Hey hey hey calm down it's okay...I'm finish"
Leo puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Look don't worry.. Everything will be okay, okay?"
"but what about...Mikey and Raph... We ...we must save ..them"
Leo thinks for a bit to try to figure out something to do, Donnie was hyperventilating at this moment as he spoke in fear explaining what else had happened, almost close to tears
"I shouldn't have run ... I ...i left them behind..what have I done... I'm really ...sorry, I needed to find you... Raph regretted taking the leadership ... ..I saw him being surrounded and ...and... They were about ...to kill him... We can't waste ...any more time Leo, please..."
Leo try to calm his brother down once again now that he was freaking out more then ever.
"Hey, it's okay, okay You did what you had to do to escape. It's understandable, and lisen you're right ... But you need to calm down ... just breath.. deep breaths... in... and out.. in... and out...okay don't worry, we're gonna figure this out"
Donnie started closing his eyes, he was so depressed he had no idea what he had done, he could of stayed but he was a coward. Leo seeing his brother like this wanted to tell him no matter what had happened it wasn't his fault.
"And I'm not gonna let you blame yourself for this, alright?"
Leo thinks for a bit
"I have an idea, Donnie... But you must trust me on this one"
Donnie open his eyes and nodded which Leo smiled gave him a reassuring smile.
"Good...Ok, let's try to find a secret hiding spot, and we're gonna stay there until we can figure out how to rescue Raph and Mikey."
Just then, both hear some noises outside, Leo quickly grab his brother by the arm and pull him away from the hiding spot.
"...Quickly... We gotta hide..."
Leo starts dragging him to a secret hiding spot and spoke having Donnie near him
"We gotta stay silent now, okay? We can't let them find us..."
footsteps were heard from outside, Donnie covered his mouth getting more nervous. He then spoke silently, he was very stressed.
"...What do we do ...what do we do ...what do we do.."
Leo put his hand over his mouth too, trying to make sure he doesn't make any noise
"Shhh... No noise..."
The voices were heard from the outside the hiding spot, this only made Donnie scared to the point he started to tear up while Leo held his mouth covered, Leo whispered to Donnie trying to keep him calm
"Don't worry, just stay quiet and still... They're searching in a different directions"
He could hear their footsteps get farther and farther as they moved further from their hiding spot, Donnie felt a bit more relieved that the danger was away so Leo decided to remove his hand and check close. when suddenly a sound was heard from the outside which made Donnie back away in fear making his shell hit a metal container which made a loud noise.
Leo covers Donnie's mouth again, keeping him quiet and still hoping they didn't hear that
"Shhh... I said stay quiet... I hope they didn't hear that..."
Leo check around the place seeing that there was no longer any more noise, he walk around checking this place while Donnie limped slowly outside the hiding spot, he didn't hear any footsteps nor voices, which means they actually left.
"I think they're gone. It seems they gave up looking here..."
Leo smiled now that they were gone but not realizing there is still a major problem in their hands.
"We still haven't ...f..found Raph or Mikey ...I don't know if they...they are ...alright... we...we must go and help them...
"We will. I promise we'll go back to save them. But first, we need to go back to the base and we will figure out how to save them okay... Just relax"
For now Leo and Donnie remain in this temporary hiding spot, this abandoned hiding spot gave Donnie the nerves but he listen to his older brother hoping this was the best choice they got
"We will stay here for now... We need to wait until we figure out what we're gonna do... I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you nor Mikey or Raph, ok"...
Leo looks really worried, he then decided to sit down with his injured younger brother
"What the hell did they do to you all"
"It's ...it's all my fault ... I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me..."
Donnie began to shed more tears
"I shouldn't have listen to Raph, ...I ...I should of stayed in the base with you... He... He thought I was weak that I would never take down the Shredder...and now ...because of my stupid vendetta... Both Mikey and Raph are on the breach of dead... Because I agree to this... I'm really sorry Leo..."
Leo looks really worried he heard him just told him all of this
"Hey...don't blame yourself... Raph can sometimes be like this...and he made you do what he wanted... It's not your fault..."
Leo takes Donnie's hand to comfort him
"I promise we're doing something about it, okay? We're not gonna wait any longer, we're gonna find a way to save Mikey and Raph, I swear..."
Donnie started to breath calmly and nodded to Leo
"Shhh.. it's gonna be alright... just try your best to relax..."
Leo wraps his arms around Donnie trying to comfort him with a hug, Donnie startled at the sudden hug, this felt so real, as in Leo was truly sorry and was the person of words.
Leo's eyes got a small tear in them, he made his promised to find them, he then talk to Donnie wanting to reassure him that they needed a plan
"Before anything we must think how are we gonna save Mikey and Raph? We can't just go running around blindly and get ourselves captured too, y'know?"
"Yes ... I know..."
Leo thought about how they're going to save them
"We could probably try and scout the area around them, see if we can take on as many foot soldier and save them, then get out of there..."
Leo thought a bit more realizing maybe his plan might not work
"nevermind that...we need a plan to get out easily..."
Leo sighs, he needed to figure something out fast, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy for the two of them, seeing his older brother stress Donnie had to help, he came up with an idea
"...well we are... 1.3 blocks and ...six no no sever meters away... we could attack them ...1 by one and ...from the inside we sneak ...inside I could use the bio technology and cause a... power outage... I give you the signal you go and free Mikey and Raph while I'll distract them ..."
Leo suddenly got excited at his idea.
"Now we're thinking! That could work.. We can do this! We're gonna go now!"
Leo gets ready to kick down the front door, but stops once he saw Donnie not feeling to well
"You alright Donnie? Do you think you can make it there or should I carry you?"
"No.. no... I'm fine... really, ..."
Donnie held his head with his hand, feeling an intense headache, Leo notices this and seems more concerned so he had to do something
"Let's test out your strength first then... Stand up and then try to make a step forward, okay?"
The moment Donnie tries to stand everything was going fine till he had lost his balance but pretend like nothing had happened... his mind, he was definitely not fine, whatever they did to him was killing him slowly.
Leo got a bit worried after watching Donnie almost lose his balance, he was feeling very concern, but he didn't think Donnie would lie to him about his health.
"Are you sure about that? You didn't look good a second ago... Are you hiding something?"
Donnie started to shiver the moment he was able to stand on his mind he was freaking out thinking that Leo will find out, he will definitely find out, come on Donatello you suppose to be the smart one think of something fast.
"Yes ... I'm perfectly fine... we shall skip this whole ...test...we...we should start heading out ...Mikey and Raph are very important..."
Leo got a feeling that something wasn't right about this
"Are you sure you're fine, Donnie? You seem really shaky.. Did something happen to you while they were getting you?"
Leo is starting to get a bit concerned about his younger brother
"You can tell me the truth, I won't get upset or anything."
Donnie remain silent for a bit he started getting those remember memories of the incident as it began to replaying in my head, louder and louder than ever.
Shut up, Brainiac! Nobody wants to hear you!
It was a stupid move, Donnie very Stupid!
No matter how much you try, you'll never get nowhere
And you're supposed to be the smart one, what a joke
What the shell were you thinking, you really messed up?
You know you're not the strong, you're just weak and pathetic.
The words from Raph were tearing him apart, little by little, leaving wounds that no one could see. The darkness inside of his was growing he was starting to freak out
"i...i just wish ...that i was stronger... Strong like you... Or like Raph... But.. he.. looks down at me, and now the Shredder... I shouldn't have go to the Shredder... I ...I let them follow me... I fail the team, I failed our brothers"
Everything was coming in his mind again
"...we...we were ambushed, ...i tried to ...help Mikey ...he was the one that needed my...help the most... but I was ...too weak just...too weak...my bo staff broke and I was ...beaten by so many of them... There was so much blood our only decision was to retreat... I didn't want to leave Mikey nor Raph behind ... but I had no choice I was a... coward... I left our brothers to come and find you, ...I limped my whole way here till you ... The moment I found me... I don't beli...eve whatever the shredder had said to me...I'll never see them again... I just know our brothers are still out there ...alive...and ...waiting for us..."
Leo could not say anything at the moment especially now that Donnie was telling him all of this, he was worried about his mental state and how he even got hurt
"Don't... Don't say all of that about yourself..."
Leo is really worried about his mental state now
"If anyone is weak... It's definitely not you... You always have the courage to face danger even though you're scared..."
Leo stops himself from saying anymore
"You might be the weakest fighter, but deep down it doesn't mean you're weak on everything. You're very smart, willing to risk your life for the sake of our brothers, always putting other's above yours..."
Leo puts his hands on your shoulders.
"Don't say something like that about yourself..."
"I know it's just... That Raph told me..."
Leo is still holding his shoulders, wanting to make him understand.
"don't listen to him none of that's true. You aren't weak at all. You're the kindest and most caring out of all of us ..."
Leo's voice started to sound a bit shaky.
"I mean, you cared about me so much that you took the risk of trying to find me... You're definitely not weak. You're smart, and that was a brave move Donatello"
Donnie nodded, but almost lost his balance again, Donnie did his best not to show any signs of weakness toward Leo, it hurt to breathe, and it hurt to think, the darkness was pulling him, and he didn't know if he was strong enough to fight it.
Leo turned around and look worried at his brother
"Donnie, are... Are you okay? Are you starting to feel worse?"
Donnie shook his head and following Leo but Leo knew something was wrong, seeing Donnie in so much pain both mentally and physically, Leo was definitely getting pretty concerned
"Look... If you want... I can carry you..."
"No no no ...it's fine Leo... I can walk"
Donnie used the walls for support he didn't want Leo to think he was weak enough to make it, he needed to save Raph and Mikey knowing every second here it's time loss for them, Leo can clearly tell Donnie was in a lot of pain, but knowing Donnie won't admit it
Leo takes the risk in carrying him to make sure he was okay
"I know you won't admit it, but it's really obvious you're in pain, Donnie... Please... We gotta take care of you if we're gonna save Mikey and Raph..."
Leo lift Donnie in his arm, which made Donnie annoyed at the same time he fears he was back with Shredder so he squirmed in Leo's grip whimpering
"Please, don't make this hard... You're in so much pain and I don't think you realize it... I know you want to go save Mikey and Raph but right now we gotta take care of you first..."
Leo continued to carry his little brother and started running to the sewers
"Please don't resist, there's no way I'll let you walk with how much pain you're in...It's obvious you were seriously injured while searching for me... Please..."
Leo's voice was getting really shaky, and he started getting more and more concerned, to the point where Donnie's eyes felt so heavy not knowing what what's going on... In his mind, he thought he was dying, fight it Donatello fight it what's going on with you, Donnie spoke in his mind trying to keep eyes open, Leo noticed this that he was starting to pass out and he got even more panicky.
"Donnie, don't fall asleep on me! We're not even near the base yet! You should be awake!"
Leo's voice was cracking, he started feeling desperate
Leo's voice sounded muffled to Donnie and distant like he was drifting away from him while his eyes remain closed, Leo definitely knew he was about to pass out on him and he can't do anything about it.
"Donnie!... You need to focus, you need to try your best to stay awake... Please!..."
Leo is starting to get so worried over his condition
Donnie tried to open his eyes again but found it impossible, he felt like It was cozy and safe on his big brother's arms. It would be easy for him to fall asleep now.
Leo's eyes were now completely watery, he was so worried and scared that Donnie was about to pass out on him or worst
"Donnie, I don't want you to fall asleep on me..."
Leo continued moving faster and tried to keep talking to him so he wouldn't fall asleep
"You're going to be okay... We're going to be back to the base very soon, okay?... Just don't let yourself fall asleep, please!..."
Leo really wanted him to stay awake, but Donnie was just too tired. The darkness wrapped around him, warm and inviting, like a soft blanket
Leo's eyes got watery, and he can't help but tear up as he notices that Donnie is letting himself go to sleep
"Donnie...!"
Leo is too concerned about his brother to think about anything else
"Donnie!... Don't let yourself go to sleep...you must stay awake!'
With how times passed he was becoming even more tired, and Donnie felt like he could no longer hear Leo's cries anymore no matter how hard he tries, his mind was starting to become hazy, and he couldn't focus on anything anymore... All Donnie wanted right now is to put his head down on a pillow and fall asleep... It's starting to get so nice and dark...he kept his eyes closed and try his best to continue sleeping not fighting it... The problem was that there were too many noises, there was a bright light every second. Why couldn't they just let him sleep, Donnie mind went quiet for a bit before he could hear Leo's voice call his name again and again, he's consciousness was becoming increasingly fogged...
"Please... Don't... Don't just go to sleep like this! I need you to stay awake for Mikey and Raph remember!... Please... Don't go to sleep Donnie!.."
Leo kept calling his name, trying his hardest to wake him up, Leo thought he could be dying… was he? Maybe i was. Donnie could feel his consciousness slowly starting to drift away, and Leo's voice was getting quieter and further away. Donnie was starting to lose his sense of reality, losing his ability to think clearly. The voices were getting more and more distorted, and the colors were starting to fade away. All he wanted now was to let his eyes remain close and give up the fight on staying awake, he just wanted fall asleep... It would be comforting to just let his consciousness slip away... Let the darkness consume him...
Donnie's breathing was becoming erratic, slower and slower, his heart rate was lowering more and more by the second, and his brain activity was dropping lower than he ever thought it would... his whole body was shutting down and Leo couldn't do anything about it... The darkness was all he could see now, and the voices were so distorted... Since everything was spiraling in your mind... Everything he ever knew, everything he thought would never change... All of it was falling away, all of it drifting more and more away from his senses... The darkness was the only thing he could see now... The voices were so warped and distorted that he couldn't understand anything of what they were saying...
Leo saw the sewers which were inches away from here. Leo started running even faster to save his brother's life.
He kept trying to wake him up, but he remains unconscious, and his consciousness wasn't coming back. His body was getting a lot colder in on Leo's arms l right now the only thing Leo had on his mind at this moment was Donnie, he couldn't even pay proper attention to the fact that he was been loud. Donnie's condition was starting to worry him a lot to the point where he couldn't even function properly anymore. Every second that passed by without him returning to consciousness was causing his panic to increase more and more.
"Please!..."
Leo continues talking to him, calling Donnie's name over and over again, but so far, there was nothing was happening he still remain unconscious.
Another second passed by, then another second... his heart rate was so low it was almost about to stop completely. His breathing was light, his whole body was freezing cold, and it felt like he was about to stop breathing any second and have his heart stop beating right in front of Leo. He was about to give up... He couldn't do this anymore... There was no going back anymore... There was no trying again... his condition would only get worse from here, and nothing he could do about it...
To be continued