TMNT: I Fight Alone

Chapter 18: Buried

Don't you know I'm no good for you
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
Tore my shirt to stop you bleedin'
But nothin' ever stops you leavin'Quiet when I'm coming home and I'm on my own
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like thatDon't you know too much already
I'll only hurt you if you let me
Call me friend but keep me closer (Call me back)
And I'll call you when the party's overQuiet when I'm coming home and I'm on my own
And I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
Yeah I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like thatBut nothing is better sometimes
Once we've both said our goodbyes
Let's just let it go
Let me let you goQuiet when I'm coming home and I'm on my own
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that

Leo was the first to wake, his eyelids struggling to pry themselves open. The throbbing in his head getting more and more agonizing with every breath he took, making the room spin.

"Is everyone ok?" He whispered, holding his head in his right palm and massaging it tenderly while scanning the room. To his left, Raph was sprawled out on the floor, his face pointing blankly at the ceiling. A trickle of dried blood sat underneath his lip, slightly smeared.

To his right sat Donnie, his face smushed up against the dirty, wooden floor boards. His right cheek was stained purple and black, a hit Leo had not witnessed.

It took him a few moments to fully grasp what he was seeing. His brothers, his brothers, draped over the floor as if they were sleeping deeply as they always did before a mission.

Leo's head spun, where was Mickey? What had Karai done to his brothers? What had he done to his brothers? He wasn't there for them, he had failed them. He was an awful leader. Splinter was wrong about him, they all knew he didn't have it in him. The only one who didn't know it was himself.

Leo breathed heavily, lifting himself off the floor and over to Donnie, where he swooped down and grabbed him from under his arms, dragging him into the living room and lifting him up onto the couch.

As he finished setting Donnie down, Leo felt winded. His breath was hot and sticky, and sweat had began forming on his forehead, glistening in the yellow light that had poured in from the living room window.

Ignoring his tiredness, Leo unevenly shuffled back to the kitchen where Raph still sat, his eyes clenched shut from pain.

Leo felt terrible. It hurt him so much to see his brothers like this.

Without hesitation, Leo gently hoisted Raph up off the ground and pulled him into the living room, setting him down gingerly beside Donnie.

Stepping back, Leo watched his brothers calmly rest on the dirty, green couch. His legs shook fiercely, but he did not sit down. He was too upset at himself, at Karai, at everything. And he was going to fix it.

Even if it killed him.

With the newly found inspiration, Leo trudged into the kitchen and grabbed any equipment he could find that would help him in his mission. A knife, shuriken, kunias, anything he could get his hands on.

Because this time, he was not going to fail.

This time, he would show no mercy, because these people do not deserve mercy. These people had killed his father, taken his brother, and his friend. They had taken their home, their happiness, and his strength.

Now it was his turn to take from them

(Y/n) kicked to the surface, breaking through at the last possible second. Her lungs screaming with joy and pain as she inhaled the cold, bitter air. Her arms thrashed around in a frantic episode, desperate to keep her afloat, despite her own wishes.

"This can all end!" A voice erupted from the ceiling, dark and gritty. (Y/n) knew within seconds who it belonged to. "Just tell us where the turtles are, and you are free to go! We will treat you with a nice, hot meal and a cozy bed, you'll be right at home!" Their voice taunted. (Y/n) knew exactly what they wanted, and, although it was tempting, knew she couldn't give it up.

"I'd never be at home, not with you!" She cried, her legs becoming sore with every kick, the water becoming so cold that she could no longer move her hands due to how exhausted she had become.

She decided it had been at least fifteen minutes since the room had began flooding, and was becoming dangerously close to the ceiling. (Y/n) silently sobbed, thinking back to her sister, father, and baby brother, how she may never see them again. Or her new friends, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mickey. Keeping their whereabouts a secret will only keep the, safe for so long. Soon enough they were going to be caught, and there is nothing she will be able to do to help.

On the bright side, she would be able to see her mother again.

"Last chance, (y/n). If you tell us where the turtles are, you can go home! And, even better, you can reunite with your family again!"

"Kind of a crappy offer coming from you now isn't it." (Y/n) snapped, breathing deeply.

The voice clicked their tongue, "oh come on, (y/n), you-"

"I don't want to listen to anything else you have to say," (y/n) howled bitterly towards the wall. At this point, if she wanted to waste her energy, she could reach up and touch the ceiling.

Her time was running out.

"I'm not sure you have a say in that" the voice countered sassily, echoing over the ice cold water and around the room.

A few stray items floated above the icy, black water, priding the now dark room with a hint of color. Among those items was (y/n), still kicking, still struggling, fighting a fight that was not in her favor.

"So what will it be, (y/n)? Clock is ticking..." the voice taunted further, drawing on the last couple words as if (y/n) was going insane, which she probably was. Respectably.

(Y/n) pondered hard, her heart racing so fast, she could barely keep her eyes straight. On one side, she could keep her friends location a secret and possibly save them. Or she could tell them where they were and leave here alive, maybe even rescue the turtles.

But the whole 'traitor' thing bothered her quite a bit. She couldn't just give up her friends, the people who have done so much for her, to save her own skin!

"Go... to... hell..." she gurgled, her lips falling under the surface of the ice cold water. Then her nose, then her eyes.

Soon, her head began getting fuzzy, and her body started acting strange, impulsively clawing at the ceiling and out into the dark water for anything to relieve her from the pain she was enduring, but she was alone,

Again.

Soon, her body went limp, and she sunk to the ground. Buried into the dark water like a coffin, or a prison.

Dark, cold, and alone.