Weight of the Crown { A Leonardo fanfic}

Epilogue {Finale}

It's been about a month since the turtles returned from space and saved their planet. The turtles and humans were settling in and life seemed to go on as normal. As if the past events never happened... Well....in a sense....they never did. Maybe that was salt in the wound.

As Leonardo sits in the dojo, he runs a hand over the beautifully crafted wooden box. Opening it, he smiles a little at the four small throwing knives. His emotional reflection grimaces back at him from the silver blades. 

"Leonardo?" 

The voice makes him nearly jumps out of his shell. "H-hey, Sensei." The blue-masked turtle greets, looking up at the large rat as he kneels beside his son. "Where did you get this?" Splinter questions. "It doesn't look very familiar and I do not recognize the clan symbol."

The sad look on Leonardo's face returns. "It....it was a gift....from someone we-I met in space. We landed on this planet and stayed there for a while..." 

The mutant rat listens intently as Leo continues with the story. Leo tells him of landing on Amarog and crashing onto Royal land. He recounts the arrest by Drace and meeting the young queen herself. 

He tells his father of the strange abilities the Lycadians possessed. Superhuman strength, speed, regeneration, hearing, smell. Eye colour changing according to emotions and moods. Leo tells Splinter of Grayson's kindness, adventuresome and mischevious nature. He talks of the nights when he and Grayson would sneak to the library to read the story of the first king of Lycadia. 

He tells of the blatant contempt the girl was burdened by as a result of her heritage. Her father. He angrily spoke of how hateful the population was of her simply because her father was human.  

Leonardo narrates to his father, Drace's outrageous betrayal and Axelia's villainous character. Sorrowfully, he retold the story of Grayson's battle with Drace and her tragic death. The young turtle describes the horrific sight the castle was in when they arrived and the bloody final battle between the two Lycadians. 

When Leo finishes, Splinter nods a little, noticing the tears welling up in his son's eyes. "This...Grayson was someone special to you." He says. This isn't a question. It is a statement. Leo doesn't bother to deny it. Why would he?

"She sacrificed her life for mine." The young leader murmurs. "When we left, we went back in time. To before we landed on that planet. To her.....we never met....."

Splinter rests a hand on Leo's shoulder. "From what you have told me, this girl is extremely intelligent and a brave fighter." He smiles a little. "I'm sure she'll be alright." He looks up. "No matter what time we meet people, whether it be past, present, or future, we always make an impact on their life. Always."

Leo nods a bit, using his arm to dry his eyes. "Yeah. You are right. Thanks, Master Splinter." The young turtle smiles up at his father, in awe of the continuous wisdom the rat was always willing to offer. 

"Leo! Get your shell in here!" Raph shouts from the lab. "Go." Splinter smiles. "Your brothers need you." The blue masked leader smiles and nods before rushing out to join his three brothers. 

"What do we have Donnie?" Leo asks leaning in behind the purple banded genius. "Well," Donatello explains, tapping away at his keyboard. "We've gotten reports of an unknown shadow in the city. Police scanners describe strange encounters of the dark shadow crossing their paths." 

"Us ut the boot chlan?" Mikey asks, his mouth full of pizza. Donnie rolls his eyes but shakes his head. "I don't think so." He responds. "911 calls have indicated that this....shadow has passed above them over the rooftops, ran past their windows, and frightened them out of their minds." 

"So?" Raph shrugs. "Just a crazy teenager?" Again Donnie shakes his head. "Get this. "One witness claims to have seen the 'Ghost' as they've been calling it, up close." He turns to his brothers. "The witness describes the person as wearing a dark cloak and sporting a daunting presence. Sharp teeth, glowing eyes, and quicker and stronger than any man. 

The four ninjas are silent. "So this must be another mutant," Leo concludes. "Could be." Donatello agrees. "The man sounded so frightened in the recording." 

Leo straightens. "Then it's settled." He narrows his gaze. "We're going out to find this....'Ghost' and bring them to justice." 

Donnie frowns. "Hold on. This....person hasn't harmed anyone or anything." 

"Yet," Raph adds, cracking his knuckles. "It's only a matter of time before they decide to use those teeth for more than just flashing." 

The next hour finds all four turtles surveying the city from the roofs. "I'm so bored dudes...." Mikey groans, plotting down near Raphael. "Mikey's right." The hot-headed turtle grumbles. "There is nothing out here. We're chasing nothing but an urban legend." 

Donnie looks up at Leo who scans the area with a telescope. His face is grim and emotionless. Abruptly, the blue masked leader's expression changes. "What is it?" Donatello asks. Leo lowers the glass lens and points to a roof a couple of roofs down from them. 

All turtles' eyes widened at the scene. There were foot bots and foot soldiers. Nothing odd or out of the ordinary about that. Other than the fact that they were fighting a figure. A figure in a dark cloak. 

"Is that..." Raph squints. "The Ghost," Mikey confirms. "Cool...." They watch as the cloaked figure fought off the bots and ninjas. "He's awesome! He's taking down so many foot losers!" 

Donnie tilts his head. "That is too slim to be a man, Mikey." He says, looking hard at the fighting figure. "Sure that person is fit, but not bulky enough to be a guy. It must be a girl." 

Raph whips out his sai before looking to his brothers. "What are we sitting here for? Let's go help!" 

By the time the four young ninjas reach the roof they intend, the young female is standing in the sea of fallen bodies, robot and human. Her back is facing them and her shoulders heaving with heavy breaths. Swiftly, Leo unsheaths his katana, just as a precaution.

Just as he is about to speak, the blue-banded turtle notices something tied to the figure's upper arm. A blue bandanna, its tails blowing in the soft wind. Leo's eyes widen as he realizes the cloak is somewhat familiar as well. His mind flashes back to fight they witnessed in the Lycadian village streets...

"G-Grayson?" He breathes in disbelief, his weapons lowering. The girl turns and pulls off her hood. A bright jagged scar runs over a crooked nose. Fresh blood stains her bottom lip and side of her head. 

Her open mouth reveals sharp canine teeth which gleamed like quartz in the moonlight. Her piercing doe brown eyes stare at Leo in confusion and defensiveness and her hand drifts down to the sword hilt at her waist.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" 

Whelp! That is it! This is completed. Let me know if you want an alternate surprise ending! :)