Broken Mind

Chapter 15 Final Chapter

It had been nearly a week since the rescue and Leo still laid unconscious. Donnie checked his vitals regularly and saw no signs of distress. Leo was just simply, asleep. Raph rarely left his sleeping brother's side. The others tried to get him to do something else for a change but Raph simply brushed them off. He'd lash out at them, yelling that they mustn't care about Leo as much as he did. Eventually they just let him stay with the unconscious turtle. They weren't hurt by his angry words. They could see the pain and regret in his eyes as he said them. Raph sat in his chair as he did every night, his eyes trained on the sleeping figure in front of him. His eyelids felt heavy. He tried to fight their drooping but he was losing greatly. Suddenly Leo's fingers twitched. Leo let out a breath of air as feeling returned to his body. He forced his eyes to crack open. His vision was still slightly blurry as he scanned his surroundings. The room felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. His eyes drifted over to his red brother dozing off in a chair at the foot of the cot. "Raph?" He rasped out. His throat felt rough from lack of use. Raph's tired eyes snapped open. "Leo?!" He asked quickly. He felt sure he must be dreaming but sapphire eyes stared back at him. "What happened?" Leo asked. He tried sit up but his body flared up in pain. Raph softly pushed him back down. "Take it easy. Hold on." Raph said before ducking out of the lab. Leo heard him shouting for his family. Leo felt weird. He knew he should feel happy to be home but there was a slight lingering feeling that he didn't belong here. He didn't have time dwell on those thoughts before his family busted in the room. "Leo!" Mikey yelled as he excitedly barreled over. He ran so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet. The orange turtle wrapped his oldest brother in a light hug. Leo unconsciously flinched at the touch. Donnie grabbed his medical supplies from his desk. "Alright now that you're awake I can give you a more thorough check up." He said as began working. He helped Leo sit up better before examining his body. "What happened?" Leo asked as Donnie pressed a stethoscope to his plastron. The turtles paused and averted their eyes. Splinter stepped up beside his sons. "Much has happened my son." He said with a somber tone. He recalled the event that had happened over the last few weeks. "I-I was mind controlled?" Leo asked quietly. He stared down at his feet dangling over the cot. "Yeah, but it's all ok now! You're home Leo!" Raph said trying to comfort him. Leo shook his head. "But I s-still feel it. There's still remnants of Shredder in my head." Leo said sounding scared. His voice trembled. A tear slipped from his eyes. Splinter placed a hand on his shoulder. "It is normal that you have lingering pain from an event like this. But I am sure you can overcome this my child." He said encouragingly. Leo let out a sob as he threw himself into his father's arms. Splinter clutched him tight. Weeks had passed since Leo had emerged from his coma. The turtles had expected things to return to normal but Leo was still distant. He mostly stayed in his room except for the few times he would go to the dojo to practice. He would also come out to grab food to take back to his room. Pizza became a small comfort for the blue turtle. The flavors danced on his tongue the way Foot Clan slop never could. Leo sat on the floor of his room. He fiddled with a Space Heroes figure. The normal comfort it would bring him was nowhere to be found. He sighed as he sat up and returned the figure to its spot on his display. Flashes of the barren room he inhabited at the Foot headquarters crossed his mind. Leo rubbed hard at his eyes. He needed to get out of here. He made his way to the entrance of the lair. "Hey Leo, you wanna come watch tv with us?" Mikey asked hopefully. Leo just shook his head. "I was actually just gonna go out for a walk." He said jabbing his thumb at the exit behind him. "You're going out?" Donnie started. "Alone?" Raph finished. The three younger turtles had developed a strong protectiveness over their older brother after almost losing him. "Relax, I won't leave the sewers and you can track me on my T-phone." Leo said. He felt sick of being coddled and babied lately. "Ok just be careful." Raph said knowing there was no point in arguing. Leo walked along the sewer tunnels. He watched the greenish brown water flowing past. He stopped at the end of one tunnel. The water trailed off into a waterfall. Leo fished out the black mask he'd stuffed in his belt. The fabric felt like it burned his skin but he still held on. He twirled it aimlessly around his fingers. "Fancy meeting you here." A voice said from above startling him. Leo glanced up at the maze of pipes above him. "Karai?" He asked surprised. She hung upside down from a pipe. "In the flesh." Karai said as she swung down. She landed gracefully beside Leo. "What are you doing here?!" Leo asked. "Just hanging out." Karai joked. Leo looked at her unamused. "Look I heard about what happened." Karai confessed. "You did? But how?" Leo asked cocking his head to the side. "You really think I haven't been keeping tabs on all of you?" Karai asked with a smirk. Leo sighed and turned to the side. "Father said all the dark magic was gone but I can still feel Shredder in my mind. It's like he's just there lurking." Leo said. Karai placed her hand on the turtle's shoulder turning him back to face her. "Look I know first hand what Shredder can do to people." Karai began. Leo chewed on his lip. How could he have forgotten about that? He felt like his trauma must be minuscule compared to hers. "But listen to me, only you can decide who you wanna be. Not Shredder, not father, not our brothers, only you." Karai said matter of factly. Her eyes drifted down to the mask intertwined around Leo's fingers. "So who are you gonna be?" She asked. Leo stared at the black fabric in his hand. He narrowed his eyes as he let it fall from his grip. It fluttered down into the sewer water. Leo and Karai watched as sludge soaked into the fabric and filled up the eye holes. "Good choice. Now I gotta get going." Karai said as she began walking away. "Wait you're leaving? Why don't you come home?" Leo asked desperately. She turned back to look back at him. "I'm not quite ready yet. I've still got some of my own things to deal with. But don't worry, you'll see me again soon." Karai said with a wink before vanishing from sight. Leo stared at where she'd been. He took one last glance at the black mask sinking before heading back home. As he entered the lair he saw his brothers crowded around the tv. Some old cartoon flickered on the screen mesmerizing the three turtles. Karai's words rang through Leo's ears. He smiled before slipping onto the couch beside his brothers. "Leo?!" They all said in unison. "Hey guys, what's on?" Leo asked nonchalantly. Mikey beamed up at him. "I found this new show! You'll like it, it's about awesome space warriors!" He said excitedly. "Cool, can't wait to watch." Leo said before directing his eyes to the tv. Donnie and Raph glanced at each other with shocked faces. Leo's behavior surprised them but they weren't going to complain. Leo felt his worries melt away as he was surrounded by his family. Splinter exited the dojo in search of a nice cup of hot tea. As he walked to the kitchen he caught sight of his boys watching tv in the pit. It surprised him to see his eldest son with his brothers but Splinter couldn't help the smile that grew.