Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 9

Word of the day: MacGyver

To MacGyver something is to make, form, or repair it with materials that are conveniently on hand.

~

"There, that should just about do it." Donatello mumbled, taking a few steps back. Leonardo groaned and shifted slowly in his chair. He propped his new limb on the arm of the chair, examining it. "Gah, it's...Kinda heavy." He flexed his arm and shuddered. "And it feels strange.." Donnie nodded and sighed. "Yeah, that'll happen for a while. Don't worry, eventually you'll be able to move around and hold things like your arm was never gone." Leo stared at him as he turned around to put his tools away, trying to get used to flexing his arm. He was glad to have both arms back.  But he felt kinda guilty. This arm didn't belong to him. He sighed and leaned his head back into the chair. "So you said his plastron, legs and one arm were still intact?" Donnie nodded and set his tools down on the counter. This wasn't as good of a place as his lab, but the shelter didn't really have anything better. 

"Yeah, only thing was his arm and his shell. It cracked and fell apart in big chunks after he took the blows for Mikey." Donnie said, swiping a few locks of hair out of his face. Leonardo chuckled and shook his head. "Man, that big guy protected us to the very end, huh?" The brothers smiled and hummed in agreement.  Donnie reached out his hand and Leo gripped it, hoisting himself up. He huffed and put his new arm into a fist, opening and closing it again. Donatello smirked and nudged his shoulder. "You know Ace is gonna freak out, right?" 
Leo sighed and rolled his shoulder. "Yeah, you can let him in now." 

He swung the door open and Casey fell to the floor. "Oh yeah, you were definitely eavesdropping." Leonardo chuckled and held out a hand to the boy, who gasped. "Sensei, you have another arm attached to your body!" 

The brothers laughed and Leonardo picked him up. "Yeah, you like it?" Casey nodded and climbed onto his shoulder. "Yeah, it's huge!" Leo glanced at Donnie and smirked. His face fell and he shook his head. "Don't. You. Say it."

Leonardo groaned and put Casey down on the ground. "Alright Case, I'm gonna head out." 
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Where? Can I go with you?" 

Leo fell silent and froze in his steps. How was he going to tell Casey what he had to do? 

Donatello cleared his throat and left the room quietly. Casey felt confused and tugged on Leonardo's pants. "What's wrong?" The turtle hesitantly knelt down and looked him in the eyes. "Don't worry about it Case, it's not something a kid should tag along for. Trust me."

Casey frowned. "How are you gonna know unless I go with? I've seen more death than you did at my age, and you've trained me." Leo sighed and nodded his head. "That is true. But I can't let you. Not unless you know what you're getting into." The boy smiled softly. "I guess we'll just have to see when we get there."

That's when it was made clear, Casey was going with. Leonardo tried to convince himself that it would be okay, but he knew deep down that this could go wrong if he wasn't careful. 

_______

The two stepped out of a portal and into a dark, open cave, much like the one Leonardo and Casey were in days ago. Leo looked around with narrowed eyes. It took a while for his eyes to get used to the dark, but even then it still wasn't enough. Casey Jr. clung to him tightly, following after his every step. Leo smiled sympathetically and lifted up his odachi, using his ninpo to create somewhat of a torch. The cave lit up immediately, enough for them to see ten steps ahead. And there she was.

Casey gasped and pointed. "Mom!" 

Cassandra opened her eyes and turned her head, her body limp on the ground. She teared up and smiled. Leonardo smiled back. He looked down at Casey Jr and nodded. "Go on." The boy immediately ran towards his mother, diving into her. She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could, stroking his hair. "Hey kid."

Leo knelt down and took her hand. "How'd you survive?" She looked up and shrugged. "I ran and hid, but I might as well have died. It's taking longer than I thought, so I'm basically just suffering over here." She said, wincing with every move she made. Leo examined her and realized what she meant. She had scars all over her and dark circles under her eyes. Cassandra moved her hand up and lifted her top lip, showing that her teeth were sharpening. "I'm turning into one of those things, Leo."

His eyes widened and guilt rose in his chest. Surely the sacrifice Mikey was talking about couldn't be Cassandra? "Casey, Mikey told me coming to find you was my next step. But we don't know what my purpose here is. I really hope you're not asking me to do what I think you are." Casey Jr looked up at the sound of his name, but Leo put a hand on his head to let him know it wasn't him.

She smiled sadly and let out a breathy laugh. "Sorry, blue. It seems like I need to ask you another favor..." 

"Casey...We just found you again..."

"I know. But I can't let my son see me like the monster I'll become. Please." Cassandra said, just barely above a whisper. Leonardo exhaled deeply. So this was the choice he had to make. This was the big sacrifice. He looked over at Casey Jr and beckoned for him to move away. The boy got up and took a few steps back, feeling confused. "Sensei?"

Leo forced a smile. "Find me some smooth rocks, will you? Maybe when we find another body of water we can skip them." Casey hesitantly nodded and ran to do so.

Once he was gone, Leonardo raised his sword slowly, his hands shaking. He rubbed his face against his arm, wiping tears away. "Hey...Tell Raph I said hi?" Cassandra smiled. "And tell April I said the same."

After what felt like hours, he brought the sword down in one swift motion. It was finished. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and held it there. He couldn't look down at what he had done. "Forgive me." He breathed.