Ending 2: A Sweeter Swan Song

Renet cried. She cried for Raven Shadowheart. It was not the first time she did because she had visited this moment of time before. But now the grief blended with something else. Frustration? Disappointment? She could not put her finger on it.

What could she have expected? That getting Donatello closer to his brothers could somehow prevent the murder of Leonardo’s lover? Had she really believed Donatello or one of his brothers would develop psychic powers, foresee Carnage’s ambush and save the beautiful woman known as “Radical”? She shook her head. No, she had not believed that. In fact, she had picked the moments in Donatello’s life in a way that would keep the impact on the rest of the world to a minimum. Who knows what chaos would have ensued if not Radical but her Nemesis would have fallen that day? Even though it was hard to believe that it would NOT have been better the other way around, fate was a peculiar thing and she had messed with it more than she should have anyway. Renet should be glad that there were no noticeable changes to other people’s life so far.

But being glad was hard, to say the least, looking at her turtle friends. Michelangelo was crying, feeling his own loss of a friend and his brother’s loss of his love. Sadness, sympathy and barely controlled anger danced in the one eye Raphael had left. Shifting from foot to another, his eyes nervously switching between the fresh grave and his oldest brother, Donatello was clearly a wit’s end.

And Leonardo! Oh, Leonardo… Renet could not suppress another sob. The fearless leader, kneeling on the dusty ground in front of his lover’s grave, did not cry a single tear, did not once curse the murderer of his beloved. He had his eyes fixed on the cairn, his expression forlorn, as if his very soul had left his body, leaving it behind as an empty vessel. In a way, it had…

Renet knew that Leonardo’s behavior was the calm before the storm. She knew what he was about to try, that he would fail, lose himself, make an oath and break it and lose himself again. A long and painful journey lay ahead of the once proud leader of the turtles. Yes, at its end there was peace but also loneliness.

Through tear-filled eyes, Renet watched as Leonardo rose to his feet and turned to leave. Now he would walk by his brothers without a word, leaving them helpless. He would waste years searching for Carnage to take his revenge to no avail, leaving him bitter and close to suicide.

But then… When he was about to pass Donatello, Leonardo stopped in his tracks and turned to his brother.

“Don? Would you help me with something?”

“Of course!” Immediately Donatello’s hands found Leonardo’s shoulders. “Anything you need, Leo.”

“Help me find him!” Leonardo voiced a demand but it sounded like a plea. “I need to find him, he must not get away! I…”

“What will you do?” Donatello asked softly.

“I will kill him!” Leonardo growled and when he felt his brother tense at that, he said, “I could tell you that I just want him captured and secured so that he can no longer harm anyone, Donnie! But you’d know that I am lying and I’d know you knew.”

“It…still is true that he is highly dangerous. And without Radical balancing his powers out…,” Donatello contemplated. “Alright, I will help you find him, but promise me you won’t go without us if we find him. I do not want to lose you.”

Leonardo hesitated but seeing the soft yet determined expression on Donatello’s face, he smiled fondly before he finally answered, “I promise to let you guys accompany me, but I cannot promise to forfeit my revenge.”

He looked at Donatello, then at Michelangelo and Raphael. His brothers nodded.

Renet wiped her tears away and smiled. Still she mourned the wonderful woman that had to die, but at least the brothers would deal with the aftermath of her death together.

A few months later Leonardo had settled on the couch of Donatello’s apartment. His left shoulder still hurt from the vicious blow Carnage had landed, but the inner peace he felt eclipsed everything the physical world had to offer right now.

Leonardo felt a presence and soon a warm hand was placed on his good shoulder. He smiled at Donatello, gratefully accepting the tea cup his brother offered.

“Thank you.”

“It is my fault you’re hurt.” Donatello frowned, sitting beside his former leader. “A cup of your favorite tea is the least I can do!”

“Stop this nonsense!” Leonardo admonished him. “Without your program we could not have tracked all the crimes matching Carnage’s MO and would NEVER have found him.”

“But my device to trap him failed…” Donatello looked miserable. His eyes again and again found the bruises at his big brother’s body.

“It had worked on other shapeshifters, Don, and no one knew exactly what kind of powers Carnage wielded.”

Donatello was silent for a moment. Finally he looked to the floor and whispered, “You finally were able to give up revenge for the sake of justice. You had decided not to kill him. And because of my failure you still had to - to save my sorry ass.”

Despite the grave mood, Leonardo could not help raising his eye ridge and chuckle a little. Donatello rarely cursed. He was really upset.

“What is so funny?” Donatello asked, annoyed. “You were so close to finding your balance again. And because of me you broke your oath not to kill anymore.”

“Yes, I did.” Leonardo nodded. “And I did it gladly. I would do everything to protect you. But it did not disturb my inner peace. You helped me see that revenge would not bring her back and just feed the hate I carry inside.”

Donatello looked at him.

“Yes.” He nodded. “But then I could not trap Carnage and you had to kill him anyway.”

“But not for the sake of revenge, Donatello!” Leonardo exclaimed. “But for the sake of my family!”

He sat up to put an arm around his younger brother, trapping him in the embrace by holding on tight when Donatello tried to pull away.

“Does that make a difference?” Donatello asked, his mood still gloomy.

Leonardo laughed.

“Of course it does! It is the difference between hate and love,” he said. “I did not kill him because I HATE him, but because I LOVE you.”

For a moment Leonardo could enjoy the small smile that formed on Donatello’s face. Then they heard the sound of the automatic front door unlocking and opening. Soon two familiar voices engaged in equally familiar bickering were heard.

“I swear to god, Mikey! If you told the guy to make it ‘extra-spicy’ again…”

“Not my fault you are such a pussy!”

“Careful! Even you won’t like your pizza spicy, when I put it up your…”

“Hi, guys!” Michelangelo called out to Leonardo and Donatello upon entering the living room. “We brought pizza. The kind for REAL men!”

The two turtles on the couch chuckled and watched as Michelangelo set the table while Raphael cut the pizzas.

When they finally sat down to have dinner, Michelangelo asked, “So, what’s up?”

“Leo loves me,” Donatello grinned.

“Don’t let it get to your head too much,” Leonardo said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

They finished dinner in comfortable silence. After that they settled for the couch, snacking, talking, sharing memories before falling asleep when the first rays of the morning sun fell through the windows.

The End (2)