Day 10 - Devil/Demon

Ever since they were kids Raphael and Leo had always had an odd relationship. When they got along, they were inseparable. Almost joined at the hip. Mikey used to call them the “Wonder Twins.” But when they didn’t…things got out of hand quickly.

It had gotten worse after Leo returned from South America. Sure they didn’t come to blows any more, but their words were sharp and meant to cut deep. Both went for the jugular, using their words and knowledge of each other to poke and prod at their deepest fears. Slowly but surely, their bad days came more often than the good.

Leo angrily slammed his door breathing hard. He and Raph had gotten into it again, and this time, Leo wasn’t sure he could ever forgive him. Clenching his fist, Leo stalked over to his meditation mat. With shaking hands he lit the candles, trying to calm his residual anger.

As the smell of incense permeated the air, he lowered himself to his mat, breathing deeply as he attempted to center himself. Slowly. In. Out. In. Out. Leo could feel the tension leaving him, even if the anger had yet to subside. Rather than push it away, he focused on it. Using it to bring a central focus to what had made him so upset.

Listening back to the words that had passed between them, Leo could feel righteous anger ebb and flow around him. The night had started off so calm. So perfectly ordered, with a basic patrol around the southern edge of the city. The four of them were easily maneuvering across the rooftops, and darting through the shadows. It wasn’t until they were turning back home that the peacefulness of the night was shattered. Foot ninjas flooded the roof they were on so quickly Leo barely had time to draw his swords from his sheath. Raphael charged right in, without waiting for direction, and nearly had his head taken off. It was a lucky throw of a ninja star by Leo that had saved the hothead.

The battle had raged on and the turtles just barely managed to escape, but not without quite a few bumps, bruises, and cuts. Leo was fuming not only at his lack of attention that lead them into the ambush, but at Raph’s rash behavior. Naturally, the two of them began to argue, which led Leo to where he was now. Seething in anger and guilt over the whole evening.

“Seems like tonight was pretty bad.”

Startled Leo opened his eyes, taking in the stark white of the spiritual plane. Unlike his usual meditation, this time something had manifested before him. A black cat, slunk low on the ground, curling around his legs.

“Who are you?” Leo asked cautiously.

Master Splinter had warned of the strange things that could appear in the spiritual plane. Things were often not what they appeared, whether to aid or hinder the one so deep in meditation.

“Hmmm the question I think is not who but what?” the cat purred softly.

Ice grey eyes met deep blue as the pair observed each other.  Stepping away from the feline, Leo reached out with his soul, trying to ascertain just what had stumbled into his mind. The cat sat back on its haunches, coolly twitching its tail.

“You are a part of this plane?” Leo questioned.

The cat chuckled at the confused turtle.

“Indeed this is where I reside, but my purpose lies elsewhere.”

“What do you mean?

“My purpose is to provide avenues for the visitors of this place to achieve great things. To focus their desires and will.”

“A spiritual guide then,” Leo surmised.

The cat canted his head to the side in thought.

“In a fashion, yes,” he agreed. “Which is why I’ve appeared before you it seems.”

Leo sighed as the cat again rose to its feet.

“Then you are aware of what plagues me,” Leo muttered.

“Indeed your emotions surrounding your brother are quite,” the cat paused thinking. “Intriguing.”

Leo scoffed.

“More like infuriating,” he said. “No matter what I do, or what I try, we end up fighting each other. I hate it!”

Leo stopped short at the level of animosity that laced his words. The whole point of this meditation session was to understand and control his anger. Not feed it. Dejectedly the turtle hung his head.

“I just want the fighting to stop.”

“I can help you with that,” the cat crooned.

Leo looked down at the feline who stared intensely back. Is this what he needed? Spiritual guidance to bring his family back into balance?

“What do I have to do?”

The cat grinned at the turtle, stepping onto thin air and rising as if on invisible stairs. Leo waited until the cat was eye level with him.

“Clear your mind,” the cat instructed. “Think only of the conflict you have endured all this time. Then when you are ready, tell me exactly what you want done about it.”

Closing his eyes, Leo thought. He thought about all the times Raph had ignored his orders. All the times that Raph was injured because he was too rash. All the harsh words the hothead flung at him in fits of rage. How deeply those fights wounded him.

“I never want to fight with Raphael again,” the blue-banded turtle said fervently.

Opening his eyes, the turtle was shocked to find, not a black cat in front of him, but a thin man with jet-black hair, alabaster skin and dark bottomless eyes.

“So it shall be done,” the man said with a smile. And just like that the man vanished, leaving Leo alone in the vast white expanse of the spiritual plane. Shaken, Leo forced himself to return to his body, opening his eyes to his dimly lit room filled with sputtering candles.

A growing feeling of dread sat heavily in Leo’s stomach as he rose from the floor. What did the man mean? Was the cat the same as the man? What kind of help would a spiritual guide give? Anxiously Leo opened his door, heading directly for Raph’s room. On most occasions, intruding on Raphael in his domain was a death-wish, but Leo had to know. Just what had that man-cat done?

Gently Leo knocked on the door. No point starting another fight with Raph by just barging in. When the leader received no answer he knocked again, harder. Leo shifted his weight between his feet, growing more anxious by the second.

“What’chya doin’ Leo?”

Surprised Leo spun around, looking at his youngest brother guiltily.

“I just…I just wanted to apologize to Raph,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

The young turtle looked back in confusion.

“Who?”

Leo dropped his hand in exasperation.

“Raphael, Mikey. I want to make up with him.”

The orange-banded turtle just stared at him in confusion.

“Uh Leo…you feelin’ ok bro? There’s no one by that name here, unless this Raph guy started living in the storage room in the last 30 minutes.”

Eyes blown wide Leo whirled back to the closed door throwing it open. Layers of dust flew into the air before settling again on the odd knick-knacks and assorted furniture items residing in the room.

Falling to his knees, Leo could barely hold in his scream of terror. What had that thing done? Where was his brother?!

A soft voice floated from the shadows.

“I only did what you asked,” it whispered. “You’ll never fight with your brother again.”