I'm Falling Behind Again >:C - Tumblr Posts

Whumptober: Just Keep Swimming

Leonardo narrowed his eyes to see better in the rain, watching droids go back and forth, carrying boxes into a plane.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Raphael growled, one hand on his sai.

"No, there's too many, we can't take on all of them."

"What's the plan, then?" Donatello chimed in, already working out plans and calculations in his head.

"We'll sneak into the plane before takeoff and hijack it, then try to land it outside the city to avoid civilian casualties."

Leonardo got a few looks, but he ignored them, signaling for them to follow as he timed the gaps between guards, then darted into the cargo hold, his brothers following shortly behind. He wiggled between two crates and held his breath, watching as the others did his same.

Back and forth, back and forth, like mice, until the hold was shut and pressurized. The plane took off, slowly but surely, building up speed until they were in the air.

"Where are we heading, Don?" Leonardo asked, reiterating where they were going.

"Overseas, some part of Asia."

Leonardo nodded, even if the other couldn't see, and waited.

Enough time went by to leave him stiff, but unable to leave the area, just in case somebody came in.

And then Michelangelo stood up, probably not able to stand waiting that long, just as the door opened.

Michelangelo blinked, and then all heck broke loose.

The fight wouldn't have been bad, if somebody hadn't gotten thrown into a button. The cargo hold opened, and any cargo that wasn't locked down securely and any people who hadn't grabbed something were sucked outside, falling into the turbulent sea below.

Everybody froze, clinging onto something that wasn't moving, unsure of what to do next with the risk of falling. Then, one of the attackers took a risk, lunging at Leonardo, dislodging him, and sending them both into the black of the storm.

Stillness, howling wind, rain that seemed to move backwards as he fell down.

"LEO!"

Those were his brothers, and he was losing them. He couldn't see them anymore, the plane lights disappearing rapidly.

He was going to hit the water. Leonardo twisted midair, trying to sort himself out like a diver. If he hit the water any other way, he'd probably die. No, scratch that, he'd definitely die.

He didn't fully make it on his way down, leg splintering with a sickening crack, and the shock of hitting the icy water forcing him to freeze up.

However, from the sound of it, his attacker wasn't as lucky.

Leonardo sank for a long minute, stunned, before thrashing. He needed to swim, he needed to not drown.

But the water was pitch black, and he had no clue which way was up. For all he knew, he could have been going further down.

Suddenly, he broke the surface and took a deep breath, coughing and floundering. Then, he was pulled back under, depriving of air. In a momentary panic, he swam desperately, kicking and fighting to get back up. Around him, the water was tight and constricting, and it only reminded him of the Technodrone again, getting dragged down, the ship exploding-

This was not the same situation, he had to remind himself, fumbling for a small knife as he calmed down and continued to sink. His gear was waterlogged, it would only continue to pull him down until he got rid of it.

Working as fast as he could, Leonardo carved through the knee and elbow pads, then as much as it hurt him, wrestled the belts off and dropped them. Finally ripping his mask off, Leo swam up as fast as he could go, he needed to hurry.

He broke the surface again, and floated around on black waters, groping for anything that would allow him to stay out of the water that threatened to take him back and drown him. Eventually, he bumped into what he assumed was a small box, and held on for dear life.

Leonardo coughed and choked before a wave slammed into him, attempting to pull him back. Fighting against it, he clawed at the box desperately, then pulled himself up onto it, no matter its size. The knife went into the box, and Leo gripped it with both hands. That, at the moment, was his lifeline. If he let go, he was gone.

The next thing Leonardo remembered was waking up, still clinging to that same knife. It was the middle of the day, dry, sunny, and he was soaked.

He blinked owlishly a few times. What was he..?

Oh, right.

Leonardo pulled his limbs onto the box, sore, aching, and salt crusted against his joints. He groaned softly, and performed a quick once-over to make sure he hadn't gotten too terribly busted up. On his right arm, at the elbow, there was a cut that seemed to have stopped bleeding a while ago. It was probably made in his panic to get free of the pads. To protect it in case of anything later, he took the bandages off his hands and wrapped them around the injury, then winced and hissed. Right, salt. He'd be feeling like he had hand sanitizer on an open injury for quite some time.

Oh, but that was a bigger issue. A much, much bigger issue. His stomach rolled, and Leo swallowed to keep whatever he last ate down. Somehow, he managed to miss the broken bone in his leg. Not only was it broken, it was displaced, too. Not very ideal for his situation.

But, there wasn't really much he could do at the moment, so he checked where the waves were heading, hopped in the water, and started kicking with his good leg, pushing the box as he went. As long as he didn't look down, he should've been fine.

...And, he still had to look at the open water fading into darkness. Don't think about what could be there, he reminded himself, Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it...

Leonardo didn't know how long he swam for, but eventually, black depths faded to murky kelp forests, sand and seaweed kicked up by the storm. It would have been strangely beautiful, if it didn't mean that he had absolutely no idea where he was, nor what could be beneath him.

He swam just a little further, trying to get out of that area, to no avail. Eventually, he sighed and pulled himself back up onto the box and examined his leg.

A long moment passed, and he slowly set his hands on where the bone was pushing against the skin.

CRACK!

Leonardo screamed, loud and thoughtless, coming straight from the burning agony on his leg, and tightened his grip to the point that his skin turned white.

He trembled, then slowly released his leg, now appearing mostly normal besides the swelling. Any leftover bandages were used to keep the bone in place. He wished he had a splint or something, but it would have to do.

Leonardo leaned forward and closed his eyes.

%%%

Another day, and Leonardo hopped back into the water. He tried swimming again, keeping an eye out for any driftwood or seabirds. Still nothing, no land anywhere, even if he squinted.

He hopped back up to save his energy, although he assumed that it wouldn't do much in the end.

%%%

Day number three. He was feeling… Off. It was coming, he could feel in the distance. He knew it was there. It was coming, no matter how much he fought it.

Still, it was worth it to try swimming. He might as well make some progress.

His energy drained too fast, too fast. It was coming, he knew. Still, he crawled out of the water and laid down. Maybe a short rest would do him some good.

But, something brushed against his bad leg, still in the water, sending shockwaves of pain up and down, and startled him back into the world of the living. A short whine escaped him, as childish as it was. He wanted to go back to sleep, and not wake up for hours. What was brushing against his leg and why?

Leonardo pulled his leg up and sat up, trying to be careful as he crossed his legs. He peered into the water and paused. Oh. It was a whale? That was a whale. More specifically, it looked like a humpback. He gaped, because it wasn’t every day that he got to see one in person. After pausing for a moment, Leonardo reached down, gently brushing his hand against it’s smooth skin. In response, it cooed and bellowed, coming up and shooting water out of its blowhole. Leonardo squeaked and raised his hands to shield himself, as if he hadn’t been hopping in and out of the water for days. Then, he smiled, momentarily forgetting about his previous desolation, and leaned back, letting the whale take him along. They were both following the current, so they might as well travel together, right? He rolled onto his stomach, resting his limbs in the water and glancing down. Unlike before, it was crystal clear, allowing him to see the bottom. It was actually rather nice, not having to worry about what could possibly be below him.

Eventually, the whale left, leaving him lonely and vaguely disappointed. Guess he would have to go alone again.

%%%

He made it a fourth day? Incredible. But he was so tired, even though he didn't do anything to be that exhausted. He was so tired, he'd sink if he tried to swim. Heck, he wanted to get back home, he wanted to see the city lights, he wanted to be running on the rooftops, not floating in the endless ocean. He wanted to see his brothers, to see Michelangelo enthusing over a new game or comic or something he had drawn, to hear Donatello rambling over an idea he had, fawning over April in a haze of puppy love, to spar Raphael and see the joy that followed from having an equal opponent, the competitive fire.

Oh God, Raphael would fall into a self-destructive spiral, the same as Leonardo did, under the burden of being a leader, he wouldn't be able to take the stress, that's why Leonardo offered to be leader.

He didn't want to let them fall to that.

Leonardo closed his eyes.

Something hit the bottom of the box.