No Escape

Part 11

Leo opened his eyes, realizing he was still lying on the floor. He stared at the glass of water on the floor, wanting to get up and grab it, but he was in too much pain to move. His stomach sent hunger pains every five minutes, wanting to make him vomit. He wanted to stop, he wanted to plead for mercy, this was too much for him, and he wanted to give up. But he knew he couldn't do that. This would never end, unless... unless they were keeping him in here just to see how much he could go through, until he broke.

In that case, he couldn't give up, no matter how much pain he was in. He remembered his father's words. Whenever Leo would feel stressed or under pressure, Splinter would always tell him one thing.

"To be a true leader, you mustn't give up. No matter how much pain you're in, you mustn't fall under pressure, and you must be strong, and carry out the command with your head held high, and face the problem head on, no matter how big the problem is."

And this was a really big problem. But Splinter was right, he mustn't give up. No matter what Shredder threw at him, Leo would not give up!

Then the thought came to him, meditation.

...

Don stopped typing and rubbed his eyes, feeling his fingers crack as he moved them. This whole situation was putting so much stress on him that he couldn't stay focused on his work. He stood up and walked out of the lab, taking a break from trying to get past the firewall. He should just wait for April to arrive, which was supposed to be a couple minutes ago.

Don sighed and sat down on the couch next to Mikey, looking over and seeing he was fast asleep. 'Good, he hasn't been getting that much sleep lately.' Don said to himself.

Then the sound of Raph leaving the dojo hit his ears.

"Hello, my son." Splinter said. Don didn't know that Splinter was near. He guessed he was just sitting in the kitchen.

"Sup." He said, walking into the bathroom.

Don knew that Raph hadn't forgave himself for that fight, but it wasn't his fault. It was his anger. He was only upset at himself that Mikey got injured and he wasn't there to protect him. Don wanted that memory to go away, so he stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, my son." Splinter said again.

"Hello, Sensei." Don responded.

He saw Splinter stand up and about to leave, "What are you doing?" Don asked.

"I am going to try meditating again to reach Leonardo." He answered.

"But Master, you've been trying all day... You need to take a break, or you'll hurt yourself." Don said.

"I will take a break when I know my son is ok." Splinter said sharply.

Don decided not to argue. He watched Splinter walk off into the dojo, leaving Don alone in the kitchen.

...

Leo quickly jumped up, limped to the water, grabbed it and began to chug it. He stopped himself from finishing so he could have more for later.

He sat down in the middle of the floor and crossed his legs, getting into his meditation position. He held his breath, then inhaled deeply, held it for a second, then exhaled. He continued this process until he was fully relaxed.

It felt like each dart wound quickly healed, and there was no more pain. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep meditation phase.

....

Splinter closed his door, sat in the middle of the floor, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He had been doing it for so long, he had already entered a deep meditation. He waited a second, then began to channel Leo.