We sat together on the roof on the ledge where we had our little battle. My clothes were dirty and torn while Leo's were untouchable. Speaking of the turtle, he sat next to me hugging his knees, sulking. I pulled out my box of cigarettes; and checked how many I had left. I had five. I had a box left at home in case of emergencies; it's a cheap brand. I need to restock soon. Meaning I had to find someone to be my gopher. I pulled out a nicotine stick. I put it in my mouth.
"It's going to kill you." I looked over at Leo. He stayed in the same position. I could tell he was pouting. "I am not pouting!" oh, wow. We still got our connection.
"Ok. Then, you're sulking."
Leo stood. Fire blazing in his eyes. "If it was up to me, I would obliterate you!" talk about a sore loser. "How dare you? Do you know who you are speaking to?"
I stood up as well, leveling his gaze. "Nope. Why don't you tell me since clearing you're not my friend or the woman, Misa who I haven't had the privilege of speaking to." Leo, or whoever possessing him was, grew quiet. "What? Turtle got your tongue?"
Leo scoffed. "Hardly. Your friend was not aware of the change. As of now, he does not know what transpired between us. You don't know what you are up against."
"Enlighten me. I could use a history lesson. Who are you?"
Leo looked beyond the cityscape. "How much were you able to grasp thus far?"
"You first", I challenged.
Leo furiously turned to me with his marks and eyes glowing. "I did not come here for games!"
"Sweetheart, if this was a game, we would be playing Uno right now where I drop a skip and a reverse card along with a plus two. I hate repeating myself. Who. The fuck. Are you?"
The slider stared blankly, ineffective by my aggressive tone. "You may call me Light."
I found myself scoffing. "Light? You're saying you're the good guy?"
"What I do is righteousness and justice."
"Ever heard of egotistic?"
Leo huffed. "Believe what you want. The only reason I let you win is that I cannot stand to mark your face."
Talk about a compliment. "Um... thank you...?"
"You're not welcome." Bitch. "Such crude language. Even my lover would dare use such words." clearly whoever I was talking to hasn't adjusted to modern society.
I pinched my brows together. "Okay... Light, was it? Why are you here?"
"Well, I didn't at first until I witnessed the siren's... collection." He must be talking about the massive dead bodies. Poor Leo must have seen them. I couldn't imagine what he was experiencing. "Your friend was upset about the walking corpse, Daniel; he sacrificed himself to burn everything down. He wanted to be free from that witch's grasp. Leonardo's depression led to anger, which I managed to find myself drawn to. Your friend wanted justice and vengeance."
"Not enough to end someone's life. We don't have that power!"
"Ah, yes. The authorities will see the siren's case. At the very least, the court will look through her case to see if she deserves to live or not. I merely wanted to take matters into my own hand."
"That still doesn't make it right!"
"Let me ask you something. Are you willing to sit back and let karma or something unexpected happen to the killer or will you be the one to get rid of the killer yourself?" He was starting to scare me. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't my Leo talking. This was Light, an entity that thinks it can do whatever they please to be right. "I don't think, I know I'm right."
"Conceited, much? And again, Leo would never do such a thing!"
"Clearly you don't know him as much as you think you do." I was so pissed that I grabbed his collar and brought him close to my face. Light smirked a Leo smirk. "Did I strike a nerve? You do not like it if your tactics come back at you, don't you?"
I calmed down. He used my method against me. He's got my respect... for now... I put him down. "You asked me what I know... Leo and I are soulmates, yada yada, we have our past lives memories, blah blah, and we gained their powers. That's pretty much it."
Light shook his head. "Clearly not as much as I expected." I raised my right eyebrow. "It is true you and your friend are reincarnated; however, their "powers" were not theirs in the first place." huh? "Yes, they had their ninpo, but their extra abilities were from us."
"Who's us?" I asked.
"In due time, you will meet one of us as well as Leonardo. Saki and Misa need to depart to the afterlife so you will be the next heirs."
"What are you talking about? Heirs? I thought we gained their powers."
"And here I was expecting Oroku Saki Junior would tell you the gist of it since he was granted access to the Dark Arts. I will say you and Leonardo are far from prepared. If you do not cope with your powers, well, you will your demise sooner."
Huh, Xander pretty much said the same thing. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, release Leo."
"I will return your friend... if you let me speak with Dark..." Dark? I don't think he meant Roku. I don't know how...
Let me speak with Light...
Are you Dark?
No reply.
Can I trust you?
...Please I need to speak with Light... it's been too long...
I sensed longing and loneliness. I heavily sighed. Don't make me regret this.
Thank you, darkling.
I felt a pull on my mind. It was like I was falling backward. I let myself fall.
~Lady Ai~
I opened my eyes and looked at my mechanical hands. I tested their movements. I was not used to the heavy appendages.
"Dark?" I looked up to see Leonardo, yet I knew the aura surrounding him was brighter than our last encounter. I cupped his cheek. Golden tears streamed down as he nuzzled my hand. "It's been too long, my puppy."
"Far too long indeed, my star. I miss you."
"I too."
"Which reminds me..." I pinched his cheek. "You went in a tantrum. All for the sake of a fish?"
Light slapped my hand. "You were not there, Dark! That sea serpent deserves to die! She will not stop until she is satisfied. Even her supposed lover could not stand her."
"Love can make a gentle creature lose their sanity."
"Speaking from experience?"
My face got warm. I coughed in my hand. "Was there a reason you wanted to see me?"
"...yes..." I sensed his distress. "Can you come with me? I need to guide the lost souls." ah, yes, one of Light's abilities. I nodded.
He and I walked side-by-side toward the burning building. Even from a far distance, I smelled a heavy dose of decay. We stared at the building in the background watching the red humans do everything to bring the flames down, the blue ones holding the citizens back, and the rest holding out rectangular devices up in the air. No matter what generation we spawn humans remain curious creatures.
I looked toward Light. He was praying with his hands clasped together. A golden aura surrounded his body. He opened his palm and a speck of light floated. "Please guide them, little one." the small ball floated over the crowd; it attracted many more. It led them straight to the sky and into the stars. "It is a good thing my holder does not fully harness my powers, otherwise, he will suffer their cries of anguish and despair."
"How many did you hear?"
"Too many to count. My heart shatters more when hearing a child calling for their parents." I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. "I hope the rest that stayed behind can be at peace someday."
"You did your best. That must count for something."
"It is not good enough in my eyes!" I sighed. Light always does this to himself. Blaming himself for not doing enough or not being strong enough. I wanted to change the subject as we continued to stare at the fire. "So... you are aware?"
"How can I not? The shadows tell me everything about what's yet to come. There are two things the shadows are afraid of: you, the Living God of Light, and the Great Evil. Despite keeping their distance and holding their dislike towards you, the Great Evil brings chills to darkness."
"The Shredder will rise soon."
"With how his loyal followers are collecting his pieces, it will be a matter of time before he too is awakened."
"The new inheritors aren't ready. They're inexperienced."
"So were their ancestors and they managed to cope."
"Their ancestors barely scratched the surface of our power!" Light gritted his teeth. His golden aura radiated his fuming frustration. "They weren't perfect."
"If you would have taught your previous disciple the extent of your power then maybe they would not have met their demise sooner."
"My holder was arrogant. Self-independence. Trying hard to show her worth..."
"Hm... your holder reminds me of someone I knew..."
"Quiet, puppy, I do not need to hear your quips. You easily trusted your holder to use your abilities steadfastly."
"I believed in my previous Dark holder. Despite his family believing in the Shredder, Young Saki was different; the black sheep of the family. But you, on the other hand, did not give Misa Hamato the time of day."
"What? They need to be calm, balanced, knowledgeable, adaptable, well-mannered -"
"And that, my dear, is what I would call overexaggerating. Mortals are imperfect creatures. You cannot be picky in choosing your holder."
"And what is wrong with asking for a small ounce of perfection?"
"Many things, my love. You need to accept their flaws. Otherwise, you might as well possess them while they are unconscious."
Light beamed. "What a fantastic idea, Dark! If my holder couldn't get the job done, I will do it myself!"
I patted his head. "Light, no. We don't intervene unless our holders are amid death." My bright sun gently grabbed my hand, facing me.
"Of course, I know that. It infuriates me how... unprofessional my new holder is... he thinks highly of himself, brash, cocky, highly conceited -"
"Once again, describe yourself." Light tightly squeezed my hand. I heard the wringing of metal. "Perhaps, instead of judging the turtle, you should get to know him. Understand him. Then, see if he is worthy of your power."
"...What if he doesn't meet my standards?"
"You wouldn't know if you try. If it makes you feel better, I will speak with my holder... soon... possibly before our previous holders leave for the afterlife."
"Ah, I almost forgot about that. They have walked on Gaia for far too long. Their souls need to find peace. They strive to be together even after death. The ritual they performed was to have a mystic connection. Since the ritual was not complete, they must endure going into the next human to recite the ritual and proceed to end their long journey."
"These two mortals need to end their curse, and we must prepare ourselves for the battle coming our way. I know you are skeptical about trust, but we should be grateful, not resentful. These two are skillful, young warriors."
Light scoffed. "They have a long way to go, especially Leonardo."
"Will you speak with him?" I knew Light does not like the idea, but even he knew we needed to train them. For the sake of humanity and all life on Gaia.
My love sighed. "If I must, but he needs to prove himself that he is worthy!"
"Light..."
"I mean it, Dark! We cannot afford failure. The Foot is gathering the armor shards. We need to collect and purify them before the armor is restored. Failure is not an option."
"I knew already. What we need to gain is trust in our holders and their allies. Then, we will truly win the war."
"Why are you so wise?"
"Someone must be." we chuckled at our little joke. "We need to let our holders take over. We cannot linger."
"So soon?" Light was distraught. "We just reunited. At least let us stay for five more minutes."
"We overstay our welcome. We rest until our holders are willing to speak with us."
Light pulled my face close. "Let me gift you a memory you cannot forget." How very forward of you. "Oh, hush you. You promise we will see each other again?"
I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Absolutely. If not this life, then the next. I will always wait for you. Forever and more..." our lips ghosted over each other.
"Until Death do us part." We kissed. We waited too long for the loving embrace. All good things must come to an end...
~Lady Ai~
Awareness came to my senses. The smell of burnt flesh. The touch of a beak on my lips. I slowly opened my eyes. My scanners refocus; vision cleared. I was faced... faced... with Leo... we were together. We were embracing each other... and kissing! I pulled back. What the hell did we do?
Yo, Dark! I need answers, fucker! Dark!
I studied Leo's face. His expression was peaceful with a soft blush. His eyelids fluttered. He saw me and gave me a small smile. "...that was nice..." his body sagged and limped. I almost lost my grip. I was too shocked about the circumstance I was in. I held Leo pulling him close. Then, I stared at the burning building across the street. The fire department was watering the building. A small crowd was formed getting as much footage on their phones as possible. No one was aware of the two silhouettes in the shadows through the alleyway. Anyone could look over here and say we looked suspicious. My eyes lingered on the building still alit.
How did we get here? That question buzzed a few times over. I tried recollecting my memories, even searching through my surveillance. I was obsolete after speaking to whoever was this "Light".
I picked up the sleeping turtle and turned around deep through the alleyway. I'll call Donnie to see the status, or he'd call me to see if we're both functional. I'll take Leo to my place until he wakes up. Whispers of shadows entered my hearing. Questioning our capabilities for the upcoming battles.
Something big is going to happen soon... and for better or worse, we need to be ready...
Because as we are now... we're unprepared.