Leo sputtered. "WH-NO I- YOU'RE DEAD!" He defended, trying to come to terms with the fact Ava was alive.
"You're in New York!" Ava shot back.
"You were killed when you fell hundreds of feet!" Leo parried.
"You would never move somewhere so far from Hueso's!"
"You were flattened!"
"You're not a councilor!"
"Well now we're both lying!" Leo stated, silence falling between them as they both caught their breath, staring at each other.
"Is this their first couple's fight?" Donnie whispered to Raph.
"DONNIE! SHUT UP!" They both shouted in unison.
"Leo, what is going on?!" Ava asked him. "Why is the moment I get here, I'm arrested! What is this war people are talking about? This outlaw?!"
"Wh- No no no, you- Where have you been?! It's been 6 years!" Leo answered with another question.
"That's not important! 6 years, and you started a war?!" Ava stormed closer to the bars separating them.
"The humans started it!" Leo defended.
"Why haven't you ended it then?!" Ava asked, anger and upset in her eyes. "Do you know what HELL I HAVE BEEN THROUGH?!"
Leo took a moment to observe Lilac. She was in her brown socks, which he assumed were originally white, she had a black eye and her clothing looked slightly singed. And yet for some reason, she was in the same shirt she was when they found her. Blue with pink stripes, except this one was sleeveless, the fabric around her shoulders seemingly ripped off. "...What happened to you?" He asked. "Did you… go back to where you came from?"
"Yes? No? It's complicated. But I went from running, to a snail, to running again, AND SHOT WITH THE FULL FORCE OF LIGHTNING!" Ava snapped. "Have you ever been shot by a lightning sword?! It hurts!"
"Wh- DONNNIE! YOU STILL GAVE THE ALL CLEAR FOR THOSE?! I THOUGHT THEY WERE STILL IN BETA!" Leo turned to face Donnie, who rolled his eyes.
"Since they were released the Yokai death counts have decreased dramatically!" Donnie protested.
"You're all in on this?" Ava asked, her voice growing quiet. "...How many human deaths have there…?"
"...Aproximately 7000 civilians and 2000 authorities." Leo answered. He wasn't proud of the things he had set in motion… But they needed to be done. For the hope of the Yokai living in peace with humans.
"...Since when did you care about math?" Ava asked.
"...Since I started the war. Since I overthrew the council heads… Since you died." Leo admitted. "But the humans have declined every peace treaty we send or have asked too much."
"Oh, and you thought killing more of them would help your cause?!" Ava snapped, pacing around. "Maybe I can help. I can go up there! Maybe if April helps me talk to them-"
"No, no you can't! April is dead Ava!" Leo suddenly snapped, feeling his heart begin to race. He couldn't lose her. Not again. Not like April. Not when she was trying to speak out like April was.
"What?! How?! Why?!" Ava was shocked, taking two steps back.
"Because she spoke out! She told the government what she thought and they killed her!" Leo paced back and forth, rubbing his temple.
"...Then maybe I can be different." Ava stated, a look of firm determination in her gaze as she began to plan out her idea. "I can go up to the people in charge. I'm a human, they'll trust me. I can tell them the situation, explain that…" As Ava went on speaking, Leo felt his heart beat faster as his vision tunneled. She wasn't listening. She was going to go out there. She was willing to doom herself again just to clean up Leo's mess. Again. Again he was going to be the reason for her death. Again he was going to lose her. Leo was brought back to that horrible day. "My son… I am so, so sorry…" Splinter's voice played in his mind over and over, accompanied by his own broken voice. "She's… gone…."
"No." Leo spoke out, clutching his head. "No no no nonononono NO! No, You can't! Ava, you are staying here, and- and that is final!"
"What?! You can't just keep me here! I'm going, whether or not you want me to!" Ava protested. Ringing filled Leo's ears as the memories flooded back, the memories he had fought so hard to bury in the back of his mind. The image of Ava hitting the ground, the realization she was gone, gone and there wasn't anything Leo could do to stop it or bring her back and he was going to lose her forever. His breathing quickened. He felt the familiar feeling of his legs buckling, the ground beneath him breaking and giving way to leave him falling forever into a black void. "I will not just stand by and-" Ava continued before Leo interrupted, slamming his fist on the bars.
"YES YOU WILL! I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO KEEP YOU CHAINED HERE UNTIL THE WAR ENDS, I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO KEEP YOU DOWN IN THIS DUNGEON FOR DECADES! I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO KILL A THOUSAND HUMANS TO KEEP YOU SAFE, I CAN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN AVA!" Leo's voice broke, as he clutched the bar for a semblance of comfort or strength. At this point, Leo wasn't sure which. "...I won't lose you again."
Silence. Heavy silence settled over the dungeon, as Ava and his brothers stared at him. Ava was the first to speak. "...Then you already have." She walked to the back of her cell, turning her back to Leo. Leo sighed, feeling the guilt already piling up on his heart. But he couldn't apologize, not now. Not when he meant every word he said.
"Get a doctor. I want her to get examined to make sure the guards didn't hurt her too badly getting her here." He ordered the guard that had brought them down, turning to leave. "I… I'll be in my room."
Leo slowly walked down the corridor towards the stairs, feeling dizzy. BOOM! Leo whirled around as other human prisoners cheered. Shit. He had forgotten Ava's powers. Leo raced back to the cell, seeing the back wall blown out and Ava running. "CATCH HER!" Leo ordered the guard. Ava, the stupid idiot. Leo was not going to lose her again.