Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Halt right there.”

Raph skidded to a stop, planting himself between his brothers and the large contingent of Hidden City police. Raph knew they were technically still wanted because of that whole prison break thing, but Draxum wasn’t even with them, and they should have been far enough away from the city to not attract attention. 

But apparently they did. And now all that being far from the city meant was that they were alone in a large rocky field with no place to run and no place to hide. There was only one option left.

“Officers—” Raph said, his voice pitching up at the end of the word. 

“We haven’t done anything wrong,” Leo cut in, climbing up Raph’s shell and leaning over his shoulder to make his point without leaving the safety his older brother provided.

The head officer narrowed his eyes and pointed at Leo. 

“You helped Baron Draxum escape and stole from the patrons at the Hirsute Resort and Spa.” 

“I was framed,” Leo gasped, one hand held to his chest as he leaned back as far as he could without falling off of Raph’s shell.

“You also helped notable pirate Capitán Piel escape and steal from a charity auction.”

Leo shrugged, and with a nervous laugh said, “I did do that.”

“Leo,” Raph said, reproach evident in his voice.

“What?” Leo asked, dropping to the ground. “It was being held by Big Mama. Besides we saved the world from the Shredder. We’re heroes of humanity and Yokai-kind. Is it yokai kind or yokai-jin or just yokai?”

“Enough,” Donnie cut off Leo’s musing, and pushed in front of Raph to stare down the officers. “We are here investigating weird mystical energy that could prove to be a future threat. And you dumb-dumbs want to waste our time with this?”

The pot’s lid came off with a small clink, heat escaping in a rolling puff of steam as it hit the cooler air, revealing a layer of white rice. Without another thought, Raph scooped some in a bowl and replaced the lid, before opening and rummaging through a nearby drawer, easily fishing out both a lighter and a pack of incense sealed in a ziploc bag.

The drawer slid shut with a dull thud. Raph turned and exited the kitchen. 

Raph heard the grinding sound of metal hitting metal.

The sound was distant. But the second he heard it, it was the only sound that mattered.

Far, far, above the battlefield he could see smoke from one of Donnie’s battleshell’s rotors. The smoke provided a record of the chaotic path as Donnie dipped and spun in uncontrolled circles.

With each foot Donnie sank, Raph felt as though his stomach dropped twice as far.

He left two doppelgangers fighting the Hidden City police, and raced to get beneath Donnie.

But he was too far away. 

The police were too numerous for his doppelgangers to keep completely distracted.

And even if he could get below Donnatello, he could no longer grow like he could with his tonfa.

He couldn’t catch Donnie like he did Leo. All he could do was watch as his brother plummeted to the ground.

He never thought of silence as something that could be loud. Yet right now, as he stood in the middle of the lair, it was deafening.

For a moment, Raph stopped in his tracks, suddenly hyper aware of the wrongness of it all. There should always be something, like the sounds of Mikey humming to himself, accompanied by the rattle and hiss of a spray can as he painted over the newly cemented sections of their lair. There should be the distant drone of a TV, accompanied by the occasional laughter from dad as he amused himself with the antics of a game show. There should be the sound of skateboard wheels rolling on concrete and loud whining from Leo as he lamented the loss of their skateboard ramp. And there should be something coming from Donnie’s lab in particular, if not the extra buzzes and cracks of nonstop repairs, then because there would always be something going on in there regardless— a physical sound that probably reflected the way ideas thrummed in his brother’s brain.

But there was nothing. The entire lair was hollow and stale and devoid of the life and energy that once filled every nook and cranny. It felt worse than when they returned from the aftermath of Shredder’s defeat, and saw the one place they knew as home nearly destroyed. At least then, they could still rebuild what they lost. And even if they couldn’t, they could always find another place to live. Because when it came down to it, they still had each other; and so long as they had each other, they would always be home. 

But what were they supposed to do when even that was on the verge of destruction? 

Raph shook the thoughts from his mind before finally moving along. But as he walked past Donnie’s lab, he looked in through the crack of the door against his better judgement, and faltered. 

There Donatello sat, head in his hands and a cold, long forgotten coffee abandoned at his side.  His battle shell was laid out in front of him, the fixes and possible upgrades made so far once again taken apart, leaving him back at square one. 

That would mark the fifth time since the incident.

When Mikey landed, he was still holding Donnie, one arm looped under his legs, the other wrapped around his broken but no longer burning battle shell. Raph was relieved to see them both safely on the ground. But he was sure once they got home, Donnie would grieve over his destroyed battle shell. To grab him safely, Mikey had to break the entire hovering section off.

Donnie glared at the officers moving in fast. 

“Is it just me, or did these guys get more competent since the last time we met?”

“Didn’t they capture you last time you met?” Mikey said, his grin falling as bright pink lines formed on the ground around him. “Raph, catch.”

Raph reacted instantly, catching the thrown Donnie gently in his arms. A retreat order was on the tip of his tongue, and Mikey was already racing towards him.

But when Mikey tried to pass over the pink lines, he was forcefully thrown back.

“Guys?” Mikey’s voice pitched up as he backed away from the officers that surrounded his cage.

There was a faint sound as Raph neared their rooms, only heard because he had been subconsciously listening for it in the first place. It led him by the heart until his hand was raised to draw back the curtain to Mikey’s room. And it was within that outstretched hand that he once again saw the pack of incense it still held, and he stopped. 

Raph stood there, hesitant and frozen as soft sobs and sniffles continued to drift out of the room. The tug at his heart was even stronger now, urging him to go in and comfort his youngest brother, to engulf him in a hug and give him a shoulder to cry on. 

But Raph didn’t. Instead, he drew in another shaky breath to steady himself, incense and lighter clenched tighter in his fist as he lowered it back to his side. He continued past Mikey’s room, one step at a time, despite how his chest felt tighter the further he drew away. 

He couldn’t comfort Mikey now. Not while holding what he was holding.

The first weapon that hit Mikey was the hilt of a sword bouncing against his plastron. He grasped that hilt and instantly faded into blue light. 

Leo replaced him in the circle. But he only stayed there for the beat that it took for him to catch the sword Mikey returned to him and launch it past the officers.

Leo reformed behind them.

“Too slow,” he laughed, cutting through the device that created the pink lines.

The officer turned.

Leo stuck out his tongue and threw his sword.

A grey and pink sphere was tossed.

Leo disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Misty purple waves spread over the field.

Leo’s sword skidded to a stop at Raph’s feet.

Entering Leo’s room was always the hardest part. 

A small part of Raph almost laughed at the irony of his inability to go through doorways today, but it quickly died off, leaving him with nothing but cold, heavy dread.

Nevertheless, he steeled himself. He already came this far, so he had to see this through. He was not going to let another brother down today. He stepped into the room, pushing aside the curtains. 

Some parts of the walls had been repaired, while others still had chunks of concrete missing and large cracks running along the surface. It was all still stable, of course. If it wasn’t, then it would’ve no longer been Leonardo’s room. Except Raph was no longer sure if that would’ve been a good thing or not. 

In the end, everything that was Leo had been crammed into this one small space, either kept the way Leo left it by Donnie, who would’ve wrapped the entire room in mylar if he had his way, or rummaged through by Mikey, who had simply wanted to feel closer to his older brother. 

It was like a time capsule filled with too many ghosts of the past. But this was fine. Raph expected to see all this. He expected to feel this way. After all, it was the same, time and time again. He should have been able to take all of that in stride. And perhaps he would have been able to too.

But when he entered the room, he hadn’t been expecting the faint, blue apparition standing at the other end, head bowed and shell facing towards Raph. 

Raph’s breath caught in his throat, his knees becoming weak. He blinked hard to get rid of the sudden blurred stinging in his eyes, heart swelling with a hope he couldn’t afford to feel, because it couldn’t be him . It couldn’t be that easy after everything they tried. And sure enough, when he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the apparition was already gone. Raph was once again alone, hope already crumbling away and leaving him hollow as he stared at the image of Leo’s smiling face.

“Stop.” Raph ordered, extending his arm to block Donnie’s progress.

Donnie glared at him before shifting his focus to the sword in Raph’s hand. “We have to get to the mystic neutralizing device and disable it.”

“We’re outnumbered.” Raph countered, “We have to get out of here.”

“Our brother-”

“Will reform when the device’s power wears off. According to dad that should only be ten minutes or so.”

Raph pushed his brothers backwards. He could hear Donnie hiss under his breath but neither Donnie nor Mikey fought his order.

He knew that they would be angry with him when they got home. But he also knew that Leo would agree with the call. It was better to keep them all safe even if it meant delaying Leo’s reformation.

Raph pushed his brothers to run. He kept his shell between them and the pursuing Hidden City Police officers. Their shouts started off close, but as they ran, Raph could hear them growing more distant.

Still when the shouts completely stopped, it was sudden.

Raph risked turning for a second. He worried that he’d see much more back up, or them having teleported to be right on their heels.

Instead he saw pink and blue light swirling but not mixing.

He saw the Hidden City Police turn and run.

He felt Leo’s sword vibrate in his hand.

He remembered thinking that it was a relief that the anti-mystic device had worn off so soon.

He was wrong.

The photo on the altar had been cropped out from one of the group selfies they took when preparing to go to the Magic Town House, showing Leo sharply dressed in a black suit. Donnie’s shoulder was barely in frame as Leo used it as an armrest, his other hand raised in a peace sign. His toothy grin was so wide that his eyes were nearly shut, his entire face practically glowing with excitement.

It was the happiest Raph had ever seen him. 

He knelt in front of it, setting the items in hand down and placing the bowl of rice at the altar before glancing at the photo again. It was sharp and clear like a moment frozen in time, no doubt thanks to April spending extra money at a high end printing service.

They really should pay her back for it. In fact, they needed to pay her back for a lot of things. He offered to do so, but April had only shook her head, placing a hand on his shoulder and said that it was the least she could do. He only recognized the guilt swirling in her eyes because it was a near reflection of his own, but it only served to make him more confused because none of this was April’s fault. She shouldn’t have to feel guilty about any of this. 

After all, she wasn’t the one who messed up.

It should have been dramatic. It should have made a sound that echoed throughout the land. But the event that took his little brother from him. It was quiet, and if Raph wasn't looking at the sword when it happened, he wouldn't have noticed the cracks. 

He wouldn’t have noticed as the metal fell to the ground.

But he did.

He saw the shards fall. 

He knew exactly where they landed.

But he also saw the rapidly expanding sphere of pink and blue light.

Raph reacted on instinct alone.

He had nightmares sometimes, though he wouldn’t ever admit it to his family. Leo would smile in some of them too. Those nightmares would always be the worst, because that smile would always radiate the faith Leo had in his older brother. It was a faith that Raphael should’ve kept closer to his chest, a faith that he would’ve sooner died than ever misplace. But regardless, it was. And in those dreams, cracks would rupture along his brother’s form as if he was made out of glass, and no matter how fast Raph ran, he could never reach Leo in time before his brother was reduced into nothing but a pile of shattered pieces.

Sometimes, it wouldn’t just be Leo. 

Raph tore his eyes away from the photo, trying to force those thoughts out of his head. He busied himself with the small ziploc bag, pulling out a stick of incense and switching on the lighter with a small click. He held the stick to the fire and watched as another small flame bloomed on the tip, and counted the seconds, one, two, then three, before gently blowing it out. Stringy wisps of white smoke swirled in the air as he stuck the incense in its holder. 

A faint, charred aroma filled the room as Raph once again looked at the altar in its entirety. The broken hilt sat at its usual spot next to the photo frame, having been placed there at around the same time. Meanwhile, his own offering of rice had not been the first today. There were others already on the altar: a small plate with a singular peach, a cup of tea, and a slice of pizza that had long since grown cold. 

“Hey, Leo,” he finally spoke, gingerly taking the photo frame into his hands, gazing at the picture behind the glass. “It’s been a while, huh? You’ve probably been waiting for old Raph to tell you what’s been going on since last we talked.” He forced out a laugh, trying to maintain a smile on his face, trying to pretend, just once, that things were a bit more okay. “But man, there’s been a lot that’s happened. I-I don’t even know where to begin.”

He stopped, if only to try and think of something to say. Something good. Leo deserved that at least.

“Oh, I got it! You know, April’s almost done with school for the year, and remember that dress you commandeered from that closing department store? Bet you thought I didn't know about that, but I do! I mean, after Mikey told me. Anyway I-I did the alterations you had talked to him about and we gave it to April like he wanted to. She wore it to prom with Sunita. Though I'm pretty sure she cried the whole time. Still, when she brings the pictures I'll put one here so you can see. She looked amazing, just like you knew she would.”

Raph took a moment to imagine Leo’s reaction to the news. “Of course she would, it’s April!” Leo would say with confidence, equal parts proud of himself for being right, and of April for continuing to be the great person she is. It’d then lead to him lamenting the idea of missing April’s shining moment, and then to him gripping onto Raph, making sure his big brother holds onto that promise. Raph tried not to think about how much his heart ached at the thought.

“Casey’s been around too,” he continued. “She actually came by again yesterday. Planted herself in the kitchen and refused to move until at least one of us went out on patrol. So, I mean, I went, and it...” 

Raph paused, his smile fading as the ache in his chest feels more like a twisting hot knife. The strong front he had been trying so hard to maintain crumbles with unsurprising ease and quickness. He heaved a sigh, letting go of it entirely.

“Oh, who am I kidding?” he muttered, pinching the space between his eyes. “Leo, it's hard. There are people out there that need help. Crime doesn't stop just because you're...” Another pause. Another moment of hesitation. “It still feels good to help them, but pizza supreme in the sky , Leo, it's not the same without you or your one liners.” A watery laugh managed to bubble out of his mouth. “Yeah, you heard me, Raph misses your one-liners, and your puns"

Any levity he managed to feel was quick to die away like a smoldering ember. 

“I wanna say that I’m fine despite it all, but I think we both know that’s a lie,” he said. “I think I’ve been trying to be fine, but I don’t think it’s working that well. I-I still don’t even know if I wanna be. It just feels...wrong, to be fine with you being gone. But I also can’t help but feel like I have to be, because if I’m not, then how am I supposed to help Donnie, or Mikey, or dad? How am I supposed to keep us all together?” He hesitated, before adding in a smaller voice: “Do I even have the right to do that anymore?” 

Silence answered his question like always. But even still, Raph waited a few seconds, his gaze flickering to the broken hilt.

“You know, Donnie stopped Mikey from taking your hilt again this morning,” he said. “I'm not sure which side I should take in that, though they're both pleading their cases to me. Mikey just wants to be closer to you, but Donnie is right. The hilt is yours and it doesn't feel right to just tote it around. I just...I just wish I knew what you wanted. I just want to make everything okay again. I think we all do, but none of us are sure how.

“I mean, you’d think we’d be able catch a break, right? After everything that happened? And when we defeated the Shredder, it felt like we’d all gotten so much closer as a family, but now...now it’s all falling apart again. Not to mention dad—” 

Raph cut himself off for a moment, beak pressing into a thin line. His gaze flicked away, a debate warring in his head over his next words. But soon, he looked back at the photo and took a deep breath, his mind made up. 

“Leo, I realize you're probably taking your time fanboying over Houdini and Atomic Lad’s actor. But dad, he...he puts on a strong face for us, but Donnie's room shares a vent with his, and I can hear him when I walk by,” he confessed, words coming out in a rush. “He's not doing great, Leo. He's been trying to reach you through the Hamato ancestors, and I don't know if you can hear me here, but he'd really appreciate it if you could pick up, or have a message sent along if you ever bump into any of them. So would I, actually. I mean, maybe you already did. I thought I saw you when I came in, but I just... I need to be sure. I need something that'll let me know it isn't just my mind playing tricks on me.”

Raph was back to waiting for an answer he wouldn’t receive. But even then, he stared intently at the photo, as if staring hard enough would cause the person it depicted to come back to life and talk to him. 

But nothing happened, and nobody came. 

His gaze softened. “Please?” he pleaded weakly, Leo’s image devolving into blurred, colored shapes as tears stung his eyes. “Even...Even if you don't want to appear to me, at least reach out to our brothers. They didn't do anything wrong, Leo, and they miss you so much.” 

His hand gripped the hilt of Leo’s sword so hard, the wrapped fabric dug into the palm of his hand. 

He scooped his other brothers up effortlessly. 

His feet slammed against the ground. His lungs felt like he couldn’t get enough air. His vision narrowed.

Raph ran faster than he had ever before in his life. He pushed himself until his legs could barely hold them and a sudden gust of wind sent them all tumbling to the ground.

“Where’s Leo?” Mikey’s voice cut through Raph’s exhaustion. “Where’s the rest of his sword?”

“It broke,” Raph explained pushing himself up, “It fell, but we can go back and—”

The sight took Raph’s breath away. There was nothing left behind them. Dirt, rock, everything was gone, leaving a perfectly empty dome behind.

The shards were gone.

He had left his brother behind. 

Mikey and Donnie were already running but Leo. 

Leo couldn’t run.

And Raph failed him.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I never meant to break our family like this. But I did.” 

Raph pressed his forehead against the cold glass covering Leo’s photo as tears ran unhindered down his beak. 

“Please. I don’t know how to fix this,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Not without you.”

Chapter Text

Mikey hunched over his sketchbook, using a pencil to lightly sketch the outline of his brother leaping in the air, one katana held out in front of him and his upper body slightly twisted in the way that meant he was about to throw the other. 

Wait. Would Leo still have katanas to fight with, wherever he was? 

He quickly shook that thought out of his head as he continued to draw. For the sake of the painting, Leo would have his swords. As the artist, his word was law, and his word stated that the Leonardo on this very page would be a moment of him in heroic action. It would show Leo’s good side too, because Leo deserved that much and more. 

When that was done, Mikey moved onto Leo’s face, leaning even closer as careful graphite trails became the shapes of Leo’s eyes and mask, and his confident, cocky grin, and then finishing off with his brother’s crescent markings. With that, Mikey took a breath and leaned back, surveying his work with both pride and an aching wistfulness. 

Satisfied with what he had so far, he pulled himself back in, sketching someone else in the large space he had purposefully left blank until now. After all, Leo shouldn’t need to be alone. 

The second person took form in a ninja outfit with loose flowing cloths and armored boots, hair pulled back in a long ponytail that whipped around in a way that was both elegant and fierce. Her back would be almost to Leo’s shell, and she would have eyes that were determined, but kind, because that was how Mikey remembered her. He could only hope he was doing gram gram justice as well. 

He brought out his watercolors, mixing up the perfect jade greens to color the drawing with, minding the lines as he painted. But for Leo’s, he made sure to have his green lean a bit closer to blue, with his markings being an even more apparent shade of it. After all, even as a Hamato spirit, Leonardo wouldn’t be Leonardo at all, if there wasn’t even a tiny hint of blue on him. 

Mikey sat back and let the water colors dry as he went to find his white ink. He traced all the pencil lines with it, filling in the irises as well as adding a few more highlights and action lines. Throughout it all, he idly wondered what it is they would be fighting against. Probably some giant evil spirit with four heads, tentacles, and a lot of sharp teeth. They would definitely be winning. It would probably be a really cool fight too. 

Maybe that’s why Leo never visited. Maybe he was too busy kicking some evil spirit butt with gram gram and the others, that he didn’t have time to come see them. 

Mikey faltered, if only to push down the ache swelling in him. He capped the ink and waited for it to dry until a thought occurred to him. With a grin slowly forming on his face, he gingerly gathered the painting into his hands and snuck his way to Leo’s room, stopping in front of the altar.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked at the photo. 

“Hey Leo,” he greeted in a hushed voice. “Really hope you don’t mind me barging in like this, but I thought you’d appreciate this super cool painting I made of you. Here.” He placed the art next to Leo’s photo, careful not to disturb anything that was already there. “It’s you and gram gram. It’s awesome, right? I really hope you can still see it from wherever you are.”

He hoped Leo was doing fine. He had to be, because wherever he was, and wherever he’d end up, gram gram would most likely be there too. And so long as gram gram was there, Leo wouldn’t ever be alone. He’d be okay.

But right now, Mikey really wished he could feel the same. He wished gram gram and the other ancestors weren’t the only one that could see and talk to Leo, laughing and groaning at the jokes Leo most definitely cracked.

Deep down, Mikey felt the low simmer of envy. He felt the ache of yearning. 

He ignored them both with a shaky sigh, his attention slowly dragged down to the hilt. Despite his better judgement, he picked it up, his thumb brushing against the wrappings, eyeing the place where the blade had broken off. 

“Hey, Leo? You think I could just...stay here, for a while?” he asked quietly. “I know Donnie’s gonna get mad, but it’s not like it’s his room. It’s yours.” He forced out a chuckle as he looked back to the photo. “And y’know what? If you really wanna kick me out of here, you’re going to have to come here and do it yourself. What do you say about that?”

There was no answer. Only silence.

“That’s what I thought,” Mikey said, though any cheer he forced out fell flat. Gripping the hilt tighter, he sat down on Leo’s bed, pulling up his brother’s blanket and wrapping it around himself. 

It still smelled like him, Mikey noted, his chest feeling tight as he snuggled further into the blanket’s warmth, before glancing back up at the altar.

Mikey wondered if Leo told gram gram how much they missed her. 

...

He wondered if Leo knew how much they missed him. 

When Michelangelo drifted back up into the waking world, it was to the sound of muffled shouting. His heart sank as he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping against hope to sink back down into that blissful nothingness of sleep. 

“He’s in there right now, sleeping in Leo’s bed, Raph! Leo’s bed!” Donnie could be heard saying.

Mikey grimaced, eyes cracking open at the knowledge that they were talking about him again. A small part of him felt guilty about it. He knew Donnie never liked it when he touched Leo’s stuff. But at the same time, he couldn’t understand why. Everything in this room was filled with traces of their brother— proof of his existence and the memories they shared together. Why was it wrong to try and revisit them? Why was it wrong to try and hold onto as many as he could before they disappeared too?

“He’s not going to hurt anything,” Raph placated. 

“It’s Leo’s room!”

The urge to just stay in bed and block everything out weighed down on Mikey like a heavy blanket, but he shrugged it off with a small sigh, forcing himself to get up. He began to channel a bit of Dr. Feelings back into himself, preparing to break up the argument before his brothers could say anything they’d regret, and plead his case when their focus turned to him.

But then right there, with his shell turned towards Mikey, stood Leonardo. 

Mikey froze, heart stuttering in his chest. He quietly pinched himself to eliminate any possibility of this being nothing but a lingering dream. Pain bloomed on his bicep, confirming the reality of it all. 

Leo was really here. He was different from how Mikey imagined or dreamt him to be. There wasn’t a single hint of green on him. Instead, he was different shades of translucent blue, with glowing markings and stripes. 

But whatever differences there were didn’t matter, because in the end, his big brother was standing right there, focused solely on the argument happening outside.

“It gives him comfort. You know Leo—”

“No Raph, I don’t,” Donnie interrupted. “None of us do. Do you know why, Raph?”

There was silence for a moment, before Raph weakly said: “Because he’s gone.”

“ Because you left him behind,” Donnie corrected, and it didn’t escape Mikey’s notice when Leo visibly stiffened at Don’s words. “Because you insisted on separating his sword from the mystic neutralizing orb.”

“If we hadn’t run—”

“According to my calculations, there is an 87.3% chance that that explosion was caused by the separation. If we hadn’t run, they would have arrested us again. And then pops and April would bust us out. But we did run, Raph. Because you said so!”

Leo was frantically shaking his head now, trying to rush over to Donnie and Raph. But some kind of force was visibly anchoring him down somewhere, even when he was straining to pull against it, feet moving but not really taking him anywhere. 

“No, that’s not— I didn’t mean...” Raph struggled to say.

“ But you did. And because of that, no more sword, and no more Leo. So don’t you dare try and tell me what he’d want!”

The more Leo seemed to pull against the force, the more his ghostly form seemed to flicker. It was enough to snap Mikey out of his stupor as he sucked in a breath past the spiny lump in his throat. He clambered off the bed, gingerly approaching his brother until he was right next to him.

“Leo?” he managed to say, voice coming out in a weak croak. 

Leo perked up at the sound of his name. He turned towards Mikey, eyes a blank white, devoid of irises and pupils. For a moment, Mikey wanted to tell himself that Leo was smiling, but before he could be sure, his brother disappeared without warning.

“Leo, wait!” Mikey cried out, reaching out to the space Leo occupied just seconds ago. But it was too late. He was already gone, leaving no trace of him being there at all. 

Rapid footsteps approached the room, and Mikey turned just as Raph threw open the curtains, Donnie following just behind him. 

“What’s going on? What happened?” Raph asked, eyes immediately zeroing in on Mikey.

“I— Leo, he— I just—” Mikey struggled to speak, glancing between his brothers and where Leo just stood. 

“Easy, Mikey,” Raph soothed.

“Whatever you saw was just a dream,” Donnie added, his tone flat, but Mikey could see the concern in his brother’s eyes.

“No, it wasn’t a dream! He was here! I— he looked right at me,” Mikey insisted.

Donnie arched a brow, his skepticism visibly increasing. “If he looked right at you, then why isn’t he still here?”

“I don’t know!” Mikey stared hopefully at the space next to him, as if doing so might bring Leo back and prove he was right. That it was really real, and not a part of his imagination like his brothers seemed to believe.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a dream?” Raph piped up carefully.

“Yes, Raph! I pinched myself and everything!”

“Well,” Donnie began, and from the tone alone, Mikey knew his brother was going to refute with some scientific jargon, something that he once viewed as endearing but now only sent a spike of annoyance. “According to Sheffield psychologist, Tom Stafford, pinching yourself is actually not a great test. You can easily remember what it feels like to do so and— 

“I was not dreaming!” Mikey snapped, glaring at Donnie. “He was real. He was here. And he was listening and reacting to your argument!”

Donnie stiffened. “No,” he grounded out, glaring right back at Mikey, who bristled at the blatant dismissal.

“Yes he was!”

“No!” Donnie roared, getting right up into Mikey’s face. “Just because you want to sleep in Leo's room doesn't mean you get to do this! You don’t get to leverage our dead brother to win a stupid argument!”

Mikey’s face fell, cold horror and guilt washing over him as he realized just how Donnie was interpreting his words. “I wasn’t—”

“ Mikey,” Raph began, talking like he often did when he was trying to be stern, after one of them did something wrong. It sent a sting of betrayal, something Mikey didn’t bother to hide as he looked back at Raph, because Mikey wouldn’t ever do something like that and Raph should’ve known. He should’ve known better.

“I wasn’t! I swear I didn’t even think about it. I—” he faltered, looking between his two brothers and their expressions. It was then a realization slammed into him like a speeding train, air turning to ice in his lungs.

Nothing good would come from pushing this further. He knew. He could practically see the rift threatening to grow between him and his brothers if he did. Especially with Donnie.

Mikey released his breath, turning his attention to the ground as he swallowed the words he wanted to say. “No, Donnie, you’re right,” he said instead. “Even if I didn’t mean to, that wasn’t fair. So you win, I’m not gonna sleep here any more, promise.

The results were almost immediate, as Donnie slowly relaxed. “Ok,” he said, though his tone was flat, barely betraying how he truly felt. “I’m going back to my lab. I have something to work on.” With that, he left on his heel, leaving Mikey alone with Raph as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

“Mikey?” Raph ventured.

“I never meant to hurt him,” Mikey said in a quiet voice, uncaring if it cracked near the end as a tight knot formed in his chest.

Raph let out a sigh. “I know.” 

He looked back up at Raph, meeting his brother’s somber gaze. “I really did see Leo.”

Raph stiffened, before looking away. “I miss him too, Mikey.”

Mikey frowned, feeling his hackles slowly rise again at the mistrust before he pushed them back down. “No, I—” He didn’t get to finish what he wanted to say, his words cut off when he suddenly found himself pulled into a hug.

“Come on, let's go make some rice,” Raph said. “That always makes me feel closer to—” he cut himself off, and even without seeing Raph’s face, Mikey could sense the grimace on it. “Lets go make some rice.” 

Mikey didn’t respond immediately. But when he did, it was in the form of a quiet agreement as he hugged his brother back. He proceeded to follow Raph to the kitchen, with no evidence of the hurt or bitterness stewing inside of him. 

His brothers didn’t believe him. But that was fine, even if their skepticism stung, because Mikey knew what he saw. Leo was still here, and if he was the only one who was going to have to prove it, then so be it. 

It had been a while since any of them had seen or heard from their dad. 

It was a fact that was frequently lost amongst the general melancholy and tension that clogged the air, and overshadowed by the events that sparked from it. But even then, it was there.

It wasn’t like Splinter hadn’t tried. He did, in the beginning. That much was clear. He tried so, so hard to be there for Mikey and his brothers after what happened to Leo. But it was also clear that it was wearing their dad down to the point he withdrew into his room for longer and more often, until eventually he rarely came out at all. 

Mikey remembered how much it saddened him in the beginning, but despite how much he didn’t want it to, it had become part of a new norm, the same way the tense relationship and arguments between Raph and Donnie became a new norm too. 

It was just another reason to not like this new ‘normal’ that was being created in their home.

But, just because Mikey had grown used to it, it didn’t take away the relief he felt upon finding Splinter in the kitchen one evening. Except even that shriveled when he saw his dad nursing a cup of tea that wasn’t even steaming, eyes staring ahead and through what had been placed across from him.

“Dad?” 

At the sound of Mikey’s voice, Splinter turned to him, the haze in his eyes immediately clearing.

“Oh, Orange!” Splinter said, perking up at the sight of him. “You must really be working on your stealth. I almost didn’t hear you come in.” 

Mikey continued to stare at him, gaze only breaking away to take a quick glance at something, a painful sadness surging over him at the sight of it.

“Dad...”

“Do not worry about me, Orange,” Splinter responded, seizing the chance created by Mikey’s hesitation. “I was simply taking the time to enjoy a nice, hot cup of tea.” He made a show of drinking from his cup, visibly trying to hide his disgust when he realized it had long since gone cold. 

Mikey only pressed his beak into a thin line, hands wringing as he debated whether or not to address how Leo’s mug was sitting right across Splinter’s. 

“Anyways, you are right on time! I have been meaning to ask one of you for photos.”

“Photos?” Mikey echoed.

“Yes,” Splinter replied, before hesitating. “Of...Leonardo.” 

It took a second for his words to wrap around Mikey’s head. “Oh,” is all he could think to say in the end.

“ It has come to my attention that...I do not have enough. I did not take enough.” A rueful, regretful look flashed across Splinter’s eyes when he said that, but it disappeared so quickly that someone who didn’t know any better might’ve thought it was a trick of the light. “But you and your brothers, you are always together, and you are always on those pesky phones! Especially Purple! Surely you must have—”

“Ohmigosh yes!” Mikey gasped, exaggerating as much excitement as he could. He practically leapt onto the chair next to Splinter’s, his phone already pulled out. 

“You sure came to the right turtle, dad! Because I practically have the most photos out of anyone!” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Well, actually, I think that title goes to Donnie. But, I’m definitely the one with the best pics of the bunch!” 

Mikey decided not to mention how most of those were from Donnie as well, as he typed in his passcode to unlock his phone, immediately heading to the photo album. He put his phone between the two of them, so Splinter could watch as he scrolled through his gallery. 

“Okay okay, so first of all,” Mikey said as he tapped on one of the earlier photos. It was a selfie taken by April, angling the camera so that both he and Leo were in frame with her, while also showing the Stock & Shop in the background. April’s arm had been hooked around Leo’s shoulders, while Leo’s had been hooked around Mikey’s, using his other hand to give April some bunny ears. They were all smiling widely, though Mikey could recognize his own nervousness reflected back through the screen, his own hands tightly clutching his ghost vacuum. “So you know how I used to watch those videos on can stacking, right?”

“You watched videos of people stacking cans?” Splinter asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, but that’s like, a whole other rabbit hole. Anyways, there was this one that featured this creepy ghost called the Gumbus. You should’ve seen it, dad. It spooked me so much that I would’ve had nightmares about it for weeks! But Leo was a total non believer in ghosts, so he, April, and I decided to go and check to see if the ghost was a real thing.

“It was like a whole episode of Scooby Doo! We saw the Gumbus, or at least what we thought was the Gumbus, but it turned out to be this robot thing made by Stockboy— this dude who helped stock the shelves and made the coolest can-stacking videos—”

Splinter suddenly burst out laughing. “Wait wait wait! His name is Stockboy, and he worked as a stock boy?” he managed to ask before dissolving into another fit of laughter.

Mikey began to laugh as well. 

“I know right? We were all thinking the same thing when he told us that!” he answered. “But yeah, turns out he did all that for some more subscribers and donations or something? He went on this huge rant about people watching his content for free. You should’ve seen Leo when he realized he was right about the ghost thing all along. He rubbed it in my face for days after that.”

He became quiet for a moment, memories of phony ghosts suddenly interweaving with the skeptical looks from Raph and Donnie. What came after was a tight and cold feeling, made by the fear of possibly being wrong about another ghostly matter— one that hit much, much closer to home this time. He quickly shoved that feeling into the ‘never think about’ corner of his mind, locked securely in an imaginary vault so that it’d never make itself known again. 

“Anyways, before we even broke into the store, April wanted us to take a selfie to, you know, celebrate our first ever attempt at ghost busting,” Mikey continued, maintaining the smile on his face before it could slip. He swiped his finger on the screen, moving onto the next photo. 

Splinter leaned closer to the screen. “Aha! I know this one! I’d recognize those outfits anywhere!” he exclaimed, staring at the photo of all four of them posing and decked out in their costumes. It was taken in the aftermath of their gig at Albeartoland.

“Oh yeah! We never really told you what happened, huh?” Mikey replied, looking at the scattered robot parts laying in the background. “It was a total disaster at first! Albearto came back—“

“Who is this ‘Albearto’?” 

“Oh, well it started as this old robot bear from this pizza place April used to work at, but then Donnie tried to fix it and it ended up trying to take over humanity.” 

“Ah, another one of Purple’s schemes. I should have known.” 

“Yup! So like I was saying, Albearto came back and started creating an army from the other Albearto’s at the park, which drove away all of our adoring fans! But luckily, they seemed willing to watch us perform instead.” Mikey’s grin grew wider. “We absolutely killed it, by the way. Our tunes were so good that it literally destroyed all of them!” 

“Of course you did,” Splinter agreed. “But, now that you had such a great debut, perhaps you might reconsider adding another member this time?”

“Hm, not sure. We haven’t really thought about doing another gig. And if we did, any applications would have to go through the big man again.” The big man obviously being Raph, the literal big man. “But I can definitely put in a good word for you!” 

We’re down a member anyways, was a cruel, horrifying thought that somehow whispered in the back of his mind, before Mikey immediately went to set it on fire and lock its ashes in that same, secure vault. He would not think about it like that. He refused to. 

He quickly went back to the gallery, eyes scanning for another photo. 

“I took this one at the Run of the Mill,” he said, sharing another selfie he secretly took, showing Hueso chewing both Leo and him out in the background. They were both still wearing waiter uniforms, and what little of the restaurant that could be seen was in tatters. 

“That was a crazy night too. Hueso asked us to help out in his restaurant, but it turns out he did a goof and accidentally set up these meetings with these two rival mob bosses at the same time! Leo and I ended up getting super competitive with each other, but in our defense, they were also paying us with these tiny unicorns, like this one there!” Mikey pointed to a tiny unicorn still in frame, gnawing on one of the booth seats. “You gotta believe me when I say they were probably the most precious things in the whole world! We managed to smooth things over in the end, but we might’ve also made a mess out of Hueso’s restaurant? That’s why he’s looking so angry here. But it’s fine, because he wasn’t actually too angry about it. Probably.” 

They hadn’t seen Hueso in a while, now that Mikey thought about it. Briefly, he wondered if the skeleton man missed them. They really should pop into his restaurant at some point, because Hueso’s pizza was good pizza, and Leo was sure to miss it. 

Mikey liked Hueso too. They all did, and he’d like to think that Hueso liked them back. If there was anyone else who probably deserved to know what happened, it would be him.

The problem was, Mikey wasn’t sure if he was ready to be the one to tell him. 

“And when was this one taken?” Splinter spoke up. He had already switched to another photo, this time showing his brothers, April, and him posing around a frozen ghost bear, a staff standing tall with all their scarves waving proudly in the breeze like a rainbow flag. 

“Late last year. It had snowed a lot on the surface, so we all decided to have a snow day,” Mikey explained. 

“And why is there a...” Splinter squinted, “a bear, frozen like a popsicle behind you?” 

“Oh that’s Ghost Bear. Y’know, Raph’s wrestling idol. Except he got bit by an oozesquito at some point and became a literal ghost bear. He tried to ruin our snow day and even destroyed our Jupiter Jim snowman! So we turned him into our replacement snowman instead. There was also this huge thing where we couldn’t agree on which flag to use, because April and Donnie absolutely refused to admit that our movie was the best. But in the end, we all decided to use our scarves as a flag.” 

“I see. Well that explains where all your scarves went.” 

“Ha, yeah. I guess we all just forgot to bring them home, huh? But at least they got to live out their final days being Jupiter Jim’s flag,” Mikey replied, staring fondly at the image. 

Suddenly, a realization crossed his mind as Splinter’s words at the very start of this entire conversation finally caught up to him.

“Oh wait. Aw darn!” Mikey groaned, smacking his forehead. “Sorry dad. I instantly got so caught up in story mode that I forgot I was just supposed to just be giving you some pics,” he said sheepishly. 

Splinter frowned. “Why are you apologizing? I never told you to stop, did I?” he asked, before turning his attention back to the phone’s screen, his gaze becoming soft in a way Mikey never saw before. “It is true that I only wanted the photos at first, but it’s through listening to your stories that I’ve realized they would be meaningless if I do not know of the memories they hold.” 

Without even meaning to, a huge smile began spreading across Mikey’s face again. A warm feeling bloomed inside of him, comfortable and relieving like the moment one pressed their cold hands against a mug of hot cocoa.

“Now then,” Splinter said, switching to a different photo. “How about telling me what happened here?” 

And so Mikey did, with great enthusiasm. He pulled up photo after photo, telling the stories of the adventures they’ve had with as much grandeur as he could achieve, answering any questions Splinter would ask while he did, and bouncing back any commentary his dad would supply. He talked and talked and laughed whenever Splinter laughed, even when his throat was starting to feel more and more like sandpaper from how much he was using it. It didn’t matter at all. Mikey could care less if all of this resulted in him destroying his own voice, because this was the happiest he had ever seen his dad in so long. 

And for one, blissful moment, it became easier to pretend things were right with the world. 

Except, then, something else began to happen. A shift towards something that wasn’t the happy place Mikey had been hoping to preserve. It showed in the way a shadow slowly but surely fell over Splinter’s eyes, and in the way an invisible burden formed on his shoulders, weighing down on him more and more with each tale that Mikey spun. It showed in the way his dad’s laughter started sounding forced, until it just became sparser and sparser...

Until eventually, a story had been met with nothing but contemplative silence, as Splinter stared forlornly at Leo’s mug. 

“Dad?” Mikey tentatively spoke as a cold, dreadful wave of deja vu washed over him. 

“Have I been a good father, Orange?” Splinter asked.

It was less the question and more the tremor in Splinter’s voice that really got to Mikey. It was a noise of utterly fragile vulnerability that struck him straight through his heart like a harpoon, and left him unable to draw in air. 

“What...” Mikey swallowed, and with a louder voice, he said, “Wh-What are you saying?! Of course you have!”

“ And yet, it is clear how little I’ve been in your lives. There is no need to lie to make me feel better, my son. I know I hadn’t been the best father to you four in the beginning,” Splinter sighed. “I had always meant to make it up to all of you. I thought I would have the time , but even then, when you four would’ve needed me, I wasn’t there. And now....” 

He trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. Instead, he took a breath as if he was bracing himself for something. 

“Perhaps...” he hesitated. “Perhaps, that is why your brother never appeared when I called out to him. Perhaps he had been angry at me for this, or—“

Mikey moved without even needing to think, wrapping his arms around Splinter and squeezing him in a tight hug.

“Don’t say that. Please, please don’t ever say that,” he pleaded, voice breaking. “You’re not a bad dad! You’re the best dad in the whole world, a-and Leo wouldn’t do something like this! you know he wouldn’t. Not if he had a choice.”

Splinter didn’t respond. Instead, what followed was a long moment of silence, and throughout it all, Mikey wondered what could be going through his dad’s mind. 

But Mikey didn’t dare let go of him. He didn’t dare pull back to see what kind of expression was on Splinter’s face. Right now, dad felt too much like broken pieces of porcelain that were only being held together by Mikey’s arms, and loosening his hold for even a little bit would cause him to fall apart. 

And maybe, if Mikey held on tight enough, he wouldn’t fall apart either. 

“You know, sometimes...sometimes I think what happened that day was my fault too,” Mikey confessed, feeling the way Splinter stiffened. “Mind Mikey is— he’s mean like that sometimes. He tells me if I hadn’t been stupid enough to get myself trapped, then Leo wouldn’t have had the need to teleport. He wouldn’t have been caught by the neutralizing field, and none of this would have happened.”

“Michelangelo—“

“I think it’s the same for you,” Mikey continued before Splinter could protest. “And maybe for Raph and Donnie too. But that Mind Us is wrong. Nothing about this is anybody’s fault. Not yours or mine, or Raph’s or Donnie’s.” He took a shuddering breath. “Everything already hurts enough as it is. We don’t need to make ourselves hurt even more.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. But eventually, Mikey felt tension leave his dad’s body.

“Okay,” Splinter breathed out as he slowly hugged Mikey back. “Okay.”

They stayed like that for a long minute, with no more words exchanged between the two. And just as quickly as the moment came, it was over, with Splinter pulling away from the hug. His eyes were still dim, and an invisible burden still clung to his shoulders, but it all seemed...better. Or at least, Mikey hoped it was better.

“It’s late,” Splinter said. “I think it’s time we go to bed.” 

Mikey glanced at the clock on his phone. Sure enough, 12:00 was displayed on the screen. He wondered how long they had really been sitting here. He hadn’t checked the time beforehand. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Mikey agreed, though there was a part of him that didn’t believe his own words. It felt like their conversation shouldn’t really be over yet, like there was something else he was supposed to say. An unspoken truth whose presence weighed heavily on his mind. 

“Michelangelo?” Splinter spoke, drawing Mikey out of his own head. It was almost surprising, hearing himself be called by his full name not once, but twice in such a short time.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you, for everything,” he said, voice thick with sincerity. “And...I don’t think I say this enough, but I love you. All four of you.”

The warmth was back in Mikey’s chest, eyes stinging with tears as a bittersweet happiness overflowed his entire being. 

“I know,” he replied. “We love you too, dad.” 

Splinter smiled, but there was a noticeable regret in his eyes that Mikey could easily recognize. It was a regret of not saying it more, of not saying it sooner, and the possibility of never being able to say it to a certain someone ever again. 

Memories of a blue ghost with blank white eyes flashed through his mind. The urge to tell Splinter the truth surged forth, stronger than ever. 

“Dad, you know,” Mikey spoke up without thinking. “About Leo, I...” 

He stopped, hesitating as Splinter stared at him with full attention. Doubt began to creep in, slowly choking out that need to tell. 

Now wasn’t the right time , it whispered over and over in his head. 

“The pictures of him,” Mikey said instead, smile still plastered on his face. “I’ll go ahead and send them to you later.” 

Splinter almost looked surprised at that, as if he had forgotten that previous point of conversation. But then his gaze softened.

“I’d like that,” he said. And then he was gone. 

Mikey waited a few more minutes before giving a small sigh, resting his head on his arms as guilt and indecision weighed heavily on him.

“What am I doing?” he muttered to himself. Why did he have to say anything, only to change his mind? It felt...wrong to keep something important like that from dad. But at the same time, it didn’t feel right to say something like that now, on top of everything else that had been laid bare. 

And it isn’t like he’d believe you. Raph and Donnie didn’t , a small, bitter part of Mikey reminded, causing him to grimace. He quickly shoved that thought out of his head. 

His eyes landed on the abandoned blue mug sitting across from him, once again forgotten by the flow of the conversation. He stared at it, as if staring long enough would cause his brother to appear in front of him again. 

“What should I do, Leo?” he murmured. “What would you want me to do?”

Silence answered his question.

Chapter Text

It was four in the morning, and Michelangelo still wasn’t asleep. An eeriness he was becoming all too familiar with had long since fallen over the lair, as was the custom during the ungodly hours of morning, where spaces often bustling with noise and activity became quiet and still to the point of surreality.

The air was still sparked with tension, definitely. But it was quiet nonetheless, like the eye in a never ending storm. A period of calm before one was thrown back into raging conflict. 

That was how it often felt to Mikey nowadays. He wondered if this was why Donnie stayed up most nights. For the peace of it all.

Mikey shook the thoughts from his head, idly swaying in his hammock as he resumed his small activity of switching his phone off and on to show the lock screen, attention focused on the date displayed below the ticking time. 

He wished he could say he forgot today would be his birthday, with everything that happened. The others seemed to, but Mikey really didn’t blame them much. He didn’t think he’d be in the mood for any celebration this year anyways. 

But even when it did slip his mind, the date and the days counting up to it would keep looming in the back of his head, weighing down on him with nauseating dread. It was the complete opposite of last year, where he had been staying up out of sheer excitement, looking forward to becoming an official teenager just like the rest of his brothers. 

But this year...

At least Leo already had his 15th birthday. At least Mikey had another year before he’d be the same age as his older brother. Another two before he’d be older.

Mikey unlocked his phone. He’d hoped to distract himself, but his gallery had popped up with a ‘this time last year’ message and he couldn’t help but think back again.

Leo had been the very first one to wish him a happy birthday, waking up at the crack of dawn to say it before anyone else before disappearing back to bed. 

Donnie wished him a happy birthday soon after. He didn’t seek Mikey out, but rather waited in his lab until Mikey rushed in. He had bags under his eyes, but was nonetheless full of energy as he described the secret phone upgrades he created just for Mikey. Improved wifi reception and an image recognition app that would allow him to get the exact cooking products and quantities used on Kondescending Kitchen.  

And Raph, Raph had spent the rest of the day going over the best exits to the New York city sewer system. Raph, Donnie, and Leo were all 13 when they went on their first solo missions. Raph made sure to impart that hard won knowledge onto Mikey, even if he didn’t actually let Mikey go on his solo mission for several more months. Raph had even included some scarier tale of exactly why some manhole covers were not used. And, sure, the thought of being trapped on top of a building because a car had parked over the cover may have given him one or two bad dreams, but the fact Raph now trusted him enough to tell him what had happened instead of just making that exit off limits made Mikey happy.

Then the three of them gave Mikey his cake in the shape of a pizza. Or at least there had been an attempt made to form the cake into a pizza. The whole thing was lopsided with cake crumbs speckled throughout the icing, and real pepperonis were used. He never did find out whose idea that had been. But Leo had been the one to eat a piece without removing them to prove it was an inspired idea.

Mikey marked two photos to send to Splinter. One was of a confident Leo holding the uneaten piece in his hand, and the other taken directly after. Leo’s face was priceless.

A chime on his phone interrupted his thoughts, signaling the arrival of a new text message. Mikey looked at the sender. He expected it to be Raph, somehow knowing Mikey was still awake with his ‘big brother senses’. 

Except it wasn't.

The actual sender’s name made him gasp. He shot up into a sitting position, heart thudding against his plastron and hands suddenly shaking as he fumbled to go to his texting app to read the message.

Leo: Happy Bday Mike! Imagine being 14. Couldn’t be me.

He read the message, and then read it again, before leaping out of his hammock. He crept out of his room with quick and quiet steps, making sure not to do anything that’d alert Donnie upon seeing the light on in his lab. He made a beeline straight for Leo’s room. 

He pushed past the curtains, hesitating, before slowly making his way to the drawers where Leo’s phone should be kept in. He knelt down, sliding the top one open as silently as he could, until he could just faintly see a rectangular shape sitting inside, outlined by a signature blue. 

Mikey let out a breath, staring at the phone with wide eyes. It was still here, which meant it wasn’t stolen. It was undisturbed, which meant no one had gotten on to text with it (and why would they, unless they wanted to play a cruel joke?). So...so it could only mean one thing, right?

He silently slid the drawer shut before leaning his forehead against it, squeezing his eyes shut. After a few seconds, he opened them. He sat back, turning his own phone back on and reading the text message again. A watery laugh bubbled out of his mouth. 

Leo was here. He was really, really here, and talking through a phone too! But seriously, of all the things his brother could text from the grave, it was this? 

He pulled up his keyboard, and typed a response.

You: A little late, bro. My birthday started four hours ago XP 

He pressed send, hearing Leo’s phone give a muffled chime a second later as he continued to type.

You: but srsly, what’s going on? Is this a thing Hamato ancestors can do now? 

You: where did u go? Is something happening in the spirit world?

You: We’d really like to see you again...

He waited for a response with bated breath, frantically looking around the room for any visible signs of his brother. But as one minute turned to five, and then to ten, there was no sign of a reply. Not even the three dots indicating the other was somehow typing. 

You: hello? 

Still no response. The joy Mikey was feeling was slowly ebbing away and being replaced by a gnawing anxiety. 

You: Leo?

You: don’t leave me hanging bro, you just got back. 

You: please?

A joking part of him would’ve liked the irony of Leo literally ghosting him. He probably would have laughed at the potential puns that could be made from this too. But all he did was grip his phone tight until an idea struck him.

Donnie was still awake. He’d know what to do. And sure, Don would get mad finding out what Mikey was doing, but if Mikey showed Donnie the text message, then maybe he’d not only believe Mikey, but then Raph would too, and they’d all help find better ways to locate and talk with their brother, right? 

Right! 

He exited the room, running straight towards Donnie’s lab.

“Donnie!” he called out, skidding to a stop right at the doorway, only barely registering his brother startling at the sudden noise. “Donnie Donnie Donnie Donnie!” 

Said turtle turned to him, flipping up his goggles and revealing a less than impressed look. “That’s me,” he replied dryly. “What do you want, Michael?”

“I need your help! Leo talked to me!” 

Donnie paused, raising one of his brows. “Really,” he said, voice oozing with doubt. 

“Yeah, really!” Mikey replied, almost indignant as he practically shoved his phone screen into Donnie’s face. “Look! See? Look! Leo texted me just now! You can’t deny that!”

Donnie gently pushed him back, taking Mikey’s phone and reading the text logs. There was a shift in his expression— a widening of his eyes and the slackening of his jaw, but still ultimately unidentifiable. Even still, it was enough incentive for Mikey to keep going. 

“I mean, sure the message was weird, but not really, right?” he asked as he began to pace, gesturing wildly. “I mean, it is my birthday, so it’d make sense that Leo would wanna say something—“

“Mikey—“

“And maybe it’s a thing he’s still getting used to? So maybe his new spooky phone powers are just being a bit wonky so he hasn’t had the chance to say anything yet—“

“Mikey, please—“

“And sure, we’ve never seen the Hamato ancestors communicate with phones, but they’re also super ancient right? So maybe they never realized they could, but Leo did, because we all know how to work cell phones? But then—“

“ Michelangelo! ”

“Yeah?” Mikey asked, stopping and finally focusing back on his older brother, who was suddenly looking more exhausted than he was before.

Mikey frowned. This wasn’t the reaction he had been expecting at all. 

“What’s up, D?”

Donatello dragged a hand across his face. “That text wasn’t from Leo,” he breathed out, looking back up at Mikey with regretful eyes. “At least, not in the way you were thinking of.”

The statement stabbed something ice cold through Mikey and left his mind crashing to a halt.

“What?” he managed to say. “Wh-What are you talking about? Who else—“

“An automated system,” Donnie replied. “Something that would send pre-written messages to our phones at specific times. It was another small side project I was working on before Leo...” he broke off, grimacing. “Anyways, Leo somehow found out about it and wanted to test it out. He thought our birthdays were as good of a time as any. He—” Donnie gave a mirthless chuckle— “He thought it’d be great to constantly be the first to say ‘happy birthday’, even on the chance he wasn’t available to do so.”

He handed the phone back to Mikey, who retrieved it with a strange, aching numbness that only seemed to swell when he reread the texts with this new perspective.

He really thought it was Leo. He really, really had. He thought he would finally have a chance to prove it, and yet...

A slow heat of embarrassment began wriggling its way in, tinged with sharp frustration. Pizza supreme in the sky, he probably looked even dumber than before. How was he going to get them to take him seriously now ?

“You know, Leo probably isn’t a Hamato spirit anyways,” Donnie spoke up. 

Mikey snapped his attention back to him. “What?! Of course he is! Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Because not even the Hamato ancestors have any clue as to where he is.”

Silence. Mikey gaped wordlessly at Donnie, desperate for any sign that his brother was lying, because that couldn’t be true. That was wrong. Dad never said anything about—

“It doesn’t take much to realize that, you know?” Donnie said, though his words were without malice, and more like he was stating a fact. “I mean, when Leon wasn’t answering the summons, the next course of action would obviously be to contact our other spectral family members. And when no answers came from that...well, you can put two and two together. That, and the fact I recorded and listened back to dad’s conversations with them.” He took a breath. “I wasn’t going to say anything about it, but clearly this is something you needed to hear.”

Mikey’s palms were suddenly stinging. It took him another moment to realize he’d clenched his hands into tight fists at some point. He didn’t make any effort to unclench them. 

“You’re wrong,” he uttered. 

“Mikey, I can literally pull up the recordings for you to listen to.” 

“Well I don’t want to, because your recordings are wrong!” Mikey snapped. 

Donnie tensed, now gaping at Mikey incredulously. “What— Are you even listening to yourself? How does that make any sense?! And don’t you dare say because you ‘saw him’!”

“Then what else am I supposed to say?! That’s the truth!”

“Well gee, Michelangelo, I don’t know! Maybe some actual hard evidence that might— though I highly doubt it— suggest my recording tech was somehow faulty?!”

Mikey opened his mouth to reply, a knot of frustration tightening in his chest, when a knock came from the doorway. They both paused, turning towards the noise. 

And there Raph stood, looking over them with concern. 

“What’s going on here, guys?” he asked, tentative. 

Mikey glanced at Donnie for a moment, seeing how his brother’s face twisted into something bitter as he looked away, arms crossed. 

“Nothing,” Donnie muttered, seeming to want to drop the subject entirely. 

Unfortunately for him, Mikey didn’t. “Donnie said he recorded dad’s talks with the Hamato ancestors,” he blurted out. 

“Mikey!” Donnie hissed, at the same time Raph said Donnie’s name with a reproachful tone. 

“He said that Leo isn’t even a Hamato spirit because not even the Hamato ancestors know where he is!” Mikey continued before his brothers could. “But that can’t be right! You know that can’t be right, Raph!”

Raph froze like a deer in the headlights.

“I— The thing is, Mikey...” he began, gaze flickering to Donnie. 

But the moment Raph opened his mouth, Mikey felt his heart sink all the way down to his feet. He knew that voice. He knew that soft high tone Raph was using. 

It was Raph’s ‘delivering bad news gently’ voice. 

“No...” Mikey breathed. 

Raph sighed, shoulders slumping as grief flooded his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mikey, but Donnie’s right. Not even the Hamato ancestors know where Leo is.”

“Then why are you telling me this now?” Mikey asked, voice cracking. “Why am I the last one to know about this?” 

Raph wasn’t looking at him anymore. Neither of them were. 

“It wasn’t like either of us were sure before,” Raph replied gently. “We didn’t want to make things worse.” 

“You don’t get to choose that! I’m not a baby!” Mikey snapped. “I had as much of a right to know that as you did!” 

“I know,” Raph said, as Donnie looked towards the ground. “We should’ve. I’m really, really sorry, Mikey.” 

Mikey bit back a scathing comment and swallowed it back down, keeping silent and not trusting himself to say anything else, because it was fine, it was fine , really, it was. 

And it wasn’t important, because right now, the more pressing matter was the fact that Leo was apparently MIA in the spirit world as well. 

But why? Was something different? Was it because they technically didn’t have a body to do any funeral or burial rites with? Was it because of something they did? 

“I don’t think it’s because of any of that,” Donnie spoke up, and it was only then that Mikey realized he’d been listing his thoughts out loud. “Like I said, it isn’t like it’d be possible for Leo to be a Hamato ancestor to begin with.”

“Donnie!” 

“He wanted us to be truthful, Raph, so I’m speaking the truth. Aside from all the other glaring reasons I’ve stated time and time again, the whole point of being an ancestor is having a generation after you to remember you. We don’t have anyone like that.” Donnie crossed his arms and gave a small shrug. “I’m not saying Leo’s never going to become a Hamato ancestor, I’m just saying it’s practically impossible for him to be one right now.” 

Mikey perked up with a flash of inspiration. “But so long as they’re in the Hamato clan, Leo could, right?” he asked. “Like, they could just be students who’ve heard about Leo and are learning the whole Hamato way? That would count, right?”

His two brothers paused, exchanging a glance before looking back towards Mikey.

“Well, I guess that could work—” 

“Cool! Be right back!” 

Mikey didn’t wait for an answer. He ran out of the lab ignoring Raph’s confused shout of his name. 

He exited the lair with a goal and destination firmly cemented in his mind.

To say April was pleased about being abruptly woken up at five in the morning would be a complete lie. 

In all honesty, Mikey thought, as he perched on the fire escape outside her window, he probably should’ve known better. But it wasn’t like he could take it back now, and this didn’t feel like something that could wait.

Still, he guessed he should at least be glad April didn’t look too upset. More unimpressed than anything, as she leaned against the windowsill. Then her eyes softened, and she let out a sigh.

“Alright, birthday boy, you’ve got 20 seconds.”

“You’re still teaching at Lou Jitsu’s dojo, right?” Mikey asked, words coming out in a rush, because April and time limits weren’t something anyone wanted to mess around with. 

April raised a brow, eyes still carrying a sleepy haze. “Yeah? When I have time. What’s—” she yawned— “What’s all this about, Mikey?”

“Leo!” Mikey answered, continuing to speak when April stood up straighter, suddenly looking more awake. “Do you tell those guys about Leo?”

“I mean, aside from the fact he’s a giant mutant turtle? Yeah, I do,” April said, smiling sadly. “Every chance I got. The younger kids seem to be pretty into the stories too.” 

Mikey took a moment to process those words, a feeling of triumph and relief causing him to grin. 

“So there is a younger generation who will remember us,” he breathed. “So that means— that means Leo’s really is here! I did see him! I was right!”

“Wait, wait, hold up. Go back a bit,” April spoke up. “You saw who now?!” 

“Oh, man, I just realized I never told you!” Mikey said, lightly smacking his head. “I saw Leo! I was so scared it was just a dream for like, the longest time, but now— now I know it was real! It had to be!”

“Well, how was he? What was he doing?” April asked, leaning out the window, and for a moment, Mikey stood dumbfounded at the realization that April had accepted his words without even a shred of doubt.

“I—” Mikey frowned. “Raph and Donnie were fighting about me sleeping in Leo’s room, because that’s what I did. I fell asleep in his room.” 

He glanced at April as he said that, a part of him nervous about how she’d react. He found nothing but a silent urge to go on. 

“He was all blue instead of green! And he’d been standing there, listening to them argue. And at some point, they started talking about his...death...” Mikey winced, the word nearly burning his tongue. “He wanted to intervene, but I think there was something stopping him from getting to them. Like, physically stopping him.” 

“Why though?” April asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “Aren’t Hamato ancestors able to go anywhere?” 

“I-I don’t know.” 

“You didn’t ask him?” 

“I couldn’t. He just disappeared the second I tried to talk to him,” Mikey answered. 

“Well...” April paused, bringing her thumb and pointer finger to her chin, thinking. “What did Raph and Donnie say about that?” 

Mikey grimaced. 

“They didn’t see him. They thought I was just making it up,” he grumbled, not bothering to hide his bitterness as he hugged himself. 

There was a moment of silence where Mikey could practically see April connecting the dots to what he said earlier. 

“Oh,” she said, eyes lit up with understanding and sympathy. “Oh, hey, don’t let it get to you too much. They probably need some more time to come around.”

“But I don’t understand why they wouldn’t believe me. I wouldn’t lie about that!”

April shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think it’s because they think you’re lying. They probably don’t wanna think what you’re seeing is real.” She let out a sad sigh. “I kind of get where they’re coming from. A month has passed since what happened happened, and no one’s been able to reach him at all until now. It’s probably scary to hope at this point.”

“But it doesn’t have to be! I know what I saw!” Mikey insisted. “You believe me, don’t you, April?”

“I don’t have any reason not to. Besides, it wouldn’t be like Leo to stay away forever, not after everything that’s happened. And if he did, I might just go find him myself and kick his ghosty turtle butt.”

Mikey couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

“But that does bring up something else,” April continued, immediately sobering up again. “Why is he blue? Why’d he only appear to you so far, and not anyone else?”

Mikey hummed. “Well, I don’t know much about the blue part, but when I saw him, I don’t think it was because of me. I think...maybe I just happened to be there when he chose to appear.”

“Okay, so that brings us back to my first question: why that place? And why can’t he leave?” Once again, April’s eyes lit up with another idea. “Do you think he’s tied there because he’s a new ghost and all?”

“Is that a thing with ghosts?”

“Have you not seen a single ghost hunting show? Of course it’s a thing!” April exclaimed. “Most ghosts generally bind themselves to anything they felt attached to when alive. Maybe it’s the same case with Leo. And maybe if he’s new, that’s why he isn’t all green yet, since his ninpo is blue. Has Splinter tried calling out to Leo while in his room?” 

“I think so, yeah,” Mikey answered, recalling a vague memory. 

But what did he know? A more resentful part of him argued. As it turned out, there were a number of things going on that his family had not trusted him with.

“Oh, okay, so that idea’s out,” April said, visibly disappointed as she rested her head on her propped up hand. 

“But maybe this still checks out,” Mikey suggested. “Leo might just not be used to being an ancestor yet, so he doesn’t know how to appear more often, even when Splinter calls for him?”

“Maybe, but I do have another idea,” April spoke slowly. “But it’s kind of far out there, and I don’t think it’s gonna sound good.” 

Well, that in itself didn’t sound good. “What is it?”

“Your brothers could be right. Leo might not really be a Hamato ancestor.” She raised her hands as a peaceful gesture when seeing whatever expression Mikey must’ve had. “Hear me out! I mean, just because he isn’t, doesn’t mean you didn’t see him! If the Hamato ancestors are a thing, then that could mean that spirits or whatnot outside of the Hamato clan could exist too.” 

“But I— I still don’t get it. Why wouldn’t Leo be with the ancestors? There shouldn’t be anything stopping him, and he’s just as much a Hamato as the rest of us.” 

“I...” April hesitated. “I don’t know, Mikey. In all honesty, I don’t think anyone actually knows what’s going on. No one aside from Leo, that is.” 

The last statement lingered in the air, echoing as cogs began turning in Mikey’s head.

“You’re right,” he breathed. “Leo would be the only one who’d know what’s going on.” 

All Mikey had to do was actively go and find him. Even if he couldn’t prove his brother’s presence yet, so long as he just got answers...

He leapt up to his feet. “I gotta go!” he exclaimed. “Thanks for letting me talk about all this, April! It really means a lot to me and I’m super, super sorry that I woke you up, but—”

“Just go, already!” April laughed, waving him off. “But hey, for real though, when you see Leo again, tell him to stop by at my place sometime, alright? Don’t let him forget that April O’Neil misses him too.” 

Mikey smiled, pulling April into a quick hug. “Promise,” he said. “Thanks again, April, for everything.” With that, he launched himself off the rail of the fire escape and leapt into the dark of night.

Despite the scolding he got from Raph later on for running off, Mikey liked to think it was all worth it in the end.

He waited patiently, counting the seconds until both of his brothers retired to their rooms. Inwardly, he apologized to them for already breaking his promise. 

But he needed answers, and Leo's room was the only place he could find them. 

He was mindful to sit himself down in the half of the room that Leo seemed to have better access to, while still keeping the altar in full view. 

It would be fine, he decided. Raph and Donnie didn’t need to know he was going to be doing this every night from now on. And so long as he kept them from knowing, it wouldn’t hurt them. 

“Okay, Leo,” Mikey murmured, looking straight at the altar. “Ready whenever you are.”

It turned out, it was going to take a few more sleepless nights than Mikey thought.

He didn’t know how Donnie managed to do it most of the time, but staying awake had been harder than his brother made it out to be. 

That wasn’t to say that Mikey hasn't picked up a few new tricks. To start with, lying down was a big no-no, no matter how much his body begged him to, and lying down on a soft surface like a bed was an even bigger no-no. He had to either stand or sit up to reduce the risks of falling asleep. 

Doing things during the night also helped, like drawing or reading comic books, or listening to music. And when even that was no longer helpful, Donnie’s stash of coffee was an effective final option. 

Coffee was gross, no matter what Donnie said, and no matter how much milk and sugar Mikey poured into it. He learned it was better to just let it cool enough to chug, so that the taste wouldn’t linger. Shortly after that, he learned to eat something beforehand, because drinking coffee on an empty stomach apparently also meant being on the verge of throwing up for hours on end. 

The caffeine itself was weird. It made his heart thud against his chest like a jackhammer and made his body all weird and jittery. It was as if he could feel his blood coursing throughout his entire system. But Mikey could see why it appealed so much to Donnie. It felt like a dam holding back the looming tiredness, preventing him from being swept up in its entirety. 

However, Mikey couldn’t sneak too much coffee. Donnie had already begun to notice that his stash was dwindling quicker than usual. 

But that was the only thing either of them had noticed. And even if Mikey’s heart was weighed down with guilt, he was almost glad how easy it was to play dumb and innocent. It wasn’t too difficult to see how the loss of Leo turned Donnie into a big ball of anger and worry. And even if Mikey never meant to do so in the first place, he didn’t want to set his brother off even more than he already had.

That was how he found himself sitting on the floor of Leo’s room again, shell against the wall next to the altar and feeling the dreadful effects of sleeping a sparse hour for the past few days. It was hard to keep his head up. He could almost feel his body sagging, as if he was melting into a big puddle of exhaustion. His eyelids continuously drifted shut with the promise of only resting them for a few seconds. And it was when Mikey nearly succumbed and felt himself slowly sinking away from the waking world, that the darkness was replaced with bright, shifting blue. 

He jolted awake, just in time to see someone pull their hand back after having just waved it in front of his face. And when he fully processed what he was seeing, his eyes immediately began welling up with tears.

Because finally, after so long , right there in front of him was— 

“Leo...” he gasped. 

All tension seemed to leave Leo’s body upon hearing his own name, his shoulders slumping as he mirrored Mikey’s tearful grin. He gave another small wave, mouth moving soundlessly and shaping words that vaguely looked like: ‘Hey, Mikey.’

A sob was wrenched from Mikey’s throat. With another cry of Leo’s name, he launched himself off the ground, ready to tackle his brother into a hug he waited so long to give. Except he hit nothing but air as he phased through Leo, crashing back onto the concrete floor, his vision momentarily whiting out. 

He groaned, picking himself up and rubbing his chin where he had been smacked especially hard. 

A translucent blue hand reached out to Mikey, causing him to reflexively look back up at Leo, who was looking at him with a mix of guilt and panic. 

Well, if there was one thing Mikey could be grateful for when it came to painfully making out with the ground, it was the fact he now knew for certain that this meeting wasn’t a dream either. No matter what Donnie said about that one...Shepherd or whatever-his-name-was guy.

Without thinking, he moved to grab Leo’s hand, only to phase through that as well. 

Huh. To be perfectly honest, he probably should’ve expected that, considering what happened a few seconds ago. But Mikey didn’t have time to dwell on that for long before Leo withdrew his hand.

There was no longer anything happy in Leo’s expression. Instead, he was glowering at his own hand as if it had just betrayed him, his body once again tense with a frustration that must’ve been building up in him this entire time. 

Mikey could understand why. 

It was why he chose to smile and laugh, even when Leo began staring at him as if he grew a second head. 

“Aw man! I can’t believe you got me like that!” he said, sitting up. When Leo only served to look more confused, he continued to elaborate. “It’s like a whole other version of the ‘down low, too slow’, bro! I’ve gotta be losing my touch if I fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book.”

Leo’s face immediately lit up with understanding, and while Mikey couldn’t hear anything, he could clearly see when Leo snorted, before his entire ghostly body was wracked with silent laughter. 

Mikey followed suit, plagued by his own fit of giggles. They both laughed and laughed until tears began flowing from their eyes, with Mikey’s dripping down his chin, while Leo’s floated off and around his face, as if he was in outer space. They carried a silvery sheen as they did, before quickly disappearing into nothing.

“I missed you so much, Leo,” Mikey said, with all the sincerity and grief he kept stored within him this entire time. “Where did you go? What happened to you?”

The smile slipped from Leo’s face. With a sense of urgency, he began to speak again, but like all the times before, not a single sound came from his beak. It was like watching someone on mute. 

Man, what Mikey wouldn’t give to have Donnie’s ability to read lips right about now. 

“What are you trying to say?” Mikey spoke up. “I can’t...I can’t hear you.”

Leo winced, he appeared saddened but not surprised at this bit of information. He looked around, eyes quickly lighting up with an idea as he rushed towards the altar, gesturing towards the hilt. 

“You want me to grab it?” Mikey guessed, approaching the hilt upon seeing Leo nod. As he reached out to grab it, a sudden feeling of guilt caused a moment of hesitation, his mind flashing back to his brothers’ reactions whenever they caught him taking it in the past. 

But Leo was the one who was telling him to take it this time, and this was the hilt to Leo’s sword, so maybe it was okay. 

With that in mind, Mikey wrapped his fingers around the hilt and stood up. 

Leo was already halfway across the room by the time Mikey turned around, gesturing at him to follow. Along the way, Mikey was quick to realize Leo wanted him to hurry, from how his brother kept anxiously looking back at him. So he sped up his pace to a light jog, all the way until Leo stopped in the middle of the kitchen.

“Okay, what now?” Mikey asked in a hushed voice. 

Leo pointed to the cabinets that held their plates, possibly urging Mikey to retrieve one. Judging from how his brother wasn’t shaking his head when Mikey did so, he probably guessed right. 

So now he had a plate, for some reason. 

Mikey looked expectantly at Leo, plate held in both hands. Leo mimicked him, miming the action of holding a plate in his own hands as he raised them over his head and threw the imaginary plate down with a quick, sharp movement. He looked back up at Mikey, urging him to do the same. 

Not one to question his brother’s current actions, as well as being much too sleep deprived to do so anyways, Mikey threw his own plate onto the ground without hesitation. The ceramic exploded into a hundred pieces upon coming in contact with the hard floors, shards skidding everywhere across the tiles.

Leo gestured to the shards around them, then to the hilt, and then he pointed above, slowly mouthing a word.

Mikey squinted his eyes, trying to decipher what Leo was trying to tell him.

Shattered. That was the closest word Mikey could think of. It caused something in Mikey’s chest to feel tight as he looked at the hilt, the memory of numb shock sweeping over him as he was brought back to the moment he saw nothing but a hilt in Raph’s hand, with no sword and no Leo. It was a numbness that quickly gave away to a sharp, stinging cold when he realized— when they all realized what happened.

“Your sword got shattered. We know,” Mikey whispered, looking back at Leo. 

To his surprise, Leo frantically shook his head, before mouthing the word again, slower, with the movements of his beak more exaggerated. He was starting to look more anxious.

But even then, all Mikey could see was the word ‘shattered’. Except that couldn’t be right, because Leo just said that was wrong. Or at least, Mikey assumed Leo said it was wrong. 

But before he could think about it any further, two things happened at once. The first was the distant sound of footsteps coming towards the kitchen, and the next was Leo disappearing in front of Mikey’s eyes, there one moment, and gone the next. Like a flip of a switch. 

Probably a literal flip of a switch too, because at around the same time as when Leo disappeared, the kitchen lights suddenly came on. 

“Mikey?” Raph’s voice could be heard from behind. 

Mikey immediately whirled towards the source of the voice, eyes wide as two pairs stared right back at him. 

“Please tell me you saw him,” Mikey managed to utter, gaze never leaving his two brothers as he clung onto that desperate hope. 

Raph and Donnie exchanged glances before focusing back on him.

“Saw who?” Raph asked in that gentle, careful way that was slowly getting on Mikey’s fraying nerves. 

“ Him!” Mikey nearly shouted, gesturing to the space Leo stood not even five seconds ago. “Leo! He was right there! I was talking with him when you walked in!” 

The reaction was instantaneous. The moment Mikey said Leo’s name, a familiar look flashed across their faces, with Donnie’s especially appearing more pinched, as if he was trying to debate whether to comfort Mikey or shake him by the shoulders, screaming that what he was seeing wasn’t real. But all the same, there was sadness in their eyes, along with something so infuriatingly close to a sympathy that Mikey didn’t want, because it was a sympathy that suggested Leo was nothing but a conjuration of his own grief, and that wasn’t right. He knew that wasn’t right. 

“Mikey, there was no one else here when we arrived,” Raph said in a gentle tone.

“Of course no one’s here now! You just missed him!” Mikey said. “I swear! He really was here a second ago!” 

“Just like you swore how the messages being sent to your phone were Leo reaching out to you from beyond the grave?” Donnie sighed. 

“That’s different! You never even told me you set that up for Leo! You guys never told me anything! What else was I supposed to think?” 

“I don’t know, Michael. All I’m just trying to say is just because— is that Leo’s hilt?” Donnie asked, eyes finally landing on the blue hilt resting on the table. His focus snapped back to Mikey, gaze accusing. “Mikey—”

“I know!” Mikey groaned, head slightly sinking into his shell as if he was considering tucking in all his limbs and hiding in it. “I just— Leo actually wanted me to—”

“No. No! You are not bringing Leo into this again! How many times do I have to say this before any of it sticks in your head? He’s not here! You can’t just assume what he’d want!”

“I’m not assuming anything!” Mikey snapped back, straightening up and glaring back at Donnie. 

“Guys! Enough!” Raph said, getting between the two of them, arms held out to keep them at bay. “We’re not here to argue.” 

Beyond Raph, Mikey locked gazes with Donnie, who looked like he was just barely holding back a scathing retort. 

His brother was the first to huff out a sigh. “Fine,” Donnie said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. You clearly have your own way of dealing with things, even if what you’re claiming to be real is far from it.” 

Mikey felt his mood souring even more, a ball of complicated emotions stewing in his chest. “Well, I’m sorry you’re too scared to even accept it!” 

“Excuse me?!” 

“Pizza supreme in the sky, can’t you guys just apologize normally?” Raph groaned. 

They remained silent, letting that be enough of an answer. But Mikey slowly looked back at his eldest brother, pleading.

“You— You believe me, don’t you, Raph?” he asked in a smaller voice.

Raph froze. “I...” he said, struggling to answer. He looked down at the ground for a moment, eyes focusing on each visible plate shard. “I— J-Just let me get this cleaned up first, and then we’ll talk some more, alright?” he decided, and before either Mikey or Donnie could answer, he was already off to retrieve a broom, sweeping the shards up into a pile. 

Then, after a moment, his movements slowed. “Mikey,” he began. 

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you break the plate in the first place?” 

Mikey stiffened, the answer caught in his throat. He could tell them exactly why he broke the plate. He really could. But with how the conversation was going, he wasn’t sure if he could trust them to take it as well as he wanted to hope they would. 

How did it get to the point where his brothers could no longer trust his word? How could it have gotten to the point where Mikey could no longer trust them to trust him? 

The thought made his heart feel heavy and stuffy, like there was a marble lodged inside, growing bigger by the second and bringing a rising ache. 

“Did...Leo ask you to?” Raph asked, elbowing Donnie when the other scoffed. 

Mikey didn’t answer, once again letting the silence answer for him. 

Raph sighed. “Okay, so I’m gonna take that as a yes. Why, though?” If it really was Leo telling you to, Raph didn’t say, but Mikey could still hear it being implied. 

“He was trying to tell me something,” Mikey muttered, giving a small shrug. “I couldn’t figure out what.” 

“He couldn’t just tell you?” Donnie challenged, earning another jab from Raph.

“No,” Mikey grounded out, having barely kept himself from snapping out the response altogether. The back of his eyes burned with unshed tears. “He couldn’t speak. I couldn’t hear anything he was saying, and I tried to figure it out, I tried, but I couldn’t. And now he’s gone again and I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna have to wait until he comes back, and—”

“Whoa, slow down there, Mikey,” Raph interrupted, gently placing his hands on Mikey’s shoulders in an attempt to ground him. “What do you mean ‘wait’? When—” Raph narrowed his eyes, tugging Mikey’s mask up to get a clearer view of his face. His eyes widened. “Mikey, when was the last time you slept?!”

Mikey stiffened, feeling like he’d been doused in ice water again, before looking away. “It doesn’t matter,” he answered in a small voice, once again feeling like he was pleading. “It doesn’t change anything.”

“Mikey...”

“It doesn’t change anything!” Mikey insisted. 

But it did. To them, at least. He could see it in their faces again, and he could feel something inside of him wither away.

“No, Mikey, this isn’t okay!” Raph said, visibly distressed. “You can’t just— you can’t just not sleep because of this! Y-You can make yourself sick that way, or hurt yourself or— or even get yourself killed. How long have you been doing this?!”

Again, Mikey didn’t answer.

“Well, there you have it,” Donnie huffed. “For one thing, we now know who’s the little thief that’s been stealing my coffee. But, more importantly, it’s obvious Michelangelo’s just been hallucinating due to sleep deprivation.” 

And just like that, everything that had been lodged inside Mikey’s chest and swelling larger and larger was now on the cusp of bursting. Just like that, all the tension that’d been winding tighter and tighter like a violin string inside of him finally snapped. 

“No, I wasn’t!” he roared, glaring venomously at his brothers but unable to see their faces, blurred as they were behind his flowing tears. “It’s not just a hallucination! It’s not just ‘naive, grieving Michelangelo’, pretending he’s seeing something just because he misses his brother!” 

He heaved in a breath, uncaring if it hitched. “I saw Leo, okay?! I talked to him! I know he’s still here! I just— why won’t you guys just believe me?!” 

Mikey’s last few words almost seemed to ring in the silence that followed. He breathed heavily, his throat feeling slightly spent from shouting louder and louder with each word. He furiously but futilely tried to get rid of his tears.

“Mikey, I—” Raph began.

“Don’t,” Mikey hiccuped, now hollow and raw inside. “Just don’t, Raph. I’m done. I know nothing I’ll say is ever going to get you to actually believe me. I know nothing I do is going to prove anything I say, and I’m just—” he inhaled shakily. “I’m just so tired .” 

There was only silence for a moment, with both of his brothers staring at him, equal parts stricken and horrified.

“I’m sorry,” Raph told him anyways, words heavy with sincerity. 

“I know,” Mikey replied automatically.

“No, I really mean it,” Raph insisted. “I— we ,” he gave Donnie a pointed look, who slightly withered underneath the gaze, “never meant to make you feel this way. Not in a million years.” 

Donnie sighed, his eyes softening into something more regretful. 

“He’s right,” he said, crossing his arms. “I admit, I got a bit too heated, and I pushed things a bit too far with you, and I...” He grimaced. “I just— I really, really shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” 

“We’ll make it up to you,” Raph promised. “We won’t be so quick to doubt you. We’ll help you find some proof on what’s going on.”

“How?” Mikey muttered.

“Oh, uh...” Raph stammered, glancing towards Donnie for help.

“Well, there’s the obvious way,” Donnie supplied. “Next time Leo appears, you snap a...” 

Donnie trailed off, eyes slowly growing wide. 

“A photo,” he finished quietly. “Oh no.” 

Both of Mikey and Raph’s attention turned towards him, laser focused. 

“Donnie?”

“Oh, I’m such an— there might already be some evidence!” Donnie groaned, pinching the space between his eyes. 

“What?” Mikey uttered, his voice small. 

“I’ve been so preoccupied with so many other things that they just— it just slipped my mind entirely,” Donnie said. “But, I installed cameras into Leo’s room weeks ago. They should still be giving live feed and recording as we speak. We can go back and look at the footage.”

He looked back at his brothers. 

“Maybe we can settle things then.”

Chapter Text

“You aren’t even in the right week, Donnie,” Mikey argued, wrestling to get closer to Donnie’s tech gauntlet. “I can— I can see the timestamp.”

“And I can see you, sleeping on Leo’s bed,” Donnie sighed, more resigned than angry. “How many times have you—”

“Guys, are we really gonna have this argument again?” Raph said, putting his arms between them.

Mikey pouted. “But how can Donnie prove me right if he doesn’t even go to the right week?”

Donnie stopped processing his brother’s words. He stopped caring that he was in the atrium. He stopped caring how close they both clustered around him. The entirety of the world outside of his tech gauntlet stopped mattering.

In the clip that played, Mikey lay in Leo's bed. He was on top of the blankets and curled on his side, his face streaked with tears as he slept.

And above Mikey stood a figure, blue and translucent with glowing white eyes and pale stripes. A humanoid turtle with two sheaths strapped to his shell, although only one contained a sword hilt.

Their brother.

Leonardo.

He reached out to Mikey, hand passing through Mikey's shoulder.

He spoke, and Donnie wished more than anything that he had installed audio recording as well. But no, he wanted to give his brothers privacy.

“(B/M/P)i(k/g/ng)e() wa(k/g/ng)e u(b/m/p)”

There was only one meaning.

Mikey, wake up.

Leo shook his head and pulled away. He walked a tight circle around his altar, not even reaching the curtain that separated his room from the rest of the lair.

“Ra(v/f/ph) (s/c/t/d/j)on()e() (s/c/t/d/j)a(s/c/t/d/j) (b/m/p)lea(s/c/t/d/j)e” 

Raph! Donnie! Dad! Please.

He returned to Mikey's side and sat, hovering an inch above the bed. His gaze fixed on Mikey's face.

“I(b/m/p) (s/c/t/d/j)or()y”

I'm sorry.

He reached out, his thumb phasing right though the tear tracks on Mikey's cheeks.

Leo's shoulders shuddered. He curled forward, silvery white lines of tears floating off of his face and disappearing into the air around him.

“Donnie,” Raph said, voice brittle. “You can read lips. What is he saying?”

“(B/M/P)lea(s/c/t/d/j)e (s/c/t/d/j)on(s/c/t/d/j) lea(v/f/ph)e (b/m/p)e alone”

Please, don't leave me alone.

“I don't know,” Donnie lied. “The angle isn't good enough.”

Leo curled close to Mikey, his arm phasing through Mikey's body. He stayed like that, shell shaking, for ten minutes.

And then, he was gone.

Mikey pressed his hand against the screen, tears streaming down his face.

Raph stood frozen, shaking with each shallow breath.

And Donnie— he barely noticed how close his brothers had crowded into his personal space. He barely noticed that the recording kept playing. 

All he could focus on were the questions that threatened to consume him.

How long had Leo been appearing? How long had he failed his brother? How long had he left him alone?

Donnie pulled away from his brothers.

“I have to— there’s more footage.”

“From the time you put in the cameras to now,” Raph said, placing a hand on Donnie’s shoulder. “That’s a lot to —”

“Scoff. He’s our brother and I am a genius.” Donnie pulled away from Raph’s grip, turning towards his lab. “I can make a program to load all of the videos and search for clips of Leo. Then I can watch the clips that it found and—”

“And what, D? What matters now is that he’s here now.”

Donnie didn’t wait to hear the rest of the argument. 

He may have already lost his brother, but that didn’t mean that Leo had to be gone forever. If he could find Leo, return him to Gram-Gram and the Hamato ancestors— 

It hurt to hope. But this wasn’t hope. This was a problem, an engineering problem that Donnie could solve.

He already had the most important component programmed. He could use the robust turtle recognition software he built for S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.’s vision. All he had to do was check that the training would pick up on the more glowly appearance of Leo, of which he already had an example of, and would exclude examples of himself, Raph, and Mikey. He then had to repurpose his motion detection code. It would take a little work to scrap the code’s focus on accuracy and instead retool it for processing efficiency, but Donnie could handle it.

Once the parts were set up, he’d use the motion detector to filter the video. If he optimized correctly, it should only take an hour or two to go through the video. Concurrently, he could feed the timestamps that the motion detector found into the turtle detector. It used yolo so that image recognition would run in real time.

Donnie was sure that he would know all of the times Leo had visited them by the next morning, assuming he didn’t make simple mistakes that forced him to spend unnecessary time debugging. If it did, he’d be done by early afternoon, max. He had to be. Leonardo depended on it.

As he worked, the only notion that Donnie had of the passage of time was the pizza slices and flavorless juice that  S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. brought him. Several cold slices for lunch and several warm ones for dinner.

He had just found all 10 sections in his motion detector code where he had accidently used a tab instead of several spaces, when Raph broke his concentration.

“Hey, I just put Mikey to bed and—”

Donnie shot to his feet, debugging pushed from his mind. “You left Leo’s room empty?”

“I thought you wanted...”

“That was before we found out he was actually appearing there!”

Donnie didn’t wait for Raph to respond. He grabbed his laptop, charger, mouse, and the longest ethernet cord he could find. 

“Sleep first and then—”

“I can sleep later,” Donnie hissed.

“Donnie.” Raph’s voice was calm but firm. Donnie wasn’t having any of it.

“I am getting this done now.”

“You know you don’t code as well when pulling an all-nighter,” Raph said gently. “I can watch out for him—”

“Oh yeah,” Donnie snapped, “because you did such a good job of that in the Hidden City.”

Raph flinched.

Donnie pushed past him. 

Raph didn’t follow.

Donnie did not care.

He sat cross legged at the edge of Leo’s bed. His laptop was perched precariously on his knees, the ethernet cable not quite long enough to allow for a more comfortable position. But the ethernet cable was faster than Wi-fi, and every millisecond counted. He could stretch after he found Leo. 

He just had a little more to do. He had to run it seven times, three more than usual, to eliminate the two accidental tabs he had missed and to correct the file location and format. But eventually it ran. And now with that code working and running in the background, he could repurpose what he made for an alert on the live video feed.

They would never miss Leo’s appearance again.

He just had to figure out if his code should text, sound an alarm, or both. A text would summon them from anywhere, but a tone would be better if someone forgot or left their phone uncharged. Both were probably the safest option, even if it seemed to delay the speed the alert was sent out by half a second. If he could just solve that— 

His computer chimed. It had the first clip. 

His coding work forgotten, Donnie hit play.

He maximized the screen.

Leo popped into existence. His arms flailing, his eyes wide.

His gaze morphed from panic to relief as his eyes scanned over the familiar curves of his room’s ceiling. He reached back, moving to push himself up off of his bed.

His arm phased right through the mattress.

He flailed again. His legs disappeared into his bed without any resistance as his entire body rotated in place, like an astronaut on a space walk.

And then Leo stopped moving. His entire being focused on the thing in front of him.

The altar.

His altar.

Leo’s hands trembled. He pulled away from it, head shaking as he repeated one word over and over. 

“No.”

Donnie blinked hard. His mouse cursor twitched in time with his shaking hand. But nevertheless, he was able to click on the next clip that his program had found.

Leo floated in front of the altar. He moved slowly and deliberately. He tried to touch his sword hilt.

He failed

One by one, he tried to touch each of the other objects. 

He failed each time.  

Leo crossed his arms and stared at the altar, but whatever curse or plea he made went unanswered. Leo turned away and floated towards the door.

He didn’t even make it halfway across his room. His face was contorted into a grimace. Translucent muscles strained, but he moved no farther.

He slammed his fist against the air in front of him. It met no resistance, but Leo still did not move forward. 

Leo turned and floated in a circle around his altar. His body met no resistance as it passed through walls and furniture. But still, he leaned as if an invisible force kept him tethered. 

Not ‘as if’. He was a ghost, it made sense that he had to haunt his altar— that he didn’t have free reign to go anywhere else. But it didn’t matter. Even if Leo couldn’t go to the Hamato ancestors, they could just bring the ancestors to him.

He kept floating in circles until he disappeared and the clip ended.

On autopilot, Donnie started the next clip.

Leo alternated between pushing against the limit of his range and circling the altar. 

He had both arms hugged against his body, and he mouthed words to himself.

“Where i(s/c/t/d/j) e(v/f/ph)eryone”

Where is everyone?

The third and fourth clips were more of the same. Leo circled his altar frantically. Sometimes his legs would move as if mimicking walking, sometimes he simply floated, but he always moved.

Donnie fast forwarded through the second of those clips. Leo didn’t say anything new, and it was hard to watch his brother’s growing apprehension.

Even at two times speed, it stabbed at Donnie’s heart to see the shaking and slowly watering eyes that Leo didn’t bother to hide.

When that clip ended, both clip five and six were waiting for Donnie to review. He could skip five and just watch six.

But— 

But Leo was freaking out because he was alone. And, even if it was weeks too late, shouldn’t at least one of his brothers be there when he was at his lowest?

Watching all of the clips was the least Donnie could do.

The fifth clip started the same as the previous. Leo blinked twice, righted himself, and started circling the altar. However before Donnie could start forwarding the clip, Leo paused.

He tilted his head, eyes locked on the altar. His approach was slow, he blinked hard. 

Donnie followed his gaze to the altar’s new addition, a thin slice of one of Mikey’s signature cakes.

Leo’s hands passed through the cake, but that didn’t stop the grin that had formed. That didn’t stop his silent laughter. And that didn’t stop the tears that began to freely flow, fading into nothing as they left his cheeks. 

The sixth clip found Leo pacing again. But this time, he moved slower. He was methodical as he scanned over every inch of his room. 

He eventually froze, looking at his shelves. They were empty as their new paint was still drying when Leo died, but that didn't stop Leo from reaching out to them. That didn't stop his smile.

Donnie paused the video and carefully unfolded his legs. The pins and needles in them caused him to stumble, but didn’t stop his approach.

Something on those shelves made Leo smile. He couldn’t see anything in the video, but he had to know.

However, the shelves themselves were unremarkable. They were empty and unscuffed. Well, mostly unscuffed. They sported several parallel scrapes across the edge, which was just to be expected living in a home with Raph. No matter how careful he was, every piece of furniture would eventually pick up a scrape or two from his shell.

Donnie returned to his spot, disappointed. Whatever had made Leo happy was long gone.

He pressed play and watched. Leo spoke.

“(S/C/T/D/J)o (s/c/t/d/j)own one (s/c/t/d/j)o (k/g/ng)o”

Two down, one to go.

Oh.

Of course.

Mikey’s cake, scratches from Raph’s shell. 

Even now, even like this, he was worried about them. Of course he was. That was so completely, typically, Leo.

He missed him.

It took Donnie a second to notice that the clip had finished playing. It took him two more seconds to blink away the liquid in his eyes and start the seventh clip.

Leo was pacing again, but it had lost the frantic edge of earlier clips. Instead, it was more methodical. And if Donnie squinted, he could make himself believe that it contained some of Leo’s trademarked flair. 

Leo would push his entire face through the altar to try to look at the bottom of a bowl of rice, or behind his photograph. And each time he didn’t find what he was looking for, he’d sigh so hard that his entire body spun. 

In the eighth clip, Leo continued his search. He moved away from the altar and focused on every square inch of his bed, his floors, his walls.

He went out of frame halfway through the clip. Donnie leaned forward, eyes scanning the edges of the frame to see a hint of him. 

He didn’t need to be worried about missing Leo. His glowing white eye took up the camera’s entire field of view.

Leo pulled away from the camera.

“(S/C/T/D/J)ha(s/c/t/d/j) wa(s/c/t/d/j)n’(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)here (b/m/p)e(v/f/ph)ore”

That wasn’t there before.

Leo dabbed, grinning widely.

Leo began the ninth clip by turning towards the camera, grinning and waving. He made a heart at the camera with his fingers before laying back on the bed.

Despite floating a foot off the bed, Leo looked relaxed for the rest of the time he was in the clip.

The tenth clip found Leo waving at the camera again. This time instead of making a heart, he approached the camera until all Donnie could see was his beak and his formerly red, but now glowing, pale blue markings. 

Leo waited at the camera a few moments before returning to his bed and waiting.

In the eleventh clip, Leo still waved, but the gesture was jerky, frantic. Instead of laying down, he paced around his room again.

In the twelfth clip, Leo didn’t wave. He didn’t pace. He didn’t lie down. Instead he sat, hovering a few feet above the bed, and held his head in his hands. His shoulders jerked, silver tears poked through his hands.

He didn’t move for the rest of the clip.

Donnie paused, looking at the three clips currently in his queue and the remaining time left in his footage. The clip he was watching was over two weeks old.

Leo lost faith that Donnie was ever going to see him over two weeks ago.

Did he realize that Donnie wasn’t looking because it was too painful Raph always told him that spying on his brothers was wrong? Or did he think that Donnie did see him and just didn’t care? 

Donnie clicked on the thirteenth clip.

Leo spent the entire time curled into a ball floating above his bed.

Raph was right. He shouldn’t be watching this. And yet —

Donnie blinked hard and started the fourteenth clip. He still had days of pained and hopeless Leo to watch before Mikey first saw him.

Days of letting Leo down. 

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them. He wasn’t crying. Mikey had seen Leo. Mikey had shown their brother that they hadn’t given up on him. And he— 

And he— 

This was the least he could do.

Donnie opened his eyes.

Blue filled his computer screen. Leo must have still had some hope that Donnie would see him. 

Leo’s face was so sharp, unobscured, just this once, by the ever present grain of the video. It seemed so real, so close, as if Don could just reach out and touch his beak.

And it was getting closer.

“Oh my banana pancakes!”

The ethernet cord was pulled out of his laptop as Donnie fell backwards.

Floating above him, grinning as he slapped his knee in silent laughter, was Leo.

“Not funny,” Donnie deadpanned.

Leo raised an eye ridge. “ Ye(s/c/t/d/j) i(s/c/t/d/j) wa(s/c/t/d/j)”

Yes it was.

“Fine, it would have been funny. If you had done it to someone else.”

Leo grinned, his smile far more brittle than it usually was during their banter. He held both his arms out. Donnie sighed, pushing himself back up, and returned the gesture without the customary wait time.

Leo embraced Donnie. Or Leo tried to embrace Donnie. Just as they did with everything else in the room, his arms passed right through Donnie.

They left nothing in their wake, no cold nor any electric tingle. The only proof he was there was the blue light.

Leo pulled back. His face was taunt and he was blinking rapidly. Silver tears were collecting at the corner of his eyes.

Donnie wanted to watch him forever. He wanted to find the time to find the words to make Leo’s tears disappear.

But none of the clips were that long. And he needed information. With enough information, he could— 

“Did you tell Mikey to break the plate?”

Leo nodded, “ Yeah, (s/c/t/d/j)orry”

Yeah, sorry.

“I don’t care about sorry,” Donnie pressed, “I care about why.” 

Leo’s eyes went wide. “ You (s/c/t/d/j)an hear (b/m/p)e”

You can hear me?

“I can read lips.”

“Oh (v/f/ph)an(s/c/t/d/j)a(s/c/t/d/j)i(s/c/t/d/j) (v/f/ph)ir(s/c/t/d/j) o(v/f/ph) (b/m/p)y (s/c/t/d/j)wor(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)i(s/c/t/d/j)n’(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)ha(s/c/t/d/j)er i(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)a(s/c/t/d/j)ere(s/c/t/d/j) I (k/g/ng)ee(b/m/p) (b/m/p)oun(s/c/t/d/j)i(k/g/ng) (b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j)ween (s/c/t/d/j)i(v/f/ph)eren(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)har(s/c/t/d/j) an(s/c/t/d/j) I (s/c/t/d/j)an(s/c/t/d/j) (v/f/ph)or(s/c/t/d/j)e (b/m/p)y(s/c/t/d/j)el(v/f/ph) (s/c/t/d/j)o (s/c/t/d/j)ay in one (b/m/p)la(s/c/t/d/j)e. Ea(s/c/t/d/j)h (b/m/p)la(s/c/t/d/j)e i(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)i(v/f/ph)eren(s/c/t/d/j) li(k/g/ng)e in one I(b/m/p) in a la(b/m/p) in ano(s/c/t/d/j)her I(b/m/p) un(s/c/t/d/j)erwa(s/c/t/d/j)er (s/c/t/d/j)o(b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j)i(b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j) I(b/m/p) in a (v/f/ph)ore(s/c/t/d/j) or on (s/c/t/d/j)he (s/c/t/d/j)o(b/m/p) o(v/f/ph) a (b/m/p)oun(s/c/t/d/j)ain wi(s/c/t/d/j)h a weir(s/c/t/d/j) (v/f/ph)ox la(s/c/t/d/j)y an(s/c/t/d/j) re(s/c/t/d/j)en(s/c/t/d/j)ly I (s/c/t/d/j)(b/m/p)en(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)en whole (s/c/t/d/j)ay(s/c/t/d/j) in a (v/f/ph)iel(s/c/t/d/j) I (s/c/t/d/j)on(s/c/t/d/j) (k/g/ng)now i(v/f/ph) you ha(b/m/p)ene(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)o (s/c/t/d/j)oun(s/c/t/d/j) how (b/m/p)any (s/c/t/d/j)har(s/c/t/d/j) (b/m/p)y (s/c/t/d/j)wor(s/c/t/d/j) (b/m/p)ro(k/g/ng)e in(s/c/t/d/j)o (b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j)au(s/c/t/d/j)e I(b/m/p) (b/m/p)re(s/c/t/d/j)y (s/c/t/d/j)ure I’(b/m/p) (k/g/ng)oi(k/g/ng) (b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j)ween all o(v/f/ph) (s/c/t/d/j)he(b/m/p) an(s/c/t/d/j) —”

“Leo!” Donnie cut him off. “Please slow down. I can’t follow that. I— Lip reading is 70% guessing and context. I’m not that fast. I’m sorry.”

Leo grimaced “ (s/c/t/d/j)orry”

Sorry.

“Not your fault,” Donnie said quickly. “Let’s just go over this slowly. We know you wanted Mikey to shatter the plate but—”

“No(s/c/t/d/j) (s/c/t/d/j)ha(s/c/t/d/j)er (s/c/t/d/j)a(s/c/t/d/j)er”

Not shatter, scatter.

“You wanted Mikey to...scatter the plate?”

Leo nodded. “ Li(k/g/ng)e (b/m/p)y (s/c/t/d/j)wor(s/c/t/d/j) I (k/g/ng)ee(b/m/p) (b/m/p)oun(s/c/t/d/j)i(k/g/ng)”

Like my sword. I keep bouncing.

“Bouncing?”

“(b/m/p)e(s/c/t/d/j)ween (s/c/t/d/j)har(s/c/t/d/j)”

Between shard(s?)

“Of your sword,” Donnie breathed, that explained where Leo went when he wasn’t haunting his altar. “You’re being bounced between fragments of your sword. Do you know where the rest of them are, Leo? I swear we tried to look after the fight, but—”

Donnie looked to Leo for an answer.

Leo was gone.

It would take two days for Leo to reappear. Two days where they filled both April and Splinter in on what happened, and watched their faces going from stunned (and disbelief, in Splinter’s case) to joyful and determined. Two days where they alerted the Hamato ancestors. Two days where they all stayed on their toes, occasionally eyeing Leo’s room hopefully and with bated breaths.

The second the alert sounded, Donnie was on his feet. As he sprinted through the Lair’s atrium, he texted April one word.

Leo

Her response was quick. 

ETA 15 min

However, based on the length of every single clip he had watched, and his own interaction with Leo, he knew Leo would be gone before those 15 minutes were up. Donnie only hoped that by then, he’d be with the Hamato ancestors, getting stronger as a spirit and not bouncing away to one of his sword’s shards.  

So they had to make every second count. 

Donnie rushed into Leo’s room, sighing in relief as the specter of his brother greeted him with a smile and a contactless hug.

When he pulled away, Mikey was by his side. Leo turned towards him and did the same.

But then, when Raph burst through the curtains a second later, Leo’s smile vanished. It wasn’t from anything negative, but from a disbelieving awe that was so apparent in the wide, white voids that were Leo’s eyes. The smile was quick to come back wider than ever, and that was all Donnie managed to observe before Leo was nothing but a blur of blue light heading straight towards Raph.

Or at least, Leo was trying to, until he came to a dead stop just a foot or two away from their eldest brother, feet running in place with hands clawing uselessly at the air in front of him. 

Raph on the other hand, only stood frozen in his own spot, shocked and unsure and probably just as bewildered as Donnie was at the scene before them.

Neither were aware of Mikey’s small little “oh”, nor when he began moving towards the altar.

Seeing the tethering in person made a multitude of theories fly through Donnie’s mind, but he had no time to really dwell on any of them before Leo was suddenly launching forward again— something that most definitely caught their brother in blue off guard as he flew right through Raph’s body. It was enough to startle Raph out of his stupor with a yelp, frantically patting the part of his plastron where Leo just phased through. 

Then, Raph turned around, naturally finding Leo standing behind him, dismay clear on the other’s face. 

“Whoops,” Mikey said sheepishly as he went back to Donnie’s side, both hands now clasped around the hilt. “Probably should’ve warned you guys I was moving this closer.”

“So, your positioning is related to the hilt?” Donnie asked, looking between his brother and the broken weapon that he was haunting. “Do you move with it or is there just a barrier at, what, approximately 6 feet out?”

Leo nodded and held up a single finger. He waited for a second before pulling himself into a cross-legged float, pointing at the hilt.

“(s/c/t/d/j)ry i(s/c/t/d/j)”

Try it.

Donnie obliged and took the hilt from Mikey. As he stepped back, Leo moved with him at a constant, less than six foot distance. So it was the first option: he remained fixed in the same place relative to the hilt. Which would explain why he never reached the Hamato ancestors, since he was stuck haunting his sword. 

But hopefully not for much longer. They just had to wait for pops and then— 

“Hey, Leo...”

Both Leo and Donnie looked at Raph. He stood where Leo had left him for their experiment, one hand rubbing his neck as he stared at his feet.

“I just—” Raph said, voice shaking.  “I just want to say...”

Leo moved back to float in front of Raph. His hand was out, but he didn’t close the distance between them.

Raph did.

“I’m sorry.” Raph breathed.

Leo’s eyes didn’t have pupils. Still, between the over dramatic sigh and the wave of his hand, Donnie knew, without a doubt that he was rolling his eyes.

It felt so good to see him again.

“I’m serious.” Raph said firmly, squaring his shoulders as if Leo had just blown him off about staying up too late. “I let you down. I...” 

Raph looked down. The force of his words had completely dissipated when he spoke again. “I left you behind.”

The teasing attitude Leo had earlier evaporated. He placed both hands on Raph’s shoulders. Or at least he tried to. One hand hovered a few centimeters above and the other phased a few centimeters below Raph’s shoulders.

Leo didn’t seem to worry about that as he got into Raph’s face and said ‘no’ so largely and slowly that Donnie could read it clearly even at an angle.

“I can’t...” Raph said helplessly.

Leo turned towards Donnie.

“(s/c/t/d/j)ell hi(b/m/p) no(s/c/t/d/j) hi(s/c/t/d/j) (v/f/ph)aul(s/c/t/d/j)”

Donnie hesitated.

“(s/c/t/d/j)ell hi(b/m/p)”

“He says that it’s not your fault, Raph.”  

Donnie’s words pulled Raph’s attention towards him. 

Leo floated between the two of them, hand on his hip, both eye ridges raised, and a proud smile that Donnie had missed so much.

“I—” Raph’s argument was cut off by Leo’s glare. His smile twisted to be more challenging, attempting to goad him into a losing fight. Donnie would know, it was the same one he wore during the Lair Games.

“Ok,” Raph said, voice still wavering. “Ok.”

Mikey flung an arm around Raph’s neck. “Isn’t this great? The whole family, finally together again.”

Leo laughed silently and grinned at Mikey. Mikey returned the grin, but Donnie could feel his eyes locking onto him.

Donnie didn’t move.

“Isn’t there something you want to say, D?” Mikey asked in a light tone that didn’t match his forceful gaze. 

“The reason you haven’t gone to see April, it’s because you’re stuck to the sword, right?”

Leo nodded. 

Mikey’s gaze turned to a glare. 

Donnie didn’t care. He knew that Mikey wanted him to apologize to Leo— to state out loud that he was sorry that he delayed them finding Leo because he refused to believe Mikey. And Donnie acknowledged that it was his fault. But if he were to bring it up now, Leo would do the same thing for Donnie that he did for Raph. Leo would get hit with his own hurt, but then shove it away to make his brother feel better.

Donnie didn’t want to feel better about that. He didn’t want to make Leo drop his smile for even one more second. Besides, this next phase— he didn’t know how long it would last, but Grandpa Sho had warned them that it could be up to a year. Donnie didn’t want Leo’s last memory of him for a year to be more bad memories.

He was smiling now and that was all that mattered.

Or at least, he was.

Leo gave a wordless cry, both arms shaking as his glowing eyes welled with tears.

Turning, Donnie could see their dad making a very similar expression.

“Leonardo,” Splinter breathed, taking a hopeful step forward.

And Leo— Donnie could practically see his brother’s joy and relief in the way Leo stared back at dad, just like how he could practically see the conflicting emotions lying underneath in the way Leo held himself, rooted to the spot with muscles tense, slightly leaning forward as if he was going to run up and give Splinter a hug at any second.

But Leo didn’t, and that’s where the conflict came in. Donnie was immediately reminded of the moments Leo tried to hug all of them, his beak pressed into a grimace.

The reminder of the fact Leo couldn’t physically touch or hold any of them must hurt. But if dad was here, that meant that that issue would soon be gone.

In the end, as Donnie glanced between the two, Leo stepped forward. Tentatively, he held a hand out to Splinter, who immediately reached back with just as much care.

Splinter’s hand phased through Leo’s, but their dad still held it there as if he was truly holding his son’s hand.

Various emotions flashed across Leo’s face at the moment, with the main one Donnie recognized to be frustration. But as quick as they came, they smoothed out into a wobbly smile, shoulders shaking from a hitching breath as Splinter curled his other hand around Leo’s.

“I’ve missed you, my son,” Splinter said in a low and trembling voice. “More than you’d ever believe.” 

Leo didn’t try to speak. He just nodded and curled forward towards his father. 

“I’ve also brought some people who can help you adjust,” Splinter said, blinking hard.

He laid a scroll between himself and Leo as he stepped back. The green forms of Grandma Karai, Grandma Atsuko, Grandpa Sho materialized from it. 

“My child,” Karai started, gazing at him softly.

Leo’s white eyes went wide. His jaw quivered. He hid behind Raph.

Karai did not follow him. She held back Sho and Atsuko, and with a simple movement of her eyes she directed Donnie, Mikey, and Raph to Leo’s side.

He was curled in on himself, clutching his knees near the floor. Donnie could see the shudders flowing through his body and the more desperate shaking of his head.

“Hey,” Mikey said softly. “I know the plan was to do it together, but it’s ok if you’re the first one to hug Gram-Gram.”

Leo looked at Mikey, his shaking calming even as he still held his knees to his plastron.

“Yeah,” Donnie added. “And I won’t be mad if you share embarrassing stories of us with Grandma Atsuko. As long as you bring us back some embarrassing stories of pa-pa.”

Leo uncurled. He looked between the two of them and the Hamato ancestors. He didn’t move towards them.

“I know it’s scary, Leo, and I know it’s not fair,” Raph said softly. “But we’ll be here for you. We will all be here for you. Anatawa hitorijanai, remember?”

Leo took a deep shuddering breath and nodded. The smile he plastered on his face was brittle but it was there. 

Slowly he walked towards his family.

Karai extended her hand towards him.

Leo reached out as well.

His blue hand met her green one.

His blue hand phased through her green one.

Leo tried again. 

And again. 

And again.

They never touched.

Leo curled forward, head on his knees as he shook. Donnie could see the silvery lines of his tears. 

This should have worked.

But it didn’t. He didn’t even notice Grandma Atsuko’s hand phasing through his shell as she knelt beside him. From Karai’s worried and confused look, Donnie could tell that she couldn’t hear what should have been loud and obvious sobs.

That wasn’t right.

This should have worked.

He should be— 

This wasn’t right.

Donnie fled from Leo’s room.

He had to have missed something. 

He had gigabytes of data on haunted objects in his lab. Every reference even tangentially related that S.H.E.L.LD.O.N. could find on the web. There had to be an answer in one of those documents. Donnie just needed to find it.

But Donnie was still staring, without comprehension, at the first document he opened, when April let herself into his lab. 

“It didn’t work?” she asked.

“It should have worked,” Donnie said tensely.

“It’s not your fault, D,” she said.

“No, I missed something. I—” 

Donnie was cut off when he was pulled into a group hug. April was in front of him, he could feel Mikey against his battle shell, and Raph held them all. They must have followed April in. But the hug was missing one turtle and— 

“It’s not fair,” Donnie whispered.

“It isn’t,” Mikey agreed. “You should have been right, D. He’s a Hamato. He shouldn’t be less of a ghost just because he started by possessing an object. That’s not— We didn’t know— He didn’t know.”

Raph held them tighter.

“Grandpa Sho said that it shouldn’t have mattered,” Raph said. “He said that as long as Leo chose to go with them—” 

“He did choose to go with them,” Donnie stated.

“I know,” Raph whispered.

“But he still disappeared,” Mikey sobbed.

“I know—” Raph said at the same time Donnie clarified, 

“No, not disappeared.” 

“What?” Mikey asked.

“He doesn’t disappear,” Donnie said, “he bounces between...”

Donnie blinked hard. He had missed something. Something important.

“The shards,” he said firmly.

“I apologized for that,” Raph said meekly, releasing the hug.

Donnie ignored him. He scoured through footage. It was older and not from Leo’s room. But if Donnie’s hunch was correct— 

The camera was one that was embedded into his battle shell. And the footage he was looking at was full of motion. But as his brothers waited for him, Donnie looked meticulously through each and every frame until he found exactly one that showed what he wanted. It was blurry and poorly centered, but still.

Donnie pulled that image up on one of his large computer screens. On another, he placed a far more recent still frame of Leo floating by his hilt.

“As Leo would say,” Donnie said, voice shaking, “corporate needs you to find the difference between these two pictures.”

Mikey, Raph, and April all looked closely at the images. And Donnie could tell that they saw what he did. The same blue figure, the same white eyes, the same glowing stripes.

“They’re the same picture,” Mikey quoted slowly.

“Yes,” Donnie agreed, pointing to the older image. “But this one was taken from our final fight with Shredder. It’s from right before he completed one of his teleports, when Leo and I were freeing Dad’s essence from its chains.”

“Wait, so—” Raph started.

“Yes,” Donnie cut him off. “Leo’s stuck teleporting. He can’t complete his teleport because his sword is broken and each shard is trying to pull him out at a different location.”

Raph’s face fell. “So he’s stuck like that, forever?”

“No,” Donnie said firmly. “Or at least, I don’t think so. My assumption is that when the shards can all agree on where to deposit Leo— when they are all in the same place, Leo can finish his teleport.”

“And then he’ll be able to go with Gram-Gram, right?” Mikey said.

Donnie shook his head slowly. April’s eyes went wide. 

“Do you really think...?” she asked, voice shaking. 

“I don’t know. I have no way of knowing,” Donnie said pacing, his hands shaking as he rubbed them against each other. “But he’s ninpo energy right now, And that shouldn’t go away, not while we are family. But, pizza supreme, it’s scary to even hope. And I could just be manipulating the data because I want this outcome more than I’ve wanted anything in my entire life.”

“Donnie,” Raph said, placing a hand on Donnie’s shoulder, forcing him to stop pacing. “What happens when we assemble the shards?”

“Leo finishes his teleport, and he returns to us,” Donnie’s voice shook as he met Raph’s eyes. “Leo returns to us alive. ”

Chapter Text

A looped Wilhelm scream filled the room.

Several months ago, that sound caught April off guard. Several weeks ago, that sound made her heart break. But now— 

The corners of her mouth tugged up into both a smile and a grimace as she switched it off. It’d been stuck like that ever since Leo had used her phone to look up information on her school’s prom. She should’ve known something was up then, given Leo’s scheming little smirk when he handed back her phone, and also because it was, well, Leo.

Needless to say what woke her up the next morning had definitely been a surprise.

April couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out just how Leo changed her alarm and made it stay that way despite her best efforts to change it back, so she had made her way to the lair, already coming up with a million ways to get back at him. 

If Leo wanted to prank her, then oh, it was on . 

But then...

But then...

“Alright, where’s Leo?” she called out the moment she stepped into the lair. But whatever she planned to say next immediately died out when the others turned to her. 

Donnie had turned his attention to the ground, looking especially resentful. Mikey looked like he could shatter at any moment. Raph had that haunted, guilt ridden look in his eyes that April hadn’t seen since the Shredder attacked their lair. And Leo— 

Leo... 

Leo wasn’t here. 

Something cold and heavy settled in the pit of April’s stomach as she scanned the faces of the three remaining turtles again, a realization that felt like the end of the world slowly pushing against the wall of denial she immediately built up. 

“Guys, where’s Leo?” she asked again in a smaller voice.

April shook the memory from her head as she put away her phone. What happened then didn’t matter anymore. Leo was here now, and they were all going to help him, one way or another. 

But speaking of Leo...it had been almost six hours since they told Leo their theory and watched shock and tentative hope flood his face. Six hours since they finished the ritual under the suggestion and guidance of the ancestors. Six hours since they helped Leo reprogram his ninpo.

Now, if they did everything right, he should be able to travel much farther from his sword, stay for much longer, and more importantly, return to the hilt much more often. 

If they did everything right, Leo would have six hours instead of ten minutes at each shard, including the hilt currently in their possession. 

They could actually work with him now. They could actually find out where his shards were and assemble them. 

Maybe in a few weeks, they could have Leo home.

The possibility seemed so unreal that it hurt to think about. There were far too many steps between that and where they currently were. 

But they could get there. They would get there.

The lair was already filled with activity. Raph was wheeling a large whiteboard out, while Mikey followed close behind, one hand filled with different colored markers, the other clutching Leo’s hilt. 

Donnie emerged from his lab, still fiddling with something on his tech gauntlet. April tapped his shoulder, and Donnie gave her a look.

“I’ve almost got the bugs worked out.”

“Okay, one, ‘almost’ isn’t done, and two, you told me earlier that you still don’t have any way to have Leo give live feedback.”

“But—” Donnie started looking towards the whiteboard.

“Mikey will do just fine,” April assured him, holding up her phone. “Besides, it’s almost time.”

Both Mikey and Raph looked at her when she said that. And everyone in the room held their breath as the final seconds ticked by.

There was no sound. No explosion of light, nor change in temperature. 

One second, the center of the atrium was empty, and the next, Leo existed in it. It was as if they were watching a spliced film.

Apparently, the change was just as unnoticable for Leo. His eyes were closed and he was bowed, one hand closed in front of his chest, the other behind his shell.

He straightened slowly and took two slow rhythmic steps before stopping. 

He blinked hard, drinking in the sight of the lair. Silver tears gathered at the edges of his eyes, held in place by how widely he was smiling. 

Leo pointed at his face with both hands and then twisted his fingers towards the ceiling with a flourish. 

“Of course it worked,” Donnie said flatly. “I helped make the plan.”

Leo made three more signs. He pointed to his chest, made a circle there with a closed fist, and then extended his arm down and to the side, waving it forcefully.

Donnie shook his head. “No need to apologize, Leo. You weren’t late at all. Six hours one minute and seventeen seconds from when you left. Everything worked perfectly.”

Leo blinked hard. He took a half step back and looked at Donnie with a tilted head. 

He signed again, and April could see Mikey watching the interaction with an open mouth. She didn’t blame him. Donnie could have mentioned that Leo knew sign language before they spent so much time working on the whiteboard plan.

“You want to talk with who?” Donnie asked.

Leo held his hand between them and signed again.

Donnie sighed. “Just point. I don’t recognize—”

Leo made four distinct signs with his right hand. He repeated them, in the same order, once and looked at Donnie expectantly. 

“That’s not even— You can’t just make up signs you don’t know and expect me to—” Donnie cut himself off, his frustration evident. “Where did you even learn to sign anyway?”

Leo responded quickly, the jerk to his signs mirrored Donnie’s frustration.

“Your friend— nonsense,” Donnie snapped.

Leo threw his own hands in the air. If they could hear him, April was sure that whatever he just said would have been shouted. 

His chin wobbled and he blinked quickly. April’s heart broke. This was supposed to be happy. This was supposed to be the first step to getting Leo home. And April was going to do something about it.

“Hey, Leo,” she said.

Leo beamed at her, his frustration melting away. But she didn’t get time to relish the attention and smile directed at her before he zipped behind her.

Before April could turn to look at him, she saw his arms come forward. They didn’t close in an approximation of a hug, but rather stayed overlapping her own. 

He moved one arm slightly and then froze. April moved her arm to keep them overlapped. 

Leo moved both arms, very slowly, and April followed his lead keeping them both overlapped. He continued moving and she continued following until both of her arms were crossed tightly against her chest.

“I missed you too.” April said softly.  

The second that Leo pulled away, Mikey jumped up.

“I want a Leo hug.”

Leo didn’t waste a second before obliging him.

April could see the tears in Mikey’s eyes even if Leo couldn’t.

When he pulled away, Leo looked towards Raph and Donnie. 

Raph looked away and Donnie held up a hand.

“Maybe later. Right now, I want to figure out as much information about the shard as possible. The faster we can find it, the faster we can get them all back together.”

Leo grinned wide. He raced to Donnie and began pointing at the ceiling. 

Donnie blinked. 

“Okay, that is less than helpful. But no worries, that’s why we brought a whiteboard.”

“And a Mikey,” Raph added.

“And a Mikey,” Donnie agreed.

“Yup! Ready when you are!” Mikey exclaimed, already popping the cap of a marker open. It was a blue one, a detail that made April smile in amusement. 

Leo’s eyes almost seemed to light up as he approached the whiteboard. He put his finger on the surface. His fingertip was slightly phasing through, but he paid it no mind as he looked at Mikey expectantly. 

Mikey immediately pressed the marker right where Leo was pointing. But instead of drawing out a line, Leo took his finger off the whiteboard, inciting a confused look from Mikey. 

Nevertheless, he followed Leo’s lead with unsure movements, leaving a tiny dot on the whiteboard. It wasn’t until Leo put his finger on a different part of the whiteboard, a small distance away from the first dot, that Mikey’s eyes lit up with understanding. 

Soon enough, more dots began filling the board, seemingly at random, but the more April observed, the more she could make out there was some weird pattern amidst it all. The whole thing seemed strangely familiar in a way she couldn’t put her finger on just yet.

Until Donnie asked, “Are those stars?”

Leo turned to him, once again grinning as he nodded.

“Very clever. That will help us narrow down a location,” Donnie said, already pulling out his phone. 

A quick look at the screen showed he had pulled up an astronomy app, the star sphere spinning around with a few swipes of his thumb as Donnie glanced between it and the drawing on the board. 

“Is this it?” he eventually asked, showing the result of his search to Leo, who leaned forward, staring at the phone with a strange intensity.

None of them could conceal a disappointed sigh when Leo shook his head. 

“Alright,” Donnie muttered, flicking the star sphere around. “This looks close.”

Leo frowned at the phone. He returned to the whiteboard and pointed, firmly, at a cluster of stars there.

Donnie sighed. He looked from the app to the board and back. He spun the sphere more.

However, the next viewpoint he landed on was missing a different cluster, and the one after that had stars at the wrong angles, and the one after that was missing bright stars, and one after that had too many.

Each failed attempt led to Donnie swiping faster on his phone and Leo pointing harder at the board.

“Maybe,” April cut in, “a larger view would help.”

“I could hook my phone up to the projector,” Donnie mused. “Leo?”

Leo nodded, and they all set to work. Donnie set his screen to export. Raph grabbed the projector from the television room. April turned off all the lights in the lair, and Mikey covered the ceiling with a thick white sheet. 

Soon, the entire lair was bathed in projected stars. Leo watched with rapt attention as Donnie spun through the Northern hemisphere, and then the Southern. 

Leo made no motion.

Donnie repeated both hemispheres, more slowly. However, Leo stopped watching. He returned to the whiteboard, his hand phasing through it as he held his head in the other.

Donnie stopped spinning the stars, and left his phone behind to stand beside Leo.

“Hey, Leo, it’s okay,” he said softly. “You only had 6 hours to memorize it, not 6 months. Let's go over any other information.”

Leo’s body shook. He didn’t move until Mikey stood on top of him, marker in hand.

They drew a stick figure with the ears, tail and whiskers of a mouse. He gave the figure overalls and put neon lines over its cheeks, ears, and tail. 

Leo took his time drawing the figure. He made Mikey change neon markers after he saw the actual color of the first one he selected. He made Mikey erase the clasp of the overalls and the curve of the ears several times as well. 

April didn’t really see the difference, but Leo looked at the figure with a grin. He slowly guided Mikey in writing a single word above it.

Algernon

Leo smiled once more before turning his attention from the drawing. He explained, through Donnie’s translation, that mice yokai glowed with some kind of mystic energy or bioluminescence, where Leo had indicated with the neon lines. He explained that they were farmers, before turning back towards the board.

Behind the figure, he added a house. It was two stories with a porch and some old timey shutters. The path leading up to the house was orange, and surrounding it was bright green. He then had Mikey dot the green with every bright colored marker that they had. A dirt path through a green meadow dotted with flowers.

Again, Leo stopped to explain. They lived in an old, but well maintained, two story farmhouse, located outside of a small, rustic town called Bellsburrow. They grew and sold flowers and herbs.

“Flowers?” Donnie asked. “Those could be useful too, if only for determining what the climate there is like.”

Leo grinned. He led Mikey through a rough drawing of a five petaled blue flower, and signed the name to Donnie.

Donnie however grimaced.

“Where on earth did he learn that alphabet?” he grumbled under his breath.  

Leo glared at him and slowly pointed to the figure on the board.

“Oh,” Donnie said softly. “Although where on Earth might still be a relevant question. Sign language isn’t a monolith, and there are lots of different languages and regional variations under the umbrella of signed language.”

“So if we learn Leo’s version of sign language, we might be able to track down where exactly it’s from, and then find the shard?” April asked.

Donnie grinned. “Exactly. Leo, if you want to show us what you’ve learned, I can record it and we can study while you’re gone.”

Leo nodded.

He had Mikey write the alphabet and gave corresponding signs for most letters, though some like the letters ‘C’, ‘Q’, ‘X’, and ‘Y’ were not given. He then launched into giving a sign and its finger spelling. Even without him having to slow down for Mikey to write out the word, he still spent most of the rest of his time giving vocabulary. 

April was rather amazed. The amount of vocabulary Leo had learned in six hours was striking. It now made sense why he couldn’t remember the exact star patterns he had seen, as he spent so much of his time learning a way to communicate with his brothers. And sure, that might make finding this place a bit more frustrating, but April knew he had made the right choice. In the long run communication would be key to retrieving the shards.

When April awoke and checked her phone. She expected it to say that it was late Saturday night, not early Sunday morning.

Her heart skipped a beat. She stared at the numbers incomprehensibly, because that couldn’t be right. Even if her alarm didn’t do its job, someone should’ve at least woken her when those six hours were up! They wouldn’t just do this to her!

She practically leapt out of bed, rushing out of the guest room and towards the whiteboard, ready to give whichever turtle she came across first a piece of her mind. 

But every complaint in her arsenal vanished the moment she caught a glimpse of Raph’s room. 

Raph was inside of it instead of out with Leo. He was lifting his weights with a frantic urgency, his teddy bear, Doctor Hugginstien, pulled out and pressed against his leg.

April took a step back. 

She glanced into Donnie’s room next. He was completely absorbed by his laptop, which she knew he wouldn’t be if there was a chance for him to be with Leo.

Mikey’s room was empty.

Mikey was instead in Leo’s room. He was pacing around in a tight circle, Leo’s hilt clutched tightly in his hands.

“Leo, please don’t do this.”

April stepped into the room.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Mikey sniffled. “Nothing happened.”

“Then what’s—” April’s eyes glanced over the empty room.

“He was supposed to come back.” Mikey’s voice shook. “But nothing happened.”

“Oh...” April sat on the edge of Leo’s bed, a numb disbelief washing over her until a fear similar to what the guys were probably feeling broke through. “Hey, maybe— maybe this isn’t as bad as we think it is. You know how Leo is. He’s not exactly the most punctual guy.” 

“But it’s been almost twelve hours!” Mikey argued tearfully. “He wouldn’t— He wouldn’t just do this to us. Not now. Not if he had a choice.” 

April winced, remembering giving Mikey that same reasoning on that fire escape all those nights ago. 

“It’s not fair,” Mikey said, sitting down next to April. “What did we do wrong? Why does this keep happening to us?” 

April held out her arms. Mikey buried himself in her side.

“I don’t know,” she sighed, rubbing his shell. “And you’re right. This isn’t fair at all. But you have to believe that whatever happened, this isn’t your fault. This isn’t anybody’s fault.” 

“ Then why ?” Mikey sobbed, gripping her tighter. “I just— I just want him back! I just want my brother.”

“I know, Mikey.” 

April’s phone buzzed in her pocket. A silent alarm. She forgot she had muted her phone so as to not interrupt her Leo time. And now, she was kind of glad that she did. If that was really the last time— 

April switched off her alarm. And when she looked up, she was looking directly at a blue, worried face.

“Leo?” she said.

Leo grimaced as Mikey looked up. The tears that were just quieted resumed full force.

Leo raced behind him, his blue arms overlapping Mikey’s own. Leo pulled his arms into a tight hug. Mikey followed him, breath hitching. 

Leo pulled away slowly. Mikey looked at him.

“I was so worried. Where were you?”

Leo reached out and grabbed approximately where Mikey’s hand was. He then turned towards the atrium. He couldn’t exert any force on her or Mikey, but still he dragged them both towards the whiteboard.

The first thing they drew was a line down the center of the board. 

April barely remembered to shout for Raph and Donnie as they wrote ‘SHARD 1’ and ‘SHARD 2’ on top of each side of the white board. The two rushed out without a second wasted, relief flooding their eyes alongside their tears at the sight of Leo. 

Donnie was quick to blink his away, shaking his head before glancing at the board. 

“So you went to two shards before returning,” he said as less of a question and more of a statement, beak pulling into a frown as he crossed his arms. “I don’t like that. What if that means the number of shards you go to before returning increases?” 

“Then we’ll make a plan,” Raph said. “Besides, it won’t matter if we can figure out where they all are in the end. Leo?”

At Raph’s cue, Leo went to the section of the board labeled ‘Shard 1’, leading Mikey as he made what appeared to be the basic outline of a mountain range, complete with sharp and jagged points. 

“Were the peaks all that sharp?” Donnie asked. “They weren’t rounded in any way?” 

Leo put a hand to his chest and made an exaggerated, offended expression, as if asking Donnie how dare he question his artistic abilities. All the while, he made the motion of tapping the board with his knuckles.

“Never hurts to be accurate, Leon,” Donnie replied with a slight smile. “But, considering they’re all pointed, I think we might be looking at a range of young mountains.” 

Right as April whipped out her phone, typing ‘young mountain ranges’ into the search engine, a blue hand waved in front of her face. She looked up at Leo, who held one finger up, signalling to wait.

He went back to the board and drew a group of small houses on the mountainsides, nearer to the peaks. Finally, at the bottom of the mountains, he added some puffy cloud shapes. 

“So you’re at an especially high altitude?” Donnie guessed. 

Leo looked at him strangely, signing something that caused Donnie to roll his eyes.

“Yes, I know all mountains are supposedly high, but not all of them reach above the clouds.”

Leo’s eyes widened before narrowing, thinking hard about something. His hands moved at least two separate times, as if he was about to sign something else, before stopping. Eventually, he shook his head. Within one of the cloud shapes, he had Mikey write the word ‘fog’. 

“So somewhere with more humidity then,” Donnie noted. “Is there anything else aside from that? Plants? People?” 

Unexpectedly, Leo went still. His casual smile slipped before he forced it back on his face, though it was more brittle and a bit more bitter than before. Even without pupils, April had the feeling he suddenly broke eye contact.

“Leo?” Mikey asked, as concerned as the rest of them at the shift in demeanor. But Leo only waved it off, before waiting for Mikey to help him continue drawing.

His movements were more rushed this time, as if he wanted to get this done as fast as possible. It definitely caught Mikey off guard at first, though he’d been quick to adapt, rushing to keep up with Leo’s lead as a figure with some kind of canine head and dressed in what April could only guess to be robes took shape. It was finished off with the word ‘ SUS’ written in all capital letters next to it, with multiple lines scribbled underneath as if emphasizing a point. 

The mood surrounding this drawing was definitely the complete opposite of the one surrounding the mouse yokai’s. It was less detailed and meticulous, with less care and love put into it. And when Leo looked at it, it was with a weak glare, his body subconsciously shrinking in on itself as if wanting to hide away in his shell.

And April knew that even without knowing who exactly this ‘Sus’ person was, she already didn’t like them.

But Leo didn’t linger on the drawing. He shook his head and went back to the mountain scene, framing the entire thing with what appeared to be a window. He then briefly explained that he’d recently been brought to some really weird temple, though he couldn’t see much outside of the room he was in. 

But the moment he finished, he moved to the ‘Shard 2’ side of the whiteboard, not giving any further explanation nor any chance for the others to ask for one.

To their surprise, the first thing he drew was another humanoid turtle, only with flippers instead of three fingered hands. Two large dots were drawn for eyes, with markings that almost looked like a splotchy apostrophe mark surrounding each one. A collection of smaller dots resembling freckles were then added to the turtle’s cheeks, framing a small smile. 

He then turned back to the others, his own smile wide and genuine again as he pointed at the turtle and then made peace signs with both of his hands and placed them over his heart. 

So a specific sign. Maybe it was even a name. April glanced at Donnie, hoping he’d have a better idea as to what it meant, but Donnie’s focus was completely on the board, brows furrowed in thought.

When April turned back, Leo was already drawing something else: waves in blue marker above the turtle, a yellow line underneath them for sand, and wavy green lines for seaweed. Finally, branch-like structures that April assumed to be coral were drawn with different bright colors alongside the fish and seashells.

And with that, he stepped back and turned to them expectantly.

“So, one shard is in a temple in some young mountains, and the other is in an ocean,” Donnie summarized, sounding less than enthused, “which also, unfortunately, makes up two thirds of the Earth’s surface.”

“I mean, it’s still a place to look into, right?” Raph asked.

“ Raph, this isn’t just any normal place,” Donnie sighed. “The mountains? Sure, that’s feasible. But this is the ocean . We’re talking about something that makes up the majority of the Earth while only having 5% of it explored! We—” 

He stopped talking the moment his eyes landed on Leo, who merely looked back at him worriedly. Frustration fell away from his face, leaving vulnerability for a long second before his eyes hardened with determination.

“No, forget I said anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s the ocean,” Donnie said, turning his gaze back to the others. “I’ll find a way. One way or another.”

April rushed from school the second her final bell rang. She had only gotten to see Leo three times last weekend, so she wasn’t going to miss a second of his appearances this weekend. 

He was scheduled to return in less than an hour, and that was assuming he wasn’t shunted to the little sea turtle girl again. Apparently, that was quickly becoming a regular occurrence.

For something that was so annoying, and cut into their time with Leo so much, it hadn’t provided any good information for finding Leo. Leo couldn’t draw fish or seaweed with enough detail to give Donnie any clues for location. And sure, he also mentioned seeing giant, monstrous sea yokai at some point, but unfortunately, it wasn’t like those could point to any specific place either.

The girl herself should have been a huge clue too. A turtle that Leo went to when their Hamato ninpo sent him to ‘family’? It just screamed that there was a fifth turtle that Splinter didn’t see.

However, Draxum shot that idea down fast. There was no sea turtle, no saved DNA from Lou Jitsu, and no room in his machine for more than four turtles.

The girl was, at the moment, just another dead end.

April skidded to a stop as the crowd she was walking with bunched to a standstill. She hoped her thoughts hadn’t been too prophophic. But a quick jump told her that there wasn’t an accident or construction, only a red light that was taking far too long.

Standing still and waiting did not mesh well with her need to be there when Leo returned. So she pulled out her phone, and scrolled through the files that Donnie had sent her.

She ignored the folder of Leo’s sign language instruction. There were almost nine hours of video. One of these days, she was going to have to learn Leo’s secret. Nine hours of learning in only six hours could make her time at school so much more efficient. 

Instead, she went to the six pictures that Leo had drawn of the shards’ locations.

As she opened the first photo, she hoped that she could get some insight that had eluded them so far. 

The first shard was located near jagged cliffs and open water. In the distance, Leo drew pillars and houses with large jagged chunks missing. They looked like houses, but as Leo’s artistic repertoire seemed to consist of only basic architectural shapes and they were at a distance, April supposed that they could be any sort of building. Surrounding the ruins, Leo had drawn a flock of jellyfish-like creatures floating in the air. He also drew a separate one to the side, much closer, with bioluminescence and one tentacule reaching out curiously. In the background, Leo had colored the sky. According to Donnie, Leo had said that the sunset lasted for more than six hours, with barely any change between the time he got there, and the time he left. 

Donnie later complained to her about how that could imply Leo was at some mystic place near one of the poles, but Leo had been very firm on the fact that there was no ice in the water, and the plants on the beach looked tropical.

Hearing that, April gently but firmly reminded Donnie how badly the last star chart had gone. And to give Leo a bit more time to feel confident in his ability to memorize a sky. 

The crowds moved, and April moved with them until the next red light.

She opened the second picture. It was a humanoid dog yokai. Even without Leo’s explanation that he was a kid, April would have known that by the way Leo drew him, with two large eyes and one ear flopped forward while the other remained standing. The kid was wearing a kimono and in a dense forest. 

April really hoped that there was a Japantown in the Hidden City. It would be really complicated to coordinate a trip to Japan if that really was where the shard had landed.

Still, for Leo, they’d make it work.

The crowd moved again, and April followed before flipping to the third picture.

This was perhaps the least useful picture that Leo had drawn. There was a nest with eggs located on grey ground completely surrounded by mist. He drew two bird-like creatures near the nest. They each had a puffy grey body, two sets of wings, a long mouth, and no eyes. They were obviously yokai as well, but that was all the information that could be gleaned. Still, even second hand, via Donnie’s texts, Leo’s excitement over the imminent hatching of the eggs was infectious enough that April couldn’t feel too bad about the lack of information.

The crowd moved. The crowd stopped. April pulled up the next picture.

It only had slightly more information. Leo had drawn a rainforest and massive bugs. Despite his notes that the bugs were ‘REALLY BIG’, April assumed that he had scaled them up, at least slightly, to show detail for Donnie. And maybe just to creep Raph out a bit.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t draw enough for Donnie to differentiate which species of wasp or ant or spider it was.

The light changed. And while April could see that she was nearing the manhole to the lair, one final light cut her off just short of her goal.

She pulled up the fifth photo that Donnie had sent her. 

It showed the interior of some type of closet or storage shed. Leo filled in the shelves with unlabeled boxes, and papers and undefined machine parts. However, in the center shelf, he drew a large silver cup, like the ones given out for winning hockey championships. On the plaque, Leo wrote the letters ‘USPRA Champion’. 

April had tried to search up the acronym earlier. Unless the US Professional Racquetball Association was suddenly giving out trophies larger than her torso, she had found nothing. But not every competition was documented online, and she might have more luck at the mystic library.  

The crowd moved again. April followed at least until they crossed the street. She then broke away and finally slipped into an alley with a familiar manhole cover.

Before she knew it, she was in the lair, with five minutes to spare, according to her watch. She could review the last photo later.

Or earlier, if the coin flip wasn’t in their favor and Leo jumped back to the turtle girl.

Like before, the others had already gathered in the atrium, the hilt placed next to the whiteboard. Mikey smiled at April, giving an enthusiastic wave that she readily returned as she stood next to Donnie. She pulled out her phone again, counting the remaining minutes.

Luckily, it seemed the odds were in their favor as Leo appeared. 

But what they hadn’t expected was the smug smirk to spread across his face as soon as he saw them, arms crossing and body leaning a bit to the side to make a show of leaning against the whiteboard. 

“Mind sharing with the class, Leon?” Donnie asked dryly, though nothing could hide the glimmer of anticipation in his eyes, because if Leo was acting like this, then it must have meant something good happened.

But all Leo did was raise both hands, each holding up a finger as if telling them to wait, with that smug, ‘I know more than you’ smile never leaving his face. He then leapt and did a stylish slide towards the entrance, dancing the rest of the way there until he spun on the ball of his foot and dropped to one knee. Both arms were outstretched, dramatically gesturing to the seemingly empty space next to him until in walked—

“Todd?!” they all blurted out.

“Hey guys!” Todd greeted cheerfully. “So... funny story, I was out in that garden you all made back when you were preparing to fight Shredder—”

Donnie cleared his throat. “Not now, Todd.”

Raph rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry, Todd, Leo was going to show us something and— ”

“Oh, right,” Todd said, digging through his pockets. “He was pretty insistent that you have this.”

“Have— Have what, Todd?” Mikey asked.

“This.” Todd held up a slightly dirty shard of metal. “I also brought lemonade.”

Mikey dropped the marker he was holding. Donnie’s hands shook. Raph reverently took the shard from Todd’s hands.

“This is really it? We really got one?” April asked.

Leo slid his one spectral sword from its sheath. The hilt was broken identically to the hilt that leaned against the whiteboard. And halfway down the nonexistent blade, floated a shard, identical to the one in Raph’s hands.

“I guess we did,” April said, voice shaking. “Let’s— Let’s have some lemonade, Todd.”

That night, they celebrated. There was lemonade, an extravagant meal from Mikey, and music and dancing. Throughout it all, Leo smiled so brightly, he glowed.

For once, they didn’t worry about clues. For once, the ever present tension evaporated, and they just laughed. Because, while they didn’t yet have nearly enough shards to get Leo back, now April knew that they could do it.

They would do it.

And she was going to help.

After the celebration wound down and Leo had disappeared, April looked back to her phone with new determination.

The sixth and final picture was a drawing of an arena. It looked more like a coliseum than even the Battle Nexus. Beneath the arena was a prison area, and Leo had drawn them a very detailed map of its layout, marking the exact cell he was in and then some. He also drew his friend from there. A stick figure with three horns, a frill, and a tail.

April had never seen a triceratops yokai, but that distinction should make Traximus even easier to find.

And then, they would be one step closer to bringing Leo home.

Chapter Text

Raph crouched next to a flower at the Hidden City Botanical Gardens. Even though by now, he knew Leo’s description of every single plant in Queen Moriah’s garden by heart, he still went through them one by one. 

The flower Raph was looking at was yellow and the size of his fist. It was, upon closer inspection, made up of a cluster of smaller yellow flowers. Each one pointed downwards, and had several shorter petals that curled inwards along with two long, thin petals that hung straight down. It gave the entire plant the appearance of a large, yellow jellyfish.

The plant was very distinctive.

It was nowhere in Leo’s notes.

Raph stood and brushed the dust off of his trench coat. He tilted his fedora forward to make sure it was covering his face, and moved on to the next plant.

He knew that this was not an efficient way to match plants. And when he arrived at the gardens this morning, he had searched every nook and cranny for the most unique flowers Leo described.

There was no way to miss a flower the size of Raph’s head, that was lacey like the chinese lantern plant, but with all the empty spaces in the lattice filled in by crystal clear ice. Nor was there a way to miss the palm sized blooms that sprung up over mineral deposits, and incorporated the gold or silver in the rock into fine designs over the veins of the plant.

But Raph did not see them. 

Which meant that they were not in season, or the Hidden City Botanical Gardens didn’t have the funds to obtain them. 

So Raph had to turn to plan B. Which was going through each flower in the Gardens one by one. 

That way he would not miss a clue. 

Raph was not going to skimp on the search that would bring his brother home. 

He’d already lost his brother once, he couldn’t do it again. 

And it wasn’t just Leo that he’d lost. It felt like his entire family shattered when Leo’s sword did.

But ever since they found Leo— ever since Donnie had ignited the hope that Leo was alive, things had gotten better between them. Or at least, that’s what Raph wanted to believe. Everyone seemed more energized. Even Splinter seemed more motivated these days, as he slowly drew out of his room more and more to help out with the investigation. 

But every now and then, the littlest things kept fracturing that hopeful illusion. There was the way Mikey’s smiles sometimes seemed strained and quick to fade whenever he thought Raph or Donnie weren’t looking anymore. He’d become more distant towards them than before, no matter how hard he tried to act otherwise. 

Then there was the way Donnie seemed to be more obsessed over being right about everything. Which would’ve been aggravating in its own way, if Raph hadn’t noticed the strange, underlying fear in the other’s eyes. Donnie was scared, as if being wrong about anything was now going to cause some catastrophic consequence. 

But Raph was too useless to figure out how to fix either of those problems. Just like he was too useless to get them all to meet in the middle, when he found himself being pulled this way and that in the beginning. 

Just like he was too useless to keep one sword from breaking— 

Raph took a breath, unclenching his jaw as he blinked away the oncoming sting in his eyes. He refocused on the flower he stopped in front of. It was colored the darkest black he’d ever seen, with tiny, white dots scattered on its petals, like it was less of a flower and more of a flower shape, cut into the fabric of spacetime and leaving nothing but the void and stars. 

He definitely didn’t remember Leo describing anything like this. But even then, he compared his notes, and still felt the crushing disappointment when he got nothing. 

Of course he wouldn’t. Because of course, on top of everything else, he’d also be too useless to find even a single matching flower. 

“And you’re sure you recognized that robot?” April asked, looking around the warehouse they broke into.

“Yes,” Splinter said, as he rummaged through one of many cardboard boxes sitting around. 

“From a toy line?” April continued, a slight skepticism clear in her voice. 

“Yes,” Splinter said again. He brought his flashlight closer, huffing when he didn’t find what they were looking for. “It was from a never produced crossover with Jupiter Jim.”  

In hindsight, Splinter wished he had pushed for that movie’s creation sooner. But back then, he always believed there was more time. That, and Moncrief was a jerk. So Splinter would rather do other movies with directors and actors he actually liked and got along with.

Though, it seemed that subconsciously, he wanted to make that crossover a reality more than he thought he did. At least, if his boys’ stories of the times he had rat flu were any indications. 

But if that was true, he was sure it wasn’t because he wanted to work with Moncrief, but rather because his boys became such fans of Jupiter Jim. 

Especially Blue. 

Splinter’s movements slowed as he closed the box, staring ahead wistfully.

Nowadays, he couldn’t help but wonder, if he had prioritized that movie, would Blue have held him in just slightly more regard? Would they have learned ninpo slightly sooner? Would Blue have been just slightly more careful when throwing his sword?

Would Blue be here now?

There was no way to know, and focusing on that and blaming himself wouldn’t help. 

But...even so....

He couldn’t seem to stop letting his sons down.

He should have been there for them more when they all believed they had lost Blue forever. He should have seen how desperate Orange was to be listened to, and he should have listened. He should have seen how hard it was for Purple to process what had happened. He should have seen how Red was just barely holding them together. But...he didn’t.

“Yo, Splints, I think I found something!” April announced, her triumphant voice disrupting Splinter’s downward spiral. “Lou Jitsu’s sidekick, SAL, the helper bot.” 

He turned to see April holding up a packaged toy. Its box was covered in galactic imagery, with the toy’s brand name printed in big, blocky letters. In the center was a window of plastic, showing a small, simplistic, silver robot with a rounded head and armored arms and legs.

A robot almost identical to the one Blue drew.

“That’s it!” Splinter said, grinning widely as he snatched the box from April, his suspicions only confirmed as he got a closer look. “This is the toy I was thinking of!” 

“So, you were really going to have a sidekick?” April asked, brow raised. “Where did that even come from?”

Splinter scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Moncrief was insistent that every hero needs a sidekick. And since I didn’t have nor wanted a continuous one, he suggested SAL.”

“What does SAL even stand for?”

“No idea. Although it is apparently part of the expanded lore.”

“No way,” April snorted. “If it was, Leo would have def recognized and pointed it out.”

“You are right,” Splinter agreed with a nod, peering back down at the toy robot thoughtfully. “We should bring it back and have Blue confirm that this is what he saw.”

“You don’t think the shard is here,” April stated more than asked.

“No. But if this is indeed what he saw, perhaps they had manufactured the costume for that character. Or perhaps someone saw this and took the design for their own character.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I saw some office room with a bunch of filing cabinets on our way here,” April suggested, pointing a thumb behind them. “If we look through them, there might still be some old logs of when and where it was signed out.”

“Then let us hurry and find them. Perhaps, if this is indeed what Blue saw, whoever took inspiration from it saw it at one of its appearances,” Splinter said, already making his way down the direction April pointed towards.

“Or during the manufacturing process. Or someone that Moncrief told about his idea,” April added, easily keeping up pace.

“Yes, I know it is a longshot. But we have to try.” 

April smiled. “We do.”

It didn’t take too long to retrieve what they needed. Sure, it was a couple of hours of painstakingly searching through files, but it still took far shorter than Splinter expected. 

And then, they were on their way back home, with no one realizing they were even there, and no one caring enough to notice a few files going missing. 

“April?” Splinter spoke up, after a long moment of quiet contemplation.

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think it’s true? Do you really think I can get my boys back?”

He didn’t specify Leonardo. April didn’t call him on that.

She gazed out over the city.

“It’s hard to put broken things back together. But just because something is hard, doesn’t mean we can’t do it,” she answered. 

And Splinter couldn’t help but smile fondly at her. “You are, as always, very wise, Miss O’Neil.”

If the hush bats were not directly above him and eyeing him suspiciously, Donnie would have thrown his book clear across the Mystic Library. 

This was supposed to be easy. Donnie was a genius, and Leo, despite all his jokes, was surprisingly perceptive. They should have made the perfect team. Donnie should have figured out at least one location for Leo’s shards.

Donnie flipped through the pages of the encyclopedia again. The birds Leo saw were plenty unique, but there didn’t seem to be a single creature matching their description.

According to Leo, the creatures were bird-like, only with two pairs of wings, a single tail, absolutely no eyes, and a face that could open up into a wide, gaping jaw. 

There were only a few that matched some parts of the description, the keyword being ‘some’. A few bird yokai with two pairs of wings also had two heads or two tails. Another had a large jaw but three pairs of wings, while another one only had one pair of wings but no gaping jaw. 

Infuriatingly enough, the minimal amount of eyes seemed to be set at one when it came to all the yokai he found.

If Donnie had hair, he probably would’ve torn it all out by this point, frustrated at his own inadequacy. But no. No, it wasn’t Donnie’s fault that the yokai sucked at biology. It didn’t matter that they had documented everything else well enough for Donnie to research. No, if they didn’t list the creatures that Leo had seen in an easily accessible place, then they sucked at biology.

Pizza supreme, if only these birds were robots. At least then, Donnie might have a better clue on how to tackle this problem. 

Of course, from what he could tell, there was a robot somewhere out there. Only April and Splinter were the ones to find a lead on it while Donnie just wasted his time here.

He could perhaps take some consolation that Raph hadn’t found anything in his trip to the botanical gardens.

Donnie finally knocked the book off the table, uncaring as the bats turned to look at him.

He shouldn’t get relief that Raph had also failed. Because that meant that Leo was going to be gone longer.

Leo was going to be gone longer and Donnie was just wasting time here.

Donnie took two steps away from his chair and paused. He returned and slowly sat back down.

If he left now, Mikey would know he didn’t find anything and just gave up, like he just gave up on Leo after he disappeared. 

He could feel Mikey’s pointed gaze every time Leo appeared. And he was right. Donnie should apologize. They lost weeks because he didn’t even bother to check his camera. Because he was so sure that he was right. That he didn’t need proof.

Donnie knew that science required one to be willing to accept new data and make new hypotheses. That current assumptions should be stress tested, that he should actively try to disprove his working theories and make them better. 

But, right now...

Each time a different explanation buzzed up for what Leo was going though, Donnie shoved it away. Most of the time, he was able to dismiss them with simple logic or inconsistencies with how he’d seen Leo behave. 

His earlier failure drove the lesson home loud and clear that he needed to keep questioning.

But if he was wrong now...

If Leo wasn’t actually alive...

If there really wasn’t a way to get him back...

Donnie couldn’t deal with that. Not now. Not ever. 

He had to be right about this one thing. Donnie would explode every single one of his inventions again, just to be right about this one thing.

Just to get his brother back.

Donnie flipped to a fresh page in his notebook. He had ideas on how to make Leo’s ability to communicate easier. To aid in their time together.

He could organize his thoughts on those, make an actual tangible step towards being able to implement them. And then he could return to the lair with minimal time to spare before Leo’s next appearance, so that no one would question him about his failure.

No one would remind himself of the fact he could be wrong.

Nothing would make him feel like he couldn’t get his brother back.

“Draxibould, I need your help!” Mikey declared as soon as he burst through the doors to Draxum’s apartment, dropping large piles of posters on the table.

Draxum looked far from amused by the sudden entrance. But since he hadn’t kicked Mikey out yet, Mikey liked to consider it a good sign.

“What is it?” Draxum responded, which Mikey considered an even better sign.

“There are multiple hidden cities right?” Mikey said. “Well, these are posters drawn up of some of the yokai Leo had interacted with on his most recent bounce, and I need someone to help hang them up. He’s in a forest near a yokai village and making a stir, so someone must know something.”

Draxum sighed tiredly. “I believe I can do that,” he said, looking through the posters and singling one out. “This is the dog yokai he rescued, correct?”

“Yeah.” Mikey grabbed another poster from the stack. “This is the other yokai he rescued, and this is that samurai-in-training that he keeps talking about.”

Mikey wasn’t bitter that Leo found friends during his bouncing. Not at all. It was a good thing. It kept him from getting lonely during those long hours when they couldn’t be together. 

But the way Leo lit up while describing Usagi— the way his hands fluttered as his thoughts tumbled out faster than they could keep up, the way his eyes shone with laughter as he recounted Usagi’s first of many unsuccessful attacks against him...

Mikey wasn’t sure that he’d count someone attacking his brother as a funny story, even if no hits landed. But maybe Leo’s perception was colored by their later team up, with Usagi bashing a path through the forest while Leo slipped through after the second kid. 

According to Leo, something unknown was calling kids to it. And he and Usagi were able to save this one from it.

When Leo told them all that, he was the happiest Mikey had seen him since Todd got them a shard.

“Is the girl here as well?” Draxum’s voice interrupted Mikey’s musing.

“What? What girl?”

“The sea turtle. The one you asked me about?”

Mikey forced himself not to drop his smile, but it had automatically warped into a grimace. He averted his eyes, mood already souring at the mention of her .

“No,” he mumbled. “I didn’t.”

Draxum raised a brow. 

“Why not?” he asked. “There are pirate ships and other vessels that would surely know about that civilization. And from what you’ve told me, she sounds fairly distinctive.”

Mikey’s grimace deepened. “Yeah, but...”

For as annoyed as Mikey was with Usagi, he didn’t actually steal his brother, and he didn’t actually hurt him.  

But that turtle girl...she was literally stealing Leo from them. 

And the way Leo talked about her...

“But?” Draxum prompted.

Mikey sighed. “I’ll draw her later.”

“Alright.”

Draxum dropped the poster and started sorting through the rest.

“It’s just not fair, you know?” Mikey blurted out.

Draxum heaved a long suffering sigh. “Apparently not.” 

“She takes him when he’s supposed to return to us. And yeah, he always comes to us after, but that lost time adds up. He could be getting more shard locations, and we could be getting more done. We could be closer to getting him back!

“But no. He’s got to play babysitter for six wasted hours.” Mikey pressed his beak into a thin line. He looked back at Draxum. “Don’t tell the fam I said that.”

“Fine.”

“Thanks.” Mikey took a breath. “Anyways, I just— I know Leo really enjoys the undersea adventure and all, but he’s going to have to leave eventually, right? He will leave and come back to us, right?”

“One would assume.”

“But he’s so proud of the magic she performs, of her knowledge of the sea and currents, of the animals that live there. And...” Mikey looked at his hands. “She speaks sign language fluidly. And sure, it’s not exactly the same sign language, but she can still communicate with him better than me.”

Draxum sighed once more.

“And I know I can just practice more with my brothers,” Mikey continued, “but Donnie still hasn’t apologized. Neither has Raph, but at least he wasn’t actively trying to convince me I was wrong like Donnie was.”

“The horror,” Draxum muttered, tone as dry as the desert.

“I know, right? If they had acted when I first said something— If Donnie had just checked the stupid videos, we would have gotten Leo back much sooner!

“ And Leo doesn’t even know about that. Or he doesn’t care, because he’s just happy to see everyone. And I want him to be happy. I do. But...when he came to me, I felt like I was special, you know? Like I managed to achieve something super important when no one else could. But now Donnie is the best at communicating with him. And Raph is the one he hides behind when he gets scared. And what can I do?”

“You made posters.” 

“Because Raph and Donnie still don’t trust me with anything else!” Mikey exclaimed. “They have had their feet on the ground in the Hidden City, and they haven’t even told me what they found. And any second now, they’re going to return with shards, and I won’t have helped at all!” 

“But Leonardo will be back,” Draxum pointed out.

Mikey stopped, and looked at Draxum like he was seeing him for the first time. 

“Yeah,” Mikey breathed. “Yeah, you’re right. Leo will be back. That’s all that matters.”

He wiped his tears away. “You think you can get these up?” He gestured to the posters.

“I can,” Draxum answered almost begrudgingly, though Mikey liked to think he was faking it. “And if I hear anything, I will let you know.” 

Mikey smiled wide, even if it still felt brittle to him.

“Thank you.”

Leo tried his best not to let the weight of the final minutes with his family constrict his heart. And sure, he knew he’d be back in 6 to 12 hours, but still...

Despite what his family might sometimes believe, he wasn’t stupid. At least not when it comes to everyone’s state of mind. He could tell something was wrong. There was some tension simmering below the surface that he just couldn’t reach. 

Raph had a tightness in his jaw, meaning there was something he wanted to say. Meanwhile, Donnie talked plenty, but only about some latest tech upgrade or how close he was to Leo being able to interact directly with them via tech by some image recognition thing. And Mikey— he smiled and laughed with Leo each chance he got, but no matter how big the smile, how big the laugh, they never quite reached his eyes like they did that first night.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t try, but this whole intangible situation really put a damper on what he could do. Sure, they were learning sign language, but not quickly enough. Most of his puns and jokes went right over their heads, so his ability to make them laugh was hit or miss at best. He couldn’t make a noise to snap their attention to him, and away from whatever dark thoughts or worries were plaguing them. He couldn’t even lean on them, letting the pressure from his touch say what words couldn’t, that he would always be there.

All he had left were motivational speeches, but those wouldn’t help until they decided to let him in on what was going on. And no one was.

Leo blinked.

He stood face to face with some golden lacewing— a beautiful flower that grew above gold deposits, until gold covered the veins in the petals, making the stunning flower shimmer like jewelry.

Leo looked closer at it. It was not the small plant, just starting to take root, that Queen Moriah had had brought to him in the treasure room, when he had expressed an interest in plants. No, this plant was large and old, with blooms larger than Leo’s shell.

Looking past the lacewing, he noticed he was surrounded by green stained glass. A literal greenhouse, as tall as the atrium back home, filled with plants of various purple shades. A row of small trees sat in the middle, affixed with taps and jars. A drop of sparkly sap formed and wobbled until gravity caught up to it. And it fell, but before it hit the bottom of the jar, its shape solidified. It became another one of the crystalline berries that covered the bottom of the jar.

Leo rose up higher to get a better view of the greenhouse. There were maze-like passages throughout the building all lined with plants. And at the center, a single, large toadstool was placed, though Leo wasn’t exactly sure why. It just looked like some ordinary, albeit big and hairy, mushroom to him.

When Leo approached it, he got his answer. The toadstool started humming up and down the chromatic scale. And with every note, the hairs would slightly shift, like each one was waving an invisible conductor’s baton.

The toadstool was not the only sound in the greenhouse. There was a soft chirping, followed by a click-clack, from somewhere near the large ornate doors that must serve as the greenhouse entrance. However, there were no plants there. At least, nothing on the ground. Turning his gaze upwards, he saw a group of plants that hung from the ceiling, like a bunch of giant, purple, upside-down Venus flytraps. Their person-sized maws were open in anticipation.

He had seen that plant before when he had last visited, embroidered on the robes of Queen Moriah. And speaking of the Queen: while he observed the purple Venus flytraps, he could see the ornate doors of the entrance open, and there she was.

Queen Moriah was flanked by Lutaria, the queen’s scribe— who had been so helpful in teaching Leo the cipher to communicate— and Y’Gythgba, her royal guard. Unlike everyone else he had seen here, Y’Gythgba was not a blue-skinned, elf-like yokai. She had a lizard-like appearance, with gray scaled skin and bright pink feathers on her head and tail. 

Seeing her did wonders for Leo’s confidence that he wasn’t being judged for being a reptile. Y’Gythgba was also the one that fetched him new plants to look at during his first appearance, and Leo really appreciated the effort. Both on a sentimental level, because those plants were going to help him get home, and on a physical level, because some of their pots looked heavy .

Leo could tell the second the Queen caught sight of him. She put on a smile and extended her arms so that the purple fabric held by her bracers shimmered in the light of the greenhouse. 

“Ahh, my little treasure,” she said fondly, “you have returned to us.”

Leo descended and gave a quick bow. She was a queen after all, and one who had been so helpful in giving Leo information he could use to get home. It was the least he could do to stay in her good graces. Even if being called her ‘treasure’ was still a little weird. 

Okay. Maybe it was a bit more than ‘a little weird’, but hey, at least she was still leagues better than the creepy fox lady.

“Stand,” Queen Moriah said, grinning as Leo did so. “I do hope you have been practicing.”

Leo furrowed his eye ridges, taking a moment to recall just how the cipher had been set up. He then held up all the fingers on his left hand and his second finger on his right. He then held up no fingers on his left hand while keeping only the second finger on his right extended. Finally, he held up his second finger on his left hand and his first finger on his right hand.

“(4,3)(0,3)(3,2)”

Yes.

It would have been so much easier if Leo could have used sign language. It would’ve involved less ‘homework’, for one thing. Not to mention, he already spent so much more time practicing sign language already, and a single bob of his fist for ‘yes’ would always be less time consuming than having to use both hands three times. 

But he wasn’t going to push away desperately needed help. 

“Good,” the Queen responded, keeping her smile. “I hope you find my greenhouse agreeable? I remember how interested you were in my plants.”

Leo nodded. But Queen Moriah waited until he spoke. He held back a sigh.

“(4,3)(0,3)(3,2)”

Yes.

“I am glad,” she said. “I, unfortunately, have duties I must attend to. But you can stay here and practice with Lutaria. She knows all the plants here. I am sure that you will not be bored.”

Queen Moriah did not wait for his response. Instead, she turned towards Lutaria.

“I expect a full update on his progress once I am finished, understood?”

Lutaria bowed low. “Yes, my Queen.”

Queen Moriah turned. But before she could exit the greenhouse, she paused, holding out a hand. “Y’Gythgba, stay.”

Y’Gythgba hesitated by the upside down venus flytraps. “My Queen?”

“I will be well protected at my meeting. But I am sure there are others jealous of my little treasure. So protect him.”

“Yes, my Queen,” Y’Gythgba said with a bow.

After the Queen left the greenhouse, Y’Gythgba stationed herself by the door. Her stance was wide and firm, her sharp teeth slightly visible past her lips as she focused completely on the door.

Lutaria retrieved Leo’s shard and walked towards the upside down Venus flytrap. “These are called snap indiyverns.”

She waited after saying the name.

“(3, 2) (2, 2) (0, 0) (2, 4)   (1, 2) (2, 2) (0, 2) (1, 2) (4, 3) (4, 0) (0, 3) (3, 1) (2, 2) (3, 2)” Leo repeated.

“Good,” Lutaria said. “They can snap closed around beings twice my size and produce acid that could dissolve a fulstorm in (3, 2) (0, 3) (4, 0) (0, 3) (2, 2) days.”

Seven.

Leo looked at the snap indiyverns carefully. Seven days, that would be impressive if a fulstorm was something big. Not so much if it was their word for fly. So he asked, as that would count as practice as well.

“(0, 4) (3, 4) (2, 0) (3, 2) (3, 3) (2, 3) (3, 1) (2, 1)?”

Fulstorm?

“Fulstorm is my race.” Lutaria answered. “Like Y’Gythgba is a salamandrian, and you are a...?”

“(3, 3) (3, 4) (3, 1) (3, 3) (2, 0) (0, 3)”

Turtle.

Lutaria nodded. She walked deeper into the greenhouse. Leo stayed near his shard in her hand.

“This is called a golden lacewing,” She said.

“(1, 0) (2, 3) (2, 0) (0, 2) (0, 3) (2, 2)   (2, 0) (0, 0) (3, 2) (0, 3) (4, 1) (1, 2) (2, 2) (1, 0)”

Leo repeated.

He floated away from that plant. He had already described it to his brothers, and continuing to learn about it would not help them find his shards any faster. 

Lutaria crossed her arms and huffed. But Leo didn’t feel bad. She was there when Y’Gythgba strained to carry the pot full of plant and metal into the queen’s chambers. So she should know that he already knew this.

Lutaria walked deeper into the greenhouse without explaining any more about the plant.

“This is called a honey dunewisp,” she said.

“(1, 1) (2, 3) (2, 2) (0, 3) (4, 3)   (0, 2) (3, 4) (2, 2) (0, 3) (4, 1) (1, 2) (3, 2) (2, 4)”

Leo repeated before moving in for a closer look. The flower looked similar to a dandelion, except instead of white tufts, the tufts were a sandy color and the flower itself was the size of Leo’s head. Still, it looked like any erant breeze could carry the seeds away. 

“(3, 2) (0, 3) (0, 3) (0, 2) (3, 2)   (0, 4) (2, 0) (2, 3) (0, 0) (3, 3)   (3, 3) (1, 1) (3, 1) (0, 3) (0, 3)   (0, 2) (0, 0) (4, 3) (3, 2)” 

Seeds float three days, she said, watching Leo closely.

Leo nodded. 

“(2, 1) (3, 4) (3, 2) (3, 3)   (1, 0) (2, 3)   (0, 4) (0, 0) (3, 1)”

Must go far, he answered.

Lutaria smiled brightly at him.

She walked deeper into the greenhouse.

“This is called a weeping chrysanbulb,” she said.

“(4, 1) (0, 3) (0, 3) (2, 4) (1, 2) (2, 2) (1, 0)   (1, 4) (1, 1) —”

Leo started, but stopped to translate the signs Lutaria had launched into. 

“(2, 0) (1, 2) (1, 4) (0, 3)   (3, 0) (3, 4) (0, 3) (0, 3) (2, 2)”

Like queen

Judging from Lutaria’s face, it was a question. 

Leo hesitated slightly before nodding slowly. Strictly speaking, there wasn’t much not to like. She had gone out of her way to help him.

Lutaria narrowed her eyes.

“(3, 2) (1, 1) (0, 3)   (4, 1) (0, 3) (0, 0) (1, 4)”

She weak.

Leo grimaced. He pulled away from the flowers and Lutaria. 

Lutaria narrowed her eyes further.

“(4, 1) (0, 3)   (3, 2) (3, 3) (3, 1) (2, 3) (2, 2) (1, 0) (0, 3) (3, 1)   (0, 1) (0, 3) (3, 3) (3, 3) (0, 3) (3, 1)”

We stronger better.

Leo stopped his retreat. He kept his eyes locked with Lutaria.

“(4, 1) (0, 3)?”

We? He asked.

“(3, 1) (0, 3) (0, 1) (0, 3) (2, 0) (3, 2)”

Rebels, she answered.

“Her policies leave the fulstorm people weak, exposed.” Lutaria hissed softly. “We have the chance to achieve so much more, but we need someone stronger to take over. And you will help us.”

Leo held up both hands, shaking his head slowly.

“You don’t have a choice.”

Leo shot back towards the exit, towards Y’Gythgba. But Lutaria still held his shard. And each time she changed directions or shot down a different path, Leo would be pulled disorientingly through plants and structural supports.

Leo moved towards his shard, and then shot straight up above it. From his new vantage point, he could see the pink feathers standing out brilliantly against the purple plants. Leo focused on her— on moving towards her, despite still being dragged and jostled. 

He descended in front of her. And when her eyes snapped to him, he started talking.

“(1, 1) (0, 3) (2, 0)—”

Y’Gythgba was flung backwards. A snap indiyvern snapped closed around her, enveloping her entire body.

Leo screamed. 

Despite Lutaria continuing to run past them and out of the greenhouse, Leo focused on the plant. He had to do something. But the only thing he could think of was placing his arms through what looked to him to be the weakest joints. 

She had to see him. If she could just apply some force to the glowing areas— 

But those areas no longer glowed. Leo had reached the end of his range. He was yanked away from the plant, unable to return. Unable to do anything but strain against his limit as Y’Gythgba disappeared into the distance. No doubt already coated in acid.

Leo returned to his shard. He positioned himself directly in front of Lutaria, unmoving no matter how she weaved.

“(1, 1) (0, 3) (2, 0) (2, 4)   (1, 1) (0, 3) (3, 1)”

Help her, Leo begged. But Lutaria only swung her arm holding his shard to attempt to get him out of her face.

Leo did the opposite. He pushed himself directly in front of her. He spread his hands arms wide so that they took up the entirety of her vision. He might not be able to stop her or get help for Y’Gythgba. But he could make her escape more difficult.

It took all of his focus to remain in front of her while she swung her arm. But the good things about arms were that the could only move in so many— 

The world around Leo shifted into a chaotic smear of colors that ended with him in complete darkness.

Leo flung himself back towards his shard. He slowly twisted until he found a direction where he wasn’t staring into the inside of the floor, and raised himself up.

Queen Moriah and several of her fulstorm guards were surrounding Lutaria. 

But there were only fulstorm guards. Which meant—

“Y’Gythgba is trapped,” Leo signed furiously. “A snap indiyvern got her and there isn’t much time—”

Queen Moriah cleared her throat. “My treasure, I cannot understand you when you flail about like that.”

Leo squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to recall the cipher. His hands shook as he went through the numbers.

“(4, 3) (1, 0) (4, 3) (3, 3) (1, 1) (1, 0) (0, 1) (0, 0)   (1, 4) (0, 0) (3, 4) (1, 0) (1, 1) (3, 3)   (1, 2) (2, 2) (0, 2) (1, 2) (4, 3) (4, 0) (0, 3) (3, 1) (2, 2)   (1, 1) (0, 3) (2, 0) (2, 4)”

Ygythgba caught indiyvern help.

After several agonizing seconds, Queen Moriah nodded.

“I will send one of my gardners to retrieve her. The snap indiyverns are very dangerous. But we will try our best, my treasure.” She then clapped her hands. “Take this traitor to the dungeon.”

The guards pulled Lutaria to her feet and led her away.

Queen Moriah picked up Leo’s shard. He moved toward the hallway he believed Lutaria had come down, but Queen Moriah shook her head and walked in the opposite direction.

“You do not want to be there,” she said. “Not while they extract her.”

Leo watched, in vain, as the greenhouse got farther and farther away with each step she took. Logically, he knew that he couldn’t do anything.

But they were reptile bros, they should stick together.

“My Queen.”

Leo spun at Y’Gythgba’s voice. She kneeled in front of an ornately carved door. Her feathers were weighed down by the thick, slightly green liquid that slowly dripped off of her in viscous clumps. Under her claws and between her teeth was shredded purple plant material. The material caught in her nails hung limply, while the bits in her mouth were smoking and smoldering.

“I failed you,” she continued, bowing low. “Lutaria escaped with your treasure, and I destroyed one of your beloved plants.”

“Rise, Y’Gythgba,” Queen Moriah said. “All is forgiven. My treasure was returned to me, and you are safe. So we shall give this day no more thought.”

Y’Gythgba rose.

“Go, clean yourself, and rejoin me in my chamber when you are done.”

Y’Gythgba inclined her head and walked off. Queen Moriah opened the ornate door and entered an extravagant chamber. 

It was illuminated by several chandeliers adorned with multifaceted gemstones, causing the entire room to shimmer. Plants and animals made from gemstones and finely crafted silver and gold adorned every wall except for one, which had two thick, purple curtains, mostly obscuring the door beyond it. Plush couches of fine purple fabric stacked high with gold trimmed pillows were placed throughout the room. And in front of the couches, were tables made from thick purple and tan wood. They held bowls full of fruit, goblets full of water and wine, as well as scattered papers and a globe inlaid with gemstones. 

A globe. 

Leo really should have thought of that earlier.

He flew to the globe. 

“(4, 1) (1, 1) (0, 3) (3, 1) (0, 3)?”

Where? Leo asked.

Queen Moriah slowly followed him. She slowly spun the globe under her fingers, and Leo got a good look at it.

There was one large landmass on it, crisscrossed by rivers that extended from multiple large lakes dotted near the equator. The best Leo could tell was that those rivers did not dump into any oceans, like Donnie said that they should, but rather branched into smaller and smaller rivers until they were too tiny to be represented on the globe. 

He looked sheepishly at the Queen, expecting her to laugh at him for thinking they were on a decorative sphere.

But she did not laugh. 

“This is all my realm,” she said, before tapping her nail on a spot at the equator surrounded by the two largest lakes. “And this is where we are now, the capital of Slandon and the seat of my power, Homeriah.” 

Leo encircled the globe in both hands. This wasn’t right. If she ruled everything... Hueso or Draxum or Donnie would have mentioned her to Leo before. There was no way— 

“(0, 0) (2, 0) (2, 0)   (4, 3) (2, 3) (3, 4) (3, 1) (3, 2)?”

All yours? Leo asked.

Queen Moriah grinned. 

“Yes, it is all mine.” She threw back the curtains and opened the door to a balcony. “Come and see the splendor of my lands.”

Leo joined her on the balcony overlooking a vast valley.

Just like the plants in the greenhouse, the valley was coated in various shades of purple, with the exception of a creek that ran along the pathway, slipping out of sight as the valley continued for acres. The water appeared dead still, perfectly reflecting the heavens above it and the hundreds of purple trees growing out of the stream, standing tall and proud, their branches bunched together like a bouquet of flowers.

As the path leading out of the valley continued, it bled into the valley landscape. Fireflies flitted between the trees, glowing a warm shade of yellow. To Leo’s surprise, as he continued to watch the fireflies in their imaginary game of hide and seek, their glow began to shift in colour, yellow to orange, orange to red, red to purple. The trees themselves seemed to sway in rhythm with an absent wind, sending the occasional flurry of leaves to sail in the air before they crumbled into dust before reaching the ground.

And above it all, he could see a thin line that stretched high across the sky, continuing beyond the horizon. Like a streak of silver painted across the auburn sky by an unknown hand.

“ What is that? ” he asked out loud, more to himself, but a bit towards the Queen as well, his eyes never leaving it. In his shock, he’d completely forgotten that no one could actually hear him speak. 

The queen did not respond.

“(4, 1) (1, 1) (0, 0) (3, 3)?”

What? Leo asked, before pointing at the silver streak. 

“Ah, you really aren’t from around here,” the Queen remarked. “That’s the planet’s ring. You can tell we are at the equator because of how small and straight it is. But the further you go north, the farther into the southern sky and the wider it will appear. The opposite is true if you go south. Truly a gift from our planet to aid navigation, is it not?” 

And Leo grew deathly still, feeling like somebody had suddenly rammed a chunk of ice into his ribcage. 

Earth didn’t have a ring. It didn’t— 

Oh, pizza supreme.

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Leo joked weakly, despite feeling like the world around him was falling apart. 

It was almost fitting, wasn’t it? Because he wasn’t in his world anymore. Because he was in space

His sword’s shards were blasted into space . 

How— 

His brothers couldn’t— 

How could he— 

The reality of it all hit him just as hard as the moment he realized he couldn’t be touched. Couldn’t be heard. But if anything, this time, it was crueler. 

Because for a second there, he actually allowed himself to have hope that things could be alright again.

Chapter Text

There was something off with Leo. 

That was the first immediate feeling that overcame Raph the moment Leo came back to them. 

There wasn’t any specific rhyme or reason behind it. Maybe, if Raph thought about it more later on, he could equate it to the stunned, distant look in Leo’s eyes or the subtle tension in his shoulders. 

But right now, all Raph had was the instinctual certainty that something was wrong. 

“Leo!” Mikey exclaimed, eyes lit up at Leo’s arrival. “What do you have for us?”

Leo slowly blinked as if just coming out of a daze. He looked at Mikey and then the whiteboard, before going up to it almost hesitantly, hand trembling as he prepared to trace out the first line that would become the next clue to his whereabouts.

It never came. Pulling his hand back, Leo turned away from the board, shaking his head. 

“Nothing new,” Leo signed, his smile almost seeming pained.

Raph frowned. “No new plants?” he asked.

Leo shrugged, meeting neither Raph’s nor Mikey’s gazes.

“What about any other information? Maps, maybe?” Raph tried next. 

This time, Leo hesitated, hands curling into tight fists. But in the end, he shrugged.

Raph stared at Leo, wondering if this was why he felt something was wrong. 

Was Leo frustrated at the fact he couldn’t find anything more this time? 

For a second, Raph felt relief at the idea he wasn’t the only one. But he quickly shoved it away, angry at himself for even feeling that way to begin with.

He pulled out his phone. 

“Well, I went to the Hidden City Botanical Garden,” Raph began. “I didn’t see any of the plants that you described, but I took pictures of everything, so maybe we could go through them together.”

Leo shrugged again, but moved close to Raph anyway.

With a feeling of relief that was a lot more welcomed than the last, Raph slowly went through the images while Leo hung over his shoulder. In the background, he just barely registered Mikey leading Donnie away for a reason he never picked up on, but he didn’t pay it any mind.

As he flipped through his gallery, he found himself not really looking at the photos. Instead, he watched Leo. Something was definitely off. While Leo was staring at the phone, it didn’t look like he was paying attention to what was actually on it. Instead, he only made a show of doing so, gesturing to Raph to switch to the next photo with barely a second glance to the previous.

Raph’s heart clenched at the sight. “Don’t see anything either?” he asked gently.

Leo shook his head.

“It’s ok. I might have missed some flowers.” Raph looked down at his phone thoughtfully. “Maybe one day, when you’re here, we could go to the gardens together.”

“Maybe,” Leo signed, almost noncommittally. Like he didn’t believe anything would come from that.

Raph clenched his jaw, hands squeezing his phone tighter. “I’m sorry, Leo.”

Leo snapped his gaze to him, those words alone giving Raph his full attention.

He looked confused. 

“I should’ve done more,” Raph explained. “I should’ve— I don’t know, I should’ve tried harder. If I did, then maybe I would’ve actually found something, and you wouldn’t be feeling so down.” 

Leo’s eyes widened. “It’s fine,” he replied frantically. “Thanks for trying, but...” 

He paused, hands once again balling into fists. “Thanks,” was all he ended up signing in the end. 

“ But I just...” Now Raph was the one pausing, trying to figure out what to say. “I still just wish I had something . Just to help, y’know, cheer you up.” 

Leo shook his head. 

“ It’s. Fine ,” he said, his motions sharper and larger to put more emphasis in his words. “It’s not your fault. I’m just...” and from there, Leo was either signing something Raph couldn’t recognize, or he was just making a vague gesture. Considering Leo blew a raspberry while doing so, it was more likely the latter.

It didn’t really matter either way, because it struck Raph then that Leo suddenly looked...tired.

So, so tired.

“Oh,” Raph said softly, reeling from how he hadn’t noticed before. “Are you...doing ok? I really should’ve asked this a lot earlier, but have you slept at all?”

Leo almost seemed caught off guard by that. But it still felt like a valid question to ask. After all, Raph didn’t think he’d ever seen Leo sleep once, and— 

“Can’t sleep,” Leo answered.

“Oh,” Raph said again, eyes widening. “Oh, ok. Let’s— Tea wouldn’t work, a thick blanket wouldn’t work. I can turn on some soothing music and black out your room—”

“No, I haven’t slept at all,” Leo said. “Not since this.”

Raph’s eyes grew wider, heart sinking at the implications. “What do you mean?”

Leo shrugged. “I can’t fall asleep. I don’t think I even need to. I just...” 

He didn’t seem to finish his sentence, hands once again turning into fists as he looked away from Raph.

All the while, a new answer to what was wrong finally clicked into place. 

“Do you want to watch a movie then?” Raph offered.

Leo turned back towards him with a questioning look.

“ I just— I know you’ve been working really hard on guiding us to your shards, but even if you don’t need sleep, you do need to rest. Focus on something that isn’t this whole situation,” Raph explained. “I mean, I know none of us like the possibility, but this could take a while, Leo, and I don’t want you burning yourself out. Sometimes, it just helps to not think about it all for a while.”

Leo stared at him, blinking hard.

“So, movie?”

Leo nodded.

Raph sorted through the assortment of old VHS tapes. He focused on the Jupiter Jim titles there. After all, Leo was a super fan, and if anything could get him to relax and not think about his whole situation, it would be a Jupiter Jim film. 

Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies was currently in Mikey’s room, and Raph wasn’t going to leave to find it. Jupiter Jim’s Pluto Vacation 4 was there, but Raph didn’t trust it to keep Leo’s attention, and he wasn’t going to risk falling asleep. Not while Leo was here. 

Jupiter Jim and the Revenge of the Reptilians was out, as the last thing Raph wanted to do was to remind Leo about the fact he couldn’t dress up as a turtle alien. For a similar reason, Jupiter Jim and the Doom Comet, was also out. Being stranded and alone probably was not a feeling that Leo wanted.

So Raph settled on Jupiter Jim and the Princess’s Return. It told a standard sci-fi tale of the space man landing on an unknown planet and assisting its beautiful princess in claiming her rightful throne. How JJ actually determined that she was the one to assist, Raph would never know, as the movie itself completely ignored any talk of her or her opposition’s actual beliefs, or the views of any of the citizens of the planet Slandon.

He would ask Leo about it, but as soon as opening credits started rolling, Leo curled up.

If Leo hadn't said he couldn’t sleep, Raph would be sure that he was right now. He was curled on his side against and half-phased through Raph’s plastron, with his head over Raph’s heart. 

Raph tried once, out of habit, to rest his arm on Leo’s shell. But it went right through him and Leo didn’t even notice the attempt.

He held back a sigh, and resumed watching the movie.

It was only at its lull that Raph spoke up again.

“Hey, Leo, I want you to promise me something, alright?” 

Leo looked up at him, the question of ‘what’ evident on his face.

“You’ll take some time for yourself with each jump,” Raph answered. “You don’t have to constantly fight and search and memorize. You can take all the time you need to relax and just have a bit of fun, best you can. I know you want to be back as soon as possible, but...”

Leo looked to be mulling over this. But in the end, he only gave a single nod, and returned to staring at the screen. 

But as Raph continued to observe him, it was clear Leo wasn’t really watching the movie. He wasn’t even reacting to the intense action scenes, which would’ve normally had Leo cheering and reciting some of the lines with just as much dramatic flair. 

But as the bombastic explosions died down into another lull before the climax, something else grabbed Raph’s attention.

“Just leave them, Donnie,” Mikey’s voice could just barely be heard in the distance. 

“I can’t just— we need to know if—” Donnie struggled to say, clearly agitated.

Leo lifted his head, turning towards the direction of the conversation and showing Raph he wasn’t the only one who heard it. 

Subtly, Raph began turning the volume of the movie down a bit.

“If he had something, he’ll tell us,” Mikey insisted.

“Then we should go over old information!”

“You heard Raph, he’ll burn out! Not everything has to be your way all the time.” 

“Yes it does,” Donnie said. “We need to get Leo out ASAP. We can’t just—”

“Why? Why is that so important? Why is that above our brother being happy?” Mikey demanded.

Silence.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Mikey continued, with a harder edge in his voice. It sounded almost uncharacteristic for their youngest brother.

Once again, there was silence from Donnie.

“You promised you’d keep me in the loop, Donnie, you—”

“It’s just a theory,” Donnie finally confessed. “I have others, but I don’t want to find out which is right— I don’t want to risk it.”

“Risk what?

Donnie fell back into a silence.

Leo got up and began moving over, and Raph quickly followed after, watching Leo fly right in front of Donnie.

“Risk what?” he echoed. 

Donnie looked at him, his entire body tense, and looked away. 

But Leo only floated back into the other’s line of sight, a frown on his face. “What happens if we don’t get the shards?” he signed slowly. 

Donnie shut his eyes, heaved out a sigh, and opened them again. 

“I don’t want—” he began, immediately cutting himself off as he struggled to find his words.  

It only caused the pit of dread to open up inside Raph.

“Like I said, I don’t know if it’s even right. It’s just one theory, and I— I don’t want to scare you,” Donnie continued, finally meeting Leo’s gaze.

Understanding flashed across Leo’s face. He very slowly signed, “I die?”

There was a ragged gasp from Mikey. Raph, in his shock, couldn’t help but wonder if he made the same noise.

“Maybe—” Donnie began, until Leo held up a hand.

“How long?”

“Red Eared Sliders can brumate for up to 4-5 months. So if that is how your body is maintaining itself through this...then after that...” Donnie trailed off, not wanting to voice the obvious implications. His face was strangely guilt ridden.

“What happens?”

“Most likely you will fade away. You jump and just...never return.”

Mikey looked as terrified as Raph felt.

Five months. That was the maximum amount of time Leo might have, and— 

"And I-I told him to..." Raph gasped, horror and guilt filling his lungs. "We just— I should have—"

Leo waved in Raph’s face, surprisingly unafraid, before turning to Donnie.

“And the other theories?”

“Your body ceases to be when you teleport,” Donnie answered dutifully. “You are pure energy and will be reconstructed exactly as you started once you finish the teleport.”

“And if I don’t finish the teleport? When do I die?” Leo asked, apprehension creating hairline fractures in his previous fearlessness.

“When your energy runs out.”

“ When?” Leo asked, hand gestures sharper and more urgent. 

“It’s ninpo. It’s our family’s energy. So as long as someone with awakened ninpo and a bond with you lives, our energy will feed yours.”

“But not after? I won’t linger like this after, right?” Leo was shaking. “I won’t be like this, alone and forgotten for hundreds of years after you all—”

“It’s not going to get to that!” Donnie interrupted, eyes determined. “We’re getting you out.”

But unlike how he was with the previous theory, Leo looked genuinely scared.

“As long as you linger, you will not be forgotten or unloved,” Donnie continued with certainty. “When the last of us go, your energy will dwindle quickly and then you will follow.”

Something especially vulnerable settled across Leo’s face, his hands in tight fists that he seemed to have trouble unclenching. 

“Promise?” he eventually signed, movements still small and shaking. 

“Yeah, Leo. You’re Hamato. You are not alone,” Donnie answered.

Leo nodded, forcing a watery smile on his face. 

“Hey, why don’t we watch another movie? With all four of us?” he suggested. “Just like old times?

Donnie hesitated. “If there’s even a one percent chance you’re brumating—”

Leo looked pained.

“He’s not,” Mikey spoke up, causing all their attention to turn to him. His eyes were wide, as if on the cusp of an epiphany.

“How do you know?” Raph asked.

“Gram-Gram,” Mikey answered.

“She’s a Hamato spirit,” Donnie said, frowning.

“Not when she bound Shredder she wasn’t. Remember, when she reformed after we pulled out that sword...?”

Both Donnie and Raph’s eyes widened as they reached the same conclusion. 

“She was the exact same age,” Donnie breathed.

“And humans can’t brumate for 500 years,” Mikey added with a grin. 

“So Leo’s going to come out the exact same as he went in,” Raph concluded, hope swelling in his chest as he turned to Donnie. “Right?” 

Donnie hesitated. “If so, then my theory is probably right. And him aging like Karai would definitely help confirm that he will come back from this—” 

Leo got right in front of him, a smirk on his face. It was a huge and sudden contrast to his expression a few seconds before.

“Stop being so hesitant,” he said. “We both know you really want this because then you’ll have ‘proof’ that you're the oldest. But joke’s on you! When I come back, it will be me who is oldest. In fact, I’ll be so oldest, I’ll be Raph’s age.”

Donnie stared at him incomprehensibly. “That’s not how time works, Leo.”

Leo blew a raspberry, darting away with silent laughter as Donnie began to chase him.

They couldn’t actually wrestle, but Donnie flung his hands in front of Leo’s face and Leo did the same as they ran.

It took Raph starting the movie for them to settle down.

“You know we can’t dally for too long,” Donnie said as they did, a smirk spreading across his own face. “Unless you want to steal Mikey’s crown of Baby Brother, that is.” 

“ Hey, yeah,” Mikey said. “Now you’ll know what it’s like being the youngest!” 

Leo rolled his eyes, exaggerating the movements to make the gesture clearer as he childishly stuck out his tongue. 

“Yeah, see, that’s not really helping your case, Leo,” Donnie pointed out. 

They all laughed until the movie’s introductory music blared throughout the room, drawing their attention back to the screen. 

So it was a shame that none of them noticed Leo’s grin faltering as he stared at them, his eyes carrying a bit more melancholy.

The lair seemed to have two settings. For the six hours that Leo was present, they were all on, focusing on spending time with him. But the six to twelve hours that he was gone, the lair was quiet.

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

“Mikey, you said you were going to bed.”

Even if Raph could barely see Mikey’s face, he could tell the other was wincing at being caught. 

Mikey’s eyes never met Raph’s. Instead, they stayed glued to the piece of paper on his desk. “I just want to finish this before Leo gets back, so I can put it up in the Hidden City,” he murmured, hand slowly resuming his sketching after Raph’s abrupt interruption. 

Raph came closer and looked over Mikey’s shoulder, seeing the black puff that was the construction crew in Leo’s most recent story, along with the various other elements that were mentioned by him, such as the axe they were using to threaten the nest Leo decided he was going to protect.

Donnie had mentioned that if he didn’t try to mess up the construction crew and convince them the area was haunted, they probably could have found his shard and moved him somewhere with more information.

But Leo seemed uninterested in that, more worried that the nest would be destroyed. 

“Relax, D,” Mikey had jumped in then, “I’m sure he saw plenty of useful intel while he ran through their camp.”

And true to his word, all of the construction crews’ project papers, numbers and names were included in the drawing. It was almost astounding how Mikey managed to memorize them all. 

Astounding, and maybe just the tiniest bit worrying. 

Right as Raph thought that, he could see the lettering of the ones Mikey was working on shake. He shifted uncomfortably, the insistence for Mikey to sleep dancing on his tongue. 

Instead of doing that though, he pulled up a spare stool and sat next to Mikey.

“It looks really good,” Raph said encouragingly.

Mikey shook his head. “Not good enough. We still haven't received a single call!”

Raph gave a heavy sigh. “We will, Mikey,” he reassured, even if that was growing harder to believe.

Mikey looked at him, the bags under his eyes evident. 

“What if Donnie’s brumation theory is correct? And we don’t have time?” he asked in a dangerously fragile voice.

“I thought you said—“

“I know what I said about Gram-Gram,” Mikey said. “But my brain just keeps going back to that thought lately, and I just—“ he tiredly rubbed at his eyes— “I can’t get it out.” 

“Well, that’s why Leo and, uh,” Raph paused, if only to make a V and use it to sign the name of the turtle girl, “are going to try out their idea. She and Leo think it could prove which theory is correct.”

Though, Leo had been more vague about it than he should’ve been. Even when he first brought it up, it had been with an unusual amount of hesitancy. It’d taken a huge amount of prodding to pry even the tiniest bit of information from him. 

“Okay, don’t freak out,” Leo started off, in a way that definitely left Raph on the edge of freaking out, “but apparently, it’s got something to do with their funeral rites. So if there’s anything that’s going to judge if I’m dead or not, she thinks it’s that.” 

He refused to elaborate any more than that, and probably for good reason. Just from that small bit of information alone, Raph was glad he didn’t make any promises to not freak out, because Leo’s words and the look on his face made Raph’s insides twist with the urge to hold his brother and never let go. 

“Yeah, well what if V’s wrong?” Mikey suddenly asked, and Raph had to take a second to remember the last point of conversation. “I mean, Leo mentioned she’s way younger than us, right? What if nothing is proven? Or, if it does actually work, what if she proves that Leo only has two months left?”

“Then we will start looking for shards more actively,” a voice from the entrance to Mikey’s room cut in.

And there, standing in the doorway, was Donnie, looking strangely...nervous.

“You said you were going to sleep,” Raph said, feeling an exasperating wave of deja vu.

“I was. After I finished a certain project,” Donnie said as he slowly approached them.

“ And now you’re done?” Raph sighed, pinching the space between his eyes. 

“Yes, but it still needs to be tested,” Donnie answered, apparently unaware of Raph’s fraying strands of sanity as he glanced at Mikey for a split second.

“And what is it, exactly?” 

Instead of giving a verbal answer, Donnie took a breath and pulled out a pair of goggles. 

Raph’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“I incorporated some of my mystic crystals into them. They should work like my own, but instead of detecting anything exuding mystic energy, these are tweaked so that they will specifically detect anything exuding Leo’s ninpo,” Donnie began explaining.

But Raph wasn’t really focused on it. Instead, he was focused on Mikey, who in turn, was focused on the device. Or more importantly, the color of the device.

“Why is it orange?” Mikey asked.

Instead of being annoyed at the interruption, Donnie became silent, eyes lingering on Mikey. 

“You were the first one to see him. We could use a bit of that luck to get the rest of his shards,” he said in a quiet voice, handing the device to Mikey. 

Mikey didn’t take it immediately. “And that’s the only reason?”

Donnie looked away, tense under Mikey’s searching stare. He started to say something several times, but in the end, he didn’t. Instead, he just handed the goggles to Mikey and moved towards the door.

“If you want to test them now, the shard Leo found with Todd is in Pop’s room—”

“Did you make something for Leo too?” Mikey asked.

Donnie froze at the question. As he turned back towards Mikey and Raph, he almost appeared lost at the sudden diversion of the script, before he quickly recovered with a clearing of his throat. “Almost. It’s not done yet. But as soon as I find a large enough touch screen...”

“What is it?”

“Right now, it’s just code. But once I have the tablet, it’ll let Leo draw and completely control it through the position of his hands. Not that you aren’t doing a great job being his hands, but I’m sure it’s frustrating for him to rely on us for everything. This way, you can watch with us while he draws, and do your own art in real time,” Donnie explained in a rush. 

Mikey stared at the goggles in his hands for a long moment, his face pinched. 

Raph could only continue watching with bated breath, so afraid the plastered over fracture was going to split open again. 

But instead, Mikey put them down carefully next to his art and launched himself at Donnie, embracing him.

Donnie let out a noise of surprise, tensing at the sudden contact. But then, without another word, he relaxed in Mikey’s hold. 

And from where Raph stood, he could see Donnie looking the slightest bit relieved, even if his jaw was clenched, like he was still trying to say something, but was still hesitant to do so.

Despite that, Raph felt relieved as well. He approached and scooped the both of them up into one big hug.

Raph didn’t know how long it lasted.

He didn’t know who suggested the turtle pile.

All he knew was the mass of pillows and blankets, and feeling his two brothers relax together for the first time since— 

Since—

He hoped that the turtle piles would continue.

But he hoped even more that they would soon have their fourth.

“You will not believe where I was!” Leo signed the second he recognized his family’s atrium.  

He couldn’t keep the grin off of his face, nor could he keep the shake from his arms as he signed as fast as he physically could.

“I need you to promise that you will get these shards last.”

“Why?” Donnie asked, arms crossed, even as Mikey and Raph still focused on what he was saying.

Leo forced himself to wait a second until their faces shifted from concentrating on their vocabulary to focusing on him. He forced himself to sign the next sentence slowly.

“Because it’s Jupiter Jim’s replica ship.”

“What?” All of his brothers asked as one.

Leo smiled brightly and shook his hands out before signing his answer.

“It was the S.S. Ulixes. You know, the ship he used after they retired the S.S. Starbolt in Jupiter Jim’s Deep Space Voyage Nine,” he said, carefully watching the faces of his brothers for cues about when he could move on to the next word. “I appeared practically in the captain’s chair. And I could see the entire command deck. It was like I walked into a movie.”

He knew that round command deck like the back of his hand. There was the computer bank and large projection screens that lined the walls for a completely immersive view of space, the ladder at the back that led to the communications deck, the hidden hatch that led down to the rest of the ship, and of course, the captain’s swivel chair set into the middle of the room. He had seen that room, and the Ulixes in general, so many times it felt like a second home. Somewhere he was safe and happy and surrounded by his family.

“Did you see a SAL robot there?” Raph asked. “Maybe one of your shards ended up on an abandoned set?”

“Or an active set,” Donnie said, “considering the shard would’ve had to have been moved.”

Donnie’s statement took Leo’s breath away. To be on an active Jupiter Jim set, to be in the Jupiter Jim movies— He could imagine the theories on the fan boards. They would argue relentlessly over the blue figure in the background of several shots. Was it a production error, easter egg, lore hint, or foreshadowing of future movies? Only Leo would know, and he would watch on with the utmost amusement as they discussed. 

It would be glorious. But it was also not true. 

“Not the same shard,” Leo said. “They appeared in different locations on my sword.”

Mikey grinned. “So that’s good. That means we have active leads on two of your shards then.”

Leo flashed Mikey a grin and two thumbs up. He hoped Mikey didn’t see how brittle his smile was, how his hands shaked. 

But Mikey’s eyes narrowed with concern and Leo knew he had to move the conversation. 

If Mikey asked... He didn’t want to lie, but the truth hurt so much. 

“That wasn’t the only part of the ship I had all to myself,” he signed quickly, purposefully making his brothers focus on his words more. “I think the entire ship was constructed together. And, Donnie, I won our bet.”

“What?” Donnie scoffed. 

“Jupiter Jim number 201 was drawn by an artist unfamiliar with the series,” Leo said, smirking. “The level directly under the command deck does have escape pods. The gardens and cargo hold are two levels down, below the living quarters.”

Donnie clapped his hands loudly. “Leo, I love you, and I’m going to say this gently because of this whole situation. You are completely wrong. Twice in the main canon, we have seen Jupiter Jim descend from the command room directly into the gardens.”

“Movie magic,” Leo signed with a dismissive flip of his hand. “You know that shaft goes all the way down the center of the ship. It’s not my fault they cut him going down three flights to make room for more awesome action. But that doesn’t change the actual layout of the ship.”

“Oh yeah?” Donnie challenged, before he turned on his heel and stalked out of the atrium. 

Leo watched him leave with a smirk. However, his expression changed when he turned back to Mikey to gloat and saw barely constrained irritation directed towards Donnie’s direction.

But that expression disappeared a moment later when Donnie returned with Jupiter Jim 201. He held it open, but carefully kept the page itself hidden from Leo.

“So, I know you don’t like this issue because it was the first one that Atomic Lad was written out of,” Donnie said, gesturing to the cover. 

“ He wasn’t written out,” Leo grumbled out loud. “He was just forgotten. And I know his actor died so they had to do something, but they didn’t do anything. No implication he was off doing great things, no characters reacting or mourning his death. No closure at all.”

“Right,” Donnie said flatly. “Anyway, other than the placement of the gardens, you’ve always agreed that the ship diagram it showed is accurate. So tell me everything in the living area deck, starting at the front of the ship going clockwise.”

Leo thought back to his time on the ship. He had descended through the floor of the command deck to level 2, which housed the escape pods and whatever important cargo Jupiter Jim had to keep an eye on throughout his adventure.

Then he descended to level 3, the living deck.

“Starting from the center front,” Leo signed, “you get half of the weapons bay.”

The bay itself was covered in dust. However, the computers within the room were still blinking, casting slowly moving shadows across the massive generators that powered the ship’s energy weapons.

“Then it is the crew quarters,” Leo continued. “The innermost ring is bathrooms.” 

Leo was so excited to see them. In Jupiter Jim and the Water of Mars, Red Fox had fought a Martian there, and the pipe she dislodged to force him out of hiding still had the scratches from the movie embedded in it. 

“The next ring is the crew hangout area,” Leo continued. 

He was grinning the entire time he sat at one of the tables. His hand pressed over a scorch mark left when the ship was invaded during Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies.

“The outermost area is crew bunks,” Leo continued.

They had not yet been shown in the movies, so it was amazing to see lore not available to any other fan. Even if that special lore was only four sets of narrow bunk beds, each covered in a red sheet and surrounded by a utilitarian metal frame.

Leo stopped. 

“Do you think that since they built it, that we finally get to see it in a big ensemble movie? It’s getting close to a 30 year anniversary. They could pull everyone back—”

Donnie laughed. “You’re getting off topic. In fact, I think you’re trying to buy time since you don’t remember what’s—”

“Cargo,” Leo signed quickly. “Mostly food supplies, but there were some other crates too. Followed by the ship’s back entrance, then it’s the combined kitchen and eating area.”

That area was pretty much unchanged from what Leo had seen in Jupiter Jim and the Princess’s Return. Other than the thick layer of dust that had accumulated, that was. 

“Then, past the kitchen, was Jupiter Jim’s private quarters,” Leo continued. 

His one regret was that there was no shard located correctly to allow him to enter that room.

“And finally,” Leo stated, “the other half of the weapons bay.”

Donnie nodded.

Leo grinned.

“And below that,” Leo said smugly, “is Level 4. It has two concentric rings. The inner ring is for bigger cargo. Which is the area you confused with Level 2, which is only used for important cargo and has a much lower ceiling than Level 4. The Outer Level 4 ring is the garden. Right now, it’s covered completely in tumbling lizardfoot from planet Reptilia. But it’s definitely the garden shown in Jupiter Jim’s Pluto Vacation 4 and Jupiter Jim issue 201.”

Leo smirked. He may have only been able to look in through the ceiling of the garden, but he had seen enough to win his bet.

Donnie smirked back at him.

“What?” Leo asked.

“I still haven't lost our bet.”

Leo folded his arms.

“The canon is well established, Leo.” Donnie stated. “Each level is at least 10 feet or 3.05 meters tall. And the Ulixes itself is 114 feet, aka 34.75 meters. If your shard was on the captain's chair, with your current range of 30 feet from a shard in any direction, you wouldn’t be able to extend far enough from the center shaft to see the inner cargo hold, much less the garden. Therefore, you must have been on a scale replica, aka not canon, ship.”

Leo got into Donnie’s personal space, his smile never leaving his face. 

“Except for one key detail,” Leo said, before turning to Mikey. “Bring my hilt to that edge of the atrium.”

Mikey obliged. 

Leo walked away from him. He walked past Donnie’s room— his, before he was able to use the Lair Games to switch. 

He could feel himself approaching his limit. Just like he had felt it on Jupiter Jim’s ship. And just like he had on the ship, he felt another shard.

With nothing more than a thought, he recentered himself. And he kept walking.

“What?” 

“How?”

“30 feet?”

Leo turned and grinned at his brothers. 

“30 feet from the shard I’m centered on,” he announced, before gesturing to the space around him. “And when the shards are close enough, I can just change which one I’m centered on. So since the other shard is in dad’s room, I can just double my range.”

“So there’s a second shard on the ship,” Raph stated.

“And a third,” Leo said.

“Three?” Mikey asked, grinning.

“Yeah, the other two are in Level 2 cargo storage,” Leo explained. “So I can see so much of the ship!”

“That means, once we get more shards, we can use them to expand your range throughout the lair,” Raph said.

Leo nodded.

“‘Once’?” Mikey asked. “We can do it now! We just have to...” He glanced at Leo, smile waning. “Nevermind,” he ended up saying instead.

Leo looked closely at Mikey. He didn’t like the way he dropped the subject. 

He didn’t like the way it twisted his gut.

“Where is dad?” Leo asked.

“He’s in his room right now,” Raph said carefully. “But, Leo, you—” 

Leo didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. He was already centered on Todd’s shard, so they couldn’t stop him from floating into his dad’s room.

It was an even bigger mess than what Leo remembered, with piles of papers and printouts scattered across the floors or pinned to the walls alongside various highlighted sticky notes. 

The only thing kept clean was the center of Splinter’s desk, where he had a photo of Leo— the same one that was on the altar. But now there was Todd’s shard, completely clear of dirt, in a sheer silk bag connected to the photo.

Somewhere near the right wall of the room sat Splinter, pouring over some of the papers. He didn’t turn to look at Leo, so Leo went and waved a hand in front of his face.

“Blue!” Splinter jumped. “You should knock before—”

Leo rapped his hand on the wall, not really caring if he stopped in the correct place.

Splinter’s face fell.

“Of course, my son. I am sorry, I—”

“It’s ok,” Leo signed.

“It’s ok,” Splinter repeated proudly. “I have been watching your tapes. And it is safe to say I am able to remember the basics.” 

The pride was quick to turn into wistfulness, as Splinter sighed. 

“In truth, I wish more than anything that you didn’t have to go through this,” he continued. “But know that you have shown admirable strength and ingenuity in dealing with it. When I first changed, I think it took me two years to stop tripping over my own tail. And look at you! Already, you’ve done so much in such a short amount of time! I am sure that, because of your determination, you will be completely back to us in no time.”

Leo looked away. Because he wasn’t strong or determined, and no amount of—

“I know it feels overwhelming now, but you are not alone. April and I have been tracking down that robot you saw.” Splinter winced. “Okay, it’s mostly April, now that none of the notes bore any fruit. But April is scouring social media, because if someone made an unofficial life-sized replica of it, there’s no way they wouldn’t try for at least a little recognition.”

Leo clenched his jaw, continuing to stare where the floor met the wall as if it held all the secrets. He felt the same twisting in his gut from before. 

“My son,” Splinter reached his hand out towards him. He kept his hand wrapped around Leo’s until Leo looked at him. “Enough talk about me. How are you doing?”

Leo forced a smile, a pressure building in his chest just from that loaded question. “I’m getting used to it. I guess I...”

His hands slowed to a stop as he saw Splinter’s brows furrow as he followed Leo’s movements, subtly echoing the signs Leo used.

“Getting used to it,” Leo fingerspelled slowly.

Splinter sighed. “I wish you didn’t have to.”

“No choice,” he spelled out, shrugging, despite the pressure building into an ache, spreading all the way up his throat.

“I know. But I do believe that things will get better. I—” 

“And what if they don’t?” Leo both signed and spoke sharply, face pinched.

He balled his hands into fists for a second, squeezing them tight enough that they trembled. And with a sharp exhale, he forced himself to release the tension with a shove, metaphorically clearing out the space in front of him.

“Nevermind,” he spelled out for his father. 

But Splinter’s hands were still going through the signs Leo made previously. 

“If they don’t,” Splinter said softly, “if some shard is stuck in a volcano, or on the moon, or otherwise beyond our reach, is that what you mean?”

Leo nodded softly, eyes once again focusing on that same corner of the room.

“Truly, you always plan five steps ahead,” Splinter sighed, with a sad yet fond smile. “That is a good thing. Impressive, even. But don’t let the fear of a future what-if rob you of your present.”

Leo hugged himself.

Splinter grabbed around his hand again.

“If you can’t become physical again, you will still have your family. And even if your new normal haunts you, and you miss what you lost, that will not stop you from adapting, from growing. You will make connections that mean the world to you, and you will go on adventures and see sights that you could have never even imagined in your old life.”

Leo drew in a shaky breath, eyes beginning to sting at Splinter’s words.

“You will find a way to not only survive but to thrive,” Splinter continued. “I know this because, my son, you have a strength beyond my own. So I know, without a doubt, everything will be okay, even if it’s not exactly what you planned or hoped.”

Leo pulled as close as he could to Splinter.

“Thanks,” he said.

“My son, you don’t need to thank me. I should have said those things long ago.”

Leo shook his head

“No, it’s true!” Splinter insisted. “There are a lot of things I should have said a long time ago. There are a lot of things I should have said more.”

He looked Leo right in the eyes. 

“Leonardo,” he said and signed at the same time, “I love you.”

He pulled Leo into a hug, even if neither of them could feel it.

“ Wherever you go, and whatever form you take, please know, my son, I will always love you, and I will always, always , be proud of you.”

Despite how much Leo wished the moments of watching old Lou Jitsu movies and signing the lines together with his dad would last forever, time moved on.

Six hours, one minute, and seventeen seconds came and went.

And Leo was no longer in his father’s room. 

The soft red glow and stashes of stolen notes were gone. The room was empty, small and hexagonal in shape. The walls were dark pink and bare except for the harsh neon-pink lights that cut through them in sharp, partial hexagons.

Whoever lived here definitely liked that shape. Maybe they were bee aliens. That would be a cool story to tell his brothers.

Leo poked his head out of the small room.

The room he saw was larger, but still followed the same design motif as the one he appeared in. Same hexagonal shape, same dark pink walls, same bright pink lights, mostly same bare aesthetic.

The only difference was the large manacled metal slab that extended up from the floor. And the large contraption hanging from the ceiling. It had a long insectoid looking spike, almost like the mouthpiece of a mosquito, connected to both mechanical looking controls and a large suspended reservoir. The reservoir looked like the distended abdomen of the mosquito and was filled with a glowing pink liquid. 

It gave him a bad feeling.

Leo felt no need to get closer to it, but he also couldn’t bring himself to look away. He kept his eyes on it as he slowly backed into the room with his shard.

Leo turned ninety degrees in the small room and carefully poked his head through the wall.

It was a different room. He didn’t see the injector. He saw something much worse.

Shredder. 

Leo flung himself back towards his shard.

What was he doing here?  

Shredder was supposed to be dead. Purified of the oni’s influence and with Karai in the afterlife. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He couldn’t be here.

Leo poked his face through the wall.

Shredder stood completely still. His cold eyes glaring at something far beyond Leo, his arms held loosely by his side. Both feet were planted firmly and a foot above the ground.

Leo moved forward.

The lights below Shredder’s feet and above his head were different, holding almost a white tinge compared to the pink glow of the room.

And the Shredder himself— His metallic armor reflected none of the pink lights surrounding him. 

Leo moved closer.

He could see pink through the armor. Not reflected, but visible through a small static waver in his form. Leo had been fooled one too many times by Donnie’s fake pizzas to not know the telltale signs of a hologram.

His relief was momentary, because of all the reasons he could think of aliens having a life size hologram of Shredder, a fair number of them were not good.

His worry was cut off by a metallic hiss, as a door formed in the wall and slid open. Leo slid into the floor, the way a normal red eared slider would slide into a pond. 

The floor did not give way to the ceiling of another room, so these rooms were either against the foundation, or all the floors were very dense and thick. It took a moment in the complete darkness and silence for Leo to find his courage. But if there was something going on with the Shredder, he had to know. He had to warn his family.

Leo pushed his face out of the floor, making sure to raise his eye first.

He froze with half of his head peeking out of the floor. He had not been expecting to see those floating wads of chewed up bubblegum. At least there were only the ones on the little floating disks and not the ones inside the large mechs. 

Well, most of them were chewed up pink gum. The one in front was chewed up pink gum that was burnt red and had a large purple scar over one eye. The one in front had also stopped his floating disk.

“What is it, Commander Ch’rell?” the one behind it asked.

The red one in front, Ch’rell, narrowed his eye. “Someone is here.”

“Impossible.”

Ch’rell spun to look at the one that had spoken. “I moved into command because the previous commander, Quanin, underestimated the impossible. I do not intend to make the same mistake. Haplin, I want a full energy scan.”

Leo lowered himself as far into the floor as he could, while still being able to observe the situation. He didn’t want to be seen, but he also didn’t want to be caught unaware by these guys again.

Considering what had happened last time—

“Sir,” Haplin said, showing Ch’rell a tablet-like device. “It’s the same as—”

“I can see that,” Ch’rell hissed. “You said you had a way to lock it down.”

“I said I had a theoretical way to lock it down. It is untested.”

“Then test it now,” Ch’rell ordered.

Leo did not register moving. One second he was well hidden within the floor of the room, the next second he was floating in the center and staring at Ch’rell, who was staring through him.

“What is it?” Ch’rell asked.

“It’s connected to that triangle of non-Kraang metal, sir.”

“Obviously,” Ch’rell hissed, snatching the tablet device out of Haplin’s tentacles. “But what is it?”

Leo pulled his arms in front of his face instinctively as the light around him drastically increased. However, the fact that the glow was coming from his markings made that movement moot.

It took several long, terrifying seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light. And when they did, Leo was staring at the absolute last thing he wanted to see.

The Foot symbol.

Hovering over his chest.

That was not right. He wasn’t the Foot. Sure, Shredder was his Gram-Gram’s father, but that didn’t make him Foot. 

He did not want to enslave or destroy the world. He just wanted to be with his family. To protect them, and the rest of the world, if needed.

Because he was not Foot.

He was Hamato.

The symbol in front of his chest corrected itself. 

Leo flung himself away from Ch’rell.

Chr’ell laughed. The sound was like a knife scraping along Leo’s shell.

“A descendant of both our agent and his enemy,” Ch’rell said. “This is truly fortuitous. Follow me.”

Leo blinked. Again, he did not register moving. But he was no longer in the room with the Shredder hologram. Instead, he found himself on his shell with the foot symbol glowing brightly in front of his chest. But he didn’t have time to process that before he realized that he was staring down the business end of the long insectoid injector.

He heard the metallic hiss as Ch’rell and the others entered the room. He could hear them chatting among themselves. But he could not tear his attention away from the injector. Not when it sprung to life with a low buzz. Not as it slowly lowered towards Leo. Not even when it got so close to his forehead that his eyes could no longer focus on it.

The injector entered his forehead. And far above, he could see the pink liquid slowly squeezed out of its reservoir. He could see the glow of the viscous liquid as it made its way through the connecting tubes and down the injector.

He thought he could feel the heat of it as it dripped into his head.

But the heat was fleeting, it stayed with the liquid as it fell completely through his head, and rolled along the metal slab before harmlessly splashing onto the floor.

Right. 

Leo was pure Hamato ninpo. And he was surrounded by the enemies that had started everything. If he just stepped back, just allowed them to get their way, everyone would be in danger. No matter what the personal risk to him was.

He knew that then.

He knew that now.

Leo flung himself at Ch’rell, shoving his glowing hands into both of his enemy's eyes.

Ch’rell spun, flinging the tablet in his haste to get away from Leo’s attack.

But Leo stayed on him. He heard the sharp crack of shattering glass, the quick high pitched sing of blaster fire, and a heavy wet smack as gallons of glowing pink liquid splashed onto the floor.

Leo jumped away from it.

Ch’rell cursed.

Leo reached over his shell. His hand grabbed onto an invisible hilt. He pulled an invisible sword from its sheath.

Well, mostly invisible. 

The very tip of the sword glowed the same blue as the rest of Leo. 

Ch’rell’s unscarred eye went wide.

“Evacuate!” 

Ch’rell’s voice held a frantic note that Leo had not heard before.

Leo grinned. He went through the motions of throwing the sword. Even though the second the sword left his grasp, it returned to Leo’s sheath. 

If his enemies knew that he could not throw his sword, they did not show it. Leo was left completely alone in the room.

But he could not feel any joy in his victory, nor relief at his enemies’ retreat.

He had to know what they were trying to do with Shredder, with the Hamato’s. He had to stop them. But even without revisiting the rooms, Leo knew that he couldn’t.

He was incapable of touching them, or doing anything that would even inconvenience them.

And his only allies... this place was so far beyond their reach.

Chapter Text

Leo pressed himself against a darkened wall in the Kraang base. He might have destroyed their tablet and their injector, and bluffed them into fleeing, but Leo had a sinking feeling that that was only a temporary setback. They wouldn’t rest until they handled the situation.

Not hand-led, tentac-led.

Leo allowed himself to smile. If he kept track of time correctly, he had less than an hour until— 

Light flooded the room.

Kraang armed with alien water pistols flooded in.

Leo flung himself backwards through the wall he was pressed against, only to find more on the other side, identical weapons turning to him on sight. 

It was only due to a lifetime of prank wars with his brothers that he was able to react to the arcs of pink ooze flying towards him. He spun away, but the Kraang had already reloaded.

With even less time to react, he flung himself upwards. Thankful, for the first time, that his state stole his ability to be heard by others, as some of the ooze managed to brush through his arm. 

If the Kraang were able to follow him because of his scream. They would... 

Leo wasn’t exactly sure what they would do. But that didn’t matter right now. There were more alarming things to worry about at the moment.

Before now, anytime he did anything, like grab his own arm, or hug or pinch himself, it felt like it was nothing more than the memory of the sensation, or maybe something more akin to what he’d feel if he was in a vivid dream. 

And that wasn’t anything new. That was something he’d gotten used to a long time ago. 

And yet, when that ooze touched him, he had felt real pain for the first time since he broke his katana. 

Drawing in shaky breaths, Leo gripped his bicep, right where the worst of the discomfort was located. Maybe later, when he finally got out of this stupid place, he would tell his brothers that it was nothing more than a weird surprise to him, and play it off as a funny story. He would tell them, truthfully, that he’d felt worse pain before. 

But for them to believe that, Leo would have to release his bicep. And right now, he simply couldn’t get his hand to let go.

At least he still had some time to do that, as it wasn’t like having a free hand would aid him at all in keeping himself away from the Kraang. There was nothing he could do to hurt them. He couldn’t do anything except hide in a small radius around his shard.

Leo could hear his father’s voice echoing in his head.

“Stick to the shadows.”

He could do this. He was a ninja. All he had to do was stay hidden.

But he had been hiding, and if he pressed too far into a wall, he could give away his location with a big glowing dome.

Glowing.

Leo flung himself away from the shadows.

Pink ooze splattered where his head was, the sight and its implications making it hard to breathe. 

His father’s advice was useless here. 

His family was useless here.

He couldn’t rely on any of them. He could only rely on himself.

Leo flung himself through a wall. A ceiling. A floor. 

He had to keep moving. He had to keep doubling back. If he couldn’t hide, he had to make sure that there were, at least, objects between him and the Kraang.

He knew that they were still close to him. He could see them moving out of the corner of his eye. He could hear their taunting voices. He could practically feel their tentacles on his shell.

But then, there was a voice. A different voice. One that pierced his panic with a familiarity he hadn’t felt in what felt like lifetimes, calling for a brother, calling for him —

No. No, no, no, if the Kraang thought they could trick him that easily, then they had another thing coming. He had to keep moving. He had to keep hiding. He could still feel a million eyes somehow perceiving him— toying with him and waiting for him to let his guard down so that they could rip the rug out from underneath him. 

They won’t do that. He won’t let them do that. He had to hide. 

The walls weren’t straight anymore. They weren’t the colors they were before. But he won’t allow himself to focus on any of that either. 

He dove into the floor.

“Come back! Please!” that same voice cried out, cracking and trembling in a way that made Leo falter. “What’s going on? What did I do wrong?”

Leo drew a shuddering breath, a wave of second-guesses and doubt causing his focus to waver. But he forced it all away, along with the vice grip that was now squeezing his heart painfully. 

He couldn’t fall for it. It was the lowest of blows to use the voices of those he cared about, and it was literally the opposite of fair, but he couldn’t let it get to him. Not if he knew it was a trick. He couldn’t let them know they were actually getting to him. 

Suddenly, he felt himself being moved forward, but not of his own volition. With that motion alone, it felt like he’d been pushed down another spiral of panic. 

They were moving his shard. He was no longer in hiding, but out in the open, with only minimal swaying plants for cover. 

He cursed and wasted no time moving again, going to different edges of his range. He had to stay away and keep them on their toes. He had to keep going until they grew bored and gave up on chasing him.

He really, really hoped they’d give up on chasing him. 

As luck, for once, would have it, he could sense his pursuers slowing down. His shard wasn’t being moved as fast. But he didn’t bask in the relief for long. He knew better than to think they were really doing what he hoped they were doing. 

They were planning something. Switching their strategies now that Leo was making it clear that just constantly chasing him as they were wasn’t going to work. They had to be— 

A song rang through the air, not like those that he or his brothers listened to, but a song of the sea— in what sounded like the calls of a whale and the chirps and clicks of a dolphin all mixed into one. It was a song whose familiarity moved his very soul with the ocean’s tides, as it created the illusion of a word that almost sounded like:

“Saoniin!” 

It stopped Leo dead in his tracks as horror overtook him. 

He knew that word. It was one that he learned when being told about a certain place’s local folktale, featuring two siblings whose names basically meant ‘older brother’ and ‘younger sister’ in its ancient languages.

There was only one other person he knew who’d know that tale. There was only one he knew who’d call him by the name of the older brother of that tale. 

So that was what it was.

The Kraang had found a better target.

The song rang out once more, clearer and all the more piercing. 

Mei.

Leo turned, and just as he hoped and feared, found the sea turtle in the distance, her face scrunched up similar to the way Mikey’s would’ve when he was trying not to cry. A hand— a large flipper, he knew, similar to what all sea turtles back on earth had, only with the top segmented into a thumb and two fingers, and even some octopus-like suckers on the palms— was curled around his shard, the cord of the necklace she made it into swaying freely in the current. 

Leo almost wanted to scream again. It was definitely tempting, considering almost no one in the entire universe so far could hear him. 

How? How did they find her? How did they know about her? There was just no way. 

Mei didn’t deserve this. She wasn’t even in the double digits yet age-wise. All she wanted was family and all Leo brought her were— 

The Kraang.

Leo’s eyes widened as he glanced around their surroundings.

They weren’t here yet. They weren’t anywhere near her like how Leo initially thought. He wasn’t too late yet, but he had to do something now. They could still touch her. The could still change her in the way his intangibility prevented them from doing to him

He couldn’t let that happen. Over his dead body.

He raced back to Mei, having never felt more grateful for the fact her people’s nonverbal language was so similar to the one he learned— that they’d already taken the time to iron out the differences, as his hands moved in a shaking flurry to sign two words,

“Danger. Hide.”

Mei’s eyes widened, sorrow and confusion immediately replaced with alarm. Her body was tense and alert as she looked around, expecting to find threats at any moment. 

When there wasn’t any to be seen yet, she looked back at him, confused, until her eyes glanced over him and lingered somewhere for a reason Leo couldn’t hope to guess in his panicked state.

“Come with me?” she signed back, a hopeful look being the main indicator that it was something she was requesting. 

Leo shook his head, helplessness swelling within him to the point where it was harder to breathe. He couldn’t do anything if he hid with Mei. But maybe if he made himself more noticeable, and the Kraang focused all their attention on him instead of her, he could give her a chance to get away. 

He hoped his answer would be enough to get the message across. 

Apparently, it wasn’t. Mei’s eye ridges creased, and now she was the one shaking her head furiously. 

“Come with me,” she said again, as less of a request and more of an order, hand movements sharper and more desperate. “Please.”

She stuck out her hand, waiting, and clearly determined to not go anywhere until he agreed.

So with no other choice, Leo curled his hand around hers, following the motions of being pulled along as Mei quickly swam away.

Soon, Leo recognized the seaweed and different colored sponges that covered the entrance of the cave she called her home. He remained close as they went further and further in, until the ceiling arched high above the water, allowing Mei to surface. 

Leo looked behind him. The water was higher than it normally was, blocking the entrance entirely instead of having an archway of space left open. He let out a sigh of relief. That was good. It meant the Kraang might have a harder time following them, and maybe a near impossible time if they couldn’t swim at all.

Mei pulled herself up onto sturdy, rocky land, trotting through one of the many large tunnels. Along her way, she grabbed a thick cord tied to a nearby stalagmite and gave it a tug, causing the connected system of glass jars strung along the rocky ceiling to jostle and sway. As they did, the liquid within each swirled with the blue glow of agitated plankton, lighting up one by one as Mei quickly made her way through. 

Eventually, they were back in the ‘room’ that Leo knew all too well— the same one he first met Mei in, back when he teleported away after failing to go with his ancestors. 

She’d been crying just as he was, with blood staining the stone floors amongst scattered bowls of unidentified pastes. Her right arm had been wrapped in some seaweed that he later found out had medicinal properties, hiding a bite wound that Leo presently realized had now healed into a reddish scar. 

The rest of the room was about the same as when he last saw it. Bowls made of stone and wood, and baskets made of reeds were scattered about, only now filled with more pastes, water, seaweed, and even a few fishbones. 

Crude drawings still covered the walls and parts of the floors, most of which were made with some handmade paints. They seemed to have increased though. There were a few more earth alphabet lists scattered around the floor since the first time Leo showed her it, along with a few new attempts at writing out his name. There were also more pictures of himself and Mei, and even pictures of himself standing next to her and her family, consisting of her mother, her father, and her grandfather. 

He...hadn’t needed long to guess what happened to them. It’d been obvious from the get go, not only because she’d been completely alone, but also because even before he first met her, there’d been one drawing that had been different from the rest. It surrounded the area where she slept, depicting a possible life-sized image of her family sleeping around it. 

Instead of being painted, they’d been carved into the stone with some sharp implement with multiple, desperate strokes. The lines were more worn out than before, but the drawing was still there nonetheless, and still made an unsettling yet undeniably sad feeling pool in the pit of Leo’s now nonexistent stomach. 

Mei never talked about this one, and Leo never had the heart to ask. 

“Brother,” Mei called out, bringing Leo back to the present. 

But it was also in that very next second that panic slammed right back into Leo, mind looping the words, ‘too loud, too loud, too loud’ at the sound of Mei’s voice. 

“Are you—”

Eyes wide, Leo put a finger to his beak, stopping Mei’s question dead in its tracks. 

“Stay quiet,” he signed frantically. “We can’t let the Kraang find us. They want us. They—”

Mei’s hands shot out, her palms held up in front of Leo’s face like a wall, the motion so bewildering it caused his own hands to still. 

Seeing that, Mei lowered her own hands, a worried frown on her face as her eyes glanced over Leo once more.

“We’re okay,” she signed instead of spoke, hands trembling. “But you’re hurt. You’ve been hurt.”

She pointed at Leo’s bicep. And it was only then that he looked down, and realized there was a faint pink glow mixed in with the blue of his arm. 

Mei put down the shard and began rummaging around the room, gathering the medical supplies that she could find before darting back to Leo. 

“We have to treat it first,” she whispered, her hands too busy soaking dried seaweed into some water to speak with. 

Leo frantically shook his head.

“Yes!” Mei said a bit too loud, though she did look a bit guilty when Leo tensed at the volume. 

But she proceeded anyway, using the sickle she carried around for plant harvesting to cut it down to size. 

“I-If we ignore it— if we don’t treat it now,” she continued, “then it could get really red and infected and start bleeding white, a-and then you start to get really hot, and really, really sick and then— and then—” 

She stopped, if only to take the few breaths she’d been neglecting, before swallowing. 

She shook her head, and instead of going further down her tangent, she began to sing a little tune under her breath, whose lyrics almost seemed to reflect whatever procedure she was following. It was a clear attempt to keep her head steady. 

Leo couldn’t tell if it was working or not. It definitely wasn’t for him. Restlessness flowed through his entire being, the urge to run before the Kraang came through the main entrance or busted down the wall driving him to near insanity, only held back by the knowledge that Mei was here but not moving .

Why couldn’t she understand how serious this was? Leo was just fine! Sure, he was more than one color now, but he was fine . He didn’t need anything! There was no reason to be waiting around here like sitting ducks, unless—

Unless...

Were the Kraang forcing her to stall for time for some reason?

But...no. No way. That made no sense!

Right?

There was a wet thump, abruptly interrupting that spiral of thought, as the seaweed Mei had been trying to wrap around Leo’s arm fell right through. 

With that alone, whatever calm she managed to achieve for herself was quick to shatter.

A small keen escaped her throat, eyes glistening, but no tears were shed yet. 

“It’s fine,” Leo signed quickly. “We can figure this out later, when we’re in a safer place.”

“But we are in a safer place,” Mei insisted, scrubbing at her eyes.

Leo shook his head.

“We. Are ,” Mei insisted again, firmer, with her eyes narrowed. It wasn’t a glare, but it was getting pretty close. “I brought us back home. Nobody saw, so nobody’s gonna find us here.”

Leo hesitated, guilt and sympathy briefly piercing through the anxiety. He knew that sentiment. He understood that sentiment. He had the same one when it came to his own home, until the Shredder literally crashed through it and left destruction and loss in his wake. 

“I’m not stupid,” Mei sniffed. “Grandpa always told me that you gotta make sure the hurt people are in a safe spot before you can heal them. And I did.” She looked back up at him. “And we’re not supposed to take too long to do something or an injury could get worse. So it has to be now .”

“But it’s just some tiny color change. It’s not a big deal if you don’t.” 

Apparently, those weren’t the right words for Leo to say, as Mei bristled, mouth opened wide as if to shout, but catching herself at the last second. 

“Then you can’t feel what I feel!” she signed instead in large, wild motions. “The pink’s bad! It’s doing something bad! I know it is! You can’t just say it’s not just because you don’t think it is! You can’t just say it’s not and then pretend everything’s okay just because you don’t want me to feel sad or scared! That’s stupid! You’re stupid!”

Leo held up his hands placatingly, wincing at her sudden ferocity, even though he was getting the inkling that she wasn’t completely talking about him anymore. 

“Okay,” he said. “But it’s not like you didn’t try. You saw what happened.” 

He gestured to the seaweed still laying in a sad, soggy pile on the ground. 

“But I haven’t tried everything yet,” Mei grumbled out loud, eyes filled with a newfound stubborn determination. “Hold still.”

She stuck her hands out, letting one hover over the ‘injury’ on Leo’s arm, and strangely, letting the other hover over Leo’s forehead. With another, few steadying breaths, she began to chant something that Leo couldn’t place. 

Suddenly, all the markings on her skin and then the palms of her hands began to glow a gentle cyan, spreading across the entirety of Leo’s arm and completely overtaking the blue and pink. He could only assume the same was happening to his head.

And then she stopped, and the cyan began to retreat all the way back to her palms, before fading away altogether. 

And, at that very moment, it was like Leo could breathe again. Like he’d been drowning this whole time without knowing, and was only just brought up for air. Alongside it, went the fog Leo never knew had filled his mind and the incessant, all encompassing prickle of fear underneath his skin.

And with his head clearer than it had been for a long while, both new and old realizations finally came to the surface. 

First and foremost, he was a huge idiot. 

He had teleported away. He had teleported away a long time ago. Of course he did! Of course the Kraang weren’t here. It wasn’t like he flew from their base all the way to Mei’s home! They were probably in a place where they had no means of knowing about Mei’s existence, much less force her into being in cahoots with them. How could he even think that?

She was safe. He was safe. There was nothing to suspect. 

Everything was good. Everything was fine. 

For now.

“I-I think it worked,” Mei said, drawing Leo’s attention back to her. “Do you feel better now?”

He looked back down at his bicep, finding the pink practically nonexistent. He took another deep, steadying breath, and nodded. 

‘Better’ felt like an understatement. How he was now compared to how he was a few minutes ago felt like night and day.

“Sorry, about everything,” he said.

Leo didn’t admit out loud that what happened to him might’ve actually been a bigger deal than he claimed while in that...weird, paranoid state, but he probably didn’t have to.

Mei looked like she was already figuring it out. 

Instead of responding, Mei only held out her arms, looking at him hopefully. 

Knowing exactly what she wanted, Leo flew behind her, synced up his arms with hers, and gave her a hug. 

“It’s fine. Just don’t do that again,” Mei said afterwards, turning back to look at him. “If you get hurt or sick, you can’t— you can’t pretend like it’s nothing. Not to me. If you do, I’ll— I’ll hate you forever, and then...” She hesitated. “I-I’ll make the purple brother my favorite instead.”

Leo’s jaw dropped, feigning horror.

“I will. And if not him, then Red and Orange. But you’d always be my least favorite,” Mei huffed, somehow more confident from Leo’s reaction, though her serious facade was slightly crumbling into something more lighthearted. “But you said that the purple brother was super smart. So he’ll know better than you would.” 

“Okay, I won’t do it again,” Leo replied, not needing the threat of Donnie unknowingly overthrowing him as the favorite to mean it. 

Though that wasn’t to say it wasn’t a tiny part of the reason now, if only because he knew Donnie wouldn’t let him live it down if it did happen. 

At least, until Leo told Mei about all the times Donnie secretly pulled all nighters, or that time Donnie had his shell damaged during their first encounter with the Shredder, and for some reason just decided not to tell any of them—

Okay, yeah. If he thought about that and all the other times his brothers tried to downplay injuries, he could definitely see where Mei was coming from. 

“Pinkie promise?” Mei said, holding up her pinkie, mimicking the exact thing Leo had shown her, when he promised her he’d come back after their first meeting.

It was...actually kind of adorable, and even a bit touching. But no. This was a serious moment. He couldn’t gush about it here. 

So with a straight face, Leo hooked his pinkie around Mei’s as much as he could without having it phase through. 

Mei gave a firm nod. 

“Okay,” she said. “So...what happened to you? Who are the— the ‘Kraang’?”

Instead of pronouncing Kraang as ‘Kr-ay-ng’, she mispronounced it as ‘Kr-ah-ng’. It was something Leo lingered on, but didn’t have time to find mirth in as he grimaced. 

“Some really bad guys,” Leo replied. “They wanted to— to change me. And I might’ve freaked. A lot.”

“Is that why the pink felt bad?” Mei asked, which was definitely something else Leo needed to unpack later. “I didn’t like it because it felt really...wrong. Did it show up because of them? Are they here and still trying to find you so they can do it again?” 

“No, they’re not actually here! I just thought they were,” Leo quickly reassured. “They don’t even know I’m here, and they can’t actually touch me. Besides, whatever you did just now helped me feel better. So it’s fine.”

“Promise?” Mei asked once more, a strange look on her face.

“Yes. Everything’s okay now.”

“Okay. Good,” Mei said, eyes hardening with resolution. “But if they ever come here to get you...” She reached for her sickle again, this time holding it out threateningly. “Then I’ll stop them! I won’t let them get to you. Ever.” 

There was a brief second where Leo’s heart felt warmed by Mei’s declaration. But at the same time, he couldn’t stand the thought of her or any of his family catching the Kraang’s attention.

But maybe that was a conversation for a future Leo to bring up— a Leo who wasn’t as high strung right now, and would have an easier time wording things in a way that wouldn’t frighten or demean her or make her go against his warnings out of spite.

A Leo that wasn’t the Leo he was now.

So in the end, he plastered a smile.

“I know you will,” he said, and meant it. He let her nod back at him again before pivoting. “By the way, do you still want to do the thing we talked about before, before we run out of time?”

Mei tensed, as if she was just remembering that. But the dread that flooded her face also made it look like she rather forgot they made that plan altogether. 

“I know a lot went on after I arrived,” Leo scrambled to say, “and I totally get if you don’t—”

“No. I want to do it,” Mei suddenly said, squaring her shoulders. “Do you want to do it?” 

Leo tried not to visibly swallow at having that question thrown back at him. 

Nevertheless, he gave a single nod. 

Leo had only been near the abyss once before.

It had been...maybe a few days to an entire week ago. He couldn’t get more exact than that. It was hard to keep track of time between all the teleporting. 

It was hard to trust that time was moving the way he thought it was either.

That first encounter with the abyss occurred when Mei’s injury had healed enough for her to go back into the water. It was something that she had obviously been ecstatic about, after days of being stuck on land, waiting for the wound to heal. 

So, the whole thing had started as a simple outing. Mei enthusiastically showed him the parts of the ocean she frequented, including the reefs growing on the backs of manta-ray-like creatures, whose sizes were almost that of large whales or tiny islands, and whose shadows and intimidating silhouettes had been a point of curiosity for Leo even before he met Mei. She then showed off her skill in spearfishing and the little tips and tricks involved with it, while staying clear of the deeper waters she said must be avoided at all costs.

Leo didn’t even have to ask why on that part. The shadow of a humongous, serpent-like fish lurking in the distance at one of those spots said it all. 

But, eventually, whether Mei was aware of it or not, somehow, they found themselves near the edge of an abyss.

And boy, the pictures and nature documentaries back at home could never do these things justice. Donnie would probably explain it in some kind of nerdy way, like how pictures and videos couldn’t perceive the true scale or depth of some things the way one’s eyes could. 

And maybe, just this once, Leo would admit Donnie would be right. Because right over the edge was just sheer intimidating darkness, reaching down and down and down, to the point where if someone told Leo there was no actual bottom to this place, he might actually believe them. 

But of course, there was more to it than that. 

“That’s where the heart of the sea lies,” Mei had told him, shortly after they went back to her home. “When we die, our body is called to the abyss and our soul to the stars. And when we, the living, dive to the abyss, we are reminded that we can’t follow the dead, because only the dead can return to the sea’s heart, while the living find themselves drawn to its surface and closer to the stars, but still too far to reach them. And that’s how we know, even if we can’t follow yet, that those that have passed still watch over us.”

And then there was a moment where she went silent. And within that time, Leo already knew from Mei’s faraway expression that she was repeating a speech likely told to her. Maybe by—

“ That’s how I know they still watch over me,” Mei quietly added, more for herself than for Leo, with a sorrow too big for someone that small. 

And even though he already strongly suspected the fates of Mei’s family, the practical confirmation of it still took the air out of his lungs. He couldn’t help but take another glance at that carved drawing, because now he knew for sure that it was the most concrete proof that those people had existed at some point— that Mei truly hadn’t always been alone. 

He hadn’t been sure whether to feel relieved or saddened by that knowledge. But he remembered the knot in his stomach and the lump in his throat as he turned back to Mei.

“ Quick question,” he began, his gestures slow and hesitant as he asked something he probably should’ve asked a long time ago. “ How old are you?”

And now here he was again, floating above the abyss and next to an eight-year-old who had lost everything. But now, they had a different purpose and a different plan. 

And the abyss was just as creepy and ominous as he remembered it being. 

“Do you feel anything?” Mei asked after getting his attention. 

She was now more equipped, the way she often was when she left the cave. Around her neck was the cord with beads of seashells that the shard had always been strung on. A cloak of seaweed covered her body, and more importantly, her shell. He also knew for a fact that hidden underneath the cloak was a woven satchel carrying her harvesting sickles. 

“Do you feel drawn to it?” she added. “Like it’s pulling you in, maybe?” 

Leo looked back down at the abyss. Truth be told, being ‘drawn to it’ was probably the furthest thing he was feeling. The closest he could come to was being curious about what an abyss on an alien world could hold, but it wasn’t enough to overshadow the feeling he was gazing down into some gaping maw that was ready to snap up and close around him at any moment. 

Leo shook his head. 

Mei didn’t look disappointed. “Well, we just have to dive into the abyss. Like we planned. If you’re really dead, it will hold you until you are ready for the stars. If you stay with me, instead of staying in the abyss or flying into the stars, it’ll mean you are still alive, still tethered to this world. Still have lots of great things to do.”

Leo gave a thumbs up. 

Mei gave a small, shaky smile in return. 

And then they dove. 

Down and down, until sunlight could no longer reach where they were, and the only source of light was from Leo’s own spectral body and Mei’s natural bioluminescence. 

They went down until Mei could go no further. She stopped where she was, giving Leo an encouraging nod. Both of her hands were clasped tightly around the shard, as she dimmed her bioluminescence.  

And then it was just Leo, floating alone and further down into the deepest darkness he'd ever known. Despite not feeling the weight of the ocean pressing down on him, the terror inside him was doing a decent job replicating it. 

But then, in the corner of his eyes, he saw something. A tiny blip of light, quickly flashing in and out. And then there was another, and another, until it almost felt like there were hundreds sporadically blinking from all directions. And soon enough, Leo realized he was no longer in suffocating darkness, but amongst a light show more amazing than he had ever seen before.

There was life here, and the longer he watched, the more he could make out various creatures, attracted by his own glow, coming out of nothing and retreating back into it. 

And Leo smiled, taking a breath. 

Even if he was going to be stuck down here, at least he wouldn’t be by himself. He'd just be swimming into the abyss to eventually pass by someone else, like a ship in the night.

Soon enough, he reached the end of his range. He floated there, waiting for something unusual to happen, like a weird feeling, or maybe even something on the nose like an enormous, toothy fish jaw coming up from the darkness to swallow him and pull him further into the depths. 

But there was nothing. And he felt absolutely nothing, save for a growing restlessness because of the fact nothing was happening. 

“Hey there, Ocean. It’s me, ya boy,” Leo spoke up awkwardly, unable to stand the stillness any longer. “So, I’m pretty sure you can’t really hear me, but I also do know one super otherworldly being that can, so I’m going to pretend you can too.” 

He paused, if only to wait and see if there was a shift of...something. Anything.

“Anyways,” he continued when there wasn’t. “I just want to ask if you’re planning on doing something while I’m here. I mean, I know I’m practically an alien in your turf, and it’s totally cool if you weren’t, but if you were, it’d be kind of nice to not be waiting in suspense.”

Leo stared off into the distance, but the only change was the random motion of the distant lights.

“Or not I guess,” Leo said lightly. “Well that’s cool too. So, if nothing is going to happen... I guess I should just swim back?”

Except no, he couldn’t just swim back because he was bored. Mei made it very clear that the living were called to the surface, they didn’t just happen to wander all the way down here.

Leo gave a pointed laugh. “Honestly, I’m surprised this sea isn’t completely haunted. It’s so boring down here that souls can just get distracted and wander off. Pretty poor planning if you ask me.”

But boring wasn’t the right word for the abyss, not that he’d say that out loud on the off chance that the Ocean was actually listening. The abyss was frightening, yet reassuring in a way Leo couldn’t put his finger on. He could almost convince himself that this was the afterlife, or at least the cusp of it, and one of the lights in the distance belonged to someone from his family searching for him, ready to bring him home. At least until reality caught hold of him again, bringing emptiness and loneliness.

He wished they’d hurry up and find him.

“Hey, here’s a suggestion, you should really have, like, a reception room with little nametags and maybe some hors d'oeuvres. You know, to make it a bit easier to find who we are looking for, and a bit more comfortable to wait,” Leo called. “Because this whole thing? Not feeling it. I’d give it a one out of five star rating at best.”

Nothing answered him. And with every minute ticking by, Leo felt his patience thinning.

“So this is really going to be a thing, huh?” Leo continued, more testily. “I mean, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m not sure you do either, but everything’s got my head all messed up lately and I just...“

Leo clenched his jaw, letting out a forceful sigh as he crossed his arms. His hands gripped them tight.

“You know what? You want the review that goes with your one star rating? Fine, here it is: this place is the worst!” he declared. “I mean, sure, you got this cool light show going on here, but that’s just it! They’re nothing! They’re not a sign, they’re not an answer to anything I’ve been stressing about since forever, they’re just some alien fish. And I’m still just here, waiting. I mean, just one piece of news would be great! I’d especially like to know if I’m dead or not. And sure, I know Donnie said I probably only had five months, but it’s actually been past that point for me already. Like, way, way past.” 

Leo barked out a short laugh. It had a tinge of hysteria to it. “And I’m still here. So maybe that means I’m fine. But, I don’t know, some confirmation might be nice.”

The lights moved. The fish swam. But none were interested in Leo with anything more than passing curiosity.  

Leo let out another sigh. “You know, even if you’re actually listening, you probably won’t understand how this feels.” He leaned his head into his hands. “Every time I think I’m getting close to fixing this whole situation I’m in, and every time I think that maybe, things are going to be fine, there’s just one more thing that throws it all down the drain. And I’m just...so tired of everything. I’m tired of being the way I am. I’m tired of hoping and having that same hope get stomped on a second later. I’m tired of trying to figure out how to tell my family this stuff without making them feel the same way. 

“But most of all, I’m tired of not being able to rely on them because they’re not always here with me! They’re light years away, and obviously I can’t— I can’t reach out to them from where I am. So it’s just me, against the universe, alone. And I want to be okay with that, I do— I need to. But for some, stupid reason, I’m not!”

Silence followed, as Leo took in a few, deep breaths. 

“I’m not okay with that,” he said again, as if doing so would make him feel less lost. “And I don’t know how to be.”

The Ocean didn’t answer him. Leo didn’t expect it to. Instead, he looked out into the darkness, thinking. 

“Okay, here’s an easier question for you,” he said quietly. “How do the fish here do it? I mean, it’s not like they know exactly where to go or what’s around them, with everything being dark like this, and with so much space between them and anything else. They’re all completely alone too, except for when they just happen to bump into each other. And there’s no telling if they’re gonna see that same fish again.”

Leo reached out, as if grasping for an answer. But the only thing he saw was another small fish, illuminated by his hand, fleeing back into the darkness, with no means of telling where it went.

“Oh. I guess it keeps the little guys safe, huh?” he realized. “Yeah, I think I get where you’re coming from. It’s kind of like our whole ninja schtick of sticking to the shadows. If it’s too dark to see much of anything, then that pretty much goes for anything dangerous with sharp teeth or tentacles, right? And even if the fish is found, as long as it swims back into the dark and out of sight, then it should be fine.”

Leo hugged his arms against his chest again, watching not only the movement of light, but also the darkness of the abyss itself.

“The dark keeps them safe. It doesn’t just make them hard to reach, but,” Leo said with a laugh, “makes them hard to reach , if you know what I mean.”

Leo pulled himself into a tighter hug.

“And yeah. Maybe I’m being kept far away from my family. And maybe it’s just going to be me against the universe. But at the same time, all that dark, wide-open space here is kind of similar to what makes up outer space, right? And they’re the exact things that are keeping intergalactic threats like the Kraang from my family.”

Leo squared his shoulders, raising his head confidently.

“So if the choice is between the Kraang finding and hurting my family, or me being alone and taking those psycho aliens or anything else in the universe on by myself... then, you know what? Yeah, I’ll take being alone anytime.”

He chuckled in the quiet space, watching the distant, dancing lights once more.

“You know, forget most of what I said at the start. You’re not actually that bad, Ocean,” he remarked, trying to force as much levity as he could back into the situation. “I still gotta dock points for the lack of a good refreshments table, but you’re a really good listener, and I guess that’s what really matters in the end. So that’s at least a three out of five star rating in my eyes.”

Leo paused, sobering up just as fast. “But still, if you’re really out there, thanks. Sure, you still haven’t told me if I’m dead or not, but...being here’s at least helped me sort some other things out.”

He reached out to the abyss, and as if to answer his statement, the lights in the darkness retreated. They swarmed straight downward in a pattern he hadn’t seen before.

But he wasn’t scared. Not even as the lights fell away completely.

He was alone, but his family was safe.

Well he was mostly alone, and thus his family was mostly safe.

He looked up to where he had left Mei. Her seaweed cloak obscured most of her bioluminescence, but he could still make out a faint glow as she swam up and away, the surface calling out to her.

But to Leo, he felt no crushing weight of the water, no bone-chilling cold, no fire within his lungs. He felt no call to the surface.

But if that was the case, he hated that he gave his family false hope. He hated that he’d have to leave unanswered questions. But...

If it was his time, if he truly was no longer tethered... the same darkness that would leave his family with so many painful unanswered questions would also keep them safe from the Kraang.

When Mei breached the surface, Leo continued forcing himself upwards. The lights above him, his Gram-Gram, Atsuko, Sho, they beckoned him. 

Leo stretched his arm forward. But he moved no more.

He was still tethered. 

Leo turned.

Mei floated on her back as she stared back up at him. Her glowing freckles blended right in with the stars reflected on the calm and dark ocean surface.

If the lights were his family, then they weren’t only above him. They were below him too. 

With Mei.

Within his reach.

Leo descended slowly. Mei watched him.

“Did you reach the stars?” she asked, going back to wading normally in the water. 

Leo shook his head.

“Oh,” Mei breathed. “It looked like you did.” 

Leo only shrugged, shaking his head once more.

“Okay, then— then that means you can stay,” Mei said. “That means you don’t have to go yet, i-if you don’t want to. You can stay?” 

The last part ended more as an uncertain question as Mei looked at him hopefully. 

Leo nodded. “Yes, I can—  I will stay.” 

There was pure relief on Mei’s end, before she masked it with a serious look. “Good,” she said, the firmness in her voice undermined by the shake of her hands. “Glad that’s been decided.”

Leo tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Leo crossed his arms and looked at her.

“It’s just, when you went up you went so far. I’ve never seen anyone go so far into the sky and come back.”

“I did come back,” Leo signed firmly.

“I know. Just— Can I ask you something?” Mei asked. “Did you...hear my momma or poppa? Or my grandpa?” 

Leo’s eyes widened, Mei’s searching stare making it all the harder to tell the truth as he shook his head. 

And just like that, Mei’s face fell. “Oh,” she said in a small voice. “I just— I hoped— I-If you got close enough, I hoped you could hear my parents say something . Maybe even what my name was supposed to be. And I don’t mean my first name—” 

She put two V’s over her heart. 

“Or my sea name—” 

She spelled out the name ‘Mei’. 

“I mean my land name. The one I get when I’m big enough and strong enough to walk around on land by myself, like my sea name was given once I was strong enough to swim against the currents of the ocean.”

Leo pressed his beak into a thin line, unsure of how to proceed. While he’d been with Mei for a while, he didn’t really know much about her culture to make a proper decision. 

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

“What about ‘Mei’ as a land name?” he suggested. He’d already been calling her that in his head. 

“No,” Mei said, face scrunching up like she swallowed a lemon. “You can’t say a sea name on land. It doesn’t work like that.”

To demonstrate, she tried to sing Leo’s sea name. But the pitch came out all wrong, as opposed to when it was underwater. 

Leo winced. He didn’t know how to explain that on Earth, ‘Mei’ could very well be a land name, whose sounds didn’t need to be sung out in a slow descending then rising tone, but could be put closer together into one word.

But at the same time, he didn’t want to overstep some cultural boundaries. 

“What were your mother’s names?”

“This is her first name,” Mei said, sticking her right thumb up and second finger down, with the left thumb down and second finger up. She then did a quick twist, flipping the hands until her thumb and finger orientations were the other way around, before flipping them back. 

“And her sea name is, um...” She hurriedly lowered into the water until her beak was submerged, singing out a warbly tune that strangely sounded like the word ‘chi’, but drawn out and with a descending tone. 

“And her land name is Pieh,” she finished.

Leo let out a hum, thinking hard. 

“Well, where I’m from, people are sometimes named after their parents—”

“That’s silly,” Mei said, looking like she was saying the most obvious things. “If you were on land and only needed one of the two, how would you call them? You only name someone after someone who was, um, really, really far away. Someone you’re never in the same place with.” 

Leo didn’t point out that none would call her and her mom. Mei would know that, and to recommend a name that emphasized that...

“Maybe we wait for a sign then?” he suggested. It wasn’t like Leo was going to be able to call it anyway from a distance right now— 

“But there was supposed to be a sign!” Mei exclaimed, suddenly more agitated. “This—” she gestured sharply towards the stars. “This was supposed to be the sign! This was supposed to—” 

Leo held up his hands as a gesture of peace. “It’s ok,” he then said.

“No, it’s not!” Mei shot back. “I’m eight now! I can go on land. I’m going to need to go on land for tools and other things, or if I’m hurt and have to stay there for a long time again. But if I’m on land without a land name...” She hesitated.

“What happens?”

“If my family calls to me when I don’t know my land name... How am I supposed to know? How am I supposed to find them?”

Leo reached out to her but Mei pulled away.

“They were supposed to give me my land name. That’s what family does, but—” Mei swallowed, looking up at the stars, “but they’re not here , and I can’t hear them! I’ll never hear them. I...”

Leo rose into the air, placing himself between the stars and Mei.

“But that doesn’t mean that they can’t reach out to you,” he signed. “Even if you can’t hear a single word they say— there are still other ways to communicate. Family will find a way. I promise.”

Mei kept her gaze fixed on Leo, confusion and longing still etched on her face. 

But then, eventually, there was a shift as she appeared to slowly be figuring something out. 

“Oh, I get it,” she said. “Even if I’ll never hear them name me, that doesn’t mean that I can’t get a name from my family.”

“That’s not really what I—” 

“Isn’t that right, brother?”

Leo blinked. Still frozen with both hands pointing towards his chest. 

“Me,” he signed slowly. “You want me to...”

Mei pulled back. “I’m sorry. I— I thought— you don’t need—”

“Don’t be sorry,” Leo said with forceful signs, “I just— I’d be honored if that’s what you want.”

Leo really hoped that it wasn't what she wanted. He wasn’t good at naming things. The most important thing he ever had to name was his wrestling persona, but his ‘Neon Leon’ was immediately overruled in favor of Jessica Jaclyn’s ‘Primetime’. And if he wasn’t even good enough to come up with a fake wrestling name, how could he do something as important as naming an actual child?

But Mei looked up at him with wide, slightly watery eyes, and said, “Of course I do.”

Leo nodded and hoped that she could not see the emotions running through his head. He had to stay calm.

It wasn’t like it was a big thing. It was only a word. A word that was going to stick with her for the rest of her life. 

He’s got this. 

But, just in case he didn’t, what would his Dad do? 

Piebald, Red Blue Purple Orange...Cyan?

No. Leo was not naming her after a color or a pattern of colors. 

What would his brothers do? 

Raph would name her something strong, an action word because he liked to move. Donnie would choose something Nerdy, and Mikey would use a painter that he held so dear. 

But if he chose any of their types of names... it would be like they named her. Not him.

What did Leo like? 

His family? No, he wasn’t supposed to name her after someone she could run into.  

What else? 

Jupiter Jim? Skateboarding? Magic?

His brothers all loved Jupiter Jim. His brothers all skateboarded with him. But he alone liked magic. And Mei was a very magical turtle, with how she pulled him towards her, or healed him, or possibly sensed things he couldn’t. Her family name did include two V signs. And it wasn’t likely that they would hang out often with the Queen of Quick Change.

“Venus,” Leo both spelled and enunciated.

“Venus,” she repeated slowly, as if testing the sound of her name herself, though it would take a few more tries with Leo’s help to get the actual pronunciation right. All the while, her fingers moved to mimic the spelling each and every time. “Venus,” she said again, perfectly and more confidently.

“Do you like it?” Leo asked hesitantly.

“No,” Mei said, which would’ve made Leo’s stomach drop if it weren’t for the fact she was smiling widely, looking at Leo like he was the one that hung the moon and stars. “I love it.” 

Mei— Venus shrugged off her seaweed cloak once she pulled herself onto the dry area of her home. 

It was then that Leo could once again see his blue light reflected in the pearlescent half of her shell, curving against the matte blue-green of the rest of her shell.

It was a beautiful reminder of a not so beautiful truth.

“No lights when the tide is low,” Leo reminded her.

Venus groaned. 

“I know that,” she mumbled, pointedly walking past the stalagmite-bound cord without interacting with it, leaving the jars above undisturbed and the place in darkness.

Leo followed the sparkle of her freckles and markings deeper into the cave, sitting next to her.

He looped his arm onto hers, and once her eyes fully adjusted to the dark, he initiated a one armed hug.

Leo closed his eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. 

It felt good, just being with family.

But speaking of family, he had to figure out what to tell his brothers.

He would focus on the trip to the abyss. There was lots of good imagery and a bit of adventure. They would like that. And that story meant that they wouldn’t pester him to try and find the shard location, as they’d long since discovered that Leo’s fish descriptions were useless.

However, there were stars at the end. If they asked him to try another star chart.... 

Leo knew he couldn’t. He didn’t spend nearly as much time memorizing as he had with Algernon. And besides searching with nothing to show, feeling that he did something wrong... That hurt. He’d felt useless and hurt enough today.

Besides, it wasn’t like they’d get any useful information from Venus’s stars anyway. Her being on another planet and all—

Which was probably why the star chart he memorized with Algernon didn’t work.

Which made him feel less guilty that several of those nights had descended into nothing more than a joking hangout on the roof of Algernon’s house.

Leo grinned. Maybe he could just share some more adventures with Algermon instead of talking about the Kraang.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it. If his brothers found out he lied about where he went, and such a big lie was going to be hard to cover, they would start looking more closely into everything. They would find out how hopeless everything was. They’d hurt in a way Leo couldn’t help.

So he couldn’t say he was somewhere else. But he also couldn’t tell them the whole truth. Because once they knew the Kraang could hurt him, or that they wanted him for something, his brothers would stop at nothing to get to the Kraang to protect him.

And while they might be safe now. If they did something that caught Kraang attention— that pulled the Kraang to them...

Unlike him, his family was tangible. Whatever the Kraang tried to do to him they could do to them and there was no way that Leo would allow— 

“Hey Leo.”

Leo’s eyes shot open. He was staring directly into Mikey’s face. Mikey's face, which was wearing an ‘I may have accidentally spilled paint onto your comics’ expression.

“Now don’t be mad,” Mikey said, his tone cementing the expression.

Leo looked past Mikey to the room he was in. It was a room that Leo knew like his own home. But it wasn’t. 

The kitchen of the Ulixes was completely cleaned of dust. Obviously, his brother had been busy.

“I get it,” Leo signed gently. “It’s tempting to see Jupiter Jim’s ship up close. Just leave my shards here when you leave.”

Leo grinned at Mikey. Mikey scuffed his foot along the floor.

“We were only planning on picking up two of them, so that you can have more of the lair to move through when home,” he mumbled, “but...”

“But?”

Mikey looked past Leo. 

Leo turned to follow his gaze. The space effects must have been turned on since he was here last, as a cone of light warped outside of the kitchen window the same way it always did when the Ulixes’s faster-than-light drive was activated.

Leo bit back the indignation of his brothers getting to be in a Jupiter Jim movie without him. 

It was fine.

In fact, it was better than fine. It meant that they were having fun. And more importantly, it meant that they were safe.

“We get why you’ve been so unwilling to answer questions recently,” Mikey said softly. “Why you stopped trying to figure out where your shards were.”

Leo heard the waver in Mikey’s voice. He knew the pained expression Mikey was making even before he turned away from the window to look at his brother.

“But dude,” Mikey continued, “you could have told us the rest of your shards were in space.”

Leo recoiled, shaking his head sharply. “No!”

“Yeah,” Mikey answered.

“You can’t.”

Mikey rubbed the back of his neck. “You know how Moncrief’s moon buggy and weapons are surprisingly real? Turns out his spaceship is too.”

“But...” Leo couldn’t make his hands stop shaking enough to form the words he needed.

“It’s okay, Leo,”  Mikey said, flashing him a determined grin. “We’re your brothers. Nothing is going to stop us from getting each and every one of your shards now.”

Leo couldn’t answer. He couldn’t get his arms to move. All he could do was see the image of his brothers strapped to that injector table, as the Kraang forced them to become what they couldn’t make Leo be.

And suddenly, it felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Chapter Text

Raph had made a lot of bad plans, especially recently. He said that they should investigate the weird energy signatures in the Hidden City, he said they should run before Leo finished his teleport, and he never even considered the possibility that Leo was anything other than dead.

But this plan— It should have been different.

This plan should have helped Leo. It should have made him happy. 

It started simply enough; Raph led Mikey and Donnie onto Marcus Moncrief’s prop ship. And boy, was it amazing! 

Raph could totally understand why Leo had insisted that they leave his shards there. It was really as if he had walked into a Jupiter Jim movie. There were no fake walls, no uncompleted panels hidden only by camera tricks, and the entire ship was built to scale with no expenses spared. 

Once again, it was no wonder Mr. Moncrief thought that he was a real spaceman.

And Raph knew better than to take that all from Leo.

“Remember,” Raph said, holding out a hand to prevent Mikey from climbing up from the storage level to the captain’s chair, “we’re only going to take two of the three shards.”

Mikey ducked under Raph’s arm. “Yeah, but wouldn’t one of the ones in storage give Leo the most ship to explore?”

“Actually,” Donnie cut in, and Raph could see Mikey’s grip tighten on Leo’s hilt, “we don’t have to leave the third shard in its original location. We can place it so that Leo has optimal access. And since he couldn’t see JJ’s quarters last time...”

Raph grinned. “So we can give him some additional good news. Alright, Donnie, go figure out the optimal placement. Mikey, go get the last shard, and I’ll...”

Raph trailed off. Neither of his brothers were in earshot any more. Mikey was racing up to the command deck of the Ulixes, and Donnie was completely absorbed in his tech gauntlet. 

Which left Raph with nothing to do. 

Well, almost nothing to do. Blinking lights attached to several computers caught Raph’s attention. 

If Marcus Moncrief put so much effort into making the Ulixes as realistic as possible, maybe that extended to the virtual elements as well. 

Maybe he kept track of prop inventory, and Raph could find something out about the SAL robot.

Raph woke up the computer. 

In the end, he didn’t find anything about a SAL toy, but what he saw instead— 

A dossier on a planet called Enethone, produced by FIA. 

“Yo, Donnie,” Raph called. “Do you know what the FIA is? Some kind of production company—”

Donnie gave a short laugh. “The FIA is short for the Federation Intelligence Agency. You know, the branch of the Galactic Federation that, more often than not, kick-starts a Jupiter Jim plot by sending him reports of suspicious alien activity?”

Raph nodded and turned back to the dossier. It was definitely a spoiler for an upcoming movie, and Raph would not have looked further, except for one very intriguing photograph.

It was of a white bipedal fox, clad in robes. The top half of her face and snout were covered by a white mask with a dragon painted across the ceramic, and red ribbons and bells hanging from the sides. Her name was listed on the file as ‘Kitsune’, instead of the ‘Sus’ Raph found himself expecting.

Still, Raph frantically scrolled to the next picture, finding a temple set high up on a rugged snowy mountain range. Scattered homes and villas surrounded it, and deep in the valley below the temple, he could see thick fog. 

“Guys!” Raph called, trying his best to keep his voice from cracking. “I think I found something.” 

“The silent alarm?” Donnie deadpanned.

Raph felt his stomach drop. “No. I— Mikey!”

Raph raced towards the stairs to the command level. But he was stopped by Marcus Moncrief standing with his arms crossed, and Mikey behind him looking abashed.

"I should have known, if there was one turtle breaking into my ship, then all of you would be—" Mr. Moncrief cut himself off and looked at each of the brothers slowly. "Wait a minute. One, two, three— where is the Blue one?"

Raph could have heard a pin drop.

Both Donnie and Mikey looked at each other. Neither said anything. Raph didn't want to say anything either, but it was his mistake, so...

"He’s not here," Raph said softly.

Marcus Moncrief focused his full attention on Raph.

"Red Fox Two," he said firmly, "we cannot afford another Moonbuggy incident. So as a former sidekick, it is your obligation to tell me exactly where he is."

"I can’t," Raph said, voice wavering.

"Yet," Mikey cut in forcefully, showing him the hilt. "But if you want to wait..."

Mr. Moncrief’s eyes narrowed. "Is that…?” 

He leaned forward, forcing Mikey to take a step back when he got a bit too close for comfort. “It is, isn't it? It's one of the artifacts I’ve been collecting!"

Raph blinked. “Artifacts?”

“But of course!” Moncrief said. “Pieces of metal with unknown origin, practically radiating with an equally unknown energy. There’s no telling what they’re here for, or what power they possess.” 

"Well, for one thing, they aren't artifacts," Donnie stated tersely, "They’re shards of our brother’s sword. We need to collect all of them—"

"Then we have the same quest!" Moncrief exclaimed. "My sources indicate that there are five on this planet. I have three, you have one, so there is only one left to—"

"Actually," Mikey said, "we have two."

"Then there is no need to delay! Just give them to me, and—"

Donnie stepped between Moncrief and Mikey. "No way. You aren’t getting our brother’s sword."

"I'm not suggesting I take them," Mr. Moncrief said, "but as sidekicks and hero, anything one of us finds for the mission belongs to all of us. You do want to be part of my team, don't you? You could use a ride to the other artifact locations, and I could use a few more sidekicks to— er— test the waters of these locations. So, will you join me?"

Raph didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

“And sidebar,” Donnie said, hooking his arm around Raph’s neck and pulling him into a huddle with Mikey. “Raph, as much as I’d absolutely love to go on an adventure with the Jupiter Jim, you’re the one who always knew better than to trust that guy. We don’t have time for a random ‘chase down the scorpion mutant that he thinks is an alien’ adventure.”

“I know, I know,” Raph said. “But his computer had information about Leo’s shard that was with Sus. I’m sure of it. We just need to stay around long enough to find out where that filming location is, and—” 

“Uh, guys,” Mikey cut in.

Both Donnie and Raph looked at him. But before they could question him, he pointed to the window. In it, Earth was falling away, replaced by a sea of distant stars. The stars themselves then shifted to purple before they all went dark and a light show started playing across the window.

“Pizza supreme,” Raph whispered, “Donnie is that...”

This couldn’t be real. There’s no way it was. 

“Practical effects? Yes,” Donnie answered, and Raph allowed himself a sigh of relief. “The most practical of effects I’ve ever encountered, considering all of my tech is showing we’ve left the Earth’s atmosphere.”

“What?! But—“ Raph stammered. “We would’ve felt the ship taking off, wouldn’t we?! There’s no way we wouldn’t have noticed.” 

“Maybe,” Donnie said, looking back at Raph. “But in the comics, the introduction of the Ulixes included a brief sentence about how it had the fastest and smoothest lift-offs in the galaxy. Of course, I just assumed it was an exaggeration due to it being a work of fiction, but if this is actually the Ulixes, then...”

Then everything was more real than they could’ve ever expected, and that small detail was more than an exaggeration.

But more importantly...

“We’re in space,” Raph breathed. “Actual, outer space.” 

“Affirmative.”

“Then Leo’s shards?” Raph asked.

“Are most likely in space,” Donnie said, brows furrowed. “It would explain why none of our efforts were successful in locating them.”

Raph nodded numbly and stared back out the window. 

“Do you think Leo knew?” Mikey asked, his voice small.

“Of course not,” Raph responded quickly. “If he knew, he would have mentioned something...”

Except, thinking back, Raph wasn’t so sure. Because the way Leo had acted, the way he had given up on finding his shards, the way his questions about Donnie’s theories seemed focused on the premise that they would never find his shards...

“Actually...”

“He knew and he didn’t tell us,” Donnie said flatly.

“Why would he keep that a secret?” Mikey’s voice quivered with his question.

Raph pulled him into a hug. 

“He probably didn’t want to worry us. But that doesn’t matter now. Because we figured it out, and we got a ride into space to get them.”

Raph pulled away from his hug to look directly at Mikey.

“And you know what? I bet Leo’s going to be so relieved once he realizes that we figured it out! In fact, he’s going to be so happy— so ecstatic, once he knows we’ve found a way to get to each of his shards. I can feel it!”

Leo was not ecstatic. Nor was he happy, or even relieved.

His hands shook as he watched his brothers with a detached expression.

“So let me get this straight,” he said. “Jupiter Jim’s an actual space man? And what we’re in right now is the actual Ulixes?”

Raph almost wanted to laugh. Of course, of all the things Leo could focus on, it was the Jupiter Jim part.

“Yeah! It’s so cool, right?” Mikey said, grin widening on his face. “I still can’t wrap my head around it.” 

But instead of sharing Mikey’s excitement, Leo’s hands slowly curled to fists. He looked almost…sick at that thought. 

Raph didn’t know what to make of that. He exchanged a look with his brothers. Mikey’s grin had faded and he scuffed his foot on the floor, while Donnie stepped forward.

“Well, now that you’re all caught up, I’ve got something I think you’ll like, Leo,” Donnie said.

Leo looked at him, his hands still, but his eyes curious. 

Donnie didn’t hesitate. He walked over to one of the large display screens lining the wall of the special cargo level.

“Go on,” Donnie said, “tell it to open.”

Leo hesitated, but Donnie kept his eyes on him until Leo signed the word ‘open’. 

The blank screen was replaced with a large white canvas. On the left side, was a selection of colors and brushes.

“Try it out,” Donnie said, pointing to the screen.

Leo hesitantly walked closer. He pointed his finger at the screen. A black dot formed under his hand.

Leo drew a line. It started crisp, but by the end, it wiggled. A lingering reminder of how Leo’s hand shook.

He looked at Donnie, mouth agape.

“How?”

“Image recognition,” Donnie answered with a proud smile. “I repurposed the program I used to find your appearances in video footage. Let me know if you run into bugs.”

Leo gave a jerky nod and went back to the screen. He was transfixed as he drew and erased lines and patterns on the canvas, grin wide and shoulders shaking with silent bouts of laughter.

It was such a simple thing. But Raph realized this was the first time Leo could affect his environment since...

He had lost so much that they all just took for granted. 

And Raph was going to do everything in his power to fix this. 

“Hey, D,” Mikey spoke up. “Do you think you could pull up those files Raph found?”

“Of course,” Donnie answered, pressing a few buttons on his tech gauntlet. Immediately, the white canvas was replaced with the same dossier from earlier. 

“Right,” Raph said. “So, Jupiter Jim—”

Leo raised his hand. “Not Marcus Moncrief?” he asked, bemused.

“Not when he has a working spaceship, no,” Raph said, pointing a thumb towards one of the windows. “Anyways, JJ said that this planet is the closest. So I figure we start there.”

“But first!” Mikey cut in, jumping to perch on Raph’s shell. He pointed to the image Donnie just pulled up. The one of the masked fox. “This one! Is this your Sus?”

Leo immediately grimaced, which would’ve been confirmation all on its own. But upon processing Mikey’s question, Leo gave him a strange look, before nodding. 

“So I guess Kitsune Sus is her name.”

Suddenly, even when it wasn’t heard, it was clear Leo just barely held back a laugh, appearing much more amused than before. “Just Kitsune, probably. She’s just...” Leo fingerspelled the word ‘suspicious’, emphasizing the first three letters with a firm shake of his hand. 

He then blinked, realization flooding his face. “Wait. Wait a minute, you actually thought her name was ‘Sus’ this whole time? Were you all going to just go up to her and call her that? Even Donnie?” 

Leo looked directly at Donnie with a look that was a cross between incredulity and sheer delight.

“Okay, first of all,” Donnie said, evidently defensive. “You wrote a word next to your drawing like you did with Algernon’s, so of course we’re going to assume it’s a name. Second of all,” Donnie emphasized right over Leo questioning the idea of naming one’s kid ‘Sus’, “we’re not clear on the naming conventions of yokai, or even aliens, for that matter. So it’s entirely possible that what you wrote could’ve been an actual name.”

“Okay, first of all,” Leo said, purposely copying the way Donnie began his defense, “real glad we got this cleared up, because offending the creepy fox lady kind of sounds like a bad idea. Even if it would be kind of funny.” He smirked. “Second of all, I am never letting you guys live this down. She was suspicious! Come on, it’s like you guys never went on the internet!”

“Okay! So the fox lady’s name is just Kitsune, great,” Raph spoke up before they could get further off topic. “Leo, you keep saying that she’s suspicious. Can you tell us why?” 

Leo shrugged nonchalantly, though it was clear that the joking attitude he had a second before had waned. “Well, I’m pretty sure she tried to manipulate me the first time I met her, even if she was kind of bad at it. And then she brought me into this room and kept me from actually getting outside, and then kept trying to manipulate me? And then the only other people she brought were those that did nothing but gawk at me. I mean, I know I’m handsome, but even that was a bit too much.” 

Leo shuddered. It looked almost exaggerated, as if he was only doing it for dramatic effect, but Raph couldn’t help but wonder if there was a bit of truth in the gesture. “The other guys all looked oddly the same,” Leo continued. “You know, similar clothes and stuff. This was before I realized the whole…” he briefly pointed to the window, gesturing towards outer space, “so maybe it was actually just an alien thing.”

“I mean, your instinct is probably correct,” Raph said, quelling the low burning anger within him. He had plenty of time to be angry at Kitsune when they were on planet, after they settled on their plan. “The Federation is concerned about the number of people that go missing on Enethone.”

Leo raised an eye ridge. “Enethone?” he spelled out.

“The name of the planet,” Raph answered. “Apparently, it’s kind of a vacation hotspot, especially for those that need some off the grid relaxation. But there have been a larger-than-expected number of people disappearing.”

“I mean, is it larger-than-expected though?” Donnie asked. “The lower altitudes of the planet have exceptionally high concentrations of CO2. It’s very deadly and fast acting. I’d bet money that most of those unknown disappearances are just people falling and not being recovered because of it.”

“Wait, so it’s a popular vacation place,” Leo stated, his eye ridges now creased, “but it’s surrounded by poison gas ?” 

“It’s technically not poison gas,” Donnie corrected. “It just so happens that most of the planet is covered in enough of it that anyone would asphyxiate within minutes.”

Leo made a vague but wild gesture at Donnie, his face a mix of disbelief and distress that blatantly screamed, Are you hearing yourself?!

“Right, that doesn’t really make it better, huh?” Donnie agreed. “Well, to be fair, back on Earth, Yellowstone’s a very popular vacation spot despite it having scalding lakes, while also being situated on top of a supervolcano.”

“But you’re still going to a planet covered in deadly gas ,” Leo insisted.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Mikey said, sliding in front of Leo’s view. “We’re not going to go to the low points. This is our destination.”

He pointed to the other pic on the dossier, showcasing the temple and the numerous little houses scattered around it. Upon seeing it, Leo’s eyes lit up in recognition.

“Right,” Raph said. “It’s one of the villages that tourists occasionally visit. It’s pretty high up, but the peaks around it are even higher. And the interesting thing is, they’re still somehow getting sunlight even though the mountains should be keeping the place in shadow.”

He stopped the moment Leo frowned.

“Yeah, because of the massive mirrors hidden around the top,” Leo said.

Now Raph was the one frowning at the new information. “The dossier didn’t say anything about mirrors.”

“That’s why I said they were hidden. But trust me. They’re there,” Leo insisted, a firm look in his eyes. “I know it because I saw them when I first met Kitsune. I think she was trying to add the shard to one.” 

“Then it’s gotta be some kind of scheme,” Raph said, to which Leo nodded. “But the question is, what? And how?”

“We can figure that out when we get there,” Mikey said impatiently. “But first, this is where your shard is, right?” He pointed to the largest building in the image.

Leo looked closely, and then, with two fingers he tried to expand the picture in hopes of zooming in. 

It only resulted in two lines of virtual ink, heading in opposite directions.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Donnie said, cringing. “Haven’t actually implemented the zoom function yet. That’ll be my next improvement.” 

Leo nodded and stepped to the side, making a grand gesture towards the image as a cue for Donnie to help enlarge it himself. 

Leo then turned back to the projection, staring at the now clear image of a large, temple-like structure, complete with arched windows and pillars, and even an intricate, covered bridge spanning over a large drop, connecting it to what must’ve been another part of the temple on the other side. 

Leo gave a confident nod. And within a blank space on the board, he began to draw a map of the inside of the building he was in, leaving the areas outside of his range either blank or filled in with deductions and speculation. The only thing he added that wasn’t part of the temple’s interior was what looked to be a rope bridge disappearing into the fog somewhere behind the temple.

And then, in one of the largest rooms, he marked a small X in the middle, pointing at it and then gesturing at himself with a firm pat against his plastron. His message was crystal clear.

That was where they needed to go. 

“According to Jupiter Jim, there’s a small landing pad near this village,” Donnie said. “It’s too big for the Ulixes, but we could fit on the away-craft easily.”

“Then who’s looking after the ship?” Leo asked. 

“Jim is,” Raph answered. And upon being met with Leo’s doubtful look, he elaborated. “We managed to convince him to let us go ahead, so he could save the day when we inevitably got in trouble. And I know you were probably looking forward to adventuring with him, but...” he lowered his voice, leaning closer towards Leo to lower the chances of being overheard, “we don’t really trust him with the whole finding part of the mission yet.”

And Leo, who did look a little disappointed, sighed, but nodded understandingly. He made a gesture to go on. 

“Right. But anyways, if we do manage to get into trouble, we still have Jupiter Jim’s emergency beacon to fall back on,” Raph said, gesturing to the device clipped onto his belt. “Meanwhile, we’ll go as soon as we A, get there, and B, are all together. Does that sound good, Leo?”

Leo grinned, giving a resolute nod. 

0:10

Raph watched the seconds of his timer count down. He shifted in his position in the pilots chair, not knowing if he was hoping that Leo appeared or that he went to spend some more time with Venus.

0:05 

It was exciting to finally be within reach of a shard, but also terrifying, because it made the sheer expanse of their task become real.

0:00

Raph looked up. His eyes met Leo's as Mikey pumped his first in the air.

"Ready to launch, captain," Mikey said, eyes shining.

Raph nodded at Donnie.

Donnie radioed their intention back to Jupiter Jim.

Raph eased forward on the thrusters. The jolt as they kicked on and edged the shuttle away from the Ulixes chased all of Raph's nerves away.

He spared a glance back to Leo, who had taken advantage of his incorporeal form to lean completely out of the side of the craft.

He was glad Leo was having fun, and Raph would take the time to really relish that once he got them all on the ground.

But for now, his attention had to be on the planet that they were fast approaching.

As they descended, the mostly white surface of the planet came into painful focus. Poking out above a sea of fog were acres of snow capped mountain tops, reflecting the light of the sun so brightly that Raph could barely look at them.

Raph pulled back on the thrusters and followed the directions provided by the navigation unit. He gently piloted the craft between two of the tallest peaks. 

He had to pull close to one, nose pointing to the sun, before slowly lowering the craft straight down. The deep shadow below him made it impossible to see the landing platform, but Jupiter Jim had assured him that his navigation unit was state of the art and freshly calibrated. 

Raph followed its guidance. 

Blinding white was replaced with deep blue-grey shadows. 

They were too close for Raph to see the landing area. The craft's nose blocked his view, but according to the navigation unit, they were right on track. 

He continued to lower the craft until his entire view of the cockpit was overcome by blue light. 

Raph slowed their descent until they were practically hovering. 

“Leo? I need to see.”

Leo pulled back.

“Too far right,” he signed with large forceful gestures. “3 feet too far right.”

If he didn’t do this right, Raph knew he could crash into the side of the mountain, or slide down a sheer cliff. And while he trusted Jupiter Jim and his equipment, he trusted his brother more.

Raph adjusted the craft and continued on with his landing. Looking out onto the village ahead of them as he did so.

When he touched down, the foundations of the nearby houses shook from the reverberation, dust leaking out from in-between the bricks. The small, quaint buildings stood in stark contrast to the temple that loomed above them from its mountainside perch, whose end curved around the mountain and out of sight.   

Raph shooed his brothers off of the craft while he shut it down. He had to make sure that the thrusters were off and cooling, and the remaining power systems were in standby mode. Jim had warned him to be particularly careful with this, since due to the shadow that their landing site was in, the solar panels would not automatically recharge the craft, so any excess energy they lost, they lost. 

Once he confirmed that everything was sufficiently set to standby mode, Raph left the craft. He froze when his feet touched the ground.

Two of his brothers were facing two fox aliens, one Raph recognized as Kitsune and the other a snow white fox with painted blue markings on their face. 

They were exchanging pleasantries with Mikey and Donnie, but Leo—

Leo had completely disappeared.

It had barely been a minute. He couldn’t have lost his brother again in such a short time. 

Mikey still had Leo’s hilt. It was tucked behind his shell, purposely out of sight of the two foxes.  

“Ahh,” Kitsune spoke, her voice light and welcoming, “you must be the third brother! Welcome to our humble home.”

She seemed sweet and genuinely pleased to see them. 

But so had Big Mama. 

“It’s good to be here,” Raph lied. “My brothers and I were hoping to have a relaxing time away from the bustle of Federation life.”

“Oh course,” Kitsune said, smiling. “I am so glad you chose our village to visit. Please let us give you the grand tour.”

Mikey jumped, stretching one hand into the air, “Yes please! I am super interested in architecture and that temple looks super interesting.”

Raph noticed that Mikey very carefully kept his shell pointed away from Kitsune as he jumped. He also noticed the appearance of a small blue translucent dome behind Donnie’s foot. 

It was nice to have confirmation that Leo was still there, but the fact that Kitsune made him so uncomfortable that he hid in the ground to stay out of her sight...

Raph would have to stay on guard.

Shamefully, that had been a little harder to remember when all of them got swept into participating in some celebratory banquet at the temple before the tour even began, complete with multiple toasts to their arrival from the various members of the Pantheon— which was what the temple residents called themselves— and hot food that tasted heavenly , to the point Raph wondered just how Mikey was holding back from asking for the recipe. 

On the surface, the atmosphere was friendly and inviting, the room filled with laughter and conversations the Pantheon were enthusiastically trying to engage them in. It was almost enough to become swept up in the levity.

The keyword being ‘almost’.

“So, what’s your name?” Raph asked the fox who had silently come around to pour some more tea, if only to escape another member’s long ramblings of the wonders of their religion. It was easy to tell from the blue markings on her face that she had been the same one who was standing next to Kitsune earlier on. 

The fox in question looked taken aback, as if she wasn’t expecting anyone to engage with her, much less Raph. It made sense, considering she seemed to be the only one not trying to talk with him or his brothers, or anyone else for that matter, and instead simply focused on replenishing beverages and foods. 

“I’m afraid she won’t be able to answer that,” someone else spoke for her, right as she opened her mouth to reply. 

It was another fox, though shorter and with larger ears. A few strands of grey peppered his cream-colored fur. 

He smiled warmly. “I apologize for butting into the conversation, but I was afraid you’d put her on the spot. Those who had been raised in the temple since they were young like she was generally do not know what to do with such a question.” 

The fox girl visibly bristled, but was quick to hide it. “With all due respect, brother, I’m capable of answering our guests’ questions myself,” she said, before turning her attention towards Raph. “None of us have names. Those who were born and raised here weren’t given one, while those who came to the temple in their later years willingly relinquished them as a demonstration of their faith to the Dragon.” 

“Why?” Raph asked, before anxiously tacking on, “Am I allowed to ask that?” 

“To shed ourselves of our names is to shed ourselves of our connections to this world,” the fox girl said, as if reciting something dutifully, while the elder fox nodded approvingly behind her. “And to shed ourselves of our connections means to bring ourselves closer to ascending to the Dragon’s realm.” And after a brief pause, she added, “Which is why, at most, we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister’.” 

“So why exactly does Kitsune get to keep her name then?” Donnie, who had been listening in, asked. 

“Kitsune is different. The name had been bestowed upon her as part of the Dragon’s blessing,” the fox girl answered. “She is the one that has been chosen to guide us towards salvation, just as she guides the sun to shine light on our village, and prevent it from being plunged into eternal darkness.” 

“The sun?” Raph echoed, frowning. 

“Yes, you’ve noticed, haven’t you?” the elder fox chuckled. “The sun is barely visible, and yet here we are, still blessed with its light. This is all due to her.” 

Or because of the massive mirrors hidden around the top, as Leo mentioned. 

Slowly but surely, the reasons behind them were finally making themselves known.

“Okay,” Donnie said, drawing the word out with clear skepticism, having come to the same line of thought Raph was on. “But how do you know that’s because of a blessing?” 

The fox girl became silent. A chill ran down Raph’s spine, because now, it suddenly felt like the whole area surrounding them had become more silent in turn, with many invisible gazes zeroing in on the three of them. Two of which being hers and the elder fox’s. 

“Are you doubting our messenger?” The elder fox was the one to ask, words slow and suddenly carrying a subtle, frigid undertone. 

“Of course not!” Mikey broke in, his own voice still carrying its natural cheer and thankfully covering for the lapses both Donnie and Raph seemed to be going through. “Sorry. My brother’s actually super curious and interested in how everything works around here. He just has a hard time expressing that like a normal person, so his words kinda come out wrong.”

With that alone, the oppressive atmosphere seemed to have lessened, warmth seeping back in as conversation slowly bled back into the background noise. 

Raph felt he could breathe a bit easier. 

“Still, you should be mindful of your words,” a new voice spoke up. Instead of a fox like the locals, she resembled a large, bipedal jaguar, eyes sharp and narrowed with judgment and disdain. “To question and put doubt on the legitimacy of the messenger, means to question and put doubt on our own faith. It is an insult to the Dragon and to us, who have been nothing but sincere to you as per our teachings.” 

“It’s fine, sister, brother,” the fox girl said in a way that was strangely similar to how Raph spoke when trying to defuse an argument. “You’re confusing simple curiosity with doubt. And while unconditional faith is the way of the Dragon, so is educating those ignorant to our beliefs and practices with neither judgment nor prejudice. Or have you all forgotten that?”

The jaguar faltered, eyes softening. “Of course not,” she said, and then proceeded to slightly bow towards Raph and his brothers. “My apologies. It seems there is much more I must reflect on.” 

“And I as well,” the elder fox chimed in.

“I-It’s fine?” Raph said with uncertainty. “We’re sorry if we said anything that might’ve offended you guys.” 

When a second passed without a certain brother adding onto his prompted response, he elbowed Donnie.

“Yes, definitely,” Donnie said mechanically, finally realizing his cue. “I’m sorry for questioning your ways...even if—”

Raph elbowed him harder. As did Mikey.

“There is no harm done,” the fox girl said before anyone else could. It was only due to her shoulders relaxing that Raph realized they’d been tense to begin with. “And to answer your question, it is because a ritual is done by Kitsune every day without fail. And it is only when it’s done by her that the light comes.” 

“Only—”

“Only her,” the fox girl said, cutting Donnie’s question off before it could even begin. 

“None of us would dare lead a ritual we had not been chosen for,” the jaguar said. “We will not go against the Dragon’s will.” 

Donnie, while still skeptical and clearly wanting to do some more prodding, stayed silent. 

And Raph, despite his own curiosities and suspicions, couldn’t help but feel relieved.

“You’ve unfortunately already missed the ritual for today,” another fox— one resembling a red fox this time— said, confirming that he’d been listening in this whole time. “But considering you will be here for a while, you are free to observe the ritual when it is performed again tomorrow. Maybe then you will be convinced!” 

“That’d be great!” Mikey exclaimed, causing the red fox to beam. 

“But that will be for tomorrow,” the fox girl said, as she began to collect some of the empty dishes around them. “For now, the banquet is ending soon. And Kitsune will be returning shortly to resume your tour.”

True to the fox girl’s words, Kitsune returned the moment everyone’s plates had been retrieved, immediately escorting the three of them out of the banquet hall to resume their tour. 

In truth, Raph couldn’t bring himself to relax. Some other members of the Pantheon have apparently decided to tag along, sticking just close enough that it was on the verge of invading Raph’s personal space. 

Seeing how antsy Donnie was, it was already past that point for him. 

Raph subtly drew closer to his brothers, hoping his larger size would cause the temple members to give both Donnie and Mikey a wider berth. 

Kitsune’s own explanations became a low drone in the back of Raph’s head. He barely picked up anything, aside from the occasional moments where she enthusiastically answered Mikey and Donnie’s questions about the intricate, carved dragon-themed architecture. Even if she interspersed those explanations with how creative, smart, and strong they all were.

Instead, he pretended to be engrossed in his surroundings, if only to escape the stares the members directed their way every time Kitsune spoke, anticipatory yet empty. 

“Do you have any questions so far?” Kitsune asked, for once drawing Raph’s attention completely to her. 

“Honestly,” Raph said carefully, “I was really hoping we could go to the main temple now. It’s got something for everyone, and we really wanted to see it before we have to leave.”

“But surely your vacation isn’t that short?” One of the members said. “You just got here. And you can at least stay to watch the sun ritual tomorrow like promised.”

“Yeah, well, the whole ‘surface being covered in deadly gas’ thing is a bit worrying.”

“Why is it worrying?” The same member questioned. “It is all merely a trial created by the Dragon in order to separate those who are worthy from those who are not. His will then protects us, the worthy, and in return, we serve him and his messenger, Kitsune, loyally. It is only those that forgo their purpose and defy the Dragon who’d have anything to worry about.”

“And the Dragon would find no issue with curious visitors such as yourselves,” Kitsune said lightly, “And if the Dragon would have no issue with you, we will have no issue with you. His will is our own. You have nothing to fear, and there is much more to be seen from both the temple and this village. It isn’t truly a holiday experience if you haven’t experienced everything we have to offer.”

“Oh yes!” Someone clasped their hands around Mikey’s. “You were the one who was particularly interested in the arts and architecture, were you not? There are still some places in the temple that you absolutely must see. My favorite has all the walls and ceilings completely covered in the most beautiful and intricate mosaics that shimmer wonderfully in the light. You could stare at them for ages!” 

“Um,” Mikey said, “maybe n—”

“And you both were the ones who were curious about our lives at the temple.” Another one approached Donnie and Raph. “While it may not be the sun ritual, there are still various other practices you may observe for today. Those who have more recently found home and purpose here will be attending a meditation session soon. It isn’t uncommon for visitors like you to join them.” 

Donnie stepped back from the member’s reaching hand, his own grabbing onto Raph’s arm instinctively. “Yeah, we’re really not in the mood for meditation—“

“But would it truly be that difficult to try?” A different voice interjected, sounding regretful and hurt. “You seem to enjoy our hospitality so far! I’m sure you will like this too. You may even consider it your repayment if you feel too burdened.” 

“That’s—”

“Raph? Donnie?” Mikey suddenly called out, causing them both to whirl around and see Mikey slowly being ushered away by a group of enthusiastic Pantheon members. His eyes were locked onto them, alarmed and pleading. 

Raph’s own alarm shot through the roof. “Mikey!” he called out, his voice almost drowned out compared to his panicked heart and the increasing murmurings of the Pantheon. Now gripping onto Donnie’s arm, he tried to maneuver through the crowd, desperate to close the distance. 

But instead, it felt like they were all caught up in a strong current, the distance increasing rather than growing shorter. 

Until, suddenly, Raph could see a blur of glowing blue light shoot up from the ground, coming in between Mikey and some of the members, startling them enough that they stumbled back. 

The realization of the new presence quickly spread, with some gasping in awe as they stared at Leo hovering protectively in front of Mikey, arms slightly spread out like a shield as he glared at them. 

Kitsune cleared her throat. The members closest to Leo dropped to their knees and bowed— an action that swept throughout the rest like a perfectly choreographed wave. 

And when they were finished, only Mikey, Leo, Donnie, Raph and Kitsune remained standing.

“My light, what are you doing so far from the safety of the Dragon’s den?” Kitsune asked, fixing her full attention on Leo.

Leo grimaced under her gaze, but he refused to move away from Mikey. 

Raph broke their stalemate by stepping between them.

“He’s with us,” Raph said firmly. “Leo’s our brother. And while we thank you for keeping him safe, we are here to bring him home.”

“Oh,” Kitsune said, her voice so sweet it could attract ants. “You should have told me. We could have saved so much time. Come, follow me.”

Kitsune briskly walked past them, the ribbons of her mask seeming to flow in a non-existent breeze, bells chiming with every step. 

All four of them shared a hesitant glance, but followed nonetheless, as she walked further down the narrow and winding passages of the temple.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Leo pushed himself through Raph, and with small contained signs, asked, “Are you sure about this?”

“I know you don’t trust her,” Raph whispered back, “but isn’t that all the more reason to get your shard and get out?”

“Yeah, but my shard is inside the temple,” Leo said with quick, jerky motions.

“And?” Raph asked. “We’re still in the temple.”

Leo looked around, both eyes opened wide in concern, “No we’re not.”

“I know the halls are a little narrower than—”

“We’re outside!”

Raph stopped dead in his tracks. 

Kitsune continued on her brisk pace, but both Donnie and Mikey stopped when they hit Raph’s outstretched hand.

Kitsune smiled, and the walls dissolved around them like smoke.

They were standing on a narrow ledge, caught between a sheer cliff face and a massive drop. The only way on or off the ledge was to walk over one of two narrow metal bridges. Bridges that were already withdrawn by Kitsune’s followers.

“An illusion...?” Raph could hear Donnie mutter, but didn’t give a response himself. 

Instead, he fixed a glare at Kitsune.

“Give me my light’s artifact,” she called to them.

“No way, Sus ,” Mikey yelled back.

Kitsune stared at him for a moment, almost bewildered, before regaining her composure. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll ask again tomorrow. Enjoy your night on the mountain and be careful not to slip.”

She turned and walked briskly down the mountain path, her form quickly obscured by its sharp turns.

Raph watched the area she had disappeared from for several long minutes. His hand hovered over the Jupiter Jim emergency beacon. He didn’t want to admit that he already failed his first major space mission, but he wanted his brothers left exposed on the mountain ridge even less.

Raph looked toward Donnie. Donnie backed away from the ledge, a light returning to his battle shell.

“There’s no ledges or tunnels below us,” Donnie said. “At least, not at a survivable distance.”

“Nothing up either,” Mikey said before holding the hilt above his head and standing on his tiptoes, “unless you see something, Leo?”

Leo gave Mikey a salute and flew upwards. But all Raph could see was the sheer cliff face. 

Each moment he hesitated was another moment that his brothers would be in danger. So Raph didn’t hesitate. He pressed the alert.

Now all he had to do was keep his brothers safe until Jim could reach them, which could be a while, considering how small the landing site was, and if he had to land farther away and walk to them— 

“Hey Raph,” Mikey called, “can I get a boost?”

Raph blinked, but still walked over to his brother. Mikey quickly clambered up his shell, and took a flying leap.

Raph’s heart stopped. If Mikey hit the cliff and bounced, he wouldn’t be able to— 

But Mikey didn’t. He disappeared, seemingly into the cliff itself. It was a tense beat before his head reappeared.

“There’s definitely a path up here. It’s a little tight, but I think we can all fit.”  

“Good work, Mikey,” Raph called.

He didn’t mention the activated beacon. It would give Jim constant updates on their location, so if they could get somewhere a bit safer, it wouldn’t hide them from rescue. 

And if they could get out and get Leo’s shard, then maybe his first mission in space wouldn’t be a complete failure.

Mikey activated his ninpo and extended his nunchucks. Donnie grabbed one and Raph grabbed the other. 

Mikey pulled them both up with ease. The gravity manipulation granted by his powers greatly aided his own strength. 

They landed on a ledge even smaller than the one Kitsune had abandoned them on. But this ledge had a narrow opening that led them behind the cliff face and onto an old worn switchback trail.

Donnie took point, Mikey walked in the middle, and Raph guarded their rear. He appreciated that each of his brothers expanded their arms as they made their way through particularly narrow turns or rubble filled sections.

The last thing Raph needed was to get stuck here. That would complicate everything.

But even with the additional caution, they made good time. That was, until Donatello stopped short.

“What is it?” Raph called.

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Donnie called back.

“What’s the good news?” Mikey asked quickly.

“I see the temple where Leo’s shard is being kept.”

“Let me guess the bad news,” Raph said slowly, “Kitsune sees you as well.”

“No,” Donnie said. “But the bridge between us and the temple looks like a major safety hazard.”

Donnie stepped aside and all of them approached the bridge. It was made of wood and rope alone, and the wind that rushed through the opening between them and the temple buffeted the bridge relentlessly. 

Mikey poked at one of the large anchored ropes. “Do you think it’ll hold us?”

Donnie looked over Mikey’s shoulder. “Theoretically. But that depends on the state of the rope itself. If I had brought my other battle shells for our space adventure, I could fly out and inspect it. But I didn’t, and—”

Leo raised his hand before asking, “What do I need to look for?”

“It would probably be better if you could actually feel them, but,” Donne looked back at the path they had just come from, “we’ll make do. You want to look for any sections where the rope is stiffer or more sharply bent than the rest. Any areas where the rope is fuzzy or has less thickness. Also if the rope is cleaner or dirtier in one spot.”

Concentration was etched on Leo’s face throughout the entire explanation. And when Donnie finished talking, he nodded sharply before flying out to the bridge. 

Leo was meticulous, examining every inch of a section before flashing them a thumbs up and moving to the next section.

It was slow going, at least until Leo got past the middle of the bridge and ran into the edge of his limit. 

Mikey walked towards the bridge, but before he could take a step onto it, Leo’s blue form rushed in front of him.

Despite Leo not being able to physically impede any of them, Mikey refused to walk through his brother.

“I can do this,” Mikey argued. “I’m the lightest, and you need to inspect the rest of the bridge.” 

“You’re also our best safety line,” Leo countered, nodding towards Mikey’s nunchucks.

“That could still lead to a significant impact,” Donnie said.

“That’s why Raph’s clone will walk the bridge with my hilt,” Leo responded, looking towards Raph. “If you’re alright with that?”

Raph nodded and activated his ninpo, generating a second identical copy of himself.

It only took a moment to form the clone, but Mikey and Donnie didn’t approach him. After several long minutes, he walked to them to see what the problem was.

Leo’s katana was broken extremely close to the hilt, and the chains of Mikey’s nunchucks were thick. No matter how they looped the chain over the hilt, it kept slipping out.

If they were to do Leo’s plan, they’d have to rely on Raph’s clone to hold onto the hilt after the fall. But Raph knew the limits of his clones, and he wasn’t confident that one could take the level of impact from a fall without his energy losing form.

So as the older brother, Raph decided to modify Leo’s plan. His clone would stay and he would go, carrying Leo’s hilt, so if the bridge failed, he wouldn’t lose Leo again.

Not that any of his brothers would be ok with him taking that risk, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. So Raph closed his eyes and slid into the awareness of his clone.

He couldn’t directly control its actions, but he could see through its eyes, hear through its ears, and give it simple commands. 

So Raph commanded the clone to speak.

“Wrap the chain around my clone. It’ll hold onto the hilt,” it said.

Raph gripped Leo’s hilt so tightly that he felt the wrappings bite into the flesh of his palm. But he held his face impassive as Mikey wound one side of his nunchuck over his hand and around his body.

“I’ll try to slow down the fall as much as possible,” Mikey said. “Just make sure to hang onto the hilt.”

Raph nodded. He gave his clone one last order, ‘ protect his brothers’, before he stepped onto the bridge.

It creaked and sagged under his weight, but Raph kept moving forward. He cautiously placed one foot in front of the other, his free hand gripping the rope railings, and the other holding the hilt tightly to his chest. He also remained hyper aware of his spikes. One wrong move could render Leo’s inspection moot and collapse the entire thing.

Raph kept walking until he saw Leo’s blue hand in front of his face.

“Go back,” Leo said. 

“Is it unsafe?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ve switched to the shard in the temple.” 

“Right, your hilt will be safer that—”

“You will be safer that way,” Leo said firmly.

“My clones don’t feel any of the damage they take,” Raph answered. “I can stay with you.”

Leo looked at Raph, eyeridge raised. 

“Your clones also don’t know how to argue with me,” Leo countered. “Get back to safety, Raph, I got this.”

Raph hesitated for a second, but Leo didn’t move back to his inspection until Raph started taking small careful steps backwards.

It was slow going, and he didn’t risk turning around and cutting the ropes with his spikes. But each step backwards decreased how far he’d fall if the bridge gave. Each step backwards would make it easier to keep Leo’s hilt in his grasp.

He was almost back to solid ground when he saw Leo give his final thumbs up and wave them all across.

Raph shifted awareness to his clone. He told the clone to tell his brothers that he would go across first, then he could anchor Mikey’s nunchucks as a safety line for them. 

The clone dutifully repeated his order.

But his brother’s nods of agreement were cut off by looks of horror.

Raph shifted his awareness back to his own body. 

For a split second, he saw Leo, pressed against his limit, eyes wide in fear, before whatever force that tethered him to the shard pulled him through the walls of the temple. 

Raph instantly dissipated his clone, using its ninpo so that he could run faster across the bridge, but who or whatever had taken Leo in the temple was faster. Or at least had more stable footing.

The hilt never reached the edge of Leo’s range.

Raph paused at the end of the bridge. He reformed his clone, handed it the end of Mikey’s nunchuck, and commanded it to act as a safety line for his brothers. 

The clone wrapped the end of the nunchuck around itself and wedged both hands and feet against the ground.

Raph spared a glance to Mikey beginning his trip across the rope bridge before turning his attention to the temple.

Raph turned a small temple window into a large and ragged door. 

From the point that he entered, the temple extended in only one direction. He raced forward. Nothing would stop him from reaching his brother.

Nothing except the mass of white robed bodies racing towards him. The movement and the sameness of their garments made Raph unable to tell exactly how many there were.

One on one, he knew he could take any of them. But this outnumbered— 

Raph slammed his sais together and formed three more clones. He ordered each of them to fight, non lethally, by his side, with a goal of clearing him a path. 

He had to reach his brother.

But the Pantheon had other ideas. 

They shouted and cursed, and lunged forward with desperate hands. Their bodies blocked Raph while their voices made it hard to focus on anything except their words:

“Protect our light.”  

Raph’s clones formed a tight triangle around him. Together, they pushed into the mass of white robes like a wedge. 

And they made progress. Inch by hard won inch. Until one of the sisters drove her clawed hand into a clone, dispersing it in a flash of red light.

The other two clones met the same fate shortly after. And Raph found himself crushed between the brothers and sisters of the Pantheon and the intricately carved wall of the hall.

He didn’t have room to move, or think, or even breath.

At least not until the Pantheon members closest to him were yanked away by a chain of orange light, and a rocket constructed of purple light kept the others from filling their place.

Raph fell back to stand beside Mikey and Donnie.  

Donnies eyes were narrowed into a scowl, and Raph could see angry flame-like energy wreathing Mikey.

The Pantheon would not stand a chance against the three of them.

“Enough!” a voice cut through. And like a flick of a switch, the fighting stopped as all the white robes stood up straight, the crowd parting down the middle until they created a path to none other than Kitsune herself. 

All three of them tensed, preparing to charge, but they stopped in their tracks when Kitsune said:

“I wouldn’t, if I were you.” 

Suddenly, there was a faint, distant sound of bells in the wind, and the walls of the temple and the white robes were gone. In their place, was a snow covered cliff, with Kitsune standing at the edge of it. To her right, appeared the jaguar lady they met before, her fur and robes blowing in the same sharp wind that spun shards of ice and snow through the air as she held the shard over the cliff.

Leo floated beside her, his eyes darting over the landscape, but never once meeting his brothers’ worried looks.

Neither did the jaguar’s, for that matter.

“Stand down,” Kitsune ordered.

“This isn’t real,” Donnie growled. 

“Yeah!” Mikey agreed. “You used that illusion stuff to trick us once already! How do we know you’re not doing it again?” 

“Are you willing to test that theory?” Kitsune asked loftily. She raised a hand, and the jaguar tensed, eyes flicking to something beyond them. Leo’s position mirrored the shard’s as it shook in her grasp, clearly on the cusp of being dropped. “Will you bear responsibility when you find out you were wrong?” 

All three of them hesitated. 

“I will not ask again,” Kitsune said. “Stand down.”

Raph raised both hands. Mikey and Donnie dissipated their ninpo weapons.

As Kitsune continued to talk, Raph shifted his attention. 

His clone was still at the edge of the cliff where he had left it. Its hands and feet were still wedged against the ground. Even though Mikey’s nunchuck had been removed, it was still acting as an anchor just in case his brothers needed it.

Raph gave it a new mission. Find Leo .

The clone stood. It ran towards the hole that Raph had made in the wall.

No, Raph corrected, take the roof.

The clone obeyed. It leapt onto the temple roof and ran along it, keeping its body low. 

Raph watched as the ground below the temple fell away into a deep chasm, and then reappeared. First as a narrow sliver of land, and then expanding into jutting snow covered cliffs. And at the edge of one of the cliffs, stood the jaguar and Leo, just like how Kitsune showed them. 

Hold , Raph ordered.

The clone froze.

Sneak up on her. Raph ordered. Take the shard out of her hand.

The clone moved forward slowly. Its body was as low as it could go, its footsteps as light as it could make it.

He could only hope it was enough. The stark white, empty cliff did not provide a lot of cover for a large green turtle.

“Tell me about this ninpo,” Kitsune ordered, the words alone enough to bring some of his attention back to what was happening in front of him.

Raph felt his stomach sink, briefly wondering just when in the conversation she learned about ninpo, of all things. 

But he mentally shook those questions away, focusing back on the clone and only leaving enough awareness that the fact Donnie was talking just barely registered. 

He could deal with that later. It wasn’t important right now. Not as much as this. 

Catch Leo’s eye and nod, Raph ordered.

His clone obeyed. And Raph could see the relief that overtook his brother. 

Raph was so close. A dozen feet from Leo, two dozen from his shard. All he had to do was—

“Then I guess I won’t need this anymore,” Kitsune said.

From the corner of Raph’s eye, there was a sudden flicker of light shining from a window. Along with Kitsune’s words, that was all the warning he received before Leo’s shard fell from the jaguar’s grasp.

Leo flung himself forward, fighting against the movement of his shard.

Catch him!

His clone moved. Legs pounding and its hand shooting out.

Leo returned the gesture.

His fingers met the clone’s hand.

His fingers passed through the clones’ hand.

Leo!

But his brother was already out of reach, his fingers disappearing into the cliff as the shard dragged him downward.

Raph’s clone ran after him. Leaping, without regard for its own safety, over the edge of the cliff.

Below him, Raph could see Leo, eyes wide, his face frozen in horror. 

It was the same expression he wore as he plummeted from the top of the Nexus hotel.

Raph caught him then. 

He had to catch him now. 

He had to save his little brother.

He had to.

But Leo spun away from him when his shard bounced off a sharp rock jutting from the side of the cliff.

Raph’s clone body hit that same rock.

But Raph’s clone did not bounce.

.

.

.

There was the sound of bells again, distant and echoing. 

It was a gentle sound, but with a tempo that had no rhyme or reason, the chiming random and discordant in some places, as if a strong breeze had swept past a whole array of them. 

But despite it all, it was strangely...soothing.

...

But...no. 

That wasn’t— this shouldn’t be what he focused on.

There was something wrong. Something very, very wrong. 

“...aph...!”

He— He needed to...

“Raph! Let go!”

What was he...?

“Raph!” 

Raph startled, blinking rapidly, one hand still gripping tightly onto the sword’s hilt. But there was something in the other. 

“Raph! This really isn’t the time to be spacing out!” Donnie’s voice snapped, and it was only then that Raph realized his brother was right in his face, Donnie’s arm gripped tightly in his hand. “We have to get to the mystic neutralizing device and disable it!” 

Raph faltered, confused, until his lungs choked as a wave of deja vu sent him reeling. 

He knew that line.

He looked down towards the hilt, the fear of not finding what he hoped for succumbing to the need to know . 

In the end, it was worth it, as he saw Leo’s katana, solid and whole, without the slightest crack tearing through the metal. 

It couldn’t be. There was no way...

“Raph, come on!” Mikey urged, gripping onto his arm. “I don’t think the cops are going to wait any longer!” 

Raph’s attention then went back to what was happening in front of him, the world almost slowing down as he watched the Hidden City police converging towards them. And just like that, where and when he was, and the unfolding situation before him finally registered in his brain the same way a train’s presence would the moment it slammed into someone. 

He took in a breath, swallowing the wave of emotions and the multitudes of questions back down, and filing it away for future-Raph to take care of, because he couldn’t afford to at the moment. Not with everything in the present (past?) moving as fast as it was.

All he allowed himself to focus on was that he was back in the beginning of it all, before it all went horribly wrong— 

“According to my calculations, there is an 87.3% chance that that explosion was caused by the separation. If we hadn’t run, they would have arrested us again. And then pops and April would bust us out.” 

Before he messed everything up—

“But we did run, Raph. Because you said so!”

But they didn’t have to go down that route. Not this time. 

Raph slowly loosened his grip on Donnie’s arm before letting go completely, his face settling into something more resolute.

“Go,” he said to Donnie, more sure about his order than he’d ever been. “Mikey and I will hold them off. And the second we get Leo back, we make a run for it.” 

Donnie seemed much more satisfied with the plan this time, as he and Mikey gave a determined nod. And without having to say anything else, they all rushed forward with different targets in mind. 

“But that’s not what actually happened, now was it?” asked a voice Raph hadn’t heard in months.

Raph blinked, and suddenly, he was no longer in his body. 

Suddenly, he was back in the beginning, watching himself extend an arm to block— not grab, just block— Donnie from running to the neutralizing device, like Raph himself was nothing more than a single audience to a cruel film. 

“Wait,” Raph began to say, at the same time as his past self ordering Donnie to—

“ Stop.”  

Donnie glared at past-Raph before shifting his focus to the sword in his hand. “ We have to get to the mystic neutralizing device and disable it.”

“We’re outnumbered.” 

“That doesn’t matter!” Raph shouted, desperation clogging his throat as he stared straight at his past self, as if staring hard enough would make the other finally notice him, so that he would know that— “You have to let Donnie disable the device! Please! Leo—” 

“ Will reform when the device’s power wears off, ” his past self continued, ignorant to Raph’s presence, eyes solely focused on Donnie. “ According to dad, that should only be ten minutes or so.”

Raph stood there like he’d been struck, his chest and throat constricting tighter.

“He won’t,” he uttered, forcing those words out in a last, feeble attempt to keep his world from falling apart before his very eyes again. “He won’t!” he said again, louder, his voice cracking like splintering glass. “You have to listen to me!” 

His past self didn’t. His past self pushed along his brothers and made them all run away, further sealing Leo’s fate. 

“No, no no no stop!” Raph shouted, running after and grabbing onto his past self, only for his hands to phase through the other again and again, like he was nothing more than a ghost. 

A useless ghost, who watched Leo’s sword shatter for the second time, and felt something within him shatter alongside it. 

His past self continued to run away, like the stupid, cowardly, useless idiot that he was. 

“Come back!” Raph continued to yell out desperately. “You can’t leave him! You— What kind of brother are you?! ”

But even if there was anyone who could hear him, they were long gone.

Raph glanced back at the fast approaching swirl of blue and pink, before quickly falling to his knees, throwing his body over the shards in hopes of shielding them from whatever was to come. 

“Everything’s gonna be alright, Leo,” he said, eyes squeezing shut. “I’m right here, okay? And I’m not going anywhere.” 

He drew in a shuddering breath. 

“And I won’t ever leave you behind. I promise.” 

“...But you did.” 

Upon hearing that voice again, Raph’s eyes snapped open. He looked up, and found he was no longer in the outskirts of the Hidden City, but in a dark void.

And in front of him, was none other than the glowing, spectral form of— 

“Leo,” Raph said, scrambling back up to his feet, relief flooding him at the sight of his brother. “Leo, you’re here! How are you—”

But that relief was short lived, when Raph took in Leo’s expression, and found nothing but a frigid, contemptuous look that was completely foreign on a face like his. 

It felt like it was freezing Raph from the inside out. It made him feel smaller than he’d ever felt before. 

“Leo?” Raph said again, more hesitantly, and with the caution of picking up an active bomb.

Leo sighed, his expression softening in a way that felt like a lie. “Come on. There’s no way you’d forget that easily,” he drawled, slowly approaching Raph, who was frozen in his spot. “I mean, I know you’re the oldest, but your memory can’t be failing you already, right? The Hidden City? The police? That entire flashback you just went through three seconds ago?” He stared directly at Raph, gaze piercing despite his eyes still being the white voids they were. “Is that ringing any bells, Raphael?” 

Raph couldn’t speak, frozen under Leo’s scrutiny. 

But luckily, Leo seemed to have found the answer he was looking for, as he grinned in a way that was more familiar. 

“Great,” Leo said. “That’s great. Because to be honest, I need you to remember every single detail of that incident.” His grin turned into something more bitter. “Because I need you to always remember that all of it was your fault.” 

Raph recoiled, whatever spell keeping him rooted to the spot instantly shattering as he took a step back. “Leo, I—”

“Are you really going to deny it?” Leo asked, unimpressed. 

“No!” Raph said. “No, that’s not—” 

“Because I know exactly what you did,” Leo continued, steamrolling over Raph’s attempts to speak. “How you stopped Donnie from saving me? How you shattered my sword, and then left me there?” He narrowed his eyes. “You chose to run away. You ruined all of our lives.”

Leo laughed. It was empty, harsh, and mirthless.

“‘I won’t ever leave you behind. I promise’,” he mocked. “Yeah, good luck finding someone who’d actually believe that.” 

Raph was no longer looking at Leo. He couldn’t risk it anymore. The foundation within him felt too unstable. If he looked at Leo now— If he looked at the expression on his brother’s face, it could make everything inside him break down completely. 

He didn’t know why, though. This was everything he expected to happen eventually, wasn’t it?

But even then, he needed to say it.

“I’m sorry,” Raph said, voice thick with unshed tears. “I’m so, so sorry, Leo.” 

There was a pause, and then, “Sure,” Leo said noncommittally, albeit gentler. “I’m sorry too. I forgot how much of a softie you were, even if it’s about something you and I both know is the truth.”

Raph winced, feeling the sting of those words regardless.

“But there’s another thing too,” Leo said. “I don’t think I can trust you with some things anymore.” 

“What?” Raph asked, his confusion causing him to look at Leo. 

Leo only gave a tired chuckle, the harsh and cold judgment gone from his face and leaving something a little more reminiscent of the brother he always knew. “Come on. You’re supposed to be the smarter one between us,” he said. Upon being met with more silence, he only chuckled again. “The hilt, Raph.” 

Raph tensed, suddenly aware he had the hilt in his hand again. 

How did— When did it...? 

“You get why I can’t trust you to hold onto it anymore, right? Or take the lead in finding the rest of the shards too?” Leo asked.

There was a separate sound ringing in the air, bells again, but different. They sounded more present, ringing in beat with every echoing step, as Kitsune suddenly emerged from the dark, walking to stand next to Leo.

“But I’ve got some people who I can trust,” Leo continued, gesturing to her, completely ignoring the way Raph took another step back at her appearance. “People who are the reason I’m able to talk to you like this. So you don’t have to worry. We can just leave everything to them.” 

“But Leo,” Raph hesitated, gripping the hilt tighter on reflex as he glanced between Leo and Kitsune. “I don’t think you can—”

“No offense, Raph, but I don’t really want to hear who I should and shouldn’t trust from you ,” Leo cut in, distant bells ringing louder as the cold leaked back into his voice. He took a steadying breath, making his tone more even. “Either way, it’s a win-win situation, right? You won’t have to make any more choices you’ll obviously regret, and I get to go back to normal.” 

Raph stared at the hilt, hesitation still clinging to him along with the sense of everything feeling wrong . 

But the bells around them were so loud. It was making it hard to think of how to articulate that, or even remember why. 

“I promise, everything’s going to be okay,” Leo reassured, his voice somehow still crystal clear despite the cacophony around them. “You can just sit back and relax, have my new pals call the shots. And I’ll be back before you know it.” He stepped forward. “If you don’t trust that, at least trust me . You trust me, don’t you?” 

Raph did. He did, without a single question. But Raph was still Leo’s older brother. Shouldn’t he take responsibility for his mistakes? Shouldn’t he make some effort in fixing them? That was the least he could do, right?

“No,” Leo said firmly, as if reading his thoughts. “The least you could do, as my older brother, is respect my wishes.” He stepped forward, until he was right in front of Raph again. “You don’t get to be selfish about this. Do I have to remind you how that ended up last time again?”

Raph flinched, guilt and shame once again spearing through him. 

“No,” he answered in a small voice.

Leo smiled. Without another word, he stepped out of the way, once again bringing Kitsune back into Raph’s view. 

She was closer, with her hand held out, waiting. 

“You know what to do,” Leo said from somewhere outside of Raph’s vision. “Give her the hilt.”

Raph swallowed. 

“Okay,” he finally breathed out, reaching to put the hilt into Kitsune’s waiting hand. “Okay.” 

Two blaster shots cut between them, forcing Kitsune to leap away with a snarl and Raph to pull the hilt back as the heat and light ripped through the dark like a projectile through smoke. 

Raph could only wish that comparison was nothing but an exaggeration. 

And yet here he stood, incomprehensibly watching as the void began to ripple and swirl, wisps of pure black ebbing away from the blaster shots’ trails and taking Leo with it until everything all but dispersed, leaving Raph back in the familiar walls of the temple and surrounded once more by the Pantheon. 

Leo was gone. But Kitsune was still there, body tense and bristled in anger. She was flanked by Mikey and Donnie, both watching him with blank faces.

Two narrow beams of sunlight streamed in from charred holes in the roof. 

“What the...?” 

“Jupiter Jim ahoy!” A shout rang in the air, cutting through the rest of the disorienting haze in Raph’s head as what was clearly the Crushasauraus mech crashed through the roof and landed before him, the impact kicking up a small cloud of debris. 

Kitsune was pulled away from the impact by his brothers. From behind her mask, her eyes narrowed in a hateful glare at the mech, and it’s pilot, Jupiter Jim.

“What are you doing here?” Raph sputtered, watching as Jupiter Jim whacked away a few charging cultists with a wave of his hand. 

“What else, Red Fox Two? Saving the day!” Jupiter Jim answered valiantly, turning towards Raph. “But more importantly, to get you and the artifact out of here!”

“Right,” Raph said, “come on, Mad Dogs, time for a tactical retreat.”

Raph held out his hand to his brothers. But neither took the offer. 

Mikey took Kitsune’s arm, and pulled her back into a standing position. 

It was then Raph noticed the chink in the top right corner of Kitsune’s mask, likely made during Jim’s destructive entrance.

But what he hadn’t expected were the flickers of blue flame coming from the cracks, dancing and surging near the top of her head in a way that was unsettlingly controlled, as if the fire was sculpting itself into the vague shape of something elongated and curved like a horn. 

Kitsune put a hand over the chink, smothering the flames, but the teeth she bared at him were still impossibly sharper than before.

And that was the last thing Raph could observe before Donnie took his bo, and enhanced it with a glowing purple rocket before swinging it at the Crushasauraus mech. 

Donnie missed the mech, only because Jupiter Jim dodged the attack.

“Guys— What—”

“Leaping light years! A classic case of brainwashing!” Jim exclaimed. “I fought something similar against the Robot-Vampires. There is nothing we can do for them now.”

“Wait, but—” Before Raph knew it, he was grabbed by one of the mech’s claws. It took a running leap through the temple wall and off the cliffside, the weightlessness and wind rushing up, causing Raph’s stomach to do flips until the mech slowed its descent upon activating its rockets. 

Suddenly, they were no longer falling, but flying up and away. Away from Kitsune and the Pantheon.

And away from his own brothers.

Chapter Text

Raph gripped the sword hilt tight enough to feel the leather embed itself into his hands.

He had to focus. He couldn’t afford to panic now.

His family needed him.

He abandoned his family. 

He left Mikey and Donnie with Kitsune, and let Leo fall, again . He let them down. And because of that— 

Raph was alone.

But that wasn’t entirely correct either.

Jupiter Jim had saved him and he still had Leo’s hilt. And Leo would be back eventually. This jump would end soon, and he’d go to a random world. Then six hours later, he would either go to Venus or come back. 

If he went to Venus, then it would be twelve hours until Raph saw him again. 

Half a day.

It could be half a day and his other brothers were— 

He couldn’t afford to wait. But— 

Raph didn’t know what to do. 

He couldn’t do this alone.

But he couldn’t wait half a day either! What if something happened to his brothers during that time? What if there was something more to the poison gas, and it had eaten through the metal of Leo’s shard?

What if Leo was truly gone because Raph once again made the mistake in thinking he could afford to leave any of the shards?

Raph let out a frustrated growl, lightly smacking his head.

His hand was right there. If Leo hadn’t been intangible, if Raph had just picked up those shards when he had the chance, he would have grabbed his brother. He would have saved Leo from going over the edge.

His hand was right there.

A hand was right there, in front of him at this very moment, blue and translucent. 

Raph sucked in a breath as recognition finally took hold.

“Leo?”

Raph rubbed his eyes hard. But when he opened them, Leo was still there, curled against his plastron, breathing so hard that his entire body shook.

Raph wrapped his arms around Leo, holding them in the air to approximate a hug. Hope and relief swelled in his chest, until it was all choked out by a cold terror.

Leo was here. 

But he had also been here before, back on that cliff. He had felt real during that time too, even with all the evidence against him, even while knowing there was no way for him to reappear before Raph again, not after Raph failed to stop him from falling into the abyss. 

Only six hours had passed since they landed on this planet.

It wasn’t even close to the twelve hours needed for Leo’s return. 

Raph shot back fast enough that his shell hit the wall hard.

Leo looked up, alarmed and confused but most of all, hurt . 

And that was more than enough to cause Raph’s guts to twist into tight pretzels. But he couldn’t get himself to move, even when Leo’s beak hesitantly shaped what was clearly Raph’s name. There was no sound coming from his brother this time. It was enough to reignite a faint glimmer of hope, but Raph kept it at bay before it could take over. 

Not yet.

The fact that this Leo was as silent as the true Leo didn't mean anything yet. 

Raph needed to make sure. He couldn’t do this again. 

“Are you real?” he finally uttered, voice ragged from forcing the words out of his throat. 

Was any of this real, now that Raph thought about it? Was he really back on Jupiter Jim’s ship? Or was all of this another, more elaborate illusion conjured by Kitsune? 

No. No, this at least had to be real. But then what about Leo? The last illusion of him had already been so vivid. It wouldn’t have been impossible. 

Leo, upon hearing the question, looked taken aback. It was clear he neither expected nor understood the question directed at him. 

“Of course I’m real,” Leo answered, his hand motions slow, though trembling, his expression still clearly distressed. 

“But how can I know that?” Raph shot back. “If you’re real, then how are you even here?”

It hadn’t been long enough. Leo should be on another planet right now. But if Raph elaborated and he wasn’t Leo... Kitsune didn’t need any more information about Leo and his shards. 

Leo blinked. He began to sign something, but stopped.

After a while, all he could do was shrug, the motion slow and helpless, before he panicked at whatever expression was on Raph’s face. “Wait! No!” he frantically added. “Just let me think! This is all new to me too.”

He became silent again, slipping into a thinking pose with his fist pressed against his beak and the finger of his other hand tapping against his elbow. His plastron rose up and down as he took deep breaths, like he was also trying to compose himself.

“ I think...” he eventually began to say, “maybe it was because I wasn’t really attached to the hilt? I mean, I was , but I guess when I connected to the other shard, I tricked my sword into thinking I spent all six hours at the other shard, so it just took me back to the hilt when time was up.”

“And you can just…do that?” Raph asked, sitting up straighter.

Leo shrugged, uncertain. “If the shard’s far away enough, maybe. It’s still a theory in progress.” 

It was definitely some theory— one that would be monumental if it was true.

But the thing was, ‘if’ was too much of a loaded keyword.

“That doesn’t look like your convinced face,” Leo pointed out, his distraught gaze causing Raph to tense, shame welling within. “Why are you not showing your convinced face?”

Raph swallowed. “I want it to be enough. I really do. But anyone could come up with that kind of explanation. Even some illusion Kitsune made up,” he admitted quietly. 

“But Kitsune wouldn’t know the things we know to even make up something like that,” Leo countered. 

“And neither would the Leo from last time, especially if it was her pulling the strings,” Raph blurted out, fists clenching tighter as he glared at the floor. “But he did. And I just— it’s still not enough. I’m sorry.” 

There was silence— not that this Leo would have the abilities to fill it. But eventually, there was a hand waving in front of his eyes, guiding his hesitant gaze back to Leo’s face. 

To Raph’s surprise, instead of anger or contempt, all he saw from the other was determination.

“Walk me through what happened,” Leo said. “Pretend, for a few seconds, that you know I’m the real deal, and I don’t know anything. What did Kitsune do to you?”

Raph paused for a moment, thinking over Leo’s words. “She...has some weird power,” he admitted, figuring that doing this much wouldn’t cause that much harm.

“Illusions, right?” Leo guessed. 

“Yeah,” Raph said. “But it’s not just that. It’s like...she showed us things that would manipulate how we think. Maybe even take control of how we acted in general. Jupiter Jim mentioned it was brainwashing. It’s what happened to Donnie and Mikey. It would’ve happened to me if Jupiter Jim hadn’t arrived when he did.” 

Raph balled his hands into fists, the heat of shame and guilt once again rising into a simmer. 

He should’ve done more. He should’ve at least grabbed them. He should’ve been faster, smarter, a better leader. He should’ve been everything he wasn’t at this current moment. 

“ I left them behind,” he confessed. Just like how I keep leaving you behind , he couldn’t seem to bring himself to say. 

Leo’s hands had copied Raph’s, fingers curled into tight fists. His beak was pressed into a thin line, but it was hard to tell just what was going through his mind aside from a vague sense of worry. 

“Okay,” Leo eventually signed, in the same way as he would’ve vocally said it, when there was so much more that could be said, but not enough means to put it into words yet. His beak moved as he muttered something out loud, but Raph wasn’t sure what. 

All the while, Leo’s eye ridges were furrowed, the gears clearly turning in his head. 

“Tell me about the whole illusion-brainwashing thing,” he said. “What happened to you?”

Raph stiffened, ice spreading through his veins at the question. 

He should tell Leo. It was only right. After all, it was the incident that started this whole thing— the first moment where Raph messed up and ruined all of their lives, just like the Leo back then had said. 

So what if this Leo got mad? So what if he said the same things the other Leo did once he realized what had truly happened? Raph would deserve it just like he did the first time around. 

But before he could spiral any further, Leo suddenly swiped his hands through the air, the way he usually did when he was taking back what he said. 

“Rephrasing. You don’t need to tell me what you saw. Just tell me how it all felt. Is there anything different compared to now?” Leo asked. 

The sigh of relief Raph withheld burned in his lungs, his cowardice known just from its very existence. 

“ In hindsight, a lot,” Raph answered. “I think it’s kind of like that thing where you don’t realize you’re dreaming until you wake up. I feel like a part of me did know, but it’s just— there was so much going on, and it was so hard to think clearly because these stupid bells just kept...ringing...” 

Raph fell silent, eyes widening at the same time as Leo’s.

Oh.

Oh.

“ There were bells,” Raph said again, more to himself than to Leo as he sifted through his memories. “Every time she did her weird mind thing, there were bells .” 

He was an idiot.

As Raph thought this, Leo raised his hands, cupping them next to his ears as he closed his eyes and made a show of listening. 

Witnessing it only seemed to highlight the sheer absence of that sound, the silence laying heavy despite the low hum of machinery within the ship. 

Leo opened his eyes and shrugged, shaking his head.

“I don’t hear them either,” Raph agreed.

“No bells.”

“No bells.” 

Leo gestured vaguely to himself and the space around him, a prompting and hopeful look on his face. 

“Which means you’re real,” Raph breathed out, tension unwinding from his very being. “This is all real.” It had to be.

Leo nodded his head vigorously.

“Oh my gosh, Leo, I’m so sorry,” Raph groaned. 

This time his brother shook his head, waving dismissively at the apology. 

“I’d be paranoid too if someone messed with my head.” Leo’s face suddenly settled into a firmer expression, one that sent another shot of cold through Raph’s heart. “But now that you know I’m the real deal, you can trust me when I say you’re apologizing for the wrong thing.”

Now Raph was certain that very same cold had spread from his heart to his throat, coalescing into a large chunk of ice. 

The other shoe was finally dropping. Just not in the way Raph had been expecting. Even if it was reality, Raph should’ve known things were going too well. His mistakes and actions thus far weren't just going to stay within his shadow. 

This was only fair. It was only fair.

“I’m sorry,” Raph whispered. “For everything. For what happened back then, and for leaving you behind again at that ravine.” 

Leo’s firm look of disapproval cracked for a moment, confusion seeping through. But Raph was in no place to notice.

“ I know nothing I say will ever make up for what I did, but I promise it won’t happen again. I promise , Leo. I won’t ever leave you behind a—”

The lower edge of his vision was filled with blue light. 

While Leo’s hand was incapable of silencing him by covering his beak, Raph’s own shock was enough to do the job for him.

Once it had been achieved, Leo went ahead and flicked Raph’s forehead.

“You’re missing the point again, big guy,” he said, his hands trembling enough that he had to wait a minute before continuing. “Don’t apologize for leaving me behind. Never, ever apologize for that. It was exactly what I wanted you to do.” 

Raph gaped at him, trying to process if he was seeing that right. “What?” 

“Leave me behind,” Leo reiterated, his hand motions forceful but firm. “Don’t do stupid things like jumping after me. It’s not worth it!”

“Not worth it?!” Raph echoed incredulously, with a hint of indignation. “Leo, you—”

“ I can’t get hurt!” Leo interrupted, the harsh ferocity of his signs being enough for him to do so. In the instant afterwards, it was like watching a roaring flame suddenly get snuffed out, as Leo visibly deflated. “I can’t get hurt,” he said again, more subdued, the look on his face now familiar in a way Raph couldn’t figure out yet. “I’m practically a ghost . But you— you’re solid. And you’re not invincible. And I— when you jumped after me, I—”

Leo’s hands were balled into fists as he curled forward. Raph scooted closer to him.

“ I thought you died ,” Leo said, movements so small that if Raph hadn’t been paying close attention, he wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

The lump was back in Raph’s throat, but for a different reason.

“I’m fine, Leo. It was a clone. I’m fine.”

Leo pulled close to Raph. 

“I know. Just don’t do it again. Your life isn’t worth one of my shards. Raph, promise me, please.” 

It was then Raph finally remembered just why that expression on Leo’s face looked familiar. He was almost shocked he didn’t figure it out sooner, given how it was etched into his memory. 

It was the same expression Leo made as they plummeted off the Nexus hotel. The same expression he made as they fell off the cliff.

“I can’t do that, Leo. If it would bring you back, then I have to—”

“No.”

“Leo.”

“Again. Do not throw yourself off of mountains or anything else to save me.” Each sign was slow and deliberate. “That’s not your responsibility.”

Raph crossed his arms. “It is. I’m the big brother. I already let you down once—”

“But you didn’t!” Leo insisted. “When did I ever say you let me down?!”

Raph opened and closed his mouth, unable to comprehend what was being said. 

“You didn’t. But— The Hidden City,” Raph said. As if those two words were a trigger, everything was finally coming out in a rush. “I— I broke your sword when I pulled it away from the mystic containment, and then I ran. I made the choice to leave your shards behind! I—”

Another frantic wave of blue light caused him to stop.

“Good. Thank you,” Leo said firmly.

“What?”

“I’m glad you ran. What I said before covers this too.”

Raph felt his heart drop. Words failed him once more. Even if Leo wasn’t mad at him for what happened at the mountain, he was supposed to be mad at him for this . He had every right to be. And Raph knew he had to prepare himself for that. He almost was , even if it had taken more time than it should’ve. 

But Leo’s acceptance that he should be left behind— that Raph was right to abandon him, even then? Even after all the trouble that decision caused him afterwards?

That hurt worse.

Leo lowered himself so that Raph could see him. When he signed again, each one was slow and deliberate. 

“If you hadn’t run...What I did would have— When I first got back home, I thought it did...”

“Did what?”

“Killed you. Killed all of you. If you hadn’t run, I really would be alone. And it would’ve been all my fault.”

Raph looked at him firmly. “Leo, this is not your fault.”

“It is.”

“ It isn’t. I was there .”

“But you didn’t see what I saw,” Leo said slowly. “And you never asked.”

Raph flinched.

Leo’s next words were frantic. “And I didn’t want to talk about it. I still don’t. But I can’t keep letting you believe everything that happened there was your fault. Not my sword breaking, not the explosion, and not everything that happened after that.” His plastron shifted as he heaved in a breath, his eyes filled with sorrow. “That was all on me. Not you. Never you.”

Leo reached out and pressed his hand against Raph’s face. Even though he couldn’t feel a thing, Raph leaned into it.

“So what happened?” Raph asked.

“It’s a lot to explain. I don’t know if words are enough.” Leo’s gaze turned to the screens at the far end of the room. “But I do have an idea.”

Raph followed Leo’s gaze. He only stumbled once in his haste to get to the screen, turn it on, and start up Donnie’s program.

Leo waited, looking closely at his hands, as the white canvas and color and brush selection loaded.

“You remember the fight, right?” Leo asked, hands moving slowly.

“Yeah,” Raph answered in a low voice. “I remember.”

Leo turned back to the white board and started drawing. His drawing was not centered at all. A purple rectangle, orange circle, and red square with a blue sword were squished on the right side of the board along with a mass of stick figures with ‘HCPD’ scrawled over them. 

Leo turned back to Raph. “Am I missing anything?”

“The explosion.”

Leo shook his head. “Before the explosion.”

“The weapons that the Hidden City PD used. They had that orb—”

“Anything big?” Leo amended.

Raph shook his head.

“I was there too,” Leo said.

He drew a blue triangle with a blue sword. He then switched from brush to eraser and made several swipes across both images. 

“ Apparently, teleporting never accounted for mystic neutralizing stuff. So being caught like that made everything weird. It’s like I was stuck in between…” Leo frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out what word to use. “Spaces,” he settled with, even though the word choice clearly didn’t satisfy him. Nevertheless, he continued. “You couldn’t see me, but I could see you. I could see everything .”

“Everything?” Raph asked, his eyes drawn to the half of the white board that Leo had left blank. “What else was there?”

Leo didn’t answer. His eyes had become distant at some point, like he was staring at something a thousand miles away, seeing things Raph could never fathom.

“Leo?”

Leo blinked, present once again. He took a moment to process what had been asked and hesitated, before switching colors to a neon pink. 

He first drew a jagged lined oval. Then he filled the oval with pink things. They had rounded heads with eyes and mouths, but underneath was only a series of ‘u’s like multiple nubby tentacles.

He then switched to a deep gray, and behind the pink things, he drew connected squares and rectangles.

“What are those? Squids with moving boxes?”

Leo shook his head hard. He abandoned attempting to add more to the drawing and instead labeled the gray sections ‘robots + weapons.’ And the pink sections he labeled ‘Kraang’.

“Kraang?” Raph asked, “Who are they?”

“Invaders,” Leo signed slowly. “And the oni from Gram-Gram’s story.”

“Are you sure?”

Leo nodded firmly, and then pointed at the pink oval. “This was the weird energy Donnie found. A portal being opened for their invasion force. Their massive invasion force.”

Raph’s eyes widened. “Then we have to get home! We have to protect—”

Leo shook his head furiously. “It’s fine. They’re not really a threat to Earth anymore.”

Raph faltered. “What?”

“ Nobody was supposed to see what they were trying to do,” Leo answered, his face anxious. “I don’t know how they were pulling it off— maybe it’s some weird cloaking stuff— but somehow, while I was like that, I could see them…and it felt like they could see me . And I felt like I got caught walking in on something shady, but I couldn’t just leave it alone either, so I...”

Leo’s hands stopped, and instead, went to unsheathe his sword, revealing nothing but a hilt and three shards floating along the nonexistent blade. 

With a beak pressed into a grim line, Leo looked back at Raph, and then back at the board, before proceeding to throw the sword at it.

It phased right through the middle of the drawn ‘portal’ and reappeared inside its sheath. Leo only stared back at Raph, waiting. 

“You threw your other sword at the alien portal?” Raph summed up in alarm, unable to even process how that would be possible. “Why?”

Leo shrugged helplessly. “I panicked,” was all he could say to that.

“And then what happened?

“Our energies didn’t mix well,” he said flatly. “My swords broke. And the portal...” 

He went on to mime an explosion, but the motion was belated. 

“And then no more portal,” Raph breathed.

“No more portal,” Leo said. “And then the next thing I knew, I was in my room.” 

There was a moment of contemplative silence as Raph mulled over everything that had been revealed. 

It was a miracle he remained standing. He didn’t think he’d be able to under the weight of all of that new information.

But throughout it all, there was one important conclusion he could make.

“You saved the world, Leo,” Raph said, reaching out.

Leo pulled back. “Without thinking of the cost.”

Raph moved towards Leo, but Leo didn’t look up at him.

“You were just trying to protect us,” Raph said.

“It doesn’t change the fact I almost killed you. All of you.”

“But you didn’t,” Raph said. “We all made it out.”

Leo smiled solemnly. “Yeah. Because of you,” he said. “Because you ran away.”

Raph stood there, stunned at the choice of words. 

“Yeah,” he agreed, almost huffing out a small laugh. “I guess that did happen.” 

It was almost surreal to admit it like that— like it was a fact that made him a million times lighter instead of one that felt like burning iron pushing down on his ribs. 

It was still bittersweet. It still ached in a certain way. Raph doubted that it would ever stop feeling that way.

But even then…even then, it was like something finally shifted into the right place, like a lock being turned by a key that Raph never even thought existed. 

But during this time, Leo’s smile faded as he kept his gaze fixed on his hands. 

It was enough to bring Raph back to reality, whatever light feeling remained sinking back down alongside him, with the realization that this was the moment where he was needed as the older brother.

Raph wasn’t eloquent like Leo nor logical like Donnie nor brightly optimistic like Mikey. He didn’t have the words he needed to chase away the fear and self doubt. 

Raph was more physical. When words failed him, he took action, charging in to chase off whatever was hurting his brothers. Sometimes that meant hitting an enemy, sometimes it meant hugging a brother to protect them from themselves. 

Right now Leo really needed that hug. But Raph couldn’t—

Raph could.

He slowly moved behind Leo. And, as he had seen Leo do to April and Mikey, overlaid his arms on Leo’s.

Slowly, he moved them into a hug.

Slowly, Leo followed.

Raph squeezed his arms against his chest. Leo followed and leaned his head towards Raph’s. 

The embrace seemed to last a lifetime while Leo was in his arms. But when Leo pulled away it felt over all too soon.

“Thanks,” Leo said with small motions. 

“ Of course, Leo.” I’m the one who should be thanking you . “ Whenever you need help, I’ll be there. All you need to do is ask.”

Leo gave a small smile and looked past Raph’s shoulder. 

“There is one more thing. I...”

“Name it.”

Leo hesitated before plastering a larger grin on his face.

“I need you to hit Sus at least once for me.”

Raph held his clone still, unaffected by the cold wind buffeting his hiding place as he stared at the temple with laser focus. But even then, there was still a shiver occasionally felt down his spine, his own heart hammering with a trepidation that was only tempered by his own determination.

“Red Fox Two. Status report.” 

The voice almost startled Raph. He blinked, his focus rubber-banding between where he situated his clone and where his real body was, which was currently under the gazes of two pairs of eyes, situated at a larger distance than he remembered them being during their current trek through the bottom of the ravine.

“No sign of Kitsune yet,” he answered, his voice slightly reverberating within his helmet. His senses flickered between his own and his clone’s again, just to be sure of his claims.

“I see. Carry on then,” Jupiter Jim said. “But keep up, sidekick! If we want to get me back into the action, then we must complete this mission as soon as possible. And if you do see her, just remember my plan.” 

Raph snorted as he picked up the pace. Of course he remembered Jim’s plan. Apparently, according to the spacefarer’s own experiences, a good knock to the head had a chance in breaking Kitsune’s mental hold. 

Not to mention it was a great chance to fulfill his promise to Leo, as well as his own desires to dish out what she deserved. 

As they continued their trek, Leo floated back to Raph’s side, the poison fog undisturbed by his movement, unlike how it swirled around Raph and Jim.

The sight of it made Raph automatically take a shuddering breath, just to prove that he could, his hands running along the material of his suit and helmet just to ensure it was still there. It was definitely doing a decent job keeping him alive and breathing, though Raph knew better than to doubt that, considering they were infamous in keeping Jim and his crew alive in environments more hazardous than the one he was walking through. Still, the fact this was happening at all felt unreal.

Not to mention the suits were surprisingly comfortable. Practically a second skin, even though there was still something off-putting and admittedly super cool about experiencing a space suit that was clearly a few sizes too large when offered shrink down to fit exactly his size when put on. 

It definitely made Leo jealous when he witnessed it.

Speaking of Leo, there was a blue hand waving in front of Raph’s face.

“You sure you’re good to follow us while you’re doing this?” Leo asked, after confirming he got Raph’s attention. “It’s not gonna be fun if you end up tripping and cracking your helmet or worse.”

“ Of course I’ll be fine. If the movies are right, then these suits can take a few hits. Besides, I want—” Need— “ to be here when we find your shard again,” Raph said without hesitation.

He didn’t want to say his other reasons, like how he still felt it was his responsibility to retrieve the shard because he let it fall, or that he didn’t trust Jupiter Jim to do it on his own. He didn’t think Leo would approve of either. “Besides, you’re the one who suggested I send a clone after Kitsune. I don’t want to just sit around waiting in two places at the same time.”  

Sending a clone had mostly been equal parts a plan and an experiment Leo brainstormed based on a plot point in Jupiter Jim’s robot-vampires arc, where a character was able to bypass a brainwash attempt because he had his consciousness shared between two vessels and left one outside the brainwash range, leaving the takeover incomplete.

‘Can’t wash a whole brain if not all of it’s there to be washed,’ Leo had summarized. 

Raph himself had once thought it was an unexpected solution to the storyline, but he couldn’t deny the fact that being in multiple bodies at once was very similar to his current abilities. When paired with the fact that Jupiter Jim’s adventures were more rooted in reality than they thought, the logic behind it all was pretty sound.

“Besides,” Raph continued, “if I somehow do get brainwashed despite the whole clone thing, it’s probably better I still stick close to Jupiter Jim. At least that way, he has a better chance at snapping me out.” 

“Precisely!” Jupiter Jim chimed in, having been listening in just like Raph thought he was. “No need to fear, blue one, you can always count on me to save the day! And no amount of brainwashing will stop me from doing that!”

He was clearly still referencing that time he was the only one who remained completely unaffected by the robot-vampires’ brainwashing. 

Raph wondered if Jim was aware Kitsune wasn’t the robot-vampires, and thus would most likely have a different method of brainwashing. He also wondered if Jupiter Jim was aware that his own series implied a gag that only idiots remained unaffected by the robot-vampires’ attempts. 

Should he say something?

When Jupiter Jim was no longer looking at them, Raph chanced a look at Leo, only to find the other already staring back at him. The moment their eyes met, Leo slowly but sternly shook his head.

“Right. Thanks, Jim,” Raph ended up saying in response, dropping that line of thought entirely. 

Suddenly, there was movement spotted through his clone’s vision. 

Raph audibly gasped, the noise causing Leo’s attention to become laser focused. But Raph held his tongue, the fog and rocky walls melting back into the snow covered grounds surrounding the temple as his target appeared below him. 

“She’s here,” he confirmed, anticipation spiking.

Kitsune stood tall and without her usual entourage, but Raph knew that somewhere in the temple complex, she held Donnie and Mikey captive within their own minds. 

Brainwashed.

Any second, he was sure, they would catch up with her. But right now, she was exposed and alone.

Raph did not hesitate. He launched himself at her with all the force his body possessed.

Time slowed to a crawl. As the distance between him and her grew smaller, he could see her turn towards him, a slight ringing of bells filling his head. But they were different this time— fainter and more disconnected, like he was only hearing a recording of it rather than the real thing.

That was all he could process before his fist collided with her face, and time returned back to normal.

Kitsune was sturdier than Raph thought, like he was trying to punch down a pillar rather than a smaller individual. And instead of falling to the ground, she only stumbled back a few steps. 

The side of her mask where Raph’s fist connected was cracked, the fracture slowly spreading throughout.

But what Raph hadn’t been expecting was for those very same cracks to continue across her jawline and down her neck, then her shoulder and arm.

Any feeling of smug triumph was immediately doused. Raph stood there, unable to do anything but stare dumbfounded at what he was seeing, a sense of unease and wrongness swirling in his gut.

“Oh dear,” Kitsune tutted, voice devoid of emotions as she straightened up and gazed at her hand. A single flex of her fingers was enough to make them fracture more, like they were nothing but delicate porcelain. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

Out of those cracks bursted a blue flame nearly identical to what he saw before, quickly encompassing the entire limb in a whirlwind of inferno that expanded large enough that Raph had to order his clone to take a few strides back.

Against his better judgment, he didn’t retreat. Raph remained where he was, an arm raised to block the light of the azure heat, the deep primal sense of fight or flight overshadowed by the horrific need to know what was going to happen next. 

Because it was suddenly becoming clear that maybe, just maybe, they knew even less about Kitsune than they thought. 

When the flames finally dispersed, where Kitsune’s arm should’ve been now held a dragon-like claw that looked severely disproportionate to the fox alien it was attached to.

Kitsune stood calmly, unlike Raph, whose focus flickered between his clone and his real body just to ensure what he was seeing was real and not some kind of new brainwashing method.

He wasn’t sure which scenario was worse.

Kitsune raised her arm, sharp claws poised and ready. 

Just as soon, the realization of what was going to happen hit Raph.

It was a realization that came too late, as her claws immediately followed, tearing straight through Raph’s body before he could even think to move.

And then his clone knew no more.

“She did what?!” Leo said.

At least, that was what Raph thought Leo was saying, considering the exclamation had been spoken out loud instead of signed due to his shock. But from the movement of Leo’s beak, Raph was pretty confident.

“Well, now that’s quite the twist,” Jupiter Jim marveled, stroking the space helmet equivalent of his chin. 

“Yeah,” Raph confirmed grimly. “I’m not sure what’s going on exactly, but there’s definitely even more to Kitsune than what she claims to be.”

“Okay, wait! No! There’s no way!” Leo said, his hands moving frantically, his face filled with disbelief. “Maybe it was an extra powerful illusion, and your clone just got so spooked it had a heart attack or something and destroyed itself.”

“A heart attack? Really?” Raph deadpanned. 

“What, like that’s less believable than a crazy, brainwashing, illusion master of a cult leader being able to do that on top of everything else?” Leo shot back. 

Well, if he put it like that, he did have a point. 

“I get that, but my clones wouldn’t disappear unless it was destroyed by an actual, physical attack,” Raph said, his hand patting where his clone got hit. “And that claw definitely connected. It wasn’t an illusion, and I got a really bad feeling that an arm isn’t the only thing she can transform.”

The disbelief on Leo’s face only grew, his beak moving in what could only be a loud, “What the—” followed by a word Raph wasn’t going to repeat. 

“Are you serious?” Leo asked, signing his words this time. “Come on, that’s so not fair! Why is that even a thing?” 

Raph shrugged and turned to Jim. “Did the FIA ever mention anything about the locals being able to...shapeshift into dragons?” 

“ Not a single thing!” Jim exclaimed. “And the FIA is always reliable when it comes to their information. They wouldn’t have missed something like this. Even if they did find anything later, I, Jupiter Jim, would’ve been the first one to know.” He paused, going back into his thinking pose. “Though this is a dire oversight on their part. Rest assured, I will be sending them a strongly worded complaint once this is over.” 

Raph fell silent over that, turning the information in his head.

“Either way, the only thing involving dragons that we’ve heard about is the one the Pantheon is worshiping.” Raph’s face darkened. “But if Kitsune really can do what she did just now, then I guess we know the reason behind that.”

Leo visibly scoffed. “And I thought Donnie’s ego trips were big...”

“Either way, I’m not sure punching her did anything about the brainwashing,” Raph pointed out. “But I think you were on to something about the clone thing, Leo. I think she did try something, but the bells sounded different. Maybe I should—”

Leo held his hand up. 

“I know I was the one who made that first plan,” he began, gestures slow yet purposeful, “but I’ve been thinking that maybe we don’t face her again until we have a solid idea on how we’re going to do that.”

Raph blinked. “I get that, but wouldn’t it be better to get more information on what we can or can’t do against her? If I keep sending out my clones, then none of us are going to be in that much danger.”

“But we’re not the only ones we need to worry about,” Leo said. “Even if she’s not some literal dragon, she still has the other brainwashed cult guys, and she can hurt them. I mean, what if she gets mad enough that she uses the others as hostages? We’re on a planet filled with cliffs and poison gas. It’s going to be so easy for her to just ask them to...you know...”

Raph froze, horror and uncertainty filling his veins at the newfound scenario. 

Leo was right. Of course he was right. Raph couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it himself. 

Jupiter Jim cleared his throat loudly. 

“I couldn’t help but notice you two seem to be having a conversation without me,” Jim asserted. “And of course, no plan is perfected without my input. So, what seems to be the issue?” 

Raph resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Sorry, Jim. Leo and I were just going over the possibility that Kitsune might use hostages. If they’ve been brainwashed to be loyal to her, there’s no telling what she could tell them to do to themselves.” 

Jupiter Jim hummed thoughtfully. “A cowardly move,” he said with disdain, “but certainly one fitting for a dastardly villain such as herself. Worry not, sidekicks. With you aiding me, I’m sure I can find a way to make her followers see the light.” 

It was just as he said that, that Leo perked up and rushed a bit ahead. When only a few feet away, he turned around and pointed at the ground, where his glow made the reflective metal of his shard glint a faint blue through the fog.

Just then, a lightbulb flickered on in Raph’s head, inspiration striking as he thought back to Jupiter Jim’s last few words.

“That’s it!” he exclaimed. “Jupiter Jim, you’re a genius!”

“Of course,” Jupiter Jim agreed, preening under the praise, as Raph went and picked up the shard. 

All the while, Raph turned to Leo, who had a clear, unspoken question written on his face.

“The light, Leo,” Raph answered, determination surging through him. “That’s exactly how we’ll win them over.” 

The sun ritual, as advertised by the Pantheon before they were revealed to be brainwashed cultists, was truly a sight to behold. 

The rhythmic sounds of drums, accompanied by the ‘thump, thump, thump’ of wooden staffs hitting stone floors and the forceful chimes of bells at every offbeat rang throughout the mountain air. 

All of the temple members were gathered outside, though only a decent handful of them were acting as active participants in the ritual, separated and grouped into concentric circles, with every ring moving in an alternating pattern of clockwise and counterclockwise. 

The three outermost rings were the most lively. Each person carried two flags of long, light, and flowing fabric, all dyed in gradients of warm colors. They were the only people who didn’t stay in their respective rings, and instead, sometimes alternated with others in a twirling motion, before seamlessly carrying on in their new place. The flags shimmered and flowed elegantly in the air, highlighting and emphasizing each and every movement within their intricate dances until it resembled a whirlwind of multicolored fire. 

The next inner ring was the origin of the drum sounds, with each person having a large one strapped in front of them and using two sticks to beat against it with deft movements. All the while, the next ring held those who carried the staffs with golden bells, as they hit them against the ground with near unnatural synchronicity, their mouths wide open as they began to voice out wordless, but vaguely musical sounds. 

And right in the center was Kitsune, standing still rather than joining the movement surrounding her, like an eye in a churning storm, or the core of a shifting sun. But it was her own voice that overpowered the rest, as she began chanting something that sounded less like words and more like the growls and snarls of a dragon. And it was her that a beam of sunlight was centered on, like a single spotlight in a play. 

As the ritual continued, the vocals of the followers began to grow stronger, but so too did Kitsune’s voice, her intonations becoming sharper and more aggressive as if commanding the heavens above.

And then her last syllable rang out, and maybe this was when the place would be bathed in sunlight.

But of course, Raph had no plans of letting things go her way this time. 

So instead, the light abruptly shifted, and Kitsune was covered in shadow.

Raph couldn’t help but smirk as the rest of the Pantheon gasped and rose a commotion at the unexpected development, his own triumph made even more satisfying by the way Kitsune became tense, confused rage and bewilderment radiating off of her. 

Even if he didn’t need to, he commended all of his clones for a job well done, for having not only found the mirrors Leo mentioned, but maneuvered them to direct sunlight away before the sun could reach its optimal position. 

But it was a moment of triumph he didn’t let last long. 

He jumped down from the high vantage point he’d been watching from, landing in a space that had been cleared of people. His abrupt entrance did not go unnoticed, as heads turned towards his direction like a ripple in a pond. And soon, so did Kitsune’s. 

Raph took a deep breath. 

Leo hated this part of the plan, when Raph proposed it. In fact, he did everything he could to emphasize how stupid it was. 

And yeah, maybe it was. It wasn’t like they fully confirmed whether or not Raph could bypass the brainwashing attempt with his clones. But to Raph, this was a necessary gamble. He had to be there— to really be there, in case Kitsune decided to make Donnie and Mikey take the full consequences of his actions. 

“Your messenger isn’t in the Dragon’s favor anymore!” Raph announced, making extra sure his voice was loud enough to be heard across the masses. He wasn’t as theatrical as Leo or Donnie was, nor as good at improvising lines, but it was also Leo who ended up coaching him on the basics of what to say. So he wanted to think his current act would be good enough.

“You!” Kitsune snarled, her voice almost like rumbling thunder and the clanging of bells in a stormy wind. 

It almost made Raph falter, before he steeled himself. 

It was fine. This was one reason why he hadn’t dispelled his clones yet. If he was feeling signs of brainwashing, he could still easily shift the majority of his focus to a different clone to escape it.

Maybe.

Hopefully. 

But that wasn’t his main concern right now. 

“Don’t you see it? Instead of giving you light, the ritual has taken it away!” Raph pushed on before Kitsune could get another word in. “The Dragon has turned his back on your ‘messenger’. He’s—” his mind scrambled for another word, and eventually landed on one Jupiter Jim used when working out the details of just how they were going to convince the followers that their god had— “forsaken her!” 

“Lies!” Kitsune roared over the crowd’s growing panic and confusion, immediately silencing them. “Brothers, sisters, do not fall for this outsider’s deceit. It is he who the Dragon has forsaken— whose very presence has interfered with this ritual and brought darkness upon these lands!” 

Just like that, a tide shifted, Kitsune’s influence appeasing the worries of some and most likely suppressing the doubts of others. 

She then raised one hand and snapped her fingers. Immediately, the crowd parted, leaving an open area. And from where they must’ve been watching from the shadows above, Mikey and Donnie leapt down, landing next to Kitsune. 

The sight made Raph’s heart stutter, what he should’ve been doing here and now overridden by the split second relief of having seen them at all after what happened, and then by worry and dread as he stared into their cold, blank eyes.

Seeing Raph’s expression, Kitsune seemed to suddenly gain an air of confidence as she pointed at him and said, “Take care of him.”

Without wasting a single second, the both of them dashed forward, paths diverging. 

Donnie reached Raph first, crouching in a way that could be recognized as the wind up of a low swing. Raph had sparred with Donnie his entire life. He knew how long that swing took. He knew he had time to look for Mikey.

He was wrong.

The sound of a rocket igniting was the only warning Raph had. He launched himself into the air, feeling the hard purple light of Donnie’s ninpo pass under his toes.

Raph locked his eyes on Donnie. His sais were held in front of him, ready to block Donnie’s follow-up attack.

Donnie didn’t launch a follow-up attack.

Mikey did.

Raph lost one sai to the initial attack.

The backflip he did to avoid the rest of Mikey’s attack was not graceful. But it kept him from getting entangled, which in this fight was vital. He could not afford to be crushed under Mikey’s gravity increase.

He couldn’t just defend in this fight. Raph knew that, but—

Donnie spun his bo, launching Mikey at his head. Raph, on instinct, sidestepped the attack.

That hadn’t worked when they had tried it during their last game of capture the bandana. There was no way he was letting it work now when the stakes were so much higher than a simple game.

Although... If they wanted to play a game...

With his free hand, Raph scooped snow from the ground and flung it at Donnie’s face.

Donnie fell back. 

Raph turned his full attention onto Mikey and the chain that had just whizzed by him.

In one smooth motion, he caught the length of Mikey’s nunchuck chain in the prongs of his sai. He then used both hands to spin his weapon. 

He wound the chain like a piece of spaghetti, pulling his brother towards him.

Before Mikey had a chance to recover he yanked Mikey’s mask sideways, covering his eyes.

Mikey fell back.

Raph shook the chain from his sai. It was a good thing that Mikey hadn’t triggered the gravity increase when his weapon was caught.

Though it did mean Raph was going to increase training once they were all safe and sound on the ship. Because Mikey really should trigger a gravity increase whenever an enemy grabs his weapon.

But Raph couldn’t linger on that thought.

Donnie was on him again. His goggles were pulled down, and his mouth pressed into a grimace.

He swept his bo up.

Raph brought his sai down.

Kitsune’s brainwashing must have been affecting Donnie’s genius. That attack let Raph use his entire weight against Donnie’s bo. There was no way for Donnie to continue the attack.

Raph felt a relieved grin form on his lips.

Raph saw a manic grin form on Donnie’s.

He heard the rocket start.

Raph leaned as hard as he could against the end of Donnie’s weapon. 

Unfortunately, it was the end without the rocket.

He tumbled forward as the end of the weapon sped away from him and heard the head of the weapon speed toward the back of his head.

Raph braced.

And braced.

But the impact never came.

Raph rolled out of the way. He saw the second rocket that was acting in opposition to the first disappear. He felt the weapon impact the ground next to him. 

That wasn’t luck.

“Donnie, you’re fighting it. Keep fighting it!”

Donnie scowled at him but didn’t move.

Raph didn’t either. He kept his eyes locked on his brother.

“Come on,” he begged. “I know you can. Use that big brain of yours and—”

Mikey's nunchucks wrapped around both of his hands. 

The end of Donnie’s bo pressed against his neck.

From his peripheral, he could see Kitsune walking up to him, the smug air around her so apparent even in his limited vision. 

His breath stuttered at the oncoming bell-like sound in the back of his head. 

Well, now was definitely a good time to test things out. 

Without hesitation, he mentally retreated, splitting his consciousness between his clones. 

Sure enough, to his relief and hysterical glee, the growing noise quieted to a whisper, leaving enough focus for his real self to still be vaguely aware of what was happening around him. 

It worked. It worked. 

He brought himself back in time to feel smug when the bells faded, and all he heard afterwards was the irritated click of Kitsune's tongue. 

It was still a short lived feeling. In the back of his head, he could sense his clones’ grips on the mirrors’ metal frames growing tighter in response to the apprehension and dread slowly worming its way through him. But despite that, he knew there was no reason for it to take hold yet. 

After all, there was still the second part Leo helped formulate, in case something like this happened. It was something that even Jupiter Jim would be satisfied with. It was the reason why Leo had less of a problem with Raph carrying the shard they recovered while confronting Kitsune. It was the second reason why Raph hadn’t dispelled his clones yet, and still kept them stationed by the mirrors. 

A glowing blue blur zipped towards Raph, signaling his cue to have his clones start maneuvering the mirrors again.

The pressure of the bo suddenly let up as Leo phased his arms through Donnie’s eyes, blinding him and startling him enough to stumble back. 

Knowing an opportunity when he saw one, Raph kicked Donnie’s leg out from under him.

Leo moved onto Mikey next before the other could take action, distracting and pestering him enough for Raph to yank the nunchucks out of his hands.

Raph scrambled to his feet, slipping the loosened chain off his wrists as Leo flew back to his side, glaring at the other members of the Pantheon. 

“ You see now, don’t you?” Raph wasted no time calling out. “Why would the Dragon’s light—” he gestured towards Leo— “defend me instead of your ‘messenger’ if I was the one who was lying to you?” 

Murmurs and whispers once again swept through the crowd, confusion and conflict still evident, but so was favor towards Raph’s side. 

“The Dragon has turned his back on your ‘messenger’,” Raph said again, words carrying more weight. “And do you know why? It’s because she lied to you. She made you think she’s more than what you believed in order to get you to do what she wants.” 

“Be silent!” Kitsune hissed.

“And do you know why I know that?” Raph asked in a louder voice, overpowering Kitsune’s. “It’s because I know who the Dragon’s real messenger is.” 

Suddenly, there were panicked voices and frantic movements from the crowd, followed by something heavy landing in the space the members rushed to move away from. 

“Greetings, members of the Pantheon!” 

And that was Raph’s second cue. He ordered his clones to finally get the mirrors into position, directing all sunlight to shine down on Jupiter Jim, once again decked out in the Crushasaurus mech. 

After all, in Jupiter Jim’s words, a hero always shined brightest when given the spotlight.

"I’ve come as a messenger from the... Dragon, bringing both its... light and its message of interplanetary peace," Jim announced.

As he continued speaking, it was easy for Raph to note how stilted Jim’s speech was just now. It was something that would’ve most definitely gotten called for a reshoot if this were a movie set rather than real life. But despite that, his volume and projection paired with his natural charisma was more than enough to make up for it.

Even Donnie and Mikey turned away from the fight to focus on Jim with more rapt attention than they ever had for any of his movies. And considering just how enraptured any of Raph’s brothers could be with Jupiter Jim’s movies...

Raph could only hope that meant their plan was finally working.

As he looked back over the followers, it was clear his brothers weren’t the only ones drawn in by Jim’s speech. Almost all of them were listening in, holding onto every word as if it was sacred.

All except the fox girl with the blue markings— the one they talked to during the banquet. The one who defended and stuck up for them when they almost got onto the Pantheon’s bad side. 

Instead of listening intently, she stepped forward, her voice cutting through Jim’s monologue.

“Will you truly bring salvation?” 

She sounded calm, but unexpectedly, her gaze told a completely different story. They were longing and desperate in the way a drowning man would be when a lifeline was suddenly in reach, but also fearful as to whether or not that lifeline was full of holes.

There was not a single hint of religious zeal glazing her eyes either. And in that one second, Raph couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to her definition of ‘salvation’ than what the Pantheon viewed it to be.

“But of course!” Jupiter Jim said valiantly, maneuvering the mech’s arms so its hands would rest on its hips as he puffed out his own chest. The metal gleamed in the sunlight. “My mere presence is a symbol of my promise. So long as I remain standing before you, I will do everything in my power to bring peace and salvation to you and the galaxy!”

The answer appeared to be enough. The fox girl drew in a shaky breath, and with what seemed like great effort, took one step towards Jim. And then another. 

And another.

Each one made hope rise in Raph’s chest, as she went and stood by Jupiter Jim’s side. 

Until Kitsune called out, “Child, be mindful about what you are about to do.” It was almost devoid of emotion.

It was unknown whether the fox girl’s full body flinch was a reaction to Kitsune’s voice, or something more.

“Who was the one who helped raise you? Who was the one who kept you fed and gave you shelter? Who was the one who allowed you to have a position as my aid? I didn’t need to do all that, but I did. Are my efforts and goodwill so easily cast aside?” Kitsune pressed on. “What about my hope for you?”

The fox girl winced, her ears pressed against her head as she turned to Kitsune. “I—”

“Need I remind you— all of you, of what happened to those who were easily swayed?” Kitsune continued, loud enough for everyone else to hear. “Despite this ruined world. You’ve all ended up here for a reason. The Dragon has brought you to me for a reason. If you choose to follow that impostor after everything I’ve done for you, that will be a mistake you’ll come to regret.”

Another murmur swept across the crowd as doubt spread like a plague. Raph noticed with a heavy heart that a few, whose eyes had become hazy and glazed, took a few steps away from him and Jim, eyeing them warily. 

He opened his mouth to say something. 

“I understand!”

But it wasn’t his voice that rang in the air. 

His attention went back to the fox girl, who hadn’t moved from her spot despite being the focus of Kitsune’s ire. 

There were no means to hide the fact she was trembling, her ears still pressed heavily against her skull. 

“Your words hold many truths,” the fox girl continued, words slow and carefully chosen despite the way they shook. “But if following him means to be misguided, then what does that make the Dragon’s Light, who has done exactly that?”

Her gaze went to Leo, searching for affirmation. Searching for a secondary lifeline.

Leo straightened under her sudden attention, but nodded encouragingly, causing her to look the slightest bit more relieved.

With a bit more confidence, she turned back towards Kitsune.

“You are upset. I understand that. And I am grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I truly am,” the fox girl continued, though her tail twitched at the last part. “But you’ve always said that everything that happens is under the Dragon’s will. And if that’s the case, then everything that has happened here and now must be too. And what he said—” she gestured towards Raph— “holds some truth after all.”

Another commotion arose, but it was clear that some of the voices were showing disdain towards the fox girl. 

Insolent child, they said. Foolish, others whispered. 

It was enough to make Raph bristle, feeling offended for the fox girl. 

But what made up for it was a different Pantheon member stepping forward, eyes clearer than the rest despite the apparent religious zeal that remained. 

“Are you truly here to guide us back on the right path, then?” they asked Jim. 

Their question was like dropping a lit match on dry brush, sparking a wildfire among the followers as more came forward, overtaking what was now clearly a minority still loyal to Kitsune.

“Why have you only decided to show yourself now?”

“Have we truly been deceived all this time?”

“Will you still guide us despite us being so blinded?”

Voices were raised in more and more overlapping questions, each one encouraging two more that were spoken with varying levels of reverence.

Albeit overwhelmed at first, Jupiter Jim seemed to eventually take this in stride, answering as many questions as he could, though it looked more like he was dealing with the press than with a group of religious followers.

Raph exchanged a glance with Leo, who gave a thumbs up. He gave a confident smile of his own. 

Until he heard it again, the sound of bells laced within the sea of voices, louder than before.

“Enough of this! You mustn’t encourage their insolence!” Kitsune could be heard above the cacophony. “Who was the one who shed light on your true purpose? Who was the one that guided you towards it? It has been me! It has always been me!”