Chapter Text
PROLOUGE :
The rumbling of the Turtle Tank was familiar, and Casey almost felt like a kid again riding in the Tank. Donnie used to drive him around in it, for supply runs- since his mom was still sick around this time.
They all were talking, then Casey let a little word slip-
"Did.. something happen to me in the future?"
For a second, Casey was at a loss. Something did happen to Donatello in the future - and it made Casey's stomach turn unpleasantly. Jones was grateful Leo had interrupted, but Donnie already saw the terrified look on his face. Don smiled weakly at Leo, and went back to his control panel. If anyone noticed Donnie's hands shaking, they didn't mention it.
"Well, we don't have to worry about it, right?"
But Casey knew from Donnie's ramblings that the future was not really to be changed, he was just in a different timeline that he was destined to go to - and he has no clue if the outcome was victory or defeat. That's what is so wonderful about time "travel" (he said sarcastically).
So, at the end of the day, the Leo he knew, the Mikey he knew - the Donnie he knew, they were all still subjected to their fate. Leo was still struck down by a laser, Mikey was still Mystic dust, and Donnie..
Well, Leo and Mikey had told him about what had happened to Donnie, since he wasn't exactly there.
The silence in the tank stretched on. Leonardo now felt a new drive to stopping this war, saving his brothers from whatever fate they were fated to. 'I can't let anything happen to them like Casey said, I couldn't forgive myself.'
—-
Well, future him didn't forgive himself. Even as he was eye to eye with the red beam, it was all his fault - so he should suffer. But even in his last breath, he didn't feel any of the pain he deserved to feel. He only felt light, and for a second he saw all of his brothers on the other side. He grasped their hands. They were pulled into a hug. Oh.
They didn't blame him.
—-
CHAPTER ONE: DYSTOPIA
It was day five, year two of the invasion that they lost their first brother. Rapheal.
"Leo!" Raph has shouted, the oversized Kraang Droid's foot was looming overhead, threatening to comply with gravity - overtop Leo. Leo was busy fending off random alien canine creatures, Donnie was in his own driod, albeit a bit smaller size, and Mikey was looking to enforce the forcefield around their camp - which the Kraang had found.
Leo gasped, looking above him, quickly attempting to move out of the way of the driod. Leo heard the faint sound of Donnie yelling something, but all he heard was white noise as he was shoved. He hit his head- hard - and his vision swam. Raph threw him. Rapheal threw him out of the way, and he wasn't here, checking him over-
"RAPH!" was yelled with terror, utter heartbreak - Leo felt himself start to crumble. The Earth shook with the force of the driod letting up, continuing the walk toward Donatello's robotic weapon system. (RWS).
The groan of the robot turned to more white noise. Leo gasped for air, he looked at his hands. Covered in blood that wasn't his. He wailed, he scooted forward, his body protesting violently.
Leonardo felt his vision slacking and he glanced at Donnie fighting the droid. The sound of warfare didn't even register in his mind, just the pools of red - and not metaphorical, literal red - and not just because it was Rapheal's color.
Well, it just proved his insides were red, too.
"What happened, is Raph okay?" Mikey said through the comm, and Leo couldn't find it in him to respond. There, was Raphael's lifeless body, unmoving and mutilated. Leo gagged, even as a medic, he couldn't handle the sight of his brother crushed. Leo shakily crawled over, taking Raphael's hand and ignoring how the bones felt like pillow stuffing. "Raph, Raph, please-"
"Leo, we have got to move. We are being surrounded. The driod is down."
Leo pressed the talk button. "Raph is down."
…
Silence for a few beats.
"Grab everything you can off him. We're retreating to the bunker. I'll send my robots to retrieve him.. we'll do a proper burial."
Leo held back tears.
He shakily reached over and pulled the ripped bandana from the mess, gagging- why is there that much gunk in a person's head - and he quickly ran as fast as possible to Donnie, who was now packing up the driod and any supplies. The Kraang demolished most of their food supply in the attack.
"Mikey, close the field."
They retreated to the Turtle Tank, where Cassandra was waiting. Eight months pregnant. Raph was anticipating seeing the little Casey, but Casey will never get to meet him.
"Where's Red?"
They couldn't answer her, only look at her mournfully.
Donnie input code into the command-watch on his arm and watched his floating arm assistants fly out. Donnie swears he could never let this happen to anyone else, he felt the moist tears on his face but he couldn't turn around and show everyone.
He could hear Leo's weeping, and Mikey trying to control his own sobs. Cassandra was angry, obviously so, but still had her own salty mess staining her face in eyeliner.
Without Raph, it was Dystopia.
…
The burial was absolutely hell for everyone.
Mikey had made a beautiful ceremony, but no one was able to actually enjoy it.
The coffin was closed, because Leonardo and Donatello couldn't dare touch Raphael's body, not could it be salvageable. Thinking of their brother as a corpse was bringing guilt to their minds, but that's what he was no. He couldn't crack any more of his awkward smiles, and he definitely couldn't give anymore bone-crushing hugs.
Even if Donnie didn't like hugs most of the time, he accepted all of his brother's offers, but it didn't feel the same as Raph. He always gave the best hugs. Don missed the strong gentleness, the way Raph would basically pick them up instead of crushing them like he so easily could. Donnie missed the way Raph would pick Don and Leon up by the shell, and they would hang there like dogs hanging from their scruff. That's how Raph broke up fights between them as tots. Even when they're bigger. Donatello sighed, leaning more into Leo's plastron. He felt Mikey's comforting presence on his back, and they watched as Rapheal was finally put to rest.
The sunset was perfect, more red than any other color, the basically desert landscape of (previously) New York adding to the shaking, jittering anguish Donatello felt.
As they all packed up their mess, they brought the items of Rapheal's to the bunker to set up his memorial.
It seemed to go too fast and too slow at the same time, it felt as if time was pushing and pulling - even if that may not make sense. Donatello felt his heart drop in his chest, the temptation to just sleep swallowed him whole.
So, he closed his eyes and flopped on his cot - he immediately fell into his nightmare plagued sleep.