Chapter Text
Leo raced across the uneven terrain of what used to be New York. The once proud city that never slept was now reduced to a destroyed wasteland of rubble and debris.
The red-eared slider stumbled as he sprinted, coughing as he inhaled the dusty atmosphere. Panic choked him as a deep unsettling dread filled him, bringing desperate tears to his eyes as his mind raced and chanted the same mantra he had been telling himself since the distress signal went off not even fifteen minutes ago.
No-nononono. No. This can't be happening. It can't happen.
The heavy footfalls and breathing of his two brothers and sister were the only sounds that echoed across the empty bombed-out land that once held a city of millions.
Rounding the corner of what used to be a parking garage, now reduced to nothing more than dust and stone, Leo halted and felt as if all the air in his lungs left him.
Mikey, Raph, and April skid to a stop beside him. Mikey let out a sob as Raph’s breath hitched at the scene that lay before them.
There, fourteen feet away from them was the bloodied battleshell that once belonged to their brother.
“No. No, nonono-“ April cried, running forward before sliding beside the abandoned shell, her hands reached out to pick it up but froze before she hands touched it, her shoulders tensed as she quickly scrambled back, falling onto her back as she pushed herself away, a sob left her throat as she covers her mouth in horror.
Leo could only watch helplessly as he stood. No. This- this couldn't be happening. He can't be gone. Where was the body?
Leo slowly walked forward, past April towards the empty shell. He cautiously crouched beside it and looked in.
A choked breath was the only thing that he could muster.
The shell was horribly dented, some parts of it were torn up in long jagged gashes, the sharp metal sticking up had dried crimson on them. The inside of the shell had streaks of blood, with a small pool of it sitting at the bottom of it. And sitting innocently in that small pool was a piece of Donnie's torn up soft-shell.
Leo felt numb as ringing filled his head. Nothing could prepare him for this.
It felt as though someone had shot a cannonball straight through him, leaving him numb and empty of emotion. The panicked thoughts that had plagued his head not moments ago were now silent.
Time seemed to stretch on forever as he stared at what remained of his twin.
Leo’s hand met the dirt, it was damp and warm.
Oh.
The iron smell of his brother's blood surrounded and cradled Leo, swamping his senses as he realized he was kneeling in his twin's blood.
Looking up he saw the faint light of the stars in the sky in the fading sunset. The red-orange of the sky bled into a deep blue and purple. For a moment, looking at the stars, the world around Leo went quiet. And for a moment everything stopped. Nothing mattered. For a moment everything was ok, everything was the way it should be and nothing had ever happened. For a moment all that mattered was that the earth kept spinning.
His hands trembled as a heart-wrenching sob broke through the quiet that filled his mind. An anguished roar tore through the wasteland.
Everything crashed down onto Leo all at once as silent tears ran down his face. His twin was gone and nothing was the same.
Grabbing his brother's shell, Leo curled himself into a ball. Pressing his forehead against the armored shell and wept. His shoulders trembled as sobs wracked his frame, labored breaths came quickly and suddenly oxygen wasn't enough. The air felt empty and he felt like he was suffocating.
“P-please, please Donnie! I- I can't- I can't do this without you, I- I need you here now- you can't be gone yet- we n- need you!” Leo wailed as he hugged the shell tighter to him, begging for his twin.
He just wanted Donnie back. He wanted to hear his twin tell him that he was being a child, he wanted to feel his brother's arms around him, holding him. He wanted Donnie to hold him gently and whisper sweet nothings. He wanted to be a baby again, he wanted his brother back, he wanted to scream, he wanted to burn himself alive, he wanted to feel something, he wanted to feel anything other than this.
He wanted to go home .