Work Text:
Loosening the screw, they carefully take off the plate. Examining it closely, Donnie lets out a deep and slow breath. Eventually discovering the problem, they place it down and roll over to their other desk, pulling out the tools that they would need.
“I got you, Sensei. Stay with me.”
Jolting in surprise, they look around the room. Not seeing anyone, they become slowly confused. “You're a lifesaver, Casey Jones.” Realizing where the sound was emitting from, they slowly roll back over to the mask. “I learned from the best. Come on, we're almost there.”
Slowly lifting up the mask, they look through the eyes. What they see is horror. The world is absolutely destroyed, there are huge robots terrorizing everything. Bodies everywhere, places destroyed. The duo fall to the floor, looking up they see animalistic creatures to go attack them, but a glowing orange chain quickly protects them. “Bad doggies!”
Slowly the mask turns, for a split second they see what appears to be a futurized Leo going to speak. “Impeccable timing, little brother. Very dramatic.” Looking at the person in front of him, they are unable to identify who it was. Quickly the eyes turn back to Leo as he gets placed on a pile of rocks and skulls. By looking in a reflection, it appears Casey didn’t have his mask on, meaning there was a second camera set up that they were watching through, smart.
Looking over to who they can now assume was an older version of Mikey, they take in his older appearance. Definitely not what they were expecting. “Help him, Michelangelo. He’s hurt bad.” Casey panics, continuing to look at Mikey for any sign of what to do.
“That’s it. The resistance failed. The Kraang won.” Upon hearing those words, quickly the recording turns back to Leo who appears to be watching his surroundings in sadness. Donnie didn't fail to notice the purple and red tassels hanging off of Leo’s swords.
“But… but it isn't over. We’ve still got a ninja’s greatest weapon…hope.” Nodding contently, he looks over to Mikey. “That and a badass mystic warrior.” Quickly his face turns into an expression of regret, solemn. “Mikey, we need a time gateway.”
The camera doesn't look away from Leo, but they can still hear Mikey's interaction with him. “It’ll take everything I have.” Knowing what that means, Donnie freezes. He couldn't be asking Mikey to do what they think, right?
“I know, but this is our last chance.” Gasping, their breath hitches, there was no way he's asking Mikey to 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 himself. “It’s our only chance.” The camera moves up to look at Mikey, watching as he huffs and floats away. Wait, since when could he float?
“Wait, what's going on? Where is he going?” The camera moving up, they can only assume he was standing. Watching as he floats away, they feel their breath hitch. There is no way he was about to do this…Right?
“Casey, listen.” Noticing Leo's gesture for him, Casey squats down in front of him. Now getting a good look, Donnie realizes how messed up he looked. “The Kraang first came to our planet through a mystic doorway.” Taking a photo out, he looks at it sadly before flipping it over. Reaching to the side, he takes a rock and starts drawing on it. “The key that opened the doorway looked like this.”
Watching carefully, they recognize it immediately. It was the same photo that he had when April found him. 'So that’s when he got it.'
Watching it carefully, he hands it to him, to which he takes carefully. “Why are you telling me this?” “Because Mikey’s about to send you back in time to the day that the key was stolen.” Eyes becoming stern, he stares at him, face not fully readable. “Wait, he’s gonna what?”
“The people who stole that key opened the doorway for the Kraang. You have to find it before that happens. Find the key, stop the Kraang.” Leaning in to stress his point, you can see a hint of pain in his eyes. “But, Sensei–” Grabbing him by the shoulder, he drags him in closer. “Say it!”
“‘Find the key, stop the Kraang.’” Watching his face relax, he pats him on the shoulder twice. Reaching up, he grabs his arm, voice desperate. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Watching a sad smile form on his face, he relaxes more. “Casey, it’s not about me.” Suddenly a bright red light flashes behind them, causing them to turn around quickly. “They found us!” Rushing to stand, he activates his weapon, watching them closely. Randomly another bright red light flashes behind them again. Looking over, they see an even bigger robot.
“Mikey!” Glancing over, they see Mikey glowing yellow, opening a portal. Looking closer, they notice his arms quickly cracking and chipping off. Yet, he persisted. Not even noticing the tears fall down their face, they watch in horror as he yells. “Master Michelangelo, no! You’re gonna-”
Watching Mikey turn around, he smiles at Casey reassuringly, giving him a quick wink before turning back to the portal. Using the rest of his power to finish opening the portal, he splits into a ray of golden dust.
Staring in shock, they feel their heart drop. Everyone stopped to stare at his remains. But, not having much more time to cope, more of them appear around the sides of the portal. Suddenly, a hand gets placed on Caseys shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. “Casey…” Looking up, he sees an upset yet confident expression on the elder. “When you’re done saving the world, do me a favor.” Giving him a smile, they keep their eyes locked.
“Grab a slice!”
And with that, he was ripped forward and into the portal. Stuck watching and screaming in terror as Leo looks back at him, giving him a soft smile before continuing to fight and trying to get away. But before he could get far, he got zapped away by a red laser, losing his life as well.
Quickly the screen goes yellow, then to black. Heavy panting is heard, before the screen glitches back on. “What…” Now there are people everywhere, it looked like New York, but before everything. Standing up, he looks around. “I made it?” The town looks beautiful.
“Alright, Casey. Here we go. Find the key, stop the Kraang.” And with that, he runs off and into the crowd, instantly getting lost in it.
Slowly putting the mask down, they tune it out, letting it continue to play. Reaching up, they feel the tears falling down their face. Muttering to themselves, they wipe away the tears aggressively, before quickly standing up and leaving their lab.
Rushing into the Medbay, they look over to Leo, checking him up and down quietly. Noticing the presence, Leo looks up, tilting his head to the side. “What's up DonTron?” Staring in silence, they put a finger up and walk out of the room, leaving a very confused Leo to sit there and wait.
Walking into the living room, they see Mikey and Raph snuggled up watching some random movie. “Sunset, group hug in Medbay.” They call, waving them to follow. The duo look at eachother and shrug, deciding to just quickly follow.
All of them making their way back in, Leo becomes even more confused. “Woah, are we about to have another interrogation? What did I do this time, Dee?” He jokes, but ends up with just silence in response. But suddenly, they use their robotic arms to pull them all into the hug individually. All looking between each other confused, they slowly ease into it, hugging them back.
A few moments pass before Donnie slowly releases the hug, backing away from them. “You alright Don?” Raph asks, looking at them with concern. Smiling sadly, they nod, using their robotic arms to pat the three of them on the head. “Just glad to have you guys.” They murmur, before quietly retracting their arms and walking out. The trio just look at where they were last, small smiles forming on their faces before they all hug once more, small tears rolling down their faces.
Walking back into their lab, they tune back into the recording once more. “What's your favorite pizza? Cause I'm ordering right now.” Scoffing, they walk over to the mask once more, watching the past chaos ensue.
After a bit, they laugh quietly. Finding out how to stop it, they decided to do so before it got too serious and got back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Junior.” Donnie calls, walking out of their lab. “Yeah Donatello?” Quickly rushing into the room, he stops a few feet away from them. “Here, it should be fully operational once more.” Handing him the piece, he smiles softly reaching up to grab it. But before he could, Donnie rips it back. “But…”
Sighing, they scan the room to see if anyone else was there. “I saw what happened before you got here. I guess someone, or I, set it up in the past to record everything.” They admit, looking over the mask once more. Hearing his breath hitch, they look over, noticing the small tears in his eyes recalling the memories. “But, I managed to save some of the past- happier, more…pleasant, moments in your life. So, whenever you want to, you can enter my lab and I can set it up for you to be able to watch them. I wasn't able to save everything, but I managed to save a lot. If there are any specific moments that you would like that you notice I didn't save, just inform me and I will see what I can do.”
Handing back over the mask, he takes it out of their hands carefully, tears starting to fall down his face. Smiling widely at the mask, he doesn't know what to say. Nodding in content, they start to walk back to their lab. “W-Wait!” He calls, sighing happily. “Thank you, so much!” He smiles, locking eyes with the soft shell. “No probles, it was the least I could do after seeing, that.” They nod, giving a soft smile before turning and walking away again.
Making it to the lab door, he stops them once more. “Could…Could we watch some now..?” Laughing quietly, they already suspected this. Nodding, they gesture for him to follow into the lab. A wide smile stretches across his face once more as he holds the mask protectively, running after them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“And there we are, you can use this remote to control it.” Handing him a remote, they move a beanbag over to the television they set up. Sitting down on their chair, they turn to their desk to get back to work. “Hit the center button when you are ready and it will start. Let me know if you need anything.” They instruct, picking up their tools to start on Leo’s communication system that happened to break during the time in the prison dimension.
“Thank you.” Casey smiles once more, getting comfortable on the beanbag before taking a deep breath, and playing the videos.
As the first video starts, it's a clip of Future Donnie giving him back the mask after installing the recording system. “Woah-ho-ho, buddy! Look at you! Wait… Hey, Don?” The recording moves over to Donnie who was smiling at him knowingly. “Did… Did you add the red marks to his mask?”
A child's laugh echoes quietly in the background. “I have no idea what you mean Nardo. I just added a recording system.” They roll their eyes, looking away. “Case, did you paint those?” He asks, turning back to the small child. The camera moves up and down quickly, going along with his nodding. Once it stops, they can see future Leo with tears in his eyes. “They look amazing, Jones Junior.” Pulling him into a hug, the recording fades to black changing to another scene, a few months later.
The mask is sitting propped up on his makeshift desk, giving a perfect view of the duo. Future Leo rocking a young Casey to sleep, while singing along quietly to a lullaby. Knowing the words, Present Casey lip sings along to them, tears forming in his eyes once again.
Realizing that they weren't working anyways, Donnie softly places down the items he has in his hand. Getting up and quietly walking over to Casey, they sit down next to him, watching the moments play.
Noticing them, he moves over more, giving them room to sit on the beanbag as well. Noticing this, they move and sit on it with him, keeping their distance but still being close.
“Thank you, once again.”
“No problem, Junior.”