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Chapter Text

   It's not what you painted in my head / There's so much there instead of all the colors that I saw / Oh, we all are living in a dream / But life ain't what it seems / Oh, everything's a mess...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Casey Jones Junior sits on the edge of a roof, watching the cars far below his dangling legs. This view never ceases to amaze him, never ceases to remind him of a flowing river of metal and flashing lights. He'd heard his uncles describe their fallen city as once being busy as an anthill, but he never quite understood. 

   Not until he got to see it for himself.

   "Casey."

   He looks to his right, the smile growing on his face met with an answering grin.

   "Hey, Sensei."

   Leonardo sits next to him with a sigh, wrapping his good arm around Casey's shoulders.

   "What's on your mind, Junior?"

   Casey waves a hand down at the street below.

   "Just... never really believed you about the anthill description. It's amazing how many people there are in the city. In the world."

   Leo looks down at his student with a fond smile.

   "You saved them, Casey," he says softly. "You saved them all. I'm so proud of you."

   Casey's smile falters, even as his heart swells from his sensei's words.

   "This is another dream... isn't it, Sensei."

   The arm around him tightens, and Casey finds himself clinging to Leonardo's side. 

   "Yes," Leo whispers, grief written on his face. "This is a dream. I wish it wasn't, but it is."

   Casey buries his face in Leo's plastron. 

   "Dad, I-"

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   "Jones!"

   Casey jolts awake, leaping to his feet with a salute. 

   "Private Jones reporting for duty!" The words slip from his mouth before he's fully awake. Unfortunately, his legs tangle in something soft, sending him toppling over. 

   "Dude, are you okay?" 

   Casey blinks at the orange and green blob above him, disoriented and dizzy from slamming into the floor. 

   "Master Michelangelo?"

   The blob -- which turns out to be young Michelangelo, now that Casey can actually focus on him -- sighs.

   "Just Mikey is fine, Case. You took a pretty big fall. How many fingers am I holding up?"

   "Three."

   "Good choice!" Mikey cheers, hauling Casey to his feet. 

   Looking around the room, Casey is met with varying looks of concern from the rest of his family. A movie plays on the projector, forgotten. 

   Oh.

   "I went weird again, didn't I," Casey mumbles, ducking his head. 

   Mikey laughs stiffly, waving his hand.

   "Of course not! You just fell asleep during movie night, that's all! Right, guys?"

   The attempt to diffuse the situation falls short. Casey doesn't miss the loaded glance Raph and Leo share, nor the way April won't look at him. 

   "Note to self. Avoid calling Casey by his last name when attempting to get his attention."

   Raph leans over and smacks Donnie on the back of the head. 

   "Ow! What was that for?" Donnie exclaims, turning to glare at his older brother. "I need those brain cells, you know."

   "You're making him feel worse," Raph hisses through his teeth. Donnie bristles, putting a hand to his chest.

   "Scoff! I would never-"

   "It's fine," Casey interrupts half-heartedly. "It's just- it's fine."

   Turning to leave, he glances back at the family, trying to ignore the way his eyes sting when he looks at Leo.

   "I'll be in my room if you need me."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   It's been two months, Casey thinks as he stares up at his ceiling through silent tears. Two months since we defeated the Kraang. Two months since I last saw Sensei Leonardo. Two months since I left my world behind. 

   It should feel better by now.

   Why don't I feel better?

   Casey isn't sure how long he lays there trying (and failing) to hold back his tears. It feels like hours. 

   The dreams started not long after the invasion. The location is always the same; a rooftop overlooking a busy road somewhere near Central Park. The view is so engraved in Casey's memory, he could probably recognize the roof on sight. 

   The people he sees in the dreams changes though. Sometimes it's Master Michelangelo, sending golden butterflies his way. Sometimes it's Uncle Tello, explaining how the vehicles on the street below function. Sometimes it's Raphael with words of comfort, or his mom hugging him tight, or Auntie April teaching him how to interact with kids his age.

   But most often, it's his Sensei. 

   Casey feels his eyes welling up again at the memory of his most recent dream. Sweet Galileo he misses him. He misses him. It feels like he's lost a part of his very being, a part of his soul. 

   "What's a soul?"

   Leonardo smiles down at him, taking his tiny hands in his own.

   "Well, Junior, that's a tough question!"

   "Please?" He draws out his plea, making his eyes huge and sparkly. Leo laughs, picking him up and setting him on his good shoulder.

   "Alright, I'll explain it best I can," he hums. "A soul is the part of a person that holds their life. Imagine a cup of water. The cup itself is like a person's body, and the water inside is like a person's soul. When a person dies, their cup empties, but the water doesn't just disappear. It moves on to wherever it needs to go. That's how life goes on."

   A knock on the door draws Casey out of the memory. He curses quietly, wiping the tears from his face as he gets up to answer the door. 

   "Heyyyyy," Leo drawls, leaning on the side of Casey's train car. He looks concerned and is trying to hide it behind a cocky smirk, but Casey sees right through him.

   "Hey," he croaks. He's too tired to pretend he's fine. Leo drops the smirk, squinting at Casey.

   "Are you okay? You seem kinda... sad."

   Casey sighs before walking back into his room, gesturing for Leo to follow. He sits on the edge of his bed while Leo claims the desk chair.

   "I am sad. I just... ugh." Casey flops backward on his mattress, dragging a hand across his face. "Have you ever loved something enough to die for it, but lost it before you could? Die for it, I mean?"

   Leo's silence makes Casey wince.

   "Sorry. I'm not explaining this very well, am I?"

   "No, I get it."

   Casey looks over at Leo's quiet response. The slider is burning a hole in the wall with the force of his stare. His jaw is clenched, and he absently traces a healed crack on his plastron. 

   "I, uh. I thought I would lose my brothers. That final battle with Kraang? It was... and then I thought I would actually... you know, die. Stuck up there with him. And I... I was..." 

   Leo trails off, eyes dropping to the floor. He doesn't say anything for a good minute, seeming to be in another place. Casey gets to his feet and hesitantly steps forward. 

   "...Leo?"

   "Hm?"

   "Are you alright?"

   Leo's eyes snap up to meet Casey's, then back to the floor. When he next looks at Casey, he wears his trademark smirk.

   "Of course I am, Case! Why wouldn't I be?" He holds up a hand to stop Casey's response. "I'm kinda hungry. You want anything to eat?"

   Casey narrows his eyes at the obvious deflection, but relents. 

   "No, not-"

   A prickle on the back of his neck. Someone is watching him. Someone is behind him.

   Casey whips around into a defensive crouch. 

   There's no one there.

   "Um. Case? You good?"

   He blinks, lowering his fists and turning to meet Leo's gaze.

   "I thought there was..." Casey shakes his head. "It's nothing. Let's go eat."

   After a long moment, Leo shrugs and stands to leave.

   "If you say so."

   Casey follows Leo from the room, trying to shake the feeling of a familiar gaze on his back. 

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   "Casey."

   "Sensei?" 

   "Casey, listen to me. I'm here. I'm so proud of you, Casey. Don't forget that."

   "What?"

   "I'm right here. I'm still here. I never left."

   "I don't-"

   "Casey? Casey, you're waking up. Don't forget. Never forget that I-"

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   He blinks groggily at the ceiling above his bed.

   Huh. That was weird. 

   Casey rolls over, wincing when he catches sight of his alarm clock. Three in the morning is pretty early, even for him. The dream must have woken him up.

   What was it about again? Casey ponders as he rubs sleep from his eyes. Why can't I-

   The back of his neck prickles. It's the only warning he gets.

   The temperature in his room plummets. The air seems to crackle; Casey tastes ozone. 

   A pinprick of blue light appears before Casey. It hovers at head height, sparking a bit. Indistinct voices whisper on the edges of his hearing. For a split second, Casey thinks he can hear-

   BANG

   In a flash of light, Casey is flung back. When he opens his eyes, the pinprick is gone, save for some fading sparks on the floor. 

   Getting to his feet, Casey backs out of the room, not taking his eyes off the sparks.

   He recognizes a failed portal attempt when he sees one. 

Chapter Text

   Expectations weigh on me / To satisfy these endless needs / And I don't care and I don't know why / Maybe I'm no good inside...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Casey stares into Leo's empty room.

   Maybe he went for a walk?

   His eyes land on the swords discarded against the nightstand.

   Not without those.

   Panic begins to gnaw in the back of Casey's mind. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. 

   Think, Case. Maybe Donnie would know where he is? 

   Casey huffs. It was a well known fact in the Resistance that Donatello put chips on his family to track their location and vitals. Based on the conversation in the Turtle Tank during this timeline's invasion, this Donnie did the same.

   Casey sets out toward the lab. Knowing him, Donnie is probably still awake, working on one project or another. 

   Sure enough, the lab door slides open when Casey knocks. 

   "Casey Junior. What brings you here so late?" Donnie asks without looking up from his desk, voice barely above a whisper. Only his desk light is on, and there's no music playing. 

   "Why are you whispering?"

   Donnie sighs and points towards the corner holding the lab's cot. It's dark, but Casey can see Leo sprawled across the cot, nestled in a knit blanket. 

   "Oh, good. I was wondering where he went."

   Flipping his goggles up, Donnie frowns at Casey. 

   "Were you looking for him?"

   "Yeah, he wasn't in his room when I checked. How long has he been in here?"

   "Since before midnight. He fell asleep a little after twelve. Why?"

   "Something weird happened, and I was wondering if it was Leo."

   The softshell raises a meticulously drawn eyebrow, unimpressed.

   "Elaborate."

   "Someone tried to open a portal into my room. It looked like one of Leo's."

   Donnie's golden eyes narrow, boring into Casey's blue ones. 

   "Are you sure? It could be a dream." 

   Casey stiffens, mind flying back to the rooftop in his dreams. 

   "What's on your mind, Junior?"

   "That's the thing," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I've been having weird dreams. Every night, it's the same location. Someone from my past talks to me, then I wake up."

   "Hm. Odd, but not entirely convincing," Donnie hums. "Have the dreams ever deviated from the norm?" 

   "I never had dreams before the invasion, if that's what you're asking."

   Donnie huffs and gets up from his desk to stalk towards Casey, who's beginning to wonder if he caught the softshell at a bad time. The scientist opens his mouth to speak, but a soft noise from the cot draws Donnie's attention, and he's at Leo's side in a flash.

   "Hey, Nardo," Donnie says, gently rubbing his brother's carapace. Leo mutters something Casey can't hear, and Donnie smiles softly. 

   "Everything's fine. You can go back to sleep."

   The words stab through Casey, settling in his spine with a chill.

   "Uncle Tello? Where are you going?"

   "You should be asleep, Casey Junior."

   Casey frowns.

   "You didn't answer my question."

   A small sigh, then long arms are scooping him up and cradling him close. He snuggles closer with a yawn as his uncle carries him back to the sleeping quarters. 

   "Just a quick mission with your Auntie April. We're investigating a strange message from one of the other factions. A reconnaissance mission, if you will."

   He's set down on his bed and wrapped in blankets. Golden eyes look into his own, holding his gaze.

   "Will you come back?"

   "Of course. What do you take me for? I'm the smartest person on this planet; the Kraang can't keep me down for long."

   "Promise?"

   The golden eyes look away, just for a moment. His uncle pats him on the head and turns to leave, stopping at the door to look back.

   A gentle smile, both a greeting and a goodbye.

   "Everything will be fine. Go back to sleep."

   "-reathe with me. In. Hold for three. Out. Hold for three. In. There you go." 

   "You said you'd come back."

   "What?"

   Casey snaps back to full awareness.

   Shit. Wrong timeline.

   "Ah. Nothing." Casey rubs his eyes, unsurprised to find tears there. "You're just like him."

   Donnie stares at him.

   "I've decided not to ask about that yet. More importantly, are you alright?" 

   Casey looks around. He's sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped tight around his legs. Donnie is kneeling next to him, a grounding hand on his shoulder.

   "Did I go weird?"

   "I can assure you," Donnie huffs, "that panic attacks -- and what I'm assuming are flashbacks -- are absolutely normal in this family. It is not, quote unquote, weird. But yes. You went weird."

   Casey gets to his feet, a bit unsteady, and Donnie retreats to his desk. Casey watches as he flips his goggles down and picks up a small chip.

   "...can I tell you something?"

   "Only if it doesn't interfere with my work on this very important central processing unit."

   "The dream from tonight. I could hear Sensei, but I couldn't see him. Everything was really blurry, muted. Like I was underwater."

   "Hm."

   "Sensei also seemed really desperate to tell me something. He was insistent that I remember something, but I woke up before he could say more."

   Donnie grunts, still bent over his chip. 

   "What did he say?"

   "That he's proud of me, same as the other dreams."

   The softshell looks up.

   "That's it?"

   "Ye- wait, no. He said something else." Casey screws up his face, trying to remember more. "He said..."

   A strange chill traces Casey's spine as the words come back to him. 

   "I'm right here. I'm still here. I never left."

   The lab falls silent, the words ringing in Casey's head. The chill spreads, like an icy touch between his shoulder blades.

   "Well, that's morbid," Donnie snorts. "Still not convinced that it's more than a drea-"

   The lights in the lab turn on. 

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Donnie frowns, but doesn't look up from attaching a microprocessor to the CPU. He slides his goggles up to inspect his work.

   "Very funny, Casey. Please turn that off."

   The lights turn off, including his desk lamp. Donnie's frown deepens, irritation rising even as he wonders how Casey turned off the desk lamp. It's not even hooked up to the light switch!

   "I mean it, Casey."

   Then all the lights turn back on, and Donnie whips around to give Casey a piece of his mind.

   The retort dies on his lips when he sees Casey, pale and trembling, nowhere near the lightswitch.

   The light switch flips by itself, and the lights turn off.

   Then on. 

   Then off.

   Casey hasn't moved the entire time.

   "Maybe it's a glitch?" Donnie weakly suggests.

   The lights go haywire. 

   Donnie yelps and falls out of his chair. His goggles fall into place, and he freezes.

   There's something by the light switch.

   Reaching up with a shaking hand, he presses the button on the side of his goggles and starts recording. 

   "Fascinating..."

   Donnie hears a dull thud from Casey and looks over. Casey has fallen to his knees, hands pressed over his eyes to block out the seizure-inducing lights.

   There's more somethings around Casey. Strange figures with glowing eyes.

   Donnie jumps to his feet, taking stock of the situation. He counts five figures around Casey, plus the one by the light switch, making it six possible hostiles. The tallest figure has to stoop to fit in the room; that one will be a problem. 

   "Strange beings!" He growls, summoning his ninpo. "Get out of my lab."

   One of the figures turns toward Donnie. It regards him for a moment, head titled, before it holds its hands out.

   The figure's eyes flare purple. Donnie's ninpo rises in response. 

   "What the-"

   His ninpo is harshly tugged from his grasp. Donnie wrestles to regain control, but the figure's eyes glow brighter. If quickly turns into a vicious game of tug-of-war, with Donnie and the figure both trying to gain the upper hand. 

   The figure's power, the way it fights... it feels... 

   Glowing markings appear on the figure Donnie grapples with. His eyes widen.

   No...

   "Donnie!"

   Leo's panicked shout breaks his focus, and the hold on his ninpo slips. A glitchy bolt of energy spears the wall above the light switch. The figures abruptly disappear as the lights die. 

   The lab plunges into darkness, illuminated only by the glow from Donnie's markings.

   "What was that?" Leo shrieks, breaking the shocked silence. "I fall asleep and Donnie decides to fight... to fight a... hey, Dee? What was that?"

   Donnie stares at his glowing markings. For a split second, he saw them mirrored on the figure he fought. 

   "Tello?" Casey whispers from his spot on the floor. Donnie flinches.

   "I'm right here."

   "I'm still here." 

   "I never left."

   "Go get the rest of the family," Donnie orders tonelessly.

   "We need to talk about the possibility of a ghost haunting the Lair."

Chapter Text

   You saw my pain / Washed out in the rain / And broken glass / Saw the blood run from my veins / But you saw no fault / No cracks in my heart / And you knelt beside / My hope torn apart...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Something is wrong with Donnie.

   Leo's pretty sure that Casey also noticed, but Leo can't read the glance Casey is sending his way. 

   But something's definitely wrong with his twin. 

   He lets Casey lead him from the trashed lab, looking back at Dee hunched over his goggles with a blank stare. 

   Leo shudders as he recalls his rude awakening. The lights were going absolutely insane, but Leo could still see the glow coming off of Donnie -- and the equally bright glow surrounding... whatever he was fighting. 

   Once they're a good distance from the lab, Leo whirls on Casey.

   "Okay, spill. What did I miss. Why is Donnie -- my steadfast supporter in the fact that ghosts don't exist -- talking about ghosts in the Lair?"

   Casey freezes, and only now does Leo recognize his expression. His heart plummets. 

   The poor guy looks downright haunted.

   "What?"

   "Hamato spirits exist," Casey says in a hollow voice. "Master Michaelangelo used to talk to them. I knew someone who could-" 

   He cuts himself off with a sharp inhale, closing his eyes before continuing. 

   "Don't tell me ghosts don't exist." 

   With an air of finality, Casey brushes past Leo into the common area, heading towards Mikey's room. Leo gapes after him.

   Jeez. Sensitive topic, huh?

   Shaking his head, he makes a beeline for Raph's room. 

   To his surprise, he doesn't need to wake Raph up.

   Because Raph isn't in his room. 

   Leo tries not to think about it. He really does. But his brain still plows ahead and brings up that memory. 

   The tentacle spear, hovering mere inches from his face. 

   The soft clatter of shell fragments falling on concrete. 

   The solid form of the brother he had once thought invincible, shielding Leo with his own body. 

   The key in his hands, the damn key, why did he go back for it, stupid stupid STUPID-

   "Leo?"

   He blinks, and his vision clears. There's a hand on his shoulder, the weight comfortable and welcome. His eyes follow the length of the arm, getting stuck on the fresh scar cutting between neck and shoulder. 

   Something must show on Leo's face, because Raph pulls him into a hug, rumbling deep in his chest. Leo leans against him, closing his eyes and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He can hear Raph's heartbeat like this, feel it where his face is pressed against Raph's plastron. 

   "Don't you ever," he chokes out, "sacrifice yourself for me. Never again."

   The great drum that is Raph's heart stutters, missing a beat before picking back up. The arms around him tighten. 

   "You're my little brother. It's my job to keep you safe. Keep all of my family safe."

   "Hm."

   "Are... are you okay? Need to talk about anything?"

   "... Donnie called a family meeting," Leo says after a moment. "He's probably getting impatient. Let's not keep him waiting."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   "Welcome, gentlemen. You may be wondering why I've called you here."

   A choreographed pause to allow for the expected complaints; it is four in the morning, after all. Surprisingly, none come.

   "Some of you may not believe what I'm about to say, may doubt the evidence I put forward. Luckily, I have two witnesses."

   Donnie ignores how uncomfortable Leo looks, focusing instead on Casey's grim expression. 

   "There may be a ghost haunting the Lair."

   The silence is palpable.

   Then comes the outrage.

   "I told you ghosts exist!"

   "Wait, what?"

   "Are you sure, Purple?"

   Casey and Leo say nothing.

   Donnie winces from the onslaught of sound, but latches on to his father's question. 

   "I'm sure." Donnie taps at his gauntlet, sending commands to his computer. A series of images appear on three of the six computer screens.

   Donnie is careful to only display the area around the light switch. He isn't ready to tell his family what else he saw. 

   "These are stills from the recording of the event. Here they are without the mystical activity filter."

   He taps his gauntlet. The other three screens light up.

   "And here they are with the filter." 

   The difference is obvious. The unfiltered images show nothing but the stretch of wall around the light switch. The filtered images show a vague silhouette, hovering a few feet off the ground. A glowing hand rests on the light switch. 

   Donnie turns to observe his family's response to the images. Splinter wears narrowed eyes and ears flattened against his skull. Raph is twitchy and anxious, based on how he's side-eying the light switch. Leo, who's inspecting the images with laser focus, might as well be a statue for how quiet he is. Mikey seems to be evenly split between fear and curiosity, which leads to...

   Casey's whole body is wound tight, like prey seconds from capture. His eyes dart between the silhouette on screen and -- oddly enough -- Mikey. An odd emotion shows on his face, something caught between fear and recognition. 

   If anything, Casey's reaction just supports Donnie's unspoken theory. 

   Mental note to self: Speak to Casey as soon as possible.

   "I've analyzed the footage. The area where the ghost stands is about five degrees Celsius cooler than the surrounding air."

   "Uh, Dee?"

   "That's roughly sixty degrees Fahrenheit where the ghost is, compared to the seventy degree air temperature."

   "Donnie?"

   "In addition, the ghost can interact with items. The light switch, for example. I have yet to discover what else it can interact with, but I will work on that shortly."

   "Donnie!"

   The softshell breaks off mid-speech, turning to see Mikey scowling. Donnie sighs and rubs his temples.

   "Yes, Mikey?"

   "As I was trying to tell you," Mikey huffs, "I've been feeling you guys' ninpo in funny places. Not, like, funny haha, but funny weird."

   "I fail to see how that is relevant, dear Angelo," Donnie grits out, peeved that his well-rehearsed speech was interrupted. 

   "Well, I thought it was a good time to ask why I feel Leo's ninpo in the kitchen when he's sitting right next to me."

   Donnie freezes. His gaze finds Leo, who stares right back at him. 

   "Mikey," he says slowly, deliberately picking through his next words. "Please tell me that was a joke."

   Mikey shakes his head, concern beginning to show in his posture. Mind racing, Donnie turns to Casey, whose face is as white as a sheet.

   "Casey Junior. I'm going to investigate and would like you to come with me. Are you up to that?"

   After a moments hesitation, Casey nods and gets to his feet. 

   "Good. Mikey, contact me if Leo's ninpo moves." 

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Casey follows Donnie towards the kitchen. The scientist already has his goggles down and on standby to record. Casey holds his hockey stick, ready to attack at Donnie's command.

   Only, he's not sure he wants to attack. Casey knows Master Michelangelo's silhouette anywhere, from years of watching him fight through the eyes of his mask. When the shape of his uncle appeared on Donnie's screen, Casey felt his heart stop.

   It could be a trap. A cruel joke. Stray mystic energy. It could be anything.

   Donnie holds his hand out to stop Casey as they near the kitchen, drawing him out of his thoughts. The softshell looks around the corner and stiffens.

   "It's here. Get ready."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The spirit watches as the turtle peeks around the corner into the kitchen. The turtle's goggles are flipped down, most likely recording. The spirit doesn't mind. The footage will be helpful to both parties; the living and the dead.

   There -- a flinch from the turtle tells the spirit that he's been seen. The turtle says something the spirit can't hear, and the student appears over his shoulder. The spirit grins. 

   Time to test his brother's theory.

   Both of them.

   "Hey, Junior."

Chapter Text

   Damn, who knew? / All the planes we flew, good things we been through / That I'd be standing right here talking to you / 'Bout another path, I know we'd love to hit the road and laugh / But something told me that it wouldn't last...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   "Sooo... are we gonna talk about it?"

   Mikey hums, distracted by folding his stolen blueprint paper into some sort of bird. Raph says nothing, either not hearing Leo or ignoring him. Splinter went off somewhere a bit after Donnie left with Casey.

   "Can we please talk about it." 

   Nothing. Leo growls, concern for his twin and maybe-student churning in his core.

   "Raph!"

   His older brother blinks and looks up sheepishly.

   "Sorry, Leo. Raph wasn't payin' attention. What's up?"

   "Haven't you noticed Casey and Don are acting weird?"

   Raph blinks, tilting his head back against the wall.

   "Huh. Yeah, they're all..." Raph waves his hand in the air meaningfully. "Nervous or somethin', ya know?"

   "Oh, they're probably just stressed about who the ghost is," Mikey says calmly, still folding his paper. "Any second now, they'll-"

   Leo's comm screeches, effectively cutting off whatever Mikey says next. Leo winces and holds the wristband away from his ear, then tenses. 

   Donnie's voice can be heard over the comms. And he's yelling. 

   "-ack! Give tha- No! Get away from him! Casey!"

   Leo can barely hear Casey in the background, but he seems to be crying.

   "He's here! Y-you're here!"

   "Casey, stop!"

   "I won't hurt him, Dee."

   Leo feels his blood freeze. He can feel Raph and Mikey staring holes in his head, but he can't move. 

   Why did that sound like my voice?

   "Casey, give those-" The sound of a struggle filters through the comms. "Aha! Now, get out of our home, ghost whom I definitely do not know!"

   Donnie is lying. 

   Why is he lying? 

   Everything clicks into place.

   His voice, coming through the wrong side of the comms. His ninpo in the kitchen, disconnected from his body.

   The figure Donnie fought in the lab had the same glow to it as Leo's twin. 

   Casey staring at Mikey when the images showed on the screen. 

   Donnie didn't show all the footage from the fight in the lab, even though it was likely valuable data. 

   The spooked look Casey had after their talk in the kid's room. The look of someone who knew they were being watched.

   Hamato spirits exist.

   Fuck.

   Leo shoots to his feet. 

   "We need to get to the kitchen now."

   He reaches over his shoulder to grab his swords, but his hands close on air. He must have left them in his room. 

   Raph, bless him, doesn't say a word, instead scooping Mikey into his arms and kicking the lab door down. Leo leads the way to the kitchen at a sprint.

   "Donnie!" Leo shouts into the comms. "Incoming!"

   "What?!" The sounds of an impact echoes across the line, and Leo can hear the air whoosh from someone's lungs. 

   "Incoming," he repeats, then slaps his wristband to turn it off.

   "Leo," Raph huffs as they charge towards the kitchen, "What's wrong?"

   "I know who the ghosts are," Leo grits out.

   "Who are- wait. Ghosts plural?"

   They skid into the kitchen before Leo can answer. It takes a second for Leo to take in the scene, mostly because he's instantly blinded by a familiar blue light. When his eyes adjust, he gasps.

   Casey's curled up in the corner with a stunned expression on his face. Donnie's fighting against a being of blue light, losing an unfair battle. The figure opens portals at the drop of a hat and teleports away randomly, always landing a hit before Donnie can react. 

   The greatest ninja the world has ever seen.

   Mikey shouts to Raph before throwing himself at Casey, but Leo can't worry about that because Donnie trips.

   A flash of blue below Donnie -- Leo feels something tug at his soul when the portal opens and he sees the dark on the other side. He thinks of the prison realm, of being stuck there, of Donnie being stuck there, and then he's moving-

   He shoves Donnie away from the portal, but his own momentum carries Leo into the glowing doorway and into darkness. 

   Leo crashes into something hard and collapses, ears ringing. 

   Ow.

   He lets the ringing fade before hauling himself to his feet. Leo wobbles, dizzy from the pain in his head, and reaches out to steady himself.

   Someone grabs his hand. They're freezing to the touch, and Leo feels the chill sink into his blood. He looks up.

   He's barely visible, his glow faded, but Leo would recognize that face anywhere. 

   "You," Leo snarls, yanking his hand from the spirit's grasp.

   The ghost smiles wryly; it's like looking in a mirror. 

   "Hamato Leonardo, at your service."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   It's unnerving to see such hatred on his own face, especially so young. Sure, it may be warranted, but Leo is surprised to see it this early. 

   He thought the self-hate started later in life. He supposes the invasion changed things, just like it did to him. 

   "What are you doing here?" Leo -- Little Leo? Leon? -- growls. "Why did you attack Donnie?"

   Leo bites the inside of his cheek. Leon's concern for his twin in the face of possible danger to himself... is admirable, but inevitable. Leo had meant to portal Donnie -- the scientist would have appreciated solid evidence, after he calmed down -- but he won't tell Leon that. 

   "Actually, Donnie attacked first. I was trying to keep him from destroying the kitchen."

   "What did you do to Casey, then? I thought-"

   "He's fine," Leo says calmly, brushing off the nausea from the thought of hurting Casey. It hurts that Leon thinks Leo would even dream of it. "He's having a conversation with Donatello right now. My Donnie, not yours."

   Leon's quiet, taking in the information with a narrow-eyed glare. Then-

   "This isn't the prison dimension."

   The ghost feels a nonexistent heart miss a beat, his glow paling.

   "The what."

   He hadn't- he- 

   There's always a time of transitioning between being alive and becoming a ghost. Leo missed the entire invasion of this timeline during his transition period, only becoming aware a few days after the Kraang's defeat. When he came to, he saw the present-day turtles nursing their wounds.

   He had stopped to wonder why Leon's injuries were more severe than those of his family.

   It's so much worse than he thought.

   "No. No, it's not the prison dimension. You're still in the Lair," Leo reassures his younger self. "You're in the maintenance closet by the medbay."

   "Oh." Leon relaxes, just a bit, and stares at Leo. There's a flicker of relief in his eyes before Leon throws his walls back up. "What are you doing here, though?"

   Leo grins.

   "What? I can't visit my kid from the afterlife? What has the world come to?!" He gasps dramatically, putting a hand to his head. Leon's eyes follow the metal hand, seeming to burn into the plating, and Leo slowly puts the arm back down.

   "How did they die?"

   The question is like a battering ram to Leo's chest. He gapes at Leon, who has his eyes locked on the arm, gaze smoldering with barely controlled rage. 

   But Leon doesn't let him respond before hitting him with the next question. 

   "Was it our fault?"

   A solid body, the red clothing and blood standing out against the grey dust, holding the ceiling from collapsing. 

   A reconnaissance mission gone wrong, doomed from the start. Two siblings, lost in one fell stroke. 

   Glowing sparks and a portal flaring to life. A doorway to save their world at the cost of everything his remaining brother had left. 

   All on his orders.

   His silence must say something, because Leon's burning rage turns ice cold. 

   "I thought so."

   Leon turns and, finding the doorknob in the dark, leaves the closet in search of his family. 

Chapter Text

   I don't ever wanna be someone who will never recognize themselves / I don't ever wanna be someone hollow from the inside out...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Raph freezes when Leo falls through the portal. He sees the panicked determination on Leo's face as he pushed Donnie away. The blue light disappears with the portal, and the room seems to hold its breath. 

   "Leo!" Mikey scrambles to the spot where the portal was, falling to his knees as if he could dig through the floor. 

   "Dee!" Raph barks, snapping out of his shock. "Can you-"

   "On it," Donnie growls as he swipes at his wristpad. "Mikey, please check on Casey."

   Mikey nods, eyes wide and brimming with tears, before putting on a brave face and staggering to Casey's side. The boy doesn't react, seeming to be somewhere else. Mikey murmurs something under his breath, talking softly to Casey.

   Donnie slumps, his sharp exhale echoing with relief.

   "He's still in the Lair," he announces. "The closet by the medbay, to be precise. His heart rate is a bit fast, but holding steady. I'll retrieve him." 

   A jolt runs through Raph, gripping his lungs in an iron grasp. 

   "Not alone, ya ain't."

   Donnie scowls, not looking up from tapping his wristpad. 

   "You doubt my abilities, Raphael? I can handle this. Besides, Mikey may require aid with Casey."

   Raph looks back at Casey, unresponsive and still. He's torn, stuck between staying and going. He doesn't want to leave in case the ghost comes back, but something's telling him to stick with Donnie.

   In the end, his instincts win.

   "I trust you, Dee," Raph reassures, "But my older brother senses are telling me somethin'. I'm coming with."

   That earns him a concerned glance from Mikey, but Donnie's frown lessens.

   "Beleaguered sigh. I suppose I can't stop you. Come along, then. Leon's on the move."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   They find Leo in the garage, digging through a box of scrap metal. He's seething, hissing threats through his teeth. Raph and Donnie share a concerned glance before Donnie clears his throat. 

   Leo jumps, whirling to throw a metal shard towards them. Donnie yelps and ducks, narrowly avoiding the blade, which ends up embedded in the wall where his head was. Leo snarls, nictating membranes slid over his eyes.

   "Leo!" Raph yells, not sure if he should throw himself in front of Donnie or freeze to prevent spooking Leo. "It's just us!" 

   Leo blinks at the sound of Raph's voice, membranes sliding back to reveal green eyes. A look of horror spreads over his face, and he darts forward to grab Donnie by the shoulders.

   "Oh sweet pizza supreme, are you okay?! Please tell me I missed!"

   "Barely," Donnie grumbles, but hurries to reassure his twin when Leo pales. "Relax, Nardo, it didn't even graze me." 

   "Oh. Good." Relief flickers on Leo's face, but it's quickly replaced with irritation as he starts shaking Donnie. 

   "Why didn't you tell me!"

   "Tell you- ow! Stop shaking me!"

   "You knew and you didn't tell me!" Leo wails. "Don't you trust me?"

   Raph grabs his brothers and lifts them off the ground, trying to separate them. 

   "Stop tha- Donnie! Don't bite him!" Raph huffs and shakes the twins until they stop fighting. "Much better. Now. What's Leo talkin' about, Don?"

   Donnie clams up, giving his twin the stink eye.

   "Donatello," Raph growls. Donnie slumps in defeat, letting his limbs dangle.

   "I... may or may not. Um. Know who the ghosts are."

   "Wha- and you didn't tell us?!" Raph shakes his purple brother again. "Dude!"

   The crackle of the comm saves Donnie. Raph sighs and drops Leo to answer, not letting go of Dee when he complains.

   "Chello?"

   "Casey's awake," Mikey reports. "He's got something to say."

   "So does Donnie," Raph growls, side-eying the softshell, who shrinks under his glare. "Meet back at the lab? Or do this now?

   "... now is fine, unless Donald has footage he neglected to show us."

   Raph doesn't miss the wince from Donnie, or the knowing smirk from Leo. In the end, though, he decides to grant Donnie mercy.

   "I think the footage can wait. He'll definitely be showin' us, though."

   Donnie gulps, nodding.

   "Of course!"

   "Alright then. Casey?"

   "I'm here," comes the kid's quiet response. "I know who the ghosts are."

   "What a coincidence." Raph grins sharkishly at Donnie, who's beginning to shrink into his shell. "So does Donnie!"

   "I know," Casey sighs wearily. "He's not exactly good at lying."

   "So, whose ghosts are they?" Raph asks over Donnie's indignant squawk.

   "Yours. The ones from my timeline."

   Casey's words hit Raph like a sack of bricks to the chest. He staggers, dropping Donnie in favor of leaning against the wall. Leo presses his mouth into a thin line, looking grim but unsurprised. Donnie fiddles with the release for his battleshell once he regains his balance.

   "Are you sure?" Raph croaks.

   "Yes sir. Without a doubt."

   "How?"

   A pause. 

   "Uncle Tello's ghost spoke to me just now. That was Sensei Leonardo in the kitchen." 

   Leo flinches, but Casey keeps going, so Raph can't focus on that right now.

   "Master Michelangelo pulled the prank with the light switch. I, uh. I don't know where Raphael is."

   If Raph feels disappointed that Casey doesn't assign a title to his future self, he doesn't show it. Instead, he keeps his voice steady and calm as he asks his next question.

   "What do you need us to do, Case?"

   "We need to contact Draxum," Casey states with the tone of a soldier with a plan. "He'll know what to do."

   "How do you know he'll help?" Leo grumbles. "Will he actually know anything?"

   "He... my Draxum had a contact," Casey says after a moment's hesitation. "Assuming they didn't already die in this timeline's invasion, they can help. Draxum will know how to reach them, but he'll need some convincing."

   "How can we convince him?" 

   "Leave that to me," Mikey says, and Raph knows it's with a grin. 

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Baron Draxum answers the door the third time they knock. He takes one look at them and drags a hand across his eyes. 

   "Michelangelo," he sighs. "The sun has not yet risen, and you're at my door with all your brothers and a boy you claim is from an alternate timeline set in an apocalyptic future. May I ask why?"

   "Hey Barry!" Mikey tackles the yokai, looking up at him with shiny carmine eyes. "We need your help with some ghosts in the Lair -- they're from the same future Casey Junior's from by the way -- and Casey says you know someone who can help and it would be great if you can call them or tell us where to find them please and thank you."

   Draxum blinks at the turtle currently wrapped around his waist like a koala.

   "I... don't remember giving you lungs with enough capacity to hold the air you just used. How interesting."

   Mikey just beams at him, and Draxum sighs. 

   "I suppose you would like to come inside to talk?" 

   "Yup," Mikey says, popping the "p", still hanging onto Draxum. The yokai rolls his eyes, but steps aside to let the group into his apartment. The brothers make themselves comfortable around the room; Mikey's still clinging to Draxum on the couch, Donnie takes up residence by the bookshelf, Leo claims an armchair, and Raph sits on the floor. Only Casey stays standing, pacing by the window. 

   "Now, can someone explain -- with more pauses between sentences -- why you are here?" 

   "There are ghosts in the Lair," Casey reports. "Spirits from my timeline. We need to speak with The Crow."

   The yokai looks unimpressed, though a flicker of recognition briefly glimmers in his orange eyes, quickly hidden.

   "The Crow? I do not know of that name."

   "Then does the name Darner ring a bell?" Casey hisses. Raph blinks. 

   Is he that upset?

   All of the sudden, Casey deflates. He hangs his head, arms wrapped tight around himself. When he speaks next, it's broken, desperate.

   "Please, Ojīsan. I don't know who else to go to."

   Out of the corner of his eye, Raph sees Leo and Donnie share a shocked glance. He thinks the word Casey used was Japanese, but he never bothered to learn any -- the twins are the only ones who got anywhere with the language.

   Draxum's face does something strange at Casey's request; after he gets over his shock, he looks like he goes through all five stages of grief in the span of two seconds. His expression eventually settles somewhere between acceptance and dismay, and he waves his hand.

   "How- never mind. I would ask how you know of the Darner Clan, but you are an answer in and of itself. It seems you have quite a history, if you are bold enough to call me that," Draxum adds with a bit of fond (?) exasperation. 

   "Now, you need to contact The Crow? I know where to find them. I will tell you on one condition."

   The yokai leans forward, looking Casey in the eye. Raph finds himself holding his breath in anticipation.

   "Do not harm them, or you will face dire consequences. Do you understand, human?" Draxum asks, his quiet tone laced with threats. Casey nods.

   "I understand."

   "Good." Draxum leans back. "Then let us discuss where to find them."

Chapter Text

   Baby, we built this house on memories / Take my picture now / Shake it 'til you see it / And when your fantasies become your legacy / Promise me a place / In your house of memories...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The sun is setting on the surface by the time they step into the Hidden City. Casey shudders, nauseous from the jittery sparks of Leo's portal. It's so much different from the time gateway he was sent through, with its gentle warmth and sunbeams. 

   God, he misses his family. The longing sits in Casey's chest like an anchor, weighing him down. He would give anything to have Sensei hold him again, Michelangelo smile at him, Uncle Tello show him how to fix something with patience he reserved for Casey alone. To have Auntie April spar with him again, to feel his mother's arms around him in more than a distant memory, to hear Raphael's story one last time. 

   Casey would give anything to have that again. Even himself.

   He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up. Raph's honey brown eyes are rounded in sympathy, gaze gentle and warm. 

   "Still not used to that, huh?"

   Casey shakes his head, not trusting his voice. He doesn't think he can explain how he's feeling anyway. 

   Raph chuckles, patting Casey on the back.

   "Want a shell ride?"

   "Oh please," Leo scoffs from somewhere to Casey's right. "The poor guy obviously needs one."

   Casey opens his mouth to retort -- then closes it, actually considering Raph's offer.

   In the end, he meekly nods and climbs up. He ends up perched on Raph's shoulder.

   It's surprisingly comfortable. 

   It reminds him of Sensei. 

   "Which way, Dee?" Mikey bounces, eager to get moving. Donnie pulls up the map on his wristpad and grimaces.

   "I didn't know we were so close to Witchtown."

   "Is there a problem with Witchtown?" Leo asks. 

   "No, no. They just don't like me very much," Donnie explains vaguely. "The location is far enough to the south that it shouldn't be a problem. We should get moving if we want to get there on time, though."

   The group murmurs their agreement, and set out. The hike only takes ten minutes, according to Donnie, but it feels longer to Casey. 

   Finally getting to their destination -- a small building that is quickly deemed to be a potion shop -- the turtles hide in the surroundings to keep watch. Casey sticks with Raph, who ends up on the shop's roof. They can see down the road a good distance in both directions from up here, to Casey's satisfaction. Then they settle in to wait.

   About two minutes in, Raph speaks up.

   "How long has it been since you last had a shell ride?"

   Casey frowns at the road below.

   "Sensei used to carry me around a lot when I was younger. Less when I got older, but he still did it. I'd say the last time I had a shell ride was... about a week or two before I got sent back."

   The silence that follows is deafening. Casey looks up to see Raph staring at him with evident concern.

   "What about me?" Raph asks quietly. "Didn't I ever carry you?"

   Casey bites the inside of his cheek and looks away. He hears Raph flinch, the roof creaking under his weight.

   "Ah."

   "You died a month before I was born," Casey murmurs. "It wasn't your fault."

   "Case-"

   A faint noise. Casey's gaze snaps towards the woods, where Leo and Mikey are hiding. Raph falls silent.

   The air seems to hold its breath. 

   "She's here," Casey breathes. "Get ready."

   "What?" Raph whispers incredulously. "I thought-"

   He's cut off when a screech pierces the air. It's an animalistic sound, wild and jagged, cutting deep into the silence of the night. 

   Casey knows that battle cry. 

   He stands, calm even when Leo starts screaming over the comms and Donnie emerges from his hiding spot with a violet streak. He can see blue and gold flashes in the woods; Leo and Mikey are attacking. 

   He raises his arm, lines up his shot, and fires the grappling hook in his wristband. The line pulls taut, and Casey steps from the roof.

   Raph's cry of shock is quickly left behind as Casey swings towards the light. He lands on a thick branch above the fight and stops short.

   A figure in a black trenchcoat and motorcycle helmet dodges an attack from Mikey while throwing blades at Leo with pinpoint accuracy. Leo deflects the knives off his swords, but he's just barely fast enough. 

   Donnie arrives just then and throws himself into the fight; Raph isn't far behind. The figure turns to swipe at Donnie, and the light from the softshell's attack reflects off the motorcycle helmet they wear.

   A rune is emblazoned on the front of the helmet. Casey freezes, and suddenly he's five years old and learning to read.

   "What's this letter?" he asks, pointing at the instruction manual before him.

   A quirk of the mouth, barely there, but Casey knows it's a smile because the brown eyes above it go warm. 

   "That's the letter e. It's a vowel. You have one in your name."

   "And this one?" Casey reaches out and pats the helmet beside the book on the table.

   A soft exhale; Casey knows it's a laugh.

   "Oh, Champ. That's not English, it's Norse. It's the rune Othala. It stands for our ancestors."

   "Oh. Will I learn Norse too?"

   "If you want to, I'll teach you."

   "Aunt Toby," Casey whispers, back in the present. Then again, louder. "Aunt Toby!"

   The fight screeches to a standstill. Everyone's looking at Casey, but he only has eyes for the person in the helmet. He jumps down from his perch and approaches The Crow like one would approach a wild animal.

   "Aunt Toby," he chokes out. 

   The Crow bolts. 

   "Wait!" Casey runs after, knowing he'll lose her in the woods if he doesn't follow. 

   She's fast, Casey notes. Faster than I am. 

   He growls, frustrated when the distance between Casey and his prey increases.

   I'm not going to catch up to her.

   The lay of the terrain catches his eye just right, and another memory is unearthed; a supply run into the ruins of Witchtown. 

   He's been here before.

   Casey hears the hum of a portal behind him, and Leo appears at his side, brothers in tow.

   "What's the plan?" Leo asks as he falls into step with Casey. 

   "I know where she's going!" Casey pants, lungs burning from the chase. "Donnie, come with me. Everyone else, keep following. Make sure she keeps running south, but try to slow her down."

   Leo gives a lazy salute before Casey splits off from the group with Donnie flying above him. 

   "You're going to need a ride," Donnie yells down at him. "You're wearing out."

   "Are you offering to carry me?" Casey huffs. "Doesn't sound like it. We're almost there. Got any net launchers?"

   "Not at the moment, but I do have something better."

   Casey skids to a stop outside the upcoming clearing and scales a tree to hide within the branches. 

   "We're here. She'll approach from that direction."

   Donnie scans the clearing and double-takes.

   "What the-"

   A huge pine tree stands before the pair, probably the oldest in the forest. A structure sits between two higher branches, woven of sticks and vines. 

   "Welcome to The Nest," Casey whispers, something in his chest twisting with bittersweet nostalgia. The last time he saw this place, the forest had been razed to the ground, the undergrowth ablaze.

   Approaching footsteps draw Casey back to the task at hand. He signals to Donnie, who nods and raises his tech-bo.

   The Crow bursts into the clearing, the other turtles on her heels. Donnie fires his tech-bo, a purple construct slamming into The Crow. Within seconds, she's trapped in a glowing sphere hovering a foot off the ground. 

   The Crow shrieks and throws herself against the walls of her cage, growing more agitated when nothing happens. Casey hops down from the tree he's hiding in to join the other turtles around the cage. 

   Why does she look different? Casey wonders. Her silhouette is the wrong shape.

   "Will it hold her, Don?" Leo pants. 

   Donnie nods, his brow furrowed in concentration. 

   "Good," Leo wheezes, putting his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. "That wore me out."

   "Um. Can she breathe?" Raph eyes The Crow, who's apparently given up on her escape attempt. She reaches towards her neck, seeming a little panicked. 

   "Of course she can breathe," Donnie retorts. "The containment sphere is semipermeable, and even if it wasn't, she shouldn't already be out of air."

   Casey's eyes widen as a piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

   She's wearing her cloaking necklace.

   He rushes to pull his mask over his face and shutter the eye holes, but is too late in warning the others. Casey hears the turtles yell and winces in sympathy; he's witnessed firsthand the blinding light caused by the necklace. 

   Casey opens the mask's shutters just in time for the cage to tear apart. The Crow steps out on feathered digitigrade legs, black talons flashing in the dim light. She flexes a four-fingered hand, and Casey catches a glimpse of claws retracting. Anything else is hidden under the trenchcoat, but Casey knows what's there.

   But as soon as she sees Casey watching her, The Crow puts the necklace back on; the cloaking falls into place as she turns to run.

   A birdskull necklace, hanging on the memorial wall. He takes it down as they flee the base, not wanting to leave behind the last piece of his aunt.

   "Wait!"

   The Crow whips around, shoulders tight with anger and fear. Casey stands his ground and reaches into his belt pouch, telegraphing his movements so he doesn't spook her.

   When Casey pulls his aunt's necklace out of the pouch, the Crow recoils. Her hand creeps up to the identical necklace at her throat, as if checking that it's still there.

   "This was yours," Casey croaks. "A long time ago, in another world. My world."

   She shakes her head, backing away. Casey hears the turtles recover from the flash and holds his hand out to keep them from approaching.

   "Please, Aunt Toby." He takes a deep breath. "Fjölskyldan okkar rekur ekki." 

   The Crow goes stock still.

   Then, slowly, cautiously, she reaches up and takes off her helmet. 

   In the apocalypse, Casey rarely saw his aunt's human disguise. He always took a moment to recognize her, to find the features that connect human to yokai. The heart-shaped face, the deep brown eyes, the olive complexion to her skin. 

   But even after the eleven years since Casey last saw her, he can still find those connecting features. 

   Toby shakes her head incredilously, her black undercut messy from the helmet. 

   "You," she says, her silvery voice shaky from disuse. "They said you'd come."

   "Who?" 

   "They said that you could explain," she continues, taking a hesitant step forward. "That you would know why."

   "Who's they?" Casey repeats, voice cracking. 

   She looks at him, behind him, through him.

   "You know who. All the ghosts of your world; you didn't leave them behind. Every single person who ever lived in your world followed you into this one."

   Everything falls into place. It feels like getting struck by lightning.

   "All of them?" Casey breathes. Toby's smile is grim. Her eyes shift to his right, then back to him.

   "The blue one says he wants to talk to you."

   "Uh, I'm right here?"

   Casey barely hears Leo over the blood rushing in his ears. Toby raises an eyebrow.

   "He didn't tell you?" She frowns at Casey. "You didn't tell them?"

   "Tell us what?" Donnie's reply is low. Toby narrows her eyes at the unspoken threat.

   "I can see ghosts."

Chapter Text

   Guess life is long / When soaked in sadness / On borrowed time / From Mr. Madness / And so it goes / A choking rose back / To be reborn / I want to hold you like you're mine...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Toby's words are the final spark in the dumpster fire that is Casey's life. He hadn't accepted the deaths. Not really. He was stuck, permanently trapped in the denial phase of grief. 

   Casey knew they were dead. Something in the back of his mind was just keeping him from moving past it.

   He's huddled before a steaming cauldron with no memory of how he got there, staring into the flames. He feels numb, like he's been stuffed with cotton. He barely registers the people around him; someone's hand is on his back, but he can't move to react.

   "Casey, please breathe. You're scarin' me." The voice is muffled, like it's coming from underwater. 

   Breathing. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. He just can't remember how.

   Breathing is required, a little voice that sounds suspiciously like Sensei Leonardo pipes up from the back of his head. 

   Except Sensei isn't here. Because Sensei is dead. 

   Sensei Leonardo is dead. 

   His dad is dead.

   Everyone's dead. 

   Uncle Tello, Raphael, Master Michelangelo, Auntie April, Ojīsan Draxum and Splinter, his mother, Aunt Toby, Cousin Shelldon, Great-Tio Hueso-

   DEAD

   It's like a switch is flipped. One moment, Casey's not feeling anything; the next, he's drowning in air.

   And it all comes crashing down. 

   "Ah jeez- Casey, breathe. Breathe."

   "Give him some room, you're crowding him-"

   "Casey, look at me."

   He flinches away from his sensei Leo, hot guilt burning him from the inside out. 

   I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I couldn't save you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

   "It's okay, Casey. It's not your fault. You don't need to apologize."

   It's the same voice Sensei used when Casey went to him in the night, wanting his dad after a nightmare. It's the same voice Leo used the night of the invasion, when he told Casey that he was proud of him. Soft and sad, tinged with regret and backed with determination.

   It's the same voice.

   It's too much.

   Casey shoots to his feet and stumbles away from the voice, heart twisting even more with Master Michelangelo's Mikey's cry of alarm. 

   "Casey?"

   Blue eyes meet green, and the twisting in Casey's chest turns brittle. Something snaps, and he's running.

   Hot tears blind him, but his feet find the path, instinctively following the downward slope. 

   I'm sorry.

   He nearly skids over the edge of a ravine, but changes direction just in time. He has no clue where he's going. He knows exactly where he's going.

   I'm sorry. 

   His lungs seize, and he staggers, falling when his boots catch on a root. Wheezing, Casey hugs himself, face pressed against the ground. 

    I'm sorry. 

   Casey doesn't know how long he lays there, breath choppy while tears stream down his face. The world dims for a while, and time is lost in his grief.

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   When Casey eventually sits up, he sees a faint white glow a little farther down the path. His breath catches in his throat again when he realizes where he is.

   Standing on shaky feet, he reverently enters the grotto. A geode makes up most of the back wall, and lush vines of golden berries hang from the ceiling of the cave. 

   It's beautiful, but Casey only has eyes for the well at the center of the grotto. It's built of stone brick, and moss drapes over the roof. Approaching the well, Casey sees that it's shallow. The water within glows a pearlescent white, but Casey can somehow see his reflection in it.

   He freezes. 

   Casey's not the only one in the reflection.

   He almost whirls around to look behind him, but he already knows that he won't see anything. 

   Six figures stand behind him, silhouettes he recognizes in an instant.

   Red, solid and imposing, but gentle by heart. Casey's only ever seen him in dreams, but the stories from their family don't do him justice.

   Purple, tall and lanky, with a patience reserved for Casey alone gracing his face. Grief tints his smile, regret for a promise broken.

   Orange, youngest and wisest, a glowing grin crinkling the corners of his eyes. His hair has grown back in, and he has it pulled back in thin braids.

   Green, upbeat and tough, with a hand resting on the bat on her belt. She gives Casey a knowing smile and a wink.

   Maroon, energetic and warm, brown eyes blazing with love. Casey's heart breaks when she signs I love you to him.

   Blue, strong and proud, looking at Casey with the eyes of a father. He puts a hand on Casey's shoulder, and he can almost feel the weight of it.

   "Will you come back?"

   "I don't want to lose you."

   "Don't leave me alone!"

   "I'm right here. I'm still here. I never left."

   "All the ghosts of your world; you didn't leave them behind."

   "Anatawa hitorijanai."

   A spark, new and familiar, something he's known his entire life yet never knew he had.

   It 

   Unlocks-

   Casey slips. 

   He hits the water just as he remembers that it was never water that fills the well. 

   It's a portal.

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   It's quiet around the cauldron, after Casey runs away. Too quiet, in Mikey's opinion. He desperately wants to break the tension -- start a conversation, look for Casey, anything to cut the silence -- but he's scared that if he speaks up, the others will scatter. 

   Mikey sneaks a peek around the fire, gauging the emotions of the people near him. Donnie's staring at the contents of the cauldron from a cautious six feet away, hands twitching. Raph looks pained, watching the edge of the clearing with a tired slump in his shoulders. Leo paces, furiously chewing at his thumbnail and occasionally hissing through his teeth.

   The Crow -- Toby, Casey called her Toby -- watches them all over the leather-bound book she's flipping through. Mikey squints, trying to read the letters on the spine of the book. It looks old -- the letters remind him of the dragon movie he saw with Leo when they were younger. The pages are yellowed and thick, possibly vellum. The symbol of the front cover looks like a diamond with legs, matching the one Mikey saw of Toby's helmet. 

   Toby clears her throat. Mikey looks up, startled by the sound. He meets her eyes, just for a moment, and it feels like a brick to the chest. 

   The Crow is overflowing with mystic energy. Mikey can see it for a split second, white light flowing through her veins and pouring from her eyes. Her silhouette flickers, too fast for Mikey to fully discern. 

   Mikey breaks the staring contest first, electing to look into the campfire instead.

   Huh. That was. Different. 

   He quietly growls, short and sharp. Raph picks up the signal, huffing at the twins to get their attention. Mikey closes his eyes and lets himself connect to the mindmeld. 

   What's wrong, his brothers ask.

   She's very powerful, Mikey responds. I can sense her mystic energy. 

   How strong is it? Donnie thinks, curiosity overriding his alarm.

   I- Mikey pauses. Better if I just show you.

   He opens his eyes -- careful not to sever the mindmeld -- and glances at Toby. She glares at him, not afraid to meet Mikey's glowing eyes. 

   He can sense the moment his brothers look through Mikey and see the aura of mystic power around Toby. Leo makes a small noise of surprise, and Raph makes no effort to disguise his feelings of danger. Donnie breaks the connection first to slide his goggles over his eyes.

   Donnie doesn't get very far with his goggles before a new sensation forms. It's like a landslide rushing through the mindmeld. Mikey freezes in alarm before he realizes that it's not hurting them; it's a connection. It feels safe and familiar, like gravity keeping his feet on solid ground. 

   It feels Hamato.

   But just as fast as it appeared, the connection breaks, taking the mindmeld with it. Mikey gasps as the world comes back into focus. 

   "What was... that felt like..." 

   Toby shoots to her feet.

   "Something's happened," she says flatly, turning towards the Nest. "You must find Casey."

   "What?" Raph cries, eyes wide. "What happened? Where is he?"

   Toby halts. After a moment, she replies over her shoulder, not looking at the turtles.

   "Head down the path until you reach the end. You'll find him there."

   At that, she climbs the great pine and disappears into the branches.

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   It doesn't take them long to reach the end of the path. Mikey stops, gaping at the scene before them. 

   Wow...

   "Where's Casey?" Leo growls. "She said he'd be here."

   Donnie stops next to the well, crouching to inspect the ground. 

   "He was here..." he mutters. "Look, his footprints. But where did he go?"

   "He fell in."

   Mikey yelps and spins around. Toby approaches with a backpack and peers into the well, face set with grave determination. She nods stiffly and sets the bag by her feet. 

   "Wh- what do you mean fell in?" Raph asks, wringing his hands. "Like, into the well?"

   Leo darts forward, clearly planning on throwing himself in after Casey. Toby has him pinned before Mikey can blink.

   "Hey!" Leo yelps, thrashing under Toby's weight.

   Mikey grabs his weapon, anger rising in his throat, but stops.

   Toby looks scared. 

   Donnie doesn't pick up on Mikey's hesitation, and quickly points the glowing end of his tech-bo at Toby. 

   "Don't touch him," he snarls. 

   "I had to," Toby hisses, not flinching at the weapon inches from her face. "He would have gone through the portal, and there's almost no way to get back from there!"

   Time stops. 

   Portal?

   "Where does the portal go?" Raph growls quietly, only the slightest tremble in his hands betraying his fear. "Where's Casey?"

   "I don't know his exact location, but-"

   "Where. Is. Casey."

   Toby screws up her face like she bit down on something rancid. 

   "The Spirit World," she spits out, as if the words are a particularly nasty curse. "He's in the Spirit World. The land of the dead."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Casey hits the ground hard. Familiar hands are on his back in an instant, steadying him with their presence. He looks up into tired green eyes and chokes back a sob.

   "Sensei?"

   His dad's face crinkles into a smile, and Casey's swept into a hug. His family quickly surrounds him, joining the embrace, and a laugh bubbles up in Casey's throat. He chirps, just like he was taught all those years ago, and the answering churrs sound like home.

   He's home with his family.

   Leo cups Casey's face in his hands, metal and flesh, smiling through joyful tears.

   "Casey," he breathes. "Casey."

   "Dad," Casey hiccups, feeling like he's five years old again.

   "Casey. Amazing, wonderful Casey. I'm so proud of you." Leonardo's face turns grim. "But... you shouldn't be here, Casey."

   Casey's heart stops.

   "What?"

   "You can't be here, because you aren't dead." Leonardo's voice fills with heartbreak. "You have to go back."

   Betrayal has never felt so bittersweet.

Chapter Text

   I'm a good pretender, I'm not really cool / I'm a good pretender, 'cause I'm just like you / I do not belong here, you all clearly do / But I'm a good pretender, so I'm just like...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The turtles gather around the well, peering in. It's been an hour since Casey fell through, and they're raring to go after. 

   Toby eyes the group as she adjusts her backpack. The blue one looks ready to explode with impatient energy, a feeling mirrored on the orange turtle's face. The big red turtle paces, herding the others together; probably to keep them from wandering off. The purple one catches Toby watching them and glares at her with venom in his gaze. 

   She doesn't trust that one. 

   She's not sure if she trusts any of them.

   "Come on, let's go," the blue turtle growls. "The longer Casey is in there, the lower our chances of finding him."

   The other turtles voice their agreement, and Toby sighs.

  Their loyalty to their missing comrade is admirable, she muses, but could be their downfall.

   "Alright." Toby steps up to the well, trying to quell the rising panic gripping her lungs. "Who's going first?"

   Without a word, the blue one climbs over the edge of the well and disappears in a flash.

   "Leo!" The red turtle shouts, but is silenced when Toby raises her hand. 

   "He's fine. That's normal," Toby explains. "You can go next, if you want."

   The red one nods and steps forward, hesitating only for a moment before going through the portal. The orange turtle quickly follows with a whoop of excitement. 

   Toby chews her lip and nods, turning to the last turtle.

   "Your turn."

   The purple turtle raises an eyebrow -- why does he have eyebrows? None of the other turtles have eyebrows -- and shakes his head.

   "No. I don't trust you. You're going first."

   "The feeling is decidedly mutual," Toby huffs. "I'm going last."

   "Why?" The turtle hisses. "Scared?"

   Toby growls and turns to the well. She sets a hand on the rim and climbs up.

   "You would be too, if you were me," she mutters under her breath. 

   Then she jumps through the portal and into the place of her nightmares.

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The first thing Donnie sees when he steps out of the portal is a sky filled with stars, high above the trees around him. 

   No, that's not right. The lights are too close to be stars. Donnie pulls his goggles over his eyes, only to frown at the static glitching the feed. 

   "I swear, I just fixed these," he mumbles, taking the goggles off to inspect them.

   "The crystals negate most mystic energy," Toby says suddenly, startling him. He turns, ready with a snarled rebuke, but blinks.

   Toby pulls the trenchcoat tighter around herself with a sullen expression; it doesn't do much to hide that she's not human. 

   "You're a yokai?" Donnie asks. 

   "No," Toby snarls back, flipping the collar of her coat up to hide most of her face. Donnie rolls his eyes.

   "The feathers are a dead giveaway," he retorts. "As are the bird feet."

   Brown eyes glare at him over the coat collar, and the feathers on her head angrily puff into a crest.

   "I'm not talking about this right now."

   Donnie narrows his eyes, but shrugs in surrender. I can probably get the information later, anyway.

   "You said crystals are blocking the mystic energy in my goggles?" He asks instead. "Where are they?"

   Toby just points up -- with a black, four-fingered hand, Donnie notices. He tucks that information away for later and looks up. 

   "Oh. I thought those were stars, at first."

   Toby huffs and walks away, heading deeper into the forest. 

   "Come on. Your brothers ran ahead without asking. We should make sure they're not dead."

   "Wait- wait, what?" Donnie splutters, running to catch up with Toby. "I thought the Spirit World was safe?"

   "I never once said that."

   "But-" 

   "Stop," Toby growls, whirling on Donnie. "Whatever stereotypes you have about a final resting place, forget about it. The Spirit World is just as dangerous as the Living World. This is just a pit stop before the void; the next step before nothingness. If you die here, it's over." 

   "Wh- why didn't you tell us this before?!" Donnie roars.

   "Would it have made a difference?!" Toby shrieks, a hint of something inhuman edging into her voice. "You'd just be more desperate to get your friend out!"

   Rustling and the faint sensation of ninpo announces the arrival of Donnie's brothers, cutting Toby off. 

   "What are you guys talking about?" Mikey chirps. Toby glares at Donnie with a huff and turns away.

   "We may be in more danger than we thought. Toby neglected to tell us that if you die here, it's game over," Donnie explains. "In addition, our stereotypes -- as she calls them -- are-"

   Toby stiffens.

   "Shut up."

   "No," Donnie grits out before continuing. "Our stereotypes are wrong. There is no-"

    Toby claps a hand over his mouth, silencing him.

   "Shut up," she hisses.

   Donnie bites her.

   To his complete and utter surprise, she doesn't react beyond baring her own pointed teeth. She doesn't even look at him, just stares into the woods with wide eyes. 

   "Everyone needs to be very quiet, if they want to live," she whispers, and Donnie gets the feeling that something is very, very wrong. 

   No one makes a sound. Donnie cuts his eyes over to his brothers, who look back at him with confusion.

   Then they look past him, and the confusion turns to fear.

   Very slowly, Donnie turns around. 

   He doesn't see it at first, but he can feel its presence. Then he catches sight of glowing eyes, and the rest of the creature becomes apparent. 

   A lithe canid form stands behind a tree, peering at them from the shadows. It's huge, probably as tall as Raph's shoulder. It reminds Donnie of a fox, or maybe a wolf. It doesn't move, and Donnie can't tell if it's breathing.

   "Maybe it's just a scout?" Leo asks, breaking the silence. 

   A second set of glowing eyes open on the creature's face. Toby whirls around.

   "Run."

Chapter Text

   What if I'm far from home? / Oh brother, I will hear you call / What if I lose it all? / Oh sister, I will help you out / Oh, if the sky comes falling down / For you / There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   When Donatello feels the slightest nudge at the edges of his awareness, he can't say he's surprised. 

   "Your friends are here, Casey Junior," he reports. 

   Casey Junior blinks from his perch atop Leonardo's shoulders. Cassandra lopes alongside, holding Junior's hand.

   "Really?"

   Donatello grunts.

   "Younger, less advanced me needs to update his trackers. Their signal is very weak."

   "Yeah, but he can't track them the same way you do. Remember, Dee?" Michelangelo reminds him, balancing on Raphael's shoulder like a gargoyle with April sitting on the other side as a counterbalance. Donatello gives him a long-suffering sigh.

   "Yes, how unfortunate," he drawls. "I suppose I shall have to teach him."

   "I'm excited to meet little me," Michelangelo hums. "What about you, Raph?"

   Raphael growls his agreement, and Donatello looks to Leonardo for his opinion and frowns.

   "Junior?"

   Leonardo stops and looks up at Casey, alerted to his child's distress. Cassandra squeezes her son's hand tighter as Casey sighs miserably.

   "I didn't..." Casey says after a moment. "I didn't think they'd-"

   "Risk life and limb to ensure your safety?" Donatello cuts in. "Worry about you? Want to make sure you're okay?"

   Casey closes his mouth with an audible click. The action confirms Donatello's suspicions, and he meets Leonardo's eyes.

   "Did you think they wouldn't care, Scout?" Leonardo murmurs.

   "If they didn't, I would rip them limb from limb!" Cassandra declares. April nods sagely, climbing down from Raphael's shoulder to join Cass.

   "They care about you, Casey," she tells him. "Would they have come with you to look for Toby if they didn't?"

   Casey stays silent, seemingly in contemplation. His voice is hoarse when he speaks up.

   "Thanks guys." He clears his throat. "Speaking of Toby, have you-"

   You have 3 new warnings, Donatello's ninpo hums.

   Donatello raises his hand with a frown. 

   "Report."

   Warning: Trackers 1, 2, 3, and 4 report increased heart rate. 

   Warning: High Draugr activity in the area. Proceed with caution.

   Warning: Draugr behavior in the area is Category B Aggressive. Proceed with caution.

   His eyes widen. 

   "Shit."

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The creature lunges with a chilling screech, jaws gaping unnaturally wide. Donnie stares, frozen in awe as the creature fully comes into view. The way it moves is familiar in a way that makes his shell crawl, and he wonders if She would know-

   A scorching blast of light hits the creature head on, and a still-glowing hand grabs Donnie's arm. He's snapped out of his thoughts as Toby drags him away from the howling creature. 

   "I said run!"

   His brain catches up with the rest of reality just as more creatures pour out the the trees, melting from the shadows to surround the group.

   Well, damn.

   "Don't let them get close!" Toby shouts, releasing Donnie's arm to summon glowing darts into her hands. The turtles follow suit and quickly fall into a defensive huddle. 

   The creatures -- Donnie counts at least thirty in the pack, but more keep appearing -- form a thick wall of writhing shadows around the group. Out of the corner of his eye, Donnie sees Leo step in front of Mikey, pushing him into the center of the huddle. His heart sinks.

   If Leo, the strategist, the bold faceman, doesn't think they'll survive... then what hope is there?

   As if hearing some far-off signal, the creatures turn in unison -- and attack. 

   "MAD DOGS!!!"

   A blue portal opens, a purple barrier slams down, and the huddle increases by seven. 

   "Is everyone alright?" Leo yells from Donnie's right, except... Leo's on his left side. 

   Donnie looks up -- up? UP? -- at his twin from a dead timeline. 

   Leo got huge in the future. As tall as Raph and almost as buff, Leonardo looks like he eats concrete for breakfast. 

   Someone nudges his shoulder, and his own voice speaks in his ear.

   "Pay attention. The barrier could fall at any moment." A pause. "Oh, and your trackers need an upgrade."

   Donnie disregards the obvious order in favor of whipping around and staring.

   Oh thank goodness. I'm still taller in the future. 

   While Leonardo was getting beefy, Donatello was apparently eating Miracle-Gro. He isn't nearly as broad as his twin, but damn did he get tall! 

   On the other side of the huddle, Donnie catches a glimpse of Michelangelo -- hair?! -- and is that RAPHAEL?!?! 

   At the center of the huddle, Mikey has been joined by April, Cassandra, and -- to Donnie's relief -- Casey. 

   As Donnie watches, a forest green glow curls around Casey's arms. His jaw drops when he realizes he's looking at Casey's ninpo.

   Casey meets Donnie's gaze and grins sheepishly. He shrugs, as if in apology, and activates his hockey stick. His grin turns a bit feral, and his eyes flare green. 

   "This is great and all," Toby shouts, drawing Donnie's attention, "but what's the plan?"

   Donnie doesn't miss Donatello's flinch, nor the meaningful glance he shares with Leonardo. Some unspoken emotion is shared between the two, but Leonardo speaks before Donnie can name it.

   "I don't have enough energy for another portal, so that's out of the question. This barrier won't last forever, which means we can't wait it out. We're gonna have to fight our way through," Leonardo concludes. 

   "If anyone gets separated, head towards the mountain at the center of the cave. That's the way home. And don't let them touch you!" Toby adds. Leonardo nods and turns to Donatello. 

   "Drop the barrier on my signal."

   The group raises their weapons.

   The world seems to fall silent in anticipation; even the creatures quiet, as if straining to hear the coming signal.

   Donnie's heartbeat is deafening in his ears. He wonders if anyone else can hear it.

   "Now!"

   The barrier falls, and the creatures rush in like the tide.

   Run. Dodge a paw slashing towards him. Bash a creature in the muzzle with his bo staff. Run. Try to keep up with the group. Duck under a set of snapping jaws. Make sure no one is left behind. Run.

   Notice that some people are getting seperated from the rest of the group. Fight the feeling that he needs to go after them. Pray that they'll stay safe. Run for his life.

   Donnie hears April cry out and makes the mistake of looking back.

   A root catches his foot. He crashes into the ground, gasping as the wind is knocked from his lungs.

   Get up get up getupgetupgetup

   He's pinned in an instant, a heavy paw pressing against his battleshell-

   And going through it.

   Claws dig into his shell, and the world flares white with pain.

   He can't feel his shell.

   Cold seeps into his bones, crawling up his spine, burrowing into his brain-

   In a moment of pure, unbridled terror, Donnie can only remember the Technodrome.

   The world goes black.

Chapter Text

   Coming around / Thoughts are intruding, I'm pushing them down / Stopping it now / Blocking out fact, I'm blocking it out / Holding too tight / Kidding myself, turning wrong into right...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   He isn't sure how long he floats in the void. 

   His shell hurts. Why does it hurt? He doesn't have a shell to be hurting.

   Right?

   Wait, that feels wrong.

   He feels like he's missing something. 

   An echo of flesh ripping under claws resonates through the void. He isn't sure who's claws they are, but the feeling of blood on his hands makes him nauseous. 

   He doesn't have hands, though. How odd.

   A blinding light drives away the endless dark. It's just for a moment, but it stings his eyes.

   The light fades, and the dark comes rushing back. Strangely enough, it doesn't feel as oppressive as before.

   He doesn't notice the silence until he hears something faint. The sound is steady, rhythmic, like drums in the distance. 

   He feels something flutter in his chest, perfectly in sync with the drums, and-

   Oh.

   That's his heartbeat starting back up.

   When did it stop?

   Not long after, his lungs -- he forgot he has those -- expand, drawing oxygen into his body. The first inhale stutters, but the next is much stronger, more sure of itself. 

   He floats in the void for a long time after that, listening to his heartbeat, letting the air move in his chest.

   He sees something, floating there in the void. 

   Something flickering, like an ember.

   No, that's not right. It's the wrong color. Fire isn't purple-

   Purple. Why is that important? 

   Why does he feel such a kinship with this tiny purple light?

   Why does it feel like-

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   WAKE UP

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   The first and second things Donnie notices is heavy fabric over him and firelight on stone walls.

   He deems the third thing he notices as the most important.

   His battleshell is off.

   Terror sends cold daggers through his limbs.

   Where's my battleshell? 

   The firelight glances off of something purple, and his gaze darts towards the reflection.

   His battleshell sits not far from him, thank pizza supreme. Unfortunately, there's a good-sized hole in it. 

   A chill runs down Donnie's back, lingering right in the center of his shell.

   Oh. That's right. He was caught. 

   How am I still alive?

   A faint rustling noise draws his attention to his surroundings. 

   He's in a cave. There's a small fire burning. Sitting next to the fire is-

   Donnie sits up so fast he gets dizzy.

   "Holy- what?"

   To say that Toby startled would be an understatement. She jumps with a shriek, then yelps in pain as the movement tugs the wound on her arm she's stitching. Her feathers puff up, the crest on her head fully raised. Donnie is whacked with something and knocked back onto the floor.

   Donnie -- dazed by the impact -- hits back at the fluffy thing that he was just clubbed with. Toby shrieks again, more in pain than surprise, and the bludgeon is withdrawn. 

   "That's attached to me, jerk!" Toby snarls, folding the fluffy thing awkwardly next to identical lump of feathers on her back.

   Donnie squints, blinking to clear his vision after getting hit over the head.

   Oh. Those are wings.

   He looks down at his hands and is surprised to find blood on the one he lashed out with. More blood stains the feathers of Toby's wing. The memory of flesh under claws comes back to him, making him nauseous. 

   "Did-" He shudders. "Did I do that?"

   Toby glares at him before turning back to stitching her arm shut.

   "That one wasn't you." She raises her arm with the loose thread still attached. "You did this one."

   Donnie shivers again and shakes his hands, trying to get the blood off.

   "Why don't I remember?"

   "I'd say you do," Toby corrects him, tying the thread and cutting off the extra with her teeth. "Your body is instinctively blocking the memories for the sake of your mental health."

   "What happened?"

   Toby huffs and shakes her head. She twists around to get at the wound on her wing, but can't quite reach. Donnie frowns, guilt forcing him to get up and help, but Toby pins him with a glare.

   "No. You're still weak from your wounds. I can take care of this."

   Reluctantly sitting back down, Donnie assesses his health as Toby contorts herself trying to reach her wing.

   His shell hurts, but not as much as it theoretically should. Compared to the fire he first experienced from the wound, the pain is only a dull ache. Bandages are wrapped around his midsection, most likely to put pressure on his shell.

   There's a shallow scratch on his plastron; it's not serious, but it has a scorch mark around it, oddly enough. 

   "What happened here?" Donnie asks, tapping the scorch mark. Toby looks up from where she's tied herself into a knot (she still can't reach her wound).

   "The Draugr that caught you was turning you. I have to reverse the process."

   "Turning me- turning me into what?"

   She rolls her eyes.

   "I keep forgetting you know nothing about this realm," she mutters. "The Draugr. The creatures that attacked us. They're corrupted souls. They have the ability to corrupt those they touch. You were almost turned into one of them."

   Donnie feels himself turn a rather unflattering shade of green. The cave starts spinning around him, and the nausea returns full force.

   "My brothers?" he croaks. "Where are they?" 

   "I don't know." 

   His lungs are doing something uncomfortable. He can't breathe.

   "Hey. No, don't do that. Look at me."

   A hand enters his vision, and he recoils. 

   "Okay, no touching. Got it. Just... look at me."

   He looks up and meets Toby's brown eyes.

   "I don't know where your brothers are. But they're alive. I would know if they died or got turned. It's part of my powers."

   His lungs stutter, struggling to draw air.

   "Here."

   He looks down at Toby's outstretched hand and blinks. A set of interlocking rings sits in her palm.

   "It's a fidget. The metal is heavy and cold, it will help ground you."

   He slowly reaches out and takes the fidget, turning it in his hands. Toby is right; the weight is heavy enough to require attention to not drop, and the cold of the metal draws him out of his spiral.

   They're not dead. They're alive.

   After a few minutes, he looks up to find Toby staring at him with a rather complex expression on her face. She's sitting a few feet away, rubbing her shoulder.

   "Um." Donnie coughs, finding his voice. "What does that face mean?"

   "Do you have any medical experience?"

   Taken aback, Donnie hums.

   "Yes? I mean, my brothers and I are ninja, so-"

   "Do you know how to suture wounds?" 

   "Yeah?" Donnie scoffs, miffed by the interruption. Toby nods, screwing up her face.

   "Can-" she cuts herself off with a shudder before trying again. "I can't reach the wound on my wing. I... need help."

   Donnie raises an eyebrow, but accepts the tentative truce as what it is, taking the offered needle and thread. As he stitches the wound, he can't help but wonder if Leo would do a better job.

   Please be safe, wherever you guys are. 

Chapter Text

   Well you look like yourself / But you're somebody else / Only it ain't on the surface / Well you talk like yourself / No, I hear someone else though / Now you're making me nervous...

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   When Donnie screams, Raph is sure his heart stops. 

   He turns, running back to rescue his brother, but someone grabs his arm and drags him away.

   "Toby's getting him," Big Leo mutters in his ear. Next to him, Casey shoots green blasts at the creatures chasing them. "He'll be fine." 

   Sure enough, Raph can see Toby already doubling back with glowing hands before the trees block his view. A white flash filters through the trees, and the forest falls silent as the creatures disappear into the shadows.

   Raph isn't sure how far he runs behind Big Leo and Casey. With every step forward, he can feel his brothers getting farther away.

   The terrain has changed from forest to grassland when his legs finally give out. He hits the ground hard, rocks digging into his scales. Curling up on his side, he tries to breathe through the ringing in his ears.

   You left them behind! The voice in his head screams without mercy. You left them alone!

   Raph chokes, the air catching in his throat. 

   Alone. 

   His brothers are alone.

   Raph's alone. 

   There's a hand on his shoulder, heavy but gentle. Someone's speaking to him. Who is it?

   "-aph? Raph, buddy. Look at me."

   "Alone," he chokes out. Something is draped over his shell, the warm weight not entirely unfamiliar.

   "Oh bud. You aren't alone. Remember what Gram-gram taught us?"

   Raph squeezes his eyes shut to hold back the tears. The weight on his back shifts, wrapping thin arms around his shoulders. 

   "A- Anatawa hitorijanai," he murmurs. 

   "You are not alone, Raph. You are never alone. Your family is always with you, no matter the distance between."

   He takes a deep breath, uncurling a bit. Looking up, Raph smiles shakily at his not-so-little brother.

   "When did you get so wise, Leo?" 

   The hand on his arm tightens, the slightest change in pressure giving away the sadness behind Big Leo's smile.

   "Too late for it to have made a difference, unfortunately," Big Leo mutters before releasing Raph's arm and standing from his crouch. Raph blinks at the offered hand, surprised and curious as to why Leo's arm looks like-

   Oh. Right.

   Raph takes Leo's hand and lets himself be hauled to his feet, frowning at the fact that they're the same height -- and at the unexpected change in his balance.

   "You comfortable up there, Case?" He looks up at his passenger, who's clinging to his shell precariously. Casey peers over the edge of Raph's carapace with wide blue eyes.

   "I'm good. Are you okay?"

   "Raph's been better," Raph reassures him, reaching up to ruffle his hair. 

   To his surprise, Casey leans into his hand with a faint churr. 

   <Safe. Family. Brother...?>

   Raph gapes at him before turning to Big Leo.

   "He knows turtle?"

   "Yup," Big Leo chuckles proudly. "You gonna say something back?"

   A smile slowly grows on Raph's face, and Casey yelps as he's plucked from Raph's shell and engulfed in a bear hug.

   <Brother> Raph rumbles, <Safe. New brother. Protect. Family. Brother.>

   Casey squeaks in embarrassment and reaches towards Big Leo.

   "Sensei," he hisses. "Sensei, help."

   "Sorry, Space Case," Big Leo laughs and pretends to walk away. "Enjoy your new big brother!"

   "Dad!" 

   Raph's happy growl stops. He cuts his eyes towards Big Leo as Casey freezes. Big Leo looks over his shoulder at Raph, alarmed at his reaction.

   After a long, awkward moment, Raph wails.

   "I'm an uncle and I get a new little brother?" Raph howls, tears welling up in his eyes. "This is the best day of my life!"

   Casey turns bright red, and Big Leo smiles fondly. 

   But the smile quickly falls, Big Leo's eyes narrowing as he sprints forward.

   "Look out!"

   Raph whirls as a shadow charges towards them, a growl rising in his chest. Leonardo intercepts the shadow, sword flashing in the dim light. The shadow screams, leaping away from the blade. Raph can see it now that it's not moving, and his heart sinks.

   It's one of the creatures from before, panting and snarling from an unnaturally gaping mouth. The second set of eyes are open, seeming to stare into Raph's soul.

   The creature lunges, and Leonardo dodges outstretched claws.

   "Casey!" Big Leo shouts as the creature's tail whips him across the face.

   Raph yelps as Casey kicks off of his plastron, running to his struggling sensei. 

   "Stay back, Raph!"

   The snapper halts, conflicted. He watches with horror as Casey ducks under the creatures claws and neatly slots himself against Leonardo's side.

   And

   Something 

   Changes

   Teacher and student -- no, father and son -- fight not as a team, but as one. Casey slams his hockey saw against the creature's side as Leonardo ducks under an attack. Big Leo slices through a glowing eye when Casey dodges the whipcrack tail. No longer struggling, Leonardo pushes forward, Casey at his side. 

   The creature screams, and Raph gasps when it shifts to stand on its back legs. For a moment, all he can see is danger towering over his little brothers, and all he can feel is terror and rage.

   Next thing he knows, his glowing fist slams into the creature, throwing it to the ground. 

   Casey's eyes flash, and vines erupt from the earth below the creature. The creature shrieks as the vines wrap around it, constricting its movement. 

   With a final howl, vines cutting into its skin, the creature vanishes in a burst of pale light. 

   A moment of silence passes before Raph sighs and creeps towards the vines, shaking off the red projection over his fists. As he approaches the vines, he notices a faint sparkle from the heart of the tangle.

   "What-"

   "Don't touch," Big Leo warns. "I'll get it."

   Raph raises a brow ridge at him in question as Leonardo inspects the vines.

   "It's a soul," Casey explains. Raph turns to him -- and frowns at Casey's pale complexion and closed eyes.

   "Casey?"

   "I'm fine," Casey says weakly, not opening his eyes. "Just gonna-"

   Darting forward, Raph catches Casey as the boy collapses. 

-▪︎¤▪︎-

   Casey looks up at a black sky. He can't move, but that doesn't worry him much. So he just lays there and stares at the sky.

   As he watches, emerald light flares in the void like a flower unfurling. He sees something within the glowing petals, can hear whispers from unseen specters.

   No, not specters. Messengers.

   Casey watches. 

   A symbol appears in the heart of the flower; three interlocking triangles framed by black feathers. The symbol morphs, the feathers turning into a silver diadem.

   Casey listens.

   Wings beat in the distance. A gunshot. A wild and victorious battle cry, both familiar and not, like a well-known phrase spoken with the wrong voice.

   Black laps at the edges of his vision, dragging him down. Just before the emerald glow burns out, Casey sees a mountaintop meeting a sky of stone and crystal.

   Then he sinks into the void, and the light goes out.