Chapter Text
Leonardo saw a light and reached for it.
It was blindingly bright amidst the gloom, so warm it burned against the cold. He reached for it and hoped that it would cease his suffering.
He saw visions of his brothers through the haze, smiled because he knew they were safe, relieved because he knew they were alive. So he closed his eyes and let the light consume him, pull him through in a rush of air and heat and a blaze like the sun itself.
And then he dreamed.
He dreamed he was held, safe and soft and warm. He dreamed of the voices of his family, calling his name, talking to him, crying for him. He dreamed of home, of his father’s gentle hand, of the smell of the sewers, of the hum of Donnie’s tech, of the flashes of color from Mikey’s paintings, of the hulking form of Raph pressing Leo closer, closer, closest until Leo could swear he heard his older brother’s heart beating.
He dreamed of the overwhelming stench of chemicals and the iron taste of blood. He dreamed of sharp stings and hands holding him down and hot tears on his face. He dreamed of April’s gentle commanding voice and Raph’s fear stink clouding his senses. He dreamed he heard Donnie crying but when he tried to reach out he was held back, held down, and though the surface was soft it made him ache to know his brother was in pain and Leo couldn’t do anything to help.
After a while, the dream became fuzzy and indistinct. Leo tried to hold onto it, tried to grasp the details and clutch them to his chest the way he clutched the photograph, that precious photo. Because even when it hurt, at least his family had been there. But blackness closed in, wrapped him in a quiet rest, and tugged him down into nothing.
The dream faded and so did Leonardo.
He opened his eyes again to cool, quiet darkness.
It took hardly a second for him to register the metal gleaming around him in the dark, to sense the cold air on his skin, to feel the bone deep throbbing pain pulsing dully through his entire body. His heartbeat soared and adrenaline fired lightning down his veins, his eyes widening, panic whiting out his thoughts.
He was still there, he was still in the Prison Dimension. The light had been a lie, he had never escaped, he was still there in the cold and the dark with the Krang and he was never going to escape. Even death had abandoned him. He was still in that frigid, lifeless hell and there was something on his face.
Leo scrambled, thrashing under whatever was tangled on top of him, pawing with clumsy, aching hands at his face to free himself. There was a beeping noise in his ear, something clattering and clanging, the sounds of metal, and his panic rose. He yanked at the thing over his snout, gasping as it scraped against the back of his head and finally fell onto his lap. It hardly registered because he was already trying to get up, already trying to move, to run, to get away before the Krang could find him again. Leo’s body was screaming in pain but he swallowed the agony down, clamped his jaw shut and pushed himself to move, to run, to get away. He didn’t have anywhere to go but he couldn’t take it anymore, he didn’t want to hurt anymore, he just wanted to rest, please, please, just let him rest.
Voices clashed against the beeping sounds, the rattling, the banging, the crashing. It was a wall of sound, beating against his senses, overwhelming him. He just needed to find a place to hide! But when he tried to run, he tumbled off an edge and crashed to the ground with a soft cry of pain, stars bursting behind his eyes and his head spinning as the electric agony blinded him to everything else.
Until something closed around his arm.
Leo didn’t even think, he just whipped his head around and bit down .
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a still rational part of him, was surprised to feel skin break beneath his teeth instead of cold metal. But then there was blood in his mouth and a shout of pain and the animal instincts kicked into overdrive. He tried to pull into his shell but his body wouldn’t cooperate and when he tried to run, his limbs refused to respond right, leaving him struggling and kicking on the cold, hard surface.
Hands grabbed at him again and this time he couldn’t stop the distressed and desperate whimpers and shaky hissing that scraped out of his sore throat. Please, please, please no more, he wordlessly begged, I’ll bite you, I hate you, please, please, just leave me alone, I bite, I can bite you, just leave me alone!
He thrashed and snapped his teeth, pain blinding his every action, trying to wriggle free when he was lifted into the air, a sob catching in his chest. He tried to clutch the photo again, to remind himself why he had done this, but it wasn’t there. His hand was empty. It was gone . That bastard...that slimy Krang bastard had taken it!
Leo’s struggling increased. The photo! He had to find the photo! He needed it! That was the only thing he had left!
He tried to beg for it back, tried to scream, fingers clenching and unclenching at the empty air. Was he saying words? They sound slurred and muddied past the ringing in his ears. The world was a smear of lights and shadows through the tears in his eyes.
There was shouting, calling. There was crying. The confusion and noise was dizzying.
Something dry and crinkled and torn on the edges was pressed into his hand. Leo closed his fist around it and yanked his hand to his plastron with a gasping sob. The picture, his family, it was back, he had them. They were safe. They would always be safe.
A chill flowed through his veins and exhaustion suddenly planted itself over the aches and pains roaring through him. Involuntarily, his body loosened, his tense muscles relaxing, the adrenaline flame flickering and fading away. He breathed a little easier.
His family was safe.
Leo let his eyes close and this time, he let the quiet darkness pull him in without a struggle.
There was nothing left to fight anymore.