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Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

Leo knew. He had known what he was asking of Mikey, he knew what the gateway would take. He knew that Mikey knew. He knew that Casey didn’t. He had known the second that Casey had called out to Mikey that the kid would likely never forgive him for what he was about to do. 

(He had known the second that Casey had begged that he didn’t want to lose Leo.)  

(Leo wasn’t sure he would forgive himself either.)

And then Mikey shattered, a million flecks of glittering gold swept away in the wind, and there simply wasn't any more time. He allows himself a second- the guilt and rage and hope all bursting within him- before he pushes everything down and turns to Casey, smiling. He could give Casey this, he thinks. A good memory for Casey to remember him by, as all of Leo’s brothers had done before him. 

It was almost easy, as he put his hand on Casey’s shoulder, to let a joke he knew Casey would not understand fall from his mouth with mirth he didn’t truly feel. He takes in Casey’s face for what he knows will be the last time, tries not to focus on the heartbreak and despair on his student’s face, and launches Casey towards the gateway.

And as Casey, his student, his son, disappears into the portal, Leo turns and fights. He can make his rage-grief-sorrow productive, give Casey a few more seconds for his journey, protect the kid one last time.

The Krang hound on his right catches up first, before it makes the mistake of latching on to his prosthetic arm, and Leo uses its momentum to slam it into the ground as hard as possible. The one on his left makes a leap for him, and he slashes it with his blade before the attack even registers. 

Three things then happen in rapid succession:

1. Leo hears the time gateway close behind him.
2. He also hears the Krang above him charge its death ray.
3. Leo makes a split second decision.

He runs.

With a last burst of hope- for him, for Casey, for the world- he twitches his blade, and jumps through his portal just as he feels the heat of the Krang blast at his shell.

~~~

Leo hadn’t really been thinking much when he had opened the portal, only that he needed to get somewhere safe, at least for the time being. So he is caught by surprise when he gathers himself up off the floor and takes in his surroundings, his breath hitching as he looks around, recognizing the candles and the art scratched into the walls. He was in one of the rooms at their base.

But it wasn’t his room. It was Mikey’s.

And all of the sudden, Leo is hit with the finality of his situation. He hits the floor, tears streaming down his mask as it all finally sets in. 

Mikey was gone. So was Casey. The Resistance had failed, there was nothing left. They had thrown everything they had at the Krang, and it hadn’t been enough. Leo let out a disjointed sob because- oh. There’s nothing left, is there?

And as he curls his limbs around himself in some sad imitation of a hug, clutching desperately at his right arm like he would the brother it was modeled after, the shallow hope he had for Casey’s success shatters- the barrier holding down everything he was feeling gone with it.

His family was gone, the Resistance was gone- any hope he had of fixing this, of a future just over the horizon that he could fight for- all gone with them. This was the end, had been the end, and there was nothing he could do about it.

And just as soon as he realizes this, as soon as the hopelessness and despair set in, he feels something crack within him- and he is filled with a profound sense of loss because- he can’t feel his ninpō. There is a void inside him where an electric energy used to lie, but it's all gone dark now.

Leo simply curls tighter as his sobs rack his body, because he not only has lost his last family member, but his only remaining connection to said family as well.

But- 

But that's not quite true either, now is it?

And as he sits curled on the floor of his dead little brother’s room, cradling the arm made in the image of another dead brother by yet another brother still- it hits him. He can make sure that his family’s sacrifices weren’t in vain, could continue doing the one thing they couldn’t-

There was nothing left Leo could do- except survive.

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

It has been about a month and a half since what was supposed to be the end of the world, and Casey still isn't used to it. “It” of course being the distinctly un ended world, Pizza Supreme knows if it was just the end of the world it would have been easier for him to adjust. At least he knew how that one worked.

There have been so many things for him to learn and get used to- and it all seems so intuitive for everyone around him! He had to get used to the fact that yokai and mutants were a secret, had to re-learn allies and enemies, had to learn the laws this world abides by- and that was just the easy stuff!

Don’t get him started on how abundant resources were here! He had seen other groups the Resistance came across, had thought that the Resistance was doing well, but nothing could have prepared him for just how much everything there was in the past. He didn’t get how anyone could throw anything away, not hoard it all for themselves and those close, just in case. 

(It had been a struggle, in the first few weeks, to get him to understand this. That they were not in danger of losing these resources, and even if they did, they could get more.)

The biggest adjustment by far, however, has been trying to understand these new versions of his family. He doesn’t get it, how much of an easy going jokester that Leon is here, how joyful Mikey is, how relaxed Donnie and Raph are. He recognized them more in the few weeks after the invasion, when they were all recovering and on edge, before they shifted back to what they considered ‘normal’, and he feels awful about it.

Because it's just more proof that the family he had known all his life had been formed through suffering and hardship, and these people just aren’t them. That this is the better world, one where they would never have to stay on edge and lose the dramatics in favor of efficiency.

But god damn it, he misses his family- he misses his dad.

So Casey gets up and does the same thing he always does when the longing for his own time grows too strong. Crossing his room, he swipes his hockey mask off his desk and goes to sit on the edge of his bed. He pulls up the hologram displays, and navigates to the recordings that his Donatello had created.

It had been a gift, around when Casey started to go off on missions more often. A backdoor into the rest of Donnie's tech, but initially just the recordings. In hindsight, it was probably to get him to understand and know what he was fighting for, that the world had not always been like this- but it also had recordings from the early days of the resistance, and ever since Raphael’s death Casey had always used the feature to remember what his family was like.

So he pulls up an older recording, (it looked like they were simply training, but he knows by heart that this is the recording where they found out that Michelangelo could fly), and cradles the hockey mask to his chest as he lets the longing wash over him, tears pricking at his eyes and a mournful smile on his face.

Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

It takes time, but Leo adjusts.

He finds the energy to drag himself up off of Angelo’s floor, gather medical supplies and patch himself up. He finds the energy to prepare some rations, and tries to pay attention to anything but the crushing silence of the base.

His days become monotonous, a haze of repairing things around the base, changing his bandages, eating, sleeping, repeat. He adjusts to the silence and the stillness of the world around him. Some days he attacks every task around the base with vigor, some days he simply goes through the motions.

He continues, until-

“Shit.”

Leonardo stares at the cabinet in front of him. Empty. He looks down at the medical supplies in his arms. He has enough to last him another three days, maybe five if he pushes it. He looks around, taking stock of the room. These were the last med supplies that he had, unless he could find another source or a way to make more.

Wait. 

Leo purses his lips, rolling the idea over in his head. There was another place he could go to get supplies, but it would be a risky journey. Even more risky with his injury, and no easy way out.

(Leo had tried to restore his ninpō, but it was no use. All he had succeeded in doing was spiraling into a breakdown over the sheer emptiness he felt when he reached out.)

But if he doesn’t go- Leo is a medic, and he knows if he allows this wound to get infected, he wouldn’t be able to come back from it. Not without medicine only available 20 years ago. There would be med supplies, but there was definitely more he could scavenge. Tools, food, machines and weapons-

The benefits outweigh the risks.

Leo looks to the door. He would be abandoning it- everything he had done here, all the work he had done to repair this base into some semblance of working order. 

He smiles. He was due for a change of scenery anyway.

He supposes he better start gathering what he could. The trek to the Resistance’s last base was going to be difficult if he forgot something important, and the sooner Leo could get there, the better.

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

“Casey, you feeling ok dude?”

Casey is abruptly brought back to reality by Leon’s voice. He looks across from himself, where Leon is seated at the dining table. He looks concerned, in that half genuine, half joking way he usually is.

“Hm? Yea, I’m ok Sensei-” Shit. Again. “Sorry, I’m fine Leo,” Casey corrects. He tries to distract himself from his mix-up by poking at his food. He had made himself some with Mikey earlier, but had quickly found that it was too rich for him at the moment. He has found a lot of the foods here are.

“Y’know,” Leon started, “you don’t haveta’ apologize every time ya call me that. I don’t mind.”

But that was just it, wasn’t it? Casey sighed, trying to formulate his words in a way that would make sense to the turtle in front of him.

“It’s not- it’s not that,” Casey tries, “it’s that- Sensei may have been a Leonardo, but just because you’re a Leonardo doesn’t mean you’re Sensei? Does that make sense?”

Leon seems to deflate a little at the words, and Casey is quick to try and clarify. “Nothing against you of course! It’s just easier if I can differentiate you two in my head! You’re two different turtles, after all.” He waves his arms in a placating manner.

Leon chuckles lightly at Casey’s antics, before he speaks again. “No, no I get it dude. Still though, are you feeling ok?” Leon leans forward as he asks, almost conspiratorial as he continues, “Mikey said you seemed off earlier, and you were staring at your food like it owed ya money.”

Casey stares at the table, considering for a moment. “He just- reminded me of something. From when I was younger,” He looks up at Leon as he continues, stronger this time. “Master Michelangelo would help around the kitchen a lot, in the Resistance.”

Leon looked a little startled, Casey hadn’t been very open about their future selves with anyone, even Leon. The turtle smoothed over his face into a look of lighthearted curiosity before prompting Casey to continue. “Oh?”

Deep breath. He could do this. “Yeah. He used to let me join him, when I was younger. I would ride on his shoulder and he would tell me the names of all the ingredients.”

“Sounds like Mikey.”

Casey huffs out a laugh and smiles at the interruption. “Yeah, yours was doing the same thing when we were cooking. It- it just made me realize how many I had forgotten over time, I guess.”

Casey looks down at his food again. He has a lot of fond memories from around that time, in the early days of the Resistance. It was a time when the idea of them winning against the Krang wasn't a far-off concept, but something that the Resistance could picture.

It was back when his whole family was just that. Whole.

Casey wishes he remembered more from this time where Hope was abundant, before it had become the Resistance's weapon against the Krang.

"Case?"

Shit. He was doing it again.

"Sorry Leo, I-"

Leon leans back, placating, "Dude, it's fine, you just looked like you were stuck in your head again." He stops for a moment, before continuing with a slightly somber tone, "If it's making you uncomfortable to remember, ya don't have to tell me, Case."

"It's not that, I just ended up remembering something else. It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it," Casey says, before getting up and grabbing his plate, walking to the sink. "I'm gonna go back to my room for a bit, I have something I need to do."

Casey rushes out of the Kitchen, not hearing Leon's response from behind him.

"...Said like a man who has absolutely nothing to hide. Not suspicious at all." Leon sighs before getting up from the table, he had a brother to go report to, and he wasn't going to bother Casey while he almost definitely goes off to watch recordings of their future selves.

As he walks past Casey's room, the sound of faint sniffling slipping through the door, he decides there's no need to snitch on this particular detail of his interaction with the kid.

Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

Leo ducks underneath a large piece of debris, evaluating his options. He was a majority of the way to the last true base that the Resistance had, having only a few close calls on his way. He honestly would have preferred to travel underground, but they never made networks that strayed as close to Krang territory as the other base was stationed. His side gives a nasty twinge at the reminder, and he reaches into the bag at his side to retrieve some pain meds.

Leo gives a resigned sigh as he comes up empty. If any consolation, he knew that the base he was heading to was much better stocked. The base he was coming from was half-assed at best, and only created for the prep needed for their final stand against the krang. This one should be much better stocked and maintained, and familiar if nothing else.

He ducks out from under the debris for a second, assessing his surroundings. Leo remembered there being an opening to the subways being around here somewhere, and he could use those to get to-

There. 

It was perfect . Half covered by rubble, just close enough he could make it without being seen if he was quick, and he knew damn well that the underground network was connected to the old passages.

Leonardo takes a deep breath, bracing himself for the protests his side was sure to give, and darts out across the remains of New York.

~~~

Right. Left. Left. Straight. 

Leo’s feet are silent as he darts through the old tunnels, muscle memory from hundreds of supply runs taking over and leading him where he needed to go.

Straight. Right. Right again. Stop. 

The slider stares in front of himself at the remains of the entrance. Panic sets in for a moment, all the worst case scenarios running through Leo’s head at once, before some brief analysis reveals that this damage had no sign of the characteristic purple-pink goo that any terraforming would have caused. Ah . The Krang had utilized many weapons in their most recent battle, some strong enough to create earthquakes for miles around. He didn't realize the shockwaves had reached this far.

He steps through the entrance, before immediately regretting that decision and red flood lights activated and the quiet but harsh voice of his twin sounded out.

“Intruder alert! Cave entrance breached-” 

“ Shitshitshit-” Leo makes it to a control panel just as he hears the weapons descend from the ceiling, activating it and typing in the manual override as fast as possible.

“Please gather your weapons and- False alarm. Please welcome back Master Leonardo.”

Leo lets out a heavy sigh as the lights switch to a dimmer setting, and the bases weapons return to their hidden compartments. He would be concerned about the noise the alert had made, but the security unit had decided it would be better to reuse Don’s old recordings at a low volume and simply send out another alert to those who had tech that was connected to the security system to avoid alerting the Krang.

Leo supposed that it definitely was effective, even if a part of him flinches every time he hears his twin's voice over the intercoms. He doesn't think he’ll ever get that part of him, the one that writhes in pain-loss-anguish at every reminder of what he had lost, to ever truly go away, even if he did get good at hiding it.

He attempts to banish the thoughts with a shake of his head, before making his way through the hallways leading towards the lab medbay. 

He arrives at the door and pushes it open, his side twinging at the effort. As he enters, he spots the cabinet that the pain medication is stored in, and walks towards it with single minded determination. A quick self assessment, and 15 minutes later Leo was sitting in front of the computer monitors in medbay, pain free and with fresh wrappings.

He logs in the quantity of each of his supplies into a spreadsheet, and puts on the abandoned bracer lying on the table. It was one of Donnie’s. A lot of the stuff on this side of the room was. He activates the bracer to pull up the spreadsheet so he can get quantities from around the rest of the base, but before he can, a message pops up.

Checking vitals…

You are injured. Call battleshell?

(Yes/No)

Leo stared at the hologram screen in front of him. Normally, he would have already hit the ‘No’ option and moved on, but. But Don had told him, once, that if anything were to happen to him that his battleshell was to be given to Leonardo, to make sure he could save his twin even when he wasn't there.

When Don had died, Leo had put up the battleshell next to Raph’s, a shrine and a reminder of what happens when he fails to think through a plan thoroughly enough.

Leo stares longer at the prompt. He had put the shell up, but he had known even then that that wasn't what Donatello would have wanted. Even more so when they left that base behind to create this one. Donnie had wanted that shell to go to him, and fuck , if Leo was going to live, his twin would want him to have the best chances of survival. He closed his eyes and pressed ‘Yes’ before he could psych himself out of it.

Well. Now there was nothing for him to do but wait.

He might as well get a head start with taking inventory of the supplies around the rest of the base, anyway.

~~~

To say Leonardo was startled when the battleshell finally arrived would be a massive understatement. He had just finished taking inventory, and had returned to the medbay for more supplies to take back to his room, (luckily very close by), when a purple blur rocketed in front of him, landing itself on the ground as an encouraging ding was emitted by the bracer. Leo stares for a moment, before crouching down to pick the shell off of the ground.

As he lifts it, the bracer projects a video recording that plays automatically. “Welcome, Lion!” Don’s grinning face stares back at Leo from the recording.

Oh. Oh he isn't ready for this.

“If you’re watching this, it means that you are the proud owner of one GeniusBuilt battleshell! Now, in my infinite wisdom, I have decided to make you these helpful videos to guide you on utilizing my tech properly .” The softshell stands up in the recording, reaching off camera for a second before grabbing a battleshell not unlike the one Leo was currently holding. “You may have noticed that the shell might not fit you, but that has an incredibly simple solution.”

Leo had not noticed, but he continues watching anyway, ignoring the tightness in his chest and the tears pricking at his eyes.

“If you simply put on the shell as I normally would, it will adjust to your new measurements. This may take a few moments, so refrain from moving for a minute or two. I know, I know, I really did think of everything.” Don seemed to be preening under his imagined praise, before snapping out of it and looking back at the camera. “Anyway, if you need any help figuring out a mechanic, just say some form of the phrase ‘help me Donnie’ and I’ll have a recording for you. Please try to do this before you get stuck in battle, dum-dum.”

The recording shuts off, and Leo looks down at the shell in his hands before shifting his grip, using his left hand to hold the shell as his right removes his scarf. He puts on the battleshell, the soft whrrrrr -ing if the machinery as it adjusts to his carapace washing over him. 

After it settles, Leo presses a hand to the cool metal, startling when his forgotten tears drip onto his arm. His face crumples as he can feel the situation bordering on too much , and he desperately tries to get his emotions under control, forcing a few strong breaths and scrubbing at his face.

He succeeds, and analyzes the feelings in the detached way he became familiar with when he was strategizing. He was stressed, he was injured, and being reminded of grief and loss. It was completely reasonable to become overwhelmed, especially when faced with a recording of his dead brother. The loneliness was getting to him, and it hasn't even been that long yet.

(In truth, he had no idea how long it had been. They stopped counting dates around the time the sky turned red.)

Wait. Recordings, Krang, guides- an idea began to form in Leo’s mind, one that could stave off the loneliness for a little longer, and be helpful in the long run. A guide, video logs like Donnie, for those who came after him. He could tell them what happened, what to look out for, what worked and what didn’t against the Krang. He could be their guide.

Leo takes a deep breath, before releasing the battleshell and setting it aside. He could do this. He sat in the chair in front of the monitors and started recording.

“My name is Leonardo Blue Hamato, and this is how the world ended.”

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

Casey stares at the dinner table, letting the chatter of his family wash over him as he picks at his food. He can vaguely hear Leon and Donnie getting into an argument over how a specific magic trick works, while Raph and Mikey casually discuss some recipe they saw on a cooking show earlier. April and Splinter seem to only interject when there is a lull in the conversation, keeping it smooth and moving it along.

It should be comforting.

But Casey is having one of those days where everything is putting him on edge and he can feel the urge to get up and patrol the perimeter of the base rising in him. If he were back there no one would question it, hell they would be glad for the help. But he's not, and now everytime he suggests a quick perimeter check his family gets a sad look in their eyes and tries to talk him out of it.

So Casey has resigned himself to waiting the slightly-too-loud dinner out and slipping away later to ease his nerves-

Or he would have, if everyone at the table wasn’t jumpscared by his mask spontaneously activating and emitting a painfully familiar voice.

“Intruder alert! Cave entrance breached, please gather your weapons and-”

Casey lunges forward, hand almost on his mask when-

“False alarm. Please welcome back Master Leonardo.”

Silence.

Casey can still feel his heart beating against his throat, hands clasping around the edges of his mask.

“Casey?”

Casey bolts.

~~~

Donatello is the one who finds him.

“Care to explain your whole- thing back there?”

Casey looks up from between his knees, to the silhouette in the doorframe. Donnie is leaning against it casually, but the way he held his arms crossed tightly against his plastron betrayed his concern.

“I…it was nothing.”

Donnie took that as an invitation to come in, and sat against the wall near the corner Casey had curled up in.

“I may not be an expert in most things emotion based, but from what I do know, that didn’t look like nothing,” Donnie reached across the floor, grabbing the hockey mask and handing it back to Casey.

“...Thanks,” he says, accepting the mask. Casey stops for a moment, staring at the green lenses.

They sit in silence for a minute, patient, before Casey breaks it to elaborate.

“It… it was probably some sort of glitch. Or, it could have been a pre-planned drill or something. It freaked me out a little, that's all.”

“My tech wouldn’t glitch if it came to something so important. Neither would my drills not be specified as such. I highly doubt future me would make such elementary mistakes,” Donnie seems almost offended by the insinuation, before he glances back at Casey and his gaze takes on a softer edge. “...apologies, I got carried away. I could take a look at its code if you would like?”

Casey smiles softly at the question. “Something tells me you would need longer than a few hours, Don.”

“What do you mean?”

Casey looks towards Donnie in surprise. “Did I… not tell you? The mask has a backdoor into all of my Donatello’s files. You’d probably have to search for hours to find the file that you need, and even longer to find the glitch in the code that played it randomly.”

Donnie seems to perk up, giving his full attention to Casey. “You’re saying that that mask holds all of future me’s files? As in, everything I have and probably will ever make files?” His hands start flapping happily at his sides, and he seems two seconds away from rocking back and forth with joy.

Casey smiles, a real one, and returns his gaze to the mask once more. “Are you free tomorrow? We can interface it with your tech and add a back door then.”

He takes the frantic nodding from the turtle as a yes.

Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

“My name is Leonardo Blue Hamato, and this is how the world ended.”

“It began when the Krang landed on earth for the first time, hundreds of years ago,” Leo says, and he pauses for a moment, trying to remember the tale Splinter had told to him so many years ago. “Legend says they came from the stars. Ruthless, unmerciful, with one desire, to enslave our world like so many before us.”

They definitely won in that regard, Leo thinks.

“All seemed lost, until great mystic warriors forged a mighty weapon, a key that was used to lock them in a prison dimension beyond this realm. Over the centuries, the mystic key remained hidden to protect humankind and prevent the return of the Krang.”

Leonardo feels his nails dig into his palm, and he looks directly into the camera as he continues. “But there was… a mistake. An evil group known as the Foot Clan got their hands on the key, opening up the portal and releasing the Krang.”

He feels his voice slip into the storytelling tone he had perfected in his thirties, reciting the story he knew by heart. “And behold, from their perch atop New York City, the Krang ripped open the sky itself. What came out was terror, and what rained down upon us was worse than death.”

 The next part he mutters under his breath, “I still can't believe we told that to kids…”

 “The Krang wasted no time in hunting us down, humans and yokai alike were no match for them. Those who remained banded together into different groups, all fighting for survival,” he explains. “Over the years, those groups dwindled, and many joined into one singular force. The Resistance.”

 “In the end, the Krang wiped us out anyway. It was no use.” Leo’s heart clenches, recalling the events he had carefully avoided thinking of until now. “I- we couldn’t win. There wasn’t anything we could do to save us. We used the last resort. Opened a time gateway, and sent one of the survivors through.”

 Leo absently rubs where his scarf usually resided, a nervous habit he picked up after it had been gifted to him. “What I suspect happened,” he continues, “is that sending him back ended up creating a bifurcated time branch, leaving this timeline unaffected.”

 Leonardo is quiet and subdued as he says, “I can only hope Casey has a better life there than he ever could have had here.”

 He looks back up at the camera, feeling disconnected as he finishes with, “I’m… I’m the only one left. It’s almost fitting, heh-” He inhales sharply, can feel the tears starting to form and yea, no- he is so not gonna cry on camera, it's time to quit while we’re ahead buddy-

 He shuts off the recording, and wraps his arms around himself in a poor imitation of a hug. The cool metal of his right arm grounds him, the weight of it keeping him in the here and now. His family was gone, and Casey- God Casey-

 Leo has no idea if Casey is ok, if he even succeeded in his mission- Leo had abandoned him, in a world the kid had never known, to solve a problem that Leo caused. They knew the portal wasn’t an exact science, what if they sent him back too far? Too late? He could have gotten hurt- or not found them, or been too far away- what if Casey died and he wasn’t there to protect him?

 Nope. Nope. He was not going down that road today. Leo stumbles as he gets up and makes his way to the scarf, dragging it with him as he slumps to the ground. His left hand finds the corner on muscle memory, running his fingers over the shoddy embroidery. His breathing starts to even, and once Leo is calm enough he looks down at the uneven stitches.

 It was simple work, a crude heart with the letters ‘CJ’ on the inside. They had been teaching the kids how to use a needle and thread to repair clothing, and Angelo had decided to teach Case the basics of embroidery, letting him practice on a scarf they had picked up on a supply run. 

 Junior had presented it to him with a beaming smile on his face, brighter than the sun, and it became the most treasured thing Leo owned.

(He doesn’t like thinking about the fact that it was technically the last gift Angelo had given him before-)

(Raph’s death was hard on all of them. Leo doesn’t blame Michelangelo for his reaction.)

(He agreed with him anyway. Leo knew it was his own fault they lost him.)

(He just wished that when he lost Raph, he hadn’t lost his little brother along with him.)

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

 Casey walks down the halls of the lair, making his way towards Donnie's room. His mask is tightly clutched in his right hand, anxiety making his knuckles white. It's not that he didn't trust Donnie- but it was… difficult for Casey to let someone, anyone, mess around with one of the last remaining things left from his home.

He makes his way in front of the door to Donnie's lab, and raises a hand to knock. Muscle memory makes him hesitate a moment longer before knocking, in case Don was watching through the cameras- proven to be a useful habit as the door swings open just as he starts to move his hand.

"Yes! Come in, come in-" Donnie ushers in Casey absentmindedly, leading him between machinery and tools towards the central computer area. He types something into the password bar, simultaneously grabbing a cord with the other hand. He hands the cord to Casey, now using both hands to type at a speed Casey could only hope to achieve.

Casey looks down at the cord in his hand, recognizing that it matches a specific port on his mask.

Huh. His Donnie must have standardized it, He thinks.

"I'm assuming you want me to plug this in to the mask, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes- if you could. It'll let me access the files on it to create a backdoor into your Donnie's system and tech. I doubt it will do much for the other tech, being a timeline away, but it will help me figure out why your mask glitched yesterday."

Casey processed the information for a moment, only hesitating for a second more before plugging in the cord. Immediately, several files pop up on Donnie's screens- statistics and organizational folders and password locks.

"I'll help you navigate," he finds himself saying, "what should we be looking for?"

"Any sort of folder with recordings in it- once I know the file that was played, I can figure out the code that triggered it," Donnie responds, already clicking on folders.

"Ok- you're gonna want to go back to the general files again, from there to 'protocols,' and from there to 'protocol exceptions' and then 'The Shorter Twin.'"

That earns a snort out of Donnie, as he clicks through the folders with ease. "This one?" He questions, hovering over the sole recording that lived in the folder.

"Yea- that's the one."

Donnie sighs, leaning back in the chair and glancing up at CJ as he speaks, "you'd think I would have all the recordings in one spot," he snarks, before turning back to the screen. "Would be easier than that, I'm sure."

Casey is grateful the turtle decides not to question him on why he knew the exact location of the recording, but can't help responding to Donnie's implied question. 

"Oh- he does, you can see it listed at the top there. It's just that that one is by date, and I don't remember when that was recorded."

"Interesting…"

Casey doesn't have the time to react as Don clicks on the folder, opening it in a new window. It's sorted the way Casey does, oldest first, and he stares at it a moment before speaking to Donnie. "I… I watch them sometimes. To remember. These are the older ones, you're looking for something a lot more recent."

Donnie goes to the filtering bar, selecting (newest -> oldest), and everything is fine for about 3 seconds.

Casey knows all the files on the mask by heart. He can figure out what the contents are just by looking at the thumbnail.

Which is why it was concerning that there is a file supposedly uploaded today- one that Casey had never seen in his life.

"I- go back to the top? That- that file. It's new," Casey manages to stutter out through his confusion.

"That's not possible," Donnie dismisses, "it- oh." He turns to look at Casey. "You wouldn't have happened to have uploaded this yourself, would you?"

Casey gulps, eyes never leaving the recording. "No. I didn't."

"Well. Perhaps watching it will enlighten us?" Donnie clicks on the video, allowing Sensei's voice to filter through the speakers.

“My name is Leonardo Blue Hamato, and this is how the world ended.”

It was strange, Casey thought, as he took in the image onscreen. Sensei wasn't wearing his scarf, which was rare, but he was definitely in one of the older bases, and Casey had no idea when he would have had the time to film this.

“It began when the Krang landed on earth for the first time, hundreds of years ago.”

He glances away for a second, looking at Donnie instead. The turtle's eyes were fixed on the screen, and Casey suddenly remembers that he had never described what his Sensei had looked like. It was probably a bit jarring.

“Legend says they came from the stars. Ruthless, unmerciful, with one desire, to enslave our world like so many before us.”

Donnie seems to pale slightly, lost in a memory not his own, and Casey decides to stop the recording.

"Don? Donatello, are you with me?"

He is unresponsive for a second, before shifting his gaze and focusing on Casey. "I- Yes. I am." He's quiet for a moment. "Perhaps we should keep this recording to ourselves."

"Yea, you're right," Casey responds, unplugging his mask from the machine. "You were right, it's probably just glitching or something."

Donnie seems to latch on to that, adding, "Yes. It would explain the new video as well. It probably was recorded a while back, and just finished uploading today. It must have connected to my tech and finished the last commands in the code. Yes, that must be it."

"We should… not tell the others about this," Casey adds. "They don't need to know about something that won't come to pass anyway."

Casey carefully ignores the little feeling that he was missing something, that stuff just wasn't adding up-

(Leo was never seen without his scarf. The base had clearly been abandoned- there was no one in medbay, no one walking past, it was silent. And Casey didn't remember Leo ever having a wound on his side while they lived there. Something about the scene was inherently wrong.)

He shoves the thoughts aside and returns to his room more confused than before.

Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

Drip.

Drop.

Leo stares at the distillery.

Drip.

Drop.

It was quiet. Far too quiet.

Drip.

The Resistance was never quiet, there was always an underlying hum of conversations, of work being done, of people.

Drop.

Now it was just Leo. 

Alone. 

Leo turns off the distillery, taking the water and dipping a cloth in it, using that to dab at his side.

He’d finally healed to the point that he could give himself ‘stitches,’ (it worked differently on his plastron, but the concept was the same), and he wasn’t risking any sort of infection. He'd be damned if that was what took him out after all this time.

Getting up, cloth still pressed to his side, he makes his way over to the central computer, staring at it for a few seconds. What to do next? Physical labor was a definite no, at least until his mutant healing took the wheel, but he had already taken inventory of the base, and if he reorganized the medbay one more time he was going to drive himself insane.

Well… there is one thing he could do.

It had been a spur of the moment decision at the time, built of distress and inner turmoil at seeing his lost twin so unexpectedly, but making a guide wasn't an overall bad idea.

Though, the thought of the Krang was enough to make him hurl at the moment, so perhaps he could talk about something safer.

With that settled, he set the cloth down, re-wrapped his side, and put back on his scarf. The battleshell stayed off, for now.

He sits down, beginning the recording, before sitting awkwardly for a moment because oh shit, he forgot to plan what he was going to say-

He clears his throat to stall for time. Perhaps it was best to start at the beginning.

"The Krang-" he forces out, "-devastated us, but they gave us one thing. Unity."

Leo thinks back for a moment, focusing on the blur of years that was his childhood. He tries to remember what it was like. "Before everything, before the invasion, we had to live in secret. yokai, mutants, humans- we all lived separately."

"The Krang- they gave us something we could all fight against, a common goal of defeating them," He hates to think about it, but in the long run having a common enemy made things much easier as a leader.

"We set aside our differences, and we became one. There was no divide between humans or yokai, there were only survivors." He stops, looking to the side as he continues under his breath, "It helped that those who refused were those who died first."

Leo takes a deep breath, collecting himself. "We worked together, took care of each other, kept each other going. It was… beautiful."

There was nothing more comforting in Leo's memory than the sense of community of the Resistance. Of everyone supporting each other, helping out where it was needed. It was so at odds with the human world they had navigated in his youth.

"My memories have faded over time, but I still remember the fear that my brothers and I felt the first time we encountered a human," It seemed almost silly now, being afraid of April.

He gives a soft chuckle before continuing, "Luckily that human was April, and she became one of our closest friends-" He cuts himself off. That phrasing was wrong. April had been so much more than that.

"No. That's not right. She became our sister."

Satisfied with his amendment, he thought back to the early days of the Resistance. "There were humans who accepted us off the bat, and others that had to get used to us, but we all got there eventually."

Leo rubs the back of his neck, ruffling his scarf. "It was definitely awkward for a while there, but in time we functioned like a well-oiled machine."

A smile reaches his face at what he says next. "It got to a point where some people couldn't even remember a time where we weren't united."

Should he..? Oh hell, who was going to tell him off? The Krang? "…My son Casey, he was one of those people. He was a human, raised mostly by his mom Cassandra."

"After she… after I started taking care of him, a few older Yokai disapproved. Space Case, bless his heart, just didn't get it."

He doesn't quite remember what happened to those Yokai, but he remembers Raph being involved with it. Raph and his ‘not-gang’ that had too many similarities with their family for his taste. (Eugh boy, perhaps it was best he didn't know.)

"It was dealt with pretty quickly, but it stuck with me, y'know?" It had surprised him, that someone had still clung so tightly to their dislike of humans even as the world was ending around them. And Casey, poor Casey, the kid had no clue why the Yokai had treated him that way.

Casey hadn't known a lot of things from Before.

"… I sent him to that world."

Leo tries to justify it, but it feels halfhearted, even to his ears. "Divided as it was, it was still better than here." 

He swallows. "I hope that he can forgive me for that, one day." He hopes that he will forgive himself for it.

"… I miss it sometimes. It's far too quiet here."

He shuts off the recording, and tries not to focus on how deafening the silence is, or how the shadows seem to creep in and suffocate him in his loneliness.

Despite it all, he feels… lighter.

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

Casey freezes.

He had just been planning to watch one of the more recent recordings, a training tutorial with Sensei, but there, staring at him from the display, is one he hasn’t seen before. Which was concerning, because it definitely wasn’t the one that he had watched with Donnie a few days prior.

What the fuck.

Ok. one is a fluke, two is a pattern.

(He fucking knew something was up with that recording! He should have watched it all the way through, should have looked into it further, should have-)

Casey takes a deep breath. There was only one path forward. He clicks on the original recording.

“My name is Leonardo Blue Hamato, and this is-” Casey pauses it, skipping forward a few seconds to where he remembers closing it before.

“-like so many before us.” Casey paid more attention now, taking in everything about the scene that he could as Leonardo continues.

“All seemed lost, until great mystic warriors forged a mighty weapon, a key that was used to lock them in a prison dimension beyond this realm. Over the centuries, the mystic key remained hidden to protect humankind and prevent the return of the Krang.”

The phrasing is familiar, and it takes Casey a second to realize that he was clearly quoting what Splinter had told him. He… doesn't know how to feel about that.

Leonardo looks directly into the camera as he continues. “But there was… a mistake. An evil group known as the Foot Clan got their hands on the key, opening up the portal and releasing the Krang.”

The teen’s breath catches, Leo’s eyes staring deep into his soul. He had forgotten how piercing that gaze was, how it could see right through you.

Leo’s voice deepens, “And behold, from their perch atop New York City, the Krang ripped open the sky itself. What came out was terror, and what rained down upon us was worse than death.”

The next part Leo mutters under his breath, barely picked up by the mic, “I still can't believe we told that to kids…”

Casey is suddenly struck with a memory of the Mikey of this time saying something similar, a startled laugh making its way out of him.

“The Krang wasted no time in hunting us down, humans and yokai alike were no match for them. Those who remained banded together into different groups, all fighting for survival. Over the years, those groups dwindled, and many joined into one singular force. The Resistance.”

A pang of mourning goes through Casey, for the family that he had left behind.

“In the end, the Krang wiped us out anyway. It was no use.” 

What.

That tone, the phrasing-

“I- we couldn’t win. There wasn’t anything we could do to save us. We used the last resort. Opened a time gateway, and sent one of the survivors through.”

No. No.

Leo rubs his neck, where his scarf usually resided. “What I suspect happened,” he continues, “is that sending him back ended up creating a bifurcated time branch, leaving this timeline unaffected.”

It wasn’t possible. It couldn't be.

Leonardo is quiet and subdued as he says, “I can only hope Casey has a better life there than he ever could have had here.”

A choked sob forces its way out of his throat, as the realization of what he was hearing sets in.

Leo looks back up at the camera, finishing with, “I’m… I’m the only one left. It’s almost fitting, heh-” He inhales sharply, and Casey can see the tears starting to form and-

The recording shut off, leaving him alone in his room, tears streaming down his face and drip-drip-dripping onto the mask.

He needs to- there has to be something- someone-

Donnie. He needs to find Donnie.

He scrubs at his face and throws open the door, bee-lining for the kitchen- (how did he know where D was?)- and immediately catches the attention of the softshell.

“Master Donatello! I need your help,” he starts pacing, needing to do something to get the anxious energy out.

“Ah- CJ, what?-”

“Remember the recording we found? On my hockey mask?”

“...Yes?”

“It- there’s another one, and I watched the one that we found all the way through, and-” his voice breaks, tears filling his eyes, “I think I left him there!”

Donnie looks confused, and maybe a little frightened, before shifting his eyes to the doorway connecting to the family room.

CJ follows his gaze, only just realizing that there were others hovering there.

Leon is the one who steps forward, moving out from behind Raph, and the sight of him makes Casey let out another sob.

“Casey? What- what are you talking about?” He says, moving forward slowly, as if soothing a wild animal. Casey hates that it's working.

Donnie is the one who explains, catching on to the fact that Casey likely wasn't in a state to continue.

“A few days ago, after Casey’s mask went off during dinner, we looked into the files on it. There was… a new recording, of Leo explaining their history. We didn’t end up finishing it, but it sounds like it was more than a piece of delayed code.”

Casey only has a minute to process before Mikey engulfs him in a hug, and he shoves down his immediate reaction of flinching away in favor of melting into the almost-familiar hug, before speaking in a broken tone.

“I- I left him there.”

Raph sets a hand on his shoulder, and for a second all Casey can see is his Dad before he was sent through the Gateway, before the snapper speaks, breaking the illusion.

“Can you… show Raph what you’re talking about?”

“On the- on the mask-” Raph nods, and looks back towards Leo, giving him a nod as well.

A second later, blue light fills his vision, and Raph catches the mask as it leaves the portal. Mikey lets go of him, taking it from Raph, before turning to the others. His posture straightens, and there is a touch of Dr. Feelings in his voice when he speaks.

“Turtle pile. Raph, get your plush collection. Donnie, you build the fort. Leo, you get CJ a hoodie or something. I’ll handle him until you’re done.”

They all leave to go do their separate tasks, leaving Case and Mikey alone in the kitchen. Silently, Michelangelo leads Casey to the dining table with his free hand, sitting down next to him. 

"Do you want to talk it over with me, or wait till the others finish?"

"... Wait."

CJ gets a nod in response, before Mikey sets the mask on the table. He gets up, and returns a few moments later with a glass of water he hands to Casey.

He doesn't remember how much time passes, just that at some point Leon came in to retrieve them.

"Future Kid?"

Casey looks up, just in time for his vision to be obstructed by a ball of fabric.

"Leo!"

"Relax, Miguel. Anyway, Dontron and Raph are done setting up, so we're ready when you are."

"Let me get changed first, I'll… join in a minute."

Leonardo gives him a nod and a salute as he leaves, with Mikey hesitantly trailing behind.

Casey grabs the hoodie, a lump of fabric falling from the bundle as he does. It was tan, worn, and very familiar.

Casey manages a weak smile as he picks up his cape, setting it on the table. He puts the hoodie on, clasps the cape around his neck, and slips the mask on above his forehead.

It’s one of his softest hoodies, oversized enough to hide stuff in, but not impeding movement- it, paired with the cape's comforting weight on his shoulders, works to calm him.

He doesn't remember mentioning the preferences, so it's a mystery on how Leon seemed to know just what Case needed, unless-

Ah.

It was something he had forgotten, this thing that Sensei- Leon- both of them did. They noticed things, and would use that knowledge to care for people- but they seemed allergic to acknowledging that fact.

His heart clenches at the reminder of his Sensei.

Casey takes a deep breath, and heads into the family room.

~~~

The room had been completely transformed in the 20 or so minutes that Donnie and Raph had worked on it.

Pillows and blankets covered almost every surface, with corners piled up with plushies and stuffed animals. Casey notices Raph and Donnie arguing over where to put specific plushies, presumably the prizes of Raph’s collection. Leon and Angelo are off to the side, crowded over Leo's phone.

Raph notices him first, perking up and making his way over to him. " Hey buddy, you feeling better? C'mon, let's sit over here-"

It’s a little patronizing, but Casey isn’t exactly in the mental space to argue, so he just follows the turtle to where the others had gathered.

God, he was going to hate this.

Once they were situated, Raph insisting they all stay within an arm's reach of each other, Donnie broaches the subject. 

"Casey, I believe it's best if we just show them."

Casey steels himself, before giving a sharp nod and setting the mask down in front of them. He pulls up the video, hearing a few sharp inhales from behind him.

"Is that… me? Your Sensei?" Leonardo asks. There's fear there, but Case can see a wisp of admiration in those eyes.

His gaze softens. "Yea, that's Master Leonardo."

He hits play.

~~~

“My name is Leonardo Blue Hamato, and this is how the world ended.”

Through the corner of his eye, Casey sees the others look at the recording with rapt attention.

“It began when the Krang landed on earth for the first time, hundreds of years ago,” Leo says, and he pauses for a moment, seemingly remembering something.

“Legend says they came from the stars. Ruthless, unmerciful, with one desire , to enslave our world like so many before us.”

Mikey quietly interjects, “That's- that's what Splinter said, right?”

Raph nods.

The familiar monologue washes over them, until Leo looks directly into the camera and deviates from the story.

“But there was… a mistake. An evil group known as the Foot Clan got their hands on the key, opening up the portal and releasing the Krang.” There’s a sharp inhale from Leon, and Raph puts a protective arm around the slider.

Leonardo’s voice slips into the familiar storytelling tone of Casey’s childhood. “And behold, from their perch atop New York City, the Krang ripped open the sky itself. What came out was terror, and what rained down upon us was worse than death.”

Leo mutters under his breath, “I still can't believe we told that to kids…”

“The Krang wasted no time in hunting us down, humans and yokai alike were no match for them. Those who remained banded together into different groups, all fighting for survival,” Sensei explains. “Over the years, those groups dwindled, and many joined into one singular force. The Resistance.” A loud sniff, presumably Mikey, is heard, and Casey barely processes it before he has an armful of boxshell for the second time that night.

“In the end, the Krang wiped us out anyway. It was no use.” Leo continues.

“I- we couldn’t win. There wasn’t anything we could do to save us. We used the last resort. Opened a time gateway, and sent one of the survivors through.” Casey’s shoulder was starting to get wet with Mikey’s tears, the orange turtle hiccuping every so often. He lifts an arm to rub the back of the younger’s shell.

Leo absently rubs where his scarf usually resided, “What I suspect happened,” he continues, “is that sending him back ended up creating a bifurcated time branch, leaving this timeline unaffected.”

Leonardo is quiet and subdued as he says, “I can only hope Casey has a better life there than he ever could have had here.”

He looks back up at the camera, finishing with, “I’m… I’m the only one left. It’s almost fitting, heh-” Leonardo inhales sharply, tears starting to form as the video abruptly ends.

Everything is quiet for a moment, before Raph crushes everyone in his arms, clutching at them like a lifeline as he cries. Donnie is almost blank, the only visible expression of emotion being his hand clutching Leon’s in a white knuckled grip. Leonardo has tears welling in his eyes, still locked onto where his counterpart had been talking moments before. Casey can feel hot tears spilling down his cheeks, joining Raph and Mikey.

“We- we have to get him out of there,” Mikey croaks out, face lifting momentarily from Casey’s neck.

“I- how? We can't just- open a portal, and I don’t even know if he- if he’s still-” Casey cuts himself off, unable to continue.

“No. You said there was another recording right? That means he’s still around. There's still a chance,” Donnie spits out. His determination is audible, like he wouldn’t allow any other answer to exist.

“... We can't tell splinter.” Everyone's heads turn towards Leon, the sliders face uncharacteristically somber. “We don’t know if we can get him back, and if we can’t, it’ll crush dad. We can’t risk it.”

There’s a hum of reluctant agreement throughout the group. It’s Donnie who breaks the silence, “We need more data. I’ll watch the second recording tomorrow to-”

“No.” Raph cuts him off, “We’re watching the recording tomorrow. We’re going to save him, and we’re going to save him together.”  

“We’ll get through this together,” Mikey pipes up.

“... Thank you,” Casey says. And for the first time since arriving in this confusing new world, he leans into his family’s arms, and cries.

It's painfully familiar, and different all the same, but Casey can feel the weight of this knowledge being shared between them. It leaves him feeling… lighter.

Chapter Text

~~~

Leo Hamato - 2044

~~~

Leo stares at the notes in front of him. Plans. Lists of weaknesses. Anything and everything the Resistance had gathered on the Krang and how to beat them.

The monitors stand in front of him, imposing. He’d attempted to write out what he wanted to say, but he could never get through the whole thing. He always worked better when he made stuff up on the fly, a thousand variables running through his mind and an audience to read responses from. Here though- it's just him, and the endless void he’s speaking into.

Leo heaves a sigh, sliding the hologram display to the side and closing it. The only way he was going to get through this was by starting. 

Click. 

“One thing to keep in mind when fighting the Krang is that they're damn hard to kill,” he says, “You can’t beat them hand to hand, and they never stay down for long when they do get injured.”

Just like a strategy meeting.  

“Their suits make them nigh indestructible- the only thing that can actually hurt them is either their own repurposed tech or magic.” 

Leo thumbs his scarf again absently, glancing offscreen to the table he had set the battleshell on. “One of our members, Donnie, was able to reverse engineer some of their tech. He only did it a few times, but every time he managed it was invaluable .” 

The more he speaks, the easier the words flow from him.

He always did like talking about his family.

"All the Krang’s tech is bionic, so he would hijack it, turning it back on them. We only ever managed to do it on a smaller scale, but if you found a way to fully override the Krang’s connection? You'd be unstoppable.”

Unbidden, his mind fills with memories of why they had to stop attempting overrides. Leonardo swallows, pushes the memories away. He stares straight into the camera to avoid looking at the battleshell.

"...Tech is a good option, but it's risky and can take a while to pull off. Magic, on the other hand, slows them down- even if it doesn’t always hurt them. Raphie-" 

Why does it always circle back to family? 

"- early on in the invasion he was able to use his ninpō to help control battlefields using misdirection, and occasionally force. Going directly after the Krang is a last resort, but trickery is your greatest ally."

Leo takes a moment, letting himself remember the force that was his older brother on a mission. The way Raphael would lead the Krang or their minions away, chasing a copy, and he and Leo would look for survivors to bring back. It was a good strategy, but- 

"Krang Prime has the ability to lock away ninpō and mystic energy though, so don't let your guard down. You can reactivate it, but it takes a lot of energy, and can take too long on the battlefield."

Leonardo's hand is fisted in the end of his scarf, only able to soothe him so much when faced with the turmoil that so many reminders of his family bring.

"The most effective method we found is a combination of ninpō and mystics.” 

He takes a moment to breathe. This is important, he just has to power through it. Short and sweet, Leonardo.

“Only one person, Michelangelo, was able to utilize this method, as it seems to come at a great physical cost to the user. It’s… dangerous, but it’s one of the only things that can truly hurt them.” 

Tension bleeds from his form as he tries to find his way to an… easier topic. As he scans his mind for more basic information, something begins to make itself known in his subconscious.

‘One of the only things that can truly hurt them’- that was wrong, wasn't it? He remembers something, a half forgotten memory of a green blur and screeching, of hasty explanations and what they thought had been their saving grace.

Leo begins speaking again, uncertain in his wording as he grasps at whatever pieces remain of the initial invasion in his memory. 

“No- there was something else that could hurt them. Pesticide… no… herbicide! It was herbicide,” he claims, dredging up the information as he goes.

“We never quite figured out how to make it ourselves, all the people who knew how to make it probably died in the initial attack, and any of the chemicals required to synthesize it are long gone by now…” his voice trails, mourning only for a second over his past mistakes before pushing forward, “…it seemed to react with them chemically, melted them somehow.”

It’s faint, but the memory of April throwing it at them as a last hail mary- she had saved him, saved them, so many times in the hope of a new world, all for nothing.

Maybe she didn’t want to save the whole world. Maybe she just wanted to protect them. Leo doesn’t know if that makes it better or worse.

 …Without her, Leonardo wouldn't be here today making these warnings. Whoever it was that found these- they deserved to know that, know her.  

“It was one of our members who discovered it, April O’Neil. She was- fearless, jumping in to save us at every opportunity- and she was human! She was more fragile, didn’t have the same powers we did, and an easier target on every count but- well. She took no shit from anyone, not even the Krang. It’s honestly a miracle she survived all the way up until the end.”

Leo feels his chest tighten, memories of the glimpse he had gotten of her corpse threatening to overwhelm him. His voice thick with emotion, he continues. 

“Commander O'Neil… She was always the first to take care of others, always there to offer advice or get you back on track. She was the best sister we ever could have hoped for.”

Hot tears spill over his cheeks. Maybe- maybe in this empty compound, this memorial filled with ghosts of his mistakes, with no one around to witness it- he could allow himself this vulnerability.

 “I miss the noise sometimes. I miss everyone…”

The answering silence is suffocating. He scrubs at his tears with his left hand, turning off the recording.

~~~

The scarf’s comforting weight keeps him grounded as he fits the battleshell over his carapace. The training dummy stands in front of him, mocking. Training is meditation, and if it helped him get used to the battleshell, then that was just two birds with one stone.

He wonders if Case is keeping up his training. Leonardo hopes that the kid doesn’t need to.

~~~

Casey Junior - 2020

~~~

It was later than they would have liked before everyone finds time to sneak off to watch the newer recording together. They have to find a place where Splinter was unlikely to look for them. They finally decide to use Donnie's lab, it having the most meticulous soundproofing and security out of all of their rooms. 

Donnie is already setting up the mask when Casey enters, Leon casually perched on Raph’s shoulders as the gentle giant moves around the room, adjusting and readjusting the pillows and blankets with anxious energy. Casey scans the room, noting a distinct lack of orange turtles. His confusion clears when a mug of tea is pressed into his hands, the box shell having apparently entered just after him. Mikey motions to Leonardo, and he jumps off Raph to accept his own cup. Mikey doesn't seem to have one for himself.

“Done!” Donnie grabs their attention, motioning for them to gather around the mask.

Everyone arranges themselves on the blankets, ending up all leaning against one another. Casey faintly remembers doing this when he was young. He would go to one turtle because of a nightmare, and they would wake the rest of the family up to make a pile in one of their rooms. He remembers the feeling of warm safety that came with it.

It makes Casey miss those times.

“Would you do the honors?” Leon asks, nudging him with his cup of tea. He says it casually, but his eyes are filled with an understanding kind of reassurance. Casey manages a small smile.

“Of course,” he responds, reaching forward and hitting play.

The video starts playing, Master Leonardo sitting awkwardly for a moment, looking distinctly caught off guard. He clears his throat, the same way he would when stalling for time during an impromptu speech. 

The stalling gives CJ time to focus on the heat seeping through the cup into his hands, Raph’s carapace against his side. It was a comforting feeling.

"The Krang-" Sensei finally spits out, "-devastated us, but they gave us one thing. Unity." He stops for a moment, seemingly lost in his memories. 

"Before everything, before the invasion, we had to live in secret. Yokai, mutants, humans- we all lived separately."

Casey remembers the shock of that realization, that even though the Krang were no longer a threat here, his family still had to live in hiding. 

(They had encouraged Case to join the human world, to enjoy what they had saved, go to school and experience. Frankly, Casey wanted nothing to do with a world that wouldn't accept his family right along with him.)

"The Krang- they gave us something we could all fight against, a common goal of defeating them,” Leo’s recording continues.

"We set aside our differences, and we became one. There was no divide between humans or yokai, there were only survivors." Leo stops, looking to the side as he mutters under his breath, "It helped that those who refused were those who died first."

Raph tightens the arm he has settled around Mikey, and Leon shrinks into himself on Casey’s other side. That won't do.  

Case reaches a hand out, tapping Leon's hand- (his right one! Whole and there!)- and offers him a reassuring smile. He pretends not to notice how misty the turtle's eyes get.

"We worked together, took care of each other, kept each other going. It was… beautiful." Leonardo stops, lost in his recollections.

"My memories have faded over time, but I still remember the fear that my brothers and I felt the first time we encountered a human," he gives a soft chuckle before continuing, "Luckily that human was April, and she became one of our closest friends-" He cuts himself off, looking conflicted.

"No. That's not right. She became our sister."

There’s an audible intake of breath from all around Casey, and his Sensei’s words seem to have really hit home with the turtles, tears already welling up in Mikey’s eyes.

"There were humans who accepted us off the bat, and others that had to get used to us, but we all got there eventually." In the video, Leo rubs the back of his neck, ruffling his scarf as he speaks, "It was definitely awkward for a while there, but in time we functioned like a well-oiled machine."

A smile reaches his face at what he says next. "It got to a point where some people couldn't even remember a time where we weren't united."

Casey remembers a time back in the future, when that had to be explained to him. He had asked his family and was met with utter confusion. Hueso had to remind Master Leonardo that Casey had been born after the invasion. He remembers the sadness in Leo’s eyes as he explained.

“…My son Casey, he was one of those people. He was a human, raised-"

The recording pauses with a soft click, and Casey looks around to find everyone's heads turned towards him. It's silent for a beat.

“Son?!”

CJ jolts at the volume, and is more than a little confused by their response. It devolves into chaos from there, a cacophony of voices all overlapping one another.

“Big Leo’s your dad?”  

“Why didn’t you let us know?”

“I- Nardo is- but you’re human?”  

“Huh, I guess one of us did give him grandchildren.” 

It’s what Leon says that ends up snapping him out of it, and Casey interrupts, cutting them off.

“Slow down!” Their mouths click shut in unison, and CJ takes a breath before answering. “Yes, Sensei- Leonardo- is my dad. It… didn’t really come up so I never really mentioned it? Cassandra was the one who adopted me, but Sensei took over when she couldn’t be there.”

“I… didn’t wanna freak you guys out since you didn’t really know who I was, and by the time you did it would only have made things weird.”

Casey stares into the mug in his hands, avoiding the prying eyes of his not-quite-family. They sit in silence for a moment, before a soft question spills from Leon’s mouth.

“Was I… a good dad?”

Casey is about to brush off the question, but as he moves his gaze to the slider he can see the vulnerability in his gaze, the hesitance Leon holds himself with.

He thinks of comfort after nightmares, of long days training, of tea and a hand on his shoulder. He thinks of the long nights spent making sure he knew just how to take out a type of Krang dog, of training until he couldn't move, of dwindling jokes and even rarer smiles.

He thinks of the care Sensei put into making sure his family was safe, even if it hurt him in the process.

“You were… the best I ever could have hoped for.”

CJ only has a second before his arms are full of an emotional turtle, burying his face into his shoulder. Leon pulls away just as quickly and surreptitiously wipes at his eyes. 

“Let’s- let’s continue the video! Doesn’t look like there's much left,” he says. Raph hesitantly reaches forward and resumes the recording, keeping an eye on Leon the entire time. 

"-mostly by his mom Cassandra. After she… after I started taking care of him, a few older Yokai disapproved. Space Case, bless his heart, just didn't get it. It was dealt with pretty quickly, but it stuck with me, y'know?"

"… I sent him to that world," Leo sounds defensive, but it feels halfhearted, resigned even. "Divided as it was, it was still better than here." 

Casey breathes out.

"I hope that he can forgive me for that, one day… I miss it sometimes. It's far too quiet here."

Click.

~~~

There's voices around him. They don't quite register around the static in his ears, but he can see the brothers moving around, talking to each other.

“... Casey?”

He feels a small hand wrap around his, pulling the mug from his grasp. CJ numbly accepts Mikey’s offered hand, which pulls him up and leads him towards Leon.

“Hey Leo- Future Boy ran out of tea, can you make him some more?”

“No problem Hermano! Follow me.”

Leon takes them out of the lab, into the kitchen, and sits Casey at the table before going to make them some more tea. He returns a few minutes later with two steaming cups, handing one to Casey and keeping the other. Leon has a familiar look in his eye.

(Casey had to get used to that. The flashes of his old family layered over this new one. It could be anything- a mannerism or way of speaking, the way they held themself when they got worked up over something...)

(In that moment, Leon was a perfect match for Sensei whenever he had known CJ needed someone to talk to. Maybe some things never change.)

Casey answers the unspoken question in the turtle’s gaze.

“I- I abandoned him, and Sensei blames himself for it? I left him there to die, how could he possibly think it was his fault?” He glares into the mug cooling in his hands, the mix of emotions warring in his chest almost too much to bear. “I should’ve taken him with me.”

Leon drops into the seat across from him, glancing around quickly before sighing. When he speaks, it's a far rarer, far more serious tone. 

“Look, Casey, I don’t know your Sensei, but from everything I’ve seen, he would do anything to protect you.” Leonardo takes a sip of his tea, a somber look in his eye.

 “...If that means staying on the other side of the por- gateway to buy you time, I don’t think it would even be a choice to him. There’s nothing you could have done to convince him otherwise.”

CJ looks at the tea, contemplating. It’s not like Leon’s wrong by any means, but it doesn’t take away the nagging feeling that Casey should have- could have- done something to prevent it. He takes a sip, meditating on the familiar comfort it brings him.

(No offense to the rest of the family, but Casey had found that there were only two people that could make tea properly, Leo and Splinter. April and Donnie preferred coffee, Raph was impatient and took the bag out too early, and Mikey always got distracted letting it over-steep.)

“... I know. I just- I wish he wouldn’t blame himself for protecting me.”

Leon makes his way around to where Casey is sitting, setting a hand on his shoulder. 

“When we get him back, you can tell him yourself that he has nothing to worry about.”

“...Thanks, Leo.”

“No problem! Now, I’m gonna see if I can beat Raphie’s DDR record, wanna join me?”

“I’d love to.”

~~~

Donnie Hamato - 2020

~~~

Donnie wakes to the soft sound of his bedroom door being opened. Feet lightly pad against the floor and then stop right before his bed, waiting.

“...Donnie?” Ah, Michaelangelo then.

“Yes Michael?”

Michaelangelo shuffles softly side to side. 

“I… I need your help with something.”

Donnie sits up, finally facing Mikey directly.

“What is it that you require my expertise for at-” a quick glance at the alarm clock- “1 O’clock in the morning?”

“Well… I was thinking about Leo- Big Leo? And how to get him back, right?” A nod in response. “And I thought, if Mystic Warrior Me opened a gateway to let Casey through, can’t we do the same, but in the other direction?”

Now that gets Donnie’s attention. He glances around his room, half expecting to see the other resident insomniac eavesdropping on them. He hurriedly gets out of bed and grabs his mask.

“Meet me in the Lab. We’ll continue this discussion there.”

~~~

“Do you understand how dangerous this is?!”

“I know- that's what you would be here for, to stop me if something goes wrong!”

Donatello glares at his youngest brother, “I still don't like it. There's too many factors, too many variables to account for. Last time you tried to pull something like this you were out of commission for a week, and that wasn’t even as ambitious as this.”

Mikey stomps his foot, feeling the beginning of angry clicks growing in his throat.

“I can't leave him there! You’re here to step in if something goes wrong, but I have to try, ok?”

Donnie heaves out a sigh. As much as he hates it, his brother has a point.

“Fine. We’ll try once, but if anything looks off to me I reserve the right to shut the whole thing down.”

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you!”

Mikey tackle-hugs him, receiving a few awkward pats on the shell in response. A few seconds later, Mikey jumps back, hands flexing in anticipation. 

“Ok, uhh, how did I do it last time? Should I just think about him really hard?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that plan.”

Donnie watches, calculating, as Mikey raises his hands with a certain kind of determination. He takes a few deep breaths, and the younger turtle's hands shake as they faintly begin to glow.

They continue like that, silent, as a small point a few inches from his palms starts to spark. Donnie watches, waiting.

5.

Sweat beads on Mikey's forehead.

4.

The sparks increase, the spot is now the size of a quarter.

3.

There’s a dangerous glow beneath his brother's fingertips.

2.

Michelangelo's legs begin to shake. Donnie sighs.

1.

Donatello lunges forward at the last possible second, catching his younger brother just as his legs give out from under him.

He guides his brother to the floor, putting a hand over Mikey's shaking ones.

“Michael. Stop. That's enough.”

“I can still-”

“No, you can't.”

Tears well up in Mikey's eyes, anger filling his weakened form.

“I did it before, I just need to-”

“Michelangelo. Listen to me. You don't even know if that was going to open to the right place, much less the right time. If I let you go for any longer then you’d have more than just exhaustion to worry about, you don't need Nardo here to tell you that.”

“But I've done it before-”

“With help. Mikey-”

“Why won't you let me try to save him!?”

The room is silent for a beat. Mikey glares to the side, tears dripping softly to the floor.

“...you guys always step in to protect me, and I know it's because I'm younger, but I'm just as strong as the rest of you. If I can- if I can save this Leo? Casey's father? I just- I want to save our family the way the rest of you do. Protect you the way you all protect me. I can't just- leave him there, y'know?”

Donnie remembers the hollow look in his pseudo-twin's eye. The raw desperation he had saved his own Leo from the Krang with. He sighs.

“...I understand. We can try again- once you've had time to recover. I'll speak with Draxum, see if there's any way we can work together to reduce the strain on you. However-”

He scoops the smaller turtle into his arms with little difficulty, striding towards the exit of the lab.

“For now, dear Angelo, you are going to bed. We can inform the others in the morning.”

He feels a faint nod against his shoulder.