Chapter Text
Leo was floating in the cold of the prison dimension. Kraang Prime was only a few meters away from him, but Leo couldn’t do much but wait for the next hit. He didn’t have much in him after the chaos that was the past few hours. Even if Leo could fight back, his sword was slowly floating away from him. If he reached out, he would probably be able to reach it by a hair, but Leo most definitely had multiple broken bones. The beating he had taken from Prime had knocked any fight out of him. He had been such a bad leader, and no one was going to properly reprimand him at home, so he might as well get it from a psychotic gooey alien.
Kraang Prime was reaching out towards him. He was ready to go in for another attack, but a bright orange light blinded the monster. Leo's eyes went wide as the warm light hit the back of his shell. He carefully turned himself around to see what seemed to be a portal only a few feet away from him. It was shiny and bright, but he couldn’t turn away from the comforting sight. Although he couldn’t see them, Leo could hear his brothers calling to him.
“Leo, hold on!”
“C’mon, Nardo, don’t do this to us!”
“I’m not giving up on you!”
Leo reached his hand out as he drifted closer to the portal. One by one, he noticed his brother's worried faces. Raph’s chasm was most definitely growing in size, but panic was laced in his eyes. Donnie was uncharacteristically upset; the normally unimpressed face of Leo’s twin now showed genuine fear, and tears were running down their face. Mikey stood in between the older two, arms outstretched to the portal, as he called out to Leo.
Leo wanted to call out to them, but he could tell by their shifting faces that he didn’t have to announce it. A small smile grew on his face, but it quickly disappeared when Leo felt a presence behind him. Kraang Prime had gotten closer and was practically on top of Leo. His mechanical arm was above his head and was quickly moving towards Leo. Now, with some renewed hope, Leo pushed himself to the side, barely avoiding the swing. His brother shouted at him, their cries echoing through the black void.
“Stay away from my brother!” Mickey screamed, with more tears falling from his eyes.
With another flash, the portal grew in size and brightness. This time, both Leo and Kraang Prime were blinded by the light, but Leo knew this would be his only chance. He reached out towards his odachi and grabbed it before opening his eyes to look at Prime. Kraang Prime was covering his eyes with his two abnormally long arms. Leo took the moment to position himself above the head of Prime’s armor. Leo placed his feet in the right spot, then launched himself off of the helmet. He let out a hiss of pain from the monover, but he didn’t care. His brothers were on the other side of that portal, and there was nothing that would keep him from them.
He soared through the alternate dimension, keeping his eyes locked on his destination. Leo couldn’t hear his brother anymore, but he knew they would be there. Their faces weren’t on the other end, but the portal was just too bright. His eyes were still adjusting; that's why he saw the skyline of New York City instead of his brothers.
Slash!
Leo gasped in pain as he looked back at Prime. Well, it was hard to see him since the hit sent him spinning in circles. Prime had cut Leo’s ankle just above the Achilles tendons. The odachi slipped from his hand, but he was preoccupied. He could make out the looming figure of Prime, but he was too far now. There was no way he could catch up to Leo, even if he pulled a similar trick to himself. Leo could see the orange started to engulf him as Prime dashed forward. He couldn’t help but smile again as he fell into the portal. Oh, Leo couldn’t wait to tell his sibling that they won! He couldn’t wait to hold them again and never ever let go!
Entering the portal, Leo felt the familiar pull into the vortex, but it felt different from his own portals. His portals, for starters, were blue, but they were also windy and tended to send those inside them flying around if they weren’t prepared for it. This one was still windy, but it felt more…determined? It wasn’t as wild as his own, but the portal seemed to be brimming with life. As if it were the first time it was opened. It glowed and shined like a diamond and had a faint smell of oranges to it, which surprised him. His portal didn’t have a distinct smell! Yellows mixed in with golden hues similar to watercolor paints. Leo spotted small stars moving around, and he couldn’t tell if he was making it up or if they were really there.
Before Leo could process his surroundings, he felt himself shoot out from the mystic contraption. The feeling of warm summer air hit him as he fell. He watched in surprise as the large opening to the portal began to close. Leo fell back and prepared himself to start free falling towards the ground; instead, he felt his shell roughly scraping against the concrete. He came to a stop once he crashed into something metal. The wind kicked out of him, and he started coughing on the ground.
Leo winced as he attempted to get up, but his injuries were starting to catch up to him. His arm gave out as he tried to push himself into a sitting position. He fell back onto whatever he landed on and hissed in pain. Every muscle in his body screamed at him, but his bones were shreking at him. When he tried to sit up, Leo got a glance at his ankle, which was bleeding pretty badly. If he didn’t stop it, he was going to pass out from blood loss. Despite this, Leo just laid there, staring at the night sky. He used the last of his energy to pull that stunt on Prime. There was no way Leo would be moving, unless it was someone else moving him.
Leo waited. He waited for what felt like forever for his brothers. He waited for Raph to run over and bare hug him. Would it have hurt like hell? Yes, but Leo wouldn’t have complained about being manhandled that one time. He waited for Donnie to give him a panicked lecture about everything he did wrong while basking in the sight of Don crying. Leo wanted to tease him to hell in back, then wait for Donnie to get his sweet revenge once Leo was fully healed. He waited for Mikey to come over and shower him with gentle hugs and words of reassurance. Leo wanted to see his little brother smile brighter than he ever had before. He waited for April to come around the corner with Casey Jr. and his dad. Their questions and worries would fill his ears as he held his brothers tightly. That tie didn’t seem to come.
Suddenly, a faint noise came from around the corner. Leo couldn’t really describe it. It was similar to the sound his sword made when opening a portal, but closer to ruffling fabric. The unknown thing (or was it a person?) made a curious hum. It was clearer than before and closer.
Leo’s eyes widened in anticipation. It had to be his family! They were here. He wasn’t alone anymore. He watched the corner as a haze started to cloud his mind. Every part of him was begging for rest, and Leo couldn’t fight the feeling even if he wanted to.
Sleep started to take hold, but his eyes never left the corner. His vision went blurry as a light blue figure appeared. It looked around a bit before making a worried gasp. The last thing Leo saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the figure floating towards him.