Chapter Text
He groans, head aching like crazy. A hand - his hand - presses against the part that hurts most. He forces himself to push his eyes open, but his lids are so heavy, and the room is so bright…
“Guys! Leo’s awake!” someone yells, too loudly.
He grimaces, teeth grinding. He tries to open his eyes once more, catching a glimpse of green before they shut again. He groans again.
He hears rushing footsteps, things running into other things. Everything is so loud.
“Mikey, he’s still-”
“No, no, I saw- I saw his eyes open- There, see!”
He sees three green figures now, all crowding around him. It’s getting easier to keep his eyes open. “Mm…” Maybe if he can just sit up-
“L- Leo?” someone asks.
He’s sitting now, eyes open fully. His eyes have adjusted more to the light.
“Hey, you alright, buddy?” the biggest green figure asks.
“Uh…” The noise crawls out of his throat, bringing his attention to how dry it is.
“H- Here, drink this.” He’s handed a cylinder - a glass, yes, a glass - of water. “Do- How are you feeling?”
He drinks the entire glass, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He tries his voice. “I… My head. It hurts.”
“Yeah, that checks out,” the figure cloaked in a cool color - purple, he knows that one - says. He bites his bottom lip. “Anything else?”
“Mm…” His mind is picking up speed now, like… like something that picks up speed. He has questions, he realizes distantly. But what to ask first?
“Is your vision working okay? Can you read this line?” The purple one holds up a chart with some symbols on it.
“Where?” he manages.
“R- Right here.” The purple one taps the line again.
“No.” He shakes his head. “Where am I?”
The figure freezes. “The lair,” he says carefully. “You’re in your room.”
“Room…” He looks around. He’s able to process what he’s seeing a bit better now. Colors, shapes, objects. These hold some meaning now, at least.
“You-” the smallest one starts, cutting himself off. He wrings his hands together. He starts again in a smaller voice, “You still remember us, right?”
He blinks. His eyes are fully focused now, and his mind feels sharper, but… These figures mean nothing to him.
“Leo…?”
He - Leo, he must be Leo - shakes his head, feeling some distant drop of… guilt? “Sorry.”
The small one’s eyes get shiny, his mouth wobbly, and he turns away, leaning into the biggest figure. The big one speaks now. “Leo? Stop kidding around, man. Come on, you know us.”
Leo just blinks again. “Sorry,” he repeats. He doesn’t fully know how he knows, but this word is the only one that fits the feeling inside him. He feels… confused. He feels confused and remorseful, but he still can’t place why.
“Raph?” the red one prompts, placing a hand on his own chest. “Mikey, Donnie?” He points to the other two - the other two turtles, yes, that’s what they are. Turtles. Leo wonders if he’s a turtle too. He must be, surely.
He figures if he’s going to learn about these strangers, he might as well ask. “Are we all turtles?”
The little one sniffles, shaking.
“Yes,” the large one - Raph - states. “We’re all brothers.”
Brothers. He can’t place what it means, but the word evokes a strong emotion within him, something that makes his heart twist.
Leo shifts his eyes between the three of them. Large, red Raph. Small, orange Mikey. And medium, purple Donnie. Donnie stands still, and Leo wonders for a moment if maybe he imagined that Donnie spoke at all. The only proof he has is that Donnie still grips the chart with lines of symbols on it. Letters! Yes, the chart has letters on it.
“Okay,” Raph finally says. “Okay. Donnie, take Mikey- Donnie?”
Donnie blinks, blinks and blinks and blinks, turning to Raph - to his brother. “Yeah, yeah. Got it.” He takes Mikey’s arm, gently dragging him out of the room - out of Leo’s room.
“Leo?” Raph asks softly once the others are gone. He crouches down so he’s at Leo’s eye level. “You really can’t remember us?”
Leo really wishes he would stop feeling that terrible guilt feeling. “Sorry,” he repeats again.
Raph sighs. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. Are you- Are you hungry? I can bring you some pizza.”
Pizza. That word sounds so familiar.
“Okay. Well. I’ll let you rest some, okay?” Leo nods. “I’ll order some pizza, and then we can all eat together. Okay?” Leo nods again. “Okay. Pops’ll be happy to know you’re up. April too, and Casey. They- Only Dad will be able to join us though. I hope that's okay?”
Leo just nods again. He doesn’t really know who Raph is talking about, but nodding seems to put him a bit at ease. Raph stands, places his hand on Leo’s shoulder for just a moment, and then turns and leaves, tossing one last glance over his shoulder.
And then Leo is alone again.