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Chapter Text

Eight months after the invasion, Leo was finally healed enough from his injuries and was cleared from the med bay

“FREEDOM!!!” Leo screamed at the top of his lungs after Donnie gave him the official diagnosis, skipping his way down the hall to the kitchen, where he knew Raph and Mikey were out. Donnie was right on his heels, shaking his head in fondness at his twin’s antics

He haven’t seen Leo this excited since the…well since the morning of the day that their lives have changed forever

It had been a long and grueling eight months for sure. The first month saw Leo in a coma, and Donnie wasn’t sure if his twin was ever going to come out of it. There were times when Donnie would spend the night in the med bay because he couldn’t stand the thought of being away from Leo. He would check his vitals and then lay down beside Leo on the medical cot. He wouldn’t sleep though as he was scared of the heart monitor flatling and Leo dying on them, or that he would miss the moment that Leo would wake up from his coma

The day that Leo did wake up was both the best and worst moment of his life. Donnie was at first relived that Leo was finally out of the coma, but then came the horror realization that Leo still had a long way to go in his recovery.

Donnie and the rest of the family did their best to help Leo recover, but Leo was such a difficult patient. He would complain a lot of the time and was super stubborn as heck. He would try to leave the med bay constantly when he wasn’t supposed to and Donnie threatened to put him on bed rest if he kept it up

Surprisingly, Leo did as he was told after about the third month, but he did so begrudged. After that, it was a long five months of intense therapy with Leo and Mikey’s injuries, as well as all of them healing from their mental wounds. Moral in the lair was low for the longest time as they all had nightmares about every other night, with Leo being the worst. A turtle pile was almost guaranteed and when there wasn’t a turtle pile, Donnie was the one who stayed with Leo most of the time, with Raph and Mikey having their fair shares every now and then

Finally, after eight long months, they were healed from their physical injuries and Leo was finally freed from the med bay, hence his excitement. And honestly, despite Donnie sometimes getting annoyed with his twin’s loud voice, he was happy to hear it. Especially when he walked into the kitchen and saw Leo excitedly spinning Mikey around while letting out a bout of laughter. Donnie missed his twin’s laugh as it was somewhat absent for the past eight months

“Well Mad Dogs, I think this is a cause for celebration!” Raph said excitedly

Leo and Mikey’s eyes light up. “I think this calls for a trip to Run of the Mill” Leo then rushed off to his room and before any of them could say a word, Leo run back into the room with his katanas in his hands. “Vamanos Hermanos”

But before Leo could make a portal, Donnie came up to him and held his wrist. “Oh absolutely not. Just because you have been cleared from the med bay, doesn’t mean that you should be using your ninpo to make portals again. I did not clear you for that”

Leo groaned loudly as he gave Donnie a side eye, his smile slightly diminishing. “Come on Don-Tron. Walking there is going to take forever. Using my portals is the fastest way” Leo then turned to Raph “Tell him Raph”

All eyes were now on Raph, his nervous stink radiating off of him as he glanced between the twins

Eventually he sighed. “As much as I hate to say this, Leo is right Donnie. Getting to the Hidden City by Leo’s portals is the fastest way. And besides, I trust that Leo’s ninpo is all good to go and that he can get us there safely” Raph smiled at Leo, and Leo felt like he was on cloud 9 hearing such big praise from his big brother

Leo then turned to Donnie who just looked exasperated. The softshell sighed loudly. “Fine…fine have it your way. Portal us to Run of the Mill Leo”

Leo gave a dramatic bow to Donnie as Donnie rolled his eyes at his twin’s antics “With pleasure” A blue portal opened in front of them and the four brothers stepped through, the Hidden City greeting them with vibrant colors, as the four of them walked to Run of the Mill

Hueso greeted them warmly and even gave Leo a hug. Leo may or may not shed a tear or two, though no one said anything about it. Hueso guide them to their usual table and the four of them order, engaging in light conversation

The pizza came and the boys dug into the meal, Leo feeling grateful for the heavenly pizza

At some point, Donnie shifted closer to him and when Leo eyed him, he noticed that his twin was trying to hide slightly behind him and was looking at something across the room with a nervous expression. Leo saw that Raph and Mikey didn’t noticed so he whispered softly to Donnie, “What’s wrong Dee? Is something bothering you?”

Donnie turned his head in Leo’s direction and nodded to a table across the restaurant. “Sitting at that table over there is one of the witches from Witch Town. I recognize her. She…she is giving me this ‘murderous’ look and I don’t like it” Donnie whispered back

Leo subtly glanced at the other table and sure enough, the witch was indeed giving them this murderous, dirty look that Leo certainly did not like. It even made him feel uneasy. He can’t imagine how it much feel for Donnie, knowing his twin’s history with Witch Town

However, the uneasiness was overshadowed by Leo’s protective instincts. “Do you want me to go over there and say something to her? I can even get Hueso to kick her out or something?” Leo asked softly. Donnie just shook his head. “I appreciate it Nardo, but it’s ok. I…I don’t want to cause a scene or anything like that. Don’t want to get into more trouble”

Leo looked like he wanted to argue, but the look that Donnie gave him so ‘please don’t’

So, Leo didn’t. He pulled Donnie closer to his side, which Donnie leaned into, resting his head on his twin’s shoulder. Raph and Mikey paused their conversation for a bit when they noticed the twins’ odd behavior. Subtly, Leo nodded his head towards the witch, and Raph and Mikey immediately got the message. Leo could tell that Raph wanted to go say something but Leo mouthed ‘don’t go over there and make a scene’, as he casted his eyes on Donnie. Raph got the message and went back to talking to Mikey, though the atmosphere had changed, with all three of them giving the witch the same murderous expression when they knew that Donnie wasn’t looking

The witch did eventually leave and all four turtles let out a sigh of relief. They finished eating their pizza and thank Hueso, before wandering back out into the Hidden City

Leo could tell that Raph and Donnie wanted to go back home, as he did only promise a quick trip to Run of the Mill. But Leo wanted to go out and explore. He had been cooped up for eight months in the sewers after all

However, when he proposed the idea, Raph and Donnie, as to be expected, were slightly against the idea, Donnie especially so. Leo really wanted to explore, but he also didn’t want to make his brothers uncomfortable

Mikey, being the voice of reason, said “Why don’t you two go on home? I’ll go and explore the Hidden City with Leo and make sure that he doesn’t get into trouble” Mikey nudged Leo when he said that, which lead to Leo rolling his eyes

The portal duo thought that Raph and Donnie would agree to the idea. It was certainly a compromise. Raph seemed to consider and he was about to say something but Donnie stepped in, looking nervous suddenly “Um actually…I don’t mind staying out a bit longer”. Then Donnie came to stand beside Leo. “How about Nardo and I go and explore one part of the Hidden City, while you two explore a different part? We will meet at that water fountain over there in about an hour”

Leo didn’t understand why Donnie was nervous all of sudden, but if Donnie was on board with exploring the Hidden City, then he wasn’t going to complain. Raph and Mikey seemed to agree and they went off in their own direction, but not before Raph called to them to be careful and to call them if there was trouble

As soon as the sunset duo was gone, Leo grabbed Donnie and the two of them set off on their Hidden City adventure, unaware of a certain witch watching them from a distance

…

Donnie tried his damn best to put on a smile and to try and have fun with Leo. And don’t get him wrong, he was having fun with Leo. Any time spent with his twin was some of the best time that he ever had

But, Donnie just couldn’t shake this awful growing feeling inside of his chest. He had been feeling that way ever since he saw that witch at the restaurant. The way that she looked at him gave him the major creeps. He was glad he was there with his brothers as they gave him a sense of protection, Leo especially

There was also the fact that Donnie haven’t been ‘topside’ since the invasion happened and the crowd of yokai was making him feel slightly overstimulated. It wasn’t bad enough to warrant a breakdown but it was enough for him to feel agitated, picking his nails and rubbing his arms, both nervous habits.

Leo picked up on Donnie’s discomfort almost instantly and stayed close to Donnie as much as possible, holding his hand and squeezing it, letting Donnie know that he was there. It was subtle gesture, yet one that Donnie appreciated greatly.

No one knew exactly the birth order of the twins. They didn’t know who was older or who was younger. That didn’t matter to the twins however. They took turns being the older or younger twin. They slide into both roles easily. It just depended on what the situation called for and who needed to be loved and comforted by their twin

Donnie would admit that lately he was the younger twin while Leo was the older twin, and that could be because of the circumstances that felled upon them. Ever since he thought he lost his other half forever and got him back, Donnie had been slightly clingy to Leo, not wanting to leave his twin for long if he could help it. Leo, bless his sweet and wonderful soul, let Donnie cling to him. Donnie wasn’t sure if the closeness benefited him or his twin more.

Whatever the case, the twins became even closer during Leo’s recovery, since Donnie was mostly in charge of it. The past eight months, while hard, were filled with late-night talks and sleepovers in the med bay. It was bittersweet as it let Donnie be close to Leo, but he wished it didn’t have to come with his twin almost dying and being so injured

The only thing that made everything worth while was to see Leo smile again. Donnie would do anything to keep that smile on his twin’s face

It was at that moment that Donnie’s phone rang, the image on his phone popping it to reveal that it was Mikey calling him. Donnie answered the call with a curious ‘Hello?’

He could barely hear what Mikey was saying on the other side as him and Leo were in a back alley, which probably meant that reception wasn’t the best.

Donnie covered his phone and told Leo that he couldn’t hear Mikey and was going to go out in the open and see if he could better reception. Leo was checking out at one of the shops they stopped at and gave Donnie a thumbs up, saying that he would join him once he was done. Donnie gave him a thumbs up back and went a few feet out into the open

Leo watched his twin go and finished checking out, paying for a shiny blue turtle plush that he knew that he had to have

Once Leo was finished, he started walking towards where he knew his twin was. But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the witch from the restaurant from earlier. And it appeared that she wasn’t alone. There was another witch with her and they were closing in on Donnie

Wait…

OH MY GOSH, THEY WERE CLOSING IN ON DONNIE!!!

Leo didn’t have much time to think as he dropped his gift and ran towards his twin, who was unaware of the witches approaching him

Donnie had just got off the phone with Mikey and was waiting on Leo when he heard his name being called in a panicked voice, one that he never heard from his twin in a long time “DONNIE!!!”

Donnie just had enough time to turn around to see the witch from earlier and another witch, moving their mouths, though Donnie couldn’t hear what they were saying, and their wands being and hands being moved around as blue and green light emitted from them…both of which were aiming for him

Donnie felt like a deer in the headlights as he felt frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do or where to go

Time seemed to slow down as the witches cast wherever their spell or curse was and the light traveled towards Donnie. However, in the last second, Donnie watched with horrible realization as Leo pushed him out of the way and ended up diving in front of the light, taking the hit that was intended for him

…

Donnie groaned as his senses finally came to him after a few minutes. He looked around him to see that most of the yokai had fled the scene, probably being scared by the blast of light.

The events of what happened came back to Donnie in a flood and he looked around furiously for the two witches, finding that it was just him and Leo

Wait…Leo

Donnie gasped as he saw his twin lying on the ground. Donnie started to panic as he crawled over to his twin and turn him over. His twin didn’t look hurt, physically at least.

However, when Donnie tried to shake Leo awake, his twin did not stir. Donnie’s panic increased and could feel tears forming behind his eyes. ‘Please. Please don’t…’ Donnie thought as he placed his fingers against Leo’s neck. Donnie let out a big sigh of relief when he found a strong pulse. He even noticed Leo’s chest slowly moving up and down. His twin was alive, thank goodness

Donnie sniffled as he wiped his eyes and he held Leo close, wanting to protect his twin. From what, Donnie wasn’t sure. He just knew that he didn’t want anything to hurt Leo

Though, Donnie had a feeling that maybe he would be hurting Leo later. He knew that was going to berate Leo later for taking that hit for him. He thought that Leo was done with pulling stunts like that. He thought that they were done with the self-sacrifice BS

‘Guess not’ Donnie thought bitterly as he held an unconscious Leo in his arms. Donnie wasn’t sure if he should be more angry at Leo for taking the hit, or the witches for doing this to his twin. Or…maybe he should be mad at himself, since he was probably the reason for why the witches cast their spells in the first place. They were obviously still mad at him from the incident in Witch Town last year, so maybe it was his fault that all this happened

Honestly, the more Donnie thought about it, the less angry he became. It didn’t honestly matter in the moment. All that moment was that Leo got hit with some kind of spell or curse and they needed to figure out what it was so they can find a cure for it

Donnie pulled out his phone and decided to call Raph. He tried his best to remain calm as he explained what happened to Raph, who of course started to freak out, and he told Raph for him and Mikey to get here as quickly as they could

After sending his brothers him and Leo’s coordinates, Donnie hung up and just sat there against a water fountain as he held his unconscious twin in his arms. Leo appeared to be sleeping, and it honestly looked the most peaceful that he ever seen from his twin

Donnie would have thought it was sweet, if not for the reason why Leo was sleeping

Donnie curled around Leo as he mumbled out apologies to Leo for causing all of this to happen to him, waiting patiently for his other two brothers to arrive, as he tried to hold in his tears

Chapter Text

Leo felt himself come out of dreamland when he felt multiple voices calling out his name, frantically might he add. The one that was the loudest of all was his big brother, Raph

Leo moaned as he drowsily opened his eyes to revealed the panic and worried faces of his brothers. Leo realized that he was being held in the arms of his twin, and for some reason, that made Leo feel safe. He leaned his head tiredly against Donnie’s shoulder as he mumbled out “Hey guys. What’s with the worried faces?”

All three of his brothers let out huge sighs of relief, while Donnie nuzzled his beak against the top of Leo’s head, letting out a small chirp that Leo haven’t heard in years. The small noise conveyed to Leo that his twin was relieved, yet also scared and worried. Leo responded back with a reassurance chirp and that seemed to calm Donnie down

“Leo…do you remember what happened?” Donnie asked as he pulled back to give Leo a bit more room. Leo sat up a bit as he scrounged his memories for what happened. The events came to him in a flood and he immediately started to look around. “Where are they? Where are those witches?” he asked, frantically, borderline angry

Raph put a hand on his shoulder. “The witches are gone Leo. They disappeared as soon as you and Donnie were knocked unconscious” Raph seemed level-headed, though Leo could tell that Raph was probably as angry as Leo was that the witches disappeared before any of them could catch them

Leo then turned to Donnie. “Donnie, are you ok?” he asked, subtly checking his twin over. Donnie sighed heavily. “I’m fine Nardo. Though I’m more concerned about you. You were the one who got hit. Are you feeling ok?”

Leo checked himself over and could see that he appeared relatively fine. And he didn’t feel anything weird going on in his body that could come with a spell or curse.

So Leo just shrugged his shoulders. “I feel fine Hermano. Nothing can keep old Neon Leon down”

“You sure? Donnie told us that it looked like you took two spells/curses at once. You sure you don’t feel anything?” Mikey asked unsurely

Leo smiled reassuringly at his baby brother. “I’m sure Mikester. They were probably duds” When they didn’t seem to appease any of his brothers, Leo sighed. “Look, if it makes you guys feel better, you can check me over in the med bay when we get home. And if that still doesn’t appease you, we can call Draxum to check that there is no mystic nonsense going on. There, happy?”

Raph came up to place a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “We’re sorry that we are so paranoid Leo” “I’m not” Donnie grumbled from behind them. Raph stared at him and Donnie shut up. Raph turned back to Leo. “It’s just that…after everything that happened with…you know what…we are just worried about you. We just don’t want anything bad to happened to you. That’s all”

Leo sighed and smiled, placing his hand on top of Raph’s. “It’s ok Raph. I get it. I’m just messing with you guys. I promise that I’m not mad. Are…are you guys mad?” he asked uncertainly

Mikey came up beside Raph. “No we’re not mad Leo. Like Raph said, we are just worried” Mikey then turned his head towards Donnie and Leo noticed that Mikey had the look of Dr. Delicate Touch “Right Donnie?”

Leo turned his head towards his twin who was not looking at either of them, rubbing his hands up and down his arms, again the nervous habit. Leo frowned sympathetically as he walked over to Donnie and grabbed one of his hands, squeezing it gently. “I understand if you are mad at me Donnie. In fact, you should be the most mad…”

“I’m not mad Leo” Donnie interrupted as he sighed heavily. He then squeezed the hand back as he tried to keep the shake out of his voice “I’m just worried and scared. And I’m more mad at myself then I am you”

This took Leo by surprise. “Wait…do you think that all of this is your fault?” Donnie nodded sadly and, without needed to explain further, Leo knew immediately why Donnie thought that he was at fault. The witches were after him because of what happened the last time Donnie was in Witch Town. The ‘supposed curses’ were intended for Donnie, not Leo, yet Leo was the one who got hit, because Leo was just doing his job of protecting Donnie

Well, Leo wasn’t going to have Donnie blaming himself. He knocked his forehead against Donnie’s. “Don’t blame yourself for this Donnie. It is not your fault. I chose to jump in and save you. I made the self-sacrifice play. If you need to blame someone, blame me, ok?”

Leo spoke so softly that it almost made him want to cry. Damn it. How dare his twin do this to him? Donnie leaned into the comforting gesture. “I don’t blame you, Leo. If anything, I blame those witches” he finished with a growl

“Me too Don” and honestly, what more could Leo say?

The twins stayed in that position for a bit longer before Donnie pulled away. “Alright enough of this emotional talk. Can we please go home now?” he pleaded. Leo smiled “I couldn’t agree more with you brother” He then unsheathed his katanas and made a sparkling blue portal in front of them. Raph and Mikey went in first and Leo and Donnie followed behind, with Donnie holding onto Leo’s hand the whole way

…

Leo was checked out by his brothers and Donnie found that Leo was right. His scans came up with nothing. There was nothing mystical going on and Leo appeared to be fine. Turns out that those curses were duds and a wave of relief washed over the brothers

After Leo got checked out, they all decide that it was time to head to bed. Leo said goodnight to his brothers and got himself ready for bed

However, Leo felt a slight headache coming on. He quickly pulled out his first aid kit and pulled out the medication that he kept in case of emergency. He popped down two ibuprofens and swallow them down with a glass of water that he got from the kitchen

Leo decided to stay up for a bit, until his headache would go away, choosing to doom scroll on his phone, keeping the brightness down to not make his headache worst

It was probably an hour later before Leo could feel his headache start to dissipate. Leo determined that it was probably time to at least try and get some sleep, before his insomnia took over

Just when Leo started to doze off, he heard a soft knock on the wall beside his door. Leo glanced up and saw Donnie standing there in his doorway, with his purple pj’s on, yet his mask was off…which meant that Leo could see the eyebags underneath Donnie’s eyes and the dried tear tracks

Leo’s heart pang with sympathy as he watched his twin slightly shake in the doorway. Leo sat up a bit more and opened his covers, a silent invitation for Donnie to join him

Donnie walked slowly over to Leo and sat down next to him. Donnie shakily lifted his hands to cup Leo’s face. Leo let him, watching Donnie with wary eyes. Donnie’s face shifted on a dime as he seemed to recognize something, rubbing his thumbs across Leo’s cheeks. “You…you’re here. You…you’re alive” Donnie said, his breath hitching on his emotions

And it clicked in that moment that maybe Donnie had a nightmare. And Leo knew exactly what nightmare it could be

“Oh Don-Tron” Leo cooed as he brought Donnie in for a hug. “Nightmare?” Donnie nodded miserably against him as his twin began to cry and was trembling in his arms, clinging himself to Leo. Leo shushed his twin as he brought his arms around Donnie, rubbing his hands down Donnie’s shell and the back of his head. “Shh it’s ok Dee. I won’t make you talk about it. But just know that I’m right here. I got you. I’m not going anywhere”

Donnie continued to sob in his arms, whimpering miserably as he tried to get his breathing under control, following Leo’s breathing pattern to the best of his ability

Then Leo gently brought Donnie’s head down on his plastron. “Tello…listen closely” Donnie did what Leo told him to do and, when he did, he heard the gentle thumping of Leo’s heart. A steady beat that Donnie found to be comforting and soothing. “What do you hear?” Leo asked softly. Donnie sniffled as nuzzled his face against Leo’s chest. “Your…your heart” Donnie responded, his words coming out soft due to all his crying

Leo gently lowered his head to be at eye level with Donnie. “That’s right Don-Tron. My heart. Which means what…” Leo asked with a soft smile on his face, which Donnie mirrored. “Which means that you are here. Alive and safe”

Leo wiped away some of Donnie’s tears. “Exactly. And that is all because of you guys. You brought me back. And I promise you Donnie that I am not leaving you ever again”

Donnie buried his face back into Leo’s plastron, chirping happily against his twin. “I love you so much Nardo” Leo felt his heart soar as he held Donnie close to his heart. “I love you too Tello. Sleep well little brother”

Leo then started to sing softly and Donnie recognized it easily as their twin song. Donnie felt a few more tears slip down his cheek as he listened to the soft voice of his twin lulling him to sleep

Donnie felled asleep that night to the gentle thumping of Leo’s heartbeat and the soft humming of his older twin above him. Leo felled asleep shortly after Donnie did, unaware that those were the last words that he would say to his twin for a while

…

It was the next morning that Leo noticed that something was off. He woke up that morning with Donnie already gone, which he honestly wasn’t surprised about. What was surprising was the fact that his whole body just felt weird. He couldn’t really describe it. Like a heavy weight was settling in on him and making him have little energy

He decided to brush it off and head to the bathroom to get himself ready for the day. He usual routine consider of washing his face, brushing his teeth, and putting on his wraps, before looking in the mirror and giving himself a positive comment, along the lines of “Looking good Leon”

The routine went the same, except for the final part. When Leo went to give himself a compliant, he found that his mouth went completely dry. No matter how much he moved his mouth, no words came out

Leo couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like he lost his voice or anything. He was fine the night before. Even doing all that humming shouldn’t have damaged his voice

Leo was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door and his baby brother’s voice floated through the door, telling him that breakfast was ready. Leo tried to answer, but he found that nothing came out. On top of that, he felt his whole body turn against him, the heavy weight from earlier getting even heavier as Leo felled onto the floor

Mikey must have heard the noise, because he asked if Leo was ok. Once again, Leo tried to response but found that nothing came out. And what made it worst was that his stomach was hurting and his headache from last night came back, just much worst

Leo doubled over in pain as he tried to bring himself off the ground, which was easier said then done. Leo fought with all of his might to right himself up and his mouth finally moved enough to muttered out a “Yeah”, which didn’t sound as reassuring as it probably should of

However, it was probably enough for Mikey as he heard a chirpy “Ok” and his little brother’s footsteps retreated. When Mikey left, the pain in Leo’s body seemed to leave his body and the headache leveled off to a dull pain.

‘Ok, what the heck was that? That was weird’ Leo thought to himself as he dragged himself to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. It was crazy how much could change in 5 minutes

Leo decided to shrug it off for now, as he grabbed the medicine bottle and popped two ibuprofens in his mouth before downing them with water. He straightened himself up and walked out of the bathroom, joining his brothers for breakfast

Breakfast, to say the least, was awkward. At least for Leo

He tried to engage in conversations with his brothers, but everytime that he tried to open his mouth, his body seemed to turn against him. Trying to hide that from his brothers was hard as he tried to not act like there was a problem

What Leo found the most interesting was that whenever Raph or Donnie would ask him to do something, like say pass the butter or syrup, the pain in his body was gone. This should have been a good thing. The problem was that Leo seemed to move on autopilot and did what his brothers told him to do

It…it felt like Leo wasn’t in control of his body anymore

Leo really did his best to brush it off, but the longer that this went on, the more that Leo couldn’t deny it

Leo noticed quickly that whenever his brothers asked him a question, he couldn’t really answer. His mouth would opened but nothing would come out. What was so annoying, beside the obvious, was that the pain level varied. It could be something as a simply dull headache to a full body almost shutdown that he knew that he couldn’t hide

The only thing that got rid of the pain, was when his body seemed to move on autopilot and he obeyed whether command that his brothers gave him.

So far, a couple of days in, the commands were simple and ones that Leo didn’t think much about. But, Leo soon found it to be a problem whenever he went to Donnie’s lab and Donnie told him that he was working on something and that he needed Leo to leave. Normally, Leo would ignore and bugged Donnie. However, this time, Leo’s body fought against him and he left Donnie’s lab without a word

It was then that Leo knew that something was wrong. He couldn’t verbally talk to his brothers and his body was fighting against him at every turn, obeying every command that was given to him

After leaving Donnie’s lab, Leo ran to his room and started to pace, wondering just what the heck was going on. It hit Leo all at once that maybe those curses that the witches cast…weren’t duds after all. Leo groaned internally as he realized that he maybe got hit with both a non-talking curse, or speechless would be the technical term, and an obedience curse.

‘Great…the two worst curses to get stuck with’ Leo thought to himself

Ok, so now Leo had two options. He could let his brothers know about his situation and they could help him figure out a cure.

However, Leo wasn’t sure how exactly to tell his brothers, especially since he couldn’t talk. And there was no way that he could tell Donnie as he knew that his twin would feel guilty. But, Leo wasn’t sure how much of this he could handle. His voice was one of the many things about him that made him special. Without it, who even was Leonardo Hamato?

Leo realized that he couldn’t tell his brothers…at least not yet. Maybe this was one of those things that only lasted for like a week and then it would be gone. Leo could handle a week.

Now, Leo realized that he had to create a plan to throw his brothers off so that they didn’t realize that something was wrong. Leo decided that he would just say that he was taking a vow of silence, going non-verbal for a week, and would be signing for a while. Leo figured that this could work, considering that, after Donnie, Leo was the best one to know ASL, or TSL as Donnie had dubbed it

Speaking of which, Donnie chose at that moment to appear at his doorway, a worried expression on his face. Leo panicked, thinking that his twin had figured him out. Instead, Donnie asked, “Leo, why you leave? You don’t normally leave my lab abruptly like that. Is…is everything ok?”

‘Ok, time to do damage control’ Leo thought, wanting to wipe that frown off his twin’s face. Leo smiled as he held out his hands and began to sign

Oh yeah…sorry Don. I forgot to tell you that I am taking a vow of silence for a week. I’m just feeling going non-verbal for a while

Donnie was surprised, to say the least. Leo was always loud and boisterous. For him to go non-verbal…well it sent alarm bells through his head

“Why…why you going non-verbal? That’s not like you Leo. Are…are you feeling…”

Leo immediately knew where Donnie was going with that sentence and he didn’t like it

He put his hands up to stop his twin. Donnie stopped talking, which gave Leo permission to correct himself

No…no. Nothing like that Donnie I promise. I’m just doing…an experiment. Yeah, an experiment. And honestly I need your help. Donnie’s raised an eyebrow. “Why you need my help?”

I need your help with the experiment. I need you to avoid asking me questions. I don’t want to sign unless I have to. I also need you to tell this to Raph and Mikey too. I, again, don’t want to have to explain myself through signing. It’s…it’s a lot of work

Leo noticed Donnie’s hesitation

Please Tello putting on a puppy dog face, that he had learned from Mikey. Younger sibling powers

Donnie sighed heavily as he rubbed a hand down his face. “Alright Nardo. I will help you with your ‘experiment’. But just know that I don’t really like this. There is something else going on here and I am going to figure it out”

Leo hugged Donnie around the neck, ignoring the fact that he was sweating bullets, knowing that Donnie was on to him

However, despite this, Donnie remained true to his word and he relayed the information to Raph and Mikey. They were also surprised by this but they decided to go along with it

A weight was slightly lifted from Leo. He hated not being able to talk, but he didn’t move his mouth as much, so that was a plus

The downside was that, while the speechless curse was abated, the obedience curse decided to kick in to full gear. Every single little command that his brothers directed at him, he did. Some weren’t so bad, while others were worst. Leo’s body started being stretched beyond his limitations

It even got to the point where even commands that weren’t directed at him, his body obeyed them.

This happened two weeks after the incident in the Hidden City. His vow of non-silence had been extended to a week, and Leo was starting to get worried that maybe these curses were going to last longer than he thought. The speechless curse wasn’t his main problem right now, it was the obedience curse

Him and his brothers were hanging out in the foyer and Mikey had challenged Raph to see how long he could hold his breath. Even though the command was directed towards Raph, Leo also started to hold his breath. Leo was good at holding his breath, but only for like a couple of minutes. None of his other brothers noticed that Leo was also holding his breath.

Leo, realizing that his body was acting against him, got really scared and started to freak out. He probably went a couple of minutes like that when Raph let go of his breath and all three of his brothers came over to him and ordered him to breathe, to which he did, tears coming out of his eyes and he had to shakily signed to his brothers that he was fine

From that moment on, things just went downhill. Leo found that he couldn’t eat as much and his sleep schedule was completely screwed from either sleeping all day, to getting no sleep at all. What made it worst was that Leo couldn’t verbally talk to his brothers to tell him his problems.

It seemed like both curses were working either against each other to make his life a living nightmare

This continued for another week and Leo was at the point where he wanted to curled up into a corner of his room and break down. Better yet, he wanted to run up to his brothers and cried out his problems to them, damn the curses and his body being in pain. He would gladly take being in pain to letting this linger any longer

However, whenever Leo did try to, his body seemed to completely shut down and he couldn’t even move an inch. He tried calling out to his brothers, but found that the only thing that could come out was a weak chirp. Leo ended up crying himself to sleep that night and the pain lingered until Donnie found him the next morning and ordered him to wake up

Having to signed his explanation to his twin was not fun

Leo had put on his fake smile and walked out of his bedroom, stumbling his way to the kitchen, unaware that Donnie was watching him and putting together the pieces of the puzzle that he had been trying to solve in his head for weeks now

Chapter Text

The first time Donnie noticed that something was off with Leo was a couple of days after they came back from the Hidden City. When Leo popped up in his lab, Donnie told him that he was busy, and instead of Leo staying and annoying the loving heck out of Donnie, his twin simply just left without a word, which was so unlike Leo. And when Donnie went in his room to ask him about it, Leo started signing to him, explaining that he was taking a vow of silence for a week and going non-verbal, which was unlike Leo. It confused Donnie to no end but he decided to go along with his twin’s ‘experiment’

The second time that Donnie noticed something was off was when Leo’s vow of silence extended to another week and his twin just, out of the blue, stopped breathing when they were hanging out in the foyer one day. This happened after Mikey dared Raph to hold his breath for a long period of time. Leo signed that he was fine but Donnie knew that his twin was indeed not fine

The third time that Donnie knew that something was off was when he had to wake up from his twin from what appeared to be a nightmare. His twin appeared to be in so much pain and he could see dried tear track on his face. What was worst was that Leo’s smile was no longer genuine. It was fake. A sign that Leo was hiding something. What was even worst was that Leo couldn’t verbally tell him what was wrong because his twin was continuing to remain silent, this ‘experiment’ of his lasting longer then Leo had first promise him and longer then Donnie liked

Something was wrong.

And not the good kind of wrong.

Something was wrong with Leo, and honestly, it freaked him out.

Donnie and Leo sat together at the breakfast table, eating in uncomfortable silence. They were the last ones at the breakfast table since Mikey and Raph had already finished and left. The softshell used his fork to poke small holes in his pancakes. He sighed and briefly raised his glance to look at his twin, Leo hadn’t eaten anything yet either. Both turtles simply stared at their food in silence.

This had been a problem for about a week now. Ever since that day in the foyer, Leo didn’t eat as much as he normally did. Mikey would fix this big meal and Leo would barely eat anything. The dark circles that formed over the slider’s eyes were also at least a week old, and they grew darker with each passing day. Leo had gotten thinner, by how much, Donnie didn’t know. His outside looked clean and presentable though, he took regular showers and his hoodie was washed. He didn’t appear to completely ignore his health… But it was still odd. It just didn't look like Leo…His twin was not like himself anymore. It was such a drastic change from the day that he came out of the medbay. It seemed like Leo was transversing back to how he was in the long eight months of recovery, and it hurt Donnie’s heart to see his twin like this

Donnie just had to wonder what exactly it was that was causing Leo to go this long without speaking. It was so weird because the night before, Leo was right there comforting him and singing him to sleep, and then the next day, his brother just stopped talking out of the blue, claiming that he was just taking a vow of silence without any real explanation

Donnie was racking his brain as to why Leo would be acting like this. For the first time in a long while, Donnie could not figure out his twin brother. Leo was so out of character that it made no sense. His twin brother had changed and Donnie hated it

Donnie just wanted things to go back to the way they were before the invasion. Where Leo’s laugh would fill the entire lair and his smile and voice was genuine. He wanted Leo to go back to bugging him and getting on his every nerve, yet being that comforting presence that Donnie could count on. Donnie…missed his twin. Even if Leo was here physically, the lack of his voice and seeing his twin look so miserable made Donnie feel like maybe he wasn’t here at all, like…like his twin was still in the prison dimension

Donnie had to shake his head of that thought. Leo was right here in front of him. Even though his twin wasn’t talking, he was still alive and that was all that should matter to Donnie. And while it was the most important thing, Donnie still wanted all of Leo. He wanted his twin both alive and happy. Leo was alive, but he wasn’t happy

Donnie was going to change that. He figure he could start by getting his twin to talk again

“So I saw where they repaired the theatre. The first movie that they are showing is a Jupiter Jim movie. I don’t remember the name of it but I think we can convince Raph and Dad to let us go out and see it” He said, stabbing his fork into the pancake and raising it up slightly. It fell off seconds after. He turned to see Leo’s reaction. Leo didn’t say anything, he just stared at his twin wordlessly, but the eye contact and fake smile spoke volumes.

‘Yeah maybe’ Leo signed, dropping the conversation right there and then

“Uh…” Maybe he just needed to infodump. Leo hated when he infodump, “You know I’ve been working on building a new battle shell. I just got the code all figured out and get the right parts. I’m also working on making new compression gloves for Mikey, so that he can, you know, have a backup pair”
Leo continued to stare at him intently before signing ‘That’s cool Don-Tron’
Ok, looks like Leo wasn’t going to talk. Donnie sighed and shoved his chair back. He wasn’t really hungry anyway. What he didn’t consider was how harshly he had pushed his chair back. He accidentally shoved it against the counter behind him and the force made a can of soda fall off. It, unfortunately, was already opened, and so the contents spilled all over the freshly cleaned floor. The worst about all this can of soda was the last one and it was one of Leo’s favorites

With an apology on the tip of his tongue, Donnie whirled around to his twin.

Something was seriously wrong with Leo.

This wasn’t normal anymore.

Leo had gotten off his seat and stood with a towel in hand in front of him.

No joke about how clumsy Donnie was. Not even a complaint. He even offered to clean it?

“Nardo, is everything alright?”

Of course, it wasn’t. Leo was acting weird. 'Weird' wasn’t even good enough to describe it!

Louie refused to answer him. Didn’t even signed. The slider simply kneeled and began cleaning up the mess. Donnie felt a queasy feeling rise in his stomach and he swallowed it back down. Leo wasn’t supposed to clean up his messes. “Give me that” He said and snatched the rag, maybe a bit too harshly, from Leo’s hands, getting fed up with this vow of silence. His twin didn’t argue.

Donnie took the towel and rubbed it over the floor, soaking up the spilled liquid. He could feel Leo’s gaze burn right through him. His brother didn’t leave his side, and Donnie was sure that he saw a single tear roll down Leo’s cheek

…

…

…

“Have you guys noticed… Leo acting weird lately?” He asked haltingly, face all pinched up like the words tasted sour.
His older and baby brother looked over at him. They were hanging out in the dojo. Raph was punching a punching bag, while Mikey was practicing his mystic powers, levitating a bit off the ground. He had been doing that a lot more since finding out that his future self could do it.

“You mean besides the fact that he been signing for the past couple of weeks because of his ‘experiment’ as you two had called it?” Mikey asked
“Yeah that…but…he has also been eating less and I don’t even know about his sleep schedule. I just know that his vitals are varying day by day and he acts so different every day. This whole thing just screams…so…un-Leo like” Donnie answered

“I don’t know Donnie. I mean he’s been more helpful lately” Raph stated and stopped punching for a moment, “He has been more willing to train with me. Sure, it is done in awkward silence but at least he is willing to get back into training again” “And he has helped me out in the kitchen a lot and he has even helped me with my art whenever I ask him. He’s been a nice silent help” Mikey added
“And you two don’t think that’s weird?”
“Well, no” they answered
Donnie blinked hesitantly. So hesitant, in fact, that his eyes felt dry by the time he got around to doing it. “What?”

Mikey came back down to the ground and him and Raph sat down on the mats. Mikey patted the space in front of them to join them. Donnie sat down in front of them and watched them with a furrowed brow, wondering what they were going to say.
“Remember when I used to go out of the Red Angel and you guys didn’t join me? Well, I got word that one of our former villains was causing some trouble. It was late at night and I thought about going out by myself, but I saw that Leo was also up. I asked if he wanted to join me, and he signed ‘yes’. I did have to fall back in the leader role since Leo couldn’t talk, but we defeated the villain and we had fun while doing it. He was even smiling and laughing while doing it

Donnie was honestly surprised to hear this. He wished that Raph would have woken him up and invited him along so he would have seen that

“And Leo haven’t just been helping me with my cooking and my art. He had also been there to help me with my mystics. Since Draxum has been so busy at the school and helping it recover since the invasion, Leo has stepped up and helped me with my training, just being that silent support that I need, and been a big help with the ninpo too”

“I don’t see how this has anything to do with Leo acting weird”
Raph sighed as he reached out to place a hand on Donnie’s shoulder “Donnie, I don’t think he’s acting weird. I think he just wants to be more helpful. I don’t see how any of those things that Mikey and I mentioned are bad. Sure, they're a bit strange for Leo, but maybe he just wants to help out?”

“Raph” Donnie grabbed his big brother by the arms, voice edging dangerously close to hysterical territory, “Come on, don’t you see how weird any of this is?”
“I’m for one am proud Leo’s more active now” Mikey said
“Yes, because that’s not usual for him! Something's wrong with him!” Donnie exclaimed
“You know how Leo is, if something is truly bothering him, he would have told us already”

“That’s just the thing! Leo likes to hide his problems because he believes that our problems are more important then his. I should know, because he is my freaking twin!”

“No offense Donnie, but this entire family is notorious for that” Mikey replied, giving Donnie this exasperated look. Raph squeezed Donnie’s shoulder. “Don…Mikey and I will try to do a better job at picking on Leo’s ‘weirdness’ but for now, how about you go lay down and rest”

Donnie let his arms drop and stared at his brothers in disbelief, standing up as he made his way out the dojo “You know, if you two don’t want to help me, I’ll do it myself” Donnie ignored the two of them calling out his name as he walked out of the dojo, determined to figure out just what the heck was going on with his twin

…

…

…

It was a few days later that April came into the lair. They told her a few days ago about Leo’s situation, and while she was mad that they didn’t tell her earlier, she still felt bad for Leo, offering her love and support for Leo. When she came over, she announced that she was inviting everyone to come to a party that her parents were having. It was for her dad’s company and it was being held at the best hotel in the city. Donnie was a bit hesitant as he didn’t too well with crowds and he was mostly concerned about Leo

He turned to Leo to see what his reaction would be and Leo had that look of indifference on his face. He signed that he was totally on board with the idea, but Donnie had a bad feeling that maybe Leo wasn’t totally ok with the idea

The entire family was invited, even the Casey’s, Sunita, and Draxum were invited to the party. The city was more ok with mutants and humans interacting with each other, especially after the invasion, though the family was still more comfortable with wearing their disguises

They arrived at the hotel and April’s parents were thrilled to finally meet the family. Mikey gave April’s mom a big hug and April’s dad was impressed with Raph. Donnie and Leo stood off to the side with April and the Casey’s, watching the interactions from afar and only speaking, or signing in Leo’s case, whenever they were spoken to

Donnie was surprised that April’s parents didn’t question Leo’s situation. He wasn’t sure how much April told them. From the way that they kept their distance from Leo and were smiling at him, Donnie could only assumed that they understood regardless

April’s parents told the kids to enjoy themselves while the adults mingled

Donnie was soon being lead by April to the poolside, the screaming and laughing residence of the hotel made it so that the siblings had to shout to be loud enough for each other to hear. A pool ball flew over their heads and almost hit them, which made Donnie flinch and almost scream bloody murder. He could see Raph, Mikey, Sunita, and the Casey’s giggling in the corner of his eye, April smiling sorrowfully, and Leo not even looking at him as he just watched the pool ball fly

For a 5-star resort, the place was immensely crowded. Usually, only a few people could afford such luxuries

Donnie rubbed his eyes in annoyance, “I don’t understand why we have to be here. I would rather be anywhere else right now”

“Come on Dee. Don’t be such a stick in the mud. We are here to have some fun” Mikey moaned from beside him

How can Donnie have any fun when there was too many people? How can he have fun when all his thoughts were so focused on Leo? He’s been observing Leo ever since he started to act weird. It’s been all he could think about lately. It was weird how no one else had pointed Leo’s strange behavior out yet. For sure, the others must have picked up on it, right? Or did they all follow Raph and Mikey’s opinion and saw the changes as an improvement?

“Now come on boys, no need to argue” April walked over to them and put her arms around Donnie and Mikey. “We still have 1 hour to raid the cocktail bar before the party ends. Who’s with me?”
“Me! Me!” Mikey’s disdain towards Donnie vanished and his excitement returned in a flash and in the same flash, he dashed away, slipping right next to the ’wet floor’ sign. “I’m okay!” He yelled and got to his feet again, “I’m fine! You guys coming?”

Donnie shook his head in disappointment, briefly wondering how they were even related. Mikey sprinted back over to them, “Come on, Dee! Let’s have a drinking competition! I bet I can down more smoothies than you!”
“I’m not joining in on that.“
“Party pooper… What about you, Leon?” the mention of Leo’s name got Donnie to turned to his twin, who had been awfully quiet the entire time. Well, it was more common now. “Yeah Leo. You vs Mikey. I would be dying to see that” Raph said from behind them, with April, the Casey’s, and Sunita agreeing with him

Leo looked at Donnie, then at Raph, then April, before finally landing on Mikey with a blank stare and shrugged.

Mikey didn’t seem bother by Leo’s reaction but Donnie hid his frown.
Leo got even weirder lately.
Especially around him. Or rather, only around him.
Leo’s been trying to avoid him…

Leo hung around the others like usual. Sure, he still refused to talk and acted not Leo-y at all, but whenever Donnie entered the room, Leo would scramble for an excuse to leave. It always left Donnie feeling so bad if his twin didn’t want to be around him anymore. It meant that something was really really (that’s two really’s) wrong

Donnie was distracted when their baby brother dragged his siblings, brothers and sisters alike, over to the smoothie bar and ordered a dozen drinks for each of them.
“Okay guys, I start! Donnie, you count the drinks. Now, hold your breath and be amazed! And Raph if I need your help, then I will say so”

Donnie was surprised that neither Raph or April were stopping him. Fine, guess he was going to have to be the responsible one here “You’re going to get a stomachache. Or a brain freeze” Donnie warned him, but Mikey was already gulping down his first drink like he’d been dehydrated for months. It soon got followed by a second one. The third one was where his brain began to itch slightly. Why were those smoothies so cold? Anyway, he reached out for the fourth one.
“You’ll regret that” Donnie warned him once again. Mikey rolled his eyes, “I won’t. Leo will regret it once he tries to beat me-“ he looked over at his big brother and rival in this little competition of his.

This was the moment that everyone truly found out how dangerous Leo’s change in behavior was.

Something was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

Leo was standing stone still, not moving a muscle. He might as well have been a statue. But this wasn’t the thing that made Donnie’s heart skip a beat. Leo’s face was blue. Completely blue. Almost purple even. This was the one time that Donnie didn’t like seeing their colors mix together

Mikey spits out half his drink in shock and leaped out of his chair, rushing over to his older brother. Raph and Donnie followed suit and April was already at the turtle’s side, trying to figure out what happened. Cassandra and Sunita said they were going to go get Splinter and Draxum, as Casey Junior came around to be within distance in case he was needed

“Leo! Leo, look at me!” April ordered and shook her little brother slightly. Leo did as he was told, but his face grew bluer in color. He looked like he was struggling, panicking even. He brought up his hands and clawed at his own throat as if he tried to undo an invisible noose. His fingers left deep purple marks all over his neck, some of them deep enough to draw blood. Raph reacted first and grabbed his brother by the wrists, “Stop!” He yelled, his voice was laced with panic.

Leo stopped his struggle, but his face remained blue. He looked close to passing out.
By now, the rest of the hotel guests notices something was wrong as well, and they gathered around in a small circle around the family. Some of them were screaming for a doctor or something alike. Others were simply watching in terror.
“Sen-Leo, you need to breathe. Breathe with me”
Leo didn’t breathe.
“Leon, please, breathe” Mikey pleaded, on the verge of tears
Leo still wouldn’t breathe. His face adopted a new shade of blue. His eyes darted around, looking at each family member with scared and wide pupils.

Donnie couldn’t take this anymore.
He grabbed Leo by his shoulders and shook him violently, “Nardo! Breathe!”
Suddenly, Leo gasped. The blue-loving turtle let out a wheeze and coughed, sucking in breath after breath of fresh air.

“Leo, what happened?!” Raph asked worried once Leo regained his breath. His face was still purple-ish, but he at least wasn’t suffocating anymore.
‘I-I don’t know’ The slider signed, still gasping for air every few seconds.
“Are you okay? Do you feel sick?” April placed her hand on Leo’s forehead, checking the temperature. He didn’t feel particularly warm. Leo simply shook his head.

“What is going on here?”
The crowd around them opened up for just a moment, and Splinter and Draxum stepped inside the circle, with Cassandra and Sunita being right on the outside. Casey Junior went over to explain the situation to them. Splinter noticed the way that everyone was crowded around Leo and the terrifying looks on their faces. “What happened?” he asked as he crouched down beside his children
“I…I think we need to take Leo home” Raph said as he glanced sadly between his little brother and his dad.
“Alright” The rat man said as he began to stand up, “Come over here, my baby blue, let’s get you home”

Leo seemed to walk on his own as he walked over to Splinter, not a single complaint or word about what just happened. Splinter grabbed his hand and the two of them started to walk towards April’s parents, ready to explain the situation for leaving early. The rest of the group stood up, with Mikey going over to Draxum to speak to him about the situation and maybe asking to check Leo over. Raph was about to go after them as well, but Donnie tugged him back by the sleeve.
“Leo’s acting weird” He stated.

Weird was an understatement.

What just happened… This was more than weird.

And no one could argue with him on that.

Huey nodded slightly, “I don’t think we should leave the lair anymore while he’s sick”
“Sick?” Donnie echoed, “Which sickness makes you suffocate like this?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe you should look into it”
“Raph-“ Donnie stopped him again before Raph had the chance to walk away, “This is serious! We should bring him to the hospital. There is nothing on the internet that will give me an answer to what…whatever the heck is going on with our brother?!?”
“Doesn’t the internet have the answer to everything!” his older brother asked

“Raph, can you listen to me for just a second? I’ve been telling you for weeks something’s wrong with Leo! Look! At! Him! He’s hasn’t talk since the day we came back from the Hidden City! All he does is signed whenever we tried to talk to him, he barely sleeps or eats, he’s doing all his chores lately, he’s suddenly interested in all our activities, and he literally stopped breathing twice. TWICE!. Why aren’t you concerned? Don’t you care about him?”

“Of course I care!” Raph made a frustrated sound, “I tried!”
“What?” Donnie took a step back, confused.
“You’re right, he’s acting weird! Mikey and I tried to talk to him the other day, and he freaked out! We found him curled up in one of the guest rooms, but when we approached him, he ran away. I’m not sure what we’ve done but-“
“Raph, I understand! He’s doing the same with me” Raph seemed surprised. “Really, even you. But, you are his twin” Donnie sighed and grabbed his brother’s by the shoulders, “I know. That’s the worst part. Which means that we need to do something!”
“Do what?” Raph shot back, “He can’t even talk about it with us because he refuses to talk!”
“Then we’ll force the truth out of him, somehow! He’s our brother, my…my twin. We need to help him!”

“BOYS!
Both turtles flinched and looked to the entrance. April ran over to them, “We called you 5 times, are you coming?”
The brothers nodded and caught up to the rest of their family.
“Let's keep an eye on him” Raph whispered to his brother and Donnie nodded firmly. They communicated this to Mikey as well, who agreed

The walk back to the lair seemed like it took longer than the time it took to get to the hotel. On the way back, Mikey told them that Draxum would be looking over Leo, to see what exactly was going on with Leo
Donnie shot his brother a questioning glance as if to ask if this was a good idea. He knew that Leo didn’t have the greatest history with Draxum, even if had come around to be a big part of their family. Donnie was just going to be honest in the fact that he didn’t really want anyone near his twin. He…still didn’t fully trust Draxum. However, Mikey was giving him the pleading look, asking him to trust him on this
Although reluctantly, Donnie agreed.

When they arrived back to the lair, Splinter and Draxum walked Leo to the med bay, asking everyone asked to wait outside. Donnie was admant that he needed to be in there with Leo, even though Draxum insisted that it was not necessary. The med bay door was about to shout before Donnie made a last-ditch effort and asked Leo if it was ok if he could come in. Leo turned back to him and signed a shaky ‘yes’

Donnie felt triumph in that moment as he gave Draxum a side smirk and walked into the med bay with his two dads and his twin.

Donnie watch as Draxum did an examination on his twin. Splinter stood on one side of Leo, while Donnie stood on the other side. Occasionally, him or Splinter shot Leo a worried glance, checking if he was still breathing alright.
Donnie fiddled with his thumbs. The checkup felt like it was taking forever.
“Are you done yet?“
“It’s been 5 minutes. No Donatello” Draxum answered exasperated
“How about now?”
“No”
“Now?”
“Purple. Let Draxum work in peace please or we are kicking you out of the med bay” Splinter exclaimed, seeming to be frustrated with Donnie’s persistence. Donnie shut up after that as he focused most of his attention on his twin

Draxum was eventually done and the look of his face didn’t look too good. “Draxum…what is it? What did you find?” Donnie asked, moving closer to Leo on instinct. Draxum glanced between Splinter, Donnie, and Leo, before he seemed to come to a decision. “I need to talk to your father. We will be right back” And with that, Draxum dragged Splinter outside of the med bay. Donnie thought about following them to eavesdrop on what they were saying but he stopped when he saw Leo moving out of the corner of his eye, no doubt wanting to leave

“Nardo, wait a moment”
His twin stopped dead in his tracks, only moving his head slightly to his side to face Donnie.
“We need to talk” Donnie said. He saw how his brother’s eyes went wide, and when Leo was about to flee the scene, Donnie reached out, “Please, Leo. Something is wrong with you, and you’re not leaving until you told me what it is!”

Leo’s eyes darted between Donnie and the med bay doors until he let his shoulders fall and took a seat.
Leo looked extremely uncomfortable with what was about to happen, so did Donnie.

“Okay, Nardo” Donnie took a deep breath, “Something’s wrong with you and I’m extremely worried! Did anything happen?”
Leo pulled his knees to his chest, and it sent a pang of hurt in Donnie’s heart as his twin just looked so small like this. Leo didn’t respond for a moment before slowly nodded his head
“What happened?” Donnie asked, his voice now becoming more sincere.
‘I can’t tell you’ Leo signed as he made himself smaller. He tugged at the strings on his hoodie and let out a whimper that completely broke Donnie’s heart
“Nardo…” Donnie’s expression turned soft, “Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me. I can help you” Donnie then gently held Leo’s hand as he made eye contact with his twin “Please, tell us what’s wrong” he begged softly
“I-I can’t”

“Why not, Leo? Is someone threatening you? Are you being blackmailed?” Donnie’s voice took on a more urgent tone as he wasn’t understanding why his twin couldn’t tell him what was wrong.

Leo shook his head again
“Then why can’t you tell me?”
“I can’t. P-Please, I can’t” Leo began to tremble, Donnie could see tears gather in the corners of his brother’s eyes. He knew that he had to change tactics

“Okay Leo, calm down, deep breaths” Donnie tried to put his hands on Leo’s shoulders, but Leo flinched away, curling even further on himself as he now started to shake, which made his signing more difficult. Donnie’s heart was just breaking more and more the longer this conversation went on
“Can’t…”
“It’s alright, you don’t have to tell me” Donnie decided. Forcing the information out wasn’t working, “Just tell me how I can help”
The trembling turtle sobbed quietly, “I don’t know”
“Then what do you know?” Donnie cut in, “Just give me anything to work with”

Leo put his hands over his head and curled up more. It was at that moment that Raph and Mikey came into the med bay. They must have heard Leo’s sobbing. Raph seemed to be fuming as he came over to Donnie while Mikey tried to comfort Leo
“Donnie!” Raph pulled his younger brother back harshly, “You’re going too far”
“Look at him!” Donnie gestured at the trembling and crying Leo, who Mikey was trying and failing to calm down “We can’t ignore this!”
“And we won’t. But you’re scaring him!”
“Scaring him? I’m not scaring him! Leo, tell Raph that I’m not scaring you”
“Donnie isn’t scaring me”

The reply sent the brothers in a temporary silence, causing Mikey to stand back in shock
Donnie honestly didn’t expect that to work… At all…
He felt nauseous. A terrible, awful, idea began to settle in his mind.
“Leo… uncurl yourself” He said slowly.
Leo did as he was told.
“Leo, raise your right hand”
“Donnie, what-“ Raph began to chastise, but his sentence got stopped abruptly as Leo raised his right hand without a word.
Donnie swallowed. He shared a glance with Raph and Mikey, all three of them coming to the same conclusion.
“Speak your full name”

Leo tried to open his mouth but all that came out was squeaks and chirps, before Leo started to double over in pain. Raph and Mikey made a move to go over to Leo, but Donnie put his hand up. He realized all at once what exactly was wrong with his twin. “Sorry, I forgot that you can’t talk. Can you sign your full name?”
The pain seemed to instantly leave Leo’s body as he stared at his brother with watery eyes and shakily signed “Leonardo Hamato”

Donnie tried to think back, but he couldn’t recall the last time Leo disobeyed anything they said. How long has this been going on-?
Raph and Mikey gasped in shock, their hands flying to their beaks.
All three brothers looked at their leader in horror, Leo simply stared back, his hand still raised.
“You can put that down now” Donnie offered and Leo’s arm fell limply to his side.

“Leo, who did this to you?” Mikey asked, his tone reaching a new level of worry.
“The witches from the Hidden City” Leo signed, still trembling.
Donnie felt his anger boiling inside of him. Not at Leo though. No, never at Leo. He was irate at the witches who dared do this to his twin. He was also mad at himself for not figuring it out sooner. Of course it was those witches that did this to his wonderful and amazing twin.

If what Leo said was true, then his twin had been under these curses for about a month. A WHOLE FREAKING MONTH!!! Leo has been suffering for a whole month and Donnie was just now figuring it out. Granted, Leo had been doing a good job of hiding it, but Donnie was his twin. He…he should have figured this out sooner. Maybe…maybe then it wouldn’t have gotten to this point

“Draxum and Dad probably already know about this. But the others need to know too, if the other two haven’t told them already” Raph said. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go” Mikey said as he and Raph started to walk to the med bay doors
“Wait” Donnie interrupted. Leo had stood the moment the order left Mikey’s beak but paused at Donnie’s words. Donnie anxiously reached out to snag Leo’s wrist, “Nardo? Are you okay with this? How do you feel?” He asked softly.
“Scared” came the signed reply. Donnie inwardly recoiled. How could it take him so long to hear how much Leo was suffering?

Suddenly, the med bay doors swung open and April popped in her head, “Hey Draxxy and Splints called for a family meeting in the living room. He is ready to share the results of Leo’s examination”
“Y-Yeah. We are coming April” Mikey said nervously, wringing his hands
April looked at her brothers in confusion, before nodding her head. She left the door opened for her brothers as they followed her to the living room, with Donnie still keeping a firm grip on Leo’s wrist, with Leo not saying anything about it

Moments later, the four turtle brothers and their older sister entered the living room and made their way over to the rest of the family waiting for them. Splinter had a worried and sad look on his face and it looked like he might have been crying at one point. Draxum had a more neutral expression, but even that looked pained as the siblings enter the living room

“Aww there you are. Please have a seat” Draxum said as he gestured for everyone to sit down. Leo was the first to sit down in his beanbag, with Donnie and Mikey on either side of him, while Raph sat behind him with April sitting between Donnie and Cassandra

“Good. Now I have run some tests on Leonardo and I have concluded that…” Draxum began before Donnie cut him off “Leo has been hit with a obedience curse and a speechless curse, respectively” Draxum was surprised by being interrupted but sighed sadly “I was getting to that but yes”
“So you saying he is possessed?“ Cassandra asked, trying to understand what was going on.
“Not possessed but-“
“He’s like a slave right now!“ Raph stepped forward, “We’re forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to do!”
“How do we know for sure that this is what it is?” April asked, not wanting to believe for a second that her little brother could be cursed

“I’ll prove it” Mikey said before turning to the twins “Leo, slap Donnie” He said. His decision was closely followed by regret. He should have thought his command through more…

The slab echoed loudly, loud enough to be heard throughout the sewers. Donnie’s head flung to the side, red marks forming on his cheek. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, either because of shock or pain. Donnie slowly brought his hand up to the wounded cheek, flinching once he made contact. The handprint was clearly outlined by now.
Everyone gasped.

“Leonardo Hamato!” Splinter shouted, cutting through everyone else’s exclamations of shock like a hot knife through butter, “Apologize to your brother this instant”
“I’m sorry, Donnie” Leo signed, tears running down his cheeks.
“Nardo...” Donnie, still holding his aching cheek, reached out for his twin, but the touch didn't connect.

Everyone stopped for a moment to stare and process the information.
“Leo…” April walked to the trembling slider, her movement fueled with concern, “This is awful!”
“H-How long?“ Splinter asked and kneeled down next to his son, everything slowly clicking in his head.
“A Month” Came the tear-filled response, despite the fact that Leo couldn’t talk.

The shattered expressions on everyone’s faces were hard for Mikey to look at. Heck, he himself wasn’t looking any better
Leo had been forced to listen to their every command, said purposefully and or in the heat of the moment, for a month?! Mikey tried to think back to every word he had said to his brother in this period.

Wait-

‘Okay guys, I start! Donnie, you count the drinks. Now, hold your breath and be amazed!’

Oh gosh.

‘Now, hold your breath and be amazed!’

That…

’Hold your breath.’

He did that.

’Leon! Please breathe!’

And that was just an hour ago!

What else had he done to his big brother?

Mikey felt truly sick.

This was horrible.

How many times did they force Leo to do something without realizing it?

Everyone must have come to the same shocking revelation, because they all gathered around Leo, bombarding him with questions and apologizing.
“What caused this?”
“I got cursed by witches”
“How can we stop it?”
“I don’t know”
“Is there anything we can do?“
“I-I don’t k-know”
“How do you feel?”
“I-I’m s-scared”
“Does it hurt?”
“Y-Yes”
“What hurts?”
“C-Commands”
“What commands?”
“Y-Y-Yours”

Donnie could tell from the looks on everyone’s faces that Leo’s answer had cut them down to the quick just as much as it had him. The questions stopped and everyone took a moment to breathe and assess the situation.

Watching Leo tremble and sob helplessly was one of the worst things he had to witness in his life, and he’d had to fight the Krang and watch his twin self-sacrifice himself into the Prison Dimension so that was saying something.

April slowly reached out for Leo and brushed her fingers along Leo’s red stripes. The younger flinched but couldn’t move away from the touch. He let April do her gentle caresses and envelop him in a hug, “I’m so sorry, Leo. We’re going to fix this, I promise” She vowed.
Leo nodded slowly.

Draxum, the main one to fully understand what was going on, kneeled next to the rest, “Okay Leonardo, I need you to listen closely” He was immediately greeted with Leo’s intense gaze. Donnie cringed, feeling the sick rise in his chest again. Leo literally couldn’t look away.
Draxum sighed sadly and worriedly, “Can you tell us everything you know? The more information we have, the faster we can help you”

Leo nodded again. “I-I can’t c-control it” He signed shakily, trembling increasingly getting worse, “I-If someone s-says some-something- m-my body j-just- moves o-on its- its own. I- I can’t stop. I- I can’t- can’t lie- a-a-a-and can’t e-even t-talk a-at a-all. I-if I t-tried t-to d-disobey o-or t-tried t-to s-speak, t-then p-pain c-comes a-all o-over m-my b-body. T-the l-level o-of p-pain v-varys”

Obey any order because of obedience curse. Can’t speak, only sign because of speechless curse. If disobeys or tries to speak, pain comes all over body

How did it take them a month to notice?

Leo wasn’t done yet. “Y-Y-You c-can’t c-cancel someone e-else’s c-command. T-The orders d-don’t have to-to be direct- I-indirect w-works t-t-too-“
“What do you mean with indirect orders?“ Raph asked before he had the chance to stop himself. Leo shot him a heartbroken stare, “I-indirect o-o-orders” He looked over at Splinter, “L-like when y-you said I-I d-don’t g-get e-enough s-sleep… t-the order w-was to s-s-s-sleep m-more- or-“ He looked back at Raph, “Or w-with t-the t-training. Y-You said y-you said y-you w-wished we w-were there f-for y-you w-with the t-training- s- so the c-command was- to b-be there for-for all f-future- or-“ He then turned to Mikey “O-or w-when y-you s-said t-to h-help y-you w-with y-your a-art, c-cooking, m-mystics…”
“No” Raph interrupted a second time, with Mikey joining him, but this one was out of shock. More accurately, horror.
“Y-Y-You c-can t-take c-commands b-b-back”
“Then I take it back! I take all commands back!” Mikey and Raph said together
“Yeah, me too!” Donnie agreed, “Everything I said to you in the past month, I take it back!”
“Me too! I take my orders back!”
“Forget everything I said in the past 4 weeks!”
“I take back all my orders!”
The others echoed those words.

It looked like a thousand burdens left Leo’s shoulders. His eyelids fluttered as if he was snapping out of a daydream, and he took a rattling breath in. His exhale came out as a guttural sob that Leo seemed to choke on and slumped to the ground in a weird sense of relief. Free from his invisible restraints, Leo curled up on himself. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, or if anyone would ridicule him. The previous sobs turned to wails, nothing could slow the flow of tears now.

No one dared to speak up while Leo was crying his heart out. How long had he been holding it all in? Donnie didn’t want to imagine what other restrictions he had given his brother without knowing the catastrophic implications of them. Every single word he had said to his brother over the past month potentially hurt him. Donnie wished he could go back in time and punch his past self in the face for every order he'd spoken.

Donnie refocused his attention on Leo, who had started to hyperventilate. He gasped for breath, tears pouring down his cheeks as his eyes darted around, dazed and afraid, seemingly unable to focus on anything. Leo had brought his hands to his head and was banging his fists against his head

“No, stop! You’re hurting yourself!” cried Donnie. Leo stopped immediately, hand freezing on his head, but what followed was almost worse than watching Louie hitting himself in anguish. The look he gave Donnie with those big wet eyes, pained and betrayed, made Donnie feel like a monster.
“I take it back! I take it back!” He blurted, and Leo exhaled sharply as if Donnie’s words had released him from a chokehold. Leo went right back to banging his fists against his head and Donnie felt useless, powerless. His own eyes welled up with sympathetic tears, and he caught Leo’s flailing hands with his own, opting to physically restrain him rather than telling him to stop again.

Leo struggled, but Donnie easily managed to overpower him.
Leo swallowed back the rest of his sobs, but he couldn’t hold back his whimpers, and it was the worst sound that Donnie had ever heard. It made his heart feel like it was being put through a shredder. His twin brother in blue eventually calmed down enough to breathe normally again.

“H-hey, you’re alright” Donnie stammered, his own voice beginning to crack now. He desperately wanted to do something to make it better but he had no idea what he could do. It was taking every bit of self-control he possessed not to break down crying too. Leo shook his head weakly, “I-I-I’m not” He signed between those heart-wrenching little whimpers, though it was a bit hard to do so since Donnie had him restrain.

Donnie immediately realized just what he was doing to Leo and loosen his grip, though not quite letting go in case Leo went back to hurting himself, feeling like such an idiot. Of course, Leo was not. They still didn’t know the entirety of what was going on, and Leo was still hurting. They were far from alright. What a stupid thing for him to have said. “What can we do to help you feel safer?” Yeah, that was the better thing to say.

They all waited in tense silence for the answer.
“M-make it stop” Leo signed, he hadn’t stopped trembling yet, Donnie could feel it since he was still holding on to Leo’s wrists.

“Leo…” croaked Raph, blinking furiously as his eyes became glassy. The others weren’t fairing much better. Everyone but Splinter, Draxum, and Raph were doing some form of crying. Some, like Mikey and Casey Junior, weren’t holding back at all, others, like April and Donnie, wiped their tears away frequently and tried to appear strong. Raph seemed on the verge of having a breakdown, once he would start crying, it would be all over for him

“My son…” Splinter began. His fists were clenched by his sides, and he looked one small step from snarling at someone, but for Leo, his voice was soft and soothing. “I’m so sorry for not noticing it sooner. Can you… Can you forgive me?”
Louie nodded his head immediately

“We'll find out what caused this” April spoke up, “And we’ll fix it, I promise, Leo” The slider only nodded with a sob.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Mikey asked and looked at his two dads and the brains and brawns duo before resting his gaze back on Leo.

Raph turned his attention to Draxum. “Draxum, do you know of a cure for these curses?” Donnie was mentally hitting himself. Of course, the mystic master himself should know of a cure to help out his twin

However, Draxum sadly shook his head. “I only know cures if only one curse is on a person at a time. Two curses at a time get a bit more complicated and, as far as I know, there is no cures if a person gets hit with more than one curse”

The high morale that lasted for a few seconds plummeted in a heartbeat. Donnie heard Leo sniffling from beside him and Donnie realized in that moment that he was tired of seeing his twin suffering and looking so sad. He was finally going to do something about it and help his twin
“I’ll tell you what we are going to do. We find the witches responsible for doing this to Leo and make them pay” Donnie snarled as he released his grip on Leo, once he realized that Leo wasn’t going to hurt himself anymore

Everyone realized that Donnie’s markings were glowing, meaning that ninpo was getting charged and Donnie was at the point at going ‘feral’ “Woah there Donnie. We can’t exactly march into the Hidden City guns a blazing. We need a plan” Raph said, using his ‘Big Brother’ voice to try and calm Donnie down. It seemed to do the trick as Donnie’s markings stop glowing and he settled himself beside Leo again

They spent the next 30 minutes coming up with a plan. The twins sort of just hung back, with Donnie giving his input when it was deemed necessary. The plan that they come up with was that Draxum would portal them to the Hidden City. Since April had good connections in Witch Town, she would be the one to help find the witches using Donnie’s description of them and by politely asking around if they knew where the witches were. Once they found the witches, they will try and find out the cure from them

The question now was whether Leo would come with them or not

Raph walked over to the twins, who was leaning against Donnie, “Do you want to come with us or would you rather stay here in the lair?” He asked softly. He hated how fast the answer came.
“I-I don’t know. I-I’m scared”
Donnie brought Leo into a side hug as he churred softly. Raph then turned to the rest of the group. “Ok…that begs the question of who is going to stay with him then?”

“I’ll stay with him” Donnie immediately answer as he brought Leo closer. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his twin. He didn’t want to leave Leo out of his sight. However, it seemed like no one else agree with him as April came up to him. “Dee. We need you for the search. You are the only one that knows what the witches look like” she said softly

Donnie shook his head. “That’s not true. Raph and Mikey know what they looked like” “True. But you were the last one to see them Donnie. It’s only fair that you are the one who helps us find them” Mikey said in his Dr. Feelings voice before bending down to Donnie and whispering, “Besides…don’t you want to be there personally to get revenge?”

Dang, why did Mikey have to mentioned that.

Donnie turned his eyes to Leo and the scared look that his twin sent him was enough for Donnie to rethink. He leaned down to nuzzle the top of Leo’s head, a small chirp escaping from his beak, before turning his teary eyes to the rest of the group “I don’t want to leave him”

It was then that Splinter stepped forward and cupped the twins’ cheeks. “Purple. How about I stay here and watch Leonardo? I promise to take good care of him and to let nothing bad happen to him. Is that ok?”

Donnie leaned into his father touch with a whimper. Splinter brush his thumb across Donnie’s cheek. “Donatello, can you let go of Leonardo?” Donnie didn’t really want to. He really really (that’s two really’s) didn’t want to. Splinter sighed sadly when he realized that Donnie wasn’t going to move as he turned to Leonardo. “Come here my precious baby blue” Donnie realized all too late the command that his dad have given to Leo. Without a word, Leo detached himself from Donnie and it left Donnie feeling cold without the warm presence of his twin

Donnie watched as Leo curled into Splinter’s lap and Donnie felt a bit envious that it wasn’t his lap that Leo was curled up in

Donnie then felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he realized that it was April. “Come on Dee. The sooner that we can find those witches, the sooner that we can get back to Leo and beat these curses”

Donnie numbly nodded as April helped him up and they started walking to the portal. Donnie’s steps were interrupted by a soft whine and Donnie glanced down to see Leo looking at him with teary eyes and what appeared to be grabby hands, which is something Donnie haven’t seen since they were tots

Donnie felt like the older twin in that moment as he bent down and cupped Leo’s cheeks, placing their foreheads together, as he rubbed gentle circles across Leo’s red stripes “It’s okay, Nardo“ He said, trying to keep his voice level, despite the tears, hoping it would calm Leo a bit, “We are going to find those witches and get that cure for you, while Dad stays here with you. We’ll…I’ll be back soon, I promise”

Leo let out a small chirp in response as he also cupped Donnie’s cheek, tapping his fingers against them. It took Donnie a minute to figure out what exactly was Leo was typing. But when he did, he could feel his breath hitching on a sob. It was Morse Code. They haven’t used it in years. Not since they were tots. Without saying anything, Leo was convening a heartfelt message of ‘I love you’

Donnie sobbed as he looked at Leo with shining eyes. “I love you too Nardo” he whispered softly as he placed a kiss on the top of his twin’s head

It was hard to pull away from each other but Donnie knew that he had a mission to do. He gave his twin one more quick hug before standing up on shaky legs and going over to the rest of the crew.

Raph and Mikey each gave Splinter and Leo a hug before joining everyone else. Splinter wished everyone a ‘good luck’ and Leo gave everyone a wave goodbye. Everyone started to walk through the portal, but Donnie briefly glanced back. The twins made eye contact as Leo signed ‘Good luck Don-Tron. I love you’. Donnie smiled back as he signed back ‘Thank you Nardo. I promise that I will save you. I love you too’

With that, Donnie walked through the portal, hoping that the next time he walked back through, he would have a cure for his twin so that Leo could go back to his old self again

Chapter Text

Donnie kept to the back of the group as they exited the portal and arrived in Witch Town. Donnie had very bad memories of this place from the last time he was here and he promised himself that he wouldn’t come back here unless absolutely necessary

Well, the absolutely necessary and dire time had come. His twin was cursed and Donnie made a promise that he would find those witches and save Leo. And Donnie was going to keep that promise, even if it ended up killing him

Which it might if any of the witches recognize him and came after him

April made her way to the front of the group. “Ok so Donnie and I will try and go find Gentry and see if she know where those witches are”

Everyone but Donnie looked at April in confusion

“Who’s Gentry?” Mikey asked

“She’s one of my witch friends that I made when Donnie and I came to Witch Town for my science project, and she also managed to get me unbanned from Witch Town” April answered. “But she couldn’t get Donnie unbanned?” Raph asked as he glanced at his younger brother who seemed to be hiding behind him, while also glancing around nervously. April sighed sadly. “Unfortunately not”

“Which is why I really shouldn’t even be here” Donnie mumbled from behind Raph before turning his eyes to Draxum. “So if you don’t mind making a portal back home so that I can be with dad and Leo, that would be great”

April didn’t give Draxum a chance to respond as she grabbed onto Donnie’s arm. “You are not getting out of this” she glared at the softshell, before her expression softened upon seeing Donnie’s scared face “Look it’ll be ok. I’ll won’t let anything bad happen to you. The quicker that we can find Gentry and those other witches, the quicker that we can find the cure and go back home to Leo. You trust me Donnie?”

Donnie placed his hand over April’s where it rested on his arm. “I trust you more than anything Apes”

April smiled as she dropped her hand from Donnie’s arm, instead holding onto his hand and squeezing it before she addressed the remaining members of the group. “Alright Donnie and I will go find Gentry and once we get the location of the other witches, we will let you know so that you can meet up with us”

Everyone nodded their heads with Raph and Mikey giving Donnie a quick hug and reassuring him that everything will be ok. Donnie really wished that he could have the same confidence as his brothers

The further that Donnie got away from his brothers, the more anxious that he got. Sure, April was a nice presence beside him, but he couldn’t help but feel like the witches’ eyes were on him. He tried his best to see if any of the witches matched the description of the witches that cursed Leo, but it was hard to focus when he was scared to look any of them in the eye, afraid that they would recognize him and hurt him. He tried to bury his face in his hoodie as best as he could, but he still felt like eyes were on him. At one point, Donnie thought of texting his location to Raph and Mikey so that they could find them and he could feel extra safe

It got to the point where Donnie could feel himself start to shake

April noticed immediately and she stopped. “Hey Donnie it’s ok. Remember I’m right here. None of these witches are going to hurt you. I’ll make sure of it” she said softly, squeezing Donnie’s hand

Donnie just nodded his head, not making eye contact with April. April had to wonder if Donnie’s discomfort was coming from being in Witch Town…or something else. “Donnie…are you nervous because of where we at…or because of something else?”

Donnie sighed as he mumbled loudly enough for April to hear. “I’m just scared that we won’t these witches and get the cure for Leo. What…what if Leo is stuck like this forever?” Donnie finally looked up at April with a wetness in his eyes, but tears not falling quite yet “I just got him back April. I feel like I’m losing him all over again”

April truly felt bad for her little brother/best friend. She only just recently learned about Leo’s condition. Leo’s brothers have dealt with it longer, and from what they told her, Donnie was the first one to find out and have experienced it more firsthand then any of them. Which made sense because Donnie was Leo’s twin and was the closest to him

April was about to comfort Donnie when a voice called out from behind them

“April?”

April and Donnie turned around to see Gentry walking towards them. “Gentry!” April exclaimed and hugged Gentry the moment that she came close enough. “Good to see you!”

Gentry hugged April back “Good to see you too April” she said before her eyes landed on Donnie. Donnie let out a whimper as he closed in on himself and buried his face in his hoodie, letting out a timid wave at the witch

Gentry was confused as he released April from the hug. “April…what is he doing here? You know that he is banned from Witch Town right?” she asked, her voice lowered to a whisper so as to not draw attention, which both Donnie and April were grateful for

April moved close to Donnie. “Yes yes I know. But this is urgent Gentry. His brother got cursed by two witches here and we need your help to find them”

Gentry’s eyes went wide. “Wait…your brother got cursed?” she asked, to which Donnie slowly nodded his head. “Yeah the two witches that cursed him both had short hair, but one had pink hair while the other had green hair. They both wore black hats and I think they wore dresses, though I couldn’t really tell”

Gentry groaned as he placed her head in her hands. “I know exactly who you are talking about” she said exasperated. “You do?” Donnie and April exclaimed at the same time. Gentry sighed as he seemed to cast sad and tired eyes at the softshell turtle and human. “Unfortunately yes. The two witches who cursed your brother are Melisandre and Endora. They are known for causing mischief around here. They are not exactly outcasts but they have certainly been in their fair share of trouble with Mira, who is the mayor of our town”

That didn’t exactly sound good to Donnie and April, but they needed to see these witches if they need the cure. “Do you know where they could be located?” April asked. “When they are not causing trouble, they do have a shop right on the outskirts of Witch Town where they worked together” Gentry answered

“Great. Then take us to them!” Donnie announced, almost reaching out to grab Gentry by the wrist, as he texted Raph and Mikey their location. However, Gentry made a face. “I don’t think that is such a good idea”

Donnie looked up from his wrist tech and almost looked offended. “Why not?” he asked, a slight growl in his voice. Gentry sighed as he put up her hands. “Trust me on this. Those two are not exactly the nicest witches and they are also very stubborn. If you try to talk to them, you might get instantly shut down. And alongside Mira, they have the strongest hatred for you”

“Why is that?” April asked, wondering why these two witches specifically have such a strong vendetta against her best friend/little brother

Gentry shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows. I do know that their shop got destroyed during the attack and so they had to rebuild from scratch. My guess is that is the main reason for the hatred but I’m not 100% sure. Like I said, they are stubborn and considered to be outcasts. I’m one of the few witches who still tries to be nice to them, though I’m at the point where even I’m about to give up”

“So you are saying that you won’t help us?” Donnie asked sadly. Gently eyed him and April warily. “What is the reason for why you want me to take you to them?” Donnie shared a look with April and April gave Donnie a slight nudge, a silent encouragement. Donnie took a sharp inhale “If they cursed my brother, then they must have a cure. That’s all we want. All I want is to save my twin and these witches have the cure that will save my twin”

It was at that moment that the rest of the family showed up and they shared the same sentiment as Donnie. Gentry realized that she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She appeared to not really have much choice, especially when April placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her pleading eyes “Please Gentry. Help a fellow girl out. Help us save our brother”

Gentry sighed, seeming to regret her life choices for a second before giving the family a small smile. “Alright folks. I’ll help you…” which left the family cheering before Gentry shushed them “…but remember, these two are not the easiest to deal with. Let me try to talk to them and I will get you that cure”

The family nodded in agreement as they followed Gentry through the streets of Witch Town. Luckily, neither of the witches batted an eye at them and they never ran into Mira, which Donnie was certainly grateful for. He was back with his brothers, minus Leo, and he felt so much safer, though he would feel much safer if Leo was here too

It took a bit of walking but they finally made it to the outskirts of Witch Town where Melisandre and Endora’s shop was

This was it

They were about to confront the witches that cursed Leo and demand kindly asked them for the cure so that they could save Leo

Donnie almost wanted to bust in and demand for the cure. If he had to hold the witches against their will until they gave it to him, then so be it

However, Donnie knew that his family wouldn’t allow him, so he just would have to refrain for now as Gentry lead them into the shop

“Hello, welcome to…” a friendly voice called out from the back of the shop before her eyes turned to who walked in and her eyes swept the family before her eyes narrowed at Gentry, Donnie realizing that maybe she didn’t recognize him

“Gentry” the witch snarled

Gentry rolled her eyes “Hello Endora”

Endora walked out from behind the table and got almost right in front of Gentry’s face. “What do you want?” she asked, before nodding her head to the rest of the group “And why did you bring all of these humans, turtle yokai, and one Baron Draxum here?”

“I am surprised that you know who I am” Draxum said, perplexed. Endora smirked. “Well duh. You are kind of famous around these parts” Endora then turned her attention to Donnie and smiled a wicked smile, which Donnie immediately hated. He didn’t know if he wanted to punch that smile off her face or shrink under her gaze

“And you…well you are actually infamous around here, scientist” Endora said the last part with so much venom that Donnie couldn’t help but shrink underneath her gaze

His siblings immediately came to his defense. “Hey, he tried his best to fix his mistakes” Raph snarled, towering over Endora, though she didn’t seem to be intimated. “I’m sorry that your shop got destroyed but it wasn’t Donnie’s fault” Mikey added, a bit more emphatically but still casting angry eyes at Endora. “I was there to see Donnie apologize to you guys. I think you need to let go of this grudge that you have against him and I know the perfect way to do that” April chimed in a bit more chirper

Endora narrowed her eyes at April and before April could say anything Cassandra stepped forward, clearly seeing that this was taking too long “Oh my goodness this is taking too long. Listen, you cursed the purple one’s twin and now we need the cure from you so that we can save the blue one”

All eyes were on Cassandra as she stared at the rest of the group, putting her hands up. “If no one was going to say it, I guess it had to be me. You are welcome”

It was at that moment that another witch appeared and Donnie could assume that this was probably Melisandre. Though his attention was not on Melisandre. It was on Endora who was staring at him intently. “The turtle that me and Melisandre cursed was your twin?” she asked with a fake innocence that made Donnie’s blood boil. It escalated when Melisandre smirked “There is no way that they are twins. They don’t even look alike”

Donnie wanted so badly to strangle both of them. It was obvious that they were mocking him. How dare they speak badly about Leo? How dare they claim that him and Leo weren’t twins? It didn’t matter that him and Leo didn’t look alike or were even biologically related, they were twins where it mattered most. Leo was his twin by choice and Donnie wouldn’t have it any other way.

Donnie made a hissing noise and wanted so badly to tell these witches off. He made a lunging move, which Raph and April saw instantly, grabbing onto Donnie to hold him back. Gentry stepped forward to hopefully diffuse the situation. “Listen, it doesn’t matter how they are related. You two still cursed someone important to this family. I promise you that they will never show their faces in Witch Town again if you two will just give them the cure” Gentry then turned to the family “Right guys?”

She received head nods from everyone, though Donnie’s was a bit more hesitant. “See?” Gentry said as Endora and Melisandre continued to stare at Donnie. Donnie was staring right back at them, now wary of these two witches and having so much hatred for them

Endora and Melisandre made eye contact with each other for a moment before Endora smiled a wicked smile and Donnie could feel his stomach dropped. Melisandre started to say a bunch of gibberish that no one understood and it left everyone on edge. Donnie noticed too late that Gentry’s eyes were wide, like she knew what Melisandre was saying

“NO!” Gentry yelled out at the same time Melisandre casted out her hands and Donnie was instantly dropped to the floor. He looked around and saw that he was alone with the witches

Donnie had fire in his eyes as he stared in horror at the two witches in front of him. “What. Did. You. Do? Where did my family go?” he snarled

Endora giggled and Donnie hated that laugh with a burning passion. “Oh relax. They aren’t hurt. They are back at the town square, and we got Gentry tied up in the back. We just didn’t want an audience” Endora answered ominously as the witches summoned their staffs and pointed them right at Donnie “It’s about time we get finally get rid of the mutant who destroyed our lives once and for all”

Donnie realized in that moment that the witches wanted to fight him. Well, if this is what it took to get the cure to save his twin, so be it. The softshell stood up on his feet and grabbed his bo staff, giving it a few twirls. Endora and Melisandre started to laugh at him with Endora saying how cute Donnie was being with his ‘tricks’.

Donnie let out an enraged cry as he advanced on Endora. He didn’t take into account that these were witches he was fighting and they could cast anything that they want on him. He almost learned that first hand whenever Endora shot a beam of light at him and he almost got hit. Donnie soon learned that he couldn’t really land a hit on these witches as they were constantly shooting light out of their staffs and hands or hitting him and his bo staff with their staffs

Donnie realized that he was playing more offense than defense. He knew that he couldn’t beat these witches in combat so he decided that he just needed to find the cure and slip out without either of them noticing

The unfortunate part of that was he didn’t know what the cure would look like and he couldn’t ask Gentry as he was tied up in the back somewhere

Donnie was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t noticed the beam of light coming from Melisandre. Donnie was hit in the side and it sent him flying, hitting one of the shelves on the far wall. Donnie hit the floor hard and he realized just how much pain he was in. He noticed that he had multiple scraps and bruises all over him, but worst of all, his ankle was in so much pain and was at an awkward angle, which Donnie knew was not good

Donnie felt a whimper escaped his lips and a few tears started to fall down his face. He tried to get back up but he felled back down to the ground with a cry of pain

Crazed laughter came from behind him and Donnie looked up through teary eyes to see Endora and Melisandre towering over him.

“Awww is the poor scientist giving up already?” Endora mocked him. All Donnie could do was give Endora a death glare, as he didn’t have the energy to snarl at her. Endora bent down and held Donnie’s chin, which made Donnie want to bite her “You know, you were the one who was supposed to be cursed, but your dumb brother got in the way” Endora seemed to think for a moment before turning back to Donnie with that wicked smile again “Although, maybe it’s a good thing that your brother got cursed instead of you. Watching someone you love suffer is probably more torturous then going through it yourself. You know what, I’m actually glad that your brother got cursed instead of you”

Endora dropped Donnie’s chin as she stood back up and sneered down at Donnie. “You will never find the cure. You will remain here with us for the rest of your days. Working as our slave. You will never see your family again and your twin will be forced to obey and remain speechless for the rest of his life…or until the curses eventually kill him, which will probably come first. You failed, purple one. Some brother...some twin…you are”

Endora and Melisandre were laughing and basking in their supposed victory that they didn’t notice the purple glow that was emitting from the softshell

In that moment, all the emotions that Donnie had been trying to hide and bury deep inside of him was trying so hard to burst through. All Donnie felt in that moment was anger and grief/sadness. The grief and sadness stemmed from the brief thought that he had of seeing Leo cursed for the rest of his days, even to the point where Leo died from the curses long before it was his time.

The anger came soon after. Donnie felt anger towards the situation that their family now found themselves in. Donnie was angry at himself for letting all of this happen in the first place. But most of all, Donnie was angry at the two witches in front of him. These two witches cursed his brother. His sweet, amazing, and loving twin who didn’t deserve to have any of the bad things that have happen to him recently

Just thinking of Leo hurt and dying was enough for Donnie to see red

Donnie’s ninpo flared up and he formed a series of missiles and arsenal. Melisandre seemed to notice at the last minute what was about to happen. She didn’t have time to warned Endora as Donnie fired his ninpo at the two witches, sending them flying to the opposite side of the store

Endora groaned as she glanced at the destruction going on around here. The purple turtle was going to town as he was destroying everything in the store, not caring on where everything was flying. Endora glanced beside her to see that Melisandre was out cold. Worried for her friend, she crawled over to her and was relieved to feel a pulse.

However, the relief was short-lived as she heard a loud growl coming from above her. She wasn’t sure how the turtle was able to cross the room with an injured leg, but somehow he was able to and he was standing above her with a murderous look in his eye

In a flash, she was picked up and held by an invisible force. The turtle had a mystic purple hand out and was holding her by it, brining her close to his face. She could feel his heavy breathing, though the feral and murderous look is what was really scaring her

“Listen here you witch” Donnie said in a low voice that dripped with venom “I can do so much worst to you, your friend, and your shop. I can kill you right here on the spot” making his point by squeezing her for a brief second, forcing her to try and breathe. Donnie then slightly released his grip “But I’m not going to because I have a twin brother to save and a cure to find. So here is what is going to happen” he then leaned closer to Endora, to the point where they were almost touching lips “you are going to tell me where the cure is, I will untie Gentry, and me and my family will leave this wretched town and we will never come back here ever again”

Endora didn’t say a word, just glancing around innocently

Donnie got really mad as he squeezed Endora tighter and pointed a mystic gun at Melisandre “WHERE IS THE CURE!?!”

Endora seemed to cave as he pointed frantically to a shelf over in the far corner. “Those blue and purple bottles over there. Just mix them together and you have the cure” she responded frantically

Donnie eyed her warily as he slowly made his way over to the shelf, not letting go of her just yet. He eyed the two bottles before turning back to her. “And you are not just saying this to mess with me, right? This really is the cure?” he asked. Endora nodded her head. “I’m positive. The blue is the speechless cure and the purple is the obedience cure. Combine the two together and it will cure both curses. I promise”

Donnie was still unsure but he wasn’t Leo. He wasn’t good at telling whether other people were lying. Donnie just had to take her word for it and hope that she wasn’t messing with him

He was glad that he brought his spider shell with him as he used one of the arms to put the two bottles into his shell. One step closer to saving Leo

However, there was one thing that he needed to know. “Before I let you go, is there anything that I need to know about the cure?” he asked, still keeping a tight squeeze on Endora and keeping a gun on Melisandre’s still form. Endora wheezed as she glared at Donnie. “The cure only works during the full moon. Do it too early or too late, then the cursed victim will die”

Well, that was certainly good information to know. However, Donnie’s heart sunk a little as the full moon wasn’t for another few days. Guess that they were going to have to wait a bit longer until they could save Leo

However, Donnie smiled an evil smile as he brought Endora close to him. “Thank you so much my dear. You have been quite helpful” he said before throwing her hard on the ground. Endora let out a groan as she struggled to get back up

By time she could get her bearings, the purple turtle was walking out with Gentry, who was helping him walk. The purple turtle turned back to her and said with a hiss, “Never miss with Donatello Hamato’s family. You will suffer the consequences”

Gentry snapped her fingers and the two of them vanished

Endora looked around at the destruction and at her unconscious friend. This will certainly take a long time to recover from

However, Endora smiled her wicked smile

The purple turtle thought that he had won

What Donatello Hamato failed to realize was that he fallen right into her trap

Endora and Melisandre may have lost the battle, but they will win the war

Donatello Hamato would be the ultimate loser and will suffer greatly because of what was about to happened

Chapter Text

Gentry managed to teleport her and Donnie back to the center of the town square, where Donnie’s family was waiting for them. Raph and April were the first to greet them. April went over to Gentry to make sure that she didn’t have any injuries while Raph came over to Donnie. Raph’s eyes immediately went to the limp that Donnie was trying so hard to hide and Donnie knew exactly what was coming before Raph could say anything

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Raph exclaimed in his worried ‘Big Brother’ voice. Donnie could just see the scared and worried look on his big brother face, as well as his worry/scared stink strong and evident

Donnie put his hand up to hopefully ease his big brother. “Relax Raphaela. I’m ok. I just got a hurt a little while fighting the witches. No biggie”

It didn’t seem to calm Raph down as he continued to stare at Donnie’s leg. “No biggie?!? Donnie…your leg looks twisted. I’m no medic but even I can tell that this looks bad”

Donnie looked like he wanted to argue but Draxum and Mikey stepped in, with Draxum putting a hand on Raph’s shoulder. “Look Raphael. I can take Donatello to your med bay and look him over and treat him. Does that sound good to you boys?”

Donnie and Raph nodded their heads and Donnie noticed that Mikey was looking at him with expected eyes. “Did you win? Did you get the cure?” Mikey asked. Donnie smiled as he pointed to his battle shell. “Yep. I got the cures” he said proudly before turning to the rest of his family “And I promise to tell you guys everything as soon as we get home. I think Leo and Dad deserve to know as well”

The family seemed to agree with Donnie as Draxum made a portal back to the sewers, saying goodbye to Gentry, who wished them all the best of luck. She also told them that she would be keeping an eye on Endora and Melisandre and would be in contact with April if she thought that they would be causing trouble again. The family give their thanks to Gentry for all her help as they stepped through the portal. Donnie took one glance behind him and was grateful that he would never have to come back to this wretched town every again

…

The family exited the portal into the living room, with Draxum closing it right behind them

Donnie didn’t automatically see his dad or Leo and he immediately started to panic

However the sound of Splinter’s voice alerted the family that the rat and red-eared slider were hanging out in the kitchen

Sure enough, when the family walked to the kitchen’s entrance, Leo was calmly biting down on a sandwich while Splinter was watching him and holding his hand. It was good to see the red-eared slider eat, who knew when the last time he had a chance to do so.

Leo looked up when he saw that his family was back and his smile widened. He dropped his sandwich and he ran around to hug his siblings. His brothers and sister hugged him tightly, with Donnie being the tightest of all

Raph, Mikey, and April let go of Leo after a bit, but Donnie continued to hold on tightly as he buried his face in Leo’s shoulder, the anxiety of not being near his twin lessening and feeling relief that he was one step closer to getting back the twin that Donnie loved more than anything

Draxum cleared his throat. “Donatello…let go of Leonardo so that I can take you to the med bay and look at your leg”

That got Leo’s attention as he let go of Donnie, Donnie haven’t to hold back a whine at the lost warmth of his twin. “Are you hurt?” Leo signed. Donnie didn’t really want to worry his twin but the look that Leo was giving him proved that he would go into medic mode regardless. “Yeah, I think I might have twisted it while fighting the witches”

Leo gave him a questioning and worried look as he subtly looked at his leg, trying to keep ‘medic mode’ at bay. Donnie gave a soft smile as he held Leo’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze “I’ll tell you all about it later Leo. Right now, I think I should listen to Draxum and go to the med bay”

Donnie started to stand up but soon found himself stumbling. His siblings and fathers started to move towards him, but Leo was the one who catch him as he was the closest. Silently, and Donnie didn’t think he would ever get used to his twin being silent, Leo picked Donnie up bridal style and started to carry him to the med bay. Everyone in the family shared a look with each other before following the twins

Being picked up by Leo was unexpected, but Donnie didn’t mind. He actually enjoyed it in fact as he gave him the opportunity to be close to Leo and to feel his warmth. Donnie nuzzled his beak against Leo’s chest and let out a content purr. Leo softly chuckled as he chirped back and Donnie thought it was the most beautiful sound, even though Leo was trying to hide how much pain he was in

…

The examination did not take as long as everyone thought

Leo had placed Donnie gently down on the medical bed and sat right beside as Draxum examined him, being a silent support for Donnie and signing to Draxum whenever it was deemed necessary

Draxum deduced that Donnie did sprained his ankle but, with their extreme healing factor and their ninpo, Donnie should be good in a few days, as long as he wore a medical boot and rested up

It was such a relief to everyone, especially Donnie. Donnie could rest up and by time he was fully healed, it would be time to give Leo the cure

Speaking of which, the family was now crowded in the living room as Donnie told of his ‘epic’ battle and how he was able to get the cure. The family was enthralled in Donnie’s tale and Leo couldn’t help but feel proud of Donnie for doing what he did, even though Raph, Mikey, and Splinter didn’t quite share the same sentiment as they thought Donnie might went a bit overboard

Donnie knew in his heart that what he did was right. He defended his twin and got the cure. In the end, that was all that mattered to Donnie

Donnie instantly remembered that he had the cures as he pulled them out of his battle shell “We got the two cures! Look! All we have to do is wait a couple of days and then mixed them together so that it can cure you of both curses” Donnie said excitedly as he showed them to Leo, “We will fix you with this”
Donie thought that Leo would share the same optimism, but strangely, he didn’t as Leo stared at the staff intensely. It was Mikey who noticed the problem, “Donnie-“
“Yeah?”
“Command”
“What? Oh! Uh, you can stop looking now!”

Leo tore his gaze away from the two bottles immediately. It didn’t go unseen how Leo leaned his head back and had a sad look on his face. “How long until I have to take them again?” Leo signed
“I believe the witches said when the next full moon is” Donnie commented. “Which will be when…” Raph asked cautiously. Donnie sighed and was about to say the answer before Draxum beat him to it, “In a few days” “Which means that Leo will be like this for a bit longer?” Mikey asked. Donnie sadly nodded his head. “Yeah…and if Leo takes it before or after the full moon, he will…” Donnie trailed off as April came up beside him “He will what Dee?”

Donnie sighed heavily “He will…die” Donnie answered in a meekly voice.

Everyone felt a slight bit discouraged by that fact, even though they had the cure right in front of them. Leo leaned heavily into Donnie’s side and Donnie wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders, the warm comfort being soothing for both twins

Donnie stored the cures back in his battle shell as he turned his attention back to Leo “Is there anything we can do for you in the meantime?”
Leo thought about it for a minute before shrugging his shoulders and signing “Just no more commands. The pain of it is just too much sometimes. I can somewhat communicate using turtle noises but even that hurts sometimes. I can only signed for right now” Leo then leaned more into Donnie to make his next point clear “Just you guys being here is enough for me”

No one knew what to say after that, though Donnie did pull Leo closer to him and whispered softly, “I’ll always be here for you Nardo. Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you”
Draxum took the temporary moment of silence to speak up, “Leonardo, may I test something out?“
Everyone turned to the sheepman with mixed expressions, with Donnie pulling Leo even closer to him and Leo leaning almost fully into Donnie. After a moment of hesitation, and a soft chirp from Donnie, Leo agreed, “Okay.“
“Tell me a lie.“

Leo brought up his hands to signed but found that they were shaking bad. He even found that his mouth was trying to move too but nothing was coming out, only the softest of chirps and grunts
“W-What did you do?!” everyone seem to say at one time
Draxum watched the loop, “A stalemate. Telling me a lie goes against only speaking the truth.“

“Take it back!”
Maybe it was how loud he shouted, or because they heard the sudden panic in his voice, but everyone’s heads turned to Donnie, who was struggling to restrain Leo. His twin had quietly begun to hyperventilate again, scratching at his skin. He was still opening and closing his beak, but now some sobs came through as well.
Draxum stumbled over his words but canceled his command. He muttered out an apology to which Leo didn’t react, collapsing into Donnie’s arms as his twin held him tightly and whispered sweet nothings. What followed was a palpable silence which was only interrupted by Leo’s sniffles as he began to calm down again.

He was sandwiched in between all of his siblings in a hug by the time his breathing evened out.
“Did it hurt?” Raph asked worriedly, not loosening the embrace.
“They always hurt” Leo shakily signed, “Your commands give me a headache. The longer it takes me to fulfill them, the worse it gets…”
“Leonardo, my son, I’m sorry. I hoped it would force-shut the command. Why didn’t you tell us it hurts?”
“I- I tried. You didn’t listen”

“Hey, don’t worry, Nardo. We’ll figure this out and fix you up. I promise” Donnie shot his twin a reassuring smile and nudged him in the side. He failed to notice though how Leo tensed up.
“Donnie!” Raph elbowed his younger brother in the side, which earned him a frustrated huff. “What?”
“Command”
“Where?”
“Just take it back”
“Fine. I take it back. Sorry Leo”
Leo just fixed Donnie with a sad look and Donnie felt like crap for doing this to his twin

“I think we tried enough for today, maybe we should wait until tomorrow before we do anything else. Rest a night and think about things. What do you think about that, Leon?” Mikey asked gently and rubbed circles into his older brother’s back.
“I- I want this t-to be o-over” Leo signed shakily
“Me too, Leo, me too”

Donnie had retreated from the room for a second and return with a pair of blue headphones, the same one that he had given Leo for their birthday a few years ago. “Here” The softshell said and slipped the headphones over his twin’s head. Leo was still trembling when he reached inside his own pockets and took out his phone, trying to hold his hands steady so that he could access the phone and pick out a song. The music was loud enough that everyone in proximity could hear it too. In any other situation, Raph would have scolded his brother for listening to music on this volume, but he knew it was needed to drown everything else out.

“Okay, so what now?” Donnie asked once he could be sure Leo wouldn’t hear him.
Mikey beside him, still rubbing circles into Leo’s back, let out a sigh, “Can we do this tomorrow, please? I think we did enough today. Let’s give him a break”
“I agree” April jumped in, “We might be able to come up with better ideas in the morning. We’re all exhausted”
“Then I would say we all head to our room for now” Splinter spoke up. “Michelangelo and I will prepare dinner if you feel like eating”
“I don’t” Donnie sighed and helped Leo to his feet, “I’ll bring him to his room, come, Nardo”

He didn’t wait for the rest of his family to say their part, instead, he grabbed Leo’s hand tightly and gave it a comforting squeeze. He wanted Leo to be out of everyone’s range as fast as possible. His twin didn’t resist when he was dragged down the hall and to his room, the headphones still settled on his head and blasting out loud music. Donnie guided Leo to his room and made Leo sit down on his bed. Donnie sat beside him and rubbed his thumb across Leo’s hand, seeing if Leo would react. Leo looked up at Donnie’s touch and gave a sad smile before mouthing ‘Love you Dee’. Donnie let a single tear escape as he mouthed back ‘Love you too Nardo’ as he gave a gentle kiss to one of Leo’s red strips right above his cheek

Moments later, Raph joined them as well. Their older brother made sure to shut the door behind him and he sat down on the other side of Leo.
Thinking that Leo probably wouldn’t hear him, Raph tapped blue on the shoulder. Leo blinked and stared at his older brother. Raph pointed to the headphones, and a second later, his younger brother took them off his head. Raph and Donnie weren’t quite sure if Leo did that because he recognized the gesture as a command or because he was willing to talk to them. Either way, the action was a bit too fast for their liking.

“We won’t stop until we fixed you, Leo. I hope you know that” Raph said softly. It earned him a slow nod from his younger brother, a silent reassurance that Leo, despite everything that happened, still trusted them enough to help him.
It somewhat helped the snapper and softshell to calm down a bit. The guilt that had been eating away at them from the inside was still present, but a bit lessened.

Raph pulled his brother into a side hug, “I'm sorry it took us so long to help, I wish I knew about it sooner. But you'll be fine”
“Yeah, we'll wait for the full moon, give you the cures, and then you will be free. Everything will be okay” Donnie said and joined in on the hug. Leo didn't reply to either of them nor did he have it in him to return the hug.

“Say, Nardo" Donnie asked gently, "Want to have dinner?"
“Y-Yes."
“Alright. Should we go then?" Donnie made sure to phrase everything as a question. It was apparently better to force answers out of him than tasks. Something Leo was appreciating.
Leo once again agreed and got to his feet. Both of his brothers offered him a hand, and Leo took them without a second's hesitation.

Together they made their way out of Leo’s bedroom and walked to the kitchen. Everyone else must have either not been hungry, or they were already done eating because when the brothers arrived at the kitchen, the only one there was Mikey and he appeared to be eating alone, lost in thought. However, when he saw his big brothers entered the kitchen, his eyes light up.

“Hey guys…me and dad made stew” None of them seemed too keen on that, which Mikey wasn’t really offended by. “Uh... We also got some noodles left?” the youngest offered hesitantly. When he still received no reply he said, “Or we can go basic and eat bread?”
“I’m not really hungry, so I think I'll take the bread” Raph replied. “I’ll take the bread and a little bit of noodles” Donnie said, looking over at Leo, “Nardo…What would you like to eat?”
“Bread”

Bread it was.

Mikey took out some butter, cheese, marmalade, and other things the brothers liked to have on their bread and put the bag with the sliced goods down on the table in the dining room.
“Anything to drink?”
“Yes” Leo answered, slowly making his way over to the table and staring at his brothers. While Mikey continued carrying the ingredients over, Raph and Donnie took a seat and distributed the plates and butter knives. Once they noticed Leo's blank stare on them, they stopped and Donnie cleared his throat, “Uhm, you can take a seat if you want”
Leo sat down.

“Hey, uhm, Leo, you're allowed to sign and act as much as you want, okay?”
It was a weird scenario, having to allow your brother to live his life. And it wasn’t a much better scenario when said brother looked him in the eyes signing, “Okay,“ and nothing else.

Mikey sighed, bringing four glasses and a bottle of water with him, and placing them on the table.
“Have you ever tried to… resist a command?” The box turtle asked, taking a slice of bread out of the bag, and plopping it down on his plate. Raph and Donnie followed his example and took a slice as well, looking over at the red-eared slider and waiting for a response.
“I did. It didn’t work out really well. The longer I tried to hold it in, the worse my headache and the pain in my body got” Leo hesitantly reached out for the bag of bread and took out a slice. His brothers eyed him cautiously, checking if there was anything amiss with the way Leo chose his food.

Honestly, this was the first time the brothers paid this much attention to a slice of bread.

The worst thing about it all? They noticed something.
Leo had taken out the smallest slice in the bag, and he didn’t put any toppings on.
“Restrictions?” Raph asked carefully, shoving the bag of bread back to Leo after the latter had shoved it away, “You can have more if you want."
Leo looked to the side, “It won’t let me take more”
“Then I command you to take more”

Donnie slammed his hands on the table and shot up, his beak open and ready to yell at Raph. How dare he? Even if it was for a good reason, how dare Raph command something like this? They didn’t know enough about what was going on to say things like these! What if it caused another headache and more body pain?
“Thank you”

Donnie dropped back on his seat. Leo thanked Raph. Thanked? This was so much more than a simple thank you. Tears were streaming down Leo’s cheeks in open rivers, something that could almost be identified as a smile appeared on his face, and his chest heaved with happy sobs.

Leo was truly thankful for the second slice he was now able to take out of the bag.

Donnie watched with nothing short of horror.

This was bread for goodness sakes!

Leo should not be this happy about taking the two smallest slices of bread!

But instead, his twin stared at them as if it was a 5-star gourmet meal prepared just for him.

“When was the last time you ate?” Donnie found himself asking, horror-struck and afraid of the answer. Leo tore his gaze away from his ‘meal’ to look his twin in the eyes, “Dad gave me a sandwich earlier”
“Before that”
“Monday”
Donnie’s jaw dropped. Monday was- One, two, three, four… five days ago.
He forces air into his lungs, and out. His hands were steady, but on the inside, he was screaming. Screaming so loudly, he was surprised no one else heard him. What had he done? How could he have allowed this? The urge to ram his head through the nearest wall became almost too hard to handle. He wished he could just go back in time, prevent any of this from happening in the first place.

Donnie stared down at his own plate of food. He wasn’t hungry anymore.
“I’m going to my room. Enjoy the meal, gentlemen” He said and left the table without another word. Raph and Mikey could handle this, they didn’t need him there and accidentally let a bad command slip his tongue.

For five days they haven’t noticed Leo skipping meals.
For one month they hadn’t questioned Leo’s strange behavior.
It was laid out for them on a silver platter but no one did anything about it. They had just let it happen.

Donnie kicked the door to his bedroom open in rage.

Damnit! He had noticed those changes two weeks ago! He could have stopped it all two weeks ago! But he gave up too early, he didn’t try hard enough! All things considered, the out of sight out of mind tactic had worked well. And now Leo was suffering. Suffering worse than ever before.

Donnie slammed the door back shut and sank down by it. He leaned his head in his hand, closed his eyes, and focused on breathing for a couple of minutes. The world was too loud right now.
As the dull pain in his chest that had been a constant for him subsided, he wondered if there was a universe out there in which he found the strength to forgive himself. Because even if Leo did, he didn’t think he could do it. As he pondered his potential demise, the door he was resting against shoved into his back.

Donnie gawked and jumped to his feet.
“Did you guys ever hear about knocking?!” He yelled fretfully at the figures walking in, turning around and feeling completely guilty when he saw Leo standing in the doorway.
“I’m sorry” Leo signed as he wiped his face, trying to stop his flow of tears but not being successful, “I’ll knock next time”
Donnie’s ire seemed to deflate back to desperate concern. “No Leo, forget what I just said, you don’t need to knock. You are always more than welcome to come to my room”
His hold on his temper was tenuous at best, he was so mad at himself. Why did he keep messing up? Why couldn’t he do or say the right thing for once?

“Now, now, you two” Raph mediated from out in the hall, “Today’s been a long day. If it's okay with everyone, we should get dressed and go to bed. We all need our sleep, isn’t that right, Leo?”
Huh, seemed like Raph got the hang of what counted as a command and what didn’t. He’s been doing this ever since they were born. Raph always knew what to say. He never messed up. Donnie wished that was him. He wanted to help and support Leo as well, but all he did was mess things up. Nothing he did so far helped Leo. He made his twin almost suffocate. He kept accidentally giving out commands. He couldn’t even fight through his own guilt to support Leo now.

Donnie nodded slowly, “Yeah, let’s get dressed”
And he did it again. He only noticed it when Leo shot him that heart-broken look again.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that! Leo, stop!”
Now it was even worse. Leo stopped in his tracks, completely stiff and unmoving.
Donnie needed a moment to digest what he had just done, his voice momentarily gone out of shock. “I-I’m sorry” He whispered as soon as he regained his composure, “I take my commands back.“

He would just have to keep his beak shut from now on. It was the best for everyone involved.

Raph seemed to sense the awkward tension between the twins and he knew that he needed to step in and fix it

He placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder and gave him a sweet smile. “Leo…I can tell that you don’t want to be alone. And I can tell that Donnie doesn’t either. How about you two have a sleepover? Just like you used to do when you were tots. Does that sound good to you Leo?”

Leo gave a small smile before turning to Donnie. “I would love nothing more, but only if Donnie is ok with it”

Raph turned to Donnie. “What do you say Donnie?”

Donnie was still fearful that he would mess things up and hurt Leo. However, having a sleepover with his twin, especially after everything, was something that Donnie wanted more than anything

Donnie smiled softly as he walked to his twin and cupped his cheeks and gently stroked them. “Of course Nardo. I would love too”

Raph smiled back as he wished the two of them ‘goodnight’ with Mikey yelling out ‘goodnight’ as he ran by them to his own room

Once the twins were alone, they walked over to Leo’s bed and laid down together, with Leo making sure that all the blankets were over them. Donnie brought Leo into his arms and held his twin close. Leo snuggled in Donnie’s arms as he let out a soft chirp, one that said ‘Thanks Don. I love you’. Donnie squeezed Leo tightly as he placed a kiss on the top of Leo’s head. “No problem Nardo. I love you too. Love you so much”

The twins tried to fall asleep, but found that, despite being exhausted, they couldn’t

 “Are you tired?” Donnie asked gently.

Leo nodded his head. They held eye contact for a few seconds before Donnie broke it off. He bit his question about how much sleep Leo had gotten the past month back because he already knew he wouldn’t like the answer.
“Then I’ll allow you to sleep. Have a good rest, please”
“Don?”
“Yes?”
“Do you really want to fix me?”
“What?”
“Do you like me better like this?”
“What- What do you mean?”
“You said you like me better now. Everyone likes me better now”

Did everyone say those words to him?

“Leo, we love you the way you are, and we would never prefer a fake over the original. We will fix you, I promise”
But did he really want to? He did enjoy spending time with Leo, just the two of them. It was nice having his twin listen to him for once… No, what was he even thinking? He’s forcing Leo to become someone he doesn’t want to be! He would never choose to abuse his twin’s condition like this! He would fix it. Definitely.

“For what it’s worth, I had fun spending time with you too”
Donnie looked up. Did Leo just read his mind? Did they mind meld…or is that ‘twin instinct’ that Leo was always hyping up?
“Do you really mean that?” He asked shyly, honestly unsure if this was the truth or just a lie to make him feel better.
“I’m not allowed to lie”
Oh, right. So, it was the truth. This managed to warm his chest a little. “Thanks Leo. The next time we do something like this though, it will be out of your own free will”
Leo nodded at that.

“Now we should try to sleep, you okay with that?”
“Y-Yeah”
“Well then, good night, Leo”
“Good night, Donnie”
Leo fell asleep right there in Donnie’s arms, but before Donnie could follow his twin into slumber, he whispered sweetly “I’m sorry for not being there for you sooner. But I’m here for you now. You will be ok Nardo. I won’t let anything else bad happened to you. I will protect you. I promise”

He would deal with all this the next day.

For now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

…

…

…

“Mind telling me why you’re in my bed?” Raph rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, his brain still stuck in dreamland and refusing to work.
“I didn’t want to be alone” Mikey mumbled and pulled Raph’s blanket over himself.
Raph, in return, stared at the motion unimpressed, “Okay, let me phrase that differently. Why did you fall asleep ON TOP OF ME?”
“I’m a clingy sleeper and you know that!”
“Next time you plan on holding me in a deathtrap embrace for 8 hours, give me a warning, or else I will throw you off the bed”
A tired Raph was no Raph anyone wanted to mess with.

“You almost suffocated me with that hug”
“Yeah… Guess I’m pretty good at that, huh?”
“Mikey…”
He didn’t want his baby brother to feel down, but he was still way too tired to find the strength to care.
Raph lightly patted his cheeks, “Listen to me, I’m sure all of us accidentally almost killed Leo twice in the past month”
“Is… Is this supposed to cheer me up?”
“Uh…” His brain was still on standby, “Yes? No… Give me a second”

Raph rubbed at his eyes a bit more viciously, finally able to get himself out of his haze, “Mikey, a lot is going on right now, and we have no idea about the extent of it yet. Don’t beat yourself up over this, we can’t change what happened. We need to focus on helping Leo so that this can’t happen again. Are you with me?”
“Y-Yeah. Yeah, I am. Thank you, Raphie”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s get up, I’m starving and I can’t wait to see the breakfast that you are going to prepare for us”

The sunset duo were leaving Raph’s room and were about to head to the kitchen when they suddenly heard a dull ‘thud’ coming from Leo’s room. They ran to Leo’s room and saw that Leo was picking himself off the floor and walking towards the door, with Donnie looking at him concerningly
“Leo?” Raph called out.
“Yes?” Came the answer, but Leo seemed… distressed?
“What are you doing?” Donnie was now up and following Leo. Raph and Mikey ran to catch up to the twins. Leo was heading straight for the kitchen. “I’m making you breakfast”
“W-why?!”
“You said you were starving”

Wait, Leo heard that? But Raph and Mikey were in the other room, nowhere near Leo! Unless Donnie said the exact same thing…which would make more sense
“I thought you were asleep, I’m sorry, I take it back” Donnie said, which confirm that it was Donnie who had said the command and not Raph
“I was asleep” Leo signed and finally came to a stop. He didn’t move from the spot, but he did turn around when his brothers came in running behind him.
“So, the command woke you? Oh, Leo, I’m sorry” Donnie replied, looking completely sad that he woke up his twin
“At least it was something simple this time”
Mikey hesitated before stepping forth, “Did- Did we do this before? Like, did we sleeptalk you into doing something?”
“Only when we were having turtle piles”

Well, that makes things needlessly more complicated.

Raph put his head in his hands. It was too early for that.
They really needed the full moon to hurry up and get here and for Leo to take the cures, or else they might send Leo off a cliff.
He decided it was for the better to not ask which kinds of orders left their beaks in their sleep.

“Well” Mikey spoke up again, looking around for a moment before taking his brothers by the hand, “Since we’re already here, what do you say about breakfast?”
“I'm all for it” Raph agreed, his stomach growling to emphasize the statement. Food sounded great for his tired body and brain.
“Me too. What about you Nardo?” Donnie asked his twin “Breakfast sounds good” Leo signed, which they all have gotten accustomed to in the past 4 weeks.

Mikey managed a tight smile that felt more like a grimace on his face, before taking the lead and marching to the kitchen. He just hoped this would go better than diner the day before. At the very least, they could monitor Leo’s food intake now. And who knows, if Splinter or Draxum were there as well, they might brainstorm some ideas and exchange information.

The dining room was partially filled by the time they arrived.
“Nah, that wouldn't work either” April mumbled and scratched out whatever she had written in a notebook. The Casey’s sat beside her, looking over her shoulder, and occasionally pointed a word or two out, “We need to take the phrasing into consideration. This will cause more harm than good”
It didn’t take a genius to see they were discussing the commands. Of course, he knew they were talking about that, the uncertainty of their situation was one of the only things their idle minds could think about.

Splinter sat a bit further away from the humans, apparently lost in his own thoughts until his sons walked in. “Ah, good morning my sons, did you have an alright night?”
“No” Red, purple, and orange answered simultaneously, at the same time blue signed with a “Yes”

Raph decided it was best to skip the awkward silence and the dancing around the topic and pulled back one of the chairs on the table, “What’s for breakfast, Mikey?” He asked and tilted his head to the side, signaling the twins to take a seat as well. The faster breakfast was done, the faster they could get to work. Another reason why he wanted to get through it quickly.

Donnie sat down with Leo following shortly. The blue twin got the middle seat, and the second his tail hit the chair, his twin and big brother shoved their chairs a bit closer. Just in case they needed to react spontaneously.

Mikey served them their breakfast -he made waffles- which apparently skipped the ordeal of commanding Leo to take the healthy amount for his morning requirement. The brothers took a mental note of that, choosing to from now on hand their brother the food directly rather than having Leo serve himself a too small portion. Like the meal before, however, was that Leo waited until everyone else but him had taken a bite out of their waffles before he decided to eat. The brothers weren’t the only ones observing Leo eat, they all watched intensely and carefully how the red-eared slider took his first bite.

Donnie, who usually ate at a steady pace, made sure to take each bite slowly and cautiously, his gaze never leaving Leo, who was the slowest when it came to eating. The entire ordeal went by completely silent, if there was any form of communication, it was through body language and eye contact. If anyone was bothered by the lack of noise, they didn't say it.

The silence lasted until all of the brothers were done with their food. Nothing worthy of note happened in the minutes and hours that followed, time practically standing still. The brothers did all they could to limit their commands and keep Leo happy

However, the silence from Leo was unnerving and Donnie couldn’t wait for the next day when they would be able to cure Leo and this will all be over

…

The full moon was in optimal position. The time for waiting was over. Now it was time to fix Leo, as everyone gathered in the living room. Donnie handed the bottles together and he watched as Draxum mixed the blue and purple mixtures together, creating an indigo color, the twins’ colors being combined in a weird twist of irony that was not lost on Donnie.

What also wasn’t lost on Donnie was the way that his twin was shaking next to him. Donnie brought Leo close to him and nuzzle the top of his head “Nardo, everything’s going to be alright,“ Donnie whispered gently under his breath. He could see Leo struggling to choke back his sobs. Leo wasn’t being noisy, he just seemed loud in the otherwise deadly silent, wide open, living room, especially seeing as there were so many silent spectators.

When Draxum was finished with the potion, he gave it to Leo who stared at the indigo mixture with apprehension. Leo then felt the presence of his siblings and dad next to him as they all whispered soft reassurances and words of love

Leo smiled at them before taking a deep breath and downing the ‘cure’

In an instant, Leo was writhing in pain as his ninpo markings started to light up and his whole body was casted in an indigo light. Leo screamed out in pain and Donnie tried to run to his twin in fear, but Draxum hold him back, telling Donnie to wait a bit

Donnie wanted to tell Draxum off from holding him back from his twin, but as soon as the screams started, they stopped and Leo was slumped out on the floor

Donnie rushed over to his twin, with everyone else crowding around him. Donnie reached out and let out a huge sigh of relief when he felt a strong and steady pulse. Leo then started to moan and Donnie backed up a bit

“Leo?”

Leo slowly opened his eyes and the first person that he laid his eyes on was Donnie. Leo smiled up at his twin and Donnie smiled back, grateful that his twin was ok

However, just as fast as the smile appeared on Donnie’s face, it vanished. The shock was enough to make him stumble backward, holding on to the couch to support himself.

This-

This wasn’t good.

They just made it worse.

Chapter Text

Leo was screaming.

On the inside, that is…considering that he couldn’t open up his mouth without his body withering in pain

Those weren’t any specific screams. They weren’t angry or sad or happy.

Just screams.

Screams he’s been letting out for roughly four weeks now.

At first, he’d been screaming at them to notice. To finally ask the question what was wrong with him.

Then he was screaming at them to stop. Stop giving him orders. Stop forcing him to go out when he didn’t want to. Stop making him feel so unwanted. Stop telling him that he was so much better now and he shouldn’t go back to his ‘old self’.

Then he was screaming at them to leave him alone. He tried to avoid them, but then they called his name and… He. Couldn’t. Walk. Away. He tried. He tried so hard. But nothing had worked. He spent every second he had in an empty part of the lair, cowered in a corner and hiding so that no one could see him. He was shaking badly, screaming at himself and the world, but mostly at his family to finally free him.

Then he stopped screaming for a while.
For a moment… He had given up. They liked him better now. They didn’t want to help him, to hear him. He would be stuck like this forever, forced to live a life he wasn’t the owner of anymore. He stopped screaming… and began to cry.

And then…
Then someone finally heard him. And of course, it had to be his twin, because who else couldn’t it be?

He started screaming again, but he wasn’t sure what those screams were anymore.
They finally heard him, so those were happy screams.
It took them a month to hear him, so those were angry screams.
They still don’t know how to help him, so those were sad screams.
They continued to give him orders, so those were hurt screams.

He, at the very least, got a night's worth of sleep that was more than the 3 hours a day he been operating on for the last 4 weeks. He also got food again. He was so happy, he wanted to cry. Well, he did cry, but then his head started reminding him that showing emotions wasn’t a luxury he had anymore.

Breakfast had been peaceful for the most part, minus the worried glances everyone kept shooting him with. Their gazes were crawling under his skin. He almost didn’t want to eat anymore. Well, 'almost', his stomach was still grateful for every bite he took. Not only did he get food this time, but the waffles were warm. He wasn't sure when he last got a warm meal. The few times he managed to sit down with one of his unsuspecting family members, he usually got something cold and dry.

He would have inhaled those waffles if he could. He wanted to shovel them down his throat and eat as many as he could as fast as he could. Of course, his dream of eating himself sick at that moment was crushed by the thing that's been ruining his life for the past month.

Don't eat faster than the slowest person at the table.
Just like every other rule, he had to learn this one the hard way.

If he had to explain the curse in his own words, he would say a second entity was living in his mind, forcing him to obey and not able to speak. But not in the possession kind of way. It wasn't really a voice whispering into his ear or his body moving on his own... Or at least it wasn't entirely like this. It was hard to explain, no words could really catch the essence of what was going on. His thoughts and his movement were still his own, but at the same time, they were led by something he couldn't control. The more he tried to resist it or tried to speak, the worse it got. He could fight, but the pain it caused him wasn't worth the struggle. How much was he willing to fight for his freedom? A lot, but under this much pain, it was easy to give in.

A while later, Draxum came in with the potion that Donnie had fought hard to get. The potion that was supposed to fix everything. The potion that they thought would give Leo his life back. Hope dared to rise in his chest. With the cure, they might finally get that second consciousness out of his head. After a month of suffering, he might finally be freed. And after that, he will take a long break from…well everything. Heck, he was all for never going out every again. It honestly wasn’t worth all the tragedy that he ends up with.

The pain that Leo felt when he drank the cure was unlike anything that he has ever felt. Leo could do nothing but bare the pain as he was cast in an indigo light. The indigo light slowly faded away and Leo came to. The first person he laid eyes on were his twin and Leo smiled at him, happy to see him

A sense of relief washed over him. For a second, Leo could feel like the curses had been lifted. For one split second, Leo thought about opening his mouth to say something to his twin, just to see if the cures in fact did work

However, when Leo tried to, everything around him seemed to crash down. No, wait, that wasn’t right. Not everything was crashing down. Just him. His legs gave out under him and he fell to his knees. Before he could make a sound, he doubled over and planted his arms on the floor, with his head lowering until his forehead was pressed against the floorboards. He breathed heavily, not knowing why his body was suddenly reacting like this.

“Leo?!” Multiple people exclaimed at the same time. Someone was dropping down next to him, but he didn’t have the power to raise his head and look who it was.
“Are you alright? What is happening?” Well, that was his big brother’s voice, so maybe he was the one rubbing his back and trying to make him look up.
He wasn't so sure himself, but from what he could make out he was- “I’m bowing” Leo signed, realizing very quickly that he still couldn’t speak
Bowing to Donnie

The room dropped a few degrees as the realization slowly set in for everyone.

“The cures…they didn’t work” Mikey explained in horror

A frustrated cry rang out and all eyes turned to Donnie, who looked livid. “Those damn witches gave me the wrong cures” he snarled

Draxum shook his head as he picked up the potion bottle. “No they are the right cures. I checked before I mixed them together” Donnie then whipped around on Draxum. “So what happened then?” he asked, before poking his finger on Draxum’s chest. “Did you do something to the potions?”

Draxum wasn’t at all threatened by Donnie as he gently grabbed Donnie’s wrist and fixed him an unimpressed look. “Calm down Donatello. I didn’t do no such thing. Those witches probably put some kind of enchantment or added something to the potions to make them not work and to make Leonardo do…that” he finished, pointing at Leo who looked on the verge of tears as he stared at Donnie

Donnie slightly deflated as he stared at the sad look on his twin’s face. He was starting to hate magic all over again

“So what do we do now?” Splinter asked as he crouched down beside Raph to comfort Leo

“I’m getting in contact with Gentry right now” April said as he brought her phone out, already calling Gentry

While April called her witch friend, Donnie started pacing, cursing underneath his breath, though Raph or Splinter didn’t say anything as much of their attention was on Leo, who was still bowing in Donnie’s direction. Whenever Donnie looked at his twin, he had to look away as he couldn’t stand to see his twin bowing to him

When April got off the phone with Gentry, she walked over to Draxum and the two of them had their own conversation. Donnie tried to hear what they were saying, but it was so quick that Donnie couldn’t hear much over the pounding in his head

Before anyone could say a word, Draxum opened a portal and Gentry appeared on the other side. April went up to meet her and the two of them shared a brief conversation before Gentry handed her a small trinket. Gentry then flashed each member of the family a sad expression before her eyes landed on Donnie and the way that she looked at him sent shivers down Donnie’s spine

The portal closed and everyone, except for Leo, gathered around April and she showed them what appeared to be a green amulet in her hands. “Gentry told me that this managed to survive the fight between Donnie and Endora” April started to explain before turning to Draxum. “Barry, did Leo drink all of the potion?” Draxum held up the potion bottle and found that there was a small drop of it left. April asked Draxum to drop the remaining potion on the amulet, which got her questioning looks from the family, so April explained “Gentry explained to me that the cures were actually correct, but Endora left out a single point and that was we also needed this amulet to complete the cure”

Draxum then poured the rest of the potion onto the amulet and it started to glow a bright green glow. Everyone marveled in wonder at the bright green glow, though April felt a strong and strange power surge towards her.

It was almost like the amulet was calling her name and was whispering stuff in her ear. Through all it, she could even hear Leo’s voice crying out to her. Hearing Leo’s voice, even in desperation, was enough for her

April turned teary eyes to her little brother and was disappointed when she saw that nothing seemed to change. Except for the fact that Leo was now bowing to her, instead of Donnie

Donnie seemed to notice this too. “April, can I have the amulet?”

April seemed reluctant at first, but she handed the amulet over to Donnie. When Donnie grabbed the amulet, he could feel the same power that April had and hear the same whispers that April did. Donnie could even hear Leo’s voice and Donnie wanted to break down and cry just like April did as he finally heard his twin’s voice after months

But, when Donnie looked up at his twin, he found that his twin’s mouth was closed and he was bowing towards him again

Donnie’s theory was sadly proven correct and everyone seemed to realize it as the same time he did

“Whoever has the amulet controls the slave” Mikey said terrified, “We must have unlocked some kind of ability by fixing it”
“If you mean with ability that we made it worse, then yes, we found an ability!” Raph said, dropping down next to Leo again, “Hey, Leo, you don’t have to bow, you can get up.“

The words didn’t come through. Leo heard them, but he couldn’t follow them. He wanted to get up, he really did, but his body wouldn’t move.
“Donatello, I believe you should try it” And with Splinter’s words, everyone, aside from Leo, looked at the softshell. Donnie took a step back, looking first at the amulet, then at Leo, “Get up, Nardo” He said, and the metaphorical chains tying Leo to the ground disappeared. With his limbs shaking, Leo carefully stood up, every muscle in his body tense.
“Leo, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know”
Why should he know? He was just as clueless as they were!
’Just make it stop!’ He wanted to plead, but the words refused to leave his mouth, a different voice in his head telling him to not dare speak them out loud. He could try to force those words out, but he rather not experience another full body pain.
“Everyone, calm down” Draxum’s voice waved over the explosion of opposition that ensued. He was currently the only one calm. “Please, everyone, take a seat, it is better if we gather what we know so far to avoid running into any further… surprises”

Sit down and talk, that was an idea he could get behind, except that he couldn’t. He was stuck where he stood.

Leo felt the weight of reality upon him, unsure of how long he will have to be stuck like this, unspoken words lingering in his throat and his body inaccessible to his own desire.

He couldn't wait to be free. No more waiting on permission for all his movements, having to sit by and watch as his family stuffed their faces while his stomach began eating itself. He wanted his life back already, stop being a pawn or a servant or a-

A slave.

He couldn't move, he felt like he couldn't even blink. That was until Donnie put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, “You can take a seat”
He sat down on the chair next to Donnie, not wanting- but having to raise his head and look whoever spoke in the eyes.
When Draxum spoke, his voice was calm, but with a hint of urgency in it. He had April’s notebook laid out before him and held a pen, “Let us start from the beginning. What do we know about this… curse”

“It originated from Endora and Melisandre having a vendetta against Donnie. Somehow, the curses were meant for Donnie but Leo protected Donnie from them, him being the one to ultimately carry the burden of the curses” Mikey said, literally starting from the beginning, “The curses that Leo was hit with were obedience and speechless curses, making him unable to speak and him becoming a…you know.“
’Just say the word!’ Leo wanted to shout. Talking around the issue wasn’t getting him his freedom back

“The only way to beat the curses…” Raph picked up from where Mikey left off “…is to apparently combine the two cures with the amulet”

“But this isn’t what happened to Leo” Donnie was now rubbing his hands together, “The obedience curse was made for one master having multiple slaves. But Leo is the only one affected by it, and he listens to the commands of multiple people. And plus, it seems at the supposed ‘cure’ didn’t work, only making things worst”
“Purple is right,“ Splinter rubbed his chin in contemplation, “It makes no sense for Blue to listen ta all of us”
“Maybe it was because the amulet is a decoy, just like the cures?“ April suggested.
“Or maybe the amulet does work, but we need to put it on Leo instead?“ Mikey concluded.

The room fell silent and thought about it for a second.
“Only one way for us to find out”
“No” Donnie spoke up, “No more commands! Look at him!” As if to underscore Donnie’s point, Leo’s breathing hitched as he started to whimper quietly in earnest. “Leo’s not our lab rat to experiment on!”
“Purple” Splinter silenced him with a look. Donnie sat back down, but not without crossing his arms and puffing out his chest in protest.

“Now, where were we? Ah, right, we don’t know enough about the amulet to take any risks. We know that Leo can’t speak and has to follow every order we give him, and it will cause him pain if he can’t fulfill the task, if he disobeys the task, or if he tries to speak”
“We can’t command him to have his free will back. Even if we give him freedom, he still has limitations” Raph cut in
“And whoever gave him the command is the only one that can undo it, and you can’t override someone else’s command” Cassandra stated for the first time since all of this happened.
Donnie leaned back in his chair, arms still crossed, “Not to forget that we still don’t know how to stop any of this from happening, since the witches screwed us over” Donnie gritted out. He really hated that last part. He thought that they had won, yet the witches found another way to get the last laugh

“This is what we’re trying to find out now” Draxum sighed and got up from his chair, the amulet now firmly in his grasp, and Donnie noticed how Leo was now fixated heavily on Draxum, “I can run some tests on this thing to find out about it mystic properties. I will go ahead and say that amulets are hard to come by. This might end up being the right amulet, but it’s just missing something to work properly. Our best way of finding out more is to use it”
The idea was greeted with an encore of disagreement, mainly by Donnie, “Our commands hurt him!”
But not just Donnie had something against the idea. Casey Junior, who had remained quiet for the entirety of the discussion, spoke up, “We’re not using the staff on him” He said, his voice had a dangerous undertone to it which was rarely directed towards any of his family members.
“I know you don’t want this, believe me, neither do I, but this is the only way we can find out how to lift the curse” Draxum tried to reason
“Then use it on me.“

They all collectively looked at Casey Junior, who had gotten up from his chair and approached Draxum with determined steps, “I picked up on the fact that the amulet is a way to channel the curses. If the amulet can make anyone a slave, then use it on me. Test it out on me”
Leo felt his jaw drop slightly.
Was CJ willing to take his place? Would that even work?
“It’s worth a try” April mumbled, she sounded like she wasn’t that happy about the idea though.

Leo, as selfish as it might be, was on board with it. He didn’t want anyone else to get hurt or worse, he wouldn’t wish what was happening to him on anyone, but he was also so, so tired of dancing by everyone’s flute. He just wanted someone else to take a turn.

“Let's do this” The boy from the future spoke, extending his arms to the side and offering himself up as a target.
Leo swore he could feel his chest catch fire. His new brother/friend/son from the future really was going through with this. At this exact moment, Leo could taste a bitter powder of loathing in the back of his throat as he watched silently how Draxum got off his chair with the amulet and rose it to Casey Junior's chest. He couldn't even signed a 'thank you' to CJ for possibly sacrificing his freedom for him.

Though, even with CJ volunteering being experimented on like this, there was still one question left open.

How does the amulet work?

Aside from the bowing part, it didn’t seem to have done anything yet. How would they even pull another individual into its spell? There weren’t any indications for how to use it on someone else.

They went with the most obvious idea first. Draxum pointed the amulet at CJ’s chest and spoke a command. “Bring me a glass of water”

Get Draxum a glass of water.

Just like that, the warmth blooming in his chest withered and died without a second chance to remain there. He didn’t feel warm anymore, nor did he feel cold. He felt empty. Vacant. Leaving him there in the solitude of his mind, he drifted further into nothingness.

Get Draxum a glass of water.

The headache began to set in, and Leo knew that the full body pain was coming soon. Leo pushed his chair back and got to his feet. He made it a few steps before someone noticed what was going on. “Barry!” April yelled, now also alerting everyone else to the problem. Leo didn’t mind them. He picked up his speed. The body pain cramped up from a 1 to 2, if he doesn’t hurry up, it will go to 3 soon, and after that, the number would just rise and rise until he couldn’t take it anymore and passing out. It happened before, and he rather not relive that.
“Leonardo, I didn’t mean you with that, you can stop”

Get Draxum a glass of water.

The headache lingered for a few seconds then disappeared. Leo stopped moving forward, but he also didn’t try to return back to his seat. He just stood there, in the middle of the room, awaiting his next order.

“Casey Junior, how are you feeling?”

Oh, so they were just going to let him stand there. Well, better make use of the one thing he could still do; turn his head to check what was going on.
CJ’s face had contorted to a grimace of displeasure, “I don’t feel any different”
“Maybe we need to directly address you?” Mikey suggested, looking from CJ to Leo and blinking at the red-eared slider a couple of times.
“It’s worth a try. Okay, let me do it again, Casey Junior, bring me a glass of water”

CJ didn’t move, and neither did Leo this time.

“Okay, that didn’t work” April stated the obvious. But at least they gained a new valid piece of information. Leo won’t act on commands when they were specifically directed toward someone else. If they craft their sentences carefully, they might make their living situation a little bit easier. Though, Leo really wasn’t seeing this as a positive discovery. It just gave them a way to try and avoid the main problem. This won’t help him. He was still stuck. It left him wandering in his thoughts, questioning if there even was a way out.

Draxum inspected the amulet with a frown, “We’ll have to test it out on Leonardo for now then.“
There was just as much protest as there was the first time, but Draxum waved his hand at them, “If you know how to use this, be my guest and take over.“
Leo’s brothers, but more so Donnie, grunted in displeasure and Casey Junior returned to his seat. Some of the others, mainly Raph and April, shifted uncomfortably on their chair. Raph looked like he was to speak up, but decided to stay silent at the last second.

“Alright Leonardo, come over here”

Walk to Draxum.

Leo wasn’t about to wait for the body pain to set in and followed the order with no hesitation. His quiet steps resonated like exploding landmines, screams of all calibers fueling every step he took and it felt like a strive of betrayal pierced the red eared slider’s chest. It was uncanny, truly. He felt like he was stuck in between multiple realities, and floating in an endless sea of nothing.

He arrived.

Walk to Draxum.

“Don’t worry, my son. We’re not going to hurt you“
Don’t worry.
“This will help us to understand how to help you”
Don’t worry.
Draxum cleared his throat, “Can one of you try and give him a command?”
Don’t worry.

Leo was worrying.
He couldn’t stop it.
Don’t worry.
’Please, take it back!'
Don’t worry.
White noise pumped into his mind until he felt his head was going to pop. A sharp gasp got stuck in his throat, but there was visible sweat dripping down his temples and all he heard was his heartbeat in his ears. It took a while for his ears to adjust, and he could hear another order. Another thing he had to do.
“Wave at me” April said cautiously. And while Leo appreciated how everyone avoided any hard or complicated commands, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He looked over at his sister, his face deserted from any emotion, but he didn’t wave.

Don’t worry.
His senses swam as stars flooded his vision, a strumming migraine playing in the back of his mind as he redirected his gaze towards Draxum.
With lips drawn into a thin line, the sheepman squinted his eyes at the turtle before him, “You only listen to me.“ He stated, voice hoarse and light, carrying caution on his tongue.
Only listen to Draxum.
“Yes, because you have the amulet!“ Donnie exclaimed, his face adopting a tint of red as his anger rose.
“Don’t see this as a problem” Draxum’s voice was strong and held a steely, yet regal, note that always drove home that Draxum was way more experienced and skilled than anyone else in the room. It was that certain something that reassured them that Draxum knew what he was doing, and it somehow managed to calm Leo down a bit. His body pain decreased from 12 to 10.

“If Leo won’t obey our commands, it means he’s safe around us, right?” Mikey asked, hope bleeding into his voice. This wasn’t much different from what they had tried the day before in the front yard. It should have been a positive thing, but Leo didn’t feel too well about it. His body pain level off at 11. He had decided on those numbers to keep a scale on how close he was to passing out due to the pain. Everything above 50 would have him writhe on the floor, and once it reached 60, the pain was bad enough to have him hunched over the toilet and throw up. At 90 he was barely amenable, and once it reached 100, his brain would shut off. The order was still active when he awakes, but at least the pain would be reset back to 1.
He wasn’t sure how many times he’d been hugging the toilet in the past few weeks. Before everyone had taken back their commands, he was operating under 30 orders at a time, and the pain of each one just stacked up. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he was under the 50s.

“There is more” Draxum announced. Leo could feel himself hold his breath in anticipation. There was more. More what? Did Draxum find something out? And before he knew it, it was as if the gods were willing to give him the answer in the form of mistral, a low melodic hum filling his ears.

Draxum stood before him, the amulet held out, “If whoever has the amulet is the sole ruler of Leo’s actions, then he should have the amulet for himself”
Leo stared at the green trinket in silence. With that, he could regain some control over his life. It was such a simple solution, he wanted to smack himself for not thinking about it earlier.
“Take it”
Take the amulet
Leo reached out and grasped the amulet. Draxum took a step back the second he was sure Leo had a good grip on it, and he watched with the rest of the family for what Leo would do now that he had the object.

Don’t worry.
Only listen to Draxum.

Leo, quite frankly, didn’t know what to do. He stared at the amulet with his mind relishing in the idea of freedom. This very thought resonated with a sense of danger that Leo couldn’t place yet. The red-eared slider was still staring at the amulet when he noticed that he couldn’t move.
’Walk.’ He wanted to order himself, but his beak was sealed shut, just like when Draxum had control over him. This was when he realized that he hadn’t been freed.
With the little bit of initiative he had, he slightly rose his head and shot his family a look, though they must have misread his silent plead with something else because they didn’t move to help him.

Leo felt his body heat up. Everything around him suddenly became hot. The origin of the heat came from his hands still clasped around the amulet. When Louie looked down again, he could see the amulet glowing and steam rising from his palms, the smell of burnt flesh slowly settling in. He tried to drop the amulet, but his hands wouldn’t let go of it.
’Help!’ He cried out, the words never leaving his beak. He could feel his skin burning away. With the steam now a thin cloud of black smoke rose from his palms that seemed to catch the attention of his family.

He couldn’t distract himself from the agony his hands were in. Leo felt like the amulet was burning through his flesh, the glass didn’t feel like glass, for him it was a metal rod, heated above the fire of a volcano. He wanted to scream and cry, the only noise making it out though was a whimper, and that was enough to let the full body pain rise to a steady 30
“Leo, let go of that thing!” April and Raph screeched.
“Drop it!” Donnie and Mikey yelled, with Donnie wanting to run to his twin to help but couldn’t, as if he was frozen in place.
It was ironic how Leo wanted to follow those orders.
“Leonardo, drop the staff!” Draxum commanded, at the same time that Splinter seemed to move closer to him, his mouth moving as he wanted to speak those same words, but knowing that he couldn’t.
…

And it didn’t work.
He’s not my master anymore.
Draxum gave up the staff, he didn’t have the right to command him.
Parts of his skin turned to ash and drizzled out of his palms as the amount of steam and smoke increased. His whimpers turned to quiet screeches. On the inside, Leo was letting out bloodcurdling screams.
’HELP ME!’ He begged, ’IT HURTS!’
With all this time in his head, he didn’t notice how one of the figures before him stepped up and tore the amulet right out of his hands.

Bow to your new master.
Tears rolled down his face, but he couldn’t cry out loud as his legs gave out under him, his exhaustion hitting him harder than it did before. His hands screamed at him when he pressed them down flat against the floorboards, and he felt blood puddle around them.
“Get up, Leo”
Bow to your new master.
Get up.
That was Raph’s voice. Made sense, only he would have the body strength to rip the amulet out of his hands. Leo did as he was told.
Get up.

There were two impressive bloodstains on the floor where his hands had been, and even more blood covered the red-eared slider’s palms. His skin got burned off and his flesh was red from irritation and blood. Before he knew it, he was sobbing and wetting his cheeks with tears. Through his blurry vision, he could see his family watching him with empathy, uncertain about what to say or do. They were shocked into silence by the state they found Leo’s hands in. The turtle in blue knew they had plenty of questions gathered for him but he also knew they felt like they add on more unwarranted stress onto him.

He was suddenly and very harshly grabbed by his wrist and pulled to the side. Leo needed a moment to catch up on what was going on. He was pulled out of the room and into the kitchen. The faucet was turned on, and then Leo’s hands were held under the flowing water. The red-eared slider whined when the cold hit his burning hot palms.
Don’t make a sound.
“Can someone please bring me the first aid kit.“ The voice directed at one of the other family members

The faucet got turned off and Leo’s hands were now dripping wet. The water drops resting in his palms soon took on a red color as new blood bubbled out of his wounds.
The first aid kit was brought over and the person in front of him got working on cleaning and bandaging the two gaping gashes.
Don’t make a sound.
The voice in his head warned him before the sob left his beak.

’It hurts…’ He cried in his mind, the applied simple gauze dressing just adding to the pain, though he somewhat trusted this person in front of him to know how to treat his wound. Though it did little to calm him down. His thoughts ran rampant as his chest sank between every staggering breath he drew. He was shaking, his breathing was hoarse, he couldn't find a way to pull himself back to reality and away from his thoughts, even in the silence everything seemed so loud. Overwhelming. Suffocating.

It wasn't until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him that he found himself anchored back to Earth. He recognized those arms instantly as belonging to his twin. Leo broke down in that moment as he buried himself in Donnie’s arms, wishing that he could talk so that he could explain to Donnie just how much pain he was in and how much he appreciated his twin. Donnie seemed to get the message however as he tightened his arms around Leo, rubbing his shell and nuzzling the top of Leo’s head, planting multiple kisses across Leo’s forehead and chirping sweetly. Leo recognized the chirps as sweet nothings of love and safety and Leo noticed how Donnie was crying right along with Leo

There were three more bodies pressed against him, as his two other brothers and his big sister wrapped their arms around the twins.
“You’re going to be okay” his siblings all said together. The heartbeat in his ears began to soften, enough for him to hear the voices that tried to usher him assurance. It was the last thing the red-eared slider heard before he felt as if everything had caved around him, the world itself spinning as his vision swam black. He closed his eyes and collapsed against his siblings. Despite the pain flowing through his veins, he felt safe, for the first time in a while.

He found that he couldn’t pass out, but he didn’t mind. Being held by his brothers and sister like this was true mercy for him.
“You’ll be fine, Leo”
Those very words resonated with a sense of affection, leaving Louie almost starstruck before he felt yet another voice filling his mind.
Stay at the side of your master.
Splinter was leaving the room. He must be in possession of the amulet now.
Leo felt his legs wobble as he tried to stand. His siblings held on to him as he took the first staggering step. He didn’t know what to say, or what he could even attempt to say. All he could do was try to follow Splinter back to the living room. Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and April tried to hold him back, not understanding how his headache pumped up to 20 and higher the longer they held him in place.

The pain reached 30 when Leo threw back his elbow and slammed it into Donnie’s face. The mere shock of him attacking his twin like this was enough for the other three to loosen their grip. Leo tore himself away and, without muttering the apology he wanted to say, ran after Splinter into the living room.
Upon arriving, he saw the Casey’s with soaked towels on the floor, wiping his blood away.
“Leo, wait!” Mikey called out behind him. Great, everyone had gathered again.
Leo ignored his little brother’s call, more focused on his lessening headache now that his dad was back in his field of vision. He wasn’t sure in what range he had to stay in, but he wasn’t risking another wave of pain, and so he walked over to his dad. And he waited. Wait he did. Until the agony rode its course and began its fade. Until the pain downsized from his whole body to a normal hole in his chest. His hearing returned to him and let in some sound from the world around him.

Casey Junior had gotten up from where he was cleaning and ran over to Leo, inspecting the bandages the second he could reach out and grab them. The padding applied stopped the blood from seeping through. Leo remained completely still as Casey Junior dropped his hands and turned around furiously, “Where is that amulet?!” He yelled, his face burning bright red. Splinter stood just next to him, so his search was resolved shortly.
“No. More. Commands” He breathed angry, “No. More. Tests”

There was a universal agreement at that very moment, all through a sideways glance at one another. Leo wished wholeheartedly that it won’t come to any more tests but in recent defeat, Leo had learned that such an idea won’t last.
The universe proved him correct.
“He haven’t figured out how to reverse to curse yet” Draxum said calmly.
“And we won’t find it out by hurting him!”
“I’m not trying to hurt him!”

“Everyone, calm down” Splinter’s voice silenced the room. Everyone took a deep breath to steady themselves, some of them took two. And Leo… Leo tensed up.
Calm down.
Not again.
Those were the worst.
He couldn’t calm on command. His inside was panicking!
“It pains me to say, but Draxum is right. We have no lead on how to lift the curse. If we wish to help Leo, we need to find out more”

“Let's just break it!”
There was a sense of patience that daunted Leo as if waiting for something or somebody, yet everyone just kept staring at Donnie with their eyes as big as dinner plates. Leo only now noticed Donnie standing in the back of the room, a napkin held to his bleeding beak. There was no empathy in his twin’s voice, no kindness in his eyes. “Let’s break that damn amulet”

The room remained silent, all but the slightest movements of them walking closer to Leo or steadying themselves on the table. Leo, for his part, was stuck on his spot like a gargoyle. For the moments that passed, he found himself anxiously waiting for someone to speak up.
Calm down.
He couldn’t calm down, damnit!
His head was killing him. The pain got dangerously close to the 60, and he could feel his stomach turn.

“We won’t break the staff” Draxum was the first one speaking up this time, “One, it might hurt him and two, this is our only way of finding out how to fix him, if we break it, we might destroy the only cure and we will be back to square one”
“The longer this amulet is around, the more we’re hurting Leo!” Donnie shot back. He slammed his bloodied napkin on the table, “Just free him already! Just give me my twin back!”
“We can’t just tell him he’s free and everything’s fine”
“Why? Have you tried it?”

No. They haven’t tried it.
They actually haven’t tried the most obvious thing yet
“Then what are we waiting for?” Donnie asked impatiently, “Free him!”
“It is worth the try” Splinter said, slowly raising the amulet and pointing it at Leo. The red-eared slider flinched slightly.
Calm down.
Oh, he was way too tense to calm. His headache hitting 65 and he honestly felt like throwing up.

And then, the headache disappeared. It vanished into nothingness. All that happened at the simple words, “Do not follow the staff's or the staff’s holder commands. You are no longer a slave. You are free”

Free.

He was… Free?

“I- I’m free?” He signed, his hands shaking.
The tensity having calmed, the atmosphere was light, leaving all but a subtle question lingering on everyone’s tongue as they cast their gaze over to the blue member of the family.
Was this it? Was it really this easy?
“Yes, my son, you’re free” Splinter repeated.

Calm down.

Leo drew a complete blank while idly gazing at nothing in particular.
Was this nightmare over?
His legs carried him towards the kitchen. No one had given him the command to move. This was all him.

Leo smiled slightly. It worked. He was free.

He tried to stop walking

And his smile dropped.

He wasn’t free.

He couldn’t stop walking. His body was moving on its own, like, completely on his own. He fought against the movement. There was no body pain, but also no resistance.
“H-help?“ He asked, scared. He got his voice back, as well as the ability to show his emotions. He honestly should feel happy…overjoyed about that, but he wasn’t

A vile feeling coursed through his aching body as he returned to the kitchen he had left earlier. He noticed that the water heater was on and a couple of mugs with teabags resting on the counter. He sparsely read ‘chamomile tea’ as Raph purred the hot water into the mugs. His big brother appeared surprised by Leo walking in so suddenly, and Leo shot him a glance that said he was just as surprised.

Leo wasn’t sure what happened next. He was cut off from his body. He scurried forward until he reached the cutlery drawer, lazily pulling it open and scanning what was inside. It was cutlery, who would have guessed. Leo did what he could to ignore the sickly feeling bubbling in his throat as his hand traced over the silverware.

Freedom.

His mind suddenly only had this one thought.

Freedom.

There is no freedom.

Leo’s hand stopped over a long knife Mikey usually used to cut vegetables.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

Death!?

“GUYS!” Leo screeched as he felt his fingers tighten around the knife, “HELP!”

He didn’t want to die!

He didn’t want to die!

He didn’t want to die!

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

With nothing holding his emotions back anymore, Leo cried loudly as his arm moved on its own, raising the knife high.
Something slammed against him as he slid the knife across his own neck. Raph tore the knife away, speckles of blood flying across the floor. Thanks to his big brother's quick reaction, the cut wasn’t deep enough to hit the arteries, but Leo’s entire neck was covered in blood. The red-eared slider cried tears of fear, the vibrations of his throat causing more blood to spew out of the cut.

By now, the rest of his family had also rushed into the room and saw the horrible display of what happened.
“Give me a towel!” Raph yelled at literally everyone but Leo.
The world began to fade from around him, he felt as if someone had lit a match right in the middle of his chest that started a fire that began to grow as if it were a wildfire spreading through him, only to fill his body with smoke. That smoke filled his lungs, scorched the back of his throat, and burned behind his eyes as suddenly things began to feel rather cold around him. That suffocating fire turned into ice as a feeling of shock ran through him before fire and ice collided and turned to fog. His vision blurred and he felt himself slipping further and further from life as he knew it. He began to lose hope and figured that this would be his end.

Chapter Text

Freedom isn’t free.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

Freedom is death.

Leo tore open his eyes and gasped for breath, his chest rose and fell in quick succession as he threw his head to the side to check where he was. His hands trembled, there was a pressure in his throat as his eyes began to water, his face practically burning with fear when he felt the bandages curled around his neck and assuring him that it hadn't been a dream.

He had tried to kill himself.

The amulet almost made him kill himself.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

And the thought still resonated through his head.

He lay there in silence, glancing at his blanket in sudden conflict as an audible breath escaped from him. He could still feel his damaged skin under the white coverage on his hands.
A sensation made purely out of emptiness clung to him for what felt like hours, soundless and quiet.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

Kicking at his blanket only let those feelings rampage through his chest like a chipped disk playing on loop, the sickening voice from before haunting his mind as it felt almost as if the blanket was refusing to separate itself from his cold, cold body.

Leo found himself in a state of tunnel vision.

He's dead.

He was going to die.

The amulet won't let him live.

Leo couldn’t tear his gaze from his swords.

They were right there.

He could use them to end it all. Or…he could teleport to the highest building and jump-

Leo thought, no longer trying to mask his fear as he tried to slowly push the blanket off and get out of bed. Emphasis on tried. He rose his arms to peel the blanket to the side when a sudden yank on his wrists held him back. He may have spent a little bit too much time thinking about what had happened before he passed out because he failed to take note of his current situation.

He was tied to the bed.

Well, his wrists were. The rope barely gave him any wiggle room, and moving at all, especially off the bed, was near impossible. The knots holding the rope were tight and wouldn't lose even when he began to struggle. He doubted he could bite through them, but he most definitely tried. His legs were free from ropes, and so he kicked the air.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

His body jerked to the side and pulled at the ropes.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

He needed to get to his swords. He had to use them, regardless on whether he wanted to end it all now or wait a bit longer. It's what the amulet wanted. He couldn't disobey the amulet.
"Leo?"
The turtle in question ignored the calls and slammed his head back. Luckily, he was surrounded by an abundance of pillows to nullify the blow. He yanked at the ropes more furiously now. He- he had to get off the bed. He had to follow the amulet's will.

Leo felt like he was shot in the head and someone was kicking his body all over. The pain he was in went from 1 to 30 in the blink of an eye. He gasped at the sudden rush of agony slamming into his head and body, leaving him dazed and confused. The bullet entered on his right and left on his left, the gunpowder left behind burning his brain as if it was acid.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

The pain wouldn't leave until he finished what was asked of him.
"Leo!"
The longer he stayed on the bed, the worse the throbbing pain in his head and body got. It was as if the acid was now burning at his skull from the inside, slowly eating away at what was left of his sanity and replacing it with a gaping hole begging for release. Leo found himself aimlessly kicking out and snapping at the ropes in the hopes of freeing himself.

He yanked at the rope with all his might, the headache-pistole now placed in between his eyes with the trigger pulled. Leo choked on his own scream as the pain shot up to 70, he doubled over as much as the ropes allowed him to and threw up in the bucket that conveniently appeared before him.

Perhaps Leo was too lost in a wake between dream and reality, considering he had forgotten that buckets don't plop out of thin air like this, and it wasn't until he felt a hand holding his head up so that he wouldn’t miss the bucket, that he was drawn out of his mindscape.

Sniffling, Leo let his body collapse in on itself again and fell back on the bed, pulling his legs weakly upwards to his chest as tears pricked the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over. His head rolled to the side and he thought he could make out a red and green blur.
He started losing the ability to hear his own thoughts. Someone was kicking a ball against the inner walls of his skull, a painful pounding joining in on the party that apparently was going on in his head. Leo whimpered and whined, feeling how the pain rose and rose, each throb worse than the one before. 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89.

"Stop..." He pleaded with his eyes shut against the pain, the scent of thrown up thick in the air and bitter in his mouth. 90, 91, 92, 93, 94. Every thought he tended to weave together in his mind was shot down by another wave of pain crashing in on him and splitting his head in two.

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

He couldn't tug at the ropes anymore. He couldn’t move in general. His skull was going to crack under the pressure any second now.
95, 96, 97, 98.

’Please, just stop! I don’t want to die...’ he signed in desperation, the pain making him go nonverbal. In this moment, Leo fully understood how Donnie felt when he became overstimulated

A masterless slave only finds freedom in death.

99.

'...Please...Stop...'

100

He passed out.

...

...

...

Raph picked up the cloth that had fallen off Leo's head and turned it around in his hands, It was wet and cold and utterly useless. He halfheartedly discarded it on the nightstand and then returned to his chair.

He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this.

"Another one?"
Raph sluggishly turned his head around to look at his big sister. April was holding a tray with steaming hot soup, a few empty mugs, and a teapot. She placed the tray down next to the washcloth they had used to cool Leo off in between his episodes.
"That was the fifth one today," Raph whispered, unable to raise his voice above this volume. Was he scared of waking Leo? Not necessarily, but he liked to use it as an excuse.

Swallowing hard, Raph’s brows furrowed together and he looked at his big sister in what seemed to be defeat, “He’s getting weaker”
Every time Leo woke up, the red-eared slider would practically flail for his life, kicking and screaming to be released, all while chanting “Freedom is death” repeatedly. First, the screams had turned to whimpers, then the struggle grew weaker.

There was a moment of silence, but not because of anything, merely because Raph had more than enough to process. The only relief he was granted was a fresh intake of air that he had little to no time to cherish.
“Did the aspirin help at all?” April asked and sat down on the bed. She gently stroked Leo’s head before moving to stroking one of his red stripes, silent, no smile on her face, just staring blankly.

Time itself felt like it was slowing down around them. It was as if the only sound that existed was the feeble whimpers occasionally coming from the turtle in bed.
The silence was short-lived as Raph took a deep breath and spoke, “He’s sleeping a bit longer now, but the headaches won’t go away” He kicked the bucket they used whenever Leo doubled over, but there was nothing inside that could spill. Their poor little brother had long since emptied his stomach contents and all it came down to now was dry heaving. They had to get some food and water into Leo, or else he won’t last much longer.

It wasn’t until Raph felt a hand on his shoulder that a sense of calm overcame him. The weight atop of him had slipped off his shoulders and he looked up to meet his big sister’s brown eyes.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over this. How should we have known that freeing him would trigger some kind of suicide button?”
“Because it’s never that easy… We should have thought this through more! Why is it that every time we’re trying to help, we are somehow making it worse?”
“Woah, calm down there, Big Red” April’s hand was warmer compared to Raph’s, which duh because she was warm-blooded. Her fingers began to twitch when she attempted to entwine them and April gave her immediate younger brother a comforting squeeze, “Things are looking bad now, but we’ll make things right. We defeated the Shredder and the Krang before, we won’t fail at a stupid amulet that amplified some curses. Here, I can watch over him for a while. You go and rest a bit”

Raph shook his head, “I’m fine, I’m fine. Have the others found anything yet?”
“Splints and Barry haven’t returned yet, but I called Gentry over and she is taking a look at the amulet right now.“
“What about Mikey and Donnie?“
“They…“ April retracted her hand. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak, but she found no words.

An apologetic smile painted on Raph’s face and he got off the chair, “I’ll check on them”
“You should check on yourself, you look terrible”
“Right back at you” Raph rubbed his eye. He hadn’t slept since he found out about the curse a few days ago. Neither did April. And especially now, they couldn’t afford to leave Leo out of their sight for a single second. It was just a lot going on right now, and the exhaustion started to tug at his mind and prompted him to rest.

His vision flashed slightly, still quite out of it for the moment as he furrowed his brows, rubbing his eyes that he knew were reddened. He almost walked into the wall trying to get out the door, swaying a bit when taking the corner. In hindsight, he should have asked where the others were before leaving, since now he was left to wander around aimlessly until he ran into someone.

He could vaguely describe his surroundings as a void painted with nothing more than a delicate vacancy of an empty field. No color existed, all but the subtle vibrant hues of red and brown that whisked their way through the monochrome hallways. He was ready to sleep for a week once everything was over.

He hadn’t thought much about what he would see upon entering the living room, but what was displayed before him definitely took him aback. The room was pitch black. The only source of light came from the amulet hovering in the middle of the room, a layer of bright, neon green light encasing the amulet. More of the glowing, almost toxic-looking, green spewed out of the amulet in the form of a cloud. It seemed like the cloud tried to spread through the room, but it was contained inside a circle of salt. Weird symbols, also made out of salt, were littered around the room.
“ظشغغضض عنضههب ضعقثثسي شخضغي يأأههب” Gentry sat in front of the circle, her eyes closed and chanting something.

“What is going on in here?” The snapper turtle asked. With the dim light of green filling the room, Raph was able to make out the other residents of the room. He saw Mikey and the Casey’s, all standing at varying distances around Gentry. None of them answered him though.
“ثثسي ض ضعق يدأأششخظغيظ شغغضض!” Gentry finished, her eyes flashing a toxic green before slowly settling into a soft blue, and then the light dimmed down. She got up from where she was kneeling in front of the circle and ran a hand through her hair, “This isn’t good” The witch said.

“Why?” Raph asked worriedly, now stepping closer to the salt circle.
“No! Stay back!” Gentry warned and extended a hand, “That thing is dangerous! I don’t know what Endora and Melisandre did to this amulet. It’s been leaking magic all over your lair! You already have too much on you!”
Raph was about to ask what she meant, but then he noticed the green glow coming from his hands. It was all over him. And Mikey. And the Casey’s. All four of them were glowing green just like the amulet.

“Just- just stay still” Gentry slowly walked around him, “I can rinse you off the magic, but we still have a problem. The amulet’s been leaking magic every since Endora and Melisandre cursed it, which has been who knows how long. A lot of it has been lost to time and not even I can restore that”
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s broken” Gentry moved her hand in a circling motion and the green from his body slowly began to detach from himself and flow to Gentry, where it then quickly disappeared. “Cassandra, you’re up next. The amulet… The amulet has a lot of power, but when Endora and Melisandre cursed it, a lot of the magic got damaged, therefore, it’s not working the way it's supposed to. If it wasn’t cursed/broken, then Leonardo would have already been cured by now. As such, however, the broken amulet seemed to cure him of the speechless curse but amplified the obedience curse”

A deep frown settled on Gentry’s face, and after she got rid of the green glow surrounding Cassandra and Casey Junior, she walked over to Mikey, “You should get the others in here, they’re probably drenched in corrupted magic as well”
“But what about Leo?” Raph found himself asking. He didn’t mean to be rude, he was very grateful for all the help they could get, but if they couldn’t help Leo at the end of it, then what was the point?
“I have to see him before I can try anything. But first, I need to clean all of you. So, where is the rest? Shouldn’t Donatello be running around here somewhere?”

Right… Donnie was missing.

“I- uh…” Mikey spoke up, but his voice stayed quiet, “I can get Donnie” He wasn’t waiting for an answer and waddled out of the room. Raph noticed his baby brother flinch ever so slightly when their gazes met. It was probably for the better if he came along with him, just to make sure Donnie was okay. In all honestly, it didn’t look like that was the case.

If Mikey was annoyed or offended by Raph following him, then he didn’t say it.
The entire trip was held in complete silence.
Maybe he should ask how Donnie was handling it beforehand, it would most certainly be better than accidentally stumbling in on something bad. At the same time, it wasn’t right of him to get his information from a source that isn’t Donnie directly. He would find out for himself what was going on.

When they found him, Raph wasn’t sure how to react.

Donnie’s lab door was surprisingly opened. When Raph and Mikey peeked into the lab, they didn’t immediately see their brother. It wasn’t until they walked further into the lab and peered around the corner
Donnie sat in what the brothers have deemed as ‘Donnie’s overstimulated corner’. It was essentially a bunch of beanbag chair with their own designated colors and some blankets. It was a place where the brothers went whenever Donnie allowed them in his lab to hang out, or when Donnie got overstimulated and needed a break. Raph didn’t usually come into Donnie’s lab, but he knew that Mikey and Leo like to come in and come to the corner, mostly Leo. Raph could count the number of times that he would be looking for the twins and find them in Donnie’s lab either doing parallel play, or cuddling together underneath a bundle of blankets in Donnie’s corner

It broke Raph’s heart now as Donnie was now by himself in the corner, rocking back and forth as he held one of Leo’s blue blankets and what appeared to be Leo’s unicorn plushie close to him, staring at nothing. Raph could also hear Donnie mumbling Leo’s name. He wasn’t crying but Raph could see tears at the corners of his little brother’s eyes. Raph could feel himself close to crying seeing the state that his little brother was in
“Donnie?” Raph asked gently, blinking away his tears and anxiety, carefully approaching his little brother. There was a strange amount of shock. How bad was Donnie really taking it? He looked awful, completely disconnected from the world. This was a rarity for Donnie, but whenever he did see it, it broke his heart and he always felt clueless on what to do, as Leo was usually the best when it came to Donnie being overstimulated.

Mikey didn’t hesitate when he entered the room and walked right up to their brother.
Raph didn’t bother to say anything. Next to Leo, Mikey was the best to help Donnie. Mikey was probably the main one that Donnie allowed to have physical contact with. Sure Leo was his twin, but Donnie only recently started letting Leo get clingy with him. Mikey had always been allowed to cling to Donnie, no matter what mood Donnie was in. If anyone could get through to Donnie, it was Mikey.

Raph would say that he was jealous of Leo and Mikey’s relationship with Donnie, but honestly he wasn’t. Him and Donnie still had a good relationship, it was just a known fact that Donnie was the closest to his twin and baby brother. It just made sense that the three youngest were the closest to each other, as Raph had deemed them as the chaos trio.

However, Raph wouldn’t trade his little brothers for the world. Raph wished that he wasn’t the one to raise his brothers, but he was proud of what his little brothers have become. They were good kids. The best brothers in the whole world. His whole world honestly and a true blessing to his life. He loved them more than anything, and this was exactly why it hurt so much seeing them like this. True, Leo was the one hurting the most, but it would be a blatant lie to say that his brothers didn’t suffer alongside him. They were all suffering in their own way, and Raph had a feeling that besides Leo, Donnie was probably suffering the worst, considering that Leo was his twin

Mikey had pulled Donnie flat against his chest with arms wrapped tightly around him, face buried in his shoulder as he held him there. It took a few moments for Donnie to snap out of his trance and take note of his surroundings. Once he was caught up to what was happening, the softshell wrapped his arm around Mikey and finally let the tears fall, sobbing into his baby brother’s plastron

After the sobbing and sniffling died down, Donnie rose his head, "Thanks." He whispered.
"Anytime," Mikey replied, watching carefully as Donnie flinched against certain movements.
"Did- Did Gentry find anything?"
"She did, but first, we need to get you to her. Are you okay to stand?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine."

It was like they didn’t even realize Raph was there. Mikey took Donnie by the hand and the latter got to his feet. Then they left the room. Raph watched as they left, momentarily trapped in his own thoughts. His poor little brothers shouldn’t have to go through this. It seemed like they could never catch a break. They were all for these heroing business since the beginning. Sure Draxum, Big Mama, and eventually the Shredder made it difficult, but it didn’t dampen their mood, only seeming to increase the urge to fight. But after the Krang, the near-invasion, and almost losing Leo… He might seriously reconsider what is more important, protecting the city or protecting his family. Raph sighed. It should honestly be an easy answer. But sadly, it wasn’t. He shouldn’t break his head over it now, there were more pressing matters.

Raph returned to the living room, where Gentry was in the middle of removing the magic from Donnie’s body. Casey Junior was standing beside his mom, already freed from the corruption. Since Splinter and Draxum were currently not at the mansion, it only left 2 more people to get to.
“Do we have to bring Leo over?” Cassandra asked and fiddled with her hockey stick, with Casey Junior doing the same with his.
“Yes, I already prepared this room so no leftover magic can escape. It would be faster if you can bring him and April over here”

Raph’s eyes dimmed when the unavoidable happened, and he subconsciously took a step closer to the kitchen door, just in case Leo would randomly wake up and try to go for one of the knives again. Well, it shouldn’t come this far. April gently carried Leo into the room, but the rope that bound his little brother’s wrists together was painfully visible. In any other situation, Raph would go feral at the sight, but he knew it was needed in case Leo woke up and does… something bad.

Raph eyed Donnie as he appeared that he wanted to go feral at seeing his twin like this. Mikey whispered something to him and Donnie’s eyes went from slitted back to normal, before changing to sadness. Raph watched as Donnie walked over to Leo and cupped his twin’s cheek, gently stroking it. Raph could hear Donnie mumble something to Leo before he kissed the top of Leo’s forehead, wiping at his eyes.

The most concerning thing about Leo getting dragged into the room, however, was the neon green light he emitted. It was almost as if the glow was a floodlight. He was radian so much that he brightened up the entire room by himself. Even Gentry was shocked to see how much of that glow stuck to Leo. How Donnie didn’t notice it was surprising, although maybe he did and just didn’t want to say anything, keeping the thought to himself
When Donnie asked Gentry if she could help Leo, Gentry only flashed him a sad smile that he couldn’t decipher.

Everyone’s hope slowly washed away when they watched Gentry examining and fumbling with the cloud of green. She made the same hand motions she did earlier, trying to get rid of the glow, but once the green began to move from Leo over to her, Gentry retracted her hand with a shriek and shook it violently.
“Everything alright?“ April squeaked and was at her friend’s side in an instant, as Donnie took a hold of Leo
“It…“ Gentry looked at her hand, her palm red, “…burned me.“

“Is there any other way to remove the magic?” Raph asked, his voice low as if he was afraid of the answer. If they truly couldn’t help Leo… Then what should they do? They couldn’t keep him tied to the bed for the rest of his life. This would be torture, and Raph couldn’t live with himself if he forced Leo to get through this for longer than he had to. He let his shoulders fall as Gentry rose her voice to speak. “I can try to take some away from him but… I can’t remove it entirely, I’m sorry”

“Hey, what’s that line?” Mikey asked quietly. When everyone, including Gentry, turned to him in shock, he flinched back from the sudden attention. He hid himself partially into Raph’s side, as Raph held him gently. It gave him the courage to continue, picking his words carefully, “Look”
He pointed to a faded string of green. It was a thin thread emerging from the fog the amulet was producing and ran all the way to Leo’s hoodie.
Gentry flinched and let out a barely audible whisper, slowly approaching the string and looking at it, “This is what connects him to the amulet”
“This is the curse?”
“In a way, yes.“
“Can we cut it?“

Gentry’s face twisted and she shook her head, “No, I wouldn’t do that” She walked over to Leo, Donnie had set him down on a chair, but stayed close in case Leo began to stir. “If we cut the string, it might kill him”

The sting ended at Leo's forehead. It was connected right to his brain.

“It’s a kill-switch”
“A what now?!“
Various screams filled the room.
“What do you mean kill switch?“
“Did we do this?“
“So if we lift the curse he dies?!“

“Freedom is Death” Gentry said slowly, and somehow, this managed to shut everyone up.
“W-What?” April was the first to regain her voice, “This is the same thing Leo said when we freed him.“
“It’s what the magic says. Right here-“ She pointed at a spot on the string, but no one saw anything aside from the dim green glow. When she noticed that no one noticed it, she decided to return to the main topic, “I can’t lift the curse, but I can try to reconnect the amulet back to Leo”

“W-Why would you want to do that?” Donnie stuttered out, almost in disbelief of what the witch had just said, “How would that make anything better?”
“Well, for one, it will stop his suicide attempts, two, it would stop his suicide attempts, and three, it will stop his suicide attempts. Honestly, it’s the best you can do for him right now” Gentry crossed her arms, and shot Donnie a reproachful glance, before returning to Leo, “Listen, the best I can do is refuel his bond with the amulet. It will set him back to a slave state, but at the very least, he’s safe then. I can also try to lessen the headaches and body pain it triggers as punishment response”

Raph couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness. He didn’t like that this was their best option, at the same time, it was miles better than what was happening to Leo right now.
“Okay” He agreed, “Do it”
No one spoke up against him saying that, so he guessed that they gave gotten to the same conclusion as him.

“ضعقث ثسي يدأأشخي”
The string connecting Leo to the amulet gradually became more vibrant until it held a strong glowing shade of green. "That should’ve been it," Gentry said, slowly walking back to the amulet. A few hand movements later, the green cloud spilling from the amulet faded away, "And that should stop you guys from getting any more corrupted magic on you. At least for now." She took the amulet and inspected it in her hands, "So… Now that I’m holding the amulet, it makes me the one in command, right?"

“Yes”
With what felt like the room dropping to freezing temperatures, Raph turned his head to the side. Leo had gotten off the chair and was now kneeling on the floor like how he did when Draxum and Splinter took the amulet, just this time, his hands were tied together, making for a rather awkward bowing pose.
Raph had stumbled back, unsure if he should be happy or terrified to see Leo like this. Leo wasn’t trying to kill himself, so that was a positive.

Gentry looked from the amulet to Leo and back to the amulet, “Alright, what now- huh?“
Casey Junior pressed a piece of paper into her hand, “Here, read this. I evaluated our options and this string of commands yields the highest chance for success”

The witch frowned slightly, then lowered her gaze to read what was written, “Okay, Leonardo. I want you to go to the kitchen and drink a can of your favorite drink. Then, go to your room and take out fresh clothes. Take a shower and get dressed, then return here for lunch. Do those tasks at your own speed, I don’t want you done before the next hour, so take your time. Do you understand?” She finished and looked up from the paper. Leo had gotten to his feet and instead of the full-body bow, he was now doing one of those half-bows, the ones butlers do. “I understand”
“Oh yeah, before you do that, let us untie you first.“

The ropes were undone quickly, but Leo barely paid them any attention. The second the rope fell to the floor, the red-eared slider was making his way to the kitchen.
“I’ll go follow him and make sure nothing bad happens” Donnie offered and was already gone after Leo before Raph could object and nominate himself for that role. He didn’t feel comfortable with Leo going around on his own. They just almost lost him, and now he was heading straight for the kitchen again!

When the twins left, Raph felt alone, though the rest of his family was still present. He couldn’t quite understand the situation. It was just a lot to process. He had an anchor at some point in his life, and then that anchor snapped the second he found out about Leo’s curse, leaving him to swim in a sea of his demise. His thoughts. His anger. His sorrow.

His guilt.

He was left in a hesitant state and found himself swimming through his thoughts idly. He was falling through time itself in a starlit masquerade that graced him with all but a little bit of solace, feeling nothing but the cold air around him as he stared up into the endless sea.

“I would advise you to stop speaking for now, at least until Sen…I mean Leo is finished with his current tasks. We don’t know yet if the amulet can transmit orders to him, and it would be unfavorable if we call him out of the shower by accident” Casey Junior said, and lead Gentry to the table. Gentry didn’t complain, accepting that she has to stay mute for a while until they found a way to successfully avoid giving out commands at random.

With Leo out of the room, the amulet was the only thing glowing now, and also the only source of light. They all sat down at the table one after the other, waiting for what to do next. The stares were mostly directed at Casey Junior, since Gentry couldn’t talk at the moment.

“I think our best path of option would be to prepare dinner for when Leo returns.“ Casey Junior folded his hands in front of him and looked over at Mikey, “I trust in you that you know best what to make for him”
“Of course” The box turtle responded, turning around just in time to see the twins exit the kitchen and head to Leo’s next task.
No one dared to speak for the minute that followed.

“If we don’t do anything…” April spoke first, but her whispers were quiet and barely audible, “…Leo stays a slave. But if we remove the curse… It might kill him”
“What can we do?” Mikey whispered just as quietly. Raph reacted fast and pulled his two remaining siblings into a hug, hoping he could give at least some comfort.
Cassandra fiddled with the tablecloth, “If not even Gentry can undo the magic, then who can?”

“Maybe the one that put it there in the first place?“
Raph didn’t realize he was talking, but when suddenly everyone was staring at him with wide eyes, he knew he had said something important.
“Well that will be Endora and Melisandre. Unfortuantely, they won’t be much help since…you know” April said in a bitter tone

Gentry seemed to be writing something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Casey Junior. CJ grabbed the paper and read what Gentry wrote “Gentry saids that there is a very powerful witch that sort of acts like a fairy godmother. She is like the head witches of all witches. She can undo any spell or curse that has been done by any witch, good or bad”

This got everyone excited. “Well that’s great!” Raph exclaimed. “Who is she and where do find her?” Mikey asked

Gentry woke down more stuff on the piece of paper before handing it back to Casey Junior. “Her name is Eliza. Gentry is not so sure where she lives as she hasn’t been seen for many years. Many believe that she just vanished. Others believe that she is now human and lives her days in the real world. However, Gentry likes to believe that she is half human and half fairy, traveling back and forth to both the real world and the fairy world as she pleases, helping anyone who has been wrongfully done by witches”
“Well, wherever she is, we have to find her” Cassandra let go of the tablecloth, “This is the only way to save Leo”

It was a blunt request, but it was also the only real lead they got on how to break the curse. They all nodded at each other.

“Let’s go find Eliza and pay her a visit”

Chapter Text

Things had meagerly begun to calm down for them, and here they were, all sitting on the long kitchen table, watching Leo in the dimly lit room
Leo was still a bit wet from the shower, his hand trembled as he eagerly shoved another spoon full of stew into his mouth, chewing on the vegetables before swallowing them down. Leo was looking a bit more alive, a bit more present, a bit less likely to fall over due to exhaustion and weakness. It was most definitely a nice change from him thrashing around in bed and pleading for death. It was almost calm like this.

Almost.

“Were you able to get into contact with Eliza?” April asked hopefully when Gentry returned from the Hidden City after a short time. Gentry sadly shook her head "I unfortunately wasn’t able to. My magic is not strong enough to locate her. And I don’t have anything in my shop that could be used to locate her”

“You can’t use any kind of locater spell or anything?” Mikey asked. Gentry sighed sadly. “I could, if Eliza was an ordinary witch. Unfortunately, because of how powerful she is, and the kind of witch that she is, I can’t do it”

Donnie clenched his fists as he took a shaky breath. “Do you think that…Endora and Melisandre might have something in their shop that could help locate Eliza?” Donnie didn’t want to use those crazy witches magic, but it could help them find Eliza and save Leo…then he was willing to try anything

Gentry seem to consider it for a minute before shaking her head. “Even if they did, there is no way that I…or anyone one of else should be going back there. Most of their things did get destroy in the fight, except for the amulet. The only hope that we have now is hoping that Eliza is somewhere here in the human world and we can find her that way”

They’ve been doing this for a while. Trying to find some beginning or end of a plan that they could execute. They slowly gathered more and more information, but nothing really lead them anywhere.
The night came faster than they would have wanted. Splinter and Draxum still hadn’t returned, and the family was at their wit's end.

They decided to leave it at that for the day and continue working on a solution the next day.

Donnie took his tablet with him to bed. He wasn’t tired enough to sleep, even though the dark circles forming under his eyes begged the difference. As long as Leo was stuck under that curse, he couldn’t allow himself to sleep. He would be hugging the coffee machine right now if he could, but his siblings had stored it away to prevent that exact outcome.

A yawn escaped his beak and he rubbed at his tired eyes. The bright light on the screen started to sting, and the words blurred together.
Donnie felt his eyelids slowly falling close and he had to shake his head to get them to open again.

Donnie went to his own room and stared at his bed for a moment, before his eyes drifted to the room across from him. Donnie gathered his pillows and blankets and carried them across the hall to Leo’s room. Once he arrived, he quietly arranged his pillows and blankets, so that he wouldn’t wake up Leo. When he was done, he had made a small nest of sorts

Donnie laid his head down on his soft pillow and bring his blankets up to his chin. He tried to assure himself that it was okay to fall asleep. Soft snores coming from the bed beside him assured him that Leo was sleeping peacefully and that there won’t be another situation of him disappearing to the kitchen and grabbing a knife to-
Donnie shook his head again. He didn’t want to sleep until Leo was better. He couldn’t risk another mistake like this happening. If they hadn’t reacted in time then Leo would be… gone. Again. Just like that. It was terrifying.

Never in his life had he felt so miserable. Not even when he thought he lost his twin forever to the prison dimension

Leo’s been suffering for so long, and their last try to fix him almost got him killed.
They had to literally tie him to the bed to stop him from dying. It was horrible. Donnie wanted to erase that entire memory from his brain.

A creak coming from behind him managed to snap him back awake. He must have started to doze off again. Blinking the fog from his eyes, he slowly started to make out the shape of his baby brother standing in the doorway.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize that you were in here. I see that you are keeping an eye on Leo. I’ll…I’ll just leave now” Mikey sounded so sad and so timid. It broke Donnie’s heart
"Hey no it’s ok Angelo. I…I could really use the company and for someone to help me watch Leo," Donnie answered, rubbing at his eyes again to stop them from closing. He found himself smiling slightly at his baby brother and he rose the blanket as a silent invitation. Mikey's gaze flooded with appreciation and he crawled under the blanket, cuddling up next to Donnie.

"What if we can't fix it?" Mikey didn't whisper when he spoke, but his words were carried away by the wind until there was nothing left but silence. There was a sudden sense of unease settling in the room, and the brothers stared at each other for a heartfelt moment. Not wishing to further sadden things, Donnie began to chew at the inside of his cheek as he kept his eyes trained upon his younger brother. He didn't want to admit that he wasn't sure if there was a solution to their problem. There might be a chance they won't get Leo back to normal and then... Donnie wasn't sure what he would do then.
"It's going to be okay," Donnie mumbled, gaining a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from his brother.

Oh, well, a little denial never hurt anyone too bad.

Mikey gently put his arms around him, and Donnie returned the gesture. They both needed that reassurance.
"I miss him," Mikey mumbled, placing his head against Donnie's chest and listening to his heartbeat.
"Me too," Donnie whispered back. He missed hearing Leo’s laugh, or the exciting tone in his voice whenever he was telling them a joke. Oh gosh, what Donnie wouldn’t give to hear one of Leo’s jokes, no matter how bad they were. He not just missed seeing Leo safe, but also happy and carefree. He missed Leo being…well Leo. He missed his twin more than words could describe
Needless to say, he missed the sense of life that Leo had been deprived off for way too long,

Did he fail?
Was he a failure of a brother? As…as a twin?
As the tech genius of the family, it was his job to make sure that his family was safe. That his brothers were happy, despite of their circumstances. To protect them no matter what. And yet... Leo wasn't. The most important person in Donnie’s life and the one who he loved the most. The one who he wanted to be the happiest and the most protected.
Feeling an emptiness that was far too overwhelming in his chest, Donnie pulled his baby brother, who had fallen asleep by now, closer to him. Slowly, he noticed his eyelids falling shut again, and he decided it was for the better to give in to the darkness.

...

...

...

Today was a new day, or so Donnie would have liked to think. The moment he awoke, he was uncertain as to how long he had even been asleep, laying in his small nest with his baby brother trapping him in a full-body hug

He gave himself the needed time to wake up properly before shaking Mikey awake.
Mikey first protested being woken, then reluctantly pried his eyes open and looked around. "Oh." He said and slowly untangled himself from his big brother.

So, another day had begun. Hopefully, this was the day something about their situation would change.

Donnie would soon regret that wish.

The two youngest slowly got up, throwing a quick glance at the bed to see if Leo was still asleep. He wasn’t.

The world was meant to be safe, or so he thought. Sure, they faced evil villains and won against an almost alien invasion, but it always worked out for them in the end. For some reason, this one was much worse than all the mortal danger he had found himself in before. He couldn’t quite explain why. It wasn’t like this was the first time where Leo’s life was in danger. All 4 brothers had their fair share of near-death experiences, definitely more than any sane person would consider healthy. Yet, this one somehow was the one that managed to make his blood freeze and his bones rattle.

"It will be okay," Donnie whispered, his voice trembling with a plea. He wanted things to be okay. To be normal for once.

Together with Mikey, he walked down the hall to get breakfast. He had half hoped to see Leo sitting there and eating, but the kitchen was swept clean of anyone. Maybe he was following Gentry around somewhere. Donnie tried to not think about it while he rummaged through the fridge for anything eatable, since Mikey said that he really wasn’t in the mood for cooking anything. They still had some leftover stew, but he somehow didn’t feel like eating anything warm, and cold stew was bland. He went with cereal and got him and his baby brother a bowl and spoon.

Donnie poured the cereal and milk into his bowl, but the second he dibbed his spoon in, he noticed that he wasn’t really hungry. Now it was too late to push the bowl away though, and so he ate as much as he could handle and put the bowl with whatever he was too full to swallow to the side. Maybe he would be hungrier later, though he doubted that.

He waited until Mikey was done too before leaving the table. Maybe he could try to find the others and brainstorm ideas on how to find Eliza? Or maybe he could look for Leo… make sure he was safe. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Leo had to be around here somewhere, it shouldn't be too hard to find him.

He’d planned to check the guest room, but just as he was about to leave the kitchen, Leo walked in and passed them
"Leo?" Donnie asked, expecting a reaction but knew he wouldn’t get one. Out of curiosity, though mostly out of fear, he followed Leo. He felt his muscles tense, his eyes already trained on the drawer where they stored the knives to check if it was still closed.
His shoulders seemed to slump in relief when he saw Leo simply putting the kettle on the stove and heating it up. Just making tea, nothing bad or scary about that.

Aside from the fact that Leo only drank tea when he was at his lowest

Donnie felt his hands clench to fists.

He reassured himself that Leo wouldn't go for the knives the second his back was turned and then set out to find Gentry.

Donnie didn’t care if it counted as a harmless request, he refused to let others toy with his twin like this. If it wasn’t helping Leo, then they shouldn’t give him that command. Leo wasn’t their pawn. He accepted using the amulet to make sure Leo ate and slept because those things were important, and Donnie knew Leo wasn’t minding those too much, since he was hungry and tired and that was obvious.

Maybe it was the fear in Leo’s eyes that wouldn’t leave his mind, his twin looking at him in need of safety. The amulet might have forced his twin to hide his emotions, but Donnie could still feel them. The fear and loneliness Leo was feeling were unbearable, those emotions seeped over to him and made him anxious. It wasn’t just the physical damage he was afraid of, Donnie was worried about the mental consequences this entire ordeal would carry along. Leo wasn’t okay, and the longer he was stuck like this, the worse it would get.

Donnie wasn't sure how much more of this he could take before breaking.

He grabbed Mikey and headed for the door. Only Mikey, him, Raph, and April should have this power over Leo. Only Leo’s siblings should be able to use the amulet and have this power over Leo. Donnie didn’t trust anyone but them to handle the amulet

Screaming erupted from the living area, causing him to stop in his tracks for just a second, before rushing out to check what was going on.

Splinter and Draxum had returned.

And it didn't go smoothly at all.

Their dad had thrown Gentry to the floor and was now wrestling with her, trying to grab the amulet. The screaming had lured the remaining residents of the lair out of their rooms and drawn them to the living area , just in time to witness the fight.

"What are you doing?!" Cassandra screeched, trying to figure out what happened and who to help.
"I don’t know," her son quickly answered, currently trying to intervene in the fight with little success, "Master Splinter suddenly jumped at her!"

Meanwhile, the fight has gotten more violent.
"Let go of that amulet!" Splinter sneered, pulling at the magical artifact to pry it out of Gentry’s hands. The witch pulled back even harder now, "Are you crazy? You let go of it!" She shouted back.
"You have no idea what you are doing!"
"Oh, I know plenty what I’m doing. You need to back off, old rat!"
"Put that amulet down!"
"Never!"
Everyone was now involved in the fight in one way or the other. For the most part, they tried to pull Gentry and Splinter away from each other.

Donnie, on the other hand, had turned around and ran away from the fight. He had different things on his mind. "Leo?!" He called out, running back to the kitchen to check up on his twin. Leo had grabbed onto the kitchen counter for support, his other hand clenched the fabric of his hoodie as he breathed heavily. The kettle had fallen off the stove, boiling water spilled all over the floor. Leo was shaking like a leaf, looking around frantically until his and Donnie’s gaze met.

"It’s okay." Donnie tried to sound reassuring, but the quiver in his voice gave away his uncertainty. He took a step forth to wrap his twin in a hug, but just as he was about to close his arms around Leo-
"Leonardo, get over here!"
That was Gentry.
Donnie felt his mouth go dry. He wanted to say something, but his mind drew a blank. The only thing he could perceive was Leo’s broken eyes shooting him a look that screamed 'Help me!’ before his twin made his way out of the kitchen. Donnie didn’t waste a second and followed him.

"The amulet is leaking magic!" Splinter yelled, trying to fight his way out of April’s grip.
They had managed to separate him and Gentry from each other, but both were still vigorously struggling, ready to get back at each other’s throats.

"We already know that!" April said, managing to pull Splinter further away, "Gentry has freed us from it, it’s fine, we fixed it!"
But Splinter had none of that. "No! That amulet wasn’t broken to begin with! It’s a trap!”
"Just- calm- down!" April pushed him to the other end of the room, while the Casey’s were doing the same thing to Gentry.

"Now, can you tell us what the heck is going on here?"
"The amulet… It’s a fake” Draxum said calmly, opening his mouth for the first time since the whole ordeal began
"It’s a WHAT?!" Mikey, who had helped pull Splinter away, suddenly jumped up, taking a step back, "What do you mean it’s fake?!"
"Fake! Not the real thing! A replica! Lou and I figured it out when we went to the Hidden City library. Those blasted witches knew what they were doing when they left that amulet. They must have took the real one with them before their shop was destroyed. It’s been a trap from the beginning." The sheepman answered
"A trap?" The box turtle echoed, "You’re saying that those witches wanted Leo to become like… like this?"
"I believe that the amulet was more so intended for Donatello, since he was the one the witches were after. However, because Leonardo was the one who took the hit…” Splinter didn’t need to finish that thought as everyone knew what that meant. Now Donnie felt even more guilty for what was happening to his twin

“But one thing is for sure” Draxum continued “This is amulet is not the real one designed for these curses. It’s a dangerous copy of it with a built-in flaw. It’s too dangerous for anyone to handle now!" And with that, Draxum looked over at Gentry, "So hand it over. It’s for the best."

"Oh, no no no." Gentry refused, putting the amulet around her neck and in the same motion, pulling Leo closer, "Everything you tried to do so far only served to hurt Leonardo! He is much safer with me! Besides, I took care of the leaking magic, there is nothing to worry about. The amulet is safer with me”
Draxum raised a pugnacious brow, "Oh yeah? Then you don’t mind me checking the amulet for leaking magic, do you?"
"You’re not getting the amulet, it’s mine."

"But, if there is nothing to worry about anymore, there is no harm in letting him have a look?" Cassandra tried to mediate, not wanting to choose between Draxum and Gentry.
The room fell silent, everyone was waiting for some sort of reaction. Gentry stared back at them, leveling each with a cold stare, before pressing both the amulet and Leo closer to her. "No." She hissed, "I keep the amulet."

"Gentry?" Now even April wasn’t so sure about things anymore. She shot her friend a concerned glance, walking slowly towards her as she slowly reaching for the amulet, "Maybe you shouldn't-"
"Don’t touch my amulet!"
Gentry violently pushed April back, hissing and snarling, "It’s mine! My amulet!"

They all took a collective step back.

"Gentry?" April asked again, this time more in shock. She shifted uncomfortably and got to her feet again after being shoved down so harshly.
"Stay away from her." Raph said sternly, slowly approaching the witch, "Gentry, calm down, just put down the amulet-"
"No! You stay away from me!"

While they argued, Gentry missed the subtle movement behind her. Splinter had moved to her blind spot, and before she had the time to react, snatched the amulet from around her neck. It didn't remain in his hands for long though, as Gentry turned around in an instant and lunched at him, yelling and demanding the amulet back.

The fight broke out anew, this time even more violent than before. They rolled over the floor and tore down anything that was in their way. The amulet got thrown back and forth, and with it, so did Leo.

Leo yelped whenever the amulet changed hands, it was almost as something crashed into him full force, knocking the air out of the poor turtle and forcing him to his knees.

Donnie watched in horror as his twin went down tearing at his skin as he did twice before now. He was surprised Leo didn’t have more scars than he did now.
At this moment, time stopped and Donnie could feel his pulse in his ears.

Twice had been enough to haunt him in his dreams. A third time… It broke him. His calm and rational demeanor shattered into thousands of pieces like a mirror. He felt exposed, nothing in his brain worked the way it was supposed to. He was suffering a complete meltdown. "STOP! JUST STOP!" He screamed, falling to his knees as he could do nothing but helplessly watch.

The chaos only seemed to increase. The two fighting have somehow managed to roll themselves through the open door into the kitchen. It was still partially darkened from the magic cleansing the day before, and the second they entered the room, it illuminated with a strong light coming from both. They both were just as radiant as Leo was the day before. And just like with Leo, there was a string of magic connecting them with the amulet.

While most of them rushed after them to hopefully stop the fight, Donnie and Mikey stayed back.
"Leo!" Mikey called, dropping down next to his big brother and hugging him. There was no exchange of words, only a one-sided hug. It became a struggle short after. Leo tried to get up and leave, probably because the amulet was getting too far out of reach, but Mikey wouldn’t let go of him.

Leo’s quiet sobs coursed through Donnie’s veins like a wildfire, igniting a spark of retaliation from the softshell as he’d swallowed the lump in his throat to slowly get up on his shaking legs. He joined Mikey in his task of hugging the pain away, but it did little and the agonizing cries only worsened. Leo was actively fighting his way out of the hug, desperate to free himself.
"Please…" he whispered quietly, it was barely audible, "…It hurts…”

Donnie took a moment to steady himself, before slowly easing up on the hug. He didn’t let go of Leo though, he still held his twin tightly by the hand. He would never ever let go of his precious twin. Not until they have the cure to Leo’s condition. As it appeared, Mikey had the same strand of thought, because Leo was now carefully guided by both of his brothers. Donnie felt horrible. He felt like he was leading Leo into the lion’s den, to his doom.

Inside the kitchen, the fight had gone off the rails. The table and multiple chairs had been knocked off in the brawl, and both Splinter and Gentry had nasty bruises forming. The fighting, which were merely a giant ball of blinding green light, crashed into a shelve and knocked down a vase, which shattered loudly once it hit the floor.

Occasionally, Cassandra or April would try to pry them off of each other, only to get a fist or a foot to the face. Splinter and Gentry fought like wild animals about to mangle each other.

At one point, they both lost their grip on the amulet and it skated across the floor.

Everyone just stared at each other for a tense second.

Gentry was the first to dive for it, eager to reunite with the object, but she was promptly tackled to the floor by Splinter.
"No one touches that amulet! Everyone that encounters it gets cursed!" He yelled, just as Gentry fought her way free. Now April and Draxum rushed at the witch, forming a wall in front of her and preventing her from reaching the amulet.
"Wait-" April gasped, "But what about you?”

The green light he was emitting was almost as bright as the one around Leo and Gentry.
There was yet another light source in the form of Draxum, who similar to Splinter, never had the chance to get cleansed of magic, though his light was much weaker than the one of the other three.
"I still have control over myself!" Splinter yelled, "Just make sure she doesn’t get that amulet again!“

Gentry snarled at that phrase. Her hands began to glow a light and friendly blue, just like any other time she used magic, but soon that aura turned into a neon green, as did her eyes. "Get out of my way!" She screeched, using telekinesis to throw her human friend and the sheepman in front of her to the side.
"Gentry, stop!" Cassandra pleaded, throwing herself at Gentry from behind. For a moment they both struggled.

"Give me my amulet!"
Sending out a shockwave, Gentry successfully sent everyone in the room to their knees. She dusted herself off, breathing heavily.
"Finally," she huffed, leaning forward and picking up the amulet. Donnie watched in defeat as Leo got up next to him, approaching Gentry against his will.

It was impossible. How could they win? Was there even a way to win? Apparently, that amulet wasn’t even the real amulet. Could they fix it at all? Maybe there truly wasn’t a way to save Leo…

"Oh, what a doozy."
Gentry, as well as everyone else, whipped her head around to locate that voice.
Gentry yelled as a pair of strong, green arms wrapped around her and forced her to drop the amulet.
"Let go of me!" She roared, trying to fight her way out of Raph’s grip.
"I’m afraid I can’t do that. You crossed the line when you hurt my family, so I will be taking that amulet, and you are not allowed in our home ever again." And with that, Raph nodded his head at Draxum, who immediately opened a portal to who knows where. Using all of his strength, Raph threw Gentry into the portal, her screams echoing as the portal closed

"Raphie, our savior!" Mikey exclaimed as he ran up to hug his big brother, "We don’t have much time." Draxum said, "She will find her way back here sooner rather than later. The lair is no longer a safe place to stay at. We have to leave, immediately."

"Leave?" April asked dubiously "Leave where? We still don’t know anything!"
"Our plans haven’t changed. Find Eliza, make her dispel the curse." The sheepman answered, helping a dazed Casey Junior to his feet.
Donnie slowly approached Leo, who stood stone still next to the amulet. "Leo?" He asked, but received no answer.

Then, a flash of blue appeared and the walls of the lair exploded.

Debris crumbled off the sides of the now giant hole. Smoke and dust filled the room and brought the topside sunlight with it. The green lights from inside faded now that the darkness was gone.

Gentry hovered a few feet up in the air, a green aura surrounding both of her hands. She looked like she was about to tear the entire lair to the ground.
"Run!" Splinter yelled,
"What about you?" April threw back, on her feet, and ready to make the sprint. The Casey’s were already backing up and retreating, while everyone else was waiting for further instructions.
"Draxum and I will hold her off. We’re already infected anyway, it’s only a matter of time before either of us turns! You need to get Leonardo to somewhere safe and figure things out from there."
"But how are we going to find a solution without you?!" Raph spoke up, trying to run towards his dad and help, but he was pushed back, "Your brothers need you! Make sure they are safe."

Splinter just barely dodged a beam of magic that was fired at him. The beam burned through the floor and ignited a spark. Green flames slowly began to spread throughout the entire room. Gentry was rushing for the amulet again, but Draxum crashed into her and threw her to the ground.
"Hurry!"

It was the last straw. April grabbed Donnie and Mikey ushering them out to the garage and towards the Turtle Tank. Raph was about to take Leo, but when he grabbed his younger brother, he didn’t move an inch. The flames were closing in on them fast. "Leo, come!" Raph pleaded, tugging at Leo and literally dragging him. They made it to the door when Leo suddenly snapped as if he was woken from a dream. And he snapped literally. At Raph.
The snapper flinched and pulled back, looking at his bleeding hand and the bite mark Leo’s beak had left.
"Leo!" He yelled, watching as his little brother ran back into the flames. Back to the amulet.

"What is taking you so long?" April called from behind. The engine of the Turtle Tank was running. They were ready for takeoff. Another magic beam blasted through the air. The roof was slowly coming down.
"Hurry up!" Splinter screamed though the battle noise was too loud to understand.
"I’m trying!" Raph returned the yelling and rushed after Leo. He tried to grab his younger brother again, the flames starting to pick at his scales. Leo hissed, snapping at his hand again, but this time Raph managed to avoid the attack.
"Leo, please!"

The fire grew bigger and hotter. More debris was falling off the ceiling and crashing down on them. The fight in the background grew louder, it sounded like Gentry was winning.
"Raph! Leo!" April rushed back in, "Come on already!"
"Leo can’t leave the amulet!" Raph shouted back.
"Shoot" Breathed April, summing up Raph’s feelings succinctly.

Smoke filled the air. It became harder to breathe.
Another blast of magic brought half the lair crumbling down. The sound of everything crashing against the earth was deafening. They couldn’t wait any longer. Either they leave now, or they get crushed to death.

Della looked around in a panic. Then something caught her eye. "Raph, take Leo, I get the amulet! Trust me, I have a plan!"
She didn’t wait around for her brother to ask questions and jumped through the fire. Some of her hari began to singe and turn black. The flames licked at her. Biting through it, she stumbled over to the fallen furniture and ribbed the tablecloth off the table. Then she rushed back and wrapped it around the amulet. Hopefully, this was enough.

She picked up the amulet, praying the cloth will prevent the magic from reaching her, and yelled at Raph, "Run!"
Just then, another part of the lair came down. April barely avoided it, but her leg got caught under it! She hissed in pain, dropping the amulet. April kicked at the debris holding her down, biting her tongue when pain began rushing through her entire body. The flames came closer and closer, and for a moment, she believed she saw her life flash before her eyes.

Then, things turned from disastrous to catastrophic.
"My amulet!" Gentry cheered, picking up the magical object and inspecting it. And just as fast as she gained it, it was taken from her again.

Draxum had emerged from the fight and had thrown a well-aimed punch at Gentry. The witch saw stars for a second and then crushed to the floor.

The sheepman then turned to April, "Hold on," he said, lifting the wooden pillar that had fallen on her leg and holding it up until April managed to wiggle out.
"Can you stand?" Draxum asked, picking up the tablecloth and wrapping it around the amulet after it fell off.
"Y-Yeah-" April mumbled, trying to get up, but after applying the tiniest bit of presser to her leg, she crumbled down with a hiss, "Okay, no. No. Ah-!“
"Hold still."
With one swoop, Draxum lifted up April and threw her over his shoulder.

With the amulet in their possession, and everyone, including the ones that stayed back to fight, out of the danger zone, Draxum and April rushed out of the burning lair, Raph followed closely behind, carrying Leo.

They made it to the Turtle Tank and closed the hatch.
"Apes!" Donnie jumped up and rushed to them.
"I’m okay, Dee, just drive us away from here!"
"What about the others?"
Draxum put April down as he made a portal. Back to the burning lair. "Lou and I will try to buy you as much time as we can” Before Draxum could step into the portal, he was crushed by a sobbing Mikey. “No Father, please. Don’t leave. We can’t lose you” Draxum petted Mikey head and wiped away a tear, as he butted heads with his youngest son. “It’s alright Michelangelo” he then turned his attention to everyone else “You have to leave, now! Get Leonardo somewhere safe. Good luck"

And with that, Draxum stepped through his portal and closed it, ignoring the dreadful sobs coming from his youngest son

Not even a minute later, Donnie drove the Turtle Tank away from the lair and out into the city.
The further away from the lair they got, the more breathable the air seemed to become.
"We made it out." Raph huffed, looking through the window and staring at the cloud of smoke in the distance.
"We did," April affirmed, currently sitting on the side and getting her leg checked out by Casey Junior. "It’s broken”
"Wonderful." Her face contorts, whether in physical or emotional pain, they didn’t know.

"So… What now?" Donnie asked from the driver seat, putting the plane into auto-pilot before walking over to where his brothers sat.
Leo was shaking, badly. And so was Mikey. Things just got worse and worse for them. Donnie sat down next to his brothers, throwing his arms around them and pulling both into a hug. Neither of the three made a peep. They simply sat in total silence. Raph eventually came over to them and the three younger turtles leaned on their big brother, his comforting chirps and churrs being soothing to them

Cassandra sat with them too, but a bit to the side. "I thought things could finally get better now…" She mumbled.
"This was not supposed to happen." April said as she slowly leaned onto Casey Junior’s shoulder for comfort. It was simple, but the motion was soaked in defeat.

The truth was, they had no idea what to do now.
They had no lead, no nothing.

They just knew that if they don’t find a solution quick…

…The amulet would soon find a way to control them all…

Chapter Text

The mood was, to say the least, gloom.

No one had said a word since they took to the streets, and from the looks of it, that wouldn’t change anytime soon.

Everyone was fighting their own fight with themselves, be it one of guilt, or in April’s case, the fight to move around without wincing from the pain.

They all were struggling with how to handle the situation. Usually, Draxum would be the one to step up and take the word, and Splinter was the one that always calmed down and made the stressful situations a little easier to bear. Without them, how were they supposed to win this? Was there any hope left for them? Would he just be stuck like this for the end of his days? Forced to be the puppet of whoever ended up with that forsaken staff?

His brothers haven’t left his side yet. Raph was propped against the back of the driver’s chair, with all of his little brothers held gently in his lap, trying his best to not fall asleep. Mikey was already asleep, leaning heavily on Raph’s right arm. Leo was in the middle, with Donnie on his left side. His twin had one arm wrapped around him, pressing his thumb along Leo’s pulse point. His other hand was gently stroking one of Leo’s red stripes, his gaze sorely focused on Leo. It gave him the slightest bit of warmth. They lost their two dad’s and Gentry already, but at least his brothers were still with him. He wouldn’t know what to do without them.

A small hitch in Donnie’s breath brought Leo’s attention back. He felt Donnie leaned his forehead against his as he tried to bring him closer. He could hear Donnie mumbling underneath his breath. It wasn’t loud enough for Raph or Mikey to hear, but Leo could hear, and even feel, his twin’s sorrows as Donnie repeatedly mumbled ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’. One of Donnie’s tears managed to drip down onto his shoulder

Leo wished that he could comfort his twin. He wished that he could cling to Donnie and tell him that none of this was his fault. That he loved Donnie so much. That Donnie was his everything and that things would be ok

However, Leo knew that it couldn’t happen and it broke his heart into pieces that he couldn’t bring any sort of comfort to Donnie. Or to any of his brothers for that matter

Leo found out that without anyone actively using the amulet, he was locked into standby. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t express himself in any way. All he had the power to move were his eyes, and even that was limited to glancing around the Turtle Tank. He used that to look around and analyze, though his observations would remain his thoughts and his thoughts alone.

In his entire life, Leo had never felt this hopeless before.

His body was itching and aching. His hands still hurt from the burns he had received just a few days ago, the bandage around his neck covering the ugly cut he had inflicted himself was put on way too tight, and every time he swallowed, he felt it press deeper into his throat. He hadn’t much trouble with headaches ever since he came on to the Turtle Tank, but he wasn’t expecting the peace to last for much longer. He was hungry and needed something to drink. Not to mention sleep. He could sleep for a month and would still be tired.

Right now, he just felt so drained that he couldn’t care less about his inability to move. All he wanted to do, besides comfort Donnie, was lay back and soak in the false silence of the world, letting the soft edges of static lick at his subconscious.
It was like he wasn't even there. Like he was floating. Hovering above the clouds, watching as everything happened below him. Like everything just continued without him. And somehow, it did.

At this point, he wasn’t even sure who his current master was. Was it still Gentry? He didn’t have to bow to either April or Draxum when they got the amulet, but he shouldn’t get his hopes up just yet. Every time he thought they were making progress, destiny would slab him in the face, yelling “YIKES!“, and quickly rained more disaster onto him. Nothing they tried had worked out so far. If anything, things were just getting worse and worse as the seconds ticked on.

But- when everything looks bleak and hope was about to be lost, there was only one person to step up and take charge.

Well, normally that would be Leo. He was like that during the invasion, when he had to step up and be a leader

Now, he was out of commission. The task now fell to Leo’s second in command. The former leader and his big brother

Raph gently placed his little brothers down, which woke Mikey up. Donnie held on to Leo even tighter as Raph let go of them, all eyes now on the giant snapper turtle

“Okay everybody, listen up” Raph spoke, his tone determined, “We can’t keep getting surprised like this, we need a fail-proof plan and we need it quick. The best course of action right now is to seek shelter until we can get this sorted out. Cass, take us to Todd’s Puppy Palace. His place is on the far outskirts of the city and I know that he will let us seek refuge. Once we get there, we can take the next course of action!“
“Yes, Red!” Cassandra replied, saluting her friend before spinning around in Donnie’s chair. Donnie had shut off the auto pilot and Cassandra had taken over the steering, punching in the coordinates to Todd’s place.

Raph turned his attention to his siblings. Casey Junior had his arms around April, who out of everyone, looked the most beaten down. It made sense because April was the closest to Gentry, with Gentry slowly becoming one of her best yokai friends, just like Sunita. Losing Gentry like this must have hit her a lot harder than it did any of the rest. The brothers weren’t the only ones that were mourning a loss. Gentry wasn’t dead, but just like Leo, she wasn’t herself anymore.

Speaking of Leo, he was surrounded by his little brothers. Mikey was clinging to Leo’s right side, his eyes more so on Raph then Leo, but still taking comfort in the fact that Leo was still here. Donnie…oh gosh, Donnie just looked downright miserable. Probably close to the same level that April was

It made sense. Leo was Donnie’s twin, afterall. Donnie never liked to see Leo hurt and Raph was sure that Donnie could feel his twin’s pain and sorrow. It hurt more because Raph also knew how much Donnie like to fix things. It was probably breaking Donnie’s heart that he couldn’t fix this. Couldn’t find any solution to help his twin. It shown on his face with Donnie’s eyes looking sorrowfully at Leo, tears slowly leaking from the purple twin’s face.

What was haunting most of all was that Leo was not reacting to anything that was happening around him. Not to Donnie crying against him and his gentle touches on his face, not to Mikey clinging against him, not even to Raph’s booming voice. Nothing. It was like Leo wasn’t even there

Raph’s face soften as he stood before them, “I know this is hard on us all, but we will pull through this. Remember, we are Hamatos. Anatawa Hitorijanai. We can get through this, I promise, just fight for a little bit longer”

The small smiles he received in return echoed his sentiment. Still, the tenseness relaxes slightly. As long as they had Raph, their big brother, there was hope left. The oldest brother took a deep breath, and turned to April, “Once we found a way to help Leo, I’m sure we can get Gentry back too. She is a strong girl, she will recover from this, you need to have faith in her”
“I…” his sister was still staring holes into the floor, “I didn’t think anything could go wrong. I thought she would be safe from the curse’s effects. I- I would have never let her touch that thing if I knew this could happen…"
“It’s thanks to Gentry and you that the rest of us have a second chance to save Leo. You didn’t know this could happen, and neither did any of us” The snapper turtle provided solace, “I will make sure that Gentry will make it out of this alright, I promise”

April finally raised her head to look up at him. Her eyes were glassy from unshed tears. Casey Junior still had his arms wrapped around her, trying to make the situation a little less terrible. April wiped at her eyes, “I… I wish I could be of more help”
“You can” Raph responded, “I need you and CJ to keep an eye on the amulet. Make sure that Leo stays far away from it. Got it?”
Hesitantly, his sister and new brother nodded their heads. This would hopefully get their minds off their bleak situation for a moment

Raph then turned back to his little brothers

Donnie was gently patting Leo’s head while mumbling words that were supposed to be soothing, but due to the panic and hitch in his voice, did little to comfort any of them. Donnie had also seemed to move Leo and Mikey into his arms, rocking them back and forth. Mikey held Leo’s hand and rubbed his thumb over it, slowly and lovingly. Leo laid motionless in Donnie’s arms, staring at nothing until Raph came around and his gaze rose by the tiniest of inches.

Anyone that was paying attention would see Raph’s shoulder fall slightly when he confronted his brothers. To think how much can change in so little time…

“Boys” Raph said softly and kneeled before them, grabbing Leo by the shoulder and squeezing reassuringly, “Be honest with me… How are you taking it?”
His little brothers barely reacted. Donnie stopped in his patting and rocking for a second, before getting back to it, now with faster strokes, though his rocking did slow a bit. Mikey’s face got a bit tenser and he clasped Leo’s hand just a little harder. It was all Raph needed to see to understand. It was bad. A lot worse than he could have imagined.
“We’re okay” Donnie tried. It sounded unconvincing, especially with the tears continuing to fall down Donnie’s face.
“You’re not” Raph said, letting go of Leo’s shoulder to cup Donnie’s face in one hand, and Mikey’s face in the other, “And it’s okay not to be. You shouldn’t be okay. This is a lot, and you’re allowed to feel bad”

Donnie tried to smile, but it was as unconvincing as his earlier words. The smile soon dropped, and more tears spilled out of his eyes. Raph wiped Donnie’s tears away with his thumb, “You’re allowed to feel this way, you don’t have to be strong for Leo or Mikey. Let it out." And with those words, Raph had successfully opened the floodgates. Donnie didn’t say a word, but the heavy sobs and hitched breathing spoke paragraphs.

Mikey reached out to pull Donnie into an embrace, trying his best to not disturb Leo, who still lay in the middle of them.
Raph sighed quietly, needing a moment to compose himself before he spoke, “We have a long trip ahead of us. Since Leo is…out of commission, I can take care of all the planning and decision making. You three stay here and try to rest for a bit” Raph first kissed Donnie on the forehead, then he kissed Mikey’s forehead, before reaching out for Leo again and patting him lovingly, before planting a long and loving kiss on the top of Leo’s forehead, “Try to relax, things will be okay soon”

Leo wanted to believe his big brother’s words. He wanted to trust that things will turn out fine in the end…

…But he knew by now Raph’s tells. He could smell Raph’s ‘fear stink’ from a mile away. He could see the Raph chasm on his big brother’s face, and it only seemed to get bigger by the second. Everything was uncertain. There was no guarantee that they even get to Todd’s unscathed.

Raph left them, probably to either check on April again or go talk to Cassandra, which meant Leo was alone with his younger brothers again. He wished he could talk, tell them how scared he was and that right now, all he wants is for them to hold him and never let go. Leo was at his wit's end. When his family first found out there was something wrong with him, he was so happy, so full of hope. He had honestly believed that they would end this nightmare in a day, two at most. But this was day 4 and they were at a worse point than before. Maybe it would have been better if he just stayed in his earlier state, where he had to listen to everyone and no one was the wiser. At least then only him got hurt. Now everyone was in danger.

What if his sister turned on them next? What if… What if one of his brothers got infected by the amulet and slowly get corrupted? He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if that happens. There would truly be no hope left.

He tried to relax a bit, but his body wasn’t making it easy for him. Everything felt stiff and tense, all his senses were just waiting for someone to give him the command and free him from his current paralysis. Leo decided to close his eyes and tried to tune everything going on around him out.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, something he was very grateful for, because the next time he opened his eyes, he was being carried across the dirt of Todd’s place. He blinked a few times to take note of his surroundings. He was on top of the group, resting comfortably in Raph’s arms.

To his left and right were Donnie and Mikey. He had to crane his neck and look over his shoulder to see the Casey’s following them at a distance, carrying a small box, which held the amulet. He wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea to leave the box in their possession, but it was probably better than risking more of them catching the corruption this early. Still, if either of the Casey’s were to snap at any moment, things would be over. April must have stayed in the Turtle Tank to rest her broken leg, another thing that made Leo feel queasy. Shouldn’t they have someone stay behind with her to watch for any changes? Well, hopefully, they wouldn’t be gone for long and be back before anything can happen

Once they got close to the Puppy Palace, they were immediately bombared by puppies. Mikey and Donnie bent down to pet some the puppies, and Leo wished that he could. Todd immediately came running up and, while happy to see them, was curious on to what they were doing here, immediately asking about Splinter and Draxum

The faces of everyone in the group felled and Raph stepped up to say that they will tell Todd everything, but they needed to get inside first

Todd solemnly nodded his head and lead the group inside

Once they were at Todd’s trailer, they brought Leo inside and sat him down comfortably. Everyone went over to a corner to explain the situation to Todd. Everyone, except for Donnie who was keeping a close eye on Leo, because he felt like he should be the one to be there for his twin. Donnie sat down beside Leo and held onto his hand, squeezing it gently. Leo glanced up at Donnie and gave him a small smile. Donnie tried his best to give Leo a smile back, but it felt more like a grimace then anything

Donnie just hated that all of this was happening to his twin and that he couldn’t do anything to fix it. He could comfort Leo all he wanted, but no amount of comfort could fix Leo and bring him back to what he was before he was hit with the curses. The curses that were intended for Donnie

Donnie squeezed Leo’s hand again as he buried his face into his knees, taking deep breaths to keep himself from exploding because his brain was being cruel to him right now

Donnie lifted his head up just in time to see that the rest of the group was coming back, with Todd coming over to the other side of Leo.

Raph could see out of the corner of his eyes that Donnie was eyeing Todd waringly, no doubt his ‘protective twin’ instincts were kicking in. Raph placed a hand on Donnie’s shoulder to distract him. “Hey Dee. Mikey and I were thinking of getting in contact with Gram-Gram to see if she has any ideas on how to beat this curse. Would you like to join us?”

Donnie could see what Raph was offering to him. A distraction and a means of seeing their Gram-Gram again. A chance for someone else to take care of Leo

Donnie was very hesistant about this. He didn’t want to leave Leo. He just couldn’t. Not with danger at an all time high

However, with the reassurance of everyone around him that they would take care of Leo, he hesistantly took Mikey’s hand and the three of them were transported to the spirit world

Gram-Gram was right there waiting for them, with that warm and sweet smile on her face, her voice like silk as she greeted her many great-grandsons with open arms. The boys’ eyes filled with tears as they hugged their Gram-Gram. “We missed you so much Gram-Gram” they said together

Karai smiled as he let go of her grandchildren, realizing that one was missing. “Where is Leonardo?” she asked. The boys sighed as Raph stepped up. “That’s why we are here. Gram-Gram, Leo is in trouble”

And Karai listened carefully as he listened to the story of how her grandson got cursed and how they ended up in the situation that they are now
“And now we need your help Gram-Gram. Is there anything that you can do to help our brother?” Mikey pleaded. Gram-Gram shook her head. “Unfortunately, I can’t my sweet children. I can’t interact with the human world in that regard. Even if I could, the magic that those witches put on your brother is too dangerous and powerful for me to cure”

Raph and Mikey hang their head in defeat, while Donnie slowly approached their grandmother with tears in his eyes. “Gram-Gram. What about Eliza? Do you have any information on where she might be?”

Karai grabbed Donnie’s hands and held them gently. “I don’t know if Hamato Yoshi ever told you boys this but Eliza was actually part of the Hamato clan a long time ago”

This certainly got the boys’ attention. “Really?” Mikey asked, surprised and a bit hopefully about this new development. Karai smiled. “You are correct in that she is half-witch and half-human. But what you don’t know is that her half-human side is part of the Hamato bloodline. She is my great-great granddaughter”

The boys gasped and their mouths hung opened. This was certiantely a development. Eliza was their 5 times great-grandmother and she was still living.

‘How is this possible?’ Donnie thought to himself, voicing his confusion to Karai. “From what I understand from her parents, she was just like your father, didn’t want to fulfill her destiny of beating Oroku Saki (aka Shredder), so she left them and her children. She found herself in the Hidden City, training hard to become one of the best witches, even casting an immortality spell upon herself. However, she found that she missed her old home so tried to go back, only to find that her parents were gone and that her children barely remember her. However, because she didn’t want to give up being a witch, she decided to float between the two worlds, helping both humans and yokai…and I’m proud of her for it”

The boys were fantasticated by the history of their 5 times great-grandmother. Finally, something good happening! If Eliza was part of their Hamato clan, then she had to help them

That just beg the question…

“So where is she, Gram-Gram?” Mikey asked, with Donnie following up with “Is she in the human world or the yokai world?”

Gram-Gram closed her eyes, a soft aura glowing around her aqua ghostly frame before it disappeared and her eyes opened back up. “From what I can see, she appears to be in place called Alaska”

For a moment, the boys fell silence. They knew what the weather in Alaska was like, even if they were far away from it. Despite it being close to the summertime, that didn’t mean that the weather was going to be pleasant up there
“Guess we are going have to gear up for cold temps boys” Raph mumbled under his breath. They didn’t have any snow gear in the Turtle Tank with them, and they couldn’t risk getting back to the lair to grab their stuff. Maybe Todd could have some stuff for them to use?

They thanked Karai for her help and she gave her grandsons a big hug before wishing them the best of luck on their journey. Donnie and Mikey left the spirit world but before Raph could, Karai placed her hand on Raph’s arm. “Look out for your brothers Raphael. And give Leonardo all of my love” Raph smiled and placed his hand over Karai’s, promising that he will before he returned to the real world

Raph returned to Donnie and Mikey at Leo’s side, happily explaining to him all that they learned from Eliza. Leo didn’t seem to be moving much but Raph could tell from the smile on his face that he was happy that they had some sense of direction

Raph then turned to Todd “Do you have any snow gear that we can use? Also, is it possible that you got some food and water that we can have?”

“Sure I do” he exclaimed before running to the back of the trailer and grabbing several blankets and jackets, as well as some snack food and extra water bottles that he had stored. “This is all I have” Todd explained. It wasn’t much, but it will probably have to do for the time being

Raph thanked Todd and then ask “We can really use your help Todd. Would you like to come with us?” Todd said that he would love to, immediately going to his puppies and telling them bye and to ‘be good’

Raph picked up Leo, while the rest of the group gathered the snow gear, blankets, and extra food and water

With a new member joining their group and a direction in place, Raph felt like things were finally looking up for them

However, it seemed like the Hamato curse followed them everywhere

They were just about to carry all the food and extra water inside the Turtle Tank, when they saw April limping over towards them. “We might have a problem”

A sudden something seized his mind, and for a moment, Leo didn’t know who he was, or what he was, but this power was incredible and then… it was gone. Like a light switch had been flicked on and off. He absently gazed at the floor as he tried to comprehend what just happened.

In that instant, all his senses accumulated to pure anxiety. Leo already knew what was happening before April had the chance to say it out loud.

They had found them.

Gentry was here.

Leo wasn’t sure about Splinter or Draxum, but a sudden tingle in the back of his mind told him, made him know for a fact, that Gentry was approaching.

Chaos was about to erupt any second now.

“Everyone, in the Turtle Tank! We have to leave! Now! Now!“ Raph ordered, just as he began to hear loud bangs and booms in the distance. Raph carried Leo into the Turtle Tank, with their other brothers following closely behind. Raph immediately sat Leo down, with Mikey and Donnie coming down on either side of him. Raph eyed Donnie for a moment, seeming to communicate to Donnie with his eyes before he ran off to check on the other members of their group. It seemed like Raph trusted Donnie to take care of Leo and Mikey

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Nardo. Not anymore” Donnie promised, and somehow, those words alone were enough to pervade Leo with a sense of safety. He trusted his brothers. They would never hurt him. Not on purpose. Not knowingly. Never. This was the one hope he could always hold on to.

Donnie pulled his twin and baby brother underneath the control panel, where they promptly hide, signaling to the two of them with a finger on his lips to stay quiet. It was left up in the air what they were trying to archive. Once the amulet moved any further out of range, or anyone would grab hold of it, Leo would have to walk out and their hiding spot would be lost. If anything, Leo hoped his brothers would save themselves right now. If they get caught in the crossfire, Leo won’t be able to help them, and that thought terrified him. He was helpless, utterly useless in his stay. He could do nothing but hope. And hope was running thin.

The Turtle Tank rocked back and forth with the sound of an explosion. The brothers huddled closer together, with Donnie and Mikey putting their arms around Leo to make sure he was shielded from whatever tragic event the world was going to throw at them now.

Having no control over his body, Leo closed his eyes and sank into his brothers' embrace. He just wanted to feel safe for once. The grip on him grew tighter at the action. Anyone that would see the three of them huddled in the corner like this would see that there was no force that could pull them apart. That was until Leo began to shift.

Don’t leave the amulet’s side.

Leo didn’t miss his subconsciousness ordering him around.
He tried to block out the noise, but it was getting louder and louder. The Turtle Tank rumbled again, and this time, it caused some loose items in the Turtle Tank to slide around, making a bunch of noise in the process.

Leo began to wiggle out of his brothers’ embrace, ignoring the heartbroken glances they were shooting him. There was something that drew him in from the outside of the tank, something that was calling him and he couldn’t refuse it.

“Leo, don’t!” A hand wrapped around his wrist just as Leo was about to break free. With what little control he had in his state, Leo looked over at Donnie, who was staring up at him with pleading eyes, “Please, Nardo, fight it!” Donnie’s voice cracked, hitched in his throat as his emotions lay there like an open wound.

Fight it.

He's been fighting the entire time. He was tired of it.

A second hand grasped his other wrist. “You can do it, Leon. Please, stay with us” This time, it was Mikey.

Leo couldn’t describe how scared he was of leaving his brothers. The mere thought of not having them at his side made his heart ache, made him feel nauseated. He wasn’t sure where his sister and big brother were, and while the Turtle Tank’s engine was running, it haven’t moved yet.

He was tired… But seeing his brothers in so much distress… He had to try again.

And he fought.

Don’t leave the amulet’s side.

His body shook from how hard he tried to stay put. Every bone, every fiber of muscle, was tense and ready to move. They all wanted him to get up and get out, but Leo fought. He fought with all his might.

Don’t leave the amulet’s side.

And his headache jumped from 0 to a staggering 60. It forced him to his knees with a silent scream leaving his beak.
As he cowered there, staring at his brothers, he felt his eyes begin to sting. Soon tears flowed freely down his cheek. Without any hesitation, his twin and baby brother enveloped him in a tight embrace again.

“You can do it, Leo! Fight it!” Mikey encouraged him and Donnie pressed Leo’s face close to his chest. A single whimper escaped the blue twin’s lips as he buried his face in Donnie’s plastron.

Don’t leave the amulet’s side.

His headache stayed at 60, the pressure pressing at his temple and squeezing his head from both sides, slowly crushing it making it hard to think clearly.
“Fight it” Donnie whispered, rubbing small circles on Leo’s shell in an attempt to soothe him.

The tank rumbled yet again, and suddenly gravity betrayed them. The boys were thrown to the wall left of them. Raph’s giant chair flew straight at Mikey, and when it hit him, the box turtle cried out in pain, his grip on Leo losing as he was trapped in the space between chair and wall.

The second hand holding him also vanished soon after, leaving Leo free to roam. Or rather, to give in to his inner voice.

Don’t leave the amulet’s side.

For some reason, he knew exactly where the amulet was. Outside the tank. To the right. He wasn’t sure if anyone was holding it, or if it was actively being moved, but it was there. And he had to reach it. Only then the pain would go away. He couldn’t fight it any longer. It was just too painful.

“Angelo!” Donnie yelled, struggling to get to his feet and help his baby brother, “Hold on, I’ll get you out of there!”
“Ignore me!” The youngest yelled, “Stop Leo!”

“…Leo?”
The blue-loving turtle was on his feet and halfway to the door.
The amulet called him. He could hear it loud and clear, the calls drowning out the yells both his brothers were throwing in his direction. There was only one way for him to go.

“Leo, stop!” Someone grabbed his wrist again, but this time, Leo wouldn’t be backing down. He was fighting, though. Only, he was fighting on the wrong side.

With an ugly snarl, Leo lunged at his brother, snapping at his nape.
“Leo!” Donnie cried out, now more in fear than concern. The blue twin dug his fingers into his twin’s arm, trailing his hands down slowly to leave long scratch marks. The turtle under him yelped and kicked out, a foot hitting him right in the gut and forcing Leo to stop in his assault. He gasped and rolled over to clench his stomach.

“L-Leo, I’m sorry! Just, don’t leave! Please!”
Leo hissed at him. A hateful, angry snarl.
’I’m sorry!’ Leo screamed in his mind, ’I don’t want this! Please stop me! Please save me!’
Of course, his cries were left to be forgotten in the back of his mind, never to be heard by the brothers he held so dear. His body moved, steered by complete muscle memory. Autopilot mode, his mind shut off, his body moved, his body worked. His mind was slowly tuned out by a force that was much greater than him, leaving no motion to his own. He couldn’t even turn his head to check if Donnie was getting up or not.

Leo climbed out of the Turtle Tank and was immediately met with the sight of war ground.

He had barely time to take in what he was seeing as his body already turned harshly to the right and continued walking. He heard crying. He heard screaming. He heard begging. And he heard voices commanding for the amulet.

Most of those voices came from in front of him. And there it was. The box, tightly tugged under Draxum’s arms to shield it from-

Splinter.

Not Gentry.

Splinter.

“Hand it over” The corrupted rat-man demanded, to which the sheepman replied with a firm, “I will not”
At least their other dad was still on their side, but for how long? Where was April? Was she still with them, or has she already turned? And what was about-

Just as another loud bang caused the earth beneath his feet to rumble, something large suddenly came up behind Draxum and lunged at him. The box loosened from his grip and crashed to the ground, where it spun open and let the cursed object fall out.

Leo’s first instinct was to jump for it and get the amulet before anyone else could take hold of it, but his feet were bound to where he stood. All he could do was watch in horror as his two dads fought with each other to get to amulet. Draxum was holding back his strength to not cause any serious injury to the small rat, though Splinter didn’t share the sentiment. He scratched and snapped at Draxum, trying to get the upper hand. Leo could do nothing but helplessly watch as more and more wounds began to appear on his two dads.

“Got you”
Leo froze. While his two dads fought, Gentry had landed in front of them and bent down to grab the amulet. The witch chuckled, inspecting the object with a sort of lust glittering in her eyes, a smile slowly growing bigger on her face. “Just mine…” she mumbled, and then… then her gaze fell upon Leo.
“Come here”
Walk to your master.
And all he could do was obey.

The second he was close enough, Gentry wrapped an arm around him and pulled him to her.
“I finally got you back.” She hummed, her grip tightening around Leo. His unease increases at the glee in her voice. The next second, his head was grabbed by the chin and he was forced to stare Gentry in the eyes. He could make out a faint hint of green, so small he barely even noticed it, shine in her usual blue eyes.

Leo felt his breathing pick up in speed. Something in the way she was looking at him was causing a shiver to run down his spine and his deepest desire at that moment was to run and hide. Gentry let go of his face and turned around, laughing at the sky, “I won. I won! Leo!”
The red-eared slider flinched at the mention of his name, his mind already racing to think of what she was going to ask of him.

The witch opened her mouth to speak...
“-Gentry, stop it!” A new voice entered the scene. With someone having control over the amulet, Leo was granted at least some movement back, and so he had the ability to turn his head and stare at the newcomers. Cassandra and Casey Junior both looked out of breath and Casey Junior appeared to be already a bit beaten up from what was probably an earlier fight with Gentry, while Cassandra was still holding out. Behind them, Raph was running up to them. Leo briefly wondered what happened to his brothers and why they hadn’t come out of the Turtle Tank yet. Mikey was okay, right? That chair didn’t seriously injure him… right?

Leo was consumed by the urge to check on his brother and make sure he was okay. He tried to move, made the first step-
“You stay here”
And stopped in his tracks
Stay.

“Gentry, stop this! This isn’t you!” Cassandra cried, running over to them, stopping as soon as Gentry raised the amulet and pointed it at her. “You stay away from me” The witch hissed.
“Gentry, put down the amulet, please. You don’t want this, please…” With slow steps, Cassandra approached Gentry, step by step. “Please, just put away the amulet, we can work this out. I know that I’ve only known you for a short time, but I know you’re stronger than this, Gentry“ The former foot recruit pleaded.
“Cass…” Gentry’s tone dipped into something calm. Her eyes softened and she reached out a hand to accept her new friend to come closer.

Cassandra almost sagged where she stood, relief about to rob her of the strength to stand, and she reached out for the hand to take it just as it was about to glow green.
Leo screamed at himself to do something. He was so close to them, all he had to do was take a step to the side and he could stop it.
Stay.
Yet, he couldn’t move.

The cloud of green magic released from Gentry’s palm and flew straight at the former foot recruit, who was too slow to dodge the attack. Leo closed his eyes to stop himself from seeing. He wished he could have stopped himself from hearing too because the scream that followed felt like a blow to his chest. More screams rang out. The cries go from angry to sad to heartbreaking. He thought he might have screamed too if it wasn’t for his mouth being sealed shut. Instead, he just whimpered pitifully.

Leo never considered how screwed they would be if Gentry ever turned on them. Having her on your side was like a dream, a strong and reliable light that you could lean on when things get rough. But now that she was against them, this dream turned into a nightmare, and everything one had ever built was crumbling down and turning to dust beneath her boots.

Another of his gasps was stifled as Gentry clung to his side again and pulled him close so that they were hip to hip. It forced Leo to open his eyes and take a look at what had just happened. The battlefield was in ruin. There was fire everywhere.

Leo couldn’t stop the whimper that his throat produced. The way his family and friends lay there, motionless, in the middle of the flames. Cassandra hadn’t been the only one hit with the blast, but she most definitely absorbed the most of its impact. To his one side, Cassandra, Casey Junior, and Raph were sprawled on the floor, not even one of them seemed to be conscious. On his other side, he saw the same sight happen with Splinter, Draxum, and Todd… And still no sight of his twin, baby brother, or sister.

With eyes wide and glassy, Leo shifted his gaze to the Turtle Tank. The tank had tipped over and laid on its side. It looked fine for the most part, maybe if they could somehow pull it up again, it was still usable. They still had a chance all they had to do was…

...Was…

…

They were screwed.

There was nothing they could do.

“Come”

This single word managed to snap him out of his trance and forced his body to move. Leo didn’t border acknowledging the voice in the back of his head, knowing it wouldn’t change anything. Still, he could move his head, even as he followed Gentry slowly away from the battlefield. He turned his head around, looking back at the massacre they left behind and his heart dropped.

…They were still… still alive… right?

There was blood.

There was so much blood.

He wanted to cry out for them to get up again.

His mouth opened slightly and then closed as his head was forcefully grabbed and pulled to the side.

“Don’t worry about them” Gentry said, looking the red-eared slider in the eyes, “You don’t need them anymore. All you need is me, after all, I’m your master”

Leo felt tears release from his eyes at the next words she spoke.

“And you’re my obedient servant. All you need to do is don’t speak and obey”

Chapter Text

"Go after Leo!"
"Not before I got you out!" Donnie huffed and pressed his back against Raph’s chair. His feet slipped multiple times trying to push away the big chair that was currently trapping everything below Mikey's plastron.

Screams from the outside cut through the air and made his skin crawl. Those were his friends, his family, and they were fighting for their lives. And what was he doing? He was trying to move a big chair that was twice his size (since Raph was twice his size). Donnie began to breathe heavily from the effort he was putting into it, but so far, the weight crushing his baby brother's lower half hasn't moved an inch. Only Raph or Draxum would be able to move that thing. He doubted April was of much help in her state...

Now that he thought about it, where was his sister? Last time he saw her, she was seated in Leo’s normal seat, ready to start up the tank and drive away if need be. "April!?" He yelled through the tank, hoping to receive an answer. Nothing. "April! I need help! Mikey is- Mikey is stuck!"
'And Leo is gone.' He added in thought , 'And I don't know where anyone else is.'

Donnie tried to listen to the screaming outside... They had suddenly stopped and now it was dead quiet. That... That meant they must have won! They beat Gentry and would come back inside any second. Then he could tell them to help him get the box off Mikey. Everything was going to be fine.

Everything...

...Was fine...

Mikey...

...Was fine...

Leo...

...Was fine...

...Everything... was fine...

Laughing, Donnie let himself slide down the wall next to the chair. It all was okay, just a small slip up. They happen. Nothing to worry about, everything will turn out alright in the end like it always does.

His laughs weren't loud, but they were fast, fast enough that Donnie felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. He forgot to take a break in between the giggles and his sobs and he felt his throat close itself off due to that. There were enough tears in his vision that he couldn't make out the shapes around him and the world seemed to turn grey.

Their situation was ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Sobs and hiccups began to overtake his laughter and Donnie clutched the front of his hoodie when the struggle to breathe became fiercer. His chest hurt like he had a knife stabbed into him, and someone was actively twisting the blade. He used his free hand to stabilize his head which had gotten too heavy for his neck to hold upright.

Was he dying?

Why had no one come back inside yet?

Mikey was stuck. They had to help Mikey.

Where was everyone?

With a harsh pull, Donnie was suddenly thrown to the side. He slammed face-first into the Turtle Tank's metal wall as the tank shifted back into its initial position. The impact made his vision cut to white for a second and he gasped from the pain that coursed through his mouth. Breathing heavily, Donnie noticed that everything inside had shifted and a glance out the window told him that they were moving. He hadn't even realized it.

Dazed and confused, Donnie tried to make head and tail of his surroundings. Stuff was scattered all over the place and Donnie noticed that Raph’s chair had moved. It was then that Donnie started to freak out as he tried to locate the lump of green and orange that had previously been trapped by it’s weight.
"Mikey?!" he called out, his yell was drowned out by the tank’s engine and only silence bounced back to him. Feeling his heart sink even lower, he tried it again, "Mikey? Mikey, where are you?"
Rising to his feet, Donnie slowly began to approach the spot where he had last seen his baby brother. Sure enough, he found something.

Mikey was laying on his side with his back towards him.
"Mikey!" Donnie screeched and dashed over to his unconscious little brother, "Angelo! Angelo, wake up!"
Shaking didn't work. Pleading didn't work.

He rolled Mikey’s body over to get a better look at him and gasped at what he was seeing. Mikey’s face had turned a light shade of green and there was a thin line of blood trailing down the back of his head, the source of it hidden somewhere beneath his mask. With horror, Donnie slowly lowered his gaze to stare at his baby brother’s legs, just to see them scraped up like they’ve been dragged over pointy and sharp rocks. He looked fine otherwise if one does not consider that the box turtle was out cold and wouldn’t react no matter how much Donnie shook his shoulders or repeated his name.

Donnie let out a whimper as he tried very hard not to cry, heaving Mikey's limp body up and leaning his baby brother against his chest. Donnie leaned his head over to his brother's mouth to listen for any signs of life, feeling a few tears escape as he let out an exclamation of relief. His baby brother was breathing... Thank the Lord, Mikey was breathing!

Donnie put his fingers on Mikey’s wrist and neck and felt a pulse. It wasn’t a strong pulse, but there was still a pulse nonetheless

Donnie threw his arms around Mikey and pulled him as close as he could. Mikey was alive... Things would be okay... He just-

He just-

Donnie finally let the tears escape and let out a sob.

He didn't know what to do.

It was all just too much for him.

He continued to cradle Mikey in his arms until his tears ran out and his mind became too exhausted to think clearly. All he wanted now was to sleep and wake up from his horrible, horrible nightmare.

Donnie tightened his grip and lowered his head to the point where it was buried deep in the scruff of Mikey’s neck. He lost so much- he didn’t know where anyone was… At that point, Mikey was all he had left. He didn’t know what to do or how to help. This entire situation had grown so much bigger than it was possible for him to handle.

A hiccup made his body shutter and he dried his tears against his baby brother’s shoulder.
He just couldn’t do it anymore. He was too exhausted to go on.

But…

…

…But he couldn’t give up.

Leo was still out there…

Scared…

Hurt…

Alone…

…And all he was doing was sitting here wailing in his own misery…

Donnie bit down a sob just as it was coming up, and he slowly loosened his grip on Mikey.

He wasn’t giving up on Leo.

His twin needed him… He won’t abandon him.

He will save Leo…no matter what! Even if it was the last thing he would ever do. He would rather die then let anything else bad happen to Leo

Getting back on his feet, Donnie shot Mikey a pained look, "Wait here, Michael, I'll get help! I'll be back in a second, I promise!"
As much as he wanted to take Mikey with him, he knew he couldn't. If the blood and the bump on Mikey's head had anything to do with a concussion, it was probably not the smartest idea to move him. Who would have thought that the one time he listened to Leo's lectures about safety and injury care would come to his aid?

His feet raced over the metal at an unrhythmical pace to get to the front of the tank. Raph would have come looking for them by now if he was in the tank, and so would have the Casey’s- Or Todd...maybe even Draxum. That is, if he still was himself.

When Donnie got to the front of the tank, he was surprised to see…

“April!" He called out when he was able to see his sister, “April, what are you doing?!" Why were they moving? And where was everyone else? Did his sister just abandon them? No- No way. She would never do that. Not in a million years.

The taste of something sour haunted his tongue, Donnie grimaced and fought with the thought of rushing back to Mikey. Something didn't feel right, he couldn't place what it was yet though.

April, who was driving the tank in a tight knuckle grip, shot him a side glance and Donnie could see her eyes widen at that. "Donnie? Why aren't you with the others?"
"The others? You mean the ones we just left behind?" He shot back, unable to keep the distress out of his voice. His eyes were fixated on his sister and every small movement she did. He didn't trust the situation one bit. She would never leave her family behind.

"Donnie, I know what you're thinking, but no- I haven't lost my marbles to that damn amulet. Listen-" April sighed, "We both know that Raph is tough. His size is literally an advantage. No matter what you shoot at him, he will get back up. Casey Junior literally grew up in an apocalypse, and we all know that he is the way he is because of Cassandra…and because is like the four of you combined. We can help them later, but first, we need to get Leo back."

"How do you know he's gone?"
Well, aside from the fact that he was obviously missing. He wanted to believe that his sister was still on their side but the queasy feeling in his stomach got worse and worse the longer he spent around his sister. If only his brothers were with him- They would know what to do.

April squinted her eyes at him, and out of instinct, Donnie took a step back, exhaling sharply.

"Sweetheart, I got a broken leg…and just because I wear glasses, doesn't mean I'm blind! I have a giant windshield to see through!" To demonstrate her point, she pointed in front of her, where there was indeed a thick layer of glass showing them the outside. He wasn't entirely convinced yet, though the air became a bit more breathable again. Maybe there was some hope left. Even if it was little, he was willing to take it.

His new perseverance made Donnie feel much better. After this awful day- well, awful week really- he wanted nothing more than to have someone older then him take over all his worries and fix the problem.
However, there was yet more to worry about.

"Mikey's hurt."
"He's what?!" Like she was stung by a bee, his big sister leaped from her chair in full alertness, the tank immediately swerving in synch with her yelling out once she put pressure on her injured leg. Thinking fast, Donnie reached out for the steering wheel and got the tank back in the right lane. A pain shot through his arms that he didn't realize was there before.
"Dee-" his sister gasped, and once the tank was in balance again, he followed his sister's gaze to the long red gashed that were currently decorating his arms through his torn sleeves. He... He kinda forgot about his own injuries...

"I'm fine." He said quickly, eyes returning to the road in front of him, "But Mikey- He... He's in the back of the tank... I... I couldn't wake him up."
He could hear April let out a shaky gasp but at that moment he was too focused on trying to figure out where to drive to. If he could figure it out, then he could put the tank in autodrive "Where is Leo?"

"I managed to pull up the subcutaneous tracker app or whatever you called it on the screen there. Not only is it showing Leo location, but it's also locked onto the biggest source of magic around, which is Gentry. Stay a bit further behind, or else she notices us. Can you do that?" The question lingered in the air as April walked- well, crawled was a better way to put it- towards the back of the tank.

"I got it” Donnie said, choosing to not put the tank in auto pilot in case he needed to change things at the last minute. It meant that he wouldn’t be able to help Mikey, but Donnie knew that his sister would take care of their baby brother “Please look after Mikey for me."
"Of course. Call me if anything goes wrong."
Donnie didn't answer that last part. He didn't want anything more to go wrong. Leo was gone, they literally abandoned most of their group, and Mikey was unconscious. He would love to ask what else even could go wrong, but he knew better than to jinx the odds.

He settled into his chair and slowly adjusted the height to his linking. Inhaling deeply and exhaling with his eyes closed, Dewey let himself become one with the road. The steering wheel in his hands was like an extension of his arms, an additional part of his body. He knew what to do and how to do it. This little bit of control felt like a blessing to him. It calmed his nerves, and with another exhale, Donnie opened his eyes again. He studied the blue icon of his twin and the blinking light on the tracker app and zeroed in on it.

"Don't worry, Nardo," Donnie mumbled quietly to himself. Although his nerves were on their ends, he couldn't deny that the sudden shift in insensitivity was like a calming wave washing over him. He trusted his sister that the others were fine. His big brother Raph was indeed built differently then everyone else. His big brother was tought and could take everything that was thrown at him. If anything, he would be mad if they didn't go after Leo. Or so was the thought he was holding on to. Donnie just really hoped that Raph wasn’t doing on any self-sacrifice play as Donnie would not be able to handle that. He never was

Donnie narrowed his eyes at the tracking screen in suspicion.
What would they do once they caught up to Gentry? If everyone outside wasn't a match for her, then how was he supposed to take her down? Just then, the reality of his role in all of this, the only one conscious and in a state to fight, became apparent.

Wait- Would he have to fight Gentry? He might as well jump into the Prison Dimension!

Sorry bad thought

There was no way he stood a chance against her! Though... who else was there? If he didn't do anything... then they would lose Leo. He didn't have the time to wait for Mikey to wake up, or for April's leg to heal. The longer he needed, the more pain Leo has to go through, and the higher the chance that April would turn on them. It was a run against time... and he was losing.

Some of his uneasiness returned to him. Suddenly, Donnie was very invested in one specific button on the control panel that had nothing to do with keeping the tank steady. Losing wasn't an option and winning wasn't a possibility. He was stuck between two wrongs and they weren't making any right. The tank's steering wheel suddenly felt less comfortable in his hands and he wanted to pull away.

Leo’s icon and the blinking light on the radar moved and he adjusted accordingly to continue tracking it. What if Gentry had already noticed him and decided to mess with his eyes? He had to make sure he was following the right person. Swallowing his doubts down and shaking the dark thoughts from his mind, Donnie returned his focus to driving. Causing himself to panic wasn't helping him. He had to concentrate.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, in the back of the Turtle Tank, an orange-loving box turtle was slowly coming to. He groaned at the sudden rush of pain filling his head and pulling him back into the blissful unconsciousness he just fought his way out of. Mikey reached up to rub his head, his eyes shut close against the bright light shining at his face. He felt like he was about to stumble back to a camp of pure darkness.

"Mikey, baby, can you hear me?" A distorted voice made its way to his ears, though it sounded dull like whoever spoke was underwater. Or he was underwater. Maybe they both were.

He let out another moan when something pressed against the back of his head. It was wet and cold, and he realized that his mask was missing. Weak and disoriented, he tried to reach out for the thing that made him so uncomfortable, but somehow his arms were sluggish and didn't really reach for anything.

"It's okay, baby, open your eyes. It's okay, I'm here."
But he didn't want to open his eyes. The darkness was scary but inviting. The light hurt his eyes and made him dizzy.

When his vision swam black with fluttering lights, Mikey could almost make out a coherent sentence as he felt his weight be dragged against the ground. He let his eyes flutter open, only a small crack in between his lids to allow color to enter his vision. It was blurry and stung, only deformed shaped following him in his wake.

He felt his eyes close again.
"Stay awake."
He didn't like the order. Nothing at being awake sounded alright. Sleep was nice. He could really go for a round of that, he didn't want to spend any more seconds with all this cotton filling up his mind. Every mental image he'd ever had faded away, replaced by nothingness.

"Stay with me, Mikey!"
Mikey flinched, the pain in the voice made his stomach turn and he didn't quite know how to react. A low groan came from his throat and he tried to keep his eyes open. Blurs shifted back and forth until they became one. Remaining awake wasn't as genuine anymore, it was a purposeful act now.

After struggling to regain control over his body, he cared less for the bright lights and more for the person looking down at him with wide, worried eyes. Mikey knew that this wasn't a good sight to wake up, and somehow he felt like he was in grave danger. Mikey found himself shaking, trembling as tears brimmed his eyes.

His brain felt like it hadn't turned on yet, he recognized the shape above him as his big sister, but he couldn't make out what she was saying, or really see what she looked like. Everything was just blurry. He couldn't feel anything around him, the only touch he truly acknowledged was the one of wetness against the back of his head.

Something caught the edges of his attention and he turned to his side slowly, his head pounding with throbbing pain. For a moment, he stared into nothingness, then he felt like something was crushing his already cracking skull as everything that happened hit him like a bat to the face.

"Shh, don’t move." His sister ordered him, and Mikey found it hard to disobey. Everything hurt, and the pain only got worse when he tried to raise his head. He briefly wondered if this was the kind of headache Leo must be going through every second of the day. He also questioned why those pains were now befalling him too.

"Nnrgh-" He groaned, letting his head roll back and press sightly against the cold, wet cloth being pressed against him.
"Nonononono, stay awake, baby, don't fall asleep. Just- Just stay with me."
Something new was placed against him. A gentle squeeze connected with his shoulder and helped him ground himself. He tried to focus on the touch and put all his remaining thoughts into it. He pictured the hand that was grasping him, each finger tightly holding on to him.

Once everything dulled down a bit, he opened his eyes fully, blurry images now finally coming together into one picture.
"-Apes..?"
"That's good, you're doing good. Keep your eyes open."
"...Leo...?"
"We'll get him back, I promise. Try not to move too much, okay? I'll get you some water."

Despite what he was just told, Mikey moved his head to the sight, to where his sister disappeared to. He could see her be slumped over a piece of broken wood she was using as an emergency crutch to not burden her leg any further. It wasn't working out too well for her though. Mikey tried to call out and tell her that he wasn't thirsty and that she didn't have to go through this pain for him, but his voice didn't make it out loud enough for her to hear.

Alone and with only his own thoughts, Mikey tried to recall the last things that happened.

Attacked. They were attacked and things went bad. Leo... Leo was gone... They lost him... And... Donnie? Where was he?
"-Don..?" He called out weakly, unable to fit his brother's entire name into one breath, "...Dee...?"
He winced at the pain that shot through his head once he tried to move. With a gasp, he let his eye close again. "Do...nie..."

He remembered being stuck. His legs hurt. Then the Turtle Tank had rumbled and everything went black.
The attempt to move his arms bore some fruit and he brought them up to his head. He silently inspected the wet cloth that by now had lost some of its coldness. There was an impressively big bulge at the back of his head and Mikey cried out when he accidentally touched it.

"Don't- Don't touch that."
"-Don...ie...?" Mikey opened his eyes again, slower than before, but there was not nearly enough purple for it to be his brother.
"He's okay, don't worry. Here, I'll help you." Something was placed against his mouth, "Try to drink."
The sudden cold rushing down his throat snapped him out of his daze. He blinked rapidly until his vision cleared.

It was only now that he noticed they were at the Turtle Tank. With the engine turned off, there hadn't been any audible cues for him to tell.
A nearby window told him that outside, the moon had slipped below the horizon and only starlight filled the skies. It was night... The last time he was awake it had been morning... He believed... He wasn't so sure.

Another thing he picked up on was the outside. He... He recognized the garage they had parked in. Why...

Why were they back at the lair?

"-Wha... happened?" He found himself asking, his brain not having registered the question by the time it went out.
His sister gently stroked his cheek and gave him a soft smile, "A lot. Don’t think too hard about it, you've been hit hard."
'Hit by what?', he wondered.

A loud 'clang!' to the left of him drew his attention and he tilted his head to investigate. A shape of purple stepped through the open hatch, arms loaded with items he couldn't recognize and he wore a thick backpack.

"What else do we need?" Donnie asked, dropping the gear he had gathered and putting down the bag with extra supplies they would for sure need if they still plan to go after Eliza. A soft jingle revealed that a big portion of the bag must be filled with money or some other kind of coin. Mikey had to wonder just where Donnie got the money from

"Do you got the bracelets?" April asked, leaving his side once again. Mikey didn't try to stop her and instead simply followed her with his eyes.
"Are those the right ones?" Donnie asked, pulling out a pair of golden and purple bracelets. They were rather chunky, from what Mikey could make out, but the gems in them had something enchanting in them. He was almost mesmerized by the beauty of it, and he wondered why he hadn't seen them before. Then again, Splinter and Draxum had more than enough artifacts lay around that neither of them had informed the brothers on.

However, it seems like maybe Splinter and/or Draxum had informed April on this as she said "Yes, those are the right ones," His sister ended up taking the pair of jewelry and holding them up, "You think you can put them on her?"
Donnie didn't answer at first but then nodded haltingly.

"Okay, let's see, we got the gear, food, money, our weapons-"
"We still need to pick up the others. And we can't find Eliza without the map." Donnie added to the list.
"Right, right, the map. We need that. But first, we need to get the amulet back."
"And Leo."
"They're kinda the same thing. If we have the amulet, we also have Leo back. Though, the curse is still a thing."

Mikey only managed to pick up every other word, but he managed to fill in the blanks, at least most of them. He didn't like what he gathered so far. Their group had shrunken immensely, and if they really were about to enter a fight, they would walk out as losers. He couldn't see a single outcome where they could win against Gentry. It just wasn't possible.

His brother and sister talked for a few more sentences until the phrase, "Okay, then let's go." came from the softshell. One of the things Donnie had brought from the lair was a pair of actual crutches for April to use, so when they sprung into action, things went a bit smoother and faster than expected.

As Donnie was ready to dash back to the driving seat, he stopped in his tracks, his gaze meeting and locking onto Mikey's. In a heartbeat, Donnie was kneeling next to his baby brother, giving several kisses on Mikey’s forehead, before one of his hands cupped Mikey’s cheek, the other coming down to hold Mikey’s hand, squeezing it tightly

"You're okay!" He cried in relief, a tear slipping down his face.
Mikey winced slightly at how loud his brother spoke, but couldn't help but feel safer now that he was by his side. He did his best to put a smile on his face to reassure that he really was okay.
"Don't worry, Angelo, I got this. April has a plan to get Nardo back. Leave it to me, baby bro. I promise you, everything will be okay."

Mikey readied himself to reply when- "Come on, honey, we have no time to lose!"
"Right! Coming, Apes!" Donnie yelled back, then turning to his baby brother with one last determined smile and a tender kiss to his forehead, "Everything will be okay soon."

He watched as his brother got back up and ran off to do his thing. Mikey would have like to ask what this plan of theirs entailed and what the heck happened to the rest of their group.
His headache had gotten better though there was some leftover pain that still plagued him. He tried to turn to his sister and ask her for help, maybe they had some painkillers with them, though she was too far out of reach to hear his quiet calls. April was in the middle of rummaging through the bag Donnie had brought with him. Mikey felt everything spin and turn and when he closed his eyes again, he found the ensuing darkness welcoming. He knew he shouldn't sleep- his sister asked him not to, but...

... A little rest never hurt anyone, right?

Chapter Text

Leo jerked awake, only a few hours after he had drifted off, to the sound of something knocking something else over.
His body was sore, sleeping on the floor does that to one, but his bigger complaint was the lack of a pillow and blanket. At the very least it wasn't dirty, he made sure there wasn't an ounce of dust left after Gentry had told him to clean the place.

He was at Gentry’s house. Leo guessed that she knew that no one would be able to find them here, being in the Hidden City or anything. No one had even questioned her when she flew into the Hidden City with Leo; probably because they had arrived at night when everyone else was asleep

The only person who knew of Gentry’s house was April. However, Leo didn’t know what happened to his big sister and he had a feeling that maybe April wouldn’t even think about Gentry’s house being a possible location of Leo’s whereabouts

Leo curled up further on the hard floor when a gust of cold wind hit him and made him shiver. His stomach growled, wishing that he could have a warm slice of pizza, but was fine with anything if it was eatable.

Feeling uncomfortable with the position he found himself in, Leo rolled to his other side. His exhausted mind was unable to pick up on the movement going on in the corners of his eyes, so when he turned around and saw a pair of the same mismatched eyes staring into his soul, he felt like he was about to get a heart attack.

Donnie put a hand over his mouth to stop him from screaming out and gestured with a finger to his own mouth to stay quiet.

Yeah, as if Leo had a choice...

What followed came out of nowhere. Before Leo had the time to blink or even breathe, Donnie wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up. Leo didn't fight against the hug but didn't return it either.
"I got you, Nardo," Donnie whispered into his ear and hugged tighter, "I got you. You'll be okay, I promise."

Leo closed his eyes, feeling safer in the arms of his twin
He wished this hug could last forever, but just a moment later, it dispatched and he was left feeling cold and empty. He stared up at his twin with big, puppy-like eyes, begging him to put an end to his pain.

Leo was close to breaking apart, to give up on hope entirely, to simply accept that this would be his life from now on. He was tired and exhausted, drained from believing that there would be an end to his suffering.

Donnie spent a few more seconds looking at him, his eyes glimmering with an emotion that Leo couldn't quite place.
"I'll save you, Nardo," Donnie said before turning away. Leo tried to reach out but to no avail. Donnie was gone from his sight, off to somewhere doing something. Leo stared where his twin had been mere seconds before. He felt even lonelier now.

'Please come back-' He begged, 'Please, I can't do this anymore. I need you, Dee

There was nothing left for him than to listen. Despite trying his best, Donnie wasn't the stealthiest turtle, and Leo was honestly surprised that he hadn’t woken Gentry yet. Turning as best as he could, Leo looked over his shoulder to see if the sleeping witch was still where she was supposed to be. Sure enough, Gentry had her back turned to him and was cozily tugged in her blanket, hugging her pillow, and enjoying a good night's sleep.

Leo's heart sank and the room turned near ice cold. He felt like he was unable to breathe as his eyes fell upon the amulet that Gentry was clutching on to even in her dreams.

At this point in time, Leo was convinced that his heartbeat was loud enough to wake the sleeping witch. And once that happens, Donnie would be destroyed. Despite having mystic tech that could send guns if Donnie gave the command, there was no way his twin could win a fight against Gentry. Not if everyone else that had tried so far failed miserably.

Thinking about the others made his breath halt for a second time that minute. There was Donnie. Just Donnie... What happened to the rest of his family? All the ones that have been hit with Gentry's blast and were rendered motionless on the ground back at Todd’s place? Most likely they were too injured to help, which also meant it was all up to Donnie. If Donnie failed now, then their last hope would for sure die too.

When Donnie returned to his field of vision, he had two items with him. One was a piece of paper, the other one was chalk. Leo eyed his twin with silent confusion as Donnie began to draw little symbols on the ground. This seemed more like a Mikey thing to do, rather than a Donnie thing. Leo’s twin didn't draw them from the top of his head but instead copied them from the paper. Donnie was slow and precise, and something told Leo that his twin was very aware of his role in all this.

The way Donnie was nervously chewing on the insides of his cheeks, how his tail twitched from building static, how hard he tried to keep his hands from shaking, and total concentration flooding his face as he worked on trying to replicate the symbols as closely as possible, told Leo how hard his twin was trying. Maybe that hug from earlier was more than just a gesture of affection.

Leo could see Donnie wipe sweat off his fake eyebrow as he stopped to take a breath and probably calm his nerves. The room that they were in was dark and silent, and with the intensity lingering in the air, the atmosphere was nothing short of that in a horror movie. The thought that any single mistake could spell their doom and probably kill them turned the blood in the turtle's veins to ice.

This might as well be the riskiest rescue pulled off in history.

And just like in horror movies, things didn't go smoothly for the protagonist of the story.

Too focused on drawing the symbols correctly, Donnie misjudged the distance between him and a shelf and knocked against it.

Leo saw time pass by him in slow motion. The dull 'thud' the shelve made when a small cardboard box fell off and landed on the wooden floor beneath was deafening in the silence of the night.

It was only for a second, but the twins' gazes meet. They both stared at each other with an expression of pure horror, but through all the pain that was starting to explode in the back of Leo's head, the red-eared slider managed to choke out three additional letters, "...R...u...n..."

Donnie took a step back, his breathing quickened and he wore a look of fear on his face with regret bleeding into his features. At the next step he took, he bumped into something behind him. Shaking, almost vibrating, Donnie dared to turn around.

Despite the room being immersed in darkness, there was no hiding that faint neon green glow, that burning glare that stared into Donnie's soul with a spark that had the power to kill gods. There was no peace, there was no kindness. All there was, was an apex predator, someone he knew Donnie couldn’t face on his own.

There hadn't been enough time for Donnie to shout.

A blink and it was over.

Donnie landed on the floor with a soundless scream.
Gentry had him pinned down with her hand pressed down on his chest. Her palm began to glow in the green light that Leo has learned to both hate and fear.

Leo saw his whole world shatter before him.

Donnie was his brother.
His twin

Leo locked every single muscle in his body in place as he felt himself become replaced by pure violence. It raged inside of him, begging for release he couldn’t grant.

This was his twin. His twin who had been by his side since they hatched. His twin who he shared hobbies, secrets, and a whole childhood with. His twin who, despite claiming to have a ‘bad-boy image’, was not afraid to show Leo affection and to comfort him whenever Leo needed it.

His twin who Leo loved more then anything else in the world, and Leo had a feeling that Donnie felt the same way about him. Donnie was Leo’s ride or die. His ying to his yang. His other half…no, his better half. His whole world. The one person who Leo couldn’t imagine life without, and would rather die then live in a world without his twin

And Leo was given a front-row ticket to his death.

He shouldn’t be watching, he should be helping his twin, should be fighting back and save him.

Leo screamed in his mind, every ounce of strength and resistance he had left in his body used to move.

In the end, he only managed to reach out his arm by the time the glow has gotten bright enough to blind him.

And just like that, it was gone.

The room fell into darkness, with just a single streak of light flowing in. The moonlight shone in through the door that lead to outside of the house, and it illuminated the person that was responsible for saving Donnie's life and Leo's sanity.

April let her mystic bat that she had used to wack Gentry over the head fall out of her hands as she dropped to her knees and scooped Donnie up in a hug.
"A-Apes, I-I'm sorry. You said- you said... and I..."
"Shh, shh, Dee, it's alright, I'm here. This is why we got the backup, it's alright" April soothed, rubbing the crying softshell's back until he calmed down.

Leo watched the reunion of brother and sister with silent terror because he knew that this wasn't really his sister. Not anymore.

It was like the feeling of being watched when there was no one around. That certain uneasiness in your gut that tells you something is wrong. Leo had felt it when Gentry ambushed them at Todd’s place, and that same feeling was filling his senses now yet again.

The worst thing was that he wasn't surprised or shocked. He couldn't even be sad.

This wasn't a rescue mission.

They just wanted the amulet back.

After the air had been cleared of tension, the true torment started.

April released Donnie from her hug, but held her brother by the shoulders for a second longer, "Finish the barrier, sweetheart, I put the bracelets on."
"Yes, April!" Donnie saluted her and turned around eagerly. When Donnie's and Leo's gazes meet, the softshell couldn't help but smile. It was the warm and innocent smile of a child that just won the game of life, but the warmth couldn't reach Leo. Leo knew that they weren't safe yet... They might even be in worse danger than before.

Donnie failed to see the desperate warning glances Leo kept shooting him and went back to drawing his symbols. As it turned out, Donnie had only been two graphics away from finishing the drawings when he knocked against the shelve.
"I'm done, April!" The softshell informed their sister, who was sitting beside Gentry, and fastened a pair of purple bracelets. The second both were securely placed around Gentry's wrist, a spark of purple lightning flickered between them, connecting the two pieces of accessories and forcing Gentry's hands together.

Once the bracelets were on and April had managed to get back on her foot again, clutching to her crutches for support, she stepped back. "Alright, now listen closely, this is the last step." She said, looking at Donnie, "Draw a circle around her. This will trap her inside the barrier, and with the bracelets on, she will be too drained from her magic to break out of it."

Donnie nodded vigorously, already on his feet to finish the last step. Leo watched with silent horror. The look April had on her face... It was well hidden but Leo saw it. That glint of lust. That power-hungry desire for more.

And when April moved to pick up the amulet that had fallen out of Gentry's hands when she got knocked out, Leo knew this was his end.

His connection with Gentry snapped, the string cut through in the middle, and retied with a new thread. Leo's body moved on his own, the bowing pose he had found himself in now multiple times came to haunt him yet again. He leaned forward until his forehead touched the floor, his body trembled from fear of all the future commands that were awaiting him.

He wasn't permitted to move until Donnie had finished the barrier and ran up to him. Leo almost lost his footing when his twin tackled him with a hug just as tight as the one before.
"I got you" Donnie whispered into his ear, “April and I got you, Nardo. You’re safe now, my precious twin. I love you"

Leo's heart broke for his twin.
Donnie didn't know.
Donnie didn't know he just forced Leo to become a slave to their own sister.

April just told them to leave and head to the Turtle Tank, when Donnie stopped before her, "Wait, April, you forgot the tarp!"
"What tarp?"
"The tarp I brought with me from Splinter’s room! It was next to the magic canceling bracelets. I put the tarp in the bag with all the other things, the description on the door said it can help shield against curses! I imagined it isn't enough to cancel whatever has been done so far, but maybe we can stop anyone else from getting corrupted!" The surprisingly energetic softshell announced, and he puffed his chest out a little at the end as if he was proud of himself for having planned ahead.

"Oh, sweetie," April hummed and cupped Donnie's face with her hand, "We don't need a tarp. If the amulet remains with me, there is nothing to worry about."
"But... But you'll get corrupted if you have it for too long! Leo needs you!"
"Yes, he does." April's tone dipped into something dark, something frightening, "And I will provide him with everything he needs so that he can fulfill his purpose."

"His... His purpose?"
Donnie took a step back, realization spreading onto his face and his eyes went wide, "No... No. April, you're not-"
"There is nothing to worry about now, sweetheart, we can return to our lives as they were before."
"But Leo's still cursed!"
"Leo is perfect the way he is." April ended her statement by pulling Leo close to her and wrapping her arms around him.

There was no love in that hug.

No affection, no nothing.

She held him like he was a possession, not a brother.

A trophy to show off.

The hug ended when Donnie cut through them. He tore Leo out of his sister's embrace and pulled him back harshly so that Leo's shoulder began to hurt. Donnie then wrapped his own arms tightly around Leo, bringing Leo’s head down to where it was buried against his plastron, hiding from April. Donnie didn’t want Leo to be anywhere near their sister. Donnie promised himself that he would protect Leo no matter what. He would protect Leo until his final breath

"Donnie, what are you doing?" April demanded, her voice venomously sweet. Donnie just pulled Leo closer to him, if that was even physically possible. He ignored Leo’s whimpers as he let out a hiss and glared daggers at his sister, "I won't let you abuse him” he growled
"Abuse?" She spat back, "Dee, all I'm doing is helping him fulfill his role in the family."
"His role?" Now it was Donnie's turn to spit. He was slowly backing away from his sister, pulling Leo back with him, making sure that Leo was secured tightly in his arms.

His twin had no words to say and no reaction to give.
He knew this wasn't his sister speaking, but those words came out of her mouth, were spoken by her voice. And every word hurt his damaged heart, tore up the stitches he used to sew the pain shut.

April smiled slightly, "You must have noticed it too. Leo has become so much better in the past weeks, don't you agree? Why would you want to erase all his improvement?"
"Because it's not improvement!" Donnie shouted back, though there was no anger in his voice, only sadness and desperation, "We're forcing him to be like this! This isn't Leo!" Donnie then looked down briefly as him and Leo made eye contact, teary red and blue eyes meeting teary red and blue eyes. Donnie sniffled as he leaned down to nuzzled his beak against Leo’s, placing a small kiss on the top of Leo’s forehead before pulling his twin back against his chest, right where his heart was. Donnie glanced back up at April as he brokenly whispered “This is not my twin”
"You're right, it's a better version of him. We don't need this brat, all he did anyway was to drag us down. It's for the better that we got rid of him."

Donnie let his jaw drop open, and his face showed every emotion that Leo was feeling.
It hurt. Hearing those words broke his heart and soul. He wanted to tell himself that those weren't his sister's words, but somehow he couldn't.

"So..." Donnie breathed out, his eyes wild and scared, "...This is your idea of a perfect brother? Then what about Raph, Mikey, and me?"
"Oh, you three are perfect just the way you are."
"Then why isn't Leo!?"
April clicked her tongue and shook her head. During their discussion, she had gradually taken steps toward the twins and slowly backed them into a corner. Donnie still had a tight grip on his twin, preventing April from getting anywhere near Leo, but there wasn't much space to run to anymore.

"I used to believe he was perfect as well, but I was wrong. Leo has become a lot more useful; he is far better than what I could have wished for. He's doing what he's supposed to do; Serve. It's all he's good for, and it's all he will ever be good for. Now, stop resisting, Donnie, and hand him over." Just then, her voice turned even darker, deadlier, and she reached out her hand, "Or I'll take him by force."

They reached a corner point of the room now. There was nowhere left to run.
Donnie embraced Leo in the tightest hug that he think he have ever given the red-eared slider, scared and unwilling to let go of his twin.

What April had said weren't just empty threats. If she wanted Leo to come with her, she could have simply ordered him to, but April was different than Gentry. April didn't desire to kill anyone who was in her way, she wanted Leo as her slave, but she also wanted her family. There was still a bit of April in her, the bit that cared for Donnie deeply, and would go the extra mile to convince him to join her side.

"We don't have to fight, sweetheart, everything will be okay, as long as you hand him over." April reached out to stroke his cheek, but Donnie flinched away.
"Nothing will ever be okay without Leo! I need my twin! I won't give him to you! I will take him to Eliza and I will save him! And I'll save you and everyone else that has been infected by that stupid amulet!"

Their sister sighed long and deeply, "I wish I wouldn't have to do this."
"Don't do-"
'click'
"-what?" Donnie stared down at his wrist, the source of that sudden sound. There was a metal ring that was connected to another metal ring by a chain.

Those were handcuffs.

Leo lifted his head from Donnie’s plastron and eyed the cuff that closed around his twin's wrist with wide eyes, the other cuff was empty so far.
"April, what are you-" Donnie began to ask, but his sentence was cut short when April yanked him by the cuff to another corner of the room. This caused Donnie to let go of Leo and the red-eared slider couldn't pull through the restrictions to follow him.

Leo listened and watched helplessly as Donnie tried to fight against their sister, crying out Leo’s name, as he tried to reach out for his twin. Leo saw the moment that Donnie realized that he couldn’t reach Leo, nor could longer fight against April. Leo felt his heart break as the tears fell down Donnie’s face, letting out several heartbreaking chirps as he was pulled further away from Leo

April pulled his twin to the other end of the room, close to where the still unconscious Gentry lay in her dome barrier. She stopped at Gentry's bed and pushed Donnie against the wooden frame.

"Don't worry sweetheart," she said and pulled the handcuff around one of the wooden bedposts before yanking at it and forcing Donnie's other wrist into the spare cuff. Both of Donnie's hands were now restrained behind him at the section where the bedpost met the wooden frame for the mattress, meaning he couldn't raise his arms above to free himself, and if he wanted to get out, he would have to somehow lift the bed with his arms restrained like this.

Leo couldn't believe what he was seeing. His twin was tugging at the handcuffs in a meager attempt to free himself, but nothing happened. Their sister extended her arm and patted Donnie on the head with care and affection, "I won't leave you down here for long, Dee. I'll come back for you once you've learned your lesson."
"T-This is why you wanted me to get those?" Donnie asked, his voice breaking because of the tears, and he pulled at the handcuffs once more.

April left her hand on Donnie's head, rubbing her thumb along Donnie’s eyebrows, "You brought them to me without asking questions, that is what I love about you. Now, I need to leave but believe me, sweetheart, I'll be back for you."

Leo watched as Donnie's face fell and shattered into a million tiny pieces. And when April called him over with her amulet and told him to exit Gentry’s house, he could see those tiny pieces being stabbed with knives until there was nothing left of them.

Screaming followed.

"April! April, please! Don’t leave me! DON'T LEAVE ME! APRIL! April, come back! Please! PLEASE! COME BACK! APRIL! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE! APRIL! APRIL, PLEASE! I'M SCARED! PLEASE! PLEASE, DON'T! APRIL! APRIL! NARDO!"

Leo wished he could plug his ears against the heartbreaking cries and desperate screams.

Donnie was desperately yanking and pulling at the handcuffs.

"APRIL, PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! PLEASE, APRIL! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME! DON’T TAKE LEO AWAY FROM ME! DON'T GO!"

Donnie’s cries and pleas fell on deaf ears

Before they left, Donnie eyed Leo for one final time. Since April wasn’t watching, Donnie was able to whispered to Leo in one last heartbreaking plea, tears flowing down his face

“Don’t worry Leo. I promise you that I will find a way out of here. And when I do, I promise that I will find you again. It won’t be long, you just got to hold on. Don’t give up Nardo. I love you my twin. I love you to the moon and back my sweet baby blue”

Leo wished that he could respond back to Donnie. He wished that he could tell Donnie how much he loved and his twin and how badly he needed him. He wished that he could believe Donnie’s words.

However, all he could do was offered a barely there nod as April pulled him away from his twin. The softshell went back to struggling and yelling out curses as he watched his sister take away his twin, his screams soon dissolving to full on sobs once they were out of sight

It became notably quieter once Leo and April made it out and April closed the door, locking up the house.

Leo felt himself break away from his soul, slowly, until he couldn't even remember who he was. He lost more and more of that spark he held on to and became even more scared when he felt his own thoughts slip away like sand through his fingers.

"Block the entrance."
Leo didn't listen to the command but followed it anyway. He spotted some heavy-looking rocks along the side of the house and began working on pushing them against the door. It took a while to move them.

He could hear his twin crying through the floorboards and Leo wished more than anything that he could opened up the door, run into the room, and enveloped Donnie into a tight hug, letting his twin break down in his arms. The fact that he couldn’t almost made Leo want to cry himself

By the time Leo rolled the fifth rock against the door, he noticed the sun rising in the distance.

It was a hideous sunrise. The ugliest one he had ever seen.

This wasn't right.

Things haven't been right for a long time but-

But now they were just wrong.

He was trapping Donnie.

He was locking away his twin...

...The only one that still liked the original Leo...

...The only one that hadn’t told him how much better he was now...

...The only one that believed and fought for him...

…The only one that loved Leo more than he loved the world…more then he loved himself

He didn't even know where the heck Raph or Mikey were. They probably didn't want him to change back either.

No one loved him anymore. Only Donnie loved him, which made sense because they were twins, and were each other favorite person.

Leo was unable to shake the frigid hands of fear that were rubbing him up and down all over his body. Though, he couldn't abandon Donnie. Not if his twin was screaming so loudly for help.

"Come."

It was a simple command.

"Come."

And he refused to follow it.

Leo rolled up his hoodie sleeve and bit into his arms until he drew blood. The pain in his head was killing him, and so he bit down harder to get his mind off that pain. Leo felt his teeth pierce skin and flesh, the pain so overwhelming that it made him shed tears.

But he succeeded.

He didn't move. He didn't follow his command.

"I told you to come here," April repeated, his sister turning angrier by the second.

Blood filled Leo's mouth and it became so much that it began to flow out on the sides. The red liquid trailed down his cheeks and accumulated at his chin, where it dripped down at rapid speed. Leo felt like he would bite straight through his arm if he continued like that.

Then he found himself on the ground with an even bigger headache, April standing over him.

She had hit him with his mystic bat.

"You DARE to disobey me?!" she yelled more than she was asking.

Yes, yes he did. And in his victory, he shot April a cocky smile.

That would be his last mistake.

"I don't think you are quite aware of what you have just done." There was something about April saying those words calmly that made his body tense up. And then words came from the back of his mind, and it made his heart stop.

Disobedience will be punished.

'Punished how?' Was his last thought before everything became white. Tears poured out of his eyes as he writhed on the ground. He could feel it through his arms, through his legs, through his chest, the searing pain burning his flesh and setting his mind aflame. Each minute pinpointed pain that magnified as time passed.

The pain ate away at him, and Leo screamed himself raw when he could feel the flames that were only in his head spill over him like acid, filling his body with the worst agony he had ever felt. Leo couldn't tell if he was alive or not, if he really existed anymore, because the world swirled and blurred, and the pain echoed throughout his body, firing directly at where it hurt the most.

Leo felt something fill his mouth, it was metallic just like when he bit himself in the arm, but there were no skin this time. Just blood. Blood he vomited out.

It wasn't a quick process, it was far longer than he'd thought was possible.
Not even the passage of time would be enough to erase the lingering fragments of such profound pain he couldn't even describe it. It was unbearable. His soul was ripped into pieces, bit by aching bit, the slow torture made him break apart.

More blood joined the stain beneath him as Leo spat out another mouth full. He wished he could use his hands to cover his mouth and maybe prevent the third portion of blood to come out.

When the pain ended, Leo was too weak to cry. He simply collapses in the puddle of his own blood. He had no open wounds aside from the self-inflicted bite, all the red came from him coughing it up and spitting it out. His throat was in pain, but his entire body was numb. He didn't feel anything. Neither could he see or hear. He was in so much pain that his body, his spirit, and his soul, were shutting down to preserve themselves.

"Get up."

Leo had not the strength to open his eyes and his body wasn't moving.

"Don't disobey me again."

Disobedience will be punished.

Disobedience... will be punished...

This was his last thought before he lost consciousness.

...

...

...

The first thing Leo registered upon waking up was the smell.

There was a stench that made him want to recoil. But he couldn’t escape it as he was the source.
His clothes were sticky and dirty, greyed from dust and red from blood. He was cold and soon found out that he was left to sleep without a blanket or pillow again.

Getting his eyes open was a challenge. His eyelids arched and while there was no bright light, he felt like something was shining into his face that made him want to shut his eyes.

The solution that ended up pulling him out of this state of a subconscious dream was a single word.
"Eat."
And he noticed two items being placed down next to his head. One of them was a sandwich on a plate, the other a glass of orange juice.

His headache was faint, he barely even recognized it at first. He was too weak to move his body and he couldn’t even get to his food.

Disobedience will be punished.

He didn't need to hear the voice to know the pain he would have to endure if he didn't eat right now. He didn't use his hand to eat. He couldn't feel them really.

His movement was limited, and so he could only turn his head to the side and open his mouth, chewing weakly and gulping down pieces that were too big for his pipe to take in properly.

The worst about it all was how his stomach reacted to the food. It protested.
Every bite was pure agony from his throat all the way to his belly. Leo would have cried out if he had the strength to. He didn't stop until the plate was licked clean, though it wasn't hard since most of the sandwich has crumbled off and was now dirtying the floor.

Leo eyed the glass tiredly. He didn't know how to drink without spilling everything.
He was only told to eat, drinking was optional. He could go a day without it, wouldn’t be the first anyway.

His paralyzed body wouldn't move even after Leo had his meal, so he decided to simply lay there on the floor until something would happen. He stared at the ceiling which wasn't there, he tried to look at the walls which were broken and torn, and he glanced at the floor which was riddled with splinters and scorch marks. It took a moment for the picture to set in.

He was back at the lair.

Leo blinked at the sky.
It was getting dark again.
Has he been asleep for half a day?
...Has Donnie been locked away for half a day...?

Leo couldn't help himself, somehow he worried more for his twin than he cared for his own inability to move.
Donnie's been locked inside a house. Locked in a dark room with no food or water, and the worst part about it was that it had been his own sister and twin (even though Leo didn’t want any part of it, but couldn’t fight back for obvious reasons) to put him there... He must be so afraid...

...This was all his fault. Leo had gotten himself cursed and now his family was suffering. Why couldn't it have stayed the way it was before? When only he suffered, and everyone else was happy. They liked him better now anyway... They should have never attempted to cure him...

Now Donnie was gone, and everyone else was either hurt or corrupted.

It was all his fault.

April was right... He was better now. If he obeyed, he won't cause any more problems.

Time passed.

It was close to midnight when April came back.
She told him to follow her and Leo commenced without resistance. His body ached with every step.

While walking through the destroyed lair, she explained to him his tasks, "You will watch over Mikey for the night. Make sure he is comfortable and follow his wishes. When I check on him in the morning and he is unsatisfied with you, you will be punished. Once you are done with that and you have done your work accordingly, you shall start with cleaning the destroyed parts of the lair. Dinner will be at 6pm, I expect you to be done till then."

Serve Mikey, clean, and eat at 6.

He could do that.

This was fine.

At least he would get fed. He wasn't sure how long Gentry would have waited before giving him anything to eat.

Since the boys’ bedrooms had been destroyed in the lair fight, Mikey was stationed in the med bay, the only part of the lair that was somehow still intact. Many things have been lost to the fire, many memories the family had stored in their rooms over the past…however long they have been living in their new home. Mikey would be devastated once he figures out his kitchen stuff and his art stuff got destroyed.

Mikey was asleep when they arrived. He lay motionless on the medical cot, tugged in comfortably, probably by April. Mikey was allowed to sleep on a bed with a blanket and pillow, in a warm room, and the love of his big sister.

Leo sat down by his bedside, there was no chair so he sat on the floor.

He listened to Mikey's soft breaths.
His baby brother was lucky. Mikey was warm and comfortable and had people that loved him for who he was. And Leo loved him too. Mikey was his sunshine. His light in the darkness. Despite his situation, despite the injustice he felt pierce his chest, he couldn't bring himself to hate Mikey (he could never hate his brothers)... They have had fun together... Back when they were still brothers. Even with their bond changing from brothers to master and slave, he couldn't bring himself to hate him. Mikey wasn’t at fault for his suffering...

And so, Leo watched his baby brother sleep the entire night.

There were moments when Mikey would shift in his sleep, and Leo would hold his breath until his baby brother relaxed and went back into his peaceful slumber. To put it in a short sentence... The night went by with no further complications.

"Did anything happen?" April asked when she returned just like she said she would. Mikey was still asleep, he hadn't woken, not once all night.
"He slept peacefully, master." He wasn't quite sure where that last part came from, but he didn't fight it.

Disobedience will be punished...

...And he didn't want to be punished. The unspeakable pain he went through before was something he can't experience again. He still could feel the iron in his mouth, the blood beneath him, soaking into his hoodie. If he ever wondered what death felt like, it would have been that. It was the most painful experience in his life, and nothing in the entire world could make him want to relive that pain again.

April, however, didn't seem to be too happy about her new title, which honestly came as a surprise to Leo.
"Call me 'sister'." She ordered, and Leo nodded. "Yes, sister."

His first task was done.

Now he had to clean.
April was kind enough to hand him the things he needed. A broom, brushes, water, you name it. There were no inconveniences and he headed to work straight away.

Only half of the lair has succumbed to the damage. The roof was gone, scattered on the ground, there was a gaping hole in the floor of the main atrium, the subway cars that were their bedrooms were also crushed and destroyed. There was a ton of glass and splinters scattered around the place, and apparently, some water pipes have been damaged too

Leo was grateful that they lived in an abandoned subway where no humans would think of coming to. It also seemed like the only room that had survived was the med bay and a bit of Donnie’s lab…the only subway cars that did not get damaged in the fire

Leo briefly wondered how he was supposed to clean all of this up, then he remembered he was on a time limit. Thinking was taking up his time, he should just stop doing that.

And so he began to work.

...

...

...

Mikey felt a lot better after his rest.

His headache was mostly gone and things have stopped appearing blurry. He regained his ability to talk and move, and he used those newfound freedoms to find out what the heck had happened. The last thing he could remember was his talk with Todd and Gentry suddenly attacking the Turtle Tank.

His gut told them something was very wrong.
It almost felt like everything that has happened was a mere dream, that there was no curse and Leo was fine. But things didn't add up. For starters...He wasn't in his bed. This was one of the med bay cots.

Mikey felt around for a moment to find his mask, and when he was about to put it on, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. He slowly reached up and felt around. A cold pack was strapped to his bulge via compression bandages. He knew enough about concussions from what Leo had taught him and also from previous experience to know that he must have been hit pretty hard.

He thought it over for a minute and then slowly undid the bandages and put on his mask.

Something happened, and he would find out what it was.

His brothers and sister had to be around here somewhere.

Getting off the bed was more of a challenge than he had anticipated. He swayed from side to side and had to use the wall for support. Closing his eyes for a moment as he felt a pang of pain shoot through his head, he pressed onward. He stumbled through the hallway and weakly called out the names of his family, "Don! L...Leo! Raph! April?!"

His search paid off, because he found April in the dojo. She was complaining loudly about something that Mikey couldn’t quite hear as she swung her bat. She stopped when she noticed Mikey slowly approaching her.

"You're awake, honey! How are you feeling?"
"I'm... I'm fine." Mikey replied, a bit taken aback by how casual his sister was behaving, "Where is everyone?"
"Oh, don't worry about them, they'll show up sooner or later. I'll pick up Donnie later, and Leo is cleaning parts of the lair"
"Cleaning?" Mikey echoed. Threads of thought began to connect in his mind to a horrible picture. There were a few different scenarios he could see play out in front of him, not even one of them spelled well.

"Where did you say Donnie was again?" The question scared him, but he was more afraid of the answer.
"Don't worry, he's fine."
"What... What have you done to him?"
"As I said before, he is fine."

Mikey didn't trust her for a second. The way she spoke, the way she moved... The way she had the amulet around her neck... His big sister was infected...

"Okay." The box turtle gave in. Donnie was alive and somewhere reachable, this was all he knew so far but it wasn't helping him with anything, "Where is Leo?"
"In the kitchen I believe," April replied and tilted her head toward the place in question. Mikey followed the movement and turned his gaze to the side.

Half the lair was missing.
How has he only noticed that now?

"Oh... Uhm. thanks... Apes. I'll... I'll go check on him."
"Make sure he's not slacking off."
"Uh... I will, Apes. Thanks..."
He was off in a flash. Running wasn't perceived well by his head, it began to hurt quite bad again, though he couldn't slow down.

He wasn't sure for how long he's been out but...

...He was done sitting on the sidelines.

Chapter Text

Mikey had seen many things in his life.

Most of them were nice things. The beauty of his art or the grateful smiles on his brothers’ faces after his cooked for them a delicious meal.

He also saw terrible things. He has seen violence, murder, and blood. He had to watched his big brothers sacrifice themselves more times than he cared to count. He has even close to experiencing death himself

Mikey believed he had already seen the worst the world had to offer.

"...Leo...?"

But today he learned just how wrong he had been.

Leo, his strong, cocky, loving big brother, who Mikey thought was invincible, kneeled with his back to him, his upper body moving forth and back as he scrubbed the floor. He had a bucket with soapy water next to him into which he occasionally dipped his brush before going back to cleaning. The area he was washing was cleaned from any debris that had previously occupied the space. The broken wooden blanks were ordered by size and the amount of damage done to them, and neatly put away to the side. Glass that came from who knows where have been brushed to one corner while dust and splinters were gathered in the other corner. Some items, a couple of clothes and some books, were laid out in the sun to dry, next to all the broken electronics that have yet to be exposed.

The empty walls and floor sparkled from how clean they were, Mikey wouldn't be lying if he said he would be willing to eat from them. The floorboards were washed so thoroughly that he could even see his face's reflection in them. He doubted even Shelldon would have been able to get them this sparkly.

Under normal circumstances, Mikey would have been impressed.

Now he just felt awful.

"Leo!" He called out for his big brother again and rushed to his side, "Leo, are you okay!?"
Well, that was a stupid question.
Leo's hoodie was a mess, dirty, and...

"Who's blood is that...?"
He received no answer.

Desperate for answers as to what the heck had happened while he was asleep, he grabbed Leo's arm and stopped him from brushing. Mikey felt like he was grasping something squishy, something wet and sticky. Just like the front of Leo's hoodie, the sleeve was coated in a layer of blood, though there was a lot more on his arm than anywhere else on his body. "Leon..." He didn't get further than that.

Somewhere along the way, the atmosphere had changed.
Leo wriggled himself out, managing to get his arm free and go back to cleaning.

Mikey stared at him with nothing short of horror, then he looked down at his hand. His scales turned slightly red from the blood on Leo's sleeve and he noticed he had begun to shake, which he haven’t done since shortly after the invasion. Mikey tried to steady himself by breathing in and out for 5 seconds each, and while it helped to some degree, it didn't entirely calm him down.

A chill of guilt bit into his young soul, and he hated it. He wanted it to end.
He should have been there for Leo and prevented him from ever getting hurt. He should have been there for Donnie and made sure he was safe...

Donnie...

"Leo," Mikey tried to gain his big brother's attention again, which worked as well as the first time, "Leo, you need to tell me where Donnie is."
No answer.
"Leo, please. April said she put him somewhere, but I don't know where!"
No answer.
"Leo!"

Mikey kicked the bucket with water to the side, splashing the soapy foam all over the floor and irrigation it in wet. It at the very least accomplished that Leo now looked up at him, though Mikey still didn’t get his answer.

He knew he wouldn’t get far like this. Leo would only respond to the one wielding the amulet, which as of now, was April. Mikey felt the gears in his head begin to smoke from how hard he was thinking. He somehow had to get his hands on the amulet, while at the same time not touching it, or else he would end up getting corrupted, and then who was left to save Leo?

That was a good question. Who was left to save Leo?

Everyone that went with him to Todd’s place, minus April, was gone. That only left them with a handful of people, and it was sad to say, but they already lost the most capable members of their team. Without Splinter and Draxum’s knowledge, or Gentry’s magic abilities, what did they have to save Leo? Donnie was one of the very few people who could drive, but Donnie was gone. Even if he somehow managed to free Leo, how was he going to get him to Eliza? He didn’t even have the map to where she was located! That was still with Raph…

Raphie… Mikey just realized that his big brother, the one who is the biggest, was still on their side. And if anyone can help Leo, it was him. Though Raph wasn’t here. He was probably still stuck at Todd’s place, trying to find a way back to them without the Turtle Tank.

Mikey had a feeling it would end up being a waste of time, but maybe he could try to call them. His phone got burned in the fire, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find a public phone somewhere. He still had some spare change with him. His bigger problem would be whether Raph had his phone with him, because he didn’t memorize any of the Caseys’ numbers, nor Todd’s.

There were so many loose ends that he didn’t know where to begin. His first step should be to find Donnie, but he can’t find Donnie without Leo’s intel, and he can’t get Leo’s intel without the amulet. but how to get the amulet without Donnie’s help? This was a devil's circle and Mikey found himself in the middle of it.

While stuck in his mental crisis, Leo had moved to where the water had spilled and began using what little he had left of the soap and began to clean that spot.

Mikey wanted to scream.

This was not Leo!

That was not his strong and fearless big brother!

He balled his hands into fists. Dr. Delicate Touch was banging against his inner walls, and Mikey found it hard to retain himself. It’s been how many weeks now that Leo’s been suffering?

Mikey felt a sick feeling rose in his stomach even before the world around him broke apart. He couldn’t believe he let something like this happen, and he hated himself for not reacting even after Donnie had pointed out the changes to him.

Mikey patted his cheeks with his hands. He had to think clearly now. The situation was already critical to handle, if he can’t get his thoughts straight, there might be no way out at all.

Hating the display in front of him, Mikey all but tore the brush out of Leo's hands and threw it as far away as he could. He might not always look like it, but he had gained quite the upper body strength, so he wasn't surprised when the brush disappeared into a deep part of the lair.

"Mikey!"

The turtle in question froze.

Yeah, forget the part about calm thoughts.

He was too afraid to turn around and face the owner of the voice. His sister must have overheard him earlier. Now he was done for. She would do to him whatever she did to Donnie, and Leo would be forever lost. He messed up.

He messed up-

"Did it bother you?!"
"What?" Mikey finally managed to take in the scene before him. His sister was glaring daggers at Leo, who had begun to tremble so violently that even the floor shook as well.
Mikey took a step back in shock, not believing what he was seeing, but April only walked closer to Leo with the amulet raised, "I've told you to get the floor done by six!"

"April, stop!" Mikey cried out, just as April was about to bring down the amulet. He wasn't sure where he had suddenly gained the speed from, but he managed to throw himself in front of his big brother, taking the brunt of the hit.
He groaned at the sudden pain that sent his headache escalating from a 3 back to a solid 7, and his vision began to darken at the corners.

"Mikey, sweetheart, what are you doing?!" April asked, dropping to her knees and examining the forming bruise on her baby brother's head. She gently moved Mikey’s mask to the side to take a closer look at the damage done to him.

Mikey felt his body tense up and his blood rushing to his ears.
He wanted to step back, run, push his sister away from him because the love and care she was directing towards him felt so, so wrong.
"It's not his fault he isn't done yet," Mikey tried his best to keep the fear and loath out of his voice, "I was upset and distracted Leo and threw his stuff around! If there is anyone to blame, it's me!"

And that wasn't even a lie.
Mikey shuddered at the look his sister was giving him, but the red-eared slider behind him trembled even worse. In all his life, Mikey had never seen Leo this afraid before.

April glared at her brothers for a moment, "I expected better of you, Mikey," she said sternly, "and Leo, don't ever make your little brother upset again. You are mine to command, but you are still part of this family, so I expect you to serve this family. Do not disappoint me again."
"Yes, sister."

Mikey repressed his urge to gag.
This entire 'conversation' made him want to throw up in disgust.
The way April and Leo acted felt like it was taken from an alternative universe, one where everything was twisted and wrong.

He almost flinched again when he felt someone grab his shoulder and squeeze it slightly, "Sweetie, you said you wanted to see Donnie?"
He opened his mouth but no words came out. Everything he wanted to say clumped together and blocked up his throat. With his voice out of commission, Mikey nodded his head 'yes'.
"Good, then go wait by the entrance of the lair, we're going to pick him up. Leo, as punishment for neglecting your work, you shall not eat, drink, or sleep until you finished cleaning this entire section of the lair. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sister, thank you for your mercy."

In what world was this considered a mercy?

Mikey wanted to protest the punishment, but his throat was still tied shut and his voice was silent.
Muted, he was pulled by the arm towards the entrance of the lair.
His sister said they would get Donnie... Mikey wasn't sure if he was ready to see what she did to the softshell. Experiencing her behavior towards Leo was already enough to book out every nightmare for the rest of the year.

Mikey was pretty sure that his feet were moving on autopilot because he didn’t remember leaving the lair, nor entering the Hidden City via a portal. He was occupied sorting his thoughts and making sense of everything he had seen so far. He had yet to come up with a solid plan to help Leo and contact the rest of his family. He wasn't sure how much longer Leo, or anyone, could last.

He was pulled out of his thoughts and thrown into reality when they stopped walking.
Mikey realized that they were in Witchtown and were at some witch’s house. Mikey had a sneaking suspicion that this house belonged to Gentry

Mikey's entire attention was given to the spot of red on the floor. It couldn't be too old, it rained a couple of days ago. It was already tried, so it couldn't be too fresh either, maybe a day-

Urg, screw his thought process, he knew this was Leo's blood, there was no point in trying to figure out how long it has been there. Someone did this to Leo, and Mikey was quite sure he knew who it was.

"Mikey, honey," The culprit was right there with him... "Be so kind and move the rocks out of the way, my leg isn't well enough yet.

Mikey blinked at his sister. She was still hurt, her broken leg preventing her from using all her strength. If he could somehow get her crutch away from her and tip her over... he might be able to grab the amulet and make a run for it... What was he thinking!? His sister had a broken leg, he can't just go and shove her like that!

...But it was a thought he was holding on to. Just in case something happens.

Moving the rocks aside, he thought he was hearing something coming from the other side of the door.

Pushing the last rock away, Mikey reached out to open the door. Immediately the room was flooded with the light of the afternoon sun, and the noises he thought were just an illusion became louder.

"Ha, see who decided to show up." The sarcastic growl of Gentry came from within.
Mikey was pushed in first, with his sister following behind him a bit slower due to her leg. With every step that he took into the room, his heart sank a little lower. The first thing he saw was Gentry's prison. She was trapped in some kind of dome-shaped barrier, the walls shimmering slightly and in the colors of a soap bubble. The witch inside sat cross-legged and with her hands in her lap, looking annoyed, almost bored even.

The second thing he noticed was what made him lose his footing and fall down. He caught himself in time to prevent a second concussion, but his head was already filling with so much threat that it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.

"...Mikey?"
"What...?" Mikey breathed out, not believing what he was seeing.
Donnie's eyes were puffy and red as if he's been crying for a while. He looked exhausted and scared, and the softshell had to blink a couple of times when the bright light hit him. He was shaking, pain and fear evident in his eyes. He had some dried blood sticking to his forehead, but what set Mikey off the most was how there was a metallic glister coming from Donnie’s wrist.

He had to take a step closer to see what it really was, and he felt his blood begin to boil at the sight of the handcuffs.

Mikey’s entire mind went blank.
How could he have let this happen? For how long has Donnie been down here, alone and dark and scared?

"Do you know where the keys are?" Mikey caught himself asking, inspecting the cuffs with horror in his eyes.
"I have them" The jingle, mixed with his sister's cold tone, made Mikey turn.

A sense of deja vu filled Mikey, feeling himself appear in a similar position as he did just an hour early with Leo.
Donnie was shivering heavily from fear and watched in horror as their sister approached them.
"W-What have you done to him?" Donnie stuttered out and weakly fought against his restraints. His wrists were blueish from the self-inflicted bruises.

Mikey was at a loss. Now that he was trapped with only one exit, his idea of incapacitating April and making a run for it was useless. And could he ever leave Donnie behind? His big brother wore an expression of dread and betrayal that Mikey never ever saw on his brother’s face. Never.

April stopped in her approach just mere inches away from them. "Don't worry about it," she said, patting Donnie on the cheek, which made him flinch. It was obvious how uncomfortable the softshell was at the touch.
"I... I heard his screams..." His voice died down at the end and Donnie sobbed quietly, "You hurt Leo! You hurt my twin!"

"Tsk tsk tsk," April clicked with her tongue and moved her hand from Donnie’s cheek to his chin, lifting the softshell's head up slightly so that they were forced to make eye contact, "It disobeyed me, I simply taught it a lesson."
"A lesson!?" Donnie spat back, "I heard his screams! You made him bleed! My sister would never do that to him!"

Mikey felt his breath stop for a moment and he looked up at the ceiling. He noticed blood on the wooden planks right above Donnie and he realized in horror where the blood on Donnie has come from.

"Oh, baby," April rubbed her thumb over Donnie's cheek, the younger recoiled at the touch, "I wanted to take you home with me today, we could have been a family again... But it seems you haven't leaned your place yet."
April let go of Donnie, and in one, shift, motion, slapped the softshell's face. Donnie's breath hitched, and he pulled up his legs in a miserable attempt to curl himself up.

Mikey remained speechless.
He wanted to scream and move so bad, but his legs were glued to the floor and his throat had no air. He could feel anger boil beneath the surface of his skin. Rage that could not be contained but somehow existed within him.

He had never felt so hot in his life before. Passionate rage burning inside him like an inferno you couldn't put out. The anger wasn't directed at his brother, not even his sister, though she was the one that ignited it in him. No, his hate was only aimed at himself for how large of a mistake he had created. He should have seen this coming and should have planned to do something about it... But he had done nothing.

Then, his seething got interrupted by loud laughter.
"Damn, man, this is better than any reality TV show I could have asked for!"
Mikey whirled around to Gentry, who had gotten to her feet and held her stomach with one hand while wiping a tear away with the other, "You should have seen him before that! All determined that by the time she comes back everything would have been settled already!" She laughed, "Really, it is to die for! 'Mikey will save me, you'll see!' he said!"

"Watch your mouth, witch." April hissed, turning away from Donnie to face Gentry in her dome, "You have no right talking to my brother like this!"
"Which brother are you talking about? The one you abuse physically or the one you abuse mentally? Or perhaps the one you have yet to hurt?"
"You take that back! I'm not abusing my brothers."

Gentry tried and failed to hold back another burst of laughter, "Who the heck are you trying to convince? The only reason you have my amulet right now is because you backstabbed that so-called 'brother' of yours."
"You take that back, this is MY amulet! You should have never had it." April was now close enough to the barrier that her mouth was pressed tightly against it, "And it always will be mine."

This was the phrase that set the witch off.
Gentry banged against her barrier angrily, "How about you come inside and we settle this the easy way?" She asked, holding her own cuffed hands up in a battle-ready stance. April glanced at the bracelets with a smirk on her face, "You think that’s a challenge?"
Gentry rose a brow, "Willing to test your luck?"

And while the two females were going deeper in their insult battle, throwing words around that would send Raph reeling, Mikey was slowly sneaking over to his big brother.

"A-Angelo." Donnie sobbed, trying to reach out for his baby brother but his hands were still cuffed to the bed.
Mikey cupped his big brother’s cheeks in his hand, flinching in sync with Donnie as he accidentally brushed over the spot Donnie's been slapped at. He didn't know what to say, his voice still missing, and so he gently leaned forward until his and Donnie's foreheads were touching, nuzzling his beak against his brother’s. Donnie let out a heartbreaking chirp and, despite his voice being gone, Mikey was able to reach down within and let out a reassuring chirp. They remained in that position for a moment, Mikey wishing he could do more to comfort his brother.

When he pulled away, Mikey felt a sensation of cold and warm at the same time. He felt nauseous and dizzy and his head was hurting like hell.

Donnie's eyes- scratch that, Donnie's entire face was filled with fear. Donnie was never one to show much fear in the face of danger, and even when he did, he usually brushed it off as not so bad, but lately, it was all Mikey's been seeing on his big brother’s face, and now... Donnie looked terrified. It didn't match with him. Donnie wasn't supposed to look scared out of his mind, with tears of fear in his eyes and a heartbreaking expression on his face.

"Donnie, I-" Mikey tried to sound convincing, but it was a bit difficult to keep his voice steady. He didn't want to think about what his big brother saw and heard in his time alone, especially not now when everything could literally blow up around them.
There was a sound of metal hitting metal when Donnie tugged at his handcuffs again, "C-C-Can you get them o-off?"

"Not without a key," Mikey mumbled so quietly it sounded more like a exhale of breath. He stared at the cuffs with furrowed brows and a pained expression. Maybe Leo could have tried to pick to lock, but he wasn't here and even if he was, he wouldn’t have tried without the command. Frustrated, Mikey balled his hands into fists. Why was there nothing he could do? Never had he felt this useless! This helpless!

"Mikey?"
He looked but by the mention of his name. The tears on his big brother's face were streaming down his face in tiny waterfalls, "I-Is Leo alive...? I-I heard his screams. I-I can’t r-really f-feel h-him a-anymore. I-I think April m-murdered h-him..."
"Leo's alive."
"I-Is he safe?" His big brother asked, and it made his anger flare up again. He know he should keep it down, but it was all spilling out of him. No, Leo wasn't safe. No one was safe, not even in the slightest! They were all hurt. cursed, or missing!

Donnie's eyes grew wide at the lack of response.
"Please, Mikey- He...Leo screamed... I... I thought he was dying... There was blood..."
"Shh, Donnie, Leo is alive, I promise. We can still save him." Desperation was seeping through his voice. He wanted to believe there was still hope.
"C-can you..." Donnie's voice broke off, "Can you save me too?"
"Donnie..."

"MIKEY!"
Both turtles flinched at the sharp voice cutting through the air.
In retrospect, he should have expected this to happen. He should have listened to the voice in the back of his mind and never come down here with his sister. He knew from the beginning that he wouldn't return home with Donnie... He just caused more distress for them both.

"We're leaving," April said sternly and Mikey could hear his big brother's breath hitch behind him.
Despite knowing the answer, Mikey dared to ask, "What about Donnie?"
"Until he learns how to behave, he will stay down here with the witch."
"But... What about food? And- And water?"
"Starving worked quite well on Leo, hopefully, it will yield similar results on him. I mean, they are twins after all"

Mikey felt a part of him die.
This- She couldn't be serious.
"Mikey, come now, sweetheart. We're leaving." April hummed, no sign of sarcasm in those eyes.
She was bloody serious.

"Please don't leave me down here again." Donnie pleaded, truly scared now, "Mikey, please! Please stop her!"
"Mikey, come. Now" April ordered one more time.
"MIKEY!!!” Donnie and April said at the same time

His body refused to move and he refused to speak.
There was no choice, the answer was obvious. He was on Donnie's side. He always will be. Donnie had been his brother longer than April had been his sister.
Yet, he lowered his head and followed his sister.

There was no one to pick up after he leaves, if Mikey somehow finds himself in a position similar to Donnie, then everything would be lost. It tore at his chest and ripped his heart apart, but to save them... he had to leave Donnie behind. He couldn't raise suspicion by standing up for him, if his sister deems him as too loose of a cannon, then it was all over.

Mikey saw the logic, he was the bigger picture...
So why does he feel so awful?
Because he couldn't even protect the people dearest to him.

And the chill of his own failure and his own mistakes continued to haunt him as he went out the door after his sister, and he blocked out Donnie's quiet sobs as his big brother pleaded for him to come back. He could barely roll the stones back onto the door without doubting, without second-guessing his own moves. He suddenly felt like he was making the wrong choice, maybe there was something better he could have done. And his confidence vanished with the last stone back in its place and him following his sister through the Hidden City and back to the lair.

So this was fate after all. The last of the lingering warmth faded from his body.

And in his silent walk back to the lair, he realized one cruel thing in his decision-making. He noticed it when they entered the lair and his sister leaned down to kiss his forehead.

He was terrified of his sister.

Crippling fear took away all conscious thought, halting him, and he could never move on.
The desire to save his brothers was only drowned out by the immense fear he had of his sister.

He didn't want to get punished as well...

His gaze was glued to the ground as he headed inside.

Mikey didn't even notice the hug RV approaching him. He only heard the loud bang as it crashed into what was left of the lair.

...

...

...

Casey Junior tapped his foot nervously on the ground.

Patience has never been his strong point.

The fight with Gentry had left him... in quite the bad shape. He had to admit that he wasn't sure whether he would have survived the ordeal if it wasn't for Todd jumping in and getting them out at the very last second.
They patched him and the rest of the family up and gave them some salves to help their wounds heal, though even then they were forced to lay down and rest.

According to Todd, it has only been a day since the fight, but it felt like so much more time had passed. Him and Raph were already able to walk and move on their own, though his mom, the one to get hit by Gentry's energy beam the hardest, was still in critical condition. She would be fine with a bit more rest and care, but waiting minutes felt like torture because he knew seconds counted.

The other three brothers were gone. So were the Turtle Tank, April, and Gentry,
They didn't know where they went to, or what condition they were in...

He just hoped that the boys were safe and okay...

Letting out a sigh, Casey Junior sat down at the bed he had been given and stared at the ceiling. Next to him, the bed shifted.
"Don't lose hope yet, CJ," Raph said and rubbed the boy's shoulder comforting.
"But... Everyone's gone... It's only us three left."
Us three... Raph, Cassandra, and himself.
Splinter had fled the battlefield at one point, and when everyone came too, Draxum was gone too

He hated the thought, but denying it would only slow him down.
That amulet slowly took more and more family away from him and Casey Junior wanted to do nothing but smash that thing into a million tiny pieces.

"Six." Raph corrected him, and caused him to look up, "We are six left. My little brothers are still out there, and we'll get them back."
"But... How? We don't know where they are."
"We don't... But we have someone who does."

Right...
They still had Todd on their side. The capybara was still able to help them. Which was such a relief

"How's Cassandra?" Raph asked, redirecting their conversation to a different topic.
"I..." Casey Junior took a moment to find the right words, "I think her physical wounds are the smaller problem... I wish I could help her somehow..."
Raph squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, "Just be there for her, I believe that is what she needs the most right now. We still have a long path ahead of us, we can't have her give up now."
"If only it was that easy." Casey Junior sighed but smiled slightly. The comforting words lifted his spirit a bit.
"If only it was that easy..." Raph echoed, nodding knowingly. It was never that easy, but they would do everything to see it through it to the end.

They boarded Todd’s RV a few hours later. Cassandra still had an ice pack with her, which she was pressing down on her swollen eye, but other than that, and ignoring all the bandages covering her, she looked fine.

The former foot recruit was quiet for the most part, absorbed in her own thoughts. Her son followed behind her equally silent. Everything that happened... It was still hard to swallow. Maybe they would finally stop the setbacks and manage to step forward. He didn't know how many more obstacles destiny wanted to throw in their way, but he was growing sick of it.

The inside of Todd’s RV was... well... Casey Junior could only describe it as a bit smelly, as it was the main home of all of Todd’s puppies, which were hitching a ride back into the city. However, it sort of had a similar smell to the sewers, so CJ didn’t really have much room to complain

"Ladies and Gentlemen…and Gentleturtle, please put on your seatbelts and remember to keep your arms, legs, and tails inside the RV at all times," Todd announced, plopping down in the driver's seat. He quickly got the RV up and moving.

Cassandra watched with a concerned frown from a bit further away. Raph was seated beside Todd in the passenger seat, keeping an eye on the road ahead and directing Todd. Despite there being no danger, Cassandra felt a bit.. uneasy. Maybe she was just afraid of what she would find when they arrive. She wasn't thrilled to face off against Gentry again... Gentry was her friend... Cassandra didn't want to fight her.

Her son came over and sat beside her. The two sat in silence for a bit before Cassandra spoke up

"I thought I could get through to her..."
CJ looked up at his mom, the rare and sad expression in her tone taken him aback "I thought that maybe I could get her to come back to us... I brought us all in danger... again."
"Mom... No. No, you didn't."
"Do you have any evidence that it isn't my fault?” The former foot recruit asked, still not raising her gaze.
"Do you have any evidence that you are to blame?" Casey Junior countered, determined to win the argument.

Cassandra simply pointed at the countless bandages covering them both, "Is that enough evidence?"
"This evidence would not hold up in court."
"We're not in court."
"And your evidence still doesn't hold up."
"Your structure of argumentation is unreasonable."
"YOU'RE unreasonable! Mom, this isn't your fault! You tried to help!"
"And I failed."
"And so did I! Do you think I'm to blame for what happened?"
"No, of course not!"

Casey Junior grabbed his mom by the shoulders and shook her slightly. He would have gone more in, but he didn't mean to cause more injury as he shook the former foot recruit, "And if I'm not to blame, then neither are you!"
Cassandra fought herself free, "You're not dropping this, aren't you?"
"Not until you accept the truth."
"The truth is that Gentry is corrupted and we're all doomed."

This was getting frustrating!
"Come on, Mom, this isn't like you to be so pessimistic."
Cassandra sighed and looked at the ceiling, "I really thought she wouldn't hurt me..."
"You know this isn't Gentry's fault, right?"
"I know... I know... I wasn't enough to stop her..."
"I don't think anyone of us is strong enough for her... It never crossed my mind before, but having Gentry as your enemy sure is... terrifying." Casey Junior went quiet towards the end. This wasn't the conversation he was hoping of having.

The conversation went back and forth for a while with no real progress.

"We'll get her back." He settled on his final statement, "We'll get her and everyone else back to normal. No more steps back, from now, we're going forward."
Cassandra blinked at him a couple of times, then she smirked, "Looks as if we're about to crash."
"About to what-"

The RV shook as it rammed against what remained of the lair. Casey Junior loosened his seatbelt and slipped out the second the world stopped spinning.

The time for action had arrived.

And he was all fired up.

Chapter Text

Mikey shielded his eyes from all the dust that was flung into the air and filled the sky with a cloud of grey. He caught, swatting a few of the particles away from his mouth.

His ears were ringing, the crash had been extremely loud and he stood literally right next to the place of impact. Just a little bit closer and the collapsing lair would have hit him! The air pressure alone had been enough to blow some of the stickers off of his shell and for his mask to become skewed.

Mikey's body tensed up, the scales on his skin rising from anticipation. He recognized the RV as Todd’s. He could assume that Todd was on their side, but he wasn’t so sure. Maybe Todd got corrupted by the amulet too and was only here because of the amulet, and knowing how possessive his sister was over the amulet, a confrontation was unavoidable.

If he felt hopeless before, then his mental state stood no chance now. He tried to wrap his mind around it, tried to think of every possible outcome, but no matter how many scenarios he made up in his head, not even one of them would spell victory. This was a fight he was going to lose.

The dust settled and Mikey lowered his arm.
Whatever was left of the lair before was gone now, everything lay in shambles. Soon his knees hit the pavement and he didn't get back up again. His head was pounding with benighted blows. There was nothing he could do. There was simply... nothing.

He had felt it coming for a while, but now he finally reached his point of utter meltdown. He didn't know how to stop April. He didn't know how to take the pain away from Leo. Donnie was trapped, abandoned by him in that house and cuffed to a bed, and he didn't know how he could ever look his brother in the eyes again. And now he probably had to deal with Todd too? How? He was just a child! A scared child who had a hard time keeping his head above the water to not drown in the sea of panic and guilt he was swimming in.

Mikey couldn’t think of any particularly bad thing he'd done to deserve agony like this, but here it is anyway.
He didn't realize he had begun to cry until he felt his tears roll down his cheek and drip on his knees.

He didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted to go home where it was safe and curl up in a turtle pile next to all of his brothers who were safe and happy. He wanted their arms to wrap around him and hold him close, a promise to always love him and to never let go. He wanted to wake up and face the day with enthusiasm and spirit. He wanted certainty that things will end alright and that it was okay to feel miserable and sick.

Even though he couldn’t go to his immediate older brothers, he still had his biggest brother with him. The moment that Raph saw the condition that his baby brother was in, he ran to him and wrapped him up in a huge hug. It took Mikey a minute to realize who was hugging him before he fully collapsed into his Raphie’s arms. Lost and abandoned by the world, Mikey cried into his big brother's chest. A scream of frustration with a hint of desperation got stiffed by the older turtle's plastron, his face buried deep into Raph’s arms.

Mikey didn't know where his oldest brother had come from, but now that he was here, he wouldn't let go of him ever again. Raph's arms might be the last place in the entire universe he had left to feel safe at. Snuggling deep into the hug, Mikey continued to let out sobs and wails of pain. He wasn’t kneeling anymore, his oldest brother had picked him up and held him close to his chest, purring and rumbling in a way that Mikey haven’t heard from his big brother since they were tots. He didn't know where they were going, but as long as he remained in Raphie’s arms, he wouldn’t complain.

With time, his wails turned into stifled sobs with occasional hiccups. Once he found his voice again, he even spoke, "I want to go home." It was quiet and got muffled by his face being buried in Raph’s shoulder, but his older brother heard him anyway because the grip he was being cradled in became ever so slightly tighter.

Mikey was okay with not receiving any verbal reply, being held was all the answer he needed. For the first time in a long while, he felt... comfortable. Mikey sank deeper into the hold, hiccupping and then letting out a soft breath.

Being with his oldest brother, he didn’t fear too many things anymore. There was nothing to be worried about. Raphie would protect him. Full-blown relief flooded through him, things would be okay now.

Mikey snuggled deeper.
He felt like he could fall asleep there and then. He might have actually if it wasn't for a very specific question his oldest brother asked and made him drop into the icy cold pool of reality.

"Where are the twins? Where are Donnie and Leo?"

Suddenly, those arms weren't comfortable anymore.

Where were Donnie and Leo?

Somehow, he wasn't so sure about that himself.

Mikey struggled to wiggle himself out of his oldest brother's embrace until he stood with both his feet on the ground again. Carrying his own weight felt odd for a second, comfort and assurance missing from his side.

He couldn't quite meet his oldest brother's eyes when he spoke, "Gone."
He didn’t know how else to put it. They weren’t dead, but were they truly alive at that point?
Donnie was locked away in a dark room and with all the bad things happening to them lately, Mikey wouldn’t be surprised if Leo was trapped somewhere beneath the rubble of the collapsed lair.

Mikey glanced over the debris of what was left of their home. He would have said that his heart sank deep at the sight, but Mikey didn’t think it can get any lower. They say once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up, but Mikey just learned that there was also the option of staying at the low, unable to move upward. Never move upward, because once you gain some distance, it will be all that easier to fall back down.

Mikey wasn't standing for much longer.
He really needed a rest, and his body opposed to every step he did. Exhaustion was a heavy drug once it set in. He truly felt miserable and empty.

He was helped back to his feet, and Raph held him by the arm until he was sure Mikey wouldn't fall over again. "Don't overexert yourself. You can stay here while I'll find our brothers. You did enough, Mikey."
He didn't do anything. Not a single useful thing. He's a spectator standing on the field and hindering the players to get on it.

"I'll... I'll come with you." the box turtle managed to raise his voice loud enough for his older brother to hear, and he took a shaky step forward. On the one hand, he wished for nothing more than to stop already. He was not made for this much stress and he could be suffering another meltdown any second, On the other hand, his immediate older brothers still need him. With Donnie gone from the picture, all Leo had left now was him. He couldn't let Leo alone like this, and he still had to get back to Donnie and get him out of that dark room. There was no 'if' he does those things, only a 'when', and he didn't want to push it any further than he did already. This entire situation should have been dealt with a long time ago.

There was a hand stroking his shell, his tense body calming with every pat. Mikey let out a soft breath, desperately needing the comfort for what was about to happen next.
"I know where Leo is," Mikey said, having trouble keeping his voice steady. Nonetheless, he took a step forward, and Raph followed him.

His mind went on autopilot for a second, navigating through the rubble to where he had last seen Leo. He shouldn't hold on to all bravado and confidence, especially not when he knew how desperate his situation was and how useless his participants in all this is. He trusted in his oldest brother's ability to catch him if he were to fall, or rather when. Again. It wasn't a question of if it happens or not, more of when Mikey had his next breakdown.

"Mikey," Raph stepped deliberately in front of him, "Let me handle this. You shouldn't be here."
"But- But Leo-"
"I can get him, sit this one out."
Mikey's throat went dry. 'Yes, please,' he agreed in his mind. He didn't want to be the strong, brave hero to save the day. He would fail and he couldn't take that. It was a painful back and forth, agonizing even. He wanted to save his brother... He wanted to save himself... He couldn't do both, one of them was bound to break no matter what.

As the unceasing thoughts rolled by, he knew his decision mattered less and less. It was not up to him and he was glad about that. Choice was a beautiful gift and a terrible curse. His desire to give in and leave grew bigger and stronger with every passing instance.

"Okay." He ended up agreeing. He would abandon Leo, just like he abandoned Donnie. It was the best for everyone, especially his highly unstable mental and emotional state.

"You're not going anywhere."
Panic bleed into his veins. Mikey almost stumbled when Raph pulled him back so that the snapper turtle was now standing in between his baby brother and the new threat- their own sister.

Next to April stood Leo. The red-eared slider looked worse for wear, more so than when Mikey saw him mere hours ago. Leo had a new layer of dust covering him. His hoodie was torn in multiple spots with blood seeping through a few of them. Leo's hands... The bandages they had put on him when he burned his palms on the amulet- it felt as if that happened a lifetime ago and not just a few days- were stained with a new layer of blood, either from the old wound reopening, or a new wound that just formed. His legs weren’t in any better condition. Leo looked as if a breeze could knock him over. By any means, this turtle should not be standing right now.

"Where do you think you're going?" April asked sharply, her eyes narrowed and fixated on Mikey. Raph took a step forward, determination burning in his eyes, "Put down the amulet."
"Brother, we don't have to fight." Solemness on her tongue, the statement itself left the snapper turtle in a state of silence. The human girl saw this as an invitation to continue, "We can share this power. We can finally become the family you want us to be. Our…Your brothers can be whatever you want!"
That last bit made Mikey flinch and hide behind his older brother.

He should probably flee, but... he didn’t trust his leg strength to carry him. He was frozen on the spot.

Raph was slowly approaching their sister, and April did the same and walked closer to her immediate younger brother while leaning more dependently on her crutch. They both stared at each other in total silence, once they were close enough that their faces were almost touching, they stopped.
"Join me, little brother." April said, holding out the hand in which she held the amulet, "We can share this power."

Raph stared at the amulet for a good minute, his face neutral and impossible to read. April presented him with a one-time offer, the chance to share the power of the amulet. Mikey couldn't say if his sister was for real or not, she's been so possessive over that thing, and no one before showed any signs of cooperation. Mikey didn't trust what was going on, not even a bit.

Luckily for him, neither did Raph.

The snapper turtle reached out and snatched April's crutch away from her at lightning speed. April lost balance, she tried to regain it by flailing her arms around, but when she accidentally placed down her broken foot to prevent her from falling, she collapsed in on herself with a gasp.

"You!" she growled infuriated, glancing daggers at her immediate younger brother who was quickly throwing the crutch to the side, where it rolled for a few meters before coming to a stop.

"This ends now!" Raph said, walking a curve around their fallen sister and over to Leo.
"Don't just stand there!" The female screamed from behind, "attack him!"
Leo flinched but didn’t hesitate when the command hit his ears. Just as Raph understood what he had to do now, the red-eared slider jumped at him with a muted battle cry.

It was easy to get Leo off. The poor turtle was trembling the entire time, and while every punch had his full force behind it, it was barely strong enough to count as a tickle. The red-eared slider's body was so battered and bruised, he was nothing more than a walking corpse at that point.

If Raph, at any point, would fight back, it might have been the end for his little brother. But Raph didn't strike back, not even once. This was his little brother. He just couldn’t do it. He hurt Leo once, he would never do it again. He took the weak blows to his chest and shoulders. He didn't react when Leo weakly tried to bite him in the arm.

Mikey felt his vision blur gain.
"Leo..."
He didn't know what to say, what to do.
His oldest brother was walking towards him with Leo still chewing on his arm, "We're leaving." he said, his voice cold and leaving no room to argue.
"B-But what about the amulet?"
"We'll get that later, first, we need to bring Leo somewhere safe."

Mikey blinked the tears away. But... that didn’t make any sense. "I thought he couldn’t- couldn’t leave the amulet?"
Raph picked up Mikey and held him in his arm that currently wasn't being munched off, "His commands take priority."

Right, Leo didn't try to follow them to Kitsune’s house earlier because his cleaning command was still in effect. But, what did that mean for them now?
He didn't dare to ask it out loud. If only he wasn't such a pathetic excuse of a little brother, he would have pulled through his pain to ask. Why couldn’t he be of more use?
Leo wasn't looking at him, but Mikey couldn’t stop looking at the blue-loving twin.

Leo still had his mouth around Raph's arm, but despite biting down for so long, the red-eared slider hadn't managed to break skin or draw blood.
"Leo..." The words Mikey wanted to say died on his tongue. He slowly extended an arm towards his blue-loving older brother, even managing to gently pat Leo’s head.

Now, one of the few key things Mikey had learned in his years of doing this hero thing- and to an extent- living in this family, was to never turn your back on the enemy unless you can be certain they won't stab you in the back. This one important rule was something that not only he, but also his oldest brother failed to consider.

They shouldn’t have expected April’s broken leg to hold her off for long.

Mikey landed on the ground for the who knows how many-th time. At this point, he was just glad his concussion hadn’t decided to come back and make things worse. If there even was a worse.

When he rose his pounding head, Mikey was met with the sight of his sister and oldest brother wrestling on the floor. They rolled around, a few punches were thrown, and in their struggle, a fragile red-eared slider turtle desperately tried to keep up. Leo was thrown off two or three times, every time he got pushed down, it took him longer to get back up again. The fourth time that happened, his legs stopped working entirely and he had to all but crawl his way back to the fight.

The fighting noises came from two sides.

The louder and more violent one came from right in front of him, the other, quieter but also loud with a struggle, was behind him.

"HHhng-! Todd, stay here! In case we need an escape route"
Mikey didn't border to turn around and see what was going on.

He couldn't feel his body anymore.
Everything around him had suddenly and instantly become numb. His head hurt. It wasn't all that painful, but it was all he could focus on now.

He wasn't a happy turtle. Granted, he couldn't remember what happiness was truly defined as anymore, but the closest he came was when he splashed into a pool, along with his brothers. He also thought of when he was surrounded by his big brothers in a huge turtle pile. He tried to think back to that time, a time were things were peaceful. A time when Mikey felt safe and loved

Those memories got shredded the second he could hear loud grunting from the fight that had gotten more violent now.
Never had anything stopped this family. They defeated multiple villians and they beat a freaking alien race that threatened to destroy their world! No matter what was being thrown at them, they came out of this victorious...

...Because they faced it as a family...

But now that family was tearing each other apart, all fighting for their lives for some stupid amulet that should have never came into their procession in the first place
And that was it.
He would be a fool if he believed that there was any way he could still win this fight.

And then...

Then something snapped.

Mikey felt his heart stop. Did Dr. Delicate Touch just take over? No, Dr. Delicate Touch was still locked away in the deepest pits of his mind, though he wouldn't be surprised if his alter ego took control. No, the sound he heard was something else.

Mikey finally turned around to check what was going on behind him.

Todd was charging at Raph and April with a speed that was both insane and scary. With the quick glance that Mikey got of Todd, the capybara had that crazy hair and was shirtless. ‘Must have drink his special lemonade’ Mikey thought to himself. The wind that came when Todd dashed passed him made shiver, his scales standing on end

"Mikey!"
The Casey’s caught up to him, and Casey Junior dropped to his knees beside him, "Master…I mean Mikey, are you okay?!"
He didn't answer.

Casey Junior's voice faded into the background of his thoughts. His mind could conjure the scene so easily. The few alleys he had left beaten and possibly dead, Leo bowing to whoever was the last one standing, his body having been worked bloody.

"Mikey! Mikey!" Casey Junior called his name and shook him, "Mikey, come on! We still need you! Come back!"

Mikey, despite being manhandled, still wouldn't respond.
Whatever was happening- it took his strength and shattered it as if it was nothing, leaving him to pick up the broken pieces.

"He's not responding!" Casey Junior hissed, giving Mikey one last, firm, shake before letting go.
"What now?" Cassandra asked next to him, shooting a glance at the fight just a few feet away from them.

"You try and get him back to his senses, I'll go and help Raph!"
"Alright," Easier said than done. Cassandra was just as lost about this as CJ or Mikey was. She picked up where CJ left off, and that meant shaking Mikey until she would get a response. "Mikey! You can't give up now!

Damnit, if only she had some water to splash him with! Cassandra looked around but didn't find anything useful that could help her in her quest. "Mikey, come on! Your brother needs you! Leo needs you! You hear me! Snap! Out! Of! It!"

Cassandra cared little for how rough she was in her shaking, the longer Mikey remained like this, the more frustrated she got. When it all bottles over, she rose her hand and gave the box turtle an assertive slap. "Don't you DARE give up, Michelangelo! The fight's not lost yet! We can still win! You still have your brothers on your side! DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP ON THEM!"

Still nothing.

"Gahhh!" Cassandra screamed, but not at anyone, just an overflow of emotion and stress. She should have never agreed to be part of this!
"Leo needs you!" she let go of Mikey and shoved him further down, "He's waiting for you to save him! He's been fighting this for so long because he believes in you! And you go and- and what? Break down? Have you any idea what HE'S going through? Have you any idea how much we lost already to get here? If we give up now, then everything we've done will be for NOTHING! The lair burning down will be for nothing! Our trip to Todd’s will be nothing! Gentry's and everyone's sacrifices will be for nothing! Are you really okay with living knowing that you decided to give up on them!?"

Her words were like fragments that cut into Mikey like a thousand shattered swords, threatening to reduce his mind to splinters.
Reality slowly came back into focus, and his body prickled with electric numbness.

"I...I'm sorry." The sentence was so quiet, almost lost in the grunts of the fight around them. Mikey trembled slightly, and he needed Cassandra's help to stand.
"Mikey... It's hard, but you can't give up yet. Just hold on a little bit longer. We're all fighting."
"O-Okay... okay. W-What now?" Mikey wrapped his arms around himself to calm down. He wished with every ounce of his himself that Cassandra would disappear and let him have his crisis in peace.

"First we need to get Leo and the amulet back, then- Where's Donnie?"

There was that question again. A question that felt impossible to answer and yet he had to tell her, "In a dark room at Kitsune’s house."
"Excuse me- what!?"

Mikey tightened his self-hug. Maybe he was selfish, but he rather had his brothers comfort him than the other way around. Being the youngest never felt this horrible before.

“April locked him there with Gentry because apparently, he caused problems."
"He... He is trapped with Gentry...?" Cassandra's tone shifted and she turned pale, "Is he alive?"
"I..." Mikey didn't know how to answer. He wanted to say yes, he ended up saying "Yes", but did he believe it? His doubt grew the longer he thought about it. Maybe Gentry won't kill him but... There were many other things that could happen, and Mikey didn’t want to imagine the possibilities.

Cassandra shook for a moment, breathing in and out at a slow pace to steady herself, "Okay, change of plans- You show me where they are and we'll go rescue them."
"B-But CJ a-and Leo-?"
"They can..." Cassandra looked over her shoulder to where the fight was playing. It was a mess of limbs, everyone falling over another to try and pin the other down. Leo was in the middle of it all, looking more like he was trying to shield himself instead of participating in the fight.

They couldn't leave, not both of them, at least. Cassandra came to the conclusion as well, "Go, Mikey, get your brother, I'll help out here."
Mikey opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted before he could get his first word out-
"No arguing, we don't have time! Go, Mikey! Go!" With that last exclaim, Cassandra pushed the box turtle away. Mikey stared at his friend for a second, the feeling of his body slowly returning to him and driving away the numbness. He gave Cassandra a firm nod before turning.

Maybe he should have thought it through more.
Kitsune’s house wasn't just around the corner, without a vehicle, and the portal to the Hidden City wasn’t exactly easy access. It would take forever to run there. No doubt, by the time he would return to the lair he would be too late.

Mikey was already out in the sewers and climbing the ladder when the thought of turning back hit him. He stopped in his tracks. If he gets Donnie now, he would be too late to save Leo... But Donnie was the very few left that could drive a vehicle, along with Raph.

He began his sprint again.
No more thinking from now on. Only doing. Thinking only got him into more trouble and it stopped him from acting. There was only one thing on his mind now, and that was rescuing his brother. Brothers. Plural. He was going to get all of them to safety.

Time turned into a meaningless concept.
He was running, nothing else. His breath came out in quick huffs, the wind pressing against his face and forcing his eyes shut. His legs were hurting and his feet didn't want to carry him...
...But he didn't stop.

He sprinted to the Hidden City entrance, stepping through the portal once it opened. Once he got through, he sprinted through Witchtown, not stopping for anything as he had to get to Kitsune’s house

Almost there.

When he got to the edge of Witchtown, he was able to see Kitsune’s house
Huey didn't stop, he even put more vigor into his final sprint. The world slowed down as he landed in front of the house

He was breathing heavily and bending over, placing his hands on his knees, and coughing. He might have set a new speed record for himself.

While trying to regain his breath, Mikey was going over his next course of action in his head.
Get inside the house.
Get Donnie.
Get off the handcuffs-

...He...
...He forgot to get the keys, didn't he?

Mikey shook his head.
Forget the keys, he would find a different way to free Donnie, for now, he just wanted to see his brother... Give him a hug...

Mikey almost fell face-first into the house when he opened the door and took a step forward. He hadn't expected it to be open with the rocks rolled away...
For a second or two he just stood there, staring in horror at what was before him.
"D-Donnie...?" Mikey called out.

The room was just as dark as before, but there was some leftover sun granting him light to see. And he saw alright. He saw everything and nothing at all.

"Donnie...?" Mikey walked a few steps in before collapsing. He'd been too late.

The house was empty.

The dark room was empty

Gentry was gone

Donnie was gone

Chapter Text

Well...

...This was a mess.

One might even call it a dumpster fire of chaos.

At least this was what Casey Junior would refer to this for the rest of his life.

He never expected things to go this bad.
He also never expected to be face to face with Todd in a fistfight.

Todd did his best to help Raph in his fight with April. Somehow, in the scuffle, he became in possession of the amulet and it, Casey Junior just had to assume that the power in the amulet affected yokai quicker then humans and mutants, took over Todd just like that. Now, Todd was on the bad side
Casey Junior did not expect Todd to be this good of a fighter. Like, he was honestly surprised how well the capybara dodged his attacks and even managed to get a good toss on him. To say the least, this fight wasn't a cakewalk.

"I thought we were friends!" Todd exclaimed, using one of his arms to block Casey Junior's kick
"I'm sorry, Todd!" The future boy called back, taking a step back to avoid a punch thrown at him. He didn't want to fight Todd, and he didn't want to lie or betray him either but- "We need the amulet more. Without it, we can't save anyone!"

He dodged another attack and went on the offensive, using a technique his Sensei showed him to send Todd flying. He watched the capybara land on his back with a loud "oof", and his brain raced to figure out a way to keep him there before he had the chance of getting back up. Usually, he would have gone to the storage chamber or garage and gone for a rope, but both of those places were collapsed and unusable.

Just as he arrived at that conclusion, he noticed the capybara getting to his feet. It seemed like the only way out was to knock him unconscious and hope he would stay out until the entire ordeal was over. Not his greatest plan, but it was his best bet.

"I'm sorry, Todd," He apologized in advance, "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it will hurt me."
He backed up a couple of steps to build distance between himself and Todd and then charged at him. His small and thin stature came in favor, as he successfully jumped on the capybara from behind. From there, it was only a matter of not getting thrown off and landing the hit on the right spot, just like his sensei always told him.

Of course, his earlier statement about Todd still stood. This guy was not to be underestimated. Casey Junior positioned himself, ready to strike when he felt a hand on his back and he was promptly yanked off.
The dirt tasted awful, and Casey Junior felt his knee scrap open as he rolled over the battleground.

Okay, maybe it didn't hurt the capybara more than it hurt him.

Heaving himself to his feet again, Casey Junior retook his combat position, thinking about how to approach the problem. Then he noticed something appear behind the capybara that made him hold his breath. Cassandra was slowly and quietly approaching Todd from behind, holding a broken wooden plank in her hands, raised above her head and ready to strike.

The air was tense, the moment stood almost still.

There was a loud 'wack!' and the capybara went down.

CJ was right after all, it did hurt him more.

Casey Junior learned to not underestimate his mom's strength either. The wooden plank snapped in half after its one use, luckily there were no splinters left behind in Todd's head. Well, even if they were, he had a thick skull, he wouldn’t be surprised if Todd just shrugged it off and went on with his day.

But that was a thought for another day.
One of their enemies- uh, opponents- was out for the count, that only left one major threat to deal with-

April.

Not far from the mother-son duo, the human girl was wrestling with her immediate younger brother, rolling over the ground littered with broken glass and pointy rocks. Both siblings looked roughed up, scratches and smaller wounds adorning their bodies with blood adding a bit of color to all the dust covering them.

The battle was fierce, it was wild, it was brutal. They both were trying to get the upper hand, and it seemed like neither of them was trying to hold back. April was fighting to regain her amulet, to regain her control, and her spot on the top. Raph was fighting to protect his family, to shield the small and fragile form quivering on the ground next to them, barely conscious and clearly in a lot of pain. They both wanted the same thing, however.

The amulet- oh, that terrible, terrible object- rested not far from them, abandoned in the debris.
Technically, nothing could stop Casey Junior from running there and picking up that thing. Then they could make a run for it, leave April and Todd behind and race towards Alaska to find Eliza.

Casey Junior glanced over to Todd’s RV, which miraculously haven't been badly damaged. The Turtle Tank was out of the question, considering it large size, and also for the fact that the main ones who could drive it were out of commission. Casey Junior honestly had not the slightest of clues as to where Donnie was. Or Mikey, for that matter. He had been too absorbed in his fight to notice anyone leaving, but unless the softshell and box turtle show up soon, they had to get in the RV and break every speed limit imaginable.

Though, his plan lacked one crucial component.

He couldn't touch the amulet without risking infection.

It was too high of a risk, who knew how long it would take them to get to Alaska, they couldn't afford to lose anyone else to that curse. He had to get it without touching it, and since April and Draxum were infected despite them having the tablecloth wrapped around the amulet, hence not physically making contact, that plan was off the table as well. He had to get it somehow without getting too close to it. This was truly impossible.

For him, at least.

"CJ!" his mom ran up to him, and they exchanged a quick hug, comforting in the fact that for now, both were safe. But that wouldn't last much longer, so a plan was needed.
"Do you have your grappling hook on you?"
"Of course I do?" Casey Junior replied, confused. His favorite gadget, one that was giving to him by Master Donatello, wasn't much help to him.
Cassandra nodded firmly, "Hand it over."

There was no time to hesitate or second guess, so Casey Junior handed the grappling hook over without throwing a fuzz.
"I'll get the amulet, you help Raph," Cassandra spoke with a seriousness that Casey Junior hadn't expected. Maybe something in the conversation with Mikey changed her, which speaking of which- "Where is Mikey?"
"Getting Donnie, now go, we don't have much time!"

"Right." Casey Junior nodded. No more stalling.
He turned around on his heel, already in a sprint to join the next fight. Between him and Raph, taking out April shouldn't be a challenge. At least he wasn't expecting one. When Casey Junior took the jump into the chaos, April had her back to him, so she got a nice surprise attack in.

From there, the fight went as you would expect it. April fought back fiercely, snapping and scratching at them, kicking out for extra damage. Unlike before, where Casey Junior had trouble reaching the back of Todd's neck to knock him out, getting to April's spot was a lot easier, mostly because he had a backup in holding the female human down.

At this point, Casey Junior didn't risk jinxing things to get worse by stating how easy that was. He expected... worse. He expected more enemies, he expected to fight with only his hands while his opponents had weapons and magic on their side.

But no. It was... easy...

Only two enemies and neither of them had been prepared for the attack. Which was great for their situation, but Casey Junior wasn't foolish enough to think this was over. Draxum and Splinter were still out there, somewhere, ready to strike. Casey Junior's shoulders tensed and he took a good look around, scanning the area. They could jump out at him any moment. Both of them were known for not rushing into battle blindly. The boys’ dad/sensei and Draxum knew how to plan for ambushes, they knew how to set traps. They played the long game, exchanging time for profit.

Only after he was 100% certain that it was safe, did Casey Junior let himself relax. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at Raph, the snapper turtle had fallen to his knees next to Leo, who at this point, completely lost consciousness. The poor slider turtle was covered in wounds and ugly bruises, all in different stages of healing. Blood was covering most of the slider's body, and from the way Raph flinched when cradling his little brother, it was evident that there were many more wounds under that hoodie.

It's been only 4 or so days since they found out about the curse, and yet, they messed up so much. The time when they were happy with no evil forces to worry about felt so far away from him, that he doubted that there ever was a peaceful moment in his new life with younger version of his family

But enough self-pity.
Things were looking up for them, and he was not about to waste his time thinking about the past or stupid what-ifs. Victory was never this close.

Raph stood up next to him, holding an unconscious Leo in his arms. The older brother looked quite battered himself, and once everything was over, they would all have to spend some time on the sickbed, this much was for sure.

"Wait a moment."
Cassandra walked up to them. The grappling hook Casey Junior had given to her was gone, instead, the long rope that used to be inside the gadget was tied around one of Cassandra's wrists, with the other end slacking across the ground behind her. And at the very end of it- The amulet.

Cassandra pushed the noose part off her wrist and handed it to Raph, "This distance should be safe, or at least I hope so."
"Shouldn't we be worried about the amulet being taken from us like this?" Casey Junior's concern was disheartening but justified.
"Do you want to risk getting infected?" Came the answer, and Casey Junior called it the end of that conversation. If they wanted to keep the members of their group, then this was the way to go. Again, not a great plan, but what else to do?

Casey Junior decided this was the best moment to take in as much air as he could and grunt loudly. He could have screamed, but that might have been a bit overkill. This was more than enough to let out some build-up steam. It was a refreshing feeling letting it out, and he felt somewhat rejuvenated.

Now, on to the next problem-

"Where is Mikey?" Raph asked. Neither Casey’s responded, with Cassandra's gaze fixed on a point down at the ground.
Cassandra's stillness broke, she swirled around and rushed off to the RV, "He said Donnie's trapped at Gentry’s house. Let's go."
"Hey- Cass! Wait!"
Casey Junior ran after his mom. "What is wrong?"
"We have no time to lose, we need to get to them as fast as possible before anything goes wrong."

"Right... We can't risk any more surprises..." Casey Junior threw open the door of the RV and jumped inside, "So mind telling me what you're hiding from me?"
Cassandra froze for a second, then went on to sit down as well, "Kitsune is there too."

Leo was placed down on the back seat together with them, Raph asking them if they could look over his injuries, and noted to the first aid kit in the back. He did the extra step of handing them the kit and putting the amulet in a cabinet in Todd’s RV for safekeeping.

"Do you think we have another fight?" Casey Junior asked. He hadn't put his seatbelt on in favor of a bit more movability, as he slowly pulled up Leo's hoodie to take note of the injuries the slider had received. The sight made him gag.

Aside from the obvious bruises and his sickish thin body, there was one thing that made him almost lose his lunch.
There was a thick, black line protruding out from his skin. It looked almost like a swollen scar, stretching from Leo's neck to his plastron, getting especially thick around his plastron. He has never seen anything like this in his life, and he doubted that any normal injury could have caused that.

"What is that?" He breathed out, not sure where to begin to describe it further.
"I don't know." Cassandra sounded equally disturbed.
She would have asked Raph, but the snapper turtle was speeding down the road at a speed that required his full concentration. A crash was really the last thing they needed.

He let it be for now.
They had time for that later.
"Hand me the disinfectant" Casey Junior ordered, tunnel vision and focusing on the injuries that he could fix. "Now the bandages-"
He glanced over the body before him. One thing that caught his eye almost immediately was the dirty bandages around Leo's neck. He felt a queasy feeling in his chest as he carefully undid them, the cut from when Leo almost killed himself staring back at him.

The ride was bumpy and the many sharp turns were throwing him around in his seat multiple times. Due to the turbulence, it took him longer than normal to address all the wounds, and in the end, the bandages weren't enough to take care of every single one, but at least the worst of them were cleaned and securely wrapped. That should at least stop the wounds to get infected and could save Leo a burdensome fever.

His lack of seatbelt came back to haunt him because when Raph hit the breaks, he was thrown halfway through the RV. He luckily didn't hit the windshield, and instead got stopped by one of the soft seats. That could have gone worse.

"We're here." Cassandra opened the RV door and stepped out, closely followed by Casey Junior and then Raph.
"Should we take him with us?" Casey Junior said, looking back at Leo, who was still unconscious in the backseat.
Raph also regarded his hurt brother, his expression softening at the display.

"We'll let him rest, he needs his strength for the journey ahead of us."
The Casey’s nodded. "Cassandra, you should stay back and keep watch on him. I don't feel safe leaving him alone." Casey Junior said. This wasn't the only reason he didn't want Cassandra to come with them, but there was no need to spell it out.

Unfortunately for him, Cassandra wasn't too happy with that, "Why don't you stay behind and I go?" She asked, a hint of incitement in her voice.
"Mom-"
"I can handle it." The former foot recruit wasn't backing down.

It was Raph that stepped up before things could escalate, "You both can stay here, I feel much safer if Leo has two protectors, the amulet is also too important to leave with a single guard. I can fetch Mikey and Donnie. They are my little brothers after all."
And no one argued with that.

The Casey’s sat back down in the RV, one on each side of Leo.
"I'm sorry." Casey Junior was the first to speak, "I didn't mean it like that."
"It's fine," Cassandra replied, "I am actually not quite sure if I could really handle seeing Gentry right now... Just thought I should face it instead of hiding away."

Casey Junior kicked the seat in front of him, "You're not hiding..."
"It feels like hiding," Cassandra replied, also kicking the seat.
"You think we're finally done with the worst part?"
"Oh please, haven't we had enough trouble already? What else is there to go wrong?"
Casey Junior laughed bitterly, "Judging by the past few days? The world might end before we reach Alaska and find Eliza."

It would have been funny if it wasn't so feasible.

Casey Junior was on the search for a new topic to talk about when the RV door suddenly opened. He immediately jumped into a battle-ready mode, but relaxed when he noticed it was just Raph.

"Where's Donnie?" Casey Junior asked, noticing that Raph had come back with only one of his brothers, and not only that but-

Mikey looked awful. Not in the way everyone else looked awful, Mikey might be the only one without injuries littering his entire body, but he had that look again. Like the entire world had crumbled before his eyes, leaving nothing but sorrow.

Casey Junior studied him for a while, the future boy’s head tilted ever so slightly. To the outside it might seem like Mikey was just lost in his thoughts, but Casey Junior knew better.
He noticed Mikey fiddling with a pair of bloodied handcuffs, both cuffs were broken open at the locking mechanism.

Once Mikey was placed in the seat and Raph put on the seatbelt for him, the snapper turtle gently pried the metal out of Mikey's hand, before cupping his face and giving him a kiss on the forehead. The box turtle didn't react to the item being taken away nor to the loving kiss given by his big brother. He didn't seem to react to anything really. He stared wordlessly out the window, saying not a word, if he wasn't blinking, he could be mistaken for a mannequin.

Casey Junior was honestly surprised that he and Cassandra haven't fallen into a similar state. The situation was hard on every single one of them, but surely Mikey took it the worse. Casey Junior feared that if they didn't get to Alaska and find Eliza soon, more and more will give up on hope.

"Where is Donnie?"

That question still stood in the air. After making sure that Mikey was ok, he had climbed back up front and didn't look up from the steering wheel. The snapper turtle had taken the map out from under his mask and stared at it for a few seconds before placing it down next to him and starting up the RV, "Donnie wasn't there."
"What?" Cassandra flinched at that, "What about Gentry?"
"She wasn't there either."

The air became a lot less breathable.
"What do you mean 'she wasn't there'?" Cassandra jumped up from her seat, leaning forward to a point where the seatbelt dug into her chest uncomfortably.
Raph had by now turned on the RV and was driving away from the house to a portal back to New York, "The room was empty. I don't know where she or Donnie went."

"No, that can't be right," Cassandra let herself fall back again, "Mikey said she was locked up, she couldn't have escaped."
Casey Junior frowned, "Maybe she used her magic to get out, but why would she take Donnie with her?"
"The real question is where is she now?"

"Cass…CJ."
The Casey’s looked up Raph, who was sending them solemn looks through the back mirror. Casey Junior understood what was going on the second his gaze fell onto the turtle in the passenger seat.

A change of topic was much needed.
"How far will the RV get us?" Casey Junior asked, craning his neck to see the map.
"A portion of the way."
Vague...

Casey Junior sighed, "Can we put on some music?"
"Of course," Raph said. He didn't take his eyes off the road as he reached out and turned on the radio. The volume got turned up almost immediately, a loud pop song blasting through the RV and drowning out the dark thought they all had.

...

...

...

Raph was getting tired. Physically this time.

He hadn't checked the time when he started driving, but they'd been in the car for at least 5 hours, once they made it through the portal and back to New York. Raph was just grateful that Cassandra had her passport, or else they wouldn’t be able to get into Canada, significantly making their trip shorter, as the alternative would have to make a coast-to-coast trip
Everyone were asleep now, and Raph wasn't sure if he should be glad or concerned about that. God knows that his little brothers and the Casey’s need it, but if he wanted to make sure no one would get them from behind, he should at least wake one of them to take watch. Raph sent a quick glance at the rear mirror, looking at the Casey’s cuddling in the backseat with Leo in the middle of them. He looked over at Mikey, who hadn't moved an inch since he found him in that dark room, but at least his baby brother was sleeping soundly. No, Raph didn't have the heart to wake any of them.

Redirecting his eyes ahead again, he briefly checked the fuel gauge. Neither of them had money to pay for gas. That was more Donnie’s domain. So a refill was impossible unless he stole. If it came down to it, he would. For now, at least, the gas would carry them for a few more hours.

Raph used one hand to rub his eyes.
He understood the dangers of falling asleep on the wheel, though he doubted sleep would take him anytime soon. As tired as he was, his worry was enough to keep him awake. Adrenaline pumped through his body with every heartbeat, and blood was rushing loudly in his ears.

He hated to admit how lost this entire situation was.

And now he even lost Donnie, one of his little brothers.

Finding Gentry’s house empty had planted a seed of fear inside his chest, and the longer he drove, the more that seed sprouted branches of concern and leaves of agony. The war was still going, but at least they won the fight, though the flame of victory burned down real fast when he saw Mikey cowering in the corner, fiddling with some handcuffs and muttering "I'm sorry" to himself repeatedly.

Donnie could be dead for all he knew. There was nothing for certain anymore. Raph balled his hands and slammed his fists onto the steering wheel.

He was trying his best to keep his composer. If it wasn't for his brothers and the Casey’s, he would have at least 3 anger attacks in the time since he started up the RV. Donnie was gone, Mikey was unresponsive, and Leo was breaking apart more and more with every passing second. Those were his baby brothers. Seeing them like this crushed his heart. If he didn't get the twins back soon, he might actually go crazy.

Sighing, Raph took his eyes off the road for a second. It was night by now and the streets were empty, still, a few hermit drivers were out. Raph reached out to scratch a spot at the back of Mikey's head. This used to calm his baby brother down back when they were tiny turtle tots. He was happy to see that the trick still worked.

Mikey wasn't waking up, but Raph could see the box turtle's body relax. Hopefully, he would be a bit better once he woke up.

Yawning, Raph refocused on the road. The lights of the lampposts only rushed by the RV as a blurry shape in the dark, the loud vrumming of a passing-by car occasionally snapping his attention back to the situation at hand when Raph felt his consciousness slip. He slapped himself in the face slightly, returning some of the lost feeling to his tired face.

Maybe he should take a break and sleep. Let Cassandra drive. There was a gas station somewhere down the road where he could park the RV and rest. but that would give their pursuers time to catch up to them- Then Leo would be taken away from him again, and Mikey would lose his chance to get better.

He kept driving.

He could go a few more hours.

The RV only had enough gas to get them a couple of hundred miles anyway. This wasn't enough to get where they wanted to. Without a plane, they might not even reach their destination anyway. According to the map, they would have to cross the sea, and he doubted he could get a boat with no money on his person. Not to mention that sailing through frozen water was always a terrible idea.

Raph rubbed his face again. This would go terrible either way.

...

...

…

When Casey Junior woke up, it was morning.
He could feel the sun shining down on his face, and his neck was stiff and aching from the position in which he had to spend the night.

Blinking the tiredness away, he took a moment to take in his surroundings.

Still in a RV with Leo's unconscious body squished between his mom and himself.

The RV wasn't moving, a glance out the window told him that they were in the middle of nowhere. Trees were surrounding them, with only smaller gaps to let in sunlight.

He eventually looked to the driver's seat. Raph was hunched over the wheel, his eyes closed. Aside from himself, everyone was currently asleep. If anyone were to attack them, they would have had an easy fight. He was glad that non of their pursuers had caught up to them. Or maybe they did, but stayed hidden for the time being. The latter thought made his body temperature rise to compensate for the chill running through him.

They weren't prepared for an ambush. They hightailed it out of the lair so fast that no one picked up any weapons or other useful tools. All they had was the RV and the few items in it, which honestly, wasn't that much. If he remembered right, there should be a crowbar in one of the cabinets, though he rather not go on the hunt for it, knowing that the amulet was there. The moment they opened it, they probably get hit with a cloud of corrupted magic. At this point was there really anyone left that didn't encounter it?

Casey Junior hated not knowing.
It deeply frustrated her.

Casey Junior threw his head back and stared at the RV roof.
He should take a break and go for a breather, that would clear his mind. Abendmindly, he pushed the door open and step out. The fresh air was a nice change to the RV's stuffy atmosphere, and Casey Junior took a big breath in and out.

He quietly closed the door around him and began walking. He didn't veer far from the RV, only a couple of steps so that he could stretch his legs and get a bit of a feeling of his surroundings. They were in a small forest section, he could hear cars in the distance, so he wasn't far off the road.

Walking over to a nearby bush, Casey Junior bushed some of the branches to the side to see if anyone was hiding behind it Nope. That bush was safe.
He walked over to another bush. That one was safe too.
Behind the tree? No one.
Hiding behind that one big boulder? Nah, there wasn't anyone either.
Under the RV maybe? Clear.
Any footprints in the grass? Only tire marks.

No one in proximity. Good... Unless... Casey Junior looked straight up. Nope, no one was sitting in the treetops. Okay, now everything was checked.

Casey Junior stretched his arms above his head and stretched.
Better to take advantage of the moment of calm before Raph woke up and they would be on the road again. It made him curious about how far into their journey they were, and how far away their destination was. Judging that they weren't in any cold weather, his best guess would be that they had still a long, long way ahead of them.

A crow above him let out a screech and flew away. Casey Junior followed the bird with his eyes. Flying would have been so much easier.

Casey Junior walked back to the RV and opened his door to the backseat. As he climbed in, he noticed a movement coming from his right, and he looked over at the youngest Hamato brother.
"Hey, Mast…I mean Mikey." He said quietly to not disturb the other passengers.
"Hey," Mikey said back, not meeting his gaze.
"How are you feeling?"
"Terrible."
Yeah, that was a stupid question.

A moment of silence passed between them, neither wanting to speak up.
Eventually, Mikey turned around in his seat and reached an arm out for Leo, "You got him back."
"We did... But now Donnie is missing." No use to nice things up. Casey Junior rubbed the top of Leo's head, avoiding any bruises he saw. Mikey did the same, gently stroking a thumb over Leo's cheek.

"What about the amulet?" The orange-loving turtle asked.
"We put it in one of the cabinets, towards the back of the RV. Cassandra tied a rope around it to make it easier to carry it around without touching it."
Mikey made a sound of acknowledging and nodded his head slightly, retracting his arm and taking his initial sitting pose. "Is anyone after us?"
"Actively?" Casey Junior asked, not expecting an answer, "No, I don't think so."

"We shouldn't risk it," Mikey said quietly.
"We shouldn't." Casey Junior agreed.
Casey Junior stopped patting Leo for a moment, "Hey, Mikey? Do you know where the wound on Leo's chest came from?"
"What wound?" That gained the box turtle's attention again, and with newfound worry, he slid his seat back and turned towards them once more. Casey Junior hesitated before slowly lifting Leo's hoodie.

The shocked gasp coming from Mikey was everything Casey Junior needed to know. Mikey had no idea.
The black line didn't seem to have gotten any worse since the last time, but it also hadn't gotten any better.

Mikey trailed his fingers along the swollen cut, his breath clearly stuck in his throat.
For a second, Casey Junior thought he could see recognition flash in Mikey's eyes, but when he looked again, there was nothing there. It must have been his imagination, that thing had been playing tricks on him for a while.

It was the grumble of his stomach that eventually changed the subject.
"We don't have any food," Casey Junior stated.
Mikey looked down as his own stomach growled, "All of our food is stuck in the Turtle Tank..."
Going back to get the resources wasn't an option.

Casey Junior leaned his head back, "We could rob a gas station."
"We most likely have to... CJ?"
"Yeah?" The future boy looked down.
"Can I... Can I sit next to Leo, please?"
The following exchange went by without words. Casey Junior slid out of his seat silently and offered his seat up. Mikey was all too happy to take it.

"Thanks," Mikey whispered, sitting down in his new seat and pulling Leo towards him so that his big brother's head rested against his shoulder. It brought a somewhat calm into the otherwise depressing atmosphere.
"Do you think... Do you think we'll make it to Alaska?"
Casey Junior looked down, "I don't know... But we won't give up trying."
"Right..." Mikey nodded slightly.

"Mikey..." Casey Junior said quietly, reaching out a hand with sympathy weighing heavy in his motion. He gently took Mikey's hand and cupped it in his own.

It was childish. It was silly. But his Sensei used to do it with him whenever he had a bad dream.
Bringing Mikey's hand up to her mouth, he softly blew air on it in a slow and consistent tempo. Mikey first looked at him perplexed, probably debating with himself to retract his arm and escape whatever Casey Junior was doing, but he stayed, and he didn't regret it. The rhythmical blows to his hand rubbed off on his breathing

Casey Junior continued the soothing exercise for a few more minutes, feeling the calm rush over both him and Mikey.

They had so few moments of peace lately, he wanted to make the most of them as long as he had the chance to. With at least 5 hunters on their tail, they couldn't really afford much calm. It pained him to even think it, but he should wake up Raph soon, or else they give their pursuers too much time to catch up.

As the minutes ticked by, the sky became darker. A few grey clouds shoved themselves before the sun, and multiple more were appearing in the distance. He couldn't say if the rain was a blessing or a curse since it slowed them and the others down equally.

"I don't think I can handle another casualty."
Casey Junior stopped his blowing for a second and looked up. Mikey's eyes were glassy and slightly reddened at the edges. Both old and new tears were dampening his face, spelling misery.
Casey Junior released Mikey's hand and moved up to cup his face instead, putting a hand on each side of his face and caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. Mikey's breath hitched, a sob squeaking out of his throat just as he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

With Mikey’s two immediate brothers unreachable and his biggest brother deeply asleep, it was up to CJ, who had become like a brother to Mikey, to make Mikey feel better, to grant him some form of comfort. He was glad about the task, it gave him something to do and helped him get his mind off how terrible he felt inside.

"We'll get through this," Casey Junior promised, an empty promise that he was determined to fulfill, "Everything will be okay in the end."

"Y-Yeah..." he answered with his voice quivering, "T-thanks... Hey, CJ...? Can you promise me something?"
"What is it?"

Mikey didn't reply immediately.
He twirled his thumbs for a short bit, averting his eyes and looking down, "If anything happens to me...or to Raph… can you and Cass look after Leo, please...?
"Mikey..."
"Please... Promise me..."
"Okay... I promise that we will look after Leo."
"And Donnie too? I don’t want the twins to be apart" Mikey wore a sad smile.
"And Donnie too." Casey Junior agreed.

'And you too, Mikey.' He added in silence. He wasn't losing anyone else, and from now on, he swore on his heart and soul, that he won't let anyone take Leo away again. They had a road ahead of them... he would make sure they arrive at their destination.

...

...

...

They were driving again.
Raph and Cassandra woke up not long after Mikey and Casey Junior had their talk, and they hightailed it out of the forest the first chance they got. Now it was back to and down the road, ever closer to their destination that remained yet so far away.

Casey Junior leaned against the window and watched trees and buildings pass by the horizon, the sun high up in the sky but covered by thick clouds. Rain slammed against the glass with loud bangs and the windshield wipers worked at a loop.

In the back, Mikey and Cassandra were comforting each other with small talk and affectionate gestures. In a way, they both lost someone close to them, so the understanding of each other's pain played a large factor in the way they chose their words.

Leo sat in between them, still unconscious.
It was worrying, really, he should have woken up by now. Raph had told them they should wait a while longer before worrying, and that for now, they had other things to worry about.

No one had caught up to them yet.
From what they learned, the infected don't need a tracker or the like to locate the amulet. It was as if the curse was calling out to them, drawing them in. There was no real place they could hide away without someone coming for them sooner or later. It concerned him that no one showed up in a while. They've been driving for an additional 4 hours since everyone woke up, not a single hindrance stood in their way since then.

Well, aside from the rapidly decreasing fuel.
The car won't get them another 100 miles.

Raph was already driving off the highway in search of a nearby gas station, his next few steps in his plan were discussed under the four of them loudly.

"We first fill up the RV. When I go in, I will act like I'm browsing for something to buy and you two will sneak through the aisle and grab everything you think could help us."
With 'you two' he meant the Casey’s. Mikey would stay behind in the car looking after Leo and alerting them if anything came their way.

They were about to rob a gas station...
They were going to rob a gas station...

Call him crazy, but Casey Junior was excited. He wanted to laugh.
This might become the most harmless part of their misadventure.

"I could knock out the cashier and take the money with us, we might need it to buy winter equipment." Cassandra gave her thoughts a voice, awaiting an encore of agreement but receiving a disapproving hum instead. "We have enough crimes under our tail," Raph argued, "If we add bodily harm, the police will come after us with more forces. If we're lucky we might get brushed off as petty thieves and they ignore the deed."

Pulling into the station filled Casey Junior with a tingling sensation starting at the back of his head. The station was empty aside from one lone smoker standing by the entrance. Literally the perfect condition for a robbery.

Was it bad that he was pumped for this?
He knew he shouldn't be.

Raph got out first.
As he described in his plan, he went to fill up the RV first. Those were tense 5 minutes, and Casey Junior knew that their next act would change their lives forever. Raph gave them the okay with a nod, and the Casey’s made their way out of the car. They left the doors open to quicken their escape once they would inadvertently get caught.

The doors slid open and the Casey’s stepped inside. The short distance from the refill tank to the entrance door was enough to let the rain soak them to the bone, by now it was coming down from above like giant waterfalls.

Shaking himself dry, Casey Junior began scanning the shelves for food, beverages, and anything that could help them in cold environments. He noticed his mom heading towards the food section, it consisted mostly of snacks and things you would need a microwave to heat up, but some cheap-looking sandwiches for way too high prices were on display as well.

Mother and son shared a nod.
Casey Junior stepped deeper into the aisle, snatching an item away here and there and hiding it in the bag he had taken from the entrance.

He was robbing a gas station... This was absurd. Utterly ridiculous.
And he loved it.

Those were the kinds of adrenaline highs he wanted. The last few days were nothing but exhausting and slow, so this high tension, fast robbery, was exactly what he needed to get some of his lost energy back.

Casey Junior extended his arm to the side and emptied an entire shelf of water bottles and a few sodas. He threw in a couple of energy drinks as well, so Raph and/or Cassandra could pull an all-nighter on the wheel.

The end of the aisle had a variety of helpful little things he felt like he just had to get. Those were the essentials no one ever thought about getting. A couple of flashlights, batteries, rope, a compass, they even had walky-talkies for sale. Casey Junior took them all.
"Remember the sunglasses." His mom came up next to him, her two bags filled with food of all kinds. Mostly unhealthy snacks though. The store sadly didn't offer any fruit or vegetable items.

"Why sunglasses?" Casey Junior asked, grabbing a hand full of them just in case.
"Snow blindness. Sun reflects off the snow and will get into our eyes. I'm not sure about the odds of this happening while in a blizzard, but we should be prepared for the worst."
They grabbed a couple more sunglasses after that.

"Anything else you need?"
Casey Junior almost jumped out of his skin. An employee had walked up to him and eyed their bags with a raised brow, "Isn't that a bit much?"
"Oh, that?" Casey Junior almost stuttered. Oh, he didn't plan on getting caught this early.

He might have backed himself in a corner, his lying skills weren't honed enough yet to pull off a successful escape. Good thing he didn't have to.
"We're going camping." His mom said nonchalantly, "Our parents forgot to buy half of the equipment, so we had to get it on the last jump."
"Camping, in this weather?" The employee asked, sending a glance out the window to see the masses of rainwater coming from the sky.
"There is little trust in our weather forecasts. We rented our spot too early and they won't let us postpone the vacation."

Casey Junior gave his best to smile and nod along with it. He might get away with playing the shy brother that was too anxious to talk. His introverted behavior was so far out of the realm of reality that it almost broke his cover. He wanted to laugh at the employee for falling for the lie, and when the guy turned around, he had to let go of one of his bags to giggle into his hand.

Why was everything so funny?

Maybe he was just losing his mind.

Or he had bad coping mechanisms.

Same difference.

Him and his mom began to fill the last bits of space they had left with anything they could grab. At the end of it, their bags were flowing over with snacks, drinks, utensils, basically everything.

Now came the fun part. They had to make a run for it.

They were robbing a gas station.

What have their lives turned to?

The Casey’s shared a long look, knowing what had to be done. They looked over at Raph, who was browsing through some catalogs without paying attention to the articles written inside them.

Their gazes met.

A nod was exchanged.

A breath was taken.

A crime was about to be committed.

And then-

They ran.

The store had no form of security, not even that loud alarm thingy that goes off when someone ran out without paying. Casey Junior heard some shouting behind him, in the rush, a few items fell out of his bags, but he didn't stop or look back.

Cassandra was just slightly behind him. Casey Junior could hear her gasps for air as they ran like they had never run before. The rain clouded his vision, but the drops on his skin felt like little cheers. They encouraged him to run faster, to run further.

He threw the bags in the RV first before jumping in himself. Raph was already in the driver's seat, the key turned, and his foot on the gas pedal. Cassandra crashed a bit less elegantly into her seat before slamming her door shut and shouting "Go! Go! Go!"

Casey Junior dared to look to his right, he saw the employee they were talking to earlier run straight at them...

...But he was too slow. The car was already speeding down the road.

Once the gas station was nothing a black spot in the distance, he let out a scream, "WHOOOOOO! WE DID IT! WE'RE CRIMINALS!"
"CJ…" Cassandra grounded him with a stare. Casey Junior cared little, the rush he had felt while running was lingering inside him, his fingers tingling and his mind wanted more.

Oh, that experience would for sure corrupt him, just not in the way it corrupted the rest of his family.

Happy with himself and what he achieved, Casey Junior dug through his bag to fish out the sodas he had stolen. A bit of sugar was appropriate, right? He opened a can and downed it in seconds, skipping the step of 'peak-carbonation' and going straight to the 'no-carbonation' since the can's life span had just ceased to exist. He went for another can and threw it behind him to the people in the backseat, "Drink up, guys!"
"CJ..." A growl mixed in with his mom's voice and the future boy finally turned around. "What?"

Oh dear.

Cassandra was patting Mikey's head gently, the trembling box turtle had his arms around Leo and his head was on Leo's chest as if he was listening to his heartbeat.

Leo still hadn't woken up...

His high suddenly turned into a low, and Casey Junior let his shoulders drop, "I'm sorry."
The robbery made him forget about what was going on. This shouldn’t have been a fun activity of mischief, what they did was a necessity to save a friend.

Out of everyone in the RV, Leo needed food and water the most, but they had no way of giving either to him in the state he was currently trapped in.

Casey Junior dug through his bag once more, this time not in the search for something to drink, but something to help Leo wake up. The answer to both was the same. Water.

"Try irrigating him with that, it might make him snap out of it." He said and handed a 500ml bottle of clear water to the backseat. The transaction made him stop and notice how wet he was. Raph had put on the car heater, so he would hopefully dry soon.

Cassandra took the water bottle with a thankful glare, and went straight to work, but not before letting go of one more comment, "CJ?"
"Yeah?"
"Put on your seatbelt."

Chapter Text

They just robbed a gas station.

Yeah, yeah, it was getting repetitive, but...

They just robbed a gas station.

And Cassandra felt awful about it.
Those poor employees. She could only hope neither of them had to pay for the damage or get fired for that. They probably already get paid way too less, and who knew how dependent they were on that job!

She couldn't help but feel like she committed the worst crime in history. If she took the chance of someone living their life without fear of ending up alone and with no coin to their name... she wouldn't forgive herself. This was a thought that would haunt her waking hours for a long, long time. The guilt was already ripping at her chest and mixed in with the sheer amount of other emotions that have gathered up over the past few days, she was barely holding herself together.

To prevent a complete meltdown- she came close to one at least 3 times by now- she shut that part of herself off. She needed to get rid of her emotions and make space for logic. If she didn't, she would end up like Mikey, and they couldn't afford to lose another thinker to madness.

Though, faith wasn't making the job very easy for her.

She used a towel she had taken with her from the gas station to dry off Leo from the water she had just spilled over him. The slider was still tightly asleep, if one could even call this sleep.
He wasn't responding. To anything. He was just... unconscious...

At least Leo was still breathing, his chest falling and rising in the same rhythm. It was the only sign of life he was giving and it was concerning. Not even in her wildest dreams or most horrible nightmares, she could imagine how Leo must be feeling throughout this entire experience. The longer he stayed like this, the more unnerved Mikey was getting. Honestly, he wasn't the only one. Since CJ's high wore off, he was sending worried glances back at them, and even Raph was getting less focused on driving as the urge to check up on his little brother was growing stronger and stronger.

For as infrequent her interactions with the slider were, she enjoyed his company a lot, and seeing him this... almost lifeless... It was horrible.

"How much further?" Cassandra asked once the silence dragged on for too long.
The answer she got left her feeling hopeless. CJ glanced at the map for a second before letting his shoulders drop, "We haven't even reached a quarter."
At this speed, it would take them weeks before they arrive where they wanted to be. The food they had stolen would last them 3 to 4 days at most, so unless something good comes along their path, they would have to reenact this robbery repeatedly, and she doubted they'll be lucky enough to get away another time. The news hasn't talked about it. Yet. Though she wasn't counting on it staying this way. They were going to catch up to them eventually and it was terrifying to think about it.

No, bad thoughts. Think about good things! She had to stay level-headed! No time for panic or doubt. They'll get through this. They'll win and everything will go back to normal.

Yawning, she took the towel, now damp from the water, away from Leo and put it to the side. The night was soon approaching again, meaning they'd been almost two days inside the RV. One and a half was probably more accurate though. She had napped now and then, but never for too long. It was hard to get a good night's rest inside a car moving this fast and violently. What surprised her the most was that they haven't been pulled over yet. Shaking the police off in a car chase never went well, for anyone.

Cassandra sank back into her chair. Sitting for this long wasn't doing her butt any favors. A seat can only be comfortable for so long, and she crossed that mark a few hours ago. Her entire body begged her to stop the car and let her stretch her legs a little.

A quiet sniffle peaked her attention and she glanced to her side.
Mikey was hugging Leo and rubbed his head against him in a silent attempt to comfort himself. Cassandra couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible Mikey must be feeling. Donnie was gone, just like Gentry was, but not only did Mikey lose one brother, no, Leo was out of his reach as well. Maybe not physically, but on a more spiritual level. Not even having the calm presence of Raph was enough to lift Mikey’s spirits

Cassandra reached out and took Mikey's hand The box turtle needed a moment before looking up, his eyes red and puffy from tears he had shed earlier.
"Everything will be okay" Cassandra said softly, trying to reassure the youngest Hamato
The fake reassurance in her voice was met with Mikey's heartbroken tone, "Will it really?"
"It will," Cassandra promised. It was a promise she had no means to fulfill. No amount of false confidence could guarantee the outcome of their little road trip.

Another yawn managed to escape her mouth. She noticed the sun beginning to set in the far distance, and soon enough, another night would take over them.
"How about we both take a rest?" She asked the box turtle next to her. She doubted she would get much sleep, many thoughts swirling in her head ruining her chance of even calming down, but she would love to get 'worrying about Mikey' off her list of worries.

"How do you do it...?" Mikey's voice was quiet, barely audible at this point, "Gentry is gone and April got corrupted. They attacked us, we don't even know if there is a definite way to save them…How are you not breaking?"

Cassandra gulped down the unending pain in her chest. The mention of her two best friends left her with a bitter taste in her mouth and her tongue recoiled. That had been one of the many reasons that prevented Cassandra from sleeping the night. Gentry was still out there, who knew in which condition she was in. Same with April. They eventually have to face each other again, be it on the battlefield or reunion. Cassandra wasn't ready for either.

"I'm sorry," Mikey whispered, looking down, first at his feet and then at Leo, "I didn't mean to bring it up."
"It's fine." Cassandra said. It really wasn't, but this wasn't about her.
Mikey, meanwhile, shook his head, "You shouldn't have to suffer just because I'm weak."

"Mikey..." Cassandra placed her free hand under Mikey's chin and made him look up, "You're not weak."
Mikey didn't reply to it, but the look in his eyes was all it took for Cassandra to know he still doubted himself.

"Michelangelo, you been in tougher situations before, each harder than the last! How many times have you repelled death? How many times did you think the situation to be hopeless, just to prevail and emerge victorious? There is no one as hard-working and ambitious as you! And if I know one thing for certain, it is that you won't give up on your brothers! I have rarely ever met anyone as strong as you, Mikey."
"You don't have to force yourself to say-"
"I'm not forcing anything." She stated, because while she was saying those words for Mikey's sake, she was also doing it for herself, "And you are not any weaker than I am."

"Or me." CJ joined the conversation, turning around in the passenger seat and giving them both a soft smile.
"And me neither." Raph agreed, but he didn't take his eyes off the road. It was nearing night, but there were yet too many cars out to be recklessly driving.

Mikey looked like he was at a loss for words. He eyed every person in the car for a few seconds, ending on Leo. He slowly detached from the hug he had remained in the entire time and took a deep breath.

Cassandra hoped that would do the trick, hope and the power of friendship/family were the two concepts she was taught recently would always prevail in the end. But then she saw Mikey curled up in his seat and crying into his knees. It made her heart stutter for a second, she shakingly reached a hand out to comfort Mikey, but it never quite managed to make contact.

Dropping her arm, Cassandra regarded her new friend/family member.
Mikey's body trembled like a leaf in the wind

Cassandra found her thoughts heavy on her lips and the queasy feeling in her stomach returned. When she spotted a side path at the end of the street leading to a small river section, she closed her eyes and took a breath, her gaze determined when she opened them again.
"I believe it's best if we take a break and get some fresh air. A bath would also be of great benefit." She said simply and CJ and Mikey turned to meet her eyes. "Please."

"A break sounds nice..." Mikey replied quietly, not even waiting to think about the consequences of slowing down.
CJ looked truly conflicted with the suggestion. They've been in the RV driving for roughly 6 hours since they left the gas station, and while the small pathway in front of them granted them good cover, they simply weren't far enough from where they started yet.

Noticing the look, Cassandra bit her lip, knowing very well how dangerous it was to stop and that once the decision was made, there was no backing down.

In the end, it wasn't up to either Casey. Raph steered the RV off the main road and down the pathway. The small forest section had notably fewer trees compared to their last resting spot, but many bushes provided cover. There was a small river, or rather a rivulet. Not nearly large enough to provide any water to clean themselves off. They could always use the water they stole from the gas station, but resources were too scarce to throw them around like that.

The RV came to a halt and they waited a few moments to see if anything would change, then Raph opened the door.
"CJ and I will see if we find a bigger water source and maybe some eatable berries. Are you two okay with staying and looking after Leo? We'll be in hearing range, so call if anything changes."

Cassandra nodded her head. Mikey shouldn't be left alone, and while Cassandra saw how bad Raph wanted to stay with his little brothers, having the two Casey’s/mother-son duo together was just a recipe for disaster. Even if the situation was dire, the potential to not stay on task and do what they wanted to do was there. Running into potential danger while all alone wasn't a risk Raph was taking. And honestly, neither Casey could blame the snapper turtle

Raph gave Mikey a hug, promising to be back shortly, although Mikey didn’t react, almost like his big brother wasn’t even there. Raph smiled sadly as he planted a kiss on the top of Mikey’s head before bending down and doing the same to Leo’s head. Cassandra hugged her son before CJ followed Raph

Cassandra was on her own with Mikey now. It didn't spark much confidence in her seeing as the orange-loving turtle next to her was still stuck in his self-created trembling ball. The sobs have calmed down a bit, but small sniffles were evident in the air.

Cassandra reached over Leo to place a hand on Mikey's shoulder. Mikey flinched at the touch, but Cassandra refused to retract her arm.
"Mikey-"
"I don't want to do this anymore..."
"Mikey..."

Mikey rose his head slowly, not yet willing to leave his curled-up position on the seat. "We're not going to make it." He choked out, rubbing his tired eyes with the back of his hand. A few lone tears ran down his face.

If Cassandra had to wager a guess, she would have assumed that their dire circumstances have caught up to Mikey, and he might be the first one to voice the thought out loud. Which was surprising considering he was the one who was the most optimistic out of any one in the Hamato clan

They had weeks of driving ahead of them.
One more robbery and they might as well have the cops on their tails.
They had no idea about the whereabouts of literally anyone.
And even if they somehow manage to get to the spot the map tells them to go, they could have to face blizzards and other harsh snowy weather conditions
And then- Then they had to convince a literally all powerful witch/human to lift the curse. Even if was once part of the Hamato clan, who even knows if she could help them

Oh, they were absolutely screwed.

Cassandra had to stop herself from digging her nails into Mikey's shoulder.
She usually wasn't one to deny reality. That was an overly emotional reaction going directly against logic and fact.

They all knew that this was a hopeless quest, yet, they were trying. What else was there to do? They couldn't just give up!
"Mikey" When she spoke, her voice was steady and strong, "We'll get through this. You, Leo, Raph, CJ, and everyone else. We can do this."
"We can't," Mikey replied bitterly. He finally uncurled, and with one motion, he kicked open the RV door and got out.

"Mikey..." Cassandra followed him out, confronting him head-on, "What are we supposed to do then? Drive back to New York City and hand Leo over?"
"No." Mikey shook his head, avoiding eye contact, "We won't give it to them. Leo stays with us... I already lost Donnie...."
"See?! You don't want to give up!"
"BUT I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"

The yell made Cassandra step back, the intensity and sheer anger in Mikey's tone made her legs shake. For a second she was convinced he would lunge at her to attack.
Mikey realized his mistake and likewise took a step back. He bumped against the RV door and let himself slide down until he was sitting on the mossy ground beneath. "I'm sorry..." He whimpered, "It's just too much... We're going to lose anyway... Why are we even trying?"

Cassandra sat down next to Mikey, but waived from using physical contact. “We've been through worse situations."

Mikey looked up, his eyes squinted together like he was disgusted, "Worse? Like what?"
"How about the fight with Shedder?"
"Shredder was defeated by magic and we needed the help of our ancestors to do so. We all came close to dying that day, but at least I still had my family."
Cassandra bit her tongue to stop herself from groaning. Mikey wasn't making it easy.
"Okay, how about the fight with the Krang? Your family was divided then too, and yet you guys still won."
"Yeah but we almost lost Leo. Even though we got him back, I almost lost all my older brothers that day. The earth would have been destroyed without Leo’s noble sacrifice! MY ENTIRE WORLD WAS ALMOST DESTROYED!!!"

"Okay, okay!" Cassandra rubbed her eyes, "So maybe this is the worst adventure your family went on so far, but has that ever stopped you before? No! You can beat this! We won't get any further if you sit here moping! Mikey, I know how hard this is-"
"You know nothing!" The box turtle hissed, "Donnie is gone! Gentry probably killed him! Everyone is after my amulet, and Leo won't listen to me!"

Cassandra blinked.
She suddenly felt something heavy resting in her chest. She couldn’t tell why or how, but the air around her became colder.

Mikey was getting frustrated, Cassandra could even see a hint of crazy flash behind the box turtle's eyes. She wasn't acquainted with Dr. Delicate Touch, and she was quite happy about that. CJ and April told her stories about Mikey's alter ego, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of him.

"I know this is hard for you," Cassandra trailed her fingers through the moss and avoided eye contact, "Your brothers are counting on you, Mikey. They need you. I need you."
Mikey was 't replying. She ripped out a few more handfuls of grass and let them fly off with the wind. Cassandra watched as they vanished in the distance.

"Do you... Do you think Donnie would have given up?" Mikey's question was barely more than a whisper. He sounded as if he was seconds away from another wave of tears, "Do you think I'm a bad brother?"
"Mikey- Mikey, no. You could never be a bad brother, not even if you tried."
"Donnie is dead..."
"Donnie isn't dead."
"He wasn’t in the dark room at Gentry’s house..."
"Which means he is still out there, probably fighting to get back to you."

"Or he is dead..." Mikey's voice shook more violently now, "He is dead and it's all Leo's fault!"
Time stopped for a second, then resumed as if nothing was aloof. Cassandra blinked at Mikey wordlessly, too shocked to say something.
"Leo always has to get in trouble like this! Whenever it does something stupid, we have to pay the consequences! And now it dragged Donnie down as well!"

There it was again.
She thought she just misheard Mikey before, but now it happened again.
"M-Mikey?" She asked, barely keeping her voice steady, "Can you repeat that again?"
Why was she suddenly getting so nervous?
"Hm?" some of the anger left Mikey's tone and he slowly got to his feet, "What do you mean?"
"What you just said about Leo." She clarified.

Mikey sent her a confused look, new rage flaring up, "That Donnie is missing and probably dead and it is all it's fault."

Cassandra could feel her heart pound against her chest. She feared it might explode if it were to beat any faster.
"Why do you refer to Leo as 'it'?" Cassandra could feel her voice die in her throat after that question. She didn't even process asking it out loud, it was merely a question on her mind,
Mikey would never depersonalize his brother. That was simply impossible. A fact. Mikey would never-

"I... I did?" Mikey asked, honestly confused. His eyes darted around, jumping from one bush to the other before returning to Cassandra. "I didn't even realize..."

This was not what she'd expected to hear. And what came next was even worse.

"My acting must be worse than I thought, I slipped out of character so easily."
Cassandra almost had a heart attack. She had turned her head to look at Mikey, but what stared back at her wasn't Mikey.

Gosh, that thing wasn't Mikey.

Plastered on the box turtle's face was a wide grin, one where the teeth were showing. His eyes were bloodshot and it looked almost as if a vein just popped. His entire face screamed 'deranged' and then-

Mikey began to laugh. "What's the matter, Cass?" he giggled. Cassandra wasn't sure when, but Mikey had walked up to the back of the RV, a hidden compartment that was used to store stuff if needed, with his hand now on the opening mechanism. There was nothing interesting back there.

At least that is what Cassandra thought at first

But then it clicked in her head what might be hiding in the compartment and Cassandra’s heart dropped

"No... No!" Cassandra jumped up, her legs shaking and she feared she would just collapse on the spot again, "Mikey, don't do it!"
"Don't do what?" Mikey smiled her way, opening the trunk and reaching inside.

"NO!" Cassandra threw herself against Mikey, taking the box turtle down with her. The moss was soft and feathered their fall, though the way she fell made her back ache. That was going to leave a bruise.

Mikey hissed and shoved her off him. For a second, Cassandra tried to pull him back down again, but she lacked the needed physical strength to do so. Mikey easily broke free and went back to the open compartment.

"Mikey, please don't-"
It was too late.
Huey leaned back with the amulet in hand, rubbing his cheek against the cursed object like it was a comfort item.

The world officially broke.

"How could you..." Cassandra broke off. She felt like she was trapped in a space between dream and reality.
This couldn't be true.

-When did Mikey move the amulet from inside the cabinets in the RV to the hidden compartment in the back of the RV?

-When did Mikey get infected?

"Well, this mixes things up! I hoped you'll get me a bit further... But oh well, I never was a good liar." Mikey's smile widened even further. Cassandra was scared his face would rip open if it grew any bigger.

Cassandra was given no chance to comprehend what was going on. Mikey's laughter became louder, almost deafening, "You look shocked! Maybe my acting wasn't all that bad after all! How nice!" The corrupted box turtle giggled to himself, then, his entire face dropped, just like that, he went emotionless, "But my plan is ruined now thanks to you." And the smile came back, "Or thanks to me! After all, me and my big mouth! What a surprise it took you idiots so long!"

Crazy burned behind Mikey's eyes and Cassandra visibly paled.
Her brain cut to white and her mind went black. There was no logic. Mikey would never- When.. No... It couldn't be. This wasn't real.

This was all fake.

"Leo!"
Cassandra felt the air stopping in her lungs. The RV shook slightly, and out stepped a barely living Leo. If they thought he looked bad unconscious, then the sight she was introduced to now was literally beyond words. The slider was barely standing, and yet he obediently walked over to Mikey to take his place by his side.

"Good boy," Mikey praised, patting Leo on the head. Leo didn't react.

Cassandra felt sick to her stomach. Everything about what she was seeing was wrong.

"Now..." Mikey had one hand out and played with Leo's mask, but his gaze was firmly set on Cassandra, "What to do with you?"
"Mikey, please, that's not you! Put down the amulet, you're stronger than this!" Cassandra pleaded. She knew she couldn't get through to him, she couldn't even get through to Gentry, but she had to try.

"As you command, M'lady."
Now, what she didn't expect was Mikey to wink at her and throw the amulet her way. It didn't make contact or anything, just landed near her feet. The rope she had connected to it was still wrapped tightly around the middle.

Cassandra felt the coldest chill of her life run down her spine, her blood freezing, "What the-"
And then Mikey crashed against her. Weightlessness quickly got replaced by pain and Cassandra saw stars.

She squeaked loudly when a never before felt pain erupted in her chest.

Did... Did Mikey just punch her?

Another one.

That was definitely a fist striking against her ribs.

Gasping for air and out of pain, Casssandra grabbed onto Mikey’s wrists and attempted to yank the box turtle off her. They rolled. One second Mikey was on top the other second Cassandra was. They clawed at each other, Cassandra hissed when she felt Mikey's finger scratch over her face and she was convinced he had claws.

Abandoning the fight for just a second, and therefore making herself open to all of Mikey's attacks, Cassandra reached down and searched for something inside her pocket.

She had gotten it for her 13th birthday, right around the same time she joined the Foot Clan. It was a flippable survival knife, quite small but handy. She never really used it, since there never was any use for it.

She never expected to use it on another person. A friend…nor a family member non the less.
But her instincts took over for a moment, pushing logic and common sense away and focusing only on one thing: Surviving.
It was amazing what a cornered animal/person could do when faced with potential death, the sudden strength boost mixed with a new vigor allowed her to flip the knife open and she brought the blade up.

One swing.

One scream.

And only when she felt something warm drip on her face did she dare to look up.
Mikey had let go of her and was holding his bleeding arm. The cut she made stretched from Mikey's right hand to his elbow, and while it was impressively long, it didn't seem all too deep.

Cassandra stumbled to her feet before Mikey had the chance to attack again, the survival knife digging into her palm from how tight she was grasping it. She was ready to defend herself, no matter what.

"Oh, Cassandra..." Mikey stared at his bloody palm, " ...Thanks for the scar."
Cassandra didn't have the nerve to answer. She was shaking slightly and the never before felt rush of adrenaline coursing through her body made her numb to the world. She was hyper-focused on defending herself, no matter who would get hurt in the process.

Mikey began to lick his palm, cleaning himself from his blood. The box turtle made no new attempt to attack, simply stood there and waited until there was no red left on his hand. Meanwhile, Cassandra slowly walked over to where the amulet was thrown earlier, placing herself between the object and Mikey.

If Mikey wanted to get that thing, he would have to go through her.

Turned out, Mikey didn't. He had other plans

"GUYS! RAPHIE, CJ, COME QUICKLY!"
Mikey's shouts made her jump, her body almost cramping up from tension. When she looked at the box turtle, she noticed he stood in front of Leo, with his arms extended to both sides, almost as if he tried to protect his big brother.

Cassandra opened her mouth, ready to ask what he was planning, when the bushes behind her parted and two figures stepped out, both breathing heavily and with eyes wide from worry.

"What is going on?!" CJ asked, he had a few branches sticking in his hair that he didn't know about. He looked around for signs of possible danger, then his eyes landed on Leo and he gasped.

Mikey got the first word out-
"Cassandra tried to steal the amulet!"

Wait- What?

WHAT!?

"No! No, I didn't-!" Cassandra spun around, facing her son and friend. Both were staring back at her with hostility. "It's not me! Please, it's Mikey! Mikey's been infected!"

Raph had rushed over to Mikey the first chance he had, and Mikey threw himself at his chest to cry. "She attacked me!" He sniffled, "I- I tried to stop her- She... she wanted to take Leo- and- and when I tried to stop her, she... she attacked me!"

The next thing she felt was her head being pressed against the floor and her hands being forcefully pulled back. Something pulled at her wrist and caused her to drop her knife.
"CJ- CJ, you need to believe me!" Cassandra pleaded, wiggling and struggling but inevitably failing to escape her sons's death grip. She truly had taught him well. Maybe a bit too well "Mikey's infected! He's lying to you!"

Her son above her didn't answer and Cassandra felt her heart sink.
Her gaze traveled over to Raph and Mikey again. Mikey was perched on Raph’s shell, his face buried in Raph's neck. For a second, their gazes met, locked together, and Cassandra noticed the smug grin he was giving her.

Oh, that little-

"CJ!" She tried again, urgency in her voice, "Please, it's not me! He tried to take the amulet! I stopped him!"
"How dare you!" Mikey cried out from the other side, his face slightly raised out of Donald's neck, "You rushed out the RV the second they were gone and took the amulet! You wanted to take Leo away from me!" Tears rolled down Mikey's face, tears that he wiped away by rubbing his head against the back of Raph’s head.

"Please, guys! Don't trust him!" She was growing desperate. They didn't believe her, they thought she was infected! They were playing right into Mikey's hands!

"I knew it-" CJ's voice shook and Cassandra's arms hurt from how harsh they were yanked back, forcing her to her knees. "I left you alone with the amulet when I fought Todd- You... You touched it!"
"No, I didn't!"
"How did you manage to tie the rope around it? You had to touch it..."
"I didn't! Please, I swear! I used the hook from your grappling hook as an extension of my arm! I didn't touch it, please, please trust me!"

With pleading eyes, she looked from CJ to Raph.
They didn't budge.

And Mikey had the audacity to smile at her.

The corrupted box turtle quickly changed his expression to one of sorrow again, grabbing Raph's shoulder and hiding behind it, "Please, please don't let her hurt Leo. You and Leo are all I have left."
"I won't. I won’t let anything happen to you or Leo" Raph replied, his tone stone cold and he glared daggers at Cassandra. Mikey simply began to cry, sounds of fear and sadness coming from the faking box turtle.

Cassandra was left speechless.
She couldn't even begin to explain how she got into this situation, and she found no possible way of getting out. Mikey had them all wrapped around his finger.

"What will we do now?" CJ asked, his grip on his mom growing ever so slightly tighter. Cassandra thought her son was cutting off her blood circulation by now. The hold was painful and she wished for nothing more than to be released.

"We'll leave her here. It's too dangerous to take her with us." Mikey said, peaking out behind Raph's shoulder once more. He wiped at his last tears, climbed off of Raph, and slowly stepped over to Leo, "I don't want her near Leo."
"We won't leave her here," Thank goodness, Raph wasn't about to abandon her on the sidewalk!

This answer didn't sit right with Mikey, though he did a good job of hiding his offense, "But we can't let her roam, she will attack us the second we let her go!"
"I won't!" Her newest attempt to convince them of her innocence went as well as her last few.

Cassandra let her head hang low in defeat. There was no convincing them, and whatever they decided to do to her... She had no control over it...

...

...

...

She almost wished to be back in the police hold CJ had put her in before.

The rope binding her wrists together was uncomfortable at most, and she had to always keep her hands close to her body. She wasn't even allowed to change the music or roll down the window.
Her new seat was the passenger seat. Where everyone could keep a good eye on her and where she would be the furthest away from Leo.

She wasn't allowed to turn around and look at him, but she heard CJ's and Mikey's pleas to get Leo to eat. They managed to force half a bottle of water down his throat, but he wasn't willing to eat anything. Mikey's arm had been bandaged and CJ- Cassandra didn't want to throw any insults at her son, but when CJ gave her survival knife to Mikey for 'safe keeping' she cursed up a storm. She never used any of those words before, but growing up the way she did and with life turning out the way it did, she was taught a few insults she very much regretted sending her son's way. Though she had a feeling that maybe her son had heard those insults before from the timeline that he grew up in

The hurtful look she had gotten in return was enough to shut her up for the rest of the ride. She was trapped like this.
She was the only one that knew what was happening, and no one believes her.

Cassandra twisted her wrists around a bit. She was the one to steal the rope and now it was binding her, how ironic. She guessed she should be thankful; they could have just left her by the river and drove off without her. She knew the only reason that didn't happen was that CJ was still her son and Raph was never one to give up on family

The former foot recruit sighed and looked at the RV's ceiling.

To think all of this happened because she requested them to take a break

Maybe it was a good thing, she now knew they had a traitor amongst them.
It probably was a bad thing, because everyone believed her to be the traitor.

They were a pack of sheep...

...With a wolf in their midst.

Chapter Text

With all the misfortune they went through, one might think that their luck would change at some point.

Well, it did. It most certainly did.

Lightning flashed across the deep dark sky, illuminating the scenery for just a second.

Yeah, their luck changed.

It got worse.

Leo blinked against the raindrops hitting his eyes, wishing he could turn his head to the side to shield them. His big brother Raph had been kind enough to pull up his ragged hood, though it did him little good in their sprint to find shelter from the rain. The plastic bag that was repeatedly knocked against him while they ran wasn't much of a plus either. He found that he couldn't complain, neither physically nor mentally. His big brother had much more desperate things to worry about, carrying him like this with at least 5 bags hanging from his arms and constantly watching to make sure that everyone else was keeping up. He couldn't possibly bother his biggest brother with any more problems.

The RV had broken down a while ago.
Raph and CJ had taken a look and mumbled something about a blown piston. CJ had stayed behind to keep an eye on his mom, Leo, and Mikey as Raph said some curses that definitely did not need repeated when the first few clouds emptied over them. They knew they couldn't stay in the RV and wait for the sky to clear up, so they threw everything they had into their bags and began walking.

It took some debate, but in the end, it was decided to tie the rope with the amulet on it around Cassandra's wrist, since she was already 'infected'. Never in the past month had Leo wanted to laugh this bad. The look of anger flashing across Mikey's face was hilarious, his little brother getting tripped by his own charade.

He deserved it.

Mikey deserved it.

After what he did to him while everyone was in the gas station-

Mikey deserved it all.

Leo loved his baby brother and a part of him was screaming and crying out on the inside for what this was doing to his little brother. However, at the moment, Leo didn't feel bad for his little brother. Not even a little bit.

The words still rang loud in Leo's eyes, a small piece inside of him withering and dying when his brother ordered him to pretend to sleep and deny food and water even if Mikey was the one asking him to eat and drink. Unless Mikey told him the exact words of "I'm allowing you to-" He wasn't allowed to do anything. Then seeing Mikey plead and bag for him to consume at least a single bite- the feral turtle part of Leo wished he could rip his baby brother's head off. Out of everyone that had the amulet so far, none of them had been this cruel. Gentry had given him something to eat- April would have given him something if he had behaved better... But Mikey... Mikey was enjoying this. Leo could see the glister of lust behind Mikey's eyes, and it was getting worse and worse.

Leo have never seen this look from his baby brother and it scared him. To think that his sweetest and most innocent brother had become the worst one out of all…well the irony was certainly not lost on him

There was a nice little detail Leo found out about when he was still with Gentry, before Donnie had broken in. Just like Leo was bound to the freaking amulet- oh, he wanted to throw every insult he knew at that thing- so was the amulet bound to the ones it infected. He noticed that having physical contact was a bonus and not a necessity. Mikey had full control over him even in the backseat while the staff remained hidden, and even now while Cassandra was the closest to that thing. Apparently, the touch was only needed to transfer Leo's services from one master to another, the rest was simple for showing off. Leo still felt Mikey's presence breath down his neck like a hungry predator. He could feel his little brother's gaze burn in his back, and Leo wanted to writhe away from that.

Whatever was in say of Mikey's consciences, it was a monster. A monster Leo feared with his every breath.

The sky lit up once more, rain beating down on them. There was no cover anywhere, the trees were shaking too much and the branches were too dangerous to risk standing under them. There were no buildings anywhere near them, and neither was a bus stop they could use to save them from getting even more soaked. It was utterly miserable.

Lately, Leo's been thinking if it was still worth the fight.
He stopped believing around the time he got punished by April, and he hadn't particularly fought against it since then. The question he was asking himself wasn't really for himself, but rather for the people around him. Raph huffed under his breath, the exhaustion clearly tugging at his mind. The others weren't in any better shape, at least Leo had the privilege of being carried- really, he couldn't walk if he wanted to. By now his legs had gotten thin enough that his bones were clearly protruding against his skin.

Was the fight worth it for the few allies he still had?
They were going to fail. No way in hell will they be able to make it to Alaska on foot. The only thing moving them onward was desperation, maybe even stubbornness. Leo could see it, they all wanted to give up. This journey simply wasn't worth it. It was way easier to take the ulterior path out, handing him over to the next best master and letting everyone else fight it out until the amulet was secure in one person's possession. They could go back to their ordinary lives again, and maybe Leo could finally stop holding on to that stupid, stupid hope. Hope that he will be saved. Hope that he was still loved. Hope that things could go back to normal.

It felt much worse than any physical affliction. The pain was rooted deep in his soul where there was no way to heal it.
It has gotten far too late for anything to save him, but please, for whatever faith he had left, please let his family come to peace. Leo had already dragged down his brothers into this mess, his sister, both his dads, his friends- he couldn't be the cause of more of his family breaking apart.

Damnit, why was he still getting so worked up over this?
He shouldn't feel those things anymore, feeling anything was only causing him more despair.

They've been walking along the dirt road for what felt like three hours when they had to take their first break. They had found a pull-in, a small bed and breakfast on the side of the road where they found some shelter, and heck, they were even let inside to dry themselves off and warm up. They weren't given anything to drink though unless they planned on paying, which they didn't. They had some supplies left in their bags, CJ was the first to dig in.

His nephew (son?) from the future had pulled out a few apples and handed them out, putting one into each one's hand aside from Cassandra's. They had to take off the ropes they used to bind her wrists together before they entered the B&B. They didn't want to risk being called the cops on for kidnapping. They still had the charge of thievery up in the air.

CJ eventually gave Cassandra the apple, but everyone had their eyes trained on the girl while she eat, making sure there was no funny business. Once this was over, Leo hoped someone could knock some sense into his family. It was obvious it wasn't Cassandra!

Leo could see straight through Mikey’s act, and that was not just because this was his little brother. Mikey... Mikey wasn't a very good lair. He was right up there in terms of Donnie of how bad of a liar he was. Both of his little brothers couldn’t lie to save their lives

Granted, Leo had to applaud his baby brother for pulling off a stunt like this for so long, the plan was very well thought through, but it was still Mikey in the main role. Leo was surprised Raph hadn't caught on to it yet, his big brother should know how Mikey sweat and he wringed his hands whenever he was lying. Mikey had so obvious tells, even if he managed to contain the stutter in his voice, all the nervous sweat building up and the avoidance of eye contact.

But the best part? Leo could see through the panic in Mikey's eyes. His baby brother had no idea what the heck he was doing. He could have grabbed the amulet at any point and made a run for it- but to where? The lair was destroyed, he had no means of transportation, and there was a herd of equally power-hungry people after him. Mikey would lose the amulet in 5 minutes if he were to take it, and the orange-loving box turtle knew that truth all too much.

So now they were sitting ducks. Or sitting turtles and two humans in this case

"We should stay the night." Raph broke the ever-long silence and looked down at his apple. He hadn't eaten anything yet. Leo would have killed for that apple. He's been staring at it ever since CJ pulled it out of his bag. It was big and juicy-looking, a nice red peel that screamed 'I'm delicious!' and the few raindrops stuck to it made the apple glister and shimmer. Leo hadn't noticed it but he was drooling over his hoodie.

His stomach made a sound.
It was a quiet woe of misery, one of hunger and distress.
Apparently, it was loud enough for everyone to turn his way.
"Leo..." Mikey whimpered, sharing a look with CJ before rummaging through one of their begs for some food. He ended up on a banana and a bottle of water, and he held the items out towards Leo.

Leo hissed at him, in mind, that was.
Silently staring at the food laid out before him, his drooling got worse and his stomach made one more sound. Leo was hyper-focused on that banana, he failed to see Mikey's grin widening. His orange-loving baby brother leaned over to him, close to his year, and whispered, "Tonight, when everyone is asleep. Do as I say and I'll allow you to eat”

Food.
Leo couldn't nod but Mikey must have felt that the message went through.
Leo would do everything for some food. 
He just had to hold out till midnight, right? Then he would get food. 

Food...

Leo blinked, confused, unsure when CJ had come by to wipe the drool away with a napkin.
"We'll save you, Leo, I promise," The human boy said, "And we'll get you all the food in the world. Whatever you want, I'm sure Mikey and Splinter will cook it!"

Leo closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at all the delicious food anymore, but also so he wouldn't have to live with all those pitiful stares.

Raph had talked the owner of the B&B into letting them stay the night, the owner not even batting an eye at Raph being a giant mutant snapper turtle. They weren't given any rooms and had to settle for the couch, but it beat sitting out in the rain and waking up with pneumonia. They were given some blankets and Raph offered up the couch for everyone else to share while he settled for a wooden chair, since he was the biggest out of all of them 
"Won't you sleep too, Raphie?" Mikey asked, his voice quiet and scared, and he had his gaze directed towards the floor. Mikey had just tarped a blanket around Leo and himself, cuddling close to the motionless turtle in a fake display of affection.

"I'll keep guard," Raph replied, placing a half-empty water bottle on a small coffee table next to him and folding his hands which he then put on his lap. 
"The entire night?" Mikey snuggled a bit closer into the blanket until only his eyes peeked out, "But you need rest too."
Raph smiled slightly. Leo could tell that it was supposed to be reassuring, but it didn't quite hit the mark. They were all weak, dirty, and while all of them, minus Leo, had something to eat and drink, it was far from what could be called a balanced meal. They were no match in a fight. Against anyone. The guard was just to keep up the belief that they had a winning chance.

Mikey knew that well, and if Leo had to wager a guess, Mikey's plan was counting on them being too exhausted to stop him.

In the end, Mikey volunteered to stay up a bit longer and wake Raph once he decided he wanted to sleep, splitting the hours between the two. CJ offered to take a shift as well but was denied. They might need his strength the next day they said.

Leo was left to wait out the time. 
It went by as one would expect. They all eat and drank something small and then settled into their blanket for the night. Raph had given Mikey a small flashlight so the box turtle could look around if he saw anything suspicious, other than that, nothing worth mentioning happened. It took around an hour until everyone was asleep, around that time, the clock hit 11.

Only Mikey was awake. Mikey and him...

Leo felt a shiver run down his back, his blood freezing. His baby brother shifted beside him and Leo felt his heart skip a beat and then stop entirely for a full second. And when it came back to beat, it was at a speed that made him feel as if his chest was about to explode.

Food. He was getting food now, right?
Leo watched with his breath stuck in his throat as Mikey slowly slipped off the couch. His eyes were sparkling up with hunger, and he felt more salvia gather in his beak the closer Mikey walked to the bag where they kept all the food. There were butterflies in his chest. They fluttered around and made him feel high and weightless. He was getting food. He could finally eat. 

Barely able to hold back tears as they streamed down his face, Leo eyed the sandwich Mikey was carefully unwrapping.

His stomach growled. 
He wanted that sandwich. He needed that sandwich.

His brain was telling told him not to move, Leo only scarcely managed to raise a hand towards the food, he was drooling again, but not for much longer. He was getting food. He was-

Mikey took a bite from the sandwich.

Leo's arm dropped.

Mikey chewed on the bite and eventually swallowed, going in for a second.

Leo watched, forced into silence as bit for bit, the sandwich disappeared. And then, it was gone. Mikey licked his fingers and wiped his beak on his arm. All this happened in a time frame where Mikey, not even once, crossed eyes with Leo. It's like the orange-loving box turtle wasn't even aware of the hungry stares his blue-loving big brother was giving him.

Leo... Leo was still hungry. Maybe even more so now. 
That sandwich had looked delicious. He wanted it. He wanted it so bad. Please give him one...

His stomach gave off a noise like a dying cat. 
He feared his body was going to eat itself if he didn't do anything about it. 

...If he does anything he will be punished. The voices in his head stopped criticizing his every breath, but Leo knew they were still there. Listening... Waiting... He couldn't escape them. Neither could he escape Mikey... Or anyone... Ever... by now, he wasn't just a slave to them, he was one to his own body.

That thought from earlier... The one about giving up... It became more appealing as of late. Leo wondered why he wasn't willing to go through with it just yet. Stupid stubbornness. Or…or maybe it was some part of him that was telling him that Donnie was still out there and that his twin would save him

"Stop that."
Huh?
Mikey stood before him, his arms crossed and he looked angry. Leo sank into the blanket, shaking from head to toe. Trembling hurt. He couldn't really explain it but the vibration was causing his stomach to turn and he felt sickish.
"Stop. That." 
Mikey was getting angry now. Leo's heart sank. 
He wanted to hide under the blanket.

Mikey huffed, red in the face and about to explode, Leo was certain he was going to die.
"Here," The box turtle hissed and threw something at Leo. The red-eared slider hesitated just enough to catch his baby brother's furious glare, then he regarded the sandwich on his lap.

Food.

"You're allowed to eat. Now stop drooling."

His food.

Leo fumbled with the plastic wrapper, his fingers worked raw and bloody and he couldn't muster the strength to rip it away, so he used his teeth. He was hungry enough to eat the plastic as well, and he didn't mind when a piece of it got sent down his throat. It was better than starving for another second. 

Leo took the biggest bite out of that sandwich. He chewed on it repeatedly until it was only mush. Disgusting, tasteless, mush. and he wolfed it down. 

This was the best thing he'd eaten in days. Also, the only thing he'd eaten in days.

Leo ripped another bite out of the sandwich.
The salt from his tears made it even taster.

While he sat there and tried his best to enjoy the meal he's been given- he was overjoyed and at the same time felt nothing- Mikey sat down next to him, the couch dipping down a little. 
"Once Raph takes over, you'll stop obeying me unless I say the words, understood?" Mikey asked, one might accidentally cut themselves by how sharp his voice was.
Leo nodded, still trembling a bit. The nod caused a small piece of his sandwich to get stuck in his throat and out of reflex, he coughed. 

He tried to keep quiet, covering his beak with his dirty and worn hoodie, but it was still loud enough that it caused a few of the others to shift in their sleep. 

He coughed a total of 3 times before the stuck piece loosened and went down the pipe as it was supposed to. Leo was close to a heart attack, the stress not adding nicely to his psyche stain. He thought he might faint-

Leo's face stung when Mikey hit him. 
He was confused for a second, the world stopped making sense a while ago but that sent him for another loop. Mikey... hit him? Mikey… punched him in the eye...

The second Leo needed to process what just happened, Mikey had grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and pulled him close, so that they were face to face, their beaks only inches apart.
"You're lucky I still need you-" Mikey hissed, in his voice was nothing but disdain and hatred.

Leo let out a breath, silent, when Mikey let go of him and turned away
He- He was still alive?
No... No punishment? He was spared?
His trembling worsened again, though he didn't dare to cry or sob. Noise was bad and Mikey's patience was thin.

Leo redirected his attention to his meal. He should finish eating before anyone woke up because then he would be forced to stay silent while his stomach did all the talking.
He lifted the sandwich to his beak once more-

It got slapped out of his hands. Leo turned his head to where his meal had fallen, now spread on the floor, messy, dirty, unappetizing, but Leo was still willing to eat it. It was the only food he'd gotten after all.

"Pick it up and throw it away."
A crack.... and a shatter. Leo's heart broke.

Leo got up from the couch, his legs immediately failing him and he collapsed on the spot. Mikey was sending him a disappointed look, and Leo flinched. Ignoring the pain, he began to crawl toward where his food was flung to. With shaking hands, he picked up the bread, the pickles, paprika, tomatoes, the cheese, everything that had once made up something delicious, and he dumped it in a nearby trashcan. 

Once the deed was done, he stayed where he was, curled up on the floor and shedding silent tears next to the trashcan. 
His stomach clawed at his inside, thousand tiny knives ripping his insides apart and begging for more food. Begging him to crawl inside the trashcan and dig up his lost sandwich. 

Leo let a small lake form beneath him, unsure of where all those tears came from so quickly. Maybe he finally crossed that threshold and became broken. If he had just stayed quiet, he would have gotten his food. And now he was left hungry, sad, and empty. 

"Get back on the couch."
Leo didn't answer, not nod, but he moved. He wasn't trusting his voice or body to handle the task of responding to Mikey, and he prayed that him simply acting was enough to satisfy his baby brother. He wasn't punished any further, and so Leo rested assured that maybe he wasn't a total failure. 

After Leo heaved himself back on the couch and placed himself against the backrest like he did before he was summoned away from there, he closed his eyes. He couldn't sleep, wasn't allowed to and he doubted Mikey was lifting that restricting anytime soon. At least for now, he would have to suffer through the night. Hungry, and aware that he was officially lost the fight.

...

...

...

He didn't know how much time has passed, at some point everything just blurred together with no end or beginning. 
Once Mikey had woken Raph to pass down the night watch, Mikey cuddled up next to him, rubbing his head against him and hugging him. Leo felt no warmth whatsoever. 

Everything became numb since that sandwich incident. More so now than before. Leo wasn't sure when he last was happy.

The cold brushed against his skin, Leo didn't border much. Let him be called. He probably deserved it. And if he complained it will get worse. The cold wasn't that bad once it bordered him for long enough.

Was it wrong to wish he had just killed himself when he had the chance? He could have been free, and no one had to suffer. At first it had terrified him, though now he didn’t fear death as much as he probably should. No one could touch him in the afterlife, and maybe if he dies, the amulet and the curse will leave the world as well, and his family can go back to being happy. They can make up and move on. They never needed him anyway, that point has been made clear enough.

He should disappear.

When that thought crossed it mind, it got accompanied by the sound of- cutting?
Leo frowned and opened his eyes, the darkness of the lobby staring back. While his eyes were adjusting, he noticed that everyone he’s been traveling with was fast asleep, including Raph who was supposed to watch over them. Leo needed an additional minute for his eyes to make out a figure covered in the shadows of the night, kneeling next to Cassandra and doing… well, Leo couldn’t see it but he for sure was doing something.

Leo couldn’t border to intervene. 
Forcing through the restrictions to wake anyone was more work than it was worth.
If he didn’t wake anyone, Mikey might beat him…
Leo closed his eyes again, tightly shut this time, and decided to let faith do its thing. 

Until he heard a 'snap' like a rope being cut and suddenly... Suddenly he was running. Leo looked around in a wild haze, his feet barely able to hold his weight. He wasn't on the couch anymore… he wasn't even in the building! He was running through the parking lot- no, not even that was right... He was being dragged by a figure he couldn't make out.

Behind him, the others were awoken by the ruckus.
"Wha-?!"
Just like that screaming erupted.
"He got the amulet!" Mikey yelled, perhaps the first to notice the absence.
"He got Leo!" CJ countered, and judging by the sound of broken glass, the future boy gave chase. "HEY! Come back here!" 

The hooded figure took a sharp turn, pulling Leo along with him. They kept running, branches and leaves cracking beneath their feet. Leo was barely holding up, if it wasn't for the other pulling him, he would have long collapsed. His legs were hurting bad and he wanted to sleep.

There was not much for him to do other than follow whoever was that mysterious person. They were around Leo's size. The face was obscured by a hood pulled over the head, and a blue cape rose in the wind behind them. 

Someone from behind was getting louder. CJ was catching up to him. Leo wasn't sure who to root for. He didn't want to fall back into Mikey's hands. He also didn't want to be tossed around like the worthless possession everyone treated him as. Leo decided it was best to not want anything at all. Ever again. Abandon everything that was making him a player in this sick game and just... let go.

The red-eared slider closed his eyes, and simultaneously, he felt the floor vanish beneath him. 

CJ had reached them and thrown herself against the hooded figure, freeing Leo from the hold and causing the blue-loving turtle to collapse in a heap of exhaustion. 

The world was spinning, and seeing the trees blur together and multiply made his head throb in pain. Really, he wasn't in the state to deal with this. Dropping his head, Leo opted to rest on the cold forest floor. From there he would hear CJ pin the mystery person to the ground, and by the sound of fabric moving, he probably tore the hood of their head to reveal who was underneath.

A gasp.
"DONNIE?!"
And Leo couldn't help but look.
It was him... It really was him...

His twin had come to save him

He should be happy, overjoyed even, but he just wasn’t sure how to feel

Donnie stared back at CJ, his eyes wide with a sense of panic, while he still tightly clenched the amulet in his hand. The cape he wore was tied around his neck with a simple knot and weirdly enough, he was lacking his battle shell. His softshell was left bare out in the open, with the fabric of what Leo could assume was a combination of him and Donnie’s hoodies now ripped into pieces and wrapped around his wrists. 

Something about Donnie was different however, other than the obvious change in appearance. Leo couldn't quite say what it was just yet, but somehow... Somehow he felt... safe? Like Donnie opened the door to a sanctuary.

And honestly, his twin had always felt like that. Donnie was Leo’s safe space and vice versa.

Now, after all that Leo had been through, Donnie never felt more like a safe space

Leo never wanted to leave Donnie's side ever again. He never wanted his twin to leave him ever again. And Leo had a feeling that Donnie would never abandon him again

By now, the rest of their little group caught up to them as well, with Mikey being the second to arrive out of everyone. He stopped a few feet away from them, his beak dropping open when he saw who it was that CJ was holding down. 

"Donnie!" The orange-loving box turtle yelled, suddenly running and shoving CJ off his brother. In seconds, he had his arms wrapped around Donnie and sobbed into his plastron, a few tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "You're okay! Thank the Lord you are okay!" he cried, "I was so worried! Don't ever scare me like this again! You jerk! I thought you were dead!"

Donnie was as stunned as the rest about the sudden outburst, but once the shock wore off, he carefully wrapped his arms around Mikey as well and squeezed, "I'm okay, Angelo. I'm okay, you can stop crying now." he said softly, placing his head on Mikey's shoulder and whispering soothing words. 
"I left you-" Mikey wouldn't stop crying, or trembling, "I left you down there, and I am so, so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I promise, I didn't want to, I never wanted to leave you-"
"Shhh, I'm fine. You're fine. It's going to be okay."

Raph soon came up to his little brothers, with tears in his own eyes. Once Donnie saw him, he wrapped his arms around his big brother and Raph held him close, whispering the same apologizes to Donnie as Mikey did. Donnie just hugged Raph tighter, reassuring him that it was ok, even though he was shedding tears of his own. Mikey soon joined in on the hug and the three brothers relished in the fact that they were together again, although they failed to see that one important member of their bale was missing

The act was watched in silence by the Casey’s. No one dared to interfere in their ruining, even Leo was mesmerized by how much love and care was displayed before him. He wished someone would love him the way his brothers loved each other.

It seem as though Raph and Donnie heard Leo’s thoughts as they turned towards their remaining brother. “C’mon Leo. Get over here” Raph smiled widely as he gestured Leo over

Leo did not move

Raph didn’t understand what was going on, but Donnie seem to understand, though he didn’t like it

He turned towards his twin and with tears in his eyes, spoke softly, “Leo…I command you to come over here and join the hug with us. Come over here and give me that hug that I’ve been wanting so badly”

Leo felt immense relief as tears fell down his face and stagger his way over to his brothers. Once he came within arms length of Donnie, Donnie scooped him up and hugged him tightly, with Raph coming around and hugging the twins, with Mikey only hugging Raph and Donnie on the outside. Leo broke down in Donnie’s arms as Donnie held him like he was a precious thing, cupping the back of his head with one hand, while the other rubbed his shell. Leo wasn’t able to hug Donnie back as he felt too weak but he did bury his face in Donnie’s plastron, nuzzling against it and just barely having enough energy to give weak chirps. Donnie’s tears felled onto Leo’s head as he planted several kisses on Leo’s face and chirped back at Leo, his way of telling Leo that the blue loving twin was safe and that Donnie loved him so much. Despite being at lost for words, the love that the twins had for each other was on full display, the reunion being bittersweet

Once the hugging dragged on for long enough Raph and Mikey slowly began to pull away. Donnie continued to hug Leo for just a big longer, scared of letting Leo go. Leo eventually pulled back slightly, which let Donnie know that Leo was done with hugging, though he did keep his twin at arm’s length by holding his hand
"Where were you?!" CJ was quick to ask, taking Leo’s spot and immediately hugging the softshell
"I-" Donnie was about to answer, unfortunately though, he got interrupted.

"And why did you take the amulet? In the middle of the night might I add. Without saying anything?"
Donnie looked away at Cassandra’s accusation, and his gaze remained glued to the ground as he spoke, "You guys... You just have to trust me, okay? I- I can make things right."

Well, wasn’t that vague.

The lack of information also made the rest warry.

Donnie clenched the amulet harder, his fingers turning white at the tips. The softshell’s face hardened before softening up and he sighed, "I got a plane ready for us"
"WHAT?" The only two not exclaiming out loud where Cassandra and Leo. The former held a neutral gaze with a hostile glare in her eyes, "Makes sense, you had to catch up somehow. I'm more interested in how you found us... And-" She nodded at the amulet, "Why you're holding that."

Immediately everyone turned their head towards Cassandra and the former foot recurit flinched away under the silent way they were judging her. She might have been freed from the rope, but it was clear that mistrust hung in the air, her words not helping her case of looking innocent.

Their attention returned equally quick to Donnie, who had exclaimed when Leo had stumbled on his feet since Donnie moved slightly away from him. After he helped his twin to his feet, offering his shoulder and hooking his arm around Leo so that Leo wouldn’t immediately collapse again, he cleared his throat. Donnie still wasn’t looking anyone in the eyes. He looked like he contemplated running away.

Leo leaned against his twin’s shoulder, tighting the grip on his arm and nuzzling his face into Donnie’s shoulder
For a moment, he felt as if he could breathe safely. As if to test out his theory, Leo exhaled softly, and when he breathed back in, he felt rejuvenated. Desperate for more of that sensation, Leo tried lifting his arms to wrap them around his twin and squeeze tightly, wanting to give Donnie a well-deserved hug, but the feeling of freedom ended at the thought and never made it to the action.

"So?" CJ stepped towards Donnie when the questions weren’t answered. Donnie in return took a step back, constantly reacting to anyone coming closer by building up more distance, almost like he was protecting Leo. The air got tenser by the second, and like he was hit with static, Donnie’s skin began to buzz with anticipation.

"I'm sorry," The purple-loving turtle mumbled, "But I can't let you come with me. It’s better you don’t follow me."
"Now hold on just a second," CJ pleaded, reaching an arm out from which Donnie flinched away, "What is going on? And what is it with the new outfit?"
"More importantly," Cassandra interjected from the back of the group, "Where is Gentry? You were trapped together, were you not?"
"G-Gentry?" Donnie became slightly paler, the urge to run away worsening, "G-Gentry won't be a prob-problem. She... She can’t hurt us now."
"Can't hurt us?" CJ repeated. Now he was getting nervous, "Donnie, what happened?"

Now, that was when Donnie booked it.
He’d had grabbed Leo by the arm once more, and off they went. An encore of shouts flared up behind them, most demanding answers or for the softshell to stop. Donnie didn't do either.

Leo stumbled after him with unsure steps, being dragged along once more and he would have almost tripped and fell to his certain doom multiple times. Leo was sure he couldn't handle five more steps when the plane that Donnie talked about suddenly appeared in his vision. It was a small cargo plane that suspiciously had the same colors of the Turtle Tank and Leo had to wonder where in the world did Donnie get this plane from. The cargo hatch was wide open, and Donnie waited no second to push Leo inside. Donnie followed suit and immediately pressed the button to close the hatch. Behind them, their brothers and the Casey’s were racing to get there in time. Donnie pressed the button more furiously now, panicking to get it close in time. Just as it was inches away from being too late, one after the other, the uninvited guests entered the plane.

From where Leo had been flung to, he could see Donnie stepping back nervously, a hand extended and pushing Leo back as well. Like before, Leo felt no threat coming off his twin by the motion, it was something calming, and Leo allowed the motion, and followed it eagerly and willingly. With every step Donnie took back, so did Leo. He felt like he was... dancing, weirdly enough. It truly looked like they were actual twins with how in sync they were

"Donnie, talk to us!" CJ pleaded, approaching the softshell even though he kept backing away, "What is going on? Why did you take the amulet? Where is Gentry? Where have you been all this time?"

They reached a wall. No more room to flee.
"You shouldn't have followed me," Donnie hissed, though he looked as if he was close to tears.
CJ's features soften a little bit, "Donnie, please, put down the amulet, we can talk-"
"We can't talk," Cassandra called from behind, "He's already infected! It's only a matter of time before he jumps on us!" and with that, she shot a side glare towards Mikey.

"He won't be infected."
Raph's calm voice temporarily silenced everyone.
It's been a while since the snapper turtle last spoke, now he approached his little brothers with purposeful steps. He only stopped when he was inches away from Donnie, and he kneeled down before his little brother, reaching out and taking hold of Donnie's cape. He rubbed the fabric between his thumb and index finger. "Sanctuary's tarp." He mumbled, inspecting the cape carefully.

The name didn't cause a reaction out of either of the Casey’s, but Mikey peaked up at what he'd heard. "Sanctuary's tarp?!" he echoed his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, "The same tarp that dad inherited from Grandpa Sho? The same one that Grandpa Sho used when Japan went through a pandemic in the 1940’s?"
Raph nodded, silent to admire the fine craft between his fingers.

"H-How did you get your hands on that?" Mikey redirected his attention to Donnie, who was red in the face from embarrassment. The softshell scratched the back of his head and looked away, "It- It was in a secret cabinet of Splinter’s things, in a part of his room that was left untouched”
"The tarp shields its wearer from any sickness, poison or-"
"-Curse." Donnie finished, holding the amulet close to his chest while pushing his baby brother away with his other hand, "You shouldn't get too close."

"But... But if we have the tarp- Leo-" CJ wore a huge smile and he pointed at the turtle behind Donnie, "We can undo it all."
"We can't." Raph, his voice brought back from the silence, sighed, "It shields against ill effects; however, it can't reverse them. Once the effect has set in... It stays."

"Oh." CJ let his head hang. There goes another idea. Though not all was bad, they gained a bunch of benefits. First of all- CJ looked around, "We have a plane!"
And second of all-
"Are those supplies in the corner? And winter gear?! You even have medicine and everything here!"
Oh, how luck came their way after all!

"We might be able to get to Alaska and find Eliza in- Maybe a day! Two at most! This is amazing!"
"No, it isn't." Donnie hissed, now finally pushing his way through to the cargo hatch and pressing the button to open it, "You're not coming. Leave."
"Leave?" Cassandra spoke up and she banged her fist against the metal wall of the airplane, "You expect us to leave after showing up and stealing the amulet? You still haven't answered any of our questions! Where is Gentry? Is she hiding here somewhere?"

Donnie wiped at tears. When had he started crying?
"Gentry is... Gentry isn't here anymore."
"What do you mean she isn't here anymore?" Raph was growing concerned now too, "What happened to her?"
"I'm... I'm sorry-" Donnie dropped the amulet to hide his face in his hands, "I... April...April put... We... I'm so sorry...! April... She put those bracelets on her... They... they drained her magic..."

CJ frowned on that, "But she is made out of magic! If you drain it all away she-" Her face fell, "-No..."
"She can't live without her magic," Cassandra added on, horror now settling in. By now, Donnie had fallen to his hands and knees, using the tarp to wipe his tears and hide his face. "S-S-She just... Poofed out of existence... I... She like... her colors, they were all weird for a second... And then she was gone..."
"Donnie..." CJ covered her mouth in shock, but slowly lowered his hands, "...She's probably in some in between space where only witches can travel…or maybe you can became a mortal just like Eliza-"
"You have no idea!" Cassandra pushed CJ to the side and approached Donnie with angry steps, "There is no possibly way that we can know that she went there…or that she is even alive anymore!”

"I'm sorry!" Donnie cried, folding his hands over his head and curling up.
"Hey! Back off!" Mikey pushed himself between Donnie and the angry former foot recruit, "Leave him alone! You're the one that has no idea! Donnie was suffering down in the basement! How dare you blame him for anything!"
"Guys," And now Raph got into the mess of his arguing family as well, his calm demeanor a strong contrast to the high intensity that was sparkling between everyone else, "This is no time to argue. We'll save Leo AND Gentry, no matter what, are we clear?"
Nobody answered.
"Are we clear?" Raph repeated, more sternly this time.
"Yes." Everyone agreed.

"Good." Raph sighed, "Now, everyone, take a deep breath and we'll start from the beginning. I'll have the map to Eliza with me, we'll leave the other supplies back at the B&B. Donnie can fill us in while we fly, we shouldn't lose any more time."
At the mention of leaving, Donnie's head peaked up, tears still running down his face, "No! It's too dangerous for you to come with me! I don't want anyone else to get hurt! Please, just stay here. I'll come back once Leo is free."

"What? We're just supposed to take your word for it?" Cassandra placed a hand on her hip, "You might be already cursed and only act as if you were on our side! That and you killed my best friend!"
"Gentry is not dead!" Mikey shot back.

...And they were arguing again...

Leo listened from the sidelines, stuck where Donnie had left him. The cold he felt since then left him yearning. He missed Donnie's presence wrapping around him like a warm blanket, the feeling of safety and comfort missing that only came from his twin, and now he was left behind with a gaping wound in his soul. He once felt this way with Mikey too, now those were memories lost to time.

He just hoped and prayed that Raph and Donnie wouldn’t fall to it as well. He didn’t think his heart could take it if he lost all of his brothers

CJ was joining in as well, arguing for both Cassandra and Mikey, switching sides to whoever was making the most sense at the moment, mostly, however, he got stuck in the middle of them. Raph had a harder time breaking them apart, judging by the look on his face, he was about to lose it too.

"I'm sorry, Donnie, but we're coming with you if you like it or not," the snapper turtle decided, "But I trust you. I know what the tarp can do and I believe you take good care of it. Now, Cassandra, I'm sorry, but you know what has to be done."
The former foot recruit huffed. She rolled her eyes and stomped away. It was easy to miss the tears rolling down her face as she sat down on a small cargo box with her arms crossed.

"I'll get the rope," CJ said quietly, understanding that they couldn't let Cassandra run around while she was still under the assumption of being inflected. That left Raph with his baby brother and one of the twins, the other twin leaning against the wall on the other side of the plane.
"Donnie," Raph put a hand on Donnie's shoulder and squeezed gently, "Do you think you can make him-" he nodded his head in Leo's direction, "Eat and drink something? We had trouble giving him anything."

"I... I'll try," Donnie answered quietly, picking up the amulet from where he had dropped it earlier. Mikey was standing suspiciously close to it, though no one mentioned, or even noticed it.
Donnie walked over to his twin in greed. Taking Leo by the hand, he guided him up the cargo bay and to where the pilot and co-pilot seats were. He sat down Leo on the co-pilot seat and gifted him a smile, cupping his cheek "Everything's going to be okay now, Nardo. I promise I'll fix you. And I will never let anyone hurt you again." With that, the feeling of warmness returned to Leo, the hug sending chills of happiness through his body, and he felt weightless. Oh, Leo wished he had the strength to hug back, he wanted to so badly, though he couldn't. The only thing that he could do was lean his face against Donnie’s shoulder and let a few tears fall as his let out a breath, though it was very shaky. He needed to stop trying...

Donnie squeezed Leo before whispering softly. “I love you Nardo. I missed you so much. Love and miss you like you wouldn’t believe. You are my everything and I will never let you go ever again” Leo’s beloved twin said before ending the hug with a kiss to Leo’s forehead, "I'll be back in a second, I'll get you something to eat."
Food.
Food?
His stomach growled.
Was he allowed to keep it this time?
Probably not. Mikey was on the plane... Mikey would take his food away again.

Just then, a blanket glided over his shoulders and something warm pressed into his hands. Looking down, Leo stared at the hot chocolate, a few tiny marshmallows floating on the top of the delicious dark brown liquid. Leo blinked, confused. Was that... for him?
He stared up at Donnie, who smiled back at him, "You can drink, but be careful, it's still hot."

Now Leo was even more confused. Was he allowed to? Like, for real? Or was that another trick? He found that he regained the ability to move, validating Donnie's offer and registering it as a command to take a sip. Not wishing to deny his twin, Leo did as he was told, bringing the mug to his beak and taking a small sip. His hands were shaking the entire time, the mug heavy in his hands, he feared he might drop it. But he didn't.

His tongue recoiled at how hot the chocolate was, and the sweet taste felt foreign, he didn't quite know what to do with it. After a single sip, Leo put the mug back down to look at his twin. He did good, right? Was he allowed to keep it? But Donnie didn't look at him anymore. His twin was busy flipping switches and pressing buttons, starting the engine of the plane. Raph's map was sitting next to him, and he read off the coordinates, putting it into the GPS.

Leo was surprised that Donnie knew how to fly a plane. Just another thing that he was learning new about his twin…although maybe it shouldn’t honestly be a surprise as Donnie did possessed the knowledge to fly a plane as Leo remember him taking a class on two on it a couple of years ago

Leo looked back at the mug. He could still move, still drink.
'Drink before they take it away.' His brain told him. Leo didn't need much convincing, he rose the mug to his beak once more and began gulping it down, ignoring this time how it burned his throat.
It was good. Delicious. The best drink he ever had. Which meant it hurt even more when he licked the mug clean, not a single drop left.

"Woah there, we have more, no need to devour it like this. Here, I brought you this too." Donnie held a cup of ramen towards him. One of those small things where you only pour in water and wait five minutes for it to be done. There was already a spoon inside, and it didn't steam too badly. Leo's brain halted. He was given... Two things? Drink and food?

"It's okay, Nardo, you don't have to worry, we have enough, and you need it” Then he sighed heavily as he briefly cast watery eyes at his twin “I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner..." Donnie then shook his head before reaching out to hold onto Leo’s hand “But I’m here now. You’re safe Nardo. This will all be over soon, I promise”
Donnie soon let go of Leo’s hand and Leo remained silent. He couldn't speak even if he wanted to, his throat burning sore from the hot chocolate.

As Leo reached out to take the cups, he brushed against the hoodie shreds Donnie had wrapped around his wrist. He accidentally loosened it and it fell, and when Leo went to pick it up, he almost screamed. Donnie fumbled to hide his hand under the tarp, but it was too late. Not only Leo saw what was there, but also Raph, who had come up to the cockpit to check if everything was alright.

The snapper turtle immediately took Donnie's arm and pulled it out under the tarp, inspecting the injury. There was a deep, circular cut in his wrist, going deep down, almost to the bone, and his flesh was coming off on both sides. Blood mattered his skin and beneath was purple and black.

Raph was silent as he stared at the gruesome wound, unable to take his eyes off it. Leo felt the same way, paralyzed from shock. He had dropped his noodles without realizing it, and he didn't care much either. How had Donnie even held the amulet before? Or dragged Leo along? Or pressed all those buttons? His wrist was a mess and- Leo's eyes moved over to Donnie's other wrist, the one still covered. Was that one- Was that one looking like this too?

"Donnie..."
The others have come up the ladder as well and their reactions were like Raph's and Leo's. Mikey was the first to scream, dropping to his knees and yelling for a first aid kit.
"There is no time, we have to hurry- Leo-" Donnie tried to take the attention off him with little success.
"Leo can wait." Mikey hissed, "You're more important. You let this wound get infected- Damnit, Donnie! How did you do that?!"

Donnie didn't answer immediately, but when he did, his voice was quiet, almost scared, "Handcuffs... I had to get out of them... I didn't want to be down there any longer..."
Donnie was- trembling? Really badly so. and he was crying again, "After Gentry disappeared- I- I was all alone-"

Raph kneeled next to Donnie and held Donnie’s face in his hands, brushing tears off Donnie’s cheeks, "It's okay, Donnie, take a deep breath. How about you start from the beginning?"

The softshell nodded, sniffling and then wiping at his tears.

"It started when Gentry attacked us at Todd’s place."

Chapter Text

Flashback

"Mikey!" Donnie cried, his tears vanishing in the darkness as the door closed and the room turned black one more. "Don't leave me! Please!"

He tugged at his handcuffs, once, then his wrist begged for mercy. He didn’t know how bad his wounds have gotten by now, but the smell of blood stung his nostrils and he could taste iron on his tongue. That, and the constant, pulsating pain coming from his wrist was an indicator that whatever state he was in now, wasn’t a good one. Honestly, he was a bit scared of seeing his wrists, somewhat he was glad they were locked behind his back and out of his field of view.

"Come back, please," There was no stopping the tears. Those were probably the last ones. He hadn’t got anything to drink for the past 2 days, or maybe it was only one. He had lost all feeling for time in the dark, lonely room.

"You know, my offer still stands."

Not entirely lonely room,
Company never felt so sickening.

"I'm not going to free you," Donnie said lowly. They had this conversation before, after the first time he was left down there. It was a bittersweet proposal, one that could have him free of the handcuffs and out of the dark room and out of the house. Donnie swallowed, breathing in through the mouth and shakingly breathing out, "You can ask me many more times, my answer won't change."

"They won't come back for you, Purple one. You're going to rot down here."
"They'll come," Donnie countered, slight amounts of doubt bleeding into his voice, "My big brother Raph won't leave me behind."
"Just like you thought your baby brother won't leave you behind?"
"Mikey will be back! He just- He just has to come up with a plan! He... He wouldn't abandon me...neither of my brothers would abandon me"
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Donnie bit his tongue.
He didn't want to answer that question.
Mikey would come back for him, he was sure of it. Mikey would never leave him. He probably had a good reason for going with April... showing no resistance... not even trying to free him...

Throwing his head back, screaming at the ceiling. He had nothing particular to scream but simply needed an opening to vent out his frustration. The tugging on his handcuffs became more vicious, this time not stopping when his wrists bleed all over his arms.

"Let me out!" He cried, moving the entire bed an inch forward after one especially harsh tug. Metal dug deeper into his flesh, getting stuck there and rubbing against his insides. Sobbing, he noticed his legs give out underneath him and he collapsed in a heap.

His hands tingled weirdly. A bit as if they had fallen asleep. They were numb and he had trouble moving his fingers.
His stomach was doing the exact opposite. It made itself known by rumbling and growling, hurting him and making him feel empty and weak. He wondered, was this how Leo felt all the time? Afraid, hurt, lost, and with no one to hear his screaming? Leo might not be locked in dark room, but he had a prison of his own, one he couldn't escape from.

He wanted to cry for his twin. He wished for nothing more than to be free and run into Leo’s arms, squeezing his twin until the world was bright again. He didn't know what hurt more, his own pain, or the sympathy he felt towards his twin.

He needed to get back to him. To Leo.
He promised he would free him, and he wasn't going to break that promise. If he had to cut his hands off, so be it.

And the tugging began anew. One thing Donnie noticed was how the handcuffs were moving around a lot less, one of the cuffs having itself embedded deeply into his flesh. It might have hit bone at one point because he heard a weird sound he couldn't quite place. The bed scratched over the floorboards the more Donnie struggled and thrashed about.

'Nardo...' Donnie felt the last of his tears roll down his face, 'Wait for me... I'm coming for you...'

He lost all feeling in his hands. There was pain and then there was nothing. Donnie had trouble even lifting his arms anymore, he pulled at the handcuff and suddenly his body was shutting down. It confused him. He tried to move and nothing happened.

"Give it up, Purple one."
Who else could it have been but Gentry that spoke, her voice laced with a gentle tone that Donnie knew was fake.
"Either you agree to my plan, or you'll never get out of these handcuffs."
Donnie hissed at the shadows, baring his teeth, "You want me to free you! If I do that, you'll go after Leo again!"

There was a chuckle, shortly broken by a cough, which then grew more violent. Gentry took a few seconds to compose herself and then spoke, "That's the reason you don't want to help me? Not the possible danger of me stabbing you in the back the first chance I get?"

Oh. Now there were two reasons he doesn't want Gentry out of that magical barrier.

The laughter got louder.
Donnie shut his eyes tied and rubbed his head against his shoulder to somehow turn off the awful sound. He didn't need to be 'boo'ed at for his uselessness, he can do that himself just fine, thank you.

Then the laughter turned to coughs, just like before, the transition was sudden and harsh. Donnie turned his gaze in the general direction of where the coughing was coming from. Small, shiny particles- they reminded him of confetti, sparkled in the dark before disappearing as if they had never existed.

"H-Hey," Donnie spoke quietly, unsure of what to say, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm feeling just peachy." The sarcasm was so obvious, it might have as well slapped Donnie across the face. He didn't like the answer he was getting. Gentry hadn't done much for Donnie to trust her, but somewhere deep down, there was a friend, one in need.

The coughing wasn't getting any better. It got worse. The particles coming out were bright enough to light up smaller parts of the room, and for a split second, Donnie caught a glimpse of Gentry's face. She didn't look well. She was pale and her eyes were slightly sunken in.

"You're... You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?" Gentry let out a quiet chuckle, "Those things you put on me... They're... They're magic draining."
Duh, that was their purpose. They couldn't risk Gentry running around freely, she would come after Leo and everyone else again. She could easily break out and go on another rampage.

"They are supposed to be," Donnie answered lowly, eying the darkness in confusion.
"Now, what is the one thing I'm made of?"

Magic.

The answer was magic.

Gentry's laughter grew stronger in volume, mocking him for his oblivion.
"But-" Donnie had trouble speaking, "But that would've meant you-"
"I've been slowly dying since we both got stuck down here? Yep, you hit the nail on the head there."
"Impossible! April- April would have never given you those if they would kill you! Despite being under the spell, deep down you two are still best friends! Stop playing with my emotions!"

"I may have known your family for very long, but from what April and Cass have told me, I know for a fact that Splinter and Draxum have magic restrictive items, yet, your sister…my supposed best friend went for the only thing that could effectively restain, and kill me."
"You're lying!"
She had to be lying. Donnie was the one getting those bracelets. He couldn't have been the one that helped in the murder of a friend. There was simply no way. He refused to believe this to the very end.

"Keep telling yourself that," Gentry coughed again, the particles growing more in numbers, "We'll see in an hour or two."
"You only got two hours left?"
"Maybe 30 minutes if I'm lucky."

Donnie chewed on the inside of his cheek, whether it was due to anxiety or doubt, he didn't know, "Okay. I'm doing it." He ended up saying.
"Hm?"
"I'm freeing you. Tell me what I should do."

"Oh ho ho! Now we're talking!
Donnie wondered if he was doing the right thing. Setting Gentry free would... most likely make things harder down the line. She was no doubt the biggest threat they had faced so far and now he would unleash her once again.

"The plan is simple." Gentry hummed from her prison in the darkness, "Those runes you set down there should be close to you. If you manage to wipe it away with your foot, the barrier should break away."
"And then you are going to free me from the handcuffs," Donnie emphasized. He was not going to sit here and do nothing while Gentry ran free.
"Yeah, yeah sure. Now get me out."

Donnie began to regret his decision. Nonetheless, he stretched his leg out and felt around, he remembered putting down a rune somewhere to his right. He leaned back to get more reach with his leg and swiped his foot over the floorboards. He hit a few objects, empty cans, a blanket, a pile of dust, though it was near impossible to find where exactly he had drawn the symbol.

As he searched, Gentry doubled over in another coughing fit. The particles were even more than before, and somehow the coughing sounded weaker like it took more and more energy out of the witch to get them out of her system. Donnie began to wonder if she should rather keep them down, they were like little specks of magic leaving her body. He wondered if this was the equivalent to blood.

At last, Donnie heard something shatter. It sounded like glass.
"Finally!" Gentry cheered. Looks as if Donnie managed to get the rune after all.
"Thank you greatly for your cooperation, Purple one."
"Donnie."
"Whatever. I fear I have to head out now."

"Wait!" Donnie called stumbling to get to his feet and stand, "You said you're going to get me out too!"
Gentry- Donnie didn't know how he knew since he still couldn't see, but he swore, he felt Gentry's smile on him- giggled quietly to herself, "I also told you I would stab you in the back the first chance I get, did I not?"

The room dropped by 10 degrees.
"No," Donnie breathed out, his eyes widening, "Nononononono, you can't do that! I'm not going to let you get away with that!"
"Oh, please, can you choose any less cliche last words? Every base hero ever said those, but let me tell you a little something, this isn't a movie or stupid book. There are no heroes. And if there were- well, you certainly wouldn't be one."
"But-" Donnie struggled with his words, he had trouble breathing, "W-What are you going t-to do? You still have those bracelets on! You're magic is still gone! Without it- Without it, you have nothing to beat my family with! You're going to lose!"

He was grasping at loose straws, "I read the description on those bracelets! Only an object stronger than them can break them! You would have to go back to the lair or even go to Draxum’s place and find something to get them off! You'll never make it without me! You need me!"
"I don't." The cold tone in Gentry's voice made his blood freeze. She sounded weirdly ahead of the situation. Did Donnie really just play right into her hands?

"My mentor once gave me a pretty handy item. I never had a need to use it as I thought it was worthless. Guess it finally pays off keeping that junk."
Donnie heard rumbling, though he still couldn't see. Something might have moved in the shadows, maybe his sanity was playing tricks on him.
"Now, where did I put that diamond dagger?"
Diamond dagger? Mikey talked about them once. They cut through everything, not even the strongest metal in the world was strong enough to withstand those.

"Don't!" Donnie was begging now. If Gentry left him too, then- He would be all alone. No one was coming for him.

Mikey left him.

His sister left him.

He didn’t know if Raph would come and find him

"Please don't leave me!" He was crying, but without tears. His voice hurt from how much he's been using it lately, and he felt drowsy, "I don't want to die!"
His cries went unanswered. The shuffling in the dark came to a stop with an excited exclaim of, "There it i-" and it got abruptly stopped by a loud crash, Gentry collapsing on the stop and sinking to the ground with loud coughs. She spat out an entire cloud of particles, almost like glitter, it sparkled through the darkness.

Unlike before, the coughing didn't stop after a few minutes, it continued and got gradually worse. The particles she coughed up also didn't reduce in numbers, they gathered in a little heap right beneath Gentry, which was bright enough to light up the room by a little bit. Donnie could faintly make out the silhouette of Gentry, kneeling hunched over, holding her stomach with her arms and coughing up more of that glitter. She looked like she was in great pain.

Next to her- A dagger. Shiny, blue.
The diamond dagger.
If it can cut through Gentry's cuffs then...

Donnie held back a loud scream as he took a step forward, dragging the entire bed behind him as he walked. He couldn't feel his wrists anymore, at all, but there certainly was pain flooding his brain. He didn't quite know what he was going for, but he moved, and so did the bed. Loud metallic sounds screeched as the heavy object scratched the floor and broke his wrists.

Donnie felt blood cover his arms and soaking his skin. Normally, Donnie would be disgusted by this. But, he had a mission, so he continued on. His eyes were fixated on the dim lines of the dagger, assumably the only thing that could free him from the bed and get him out of the room and out of the house

It was in reach now, Donnie stretched his leg out like before to grasp it and pull it closer. He touched it- and poof, it was gone. Gentry swiped it away from under him and slid it to another part of the room. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me," the witch huffed, seemingly out of breath. She looked as if she was about to claw Donnie's throat out, her fingers tickling with some faint blueish light. Then another coughing fit. This one was different, however. The particles coming out of her didn't respond to the colors of the rainbow anymore, now they were an array of greys, blues, and greens. And to Donnie's surprise, so was Gentry. The new colors flickered in and out, sometimes staying longer and other times only for the blink of an eye. He felt he saw this somewhere before, this color change.

Donnie couldn't afford to stand around and see what would happen. He began his new path, towards where the dagger had disappeared from his vision. He had one mission. Not die in this dark room. In this house. And the first step to reaching his goal was to get out of the handcuffs. Everything else was secondary.

He dislocated his shoulder halfway through. He felt- and heard- it pop out of its socket, and he's been dragging it behind him limply ever since. Pulling the bed by one wrist only greatly slowed his speed. He wasn't sure how long he's been trying, his own breathing drowning out the coughing he was supposed to hear. He cried at the pain flooding his mind, wishing for it to stop. He reached the dagger a second time, making sure he would quickly pull it close to him with his foot, and scooted the object up his legs until he could bend forward and pick it up by the handle with his beak.

He has the dagger. Now, he just had to-

He couldn't feel his hands.
How was he supposed to cut through?

Donnie blinked, his brain drawing a blank.
He wasn't quite sure how to proceed from there. He tried to turn so he could cut his way out with his beak, but he still had too many bones in his body to restrict him from bending in such a way.

"Hey, Gentry?" He asked, with the dagger still in his beak and muffling his words. He waited a few seconds for a response, just to not get one. He looked to where Gentry had laid before, hoping that the particles were still there to light his way. It was dark. And there was no coughing.
"Gentry?" He asked again, a bit more worried this time, "Hey, Gentry?"

Nothing.

"H-Hey... Are you still... here?"
Nothing.
"Gentry?"
Nothing.
"Please say something."
Nothing.

An uneasy feeling settled into his stomach. Biting down harder on the dagger, he turned his head as far as he could. It hurt his neck, but he managed to get to the bedpost he was cuffed to. Maybe he couldn't get to the cuffs, but, if he got free from the bed, he might be able to break the handcuffs off another way.

And so, he began sawing away.
He needed multiple breaks, breathing heavily throughout the entire process. Sometimes he stopped and listened, hoping he could hear something shift in the darkness. He got disappointed every single time.

His teeth began hurting. He was biting down on the handle so hard he feared he might break it. It was tedious to cut through the metal, but resolve and desperation could bring one a long way.

He gasped in relief- dropping the dagger by accident- when the upper part of the post gave away and for the first time since he was left here, he could walk freely. He lifted his arms over the broken part, which was a lot harder than expected with his body barely listening to what he wanted.

With him being free from the bed, Donnie began to bring his legs close to his chest, and he wiggled his arms around so he could get them under his tail and possibly move them in front of his body. He hadn't noticed before how bad everything ached from being stuck in the same position for what was probably over a day. Repositioning himself was as hard as getting free in the first place. He was breathing heavily and almost threw up from the strain. He ended up only dry heaving, which was enough pain to make him pass out for a minute.

He was confused when he looked around, everything was still dark and quiet.

But he was free.

He didn't care for much else.

With his hands still cuffed- he didn't border at freeing them at the moment, he didn't know where the dagger had fallen anyway- he moved forwards. Falling over objects multiple times, spraining an ankle when he slipped and caught himself weirdly, he eventually managed to get to a wall. From there, he felt his way along it until he found the doorknob.

He had heard April mention the rocks to Mikey, and he knew they were put back there. Almost losing his balance, Donnie rammed his shoulder against the door, letting the smallest of lights fly into the room. It was dawn, with the sun setting in the far distance.

Donnie snarled at what he saw.
He slammed his good shoulder against the door multiple times to throw the rocks off. More light spread into the room, and Donnie could feel some warmth on his face. The sensation didn't last long, the exhaustion taking over and making him lose his footing. He fell backward and back into the room. He landed on something sharp, crying out in pain, and did not get up.

His body was growing more and more numb, his brain was foggy and he didn't want to move anymore.
With light now on his side, Donnie sluggishly looked around the room. The barrier was gone, no surprise there, and the diamond dagger laid a bit further away from him.

No sight of Gentry.

He didn't have the strength to pretend he didn't know what happened.

Groaning, Donnie fought to get back up, his legs shaking and his arms still with no feeling left in them. He crawled over to where the diamond dagger was discarded, picking it up with his beak once more. Like before, he used the strength of his beak and neck to begin sawing. The dagger moved up and down along the outer cuff, slowly moving further in.

’Clanck!

The cuffs got loose and fell to the floor.

Donnie needed 5 whole minutes to understand that yes, he was actually free, and yes, he was looking at his gruesomely disfigured wrists. The cuffs had dug deep into them, his earlier assumption he might have hit bone suddenly was no longer just an assumption. His arms were drenched in blood, obscuring how much of the wound he could see, but a good portion of his flesh was- gone. Cut open by all his tugging and struggling. The wound was deep, wide, and loose strands of muscle came off.

And this is where his weak stomach decided to make an appearance

Donnie doubled over to dry heave, spit and bits of stomach acid coming out. The action made his stomach grave inwards, he felt his organs actively fighting his body, and neither was winning. Stuck in between the battle Donnie had with himself, he limped over to the door under great pain

He didn't border looking back at the room, he could live his life without ever thinking of this place ever again.

Donnie ran and ran and ran but he didn't run far. Not only a minute after he got out, he felt his body give in. He might have tripped over a root, maybe the wind was too strong, whatever it was, Donnie couldn't fight it. Giving in to all the agony he was in, he let his eyes roll back and passed out on the spot.

...

...

...

Everyone remained quiet as Donnie talked. The plane was set into auto pilot, with Donnie only having to check every couple of minutes to make sure they were still on course. His wounds were being treated by Mikey and Raph simultaneously.

Donnie hissed from the pain that came when Raph reset his shoulder, "I was found the next morning by a couple of yokai who tied to get me to the hospital. They thought I was being abused and refused to get me anywhere but the hospital or the police, so I jumped out and ran. Luckily, I was quite close to the portal to New York and so I went through the portal and went down the nearest manhole cover, running towards the sewers"

"How did you get this plane? It looks like the Turtle Tank but in plane mode" CJ asked, eager to know but scared to push the injured turtle too hard.
Dewey let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah there is a story behind that. When I arrived at the lair, I noticed how everything was destroyed and abandoned. I'm not sure if anyone was hiding somewhere, I booked it for the Turtle Tank the first chance I got. Surprisingly, it was in decent shape and I- OUTCH!" Donnie pulled away harshly. Mikey muttered an apology and continued to clean the wound on his wrists. The cut was deeper than they had all thought, literally half of his wrist was sawed open on both sides, the bone was revealed and greatly damaged. Meanwhile, Raph operated on his ankle, wrapping it in bandages and searching for a pillow and chair to place it on.

"I never told you guys this but once I got done with my pilot classes, I put a flying feature into the Turtle Tank, as a sort of just in case scenario. However, I am the only one who knows about it and show only be used in case of emergency” Donnie glared his eyes at Raph and Mikey when he said that. They were surprised to find out that Donnie had done this, but didn’t say anything as they continued to patch up Donnie’s injuries

“Once I got into the Turtle Tank, I saw that there wasn’t much damage done as the shields for it held up well. I pressed the ‘flying’ button on the control panel and the Turtle Tank roared into life as it sprouted it wings and took off. At first, I just flew around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do next. I didn't know where any of you were, until I heard about a report of a gas station being robbed on the radio. The employee described you, CJ, and I sorta just hoped he was right. Sorry it took me so long to get here... I... I had a few breakdowns/meltdowns on my way..." Donnie ended by looking at the floor. He didn't want to see any of their gazes on him.

"Donnie, I'm so sorry for what you had to go through," CJ said softly, placing his hand on his shoulder, "I wish I could have helped you. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Donnie tried to calm him, "You didn't know... Once I was in the Turtle Tank, or Turtle Plane I guess you could say, I noticed that April had stuffed the tarp in a trashcan. If it weren't for that, I would still be useless right now."
"Hey what are you walking about? You got us the Turtle Tank…I mean Turtle Plane, and food, and gear! Donnie, without you, we might have never made it!"
"We still haven't made it."
"Not yet, at least.“

Donnie had enough optimism. He didn't want any of that. He wouldn't allow himself to get his hopes up until he arrived at Eliza's doorstep and demand that she fix/uncurse his twin. Nicely demand of course

Mikey tightened the bandages and forced another startled yelp out of Donnie. "Sorry." The box turtle muttered.
"So, when you arrived at the lair, April and Todd weren't there anymore?" Cassandra decided to join the conversation from afar. Afar, because she wasn't allowed in the range of either Donnie or the amulet.
Donnie shook his head, "I didn't see them, but I wasn't looking for them either."
"Was there any other mode of transportation? Did you see Todd’s RV?"
"Other than the Turtle Tank? No, there wasn't. And I didn’t see Todd’s RV"
"So they took it."

Donnie look down at his freshly bandaged wrists. "You don't have to come with me, guys. Everyone is going to come after me, it's safer for you to stay behind."
"We're a family, Donnie, no one is left behind." Raph argued, lovingly rubbing Donnie's head, "You should rest for a bit, you've done enough."
But Donnie shook his head, "I need to fly the plane-"
"I remember watching a video or two of flying a plane when you sent them to me after you took your classes. I'm may not know a lot and may not be as good as you, but I can keep the plane in the air until we land." Raph reached back to scratch a sweet spot on Donnie's neck. The softshell immediately moaned in delight and tension left his shoulders. Donnie purred and chirped, leaning into the touch and finding comfort in the gesture and almost falling asleep instantaneously. He hadn't noticed how straining the day had been, despite him having 4 hours of sleep before he stole the amulet and started this mess.

Peacefully resting in the arms of his big brother, Donnie allowed himself to slip into a peaceful sleep.

...

...

...

He wasn't sure for how long he has been asleep, but when he woke up, the outside of their window showed him white. White everywhere. White floor, white sky., white- everything. The Turtle Tank now turned plane was also shaking a lot more than before, the rumbling being the main reason he awoke early from his slumber.

When Donnie looked around, he noticed that he was on the co-pilot seat, sandwiched between his twin and baby brother, with Mikey the only one of them still resting. For a moment, Donnie regarded Leo sitting next to him. It didn't seem like his twin had gotten any sleep the past days, and there was something about him that seemed... broken.

Donnie reached over and pulled Leo to his chest. His twin didn't fight the embrace Donnie was putting on him, simply accepting him as if he had no choice. Donnie held Leo tightly, whispering "I love you so much" into Leo’s shoulder. Ending with a kiss on the forehead, Donnie slowly rose from the seat, hissing slightly as his injured foot hit the floor. Composing himself, he took another step, shooting Leo a small smile, "I'll just get us something to eat, I'll be right back."

He walked past Raph, who was trying his hardest to keep the plane steady in the raging storm they were flying into. He was honestly impressed with how well Raph was flying the plane. Maybe it was because the controls were the same as they were in the regular Turtle Tank. Even though Donnie knew that flying a plane and driving a giant tank were two different things. Maybe he should take over once he got the food, they probably were going to land soon either way. He passed by CJ, who sat near Cassandra.
"I have a question," Donnie announced his presence to CJ and once he got his attention he continued, "What is up with Cassandra? You're all circling her out."
"She's infected," CJ said, quietly. Cassandra was currently asleep and therefore couldn't answer herself.
"Oh," Donnie answered. This was problematic He should keep a closer look on the amulet then. He didn't want it to be suddenly stolen from right under him.

They exchanged a few more words and Donnie continued with his quest to get some food and water. He loaded up on as much as he could carry, given his current physical state, it wasn't much, just enough for him and his brothers. Carrying a few apples and bananas, as well as some bread buns and a big water bottle, Donnie returned to his brothers

"And remember that-" Was the first thing he heard when coming closer. Mikey must have woken up in the short span of time he was gone, and from the looks of it, he was talking to Leo. Once they noticed the presence of their brother in purple, Mikey's face lit up, "There you are! I got worried! Don't just vanish like that!"
"Heh, sorry." Donnie chuckled, "I brought food."

He handed the items over, giving equal amounts to both Mikey and Leo, and whatever was left he took for himself. Donnie took the amulet, which he had left in the seat next to Mikey while he was gone getting the supplies, and quickly allowed Leo to eat. His twin didn't need to be told twice. He dug into his share of the food, which was gone in the blink of an eye. Did he even border chewing? Wait- did he eat the banana peel too?!

Donnie opened his beak to tell him to slow down when a different voice from behind called out his name.
"Alright people, put on the winter gear, we're landing," Raph said, struggling to keep the plane steady. He was messing furiously with the control panel, pressing the wrong buttons without realizing it. Oh yeah, Donnie had to take over if they didn't want to crash.

That reminded him, something was wrong. This was a little... too easy. If he didn't miscount, there were still 4 people out there and hunting the amulet. His sister, Todd, Draxum, and Splinter. He doubted any of them had given up on their chase, meaning they were around somewhere. But where?

Following his big brother's command, Donnie excused himself to get the winter gear. He had packed enough for all of them, he just didn't know if he had enough to fit all of them. Someone might have to settle for an oversized one and he just hope that he had packed one for Raph

Bringing the gear to the others, they all began changing. Raph helped Leo dress, while Mikey assisted Donnie after the softshell was struggling to put on all the parts.
"You shouldn't put so much stress on your wounds, they won't heal," Mikey scolded him while pulling the zipper of his jacket close.
"They can heal once we have Leo back," Donnie replied dryly.

Mikey sighed and looked Donnie in the eyes, "I promise you, once all of this is over, you never have to worry about Leo again, alright? Please, take care of yourself. Do it for me."
Donnie frowned slightly. He knew that Mikey knew how much he care about Leo. Worrying about Leo was all he ever did. To hear Mikey say this…left Donnie feeling unease
"Hey, Mikey, are you okay?" He asked, "You've been acting weird lately."
"Weird? How?"
"I don't know. Something about you seems... Off, if that makes any sense."
"You must still be tired," Mikey eventually concluded, "Hey, everything's alright, don't worry about it."

Donnie nodded. He was tired. All the stress must have caught up to him. Sighing and leaning over to the pilot seat, he finally got the plane into a less nauseating pace. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and focused on the endless amount of white ahead of him. According to the map, they were close to where Eliza’s place should be. Very close. As in, if they fly another hour, they would be there. And all of this would be over.

His hands began from shaking, from what exactly, he didn't know. Somehow, he had trouble believing it would be this easy. The blizzard…A viscous, unbeatable snowstorm that would force everyone and anyone to their knees. Donnie didn't want to question his flying skills, however- he also intended on staying alive to see another day, meaning he wouldn't fly into the blizzard once he sees it. As good of a companion the Turtle Plane was to him, he knew the plane couldn't take the raging storm ahead. Moving the steering handle down, he began to let the plane sink lower and lower, nearing the ground for debatably the hardest part of their journey.

"We need to travel lightly," Raph told the group. Donnie was not really listening, too focused on not losing control over the plane in the harsh winds.
"We leave the food and medicine here. Eat up well before we leave, this is the last stretch. Leo, Donnie, we're going to change your bandages and clean your wounds one more time before we leave."

Eventually, they were down on the ground, filled up with food, their wounds freshly dressed, and mostly rested with a couple of hours of sleep under their belt.

"Are you guys ready?" Donnie asked, his hand over the button to open the hatch. This was it. They were nearing the end of this horrible, horrible nightmare.

He received an encore of nods, and Donnie nodded back, checking if the tarp was securely tied around his neck and wouldn't fly off in the storm, then grasped the amulet tightly where it was placed around his neck. His wrists complained slightly, the hurt dulled down by the painkiller he was on.

Then a clatter and the hatch opened. They were created with an icy cold they haven't ever experienced. The blizzard was raging in front of them. Strong. Vicious. Deadly.
"Stay together, everyone" Raph announced, tasking the lead. He barely could see the map in his hands with all the snow smacking against them, but by the way the snapper moved through the storm, he probably memorized the path.

Donnie walked close to Leo and Mikey. He didn't want either of them out of his sight, and despite them walking almost shoulder on shoulder- with Leo needing to be pulled along because he couldn't walk on his own- Donnie had trouble making his brothers out in all the snow. Heck, he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
"Raph?" He called, but his voice was drowned out by how loud the blizzard was. "RAPH!?" He called louder this time, his throat scratching and burning.
"KEEP WALKING FORWARD!" His big brother answered him, "GO STRAIGHT AHEAD! I'M JUST IN FRONT OF YOU!"

"OKAY!" Donnie shouted back.
In fear of losing even more of his vision, which was happening as they walked further into the cold, he hooked onto Leo and Mikey, so that they were locked together by their arms.

"HOW MUCH FURTHER?!" CJ called. Donnie guessed he was somewhere to his right, alongside Cassandra probably.
"JUST KEEP WALKING! THE BLIZZARD SHOULD GET WEAKER TOWARDS ELIZA’S HOUSE!!!”

Snowflakes hit Donnie's snow googles.
The gear did a good job ensuring he didn't freeze on the spot, but he felt his tail getting cold. He wiggled it to return some heat with little success. His beak was freezing the most. The suit he had had a little mask-thingy at the front that he could pull over his beak to warm it, however, it would limit his speaking abilities even further, and for now, he could deal with a cold beak.

It got harder and harder to see, he couldn't even make out what was now coming from above and what was the floor.

Well, he got his answer soon. The ground beneath his boots suddenly gave out and broke away, having him freefalling to whatever demise was awaiting him. Since he had his arms locked with Mikey and Leo, he brought his twin and baby brother down with him. Donnie screeched- or screamed- as he fell, flailing around wildly. His fall was abruptly stopped, someone grabbed him by the neck of his jacket and held him there. He was too afraid of opening his eyes, the last he saw was wooden pikes at the bottom of the pit.

"HOLD ON, GUYS!" CJ shouted, huffing in fatigue from the strain to pull the three turtles back up. He didn't manage to get them anywhere, even with Cassandra's help they weren't strong enough to heave them up.
"GET RAPH!" Donnie screamed up at them, prying his eyes open.
"I CAN'T SEE WHERE HE IS!"
Oh, that wasn't good.

Donnie noticed he was in the middle of the turtle-chain, Mikey being on top of him, holding him with one hand and being held by CJ with the other. Donnie was grasping Leo, who was barely able to hold Donnie's hand and not fall to his death.

"GUYS!" Cassandra called and dug her heels into the snow, "YOU HAVE TO CLIMB UP! FAST!"
"CLIMB?!" He echoed back. He was literally hanging by his neck over a spike pit! One wrong step and he would be dead!

"LEO!" Donnie finally opened his eyes, staring at his twin that was hanging wide-eyed on his arm. His fragile brother was shaking, and Donnie doubted it was from the cold. it broke his heart to abuse his power like this, but he had to get a move on, "LEO, CLIMB UP AND HELP THE OTHERS PULL MIKEY AND ME UP!"

He received no verbal reply, but the weight on his arm began to shift. Leo was moving.
"YOU'RE DOING GOOD! KEEP GOING!"
Donnie cheered on his twin, even when he got kicked in the face accidentally. The climb was slow, much slower than he preferred, and he could feel his wrists cry out worse when Leo came to that part of the climb. The painkillers he had gotten earlier were wearing off, and Donnie wasn't sure if he could hold on for much longer Once Leo wasn't on his shoulders anymore, he reached his free hand up to stabilize his hold a bit, but it also helped in furthering his pain.

Leo was up eventually, and CJ called out for Donnie to climb up next.
Yeah, easier said than done. Biting his tongue to distract him from the pain in his hands, Donnie began to pull himself up, tugging at Mikey’s snow suit for some stabilization. His climb was also slow, although faster than Mikey's. From there, pulling up the box turtle was an easy task. Though Cassandra looked as if she much rather had him drop down the pit.

Up and safe, Donnie let out a loud breath.
There were several near-death experiences one should experience, and Donnie crossed the limit a long while ago.

"WHERE IS RAPH?!" Donnie asked once his breathing returned to normal.
"I DON'T KNOW." CJ replied, "HE WAS IN FRONT OF US A SECOND AGO."
"UH, DONNIE-?" Mikey came a step closer and tapped him on the shoulder.
"HM?!"
"WHERE IS THE AMULET?"

Donnie blinked.
What?
The amulet was right-
He lifted to touch his neck, alone to find that there was nothing there

"WHA-"
Donnie looked down the pit, his heart stopping when seeing the pikes at the bottom, but no sight of the amulet.
But with the amulet gone, that would mean-
"LEO?!" He looked around, "NARDO?!"

And he never got an answer.

Chapter Text

"HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU LOSE THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM WE OWN?" Mikey yelled- well, more like screamed- at Donnie, who was trying to get away from his angry baby brother. He'd never seen Mikey like this, not even on his worst days. This was more than just the Dr. Delicate Touch- there was something deeply terrifying about his baby brother, and Donnie... he was scared.
Mikey must be really worried about Leo to freak out like this... Donnie knew he shouldn't blame Mikey for this, after all, he was just as worried about Leo as him, but... He already felt bad enough about the amulet's sudden appearance, there was no need to make him feel even more miserable.

He swore, he had the amulet minutes before! He remembered holding on to it tightly as they traversed through the blizzard. One second it was there, the other- gone. Simply gone.
"I-" Donnie stammered to find the words, the blizzard way too loud for his words to be heard, "I'm sorry."
He could hear the tears forming in his voice, and his eyes were growing wet. Damnit, was he seriously about to cry again? They were so close to their goal, how could they fail now?

"Cassandra!"
Mikey's booming voice ripped him out of his self-pity and his head snapped up. Mikey was inches away from Cassandra, his eyes flaring up with rage, "You're connected to the amulet, aren't you? Tell us where it is!"
"Wha-" The former foot recruit took a step back, but came forth again with equal rage, "Me? You're the one that's corrupted! You tell us what you did with the amulet and Leo!"
"Guys! Guys!" CJ pushed himself between the two and held his hands out to the side, separating his mother and the box turtle, "Mom, just tell us where to walk.“

Cassandra's anger rose to another stage, "You still won't believe me?! Son, the evidence is right there! Mikey's been acting suspiciously since we left the gas station!"
"He's worried about his brother!" CJ tried to defend.
"He's the one that's been hurting Leo from the get-go!"
"You attacked me with a knife!" Mikey was stepping closer again, "You tried to steal the amulet and Leo away from me!"
Cassandra was snarling now, she had her head lowered but her stance screamed intimidation. If no one would stop them soon, they might try to rip each other's throats out.

"Hey, stop!" Donnie gave his best to be louder than the blizzard, he hadn't noticed that it had gotten a bit quieter now, "Fighting won't bring Leo back! We need to find him before it's too late!"
Immediately, Mikey turned around to face him, "We wouldn't have to find it if you hadn't lost us the amulet!" He yelled. Donnie stumbled back, his arms raised to shield his face. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason he expected Mikey to hit him.

Noticing the shock he induced onto Donnie, Mikey calmed, his tense shoulders falling and the rage in his eyes fading away in the snow. "I'm sorry," the box turtle mumbled, looking away to hide his shame, "The stress has been a lot lately."
"Yeah, I get that," Donnie answered, the cuts underneath his bandages were beginning to itch, "But we have to do this, for Leo. We can't give up now."
Their eyes met for just a second, and Mikey threw himself at Donnie for a hug. Donnie was rendered shocked at the sudden rush of affection, but he wrapped his arms around his baby brother nonetheless. It felt him with warmth. He rarely saw Mikey this distraught or overly stressed. He haven’t seen Mikey like this since…well since right after the invasion. Which at this point seemed like an eternity ago

"Hey, how about we move the cuddling to after we cleaned up this mess?" Cassandra hissed, her eyes still trained on Mikey and burning with a passionate abhorrence. It became clear that she wouldn't let go of it anytime soon, the way she followed Mikey's every movement with utmost attention was enough to make Donnie's skin crawl. Maybe there was some truth to what she said- no. No way. Mikey would never. The day Donnie starts to doubt Mikey would be the day he dies. This was his baby brother, the only one he could rely on now. Cassandra was just trying to get into everyone's heads, he couldn't trust a word she was saying.

About one thing Cassandra was right though, they couldn't stand around and wait for the amulet to come back to them on its own.
"I had the amulet before I fell into the pit, I know that for sure," Donnie said and slowly opened his arms around Mikey to release his baby brother from the hug, "But when you guys pulled me up, it was suddenly gone. It's like a ninja swiped it out of my hands."
"A ninja?" CJ echoed, "Or maybe someone who has the ability/power to steal something?"
Draxum? Well, it would make sense. He did have the vines and they were long enough to snatch up the amulet without anyone noticing

But now came the question; how to catch a sheepman with vines?

"CJ, have you any idea where he might be?" Donnie asked, wishing for an answer to get his twin back. To his displeasure, CJ shook his head, "The snow already wiped away all his traces, if he even left any. Without a lead, all we can hope for is finding him by chance."
"That's too vague," Mikey argued, wiping at his goggles to clear them from snow, "For all we know, we might run in the wrong direction! The amulet- and Leo will be lost forever!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" With one sentence, Cassandra won over the attention of everyone present, "We are missing a group member, right?"
"You mean Raph?" Donnie asked. Sure, he hadn't seen Raph since the pit but- what would he have to do with anything?
"He should have noticed us missing by now and came back," the former foot recruit continued, "But he hasn't."
"Wait, you're not saying Raph took the amulet?" CJ asked in complete shock. The idea was ridiculous, and Donnie wasn't going to allow such an accusation, "Raph would never do such a thing!"
"And when would he have had the time to set up a spike trap? It makes no sense!" Mikey added on.

Cassandra groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, "None of you are listening to me!" She yelled, and a quiet "You're all idiots," escaped alongside it. "I'm saying that Raph might have seen Draxum run off with the amulet and gave chase! He must have prioritized the amulet over looking after us and went after Draxum. Meaning, if he saw the sheepman in all of this thick snow, Draxum must have run past him, in other words, this direction!" She pointed at the path in front of them.

Donnie eyed her with suspicion, "Why would you tell us that? Don't you want the amulet for yourself?"
"For the last time, I'M NOT INFECTED! I don't care for the amulet! I care for getting my best friend back! Both of them!" Cassandra had her fists clenched to her sides and they were shaking slightly.

Without muttering as much as another word, Cassandra spun around her heel and began walking. She didn’t appear to be slowing down soon, and the rest of the group had to hurry to not lose her in the snow. As they marched on, the blizzard first became thicker, then it slowly started to lose volume. For starters, the group didn't have to scream their lungs out to be heard by each other, but also their field of view extended by a few meters.

"Does anyone see anything yet?" Donnie asked, somehow having taken the lead of their small group. Mikey stood right next to him, with the Casey’s behind him. He could occasionally feel CJ tug at his cape to make sure they were still together and no one had gotten lost yet. But then there was a sharp pull, one that made the tarp close around his neck and cut off his air. Gagging, Donnie turned around to see what the assault was all about, when CJ suddenly began to sprint away, "I saw someone!” he yelled, not slowing down for any of them.

Donnie groaned annoyed and ran after him, his legs about done with all this physical activity. Once they had the amulet destroyed and Leo back, he would sleep for a week! And eat some good food! He might not have been starving for weeks as Leo did, but gosh, he longed for some food that wasn't pure fruit or packed sandwiches. Some soup or pasta would make his mouth water- or even better- Pizza! He would kill for a pizza. Only cheese…though right now he could go for a Hawaiian right now. That’s how hungry Donnie was. The imagery of his dream pizza, steamy and with a thick, cheese-filled crust, caused his mind to wander over the clouds. If he feels greedy- which he most certainly will- he might even order some garlic bread along with the pizza. And screw his flavorless juice…he could totally go for a big soda- maybe he could steal one of Leo's favorite drinks!? He felt spoiled, so he might go with an extra sugary one.

Trapped with the delicious thought of food and the need for some downtime relaxation, he didn't realize he had run far past CJ- he had not the slightest glue how he was faster- and he slammed face-first into a figure before him. A loud 'OFF!' was heard, followed by gravity suddenly shifting and Donnie found himself resting on a soft surface. Just, this surface wasn't snow.

"TODD?!"
It wasn't who they were looking for.

Donnie's head was spinning from the collision, some snow piled on top of him and his arms felt numb again. By the time he recovered his orientation, CJ and the others have thrown themselves onto Todd as well, dogpiling the capybara. Todd looked around, apparently confused, "Hello?" He called out. No one answered.
"Weird. I thought someone ran against me."
Donnie never thought he would feel this relief over Todd being an absolute idiot. No offense, he was a lovable idiot, but still an idiot. Or maybe gullible was the better word

Todd kept on walking, unaware of the hitchhiker coming along for the ride. He was taller then the turtles and the Casey’s, since he was still in his super bulk form. It wasn't the most efficient way of travel, nor was it the safest, but at least they were moving. Not only that, but Todd should know where the amulet was. With a little bit of luck, he would lead them right to the amulet! And Leo! It was their best bet, and if Donnie might be so bold of believing, it was a good bet. Another good thing about their new transportation method was that Todd's bulky body was shielding them from a lot of the blizzard's winds, keeping them mostly free from snow.

They all stayed quiet as they traveled, only Todd's huffs as he marched through the snow were heard. Donnie didn't know how long he stuck to his back, nor how long he would have to continue to stay like this. Not until he suddenly got CJ's boot to his face. He assumed CJ meant to hit his shoulder, judging by the apologetic glare he was sending him right after. Donnie shrugged the accident off and followed his honorary brother's gaze to the front. The blizzard had grown much weaker now, where it hardly could count as a blizzard anymore. Snowstorm would be more fitting, with the snow now hitting their jackets and bouncing off and no longer smacking against them with the force of small rocks. He could also see a bit further into the distance, the faint shadows of a moving figure ahead of them. They were more than just one figure.

There were 3 shadows in total. A small one and two large ones. The two large persons were fighting, rolling across the snowy ground and wrestling with each other. The third, small, form was standing to the side, not moving or interfering.

That must be them.
Draxum and Leo, and he guessed the middle figure was Raph. So, Cassandra was right with her prediction? Maybe she was right about the other things too? Wait- no. What was he even thinking? He shouldn't even tolerate such a thought! Mikey was on his side, he was certain of it.

Donnie felt his body buckle as Todd stormed into the mess of the fighting turtle and sheepman, the group not ready to jump off yet being dragged along. They all collapsed together in one big heap, Donnie wasn't sure who lay on the bottom of it, but regardless of who it was, he felt sorry for them. He was rather on the top, luckily, but his top spot soon ran out with the pile beneath him moving and still fighting. Donnie jumped off and rolled out of the way to not get crushed beneath a stumbling Draxum coming his way.

Donnie was turning off the fight for the most part. Let the others duke it out, this wasn't his business. Looking around quickly revealed the location of Leo, standing stone still and witnessing the commotion from a front-row seat. Donnie didn't hesitate, not even a second, and ran over to his twin. He grabbed Leo by the hand and held on tightly, ignoring his wrists burning with seething pain.

Leo, the amulet, and the map. Those were the only things he needed, everything else came second.

One of those things he had already, and Raph had the map, so he only needed the amulet. It didn't take much time to find the object in question. It was being tossed around from hand to hand, only ever really touched by Draxum and Todd, but it was going around fast enough that any of the others might accidentally get into contact with it as well. Donnie's eyes snapped from one person to the other, trying desperately to keep up with the speed of the grapple. He was waiting, patiently and at the same time hurriedly for an opening, for a moment to go in and get the amulet.

Nothing was happening, at least nothing new.
Still holding on to Leo tightly, Donnie fought with himself whether or not to jump in and try his luck, maybe he could wrestle the amulet out of someone's hands and make a run for it before someone noticed?

Just then, the amulet got yanked out of someone's hand, it happened too fast to see who was holding it and who was slapping it away, but the cursed object got thrown into the air, swirling, and began falling back down. Without thinking, Donnie released his grab from Leo, his heart breaking a bit at the thought of letting go, and he reached out. There was no way he was reaching it with so many taller and stronger people going for it as well.

When fingers wrapped around the amulet and it disappeared out of few, it wasn't Draxum that had it. Neither was it Todd. And also not Donnie.
"Oh, COME ON!" Donnie yelled, noticing a figure, completely camouflaged in white and grey robes, running off in the distance. The long tail and whiskers were unmistakable. How many more had to get in their way?

Once again, Donnie wasn't thinking before he acted. He jumped back to his feet- he had fallen after failing to get the amulet- and he grabbed Leo. His twin had been in the middle of running off when he did. Donnie held on to his twin with all his might, even though he probably didn’t have to. Leo tried to push him away, he even tried to slap him, but the touch was nothing more than what he expected of a baby cat with its claws tugged in. What should have been a cute image in his head instead broke his heart. Seeing Leo this weak will forever be part of his nightmares. He couldn’t even defend himself, nor stand. Leo was being hold up by Donnie and Donnie alone, his legs have slipped away to both sides and his feet weren’t even touching the ground anymore. If anything, he was on his knees, staring at Donnie with pain-filled, pleading eyes. There was something more in them, something Donnie never thought he would see in Leo’s eyes. Emptiness. Hidden behind the pain, there was no joy, no hope, no life.

"Nardo-" Was all he got out before a hand around his leg soon brought him back down. Landing in the powdery snow beneath, Donnie gasped from the pain suddenly spreading throughout his entire body. He felt paralyzed for a moment, not even his eyelids obeying him. He glanced down at Todd, who held him in one hand, and Cassandra with the other.

The others weren't fairing much better. Mikey wasn't grabbed by anyone, and after seeing the state everyone was in, the orange-loving turtle rushed over to Donnie, attempting to get Todd off him. CJ was struggling with Draxum, the equally skilled fighters having a showdown. They were both truly going all out, and this time, there was no emergency stop. This battle would get ugly soon. Raph was also free of restrains, and he tried to help CJ fight off his future grandfather, but a quick, "No, I got this! I can hold him off!" from the future boy caused the snapper turtle to halt. Raph considered the offer for a moment then nodded and turned around. He rushed over to Todd, where Mikey had successfully freed Donnie from the restraining grip.

The brothers were stumbling back, Donnie still holding on to Leo
Raph moved to help Cassandra, who was fiercely clawing into Todd's arms to free herself. She allowed Raph to help her, only a second, before she redirected her gaze towards Donnie, "What are you waiting for?! Don't stand around there stupid like this! Save your brother! Don't let them win!"
"W-W-What!?" Donnie, too tense by everything that happened in the past 5 minutes, needed another minute to sort his thoughts. He wasn't given a minute, Raph grabbed both him and Mikey and ran off. Donnie could only see Cassandra wrestling with Todd and CJ fighting off Draxum before they vanished behind a cloud of white.

They sacrificed themselves. For what? To give them time? Perhaps hope?

Their group of six got rapidly decreased to four. The four brothers together again. And they still didn't have the amulet. Donnie pressed his teeth together, his hand tightening around Leo's wrist. He refused to give up. Not yet. He came too far.

Feeling strength return to his numb legs, Donnie willed himself to pick up the speed. He wasn't going to lie, he had not the slightest glue where Splinter ran off to. He was impossible to see with the white and grey coats on, Donnie wondered how he had even noticed him the first time. But there were tracks, the snowstorm being calm enough that they stayed for a moment before vanishing. He knew that those tracks had to be real. No way Splinter had the tie to set up fresh, fake tracks. Or maybe he did? If so, they were on a goose chase.

But they had a secret weapon- no, weapon is the wrong words- they had an ace in their sleeves, their thick, winter sleeves. They had a tracker. Raph had taken over the role of carrying Leo, and the feeble turtle in his arms let out a weak moan every time they ran in the wrong direction. They had trouble figuring out how to navigate the first few turns, but then they got the hang of it.
"He has to be somewhere around here," Mikey whispered and slowed down, "Let Leo down, it- he will crawl in the right direction."

Raph refused, keeping his little brother in his arms, "We can find him ourselves. Remember, this is Dad we are talking about. He will be hiding in a way we least expect it."
The remaining two brothers nodded.
Donnie immediately began checking every snowflake coming his way. He couldn't be as throughout as he wanted to, they were still on a timer here. Who knew how much longer the Casey’s can keep Draxum and Todd at bay.

It didn't take long for something to change.
Raph yelled out, grabbing the attention of both of his conscious little brothers. Their big brother suddenly vanished into the snow, a secret cave revealed beneath the snow bank. Cave? More like a hole. It barely fit Raph, and from the sounds of it, he had stepped on someone. Beneath Raph, Splinter rose, some of his robes were torn and revealing their dad beneath. He was still hard to see, but no matter how hard he tried, the amulet in his hands was a dead giveaway.

It felt like deja vu. Has he been here before?
A fight. A struggle.
Big Brother Vs Dad
Donnie and Mikey stood on the sides, neither of them moving at first, watching their dad and big brother roll around in the snow. "Donnie," Mikey said, he was surprisingly out of breath, "Help Raph. I'll get Leo. Be ready to make a run for it."
"Alright," Donnie answered. He tightened the tarp and made sure it won't come off in the incoming scrabble, and he threw himself into the tumult. He had no objective aside from getting the amulet, and he didn't matter what it took to get it. He was willing to scratch, bite. It felt like he was finally given an opportunity to vent his anger, and he wondered why he hadn't done so before.

In the end, his contribution mattered little. He wasn't as weakened as Leo was, but with all the injuries he received up to this point, he was anything but in top shape. He barely made an impact in the fight, occasionally brushing against the amulet but never able to grasp it. Not sure how long he spent in this mess, but at one point, he was tossed, literally tossed, out of the fight. He landed in soft snow and spat out some of the cold, his limbs shaking and his hands rowing numb. Cussing at himself for being so useless he struggled to get to his feet. He stumbled, barely making it three steps before one of his legs decided to nope out on him. The snow wasn't any more inviting the second time, and Donnie declared then and there winter to be the worst season of them all. Which made sense they were half-turtle, though Donnie had to wonder how neither of them had gone into brumation yet

Getting his arm under him and balancing his weight off it to heave himself up, he caught a glimpse of the fight so far. Splinter was on the ground, with Raph towering over him, since he didn’t want to crush their dad, scratches alongside his face and arms, and with the amulet in his hand-

Wait-

Raph realized the mistake at the same time Donnie did.
The snapper turtle threw the amulet to the side in shock, his eyes wide with the horror of what has been done. Going by anything they knew so far, the corruption didn't set in immediately, but now Raph was infected, and they had no indicator for how long he will stay on their side before turning on them.

Their big brother was the newest one in the line of infected people. His big brother and his twin were now infected by the curse, and who knows if his baby brother was or not

It was a nightmare come true

A nightmare inside this already nightmare.

Donnie stopped where he lay, frozen on the spot. This simply couldn't be happening. "No-" He whispered, "No, please no."
"Don” His big brother's voice was calm yet urgent. Raph stumbled over to where he had dropped the amulet and picked it up, before walking over to him. Raph pressed both the amulet and the map into his hands, and Donnie eyed the objects with his pupils widened to infinity. "You're the bravest one of us all. You can do this, Donnie, I believe in you."
"Raphie-" Donnie choked on a sob, his fingers wrapping around the two objects that were handed to, "What if I fail?"
"You won't," Raph reassured him, and patted him on the head, "We are Hamatos and we don’t give up. Go now. I will buy you as much time as I can. Save Leo and put an end to all this." Raph ended with a forehead kiss, "I believe in you Dee. I love you"

Heat rose in Donnie's chest. His vision was blurry, he had to take the goggles off to wipe his tears away. "I love you, Raphie," he sobbed, "I won't disappoint you."
"I could never be disappointed in you, Donnie."
Without another word, Donnie wrapped his arms around his big brother for an embrace. He squeezed tightly, as tight as he could with his body hurting and feeling it might start shattering soon.

The comfort lasted way shorter than he wanted to.
Splinter began to stir, their time was running out. They couldn't afford to hug the pain away, no matter how desperately Donnie needed it.
Raph gave him a slight shove to get him going, "I love you, Donnie, and I believe in you. Watch our little brothers for me. You can do this”

Donnie nodded, tears streaming into his goggles once more. He then turned around and began running. He made sure to grab Mikey and Leo on his way.

Not it was only three. Them three.
Donnie remembered times where he said "It's us against the world". Now, it really was just them against everyone else. He never hoped for things to come like this. He wished they had never been foolish enough to believe that the amulet could help them in the first place.

Through his tears, Donnie looked at the map. It was a bit hard to read, partially because of the snow, partially because he didn't know how to read maps. Mikey was quick to claim the paper and studied it while they ran.
"Go right," His orange-loving brother ordered. Donnie followed with no hesitation.

Gentry.
Splinter.
Draxum.

They were the first that got corrupted. There was no going around it, back then, they didn't even know of the curse. By the time they found out, it was too late.

"Take a left next!"

April.
Todd.

They had hoped they could bypass the curse by not directly touching the amulet, but in the end, it backfired. They were lost from the second they got in the Turtle Tank.

"A bit further! Now, sharp left!"

The Casey’s
Raph

They sacrificed themselves to get the rest of them further ahead. They all believe in them to save Leo.

His heart pounded loudly, he feared an earthquake. He never felt this- he didn't know how to describe it. It wasn't tense. He felt weirdly free but also anxious. His teeth clattered, his hands shook, and his goggles filled with water.

He could feel them.
His friends.
His family.
They were running along beside him. Each step, he could feel them, their determination, their resolve, their hope. They were cheering him on, firing him up. Life filled his tired bones and he speed up. For them. For Leo. For their future.

'Everyone... I won't let you down!'

It wasn't just the three of them. They were all here. By his side. And they were going to put an end to this.

The snow and cold winds pressing against his face faded away. He felt warmth.
Donnie closed his eyes against a bright light coming his way. He made double- even triple- sure that he had everything. The amulet, Leo, Mikey had the map, they were together. Nothing could stop them.

And suddenly.

The snow was gone.

And the sun shone.

Donnie felt his head spin, the concrete beneath him was hard and nothing like the soft snow he had expected. Removing the goggles from his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of paradise. The sky was filled with blues with golden clouds. Trees grew, big and tall, with fruit of all sorts hanging from the branches. He could hear the rush of a waterfall nearby. Everything was clean and shining, and it appeared like the entire place was dipped in a layer of pure gold. And far off in the distance, was a mansion, no doubt belong to one of Eliza Hamato

It was beautiful.

"Eliza’s house." Mikey breathed out next to him, slowly rising to his feet, "We made it."
They made it.
Donnie felt a smile creep onto his face. They made it. THEY MADE IT!
Screaming cheers, he jumped up, the tiredness in his legs gone. He threw his hand up in the air, "WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" Tears mixed into his screams. He was so happy his emotions were going haywire. "Leo! We won!" He cheered, turning to his twin. Leo didn't share the reaction. He was just as lifeless as before.

"We still have to find Eliza," Mikey reminded him, and Donnie's feeling of high dropped to the bottom like a stone. Right. They weren't quite down yet. But they were closer than ever before. He turned around and briefly wondered how they even made it here. He never noticed the change from winter to summer until it was already too late. Maybe it had something to do with Eliza’s magic

Would the others be able to follow them in here? He hoped not, but hope was secondary to fact. He shouldn't let his guard down, not yet.

"Where would she be?" Donnie asked and looked around. He would have guessed that finding a half-witch/half-human would be a bit more... direct, but nothing here allured them to where to go. Mikey analyzed their surroundings for a moment, "Well our best guess is that she will be at her mansion. If we're lucky, maybe she might see us coming and can meet us halfway" He suggested. Donnie nodded. He breathed in deeply and let out a long breath. Taking Leo's hand, he pulled his twin to his feet, "Only a little more Leo, you can rest soon," He promised, "Everything will be alright, we can go home soon."

Guiding his twin by the hand, and following his baby brother towards the mansion, Donnie felt multiple weights leaving his shoulders. He knew he was going to collapse soon, his body was running on maximum capacity with a low battery. Tiredness came over him like a wave, threatening to wash him away into an ocean of sleep. Rest was an idea filled with bliss Donnie was craving every inch of it. He shot Leo a smile that wasn't returned. Soon, his twin would be back, and he could put this 'adventure' into a folder of trauma and lock it away in the back of his mind. Life would be okay again.

Getting to Eliza’s mansion was easy. There were multiple paths leading there, and they were led in a straight line. The mansion was much bigger than it had first appeared. If he had to vague a guess he would say it was roughly as big as a soccer field. Maybe a bit bigger even. However, the lights in the mansion weren’t on to indicate that someone was home and there wasn’t even any door. Because Donnie couldn't get rid of the feeling of something terrible happening soon, he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one followed them. To his delight, it was just the three of them.

"We made it," Donnie said, looking around, "What now? Where is Eliza? She doesn’t appear to be home and there is no door to knock on"
Mikey shrugged, also taking a look, "Not sure, but I have a feeling she will show up soon."
"Soon? We don't have time for soon!" Donnie argued. He didn't want to wait any longer for that damn cure. Just give him his twin back! He was... he was tired of being afraid. He just wanted to go home.

"Don't worry, Dee," Mikey stepped in front of him, and rested a hand on his shoulder, "We have all the time in the world."
"We don't" Donnie replied. They really don't. He looked over his shoulder again. Still, only them here, but what if that changed? "They might catch up to us any second."
"So what?" Mikey asked, the grip he had on Donnie's shoulder growing tighter, "They won't be a problem anymore.”

Did- Did the temperature just drop? Donnie felt a threat rising in his stomach and he didn't know why.
"W-What do you mean?" Donnie had trouble keeping his voice steady, and he took a step back from his baby brother. Mikey smiled at him and no matter how much Donnie backed up, Mikey made sure to close the distance, so they were always just a small gap apart. The box turtle giggled quietly, "What I mean is that they will be powerless to do anything to us. You and me, Donnie. We made it here. We can finally become gods"
"WHAT!?" Donnie shoved his baby brother away from him, his body cramping up from how tense it had gotten, "Mikey, what in the world are you talking about?!“

"The amulet," Mikey pointed to the object in Donnie's hand, "Remember how it used to work? You could turn anyone you want into your slave. No one had the power to stand against you."
"Yes, and it was too powerful to be handled. This is merely a defective replica, which we should have never gotten in the first place!"
Mikey's giggling turned to laughter, "Exactly! It is defective! Which means it can be fixed! Donnie, imagine all the things we could do once the world lays at our feet!"

Donnie felt like his heart stopped for longer than it was supposed to.
The accusations, Mikey's weird behavior, everything that Cassandra has been telling him so far- Was it... true...?
He refused to believe it. If Mikey was corrupted then how long... How long has he been lied to? Donnie shook his head. He won't believe this. Mikey must be talking nonsense. The stress must have gotten to him and now he was going insane. Right. That was it. If Mikey was corrupted... Then who but himself was left to save Leo? He couldn't do it alone, he wasn't good enough for it.

"Mikey, stop this." He was crying now. He was scared, he didn't want his fears to become true.
"Stop what, Donnie? Don't you want this? The power of complete control? No one will be able to deny you ever again? Don't you want to take revenge on all the people that wronged you? With this-" He pointed at the amulet, "We can become the kings of our world. We can be worshiped like gods! And we can do it better than the Krang try to do!"
"No!" Donnie shoved Mikey away once his baby brother came too close, "I don't want any of this! I want my family back! I want my twin back! Mikey, please! Please don't do this to me! I can't do this without you!"
"And you don't have to-" Mikey stepped towards him. Donnie tried to back away, but he was at the ledge of a platform that Eliza’s mansion rested on. If he were to step back, he would fall was seemed to be a couple of meters onto hard concrete. If he was lucky the fall would only break his legs.

Mikey, who was very aware that he had the upper hand, took the last step forward. He was right in front of Donnie now, and the softshell had nowhere to run.
"Donnie, don't you understand? We can rule this world together! You and me, side by side! PB&J, B-Team, Smarts and Crafts…whatever you want to call us. Like brothers-"
"Brothers?! What about Raph?”

“He can join us too”

“What about Leo?"
"Who? That lousy excuse of a slave? Oh please, it will soon have used up its usefulness. I only needed it to get me here, and now... it will be the key to getting me Eliza's attention."

Donnie held his breath. What was going on in Mikey's head to think such a thing? Key? Useless slave? Used up his usefulness? Donnie dared to look at his twin, the one that hadn't moved since they arrived at Eliza’s mansion. Donnie felt the amulet in his hands suddenly heat up, the touch almost made him recoil. It wasn't burning him, but he wished it was. He didn't want this thing anymore. It was the cause of so much suffering.
"Angelo-" Donnie cried, "Please. Don't do this. If you love me, you won't do this. Please!"

"I love you more than the world, Dee. I will do anything for you." Mikey purred, his gaze going soft. For a second, Donnie saw his baby brother in those eyes. The real Michelangelo. The one he needed right now. Donnie moved first, he wrapped his arms around his baby brother and held on tight, "Please, Mikey, we can end it all right now, no one has to get hurt anymore. Just stay back and let me save Leo. Let me save you."

"Donnie..." Mikey breathed out, also wrapping his arms around his big brother. They hugged, tightly, lovingly. Donnie buried his face deep in Mikey's shoulder, willing to stay there for all eternity. There were some places in the world he felt truly safe, and this was one of them. Honestly being in the arms of any of his brothers made him feel safe

Mikey also tightened his hug, "I love you," he whispered. Donnie whispered it back, relief flushing over him because maybe- he could finally end this.

Donnie would have collapsed on the spot if it wasn't for the hug.

He couldn't wrap his mind around it but his legs suddenly weren't listening to him anymore. And everything... became... dark... and wet... warm...

The hug ended, and Donnie had no choice but to crumble to the floor, his hand still grabbing onto Mikey’s hoodie, but soon got slapped away by his baby brother. His mind was racing, his back was aching and his legs- he couldn't feel his legs.

"Wha-" Donnie tried to speak but found he had trouble getting air into his lungs.
Mikey kneeled in front of him, a sad smile on his face, "I'm sorry, Donnie, but I can't let you ruin this for us." he said, reaching out and pulling the knife out of where Donnie’s shoulder and softshell meet. Donnie cried out when the blade was removed, warm and sticky liquid making his purple hoodie a dark crimson red, almost making it look black. He watched as the blood tripped down the tip of the knife Mikey was holding, and he wiped it clean with his hoodie.

After cleaning the knife, the orange-loving box turtle patted Donnie on the head and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, "Don't worry, brother, I made sure to not hit anything vital. I think I only just hit your neck and you only have a slice on your shell, which you suffered worst during the invasion. Raph and I can fix you up once everything is done. You'll see, our lives will be so much better. Just you wait."
"Wh...y..." Donnie choked out. He was still in shock, his brain not yet having caught up to the fact that Mikey stabbed him.

Mikey…his baby brother…his sweet sunshine…stabbed him

Donnie felt as if he lay in glass. Maybe those were the broken shards of his heart…of his trust.

He didn't have the strength to defend himself when Mikey leaned forward and pulled his fingers off the amulet, one after the other, until it was free for the take. Mikey nabbed it, taking a second to appreciate his accomplishment. "It will be all over soon, Donnie, just wait here."

"P-P-Pleas...e.. Mik...y... Do-n't... Don't... do this..." Donnie cried out, his vision blurring and he felt warmth pile beneath him, his back soaking further with wetness. He couldn't move, but still tried to raise his hand and prevent Mikey from going. "Do...n't... A...Angelo... Don't... lea...ve... Plea...se..."

Mikey didn't look back as he walked away.
Donnie tried to move towards him, but he was immobilized by pain and exhaustion. There was nothing he could do, nothing but watch and listen.

"ELIZA HAMATO!" Mikey yelled towards the mansion, thinking that maybe Eliza was hiding somewhere, "Hear my calls! I'm Michelangelo Hamato, son of Hamato Yoshi and your five times great grandson, the savior/hero of the world against the Krang! If you hear my voice, shall you come forth and show yourself!" As Mikey spoke, the box turtle walked over to Leo and pulled him along.
"You have immense power as not only a witch, but also as a decent of the Hamato clan. I only have one offering to give, but his life is well worth the sacrifice."

Offering. Sacrifice.

Donnie could barely see what was going on but hearing those words gave him the picture he had just recently learned to fear.

"Eliza Hamato, in your name, I shall blood eagle my brother, Leonardo Hamato. Take his life as proof of my undying loyalty to you, and fulfill my wish of becoming a messenger of your ideals, and give me the power of a warlord." Mikey ended and shoved Leo down. The red-eared slider yelped when he hit the floor and Mikey was quick to lean over and hold him down and roll his hoodie up, revealing a beaten and bruised back.

Donnie almost felt his spirit leave his body. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Mikey couldn't be serious! What he talked about was lunatic!
But when he saw the blade rise, and Leo's tears running down his face, seconds before the scream to the air apart, Donnie knew, he knew this was for real. Unable to move, and helpless to watch, Donnie saw how Mikey plunged the knife into Leo's shell, low, just above his tail, and he began to trail the knife up to his shoulders. A loud crack was heard, no doubt Leo’s shell being cracked and ripped apart. Leo's screams ran out and made Donnie wish he had no ears. He cried and screamed, struggling meagerly against Mikey and begging for his life. "Please don't kill me...!"
Those were words he never expected to hear. Not from Leo. Not from Leo saying those words to Mikey!

The blood eagle. Breaking Leo’s ribs and pulling out the organs, having his intestines form the shape of bloody wings.

"Mikey...!" Donnie called out through the pain, "Mikey! Stop!"
But his baby brother wasn't listening. He finished the initial cut and put the knife to the side. His hands were covered with blood already, and it only got worse when he attempted to pull at Leo's shell to widen the cut and get inside.
"MIKEY STOP!" Donnie cried, "THIS IS OUR BROTHER! STOP THIS!"

Even Leo was trying to defend himself. Kinda. He struggled and kicked out weakly. He had no chance of getting Mikey off his back, but he threw his limbs around, moved as much as he possibly could, and he kept pleading for his life. "Idon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodie" One could barely understand what he was saying, he spoke so fast and panicked.
"Shut up!" Mikey said sharply, hitting Leo on the head to get him to quiet down, "And stop moving so much!"
Leo, to their surprise, didn't do either thing.

"Please..." Leo begged and crawled away from his baby brother. Mikey quickly pulled him back to his original spot and send a kick to his side, "You should feel honored. You'll be the start of something wonderful. Finally, your pathetic life is of some use."
Leo cried harder at that. He was almost more crying than screaming when Mikey used the knife to widen the cut when his fingers weren't enough to pull the shell apart.

Donnie was right there as well, crying and screaming alongside Leo. It almost felt like he was the one being gutted, seeing his brothers act like this, one being a monster and the other one suffering, tore him apart.

"SSSTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPP!" He screamed his lungs out, his emotional breakdown reached long ago.
And then, the screaming turned quiet. There was no more crying. Silence filled the air.

Donnie had his eyes closed, fearing the worst, but when his body suddenly began to move on its own, he couldn't keep them shut any longer. The first thing he saw was his brothers. Leo, motionless on the floor, blood pooling out of his shell, didn't seem to be conscious anymore-
And Mikey... Mikey was on all fours, his head bow low. Donnie noticed that he was in a similar position actually, his palms flat against the floor with his head low, just that his legs weren't playing the part and lay behind him limply. And then he saw the reason for it all.

Donnie never thought about what Eliza would look like, for some reason, he had a recolored Gentry in his mind but this-? This was beyond his imagination. 

Before him, stood their 5 times great-grandmother Eliza Hamato. She looked very similar to Karai, face features were oddly similar, though Eliza had brown hair and green eyes, while Karai had black hair and brown eyes.

The difference between Eliza and Karai is Eliza was slightly taller and instead of a sweet smile, she had a scowl on her face. She also appearing to be slightly glowing in that similar Hamato green light that Donnie and his family had associated with their ancestors

Donnie wanted to speak, but his voice simply didn't exist. He didn't dare to make a single sound while in the presence of this being. 

"You." Eliza's deep voice boomed above his head, and his body suddenly shook. Donnie was deeply afraid of what was about to happen. He didn't realize that Mikey was rising from his bow to his feet.
"Mortals have not been able to find this place. The only people who can possible know are witches or those of the Hamato clan. So, explain yourself. Are you witches or members of the Hamato clan?"
"Eliza," Mikey took a breath, "I'm so glad you heard my call. You see, I have obtained an item of witchery and- ARCK!" 

The 'crack' he heard was sickening.
Donnie's eyes widened and he stared at Mikey, who was now flat on his stomach with his right arm in the air, bend in a weird way. The amulet was taken from the broken limb and inspected. 

Eliza narrowed her eyes at the amulet and seconds later, it disappeared, dust and ash raining down from where the staff had once been.
"What are you doing?!" Mikey called out, watching in horror as the remainder of the amulet fell his way. And then- Mikey screamed, he held his head in his hands and kicked out. He writhed, crying out in pain.

Donnie wanted to call out but found that his voice was still gone. With nothing to do, he redirected his gaze at Eliza, who watched Mikey's misery with a blank expression.
"Give me a reason to not kill you."
But Mikey was in too much pain to defend himself. 
"You, purple."
Donnie froze, he suddenly felt his body being lifted into the air. He found himself sitting in front of the half-witch/half-human, realizing just how much bigger she was compared to him.

"Tell me, mortal, how did you come into possession of the amulet? Also, I will repeat my earlier question. Are you witches or part of the Hamato clan?"
"I-I-I-" Donnie cowered and trembled, "W-We are not witches. We are the sons of Hamato Yoshi and your great-great-great-great-great grandsons. We were able to find you because we got a map from your great-grandmother Hamato Karai. We thought that the amulet would help break my twin” he points to Leo “from a curse that was put on him by some witches from Witch Town. However, it turns out the amulet only made things worst, haunting us ever since”

Donnie then bowed his head forward as the tears flow down his face. “Eliza please. We want to be free from the curse. I just want to save my family. I…I just want to save my twin"

Eliza didn’t speak for the longest time, and Donnie was worried that she would reject his request. Reject him. If Eliza rejected him, then all of this would have been for nothing. Leo would die and Donnie would have be helpless to do anything

To his surprise, Eliza placed a hand underneath his chin, forcing him to look at her. The scowl on her face from earlier was replaced by a curious look. Her face screamed indifference but her eyes shone in a way that meant that she was maybe willing to help Donnie

"You...you love your family don’t you?”
Donnie could barely speak but he nodded his head
"And you will do anything for them?"
"Yes. I would do anything for them. I love them so much"
"To prove that you are truly an Hamato, what is the Hamato family motto?”
Well that the easiest answer that Donnie have ever given

“Anatawa Hitorijanai” Donnie answered with ease, “Which in English means ‘You are not alone’. My family and I have lived by that motto since we learned about it last year. I know that I am never alone because I have my family with me, who I valued the most above all else”

Eliza gave Donnie a big smile as she cupped his cheeks. Her touch was warm and one that he desperately needed

“You gave the right answer my sweet Donatello”

Donnie was shocked. “Wait…you know who I am?”

Eliza chuckled as she rubbed her thumbs along Donnie’s cheeks. “I am much as a Hamato as you are. I may be a half-witch, but I still have the Hamato connection. I occasionally make my rounds between here, the Hidden City, and the ancestral plane. Great-Grandmother Karai told me about you and your family the last time I was there and I was honestly impressed. I have seen you and your brothers from time to time whenever I make my Hidden City visits, as well as visit the human world”

Donnie then grabbed onto Eliza’s hands. “Then where were you when we needed you the most? When the Krang invaded? When my twin got cursed?”

Eliza sighed sadly. “I was away when the Krang invasion happened. I wasn’t able to come back until after it happened and I spent most of my time making sure that yokai in the Hidden City were ok before coming to the human world to help the humans as best as I could” Eliza then moved one of her hands to squeeze Donnie’s shoulders. “I really wish I could have been there sooner to help your situation with Leonardo. I really do”

Donnie just shook his head. “It’s ok Eliza. You couldn’t have known. Karai didn’t know either, so it’s ok. I just ask that you help us now…before it’s too late”

Eliza smiled as she took her hands off of Donnie "I will help in anyway that I can do. So, what is it that you want me to do?"
This was his chance.
"T-The amulet! I want the curse gone and everyone affected by it returned to normal."
"Okay." And with that, a blast of green light flowed out of Eliza, with Donnie having to shield his eyes. When Donnie opened his eyes, the green glow was gone. “Alright. The curse has been lifted”
"Wait- That's it?" Donnie asked, "No trial or task or-"
"No, you have already proven your worth by showing just how much you love your family, Donatello. The amulet is already destroyed and the curse shall no longer befall your family."

Donnie's jaw dropped.
This was... A bit too easy. It felt surreal.
"So this is it? So... So everyone is back to normal? Leo and everyone else are... they are back to who they were before the corruption?"
"The curse will no longer change their being. They are free."

Free. They are free.
He did it? Did he really do it?

Eliza placed a hand on his shoulder, a serious look now on her face. “Can you tell me who it was that cursed your brother?” Donnie told her that it was Endora and Melisandre. Eliza mumbled something under her breath before she said that she will make a personal visit to those two and see that they no longer perform witchery and will be dealt with…properly.

Donnie didn’t want to think of what that could mean, but that was no longer his concern. Right now, he just wanted to get to Leo

Donnie felt himself being moved by Eliza, his legs not having yet granted feeling again. Once Leo was in his sights, he began to crawl

The curse was lifted.

This meant-

"Nardo-" he sobbed, his chest hurting with pain but he cared little. He crawled over to his unconscious twin and cradled him in his arms. His already blood-soaked hoodie got stained even further, but he care very little about that. He held his precious twin and cried. "I have you back," he whispered, "I finally have you back. I love you so much Leo”

Dewey was too caught up to notice Mikey getting up and holding his head in pain, groaning as he opened his eyes to take a look around. 

Eliza came up to the twins, holding out two bottles of what appeared to be a green mixture. “Both of you have lost too much blood. Take these and drink them. It should prevent the both of you from dying here on the spot”

Donnie took his and drank it quickly with Eliza having to help him get the mixture into Leo’s mouth

Donnie then turned to Eliza with tears in his eyes. “Can you help him?” Eliza put her hands out and a soft green glow admitted from her. “Unfortunately, I used up all of my healing magic a while back. However, the mixture giving to your brother and what little magic I do have should be enough to stabilize him until you can get to an actual hospital” Eliza then turned her hands to Donnie and a soft green glow spread over his legs and shell. “Same goes for you. You need to get to a hospital just as badly as Leonardo”

Donnie felt his energy draining as Eliza used her magic to pick them up. Donnie still had a death grip on Leo as his arms curled around his twin. He was never letting Leo go ever again

"H-hey... Eliza...? Can I... Can I ask for one last request?" Donnie wiped at his tears. Gosh, he was so tired. So so tired. The edges of his vision turned black and Donnie… he felt drowsy. His head began to spin and shapes made no more sense.

His eyes felled close and he rested his head on top of Leo’s shoulder. Not knowing if their five times great-grandmother ever answered him, he asked "Can you take us to a hospital please?“ Before passing out on the spot, falling into a darkness he didn’t border to fight.

Chapter Text

Raph let cold water run down his face and cool off his mind.
The hospital had been kind enough to let him use one of their showers, or maybe they just wanted him to clean the blood off his body.

His headache was gradually fading away but the memory stayed clear in his mind and it wouldn't leave anytime soon, he was sure of that.

The fight with Splinter, his own father, hadn't been the only thing he had been up against during the blizzard. He noticed it early, a second presence in his mind trying to shove his consciousness out and take over. Dark thoughts rose and pulled him down, whispering horrible things, that to his ears, sounded sweet and tempting. It appeared to him in the form of a choice, but when he looked closer, he noticed he was given only one option to answer. He fought it off, all while simultaneously wrestling with Splinter, pressing and getting pressed into the cold snow beneath, his gear only helping him so much against the harsh weather.

He had felt awful doing it, the blood lacing his fists now being washed off by the water, though he could still feel the sticky red on his fingers. The struggle with Splinter had gotten quite violent, teeth were used, and they had clawed at each other. It was bloody, and Splinter wasn't the only one whose body was adorned with bruises and gashes at the end of it. Raph was honestly surprised that he haven’t killed his dad because of the size difference. However, his dad had kicked his butt in the past so, in retrospect, they were probably equal when it came to fighting

Raph hissed as a sensitive wound was hit, the water running down his shell was red by the time it reached his legs. He was about to punch the wall when more memories resurface, but he managed to hold back.

He remembered how suddenly the thought of a servant didn’t repel him anymore.

Having Leo as a servant would have given some meaning to Leo’s worthless life.

Raph turned off the shower and rubbed his face with his hand.
Leo was his little brother, and he loved him dearly. More then life itself, and definitely more then he loved himself. There was nothing in the world that he wouldn't do for any of his baby brothers... And yet, that thought had managed to invade his mind and convince him otherwise. The sensation he felt when his being was slowly changed, twisted, corrupted, made his blood turn cold. The amulet had him convinced the only way to treat Leo was to have him work until he fell over dead from exhaustion. For a moment, Raph believed that everything Leo was good for was to serve him, and that Leo should be thankful that Raph was kind enough to spare his pathetic life. The worst part about it? It wasn’t even about Leo. Leo was simply the extra the amulet came along with, and the thing he had to deal with if he wanted to have the real prize. Screams about how the amulet belonged to him and him only as he pushed his dad off him and went in for a bite attack lingered in his mind.

Then suddenly, everything seemed to stop. Raph had clutched his head in pain as a terrible headache came running in, splitting his skull in half. He felt as if someone stabbed him in the head repeatedly with a million tiny knives. It hurt, Raph remember he screamed and cried from the pain he was in. The hurt overtook him, and he couldn’t think clearly. He wasn't sure when the snow under him suddenly vanished and changed to the hard concrete he should be familiar with.

Raph sighed and stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel only to discover that the nurses hadn't given him one. Looking back at his hoodie- the fabric torn in many places and some minor bloodstains remaining on it even after spraying it with water- and then looking at the winter gear he had with him- equally soaked as his hoodie but with even more blood on it- he reluctantly chose his normal clothing and changed into the wet garment. The fabric stuck disgustingly to his scales and a single look in the mirror revealed just how bad he looked.

His eyes were sunken in with thick, black circles underneath, his face had wrinkles to no end, along with his Raph-chasm (as Leo dubbed it) being bigger then ever and he looked tired, exhausted, and done with the world.

He looked like a homeless turtle mutant. Funny enough, he was. The lair didn’t survive the past few days, leaving him with literally no place to sleep. He spent the last few nights in the front seat of a RV after all.

Leaving the public bathroom of the hospital, Raph ghosted over to where the receptionist's desk was. Many people in the waiting lounge send him confused and partially disturbed glances, a mother even shielded her son's eyes from him.
He rested his arms on the front of the desk, his body too tired to stand upright, and with an aching voice, he asked, "Are there any news on Donatello and Leonardo Hamato...?
"They are still in surgery, sir."

More horrific images popped into his head.
When Raph had magically been teleported back to the sewers, right outside of the destroyed lair, his splitting headache hadn't subsided. He was writhing on the ground, holding his head and gasping in pain, holding back his tears and grinding his teeth, hoping there was anything at all to make his suffering end. He noticed all too late that he wasn't the only one in unspeakable amounts of pain. Groaning, moaning, crying, it was all around him.

A few agonizing minutes passed before he noticed someone shaking him. CJ was next to him, the young boy’s expression read fear, and he rambled something about Donnie being hurt.

From there, his memory went blurry.
Raph faintly remembered fighting through the pain while using CJ as a crutch to stabilize himself as he stumbled through the field of wallowing people. They were all in the same state as he was in just moments prior, if not even worse. Splinter seemed to have the worst headache out of all of them, ribbing at his fur and kicking the air, then curling up. Raph had never seen him in this much pain before…not even during his time of depression when they were younger. CJ led him to Donnie, who laid motionless, one of his arms slumped around an equally unconscious Leo. Like he's been slapped across the face, some of the fog in his mind cleared and Raph's big brotherly instincts took over, ignoring his own pain to make sure his little brothers were okay. Cassandra was there too, checking the twins over and pressing some fabric against Leo's shell. Both, Leo's hoodie and the fabric Cassandra was holding were soaked with blood.

Raph assumed he picked them up and started running, because the next thing he knew, he was alone, having already jumped through the portal into the Hidden City. He screamed at pedestrians to call an ambulance, or do something else to help his little brothers. The blood of his twin babies continued to smear against his thick jacket, he hadn't bordered yet to take off the winter gear.

Finally, finally, a kind pedestrian came along and helped Raph to the Hidden City's hospital, from where he pushed his way inside and ripped the first doctor he saw out of his work schedule to have him look after his little brothers.
It didn't take long- actually, just a minute passed- until Donnie and Leo were taken from his arms and rushed off to somewhere he didn't see. He wanted to follow but got denied immediately. One of the doctors redirected him to the showers and from there- well, he already said that.

And now he stood there, soaking wet and with a haunted expression on his face, his body so, so tired but also buzzing with worry over the twins.

What did the secretary say? They were in surgery? He wasn't surprised. The damage done to the twins was far worse than that any ordinary bandage could fix it. But still- surgery? How bad were their injuries really? More importantly... Would they even heal?

"Sir, do you have contact with Donatello's and Leonardo's legal guardian?"
Raph snapped back into reality and stared at the woman before him.

Now this is where Raph could tell the truth and tell her about Splinter. However, there was no way that he wanted Splinter anywhere near the twins. And, truth be told, Raph was the one who mainly raised his little brothers, not Splinter. Despite Splinter being their official father, Raph had taken on the dad role when they were younger, taking care of his little brothers where Splinter had failed to do so, depression be damned

So, even though he didn’t feel great about it, Raph chose to lie

"Y-Yeah, uhm... that's me." he stuttered out the words.

The receptionist gave him a once over. “Are you their father?” she asked. Raph shook his head “No, I’m their big brother. I got custody of them when our parents died a couple of years ago” the lie coming out of him easily

The receptionist’s frown turned into a soft smile as she gave him a look that Raph could describe as pity, with maybe a hint of respect

A rasp was followed by the sound of papers rustling and a chair squeaking, the woman sliding a couple of documents his way, "I need you to fill those out then," she said, also handing him a pen, "You can sit in the waiting area back there."
Raph nodded, words no longer forming in his throat. He hoped that filling out the papers could get his mind off things.

The waiting room was quite plain, white walls with a TV playing different medical clips, talking about some stuff that was impossible to pronounce. The chairs were many but they didn't seem all that comfortable, and there was no table aside from a small one in the corner on which a bunch of magazines were scattered. The second Raph stepped in, all inhabitants rose their heads to stare at him, first out of pure curiosity, then with their frowns furrowed and scooting their chairs away from him the second he sat down. Ignoring all the judgment and prejudice thrown his way, he clicked the back of the pen and a small metal tip extended on the other side. The papers came with a sturdy clipboard, making it a little bit easier to write on them.

It was easy to fill out, those were standard informational sheets, asking if they had any allergies, or if there were any known diseases in the family. Their age and prior experiences with surgery. Filling them out took long due to Raph having to stop and compose himself. His heart yearned to see the twins himself, he had to make sure they were okay. He noticed that his hands were shaking when he put his signature on the last paper of each of his little brothers' documents. Taking a deep breath, he stood up to leave the waiting room- the chair he'd sat on now wet and undesirable-, glances glued to his back, and setting his skin ablaze, but Raph ignored them and walked out.

The secretary was waiting for him when he came back, taking the papers without muttering as much as a single word. She looked through them briefly, checking if everything was filled out and nothing was amiss, then put them to the side.
"They're not out of surgery yet," she said calmly, and Raph noticed that his hands haven't stopped shaking, "Either way, we have to keep them in the hospital over night. We are currently preparing a room for them, would you like for them to be roomed together?"
"Yes, please," Raph answered slowly. He couldn't bear the thought of having them separated. Not if they fought so hard to stay together. And he didn’t want to even think about what would happened if they woke up and they weren’t together, knowing how close the twins were and how almost attached at the hip they have been recently

The woman nodded and wrote something down, "They might have to stay here over multiple days. Is it possible for you to arrange proper possessions?"
"Possession?!" Raph's scales shot upward and he almost jumped back. The way he yelled the word got him much unwanted attention and he smiled embarrassedly at the people that stared at them.
"Uhm-" The secretary looked at him mildly disturbed, "Yes, possessions. Extra clothing, toothbrushes, whatever they need for hygiene, something to drink. Whatever you believe is important for their stay here."

"Yeah, o-okay," Raph agreed.
Maybe he should ask to get a room here as well, he was tired and from what just happened, he assumed he needed a break.
"I don't have any mode of transportation at the moment," he mumbled, rubbing his face. It must have been a bit too fast for the woman to understand, so he repeated his words a bit slower, "Might I borrow a phone? I don't have mine on me”

Reluctantly, the woman handed him a small phone, "Try to keep it short, don't block the line for longer than five minutes."
"I won't" Raph promised. He turned away and searched for a spot where he was away from all the prying stares so that he could call in peace. Who to call was the question he faced after. He doubted that anyone else had a working phone on them, and calling the lair was out of the picture too.

Leaning against the wall not far from the receptionist's desk, he began dialing a number and prayed that he remembered it right.

The phone rang.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Click.

"Who is this?"
"Hey Hueso," Raph grunted and rubbed his eyes. He was tired and the conversation he was going to have would do nothing but contribute to his desire to find the nearest bench and take a nap.
Hueso was happy to hear from the snapper turtle, immediately asking about Leonardo. It took a bit of time for Raph to muster the courage to get Hueso up to speed on what had happened, and Hueso was absolutely shocked to hear all of that, but had much compassion for Raph’s situation, saying that he would help however he can

Speaking of which…

"Do you think you can bring some spare clothing over to the Hidden City hospital, please? Donnie and Leo need something to wear once their out of- What? What about Mikey? He's..." Raph stopped for a second. He was too caught up on what was happening to the twins that he completely forgot about his baby brother. He didn't remember seeing Mikey when he'd woke up by the lair, though he also didn't really pay attention to the ones around him, rushing off to the hospital the moment he saw Donnie's and Leo's blood stain the concrete red. Normally he loves red, but seeing it come from the twins, Raph hated it. Raph leaned his head back and stared out the glass front door in front of him, then he resumed his call, "Mikey's fine, It's the twins that are hurt. So, can you bring the stuff over? And maybe some towels too? And maybe- You do? Thanks. Yeah... Yeah, that helps a lot. Thanks. Yeah. Bye”

Raph ended the call and dropped his arm with a sigh.
What has become of his life? Two of his little brothers were in emergency surgery and he didn't know where the third one was. Last he saw anyone from his family was at the lair, and all he remembered from there was groans and whines of pain. He had nothing on him with which he could try and reach anyone, and he had to ask Hueso of all people…or yokai in the case, to send over clothes so that his little brothers weren't stuck with their bloodied and torn clothing once they come out of surgery.

With his head hanging low, Raph returned the phone and mumbled a quiet "thank you" for letting him borrow it. He was about to leave- and with leave, he meant to find one of those water dispensers with the tiny plastic cups, or even better yet, a coffee machine- when he was stopped.
"Mister Hamato?" the secretary asked. Raph stopped to look at her.
"One of our doctors would like to speak to you about your brother's condition."
Raph's breath halted.
"He will be waiting in his office, it's down the hallway to the right, the door with the number 4 on it."
"Thanks," Raph replied.

Finding the room was easy enough. The description and path were straightforward and with no complications.
When he found the door, he pushed it open with ease. He had knocked before, but no one had answered. No surprise, the room was empty. Maybe he was too early. Not wanting to invade anyone's office without permission, he closed the door and sat down on a nearby chair. He had a good view over the hallway and could see if and when anyone was approaching.

He looked up and down the hall every couple of seconds or so, and even the faintest sound of footsteps got his attention. When he figured no one was coming for him, he began to study a lonesome abstract painting on the wall. Not even with his best of guesses could he imagine anyone ever wanting to buy a painting such as this, those were random lines jotted down on canvas with no coherent meaning or sense. He would never understand art. That was more of Mikey’s thing.

He swirled his thumbs and tapped his foot on the floor in a rhythmical tempo, debating whether he should leave his spot to grab a coffee. His anxiety was getting to him. Patience wasn't his strong suit, especially not when it was about his little brothers.
His nervousness rose to his fullest. What was taking the doctors so long? How badly injured were his little brothers really? Thinking about what Leo had to go through the past month, not even counting the malnourishment... He didn't want to finish that thought.

Despite his legs feeling like pudding- the bad kind of pudding- he stood up to stretch. He couldn't just sit around and wait for the answers to come to him. If he did, he could go insane!
The hallway wasn't broad but therefore quite long, so he had a ton of space to pace up and down. He walked and walked and slightly became dizzy. Why hadn’t the doctor arrived yet? Where were his little brothers? The idea of hunting down a coffee machine was getting to him, to the point that he was about to head around the corner.

Just then, he almost died of a heart attack.
A doctor, dressed in the classic white coat and sporting a pair of glasses on his snout, walked in, almost colliding with Raph. Mumbling a half-hearted apology, the doctor directed Raph back to the office and told him to sit down.

Raph hadn't taken a closer look at the office when he entered earlier, but now he got a good look at it. The walls were white with a few of those weird abstract paintings hanging on them, also packed in frames were different medical certificates and he noticed a picture frame with the picture of a family resting on a desk near the computer. The room had a small table with 3 chairs in the corner, a desk with a computer, a couple of shelves- all filled with folders and papers- and a large window. Everything was lit up quite nicely even though the sun was setting outside.

As instructed, Raph sat down at the table in the corner.
Having the doctor around made him even more nervous. Maybe it took him until now to realize that yes, his little brothers were in the hospital, and yes, they had life-threatening injuries. Raph couldn't even begin to grasp the idea of either of them... dying. It was a horrible thought that had haunted his nightmares and that almost became a reality months ago when Leo almost sacrificed himself to the Prison Dimension, which gosh seems so long ago now.

But they weren't dead. They were injured, hurt, and scared, and Raph wanted nothing more than to be by their side and hold them until things were okay.

"Mister Hamato," The doctor started, not even introducing himself, but the nametag on his coat read 'Doctor Matthew’, "Are you at all aware of the condition your brothers are in?"
There was an underlying judgment in his voice that made Raph's heart sink. It couldn't have been made clearer that Donnie and Leo were doing anything but okay.

Raph bit his lip, a quiet, "No," leaving his tongue. He could only guess how bad it truly was.
The doctor sighed and put a stack of documents on the table. There were papers, pictured, diagrams, and things he couldn't make out.
"Before I start telling you about their injuries, would you mind enlightening me on how they came to be?" He sorted through his papers and pulled out a poorly printed photograph of Donnie's wrists. Raph felt his heart pound against his chest, he took the photograph and inspected it closer. The injury looked much worse than when he last saw it, on the picture the wound was cleaned and showed how deep the injury really was, he could see a portion of the bone.

This was bad. The judgmental glances thrown his way made much more sense now.
"We were doing our hero work when we ran into some bad guys. Some violent gang that had a vendetta against us" he sputtered out before he could even comprehend the thought. It wasn't necessarily a lie.
"I'm familiar with you and your brothers hero work," The doctor cleared his throat, "However, according to the records, you are still just teenagers. Even if with your abilities, you shouldn’t be doing this. So may I ask…why?"
"We didn’t know. How could we know?" Raph practically yelled and averted his eyes, "Things got out of hand. They were never supposed to get hurt."

But there were many times they got hurt on missions before. Being heroes was never safe. There had always been the looming threat of someone getting seriously injured or worse. Just... Raph guessed they had more luck than brain in most situations. The worst the four of them came home with on a regular bases were nasty bruises or scraps. The worst that they were injured was right after the invasion where their injuries were truly life-threatening. However, that was a rare occasion. And this, was what Raph would also consider a rare occasion but this was much worst then the invasion. Like 10 times worst. What they had at hand now was a huge catastrophe, no more small scraps or uninteresting shoulder sores. They had all almost died back at Todd’s place, and then again during the blizzard. Both Donnie and Leo had injuries only his darkest of nightmares could produce, and he didn't even know where Mikey was in all this.

Raph tried to keep a neutral face but his facade was failing him.
Matthew eyed him unconvinced, then scribbled something down on his notepad. He spun the pen he had in his fingers and continued, "Well, now they are hurt, and not lightly at that. Please, tell me, at which part of your 'hero work' came handcuffs into play?"
Raph turned pale. How did he know?
He stared back at the picture. Perhaps there weren't many objects that could leave injuries such as these.

Raph fell silent, he tried to come up with an excuse that wouldn't prosecute his sister, but it was hard to come up with anything plausible in such a short time. The doctor caught on to his silence and sighed, "Mister Hamato, we contacted child protective services."

They did what?!

"Let me ask one more question, how long did this 'hero work' of yours take? Because some of their injuries are weeks old. Mister Hamato, you can save the CPS and yourself a lot of trouble if you confess right now."
"Look Doctor, I know that I may be huge, look scary and intimating…but…Doctor, please, I swear on my life, I didn't hurt them. I could never ever hurt my little brothers" Raph subconsciously rose from his chair and slammed his hands on the desk. He would never hurt them! The accusation alone let his blood boil. They thought he did it?

Raph realized that him hitting the desk and towering over Doctor Matthew was probably not helping his case

Matthew, however, remained unfazed, "The CPS will arrive in roughly an hour. You may wait in the waiting room or outside the hospital for them to arrive. I'm sure they have a lot of questions to ask both you and your brothers."
With those words, the doctor rose from his chair and walked towards the door. He opened it with one hand and used the other to gesture Raph to leave.
The snapper turtle stood frozen. This couldn't really be how things go?
"No," Raph hissed, "No, you're telling me where my little brothers are right now. I want to see them."
"You're not allowed to go near them. Unless you want the police to be involved, I'd advise you to wait by the side”

Raph grabbed the rim of the table and a few cracks appeared where he was clenching his fist, though Raph was surprised that he didn’t break the table in a fit of rage. How dare he?! He can't just keep him from his little brothers like that!
Raph felt his anger rising and he was about to blow over. He had a lot of untamed rage stored up, just waiting to be released. He almost lost himself to it and just barely managed to turn the snarl to a deep breath, calming down but not easing up. His fingers slowly left the table and he stared up at Matthew
"Alright," he said defeated, "But can you at least tell me if they are going to be okay?"

A moment of silence passed between them and Raph feared he wouldn't get an answer. Just as he was about to give up, Matthew spoke, "I won't sugarcoat their condition, it's a miracle either of them are still alive."
The doctor sighed and returned to his table to sit down, "Donatello finished his surgery already, so I will start with him."

Raph took the hint that the conversation was resurrected and sat down as well, his hands now folded together hard to stop him from shaking.
"Let's get the less drastic ones out of the way first," the doctor muttered and sorted a paper out of his stack of documents, glanced over it, and cleared his throat, "Donatello suffers from three broken ribs, out of which luckily none pierced an organ, a fractured pelvis, as well as many bruises around his shell/back and arms. His wrists, however-" The doctor stopped to take a breath, and Raph felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, "-His wrists are severely impaired. Many nerves have been either damaged or destroyed, and his skin tissue, as well as his muscle fibers, have been cut to where they are irreparable. We considered amputation, but instead, we sewed the wound shut."

This was already much worse than what he imagined it to be. He knew that his wrists would come up as a bad injury, but how grave it was never quite set in. And what was that about all the broken ribs? When did they happen and how long has Donnie walked around with them? Did he even knew about them?
The feeling of pain and hopelessness only spread further through his body when Matthew continued with his diagnosis.
"It will take a lot of physical therapy, as well as many additional surgeries in the next few years if he wishes to use his hands again. Aside from that, he will suffer from chronic pains for the rest of his life. Now, debatably his worst injury is the one to his shell-"
"What about his shell?" Raph cut in before the doctor had time to finish. He knew that Donnie’s softshell was the most sensitive out of the floor of them. He wouldn't say he forgot about the blood that stained his clothing just hours before, but hearing that the shell wound was the worst one? Worse than the wrists?

"His shell..." Matthew looked over his papers, "Has an entrance wound made by a sharp object, we assume it was a knife or a dagger, or another bladed weapon. It somehow managed to cut through the soft lining of his shell and his flesh. It hit a blood artery that could have ended in him bleeding out if he arrived here just a bit later." There was a sigh, a break, and a moment of silence.
"What I'm telling you now won't be easy, but I need you to remain calm, alright?"
Raph nodded hesitantly and scared.
"The injury caused damage to his spinal cord. Donatello is paraplegic... He's paralyzed from the hip down."

Matthew might have said more but Raph only heard ringing.
With all the disbelieve he's been shedding the past days, he was surprised how much of it he still had left.

Donnie... paralyzed...?
Those words didn't match. That second word didn't match with any of his little brothers
Donnie was... not as active as Leo and Mikey were... But, Raph knew his softshell brother. He loves running around, or doing stupid- and dangerous- stunts with Leo and Mikey. Despite his calm nature, Donnie doesn't like sitting still. He was like Leo in that regard in that Donnie was physically unable to remain in the same spot longer than 5 seconds as doing so would result in understimulation. Donnie had to always be doing something

So, hearing that he was... paralyzed.
Donnie, unable to use his legs? Impossible.

"Mister Hamato...! Mister Hamato!"
The harsh voice coming from his front snapped him out of his daze. Where- Where was he again?
"I-I-is there a-"
"There is no cure," Matthew answered before Raph had the chance to finish his thought, "There is treatment, but I fear that his nerves are too damaged for that. Now, as for Leonardo-"
"No-" Raph interrupted, pushed his chair back, and got up, "Please, no more. I... I need a walk."
He needed to stomach this. He couldn't handle more bad news. If Donnie's injuries were that... bad... Bad couldn't even begin to describe it. It was horrible. A nightmare.

Raph didn't even say goodbye when he left the office. He ghosted through the hallway and stumbled in the direction he supposed the entrance/exit was, he barely could remember, his mind was all foggy and even his ears only displayed static.

Donnie... was paralyzed...

Donnie... was... paralyzed...

Donnie was paralyzed.

He somehow got outside the hospital, and he promptly fell to his knees. There was little care for the people outside, staring at him with various expressions, he didn't even notice them staring, his mind completely stuck on this one. single. sentence.

Donnie was paralyzed.

And there was no cure.

Donnie was paralyzed.

He would never walk again.

Donnie was paralyzed.

Someone stabbed his little brother in the back and stole his future from him.

Donnie was paralyzed.

Just wait until Raph gets his hands on whoever was responsible for that. Was it Eliza? It had to be. There were no other suspects.
He clenched his fists until his fingertips dug deep enough to draw blood.

Donnie was paralyzed... No matter how many times he repeated the thought, it wouldn't click.
Donnie wasn't the type to spend his time laying in bed (unless he was just having a bad day or was super tired), or rotting away in a wheelchair. He had too much life in him for that...

His head hurt.
It wasn't a headache, more like pressure from all sides, mixed with the overload of stress and emotion.

He had barely the energy left, he crawled instead of walked, to the nearest bench. The hospital had this little green area garden where patients could spend their free time without having to leave the property. But what served as a sitting option for patients and visitors, would now serve as his bed and his bed only.

He was so tired.

...

...

...

CJ was exhausted, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sleep.

He rolled around in the sleeping bag that would serve as his bed for the next weeks until the lair was repaired. Granted, he could go back to April’s apartment, or even stay with his mom for a little bit. However, he just felt like the lair was more of a home right now then April’s apartment or his mom’s place

After Raph ran off with Donnie and Leo, completely ignoring his calls for the snapper turtle to wait up, the Casey’s had shifted their attention to the half-dozen people scattered around them, all moaning and groaning in pain. Well, it was honestly just him that made any attempts of help, his mom stormed off the second Raph vanished with the twins.

Everyone got to their feet at one point, but no one seemed like they were in any shape to walk. Which was a problem, seeing as they needed to find a place to sleep. The lair wouldn't be able to serve that purpose for quite some time.

The best option they had, and the only one they bordered to think about, was Draxum’s old lab. Draxum said that there were a couple of supplies left that they could utilize. And damn, they really needed those supplies, because apparently, while they were sent back to the lair, the Turtle Tank was nowhere to be seen. The tank turned plane was still somewhere in Alaska, and who knew how long it would have to stay there.
Though, no one had the strength to complain.

Everyone was just a ghost at this point, holding their heads and almost falling over as they walked to a Hidden City Portal, with Draxum being too weak to make a portal himself. April was the only one being carried, her leg was still broken after all. CJ admitted that he himself could barely hold himself together, but the others looked just a little bit worse.

And Mikey-

Mikey wasn't even walking on his own. CJ had to hold his hand and pull him the entire way. The orange-loving box turtle stared blanketly ahead of him, his eyes empty and filled with no life whatsoever. While everyone else looked like ghosts, Mikey was straight up acting like a corpse. CJ tried talking to the young turtle, going as far as to pinch him, but nothing even remotely got a reaction out of him. It had gotten especially scary when he noticed halfway through their walk that he was pulling Mikey at what appeared to be his broken arm. CJ gasped and apologized, but there was no answer coming from his friend/honorary brother.

When CJ talked to the others, the reactions weren't that much different. They at least acknowledged him, but they wouldn't answer him, no matter the question. He tried talking with Draxum, who was the most willing to show him a life sign, and even the goatman seemed too out of it to do anything.

When they eventually arrived at Draxum’s old lab, all but Splinter, Draxum, and Mikey immediately collapsed and passed out on the spot. It was the two adults that arranged the sleeping bags and prepared so that they had food the following morning.

"What about Raph?" He asked anyone that was willing to answer, which was no one.
"Hey!" Getting ignored was getting on his nerves, wasn't he at least deserving of an answer after everything that happened? Apparently yes, because those two disappeared out of his sight again and he didn't notice where they went.

Groaning in dismay, he whirled around to Mikey, that hadn't left his spot since CJ released the box turtle from his hold. Though now the youngest brother was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs and hugging himself.
"Mikey...?" CJ slowly approached him. Just like before, his call was left unanswered. "I... I know it's scary, but I'm sure they'll be fine. They're with Raph, he will make sure they get to the hospital and patched up. They'll be okay."
"...What have I done...?"
"Mikey?"
"...What have I done...?"
"Hey, Mikey, it's going to be okay."
"...What have I done...?"
"Come on, Mikey, it will be fine."
"...What have I done...?"
"...M-Mikey...?" CJ nudged him, hoping it would do something. It did. Mikey fell on his side, still hugging his legs and also still mumbling the same question over and over like a broken record player.

Lacking the right words, and his tiredness denting his decision-making, CJ opted for the only thing that was left for him to do. He wrapped his arms around Mikey and squeezed, "We should go to bed, tomorrow will be a better day. Everything is over now." he whispered. There was no resistance coming from the orange-loving turtle, and CJ gently pulled him towards the sleeping bags. Since Mikey wouldn't get inside one, he simply laid him down on top of one and used a different one as an improvised blanket. Mikey still muttered the question from before, but by now his words got so jingled up that they barely made sense anymore.

CJ stared at his friend/honorary brother for just a moment before crawling inside his own sleeping bag. He went inside much deeper than he had to, desperate for warmth that no one was giving him.

So much happened.
They finally got the curse broken. Or he guessed it was gone, and no one was screaming about having the amulet for themselves.

It was over...
Yet, he felt as if there was more to come.

The sleeping bag was much more comfortable than the backseat of the RV, or the couch in that B&B lobby, and especially more comfortable than the Turtle Tank seats- he slept in those so many times that they were all sitting through and sleeping in a sitting position never was comfortable- so the sleeping bag was a blessing. He tried to snuggle deep within the warm cover, and he hoped that maybe if he closed the zipper all the way, to where the opening was only big enough to let air inside, but otherwise cover him completely, he could feel safe.

The inside was claustrophobic and hot, and it let his mind wander to places he didn't want to think about. He wondered if Raph had arrived at the hospital by now, and if Donnie and Leo would really be okay. They hadn't gotten a call yet, but that wasn't a big surprise, no one had a phone on them, and probably Raph didn't have a working one either. Maybe tomorrow, he could find out more. Maybe then, someone was able to talk to him

Maybe tomorrow, he could finally sleep peacefully again.

Chapter Text

"Uhhhhhrg-" Donnie groaned, keeping his eyes shut, something made his brain feel like mush and he preferred to not know what that something was. He tilted his head to the side and buried his beak into his pillow, wishing he could disappear into the sheets and absorb all its comfiness.

A second groan followed the first one, and slowly- really slowly- more feeling returned to his consciousness. Static, like small prickles of electricity, ran over his limbs and causing his scales to stand up at odd angles. His shoulders were sore and his arms were numb, he had trouble feeling his hands or legs. He knew there was a blanket because something heavy, yet soft, was placed over his chest and weighted down his torso, but the oddest thing of them all was his chest. It hurt with colossal amounts of pain whenever he took as much as a single breath. Donnie tried to force himself to breath shallow to not expand his chest further than he had to, the less air he breathed in, the more the pain subsided, but his breathing became faster as a result and he then had trouble breathing at all.

This happened around the same time he noticed he had something strapped around his snout, covering it completely. Whatever it was, it was fastened around his head via a rubber band, that now began to press uncomfortably against his scales and head.
"Hmmmmgh-" Donnie tried to tear the thing off by rubbing his head against the pillow... He hadn’t noticed how slow he was moving before, and his limitations only became more apparent when this revelation caused him to suck in a deep breath, causing his entire chest to erupt in a nova of pain. He cried out- what in his condition was more like a pained whimper.

His brain hadn't returned from its mush-like state, and he noticed all too late that there were hands all over him, mostly on his face, guiding his head to its initial position. Donnie whined in protest and made other turtle noises to fend them off. At one point, he noticed tears gathering in his eyes and he reluctantly decided to open them.

The light he was faced with was way too bright, and it shone directly in his face. By now, a weird vrooming kind of noise filled his ears, alongside the sound of gas being released, similar to when an old train comes to a stop. His vision was blurry at best, non-existence at worst. He barely managed to see anything. Aside from grey shapes, his world was dunked in black with one- extremely bright- yellow in the middle. The hands on his face had left, but someone was moving his back forward with a mechanical sound. This didn't last for long and the movement stopped. Donnie tried to blink the darkness away with little success, his inability to see what was happening now beginning to scare him.

He attempted to open his mouth, which was partially limited by the weird thing strapped around his head, and he called out for the first person that came to his mind, "…Rap-ie"
His vision cleared slowly, not enough yet to see anything, but the grey shapes he was seeing were moving around all over his vision, some leaving entirely and others coming closer. Donnie whined at them, wishing they would back off and leave him alone.
"..Raphie..." he cried out again, moving his head slowly to the side and he prayed for his big brother to suddenly appear and tell him there was nothing to fear. The hands returned and moved his head back and Donnie let his tears fall.

"I-s a'right, lit-e one, e on't -urt u an'ore," A voice he never heard in his entire life before whispered into his ear, none of the words she was saying made any sense to him, his eyes no longer the only thing that had trouble understanding the world around him.
Another- equally foreign voice- said a few words as well, though Donnie had even more trouble understanding what has been said than before. Not even a second later, there was a hand slowly pushing itself between his shoulders and the pillow behind him, lifting his upper body into a position that was almost upright. This movement caused pain to rose in his chest like a geyser. He yelped loudly and gasped for air like a fish out of the water. This set off the start of a giant domino effect, of more pain erupting due to his fast breathing, and the pain causing him to take more breaths. Donnie didn't know how many tears were running down his face, but he could say with certainty that not even one of them came from a positive experience.

He pleaded with the people through whines and whimpers, everything hurt, and his head was spinning. He couldn’t even think anymore, all he wanted was for this nightmare to end.
"Shhh, keep breathing. I know it hurts, but you're doing good, take deep breaths, you're doing really good." The second unknown voice reappeared, this time a lot clearer. Donnie could make out that the owner of that voice was male, and while he hated to admit it, the voice was calming and friendly. He wanted this person's praise, and he couldn't quite explain why. He kept breathing, whining every time he had to suck in air and his chest made sure he regretted every piece of oxygen that entered his body that way. Not that he needed more reasons to hate breathing, the air tasted absolutely disgusting, like foul car plastic that stood in the sun for too long.

Donnie wasn't sure how long he was in this position, but his tears had stopped before he was carefully pushed back down into a more comfortable position. Breathing became harder again, though it also hurt a lot less that way. The taste remained nauseating.

The corners around his vision turned darker and Donnie sank deeper into his sheets, an unexpected and unwelcome drowsiness overwhelming him and the noise faded back into the background. Donnie noticed his heart rate pick up and his anxiousness crept into his mind and made a nest. The thought of falling unconscious with so many unfamiliar voices and shadows around him scared him, he didn't know what they would do to him once he blacked out.

This sudden fear came out of nowhere and it overwhelmed him, eating him up and swallowing him. A beeping sound he hadn't noticed until now speed up and the shadows were rushing around, a lot more gathered around him than before. He also thought he could hear yelling.

Donnie sobbed uncontrollably.
Let him go home, please.
It was dark and he was scared.
He wanted his family.
Where was his family?

He was alone and abandoned, and he couldn't feel his hands or legs or anything really.

His vision went black completely and Donnie could feel himself slipping away. Before he blacked out, he noticed how similar the darkness was to the one he experienced in that dark room at Gentry’s house.

When he came to a second time, breathing had become easier, not easy just yet, but easier. He experienced around a bit with how much he could expand his chest before the feeling of excruciating pain and his throat closing off overcame him. His ears were working better now, he could hear quiet whispering and the sound of papers shuffling, some footsteps passing, and quiet mechanical vrooming.

He opened his eyes with a groan, remembering the bright light from before and therefore going at it more slowly this time. At first, everything flooded his vision in white and pain, then it faded away to give way to more colors, most of them being a minty green. Donnie blinked, confused at where he was. He expected his room… not a completely strange room.

The room wasn't empty, not even close. There was a small table with 2 chairs standing in the corner, each of the chairs was occupied by a person he had never seen before, both were female and they wore matching shirts with something written on the sleeves that Donnie couldn't read from where he laid. There was a rather large window to the right of them, the minty green color making a reappearance in the curtains, blocking out the outside sun. Next to the window was a plant of which Donnie didn't know the name. He could also see two doors, one that he guessed was the bathroom door and the other leading outside- Outside? Where exactly was he, and what was even considered the outside?

Donnie attempted to sit up to get a better understanding of his surroundings, which proved to be a big mistake. The pain that had subsided for the most part came back tenfold, his chest unable to contrarian such high amounts of agony and Donnie dropped back immediately with a startled scream. It felt as if something was trying to burst out of his chest from the inside, it banged and hammered and it clogged his throat. He noticed that his air passage was cut off and he couldn't think straight. He flailed around, terrified of what was happening. Just then, something was pressed against his snout, and the disgusting taste he had tasted before came back- he hadn't realized that the thing around his snout had been removed and only came back now- air was forced down his lungs, causing him to breath despite his throat having a different opinion. After a couple of intakes, his body slowly adjusted to the idea of accepting oxygen.

The thing was removed once again, and Donnie breathed on his own, the pure shock of what happened, accompanied by the rush of adrenaline, had him fully awake and aware now. Donnie noticed a man dressed entirely in white and with a blue medical mask over his face standing at his bedside, the thing that was on his snout before- which he only now realized was an oxygen mask- held firmly in his grasp. He blinked at the man in confusion.

"Who are you?" Donnie asked, the words coming to his mouth before they went through his head, "Where am I?"
"You're at the hospital, Donatello-"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!" He was neither calm nor quiet, he wanted answers and he wanted those strangers away from him.
"Where is my family!?"

This was the moment when one of the two ladies by the table got up. As she approached, Donnie got the chance to read what was written on her shirt and his heart stopped-

Child protective services.

Donnie remembers a time when he and his brothers would talk about what it would be like to live up on the surface. There were times when they dreamed of being humans and what that would look like for them. Would the circumstances be the same where Raph would have still raised them even with their dad still maintaining his human form? Would the circumstances have been in their favor or would the world turned against them and the CPS come knocking at their door?

Donnie have read many articles before of human siblings being separated from each other when CPS got involved. It was times like this that Donnie was grateful to be a mutant turtle living in the sewers as it would mean that he wouldn’t ever be separated from his brothers

Neither Raph or Splinter mentioned any of that in front of Donnie and his brothers because it was supposed that never became a problem, but the articles were enough to make him think about the ‘what-if’. He didn't want him or his brothers to be taken away and Donnie never even considered it a possibility

Until now

Now, his worst nightmare stood in front of him, telling him in what was supposed to be a soothing voice to "calm down, everything's alright, no one will hurt you."
"Get away from me!" Donnie yelled, his breath hitched and his voice was cracking and sore. He tried to move away, but not a single bone in his body reacted to his plea. He was tied to the bed, although only metaphorically.

"We're here to help you, no one is going to hurt you, I promise," the social worker continued to talk slowly, closing the distance between them. Donnie held his breath out of fear that this stranger would come even closer, since he had no way of backing away, and he was practically at their mercy. He looked around the room frantically, and he noticed that there were 4 strangers, not just 3 gathered. Two social workers and two nurses.

"Get away from me! Where is my family?!" Donnie kept on defending himself, shaking his head and staring at the strangers with a mixture of fear and defiance, "Where is my big brother?"
"Please don't try to move, you will hurt yourself-" One of the nurses, the male one, the one with the nice voice, said, and Donnie only complied once everyone took a big step away from him. That seemed to appease the nurse and he smiled gently at him, "Your big brother is outside, we can bring him in, if you wish to."
To that, the second social worker got off their chair with an expression that screamed 'hold on, not so fast', but before the woman could speak, the nurse cut in, "-After we asked you a few questions, that is. Is that okay with you?”

Donnie wouldn't answer for multiple seconds, his mouth opening and closing as he decided what he could do to get away from those people and find his big brother. "I- I want to see him," he ended up mumbling, now looking down to avoid eye contact. He felt like crap now…so pathetic. He hadn't even been enough to save Leo-

"Leo," Donnie halted his breath, his twin's name repeating in his mind repeatedly, "My twin brother- where is my twin?"
"Your brother is in another room being taken care of," the second nurse, a female with short hair and wearing one of those medical masks, approached him, and Donnie flinched slightly.
"Is he alright?" He asked and his eyes went watery again.
"He'll be moved here once he's stable, for now, please focus on yourself."
"He isn't stable?" Donnie repeated, his worry growing, "What is wrong with him?" He tried to get up from his bed again, this time ignoring the pain that rose in his chest and broke off his breathing, and he tried to move to the side.

Almost immediately the hands of the nurses were on him, pushing him back down and repositioning him until he lay like he was before, straight back, head faced straight upwards, his arms limply on both sides of him- Wait, since when was that a thing? Donnie stared at the slings around both of his arms. They were completely wrapped in plaster and bandages, and a white case was pulled over each of them. Neither was connected to his neck like in the traditional sense, but they were connected to a metal pole that was horizontally placed over his bed, almost elevating his arms. He also noticed 3 small tubes that were connected to a needle in his arm and all 3 of them ran up to a bag with see-through liquid standing on a metal stand.
Puzzled, he looked down to see what the rest of his body has come to, but the blanket was over him and blocked his vision.

"Please calm down," the nice nurse said, the oxygen mask held suspiciously close to his snout, "We only want to help you. We will tell you everything you want to know, but you must answer a few questions first”

"...Okay..." Donnie reluctantly agreed and continued to refuse eye contact. He wasn't happy with how events were playing out. He'd asked Eliza to send him home, why was he in the hospital then? His wounds weren't that serious, those people should be focusing on Leo.
The nice nurse told the other to go and get him some water so that Donnie could drink. He was honestly surprised by how the nurse knew about his sore throat. Then, the questions started.

"The first questions are easy ones. Can you tell me your name?"
"I'm Donnie."
"Donatello Hamato?"
"Yes"
"Donnie, can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?" The nice nurse asked and he rose 3 fingers. Donnie answered with no trouble at all. "Good, now please keep looking straight at me and tell me once my fingers move out of your vision."
Donnie only half-looked at the nurse, and he nodded once he couldn't see the fingers anymore. They did a few more of these tests, asking him to follow a light or his finger and they also made some sort of hearing test, where he had to close his eyes and they would snap a finger, and he had to say which side it came from. While these little tests weren't hard, Donnie wasn't thrilled about them. He wanted his big brother and he wanted to know how Leo was. Those little shenanigans were keeping him from both of his needs!

"Are we done yet"? He asked desperately as the seconds ticked by, "I want to see my family, please." He looked at the water the other nurse had brought, anything to avoid further eye contact.
"Just a few more questions. Donnie, can you tell us how you got injured?"
Donnie focused harder on the water, "We were out on a patrolling mission and some bad things happened."

"Is this what he is telling you to say?" One of the social workers stepped forth. The nurse sent her a look to back down but she wasn't responding to that, "There is no need for you to lie to us, if your big brother beat you, you can speak up about it. This is a safe space."
"B-Beat?!" Donnie almost choked, his gaze ripping away from the water to stare the lunatic in the face, "N-no! My big brother has never ever hurt us! He is a gentle giant! He'd done nothing wrong!"
Was this why Raph wasn't here with him?
"I want to see my big brother!"

"You can see him once you told us why you and your twin brother were brought to the hospital seconds away from dying!" The woman became louder now and Donnie felt every single scale on his body stand up. "My twin is dying?!" By now, he hardly could contain himself. He wanted this woman to leave. He wanted to see his twin and big brother! How dare they think Raph did this to him when in truth- Well... Technically April did this to him... but... she didn't mean to, he couldn't blame her... or should he...? Donnie shook his head, which made him dizzy and disoriented. Before he knew it, the nice nurse had put him on the oxygen mask again and helped him breathe, whispering instructions that Donnie followed without a fuss.

The mask remained on him until Dewey calmed and regulated his breathing on his own. The nurse then turned to the social worker and told her, very firmly, to "Leave and get Donnie's big brother in here," he then looked at the other social worker that hadn't said anything yet, "You may stay here to observe any odd behavior, but do not make the patient uncomfortable, or I will have you removed."

The social worker that got told off huffed angrily and mumbled something along the lines of, "Sure, let that kid go back to that hell once everything is over" and left. Donnie prayed that she would get his big brother. He felt lonely. So lonely.

While they waited, the nurse asked him if he would like to drink something, and Donnie agreed quietly. He couldn't get the glass himself, he tried and couldn't even raise his arm in the general direction of it, and the nurse had to hold his body upright and place the glass to his mouth to let him drink. Donnie almost turned a slight shade of red from embarrassment, he hadn't needed anyone to feed him like this since he grew out of drinking warmed-up milk that Splinter would give him as a toddler. The water was gone quickly, despite the nurse telling him to slow down. Once the glass was completely emptied, the nurse told his colleague to fill it up again for later and then gently put Donnie back down on the bed and even pulled the blanket a bit higher so his chest wouldn't get cold.

Donnie was in the middle of mumbling a "Thank you," when the door suddenly opened and Raph all but stormed in. He had a tired look on his face, and judging by his eyes and shrunken face, he had just woken up. The snapper's eyes scanned the room until they settled on Donnie. The softshell's eyes light up, however, Raph's didn't. His big brother wore an expression that Donnie couldn't quite fit into any category. It had relief and fear written all over it, but also hints of regret and deep sadness. Without skipping a beat, Raph rushed over to his bedside, but not before being stopped by the second nurse that told him to not move Raph and that he needed to remain in this position, and to not touch him anywhere beneath the shoulders. Raph was okay with all of that, as he exclaimed quite loudly, his blabbering not understood by anyone, and he fell to his knees next to the bed.

"Oh, Donnie-" Raph's voice quivered as if he was seconds away from crying.
"Raphie-" Donnie, for his part, was crying. He wanted to be held and hugged, but for now, he was oh so happy to at least have a familiar face around him. Donnie halted in his tears when Raph placed a hand on his head and started patting him gently, rubbing his cheek and forehead with his thumbs and whispering "I love you"
"I love you too," Donnie whispered back and let out a soft breath. This one didn't hurt and encouraged him to do it again.

"Is Leo okay?" Donnie asked eventually. He noticed how Raph halted in his motion and he could feel the bed beneath him beginning to shake.
"I don't know yet," Raph answered quietly, "But he will pull through. This is Leo we are talking about. He survived getting literally beaten by a tyrannical alien"
The lack of hug made Donnie nuzzle his beak into Raph's chest as best as he could, and with a barely audible rasp, he asked, "...The curse is gone now... right? Everyone is... okay now.... right...?"
"Yes, everyone is safe now, and it's all thanks to you Donnie, you are a he- HEY!"
One of the nurses shoved Raph away, Donnie whimpered at the loss of his only comfort, and the other nurse pushed his head back to how it was before. He began to hate this position.

"Please don't move," the nice nurse said, "We will give you the okay when we finished all the steps, please remain still for now."
Donnie's eyes only widened at that, and he blinked the new tears away. He sent a quick glance over at Raph, who had lowered his head in defeat and went back to only patting Donnie's head, no longer trying to engage in more. Donnie almost begged that Raph would ignore the nurses' orders and hug him anyway, because the cold was making him shiver.

"Raphie...?" He choked out after a lot of convincing, "What is wrong with me? Why am I not allowed to move?"
The patting stopped and Donnie's heart almost broke. He noticed how Raph tried to hide his face by looking away but he caught on to the display of utmost fear. "...Raph...?"
"You'll be okay, Donnie. You got hurt badly, but you'll make it through this."
Raph's smile almost made Donnie believe those words, but the nice nurse pulled him away and they converted into a private conversation of whispers, Raph's face slowly falling and guilt taking the place of the warm smile. He saw how his big brother was barely keeping it together, his body trembling like when he was close to losing his anger, but this time only saw sadness. He was afraid his big brother would break down in front of everyone, and Donnie felt so lost and helpless that it made his stomach turn. Literally.

The other nurse reacted quickly to get him the oxygen mask, but instead of just holding it to his snout until he calmed, the nurse strapped it back on and told him to leave it there, just until things calmed down a bit. Then she began to fiddle with the IV bag and said she would add a few more painkillers. The nice nurse dismissed her with a nod and she left the room. Simultaneously, Raph came back to his bedside, his face now pinched up like he ate something sour, but he tried to smile through the pain. Donnie watched him with teary eyes, his fear rose with every second that passed, and the lack of clear answers made his anxiousness steadily rise.

Raph wiped Donnie's falling tears away with his thumb and cupped his cheek, Donnie leaned into the touch as much as he was allowed to by the nurses, and more tears came streaming down.
"You got really hurt," Raph whispered and Donnie looked up at him with teary eyes, "...And you won't be... you won't-" Raph broke off and wiped furiously at his own tears, turning his head away from Donnie so that his little brother didn't have to see him cry.

The nice nurse took over from there, sighing and then kneeling next to the bed so that they were on eye level, "You have a bad wound on your shell that sadly left some damage we can't fix." he said, speaking slowly and soothingly, waiting for Donnie to acknowledge the words before continuing, "We were able to stitch up your shell and get rid of the blood, but the wound has cut off your connection to your legs. I'm so sorry, but you will never be able to use your legs again."
"You're not good at making jokes," Donnie deadpanned. He wasn't in the mood for a laugh, and it wasn't funny to begin with.

"He's not joking, Donnie," Raph sobbed, still trying to get rid of his tears, but using his other hand now to caress his head lovingly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
"...Raphie..." Donnie almost forgot how to speak, his brain having more trouble comprehending anything than when he woke up the first time, "...It's alright, look, I can still move them-"

-No he couldn't.

Donnie stared at his legs still buried under the blanket, and he squinted his eyes at them, partially in confusion, but mostly in desperation
'Move,' He told himself, his glance hardening.
'Move!' His legs wouldn't budge.
'MOVE!' Why couldn't he even feel the blanket on his legs?

His mouth hung ajar when he tore his gaze away and stared at his big brother, words swirling through his head but none coming out.
'Please, fix this,' He stared at his big brother pleadingly, his tears stopping and then coming back twice as fast, 'I'm scared- I want to move my legs!'
Raph now used both his hands to calm him down, one was placed over each of his cheeks and he used his thumbs to brush away the tears that were streaming down his little brother’s face

Donnie choked on his sobs and he closed his eyes shut.

This was a horrible nightmare and he wanted to wake up.

Raph continued to hold him and every few seconds he mumbled apologies and words of condolence, how sorry he was and that they'll make it through this. Donnie wasn't listening anymore, cotton filling his ears and mouth, and he completely lost himself to the darkness around him, this time wishing he would never wake up again.

...

...

...

Raph squeezed Donnie's cheeks when he noticed the softshell wasn't reacting to his touch or words, and he looked his little brother in the eyes. His heart broke a little bit more when he noticed the blank stare he was getting back, there was no life left in them, only sorrow.
"I'm so sorry," Raph sobbed and squeezed a little bit harder. His sweet baby brother didn't deserve this, he doesn't deserve to live with a burden such as this, but what the nurse told him before was true, he shouldn't lie to him in order to make him feel better. Donnie had to find out eventually, and waiting for the news wouldn't help him. They needed to face the reality and this- this was reality.

"Mister Hamato, there is a call for you."
Raph didn't stop cuddling Donnie but he did look up to the second nurse, who was holding one of the hospital phones towards him, "It's your family."
Reluctantly, Raph let go of his little brother. He was handed the phone and then excused himself to the bathroom so he could have the talk in peace.

It was a small but clean bathroom, they even had towels prepared inside. Aside from the toilet and a big sink, the bathroom also contained a semi-big shower with a shower curtain. There were power outlets, though no hairdryer or other device was plugged into them. Raph closed the door behind him before he brought the phone to his ear, he breathed in and out and his shaking calmed. "Hello?" He asked.
"Raphael..." the voice from the other side, and Raph tensed.
"Hey, dad..."
"...How are my sons doing? Sorry I couldn’t call you sooner, things here are a mess”

Raph held back a sigh, and he placed the phone away from his mouth for a moment to compose himself. His dad should be here right now dealing with this mess, not him. Splinter didn’t even asked how he was doing. He was more concerned about the twins "Where are you right now?"
"We're using Draxum’s old lab as a temporary home”

A pause, before Splinter made a sound that Raph could assume was a chocked sob “Please, can you tell us how Leonardo and Donatello are doing? I need to know how my twin babies are doing. I don’t have you on speaker, the others won’t hear."
"No," Raph shook his head, "They should know. They have to know what- what happened." A sob shook his body and Raph put a hand over his mouth, forcefully closing it when a second sob came around.
"Raphael? Are ye still there?"
"...Yeah, I'm here. Are the others with you right now?"
"Yes, they are all here."

Raph nodded, again, no one could see him through the phone. He rubbed his face with his hand, especially over his eyes.
"Donnie’s paralyzed." Let's get the worst part over with first. Just as he expected, the other end of the line went silent, then a loud 'wham' from a door being slammed shut, and lastly Raph heard how the phone on the other side got dropped.

"How-" The phone was picked up again, indicated by a crackling kind of sound, and Splinter returned to the conversation, though his voice had changed from his sad and worried tone to being distraught, sounding like he was crying "How bad is it?"
"The doctor said he... he won't-" Another sob, "He won't walk again. Or feel his legs again. Or-" Gosh, he couldn't do this. "He might not be able to feel his hands either..."
Silence. There were 3 pairs of sobs, one from Raph and two from the
phone, one from Splinter and another one from someone that was away from the phone.

"...His hands..." The phone shifted and recognized his sister's voice, "It's not because of the... the handcuffs? Please don't let this because of the handcuffs. Please not the handcuffs-"
"It was the handcuffs..."
A gasp from the other side, then the phone switched hands again.
"Does he know?" Splinter asked, he must have been far from the speaker to sound this quiet.
"...He knows about the legs... I'm not sure what caused the injury yet, but I will find out, and Eliza will regret doing that to him. He's... not taking it well." Raph held his breath and counted to four before breathing out. One of his hands was on the door handle and he pushed it down slightly, peeking out. Both nurses were at Donnie's side, one of them changed the IV bag and the other spoke with Donnie, who was looking a little bit less disconnected from the world, but remained unresponsive.

"Is there... anything else?"
"A few things," Raph responded, shutting the door and trying to remember all the horrible things the doctor told him. After he found out about the paralysis, he blocked everything else out, "His shell got messed up but they stitched it up, so hopefully his shell will recover in time. I think some broken ribs and a fractured in his hip? No, it was his pelvis. He has some trouble breathing, but they got that under control."
Raph shook the memory from his mind. The picture of Donnie with a breathing mask would never be welcome.

"Dad...Is there something we have that can help heal Donnie?"
Draxum came over to the phone at that moment

"Raphael... I'll take a look, but I can't promise you anything... Donatello might have to live with this." Neither Splinter or Raph was happy to hear that
"Please! Please look. There must be something- just anything we can do. We can't do this to Donnie, he doesn't deserve this!"
Draxum sighed heavily "Lou and I will take a look” It seemed like he walked away because Splinter was now back on the phone “What about my sweet baby blue? Is Leonardo doing... alright?”

Raph let his head hang, he grasped the phone a bit tighter, "I don't know, I didn't get to talk with the doctor about that yet... But he's not good either... " he paused to take a breath, "I might need some help here. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to stay with him, they might remove me and I don't want Donnie to be here alone. I don't know if they let you or April stay either, but maybe someone else from our family is allowed... Are they with you right now?"
"No, Michelangelo ran out after you mentioned Donatello, and Casey Junior followed after him. I don't think it is a good idea to send them over. Why can’t you stay with him?"
Raph changed the phone from one hand to the other, fidgeting with the buttons, "I may or may not have told them that I was their guardian” Splinter made a noise that was super quiet and Raph just barely heard it. Then… “I don’t blame you for doing that Raphael, as I even admit that you have been more of your brothers’ guardian then I have ever been. Still I wish that it was me there so that you wouldn’t have all this pressure on you”

Raph thought about saying ‘I wish you were dad’, but he held his tongue and just said, “Yeah…anyway, they called CPS. Which in case you didn’t know means Child Protection Services. They think we did this to the twins..."

Silence.

Then…heavy breathing like Splinter was on the verge of a panic attack

Then noise that Raph could identify as half-aborted sobs

"Oh Raphael, my sweet boy...I really wish that I could be there with you. I am their father after all. We did do this to them. Curse or no curse, we are to blame. I hurt my sons"
"I know you didn’t mean to. We didn't mean to! None of us meant to! Dad, they want to take my brothers away from me! We are going to lose them forever!" Raph cried. This was getting frustrating! He thought that all the 'bad's would finally be over now, they had broken the curse! Things weren't supposed to still be bad!
"Raphael, listen to me” His dad was now speaking in that ‘sensei’ voice and Raph just had to listen. “I won’t let anyone take you or your brothers away from me. That is a promise that I swear to you on my life Raphael. You boys are my pride and joy and I love you so much. Please don’t ever forget that. I’m sorry that I haven’t been a good father to you or your brother but just know that I love you and your brothers with all my heart. I love you Raphael, ok?”

Raph sniffled as he wiped away his tears. He really need to hear that from his dad. “Ok Daddy”

Raph couldn’t see it but he could feel Splinter smiling through his tears on the phone “I’ll see what I can do. And I promise, I will find my way back to you boys. Just…hang in there for now Raphael. And just know that I am so proud of you, my son”
"...Okay... Thanks. And good luck dad. I love you too"
"Same here, Red."
And they both hung up.

So, they were at Draxum’s lab. The phone call appeared to come from Splinter’s phone. He could call back once he had some news...
As he exited the bathroom, he noticed Donnie's head rise and stare at him, the nurse apparently having him snapped out of his trance. There were more tears on the softshell's face than Raph could count, and every droplet was its own set of guilt washing over him. He should have never let Donnie face Eliza alone. He was just a teenager, facing off against a powerful witch. Sure, Raph was also a teenager, but he was the oldest so it didn’t apply to him. What was he thinking letting Donnie go like this?

"Can you look after him for a moment? I have to discuss something with the doctor," Raph asked, defeat in his voice. One nurse nodded, the other nurse minded her own business, and the two social workers stared at him, one of them looking like she wanted to attack him. Donnie didn't react to it, but he stared at Raph with a look, silently begging him to stay. Raph gave his best attempt at a smile and he walked out.

He still knew where Matthew's office was, it hadn't been that long to forget, and he made his way straight there.

To his luck, the doctor was just coming out the door when he arrived.
"Ah, mister Hamato," He said, "Is there a problem?"
"No sir," Raph replied, "I would like to talk about Leo if that is alright. Do you have time?"
Raph had to wait a moment to get a response, but eventually, the door was pushed open and Matthew pointed toward the table they sat at before.

He knew this was going to be a hard ride, and he braced himself before approaching the table. Sitting was uncomfortable, but he was afraid of standing. If Leo was only half as bad as Donnie's condition, he didn't know if he had the strength to stand.

Matthew joined him a short while later, some papers with him but nearly not as many as the last time he was here.
"Let's see," The doctor quickly skimmed over the papers, "His exterior wounds, despite being bad, don't pose a big threat anymore. He has a large gash on his shell, luckily this one didn't seem to have crossed the spine, and he shouldn't have problems walking due to that. He also had some cracks on his shell but we managed to patch those up and his shell overall was not really that affected"
The doctor must have been psychic because that was the injury that had worried Raph the most.

Not both of his little brothers were paralyzed. Thank the good Lord above.

"-Though his walking might be limited to a sprain in his right leg. We put a cast on it, it should heal in the next 2 weeks. "
Raph nodded. A sprain wasn't that bad. He had those all the time, they heal nicely.
"Like I said, we stitched the wound and cracks in his shell together, which means that he should keep it slow when he wakes up to not accidentally rip the stitching open, but I take it you are familiar with this due to Donatello?"
"Yeah, the nurses told me not to move him."
"Good," Matthew went over to a different paper, to which he let out a deep sigh, "Aside from that, he suffers from cuts on his arms and a larger one on his neck, as well as second-degree burns on his hands. We cleaned and bandaged the wounds. Okay, this might be a bit more serious. Leonardo is drastically malnourished, and someone must have thought it was a good idea to give him solid food after days of not eating."

Raph flinched.
Giving him food was a bad thing?
"-He suffers from major refeeding syndrome. We had to emergency empty his stomach and he is currently being prepped with liquid vitamins that we give him through infusions. He won't be able to eat solid food for a while, not even after he wakes up. Please, if you have anything to eat prepared for him- don't give it to him. His entire diet will be handled by his personal nurse, do not interfere with her decisions about what is good for him or not." His tone turned serious at the end, and he sent Raph a warning glare, to which the snapper nodded. The explanation made his heart jump, he didn't think giving Leo food was one of the things bringing his little brother this close to death.

"Is there anything else?" Raph asked, after a long pause of nothing. Matthew regarded him, then looked back at his papers, then back at him. He shuffled through the documents and then placed two pictures on the table between them. One was a drawn display of organs inside a red-eared slider turtle. Though they had more human DNA then turtle DNA, Raph could assume that their turtle biology was still something that the doctors had to take into consider

The other picture though- Raph wanted to scream. It was of Leo, or more like, Leo's chest/plastron. It wasn't high-quality, but Raph saw enough. Without the hoodie and all the blood, he had a full view of how thin his little brother had gotten. It was horrible, it made him sick. His scales had made it not so easy to notice the lack of fat tissue in the face, but- he barely had any scales lower than that. The operating table he was on was almost covered in them. They had all fallen out and the skin underneath it was yellow. But nothing was as scary as the black line that ran from Leo's left shoulder all the way down to the right side of his plastron. He saw that line before when they drove away from the lair, but this was the first time he got a good look at it. The line was like a swollen scar, and the skin around it was irritated red.

"Do you know what this is?" Matthew asked and Raph looked at the doctor, his eyes shooting back between the picture and him. He then shook his head. He hadn't the slightest clue what this was.
"Neither do we," the doctor admitted, "Our best guess is a blood infection, but sadly, the symptoms don't match."
Matthew pulled out a black marker and made a thick line on the picture with the organs. The line ran through the lung, heart, and stopped at the liver. Raph took a moment to realize that the line he made matched exactly the line that was on Leo's chest.
"His organs suffered some serious damage, especially those over which this line appeared”

Raph's throat was dry. He didn't interrupt the doctor.
"We did the best we could, Leonardo isn't in any immediate danger anymore, but he might suffer from some bad cases in the future." He tapped the marker on the lung on the picture, "The damage done to his left lung was irreparable, we had to remove it."

Raph almost jumped out of the chair and room. He held the table tightly and noticed the cracks from his previous visit poke against his fingers.
"Sir, you can live with only one lung, as I said before, he is in no immediate danger," the doctor said calmly, "However, having only one lung massively reduces his capability to breathe, he has roughly 35% now, which can make certain conditions highly deadly for him, such as smoking, the flu, pneumonia, bad or sticky air, and he might need a portable ventilator. He can higher his lung capacity by receiving a donor organ, but those are rare for someone his age, especially since he is a mutated red-eared slider turtle, and the waiting list for organs is long."

"Please put him on the list," Raph barely had the voice to speak. He prayed for Leo to be in a better condition than Donnie, but this didn't feel like it was going to lead to that.
"There were also big amounts of blood clogging his other lung and throat. We aren't sure yet how it got in there, perhaps something managed to pierce his lung but we didn't find any wound that indicated such. We managed to filter it out, so he shouldn't be in danger of choking on it”

Matthew flipped the page, "Moving on, one of his heart valves was closed and his blood couldn't circulate accordingly. Do you by chance know how long he had this? Has he complained about any chest pains to you?"
Raph couldn't answer so he just shook his head. No, he didn't. How long has Leo been suffering?
Matthew sighed, "Well, that's alright. We repaired the valve, but he will need a lot of medication in the next few weeks, the nurse will dose it and give it to him. Lastly, his liver- It got hurt badly, but lucky enough, it's still working. If there had been any more harm done, then Leonardo wouldn't be alive right now. A liver can regenerate itself, but Leonardo must follow the nurses' and doctors' instructions to a tee, or else he might cause his liver to shut down completely, resulting in liver failure and death." Matthew put down his papers and stared at Raph, the snapper second away from falling over crying.

"If it had been only one of those injuries at work, it might not affect him as badly as it does now, but there are some things that you should be aware of. Organ damage is hardly ever anything good, and Leonardo was hit by it pretty hard. Thanks to your human DNA, you can live as long as the average human. With the damage done to him, I estimate that around 20 to 40 years of his life span got decimated. If he's lucky and treats his body right, he might make it to his 50s." And with that, Matthew shoved his chair back and gathered up all his papers, "I know this is a lot to take in," he said, "And I am extremely sorry for you. I heard you are temporarily allowed into Donatello's room, maybe you can help him be a bit more comfortable. As for Leonardo, no one is currently allowed near him, due to the high-risk factor of him getting in contact with bacteria. He might be stable in the next day or two. Thank you." And he opened the door.

Raph didn't get up or moved. He was frozen on the chair.
Leo might be safe now, but- Raph would probably out-live him. Anyone in this family would out-live him. Would he even make it to his 50’s? Oh, his poor baby bro. What has he allowed to let happen to him? Donnie and Leo... The disaster twins…How could he let such horrible things befall them?

Only after repeated demands of leaving, and Matthew helping him out of his chair did Raph find the strength to walk out, and even then he broke down immediately in front of the door. He curled up right in the middle of the hallway, ignoring the people that passed by him or the doctors that told him to move out the way.

His little brothers, his precious baby brothers-

They were hurting. And Raph couldn’t do anything to lift the pain.

Someone shoved against him and despite all odds Raph got to his knees- not his feet, he couldn’t attempt to stand even if he wanted to, and he began to wobble, almost crawl, back to the one brother he could get to. Leo was off limits, and Mikey was far away. If he could at least hold Donnie- and… He didn’t know. He wanted to cry but who was he to make Donnie’s company even more miserable? His little brother should smile, Donnie deserved to be happy- And he wasn’t…

Raph got to a corner and broke down for a third time.

What has life come to?

The other day they were celebrating Leo’s healing from the Krang invasion and now- now he was crying on the hospital floor, with the twins hospitalized.

They were a far way away from the Krang invasion

...

...

…

"Mikey!" CJ banged against an old door somewhere in Draxum’s old lab, "Mikey, open up! You can't stay in there forever!"
There was no answer coming back, and CJ’s fist almost became bloody from him pounding it against the steel. Mikey hadn't listened to the call for even 5 minutes before rushing out, the second he heard Donnie's name, he was ready to make a break for it. And when they heard what happened- well, Mikey rushed out the room and slammed the door behind him. CJ followed him, scared of what Mikey would do in his state.

Donnie... paralyzed?

CJ wasn't coping with it himself. He had a hard time believing this to be real. Donnie liked dancing. He liked swimming.
Ever since CJ got to know this younger version of his family from the future, Donnie was always on the move, and that was due to keeping up with Leo and Mikey. Paralysis might have been the worst thing that could have ever befallen him. And now it happened.

CJ felt awful, and he couldn't even sort this feeling properly, he hates thinking about how Mikey must feel for his brother. They grew up together, Mikey loves his brothers. It must be hell for him.

"Mikey!" He banged a little bit louder now, his knees were wobbly, "Please open the door! I want to help you!"
"GO AWAY!"
CJ flinched back. That scream was pure rage and no sadness. But then there came violent crying and again those mumbles of "What have I done?"
"Mikey, please, open the door, I just want to help you- I know how you feel-"
"YOU KNOW NOTHING! You don't- You... don't..." Mikey's voice broke off into sobs. The poor box turtle, he sounded like he had been crying non-stop for years.

"Mikey..." CJ placed his palm on the door, pressing slightly against it, "...Please open the door. You feel horrible, I know, I do too-"
"CJ... You don't get it, do you? Cassandra- you know Cassandra was right... right? I was one of them- I hurt Leo... I WAS INFECTED!" He screamed the last part, and then more crying. CJ stepped back once more, now in shock rather than fear.

"W-What?" He stammered, that couldn't be right. He might have not known this Mikey for a long time but he knew Mikey better than this. If the youngest brother faked it, CJ would have noticed! He would have- Maybe he did notice... He just didn't want it to be true...
"Mikey, it's not your fault-"
"When I attacked I could see everything that was happening, but I couldn't control my actions. I couldn't do anything to stop myself! I stabbed him! I stabbed them both! How could I... What have I done..."

CJ's face softened. This time he placed both palms on the door. He then turned around and slid down with his back against the door. "Don't blame yourself."
"I stabbed him! I stabbed Donnie! He's paralyzed because of me! I did this to him!"

BANG!

What was that?

"I swore to protect them-" Mikey's cries became louder.
BANG!
"They are my big brothers!"
BANG!
"How could I have done this to them?!"
BANG!
BANG!
"Mikey?" CJ turned around and he stared at the door in shook, "What are you doing?!"
BANG!
"I stabbed Donnie!”
BANG!
"I almost MURDERED Leo!"
BANG!
"Donnie is PARALYZED because of me!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"MIKEY! STOP IT!" CJ slammed his fist into the control panel, as the door was a sliding door, and his fingers dug into the outer rim, trying to break it off, "What are you doing!?“

"I'M A MONSTER!" Mikey screamed in a mix of hatred and pain. And more crying followed. The banging stopped- thank goodness- but CJ wouldn't stop trying to break apart the panel. He had to get those damn doors open!
"Mikey, listen to me, you didn't mean to! You didn't know you would hurt Donnie this bad!"

"I KNEW WHERE I WAS STABBING, CJ!" The sobs took over, but never managed to drown out the screaming, "I knew what I was hitting! I knew what it would do to him! I WANTED HIM PARALYZED! And... I did... I... I prayed I missed... I..."

The crying, as well as the screaming became scarily quiet.

"I- I needed to make sure he wouldn't be i-in my way, so I thought- I-if he can't walk- he can't stop me! And I stabbed him!”

CJ finally got the panel to lose.

"I hurt him and then Leo too-!"

He yanked a handful of wires out.

"... How could I do this to my big brothers..."

The door finally opened.

"...I'm- I'm a monster…"

"Mikey," CJ began, stepping into the large room, "You need to- MIKEY!"
The banging... The banging hadn't stopped, it had just become quieter. And now CJ was seeing the cause of it. He screeched and pulled Mikey away from the wall, away from the giant bloodstain that was smeared across the metal. Mikey's forehead was bleeding massively, he was still slamming his head forward as if he was still trying to bang it against the wall. He looked dazed, and he was mumbling incoherently. "What have I done" and "I am a monster" were the only two phrases that CJ could hear out of his nonsense blabbering.

He screamed for Splinter and everyone else to come over and that he needed help. He took off her jacket, leaving him only with his shirt underneath, and began pressing the clothe to Mikey's forehead, where all the blood came from. Mikey groaned in pain at the contact, and he swatted at him. "I-I-I'm -a m-m-m-mon-s-ter," the bleeding turtle choked out between moans and cries.
"Hush!" CJ said back sharply, he didn't want to hear this!

Splinter and Draxum came dashing around the corner only seconds later. They only needed a fraction of a second to access the situation. Mikey was quickly taken from his arms and CJ saw the two dads vanish behind a corner, probably rushing to the nearest first aid kit. At that moment, an exhausted and out-of-breath April arrived

"What happened?!" April asked, fear written all over her face.
"-Mikey," was all CJ managed to speak. The shock was setting in by now, and his legs weren't good enough yet to let him stand. He stayed on the ground, hands around himself and rubbing his arms up and down to create some warmth in this cold world. April appeared next to him, rubbing his back and trying to calm him down a bit. The human girl looked awful, like a living nightmare. She slept off the headache but everything else stay, including the broken leg. She was mostly limping and the hastily thrown-together cast they had but around her leg was falling apart for the third time now.

CJ stared at April for what felt like hours. He had nothing to say to her, neither a reason to look, but that was all he could do now. Eventually, CJ helped April walked back to where the group was stationed at

-Wait... Mikey stabbed Donnie?
And Leo?
And this is why Donnie was paralyzed?
Was this how it went?

His mind raced to make sense of all of this.
Mikey would never hurt his big brothers... He would never... He...
Cassandra…his mom was right from the beginning... Mikey had been infected... Maybe if they had just believed her- Where even WAS his mom? CJ hadn't seen her since they left the lair! And- What about Gentry? No one was talking about her! She was GONE! Perhaps DEAD!

Why was everything falling apart?

CJ plopped down on an old couch. Then he noticed he was being hugged. CJ looked up at Todd holding him. His was being uncharacteristically quiet, but CJ didn't mind. He hugged back, graving what little comfort he can get and taking it all in.

He wished he had his mom with him and the only question he had…

…where in the world was Cassandra?

Chapter Text

Raph watched silently from the sidelines as the nurses changed Donnie's sheets and cleaned him up, all while the softshell cried for them to stop touching him and to let Raph do the deed instead. It infuriated Raph to see someone -strangers no less- touch Donnie there. This was a private area, no one's business but Donnie's. The softshell sobbed and closed his eyes to shield himself from what he was witnessing, his face bright red, partially from the tears, though mostly from embarrassment.

He just found out that the feeling in his legs wasn't all Donnie lost. Everything below his waist was completely paralyzed and numb, including his bladder.
"I-I-I didn't know-" the softshell sobbed, "I didn't know I had to go- I... I didn't-" The flood of tears made his words intelligible. Only reluctantly did he open his eyes again, he stared directly at Raph, with his mismatched eyes screaming for help. It brought pain down on the oldest brother, seeing his little brother so helpless and scared. It hurt more than any wound he had ever received. It was almost too much to bear. More than once did he force himself to stay seated, to not run out of the room because he couldn't handle seeing his little brother like this.

He wanted Donnie to smile.

He haven’t seen Donnie truly smile since this whole mess began

He feared he will never see him smile again.

Although, Raph had to wonder if maybe seeing Leo again would make Donnie smile. The twins had that effect on each other

The nurses finished cleaning Donnie up, and one of them excused herself to go and bring the stained sheets down to the wash. Donnie whined a little louder at the mention of his accident. They hadn't noticed it when it happened, only after one of the CPS mentioned that the mattress was turning dark beneath the blanket did the nurses react. Raph wasn't allowed to help with the cleaning up, he was told to let the personnel handle it.

It was agonizing to watch. Donnie was confused at first and then began screeching when the nurses took away his blanket and began to approach his private parts. Despite explaining what and why it happened, the softshell wouldn’t calm down. He barely struggled due to his entire body being tired and restrained. He cried, and he begged them to stop. Now they were finished, but Donnie still cried.

Raph scooted closer with his chair, and he held himself back long enough to ask for permission. The CPS worker hissed at him to stay away, the nurse however nodded and gave way. Raph threw a thankful look his way and he moved his chair to Donnie's bedside. Not long at all- just a second- later, the softshell turned to him and from the looks of it, he tried to move towards him. His shoulders trembled and his chest moved slightly in his direction then he winced from what would only be immense amounts of pain and he broke back down to his initial position.

Raph gently brought his hand forth and wiped Donnie's tears away with his thumb while simultaneously soothing him with words. It helped calm Donnie down a bit, a little bit at least. The softshell was still crying and sobbing, and every so often he would wince in pain and his breath would cut short.

"I want to move-" Donnie sniffled under his breath, his eyes fixated on his legs. The new blanket hadn't arrived yet and so they were out in the open for everyone to see. They looked fine, nothing was wrong with them at the first glance. A few bruises from the hardships he went through, but it would have been impossible to deduct that he can't move them anymore just by seeing them. Donnie's breath hitched and he closed his eyes against the new tears. "I don't want to be in this bed anymore. I want to see Mikey. I…I want Leo. I-*sob*- I want my twin. I want to go home Raphie”

Raph hid his broken heart behind a fake smile. He softly brushed his thumb along Donnie’s cheek, not saying a word, but conveying that things will be okay. Someday Donnie will be okay. Someday, Donnie will be reunited with Leo. Someday, the twins will be together again and they will feel complete. Donnie didn't react to it. He let his eyes wander from his legs to his arms, both wrapped in thick bandages and closed off by casts. The slings that were holding him were as white as his bedsheets, and his arms rested in them completely motionless. "...I can't move..."

Donnie hiccupped through his sobs, "I want to move..." He shook his head, "I want to move...!"
Raph did his best holding his crying little brother. He let his fingers glide through Donnie’s head, making motions down to his shell. Unknowingly, he moved closer to his little brother with every sob the softshell led out. Every now and then, Raph would cast the nurse a questioning gaze as if to ask if he was allowed to move this certain way or if what he was doing would hurt Donnie or not. Raph moved carefully and slowly, and no matter how uncomfortable it was to move his body in certain ways, it was worth it. Donnie cried into the crook of his arm and Raph felt his skin dampen from the tears. He used his other hand to continue stroking Donnie’s head and shell, all while his younger cried to wish he could move and to see Leo again.

They remained like this, Raph was ready to stay like this for all eternity, but it was cut short when Donnie ran out of tears. He still sobbed uncontrollably, hiccups rocking his body whenever his shaking dared to slow. This went on until a knock at the door caught Raph's attention. A third hospital worker- she didn't wear the nurse's nor the doctor's coat, instead, she was all dressed in blue with a blue hairnet to hold her hair back- appeared at the door with a trolley in front of her.

The trolley was rolled in, and the newcomer and the nurse shared a few looks and then nodded to each other, conversating into something that Raph didn't understand. The nurse was then handed a sheet of paper with a pen, and another nod was exchanged between the two hospital workers. The male nurse then turned to Donnie with a soft glimmer in his eyes. "Are you hungry?" He asked in a gentle tone, tilting his head slightly to the side to point at the trolley.

Donnie's stomach spoke for him, letting out a quiet, yet demanding, grumble. The softshell, however, held an expression of indecisiveness, almost looking sick when regarding the silver tray resting on top of the food trolley. He then looked to Raph, asking silently for advice on what to do next.

The snapper was just as a loss as Donnie. He doubted that Donnie was in a mood for eating. Heck, he would be surprised if Donnie even had a desire to be filled with how numb he must be feeling. At the other hand, Donnie needed nutrients and strength for the day. His debate ended with him encouraging his little brother to at the very least try to eat.

The nurse seemed happy with the answer, and he got to work. First, he rose Donnie's backrest, allowing the softshell to rest in an almost sitting-like position rather than laying on his back/shell all day. He then extended the small side table the hospital bed had installed, folding it up and clicking it into place before placing the tray on the ledge. During all that, Donnie watched with queasiness.

Hidden beneath the metal cover were a plate of pasta, a tomato-cheese sauce packed in a small plastic container next to it, and a package of fruit juice- grape flavor- on the other side. It didn't look appetizing. Maybe he was spoiled from how delicious Mikey's food always looked. More likely, he was missing the looks of an actual, heartwarming meal since he's been surviving on granola bars and cupped noodles since that entire curse thing blew over. If he even had food. Though hunger was slowly taking over, and with another, louder, grumble of his stomach, he allowed himself to eat.

Except... he couldn't. He couldn't hold back the sob that followed. He couldn't move his arms. He couldn't move his hands. He couldn't move his fingers.
Raph tried his best to calm the again crying softshell down.
"I can't move," Donnie sobbed into Raph's sleeve. Those words were repeated, each time getting more distorted.
"Shhh, it's going to be alright," Raph whispered into the top of Donnie’s head, patting his head lovingly and kissing his forehead, "I can help you, just until your hands heal. You'll be okay”

Five minutes, later, Donnie calmed down enough to give eating a second try. Raph asked if he was allowed to help, though the question wasn't directed at the nurse. It was directed at the two CPS women, who were watching his every move with the eyes of a predator. What did they think he would do? Stab Donnie with a plastic fork?
As much as Raph wanted to snarl at them and throw them out the nearest window- Donnie's hospital room was on the second floor mind you- though he knew he had to behave. Those people were here for one reason and one reason only. To determine if they had to take his little brothers away from him or not. And if the former thing happened... Raph wouldn't know what to do with himself. He will feel like he would be failing his entire family if he let that happened

Those boys…his little (baby) brothers were his everything. They went through too much. He went through too much. His poor heart couldn't take some lunatic ripping his precious baby brothers away from him simply because they think he was neglectful, and even worse, a child abuser. It made his blood boil, the threat of losing his little brothers enraging him, and the same threat forced him to keep that rage contained until he could be somewhere else to blow off his steam. He was filled with so much anger- too much anger, but if he let it out now... He would lose his brothers. And he couldn't risk that.

The answer he got was a mixture of a snarl and a spat. Clearly, they didn't like his question. Sucks to be them, though, since they had no power over allowing him to do that or not. He simply had asked out of politeness. Maybe a bit of pettiness.

The approval he was seeking came from the nurse, and he had no problem with Raph taking over the deed. It lifted a weight both off Raph's as well as Donnie's shoulders. The snapper reached out to grab the plastic fork and knife and he cut into the pasta. He cut everything into bite-sized pieces and then reached for the sauce package and put it over the noodles. Donald knew how Donnie liked his pasta, the more sauce you can put on his plate the better, so he didn't even need to ask if his little brother was okay with him putting it on the food. In the meantime, the nurse had taken the juice package and pierced the hole with the straw, placing it back on the tray for later consumption.

Feeding Donnie was much harder than one might think. Less because Donnie refused to eat and more because of how absurd it was to feed his 16-year-old, almost 17-year-old little brother. Raph brought the fork, loaded with pasta and the sauce almost dripping off, to Donnie's mouth, his spare hand beneath the utensils to stop any mess from occurring. The softshell hesitated for a second, then opened up and took the bite. He chewed on it for a while, then swallowed. A tear would follow as the food went down his pipe. They repeated those steps until around half of the plate was empty. After that, Donnie simply shook his head when Raph brought the fork near him. So, they put the food aside.

Raph held the juice box for his little brother while Donnie sipped on it eagerly. While the hunger left him feeling sick, he was keen on keeping his desire for thirst satisfied. The box was emptied in seconds, bending inwards as Donnie sipped up the last drops.
"Can I have another one...?" Donnie asked, his voice raspier than before.
"Of course, I can get you one." The nurse answered.

Raph gulped. That was bad. The other nurse hadn't returned with the clean sheets yet, and if this nurse leaves too, then he would be left alone with the two social workers, and he did not want that.
"Mister Hamato, could you accompany me for a moment?"
Oh, that was even worse. He did NOT want Donnie to be alone with those two psychos.
"I rather stay here," he mumbled under his breath after clearing his throat.
"It won't take long, just a minute."
Ah- He understood. Private talk. He didn't like that.

Reluctantly he removed himself from Donnie's side, much to the softshell's displeasure. Donnie pleaded for him to stay, going as far as to bite into his hoodie to force him to remain by his side. Raph almost teared up at the sight. He carefully pried his little brother's teeth from his sleeve and gave Donnie a hug as tight as he could. "I'll be back soon, I promise," he whispered into Donnie's ear, "I'm going to be gone for just a second. Don't be scared. I love you."
"I-I love you too-" Donnie sobbed, giving his best to hold back the newly sprouted tears.

Raph patted Donnie's head and scratched his chin (with Donnie letting out his own set of chirps and purrs, which made Raph’s heart melt), then planted a kiss on Donnie's forehead. He wouldn’t allow himself to be gone for longer than a minute, and if the nurse wanted to talk to him, then they would talk close enough to the door, he wanted to hear if anyone was making Donnie uncomfortable. And once that happens, Lord help him, he will throw hands.

He followed the nurse outside- he felt a bit bad that he still didn’t know the nurse's name, maybe he should ask- and they stayed near the door.
"Do you have any money on you?" The nurse asked in a hushed manner.
"W-What?" That came out of nowhere! Raph could only stare perplexed at the person across from him. That was hardly the best time to beg for mon-
And he was handed 20 dollars. Raph's perplexed stare grew in confusion. What? What was happening?

"Donatello is a good boy. I can see how much he loves you and from the way that he talks about Leonardo, I can tell that he loves his twin with every fiber of his being and that being Leonardo’s twin is the best thing to happen to him," the nurse went on, not minding the snapper's speechlessness, "And I know you are doing your best to take care of your little brothers, considering your position. To be the big brother/parent that they want and need. Donnie will be hospitalized for at least a week, until his ribs are healed enough that they won't endanger his breathing. Sleeping in the hospital can be mentally exhausting. You know him better than me, there is a small store down the street, if you find the time, buy him something nice, he really needs it."

Okay, that was too much.
Raph wiped at his tears, the hand in which he held the money shaking, and the 20 dollar bill eventually fell out. He picked up the money, the face of some old founding father staring back at him.
"I- I..." How did words work? "I... Thank you..."
"Just trying to help." The nurse turned to leave, to get the juice package he promised, then stopped in his step, "I heard they will transfer his twin to this room tomorrow morning. He is stable, we just want to make sure he doesn't slip up. I just know that Donatello is going to be over the moon to see his twin again. Oh, and the visit hours end at 9pm, you should probably prep Donnie to be alone for the night."

Raph was left standing in the hallway.
He blinked. He opened his mouth to speak…then closed it. There were no words he could speak to explain how he felt. Only when he remembered his promise to Donnie did he slap some feeling into his legs. A minute probably passed. He had to go back inside. The hospital will close its doors to visitors at 9? It was almost 3, meaning only 6 hours left to spend with his little brother before he was forced out to sleep on the bench in the front yard again.

When he reentered, he was met with the sight he feared the most. Donnie almost vanished into his pillow from how hard he was turning his head to the side to escape the burning gaze of the social worker. She was sitting on his bed, right next to his arm sling, shifting the entire mattress. Additionally, she leaned forward, way too close to Donnie's personal space, and her face showed displeasure and annoyance.

Raph growled, an animalistic sneer coming across his mouth, with Savage Raph threatening to make his appearance
He tried hard to not cuss at them inappropriately, but damn, this was getting hard. Not thinking about giving them the benefit of the doubt, Raph stormed over and forcefully shoved himself between that woman and his little brother.
"Stay away from him." If he wanted to, Raph might kill someone with how deadly his voice sounded. Deep voice or not, he knew that the woman understood what he said because she backed up with a look of horror on her face. For a moment, Raph believed he had won that round. But then her expression changed. She was enraged, with her face turning one stage redder.

"Be careful whom you're talking to, or you'll have a restriction order on your neck before the end of the day." She snarled at him, "I can have you removed from this hospital and from your brother's life with the snap of my finger, so you better start showing some respect."
Oh, that did it. That woman was about to die by his hands. Raph heard Donnie whine out behind him at the thought of getting separated. It only fueled his wrath.

"I brought you your juice."
The nurse had come back just in time. A murder had been prevented. In his hands were not one, not two, not even three juice boxes. He brought an entire pack of six with him! The nurse put the pack down next to Donnie's bed and removed one of the boxes from its plastic prison, taking off the straw and stabbing the puncture hole at the top of the box. "A man came by earlier, a really polite skeleton yokai, he said he brought some clothes for Donatello and Leonardo," the nurse said, placing the juice down on the side table Donnie had and moving it closer to the softshell so that he could drink whenever he wanted and not have someone hold the package for him. That came at the inconvenience of having the board literally centimeters away from his face. "Why won't you go down to the receptionist and get the bag for us, huh?"

The question was aimed at the social workers. The woman that Raph was about to kill huffed, "Why? Let him do it, it's his brother after all."
"But I'm asking your insufferable butt to do it. So go and fetch now."
"You- How- HOW DARE YOU!" The woman has reached her point of blowing up. Raph instinctively moved closer to Donnie to protect him. Meanwhile, the softshell slurped at his juice like he was at the cinema watching an action movie unfold.

The nurse stared back with one of the smuggest grins Raph ever had the pleasure of witnessing. "This is my patient," he said, "And I don't appreciate rude, self-entitled nobodies making them uncomfortable. You can either remove that buttplug out of your butt so that all your stuff stops coming out your mouth, or I will remove it for you, and trust me, you don't want that."
Low and behold, that woman shut her mouth and she walked out the room in defeat. The second social worker- that one still seated at the table- looked out the window as if she was seeing all of life's answers out there.

Once that crisis was avoided, the nurse turned to Raph and Donnie, "I'm sorry for all of that. Sometimes people won't understand you unless you yell at them and say some things that make them shut up."
However, even he was surprised when Donnie stared at him with a stupid smile on his face and his eyes shining bright. "You're my new favorite person," the softshell said in a moment of amazement. He went in to hug his hero of the day when he suddenly remembered his condition and that smile dropped as fast as it appeared, so did the spark in his eyes vanish, replaced by melancholy.

Donnie let his head fall back and he shifted it to his side. Raph was there immediately, holding him and mumbling loving words, trying to stop Donnie from having another crying spell. Though his hopes and wishes were for nothing, tears soon appeared in Donnie's eyes and squeezed out through his shut eyes. Raph held his sobbing little brother in his arms.

6 hours did he have left before he would be asked to leave the hospital. 6 more hours of getting his heart broken by a truth he still tried to deny. And 6 more hours of giving his dear precious baby brother all the love he could muster.

This was going to be a long 6 hours.

...

...

...

This. Was. Hell.

April chewed on a cloth while the doctor worked his magic to get her leg patched up. She's been hopping around on her broken leg so much that, apparently, the bone shifted, and it was growing together wrongly. So now they had to shift it back. They offered to do it in surgery, it would be less painful, though take much longer. April went with the other option. Brute force the bone back in place, just give her something to bite down on so she won't scream the entire hospital into next Saturday. They gave her some painkillers, so it wasn't too bad, though it still freaking hurt. The payoff was that she was done in a total of 30 minutes, now equipped with a light cast and some actual, hospital-approved crutches. She would be back and running in 3 weeks.

Mikey was let in after her. The box turtle barely reacted when he was called upon, and Draxum had to guide him into the room, and stay there with him. It broke April's heart seeing her youngest brother like this. He was... broken. After she had found him and CJ in the elevator, everything came crashing down on her. Her little brothers were suffering. They were hurting. Donnie was paralyzed. When she saw Mikey's blood on the elevator wall and the blood flowing down her baby brother's face, she was more than willing to smash her head against that very same wall then and there.

She did horrible things.

Things she needed to forget or else she will spend another night wide awake with her hands on her mouth, keeping it shut so she wouldn't wake the others with her crying.

She hurt her little brothers.
One after the other.
All four of them.

Even though Raph had been affected by her directly, indirectly he was probably the worst. Because of her, his baby brothers were hurt. Because of her, Raph had to take on a role that he never should have to deal with. Because of her, Raph was at the hospital, taking care of their little brothers when April should be right there with him. If Raph knew the truth, then April doubt that Raph could ever forgive her for what she did to their little brothers

Speaking of their little brothers…

She handcuffed Donnie and locked him up in a basement! Away from anyone that could save him, and she left him there with no food or water. He screamed at her for help and she decided he was better kept locked up until he obeyed her the same way Leo did.

Leo... She hurt Leo, her sweet, precious, little brother. He tried to stay with his twin and she- she punished him with something that bordered close to torture! She enslaved him!

And Mikey... She hit him with the amulet... April connected the dots the second she saw Mikey in the elevator. She realized immediately that he too had been infected. Infected because of her.

It hurt to think about how much damage she'd done. She could go on and on and on and she still wouldn't have reached the end of it-

-She had murdered her best friend.

Gentry was... gone. Possibly forever! And Donnie had been there to watch! She tricked Donnie into helping her to kill Gentry, for goodness sake!

April respected the hospital. It was a good place, and that was the only reason she restricted herself from screaming out all of her frustration.

She was a horrible, horrible being.

She could never look any of her little brothers in the eyes again...

...She was thinking about leaving the hospital without visiting Donnie's and Leo’s room.

She didn't want to walk in seeing Donnie... Donnie the way Raph described him to her. She... She couldn't take it. Raph had mentioned Donnie's wrist injury, the one she was at fault for. She did that to him. She hurt her best friend. Her little brother. She tortured his other half. She got her baby brother corrupted. She put her oldest little brother into a terrible position. And she murdered her best friend that came to them because they asked for help and she was willing to help. Gentry didn’t have to but she did anyway because she was such a good friend.

Raph had also mentioned child protective services...
If those people found out about any of the things she'd done... any of the things that Splinter had done… then April and Raph’s little brothers will be taken away from them. No trail, no nothing. What did they she have to do to prove their her innocence? Nothing. Because they she weren’t innocent. Well maybe Raph was…but gosh she sure wasn’t.

Yeah... she couldn't stay at the hospital because CPS would squeeze the truth out of her. She wasn't being a horrible big sister for not visiting her two suffering little brother. She was protecting them! She was-

Ah, who the heck was she trying to convince? She was a good liar, just not to herself.

April leaned her head back and sighed. She moved her gaze to the person next to her, CJ. Her honorary brother sat silently beside her, his face unreadable, but it was clear he was distressed and confused. Heck, who wasn't at this point?

The door to the medical room opened and out stepped Mikey, a cast around his broken arm. Draxum informed them that the break was bad and might take a month to two to heal, but they can open the cast soon and switch to a stabilizing bandage since the break was clean. He also said that he had a concussion from banging his head against the elevator wall, and mixing with his previous concussion in the Turtle Tank, he should watch his head for the coming weeks, and then he went on listing an array of symptoms to look out for.

Mikey said nothing.

"So... What now?" April asked, trying not to sound too depressing, "Do you know which room they are in or-"
"The receptionist will know which room we have to go to, we can ask her," Draxum answered calmly. He was the only one calm out of all of them. April wondered how he managed to deal with all the guilt.

With her heart weighing heavy in her chest, April nodded. She couldn't run away anymore. It was time to face her mistakes.

Just that, she didn't want to.

As the others rose from their seats and started walking, Mikey didn't move an inch from where Draxum left him.
"Baby, aren't you coming?" April asked with the softest tone she could make. The box turtle shook his head, holding back tears.
"Don't you want to see your brothers?" CJ appeared beside him, holding Mikey's hand and looking him up and down with worry.
Again, Mikey shook his head.

"Maybe it is a bit too early for us to make this step." Draxum eventually said, offering April the ticket out of the hospital she was begging for so desperately.
“Barry's right," she agreed through her heavy heart, "We can visit them tomorrow."
"Donnie and Leo are in the hospital and you want to wait until tomorrow to see them?" CJ almost spat in his disbelief, "Don't you care about them being all alone?"

Ouch.
Of course, she cared! She didn't want her little brothers to suffer any longer... She was just scared of how they will react to seeing her... And how she will react to seeing them. She was afraid of... of losing the relationship that she spent most of her life building with them.

CJ was right.
She wasn't letting her own, selfish feelings keep her from them for one more day.
"You're right," she mumbled, "We should see them. They should know we're here for them. No matter what."
She earned an approving nod from CJ.

Mikey remained silent.

CJ nudged his honorary brother slightly in the side for a reaction. None.

"...Mikey..." he whispered, tightening his grasp on his healthy wrist and squeezing. He was getting no reaction. April would have offered to carry him if her hands weren't occupied holding the crutches that were literally the only reason she was standing right now. She was glad when Draxum picked up Mikey and held him in his arms just like he did when they had to transport the box turtle on their way to the hospital. It was an aching sight to behold. April felt more distant from her baby brother now than ever before. She couldn't even reach him.

At the secretary’s desk, there was absolute chaos.
Some woman that looked to be somewhere in her fifties and going towards her sixties was screaming at the receptionist for some kind of bag another child have left there. The receptionist tried to explain calmly that only family members of the hospital staff were allowed to distract items from her, and as long as she couldn't prove to be related to the kid to which this bag was addressed, she wasn't allowed to have it.
"Listen, that stupid nurse told me to get the bag. Give me the bag." The woman huffed and puffed. The receptionist denied the desired item.

At least she did until they showed up.

All it took was one glance at Mikey and the receptionist was happy to give up the bag. "You must be Donatello and Leonardo’s brother," she hummed, oblivious to the look of death that Mikey wore like a crown.

Draxum took the bag with thanks, and gosh mighty, that bag was filled to its absolute capacity. Were those clothes inside or an entire house? Not that it mattered to Draxum, he carried that thing with ease, while the receptionist had trouble lifting that thing even two inches of the ground. Plus, he still had Mikey on his shoulders. The goat man was scary sometimes. Where was he hiding all this muscle?

"Urg, so you're the rest of the Hamato family?" Then the woman looked around, before turning her nose up at them “What…the old rat couldn’t bother to show up?”
April shot the woman a side glance. She was still here? Couldn't she just like... leave? But then she caught sight of the writing in her vest. Child protective-

Oh shoot

The last people she wanted to run into.

"Hamato Yoshi is currently managing something at his end, so he couldn't come today. Is there a problem with that?" Draxum's tone was cold and judging. Not even he was in the mood of getting lamented to right now.

The CPS worker glared at them. “So…Hamato Yoshi, huh? What’s the relationship there, huh?”

April had an unsettling feeling settle in her gut as the CPS worker eyed Mikey before giving him a sweet, sick smile that made April’s blood boil. “Tell me young Hamato. Who is your true parent? Is it your older brother, Raphael? Is it the rat man, Hamato Yoshi?”

Mikey didn’t say a word, his eyes distant and hollow

At that moment Draxum stepped up and got right up in the CPS worker’s face. “Get. Out. Of. Here…or I will use my vines to strangle you” Draxum raised up his hands to show his vines, claiming that he meant business

The CPS worker was frightened for a second, before she squared her expression. “Fine. I will get out of your hair, but mark my words I will find out Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo’s true guardian and I swear that I will make all your lives harder” She then huffed, spun on her heel, and dashed towards the hospital exist.

Problem successfully bullied out of the room. Great! Although April hope that the CPS worker’s threats won’t come true. She hoped and prayed that her and Raph would be able to keep their little brothers and that Splinter and Draxum won’t lose their sons

They were thanked by the receptionist for getting rid of that unpleasantry, and they were told which room Donnie was staying in. When asking about Leo, the receptionist simply told them that she couldn't give out this information yet and that Donnie was currently the only patient in that room. It was worrying, to say the least.

They left the front area and headed to the staircase- elevators weren't the preferred method of transportation- and headed up. The room was only on the second floor, so they reached it fast.

April had her hand on the doorknob before she could fully understand what she was about to do.

This would go horribly, she was sure of that.

Chapter Text

Mikey hadn't cared much for when Draxum had put him down, but he guessed he should be grateful, otherwise, he had a whole different problem to care about.
He noticed his heart doing weird things when April reached for the doorknob that would change their lives forever. It pounded. It hurt. He felt like his heart had entered a state of self-destruction. He wanted to throw himself into a vile of acid, hoping the burning would put a stop to the tumble happening behind closed curtains.

He unconsciously hid behind his big sister when it happened, when the door opened.
He wished it had been locked.
The door hid dark truths that shouldn't be revealed to him. Or anyone.
The door had no right to be opened this easily.

Mikey didn't move, and neither did the people he came with. They stopped- one might say they were frozen-

He saw four individuals stand there staring back at him, two strangers, and two he considered his family. Four people... Mikey only stared at one of them.

"...Angelo..." The softshell resting on the bed breathed out, the wind carrying his words to the door where the other stood. Mikey took a step back when the hurricane crashed into him. Whatever has been holding him together to this point was blown away from the white and grey he was facing. The color dripped from the walls and life oozed through the floor to a place far away from him. Mikey was left facing a creature he had never seen before, one he couldn't understand and it couldn’t understand him.

Mikey tried to breathe. It was getting quite hard doing so. The air was dusty and wouldn't go down his throat the right way. He felt like there was a rope around his throat, tightening with every breath he dared to take until there was no passage left to send it through. He heaved, his eyes widening and he could feel his face turn blue.

This room was suffocating him.

He had to get out.

Shouting rang out behind him, which only fired him up to run faster.
He needed to get outside. He had to breathe. He had to get away from him.

How could he- How could he do this...?
The image branded itself into his mind.
Donnie- his brother- laying on the hospital bed, motionless, and never able to move again. It was all he could see. Everywhere he looked, he saw his brother. Fragile. Hurt. Broken.

And he did it.

The noose he had around his throat tightened again, he stumbled over his own legs and plumaged down the stairs. Many new bruises began blossoming beneath his hoodie as he felt the edges of the stairs digging into his side, shell, and chest, and his brain smacked against the walls of his skull, throwing him for a loop and having him question his own name.
"Ghnnn-" he rubbed his head with his hand, feeling the new bulge forming and protruding out. He flinched when his fingers brushed over the bulge, retracting his hand like he just touched fire. He twitched with his fingers, slimy and sticky red drawing a line between them. Just another addition to his collection.

Mikey choked. If anything, the air had gotten harder to breathe.
Unsteady on his legs, Mikey got his feet back under him and he shook from the strain to remain upright. He stumbled, almost falling down the rest of his stairs, but luckily got caught by a figure. Or two. Or three. There was a small crown around him and Mikey had a hard time deciding which face belong to which body. It was blurry, his vision was dark. Words that were spoken to him were muffled and he couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from.

He bit for air like a fish out of the water, his eyes darting around to each faceless person closing in on him. He gagged at his throat closing further, the darkness around him swallowing him whole, but he remained awake. Mikey yelled at the shadows to let him leave, to stay away from him.

"Ahh-!" he screeched, his legs, shaking and weak, giving out under him multiple times as he tried to crawl away from the deeper growing shadows. He didn't want this. Let him leave! Let him out! He had to get out!

"Mikey!"
The box turtle whirled around, his face pinched up in horror, his eyes wide and afraid. No. Nononono.

Leave him alone. He couldn't- No, it was too much.
Breathing faster, Mikey set out in the direction opposite of the voice.
"Mikey, wait! Where are you going? The gate is the other way!"
'No! Get out of my head!

He ran. His legs hurt. He still ran.
No matter where he fleed to, there he was.

Donnie.

He was waiting for him with a big grin, jumping excitedly up and down. "Look Mikey, we made it! We can save Leo now! We finally made it!"
"No! S-Stay away from me! I'm not safe! Leave me alone!" Mikey begged, taking steps back until he bumped into his brother, that out of nowhere appeared behind him. Donnie grabbed him by the wrist, the cast Mikey had worn until now suddenly gone and his broken arm wasn't hurting when he was pulled along. Mikey tried to fight his way out of the death grip, pleading and begging Donnie to let him go. "Please!" He cried, yanking at his arm, Donnie ignoring him with bliss until they arrived at the giant platform on which they had met Eliza before. Mikey's breath stocked when he set foot on it, a picture flashing in his mind that he desperately tried to shake off.

"We finally made it," Donnie turned around to him, the biggest smile on his face. Too big. It was distorting the scene. Donnie still had his hands around Mikey's wrist, he couldn't pull away, not even when he tried with all his might. "Can't you see it, Mikey? We are finally here! Our entire journey led up to this! We can free Leo and be brothers again!"
Don't say those things. Please don't- Stop it. Just stop it. He didn't want to hear it.
"We couldn't have made it without you!" Donnie leaned forward and let go of Mikey's wrists. The second he was freed, however, those very same hands wrapped around him and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Mikey felt his breath giving out, his entire body deflating.
"Thank you for being here with me, Mikey."
"Donnie... stop, please..." Mikey was sobbing now, hot, wet, tears streaming down his face. His arm was moving, slowly and unwillingly lifting, and Mikey's pupils shrunk when he noticed a familiar glister of the object he held in his hands. "Donnie-" He cried, "Please let go of me. I'm not safe! I'm not safe! I'm going to hurt you, please let go of me!"
"I love you, Angelo."
"I'm sorry-!"

Mikey closed his eyes and refused to hear the gargling sound coming from his brother as he buried the blade deep inside his back. Inside his shell. He felt the tip vibrate slightly when he hit something solid, something... boney. The knife couldn't go any deeper and he pulled the blade out, knowing that the damage has been done. He didn't have to worry about anything anymore...

…Aside from the demon perching on his shoulder, smiling at him, joyous about their accomplishment.

Mikey watched Donnie collapse before him. Donnie's mismatched eyes were wide from shock, he could barely speak.
"...Why...?" Was the only word Donnie managed to choke out.
"No..." Mikey recoiled, the knife falling out of his hand, "No, nonono! I don't want to do this! I never wanted to do this-!"

His legs gave out, his knees crashed into the hard, black, asphalt beneath. He moved his hands to cover his face... and he cried.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

His lungs heaved, he felt like suffocating.

Suddenly, the floor vanished beneath him.
He felt his body fly before plunging down. There was no floor, when he came closer to the black, it swallowed him whole and let him fall for eternity. He screamed while the wind pressed against his face. He flailed with his arms, his legs kicking out for anything that could resemble solid ground.

"Mikey!"
Mikey breathed hysterically, his throat squeaking. He was on his hands and knees, the darkness leaned on his shoulders with mighty hands, "Leo...?"
Darkness was all around him. No paths and no directions, everything was the same, he couldn’t see an end nor a beginning.
"Mikey, help me!"
"Leo! Where are you?" Mikey whipped his head back and forth, "Leo!?"
"Mikey! Please!"
"Leo!" Mikey turned his entire body around, his heart beating in his ears with loud, demanding 'thuds'.

"Mikey!" Leo's melting face appeared right in front of him, causing the orange-loving box turtle to screech and scoot backward in fear.
"Mikey, please, I'm hungry!" Leo reached out towards him with cold, dead hands, "Don't let me starve, Mikey."
Mikey crept further back, his eyes unable to leave his big brother's disfigured body. Leo approached in slow steps. He had no flesh left on his body, there was no layer between his skin and bones, and the little skin he had was thin- translucent even- and tearing in multiple places, his blue hoodie hung to his body in scraps. His limbs were way longer than they should be and his head looked seconds away from falling off.
"G-Get away from me!" Mikey swatted at the abomination in panic. He still had the knife from before, though he was been certain he dropped it earlier.

Leo inched closer with a demonic cry. This wasn't his brother. This wasn't his brother. This wasn't his brother!

Cold hands- colder than any ice, colder than death itself- traveled up his chest to his face. Mikey had his eyes closed as tight as he could, and he thrust the blade forward. This wasn't his brother. This wasn't...

Leo, who had turned back to his normal self, backed away, the knife stuck in his chest and with a look of horror on his face.
Mikey followed his movements silently with his eyes, he witnessed how Leo tumbled and fell down, gasping and whining in pain.
"I don't want to die!" Leo wailed, "Why would you kill me, Mikey? Don't you love me anymore? Do you hate me enough to want to kill me?"

No.
Of course not!
He loved him, he loved his big brother with all his heart! He loved all of his big brothers with all of his heart! He couldn’t imagine his life without them!

Yet, when he opened his mouth, no such words came out.
Mikey gagged. He was unsure of how long he's been going without air but it was taking a toll on him.

He had to breathe.

"Mikey!"
Mikey ignored the screaming ringing out behind him as he left Leo in the dark.
He had to get out or else he would suffocate. He was drowning in the endless black and while nothing was there, he couldn't quite fight through the darkness that held him prisoner.
"Mikey!"
"SHUT UP!" Mikey covered his ears with his hands, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
"Mikey!"
"STOP!"

"Mikey, please, stop running! I can't keep up!"
Mikey came to a staggering hold, not because of the voice asking him to, but out of fear of what he would have crashed into otherwise.
"No," the box turtle shook his head, his hands pressed to his mouth and keeping it shut to hinder him from throwing up.

"I can't run as fast as you-"
"Stop... no..." Mikey stepped back, step after step, but Donnie only came closer. The wheels of his chair sounded more like someone running their fingernails across a chalkboard, and the wheelchair had something to it that made Mikey want to scream.
"-Because you took my legs." Donnie smiled at him.
"No, I didn't," Mikey shook his head faster, "I didn't want to!"
"You did this to me, Mikey. You ruined me."
"NO! No, no I didn't-! I... I-!" Mikey moved his hands from his mouth to his head. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The next second, Mikey found himself on the ground- whatever that meant in the darkness- with another set of weight sitting on top of him.
Donnie wrapped his fingers around Mikey's throat and began squeezing. Mikey reached his hands out to pull his big brother off him with little success.
"You ruined me," Donnie's voice took on an almost demonic tone, "Now I'm going to ruin you."

Mikey whined, his palms pressing against Donnie's chin to shove him off. When he noticed that wouldn't work, he changed his target to the hands around his throat, clawing at them and growing more desperate as time passed on.
"G-h.. o-ff!" Mikey took all the strength his body had left and yanked to the side, throwing his big brother off him. Breathing heavily, but barely getting any air in his lungs, Mikey stepped back from his big brother, one of his hands on his neck and rubbing the sore parts.

His chest was heaving, his eyes were firmly fixated on his big brother in front of him. Donnie was struggling to get up, every time he attempted he only crashed back down again. "Mikey, help! I can't get up!"
Mikey took a step back.
"Mikey, please! My legs- I can't move them! I can't move! I need your help!"
Another step away.
"Mikey! Mikey, don't leave me again! You can't leave me again!"
Mikey turned around and ran
"I HATE YOU! YOU'RE THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME! I WISH THAT WE WEREN’T BROTHERS! I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

Mikey screamed in a mixture of rage and agony.
He had to get out.
He had to get out.
He had to get out!
He had to get out!
He had to get out!

He had to get out!

He had to get out!

He had to get out!

He had to get out!

A white doorframe appeared in the distance.
As he came closer, smaller dots of red materialized beside it.
'Stop', 'Turn away', and 'Beware' was smeared across the signs, barely visible and impossible for Mikey to read as he run.

He reached the door, his hand already on the handle and turning. He yanked the door open and crashed into the outside, all the darkness coming through with him.
The sky was black, but he could see outlines of objects floating in the air. He was standing on a platform, it wasn't endless like the one he found himself on before, it had clear edges and from there, it only went down.

Slamming the door behind him, Mikey sucked in a deep breath. He got as much air into his lungs as he could, before slowly breathing out again. He breathed in. And out. And in. And out.

Mikey walked to the very edge of the platform- past more warning signs- and he looked down. It was the only light he'd seen in days, and it was beautiful.

He stared at the light for a moment, completely mesmerized by its beauty. Its sparkles reflected in his eyes, and a calling of his name rang in his ears. It lured him in, drew him closer.

"Mikey!"

Mikey took a step towards the light, new life breathing back into him.
It was... refreshing. He's been numb for so long… he forgot how it felt to be warm.

Only one more step and he could be free from all this pain. He no longer had to feel guilt over what he did.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He was sorry for many things.

He was a monster.

He hurt his brothers.

He promised to protect them, to not let anything bad happen to them...

...And yet he hurt them, worse than anyone else ever could.

Mikey stared at the light beneath him.

And he took the step forward.

For a moment, his entire body was falling, he felt the wind press against him and the light engulfing him whole. He felt alive, he felt free... Until someone grabbed him by his uninjured arm and his fall came to an abrupt stop.

"You're an idiot, you know that?!"
Mikey didn't react at first, he was too busy staring down at the hard concrete below him. 12 floors below him. He could barely see what was at the bottom, only specks of color that he guessed were trees and maybe people. He had no clue. All he knew was that he was dangling from a hospital roof with the only thing between him and certain death being someone holding him up by the arm... which began hurting from having to hold all his body weight.

"Gnn- Hey, mind helping me, or do you want us both to fall?!"
Mikey snapped out of his trance and got working. It was hard with the cast still trapping his right arm, but he made due. Adrenaline helped him get the last pull before he fell back over the roof's edge and landed on top of his savior.

He breathed in and out quickly-
Did he really- Had he tried- How did he even manage to get up here?!
Mikey stared at the safety railing the hospital had to discourage people from jumping, and he faintly remembered that hospital roofs were locked. How did he-?

"Can you get off?!"
Mikey was being thrown off his savior and he rolled to the side, his heart jumping at the sudden feeling of weightlessness, but he remained on solid grounding, and at the moment, that was all he was wishing for.
"Seriously, what were you thinking?!"
He couldn't answer. He wasn't quite sure how to answer or what to answer. Did he even have an answer?

Mikey avoided eye contact with the former foot recruit as long as possible. He didn't want her to see him like this, and he felt his face redden from embarrassment.

Cassandra tapped her foot in anticipation, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come. She sighed and kneeled beside Mikey.
"What-" Mikey's throat was dry but he tried to speak anyway, "What are you doing here?"
Cassandra chuckled, Mikey could practically hear her roll her eyes, "I brought Donnie and Leo a food basket and get well card. I suspected with their injuries, they would be here for a while and I wanted to give my support. That was until you fell on me on the stairs and ruined the flowers."

He even ruined flowers...
Why couldn't he do anything right?

"Hey, they were just flowers, I can get new ones tomorrow, it's alright," Cassandra said and put a hand on Mikey's shoulder for comfort.
He didn't deserve comfort, and so, Mikey swatted the hand away.
"I hurt them!" he blurted out, not caring much for the new tears forming in the corner of his eyes and dipping his vision in a filter of blur, "I hurt them so much!"

Cassandra hesitated before attempting to put her hand on Mikey's shoulder again. Mikey's breathing had picked up in speed and by now, there was no holding back the tears. Once Cassandra had him in a soft embrace, the box turtle broke down against her and cried his eyes out. "I hurt them! I hurt them! I- I hurt them!"
Cassandra didn't answer him. She held him and rubbed his shell, allowing the box turtle to cry out all his sorrows. She listened to him in silence, gifting him her full attention and support. And it worked.

At first, the cries worsened. They got louder and faster. Mikey began to hyperventilate and his words were drowned out in ugly sobs and his heaving through corrupted lungs. Then he slowed down, his sobbing became less frequent and his breathing returned to a normal pace.
"Better?" The former foot recruit asked while gently squeezing Mikey's shoulders, reassuring the box turtle that it was okay if he still needed some time. Mikey nodded slightly, his eyes averted from her, but he mumbled a "Y-Yeah...".

Cassandra cradled him for a moment longer, until his shaking had calmed down too and he looked stable enough to stand. He was still shaken up, though the worst of it was over, at least from the looks of it. She gently pulled him to his feet and supported him with her shoulder when he swayed and threatened to fall over. His legs were shaking, but he managed to keep himself upright with the help.

"...Why are you doing this...?" Mikey couldn't tell if it was his voice or his ears that made him sound so... drained, "...Aren't you mad at me...?"
"Mad?" Cassandra repeated with a raised brow, "At you?"
"Yeah! I- I attacked you! I made everyone distrust you! I have dragged you through the mud!"
"No, you didn't." Cassandra made him look her in the eyes, "The amulet made you do this, I know it wasn't you."
"B-But-"
"And you didn't make anyone distrust me. You told your version of what happened, I told mine. They decided to trust you over me. This isn't on you, this is on them."

Mikey's mouth hung open, his eyes widening a bit. He looked close to crying again, though it was obvious by his eyes that he was out of tears to give.
Cassandra rubbed his shell and helped him walk. They were slowly distancing themselves from the edge that had almost claimed Mikey's life.
"Do you feel well enough to tell me what happened?" She asked, but giving him the freedom to refuse to respond to her.

Mikey shuttered at the thought, pain settling back in his chest.
"I hurt them... Donnie and Leo... I hurt them badly... I-" He choked on his words, his voice hitching an octave higher, "-I stabbed them..."
"I saw that... Are they okay, all things considered?"
Mikey was thankful Cassandra was still holding him, because he felt his knees buckle and he broke down. "No-" his voice almost gave out, "-They're not okay. They're not okay... Donnie... I- I hurt him badly... I... I hit his spine..."

Cassandra let go of him, and Mikey collapsed on the floor like a sack of potatoes. He didn't blame her. She should be angry at him. She should hate him for what he did. He was a horrible, horrible monster.
"...Is he...?" She asked hesitantly, and Mikey could only nod to confirm her suspicions.
"Oh."
Oh? OH!? Was that all she had to say about that? OH?!

"They hate me... Donnie and Leo... I ruined their lives... they hate me!"
"They don't hate you. They're your big brothers-"
"I STABBED THEM! I paralyzed Donnie! I was ready to murder Leo! I- I cut into his back…his shell and wanted to- I wanted- Do you know what a bloodeagle is? I tried to do this on Leo! I almost mutilated him!"
Mikey felt a tug at his arm, but he refused to get back on his feet. He was the worst little brother in existence. His big brothers hated him. They had all the right to do so. He was a monster. He didn’t deserve forgiveness.

"Mikey, listen to me-" Cassandra grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, "This wasn't you. What attacked your brothers wasn't you! Answer me this, did you want to hurt them?"
"N-No! I would never-"
"See? You were forced to do it, you had no choice in the matter."

His mouth trembled. Actually, his entire body trembled. He sobbed, he was out of tears but somehow his body still managed to make his vision blurry. "I- I tried to fight it-" he hiccupped, his voice barely holding out, "I tried to drop the knife- I tried to warn him- I- I begged him to run away before I could hurt him, but I couldn't speak... I... I tried to fight it- I- I tried so hard- But it wouldn't let me- And... And now they're hurt! And they hate me...!"

Mikey buried his head in his hands.
His chest hurt so bad. His throat hurt even worse.
"We wanted to visit them but- I can't, I just can't. I can't! I can't face them. Not now-"
'-Not ever,' he added in silence.

Cassandra stared at him long and thoughtfully. Mikey couldn't tell what she was thinking about, she was probably judging him for being such a horrible little brother.
"But you tried," she said eventually

Mikey peaked up at that. "What?"
"You tried, you still care about your brothers that despite everything you've been through, you at least tried to face them."
"But I can't face them! I- I saw Donnie on the bed and- And I ran-"

Mikey dug his face deeper into his hands.
Not only was he a monster, but he was also a coward.
Cassandra slowly untangled him and freed his head from his hands. "You tried, and that is all that matters. You still care about them, do you? Then you can try again tomorrow. Your big brothers will understand."
"They won't," Mikey shook his hands, and only by Cassandra's interference did he prevent himself from reburying his face again, "No one understands- Not April, not CJ, not Raph, not the twins... They don't know-! They will never understand!"

"Would you care to stay over at my place tonight?"
That took him by surprise. Mikey looked up at his friend- maybe the only one he had left- with tired and reddened eyes.

An idea suddenly struck Mikey
"Gentry... Do you know how to get her back...?" He asked. His own pain vanished a bit at the thought of what Cassandra had to go through. From what they knew, Gentry might never come back. Everyone was so focused on the twins... They forgot that a life had already been lost.
Cassandra cleared her throat, averting her eyes from the clouds and redirecting them to the floor, "If she's in the in-between, I should be able to get her back. I just- Just need to set up a few more things for the séance," she said, and under her breath, she added, "-A second person for the friendship magic would be helpful."

It was said loud enough for Mikey to pick it up, "What about April? She is Gentry’s friend too”
At that, Cassandra's face contorted into something sour. "I don't want April there," she explained. Mikey understood, and he looked away, "I'm sorry."
"Again, it isn't your fault. April made her decision. I don't blame you, I blame her... I just don't feel a friendship bond is going to bring Gentry back if the friendship is... well, you know."
"Yeah, I understand," Mikey replied.

They sat together in shared silence.
Their problems couldn't be further away from each other, yet they were the same
Perhaps there was a person that understood Mikey.

"You sure it's okay if I stay with you? Just- Just for a bit?" Mikey asked, more like pleaded. There wasn't a place for him to go otherwise.
"Of course, and I know that CJ will be ok with it too” Her expression then turned sad “Although I don’t think my son is talking to me after…you know everything”

Now it was time for Mikey to place a hand on her shoulder, "We’ll figure this out."
"Yeah, we will," Cassandra replied and likewise put a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder. They engaged in a quick hug and then got to their feet.
"Come on" she said, "Let's get you home."

...

...

…

"Mikey, wait!" April called out and rushed after Mikey. She was much slower than the running box turtle, but eventually, the bobs with her crutch quieted down in the distance and it got obvious she wasn't coming back for a bit.

Donnie listened to the fading of thuds, his shaking not stopping even after the sound completely vanished.
"...Angelo..." he somehow felt much more tired now than he did before, and it was evident in his voice that he had no strength to speak, "...Don't leave me... again... come back..."

He stared at the door longingly.
He stared at it just like he stared at the locked door back at Gentry’s house.
He waited for his baby brother to return.
And nothing happened.

How could he- how could they... HOW DARE THEY?!

"Lock the door." He croaked, never avoiding his eyes.
"Lock the door," he repeated, his voice shaking and about to break, "Don't let them back in."
If they didn't want to see him, fine! Then they shouldn't be allowed to! He was done being abandoned!

"We can't do that-" The nurse tried to explain before he was cut off.
"Lock it! I don't want to see them!"
"Donnie..." Raph's voice softened and he reached out to pat his little brother who was visibly shaking
"No! Don't touch me!" The softshell yelled in return and yanked his head away, followed by a wince coming from the teenager. His chest still hurt, heck, it was burning! He tried to concentrate on that pain. It was a much nicer feeling than the aching his heart gave off.

Donnie shut his eyes and lowered his head until it was tugged between his shoulders. He felt awful.
"I don't want to see them," he mumbled quietly under his breath, his shaking growing worse.

The room watches this event unfold in silence. It was getting crowded.
Donnie kept his head facing away from them. He wanted to see no one right now. Raph was an exception, honestly, he wasn't sure what to do if it wasn't for him. The nurse was nice, but the two social workers- currently only one with him- made that small room he stayed in feel like a cell.

"...Donnie..."
Okay, maybe there was one person besides his big brother he was willing to see. And it wasn’t his twin, even though he was ready to see him. He wanted his twin so badly right now

No, it was the other person that was in the room with them. Donnie very slowly turned his head toward the voice, toward his honorary brother/nephew. He blinked at him with moist eyes, "Hi CJ," he rasped out and he didn't border to hide the sorrow in his tone. He would have waved CJ over to him if he had the possibility. Instead, he gave him a soft look that roughly translated to 'I'm in pain. No, not the physical type'. He's been using that look on Raph ever since he woke up and he still didn't feel any better. Maybe CJ could do a difference. He doubted it.

CJ walked up to his bed and sat down on one of the corners, away from any cables and giving Donnie his needed space. He leaned forward slightly, wrapping his arm around Donnie in a side hug and pulling him down to his shoulder.
"Careful!" The future boy flinched when the nurse pulled his arm away from Donnie. He was ready and already threw out his hand to land a karate chop on the nurse's neck and have him knocked out, when Raph blocked the attack with his arm, saving the day from more disaster.

Raph cleared his throat and then helped the nurse to loosen CJ's steel tight grip on Donnie, "You can't move him that much, it isn't good for him."
Donnie meanwhile threw them pleading looks to just leave CJ like this. It was nice being held. It hurt laying in the same position all day. It was painful that no one could embrace him without his chest screaming out in agony. Not even Raph could hold him without Donnie being in some kind of pain. Screw his broken ribs and healing stab wound, he wanted to move! He wanted to be held. He wanted to curl up and snuggle against his big brother's plastron, crawl under Raph's arms just like when he was younger, and he absorbed his share of Donald's warmth.

No, what he really wanted was to crawl up next to Leo and have his twin hold him and hug away his fears and nightmares. He wanted to bury himself in Leo’s arms, feeling the warmth of his hoodie, breath in his scent, and listen to the gentle heartbeat that had calmed him down since he was a turtle tot

CJ lowered his head, "Oh," he mumbled, "Okay, I'll be more careful," and he went back to touching Donnie’s shoulder.
The touch was so light he didn't even feel it. He could have just as well not done it at all.
The loneliness hurt. He felt so- so numb…

Holding tears back was hard, it was the hardest thing to do and in a cruel twist of faith, it was also the only thing he could do. The last thing he had control over.
He didn't know how to eat on his own, or shower... he couldn’t even go to the toilet by himself anymore, not to mention that he now lacked the ability to feel when he even had to go there. The accident from that morning was horrible. He felt so ashamed. He hadn't known- He hadn't felt... anything. It was all... gone...

-And when they began to clean him...

...He just wanted to die...

Some of that want hadn't worn off yet.

He lost control over his tear ducts again.

This wasn't fair.
All he wanted was to move. Be it just his toes or fingers. He wanted to feel something that wasn't his stiff neck, wasn't his sore throat, wasn't his aching chest... That wasn't his broken heart…That wasn’t his soul crying out and yearning for his other half

"CJ..." he croaked out whilst attempting to gulp down his sobs, "...Can you give me my juice box please...?" There was still some left from before, he hadn't finished the second package yet and there were still 5 packages standing to the side of his bed. They tasted good. Grape juice was nice.

"O-Of course!" CJ jumped at the chance to do something, even if it was something as little as holding a juice box. His hold was anything but steady, as he was shaking quite badly actually.
Donnie made sure to sip as loud as he could.
No one spoke up about it.
The slurp was much better than silence.

Silence.
Why was barely anyone talking to him?
Was he not worth speaking to?
He almost snarled at them, the straw of his juice distracting him enough to prevent such an act from taking place.

He wanted them out. All of them.
...Even Raph. Even the nurse.
If no one wanted to be with him then he didn't want to be with them either!

There was only one person he wanted to be with.
One person.
One very special person.
One he did all this for.
One that was being kept away from him.

One person that he loved more then anything else in the world

He wanted Leo so bad that it hurt!

Donnie stopped his slurping. The juice box was empty.
He almost spat out the straw when he was finished, suddenly the taste of plastic in his mouth made him feel sick.

"...You... really can't feel... anything...?"
Donnie shot his honorary brother/nephew a glance.
CJ had moved a bit further down on the bed, and he had one of his hands on Donnie's leg, squeezing it.

Donnie felt something new bubble up in his chest.
It was brooding, it was raging, it made him heat up, and he wanted to throw him off.
Did he think he was FAKING it?
Did the others think so as well?!

"No, I can't." He hissed and leveled every single person with a glare.
He wouldn't make a joke about something like this. How little did they think of him?

"A-And now?" CJ kept asking, his hand moving a bit further up, and from the way his fingers moved around Donnie’s upper leg, the softshell guessed CJ was squeezing harder this time.

No. No, he wasn't feeling it. He knew that he should be feeling something but he wasn't feeling it! He would never feel it again!
"No." Donnie hissed again, this time more threatening.

Others understood the message. CJ, however, remained oblivious. He moved his hand up a bit further again and squeezed, though before he could ask that question, Donnie cut him off, "No, CJ, I can't feel it! I CAN'T FEEL MY DAMN LEGS! JUST STOP ASKING!"

His eyes were getting wet again.
He's been drinking enough of that grape juice and he wouldn't be surprised if he cried that stuff.

CJ finally got the message, though even if he hadn't, Draxum was stepping up to remove him from the bed. The future boy didn't fight back. He looked apologetic, but mostly he just looked hurt. Donnie didn't care. He decided to not look at him.
"Leave. I don't want you here," he said bitterly, those words left a foul taste on his tongue. He never expected him to say those words to his honorary brother/nephew, but things in his life changed.

Draxum was turning to leave, holding CJ by the shoulders, who hid his face in Draxum’s side. Everyone else remained, which was a big problem for Donnie. "I mean all of you. I want to be alone."
He looked at Raph, he looked at the nurse, and he especially looked at that CPS worker at the table. He wanted them out. Every one of them.

They didn't move.
Either they were too shocked or they didn't respect his wishes. Donnie didn't care for the reason. He. Wanted. Them. Out.
"Out!" he repeated himself with a bit more vigor in his voice, "GET OUT!" Screaming was the only thing he could do, and he utilized that. He yelled at them, cursed at them, used words that he promised his big brother and dad to never use, anything just so that they would leave him alone.

Raph eventually stepped back. He looked heartbroken and mumbled an apology, but he respected Donnie's wish. Who didn't respect his request was the CPS worker. Only after the nurse threatened to call security did she get her butt off the chair and walked out. She did not say a single word, not while in the room nor while leaving. Donnie followed her with a spiteful stare, "And stay out-" he hissed.

The door was closed to separate the unwanted guests from the hospitalized teenager, though one person remained in the room.
"I want to be alone," Donnie reeled in some of his rage, but another explosion wasn't waiting for long, he rather not have anyone push him any further. The nurse simply stared at him with sad eyes.
"I'm assigned to look after you," he said, calm and collected, "But I can give you 20 minutes if you want that."
"I want that," Donnie approved. He wanted to be alone for longer but he took what he got. The nurse sighed, reached behind Donnie, and retracted his arm with a remote that was connected to his bed. It was a remote. It had a few arrow buttons on it, and some other stuff, most notably, a big red button with an exclamation mark on it.

"If you feel unwell or need anything, press this button," the nurse pointed at the red button, "And I'll come."
Donnie almost laughed. 'Press' a button? Was he for real?
Yes, he was, just not in the ordinary sense. Donnie watched as the nurse pulled up that side table they had used for his food earlier, and he positioned it once again just in front of Donnie's face. He placed the remote on it, the red button facing towards him. He could press it with his snout if he leaned forward enough. That- That could work.

Donnie turned his head to thank the nurse, but when he looked up, he noticed he was already leaving.

The door clicked shut, and Donnie waited a few more seconds until the footsteps faded in the distance.

He was alone.
He was... alone.

He sniffled.
Yeah, alone, he wanted that.
He got his wish.
Those people didn't care about him, they shouldn't be by his side.

He wished Leo was with him...he wished his other half was right here by his side. Like he was supposed to be

Without him, Donnie felt empty

Donnie allowed his head to fall back, the pillow feeling much harder than when his big brother was with him. He breathed in and out deeply- one of his windows was open to let some fresh air in- and tried to expand his chest as much as the pain would allow it. It gave him something to focus on that wasn't loneliness. To not focus on the hollow feeling that was inside of his chest on not having his twin next to him

Tears rolled down his face.
He tried to focus on breathing.
It was the only thing he could do.
He wiggled his shoulders. It was hard, but he got some movement out of it.

A cold breeze was carried from the window to his face. He felt it rustling his skin, the cool feeling rather calming. He only felt it in his face, a bit in his chest. He should have felt it in his legs...

Donnie began chewing on his tongue.
Breathing wasn't enough to distract him from the pain.
He wanted to move.
He wanted to leave this bed.
He was uncomfortable.

Banging his head against the pillow, he forced his chest to double over in pain. He gagged at the discomfort he was causing himself, he felt his lunch crawl into his lungs. He gagged again, barely able to swallow down the bile, which ended up making him feel worse than before.

He wouldn't be able to clean himself up if that had happened...
He couldn't do anything anymore.
Maybe he would never leave this bed...

...More tears sprung into his eyes, Donnie let them fall as he slammed his head forward and smashed his snout against the big red button on the remote. Once wasn't enough, he pressed at it twice, thrice- he was sure he was destroying the innocent object.

He was still pressing on it when the door flung open and the nurse rushed to his side. Donnie didn't notice his presence until he was pulled away from the remote and his head was placed back on the pillow, which had gotten a lot softer again.

The softshell stared up at the nurse with begging eyes.
"I don't want to be alone anymore..." He cried, having all his emotions surrendered to weakness. He couldn't hold himself together anymore. He just wanted it to end.

"Do you want me to let your family back in?" He was asked. Had he looked up, he would have seen that said family were already creeping their way back into the room, looking at him with concerned eyes.
Donnie's voice left him, so he resorted to shaking his head.
He still didn't want to see them. He didn't need them, he wasn't alone anymore.

The nurse nodded at him and left his bedside for a moment. Donnie could hear the door closing again, a new but welcome stillness settling down.
It was getting easier to ignore the pain in his chest.

"I'm scared," Donnie spoke after the silence fulfilled its purpose. He sobbed, and he pressed his head against his pillow as hard as he could.
"That's alright, you're allowed to be scared," The nurse sat down beside him, on the chair that Raph had used before, "This is a scary situation."
"...What- What is going to happen to me now...?"
"For now, let's focus on getting you healed as much as possible, after that, you have to decide for yourself what you want to do."
"...There is nothing for me to do... I can't move..."

"...Not now, you can't. And you won't be able to move on your legs, but you will be able to move again, that, I can promise you."
"What about my arms?" Donnie sniffled another sob. They were coming in a lot harder now that he was allowing them to.
"They're tired, but they are fine. Give them until tomorrow."
"And my hands...?"
"They're hurt a little bit more than that, but if you want to move them, then one day, you will."
"...And my legs...?" He was crying again, harder now. His crying spells lasted shorter with each one he had, maybe he was too exhausted to keep going.

The nurse looked had him sadly, "This is what you can't get back. I'm sorry."
Donnie sobbed harder, he tried to wipe his tears on his pillow, which worked to varying degrees of success. "So- So what will come of me now...?"

His reply came in the form of a sigh and an explanation. The second of those he wasn't ready for.
"You have to learn how to use a wheelchair, how to move around in it, how to get in and out of one-"

Donnie listened with tears in his eyes. With every sentence he was told, he wanted to scream louder. It wasn't just the wheelchair bits that made him feel sick. That little accident he had that morning? His inability to control his bladder? That would repeat. Donnie began wailing when he was explained how his bowel management would change. First, he was told that regaining full control over his bladder wasn't a possibility, then he was explained what to do in the future to somewhat limit his 'accidents' from occurring. He screamed in horror when he was told what to do to get his- uhm 'stool' out. He screamed even louder when he was told that until he had control of his hands back, someone else had to do that for him. He was pretty sure that under normal instances, this act would be considered rape.

That was the point when Donnie couldn't take it anymore. He begged the nurse to stop explaining things. He rather not know. It had been bad enough before, but now, it was- just horrible.

He wanted to ask for another juice box, drinking his sorrows away was the only thing he had the strength for, but the thought about how that juice would eventually leave his body made him hold that request. Maybe he would just stop drinking altogether. Then he never had to go to the toilet again.

The subject was changed- thank goodness!
Not entirely changed, they were still talking about his legs, but not about how he would manage the bathroom from now on.

"You can't move your legs, but they still have to be moved. You might not feel it, but your blood is still circulating through them, and your muscles need to be exercised to contain themselves," he was told, "Once your ribs are better, I can show your big brother and dad how to do those. One day, you can do them yourself…but for now, I'm going to move them. Are you okay with that?"
He didn't have a choice, but it was nice he was asked.

The nurse kneeled on the end of the bed, the entire mattress sinking lower when he did so. He started with Donnie's right leg, bending it, pulling it, even massaging it a bit. Of course, Donnie didn't feel a thing. He watched the movement, imagining how it should feel. For a second there, he even managed to trick his brain into feeling it. It was absurd. For a moment, he thought he could feel-! And then it disappeared. He swore he felt it! He swore there had been something!

Donnie swallowed down another sob before it came out.
He swore he felt it- He... he swore...
"You- You're really good at this," the softshell spoke with little vigor left in his voice.
The nurse chuckled, "It comes with experience. You'll get good at it too, with time."
"So, you had more patients like me?"
"Only a few, though usually their parents or significant other get to do the exercise. I'm only there to show them how to do it."
"Then how did you become so good at it?"
"One of those patients was my daughter."

Donnie blinked at the nurse, who had let go of his right leg and repeated the steps on his left one. It was bizarre, the conversation he had was... calming? Distracting? He couldn't put it in words, but it made him feel less… alone.
"You have a daughter?" He asked intrigued.
"Two, actually," came the answer, "My older one got in a bad accident when she was six. She's been paraplegic since then."
"Six...? That's... young..."
"I would say you are never old enough to become paralyzed. But sometimes, it happens, and we must live with it. All we others can do is give them our support and make sure they can live a life worth living for."

"...Is your daughter... happy?"
Maybe he was getting too personal with his questions.
The nurse stopped, finished with his work on his legs, and leaned back, "Sure she is, why wouldn't she be? She's smart, kind, hard-working, and she has a family that loves her unconditionally. I think she is very happy."
"Even though she can't walk?"
"You don't need your legs to find happiness in life. Maybe it's a bit harder to find it, but you can certainly get there if you don't give up."
"...Will I be happy...?" Ouch. That question was harder than expected.
"Of course, the world is open for you to explore, and no one can take that away from you."

Donnie sniffled.
Those might be the first happy tears he cried since his twin came out of that portal, bruised and beaten but alive.

He can find happiness again... that was what he had needed to hear.

"It's alright," the nurse smiled at him warmly, "Take your time, go at your own pace. It will be worth it in the end."
"Thank you," Donnie sobbed.
"You're welcome. Now, what do you say about finding out what your family brought you, huh?"

His attention was directed to the duffle bag Draxum had left them before she left the room. He hadn't even noticed it was there until it was pointed out to him. The bag was pulled up and placed down on some free space on his bed next to his legs. The zipper was opened quickly, and the first thing Donnie saw were his purple hoodies…and Donnie was sure that he saw a hint of blue in there as well. Donnie wanted to put one of those hoodies on more then anything.

There was only one problem…

"Can you help me put them on...?" Donnie asked shyly. Another thing he wouldn't do on his own anymore, but maybe one day, he could. This was temporary, he told himself. He could get his arms back.

His request was accepted, and they searched through the bag before they pulled out one of Donnie’s biggest hoodies. Upon his request, the nurse gave one of the few blue hoodies that was in the bag. The hoodie was placed beside Donnie’s head and Donnie could smell the faint scent of his twin and a sense of calm washed over him

"I... I never asked you for your name," Donnie said while his arms were carefully lifted out of the slings and the hospital gown was pulled off his shoulders.
"Hm? Oh, you can call me Noah," the nurse hummed in response. The hoodie was a bit tight but better than what he had worn before. His arms were placed back in the slings and the hospital gown got discarded to the side.

"So, what will happen now?" Some confidence returned to Donnie's vocals, his throat wasn't hurting as much as before.
"Dinner will be served in a few hours, aside from that, today will be boring for you. Maybe consider going to bed early, I'm sure it will do good."
"Will you stay with me during the night?"
Noah sighed but smiled, "I can't, but I'll be back here in the morning, I promise. Another nurse will check up on you at the beginning of the night shift to make sure everything is okay, and she will check up on you again in the morning."

"Then... When will you be back?"
He didn't want to be alone...
"At ten. Don't worry, the night nurse is a kind person. She only steals cookies from bad children, so you don't have to worry."
Donnie rolled his eyes. He had no cookies to give anyway!

"If you want to, I can give you some medicine to help you sleep. The first night in the hospital can be a bit rough, and tomorrow will be a big day."
Donnie tilted his head slightly, "Why?" he asked, "What's going to happen tomorrow?"
"Your big brother hasn't told you? Your brother…sorry your twin is stable. He will be transferred here tomorrow, maybe even before my shift starts."

Leo.
Of course!
How could he be so daft?

"My twin... He's..." he broke off. No, of course, Leo wasn't okay. It was a stupid thing to ask. "How bad is it?" was a much better question.
Noah hesitated before answering, almost like he didn't want to tell. Donnie held his breath for the entirety of it. He was told the rough outlines. That Leo's wounds were bad but they would heal. That he was malnourished but they had ways to feed him safely. That he had internal damage done to his organs but it can be helped if they find the right donor.
"He will heal." Donnie concluded. Leo would heal... Leo would be alright... Donnie breathed out shakingly. He didn't suffer for nothing. Leo was fine. It would be fine.

"I noticed that besides your big brother Raphael and your twin Leonardo, there was another turtle" Nick stated, which caught Donnie a bit by surprise, "The one with the orange mask earlier was also your brother?"
"Y-Yeah, that was Mikey, he's my…our baby brother. Though his full name is Michelangelo"
"Hm…Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo. I’m assuming your dad named you after Renaissance artists?"
"...Yeah. Our dad was a big fan of the Renaissance artists and he wanted to name us after them. Though we don’t like being called by our full names all that much. Our nicknames suit us better and we have nicknames for each other"
"What nicknames do you have for your brothers?"
Donnie chuckled, "When I was younger, I used to call Raph…Raphie, although that is a nickname that we all used for him. I now used the nickname Raphaela. With Leo and Mikey, I basically took the end of their first names. So Mikey is Angelo and Leo…Leo is Nardo." Donnie looked wishful for a moment “And I would never say this to his face…but I always loved calling him Nardo. It was just something special that was specifically for him. He…he even calls me Tello sometimes. That’s how I know that we are truly twins”

"Your brothers…and especially your twin must be really glad to have you."
"...You think...?" He had trouble believing it.
"I'm sure of it. You're a good kid…or turtle in your case, and you're a good brother. And from the way you talk about Leonardo, I’m sure that you are also a good twin. I'm sure they are very proud of you."
He still didn't believe it.

He wasn’t sure how Leo and Raph felt about him
To say the least, Mikey wasn't proud of him.
And Donnie wasn't proud of Mikey either.
The aching in his chest returned. It hurt. It hurt badly.

Noticing the softshell's discomfort, Noah tapped Donnie on the shoulder, "Let's not draw a frown, alright? How about we skip some time until dinner comes? We don't have many channels here, but I'm sure there is something you would like. Do you watch some Jupiter Jim?"
"I- I do-"

Wait.

WAIT!

"I have a TV!?"

Chapter Text

“What do you mean 'missing'?" Raph whisper-yelled while he and the rest of the group raced down the hallway. April was falling behind due to her broken leg and having to run this very same hallway up and down already three times. "I searched the entire hospital for him, I can't find him anywhere!" She replied, huffing and clearly out of breath.

Great.

That was just perfect.

Donnie lost all feeling in his legs, they barely knew anything about Leo, and now Mikey was missing!? In all honesty, Raph was about to laugh at how absurdly bad his luck was.

"He has to be here somewhere!" CJ chipped in from the front of the search party. Draxum was right beside him- the goat yokai was the only one calm and most likely the reason why neither Raph nor April had begun flagging down every bystander asking if they had seen a turtle dressed in orange with a cast on his arm. If there was one thing they didn't need, it was unwanted attention. It would just get them into more trouble. Although, they were already deep in trouble that Raph honestly wondered if anything else can go wrong.

"Excuse me-"

Oh for goodness sake- He shouldn’t have asked.

Raph stiffened up and he tried with an obviously fake smile to not let his frustration show. He didn't have the nerve to deal with that headache now, he would much rather find Mikey and get back to helping Donnie. But no, things weren't that easy. Of course they weren't. They never are.

He forcefully grinned at the social worker walking up to him. At least it was only one of them- undoubtedly the more annoying one, but only one nonetheless. Already as she walked up to him Raph knew this would be an unpleasant encounter for sure, and he much rather skips ahead to the end of it.
He held back a rude "What do you want?" and gave her the first turn to speak up. Big mistake.

"I heard your brother kicked you out," She said smugly, and Raph already wanted to shove her. Word apparently goes around fast here.
"He wanted to rest. Can you blame him?" Raph countered and passive-aggressively motioned her to step out of his way. He was trying to sidestep her, but that woman just got into his face again. "Is that so?" she sneered, "Sounds to me like he got sick of your presence."

Raph slowly counted to 10 in his head.
When that didn't work he counted to 20.
Then 30.
He wondered how much he had to pay to hit a social worker.

Raph narrowed his eyes at the woman and he felt the presence of his big sister next to him. He made sure to roll his eyes exaggeratedly to indicate what kind of person they had to deal with and the rest caught on to what was happening. Although outnumbered, the CPS worker seemed not impressed. She sneered and crossed her arms, "Aren't you missing someone?"

The only one they were missing was Mikey.
Raph narrowed her eyes at her, "What did you do to him?" And this time, he didn't hide the poison in his voice. If this woman did anything to his baby brother- Oh, she should be glad she was already in the hospital, because when he was finished with her-
The woman shrugged and pulled out a notebook, "You acting like you care about those turtles is cute and all, but I think we both know it's already too late for play pretend. What we got here so far is major child abuse, child endangerment, as well as child neglect, alongside smaller charges.

"Woah Lady," April was now stepping forth, half leaning on her crutch so she had both of her hands to accompany her in gestic, "What nonsense are you talking about here?
The social worker looked April up and down. "And what is your relationship here?" she asked, disgust slipping in her tone.
“I’m their adoptive big sister” April declared. The social worker narrowed her eyes at April. “You’re their big sister?” "Yeah? So what?!" April retorted, now growing a bit agitated. Raph was happy to see he wasn't the only one who she was getting on the nerve of.

Before things could further escalate, Draxum pushed herself between Raph, April, and the social worker and towered over that woman with his arms crossed. The rays of the setting sun were just vanishing behind him, giving his face a look shrouded with shadows and making him look much scarier than he already did when he was mad.

The social worker took a step back and if the look on her face was anything to go by, she was ready to make a run for it. Good.
Draxum leaned down to her with an expression that indicated niceness but was everything but that. "If I haven't misheard you before, you said you know something about our missing member? Would you care to elaborate on where he is and why you haven't done anything when you saw a child walking around all alone? I'm sure your superiors would love the story of how one of their lackeys let a child wander around without a guardian, especially if said child was- how did you say it- a victim of 'abuse' and ' neglect'?"

The social worker- now scared and shaking like a leaf- took another step back, "Uh... Uh... He... He wasn't alone! He was walking out of the hospital with a girl who had a buzz cut! He looked to be alright and like he was going with her on his own accord!"
"Girl with a buzz cut? Was she perhaps wearing a tank top and jogger pants?"
"What is it to you?"
Draxum turned his head to the other's, "It's Cassandra" he said, and everyone nodded in recognition. At least that meant Mikey was safe and had a warm place to stay for the night, but Raph would have to have a stern talking to his baby brother about leaving without telling anyone, even if the circumstance were unfortunate. He would have to call Cassandra at some point to make sure that his baby brother was ok. Maybe CJ can go by and visit to see if the two of them were doing good

Raph was happy with the conclusion he got, and he was ready to leave the hospital- visitation hours were almost over and he much needed a dose of rest for the hard and work-filled days that were to come. He turned to leave, and so did his sister and CJ, but Draxum had unfinished business that needed to be taken care of.

"Also, I would highly advise you to drop the charges against us, unless, of course, you're planning on... consequences."
"Are you threatening me?" The social worker, who had tied to sneak away in the moment in which Draxum hadn't been looking, stopped in her action and stared up at the goat yokai with resentment.
Draxum scoffed, "Oh no, of course not, I'm warning you."
That seemed to set the woman off, "I should be warning you! I have enough evidence against this family, if I want to, I could take them away by the end of the day."

Raph felt his fists clenching. There was no way that he was losing his baby brothers. He could never live in a world without him

A hand was firmly clasped over his shoulder to hold him back, but his limbs were trembling massively with anger, and his face was bright red.

Good for him, Raph had much better control over his emotion than Raph did. The goat yokai got right in the face of the CPS worker, "If you dare to even attend this, I will see you in court for assault, harassment, and attempt to sexually harass a child and adult." Draxum said coldly, taking proud note of the hard shallow the woman did at her tone.
"Y-You can't do that, I didn't do any of those things!"
"But who do you believe the judge will believe? You, or the former most popular fighter in the Battle Nexus? I’m sure even Big Mama can vouch for us, knowing the history between the two. You can try to bring this to court, but believe me, you're not going to win this case, and if you know what's good for you, you will drop all charges against us. Are we clear?" In the end there, Draxum took on a tone so deadly, so dangerous, that the woman turned whiter than a ghost, it was like all the color dripped from her face and she stared literally death in the eyes. Her mouth was opened, yet, no words were coming out.

When Draxum finally backed up from the woman, she wasted no time running for the hills, only setting dust remaining in the spot where she had remained moments before. Draxum turned around with a satisfied huff, declaring, "She won't bother us anymore" and "We can go home now”

Raph, as well as the rest of the people present, was for the lack of a better term, speechless. He had never seen a person run this fast, and that was saying a lot considering he was a ninja turtle. He also made sure to have a mental note to never ever get on Draxum's bad side

He did give Draxum a big hug, a tear rolling down his face as he thanked Draxum for saving his family. For the chance to keep his baby brothers home with him. Draxum gave Raph a pat on the back, but his smile said that he was grateful to help his oldest son

With that crisis dealt with- hopefully for good- Raph stumbled over to the bench he had slept on the night before.
"What are you doing?" April had gotten a few steps ahead before noticing the absence of her brother, and she turned around with a questioning brow, "Draxum’s lab is in the other direction."
"I'll stay here, visiting hours are almost over and I want to be here when they open up tomorrow."
"Oh no, you're not sleeping on a bench. Is this where you spend last night?"
Raph shrugged which for him meant as much as a "Yes" to the latter. His big sister huffed and rolled her eyes before stumbling over to the bench and prying him off, "I didn't want to say it Raphie, but you look horrible. You're not sleeping another night outside. Come, we'll find a way to get you back here in the morning. For now, let's head back to Draxum’s lab and get you a shower."

Raph found that he didn't really want to disagree with her, but it was hard to hold back that she herself looked equally awful. The past week left no one in a good shape, and maybe now that it was all over, their conditions have only worsened. Defeated and tired, Raph gave in to the temptation of sleeping in a heated room and not another night exposed to the winds and rain. There was only one more thing he had to do though- He felt the 10 dollars he had been given by the nurse in his pocket, and he clenched the dollar note tightly

"I just need to make a small purchase first”

...

...

...

Donnie pried his eyes open against the sun shining through the curtains and into his face.

Noah hadn't lied when telling him sleeping in the hospital would suck. And the sleeping pills he had gotten also only helped a little. He had fallen asleep the first time quite easily, but he had woken up like 4 times during the night, and each time it had got harder to fall back asleep and stay asleep. He wondered how many hours in total he'd been to dreamland that night and whether it outweighed the hours he spent awake.

There was no clock in his room, making it impossible to tell the time, however, the sun was getting up, so he guessed it couldn't be too early. Donnie blinked the tiredness out of his eyes and tried to rub them with his hand.

Oh yeah, right... that...

The softshell stared down at his four immobile limbs. He stared daggers at his legs, trying to move them as if sleep was some kind of miracle medication and they would twitch now or something. Of course, that didn't happen. They remained motionless.
Donnie growled and drew his head back against the pillow.

Damnit! Damn all of it!

Did he have to spend every morning like this from now on? Hoping his legs would suddenly work again? They explained to him that won't happen, he had to stop believing it would anyway. They were gone. Gone! GONE!

Donnie chewed on his tongue, the pain made him flinch but he decided it was better than to spend another morning crying.
Gosh- why was he getting so emotional? They were just legs! He can live without them! It could have been worse- it could have- He could have lost more, yeah. He had no right to feel this awful. He saved Leo's life and got rid of the curse. If anything, he should feel amazing...

...but he didn't.

He sniffled and turned his head to get deeper into his pillow.

Leo… He did this all for Leo. He was paralyzed for his twin

Donnie stared to his side, at a wall with nothing there. They wanted to transfer Leo to his room today. He was happy to finally see his twin again… but he was also scared. Really scared. What would Leo think of him? Would he be… proud? Disappointed? Guilty? Donnie redirected his gaze to the ceiling. Things were confusing. He didn’t want to think about them.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

If only there was a way to make everything unhappen, to put him back to zero before all those horrible things took place, he would take that in a heartbeat. He sighed. All he truly wanted was for things to go back to normal. He wanted his legs to move and for Leo to be okay. But this would be a fairytale ending, and reality was far from the stories Raph, and Splinter whenever he wasn’t in his state of depression, used to tell him every night to teach him about morals or something.

His heart ached at the thought of his big brother and dad.
He missed them. He can’t remember when was the last time he saw his dad and he regretted throwing his big brother out of his room. He had just wanted some room to breathe, but now there was more air in the room than he alone could consume.

Donnie quivered and sunk deeper into his bed. That wasn't what he wanted to think about, not at all. He doesn't want to remember the looks of pity and sorrow on the faces of his family. He couldn't bare the desperation he heard in their voices. He hated how they were too scared to move closer to his bed because of what they might see. He just wanted someone to hug him and tell him that they will support him through the change he was going through. He wanted to hear that they still love him.

Knock Knock

Donnie's eyes fluttered open "Nardo?" he called out, stretching his neck to get a good few at the door. It opened, his heart stopped for a moment, and a nurse walked in. He remembered her from the day before. It was the lunch lady, rolling the same trolley as before.

"Breakfast." She announced as she rolled the trolly over to him, "I'll get you an assistant to help you eat. Is there anything specific you would like to drink? Hot chocolate, tea...?"
"I'll take the tea," Donnie answered with almost a rasp. He didn't want to say he was disappointed by not seeing his twin or at least Noah come through the door, though he guessed he was at least a little hungry, so it wasn't too bad. Although, he didn't like the idea of having to get fed. Again. This time by a stranger.

The lunch lady placed his breakfast- two slices of bread, a singular slice of cheese, ham, and a small package of butter as well as a spoonful of jam, all nicely arranged on a medium-sized plate- down on his bedtable and then left with the trolly, promising that he would get his drink and a feeding assistant soon. Donnie coughed up a "Thank you" and watched the door close, ultimately leaving him alone again.

Maybe he should have asked her for the time.
He faintly remembered Noah stating that his shift would start at ten. That couldn't be too far from now, or so he hoped.

Five or so minutes later, another person enters a room, and he brought a steaming mug of tea with him. Donnie cringed inwardly. He really didn't like all those random people walking into his room like this. It was honestly absurd how hospital rooms always remain unlocked. Anyone could just walk in! He guessed he could call himself lucky that no one with a revenge wish against his family came in and took advantage of his helplessness. It was a scary thought, and it deeply terrified him.

Nah. It should be laughable.

After coming face to face with a tyrannical alien hellbent on destroying his world and winning, one might think there weren't many things that could scare him anymore.

Though he might be more scared than he had ever been before.

Donnie told the nurse what toppings he wanted for his bread and asked to get one of his juice packages while they wait for his tea to cool down so that he wouldn't burn his tongue. Embarrassment flushed red on his cheeks. He would never get used to this. Until he got the feeling in his hands back, meals and feeding time would be the nadir of his day. Luckily for him, he could be a fast eater, and the embarrassment wore off after a few minutes of being alone.

He managed to ask the nurse for the time before he left, and according to him, it was shortly after 9. Around an hour before Noah would show up. Donnie sighed and stared at the TV the nurse had kindly turned on for him. If he was wasting away, he might as well be entertained while doing so. Problem? The TV was set on one of those cooking shows that Donnie wasn’t a big fan of. This was more of Mikey’s liking. Donnie wanted to watch a documentary or even a cartoon

Time ticked by painfully slow, but it hit 10am eventually and Donnie was glad when he spotted the first familiar face of the day. The channel got changed to something he wanted to watch, but Donnie paid the screen little attention when the opportunity to talk to Noah arose.
"When will I get to see my twin?" he asked the first chance he got.

Noah smiled at him solemnly, stopping his work. He was doing the massage and stretch thingy with his legs again. "He's ready for transfer the last I hear about it. I'm sure a doctor will come by soon and tell us when they move him. It shouldn't be much longer."
Donnie nodded, but he wasn't satisfied yet. "He's not..." He had to search for the right words, "Hurt... like me? I- I know he's been stabbed badly too... My twin... Can Leo still walk?"
"He can walk," Noah reassured him and gave him a gentle pat on the head, "Your brother…your twin is hurt, but he will heal. Just like you, he needs some rest for the start, so when he comes in, try to be quiet."
"I will."

Donnie turned back to his cartoon. He missed the climax of the episode but things were winding down with the characters spending some time together in a cabin. The mascot character babbled something about how strong all of them have gotten and how proud he was to have them as friends.

He was thankful the cartoon was distracting both him and Noah as he bit the inside of his cheek until it bled. He hoped his family would come by again, despite him kicking them out the day before. Raph had made his room feel at least a little bit warmer.

Sighing, Donnie closed his eyes- completely disregarding the cartoon's credit scene and song- and pushed his head against his pillow. "Uhm, Noah? Can you fluff the pillow, please?" It had gotten uncomfortable.
"I can. I'll also bring you spare bedsheets in a moment."
Spare bedsheets- OH, not again!

Donnie purposefully didn't look at his blanket or the mess he had made of himself. Again. The first time was bad enough, yet, the second time seemed almost worse. It made him remember the things about bowel treatment and all the other horrible things he was told yesterday. Donnie gulped and shook his head. It was nothing short of horrifying. The way they explained how his trips to the bathroom would change in the future and how he from now on had to get his insides out of his body was terrifying. They explained he had to... nope! He couldn't even get himself to think about those words. Shoving his hand down his private part?! Pulling the stuff out- WITH HIS HANDS!? And since his hands were all bashed up now, a STRANGER had to shove his hand up his tail instead- Absolutely not! It made him sick. And that would be his reality until he dies? That might be an even worse revelation than losing his legs!

"Hey, you okay there? You look a little green in the face."
"Y-Y-Yeah," Donnie stumbled over his words, "Just feel like my breakfast is coming up."
"I'll get you a bucket," Noah informed and rushed to get out the door, but just as he was about to leave, he ran into a doctor. Donnie couldn't tell what it was, but somehow that doctor looked familiar to him. He felt like he should know this guy, but he didn't.
"We're going to transfer Leonardo now, is everything here ready?" The doctor asked and glanced inside, smiling gently when his eyes met Donnie's. Donnie on his part just stared back with wide eyes. He had forgotten all about his twin for a second.

The doctor and Noah left, but a woman dressed in one of the nurse uniforms stayed to prepare the empty spot next to Donnie's bed, moving the juice boxes they had stored there to the side and using a mob to clean out any dust that had accumulated.

Donnie watched silently as the work was done. His body tingled, he couldn't quite tell from what but he put his money on excitement or fear. In total, the preparations took around 5 minutes before the nurse returned to the door and looked out in the hallway.
"We're going to roll in your brother now," she announced and moved sideways to keep the door open as wide as possible. Donnie felt his heart stagger and stop, his breath got stuck in his throat.
First, he saw the foot of the bed, then he noticed the IVs being carried alongside it. And then, he caught sight of the figure on the bed. Of the person who he waited so long to see

Leo was unconscious- peaceful asleep from what he saw- wrapped in a blanket with only his head sticking out. He had notably more cables sticking in him than Donnie had, but Leo wasn't accompanied by any ventilators or other machinery that Donnie had at his bedside. However, the singular thing that made his heart twist inside of his chest was seeing Leo's face. It was the first time in over a month that Leo got to have a restful sleep without the worries of waking up to another day of suffering, and it was evident on his face. Leo looked small and fragile when they deposited his bed next to Donnie's and the purple-loving softshell couldn’t look away from his twin’s face, the sunken eyes and how dark the shadows underneath have gotten, how his cheekbones protruded against his thin face and it reminded him once again how malnourished Leo had gotten. Most damning of all, Leo’s beautiful red stripes that Donnie loved so much didn’t look so vibrant anymore…almost seem to be fading from his face

"Nardo..." he whispered softly. He had wanted to see his twin for so long, and now he was finally within reach of him. Still, Donnie couldn't rejoice. A cold, desperate feeling of sadness squeezed his heart, the kind that felt like it could never be healed. Donnie's eyes rested on his sleeping twin, and he took great interest in the steady rising and falling of his chest that made the blanket move up and down at a rhythmical pace. Although he really wish that he could feel that rise and fall, that steady heartbeat for himself

His breathing became shallower, and Donnie suddenly became lightheaded. He didn't even notice that the nurses had begun cleaning him up and changing his bedsheets again, as he trailed over Leo's body one more sure to make sure his twin was alive and well.

Donnie could have sworn a breeze whipped through the room, but it wasn't cold as it should be on an autumn evening. It felt warm, full of rejuvenation, happiness, and light.
His eyes grew wet and his throat tightened until he couldn't breathe. His soul could no longer bear his emotions in silence. Could no longer feel like he was missing his other half and he found himself crying Leo's name repeatedly, even letting out a sad chirp. He swallowed roughly, wishing he could reach out and grab his twin, pull him over, and press him against his chest, holding him and squeezing him until sleep comes and takes him away. He longed for his twin's gentle touch more than he longed for his ability to walk. But to get to his brothers, he needed the ability to move, something that just wasn't possible for him anymore.

"Let me to him, p-please," Donie cried out, a desperate undertone sneaking into his plea. The nurses and doctor looked between each other with unclear expressions, and Noah was the one to politely, yet hurtfully, denied his wish. He was promised that once Leo was awake, they could try to get their beds closer together, but for now, they should give Leo the space and quiet he needs to recover, and Donnie had to comply if he wanted to or not. He clearly didn't as he wanted his twin so badly. But at least he could understand the logic in why the nurses did what they did, and didn't what they didn't, and it managed to calm his crying down to some extent.

After he was cleaned up, everyone but Noah left and he got back to his game of staring at the wall, the TV, the ceiling, whatever was the most interesting at the current moment. Usually, it was the TV. He spent around an hour like this, maybe two, and he was given a sheet that Noah filled out for him that listed the different options for lunch he could be served. They had a vegetarian option and two versions with meat. Donnie shrugged, all three of them sounded equally okay. Nothing great, far from it, but also nothing he couldn't get himself to eat. The food would be served in another two hours' time and until then he had some time for himself.

At one point, Noah announced that Donnie would have some periods of lonesome for the following days.
"A nurse called in sick, I need to check on his patients for him until he has recovered."
"Can't the others do that?" Donnie asked. The hospital wouldn't open for visitors for another 30 minutes, and he really didn't want to be left alone.
Noah grinned sadly, and with a deadpanned laugh said, "We're criminally understaffed," and added with a bit more of an upbeat tone, "Your big brother should be here soon, be strong until then."

"Okay..." Donnie mumbled under his breath.
He didn't want to be strong for 30 minutes. He just wanted things to be over. His head sunk low when his only friend in the hospital left him alone, and the room dropped in temperature.

Not even a minute passed between Noah leaving and Donnie dying internally of boredom when a sound to his right picked up his attention and Donnie tilted his head to see what was going on. The realization that this sound could have come from one person and one person only sat in too late, and before he knew it, he looked his twin straight in the eyes.

Leo was half awake on his bed, his eyes were only open a little bit, and he seemed for the most part to sleep drunken to recognize anything that happened around him. When Leo blinked, it was sluggish and out of sync.
"...Leo..." Donnie almost had no air to speak.
"…Nardo... you're awake...!" He tried again, unbeknownst to him, a smile was creeping on his face and his eyes watered in relief, "Good morning, my sweet and wonderful twin, how are you feeling?"

Leo didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes for a solid minute before opening them again, this time a little further, "...Don...ie...?" he rasped, his voice was barely intelligible. His voice slurred and his eyes rolled back for a moment. He closed them again and when he opened them for the third time, he got them open all the way.

"Hey," Donnie grinned his way. Leo returned the gesture with confused blinking. Donnie shrugged it off as Leo being Leo.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," he wiped his tears against the pillow, "I missed you…I missed you so much. You have no idea-"
Butterflies rose in his stomach. They tickled.
Leo continued to stare at him without an expression or word. It was getting worrisome.
"Nardo...? Are you okay? Do you need me to call a nurse?"
Noah had placed the calling button in a way that Donnie could access it with his head if needed, so that wasn't a problem.

"I-I-I'm f-fine," Came the stuttered answer from Leo, and Donnie didn't like how long it took his twin to answer.
"Are you sure?" Donnie persisted, now more worried than relieved.
Again, it took Leo a moment before he answered, but when he did, Donnie's entire self shattered. "Y-Yes master.“

Nope. BIG NOPE.

Donnie had so many different emotions currently jagged into his chest that he couldn't speak.
How does he answer THAT?!

"S-Say that again," Now it was Donnie's turn to stutter. His heart hung heavy and he felt it drop into the pits of his stomach where the feeling of the world ended.

"Y-Yes mas-"
"No! Stop! Stop right there!" Donnie interrupted him harshly and he didn't catch on to the flinch that made his twin hide behind his bedsheets in fear. Donnie, for his part, had to rip his eyes away from his twin. He had to look at something else to calm down. Anything else.

This couldn't be happening. It just wasn't happening!

The curse was broken! Everyone was back to normal! The amulet was destroyed!

Why didn't even the simplest of things make sense anymore?

He simply didn't understand...!

Out of sheer desperation, Donnie turned to get the calling button. He needed help, and fast, but when he got to press the button, he slipped with his snout and the remote went flying off and landed next to his bed on the floor.

He began to believe the universe hated him.

Donnie growled at his incompetence and decided to utilize the only thing he still had in this predicament, his voice. He opened his mouth to call for help and stopped when he heard the bed next to him creak. Leo was weakly ripping out his IVs, thus freeing him from being stuck to his bed, and he set foot on the floor. Not even a second passed before his entire body collapsed in on itself, Leo crashing down in a heap and not moving for a second.

"LEO!" Donnie screeched, followed by a few panicked "Help! We need help in here!"
"I-I'm a-a-alright-" A feeble reassurance came from below. Donnie only barely managed to look over the edge of his bed to see that Leo had moved (read: crawled) to where the remote had landed, and he picked it up before trying to get on his feet again. It didn't work, not even remotely. Every time he tried to get up, he collapsed even faster. It ended with him crawling back to Donnie's bed and weakly lifting the remote up for Donnie to grab, only that Donnie still couldn't move his hands, and even if he could, the absurdity of what was going on robbed him of any clear thought and motion.

"Leo- what...?"
"Y-You dropped t-this." Leo stuttered, the remote falling out of his hands simultaneously with his arm running out of strength and falling limply to the floor beside him.
Donnie was completely speechless. How to react to- to- to THIS!?
It made him angry. It confused him. It made him sad and frustrated. The tears from before only multiplied in amount the longer Donnie pondered over this. He must still be dreaming because there was no way any of this was happening for real!

"I-I'm sorry!"
Only when he heard his twin's cry did he bring himself to look down again. By now, Leo had curled up to a ball and his hands were on his head like he tried to protect himself. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry!"
Something about seeing and hearing his twin like this- after everything they went through to prevent this exact thing to happen- broke Donnie from the inside. It caused him to shed even more tears, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the words to speak.
"I'm sorry! I'll get better! Please! Please don't hurt me! I'm so sorry!"

What was... happening...?

He didn't understand…

"...Nardo..." He couldn't raise his voice above a whisper, "...Answer me this truthfully... Are you still cursed...?"
Leo's cries stilled.
For a moment everything was quiet.
Then-
"No. I'm not."
"Then why?"

Leo sniffled his sobs and he curled in tighter.
"Please Leo, tell me. I need to know." Donnie barely had control over his own actions.
Leo refused to answer. The sobs turned to cries and his tears resumed their work on building a lake beneath his body.
"Answer me, Leo."

"I'm better this way," The red-eared slider on the floor was now full-blown wailing. His body was shaking and he hugged himself tighter, "They finally love me. I finally have a use."
"What are you talking about...?"
"I'm no longer a disappointment."
"Leo- wha... Nardo, you've never been a disappointment! What are you saying?" This was getting worse by the second. Donnie couldn't tell who was crying more, he or his twin.

Leo's crying grew louder and Donnie wondered how no one had heard him or came to check on them.
"The old Leo was a mistake." Leo had his snout pressed against the floor as he cried, thus half-muffling his words, "But I got rid of him. Now my family can love me."
"Leo, they always loved you!"
"No, they didn't!" Leo almost screamed that part, but tears quickly took over his anger and he hid his face in his arms. A puddle began to form under him. "They hated me! The old Leo was useless! A mistake! Good for nothing other than to be a sacrifice! It's good he's dead! It's what he deserves for being such a waste! He didn't deserve love! It's his fault no one loved him! It's all his fault!"

"Stop it!"
One command was all it took for Leo to silence his crying.
Donnie glanced over the side of his bed and saw Leo holding his mouth shut with his hands, and his eyes were closed tightly to hold back any tears from falling. He looked like he was holding his breath too.
Donnie felt nothing, absolutely nothing, seeing his twin this way.
"Get up here.“

His bed rattled and shook as Leo uncurled himself and attempted to climb down the side of Donnie's bed. It took many tries, each attempt ending with longer breaks and a panicked apology from the feeble turtle. Eventually, he got high enough that he could collapse on top of Donnie. The purple-loving twin couldn't quite get a scream out when he felt his blue loving other half's weight- it wasn't much but dang it hurt- crash down on him. His entire breath halted and he felt bile hit the back of his throat. He couldn't breathe and could only wheeze for his twin to move into another position, preferably one closer to his legs. In the end, Leo laid on the blanket on top of Donnie with his head resting on the lower half of Donnie's plastron

Donnie had to compose himself and swallowed many mouthfuls of bile back down his throat. The taste lingered and made him want to throw up even more. Only after minutes of gasping for air and calming his stomach could Donnie refocus his attention on the task at hand. He lowered his gaze down to Leo. His twin was shaking badly, clearly afraid of what Donnie would do to him now that he had him in this position. In all honesty, Donnie wished he could do something. He wished he could reach out and hug his twin. He wished he could pull him up to his chest without going through severe pain. He wished that Leo would stop looking at him like was about to beat him for expressing his emotions.

"Nardo..." Donnie whispered, his words failing him yet again. He just couldn’t make his mind up about what he should tell them. His brain was running a hundred miles an hour, no thought was clear enough to fully grasp and use it. His head felt full and empty at the same time.
Since he couldn't come up with anything grand to say, he said the only thing that he could- "I love you."

"I know," Leo returned with a whimper, "You're the only one that does."
"That's not true, Leo, the others love you just as much."
"No, they don't. They love the Leo that serves them, and they don't care for anything else." Leo clawed the blanket he was resting on and buried his face deep within it. He continued to cry, and Donnie watched in silence. He wanted to argue because he knew what Leo believed wasn't true, but he couldn't let a word out.

Leo's face was flushed with grief, those formerly bright eyes flooded with a misplaced sense of resignation, his frown genuine and with true tears rolling down his cheeks. Leo looked dead. He must be feeling dead, and Donnie couldn't tell for how long his twin has been in this state.

Listening to his twin's cries had Donnie going for a loop.

He was too late.

He thought he saved his twin but he didn't.

...

...What even did he lose his legs for then...?

"I'm sorry," Donnie sobbed and he leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"...B-But you did save me... He tried to murder me..."

Oh, right... He.

"...But you saved me... You saved my life... Even though I didn't deserve it..."
"Yes, you deserved it," disputed through his tears, "You're my twin, I will do anything to save you."
"I'm worthless."
"No, you're not."
"All I'm good for is to serve."
"That's not true."
"They don't love me."
"I love you. I’ve always loved you and I will continue to love you until my dying breath. Isn't that enough?"

Through a blurry vision, Donnie noticed the blanket shifting, and the bed sunk a little bit deeper. Leo was now hovering right above his face, his tears dripping down and mixing with his own. Leo was held up by his two shaking arms, they trembled badly but from the looks of it, he was determined to not rest his body down on Donnie's chest, maybe he noticed how much pain it had caused him before.

Leo slowly leaned down towards Donnie, and the softshell wasn't quite sure what his twin was about to do until he felt Leo's skin rub against the side of his face.

Oh…Leo was nuzzling him

It was so gently, so nice. Donnie wasn’t sure when the last time that Leo nuzzled against him. It almost made him want to cry

Donnie leaned his head against Leo's and nuzzled him back, letting out a soft and content chirp in the process, which was echoed by Leo. Donnie could feel his twin's warmth against him, the soft and gentle touch soothing his irritated heart and making him feel fuzzy inside. He felt like he was finally complete again having Leo here with him. The disaster twins were back together and Donnie’s heart swelled at the thought of finally being reunited with his other half

"I- I love you," Leo sobbed as they platonically shared body heat. They moved their heads so that their foreheads could touch and Donnie had full eye contact with his twin. "I love you so much. I will always love you."
The next words would hurt the worst, but Donnie had to get them out now, "But this isn't you, Nardo- You're more than this."
"The old Leo was worthless. He's dead." the red-eared slider pulled away slightly, but Donnie moved in to make sure their foreheads wouldn't lose contact. He didn’t want his twin to leave him ever again. Not being in some sort of physical contact with his twin sent his heart thumping widely in his chest
"He's still inside you. I know it."
"T-The others don't want the old Leo. They hate the old Leo- They will hurt me-"
"I won't let them" Donnie's tone took on a new type of poison, "I'll protect you. Be it against curses, gods, or our own family. I'm here for you, Nardo. I love you my sweet and wonderful twin. Always. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me…and I am never letting you go again."

Donnie watched his twin's eyes will to the brim with tears. Leo's shaking arms were finally out of strength and he collapsed, but he managed to do it more gently, so when he plopped down on Donnie's chest, the pain was bearable. Donnie grinned tiredly at his twin, the only thing that could make this moment better was if he could get his arm out of those dang slings and wrap his twin in a passionate hug.

"I love you to the moon and back. I love you more then anything," Donnie whispered one more time, breathing the words right into Leo's forehead, as he planted a soft kiss on there, "I'm going to fix this. Promise"

Chapter Text

"-So, I can't use my legs anymore..." Donnie whispered, staring at the ceiling and allowing the lamp to fry his eyeballs. He's been spending the past 30 minutes retelling what he knew to his twin, who was still laying with his head on his chest. The softshell began to understand why everyone's been prohibited from putting any pressure on him. His chest felt like exploding, he could barely breathe- he felt as if acid has gathered where his lungs were and all he breathed in was fire. He came close to throwing up a few times now, but he swallowed it down.

He could take it.

The pain was worth having his twin by his side.

Leo hummed in response. It was quiet and hesitant, and he sounded sleepy. Donnie lowered his gaze to look back at him. He would do anything to keep his twin right where he was. Losing him now was the single worst thing that could happen to him. He already lost him too much already and he didn’t think he could survive if he lost Leo again

However, the longer he stared at his twin, the worse the feeling in his stomach grew, and for once, he wasn't talking about his broken ribs and breathing trouble. Leo had ripped all his IVs out earlier, and it made him anxious. One of them must have been painkillers like his, but the others might have been something more important, something more vital. He was afraid that Leo was hurting himself by remaining by his side.

"Oh, Nardo..." Donnie inhaled deeply, flinching when his throat protested and his stomach twisted. He crunched his teeth to combat the pain and tried again slower this time but received the same outcome.
...He didn't know how much longer he could handle the fire.

"...I'm... I'm sorry..." Leo croaked quietly and Donnie felt the grip on his hoodie tighten. "I'm hurting you..."
"You're not hurting me, Nardo," Donnie's face went soft, "You're the only good thing that happened to me since... since everything. You have always been the best part of my life. I'm happy you're with me. And…and I love you…so much"
Leo fell silent. He curled up on Donnie's chest and the purple-loving softshell's cheeks puffed with air when he restricted his scream. A burning sensation swept against the walls of his throat and his mouth opened to let out a gag.

"B-b-buck-et-" Donnie heaved, feeling bile hit the back of his throat and rushing upward fast. Noah had brought him one earlier when he first began to feel sick, and he was glad for it now because the second Leo had reached for the metal pail and held it out to him, Donnie let go of his breakfast.
Retching made his chest feel even worse, which in turn, caused more retching.

Leo held the bucket to his mouth and used his spare hand to rub the back of Donnie’s nape. Granted, there wasn't much in Donnie to come out, but for the twins, those minutes felt like hours. Leo kept the bucket in front of Donnie for a while longer after the vomiting spell ended, just in case something else sneaked up.
"I-I-I think I'm g-good now," Donnie wheezed through his shaking breath, his vision swam for a moment and his mind went fuzzy. The taste of sour milk lingered on his tongue and he made a "bleh-" sound in the hopes of getting rid of it with little success, scratching his tongue against his teeth and shivering when that wouldn’t help either.

The smell might have been the worst thing.

"Can you- can you get rid of that?" Donnie asked weakly, pointing at the bucket with his eyes.
He hated asking his twin for favors. Usually, he would milk a sick day for all it's worth and have his brothers run to get him snacks and extra blankets. Just… not this time. Seeing how Leo stumbled to his feet, almost collapsing on the spot, just to fulfill his request as fast as possible, didn't sit right with him.

He watched Leo limb his way over to the bathroom, his gaze remained glued to Leo's foot for most of it, his heart twisting when noticing the stabilizer cast around it. He vaguely remembered Noah saying something about a sprained ankle.

The bed began to feel stiff again.
Donnie wiggled his shoulders like he did for the past few days, fighting with the slings holding his arms and his arms themselves to take control over what little movement he had left. He couldn't feel his tail, but damn, he would lose his mind if he had to lay on it for a moment longer! Just put him in a different position, any position was fine, just not the one he's been at for over 48 hours! He was going crazy, he was-

The toilet from the attached bathroom flushed loudly and Donnie could hear Leo rinse out the bucket by the sink. He wondered, what was his twin thinking at the moment? He didn't know, and that made him nervous. Ever since the invasion, Leo had been easy to read, but only when he allowed himself to. Now, Donnie didn't know where to even start searching for signs. He hated that he felt like he didn’t even know his own twin anymore. He sighed, around the same time Leo came back with a cleaned out bucket and placed it back where it had stood before.

"Can I do anything else for you?"
Yeah, bring him something to wash down the taste, but Donnie couldn't get himself to give his twin another order.
"I'll bring you something to drink."
Wait, but he didn't say anything-! Or... Or did he...? By the time he came to a conclusion, Leo was already gone.
Donnie guessed he hadn't seen the juice packages next to his bed and went to find some kind of alternative source for beverages somewhere in the building... While still hopping on an injured leg. Donnie felt something squeeze his heart. He was a horrible brother. No…a horrible twin

The door to his room opened slowly, Leo hadn't closed it entirely, only pushed it enough to grant Donnie his given privacy.
"Back already?" He cracked a small smile to greet his twin's return, which quickly fell when he saw who was actually coming in.

It's less that he wasn't happy to see his biggest brother. He was overjoyed for the company, and it was getting unbearable lonely without his oldest brother by his side. The problem was that Raph didn't come alone.
His smile turned to a frown when he spotted the boy peeking out from behind him, hesitant to fully step into the light but never one to hide from the things he wanted to face. That frown turned even worse when he noticed the next person walking in. He felt impartial about Draxum's entrance, but the girl behind him, his sis- that woman... he wanted her as far away from him as possible.

His discomfort must have been visible, because Raph stopped in the doorframe, thus causing everyone behind him to come to a pause.
"Can we come in?" The snapping turtle asked with sincerity lacing his voice, and Donnie knew that if he declined, his older brother would leave without another argument.

Donnie couldn't look any of his visitors in the eyes when he spoke, "You can come in...Raph."
And exactly that happened.
Raph came in.
The rest didn't.

There was heartbreak going on behind the snapping turtle, but Donnie cared only for the person that approached him. And while the others had the politeness to not come in uninvited, they did remain by the door with the door open, staring inside and listening to whatever was about to be said.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Raph started, trying to cut the tension and break some ice, "Did you sleep alright?"
"...I slept okay. Feeling... okay, I guess..."
"Have you been alone all morning? I'm sorry I'm a bit late today as I got held off by a few things, but I'm here for as long as you have me."
That brought a small smile back to Donnie's face.
...With Raph here, he didn't have to bother Leo to get him things or to help him with stuff.

"Noah had to leave for a bit, but I think he wanted to come back later." Donnie verbally responded to his older brother's question.
Raph gave his little brother a small grin and pinches his cheek, which made Donnie's smile grow slightly bigger. His oldest brother then took a good look around the room and noticed the small changes happening to it since his last visit, mainly the additional bed which was stationed next to Donnie's.

"Do you already know when they'll move Leo? You must be nervous seeing him again, but it's going to be okay, I can be with you when they bring him in."
"Uhm, about that..." Donnie was about to give insight into what was going on when a loud shatter from the door caught his attention. Everyone turned their heads to face the cause of the ruckus, but aside from Donnie, no one was ready for who they were seeing.

Leo was trembling madly, stepping backward and almost slipping in the puddle of apple juice and water that had formed beneath him, shards of broken glass just barely missed digging into his feet.
"...Leo-" Raph almost stopped breathing for a second. As fast as he had approached Donnie's bedside before, he was gone again, dashing over to his other little brother, pushing past the other family members that were trying to accomplish the same thing, and dropped to his knees right before Leo. He, miraculously, was also spared from getting cut by all the glass fragments on the ground.

The red-eared slider only shook harder when Raph closed the distance between them, but he didn't move away further. Once the snapping turtle was in arms reach of his little brother, he wrapped him in a fierce yet careful hug. It was a sweet moment, just not for the one that received the embrace. Donnie could see from afar how Leo's face changed from a slight fear to full-on panic. Leo's eyes darted around, never looking at anything for longer than a second until his eyes finally reached Donnie. Donnie grimaced and glanced back at his twin, fully understanding his pleas but too stuck at the moment to get his mouth to move.

"Oh Leo, what are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't be moving around so much! How are you feeling? Are you breathing alright? Has any doctor seen you already? Why aren't you in your bed? What happened to your IVs? What-" The bombardier of questions made Leo crumble in the embrace, his face further morphing into horror and tears pricked at his eyes.

"I- I... I-I..." Leo stuttered out, now that his breath was hitching and the fear was there for everyone to hear. Raph opened his arms to free Leo from the embrace, though the damage has already been done. Leo's shaking didn't subside, and the first tears began to fall.

Donnie watched the events unfold, his own mind now in a sort of panicked state. Leo needed him. His twin needed him
Donnie did the first thing that came to his mind-
"Nardo, come over here."
He made it sound as urgent as his wavy voice could handle, and a single glance towards his twin confirmed that yes, this was an order, and he had to follow it.

Not wasting another moment, Leo was moving.
The confusion on the faces of their family only further grew, except for Raph and April, who were beginning to look equally horrified and panicked. Donnie decided not to pay them any mind and focus his thoughts on calming his twin, but that plan was ruined the moment Raph rushed forward and pulled Leo away.

It wasn't a harsh pull, but it was sudden, and Donnie felt something weird tug at his heartstrings, an emotion he had never felt towards his oldest brother suddenly bubbling in his chest.
"Leo-!" He tried to call out, in his mind his arm would regain the ability to move and reach out to stop his twin from leaving his side, but his arm remained in the sling, and Leo was pushed towards his own bed.

The red-eared slider whimpered and made another noise that Donnie couldn't quite describe past the term 'harrowing' when Raph turned him around, and all of a sudden- Donnie understood.

If the fat red stain on Leo's hoodie weren't an indicator that something was wrong, then the entirety of Leo's back covered in blood was.
Donnie didn't know who screamed, but he for once couldn't get a sound out.

Right, how could he be so stupid?
He had seen it. He had been there.
When that person hurt his twin. When that person made his twin bleed.

The stab wound on Leo's back was frightening. He hadn't seen it until now, and he wished he never had. The cut was nasty, starting right below his neck and going all the way down to his tail, even cutting right through his shell, creating cracks and scars along Leo’s once beautiful shell. It was red and inflamed, with black stitching keeping the wound shut, but the stitching was torn at many sports, allowing the wound to spill new blood.

Raph cursed something under his breath while all Leo did was fail to hold back his sobs while more tears dripped off his chin. By now the red-eared slider had his arms on the mattress of his bed to help him relieve some weight off his injured foot, which he had raised slightly to allow it to rest.

"April, get a doctor, quick!" Raph barked, not looking away from his little brohter's injury, "CJ, look if there are towels in the bathroom, make them wet, and bring them!"

The others rushed to their tasks. Draxum left with April to speed up the process of getting help, and Raph pulled Leo on top of the bed and made him lay down on his stomach so he could further begin to undress the red-eared slider and get a better view of the wound. He knew he should let the doctors handle this, but until they arrive, Raph was in charge, and he wore his serious face. CJ was back with a washcloth dripping with water and handed it over to Raph, who immediately began to clean off the blood around the wound.

"Hasn't anyone told you to not exert yourself? You should stay rested, why even were you out of bed?" Raph asked with worry leaking from his face. He sent frequent glances towards the door, waiting for a doctor or at least a nurse to show up and help them out.
"D-D-D-Don-ie w--wan-t-ted s-s-s-some-thing to d-drink," Leo stammered out, most got drowned by his sobs and whimpers, "S-s-s-so I-I-I g-g-got him s-something."

Great, now Donnie felt even worse about himself. "Why haven't you said anything?" He barely could speak, "H-How long have you been bleeding?"
"I-I-I did-didn't want to up-p-upset y-you. S-S-Since I f-f-fell out of b-bed."
"Don't upset... me?"
He almost laughed.
Leo couldn't be serious...

"You're hurt!" He was getting louder than he meant to, "You should have said something!"
"I'm s-s-sor-ry. I-I didn't want y-y-ou to d-dispose of m-me b-b-because I-I'm weak, l-l-like M-Mikey t-t-tried to."

"Leo, what are you talking about...?" Raph removed the washcloth after he was done cleaning most of the blood. He kept his hands entirely from the wound itself, not wishing to further rip the stitching or cause any extra damage.

That was around the time two doctors stormed into the room, followed by Draxum and eventually April. No words were exchanged as one of the doctors- Donnie couldn't help but feel like he saw this man before- shoved Raph to the side to get to the bleeding turtle. The other doctor had suddenly vanished without a trace and Donnie second-guessed himself if there even had been a second doctor.

The doctor was yelling, not loud, but it made Donnie flinch from where he lay. He yelled about why the IVs were loose, confirming Donnie's earlier fear that they were important and should have stayed inside his twin. There was also quiet shouting about the torn stitches, and that they had to resew the entire wound. As a side comment, the family was assured that Leo would be fine- he has lost some blood, but it was under control- and then proceeded to shoo everyone outside. They didn't want to move Leo back to the operating room as that would lose them needed time, so they would do the stitching in this room, meaning everyone who wasn't a medical professional had to get out.

Including Donnie.

They tried to reassure him that it won't be long. That it will only take a few minutes. They will patch Leo up, put the IVs back in, add an additional blood bag, and then they can have lunch and things will be fine- But that wasn't enough.
In the end, there was nothing that Donnie could say or do from stopping them. He begged to stay in the room with his twin. He could look the other way- he wasn't planning on looking at the wound or the stitching anyway- all he wanted was to stay with his twin.

Nothing worked, and he had to leave the room. Donnie was about to be rolled out when he heard the saddest chirp/whimper that he ever heard from Leo. He could barely turn his head but his eyes drifted towards his twin and his heart sank down to a pit when he saw the outstretched arm of his twin as well as his eyes welling up with tears.

Leo was begging the people around him to let Donnie stay as he needed him. It seems that Leo was against the idea of being away from his twin as much as Donnie was

The doctors gently told Leo that Donnie couldn’t stay and Leo just whimpered and begin crying slightly harder. Donnie realized that he had to step up and calm down his twin. He chirped softly back and told Leo that everything was going to be ok and that he will be back soon…he promised. He said all of this with his own tears spilling

It seemed to calm Leo down slightly as he nodded his head and let out a soft chirp in response

Donnie smiled and whispered in a soft voice, “I love you Nardo”

Leo smiled back as he sniffled “Love you too Don-Tron”

Donnie kept his eyes on Leo and kept his warm and soft smile until Leo was out of his sights and he was out in the hallway

The moment that he was, Donnie let his remaining tears fall as his smile faded and his heart beat wildly in his chest on not seeing his twin and wondering just what was going to happen to him

That second doctor from before- Donnie was glad he hasn’t started hallucinating- came back with a nurse, both of them holding small boxes or gadgets that Donnie hadn't seen before.

Then the door to the room shut and didn't open again.

The family was left standing outside, with Donnie taking up a good portion of the hallway's width with the bed he was stuck on.

They didn't plan on going anywhere. If the procedure only took a couple of minutes, they would wait it out right here before the door, going back in the second they're allowed to.

This left them with nothing to do but let time pass.
And oh boy, Donnie hated every single second of it.
He stared daggers into the door, his shoulders were shaking with rage.
They just tore him away from his twin, and there was nothing, nothing he could have done to stop it. The only thing that Donnie could do was try and calm Leo down his words, his smile, and his turtle instincts

Now Leo was alone, scared out of his mind, and Donnie wasn't there to protect him. Didn't they know what he had done, what he had lost to get his twin back? Just to have him taken away right after?

"He's going to be alright," Raph put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but it had no effect on the softshell.
"He's not," Donnie retorted, fighting with the sadness creeping up his throat, "He's not okay. He's not okay!"
Now he had everyone's attention, even the people just passing down the hall noticed the softshell's distress.

"What are you talking about?" Raph moved his hand from Donnie's shoulder to his head and began to pat his head lovingly... It didn't work.
"Leo is- Leo is... He's still... changed... It didn't work... I couldn't bring him back..."
"He's still cursed?" CJ squeaked, being the first to catch on to what Donnie was saying. The purple-loving softshell turtle shook his head weakly, "No... not cursed... but changed... He... He thinks that if he's not... not the way the amulet made him be... we won't love him..."

"That's ridiculous!" Apr- That woman that came in with everyone else- spoke up. Donnie flinched hearing her voice. He felt a foreign pain in his wrists, and his lungs tightened.

Hate enclosed him, flashes of loath and disgust filling his mind and it was all he could think about.
"This is your fault!" he spat, his tone deadly as venom, "You made him hate himself! You hurt him! You hurt me!!"

Hot tears rolled down his face as everything came spewing out, he just had so much stored up inside him and it was ripping him apart from the inside. "He begged you to stop! He begged you to stop and you only tortured him more! I heard his screams! And I know you heard mine BUT YOU IGNORED THEM!"

It seemed like his brain was banging against the sides of his skull, pain spreading through his body. Not the kind of pain when he got stabbed, or even the one that shot through his wrists when he had cut them open to the bone. No, the pain was rooted way deeper inside him, and it was fueled by a combination of exhaustion and stress. He tried to vent out this feeling any way he could, anything to make him hold out a little longer, but his body refused to move a single bit.

The woman that all those feelings were aimed at stood with a fearful expression

"...Dee-"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He screamed, and the woman flinched back hard enough to hit the wall behind her. She looked scared... Good, she should. She should stay away from him.

"...You hurt me..."
He couldn't even look at her.
"Donnie... I'm... I'm sorry."
"SORRY WON'T GIVE ME MY HANDS BACK!" He shook his head, "And it won't get me my legs back either, so don't even THINK of bringing him."
The woman's eyes widened even further and she had her mouth opened to say more. She said nothing though.

Raph's hand was still patting his head, but it was a lot slower and more hesitant now. The snapping turtle cleared his throat and tried to turn Donnie's head so that they would look at each other, "CJ told me what happened between you and Mikey. I promise you, he didn't mean to, he's really worried about-"
"If he ever cared about me, he wouldn't have left me!" He snarled, his blood freezing just thinking about that person.
"And you-" Donnie glanced over at CJ, his eyes now glimmering with new resentment, "-You know nothing. You weren't there when it happened. Don't pretend to understand what Leo or I am going through."

"Donnie, that's enough." The patting stopped, and Raph removed his hand entirely, "We're all in this together. We're here for you."
"I only need Leo. I-I just want my twin" Donnie's response was cold and lacked any sense of sympathy. He knew that was unfair to Raph, his big brother who he loved with all of his heart. But there was only really once person that he wanted. One person that he loved the most and couldn’t imagine his life without. Couldn’t truly live without him. And that person was his beloved twin Leonardo

He looked away from his family, finding the floor to be much more interesting than any of their disappointed gazes, or heartbroken gaze in Raph’s case.

Leo was right.
No one truly loved them, besides maybe Raph…but was that truly love or was Raph doing it more so out of obligation? Because he had to in order to keep them together?
Leo and Donnie only had each other.

Yep, everyone in their family had left them…at least that’s the way Donnie looked at it
Splinter, his own father, couldn't even bother to show up. Instead, he was greeted by the people he wanted to see the least. All except for maybe Raph who Donnie wanted to be here

He thought his heart had already stopped working from all the pain and heartache, but it was still running, still hurting.

He was so lost in his thoughts and feelings, he only noticed after his bed was being moved that the doctors had finished on Leo and he was brought back in.
A nurse felt around Leo's arm to get veins to show up and stuck in the last needle, a small tube connecting him with both an IV bag as well as a bag with O- blood. A second needle- also with two small tubes- was a bit lower in his arm and a third one peeked out from his hand, right below his knuckles.

The look on Leo's face was harrowing.
He shook, not as bad as before but the trembling was still active, his eyes were wide and empty, no longer leaking tears but reddened from the earlier shedding. He looked lost, and much, much smaller than he was before.

Once their eyes met, Donnie gave his best impression of an uplifting smile. 'I'm back, I haven't left you. I love you' was silently conveyed to his twin through their shared twin-link/mind-meld, and Donnie saw trust wrinkling in his twin’s eyes, along with sadness and fear.
He sucked in a breath as his twin started to wiggle himself slightly out of his bedsheets, the nurse had finished her work but stayed by their bedside to keep watch over them. Donnie much rather had Noah back, at least he knew that person's name and he wouldn't be stranded with yet another stranger.

He couldn't quite place it as either a blessing or a curse when a private mini-talk between the nurse and Draxum made the former excuse herself and leave them alone. Unlike before- before everything went to chaos- his family was now scattered inside his room, none of them have been invited back in after being kicked out. They just came in, not even asking if it was okay.

Raph grabbed a chair and sat down between his and Leo's bed, silent, and not looking either of his little brothers in the eyes, but he stole a glance over at Leo more than he did at Donnie. CJ was holding himself back and similar to Raph, his attention was glued more to Leo than Donnie. April on the other hand- oh, she was staring holes into Donnie, and Donnie felt his earlier rage bubble out of him from every pore. It consumed him, he was so angry, he barely felt it anymore.
He wanted to cry.

The silence was agonizing, the tension too present.
Eventually, Raph opened his mouth, and Donnie suddenly preferred the unnerving silence.
"Donnie, we want to help you…you and Leo," His voice was quiet and resigned.
"Then get her out!" He wasn't pointing at April, but he didn't have to, they knew who he was talking about.

Raph sighed, something appeared on his face that Donnie couldn't see from where he was, "You're right... we all don't know how you feel, but Donnie, can you really blame her? Do you think she wanted what happened?"
From the corner of his eyes, he saw his sis- that woman, staring at the ground in defeat.

Donnie felt dread filling him, "Why shouldn't I? And why shouldn't Leo? She's the one who caused us to hurt! SHE LEFT ME TRAPPED IN THAT DARK ROOM TO DIE!"
"Donnie-"
"SHUT UP, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

Raph's silent for a minute. "Donnie..." he starts again, uncertain, real concern lacing his voice, "Can you try to look at her for a moment? Just a short moment, do it for me, please."
Donnie snarled and hissed lowly. Like that would do anything.

Reluctantly, Donnie rose his head, staring with daggers in his eyes at the woman that caused him so much pain and so much heartache.
When Donnie looked up, he wasn't meant with that woman's face. She had her head tilted down, a shadow and her glasses covering her eyes, but Donnie could see something shine in the dark. She made no sounds while crying, but the tears were there. She look…awful to say the least. She looked like she had slept in the woods with no tent all night.
He could see a little bit of her eyes through her glasses. They were reddened, a deep dark crimson almost, like this wasn't the first time she leaked tears.
Donnie took a good look at her, at her standing there, shaking head to toe, with her lips tightly pressed together like she usually did when she was upset or sad.

"Do you think she would have come to visit you if she didn't feel sorry?" Raph cut in, but Donnie had trouble looking away from that wom- his sister.
"She loves you, Donnie. We all love you…this is why we're here."

That last bit made Donnie grunt.
"Pa-sorry Splinter never really cared for me then, huh?"
Or that other person, that fake brother everyone kept insisting he had.
Some 'family' he had...

"Pops is turning every stone and leaf he finds to find something to help you," Raph's voice sounded desperate, but only by a little, "He's working tirelessly since yesterday morning to get anything we could use to make you walk again."
"What about Leo? Is he working to find something for Leo too?"
Donnie turned his head away, finally free from looking at his sister, and he whipped his head to Raph... and Leo. His twin had used the shift of attention away from him to curl up beneath his blanket, and all that was visible from the red-eared slider were the tubes from his IV.

Everyone looked at the blankets that concealed the red-eared slider, each thinking their own part.
"We'll find something," Raph eventually said, "We're not going to stop until we found something."

"Why?"
"W-What?" Raph stammered, looking at Donnie with a confused expression.
"Why would you? Why start caring for us now?"
He noticed Raph's face crumble and it looked like he was close to crying, "I have cared for you, Leo, and Mikey since we were tots. I have always been there for you guys since the beginning. You three are the single most important things in my life and I love you guys so much. More than anything"

Tears brimmed in Donnie's eyes and he rubbed his face against his shoulder to get rid of him. Raph was right... He did care for them and loved them... Every encounter he had with his oldest brother in the 16 years he was alive was filled with love and care from his big brother. But he couldn't say the same for the rest of the family.

"Then why have you all told Leo to change? Why wasn't he good enough for you? You forced him to be someone he didn't want to be. And now that he has changed, you still don't like him. We stopped him from being who he really is, and you don't like the person you made him become!"
Shallow breaths left his mouth, his chest heaving slightly and he slowly blinked away the tears. His throat felt tight, it hurt worse than before.

His family stared back at him with varying amounts of shock. The trembling in Donnie's shoulders and his whole body dying down a bit didn't mean his heart wasn't still racing.

When someone spoke, it wasn't Raph.
"Honey, we never wanted Leo to change. Whatever we said, this wasn't us-"
"Yes it was!" Donnie couldn't quite get to the volume he had used before, his throat too scratched up to use it any longer, "Before we knew about the curse! Don't pretend you didn't notice it! Didn't notice how Leo changed! We all told him how much better he was, how we praised him for doing his tasks, and just being overall better! You noticed the change! And you liked it! You liked to have a slave that does whatever he is told, didn't you!?"

His arms shook.
His fingers twitched with rage.
His legs remained unmoving.

"He feels like he can't ever be good enough for us! You tolerated him how he was before, but you only started accepting him when he became what you wanted him to be! And now you pretend like you didn't like that version better!" His voice was giving out, "The only reason why you didn't want him was because the change didn't come from his own doing, but because something made him do it! But if it had been up to him, you wouldn't have questioned the changes either!"

Donnie shook his head violently.
His throat went dry and he swallowed painfully, staring at the people in front of him with mistrust.
"You know the worst thing? He didn't have to suffer for so long- If we had just asked him sooner, figured it out sooner, nothing of this would have happened! We could have saved him earlier, but none of us chose to do it because the new him was so much easier! He could have run...he could have run away, hide and never have to follow another command again- but he didn't! He didn't because he believed in us! He believed that we would save him! He loved us so he didn't leave and all we did was made him suffer more! We're horrible people, we did this to him! We mad-"

He would have gone on longer, but his voice broke away until it was barely above a wheeze. He coughed and weakly stared over to where his leftover juice packages were standing. But no one was there to give him one, at least no one that he was willing to accept it from.

Again a silence dawns upon them, it wasn't the type of silence that made one want to say something. It was somewhat comforting. Donnie felt like all the pain he had felt in his chest vanished into nothingness like all his troubles faded away with the wind.

Donnie waited in slight fear, his heart beating heavily and waiting for anyone to do something.

Maybe he shouldn't have lashed out like this, but damn, did it feel good. And he wasn't going to take back what he said. It was just that he was missing one small fact in all of his yelling... He hadn't done anything to save Leo either. This was his fault too.

"Donnie..." April almost lost her voice too, "Leo... I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you like this."
"Don't take all the blame for yourself. We're all in this. We should have done something sooner- noticed it sooner. I'm sorry, I'm very sorry." Raph joined in, his voice as close to breaking as April's. He was wiping at his tears, he looked utterly heartbroken.

Raph then turned towards Leo, "You don't have to change for us, Leo. You never had. I'm sorry we ever made you feel like we wouldn't love you unless you are a certain way. You are part of this family. You always have been, and we love you, just the way you are."

"I promise we will make it up to you two," CJ whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, and everyone agreed with either a nod or a verbal confirmation.
It was painful to look anyone in the eyes as they gave their opinion.

"We messed up," April mumbled, staring at her little brothers with tears in her eyes, "But we know now, and we're going to help you through this..." She paused, "...if you let us..."
Donnie held her gaze for a solid minute, then looked to the side.
Leo had come out from under the blanket- not entirely, only his head was peeking out and he stared at Donnie with eyes wide and afraid- and questioning…

Donnie blinked, then slowly shook his head.
He wouldn't make that decision for Leo. This was his choice to make and Donnie would keep his mouth shut until his twin said something.

Honestly, it only took a few moments, but it felt like an eternity.
Leo didn't say anything, vanishing back under his blanket.
...He wasn't ready yet.
Only faith knew if he ever would.

...

...

…

Cassandra stood by the kitchen counter, carefully cutting slices of onion into small cubes and shoving them into a big bowl with her knife.
She wiped at her eyes.
No matter how long she's been doing this- this was just one thing she could never get used to.

Stupid onions.

"Can I... help?"
The sudden new voice in her otherwise quiet workspace made her jump. She turned her head and stopped her cutting- she only made the mistake once to try both at the same time.

Mikey stood in the doorway, fiddling with a clean hoodie that Cassandra had given him.
He looked better now, Cassandra had hoped as much. The box turtle had slept for over 15 hours, and she could only hope that he had pleasant dreams that night. He most likely didn't.

"It is alright, I got this," The former foot recruit reassured, tipping her shoulders slightly and tilting her head towards the unfinished salad she was making, "Are you hungry? I should be done here soon. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you eat mushrooms, right?"
"...Yeah..." Mikey now fiddled with his fingers instead, "...Are you sure I can't help with anything...?"
Cassandra thought for a moment, "Want to cut onions?"
"...I can do that…"

Cassandra stepped back and motioned to Mikey to go ahead.
Despite looking physically a bit more... alive, his voice was just as melancholy as before. She didn't expect a full night of sleep would fix all his problems, and neither was the vitamin-packed salad she was preparing, but she took little change over no change.

The kitchen wasn't big, and despite her earning good money when she was with the Foot Clan and now her new job as Grandma CJ, she never bothered to buy a giant house. It had been big enough for just her and eventually was enough for when her future son moved in. It did get a bit crowded whenever April, Sunita and Gentry were over but it was still cozy, and the money that she saved went into girls trips and trips showing the world to her future son.

For now though, she was home alone.
Good paying jobs don't come from little working hours.
She was used to spending evenings alone

With Mikey taking care of the onions, Cassandra got herself a chair to reach a higher cabinet where she stored spices. It was a simple salad, so salt and pepper would make due, most taste would come from the vegetables anyway. Cassandra took out the two items she needed after quickly scanning the cabinet in case she spontaneously wanted to add something more, and then stepped down.

She tilted the salt over the unfinished salad when she noticed the lack of additional onions. Her eyes were still stinging from the ones she had put in but there were no new ones.
"Mikey?" she asked, glancing up at the turtle to her right.

The onion was sandwiched between the cutting board and the knife, but the knife was vibrating, something it hadn't done before.

Mikey sunk to his knees, the knife clenched close to his chest, and his eyes wide and shaking with fear.
"I-I-I-I didn't mean to-" he stuttered, pulling his legs closer to his body.
Gentle arms soon wrapped around him, a hand prying the knife out of his shaking hand and putting it to the side where it can hurt nobody.
Without saying a word, Cassandra placed her hands on Mikey's chin and lifted his head. A single tear was all that Mikey could spill out of his eye. It was enough though to show all the guilt that has been stored in his small body, crushing him from the inside.

"It's alright-"
"It's not... They will never forgive me..."
"They will," Cassandra reassured, rubbing her hands up and down along Mikey's arms to give him some warmth. It made the box turtle calm down, arrange his thoughts, and stop his shaking, and it made him accept everything that was happening around him.

"I think I shall handle the vegetables for now. Can you get me some bowls and forks from the cabinet?" She asked softly. She should have expected the cutting was too much to handle for Mikey at the moment. The events were too fresh, and he dealt with so much already, things that normal people never have to worry about: curses, losses, a loss of control…the list was endless.

Cassandra helped Mikey to his feet and waited for him to regain his composure.
"Are you alright?" She asked, just to be certain.
Mikey nodded hesitantly. He was shaking a bit again, but he seemed a little bit more... aware now.

Casting his eyes to the floor, Mikey got over to where he remembered Cassandra stored her eating utensils. He wasn't at her place often. Usually, the Casey’s would come to the lair to hang out, or they met up somewhere else.

"Do you-" his voice was uneven, desperate for something to talk about but not quite sure if he should, "-Do you know when you'll bring back Gentry?"
Cassandra, having resumed the killing of innocent vegetables, hummed, "There are some things left to prepare... Some things I need to gather... I also need to find another power source."
"Would friendship work?"
Cassandra chuckled, "We're going to need a lot of friendship then."
"Can you take something- something stronger then friendship? Love maybe?"

Cassandra turned around, raising a brow at Mikey who placed the second salad bowl on the table as well as a fork for each bowl.
Mikey looked away embarrassed and scratched the back of his head, "You're right... I'm stupid, I shouldn't have suggested that." He said, keeping away from her as if he was shielding his emotions.
"Actually, you might be on to something... When April first introduced me to Gentry, she didn't exactly like me. But then we started hanging out more and now we have been really good friends for one and a half years. I might not be her best friend like April is but maybe... maybe I can still get through to her... If she is here…"

It was foolish to hope, but she quickly found herself doing it, hoping. Hoping that this could work.

However, there was just one problem

“I'm not sure if Gentry succeeds in pulling this off. If she did... she probably couldn't choose my shadow as she needs to latch onto one of our shadows in order for her to come back"

Cassandra placed the finished salad on the table with two big spoons to take portions out. The former foot recruit sighed and sat down next to her friend, "I fear she might have connected to your brother this time since he was the only one with her when she..."
"Oh..." Was all Mikey could say. Of course, that would complicate things.

They both grabbed some of the salad and transferred it to their respective bowls- no one started eating, however.
The miserable gaze that was on Mikey's face worsened and mixed with fear. A slow but steady movement came from him as he lifted his fork to eat.
A few seconds passed.
"You want me to come with you..." Mikey concluded whispering.
"It would be nice to have you with me... I might need your help if I'm not strong enough to pull Gentry back out on my own.“

Mikey's slow tremble increased, so unnoticeable that Cassandra barely saw it.
Another few seconds went by.
"I'm not ready..." Mikey's eyes locked with Cassandra's. Dull eyes meeting bright ones. Both are clouded with pain. Both grieving a loved one, but the circumstances couldn't be further apart.

Mikey's fingers curled around the edge of the table, his beating heart loud enough for Cassandra to hear.
"You don't have to-"
"I'm coming." Mikey gritted out, but the small crack in his mask was visible. This decision was affecting him already.

"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked, and much to her surprise, Mikey nodded his head. He wasn't looking at her when he did, but he nodded. "I want to help you get your friend back." He said, more vigor in his voice than she had heard him use the entire time she had spent with him. It made Cassandra grin at him, holding his shoulder, "And I will help you get your big brothers back." She promised.

Mikey finally looked up at her, a few more tears falling, but he wasn't truly crying.

Maybe hoping wasn't so bad after all.