Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The sweet scent of flowers floated in the air through the streets of New York City. Birds perched on the branches of trees brought back to life were chirping and flying across the city's clear sky. The city pulsed with energy and life, its inhabitants a constant bustle.
Meanwhile, in the sewer tunnels ,beneath the streets, stretched endlessly ahead, lit only by the occasional flicker of dim overhead bulbs. Water dripped rhythmically somewhere far off, echoing into the silence.
That morning, while the turtles were minding their own business, April entered the lair, holding two baskets with curled ribbons, a fresh apple pie, the scent of cinnamon floating in the living room. Shortly after her entrance, Casey Jones appeared too, armed with his hockey sticks and baseball bat.
Mikey, who was watching a rerun of so.e cartoons on the TV, immeadiately jumped on his feet, his baby blue eyes lighting with excitment.
April: Hi, Mikey!
Mikey( hugging her): April! What'cha doing,girl? Oh, it's that apple pie?( He pointed at the pie in her right hand).
April: Yes, but it's for later. But for now, I have a surprise for you four.
Mikey: Ooh, sounds nice.
April: Yeah, it is.
Casey: Yo, Mikey, all good?
Casey and Mikey fist-pumped.
April(to Mikey): Where are your brothers?
Mikey: Oh, y'know, around here.( He turned with the back to April, cupped his hands, shouted). GUYS! APRIL AND CASEY ARE HERE!
Shortly after, Leo, Raph and Donnie emerged from their places and went at the entrance.
Leo: Hello, April and Casey!
April: I'm glad you're all here guys! I have planned something nice for you.
Raph( frowned): What's with the baskets?
It was Easter, and April explained to them and insisted on organizing something “fun and normal” — an Easter egg hunt, even if it meant crawling through the grimy underbelly of New York City. They agreed. Mikey and Casey were excited; Raph agreed hesitating; Donnie found it as an opportunity to check the sewers; and Leo found it as a perfect break from the uneasy feeling that haunted them after their father's death.
April: Alright guys,I already hid the eggs across the sewer tunnels. You have to find them. The winner is the one who gets the most eggs!
Mikey: Oh, what's the prize?
April: The apple pie I brought.
Raph( cross-armed, smirking): Heh, it'll taste even better after I beat Jones here.
Casey: Oh, it's on, bro.
April: Do you do realise you'll be in pairs ,right?
Donnie: April, no offense, but we're 5 players; someone will have to play alone.
Leo( stepping in front, the right leg stepping a bit more carefully): I will play alone. If I meet sewer workers or thievez in the tunnels, I can handle them.
April looked at him, but she said nothing. The redhead felt that something was off, but she wasn't sure if it was just in her mind or if her psychic powers really worked then. She saw how Leo stepped with his right leg, the one that got broken a few years ago. She had a feeling that letting Leo go alone is a bad idea....but what if it was just a feeling? Leo's leg healed , and since then, never troubled him. And if someone was able to defend themselves the best, then it was the blue-banded turtle. She tried to pull of the thought, and returned to the explanations.
April: Okay, then the pairs are: Mikey with Donnie, Raph with Casey, and Leo alone. I will remain at the lair and wait for you to return. And the game starts...Now!
The four turtles and the hockey player sprinted and jumped over the turnstiles, Mikey and Casey's cheers echoing down the tunnels.She stayed behind to guide the hunt from the lair, while Casey tagged along with the turtles. The game was a bit chaotic, but it kept them busy. Distracted. It took them away from the monotony they had fallen into.
April stood in her place, her dread growing up, listening at the shouts that slowly faded away..
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The lights of the old tunnel flickered slightly, casting on the ground long shadows of two turtles. Mikey was walking fast, looking around for eggs. Sometimes, he stopped and peeked his head so he could take a look between the worn walls and the pipes where it was a small space. Donnie was walking casually, not hurrying up, his bo staff strapped to his back.
Donnie: Mikey, the Easter eggs can't be between the pipes and the walls.
Mikey: Yeah? 'cause I know April well and she hides things pretty well. Do you remember when she hid her chocolate stash two years ago?
Donnie(grinning): Before OR after you raided her snacks stash?
Mikey( blinked): That was strategical eating up!
Donnie( soft smile): If you say so..
They continued to walk, their bare feet barely making a sound on the ground. As they did, Donnie's T-phone vibrated on his belt. He pulled it out. April had sent a message to him.
Mikey( looking at his brother who stopped): Donnie? Something happened?
Donnie( his brownish-reddish eyes squinting): April just send me a message.
Mikey slid next to him and looked at the phone as Donnie texted back.
Chat:
April: Donnie, I have a bad feeling about Leo. I feel like something bad is going to happen to him. Can you go after him?
Donnie: What feeling? Is from your psychic powers or just a feeling?
April: I'm not sure,but... Can you check on him?
Donnie: I think Leo's fine..but if you want, I can track him.
Donnie switched from the message app to his tracking app. And there, not too far and moving, was a blue point: Leo.
Back to chat:
Donnie: April, he's fine. We're pretty close to him. If something happens, we cam reach him.
April: Okay..
He put the T-phone back in his belt.
Mikey: Do you think that April's right?
Donnie: Well, her powers allow her to feel presences, but she can't know who it is. Maybe is a sewer worker, or in the worst case, a team of workers; but Leo can stay hidden from them.
Mikey: How about ghosts?
Donnie: Ghosts? I'm not sure If she can feel them..But I really doubt is about a ghost after we defeated Kavaxas.
They continued to walk....until Mikey spotted something, jumped and grabbed it.
Mikey( eyes gliming): I FOUND IT!( He hold in his hands a yellow , daisy-patterned Easter egg).
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Leo moved slower than the others, his senses alert, katanas sheathed on his back. The others had already disappeared into their own branches of the maze-like tunnels. Casey’s voice had faded minutes ago. Now, it was just Leo, the dripping water and the soft throb in his right leg. Again.
He told himself it was nothing. Just a strain. Maybe he trained too much, overworked himself.Nothing compared to before.
But the ache grew stronger.
He paused, placing a hand on the damp wall, breathing heavy from the pain.
Leo( under his breath):Come on. You’ve been through worse.
He took another step. The pain shot like fire up through his thigh. He winced but kept going. That’s when he saw it — a flicker of movement in the dark. A shape. A presence.
A shadow.
His heart clenched.
From the corner of his eye… tall, sharp, armored. Cold.
Leo turned sharply, katanas drawn in one swift motion.
Leo( demanding) : Who's there?
The shape stepped forward. Familiar. Horrific.
Shredder.
Leo( whispered, the words barely leaving his lips):No…No, you’re dead. I killed you…
But there he was. Towering. Unyielding. Eyes glowing with fury.
Shredder (hissed, voice like rusted steel scraping against bone): Leonardo. Still limping through life like a broken ghost. Still weak. Still worthless.
Leo stumbled back, chest tightening.
Leo( his sapphire blue eyes wide): You’re not real…. I killed You! I took of your head!
Shredder (stepped closer): Do you think a broken leg and three months in bed made you stronger?Do You really think that all the training made You better?You were always your father’s biggest disappointment. And now he’s gone. Because of you.
Leo’s vision blurred. He backed away, breath quickening.
Leo: S-stop..
Shredder:You let me kill him. You hesitated. Just like now. (He drew a blade from his gauntlet slowly, deliberately).Coward.
Leo turned and ran.
His leg screamed with every step, but terror pushed him. Down one tunnel, another—every corner felt like it was closing in.
Then it happened.
CRACK.
Leo collapsed with a strangled cry as his right leg gave out beneath him. The pain was blinding. The katanas clattered from his hands, skidding across the concrete.
He crawled desperately.
Leo(screaming, desperate): GUYS! MIKEY! DONNIE! CASEY! RAPH !PLEASE!
Shredder’s slow steps echoed behind him, dragging the blade that screeched against the concrete floor.
Leo sobbed openly now, tears falling as he dragged himself forward with shaking arms.
Leo(sobbing):Sensei—help me! Please, I’m sorry—I’m sorry!
Shredder: You failed your master, your Brothers, your friends..
Leo( screaming): NOOOO! NO! GO AWAY!
He turned, face streaked and bandana soaked with tears, the right leg weak beneath him, and saw Shredder towering over him, raising his blades.
Shredder:You die as you lived—broken. Afraid. Alone.
Leo screamed; a raw, guttural, ful of every ounce of pain he’d buried scream.
Leo(screaming): NOOO!
The blade fell.
Then silence.
The shadow was gone.
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From the other tunnels, the three turtles and the hockey player heard the scream , abandoned the eggs hunt and took of running toward the origin of the scream.
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Moments later, the others arrived in a rush—Mikey tripping, Donnie wide-eyed, Raph roaring Leo’s name, Casey scrambling to help.
They found Leo on the ground, shaking, sobbing, arms wrapped around his chest, blood dripping from fresh slashes across his chest and arms. His leg was clearly broken.
Donnie dropped beside him, scanning the injuries with trembling hands.
Donnie:Leo! Oh my god—he’s bleeding—he’s—
Leo (gasped between sobs): I saw him.Shredder—I saw him. He was here—I swear—he—he said—he said it was my fault—
Raph's face twisted.
Raph:Leo, man, that’s not possible. Ya-ya killed him. He’s gone. We all saw ya comin' and holdin' Shedder's head.
But Donnie froze. His fingers had brushed a slash along Leo’s plastron —deep and still bleeding.
Donnie:…This wound.It’s real. It's fresh. These aren’t from the fall.
A cold silence settled over the group.
Casey( softly)…Then who the shell did this?
Leo cried harder, curling in on himself as Mikey gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Mikey:We got you, dude. We’re gonna get you home.
They lifted him carefully, and as they carried him back through the tunnels, each step echoed not just with concern—but with fear.
Because someone—or something—had found Leo in the dark.
And left its mark.
To be continued.....