Chapter Text
Leo watched as the portal closed in front of him. “You’ve been portal chopped!” He declared for all to hear. However, there was only one being there to hear it. The being he’d thrown his life away to trap in this dimension. The monster that had been locked away so, so many years ago.
Leo’s chest swelled as relief crashed into him all at once, so intense it almost knocked the breath from his lungs. He sucked in a shaky breath, hand bracing against his plastron as his heart pounded wildly beneath it. His family was safe. Safe, away from the monster that he’d so blindly allowed to be unleashed.
But he had done it. He had won. The fight was over.
The thought wrapped itself around him, warm and grounding, anchoring him as he floated through the Prison Dimension. Raph’s stubborn strength. Mikey’s laughter. Donnie’s sharp mind. Splinter’s quiet pride. All of them alive. All of them untouched by what could have happened.
He closed his eyes, letting the blast from the technodrome push him back. Sound warped and twisted, fading in and out like a broken signal. His vision blurred, lights streaking across the darkness behind his closed lids.
He didn’t fight it.
There was nothing to fight.
But clearly, fate was not done with him as he felt himself hurdle towards one of the many floating chunks of debris. He landed on it and bounced off just to land again, hard and fast. He skidded across the ground and into a solid wall.
His body slumped against the hard surface, his shell pressed against the cool, smooth stone that jutted up into a jagged point. The impact knocked the air from his lungs in a sharp, breathless gasp, the world tilting as stars burst behind his eyes. Pain flared immediately, bright and insistent, barely kept at bay by the adrenaline still screaming through his veins.
Leo swallowed hard, jaw clenched as he forced himself to breathe through the pain
In. Out. Shallow at first, then deeper, steadier, until the dizziness began to ebb. His vision swam, blurred at the edges, but he kept his eyes open, focusing on the cracks in the stone in front of him like they were anchors holding him to the moment.
‘They’re not here.’
The thought steadied him more than any controlled breath ever could.
A weak, bitter smile tugged at his mouth. The pain was his to carry. That was fine. That was more than fine. That’s why he was here, and they were not. This was his punishment to bear and his to bear alone.
“Ỷ̶̧̳̳̗̰̣̿̽̎̌͝o̸̟͊̀̈́̃̏ū̸̳͇͈̠̓̅̉̍͠-̷̧̱͆͗͠ ”
“Y̵̢̝̞͕̬̪͍͒õ̴͂̿̄̎́́͜u̵̡̡̗̬͔͊̈́'̴̛̼͉̬̤͖͂͝͠v̷̨̤̯͈̰̺̙́̆̀͒̆ȇ̶̡̺̪̯̫̘̓̒͝ ̸̡̰͎͈̉̒ř̵̡̨̙̦͖̞̓̿͛̈́̈́̕ͅu̷̩̍͒̿̐̈́̆į̴̜͎͊̈͊́̿̑͝n̴̳͝e̶͚͋͆̓̈́͛͒d̶͍̮̻͛̿͋ͅ ̶̘̝̮̉̑̽e̵̘̥̅̋̓͊̂́̚ṿ̷̙͉̃͆͗͘͘e̴̡͍̭͓̣̭̞͆͛̌̇̀̚͝r̵̛͕̦̱͕̔̏̈́̉y̶̡̜̅̋̒t̸̬͛h̴̢͉̭̥̪̲̮̀̌͛́̾͘͝i̴̥̤̮͖̊n̵̢̰̼͎̦̍̃̈́̍͒ǵ̶̟̎͗̍!̵̜͉̉”
The Kraang stalked closer, its massive form blotting out what little light remained. The ground beneath it shuddered violently with every step, cracks spider-webbing through the stone as if the debris itself were trying to recoil. Vibrations rippling outward, traveling straight up through Leo’s bones and into his soul.
Yet Leo remained still. Only the shallow rising and falling of his chest gave any indication that the young mutant was still alive, and alive he would remain as the Kraang moved closer to him, anger flaring in its features.
“Ą̶͇̤͇̬̩̝́̄n̷̨̛͖͉̝̩̙͋̈̀̕̚ḋ̴͙̭͎͉ ̴̡͉̪͇͕̮͚̋͌͋͂n̶̢͉̖͙̜̠̬̉o̵̞̣͕̪͋̀̎ẘ̶̳̼͕̯̥̮̓̽̕?̷͎̈́͊̍ͅ ̶̹̩͆̑̃Ḧ̷̲̗́͐̍͆͊͘ą̷̥̪͚̇̐͆̄h̶̲͑̂̀̀̓̚̚͜ȧ̵̩̭͎͛̐̃͛̇ḣ̵͕̣̠́̇̈͝a̸͓̫͎͈͍͍̎̒͜~̶̧̜̩͓̟͉͉͋̿̐̀̈́͠ ̴̝͓̆̈́̊͛͋͝M̵̡̡̡͚̖̐̿́̑y̸̦̣̹͇͊̀̅̀ ̷̗͉̠́̋̿̋͝͝w̶̹̉r̵̗͔͙͔͆̍ă̵̰̪̼̚͜ͅt̶̢̻͇͋̆̅́̈́̓h̷̺̪͎͕͖͇̔ ̷̧͕̠̘͖̖͓͌̈̅͌́͗͝i̷̧̟̯͎̺̇̐̐ş̷̱̻̬̪̝̟̚ ̵̼͉̈͋̇̓̂̾r̸̢̬̰̘̈́̋͋̈́e̶̲̮͙̝͖̊͛̓̕͝s̷̙̜̺̍̄̌̈́̓̕͜͠ê̶͈̱͋͊̚͝r̴͎̈́͆v̷͕̮̯͇͚̻̈́ȅ̷̗͉͈͎̻̾̆̔͑͛͜͠d̸̛̯̹͚̙̬͇͒ ̴̨̛̞͍͚̫̼͗͂̍f̸̪̠̐̑̉͆͘o̶̧̢̞̲̺̿ͅr̴̡̞̘̺̯̲̯̽̈̐̈ ̵͇͕̈́̏͊̕̕͝y̴̻͚͒o̷̧̥͙̲͎̫͑͛͐̈́̌ù̷̖͇̊̏͂̈́̃̔ͅ ̷̮͖̤̐a̵̡̤͖̺͍͒̂l̷̳͖̫͇̃͒̀̂̐ö̵̧̧̳̤͙͓̫n̴̻͉͎̫͆͒͒̈̀͌̀e̵̛̤͕͗̃̑.̵̨̹̦͉͋͠ ”
The Kraang balled its fist and drove it forward, slamming square into Leo’s chest with brutal precision. The impact stole the breath from his lungs, a sharp shock reverberating through his body.
Beneath the force, he felt his plastron strain and protest, a low, unsettling pressure spreading outward from the point of contact. Then came the unmistakable sensation of failure, fine cracks forming, crawling across the hardened surface. They splintered and spread, breaking and branching like a spider’s web across glass.
“Y̷̨̤͇̫̖̓o̵̬͚͒u̵̦͙͌͋̍̎̕ ̴̲̝͚͙̔̊͐̇̍͠t̸͙̫̖͖̃͛̊͐̋ͅh̵͍̆̂͛̈́͝ỉ̷̢̭̰̠͙͎͉̂̽͘n̴̲̔̎k̴̨̘̖̩͆͊̈́ ̴͉̦̣̼͔̾̏̂̇̈y̴̼̐̉̈́̄͐ó̴̤̭̪ů̵̲̳̲̪̔̕'̶̛͇̳͔̻̌̌́͠v̵̨͎̠͆́̓̄̈́̉̕e̷̢̡͓͔͈̝̭̋̈́ ̷̨̪͉͇̱̝͑̊̂̍w̴̨͎̼̣̾̎o̷̯͉̪͖͔͓̻͂͋͑͝n̴͍̺̦̙̟̙̆͑̈́͒̀̊?̸̹̺͇͙̠̯͝ ”
Another punch.
Then another.
And another.
Each blow created an uncomfortable pressure that stung Leo to his core, the force driving deep beneath his shell and rattling through his ribs. It wasn’t sharp pain so much as a heavy, crushing thud that lingered long after impact, leaving his muscles tense and his breath uneven. With every hit, the pressure built, vibrating through him and making it harder to stay focused, harder to ignore how much damage was piling up.
“Ý̶̮̈́̈́͌ǫ̷͕͖̅̒́u̷̮̩̗̞̫̣͗̌͗̔̂̂̂ ̶̰͕̖̬͓͖̭̾̍̑̄
ẅ̷̡̘̤͚̠̩́̑͗͠ȑ̷̡͚̮̥̩͔͑̉̊̈́̇̕ȩ̴̢̼̯̩̪̔̌͒̈́̃͝t̸̠̖͖͈́̉̎̌̓c̸̝̣̦̄͆͛̅h̶̳̖̳̮̙̎͐̀ͅȩ̸͖͔̤̝̞͂͑d̵̨͍̖̬̉̇,̸̻̝̳̲̉̈̀͗͊͂ͅ
̷͓͎̜͘l̵̼͈̪̗̿̈́̊̐ͅḯ̵̙̰̔͂͐̕͝t̴̢͈̹̤͇̬̽̈́̃͆̕t̶̢͔͓̥̻̮̅̀̆̌͌̂l̷̢̬̭̍͝e̸̡̪̜̳̳͘,̶̧̧̝̗̼́̉̾͜͠͝
̴͉͓͋̽̇̌̑P̵̢̰̖̹͓̅͒̔͝ͅe̷̢͕̖̹̪͖̝̍̾̍š̶̨̥͕̼͈̬̺͋̄̔t̷̙̙̜́̍̓͠͝!̶͉̗͇̍̆̑͝ ”
The floor finally gave out from below them, and Leo was sent crashing below onto another platform. A ragged gasp tore from his throat as his shell struck first, the impact jarring his entire body. Pain rippled outward from the point of contact, rattling through his bones and knocking the wind from his lungs. He lay there for a moment, stunned, as the vibration faded. A dull, aching pressure settled across his back, and he could feel it clearly now, the unmistakable damage. His shell had dented under the force, fine cracks spreading across its surface like a spiderweb, each shallow breath making him painfully aware of just how hard the fall had been.
His eyes wandered, struggling to focus as the world around him seemed to blur into a haze. The sharp, biting pain coursing through his body mixed with the surge of adrenaline, dulling his senses yet heightening his awareness in a strange, disorienting way. His head throbbed, the warm liquid, thick and sticky, trickling down the side of his face, but the sensation barely registered against the storm raging inside him. Each heartbeat felt like an echo in the hollow of his chest, an insistent reminder of how close he’d come to losing it all.
Despite the blood staining his skin and the weight of exhaustion dragging him down, his gaze fixed on the crumpled piece of paper clenched in his trembling hands. The picture wrinkled in places, as if the paper had been gripped with too much force, but it still held meaning, something worth holding onto, something he couldn’t afford to lose. He stared at it, the pain in his body suddenly becoming a distant second to the flicker of something else, something much deeper.
A smile, weak and bittersweet, spread across his face. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. In that moment, nothing else mattered. The world could burn, the pain could grow unbearable, but none of it mattered.
‘They’re safe. They’ll live, and grow old, and find love-’
“̶̡̢̼̜͈̘̍͝͝Ẁ̵̜̥̣͍̖͝i̴̥̱̗͇͛͜p̵̨̼̤͙̰̯̎̊͆ͅè̵̼̬͆ ̶̤̋̂́̈́t̵̺̞͋͆̽̋h̶̪̖̤͆̂̀̃̐̕ͅä̴̲͓̤͍͇̩́̍͗̓ṭ̴̯̥̤̘͋̐̚͝͝͝ͅ ̸̗̻͉̩̜͗ͅͅg̸̢̬͖̬̥̟͋̓͌̒̌ͅr̸̢͓͖̉i̵̟͗n̵̜̘̠͚̝̘̈́͐͒̄̚ͅ ̷̛͍̠͔͓̻́̉̎͂͗̕ỏ̶̢̲̰̫͍̲̱̍̀͆̽̂̃f̵̮̔̽f̴̲̔́̌͘ ̸̡̱̺͎̇y̸̘̠̰̆͌̐̔̍͝o̶̘͎̔̃ͅù̴̼̲̊̂̈ŗ̵̡̥̟̝̖̖̐̃ ̵̲̯̈͠f̸̡̳̼̺̼̅̅̓̔̓͘ͅa̶͖͎̺̰̼̣͌c̷̱̜̮̘̟̽̐͆e̸̳̩͙̝͆̌̐͝!̸͖͉̘̓́͂́͊̌͆!̵͓͓̟́̆̂̂̀̓͐!̷̧̛̩͖͖̰̰̏̀͝ ”
Two massive fists came smashing down onto Leo in a blur of motion. The impact hit all at once, crushing into his shoulders, his legs, his plastron, driving the air from his lungs as the armor-like surface groaned under the sheer force of the Kraang’s attack. For a split second, it felt like the ground itself was trying to break him in half. Then the pressure vanished, replaced by violent momentum. Leo was launched through the open space, spinning helplessly as he streaked away like a comet, the world around him blurring into light and motion.
He pulled the picture close to his chest, tears running down his face as a realisation came to him.
‘I want to be there with them. I want to live. I want to live. I want to live!’
Leo felt his body phase and glitch from the spot where he was floating, reality stuttering around him as if it couldn’t decide where he belonged. Pain flared instantly, sharp, overwhelming, like he was being pulled apart piece by piece, every nerve screaming as his form fragmented. Before he could even gasp, the sensation reversed with brutal force. His body snapped back together, the air punched violently from his lungs as everything realigned all at once. The chaos faded just as quickly as it began, and he dropped a final few inches, landing gently on a solid surface as if nothing had happened, though his body still trembled, remembering the agony.
He felt sore, tired, as if all the adrenaline had left his body instantaneously. The call of sleep beckoned him with its siren song, lulling him along as he curled into the corner of the place he’d been tossed into. He didn’t even notice that the roaring pain that had been ripping through him suddenly came to a dull ache.
Leo let out a soft sigh as his eyes closed.
He couldn’t fight it anymore. His thoughts began to slip, edges blurring as his brain felt fuzzy and distant, like it was wrapped in static. Sounds dulled, lights smeared together, and even the effort to focus became too heavy to manage. Awareness drifted in and out, each moment weaker than the last, until resisting felt impossible and he simply let himself sink into the haze.
The last thought that formed in his head was a plea for someone, anyone, to save him.
–––––––––––––––––––––––
They could only watch as the sky erupted above them, bursting into vibrant, blinding colors that rippled and folded in on themselves like a living barrier. The light surged and then sealed shut, cutting them off completely from their brother in a final, merciless flash. Silence followed, thick and crushing. Time seemed to stretch, each second dragging longer than the last, until it felt as though the world itself had slowed to a halt. No one moved. No one breathed. All they could do was stare at the fractured sky, trapped in the unbearable moment.
Mikey was the first to move as he sank to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes and down over his cheeks. He couldn’t believe it; he didn’t want to believe it. Leo was gone, he was gone, and there was nothing that he could do.
Wait-
The thought prickled at the back of his mind. ‘You were the greatest mystic warrior.’ The words surfaced unbidden, repeating over and over as if carved into his thoughts. Each echo carried weight, pressing against him, telling him what he should do. What he needed to do.
His body moved, legs trembling with each unsteady step. Muscles protested, shaking beneath him as if they might give out at any second, yet he forced himself forward anyway. Every movement felt heavy, deliberate, but he kept going, driven by something deeper than strength alone.
Determination. Love. Hope.
He stood at the edge of the island, raising his arms, straining them. He was going to open a portal. He was going to do it. He was going to save his brother. He was going to save Leo.
His body shook as he strained, trying to will the portal forward. He could feel his ninpo boiling below the surface, threatening to break through, yet never actually giving the last push that he needed.
“Mikey, it’s over,” Raph said, his voice tired and defeated.
Mikey’s arms dropped to his sides, useless and heavy, his shoulders jerking as the sobs tore out of him. Great, painful tears spilled from his eyes, thick and hot, sliding down his cheeks faster than he could wipe them away. His breath hitched and broke, each inhale a harsh, choking sound that scraped his throat raw.
His knees buckled beneath him, strength abandoning his legs all at once, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. He curled in on himself, pressing his hands over his face as if he could hide from the hurt, as if he could muffle it. But the cries only grew louder, spilling out between gasping breaths, raw and unrestrained. His whole body shook with it, every sob wracked with pain, every sound heavy with grief he couldn’t hold back any longer.
Raph made his way over to Mikey, putting a hand on his shoulder before abandoning his own attempt to hold things together. He just scooped Mikey up in a hug, sobbing silently alongside his wailing baby brother.
It was over, and the finality of it struck like a blow to the chest. The pain settled in deep, sharp and relentless, spreading through them until there was no place left untouched by it. It hurt in a way that words couldn’t soften, a hurt so heavy it pressed down on their lungs and made it hard to breathe.
The ache wasn’t just one thing, either; it was grief tangled with regret, love knotted up with loss. It stretched between them, pulling at every fragile bond they shared, threatening to snap them one by one.
Even Donnie slowly made his way over to his brothers, sinking down next to them and wrapping his arms around them, hot tears pouring over from his eyes. How dare they, how dare they take him away from them?
A void seemed to fill his chest in the place where his heart should have been, vast and hollow and aching all at once. It was as if something essential had been carved out of him, leaving behind nothing but an empty space where warmth and love should have been echoed with every breath he took.
Each inhale felt thin and unsatisfying, like air that couldn’t quite reach where it was needed. The emptiness pressed in on itself, heavy despite its lack of substance, swallowing warmth, swallowing hope. And no matter how he tried to steady himself, that void only widened, a silent echo of what he had lost and the part of himself that had gone with it.
He was broken; they were all broken.
They sat there, holding each other close for a long while. No one could say anything; there was nothing to say. Even as their muscles stiffened and ached from holding that position, they refused to let go, as if they were afraid another one of them would disappear should they let go.
A blip interrupted them, and they reluctantly moved, each sitting next to each other, huddling around Donnie’s tech-gauntlet as it glowed.
A quiet voice came through, April. “Where are you guys?” She asked.
Donnie opened his mouth to speak, but no sound followed. The words sat heavy and useless behind his teeth, trapped there as if his body had decided, without consulting him, that they were never meant to be said. His throat tightened painfully, muscles locking up, sealing shut no matter how hard he tried to force them open. He just couldn’t do it. He turned his head in defeat.
Raph opened his mouth, allowing himself to speak for his brother. “Staten Island.”