Chapter Text
Leo’s stomach drops as he hurls straight over the side of the freaking building.
His mask tails get caught by Draxum’s vines and he desperately scrambles to grab at them so his mask doesn’t slip off and with it, him.
“I may have created you, but I will not hesitate to destroy you.” Draxum threatens.
Leo’s lost. He spins around to see his technical, ‘rescuer’. “Uh, who created what now?”
“Let my brother go,” Raph snarls, readying to fight.
Leo’s eye ridges shoot up, “NOT literally,” he corrects hastily.
“Oh, brotherly loyalty,” Draxum mocks, disdain dripping off of his voice, “But my bugs are important to you as well.” He turns to face the snapping turtle. “Which one will you choose?”
Oh, he’ll definitely drop me.
“Give him the bugs! Just give him the bugs!!” Leo flails for purchase or ANYTHING so he won't get dropped off of a building.
“I’m not giving him the bugs. These villains are all talk.” Raph says confidently.
Shoot.
“Okay,” Draxum concedes nonchalantly.
He drops Leo.
Leo shrieks, air whipping past him. His bandana flaps and cracks in the wind.
Nonononono why didn’t he LISTEN-
Anger and pettiness rises in him.
Leo cups his mouth so his words will carry, “With my last breath, I told you so!”
“NO!” Raph shouts after him.
Leo flips to see his descent towards the ground in case there’s anything to grab.
There’s nothing.
This is fine this is fine, it’s a long fall, Raph, Donnie or Mikey’ll save me. It’s FINE. This is FINE. It’ll work itself out, right?
Raph flies over the side of the building with a howl.
He did not just follow me over the side of the building.
“Power punch jitsu!” Raph screams,
His blood runs cold.
He did follow me.
Leo turns in time to see Raph punching his tonfas together. Red sparks and electricity run over his fists.
But nothing happens.
“Power punch jitsu power punch jitsu power punch-” Raph repeats over and over again punching his fists together, but nothing is happening.
Leo growls in frustration, seeing the street come closer and closer.
Now someone catch us, come on, come onnnn.
He’s trying not to panic but tears start to prick his eyes and his heart is roaring in his ears.
C’mon someone, someone, someone.
Leo makes a strangled, panicked sound, close to a sob.
Raph continues to plummet just like Leo is, trying with his tonfas over and over and over again.
Leo starts to actually cry.
This can’t be it.
He and Raph lock eyes.
Raph has tears streaming down his face, too.
We’re going to die.
Yet Raph’s eyes never leave Leo’s.
No, no, no, he can’t-
We can't-
Raph’s hands still reach out to him, trying to catch Leo, shield Leo.
Leo sobs, vision blurring. He senses the ground come ever closer.
His lips contort into a snarl.
Damn it, Raph.
Leo scowls at him, a sob wretching through him.
“Why would you do this?!”
Leo slams into the roof of a car. The glass shatters in a mass explosion, and he feels all the air in his lungs blast out from his chest. He feels his shell crack from the force. Then his head slams into the metal, leaving a dent, and—
Nothing.
The last thing he feels is remorse that his brother will die trying to save him.
Raph weeps.
All he could think about was saving Leo, but he failed. Another sob escapes him. I failed.
‘Why would you do this?!’ Leo had said. He screamed with so much hurt and venom, Raph knows it’ll haunt him. Then he—
His mystic tonfas failed. He couldn't do it, he couldn't do it when it mattered the most,
He sees his cocky blue brother fitted into the roof of a car, motionless.
The sound of wind fills his tympana.
He knows he’s about to meet the same fate.
The red turtle swallows and tries to swim to the side as best he can.
Even if I don’t survive this, I’m not crushing my brother.
Raph cries with grief, only tearing his eyes away from Leo to turn around so he’s falling shell first.
He pops into his shell, blinking back more tears. Leo’s words haunt him.
I’m so sorry, Leo.
Raph crashes straight into the pavement.
He chokes, feeling the air escape his lungs, and his body scream in agony. The impact tears through him, his vision goes white, then his entire being feels numb.
He feels like he’s outside of his head. His tympana ring painfully. He lays there for a second, pain lacing through him. It’s like his head is disconnected from his body.
Blearily, he tries to push his limbs out of his shell. His chest feels tight. He blinks to try to regain his mind.
Breathe.
It feels like liquid is pouring throughout the insides of his body.
Breathe.
His mouth opens to try and allow some air in but he chokes.
Breathe.
The snapper’s eyes fly wide open realizing he can’t breathe.
BREATHE.
His chest burns and his mouth is filled with blood. Head lolling to the side liquid pours out from his limp jaw.
Vision blurry he spies his blue brother’s hand.
Leo.
He tries to move towards him but his head feels like it’s being pressed in on all sides.
Raph’s chest seizes and he chokes one last time before the pressure becomes too much for him.
I’m sorry…
Leo.
His eyes see no more.
Donnie blasts Big Mama in the mouth with her own webs then moves to catch Mikey.
Angelo lands on the backseat with a shout. Donnie smiles and rubs his head affectionately.
Now to find Leo and Raph.
He hears a commotion from the Baron dude as he releases his bugs again in a bright green swarm. Donnie’s eyes narrow.
“That can't be good.” Don mumbles.
Raph and Leo were fighting him, though, so where are—
Mikey gasps, then starts shaking him, “DEE!”
Donnie looks where he’s pointing and his heart drops.
SHOOT.
He flies them over immediately. Raph is passed out in a crater, bleeding on the sidewalk and Leo is splayed out on the roof of a white car, blood dripping down from the massive indent he made from— Donnie looks up to the roof of the building and pales.
Falling from—
He goes cold looking back to his two injured brothers.
—that high?
His mind starts running the calculations as the world fades away.
If they fell from that high then…
Donnie sets his jaw with a snarl and flips his goggles down.
No.
Nononono you are not dying on me. Not today, José.
Their vitals appear in his goggles. His eyes dart over the new information trying to figure out what to do next to save his brothers’ lives.
“—-Donnie? Donnie!” Mikey shrieks, tears dripping from his eyes.
“What is it, Mikey!? I am TRYING to save their lives.” Donnie yells still trying to scan over their stats.
“Raph isn’t breathing.” He’s halted with a sob.
…
The stats in his goggles give him an overview of all their injuries and giant warning signs flash in front of him.
I'm going to lose them.
His tympana start ringing.
“—Donnie?”
How do you treat a lung filling with blood?!
“Donnie?”
His breaths start coming faster and faster.
“Donnie come back!”
What do you do to fix that?!
Donnie comes back to reality with one terrifying realization.
He doesn’t know how to fix this.