They were nearly to the top. All Leonardo had to do was walk – no, crawl a few feet, and they'd finally be rid of it. The One Ring.
Since the fellowship had set out on its long and perilous journey, Raphael had noticed his brother's youthful exuberance begin to fade as he withdrew into his own head, into nightmares and the whispers of Sauron. The light of hope had left his eyes long ago, replaced by a weary defiance that kept his legs moving, kept his heart beating.
But now, so close to the end, the burden was too great. Leo stumbled over the rocks, breath coming in fast gulps that seared his lungs, tears welling from the heat and sting of the blasted mountain, and then, to Raphael's horror and despair, he stopped trying to stand.
"I'm sorry, Raph." Clinging to the One Ring lying so innocuously on his chest as though it were a hated part of his own body, Leo croaked, "I've failed you. I've failed everyone."
This wasn't Leo. Leo didn't give up. He didn't call it quits right at the finish line. But Leo was in there. The One Ring may have hacked at his spirit and his mind but Raphael looked into his eyes and saw the brother he'd grown up with still fighting to complete the mission. Their last mission.
Fire erupted from the mountain, so very close. Uttering a sound that straddled the line between a grunt and a scream, Raphael dragged himself to his feet, trudged the space between him and his older brother, and hauled him onto his back, ignoring Leo's oddly satisfying squeak of surprise. "Come on, Leo!" He took one step forward, then another. "I can't carry it for you… but I can carry you!"
Leo rolled his eyes, breaking character. "Yeah, okay, Samwise. You better not drop me."
"Oh, relax, would ya? I'm not gonna drop you… whoops!" Raph loosened his grip for a second, eliciting another surprised eep.
After carrying on like that for a while, the two turtles found their way into the mountain. Leo stood at the edge of the stone bridge, gaze vacant as he stared at the ring gripped tightly in his hand.
"Do it, Leo!" Raph screamed. "Be done with it! Throw it into the fire!" Slowly, Leo turned to face him, or maybe only his body turned to face him. They'd known each other their entire lives… and Leo had never once looked at him with hatred. It wasn't his brother at all. It was the ring.
With a grin that spoke of a startling madness, Leo slipped the ring over his finger and… a white sheet was thrown over his body. Raphael sighed. They had a genius in the family and that was the best he could come up with? Seriously?
After Leo flapped his arms a few times like he was the Ghost of Dorks Past, a horribly deformed creature with big blue eyes and freckles leapt on top of him, took his finger into his mouth, and bit down. "Ow!" Leo shook him off. "You weren't supposed to bite me for real, remember?"
Smiling a little sheepishly, Mikey eased off of him. "Sorry. Guess I got a little excited. If it makes you feel better, you taste delicious, dude."
"Strangely enough," Leo responded, "that does not make me feel better." Catching a glimpse of the ring still on his finger, he pulled it off and cast into the fiery chasm from whence it came. Also known as the Pit, where it bounced off their television with a light ping.
Raph crossed his arms. "Great. Now why don't you throw Mikey in there so we can all go to bed?" Mike stuck out his tongue.
Since Leo was feeling pretty good after his performance as Frodo, he decided to tease his little brother a little and moved as though he were actually thinking of throwing him into the Pit. At worst, he'd throw Mikey onto the couch, but Mike backed off, shaking his head. "Don't even think about it, Leo! There's lava in there."
Hearing that, Donatello walked out of the kitchen, his bo stylized to look like a staff, a pointed wizard's hat atop his head, and a flowing white beard temporarily glued to his chin. "Oh, you guys are done? Saved Middle Earth and all that? Guess I better call the eagles." He cupped his mouth and cawed like a bird as Mikey watched, practically bouncing with excitement.
When nothing happened, Donnie shrugged nervously and cawed again.
With a heavy sigh, Master Splinter emerged from the dojo, his outstretched arms spread out like airplane wings and covered in feathers. It was probably a good thing that fur couldn't flush pink, but if he was going to do this, he might as well go all out.
He swept into the Pit, kneeled as though offering his sons a piggy back ride, and waited for them to pretend to clamber over him so he could "fly" them into their beds. While Raph and Leo, also eager for their game to come to an end, rested their hands on his shoulder blades, Mikey refused to move, his mouth turned downwards in a pout. Even when Splinter silently begged with his eyes and Leo began to make whooshing wind noises, Mikey refused to budge.
Finally, Splinter gave in. He cleared his throat with as much dignity as he could muster, opened his mouth, and said, "Caw."
A/N: They're a little younger here than they'd be in the series. I'd say ten or eleven, but if you imagined them being the ages they are in the series, that's fine, too. Once thing is certain, Master Splinter is deeply regretting letting them watch Lord of the Rings.