Warnings: Horror, psychological torture, minor character death

Drip. Drip. Drip.

A forest green three-fingered hand twitched.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Hazel eyes opened, blinking slowly as to clear the blurriness away. The pounding in his head was the only thing the mutant turtle was aware of for the next few minutes. Very slowly, he registered the cold hard ground beneath him and the annoying dripping sound right next to his face.

With much effort Leonardo Hamato sat up and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bump.

They were on patrol. It was a clear night, boring even. They were heading home early. Leo couldn't remember ever reaching the sewers.

What happened?

"Raph? Mikey? Donnie?" The leader cleared his throat when he felt how dry it was and tried calling again. No one answered. Gathering all his strength Leo stood up leaning against the wall. Aside from the bump on his head he was uninjured.

The room he was in was dark, safe for a weak light above a metal door. There was a huge boiler and it smelled like gasoline. Aside from a few cobwebs in the corners the room was empty otherwise.

Leo took a few minutes gathering his thoughts before determination hardened his features. His weapons and belt were gone, the only thing he still had was his mask. He needed to find his brothers and find out what happened.

A little stronger on his legs he finally made his way to the rusty door, carefully opening it. He was a little surprised at how easy and how silent it swung open. Stealth had always been his strength, so he made no sound as he entered the dark hallway.

The floor was a dark green linoleum, the walls a faded yellow. Some posters and drawings were still hanging, or scattered on the ground. The only light was coming from the moonlight through the windows.

Sticking to the shadows, Leo made his way along the hall. He found lockers against the walls, several doors leading to what looked like classrooms. A school.

The turtle took a quiet deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying if he could sense anyone near him. Nothing. Leo looked into a few more classrooms, hoping he would find a hint to where exactly he was. Aside from more kids drawings and wall decorations, and some dusty furniture everything was empty.

In what seemed to have been a chemistry classroom he found something scribbled on the blackboard. His eyes narrowed when he read it.

Teacher's pet.

A coincidence. He was at an abandoned school, after all. If he found out his brothers were playing a prank on him he'd make their lives hell. Didn't they know how dangerous actions like this could be?

Leo would be quick to deny it, but he jumped a little when lighting suddenly illuminated the room for a second. Only shortly after thunder sounded. When did it start to rain?

The leader shook his head and turned to leave the room, when something caught his eye. The far right corner... there was a shadow. But... it should be illuminated by the moonlight. It was pitch black. Slowly Leo made his way towards it, grabbing for a dusty broken beaker on one of the tables as a weapon.

There was movement in that corner, he was sure of it. The darkness seemed to seep outwards like tendrils.

"Leonardo..." Hazel eyes narrowed at the sound. It was a mere whisper, but now he recognized a mouth. It seemed human, with blindingly white teeth.

"Who are you? What do you want? Where are my brothers?" He demanded to know stopping his approach a good distance away. The mouth stretched into an uncomfortably wide grin.

"Leonardo..." It whispered again before vanishing, along with the twirling darkness. Leo couldn't suppress a shudder when a sudden cool breeze whizzed past him. At least now he new there was something, and it could talk. And it knew his name.

Leo sped up now, quickly searching more rooms, along with the teachers lounge, but there were no more messages or pitch black corners. And no sight of his brothers.

The storm outside was down to a drizzle when Leo opened the main entrance. Again he was surprised at how easy it was to open. Why did the thing just let him leave?

Aware of his surroundings, he stepped out in the open. A single streetlight was on, but there was no sign of living beings. The buildings close by were rundown, just like the school, with broken windows and faded colors. The playground across the street was rusty and falling apart already. The swing-set creaked eerily as it swung in the wind.

He wanted to try shouting for his brothers again, but deemed it too dangerous. Who knew what kind of other creatures where running around? Leo didn't sense anything close, but he hadn't sensed the shadow being either. It was an unsettling situation.

It would take ages to search the whole block, heck, even the whole town if necessary. Deciding to get a better point of view, Leo climbed the three-story building, pausing to peer inside a window. The classroom was still as empty as predicted. No shadowy figure lurking, waiting to jump at him.

Carefully he continued his climb until he reached the roof, warily eyeing his surroundings. The town was smaller than anticipated. There were only a few buildings as tall or a little taller than the school he was standing on. In the darkness he couldn't recognize them, but he figured one would be a hospital. The other could be a mall.

Unlike New York City, this town was a little lighter building-wise. Instead of tight packed high houses, there were a few scattered, like the suburbs. Closer to the mall the buildings grew closer together, shops probably.

Anyways, something on his left side caught his attention. There were only a few houses, all of them rundown. Leo expected it was the same for every building here. Nobody seemed to live here anymore.

While everything was dark except for the single streetlight below, a quite colorful show of lights happened at the far side. Squinting his eyes, Leo recognized tons of balloons, and red and white striped tents. A carnival of some sorts?

It could be a trap. His brothers could be there. Whatever it was, it was the only lead he had. A shiver ran over him and with a swift movement he turned around to face the shadow again. It didn't do anything... just levitated there. As if it was watching him. Figuring he wouldn't get an answer, and since it wasn't attacking, Leo pretended to ignore it and jumped off the building soundlessly.

He spared a last glance to the school, forcing himself to keep a level head. No matter how much this whole situation freaked him out. His brothers were who-knows-where and they had no idea how to get home.

The only thing he could do was to follow his lead; the carnival.

It wasn't hard finding it. Still Leo took his time as he followed the dirtied streets. The houses – more like cabins now really – were rundown. The windows were blocked by wooden boards, there was mold on the walls and the gardens looked like they were in desperate need of professional help.

There was no sound. He left the creaking playground far behind him, the light drizzle wasn't enough to make much of a sound. Leo himself was as silent as possible as not to alert any possible enemies. There was this constant feeling of being watched, but whenever he turned around there was nothing.

He got closer to the carnival now. The entrance was illuminated by colored spotlights, the sign's colors sun-bleached. The drizzle was getting a little heavier, the wind picking up and making Leo shiver from the cold as he slowly stepped closer. The ground was surrounded by a high fence, clothed in the same red and white striped fabric like the tents, though it looked more gray than anything. Another rush of wind made the fabric flatter against the wooden fence.

Leo would deny it any other day, but he jumped a little when he picked up a whimpering sound. Composing himself he entered the carnival grounds, listening for more whimpers. He followed the sobbing.

"N-No... P-please..." Hazel eyes widened. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"Mikey!" he gasped, running faster now to from where the whimpering was coming.

"Not again! Please!" Behind a rather large tent he found his baby brother curled up impossibly small. His whole body was a quivering mess, eyes tightly closed. He was wet from the rain and crying hard. Throwing all caution out the wind he rushed towards him, touching his shoulder.

"Mikey, it's okay, I'm here..." His heart leaped when Mikey jerked away from him with a yelp, curling up more.

"P-Please! No more!"

"Baby, it's me, L-"

"You're not Leo! You're not!" Mikey had his face buried in his knees, sobbing harder, barely managing to draw breaths in between.

"Look at me, Mikey. It's me..." The sea-green head shook stubbornly. Leo didn't know what to do. He was about to just hug him to calm him down, when footsteps behind him made him twirl around and stand defensively in front of Mikey.

He froze when he saw himself standing there. His clone's face wore a sinister grin that made him really uncomfortable.

"Mikey..." The clone sing-songed, making the smaller turtle whimper again.

"Come out and play..." A dark chuckle had Leo turn around again to see Raph – no, it had to be another clone – approaching. His real brother would never look at them like that. With such hatred in his amber eyes.

From under the tent, an olive hand reached and touched Mikey's shell, making him yelp and crawl away on shaky limbs towards the fence. A Donatello-clone emerged with a dark smirk.

"Don't you love us anymore?"

Mikey's blue eyes were terrified. Never ever in his life did Leo see him in such a state. Without much thinking he picked his little brother up, back against the fence. He didn't know if their clones knew how to fight like them, but if they did he was screwed. Mikey was a shuddering mess as he tried to struggle free of his arms.

"Ssh, stop struggling baby, I'll get us out of here." He reassured him, pressing a quick kiss to the wet forehead.

From his peripheral vision he saw all three clones attack at once, and waiting for the right moment he jumped over them. He didn't hesitate to run towards the exit, not checking to see if they followed. A few times he almost slipped on the wet muddy ground, especially with Mikey's weight in his arms, but he managed to stay upright.

He didn't hear footsteps behind him. When he reached the exit he turned around, gasping when he saw the clones close. They didn't make a sound, they didn't leave footprints. Were they real? It could be they couldn't even harm them...

Mikey struggled to get out of his grip again when he saw them getting closer, but Leo held tight onto him, stepping backwards until he felt the road under his feet again. The clones had slowed down, only walking now instead of running. Gently he lowered Mikey now, but kept firm hands on his shoulders.

"Mikey, calm down." The sky blue eyes were wet and still wide with fear, but when he recognized the warm touch and gaze the floodgates opened.

"Leo! We have to leave! They-"

"They're not real Mikey. They can't hurt us." Mikey jerked away and held up his left wrist.

"They did this to me!" Leo frowned as he grabbed Mikey's hands to examine the bruises that had formed there. It was hard seeing it in the dim glow of the colorful lights, but they were hand shaped. A three-fingered hand.

Leo whipped his head towards the entrance of the carnival, where the clones were standing eerily quiet. But they didn't step over the line. A second later the lights turned completely off and the clones vanished. Mikey gasped and pressed close to Leo, who wrapped his arms protectively around him. A few minutes they stood there, Mikey whimpering and Leo keeping a close eye on their surroundings. Nobody jumped out to attack them.

When the rain got harder, Leo dared to move again, guiding a still shaking Mikey to a porch. There he made him sit on a halfway sturdy wooden bench and knelt in front of him. The younger turtle hiccuped trying to get his breath under control again.

"Baby... look at me." Leo's voice was calm, despite his own heart and thoughts racing. "Deep breaths." he coached, taking deep calming breaths himself and waiting for his baby brother to mimic him.

Mikey took a few breaths before sobbing again, diving forward into Leo's chest again. Out of instinct Leo hugged him close, cradling the back of his head and gently rocking him. He waited patiently for Mikey to calm down. When the sobbing finally stopped, Leo sat on the bench himself with Mikey on his lap. That way he could keep an eye on the road while he talked to his distressed brother.

"It's really you..." Mikey whispered, sniffing.

"Of course it's me, baby." He cupped the freckled cheek and nuzzled his beak. "Are you okay?"

Mikey sniffed again and wiped his eyes.

"I think so..."

"What happened?" Leo asked when Michelangelo didn't elaborate, wrinkling his beak with worry as he watched the dark bruising on the sea-green skin of his wrists.

Mikey lowered his gaze and leaned his head against Leo's strong shoulder, taking a deep breath.

"I... I woke up in the middle of that carnival." He started. "It was raining and I was cold, I think that's what woke me up." As if on cue he shivered again, prompting Leo to rub his arms in an attempt to warm him up more. It made sense, while Leo has been inside the school there was this storm. He tightened his hold, not liking how his baby brother had been exposed to the weather like this.

"Go on."

"I called for you guys, but there was no answer. So I got up and started looking for you. The town looked so dark and scary, I didn't want to leave the carnival at first. I went into one of the tents... but..." Mikey tensed, only slowly relaxing under Leo's gently touches.

"There was Raph. I thought it was him. I was so glad and ran up to him, and he hugged me tight. It was weird..." he took a deep breath. "Cause Raph and Donnie usually are cool to the touch, you know? And Raph was warm. Like, really warm. I tried pulling away, but his grip was strong and suddenly he started biting my neck."

Mikey pulled back to show him a few bite marks on the right side of his neck. "He was too strong, I couldn't get free until I kicked his shin. I turned and ran as fast as I could, right into Donnie. He held me, asking what was wrong and I was so relieved! B-But then he grabbed my tail so hard it hurt and my wrist..." he showed his wrist again. "And kept saying I should show them how much I loved them. I... I was so scared, Leo. Then your clone showed up. I tried to run and hide, but they always found me..."

"Baby... did they..." Mikey let out another sob, but shook his head.

"N-No. They almost did, but I got away. And then you showed up. I thought... you were the clone." Leo sighed and hugged him close again.

"I'm really me, Mikey. Don't worry, I won't let them close to you again."

They sat in silence for a while, until Leo noticed the rain stopping.

"Mikey, are you okay to move? We need to find Donnie and Raph. The real ones." Michelangelo rubbed his eyes and nodded, getting up from Leo's safe embrace but grabbing his hand. Leo squeezed it with a smile and led him down the porch.

"Where do we go?" Mikey asked as he stayed close to his big brother, warily looking around. Leo took his time to think before he started to walk the road leading closer to the center of the town.

"When I left the school grounds I woke up in, the streetlamp there went out. And when we left the carnival the lights went out too. I'd say we keep an eye open for any more glowing streetlights... It's the best bet we have."

Mikey nodded, uneasily looking all around in case there was someone lurking in the shadows.

Leo bit his lip in thought. At least he found Mikey now. If the youngest had been attacked like that, what happened to their other brothers? Were they in similar danger? And why did he get away so easily?

They walked in silence for a while, the only sound coming from Mike's chattering teeth. Leo squeezed his hand reassuringly. He himself was feeling pretty cold too, but he knew Mikey had been exposed to the cold rain and wind way longer. They needed to warm up pretty soon.

"There!" Leo blinked and his eyes followed to where Mikey's finger was pointing. And he was right, there was a light burning. It looked like a police station. As if on cue they heard a familiar roaring sound.

xxxxx

An emerald turtle began to wake up. His amber eyes widened when his vision cleared on bars. Raphael sat up quickly and almost fell back down when a spell of dizziness hit him.

"Argh... what the shell..." The hothead squeezed his eyes shut until the vertigo passed before he tried standing up. His arms felt sore as he used the bars to hold himself up.

He was in a holding cell. Right and left next to him were two more cells. It was dark, but he could make out a desk with a computer at the far wall, a star on the front, a single desk lamp was on. Looked like some old western police station. There was a small kitchenette with an ancient coffee maker to the right and a worn leather sofa, next to a glass door leading outside. On the left was a wooden door, probably leading to a bathroom.

"Hello? Leo? Don? Mike?" No response. There was dust and dirt all around and it looked like no one had been around for a long while. How did he get here? All he remembered was patrol... they were racing each other home, and then nothing.

"Raphael..." Raph cursed when he jumped so hard his head throbbed viciously. He glared at a especially dark corner where a mouth had formed.

"Are you responsible for this?! What did you do to my brothers?! Stop fucking grinning and give me some answers!"

When the shadow only giggled Raph reached for his sais only to realize they weren't there. He shook at the bars like a maniac, trying to break them by sheer force.

"Ya fucking asshole! Where are my brothers?!"

"You killed them. That's why you're here." Raph's grip went slack for a moment before he caught himself again.

"I didn't kill them!"

"Yes you did... Your temper got the best of you. You snapped Leonardo's neck, and broke all of Donatello's limbs to watch him starve. You let Michelangelo choke on your fist." Laughter faded out along with the shadow.

"What...?! Come back! Shit, I didn't kill anybody!" A chill ran over him, but he ignored it as he kept trying to break free. It got hard to breath suddenly and he fell to his knees. It couldn't be true, could it? He would never hurt his brothers, let alone kill them. This thing was trying to mess with him for sure. It wasn't the first time one of them was kidnapped and fed with false information to throw them off. But those creatures always underestimated their bond.

With new vigor he shook the bars again, roaring loudly. He needed to get out and find his brothers.

"Raph!" The hothead stopped and looked up quickly, shoulders slumping in relief when he saw Leo and Mikey on the other side of the glass door. Of course they were alright, what was he thinking?!

The leader hurried inside and grabbed Raph's hands through the bars, their baby brother close behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just one shelluva headache. Woke up a few minutes ago and had a one-sided argument with a shadow..."

"A shadow? You saw it too?"

"Stupid thing tried telling me I killed y'all." Leo blinked. The shadow hadn't really talked to him at all. But it had tried to mess with Raph's head. "Just vanished shortly before ya two showed up." Leo nodded, deep in thought. Would the shadow have stopped taunting Raph if he and Mikey hadn't shown up?

"Look, I'm glad ta see ya, but could ya just free me?"

"Heh, sorry Raph." Leo blushed a little and tried the handle, not surprised when it swung open easily. Raph groaned.

"Are ya kidding me?! It wasn't even locked?!" Leo couldn't help but smile at the hothead. He was so glad he was alright. As soon as the larger turtle stepped out of the cell, Leo hugged him tight. It caught Raph off guard, but he hugged back just as tight. One arm lifted, but Mikey didn't join them immediately.

Leo pulled away and looked at their younger brother. The sea-green turtle was hesitating where he stood.

"It's okay Mikey, it's him." Leonardo assured, ignoring Raph's questioning looks. Slowly Mikey stepped closer, putting a shaking hand on Raphael's plastron. The amber eyes widened when he saw the dark bruise on the wrist.

"Who the shell did this to you!? I'm gonna kill them!" Mikey couldn't help but let out a relieved chuckle and buried himself in Raph's chest. Raph blinked in confusion but hugged him tight. "What happened?" He asked finally after pulling back.

"It's a long story..." Leo sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "We still need to find Donnie."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Raph went over to the glass door, eager to leave this prison.

"Wait."

Leo was rummaging through the desk, a triumphant look on his face as he pulled up a map.

"This will make it easier." he stated unfolding it on the desk so the lamp was illuminating it.

Mikey stood next to him, arms crossed as they studied the map. Raph sighed soundlessly before making his way over too. Before, he grabbed a dusty blanket from the sofa and after shaking the dirt from it best he could, he wrapped it over Mikey's quivering shoulders. The sky blue eyes looked up at him as he came to stand half behind him, but Raph was staring at the map. His hand came to rest on Mikey's shoulder though.

"I woke up here." Leo started, pointing at a school. "Mikey here..." There was only empty land on the map. "And then we found you here." Mikey tilted his head.

"Looks like a triangle." He extracted one of his hands to trace the shape. Leo nodded, a hand on his chin.

"But we are four. So it's probably a square." Leo traced the triangle, continuing it to a square. "That means Donnie should be... here."

"A hospital, seriously?"

"Yeah... let's go. I don't want to imagine what he's going through..."

xxxxx

"This is fascinating..." A certain genius mumbled, eyes wide as he made his way through dark hallways. After waking up Donatello figured out pretty quick that he was in a hospital. The whole building was on emergency power supply, so only the most necessary things were running, along with very much dimmed lights. They were flickering from time to time, not helping the creepy atmosphere.

Donnie took in the dusty interior, the blank papers strewn all around the hallways and how he seemed to be the only one here. For quite a while now he was wandering through the building without finding anything aside from more chaos and dust. He checked every door to not miss anything. Don let out a sigh when he found a broom closet. The cobwebs didn't bother him as he grabbed one of the brooms. Not quite his bo-staff, but at least a weapon. Who knew what he would encounter here?

It just didn't make sense. He remembered their race home, as usual he was head-to-head with Raph for the third place. They were just no match for Mikey's speed or Leo's determination. He remembered hearing something, a whisper, and then nothing. And suddenly he wakes up on a dirty hospital bed.

The beds were old-fashioned and for a moment Donnie thought they went back in time again. But then again, some of the equipment was pretty high-tech, so that didn't add up. The genius had taken a look out the window, frown on his face when there wasn't a single sign of life. The storm had woken him up, he mused. The thunder made him shudder.

Feeling more confident with his weapon, Donnie stepped down the stairs. He needed to get out of here and find his brothers. He tried to stay alert, but with how eerily quiet it was, and how utterly empty the hospital was, he couldn't help but let his mind wander.

"Yeah, of course Donnie. The evil creature that kidnapped you lets you sleep, just to kill you later. When it's in the mood." He shook his head. Talking to himself. Mikey would make fun of him.

"Hello?" He called out loud. It was way too big to search every room. If his brothers were here they could call out to him.

"Yeah, and if the villain is around he's gonna greet me with cookies and milk..." Seriously, he needed to get this under control. But well, there was no one here to judge him. And talking to himself calmed him.

As expected it stayed quiet.

The walk down the staircase was even creepier with how the artificial light illuminated the steps, and brought out the shadows.

"Great ninja you are, Donnie. Afraid of shadows. Maybe-"

"Donnie! Help!" The sudden scream for help startled Don enough that he almost fell down the stairs. It sounded like Leo! "Help!"

It sounded really close... Donatello practically flew down the stairs towards the screams of terror at the bottom. He must be on the basement level of the staircase. The chocolate orbs were fixated on the darkness below as he ran, completely oblivious to the dark levitating figure under the last flight of stairs.

"Leo!" Donnie choked in shock at the sight that greeted him at the bottom of the stairs.

Leo was sitting on the ground, there was blood everywhere. Raph's plastron was cracked open so his heart was visible, still pulsing weakly. Mikey was more writhing on the ground, lips blue and eyes wide as he fought to breathe. A pole through his lungs made it impossible. And Leo himself... his legs were completely gone, blood still pouring out as he tried to keep himself upright.

"Donnie... you have to help us..." The genius had a hard time fighting the nausea that threatened to overtake him. He knelt down next to his brothers and touched them with shaking hands. Their injuries... he couldn't... he didn't know what to do!

Raph's heartbeat got weaker, Leo was bleeding out, Mikey was suffocating. He couldn't save them all! He didn't know how to help any of them!

"Useless." The hiss came from under the stairs, terribly startling the panicking turtle.

"W-Who's there?" He asked in a trembling voice.

"Can't even help his brothers. They're all going to die because you let them." Donnie couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes.

"I want to help them! But... I don't know how! This is beyond my knowledge!"

"Some genius you are. You're nothing but a failure."

Raph's heart stopped beating.

"The worst ninja."

Mikey stilled, having lost the fight for oxygen.

"A useless medic and scientist."

Leo collapsed to the ground, pale and unmoving. Empty of blood.

"A pathetic excuse for a brother and mate."

Donnie felt his throat close up from the sobs that overtook him. His brothers... they were dead. Just because he couldn't help them. Because he was useless.

"N-No..." He cradled Leo, who was closest to him and wept into his plastron. "It c-can't..."

"You saw it happening. You failed and that's why they're dead now. As dead as you should be."

"No! This can't be real!"

"Foolish turtle. You don't even believe what you see with your own eyes. You're even more-"

"Donnie!" Donatello's head snapped up at the sound of Raph's voice. The body in front of him flickered, there was another hiss from the shadow under the staircase before it vanished, along with the blood and the bodies on the ground.

"R-Raph?" The genius called out, shakily standing up.

"Down there!" Leo's voice. "We're coming Donnie!"

Don's heart thumped hard enough he felt it pulsating in his head. He felt dizzy with relief when all three of his brothers reached the foot of the stairs, unharmed. With tears running from his eyes he threw himself at his brothers, holding on for dear life.

"You're alive! You're okay! You're NOT dead!" He never was so happy to feel the strong grip of his brothers around him.

"Of course we are... what happened, Donnie?" Leo's gentle voice finally brought him out of his daze and with a few deep breaths Donnie wiped his tears away.

"Hallucinations. I saw... I saw you die in the most horrible ways. I couldn't help you..." The image was burnt to his memory forever. He was sure he'd have nightmares for the coming... say, two thousand nights?

Mikey squeezed him hard when he felt he was going to fall apart again, and to be able to hold him close was such a relief it left his legs shaking hard. They all sat down when Donnie felt like collapsing.

"Was there a shadow?" Leo asked, hand stroking gently over the olive head while Raph massaged one of his shoulders from behind and Mikey still clung to him as if life depended on it.

"How did you...?"

"Me and Raph saw it too. Did it talk to you?" Donnie closed his eyes and nodded.

"It called me useless. That I was responsible for your deaths cause I couldn't help you."

Raph's hand squeezed a little harder unintentionally.

"That little... argh. It was trying to convince me that I killed each of you. But Leo and Mikey showed up before I really started believing it."

"You didn't see it happening?" Donnie asked, finally calming down now that he was surrounded by his brothers. He distracted himself by rubbing Mikey's shell through a dirty woolen blanket he wore.

"Shell no. I'd have busted my head against the wall if I did."

"Maybe that's what it wanted..." Leo spoke up now, eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" The leader let out a sigh and looked at each of his brothers.

"It knows one of Raph's biggest fears is him hurting us. It thought making him believe he killed us would lead him to suicide." Don blinked and nodded slowly while Raphael grumbled.

"It told me I should be dead because I couldn't save you... It wanted me to kill myself out of guilt..." The gears in the genius' head went into overdrive. "So it tries confronting us with our biggest fears so we would end ourselves?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking."

"What... what did it tell you?" Donnie looked at Mikey and Leo. The youngster whimpered and snuggled closer to him, prompting the genius to hug him tighter.

"It didn't talk to me at all yet..." Leo put a reassuring hand on Mikey's shoulder. "And Mikey was attacked by clones of us." He traced the bitemarks on the sea-green neck with a wince.

"We would never hurt you, sweetheart!" Donnie blurted with wide eyes, gasping when Leo showed him the bruised wrist.

"I know that..." Mikey whispered. "But it was so... so real. I was scared..."

They all huddled closer again.

"I know. I believed it too for a few seconds..." Donnie admitted, sighing against Mike's head and Leo's plastron.

"Do you think we can defeat it by overcoming those fears?" Leo shrugged, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know. It doesn't attack when we're together it seems, and I don't want to risk splitting up again. Not when we know how physical it can get."

"Then what do we do? We have no idea where we are." Raph spoke up, warily eyeing the shadowy corners.

"I think the best thing would be to wait for sunrise. Less shadows for it to hide in. And then we try to leave this town. Maybe it's stuck here."

"If it was stuck, how did it get us here?"

"We were all knocked out and kidnapped, I'm not sure if a magic shadow would use such primitive techniques."

"You think it had help?" Leo nodded gravely.

"Probably. We're gonna find out soon. But for now..." He got up stretched his legs before bending down and picking Mikey up, who was starting to fall asleep against his brother. "Let's find a place to rest. We're gonna need all of our strength."