Baku-san

By Kellyanne Lynch

6 – 14 June 2016

Beta-Reader: Ravenshell

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nor do I profit from them. In fact, Mikey stole my vegan pizza and owes me big time.

Summary: Years ago, the turtles battled Shredder, who killed Splinter, disabled Mikey, and captured Leo in a bloody fray. Thinking Leo was dead, the others moved on with Raph as their leader. Now, they discover that Leo is alive, and they rescue him. But he isn't the same, and neither are they. They're losing the battle against Shredder. Will their desperate measures be their downfall?

Rating: PG

Author's Note: This fic is loosely based on the 2012 animated series turtles. I say "loosely", because I put my own stamp on the turtles as many have done before me. That's part of the beauty of TMNT. I include more hints of the turtles' Japanese heritage in my version of the TMNT universe, seeing as Splinter is from Japan and raised them. This story takes place after the season 3 episode "Dinosaur Seen in Sewers", and it's helpful if you saw the episode but not necessary for reading this fic. In any event, I hope you enjoy this tale of the TMNT. Now let me tell you a story…

"I have him!" growled a beastly voice.

Leonardo jolted to consciousness in a cold sweat and found himself in the crushing grasp of a hulking triceraton. His eyes widened, and his erratic pulse quickened to a dizzying rate. He pushed his arms with all his might into the creature's enormous, blazing hot hands but mustered little more than an agonizing squirm.

The triceraton yanked Leo to his feet. "Awaiting your command," he snorted into a mouthpiece, narrowing his beady, neon green and blue eyes.

"Leo!" a tinny voice resounded through the triceraton's headset. Leo jerked at the sound of his name, so unused for so long, to the point of feeling obsolete. "I…"

"Stick to the plan, Don!" another disembodied voice interrupted. "Zog, get him out of there!"

"Yes, Commander Zoraph."

These names... Leo knew these names but hadn't heard them in… how long? His clouded mind grasped at familiar straws, hanging onto the most confusing one. "Zoraph," he whispered, his throbbing forehead furrowing. "Zor… Raph…"

Zog flung Leo over his shoulder and lumbered down a filthy, dimly lit tunnel. Each thunderous step hammered Leo, rattling him to the bone. His joints throbbed in time with his ever quickening heartbeat. His head reeled. He gritted his teeth.

Leo surveyed his upside-down surroundings. He was in a subway tunnel. Flickering lights pulsed searing shocks through his head, and he closed his eyes. Zog's rough plodding jarred his brittle bones, and his joints were on fire. He clutched the triceraton with what little strength he had.

The jostling intensified, and Leo opened his eyes. At least a dozen Foot soldiers were in hot pursuit. Zog vaulted up the steps out of the tunnel, the Foot on his heels.

A figure swooped in from the left and flanked the triceraton. "Good work, soldier!"

Raphael! Leo squinted at his brother, who patted Zog's shoulder.

"Raph," Leo rasped. Raph's eyes visibly softened as they shifted to him. Leo knew he had something to say but forgot what it was. Visions of a dank, dark, frigid cell and Shredder pounding his battered frame assaulted his mind. "No… Raph. Shr…" Leo coughed – a dry cough that raked fire through his throat and ignited a flaming coughing fit. He fixed his sunken, squinting eyes on Raph, who gulped as he scanned Leo's frame. "Shredder…"

Raph's battle-hardened glare returned. He keyed his radio. "Don," he growled. "Do it."

The tunnel exploded behind them. Chunks of tile and concrete assailed their backs, firing the trio forward and blasting Leo back into unconsciousness.

Leo fell backwards into a whirlwind, streaks of purple and blue and red and orange spiraling around his free-falling body. And then, a burst of light and his brothers' voices crying out around him. They were cheering.

The three came into focus on the roof of a skyscraper, the bodies of Shredder and a few dozen Foot soldiers underfoot. Leo saw himself there too. He was beside Splinter, who smiled serenely at his boys. The other Leo bumped fists with Donatello, and Raph pounded the air with a triumphant, "Yeah!"

"WOO!" Michelangelo hooted, bouncing on the pads of his feet. "Aw, yeah, son! Cowabung…"

Mikey hit the ground, a hand with a spiked tri-blade hand claw wrapped around his ankle. Leo watched in horror as Shredder catapulted to his feet and roundhouse-kicked the youngest turtle off the roof.

"MIKEY!" Leo cried, as did his other self and his brothers. No no… Leo's mantra pounded in time with his speeding pulse. No no no… But this was real! This happened!

Raph raced for the ledge with Donnie in tow.

Sensei was seething. "Shredder!" Splinter snarled. He rushed the villain with a raised staff. Inches before striking, he gasped and stiffened. Three blades shot out his back. Splinter exhaled and crumpled. Shredder withdrew his hand, and Splinter fell on his face.

Father, no! This was happening again! This was happening all over again! His sensei, his mentor, his father, he was dead!

"NO!" Leo's other self screamed. He charged at Shredder, who slashed his plastron. The other Leo collapsed beside his father. Shredder's metal foot slammed into Leo's head, knocking out the turtle.

"Sensei!" Donnie cried. "Leo!" Gritting his teeth, he lunged at Shredder.

The armored adversary grabbed the fallen Leo and threw a smoke pellet. A purple plume billowed across the rooftop. The smoke dissipated, and Shredder and the other Leo were gone.

The scene blurred to black. Leo could still hear Donnie sobbing. "Father! Leo! Mikey!... They're dead! They're all dead!"

"Donnie, I'm here! I'm alive!" Leo called to his brothers but quickly came to the sick realization that his cries were in his head. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. His mind clouded, his thoughts disconnecting and words no longer making sense. Leo descended into the darkness.

Clenching his eyes shut, Leo chanted to Baku the Dream Eater, as Splinter once taught. "Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream." He felt a presence to his right and warm breath on his neck as the chimera consumed his nightmare.

Leo awoke. He turned his head and opened his eyes. He was back in his bedroom with an IV in his left forearm and a blood pressure cuff on his bicep. Beside him, a cardiac monitor beeped a steady rhythm, and a space heater whirred. Raph's distant voice was barely audible over the machines.

"Stand down, soldier!" his brother said. Leo turned toward the living room area and watched as Raph and Zog saluted one another. "Nice work today!"

"Just doing my job, Commander," Zog replied. "Permission to rest."

"Permission granted. Be back here at 2100 hours."

"Yes, Commander!" Zog saluted again and then retreated.

Donnie entered the living room, holding his tricked-out tablet.

"How's Leo?" Raph asked in a hushed tone.

Donnie grimaced. "Well, he's rehydrating. His skin isn't nearly as wrinkled as it was, but his dehydration is still quite severe. His eyes are sunken, and the corneas were dimpled. Not good."

Leo stared at Raph, waiting for him to cut in and tell Donnie to quit it with the technobabble. Raph just stood there with his arms crossed.

"He needs lots of fluids – water, eye drops, and the IV," Donnie continued. "And food, if he can tolerate it. He is so emaciated. Part of it is because most of our body weight as turtles is comprised of water, so the fluids should help restore some mass, but…" Donnie lowered his voice. "It's obvious he hasn't received adequate sustenance or heat in a long time."

"We did find him face-down in mud and sewer water," Raph replied in an even tone.

Donnie nodded. "Exactly. Any water they gave him was probably filthy. And it's obvious Leo hasn't seen the light of day in quite some time. I tested his blood. Due to prolonged lack of exposure to UVB in natural light, his body stopped making vitamin D3, which affected his ability to absorb what little calcium he consumed. Subsequently, he has secondary hyperparathyroidism."

Raph remained in place, still, with arms folded. Wow, Leo marveled, he really isn't going to interrupt! This wasn't the impatient brother he knew. What happened?

Donnie continued. "He has an extremely high concentration of parathyroid hormone in his blood and critically low stores of calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorous. These deficiencies caused his swollen joints and weakened bones. Both fibula are broken, as is his left side femur and tibia. I found microfissures in his knees and spine as well as evidence of other breaks that healed improperly. He's going to need some serious rehabilitation to get back to anywhere near where he was. Pumping him with pain killers, vitamins, and antibiotics will assist with the healing process. But his muscles have really atrophied, not to mention all his injuries…" Donnie frowned. "I don't know, Raph."

Leo gulped. Was it really true? He knew he was weak and he hurt. But was he really that bad off?

Raph blinked a few times and then cleared his throat. "Well, um, keep me posted." Raising his gaze to his brother, he added, "And Don, nice work!"

Donnie's forehead furrowed. "I'm just doing the best I can. It's times like these I wish we were human and could just go to a hospital."

"Hey!" Raph clasped the top of Donnie's shell. "He's in good hands – the best!"

Donnie sighed.

Raph looked away. "Well, I need to go check on Zog – make sure he isn't trashing his room or getting ready to blow up something like he did the last time we returned from a fight. Keep me posted."

Donnie nodded, and Raph marched out of view. Donnie dropped his gaze to his tablet.

"Hey, Don, is this what you needed?"

That voice… but it couldn't be…

Michelangelo stepped into view and handed the older turtle syringes and several vials. Donnie examined the items, turning them over in his hands. He nodded and smiled. "Yes, perfect! Thanks, Mike!"

"At least I could do something to help."

Donnie grimaced. Setting a hand on his little brother's shoulder, he said, "This is a tremendous help! Leo needs these desperately to recover, and he has you to thank for it. He will really appreciate it, as do I."

Mikey smiled. From his room, Leo could tell the grin was forced. But the one that followed when the two made eye contact certainly wasn't. Leo was beaming too.

"Leo!" Mikey smacked Donnie's bicep. "He's awake!"

Mikey rushed into Leo's room. His pace slowed as he drew near, and he held a hand to his shell. He clenched his jaw, although somehow, that smile remained.

Mikey hobbled to Leo's bedside. "Hey, Leo!" he greeted, gingerly wrapping his arms around his oldest brother.

With great effort, Leo raised his right arm and draped it across Mikey's back. His youngest brother was sobbing into his neck. Leo knew, if his eyes weren't so dry, he would be crying too.

Mikey sniffled. "I thought you died!"

"I thought you died too!" Leo croaked. He coughed.

Mikey stepped back. Donnie was there, holding out a cup of water. Leo accepted it. As Leo drank, Donnie injected the contents of three vials into the IV line.

"Donnie, you said Mikey died." Leo's voice was much clearer.

Mikey took the cup. "Well, I survived... if that's what you can call it." He laughed bitterly. "I landed on a ledge when I fell off the building. I cracked my shell and hurt my back. Don patched me up with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. He dyed it brown, so it even matches."

Mikey turned his back to his brother. Leo had to squint to see the two-inch wide lightning bolt shape. Mikey pivoted again, facing Leo with a frown.

"So, thanks to Don, I'm not totally useless. But my back is busted. One more blow to the shell, and I'm either paralyzed, or I'm done for. I can't fight. I can't even really run. I can't do much of anything."

"Don't sell yourself short," Donnie shook his head. "You've made so much progress! You're walking again."

"Yeah, that only took me three years!"

The color drained from Leo's face. "What do you mean three years?"

Donnie and Mikey stared at him.

"Guys, how long was I…" Leo's voice trailed off.

Donnie swallowed hard. "You've been gone for almost four years."

"That… that just can't be," Leo murmured.

The three observed silence, save for the heater's hum and heart monitor's beep…

And Raph's roar across the lair. "I said stand down, soldier! STAND DOWN!"

"Not again!" Donnie sighed. He snatched his bo staff from its sheath and raced out of the room. Sounds of thumping, shouting, grunting, and shattering glass filled the lair.

"How long did you think you were gone, bro?" Mikey asked.

"I… I had no idea. Time just all ran together, or it didn't exist at all. I don't know…" He looked to his brother. "Four years?"

Slowly, Mikey nodded.

THUD!

Leo furrowed his brow. "I thought Zog was dead."

Heaving a sigh, Mikey grimaced. "Yeah, that's another really messed up deal. A while ago, we heard about a dinosaur near Ellis Island. So we went there, and sure enough, it was Zog. He was barely alive, hiding out under the bridge with no weapons or breathing mask. So we..."

"Leo, you're awake!" Raph exclaimed from the doorway, clutching a bloody rag to his right forearm. He ran to Leo, grinning.

Donnie entered the room, holding out a fistful of gauze. "You shouldn't use that filthy rag. Use this."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever!" Raph took the gauze from Donnie and pressed it to his wound. He then smiled at Leo. "It's so good to have you back!"

Leo grinned. "It's so good to be back! But what the hell just happened?"

"Zog gets like that sometimes," Raph replied. "He's getting harder to control after a fight."

"What do you mean harder to control?"

Raph and Donnie exchanged looks.

Mikey sighed. "It means they've brainwashed him."

"What?!"

"His breathing thingy has a gas in it that makes him loco in the cabeza. He thinks Raph is Commander Zoraph again, but the junk in the mask makes him… loco-er."

"It's más loca, Mike," Donnie corrected. He then looked to Leo. "Zog's breathing device contains nitrogen and low levels of Datura gas, which induces a constant state of delirium. The concoction is enough to keep him alive while suppressing his ability to differentiate between fact and fiction. So he thinks Raph is his CO."

"Are you out of your minds?!" Leo exclaimed. "Donnie, you were against this the first time we tried to use Zog. Zog is dangerous! And now it's even worse! Datura could kill him. Whatever happened to honor?"

Mikey flinched, and Donnie gulped.

Raph scowled. "It died four years ago with Master Splinter," he mumbled.

Mikey hung his head.

"It's not a decision any of us took lightly," Donnie spoke softly. "The context changed… significantly. We have to stop Shredder. Now. You have no idea what he's doing to people every day. It's bad, a lot worse than you know. The world is bleeding, and we have to make it stop."

"The city lives in fear of Shredder," Raph added. "He and the Foot march the streets like they own the place and rough up anyone who doesn't bow down to him. Shredder has killed hundreds, and I'm not exaggerating! He killed Splinter, April, Casey, the Mighty Mutanimals…" Leo's stomach dropped. "He killed them!"

Zog burst into the room, stomping his gargantuan feet. Dust rained down the walls. "Shredder bad!" he roared. "Shredder kill! Kill Shredder!" He lashed out at Donnie, who tucked his head into his shell just in time.

Raph blocked the triceraton's next strike with crossed sais. "More tranqs, Don! More tranqs!"

Donnie ducked under Zog's elbow and bolted out of the room.

Gritting his teeth, Raph thrust his weight into the triceraton and shouted, "Zog! I order you to stand down!"

"ARGH!" Zog cried, shoving Raph to the floor. He pounded his fists into Leo's shelves and katana stands. Books and blades rained in thuds and clangs.

Mikey pushed himself to his feet and puffed out his chest. "Zog! Stand down!"

Zog swung, and Mikey ducked.

Raph rolled on his shell and flipped himself upright. "Stay out of this, Mike!" He charged at Zog, who slammed him into the wall. Raph groaned and rolled to his side.

Donnie swooped into the room and plunged a needle into Zog's forearm. The triceraton clocked him with the other fist. Donnie staggered backwards. Raph, who was back on his feet, threw both his arms around Zog's bicep. Donnie took hold of the other. The two wrestled the triceraton out of Leo's room. Zog thrashed them side to side, his movements weakening. He fainted, his massive arms taking Raph and Donnie to the floor with him.

Leo lay in pitch blackness. A faint gray mist drifted through the air. The fog thickened, permeating all that he could see.

A voice hissed in the darkness, "He does not speak."

The haze lifted. Leo saw Shredder and a Foot soldier facing one another in a dimly lit subway tunnel, outside an enclosed ticket booth.

The villain straightened to his full height and crossed his spiked arms. "He will speak," he insisted. He snatched a set of keys out of the hands of his henchman and unlocked the door to the booth. Leo's third eye followed Shredder into the chamber. A feeble hanging bulb tinted the filthy, cobwebbed room in a dark brown hue. Leo saw a figure – himself – on his hands and knees on the floor. Blood, mingled with mud, caked to his many wounds. Leo's other self lapped the bottom of a squalid dog bowl; the water dribbling from the corner of his mouth was dirt flecked and congealed.

Shredder regarded the other Leo for several seconds. Crossing his arms, he paced the small cell. "I grow tired of your disobedience," he growled. "Will this be the day you die?"

The battered turtle crawled backwards, away from the empty dog bowl. He remained silent, save for labored breathing.

Shredder halted. His massive shadow stooped over the cadaverous figure. "Answer me now, turtle!" he boomed. "Where are your brothers?"

Leo's healing injuries burned – all the more when he saw his other self shaking his dirty, scabby head.

Shredder roared. "You are foolish as you were when you did not join me! Soon, you will understand the consequences of your folly! Baka wa shinanakya naoranai – Unless an idiot dies, he will not be cured."

Shredder thrust his metal boot into the prone turtle's side. The other Leo groaned but did not speak.

"I asked you where your brothers are!" Shredder shouted. He kicked again and again. The other Leo cried out. The deep gash across his plastron split, blood and mud trickling to the ground and pooling beneath him. Shredder's foot came away bloodied but continued to drill, again and again. "TELL ME!"

"Baku-san, come…"

"Huh?"

Leo opened his eyes. Mikey sat in a chair beside him, head tilted and brow furrowed. Leo exhaled heavily with a smile, relief washing over him. Who needs Baku-san when you have Mikey-chan? "Hey, little brother!"

"Hey, bro!" Mikey grinned, patting Leo's head. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better now, knowing you're watching out for me."

"Aw!" Mikey smiled. Gesturing toward a pizza pie on the bedside table, he asked, "Hey, want some pizza?" He grabbed a slice. "I made your favorite!"

"What, jalapeños, jelly beans, and anchovy?"

"No, I actually made your favorite this time – sweet red onions, black olives, green peppers, and mushrooms."

Leo smiled. "Mikey, pizza with you right now sounds perfect."

"Aw!" Mikey beamed. He hugged his brother with care, the slice of pizza dangling behind Leo's back. He stepped back and offered the piece to Leo, who took it. Then, he called over his shoulder, "Pizza party at Leo's! Donnie, do me a solid and grab the pies from the oven?"

"I'm on it!" carried Donnie's voice from elsewhere in the lair.

Mikey picked up a slice and raised it to his mouth.

"Did someone say pizza?" Raph asked as he entered the room.

"Correctamundo, bro!" Mikey passed his slice to Raph. "You just won yourself a Mikey original!"

"Sweet!" Raph accepted the piece of pizza. He threw himself into the chair beside Leo's bookcase. As he took a bite, his eyes wandered to the books. He set his slice on a shelf and reached for one.

Donnie walked in with a pizza pan in each hand. "Mike, I have to say, your culinary artistry is unmatched, better than any gourmet pizzeria's." He set the pies on a side table and took a slice.

Mikey grinned. "Aw, you're too kind, bud!" he gushed as he took a piece for himself.

Donnie leaned stooped in the doorway. Cheese dripped from his piece, and he caught it with his mouth before it hit the floor. He munched on it purposefully, then asked, "How are you feeling, Leo?"

Leo finished chewing before replying. "A lot better, now that I'm back with you guys. I'm ready for things to get back to normal."

Donnie laughed awkwardly and exchanged glances with Mikey. He swallowed hard. "I'm just glad you're home."

"Me too!" Leo grinned.

In the corner, Raph thumbed through a book called The Bushido Warrior. Several pages into the volume, he rolled his eyes and huffed. He returned it and pulled out another book – Ninjutsu and Modern Warfare.

Leo took another bite. "Mikey, you really are a pro chef! This is the best pizza I've ever had!"

"Aw, go on!" Mikey blushed.

"No, really, this is amazing!"

"Well, pizza should be yummy!" Mikey grinned. "Hey, remember our first pizza?"

"Ah, yes! That first slice of Antonio's!" Donnie reminisced. He took another bite of the pizza in his hand. "But you tried to make us believe pizza was awful so you could have the whole thing to yourself!"

"Good thing we didn't fall for it, or we'd still be eating algae and worms!" Leo chuckled.

Mikey and Donnie laughed. Raph turned the page in The Bushido Warrior.

"And now we're eating like kings, thanks to Mikey!" Donnie enthused. "I mean, it wasn't always that way. Remember the pizza noodle soup?"

"Or the pizza milkshake?" Leo added.

"Hey, my P-Shake was awesome sauce!" Mikey protested. "Besides, pizza should be made right! It deserves our respect! Pizza is always there for us! Pizza is there for the good times." With tears in his eyes, he put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Like getting our brother back from the dead. And pizza is there for us when it all goes wrong. Pizza is oh so yummy and warms our bellies and hearts. Pizza is love, dudes!"

"Here, here!" Donnie agreed. He raised his half-eaten slice to Mikey, and Leo followed suit.

"And with that, I say we find something good on the tube!" Mikey declared. He flicked on Leo's TV.

"… to memorialize those who perished in Thursday's subway bombing. Search and rescue teams are still surveying the collapsed tunnel for…"

Raph threw down the book, jumped out of his chair, and shut off the TV. Mikey shrunk in his shell.

Leo blinked at the blank screen. He then looked to Raph. "Tell me we didn't kill innocent people along with the Foot."

Silence. Donnie and Mikey looked to the floor. Raph scowled at them, heaved a sigh, and said, "It had to be done."

"All those people! Guys, we can't just shut off the news and pretend like it didn't happen! All those people are dead because of us, and who knows how many got hurt, not to mention their families…"

"We knew civilians would die too, but hundreds more would have suffered and died if we let the Foot survive!" Raph snapped. "We are at war!"

"KILL! KILL! KILL!" Zog chanted from his room.

"Shut up, soldier!" Raph barked. Scowling, he turned to Donnie. "Would you give him something for that?"

Donnie nodded. He set down his half-eaten slice on a shelf and left the room.

Raph turned back to Leo. "Shredder owned this city until that tunnel collapse," he continued. "He and the Foot were executing men, women, and children in the streets every freaking day! But now, the Foot are dead, and we finally have Shredder on the ropes! Finally, after all these years, the killings have stopped! And we need to take him out now, before he builds another army."

"But Raph…"

"I don't need a sermon, Leo!" Raph shouted. "Don't you think I know what's at stake? Don't you think I've considered everything we've done and could be doing, that I think about it all the time, that it keeps me up every freaking night? We had to do something, and I accept full responsibility. I did what had to be done, and I am doing everything I can to hold this family together. I mean, we thought you were dead…" Raph's green skin paled, his mouth agape from the shock of his own words. Tears welled in his eyes. He shook his head, scowled, and stormed out of the lair.

Leo stared after him before turning to Mikey. "I can't believe this!"

"He really is doing the best he can." Mikey grimaced. He slumped over his pizza and picked at the cheese. He took a bite, staring at his teeth marks for several seconds before flinging the slice on the bedside table. "I don't think he has the answers, but I don't know what to do either. And what can I do anyway? I'm just one broken turtle in a cracked fishbowl." Mikey forced a smile. "Hehe, more like cracked crockpot full of turtle soup. Yeah, we're more like turtle soup nowadays – just burnt up little bits."

"I hate to say it, but he's right."

Leo and Mikey turned to the doorway. Donnie crossed the room and peaked beneath the gauze on Leo's plastron. "It's the only logical response at this point, the lesser evil." He applied Betadine to his brother's wound and covered it with fresh gauze. "I don't like it any more than either of you, but that's reality."

Donnie returned the Betadine to Leo's bedside table. Then, he looked to his brother with tears in his eyes. "It's good to have you back, Leo." He lay a hand on his brother's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Good to have you back." Donnie's hand slipped to his side with a sigh. "Well, you should rest. And I should get back to work." He shuffled toward his room.

"Work?" Leo asked. "Donnie, what are you working on?"

Donnie just walked away.

Leo set down his slice. "What's he working on?"

Mikey gulped. "Deadly gas." He held his back, squirming in his seat. He then leaned forward, propping his arms on the bedside table and dumping pizza on the floor. "They want to use it on Shredder."

"Why a gas? Why not something much more direct?"

Mikey stared at his arms. "Because we don't really know where he is. We know the general area, so they plan to just gas it."

"What?! No!" Leo shook his head. "Mikey, we can't! This can't be happening! We have to stop them!"

Mikey heaved a sigh. "There's nothing we can do."

"Oh, yes there is!" Leo gritted his teeth and yanked the IV line out of his arm. He pulled off his blood pressure cuff and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Mikey's eyes widened. "Leo! You're hurt!"

"I don't care!" Leo jumped to his feet, his head reeling and his legs throbbing. He wobbled in place.

Mikey braced his brother's elbow. "Leo, please! Stop!"

Leo pushed his weight forward and stumbled to the door. His feet gave way beneath him, and he fell. Mikey caught his arms, but his legs hit the floor hard with one loud, bone-cracking crunch. Leo screamed in pain.

Mikey dropped to his knees and cried out Leo's name. Leo saw but couldn't hear his brother. Mikey, the lair, his thoughts, and even his pain faded to black.

Leo was in the dark again. That familiar gray mist appeared, thickened, and filled the air.

A voice whispered, "He just doesn't understand."

The haze lifted. Leo saw Raph and Donnie facing one another in the living room area, just outside his bedroom.

Raph straightened to his full height and crossed his arms. "Then I'll make him understand!" he insisted. He turned and strode into Leo's room.

Leo's third eye followed his brother, who changed shape. Raph's crimson mask grew longer and thicker. It fell from his face and draped around his neck. His tawny arm and leg wraps turned black. Metal appeared over his heart and consumed his body. Rounded spikes emerged from his shoulder and ankle armor, and three long daggers jutted over his knuckles. A black cape unfurled down his back.

The Shredder Raph entered Leo's bedroom. His entry bathed the room in scarlet light. Leo saw himself in the bed, shuddering.

The Shredder Raph glared at the other Leo and crossed his arms. "I'm getting sick of your self-righteousness, Leo!" he growled. "When are you going to finally wake up to reality?"

"I wish I could wake from this nightmare. It just keeps getting worse!" the other Leo cried. In a low voice, he added, "I wish Splinter were here."

"If he were, he would agree with my course of action."

Leo saw his other self wag his head. "You're wrong."

Shredder Raph roared. "Oh, don't be so arrogant! Do we all have to suffer because of your stupidity? Baka wa shinanakya naoranai! Wake up, Leo!"

Shredder Raph hammered his metal fist into the bedside table. The other Leo jumped.

"I SAID WAKE UP!"

Shredder Raph raised his right fist. His spiked tri-blade hand claw repeatedly slashed his brother's face. Both Leo's were screaming. Shredder Raph drove his hand claw through his brother's plastron.

Leo jolted to consciousness in a cold sweat. His plastron throbbed along to his racing heart. "Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san…"

"Take heed, my son," Splinter's voice spoke to Leo from another plane. "Remember, battling nightmares is rarely the answer. Destruction in any form is fire. Call on Baku often, and he becomes greedy. Then, he will consume all dreams, and all hope. Soon, you become like Baku."

"Father, help!" Leo murmured as he regained consciousness. It was a dream. It was one big psycho nightmare, but it was all in his head, and it's over now. Leo tried to console himself with that fact but trembled. The nightmare was over, but the demons were very real.

He opened his eyes to pitch blackness and a tinny voice. Adjusting his vision to the dark, he saw the silhouettes of his three brothers. They slouched in chairs beside him, listening to his battery operated radio with their heads hung.

"Guys?" Leo called to them. None of the three move or spoke. His pulse quickened, their silence gripping his heart.

Leo strained to hear the words of the voice, which cut in and out. He caught only phrases. Biological warfare. Total devastation. New York City. No survivors.

"Guys?" Leo swallowed hard. "What have we done?"

Donnie cried, and Raph turned away.

Mikey turned to Leo, tears in his eyes. "You know how they say cockroaches are all that could survive the apocalypse? Well, they don't. It's just us."

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

"Oh, and Zog."

THE END