Leonardo's sole thought was getting Donatello out of there.
"Donnie," he called as he approached. "Donnie, are you okay? Donnie?" He tried not to let the panic overtake him. Donatello was surely alive, as his shallow breathing made his chest rise and fall sharply. Yet the hard, unwavering gaze made Leonardo feel almost as though this wasn't even his brother.
Leonardo stopped when Donatello suddenly jumped up to his feet, resolutely clenching his bo staff in his hands. He seemed to be deep in thought, somehow causing Leonardo to be cautious of making any sudden moves. Without warning, Donatello's stare shifted to somewhere behind Leonardo, and he moved to walk determinedly in this direction.
When they were about to cross paths, Leonardo stepped in front of him, blocking his way. "Donnie, can you hear me?" Though Donatello looked at him angrily, it didn't seem as though anything was registering in his mind. "Donnie, what's going on? Just-"
"You ruined my family," Donatello suddenly spoke lowly. The words threw Leonardo into astonishment. "You killed my father and one of my brothers. I won't let you finish off the rest of us."
Leonardo stepped backwards, trying not to stammer in his confusion. So… so he does blame me for Splinter's death. He always has. No, he tried to reason with himself. This was some sort of trick. He just said that I killed one of his brothers. I… I….
With a sudden realization, Leonardo whirled around. In the darkness, he could make out Akumu's gray outline in the distance… and a dimmer, smaller figure lying motionless some feet away from her. Could it be? Michelangelo? Raphael? Was one of them dead? Did Leonardo really bring his brothers to a place where they would be separated and killed off, one by one?
Before the guilt could completely wash over him, Leonardo felt a sudden blow to his throat, knocking him backwards and momentarily gagging him. His hand rising to his throat, he managed to duck just in time to avoid another strike from Donatello's bo. It wasn't my fault, he tried to say, but the words wouldn't come. It was all he could do to constantly dodge Donatello's fiery attacks. Somehow, Donatello's fighting had become more aggressive, more violent; it seemed as though he now fought with the intent to kill. Does he hate me? Can this… can this really be my brother?
All of a sudden, Michelangelo's voice rose up in the distance. "Usagi! Somebody, help!" Donatello's fierce assault ended, and he quickly straightened himself and looked in the direction of the voice. In a soft murmur, he whispered the samurai's name. Leonardo wondered for a brief moment if Donatello was slowly coming back to his senses, until the turtle bolted off.
Hoping that Donatello meant to save Michelangelo and thus was back to his old self, Leonardo followed after him. He was disappointed when Donatello suddenly turned and swiped his bo at his feet, causing Leonardo to trip. He tried to look up at him when a sudden blinding pain hit the side of his face, causing his whole world to turn white. As Leonardo tasted blood in the back of his throat and struggled with consciousness, Donatello turned back towards Michelangelo's direction.
Donatello knew that he couldn't waste time with Kojima. Usagi was still on the loose, and Usagi was after his one remaining brother. He didn't care how skilled the rabbit was; Donatello was determined to make him pay for taking Leonardo away. If he hadn't been so shocked by his first brother's death, he would have made a move to protect Splinter from Kojima's bomb, and he could have either kept Raphael and April from doing it themselves… or he would have been at peace. But as it stood right now, there would never be peace, not until Michelangelo was safe from Usagi's blood-drenched swords.
Upon hearing Michelangelo's call, Usagi quickly put Tomoe Ame on the ground and hoped for the best as he sped after his friend. He had never heard one of the brothers cry for help in such an agonized tone, and it did not sit well with him. Unsheathing his katanas, Usagi saw that Akumu was atop of Michelangelo, explaining the turtle's pleading yell.
It didn't take Donatello long to see that Michelangelo was somehow knocked onto the floor, unable to get up. Just a few yards away, the evil mercenary rabbit was charging towards him, his katanas in hand. Doubling his speed, Donatello let out an unintelligible cry as he moved to stop the bloodshed.
Usagi saw Donatello coming to Michelangelo's aid and was relieved. He had been afraid that the turtle had been caught under the sorceress' spell, but this fear quickly dissipated when he saw the resolve in his eyes. His sights still set on Akumu and the squirming turtle beneath her, Usagi leapt in the air, bringing his sword down.
The wind was knocked out of him as he was unexpectedly intercepted midair. Surprised that there had been one neko ninja so cleverly concealed that he could not detect its presence, Usagi grabbed hold of the ninja's shoulder as he hit the ground, ready to strike with his sword. His eyes only widened in surprise when he saw who it was that had kept him from coming to Michelangelo's rescue. "Donatello-san?"
It was all he could say before Donatello's bo-staff pressed down upon Usagi's neck, choking off his air supply. "Surprised, Miyamoto Usagi?" Donatello's voice was low and gruff, sounding more like Raphael's than his own. "You weren't expecting the passive one to cause you any trouble, were you? Is that why you got rid of Leo first? Or was it just convenient?"
Perplexed and shaken, Usagi dropped his weapons so he would not unintentionally hurt Donatello and attempted to push up on the bo staff, lessening the strain on his windpipe. His efforts were met with a considerable amount of strength from the normally-reserved turtle. As much as he writhed beneath the expanse of Donatello's body, Usagi could not free himself. It didn't take him long to realize what must have happened, but he could not gather the oxygen to speak and attempt to bring Donatello out of the dreamscape.
Leonardo managed to slowly pull himself up, but stopped when he saw that Donatello was now attacking Usagi. The rabbit appeared to be pinned down under him, but Leonardo also noted that Akumu herself was atop of Michelangelo. Leonardo knew that Michelangelo's raw strength wasn't his forte, but he also knew that Usagi probably would not be able to bring himself to harm Donatello.
Processing all of this quickly, Leonardo shook his head and turned away from Usagi with a heavy heart. This was a matter of family, and Leonardo's family needed him. He consoled himself with believing that Usagi's will to live was strong enough to force him to fight back if Donatello became too much to handle non-violently. Charging for Akumu, he hoped he made the right choice.
Just before one of his blades would pierce her horrendous face, the spider appeared to make an impossible back flip off of Michelangelo. Stumbling slightly but making it seem as though he was kneeling besides Michelangelo, Leonardo put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You okay, Mikey?" Thoroughly exhausted from keeping Akumu from biting into him, it was all Michelangelo could do to nod slowly.
Leaping to his feet, Leonardo noticed a sudden fog coming over the room. Keeping his eyes open for more neko ninjas, he asked, "What's wrong, Akumu? Are you just going to hide behind your ninja every time we band together?" The words hardly left his mouth when he heard a strange, wet, shifting sound. He had heard it before. Just before Akumu changed into her true form.
"Hardly, kame," came the reply from somewhere in the mist. "Is this what you would call 'banding together'? One of your brothers has my venom flowing through his weakening veins; another is hardly able to stand. You have failed them, kame, just as you failed your own master."
Her words cut him like a knife. How dare she? How dare she voice his fears in such a mocking tone? Careful to keep his anger from driving him, Leonardo raced towards the new shape, ready to destroy it and break Akumu's hold on Donatello.
He lashed out with his katana, but it was parried by something unseen. Remaining motionless as the figure slowly came into view, Leonardo suddenly found it difficult to breathe. The weapon that had kept his at bay hardly looked like a weapon, but he knew from many past experiences that the comparatively small walking stick could prove lethal. Drawing back, his stomach knotted as he saw the new arrival.
Splinter. Splinter as he last saw him. That final night, when one of Agent Bishop's experiments went dangerously wrong. A miscalculation that would result in New York City becoming a nuclear wasteland. Donatello had managed to keep the explosion contained by carrying all of the canisters containing radioactive material out in a bag. Still, Bishop was determined not to let them win. If the building was going to collapse, it would collapse with all but that one turtle inside of it.
Moving backwards, Leonardo attempted to stay in the present. He couldn't focus on the past, on the deadly battle, on the countless small things he could have done differently that would have ensured Splinter's survival. No, he needed to stay in the now. He needed to-
"My son," whispered the rat.
Despite his preparation, despite his determination, Leonardo's lack of sleep and nightly agitation weighed upon him. He backed away, and 'Splinter' countered every movement. As he did, Leonardo realized something with growing horror. With every step he took, the rat's fur singed and curled, ultimately dripping off. Taking a gasping, open-mouthed breath, 'Splinter' revealed a mouthful of jagged teeth stained with blood and decay. Yet, Leonardo dared not to cringe. "Please," he choked out. "Go away. Just let me sleep. For one night, just let me sleep."
That's when Leonardo became convinced that he was dreaming.