The breeze was cool against her pale cheeks that night, and in contrast to the black pigment of the sky and the static freight through the air, the moon was shining so much brighter than usual. He was leaning against the wall and her head lay so peacefully on his thighs that it was not even clear how many lightning storms were filling the inside of her mind with toxicity. Before the drugs had kicked in, when she still believed that the world was spinning, he would wince at even the tiniest malfunction occurring in her body at some kind of immediate psychological warning as people who might be soulmates sometimes get.

Yet now, the white powder had mounted his soul and she didn't think it belonged to her anymore.

He was holding her phone in his hands, and even though she noticed his eye twitch he never did move them from the screen. She had spent years consuming herself in every bit of him and she had known every feeling that he had ever endured, and she knew when he was lost somewhere in-between bewildered, confused, and heartbroken.

She felt his fingertips tremble where they rested slightly above the bump in her hair, and despite the amount of intoxications she knew it was because he didn't realize how badly he craved the presence of his family.

"Hey, how's it going big brother," a partially nervous yet partially aching Raphael said, preventing his eyes from reaching the camera. "You know…it's been pretty lame around here, without you. Never thought you'd catch me say that, huh?" he chuckled, and he kept the smile on for a little longer than he needed to.

"You know I ain't good with deep conversations, so don't expect some sappy shit about how we're incomplete without you or that the walls drain of color without you. You know, the kind of shit Don is probably gonna say. But of course you sure as hell know I ain't gonna stay out of this and leave you out of the park anyway. All this stuff you gonna hear, it's some real shit Leo. I ain't playing ya here, we're far more of a fucking wreck than we were when you left and I sorta get the feeling that you not being here has a lot to do with it. You were the only one who kept us together, ya know? I've been trying real hard to take care of them for you, to take my place as the next oldest and hold our family together. But no matter how much I try to pretend otherwise I will never be you and I will never be good enough to fulfill their needs. I've gotta admit it, we really need you home, Leonardo. Of course everyone else is going crazy out of their minds but you; you were my best friend. Whether I would ever say it or not," he is most obviously sitting in his older brother's room, a room that he rarely entered previously due to all of the /giant dork/ in the air.

"Using words was never one of my strong suits, especially words that I actually mean. But if you know me as well as I think you do, you'll get the jiff of it. I miss you, Leo, and I guess you could say that I sort of need you. And also, I sort of love you too."

Karai shakily kneels upwards to play the next video when she hears Raphael's voice cut off, her heart swarming in her chest as she observes his reaction. His eyes are in pain, the pupils shrunken smaller than she's ever seen them and the ocean in his eyes blocked by the fog, and she knows it isn't due to the fact that her screen was the brightest thing he had seen in a while.

"Where did you get these? I-I don't understand," he tells her.

"Shh," she comforts sitting and laying her finger tips along his shoulders, stroking them lightly. "Your family and I only want you to be able to get better. You might wanna listen to what they wanna say."

He doesn't respond at first, only leans back and allows her to hold him securely, and he could see that she was shaking almost as much as he was. He was silent, and although each click of the videos made him feel like the veins were going to pop right out of his flesh, he would give anything to hear his family's voices again.

"Hey, Leo man! It's been a while, hasn't it? Ya know, even despite how bossy and apprehensive you always were, it just ain't the same without ya. You expect me to take care of your crazy brothers all by myself? More like our crazy brothers, at this point. Of course, it ain't a challenge for me. Nothing, besides trigonometry, is difficult for Casey Jones. But ya know, with both Red and you down I kinda feel like I'm going down too. And a totally metal warrior like me ain't ever gonna go down, right? That's what I always thought, Leo. But that was before I became a part of a team. If one of us is down, we all are. I guess that's what you could use to describe what's going on around here; starting with Don and going to you. You'd be real proud of Don dude; he's come a long way. I've been working a lot with him and he really is making progress, and I think he's gonna end up being pretty okay. That is, if you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay, aren't ya buddy? You've been through a lot of shit since I've known you and even before then and you always found some way to pull through. Growing up with alcoholic parents and a street full of gang bangers, I never really had anybody I could look up to. Then I met you, Leonardo. You're smart, you're strong, you're badass, you're grounded and determined and selfless and love your family. I hope that one day, I can be someone like you. You're one of my best friends too, Leo, and you'll always be the big bro I never had. You're better than this, I know ya are, and we're here to help you. I guess I don't know a lot about family, but I do know that's what family is for. I love ya bud, come home soon," the boy has a smile that had more optimism and determination than Leo has ever seen.

He almost lets a single tear escape his dilated pupil after seeing his friend again, never expecting such genuine thoughts to come out of the rambunctious teenager. Something about seeing the ruffles in his hair or the sloppily tied bandana brought back the memories of leading the team, of them all leaning on him for support, of it being them against the world.

Yet now, he had ruined everything and it was far too late.

He snapped out of his crippling nostalgia when he hears the fuzz of the tape begin once more.

"Hey, big bro! Life without you is totally the lamest thing ever and there is like never fun around here anymore. Yeah, maybe nothing has been fun for a while but it would be a lot funner if you were around too. Donnie tells me funner isn't a word but I know that it must be because it describes things with you around. When are you gonna come home, Leo? I found some new issues of Space Heroes that I don't think you've read yet and I'm not about to cheat and read them without you! And how about some pizza gyoza? It's been forever since we last went there and I'll tell you my taste buds are suffering from a severe drought or something. I wonder how Mr. Murakami is doing, he's probably wondering why none of us have stopped by for a while. I haven't been able to go there while you've been gone because I'd miss you too much; all four walls in there are like paintings of memories of when we'd play games and dance and hang out and just be genuinely happy. Without you here with us, we could never be happy again. Please come home Leo, I'll do anything you want. We'll binge watch Space Heroes until our eyes pop out and we'll eat all of your favorite pizzas and jam out to your favorite of those rock bands and even practice katas and all that stuff you like and I'll try really my best to stay focused this time. We love you so much and Dad does too. Things won't suck as bad as they did before once you come home, we've just gotta wait for April to wake up. Please come home Leo, please. God, I need you so much. It's scary, big brother, it's scary all the time and I don't know what to do. Everything's getting so bad and my mind is getting too dark to hide in and I need you to hold me. I need you back home. Please Leo, listen to us. Karai and us, we want to help you because we love you. I love you so much, Leo. I sleep with your Stormtrooper plushy every night because it smells like you. I love you Leo."

He sniffled a bit as the tape ended, his face stained with liquid and his mask darkening under his eyes. He missed his baby brother so much that it made his heart swell and to see him so hysterical made every bit of his body feel like breaking into a thousand cracks.

Karai snuggled into him, nuzzling her cheek against his and tenderly wiping the tears off of his face.

The gulp caught in his throat when the next video swiped, displaying the anxious awkwardness of the one who started it all.

"Hey, Leo. I know that we haven't talked in a while, probably longer ago than you've talked to the others, and that you probably don't want to be talking to me. I don't blame you for that, but it doesn't change the fact that I need to talk to you," he takes a deep breath, his eyes caving in from the sadness.

"I'm so sorry, Leonardo. Sure, there can be blame found in everyone through all of this but in the end no matter what routes of blame are chosen I am the one who planted the seed. I was selfish enough to wrap you all in the trap that I was caught under and I will spend every day I can get trying to make that up to all of you. I never meant to harm you or push you away, or make you ever think that I don't love you. I was in a horrible place and I didn't know what I was doing but of course I still loved you. Of course I still thought you were the most admirable person to ever walk the earth, and that you were the actual impossible definition of flawless. Of course, you as every person are not perfect, and you were going to get pretty messed up from everything that's happened. You grew up so fast that sometimes everyone else forgets that you're still just a kid. I understand Leo, why you ended up the way you are right now and I know I'm not one to talk but you really can get better. I'm doing it Leo and so can you, we can get through recovery together. You know, you don't have to do everything all on your own all the time. That was a lesson that I learned the hard way; we are a part of something much bigger, a family more powerful than the common. We are within something and when one part goes down then so does everything else. Please don't be afraid to come home, Leo. As scary as everything is it's a lot scarier for you to be so far away from us, physically and mentally. I didn't get to tell a lot before, but I love you Leo. Not telling you that enough is the greatest regret I will ever have. I have a hard time with managing my emotions or affection of how much things mean to me but I am willing to work on that as hard as I can if that means you being here with us again. I do love you Leo, you mean the world to me. Despite the quantity of all the words I've ever learned none of them will ever have the capability to describe how sorry I am. Once you return, hopefully you'll find it in your heart to let me show you."

Leo had to turn away from the device for a moment, pounding his oversized fist against the bricks and hiding his creased face inside of it. "It isn't fair! None of it is his fault, he didn't do anything wrong to me. This is not Donnie's fault, and I made him think that it is. What kind of big brother am I?" he asks in distress.

"It's alright Leo; everything is okay. He's just worried about you and he misses you dearly. You'll just have to go back and show him that everything is okay," she says, grabbing his hands in her own and easing him back down, more delicately than she's ever been.

"Is that all of them, Karai? Is it time for you to explain to me what is going on and what you are up to?" he asks.

"Not just yet; there is still one left that you have yet to watch," she says, swiping to the final video on her camera roll and watching the color fade from his cheeks before she hits play.

"Leonardo, my child. To my dismay I have only spoken so negatively to you in the past few months, and it is the most shameful thing that I have ever done. I know that you believe that I hold hate for you, my son. That I am ashamed of you and no longer wish that you were my child. It is evident that such would be the assumption after the horrible ways that I have treated you. However, it is the farthest thing ever from the truth. In fact, you and your brothers are my sunlight and heart, the entire purpose that I am still alive. After what had happened with Donatello, my soul was crushing from the inside out and I wasn't aware of the damage I was causing. I was so afraid and so tense and I began to take it out on all of you, which there is no excuse for. I never had the right to treat you the way that I did. In fact, I have and will always be proud of you, no matter what occurs. I am so proud of you, my child, that words cannot even describe it. Of course you will always be my boy and I wish I had you back under my protection again, safe and cozy in our home. I love you, Leonardo. Despite the past, your friend Karai is quite a lovely girl. You are the heart of my world, child. You will always be my baby in my eyes. Please, return home. You have not the slightest idea how much we suffer without you."

Karai subtly puts the phone back in her belt when the video finishes, a signal that her point has been shown. She looks at Leo, who was staring numbly at the floor in front of them, the emotion vacuumed vacant from his face. No more tears, or fear, or anger. Only emptiness.

"Since you've been out here with me and the rest of you have been messed up, I began keeping an eye out for Michelangelo when he hits the streets and I sort of became fond of the kid. He sort of understood me in such an innocent way and then he was one of the only friends I've ever had. I saw how sad the kid was, how the light in his eyes from before was wiped clean, and I knew I had to help him. Even more so, I knew I had to help you," she starts.

"What is going on, Karai?" he asks, his voice small and raspy.

"I went to visit your family, the other day. Mikey and I began a plan to help you get better. It's breaking them all apart, you know. Besides that, you've been going too far and I'm terrified that one day I will wake up and you'll be completely gone from me. I miss you Leo, because even if you're right beside me the real you are so very far away. We are ready to help you," she says, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"I do not understand this. I thought that you wanted me to be like this, I thought that you wanted me to change," he says, and she has never heard him sounds so vulnerable.

"Baby," she starts leaning down and holding both sides of his face in her grasp. "I never meant to get you caught up in all of this. I was lonely and confused and self-defensive, but I had no idea that it would go this far. This isn't you Leo, and I think that deep inside you know that too. Your family loves you, and they need you, and they just want you to come together with them to work things out. I will be with you every step of the way as well, to help you grow into the beautiful, courageous person that I know you are. It's going to be okay."

"Karai, you aren't understanding. I wish things were that simple, but the only thing that is simple is that it isn't," he says.

"What do you mean, Leo? It isn't too late, baby boy. You're going to be okay, and everything will be fine again," she says, sitting behind him and holding him to her chest.

"No," he says, his voice trembling, "I-I can't."

"Leo?" she asks, turning him to face her and seeing that the tears are falling at a rapid pace again and his chest is rising quickly.

"It's too late for me, I'll n-never be the same. I'm already gone and I n-never want them to see me like this. It would just be too hard on them, and hard on me. You can tell them that I love them, and that I'm sorry," he says.

"No Leo, it isn't- "

"Why did I have to be so fucking stupid?!" he shouts, beginning to sob. "I should have never done that; I should have never left them. I can't go home, Karai. I can't I can't I can't I can't I can't. I am already gone, and I don't belong there anymore. It's only going to break them apart worse than they already are. I don't wanna be like this anymore, I just want to go home and sleep in my bed and watch Space Heroes and pretend everything is okay again. Yet it won't be okay anymore, and now I'm on a spiral that I cannot control. What happens if I just let myself rot away permanently?" he says, the sobbing seizing mid paragraph and converting into wheezing breaths of eternal emptiness, just an example of how hysterical he had become.

She doesn't say anything this time, only taking him into her arms again and holding him tightly, laying back against their sleeping place. She was never one to ever be described as soft, yet when handling his broken form, she was so gentle that she didn't have a violent bone left in her body.

It was truly insanity, how loving someone can shapeshift who you are like that.

Yet when she was holding him and kissing his forehead and every inch of his face and his trembling lips and finally feeling complete as their bodies aligned so perfectly into the calamity that was their whole, she knew that everything was worth it.

"It's all gonna be okay, Leo," she says. "I'm gonna make sure of that, even if it kills me."

X

The start of a morning is like a sketch that can be interpreted in many ways, understood through many different perspectives and on a large spectrum of colors depending on the way that it's looked at. For some, it is an array of warmth and opportunity, a new day and one that is to make the best of. For others, the colors fade a lot duller; another chance to melt in the storm and allow the raindrops to flow through your mind, to prepare for more of the worst and a multiplying source of negativity.

For Donatello, the world had never prominently shined. It was usually a sea of grey, another awakening of numbness and doubt to welcome the day. He had never remembered being a morning person, and as he morphed into his adolescence and developed a crippling case of insomnia that became even more so true.

Another day was not a blessing and most certainly not exciting, as it was only an ending to the escape he got from being alive when he was asleep.

Yet on this morning of very early March, when the sky was just as peachy as it was every other morning and the inside of his rom felt equally brisk, he felt very freshly content. Contentment was a phenomenon that his mind had nearly forgotten, especially since the love of his life has been comatose.

The reason was not quite understood – was it because he finally sent communication out to Leo? Was it because his father was being reasonable? There isn't exactly reasoning for these things, but the one thing he did understand was that he actually felt sort of happy this morning.

The last time he had woken up tapping his foot and humming a twenty-one pilot song before pouring a cup of coffee was so far away that he had forgotten how absolutely blissful it was in the most innocent of ways.

Sitting at the table and the kitchen and tapping his fingers against the counter, he ponders on what he should do to spend this day. For some reason, zero of his family members had emerged from their rooms at it already passing late noon. Okay, maybe it wasn't so abnormal, considering Splinter was still recovering from the heart collapse and Mikey always slept in the latest, but it sort of discomfited him a bit. For the majority of time he heavily cherished alone time but there are some occurrences that everyone has when company of others is simply craved.

Maybe that was the reason his chocolate eyes lit up when he saw his older brother walk into the room.

"Hey, Casey and I are gonna hang out right now, I've got a lot of things on my mind. Wanna come with?" he asks him, and even though he is socializing he still has an irreplaceable haunting in his eyes.

"Sure thing dude," Donnie agrees, chipper enough for Raph to raise an eyebrow but not so much that he further expands the conversation. Donnie watches him curiously as he follows him through the sewers, trying to pinpoint what it was exactly that was so awkward.

Casey was sitting in the driver's seat of the party wagon already, the freedom of flashing through the road encouraging the content smirk on his face. He seemed perfectly comfortable with his placing and timing and space in life and Donnie couldn't help but smile, but the uneasiness that radiated off Raphael held down the fresh vibes.

"Sup, guys! How's it been kicking?" Casey asks, switching to the next metal CD and pulling back to drive away.

"You know; I'm actually feeling pretty great today! It's totally rad to get out, it's been quite a while. How about you Raph?" Donnie asks, seeing if Raph would even bother putting up a front today.

"Yeah, whatever," he says, and Casey and Donnie give that one glance that tells each other they're gonna have to work to do something about this.

"Well hang on tight Raph my dude, we have quite the ride to go on. Ya ever miss Big Rock?" Casey smirks.

"Big Rock?" Raph asks, and the excitement is a little too hard to keep concealed.

"Nice! Don't you think we should've brought Mikey?" Donnie suggests.

"This ain't kid stuff, Don. I gotta sort my way through something with you two," Raph says nervously.

"Oh, alright. Let's just not let him know where he went, he doesn't take lightly with these sort of things," Donnie says, leaning back in his seat.

There are some moments you face in life that are so absolutely serene that you remember what it's like to be alive, and the fresh air hitting you face and your favorite song on the radio remind you of the value of your humanity. They're the kind of moments that you know you'll see when your life flashes before your eyes and when you remember the electricity of your youth, it'll take you back to that one day when you were 16 that you were in the car on the freedom of the freeway and you understood what the beauty in life can be.

For Donatello, this happened to be one of those moments.

When you are haunted by the spirit of depression, it tends to wipe away the spirit of your own. It takes control of your mind and eats away your passions, it melds your ability of feeling into a dark hole of nothing, it sucks the color out of the world and of life and convinces you that you are sinking and can falling and can never escape the hell that is surviving.

That mindset had taken over the inside of Donnie's head for so long that he had begun to forget what it was to live without it, and was quite convinced that he would be wrapped inside its torture permanently. That just may be the reason that when he found passion in what that sun up there was made of and how they were able to move so rapidly yet feel so serene, when he thought about how interesting it was that the pigment of the New York sky was so bright in contrast with the shining of the sun and the blurs of colors on the road without him and why life might just be worth living, that he began to think that he must be getting better.

As the vehicle started tracing off of the freeway and into the beauty that nearing rural Middletown, Donnie couldn't help but stick his hand out to feel the wind drift through his fingers. The ride had been nearly two hours long with no noise at all other than the upbeat rock on the radio but all three boys felt perfectly content just sitting in each other's company.

"Looks like we're about here," Casey smiles, finding his way up the hill to the abandoned reserve which was Big Rock.

"Remember when we were on our way back home from the farmhouse and Mikey convinced us to stop here for hours just to fuck around?" Raph asks, throwing his snack bag over his shoulder as the three exited the car.

"Man, that was a day. Remember when we all pushed you in the water, Raph?" Donne chuckles.

"Yeah, and remember when I beat your asses after?" Raph smirked.

The hike to their spot was emotionally refreshing, as one often forgets how good it feels to escape everything and become one with nature. Of course it was not difficult for them, considering they were trained fighters after all. In fact, after such a long hiatus the physical activity helped them feel a little bit more themselves again.

Once they had arrived to the rock, they lay sprawled on the golden sound and listened to the sound of the creek flowing. They all lay beside each other with their eyes closed, trying to appreciate the peace that they almost never found.

Unfortunately, Donnie and Casey had not forgotten about Raph and they would not find peace just yet.

"Hey buddy, you wanna tell us what's going on?" Casey asks him, resting his arm over his torso slightly in a comforting encouragement. Donnie turns around as well, supporting his head up with his wrist and glancing towards his older brother.

Raph sighs, closing his eyes and caving his chest. How in the world was he going to put together what he had to say?

There was no turning around now, in the literal sense. He was just going to have to come clean.

What did he have to lose, anyway?

"You guys love me, right? We're always gonna be a team right? You know, even if I did something bad?" Raph asks nervously.

The other two are quiet for a second, exchanging glances. "Of course, Raph," Casey says.

"You know how it feels, right? I know that you guys do. How it feels to love someone so fiercely that you would bleed your entire body dry or even someone else's to protect them? To have so much anger it melts out of your insides and flips back around because you have failed at protecting the one you swore you loved so dearly?" he continues.

"What did you do, Raph?" Donnie asks.

Raph sits up in fear, feeling the lightning flash through the veins in his arms as he nervously applies the rapid amount of friction. "Am I a monster, Donnie? Am I going to hell for what I did? You know, I never gave a damn about religion but do you think that I might be evil? Do I need to be killed and locked away for such a sick thing that I have done?"

Donnie and Casey sit up as well, each holding one of Raph's hands in concern at his rising anxiety. "Raphie, what are you talking about? You need to give us an explanation if you want us to understand," Donnie assures.

"God, they hurt Mikey, guys! They hurt my baby brother! The only good I've ever seen in this god awful shithole of a world! They could have killed him! They could have taken him from us forever all because I couldn't protect him in a life that he's far too good for! I didn't know what I was doing, I was too drunk to control myself but I had to keep him safe! I had to make sure he could never get hurt ever again!" Raph says, and he looks back at the two in terror.

"What do you mean, Raph? The Purple Dragons?" Casey asks.

"I killed them. I killed Fong last week. I was out on my own and I was drunk and hurt and I saw him walking around with a bat, the bat that Mikey told me he hurt him with. Sure, I didn't believe Mikey's story at first but seeing him roam the path Mikey uses with that weapon just fucking freaked me out. I had to make sure he couldn't hurt him anymore!" Raph comes clean, and even though he is reveling in anxiety it felt so much lighter for the words to come out of his mouth.

They didn't respond at first, gazing at the ground in thought but still holding onto Raph's hands.

"I was really messed up about it the other night after Karai went home. It was eating me up inside and I couldn't get it off my mind and the only way I could justify it is if I heard the words of the atrocity come out of Mikey's mouth itself. I didn't mean to tell him; I would never want the kid to know something like that about me but he kept pushing me and making me feel guilty for his fear and I just spit I out. He was smiling but I could tell by his eyes that it fucked him up. Does he hate me? Do you guys hate me? Should I just stay out here and out of all of your lives forever?" Raph says.

"No, Raphael. Of course we love you, and Mikey does too," Donnie says.

"You don't know what it's like, for the only light you ever had to be taken right under your eyes and you're given the opportunity to take that monster who hurt them away," Raph says.

"Of course I do, Raphael. You know how it felt when I found April beaten in the sewers that night? Or when I saw Mikey all of those times he was hurt? He's my baby brother too, you know. I love him just as much as you do," Donnie says.

"But have you ever wanted to kill someone, guys? Have you ever felt so much incurable anger through your veins that you know your rage must be exerted? Have you ever shoved the tip of a weapon through human flesh with complete conscience of taking their life and not even regretting it after?" Raph says.

"I have," Casey says quietly, and he looks down in shame.

Raph calms down for a second, both he and Donnie looking at their best friend. "What?"

"It was two years ago, when I was 15. My sister was 12. My mom was already long gone and we lived with my dad, but we had always known him as nothing but a raging alcoholic. Yet one day, shit got real," Casey starts.

"What'd he do?" Raph asks. They hardly ever get any backstory on the mystery that is Casey Jones.

"You know, I always pretend that my sister is still around. That she is simply running the streets with her friends like she had planned to do, and after telling myself and everyone else that enough times my mind truly started to believe it. Yet when it comes down to it, I have to admit that it isn't the truth. One night, our father was very angry because he had to pay for our food and everything else that comes with having kids under your custody. He decided he wanted to get rid of us," Casey face looked impossibly small, small enough for Donnie to wrap one arm around his shoulders.

"It was the middle of the night on a Tuesday, and nobody expected anything irregular to happen. We all just kept to ourselves in our rooms and stayed as far away from him as we could. Suddenly, I started hearing banging on the wall next to mine hard enough to wake me up and the one cry of my name from my little sister. That was enough for me to get up and burst into her room, with my bat in my hand. He was trying to strangle her, and I swung at him without a second thought. Yet that only angered him further and suddenly it was too late. He had already grabbed a hold of both sides of her head and the movement went with the force of my bat. He cracked her neck, and she fell motionless onto the floor. He had killed her," Casey says, almost in a whisper.

"Casey…" Raph begins, both of them staring at their friend in shock.

"She was my baby sister, the only light that I have ever had. I wanted him dead, and I had forgotten everything that ever existed other than rage. I wanted to kill him in the most horrible of ways and I knew I would never be free until he was gone forever. I jumped at him and tried my best, but I was young and frail and he easily overpowered me. He put me in the ICU and got rid of my sister somehow, and then she went 'missing'. I told them the truth, and they all passed me off as delusional from the emotional trauma of falling and getting a head injury. Nobody would listen to me, not ever. My friend Nick didn't really drop me over a hockey accident. I had asked if he would help me kill my dad, because I needed to avenge Angel and I knew that he was on his way to killing me. Nick told me I was a sick murderer and I was going to hell," Casey's voice cracks, and there is even a tear.

It should have been surprising that Raph was the first to jump at him, wrapping his arms tightly around his friend. Donnie was quick to join, all three of them comforting each other.

"I try to act stupid all the time, because I learned the only way I could keep sane is by not thinking. Thinking is the end of you, did you know that? If I didn't think and I pretended I had an okay home life and I didn't talk about anything ever I would be okay," Casey continues.

"Casey, you listen to me," Donnie begins, "We are your family. We love you and we'd accept you for anything in the world, and you can tell us anything. We just want to keep you safe. Don't you still live with your Dad?"

"Legally, but whenever I'm not sleeping at your place I go crash under a bridge or something. Last time I saw him a I may have given him a beatdown and I know the next time I see him it isn't gonna be pretty," he says.

"Case, you can't keep living in fear and hatred towards him like this. He's an evil sick man, he killed you baby sister! He can't just keep living without punishment," Raph states.

"I agree, and for nearly three years I've been trying to think of a way to get rid of him. The only shame is that he's too powerful for me to do it on my own; I would need a plan, partner, and strategy. After the whole Nick situation, I wasn't rushing to tell more people about it, or anything about my past at all. But when Raph said what he had done, I didn't feel so alone anymore," Casey says.

"Well we'd help you," Donnie answers instantly.

"What?" Casey asks.

"Case, you have no idea what you've done for me. When April was gone, you were the one to help pick me back up, and I will spend my whole life repaying you for that. Sure our start wasn't so smooth and you're a total goon but you're my best friend, and Raph's too. If someone has done something so evil to your sister and is endangering you, then we have no choice but to take him out. Neither of you did anything wrong, you're only protecting your family," Donnie says.

"Exactly. If someone had killed Mike and was trying to kill us, you'd help us out, right?" Raph says.

"Of course," Casey says.

"Well, it's a plan then. We'll all have a sleepover in Raph's room tonight and plan this out, since you know your house and your dad, Raph knows brute strength and I know strategy. We're gonna take this creep to the park, if you know what I'm saying," Donnie says, Raph nodding in agreement.

"You know; you guys are the best friends I've ever had. I wouldn't even be alive anymore without you," Casey says.

"That's what family is for, right?" Raph wraps an arm around Casey's other shoulders.

Casey smiles, hugging both of his friends into him. "Team forever, right?"

"Right," both of them reply.

X

She woke up instinctively in the middle of the night, because somewhere in the fuzzes of her brain she that something was not alright.

The vacant space beside her where her lover was meant to lay was definitely not helping it either.

Karai sat up in a panic, her thoughts of slumber evaporating with her nervousness. She searched their place for her Leo, but he was nowhere to be found. Finally, she noticed a ball in the corner that just may be him.

"Leo!" she shouts, running over and finding him lying in a fetal position, but he jumps up and runs quickly in a circle at the thought of her. She noticed he was drenched in sweat and saliva fell down from his mouth, and his pupils were hardly even visible.

"What is this? Where am I? There's a hamster in my chest! Oh god, I've gotta get it out! I've gotta get it out before it kills me!" he screams.

"Leonardo! What are you talking about?" she shouts, taking a hold of his wrist and noticing his pulse was beating hard enough to tap against her skin. She also noticed the remnants of white powder stained under his nose.

"I'm scared, baby, I'm so fucking scared. Is this what dying feels like? Why are all of the stars burning me! I thought we liked them! I thought we were okay here!" he cries.

"Sweetie, sweetie, come here. You're just hallucinating, none of it's real," she holds him over her thighs.

"I'm gonna die tonight, aren't I? I'm gonna die!" he yells.

"No my love, you are not going to die. I won't let you," she soothes him.

He is able to raise his palm up to take hold of her face, and she gasped when looking into his eyes. It's like it wasn't even Leo in there anymore; his eyes were wired, his skin was pale, his body was skinny and lengthy, and his hand was shaking so hard that it almost made her jaw hurt.

"H-help me," he whispers, and it seems that it was the same moment that the blood began to flow from his nose and mouth, his whole body shaking in violent seizes.

"LEO!" she screams, watching in horror as his eyes roll into the back of his head and her fingertips are quickly blanketed in blood and drool, his body shaking so harder than she knew was even possible.

"Leo, baby, listen to me! I'm here, you've gotta hold on, you've gotta!" she screams into his face.

His body broke in one harsh jolt, falling limp and broken. His beautiful face was blocked by the blood, but at least she could still feel a tiny little heartbeat.

"LEO, WAKE UP! PLEASE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME, YOU'RE ALL I HAVE!" she screams holding his body to hers and attempting CPR.

"Don't worry baby, I won't let them take you. I'm gonna go get help okay?" she tells him, kissing his face and running off to the only medical attention she knew of.

She would do anything for Leonardo.

A/N: The chapter is named after a song by The Neighborhood that I found fitting, you should really check it out.

Welcome to the 20s, friends! We are in for a wild ride!

Next chapter, we'll take a little look at some well needed realizations, liberating violence, what's going on with a certain comatose character and also a certain psychic villain ;)

And yes, I apologize for getting sloppy, but at least it's a faster update.