Chapter 21! Sorry if this chapter seems kinda...awkward. It was written in pieces due to a combo of patchy writers block, RL stuff, and my discovery of Homestuck (It's a web comic that's about... 600,000+ words. XD). So, this may not be my best work, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :)
Not suing me would be very much appreciated! :)
They led Donnie home, taking extra precautions against any patrols. Donnie had assumed that Shredder must have noticed his absence by now. He was in between Leo and April, carrying some of the food.
Leo couldn't help but keep looking at him, as though if he were to look away for too long, he'd disappear. He'd finally fully pulled his brothers away from the Foot Clan, and was bringing the last one home. The fact he'd been able to even do that was amazing.
They made it back to their manhole, and slowly crept down. As they regained their footing, Leo looked at Donnie, who was slowly taking everything in.
"Anything coming back?" Leo asked hopefully. Donnie sighed and shook his head.
The walk home was short and silent. Donnie continued to look around as they walked, trying to find something that looked familiar.
As they approached the turnstiles, Leo watched a small smile grow on Donnie's face. It then turned to a look of shock, causing Leo to turn towards the entrance to their home. Mikey was standing there, obviously having been waiting for April and Leo to return home. But, his blue eyes were locked on Donnie.
April slowly took the food package that Donnie was holding from him, then nodded. Donnie ran forward, tackling Mikey in a hug, tears running down both their cheeks.
"I knew you'd be home soon," Was all Mikey said.
The four walked inside, and Donnie continued to look around, the grin on his face growing.
"Raph! Sensei! Come quick!" Mikey yelled out, while Leo and April put the food away. Raph and Splinter ran into the living room, stopping short when they spotted Donnie.
"D-Donnie?" Raph asked, a look of shock on his face. Donnie nodded, and then Raph had him in a hug quickly.
"Good to see you in a right state of mind," Raph said.
"You too," Donnie replied, then they broke apart. Then Raph, with a sly grin on his face, hit Donnie on the back of the head.
"OW! What was that for?" Donnie asked.
"Old time's sake," Raph muttered. Donnie just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Splinter, who hadn't moved from his spot yet, and just stared at Donnie.
"Sensei, I'm so sorry," He said, walking towards him. Splinter continued to stare, unbelieving.
Suddenly, Splinter pulled him close, shaking slightly. "Donatello, you are home. That's all I need." Donnie smiled, staying in the hug for a while.
Donnie soon broke away, sat down, and explained to Raph, Mikey, and Splinter about what had happened the past few days, and what he knew about the chemical.
"That explains a lot," Splinter said a few minutes after Donnie had finished. "How do you feel right now?"
"Still...really fuzzy," Donnie admitted. "But, it clears up the longer I stay here. The problem is-I can't."
A mix of sighs and groans came from the group at this. "Donnie, we've been over this: You don't need to be with the Shredder and the Foot Clan anymore," Leo said.
"I know that! You didn't let me finish!" Donnie snapped, then looked rather shocked at himself. "Sorry. But, I've got an idea.
"As you guys have probably already figured out, I'm rather important in this upcoming TCRI invasion. And I've been doing a lot of work on the portal to prepare for this stupid thing. However, it's not quite finished yet. Shredder doesn't want me to complete construction until the actual invasion because he's afraid someone will sneak into TCRI and use it. Never mind the fact that you need high clearance to even go within five feet of TCRI, much less go in. Anyway, I think I can go in, go through its servers, look at what happened to it when it was stuck by lightning all those years ago, and recreate that, with some modifications."
Leo blinked. "Wait, what does that mean?"
"It means, I'm going to have the portal act like it did when it sent you forward it time, except have it send you back to your own time," Donnie explained.
Go back to his own time... Leo never even thought it was possible. He never even let himself think or dream about it. He had told himself that this new time was where he was going to live now, and that the past was just that – the past.
"You really think you could do that?" Leo asked Donnie, his voice sounding distant.
Donnie nodded. "Of course, to keep working on the portal, I need to stay in the Foot Clan, at least physically. So, for now, my defection will stay private. And I mean that; no telling anyone outside of this room that I've broken that connection with the Foot. The last thing we need is that getting back to Shredder.
"And with that, I really need to leave. I can't arouse any suspicion, and I can't risk them finding out I can disable my trackers. I'll turn them back on once I'm a good distance from the lair. I'll come back at some point to go over some more specifics on this TCRI invasion."
"We understand, my son. Just remember where your home is," Splinter said, pulling Donnie into another hug.
"I will, Sensei. My mind hasn't felt this clear in many, many years," Donnie replied, chuckling slightly. He went around and hugged everyone else. Then, he untied his purple mask.
"Keep it," April said, inferring Donnie's question. "Hide it well, but keep it." Donnie nodded, a faint smile on his face, before turning and leaving the lair.
Donnie returned the next day, late in the morning. As everyone gathered for lunch, Donnie went over the Dimension X invasion.
"The Foot is going to be infuriating TCRI at seven PM, and they will be on time. Shredder is sending his best troops. You guys will have a fight ahead of you.
"Here's my plan: You five, along with any allies, will sneak into TCRI at 6:30. I'll remotely disable alarms at that time. You'll have those thirty minutes to prepare for the Foot. Shredder isn't planning on any resistance, so hopefully there being some already there will throw off his guard. You guys start fighting, and Leo, try you best to stay as close to the portal as possible. I'll get over to the controls, and start preparing them. The Foot can't know I've defected until the last possible moment, otherwise they'll prevent me from getting to the controls and doing everything I need to do. But, tell your allies that night, so they don't get in my way either. Once I turn the portal on, it should turn blue, and that's when Leo goes in and returns to the past."
"And what about the rest of us?" Raph asks.
"I destroy the portals controls, and we keep fighting," Donnie says, looking grim. "It won't be easy, but I believe that if we can get Leo back to his own time, he can prevent this future from happening. I'm going to try my best to send Leo back as close as I can to the time when he came here. I can't do it before he leaves, however, or we'll get a paradox."
"I think you're forgetting something," Leo says. "If you're sending me back right after I would have left, that means I'm coming back to an injured you, and my time's Foot Clan in route to TCRI. If they get to us, we just get this future again, only with me in the Foot as well. How am I going to get out of there without past you dying?"
Donnie chuckled slightly. "Did you seriously think I'd forget to save my own life? Follow me," He said, standing up and leaving the room. Leo shrugged, then followed Donnie into his old lab. Leo hadn't actually been in the room since coming to this time. It was similar to how he remembered it looking, only all of the inventions where rusted and broken. Leo saw the crestfallen look on Donnie's face as he spotted his old projects. But, he quickly shook the look off and walked over to the bookshelf by his old desk.
"Funny, I figured this place would be dirtier," Donnie mused as he eyes scanned the bookshelf.
"Splinter dusted your guy's old bedrooms every week. I assume he did the same here."
Donnie chuckled. "Makes since; I slept in here most of the time, usually by accident," His eyes stopped short on a book on the third shelf down from the top. "Aha! Here it is!" Donnie exclaimed as he pulled the book from the shelf, flicked through the pages, then handed the open book to Leo.
Leo looked down and scanned the diagrams and step-by-step instructions. "Donnie, this is a first aid book," He said in confusion.
"No, it's a textbook used by medical students I found years ago after a rainstorm washed it into the sewers. Anyway, as soon as I get you back to your time, you need to get us straight home. Get out of TCRI and into the first manhole you can find. Once you get home, get Master Splinter. He should know where I keep my first aid equipment. Then, find this book and go to this page. Splinter knows enough first aid that the two of you should be able to save me."
Leo read through the page more thoroughly this time, and he could feel some light amount of panic rising in him. "Donnie, what if-"
"Leo, you're our leader. I know you can get through this. Besides, asking 'What if?' questions causes nothing but unnecessary worry. Everything will be fine."
Donnie said this with enough conviction in his voice that Leo felt himself buying his words. But, as they both looked at each other, the task ahead of them weighed on their minds. It was huge, and seemingly impossible. But, Leo knew that if anyone could get through it, it was his team, his family, his brothers.