A/N: EDIT: So sorry, I put the warnings on this chapter on Ao3 but forgot to put them here...! So please note that this chapter has very detailed description of injuries, gore (or at least something like it) and eye trauma. Stay safe!
Their big brother not recognizing them was heartbreaking, but the possibility that Leonardo was now completely gone was simply crushing. Leonardo's words from before were clear in their memory.
If I don't remember you, then what's the point of fighting this?
It had heavily implied that if their brother lost the memory he'd been shielding he wouldn't be able to fight the shadows. And if the shadows took over, would there be anything of him left?
What they had now was Leonardo with an empty gaze and a weakening body. He was now bleeding even when not using the power, the shadows in his mind were no doubt hurting him. Just like the demon had, wearing their brother out just by existing in him.
They didn't need to say it out loud to know that their presence in Leo's mind had made the shadows stronger. Splinter had warned them to not stop for anything, but they had ignored the warning, they'd stayed with Leo to fight with him, being so sure they could stay and help their brother fix things. It had been what they had gone there to do, to find their brother and make him realize he had to seek for his memories- but he'd been so overwhelmed by the shadows he'd been fighting, of course they'd stayed by his side to fight them. How could they have thought that they were doing wrong by attempting to protect their brother?
What had they been supposed to do, when both staying and leaving had been wrong?
"Leonardo, do you truly not recognize us?" Master Splinter asked carefully after the family had recovered from the initial shock of Leonardo's words.
"I… I know you, but I don't- I don't remember you."
It was just like with April; Leonardo had known her, she had seemed familiar to him, but he hadn't remembered her.
Now the rest of the family understood how much that hurt.
Suddenly Leo was pushing away from them, managing to stand up. He swayed but stayed on his feet, and began to back away from them. He was looking around now, his body tense, his face confused and guarded. He stared at the countless lit candles before looking at them again.
"Where am I?" Leonardo asked again. He was holding the wall for support; they all saw how shaky he was, and small droplets of blood were still falling down to the floor.
"You are home, and you are safe," Splinter spoke, a forced calm in his voice. "You are hurt – it would be wise to sit back down before you-"
"No," Leonardo shook his head, but the movement made him wince and lift a hand to the side of his head. "You- you look at me like you know me, and maybe you do, but you're lying – this isn't home. I think I'd recognize it if it was."
Leonardo lowered his hand again and stood in a defensive stance. His hands twitched like he was going to reach for his swords, but he didn't. He watched them with mistrust, body tense. But the way he stood was wrong; he was too hunched over, maybe because of the obvious pain he was in, maybe because he was just that different now. He held his hands up, but he held them too high. A common mistake which Leonardo had kept noting his brothers of until they'd gotten it right, but that had been years ago.
"This is home, and we- we're your brothers, Leo, it's us," Michelangelo said, sorrow accompanying his voice. He stepped forward, searching Leonardo's eyes for any recognition. Finding none, the sorrow in him only swelled.
Instead of answering Leonardo stumbled when his right knee suddenly buckled under him. Michelangelo jumped forward but Leonardo was still holding onto the wall and didn't fall- the moment his leg worked again he put even more distance between himself and his brother. Michelangelo halted; he didn't want to corner Leonardo like they'd done the other night.
Leo was eyeing the way to the door of the room. He stood near the back wall of the room, and he'd have to go past all of them if he wanted to reach the exit. That was probably the only reason he wasn't going for the door yet. Taking his eyes away from the entrance of the room he lifted a hand to his face, and when he lowered it, he stared at the blood now covering his fingers. "Why am I bleeding?"
Leonardo looked at them again, watching them like a hawk. Obviously trying to read them to see if they'd answer honestly; looking for any hint that'd reveal that they had hurt him. With how tense Leonardo was, they were sure he'd try to dash out of the room if he felt like they were the reason for his pain. In a way, they were. So what was the honest answer?
"Leo, there's something in your head that's hurting you," Donatello started carefully. "It's the reason you can't remember. We're all here in this room because we tried to help you through meditation- I'm afraid we didn't manage to help you, that we might've just hurt you more, but I swear, Leo, we were just trying to help you."
"And still are," Raphael added. "We'll fix this. Ya just gotta trust us."
Leonardo eyed them, clearly untrusting despite their sincere tones. They tried to not take his suspicion personally – Leonardo had always been very careful, his complete trust had never been easy to gain.
With a groan Leonardo turned to the wall, placed his head against it and held his eyes closed. His breaths were coming out in harsh pants, and he cracked open one eye to watch them. "I don't… really think that I have any other… choice."
Then he was sliding down, his feet finally having given up under him. He clawed at the wall to slow his fall, but already Michelangelo was there. Having no time to ask for permission he simply wrapped his arms around Leonardo, trying to ignore the way his brother flinched from the touch, and eased him down softly. When Leonardo was sitting down, his shell against the wall, Michelangelo gave him space again.
"Sorry," Mikey said, apologizing for getting so close. "Didn't want you to hurt yourself."
Leo said nothing, just watched him. His eyes were starting to get glassy, and it looked like he wouldn't stay upright for long even when he was now sitting down.
"He's getting worse," Raph said out loud what they were all seeing and thinking. Leo didn't even react to the words- it looked like he was just focusing on breathing.
And he was still bleeding through his nose.
"And he'll be getting worse until we get rid of the demon's remaining power," Don said, walking closer as well. Leo didn't even glance up at him. There was no more time to consider the fact that Leo might not want to be touched; Don kneeled down next to him and took a gentle hold on him, helping him lean forward so that the blood didn't flow down into his throat. "We have to do something, fast. And, well… Leo's idea was to take him to the…"
The tunnel. An awful feeling washed over them; this was too much like the last time they had needed to go there, when they had been forced to take an unconscious Leo to the dark tunnel. He wasn't in a critical condition like last time, but still weak. And the things that had happened when they'd last visited, Leo lying on the tunnel's floor, bleeding from his wrists…
But at least the demon itself wasn't here, this time. There was no risk of getting possessed and hurting each other. All they had to do was to get rid of the thing in Leo's head, but they had no proof that the tunnel would solve anything. It had just been something Leo had thought up, just a possibility. And Leo hadn't really been himself while thinking of it, distressed and worn out, desperate...
"Take him where?" Master Splinter asked, wearing a slight frown while he handed Donatello a pack of napkins he could use to finally stop the bleeding. "Going through his memories has obviously distressed and weakened him. Your brother needs rest; he's been needing that for a while, and he should finally get it."
"Sensei, the power's still there, still hurting him and taking his memories," Don explained quickly. "We were able to talk with Leo, the real Leo- I think…" Don shook away his hesitation. It had been Leo. "He suggested that we take him to the tunnel, hoping that would make him remember the things he'd lost-"
Master Splinter's eyes narrowed at that. "You would take him there again, after what happened last time?"
Don flinched, remembering all too well what the demon had made him do back then. "I… I don't want to, but it's what Leo told us to do-"
"And how do you know it wasn't what the demon's power wanted him to say?" Splinter asked, sounding very grave. "I understand that you are in a hurry to fix his mind and return his memories, but we must think this through." Splinter turned to motion at the futon in the corner of the room. "Lay him down for now. He will rest here until we've decided the next course of action."
The thought that the demon was just tricking them again made all of them freeze. What if that was true and they were taking Leonardo there just for the demon to try to sacrifice him – again?
The turtles glanced at each other. Master Splinter was right, maybe they were being too hasty. It seemed logical to let Leonardo rest instead of risking his health by taking him out into the sewers while so weak, but... they'd seen how quickly the black fog spread. Leonardo's health was already at risk, had been for a good while. They knew they didn't have time, just like with the demon, Leonardo was fading again.
And… it was still very clear in memory how Master Splinter had simply been rearranging his shelves before they came to him to ask for help to reach Leo's mind. How he hadn't been in any hurry. This was too much like it, they trusted their Sensei, they did, but they couldn't simply lie down to rest and watch as their brother withered away.
"We can't wait," Raphael grunted as he kneeled down next to Leonardo as well. He slid his hand between the wall and Leo's shell, clearly about to get him up from the floor. That made Leonardo pull away from Donatello, who had been keeping a light hold on him, and push against Raphael to now get him off of him. But there was no strength behind Leonardo's attempt, and Raphael was easily able to pull Leonardo against himself so that he could take his weight.
"Leave me alo...ne," Leo protested, but ended up wincing and burying his face against Raph's plastron. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but he still smudged Raph's plastron with a small amount of the remaining blood. "Why does it… hurt so much…"
"Just hang in there, Leo," Don petted his shell with a sad look before taking hold of his other arm so that they could lift him up.
"It was definitely Leo we were talking with, not the shadows telling him what to say," Mikey answered Splinter's question from before. "I could feel it was him. I mean, yeah, he was pretty shaken and all, but-"
Splinter gripped his crutch tightly, tapping it against the floor with force before they managed to lift Leo. "You will do as I say. Your brother is too weak to be taken anywhere. We have dangered him enough- I have dangered him by showing you how to reach his mind. His condition has only worsened, you will not be taking him anywhere."
Raphael had rebelled against Splinter's will many times, had gotten Splinter to yell at him, all of the turtles had been yelled at and scolded at some point of their life when they had done something to deserve it. But none of them had ever heard Splinter talk quite like this. His voice was biting, almost venomous. There was a harsh glare in his eyes as well, making Splinter's authority clear.
But it wasn't right, none of this was, there was so much to fix, so Raphael only tightened his hold on Leonardo.
"We'll take him there and get rid of whatever remains of the demon," Raphael told their Sensei firmly. He moved himself in a defensive pose between his brothers and his Sensei, fully prepared to keep continuing with words. Only the response didn't come with words.
Splinter pounced, his better leg connecting with Raphael's plastron, sending him flat on his shell away from his brothers. Splinter landed down from his kick with ease, now turning towards Donatello and Michelangelo.
"Step away from him," Splinter commanded, pointing at them with his crutch.
"S...sensei, your… your leg," was what Donatello was able to mutter, staring down at the cast in Splinter's leg. His leg had been healing well, but the bone wasn't still fixed- there was no way Splinter could be jumping around like that. He had to be in a lot of pain for the jump he had just made.
Following his gaze, Splinter looked down at his leg as well. And for a moment there was confusion on his face before it was washed away as he refocused on the turtles, narrowing his eyes. Getting ready to attack again he'd almost jumped when something wrapped around him from behind.
"The shell's going on with ya, Sensei?" Raphael, holding Splinter in a tight grip, asked with gritted teeth. Splinter was much smaller and felt almost fragile compared to his muscled build, but he was already fighting the hold with surprising strength.
"You will not go," Splinter repeated, almost managing to wriggle himself free before Michelangelo hurriedly stepped forward and helped Raphael keep him still. "None of you will leave!"
"What's wrong with him? Do you think that… that Sensei's been possessed now?" Mikey asked, sounding horrified at the idea.
"Master Splinter, please, tell us what's going on," Don pleaded, trying to look him in the eyes while he helped Leo sit back down on the floor. "Your leg isn't healed, you'll hurt yourself like this!"
With one last glare Splinter eased his struggle, and Don left Leo to kneel down before Splinter so that he could take a look at his leg. He carefully felt around the splint, surprised that Master Splinter didn't even twitch when he touched a spot which definitely should've brought forward some kind of a reaction. Was he just hiding his pain? If so, why? No, he couldn't be, not with the jump he had made just now- it just wasn't physically possible with a broken leg. So what was going on?
Splinter's groan pulled his eyes back up. It wasn't a groan of pain, yet it made Raph and Mikey ease their hold on him in fear that they had somehow hurt him. Now able to move his hands, Splinter lifted one to his head. Don noted that now that he was standing on his own without Raph restraining him, he was putting his weight on his "broken" leg without seemingly having even realized he was doing so.
"Sensei?" Mikey asked carefully.
"My sons, I… I do not know what came over me," Splinter said quietly, still rubbing the side of his head. "I… got overwhelmed by what you suggested."
Now that Splinter wasn't attacking again, the turtles slowly moved back to Leo, still cautious and keeping their attention on Splinter. They were now just as worried about their Sensei, but Leo was in no condition to protect himself from anything, so they gathered back around him.
As Splinter tried to clear his head, he blinked and then looked at his sons. Raphael and Donatello were holding Leonardo between them once again with Michelangelo right next to them. The look in their eyes was vulnerable; they were confused and scared. But there was also strength there, the burning determination to save their brother.
And they had saved him from the demon, fixing the mistakes Splinter had made when the demon had still been in their home. They had got rid of it while their Sensei, their Father, had done nothing but stayed behind. He had been able to help them through meditation, had guided their spirits together so that they could save each other… but now something strange had come over him, and he had… almost attacked them. Splinter shook his head again, trying to clear it, trying to get rid of the horrible nagging at his head to not let his sons go to the tunnel, because the last time they had done so, they had defeated the demon and brought Leonardo home alive.
That's what they had done all their lives; brought each other home.
Splinter was about to lean on his crutch when he realized he wasn't holding it. Confused once more he looked down on himself, carefully lifting his "broken" leg, feeling no pain when he did so. This time he felt the strange feeling push into his head- felt how something tried to smother his confusion, urged him to make the turtles stay.
He fought it, closing his eyes and focusing on his words instead. "I am sorry, my sons. There's- there's clearly still something in our home, something attacking us. I did not want to see you go back to that place, I did not want to see you hurt again, and whatever this power in our home is, somehow twisted that feeling." If this thing in their home was anything like the demon, it gained strength from negative emotions. Maybe it had gotten a hold of him so suddenly and easily, for Splinter had felt that he was the reason Leonardo's condition had worsened; he'd told him that his brothers had gotten into trouble while he had been in no true condition to help them. He hadn't asked Leonardo to go, but he had known he would- that was how his eldest was, everything else was secondary when his family was in danger. "It seems that it made it somehow made it possible for me to work with my broken leg as well, simply to make me attack you." He would no doubt be feeling the pain again soon.
Kneeling down, Splinter kept his eyes closed. "I am aware now that I've been affected by the presence in our home, that I have done nothing to get rid of it. I will try to identify it now- you do as you feel is right. Take Leonardo to the tunnel if he asked you to do so."
The turtles were once again looking at each other, and Mikey turned back to Splinter first. "Are you sure you're okay, Sensei? If there's something in here, shouldn't one of us stay here with you-"
"I will be fine," Splinter said. "Leonardo needs you more now."
And nobody could deny that. Glancing down at Leo they saw how pale he was. His skin felt warmer than it should've, hinting at a slight fever, but he wasn't just laying limp between them. He was struggling to stand up, so they helped him up but still kept a hold on him to keep him steady. The glassy look in his eyes told them he probably wasn't that aware of what was going on around him.
"Let's go to the damn tunnel," Raph said. "Yeah, Leo might've not been in his right mind when he suggested it, but it was his memories. He wouldn't send us there if he didn't think there was a chance it could work."
"Alright," Don agreed, sounding somewhat hesitant, but turned to head out of the room. "I'll get the Sewer Slider ready. We'll get there faster, and Leo's in no condition to walk, anyway."
This really was all too familiar. The pressure of knowing that every second mattered, the worry of this possibly not working, the dread of going to the tunnel.
Michelangelo took Donatello's place, grabbing Leonardo's arm to keep him steady. The engineer hurried out of the room, Raphael and Michelangelo guiding Leonardo after him at a slower pace. They were ready to carry him if he was too weak to walk, but surprisingly, Leonardo managed to walk along. He even pushed at his brothers again, trying to break free from their hold, but his struggling was too weak to even really call struggling. They didn't trust him to keep his balance if they let go.
"Relax, Leo, we're just helping you," Mikey tried to comfort him, speaking with a soft tone. "I know it hurts. We'll try to hurry."
The Sewer Slider's motor was already gently humming when they got to it. Donatello was throwing his duffel bag in, and then turned to his brothers to help them get Leonardo up into the vehicle.
"Where…" Leo asked weakly, seeming to be quite out of it. He hadn't really reacted to the conversation they'd had before or even to Splinter's brief attack, and it seemed that he still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but at least he was aware enough to tell that they were leaving. It wasn't a big consolation, but it was better than nothing.
"Just sit tight, don't worry," Mikey told him, sitting down next to him. Raph and Don sat into the front seats, Don taking the wheel. The setting was the same as the last time, only Leo was conscious this time.
As soon as Don was sitting down the vehicle started to move.
"Guys, the next trip we make with the Sewer Slider has to be a nicer one," Mikey muttered as the vehicle took them into the dark sewers. "I wasn't a fan last time, and I'm not really a fan this time either."
Raph was more focused on digging through the bag Don had taken with them, fishing out flashlights so that they'd be ready as soon as they got to the tunnel. He noted that Don had packed some heavy tools as well, which made Raph think of the heavy door.
"If the tunnel's the way we left it, it might be difficult to open the door, even with these," Raph mumbled.
"It won't be," Don reassured him. "The water inside might be a problem, though… but it'll be manageable."
"Feels wrong, somehow," Raph said after a moment, letting the duffel bag drop back down onto the floor. "To open that door. I'd rather keep it shut."
"Yeah, me too," Mikey nodded, "it was so difficult to flood it. My hands ache just by thinking about those rusty valves!"
It was said jokingly, but both Mikey and Raph glanced at Leo's bandaged hands. As if he'd felt their gaze Leo lowered the hand he'd been keeping on the side of his head.
"It suddenly hurts… less," Leo said quietly, blinking down at his hand in confusion. He lifted his head, no longer hunched over from the pain. Apparently the lack of pain made him aware and wary of them again, for he suddenly glanced at Mikey on his left, trying to scoot away from him, only to have no place to go unless he wanted to fall from the fast-moving vehicle. Startled back into sitting in the middle of his seat, Leo seemed unsure what to do.
"Hey, it's okay," Mikey quickly tried to soothe him. It wasn't that Leo seemed afraid of them, he was just confused and wary. No wonder; he'd been in a lot of pain, and still didn't remember who they were. Of course he was wary. "We're, uh… just trying to help you. I'm glad to hear that you're not hurting so much anymore."
Leo eyed him, then their surroundings. Dark walls were passing them by, and there wasn't much else to see.
"Oh! I already told you, but in case you missed it, I'm Mikey," the youngest continued. He almost held his hand out for Leo to shake, but didn't go that far. Raph was still looking at them over his shoulder and scoffed.
"Ya don't need to introduce yourself ta him, Mikey," Raph said, turning his head away. "He's… he's gonna remember us. Once we just… get there."
Mikey leaned forward to see the red turtle better. Raph had spoken with slight uncertainty, and he held his arms crossed over his chest, now avoiding looking at them. Clear signs that he was guarded as well… and hurt. Raph didn't want to acknowledge the fact that Leo had forgotten them; it hurt too much.
"Of course he will," Mikey looked at said turtle as he said it, sounding like he really believed it. And he did. There was no way Leo had permanently forgotten about them. There couldn't be. "But right now we're being kinda rude. I mean, you are. I already introduced myself, you didn't."
Raph stayed silent, and Don didn't speak up either. Mikey sighed. "Fine. I always have to do everything. Leo, that's Raph. Yes, he's always grumpy. Well, not always. I saw him crying at this one chick flick-"
"Shut it, Mikey," Raph grumbled, but it wasn't very heated.
"And our driver is the one and only, Do-"
"Leo, can you describe how you're feeling?" Don cut Mikey off, glancing briefly over his shoulder before focusing back on driving the Sewer Slider. "Did you notice anything different when your pain lessened?"
When Leo didn't answer, Mikey leaned slightly closer to him to whisper. "He's speaking to you. You're Leo. You remember your name before, you haven't forgotten it now, right..?"
Leo glanced at him, and Mikey was glad to note that he wasn't leaning away from him this time.
"I haven't." Leo was back to speaking with that neutral tone he'd used before. "You said you were... trying to help me. What exactly does that mean? Where are we going?" Leo ignored Don's question with counterquestions.
"Well," Don began, starting to slow the Sewer Slider down, "you can see for yourself. We're here."
The last time they had driven here the Sewer Slider had been left further away, since the demon had slightly interrupted their plans. Now they managed to get much closer, but still had to walk a bit.
Don killed the engine and reached to grab his bag before jumping down from the vehicle. Mikey followed him down, and turned back in case Leo needed help getting down.
Leo stood up from his seat with ease, but when he followed his brothers down, he stumbled badly. Mikey had expected it, and caught him easily, steadying him again. Even though Leo didn't seem to be in much pain anymore, his eyes were still slightly glassy. And now that Mikey was holding onto him, he felt that his temperature had only gone up during the trip.
"Ya okay, Leo?" Raph asked, jumping down as well.
When Leo glanced at them, the look in his eyes was less guarded than before, but he still seemed a bit hesitant to take the aid Mikey was offering him. But he didn't pull away like before, allowing Mikey to support him until he was steady on his feet again.
"I'm fine," Leo answered shortly, looking around again. Don had left the Slider's lights on, but the light from the vehicle carried only so far. Raph handed everyone a flashlight, and once everyone had a source of light in their hands, they were all looking around.
It was quiet. So unnaturally quiet. Don wondered if this section just didn't have the loud pipes they were all used to, but that sounded unlikely. Besides, there had to be working pipes that had carried the water they had flooded the tunnel with. He moved to stand slightly closer to his brothers, but just then Leo began to walk forward.
"This seems… familiar," Leo said quietly, his siblings following right after him. They walked forward carefully, and when they turned the corner, Leo paused. The light he held had hit the entrance of the tunnel's heavy door, and when the others saw it, they stopped dead in their tracks as well.
The door wasn't closed like they'd left it.
"Okay, that's creepy," Mikey managed to say after they'd stared at it for a moment. "I… I really don't like it here. We definitely left the door closed." Panic started to edge its way into his voice. "W-why's it open? Do we- do we have to get closer? Can't we just watch from here and-"
"Wasn't this area abandoned?" Raph cut him off, tearing his gaze away from the door to look at Don. "That's why all the valves and the door were so rusty."
"Yes, I don't see any reason why anyone would've come here to open it," Don said, still simply staring at the door. He was holding the strap of his duffel bag with both hands, gripping it nervously. "Obviously humans have been here after this place was abandoned, someone had drawn the circle, after all. Maybe whoever drew the circle wanted to come back, or maybe someone was exploring the sewers and happened to get curious…"
"...And got splashed by a lot of water when they opened that," Mikey said, trying to ease his mind by imagining the flood of water opening the door must've caused. They'd completely filled the tunnel, after all. Now there was no trace of that water; it had already flowed elsewhere, somewhere deeper into the tunnels.
"That door shouldn't be too easy to open, though," Don said. "Raph was having a lot of trouble pushing it shut and putting the barricade back into place."
"My arm was messed up back then, yet I was able to close it," Raph pointed out. "So it's possible someone got it open. Clearly."
"Or something," Mikey said in a deep voice, meant to sound threatening. He succeeded in scaring himself, shivering immediately. "No, nope, no things, it was just curious humans. Nothing unnatural here! Everything's fine! I'm not scared!"
"I'll check it out first, ya stay here," Raph said, starting to walk closer. "Just in case."
"Don't say just in case, Raphie! There's nothing but wet leaves in there," Mikey muttered, but stayed where he was and suddenly grabbed a hold of Leo's arm. Leo was tense, but didn't react to the touch, so he only held him tighter. Just in case Leo was scared, because he wasn't! Nope!
They watched in silence as Raph got to the door, peering in with his flashlight. He looked around for a moment before glancing back over his shoulder. "It looks empty."
Don started to walk forward, but Mikey and Leo stayed where they were. "Do we really have to go in? Isn't it enough that we just look at it from here? Leo, do you remember anything yet?"
Receiving no answer made Mikey tear his eyes off of the door so that he could look at his brother. "Leo?"
Leo was looking at the door with wide eyes, and only now Mikey realized just how tense and still he was. The silence made Raph and Don look back at them as well.
"What's wrong?" Don asked. It was still dim around them, and Don didn't want to shine his flashlight right into their faces.
"Leo, are you okay?" Mikey asked carefully. Again, no answer, so he tugged at his arm gently. "Leo-"
Leo flinched violently like some sort of spell that had kept him standing so still had been broken, yanking his arm from Mikey's hold and taking a hasty step back.
"W-why did you take me here?" Leo asked, and Mikey could see the slight panic in his eyes. "I- I remember, this is where you hurt me- you- you took me here to do it again-"
The signs in his body language were clear; he was about to run. Taking him here had made him remember- but he was remembering the wrong memories. The false memories. Mikey stepped closer and grabbed his arm just as Leo was turning away, managing to keep him in place. Immediately his brother pulled against his hold, the panic in his eyes growing at the tight hold.
"We're not going to hurt you, trust me, bro!" Mikey told him hastily. "We're just trying to help. I know it's a bad place, it makes me feel awful, too, but you have to remember it. That way you can remember the other stuff, too!"
"You have to remember the power so that you can fight it," Don added, having rushed back towards them. "It's still in your head, and you have to get rid of it."
Leo pulled at Mikey's hand again, a short whine escaping him. It made their chests ache; it was obvious how distressed Leo was here. So on the edge after losing his memories, and now starting to remember the bad ones. The ones the demon had made him see, the ones where they were hurting him.
"I'm sorry," Mikey apologized quietly. He was so sorry they had to do this to Leo, that they'd had to take him here, that he had to hold his arm so tightly to prevent him from running. "I'm sorry this feels so bad, I really am."
Leo shut his eyes at that, turning away from the tunnel's door. Mikey kept holding him, glancing at Don.
"What do we do?" he asked quietly, though he was aware that Leo could still hear him.
Don eyed Leo, clearly not liking this either. "I… I really hate to distress him like this, but…" Don glanced back towards the door, and Mikey knew what he was thinking.
"He won't come willingly," Mikey said, still trying to speak quietly. But Leo was right next to him, so of course he heard it, trying to pull himself free again.
"Let go!" Leo demanded, and now fought for real. He shoved against Mikey, surprising him enough to slip free, but Don was there as well, simply grabbing onto him again. Prevented from fleeing, Mikey was able to grab his other arm again.
"We're just prolonging this," Don muttered, "I'm sorry, Leo." They started to pull Leo towards the tunnel, which only made him fight harder.
"No! No, I'm not- not going back there," Leo hissed, but he had no leverage to get free. He was still weak, and couldn't fight two of his brothers at once, not when they held his arms like this. "You- you lied to me, you just want to-" Leo winced and gritted his teeth, shaking his head like he was trying to get rid of something. "Please, don't- it- it hurts to be here-"
"Is this really a good idea?" Mikey asked hesitantly. Causing their brother more pain didn't feel right.
"He's obviously remembering," Don said, keeping his worried eyes on Leo. Their only hope was that if they ventured further, more memories would come forth. "Come on, Leo- you're strong. Remember the shadows, they're the ones hurting you. Not us."
"I don't like any of this," Raph muttered as he watched them drag Leo closer. He'd been standing by the side since his brothers had things (somewhat) under control. Now he turned to the door again, and this time instead of just peering in, he stepped inside.
The wet leaves that had been here before had been washed away with the water that had obviously flooded out when the door had been opened. There was still cold muck on the floor, but Raph's attention was elsewhere. He moved the flashlight slowly, just trying to find that one spot. The one where the circle had been.
When the light flickered, Raph felt his breath get caught in his throat. It wasn't unheard of a flashlight to do that, but it really didn't give him a good feeling when it happened here. It felt like a warning. Get away while you can.
But as nerve wracking as it was to be here (he wanted nothing but to get his brothers and get the hell out of here) this also felt… necessary, in a way. Raph would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about coming back here, to see that the water had really washed the circle away. But all this time he'd felt safe knowing that the door was shut, that even if something had remained inside, it was locked away in here.
That sense of safety had been a complete lie, and he felt the anxiety of that now. He felt stupid as well. Why had he been so sure that the door would stay closed?
"Stop it! Stop it!" Leo was trying to lift his hands, reaching for the swords on his back, but he wasn't strong enough to fight two of his brothers. They pushed his hands back down and unclipped the sheathed swords from his belt and allowed them to drop to the floor so that he couldn't try to use them again, causing another desperate sound to leave their brother. "No… no… c-can't you hear them? They'll hurt us, they'll hurt all of us, stop it, stop it..."
They had managed to drag Leo through the door, but stopped to glance down at their brother. They didn't hear anything, so it must've been the shadows in his head, they'd heard their whispers when they'd meditated.
The temperature in the tunnel dropped noticeably, and out of the corner of their eye they saw movement. They turned to look inside the tunnel, towards the darkness at the edge of their lights… and saw it move. Just like the fog in Leo's mind, the darkness was slowly crawling closer, the spotlights of their flashlights growing smaller.
The heavy door behind them slammed shut.
Horrified, they glanced back over their shoulders at the closed door. Michelangelo let go of Leonardo to rush against the door, trying to turn the handwheel. It didn't move, not even when he pulled at it with all of his weight. Then he just tried to push against the door, but that didn't do anything either.
"No! It won't budge!" Mikey cried desperately, looking over his shoulder at the slowly approaching darkness.
"Dammit!" Raph drew out his sai, but stayed still, not wanting to rush towards the darkness when he had no idea if he could do anything against the shadows with his weapons.
"How is this possible?" Don asked, staring at the darkness. "The shadows are the power, they exist inside Leo's mind- how can they be here?"
He was cut off by a yelp- something burned his arm, causing him to automatically let go of Leo, who he had still been holding onto. When he looked down at his arm, he saw black fog hovering between him and his brother. He backed away; simply being touched by the black shadow had hurt him. There was no cut or blood on his arm, but a black mark that was painfully throbbing.
The black fog floated closer to Leo, making Don reach out for him again, but he couldn't get to his brother if he didn't want to be burned again.
"Leo, watch ou...t…" His words trailed off when the blackness didn't move to hurt his brother. Instead, it just coiled around him. It floated up, hovering next to Leo's ear, and Leo tilted his head like he was… listening.
There it was, something faint, barely audible. Whispers.
"I know," Leo said quietly, the look in his eyes empty and dull. "I know that, but I can't…" The whispers got louder, but they were intelligible to the others. Leo winced and took a step back. "No, I won't- even if they hurt me, I- I can't-"
"Leo-" Mikey began, trying to speak over the whispering that was slowly getting louder, but Leo didn't seem to hear him.
"Everything hurts," Leo almost sobbed. "I don't understand. I don't understand why I'm here, I don't even- I knew my name just a moment ago, didn't I? I don't know who I am, I don't know you- here's… there's nothing but this… this…" Leo looked around at the darkness. The temperature had dropped enough to make their breath mist, and it felt like the air was thinner. Like it was starting to get harder to breathe the longer they were here. "Nothing but this…"
Leo dropped down to his knees and placed his hands over his head, trying to curl up. He'd done the same in Don's lab when Don had inspected his eyes, and earlier in the kitchen- trying to shield himself.
"I don't know anything, don't remember anything, I'm… I'm tired…" The shadows kept swirling around Leo, and when they hovered near his head again, he sobbed. "No more… no more..."
His brothers were filled with the desperate need to get to Leo, to somehow get him to listen, to offer him some help and comfort. Leonardo had been so sure that they'd be able to make him remembered, that they'd get through to him, but it was like there was a thick wall between them and their brother. Like Leonardo wasn't even aware that they were there, that they were calling for him. They stepped forward, but the moment they did their flashlights flickered and turned off, leaving them in total darkness.
Almost immediately Donatello yelped, followed by the familiar sound of a shell hitting a solid surface. His flashlight turned back on when it fell from his hold and hit the floor, the light pointing towards him, allowing his brothers to see him lying on his shell on the floor. Donatello was closest to Leonardo, and the shadows had shot towards him. There was black mark across his plastron; a shadowy tendril had struck him and made him fall.
The light flickered and then died again.
"Donnie!" Both Michelangelo and Raphael yelled, and then they were on the move. Michelangelo was closer, and even though it was dark, he knew exactly where Donatello was, he had to get closer and defend him from more shadows- but just as he got close something collided with his plastron, sending him backwards, making him fall to the floor as well.
"Mikey!" Raph called for him; he'd heard his short grunt when he'd been hit. He couldn't see anything, but he strained his hearing, trying to make out where the shadows were – but they moved soundlessly in the air.
Don's dropped flashlight turned on again, allowing Raph to see the dark mist. The fog was so dark the light didn't completely penetrate the tendrils hovering in the air. They moved towards him, and Raph jumped to the side, just barely managing to avoid them. The flashlight died again, and in response Raph took a defensive stance. He couldn't hear the enemy, but they had been trained to fight in the dark. He knew how to try to locate a person by feeling their presence- but he wasn't exactly facing a person.
Something slashed at his legs, cutting his left thigh, and he hadn't had any idea which direction the attack was coming from. Shit, this was the third time something injured his leg just this week! This was the worst place to fight whatever they were fighting- just like the last time, they'd been too unprepared coming here. But how had they been supposed to know that this fog existed outside of Leo too?
He managed to bite down the pain, only hissing as he felt the cut throb. How the hell could he fight this? He swiped blindly with his sai, not surprised that it didn't hit anything. Could he even hurt the shadows? They were literally mist. Mist that could cut them.
He couldn't hear the fog, but he could hear Mikey and Don as they stood up again and drew their own weapons. He was backing away, not wanting to be cut again. They couldn't fight in the dark, they had to get out of here, back to the Sewer Slider where there was light.
But the mist was between them and Leo, and he sure as hell didn't want to leave him alone in here.
"I'll get Leo, and then we'll lead them out of the tunnel!" Raph wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that when he could barely dodge the shadows, but he was ready to try-
"It's impossible to get to him," Don said, and Raph felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back for a brief moment before Don had to pull back to focus on the hovering mist. "I don't think that they're hurting him- well, not the way they're trying to hurt us."
That was true; they hadn't heard Leo cry out, and every time that he had managed to catch a quick glimpse of his brother when the lights had weakly flickered, he'd still been in the same spot, surrounded by the darkness, but nothing had attacked him.
"I wholeheartedly approve of the idea of getting out of here, but the door is shut!" Mikey reminded them while backing away as well.
Raph growled and tugged his sai harshly back onto his belt, trying to find the door in the dark. They hadn't stepped very far into the tunnel, so he found it rather soon. Mikey had already tried the handwheel before, but he gave it a tug anyway. It didn't budge. Now that he knew where the door was he stepped back to charge it- but he'd only taken half a step away from the door when his shell was struck, the force of the strike sending him back against the door.
He recovered quickly, grabbing his sai once more as he whirled around and slashed the air. His weapon didn't connect with anything.
Again one of the dropped flashlights flickered back on, revealing the shadows hovering nearby. One of them was about to strike at Mikey, but the light allowed him to duck under the attack. Don, standing close, aimed his bō at the tendril that had just missed Mikey. The wooden weapon connected with its target, sending it away from them.
"At least we can hit them!" Don yelped, dodging another strike. "We'll try to hold them back, see if you can do anything about the door, Raph-!"
Immediately Raph turned his attention back to the door. First putting some distance between it and himself he then ran towards it, slamming his whole weight against the heavy door. It barely budged, and now Raph had a faintly aching shoulder.
"Dammit. Dammit," he muttered. "It was so fuckin' tough ta close ya, couldn't ya at least open nicely…"
He grabbed the handwheel again. It seemed that getting it to move was the only way to get the door open. But if the shadows were holding it closed with some freaky power, then how was he supposed to get it open?
The lights kept flickering on and off, and Raph knew his brothers were having a hard time fighting. If he didn't get this door open, there was no hope for them. He growled and positioned his sai against the handle, adjusting his grip, and then pushed and pushed, his muscles burning, feet slipping on the muddy ground, heart pounding when he heard Don and Mikey cry out as they were hit-
The wheel began to spin, and it was so sudden that Raph lost his footing on the slippery ground. He fell forward, pushing the door open in the process. It was too heavy to move more than a few inches, but at least it was now open.
"It's open!" Raph yelled, though he saw that Don and Mikey were already moving back while defending themselves, no doubt having heard the loud creaking the door had made. Raph pushed at the door again to give them enough space to slip out of the room. Once he'd done that he once again placed his sai on his belt and turned to grab both Don and Mikey by the lip of their shell, pulling them out of the shadow's reach and pushing them out of the tunnel. He swiftly followed, but turned around so that he could defend his little brothers while they kept retreating towards the Sewer Slider.
But the dark mist wasn't following. The fog had stopped, still hovering in the air, facing them, like it was hesitating. Then the shadows were slowly pulling back. They were flowing towards the back of the tunnel, and the turtles walked hesitantly back to the door to see them head towards the spot where...
During the fight, a flashlight had rolled over, and they were now able to see it in the faint light. The spot Raph had been looking for when he'd first stepped into the tunnel, the spot where the circle had been – where a tiny piece of it still was. The water hadn't completely destroyed it; the remaining tiny bit of red was clear in the otherwise black surroundings. The leaves and muck had been washed away, now properly showing it.
The mist landed over the spot where the circle had been, and turned into something more solid again, just like when they had attacked. The shadows started to form a circle, creating the same patterns inside it the demon had created with blood.
And slowly, the shadows started to bleed. The black circle was only halfway created, but the red liquid started to travel through the black marks.
"They weren't attacking us to injure us," Don realized as they watched. "They were just- just taking blood so that they could recreate the circle!"
"Or maybe it's Leo's blood," Mikey said, remembering the cuts his brother had. "Maybe-"
"Who fucking cares, we gotta stop it!" Raph bellowed, rushing back into the tunnel, throwing his sai. It hit one of the shadows currently forming the outer circle, pinning it into place. Another shadow was still moving on the other side, attempting to meet the other shadow to form a complete circle.
Before Raph could throw his second sai, a shadow dashed towards him from his side, and he had to pause and use his weapon to block it. Mikey was right behind him and continued when Raph had to stop, reaching the circle and striking the still moving shadow with his nunchaku. The harsh blow disrupted the shadow's movement, and more blackness struck at him to push him away from the half-formed circle. Raph had gotten rid of the shadow attacking him and was there to attack the shadows targeting Mikey.
"Focus on stopping them from forming the circle, Mikey, I'll hold 'em back!" Raph ordered, doing his best to fight with just one sai. Don had reached them as well, protecting Mikey on his other side.
"We're getting nowhere fighting them, they just keep coming," Don said as he swept yet another black tendril away. "We need to find the source."
"Well, they were in Leo's head too, so… isn't he the source?" Mikey asked, grunting as he had to smack the shadow trying to form the circle away again. Then he was desperately calling for their brother. "Leo! Leo, snap out of it, dude!"
He received no answer; Leo didn't even lift his head.
More shadows kept striking at them, more and more of their attacks starting to get through their defenses, leaving painful, stinging black marks every time they hit. Everything the weak, flickering lights didn't touch was pure darkness now – they couldn't even see the door anymore, completely surrounded by fog that was only thickening, getting closer and closer to swallowing them up.
"Shit, what do we do?" Raph asked breathlessly, struggling to keep moving. The cut on his thigh he'd received earlier made it difficult to move fast enough, and the more black marks he got, the weaker he started to feel. He could tell that the same lethargy was starting to affect both of his brothers as well.
It felt like the whispers they'd heard before had gotten louder as well. They still couldn't make sense of the words, but it was like every now and then someone stood right next to them, whispering right into their ear, distracting them, giving the shadows more opportunities to get through their weakening defenses.
The flashlights flickered again. The darkness was closing in.
Michelangelo and Donatello froze in their tracks when Raphael suddenly screamed out in pain. Michelangelo had been busy fighting off the shadows trying to complete the circle while Donatello had helped Raphael protect him, but they both stopped what they were doing and whipped their heads around to see their brother and-
Their breath got caught in their throat. The shadowy tendrils had turned into black, sharp claws which were currently sunken into the corner of Raphael's face. Blood was already flowing down his chin, and then the claws were yanked back, taking a portion of Raphael's skin with them, leaving muscle and tissue to be seen. Raphael screamed with a wild look of pain in his eyes, and before either one of them could do anything, more shadowy claws reached for him, for his shoulders, legs, the other side of his face, sinking in with squishy sounds as they sank in like hooks through muscle and nerves. And then they pulled at his flesh, starting to skin him alive, the sounds Raphael was letting out being the worst thing they had ever heard.
"Raphie!" Donatello broke out of the shock first and dashed forward, unsure what exactly to do, his mind spinning with the absolute horror he was witnessing. The fog was everywhere, he didn't know what to strike first, and Raphael was- he- all the blood- his screams-
There was a flash of pain in Donatello's abodemen, and the force and pain were enough to make him come to a sudden halt. The pain started to travel up, and Donatello looked down slowly.
The shadowy claws had pierced the lower part of his plastron. They were literally in his gut, he felt them, felt the pain- how was he still standing up? He was in shock. Had to be. He-
He whimpered when he felt the tendrils move inside him. Through his intestines up towards his stomach- his eyes rolled up when the pain finally fully registered and overtook him. The shadows around him had grabbed his arms, curling around them to keep him upright as the ones inside him poked through his internal organs, causing blood to spill from his mouth. The blood wasn't red, but almost black in color, and he gurgled on it as it came up.
Michelangelo was frozen in place. Raphael was still screaming, Donatello was choking on his own blood- and with growing horror Michelangelo watched as something moved under Donatello's plastron, as his chest bulged outwards before-
The tendrils broke through his chest, sending dark blood and bits of broken plastron all over the tunnel. The shadows dropped him onto the dark floor where pieces of his guts and organs floated in the murky water around him. And Donatello was still moving- twitching, his eyes staring at nothing, his mouth making small, pained gurgles.
Michelangelo's eyes were glued to the broken form of his brother, so he missed the way the shadows moved- only realized to move his head when it was too late. The fog had pushed Raphael's torn body towards him with enough force to make him fall under the weight.
Raphael's screams had died out and Michelangelo hadn't even noticed, and now he was trapped under Raphael's weight, he felt his oozing wounds, the slimy muscles that were now stripped from the skin protecting them. His body was twitching, much like Donatello's, little jerks which obviously made even more pain travel through his brother, who was only wheezing faintly now, right next to his ear.
"Oh god. Oh god," Mikey mouthed, too shocked to try to move, to do anything. He stared past his brother with unseeing eyes. "Oh god. Oh-"
The shadows were now coming for him, and he screamed when they wrapped around his wrists and pinned him to the floor. Screamed louder when they coiled around his neck to stop him from throwing his head side to side, when the claws pulled on his eyelids to expose his eyes, when they lightly slid over the cornea of his eye, the feeling more disturbing than anything he had ever felt, he felt so scared and so nauseous-
Pop.
There was something warm and gooey flowing down the side of his face, and distantly he knew it was the fluids from inside his squashed eyeball.
He was too numb with shock to even scream- until he felt them poke at the corner of his other eye.
He screamed, long after his world fell into final darkness.