In the end, Leo didn't sleep for three days.

Tantō twirling in his hand, eyes glancing outside. He was sitting beside their bed for god knows how long, staring at the line of clouds in the red sky. Probably evening, he wasn't sure. He didn't remember the last time he went outside, like his entire life reduced into a dark square room. It was only three days but he already lost all senses. At least he could still count. The sun and moon took its turn to shine in the sky three times already. Why did he has to count? Was it important? He tried to remember the reason for counting days and nights but couldn't. And why was he holding tantō? Was there an enemy?

His eyes were unable to focus. Everything was a gaussian blur. He caught a green and orange color in front of him. Probably Mikey. His little brother was still sleeping.

Ah, he remembered Mikey got a high fever. He had tried to ease his fever, but somewhere inside his head told him that it was no use. He wondered why. He wished Donnie and Raph were here. How come there was only two of them? Oh, right, they were trying to find a way home. Leo stared at the tantō in his hand. His own words repeated in his head.

It's not the easy way out.

He wondered what Henry thought in the time like this. The scene where he fell into his demise was imprinted behind his eyelids. Sam died, and Henry followed him shortly afterward. The man's decision was made in split second. No hesitation. He just pulled a trigger and done. Leo couldn't save them.

What should I do now?

He blinked once, staring at tantō. His sleep deprived and his brain didn't function correctly, otherwise he would have known what to do. He didn't even remember why he couldn't sleep. Nightmare? No. Homesick? Really? He got no answers.

It's my fault.

He couldn't remember what happened. But he believed that voice. It probably was his fault they were so far away from home.

It's not the end.

Of course it wasn't. He was still breathing, alive. And still counting even though he lost the reason to do so. Like he was doing a countdown, waiting for something to happen. He tried to recall his memories, but his head hurt. His body told him to lie down but his heart refused. Exhausted, yes, but still alive, so this was not the end.

Yeah, not the end. Not until I put it through his heart.

...what?

Was he going to kill someone? But that was wrong, taking one's life was definitely wrong. He remembered when Splinter taught them about pressure points on their body, the efficient way to stop the opponent. But when his brothers were out of the dojo, Splinter called him and taught him a private lesson. Deadly spots, the way to kill the opponent with bare hands. One fatal strike could send the enemy to death. Why me? he asked, father smiled sadly at him and told him that if he wanted to protect the family, sometimes killing was the only choice.

He didn't remember what he replied back, but the thought of killing made him uncomfortable.

The edge of tantō was glinting. Leo moved his hand and pretended to attack the invincible enemy in front of him. He remembered that lesson. If they were fighting in the close range, he could aim straight at the eyes, one of the deadly spots. Twisting and gouging their eye socket with tantō. Easy but loud. Because his enemy would scream from the pain. Or he could move behind the opponent, quickly slicing their throat. Stealth way to kill. He could do it. But kill who?

So he won't suffer anymore.

His head throbbing, his memories surfaced. He saw his little brother smiled at him, but he felt his own tear rolling down on his cheek. Why wasn't he happy to see Mikey? Then the image morphed into a gruesome face.

He knew that face, He remembered that clicking sound. The one he had to kill. Then he began to panic. What? No! Why would he kill his own brother? This was wrong. Everything was wrong. But he had to do it- to his little brother!? Sam? Mikey? Sam, just one bullet and he was gone. What- I can't. Sam! Mikey…! I can't do this!

You won't suffer either.

I…

His eyes widened. He couldn't block the voice inside his head. His hand shaking, lips trembling. This was the end, he had been waiting for it.

If your brother is infected, would you do the right thing?

Then he realized, that tantō in his hand was actually meant for himself.

.

.

"-eo! No! Keep that thing away!"

Like a kick back to reality, suddenly waking up from the nightmare. The green blob jumped at him, grabbing his arms. Leo startled. Out of instinct, he knocked whoever in front of him over, grabbed his shoulder, and pressed the blade on his throat. This motion stopped his opponent completely. Then the silence was back to the room again. His breathing was ragged, tears still on his face, teeth bared.

He tried to focus, but his vision was still blurred. There was no way he could see the person in front of him. He blinked again. Slowly, he could see a shape of the body. His brain weaved a line of details on that face, starting with the bright blue eyes.

He blinked again. It was not a mirror. The shade of blue was different from his. He knew this person. But it wasn't possible. Because his little brother was bitten three days ago- It could be a ghost, or he started losing his mind-

A timid voice registered his ear slits. This person was speaking. He could feel tantō moving up and down on his Adam's apple.

"Leo… It's me, Mikey."

Yes, I remember, he wanted to answer, but are you real?

They stared at each other for a long time. Mikey's legs began to go numb as Leo was holding him down, but one wrong move would cause a serious wound. Mikey gulped. He had yet to find a recognition in Leo's bloodshot eyes, so he only used his voice to guide his big brother back.

"Can-Can I hug you?"

He had to ask because he wasn't sure if he did it without permission, Leo would stab him, slicing his throat like he was about to do. If he moved too fast, Leo would think he became Clicker.

Mikey waited until the grip on his shoulders relaxed. Leo blinked again, tired.

Suddenly Mikey could breathe easier when tantō was removed, leaving a thin line of blood on his skin. He was about to say something when his older brother embraced him in instant. A clattering sound of tantō dropping on the cold floor echo through the room.


It was weird to see Leo turned into something resembling zombie, especially when he looked like zombie more than Mikey, who actually got bitten.

Definitely weird.

His brother looked horrible. Lack of sleep was slowly killing him. Dark circles grew under his bloodshot eyes. His hands kept shaking. His movement was like he ran on dying battery, well, except he could do some sloppy ninja move and put tantō at his throat a moment ago. He also looked like he didn't eat or drink anything at all despite they had enough canned food in the backpack. Worse of all, his big brother had been crying silently by the time he was awake. Had he not woke up, Leo would have done something very, very stupid.

Mikey shuddered. He didn't want to think about what was going to happen if he didn't wake up.

While Leo stayed awake, Mikey had slept all day. The first day he was having a fever and couldn't remember much of it. His body was on fire, and he actually thought he was going to turn. But after slept for a day and a half, he woke up and found that he was fine. Still had a headache, but no mushroom on his head. Strange, because he remembered the day Sam turned, it was in the morning too. He looked at the sunrise outside the window on the next day and counted a number of hours. It already passed six hours, so why he still didn't turn? Too tired to think, he passed out again because of exhaust. Leo was sitting beside him the whole time.

At day two, Leo began to lose it.

The fact that Leo had been in the same spot every time he awake kinda disturbed him. It meant Leo hadn't slept at all, and it was confirmed just by looking at his big brother's face.

He thought it was just a dream, that he already changed into something else and his soul was still struck in his hallucination. But after his fever was gone, he felt unbelievable fine. If he already changed then he wouldn't crave for pizza, or some normal food. And if he really changed, he wouldn't be able to get hungry.

He would think about himself later. Leo became his priority.

"Are you okay? Hungry? I get up because my stomach is asking for food so I open grilled chicken can. Hope you don't mind. It tastes… dull. Well, that's what you get when it has long passed the expiration date. But I promise it tastes better than algae. That's our dark age, I think. Now it's better."

Leo just stared at him and parted his chapped lips slightly, trying to say something but couldn't.

Mikey fiddled with a can in his hands, wondering what he should do. He could try to feed his brother, but he wasn't sure what reaction he would get. Currently talking seemed to be the best solution to get Leo's attention. He didn't want to risk moving too fast or try to touch him again.

"Come on, bro. You gotta eat something." Mikey pleaded, putting his sad puppy eyes.

Leo twinged, like Mikey's voice hurt his eardrum, like he didn't deserve to hear it. His lips moved but Mikey couldn't catch it.

"Sorry, what?"

"Am I still dreaming?"

Leo mumbled, perhaps to himself, because in reality, Mikey would turn already, like Sam did.

Mikey quickly touched his head just in case but he found no mushroom, nothing was growing out of his head, so he was perfectly fine. He sighed, then pouted at Leo. When words fail, action speaks. So Mikey reached out at Leo's side, taking advantage that Leo still gazed somewhere behind his head, and moved his hand slowly to pinch his cheek. Hard.

The reaction was instant.

"Ow ow ow-!"

Harder.

"OWowowow! Eikey stop it eurts!"

Leo swatted his hand away and rubbed his abused cheek, his tired eyes still managed to glare at little brother. Mikey grinned, finally getting Leo's attention. "Well that's good! If you can feel pain then you're not dreaming bro!"

Leo blinked, and this time he looked like he just saw real Michelangelo in front of him.

"I'm not?"

"Pretty much awake to me, bro."

"But, how?"

Mikey looked nervous because he also didn't know the answer.

"I waited. I counted-I… I..." Leo sounded desperate, his hands shook uncontrollably as he touched Mikey's arm. "I saw it."

Abruptly, Mikey yelped as Leo pulled him closer. The can fell to the floor loudly on the impact. He squeezed his eyes shut in case tantō was back. But Leo reached for his bandaged arm and fumbled to remove a wound dressing.

"Let me see it," Leo quietly chanted. "Let me see, let me see..."

Mikey let him do what he wanted. He also wanted to see it as a confirmation. The moment that a sharp pain from the bite rushed through his body, he thought it was the end. Apparently it wasn't, and he was grateful for whatever cure that helped him.

The dressing was messy since Leo just pulled it as quick as he could until he saw the light green skin under it. Both of them stared at the bite mark. The wound was healed nicely, no red swollen skin, just a little pink.

"It looks like… it's healing. No bleeding, just a scar of the bite mark." Leo whispered, he seemed sober after seeing it.

Mikey was no better. As far as he thought, he never saw any character in movies that recovered from zombie bite. His eyes widened "I… I can't believe it's real. I thought..." Mikey swallowed a lump in his throat. "I thought I was gone for good."

"You and me both." Leo sighed, before looking at him in the eyes. "Is it normal? I mean, in zombie movies or series you've watched."

Mikey shook his head. "We saw how Sam turned into one of them, bro. Maybe it doesn't work on us. I'm just glad that it can't change turtle into mushroom. I mean, kinda hard to cross species."

Despite his weariness, Leo gave him a tiny smile.

"You talk like Donnie."

"Yeah, I hang around him too much." Mikey chuckled. "Hey, Leo. Does it mean I'm immortal!?"

"You're immune." Leo corrected. "I don't know about mutagen much, but maybe because it's in our blood so the zombie disease couldn't inflect us?"

"If I'm immune then you are too."

"Let's not try that theory. I would be happy if we don't get bitten again." Leo patted on his shell before changing his expression into a lighter one. "Maybe because you've eaten too much junk food, including some… disgusting cuisine so the disease can't attack your body."

Mikey blinked, not believing what he just heard. "Dude, are you trying to make a joke?"

"I… I am?" Leo tiled his head. He thought he was stating the fact. Either way, Mikey grinned widely at him and wrapped his arms around Leo's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Leo wasted no time to collapse against him. It seemed the reality just crashed into him because his body began to shake as his voice quavered.

"Don't do something like this again. I don't think my heart can take it."

"...'kay."

When Mikey nuzzled his cheek, he felt the wetness. It was a second time he saw Leo cried. Mikey tried his best to sooth him as his own tears threatened to fall. He thought their roles were temporarily reversed, but he didn't care much.

They stayed on the floor for a long time. After Leo collected himself, he released his embrace and just looked at him with a sly grin. "Now, what do you say, Mikey?"

Mikey blinked stupidly at his own brother and wondered what his brother meant, but then he got it and pretended to look guilty.

"I'm sorry I ruined our honeymoon."

Leo laughed, and that was all that mattered.


He didn't remember when sleep claimed him. He still held Leo's hand while his big brother was asleep to keep his paranoid level down to normal. And he wanted something to hold on as well. It was like Leo pulled every tricks and excuse just to stay awake with him until Mikey told him 'Dude, you can't stay awake for the rest of your life.' After Mikey forced him to lie down, Leo passed out quickly. Mikey watched his own brother with content before he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Mikey yawned, touch his own head sleepily as if to ensure that there was no mushroom. Ha! See? I'm immune! He thought happily and sat up with enthusiasm. He looked outside and found that it was morning. Time to cook something to lift their moods.

Leo snored lightly, oblivious to the entire world. But he was jolted awake when he felt his hand being removed.

"Sorry," Mikey winced. He really wanted his brother to continue sleeping but he kinda needs his hands to make breakfast.

"It's okay." Leo rubbed his eyes and got up slowly.

"How are you, bro?"

"Much better."

Mikey opened the door that had been closed since their arrival. The shift of cold fresh air made he feel alive. He gathered cans from the backpack and quickly made a fire outside.

"What do you want for breakfast? I'm in a happy mode so I will cook anything you want."

Leo sounded skeptical. "With what? We don't have ingredients."

"Our ingredients are from nature, bro. There's a bush outside that I can-"

"Umm, just canned blueberry will do. I'm not hungry."

Mikey grinned.

"Dude, you gotta eat more than that. I swear I won't put earthworms in your soup."

Suddenly Leo stood like a frozen statue, staring at him without blinking.

"Leo?"

It took a few moment before Leo shook his head lightly. "Nothing. It's just… suddenly it becomes normal again like it never happens."

Mikey was quiet at that thought, then he smiled. "Yeah… it's weird. But it's a good weird so I'm okay with it."

Leo nodded, then he looked back at his own backpack. The portal device on the floor. His eyes widened as he realized what he had to do.

"Hey Mikey, I'll look around for a bit. We need more water."

"What? Now?"

Mikey sounded disappointed. He wanted to spend more time with his big brother since he just recovered from zombie disease (he still couldn't believe it, though). But Leo grabbed the empty bottle and waved at him.

"I won't go for long. I'll be back by the time you finish cooking."

Reluctantly, Mikey nodded. "Okay. Stay out of trouble!"

Leo rolled his eyes playfully and turned back.

Now his eyes turned white with determination.

When he was out of sight, he sprang at the full speed, heading to the fallen factory.


Leo still believed he was in the dream.

He was glad that he got a second chance to bring his little brother home. But he knew his own desperation. After what they had been through, he didn't easily convince that this cruel world actually did something good for once. Or this entire world could have been his own imagination that Mikey was alive, that he had lost it. So he needed more proofs for himself.

Back to the burned down the factory. Blenders were destroyed. Crystals were gone. The Kraang made sure to destroy everything along with their experiments.

He saw burned bodies along the way as he approached the very same building that they ran out. His breath caught when he saw what he was looking for. A body with a punctured wound on its head, along with a missing jaw.

"This is real." He breathed. So it wasn't his imagination. He wasn't dreaming. It actually happened, and Mikey was really recovered from zombie disease.

I can't believe it, Leo thought. This is real. Mikey is the only one that didn't turn, while hundreds of people here changed into monsters.

Surely, Mikey was bitten by one of the experiments here. The Kraang must have done something to them, but it failed to occur to Mikey.

As he walked back to the entrance gate, he turned his head slightly. "What were you trying to achieve here?" He wondered out loud, eyes gazing on the company sign.

Someone sprayed some sort of butterfly sign on it. He quirked his eye ridge.

"Fireflies, huh?"

Time to go to Colorado for real.


Mikey kept fiddling, waiting impatiently for his brother.

When Leo was back with full water bottle, he grinned widely almost split his face in half. But when Leo turned his shell a bit, he saw something that made him scream.

"Leo! MUSHROOM IS ON YOUR BACK!"

Leo's eyes popped out. "Huh? WHAT!? Are you serious!?"

"OF COURSE! LET ME TAKE IT OFF! Oh wait, it's just a mold." Mikey narrowed his eyes to get a closer look. A tiny bit of greenish mold spot grew on Leo's shell. He used his nail to scratch it. "This is gross! When did you get it? Ooooh I think I know. You were sitting way too long! Did you ever move, dude?"

Leo looked embarrassed. He definitely sat still too long in the humid room with the closed door. "Umm, I don't know. Can't remember."

Been waiting for you to turn. So you don't have to suffer alone.

Leo looked down at the ground so he didn't have to look at his little brother. He couldn't let him know what he thought in past three days. Mikey didn't notice and went on with his blabbing. "We have to drip in the next river no matter how cold it is. I can't believe I have to say this but you seriously need a bath."

Leo smiled tiredly. "Sure, whatever you say, Mikey."


After finishing their breakfast (Mikey cooked a normal meal for once, which was great), they prepared to leave this old motel. Mikey paid extra attention to the comic books he put in the backpack before he decided to put all of them out. Leo looked downcast. He didn't want Mikey to think it was because of the weight of backpack that made he get bitten.

But he didn't say anything. Sometimes being the leader and big brother couldn't fix everything that happened to the family member. Every action has consequences. The bite scar on Mikey's arm became a lifetime reminder of what could have happened.

He tried to help him in his own way, though. Mikey was surprised when Leo gave him his cloak, saying it was warm, which Mikey gladly accepted it. He didn't know that Leo gave it to him to cover his own scar from the sight.

If you don't see it, it'll hurt less.

The only thing he could do from now on was to prevent it from happening again. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to his little brother.

"Never again," Leo whispered to himself as he strapped his backpack on his shell, his katana ringing softly as he drew it back to the scabbard.


Author's note: Fixed error because I was sleepy.

I lost half of this chapter because of stupid cloud storage. I'm sorry if the update is slow, but I'm naturally slow writer and then google doc killed half of it /sobs. I don't know, maybe google doc wanted Leo to die for real and threw tantrum when he didn't... YOU CRUEL BASTARD.

Back on the road! Fall season is on the half way. Dun dun dun! I think if you've played the game you would say "HA! I KNEW IT!". Yes, this particular event is adapted from Last of Us: Left Behind, and a little bit from a song A Great Big World - Say Something (I'm Giving Up On You) . For normal reader, I'm sorry. Please don't cry! You'll see all the truth soon, I guess. Fall may be shorter than Summer because now I'm writing a long chapter. Winter is coming, and it'll be more brutal. I'm also considering about changing to M-rating… but I really don't want to. We'll see if I can downtone it...

Off topic, you may have heard about the end of season 4 in Korean version. Actually, I heard a lot of people lost interests in the 2012 series because of inconsistent scripts, which I totally agree. But the last two episodes aren't bad. It's awesome actually. The fight scene is GREAT it should've been like this since the beginning! After watching them I think s5 will be something like 'Fast Forward' and the scripts might be sadly inconsistent as the same. Anyway, I hope TMNT fanfic writers come back because I want to read their stories T_T. Please come back…

And, you know, it'll be interesting to see a lot of Leorai from Japanese fans after s4 ends lol. I'll tell you they make the best fanart of this pairing.