Casey couldn't help but feel as if this whole thing was some kind of nightmare, though in a way, he wished it was. Nightmares, at least, he could wake up from. But this was cold, hard reality. Silence filled the air, broken only by the breathing of the two unconscious turtles: Master Michelangelo's soft, steady ones, and Master Leonardo's more uneven and heavy ones.

Now more than ever, it struck Casey just how young this Leonardo was, and he felt a twinge of regret for the harsh words he'd spoken to him. He'd wanted so much to see the wise and stoic sensei he had always known that he let himself believe this younger version would be the same. But the simple fact was, he wasn't… not yet. He was just a kid, no different than Casey. An uncertain teenager longing to prove his worth, trying to hide that uncertainty with a joking, cocky demeaner and false confidence.

Yet as their time together had gone on, Casey had started to see hints in Leo of the great ninja master he had known in the future. His courage, his determination, his burning desire to protect others at any cost to himself. That only made it even harder to think he might never have the chance to become what he had in him to be. In truth, the teen wondered if what he'd said was a main motivator in Leo's decision to sacrifice himself. The thought made him feel sick. Letting out a sigh, he leaned forward on the chair, resting his elbows on his knee.

"Sensei…" he said softly. "Donatello said you might be able to hear us if we talk to you. I don't know if you can, but… I just want to say I'm sorry, if I made you feel like you weren't enough for us. I guess I just came here with some, well, kind of unreasonable expectations. And… I never wanted you to think you had to give your life to redeem yourself."

He shifted a little before going on.

"I remember you said you need your family more than they need you, but you've got to know that's not true. They love you, and they do need you… not just as a leader, but as a brother and a son." He hesitated, then went on in a soft whisper. "In the future, you were so strong, but I could tell you were sad too, like the weight of the world was on you. I didn't want you to feel like that, and I still don't." He looked at Leo's face, taking in the dark bruises and furrowed brow. There was no indication that he'd heard anything Casey said, but something compelled him to keep going.

"You're still just as strong, though… I know that for a fact. You can beat this."

Noticing something, he frowned and squinted. Small beads of sweat were forming on Leo's brow, and his frown was deepening. A suspicion coming to him, Casey reached out, but just then he heard someone enter and turned to see a still somewhat bleary-eyed Donatello enter.

"Hey," Casey said, frowning. "I thought…"

The genius turtle waved a dismissive hand.

"I'm fine… I've functioned on less sleep. Any change?"

The human teen glanced at Leo with a sigh.

"Well, yeah, but not a good one. I think he's got a fever."

Donnie immediately quickened his pace to Leo's bed and placed a hand on his brother's forehead, then his mouth tightened.

"Shell…" he muttered. "He's already weak as it is. Complications are the last thing he needs."

Casey stood, frowning in worry.

"Is something infected?"

"Could be," Donnie replied. "Or it's just a reaction to the trauma. I'll have to check for any signs of infection. Either way, I don't have many antibiotics… this whole Krang mess happened before I could get more. Hopefully it'll be enough to keep the fever manageable, but…"

"Leo's sick?"

The sound of the quiet but anxious voice made Donnie and Casey turn to see Mikey sitting up, blinking drowsily.

"Mikey, what're you doing up?" the genius turtle asked, frowning. "You still look exhausted, you need…"

"I'm okay," Mikey said, rubbing his eyes. "But what's wrong with Leo? He's sick?"

"Nothing too serious," Donnie said quickly. "We'll just have to keep a closer eye on him."

He held up a hand, silencing Mikey as he opened his mouth.

"Before you ask, mystic hands are an absolute last resort. It took a lot out of you, and we don't know how long it'll take to completely recharge. For now, we'll have to handle it the old-fashioned way and hope he wakes up soon."

Casey looked down at the younger self of his mentor; the turtle looked so frail, as if a stiff breeze might blow him away, and the sight felt so wrong.

"Never thought I'd see him like this again," he said softly.

"Again? What d' you mean?"

Casey blinked, looking up to Michelangelo looking at him with an enquiring and fearful look. The human teen hesitated a moment, then let out a sigh.

"Well… in the future, the bad future, he… he lost an arm. It was bad… he almost didn't make it."

The small turtle's eyes widened, and Casey immediately regretted saying anything.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "Sorry, I shouldn't 've brought that up now."

Silence fell, broken only by Leo's raspy breathing. Then Mikey spoke up again.

"But he did. He did make it." His eyes moved to his unconscious brother, the fear replaced by a hopeful, determined look. "That Leo and our Leo is the same guy, right? So anything one of 'em can do, the other one can too. And we can help him. We're not gonna give up on him."

Casey looked at the orange banded turtle, and the determination on his face stirred a vivid memory. The future Michelangelo had worn that same look before he opened the time gateway. Unable to suppress the pain that memory brought, Casey looked down at the floor and closed his eyes. Then Donnie spoke up, his voice brisk with a similar determination.

"Then we'd better get to it. We're going to need a cold compress and we should have something for him to drink when he does wake up. I'll probably have to install an IV… we can't risk dehydration, especially now that we've got the fever to worry about. And we need to make sure none of his open wounds are infected and sterilize any that are."

Mikey nodded and started to slide off the bed, prompting a stern look from Donnie.

"Mikey…"

The youngest turtle shook his head, waving a dismissive hand.

"I'm fine t' walk between rooms. I'll get the stuff and come right back."

Donnie hesitated, then let out a soft huff.

"Fine. But then you're going straight back to bed. You can stay in here, but I want you getting more rest, understand?"

Mikey gave a little salute.

"Aye aye, sir!" he said crisply before hurrying out. Donnie looked at Casey.

"Can you give me a hand?"

Casey took a deep breath and pushed back the dark thoughts. That terrible future had been altered, and in this new reality there was something he could do for Leo, for his family, to prevent them from experiencing another tragedy. They'd already lost him once… no way were they losing him again, not if Casey had anything to say about it.