Leo

My tender chest tightened as I bolted through the main exit of Oroku Saki's lair. I clutched it with a wince, my huffs turning into wheezes. This wasn't good, but the knowledge that my life depended on this escape was nagging in the back of my mind. It encouraged me to keep at it.

We're taking the short route. I can do this.

I turned back with the anticipation of Foot soldiers pursuing after us, but to my shock, there were none. Even as we greeted the winter air and city illuminated by lights, I couldn't pick up the sound of rushing footfalls behind us. I glimpsed up at the buildings above to also find no shadowy figures running and bounding in pursuit. The thought of the Shredder simply letting us slip away perplexed me to the point of slowing down my pace. That, or the tightening grip on my chest.

Big Leo looked back as well, his face just as bewildered as mine. As he opened his mouth to comment, a sudden pang rattled my rib cage, and I stopped him cold with a pained grunt. My knees struck the frigid concrete before I was aware, my body doubling over as pain rippled through me.

My alternate self skidded to a halt. He bent over to throw my arm over his shoulder and hauled me up without uttering a word.

As we hobbled hastily to our rendezvous point, I found myself struggling to breathe. Every inhales twinged in my chest, which didn't help now that my adrenaline was pumping and my heart rate was through the roof. I couldn't take slow and steady breaths even if I wanted to.

"Talk to me," Big Leo muttered.

I managed to speak through a shuttered gasp, my lungs seeming to cave in on themselves. "My chest."

"Hang in there," he said, leading us down the backstreet the Shellraiser was discreetly parked.

Donatello and Raphael were outside the vehicle, their eyes wide at the sight of one Leo practically carrying the other. They rushed over to me, helping my future self guide me inside the Shellraiser and onto a cot Donnie had hastily prepared.

Without a passing of words, Big Leo hopped in the driver's seat, Raph at his weapons station, and Donnie at my cot. He fumbled around for his medical tools as the Shellraiser peeled out of the alley, telling me to stay in an upright position.

"Try to slow your breathing, Leo," the genius ordered as he placed a stethoscope atop my chest. I did as he said, wincing at the concern befalling his features. "You overexerted yourself. Your healing ribs are resisting all this movement."

I didn't speak as I watched him reach for an ice pack, our bodies tilting side to side from Big Leo's frantic driving.

"The Heiwa no Buki…" I gasped.

"Shh! I've got it. Don't worry," Donnie replied curtly. His hazel eyes flickered over to a leaking gash I didn't notice I had on my arm, and he went to patch that up as I held the ice pack on my plastron. Shredder must have nicked me amid all the adrenaline and fighting. I wondered what other minor injuries I had.

The tightness in my chest lessened as I took in more slow breaths, yet it felt like my ribs were still on fire even under the cold compress.

"How is he, Donnie?" Raph asked from his station.

"Fine," I wheezed.

Donnie shushed me again, cutting his eyebrows down at me. "He damaged his ribs again. I told you guys the mission was too risky."

"We would have…left earlier if….someone didn't try to…go on a vengeance streak," I explained through labored breathing. I found Big Leo's gaze in the rearview mirror, his eye ridges creasing with anger.

He veered sharply, getting a grunt from everyone as our bodies jerked around. "You should have let me fight him. I could have ended this once and for all."

I narrowed my eyes and went to stand, but Donnie's hands pressed on my shoulders prevented me. I couldn't believe what I heard, especially coming from myself.

"Take it easy and breathe, Leo," Donnie muttered in my ear. The demand was drowned by all the concern in his voice.

I clutched at my torso and tried to obey my brother's wishes, but I couldn't let Big Leo's comment fall on deaf ears. "The plan was to…grab the weapon and leave. We weren't there…so you could get revenge."

Suddenly, the Shellraiser came to a grinding halt. Donnie's grip on me stiffened as I nearly fell off the cot, balancing himself as well with a grunt. Big Leo ripped off his seat belt and rose from his chair, turning to me with a roaring blaze of rage in his eyes.

"He killed my brother!"

Silence fell over my brothers and me. I kept a stern face, yet my heart sank at his words. Heat burned in my eyes as the scene of Mikey's pained look from my nightmare flickered behind them. Tears threatened at the reality that this was something traumatic Big Leo actually went through, and it was still hard to grasp. And before any of us could speak, he relived that trauma, rushing out profusely like a broken dam.

"Oroku Saki extinguished the light of my family and left us in darkness for five years! He has to pay for what he did. He has to suffer like Mikey did…" Big Leo choked on a sob, grabbing the closest thing that could keep him from crumbling like a house of cards: Raphael's shoulder. "I let my baby brother down. I should have done more to protect him."

My hard gaze fell when I watched Raph ease his big brother from the future down to his knees, clutching his arm with sympathy shining in his emerald eyes—a look I wasn't used to seeing on him.

"Easy, Fearless."

"I'm reminded of my failure every night," Big Leo pushed on, his head hung low. "When I close my eyes, Mikey is fighting the Shredder, and I can't save him. I can't get to him before…" He looked up at each of us for a moment before shamefully dropping his head again. "I'm sorry. I've never said this out loud before."

"You pushed it down for our sake, didn't you?" Donnie piped in with his hands still on my shoulders. There was no longer a firm grip, just a place to rest his still hands as if he forgot they were there.

Big Leo's gaze didn't detach from the floor of the Shellraiser, answering Donnie's question. "I'm sorry. It was dishonorable of me to jeopardize the mission for such selfish needs. It's just… you don't know how broken we were when…" He stopped and rose to the floor, gently shrugging off Raph's comforting hold, then sighed defeatedly. "I won't let my anger take over again. On my honor."

Raph, Donnie, and I only stared. My intuition was strong against my future self. I wouldn't lie, so I know he wouldn't, either. My younger brothers looked at me, and I nodded solemnly.

"It's okay. Let's just get home so we can rest." I slowly sat back down with a wince.

Big Leo and Raph reported back to their designated stations. As the engine purred to life, Donnie pressed the cold metal of the stethoscope's end on my chest, his eyes darting to me seriously.

"Promise me something, big bro," he muttered under the roaring machine's cruise on the asphalt.

My eye ridges knitted together in question.

"If one of us ever falls, you'll talk to your family. Don't… don't do what he did," Donnie begged quietly.

Behind his head, my gaze focussed on Big Leo's eyes in the rearview mirror's reflection, glazed over and melancholy as he mindlessly drove. I knew where he was coming from. It was the easier alternative to be the one in the family seemingly unfazed, the one who didn't cry. What fearless leader would I be to break down anyway? No one would feel secure, and everyone could fall apart. It was my job to be the brave one. Yet, the way Big Leo broke down before us had me second-guessing. The pain in his eyes as he told me of Mikey's fate, the stiffness of his face as he held back tears, told me he'd done it before.

Maybe it was okay not to always be the brave one.

Finally, my gaze reconnected with the boy genius, softening at the desperate look he returned. "I promise. Now, can you text Mikey that we made it out safe?"

Donnie cringed, his eyes darting to a corner awkwardly.

"What?" I demanded.

"He broke his T-phone last night." Donnie rubbed the back of his head, shrinking into his shell a bit as I irritatedly facepalmed.

"Of course he did."

Mikey

A sense of anxiety washed over me as I recalled the stillness in the dojo, bringing me back to the horrible reality that it was impossible to concentrate on meditating. The silence was deafening as it rang in my ears. I couldn't tell how long I had sat seiza before Master Splinter, wondering how long it'd been since my bros took off on their mission. An hour? Two hours?

I wiggled my toes as they were crushed under my legs, wishing I could stretch out the stiffness in my knees and maybe run around a bit. Shell, if Sensei would let me, I'd swing from the tree to release my teeming restlessness. But something told me Father would be displeased with that…

"Concentrate, Michelangelo," chided Sensei.

I opened my eyes, releasing a whimpering sound in my throat that was almost a groan, but I swallowed it down despite myself. "I can't do it, Sensei. They should have been back by now."

The rat's ears drew back, his eyes remaining closed. "Gandhi said, 'To lose patience is to lose the battle.'"

I rolled my eyes.

"I saw that."

No way, dude. His eyes were still closed.

I flinched, straightened back in place, and closed my eyes. It took all of sixty seconds to start fidgeting again with the flex of my fingers atop my knees. Master Splinter sighed, but the sound of familiar voices echoing through the lair stopped him before he could admonish me again. My eyes shot open, and I rose to my feet excitedly.

"They're back!"

I helped Sensei to his feet and offered a haste bow before flinging open the sliding doors and rushing out of the dojo.

"Dudes!"

My bros were migrating to the lab when I entered the common room, and what I saw made my heart pump from enthusiasm to fear. Big Leo and Raph were holding up present Leo, who shuffled tiredly with a wince. His green skin, discolored with cuts and bruises, sent only one crazy scenario running through my brain: Shred-Head caught them in the act.

My throat tightened, and I swallowed thickly before following them into the lab. "Bros! What happened?"

"I'm fine, Mikey," Leo assured me as he was placed gently on the cot. "I overexerted myself and hurt my ribs again." He followed my gaze to the hastily wrapped bandage on his right arm and covered it with a nervous smile. "Oh yeah, and we were ambushed by the Shredder."

"What?" I yelled.

"Are you alright, my sons?" Master Splinter entered the scene, leaning on his cane with sagging ears.

"Hai. Nothing some stitches and rest can't handle, Sensei," assured Donnie, unwrapping Leo's arm to better assess it. I gnawed on my bottom lip as I eyed the blood that immediately leaked from the gash.

"And what of the Heiwa no Buki?" Father asked.

Raph was suddenly beside him, offering the Heiwa no Buki to the rat with his usual deadpan expression. When my eyes fell on the weapon, the overwhelming dread I felt when I meditated yesterday overcame me again. My body trembled, and a pang rattled my skull. The same word relentlessly whispered in my head, forcing me to cover my ears and let out a whine.

"Danger, danger, danger, danger…."

"Michelangelo?"

Big Leo's voice was hardly audible under the whispers, and when I didn't respond, he grabbed my arms and gently shook me. I opened my eyes to find the concerned look on his face I had anticipated. Now everyone's attention was fixed on me, but I couldn't say a word until the annoying voice in my head ultimately subsided.

"What's wrong, otōto?" my bro from the future asked as he watched the calm wash over my features.

"Something's not right, dudes! This isn't over," I warned.

Big Leo rubbed my arms down, putting on a reassuring smile. "You're right, Mikey. We still have to get rid of the Heiwa no Buki. Then it all with be right again."

"That's not what I mean." I shook my head frustratedly.

"We know. We're all on edge," Donnie said as he tied down the last sutures of Leo's gash.

I backed away from Big Leo and stomped my foot, regaining the little attention I had lost. "You dudes aren't listening to me! The Heiwa no Buki is still warning me."

"But we got the stupid stick from Shred-Head! All we have to do now is get rid of the damn thing," Raph argued.

"Guys," Leo said. "Mikey could be onto something. Shredder never sent the Foot after us when we escaped. It was…"

"Too easy," Big Leo finished, looking at his alternate self with wide eyes.

I mentally sighed in relief at the fact that Leo was finally listening to me, but my body remained frozen with fear at what he had said. It wasn't like Shreddy-Bear to just let us get away, not without at least sending his creepy mechanical ninjas after us! What was he planning? What was the Heiwa no Buki trying to tell me?

Suddenly, Donnie's T-phone was going haywire, vibrating loudly on his belt. He quickly washed his hands before tending to the device. "That's weird. Something set off one of the sensors I placed in the tunnels." He scrolled with his thumb, his hazel eyes soon to pop out of his head. "Oh no. F-f-foot soldiers! Here, in the sewers!"

I could have sworn my stomach dropped to my butt at that.

Everyone's heads jolted to him in shock, fear crossing their faces, even Master Splinter's.

"Were you followed, my sons?" he asked calmly, but I could hear the buried panic in his voice.

"N-no!" the Leos and Raph blurted.

"Unless…" Donnie grabbed the Heiwa no Buki from Splinter's grasp, scanning it over with his T-phone. "I can't believe it! How could we have been so careless?"

"What is it, Don?" Leo demanded, rising painfully from the cot, by the look of it.

Donnie looked up from his phone with a look of pure terror I never wanted to see on his face again. "Shredder put a tracking chip in it. We led him right to our lair!"

Chills permeated across my arms. My stomach swirled, and I felt sick because I knew what this meant. This was all a trap to find me. Our home was about to be invaded…because of me.

Raph furiously punched the wall. "Why, that sick son of a—"

"What do we do, dudes?" I asked, my voice pitching due to the stress.

"Donnie, how close are they?" Leo asked.

Donnie scrolled through his phone with a shaky finger. "Less than a mile out and coming in all directions."

"Okay. Big Leo, Raph, Donnie, and I will grab the Heiwa no Buki and go north. Master Splinter and Mikey will go south. We'll lead the Heiwa no Buki as far away from the lair and Mikey as possible and meet at April's when it's safe," Leo ordered, already rushing out of the lab. He gritted his teeth and clutched at his plastron. The sight sent fear crawling up my shell.

"Dude! Split up?" I asked. "You're injured!"

We all hastily followed the leader in blue, who only slightly looked over his shoulder at me.

"We don't have time to debate, Mikey. They can't find our home, and they especially can't find you."

I desperately grabbed his hand and stopped him cold, tears rushing to my eyes. "But what if they catch you? You-you can't—"

"Go with Sensei, Mikey. We have to hurry," Big Leo urged.

Once we made it to the turnstiles, a furry paw grasped at my shell, pulling me away from Leo, who only stared with a hardened expression that threatened to diminish. My hand slipped out of his, and I fought to grab it again.

"It's too dangerous, bros!" I cried as Master Splinter tugged me away.

"Michelangelo, we must go," Sensei snapped.

I felt helpless to obey my father as I hesitantly followed his lead, soon to match his pace as we darted into the shadows. When I looked back at my brothers rushing in the opposite direction, I caught Leo staring right back over his shoulder, and the sense of dread returned with another pang in my head.


I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to let me know your thoughts, and I hope you have a great day!