Outside Chance

by WhyIsThisHappeningToMe

(set post s4 of TMNT 2012) Leo has to make a lifechanging decision when the rebel-foot clan destroys their home. In a desperate attempt to escape, the turtles use the strange substance 'purple ooze' to temporarily become human as a means to an end. But when the brothers are sepperated during the seige, how will they be able to find each other again before their enemies does?

15. Farewell Transmission (Finale part I)

3 months earlier...

New York was never silent, but tonight the only things apparent was that of passerby's on the street and ongoing car alarms roaring in the distance. The night beamed a gleaming green hue throughout the underground of the city. The ruckus from the tunnels echoed deep below the mudded bricks and would leave the surface slightly vibrating from the grating motions of the sewer's chaos. Most people wouldn't notice it at all, paying no attention to the ravaging battle that took place underneath their feet. And if they did, they would surely regret it.

It wasn't just the foot soldiers swinging their blades, but they also had to look out for the exploding debris, poisoned gas fumes from smoke bombs and alien technology very determined to kill every mutant in sight. That being only the turtles. So, all in all, not a great night. Leo was exhausted as he rose to his feet, impaling two footbots before kicking a third into a table and running over by Raph's side who just finished barbequing three mousers with his sai, "So, what's the plan now, fearless leader!? Any ideas?! Well?"

"Uh…" Leo ducked and swept the leg on another footbot, before regaining his balance and swinging his sword at its head "Try not to get killed?"

"You don't have a plan, do ya?"

"Well excuse me but in case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit preoccupied here!"

Mikey roared his battle cry and dodged another explosion. He swung his nunchucks at a nearby beam before clinging to the chain like a monkey swinging back and forth. "Dudes, why do I get the feeling that isn't the last of them? AH!" another blast nearly hit Mikey in the head if he hadn't swung himself out of harms way. Both brothers let out a sigh of relief as they scouted for Donnie probably still in his lab.

"Donnie!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Just give ME A MINUTE!" The purple one appeared hastily from the corner, smoke bombs in hand and a mysterious vial in the other as he used his bo to swing himself across the room towards the others. Before anyone could argue, the egg was thrown, and all remaining was the purple powder leaving no trace of the turtles.

But hidden underneath the massive debris and rumbling explosives lay a secret tunnel, also known as the 'escape pipe of stealth', named by yours truly, Michalangelo, reinstalled after the last time their home was invaded. None of them would've ever thought they would have to use it, and especially not after Shredder was defeated. But while an army of foot boots and robots where one things, explosives and poisoned gas was another.

"What the heck are we gonna do?" Raph turned to Leo who was in the midst of ceiling the entrance shut with the scattered debris. There was something frightening in his eyes. Like he'd seen a ghost. Last time he looked like that had been right after Sensei's funeral and as much as Raph hated to admit it, it made him uneasy to his stomach. "Leo?"

Donnie's scanning device started to flicker vividly in his hands, "I was afraid this would happen. They're tracking us"

"How is that even possible?!" groaned Leo, putting his katanas back in their holsters.

"Look I don't know! But what I do know is that until we figure it out, we're not safe here anymore… or anywhere for that matter." he let out a sigh "I hope April's okay..."

"Great! Just perfect! Awesome!" sighed Raph before giving the wall a solid punch of aggression. Mikey, who still had about as much of a clue what was going on as the robots attacking them, tried to put on an optimistic smile, "Well there's gotta be some way we can lose them! It's not like they can just keep hunting us forever, right D?"

"There isn't… Guys, this isn't just some tracker jack like that freaky yellow goo Snakeweed pulled on us. This is biometric components we're talking about. DNA modeled links, meaning anywhere we go, they'll be able to pinpoint our exact location. Just like the ones they experimented with when working on the purple ooze. I knew this would happen!"

"So, whatever it is that they're up to, it must be pretty darn important for them that we're not a part of it. "

Donnie sighed, "In other words, they're not gonna stop coming after us unless we're dead. At least not if…"

Leo took a deep breath, calming his thoughts. Ever since their last mission he'd have this pit in his stomach. This feeling that there was something off, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. But even Leo had to admit it: this was bad. And the worst part was that he had a good idea as to why… why now, why he should've acted on his suspicion sooner or else this wouldn't have happened. But since he was the leader, he'd figured it was better not to enlighten his brothers, who'd already been so busy trying to put an end to the war still brewing in the foot clan. What use would running and hiding do? They'd done that already last time things went off the rails. It took everything in them to find their way back home only to have it destroyed again the moment they felt safe. They were out of options… well, all except for the least sane one. The one thing he feared most of all, though a part of him knew he couldn't keep it secret forever. No matter how dangerous it was to all of them. "Then that's what we're gonna do" Leo finally said, and the gang joined in on a collective: "Huh?!" All except for Donnie, who as usual read Leo's suggestion immediately, shock and uncertainty in his eyes before his brother even said the word.

"Donnie, do you still have the purple ooze?"

Donnie couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're not serious-

"Okay, is anyone going to explain what the shell you two knuckleheads are talking about?! Because In case you two have forgotten, there is a CEILING OF BRICKS WAITING TO POUND US INTO SAWDUST ANY MINUTE!"

Raph's outburst was only emphasized by the rattling of the ceiling. Donnie started unpacking the vile, four purple pills pouring out into his hand, almost glowing in the dark like alien fireflies. He had to slap Mikey's hand away before their little brother would have a change to take one out of curiosity. He and Leo shared a look, gloom filling the tunnel as Raph's exhausted gleam faded into confusion when he recognized the color from the ooze. "I'm sorry, Raph. I should've told you. Basically, the purple ooze, it's not genetically improbable as a I thought it would be"

"English, Einstein?!"

Donnie sighed. "I've been studying the effects of the mutagen for days now, but I didn't believe it until the foot morphed one of their soldiers into that creature, and like the DNA it was exposed to, well… like we were exposed to sensei's DNA… I figured…"

"Basically, we take one of these, and chances are it'll turn us... well… human" Leo finished, aware of the absurdity of it all. He'd already anticipated Raph's reaction and was therefore not surprised in the slightest when his younger brother went right up into his face, fire in his eyes and the veins in his neck about ready to pop, "Wha- you knew about this?! And you didn't TELL US?!"

"Does that mean that I can name more of my toes? "

"NO" they all collectively yelled to Mikey's disappointment. Out of all of them he'd probably be the most excited by the idea of mutating into people. However risky it was. Going to the surface like human beings… it would all seem too good to be true if it wasn't for the fact that their home was under attack and there were hundreds of foot soldiers ready to kill every last one of them slowly. Leo tried to control his panic, straightening his back in an attempt to over tower his already less-heightened brother, "Donnie said it himself, the ooze is unstable! We don't know for certain if it's gonna work, but we're kinda out of options here! They're never gonna stop hunting us unless we do something. And right now, that something, might just be the only shot we got!"

"and you didn't think that just maybe bringing that purple junk back here wasn't such a good idea?!"

"Raph! We're doing this, like it or not"

"You don't get to make that decision Leo! Don't think you can just force us to hide like cowards when you didn't even bother consulting us in the first place! I am not going anywhere and especially not as a butt naked freak!"

Donnie didn't know what to say, feeling the weight of this discovery compelling him to step in and say something at least, but he knew as well as anyone that breaking up their fight wasn't an easy task. When they were younger sure, he'd be able to stand his ground when necessary but as the years passed the more and more Leo and Raph argued, the more pointless it seemed to try and prevent it. He just waited for the inevitable I was wrong, you were right routine, and then they'd all move on like usual. This time however… he really didn't know what to do. Leo had told him to keep this a secret, and since the purple ooze still left about a dozen different questions about its functionality, he'd reluctantly agreed.

Mikey luckily, didn't have that off switch. "Dude, just think about it. You might actually grow taller than Donnie for a change. Or smaller, you never really know with science- Ouch!"

The sound of enemies kept creeping closer and they all realized if they didn't make a decision soon, it would all be pretty pointless anyway. Leo let out a sigh, "Look, it's not forever. Just long enough for the foot to think we're gone for good, and then we'll turn back into turtles and stop whatever they're up to before it's too late. Problem solved"

"And how exactly are you planning on doing that, chief?" asked Raph, arms crossed to underline his very prominent disapproval of this plan.

"Well, actually it shouldn't be that hard to reverse engineer the ooze's retro mutagen into a biochemical-

Donnie paused, noticing the ever encompassing what are you even talking about painted on his brother's faces. "You know, pill like this one only it reverses the change?" he continued, facepalming so hard he could've left a bruise, "Secret anti ooze stash no one but us can find? The anti-purple mutagen that can stop the cells from diverging and why am I still talking to you...?"

A few seconds passed of absolute silence while Leo wacked his brain trying not to kick himself for saying anything... this stuff was dangerous. Not just dangerous run of the mill 'don't know what we're dealing with here' stuff, but the dangerous 'alien kraang' kind of dangerous stuff. He wanted them just to throw it in the trash and forget all about the possibility, though the sound of the crackling walls around them only served as a reminder that wherever they went, their enemies would follow. And who said they'd never taken chances before? No matter how ridiculously risky they seemed at first? But even he had to admit… maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Of course, Raph was the one who broke the silence, making the distracted Mikey jump into the ceiling in the process, and Donnie having to make sure he didn't accidentally hurt himself. "You guys, this is crazy! I mean I can't be the only one thinking this is absolutely bonkers, right?! You're talking about becoming human! "

"Temporarily" Leo added.

"Ohhh, that means we can finally visit that cool chinese restaurant on fifth we've always talked about! Aweeeesoooome!"

Leo was relieved to see Mikey at least being able to see the positive side of things, even if his other brothers were reluctant to. He was sure if master Splinter was here, he would say the same thing. Of course, with the added clever metaphor made to confuse and inspire, before inevitably teaching them a valuable lesson. It was hard to think it had been two years since that day, and yet here he was… needing his father's advice more than ever. But alas, it was up to him.

"How long then?" Raph asked, all eyes on Leo as the million dollar question nearly made him sink through the floor.

---

There was a sort of, stillness regurgitating for what at this point had felt like hours. Now to most people, the clutter and shrieks of creatures unbeknownst to them to be none other than their next-door neighbor, a relative missing for an extended period of time or simply the relentless knocking on the door, was now greeting them with a fang filled smile. No matter where you went, helpless against the mutagen inducing dangers consuming every last fragment of what used to be the busy traffic of New York bathing the streets in neon lights and angry taxi drivers. When the purple fog started erupting not just from the comfort of a simple kitchen drain, but in continuous collateral amounts from every tunnel or vent or crack in the walls- claiming its victims one after the others.

But when the lights went out alongside it, little by little, summing silently away until it cracked in sparkling shards of glass hurdling in every direction- only one last flicker of light remaining, before dying out entirely. First the streetlamps, the screens, first one then two then five, then before anyone knew it all of Time Square vanished in the blink of an eye. The shadows moving closer as the creatures behind them twisted and churned in an almost animalistic seizure, no one was safe anymore. Paying no mind to the blasts shaking the earth underneath, each leaving behind their own designated residues. A cacophony of screams permeating the streets, following their confusion as those mask wearing subordinates above, observed this chaos from afar, and realizing in splendor that…

-everything was going to plan.

…

Meanwhile, somehow and perhaps a long time coming, tall above the skyscrapers and hollow apartment buildings, left behind by time and money. Situated in a crater of hideouts, once occupied by none other than Hamato Yoshi himself, back then, as desperate as he was to survive in his new existence, as he was to find meaning behind it. Pushed to the brink, a stranger in his own body, a hopeful attempt at starting a new life leaving him instead with four strange creatures he didn't know what to do with, and a world out to get him if they saw what really lied behind the visage.

A temporary fortress meant to keep them safe, now even after all these years later standing tall, overlooking the city as if nothing had changed. And maybe it hadn't.

The roars and screams, the pure mayhem playing out below like a siren of voices, somehow bouncing off the water tower's skewered structure- Now ironically enough occupied by the silence left behind from an exasperated Donnie, having spend the bare minimum of ten long minutes explaining in the most cohesive details he could, with his heart beating at seventy miles an hour in his chest. The remaining period of that time left with nothing but the unbridled echo of the cluster outside them, and the stillness inside the small space, right now making him unable to look his family in the eyes.

He finally told them. Everything- time ticking away at his mind because the longer they stood around doing nothing, was another second ticking away to their deaths. Their home taken away again, and maybe this time for good.

"What the hell are you saying?" Raph finally said, though it was probably more the quiet way he said it that made Donnie's skin crawl, preparing himself for the upcoming maelstrom.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, I-I thought I could-

"But you didn't, did you?!" he yelled, distinguishably louder this time and even Leo looked angry.

"I know you're upset, but just hear me out-

"Just- Lemme get this straight," Raph took a step forward, despite his height somehow making him tower over Donnie at the moment, "so all this time you mean to tell us that you knew the mutagen was killing us, and yet you just up and decided to not let us in on that?! You didn't think that maybe we might've wanted to know if we were, oh I dunno- dying?! "

"I'm sorry"

"Sorry is not going to cut it!" he yelled, without warning grabbing him by the lapels as Donnie felt himself pushed against the wall before he could help it, a sharp ache hitting him in the back- as Mikey flinched in the corner. "What the hell were you thinking?!" he yelled, and this time, he wasn't the only one gathering his frustrations- mind racing with memories of these last few months leading up to this moment.

"What the hell was I thinking…?!" he heard himself mutter, energy returning to him because before he knew it, he'd successfully pushed Raph back, freeing himself from his grip all the while a momentary lapse of his patience seemed to carry over. Because even after all he'd done, this was still not good enough- eyes wandering over his brothers' glares of disapproval like they'd done so many times before, and yet that still hadn't changed.

"I am ALWAYS the one who has to come up with a solution! Always me! And I always need to have all the answers now, don't I?! You want me to disable a bomb, I'm there! You want me to build a security feed all over the city, I'm there! I have tried so hard to make this work- to keep us safe, but it's just never good enough for you! Any of you… I thought I had it covered this time… obviously I didn't. I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry"

Leo lowered his gaze, taking in the rant for a moment while Mikey was still struggling to keep his head up… probably going over the million different times Donnie could've told him in his head. The most obvious of cause, being the time, he'd intentionally left him to thugs in the alley. He still hadn't apologized for that, though something told him that to them, there was a lot he still hadn't apologized for either- Raph exemplifying all of it in one stare alone.

"Oh, boohoo, I am so sorry your little science experiment didn't work out the way you hoped- this isn't about you and your little human fantasy Donnie! How could you not trust us with this?!"

"Because I know how you react! It's always just- argh, look we don't have time for this! Just let me explain-"

"Funny how that seems to be all you're ever saying these days, now I guess we know why! "

"How can you be sure it's not stable? M-Maybe you're wrong somehow. Maybe we're fine?" Leo suddenly interjected, pushing what Donnie was sure to be a good portion of disappointment and feelings of betrayal to the side in favor of a half-baked optimism.

"Because I've already seen it happen." He sighed, feeling himself glide down the wall and onto the floor, where that little light bulb in the ceiling seemed to feel the rumbling from outside the most, swinging from side to side above. "After I got the purple mutagen back to the lab I started experimenting. Turns out ice cream worms are a whole lot more durable than Ice cream kitty when it comes to freezing point. But when I used the purple mutagen on it, it only lasted ten days before it started corroding. It was gone after thirty seconds, then… nothing. So, I tried a different approach, mutating the worms with food, then bugs, but they all turned out the same, over and over again, no matter what I tried. Containing their temporary mutated forms, the structure of their DNA overwritten by the second sample, before shutting down in a ten-day timeframe. So, I conducted that for mutants our size, well, the closest translation to the time limit would be a hundred days." he finished, as the mystery behind his retreat to the laboratory in those weeks unraveled. He still remembered the moment he made the thing work, too happy at the time to care about any potential side effects, that he'd rushed to Sensei's room immediately.

There was a pause, various emotions stirring as the other's took in the information. Once again making Donnie's guilt claw its way back into him as he saw the pure fear that lingered on Mikey, arms folded around himself like it would somehow shield him from the inevitable.

"I know I should've told you. I just figured, maybe, with enough time, when all this would be over, maybe we could… start over somehow. I don't know what I thought! I just- I didn't want you to worry" he muttered, knowing full well that it wasn't true. They were going to worry either way- Of course they were, things like this can't be taken lightly and he knew that perfectly well. He'd been dealing with that for a better part of their life, every time he was the bearer of bad news, something went wrong, or reality hadn't fully set in that things weren't going according to plan. And it was most often up to Don to talk- an orchestra of panic usually following right after.

This time, however, wasn't just his own paranoia compelling him to stay quiet- but for all the effort, all the sacrifices the loneliness he'd gone to, to think that he would've somehow been able to fix this, and still failing to do so, was almost entirely inconceivable. Perhaps a good portion of his own anger stemming from the fact that once again, he'd tried so desperately to set things right, only to make it worse in the end. He'd failed. Not just Sensei, not just Karai, or Timothy, or Simon… this time, he'd failed everyone.

Suddenly, once again with a half-genuine optimism stemming less from a self-assured leader, and more from an amnesiac being told that he's only got until tomorrow before his cells will collapse, "But Layton lasted a week before he… you know. He wasn't even a mutant- at least not what I know of"

"Yes exactly! The foot has been experimenting on non-mutated organisms with the purple mutagen, but since their DNA doesn't have a second blueprint to latch on to, the cells collapse instead. It's too unstable. So, my guess, whatever the foot is doing with it, they've somehow managed to make it stable enough that a specimen can last long enough without corroding, and big enough to survive at least a week" he explained, forgetting for a second the fact that for all their genius in terms of mutagenic research, they were still, in fact, their enemies. Mikey opened his mouth to say something, though quickly closing it again as he starred hollowly on the broken chain surrounding his weapon. He'd already tried to run away once, no point in going a second round, and especially not if it meant splitting up again. Donnie looked around, desperate for a plan, anything, something they could use to win this- to get close enough to the foot clan maybe, steal back the cure or just, anything that might make this okay. But so far, the only thing that seemed to linger was the undeniable defeat in their faces, anger and frustration not even coming close to describing how Raph was feeling right now.

"I'm sorry, but the plan was only to use it so we could get away! I never meant to put us in any danger, I swear, guys come on! You know me. I would never do something like this unless I had a good reason to."

"And yet you still kept it from us"

"I wanted us to have a choice- I mean come on, how often do we get an opportunity like this? Leo…? Mikey? We've been dreaming about this, ever since we were kids, I mean… just imagen it, imagen if we could stay this way. We wouldn't have to hide anymore-"

Raph grit his teeth, unsurprisingly unable to contain his anger, "Are you even hearing yourself right now? Wanted us to have a choice- Oh so that explains why you went behind our back! Perfect! Everything makes sense now! No, you just wanted to have an excuse to make us stay this way. Didn't you? Come on all you ever talk about since we found that damn stuff is how to use it for yourself. Just like what the foot is doing right now."

"I never said-

"Then what are these for then?" he said, holding up the vial, that until now, has remained strapped to his back like he'd almost forgotten it was there. As inconsequential as the communicator stacked in his pocket, but now the pieces were slowly clicking together.

"You still haven't explained why you collapsed today while we're still fine. I saw you in the laboratory… what the heck have you been doing if you weren't making a cure?" Leo added, as Donnie felt the color leave his cheeks. He started clutching the underside of his forearm, maybe without realizing he was doing it, but that didn't stop the red markings from seeping through regardless.

"I just… I wanted to see if I could… I guess, stabilize it. I mean the foot did it so, why shouldn't I be able to? Might've bought us some much-needed time, but with OLS in pieces I don't see how I'll be able to make a new one. N-not without the right materials, but we don't have that either. That's why I made these ones. Only problem is, I haven't fully tested it yet so there's no saying it will actually work but I figured, it's worth a shot, since it's the only sample that didn't dampen within twenty-four hours"

Realization washed over their faces, a gut punch to just how much he'd kept from them since their reunion. Leo stepped closer; eyes glued to Donnie's arm.

"Oh my god... That's what you've been doing this whole time?!" he exclaimed, Raph following soon after, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"I had to try…"

"And if it killed you?!"

Donnie didn't answer. He didn't know what to answer, what could he say? He knew they were right, and yet he'd done it anyway. Willingly ignoring the worst-case scenario on the off chance that maybe, just maybe this time it would work. Maybe this time, he could make it work- no time to play it safe if their lives was in danger. This was the only way… or maybe more accurately, this was all he could do.

Donnie took a breath, the screams from outside the tower hurdling inside and snapping him back to reality. "Only way out alive is with the retro mutagen. We've done this before, right? One drop and I can make sure the entire water supply is administering it. It should, in principle at least, turn everyone back to normal. If we can just get to it in time"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get the cure already!" Raph said, already one foot outside the entry, if Don hadn't stopped him last minute.
"No, we can't, that's the thing…"

"What do you mean we can't?!"

"What I mean is that I don't have it."

Raph looked like he was just about to burst a blood vessel- Donnie in turn, tempted to just let the floorboards swallow him whole.

"You lost it?!"

"I didn't lose it. I made a patch enough for all of us, but when I came back here to use it on Layton it was just… gone. " he let out a sigh, struggling for words but it was hard enough just to breathe at the moment, and the others seemed to notice this- the lump in his throat a sickly reminder that Layton's death was on him too. If he'd just been a little more careful, stopped for just one second to think, instead of leaving their only guarantee blindly behind like an idiot. "I think the foot took it"

Raph, once again, the spokesperson for his brother's myriad of emotions. And Donnie couldn't blame them one bit- despite the every-present part of him feeling the weight on his shoulders, carry over into a semi frustration that it was, as always, up to him to carry it.

"What?! So not only did you lie to us, but you let those bastards take it?!"

"I was trying to keep us safe. Not exactly easy when we have an army of mutated killing machines to deal with now is it?!"

"Maybe not, if you'd told us the truth from the start!" he yelled, Raph's face burning up into unbridled fury.

"I just wanted to… just think about it, okay? For one second just-

"No! It's bad enough that you lied to us about this but now you expect us to just put that stuff inside us and hope that we won't explode?! No way- never again." And it was one of those points, where no matter the anger, no matter how upset you might think you felt, nothing compared to the few rare occurrences in the turtles lives when their dear brother, didn't even yell anymore. His voice one single line carrying over, until it was ready to punch you in the gut. Once again, perhaps even louder this time the sirens and shrieks from the rampage outside was like a silent echo beating in the background. Nothing but an undercurrent in their minds, because the only thing that seemed to matter was the pain in Raph's eyes as he continued to let his frustrations fill the room. "I don't care what you do, but whatever happens now we stick to the plan. So, either you stay here in your little fantasy world, or you do the smart thing for once and finish the mission like we planned from the beginning! Right guys?!"
But as he looked to the others, as surprising as it was for Donnie as it was for Raph, though they didn't seem to know what to say. Who even knew what was going through their heads right now… Leo the most obvious example, given he was the one greenlighting this plan in the first place- though he didn't remember it. As far as Don was concerned, he had as much reason to be angry as the others did.

"Guys…?" Raph looked to the others, none of which responding with the same kind of vexation he was probably counting on. And yet, it seemed like neither knew what to say exactly, Donnie still struggling to do anything but keep his head down as he anticipated the involuntary scolding that usually followed whenever he went against Leo's orders. This time however, whether it was due to his head injury or just his unfathomable disappointment keeping him silent, he didn't do that.

"Raph I still don't remember it yet… I mean I know that I'm one of you, but my time as a mutant it's still… it's a lot. I don't know what we should do. If… if maybe the best thing we can do is stay this way or not"

"You can't be serious right now" Raph's eyes seemed to dart from Leo to Mikey, jaw agape. "Did you guys forget the reason we got into this whole mess in the first place?!"

"No! But it's more complicated than that."

"You are who you choose to be, not what other's make you…" Mikey's voice suddenly filled the room, arm clutching the other like he was subconsciously wishing himself far away from here, and Donnie couldn't blame him. He remembered those words clear as day, granted they weren't directed at them personally at the time, all things considered, but it was still a way to cement everything he'd taught them all their lives. And he was right- this was their choice. And despite his guilt, the scientist inside Donnie told him that no matter the DNA, in the end, who he wanted to be was entirely up to him. He couldn't help but smile a bit, relived that Mikey seemed to share the same sentiment- at least that's what he figured.

Raph's growling voice cut through the air, starting out like an almost hoarse whisper, turning from his disbelief to a raging yell, enough to drown out the ruckus from outside.

"I can't believe this. You wanna stay like this!? Did you not just hear what he said?! We're going to die unless we get that cure back! I mean- just look around! It's a freaking circus out there! And I am not taking another second inside this stupid excuse for a body, and certainly not on the off chance this thing," he held up the vial from his belt, "doesn't speed up the process! "

"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry." Donnie muttered- no stammered is probably more like it, and while even if the fact that his brothers would probably never trust him about anything ever again, he couldn't deny that the burden of keeping this to himself had semi-been lifted at least. But the time for earning back their trust could come later- now was the time to focus on getting the cure back. Or worst-case scenario, see if he could prove Raph wrong after all, and his 'little science experiment' really did hold up the way he'd hoped. At least buy them more time if that was what it took. "Leo, before we took the vials, you took a sample of the cure from the lab with you. Said it was for safe keeping, in case anything went wrong and well… least to say, we might really need it just about now so… do you by any chance, have any recollection of where you put it?" he asked, although pretty sure he already knew the answer to that.

"I…" he began, searching his mind but was quickly at a loss, "I'm sorry but no. I've been trying- I really have, b-but I dunno it's just… it's all just a blur."

Raph let out a scoff, throwing his arms up in the air, "Great. Fantastic! So, we're just gonna sit here and wait to be pudding then!"

Donnie slummed down on the nearest chair, burying his head in his hands; a pair of old Japanese book collections stacked beside him tumbling over from the impact. Of course, he didn't remember. What did he expect? He should've known really… he should've been more careful. Leo was right to take a sample when they had the chance, but what good was it if he couldn't remember where he'd stocked it? What now? Go back to the lair maybe? No- no that's where the foot would expect us to go, we can't risk that again. And definitely not with the chaos down there, we'd be slaughtered. No shells, viooze poisoning, no allies, no enforcements, no Sensei just… us. We don't stand a chance.
But then, as if waiting for the opportune moment, Leo spoke up,

"Wait… when Hopkins found me, it was somewhere around the tunnels just east of the lair. Maybe I stored it there, somewhere. I mean, with all the rubble it shouldn't be too far-fetched to say they missed it doing the search- Before the explosion knocked me out. It's not a lot to go on, I know, but it's a start"

The others looked to each other, or well, everyone looked to each other but Raph, considering this for a moment for Mikey was the one to ask the question everyone was thinking, but too afraid to actually ask, "How long do we have?"

Donnie knew how long, how couldn't he? He'd practically devoted the last three months to keeping track, counting the seconds like it was a new form of breathing and yet, seeing the first two digits on the watch shift from weekly to hourly made him hesitate to look.

"Six hours and forty-two minutes…"

No one said anything, Raph shaking his head with that crooked smile that if anything cemented his refinance to their new objective- survival. He didn't even seem as phased about the fact that they were going to die, as he was the fact that Donnie had been lying about it this entire time, the ladder somewhat making him feel even smaller than he already did.

"What do we have to lose?" Raph muttered, without warning smashing the designated 'plan B' to the ground, before shouldering past Donnie and stepping out into the city- Leo and Mikey soon following.

---

Hopkins didn't know what he was thinking.

Honestly, he was pretty sure at this point a sane man would've already found their limit, throwing in the towel and accepting that the past was the past. No matter how hard he tried, chasing phantoms wasn't going to help his case anyhow, when all of New York city was going to hell anyway. It wasn't going to help the kid- already regretting how incredibly stupid it was of him to trust him after their last encounter. Though to be fair, he supposed that pointing a gun at a kid wasn't the best way to get to the bottom of things either. So caught up in trying to figure out the truth that he'd led himself around in circles- now with catastrophic consequences. He'd grabbed the girl, secured her but she was still unconscious and got the hell out of there as soon as the walls started imploding. He just… he couldn't believe it. Feeling like he was losing his mind, equal parts due to the chaos unraveling in front of him, as well as feeling like an absolute moron for not seeing it sooner. They were working with them. The bastards, of course they didn't care about Layton. Of course, they wouldn't aide in the investigation as long as one less problem was taken off the streets in their favor. And that favor just so happened to be arresting Casey Jones. Poor kid, even for a juvenile, Hopkins couldn't help but feel like he'd made a big mistake. The only thing left to do, save this girl, and somehow by all logical thinking, try to figure out their hideout. Only way to stop this- he knew that much. Whatever these things were, they were nothing without their master.

But as he soared down the street, faster than any one in the speed department would ever allow him, he figured that unfortunately the only place remotely standing a shot at being secured, happened to be the one place he was probably least wanted. But looking from the raging freak shows and the frightened pedestrians running for their lives, save to say, Hopkins was willing to take his chances. Somehow against all odds, finding his inner speeding criminal inside him and focusing on short cutting his way there through various alleyways and fallen over railways, before eventually, finally making his way to the apartment building. He checked on the girl. Still breathing. Grabbing her gently and holding her in his arms, he held his pistol firm in his hands as he dared making his way over the street- an old gas mask stopping him from inhaling the toxic fumes, remembering all too well what happened to someone exposed to the like. Now those fifty or so victims seemed like grains of sand compared to what his beloved city now looked like.

He came up the steps, running full throttle past the broken elevator, shoving through frightened neighbors flailing about, before finally landing on the right floor, no time to be gentle.

"Jack! JACK OPEN UP YOUR OLD BASTARD!" he yelled, hammering on the door like a drunken wrestler until a voice finally came from inside, letting him know that his old partner hadn't resided to his van and abandoned this place after all.

"What do you want?!" he hissed, a frying pan for weaponry in his hand and clearly not too pleased to see Hopkins on the other side. That was until his eyes locked onto the girl, probably thinking he was seeing things or his old partner was even crazier than he'd given him credit for.
"Help her" he pleaded, as if stating the obvious, but Jack wasn't that quick to let them inside- not even as the entire compound started shaking with screams hurdling outside, "Damn it Jack we don't have the time! Now help her before those things get inside! It's a god damn circus out there"

Another pause, the only thing rivaling Jack's ability to hold a grudge his passion for being proven right- hence, the alien monsters terraforming people right out the window. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of Hopkin's arms going numb and his nerves failing him, did Jack open the door, gesturing towards the living room. He'd barricaded his door with not two, not three, but seven different locks all more convoluted than the other, his entire office a mess of survival kids, news papers and pillow armors in the making.

"Put her on the couch, I'll barricade the doors. These things are not what they seem-

"Yeah, I figured as much." Hopkins muttered, everything inside him working at a hundred miles an hour, and he'd barely had a drop of coffee all day, unable to shake the image of his workplace going to ruin as New York City wept in terror, all because he couldn't solve this case. Kurtzman seemed to notice his plea, though too stubborn to console him- and rightfully so. He did after all, almost knock a hole through his skull the last time they'd spoke, and Hopkins knew all too well that he didn't deserve his old friend's help. Grateful that he could at least find it in him to help the girl- though all things considered even if she was going to be okay, unless Leo had been right and they really did know a way to somehow 'fix' this and turn people back to, well, people, she would probably not last long anyway. Neither of them would, "You were right. I should've trusted you. But this? I don't even know what… " Hopkin's stammered, as Jack brought a cloth to put on the girl's head. Her eyes moving under her eyelids, flickering back and forth like she was having a nightmare, her hands clinging around the soft fabric of the couch, as the cut on her head was closed with a small bandage.

"Thanks" Hopkins muttered.

"Least I can do" Jack just said, emotionless, like he'd done this too many times and Hopkins couldn't help but feel bad for him, having a pretty good idea of what might be going through his head right at this moment- and none of it had to do with the end of the world outside their door. He didn't even know her name, though he felt like he should. Wondering if they survived this, he'd get the opportunity to ask the red bandit about it later… or Leo for that matter, wherever he was. God, why did I let them go?! They were right there…! I could have… damn it!

But then, suddenly a thought came to him. His words echoing in his brain like a prayer, and it gave Hopkins a horrible thought, "Wait… "

If the mutagen was stored in the warehouse first… the first storage before the homicide. Hopkins didn't waste any time- he ran for the door, gun in his hand and a newfound drive launching him forward- Kurtzman calling out behind, "Wha- where do you think you're going?!"

"There's something I need to do!" he yelled back, not caring that the only way there, was through the murder fest of mutant monsters he used to call Greenwich Street.

---

You know, it was kinda funny all things considered.

Sure, when you spend the better amount of your time as a human being, making yourself an explicit target of the authorities, you tend to forget about the flesh-eating monsters brought upon the city by the 'Kraang' and whatever else their gum-looking selves brought. All of a sudden entirely meaningless in the face of an enemy they didn't even know was there. And they had a lot of enemies, in doubt about that- in fact, following Raph's debut as the Red Bandit probably even more enemies than they'd ever been the target practice to before. So, to think that even after all of that, with all that danger they'd fought tooth and nail to get through, it all amounted to absolute squat. Least to say, Raph was not the jolliest at the moment. And it wasn't just for the fact that they were right now running head speed through a hoard of ravaging mutants tearing up the streets or flipping cars left and right, nor the purple fog that seemed to seep all over the city in an endless smog. The air too thick to breathe probably even if they were in the clear from its toxins, and the unclarity masking the creatures and pedestrians fumbling in front of them- a pair of glowing eyes all of a sudden charging through the mist at full speed, none of which came with a warning. He thought about Casey, the sounds of people's skin bubbling over before mutating them entirely cutting through and he wanted to curse himself for letting the Oni man go when he had the chance. He thought about Leo, right now following in the middle, weaponless and powerless- no memories accurate enough to guide the way, though apparently it seemed the only way to the sewers was through the crowded street. Staying in the shadows was all of a sudden made a lot harder than it usually was, given that was exactly where the monsters lived. The irony didn't pass him by.

He thought about their plan, how this was a loose lose and either way- even if they found the cure stored by Leo somewhere, which already seemed like a pipedream at this point- last time they went through the change, they'd blacked out for hours on end. And that was not even mentioning the pain of having your bone reassembled, not to mention a brand-new shell growing out of your back. He was sure that three months ago he would've probably jumped at the chance to get their old lives back the moment they got their hands on the cure, but now? No matter how you looked at it, this would all be for nothing if they didn't find a way to get to the foot's head quarters and break their necks before that wasn't an option anymore.

Funny how for all their efforts, in the end, it would all be useless if they wouldn't even live to tell the tale. And going by Don's accuracy so far, Raph was a little too confident that that wasn't entirely out of the question.

They stopped in front of the old cinema, Don' at this point having remained mostly silent since they left the tower, wanting to comment on the fact that not only had he lied about the mutagen, thereby proving that he had been right all along, but that he'd lied about where was staying. Sneaking off every night pretending to be on patrol probably, going to the tower without telling them, cooped up in the lab all this time and not even considering asking him and Mikey. Not thinking for just one second to maybe let them in on what was potentially going to render them on borrowed time which- oh yeah, it did! It was bad enough that Leo had kept them in the dark, but that Donnie was willing to risk turning into the very same creatures right now turning New York City into a war zone. Actually, scratch that, if he could only remember it, Leo was just as guilty of this- he was their leader, and yet he didn't trust them enough to tell them, which was ironic actually. If Leo really didn't want to tell them about it, then what the shell was making him so annoyingly undecided all of a sudden?! Not like spending the better portion of your time in a hospital was all that fun, cooped up with a lunatic police officer, blown to bits, attacked one night after the other, as far as Raph was concerned. We're a team and they lied to us. Now look what happened…

Raph took a step forward, scouting the corner for a cover when just as he'd thought, there was one waiting for them in the ally on the other side. Past the screaming pedestrians, the blinking car alarms and the army of mutants crawling alongside buildings and well people blocking their path. No other choice. Looks like we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way, Raph thought, reading his weapons- when something lingering just out of view caught his attention. So far, getting to that cover seemed like a relatively easy feat, wasn't it for what to no one's surprised appeared to be foot soldiers scouting atop the skyscrapers. Starring down with their freaky glowing eyes like they were at the movies and the turtles was the next big event.

"They're following us" Leo said, Donnie already on his feet.

"I'll lead them away-

"YOU are in no state to lead anyone anywhere, and besides, if something happens to you how are we supposed to get the cure?! No, we need to stick together. No more splitting up"

"You hear that D? It's just like that other time you went behind our backs! Only this time, it's actually part of the plan"

Donnie had to hold himself back from kicking something, knuckles tightening around his staff like he was about to break the thing himself, "How many times do I need to explain myself?! Oh, that's right. You never did learn to get anything through that thick skull you call a forehead, did you?!"

"Will you two just shut up and focus?! We need to get to that cover!" Leo yelled, the both of them jumping a bit just from the sheer sternness in his tone. A far cry from the Leo they'd rescued in the alley- and it was as refreshing to see as it was scary.

"Eh… quick question but who's going to cover us…!?" Mikey's voice stammering below, and this forced the gang to temporarily put their frustrations to the side, in favor of divulging their attention to the two-foot-tall mutant drooling down from above. An eye hanging sluggishly out and a set of claws keeping it dug into the concrete of each building, the mutant let out an almost demonic shriek, sending everyone on their feet weapons in hand.

Leo was the first to let out a nervous chuckle, struggling to keep calm but it was pretty clear that he was already losing his footing, "G-good point... RUN!"

They all sprang from the wall, if only an inch away from getting their insides turned into mush as the creature shot its who knows how long claw of black goo directly at their heads. Raph landed relatively balanced, only Leo stumbling backwards as the creature seemed to fixate itself on him for some reason, the foot still watching from above like nothing had happened.

"LEO!" Mikey exclaimed, quick to drag him away from the second hit, using the chain of his nun chuck to shield him from having his neck bitten off.

"Right… no weapons. New plan: everyone get to the cover! NOW! Argh-"

Leo crouched down, suddenly reaching for his head biting his tongue as Mikey used the nearby trash can to push over the creature- sliding over to Leo who was starting squeeze his eyes shut in pain. "Leo?" he muttered, traces of a painfilled yell seeping through his barred teeth, like he was trying to dig it out of his brain.

As Donnie moved into help, Raph too was not fast enough to get to him, before as fate would have it, yet another mutant, this one still repulsively retaining half a human face left, came at him.

"GUYS! LEO'S DOING IT AGAIN!" they heard Mikey yell, defending against another mutant while struggling to get Leo at a safe distance. Raph fumbled after his sai, nearly loosing one as the half-mutant started clawing out after him. Trying to concentrate on getting out of the way was hard enough when the thing you were fighting still looked at him with a human eye, almost pleadingly struggling to pull him to the ground- though Raph wasn't that quick to ending the fight. He dodged one spike, slid past one hit directed at his stomach, and managed instead to trip the mutant to the ground, before stumbling to his feet. Okay, now to get to that co- but he didn't get very far until, yet another mutant pushed him to the ground in one blow. Raph feeling his head snap back at the concrete dizzying him severely before he could regain his senses. He used the sai to kick the creature away, spotting out of the corner of his eye Mikey, almost with ease managing to sling one mutant into the other, leveling Leo by his side as they hid behind the nearest car. Well, this is going great already, he thought, recalling one session with Splinter in particular that at this moment, allowed him to move out of the way as a blow meant for his head pierced the concrete. Knowing when your enemy will strike- right.

He was close now, a few meters away from the cover, sprinting as fast as he could all the while making sure the others were still in sight- though he quickly regretted this sentiment as something heavy punched his back, and he realized that the creature that he just unceremoniously bumped into was the same one Donnie was fighting. Sliding around the concrete in what Raph was almost convinced was supposed to be a seonake, if the brainiac wasn't stupid enough to crash into him instead upon impact.

"Do you mind!?" he yelled, obviously annoyed that his attack was interrupted before keeping his back to Raph's as the mutants surrounded them little by little.
"What's the matter? Human body make you even more sloppy at fighting or is it the ticking time bomb to our death making you unable to go two seconds without breaking your stick?!"

"How many times do I have to apologize?!" he hissed, dodging an incoming spike to his shoulder.

"Well I dunno how- " Raph too dodging, nearly lost a hair as the tip of the creature's spike nearly cut out his eye, "-how about enough times until I care?!" he yelled, kicking his opponent hard enough to make it tumble into a shopwindow.

"Why are you like this?!" Donnie breathed, before Raph knew it using his bo to shield him from a knife-like creature charging the side of his head at seventy miles an hour- though he was a little too busy fighting off his own creature to thank him yet, "Why is it so inconceivable to you Raph, that maybe I was doing this for our sake! Why do you have this insistence on keeping us the same mutated freaks we've always been when there's clearly another solution here!? What are you so afraid of?! "

"I never said that!"

Donnie leaned forward avoiding a kick to his gut- Raph using this as an opportunity to roll over his back and use the momentum to kick two mutant creatures in the face.

"That we'll leave?! " Donnie continued, "Is that it?! Big bad Raph too afraid that we might have better things to do than fighting monsters all our lives?! Is that it?"

"No!"

"Then what is it?! TELL ME!"
"ARG FOR THE LOVE OF- When will you GET IT?! Donnie I'm not mad at you because you lied to us about the serum-

Another mutant jumped Raph, this time deciding the best way to take it down was to stab it in the shoulders, before grabbing both ends of his weapon and tossing the creature with all his remaining strength, directly into the mutant charging Donnie.

"-I'm not mad that you didn't trust us enough to tell us the truth-

He rolled over the pavement, kicking the next one in the face, a growl escaping him as a third one grabbed him from the back.

"-hell I'd even forgive you for basically handing our enemy the one barging chip we had left, but this- he rose to his feet, Donnie unable to say anything before Raph locked his hand around his wrist, and held his arm up in front of him- the bruises and reddish markings covering a good portion of his pale human skin, "WHY would you do this to yourself?! Explain that to me! How the shell is it possible for a genius like you, to be so unbelievably stupid at the same time?! HOW!? You're barely holding it together, and I'm just a moron for not realizing sooner, right? Now look what happened! You could've died!"

Donnie opened his mouth to answer, snapped back to reality again as he used his bo to fling an in coming attack, Raph feeling his cheek sting slightly as the impact of one mutant he didn't quite see making him miss his shell even more.

"I already-" Donnie began, pausing for a moment to flip his opponent into the concrete and out of the way, "-I already told you I needed to try!"

"Well then try remembering who you are, how about that?! We're not human, D- this isn't us and like it or not, no matter what other stupid experiment you come up with, that's never going to change. I thought you of all people would understand that!"

"What do you have against being human so much anyway?!" he yelled, jumping the mutant Raph was just about to impale so it instead fell into the nearest telephone pole, a cut on the lip to show for it, "Sensei was a human. It's in our DNA in case you haven't realized yet! What I don't understand-" he continued, receiving a blow to the face from an unseen attacker as he breathlessly struggling not to lose sight of his surroundings, meanwhile Raph grabbed the mutant slinging out after him by its feet, locking it in place as they both ran towards the cover, "is why you seem so obsessed with making sure we never have a future outside of the sewers. Do you honestly think Sensei would've wanted this for us?! To live the rest of our lives in hiding?! People being afraid of us?! We get to have what he never did, and you want us to just throw it away because you're too stubborn to admit I'm right?!"

Raph couldn't believe what he was hearing, almost ready to scoff if his ribs weren't severely cracked and his only defense was the two sai's barely enough to keep the two feet tall monster at bay- I mean seriously, is he being serious right now?!

"Oh yeah, going behind our backs- lying, risking the safety of our family, putting us all in danger, what a great way to honor his memory! I'm sure he'd be so proud!" he yelled out, too lost in his scorn to notice the second mutant creeping up on him. Luckily, he didn't have to. Before the thing could take as much as one stab at him, came Donnie- unexpectantly and surprisingly quick as if by teleportation, and used the sharp end of his bo, also the part Raph kept forgetting was a part of his staff, to effectively stab it in the chest.

"HE WAS MY FATHER TOO!" he yelled, and as Raph looked up at him standing there, almost to the point of forgetting that the human person in front of him was in fact his brother, he noticed his eyes watering. The slight crack in his voice, breaking over those five words and they seemed to echo even after he'd said them- Raph feeling the pit in his stomach as the mention of their father cut deeper than he thought it would.

Donnie paused, trying to breathe rather, but it all just came out a shivering gulp in his throat, his voice breaking but stubbornly refusing to die down into his usual controlled tone, "And he never got that back! He never got that back… because of me… because I was too late to give him the cure. To pay him back for everything he's done for us, and I was too late as usual... But I wasn't too late to give it to us and now look what happened! I messed it up again…"

He then blinked, staggering backwards as if he only just now realized what he just said and he wasn't the only one. Raph wanted to say something, forgetting along his brother the creatures surrounding them and it was like time froze.

"Donnie…" he muttered, rising to his feet slowly, the before unrelenting anger fueling his fighting, replaced by a sense of guilt he didn't even know how to describe. Wanting to say something, for once trying to imagen what these weeks must've been like for him, and it only seemed to worsen as a result. It started to dawn on him what might've been a pivotal driving force in Don's mindset- one he never even dared to consider. Of course, that didn't erase the sense of betrayal he'd felt when he realized that their mission was already compromised long before the foot began mutating New York City. But this wasn't just about being human either, it wasn't about the lying, the false promises or even the fact that because of this, the odds of them surviving this alone was growing smaller and smaller by the hour.

"Very touching"

But before he could get out as much as a word, before Raph could do anything about it, he watched as the shaft of a blade was used to knock Donnie out cold. Raph heard Mikey scream out his name behind him, before he too fell to the ground and as he realized this, something sharp cut through his back before he could stop it. Sizzling up his spine out to his limbs until he couldn't stand up, everything a blur- the glowing eyes of who else but the foot soldiers. approaching them through the smog one by one, electric rods at the ready while making sure they were really unconscious. Raph tried to turn his head, only barely catching sight of Donnie, bleeding from the cut on his arm, dragged away to where he couldn't see. He also noticed the remaining mutants squirming, not even daring to touch them as one of the mask-wearing bastards kneeled down next to him.

"Seems like this one is still awake. Let's help him" he said and as much as Raph tried to move, growl out or simply figure out where the shell Leo was, he didn't get far, before he took a solid hit to the face-

Everything going black…

---

Leo felt his head clamp together, like each side of it was trying to merge with the other and it felt like everything was on fire. He leaned against the car, trying to get a grip but for some reason it was like everything in his head was collapsing- panic rising as he no longer knew where the others were, and all he could do was try not scream. When he finally opened his eyes, the pain easing slightly though still only to the point that he was becoming nauseous, he caught glimpse of Mikey on the other side of the car, shoved against the hood by something too low to be a mutant. Looking around, despite the purple smog he could still hear them, clear as day lurking somewhere waiting to attack him from anywhere if he wasn't careful. And yet, as he struggled to make his way over to the others, none of them even as much as approached him. Squirming, like an elephant scared of a mouse, but not moving in to attack, an unknown force keeping them at bay somehow.
"Mikey…" he muttered, the sound of his little brother's body hitting the concrete making Leo want to strangle himself for not saving his katanas, but there was nothing he could do. Not knowing if he was merely seeing things, because as soon as he saw Donnie on the ground as well his heart seemed to get stuck in his throat. There was a loud sizzling sort of sound, the unmistakable roar coming from Raph making Leo question of getting out of his hiding spot was such a good idea. He saw figures moving somewhere nearby, eyes glowing through the mist, as their wielding their rods, to Leo for what felt like the first time, but there was something familiar about them. The way they dressed, not just from the other's description, no- he distinctly remembered seeing them before. Fighting them, one by the other, a snowy day just like this one. Except he was alone that time, barely making it out before they came one after the other… he remembered falling, the struggling, standing his ground as the cold was barely kept away by the adrenaline rush- no, the anger driving him.

The foot clan, after hearing so much about them finally returning to reclaim their price. That being them, it looked like. Leo hunched down, trying to stay out of sight, trying to come up with something. He was the idea-guy, after all. The leader. The guys are counting on me, he thought fighting the panic making his nerves tight, because as it stood, he had absolutely no idea what to do. It was always them doing the stuff, explaining it to him, keeping him safe because despite barely remembering how to fight, Leo was a burden unless he had his memories back. But the longer he waited, panted or rather, watched as the others were taken away one after the other, he started to wonder if maybe now would be a good time for Sensei to lend a helping hand... after all, he'd done it before right? Why not now? What do I need to do? Should I meditate? Follow them? I don't have my weapons, I-I don't even know if… they're counting on me! Just… I need a plan…Okay, okay they're taking us away, not killing, that's gotta count for something, right?! Why else would they stall like this...? what do they need us for? What does it mean? I don't know… I don't know and they're counting on me… but what If I can't- no what if… I need… I need help, I need, I need…

The small tip of what Leo was guessing to be a blade suddenly pricked against his back. Leo didn't need to look twice to see that it was a foot soldier. Great. He held up his hands defensively, mind racing. This couldn't be happening, he thought trying not to show how incredibly not at all scared out of his mind he was right now, seconds away from getting kidnapped and probably dissected. However, as the foot soldier scouted over to his friends getting in the truck with the others, instead of stunning Leo with the tip of their rod, they instead lowered their blade. Finger over where their lips would be before dragging Leo in the other direction. As they did, the only logical thing he could think of was to run for it whenever the opportunity came, the only thing keeping him at the foot soldier's heel his curiosity. No way they'd just kill him just like that. Sure, he was the leader, but if that was the case, why not just let the mutants get to him first? Or rather, stab him right where he was. Instead of either of those however, what transpired instead was the foot soldier luring the pair away from the enemy, and back to the rooftops.

"Where are we-

The foot soldier stopped, once again gesturing for Leo to keep quiet as the foot soldier observed his goons drove away- meanwhile two stayed behind searching the ally. Searching for him. They walked away from the edge, Leo at this point questioning if maybe following the cryptic stranger holding a weapon registry in their belt and a bug mask was the wisest decision as his brothers were kidnapped and led directly to their enemy. Because as far as he was concerned, they were moving further away from them, than closer, causing Leo to stop up right as his capture was about to jump to the next building.

"Okay, enough games, just- who are you?! Wh-why are you helping me?!"

The foot soldier stopped, overlooking their shoulder as if considering leaving him on the roof altogether before quickly and without warning- they grabbed their blade, swung for his head and before Leo knew it, he found himself on the ground, elbows grazed as the foot soldier held their weapon at his throat. But before they could deal the finishing blow-

"Long time, eh, Leo?"

The foot soldier removed their mask- that is to say, Karai removed her mask. A crooked smile over her face as she held out a hand to help him up. Leo couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Karai?!" he took her hand, albeit not too happily. His mind still feeling the soreness of before, though at this point his grasp on reality felt like it was diminishing for every crazy thing thrown at him today. Lost for words, his brain apparently loosing function all the while his eyes seemed to lock onto the fact that despite the state of everything, she'd said his name. And not only that; the former 'princess of the foot clan' was now wearing their uniform to boot- nearly giving him a heart attack and to be honest, that fact alone seemed to make it a little hard for Leo to be grateful for the rescue. If you could call it that…

"But what are- why are you- you're with the foot?!"

He didn't get another words out before Karai quickly held a hand over his mouth, dragging them behind the railing of the roof where two foot soldiers was right now scouting two buildings away, "Shh. Not here." She whispered, moving along the walls in silent steps until they reached the edge. Karai was the first to jump, Leo quickly following after- this time a whole lot more balanced than last time they talked, and he congratulated himself on being able to keep up with the kunoichi as they stayed out of sight.

When they finally seemed to be out of the clear, their knew designated meeting spot, once again reminding Leo that they were moving further away from his brothers and not closer, and the knot in his stomach kept growing. Karai lowered her blade, leading the way further down what Leo was only now realizing was the path towards the docks, calm as a rock.
Leo on the other hand:

"B-but how?! Whe-where?! Where have you been?! I thought you were dead! Why are you wearing that-"

"It's in season"

"I'm not in the mood for games, Karai, get to the point" he demanded, as they moved behind craters of shipment, that familiar feeling returning as they stood there.

"You knew about me" he said, and this time thankfully, Karai seemed to be listening. "You knew it was me, and yet you didn't say anything. Why?"

She scouted once again, leaning against the crate- arms crossed, "Not exactly a regular Tuesday to find a mutated turtle standing in broad daylight now is it? And besides, you should have seen yourself, you were so scared and confused, I was half expecting you to drop dead on the floor. Kinda funny actually"

Leo sighed, still not comprehending, "So, you knew it was me… but you didn't know it was me…? What?"

"Shh" she said, gesturing towards the glowing eyes still following them, and as they climbed up the shipment, building to building close to the shadows, behind walls and construction until finally, somehow, they made it a church-looking building. Empty on the hollow street, though also the only area in NYC not plagued by the purple fog- and this would be a lot more significant to Leo still clawing in his mind through corroded memories trying to recognize the structure more vividly in his head- weren't it for the myriad of unanswered questions still walking away from him every time they turned a corner. When it finally seemed like a good idea to keep a distance, Leo didn't waste a second,

"Where have you been?! Why didn't you come back to the lair- wh-what is happening right now?"

Karai sat down, again, looking at Leo with that weird glance in her eyes. Unsure- like she was still second guessing if the non-mutant in front of her was really him. Then she rolled up her sleeve, to Leo's immediate confusion because as far as he was concerned, there was… nothing there.

"Your cop friend paid me a visit" she said, and all of a sudden, her arm started to twist and stretch out, her skin becoming a pale scaly surface, eroding away for a bit before revealing a big purple hole on the underside of it. As if appearing out of thin air.

"Wow" he muttered, not so please with the fact that throughout all his catching up the guys seemed to have failed to mention the whole hybrid mutant snake part.

"Don't worry it doesn't hurt as much and besides- I've had way worse. Lucky for me, Donnie leaves the first aid kid out in the open, or I might not have recovered as fast- but I couldn't stay there either. I hoped maybe if I just waited long enough, I could buy us some time and get the clan back together, but I haven't heard back from them since. I have no idea where Shini is, and with that old geezer on my tail as well, I figured the best thing I could do was gather intel... Well, as much as I could come by"

"But… how did you recover so fast? Surely your mutation doesn't magically grant you healing powers… wait, does it?!"

"That would be nice, wouldn't it? Surprisingly alien goo from another dimension doesn't grant you healing powers. I just remembered something father taught me. Helps calm the mind" she said, a slight sadness in her eyes at the mention. Seemed to be a recurring thing these days and now he finally knew why. Brushing that aside however, she rose to her feet, circling Leo as if for the first time really taking in the fact that he was there. Not some stranger in a Space Heroes shirt, no longer acting like they never met each other before, "You still haven't explained, well, this whole situation. Mind telling me about the upgrade, or do I have to guess?"

"You mean you didn't know? I thought you were like… part of the team, or something. They didn't tell you?"

Karai scoffed, "I'm guessing Raphael wasn't the one giving out that remark" she said, lowering her gaze for a moment as Leo saw himself reflected back through her eyes, "You really don't remember me?"

Leo sighed. Of course, he remembered fragments. Words more or less- it was hard to explain. Like one second, he'd walk down a shady alley and, all of a sudden, it was like he'd done so before. Or he'd simply hear her voice in his head telling him something that, once upon a time might've meant a lot because why else would he still remember it? He remembered sparring with her in the dojo, sure, maybe even seeing her in the church they were about to go in, if his mind wasn't fooling him again. But looking at her now, it was all so cut up in his head that connecting the pieces that was their history, felt like an almost impossible task. Wishing to god, that if they survived the mutation, he'd be able to make up for it. That, somehow if he couldn't get them back, his memories, the person he was before all of this began, that maybe he'd be able to manage without.

Truth be told, this wasn't the first time he'd considered this. The thought that starting over when all else was lost, might not be such a bad idea- leaving behind the trauma that came from living like they apparently did, the things they'd faced, the people they'd lost… maybe he could just, leave all of that behind, but if he did would that be fair to his brothers? Would they be able to forgive him for that? To accept him as he was now, instead of the 'leader' they. Leo wasn't stupid. He wasn't blind to the backwards glances, the talking when they didn't think he was listening, the fear that if Leo didn't get his memories back and soon, they might lose their older brother for good. They might not get the other guy back, the guy he was supposed to be- right now at a crossroads with himself because the more his brothers referred to him as someone else, the less he was starting to think he could become that guy again. If that's what he was supposed to do.

Karai smiled, noticing the frown on his face, "Don't feel guilty about it. It's not like you can help it with that bump on your little human head" knocking him on the side of his head, in what was supposed to be a gentle motion, but she didn't seem to account for the fact that her metal spiked army made that pretty difficult- Leo flinching as a result.

"Ouch"

"Uh, sorry. I forgot, you're still just a few days out of the hospital. Good job with that by the way, it's a miracle the guys got to you before I had the chance, otherwise who knows what might've happened. Being human has made you rusty though- no offence. You need to be more careful"

"You don't say" he sighed, and as he glanced back towards her now sleeve-covered arm, he also had the feeling that being too cautious next to the person with the sword, was probably not too shabby an idea. "So, if you're not working for those guys… what were you doing snooping around the block when you attacked me? According to the guys, you've been gone since the attack, so why then? What were you doing going after the lair?"

"Looking for you, what else? I was scouting the lair when I bumped into you, actually. I couldn't believe it was actually you, just some random kid snooping around with a cop, and I didn't want to risk you going down, so… I tried to… nudge you a bit in the other direction. For your own good of course"

"Friendly way of saying you had your sword at my throat"

"But that's until I saw that tacky shirt of yours. I mean seriously, do you wear anything that isn't isn't merch?"

"Not exactly one of my main priorities at the moment"

She let out a laugh, pulling herself up the fire escape and further up the steps, "Guessing fashion style didn't make it into the equation"

"Where are we going?" he muttered, now wondering if becoming a designated turtle again meant that he'd probably had to get rid of the shirt for good. God damn it.

She didn't answer, too focused on making it past the four-foot soldiers standing guard at the front, and silently leaping to the other side. Once they got to the other side, Leo barely slipping at the tip of his heels, if Karai hadn't pulled him to safety. They crouched down, head low and making their way over to a glass panel in the roof- something Leo took with the slight memory of having Donnie argue with one of the others about how to properly sneak inside and making him even more certain that this was in fact the foots Headquarters after all. Now the only thing left to do, was find a way through without being spotted. Somehow get the others out of there and steal the cure back before sunrise. That was assuming the foot really DID steal it, of course, but judging by the impeccable timing of the siege, safe to say, Leo was fairly convinced. So yeah, easy piecy! … right?

"Sh-shouldn't we focus on finding the cure? You know, the one I stashed before the foot stole it?"

"No point. I've already scouted every tunnel, every patch, every trace of it that might lead us to it, but, wherever it is, you stored it somewhere you knew we wouldn't find it. Pretty annoying actually"

Typical me, I guess… Leo turned to Karai- one heart beat short of a heart attack when he instead spotted the foot soldier by his side, opening the panel slowly.

"Take a deep breath. You've done this before. And this is the only way we can get to the holding cell without being spotted. I'm already on thin enough ice as it is, and without the clan backing us up, we need to be careful if we want to get the guys out of here" she explained, and suddenly it made sense why he hadn't heard from her all this time.

"That's what you've been doing… All this time, you were- you were spying for them?! For the Oni-man?! Are you insane?!"

Karai sighed, Leo realizing a little too late that yelling at the top of his lungs was probably not the best way to go about a stealth mission. Moving away from the panel for a moment Karai shifted her attention back to Leo, lowering her gaze hesitantly, "I know it might be a tall order but, do you think you might be able to remember what happened before you became… this?"

Back to this again… "I've tried. B-but it only comes in fragments, it's almost like my brain doesn't want me to remember- I-I can't explain it"

"But they caught you up, right? Why believe them if you don't remember? At least parts of it, there's gotta be something we're missing here. I know how strong your will is Leo, I've seen it before. Come on… you can beat this"

"Yeah, they caught me up. You know, right before the same guys wearing your suit stuffed them into bags"

Another smile reached over her, as she shook her head calmly. "Guess some things never change" she said, fiddling with her blade- a habit very similar to Raph's whenever he got anxious. "Look, I'm not with these guys, believe it or not. Quite the opposite actually. If you had your memories back, I bet you'd know why"

Leo straightened his back, a fit of pain stinging the side of his head slightly all of a sudden and he got a bad feeling.

"What are you talking about?"

---

Raph opened his eyes little by little, the pain from the shock still lingering slightly in his back though he pushed to ignore it. Everything was dark, slowly coming back into view, and as it did, he also realized that the pain in his knees was in fact because someone had jolted him to the ground, arms stretched behind his back. There was something cold and clammy holding them together, something he couldn't quite make out in the dark, but almost definitely not a pair of regular sized cuffs. He tried to get a glimpse of his surroundings, the stone-cold floor below him already telling him that they weren't exactly in the lair. Water seeping below a glass panel in the floor, and the moonlight seeping through from above lighting up the room in what, initially, Raph took to be the stars. But was instead surprised to find the blue and purple-ish lights moving above, and he realized with a mix of added confusion and disturbance that it was some sort of fireflies. Big mutated and lumpy, if he were to guess the size of a fist, floating around in the air desperate to get out.

Raph grunted, the shadows seemingly quiet, but something told him that their little friends hadn't just brought them out of the streets to look at flies. He tried to move his arm, going over in his head the times Sensei had taught them how to free yourself during a time limit- though the added bonus that this was in fact on an added time limit, treating this escape as a regular training exercise was surprisingly not so easy. Almost hearing the restraint pop for a second before feeling his palms cut the metal.

"Don't" a voice said, and only now did Raph notice Mikey and Donnie in the same predicament, both kneeling on the ground by his side. Donnie nodded towards the vials imbedded on the cuffs, that little green liquid inside making Raph lose all the color from his face. "It's a spring trap. Release the spring, we'll get blasted with mutagen." he said, clearly irritated.

"Perfect…" he sighed, reluctantly residing himself to the fact that so far, their plan for an escape was becoming increasingly less likely, when he noticed Mikey on his left slowly regaining consciousness, "Mikey, are you okay?"

He shook his head, blinked a couple of times, twice in one eye and four times in the other before he seemed to gravitate towards Raph's voice, a dopey smile forming over his freckled cheeks, "Not my first rodeo with these things, dude. Wait... Where's Leo?"

"If we're lucky, on his way to the blast side and far away from here" Donnie stated, and Raph noticed he was making a point not to look at either of them, instead leaving his head hanging heavily against his chest, starring at something on the floor. Raph wanted to say something, opened his mouth to tell him something though if he was being honest, he had about as much an idea of what would come out of it as Donnie probably did. And in the end, it didn't even matter, because before he could as much as get one word out, came the recognizable slithering of mutants creeping up behind them, luring in the shadows surrounding the open space. A curdling of foot soldiers lining up around the pedestals and glassy pillars, a heavier set of footsteps clanking behind them as the sound of the door shut tight- leaving behind an echo clattering the room.

"I gotta say, I am impressed" it said, the hint of a smile in his voice and wouldn't you know it.

There he was, the Oni-man, right in front them. He had a sort of nonchalance about the way he walked, though still carrying himself with a set of restraint and elegance- back straightened, hand on one weapon. He bore a metallic armor, not unlike carries, but with a more baggier exterior that made moving more feasible for someone his size, barely taller than Leo perhaps but still intimidatingly towering. He bore the Oni-mask of course, barely a scratch on it since their last rematch and it made Raph think back to the last guy he pummeled, wondering if he was even still alive because of it. Wondering if the satisfaction he thought he'd feel when it would be the real guy's face, he was ripping a new one, would still be there. Gulping at the memory and he forced himself to push the memory aside, Sensei's eyes on his back when he thought back on it.

The Oni-man observed the three, nodded shortly before slowly and steadily he made his way to the throne- in other words, the chair of the guy only a year ago responsible for nearly burning this place to the ground. Guess not much had changed after all.

"You manage not only to steal a sample of the purple mutagen from my men, but you also manage to use it as well. I must admit for a time I was almost certain you were to follow in your mentor's footsteps- and yet, here you are. Wearing the skin your predecessor. Very clever, I must say, I didn't think you would make it this far" he said, each word lingering for a second, not at all in a hurry to master the pronunciation though it was still very evident that English wasn't his first language.

Raph already felt like throwing this guy off a building wouldn't be good enough, struggling to calm his nerves by the vital reminder that oh yeah- one wrong move might turn his favorite interrogation method into reality. Not his favorite way to go out, and so he instead focused his resentment into his voice,

"Ah will you look at that. My favorite clown. So, I take it you're the guy who thought it was a good idea to blow up the police department?"

A dry laugh escaped the mask, though his voice sounded anything but amused, "I would've expected more discipline from the students of the great Hamato Yoshi. But I suppose, during your current circumstances your anger is justified"

"How considerate. Hey, why don't you come over here so I can show you just how grateful I really am!?"

Something hard pointed at his back- making Raph and the others flinch just thinking about the pain that came with being zapped from on of their rods. Looking behind, it wasn't hard to notice the foot soldiers standing right beside them, rods at the ready and when it dawned on Raph what they were there for, suddenly being handcuffed felt a whole lot more intimidating than before. Most of these guys were probably eager to just get it over with, loyal followers to the guy Leo decapitated, it wasn't hard to see the twitch of scorn in the way they held their weapons. And if he was being honest, Raph was itching for a rematch anyway.

"Now, now, is that a way to treat our guests?" Oni called, holding up a hand and at once the foot soldiers took a step back, Mikey breathing up in relief.

"I understand that you have been looking for me. I have been looking for you as well. You see, I wanted to thank you in person" he said, clapping his hands together but to Raph this was just one gesture more adding to the list of reasons why this guy was going down. But the mystery of who the shell this guy even was still remained in the dark, because as far as any of them was concerned, none of them had even heard this guy's voice before- let alone seen anyone fight like he did. And as usual, it came to Donnie to voice this, voice still dimmed though this time he actually looked up from the ground.

"Why are you doing this? The foot is gone, Shredder is dead! We are not your enemy"

"Yeah! Can't we just like- talk about this for a second? " Mikey added, and another dry chuckle hollered to Raph's already writing anger. He got up from the chair, arms behind his back as he slowly made his way down, amusement echoing throughout the chamber.

"Ah, the brilliant Donatello. The one who made it all possible. I have to say, for someone so young, you truly are a mind of your own, young mutant. Creating not just an unstoppable army, but the very thing that is now keeping you alive. Most impressive. I am sure your mentor would be very proud of you" he said, Donnie lowering his gaze as he was mentioned once again. The perfect way to pour salt in the wound, probably so infected at this point that it probably just looked like another mutant carcass.

He turned to Raph, probably noticing his seething, "And you, Raphael, the red bandit. I see your emotions are still clouding your judgement. After all, if they weren't, you wouldn't be in this very room. I would go so far as to say, if it weren't for your efforts, we would most likely not have found you when we did"

Raph had to process this for a moment, hating the fact that this guy wasn't even angry or outrageous, just a calm smug douchebag, too full of himself to just get to the damn point, "What are you saying…?" he said, failing to hide the sweat running down his brow, because now that he thought about it, how did he figure out they were even alive. If not for someone telling them directly or at least, stupid enough to expose themselves to their enemies, perhaps without even realizing it… no one else matched that description except, well… him. Not even considering that maybe while he was out searching for his brothers, perhaps someone else was already following him too. Was it possible that I'm the reason he found us? That's- that's not… no, too easy. Someone must've sold us out. Someone we know, at least, enough to lead these suckers to learn the truth. That we survived the mutation, that we were still in the city… but who?

And suddenly, something clicked. Something not even Raph would've otherwise believed because, let's face it, what reason would he even have to help them? To sell them out? The former boxer- purple dragon hating old geezer he'd been slumming it with all this time would never do something like that. He couldn't, Bernie was too good for that… but then again, if he wasn't at the docks, where was he after all this time? Not dead, maybe… and then another thought popped into his head, body locking together as his gaze shifted back towards the ceiling- the sea of mutated fireflies fighting for air. Fighting to escape, not unlike they were... Bernie, what did you do…?

The Oni-man stopped his pacing, making a point to explicitly look down on the three, Raph most significantly, "Truthfully, we could not even be certain if the mutagen would even work. But then you came along and so thoughtfully volunteered as test subjects. And for that, you deserve thanks"

"Okay, why don't you just skip to the part where you tell us who you are and why you've been hunting us down trying to kill us, now, before I break out of these cuffs and rip your throat out!"

The Oni man shook his head, "Me? Hunting you down? No, no, no you are very mistaken. That is not why you are here"

"Then… uh, why are we here?" Donnie asked, Mikey too perking up with his every-present curiosity, fear for his life be damned, "Also, who are you? Still not too sure about that one"

Oni stopped for a moment, releasing his sword from its holster in a split-second of what Raph was almost convinced was going to be the final moments before he returned the favor and aimed it at their necks. Instead, however, he just sat down on the steps, feeling the blade in his hands as if recalling old times- acting as if this was just a friendly gathering and not a hostage situation encapsulated by his victims.

"I was the right-hand man to the Shredder, many years ago, when everyone else scorned me, he took me in, you see. Told me that my skills were valuable. But despite this gratitude, Shredder was weak. He could have restored the Foot clan back to its former glory but was misguided by hatred and vengeance. Even with the great Hamato Yoshi dead, the foot had long since lost its way. Shredder didn't see this, but I did." He said, swinging his blade solemnly in the air, too quick for any of them to realize he'd even made a move, "So, when Shredder was defeated, by the hands of the feared kappa warriors, my forces was confronted in Japan and I knew the foot needed a worthy leader, once again to maintain our honor stolen- baring my masters defeat to you. Luckily for us, a certain sponsor provided us with the purple substance- the key behind the great yajū's power. And after obtaining this power, our forces only grew stronger, and as I feared, the foot was but a shadow of itself when I returned to New York. And all because of you, young mutants. Do not think me a fool- I have heard the stories many times. The four pupils of the great Master Splinter, the Kappas responsible for ending the century long feud between Hamato and the Foot. Quite the feat, but as it so usually goes, that is not how I see it end. "

When he finished explaining, Donnie was the first to respond- carrying that familiar look on his face whenever there was something he just couldn't wrap his head around,

"I just don't understand, why go through all that trouble just to… kill us? I mean you already had majority of Karai's deserters on your side- why go through all of this just to take the throne? Revenge?"

"Oh, no, no you have me all wrong. I did not need to kill you out of vengeance, kappas. Don't make me laugh. " he said, leaning in close, "I knew, even before I got to meet you personally, that underestimating your opponent could mean the difference between life and death. But when you took the power of the yajū for yourself, learning that you were still alive was the key to finally perfecting it. Just look around you." And he gestured around the room, for a blissful second making Raph forget the fact that thy were surrounded by angry mutants and killer ninjas very eager to turn them into soup if the occasion arose. The Oni however, the way he talked, it was unnerving how not even a shred of hate seemed to follow his mannerisms. This entire endeavor, despite what they'd been unchangingly convinced was the case all this time, somehow not stemming from the undead desire for vengeance- treating them like a mere irritation, or something you couldn't quite get off your shoe. He turned back around, squatting down and making it so he was barely a meter away from the turtles but instead starring directly into them from the other side of the Oni-mask,

"I wanted to observe you, not kill you. What would be the point? As I am sure you have already figured out, I don't have to do anything to watch you die. That is an inevitability. It was only because of the Purple Dragon's incompetence that you were not let off that easily, despite my explicit orders. I told them not to interfere, but then again… you were so eager to greet me in person, what choice did I have but to pursue you? One wrong step, and you might find yourself somewhere you cannot see the way out" he said, and Raph heard Mikey let out a tiny yelp on his left side, one of the fireflies grazing his ear slightly and buzzing as he completely froze up,

"Uh, why do you have those fireflies in the ceiling?" he stammered, eyes widening as he only now seemed to notice the cacophony of fireflies lighting up the ceiling.

"I have always admired the dark. I find that it is most often the only times we truly realize the powerlessness of our being. Despite light finding its way, in the end, it blinds us to what is truly important. Loyalty, demands loyalty. Just as failure demands punishment" he said, flipping his blade in his hand, weighing it all the while Mikey was shaking more than that one time when they were little and a spider crept into his bed.

"There is no need to be afraid, young mutant. You can thank your brother for that" he said, nodding towards Donnie doing everything that appeared to be effective enough to make him sink through the floor- and Raph wasn't happy with this. At all.

"Get. Away. From him. Now. You lay one hair on his head and I swear-

"I can see why they call you the red bandit." He interrupted, darting around him and it annoyed him because more than anything what he wanted was to get out of these cuffs and stick his sword down his throat if necessary. The Oni-man however, remained unphased to his anger, making his way back to the throne. "There is an ancient proverb; You will not be punished for your anger. You will be punished by your anger. That is what makes us strong, mutant. A little piece of advice, from an old swordsman: It isn't the blade you carry in your hands, it isn't your skill, or perseverance. Remember, it is the very thing that blinds you, that in the end, allows you to see." He said, beginning little by little to loosen the straps keeping his mask in place. "The red bandit… not bad for vengeful brat. I too is known by a different name, the very name given to me by my predecessor" he muttered, as if trying to taste the name in his mouth before he could properly remove it. But then, as something clicked, a lock or whatnot, unbound his mask, thus the demonic masquerade of their kidnapper was finally removed. Revealing, what appeared to be a human being behind it- though the most notable feature remained the two milky white pupils, starring out into oblivion as he effortlessly leaned back into the stone founded seat of Shredders throne.

"The blind swordsman they called me. "

---

They scurried off the pavement, brick cemented walls and further down what used to be the point where they would usually be in the clear. This time however, the band of mousers and foot soldiers on their heels seemed to disagree, throwing what at first glance looked to be some kind of throwing star that after soaring through the air, ricocheted against the bended roof of Chinatown before it exploded in a red mist. Leo fell to his knees in a coughing fit, Donnie checking his scanner, as he leaned against the wall too exhausted to see the second throw star aimed for his head. Raph however was quick to deflect it, promptly kicking away the incoming mousers attacking the left from right, or otherwise stabbing them through their jaws until their squirms died down. "How did they find us this fast?! " Donnie exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted because none of his readings told them anything useful, flickering back and forth in unreadable numbers- someone or something hacking the mainframe.

"Donnie might, lettin' us in on that?!" Raph yelled, helping Mikey fend off against the incoming shots as more foot soldiers approached. Leo got up to his feet, facing his opponent with two swift kicks to the stomach, as he was falling backwards promptly snatching the nearest throw star from his belt and tossed it into the wall next to him- the blast enough for them to gain a head start.

"There's gotta be something we're not seeing, here, a-a tracker or something, traceable gas emissions?! Something! "

"Well- figure it out! We're kinda out of our depth here in case you haven't noticed!"

"YOU figure it out! Argh-nottheface-" Donnie panted, desperately searching the screen for anything but it was no use. Leo knew it was no use, biting his tongue and instead focusing his now sore body on getting his team the shell out of here. They made their way to the nearest construction side, Leo as the last to cross, using his blades to cut the rope holding the pipes above ground, their pursuers circling around instead.

"Maybe they just want to say hi?" Mikey suggested, sinking his head into his shell for one moment of barely missing the metal beam suspended in midair in front of him. He nearly tripped off the edge, keeping his balance barely, until two appropriately timed kicks flew up from the beam right in front of him, Mikey barely dodging before he used his chains to sling his opponents down to the second story.

"Mikey! Enough playing around, get over here! " Raph yelled, practically dragging him to the other side as Mikey made his way up the steal pipes, panic for every step of the way, and Leo was quick on his feet. With the help of Raph reaching, it on his right, they both managed to drag their little brother back onto the platform, Donnie still muttering and panting to himself trying to figure out what might be drawing the foot to them… again.

Ever since Leo went after the foot, it seemed they couldn't have a moments peace. Coming at them with everything they got, the turtles hadn't been able to get one night's rest in over a week now, no matter what they did somehow also a step behind. And it didn't get any better when Karai and Shini disappeared following their mission to the base, the Hamato soldiers nowhere in sight and Leo was getting worried it might have something to do with their own mission. Not having told the others about it, he couldn't get himself to admit the truth- that he'd gone behind the others back, that Donnie's discovery with the purple mutagen was possibly the only thing that could work. Because as it stood now, day after day the foot had been tracking them all over town. Hell, bend on making sure they'd be taken down for good, and not even any explanation as to why. They'd tried hiding in subway stations, the secluded tunnels near downtown, the junction or the abandoned headquarters now deserted and with nothing to show for it.

"He knows I'm here" that's what Karai had told him- moments before the freaky guy with the Oni mask disappeared in the flames, never to be seen again, and Leo was almost entirely convinced he was the one behind these attacks. The only question remaining, how the heck he managed to track them down so easily. Clocking devices, smoke bombs, conflicting map overrides ect., but nothing seemed to work. Always ready for them, always surveying them, trying at every waking moment since Shredder's death to eliminate them once and for all.

"Eh, Leo mind telling us about that brilliant plan that you definitely have? Preferably NOW?!" Donnie muttered frantically, as the gang little by little realized the foot's forces growing from two people to ten. Blocking their exit and with a set of ten stories of distance between them and the pavement, leaving their only viable escape plummeting to their certain death.

Come on think, something, there's gotta be…

And then it struck him. Eyes glaring to Chinatowns unmistakable rooftops and triggering what became unintentionally perhaps the only thing that might just work. Well, what do we really have to lose at this point anyway?

"Okay, when I say jump, you jump, got it?!"
"You're kidding me- THAT'S your plan?! A suicide pact?! YOU'RE JOKING!"

"Just shut up trust me! I know what I'm doing." Leo yelled, bracing himself and he grabbed his katanas, Mikey clinging to Donnie who both seemed fairly convinced that this was a horrible plan. Non the less, it was the best he got, and so, as the foot soldiers approached, weapons at the ready Leo too clung to the blades in his hands as if it would somehow be enough to make this work. Silent steps one after the other closer and closer to the edge, Leo saw out the corner of his eye how Raph intently struggled not to look down. He counted in his head, step after step, adrenaline rushing through his veins, the vein hope that somehow there was still time to get away driving him until-

"NOW!"

Leo leaped backwards flinging their last remaining flash bomb to the ground as a vapid of purple smoke engulfed them through the fall. The distinct screams of his teammates soared in his eyes as Leo with one handheld fast at the beam below, jagged the blades in-between both sides of the building- suspending them in midair as his brothers clung unto him from below. Good thing Sensei loved his trust-building exercises.

"Okay, I take it back… Not a bad plan" Raph muttered; eyes wide. Because not long after the cloud of smoke made their enemy scout from the edge, finally turning the other heel when they realized their targets were out of sight, was it save to leap for the ground. The nearest tunnel back to the lair, free in their way and they made a run for it- unbeknownst to the others, being watched over by the ruthless swordsman, lurking in the shadows. And he realized, as Donnie blabbered on about wanting to continue his research now that they were finally in the clear, while Raph kept calling him a nerd for not realizing that they had other priorities.

"His name is Tatsu" Karai had said, bandaging up Leo's wounds as he in his mind tried to go over how the hell, he could fix this. "He was my old mentor in Japan. I never thought he'd come here though… not even for that thing"

"What are we going to do? This was a bad idea- I- I should've listened to the others, going alone was stupid! Now they know we're onto them!"

"One way or the other- argh" she shuddered, clutching the side of her armor as they made their way back and out of view, Leo a little too distracted by the fact that that murderous psychopath was now aware that mutants existed. And not only that- but his army was also relentlessly skilled. Not just loyal, his forces were carrying the purple mutagen, and they knew we're alive. They didn't stand a chance, and they both knew it- going after their headquarters without the others only made things worse… Leo honestly had no idea how they were going to beat this. "Leo, if we hadn't gone after Tatsu he would've already come after us. If you hadn't acted when you did, I might not be alive right now" Karai said, forcing a smile as they now reached the point where they usually parted ways, and she used her shapeshifting abilities to cover up her wound.

"Can you promise me that he won't come after us? After tonight, I mean you saw his forces! How do you know he won't come after us next? Can you promise me we'll be safe after this? Well?!"

She didn't answer, closing her eyes instead, determination washing over her despite the gaping wound on her side making her slightly pale. They'd walked on thin ice before, the only difference between then and now- they were on their own this time. For the first time since Leo became Sensei, feeling like the entire world was on his shoulders… and he had absolutely no idea what to do-

"Hey, you coming, Leo?!" Mikey called, snapping Leo out of his thoughts and as weary is he felt from their fight, what he instead seemed to fall back on was the figures dancing above the buildings behind them, waiting. Searching the entire city if that's what it took, but never stopping until they were dead. And so, Leo grabbed the crate and slung it over the entry way, kicking a good set of debris to keep it in place as he kept one eye towards the scavengers behind and the other on his brothers marching down the pipeline.

…

"So, you're telling me… all this happened… because of me?"

Leo fell himself collapse against the stone. All this time, and I didn't even realize it… I'm the one who let the foot to the lair. After all this time it was me… how could- how could I be so stupid?! So reckless?! What kind of leader just puts their team in danger like that?!

"How could I be so stupid?! This is my fault… We should've stayed away- now, I mean… what have- what have I done!?"

Karai put a hand on his shoulder gently, "Hey, give yourself some credit. We figured their hideout, their supply. You saved my life going into that compound… again. Let me return the favor"

She smiled, that calming way that, somehow, even though Leo just figured out that the only reason Tatsu and his goons went after them in the first place, was because he was too eager to play, as Raph had so delicately put it, hero-boy again. To feel important again like a selfish idiot, instead of focusing on protecting his family… keeping them safe, doing the smart thing and not playing with fire. Now look what happened.

He sighed heavily. What's happened has happened. No point dwelling on it if it's already too late. He looked to Karai, still as comforting as an ex-foot soldier kunoichi with snake-shifting abilities could be.
"How?"

She chuckled, deviously and slid the mask back on her face.

"I was hoping you'd ask"

---

Mikey recognized the cells all too well when they entered. But he supposed having spend who knew how many hours in there alone with your thoughts, would explain the chill that ran down his back when the dim lighting of the room echoed his time in there. The good old days when Layton was still a living person, Mrs. and Mr. Robertson probably didn't even realize that Mikey was gone yet, and Leo was sitting in a police car taken back to Hopkin's place where he'd be safe and sound. He really missed those days, not having to wonder if maybe unlike last time, the cuffs would be tightened enough that one wrong motion could set them off. Nightmares about Stockman's collar making him avoid anything remotely resembling a fly in his path. Raph and Donnie were dragged by two pairs of foot soldiers, and he figured this was due to his shorter stature and maybe the fact that this wasn't the first time he'd been at their mercy, that only one was dragging him along.

Now usually, in cases like this when the mission went south, he'd look to Leo or Donnie for help. Waiting for the signal that they had another trick up their sleeve. Wait for directions, for a hint, something, anything indicating that they had a plan. That things were going to be okay, one way or the other, because it always was. At least, before this whole human-situation, back when every mission no matter how big, world ending or not, in the end, they'd always make it through. And Mikey knew this, it was what he'd held onto for so long in his mind, whenever he got scared, or started to doubt himself. Whenever he just longed to get as far away as possible, because at least if he wasn't there, he couldn't mess things up even more. But things were different now- not even turflytel could get him out of that one.

For starters, he had no idea if ice cream kitty was doing okay, being stuck down there alone and afraid once again. He wondered about Mrs. Robertson, if she was okay, or if the viooze had gotten to her as well, just a lump of toxic flesh crying at the counter now, just like everything else that had gone not-according to plan. Closing his eyes to a time when him and Simon went to the movies every Friday, bickering over plot points, throwing pop corn at each other, or telling him the story of how he escaped an entire alien fleet using nothing but his awesome nin-genic abilities and a stick of gum. Now replaced instead with his friend, a shadow of the Simon he knew, no different than the million other monsters wreaking havoc on the streets. Remembering how hopeless he felt as he watched his friend run away, somehow inexpiably so and probably against all odds, believing that maybe he was still in there. That maybe there was still time, and they could still fix all this. Donnie, could fix all this. Was he angry that he'd kept the true properties of the viooze a secret? Absolutely! A team is honest with each other. They trust each other, that's how it works, and Donnie broke that. No denying that. But at the same time, if things were different, Mikey couldn't help but feel that maybe he could see where his bro was coming from. His time with the Robertson's so far, meeting Simon, going to a human school, a human shopping mall, feeling the sun on his face not from a crate in the dirty brick ceiling, but just from standing on the street… this was something he wondered for some time now if they'd have to give up. When living so loosely in the moment, panicking suddenly as time stopped being relative all of a sudden, and there were real lives at stake. No more fun and games. He couldn't afford to sit around waiting for someone to come along and solve this for him…. Not if he wanted to safe his family.

Now, as Tatsu, the man responsible for all of this was escorting them to their holding cells- once again as Mikey seemed to recall that fun time when he got an electric torture rod stung to his chest- he realized that this man wasn't the boogie man he thought he'd be. Not on par with your average run of the mill villains like Rat king, or Justin Richman… he was so calm, his accent reminding him too much of Sensei's but he wasn't talking with malice. Struggling to wrap his head around the fact that this was the very same guy, who turned Simon into a monster, nearly killed his family, destroying their home and turning innocent people into mindless killing machines… and all of that, was walking right here in front of him. Mikey, powerless to do anything about again. But he wasn't alone this time either, ticking time bomb or not, relying on the fact that no matter how bad things got, no matter how messy, his brothers would always have his back.

"Don't worry young mutants. This will only last a couple more hours" he snickered, hands behind his back as his subordinates carried out their work.

Mikey saw Raph send him that look he usually received moments before being bonked over the head, right now telling him that whatever he was about to do, don't. Something that told Mikey that now might be the best time to do exactly that.
And so, as Donnie was tossed into the nearest cage, Raph closely behind, when the foot soldiers turned to him, ready to toss him in right there along side him-

That's when Mikey did something unexpected. Well, maybe that was his forte.

"THIS ONE'S FOR CASEY!"

Before any of the soldiers could lay as much as a hand on him, did kick the soldier behind him right in the stomach- Tatsu not moving a muscle. He jumped once, turning his restraints in front of him as he zig-zagged his way past the foot soldiers, up the wall and over the mutants, before finally landing on the Oni-man's shoulders- mutation cuffs around his neck.

"Gotcha" he hissed, tightening his grip, "Now let my brother's go, or you and I will both see what happens when-woOAH-

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, something too fast for him to react slinging him to the ground and both Donnie and Raph yelled out. He felt his head dizzying, Tatsu quicker than anticipated and he barely got to his feet, before feeling the blows to his shoulders, then his chest, then his ribs cracked and suddenly he keeled over. So fast, for someone blind, it was a wonder to Mikey if this guy was even human. He tried to get up, nearly biting his own tongue as the Oni-man effortlessly grabbed his jar and lifted him up into the air.

"MIKEY!"

Struggling to find ground below, the air being squeezed out of his now collapsing cranium, was enough for Donnie and Raph to overman their wardens and reach out after him. As everything went blurry, Mikey kicking and struggling in his grasp, the dizziness only barely allowed him to view both his brothers being pined against the wall by two mutants twice their size.

"Let him go you freak! " Raph screamed, and if murder had a face, that would be it. Donnie too desperately trying to get loose but none of them even botched. As if the creatures were completely hypnotized, Mikey trying to writhe the Oni-man's fingers free from his face, but it was no use.

"I see you have been feeling left out, you Michelangelo. My apologies, but did you honestly think that would work?" Tatsu taunted, grip squeezing tighter and Mike yet like his eyeballs were about to pop out of his skull.

"It is impressive, I will say, for someone so out of their depth, to keep fighting. Knowing you will face defeat. And so, to honor your comradery, young mutant, allow me to help show you my appreciation for your sacrifice"

"DON'T-

But Donnie's voice was soon drowned out, Mikey too late to ask him what he'd meant before something cracked inside his right arm. The pain too unbearable to even process it. Mikey let out an unyielding scream, not even sure if it was coming from him but it was all he could do to fight the scraping sensation of his bones breaking, the cuffs making sure that he couldn't even get lose. He fell to the floor, tears in his eyes and unable to look at his injury without feeling sick- Raph's scream filling the air somewhere in front of him. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to move, he wanted Leo to come back- no he wanted dad. But as his arm remained limb to the breakage, Tatsu's impact beyond anything he'd ever anticipated, Mikey knew very well that all of those things were merely wishful thinking- struggling to contain his screams, as his throat was already beginning to dry out. Catching glimpse of Donnie's pale shocked eyes writhing in the mutants' grip just to get to him, but they remained in their spot like statues.

"I wouldn't bother trying to get free if I were you." Tatsu said, looking to Donnie and Raph still fighting to overman their opponents, now probably more eager than ever to see this entire complex burned to the ground. "You see, when you made the cure, Donatello, you didn't just provide our clan with a much-needed immunity to these creatures. But you see, it went much deeper than that," he said, snapping his fingers and before they knew it, making the creature s tighten their grip even more around them, Mikey watching hopelessly, trying his hardest not to pass out from the pain in his arm. Or well… what remained of it, "These glorious creatures unbountiful loyal to whoever has it in their veins. No matter the cost, willing to do anything for me, all thanks to you"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"Temper, Raphael" Tatsu said, and for all the times Raph had actually threatened to kill someone, or in some cases Mikey, this was the only time he knew for a fact that he meant it. Tatsu watched in amusement as the mutants dragged the pair back to the cells, fighting and screaming but unable to do anything as their grasp was too strong- unbreakable.

There were too many… and the pain was too unbearable. No matter what they did, in the end, they were powerless. Tatsu holding all the cards as the world above them broke apart, its citizens mindless beasts… Simon… I'm so sorry. I made it worse… can't.. move...

An almost inhuman smile creeped over Tatsu's face, reattaching the mask to his face in a diabolical grimace, "And don't you worry. If my misguided pupil doesn't carry out your request, I am sure you will find peace by your mentor's side, very soon-

"NOW!"

Suddenly, there came a flash of light, drowning the once gloomy room in a myriad of whiteness, as a result making the mutants release Donnie and Raph, now writhing in pain and they let out their animalistic howls. Mikey tried to move, teeth barred because the slightest movement seemed to be enough to make him wish that he hadn't, footsteps echoing, and he then realized the foot soldier approaching him. Sliding down to the floor beside Raph and Donnie, using some kind of weird techy- mechanism to release them from the cuffs, as a familiar voice rung next to him, releasing his.

"Mikey, Mikey can you stand?"

Mikey blinked the tears out of his eyes, relief not even beginning to describe how he felt when he saw who it was, "Leo? You came…"

"Come on, let's get you out of here" he said, steadying Mikey to his feet though he couldn't stop the yelp gritting through his teeth as he struggled to ignore the feeling of his arm sloppily hanging down in a limp splintered bone. Donnie quickly joined, helping Mikey to his feet as the light seemed to be enough for Tatsu to momentarily lose control of his minions, now shrieking and shivering.

"KARAI!" he screamed, for the first time matching the wrath the turtles had grown up with, now aimed for what he realized was their sister, wearing the foot's outfit as she evaded Tatsu's sword. She maneuvered around him, almost like a ballerina, the swordsman in turn evading every attack aimed for him like it was nothing. No one willing to believe his blindness, if he hadn't revealed it to them, just from the way he stood his ground, almost effortlessly bashing Karai to the floor. She on the other hand, used the momentum and launched herself forward, yelling out as her arms transformed into the serpents strapping themselves around Tatsu before he knew what hit him, "Leo! The hatch!" she yelled, before unceremoniously receiving a blunt blow to the chin, and judging by the impact, it looked like it hurt.

"Right!"

Leo led Mikey and the others down the other side, the lights in the facility slowly flickering out. And it was at this point Mikey noticed the foot soldiers chasing them down the hallway, almost making their charge if it wasn't for Raph kneeing the pair into each other, sending them tumbling into the nearest set of crates. "Not today!" he yelled, helping Donnie to his feet as the pair slung the other full speed through the air (probably sending majority of their followers to the nearest hospital if they were so lucky), before following Leo to what at first glance appeared to be a dead end. Lights threatening to shut off as Tatsu's furious scream reached them from the other side.

"When I say jump, jump, okay?"

"What?"

"Trust me!" Leo said, Mikey not needing a second to answer this before waiting for instructions. As Donnie helped Raph to his feet- Raph at this point rejoicing in getting some long-awaited pay back, insisted on fighting of three pair of foot soldiers at once. Donnie, more skillfully deciding to trip his opponents before making his way swiftly to the others.

"Guys!" Leo called out, Donnie scouting the hallway anxiously, "What about Karai?!"

"I know but she said she's meeting us there, come on!" he yelled, Raph exhaustingly following suit and Mikey braced himself for whatever new pain might greet him through the remains of his broken arm. Leo looked at him, trying to call him down and as the foot soldiers behind them struggled but persisted in getting back on their feet he counted down,

"One, two…" there was a pause, Raph suddenly falling to his knees next to the others, but it was already too late, "NOW!"

Mikey felt his body fall through the air, biting his tongue as the feeling of the cold icy water embraced him in the fall, now realizing what Leo had meant, but there was something wrong.

"Raphael!" someone yelled, and as Leo and Donnie helped Mikey over the surface, he realized that the voice was coming from Karai, a cut on her cheek and fear in her eyes as she came running from the opposite tunnel, glaring up at the opening hatch.

The opened hatch where Raph was right now leaned over, struggling to move. Pale skin, something even redder than his sorry excuse for a hair cut dripping down his nose.

"Go! I'll be… there… argh" he muttered, groaning and Mikey wanted to believe he was just joking right now, the regret in his eyes all too real.

"Raph!" he managed to yell out, as something seemed to approach Raph from above. Something or someone that before they had a second to stop it, made it so that their brother grabbed the edges of the hatches panel, and slammed it shut in one deafening motion.

"I'm sorry" he muttered, before dragged away once more- nothing but silence ringing hollow throughout the underground, as they realized what Raph had just done.

This time, indefinitely.

---

"Well? How long?"

When he didn't answer, they all turned to Leo who, as of now, was frantically searching his mind for motivational speeches, most of which came from Space Heroes. After all, it wasn't hard to figure out that he was as unsure about this as Raph. But it was still his responsibility to take that burden and make an actual decision. Probably the most unbelievably stupid and riskiest one yet, but still.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Great! Cause I was just worried you were gonna be vague about it for a second!"

"But by calculating the foot's efficiency these last few weeks, in statistical terms, probably only a few weeks" Donnie broke in.

"A few weeks?!"

"Eh, guys, I think we better move!"

And Mikey actually had a point, given the entire back entrance of the tunnel was now crowded with angry foot soldiers coming their direction. It was now or never.

"Donnie" Leo grabbed Donnie's shoulder, urging him to focus. Donnie quickly shook his head, handing out the pill to each of his brothers while strongly emphasizing to Mikey not to swallow it yet or accidentally choking on it. Swallowing pills had never been his forte.

"Okay, okay, everybody take one. Now on my count, swallow it quickly but not too drastically, remember we don't know exactly how it's going to work. Better be safe than sorry-

But Donnie didn't get to finish the sentence, before a loud crash suddenly send their older brother flying into the wall, the back of his head emanating a loud almost inhuman crack blasting his skull, before he collapsed on the ground groaning.

"LEO!" they all shouted, Raph wiping away the blood from a cut on his chin before hurrying over to check on him. Mikey helped a dizzy Donnie to his feet, grabbing his nun chucks and facing the foot boots to defend them. They didn't have much time to fight however, before Leo quickly arose to his feet faster than all of them had time to register. He swung out his swords, blood running down his face as he ran towards the enemy, Raph grabbing his sai in a panic.

"GO! GO NOW! I'll hold them back!"

"But Leo-

"NOW!" he yelled, landing a blow on the first robot, before slicing another in half.

"Oh no you don't!" Raph protested, quickly followed by Mikey and Donnie. If there was one thing they all could agree on, it was no turtle left behind. And though Leo persistently yelled for the others to run down the opposite tunnel and back to the surface, that didn't stop them from fighting each and every enemy that blocked their way. Leo was already badly wounded, and even Raph knew that if they didn't get him medical attention soon it would be seriously bad.

"Booyakashaaaa!"

But what none of them saw coming, was the second explosion sending their youngest brother to the ground in a flash, a solid blow from a foot boot to keep him down. "MIKEY!" Donnie was the first to reach him, decapitating two bots on his way. He still had a pulse, but other than that his brother was out cold, groaning in pain from what he assumed was a fractured rib, maybe worse.

"Donnie, grab Mikey and get out of here!" Raph yelled, his back towards Leo's who exhaustedly let out a painful grown as he balanced himself on the wall, stabbing the bot charging him with a surprising difficulty. This wasn't good. Donnie's mind was racing. He wanted to help, he did, but Mikey… Leo's condition seemed to only worsen for every enemy that charged him. If Raph wasn't there beside him, he would surely not- but Mikey-

"What about Leo!?" he yelled, slinging his little brother over his back.

"I'll take care of it, just get out of here! NOW!" Raph roared angrily, his eyes pleading for his brother to follow his command. And if it wasn't for Mikey, maybe he would've actually fought back for once, but it was becoming very apparent that this was a fight he couldn't win. So, when Leonardo finally collapsed from his wounds, all he could do was to give both a reluctant nod, before carrying Mikey in the opposite direction as fast as he could. I'm sorry, he mumbled, but realizing that if they didn't get out of the tunnels and now none of them would stand a chance either way. Raph was right. What else could he do?

Raph silently thanked Donnie for listening but feeling his heart sink as he realized Leo's breathing was becoming more and more rapid. As he lay there shaking Raph felt himself doze into a panic. His every muscle doubling over inside him. I gotta pull myself together. We don't have time for this, he mumbled anxiously. Like a river over stone, he reminded himself, calming his breathing as best as he could. Sparing his brother one last glance before rising to his feet, Raph swallowed the pill in one solid gulp, despite his conscience telling him otherwise. He readied his sai, ready to slice up every last junk of metal coming his way. "Come on Leonardo… Come on…"

Donnie didn't know how long he had been running, the only sound being the splash of water from his steps and the heavy breathing escaping his gap tooth like a tiny whizzle. He tried to get Mikey to wake up, but to no avail. He was out cold. Still breathing of course, so Donnie came to the conclusion that it was probably just a slight concussion, but it was hard not to let his worries get the best of him. Even harder when he realized the army of mousers waiting for them when he reached the subway. "Damn it, Raph… Where are you?" He realized he had no choice. It was fight or flight, and Donnie had already tried the ladder. No time to wait for Raph and Leo who he prayed was doing okay. He took a deep breath, clutching the purple pill in his hand and carefully placing Mikey on the ground, head tilted. Before the first mouser could release its animalistic screech, Donnie placed the pill inside his brother's mouth and forced him to swallow the vial. "I'm sorry, Mikey… But this is for your own good" Swallowing his own, Donnie gave Mikey's hand one last squeeze before grabbing his bo in a fighting stance, facing the creatures head on.

"What's gonna happen now?"

"For the first time in my life… I have no idea"

Donnie remembered Raph's words like echoes of yesterday. Now it was like that day all over again except he was all alone this time, waiting, biting his time, hoping to God that this would somehow not kill them. That everything was going to work out… eventually.

Please work out eventually…