He didn't know where he was or how he got there, but he knew for certain he wasn't home. He knew he had to run. Keep running and running and running even when his legs were burning and he was ready to fall over with no air left to breathe. Through the dark tunnels and the cascading ice cold water hitting his thighs. He was lost, he was drowning, God he was dying, he was—
He rammed into something. Oh shit, someone. Raphael stumbled backwards, rubbing his knees and trying to stand on his shaky legs. His eyes snapped up to see what hit him.
A sea serpent swam around him, twisting and coiling its sleek tail around his body. Its eyes were coal black, its teeth were sharp as the edge of a katana and ready to sink into him. He squinted, realizing that the creature had a nasty grin on its face, sadistically enjoying his suffering and cries of pain. It looked pleased, and if snakes could laugh, it would be cackling into his eardrums. He struggled in its grasp.
Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopplease-
Is this the end? Will this be the last thing I see before I die?
It tightened its grip. Tighter and tighter until Raph's lungs were being crushed from the weight. All seemed lost until...the pain stopped.
The mutant ripped its tail away from him, releasing him. It hissed and snarled, blood seeping down its scales. It was a truly hideous creature, and Raph couldn't bear to look at its ugly appearance any longer. But he needed to know something.
"Why did you stop?" He wondered, his voice slightly slurred.
It blinked at him.
"Why?" He repeated. "What are you?"
Swirling passed him, a piece of blue fabric was placed in his massive palms as soon as he reached for it. The serpent blinked again. It didn't seem as bloody and it didn't seem in pain anymore.
"Rrrra...ph..." the creature croaked, its blood red markings glistening from the light. "ael..."
He recognized the voice, even if it had been altered remarkably. He just didn't want to believe it. This was something out of his worst nightmares.
"Leo?" He uttered in disbelief, holding his hand for his mutated brother automatically.
Leonardo nudged him softly, muttering unintelligible sounds. Raph looked up hopefully, but the second he made eye contact with him- the serpent faded into the shadows like mist. His outline wasn't even visible.
"No!" Raphael moved closer, reaching for something, anything to appear. But there was nothing. "No, Leo! I'm here, brother, please I'm-"
But he was gone.
"It's all my fault..."
He crumpled to the floor and wept until he had no energy left to cry any longer.
Raph mumbled something incoherent as his eyes fluttered open to the rhythmic song of seagull calls and waves crashing against his toes. Covered with seaweed, he sat upwards to rub any excess sand from his eyes.
He was on a beach by a shore. Pink sand, crystal clear waters, and overall a beautiful sight to see...if there was anything beyond that. He squinted only to see more and more ocean, plus the forest behind him.
'An island,' he thought. 'I'm on an island?'
"Mm..." a voice grumbled, half asleep herself. Lisa yawned and stretched beside him, completely coated in sand. "Ugh..." She looked ready to take a quick dip in the water, just to clean herself of the dreaded sand.
Next to her was April, whose hair was wrapped in seaweed somehow. She was currently attempting to untangle it (with some 'help' by Donnie, who seemed to be struggling as well)
Mikey was the only one who was still asleep, curled up in a ball and snoring softly with a hermit crab crawling on his head. For a brief, hopeful moment, he expected to see Leo by Mikey's side, and he felt a sudden wave of disappointment to see his brother not there.
Raph's eyes wandered back to the ocean, a deep frown across his face. He only snapped out of his thoughts by Donnie's cry of delight.
"Almost got it..." they murmured, tugging one of April's afro puffs, "Got it!" A strip of seaweed pulled out, whacking them in the face.
"Ow!" April yelped in alarm. "That was way too hard!"
"Yeah I know, but it was really stuck in there!"
"Guys?" Mikey mumbled groggily, finally awaking from his slumber. "Where are we?"
"Ah, you're all awake!" Donnie said, "That's a very good question, Michael," they examined their wrist, pondering for a second before answering; "My GPS tracker is giving me a lot of question marks so that can't be good..." their nonchalant tone seemed to make Mikey's scowl deepen. And Mikey was not one to scowl.
"We must have crashed here during the night," Raph stood up, gathering everyone in a circle. "So let's figure out what happened...we were on the ship, Leo got mutated..."
"And now we're stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere," Lisa crossed her arms.
"I knew we shouldn't have left him. I told you guys!" said Mikey.
"Don't worry, we aren't gonna leave this place until we find him. He was close by the last time we saw him, so we'll stay in the area...rescue him...and then call Draxum to come pick us up."
"Assuming we do find him, and that's a big if," Donnie remarked, raising an eyebrow, "We still have to turn him back to normal."
"You're smart Dee, I'm sure you'll figure that whole process out," Raph assured them. "Easy peasy, right? We beat the Shredder last year...twice, we can definitely handle our sea serpent brother."
They glanced from side to side, nodding, "...Right."
"Can we look for Leo now?" Mikey asked, bouncing on his heels, "He could have landed here too!"
"Absolutely!" Raph said firmly, "but I'd say we need to explore the island first. Find food and shelter."
"I can scope out the place for shelter," April offered. "Dee, wanna come with me?"
Donnie gave a thumbs up. "No probbles."
"Bring Mikey too," Raph said, "It's best to be in groups. Lisa and I can look for food."
"Hey!" Mikey narrowed his eyes, looking at Lisa, then back at Raph, "I know what you're up to. You're just leaving me with them 'cause you want-"
Raph pressed a finger to his lips, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Keep your phones with you so we can stay in contact."
"Mhm, sure thing Raph." Mikey wiggled his eyebrows. "Good luck!"
"Now the important thing we need to establish is that our shelter needs to be by water," Donnie explained, spider shell activated and occasionally picking up various stones, sticks and other tools with the mechanical arms, "Water is essential. Plus if we find water, then we'll know this place is capable of living in. So keep your eyes peeled for a creek or stream. We can set up camp nearby."
"Shouldn't we be concerned about bacteria and parasites?" April asked.
"Nah, I've got a built-in filter system."
"Ooh, classy," She complimented.
Donnie felt their cheeks warm, quite prideful, "Hey, it's no big deal."
"I wish the circumstances were different," April murmured, kicking a stone forward as she walked. "Normally I love camping but this just makes me feel sick and scared."
"But Leo's gonna be alright, isn't he?" Mikey wondered, eyes wide with innocence. "Donnie?"
With their eyebrows furrowed, they replied almost instantly with a blunt tone, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"It means exactly what you think it means. I don't know, simple. Now stop asking questions and look for any signs of water."
"He'll be alright," April said, patting his carapace.
"Don't tell him that," Donnie dismissed, waving a trembling hand, "It's just putting false hope in his brain."
His temper rose the second he heard the phrase, "False hope?" Mikey repeated, almost mockingly. His snappy tone caused Donnie to recoil from shock, "False hope? At least I HAVE hope that he'll be okay instead of assuming the worst!"
"Mikey, I'm not assuming the worst I just think we should be realistic about-"
"He's not dead!" He bit back a growl, "He's out there somewhere, and I'm not gonna listen to you tell me that he won't be okay! That doesn't do us any good!"
"I'm not- I'm not saying he won't be okay," Donnie landed beside their brother calmly, "I shouldn't have said false hope; that was wrong of me. But we don't even know where he is right now. He could be anywhere in the ocean and then some."
Mikey huffed.
"Both of you need to stop arguing, it's giving me a headache," April grumbled tiredly.
Donnie rolled their eyes.
"I don't understand why you're being so calm!" Mikey snapped, glaring daggers at his sibling. "Especially when it's your fault Leo's like this!"
The words left him before he had time to retract them.
April gasped. "Mikey!"
The box turtle covered his mouth, gaping in horror.
Then there was silence. Even the birds ceased their chirps. Michelangelo took a step back to dwell on the words that he uttered, stunned that he said such a terrible thing. This wasn't like him...he would never lose his temper and be so awful. But Donnie just made him so, so ...angry. So much for Doctor Positivity.
"Donnie...I-I didn't mean..." He swallowed the lump in his throat. The damage had already been done.
Donnie exhaled, showing no indication of emotion, but behind their frown, was layers of guilt in their eyes. They hummed softly, walking passed Mikey and staying close to April- who was still shocked, "Let's keep looking for shelter. It's starting to get dark."
Meekly, Mikey lowered his head and followed them, feeling worse than ever.
In retrospect, Raph probably should have known partnering with Lisa was most likely going to end in disaster. For him, not for Lisa.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her, quite the opposite. Ever since she rescued his family, and helped them take down Filch, he had a newfound respect and fondness for the mutant salamander.
Even still, as he walked beside her, he felt his muscles tensed and his legs wobbled with each movement. He didn't know why or when these feelings started happening, but they were.
"I'm sorry about your brother," Lisa said quietly, taking his hand to show support. He hadn't expected that, and was a bit taken aback by the gesture, "I couldn't imagine how that must have felt."
There it was. Raph squeezed her hand, his throat closing at the mention of his lost brother. "Thank you," He croaked.
"Magtiwala. You must have faith," Lisa murmured, "My ina always told me that. My mother."
Raph hummed. "Will it be enough though? Faith alone can't bring him back."
"That's not all you have," Lisa dimpled, "You have me." She held his cheek with one hand, a determined twinkle in her eyes that made his heart race and his stomach tighten, "And you have your family. We'll all help save Leonardo, so don't you forget that. Okay?"
He felt lost in her amber eyes, but at the same time: safe and comforted. He nodded. "Thanks, Lisa."
Lisa winced, taking her hand away from his cheek quickly. Worried he offended her somehow, he let his other arm hang awkwardly at his side.
"So…" He chuckled, pretending he wasn't the same color as his mask, "What language is that? Mag...ti...wala?"
She giggled. "Tagalog. It's what we speak in the Philippines."
"It sounds beautiful when you speak in it."
Lisa's cheeks tinted a light pink. "It means trust or faith. Something you need, especially now." She paused in front of a bush, examining it.
"Oooh berries!" Raph eagerly pluckled a branch off. "I'm starved!"
Lisa's eyes went wide, and she slapped the branch out of his hands and to the forest floors into mush. "Don't eat that unless you know what it is! It could be poisonous!" She picked a squashed berry from the ground, licked it, then gagged. "Yup, red baneberry. Poisonous for human consumption. Highly toxic."
"But we're not even human!" Raph argued.
"Your little friend May is," Lisa snapped back.
"April!"
"Whatever. We're getting food for everyone," She perked up, "And I know exactly where to find it!" She pointed up, towards a tree that was so tall, it looked ready to touch the clouds, "That tree is full of plantains!"
"Are you sure it isn't just a toxic banana?" Raph wrinkled his nose, "Plus, no way I can climb that."
"You won't, my dear," She demonstrated with slight smugness, her elongated square tipped toes, perfect for climbing. He couldn't help but let out an impressed 'ahh'. "Allow me! But you need to search for some food in that creek while I climb-"
"That creek?" Raph repeated, feeling a bit lost. "How m' I supposed to...do that?"
"Catch a fish or something. You got this," She was already climbing up the tree, so he had no choice but to do it.
He sighed. "Alright Raph, you gotta do this or else you'll disappoint Lisa big time. Besides, if my cousins can do it, well, so can I," Although regular, unmutated alligator snapping turtles had more of an impulse to catch fish then he did. Still, he hated looking like a fool, so he crawled in the surprisingly freezing knee level water. He gasped from the cold. "Okay, I can do this. I can totally do this." He scanned for any fish. "Here fishy fish…come to Raphie...so I can eat ya," He grinned, spotting a particularly slow moving trout and diving down to snatch it. It was swifter than it looked, and saw the giant turtle moving towards him- immediately swimming faster. Obviously catching it in his hands wasn't going to work, so he opened his jaws to grab it. The fish saw this moving coming, and decided to snap its own mouth on his beak. "AH!" He sputtered and coughed out water as the fish continued to bite his nose. "GETOFFAMEGETOFFAME!" He wailed, trudging out of the water frantically with huge splashes. He flopped on the ground, rolling around and hoping the fish would flop off. Eventually it did, but only because it was struggling to breathe on land.
"You doin' alright there?" Lisa was peering over his body, blinking. In her satchel was an abundance of plantains, looking concerned but mostly amused.
"I got a fish," He grumbled, lifting the trout proudly as if it was an award.
"Good job," She smirked, helping him up as best as she could, "I think we'll have enough food for a couple of days if we save it. Should we check and see if we've got a shelter?"
Raph reached inside his belt for his phone, "Dee texted saying they constructed a shelter with April n' Mike."
"Already? That was fast."
"You don't know my sibling," Raph laughed. "They can do anything if they set their mind to it. They sent their coordinates so we can find where they are."
"Perfect!"
Turns out, the shelter Donnie constructed was not at all what Lisa had expected. For one, it was much bigger and professional. It was a wooden tree house decorated with flowers and other decor. It had a ladder pulley system, water nearby, and chipmunks providing heat and electricity by running on hamster wheels.
"What do you think?" April asked, whooping as she climbed down from the rope ladders.
"It's incredible! You all did this in just a couple hours?"
"Mikey and I helped a bit, but really it was all Donnie. We each have our own rooms too!"
Lisa cocked her head. "Where is Donatello?"
April hesitated, "They need some space right now," Noticing Lisa's worried look, she quickly said: "They're fine, I swear. It's been a lot, and you know how things are…"
"I understand. I'll have to compliment them on their craftsmanship later then."
"Not too much, they have a big ego," April teased. "That wasn't a joke by the way, they really do."
Lisa's eyes wandered to look at Raph lifting the bags of food. She forgot how strong he was.
"So, uh, what's your deal with him?" April gestured to Raphael and Lisa squeaked.
"Nothing! I just- I'm gonna help with the kindling. Bye April!" And she dashed off.
After they had eaten, the group retired for the night. Mikey hadn't spoken to Donnie since their little argument, and the softshell turtle had not eaten their plantains at all. Instead, they left early for bed, insisting they were too tired to eat.
The others had accepted this and let them on their way. But Mikey wouldn't let that slide. He knew better. He knew Donnie, and he had to fix this.
He climbed out of his new bed, wide awake from staring at the wall and stars scattering the skies for at least an hour. Even still, he was a bit disoriented from the darkness, and the unknown area.
Donnie's room was right at the end of the hall. He pressed an ear slit to the door, hoping for any sign that Donnie was okay. Heck, they really could have been tired, and if that were true he would hear their gentle snores. They were a pretty heavy sleeper surprisingly.
But he didn't. He heard muffled, shaky breaths from the other side of the wooden wall. So he gently creaked open the door. The breaths faded into an alarmed gasp, and then silence. Donnie had collected themselves, straightening up on their bed and turning behind.
"Don?" He murmured, half in, half out. "Are you awake?"
It was a stupid question, really. He didn't know what else to say though. They used to do this all the time as kids but now it feels weird.
There was an affirmative grunt, which Mikey took as a yes. He sat beside his sibling, noticing their body tense up. They hugged their arms, refusing to look at Mikey. Either they had been crying or they were furious. Probably the latter.
"Hey…" He said finally after a beat.
"You don't need to say anything," Donnie murmured, voice cracking almost easily as a branch snapping in half.
"No, I really do," Mikey said, "I shouldn't have said those awful things. They aren't true, and it isn't your fault. I don't know why I even said it I'm just so scared-"
"Mikey, it's okay."
"I'm sorry," He hiccuped, hugging his sibling tight. "I'm really, really, really sorry. I was so mean and wrong."
Donnie hugged back, although a bit hesitantly. They patted Mikey's back, whispering comforting words into his ear and letting him cry silently, "You don't have to apologize. I know it's tough," They lightly flicked Mikey's temple with their fingertips. "Okay? We're cool." They smiled softly, "And I love you, brother."
Mikey smiled back. "I love you too," He scooted closer, "Can I stay here tonight?"
"Of course," They scooted over so that Mikey had space to sleep.
"Thanks. Say Dee?"
"Hm?"
"Do you think...Leo's out there? Somewhere?"
Donnie's gaze wandered, but eventually nodded, "I hope so."
Now, comfortable and secure, Mikey started to doze off at last. Before he drifted into sleep however, he swore he heard quiet sniffles from next to him.
"Donnie…?" He whispered, but the crying continued throughout the night, no matter how many times he called his sibling's name.
It was no use.