Rating: Overall story rated T

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story contains disturbing imagery such as blood, gore and the like, and disturbing situations.

Summary: The world as they knew it has gone to ruins. The shadows, once their greatest allies, now harbour threats so great it's safer to risk walking in open daylight and Mikey and April will do anything to keep what remains of their family safe; even if it means abandoning home and everything they knew. This story is AU and a collaboration between Sampsonknight and Zelgadis55.

Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.


Sekai no Owari

Ch 6

The little turtle stood fearfully beside his suddenly older brother, staring at the stubborn metal door as Donnie cursed under his breath because it wouldn't open for him. For hours now, they'd been trying to get out but they couldn't and he'd started to wonder if they even should actually try to get out? Though the idea of staying with no food, a growling stomach and his now baby brother Raphael crying a storm because he too was starving was terrifying, so too were the sounds he heard from the other side of that door. He repeatedly insisted of hearing odd moaning and scratching noises and not long ago people yelling but Donnie just said his imagination was running overtime and that he was hearing things. Leo had huffed and told Donnie he wasn't Mikey but Donnie had simply reminded him that Mikey wasn't the only turtle with an over-active imagination.

Gulping, Leonardo spoke up, "Are you sure this will work, Donnie? I have a bad feeling... maybe... maybe Mikey is still around and..." he whimpered softly, trying to be brave and feeling as though he was failing.

Wordlessly, Donnie clenched his fists at his sides, feeling sick as he continued trying to work out how to open the door. They'd wandered through this huge, strange building for hours, seeing signs of what must have been their lives all throughout; including that of a human who, judging by the hairs in the brush in their room had red hair like the woman in the photo.

While he worked, he trusted Leo to keep an eye on Raph and stop him from crawling off. One thing he'd noticed quite quickly was despite Leo's now much younger age, he still seemed to hold that sense of responsibility and obligation to look after his brothers and Donnie was thankful for that help because he couldn't have done this alone.

Frustration mounting, Donnie couldn't understand just why the door wouldn't open. As far as he could tell, there didn't seem to be any reason why it was stuck solid. Then it hit him. Despite the panel beside it and the handle on it, it must be controlled from somewhere else for whatever reason. Maybe a master control?

Donnie turned and stared towards the room he'd first woken up in all those hours ago. It was a mess in there, he remembered, but it seemed to hold a great deal of equipment from what he noticed before he left. Perhaps the answer to why the door wouldn't open lay hidden in there somewhere.

He moved over to where Raph lay wailing and picked him up, ignoring the hollow feeling in his own stomach and distantly said, "Come on," to Leo.

"Donnie, what are you up to? Where are we going now?" Leo shuffled to his feet, trying to keep up with Donnie; he really didn't want to be left alone. He looked back as if something horrible was waiting for them on the other side. Why couldn't he shake this feeling away? Had his imagination truly run away with him despite his father teaching him not let it do so?

Donnie suppressed a sigh. "I can't open the door so I want to try and see if it can be opened from somewhere else," he reluctantly admitted.

"Somewhere else as in where?" Leo asked plaintively, hating how Donnie wouldn't just tell him.

Donnie fought against his exasperation at his now much younger than him brother. "Another room."

Stopping, Leo stomped his foot down petulantly, "Donnie, stop!"

"We don't have time to stop. We need to get out. There's nothing for us here!"

"Donnie, something doesn't feel right!" Leo shouted, shaking as he forced the words out, "Mikey can still be here an'... an' the voices... the sounds... something isn't right! An' I don't mean yokai! I'm serious! Something is out there, I know it and... it's bad! Really bad!"

Donnie stopped and turned to regard his little brother. "Don't you get it, Leonardo? We've searched everywhere! Mikey's not here! There's no food here! If we don't get out, we're going to starve! Slowly!" He sighed, he didn't want to scare his brother but truth be told, he was scared himself. Terrified, in fact. "Look, Leo, those sounds you heard are just sounds from the sewers. Sewer workers working, liquids running through pipes, things like that," Donnie continued more gently, trying to rein in his exasperation and continually growing fear. "Don't you remember how loud and creepy our first home sometimes sounded? Especially when the humans were nearby?"

"Yeah but..." Leo took a breath. Just because Donnie was older didn't mean he was always right. Leo narrowed his eyes at him, the look he used to give when he was proving he was the leader, most often towards Raph but this time Donnie was the one acting as stubborn as his other brother. "What about the screaming? There was a girl and boy screaming, yelling to run I think. Even when humans were near they never did sound so... so... scared..."

Donnie closed his eyes for a moment. He hadn't heard anything like that, even though Leo had said he had a few times now. "It was probably just someone listening to a show on a radio."

"It wasn't a radio!" Leo growled resentfully. Why wouldn't Donnie just listen to him? "Why are we locked in here?"

"If I knew that we'd be out already!"

"What if we shouldn't go out there!" Leo screamed, then suddenly backed down as his next words were hollow, "What if... what if there's nothing out there." Suddenly falling to sit on the ground, Leonardo fought his tears. "If... if dad's gone... what if... everyone else is too and nothing is out there for us... we'll die too... What if Mikey is... dead too?" Leo started to bawl, tears raining down his chubby cheeks. He tried so hard to be strong and fearless but he couldn't take this. Having no one to be strong for, he was so scared and felt so alone.

For a moment, Donnie stood staring at the smaller turtle, unsure what to do. He wasn't used to Leo acting out like this, being so upset. Usually, at either of their ages, it was Mikey who would be the most likely to react like this. Hesitantly, Donnie stepped closer and sat beside his now little brother – he really couldn't get his head around this, it was so weird - placing Raph down beside him and pulling Leo close.

"I don't know what's out there, Leo," he said gently, fighting his own fears to be strong for his little brother. His heart sped up again at the thought that Leo, and Raph, were now his little brothers. What the heck? And what about Mikey? "We won't know until we get out but whatever is out there has to be better than slowly starving to death in here, right?"

Leo only whimpered, unmoving against him other than the shaking accompanying his sobs and Raph grunted repeatedly in the background.

"There's no sign of Mikey anywhere inside but that doesn't mean he's dead as well. We have to believe he's okay. We have to get out so we can find food and find him," Donnie explained softly as he hugged his brother tight. "We'll only die if we stay here... and then we'll never know what happened to our family... what happened to us... why we're in this strange place..."

A happy coo sang out from behind them and a strong aroma filled the air.

Donnie glanced back, wrinkling his beak at the rising fetid stench before turning back to Leo, giving him another quick squeeze. "I need you to be strong for me and for Raph. Can you do that?"

Leo grabbed his beak suddenly, his eyes now watering not from tears but the horrible smell. The sound of a wet raspberry resounded and Raph giggled again.

Tiny steps shuffled nearer accompanied by the sounds of something falling to the ground with a wet squelch. A moment after, Raph was crawling all over them, touching both Donnie and Leo's faces and Leo started to cringe.

"NOO! Don't touch me with your poopy hands!"

Unable to take the smell anymore, Leo scrambled to his feet and ran away, knowing Donnie would deal with the demon baby.

Donnie glanced behind him in mild disgust as he drew Raph towards him, only to suddenly realise Leo had run away. They couldn't afford to get separated in a place this big so he pushed to his feet and gave chase to his little brother. "Leo! Come back! Leonardo!"

-:-

The light played gently in the water as April's eyes fluttered open and closed. Was this it? Why wasn't Mikey making the water drain? Had something gone wrong? Her body slumped weakly into his as she waited for that moment when her body would spazz, gasping for air against her will in a desperate attempt to survive; the moment that would prove to be her last.

Mikey tried pressing the pump button once more but still, nothing happened. Suddenly, he remembered the manual release. If he used it they'd fall and likely hurt themselves but it had to be better than dying in this place, so close to home and safety, yet so far. As he went to swim over to the other wheel, the one that would open the floor beneath them, Mikey suddenly noticed how April was beginning to float as she lost her fight to hold her breath and realised she'd die before he could get the manual release open.

He had no choice, he had to act now. As she involuntarily opened her mouth and bubbles streamed up, he darted forward, bringing her face to his. Pinching her nose closed, he covered her mouth with his and released the last breath he'd taken into his cavernous mouth into hers.

Startled, April stared up at him blankly and unsure of how aware she actually was, Mikey kept her nose pinched and held her mouth closed as he drew away. "Keep holding your breath," he reminded her, hoping she could understand his garbled speech underwater. Then when she nodded weakly, somehow understanding, he let go and swam to the manual release, dragging her behind him.

Upon finally twisting the wheel, the floor suddenly gave way beneath and they fell amid a huge torrent of water.

Reacting swiftly, Mikey grabbed April, drawing her to his plastron and curled protectively around her as best he could before smashing into the ground shell first. As he hit, his head slammed backwards and all he saw was darkness.

-:-

She could hear his steady, comforting heartbeat as her body refused to do anything more than lay there, struggling to draw sweet breath as she fought the painful burning in her lungs with every breath in and out.

They were still alive so they must have made it inside, right?

Her thoughts were clouded by confusion and unable to recall what actually took place, she forced open her stinging eyes, sighing forlornly upon seeing only his plastron. Sure, she'd figured she was on top of him, considering the solid warmth beneath her, but she couldn't even see how he was, considering that she didn't have the strength to even tilt her head to have a better view.

Eventually, the dripping from above stopped, leaving the silence to grow as she lay there, too weak to even move a fingertip when suddenly, something shuffled to her right. Her heart pounded in her ears and her fear rose as she slowly tilted her head towards the sound that snagged her attention.

She only caught a blur of movement in the dim light as whatever it was ran, scurrying around the corner as if for its life. It couldn't have been Leo, Donnie or Raph, they would have rushed towards them to see if they were okay. So then, who... or what... was it?

Gathering the little strength she could muster, she slid off Mikey and reached out a shaky hand to check his pulse and see if he was still breathing. Her breath hitched for a moment in terrified anticipation but thankfully his heartbeat was steady and strong so she took a quick look around the room, not daring to leave it too long in fear that not checking could put them in more danger from whatever she did or didn't see. Upon seeing nothing, she looked down at Mikey again, carefully checking his head for signs of bleeding. There wasn't any - just a nasty bump - so she figured he must have been knocked out in the fall. Other than that, she couldn't be sure why he hadn't woken up yet.

Figuring that she at least had to investigate whatever caught her eye before, for both their sakes, she rose unsteadily to her feet, desperately trying not to slip in the wet puddle beneath them and crushing him yet again. Once standing, her head swam and she wobbled precariously as she tried not to trip over her own two feet.

Taking a careful step forward she shuddered as the cold metal touched her skin. Realising she was missing not just one shoe but the sock as well, she grumbled under her breath, slipping the other shoe off too. Seriously? What was with her always losing just one shoe? This was the fourth pair in the past couple of weeks! She would have blamed a certain trickster she knew but he was currently out cold so he couldn't have done it.

Gathering her courage, she crept up to the corner where she breathed in, holding her breath despite the complaints of her aching lungs as she took a surreptitious look around the corner.

Something green and short peeked out fearfully from another corner not far down the hallway.

Blinking and thinking her eyes were playing tricks, she dared to lean forward more to get a clearer look and her jaw dropped at the odd sight as she gulped, coming into eye contact with a... child? Not just any child, a mutant turtle whose grey eyes resembled Leonardo's and not only that but there was a blue mask around the child's neck. The child, now noticing her, stiffened at her gaze and squeaked in terror before running away from her.

"Wait!" April called, stumbling out into the open.

Ignoring her commands to stop, the child kept running at speeds that she wasn't sure if she was capable of keeping up with, yet she none-the-less found herself pursuing him. At any rate, she assumed he was a he.

As she chased him fruitlessly, question after question raced through her head. Where did he come from? Why did he have Leonardo's bandanna? Did Leo put it around the young turtle's neck for some form of security? How old was he? Either way, she had to somehow catch him as he might know what was going on and why no one has been answering their Shell-cells.

The young turtle made a sharp right turn and April followed from far behind, yet when she reached the corner where the child disappeared, she huffed in vain.

This was one of the areas of the lair that split up into three different directions and she had no idea which path the child took. What made it more disappointing was the fact there was no clue to direct her.

The current lair could be like a labyrinth if you weren't paying attention and wandering around aimlessly would get her nowhere. Maybe she shouldn't have run off the way she did... god... how irresponsible was she considering their 'brave new world'? Reflecting on her mistake and the fact that she was a fool for leaving Mikey alone and defenceless, she set back off in the direction she'd come from. For all she knew, this could have been a distraction and the lair could very well be under somebody else's control and she'd just left the only true fighter alone to possibly be captured with no one to watch his shell.

-:-

"Owww..." Mikey moaned piteously as his eyelids fluttered slowly open. Confused as to where he was and why he was not only wet but also why his head and in fact body ached so, he squinted painfully up into the gloom. What he saw confused him, a hatch dangled open above with a dimly lit, wider space beyond it. Then, it all came flooding back; the zombies, cut off from home, running, brothers not answering, zombies, the lake, fear, zombies, April's grip on him weakening and relaxing, drowning and trapped in the dimly lit access chamber which wouldn't open, falling and Mikey shot to his feet in fright, whipping his head wildly about him.

"April?" he called quietly, even as his head swam alarmingly and he stumbled from the sudden movement into a nearby wall. Closing his eyes tightly as his stomach churned from nausea, Mikey slid down the wall until he sat on the ground once more.

For a moment, he sat there simply breathing and hoping desperately to hear his friend's voice calling back and reassuring him she was okay and nearby. However, when there was no answer, Mikey forced his eyes open once more and looked about but to his dismay, April was nowhere to be seen.

Part of Mikey hoped she'd simply recovered and gone for help for him. Unfortunately, another part, that traitorous part that used to love horror movies until he was thrust into a real-life version of one, feared she'd been taken by who knows what. Taken and eaten like a kid with a bucketful of candy on Halloween.

But... they were in the lair where it was safe and the lair was on lockdown. Mikey's eyes widened anxiously. Lockdown! The lair was on lockdown and no one had answered their Shell-cells!

Leaning heavily against the wall for support, Mikey laboriously pushed himself back to his feet more slowly than last time so as to not be overwhelmed by nausea again. Then he stepped away from the wall and went off in search of April, or Donnie's lab, whichever he found first.

-:-

Rushing back to find Mikey again, April cursed herself after making a wrong turn and accidentally getting lost.

She'd lived here for so long now, wandering this place on her bored days so she should know the place like the back of her hand by now. However, today proved that she didn't have it as memorised as she thought she did. Sighing in annoyance, she found herself not even close to the area where the access hatch was located but rather, near where their rooms were instead. Standing there in the utter silence she paused and gazed around, feeling once again as if a set of eyes was upon her.

Something felt out of place. Taking a cautious step forward, she glanced over towards the open doors to their rooms. Had someone ransacked them? She clearly recalled closing her door before heading out yesterday, yet it was wide open now which was weird since her family had enough respect for her space to stay out unless invited. Except for Mikey of course, who always seemed to forget boundaries but they'd been together the entire time so it couldn't have been him who opened it.

Her heart throbbed in a rising anxiousness as she slowly made her way to her own room; who knew what she would find in there. She took a cautious peek inside and breathed more easily upon seeing nothing amiss.

Now satisfied there was no intruder or bodies, she reluctantly took a step back, focusing on the room next up from hers, Raph's. Before daring to gawk into the forbidden space, she checked to make sure he hadn't snuck up behind her. All she needed now was to upset him since he was a very private turtle when it came to his personal living space.

Not taking the chance to step beyond it, she scanned the room from the safety of the threshold, biting her lip as she saw weights and other equipment scattered about. Did he always have such a messy room or was this one of Mikey tricks? Raphael did, she had to admit, normally accuse Mikey of messing with his things day in and day out. Unfortunately, given that she'd never actually seen inside his room before, she had to conclude this was a lost cause and travelled down to the one room which still had the door closed, Master Splinter's.

She walked slowly down the hallway, passing every room with but a glance inside as she went by. Every door stood wide open but otherwise, nothing seemed out of place as far as she could tell.

Then she stood in front of her destination, the one bedroom she normally avoided.

"I'll just take a quick peek inside then move on," April told herself as she found her hands shaking when she reached for the doorknob. The memories elicited by this room hurt so much and she hated it for that.

She'd lost so many people since this apocalypse hit but this loss, from a few months prior, hurt her brothers the most and tore at her as well and to have a memorial here in their home could be overwhelming at times.

Sometimes, though it wasn't meant to be so, it only reminded her of the pain that the world was suffering and part of her wished he was around to help them. The other part, however, was disgustingly glad he passed before this horror began. He would have been devastated to see the world he so loved in this condition.

Finally finding her nerve, she placed her hand on the doorknob ready to turn it, until something caught her ear.

Turning around swiftly, she couldn't see anyone in sight yet the noise persisted. It sounded like a baby or small child crying, muffled though it was.

Could it be the little turtle child she'd chased before?

Daring to take a breath, she stepped toward the sound, wondering if she was falling deeper into a trap.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She called out, hearing the muffled cries become louder and needier.

Donatello cringed as Raphael grizzled. He shifted his hand over the baby turtle's mouth and pressed deeper into his hiding place. "Shh!" he pleaded ever so softly, aware that whispers carry better than softly spoken words. Raph cried again, squirming uncomfortably beneath his hand and Donnie looked down at him desperately. "Please don't give us away to the human, Raphie," he breathed. "More will come and they'll take us away. They'll separate and hurt us."

Fixated on her hearing, April closed her eyes and listened intently, something Leo taught her that came in handy to hear the soft moans of the dead and even the shuffling of their feet when they otherwise couldn't be seen. Though she wasn't the best at it having only started learning recently, she did, however, pick up on the direction she heard the sounds coming from despite the echo effect of their home. Taking slow and easy steps towards the area in question she softened her voice.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. Please come out, I can hear you crying," April said in as warm a voice as she could muster considering her fear and uncertainty. She hoped it came across soft and reassuring and that she didn't instead sound like some villain from one of Mikey's beloved superhero shows. She didn't have much experience with kids but figured she couldn't be that bad.

Hearing the human's voice and footsteps encroaching ever closer, Donnie peeked up in horror, only to see her practically on top of him and his brother. She was going to see them! She was going to find them and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop her! He whipped his head about, looking for an easy out, yet in his heart, he knew there wasn't. He'd only hidden inside the stupid cabinet to watch before, knowing that if he'd tried to leave, he'd be spotted for sure given how long the corridor was and how far from the nearest turn he was.

Suddenly, the human was right outside and he freaked. While he made no sound, his baby brother was making more than enough for them both so he flung open the door fully and tried to bolt.

Jumping back in fright, April cursed out loud, "What the shell!" Hearing herself actually say those three words of all things, she wanted to slap herself; obviously she'd been hanging with her brothers far too much.

Hearing the familiar phrase that Raph started using so he could still swear around Master Splinter and get away with it, Donnie hesitated and stared up and up at the terrifying human. The group photo from their father's room turned shrine flashed into his mind and he remembered wondering how she wormed her way into their lives and why they let her.

Throughout his life, all he could remember was his father warning them repeatedly never to trust humans and to stay away from them at all costs and yet, here she was. Despite her obvious fright at his sudden appearance, she wasn't afraid like Master Splinter had said all humans would be. Instead, she was already reaching out to him, a soft smile on her face.

But humans couldn't be trusted and there was a good chance she had something to do with all of this!

Somehow he'd lost memories, life and years and she was here.

The logical part of Donnie reminded him he didn't actually know she was a threat, that he knew nothing about her but he was still a kid, not even into his teens yet and all his life he'd been trained to never let humans see him or know of his existence and if Master Splinter ever found out they let themselves be seen, as they had once years before with that boy up on the street, there was hell to pay. It was a lesson long since learnt and for good reason.

Judging by the photo though, it was far too late. She knew of them but that didn't mean he was going to let her get her hands on him or his helpless baby brother.

His heart beating wildly in fear, Donnie quickly sidestepped while clutching tightly at Raph and began to run.

Suddenly seeing not just one but now two more young turtles running around, April was bewildered. What was this? As far as she knew, there were no other mutants. Well, there were, but not of the turtle variety. Where had they come from and how did they get in here? Realising this one was about to get away from her too, she pushed her shock and questions to the side, dashing forward before this one could escape her. If she had any hopes of finding answers and not have this turn out to be a trap, after all, she had to stop this turtle that appeared to be in his preteens; surely he could provide the answers she sought.

She had some luck on her side, able to cut him off due to the fact that carrying that little bundle must have slowed him down. April stood in front of him now and crossed her arms. Part of her was annoyed by all this running around when her lungs still burned from her near-drowning, even as another part didn't want to look like she was a threat. However, she had to show she was serious in her stance. Whether this was a game or some form of trap, she'd had enough of playing chase the white rabbit or rather, green turtle.

"Who are you and how did you get into the lair?" she asked sternly, "and where are my brothers! If anything happened to them I swear…" her eyes became cold instantly as the idea of them hurt or worse crossed her mind again.

Fear filling him, Donnie tried to sidestep once more.

"Uh uh! Stay put!" she commanded, not allowing him to pass her. She grabbed his shoulder quickly, preventing him from leaving without answering at least one question.

"Let me go!" Donnie yelled at the top of his lungs, trying not to completely freak out at her soft but firm touch. He tried to break free and run yet again; he had to protect his brother from her evil experiments at all costs. He was only a baby!

Annoyed, April growled, jerking his arm forcefully. Kid or not, this world wasn't one where you could be too soft and the growing dread of what might have happened here clouded her head, drowning her with horrors imagined and possibly real. "Not until you answer my questions and tell me where are my brothers are, or if they are even still alive! I'm not playing games, kid and this isn't the kind of situation for such! They aren't answering their cells and I'm starting to wonder who is behind taking over the lair and why you're playing these damn games with me!"

Donnie's eyes widened in fright as he stared up at her and it was all he could do to avoid whimpering, terrified she'd hurt him or Raph to get her answers. Suddenly, he remembered his training. Their father had taught them for multiple reasons, chief among them, so they could protect themselves and each other. However, in his arms, he held a helpless baby whose cries were becoming louder the more he picked up on Donnie's fear. Suddenly, Donnie spun and kicked out with a simple sidekick, only to be shocked when she managed to block him and stay standing.

"Why are you doing this to us?" he begged to know, trying to keep the tremor from his voice and not quite succeeding. "We never hurt any humans before."

Sighing, she shook her head, noticing the fear and how the younger turtle was crying more. It pained her to be so rough on the older but the same time she needed to know. She was desperate and she knew Mikey would be too. A flash of guilt coursed through her as she remembered leaving him again and she could only hope he was still alright.

Biting her lip, she forced herself to let some of her anger go, coming to the conclusion her approach wasn't helping. She had to be friendlier, her normal personality or at least show she wasn't the bad guy here as she rightly assumed the kid thought of her as.

"I just want you to answer my questions, nothing more," she begged, looking around with a hint of worry to make sure no one was waiting for their chance to catch her off guard. Once she felt she was safe, she knew she had to gain some trust; she really hadn't approached this well at all.

Releasing him, she continued, "I'm sorry I scared you it's just... it's been a really long day with all the undead out there and you know as well as I do how difficult it can be to travel around and how easy it can be to worry about your loved ones. I only want to know who you are, why you're here and where my family is." April sighed tiredly, deciding being open would be for the best and hoping it would help to build some trust and that this turtle would, therefore, give her what she needed in return. "We weren't supposed to be out for long when we went to search for food yesterday but thanks to unforeseen events we have been gone since yesterday morning and just finally made it back home this morning to find it in lockdown with no one answering our calls." Looking the turtle over and seeing no evidence of him having been bitten at any point, though the bruising on his neck was alarming, she took in a sigh of relief. "If you're still alive it's safe to say those monsters aren't in here but I must ask who is and if they have put my family in danger."

Donnie gaped up at her in disbelief. He could understand her worry about her family but... "The... undead?" he asked tentatively. "Like the vampires in those stupid monster movies that Mikey likes so much?"

"Zombies," April corrected. "Wait, did you just say Mikey?" April felt odd due to how he said it and couldn't figure out why. She figured he must have heard the name from one of the others but to know about Mikey's tastes? No turtle would bring that up unless they were interrogated for such information and even then, that was irrelevant and out of place so how would he know about it?

Donnie loosed a brief, derisive laugh. "Zombies? There's no such thing!" he scoffed, remembering how often he'd had to explain just how impossible such things were to more than one of his brothers. "And yes, Mikey. He's my brother." Inwardly he cringed as he mentioned him; he hadn't meant to give away information about any of his brothers but... there was that photo proving she already knew of them, although how she knew was the question...

Crossing her arms and unamused that he thought that was even a joke to play with, she rolled her eyes. "Do you think this blood," she pulled at her shirt revealing what the red stains were, "is my own? It's from one of the zombies that were at the front door that I… um... I'm not helping my case, am I?" she asked with a sigh, seeing him recoil at the sight in fright. Sighing again she wished Mikey was here, wondering if her being human was a factor as to why he was so wary of her. She pursed her lips a moment as she thought, then, taking a risk and not sure if their names were even told to this turtle, she baited him, hoping to get him to say more.

"Okay kid, I'm not sure how you couldn't possibly know about them considering you had to have gone through a horde or two to even reach this place, especially since neither Raph nor Leo cleared the checkpoints as far as I can tell and that I doubt Donnie had any time to do so since I know he has been so busy of late. So the question is, amongst the many others I have running through my mind, are you playing games with me or do you somehow actually not have a clue… Though how that is even possible, I don't know. Also, who are you… and why do I… no that doesn't make sense..." April shook her head furiously in confusion, pushing away the similarities this kid had to her best friend. He did... he really did he look a lot like Donnie. Casting that ridiculous thought aside, she needed to focus on the task at hand. Even so, her worries shifted back to Mikey. Swallowing hard, she wondered if she even dared to let the young turtle know her next move. "I don't know about you kid, and reality is I can't afford to keep playing this game with you. I have to go back and see if Mikey is awake yet and breathing still…"

Though he was confused by her words and her own seeming confusion, the mention of Mikey and if he was breathing caught Donnie's attention and his heart felt as though it lurched into his throat. He glanced down at the whinging Raph briefly before looking back up at her and blurting, "You know where Mikey is?"

Giving him an odd look and not trying to act suspicious, she nodded. "I left him back there unconscious after we almost drowned…"

Donnie clutched tighter at Raph, eliciting a wail of protest from the baby turtle as he stared up at the human woman in fear for his missing brother. He took a tentative step back to get Raph out of her immediate reach as he asked in a quiet voice, "Almost drowned?" When she nodded, he couldn't help but demand, "What did you do to him?"

"Do to him?" April tilted her head in question, "I did nothing to him. Why would I and why are you so concerned anyway?"

Donnie stared up at her in disbelief and rapidly escalating fear.

"Look, he's family and I wouldn't do anything to hurt my family. We had no choice but to use the emergency entrance because of the lockdown. We had to dive to the bottom of the lake and then trap ourselves in some access chamber Donatello built a while ago. It was supposed to automatically drain when the hatch closed again but it didn't. Anyway, Mikey probably wasn't even close to drowning… I was but then he…" April trailed off, touching her lips as she recalled what Mikey did to save her, "He saved my life but after that, I don't know what happened and when I came to, he was unconscious but he was breathing. If it wasn't for that other turtle running around and catching my attention, I wouldn't have even left his side the way I did."

Carefully measuring her words and still keeping his distance, Donatello just had to ask, "'Other turtle'?"

"Yes, the little one, younger than you that for some reason had Leo's mask around his neck. He saw me and ran away before I could say a word. The next thing I knew I was chasing him and lost him not long after. I was trying to get back to Mikey but I made a wrong turn again and saw everyone's bedroom doors open. No one keeps their doors open here, except for Leo," April explained, studying the turtle, wondering why she couldn't shake off the idea that he so much reminded her of Donnie. It taunted her. Of all the sick jokes! She wondered why if someone did take over, why would they use a child that resembled her brother and best friend? The truth was that none of this made any sense and she began to question her first impression over what was going on. Maybe no one took over the lair after all but if so then what the hell was going on?

"You saw Leo?" Donnie whispered, remembering he'd been trying to find him when he'd run into the human before him. At once he was glad Leo had escaped from her clutches but then again, he wished he knew where his little brother was now.

Her blood running cold, she had a feeling something was more wrong then she realised. "Saw Leo…?" April tightened her lips worriedly. "What do you mean saw Leo? Leo as in Leonardo?" she fearfully asked, recalling how she thought he looked so much like Leo with those grey eyes.

Donnie still didn't trust the strange human in front of him, despite the fact she hadn't made a move to hurt Raph or himself beyond her initial aggression, but he found himself nodding and answering regardless, "Yes, Leonardo. Crazy as this sounds, we are supposed to be the same age but... something happened and now he's younger. I think he's about six, maybe a little younger now." Donnie hesitated a moment and then asked in a cold, unsure voice, "Did you have something to do with this?"

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