"Quite a pity, I have to admit." Three heads whipped around to the door, where Leo's clone stood with his arms crossed and a dirty smirk on his face. "But he wouldn't listen..."
Something in Donatello snapped. Clenching his fists, he rose to his feet along with his brothers. The only thing holding Raphael back from lunging at the clone was the baby brother in his arms. Leo's face turned cold with hatred at his counterpart. Stepping up front he glared at the clone.
The forest green skin had some burns all over, some of them looked really bad, but his face was indifferent.
"What? Why the hate?" The blue-banded clone wore an amused expression, arms crossed loosely in front of his chest.
"You have three seconds to start explaining before I'll slash your fucking throat." Leo threatened.
"Really? You think you can pull it off?" The clone mocked.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask your Donatello?"
The mention of his brother got the clone's attention. A few short moments he was quiet, before he returned the glare of his twin.
"You didn't."
"No, he didn't. I did." Raph spoke up, grip on Mikey tightening. "He didn't stand a chance. And you won't either." There was venom in his voice, a dark promise. The other Leo's breath hitched, eyes becoming glassy and unseeing as he shook, clenching his fists.
"You're different. You shouldn't know how to fight. None of the previous ones could." The clone wasn't making any sense. Leo was itching for answers.
"What are you talking about? What's going on here?" Donnie asked, voice dripping with hatred. "Why would you do that-" He gestured blindly towards the bed, unable to take another look in fear of throwing up again, "to your baby brother?!"
And maybe the clone did seem to falter a little then before steeling himself again, squaring his shoulders. He clenched his teeth, staring into the other turtles' eyes.
"You have no idea what it's like..."
"Shit Fearless. Let's just kill him. That was the plan." The clone took a defensive stance at that. The brothers could tell immediately that he really had no idea how to fight. Two quick moves and he'd be out for the count.
"Explain and we might let you live." Leo ignored Raph's protest in favor of pinning the copycat with a matching intense gaze.
"He gave us this chance. You're ruining it all!"
"Who is He? The Shadow?"
"You won't defeat him... He's stronger than you! And he will destroy you for taking our Donatello away!"
"Stop this shit and talk!" Donnie hissed, taking a step forward. However, Leo held an arm out to keep him in the back. His counterpart was unpredictable, he'd rather have his brother safe behind him. The leader held out his hand, hearing Donnie sigh before the knife was handed over.
xxxxx
"Michelangelo..."
The echoing voice boomed in Mikey's head, making it pound in time with his heartbeat.
Slowly he opened his eyes, jumping when he saw his clone sitting in front of him. It took him a few seconds to realize he was in a spiritual trance, and the turtle in front of him was barely there, transparent.
"What... where am I?" He asked his clone, catching the blue gaze with his own.
"You are still in the hospital. I pulled your spirit to this realm so I could talk to you."
"Okay..." What else was Mikey to say to that?
"We don't have much time. Look, you saw my body. My brothers did this to me because he brainwashed them. I tried to snap them out of it, but they were too far gone. When I died my soul couldn't leave this hellhole. I tried warning the previous victims, but in the end he always killed them. And I got punished for treason."
"The book... did you...?"
"Yes. When I was still alive I wrote it to warn the new victims, but every time I settled down for more than a few minutes they would catch up with me. I'm sorry for doing this to you, by the way." The clone cleared his throat and gestured over Mikey's body.
"I don't have to draw you a picture of what they did to me. I died of infection. When I joined my soul with yours you kind of got some of the symptoms."
"The fever?"
"Yeah. And the throat... well, you've seen the blood from my mouth. Anyways, it was the only way I could leave the hospital and help you guys."
"You helped us?" Mikey blinked, shaking his head in confusion. He couldn't remember a clone of him showing up to save the day.
The transparent turtle nodded with a sad smile.
"I know my brothers. And I was pretty sure you guys had the same dynamic. I had to get you to the orphanage so you guys could find my book. I knew either of you would notice the light and would investigate. And Raph wouldn't let a bunch of children fend for themselves."
Mikey nodded with wide eyes.
"I wasn't prepared for Leo's stubbornness. Kinda lucky that the wolf showed up just then. He was supposed to keep you away from the orphanage.
You wouldn't have been able to get past the ghost children, so I let you fall into the basement, hoping you'd find the tunnel fast. Unfortunately my dear brothers found you first. Good thing your Leo and Raph found the book eventually after I opened the door for them."
"We... We didn't finish reading it. The hints you gave... the hospital..."
"He wouldn't just wait for you to puzzle everything out when you had the book. He would've ambushed you that night, I had to get you out of there."
"The mannequins..." His counterpart nodded quickly.
"I couldn't contact you as clearly as I wanted. My... my trauma got in the way. That's why you had those nightmares. As soon as you saw it with your own eyes the images finally dissolved and I could do a direct approach."
Michelangelo nodded slowly, biting his lip. That was really something he would do. That's why the things happened. It wasn't The Shadow knowing them so well. It was himself.
"Who is He? And how can we defeat him?" He pressed, desperate to get some answers.
"We're not allowed to say his name... He moves as a shadow through the town, the only place he takes a bodily form is below this hospital. When he's in his body, you can kill him. He is a fighter, like you are, so you have to be careful. You got that kitchen knife, it has to go right through his heart. That should lift the curse of the town and get you back to your own dimension... and my soul can finally be free."
"Couldn't you have written that in the book? Like, right at the beginning?" The clone averted his gaze and blushed.
"I was on the run. And it took me quite a while to get behind it. Unfortunately too long, because my brothers got me before I could finish."
There was a deep sadness, weighing heavily on his twin, and Michelangelo felt the urge to cry from how it squeezed his own heart.
"How... How did He brainwash them? My brothers... I know they would never hurt me. How did He manage to make them kill you?"
xxxxx
"Did you really kill him?" Leo's clone's eyes were unfocused. Donnie was convinced that he wasn't completely there, mentally. The genius could also tell that his lack of cooperation was agitating Raphael more and more, and if he wasn't carrying Mikey he would have already jumped the clone.
He saw Leo's shuddering, still shaken from the past minutes, and growing angrier by the second. His famous self-control was slipping. Donatello himself was about to burst. The dream he had. The thought alone that they would do something like that to Mikey...
"We had to. He was trying to a-"
"Don't you dare saying he tried to attack you! Donnie loves us, he wouldn't hurt our look-alikes!" Don clenched his fists at the outburst, before resting his hand on Leo's shoulder to keep him grounded.
"Raph's clone molested me." The olive turtle said, eyes narrowed as he studied the clone's reaction. Leo caught on. The way his counterpart seemed to lose his grip on reality. The way he shook, losing his composure.
"You three tried to rape our Michelangelo at the carnival. Just like you did to yours."
Leo's own hazel eyes narrowed as he watched the turtle in front of them let out a mix between a sob and anguished cry. The manic gaze dropped to Mikey in Raph's arms, a tear sliding down.
"We had to! He wouldn't listen!" He gripped his head, breath growing shallow. "He gave us permission! We could finally be together!"
xxxxx
"He has great spiritual power. When we... when we got together we hid it from him. We were scared of his reaction. He was very traditional... and strict."
A horrible feeling of dread knotted Mikey's stomach. Somehow that sounded familiar.
"Of course he found out. When he confronted us, we were scared. Scared that he would take it away from us. We tried convincing him that it wasn't a bad thing. That it brought us closer together as a family..."
The clone shuddered at the memory, and Mikey felt the knot tighten. His intuition gave him a hunch in what direction this was going.
"D-Did it work?" He asked in a quiet voice, dreading the answer. He watched as his own blue eyes flickered up to meet his, filled with sorrow.
"We expected him to be mad. To maybe even disown us. We hoped the family card would make him reconsider everything... That he would need a little time to get over it and let us be..." The clone's breath hitched as he tried to get it out.
"He said it was a good idea. To get the family closer together."
"Stop." Mikey shook his head. He didn't want to hear it. Once again he cursed his empathetic nature.
The clone hesitated and shrugged.
"Leo and I understood the implications immediately. When we declined Raph and Don were mad, thinking we didn't want his blessing." Wrapping his arms around himself the clone continued.
"He was watching us, and I've never seen his eyes so... so evil. Later we explained to Donnie and Raph and fortunately they were on our side. Shocked even... I mean, who wouldn't be? We kept hiding our relationship, only doing things on patrol, out of fear He would find out again. It wasn't ideal, but better than the alternatives."
"All the time... he was planning. The thought was planted in his head and grew. He approached Donnie first, thinking he would break under the pressure and admit that we were still together. Don managed to keep it a secret. We were wary of him, even trying to avoid being alone with him. He noticed and it made him mad.
I was unlucky enough to be his next victim. I swear I've never been more scared in my life... well, until then."
Mikey really didn't want to hear it. Still he found himself asking, "What did he do?"
"He knew family was the most important thing in my life. He tried to apply to that. And I was really conflicted... he tried to guilt-trip me. Good thing Raph interrupted us before something happened."
The clone rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath.
"You know, sometimes I regret it. If we had given in none of this would've happened."
Mikey didn't know how to answer. He felt as if all breath left his body and it would take ages to find his voice again.
"We planned to run away, you know? He's never been treating us like family. We were mere slaves to him, whipping boys. He was human before he became a rat, a martial artist, an expert for spiritual energy and stuff...
He created this realm and trapped us in it. We fought it. The fear was eating away on us, made us vulnerable. He gave us a way out, if we joined him... If we gave ourselves to him. We managed to keep our sanity for a while. But... after months of this torture, one by one we gave in. I tried to keep us together, but they were sick of this. We all wanted to be together in peace, to just put an end to all this. They lured me in... but... I couldn't do it. You know, intuition."
He gave a bitter chuckle, while Mikey was trying to keep himself together.
"I had a feeling something bad would happen if we all gave in. So I broke free and was on the run since then."
Michelangelo wanted to barf. To think that... no. To do that with their own... They had to kill a version of their own father.
"He's been trapping our counterparts from different dimensions in here since I died, trying to get a substitute for me... And now that your bros killed my Donnie, he's a target too."
xxxxx
"If he had just given in we could've been happy together!"
Leo, Raph and Donnie watched the clone fall apart. He was talking nonsense, clearly losing it.
"Leo..."
The voice startled all of the turtles. Raph's clone appeared in the door, placing a hand on the forest-green shoulder.
"Why didn't he listen?!" Leo's clone cried, clinging to Raph's counterpart now.
"I don't know. He could've saved us from... from this." The larger clone had a vacant expression on his face as he patted the shell. "Donnie's dead." The amber eyes glowed angrily as the clone stared at the turtles. "You killed him."
He had the same manic aura as the other Leo had. They should kill them before they snapped in their unpredictable state. But they were so close to getting to the bottom of this.
The Leo-clone choked and shook his head, forcing himself to stand straight again.
"Father's gonna be mad. We're gonna have to take him too."
"F-Father?!" Leo asked, taking a step back.
"Shut up. Yes, father. He wants him. We need him to get out of here." Clone-Raph had his gaze on Mikey's unconscious form. "And now we need a replacement for Donnie too."
Donatello took a shaky step back as the intense gaze zeroed in on him.
"You're seriously deranged if ya think we're just gonna let you take our brothers!"
"You will not stop us from getting out of here!" Clone-Raph roared, taking a step forward. "We've been here for ages, I want my freedom! We deserve it! We didn't let the others stop us, and you won't succeed either!"
xxxxx
"You should wake up now, my brothers are losing it again... they're dangerous in that state. They killed most of the previous victims..."
Mikey, who's been quiet the whole time, blinked himself out of his thoughtful state. This was horrible. He couldn't believe what his clone told him.
"I... my brothers will fight them. They're gonna kill them first." He swallowed hard, trying to sort out his thoughts.
"You're the first ones capable of doing that... The others didn't now how to fight the way you do." The transparent turtle sighed deeply. "You can't kill them. Our father will use all his power to keep you away from his lair and torture you until you lose your minds like my brothers did... it's just gonna be a repeat of what he did to us. You don't want that..."
Michelangelo bit his lip in thought. No, he didn't want that. He and his brothers were strong, they would fight for a while... but their counterparts had been strong too. Their minds have been broken by their own father. There was no guarantee that this wouldn't happen to them too after months of psychological torture...
"Can you... you know, leave my body? I can't fight if I can't even stand." The clone shrugged, face sad but empathetic as he watched Mikey compose himself.
"I could. But then I lose the little spiritual power I have. I can't help you anymore."
"We just have to... to run the knife through fa- through his heart. We can do this." Mikey found his own body flickering and fading, apparently about to wake up.
"Alright. Good luck. And... don't give in, okay? Don't let him break you."
xxxxx
Mikey awoke, drenched in sweat in Raphael's arms. The ceiling was spinning as he felt a prickling sensation running through his whole body. After blinking a few times Mikey felt like he could breathe again. His body, still a little weak, didn't ache anymore. His clone's spirit left him.
Don't worry, he thought with determination settling in, I won't let a twisted version of father destroy me.
He vaguely heard the a dark voice shout something and then a body next to him moved. Gathering all his strength he spoke up in a croaking voice.
"Leo, don't!"
All five pairs of eyes focused on him. Raph's grip on him tightened and Donnie's hand rested on his head.
"Mikey! Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine." Michelangelo rasped, his throat slowly healing as he struggled in his brother's arms to be let down.
Finding his legs steady he stood straight, only barely leaning on Raph as his senses came back.
"I don't want this all anymore... I don't want to live in fear anymore." He said, locking eyes with his brothers' clones. They blinked, surprised.
"Mikey, what are you talking about? We're gonna kill them and The Shadow and we'll be free!" Raph growled, he and Donnie holding Mikey's arms as he started to take a step towards the clones.
"No... we can't win. I want this to end." He took deep breaths, staring at the clones. "Please... I want us all to be happy..." Clone-Raph's gaze softened as Clone-Leo gasped and automatically tried to come closer.
Leo hissed in warning at his counterpart, making him stop and glare back.
The leader's hazel eyes glanced at Mikey behind him with a frown. Had he lost his mind... or...
With a sigh Leo relaxed his stance, looking at his counterpart. He even let the knife he'd grabbed from Donnie sink.
"He's right. It's not worth it. We all want out of here." Raphael's and Donatello's confused expressions slowly faded. Apparently their brothers had a plan.
"What... what do you need us to do?" Donnie asked, pulling Mikey closer to him.
Michelangelo knew it was a dangerous game. He knew what the clones wanted them to do and it was making his stomach turn. But he needed to pretend to give in, to find their father and to... to kill him. The thought alone made him want to throw up.
The clones were suspicious of course. They may have lost their mind, but they weren't stupid. Mikey grabbed Don's hand and approached them. Leo and Raph tensed, but didn't stop them this time. Donnie himself was nervous, Mikey could feel his shaking, but he soldiered on, blindly trusting his baby brother.
"We want our family back..." Mikey didn't even have to force the tear that ran down his cheek. The thought of their past and what they had to endure hurt his little empathetic heart, and the fear of their future...
Clone-Leo wrapped his arms around both Donnie and Mikey, crying. Clone-Raph kept an eye on their counterparts as he put a hand on Mikey's shoulder.
"We will be happy. Finally a happy family. Come on... follow us."
Donatello's muscles relaxed as soon as Clone-Leo let go of him, his grip on Mikey's hand enough to cut the circulation off.
"I hope you know what you're doing..." Donnie muttered low enough so the clones, who started walking down the hall, wouldn't hear it.
"Trust me." Was all Mikey said, having a hard time getting his own heartbeat under control. His brothers had no idea what they were about to face. What they had to do...
Their Raphael and Leonardo were walking close behind them, determined expressions on their faces. Their clones had mentioned their father. Could a version of Splinter be behind all this? What was his plan? Leo dreaded that they'd have to kill a version of their father... this was definitely not what he expected.
There was still a possibility that they had a completely different father. A horrible twisted mage that created this world. Yeah. There was no way any version of Splinter could do this to his own sons.
This all could be a trap, too. The clones could lead them into an ambush.
The possibilities were endless. Why would they, after killing their own brother, give in and lead them to their master? Just because Mikey said what he did? It didn't make any sense. How did Mikey know what to say to them? That they would react that way?
Slowly they followed the clones down the stairs into the darkness. Leo put a reassuring hand on Donnie's shoulder when the genius started shaking as they got closer to the place they found him.
The chocolate eyes pressed tightly shut when they reached the bottom of the stairs, where he had the horrible hallucination. He wasn't ashamed to admit that it scared him deeply, the chance that this could happen for real.
Mikey's breath picked up, too as they followed a pitch black hallway. The only light came from behind them, and one single lamp was burning at an intersection at the end of the hall.
Mind reeling, Michelangelo tried to form a plan. He had no idea how each of them, even himself, would react to seeing The Shadow. What if he looked exactly like their Splinter at home? Mikey wasn't sure if he could kill him, then. It would be easier if he looked completely different, on his brothers too.
He needed the knife from Leo. He was pretty sure Donnie would put up a fight once it was revealed what was expected of him. And Leo, who worshipped their father, couldn't get himself to kill him... could he? Mikey dreaded doing it himself, but... he'd know how to get close enough to him. He'd just have to pretend long enough.
In the safety of the darkness, as much as the brothers started to despise it, it was easy to exchange looks to communicate mutely without the clones noticing a thing.
Mikey subtly held out his hand for the knife, face scrunched up as he tried to be strong. Leo studied his baby brother, trying to decide if he was actually stable enough to be wielding any kind of weapon. Mikey locked eyes with him, pleading his leader to just give in and trust him, even if he didn't trust himself at the moment.
With a soundless sigh Leo handed it over. He hated how this all turned out, to feel so helpless and out of control...
At the intersection there was huge painting of a city at night. The turtle brothers' hearts ached at the sudden homesickness hitting them. It may scare all of them, but they were determined to finish this once and for all, no matter who they had to face.
The clones made short work of taking the painting off, unceremoniously dropping it on the ground. Behind it was a hidden tunnel, not a single light illuminating the cement walls. In the distance they could hear the sound of rushing water. This was it. The entrance to The Shadow's lair.
Mikey took a deep shaky breath, hesitantly reaching out to take the offered hand of Clone-Leo. The counterpart smiled softly, the expression clashing horribly with the manic look in his eyes.
Clone-Raph led the way, followed by Clone-Leo, whose grip on Mike's hand tightened, pulling him along. Donnie's hand was around his little brother's wrist since he was still holding the knife. Raph and Leo followed close behind, speeding up when the clones did.
They seemed very eager to reach their father. To present him with a willing Michelangelo, and Donatello. So they can finally be free...