Turn Your Face Toward the Sun, a teenage mutant ninja turtles fanfic

A/N: Well, this turned out way longer than I thought it would. ':D Anyhoo, I wanted to post something for Cass' anniversary on FF, and the plot bunny decided to multiply to make up for missing a couple years. Welp. It was going to just be about Leo, but then I had a ton of ideas about Casey, so it's kind of a recovery fic for them both.

Quick notes: Casey considers the brothers his uncles. I also went into this story with the assumption that there were tons of Kraang in the Prison Realm, the gate just wasn't open long enough for them to come out yet. I also went with the idea that the brothers did come out of the fight with some wounds.

Trigger warning for panic attacks, disassociation, and mentions of characters being marked.

Before…

"I can fight, Sensei!"

"No, no, you have to go!"

"I won't leave you!"

"Casey, RUN!"

Now….

Casey hit the ground running.

Casey clutched the key in one hand, so tight that he could feel the ugly pattern through his glove. He focused on that feeling, letting it ground him so he didn't stumble. He couldn't stumble, couldn't drop the key, don't jeopardize the mission-

His foot caught a curb, tripping him so he hit the ground hard. He gasped, more in surprise than pain as his whole body was numb.

He'd killed Leo.

Not physically, but he might as well have struck the final blow. By grabbing the key, by closing the portal, Casey had saved the world while dooming Leo. His sensei. It didn't even matter that it was a past version of his sensei, it was still… still Leo.

Casey dashed a hand across his eyes, wiping away the tears streaming down his cheeks. He glared through watery eyes at the key in his hand, resisting the urge to throw it against the ground. It wouldn't break, and losing the key would only make returning to the others take longer.

Casey forced himself to his feet and kept running. He'd seen where his uncles had landed. He needed to find them as quickly as possible. Maybe Leo's plan hadn't involved him dying. Maybe he had a secret plan, one he couldn't say around the Kraang. Or, better, maybe the team would have a plan on how to get Leo out!

Get Leo out of the Prison Realm that had kept the Kraang contained for centuries.

Casey looked at the key in his hand, tripping when he did. He caught himself and shoved the key into a pouch under his cape. They couldn't open the gate again, not without releasing the Kraang.

Casey's wrist snapped up and the grapnel shot out to catch a metal balcony fifteen stories up. With a twitch of his wrist, Casey was whipped into the air. The grapnel released as he passed, catapulting Casey high into the air. He scanned the ruined city to regain his bearings, then found another catch for his grapnel and swung further across the rubble.

Casey eventually reached the run-down docks where Raph's huge mystic form had fallen. He scanned the scattering of debris, trailing it to where three motionless forms stood at the water's edge. He ran closer, only to freeze halfway to them.

"Master, no!" Casey yelled in horror.

Mikey flinched, lowering his extended hands. He turned with a low whimper, his face covered in dust and streaked with tears and purple goop.

"I'm going…" Mikey gulped, "I'm going to save Leo."

"It'll kill you! I've lost Sensei twice, I can't… I can't…" Casey's face twisted and his head dropped in shame. "I don't want to lose you again."

Silence fell over the four of them.

"I can't just leave him!" Mikey snapped. He spun around and snapped back into that cursed pose. "He's my brother!"

"And you're my family!" Casey pleaded.

"Then you know we can't just let Leo go," Raph said gruffly. "If there is any chance of saving Leo, we're taking it!"

"But at the expense of Master Michelangelo?" Casey asked. "There has to be another way!"

"There's always another way," Donnie said. "Casey, Leo is the one with portal powers. Why is it Mikey who creates the time portal in your timeline?"

"Does it matter?!" Mikey cried. "I'm saving Leo!"

"You can't make the portal," Casey said desperately. "Your training-"

Yellow light flickered at Mikey's fingertips.

"Oh," Casey breathed. "No. Uncle Raph!"

"I'm not stopping Mikey. Trust him!"

"No, he needs help!" Casey cried, clutching desperately at an idea. "His ninpo won't be enough!"

Casey looked at Mikey just as Donnie's hand clamped onto Mikey's wrist. The yellow, crackling light had spread from Mikey's fingers to one elbow. On his other arm, the one held by Donnie, the light stopped at his wrist to crack along Donnie's hand. A small circle of yellow light appeared in the air.

"We can help!" Casey yelped.

Raph rushed forward to grasp Mikey's other arm. Yellow light spread to his hand, lessening on Mikey's further. Casey slapped his mask down, and the glow of mystic energy at his uncles' hands became visible.

"It's working? It's working!"

Casey put his hands on Mikey's shoulders and closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. To remember Sensei's training. Would it work with this past version of his uncles?

Yes. Yes, because they were the same masters. The same brothers. The same family. They could do it. Together. Because to save Leo, Casey would do whatever it took.

Power flooded Casey's veins. He opened his eyes to see the pale indigo of mystic energy flowing through him, to the merge of red and purple energy to the twist of yellow at Mikey's hands.

"Leo." The name spun in Casey's mind, echoed by the voices of Raph, Donnie, and Mikey. "Leo, where are you?"

Blue. Tangled and twisted within the portal. Four strands of colored energy snapped out, connecting to the blue.

"Leo. Leo!"

Energy crackled, hot and electric, through Casey's body and out his hands. Casey shook, but Leo was right there!

"Leo, come back!"

A snap and a rush, then Casey felt a sharp yank in his gut. He gasped, staggered, then everything was blue. Wind against his face brought his arms up, narrowly protecting his face from the ground.

Nose against cement, Casey gasped for air. Glass shattered somewhere nearby.

"What happened?" Raph's voice asked. "Mikey, did it-"

"It worked!" Donnie said. "Raph, there! Casey, what's wrong?"

Casey lifted his head and blinked. "I'll be fine. Where's Sensei?"

"Leo-" Donnie emphasized the name, "Is here. I think."

"What?"

Mikey, grimacing as he shoved smoking hands under his armpits, looked past Casey. His eyes widened. "Was the portal supposed to do that?"

Casey twisted. Raph was sprinting across the docks, headed toward a derelict building. Why was he-

The breaking glass. There was a broken window almost directly across from them.

"Did Leo-"

"Something did!" Mikey yelped before running after Raph.

Donnie's eyes darted between the broken window and Casey, who struggled to his feet. He swayed at a wave of vertigo, but couldn't let himself fall.

"Go after them, I'll be fine."

Donnie dashed away, tripped, then kept running.

Casey stumbled after him, doing his best to force back the dizziness. His ninpo wasn't as solid as the Hamato family's, so using it always left him unsteady for a bit. It would probably be safer to sit down for a few minutes at least, but he needed to see Leo!

Casey reached the window and peered inside. Donnie, leaning against the wall, was scanning the small, dirty room inside. Mikey stood at the single door, squinting inside.

"Where is he?" Casey asked.

"I heard someone run away," Raph said, joining Mikey at the door. "Did anyone see who came out of the portal?"

"Shouldn't have been anyone besides Leo," Casey said.

"Is that wishful thinking, or have you done this before?" Donnie asked.

"Sort of. Sensei Leonardo and I have made portals together before. I never knew why… well, until now. But we were all focused on Leo and the transition was instant, so it should have been Leo who came out of the portal."

"Maybe someone else got in the way," Donnie said.

"Maybe we should just look," Raph said. "Donnie, got enough power for some flashlights?"

"Sure, but stay close."

Donnie made his hands into a sling, catching four flashlights that appeared out of thin air. He handed them out among his brothers and Casey, who stared at the mystic-summoned tech in curiosity. He hadn't known Donnie for long in the past, so his powers were still a bit strange.

Strange in a world where Kraang existed and the four of them had just opened a portal into a realm that was supposed to be impossible to reach without a gate and key.

"Casey?"

Casey blinked and looked up. Donnie was watching him.

"I'm fine," Casey said. "Just, uh… if you see me fall down, don't worry too much."

Raph's head appeared in the doorway. "Casey-"

"I'm fine."

Casey hopped into the room and nudged past Raph. "Just a little dizzy. It's normal."

"Normal," Raph repeated.

Casey shrugged lightly and kept going. Survival meant ignoring the small issues. A little dizziness wouldn't slow him down, any more than Raph's gashed, swollen eye, Mikey's burnt hands, or the strange bruising on Donnie's carapace.

"Sensei?" Casey called softly. Then, correcting himself, "Leo?"

Mikey was in the next room, awkwardly holding his flashlight with both hands. He looked at Casey, then gestured with his head toward a doorway to the left. Casey nodded and pointed right. They separated, ignoring Raph's low complaint.

Casey tilted his head, catching the end of Raph telling Donnie to stay put. Good. Raph and Mikey's injuries were normal and obvious, but injuries under their shells could be hard to diagnose and even harder to treat.

Something rattled softly ahead of Casey. He shone his lighter toward it, squinting.

"Leo?"

Footsteps headed away. Weird. Maybe Leo was lost in the numerous rooms. Or confused in general. It hadn't been long, but he couldn't have come away from facing the Kraang untouched.

Casey spoke quietly into his mask comm, "I think I found him."

"Where?" Raph asked.

Casey paused for a moment, mentally retracing his route. He opened his mouth to speak, then a quick patter caught his ears.

"Let me get back to you."

"Casey-"

"I'll be fine, Uncle Raph."

Raph grumbled, but gave up calling. Casey set his jaw grimly. He was scouting for the group now. No sense in them all heading into unfamiliar, dangerous territory.

Except… it wasn't dangerous, was it? Just an empty building with the five of them inside. Casey's steps slowed as he processed the thought. Maybe he should have Raph and Mikey join him since there wasn't any real danger.

Movement flashed at the edge of the light. Casey hurried after it without thought, tripping on a loose floorboard in his haste.

"Slow down," Casey berated himself. "Don't forget to study your surroundings."

Casey swung his flashlight around. Not much to see, just old boards warped by weather and the remains of countless bird nests. But the heavy dust on the floorboards was scuffed, too messy for Casey to say for sure that it was footprints.

Casey walked in the direction that he'd seen the movement. His flashlight flickered as he did, warning Casey that he was getting too deep. He hesitated, but pushed onward.

"Leo," Casey said softly. "It's me."

Casey found himself in a small room that had once been an office. A lopsided wooden desk cut the room in half, and rusty metal cabinets were in the corner.

"Huh. I thought-"

Casey froze, turned halfway toward the door. His weakening flashlight beam had crossed something that wasn't furniture. He slowly turned the light back toward the desk.

It was Leo, hunched low and leaning against the desk. Casey could only see his bowed head and closed eyes from behind the desk. He wasn't wearing his mask. A low inhale came from Leo's direction.

"Leo?"

Leo shifted, angling toward the corner of the desk. His eyes remained closed and there was something odd about the way he was moving, uneven and his feet landing heavily like he was unbalanced.

"Let me help," Casey said, walking forward.

Leo moved suddenly then, one foot thumping heavily against the floor as he hurled himself forward. Casey lurched back, then stumbled on his unsteady feet. Before he could recover, Leo's fist lashed out, hitting Casey's jaw.

Weakness flooded Casey's body. He fell limply to the ground, eyes sliding shut as Leo dashed past the dim light. Then the sound faded and Casey knew nothing.

"-sey! Casey, can you hear me?"

Casey woke with a gasp, his eyes snapping open. He started to sit up, but Raph's big hands pressed down on his shoulders.

"Easy, it's just me," Raph soothed.

Mikey appeared over Raph's shoulder. "I thought you were joking about passing out like that!"

"I didn't." Casey ruefully rubbed his sore jaw. "Did you two see Leo?"

"I'm not sure he came through the portal after all," Raph said slowly.

"He did. He hit me just now." Casey tried to rise again, but Raph wouldn't let him. "What? How long have I been out?"

"A couple minutes at most, but… you said Leo hit you?"

"I surprised him, that's all," Casey said.

"Guess it wouldn't be the first time," Raph said.

"Leo always has punched first and thought second," Donnie said as he entered the room.

"Donnie, you're supposed to be outside!" Raph scolded.

"Splints is on it," said April, who was behind Donnie. She eyed Donnie. "But he has a point. Your shell looks weird. What happened?"

Mikey made a slight gagging noise. "Don't ask."

"Really?"

"Really," Donnie added flatly. "Now, where did Leo go?"

Casey shrugged and pointed vaguely out the door. "I didn't see. But he was moving pretty loudly. It shouldn't be hard to find him again."

"I did hear something this way," April said, then left. "Keep up, you guys!"

Raph finally let Casey up, but made him stay at the back. Casey was fine with that. He was still a bit dizzy and trusted April's reflexes way more than his own at the moment.

He was thinking, too. While it was possible Leo had been surprised, he hadn't reacted to Casey's voice. Not in a positive way, at least. Maybe he'd heard a noise and simply reacted defensively. Whatever the reason, it was strange.

The group followed the noises to the top floor of the building. Between windows and gaps in the ceiling, enough sunlight filtered in to see without the flashlights, which quickly vanished. Casey glanced at Donnie walking slowly and tried to not worry too much.

April stopped at the door of one of the numerous offices along the wall. Before anyone could ask, she said softly, "Hey, Leo."

Raph, Mikey, and Donnie crowded around April, leaving Casey to peer over Mikey's shoulder.

It was Leo, crouching in a similar position as when Casey had first found him. A desk stood between Leo and the door. Sunlight shone from a window directly behind him, so Casey could only see Leo's silhouette, but it wasn't like there were tons of turtle yokai running around.

"Let me get in front," Raph murmured to April.

Leo's form shifted. Casey hissed a warning, prompting Raph to stop just inside the doorway.

"It's Raph, Leo," Raph said calmly.

Feet slid across rough wood as Leo moved toward the corner of the desk. With a low creak of wood, Leo pressed his hands against the corner of the desk and rose to his full height.

Casey's breath caught. His head had been clearing as they walked, and now he saw something he hadn't noticed before.

Raph didn't, however. Casey lurched forward, shoving a hand between Mikey and April to catch Raph's shoulder.

"Uncle Raph, I don't think that's Leo," Casey whispered.

"What?" Raph returned. He looked at the shadowy form, then flinched and retreated a step.

The yokai shifted, sliding arms that had too many sharp angles along the desk. He was built like Leo, but the carapace was ragged and chipped. Plus, the yokai was several inches too tall to be Leo.

"Stay there, whoever you are," Raph said gruffly.

The yokai didn't stop. Raph thrust out an arm defensively across the others as the yokai lifted their hands. The hands clasped together, then the yokai abruptly tilted sideways and crumpled to the floor without a sound.

Nobody moved for a few beats of silence. Casey checked over his shoulder, then craned his neck to better see inside the room. He flinched at Raph's sharp gasp. Raph hurried forward and knelt at the yokai's head, then looked frantically at the others.

Casey looked down. The yokai laid on his side, so the light shone across his body. And Casey saw now that it was Leo. Leo, but… different.

He looked older. Not much, but enough for the difference in height. He was painfully skinny, all pointy elbows and knees, with limbs and his head seeming too big for his battered shell. Scars fairly covered his body and shell, most notably a scar going between his eyes to split his upper lip in half. All of his usual gear was missing, replaced with a dark gray belt.

But it was Leo. Casey had his face memorized. The markings were the same. Even the shape of Leo's shell, beyond the chips and odd ridges, was familiar.

"What… how is…" Mikey went to kneel on Leo's other side. "It's Leo, but… what happened to him?"

"Time portal," Donnie said, looking at Casey.

Casey shook his head. "It didn't look like a time portal. It was a regular one."

"Time dilation?" Donnie suggested to nobody in particular.

"Either way," Raph interrupted, "It's Leo. We have to take him home."

Casey knelt hesitantly beside Leo, listening to the haggard edge to his breathing. Leo was shaking slightly from a fever, his dry and cracked lips opening and closing silently. Casey ran his hands over too many scars he didn't bother counting, finding no signs of broken bones or internal injuries.

But Leo had a long, perfectly straight cut from the back of both knees to his ankles. The cuts were a few days old and scabby, but swollen and a bit warm.

"Infection," Casey murmured. "But nothing else looks wrong. The cuts should be cleaned and antibiotics would be good, but he should be fine to move."

Raph started to pick Leo up, but as soon as he touched him, Leo stirred uneasily.

"It's okay. I have you," Raph soothed, rubbing Leo's shoulder.

Leo's eyelids fluttered, then he settled with a deep sigh. Raph picked him up the rest of the way. Nobody moved for a few minutes, watching Leo.

"He's asleep," Raph finally said.

"Can you blame him?" Mikey asked. "He just saved the world!"

"If that's Leo," Donnie said, not catching the obvious attempt at a joke.

"It's Leo," Raph said confidently. "Hey, April, is your van nearby?"

"Yeah. Dented beyond belief, but it'll get us back to the lair as long as the roads are passable. I'll get it and meet you outside."

"Be careful!" Raph called as April hurried out. He looked down a second later, murmuring, "Sh, it's okay, Leo. I've got you."

Once Leo stilled again, Raph moved slowly out the door. Donnie took a couple limping steps before Mikey inserted himself at his side and put one of Donnie's arms across his shoulders.

"Donnie, can you…" Raph trailed off as he turned. "Donnie, what hurts?"

"My back." Donnie shrugged one shoulder, then winced. "Nothing a few heating pads won't fix. If we need light-"

"No!" Casey interrupted. The brothers looked at him, making him hunch his shoulders awkwardly. "I'll lead the way, but don't… don't strain yourself, Uncle Donnie. That portal must have taken a lot of energy."

"You're the one who passed out," Donnie mumbled.

Mikey lightly shook Donnie. "Well, I thought you were going to get yanked out of your shell. It's not a contest, Donnie."

"We all need to rest," Raph said firmly. "Come on, we'll stay near the windows."

The group made their slow way outside, where April waited with Splinter in her van. Splinter stared at Leo as Raph climbed into the back of the van, then shook his head with an incoherent mutter.

Casey helped Donnie into the van, then he clambered inside as well. Mikey and Raph were leaning over Leo. Not wanting to be in the way, Casey dropped to sit on the floor beside Donnie. Without asking permission, Casey checked the underside of Donnie's carapace.

"What are you doing?" Donnie asked.

"Checking you for any wounds you forgot," Casey said.

Donnie pushed him tiredly away. "I didn't forget any. Some cuts and a dozen pulled muscles, but I'll live."

Casey stared into Donnie's eyes. His face was tired and dusty, but his eyes were still bright and alert. But how long would it take…

Donnie suddenly snapped his fingers in Casey's face, making him blink. The two of them stared oddly at each other for a moment, then silently agreed to not explain their thoughts.

Casey turned and leaned against the van wall, bracing himself against bumps as April drove away from the bay. Since Donnie was determined to not be helped, Casey scooted closer to Leo.

"How's he doing?" Casey asked.

"Can't say for sure until he wakes up," Raph said. He brushed a hand across Leo's forehead. "He's hot, but he's shivering."

Casey listened to the raspy, sticky sound of Leo breathing. He nudged Mikey aside to see.

"April, do you have a flashlight?"

Without slowing or stopping, April reached across to open the dash. She tossed a penlight to Casey, who caught it with a grin at the familiar move.

"Uncle Raph, open his mouth."

Casey shined the flashlight down Leo's throat, ignoring the too-sharp tips of Leo's teeth. He pulled away when Leo panted sharply and began to squirm.

"What were you looking at?" Raph asked, slowly rocking Leo.

"Mucus. He's sick." Casey touched Leo's forehead. "I don't think it's that bad, but… that's ignoring everything else. His throat is swollen, too."

"From the scars?"

Casey eyed the knot of scars around Leo's throat, like some morbid scarf. "Doubt it. The scars are too old." Casey rested his chin on one hand. "But it could make his throat tender."

"So no touching it, got it. Anything else?"

Casey blinked at him. "You're asking me?"

"Why not?"

"Oh, it's… sorry, a bit strange," Casey said. He pushed aside his discomfort at having his uncle ask him for help. "Never mind. Uncle Donnie, you have some sort of x-ray at the lair, right?"

Donnie nodded.

"Good. He might have broken bones somewhere."

"I don't think so, but did anyone else think his shell looked…" Raph shifted Leo to the side, then froze. "Oh… oh, Leo."

Casey scrambled to Raph's side. He'd seen some terrible wounds in his life, but what he saw made even him gasp.

A thin, dark ridge ran down the middle of Leo's carapace. The circular markings on his shell were still visible, terribly cut in half by the ridge and joined together with one side a full inch higher than the other.

"Something broke his shell," Raph said brokenly.

The van suddenly swerved, throwing Splinter clear out of his seat. Mikey let out a cry and Donnie, who'd been sitting silently, jolted forward.

"A long time ago," Casey hurriedly added. "It's an old wound. A bad one… but old."

Everyone fell silent. There was no doubt as to how Leo's shell had been broken. Kraang were relentless, especially when they were angry.

Casey checked Leo over once more, but he couldn't find anything else. If Leo had any more wounds, they wouldn't see them without an x-ray. He leaned against the side of the van, feeling helpless with some past version of his sensei unconscious and hurting. There were too many questions that would remain unanswered until Leo woke up, so Casey forced the questions and what-ifs out of his head.

It didn't leave much else to think about, though.

Raph leaned beside Casey and settled Leo more comfortably in his arms. At least his brother's touch had comforted Leo enough to get the rest he so clearly needed. Now if only the peace could last long enough for them to get back to the lair.

Casey automatically glanced around the back of the van. Mikey had turned to Donnie, who ignored his little brother's stares while he intently studied his cracked vambrace. April was focusing solely on the road, occasionally muttering bad-temperedly when she had to take yet another detour. Splinter hadn't bothered to get off the floor, instead watching everyone with a woeful expression.

Casey closed his eyes and let his head fall against the van wall. It wasn't a perfect -or even pleasant- scene, but it was a good deal more calm than Casey was used to. Somehow, amazingly, the Kraang were gone. Earth was safe. He'd done his job. He'd done…

"Casey?"

Casey's eyes snapped open and one hand grabbed at his side. He braced himself at the lack of weapon, then his bleary eyes focused on Donnie's face. He blinked once, twice, then let himself breathe.

"Present," Casey said. He rubbed his eyes, then paused. "Why did we stop?"

"We're above the lair. The others are getting Leo inside now, and told me to wake you up."

"Oh!" Casey scrambled to his feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Donnie shook his head. "Better than passing out halfway down the ladder."

Casey grunted. "I won't if you won't."

Donnie responded with a tired smile. He leaned forward like he was going to stand, only to freeze. His eyes widened slowly.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked, dropping to his knees.

"I, uh… I can't move," Donnie whispered.

Casey had a terrible idea on what had happened. "Okay, don't try. Hang on."

Casey pulled off a glove and put one scarred hand on Donnie's shoulder. He and Donnie winced, but for different reasons.

"Sorry." Casey took his hand back. "Everything's tight and hot. We shouldn't have let you sit still for so long. I can help some, but, uh… sorry, Uncle Donnie, it's going to hurt."

Donnie grit his teeth. "Just do it."

Casey took off his other glove and carefully began to massage Donnie's shoulder. Donnie hissed through his teeth, but gestured for Casey to keep going when he paused. Casey did, mumbling apologies and biting his lip when Donnie groaned.

"I told you to wait for me."

Focused on gently working the strained muscles under the edges of Donnie's carapace, Casey flinched hard at April's voice. She barely ducked an elbow Casey flung her way.

"Woah, hey! At ease, Casey," April said, holding out her empty hands. "What's wrong?"

"Uncle Donnie's muscles in his back and shoulders are completely stiff," Casey said.

April gave Donnie a hard look. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I didn't realize until I tried to stand," Donnie said tightly. "We'll be along shortly."

"Donnie," April groaned, "Stop pretending. I'll be right back with some heat packs and lotion. Hang in there."

"Hanging," Donnie grunted.

April hurried out, returning shortly with a long heating pack that secured perfectly under the edge of Donnie's carapace and painkillers. Casey and April resumed massaging Donnie's muscles, working in the lotion April had brought.

By the time Donnie could stand, all three had tears in their eyes from the pain Donnie had had to endure. While Donnie slowly rotated his shoulders and wiped his eyes, Casey considered the drop from the back of the van to the ground.

"Yeah, this won't work," April said. "We need Raph… but I don't think Leo will stay asleep once he's put down."

"I can make it," Donnie said.

"Yeah. Slowly," April said.

"We can make this part easier," Casey said.

The ground outside was covered in broken bricks and wood surrounding an open manhole cover. April and Casey piled up the debris to make a slope for Donnie to hobble down.

Climbing down the tunnel was easier than Casey had hoped. Donnie moved slowly, wincing every time his hands rose over his head, but he managed without slipping.

Mikey was waiting for them at the bottom, holding a first-aid kit under one arm and rubbing some sort of cream into his blistered hands. Casey startled when he saw black flake from Mikey's palm. Before Mikey could react, Casey grabbed one of his hands and turned it up.

"Master, your hands!"

Where blisters didn't cover the flesh, Mikey's hands were cracked and bloody. Several spots were burnt black.

"It looks worse than it is," Mikey said, reclaiming his hand.

"No, it's as bad as it looks," April said.

"I've got it," Mikey said.

"It'll be easier if I help," Casey said pleadingly.

Mikey looked at his palm, then nodded. He let Casey take the first-aid kit. Casey found a long strip of bandages inside and set about wrapping Mikey's hands.

"Thanks," Mikey said with a wince. He looked at April. "Everyone else is in the office."

"Office?" Casey repeated.

"It's where we keep all the medical supplies," Donnie explained, letting April insert herself under his arm for support. "April called it 'the doctors office' as a joke once, and it's kind of stuck."

"Huh."

The four of them started walking, moving slowly for Donnie. By the time Casey was done with Mikey's hands, they had reached the office.

The office was a big open room full of various gadgets and computer screens, a couple rolling stretchers, a bed, and a giant hamster ball. Raph was sitting on the bed with Leo still in his arms while Splinter ran a small handheld scanner over Leo's body. Bandages were wrapped around Leo's legs.

Seeing April, Splinter handed over the scanner. Casey found himself tensing while April and Donnie checked the scanner's results on a tablet. Donnie raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like every single bone in his body has been broken, but… everything's intact right now. Fever, malnourished, and dehydrated, but Leo's somehow in one piece."

"Why won't he wake up?" Raph asked, a bit shakily.

"Everything points to pure exhaustion," April said. "He must have been standing on stubbornness alone."

"Sounds like Sensei," Casey said, smiling slightly.

Raph smiled back. "Sounds like Leo. But what should we do?"

"Let him sleep, I guess," April said. "Get him some liquids when he wakes up. Actually, Donnie, don't you have IVs around here?"

"Sure."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Raph said. When everyone looked at him, he explained, "Leo was panicking when we found him and he started to wake up when we were just touching his mouth. If we go poking him with needles…"

"He's going to fight," Donnie finished. Shaking his head, Donnie eased himself away from April. "Unfortunate, but likely true. We could strap him down-" Donnie raised a hand when Raph protested, "I said we could, but that's bound to make it worse. Leo's already sick, so let's keep this as stress free as possible. Mikey, are you feeling up to cooking?"

"Uh… sure?"

"Mostly for Leo, but I'm seeing signs of dehydration and hunger in everyone present. Don't give me that look, Casey; it might be normal where -when- you come from, but it isn't normal here." Donnie watched Mikey perk up and run from the office. "Also, Mikey needs a distraction. Casey, can you help him?"

Casey nodded and left. Behind him, Donnie directed Splinter to check on Raph's eye while he ran some more thorough scans. Donnie was quickly overridden by April, who ordered him to sit down while she checked what sort of damage had been done to his shell.

Casey smiled to himself, listening to their bickering. He paused as he realized he didn't know where the kitchen was in the lair. Luckily, a clatter of pans led him to the kitchen, where he found Mikey struggling to fill a pan with water. He couldn't seem to bend his fingers, and kept dropping the pot.

"Let me help you, Master," Casey said, quickly taking the heavy pot.

"Thanks. Fill it halfway." Mikey leaned against the counter. "Why do you call me 'Master'?"

"Same reason I call Leo 'Sensei,' I guess. Just an old habit."

"But you call Donnie and Raph 'uncle.'"

Casey watched the water splashing in the pot. "Yeah. I guess I do. Is that… do you want me to stop?"

Mikey shrugged with an embarrassed grin. "Well, I might've opened a portal… with everyone's help, but I don't feel like a master…."

"I called you 'uncle' until I was ten. Would you prefer that?"

"Now that just makes me sound old," Mikey snickered. "Just call me 'Mikey,' alright?"

"Sure, Ma- er, Mikey."

Casey turned off the water and looked to Mikey for instructions. But Mikey was silent and thoughtful.

"What about Donnie and Raph? Why do you still call them-"

Donnie speed-limped into the kitchen a second later, stopping Mikey from finishing his question. April was right behind him, trying -and failing- to order Donnie back to the office.

"How are things going in here?" Donnie asked.

"We just started, Dee," Mikey snickered.

"Hm, then I should get to work on-"

"Finding a chair to sit down so I can look at your shell?" April interrupted. "Good idea, Donnie, best you've had today."

"Excuse me?" Donnie said, offended. "Who connected to the Technodrome and sent it back into the gate?"

"Yeah, yeah, but we wouldn't have to be having this conversation if you hadn't let yourself get yanked out."

Donnie paused. "How do you know about that?"

"Mikey explained when you passed out on the way here."

"I didn't-"

April poked Donnie's shell, making him break off with a flinch. Donnie faced April and glared at her, and April glared right back.

"Should we do something?" Casey whispered to Mikey.

"Sure. I bet my skateboard that Donnie blinks first," Mikey whispered back.

"Your what?"

April looked away just then, but only because Raph was entering the kitchen with Leo. Undeterred when his right shoulder hit the doorway, he asked, "Hey, why'd you leave, Donnie?"

Mikey pouted. "Looks like you get my skateboard, Casey."

"Oh-kay?" Guess Casey would be figuring out what a skateboard was.

"Donnie thinks he isn't hurt," April said.

"I do know I'm hurt," Donnie corrected primly. "But it isn't anything critical and our lives are no longer in danger, so I will take care of it later."

"No time like the present," Raph said.

"Says the guy whose eye is still a mess." April looked pleadingly at Splinter. "Splints, control your boys, please."

Splinter grunted. "You think I haven't been trying? They save the world one time, and they think they don't have to listen to their father anymore."

"Well," April crossed her arms, "Since nobody wants to patch themselves up, can we talk about the elephant in the room?"

Casey looked at the floor, wondering what an elephant was and why it was significant.

"Why does Leo look like he's aged two years in the twenty minutes it took to get him out?"

"Time dilation," Donnie said. "I thought I explained that."

"You mentioned it, but what does it mean, Donnie?" Raph asked.

Donnie held his hands up, palms facing each other. "All the realms exist at the same time, usually running side-by-side." Donnie moved one hand out and turned it diagonally toward his other palm. "However, it's possible that by cutting through the walls of the realm, you're going to break through to the wrong place."

"We go to the Hidden City all the time, though, and nothing like this has happened," Mikey said.

"We enter the Hidden City through established gateways, most likely put into place by master alchemists to prevent dilations. It's the same thing with the Prison Realm. There shouldn't even be any way to access the Prison Realm without the gate and key."

"Hold on," April said. "Forget the how for a second. You mean to say that Leo has been stuck in the Prison Realm with the Kraang for two years?"

Donnie faltered. "It would… no. No, definitely not. It was definitely a time portal and future us are very confused."

"You do realize that's worse, right?" Raph asked. "Because that would mean our Leo is still stuck with the Kraang."

Donnie made a weird buzzing noise. Casey wondered if it was possible to hear someone's brain short out, then Donnie's goggles made a popping sound. The buzzing ended as smoke trailed from one lens. Donnie gave a startled grunt and jerked off his goggles.

"It wasn't a time portal," Casey said.

"Because it didn't look like one," Donnie said. He fiddled with something inside his goggles. "It also didn't look like one of Leo's portals."

"It was similar." Casey tapped his mask. "If you'd been looking through your goggles, that is."

Donnie suddenly focused on him. "You can see mystic energy through your mask?"

"It's got the same sort of crystal that you have in your goggles," Casey said.

More like the same crystal, but Casey didn't want to discuss Donnie's death yet. He didn't think Donnie would want that just then.

"Hm." Donnie looked disappointed. "I thought it was one-of-a-kind. Okay, so it wasn't a time portal."

Everyone stared at Leo's unconscious form. Mikey was the first one to move, tapping Casey's shoulder and having him dump some pasta into the pot of boiling water. April went to the freezer and pulled out a long blue cloth.

"Donnie, catch."

Donnie raised a hand, but only caught part of the cloth, the rest swinging past his hand to slap him in the face. He grunted and lowered the cloth.

"Swap the heat pack for an ice pack; let's see if we can get the swelling down," April said. "And this time, warn someone before you start hibernating."

"All the more reason to not use an ice pack," Donnie said mildly.

April eyed him, then turned. "Raph, I need you to put Leo down for a minute and grab Donnie for me."

"No need," Donnie said, quickly dropping the cloth over the top of his carapace. "I'm doing it, see?"

"What do you mean, hibernate?" Casey asked.

"Donnie's prone to falling asleep when he gets too cold," April said as she secured the ice pack around the bottom of Donnie's shell. "We didn't realize ice packs would do it until he fell asleep and gave himself a concussion one time."

"Ow."

"Pasta!" Mikey suddenly yelped, reaching past Casey to lower the oven temperature. He struggled to open a drawer, then grabbed a long-handled spoon to stir the pasta. "Speaking of falling over, should you be on your feet, Casey?"

"I'm fine now," Casey said with a shrug.

"There's not a single person in this room who believes the phrase, 'I'm fine,' Casey. Just saying," April said. "But I give up on you and Donnie. Raph, let's see if we can get some water into Leo, hm?"

"Casey, we're going to need another pot," Mikey said.

"What are we making?" Casey asked as he grabbed the pot Mikey pointed to.

"Chicken noodle soup," Mikey said. "Quick and easy, since I made broth just yesterday. It's in the fridge. Big yellow container."

Casey found the container, then paused to watch Raph and April.

Raph had sat cross-legged on the floor. He carefully adjusted Leo so he was laying with his head on Raph's shoulder. April crouched in front of them with a glass of water.

"Okay, Leo, let's try this, hm?"

April put the glass against Leo's lips. When Leo didn't react, April slowly pulled on his chin until his mouth was slightly open, then poured in some water.

Nobody in the kitchen moved, all watching Leo. His mouth closed when April took away the glass. No water had spilled, but Casey also didn't see him swallow.

"That's step one, buddy," April said. "Swallowing usually helps."

Leo's mouth worked briefly, then his face abruptly clenched and he spat the water into April's face. April fell back with a yelp, wiping her face.

"Hey! Leo!"

Casey stepped anxiously closer, but Leo didn't seem distressed. He just turned his face toward Raph's plastron.

"What was that all about?" Raph asked.

April snorted. "Even unconscious, Leo isn't going to let himself be taken care of. Okay, Raph, your turn. Or are you going to be like your brothers and ignore that you're bleeding?"

"I took care of my burns," Mikey protested.

"Because Casey and I made you. Put down the spoon before you pop those blisters," April said. She raised an eyebrow at Raph. "So?"

"Okay, okay! Just let me put Leo on his cot."

Raph got up and carried Leo to a cot in the corner. He picked up a folded blanket from it and put Leo down.

"Don't cover him with a blanket," Casey said.

Raph paused. "Why?"

"It'll make him feel trapped."

"More trapped than Raph holding him?" Donnie asked.

Casey nodded with a wince. "It's, uh… hard to explain. But trust me."

Raph shrugged. "Okay. It's only for a few minutes, anyway."

"Why does Leo have a cot in the kitchen?" Casey asked.

"Leo has a cot in every room," Donnie explained. "He's insomniac, and sometimes it's easier to just let him sleep in whatever room he chooses at the time."

Casey smiled at the explanation. He'd always assumed Sensei made sure beds were in every room of their bases because there were always so many refugees or fighters around.

"Kneel, Raph," April ordered, emerging from under the sink with a first aid kit. When Raph obeyed, she took one look at his eye and made a disgusted noise. "What's that purple stuff?"

"Tentacle guts," Mikey said.

Donnie gagged.

Mikey winced. "Too soon?"

"Way too soon," Donnie grunted.

"First of all, gross," April said. "Second, you couldn't have maybe cleaned that off before now? Look, it's even on your hands and you've probably gotten it all over Leo now. Gross, it's dried on there!"

"Oh, that's easy," Casey said. "Just peel it off. Don't get it wet, that makes it sticky."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that."

"Personal experience."

"Casey! I just said- oh, never mind."

Casey raised an eyebrow. She'd said she wasn't going to ask, but he'd assumed it was because she expected Casey to explain. Either way, now she knew.

"Hm, okay, that's most of it," April said after a few minutes. "But there's still some stuff there. Might be blood, might be… tentacle stuff. Again, gross. Hold on, I need a rag and probably gloves for this."

"Gloves would be recommended," Casey said.

"Oh, you couldn't have mentioned that earlier?"

Casey shrugged sheepishly. "It's not dangerous, but it does feel gross."

"Gross doesn't even begin to cover it. Don't move yet, Raph."

April went to the sink and began searching under it.

"We're going to need carrots," Mikey said. "Casey, there should be some in the drawer in the bottom of the fridge."

"Sure." Casey moved toward the fridge, then froze. "Guys."

Everyone looked at Casey, then followed his pointing finger.

Leo was moving slightly on the cot, though he stopped a moment later. Everyone kept watching, but Leo didn't move again.

Raph rose to his feet and -ignoring April's annoyed grumble- went to Leo. "I'll get him, then we can- yeow!"

Raph jerked back, shaking one hand. Leo burst to life, springing off the cot and scrambling along the wall away from Raph.

"He bit me!" Raph exclaimed.

"What?" Casey looked between them.

Raph held his right wrist, staring at the punctures that were starting to ooze blood. Leo was making an odd face, his tongue sticking out and eyes clenched shut like he'd tasted something bad. Actually, since Raph hadn't cleaned his hands yet, he probably had.

"Leo?" Donnie said.

Leo's face jerked in Donnie's direction. He bared bloody, jagged teeth in a silent snarl, still with his eyes shut.

"Leo, it's us," Raph said gruffly.

Leo turned his face toward Raph, but his snarl didn't leave. Shoulders shivering, Leo pressed his hands flat against the wall and sidled away from Raph.

All without opening his eyes.

Casey's throat clenched. His eyes darted to Mikey, who hadn't spoken and stood in Leo's path. He gestured quickly for Mikey to move, only to be promptly misunderstood.

"Leo?" Mikey said.

Leo launched himself away from the wall, crashing full speed into the island. Ingredients and the cutting board went flying to the floor with a crash. Leo stumbled backward from the noise and fell on his butt, his breath coming in suddenly harsh gasps.

Casey thrust himself forward. "Sensei!"

Leo froze. His face slowly turned toward Casey. His mouth twitched, then he rubbed his lips and sniffed.

"It's fine. Everything's fine, Leo," Casey said slowly.

Leo twitched and pushed himself back.

"Sensei," Casey said, seeing how the title calmed Leo. He lowered himself to his knees. "Can you… open your eyes?"

Leo flicked one hand from his elbow to his wrist.

"Okay." Casey's eyes flicked to the others, but nobody else made a move. He changed to using the soothing tones from search and rescue missions. "Okay, who hurt you?"

Leo spread his fingers like claws and made an ugly face.

"They're gone now. It's safe here."

Leo hunched up his shoulders, face twisted in uncertainty. He clenched a fist, then opened it with a flick.

"Yes, safe. Can… can you see?"

Leo touched one eye and made a closing motion with one hand. His mouth twitched in a vestige of a grin.

"What if you open your eyes, Sensei?"

Leo's mouth set into a tight line, then he shook his head.

"Blind." Gasps came from the room. Casey looked around, surprised to find everyone's eyes on him. "What?"

"How… Leo can't be blind," Donnie said, looking at Leo.

Leo frowned in his direction. He hesitantly clasped his hands together.

"Oh- oh, yes! Yes, Sensei, everyone's here."

Leo shook a hand over his lower arm.

"Min-minor injuries." Casey looked at Raph, then back to Leo. "Uncle Raph's right in front of you, Sensei."

Leo put his hands out and tentatively crawled forward. Raph stayed where he was, his only movement being the panting that was progressively getting louder and shaking his shoulders harder.

Leo touched Raph, who abruptly went silent. Looking dazed, Raph put a hand down to Leo's searching hand. Leo patted Raph's wrist, then abruptly grabbed Raph and used him to stand.

Everyone watched Leo's hands move up and down Raph's arm. He touched Raph's bloody hand and flinched back. Raph started to reach with his other hand, then Leo stopped him by sniffing his now-bloody hand.

"Don't do that," Raph said, catching Leo's hand.

Leo frowned. He patted Raph's shoulder, then compared the height to his own head with one hand. Leo's head tilted and his eye ridges furrowed. He made a lowering gesture with one hand.

"No, he… hasn't shrunk," Casey said.

"Casey," April hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Um…" Casey stepped back. "I don't…"

"Is that really what Leo was asking?" Donnie asked.

Casey and Leo nodded. Casey startled.

"Wait, you don't know?"

"Know what?" Donnie's hard, confused frown softened when Leo reached toward him. "Here, Leo."

Donnie shuffled around the island. Still using Raph as support, Leo reached out until Donnie put his hand into Leo's. Leo smiled as he traced his arm up to Donnie's shoulder.

Donnie flinched and gently guided Leo's hand to his plastron. Leo frowned again, then reached up and felt around until his hand landed on top of Donnie's head. He inhaled a quick, sharp whistle.

Leo spun away from Donnie and Raph. He fell against the island, one hand grasping at air. Mikey understood instantly and grabbed Leo's arm, holding it while Leo's other hand touched the top of his head. Leo bared his teeth, not threateningly, but in a nervous manner. He tried to step away, but his legs suddenly gave out.

Raph lunged forward and caught Leo. Leo flinched and pushed slightly on Raph's plastron, but calmed instantly when Raph spoke.

"It's okay, Leo. I've got you."

Leo tilted his head against Raph's shoulder and sighed. He shook himself slightly, then wiped the blood from his hand onto his belt before making a motion like he was pulling something from both corners of his mouth, then put both fists together, one over the other.

"Gran- Splinter and April are here, too," Casey said.

Splinter eyed him. "What were you about to call me?"

"Wait, it's sign language!" April said. "Sort of? How do you know it, Casey?"

"Everyone knows sign language in the future," Casey said while Splinter let Leo feel him. "Family groups tended to make up their own special signs to communicate quicker, though. Sensei taught me the signs for your family."

"We never made up a sign language," Donnie said.

"Right, it was after…" Casey hesitated. "After the Kraang invasion."

Donnie glanced thoughtfully down, then grimaced. "Raph, for shell's sake, cover that bite."

Leo flinched. He turned slightly and ran his hand down Raph's arm until he found the bite. He tapped his wrist.

"Aw, it's alright," Raph soothed. He readjusted the dark bandages on his hands so they covered the tooth marks. "You just surprised me."

Leo's eyes scrunched together, then he reached past Splinter. April put her hand in his.

"Leo?" April said. "Can you talk?"

Leo hesitated, then shook his head and pointed to his throat. Or, more specifically, the scars around his throat.

"Who- why?" Raph practically growled.

Leo made claws with one hand and bared his teeth.

"The Kraang," Casey said.

"Why?" April asked.

"Because Kraang are sick and twisted," Casey said darkly. "They probably toyed with Leo like they did humanity in the future, laying traps and mimicking us so we couldn't even trust the voices of our own families." At Raph's flinch, Casey nodded. "That's why you panicked, Leo, right?"

Leo grimaced and nodded, pushing back against Raph's plastron. He tapped Raph's plastron, then twisted two fingers of both hands together and put one hand over the other.

"Raph," Casey translated.

Raph rubbed Leo's shell. Leo slowly drooped, until Raph had to catch Leo under his arms to keep him from falling over.

"So we at least have a way to communicate," Donnie murmured. "Very roughly, at least, but I'm sure I can come up with something."

Mikey suddenly grabbed Casey's arm. "Teach us the signs! Oh! What's my name?"

Casey made two fists with his thumbs tucked in. He put the fists one over the other and couldn't help smiling when Mikey clumsily mimicked the sign. Mikey couldn't tuck his thumbs in, so he was actually signing April's name.

"Knowing who Leo wants will be beneficial. What's my name? Actually-" Donnie mused, too distracted in thinking out loud to notice that Casey froze, " Based on Raph and Mikey's names, and the fact that Leo only ever remembered how to spell our names and 'brother' in sign language, it would probably be this." Donnie turned his middle fingers up, made an "o" with the other fingers, then stacked one hand on the other. "Right, Casey?"

Casey looked at Leo, who'd dropped into a doze during the exchange. Raph carefully lifted Leo and went to sit on the cot.

"Casey?" Donnie asked. "Is that right?"

Casey glanced at Donnie's hands, then back to Leo. "I, uh… I don't know."

Raph lifted his gaze from Leo. His eyes flicked to Donnie, then back to Casey.

"Why not?" Raph asked hoarsely.

"It was… it was after Uncle Donnie died that Sensei ordered everyone to learn sign language. Having a personal set of signs just kind of… happened after we started using signs on a regular basis.

"Oh," Donnie said in a detached voice. "So I'm the first to die in your future, huh?"

"Yes, it…" Casey shook his head. "Never mind."

Donnie slowly leaned against the counter. "No, go on. I want to know."

"How you- he- Uncle Donnie-" Casey faltered. "Now?"

"Now," Donnie said. "I want to know."

Casey hesitantly nodded, pulling up the dangerous old memories. He flinched and recalled the mission reports Sensei had always carried in his pouch.

"Several bases had just been destroyed," Casey said, habitually blanking his voice into report mode. "We had three groups of refugees moving to a central location. Large groups couldn't travel by Sensei's portals because safe zones were constantly changing, so we were stuck on foot. Two of the groups had crossed a stretch of open land, but then a Kraang patrol was spotted. Uncle Donnie signed for the last group to pull back and take a secondary route, but the leader of the third group misunderstood and led his group into the open. The patrol spotted them, and the two other groups were flushed out when a second patrol appeared."

Casey's voice dropped to a murmur. "There… there were three hundred refugees there. Most of them unarmed, injured, elderly, or children. There wasn't anywhere for them -us- to go."

"I remember running. Everyone screaming. My mom and the few fighters doing what they could. It would have been a slaughter, if it hadn't been for Uncle Donnie."

Casey closed his eyes, unable to block the memory of Sensei yelling at Uncle Donnie to pull back. Or Uncle Donnie's response that he would "pull everyone back."

"In the future, Uncle Donnie's powers are so developed that you would make entire fleets of trucks to move refugees and supplies. Sometimes Uncle Donnie made aircraft to aid in battles. Never had you- Uncle Donnie done both at once."

Casey opened his eyes. "Uncle Donnie saved everyone. He made this-this shield that covered everyone, then enough trucks to carry everyone. When more Kraang patrols showed up, he stayed behind to create aircraft for defense."

"And that's how I died in the future?" Donnie murmured.

"No." Casey clenched his eyes. "Uncle Donnie got everyone out, including himself. I… I remember riding all day, away from the Kraang. Uncle Donnie was with Mom and me."

Memories pressed on Casey, unbidden.

"Donnie, you can-"

"It's fine, Cassandra." A tired huff. "I'm fine."

"We… we reached the safe zone. Everyone was going inside when the vehicles just… they just collapsed around us."

Something sizzled sharply, making everyone jump. Mikey hurriedly shoved back the pot that was boiling over on the stovetop.

"Collapsed," Donnie repeated slowly.

"In the future… your powers seemed endless," Casey murmured. "But you- Uncle Donnie… there were limits. Uncle Donnie passed his limit. Sensei, Master Michelangelo, and Uncle Raph did everything they could, but…"

"I died," Donnie said softly.

"Casey," Raph said, his voice distant like it was coming from a tunnel.

Casey studied Donnie's face, his carefully neutral expression of a scientist. What did Donnie think? Had he said the right thing? Should he have said anything at all?

No. No, he shouldn't have. Not with Leo so sick and weak, and everyone so tired. They needed a break; that's why they had left the infirmary -the office. They needed rest and food, he had to-

"Casey!"

Casey flinched away from April's face inches from his, but her hands on his shoulders kept him in place. April quickly released him, and Casey retreated a step. Why was everyone watching him again?

"Are you okay?" April asked, using the same calming tones Casey had just been using on Leo.

Leo. Casey looked at him sleeping in Raph's arms, then further up. Raph's eye was swollen almost completely shut and a drop of blood was sliding down his face like a tear.

"We should bandage that eye," Casey said. April raised an eyebrow. "And finish making the soup."

Donnie, slowly rotating his shoulders, said, "That's a good idea. I'll help Casey."

Raph gave Donnie an odd look. Well, Uncle Donnie had never really cooked in the future, either.

"Fine," April conceded. "Cleaning Raph's eye, take three. Raph, if you stand up before I'm done, I'm having Splinter ground you."

"Okay, okay, I'm not moving," Raph grumbled with a smile.

Donnie got some carrots from the fridge and gave them to Casey, then pulled out a second container with some sort of cubed meat inside. Casey studied the incredibly straight carrots for a minute, then shrugged and started cutting them.

Shortly after, the soup was bubbling away on the stovetop, Raph's eye and hand were properly bandaged, and Mikey was complaining about not being able to eat when his hands were bandaged.

"Better than them getting infected," Donnie said. He dug into a drawer and pulled out a spoon with a fat handle. "Besides, we still have Raph's spoon from when he was little."

A flinch of Leo's feet caught everyone's attention. Leo stiffened briefly, then one hand tightened on Raph's wrist and he relaxed. His nose twitching, Leo sat partially forward with a hopeful grin.

"Soup's on!" Mikey said happily. "I'll, uh… April?"

"On it."

April grabbed bowls and spoons from the cabinets while Splinter dragged in some stools and chairs with Casey's help. Soon, everyone except Donnie and April were seated around the island while April filled a bowl with soup. Sensing it was for Leo, Casey was about to stand, but Donnie beat him to it.

Leaning against the counter beside the stove, Donnie said, "Not too much for Leo right now."

"Why not? He's too skinny."

"Exactly," Donnie monotoned. "Don't give me that look, Leo, you're not making yourself sick by eating too much."

Leo stuck his tongue out, nose still twitching. He gave a dismissal wave of his hand, then stretched a hand across the island. With a little twitch, Leo chirped.

Mikey snorted, bending over so suddenly that he almost fell off his stool. Casey chuckled.

"Leo," Raph said, smiling, "You sound like a hungry bird."

Leo grinned and continued to chirp until the sound of a bowl being set in front of him made him stop. He eagerly leaned forward to grab the bowl.

Casey, turning to ask Donnie if he was going to sit, paused when he realized everyone was watching Leo. He'd been keeping Leo in the corner of his eye, but he turned to do the same.

Leo pulled the bowl close to him and ran a finger around the top of the bowl. He twitched when his finger hit the spoon and made it clink against the ceramic. He grabbed the spoon and moved it around the soup for a few seconds, then scooped up some soup. He leaned eagerly forward, a little too eagerly.

Instead of getting a mouthful of soup, Leo's fist hit his mouth, flinging the soup from his spoon against Raph.

A very long, tense moment of silence passed. Flushing and face clenching, Leo lowered the spoon to the table and pushed the bowl away.

"Nuh-uh," Raph said, a slight catch in his throat as he stopped the bowl. "Try again, Leo. Here, let me help."

Leo swallowed, but raised the spoon again. Raph let him scoop up more soup, then gently guided Leo's wrist so the spoon made it into his mouth.

Leo's mouth worked, then he abruptly perked up and swallowed. He practically melted against Raph, an expression of ecstasy spreading across his face. Raph had to gently take control of Leo's arm again to keep him from spilling again when Leo eagerly dug into the soup.

As Leo readjusted to using a spoon and was able to eat on his own, April silently began filling more bowls. Casey accepted his bowl and distractedly ate a mouthful. He coughed in surprise, clapping a hand across his mouth just in time to avoid spraying his soup across the table.

"Is something wrong?" April asked, peering suspiciously into the bowl she was about to give Mikey.

Casey quickly shook his head and swallowed. He pointed at the soup and asked Mikey, "Are you sure this is chicken noodle soup?"

"Ye-eah?"

"It's the best food I've ever tasted in my life!" Casey declared.

"It's just chicken noodle soup," Mikey said, though his smile was pleased. "I'll teach you how to make it if you like."

Casey was too busy gulping down more soup to agree. When his bowl was empty, Casey regretfully pushed the bowl away.

Across the island, Leo had only made it halfway through his soup before drooping forward. Frowning, Raph leaned Leo against him and gently took the spoon from Leo's limp hand.

"Donnie?" Raph said softly.

"He's fine," Casey answered for him. "He'll probably wake up soon. Can we keep the soup warm for him?"

Mikey nodded and started to reach toward the pot, then stopped with a wince. Donnie caught his wrist.

"We should take some scans of your hands," Donnie said. "If there's muscle damage, we should start treatment as soon as we can."

"Same with your shell," April said. "Finish your soup, Donnie. Casey, give me your bowl."

Casey did, and was surprised when April refilled it and handed it back.

"Are you sure there's enough?" Casey asked, already grabbing his spoon.

"More than you could eat," April assured him.

Casey was halfway through the bowl when Leo woke again with a gasp. This time, Raph reacted fast enough to yank his hand out of the way of Leo's snapping teeth.

"Hey, hey," Raph said. "It's okay."

Leo writhed, baring his teeth. He fought against Raph's hold for a second, then suddenly remembered where he was. Shoulders heaving with a sigh, Leo relaxed and fell back to sleep.

"I'm not putting Leo down," Raph said unprompted. "Not until he feels safe."

Donnie pushed away from the sink. "While he's sleeping, we should run some more scans to check for any other damage."

"Leo will be fine for now," April said, putting an arm in Donnie's path. "He just needs food and sleep. And Raph's hugs. But we need to check Mikey's hands and your back."

"My back is fine."

Casey ducked his head to hide his chuckle at April's exasperated eye roll.

"And you," April said, pointing at Casey, "Are taking a nap. Don't pretend you didn't pass out in the van."

"I didn't?" Casey said. At April's glare, Casey raised his hands in surrender. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

"I'll take Leo to my room," Raph said, standing slowly. "I could use a nap, too."

"I will go with you," Splinter said suddenly, jumping to the floor.

Raph and Splinter left, then April herded Donnie and Mikey out of the kitchen. Casey stared after everyone, then quietly finished his soup.

Casey gathered up the rest of the empty bowls and put them in the sink. Splinter hadn't touched his soup, so Casey poured it back into the pot. Casey then rinsed out the bowls and put them in a metal rack beside the sink.

Casey glanced at the cot, then shook his head and left the kitchen. He'd rest soon, once he'd made a quick check of the lair.

The lair was… insanely large. Casey had no idea where exactly it ended or what entrances needed to be secured. He did return to the van to grab his saw and cover the entrance, but he eventually had to admit defeat.

Casey found a room that appeared to be somewhat central in the lair. It was the same place where he'd been taken after April had captured him, so it probably had some strategic significance, right?

Casey sat on an old couch against one wall, yelping a bit when he sunk deeply into the cushions. He struggled out of the cushion's grasp and moved to the other side of the couch, which didn't try to swallow him. He glared at the offending cushion, then planted his saw in front of him to sit watch.

After a few minutes of silent watch, it occurred to Casey that there wasn't anything to watch. A lifetime hiding from the Kraang told Casey that he couldn't afford to relax, but April had ensured that the one living Kraang in this time was securely contained before she left.

Maybe there wasn't anything to stand guard against. Casey found himself at a loss without orders, but trying to stand up got nowhere as he suddenly realized that absolutely everything ached. And he was tired. His eyes drooped.

"No!" Casey told himself, forcing himself to straighten. "Everyone else is handling triage right now. I should find Commander O'Neil or Sen-"

Casey blinked once, then twice. Sensei or Leo? Or Commander? He was suddenly confused as to who he needed to find.

"They'll find me when my watch is over," Casey told himself. "Watch the entrance, Casey Jones, that's what you're doing right now. You've got this. A-and stop talking to yourself. Silence is good. Silence means we aren't being attacked and only a 50/50 chance that Kraang are sneaking up on us and… I'm doing it again."

Casey shook his head. He was on watch, that's all he needed to focus on. Watch the entrances, make sure nothing got into the base without warning. Casey stared at the door until his eyes ached and he had to blink.

But as soon as he did, something fell over his body. Casey kicked out with a gasp, scrambling to grab his saw when it slipped from his lap.

"Woah, woah! Easy there, Casey."

Casey blinked at the voice that was and wasn't the Commander. He squinted at the Commander, his brain finally shifting gears and remembering it was April. Okay, same person, but still.

"I didn't mean to startle you," April said. "But I saw you sleeping and-"

Casey clapped a hand to his forehead. "Sorry, I know I'm on watch!"

"Uh…" April raised an eyebrow. "No, you aren't."

Casey stared at her. If he wasn't on watch, then what had he been doing?

"I assumed you were taking a nap like I told you to," April said. She bent down to grab a blanket from the floor. "You don't have to keep watch. You look like you need sleep."

"But, who's on watch, then?" Casey asked.

"Donnie has the lair locked down," April said.

Uncle Donnie? But he was…

Right. He was in the past, everyone was… everyone was alive.

"Hey, you sleeping with your eyes open?" April asked.

"What? No, I…" What was he thinking about?

"Okay, space cadet," April said with a wide grin. "Time to sleep."

"Yes'm," Casey mumbled. He sleepily reached up to pull down his mask as his eyes slid shut.

Again, he was instantly covered. Casey snapped back awake with a shout, this time recognizing the blanket that he was kicking away. He sank back, his heart racing.

April looked at the blanket, then Casey. "Casey?"

"D-don't…" Casey rubbed his tired eyes. "No covering."

"Oh, like with Leo. Mind if I sit by you?"

Wondering why April was using a tone of voice usually used during rescues, Casey just nodded. April draped the blanket over her own shoulders and sat beside Casey.

"Don't let the couch eat you," Casey mumbled. His eyes were falling shut, but he still needed to do something… right?

"How about a hug?"

"No covering," Casey mumbled.

"I gotcha." The Commander's arm curled lightly around Casey's shoulders. "This alright?"

Casey hummed agreement.

"Sorry about the blanket. I didn't realize it would spook you."

She didn't know, of course. This was April. She didn't know.

"Nets," Casey explained slowly. "When the Kraang… want us alive."

"Sh. You don't have to worry about that now. And, here, you'll be more comfortable."

Casey grunted when he felt his mask being removed. "I talk in m'sleep."

"That's fine," the Commander said.

Since when?

"Now go to sleep."

How many times had he been given that order now? It didn't matter. The Commander said it was safe, so it was safe. He had time for a brief rest.

"Did you have to bring the kid to a possible fight?"

"Relax, it's just patrol. Besides, it's his birthday present. Right, CJ?"

Casey was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming because when he looked up, his mom was beside him. Casey stared at her saw, which seemed so big to him just now.

"Still a bit big for you, CJ," his mom said.

Casey's mouth opened on its own and he asked, "When will I be big enough to use it, Mom?"

"When you finish your training," his mom said. She looked over Casey's head. "Assuming you haven't changed your mind."

Casey looked quickly up at his uncle, feeling a huge grin split his face. "You're going to train me?"

His uncle looked briefly uncertain. "Cass, he's still so young."

"He's ten, that's a full three years older than when I started my training!"

"And look how you turned out."

Casey's mom snorted and swung her saw so it harmlessly passed a few inches from his uncle's face. His uncle didn't even flinch, only smiled.

Casey woke up with a start. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was.

His mask was missing, so his cheek was squished against something soft. Actually, all the familiar straps of his armor were missing. Why would he have taken it off…

Memories slotted back into place. He was in the past. The Kraang were gone. He was safe. Everyone was safe, but-

Leo!

Casey's eyes felt glued shut, but he forced them open. He rubbed his gritty eyes with one hand, noting absently that even his gloves were missing.

His gaze fell on a clock across the room, and he sighed in relief when he saw only an hour had passed. Then he coughed, because his mouth felt as dry as sand.

"Hey, he lives!" April's voice said.

Casey looked to the side and saw April sitting on a loveseat with a thick book in her lap. He started to ask what she was doing, but his voice came out in just a rasp.

"Whoops, hang on."

April set the book aside and grabbed a bottle of water from the table beside her. She tossed it to Casey, who caught it on reflex.

"Drink up. You're dehydrated."

He usually was… but maybe water wasn't an issue in the past, like food wasn't. As if cued by the thought, Casey's stomach growled. Casey flushed and hid his face by drinking a large swig of water.

And discovered that even the water was weird in the past. It didn't taste metallic and there wasn't any dirt floating in it.

"Don't look so embarrassed," April said with a laugh. "We'll get some more food in you."

"But we just ate," Casey said.

April shook her head. "Casey, that was thirteen hours ago."

"Thirteen-"

He'd slept for thirteen hours?! Had he gotten sick? Was he hurt somewhere worse than he thought?

Or had he used more of his ninpo energy than he thought?

"Casey, don't look so horrified," April said with a note of concern.

"It's just…" He didn't think he was dying, but Casey didn't understand how he could have slept for so long. "Nobody sleeps for thirteen hours, not unless they're dying!"

"Well, you're pretty animated for a dead guy. No, Casey, I think you're just catching up on a serious lack of sleep."

Casey hunched his shoulders. "Sorry."

"No more apologizing, Casey." April shook her head. "Look, I can't even imagine what you've been through, but you're safe here. And safe means you can sleep as long as you need and eat whatever you need so you'll stop looking like a beanpole. And no apologizing. You're not the only one catching up on everything."

"Is that what you were doing?" Casey asked, pointing at the book.

"This? No, that's homework. I have a test coming up in two weeks, and I don't think Professor Henson is going to let something like the world nearly ending give us students an excuse to take a break."

Casey… understood nothing of what April had said. He switched back to what had originally urged him to wake up.

"How's Leo?"

"He's woken up a few times to eat, but he's mostly been sleeping," April said. "Raph hasn't put him down once."

"And Mikey and Uncle Donnie?"

"Donnie's in the hot tub and refusing to talk to anyone. Mikey and Splinter's with him, and I'm on Casey duty."

"'Casey duty'?" Casey repeated.

"Casey duty. You're worse than Donnie about resting."

"I… don't really know how to rest."

"Yeah, we're going to fix that, after you eat and take a bath. No offense, Casey, but you smell…"

"Like a Kraang?" Casey finished.

April made a grossed out face. "Yeah, sorry."

"No, I knew that," Casey said. "The smell makes it harder for the Kraang's pets to track us."

April was silent for a full minute before she said, "I don't know what to say to that."

Casey shuddered. "No, I agree with you on that one."

Mikey burst into the room just then, talking fast, "April, we have a problem, is Casey- yes, Casey, come on!"

Casey was on his feet instantly. "What's wrong?"

"Leo's awake and he's trying to find something, but we don't know what he wants!"

Casey ran after Mikey to the next room where Raph was just entering, looking at a loss. Leo was still in his arms, fervently gesturing for something.

"Sensei, I'm here," Casey said.

Leo twisted sharply and made a rectangle with his hand, then a chomping motion with one hand, followed by hooking one finger.

"He's… looking for a picture and a tooth?" Casey said, wondering if he'd misunderstood.

Leo nodded, then drew both hands across his middle.

"His belt! Uncle Raph, where did you put Leo's belt?"

"It's in my room," Raph said, already walking away. "It was filthy, so I took it off so Leo could wash when he woke up again."

Leo bounced impatiently until they arrived in Raph's room and Raph handed him his belt. Leo felt quickly around the material, then turned the belt inside-out and pulled open a tiny pouch sewn cleverly into the cloth.

"Did you make that?" Raph asked.

Leo shook his head, then made fist with one hand.

"A friend?" Casey whispered, incredulous.

Nobody heard Casey, focused on Leo while he pulled out a folded scrap of material and a large, misshapen tooth. Leo clenched the tooth in one hand, then opened the paper-like material and ran a finger down the front. Smiling, Leo turned the paper to show the others.

It was blank. The paper was old and stained dark gray, but clearly blank.

"Okay, I get the tooth. Sorta," Mikey said. "But what's with the paper, Leo?"

Leo visibly stiffened. He turned the paper around to show the -also blank- back. He pointed to it, then swung a finger to gesture to everyone.

Raph figured it out first. "It's his picture."

Casey snapped his fingers. "Right, I forgot. Leo was holding it last."

April put a hand to her mouth while Mikey looked like he wanted to cry. Nobody had the heart to tell Leo that it wasn't a picture of his family like he so clearly thought it was.

April swallowed and changed the topic. "What's up with the tooth?"

Leo opened his hand. Casey tilted his head, then dug into his pocket and pulled out a similar tooth.

"It's a Kraang tooth," Casey said.

Silence fell over the room.

Mikey steepled his fingers. "Excuse me, I must have misheard you, but it's a what now?"

"A Kraang tooth."

"And you're carrying one on you… why?"

"Uh…" Casey had a pretty good idea on what everyone's reaction would be, but there wasn't any other way to put it other than, "It's from the Kraang I killed."

"Casey." April inhaled slowly. "I'm going to be totally honest and say I don't know if I want to be impressed or just grossed out."

"Guys," Raph said. "I don't think that's how Leo got his."

Sure enough, Leo was shaking his head.

"I mean, he could have picked it up somewhere," Casey offered.

And put a random Kraang tooth into the secret pouch with what he thought was his one last possession of home. Right. Maybe he used it as a tool somehow. Or…

"Did your friend give it to you?" Casey asked.

"What friend?" Raph asked.

"The friend who sewed the pouch inside his belt," Casey said.

"I thought only Kraang were in the Prison Realm," April said.

"Me, too." Casey frowned thoughtfully. "But the gate was open long enough and there were a lot of things going in and out. Someone could have ended up inside, too. Right, Sensei?"

Leo frowned, then crossed his arms and turned his face toward Raph's plastron, his meaning clear. Reluctantly, Casey dropped the question.

"How do you feel about a bath?" Raph asked.

Leo perked up, then cast around. He put the tooth and paper into one hand, then placed the other on top of it.

"Somewhere safe to put your things?" Casey asked, looking to Raph.

"We'll put them on my shelf."

Raph touched Leo's hand and waited for Leo to put his things into his palm. Then Raph put both onto his shelf.

Leo ran a hand over the belt, then made a face and mimed throwing something over his shoulder. His hand knocked against Raph's shoulder, prompting Leo to quickly tap his right wrist. Raph looked at Casey.

Casey said, "He said the belt is garbage, then he said sorry for hitting your shoulder."

"It's fine," Raph said, rocking Leo slightly. "Okay, let's go."

Casey, April, and Mikey followed Raph to what Mikey called the "bath room." The room was big and had all sorts of bowls and tubs inside, plus a large metal vat in one corner. The air was hot and wet, thanks to steam rising from a sort of high, raised trough built into the far wall. Splinter was sitting beside it.

"Donnie's in the hot tub," April explained, following Casey's gaze. "How's he doing, Splints?"

"I think he finally fell asleep," Splinter said. He turned and looked at Leo. "Blue."

Leo grinned and squirmed.

"Okay, you sit with Pops while I get a bath ready for you," Raph said.

Casey turned a bucket upside down, and Raph set Leo on it. Leo stiffened when Raph let him go, then raised a hand. He instantly relaxed when Splinter took his hand.

Casey looked past Leo and Splinter to the steaming trough. Donnie was laying at the bottom, wearing a half mask over the bottom part of his face.

"Casey, pick a tub and get cleaned up," April said. She looked at everyone. "I'm looting you boys' rooms for clothes for Casey, then I'm headed outside."

"I don't know," Raph said uncertainly.

"I've got my phone if you need me." April waved a phone with a crack across the screen. "But I want to see how it looks up there and help where I can. Cassandra said clean-up has already started."

Casey looked at his feet with a glum smile. What were the chances that this Cassandra was the same Cassandra he knew? But, no, his mom had said she'd become a part of the family when the world was ending, so it was still too early. He wasn't sure he was ready to see her again, anyway. Not yet…

"Casey?"

"Present," Casey said, lifting his head. "Something wrong, Uncle Raph?"

"Pick a tub," Raph said, waving a hand.

"Right, sorry."

"Stop apologizing!" April threw over her shoulder as she left.

Casey found a tub big enough for him and started filling it from one of the four hoses winding through the room. Raph did the same, glancing frequently at Leo as he worked. Once, he looked at Casey and grinned.

"You're going to cook yourself if you don't use some cold water in there," Raph said.

Casey looked at the steaming water, then at Raph. "I can change the temperature?"

"Yeah, here." Raph went to the spigot Casey was using and pointed to a dial on the pipe. "H is hot and C is cold."

"Is that what those are supposed to do?" Casey asked, twisting the dial all the way to "C." "I thought they were just decorations."

Raph laughed and roughly tousled Casey's hair. Casey laughed back and ducked away from Raph's hand. Seeing his tub was nearly full, Casey turned off the water and started to undress.

"Casey?" Raph said.

Casey stared at the shirt in his hands. "Yeah."

"Your shoulder-"

"Yeah."

Casey rolled his left shoulder, then kept undressing. The claw and infection scars were a few years old, but Casey could still feel the tightness in his skin.

"That's like Leo's."

Halfway through rolling up his pants, Casey stopped at Mikey's voice. He turned to find everyone quickly averting their eyes and Leo's head turned toward Mikey with a confused frown.

"On the back of my legs?" Casey asked, glancing down.

On the back of both legs were lumpy white scars, perfectly straight lines leading from the back of his knees to just above his ankles. Casey ran a hand down them, then smiled at Mikey.

"Badges of honor," Casey said. Unlike his shoulder scars, the scars on his leg were a sort of pride to Casey.

Leo turned his face toward Casey and turned one palm upward in question. Before Casey could explain, Leo tensed. He drew one finger down the back of his right hand.

"Yeah, Sensei. I've been marked."

Leo's face clenched. Casey lowered his head, a pang of grief hitting him. This Leo shouldn't know about being marked.

"But," Casey said, pushing the feeling aside, "Like I said, badges of honor. It means that not only did we survive Kraang captivity, but we were troublemakers the whole time."

Leo's mouth opened in a silent laugh. Raph just looked like he wanted to cry, so Casey smiled reassuringly. It was in the past. They were still alive. Leo was still alive.

A splash came from the trough. Everyone looked over as Donnie's head emerged from the water.

"Oops, did we wake you up?" Mikey asked.

Donnie grunted noncommittally. He slowly sat up, grimacing and rubbing his shoulders, then leaned against the trough's edge and removed the mask.

"I wasn't sleeping. But I need to check something with Leo," Donnie said.

"Purple, if you do anything besides lay back down, April will slaughter both of us," Splinter said.

"I'm staying here," Donnie said blandly, lifting his hands in a placating gesture. "I just wanted to see Leo walk, that's all."

Leo tilted his head.

"Raph's been carrying you everywhere." Donnie's expression tightened slightly. "You kept falling earlier, Leo. How bad are your legs?"

Leo shrugged, then wobbled a hand.

"Those cuts are only half healed," Raph pointed out.

"Can you try, Leo?" Donnie asked. "At least stretch your legs some. There's no sense in both of us having locked muscles."

Leo nodded, then pushed himself up. He got halfway to his feet before he gave a sharp hiss and dropped to his knees. He waved off everyone's worried exclamations, then stretched out a leg. He raised and lowered a hand, then shook his head.

"I don't know that one," Casey said.

Leo waved it off, then gave a thumbs up. But he didn't take Splinter's help to attempt to stand again. Instead, he turned his head toward Raph and began to crawl.

"This is my fault."

The thought hit Casey like a sledgehammer, pushing him back a step. Voices around him blurred together as he stared at Leo, his sensei, crawling across the cement floor.

It was his fault Leo was so hurt and helpless. His fault. He had closed the portal, he had left Leo to the Kraang. It was his fault.

Casey forced himself out of the spiral of regret. "No, no, it's in the past. We can't change anything now. You did what he said. You did what he said."

Casey's eyes darted around. He thought at first that nobody had noticed. Everyone was focused on Leo, Raph picking him back up despite Leo flapping a hand at him. Leo huffed, then bent over to pull the bandages off of his legs.

But then he met Donnie's eyes. Donnie raised one eyebrow. Casey shook his head, a silent request to not say anything. Donnie didn't react, but he also remained silent. Casey looked back at the others.

"I know you're fine," Raph was saying. "But you can stretch later, after you get cleaned up. Casey, get in your tub."

Casey playfully saluted with a smile, then did as he was told. Raph got soap and washcloths for Casey and Leo, then carried Leo to his tub.

Casey couldn't take his eyes off Leo. Leo twitched when his feet touched the water, his face screwing into an expression that was almost confused. But when Raph started to take him away from the water, Leo pushed himself out of Raph's grasp and landed in the tub with a large splash.

"Oop- Leo!" Raph yelped.

Leo sat up and offered two thumbs-up. Then he flung out his arms and flopped over backward, fully submerging himself. He came back up just as quickly, spitting water and grinning broadly.

"Oh. Good thing I grabbed a big tub." Raph sat cross-legged beside the tub while everyone else pretended they hadn't been about to run to Leo. "Guess it's been a while?"

Leo nodded, then made a face and fanned a hand in front of his nose. He thrust out a hand and made a grabbing motion until Raph handed him the soap and washcloth. Leo vanished back under the water.

Casey looked at Raph. "Uncle Raph, why are you crying?"

"I'm not-" Raph wiped his eyes, then stared at his wet fingers. "Oh, I… I don't know, it's just…"

Leo popped back up. He felt the air, frowning.

"Leo?"

Leo thrust his hand toward Raph, who let Leo catch his wrist. Leo ran his other hand up Raph's arm to touch Raph's cheek. Raph leaned forward.

And Leo spit water into his face.

"Wah- Leo!"

Leo whistled, then vanished back under the water. Raph was laughing as he wiped the water off of his face.

"I'm just happy to see…" Raph's shoulders slumped. "Leo being Leo. Even if he looks a bit different than the Leo I remember."

Casey nodded. "I get it. When I first saw you, I… well, yeah."

Casey stared at the bar of soap as he rubbed it full of suds.

"Casey, I've been meaning to ask…"

Casey didn't hear what Raph asked. Or maybe Raph didn't ask.

But Raph's statement brought Casey's mind back to when he first woke up in the lair. If Casey hadn't been so fixated on the mission of getting the key, he probably would have broken down right there upon seeing all of his uncles alive again.

Casey rubbed the soapy washcloth all over himself, washing away layers of grime and dirt. When was the last time he'd been so clean? For once, it might last. With the permanent lair, Casey wouldn't be picking up dirt during travel.

His hair was coarse and greasy from sweat and dirt. Casey had to give up on it after a few minutes, figuring it might take a few washes to get it really clean. Besides, he was shivering.

How long had washing taken? Casey was suddenly aware that if anyone else had been talking, he hadn't been paying attention. Maybe they were just talking to Leo.

Except when he looked up from the cold water, Raph was looking right at him and he had one hand against Casey's back. Casey blinked once, then twice before realizing Raph was talking.

"What?" Casey asked.

"I said," Raph said slowly, "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, what…" Casey looked around to find everyone's attention on him. "Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?"

"I asked… nothing important." Raph's eye ridges drew down. "Get dried off, Casey. I think we need to take some scans of your head."

"Why? I didn't hit it."

"Uh, Raph?" Donnie said. "Let's just forget about it for now."

Raph looked at Donnie, who raised his eyebrows. Raph sighed, then got to his feet.

Casey looked at Leo's tub and felt a jolt of alarm when he saw the tub was empty of even water. Before he could ask, a splash brought his eyes back to the trough. Leo was resting his chin on the edge.

When had they moved Leo? Maybe Casey had been more zoned out than he thought.

"Leo didn't want to get out of the water, but his water was getting cold," Donnie said, somehow reading what Casey was thinking.

Or maybe Casey had been staring. He was suddenly unsure of how long and when he'd zoned out. He shook his head, trying to get reoriented. He was letting his guard down, something he knew was bad.

"Casey, here."

Casey lifted his head and accepted the fuzzy orange towel Raph was handing him. He quickly dried off and put on the clothes April had left beside the door, a baggy T-shirt and too-big sweatpants that thankfully had drawstrings.

Mikey snickered. "We're going to have to go clothes shopping for you soon."

"Once I clean my clothes, I'll be fine," Casey said, trying to figure out what to do with all the extra drawstring once the pants were snug.

"We're burning those clothes," Donnie said. "We should, anyway."

"They aren't that bad. Right?"

Casey picked up one of his socks, since nobody in the lair wore socks he could borrow. He was pretty sure the socks used to be white, but now they were black. And maybe it was just because he was freshly cleaned up, but his socks reeked.

"No amount of scrubbing is going to clean that," Donnie said, then ducked back under the water.

Leo glanced toward the splash, then ducked after Donnie.

Casey shook the dirt from his shoes and shoved his bare feet inside to keep them off the damp cement floor. His boots were probably the cleanest part of his attire, anyway.

Casey clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I forgot my armor. I should get that cleaned, too."

"I'll get it," Raph said, starting to stand.

"No, stay with Leo," Casey said. "I'll be right back."

Casey headed toward the door. He paused when Mikey appeared at his side.

"What?"

"Nothin'," Mikey said.

"Okay."

Casey kept walking. He returned to the room where he'd fallen asleep. He gathered up his armor and saw, then started to head back with Mikey still following. Halfway out of the room, he stopped at April's voice.

"-think they're all in the bath room. I hope nothing's wrong."

"What did Splinter say?"

Casey stiffened, not hearing April's response. He… he knew that voice. But, it was impossible.

"Casey?" Mikey asked, his voice a bit muffled by the rushing in Casey's ears.

Casey stepped numbly forward so he could see the pair passing the doorway. His eyes landed on April's companion. His armor slipped out of his grasp and clattered to the floor.

April and Casey's mom -his mom, the Cassandra from earlier was her!- jumped at the sound and started to turn. Casey was already in motion, his feet propelling him forward. He ran toward his mom, remembering a split-second too late what happened when people ran at his mom.

"Ambush!" she yelled.

Before Casey could stop, his mom grabbed one of his outstretched arms, twisted sharply, and threw Casey over her shoulder. He instinctively rolled with his momentum, landing on his feet and pivoting. He flipped his saw backward and swung the handle. His mom effortlessly batted it away with a hockey stick -had she been holding it the whole time?- and jabbed at him. Casey twisted away, then grabbed the hockey stick and pulled. His mom let go instantly, making Casey stumble backward, then she charged at him.

Dropping his saw and the hockey stick, Casey brought up both of his hands, catching his mother's shoulders when she charged at him. The force knocked Casey down, but he shoved his feet up and over, tossing her behind him. He flipped onto his hands and knees as she rose even faster and swung a fist. Casey slapped the punch aside with one wrist, then caught a high kick to shove his mom's foot aside and push her off-balance.

His mom paused for a half a second. Casey met her eyes, then she gave a broad grin of excitement and charged again.

Casey met the charge, ducking under a flying fist. The arm came down, grabbing Casey around his middle and yanking his feet off the ground. Yelping, Casey swung his front half down, then shoved his hands sideways against the floor. His mom stumbled, and her grip loosened enough for Casey to squirm free. He landed in a crouch and swept his leg sideways. His mom easily dodged the swipe, then Casey was on his feet.

Casey laughed under his breath. Oh, how he missed sparring with his mom. To see the thrilled light in her eyes, to catch the subtle shift of her feet that told him to duck, to dodge, to roll with the pulled punches to the shoulder. Always moving, always watching, he knew how to read her and move with her until they were both spinning and weaving.

Commander O'Neil had once said sparring was like dancing. Violent dancing that ended with a few bruises and the occasional bloody nose, but still.

And now… now, Casey had the reach to tap her shoulder with one fist and leap back, to spin into a kick that whipped one foot an inch above his mom's.

Sweat ran down Casey's nose, flicked away with a twist of his mom's fist that never connected. She was panting, but not slowing, and Casey had never known how to stop.

Until someone yelled, harsh and loud with anger.

Until something twined around his mom's wrist and yanked her away.

Until his reaching hands found nothing.

Casey lunged after her, but something grabbed him around the middle and yanked him back, thick and unyielding like his mom's attacks hadn't been. Casey threw an elbow back, shrieking.

"Let her go!"

"Casey, Casey, woah!"

It was-

No.

Arm around Casey's middle, other arm raised defensively-

No.

Casey threw his head back, arms windmilling fiercely, he wouldn't let them take her!

"Casey, stop!"

"I won't!" Casey screamed at his sensei. "I won't leave you!"

"Casey, stop, please! You're okay!"

"I don't care!" Casey thrashed against the arm pinning his hands down. "Let me go! I won't leave you!"

"Here, Raph, hold him!"

Casey kicked, but then it was the commander's face in his. Commander O'Neil was here, then-

"Ow!"

Pain in one trapped arm, then the commander was gone and he was moving-

"No!" Casey screamed, kicking. "No, Sensei, please!"

"It's okay, it's okay," Sensei-that-wasn't-Sensei whispered. "I've got you."

Lies, it was a lie, he couldn't-

Exhaustion flooded Casey and he went limp. Tears and snot ran hot and fast down his face and it didn't matter how many assurances the illusion murmured, it was too late.

"I'm sorry," Casey sobbed. "Sensei!"

"He's here."

Casey struggled to breathe through the sobs, there wasn't time, he needed to move, move now!

"It isn't working, why isn't it working?" Commander O'Neil said.

"I don't know, maybe he… oh, turtledoves, he's built up a tolerance."

That was… Uncle Donnie's voice. How…

Casey dragged open heavy eyes. Sensei, Commander O'Neil, and Uncle Donnie -dripping wet for some reason- were there, watching him. And…

"Mom."

His mom made a weird face, but Casey didn't care. She was there, so she was safe. Everyone was safe, so…

"Did I do it?" Casey asked, slurring his words a bit. Why was talking so hard?

"You did something," Uncle Donnie said. He turned briefly aside. "Okay, hold still."

Casey watched Uncle Donnie put a needle into his arm, then looked up at Sensei.

"I ran… like ya tol' me to… Sensei,'' Casey managed.

"Sensei?" repeated Commander O'Neil.

Sleep tugged at Casey. He smiled drowsily as his eyes fell shut, but fell asleep before he could explain.

"What about your daily sparring?" his uncle asked.

"Well, he's not getting out of that," his mom said.

Casey slowed a step and tried to hook his mom's foot out from under her. She responded as soon as he moved, easily sidestepping the swipe and wrapping an arm around his middle. Casey bit back a yelp as he was swept up, his feet kicking the air and his face pointed toward the sky.

"You have to keep your feet on the ground," his mom said.

Casey craned his neck to see past her shoulder, then got an idea. His uncle was standing in reach. At Casey's look, his uncle winked. Casey grinned and grabbed onto his uncle's shell, using it for leverage to pull himself backward out of his mom's grasp. He tumbled to the ground, but hopped to his feet with a triumphant grin.

"Okay, you win this round," his mom said, ruffling his hair. She sobered just as quickly as the smile touched her lips, again talking to Casey's uncle. "There's things you can teach him that I can't. I'm not asking you to take him on rescues or missions, just teach him how to protect himself."

"And anyone who needs my help," Casey said stoutly.

His uncle smiled slightly. "Okay, you two. You win. CJ, your training begins today."

"Really?"

"Really."

Casey stumbled over his feet in his excitement, then held himself straight. He bowed at the waist like his mom had shown him.

"Hai, Sensei Raphael!"

Casey opened his eyes to the lair's ceiling and felt a sense of deja vu. He'd done this recently. Why was he back on the couch?

"Hey, Casey."

Casey turned his head toward April's voice, wincing at a slight headache. He tried to ask why he was on the couch, but his mouth wouldn't work right.

April was sitting cross-legged on the floor. When Casey tried and failed to talk, she glanced at the clock.

"Just give yourself a minute," April said.

Casey's eyes drifted around the room. He needed to do something… something that was escaping his thoughts.

"Leo," Casey said with effort.

April smiled, a bit unsteadily. "He's asleep."

Casey's eyes found the clock. Weird, hadn't it been an hour earlier the last time…

Casey took stock of his headache, his sluggish mouth, and how hard it was to lift one hand. He managed to lift one hand to rub his eyes, then scowled at April.

"You… knocked me out," Casey said with effort.

"Technically, Donnie did. But yes, we did." April nudged Casey's shoulder. "We thought you'd be out for another half hour, so stay here while I tell Donnie."

"Why?"

"Because he told me to tell him when you woke up."

"No… why?" Casey said.

April winced. "Just hang on a minute, okay? Let yourself wake up."

"April?"

Casey and April looked at Mikey in the doorway.

"He's up already?" Mikey asked.

"He's working on it. Hey, let Donnie know, could you?"

"Sure. And Donnie said, um… I'll tell you later."

Mikey darted off without explaining.

Casey rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up. April stopped him with a hand on his chest. Casey reflexively looked down and was confused to discover his normal clothes were missing. When had he changed?

After he'd bathed, right. Casey squinted, his memories filtering back.

"Lemme sit up," Casey said. "It'll help."

April bit her lip, but helped Casey sit up. He flopped his head back and stared at the ceiling. He'd cleaned up and changed… he hadn't eaten yet because he was still hungry. What had distracted him? His armor…

"Impressive," Donnie said.

Casey lifted his head. Donnie shuffled into the room, moving very slowly and leaning a bit on Splinter's shoulder.

"The amount of sedative I gave you would have knocked out Raph for an hour." Donnie shook his head.

Donnie went to the couch and sat carefully on the edge.

"Thank you, Papa, April. I'll take it from here."

Splinter left, but April just gave Donnie an odd look and stayed.

"You figured it out, too?" Donnie asked April. Without waiting for an answer, Donnie asked Casey, "Do you remember what happened?"

"No, I…"

His mom was there.

"Oh," Casey breathed. "Right."

"Cassandra's your mom in the future, isn't she?" Donnie asked.

Casey hunched his shoulders. "Yeah, I, um… I didn't think she was part of the family yet. Does she know?"

"I don't think so," April said. "Donnie and I put it together because you were talking in your sleep again. The others think you didn't know what you were saying. I mean, you were calling Raph 'Sensei.'"

Casey tensed.

"...I thought Leo was your sensei in the future," Donnie said.

"My fault." Casey cringed at the thought. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Casey, you had a really bad panic attack when you saw Cassandra," April said. "If we know what caused it, we can help-"

"Sparring," Casey said. "Sparring with Mom."

"Sparring," Donnie repeated. He tapped on his vambrace. "With anyone? Fighting in general?"

Casey squinted, trying to figure out when exactly he'd stopped remembering when and where he was. Someone had roared…

"Did Raph yell when we were sparring?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, we thought Cassandra was really fighting you," April said.

Casey stared across the room. It had been watching his mom fight, then Raph roaring. Everything was all different, but the sounds, the light in his mom's eyes.

"Don't think about it."

Casey came back to himself with a racing heart and a realization that Donnie was talking.

"He's been having disassociation episodes ever since Leo's rescue. I thought he was just tired the first time, but… Casey, you with us?"

"Yeah."

Casey drew up his knees and pressed his forehead against them, as if he could guard against the dangerous thoughts.

"It wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault?" April asked.

Realizing he'd voiced his mantra aloud, Casey angled his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "It's a long story. But I'm okay now. I won't let it catch me off-guard again."

"It would help if we knew his triggers," Donnie said before April shushed him. "Okay, another time. But until then, he shouldn't go near Leo."

Casey's head jerked up. April flinched, looking startled.

"What- why?" Casey asked. "I'm the only one who knows most of his signs."

"We'll make do," Donnie said, not looking at Casey.

"Casey." April put her hand on Casey's shoulder. "It's for you both. When you had your panic attack, it… it triggered one for Leo, too."

Casey stared at her, asking numbly, "Is he…"

"We had to give him a sedative, too, but I think he's fine now," April said. "But until we know what might cause another panic attack in you, we should probably keep you apart."

Casey drew in a hitched breath. There he went, making things worse again.

"Casey? Casey, stay with us."

Casey dug his nails into his palms, using the pain to ground himself. He'd caused Leo problems, but…

He struggled to remember what had happened, and when. "It was our sparring."

Casey blinked back the vision of his mom's body, twisted and bloody-

"The last time I saw my mom alive, she was fighting the Kraang. I-I was… I was taken away from her."

"Oh," April said softly. "So when Raph grabbed you…"

"Yeah."

Arms around his middle, his voice screaming. Roars and crashes and the clatter of metal and reaching claws.

"And I… it's…" Casey scrubbed his eyes. "It's my… It wasn't my…"

Running. His feet pounding dust and debris. His eyes so full of tears that he couldn't even see.

"I wasn't… fast enough."

The blue light of a portal. A broken scream that wasn't his. Katanas planted in the bloody dirt.

"It wasn't my fault," Casey whispered.

"Casey, you're still here." April rubbed his arm. "It's okay now."

Casey lifted his head. Raph and Cassandra were in the doorway.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Casey asked.

Raph didn't answer.

"Casey, that's enough," April said. "You don't have to explain."

"I do." Casey didn't take his eyes away from the pair. "It's my fault they died."

Silence reigned for a full minute.

Then Cassandra snorted. "I don't think so."

"But I…"

Commander O'Neil had said the same thing, when it had happened.

"From the sounds of it, you're my kid in the future." Cassandra was very, almost unnervingly, undeterred by the statement. "And I know I don't raise a wimp."

Casey stared.

"Uh, Cassandra-" Raph started.

"No!" The words burst out of Casey. "I fought! I fought as hard as I could, but they'd laid an ambush for us. An ambush we should have seen!"

"Why?"

"Because Uncle Raph knew everything, that's why you asked him to train me!"

"So, what happened?"

"He was training me!" Casey flung his hands out. "He was showing me how to hide in the shadows-"

"And I suppose I was just standing there, doing nothing?"

"No! You-" Casey broke off with a blink. "You saw them first. But they cut us off."

"So, someone put a lot of effort into ambushing us."

"The Kraang wanted the turtles dead," Casey said. "But it was just a patrol, just the three of us. There wasn't… there wasn't supposed to be any fighting."

"Then there was. What happened next?"

"Illusions." Casey could still see the dozen illusions from his new sensei. "We fought, but… it was too many. Sensei Raphael grabbed me, except it was one of his illusions. He told me to run, to get help. I refused. I couldn't leave you and Sensei."

"But he didn't let me," Casey went on slowly. "He threw the illusion and me out of the fight. He said he would get Mom out next, he told me to run, so I ran." Casey spat out the last word. "I ran like a coward."

"And what would have happened if you'd stayed?"

Casey stared at his knees, images of shell shards flickering at the edge of his mind. "I'd have died."

"And if you'd died, if you hadn't survived to come back in time, where would everyone be now?"

Casey looked at her. "There were others."

"But you're the only one who made it."

"Because I ran!"

"You survived," Cassandra emphasized. "Did you get help?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did you do all that you could?"

"I could've-"

"Did you?"

"I did everything I could!"

"Exactly! You did everything in your power. What else do you expect from yourself?" Cassandra crossed her arms. "What else do you expect from me? Am I supposed to be angry that I died in your future? Blame you for a death that you've now prevented from ever happening? Also," Cassandra pointed at Donnie, "Never invent time travel, because this is backwards."

Casey opened his mouth, then closed it. Most of what his mom was saying wasn't new to Casey. Commander O'Neil, Master Michelangelo, and Sensei had said the same thing.

But now… he'd prevented the Kraang invasion, ultimately preventing his mom's death by them.

Unable to sort his thoughts, Casey looked at Raph.

"Don't look at me," Raph chuckled. "Cassandra has a point. I'm not blaming you for anything."

Blinking at a sudden rush of tears, Casey wordlessly held out his arms to Raph. Cassandra wasn't a hugger, but she didn't have any choice when Raph grabbed her and squished her into a hug with Casey.

The explanation didn't… well, it didn't take away Casey's guilt. But hearing from the two whose deaths Casey had blamed himself for years…

It helped.

The next evening…

April dropped onto the couch with a sigh. "Casey?"

Casey looked at her. "Yeah?"

"We just spent a whole day moving things. It should be illegal that you're not tired."

"Sorry?"

Cassandra punched Casey's shoulder. "Told you I didn't raise a wimp."

Casey laughed while April mock glared at them both. Despite what April thought, he was tired. But he was tired and content.

Clean-up had begun in earnest in the city above. Casey had joined April and Cassandra when they went out to get their apartments straightened as well as they could. The three of them had then gone on to just help where they could in the city, clearing streets and helping neighbors return their homes to some semblance of normal.

He looked away from them. His uncles and Splinter didn't want to try going topside even to help, so they'd spent the day cleaning the lair up. Or, Raph had probably done most of it.

Leo -wearing a loose outfit Raph had called "pjs"- was sitting cross-legged on a couch with Mikey. After another full day of sleeping and eating, he was alert enough that he was trying to teach Mikey some of his signs. Donnie, wrapped in a heated blanket, was fiddling with a piece of tech while Raph and Splinter finished straightening the lair.

"How do you say… soup!" Mikey asked Leo.

Leo grinned and mimed eating.

"That's the same sign as pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, s'mores, cookies, and hot dogs."

Leo shrugged, then chirped.

"Okay, so that also means food," Mikey said. He turned slightly. "Hey, how do you say Cassandra's name?"

Leo made two "C"s with his hands, then put them on top of each other.

"What about Casey?"

The bottom "C" became a fist. Casey smiled, remembering how Sensei had always accompanied signing Casey's name with lowering his hands. Casey wasn't so little to Leo.

Leo paused with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Mikey asked.

Leo signed Casey's name again, then put one hand over his eyes like he was shielding his eyes.

"I'm here," Casey said.

Leo turned toward his voice. He tapped his temple with one finger, then twirled the finger away so his palm faced toward the ceiling. Then he made a sign for Kraang.

"A question about Kraang?" Casey sat on a stool that had been left in front of the couch. "What is it?"

Leo tapped his eyes, then hesitated.

"See what?"

Nobody had told Leo about the surviving Kraang yet, but April had seen the Kraang carted off. Casey couldn't help but worry somewhat that it might escape, but at least if it did, everyone would be warned.

Leo shook his head. He tilted his head back, flapping his hands.

"Hey, it's okay," Mikey said, catching one of Leo's hands with his bandaged ones. "We'll figure out a better way to talk."

"Here's a way," said Leo's voice from behind.

Casey instinctively shot to his feet and spun around, spreading his arms defensively while barking, "Not Leo!"

Donnie, phone in hand, stared at Casey with a half-open mouth. April and Cassandra were looking over his shoulder at first, but looked up at Casey's shout.

Casey glanced at Leo and found he'd pressed his carapace against the corner of the couch, teeth bared defensively. Mikey was already moving to calm him, so Casey looked at Donnie again.

"What was that?" Casey said, trying to keep his voice calm despite his racing heart.

"A way for Leo to communicate," Donnie said. He pointed to the tablet on his lap. "He can use the keyboard- okay, what was that?"

Casey rubbed his forehead. "Please, don't do that."

Leo tapped Casey's knee, made a slicing motion, then dropped back against the cushions.

"Ever," Casey translated. "I told you that Kraang can mimic voices."

"But it's just Leo's voice," Donnie said.

"If I'm looking at Leo, then hear Leo's voice behind me, that's when bad things happen," Casey said. He paused. "Wait, why do you even have Leo's voice recorded?"

"I record everything." Donnie bent over his tablet. "Just let me fix that-"

"Leo?" Mikey said.

Casey turned. Leo had his face burrowed into his upraised knees. Mikey watched him uncertainly, then perked up.

"Wait here, I know what will help."

Mikey darted away. Leo reached after him, his face tightening. Casey reflexively reached out and let Leo grab his hand. Leo patted Casey's wrist, then lifted his head and signed with his free hand like he was writing.

"Leo needs paper," Casey said, since his hand was still held by Leo's.

"Use this," Donnie said. He shuffled over to give Leo the tablet. "There's a keyboard on the screen, Leo."

Leo frowned and tapped the screen. A tinny, mechanical voice spouted gibberish. Leo made a face and held the tablet back out.

"I'll find a better voice," Donnie said.

Leo let go of Casey to flap his hand in a frustrated gesture. He shook the tablet, then his head.

"It's a keyboard, Leo," Donnie said.

Leo scowled and dropped the tablet on his lap. He wouldn't stop shaking his head.

"I can remove the voice completely?" Donnie tried.

"Sign it, Leo," Casey urged.

Leo shoved the tablet to the floor, then sliced his hand across the air.

"Raph, I need help with… what's wrong, Leo?" Mikey asked.

Leo's head swung toward Mikey and he fiercely made the sign for writing.

"Do you have some paper and pencils?" Casey asked, nervous about how agitated Leo was getting.

"Yeah, but my hands-"

"Show me," April said, going to Mikey.

"We're getting it," Casey told Leo.

Leo gestured, but he was shaking so much that Casey wasn't sure what he was trying to say. Luckily, April ran back into the room with a notebook and pencil.

"Here, Leo, I got them."

Leo thrust his hands out and took the notebook and pencil. He ran his free hand across the paper, lined the hand against the edge of the paper, then wrote a single word in big, blocky letters that either overlapped or sat several inches from the other, but it was legible.

Forgot.

"How to type?" Casey guessed.

Leo nodded once, hard. He turned to a new page and started writing something.

"Oh. Sorry, Leo," Donnie said.

Leo flapped a hand dismissively. He hunched over when Raph moved closer to check the paper, gesturing for Raph to move away.

Casey stayed where he was, and so did everyone else. Nobody wanted to leave Leo or stop watching him.

"Leo?" Raph asked as the minutes stretched on.

Leo held up a finger, frowned, then planted his free hand against the paper again. His eye ridges drawn low in concentration, Leo wrote something else, then looked up and signed Casey's name.

"I'm here."

Leo held out the paper. Casey stared at the scrawled words, sure he was misunderstanding.

"Have I ever seen a good Kraang?" Casey asked hesitantly.

Leo nodded.

"No, I mean… the Kraang are all evil monsters."

Leo shook his head. He held up one finger, then made a fist.

"...Leo, I don't understand."

Leo shook his head. He held up one finger, waited until Casey said "one," then made the sign for Kraang. Then he made a fist.

"That's the sign for a friend, isn't it?" Mikey asked. "Woah, wait a second, Leo."

"You made friends with a Kraang?!" Raph shouted. Leo flinched, making Raph lower his voice. "After what they did to you?"

Leo linked a finger from both hands together.

"He helped you," Casey said numbly. "How?"

Leo turned, then tapped the split in his shell. Then he held up both hands with his fingers spread wide. He linked his fingers together.

"He fixed your shell."

Leo dug into a pocket of the pjs and took out the Kraang tooth. His expression turning sad, Leo clenched the tooth in one fist, then knocked the fist over his heart.

"...oh." Casey said.

"What?" Donnie asked.

"He said… assuming the signs are the same," Casey stalled.

"They have been thus far."

"Donnie." April made as if she was going to swat Donnie's shoulder, but she stopped herself in time. "Go on, Casey."

"Well, a fist means a friend," Casey said slowly. "When a fist is knocked against your chest it means… it means a friend that sacrificed himself."

"Lemme get this straight," Mikey said. "So, Leo, you made friends with a Kraang-"

Leo held up a hand to stop Mikey. He turned to another page and scribbled a single word. Or, a name.

"A Kraang named Levi." Mikey blinked, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"I'm going to just say that I thought Kraang names wouldn't be so… normal sounding," April said.

"Agreed," said everyone.

Leo set a hand on either side of the name, then pulled away the hand that was against the end of the name.

"Levi's a nickname," Casey said.

Leo nodded. Because that was so much more normal, totally. Casey shook his head.

"A Kraang named Levi." Mikey chuckled awkwardly.

Leo scowled, clearly unimpressed with their reaction.

Casey was still trying to figure out the concept of a good Kraang. Why? Had it felt guilty about what was happening to Leo? And Leo said the Kraang had died to help him.

Leo curled up with the notebook and pencil again. He wrote for some time, pausing frequently to rest his forehead against his knees.

"Are you tired?" Raph asked.

Leo shook his head. He held up one hand with the palm out, then tapped his other fist against it.

"Hard," Casey said.

Well… supposing Levi was real, it would have been Leo's only companion -friend still felt like such a stretch- during his time in the Prison Realm. And Levi had died, somehow, for some reason, for him.

Eventually, Leo turned back the pages he'd written on and handed them to Casey. Casey's eyes ran down the skewed sentences.

"What does it say?" Donnie said, slowly levering himself forward so he could stand.

Numbly, Casey angled the notebook so the others could see.

"Kraang catch us want amusement

Kraang tell us fight

we wont fight"

"They made you fight each other," Casey said softly. "Why?"

Leo shook his head against his knee, then mimed turning a page.

"Levi made deal with kraang

one of us must die"

Heart in his throat, Casey turned to the next page, covered in uneven scrawls

"win winer lef alone"

Another page, the words neater until the final line.

"can't die there I thought

I lived through too much

impssible

Levi kneway."

"Can't die?" Casey repeated. "What do you mean you…"

Then again, how else could Leo have survived so long against the Kraang's wrath?

Casey turned to the next page, finding just half-written words that had been scribbled over. He looked at Leo's bowed head, then closed the notebook and handed it to April. He reached out, then hesitated.

Raph didn't. "Leo, do you want a hug?"

Leo lifted his head. Tears squeezed out of his right eyelid as he reached up. Raph scooped Leo up and held him close.

The next day…

Whack!

Casey jolted up, eyes snapping open. "I'm up!"

Casey looked around, then reached up to rub the back of his head. Even wearing his mask to hide anything he might say in case of nightmares, everyone had agreed that it would be best if Casey stayed away from Leo while sleeping, just in case he started thrashing in his sleep, something Casey knew he did. So Mikey had suggested Casey sleeping in his room, since the four brothers had taken over Raph's room for the night.

The last thing he remembered was sitting on the floor somewhere around one in the morning because he couldn't sleep. Apparently, he'd managed to doze off at some point. His eyes fell on a clock on the wall.

Nine o'clock.

"I overslept again!" Casey yelped, scrambling to his feet.

He was halfway out the door when he skidded to a stop and ran back to the bed. April had gotten him some PJs, and insisted he wear them to bed. Or wherever he ended up falling asleep.

Casey got changed and ran into the room of the lair everyone called the "living room." He stopped suddenly at the doorway.

His uncles were piled on the floor. Raph, eyes shadowed and both hands bandaged now, was holding a Leo-sized lump of a fuzzy blue blanket. Mikey was slumped against Raph's side, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he tried to manipulate a toy with his bandaged hands. Donnie was burrowed in a pile of pillows and blankets, looking half asleep. All were wearing their PJs.

Mikey looked up at Casey's footsteps. He whispered, "Hey, Casey."

"Is something wrong?" Casey whispered.

Raph opened his eyes to say, "Leo had nightmares all night. Bit me twice."

Casey winced sympathetically. For the first couple days, Leo had been so tired that he'd simply passed out when he was sleeping. But now, his sleep was becoming restless with dreams. Casey had seen it too many times before.

Casey approached Raph and laid a gentle hand on the blanket lump. At least Leo didn't mind being covered. From what Casey had seen, Leo seemed to prefer hiding in blankets or Raph's arms when he was distressed.

Leo squirmed briefly, then his head poked out of the blankets. Casey apologized softly, but Leo just shook his head. He was shivering slightly.

"You okay?" Casey asked gently.

Leo worked both hands out of the blanket. He made two fists and shook them slightly.

"His fever came back," Raph said, gently rocking Leo. "He keeps saying he's cold."

Leo whistled once, then burrowed back into the blanket. Casey leaned back, wishing he could do something to help Leo. But all they could do was give Leo time.

Casey rose silently to his feet and left the living room, not wanting to intrude any longer. Figuring April and his mom had already left to help with clean-up like the previous day, Casey went to the ladder leading outside.

Halfway up the ladder, Casey remembered the phone Donnie had given him. He kept climbing one-handed while he dialed his mom's phone. She answered on the first ring.

"Who is this?" Cassandra demanded.

Casey snorted. "It's me."

"Who is 'me'? Name yourself, coward!"

"Cassandra," April's voice said in the background, "Casey's name is literally in your contacts."

"Well, why would Casey be calling me?" Cassandra demanded, his voice growing lighter. "We're still in the lair."

Casey reached up to open the sewer cover. He flinched back with a gasp when sunlight flooded in.

"Casey?"

Casey absently shoved the phone into his pocket and scrambled outside. He blinked at the blue, dust-free sky, mostly hidden by the buildings around him.

Casey scurried up the nearest fire escape until he stood on the roof of April's building. He gaped at the sky, unable to remember how long it had been since he'd seen the sun so clearly.

An idea suddenly came to Casey, and he hurried back inside. He jumped the last few rungs of the ladder, landing in the lair with a hard thud. As he raced out of the tunnel, he caught a glimpse of something headed his way.

Instinctively, Casey threw his head back and dropped to his knees, skidding narrowly under Cassandra's swinging fist.

"Casey!" Cassandra snapped. "Don't go running around like that, I could have broken your nose!"

Casey hopped to his feet and kept running, calling over his shoulder, "Sorry, Mom!"

Casey passed April, who'd started laughing for some reason. He returned to the living room to find everyone but Donnie gone.

"Where's Uncle Raph?" Casey asked.

"In the kitchen, why?"

"No time to explain, thanks!"

Casey ran back out of the living room and through the lair, passing Mikey and Splinter carrying a box of the toys Mikey had been playing with. He slowed before entering the kitchen, not wanting to startle Leo by accident.

Raph looked up from the bowl and chicken eggs on the counter at Casey's entrance. Leo was hunched up on his cot with the blanket over his head, but turned his head toward Casey.

"Uncle Raph, bring Leo, I have an idea."

"What kind of idea?" Raph asked.

"Just bring him," Casey said, bouncing on his toes.

"Oh-kay?"

Casey waited for Raph to grab Leo, then ran out of the kitchen, nearly slamming into Mikey.

"Sorry, Mas- Mikey!" Casey said, dodging past Mikey to pass Cassandra and April.

"What did I just say- it's not funny, April!" Cassandra said, glaring at April.

"It kind of is," April snickered.

Casey ran past them without explaining or wondering what April thought was so funny. He returned to the tunnel and waited long enough to make sure Raph was following with Leo, then hurried up the ladder.

"Come on, come on!" Casey encouraged.

Casey rushed to the roof again, taking a moment to ensure it was still empty. The building entrance had been blocked by too much debris to clear the previous day, so Casey knew they would have privacy.

"What's going on?" Raph asked.

Casey turned, and was a bit surprised to see everyone -even Donnie- had followed. He smiled sheepishly, just realizing how frantic his rushing around the lair could have seemed.

"That," Casey said, pointing.

Raph turned. For a moment, nobody moved.

"What are we looking at?" Donnie eventually asked.

Casey didn't answer, eyes on Leo. As the silence stretched on, Casey watched one hand emerge from the blankets and push the blanket off Leo's head. He slowly leaned forward.

"Leo?" Raph said.

Leo kept leaning forward, then stretched one hand out. He seemed to be feeling for something.

"It's the sun, Sensei," Casey said softly.

Leo turned his head toward Casey, then forward. He touched Raph and pointed down. Raph hesitantly put Leo down, crouching so Leo could use his shoulder for support.

But Leo didn't want to stand. He shrugged off the blanket and pressed his palms against the roof. His head tilted back as a placid smile spread across his lips.

"What's going on?" Raph asked.

Casey probably should have explained, but found he didn't know how. He sat cross-legged beside Leo, smiling when Leo didn't even react to his presence. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the sun warm his face.

A/N: This originally ended with a group hug. But while Leo likes hugs from his brothers, he's not ready for a full-on turtle pile yet.