Mikey and Raph knew they had to get to their family. They needed them now more than ever. Locking eyes they silently nodded.
Without a word, Raph hooked his sai into the chain of Mikey's nunchaku and swung his brother is a great circle. Mikey's heels knocked solidly against the two Foot Elite sending them flying into a heap, leaving the two young ninja a chance to sprint to their loved ones' sides.
What was left of the family now huddled together as both the Foot Elite rose to their feet and joined the Shredder in his slow progression forwards.
"Two Foot Elite and Shredder…" muttered Raph. "We've got company."
"Actually, three's a crowd," Mikey weakly laughed.
Raph glared at the young turtle. It was the pain in Mikey's eyes that silenced Raph's harsh reply. The youngest turtle was coping the only way he knew how.
Standing shoulder to shoulder the two formed a wall between their enemies and the wounded ninja behind them.
Donnie looked at his two brothers from where he knelt beside the young Leo. They looked so small in the face of their enemies. Fighting the knot in his throat, Don got to his feet, planting himself firmly by his brothers' sides. Through everything, they would do it together. Even death.
...
The old Leo could feel the blackness that was always before his eyes begin to sink deeper to his soul. He was the only one of the older brothers left. He had failed to protect the most valuable people in his life, and doomed this dimension to suffer forever. He had lost everything.
The young Leo let out a low moan. Turning his head to the sound, the old Leo slowly stood. No. Not everything.
He may have lost his brothers and everyone he cared about, but he would fight until his last breath for the young ninjas before him. Standing slowly, the older Leo took his place by the young turtles.
"How kind of you all to line up for death," Shredder chuckled. "Now you finally understand this battle was doomed from the start."
Doomed from the start. How cruelly those words echoed in Donatello's mind. Doomed. He had doomed them all.
Suddenly a loud crackling sound filled the room. Rays of blue light streaked through the air. There at the far end of the room, appeared the trans-dimensional portal.