Their counterparts were so weird. They were nothing like Mikey was expecting. Sure, he originally assumed they were evil, especially since Leon had reacted so strongly to them and Leon very rarely reacted so harshly by impulse. (They hadn't trusted him with Big Mama. They had sworn never to make the same mistake again.) Once they had determined Leon had just been stupid to attack them, and then stupid for hiding the fact that he was being haunted by a demon! And not just any demon! Shredder himself! Another dimensional version of Shredder, but still! Bad! Very bad!
Mikey loved Leon so much. As much as anyone could love anybody. He loved him as much as he loved Raph, and Donnie, Splinter, Baron Draxum, and April… but sometimes, Leon was just so stupid. He was so good at thinking of plans and getting them out of tough situations. Maybe he was even better at Raph at that. But when it came to saving himself… or telling them how to help him, he was really bad at it. He was either really great at everything he did, or really bad. No inbetween, though he did tend to lean way, way, way more into the 'bad at stuff' side of things.
At least Leon was getting some sleep now. That was important, especially since he really hadn't been getting any rest for days. Why wouldn't he tell them? He once whined that none of them trusted him, but sometimes it felt like he didn't trust them.
Shell, Mikey needed comfort food.
After bundling Raph and Leon up tightly with blankets and pillows, Mikey made his way to the kitchen, Michelangelo still directly behind him. It was a little disconcerting, to have himself shadowing him, but Mikey shrugged it off. They weren't used to this dimension, or this lair. Donatello was sticking close to Donnie, too, and Raphael and Leonardo were staying in the atrium. It seemed like none of their counterparts wanted to stray too far, which…
Mikey knew he would be behaving much the same if he was in their dimension.
It was lucky, Mikey supposed, that Michelangelo was so nice. If he was radically different, like Leonardo and Raphael were from Mikey's brothers, it would be significantly less fun.
Leonardo was all gruff and serious. While Leon couldn't go three seconds without making a pun, Leonardo acted like he didn't have a single funny bone in his body. He was so… stiff. Mikey couldn't imagine him ever making a good muse. And then Raphael was so angry, that Mikey felt like he was walking on eggshells even looking at him.
Oh, well, their differences didn't really matter. Mikey could worry more about how weird they all were after he got some food. He thought they had some leftover enchiladas from last night. Leon hardly had eaten anything before leaving. At least now Mikey knew it was because of a demon and not because of Leon actually hating his cooking.
"Ooh, what's that?" Michelangelo peered over Mikey's shoulder as he pulled out the tupperware, looking intrigued.
"En-cha-la-dee-das!" Mikey held it above his head in victory, beaming up at it. "You want a piece?"
"Shell yeah!" Michelangelo did a fist pump, spinning around on his heel, planting his hands on his hips. "Where are your uh… plates?"
"Above the counter over there. Careful of chipped ones, we still haven't really replaced any of the- actually, nono, under the same counter, just grab paper plates. We should save the real ones for when Leo wakes up. I can cook him up some veggie pizza or something. Or maybe brussel sprouts so he knows never to lie to us again?" Mikey realized the plastic was starting to bend under his tightening grip, and he released it before it could snap, huffing out a breath. Michelangelo stared at him, wide-eyed as if he would never even consider the idea of revenge against his own brothers for being stupid. Okay, so, Michelangelo wasn't super like him, good to know. "...um. Nevermind! Why don't you grab some forks, too? They're in that drawer over there."
Michelangelo blinked once, then pivoted on his heel to the cabinet Mikey gestured to, digging out the paper plates first and then turning to the drawer with plates. "Just us? Or…?"
"Everyone else is on their own." Mikey huffed loudly, so if anyone was milling around the kitchen hoping Mikey would serve up an extra plate they would know there was no such luck. If they wanted him to make them food, they'd have to wait until Leon woke up for a proper meal.
Michelangelo handed him a fork and a plate, keeping a plate for himself and scooting it near Mikey. Mikey served up Michelangelo, his counterpart slotting the food into the microwave. Mikey was forever grateful that Donnie had made their paper plates non-flammable.
"Your Leo is pretty quiet, huh?" Mikey asked, feeling a bit odd asking, but also assuming it was worth asking.
Michelangelo frowned at that, turning around to stare at Mikey. "Uh, not really. He's totally one of the louder ones. At least when Raph's not super mad or Donnie's not being all science-y. Yours is the one who's quiet, dude."
"He's scared." Mikey corrected, his gaze dropping into a glare. "When he's normal, he gets all excited and won't stop talking. Yours only talks when he's talking about… Shredder. He doesn't… fill up a room just by walking in. Why not?"
"He only does stuff like that when he's being all inspirational or when Space Heroes is on." Michelangelo told him, a smile starting to come back. "I mean, I'm the same way with Super Robo Mecha Force Five and with Crognard and with Ice Cream Kitty! And Donnie's like that with science, and Raph is with Casey… huh." He drummed his fingers against the table, brows knitting together. "...I guess we're all louder with our favorite things."
"Wait, Casey?!" Mikey's head sprung up, and he stared in fascination at Michelangelo. The microwave beeped, and they traded out plates. "Raph gets along with her?!"
"Yeah, dude! They're best- wait, her?!"
"Yeah…? Her…? Anyway, I think Raph doesn't really get along with her because she tried to kill me when we first met."
"Oh, that's okay. Casey tried to kill Raph when they first met, too. He told me! Obviously, it didn't work, but I dunno if he came close or not. Raph says he didn't, Casey said he does." After a second's thought, where Mikey stared at him in fascination at the use of 'he's, Michelangelo added "Oh, and our Casey is a guy."
"Oh." Mikey blinked, not deaf to the fact that they were voicing their 'Oh's of revelations quite frequently. "Is your April a guy, too?"
Michelangelo stared at him for a long second, as if he was trying to determine if Mikey was kidding. Mikey was not joking. That was Leon's thing. Mikey teased sometimes, too, but he liked being honest with his thoughts and opinions. It made Raph and Donnie listen to him more, and was part of the reason he was the resident favorite child and brother in his family.
"Naw, April's a girl." Michelangelo reassured, "why? Is yours?"
"No." Mikey promised, crossing his arms against the table. Michelangelo pulled out the last plate, and set one in front of Mikey and the other in front of him, sitting down himself. "So I guess Casey's the one-off…? I dunno why Casey's a guy for you and a girl for me."
"Maybe all our human friends are weird!" Michelangelo suggested, stabbing his fork into his enchiladas. "They can be aaaanything!"
"Ooh, maybe." Mikey agreed eagerly, before his smile fell and he glanced at his phone. "Aw, we're gonna have to tell April about… this at some point. If Donnie hasn't already. She's gonna be angry!"
"If your Donnie is anything like my Donnie, aside from being super smart, April already knows. I'm surprised she isn't already here!"
"Oh, she's probably in bed right now." Mikey told him, nodding sagely. "We'll see her at some point tomorrow. She may even skip school to come yell at Leo, too! I hope she doesn't get in trouble with her teachers for getting Leo in trouble."
Michelangelo stared at Mikey for six seconds, blinking slowly. "..she can get away with yelling at Leo?"
"Yupers! Why, can't yours?"
"Not really, since Leo's her sensei. He's still teaching her to be a kunoichi, and I think he'd hold back her lessons if she showed disrespect." Michelangelo put another mouthful of food into his mouth, eating thoughtfully as if he hadn't just said the weirdest thing Mikey had ever heard.
"…Leo's her sensei?"
"Yeah!"
"…is he teaching her how to make puns?"
Michelangelo paused to raise an eyebrow at Mikey, bemused. "Naw, Leo's puns stink. He hardly makes any, but when he does…" He stuck out his tongue.
That sounded accurate to Mikey's observations already. Leonardo was humorless. He hadn't even made a single joke about Leon's mind getting shredded! It just wasn't right. "…m'kay. So what does he teach her to do?"
"I told you, being a kunoichi!"
"What' a quno-itchy?"
"You don't know what a kunoichi is? It's a girl ninja, dude!" Michelangelo said around a mouthful of food.
Mikey was absolutely positive he misheard. "He's teaching her how to be a ninja?!" At Michelangelo's nod, Mikey elaborated. "Leo is?!"
"Uh, yeah? What's wrong? Is Leo a bad sensei here?"
"Leo's bad at everything here!"
Michelangelo dropped his fork, not even blinking as it clattered through his lap and onto the ground below. He stared at Mikey like he grew a second head, eyes widening more and more. "He's what?"
"…oh, man, our Leos are waaaay different. At least his puns are bad across dimensions!" Mikey waved his hands in the air, trying to defuse Michelangelo's horror, but it just seemed to increase. "But his jokes are good! He's funny when he's not making puns and trying too hard. But everything else…" He shook his head.
"I mean yeah, but-!" Michelangelo sagged in his chair, pouting. "Leo's the coolest big bro ever!"
"He is! He's the coolest big bro, but he's still bad at stuff! Especially what Raph calls the 'important' stuff. Like fighting, and being serious, and listening to us, and being humble, and- umm… what's up?"
"Those are all of Leo's best stuff!" Michelangelo implored, slamming a fist onto the table, face creasing in anger. He froze at Mikey's expression, and was hasty to brush off the table. Mikey couldn't see any damage, but if there had been an ident in the table, he highly doubted dusting off the shavings would fix it. "Oops, my bad! Just uhh, panicked a li'l bit. I mean… we visited another dimension before this, or… the other dimension dudes visited us. And I mean, they all were basically the same person, sure, but at least they acted… kinda similarly to us. Donnie was smart, Raph was angry… ish. I loved pizza, Leo was the leader… just things are different here, I guess."
"Oh, um." Mikey scratched behind his ear awkwardly. "Yeah, Raph isn't angry much. I know he yelled at Leo earlier, but… he isn't usually like that. And Leo… um, this is so weird to say, it's the first time I've actually said this, but… Leo is the leader."
"You just said he's not good at all of the leader-y stuff! I mean, I'm glad he's the leader. He wouldn't be Leo if he wasn't the big bro. But… you sure?"
Mikey curled up, folding his knees in his lap and staring down at his hands. He looked up slowly, and nodded softly. "...yeah. He's… it's new. Few days, maybe."
"Woooooah." Michelangelo cooed, rocking forward. "Still… weird."
"Nope! You're the weird ones."
"Pretty sure we're not!" Michelangelo insisted, crossing his arms stubbornly. "We're perfectly normal teenage mutant ninja turtles."
"Yeah, well- wait. 'M sorry? Repeat that."
"We're normal teenage mutant ninja turtles?"
"Dude, that sounds sick!" Mikey squealed, clamping his hands over his mouth at the volume. After a second to clear his throat, he leaned forward. "We've been… well, mostly Leo, y'know how it is, maybe, I dunno, our Leos are different, but, but! He's been dying to organize 'mutant turtles, who are ninjas but still teenagers themselves', in a way that's cool! Teenage ninja mutant turtles!"
"Nono," Michelangelo was quick to correct, "Teenage mutant, then ninja, turtles! Teenage, mutant, ninja, turtles!"
"Teenage mutant ninja turtles!" Mikey echoed, spreading out his hands in front of him. "Aw, yeah, the Mad Dogz no more! Instead we're the…" he counted off on his fingers, trying to get the acronym right. "TMNT! Duuude!"
"Dude!" Michelangelo squealed, beaming. "All eight of us. TMNT!" In his excitement, Michelangelo quite forgot that he and his brothers were all adults.
(:)
Donnie was… far more eccentric than Donatello. As glad as Donatello was to have a fellow mad scientist on his side, it was a little weird to be the one trailing after another while they went on a long tangent about machinery and robotics. Shelldon was a decent fellow, but his voice sounded familiar in a way that Donatello couldn't quite put a finger on, and Donnie just shrugged when asked.
Some of his inventions seemed to have some… flaws in their morals. Donatello wasn't really sure what to do with the schematics for a shock collar to combat puns or a helmet that barked orders, or a mind-altering machine… which, okay, all of those were super cool. The technology and AI that would need to be harnessed to make sure the technology worked properly… it was a feat of science Donatello couldn't even begin to fathom.
He was honestly jealous. Even without such advancements of tech, Donatello was impressed that most of Donnie's equipment wasn't made out of trash. At least, he was able to hide it if it was, hidden behind stylized paint jobs and clever designs.
"Hmm." Donnie stroked his chin with all the gusto of a mad scientist, frowning in intriguement. "How did you even get here?"
"We… walked?"
"No, no, this dimension. How did you, not to mention Shredder, even get here?" Donnie thumped his chest, perking up with pride. "Because, no offense, but I think I would've picked up any… dimensional hopping you might've done! My equipment is quite advanced, I'll have you know."
"Well, um… there's this rift, this hole between our dimensions, connecting them. I'm not entirely sure where it came from. I mean, Mikey pointed out that it was the same location that we got a strange… glitch? Something? -from a few months ago. I was able to construct something that would tear open the dimensions." Donatello illustrated the expanding of the rift with his hands. "April has one device, and I have the other. Not on me, but I have a second one. Just in case."
"A few months ago?" Donnie perked up at that, cocking his head. "Y'know, rifts like that can be caused by an entity being transported from reality to reality quickly. If you can give me the exact date…"
"Let me check." Donatello pulled out his T-Phone, typing in his passcode and researching all the frequencies and energy spikes he had recorded over the past year. There wasn't much, honestly, compared to their earlier years of constant struggle. "Hmm, um, here." He passed over his phone after highlighting the section, letting Donnie take a look. "That was the exact date and time I first noticed it. It lasted for about fifteen minutes, and then fizzled out. Nothing was there by the time we arrived."
"Oh, fascinating. Leave that on." Donnie settled the T-Phone down on the table, reaching over to log into his computer mainframe. He scrolled through a few lines of code, then came to an area that relayed the same date as on Donatello's T-Phone, pushing back from the table and wheeling around once again.
"I have a hypothesis." Donnie slowly stated, folding his hands in front of his mouth and raising a finger on each, eyes narrowed at the table in front of him. " However, I'll need more data before I can prove its credibility."
"Well, what's the hypothesis?" Donatello asked, adjusting in his seat, slinging one arm over the back of the chair. "I can give other data to help prove or disprove depending on what it is."
"Well… the dates of when you first picked up the glitched anomaly that theoretically would've formed the rift and when our own Shredder started attacking us correlate." Donnie informed Donatello, slowly looking up to match his gaze. They hardly made eye contact for a second before Donnie's eyes rolled to the side, looking somewhat awkward. "I'll have to ask 'Nardo for Big Mama's exact words, but he said that she mentioned something about Shredder switching between dimensional realms? Something like that? I suppose Shredder was teleporting quickly enough to tear a hole through realities. Maybe that same rift is how your Shredder got through."
"Hmm, I suppose… Well, Leo would know more about this kind of thing then I would, but there's a possibility that our Shredder was pulled through the rift because it was your Shredder. Similar auras, or something like that. It drew them together, similar to how Leonardo connected to Leon?"
"It's a definite possibility, however– delay that thought process, what do you mean Leonardo connected to Leon?"
"Oh, well, that's how we knew to come here in the first place. Leo called it a vision, but he saw Shredder attacking Leon? Sort of? I don't know the exact ins and outs of it, I was busy having an existential crisis over Shredder returning, but essentially that's what happened. I'm not sure if it classifies as a vision, exactly, it sounded like two intersecting minds, based on having the same quantum structure as each other, fusing together. " Donatello crossed his fingers, illustrating the two minds intermingling. "Leo was able to strengthen the connection briefly by meditating, but at the time we were unaware it was his counterpart."
"Is it even the same quantum structure if they're not biologically the same?"
"Shell if I know. I'm just assuming at this point. Like you said; hypothesis."
Donnie frowned, massaging his chin. "I'm not liking all the variables. There's too many uncertainties, and no answers."
"I'm with you there." Donatello picked up a wrench from the stool beside him, lifting it up in a toast. Donnie blinked at if for a moment, then scooped up a screwdriver to clink against the wrench. "To how incompatible science and magic is!"
"Science and mystic, but, yes. Cheers." Donnie agreed, setting down the screwdriver with a sigh.
"Is there a difference between magic and mystic?" Donatello asked, also putting away the wrench. "We don't really have either in our world, except for spirituality, which is fairly rare. The only spirit entity anywhere in New York when we left just turned out to be the dimensional rift. I think the mystic energy I was picking up on was all the energies in here, rather than spiritual in our world."
"Magic is fictional, mystic is real. I'm not sure where spirits fit in the spectrum, but I assume it's mystic, since most ghosts exist due to thriving off of our living mystic energy." Donnie explained, pulling out a pad of paper and doodling a few shapes onto it. One big circle was titled mystic, and then drew a smaller circle inside it with the word spiritual inside of that. "As far as we can tell, most mystic and spiritual things are mythical, or we haven't been able to prove its existence yet. Even Draxum, as renowned as he is in the world of mystic and science, isn't quite sure how much is real and how much is-"
"Draxum?"
"Y'know, Baron Draxum. Barry? The guy who mutated us? Our… bleh, second dad?"
"What. No! We were mutated by the Kraang!"
"Come again?" Donnie pursed his lips, regarding Donatello in confusion. "We don't have the… Kang? I suppose that means that it's a give-and-take. Can't have Draxum and Kang at once."
"Kraang." Donatello corrected. "But, yeah, I suppose not. I've never even heard of the name. Unless if… it might be possible that my Mikey just gave him a completely different name. Like… Well, I don't know what he looks like, but Mikey probably gave him a different name. Usually we're good-ish at remembering their original names, though. If they had original names, usually they don't. I think?" He shook his head, clueless. "Anyway, you said this… Draxum guy is skilled in science and mag… mystic?"
"You should see his lab, it's like they had a baby. It's this perfect infusion!" Donnie tossed his hands up, spinning around in his chair. Donatello watched him spin a few times before Donnie stopped himself, resting his elbows on the table and folding his hands in front of his mouth. "I assume you have no mystic users in your reality?"
"No, not really. The closest we've got is Leo, but that's just because he reads a lot. He's more… spiritually in tune. And… I mean, Master. Splinter. He was also… more absorbed than Leo is."
"That sounds- wait, was? Does he- is he dead?" Donnie's brow clenched at Donatello's nod, hands curling into fists. "Oh. Well that's… unfortunate. Condolences."
Donatello's expression must have shown horror, because Donnie quickly backtracked. "Apologies," Donnie huffed out, "I'm not good at. Emotion? I don't currently have a good frame of reference for…" He waved his hand dismissively. "Closest I've got is when… nevermind. Apologies, I really am sorry. It's near impossible for me to imagine-"
Donnie faltered again, burrowing his face into his hands. "So I won't imagine."
Donatello hesitated, glancing to the side anxiously. He wasn't expecting Donnie to kind of… break at the mention. Being horrified, sure, and maybe ask some questions so he could prevent it, but not to just crumple like… this. It felt wrong. No wonder Raphael and Leonardo kept shooting each other shocked expressions whenever they interacted with any of their counterparts. They also must have realized how young the other turtles were. "Hey, uh. You seem to be imagining it?"
"Of course I'm imagining it! If you four hadn't shown up, I could've lost Leon, but now I'm learning you lost Papa! And what if we also lose-! We can't lose anyone else. So you…" Donnie growled, snapping his head up. "This better work! You better be able to protect Leo and Splinter. You… shell. You better be able to get rid of him, and-! Shell. Shell." Donnie buried his face into his hands again, shaking his head. "I hate this, I hate mystic so much. I can't do anything with it, so you better not-! Shell, shell."
"We'll do our best." Donatello promised, tentatively reaching out a hand to pat the metal clasp on Donnie's shoulder. "We… we may not get it right the first time, but we always win in the end. I promise you, we'll do anything in our power to keep your family safe. I know we weren't able to protect our father, but we won't screw up again." Donatello expertly decided now was not the best time to mention that he had also died once. "You won't have to worry; my brothers are on the job, and they're the most capable people I know. Trust them like how I assume you trust yours."
"I'll try." Donnie hissed, but didn't look up again. Donatello watched him quietly, sensing speaking wasn't really working anymore. He shouldn't have said anything, he should've just let Donnie talk. He shouldn't have mentioned Master Splinter, he should've just…
His brothers would make it right soon, and then he could get home.
(:)
It was sort of funny. Even without Shredder's presence tormenting him, Leon was fully aware that he was dreaming. But it was… peaceful. The time stretched out around him, but he could feel his energy coming back gradually, even as he wandered around the magical wonderland that his mind had created.
The Jupiter Jim characters hopping around in butterfly dresses wasn't really something Leon thought he needed, and even after seeing it, it still wasn't something he needed. It was a little odd, but Leon just expertly avoided eye contact.
Oh, also, he could fly. That was a fun development. It would've been helpful against Shredder, but whatever. He supposed he could only fly in non-haunted dreams. Or maybe he hadn't tried…?
The plus side to this whole… vivid-dream situation was that Leon vaguely feel Raph's arms wrapped around him no matter where he went, and that was comforting. His big brother wouldn't even leave him alone in relatively safe sleep. His want to be held was being fulfilled, and it counted towards the realization that Raph didn't hate him.
He still cared, even after all the painstaking agony and headaches Leon had put him through. Leon had stolen his leadership role, and by all means, Raph should be angry, and should be treating him like a ragdoll even worse than Shredder did. And then Leon had lied about being haunted.
But… Raph still loved him so much.
It was a long time of peaceful observing his mind's really random, wacky adventures before the atmosphere changed around him. Instead of a gentle enjoyment of whatever was happening, there was a sense of dread that settled over his shoulders. Oh.
Leon glanced up from… wherever currently had his attention, whipping his sword out of his hilt, raising his head up to look around. The landscape was the same, no sign of the unfortunately familiar gray fading into his dream. Everything was still vividly colored, so why…?
A loud crack echoed through the air, a dangerous churning noise grating against Leon's bones. The ground crinkled and then shattered like glass around Leon, the landscapes splintering into a thousand pieces around him. They crumpled to nothing, and, sure enough, there was the gray that had tormented Leon's dreams so much.
No texture remained, just barren nothingness, the stars coming out once again.
Oh. Oh no, oh nonono…
Leon hissed out a breath, knowing that it had been long enough that he probably had enough rest, but wishing it was longer regardless. He was hoping to wake up before he was cast here, but… shell.
Leon dropped his sword with a clatter, grabbing the back of his hand and pinching hard. He didn't want to face Shredder alone again, right, right now, they had a chance to bring him down, he just had to wait, and be patient for just a little longer-
Just a little bit longer-
(:)
Leon jumped forward, nearly breaking free from Raph's arms as the gray snapped from his vision, greeted instead by bright fairy lights. He couldn't remember those being there before, so one of his brothers must've hung them up. The candles were gone, nothing but stubs, the flames burning them long since extinguished.
He buried his face in his hands, mourning his loss of sleep, of comfort, and of rest.
Leon leaned back against Raph, his brother saying something that Leon regrettably hadn't been listening to. This time, his inattentiveness was his own fault, he knew. Soon, though, it wouldn't be. Shredder would return, and he needed the demon out now!
"I'm glad you're awake." Raph was saying, his hands gentle as he pet Leon's head, his throat deep and gravely, and oh-so-tired. Oh. Ooh, boy, he hoped Raph hadn't stayed up the whole time… Held him, sure. But he better have slept, too. "Leonardo told me to wake you up in the next twenty minutes if you didn't on your own." He didn't pause long enough for Leon to speak, instead reaching over to snatch up some fruit from a plate and handing one to Leon. "Oh, here! Leonardo also said this should help now that you're awake. It'll ward off Shredder as long as you're awake. Candles are for when you're asleep."
Leon blinked thankfully at Raph, pulling off the peel from the orange-like fruit, casting it aside. Raph sighed at his littering habits, but didn't mention it as Leon happily munched on the fruit. It was good; it didn't taste exactly like an orange, but it still had the same basic citrus taste. It kinda tasted like a strange candy.
"I told Leonardo that I wanted to come help battle Shredder in your mind tonight." Raph continued as Leon ate, shifting nervously. "Other-Leo's visited a few times, with other-Raph, to make sure you were doing okay. He doesn't really have your sense of humor. Just all seriousness, y'know?"
"Okay." Leon said between bites, arching an eyebrow at Raph. "So he's boring, good to know. Other-Raph is like… an angry bull or something. Safe to say we're superior."
"Heh," Raph agreed, smile growing and his expression softening. "There's the Leo I know and love. I've missed you."
"Aw, you did?"
"I won't if you keep letting it go to your head." Raph warned, flicking Leon's forehead. "But, yeah, I've missed the real you. Beneath all that anger, I guess I just… I'm just glad we have you back. And then we'll make sure you're back to yourself tonight, forever."
Leon looked from the half-eaten fruit then back up to Raph, eyes narrowing. "You said… you're coming along to cast out the demon, too? But… they're killing him. I thought… you didn't like that method. I mean, I don't either. I never would want to have that threat to- but you don't have to come, it's… if he's anything like me, it's not going to be. Pleasant. To watch."
"Yeah, but I'm not going to have to help kill it. Kill him, I mean. I'm just going to help protect you, if I can… figure out how to get into your head when they do it. Leonardo doesn't think Draxum's mind glyph thingy will work; we talked about it a few hours ago, and he's never heard of it. So it's just… a deep type of meditation?"
"We're not a very meditated-y family." Leon pointed out, a little worried. "How are you going to do that? We've only really tried since we met Gram-Gram, which isn't really near long enough to even get to… slightly deep. I assume. I dunno how meditation works. But I can't do it, so there's that."
"Yeah, he uh… 'pparently other-Raph is also bad at it. He's only been doing it for 'bout a week, too. Leonardo thinks we can enter, since we have a strong enough connection with you, but we'll be practicing a bit on Leonardo's mind, first. So I think… I think the other Leo, Raph, and Mikey will be coming. I'll be there, too, to protect you. Leonardo'll be explaining in more detail when you're done eating that."
"Oh, cool." Leon pushed himself off of Raph's lap, sighing out a breath as he crunched on the last of the fruit, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes. "A'ight, let's go."
Raph stumbled up to his feet behind Leon, shaking each leg as if it had fallen asleep. And… honestly, from how long they had been laying here… Leon assumed it had been a few hours, at least, so he wasn't surprised. He did feel bad, though. "Okay, gimme a second, and… ow, okay, I'm good."
"You sure?" Dang, Leon shouldn't have gotten Raph to hold him. He should've just gotten a few blankets and pillows and settled down here by himself. He loved Raph so much, but he had been so mean to Raph for so long, and… well, not him, Shredder, Shredder had been mean. But still, now Raph was tired, and his legs were asleep and it probably hurt, and it was Leon's fault for being so needy.
"Yeah, I'm… are you okay?" Raph squinted in concern at Leon's expression, reaching out to tap his shoulder.
"I'm fine." Leon sidestepped Raph's hand, pivoting on his heel, refusing to look at Raph.
"...did the fruit not work?" Raph asked, voice cracking slightly. "Leo, please, just stay in here, until we-"
Shoot. Shoot. He wasn't angry at Raph, just at himself. He wasn't angry at the world like Shredder was, he was just. Confused? Was it Shredder? It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be, and… and… "Sorry, Raph, it's fine. I'm not angry at you, I just… Sorry."
"Oh, uh, you sure?" Raph asked, trailing after Leon, wondering why his little brother wasn't slowing down to talk to him, but charging straight ahead. He skipped a little to shake off his other leg, and then put it down safely to chase Leon. "You don't seem to be… completely fine."
"Once we get rid of Shredder, I'll be fine." Leon promised, keeping his gaze fixated on the space in front of him, keeping a few steps ahead of Raph as they made their way to the kitchen. Raph fell silent as they went, but Leon could feel his eyes on him the entire way up.
In the kitchen, both Dons, Michelangelo, and Raphael were seated around the table, Leonardo leaning against the far wall, sipping at tea. Mikey was busy bouncing back and forth from the oven to the counter, making something that smelled good, but Leon guessed it was a ploy. If Mikey was as savage as his thirteen years of life had led Leon to believe, then it was likely something Leon didn't like, just to get back at him for hiding his whole… haunted situation from them.
"Heyyo, it's me, Neon Leon, I'm awake and feeling fit!" Leon called upon entering, summoning everyone's attention to him and giving two confident thumbs up. "How's everyone else's day been?"
"Oh, emotionally stunting." Donnie stuck out his tongue, and Leon blinked, because really? Emotions? Donnie? "And how was your, quote-unquote, 'nap'? Eventful?"
"Y'know what Dee, you can stop talking now." Leon announced, knowing it was his twin's way of snarking at him. Geez, first Mikey, now Donnie. Was everyone out to get him? How rude.
He crossed the rest of the way over to one of the leftover chairs, he and Raph each slipping into one. For the first time, Leon realized they really didn't have very many chairs. When Mikey was done with dinner, Leon would surrender his seat to his little brother. It wasn't like he'd want to eat Mikey's revenge meal, anyway. He'd just eat another fruit or something. "So, what's the plan to shred the Shredder?"
Michelangelo barked out a laugh, giggling from between the hands clamped over his mouth. "Aw, dude! You were right," he squawked at Mikey, "he is funny!"
"Don't tell him I told you that!" Mikey spluttered awkwardly, eyes growing the size of dinner plates. "Wait! I mean! I said no such thing, stop laughing!"
"You're crushing me underneath your rules, dude!" Michelangelo groaned. "Mikey-de-angelo don't 'ah do rules!"
Leon didn't hear the disputes; he was too busy focusing on Leonardo and the crack of a smile he had on his face. Aha! So he wasn't all strict; he did have a sense of humor! He was a Leo, after all!
Leonardo caught Leon staring at him, hastily clearing his throat and losing his smile. He redeveloped his no-nonsense persona, straightening up with authority. "The plan is simple. Raphael, Michelangelo, this dimension's Raph, and myself are going to try to enter your mind. When there-"
"Uh, no, both Raphies, you, and both Mikes!" Mikey interrupted, jerking a thumb at his chest. "I'm coming too!"
"Nope, no, sorry, big man, you ain't coming." Raph held his hands up in a calming manner, trying to stop Mikey's temper tantrum before it started, holding all his authority as big brother. "I-"
"Excuse me?!" Mikey snapped, slamming his hands onto the table, glaring at Raph over Michelangelo and Leon's heads.
"Yeah, excuse him!" Michelangelo leered, gesturing over to Mikey.
"You're excused." Leon teased, waving his hand dismissively. Raph reached over, grabbed Leon's hand, and set it back on the table without lifting his gaze from Mikey. "Wow, okay, rude."
"Mikey, com'n, I'm not trying to be antagonistic here," Raph tried again, but Mikey was quick to interrupt.
"Nope, we're not going to argue about this! I'm coming! Leon's just as much as my brother as he is yours! I deserve to be there! I'm skilled enough! Don't you forget; I mastered my mystic weapon and powers first! I bet I can figure out this meditation heebee-jeebees faster than you, too!" Mikey inhaled sharply, pointing at Michelangelo, ignoring how Michelangelo had to jerk away from getting a face-full of pointer finger. "If he can go, I can, too! We're the same age, after all!"
"Uh, naw, dude, I don't think we are." Michelangelo shared a frantic look with Raphael, half-rising from his chair. "I'm pretty sure that I'm totally older, little du-"
"Naw, not listening!" Mikey hissed, "we're the same height! Same age!"
"Wha-"
"So don't you baby talk to me about this, either! I'm coming! No more arguing! It's settled, cool? Cool!" Mikey straightened, dusting his hands off, returning to the stovetop to stir the falsely aroma smelling pot.
"Oh." Raph fumbled his fingers together, glancing over at Leon half-desperately. Leon returned the look, honestly not even wanting Raph to be in the presence of Shredder, but was unsure how to convince both his oldest and younger brother to not come. He offered Raph a shrug, then went directly into burying his face into the table and wrapping his arms around his head.
"Oh." Raph said again, patting the back of Leon's shell awkwardly. "Um. So… Mikey's coming, too. Will that… fit into your… uh, highly-coordinated plan?"
"It's flexible, not highly-coordinated." Leonardo put down his mug on the counter, shoving off the wall. "Highly-coordinated leaves no room for improvement, but flexible does. And since it's flexible, Mikey can be worked in."
"I'm sorry," Donnie interrupted, snapping his head up. "Are you implying, no, stating that you're not doing your best, here? If there's no way it can be improved, then it's not top-quality? You're not helping to the best of your ability, then, and therefore, how can we possibly-?"
"Stop." Donatello hissed, twisting to shove his arm out in front of Donnie's plastron, preventing him from getting up. "Let it go; this'll work. Just hear Leo out."
"Thanks, Donnie." Leonardo nodded to his brother, glancing between Donatello and Donnie. "But. Anyway, my brothers and I will be on the offense. Our goal is to take Shredder out quickly, but in the event where something goes wrong, Raph and, um, Mikey will be the defense, guarding Leon. The Dons will remain in the waking world, unless…?"
"Oh, nonono, not I." Donnie insisted, leaning back into his chair. "As loath as I am to admit it, I'm not adept with all this… mystic mayhem. The world of science is where I belong."
"Same here." Donatello echoed, holding up a dismissive hand. "But you already knew that."
"The conformation is nice." Leonardo confirmed, his smile polite. "But, okay. The Dons will be watching over our bodies. If we get hurt, the Dons will be able to track our physical injuries and patch them up in real time. Hopefully, this'll prevent our wounds from becoming lethal."
Leon breathed out a sigh of relief, raising his head to give off his signature playful smirk. "Well, that'll take the stress off of patching myself up each morning. Stress is bad for the skin, don't cha know." He framed his chin with a finger gun, puffing himself up with farse pride.
"Oh, is that how you stay pretty?" Donnie deadpanned. "Neglecting responsibilities, tsk tsk."
"I hate you." Leon fabricated without turning to look at Donnie, never losing his smug grin.
"Well," Raphael grumbled into his own cup, shooting Leonardo a teasing grin. "That explains why Leonardo's ugly. Too many responsibilities."
"But it doesn't explain why you're uglier!" Michelangelo hummed under his breath. Raphael's hands shoved into his face, and Michelangelo playfully batted them away. His older brother returned with a vengeance, shoving his hands more ferociously into Michelangelo's face.
"Gentlemen." Leonardo summed, clapping his hands together to stop a full-out slap war from occurring. "I love you, but you are not helping me here."
Raphael and Michelangelo reluctantly pulled away from tackling each other, but Raphael slapped Michelangelo's cheek one last time before settling down. Michelangelo pouted at him, rubbing his cheek. Leonardo glared at Raphael, which was honestly punishment enough for disobeying in Michelangelos' eyes. Heh, Raphael got sensei'ed…
"Okay, that's the basic gist of the plan. Are there any concerns or alterations?"
"Oh, no, I don't think so." Raph comforted, shooting a look at Donnie, who was still stewing but was done complaining. "We don't usually plan… at all. So it sounds much more thorough than anything we're used to."
Leonardo winced, not liking the implications of that, but he wasn't going to mention it. There'd be time for critiquing later on; for now, there was just training and preparing. "And you?"
Leon snapped to awareness, surprised by Leonardo's especial attention to him. Honestly, now that he was paying full attention, Leonardo was talking more than the others. He wasn't as humorous as Leon, honestly, who was, and he was much more down-to-business. Leon would expect it to be Raphael who was taking charge, but perhaps Leonardo was… okay, not just responsible, but also the leader for longer-term? Leon had barely been leader for five days, but Leonardo…
"Oh, um," Leon huffed out, glancing anxiously at Raph, who only shrugged back, "no, it sounds… fine? I mean… as long as you get rid of him, I don't… really care what you do."
"Hmm." Leonardo nodded, and Leon felt like he was being judged. However, he turned away without saying anything more. "Okay, so, once we've figured out how to enter spiritual planes, we can enter Leon's mind. I think either the… candle or the skateboard room will work well."
"Atrium." Donnie interrupted, feeling the desire for accuracy. "We call it the atrium. The storage room or the atrium would work nicely."
"Right, of course." Leonardo allowed, inclining his head. "Will we be in your way if we use the atrium?"
Donnie blinked, moderately surprised. "Um… not particularly. I- we mostly plan to stay in the lab for a while."
"We're collabing on a couple of inventions!" Donatello added, leaning excitedly against Donnie, eyeing Leon excitedly. "And we're working on perfecting our matching aesthetics!"
"Aesthetics." Leonardo clarified.
"Yes, that's what I said…?"
"What's wrong with your current…? Nevermind. Nevermind… so, we'll meditate in the atrium. Are you wanting to join us," Leonardo asked, turning back to Leon, "or will you be good on your own?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Leon huffed dismissively, waving him off. "I'll just annoy Dontron while I'm waiting."
Donnie glared at Leon, folding his hands in front of his face. "No, you're banned from the lab. Congratulations, you pre-annoyed me. It's a new achievement, you should be proud."
"Aww, that's boring. You're boring. Your NPC voice sucks, dude."
"Actually," Donatello cleared his throat, raising his hand, interrupting the argument, "I would like Leon to accompany us, for at least a little bit. I want to observe any injuries he got, and see what information we can get from that. Sharpness of his weapons, depth gauge…" At Donnie's pressed expression, he elaborated, "Data mining for information could prove useful later. Y'know, heighten our chances of success."
"...okay, that all sounded good," Leon somewhat agreed, "until you started using your evil scientist grin on me."
"Wha-? I'm just smiling normally!" Donatello spluttered, his smile immediately dropping. "Raph, does my smile look evil?!"
"I dunno, Donnie, does my smile look evi?" Raphael shot back a toothy grin, eyebrows furrowing and developing the most evil smile Leon had ever seen on anyone, including Donnie.
"...okay, so my smile might look evil." Donatello conceded, holding up his hands. "Like brother like… brother, I guess? But it's not meant to look evil, like him." At the mention, Donnie grinned as maniacally as he could, tapping his fingers together like he was plotting something absolutely devious. "I think that about proves my point…"
"Hey, if you keep smiling like that, your face is gonna freeze up. Dee told me that." Michelangelo informed Donnie with all the confidence of a little brother who put unwavering faith in their sibling, reaching out to tap Donnie's cheek. Donnie's face was quick to drop into a scowl, and Michelangelo retreated. "Oh, good, the process can still be reversed!"
"Why would you tell him that his face would freeze?" Leonardo whisper-yelled at Donatello, blaming him for the angry rant Donnie was starting to embark on.
"He was trying to get me to guess if he was impersonating happy Shredder or happy Raph! I was sick of losing!" Donatello hissed back with the same volume, tossing his hands in the air. "Okay, yes, sure, we've never actually seen Shredder happy, but that doesn't excuse why it was Raph every! Single! Time! Add variety! I kept expecting him to pull a fast one on me!"
Leonardo tsked under his breath, excusing it as a valid reason. "Okay, fair, but maybe warn Donnie next time to avoid any more… rants. You weren't nearly this loud or eccentric when you were his age, and you were bad enough."
"Rude, but honestly I agree. How can he be so passionate yet so emotionless at the same time?"
"I don't know, Donnie… I just don't know."
Leon chose that moment to take it upon himself to stop Donnie from practically torturing Michelangelo, leanign out to poke Donnie's cheek. "Dee. Hey, hey, Donald. Donnie. Don, my main man, hey, Von Ryan, gee, Bootyyy-"
"What, Nardo?" Donnie snapped, lurching from his angry science blog to glare at Leon, giving him the stink eye.
"First, why is your handle name also your password? Isn't that just begging to get hacked?"
"I-!"
"Ah, nerd things I don't understand. Nevermind. Second, can we please not hold these guys up? Your rants can go on for hours, and I needed Shred-Head out of Leon-Noggin - bad rhyme, I know, don't give me that look, Raph - like, yesterday. And lastly, what day is it right now?"
"Saturday?" Raph offered.
"Shell, still? Aw, man!" Yeah, Leon hadn't slept near as much as he thought. Wonderful.
"You were barely asleep for seven hours. The candles burn for eight." Leonardo explained, almost as though he could read Leon's mind. "But, you're right. To the… um, atrium!" He pointed towards the doorway, in an adventuring pose, before continuing on.
"'Kay, Captain Ryan." Raphael grumbled, shoving back from the table.
"You mean 'hai, sensei'." Michelangelo unhelpfully remarked, trailing after his red brother.
"Y'know, for once, I don't." Raphael mocked, flicking Michelangelo's forehead.
"'Sensei'?" Leon echoed, staring after them, miffed. "But that doesn't…?"
"Brotherly teasing." Donatello dismissed, not so subtly kicking Donnie's foot as the latter opened his mouth. "Don't worry about it, no family deaths here! All you need to worry about is memorizing a few typical pain-related scales and informing me of your listing on them, and maybe telling me every detail you can recall of dream-demon Shredder."
"Note, once you're done with these check-ups, we - I - am kicking you out." Donnie reported, marching after Donatello, who had firmly grabbed Leon's hand and was dragging him toward the lab.
"Aw," Leon whined, "what will I do after?"
"Just meditate, if you can." Donatello suggested that shoving Leon was a more effective method to get him moving. "In the dojo, if you have one. Based on our fight, though, it's probably not a good one…"
"What was wrong with our fight?" Donnie demanded.
"Why would I meditate? I might as well join the others!" Leon chimed in at the same time, pouting.
"I mean, sure but 'there's a difference between group and individual meditation'." Donatello quoted, tilting his head at Leon. "You… do like meditation, don't you?"
"Not really? Last time I tried it flopped so hard that I- uh." Leon paused, not wanting Donnie - or Donatello, for that matter - to find out about his breakdown when he couldn't contact Gram-Gram. "Eh, meditation isn't 'my thing', y'know? I don't like being bored."
"Oh, fascinating." Donatello mused, giving Leon one last shrug into the lab. "I'll have to ask you more about that particular standpoint, later. For now, let's get started, shall we?"
"Uh, Dee-Two?" Leon whimpered, "you actually do have that mad scientist grin now, can we put a pin in it?!"