-45 minutes ago-

What was going on in there?

It had been nearly fifteen minutes since the Leos had finally drifted off, and it had been nearly ten since Raph had become unresponsive. They were supposed to be out of Leon's mind by now! How hard was it to slice a demon's head off, honestly! Donnie thought they had done it before!

Donnie twisted his rubix cube, not actually looking down at it as he aimlessly clicked through the patterns. His attention was centered on his three meditating, and/or sleeping, brothers, circling between them anxiously, observing them for any possible wounds. Somewhere behind him, Donatello was doing the same, sans the rubix cube, taking vigilant watch over his own brothers.

Neither party had developed any wounds, which Donnie took as both good news and bad news. On one hand, they were avoiding injuries, just like Leonardo had instructed, but on the other hand, the lack of injuries made it feel like they weren't truly in the thick of things. Even a scratch would be better than the unsettling stillness of their six collective brothers.

"Maybe Shredder's fashionably late." Donatello suggested uneasily, sensing Donnie's equal discomfort and glancing up for the barest of moments before returning to Michelangelo. He knelt beside his brother, lifting each arm and rotating it carefully, inspecting for any injuries.

Donnie stared at his counterpart, slowly glancing down at the top of Leon's head. "Yes, that's certainly a possibility. Especially since Leon didn't gather the necessary time dilation between when he falls asleep and when your Shredder appears. I can hardly fault him, but it would be useful to know."

"I agree. It could take anywhere from five minutes to three hours for any changes, and we wouldn't know it!" Donatello agreed, dropping Michelangelo's arm and sighing deeply, glancing forlornly towards the lab. "If I had only thought things through… I could've brought a marker to draw on their faces…"

Donnie noticed that Donatello was looking especially at Raphael when he spoke, and the soft-shell raised a curious eye. "Is this about him making paper cranes?"

"Actually, he was trying to make elephants, but yes. Sweet, sweet revenge." Donatello rubbed his hands together, gaining a devious grin that Donnie was almost proud of.

Both Dons turned back to their brothers, but Donnie couldn't stop thinking about the idea of doodling all over his brothers' faces. If it wasn't so dangerous to leave, he might've abandoned his post just to retrieve one. It was certainly appealing…

"Holy chalupa!" Donatello cursed, hardly five seconds later, and Donnie turned just in time to see blood splutter mercilessly from dozens of cuts suddenly lining Donatello's brothers. The three meditating turtles didn't flinch in the slightest, but Donatello was spurred into action.

As Donatello dashed over to the first aid kit to snatch up some medicine and bandages, Donnie offered his other brothers a quick once-over to ensure they weren't also bleeding. They looked… They looked okay. Donatello and the other counterparts had been honest; they were truly protecting Donnie's family. Good.

Donnie joined Donatello as the taller turtle crouched beside Raphael, Donnie taking it upon himself to help Michelangelo.

"Well," Donatello tired, a weak smile crawling over his face as he secured the bandages over Raphael's upper arms, "at least now we know that they're fighting?"

It was a pathetic attempt at lightening the mood. Regardless, it was an attempt, and it was better than what Leon usually did, so Donnie offered a snort of amusement in exchange. It was the highest form of non-effort praise that Donnie could bestow.

Donnie finished strapping a few bandaids on Michelangelo's shoulders, wondering if he was anything like his own Mikey and liked stickers decorating his bandaids as if they were fashion accessories. He made a mental note to set some aside for later on, and offer them up later. He side-eyed Leonardo, deciding that he definitely didn't like stickers like Leon, and would be offered none. And Donatello hadn't mentioned the tiny decorations while bandaging Raphael, so probably none for him, either.

Donatello pulled away from Raphael, freshly out of bandages and searching for more, turning back for the first aid kit. Donnie didn't pay him much mind, but he was moderately confused when Donatello only went a few crawling steps away before lurching to a stop. Donnie offered him nothing more than a sideways glance, confused.

"Donnie!" Donatello chirped, starting to move again, faster than before, clawing for the first aid kit. Donnie dropped the half opened bandaid to the ground in alarm, fully snapping to attention as Donatello left.

Oh.

Oh no.

There was blood. Too much blood, that wasn't good, but where was it-? Leon, it was Leon, his brother was beginning to lean forward, swaying, and the blood kept coming, it kept pouring, and already it was drenching his side, his arm, the blanket-

Donnie lunged forward, able to taste vomit in the back of his mouth, but he forced it down, forced it down for Leon, and he couldn't…

What was happening?!

Was Leon-
He couldn't be… He couldn't be dead! He just couldn't!

Their counterparts had promised to protect him, they promised, they promised…

And they failed, and as Donnie shoved the nearest blanket against Leon's neck, praying his little brother was alive, he came to the crippling realization that he didn't know what to do.

(:)

Currently.

Donnie was not a medic. Any of his brothers could say that much. He was more about tech - or plants! - than human-turtle hybrids or whatever they were scientifically defined as. However, he was the closest Leon had to one right now.

They had never really gotten hurt enough to justify the skill of a medic, only equipped with the knowledge of how to handle common illnesses and twisted or sprained limbs. But right now, Donnie desperately wished he had at least flipped through a medical handbook or something somewhat recently.

Because Leon's neck wouldn't stop bleeding. It had slowed, yes, but Donnie was starting to wonder if that was from blood loss. The bandages kept getting soaked with blood within ten minutes, and he had to replace them. Was he supposed to replace them? Or was he supposed to wait for them to collect blood endlessly while he packed more and more layers onto Leon's neck.

Would he need stitches?

Donnie didn't know. Did they even have the supplies for it, if he did? Donnie severely doubted it. Leon had been able to talk, a testament that it had been his neck slashed and not his throat. However, the slash had been far enough in that he had been throwing up blood regularly every few minutes. Thankfully that had finally stopped, but even so…. Even so…

"I told Raph you'd be fine, you big dumb-dumb." Donnie growled as he reapplied new bandages to Leon. "I thought you'd be fine! But you really love throwing metaphorical curve balls. You just had to prove me wrong…"

Leon just glared at Donnie, refusing to speak. Or maybe he couldn't speak anymore. He hadn't said much of anything since those stupid imposters left.

Donnie definitely did not swallow back a wave of guilt at that thought. No, not at all.

"Leon, will you please tell me what to do here? You're the one with the medical knowledge from your not-entirely-useless 'doctor' phase last year. Do you recall?"

Leon resumed his eerie vigil, his stare sending a shudder down Donnie's spine.

"Look, don't you dare let yourself die by not telling me what to do!" Donnie hissed, gripping Leon's wrists and praying that his little brother couldn't feel how badly he was shaking. They had wasted too much time earlier, applying the medicine and disinfectant, when they should've just skipped bandages. Leon had bled enough that everything they put on had probably already been washed away.

"Why do you… Care?" Leon grumbled, and, despite his angry tone, Donnie nearly dropped his hands from relief alone. His relief was quickly stopped, however, as Leon's voice was starting to tremble, and it didn't sound like him. His voice sounded wonky, and Donnie found himself wondering if Leon had sounded like that immediately after waking up, too. Donnie hadn't really paid attention to Leon at the time, too busy being angry, but…

Leon was talking again. "Die now, or…" he exhaled quickly, "Die in a couple… Days, it doesn't… Matter any… More!"

"What?" Donnie balked, half taken back by Leon's actual words,and half horrified by how much effort it was taking Leon to talk, and it didn't even sound like him. "How can you say tha-?!"

"Because you basically doomed me, Donnie!" Leon exploded, thrusting his head back and flinging his arms up. He tried to force back the cough that caught in his throat, chest heaving from the effort, but then he coughed again, and again. He was unable to hold them back anymore, curling into himself and pressing a hand over his mouth

Donnie shoved a blanket back into Leon's arms, but his little brother shoved it back roughly, coughs finally drawing to a stop. Leon looked up, inhaling air sharply, face twisting into a grimace, but he hadn't coughed up any blood again, which was good.

Right?

"I'm not 'dooming' you as you so eloquently put it," Donnie scoffed, reaching out to gently cup Leon's cheek, tilting his brother's face up as he leaned over him so that he could make sure there wasn't any blood in his mouth. There didn't appear to be any, thankfully, but Donnie was still worried. "I honestly don't know what I'm doing, Leon! If anything you're dooming yourself. Will you at least tell me how badly it hurts and where?"

"Not! About! This!" Leon slapped away his hands, flinching back from his touch. He grabbed his shoulder, his fingers clinging into a nerve cluster sound his shoulder blade and squeezing, trying to massage the pain away. He ducked his head again, whimpering out a harsh breath.

Something in Donnie's brain clicked. "You cannot be serious! Leo! They lied!"

Leon shook his head, refusing to look back up. "No. They just… Didn't know."

"That's rich." Donnie snarled, reaching back over to seize Leon's shoulders, pushing his hand away from it and going in to inspect his shoulder, trying to see if there were any further injuries. "Of course they knew! Naro, the whole plan was modeled after trying to keep Shredder away from you! But they failed. They messed up, they screwed up, and now you're… you're just… Stop moving! Do you want to bleed out faster?!"

Leon stopped struggling, turning his downcast gaze back up to Donnie, exhaustion pulling at his face. "You weren't… There."

"Wow, no joke, Leo. I know you want to be a comedian, but this is just ridiculous."

"You don't know." Leon's voice was progressively sounding worse. Donnie felt bad for making him keep talking, but he needed to get Leon to explain exactly what was happening here. Both how to handle his neck and also what even happened.

Somehow, Shredder had gotten his grubby little claws on his brother. But it wasn't just their counterparts who were in there, it was also their brothers. Raph and Mikey had been there, too, and they also failed to keep Leon safe. Was that why they left, too?

Did they believe that Donnie was chasing them out, too? They had just been following orders, just like Leon, and that's what had landed them into the fire. But then again, Donnie was also following orders, and that's why he hadn't been paying attention to Leon.

And when Donatello had summoned him back over to Leon, as the blood gushed, Donnie had thought…

He had almost believed…

Whatever he had thought didn't matter anymore. Because it wasn't true.

But it was his fault for not paying more attention to his brother. Raph and Mikey had likely been distracted by their counterparts getting hurt and had left Leon out in the open. Those dummies, their hearts were too big for their own good. They cared too much. Donnie wouldn't fall for such stupidity.

…except that he had.

"I think…" Donnie said slowly, hands balling into fists on his knees, glaring stubbornly at the ground in front of him, inhaling a sharp breath. "I figured out what happened anyway, Leo."

"Figured…" Leon started, but then cut himself off, breaking off to curl into a tight ball on the ground, shivers wracking his body.

Donnie cringed, watching Leon shudder. His brother hugged his arms against his brother, whining low from the back of his throat, and through the rapidly staining bandages, Donnie could see the bleeding increase with the whimper. Movement, Leon had to stop moving.

And to stop moving, he had to get warmed up because he was…

Well, of course Leon was cold. They were cold-blooded, after all, and losing their blood affected them even more than warm-blooded creatures. And of course it hurt to be cold and hurt; he could probably feel them clashing violently, and it must be so uncomfortable…

Donnie clambered away a few steps to grab two of the non bloodied blankets, throwing one backwards at Leon and pulling the other one after him as he anxiously came back. Leon had already thrown off the first blanket, scowling at it like it was personal affront, but Donnie folded the second one around him, scoffing as Leon snapped his head around to regard him.

"Honestly, Leon, I'm trying to help. If you weren't being so… So…! Ugh, do you know how terrifying this is to witness?!" Donnie scowled, adjusting the blanket around Leon's neck, securing it in place by tying a quick knot. "No, of course not, because you're too busy being selfish and not… helping!"

Leon blinked at him, the anger fading from his eyes. His hands reached out from between the folds of the blanket to grasp Donnie's hand when it lowered again, squeezing tightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Donnie held out his free hand, stopping Leon from saying anything.

"Hold on a moment, Nardo." Donnie turned to his phone, his robotic arm extending out to snag up his phone from across the room, bringing it back over to his lap. He winced at the sight of nearly fifty missed messages from April. He knew for a fact that most of them dated back to even before the last two hours. He hadn't really… checked his phone ever since…

Well, he had sent April a message telling her that something was definitely wrong with Leon immediately following their intervention. She had offered her reassurances, but then he had put down his phone when he got the alert about the imposters, and he hadn't picked it up again. He had been too busy screaming at Leon and pleading with Donatello, and collabing, and eating, and inspecting and, everything else!

But they were safe now.

They were gone, and he was with Leon, and they were safe.

But April didn't know that. She was still texting Donnie, clearly becoming desperate from the few texts Donnie could see from the notification screen. Hardly four minutes ago, her message was borderline threatening, and it prompted Donnie to send a quick text over to her to stop her from barrelling over.

Hey, Donnie texted, Is it currently possible for you to break into a hospital and retrieve me some dissolvable stitches and other suturing supplies?

April's return text was immediate. yea gimme 10 min

Donnie strategically set down his phone before April could fully register what he just asked her and began demanding answers, ignoring the furious vibrating of his phone as he turned fully back to Leon.

"Okay, what were you saying?" Donnie asked Leon, shoving his phone as far away as possible. He reached out to graze his fingers over the bandages covering the injury. Underneath the fabric and blood, how was there so much blood, Donnie could feel the rise and fall of Leon's skin, and could tell when it split. Even without Leon's whimper, Donnie could tell.

There was something bugging Donnie about Leon's neck wound. Something wrong about the way it was cut that he couldn't put a finger on. It was too… clean? No, that didn't sound right. Too… precisely cut? It was smooth, like a blade, but Donnie didn't know why that was so concerning.

"I'm sorry…" Leon whimpered, gently shoving Donnie's hand away from his neck, cringing away. "I… I'm scared. Can't… breathe ease… easily. Hurts." He looked up at Donnie, tears already welling up in his eyes and threatening to stream down, and oh no, Donnie wasn't good at handling that- "I don't… wanna die."

Donnie jerked, curling his palms against his chest, leaning away from Leon, staring at his brother in horror. "What?! No, no! 'Nardo, you're not going to die! I won't let you!"

"Then why aren't… you trying?" Leon whimpered, curling his hands alongside the sides of his head, whimpering loudly and squishing his eyes closed, his head pulsing, and his skin feeling numb. And he was still cold, he wanted that second blanket, he needed it! "You… Sent away… Everyone!"

"I was trying to protect you! They almost got you killed!"

"And you will!" Leon accused, digging up the second blanket and tossing it around him, pulling it tight over his head so he didn't have to look Donne in the face. He didn't want to die, he really didn't, but it felt like… like that's all that would happen. "They're my… best shot…! And you just… got rid of them…!"

"They failed! They messed up! They were your best shot, but now it's us! We still have the meditation scroll, and the kumquat everything or whatever else! We know how to get into your mind, and I'll figure out how to come, too! I'll vaporize him, and-!"

"NO!" Leon snapped, shoving the blanket off his head and staring at Donnie with wide, terrified eyes. "No, no!" Donnie couldn't! "You can't! I'll die, too!"

"What?" Donnie blinked, reaching out to seize Leon's forearms, staring at him with Leon's own fear reflected in his eyes, searching Leon's face. "What do you mean, Leo?"

"Donnie…! You kill… him… you kill me…!" Leon couldn't breath again, unable to exhale air, much less inhale beyond the pull of his neck. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, and he was getting colder, and colder, and he hated it, he couldn't focus, he couldn't-

He couldn't black out, either. He had to keep awake.

"Leo, what?" Donnie's grip increased ever so slightly, enough to keep Leon's gaze on him and stop it from wandering aimlessly or closing. "You don't mean… you can't mean…!"

"I do!" Leon reassured, sniffling and trying not to completely break down, but that was already a failed effort. "I do… I really do!"

Something in Donnie's brain shifted into place - it had been doing that a lot, lately - and he turned his attention to Leon's glove. He glanced up to get Leon's permission, receiving a small nod in return, and then turned to pull it off. Getting the glove off was easy, but it was harder to unwrap the fresh bandages that Donatello and Donnie had put on hardly two and a half hours previously.

Underneath the blue bandages, Leon's arm injury lay. Leon had said he got it the same day he first started being haunted by Shredder, which honestly just made Donnie more angry at his 'twin'. After all, with such a deep cut, wouldn't that be proof enough that he couldn't handle Shredder on his own?

However, despite how deep it was, there didn't seem to be any permanent damage. It had already started to scar over, and there hadn't been anything that either Don could've done to fix it.

The scarring wasn't the issue to Donnie, though. The problem was the difference between the injury on Leon's neck and the one on his arm. Suddenly, everything was clicking into place between why Leon's neck wound bothered Donnie so much.

It was because, where the neck injury was smooth, Leon's arm was mangled. It seemed like something with barbs had driven its way into his flesh, twisting angrily. Rather than the smooth scar his neck would likely comb over to become, the arm scar was messy, jagged lines running across it, and bristling deep into the skin.

Both injuries were clearly done by two different weapons, and perhaps two different wielders.

"Shredder didn't do this to you, did he?" Donnie realized, gesturing towards Leon's neck but not touching it. "Someone else did. Going for Shredder, but when they hit him…"

Leon's shoulder rose, half covering the slice wound, but he nodded regardless. "Yeah…"

And suddenly, Donnie felt useless. Not just fairly, mostly useless, like he'd been feeling most of this time, anyway, but completely and utterly useless. He didn't know how to make Shredder leave his brother alone. Not when every attempt…

Not when Leon…

His brother really was going to die, wasn't he?

(:)

Another scroll hit Raph's lap, and he startled, moving to scoop it up and try to roll it up properly.

Leonardo murmured out a half-hearted apology as he reached for the next parchment, tearing it open with as much gentleness as he could force himself to use, which wasn't nearly enough. He was sort of surprised he hadn't ripped one of the scriptures yet, with how much force he was using while filing through them. Raphael had moved from around Raph to sit on his right, was no better, tearing through each papyrus with little to no caution.

It was stupid, but it was also just a little bit funny, just how much Leonardo and Raphael already cared about something as simple as this. Neither of them were willing to let Leon kill Shredder himself, no matter what the scrolls said.

The manuscript Donatello had found couldn't be the only account of possession-bonding. It was too vague, and didn't have enough details. If they looked long and hard enough, they'd find another one, with more information, and a way to fix things.

The only possible workaround Leonardo could even think of was if Shredder switched the mind he was haunting over to Leonardo, but what if that wasn't possible with possession-bonding? What if he was stuck on Leon forever? Or worse yet, what if Shredder was actively choosing to remain attached to Leon? When he attacked Leon instead of Leonardo… he had shown that he knew that pursuing the younger turtle would affect Leonardo more than any physical wounds.

Ultimately, Shredder wanted to bring Leonardo the ultimate pain for ruining his life. What better way to break a hero than to go after the innocent? What better way to break a guardian than to go after a family member, a little brother, a cousin?

Shredder knew him too well.

Leonardo's grip on the scroll increased, the paper crinkling under his fingertips, creasing at the pressure. He chirred out a growl, brow clenching as the words blurred, tears fogging up his vision. This wasn't good, and he couldn't fix this!

Raphael echoed his snarl, and Donatello and Michelangelo's heads snapped up to regard their two older brothers. Leonardo could see them exchange a look out of the corner of the eye, scooting backwards to sit beside Raph. Right. Of course they were worried. When both Leonardo and Raphael got angry, a fight was almost guaranteed to break out.

But Leonardo wasn't angry at Raphael, he was angry at Shredder. Was Raphael mad at him? Leonardo glanced up, but Raphael wasn't looking at him, attention fully on the parchment in his hands. Okay, good, there shouldn't be any infighting right now.

Leonardo hated to admit it, but Donatello and Michelangelo's nervousness couldn't be a priority right now. Their fear wasn't going to come to fruition, and Leonardo had more… pressing matters. Once they found a solution, he'd check in on them, but… the mission was more important than…

No, it wasn't. His brothers had told him that, and they had made sure that Leonardo didn't behave like that anymore. It couldn't neglect everything and everyone for the sake of the 'greater good', including himself. When one brother fell, so did the rest of them.

Cautiously, Leonardo raised his head to watch his little brothers, relieved to find that they didn't seem to be too particularly concerned anymore, returning to reading their scrolls with passive expressions. They kept their close proximity to Raph, but Leonardo didn't blame them. Beside him, Raphael was still flipping through the scrolls, and Raph was trying to keep the scrolls rolled up nice and tight because he apparently couldn't read.

Leonardo's searching gaze next found Mikey's, the youngest of them all locking eyes with him for the briefest second. He looked away immediately after, sniffling inaudibly as Ice Cream Kitty reached up to lick his cheeks, leaving a smear of ice cream behind.

Of course it was hitting Mikey hard. Leonardo went back to staring at the scroll in hand, nibbling his lip. It was Mikey's brother that was in pain, and Mikey had been trying not to cry the moment that Raph had headed over to tell him and Michelangelo the news. Of course, they wouldn't make Leon be the one to slay Shredder himself, but with each scroll cast to the side, it was becoming more obvious that Leon wasn't out of danger. There was a high chance that there'd be another night of this pain.

Leonardo had brought another set of candles that they could use. He didn't like the idea of using them so soon, especially if it was longer than expected before they could find a loophole, but. But. They'd figure it out.

Leonardo turned his attention hesitantly back to the parchment in hand, carefully thumbing through it and actually managing to keep his focus on the words. He only got halfway through skimming it before Donatello interrupted.

"Leo." His genius brother's voice, though low and meant to only draw the attention of his blue-clad brother, made everyone else's heads rise up, watching him warily for another sign of bad news. "I'm sorry, but can you… treat your wounds? It's making me uncomfortable seeing you three walking around an unsanitary area, and…"

"Oh." Leonardo blinked, letting the scroll drop to his lap, wincing slightly. He had… forgotten about that. The pull of their scratches had annoyed him the whole way here, but once they saw the scrolls… he had just narrowed in on those, and nothing else had mattered. "Yes, of course. Mike?"

Michelangelo pushed his own scroll to the side, passing it off to Donatello to manage as he crawled over to all fours to join Leonardo. He held out his hand encouragingly, letting Leonardo take it. Raphael huffed out a sigh, letting his own scroll flop to the ground, too, reaching out to snag Leonardo's other hand. They joined hands, completing the circle.

Leonardo squeezed his eyes shut, focusing his energy inwards, letting it curl and swirl, pulsing in his chest. With a soft exhale, he released the energy, repeating the mantra softly as the healing energy vibrated through his brothers. It twisted and knit itself with his brothers' individual energies, gaining power and strength from their own aura.

It pulsed through them, sewing together the scratches and numbing the pain, leaving behind only the vaguest tingles. Their scratches shouldn't scar; Leonardo had gotten to them fast enough.

Leonardo opened his eyes, not needing to look down to know his body was completely clear of cuts. His brothers didn't bother removing their bandages, but the wounds that had been visible were completely gone. Both Raphael and Michelangelo flashed him a thumbs up before returning to their scrolls, oblivious to their counterparts staring on in shock.

"What… what did you do?!" Raph balked, gesturing helplessly at Leonardo, looking between him and his brothers. "Ran, crow, too… something, something." He mispronounced, waving a hand around while trying to recite, moving his hand back to nudge his temples.

"Rin, Kyo, To." Leonardo corrected, "it's a healing mantra."

"Can it heal…" Mikey and Raph exchanged a look, and Mikey reached out to place a hand on Raph's shoulder before the youngest continued. "Anything?"

"I'll use it to heal Leon when I can." Leonardo promised, already knowing what they were going to ask. "Believe me, I want to. But until we're allowed back in there…"

"I'm sorry." Raph whined again, shoulders hunching. "About Donnie, about everything, we still need you to-"

"Don't worry about it." Leonardo reassured again, wincing. "We'll sneak back if need be. We figure out what to do here, and then we'll go back to help, you have my word as a-"

"That's it!" Raphael perked up, yanking the scrolls out of Leonardo and his hands and throwing them at Raph. Leonardo made an offended noise, surprised by the sudden movement, and instinctively held out an arm to grab them again, despite them being out of his reach. "That's the loophole!" Raphael seized his shoulders, shoving Leonardo out of his half-stand back into a kneel, making sure his older brother was looking him straight in the eyes. "We attack Shredder again, just like last time! But this time, you do your healing hands mojo on Leon! It'll heal him, but it won't heal Shredder!"

"That's absolutely brilliant, Raph! How didn't I-?!"

"This feels like a bad idea…" Donatello interrupted, picking at the skin on the back of his hand.

"How so?" Leonardo perked up, turning to face Donatello, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, it's just that." Donatello paused, thought about it, and scrunched his brow. "This seems like a good way to just rush in! Think it's a solution, and figure out that it's not working… rinse, repeat. I mean, if injuries translate between bodies, who's to say healing won't, too?"

"You're right." Leonardo agreed, crossing his arms as Raphael's hands dropped, brow pursing in thought. "...what do you two think?"

Raph and Mikey both pointed to themselves as one, blinking in confusion at Leonardo. At the accepting incline of Leonardo's head, they exchanged a glance, both of them nibbling their lips nervously. Raph's snaggletooth added an extra pull, drawing a droplet of blood before they turned back.

"Well, uh…" Raph rubbed the back of his head, whimpering low in his throat. "I don't want Leo to get hurt. Would there be a way to…. Uh, test it first? Like… see if maybe we can… break a finger? That shouldn't be too bad."

"I don't want Leo to get hurt at all." Mikey whined, burying his face into Ice Cream Kitty's back, the ice cream splattering his face and making him raise his head abruptly with a gasp. "I keep forgetting she's not fluffy! Whyyy…"

"I know." Raph sympathized, frowning at Mikey. "I mean. Not about the fluffy part! About Leo, I just… this is all we got, right? It's the only way right now?"

Raphael nodded stiffly, "I hate it too, believe me, but if it's how we beat Shredder, and keep Leon alive…"

"We'll try to start with something small that we can test." Leonardo agreed, drumming his fingers against his leg. "I'm not sure if it's possible, since as far as we know his only weak spot is his neck, but that's just for weapons. Brute force might work."

"But…" Mikey floundered for a moment, falling to a kneel beside Raph. "How will you pin him down to do that? Will you just… hit him a lot? Get Raph to sit on him? Because if you… I can't let my 'chucks… he'll just shatter them again! They're all cracked, too! Not very much, but if you squint you can see it!" Mikey dropped Ice Cream Kitty, letting her roll off his lap despite her confused, slightly frantic meow, yanking out his nunchucks to show them off. "They're not supposed to be cracked! How am I going to fix them? I don't know how…"

Mikey's face squeezed up tight, and he shoved his nunchucks back into their sheaths. "How are we going to do this?"

"We'll figure it out." Leonardo promised, glancing at Michelangelo, who was watching his counterpart with a pinched expression. "We won't put you back into a position where your weapon will break again. If anything, we'll just get Raph to pin him while we do that."

"And this way, you won't be in two places at once." Raphael huffed, nudging Leonardo. "No dealing the final blow while also giving healing hands to Leon. Mike and I can break his bones or something no problem, and you can stay doting over Leon or whatever."

"Oh no." Raph said suddenly, drawing the attention of the other five turtles as he buried his face into his hands. "Donnie's going to hate this… he's actually going to kill you, especially when you come in with… this plan."

"I'll just tie him to a chair." Mikey reassured, patting Raph's wrist. "Especially since…" he gulped, "this is it. If this is the only way to save Leon… we'll do it." He raised his eyes to Leonardo, even as Raph readjusted so that they were squeezing each other's hands. "This'll save him, and we'll do anything for him. Promise."

(:)

"Donatello!"

April's voice echoed through the lair, jolting both Donnie and Leon out of their stupor. Their heads snapped to attention, watching as April rounded the corner, a duffle bag slung haphazardly over her shoulder, baseball bat tapping against the walls of the sewers threateningly.

"April." Donnie greeted, glancing up at her and waving her over, trying to shove down the anxiety that arose from seeing her again. Especially with that expression twisted into anger, the emotion strong enough to hide any worry that Donnie knew was there. Oh boy, someone was in trouble… "If you can just hand me the medical supplies before we do anything too rash…"

"We're long past the 'rash' bit." April growled, shoving it into his lap with just enough caution as to not break anything inside. "What's going on, Dee? Who's hurt?! Why do you need all of…" she gestured hopelessly to the bag, nose scrunching up as he glared down at him, "this?"

"Oh." Donnie blinked, pretending like he was ignorant as he set aside the bag. He wasn't. "That. Yes."

"Was there a mission?!" April snarled, slinging her bat onto her shoulder. "And you didn't tell me?!"

"Oh, no nono! Well, I suppose on a technicality, perhaps?" Donnie tapped his chin, organizing his thoughts out in neat little lines as he started one of his signature tangents. "But, no, do not worry, April, I do not consider it a, as you say, 'mission'. On the contrary, I would call it a suicide attempt!"

April stared. Her gaze flickered from Leon, who gave her a polite wave, back to Donnie. Her face twisted into a confused expression, cocking her head at her best friend. "…you aren't funny, Dee."

"Oh, I am not trying to be funny!" Donnie plowed on without showing regret, reaching out to grab Leon's hand and raising it in the air like a wrestling champion, offering a short bow. "You see, this dumb-dumb thought that he should-!"

April shoved her bat into Donnie's arms, rough enough to send him careening backwards as she knelt beside Leon. "Leo…?" Her gaze drifted to his neck wound, and she raised her hand to cup it, but Leon caught her hand right before she could touch it. "M'kay, that's… wait, what happened?"

"April…" Leon whined, slowly releasing her hand. "Donnie's not…. right. Wasn't tryin' to… I was fightin'. 'M not stupid."

"Debatable." Donnie muttered, tossing April's bat off to the side as he started rummaging through the medical equipment, trying to organize them to the best of his ability.

"Fighting who?" April clarified, eying Donnie out of the corner of her eye, heart constricting in her chest as she took stock on just how awful Leon sounded. She looked down the length of his body, nibbling her lip at the sight of the scarring on Leon's arm. When had he done that…? Why had he done that?

"Brain ghost..." Leon hummed, pointing at his head. "Other… dimensional… grandfather is… possessing me…!"

April took his scarred arm's hand in hers, and he let her this time, relaxing as her thumb brushed over the back of his palm. "Possessed by a… technical grandparent?"

"Mm…!"

"…dude, possession buddies." April's mouth split into a grin, trying to relate to Leon's way of coping, tapping her fist against his.

"Yeah…!"

"Oh, please, do not bond over this!" Donnie groaned, even as Leon and April beamed at each other, carefully threading the dissolvable string through the needle. He wondered if he was supposed to disinfect first… he really wasn't prepared for this. "April, it's an alternative dimensional counterpart for Shredder. And it's not a Karai-April situation! Shredder is actively doing his best to murder Leon! It's not a laughing matter!"

Leon whined in the back of his throat, leaning forward and resting his forehead on April's shoulder. April squawked in surprise, raising her free hand to tug around his upper carapace. She pursed her lips at him, raising fearful eyes towards Donnie. "Why didn't anyone tell me?! Last I heard Leo was just being upset over… um, no offense Leo."

"Oh yes." Donnie dryly reported, "that was apparently not Leo at all. It was Shredder manipulating his decisions and thoughts. Our own counterparts showed up and… explained the situation to us." Donnie pulled Leon back from April, adjusting his head so that he could easily see the bandages. "This is going to sting, 'Nardo. Deep breaths. But instead of helping us, our counterparts didn't do their research, and almost got Leo killed!"

"Not their faults!" Leon whispered, squeezing the life out of April's hands as he jerked when his wound was exposed to the air, Donnie removing the bandages. "They were… trying…! But Shredder…"

"They failed you!" Donnie snapped, stabbing the needle the first time into Leon's neck. "Failed us! We stupidly followed along with them. Our paranoia faded away into gullibility!"

"Shredder's… 'paranoia'…" Leon inhaled, leaning into April as much as he could, as far from the prying needle as he could get. Unfortunately for him, April held him steady, forcing him to sit still for the stitches. "….and not gullible…"

"I beg to differ." Donnie snarled, reaching out to curl his hand around Leon's head and holding him steady, threading the needle back through the wound as his younger brother gagged. "You seemed to trust complete strangers with your life, and instead they ended up… moderately indirectly hurting you!"

"Wait, I think I'm behind the times." April blinked, shifting to better support Leon. "What do you mean your counterparts? You mean you guys… from a different dimension? Like from your 'multidimensional' theory?"

"Yes! And they're dumber dumb-dumbs than this dumb-dumb!" Donnie's hand clenched, resisting the urge to punch Leon's shoulder. Blood was once again wheezing out from the flaps of skin on Leon's neck, and he was hasty to shove a blanket back into place to wipe it away. Leon coughed, but Donnie and April didn't let him lurch away. "I know, I'm sorry, Leon… try to breathe. Maybe through your nose would be more effective. Oh, Leo…" Leon's breathing calmed down with a faulty snort. "Ah, there we are. Anyway, April, our counterparts presented us with a solution to get Shredder out of our Leo's mind. Stop him from trying to kill Leon. But instead of solving problems… this happened! Apparently none of them even considered what would happen to Leo while those two are sharing a body! If one gets hurt, so does the other! Apparently! They didn't even suggest it to us!"

"Oh." April blinked, feeling just as lost as when she started. "And you didn't tell me about them… because come again?"

"I was preoccupied." Donnie growled, ignoring April mimicking his words back as he cautiously drew the edges of the wound together. Leon jerked at the movement, but all he got for his pain was a pat on the thigh. "They tried to weasel their way into our good graces with cheap tactics, manipulating me with their dumb love for technology and their flattering words, but I should've known! I should've guessed they were going to do this to us! Ever since Donatello said that-!"

"Donnie." Raph called from the bottom of the stairs, waving at them as he and Mikey headed over. "That's enough."

"Oh," Donnie snapped, "how nice of you to join us. Where are our counterparts? Did they run off on home to their lack of a da-!"

"Donnie, that's enough!" Raph hissed, narrowing his eyes down at him. "Can you stop talking?! Hey, April, hi, sorry, we're in the middle of a family feud right now, I'm sorry to drag you into this… Has Donnie caught you up to speed?"

"No." April grunted. "I'm still just as confused. His opinion seems biased; there's no variety."

"Heh," Raph nodded, "we'll tell you everything, then. And after… We think we have a new plan in place. With a bit more testing theories before leaping in. Yes, Donnie, our counterparts are still in on it. We're going to be more careful this time, promise."

"Be more careful my-"

"How's Leo doing?" Mikey chirped, leaning over Donnie to inspect his patching job. "Oh, boy… don't worry, Leo, just a little bit longer, and we'll have you as good as new! The other Leonardo has, like, Rapunzel hands or something. It's super cool; once Donnie's mellowed down and won't kill on sight, he'll fix you right up."

"Really." Donnie deadpanned, shrugging Mikey away. "Thanks for that, Miguel. No, they aren't coming anywhere near my baby brother!"

"Can you at least… hear their plan out first, before jumping to conclusions?" Raph begged, clamping his hand down on Donnie's shoulder. "Please?"

Donnie snarled at that, knotting off the thread and wrapping fresh blue bandages around Leon. "Fine! Fine, but I'm not changing my veto!"

"Thank you." Raph whispered, wrapping his arms around Donnie and pulling him into his lap while Mikey and April snuggled alongside Leon. "Okay, first of all, April, what happened was this…"

(:)

Shoutout to Pixel_Picasso and samathekittycat on AO3 for helping me with this chapter!