Shredder's Vendetta

by Prophe-Cass

Leonardo may have beheaded Shredder, but that doesn't mean he's gone. In fact, his soul is still very much alive, just trapped in another dimension, and now he's a different turtle's problem. (Rise and 2012 crossover. Mostly the Leos, because there's not enough of those two.)

11. Chapter 11

"That's an awful idea!" Donnie shoved his hands into the air, gaping at Raph. "Don't tell me you approved this!"

"I know." Raph whimpered, shaking his head. "I hate it so much, I really, really, really do. I promise I do, but… but we need more information. We need to figure out how to get rid of him, for Leo."

Leon gave a thumbs up over Donnie's shoulder, with April assisting in lifting his arm straight out so Raph could see it. "Sounds good…!" Leon reassured cheerfully, beaming encouragingly. "I'm all for the… 'healing Leo' part…!"

"Well, I'm not!" Donnie snarled. He twisted his head enough to look at Leon, catching his brother's horrified expression, and quickly backtracked. "I mean, not like that! Of course I want you to be okay! But I don't…" he rolled his hand through the air. "I don't want them to come back! Big whoop, Leonardo can make everything look pretty with weird, glowy hands. It could've been a trick!"

"I don't think it was, Donnie." Raph reassured him. "It sure looked pretty real. What could they get from tricking us, anyway?"

"They could be working with Shredder." Donnie huffed, but from his tone it was clear that he found it as unlikely as his brothers did. He set his glare onto his hands, refusing to look up at Raph's face. Above him, Raph pinched the bridge of his nose, huffing out a sigh at Donnie's stubbornness.

"They could be!" Donnie repeated, projecting as much indignation as he could into the sentence, hands clenching over his knees. "We don't even know anything about them! The healing thing? Sure sounds like mystic. Which they said they don't know anything about!" In the back of his mind, Donnie remembered that Donatello had mentioned something about Leonardo being somewhat skilled in mystic abilities, which probably attributed to the mystic hands. So, maybe they did admit to knowing something about it, but it wasn't the same! "Or much about it, anyway!"

"Pretty sure he's got mystic hands." Mikey repeated, holding his hands out in front of him and wiggling his fingers. "Maybe they don't know a lot about it, but it is something they do. And it's super cool to watch, Dee!"

"I don't care." Donnie huffed, raising a hand dismissively. "They are not coming back here!"

Donnie hated the silence that followed his words, hated the way they watched him with wide eyes. Even April, who didn't even know the counterparts existed twenty minutes ago, was regarding him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher, but knew it was not compassion.

"I think." Raph said slowly, as if testing the waters and seeing just how deep Donnie's rage was. If Donnie was being perfectly honest, he wasn't angry anymore, but oh, so tired. Maybe his social battery was depleted, or maybe he had felt too much emotion for one day, but either way, it left him feeling numb. "That this should be a family decision. Or, um, maybe just Leo's choice?"

"Want it to be… group…!" Leon cheered, raising a fist in victory, again assisted by April to hold it as far up as he could. "I think it's… a good idea…!"

"I'm all for it, too." April encouraged. "Something small, that other-Leo can heal or whatever, sounds like a good idea."

"You've betrayed me, too!" Donnie whined before he could stop himself, heart pounding away in his chest.

"They sound like okay people! It's not their fault they didn't know the funky scrolls would apply to uh, this whole situation." April gestured to Leon before holding up her hands placidly, shrugging. "Look, Donnie, I love you, but… they're just doing their best to help, here. How many times have you or one of the other guys messed up?" Before Donnie had the chance to say anything about that, she plowed on. "And how often have you forgiven each other for said screw-ups?"

April had a fair point, but it wasn't like Donnie would admit it at loud. "That's different."

"How so?" April demanded. "How is it different? Because you don't know them? That's a lie; they're just you guys! They just, what, look a little different? You've spent your whole lives looking different, and now because someone else looks different you're shutting them out?"

"No!" Donnie snapped, narrowing his eyes. "It's not just about how they look, but they act differently too, April! It's not as simple as you're thinking!"

"It is, though." Mikey added, twisting his fingers together nervously. "They may not act like we do, but they're still a lot of fun! You were having fun with Donatello earlier, don't try to deny it!"

Donnie's fingers curled over his stomach, his abdomen clenching uncomfortably, churning with guilt. "Maybe, but it doesn't change things! They screwed up, they didn't protect Leo as well as-!"

"Donnie, you wouldn't let Leonardo heal Leo." Raph pointed out softly, jolting Donnie out of his rant, gesturing to the stitches on Leon's neck. "He's lost a lot of…" Raph hesitated, holding up one of the blood stained blankets up. He threw it off to the side pretty quickly after with a wince, staring after it. "…he could've died."

"Didn't even…" Leon inhaled sharply, glaring at Raph right before he curled over his knees, hacking out a cough. "…mention that…!"

"Sorry." Raph whimpered, reaching over to snag Donnie by the collar of his battle shell to move him to the side. After he made sure Donnie was comfortably resettled, he extended his arms out to invite Leon into his embrace. His little brother choked slightly as he crawled over to join him in his embrace. Raph scooped him in his arms, tucking Leon's head over his shoulder in the optimal position for his brother to be able to cough properly. "But, Donnie, really, if you hadn't sent them away…"

"I get the picture." Donnie interrupted, lifting his hands angrily. "I messed up, big whoop."

"But according to you," Raph thrust his finger into Donnie's chest, "it is a big deal when our counterparts mess up! Donnie, please tell me you see the double standard here!"

Donnie opened his mouth, his retort dying on his lips at Raph's expression. "Fine! Let them back in! Don't blame me if… no, when they mess up again!"

Raph heaved out a breath, arms slumping in relief. "Thank you, Dee. Can I, uh, give you a hug?" He switched Leon to the other shoulder in anticipation, barely waiting for Donnie's semi-reluctant nod before wrapping an arm around him. Donnie's chest squeezed, and he must've made a noise or stiffened, because Raph's grip tightened ever so slightly. "Aw, Donnie… I promise it'll be okay."

Donnie sighed, closing his eyes against the bubbling exhaustion and what felt like tears. "Sure, for us. But for Nardo…"

Donnie heard Leon shift, blinking his eyes open to see his younger brother reach out across Raph's lap to grab Donnie's hand. Leon wasn't able to stretch very far, but Donnie closed the distance himself, not even phased as Mikey ducked underneath their interlocked hands and wiggled his way into Raph's lap. April moved over to wrap an arm around Donnie's back, gripping Raph's elbow as she did, reaching under the twins' arms to hold Mikey's hand. It was one of the most awkward group hugs Donnie had ever been a part of, but it felt nice, regardless.

Donnie closed his eyes, leaning against Raph's side and taking a couple deep breaths.

He was not mentally prepared to have to interact with their counterparts again. He was going to have to keep a closer eye on them. Mikey was already on his phone with his free hand, and Donnie wondered if they had already figured out how to contact each other. Either way, their counterparts would probably be along shortly, and, at length… it was all up to Donnie to make sure their counterparts didn't screw up again.

(:)

Leonardo reentered their younger counterpart's lair, taking a deep breath as all five of their heads shot up - wait, five?!

He blinked in shock at the girl's head, watching in surprise at her as she adjusted her glasses, pulling herself out of a crouch into a full-standing position. She dropped Mikey's hand as she did, pulling away from the boys as Raph clambered up to his feet, keeping Leon in his arms as Mikey slid out of his lap and immediately latched onto Donnie instead.

The girl strode over, placing one one hand on her hip, flashing a large smile. "April O'Neil Hamato. Local older sister of the guys." She gestured her thumb at the turtles over her shoulder, then held out her hand. "Nice to meetcha! I think I speak for everyone - except Donnie - when I say 'thank you for helping so much'."

Leonardo stared at her hand, which wasn't even directed at him, but held out in front of Raphael expectantly. Raphael radiated with matching confusion, and he stared in befuddlement down at her hand.

Raphael looked from April's hand up to her face, over her shoulder at their counterparts, and finally to the side at Leonardo. His face was scrunched up in what would look like bitterness to anyone who didn't know him - like this April - but was really just confusion.

"Come onnn…!" April tempted, wiggling her fingers at him. "I don't bite!"

"Yeah, I'm sure your bite is worse, too." Raphael grunted with a touch of mirth, still eying her hand suspiciously. "But what are you doing?"

"Uh…" April blinked, starting to withdraw her hand. "Sorry, the guys said y'all were more serious and… all ninja-y. Just tryna be respectful was all."

Raphael nodded slowly, exchanging a look with Leonardo, the two of them shrugging in sync. Michelangelo and Donatello crept up to their other sides, watching the exchange with interest.

"Right, but why mine, specifically?" Raphael waved his hand, pointing towards it as he arched an eyebrow at April.

"Uh, because you're the leader…?" April shrugged, her brow creasing further as all of the older turtles startled, gazing at April with fascinated awe. "What is…?"

A grin snapped across Raphael's face, all outward confusion eliminated as he reached out to snatch April's hand. "Oh, well in that case, it's a-!"

Leonardo bumped him out of the way, forcing Raphael to drop April's hand in an effort to balance himself. Leonardo gratefully accepted April's handshake, bestowing her with his most respectful bow. "Leonardo Hamato. I'm the team leader."

April's mouth fell into a gape, staring at him. Her eyes flickering over to Raphael, but when he only rubbed the back of his neck and didn't claim a spot as being the rightful leader, her shock increased. "You?!"

"Ha…!" Leon crowed behind her, pumping his fist shakily. "You… guys owe me… five dollars…!"

"We didn't bet anything." Raph refused, their other two brothers nodding along.

"Well." April mused, readjusting her glasses from where they had almost leaped off her face at her surprise. "That's… different! And totally cool! I'm cool with that!"

It felt like a puzzle piece clicked into place as Leonardo finally put together that Leon… wasn't the leader? Something in Leonardo's gut clenched uncomfortably at that thought, and a wave of nausea threatened to make bile rise up in his throat. He swallowed it back, no longer feeling quite as confident as he had a few seconds ago.

Being the leader was… kind of his thing. No matter how much his brothers had reminded him that his role in the team didn't matter, and that they were brothers first, it was still hard for Leonardo to wrap his head around. Even within their family he was sensei. He had always had responsibilities, and he liked it that way. To be estranged from that…

He couldn't imagine a world where he wasn't leading his brothers, and yet, here he was, in a dimension where it wasn't the case. It felt awkward. He assumed it was worse for their counterparts.

"Well, thanks again for protecting my brother." April nodded, snapping a finger gun. "Raph and Mikey said you had some healing mystic mojo? In your… uh, hands?" She pointed towards Leonardo's hands, pursing her lips. "Mystic hands?"

Leonardo looked down at his hands, then back up at her. She didn't look anything like their own April, and that was going to take Leonardo a while to wrap his head around. He still wasn't exactly used to how large Raph was, or the red markings slashed across Leon's face. He couldn't tell if they were biological or scars of some sort, though Leonardo's numerous scars - including one over his eye, and two across his plastron - were never that bright. Natural markings seemed more likely, all in all.

"I'm on it." Leonardo reassured April, and she sidestepped as he nudged past her, moving towards their counterparts.

Raph smiled at him in relief as he neared, shooing Donnie and Mikey back as he settled Leon back down. Raph mostly pulled away, keeping a hand carefully planted on Leon's back as he searched for non bloodied pillows to support Leon. Donnie provided one, and Raph located another, and the two cushions helped prop Leon up as his brothers withdrew.

Donnie didn't stand back more than a step or two, but Raph put a hand on his shoulder and drew him back. The space wasn't exactly necessary, but it was easier to focus on Leon when nobody else was in his line of vision.

"Just try to relax." Leonardo advised, rubbing his hands together. Leon's wounds were larger and more fatal than his brothers', which meant Leonardo had to focus more in order to fully heal Leon's neck. He reached out to unwrap the bandages, arching an eyebrow at the stitches underneath. "Are these dissolvable?"

"Should be." Donnie grunted. "April?"

"That's what I stole." April shrugged, scowling at the shocked looks from Raph and Mikey. "Hey, Donnie asked. I just did it."

"Respectable." Raphael proudly told her.

Leonardo tuned out whatever Raphael said next, clamping his hands over the bare skin of Leon's neck. He huffed out a breath, squeezing his eyes shut in concentration. He felt something move under Leon's skin, feeling almost like his blood was boiling, but knew it was nothing more than the pulsing of the younger turtle's heartbeat.

"Rin." Leonardo chanted, feeling his energy build up for the second time that day, swarming from his heart to his hands. "Kyo. To." Leon's aura built up to meet his own, both forces meeting beneath Leonardo's palms. "Sha."

Something pulled against Leonardo, snagging his hands and grabbing at his aura and dragging it in. That had never happened before. "Kai…?" Leonardo choked out, eyes snapping open as it tried to pull him in, heart pounding away at his ribcage.

It danced at his fingertips, unwelcome and ugly, and he could see a blood orange glow pressing out from between their matching light blue auras. The color flickered like fire, a nasty feeling rooting its way into Leonardo's stomach as he watched it grow. He curled his lip into a snarl, hissing out a breath that radiated with more confidence then he actually had. "Retsu!"

It boiled, pulsing with every breath Leon made, speeding up as the younger began to hyperventilate, tears beading in his eyes as he lifted a leg, trying to kick Leonardo away. "Zai!"

Raphael was beside Leonardo in the next moment, swinging a leg over Leon's legs to pin them down and wrapping one arm around his front so he couldn't utilize them enough to shove away Leonardo. His other hand held Leon's head in place, stopping him from twisting to and fro. Behind Leonardo, Donnie was howling with rage, but the fact that he wasn't already kicking them back from Leon was proof that Raph was probably holding them back.

"Jin!" Leonardo hissed, his fingertips starting to tingle, and lines of blue making their way across his fingers and down to his knuckles. The blood orange energy burned, flaring out and ripping against Leonardo, snagging at him. He felt his neck wither in pain, similar to how he was sure Leon was feeling, but it was nothing more than a phantom pain.

Sometimes, after healing particularly lethal wounds on his brothers, he'd start to feel it, too. Share the pain with them for a daunting few days until they forgot what it felt like. Seemed like today was one of those times.

"Zen!" Leonardo finished, but he knew the wound was still there. It was starting to knit back together, which was good, but he could still feel the blistered skin underneath his palms, which meant it wasn't over yet. He started it again. "Rin!"

The angry buzzing beneath Leon's skin got worse, snagging at Leonardo. It was trying to snag away Leonardo's energy before it could be turned towards Leon, and Leonardo could feel it. His voice developed into a fierce growl. "Kyo!"

The closer in he got, the more he recognized the energy. Somehow, Shredder was fighting back. It didn't matter how recently Leon had eaten the kumquats, Shredder was fighting back. Maybe it was on a subconscious level, somehow finding a loophole in the laws of the kumquat, but the fact that he was here didn't sit right with Leonardo. "To!"

His aura was a twisted color between Raphael and Michelangelo's. How dare he take his brothers' colors and twist them? The color was like fire, like that night on top of Shredder's mansion. It had been the color of Shredder's aura long before the turtles were even born, but it was a prophecy, too. It was fire that burned down the Hamato monastery and started Oroku Saki's life of hatred, and it was fire that ended Shredder. Not for good, if this experience was anything to go by. "Sha!"

The fact that Shredder hadn't cowered away was good. He was coming to fight, which meant he had something to lose from this. It was proof enough for Leonardo that Leon would get healed and Shredder wouldn't. "Kai!" They'd still test it, of course, before they put Leon's life in danger, but it was still interesting to note. If Shredder was actively trying to stop Leonardo from healing them both… he was either more spiteful or more insane then Leonardo thought, or some mixture of both. "Retsu!"

Nobody had ever reacted as violently as Leon was to Leonardo's healing hands before. Karai had her fair amount of struggles against them while trying to be rid of the brain worm, but it was nothing like this. Raphael was hardly managing to keep him pinned as it was, and Leon was only growing more desperate the longer Leon struggled. "Zai!"

Wait, the healing hands had helped remove the brain worm from Karai. There had been a great deal of struggle with her, and while they had never discovered how, exactly, it got removed, and Karai didn't like talking about it. The way she made it sound, though, made it clear that it had been driven out somehow, and Leonardo had his suspicions that it had been the healing mantra that at least partially did the trick. "Jin!"

If the healing hands could draw out poison and a brain worm, then there was a possibility…

It was only a slim chance, but it was a chance nonetheless.

"Zen!" Leonardo growled with new purpose, focusing on getting Shredder out like the parasite he was, ignoring the half-healed wound. "Rin!" This time, when Shredder's aura pulled on Leonardo, he pulled back, focusing on latching on. "Kyo!" He withdrew his energy, scrambling to grab Shredder as the demon tried moving away, snarl tugging at his lips. "To!" Shredder was livid, and Leon was screaming, and Raphael was staring at Leonardo in confusion, and somewhere behind them Donnie raved and Raph whimpered. "Sha!"

It felt like pulling an endless stream of handkerchiefs out of a sleeve, like trying to pull out a string and unraveling everything else. Shredder kept coming out but he remained as much as before. "Kai!" The orangish-reddish glow was everywhere at once, completely enveloping Leonardo's hands and Leon's neck, cruel and unyielding. "Retsu!" It pulsed against Leonardo, pulled tight and refused to come out anymore. Leonardo bit out a snarl, and held on for all he was worth. "Zai!"

Leon's hand clamped down over Leonardo's wrist, trying to shove him away as he whimpered, tears cascading down his cheeks. Raphael wrestled with Leon, trying to pull his hand away from Leonardo, growling when his attempts failed and Leon just held on more. "Jin!" Leon's knuckles turned white with the force, and it felt like he was trying to relieve all his pain out on Leonardo. His other hand reached up and snagged around Raphael's upper arm, squeezing him with the same vigor. "Zen!"

The circle began again, snarls of anger and hot, bubbling rage spilling out from between Leonardo's lips as he faced Shredder, pushing and pulling with as much strength as Shredder was. "Rin!" It was a cycle of violence, spanning back generations and generations. Before even Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki were born, the Hamato and Foot Clans had always been at odds. "Kyo!" Even after Shredder's death, the cycle didn't end. He had come back, twisting himself into Leon's soul, believing it to be reincarnation, or the next generation, or something so spiteful, Leonardo didn't know what to think of it. "To!"

Leon's grip was starting to slacken, his breath coming out in short, raspy gasps, but Leonardo doubted it was because he was healing. "Sha!" To feel a soul being torn from his body was likely painful, but Leonardo couldn't stop! He needed to end this, now. "Kai!" His neck was burning, pulsing with hot fire, bubbling in his bones. The longer Leonardo chanted, the worse it got for himself and Leon, and the more Shredder withered. "Retsu!"

Raphael was saying something Leonardo couldn't quite make out over the ringing of his ears, finally able to pry Leon's hand from Leonardo and pinning it to the former's chest. "Zai?!" Raphael gestured hopelessly to the orange glow radiating from Leon's neck, eyes growing more frantic. Leonardo couldn't worry about his brother's worry right now, he had to focus. "Jin!"

There was something wrong about this, and as Leonardo pulled on Shredder, a roar echoing in his own ears that he highly doubted anyone but Leon would be able to hear, he realized what the problem was. As he dragged Shredder out of Leon's body, Shredder remained twisted and fused with Leon. Shredder was dragging Leon out with him.

If Leonardo succeeded… all that would be left was an empty husk of a body.

"Zen." Leonardo finished with a whisper, releasing Shredder and feeling him retreat, vanishing and slinking away back into the depths of Leon's body with a flash, refusing to be summoned up to the surface.

Leonardo had failed.

The orange glow was gone, but Leonardo felt no victory. He had tried to draw out Shredder, but instead he had nearly killed Leon.

No wonder Leon had kicked back and struggled as much as he had. No wonder there was such unbelievable pain snapping across their bond. Leonardo hadn't thought things through and he had almost…

"Rin." Leonardo started again, forcing all thoughts of Shredder out of his mind, and only focusing on Leon's neck wound. "Kyo." He couldn't dwell, not when Leon still needed him. "To."

Shredder didn't bubble back up to the surface, mellowing back into the subconsciousness of Leon's mind. "Sha." There was no telltale glow of Shredder's blood orange aura. "Kai." Leon's own essence wasn't too eager about rising up to help the healing process, either, and Leonardo couldn't even bring himself to be frustrated over it. "Retsu."

Leonardo kept his attention as firmly mounted on knitting together Leon's injury as he could. "Zai." Oh, he felt so tired. "Jin." At least, without Shredder absorbing the healing energy or providing a distraction, the wound healed quickly. "Zen."

Leonardo pulled back, hardly paying a second's glance to Leon's neck. It was completely healed, now. Of course it was.

No thanks to Leonardo, who had almost killed him again because of his stupid, stupid rash thinking…

"Let me look." Donnie breathed, shoving his way past Leonardo to brush his fingers over Leon's neck. "Well, it looks okay… how do you feel?"

"Like I was run over by a truck, Dee." Leon laughed, looking at Leonardo instead of at Donnie, brow furrowed in… What? Blame? Anger? "But that's probably just the blood loss, it feels fine. Maybe a little tight…"

"Well, you're speaking normally. That's a good sign." Donnie put the back of his hand against Leon's forehead. "And your temperature feels alright. I'll get you something to get your blood sugar up, and-?! Thanks, I guess?!" Donnie looked down at the soda Raphael had passed him, and then back at Raphael. His brow crinkled with distrust, but then he cracked it open and passed it over to Leon.

Leonardo reached out an arm to point to the soda, half turning to face Raphael and ask just where he had gotten it from, when something caught his eye. Leonardo's arms were glowing blue.

At least, parts of them were. Partially following veins, but for the most part following a subpar grid pattern, glowing blue cracks spread across his arms from his fingertips up to his elbows, where they disappeared from view underneath his elbow pads.

The glow was fading fast, leaving behind pale white streaks the same color as Leonardo's scars, but even those vanished a second or two later. The static buildup of the healing energy in Leonardo's chest calmed down, and the cracks vanished, streaking off into nothing.

Leonardo stared at his limbs, rotating his hands carefully. While all cracks were gone from his hands and arms, he saw the barest remains of the faintest outlines of white lines crisscrossing over fingertips. Where had those come from? His healing hands had never caused such markings before.

"What's wrong with your hands?" Mikey asked, seeming to spawn at Leonardo's side, peering down in confusion at them.

"I… don't know?" Leonardo shrugged, glancing around for Mikey's brothers, finding them all sitting around Leon with April. Leonardo's own brothers were sitting only a few steps back, listening to their younger counterparts' conversations. Leonardo was confused as to why Mikey was paying attention to him rather than his own Leo, but it was still kind of him.

"Why were they glowing?" Mikey asked, falling to a kneel to pull Leonardo's hands into his lap. Leonardo flinched at the sudden touch, even though it didn't really hurt, but was just unexpected, but let Mikey do it anyway.

"I don't know." Leonardo repeated as Mikey squinted at his fingers, holding them up close. "What are you doing?"

Mikey shrugged, looking up with a half-guilty smile. "Trying to see if your hands look different, now. But I dunno how they looked before… Is this the first time they glowed like that? With all the shiny cracks?"

"Yes. I've never read anything about that, before, but I've also never heard of anyone…" Leonardo paused, clamping his jaw shut. He wouldn't elaborate before his own brothers knew what he had attempted to do, and he just knew Mikey was going to ask. He twisted his head away to try to meet Raphael's eyes for an evac. Raphael didn't notice him staring, shifting so his back was completely to Leonardo. Shellhead.

"Oh, yeah." Mikey enthusiastically agreed, giving up on inspecting Leonardo's hands and letting him have them back. "Nobody's probably ever healed a wound like that before, huh?"

Solid excuse. "Yes! It's. Very unlikely that anyone has before." Leonardo confirmed, nodding maybe a little too quickly, but Mikey didn't seem to notice. "It's an unusual spot for an injury, even in… our line of work."

"Yeah." Mikey hummed, wincing slightly. "Especially since it wasn't even directed at Leo." He nibbled his lip. "Hey, uh… your sword went pretty far into Shredder's neck, but not super far into Leo's. Did it… change, because they're different sizes?"

"I think it adjusted." Leonardo folded his hands into his lip, tipping his fingers into the crevice of his lap so that Mikey couldn't see them. "Which is a good thing. I don't think he would've survived if it… translated directly."

Mikey nodded a bit slower than before, mouth pursing into a scowl. Yeah, maybe don't mention that particular point.

"How're the kusarigama?" Leonardo asked, trying to change the subject, but he immediately winced after that, because that didn't seem like it was a better topic.

"Kusari… gama?" Mikey arched an eyebrow, jutting out his bottom lip. "You mean my 'chucks?"

Leonardo blinked, nodding slowly. "Yes?"

"Oh, it's fine." Mikey comforted, pulling them out and juggling from one hand to the other. He gave them an experimental spin, and launched into a battle pose despite still being on his knees. "They look cracked, but… they're really not! I guess I…" he laughed nervously, slipping away one nunchuck to rub the back of his head, "freaked out for nothing, huh?"

"Not nothing." Leonardo reassured, tilting his head at Mikey and observing him carefully. "Our weapons are our lifeblood. They hold the ability to preserve our lives." 'And to end others' went unsaid, but from Mikey's widening eyes, he heard it anyway. "So many of our weapons have been shattered or lost in battle, and every time it happens, it's dangerous to our own lives. And I assume, with your age, and how powerful your weapons are… it's worse for you?"

Mikey nodded, pressing a hand over his heart. "They're… they're really important for us, yeah." His smile grew, and he glanced over at Leon, who was currently sitting in Raph's lap and comfortingly saying something to Donnie, no longer focused on Leonardo. "But not as important as each other. I would… I would give them up again in a heartbreak if it meant he was okay." Mikey's eyes rounded back on Leonardo. "And you made him okay. So, um… take care of your hands, okay? If you need anything for them, let one of us - but not Donnie - know, okay?"

Leonardo smiled gratefully, giving Mikey's hand an affectionate pat. "I will. But right now… I think Leon should have another kumquat." The three hours were up. Maybe that's why Shredder had been so aggressive and so twisted with Leon…? No, no. He was not trying something so lethal again.

"Ohmigosh!" Mikey perked up, standing straight up, nearly knocking Leonardo over as a result, and tore down the hall towards the candle room, leaving Leonardo behind. "Thanks, big Leo! Bye!"

Leonardo blinked after him, a grin breaking out across his face at how overeager he was. Mikey reminded him so much of how Michelangelo acted at that age, and how empathetic he always had been. It was nice.

Leonardo snapped himself out of his nostalgia, regarding his hands one last time. There was nothing really wrong with them, just a general tiredness that seeped into his bones from using too much energy all at once. So much, for nothing.

His brothers' heads snapped up when he stood up, and all three scrambled to fall in line next to him. Raph looked up, face squished in confusion and worry, but Raphael gave him a reassuring nod. April frowned from her spot on Raph's knee, opposite Leon, but gave them a cheeky salute anyway.

"Okay," Raphael hissed as they left, waiting until they were a safe distance away from their counterparts. "What was up with that freaky red glow? That was weird, and I know you saw it!"

"Yeah!" Michelangelo nodded, exchanging a look with Donatello. "It's never done that before. And you weren't saying anything!"

Leonardo winced sympathetically, imagining what that must've looked like. "Shredder got a hold of me. So I tried to take advantage of that and pull him out."

"…tried?!" Raphael echoed, beak scrunching up in confusion. They reached where they had left their bags at the entrance to the lair, going to scoop up two of them. "So you didn't get him out?"

"It started to pull Leon's soul out, too." Leonardo admitted softly, wincing as he heard Donatello facepalm behind him.

"I'm not sure what you expected to happen." Donatello hissed, strapping on his metal container backpack. "That's so ridiculously dangerous! If they're so bonded, of course that'll happen! Leo, I…!" He pinched between his eyes, huffing out a groan. "We've discussed this! Multiple times! Usually it's you and I teaming up on Raph and Michael, but right now? We're barely allowed back into the lair without being blown up as it is, and you just almost killed the other Leo for the second time in two hours!"

Leonardo winced at that, glancing back at Donatello, and then looking back to where their counterparts sat. Donatello wasn't talking loudly enough for his voice to echo or project, but he still didn't want to risk it. "You're right, Donnie. I should've been more careful, or stopped and explained."

"I'm not mad at you." Donatello muttered, pacing away, and then coming back, pinching his hand anxiously. "There's just… so many variables, and we already ruined our relationship with the little Donnie, and if we keep this up… we're not going to beat Shredder at all, and my April will get mad at me, at us, and there's too many variables we don't know, and if we keep at this pace, we're never going to figure out how to defeat Shredder before it's too late, and I know you have more candles that we can use, but those are only good for eight more hours, and then we-!"

"Take a deep breath, Dee." Michelangelo advised, taking a step forward to thump his big brother on his back, eyes softening in comfort.

"You're going all nerd-y again." Raphael added, in a way that was supposed to be comforting but came across as ridiculing. Donatello glared at him, and he frowned. "What?"

"Oh, nothing Raph." Donatello scowled, turning to Leonardo. "I'm sorry for snapping, but, honestly, other-Donnie's right. We aren't doing everything we can. We need more information, more tests, and we need to have the knowledge of how this dimension works. I think…" He paused, shifted, and burrowed his face in his hands. "…we need to talk to their Master Splinter. No matter how awkward it is for us, we need to."

"No, no way!" Raphael snapped, holding up his hands defensively. "I don't want to talk to him, it's not worth-!"

"Oh, please, it's all we got! Besides, we can't keep avoiding any mention of him! The others are going to catch on eventually! Maybe Donnie's already told them!"

"What do you mean, 'Donnie's already told them'?! Did you tell him about our fathe-?!"

"That's enough!" Leonardo shoved his way in between Raphael and Donatello, shoving them back from one another. "Really?! Are we seriously fighting again?! I thought we were over this!"

Donatello and Raphael panted in sync, glaring at one another over Leonardo's head, refusing to be comforted, but at least they weren't screaming at each other now. Michelangelo slowly resumed contact with Donatello, wrapping an arm around Donatello's. Leonardo pulled his palm back from either brothers' plastron, huffing out a breath.

"Okay, okay, we're going to talk about you telling Donnie about Father," Leonardo warned, wagging a finger at Donatello, "but not yet. I'm more worried about…" he lifted his arms, and then let them fall. "Donnie, I don't think I can keep my cool in front of another Splinter! I don't think any of us are going to react well."

"I don't think we're going to catch sight of him any time soon." Raphael growled, clenching his fists. "The other Raph talked about him a bit, and I can tell the kid loves him… but I don't! There's something about him… Something about the way they don't even talk about him…!"

"We could do both." Michelangelo suggested, ever the diplomat, looking from Raphael to Donatello and then to Leonardo, as if asking permission to go ahead. He kept talking without a prompt either way. "We try our totally awesome plan, first, and if that bombs, we go to… the other Master Splinter."

Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello exchanged a look, then slowly rounded their gaze back to Michelangelo, who looked quite proud and smug with himself.

"…normally I'd make a joke about us being in another reality." Raphael said slowly, and then raised his hands and gestured around him. "But it can't exactly be a joke right now, and you're still our Mikey, so… good job, little brother!" He ruffled the top of Michelangelo's head affectionately, snorting out a laugh as Michelangelo lightheartedly shoved him off.

"Okay, and now we have a plan B." Leonardo congratulated, holding up his hand for a high-five from his youngest brother. "How does that sound, Donnie?"

"It sounds…" Donatello trailed off, struggling to get his thoughts in order, then huffed out a breath. "…fine, I suppose. But, Leo, I swear, if you change the plan again at the last second, I'll-!"

"Noted." Leonardo reassured, taking a step back to hoist up another bag from the ground. "I'll let you guys know before I do anything potentially life-threatening."

"Good!" All three brothers chimed at once, fixating him with matching glares. Leonardo snorted at that, but he had to admit, it felt good to know his brothers had his back.

(:)

Their counterparts were yelling. Or, at least, they had been. Leon hadn't been able to make out what their argument was about aside from something about 'catching on' and 'Donnie'. Since nobody else was looking at Donnie, Leon supposed he was the only one out of their brothers to catch on to even that much of their argument.

Their counterparts were much calmer now, discussing something quiet enough that Leon couldn't even make out their voices, but he could read their body language. He was lucky they hadn't strayed too far into the tunnels.

"Oh, Leo!" Mikey appeared at his side, dragging Leon's attention away from their counterparts and to his little brother. Before he could even get out a greeting, a kumquat was shoved underneath his nose, and Leon went cross-eyed trying to look at it. "The other-Leo said it was about time for you to have another one."

"Ah, thanks for my prescription, Miguel." Leon joked, accepting it gratefully from Mikey, rotating it carefully in his fingers. He wondered if his lack of having a kumquat before the healing whatchamacallit was why it had felt… well, quite honestly, like death. It had felt less like healing, and more like Leonardo was trying to drag something out of him, but Leon didn't have the slightest clue on what that would be. Infection, maybe?

Regardless of what had happened, he was okay now, and he couldn't even feel where the wound had been originally aside from a stiffness in his neck. So… that was good.

"Are they grabbing their gear right now?" Mikey asked, looking over towards their counterparts.

"Yeah." Raph confirmed, nodding slowly. "Hey, Mikey, if you want to-?"

"I do!" Mikey perked up, leaving Leon chew on his kumquat, making a mad dash for their counterparts.

April chuckled, wrapping an arm around Leon's shoulders, tugging him into more of a lean against her as he ate. "What's that all about, Raph?"

Raph grinned, giving April a pat and Donnie a gentle shove. "Oh, you're going to love this, trust me!"

"Wait," Leon blinked up at him as he arched an eye bridge. "Raph, that was so incredibly vague! What are we going to-?"

"Guys, look!" Mikey was already making his way over, holding a glob of slimy, dripping… something over his head, not looking like he cared as part of it dribbling down his forehead. "Isn't she cute?"

As Leon stared, he seemed to realize that the blob wasn't just moving in sync with Mikey's jog. In fact, there was a small section sticking straight in the air, chirping out small sounds that sounded like…

Oh, this was the best day of Leon's life! Ignoring the near-death experience, of course.

"Gato helado!" Leon gasped, flinging his arms out excitedly. "What in the-?! Where did you even-?! Oh my goodness! Hand that precious bean over!"

"Uh, no." Mikey scoffed, folding her down and into his own arms, pouting at Leon. "She's mine, I get all the snuggles! Unless you say the magic word~!"

"...Please?"

"Wrong magic word, Leo!" Mikey teased, sticking out his tongue.

Oh, Mikey wanted to be called his 'favorite brother'.

Leon frowned, looking from Mikey, to the precious cat of ice cream, and then to their counterparts behind him. There was no way she was actually Mikey's, because who in their right mind would give up such a precious thing? "So, who's cat is this?"

"Mine!" Michelangelo cried, raising his hand excitedly. "She's my ice cream kitty!"

"Oh, can I hold her then?" Leon asked, puffing himself up.

"Duh, dude, you don't even have to ask!" Michelangelo reassured, pulling the cat out of Mikey's arms, despite his counterpart's whining, and dropped her firmly into Leon's awaiting arms.

"Thanks, you're my favorite uncle!" Leon encouraged, wrapping the ice cream cat in his arms, coming to the realization that she wasn't just colored that way, but was, genuinely, made out of ice cream. Beside him, Donnie poked the cat experimentally, sniffing at his dessert-covered finger.

"Aw, dude, thanks!" Michelangelo puffed up, spinning around on his heel. "I'm little Leo's favorite uncle!"

"What?! No, we're not uncles!" Raphael snarled, crossing his arms. Leonardo looked like he was trying far too hard not to smile. "That makes us sound… old!"

"Oh, really?" Leon asked innocently, fluttering his eyelids. "Then what are you?"

"Cousins!" Raphael, Raph, and Donatello barked at the same time, refusing to look at each other as they glared at Leon.

"Naw, pretty sure you're uncles." Leon insisted, shifting the ice cream kitty away from April and Donnie's prying hands, pouting at them. "Hey! Get your own ice cream kitty, or ask Uncle Angelo for your own turn!"

"I'm an uncle!" Michelangelo crooned, face bursting with pride.

"You're not an uncle, Mikey." Leonardo chuckled, patting his shoulder. "Don't listen to Leon."

"This!" Donnie barked, waving his hands at Ice Cream Kitty, eyes wide in horror as he slipped his goggles over his eyes. "This is a scientific impossibility! How in the world-?!"

"She's a mutant." Donatello said, glaring over at Michelangelo. "Someone mutated April's cat with ice cream."

"She's better this way." Michelangelo reassured, and Donatello begrudgingly nodded in agreement.

"Oh, boy, I'm glad I didn't bring Mayhem." April sighed, shaking his head. "You guys are disaster magnets! Worst pet-sitters ever!"

"Thanks for stealing our title!" Mikey beamed, thumping Michelangelo on their backs. "I thought we were going to be stuck with it forever!"

"Nope, all eight of you have that title now." April reassured, crossing her arms.

"Aw, com'n!" Michelangelo whined. "Casey's even worse at it than us!" He turned to Mikey, shaking his shoulder. "One time, Casey thought it'd be funny to throw Chompy to another rooftop to test how durable he was!"

April paled, eyes widening. "…I guess I shouldn't have left Mayhem with her, then, huh?"

"Oh, dude, that was probably the worst possible thing you could do to… whoever Mayhem is. Casey's like-!"

"As thrilling as this conversation is." Leonardo interrupted, setting his hand on Michelangelo's shoulder, sending him an apologetic look. "I think it's a good idea to begin our next plan sooner rather than later."

At his words, Donnie's expression crumpled from curious observation to anger, snarling up at Leonardo.

Leonardo evenly met his eyes. "I know this isn't ideal. But without more information, we're not going to be able to defeat Shredder. If this test goes well, we can actually defeat Shredder."

Donnie huffed, and sat back, crossing his arms as he nodded slowly. "Let's… do it, then."

Leon released a deep sigh that was quickly echoed by his other three siblings, and Donnie flashed them a look of distaste, rolling his eyes. "Sure. Thanks a lot for your vote of confidence. Sometimes it feels like you give more trust to a complete stranger than your own brother, and it's very hurtful."

Raph patted Donnie's head.

"I'm very proud of you for talking about your feelings." Mikey told him, patting his arm. "And you know we love you, Dee, but this…"

"I know." Donnie hissed, shrugging off his arm. He rounded his glare on Leon, allowing his brows to soften subtly. "...are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Me? Pfft, yeah!" Leon waved his hand, dismissing Donnie's concern with a wave, grinning at his twin. "I mean, I know I'm sounding like a broken record over here… but as long as Shredder gets gone, I'm okay with whatever we do. And, uh, as long as I don't die, too, y'know?"

Donnie groaned, but nodded in agreement. "Fine. Just… fine. How soon should we…?"

"Yeah, that's the thing. Whatever you did to me," Leon gestured to Leonardo, who looked a little alarmed at the attention and not at all like he wanted to be talked to, "took me out of it, but it also like… energized me. A lot. It feels like when I've had too much sugar after a bad bout of insomnia. As in; I really don't think I'm going to be able to sleep."

"Again?" Raph lamented, thrusting the palm of his hands into his eyes, casting his face up towards the ceiling. "Leo!"

"So, we have two options. Either Donnie tranquilizes me, or hands me sleeping pills, both work, or, second option here, we just wait until your voodoo wears off."

Leonardo rubbed his chin, meeting Leon's eyes. "I don't think it should be increasing your energy. It's supposed to drain you, and I don't think that amount of blood loss can be healthy, either. Unless you already, somehow, reproduced or…"

"Blood regeneration, Leo."

"Right, thanks, Donnie. Unless you regenerate your blood." Leonardo frowned. "You said you were still feeling the affects of it earlier?"

"Yeah, earlier. I feel mostly fit as a fiddle." Leon flexed his arm, but a frown quickly replaced his go-lucky grin. "So, tranq or pills? What's the vote?"

"The tranquilizer has more pizzazz, and is overall more entertaining." Donnie volunteered, his voice having a distinct undertone of exhaustion. He didn't sound too eager over the prospect of showing off his invention, or even trying to fight Shredder again.

Leon bit back the selfish feeling pitting in his stomach, and the urge to down some pills or something in order to sleep and get it over with, but Donnie had been working nonstop for a long time. He had used up the last of his social battery ages ago, and was running on fumes of spite.

"You guys don't have anywhere to be, right?" Leon asked, twisting his attention to his counterparts. Take care of Donnie first, then me. It's what a… a leader would do.

"No?" Leonardo said cautiously, and Raphael and Michelangelo nodded along.

"April…" Donatello whined.

"That's great, nobody cares." Raphael sympathized.

"Okay, cool, because it's been a stressful last few hours, and I think we could all do with some relaxation. And cleaning up a'this mess." Leon gestured to the pile of blankets surrounding him, frowning. "Maybe we can search the web, too, and see if we can find more info about demons and stuff. How does that sound?"

Leonrado looked like it did not sound appealing, but Leon saw the flicker in his expression when he glanced at Donnie, and knew Leonardo had seen it, too. "…we'll do that."

"What?" Raphael snapped, head springing up. "We can't just-!"

"We can, and we will. Leon's right. We're all tired. Emotionally, and partially physically. We'll run our test in a few hours, when we've had time to settle. We'll gather what information we can. And if you're feeling antsy, Raphael, we'll fit in a sparring session." Leonardo stood, dusting himself off and putting his hands triumphantly on his hips. "Do what you can in the meantime." He turned his attention to Leon, and tilted his head with respect. "Let us know when you're all ready. We will be, too."
(:)
Special thanks to Pixel_Picasso on AO3 for helping me with this chapter!