Hello everyone, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, a lot happened these past couple of weeks and I came down with a high fever. It was hard to write when I was boiling inside, and could barely stay awake.

Thank you for your understanding and here's the next chapter!

"Eagle's Nest to Squad Leader, ya read me kiddo?!"

The panicked tones of Doctor Lowrey suddenly broke through their headsets, the man's voice crackling with static before eventually regaining its crystal-clear quality. Anthony was quickly joined by Don and Mikey, both younger brothers sounding like they were on the verge of tears.

"Leo?!" Donatello shouted, "Raph?! Check in! What's your status?!"

"Somebody answer us, already!" Michelangelo begged.

Leonardo winced at the sudden onslaught of sound, quickly tapping his throat com to activate the speaker, "I'm here,"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Ow," Raph growled, one topaz eye clenched shut, pulling one side of the headset away from his ear slit, "Could ya scream any louder? Why not try it again, but this time give it a bit more feelin'?"

"This isn't the time for jokes, Raphie!" The genius turtle scolded, voice shaky and hoarse, as if they'd been yelling for a while, "We lost all contact with you! We couldn't talk to you on the coms, and the cameras in the hall went down, I couldn't see you at all! Do know how scared I was?!"

"We've been screaming your name for the last ten minutes, dude!" Michelangelo threw in.

"Sorry," the leader groaned, struggling to pull his feet under him and walk without the brawler's assistance, only to stumble into the wall, "we had a run in with the Eater, had to duck inside an office to hide."

"Strange…the coms went down when the Eater arrived," Donatello murmured, voice trailing off as he rambled, "I'm almost certain it's connected…"

"Kiddo," Anthony broke through, his own voice sounding shaken, "your heartbeat slowed down, almost stopped, what happened?"

Raphael grimaced as Leo drooped, self loathing scorching across the azure ninja's face at the worry he'd caused, "That was the monster," Leo explained, exhaustion that had nothing to do with the Eater weighing him down, "it got me, started feeding off my life energy. That's why my heart slowed down, but I'm fine now, promise."

"You're fine now?!" Donnie scoffed, attention returning to the main point of the conversation, "Your heart almost stopped! You're many things, aniki, but I'd bet my best blowtorch that you're not fine!"

"Don't worry, Donnie," Raphael rumbled, grabbing his leader and pulling Leo's arm back around his shoulders, "I got 'im. He's a little shaky, but he's gettin' better."

Skeptical silence met the brawler's statement, until Anthony gave a sigh, "Alright," he said softly, "Leo's heart rate is recovering, albeit it's a tad slow, but not concerning. However, I'd feel a lot better if ya'll pull out. All this talk about monsters, and ripping through dimensions, doesn't sound safe. We came here to sabotage a secret base, not pick a fight with creatures that suck the life outta you."

"We plan on pulling out as soon as possible," Leo agreed, "but we promised to help Mona rescue her sister, and we also agreed to help them get home. Donnie, do you have everything you need to shut this place down?"

Donatello hesitated, his fear and concern bleeding through the headset, "Yeah," he finally replied, "all I have to do is launch the virus and this place's entire mainframe will be alphabet soup."

"Good," the leader straightened, his weak legs regaining strength as they walked, "then the plan remains the same. Raph, Mona and I will rescue Venus. Donnie, you meet us in the lab after you release the lock on the cage. Then, we find the main room where the device Bishop built is set up, send them home, and then trash the machine so Donnie can release his computer virus. We clear?"

"What about the Eater?" Miley quavered, voice soft with worry.

"Do not engage," the leader commanded, his tone stern, "weapons don't work on it, and we don't have the firepower needed to take it down."

"But we can't just leave it here," the youngest persisted, "what if it escapes and attacks the surrounding towns? We need to do something about it so people don't get hurt."

"Mike, as much as I agree with you, you heard what it did to Leo," Donnie countered, "plus weapons don't work on it, you honestly think we have a chance against something like that?"

The orange ninja gave an unhappy growl, and older brothers could imagine the pout on his face, "Well, no," Mikey groaned, "but we're supposed to be the good guys! It's one thing to break into one of our biggest enemy's bases and trash the place, but it's another when we find a monster that sucks the life out of people and decide to leave it there! We didn't do that when Bishop created all those mutants, we can't start now! There are lives at stake, dude!"

Leonardo sighed out a silent groan, both brothers unable to come up with a reasonable excuse because Mikey was right, they couldn't leave it alone, "Okay," the eldest stated, giving a decisive nod, "Mona said this thing is starving, it's been locked in here and hasn't escaped yet, meaning that walls can contain it. What if we find a way to capture it, so it can't hurt anyone, but we can still do what needs to be done?"

The line went silent, everyone considering Leonardo's question, "My sister," Mona began, her deep voice low.

The azure ninja gave a hurried nod, "Don't worry, we'll still save her, and I won't put her in danger…"

"No!" The Wyvern cut Leo off, "I know you will, and I know we'll keep her safe, but you said so yourself back in the control room, the Eater couldn't get to her."

Leo furrowed his brows at the girl, slowly blinking before his mind caught up with her line of thought, "Oh," the leader breathed, a smirk quirking his mouth, "I see where you're going with this, you want to trap it inside the room she's in?"

"Exactly,"

"Yeah, but how we gonna lure it inside?" Raph asked.

The leader paused, but then opened his mouth as he gave his brother an apologetic look, "I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."

"Oh, no," Raph began shaking his head, his movements becoming more vehement as he spoke, "don't even think about it."

"Well, you're the one that already said that it was targeting me," Leo shrugged with a weak grin, "and we also already know that it has a taste for my life energy."

"So yer suggestin' ta use ya as bait?!" The brawler bellowed, one eye twitching with frustration, "Dang it, Leo! I just finished sayin' that yer self-sacrificin' butt is gonna give me an ulcer, why do ya insist on bein' every monster's favorite chew toy?!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Leonardo asked, his own voice becoming strained, "As I am, I can't fight it. You saw how I froze and then how I couldn't get past it. Now, I'm compromised and can't even walk without your help. I'm useless-!"

"Don't." Raphael bit out, shocking Leo into silence, "Don't call yerself useless, not after everythin' we've been through ta prove otherwise. Fine, ya can't move as well after that thing took a bite outta ya, but that doesn't mean yer relegated ta bait!"

"Then what can I do?!" Leonardo snapped into Raph's face. The duo glared at each other before the leader growled out a sigh, "I won't just be dragged around for another mission, Raph," He stated, "I need to contribute something, or else this whole mess will be yet another failure where I couldn't do the one job I have in this family!"

"And what job is that?" The brawler asked in a hiss.

"To protect everyone,"

Raphael floundered, mouth hanging open as he gave slight shakes to his head, "That ain't yer-!"

"Yes, it is my job!" Leonardo bellowed, cutting his brother off as the red clad ninja gaped in shock at the outburst, shoulders heaving as he panted before continuing in a desperate rasp, "Donnie is the brains, Mikey is the heart, you're the brawn, and as we saw in the caves, I'm the shield. I don't bring much to the team, not anymore, not when you guys are so far ahead, but I can at least guard the rear.

"Please, Raph," Leo continued, sapphire eyes pleading with his younger sibling, "I've failed enough lately, don't make me fail again? I can't fight, so at the very least I can help trap the Eater so we can do our job and get out of here. Let me do what I can to help the mission, besides, it's not like we have any other options."

Raphael glared at his leader, gritting his teeth hard enough to make them creak. He hated to admit it, but Leo was right, they didn't have many other options. They'd need every able bodied warrior just to contain the thing, something that Leo wasn't at the moment. However, that didn't mean he intended to go along with his leader's plan, and he for sure wasn't going to tolerate Leo saying stuff like he wasn't valuable to the team, "Stop talkin' about yerself like that," the brawler growled lowly, "I don't know what's gotten inta ya lately, but yer not goin' back ta that way of thinkin', not if I can help it."

"Doesn't make it any less true, Raph," Leonardo muttered bitterly, "it seems all I'm good for lately is being a liability and weighing everyone down."

The red ninja paused, unsure of how to continue as sudden revelation struck him. In truth, Leo had been acting off since the misadventure with the merpeople. He was the same Leo they all knew and loved, but he'd also seemed to be falling back into bad habits, pushing himself too hard, and convinced that he needed to somehow earn his place in their family. It was strange. Even as recently as when Leo fainted due to his high fever, refusing to allow himself to rest because he needed to care for his younger brothers. Actually, it went beyond their rescue from the merpeople, all the way back to when Leo suffered that intense flashback on Mortu's ship. He'd been drawing away in a sense, as if he felt he didn't deserve to be on equal terms with his siblings anymore. Almost like he'd forgotten the hard won lessons they'd learned in the caves. The brawler frowned at the thought, oh no, he was not going to stand for that.

"Leo," the red masked ninja began, lowering his voice so to give his leader a semblance of privacy, "ya don't weigh us down, ya never have, and ya certainly don't now. I don't know where that idea came into yer head, but I'm not havin' it, ya get me?

"And just so we're clear," Raph said, voice still soft but deadly serious, "I'm not gonna make ya have that conversation here, but when we get outta this, we're gonna sit down and yer goin' ta tell me where these feelin's that you aren't good enough anymore came from. Right now, though, let's focus on a plan that doesn't put you in the path of a monster from another dimension."

The leader sighed, sapphire eyes narrowing stubbornly, "You don't understand, Raph!"

"I understand plenty," the brawler countered, "and I'm not gonna let ya get killed, all because ya can't get it through yer head that yer valuable and necessary ta this team!"

"Well, if you've got a better idea, then I'm all ears," Leo growled, "but right now, it's the only plan we got."

"Well, I for one don't like it," Anthony interrupted the brewing fight, "I saw Leo's heart rate drop, and it still hasn't recovered completely, if that thing gets a hold of him again, it could stop his heart all together!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Leo hissed, "I know it's dangerous, but the risk to my life pales in comparison to the risk that thing poses to the rest of the world. We can't let it get out.

"I'm willing to bet that the reason everyone pulled out of the facility," the leader continued, "is because they found out like we did that conventional weapons don't work on it. So, they left to wait it out until the Eater starved to death. But it's like Mikey said, now that we know, we can't leave it to chance if it stays contained. We have to contain it ourselves."

"Kiddo," The man attempted, "it doesn't have to be you boys that solve every problem. Why can't you let the professionals deal with this? I can call someone; we can alert the military."

"They can't deal with this, Anthony," the azure ninja insisted, "they're not equipped to handle it."

"Neither are you," Doctor Lowrey countered.

"Maybe not, but we do know more about it than they did, which means we have a better chance."

"A chance I'd rather not take, aniki," Donnie cut in, "Raph is right, we can find a way to contain it without putting anyone at risk."

Leo's lip twisted in an aggravated snarl, he was so tired of having to be the one they have to protect. So sick of being weak. The past couple months have been torturous, a veritable proving ground where the end goal was shoving his face into the fact that he was worthless to the team and his family. It only started with that embarrassing panic attack on Mortu's ship, but then continued with him cracking his shell and being benched because of his own stupidity. Then he was abducted, and he had to be rescued again. Then they all got sick, and he couldn't even power through a simple fever to care for his brothers. He was pathetic. Leonardo felt an overwhelming visceral need to prove that he had a place on the team, to himself even if to no one else, because at this rate he might as well hand the reigns of leadership over to Raphael.

A dark voice in the back of his mind whispered that Raph would do a better job anyway, but Leo shook it out of his head. He couldn't let himself spiral, not when he was already causing problems for his team this early in the mission, and judging by the look on Raphael's face, he was already a massive screw up as it was. He needed to fix this and fast.

"Then, what do you suggest, Donnie?" Their leader's voice softened in defeat.

Raph frowned. There was something wrong, something he couldn't pinpoint on Leo, and it somehow was effecting him more than the eldest was willing to admit. It made the brawler mad to see it happening, but more than that, it confused him. Where was this attitude coming from all of a sudden? Raphael could understand Leo's frustration with being knocked out so quickly in the mission, but that shouldn't trigger a spiral of this magnitude. They haven't seen something this bad in months.

"I was thinking," Donatello began, "while containing it is optimal, it would just prove useful to Bishop's goals. Why not send it through the rip? I can destabilize the destination enough to make a sort of black hole, let it get sucked in, and then send Mona and Venus home?"

Leonardo paused, exchanging a thoughtful glance with his younger sibling and their wyvern friend, "We can do that," he nodded, "it will be a better solution than just caging it and leaving it behind."

"Good," Mona nodded eagerly, "with that settled, let's get Vee out of that lab."

…

The wyvern stalked down the hall, Leonardo's map held in her claws, even as she led the way towards her baby sister.

The turtles were strange creatures. Not in a bad way, though. Raphael in particular drew her interest. His gruff nature at odds with the gentle way he bore the weight of his older brother, or how defensive he became when Leonardo spoke so unkindly of himself, earlier. Mona sensed a kinship with the bombastic terrapin, understanding the strange balance of fiery temper and the deep abiding devotion to family. She also understood the worry so apparent in the golden eyes of the red clad turtle. Venus also was prone to bouts of depression, fear and doubt in her self worth driving her into a corner where she would spiral, left shivering and fighting back tears until Mona drew the younger wyvern out of her head. While Leonardo was not to that state, she could see Raphael was concerned, which must mean that it was worrying behavior.

The girl shook her head, reminding herself she needed to focus on finding Venus, not get distracted by thinking about certain red masked ninja. Once again holding the map up, Mona smiled softly, they were almost there. Just a few doors down and a left at the intersection from where they were walking in the hall.

"I'm going on ahead," the Wyvern announced, turning so to lock eyes with Raphael, and waiting for Leo to nod.

"We're close enough," the blue leader acceded, "but if you see the Eater, don't engage."

Mona sent a toothy grin at her new friends, "Trust me, I won't."

With that said, the teen female was off like a shot, running down the corridor, taking the turn and locating the door to the lab. The room had long windows stretching down the hallway, allowing a full view of the space beyond the locked door. Inside, stainless steel counters covered in all kinds of tools and equipment gleamed in the bright lights, but Mona's eyes were glued to the corner where her baby sister sat in a plexiglass cage. Venus' eyes, caramel colored like her sister's, bounced up as the young wyvern sensed that she was being watched. Mona's gaze filled with tears, and Venus jolted as she realized that her sister had come for her. The feathery tufts sprang up to attention, much like cat ears, and the lavender feathers ruffled as she hurriedly stood to her feet and began to beat on the glass.

"I'm coming, nierte," Mona sobbed in relief, using a term of endearment in their own language, "big sister is here!"

"Donnie, open the door," Leo's voice startled the wyvern, but she kept her gaze on her little sister, one clawed hand pressed against the glass.

Several beeps and a clunking sound signaled that the lock on the door had been released. Mona jerked the handle barreling through into the laboratory, watching as the lights on the cage shifted from red, to yellow, to green, until the door opened with a hiss of released pressure. Venus jumped out of her prison, leaping into her sister's arms, "Mona!" She shouted, burying her face into the ginger mane, "I knew you'd rescue me."

For several seconds, the sisters held each other, both shuddering in relief as tears left glistening trails down their cheeks. Finally, Mona released the smaller Wyvern, dark clawed hands smoothing the lavender and ivory feathers surrounding Venus' face, "I was so scared, nierte," she whispered, leaning forward so to press her forehead against her sibling's, "I didn't know if I would get to you in time."

Venus giggled, "I wasn't," she smiled, confident affection shining in twin caramel eyes, "I knew that there was nothing in the multiverse capable of keeping my hotheaded big sister from rescuing me."

The older Wyvern gave a wet chuckle, leaning back as she checked her sister over for injuries, turning Venus' face this way and that in long practiced motions. The younger sister endured the fussing, happily allowing Mona to reassure herself that no harm had been done. "Where are your glasses?"

An angry pout marred the pretty face, "They took them," Venus muttered, "said they wanted to compare our prism techniques to the ones used in this dimension."

"Do ya know where they took 'em?" Raphael spoke up, settling Leo into one of the computer chairs abandoned against a wall.

"No, but it can't be far." Venus shrugged, "they never left this room, but I don't know where they put them because I can't see for crap."

Mona immediately began opening and shutting drawers, with the brawler following her example, searching for the lost spectacles. It was during this that Donatello and Mikey arrived, the genius making his way to their leader, but casting his eyes about to the rest of the group, "Is everyone okay?"

….

Donnie checked Leo's pulse, unhappy with the uneven rhythm. Their leader was hunched in on himself, to anyone else his features calm and unbothered, but to his family he was obviously spiraling. That in itself was a major concern. However, the heart issue wasn't something they could afford to ignore, so the purple clad ninja had to force Leo's state of mind lower on the priority list, "Aniki," the scientist began, licking his lips in trepidation, "I'm worried about your heart. It isn't slow anymore, but the timing is off. If we aren't careful, you could go into A-Fib, and your heart might stop again."

Leonardo drooped further, self loathing scorching across his face, transforming it into a pained grimace, "Sorry," he rasped.

The purple turtle hurriedly shook his head, "I'm not scolding you, aniki," he consoled, "it's not like it's something you can control."

The eldest gave a bitter scoff, "Yes, we can," he hissed quietly, "Master Splinter taught us."

"The Qi-Gong technique only works for short periods of time, Leo," Donnie whispered harshly in return, "and that only helps slow your heart and breathing, not regulate your heartbeats, there's no ninjutsu technique for that. If we want to get your heart back into a natural rhythm, then I need medication, something I don't have on hand right now."

Despair filled the sapphire eyes, "So, what are my options?" His voice pitched into a low mutter.

The genius terrapin floundered, mouth opening and closing helplessly, before he heaved a soft sigh, "I honestly don't know," he replied, "I can ask Doctor Lowrey, but I can bet that he's going to want to pull us out."

"We can't pull out before we complete the mission," the leader vetoed with a definite shake of his head.

"I know," Donatello nodded, "so, all I can say is to stay out of stressful situations."

Leonardo fixed his younger brother with a skeptical stare, raising an eye ridge for good measure, "Donnie," the eldest said, his tone tolerant as if he were speaking to a small child, "I'm pretty sure that's not possible right now."

The genius glared at his leader, before reaching up to flick the blue ninja on the nose, "I know that, dork," he growled, "which is why I'm so worried!"

Leo rubbed his nose, allowing a weak smile to brighten his features, however, the blue eyes still seemed far away, "I'll be fine, Don, I always am."

"Pardon me, as I roll my eyes," the scientist retorted, "but considering how mistaken you are, they might just get stuck."

"Then I'll just have Raph smack you to dislodge them," the eldest countered.

Donatello scoffed, "Like you would let Raph hit me?"

Their leader shrugged, "Depends on the situation, I let him hit Mikey all the time."

"Yeah, because Mikey deserves it," the genius snickered, relieved to see some of the darkness receding from Leo's eyes, "but I'm just being a good little brother by taking care of my fearless leader. That hardly calls for physical violence."

"You're being a snarky little brother," Leo corrected, "which just might qualify you."

Donatello shook his head, giving a warm chuckle, choosing to move on from the frighteningly obvious medical emergency that he could feel creeping up on his leader. There was nothing they could do for it right now, and the only way to do anything that might help was to find the infirmary and raid it for medicine. Something they didn't have the luxury to do until they did something about the monster, and even if they did, the stress of the situation could render what benefit the pills offered moot.

"Found them!"

Mona's sultry voice was bright with hope and the relief of being reunited with her sister, a sister that Donnie had yet to meet. What with his worry over Leo's heart problems resurfacing at the worst possible time, the scientist hadn't put introductions with the younger wyvern at a very high priority either. Turning around so to face the room, the scientist noticed that Mikey must have joined their search for…glasses? Donatello cocked his head in confusion, finally turning to their new friend as she handed large owl rimmed glasses to a younger wyvern, and suddenly the scientist found that Leo wasn't the only one suffering heart palpitations, as his felt like his had stopped entirely.

Delicate silver eyelashes fluttered as the younger wyvern's eyesight readjusted to wearing her glasses, and then a slim clawed finger pushed the spectacles higher up onto her nose. The motion, though subtle and obviously familiar, was utterly adorable to the genius turtle. However, that was nothing compared to when her eyes rose to meet his, and Donnie found himself trapped in caramel orbs that were bright and intelligent but also filled with a voracious curiosity. Those eyes searched him, piercing his very soul, and the turtle felt his heart flutter. She wasn't muscular like Mona, but slim, with lovely ivory and lavender feathered wings, and her head only came to the older wyvern's shoulder. Her clothing was not the armor her sister wore either, it was a simple white linen tunic, with a short tan skirt covered in ruffles. A thin band of leather wound around her hips, bearing a belt where the turtle could see a large pocket where a notebook should have been. Plus, if Donnie looked closely, he could see faint smudges of ink covering her fingertips, betraying what must have been frantic scribbling to chronicle her research or something similar.

All in all, she was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. Nerdy, cute, and genuinely smart. Donatello had a keen feeling he might just be in love.

"Uh, sorry, I'm Donatello," the purple ninja stammered, holding out a hand to the ivory wyvern, "I would have introduced myself sooner, but I needed to make sure my brother was okay first."

Once again, the caramel orbs searched him, assessing the truth behind his words. Don felt himself blush at the frank stare, waiting until the girl finally grasped his hand and gave it a firm shake, "Nice to meet you," she said, voice slightly cold.

"Donatello is the one who saved us," Mona filled in, nudging her sister with a look that clearly instructed the sibling to be kind, "he got me out of the cage I was in, and then was the one who found you and opened the doors here. You should have seen the way he hacked into the system and took control of the facility, it was brilliant!"

"Its really not that impressive," Donnie blushed, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.

However, the younger sister cast amazed eyes onto the terrapin, her features softening in understanding as she gave Don a grateful smile, "Thank you," she murmured, reaching out so to squeeze the purple turtle's hand, "I appreciate your generosity, we couldn't have escaped without your help." The girl paused, then her ear tufts lifted as she gave Don's hand one more squeeze, "You can call me Venus."

"You're pretty," Donnie smiled in a haze before blanching in horror at what he said, "I mean your name is pretty! Because it's like the planet, that's, um…here…in our dimension…we have a planet."

Venus blinked at the sudden onslaught of odd rambling, then nodded, "That's a safe assumption considering we're standing inside a facility located on some form of terra firma. Unless we are actually on a space station orbiting one?"

The scientist gave a silent groan, wanting so badly to slap himself, "No, I mean, yes, we are on a planet, but no, I mean we have a planet in our solar system named Venus."

"Ah," realization hit the wyvern, and she gave a bemused smile, "that makes sense. We do not, however, the Duchess is originally from a dimension in which such a planet also exists and had told my parents the name. They chose it as they thought it pretty. Thankfully, I enjoy the study of dimensions and the stars, so it suits me just fine."

Donatello nodded his head vigorously, "Your sister said you're a scientist with a university?"

Venus blushed, "Yeah," she affirmed, "the Duchess gave me my own lab where I can do my research. We often study together, positing different theories about the fabric of reality."

"That's amazing!" Donnie gushed, "I have some experience in inter-dimensional phenomena, as well as travel, but to have the ability to devote all your time to the study of that subject, it must be wonderful!"

The ivory wyvern nodded, "It is wonderful, and I really love it at the university," her eyes grew distant, misting over with memory, "there's no place I enjoy more than my lab.

"Actually," the younger sister paused, ivory fangs biting her bottom lip as slim shoulders drooped in shame, "in reference to my lab and my field of study, I have a confession to make."

Mona cocked her head, "Confession? What are you talking about, nierte?"

The ivory and lavender tufts fell, caramel eyes shifting to look at the floor, even as she fidgeted on her feet, "Remember when we were zapped here?"

The dark wyvern nodded, ginger hair and feathers rippling like a waterfall as she cocked her head curiously, "Yeah, I was walking into your lab when everything went white, what about it?"

Venus groaned, "So, when we were taken, I was running an experiment."

"What kind of experiment?" Donnie asked, his own intelligent gaze focused on the young girl.

"One capable of ripping through the fabric between dimensions," Venus winced, "I promise, I wasn't trying to access another dimension, I was just trying to access the shatter space, you know, the place in between.

"However, right when I activated my own device," the younger female continued, "the humans here activated theirs. Based on what I've overheard in the lab, they hadn't successfully opened another dimension yet, but the energy from their machine somehow overlapped with mine and caused something of a bridge…or maybe, a net effect. We were scooped up in it and deposited here."

Venus sighed, scrubbing her face with her slender hands, "As soon as we got here, you remember that we were separated. They took my notebook with all my research on dimensional science when they brought me here. The humans tried to force me to give them more details, but I didn't give them a thing."

"That explains why there's an Eater here," Mona grimaced, "I bet they used your research notes to open the shatter space."

"There's what?!" Venus bellowed, her wings flaring as her jaw dropped, "Please, tell me you didn't just say what I think you said!?"

Mona hesitated, but then nodded, "There's an Eater here, and it's already tried to suck energy out of Donatello's brother."

Venus turned to Leo, and Don could honestly say that their leader looked a wreck. Despite the eldest holding himself in his usual self-assured way, the effect of having his energy sucked by the Eater was obvious to anyone looking. The caramel eyes melted in grief, Venus' wings drooping guiltily, "I'm so sorry," she quavered, bottom lip wobbling, "this is all my fault."

Donatello waited for his brother's response but found himself breathing a soft sigh of relief when Leonardo gave the youngest team member a gentle smile, similar to the ones he gave to his brothers, "Don't worry about it," he rasped, voice heavy with the lingering fatigue, "you're a scientist, it's your job to test out theories. It's not like you could have known that a psycho in another dimension would be trying to do that same thing, much less that it would end up like this."

"Still…" Venus didn't seem convinced.

"It's fine, Venus," Leonardo insisted, "you can't beat yourself up over things beyond your control."

Suddenly Raphael reeled back, before releasing a violent cough, his hacking sounding suspiciously like the word 'hypocrite'. Leo rolled his eyes at the display, waving off the brawler's opinion, "What matters now," the leader continued, "is that we get that thing through the rip and back into its natural habitat, and then send you two home. Do you think you can help Donnie with fine tuning the device for that?"

If the younger Wyvern looked any happier, she might have glowed. "Absolutely! I invented my own machine that can break through dimensions, and I'm almost certain that the humans here retrofitted their own device to incorporate elements of my design!"

"Perfect," the leader nodded, "we'll rely on your help, then."

"Hey! I think I may have found your notebook, Venus!" Mikey piped up from inside a cabinet, turning around so they could see he was holding a leather bound journal that looked like it had survived more than a few adventures.

Venus grinned, grabbing the journal from the youngest turtle, hugging it tightly to her chest, "Thank Kazar," she breathed, "I was so scared I'd lose years of research to these jerks. Now with my notebook back, I'm confident I can get the machine working to send us home."

Donatello fidgeted, wanting desperately to look at the journal, but holding back due to professional courtesy. Thankfully, Venus had little compunctions about sharing, as she quickly bounded back up to Donnie and practically shoved the book into his hands, "All of my notes about dimensions and dimensional travel are here. There's a lot that the Duchess taught me that I expounded upon as I began to run various experimental trials on different theories, however, I think this should be a good start!"

….

Leonardo watched as Donatello and Venus began leafing through the notebook, chattering about science and the different theories that their dimensions shared and gushing over where they differed. On the other side of the room, Raphael was quietly talking to Mona, the brawler's face at once soft but also utterly enraptured. Breathing a happy sigh, Leo reveled in the brief moment of joy that warmed his heart. Well, even if this whole mission was shot to shell almost the moment they entered, at least he could watch his brothers enjoy talking to their first crushes, and it appeared the wyvern were equally interested in his brothers which just made it all the better. Honestly, pairing Donnie up with Venus so they could get the dimensional device working was a stroke of genius, if he did say so himself. He certainly was no Cupid, but Leonardo was perfectly happy to play matchmaker if it allowed him a view like this.

"Cute, ain't it?"

Leo startled at Mikey's voice but chuckled at the youngest's question, "Yep," he grinned, "it's nice to see them enjoying themselves."

Mikey gave a thoughtful hum, "Yeah, Donnie and Raph are always so stressed, I'm glad that they can have this, even though we're still technically fighting for our lives."

The leader turned to give a reply but found himself pausing. Michelangelo still had his usual playful smile, but the orange ninja looked wistful, almost jealous. Sadness constricted Leo's heart, and the eldest reached out to give a side hug to the baby brother of the team, "Don't worry, Mike, you'll get your chance."

The smile faltered, allowing the briefest glance into the sensitive soul that yearned for love and acceptance, "You really think so?"

"I know so," Leo nodded, "if the universe can give me a girlfriend, and even match Raph and Donnie up with some nice girls, then I know you won't be far behind."

"I'm not so sure," Mikey mumbled sadly, one hand reaching to clasp his older brother's fingers resting on his bicep, "sometimes it feels like the universe doesn't know I exist, except as a punch line."

"You're not a punchline, Mikey," the eldest reassured, giving the younger brother a soft noogie, "except to maybe Raph."

That startled a laugh out of the youngest, bringing the bright smile back without the shadows, "Whatever," Michelangelo snickered, "Raphie wishes he could use me as a punching bag, because remember, I'm the one who beat him during the Battle Nexus."

"That's right, you did beat him," Leo nodded with a grin, then pulled himself up to his feet using Mikey as a crutch, "that's enough standing around. We need to get to the room where the machine is."

"Aye, aye, mon capitan!" Michelangelo saluted, shrugging his leader further up his shoulders, "We've got a monster to fight!"

"We've got a monster to shove in another dimension," the blue ninja corrected, "I'd rather we not fight it. Take it from me, it won't end well."

"I'll trust your word on that,"

….

Michelangelo was ready to be out of the facility.

He'd been very patient and supportive of his brothers, staying his usual chipper self, in spite of the fact that every nerve in his body was screaming that bad things were about to happen. Never mind the fact that Leo was already suffering from a run in with the Eater, or the fact that the mission's complexity has gone from a stealth operation that was supposed to be accomplished within a couple hours, and was suddenly dialed up to one hundred, into a mission that could very well be life or death. All these terrible things happening, even with the pleasant surprise of Mona and her sister Venus, but still Mikey's sixth sense shrieked that the worst was yet to come. In short, the youngest was not a happy turtle, but he was desperately trying to be. His brothers needed him to be, and more than that, Leo needed him to be.

He wasn't stupid, not that his brothers treated him that way anymore. However, Michelangelo noticed the way Leo was starting to spiral in a way that they hadn't seen in months. The youngest wasn't sure what started it, and Mikey had a feeling that it had begun a while ago, and what he was seeing was just the tail end of a long freak out. The orange ninja grit his teeth, angrily clenching his jaw as he gave himself a mental kick for missing the signs. He'd had a feeling that something was wonky with their leader, but Michelangelo had chalked it up to Leo feeling upset over being benched because he was hurt, and him being frustrated with all the rest that followed.

"We're here,"

Mikey's head popped up, unaware of how lost inside his mind he'd become as they'd walked through the warehouse. Leo was still hanging heavy on his shoulder, the leader straining to walk on his own, but his stumbling gait growing worse as his strength began to lag. Donatello was in the lead, the genius turtle quickly hacking the door to the lab and stepping back as they opened with a pneumatic hiss. Venus rushed inside, the feathers around her face ruffling in anger as she pouted at the large device taking up most of the room.

"I was right!" She spat, crossing her arms with a huff, "They did steal my design!"

The youngest ninja glanced around the large space, his jaw falling slightly as he took in the view. The room was enormous, the usual white walls on every side, but with a large machine set directly in the middle. Scaffolding to access various areas and parts of the device were built all around it, with the machine looking like something out of a steam punk graphic novel. Despite not being a scientist, Michelangelo could easily tell what parts were designed by the humans of their dimension, and what parts were tacked on based on Venus' schematics. It was a strange amalgamation of wire, copper pipe, and steel equipment, all welded together into a hulking mass that took up almost all the available floor space, leaving just a scant ten feet or so between the machine and the walls. In front of the device was a gate made of steel and wires framing a circle set up on a platform. The youngest could only surmise that that may be the focal point for the dimensional energy and ultimately serve as a doorway.

Eyeing the hulking mass, Mikey winced, "I think I'm gonna need more than a crowbar and my chucks to trash this thing."

"Yeah," Leo nodded with a tired sigh, "it's bigger than I anticipated."

"Nothing that a low grade explosive can't handle," Donnie stated, giving his eyebrow ridge a saucy wiggle.

Venus burst into giggles, "Normally, I'm against the destruction of another scientist's work, but in this case, I'm in."

"Try not to make too big of a mess," Leonardo requested, "the last thing we need is to set off alarms that get the security on our tail."

Donatello nodded, shuffling through his bag as he searched for the smaller bar of C4 he'd brought, "Venus, would you mind getting the machine started and try locating your home dimension?"

"Oh, no," Mona shook her head, features serious, "we're not leaving until we help you get rid of that Eater."

Raph gave the older wyvern a smirk, "We wouldn't ask ya ta help, but I know we'd appreciate it."

"No kidding," Donnie muttered, plunking his bag on a nearby scaffold to take a better look inside the mission duffel, his beak disappearing as he leaned into the bag, "but it won't hurt to make sure we're capable of pulling it up with the device."

"Good point," their leader nodded, encouraging Venus to approach the machine, "go ahead and check, we need to know if sending you home is even an option."

Venus tapped up to the hulking machine, one finger pushing the glasses back up her nose, tail swaying behind her happily, as she studied the control panel. "It looks like I can backtrack to the trial run that accidentally brought us here," she informed the group, tapping away on the touch screen, "but I can already tell you there's going to be a problem."

"Of course, there is," Raphael groaned, "so what ya got?"

"The trial that intersected with mine caused a power surge that knocked out the whole facility," the wyvern replied, caramel eyes wide as she read the machine's data log, "they were able to fix the problem using different parts of the design copied from my notebook, but it didn't resolve it completely.

"Looks like they still struggled with maintaining a solid connection to other dimensions for longer than thirty seconds," Venus winced, "then the gate would destabilize into the shatter space before a power surge would take down large sections of the facility."

"Which explains why the Eater is here," Mona murmured.

"But what does that mean for you?" Leo pressed, concern furrowing his brow.

Venus pursed her lips into a thoughtful pout, making Mikey bite back a giggle when Donnie's jaw dropped at the cute image, "It shouldn't be an issue," she finally stated with a decisive nod, "what we can do, is let the connection destabilize so we can push the Eater into it, and then let the machine rest long enough to create a fresh connection to our home."

"Sounds plausible," Donnie coughed, a blush turning his face a deeper shade of green, "however, that still leaves the problem about getting the machine working while the Eater is in the room, and then what if a power surge knocks out the room and we can't try again after dealing with the creature?"

"What are you thinking, Donnie?" Leonardo asked, leaning heavily on a railing attached to the scaffolding to give Michelangelo a break.

"Well," the scientist tapped his lips, pausing as he gave a ponderous hum, then tapped them once more even as his brown eyes narrowed, "it'll be tricky, but if I go back to the control room, I'm certain I can shut down the majority of the facility, and reroute the power to this room. That should buy us a stable connection, for a few minutes at least, but we'll have to time it exactly. We only have one shot to get the Eater through the rip, and then reposition the portal to Mona and Venus' home dimension."

Leo nodded, then exchanged a determined glance with Raphael, "That's the plan, then." The leader directed, "Don, you haul shell to the control room, I'll give my headset to Venus so you can coordinate on opening the rip. Then, Raph, Mike and Mona can herd the Eater into this room. That's when we'll activate the machine and push it out of this dimension."

"Sounds like a plan," Raph nodded, "so, how quick do ya think we can get the beastie in here?"

"Faster than you might think," Mikey quavered, his tone drawing the group's attention.

Like something out of a horror movie, Michelangelo watched the stumbling gait of the inter-dimensional creature tromp through the open laboratory door, its tentacles twitching and writhing as it sniffed the air with its giant nostrils, "Aw, shell," the youngest whimpered.

"Venus, open the gate!" Leo bellowed, drawing his katana even as he attempted to stand on wobbly legs.

"But I thought we only had one shot?!" The smaller Wyvern asked, eyes wide in distress.

"Do it, nierte," Mona shouted, "we'll figure the rest out later, right now we got to take care of this thing!"

With a panicked squeak, the wyvern frantically began tapping on the touch screen, "Donatello," she commanded, voice stern and professional, "get on the monitor next to me, and put in the coordinates I give you, and type them in exactly as I say!"

"What are we aiming for, the shatter space?" Don asked, fingers flying as he accessed the second screen.

"Duh," Venus scoffed.

Mikey positioned himself between the brainy bunch and the creature, slightly distracted by how much Leo was swaying despite his obvious effort to remain standing. Raphael and Mona were quick to flank the youngest, knowing that the leader was in no condition to fight, but unwilling to bench him when they were literally staring potential death in the face. Or, as much of a face as this thing had, what with no eyes and all. Behind him, the orange ninja could hear the younger wyvern rambling out an entire line of code to Donnie, the purple turtle easily following with nary a hitch in his typing. Not for the first time was Mikey truly in awe over their genius brother's sheer intellect, but he didn't have the luxury to dwell on the amazing gifts of his siblings. He had bigger things to think about.

The monster moved quickly, much faster than he remembered, but considering it was starving, it was probably desperate for the yummy snacks it could smell in this room. Mikey dodged the initial charge, spinning his nunchucks as he ducked, then delivering a devastating backhanded blow to the creature's flank.

It didn't even flinch.

"Well," Michelangelo paused, his face a grimace, "that's discouraging."

"Weapons don't work on it," Raphael roared, keeping his distance but maintaining his position between the Eater and the scientists, "weren't ya listenin' ta Leo when he said that?!"

"I was!" The youngest whined, diving back into the action, stance low as he aimed for its legs, "But I was kinda hoping you were being dramatic!"

"So says the most dramatic of the four of us," Leo muttered.

"An excellent, if not incredibly rude, point," Mikey shrugged, "but that doesn't tell me how we beat this thing!"

Suddenly the room became alive with an electric hum, steam and smoke rising from the device, and for a moment the empty arch crackled with energy. However, in less than five seconds, the power in the room flickered, before the group was plunged into semi-darkness. Michelangelo let out a yelp as he barely dodged a think black tentacle, leaping back to stand next to Raphael. Behind them, Leonardo was barely capable of standing, his knees shaking violently, the leader forced to use one of his beloved katana as a cane. Oh yeah, they were on their own. Thankfully, Mona wasn't unprepared. The Wyvern activated her dragon blood, making her fingernails grow into longs claws that glowed yellow with fire. Raph gave the impromptu weapons an approving smirk.

"Nice," he drawled, "wish I could do that, but unfortunately the only tricks I got are the ones my dad taught me."

"I thought you could turn into a dragon?" Mona asked, swiped her claws at the creature, avoiding its tangle of appendages with lithe precision, slashing it towards the red clad ninja.

Raph groaned, "I could," he winced, giving the Eater a powerful punch to the head with the hilt of his sai, "and if I still could, I'd tear this thing apart, but I can't."

"You really need to join Leo and me in our meditation journeys," Mikey threw in, a smarmy grin directed at his older brother, "because Leo can turn into a dragon on the astral plane."

"Well, whatta 'bout you, Mikey?!" The brawler spat, trapping a tentacle with his sai so Mona could give the Eater a roundhouse kick, "Why aren't you going dragon, oh enlightened one?"

"I'm not there yet!" The youngest whined.

"Donnie, what's going on over there?!" Leo asked, panic barely audible in his tone.

"We're trying, we're trying!" The scientist replied, his own panic much more obvious, "but the machine doesn't have enough power!"

"You're going to have to let it to the control room to reroute the power, like you said," Venus moaned, "but hurry!"

"Ya think?!" The purple ninja shot back, ducking under tentacles as he made a break for the door.

…..

Leo watched the creature, hating how his legs shook more and more with every second he remained standing. Raph and Mikey were trying to stand up to it, but the negligent effect their weapons had on the creature made them tire quickly. Even Mona was struggling to keep up. The leader snarled quietly to himself. He couldn't defend his family like this. He couldn't fight like this. He was worthless. Pathetic. Unable to do the one thing he'd been charged to do since childhood. Rage boiled under his skin, making his heart burn and sting as it recoiled with another pained uneven beat. He needed to be useful! But he wasn't, he was standing in the background like some kind of invalid, again. The creature moved in its disturbing stumble, skittering across the floor like a bug. It reminded Leo of that Japanese horror movie Mikey convinced them to watch as kids, the Ring. The leader never admitted it, but that film gave him nightmares for weeks. Now, he was watching that same kind of glitching movement that haunted him every time he closed his eyes, and it was heading straight for Donatello.

Panic seized the turtle, making his blood run cold. He couldn't let it get Don, he couldn't let it hurt his family, he couldn't fail them again. "DONNIE!"

The leader forced his legs into movement, desperation driving him to push himself past his limits. Arms outstretched, sapphire eyes wide, Leo dove forward and shoved his brother out of the way. The genius hit the floor hard, tumbling head over heels, mouth a grim slash of pain as he rolled. However, Leo didn't have time to feel guilty, he was in the grip of the creature.

Leo released a strangled cry as he was slammed against the wall, wincing as his shell scraped against the cement. His vision began to spin, darkness creeping in on the edges, even as he clenched the tentacles wrapping around his throat in shaking hands, "Donatello!" He screamed, lungs already burning as he convulsed with the need for air, spending what little he had on his brother, "RUN!"

And we're back at where we started!

Thank you all for your patience, as the wedding draws near (getting married on March 30th!) the time to write is elusive at best.

I appreciate any and all reviews, have a fabulous weekend everyone!