Chapter Text
Leo laughed as he vaulted over the edge of a building, swinging his sword and allowing himself to fall through the crackling blue portal onto the roof of the building across the street. He rolled into the landing and leapt straight back into his run, never breaking stride for a moment.
Donnie flew up beside him, rolling his eyes.
“Save some flare for the rest of us,” the softshell deadpanned, arms crossed. Leo grinned at his twin, shooting him a salute as he ran.
“Noted and ignored!” He responded, smirking as that got a dry chuckle out of his brother.
They were on a patrol, and as they were faster then their other two brothers, they took the long half of the patrol, while Mikey and Raph took the shorter one on foot. The other two had finished their part and headed back to the Lair, while the twins were almost finished with their usual circuit, and it had been a boringly quiet night.
Sometimes Leo wished there was more activity from their usual enemies, just to have something fun to do.
The wind whistled in the slider’s ears, the air cool and crisp, as he leapt the small gap between two buildings. Donnie kept up easily enough, typing on his wristband. Updating Raph, no doubt. Not that there was anything to report, but they all knew how Raph worried if they didn’t check in to confirm.
Leo glanced to the side, about to toss some witty remark at his brainiac brother, when something whizzed by his face, missing him by inches. He jerked back instinctively, tumbling onto his shell on the roof he had been in the middle of crossing. Donnie pulled up short, whipping his tech bo off his back instantly as he readied for attack.
“Pity, it would have been easier if the blue one was out of commission…” a smooth male voice said. Two sets of eyes focused on the shadows where the voice came from, and found a cloaked figure leaning against the wall, a cowl pulled over his face.
“Normally I’d be pleased at the attention, but I don’t think we’ve met,” Leo said, tone joking but hard as he flipped into a photogenic crouch and slid his sword off his back. The figure chuckled, moving toward them languidly.
“Well… I suppose that’s fair. You may call me Malison.”
Then the person stepped from the shadows, the bright city lights catching his jaw and revealing the hooded face.
A yokai, or maybe a mutant, stood before them, his sharp, canine features twisting in a grin. He had short dark fur, and if Leo had to say a breed of dog he looked somewhere between a German shepherd and a greyhound. He was tall and lithe, with a barrel chest and thick, wiry muscles prominently shown with his sleeveless vest revealing his strong black-furred arms. White fangs glittered as he grinned, red eyes burning into the two turtles.
“Nice to formally meet you both,” he said in that same silky, unconcerned voice. His small, pointed ears were now visible, sitting on the top of his head and standing to attention.
“I wish I could say the same,” Donnie answered coldly.
Then the yokai attacked, without further warning. Leo sucked in a breath as another bo shuriken narrowly missed his face, the thin blade of metal flying by so fast he barely glimpsed it.
“What, no villain monologue? I thought those were required for the trade!” Leo snapped with a tight grin. His nerves tingled, but the joke loosened him up.
There was a growl and Donnie was bashing his bo against the twin katanas the villain had pulled from off his back. They fought as Leo recovered his feet and dove into the fray, fighting side by side with his brother.
For a few rapid minutes, it seemed at if they had the upper hand. They leaped, dodged and attacked, driving their opponent toward the edge of the roof, the yokai’s twisted grin on his pointed muzzle the only part of his face visible. Leo laughed and tossed out burns left and right, fiercely enjoying the fight. Then, just as the villain’s paws met the edge of the roof, teetering on the precipice, something changed.
“Well… as fun as this has been, I think I’ll just take what I came for and be on my way…!” Malison laughed, swords crossed and holding both boy’s weapons back. His eyes flashed, glinting as he looked into Leo’s face. Suddenly the slider didn’t feel like making a funny comment.
With a sweep of his feet the dog yokai knocked both boys to the ground, flipping neatly over them to land in a crouch. He stood easily and turned, head bowed and katanas held out to the sides.
Donnie had his goggles down, probably from the fall, but as both turtles got to their knees he inhaled sharply.
“Nardo, he’s-!” He started to say.
He was cut off harshly.
A flash of violent reddish pink light exploded into the softshell, sending him tumbling backwards, slamming shell-first into the short ledge at the edge of the roof. Malison laughed, the whip of bloody light zipping back to him and coiled around his hand.
“Donnie!” Leo cried out.
“Distracted.”
The word whispered in the slider’s ear was the only warning he got before a powerful kick in the side sent him flying. His back smashed into the small structure with the stairs down into the building. He hit so hard it left a large web of cracks in the wall, and he slid to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.
His head spun as he finally sucked in a sharp, pained breath, coughing and groaning. He lifted his heavy head, watching through half lidded eyes as the yokai walked toward his brother.
Donnie struggled to his knees before the villain got to him, spinning his bo to ward off the creature. It didn’t work. Scarlet light darted out and snatched the weapon, tossing it easily to the side as another tendril of the magic slammed into Donnie’s plastron, pinning him to the ground. The softshell groaned something Leo couldn’t hear as the glowing ropes lifted him onto his knees again, holding him tightly in place.
The villain raised a katana, and Leo jerked forward, his body refusing to work properly.
“No!” He screamed, voice breaking horribly.
The blade came down.
At the last moment the yokai spun the weapon, slamming the hilt into Donnie’s temple. The light released the teenager at the same time, and he crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The villain nudged him in the side with a cloth bound footpaw, easily rolling the limp turtle onto his back.
Leo roared, jerking himself to his feet and running at the dog creature, who’s ear twitched his way and his head tilted, not turning to face him but watching out of the corner of his glowing red-pink eye.
Leo scooped up his sword from where it had fallen and spun it, darting into the swirling portal. A second later, he appeared next to Donnie, one hand snatching his brother’s while the other hand made a new portal.
He wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t know when to ditch the fight and go into flight mode. At least not where his brothers were concerned.
He stepped through the portal, right into the sewers outside of their Lair, close enough to their home to call out for their brothers once they were safely through. He was almost through it, could feel the slight tingle of the energy travel over his body and down his arm as he pulled his unconscious brother to safety.
Then there was a jerk, stopping his progress, and it snapped shut.
For a moment there was nothing but silence, a blank numbness that clouded out everything.
Then the agony exploded up Leo’s left arm. He screamed as he collapsed to his knees, barely feeling the cold, damp sewer floor against his legs as the pain washed over him in sickening, mind numbing waves. He thought he was going to be sick, thought he was dying. His sword clattered to the ground, forgotten, and he was holding his arm to his body.
What was that awful wailing? Oh, was that him? He couldn’t tell. There were voices, he was sure. Yelling, calling out, panic and questions coloring the tones. Those couldn’t be his, they sounded more like his brothers…
His brothers.
Donnie.
Where was Donnie? Where… where was he?!
As the agony faded slightly for a moment, Leo could vaguely see the red and orange splotches running toward him, could feel himself clutching his left arm, could feel the hot, sticky liquid coating his fingers and dripping down his plastron and onto his thigh as he held the limb to his chest, kneeling and bent double.
But he couldn’t hear Donnie. There was no glimpse of purple in sight, no sarcastic or worried comments, no analysis of what was causing Leo all this unbearable pain.
He wasn’t there.
Raph was in front of him -when did he get there?- asking him a flood of questions that Leo felt like he was listening to through a three feet of water. Mikey cried out, and big, shaking hands were gently trying to pry his left arm away from his body. Leo sobbed and shook his head, brain muddled with pain and panic and confusion.
“Leo! I have to see what’s wrong! Mikey, go get Dad, and some bandages! Gosh-that’s so much blood.”
That was Raph’s voice, as distorted as it sounded. Did it sound funny because of Leo? Or was it the panic in his big brother's voice throwing his normal tone off? He couldn’t be sure. Maybe both.
The blurry blob of orange was gone, and the big hands had finally managed to pull his trembling limb away from its owners clutches.
There was a stuttering gasp.
“O-oh frick-Leo-I-what-?!” He didn’t seem to know what to say, how to talk.
Leo related to that, his mouth wasn’t really working, though he was pretty sure at least most of the sobbing and wailing was him.
Again, he realized he was missing something. His big brother graciously brought it to the front of the slider’s mind.
“L-Leo, where’s Donnie?! What happened?!” He asked, utter panic and horror like Leo had never heard before tainting the words. Even during the whole Shredder incident, he had really sounded calmer then this. All the blood was probably freaking the poor guy out.
Donnie.
The yokai. The fight. The portal he had made, the escape he was so sure was theirs, the portal closing, his brother not through it, his arm not fully through it-
He gagged, almost throwing up before he shoved the thought away. Big hands were still holding his left arm, and he couldn’t tell if the tight grip on it was making the waves of pain better or worse.
“D-Donnie-! G-got him! Y-you g-g-gotta s-save him, R-Raph-!” He begged, right hand gripping the top of his brother’s plastron. “P-please! Pleasep-pleasepleaseplease-”
He was mumbling, switching between muttering his pleads and choking on screams. He was twitching, struggling in his brother’s grip. When had Raph picked him up? Were they moving? He couldn’t tell, he hurt too much, everything was too much.
He felt sick and dizzy and lightheaded. He was burning up, but sweat slicked his face. He couldn’t feel most of his body, but his arm and his head and back all screamed with agony. He couldn’t take it, he could feel darkness trying to pull him under, to shield him from the pain his mind couldn’t handle. He couldn't, he had to save Donnie. He had to find his brother, his friend, his twin.
They were in the medbay.
There were people around him, voices talking, shouting, his name was in there a few times. Everything was spinning, spinning, spinning. He was gasping for air, he couldn’t breath.
Then, something stung his neck, and he felt numbness spread through him, blessed, sweet relief. But Donnie. He whined, not wanting to go to sleep, not wanting to succumb to the blackness that beckoned him.
“It is okay, my son… just rest… you are safe…” his father’s voice soothed, and with that, he relaxed slightly. Maybe… maybe just for a bit… then… he’d…
He was out before he had another thought.