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undercoverwizardfanfiction · 1 year

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Title: Drowning

Mirrored Fall

Part: 1, 2, 3,4,5

Verse: ROTTMNT

Summary: We can run from monsters but we can't run from ourselves

Characters: Draxum, Splinter, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo

Warning: Medical Terms, Settings, Coughing, Mention of Vomit. I will update each chapter with a warning specific for that fic dont worry

Pairings:

Being a single father to four boys, Splinter savors every second he gets to himself. It hadn’t always been that way. When he had first decided (and by ‘decided,’ he means worn down by relentless begging) to let his boys go to the surface, he had been wracked by anxiety.

What if they got hurt? What if Raph’s fear stink led the FBI right to them? What if Donnie got overstimulated? What if Mikey did something so adorable he was immediately signed on for a ten-season contract for a Disney Show? Not to mention the eternal aspect of Leo being Leo.

Those thoughts alone kept him pacing the lair floor for hours. On that first night, he hovered by the entrance, ready with a first aid kit and a box of lollipops for any trauma that might have occurred. But other than a few moments of overstimulation, they were fine. They were fine the first night, the second, and the third. By the fourth night, Splinter realized three things.

For the first time in years, he had the lair to himself.

His boys were just fine.

For the first time in years, he had the lair to himself.

What had followed was a snack food bender that left him waking up on the floor covered in Cheetos dust and somehow six inches shorter than he had been at the start of the day.

And a new appreciation for much-needed ‘me’ time.

Years later, he dances out of his room with a crowbar whistling a merry tune from his short-lived sitcom, ‘Arrested Donut-elopement.’ Another adaptation to a growing family was his need to hide precious snacks. Not that he’d ever deprive his sons, but he deserved to have some snacks to himself. He pushes the armchair to the side, revealing a ‘perfect’ square cut into the stone floor that he digs his crowbar into with a heave and twist. The large slab lifts and wrenches just enough to reveal a large cache of snacks underneath, “Ho ho! Just as untouched as the day I snuck you into the lair under my moo-moo,” Splinter says, already filling his arms gleefully. He turns to sit on his armchair, staring at the tiny black kitten now occupying the space that rightfully belongs to him. Splinter's eyes narrow, “Hello, Soup.”

The kitten’s head tilts toward his name and gives an inquisitive ‘mew’ before standing up and putting its tiny paws on the armchair. It peered at him with youthful curiosity. Such expressions might work on his sons, but Splinter knew better than to fall for its feline tricks, “What's it going to take to buy your silence on the matter?”

“Mew?”

“Do not give me that. You are a snitch, and we both know it.”

“Mew?”

“Oh, so, Orange just happened to find the sugar-free popsicles he had bought for me, buried in Central Park, on his own,” Splinter asks, with a narrow of his eyes. The snitch incarnate turns back and curls up on the armchair, deciding that Splinter isn’t interesting enough to hold his attention. The Rat Man laughs loudly. “So, blackmail it is?! Very well, but two can play that game. I am not afraid of you,” Splinter says with square shoulders before deciding that sitting on the cold hard concrete is far more appealing than the recliner he spent the better part of a decade molding to his body shape.

Grumbling to himself, he sits down and tears into his bag of chips, “Rotten kitten. First, he steals my son's love. Then, he steals my seat. What's next!?” He glances back at the kitten yawning so wide that Splinter can see the still-growing fangs that could potentially be the last thing he sees.

The Rat Man is so enrapt in foreseeing the mechanics of his doom that when his phone starts blaring, he jumps out of his skin. He only manages to re-catch all his well-hidden treats through well-trained acrobatics and food-based survival instincts. He quickly shifts them all to one arm and takes his phone out to see Raph’s number on the screen. ”Oh, Red! One, are you on your way back? Two, would you pick up some dinner on the way home? Nothing with fish,” he asks, glaring at Soup—no point in making himself more of a target.

His face drops in horror as Splinter listens to what his son says. Before Raph finishes his sentence, the lair floor is covered in dropped snacks, and he runs out the door.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

(Ten Minutes Earlier)

In the span of a few seconds, Draxum has lost what little control he has over the situation. He knew he could do nothing to stop Raph or Mikey from going after him. And if not for his waylaid leg, Leo would have been in front of them all. He turns to go into the area he had hidden Donnie when he stops, turning to face the two turtles, “Michelangelo, stay here. Raphael, if you insist on following, do not get in my way.”

“But-”

“Do as I say,” Draxum snaps more intensely than he should, but he’s already behind the curtain. Donatello, who had been in a half-awake state a few minutes ago, was now doubled over. His hands were twisting the front of his hoodie as he coughed heavily, only broken by painful wheezes, as though both were just as desperate to get oxygen but unwilling to compromise. Draxum circumnavigates to the ventilator and starts tapping the touch screen. He was pulling up anything that might have malfunctioned while more than acutely aware of the snapping turtle still standing at the entrance. Then, without looking up, “I can help your brother, but it would be infinitely helpful if you didn’t stand there gawking.”

“I-”

Draxum didn’t have time to feel guilty for his tone. He finds no fault with the machine and quickly goes to Donatello’s side just as Raph joins him. “Help me get him on his side,” Draxum demands, already taking Donatello by the shoulders. Raph complies without hesitation, supporting Donnie’s shell and the back of his neck to prevent him from twisting it wrong. Draxum moves the mask out of the way to make sure Donatello isn’t about to get sick, but after a few moments, Donatello’s breathing finally starts to level out. The creases on the purple turtle’s forehead flattened out as he seemed to return to some form of restful sleep. Draxum releases the breath he didn’t know he was carrying. The two of them move Donatello back onto his shell. But as Draxum replaces the oxygen mask, he notices Raph's hand drifts to hold the back of Don’s head with his free hand clasping his younger brother’s.

“Is he ok?” Raph asks in a small voice that starkly contrasts his vast form.

Draxum closes his eyes and returns to the ventilator, bringing up the screen again, “He’s better than he was a moment ago. I believe it was just a bad coughing fit.” Draxum couldn’t bring himself to look at Raph’s helpless face as he checked the antibiotic cartridges he had put in. Even though they weren’t close to being empty, he went to his counter and took up a few more, “I had hoped a half dose of antibiotics would help him breathe better. Or at least start off his treatment.” Draxum moves and puts them in place. The machine lets out a soft hiss indicating the acknowledgment of additional medicine. For a moment, Draxum keeps his gaze on the device as he gathers his thoughts, “Go back to your brother, Raphael.”

“I-I don’t want to leave Donnie.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, your brother went through great pains to not worry you.” Draxum finally turns to fully look at him, “So, as I see it, you have two options. One, you and your brothers can all gather and hover over him like I know you desperately want to. Then he’ll wake up and see you three and go into a full-on panic attack. Which will only make his current state worse,“ Draxum raises his hand as Raph opens his mouth, “It doesn’t matter if that would make you feel better if you were in his place. He is not you. He is not Michelangelo. And thankfully, he is not Leonardo. He is Donatello. Who, in case you haven’t noticed, went to great lengths and great pains to make sure he would not worry you. Not until he could get his condition under control. A course of action he failed. Which brings me to our second option. You can wait with your brothers, wait till your father gets here. And when Donatello wakes up, I can explain what happened. Allow him to adjust and decide what he wants to do.”

During his whole argument, Raph’s face falls closer and closer to outright despair. Had it been even a few months ago, “The Baron” wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to care. But Draxum, who now knew who Raphael was, not as an experiment but as a person, turns to the sink and starts scrubbing his hands, “I cannot tell you what to do though.”

Draxum hears the barely audible shaky breath escape Raphael, and out of the corner of his eye, he watches the hands holding Donatello. They are shaking so hard Draxum was scared Raph would wake the soft shell. “W-we can wait,” Raph says softly, “We can do that for him.”

“Good.” Draxum shakes off his hands before drying them off, “If you want, I can call your father. I can explain what happened.”

Raph shakes his head, “N-No I can do it. J-just focus on Don. Please.” He steps back, looking at Donnie for a moment as though he was hoping that Donnie would wake up any moment and tell the red turtle he was fine. But it doesn’t happen. Raph squeezes his swelling eyes shut and ducks out.

It was a moment of ignorance he knew Raph was desperate for.

Because it was the same ignorance that Draxum was desperate for.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

Raph barely steps behind the curtain out of Draxum’s sight before he presses his hands over his face. His shoulders were the only indication of the nearing panic attack, desperate to be heard. But after a few moments of deep breathing, he managed to calm himself down. Using his wrist, he wipes at the few tears that managed to escape. “It's ok, he’s ok, it's ok,” he repeats to himself a few times. Finally, when he’s managed to calm down, he picks up his phone and calls Splinter. The conversation barely lasts thirty seconds. It ends with the knowledge that Splinter is on his way as fast as possible.

It’s ok.

He’s ok.

I’m ok.

As Raph opens the curtain to see where he left the rest of his brothers, Mikey leaps off the examination table and tackles Leo from his half-standing position, sending them both to the ground. Mikey immediately wrapped his arms and legs around him to bring him down while Leo, now with the hood of his hoodie shoved into his mouth, thrashed around with muffled shouts.

All the anxiety that had fueled Raph a moment ago was now replaced with ‘older brother’ mode. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He snatched them both up by the back of their respective hoodies and held them at arm's length as though they were rambunctious kittens. They were even swiping at each other like feral animals. “Break it up, you two!”

“Leo was trying to follow you!” Mikey points.

“Was not-”

“You were literally trying to throw yourself into the hall-”

“Falling is good for sprained ankles! How many times do I have to tell you that-”

Had Raph had a free hand, he would have facepalmed. But instead, he only had the emotional exhaustion of someone dealing with too much at once. “It’s like wrangling kittens in here, “ he grumbles as he pins Mikey to his chest with one arm. With the other, he drops Leo back on the exam table, palming the blue turtle’s face with his hand to keep him in place. “I’ll release you if you promise to stop fighting each other. Agreed!?”

Mikey gives a puffed cheek pout before nodding in agreement. After a moment, Raph can see Leo glaring at him as though contemplating chewing through the red brother’s fingers then and there. But soon, he feels both his younger brothers relax in his grip. He waits to ensure they're not trying to trick him before he sets Mikey on his feet and steps back from Leo. “Alright, there, good jo-”

“Great, now where’s Donnie?! We heard him coughing. I know he’s here! Why aren’t you with him?! If you’re not going to him I-”

Raph's palm again covers Leo’s face: "I fell for it. I knew he was lying, but I still fell for it.” Raph schools himself as Leo continues talking. He was pulling at Raph’s hand to free himself before his shoulders dropped, and he crossed his arms in irritation. Raph knew better than to let him go this time, “Draxum is taking care of him, and Dad’ll be here soon. Draxum said he wanted everyone together before they explained what’s going on. Right now-“ Raph has to catch himself before his voice crack became audible. But judging by the way his brothers look at him, his silence speaks far louder. “Right now, he’s resting, and we just have to wait for for-”

Somewhere on the other side of a clinic, there is a shattering of glass followed by a gust of air. “Boys?! Draxum!? Are you in here?!”

Thank Pizza, reinforcements.

“Dad, we're over here!” Finally, after the continuing sound of breaking glass, scurrying along the curtained wall, and one of the walls being knocked aside entirely, there is left standing Splinter. When they had left their father, he had been eating a braided five-foot-long fruit by the foot. Now, he was standing here with heaving shoulders and rotten trash hanging over parts of his completely sweat-soaked robe. Judging by the trash stuffed into his robe, the banana caught around his neck like a scarf; he had run through several dumpsters. (Instead of jumping over them like a normal mutant).

But whether oblivious to the filth or uncaring of it, Mikey has already dropped to his knees and thrown his arms around Splinter, hiding his face in his shoulder, “Dad, something's wrong with Donnie! Something really, really bad. I-I don't know what to do.”

Splinter's arms wrap around the youngest turtle with a hand on the back of his head. “I know my mandarin. We will get answers soon I promise.” He takes a few moments to comfort Mikey before inspecting his other present sons, only to do a double take when he sees Raph’s hand still covering Leo’s face. He gave Raph a bewildered look, “Do I want to know?”

“Leo’s taking a time out.” Raph narrows his eyes at Leo again to see if he’s learned his lesson but judging by the way Leo narrows his eyes, he has not. But before he could further retaliate, the sound of stomping hooves before Draxum appeared at the entrance with wide furious eyes and a heaving chest, “What did I say about keeping it down!?”

Leo tries to shout something in his muffled state, but Draxum shoots him a glare so intense that the chatterbox turtle lets out an almost panicked squeak before clinging to the hand he had previously been trying to escape from. “Thankfully, Donatello wants to see you as well.”

“He’s awake?” Mikey asks eagerly.

“He is. He’s very tired, but he wants to talk to you all. He knows you have questions, and he’s ready to give some answers,” he says. As Mikey and Splinter stand to follow, Splinter moves his hand to hold MIkey’s as they walk. Draxum leans over to hiss at Splinter, ”And you’re paying to have my window fixed, you Raging Rodent.”

“If you don't want your windows shattered, then you should make a more obvious entrance-” the two whisper-argue as they walk away.

Leo Immediately tries to pry Raph’s hand off his face again, but Raph does not release him just yet. “Leo,'' He says softly. Quiet enough to catch Leo’s full attention and not just rampant concern, “I know you’re worried. We’re all worried. And I know you want to see him, but I really need you to calm down. We need to hear what he has to say. So, please? For him?”

He expects more pushback, but this time Leo closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths before making eye contact again and nodding. Having been burned in the past, Raph slowly removes his hand. But this time, Leo doesn’t thrash away or try to crawl up the wall like a creature from a sci-fi movie. But he does grip the edge of the exam table and hunch his shoulders as he takes several deep breaths. The red turtle’s hands hover again to overcome some sort of physical comfort. Instead, Raph looks around the room and sees the mass pile of leg casts Draxum had been going through earlier. Raph picks through them for a moment to find the blue turtle the right cast. Only then does he return and catch Leo’s attention, who sees the implement and nods, letting Raph help him put it on. Leo’s leg buckles for a moment as he goes to stand, but Raph makes sure to hold on to his arm in support as they make their way after the others.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

( Ten minutes earlier)

When Donnie was six, he got the flu for the first time.

He didn’t count Rat Flu as an actual incident of being sick. Because until then, whenever Splinter could feel the animalistic instincts of his illness kicking in, he’d just fill the lair with prepared snacks. As well as ensure everything was safety proof and they had access to emergency numbers and anything else that could go wrong in six hours. All while he quarantined himself. (But if Raph could accidentally turn the microwave into a heat-based time bomb in less time than it takes Splinter to take a spoon out of a drawer, Donnie shuddered to think what they’d do with six hours unsupervised).

Donnie could remember being trapped in a suspended state of far too warm and far too cold. One that no amount of blankets, wet cloth, or comforting presence could solve. It couldn’t have been more than two days, but it was easily one of his most miserable memories.

But this?

This was way worse.

He felt the remembered juxtaposition of fever and chills. Along with a splitting headache and stomach twisting like a snake trying to untangle itself. Every breath to try and satisfy his brain's need for oxygen was met with a painful wheeze and an even more painful cough. He was so wrapped up in his struggle that he didn’t notice a fast-approaching presence. Not until it's by his ventilator. But he’s so disoriented he almost thinks there’s another form standing by him. A large hand holding the back of his head. Even if it was just in his head, the touch was soft and kind, making him turn into it more.

He tried to open his eyes, but the soft light that had filled the clinic now blinded him with the intensity of a searchlight, and he was forced to squeeze them shut. He feels the tightness in his chest finally lessen to a more manageable state, and the tension leaves his body.

With it, he lets the dark take him.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

With a jerk, Donnie returns to the waking world with moments of confusion and delirium. He rockets up to a sitting position, hand on his mask as he lets out another cough via his already barren throat. Finally, vertigo wins out over his confusion, and he tips over, only for a pair of hands to grab him by the shoulders and guide him to lay back on the half-upright bed. After a few breaths, the dizziness starts to fade.

Oxygen mask.

Clinic.

Draxum.

Usually, a combination of words would make him sick all over again, but this time, it made him sigh with relief as he looked up at Draxum. “Thanks,” he says weakly, “What happened?”

“You passed out again and had a coughing fit. I’m going to refill the antibiotics to a higher dosage. Try taking as deep a breath as you can.”

“Y-yeah, good idea.'' Donnie takes another breath, as deep as his lungs allow, leaving a settled sting down his aching airway. “Thanks for getting my family out of here. Was Leo’s leg ok?” When he doesn’t get an answer, Donnie looks over to where Draxum is scrubbing his hands. For a moment, he’s not sure Draxum heard him until the yokai puts his hands on the counter, fingers tightening over the laminate surface, “Draxum?”

“I am sorry, Don,” he says quietly, “Your family is waiting to talk to you.”

Donnie is not sure he has heard him right. But as Draxum’s words sink in, so does the return of short, shallow breaths and panic. “Wh-what do you mean?! You said you wouldn’t tell them! You promised-”

“They heard you coughing. I didn’t have a choice. It was either come here and help you or try to devise some cockamamie excuse and potentially let you suffer.”

The soft shell opens his mouth to argue but instead squeezes his eyes shut and falls back on his bed, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes. As much as Donnie wanted to, he couldn't fault Draxum for what he had or hadn’t done. And perhaps Donnie was acting less grateful than he should have been. But he could still feel tears biting the corner of his eyes as he pressed the palms of his hands over his eyes. Of course, they’d find out. Why wouldn't they? He had lied to them. He risked his health to keep them in the dark. Donnie knew he had to tell them eventually, but when he thought about it, Donnie could still feel his arms wrapped around Leo as his brother sobbed. The rushing water that had almost been his brother's grave roared by them.

“If you need to express outward negative emotion before you talk to your family, I understand.”

“No-no, it's fine.”

Donnie tries not to think about how he should be grateful for all Draxum has done for him. None of this was his fault. Why did Donnie ever believe he could stop his family from finding out before Donnie dared to tell them? How he had lied to them? Risked his life to keep them in the dark? What right did he have to cry when he brought this on himself? The purple turtle takes a few moments to collect himself before moving around, peering over the sides for the popper mechanism. “Help me sit this up more.”

“It’s high enough-”

“No, I'm not going to have them walk in like I'm on my deathbed. I need them to see me sitting up. Talking. If I can't lie to them anymore, I can at least not make them think I'm on the brink of death.”

Draxum meets his eyes for a moment before sighing and walking over to the side of the bed. He reached down, touched some hidden mechanism that had been out of Donnie’s reach, and guided the bed upward with his free hand. Even though it only moved a few inches, his body aches in protest. The turtle adjusts himself for a moment and then nods to Draxum.

“Do you know when Dad will get-”

Before he could finish his question, a shattering window cut him off. It was followed by a gust of cold wind that almost ripped the blanket off Don’s leg. Then the running of stubby legs echoed off the walls, past his curtained-off room, “Never mind, I guess he’s here.”

Draxum pinches the bridge of his eyes, “So it would seem. I swear your father waits until midnight to bail me out of jail with starbucks for himself. But when he wants to, he can move faster than the speed of sound.” The yokai grumbles as he leaves the room. (The tinkling of glass a moment later and the return of warmth told Donnie that Draxum had fixed the window.) But honestly, Donnie was just grateful that he hadn’t woken up to his family descending on him like seagulls in a frenzy. The turtle catches a glimpse at a window, barely visible between the marked-off curtains, and seriously considers jumping for it.

But before he can consider giving in to his thoughts, the youngest turtle runs in. Before Donnie could think, Mikey’s arms were thrown around him, and his face in his shoulder. “I-I was so scared! I-I heard coughing and- it sounded like you- And- and we ran for you! And- and Raph wouldn't let me in the room! And- and-”

“I know bud, I'm sorry.” Truth be told, at the moment, Donnie wasn’t sure how much physical interaction he could stand but decided to stomach it. If only to give Mikey a little bit of comfort. Donnie rests his hand on the back of Mikey’s head. He looks up in time to see Splinter join. Standing just right behind them, Raph stayed behind a second before stepping in with a hand supporting Leo’s arm. Raph ensures Leo has the curtained wall to lean on before joining Mikey and Splinter. At first, Donnie wanted to say something about how Leo shouldn’t be up and walking but sees, with relief, that he managed to get some sort of walking cast. He tries to make eye contact with Leo to give him the somatic cue to come closer. But without making eye contact, Leo shakes his head and seems to slink further back into Raph’s approaching shadow.

Before Donnie has time to feel guilty, Raph is already at his other side, and Splinter stands by his hip. “My Purple Plum, how are you feeling?”

“Not great, but better than I was,” the purple turtle looks and catches his eye with Raph. Judging by the look in Raph’s eyes, he’s thinking of taking a step back, but Donnie reaches forward and takes his oldest brother's hand, “I promise.”

Raph opens his mouth to respond but closes it with a small inaudible sigh. Before Donnie can offer any more reassurance, anything to make his family feel better, Draxum appears by Mikey. “I know you are all concerned, but give him some space before he passes out from carbon monoxide poisoning.”

The part of Donnie that values his personal space was grateful, even though Mikey stayed close enough to still hold his hand. But the part of him that was desperate to keep his family calm just wanted to keep them close and give them all the empty promises and lies. Ones that said everything he could to keep them calm. Donnie closes his eyes and rests his head on the bed behind him, “I’m really sorry, guys. I’m sorry.”

“What happened, Dee,” Raph asks first, “You were fine an hour ago.”

“I-I was. I mean, I was trying to be." Without the strength to meet his family's eyes, he focuses on his blanket, twisting the fabric in his hands. “I don’t want to lie to you. The only reason Draxum didn’t tell you was because I begged him not to. I thought if I could get treated and get ahead of this, I could make you all less anxious. But it didn’t work.” The purple turtle’s hands travel up to his chest. Not for the first time that day, he wished to reach into himself and pull out what was rotting inside him.

No more hiding.

No more lying.

“As you all know, Leo and I went to fix some failing wire. We got caught in a tunnel, and one of the nearby tunnels was activated by an overflow warning. It had to redirect some water…into the tunnel we were trapped in. I couldn’t get Leo’s leg free, and as the water came for us,” finally, Leo finally makes eye contact with him. “I-I panicked. I covered Leo’s airway, but because I was holding on to him, l- I couldn't cover mine, and-” for a brief second, there’s almost unbearable silence.

“How much water,” Leo asks quietly, speaking for the first time since he entered the room.

“A lot. It got in my lungs. In my stomach. When we got to the walkway, I coughed and ejected as much as possible, but I had to check on you, too. After that, I was just focused on getting us home safely….” Donnie let the sentence drift off. He couldn’t look at MIkey’s horrified expression or see Raph’s eyes. Every set of stares in the room looked on with varying degrees of horror as each took in the information in their own way.

Very briefly, he looks in Leo’s direction. Just enough to see that Leo is finally looking at him. Looking like he was either about to be sick or rip the walls down with his bare hands, and then horror as his face drops.

Mind Melding hadn't been a thing for a few months, not since Big Mama’s train. But they still had moments where they could just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. And at that moment, Leo could see the past few hours with entirely different eyes.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

Only when they break the surface does the hand over Leo’s mouth and nose disappears. He’s heaved onto the pathway. Donnie follows, turning and hacking towards the water uncontrollably. His body desperately tried to reject every toxin that violated his body. As he wiped at his streaming eyes, he heard Leo hacking behind him and turned to see the red slider curled up, with his arms wrapped around himself. He was oblivious to the world around him other than the horrors now going through his mind. The turtle wipes off his mouth the best he can and crawls over, taking Leo by the biceps. As tear-filled, disoriented eyes looked at him, the turtle pulled him close to his chest and held him. “It's ok, bud. I got you,” he said, voice so sore it could barely be heard over the gushing water. But Leo must have understood him somehow since his body curled towards him, and he wept into his shoulder. The turtle can only go against every instinct he has as a scientist as he rocks his brother to his chest. In reality, where the truth comforts him, he can only comfort his brother with the sweet poison of lies.

“It’s ok, Leo.”

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

Donnie rolls over onto his hands and knees, gripping the sink counter and testing his strength momentarily before he feels comfortable climbing to his feet. He had barely left the shower before his legs had given out, and only the floor rug had prevented him from hitting his head as he coughed helplessly. Of course, since the bathroom isn’t so far from the bedrooms, the turtle would be more worried if someone had heard him. But Leo had fallen asleep as soon as he climbed into bed, and the rest of their family was on their way home. Donnie takes a moment to breathe with his hands braced on the sink before he checks his complexion. Other than a paler-than-usual complexion (nothing that couldn’t be explained away), Donnie looked fine. He still makes sure to wash his face and rinse out his mouth.

Leo was safe. That’s what mattered.

When he’s sure he can move without getting sick, Donnie moves across the Lair to the Med Bay, gathering what items they need. First Aid kids, ice packs, wipes. He also finds the bottle of modified antibiotics with a sigh. “At least there’s that,” he says softly before twisting the lid, only to have his heart drop at the contents.

Three pills.

No, that was impossible. They had more than that. Donnie always made sure they had enough for everyone in case of emergency. He retraces their last few medical incidents. Mikey cut his arm on a rusted pipe. That was two. Raph had gotten caught in a toxic cloud in their previous battle and always required more for his mass. He mentally recounts and slowly realizes the numbers match up. He remembers promising himself to get more later.

Then this happened.

It wasn’t like he could go up to the surface and buy more at a moment's notice. Since they were mutants (technically part yokai), normal medications didn’t work on their family as intended. Not only did it work at one-twelfth the strength it was supposed to, but it also gave them something close to a mind allergic reaction. That's why Donnie started making modified medicine in the first place! But that required a trip to the Pharmaceutical Lab across the city, and he didn't have time. And to be honest, he didn't have time now. All he knew was that with their exposure to the water, three pills wouldn’t be enough for just one of them.

Any rational doctor or provider would point out he needed the medicine more. His body was starting a war against toxins. If he thought about all the toxins his body was starting a war against and remembered the sensation of the water filling his body, he’d begin to lose his breath. His hands would start shaking. He would start heading down the path of an inevitable meltdown curbed by pure will alone. So, not now. Not until everything was taken care of.

He thinks about the scrapes and cuts that covered Leo’s calf and ankle, which had also been touched by untreated water.

He doesn't think twice when choosing between himself and his brother. Despite the new onslaught of tears threatening to take over him, Donnie squeezes his eyes shut and puts the lid back on. Wiping his eyes on his sleeve as he heads back to Leo’s room.

“It's ok, Leo.”

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

It's barely an hour later, and what is a celebration for the rest of his family feels muffled by the emotional numbness threatening to overcome Donnie. When Leo drops his head on his shoulder, he can only respond in the way a person manipulates a puppet. Presenting the emotions rather than feeling them. He laughs with them and teases them. Does everything he can to make Leo comfortable. Safe. Happy. Protect him.

“I'm ok, Leo.”

“I’m ok, Leo.”

Ten Minutes ago, everything was fine.

Leo can’t breathe

Ten minutes ago, they were laughing.

Leo feels like he’s drowning.

Ten minutes ago, he planned to eat ice cream and terrorize Mikey with his horrific toppings.

Leo can’t be here.

He has to leave.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

Leo’s body is moving, but he doesn’t realize it until his shell hits the draped wall behind him and it nearly fell over. All eyes go on him. His breath is already short, and Leo barely has time to give his brain the oxygen it brain so badly needs. Then, finally, he hears a voice and knows they're asking if he’s ok.

“I-I- '' Leo’s hands hover close to his chest with a painful internal itch that all the fluttering in the world can’t fix. “I-I gotta go. I gotta go,’ he says. Softly at first, but a touch to his shoulder almost feels like electricity to his frayed nerves as he steps back, “No, I gotta go.” he says, this time more forcefully. The walls are closing in. The forms that had been his family become elongated, stretching towards a ceiling that was now tall enough to touch the stars. He can’t breathe. He can’t-

“It's ok Leo.��

He opens his tear-stained eyes again. The world still distorts beyond his control. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is the one sitting in bed. Looking over at him with a soft, if pained smile, “You can go.”

If there’s an argument against it, he can’t hear it. In one fell swing, he turns and swipes his portal sword through the air, barely giving it time to fill the room with a soft light. He steps through a vortex of blue, white, and tears, and the fearless hero flees.

Even as he flees

He falls

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

Ten Minutes later

It's only because of Splinter's interference that Raph doesn’t go after Leo then. Whether it was because Splinter understood Leo needed some space to himself or for some other reason, Donnie didn’t know. But they knew it was better to move Donnie back to the Lair. Draxum agreed to ‘loan’ some of the equipment he had ‘borrowed’ from the hospitals to make up for anything the Lair lacked. Like in every other situation where they are faced with helpless feelings, Splinter assigns Mikey and Raph things to do around the lair to help make Donatello comfortable. (“Orange, go toss Donatello’s hoodies in the wash, so he has them if he wants them. Raphael, do the dishes. No, I’m not using the situation as an excuse to make you do your- just clean the dishes, Red!”) It's only then that Draxum appears later, standing in the light of his own portal with a box of medicines. “I have the rest of the modified antibiotics that you requested.”

“Thank you. Donatello is the only one who knows how to make them, so we’ll need as many as we can get.” Splinter wasn't sure the last time he used “Draxum" and “Thank you” in the same sentence, but it wasn't a phenomenon they could expect very often. Draxum turns to head into the med room when he stops and looks back to Splinter, “You shouldn’t have let Leonardo leave. He shouldn't be prioritizing his own feelings over Donatello's-”

“First of all, you’ve been a dad for–What? Five minutes? Watch ten seasons of my cancelled sitcom Toll House and maybe we’ll talk. Second of all, Blue needs time to sort out his emotions. Donatello needs calm around him right now. If leaving is what he needed to do at that moment, then he can do that.”

Draxum narrows his eyes and sighs, “Fine. Whatever. When I drop this off with Donatello, we can talk about treatments. I have a few in mind but hope for more options.”

Treatments. The closest thing Splinter had been to any medical stuff was during his stint in Generals Tso’s Chicken Hospital. So, really, he was at a loss for what to do. The rat puts his hands on the back of the armchair his two middle sons had been enjoying just a few hours ago and lets himself sigh. “Do we have options,” he asks.

“We do not have many, but we do have them. Other than simply hoping his body will fight it off. Plus, your son is so stubborn, I doubt he’d let anything defeat him.”

Splinter lets out a small smile and chuckles. He tries not to notice Draxum let out a small smile as well. As if that was his intended reaction as he returned to the med bay. Splinter picks up a waylaid blanket before he sees Draxum poke his head out of the room. The rat is confused when he sees the yokai still holding the box. But there’s a look in Draxum’s eye that drives Splinter over.

It's only a few steps closer when the sound of soft sobbing reaches him and makes him walk faster. Ducking under the yokai’s arm, Splinter sees Donatello back up to a sitting position. His face was hidden in drawn-up knees, and arms wrapped tightly around his chest. It seems the weighted blanket Mikey had gotten for him wasn’t enough. “Oh, Purple,” Splinter says softly. He goes to sit on the edge of his bed, and not even a second later, Don turns and presses his face into Splinter’s shoulders. His soft weeping became full-force sobs as he clung to his father in a way he hadn’t since he was a child.

Splinter’s bottom lip trembles as he holds his son in turn, knowing no amount of lies or comfort would bring him out of the dark hell his mind was in. He catches movement out of the corner of his eye, just in time to see Draxum hover at the doorway before deciding something and moving over to them. Splinter wasn’t sure what he would do, but Draxum sat on Donatello’s other side. After his hand hovered for a beat, he rested his hand over Splinter’s and placed his forehead on top of Dontaello’s blanket-clothed shell.

In moments like this, grief will not only break you.

It can drown you.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

<Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 (coming soon)

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles smart lair #rottmnt fanfiction #hurt comfort #sick fic #donatello #leonardo #brothers #medical situations #rise of teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtle fanfiction

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undercoverwizardfanfiction · 1 year

Text

Title: Veins of Ice

Verse: ROTTMNT Avatar au (Dove and Glitch verse)

Summary: Leo made a mistake, he didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It wasn’t his fault but there’s only one person with answers

Characters: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Big Mama

Pairings: WHY.ARE.YOU.STILL.HERE?!

For: @dovelydraws @eternalglitch

warnings: Blood mention, scawy

The following events unfold as though in slow motion.

First, the feeling of Donnie grabbing his arm as Leo tries to storm out of the tent. Second, Leo twists and raises his arm to free himself from his brother's grip. There was shouting. Of course, there was. Arguing between brothers seems to be their nature these days, and in that same way, Leonardo feels burning anger and a need for retaliation. Leo summons the bending that always came naturally, swinging his arm. Water surrounds them, flowing from the hanging pot to the tea kettle Raph had set up. Set up in a desperate attempt to warm Mikey's always-frozen body. But his bending didn't catch on to either of these things. As Donnie steps back to avoid his brother's swinging arm, Leo feels his bending catch something else entirely.

He watches as Donnie's arm starts to bend towards his body, a look of surprise and pain on Donnie's face. Leo tries to stop, but it's too late.

Like inside a vacuum, time caught up, but everything was muffled. Leo didn't hear the snap, but he watched Donnie's face fill with pain as he went from standing in front of him to flying away. He hit one of the poles of the tent with such force the structure cracked and bent, but not enough to bring it down. There was a clatter of breaking bowls as the soup Raph had started to pour crashed to the floor.

"Donnie?!" Leo watched Raph shout as he rushed to Donnie's now kneeling form. Raph held Donnie by the shoulders and peered at his face. Mikey joined a second later, only because he had to twist free of the blanket he was wrapped up in. Being a firebender meant Mikey had a much harder time with the cold South Pole weather than everyone else.

Usually, Leo would be at Don's side too, but instead of rushing forward, he's taken a step back. His breath came out panicked as he looked down at the hand he had used to bend just a moment ago, frozen in air and time.

"Leo."

Raph's voice finally breaks him out of his shock. The muffled silence is broken as sound rushes back, filled with the mixture of Donnie's gasps of pain and his own gasps of shock. Donnie's tears are overwhelmed by the blood running down his brow, and Raph looks from Donnie to Leo desperately, "Leo, what did you do?!"

"I-I-I don't know! We-we were arguing! I got mad, and I-I-I-," Leo stumbled back, looking at his hands as though he could see his sin on them. He knew Raph didn't understand, but his brother also knew Leo wouldn't be of much use. He looked to Mikey, "Mikey, go get a healer, NOW. Get Seifu Arik, get anyone!"

Mikey was already at the fireplace, grabbing the fur coat he had placed there earlier. As he ran past Leo and held the curtain open to exit, the blast of cold air was all that was needed for the barely-held-back tears to burst free as Leo turned and ran out of the door past Mikey, ignoring Raph yelling after him.

The frozen Southern Pole air immediately burned every inch of exposed skin, but Leo ignored it the best he could. He ran by other homes and ignored the concerned shouts of Southern Water Tribe citizens. Whether or not they were worried about his actual health as a person or because Leo was one of the Avatars. He didn't know. He just ran.

Leo didn't stop until he left the village. His eyes were fixated on a tent on the outskirts of town that thankfully had a small trail of smoke coming out of it, marking the sole occupant's home. It was a relatively short distance, but the icy air made him feel like he's run across the continent as he stumbled and almost crashed into the entrance, "Seifu! Seifu! It's me!"

A moment later, the entrance parts to the side, revealing a familiar short woman with almost pink skin. Unlike the other members of the tribe, her robes were intricately stitched with various shades of pink and purple. Her hood piled around her neck like the plume of a bird of paradise. The only thing that seemed somewhat normal about her was her silver hair, so delicately cut to frame her face perfectly. She puts her perfectly cut nails over her mouth in shock, "Oh, Sweety Petey! What brings you to my humble abode so late? You'll scare a poor delicate woman to death-"

"Som-something happened, something really, really bad, and-and I don't understand-" The tears that hadn't stopped flowing are now turning to ice against his face. Leo desperately tries to rub them away on his equally numb forearm as a sob escapes him.

"Now, now, it can't be as bad as all that, my flirtatious Leonardo. Why don't you come inside and tell your sweet, sweet Seifu all about it." She puts a hand on his shell and guides him towards her tent. Having been in the tribe for only a month, Leo had seen inside almost every home in the tribe. But the home of his Seifu was far more decorated with fancy-colored rugs and bright candles. She had claimed it came from her husband when they were in the Northern Water Tribe. Leo was almost jealous of all the decorations, but he couldn't focus on that as his legs gave out and he fell by the fire pit. Then, he felt Big Mama, the name she preferred, drop a heavy animal skin about his shoulders, and she knelt by the fire. "There, there. Now, what has you got in such a tinwinzle pickle?"

"I-I did something. I-I just want-wanted Donnie to stop talking. I-I just wanted to smack him with some water or s-something. I just wanted him to shut up, b-b-but," Leo raised his hands to look at them. His wavering vision made them tremble worse than they already were, "I-I did something. I-I had my p-pose wrong. I was just so-so," Leo let out another sob, "I hurt my brother," and he dropped his face in his hands.

A soft gasp escapes the pink woman next to him. Leo's not sure what to expect further as a reaction, but it's not to feel the tips of her sharp nails caress the back of his neck, "Oh dear sweet boy, did you use blood bending on your own brother?"

Blood Bending.

The name of it. The weeks and weeks of lessons that followed his second lesson with Seifu Arik. He had listened. He practiced. She understood him in a way Seifu Arik, even his brothers, never could. She promised to help him find his full potential. Show him how to bend others to his understanding and help others understand him.

"You never said- I never-" he looks to her in horror, "You never said I was bending blood-"

"Well of course you poor poor fool, If I told you its true name you wouldn't be so eager to learn would you?" Her fingers trail from the back of his neck to the side of his face. He could swear he could feel his new tears freezing in the same way they had outside at her touch, "But wouldn't you say he deserved it? He didn't understand your pain, and now he will never forget your pain."

"I-," The flashes return – Donnie on his hands and knees. His arm bent wrong. The tears, both Donnies and now his own, "-I-I-I-"

"And there you go crying again." Her eyes, normally full of the understanding and warmth he so needed at times, were now filled with an irritation that Leo had never known. "Honestly this forsaken continent is almost entirely water and most of it gets used. So, you can cry and cry as much as you want," She bites out with such disgust Leo jerks away from her.

"Wh-why are you talking like this," Leo asked quietly, as though he was afraid he would trigger this unseen side of her. Her eyes bore on him for a few moments. A few moments where he's too scared even to breathe. It was utterly silent before she closed her eyes and reopened them with the smile he always knew from her," I apologize my sweet Leonardo. You are clearly upset."

Her hand touched his face again, but he flinched away, tucking his head between his shoulders. Her fingers curled back into a trembling fist, but her smile stayed in place, "Of course, I understand. How about I make us some tea and you can tell me every little detail of your feelings." Without waiting for an answer, Big Mama turns to stand and heads for the cabinet (brought over from Ba-Sing-Se) and starts searching for some loose leaves she had brought from all over her travels.

But, something felt…

Wrong.

His frozen body, grazing the warm pit fire, moved his hands over the burning warmth, massaging them to urge life into them. But his eyes stay fixated on Big Mama's back.

"Actually, my little turtle boo, I heard an interesting rumor today."

Leo sat up straighter, even though Big Mama hadn't turned around. Through the fire's light, he could see her shadow on the wall and her waving hand, bending some water from a nearby pot into her kettle. "Yeah?" he asks, "I thought you didn't like talking to the other villagers?"

"I don't, but sometimes I find walking among the elephant rats necessary." The shadow of her wrist gave a quick twist, causing the water she was bending to snap significantly in the air, despite its small stream. Elephant rats? They weren't Elephant Rats. They were good people. The thought returns – something is wrong.

It feels like it's coming from a thousand different voices mixed with his own. Without realizing it, Leo stands up and takes a step back. But as he opens his mouth to say goodbye, he finds himself coughing on his own words, his throat somehow too tight. Not enough to not breathe but enough to make him feel claustrophobic. As Leo reached up to tug his necklace loose, he found it resting comfortably almost on his collarbone. He holds his throat in a slight panic, opening his mouth to make any noise, but the pressure increases around his throat.

"I know it's uncomfortable, dear Leonardo, but try not to scream. You'll only make the pain worse." Big Mama turns from her position. Her smile, which had brought him comfort through their training, was now sharp and pointed like a knife's edge. Her hand was brought up in an almost clawlike shape, and she brought her forefinger and thumb closely together before he could understand what was happening. The pressure in his throat increased, and Leo stood up and stumbled back, hitting the tent wall. Leo's breath started to come in and out in a pained whistle. He grabbed his throat with both hands and looked at the woman before him in pain and panic.

"Sad eyes? Really? Far more interesting people have tried that in the past, and I could tell you what I did to them but you already look positively ghastly. No point in you passing out before I'm finished. How about you come back to the fire so we can have a real discussion?"

Her other hand came up, hooked her finger horizontally, and quickly jerked it behind her. An invisible force yanks him forward by the chest, and he falls back in front of the fire. As Big Mama rotated her hand around, the pressure pushed on his shell, pressing him hard on the fur-covered floor. What the tall fur rug didn't obscure of his vision allowed Leo to see Big Mama step away from the tea, "Oh where are my manners? Did you want some tea?" She raises her clay cup with her head tilted in his direction, "It's from Ba-Sing-Seeee," she sings.

"It cost some merchant an arm and a leg to give it to me," her smile returns. Even as tears of pain and confusion run down Leo's face, "Now now, don't be shy, I insist." She tilts her head, "No? Alright then, but I did offer you a cup," Big Mama sets aside the cup she had made for Leo and takes a sip from her own. Leo felt the pressure on his shell disappear.

As fast as his body allowed, he lunged forward with his arm coming up in an arc. The scalding water from the hanging pot follows his arc and shoots for Big Mama with the intensity of a viper's bite. But in the same heartbeat, an invisible force hit his chest and slammed him back to the ground. The water to be his salvation burst into a flurry of tiny snowflakes disintegrating by the fire's heat.

Big Mama sips from her mug and lets out a small giggle, "Oh my, it's flemoxioly fantastic, but a bit too hot for my taste. I'll have to make sure to get more when I take my etradinarious exit." She sets her cup by Leonardo's and turns back to him, looking down at him with almost a parental look of disapproval. She bit her tongue and shook her head, "Now now, that wasn't very polite of you, was it?"

She drops her clawed hand, releasing the pressure on Leo's throat. He gives a loud gasp for air, coughing the dead air out of his lungs and taking a few moments to breathe, "Why are you acting like this?!" Leo couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice, "You're my teacher, my friend, you're not a monster-"

Before he could finish, Big Mama rolled her eyes, "Oh, how wonderful it must be to be unburdened without a single thought…." She brings her free hand up, drawing water that twists and bubbles in a circle with the tea leaves from the pot, situating themselves over the makeshift puppet's eyes. And Leo realizes, with horror, it is his face resting on a thin, barely supportive neck, "Arrok yelled at me again, Sei-fu, he says I'm not trying hard enough," Big Mama says in a high-pitched mocking voice as the water puppet flapped its mouth up and down. "Sei-fu my brothers won't stop bothering me, they think we should leave."

"Sei-fu what if I'm not good enough to protect my brothers' blah blah blah." Big Mama rolled her eyes, "Honestly, if I had to choose between starving for a thousand years and hunting avatars again, and listening to you whine and cry for ten weeks, I'd rather starve. I supposed I shouldn't have expected too much from the son of Hamato Yoshi."

A thousand- a thousand years, but that was impossible. People didn't live that long- Yoshi. His father. All concern melts away, returning as anger, glaring at the woman who, until an hour ago, had been the closest thing he had to a mother, "H-How do you know my dad," Leo asks with the protective anger of a son. Gone was the fear of a helpless victim that he had felt.

"Oh Leonardo, your father and I go way back. Of course, I knew him before he was even born. And the one before him and the one before him for countless generations." Her hand reaches up and holds the rope holding the pot, circling it lazily as though she was talking about the weather and not to a tied-up victim, "It was terrible at first. By the time I found them, most of them were dead. But I got better at finding them. That's what a millennium will give you. Patience. Drive. Hunger…”

"H-hunger? What the hell do you mean hunger?!" Leo demanded.

"Oh that's right, I never properly introduced myself. That's silly of me," Big Mama let out a girlish giggle. "Of course, Big Mama is my preferred name. I," she rolled her eyes, "tolerated Sei-fu." She smirked at Leo, "But the Spirits, my colleagues, know me as The Mother of Spirits. Or rather," she used the rope of the hanging pot and swung around in an arc. Her shadow twisted and stretched, but before Leo could tell what became of it, she stopped on her other side, "The Spirit Eater."

"The-The," Leo's breath becomes strained again, and he knows it has nothing to do with blood-bending or manipulation. Instead, rather understanding," Yo-you were trying to eat the avatar."

It wasn't a question.

"Oooh good on you, I knew you couldn't possibly be as dull as you let on. And yes, I was trying for so many years. Then finally, maybe four avatars back. I caught one in his sleep. Devoured him whole. Oh how I had waited for that moment. Butttt it was," Big Mama smacks her lips and looks off as though trying to think of the word, "Lackluster? So, I tried with the next avatar, same disappointing outlook. You see, eating a spirit is so different from eating a person. Honestly, eating people is boring. Lots of screaming, lots of 'oh please don't eat me I wont taste well!' No one knows that better than me. But a spirit is different, it is a level of gratification I had never known. The older the better. So when I ate the avatar, I expected something no Spirit had ever felt before. And I felt nothing. In fact, I was hungrier after I ate them. I tried again and again. But, by that point the Avatars were privy to my existence and knew how to avoid me. So, to my disappointment, I had to wait. And I did, until a new Avatar emerged unlike any that came before."

"He was fun, carefree in a world that didn't know strife. I'll be honest, I almost regretted getting so close to him. But the time came, and my hunger reached its height. I revealed my nature, and again as it had unfolded hundreds of times before, we battled. But this time, he had the audacity, the ego, to believe he had been the one to vanquish me. And so I returned to waiting, watching him get robbed of his avatar spirit. And at the news of the new…Avatars, a thought occurred to me. Perhaps I had failed so many times in the past because when I had the chance to devour your forebears, none of them had been in the avatar state. It was the only thing that made sense. But of course I had a new problem. There were four of you twits," she bit out.

"So, how was I to know which one of you had the spirit? Was it severed between the four of you? Could you pass it to each other? I decided the best way to find out was to wait nearby and see what happened. I never suspected that one of you would be stupid enough to throw himself into my web. I waited, and waited but if I'm being completely honest, I'd rather spend a thousand years starving, fighting every avatar that I hunt down, than listen to you whine and cry for another three months. Honestly, you should thank me for being so patient."

"But that brings me back to that lovely little rumor I heard today, my boy. I was walking through that backwater pit of a tribe waiting for your daily meltdown when I heard some of the villagers talking about you as humans are begotten to do. Honestly, it's the only good thing about them. They said it was so strange you disappeared so much. They were so worried something would happen to one of their precious avatars. But there was a voice of reassurance from Arrok himself. He really is the old bore you say he is. He said," Big Mama changes her tone to one more masculine and raspy, "the water avatar might be talentless and spoiled, but if anything else, your avatar spirit would come to your aid. As it does when any of the avatars are in danger."

Her tone changed to her usual pitchy one, "So that finally answered the question the world begged to know. The four avatars shared an avatar spirit. And since it can only be with one of you at a time, you can imagine how…infuriating it was to find out after all this time of waiting and waiting and complaining, all I had to do was…well…what I've been dreaming about doing all along."

At first, Leo thought it was his panic that made Big Mama's figure blur and swell, but then her color faded to black, and her form began to expand. Instinctively Leo tries to scoot back away from her, but his arms are still trapped by whatever blood bending still gripped him. Her legs swell and split into four thick points. Two extra wide arms grow from her ribs. The clothing that had been kept to an unnatural amount of cleanliness and quality sinks into her skin and swells up till her head grows three times in size. Her eyes split in two different directions, so four pairs of eyes now glare down at him. Her formerly silver hair was now light green, hanging around her head in a mane-like manner. Her jaws unhinged into an unnaturally large mouth with jagged twisted fangs that grew to unnatural size as she loomed over him, "Now, do as you were always destined to do. Fall."

Big Mama's other hand comes up and closes her fingers together with the tea from where it had fallen. The water gathered forward and solidified into a sharp point over Leonardo's forehead. Helpless, Alone. He thinks about the last time he saw his brothers.

Raph's face of horror, Mikey's face of utter confusion, lost at his older brother, who was supposed to be a healer—supposed to help people. And Donnie, who had stopped his exit, stuck on his hands and knees. With tears of pain leaking between the streams of blood from his forehead.

Big Mama suddenly twisted back to the appearance Leo knew, and her gaze jerked toward the entrance. In less than a heartbeat, the ice receded. Before Leo could feel any sort of relief, a small quiet voice breaks the silence. The ice that would have pierced his body instead fills his heart in terror.

"Hello?"

"Ah, looks like the littlest one is here." She turned to smirk at Leonardo, "I should've expected that, as attached as you are to each other. I'm surprised it's taken me this long to finally meet them."

Leo opened his mouth to beg, to scream, to do anything, but the pressure around his throat constricted, and he could only gag in pain as he fell back onto the ground. "Now, now, I'll be sure to give you the attention you so desperately can't seem to live without. But, right after, I spend some quality time with your little brother." Then, with a wave of her hand, ice penetrated the rug underneath him, and two sharp sheets of ice shoved him.

The spirit Eater stood up and walked to the entrance. Even though her hand wasn't locked in any bending position, any attempts to scream or yell were constricted by that unbearable grip on his neck. Finally, the curtain was pulled to the side, and Big Mama stood so that the entryway was filled, blocking Leo from Mikey's sight completely. But Leo could still see the familiar orange hooded cloak (double layered for the natural firebenders constitution), "Oh, hello! You must be Leonardo's little brother."

"Y-yeah, I'm Mikey." Even with extra layers and three pairs of socks, the natural firebender was frozen in the south pole, "I, um, I was looking for Leo. I know he hangs out here a lot."

"Oh? Yes, he spends quite a lot of time here. Has something happened to the poor Letrotinous lad?" She spoke in such a way that Leo had considered it a great comfort until she uncovered the truth.

"He-he ran off and we're trying to find him. W-will you let us know if you see him?" Mikey asks in a sincere voice

"Oh, but of course you young, brave soul. I'm sure he's fine." Leo watches the woman, a creature he had known as Seifu, raise and put a hand on Mikey's shoulder. Leo tries to twist and turn his way free as a slight growl escapes him, and he notices Mikey's leg twitching.

"What was that," Mikey asked.

"Just some tea I have in the kettle. Speaking of which, you look positively fizzleimpering freezing. How about you warm up with some nice tea before you go on your way?"

"Um, no I really need to find my brother. If you see him, please let him know we love him? I just want him home."

Angry tears burn in his eyes as Leo presses his face into the rug again. Had he a proper airway, Leo would have been a weeping mess. Of course, they came for him. They were his brothers. In every way, he was selfish where they weren't. He watched Mikey turn his back to go, but before he could feel the relief that his brother had escaped the fate about to befall Leo, he watched Big Mama draw her arm back. What was once masquerading as her arm now twisted and elongated into a curved blade.

And again, for the second time that night, time slows down. But his heart rate doubled, and Leo thrashed and twisted. He was so desperate to get away, to save his little brother, that he didn't notice the white light that flashed against the walls of the tent. Leo was so desperate he didn't see Mikey turn back around. He was so desperate he didn't notice as Big Mama dropped the water blade and turned to him with wild excitement.

Leo closed his eyes, blinking away desperate tears.

He reopens them in a blinding white light

#rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtle fanfiction #leonardo #donatello #michelangelo #big mama #raphael #avatar au #undercoverwizardfanfiction #blood mention

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