The trek to the apartment above them was.. awkward to say the least. No one was talking unless they had to, and that was only to announce if the coast was clear or not so Donnie could continue forwards with Mikey in his arms.

Mikey had been fast asleep for the majority of his recovery, laying in April's bath tub. It was only when her mother had gone to bed had they decided to make their move. Donnie was really hoping Splinter and Draxum were awake currently. He wasn't really wanting to deal with a grouchy Splinter and Draxum, but oh well. It is what it is.

"Clear." April called out, heading into the stairwell, Donnie right behind her in a matter of seconds with Casey taking up the rear.

"Is there any way that I can get out of doing the talking?"

"Uh, no. They're your dads." April huffed out, making her way up the stairwell.

"Dad. Singular." Donnie corrected, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Uh huh."

"Just because he is the one who mutated us does not make him my father."

"Don't tell Mikey that."

"Hmmph. Eye roll."

The four stopped at the top of the stairwell, April peering out through the rectangular window, her hand perched parallel above her eyes. "I don't see anyone."

"That's good. We don't want to be seen sneaking around with an unconscious body."

"Well, duh. We don't want you or Mikey being seen in general. There are some folks spreading a ton of mutant hate around. We don't know who's safe and who's not."

"The EPF?" Casey blurted out, eyes widened slightly.

"Yeah? I think so. It's what I've been hearing at least. Do you know them?"

Casey pressed his lips into a thin line, rubbing his arm.

"Uh, sorta. I was still pretty young when Sensei was dealing with them. They're very anti… alien? Mutant? They sort of helped up, sort of didn't. It was a very complicated relationship."

"Hmm," Donnie hummed, looking over at Casey, "I just hope these EPF fellas don't catch wind of what's going on. I would not want to have to deal with Raph plus them." He shuddered.

With that they three pushed into the hallway, footsteps light as they traversed down the corridor to Draxum's room.

A metal arm sprung out from Donnie's shell and dipped down to the doorknob, picking the lock on the door. He pushed the door open with his foot, scanning the dark apartment with just his eyes.

Just his luck, they were likely asleep.

Not wanting to carry Mikey anymore, Donnie padded over to the couch, gently resting his brother on one of the corner cushions, adjusting him so he'd be comfortable. He turned to look over his shoulder, noting just how exhausted both April and Casey looked. It was pretty late after all. Donnie could feel the exhaustion in his bones.

Exhaling, Donnie ushered to the couch with his head. "It's late. We should all rest before telling Splinter and Draxum. Freaking out this early, with this little sleep, isn't a good idea."

"But what about Raph?" April interjected, her lips pulling into a tight frown.

"That dumb dumb isn't going anywhere. My security should keep him inside the lair." Hopefully. Donnie wasn't so sure about that one. Krang Raph was strong, much stronger than normal Raph. If he truly wanted to, Donnie definitely thought he could bust through the lair's security doors.

The two humans were silent as they mulled over their options, April eventually sighing and giving in, taking up a spot on the couch beside Mikey, snuggling against him. Casey took the other arm, resting his hockey stick down on the floor.

Donnie sat against a wall nearby, tucking his knees into his chest, letting his arms hang over his knees. Surely he could stay up and keep watch for the two adults here. He wasn't that tired.

"What are you four doing here?"

The deep grumble had startled Donnie out of his slumber, the softshell squinting up at Draxum, who was hunched over. His eyes were squinted and his arms were crossed tightly against his chest.

"What a pleasant alarm clock you are." Donnie grumbled as he stood, hissing at the soreness in his spine. Maybe he should have taken his battle shell off and not slept upright last night.

"I didn't expect to have four teenagers sleeping in my living room this morning, otherwise maybe I would have considered a more pleasant wake up. Not."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Donnie threw his arms up in the air, shaking with strain as he stretched, a yawn escaping his lips. "I need to talk to both you and Splinter. It's urgent."

"The rat is coming. I'm going to go brew coffee. Wake up the circus while I do that."

An audible scoff huffed from Donnie's lips as Draxum turned toward the kitchen. The sheep hadn't noticed Mikey's condition yet. That was… good Donnie supposed. He didn't really want him to freak out and have to explain it prematurely. He wanted both Draxum and Splinter here for this explanation.

Using the wall to stand, Donnie's body groaned at him in displeasure. He looked around the room, his gaze coming to a halt on his little brother. Mikey looked peaceful for the most part, the small pinch in his brow being the only thing to give away his discomfort.

Donnie was quick to notice the fact Casey was up, his hair looking disheveled. Draxum must have woken him up, too.

"Good morning, Donatello." Casey greeted upon realizing the turtle was looking at him. "When do you plan to tell them?"

"Once Papa is awake and they've both had their coffee." Donnie eyed the kitchen. He wanted coffee, too. He hated functioning in the morning without it. "And once I've had a cup as well."

He made his way into the kitchen, his eyes immediately locking onto Draxum's back. "Is dad awake?"

"He is." Draxum answered, not yet looking at the boy. "What is this about, Donatello? I was not made aware that I would have a haggle of teenagers in my living room any time soon."

"I need dad to be here to tell you both."

Draxum's shoulders stiffened slightly, his tail swishing.

"I see."

Silence quickly filled the room leading Donnie to shift his weight onto one foot and cross his arms tightly against his plastron.

"Is the coffee ready?" He asked after a minute, brows furrowing ever so slightly.

"Yes." Draxum said, grabbing a mug from the cabinets above, pouring himself a mug. Donnie quickly did the same.

Turning to leave the room, Donnie was quickly interrupted by Draxum's voice once more.

"Where is Raphael?"

Ooo boy. That wasn't a question he wanted to hear right now.

"At the lair."

"The lair that has a massive gas leak?"

"Yeeeeuup."

"Hmm."

"Anyways!" Donnie nearly shouted, "I have to get back to the others! See you out there!"

And with that he left the room, not stopping for anything.

It wasn't long before Splinter joined them in the living room, his eyes widening at the sight of the four.

"Purple! You didn't tell me you'd be coming over! Where is Red?"

"Ugh," Donnie groaned, pinching his brows with his free hand, "at the lair. Look, please save your questions for after I give my very important speech."

"Hey dad!" Mikey called from his spot on the couch, a worn, yet cheery grin spread across his face.

"Orange! What happened to you? Did you get into a fight with yourself again?"

"What? No. That's Raph who does that."

"Ugh, Papa, I said save your questions for after!"

"Hmmph!"

Donnie rolled his eyes with an audible grumble to accompany it. Adults and not listening to his very clear instructions. It was whatever he supposed. He could excuse it this time, especially with what he was about to drop on them.

Once Draxum stepped into the room, coffee mug in hand, Donnie took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves before he began.

"So, you're likely wondering why we're here, and why Angelo looks like he was run over by a truck."

"Hey!"

"Ahem!" Donnie cleared his throat, his chest feeling tight with five sets of eyes on him. "Some remnants of the Krang were left in Raph, taking over his body once more which caused him to lash out at everyone. I sent Papa here so Mikey and I could deal with him, but alas he was too strong and also he may or may not have killed Leo, we are unsure of this at it currently stands, but we have no traces of him or his vitals anymore."

"What!?" The duo shouted in almost perfect unison.

"That's how you choose to explain that portion?" April groaned, rubbing the inner corners of her eyes under her glasses.

"Well, yes? I wanted to be straightforward and-"

"What do you mean Blue might be dead!?" Splinter cried out, his fur puffed out. His hands were held out in front of him, as if he was unsure of what to do with them. "Donatello, what is going on?"

The sharp inhale from Mikey didn't go unnoticed by Donnie. The usage of their full names was never a common occurrence from their father.

"Uh, I- well, uh, um," Donnie took a deep breath, momentarily shutting his eyes, "Raph was turned back into a Krang zombie. I first noticed it two days ago when he attacked Mikey. I thought maybe it was nightmares or something, but no, I was.. wrong."

The silence from the others in the room did nothing to ease his nerves.

"So when things got worse I faked a gas leak to get you out of there. I didn't want you to get hurt worse… dad."

"My son-"

The lump in his throat felt suffocating.

"After that things got so much worse. Raph's mind was fully taken over, I presume, and he went completely nuts, attacking both me and Mikey if he noticed us. He wouldn't leave Leo alone, and I was forced to lock him in with him. Then we left to get April and Junior to help defeat him, and when we returned Leo was… gone. We couldn't find him, and his vitals weren't picking up anymore."

If Donnie's body was suffocating him, then the silence that followed his explanation was his death. No one spoke for a long time, trying to process everything that happened. Not even Mikey dared to blurt out some optimistic response like Donnie had hoped he would.

It was Casey who broke the silence.

"We need to focus on properly ridding Raph of the Krang that's taken over him. Draxum, there might be something in your collection that could aid us. If not, we are going to have to use Mikey."

"I may have something," Draxum replied, his gaze hard. He was, unsurprisingly, very calm. Or at least that's how he appeared to be, "what use would Michelangelo be in this case?"

Donnie didnt miss the subtle flinch from his brother.

"Back in my time Master Michelangelo was able to rectify the Krang from infected individuals. The only drawback to this was that it ate away at his mystic, draining him. That's why it needs to be our last resort. Mikey already exhausted his mystics with that portal he opened to save Leo, we don't want him potentially putting himself in some sort of mystic coma."

"I'd do it if it meant saving Raph!" Mikey chimed in, a new determined glint in his eye. "I don't care about the consequences if it means getting my brother back!"

Mikey opened his mouth to say more, but the hand that rested on his arm stopped him.

"My son, while it is very admirable, you cannot be risking yourself like this all of the time. Let us see if we can figure out a way to get Red back without causing harm to you. In the meantime, you must focus on recovery. We are going to need to safely contain your brother so we will have all of our resources on hand."

The tears were near instant. Mikey latched onto his father, blubbering like a baby into his fur.

Donnie felt sick to his stomach watching their interaction. Maybe trying to hide things from Splinter wasn't a good idea. Maybe he should have just been upfront and honest about it to begin with. Maybe then Leo would have- would have been fine.

Things had gone south much quicker than Donnie had expected. Raph hadn't been harming Leo when he locked him inside the med bay! Pizza supreme in the sky, why did he think it was a good idea to lock Raph in there with Leo!? He should have done something more! He should have tried harder! Now his twin was dead and it was all his fault! He was the worst brother ever, the-

"Hey, Dee."

Donnie turned his head toward the direction of the voice. April. Oh.

"Mm."

"It's not your fault, Donnie."

What? How was it not his fault? All of his choices had lead up to this outcome. He hadn't been smart enough to figure out a better solution, and being smart was his whole thing!

"Donnie, I'm serious. Get out of your giant head and listen to me. It's not your fault. If you hadn't done what you did who knows what would have happened to you, Mikey, and Splints. No, what actually did happen wasn't great, but things might work out. We never saw a body. Leo could be fine."

"But what if he's not?"

"Then we make sure Raph will be."

Watching the sunset brought a sense of longing to Donnie. He wasnt the type to watch it often, usually having to be dragged out by one of his brothers, or just managing to see it on the start of patrol. He always saw it with one of them, though.

The chilly autumn air didnt deter him from staying out, though. It wasnt cold enough to make him entirely sluggish, the beginning of September was never that bad, but something about watching the sun set while sitting on the top of a building, alone, made him want to curl up in a ball and cry.

He wouldn't allow himself to do that, though. Especially when it was up to him to help figure out a way to revert the Krang infection from his brother.

Pulling out his phone, Donnie was quick to unlock it and tap on his photos app, swiping through his pictures until he got to the ones that contained his family pre invasion. Sure, they had just moved to the lair post Shredder, but they all looked so much happier back then.

If only they had known what was going to happen to them just under a year after.

Tears were quick to well in the softshell's eyes the further he progressed through the photos, and eventually he was forced to shut his phone off and tilt his head back, staring up at the sky above.

Surely things would work out. Mikey was with Draxum and Casey trying to find any solution to rectify Raph's infection. April had gone back to her apartment, and Splinter was.. well, he had isolated himself after finding out what had, most likely, happened to Leo.

Donnie didn't blame him.

He didn't have time to really process everything that was going on, having had to take care of Mikey, to try to stop Raph and save Leo. The tightness of Donnie's throat only reminded him of such.

He couldn't cry now. He didn't have the time to grieve yet. He needed to save Raph before it was too late. Before he escaped the lair and wrecked havoc on the town. Who knew what the government would do to Raph if he escaped. Likely eliminate him, or capture him and experiment him was what was most likely. Donnie didn't really want to think about that. He didn't want there to even be the possibility of losing another brother.

He wasn't able to stop the tears bubbling in the corners of his eyes, though he made no effort to stop them. Donnie hated crying, he hated the way his nose got all stuffy, and how his voice would crack, and how he'd stumble over his words, but while there was no one to watch him blubber around like a toddler that dropped their ice cream, Donnie felt like he could cry in peace.

Well, in as much peace as crying over your lost brothers on a New York roof top could bring a guy.

The tightening in his chest caused Donnie to hiss, his face scrunching up as a hand reached up to cup over his heart. Donnie pulled his knees to his chest, resting his elbows on his knees as he blocked out the world with his palms, his shoulders lurching as he hiccuped.

He hated this part. When his feelings got too much and overwhelmed his sense of control. He was supposed to be the bad boy of the group for Galileo's sake! He wasn't supposed to break down like this.

When Donnie finally calmed down, his hands slowly slid down his face, stretching out over his knees in the air. His brows suddenly furrowed when he noticed the soft purple glow from his shoulders. His markings were glowing? Why?

Something buzzed in his head, something tugged ferociously at his chest. It felt like whatever Leo called their "twin sense", but there was no way that could be happening now. Leo was gone. Donnie hadn't felt his connection to him since his vitals were ripped away from his tech band.

"Leo…?" Came the soft whisper from the softshell.

No answer.

As to be expected, really. Leo wasn't here. He was still somewhere in the lair. Probably. Most likely. Donnie was just imagining things because of all of the crying he was doing. That was surely it.

Still, the disappointment Donnie felt was immeasurable. For a brief second he had gotten excited, had thought that maybe, just maybe, Leo had somehow made it out of there and was fine, that Donnie would get to hear one of his stupid jokes, or that he'd get to watch the other cringe fail as he tried to pull off some stunt.

But that wasn't possible anymore. There was no way.

The tug pulled at him again.

"This seriously isn't funny." Donnie hissed, his head swiveling around. Maybe something around him was causing it?

"Whatever you are cut it out before I-"

°•~•°~ - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°

The immediate dread that filled Mikey's body was suffocating as he processed those words.

Leo had just flatlined.

Flatlined.

Which meant he was dead, or dying. His body was too mangled to do much on it's own right now. If Raph took him off of it, surely-

"We gotta go home!" Mikey cried out, eyes wide with panic. "He's going to kill Leo!"

Just then April's door burst open, a confused, yet frightened, Casey Jones Junior bursting inside. "Who's going to kill Leo??"

"Raph!" Mikey wailed. "The Krang have him again and he's with Leo!"

"Oh shit!"

April was quick to pull them all together, scooping up Mayhem as the others fumbled with weapons. "Mayhem! We need to get to the lair! Quick! Take us to the lab!" And with a poof of light the four were teleported into Donnie's lab, the main door immediately hissing open as Donnie rushed forward, rapidly tapping away at his tech gauntlet.

The doors raised, and the sight of pink goo through the opening in the doorframe made Mikey want to gag.

Raph had clearly been busy while they were away, spreading Krang remnants across the entirety of the med bay. A cocoon had been spun above the cot Leo had been resting in. Had been. Leo was no longer in sight.

"What did you do to him!?" Mikey wailed, gripping his chucks tightly in both fists. Raph had been in the center of the room, crouched down with his hands on the floor, not reacting to them.

That was until his head slowly turned, the slitted pupil of his infected eye staring directly at the box turtle.

"He's making a nest." Casey whispered, flipping his mask over his eyes. Donnie didnt have time to interrogate him as Raph suddenly roared, launching himself at the four teens.

Various shrieks and yells were let out as the four scrambled to get out of the way of the absolute unit that Raph was, but he was way too fast, and there wasnt enough distance for any of them to fully escape the impact.

Mikey swore he heard a crack when his shell collided with the lab's door on the other side of the vestibule. His vision was momentarily fuzzy as he pushed himself to his feet, a groan slipping past his lips.

He could immediately make out the sound of whirring from the chainsaw attachment on Casey's hockey stick, which was currently slicing against the claws on Raph's fist.

Mikey couldn't make out the expression on Casey's face due to his mask, but from everything he's heard about his timeline, which wasn't all that much, he could tell the other was frightened. As they all were, really.

The box turtle wondered if he had ever had to deal with something like this in his timeline.

That was something to save for another time, though. Raph was currently tearing into his family. Mikey really needed to get in there!

Swinging his chucks, they quickly extended into a glowing orange chain, wrapping around Raph's arm, pulling it away as he tried to stab at Casey, allowing Casey to slice into the Krang bits on Raph's arm, a sudden gasp falling from the boys lips. "Casey! We dont wanna-"

To Mikey's amazement the wound immediately began stitching itself back together. That was... not good.

"He's regenerating!" Donnie shouted, a mixture of amazement and fear laced in his voice. "Cut his normal skin! See if it does the same!"

"How are we supposed to do that if the majority of us have blunt weapons, Dee?" April called out, swinging her bat into Raph's side, swiftly maneuvering out of the way once he swung for her. The giant was focused on Casey now, seeing as he had been the only one to pierce skin so far.

"Scoff! Do I have to do everything myself?"

"So help me I will knock out your teeth if you keep that up!"

Tired of their bickering, Mikey used his chucks to fling himself onto Raph's back, wrapping his weapons tightly around his Krangified arm in the process, yanking as hard as he could to pin it to Raph's side.

Raph snarled, immediately dropping his focus on Junior to whip around, trying to fling Mikey off like a wild bull. "Quick! I sorta got him!"

Mikey really should have taken the injuries in his arms more seriously.

Before anyone could get close enough to make any cut, Raph loosened the chains around him and reached his free arm over his shoulder, grabbing an unsuspecting Mikey by the shoulder, ripping him forward, and chomping down onto his opposite arm.

Mikey screamed.

Sure, Raph had bitten them when they were kids, a few times when he went savage, but not like this.

Not like he was trying his hardest to rip Mikey's arm right off of his shoulder.

He swore he could hear muffled voices, sounds of conflict, but Mikey couldn't bring himself to register anything other than the searing pain.

Something purple flashed in his vision, and Mikey dropped down Raph's back, landing in a clunky embrace.

His gaze cleared just enough to see Donnie form a massive hammer at the edge of his staff, launching Raph toward the kitchen with it.

Oh he was so going to have so much to clean up once he had time to.

The crunch was playing on loop in Donnie's head.

Why couldn't he keep Mikey safe?? He was failing him. He was failing everyone.

Donnie had been quick to react when he realized Raph had bitten Mikey, jabbing the edge of his bō into the snapper's infected eye then wacking him away like he was a baseball while Casey dragged Mikey away.

When Donnie had turned to see the blood seeping down Mikey's arm Donnie's vision went white. He immediately looked away, pressing a fist to his beak as he gagged.

Oh sweet Galileo that was so much blood. Too much blood if you asked him.

First Leo, then Raph, then Mikey. Who else was Donnie going to fail to protect? April? Casey? Dad?

Could he even fix this? He hadnt been able to get any samples from Raph. How was he supposed to work on some sort of cure? He needed to reverse the Krang's hold on his brother.

Again.

But how could he without Leo? It was Leo who snapped him out of it first. Donnie had just sat there, struggling in his restraints. Could he-

"-nie! -onnie! Donnie!"

Oh. Someone was shouting his name. What was he doing again? They were infiltrating the lair to rescue Leo, then Raph attacked, and Mikey- oh, Mikey.

"Donatello!"

Donnie hissed when he felt a palm slap across his beak. "Oww!" He spat down at the human in front of him, ready to chew her out until he realized just how panicked she looked.

"Dee, we have to go! Raph isn't stopping, we dont know where Leo is, and Mikey's hurt!"

Right. Right. Yeah. They needed to... leave.

Donnie hated that he had to leave Leo once again.

He hadnt wanted to think too much about it, but that connection he felt to his twin had severed the second he got the notification that he had flatlined.

It scared Donnie really, really, bad.

The softshell would never admit to anyone aloud that they were twins. They were different species. Logically it made sense, but the way Leo would light up about it, the way they'd done practically everything together since they were tots, that weird mental connection he had to Leo, and always had to Leo. It had put some doubt on Donnie's stance.

But really, as illogical as it was, maybe Donnie could for once put that to the side and admit that they were twins.

He really wished he could have told Leo that he thought that, though.

The trip back to April's apartment had been a blur. Donnie had to go on autopilot to get around. Junior had stepped in to help get Mikey into April's tub in her bathroom, then helped him clean and dress the wound.

Donnie hadnt remembered much of it. Mikey had passed out at some point, he knew that much.

He knew that he had been prompted to get out the limited medical supplies he had in his shell, too. When? Probably towards the beginning. He couldn't recall.

He just kept thinking of everything that had gone wrong today. Everything he had failed to do.

Mikey was hurt, Raph was loose in the lair, Leo was.... Leo was dead.

No.

He couldn't be. There was no way he was... right?

But his vitals werent picking up anymore. He wasnt in the med bay, even though his tracker said that he was. Had Raph eaten him? Killed him? He was under the Krang's control now. Those chewed gum looking fucks would definitely want Leo dead. He was the reason Krang Prime was stuck in the prison dimension again after all.

Someone was talking to him.

Their words just slipped past Donnie's ears, his gaze laying unfocused on their face, just watching their lips move as he tried to decipher what was being said.

He frog blinked, and the person stopped talking, putting their hands on their hips. They ushered someone over, and the person joined them. They were taller than the original. Huh. April and Casey. They were okay. That was good.

Donnie finally noticed the throbbing in his head. How long had that been like that? He didn't know. Maybe he should lay down? Would that be a good idea?

No. Laying down raised the chances of him falling asleep. He couldn't fall asleep and risk falling behind on finding out how to save Raph before it was too late.

But he still needed samples.

Maybe he should go back to the lair? If he went alone there was a good chance he could lure Raph to another room then sneak in and out.

But there was also the possibility things could go awry and he'd get injured. Or killed, too. He couldn't leave Mikey alone like that. He didnt know how the youngest would cope with being the last Hamato left.

Surely not good, that was for sure.

At some point Donnie had recognized that he had been sat down on something. He gripped the material in one hand. Soft. Thin. Maybe sheets? Then he realized there were two people speaking nearby. A feminine and masculine voice. Right. He was... yes, they were all back at April's. Mikey had been hurt, but they had brought him back here. He was... was he okay? Soft. He was in April's bed.

"-n't know what- if we cant-"

"-think like that-"

"-onnie's not-"

Oh. Were they talking about him?

His hand squeezed the fist full of sheets he had in his hand. Soft. They were.... he took a few deep breaths, trying to ground himself.

It had taken much longer than he would have liked to get his head back in the game. If it were up to Donnie, he would have liked to keep a clear head that entire time. He hated shutting down like this, especially in important moments, but it's not like he could really do anything about it as annoying as it was after.

"Is... Mikey okay?"

April and Casey's heads shot in his direction.

"Yeah, he's okay. CJ managed to patch him up." April informed, smiling at him.

"Yeah, uh, um," Casey reached into his pocket, grabbing a vial, "I managed to grab a sample of the... Krang goo for you. I know you wanted it. Sorry I couldn't get a blood sample from Raph. He was waayy too strong for me to get close enough for that."

Donnie's eyes shot wide open as he sprang to his feet. "Aha! You did it!" He snatched up the vial, pulling down his goggles to examine it. "You're brilliant, Junior! Oh, this will help greatly!" He then froze entirely. He didn't have access to his lab... well, unless he could shut it down completely and sneak in through the sewers.... he would just have to hope Raph wasn't anywhere nearby when it happened.

He shuddered just thinking about it. The med bay was across from his lab. If Raph went in there, oh he'd mess so much up. Donnie nearly gagged just thinking about all of his personal belongings covered in icky, sticky, Krang goo.

"So.... our options are quite limited now." Donnie said, lifting his goggles back over his head as a metal claw pulled the vial into his shell. "Michael is hurt so, as of now, it is just the three of us. Unless we get Cassandra, Dad, and Draxum involved. I am... unsure of those options, but the more hands on deck the better. Theoretically."

Casey nodded, rubbing at his chin. "I think we should catch them up to speed. Master Michelangelo knew of a healing spell that could rid a person of infection, though it took a lot out of him. I'm not entirely sure if this Michelangelo could do something like that, especially so young. He didn't start doing things like that until he was in his mid twenties from what I know."

Donnie pressed his lips together, thinking over that. Mikey already was struggling with the effects that opening that portal brought. He was still recovering from taking on said burden, so he could only imagine how bad it was for his little brother. "Maybe. We'll.... have to see. I'm hoping for a solution that wouldn't put anyone at risk, though."

"Hopefully that's something we can find sooner rather than later. I still say we should get at least Draxum involved. He was the one who helped Master Michelangelo figure out he could heal the infected."

As much as Donnie didnt want to put the littlest Hamato at risk again, he knew they couldnt just ignore this. "Fine, but we're only doing this if it's our last resort or absolutely necessary. I dont... we... we dont know how much it would drain Mikey to do something like this. Especially so soon after opening that portal."

That earned a nod from both humans in the room. "So, now it's time to go get Papa and Draxum." Donnie rubbed his temples. "This is not going to be fun."

Donnie had made a quick stop in the bathroom before heading to the apartment upstairs. He was quite grateful Ms. O'Neil was currently not home or else the sight of a bloodied mutant turtle would have probably freaked her out. Probably.

"Mikey?" Donnie called softly, frown deepening when the box turtle didn't answer. Donnie could see the rise and fall of his plastron at least. That was good. His arm still looked attached, though Donnie couldn't see the extent of the injury under the butt loads of bandages on his arm.

Maybe Mikey was out of this fight for a little while.

They healed a lot faster than normal people thanks to how Draxum built them, but depending on the scale of the injury Mikey could be out for days, to weeks. He really hoped, for everyone's sake, it wasn't much longer than just a day or two. They all needed to be as healthy as utterly possible to deal with this mess.

Donnie crouched beside the tub, reaching down and gently rubbing the top of Mikey's head. "Rest well, Angelo. And please be okay. I'm not particularly interested in losing yet another brother, awkward chuckle."

He stared at his brother for a few seconds longer. Sure he was delaying talking to his dad...s. He didn't really want to admit that he lied to Splinter, that would surely not be fun to deal with, and he didn't really want to have to explain everything.... again. He knew the two of them would royally freak out upon learning that Mikey was injured, too. That was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with.

Though, maybe once they knew they could haul Mikey upstairs and they could stop taking up Ms. O'Neil's bath tub. That'd be a bonus at least. The last thing he wanted to do was get an innocent civilian involved in this mess.

The comment about losing another brother looped in his head. Donnie had absolutely no idea if Leo was okay or not. All Donnie had known was that the equipment tracking his vitals had been unplugged. He had also clearly been taken off of the respirator. That was what scared Donnie the most.

Leo's body had been basically destroyed when they got him back. Shock had kept him awake just long enough for him to make some stupid comment about landing on Staten Island, and for them all to hug. Once they had pulled away, and he had just... slumped over, panic had spread through the three of them. They rushed him back to the lair and had immediately tended to his wounds, but he just... hadn't shown any improvement since. Even with their advanced healing.

So now that Donnie had no way of tracking his condition he was horrified.

The most likely scenario was that he had passed after being removed from his cot. He wondered if Mikey had come to the same conclusion. If he had had time to think about that that was. He wasn't really sure how his little brother's head worked, or if he had had time to think about it.

Donnie hoped he didn't come to that conclusion any time soon. Mikey would be an inconsolable mess, and that would be a big detriment to the team. He would probably let his emotions get the better of him and get himself hurt.

And Raph, oh Raph. Once he was back Donnie didn't know what he would do knowing he was the reason Leo was dead.

Donnie knew Raph had been aware while under control. He had nightmares about it constantly. Nightmares Donnie didn't know how to help with.

It's not like they all weren't without nightmares. He got them frequently, he had seen on the lair's cameras that Mikey often went to Raph's room in the middle of the night when he had them.

Wait.

The cameras!

Oh how could he forget about the cameras???

Donnie's arm shot up to his face as he rapidly typed away at his tech band, pulling up the lair's security feed, specifically the med bay.

Only to see that the camera feed was dead.

"Oh come on! Why would you remember about the camera?? Ugh!" Donnie hissed, smacking his fist down onto his thigh. Of course this would happen! The one tool that could aid him was broken.

Though he did have the rest of the lair's cameras of course.

So he clicked on the one showing the vestibule that was outside the lab, kitchen, and med bay. The sight... wasn't the prettiest. The Krang goo was spreading into the hallway, but Donnie could somewhat see into the med bay. It wasn't really enough to be significant, but it was there.

°•~•°~ - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°

You see, as confident as Mikey was, he was still horrified of what was to come from this plan.

Yeah, he loved angering Raph and having the elder chase him around, but he'd never been chased around while Raph was like... that.

But still, Mikey would do anything if it meant saving his family. The marks on his arms were proof enough.

"You ready, Michael?" Donnie asked as the two came to a stop in front of the med bay doors.

No. Mikey was not ready.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The two had taken some time to get their weapons and to fully go over what they'd do to lure out Raph. Mikey would scope things out and see what was going on, then he'd shout, get Raph's attention, and lure the big guy out.

Mikey just had to keep him in this vestibule while Donnie lined up the shot with his tranq gun. Simple enough, right?

Well, Mikey had thought so, too.

The metal security door slowly raised back into the wall above the med bay's doors, revealing the dented double doors that closed off the med bay.

He just had to open them and go inside. Simple enough.

Mikey cautiously stepped forward, his hands on his chucks, only stopping once he reached the doors.

He opened them, eyes immediately darting around the room, trying to locate the massive snapper.

But he... didn't see him.

How? There was only one exit. Surely Raph must be in here, right? "Donnie, I don't see him."

"What do you mean you don't see him? He should be in there."

"Should I go in? See if Leo's okay?"

Donnie hesitated. He wanted to know if Leo was okay so badly, but where was Raph? Surely he had to be hiding inside, right?

"No. Dont go in. It's too dangerous."

"What??" Mikey's head whipped around to face him. "But Leo's right there! I could be in and out no problem!" He threw his hand out, wildly gesturing in the slider's direction.

"Well we dont know where Raph is, Mikey! What if he just-!" Donnie froze, eyes widening. Was that... "Look out!"

Mikey yelped as a large figure dropped down from the ceiling above him. Raph roared and lunged at Mikey, snapping his jaws.

"Mikey!" Donnie cried, lifting the tranq gun in his hand and firing at Raph, the dart landing in his shoulder.

Raph snarled, easily smacking Mikey to the ground and switching his focus onto Donnie, charging the softshell.

"Oh banana pancakes!" Donnie shrieked, quickly side stepping to dodge Raph's attack. "Oh this is not going how we planned it!!"

Mikey jumped to his feet, readjusting his grip on his chucks, watching as Donnie played defense against Raph. "Shouldn't he be out by now?? It worked immediately last time!"

"I don't know, Mikey! I dont- ack!"

Raph had managed to land a good hit on Donnie, sending him flying into a nearby wall, the force cracking the concrete.

"Donnie!"

Oh that was it! No more Mr. Nice Guy from Mikey!

The spots on his shoulders glowed as his chucks lengthened into orange chains. "Raph! I know you're still in there! You gotta fight it! Come back to us so we can help you!"

But Raph didn't seem to be listening. He was only focused on destroying them.

Mikey dodged attack after attack, still hesitant to fully hurt his biggest brother. There wasnt a lot of space here, and Donnie still hadnt gotten up. Mikey could only do so much to keep the giant away from him.

Things were going pretty okay! Mikey was always a lot more nimble than Raph had ever been, but Raph's abilities had been enhanced due to the Krang's possession.

It wasnt long until Raph landed a hit on Mikey, slamming his fist into the box turtle's gut.

Mikey was flung backward with a cry, skidding on the concrete ground before he rolled down the stairs, taking him down into the tv room.

"Uugghhh." He groaned once he finnally landed flat on his face.

"Owww."

Mikey slowly stood up, clutching a hand over his stomach. Oh that was so going to leave a nasty bruise.

Wait.

Donnie!

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

Was all that was on Mikey's mind as he barreled up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Finally reaching the top, Mikey panicked, seeing Raph holding Donnie up by his arm, his clawed fist pulled back, ready to strike into his head.

"Get away from him!" Mikey shouted, hurling his nunchuck at Raph, the mystic chain wrapping around Raph's forearm, preventing him from harming Donnie further.

Raph dropped Donnie, turning and grabbing the chain with his non-Krang covered arm, pulling on it, red sparks zipping in and out around his arm.

Could Raph still use his ninpō?

Mikey planted his feet, straining to not get tugged toward Raph, instead pulling back and spinning Raph in circles around him, throwing him into the kitchen with a loud clang.

"Donnie! Donnie!!" Mikey shouted, rushing toward the softshell, who was groaning and sitting up, rubbing his head.

"Ow, my head." Donnie looked around. "What happened? Where's Raph?"

"No time! We need go get Leo and leave!"

Mikey pulled Donnie to his feet then immediately toward the med bay. They rushed toward Leo, noting that his vitals were fine.

"He's okay!" Mikey pointed out, a grin spreading across his face. "Now we need, uhh, where are his portable respirators? We could set him up at April's house, right?"

"Uh, maybe? She'd make space for him." Donnie looked around the room, brows furrowed. Where would Leo keep his equipment?

The two never got an answer to that as loud footsteps thudded behind them.

Raph was back.

"No! You were supposed to stay away!" Mikey cried, turning to face their largest brother. "Just let us get Leo out of here, Raph! Please!"

"One.... of us." Raph hissed out, his eyes focusing on the sleeping slider behind them.

"One of- no! No you cant have him!" Mikey hissed. He and Donnie lunged forward again, attacking Raph on both sides.

The snapper let out a gurgly hiss, launching himself backward right as Mikey swung his chain at him, making it wrap around Donnie's bō.

The two quickly recovered, Donnie swinging Mikey around and launching him into Raph.

Raph lifted his arms to block his face, Mikey latching onto the Krang covered one and wacking Raph in the face, Donnie rushing over and holding out his bō low to the ground while Raph was backing up, making the snapper trip over it and fall onto his shell with a yell.

Mikey jumped off, staring at Raph. The tranq hadnt knocked him out, but it had definitely done something to aid the two.

Donnie pulled out his tranq gun, shooting Raph once more. "Hopefully that works this time. Now," he turned toward Leo, "lets get him out of here."

"Okay." Mikey nodded, following Donnie back toward the cot. "The respirator might be in these cabinets? I think I remember Leo mentioning it while he was ranting one time."

Heading toward said cabinets, Mikey crouched down, opening one and looking inside. "Bingo!"

He stood, heading over to where Donnie was prepping Leo to be moved. "Okay, so you take that one off and I'll put this one on, okay?"

Donnie nodded his confirmation, reaching toward the oxygen mask on Leo's face. "Ready? Three, two, o-"

The sound of slimey rumbling sounded from behind them, causing the two to turn their heads to investigate the noise.

Raph was kneeled in the med bay doorframe, his Krang arm presses into the ground, tendrils shooting out and launching toward the cot, slithering up it and wrapping around Leo's torso.

"No!" Mikey shouted, dropping the respirator, desperately digging into the Krang tendrils, trying to pry them off of Leo. "No! No! No! Let him go!"

"Mikey! Move!" Donnie shouted, pulling Mikey back as Raph charged them, snarling.

There was no way they were getting Leo out now. Raph wasnt going down, and they couldnt deal with him long enough to get Leo out!

"We need to leave! Now!" Donnie announced, pulling Mikey toward the doors.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" Mikey cried, desperately trying to fight against Donnie as the softshell pulled him out of the med bay.

"Dont make me tranquilize you, Mikey!"

The threat was crystal clear, but still, Mikey couldn't bear the thought of leaving Leo. He had worked so hard to get him out of the prison dimension! He couldn't lose him to the Krang now!

The med bay doors slammed shut as the lock down procedure was once again reestablished.

"Donnie."

Mikey didn't know what to make of this. Despite how powerful those tranquilizer darts were, they weren't working on Raph. The snapper had clearly been protecting Leo from them, but why? Why was Raph seeing them as threats but not Leo? What was Raph going to do to Leo now? Could Raph use his ninpō now? Could.. could Mikey reach him somehow?

"What do... what do we do now?" He asked, finally looking up at his brother.

"I don't know." Was the answer he received. "Leo was the one who brought Raph back. We need to... reevaluate our options. Clearly that plan didnt work."

"Okay. Um, what do we do now then? I dont... feel safe sleeping here with him." Mikey admitted, rubbing his forearm anxiously.

"Perhaps we can crash with April for a bit. Or someone seeing as her apartment is rather cramped right now. Maybe Junior will have ideas as well."

"Okay. We should go see April then."

"Well, unfortunately for us she is currently at school." Donnie sighed dramatically. "We shall have to wait." Donnie stood up straight, typing away at his tech band. "I have some medical supplies in my lab. We'll have to use those since we can't exactly enter the med bay."

"Okay." Mikey examined the vestibule they were in. Cracks lined the walls and floor where impacts had occurred. He didn't even want to see the state his beloved kitchen was in. "Lets go then."

Mikey was never a fan of having to sit still while Leo patched him up, much less Donnie. Donnie was far less gentle than Leo was, and he always scolded people for moving even an inch. That and Donnie wasnt the biggest fan of blood or anything he deemed 'gross'.

But today Donnie was silent as he worked on Mikey's injuries. Luckily it wasnt anything too bad, the worse of it all being the bruise on his plastron where Raph had sucker punched him. Donnie had had it worse. Raph had actually cut him with those blades on his fist.

"Do you think it'll take a while to get Raph back to normal?" Mikey asked, looking up as Donnie turned away, rubbing his hands with a wash cloth.

"I am uncertain as of right now. We beat the Krang within a day last time, but back then we had the four of us. It is likely it wont take long this time around, but we need to be absolutely sure that we removed the Krang to prevent this from happening again."

Mikey frowned at his answer.

"I am certain when we talk to April and Junior then I will have a more precise answer for you, Michael, but for now all I can say is I don't know."

"Okay.."

Mikey had hoped Donnie would have known. He knew the most likely answer was what was given to him, but still, he had really hoped this would be over sooner rather than later.

"What are you going to do while we wait for April to get home from school, Dee?"

"I'm going to start my research. I managed to snag a small Krang sample from the doorway. I'll start running tests to see if there is any way to destroy it or to maybe control it ourselves." Donnie rubbed his chin. "From what Raph said the Krang operate like a hivemind. If I can manage to get in control once again it is possible I could help Raph regain control over his own body and free himself once and for all."

Mikey beamed. He liked that possibility. He really hoped that was what was going to happen. "Okay! I believe in you, Dee!"

Mikey stood from the chair he was sat in, in a much better mood now. "I'm going to go draw. I'll see you later!!"

And with that Mikey left the lab, heading back to his room.

The two turtles had waited for the sun to set before leaving the lair, wanting to avoid human detection as much as possible. Donnie had occasionally checked in on the med bay doors, making sure they were still shut tight. He wasnt sure why Raph hadnt tried breaking out yet, but he was grateful for it.

"You told April why we're coming over, right Dee?" Mikey asked as they scaled the fire escape on the side of her building.

"Uhhhh... yes..? Yes I did... nt."

"Donnie!" Mikey hit him on the back of his head. "I told you to prepare her so we didnt dump everything on her at once!"

"Look! I got busy and forgot! You try balancing finding a cure, making sure Raph stays in the med bay, keeping track of Leo's vitals, and cleaning your lab all at once!" Donnie defended himself with a huff.

Mikey shook his head. "Okay, okay. Whatever."

Once the two reached the floor April's apartment was on, Mikey swung his chucks up to the top of the roof, a blade extension pricking out and attaching into the concrete, acting as a grappling hook. He then jumped off the metal structure and swung over to April's window, knocking on it. Donnie was close behind with his jet pack.

"Oh hey, Mikey!" April greeted after opening her window, smiling out at him. "And Donnie, too. What brings you guys over here? Movie night isnt till friday."

"I know, but it's important. Can we come in?" Mikey asked, pouting at her.

"Yeah, of course."

Mikey climbed into the window, tucking his chucks into its holder on his side. Donnie followed him in, shutting the window behind him, immediately sticking his face into his tech band.

Guess Mikey was doing the talking.

"So something bad happened. Something really, really, really, really, really-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Mikey. Something bad happened, just spill." April said, sitting on the edge of her bed. Mayhem padded over to her, curling up in her lap.

"Sooooo theKrangmayormaynothavecomebacktotakecontroloverRaphandnowhesinthemedbaywithLeoandwedontknowwhattodo???" Mikey inhaled sharply after speaking.

April stared at him dumbfounded. "Boy if you dont actually spit it out I will kick your ass."

Mikey squeaked. "The Krang! We didnt fully get rid of them and they took control of Raph again!!"

"They have Raph..?" April asked quietly, her shoulders tensing up. "What about- where is he? Are Splints and Leo okay? Are... you- holy shit, Mikey. Your neck." She reached out to touch him. Mikey pulled away.

"I'm fine! Dad's fine, too!" Mikey crossed his arms, looking away, frowning.

Donnie quickly butted in. "This started last night. The violence at least. I am unsure as to when it officially started seeing as I've not been incredibly present around the lair. Anyways, Raph attacked Mikey last night, choking him. I managed to put a stop to it, but then this morning after breakfast Raph showed up acting all... unusual. Mikey and I planned to confront him, but when I went to check on Leo he was there and he attacked me. I locked him in the med bay with Leo-"

"You did what!? Donnie! What if he hurt Leo??"

"I knew the risks when doing it! Believe me, I have gone over several scenarios in my head over what I could have done differently, but that's besides the point. The point is, when I had that confrontation with Raph I saw that he was being taken over by the Krang once again. I theorize some of it laid dormant in his head due to the initial infection rooting in his eye."

"Poor Raph..."

"Mikey and I attempted to sedate Raph and tie him up, but unfortunately my tranqs seemed to have little effect on him. We almost managed to get Leo out, but Raph encased him in Krang goo and we were forced to evacuate. Papa is safe with Draxum, the lair is currently locked down while we are not present."

April took a moment to process everything, her nails repeatedly running down Mayhem's back, the yokai purring loudly. "So.. what's the plan then? We need to destroy the Krang for good this time and free Raph before anything can be done to Leo."

"Affirmative. That stuff you used to melt the Krang sister's face. We'll need that. Do you have any leftover?"

"No unfortunately. My school might still, though. I could sneak in again and get some."

"That would be preferable." Donnie said, pressing his palms together. "We'll fill in Junior, see if he knows anything about this that would prove useful to us. The sooner we do this the better. We dont want Raph to escape the lair and rampage the city. The government would surely not take kindly to a rampaging Krang mutant so soon after the invasion."

"Well duh. They dont even like mutants to begin with." April sighed deeply. "Were you ever able to make me that badge to get into the building by the way? They definitely disabled the one I got by now."

"I did, yeah. Modified it to give you access to higher clearance then what that professor had." A metal claw pulled out a white badge from Donnie's shell, offering it to April.

"Aw, sweet! This should be a piece of cake then!" April pumped her fist in the air. "I'll head out in a bit. Hopefully I can get enough."

"Even one vial would be perfect. I could study its contents and make replicas from it."

Mikey finally cut in, looking over at April. "Be careful, okay? They might have bumped up the security cause of your last break in."

April stood, setting Mayhem down on her bed, the yokai meowing grumpily. "Hey, don't sweat it, Mike. Your big sister's got this in the bag." She held out her fist, smirking. Mikey eagerly bumped his fist against hers.

"Heh, yeah. I know you do, but it doesnt hurt to always watch your back!"

April ruffled the top of Mikey's head, laughing. "Oh, yknow they def did bump their security, but they dont know that I'm a super awesome ninja with super awesome ninja brothers. I'll be in and out and they wont even know what hit them."

This made Mikey break out into a fit of giggles. The two of them were completely unaware of the panic that seemed to suddenly dawn on the softshell to their side.

That was until April turned to grab a change of clothes.

"Donnie? Donnie, hey, hey, look at me." She snapped her fingers, making Donnie look at her. "What's up?"

°•~•°~ - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°

Growing up, Raph had always known he was supposed to be the protector. He was the oldest, and the biggest, and the strongest. His brother's relied on his guidance to get through life.

Like when they were tots and Mikey somehow managed to climb onto their fridge. A place that was a lot taller than any of them could reach.

He had jumped off, and Raph had had to dive to the ground with his arms outstretched to be able to catch him in time.

Or the time Leo had dared Donnie to go up to the surface for the first time and he had been seen by humans.

Raph had gotten there a bit after the initial confrontation since Mikey had been acting as a distraction. The snapper had been expecting to go in punching like a boss, only to find Donnie excitedly nerding out to a human girl.

Of course he had bragged to the other three about how he was the first to make friends with a human. They still, to this day, heard about it.

Raph had never expected to come to with his littlest brother wheezing and choking. The cause of his pain being Raph himself.

"Mikey?" Was all he was able to get out before he went flying into the kitchen counter with an 'ouff!'.

Raph sat up, eyes wide, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Donnie? Mikey? What- I- Raph didn't-"

The tone of Donnie's voice made Raph flinch. "I don't care what your stupid excuse is, Raph! Get out of here!"

Tears welled in Raph's eyes. What was going on? Why did he hurt Mikey? Raph would never hurt Mikey like that! He was his baby brother!

"Raph didn't mean to hurt him! I don't- I dont know why I-" "I don't care why you did it, Raph! It doesn't matter! You hurt him!"

The tears only welled more prominently, one managing to slide down his cheek. All Raph could remember is engaging in conversation with his brother, then Mikey had walked over to him, arms outstretched for a hug, and Raph had struck.

His head had hurt so bad. All he could think about was destroying the box turtle. It felt like- like when he was being controlled by the- but surely not, right? They had gotten rid of that when they gained their ninpō back! That was done and over with! Raph was in control of his own body!

Right...?

"I'm sorry." Was all he could manage to choke out, pushing himself to his feet. His eyes flickered back and forth between the two, the guilt hitting him hard whenever he saw Mikey.

He needed to leave. Now.

Raph couldn't hurt them again. He... he wouldn't hurt them again.

-

The sound of the lock clicking was all that filled Raph's room. He just... stood there. Staring down at his hand.

The hand that had choked his brother.

He wondered if he was going savage. Or something like that, though this didn't feel anything of the sort.

This felt like being controlled by the Krang.

He couldn't be, though. He could still control his thoughts and actions.

Well, most of the time. What happened not even five minutes ago was a clear example of him not being in control. He would never hurt his brothers like that.

Raph made his way toward his bed, turning his back to face it as he sat down, the mattress dipping under his weight. He dropped his head into his hands, the throbbing in his right eye starting up again.

"Ngghh." He hissed, his brows furrowing deeply. His eye felt swollen, like something else was inside his eye socket, trying to get out. It hurt so, so, bad sometimes.

The snapper choked out a sob, his shoulders shaking slightly. He wished he knew how to fix this. How to make his head stop hurting, how to gain back control from whatever was going on with him. He wished he knew how to make Leo wake up.

Wake him up.

Maybe if he checked on Leo he could wake him up. Raph could wake him up.

Yes. Right. Raph could help him. Could wake him up.

Could make him one of us.

-

"...Raph?"

Whatever Donnie had been expecting it had not been this.

Donnie hadn't seen it for very long, the initial transformation, and having been sucked out of the Technodrome's control panel and strung up on the top deck only for the last half of Raph and Leo's fight, but still, there was no way he would have been able to miss the transformation Raph had undergone.

Why were the Krang still attached to Raph?? They had gotten rid of them! They had-

His eyes darted to Leo, who was still unconscious next to Raph.

Could he safely get him out? Why hadn't Raph killed him already? Krang Prime had surely wanted the four of them dead for sending him back to the Prison Dimension. Leo most of all.

So why wasn't he dead?

Was it because the transformation had just happened? Had it just happened?

Raph attacking Mikey earlier made so much more sense if this wasn't a recent thing, but then how long had this been going on for? The entire time they had been home? Donnie had isolated himself, and apparently so had Raph, so...

Oh how in Galileo's name was he going to fix this??

Donnie didn't get much time to contemplate anything as Raph roared in pain, clutching his right eye. He shrieked and hissed, jerking around and wobbling all over the place.

The softshell froze, his eyes wide. Now was his chance! He could get Leo out of here and lock down the med bay to keep Raph contained! Genius!

He lunged forward, reaching out for the cot his twin was resting in only to be thwacked away by Raph's tail, launching him into some nearby equipment. "Oww."

"Dont.. touch!" Raph yelled, baring his teeth and positioning himself in between Leo and Donnie. Krang goo had started spreading a few inches out down Raph's face, his right eye being taken over.

He wasn't going to let Donnie get to Leo.

Donnie had to- he-

He couldn't risk fighting Raph and injuring Leo in the process.

Maybe he could lure him out of the room? But what if Raph then went after someone else? What if he escaped and made his way into the city? The garage was too far from here to trap Raph in.

But Leo couldn't defend himself. He couldn't do anything right now. He was utterly defenseless.

Donnie had to trust that Raph was somehow still in there and wouldn't hurt their brother.

But could he? His mind was actively being infected by the Krang! One command and Leo would be dead! But Mikey was out in the lair, dad was out there, and April, and Casey, and Junior, and- ugh!

I'm sorry, Leo.

Being closer to the door, Donnie made a run for it, stirring Raph up in a frenzy and causing him to chase after him.

"Cmon, cmon, cmon!" Donnie yelled, pressing a button on his tech gauntlet, activating the med bay's security system. He only had seconds before the lockdown initiated, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out as all entrances would be blocked off, minus the small vent that provided air.

Watching as the metal barricade activated, beginning to slide down over the doors, Donnie knew he only had seconds. He dove, landing on the concrete in the vestibule outside just milliseconds before the SLAM of the metal hitting the concrete floor sounded, a thud coming from the door as Raph collided with it.

Pushing himself up with his arms, Donnie struggled to catch his breath as he stared at the med bay doors, gaze unfocused.

He had just left Leo in a room trapped with Raph.

Raph who was currently being controlled by the Krang.

He was a horrible brother.

-

Mikey wasn't in the kitchen when Donnie went to look for him. This sparked further panic into the softshell. "Don't freek out, Donatello. Don't freak out. Everything is cool. Everything is cool." He let out a shaky breath, pulling up Mikey's location on his tech band.

Why was he in the tunnels? Where was he going?

Wherever it was Donnie needed him to come back.

He swiftly pulled out his phone, pulling up his brother's contact and hitting call.

It rang once. Twice. Then three times-

"Chellooo~"

"Mikey, you need to come back to the lair. Now."

"Huh? Why? Did something happen?"

"Yes. You need to return asap. Meet me outside of the med bay. Whatever you do dont go in."

"Wha-"

And Donnie hung up, leaving the kitchen. All he could do was stare at the med bay doors. Raph and Leo were inside there, and Donnie could only imagine what was going on inside.

-

It only took seven minutes for Mikey to return, out of breath. "What's going on?? Why cant I go into the med bay? Did-" Mikey's eyes widened, his posture stiffening. "Did something happen to Leo..?"

"Yes! No! I- I don't!" Donnie swallowed, looking down at the floor. "Raph.. he... I- I figured out why he attacked you. We didn't get rid of the Krang."

"What!?" Mikey yelped out in surprise. "But we- on the Technodrome! We got our ninpō back! It destroyed the Krang from his body! Raph was back!"

"I know!" Donnie shouted back. "I know." His shoulders slumped. He really, really, didn't know what to do now. "I theorize that Raph didnt fully get rid of it. It was so close to his brain that something must have latched on and laid dormant until recently. I dont know if hes fully possessed, or just partially, but hes... hes in there with Leo."

"Are you crazy!?" Mikey spat. "You left our Krangified brother in there with Leo?! May I remind you he's in a coma!!" Mikey charged for the door, hissing and kicking when Donnie grabbed him. "Get off of me! I need to save my brother!"

"Mikey, stop! If we let Raph escape just imagine what damage will be done! Imagine the danger we'll put the world in!" Donnie tried reasoning. "This is the most logical option! We need to come up with a plan! Maybe tranquilize him and tie him up! We cant just rush in and possibly free him to let him do whatever he wants!"

"But Leo's in there!" Mikey choked out, tears bubbling in the corners of his eyes. "What if he kills him, Donnie! What if- what if-!" Mikey finally collapsed into Donnie's arms, breaking out into a full on sob now. All Donnie could do was hold him as a metallic claw patted his shell.

"I know, Mikey. I know."

Donnie held Mikey as he sobbed, the two ending up on the floor as Mikey let his weight drop, and not wanting to either drop Mikey or hold up all of his weight, Donnie kneeled on the concrete below them.

He was mostly silent as Mikey cried, comforting his brother with shell rubs and occasional "it'll be okay"s until Mikey's sobs turned into hiccups, which turned into sniffles, which eventually silenced all together.

"We need to get dad out of the lair." Donnie said, voice barely above a whisper. "He might try to enter the med bay and free Raph."

Mikey just nodded quietly. "Maybe we could get Barry to let dad stay with him?"

"Scoff! Like we could ever convince dad to live with Draxum and vice versa!"

"I'm serious. They've gotten.. closer. I'm sure Barry would let dad stay, especially if it's me asking." He let out a wet chuckle, his eyes still brimming with the remnants of his tears.

"Hmm. Now that you mention that... I suppose it could work. We could tell dad that because of the construction top side there's been a hazardous gas leak that infiltrated the sewers and that the lair needs to be evacuated for the time being." Donnie nodded, grinning. Oh he was a genius.

"He'll wonder what's going to happen to Leo, though." Mikey pointed out.

"Well, the med bay's ducts have pretty advanced air filtration due to it being, well, the med bay. It has ones that connect to the rest of the lair, sure, but also ones that go further out, just in case." Donnie finally let Mikey go since he was now sitting up on his own. "We could tell him that I activated the emergency system to keep Leo completely safe, and that opening the med bay doors would compromise that."

"It would explain why the med bay is on lock down." Mikey rubbed his chin, nodding. "Okay! I'll call Barry, you tell dad."

Donnie cringed. "Oooo... me? Lie to papa? Are we sure about this?"

The glare Mikey shot him had Donnie quickly sitting up. "Yeesh! Okay! Okay! I'm going!"

"And you better sell it!" Mikey called after him as Donnie traversed down the stairs that led to the tv room.

-

This was not going to be fun.

As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, Donnie was not in fact a good liar. Everyone always saw through him! He didn't know what was going on. He had tried to use the advice found online, but even that didn't really help!

Sometimes he could get away with lying, but that very much depended on who he was talking to. Raph he had the highest chance, Mikey the second highest, but Leo? Oh he had absolutely no chance whatsoever.

This was their father, though. Donnie could not predict much when it came to the rat man.

The stress was eating him up inside. He had to sell this. They couldn't involve Splinter in this. His body was fragile and still very much recovering from the invasion last month. Donnie didn't think his father could handle another fight with the Krang so soon.

"Oh papa!" Donnie called as he entered the tv room, swallowing thickly. Splinter's usual commercial, the one with the guy being chased by scorpions while on a treadmill, was currently playing.

"What do you want, Purple?" Splinter called from where he was sat, having to lower his cup of tea from his snout.

"Uh," okay Donnie, play this cool. You're a super awesome, super cool, super good at lying, bad boy. You got this, "there's, uh, a gas leak from, uh, the construction topside, cause you know they're rebuilding the city and all, and, uh, well, it's super hazardous and it's getting into the lair, so you need to go stay with Draxum for a little?"

"Stay with Draxum!? Oh no, no, no! I will not be living with that barbaric clown!" Splinter huffed, crossing his arms. "Why can't I stay with April? It would be the perfect opportunity to finally meet her parents!"

"Because with them taking in Junior there is no space for any extra people, dad. Plus, it's only temporary."

"Hmmm. What about Blue? What will you do with him? Are you boys coming with me?"

"Uhhhh," Donnie rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "I need.. Mikey and Raph's help with the ducts! Yknow, haha. They're, uh, good at that? And Leo will be fine. The med bay's air filtration system is much more advanced than the rest of the lair. I can upgrade the lair's system while I'm at all of this so this doesn't happen again." Not like it ever would. His tech was beyond perfect.

Splinter was silent for a long time.

"Fine! But only if I get to watch my shows."

Donnie internally celebrated. Externally he kept up his bad boy persona. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine." He nodded. "Quickly pack up your stuff. Mikey's letting Draxum know you're coming over."

"Hmm. That makes me think that I didn't have a choice in the matter." Splinter commented, climbing down from his chair. "Can I say goodbye to Blue before I leave?"

"No! I mean, uh, no. The med bay was put on lockdown to prevent any hazardous chemicals from getting inside. You know how fragile Nardo is right now." Donnie said, eyes wide.

"Hmm. Makes sense. I suppose." Splinter huffed, lips down turning. "I will just have to spend much more time with him when I am able to return home. Make sure to do his stretches multiple times a day. We do not want his muscles to become useless while he is asleep."

"Yes, I know." Donnie sighed, rubbing the bridge of his snout as Splinter entered his bedroom to pack. He could not believe that had actually worked. His anxiety had been through the roof for no reason.

Donnie sucked in a breath, looking up the stairs. He really hoped Splinter wouldn't ask questions. Primarily about how they were supposed to get into the med bay to do Leo's stretches while it was in lock down. He didnt really know how they'd do anything with the slider with... the whole situation going on.

He just had to rely on hope.

-

Seeing Splinter off, Mikey and Donnie turned toward each other. They were both extremely thankful the old rat hadn't asked too many questions, and that Mikey was able to convince Draxum to harbor their father until further notice.

"Okay, Mikey," Donnie started, sitting at the bar counter they had in the main foyer. "We need to come up with a plan to knock Raph unconscious long enough to get him tied up. Then we can figure out how to get rid of the Krang for good."

"Didn't April have something that put a hole through that Krang sister?? Maybe we can use that!" Mikey suggested, beaming. "I'll be easy peasy, baby!"

"Hold your horses, Michael." Donnie said. "We still need to deal with Raph first."

"Oh. Right." Mikey rubbed his chin. "Maybe I could distract him and you could use your tranquilizer darts!! They knocked him out pretty easily when you first used them on Raph!"

°•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°

Waking up with a weight pressed flush against his side definitely confused Donnie in his groggy state. "Mmmfff. What?" He blinked open his eyes, squinting at the large mass in his bed. Oh, right. Mikey had slept in here last night after.... Raph.

What even was that? Why had Raph attacked Mikey like that? Was it some PTSD stuff from the Krang? Did Raph somehow see Mikey as a threat? Ugh. Donnie really hoped not. He really, really, hoped this was a one time thing and Raph would never harm their littlest brother ever again.

"Mikey." Donnie said, voice low but not quite a whisper. "Hey, Angelo, get off of me. Your plastron is digging into my arm." It wasn't, and even if it was Mikey's plastron was the bluntest out of all of theirs. It was only mildly uncomfortable if it pressed into his skin at just the right angle, which it currently wasn't.

"Hmmm. Five more minutes..."

"Not five more minutes. Now."

"Hey!" Mikey shouted as Donnie shoved him out of his bed. "Oww! Donnie!" Mikey glared up at his brother, having landed on his back on the floor. He quickly sat up, rubbing at his throat.

"I'm not the one who chose to sleep on top of someone known to not enjoy physical touch." Donnie retorted, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, watching as the corners of Mikey's lips pulled upwards.

"But you still let me have a sleepover!" He stood, eyes crinkled from how hard he was smiling. Despite yesterday Mikey looked so happy. Maybe leaving his lab wasn't so horrible.

"You feeling okay? With your throat I mean." Donnie asked, pushing himself up and off the bed. Mikey frowned.

"My throat really hurts, but not as bad as yesterday." He answered, looking around the room. "I think I'm going to just have a smoothie for breakfast today."

"Ah, smoothies do sound good right now." Donnie said, crossing his arms. "You head to the kitchen while I go grab my shell?" The look Mikey gave him Donnie could only describe as pitiful. "What?"

"Can I.... go with you?" Mikey asked, hesitating. Donnie's brows furrowed as he stared, contemplating. "I guess?" Mikey's shoulders relaxed. That seemed to be the right answer. "Don't touch anything, though. I don't need anything blowing up."

The trip to the lab was filled with silence. The two youngest Hamatos scanning the lair almost constantly.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Donnie watched as Splinter stepped off the stairs leading up to the med bay, meeting the softshell's gaze. "Purple. Orange." He greeted, crossing his arms behind his back. "I was just checking on Blue." He looked back up the stairs behind him. "Has he shown any signs of improvement?"

"Well, not.. really?" Donnie answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's been stable at least, and a lot of his injuries have been healing relatively well. We've been taking turns stretching his muscles for when he does wake up, though." Mikey squinted at him. "Yes, yes. I have been doing that when I am in there as well." He rubbed his chin. "What is for breakfast, Orange?"

"Smoothies." Mikey answered simply. "What is wrong with your voice?" Mikey looked almost horrified at being caught. "Uhhh, we were training and Donnie accidentally hit me in the throat with his staff." Splinter's eyes narrowed further. Donnie's head whipped to face Mikey, an almost horrified look spread across his face.

"Sounds reasonable to me." Splinter finally decided with a nod. "Purple, be more careful next time. You want to harm your enemies, not your brothers." And with that he headed passed them, taking the stairs all the way down to the tv room.

"Why did you lie to papa??" Donnie spat out immediately once the rat was out of earshot. "I didn't want to tell him Raph did it! What if Raph strangles dad, too??"

"That's a major reason to tell dad, Mikey! Dad can handle himself against Raph, but what if he's taken by surprise because he doesn't expect his son to strangle him???"

Mikey pouted, looking away. "Look, okay, we should figure out what's going on with Raph before we start telling everyone he attacked me, okay!" His voice raised slightly, cracking from his swollen throat.

Donnie fell silent for a few seconds, rubbing his forehead. "Fine. Fine. Whatever you say." He raised his hands in defense. "But if something goes wrong I will be emailing you an "I told you so"." His arms crossed tightly against his chest. "Now, to my lab."

The two headed up the stairs Splinter had came from, taking a left instead of a right to get to the lab instead of the med bay. Donnie wondered if Raph was in there now. Surely not, right? Splinter had just come from there, and surely something would have happened if the two encountered each other, right?

Splinter wouldn't have acted so calm if Raph had attacked him.

Surely.

Entering the lab, Donnie cringed at the state of it. Okay, yeah, he really needed to clean it sometime today. It was.. absolutely disgusting. And that was putting it lightly. He headed over to the wall that held his tech, grabbing his day to day battle shell and attaching it to his back, taking his goggles and fastening them to the top of his head. "Right. I am ready for brekky now." He announced, gaze landing on his younger brother, who looked.. a bit zoned out.

"Michael. I said "I am ready for brekky now."." He repeated, frowning. This seemed to snap Mikey out of his daze as the younger blinked up at him. "Oh, yeah." He nodded his head, smiling now. "Well, let me show you how a master chef makes bomb ass smoothies!" He pumped his fist into the air, beaming.

"Hah, if Raph was here he would so have yelled at you for swearing." He noticed Mikey's flinch at the mention of Raph's name. Oookay. That was something Donnie was not prepared to deal with. "Ahem! Let's head out. Those smoothies won't make themselves!"

"Uh, Dee, I'm the one who's going to make them."

"Precisely, Angelo. That is why I said that."

"Bruh."

The kitchen was pretty quiet, as it usually was this early in the morning. Donnie wasnt typically one of the first of the brothers in, it was typically Mikey, even if Raph always woke up first, so he could start breakfast for the family.

After Raph broke one of Mikey's frying pans trying to make himself eggs, followed by a long streak of Leo blowing up the toaster, Mikey had banned the brothers from making their own breakfasts.

Of course Donnie had done nothing wrong. Doesn't sound like something he's physically capable of. Nope. Not at all.

Still, Raph was usually the second to arrive to the kitchen, Donnie or Leo usually went back and forth on who was third. Splinter was always one of the last ones to show up, and it was a very big hit or miss with April. Especially when she had school and didn't end up sleeping here the night prior.

Mikey made quick work of gathering the ingredients for his and Donnie's breakfast smoothies, leaving Donnie to stand in the doorway. The softshell opened his mouth to make a comment, though quickly closed it. He had wanted to poke fun at Raph, make a comment about how a smoothie would never be enough for the big guy, but the memory of Raph strangling Mikey was still fresh on his mind.

"When do you want to start our investigation?" He asked instead. Sure, it was still on the topic of Raph, but it wasn't something that was avoidable.

"Once we're done eating." Mikey replied, his carapace facing him. "I don't.. want to be alone with him while we do, though. I'm..." Scared. Donnie knew that's was Mikey wanted to say, "too much of a softie for interrogations. You said it yourself."

"Hmm. Alright." Donnie had no issue with that. He could keep an eye on his brother to make sure last night didn't occur again. "We start our investigation after breakfast. Uhh, maybe after I clean up my lab, too. As much as I would like to figure out why that big dumb dumb is acting.. off, I need to prevent the bug infestation that is inevitable if I leave my lab an utter mess."

This had Mikey exhaling through his nose. Loud enough that Donnie could hear from across the room. "Yeah, you really trashed that place, Dee. I was in shock when I went in. You keep that place sparkly clean. I'm just... glad you're actually out of there now, yknow? I missed you. A lot."

Donnie frowned, his arms crossing. "Mhm." He looked away, missing the way Mikey's shoulders slumped slightly.

The box turtle sighed, filling his blender with the ingredients to make up Donnie's smoothie. "Just a warning, I'm turning it on." He announced, slipping the lid onto the blender and turning it on right after.

The loud noise of the blender whirring away was jarring, Donnie's face scrunched up as if that would somehow make the noise more tolerable.

It was only once Mikey had finished with both of their smoothies, putting them both into glasses, that Donnie finally relaxed. "I need to see if I can make that quieter." He grumbled.

"Pssh, you say that every time it's used." Mikey grabbed his own smoothie, practically bouncing over to the table, taking his usual spot. His gaze flashed over to the doorway as Donnie was turning around with his smoothie.

"Yes, and every time I mean it. There is no reason it needs to be that loud." The softshell sighed, a metallic claw jutting from his shell, reaching out with a metal straw. Donnie took it, sitting at the table as the hand folded back into its original position.

Mikey leaned forward, a grin tugging at his lips. "I meeeaaannnn if it bothers you that much, you could always make me a quieter blender." He wiggled his brows at the other, grin turning lopsided.

"Hmmm. You are indeed correct. I do have the capabilities to do such... maybe I could even-" "No, you're not putting a flamethrower on the blender."

"Dramatic sigh! You never let me shine!" Donnie cried, laying the back of his forearm over his forehead, eyes slipping shut.

"I just dont want my blender getting turned into a lethal weapon." Mikey countered. "It's a blender, not a murder machine."

"Everything is a weapon if you know how to use it as such."

"Okay, weirdo."

"Scoff! Weirdo!?" Donnie shouted, pointing at Mikey. "You're the weirdo! I am the most normal one of this family! You are all dumb dumbs."

Mikey just laughed at Donnie's little outburst, his shoulders bouncing. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Dee."

His body went rigid, breath catching in his throat. Seconds after Raph padded into the room, looking back and forth between the two.

The air immediately turned tense as the three turtles made eye contact, all three waiting for someone to make the first move.

Finally, Raph spoke. "Uh, mornin." He rubbed the side of his head. "Uh, what's for.. breakfast, Mike?"

The edge of Raph's eyes were red, and he kept rubbing the side of his head his eye injury had been on. And his... pupils were more slit like.

Donnie really needed to check him out. See if he was alright.

"I made me and Dee smoothies.. my.. throat hurts." Mikey responded after a pause. "Do you.. want one?" Raph nodded, so Mikey quickly got up, heading for the blender again, taking it out of the sink to wash it.

Deciding that now was a decent time to investigate, Donnie turned his body toward his eldest brother. "Raph." He crossed his arms. "What was that last night? Some sort of PTSD from the Krang? You almost severely hurt Mikey."

"Uhh." Raph's gaze flickered toward the box turtle, who was pointedly not looking at him, his shoulders raised. "I don't.. know? Maybe? Raph's heads been.. hurtin a lot." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I dunno what's goin on. M'real sorry, Mike. I didn't mean to hurt ya."

Mikey was silent for a few moments, swallowing a thick lump in his throat before speaking.

"It's fine, Raph-" "It aint fine! I attacked you! Donnie had to stop me!" Raph shouted, immediately hissing and rubbing his forehead. "Ugh. Ow. My head is throbbin."

"Maybe you should get some painkillers from the med bay." Donnie suggested. "Take them with your smoothie." Donnie commented, and before Raph could respond the blender started. All he could do was meet Donnie's intense gaze. The softshell did not look happy. At all.

Raph felt horrifically guilty, but at the same time he.. didn't. He needed to destroy those turtles.

What..? Why- why would he think that?

Raph didn't move from the doorway as Mikey blended up his breakfast smoothie. He didn't know what to really do other than stare at the ground. He felt horrible, but this constant prick at the back of his head kept telling him not to. Kept telling him he didn't go far enough. Kept telling him to kill his brothers.

His mind was swirling, his thoughts whizzing past, a new one starting before a previous one could finish. His head reminded him of a static tv. It felt fuzzy and unfocused.

He wasn't sure what to do, and he didn't want to leave himself with Mikey alone anymore.

Hopefully Leo would wake up soon. He would know what was going on. Medicine was his thing after all! He just... he needed to be with him. To wake him up. To keep him safe. To spread the-

Raph shook his head, noticing that the blender had stopped and that Mikey was pouring his glass. He slowly walked up to his little brother, reaching out to take the glass. "Thanks, Mikey."

Raph smiled down at him, his heart lurching when he noticed the smile Mikey returned didn't quite meet his eyes. "M'gunna go get some painkillers. Uh, you two don't cause too much trouble, kay?" He turned, heading out of the room, his brows pressing together. Pizza supreme this constant headache was killing him.

"You okay?" Donnie asked once Raph was gone. Mikey nodded, setting the blender's glass pitcher into the sink once more.

"Yeah. I'm.. I'm okay." He swallowed, shaking his body to relieve the anxiety he felt. "I'm a little nervous Raph might snap again, though. I hope we can figure out why he did that soon."

Mikey returned to the table to finish his breakfast. "I'll talk to him in a little. This time with my chucks. Just in case."

"Good idea. It's best to be prepared for another attack. Maybe we should keep our weapons on us at all times from now on."

"I guess." Mikey swirled his smoothie. "I don't like this, though."

"Don't like what?"

"Treating Raph like he's some... monster out to get us." Mikey looked up, meeting Donnie's eyes. "Sure, whatever... that was was really scary. I mean, it felt like he was trying to kill me, but he's still our Raph. Maybe his brain went savage for a second and he didn't recognize me." He theorized with a shrug. "Hopefully when I talk to him I can figure out a permanent solution so it doesn't happen again."

Donnie hummed in response, finishing with his smoothie, getting up and setting the dish in the sink. He didn't know who's week it was to do the dishes. He hoped it wasn't his.

"Hopefully." He hadn't realized his anger toward their brother had manifested into him villanizing his actions. He felt bad about that one now. He was just so mad about Raph had done. Consciously or not. Mikey was their littlest brother right behind Donnie. He couldn't fathom anyone genuinely going after him like Raph had.

And what if Donnie hadn't gotten there in time? Would Mikey have snapped out of his shock before he passed out? Would Raph have stopped? He seemed to have realized in time, right? Maybe? Ugh. Donnie didn't know, and focusing on "what if's" right now was not going to get him answers.

"I think I'm going to go check on Leo again. Do his stretches." Donnie headed for the exit. "Maybe talk to Raph again. See if I can find out more."

Mikey looked unsure, but he didn't protest. "Okay. See you in a little." He smiled as Donnie left the kitchen.

He looked down at his arms, the small scars painting his skins glowing slightly. Woof. That was never a good sign.

Maybe Mikey would end up doing his own stretches. He had looked into his condition, landing on nerve damage. Or at least that's what Google told him. He'd been doing specialized stretches to help with the pain and limitations he now had. He just hoped this was right and he wasnt doing it for nothing.

Donnie's presence in the lab hadn't seemed to startle Raph at all. The snapper wasn't really paying attention to much aside from Leo. "Did you manage to get past the child proof lock this time, Raph?" Donnie asked, looking up at the medicine cabinet. Hmm.

He approached, opening said cabinet and taking out the bottle of ibuprofen. There were no bite marks in it, so Donnie assumed not. "Here, let an expert do it for you."

He opened the lid, shaking out a few pills, having to increase the amount because of Raph's size, putting the bottle away after. "Look, I'm here to stretch Leo's muscles, but more importantly I'm wanting to talk to you. I want to figure out what's going on so you don't attack anyone again."

Donnie finally looked up at Raph, his brows furrowing. "Uhhh. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Raph's gaze was fixated on the softshell, the bridge of his snout scrunched up in a silent snarl, showing off his teeth.

His sharper than usual teeth.

When Donnie's eyes finally left Raph's mouth, he inhaled sharply through his nose. Raph's right eye was yellow and bulging. Like it had when he was under the control of the Krang.

°•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°~ - °•~•° - °•~•°

The whirring of machinery droned on and on in the background as Donnie sluggishly tapped away at the keyboard in front of him. The softshell had zoned it out, the fog in his brain making it hard to focus on anything but the task in front of him, but even then he felt himself slipping every so often.

"Aaaannnd hopeful press."

The flash of red around an error message wasn't new, but it still annoyed him nonetheless.

"Ugh. Come on, what am I missing?"

Donnie had been trying to amp up their security system after the invasion happened a little over a month ago, but the lack of care toward himself made his head all sluggish. It wasn't.. the most comfortable feeling, watching everything move by like he was in some slow motion movie scene, but at least the constant worries and self blame he kept facing had been chased off with his lack of thoughts.

"Knock knock!"

The muffled shout from behind his lab door didn't make Donnie lift his head. Nor did the sound of the doors wooshing open as the air compression system released.

"Doonnnnniiiieee! I brought dinner!" Mikey announced, a hopeful smile plastered across his face. Still, Donnie didn't look his way.

"Just leave it on my desk. I'll eat it later."

That response had caused Mikey's smile to falter. Donnie hadn't been eating from as far as Mikey could tell, and if he had, it hadn't been enough.

The sight of six empty, used, coffee mugs on the corner of the lab table Donnie was at made Mikey's small fall flat.

"Donnie," Mikey started, and even Donnie could tell by his younger brother's tone that he was about to get a lecture. "You haven't left the lab since we got home! You haven't been eating, or drinking! Raph and I barely see you! This isn't healthy!"

The softshell exhaled deeply, muttering something, his head tilting in the direction of the youngest Hamato. "I've been eating saltine crackers and drinking coffee. It's been enough." The horrified look on Mikey's face made a hint of guilt flash through the softshell.

"What!? Dee! No!" Mikey quickly shoved the pasta in his brother's direction. "You are eating and drinking water this instant! This isn't healthy! You being in this state wont help Leo recover!" Ouch. That one hit hard. "And-" Mikey cut himself off, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air, "eugh! Have you even showered lately? You smell awful!"

"Offended gasp." Donnie said, voice monotone. "I showered a few days ago." Mikey didn't look convinced, instead shooting Donnie his signature puppy eyes, his lower lip quivering as tears threatened to fall. "Ugh. Fine. I'll eat the pasta and shower. Happy?"

Mikey perked up immediately, and he would have hugged Donnie had he not smelt so awful. "Great!! I'll be in the kitchen when you're done! Bye! Love you!"

Donnie merely grunted as Mikey left. Great. He'd have to pause the important work he was doing to do something.... less important.

Oh well. If it made Mikey happy he could take a break.

Throwing his arms up and arching his back, the softshell let out a long yawn, turning from left to right to crack his spine. "Ahhh. Much better." He pulled himself closer to the bowl that Mikey left, eyes darting along his lab table. "Oh, ew." How had it gotten this bad? There were wrappers, and empty dishes everywhere, and ew were those crumbs on his keyboard???

"Ew, ew, ew, ew."

Donnie quickly blew off the crumbs, grabbing the bowl and leaning back in his chair, inhaling the scent of real food before immediately digging in, shoving fork fulls of food into his mouth like a starved man.

Well, technically he was one. Only technically, though.

It didn't take long for the pasta bowl to empty and be set back down on the lab table. Donnie scrunched up his face, debating on if he should go put the dish in the sink or just leave it here.

Leaving it here would eliminate having to talk to Mikey again, but also Donnie missed his brother's company. The three had... grown apart since Leo was thrown into a coma. Everyone was dealing with their own injuries. Their own grief.

Donnie would never verbally admit he wished they were close again.

Mikey had been trying to keep things together, but Donnie had isolated himself, and Raph was.... well, Donnie didn't really know what was going on with him. He was very dismissive and defensive, choosing to stay in the med bay for the majority of the day. Something was up with the snapper, and Donnie wasn't able to place what.

Donnie chose to head to the kitchen.

Sure, he'd most definitely be pestered again by his dumb dumb brother, but Donnie missed his company. It would be nice, even if Mikey was most likely going to mention, once again, that Donnie had been neglecting himself.

"Surely I don't smell that bad." He said aloud, lifting his arm to sniff his armpit, immediately cringing and pulling his head back. "Point proven, Angelo."

Donnie entered the room as silently as possible. Mikey was staring down at his hands, the slight tremor in them going unnoticed by the softshell.

Then Mikey suddenly looked up, eyes wide. "Dee!" His panic was quickly masked by excitement. "You ate!" His gloves were quickly pulled back into place.

"I did tell you I would." Donnie said, setting the bowl in the sink. "Now I'm going to go shower."

"Okay!"

"And then go check on Leo."

Mikey's breath hitched quietly. Leo was always a sore topic between the brothers. "Okay."

After Leo had been made incapacitated, Donnie had had to take over as the family medic. Medicine wasn't his thing the way it was Leo's, but he got by well enough. Plus, Raph's hands were too big to handle most things properly, and Donnie didn't want to put Mikey through that.

"Is Raph in there?" Nod. "Hmm. He's not left there very often. Maybe you could try to get him out of there?"

"I have been trying. Every time I ask him to hang out with me he always brushes me off!" Mikey huffed out, frustrated. "It's like he's solely focused on Leo right now. I get it, we all want him to get better and wake up, but neglecting yourself won't do Leo any favors in the long run." He shot Donnie a pointed glare, causing the softshell to look away and whistle.

"Maybe you could suggest something while you're in there. There's leftovers from dinner in the fridge." Mikey sighed, leaning his head onto one hand, wincing slightly and pulling back with a hiss, shaking the hand he was leaning on.

Donnie noticed the thin scar like lines running across Mikey's hands. Donnie had those, too, over his right arm. Nerve damage is what he had concluded it was. Did... Mikey have it in both arms? Surely he did. He had taken the brunt of the mystic force opening that portal. Would Raph have it in his left then?

Perhaps Donnie could divert his focus from the security system to dealing with the damage. It made things a hell of a lot harder to work with, anyways.

"I'm going to go now."

Mikey nodded at him, a tight lipped grin spreading across his lips. "Alright. See ya later, Dee." His head drooped as Donnie left the kitchen, heading for his bedroom to get a clean pair of clothes to change into.

The lair was silent as Donnie traversed through it. On any normal day there would be laughter, or shouting, or some noise proving there was life inside, but now.. nothing. It was unsettling.

Donnie really missed his twin. He really, really, missed his twin. Two reallys.

He stopped in the tunnel that contained their bedrooms, head turning to the left to take in Leo's room. The door was still busted open from his and Raph's last fight before the invasion.

A shudder ran up his spine. The invasion still felt like it was yesterday. The Krang on his shell hadn't ever left his head. He still felt it slithering over his leathery carapace, pricking into him. Flying the ship, albeit for two minutes, had been exhilarating. He would so do it again, although he hoped if he had another chance it would be a ship with actual technological controls instead of the nerve connection the Technodrome had.

The softshell shook his head and padded further down to his room, sliding the door open and heading for his dresser immediately. He rummaged around inside his drawers, pulling out a new pair of shorts and a hoodie, wanting to be comfortable after his shower. Maybe he'd take a nap after he checked up on Raph and Leo.

The bathroom tiles were cold against the soles of Donnie's feet. "Eugh. Shudder." He grumbled, setting his clean clothes on the toilet, turning to the mirror to look at himself. "Oh yeesh." His lips curled back as he cringed. Okay, yeah, no, he looked horrible. "Maybe Mikey was right for once."

He reached behind his head, undoing the knot that secured his mask to his face, having taken off his goggles in his lab which allowed the fabric to slip off, falling into his awaiting hand. "Oh how I do wish makeup was made for thee." He sighed dramatically, pulling at his lower eyelid, frowning. The skin around the bottom of his eyes was a deep purple, showing off his exhaustion. It was a good thing his mask hid that.

Stripping off the rest of his gear, Donnie stuck out his tongue in disgust. Only Galileo knew how he was able to put up with dirty clothes for so long. Ew. Normal Donatello would not stand for that.

Stepping under the steady stream, the softshell let out a content sigh. Man did it feel good to get a warm shower. All of it was possible thanks to him of course. He was the genius behind the new lair's design after all. Not to toot his own horn or anything. Him? Egotistical? He would say otherwise.

The shower wasn't very long. They never typically were unless he was shedding. Eugh. Shedding. A sensory nightmare that was. Donatello was just glad he didnt have to molt his shell like his brothers. He felt like he would go absolutely insane if he had to.

Once the water was shut off, Donnie grabbed his towel and dried himself off, stepping out and hanging the towel back up before pulling on his new set of clothing. He left the bathroom, steam filling the air as he padded out of the room.

He dropped his clothes onto the ground near the stairwell leading to the main foyer. His room was on the opposite side of the lair than the med bay and bathrooms, so he'd leave the clothes here and grab them on his way back.

If he remembered of course, though Donatello had an excellent memory if you asked him.

Entering the med bay, Donnie immediately took in Raph's hulking figure sat beside the cot Leo laid in. His body was stiff, and he didn't react to Donnie entering. That was.. quite odd. Raph usually would have said hi at the very least. Maybe he was just out of it? "I'm here to check on Leo." Donnie announced, his brows furrowing slightly. No response. Okay.

"Mikey wants you to eat dinner. He made pasta. It's pretty good." He made his way over to the other side of Leo, wanting to check on the heart monitor attached to the slider. "He's worried you haven't been eating, and I am as well."

Silence.

Oookay then. That was... really odd.

An awkward silence filled the air, the steady beep, beep, beep, of Leo's heart monitor creating some background noise to focus on at least. "Raph, this is quite odd. Especially for you. You don't.. usually give us the silent treatment. Well, unless we make you really mad, and I cannot think of anything we have done to make you that mad."

His brows furrowed further. "Raphala? Oh dear Raphael?" He reached out with one hand, jabbing a finger into his brother's shoulder.

Raph jumped up, inhaling sharply, his eyes narrowing in Donnie's direction. "Huh?" The snapper rubbed his face, hissing quietly. "Sorry, Dee. What's up?"

Raph's voice sounded... off. Perhaps he was just tired. It would make sense. Raph had been staying up in the med bay since the invasion ended and they all came home. Raph didn't have insomnia or anything of the sort, so it would make sense if he was exhausted.

"Mikey wants you to eat dinner. He's worried about you." Donnie repeated, pulling back and crossing his arms.

"Oh." Raph blinked. All of his movements were.. strangely very slow. "Okay." He stood, the wooden stool he was on squealing against the tiled floor. "Raph'll... go get food." His gaze lifted from Leo to Donnie, an almost clouded look in his eyes. Wait. Were his pupils more.. slit like than usual?

Donnie didn't get time to investigate further as Raph turned and padded out of the med bay, his footsteps heavy.

"That was... weirder than usual." Donnie commented to himself, looking down at the tech band on his wrist. "Surely if you were awake you'd be able to deduce what that was, Leo. You're good at reading people. Surprisingly really good. Not that I would ever admit that to your face and boost your dumb dumb ego. Scoff." He rolled his eyes.

Checking to make sure the med bay doors were in fact closed, Donnie continued. "Can you wake up soon? Things are abnormal without your dumb dumb presence, and I am not a fan. This is all your fault by the way. You caused this rift by sacrificing your dumb dumb self you know. I do hope you know that."

He began pacing, hand not being occupied by his tech band occasionally waving around in the air. "I do hope you realize just how dumb of a decision that was. Trapping yourself in the prison dimension of all places. Then again, none of you have the pure intellect I possess so I suppose your crude decision making skills would make sense there, but I digress." He inhaled, narrowing his eyes at his twin. "Next time something big like that happens again, I would only hope you would turn to us for help instead of doing it yourself you big dumb dumb."

Something wet slid down his cheek. Water from the shower? No. That had been dried off or evaporated by now. Why- oh. Oh.

"Oh what the hell am I doing?" He wiped his eyes, an exhausted chuckle leaving him. "You have to get better, Nardo. For everyone else's sake." His voice lowered to a near whisper. "Please."

Donnie had made his way over to Leo's cot, reaching out a hand and placing it on his forehead.

Despite everything, he was glad Leo wasn't awake to hear that whole.. thing. That would have been embarrassing.

His shoulders rolled back as Donnie looked toward the med bay doors. Okay, Donatello. Bad boy persona. You got this.

Donnie gave one final check to Leo's vitals, making sure everything was all good, and his brother wasn't in any trouble, before leaving the med bay. He was so, so, tired.

Barely resting and living off of coffee would do that to someone he supposed.

"Okay, well," he started, picking up the discarded clothes he had left on the ground. Fully ready to head back to his room and sleep for the rest of eternity, Donnie turned toward the stairs, lifting his foot to start down them when he heard a crash, followed by a scream sounding oddly like Mikey's, coming from the kitchen behind him.

Donnie turned his head to look over his shoulder, eyes wide. He dropped the clothes, making a mad dash into the kitchen. "Mikey!? Mikey! What's wrong??" He yelled, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw it.

Raph held Mikey in the air by his throat. "Raph!? Raph! What the hell are you doing!? Put him down!"

Not having his bō on him, as it was left in his lab with his battle shell, Donnie formed a bō with his mystic, charging in and jabbing the tip of it into Raph's arm a few inches below his wrist, trying to gode him into dropping his brother.

The only sign this hurt him, was the small twitch in Raph's lip. He didnt drop Mikey, nor did he even glance in Donnie's direction.

"Raph! Stop it!" Mikey choked out, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You're hurting me!" He kicked at Raph's plastron, clawing at his brother's arm, trying to free himself.

Raph didn't move, though. His iron grip on his brother's throat only tightening.

Suddenly, recognition flashed in the snapper's widening eyes, "Mikey?" but it was too late as Donnie was already mid attack, launching Raph across the kitchen and into a wall.

Raph had let go of Mikey as he was flung, the box turtle hitting the floor with a pathetic whimper, coughing and holding onto his throat.

Donnie then rushed over, crouching beside him and guiding him to take deep and even breaths.

"Donnie? Mikey? What- I- Raph didn't-" Raph stammered, at a loss for words. Why had he- what- why did he do that?

"I don't care what your stupid excuse is, Raph! Get out of here!" Donnie snapped, hissing loudly.

"Raph didn't mean to hurt him! I don't- I don't know why I-" "I don't care why you did it, Raph! It doesn't matter! You hurt him!"

Tears rushed to the corner of the snapper's eyes. He wanted to reach out and comfort Mikey, but he looked so.. terrified. "I'm sorry." Raph said, standing. He looked conflicted, his eyes darting back and forth between his brothers and the door.

He chose to leave. To head back to his room.

"Cmon, Mikey. Lets get you to the med bay." Donnie said gently, lifting up his trembling little brother. He hurried off to the med bay, constantly scanning the lair for Raph.

Luckily he was no where in sight.

Once inside the med bay, Donnie set Mikey down on a cot. "Are you having trouble with breathing?" He asked, tentatively touching Mikey's throat, making the other wince.

"N-not anymore? Sorta?" Mikey said, his voice hoarse. "Oww." He leaned back ever so slightly, not enjoying the attention on his neck, though pushed back the urge to hide in his shell, knowing he needed to be checked out.

"I'm going to give you some anti-inflammatory meds. That and we'll ice your neck. There are going to be some nasty bruises for a while. You're lucky I got to you rather quickly, so you should, in theory, be fine." He swiftly glanced over at Leo's sleeping form. He would know exactly what to do, what to fully check, everything. Ugh. Why couldnt he just wake up?

"I'll be back." Donnie headed for the side of the room all of their cabinets were kept on, digging through them until he found what he was looking for. He set the bottle on the counter, then dug into their freezer and grabbed some ice, dumping it into a bag and wrapping it with some paper towels.

After preparing those, he grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water, scooping up the ice and cup in one hand, and taking the two ibuprofen pills he had gotten from the bottle in the other.

He returned to Mikey, offering the pills and water, pressing the ice to the side of his neck once he took it. "Do you.... wish to sleep in my room tonight?" He was met with a quick nod from Mikey. The box turtle's cheeks were still soaked with his tears. "Alright. Come on then."

Once he made sure Mikey was good to go, Donnie turned to leave the med bay, stopping in his tracks when Mikey clung to his arm. "Michael, I am not carrying you." He said, brows furrowing. Then Mikey used his signature puppy eyes and Donnie couldn't find it in himself to resist. "Fine, but only because you're hurt."

Mikey beamed, climbing onto Donnie, clinging to his back, his arms and legs wrapping around his plastron. "Thanks, Dee." He whispered, laying his head on his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Donnie picked up his clothes on the way back to his room, discarding them into his dirty laundry hamper. He climbed into bed after, Mikey immediately clinging to his side.

"Do you have to be so close to me all the time?" Donnie asked, his eyes immediately becoming half lidded. Man he was exhausted.

He just got a small chirp in response from Mikey. The box turtle choosing to remain attached at the hip.

Donnie could deal with it he supposed.

"Goodnight, Mikey."