Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sewers were cold. Colder than normal. A storm had just come through, bringing many problems along with it and the water pressure had been rising long before the storm. They should have been more careful. Mikey should have been more careful.

The chill that filled the lair made Mikey shiver. Everything had happened so suddenly. Donnie wasn’t able to prepare the lair for the onslaught of the freezing draft as it circled throughout their underground home. Mikey was currently watching his brother run around the lab looking for the space heater he had stashed away while Mikey sipped on hot cocoa and snuggled into the warmth of a puffy blanket. The pressure of getting the lair back up to snuff was making the softshell manic and overstimulated. He was thinking a mile a minute, or 100 miles a minute, trying to figure out what needed to be done. His anxiety was almost tangible. Mikey could see on his face that he was more frantic than normal. He slowly got out of his chair and walked towards his brother who was in the middle of moving large pieces of equipment to the side, trying to find the lost heating device.

“D… You need to calm down.” Mikey put his hand on his brother's shoulder. Donnie jumped.

“How can I calm down? I need to find that space heater and upgrade it so it’ll keep us all warm tonight! You know how susceptible Leo is to the cold!” Donnie shrugged his brother's hand off his shoulder. “I don’t even know where all this cold is coming from! It usually doesn’t affect us down here.”

Donnie returned to his search, moving a box of prototypes out of the way so he could go deeper. Mikey took a slow sip of his cocoa and then set it down on his brother’s desk before walking back up to Donnie. He caught his arm and turned Donnie to face him. No matter how much the purple turtle tried to hide it, the anxiety was still visible on his face.

“Donnie. You need to take a deep breath. Calm. Down. The calmer you are, the easier it will be for you to find the heater. We can just bundle up in blankets till it's found, so don’t stress over this.” Without waiting for a response, Mikey pulled Donnie close to him and wrapped him up in the blanket. Donnie was freezing and he hadn’t even noticed that he was shivering till the blanket was around him. Mikey held the blanket around them both and hugged Donnie, trying to give him back the much-needed warmth he’d lost.

They stood there for a few minutes before they both sat down, huddled together. Mikey felt Donnie’s shivering fade away and along with it, his stress. Donnie let out a sigh, slowly pulled off his brother's hands. Mikey was about to protest when Donnie just adjusted the blanket and picked him up. standing, he walked over to his desk, grabbed the hot cocoa, and handed it to Mikey. Once the warm beverage was secure, Donnie left the lab with Mikey in tow.

---

Several minutes later, a pile was formed in the living room. Pillows and blankets bundled together creating a pillow bed that the two brothers laid comfortably on. Donnie and Mikey had made the pile after leaving the lab and now they both held a warm beverage. Donnie sipped at his cocoa as they sat, a Jupiter Jim movie playing in the background.

“... I think... I know where the space heater might be.” Donnie muttered, looking at his mug. “I left it near Leo’s room last winter to help him stay warm, but I don’t remember getting it back… I bet he still has it.”

Mikey looked at him and sipped his drink, waiting for Donnie to continue. Over the years, Mikey had discovered that he was a great listener. Whenever someone had something to talk about, he’d lend an ear to whatever rant or venting or idea came out of his brothers’ mouths. Occasionally Donnie would do the same, but only for the rare occasions when Mikey was the one feeling down.

Donnie sighed. “Honestly, I’m not even sure I should ask him for it. He needs it the most anyway. I don’t know, Mikey. What should I do?”

Well, that was rare. Donnie actually wanted his input on something important. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last, but whenever Donnie looked to one of his brothers for a second opinion, it gave them all a warm feeling in the pit of their stomach. Mikey smiled at his brother.

“Well, I think, you should ask him if he has it. And then amp that puppy up so we all can get in on that heat!”-- He paused to take a sip of his cocoa-- “We could also huddle up in one of our famous turtle piles to get that sweet sweet warmth too.”

Donnie chuckled at the thought. They had already made the living room a warm den against the cold and he was pretty sure that neither Mikey nor himself intended on sleeping anywhere else that night. Though he didn’t want to leave their pillow bed, he knew he had to go talk to Leo and Raph. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d phrase it without feeling a twinkle of embarrassment over the request. Luckily he didn’t have to.

The sound of large footsteps entered the living room and stopped. The two brothers turned to look and found Raph wearing a huge smile on his face at the sight.

“Hold on guys! I’ll be right back!” Raph bolted out of the living room. “Leo, get your blankets!” He returned quickly with huge bundles of pillows, blankets, and a Leo in tow.. Raph had grabbed one of his teddy bears and Leo managed to snag a box collection of Jupiter Jim movies to play during the night.

Donnie and Mikey got up and helped the other two make the pile larger and situate themselves comfortably. Raph settled behind his brothers, always the protector, while Leo just sprawled out over the pile, deliberately putting himself in Donnie’s space. Mikey curled up like a kitten in the middle of them all. As the night went on with slumber claiming them one by one, they all protectively curled around each other, Sharing warmth in the multitude of blankets.

Mikey had never felt so at peace. The cuddles and soft sounds of the movie playing in the background made him more and more comfortable. He didn’t want to leave this anytime soon, and he was pretty sure his brothers felt the same as they fell asleep. And the warmth was the best thing he’d felt in a long while.

Unfortunately, Mikey would only feel a cold embrace. And he would keep wishing for that warmth as he laid there. Pinned in the cold sewer tunnel under a broken pipe, desperately trying to get his brothers help.

That’s when the clock began to tick.

Chapter Text

The frosty light of the cold morning slowly made its way throughout the lair. A gentle chill made its way towards the mound of pillows and blankets where the brothers all still slept peacefully. It reached the blue turtle first, instantly causing him to shiver. Which caused the purple turtle he was using as a pillow to immediately groan in annoyance and wake up.

As Donnie opened his eyes, he made no effort to move from his comfy position. He took this opportunity to observe his 3 sleeping brothers. Mikey was curled up close to Raph who had a protective arm over him and his stuffed bear, and Leo was currently using Donnie as a head rest and started to cuddle closer. Normally, that action would have annoyed him, but it was obvious Leo wasn’t doing it just because he wanted to. It was obviously for warmth.

Donnie looked him over again and noticed his blanket was falling off him. Ever so gently, Donnie pulled the blanket over him and put a second one for good measure up to Leo’s chin. Leo sighed with relief at the sudden heat and started to fall slack. Seeing this must have somehow woke the purple turtle up, because his brain immediately went back to the space heater. He was able to ask Leo before they all started to doze where the space heater might be, and to confirm his earlier hypothesis, Leo admitted to have stored it in his closet.

Gently, Donnie shifted out from under Leo, replacing his now vacant space with a pillow under his head. Managing to get out of their pile of warmth for a split second resulted in a bombardment with intense cold air now settling into the lair.

“Holy- okay… Okay this is a lot colder than I was anticipating and now the space heater is needed… Right now!” With that thought out loud, Donnie grabbed a loose blanket, threw it over his shoulders, and began walking as quickly as his chilled body would allow up towards Leo’s room. It didn’t take him long to find the heater and make his way with it to the lab. Donnie was determined to modify the heater more than ever and it needed to be done soon.

---

Mikey was the second to wake but it wasn’t from the chill. He was trying to curl up closer to all of his brothers when he felt a sudden vacant spot. Groggily, he opened his eyes to confirm, yep… it was Donnie.

Before he could even wonder where Donnie was, he heard something clatter in his big brother’s lab accompanied by a frustrated shout. Mikey reeeeeally didn’t wanna get up right now but something told him he should seriously check up on his brother to make sure he wasn't… possibly making something explode? Who really knows with him honestly.

As he shimmied his way out of Raph’s hold, he noticed the extra blankets on Leo and felt the chill hit his face. It was obvious Leo was still cold because Mikey could see him shiver every now and then. Without a second thought, Mikey slowly pulled the unconscious turtle closer to Raph who instinctively pulled him closer. Mikey barely managed to throw another blanket on Leo before he was in Raphs protective hold.

With a satisfied smile, Mikey grabbed his blanket and got up to make his way towards Donnie’s progressively louder noise. Before he got there though, he made the decision to make Donnie a cup of coffee and himself a hot cup of tea. That was the second right choice he made that morning as he walked into the lab to see a shivering Donnie working on the now found space heater.

“Hey D, I see you found the space heater,” He tried to be gentle as to not startle him but he still somehow got the purple turtle to jump before he whipped around to face him.

“Oh… Morning Mikey… Did I wake you?” Donnie scratched the back of his neck as Mikey decided now was a good time to hand him his beverage.

“Mmmmmyeah but it’s okay. I needed to get up anyway. Oh! Also here’s some coffee.” Mikey tried to divert Donnie’s attention to the drink rather than the whole ‘waking up’ situation, but of course that didn’t really work.

“Ahhhh thank you ‘Angelo. But really, I didn’t mean to wake you. Hopefully my rambunctious behavior didn’t wake up Raph or Leon?” Donnie gave Mikey an expectant look.

“Not to worry, they are passed out like the dead. I managed to get Leo to take my place in Raphs vice grip, so hopefully they’ll be like that for a while longer.” At the mention of Leo, Donnie looked back at the space heater.

“...So you saw it too?” Donnie set down his drink before grabbing a screwdriver and working with a smaller area of the space heater.

“Ye… I'm guessing that’s why you’re working on that puppy right now?” Mikey sat down next to Donnie and helped to put his brother’s blanket back over his shoulders.

“You are correct. The only thing is, I might need to go get a part for it from the junkyard. But it also might be a better idea to have April purchase it for us. I imagine the junkyard would probably be far too cold for either of us to hang around for very long.” Donnie looked a bit more irritable as he reached for another tool.

“A new part would probably help the heater last longer too. Leo was really shivering down there even with the extra blankets AND Raph,” Mikey looked worriedly at his mug, “I think Splinter was trying to set up the lair last night to help keep out all that cold... But it wont work for long.”

Donnie sighed and set down the parts of the heater he was messing with. “You have a point. I’ll message April and see how soon she can get it but for now we might be stuck with blankets for a while”

Mikey smiled at that. “If that means more turtle piles, I’m down for that party!” a small chuckle came from Donnie as he pulled out his phone.

“You mind making us a warm breakfast Mikey? That would probably help all of us right about now” he gave Mikey a small smile.

“It would be chef Michelangelo’s pleasure” without another word, Mikey grabbed Donnie’s now empty mug and his own and made his way back to the kitchen. He had a lot of work to do.

---

Raph and Leo were the last to wake up, both around the same time. Raph began to stir when he felt Leo’s shivering and Leo woke up because of the cold. It didn’t take long for Raph’s ‘big brother’ mode to activate as he looked down at the chilled turtle clinging to him for warmth.

“Ah geez, Leo you're practically a popsicle! Hold on...” Raph got up and bundled Leo up into a blanket cocoon before walking towards the kitchen with him in his arms. He knew Mikey was already in there from the smell of something cooking.

“Oi Mikey, you better be making something warm. Leo could seriously use that right about now.” Raph made his way over to the kitchen island where he managed to get Leo to sit upright in a chair. Raph stayed next to him to give him support as he shivered.

“H-hey R-Raph… I’m f-fine, n-no need t-to worry, alright?” Leo chattered and tried to give off a fake smile of confidence but it was immediately hindered useless with his teeth practically making music from the chill.

“Ye? Totally fine huh? I’ve never heard your teeth make so much noise before now, so you can quit trying to act like this ain’t serious.” Raph scolded him as Mikey made his way over with a bowl of soup.

“Hey, relax Raph. Donnie’s working on setting up the space heater, and this soup should also help warm those chilly insides. Lots of veggies too!” Mikey set the bowl down in front of Leo who gave him a tired thankful smile in return. Mikey gave him a happy nod before turning back to Raph “I’ll get you a bowl too, give me a hot second.”

“Ah sure, thanks Mikey.” Raph watched his two brothers mess with the soup before a loud bang came from Donnie's lab, followed by angry shouting.

Mikey gave Raph a look that basically said ‘don’t go up there’, which Raph reluctantly agreed to. The three of them ate their soup and chatted for a bit before yet another loud crash was heard.

Mikey sighed “I’ll go check on him, Leo you better finish that soup before I get back or else I’ll force it down your throat!” Mikey gave a warning look before jogging out of the kitchen.

“... do you th-think he’s serious or t-teasing?” Leo asked groggily.

“I wouldn’t test it,” Raph warned before giving him a pointed look. Leo reluctantly continued to eat the hearty soup.

---

Mikey made it up to the lab just in time to stop Donnie from chucking a tool at the wall.

“OI! DONNIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Mikey shouted and quickly managed to grab the tool out of his hand.

“MIKEY! Give that back to me THIS INSTANT!” Donnie tried to snatch it out of Mikey’s hands but he managed to out maneuver him by a few inches. Donnie might be tall, but Mikey is fast.

“NOPE! Not until you apologize to the tool after you almost HURT IT FOR NO REASON!? Right little guy? Ye I know, he’s not always a grump like this.” Mikey started caressing the tool like it was a child.

“Mikey just- UGH give it back to me please?” Donnie started coming down from his sudden anger spell.

“Ah. Ah. Ah! Not until you say your sorry!” Mikey gave Donnie a disappointed look.

With another groan and looking up at the ceiling with irritation, Donnie sighed and began to rub the area between his eyes. “Alright fine… I’m sorry little tool for almost mercilessly throwing you at a wall…. Happy?”

Mikey grinned “much better!” He walked over and placed the tool onto Donnies desk, and to his surprise, Donnie didn’t try to pick it up again. He was obviously still tired and possibly had a headache as Mikey observed him rubbing his eyes and temples.

“...Hey D, you okay?” Mikey made his way over to his brother, “I don’t remember you looking so… Worn out when I last saw you.” He gave Donnie a once over to see if there was anything else he didn’t notice before. Sometimes Donnie was just terrible at taking care of himself.

Donnie let out an exasperated sigh. “I'm fine… Really… The cold might just be getting to me too I don’t know.” It must’ve been a ‘twin’ thing because the second most susceptible to the cold was Donnie. He wasn’t as bad as Leo but he still felt the negative effects of the cold far sooner than Mikey or Raph did.

“Why were you trying to throw your tool at the wall though? What’s up?” Mikey waited expectantly. A few minutes of silence went by and he debated on asking it again but Donnie’s response stopped all train of thought.

“April’s out of town. We either go to the store ourselves or the junkyard and from what I heard from April, it might be harder to do both right now.” Donnie sat down in his chair with his head in one of his hands “If we don’t get that part for the space heater, the whole lair will be covered in ice within a few days time and if that happens… our bodies might enter a state of brumation.”

The way Donnie said that last word stuck out to Mikey. “Donnie… what’s brumation?” with one look from his older brother a different kind of chill traveled up his spine.

“Brumation… means we hibernate… and if that happens… we could die.”

Chapter Text

Mikey starred at Donnie “...you’re kidding.... Right?”

“No Mikey. I’m not. The cold in and of itself should prove my point. If we can’t warm up the lair soon both Leo and I will have trouble staying awake and you and Raph would be the only ones capable of doing anything aside from sleeping,” Donnie laid back against his chair with a sigh, “This is serious Mikey. I’m worried about Leo right now. If he enters brumation in his current condition, he could seriously become sick. We aren't physically prepared to hibernate. That’s one thing that we kept from our turtle DNA that I seriously WISH we didn’t have.”

The more Donnie explained the true danger they all were in, the more Mikey got his wheels into gear.

“Well… maybe we should talk to Splinter about all of this.” That comment got Donnie’s attention.

“What could he possibly do that he hasn’t already tried? You already said he was working on insulating the lair, what more could he possibly do?” Donnie gave Mikey an inquisitive look. His tone made it clear he was more curious about the reasoning than trying to shoot down the idea, which made Mikey a little less nervous.

“He took care of us for multiple winters BEFORE you managed to get your hands on that space heater or started to live in the sewers… Maybe he has a few ideas that could help with this… whole situation?” A considerate hum was Donnie’s response as he got up with a sigh.

“You have a point. Com’on, let's go talk to Raph and Leo… Also whatever smell that is coming from the kitchen I would gladly like to partake in consuming” Mikey smiled and walked alongside Donnie quietly. Before they left the lab Mikey took one last look at the space heater in thought. There had to be someway they could heat up the lair without it… right?

---

Mikey set down a newly heated bowl of the soup in front of Donnie before he plopped down at the kitchen island with his brothers.

“B-Brumation?...W-what the heck is t-that?” Leo asked. He was still shivering but not as bad as before thankfully. Mikey had just given him a mug of his favorite tea and got himself and Raph some hot cocoa as they listened to Donnie.

With a slight groan, Donnie continued, “it’s the turtle equivalent to hibernation. Which we are not equipped to handle in the slightest.” He took a few more sips of his soup hoping to stop any further questioning.

“Okay so… If either of you get into that hibernation state… it could be deadly?” Donnie just gave Raph a slight nod “Dang, well what did pops say?”

“We haven't asked him yet, but I saw him setting up some kinda blockade late last night, so he’s probably still in his room,” Mikey confirmed.

“Well… what can we do to bring up the temperature for you two?” Raph pulled out his phone and began typing away at it.

“Without the space heater, nothing really outside of either a fire or a ton of b-blankets. But a fire wouldn’t be able to reach the whole Lair, and we d-don’t currently have the materials to make one without potentially burning everything to the g-ground,” Donnie looked up from his soup at the rest of them, “we’re gonna have to keep sleeping together in order to help all of us retain some heat until we can get something set up. We might as well bring the rest of our pillows and blankets down too.”

“Aww-wwww we get t-to have more t-turtle p-piles. I’m d-down for that!” Leo gave them a tired smile through his slight shivering.

“It would be like a MEGA sleepover!” Mikey grinned.

“I ain’t complaining… But it might be a good idea to figure out some way to set up a fire pit. I could run out in a little while and gather some firewood. Donnie what else would we need?” Raph set down his phone as he looked at the purple genius who seemed to be zoning out. “... Donnie?”

It took him a second, but the softshell’s focus returned to the conversation with a shake of his head “r-right sorry. To make a stable pit we’re gonna n-need a non-flammable base and a barrier to keep the flames from jumping out. I c-can set up a reusable base but we’re gonna need a lot of r-rocks for the encirclement. You should make sure to bring a ton of logs, preferably not wet, and some dry tinder to get it started.”

“Dry tinder?” Raph looked at him confused.

“Y-yes, like sticks, newspaper, pine needles, etc.” The more Donnie explained the more noticeable it became that he was starting to shiver.

“D... I think you and Leo should probably go lay down for a bit… You ain’t looking so hot… I mean, aside from the temperature obviously” Mikey looked at Raph worriedly, hoping for his support.

“N-no it’s okay… I want to t-talk to dad about what we could d-do about the lair” Donnie felt a small chill run up his spine and reached to wrap his blanket around himself tighter.

“That will not be necessary Purple, we can discuss this now so you may get your rest” All the boys started at the sound of Splinter’s voice.

“What the- when did you get here pops?” asked a startled Mikey.

“Oh, a few minutes ago,” Splinter took a small sip from his tea as he joined the boys at the island, “Red messaged me to come join you. I got the gist of the conversation.”

“A-ah, s-so do you have s-some i-ideas or n-not?” Leo asked.

“From my past experiences, I can say it was not easy taking care of you four during the winters. You were much smaller then, and that helped to keep you warm with only a few blankets and a small camp stove that I managed to bring with us.” He began “Like Orange stated earlier, I was working on trying to close off the tunnels to help with keeping some of the heat in, but because of the storm, the cold air is rather strong. Purple, I might need your help later. We need to come up with a better way to insulate our home.”

“I-I can help with that. Sure,” Donnie nodded in agreement.

“I believe you also mentioned something about the space heater earlier? What is wrong with it?” Splinter gave Donnie his full attention.

“I w-was trying to modify it so it could bring heat faster and more effectively throughout the lair, b-but in order to make it work I need a new part. A-April is unfortunately out of town right now so it will be a l-lot harder to get it.” Donnie explained nervously. He wasn’t used to Splinter giving him so much attention.

“And why exactly is that stopping you from going out and getting it, Purple?” Splinter was more concerned that his intelligent son was looking more and more tired and that Leo was now suddenly leaning on Raph for more support.

“A-apperently we might be getting e-early signs of snow soon. And b-because of that a lot of stores are extremely busy a-at the m-moment. The junk y-yard would be too cold to check out right now too. I c-can’t see any of us l-lasting more than an h-hour up there,” Donnie explained, “P-plus because of t-the storm, the s-sewers are not super s-safe to travel through r-right now.”

Splinter nodded and began to stroke his beard in thought before Mikey suddenly chimed in.

“What part do you even need anyway D?” Donnie looked at him with surprise.

“O-oh… Right, we need a new regulator for the g-gas to travel through safely.”

“Is there like a specific kind or something you’d need? I’m sure we could take quick trips up to the surface and look for it when we’re able to-” Mikey started but was immediately cut off

“No Mikey, it’s too dangerous right now and the amount of gear you’d have to wear to even walk around up top w-would be more than we own at the moment.” Donnie wasn’t having any of it, and apparently neither was Raph.

“Sorry Mikey, but Donnie’s right. I might just barely be able to get a few logs of wood right now but even then we shouldn’t risk the cold too much.” Raph crossed his arms, “You can help me find some rocks and what not but we probably won't be able to go too far on the surface without needing to run back here, okay little man?” Mikey wanted to counter but Leo nearly falling out of his chair stopped all further conversation.

“Alright boys, that’s enough for now. Red, please help Blue back to your sleeping area in the living room. Purple, go get some rest too and then we’ll talk about a plan to insulate the lair.” Mikey and his brothers nodded reluctantly and Raph picked up Leo and walked out of the kitchen with Donnie trudging behind.

Mikey stayed back for a bit to clean up and put the leftover soup into the fridge. All the while thinking about the space heater and its missing part. They needed to get it soon. They didn’t know how long the cold within the lair would last, and if it got worse then they’d seriously be in trouble.

Mikey sighed and made his way back to the pile where Leo was already passed out and Donnie was settling down next to him. Raph got up and said he was getting more blankets and pillows, so Mikey just sat down next to his cold brothers and silently watched over them.

The clock kept ticking…

Chapter Text

Donnie only let himself sleep for a few hours, but it was clear to Mikey it took everything he had to get out of bed. He and Leo were practically glued together the whole time, which made it even harder for him to get up. Donnie didn’t want to leave one of his sources of warmth.

After much mental coercing, Donnie slowly got out of the pillow pile and made his way to talk to Splinter. Mikey watched as Donnie was practically dragging himself before they both disappeared into the lab.

Mikey had just returned from the surface with Raph (who knew gathering firewood and other flammables would be so difficult?). Just from his short time up top it was clear to him what Donnie had warned them about was true. It was freezing. A lot colder than the Lair was that’s for sure. But when Mikey and Raph first went up, the sewer tunnel they had to go through looked like it was unstable.

“We gotta be careful Mikey,” Raph had told him, “This might be the fastest way to the outskirts of the city, but by the look of that cracked pipe we should be quick about it.”

Mikey had given it a once over and he wasn’t sure how the giant crack appeared on the largest overhead pipe. The pipe itself looked like it no longer contained water and from the look of the sewer, no liquids had been there within the last few days. Both ways they walked carefully through the area, but after their many excursions, they were only able to gather a handful of tinder and 15 logs. It was a start but it wouldn’t be enough.

Over the course of the next few days, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey had come up with a new arrangement. Every couple hours, they would take turns with Leo watching duty. One of them would stay nearby as Leo slept to make sure he was warm and comfortable, while the other two worked on either setting up the lair, gathering supplies, making food, or getting what little rest they could.

When it was Donnie’s turn he wouldn’t really watch but rather lay down next to Leo and take another nap. It was getting harder and harder to wake either of them up though and that was scaring all of them.

Raph would sit protectively with Leo and help him get to the bathroom when he was up to it, or give him what little liquids he would be allowed to drink. Mikey mainly seemed to somehow always get the shifts when Leo decided to be awake and the whole while he was completely delirious.

“H-hey Mike… Mikey… MIKKKEEEEEEY” Speaking of Leo.

“Oh, sorry. Must have spaced out there for a second. You need something bro or-”

“Miiiiikeeey shuuush…. We don’t want the tortoises to w-wake up!” Leo’s eyes were half mast as he rambled his interruption. Mikey thought it was funny how weird Leo was. He was rat flu level weird but without the flu part.

“Oh, sorry” Mikey mimicked a whisper but was grinning.

“N-now listen up M-Miguel… we can’t let those walking dinosaurs hear us talking, okay?” Mikey didn’t know if Leo was talking about his brothers or some weird alternate versions of them.

“Aight Leon, you the boss. What would they do if they heard?”

Leo leaned slightly closer to Mikey and whispered “they would throw sour pies at us! I don’t want that anywhere near me, bleh!” Mikey was full on giggling now. Leo’s hatred of sour foods was always so random and resulted in many pranks (mainly from Donnie… Mikey still can’t believe what he did with that lemon).

Mikey got a tired shush in response, and calmed down as Leo looked up at him with eyes that showed how much the cold was affecting him. Just that view got Mikey to return to a somber mood “c-can you get something for me, little brother?” He sounded less delirious now.

“Y-yeah sure… what do you need?”

“I d-don’t think Raph saw it b-but I h-have an electric b-blanket in my r-room that A-April got for m-me a f-few christmas’s a-g-go” Leo closed his eyes for a second and seemed to be trying very hard to remain focused. “It… It should b-be under my b-bed… can you d-do that for me M-Mikey?”

Leo looked exhausted. He was chatting up a storm just a few minutes ago but the cold really seemed to drain what little energy he had. With a quick nod, Mikey threw another blanket over Leo before running off to his room.

Because of the cold of the Lair, all of them were wearing some form of clothing. Mikey was currently sporting a sweater Raph had knitted for him a while back. It was really helping right now, along with his pajama pants and snow boots. He only shivered every now and then but they were keeping him warm enough so he wasn’t too worried. He should get one of Leo’s sweaters while he was at it… it might help.

As Mikey got to Leo’s curtained off room he heard a tired Donnie talking to Splinter and Raph. He froze like the ice around him as he listened in.

“I t-think I have an i-idea for how we c-can insulate a s-small part of t-the l-lair.” Donnie sounded like he was shivering.

“What ya got D? You need me to get something?”

“Y-ye, actually”

“What is your plan Purple? We have already boarded up the major areas where the cold air was coming from.”

“R-right,” Donnie tried to sound enthusiastic but the cold wasn’t helping. Yet another thing the cold seemed to drain, Donnie’s spirit. “I-if we can g-get our h-hands on some th-thermal curtains, we could s-sew them together and s-spread it out over the l-living room area as a makeshift c-canopy. I-If we can cut off m-most of the c-cold air in a c-condensed space, we should be able t-to keep the h-hot air around a l-little longer.”

“Ah, what a clever idea Purple. Where can we get this ‘thermal fabric’?”

There was silence in response.

“Donnie… where do we get the thermal fabric?” Raph sounded both stern and nervous at the same time. He didn’t get a response.

“Donatello… hello? Are you still there?” The way Splinter asked that question made Mikey’s skin crawl. He couldn’t help but walk over to see what was going on. But just as he expected, it wasn’t good.

Splinter was waving his hand in front of Donnie who was seated in a chair next to the kitchen island, eyes seemingly in a haze and starring tiredly at nothing. Raph stood nearby with concern plastered to his face while Splinter continued to try and get Donnies attention. He kept snapping his fingers in front of Donnie’s face, while his own expressed more and more worry every second he didn’t respond. It took a solid minute before Donnie seemed to come out of his sleepy daze.

“W-what? I-,” he put a hand to his face and rubbed at his eyes, “I'm sorry did… did I zone out again?” Donnie looked up at them with tired eyes.

“It is alright Purple… please continue with what you were saying.” Splinter let out a soft sigh of relief and put his hand to his chest. Mikey guessed Donnie’s sudden trance-like state freaked him out.

“R-right… uh th-thermal fabric… ye um,” Donnie seemed scrambled as he tried to regain his focus, “Raph, you should be able to f-find some at one of the super stores… ya know the ones that sell a little bit of everything?”

“Okay, but would I need to go in and buy some? The size of the canopy would need quite a few right?”

As Donnie explained to Raph where he could possibly find some, Mikey made his way back to Leo’s room. The way Donnie was zoning out recently was getting concerning. It was happening more and more frequently as the temperature dropped. Which made Mikey’s thoughts continue to go back to that missing part for the space heater.

There had to be some way to get one. Whenever he and Raph went to the surface during Donnie’s shift, or in his case nap, Mikey managed to scout out a few areas he might be able to find one and get back quickly before it got too cold for him. He still wasn’t sure what one Donnie needed, he wasn’t able to pry it out of him. So, he might need to just grab a bunch of different kinds and see if any of them worked.

Mikey grabbed Leo’s electric blanket, a puffy blue sweater, and an extension cord as he made his way back to Leo who somehow managed to stay awake during the time he was gone. Mikey helped him sit up so he could put the sweater on him before tucking him back in.

As he set up the electric blanket, Leo gave him a grateful look before he faded back into sleep. They needed that space heater functional. Mikey knew if they didn’t get it up and running soon, Leo and Donnie might be in danger.

---

Mikey had to figure out when the best timing would be for him to sneak away. He couldn’t leave during his free time because Raph usually would elicit his help with going on a supply run or be asked by Splinter to make a warm meal. So there was only one time he could really do it, and that was during Leo watching time.

His shift had just started a few minutes ago. He had hidden a large backpack behind the recliner a while ago which held some of his winter gear and would be big enough for him to carry as many of those regulators as he could. While he was at it, he figured he should also see if he could find some thermal fabric or firewood because they needed both desperately. He knew his family would be upset with him the instant he got back so… maybe it would be a good idea to bring back a few treats as well.

Leo was currently slightly propped up by a pillow and watching the fire as it crackled nearby. Mikey needed to get him to rest if he wanted to make it out of the lair and have enough time to find what he was looking for. Desperate measures must be taken.

“Heeeeeey Leo,” his blue banded brother looked over at him “wanna watch something? We haven't watched stuff together in a while and I think you need a new form of entertainment outside of wood burning” Mikey crossed his fingers.

“Mmmmmm… Sure, w-what ya wanna w-watch?” The answer he was waiting for.

“I’ve been SERIOUSLY in the mood for some golf, I found a new livestream and think you’d like it! The commentary is gold~” Mikey smiled at Leo as he started to mess with the remote to pull up youtube.

Leo just gave Mikey a puzzled look as the video came up on the screen. Surprisingly, he kept his eyes pretty much glued to the screen for the first 10 minutes before he started to drift into a doze.

Mikey giggled. Leo’s weird relationship with golf had helped him with his insomnia many nights and it was coming in handy yet again (I mean seriously, who even likes golf?). As he watched Leo nod off, he made his way over to the recliner and grabbed the bag. Before he left he helped Leo lay back down and kept the livestream going on low volume.

He didn’t know at the time, but as he got up to leave… two tired eyes were watching him go, before they finally were claimed by sleep.

Chapter Text

For the past several days, all Leo knew was cold and sleep. He couldn’t focus on anything or get his mind working at all for more than a few minutes. He vaguely remembered talking to someone about an electric blanket and the sound of a fire crackling but not much else came to him. 

Occasionally, he would feel someone join him under the covers and practically shock him with their cold skin for a solid couple of minutes before they finally got warmer. Leo felt the most comfortable during those times because it was always the only time he physically didn’t feel any kind of chill. It never lasted long though, much to his disappointment. He once tried to keep them under the covers with him by wrapping them up in a cuddle, which worked for a little bit until someone else came and pulled them out from the blankets. He always missed that company.

Leo currently seemed to be lost within the fuzz of sleep that was suddenly brought on by the curse of golf. That he definitely remembered. Golf was the worst. It was like a spell that always made him fall asleep even on the hardest nights. Mikey shouldn’t have started playing that stupid livestream-

MIKEY!

How could he forget!?

Leo was only able to move slightly under the covers but couldn’t get his body to wake up. The cold wouldn’t let him. However, even within the fuzz of sleep, he was able to think about his little brother. Who had tricked him into watching golf of all things. He made him go to sleep on purpose! That little- OHOHO, when Leo was well enough to physically get out of bed he would SO make him regret it!

But wait… why had Mikey wanted him to sleep?

The image of Mikey running off with a large pack on his back and winter gear came to him. Along with it came a sudden spike in anxiety. Even asleep he couldn’t get away from his stupid fears. He vaguely could feel his body have some trouble breathing, so maybe he wasn’t completely asleep yet? He still couldn’t open his eyes though.

What he wanted right now was to make sure Mikey was still there. Was still sitting next to him watching that stupid livestream… but he knew better.

Where did you go, Mikey?

---

It wasn’t all that difficult for the orange turtle to sneak out of the Lair after he left Leo. Everyone was elsewhere trying to gather or build things to retain some form of heat. He knew Donnie was struggling to keep awake, especially after yesterday when he had zoned out so bad that Splinter had sent him to go rest with Leo.

When it was time for them to change shifts, however, Donnie wouldn’t wake up. In fact, Leo was clinging to him for dear life, making it even harder to reach for the genius and rouse him from the cold-induced slumber. They had to pry Leo’s hands off of him and pull Donnie away but even then they weren’t able to wake him up for a solid 30 minutes. Which scared everyone so badly they panicked.

Splinter kept his eye on Donnie from that point on and tried to keep him from resting too much. He was still zoning out but at least he was awake… at least he was alive. Raph had started to help Splinter and Donnie a lot more after that. Even Mikey chipped in, but he couldn’t think about his nearly comatose brother. He had to get that missing part.

Mikey followed the same route he and Raph took when going to the outskirts, and just like always, was careful around the unstable tunnel. He could see small flakes of snow slip through the various drains that barely provided any light from the greyed out sky. Mikey had to use his phone as a flashlight.

It didn’t take him long to find the ladder that led up to the alleyway he had scouted a few days ago. With little effort, he shoved the manhole cover aside and hopped out into the chilly new york atmosphere. Mikey looked around at the freshly fallen snow that formed a small layer on the ground. He needed to be fast.

With a huff, he quickly made his way out onto the street, and started towards the department store at the corner where he was planning on buying a few ‘I’m sorry’ gifts for his brothers and possibly other supplies. Mikey made sure his wallet had a nice big wad of cash, so he planned on buying as much as he could.

It didn’t take him long to find the candy, thermal curtains, or artificial firewood. He managed to fill his bag up quite nicely and still had room for the regulators. That was his second stop.

New York was such a strange city. Mikey might have been wearing several layers and people could still tell his skin was obviously green, But no one cared. And that was one of the many reasons why he loved the surface.

The hardware store wasn’t too far from the manhole cover he had used either, which was convenient for him. As Mikey perused the store, which was unsurprisingly busy, he noticed an aisle with space heaters and made his way through the crowd towards it. As if the universe was sending him a message, he noticed one of those very space heaters was the one they owned.

Mikey would have jumped with glee if it weren't for the large heavy backpack on his back. He found an associate and the kind employee guided him to the various regulators and offered a few suggestions which Mikey greatly appreciated. He was making great time and started smirking to himself.

‘Man this was just too easy! We should have done this much sooner!’

Mikey lost his smirk as he re-evaluated his thoughts. This might have been easy for him now, but it wasn’t several days ago. They were all so focused on keeping the lair warm and insulated that there was just no time to make it to the surface. And if Mikey hadn’t scouted on their various outings, he wouldn’t have known how close together the department and hardware store were.

He just counted his blessings that all of this was working out for him. But just because he had gotten the supplies didn’t mean they would suddenly be out of the woods once he got back. Leo and Donnie were still on the verge of hibernating and Raph had started to show signs recently too. Mikey didn’t know if he could take care of the three of them all at once, Leo was hard enough.

With urgent determination, Mikey quickly bought all the supplies he needed and started to make his way towards the manhole cover. As he walked he quickly checked the time. He had been out for a solid 2 hours and it was a decently long walk back to the lair. If he wanted to keep his punishment minimal, he needed to get home quickly and give Donnie the regulators so the space heater could finally give them a bit of peace of mind.

In one swift motion, Mikey jumped down the manhole and closed it as he fell. Landing hard, he took a deep breath before regaining his focus and started to run. There was little time left before his ‘Leo shift’ would be over, and he wanted to check on him as soon as he got home.

However, Mikey didn’t realize his mistake. He didn’t have much time left indeed, but for a completely different reason.

As he made his way down, practically sprinting, he heard something creak overhead. Within a few seconds, the large pipe that was threatening to fall finally did. Directly on the terrapin that stood below. All Mikey had time to do was take a deep breath, before everything came crashing down.

Chapter Text

Warning: This chapter deals with distressing emotions

If you get anxious easily, please be careful!

At first, he felt nothing. It was all so quiet with faint echoes of water dripping down the sewer walls. It seemed so peaceful, so serene. But of course, his peace didn’t last for long.

Mikey was hit by a hard awakening as he felt the pressure on top of his shell. He gasped hard as pain from his lower half finally registered. He couldn’t process anything. It all hurt so much. His ears suddenly were ringing and wouldn’t stop. A harsh pounding rhythm was in his head as his eyes finally opened.

The whole world was spinning. All he could do was lay there and try to calm down his frantic breathing. Hot tears flowed down his face as the pain radiated like waves, hitting him harder and harder each time. Mikey didn’t know what to do. He knew he was panicking but he needed to calm down to see what had actually happened.

Then he remembered the sound of creaking, the sudden break of the pipes above, and slamming down hard onto the icy sewer floor. He was so stupid. So completely stupid, how could he forget to be careful down this area of the sewers. OF COURSE IT FELL ON HIM!? He was sprinting down the stupid sewer because he stupidly thought everything would go his way. STUPID!

Mikey quietly berated himself for his bad decision. None of his family needed an accident like this to worry about, especially when half of them were incapable of moving without someone helping them… or staying awake long enough for someone to try. He needed to get out of this situation. Now.

With that thought, Mikey attempted to shift himself out from under the debris but yet again, he made a stupid decision. Just that one attempt of movement, that slight motion, and he was screaming in agony.

What had happened to him!? He laid limply on the ground. Waiting for the pain to pass, and spots started to form in his vision. No, he couldn’t pass out right now. He needed to stay awake. He needed to be calm. So he just laid there and let himself recover. He had to be patient.

After several minutes he knew he wasn’t going to pass out. The pain had been reduced to a more consistent throb but that was much more tolerable. With a deep breath, Mikey slowly propped himself up on his arms to get his bearings.

With one calm sweep with his eyes in front of him, he could tell that not much debris made it all that far. It had all just fallen straight down… straight down on top of him. What he also noticed was that his phone, which he had been using as a flashlight, was now a good few feet in front of him. He tried to reach out for it but only managed to push it slightly farther away.

“Well… at least I can see…” Mikey said out loud. His voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

Mikey tried to sigh but his breathing hitched and caused him to lower his head, stunned. After a few more moments to collect himself, Mikey finally turned slowly around to see what had happened to him. He really wished he didn't.

Directly on top of him, was a giant steel pipe. It laid directly on his backpack and carapace as well as his whole lower body. But that wasn’t the worst part of this whole situation. The large crack that ran along the side of the pipe had split open larger and one of his feet was stuck in it. Just from the look of his leg he could also tell it was broken. The foot that was stuck within the crack was bleeding heavily as the steel had cut harshly into his ankle.

Mikey had to look away for a second to fully process what had happened and to give himself time to calm down. Then, Mikey noticed something he should have earlier… he couldn’t feel much below his waist.

Panic immediately hit him and he started to breathe harshly as heavy sobs and squeaks exited his mouth. In desperation, he tried to grab for some purchase but only managed to dig into residual moss and dirt from the bottom of the abandoned tunnel. He could still feel the pain from his left leg but only the sensation of pain. He couldn’t move either of his legs, everything below his waist was just completely numb.

As Mikey moved about, frantically in his panic and trying to escape, he was hit again and again with the sensation of pain. The pain would cause a chain reaction of him gasping for air, pausing to try and let it subside, and then panic hitting him again because he couldn’t move! It was a vicious cycle.

Mikey desperately tried to call out but he didn’t have enough air to vocalize anything. Every so often during his panicked state, he would try to reach for his phone but couldn’t so much as touch it. He kept trying to move, trying to do something, trying to FEEL something but made no headway. He was stuck.

After several minutes Mikey finally just let himself lay there panting. His sobs wouldn’t stop even as he laid there limply. He could feel his body shaking from his own distress. He couldn’t stand this, but he just couldn’t do anything. He seriously needed some help… He needed his brothers.

If he could he would have curled in on himself. He just wanted that warm feeling from several days ago. That warmth of being happy and near the people he loved the most in the world. His brothers, all together, all okay. No one stuck in bed, or desperately trying to stay awake. No one is pacing or hovering over them with protective worry. Everyone is safe.

Mikey needed a hug.

He wanted someone to smother him in their arms for comfort. He wanted to feel that love and appreciation he always felt when someone let him hug them. He wanted to be close to someone. Anyone. Everyone.

He didn’t want to be stuck under a pipe.

In the middle of the freezing sewers.

Alone and hurting, both physically and emotionally.

Oh god… He didn’t want any of this to happen! Why was it him!? What had he done to deserve this!? Did any of his family deserve this!?

Mikey’s breath hitched again but it wasn’t from pain, it was from a shocking realization. His brothers… what would they be feeling if they saw him like this? They were already struggling as it is, how would they handle their little brother… all alone… trapped and broken, when all he was trying to do was help…

What kind of emotional turmoil had he just brought upon his brothers?

The silence was deafening now. It wasn’t comforting in the slightest. Every second that went by Mikey felt worse. The biting cold was affecting him now. He could feel himself shaking not just from his own pain or sobs, but the temperature now too. His teeth chattered as he sharply inhaled. The tears in his eyes slowly dripped onto the ground in little streams.

He felt so useless.

With only a slight amount of movement from his head, Mikey looked back at his phone. He knew when he had entered the tunnel it was at 50 percent but… the temperature would surely wear out his battery faster. His phone would die soon and so too would his last flicker of light…

His last flicker of hope.

Mikey didn’t even recognize the sound of his voice as he rasped out quietly towards his phone.

“...R-Raph?.....Sp-Splinter?.... D-Donnie?....................L-Leo?....... H-help m-m-me…”

---

As time continued to flow by, a single being stirred.

Clouded eyes finally opened and with a panicked voice, aching, they said “.............Mikey.”

Chapter Text

Warning: This chapter deals with distressing emotions

If you get anxious easily, please be careful!

He felt restrained in his own body. The spike of pain in his chest grew along with his heart rate. Breathing became harder. Everything… Was dark.

Leo was stuck in perpetual darkness and couldn’t escape. It was like he was watching from a camera but had zero control over his direction. A slight rumble could be felt and he couldn’t tell which way it was coming from. In front of him? Behind him?

Anxiously, Leo stood still as the shadows slowly receded. But his sharp breathing wouldn’t stop. He tried to reach for his neck but felt nothing. Tried to reach for his chest but there was only a void. Where was his body?

The rumbling increased and as he looked around, he was standing in the cold sewers. Finally, he was able to control himself. It was dry and deserted. Leo was confused. Where did all the water go? He got his answer when he saw a single drop fall from above. A pipe, three times bigger than him with a large break in its exterior and ice forming along its surfaces. Had it burst?

He could feel everything shaking and could see the cracks forming above in the ceiling of the sewer tunnel. That wasn’t good. Everything was eroding quickly, and crumbling to the ground at an alarming rate. Just looking at it would have caused anyone to worry, even if you were already anxious. Wherever this part of the sewer was, they should stay clear.

He was about to turn away when a faint sound could be heard farther down the tunnel. Leo’s heart seemed to skip a beat as he looked behind him. The sound was rhythmic and quick, echoing off the walls at various octaves. They sounded like… Footsteps?

Before Leo could think too much on it, they came into view. They were small but quick, and as they got closer Leo could have sworn he stopped breathing. There was orange. A small band of orange around their head. It was Mikey.

Leo would have been glad to see him, if it weren’t for the fact that he was approaching a danger zone at full speed! Breathing harder, He tried to shout at Mikey to make him stay away. But no sound came from him. Leo tried to move instead but was firmly planted. His heart was racing and beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst.

That’s when it happened. The ceiling rumbled, Mikey continued to approach without much notice. The pipe creaked. It shifted. Mikey got closer. And closer. That’s when everything fell.

Leo tried to scream, tried to make a sound but still couldn’t get his vocal cords to work. He watched in horror as his little brother was crushed by the metal and concrete from above. He couldn’t do anything. So he just fell forward. Landing hard on his knees. He could feel tears fall but couldn’t do anything about them. Panic was coursing through him like a storm. He didn’t think it could get any worse.

But that’s when the smoke cleared. He clutched his chest, finally able to feel it. A hand slowly came up to his mouth as Leo tried to stifle his own sobbing. He could see him. Mikey. Laid flat. Crushed and prone. And he was all alone.

Mikey was hurt.

Leo wasn’t there.

 ~....L...eo……~

He was hurt and Leo WASN’T THERE!

~.........Le..o….. Ca...n…~

Why can’t he move!?

~...LEO…… C...AL...M… DO-..~

Why won’t his body MOVE!?

He needed to HELP HIM!!

~..WAKE….U...P…… LEO!..~

MOVE!

~...LEO…~

MOVE AND SAVE HIM!!!

~LEO!!~

WHY… WHY WAS IT…. SO…. HARD… TO BREATH!?!?

-------

Leo’s eyes shot open as he felt his body being jostled. He was staring up at the ceiling of the lair in complete shock. That was a dream? It took him a minute to notice someone was calling his name, and even longer to realize he was still hyperventilating.

“LEO! Oh thank god you’re awake! Okay… Leo, you need to calm. Down.” Raph’s soothing voice came from his right. As he glanced over, Leo could see the worry on his face.

“Hey, com’on buddy.” Leo tried to listen to Raph but his mind kept going back to Mikey under the pipe. His panic refused to leave him, and dark spots were entering his vision.

“Leo!” Raph tried desperately to get his attention but he just would not look at him. He wasn’t as good as Donnie when it came to calming Leo down from a panic attack.

He had only been walking by the living room when he heard the shouts of distress. It didn’t take him long to realize it was Leo, and when Raph ran in he was shocked to see him all alone. Where did Mikey go? Wasn’t it his shift? Raph wasn’t able to think about his missing brother for long because Leo was panicking in his sleep. That couldn’t be good.

Rushing to his side, Raph carefully lifted his little brother up and gently rocked him to ease his stress. Leo was shivering uncontrollably and not just from the cold. He was sweating, and on the brink of hyperventilating. Not good.

“Leo… Hey Leo, can you hear me?”

No response.

“Oi, Leo… Wake up!” Raph gently tried to shake him awake.

He only got a harsh gasp in response.

Yep, he was hyperventilating now.

“LEO! CALM DOWN!”

A shiver and a small hiccup of a sob. What could he be dreaming of to make him this distressed!?

“WAKE UP LEO!”

Leo absentmindedly reached for his chest, feeling the pain as his anxiety crushed down onto him.

“LEONARDO!” Raph shook him a bit more forcefully and finally got him to open his eyes. Tears started to stream down Leo’s face from the nightmare induced panic and it was clear that he still wasn’t mentally present.

“You need to calm down buddy… Listen to my voice okay?” Raph began to make soft ‘shhh’ing sounds as he rocked the blue turtle. Slowly, Leo finally gained his focus enough to follow Raph’s instructions to breath.

“There you go, that’s it… nice and slow.” He rubbed Leo’s shell with care and was pleased to hear him steady himself to a degree. But his calm didn’t last long.

Leo suddenly brought his hand to his mouth with a new kind of distress. It took Raph a few seconds to realize what was happening. Bathroom! In one quick swoop, Raph picked him up and made his way to the bathroom. Just in time for Leo to throw up what little he had in his stomach. This was the first time a panic attack had been so bad that he actually got nauseous. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of ‘firsts’ this week and none of them were good.

Raph stayed by Leo’s side giving him as much comfort as he could while his tired brother puked from anxiety. When he was finally done, Leo just rested his head on the toilet and tried to calm his nerves.

“You doing alright?” Leo just gave him a slight nod but remained supported by the porcelain seat.

When everything was finally calm again, Raph wrapped the fallen blankets around Leo and helped him brush his teeth to get rid of the nasty bile taste. Taking his brother into the kitchen, Raph began to prepare him a mug of peppermint tea. The blue turtle looked exhausted emotionally and physically. None of this made much sense.

Setting down the freshly brewed herbal drink Raph asked, “Hey… How ya feeling?”

Leo took a deep breath, “I-I feel ok-kay now… Thanks… I don’t k-know what would have ha-happened if you… W-weren’t there.” He let out a shivering sigh before taking a sip of his tea.

They sat in silence for a little bit.

“... Can I… Ask you what happened?” Leo looked up in confusion, “In your- in your dream… Youuuu wanna talk about it?” Raph gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I-I…” He sighed, “I have a f-feeling you’ll bug m-me until I s-say something,” Raph gave him a guilty look before he continued, “but I… I thought I saw-” Leo cut himself off as he put a hand to his mouth for a second time. Raph at first thought he was getting nauseous again but saw he only let out a small shudder and was trying to regain some composure.

“It’s okay buddy… take your time.” Raph encouraged and sat patiently.

“I w-was in the tunnels… th-there was this b-broken pipe and… I th-thought I saw…” Leo froze.

“...Raph?”

“Ye?”

“Where’s Mikey?”

Chapter Text

He’s not sure how much time has passed, but Mikey can just tell from the sheer cold that engulfs him. It’s been a while. Too long for his liking.

Have his brothers not noticed he wasn’t there? He could understand why they wouldn’t. Everything recently has been chaotic for everyone. Raph was too busy running around trying to keep everyone afloat. Donnie was working with Splinter to solve the cold problem. And Leo was… just trying to stay conscious long enough to have a decent conversation outside of delirium. Where did that leave him? What was Mikey doing all that time?

Mikey didn’t realize he had closed his eyes until he opened them and found himself still on the sewer tunnel floor. The light coming from his phone camera was still going strong, but a thin layer of snow was drifting down from the gaps in the ceiling. He lifted his head up groggily, leaving a small path in the dirt as he moved. The rhythmic beat in his head told Mikey a strong headache was coming on. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Remembering where he was brought back the tears as they silently drifted down his face. Mikey stared at his phone in silence for a while, sniffling and wishing he was anywhere but there. His breathing had become labored a while ago. The pressure from the pipe above felt like it was bearing more and more weight as time went on. It felt like there was some kind of countdown. Mocking him.

The panic from earlier had become a constant thrumb in his heart. The anxiety was persistent but he accepted the fact that he probably wasn’t going to get help anytime soon. Mikey didn’t want to be right about that. He really didn’t. Without a proper gauge of time, he was left playing the waiting game. Which brought about the same question, where were his brothers?

He sniffled as he wiped away the fallen tears. Slowly he turned his head back towards his injured legs. Lucky for him, the bleeding had stopped on his left leg. Unfortunately, that left him looking at a sizable pool of his own blood as it began to dry. Because of his struggling earlier he had actually reopened the wound as well as caused more cuts to form along his ankle and lower calf. Today sure wasn’t turning out for Mikey.

His right leg looked even worse since the last time he looked at it. The bruises were getting darker and the pain radiating like waves were not helping. After a while of laying there, the sudden numbness that caused him to not feel his lower body had drifted away. Mikey really wishes it hadn’t. The pain was a lot more intense now that his sudden paralysis was gone and caused unexpected bouts of fainting. It was just too much. He tried his best to not focus on it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikey noticed something hanging from his bag which was also still pinned. It dawned on him that it was one of the regulators he had bought. An idea he should have thought up earlier came to mind and he mentally berated himself for not noticing it sooner. As Mikey tried to prop himself back up on his arms, he was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness which resulted in him plopping his face back down into the dirt. The world looked like it was spinning and his head began to beat harder.

On his second attempt, Mikey went a little slower. Taking large breaths as he managed to grab the regulator from where it hung. He sighed in relief when he noticed that the regulator wasn’t broken despite the impact. As he studied it he realized the irony of what was happening. The very thing he went after to help save his family had caused him to not only put himself in danger… but also possibly help him right now.

Mikey grinned at it with tired eyes. Man, he was so stupid. He never considered this would happen. He should have known better than to leave without some sort of note or alert for his family. He couldn’t even imagine the panic he might have caused. And when he- IF he got out of this whole… situation, Mikey knew a lecture was in store for him when he got back.

That “if” caused another tidal wave of emotions to hit him once again full force. His sobs echoed against the tunnel walls as if to ridicule him further. A final sniffle escaped him before he managed to get his serious face on.

With a quick look over the regulator, Mikey cautiously made a small loop on one end, being careful not to bend the wires too far and make it unusable when… If Donnie or his other brothers found him. With determination, he looked back up at his phone and methodically began to move his arm with the extended regulator loop towards it. He needed to be precise. He needed to be focused.

His first attempt barely got the phone to even budge and the regulator loop unhooked itself from one of the phone’s corners. Mikey grumbled, adjusted the loop, and tried again. His second attempt made the phone completely flip over, cutting off all of the light from the flashlight.

“Uuuuuuugh… why are you messing with my steez right now! Com’on Magic Mike… you can do this” He quietly encouraged himself as he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. With one final loop, Mikey managed to pull his phone all the way to him.

“YES! Come to papa!” He shouted in victory.

As Mikey flipped his phone back over, however, he felt his confidence die… Along with his phone’s battery.

Chapter Text

Donnie was startled out of his doze by sounds coming from the kitchen. Yawning and rubbing his eyes he waited for his exhausted brain to get out of its fog. It took him a bit longer than he’d liked to notice a blanket draped over him. Dad must have put this on me . Looking around he realized he was in his lab slouched over his desk. How long was I out? He was processing things a lot slower than normal and it took him several moments before he caught on.

Stupid cold. He really didn’t want to deal with this mess. A swift chill traveled throughout the lab and he shivered hard. The cold atmosphere of his lab wasn’t helping either. It just made him more… and more… Sleepy…

Maybe if he just… laid down for… another moment…

On the… cold surface of his… desk…

...So… Tired………..

Again he was startled awake. Donnie didn’t even notice he was dozing again, it was getting harder and harder for him to differentiate that transition of thought. Not wanting to risk falling asleep again, Donnie slowly stood up with a yawn and shuffled his way out of the lab. The blanket still wrapped around him as he moved.

As he got closer, the noise started to become less like static.

“...W-WHAT DO YOU M-MEAN Y-YOU DON’T KN-KNOW!?” that… that sounded like… Leo?

“I just don’t! You were the only one there and I wasn’t too focused on it when you were HYPERVENTILATING!” Raph? Wait… did he say hyperventilating!?

That got Donnie to fully wake up and he quickened his pace as he entered the kitchen. Leo was bundled up in so many blankets he looked like a living marshmallow as he glared down their red banded brother. From what Donnie could see, Leo was not okay… well worse than normal. He was shivering but not the same kind of cold shivering. His breathing sounded a little ragged as he continued to argue with Raph. It didn’t take a genius to know what had happened.

“Brethren, as much as I’d LOVE to hear you both b-bicker… would you mind explaining to me what HAPPENED!?” Leo and Raph were both startled out of their argument by the aggravated interruption of Donnie.

It only took Leo a second to switch gears. “Mikey’s missing!”

Donnie stood there frozen. Did he just hear that right? Was he still having problems processing? No… no from the looks on their faces this was a fact. Out of character for him his eyes just widened and he looked at the ground. His brothers could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to bring everything together.

“How… h-how long has he been gone?” Donnie finally looked up after several minutes. His emotions finally catching up with his face.

“Th-that’s what we’re tr-trying to figure o-out.” Leo shifted his gaze back to Raph who looked rather nervous. “R-Raph you were the last on w-watch duty. Wh-what time did Mikey sw-itched with you?”

Donnie watched as Raph thought about this for a moment before pulling out his phone. His face dropped. Some of the color drained from his face as he looked back up in a slight panic.

“...6 hours ago”

“RAPH!” Leo and Donnie both shouted in unison.

“W-WHAT!? I THOUGHT HE HAD IT COVERED!” He tried to defend himself but it was a losing battle.

“Raph, you KNOW we h-have to s-switch every few hours! There’s no telling w-what time he had left!” Donnie put his hand to his head. From the outside it looked like he was irritated but really he was trying to push off a dizzy spell.

“I th-think I have an i-idea what time he l-left” The older brothers turned to Leo as he looked down at his mug of slightly warm tea.

“Okay… and how would you know that?” Donnie questioned.

“Raph and him had just t-traded sp-spots and he was acting a bit weird. Not l-long after he started playing a g-golfing stream and before I p-passed out... I got a chance to gl-ance at the time…”

“Wait… he put you to sleep!?” Raph looked at him in alarm.

Leo only nodded in response. “Alright so… w-what time was it? H-how long was he there with you?” Donnie looked at his tired brother who didn’t look up at either of them.

Silence fell over the kitchen as they waited for his response. When it didn’t come, Donnie shifted closer with some effort. “Leo. You need to tell us. Right now.”

Without making eye contact he shattered both of his brothers hearts in an instant.

“...he left 15 m-minutes after you guys switched.”

“...Shit” Donnie started pacing, face confirming he was now in deep thought.

“Donnie, language” Raph gave him a stern look but sighed as he didn’t get a response. Donnie was too focused on pacing and thinking. “Well, one problem solved… That only leaves us with why he would do it…” Raph's face scrunched up in reflection of the past few days.

“Don’t look at m-me, I have no idea what’s g-going on half the time.” Leo begrudgingly stated. He took an irritated sip of his tea as Raph began to mutter to himself.

Donnie stopped pacing as he remembered something. “...I think I have an idea.” Donnie finally spoke up. It had taken him longer than he would have liked to remember something so simple.

“Aaaaaand that would be?” Leo asked him but it took Donnie a second to register that he both didn't tell them what he was thinking, or answered the question.

Donnie tried to shake some of the tired out of his head before looking up, “He went to get a r-regulator for the space heater. Maybe even o-other things who knows, but that would be his top priority.”

“GREAT! We know why, and how l-long, but no idea where! Just perfect!” Leo grumbled. “We gotta go looking for him and drag his sorry shell back here before something ELSE happens to him!” Donnie watched as Leo’s face slightly scrunched up with his previous anxiety and an obvious hitch in his breath.

“What do you mean by ‘we’? YOU’RE staying here in bed Leo!” Raph crossed his arms.

“I’m not just gonna l-lay around here while you go out looking for Mikey!” Leo defiantly stared back at him.

“Don where’s pops? We should really get him up to speed on everything and have him help us look” Raph asked without looking away from the sudden staring contest between him and his stubborn blue brother.

“No can do brother of mine,” Don sighed with the obvious tell of exhaustion seeping into his voice, “He went to b-bed not too long ago. 3 d-days of trying to keep me conscious didn’t give him much time to s-leep…”

Raph groaned “Of course he is. Right when we seriously need him too. Figures.” He looked over at Donnie, “you have enough energy to help me look?” From the look on Raph’s face, Donnie could tell he was second guessing his question. He probably didn’t look so good. In fact, he was so worn out he already felt like he was on the verge of falling asleep where he stood.

“Uuuh… nevermind Don, I’ll go look for him on my own-”

“It’s okay Raph, I have enough energy to look around through the sewers.” Donnie interrupted him with a tired smile.

“D… I really think you should stay here with Leo… you look exhausted. I know pops wouldn’t want you to but you seriously should get some sleep.” Raph attempted to reason. But Donnie was a stubborn turtle.

He shook his head “Don’t worry Raph, I don’t have to walk. I can just use my battle shell to move around. It will be faster too, I can cover more ground” Donnie watched Raph study him before reluctantly nodding and turned back towards Leo.

“Alright Leo, let's get you back to bed… will you be comfortable sleeping alone?” The worry in Raph’s voice was almost palpable. He thought for a moment.

“...Hey D, you mind getting me those anxiety pills?” Leo asked. Don gave him a quick nod before making his way over to the cabinets by the sink. Raph then went and picked up the bundle of blankets that was his little brother and mug of tea before making their way back into the living room.

Donnie sighed as he rummaged around in the cupboards, looking for the bottle and trying to fight off the sleep that threatened to take him. But just as he found it and began to make his way out of the kitchen. He froze.

Glancing over, a sudden realization hit him as he stared at the appliance. He was in utter shock. How could he have forgotten. Was it the cold that made him neglect the one object in their home that could have prevented all of this!?

He didn’t move. Only stared at the oven that could have been used to keep them all warm from the very beginning.

Chapter Text

Warning: This chapter deals with distressing emotions

If you get anxious easily, please be careful!

Mikey stared down at his now-dead phone. The battery icon blinking teasingly in his face only gave a dim amount of light before it finally blanked out. His face was frozen in a permanently shocked expression, eyes wide and unblinking. Slowly, the phone fell from his hand, and as it clinked against a piece of fallen pipe, the world came back into full focus.

“...No,” Mikey whispered in utter despair. He tried so hard. He thought he finally had a way to notify his brothers and call them for help. But once again… things didn't want to go his way.

He could feel his breath hitch and a wave of exasperation begin to flow in. Mikey continued to stare at the hand which had previously held his utterly useless phone. His breath started to come out in soft wheezes as his heart rate picked up. How could this have happened?

A cluster of tears begun to form in his eyes, all his focus on that single appendage. His hand started to shake slightly. How did something as innocent as his attempts to be helpful cause so much pain?

He struggled to take a breath.

Mikey slowly lowered his hand and his head tilted forward to glare at the ground before him. A small gasp escaped him, his breathing noticeably becoming louder and his breath more visible with each exhale.

He felt his heart pound ever louder in his head. Slamming against his chest with each passing second he tried to remain calm.

“...N-no,” he let out a soft hiccup and clenched his hands into a fist. All his efforts… wasted. All that time, scouring and looking for a safe route. All of it ruined, just because of the cold weather… this STUPID COLD!

He couldn’t hold it back anymore. It was just too much. He slammed his fist down into the dirt on the sewer tunnels bottom and shouted in pure anguish. So raw and intense it echoed and bounced right back to him making him shudder as his tears of frustration built up in his eyes.

He kept pounding his fist over and over and over again into the dirt as he let out small choked sobs and small muffled shouts. In his breakdown, he didn't notice the bruises that began to appear on his hand or the slight rattle the pipes above him made with the increased force he put into each consecutive slam.

In his stupor, Mikey thrashed out, pulling dirt to him and pushing it away as he practically clawed at it like a beast. He was just so frustrated! All he wanted to do was help his brothers. All he wanted to do was protect them and assist in their recovery, but NO! The cold weather had to set a booby trap for him. With this stupid broken pipe!

He gasped hard and started to cough from the harshness of the cold air and spike of adrenaline. 

What did I do to deserve this torment!? With that thought, Mikey grabbed bits and pieces of stray pipe and threw them as hard as he could in his emotion-filled haze. He bit back another hard sob when he moved his caught leg a little too much and had to rest his head on the ground. Mikey shook as a wave of all his repressed feelings came barreling forward. He was practically drowning in it.

Mikey couldn’t take this. All of these raw and dark emotions, twisting and pulling at his heartstrings. He choked harshly as he tried to settle his breathing. It all hurt. The sudden warmth from his aggressive spell caused a shiver to roll up his spine as it contrasted with the cold. Two conflicting forces, just like his mind.

After a while, he finally began to calm down. Panting from the intense fit he just pulled, Mikey rested his head on the ground sideways, letting his tears drip down without hindrance. The more deep breaths he took, the calmer he became. As he settled, a soft blue light from the drain duct above lit the ground in front of him and allowed him to stare at his useless phone like a natural spotlight. It was like the universe was mocking him.

Mikey really hated this tunnel.

The light from above only lasted a few minutes before cloud cover blocked out the last glimmer of light and cloaked the tunnel into pitch-black darkness once more.

As Mikey shifted into an upright position, an ominous creak sounded from above like an alarm. No. It wasn't stable. It was STILL THREATENING TO CRUSH HIM!?

This time, the tremors that hit his body were so strong and full of fear he felt himself start to hyperventilate. If his brothers were even looking for him right now, and the rest of the rubble fell on him, there would be no way for his brothers to see or hear him.

“No no no no no please no!” Mikey desperately whispered. He had had enough. He couldn’t deal with this. It was just too much.

“Please…. Please, guys… I… I need help… I’m stuck… please.” His whimpering was so quiet it could barely be heard. Mikey hoped that someone out there would hear his quiet voice. That something would give him a break. That’s all he asked.

Mikey could hear his blood rushing in his tympana as his panic made it harder and harder for him to concentrate.

“I just… want to be home… I want to p-play games with Leo and… And h-have f-food tasting games with Raph… I… I wanna b-be with Donnie as h-he makes a new breakthrough or… or with Dad as he watches his s-shows… I just… please… I want to be home… please let me just go home… I’ll do anything you ask, universe… please… please...help.” A soft sob escaped him as another tremor could be felt from the shifting pipes above him.

He vaguely could tell that the space around him was beginning to darken and knew he wasn’t gonna be conscious for much longer. He was tired, emotionally drained, cold, injured, and desperate.

A few small pieces of pipe began to rain from above as he panted for breath and shivered with the strain of his emotions.

If these pipes fall on me… if I’m stuck here until I die… I don’t know if I want my brothers to find me… I don't wanna make this worse for them… I don’t want to hurt them when all I tried to do was help, Mikey thought darkly to himself. Another shudder passed through him as he took another panicked breath to try and calm down.

As his world darkened, he barely registered that a faint light was drifting towards him. The hue… it looked familiar?

Slowly, Mikey shifted his head to look up as the purple light approached him. In his last bout of consciousness, he saw a small figure approaching from the other end of the tunnel. Their silhouette glowing almost fluorescently around the edges. And in his last few seconds, Mikey said one word.

“...Donnie?”

Chapter Text

“Donnie!”

Raph nearly shouted his name as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen. He had just finished helping Leo re-settle in the pillow bed when he noticed his purple brother was taking a bit longer than he thought was necessary to grab a bottle of pills. When he had returned to the kitchen, Don was just standing there with the pills in his hand, staring at the oven with so much intensity it could physically hurt.

“Oi’ Don… You okay?” He was getting nervous at the lack of response. It took him a few seconds to notice that Donnie had started shaking. It was a soft tremble but it was still noticeable. Raph couldn’t help but stare at him in both confusion and worry, only to snap out of it when Don finally moved.

Slowly, Donnie raised his empty hand to his mouth and clutched the pill bottle in his other hand to his chest. Raph jumped into action when he heard the hitch in his breathing. No, not another brother panicking! He reached out just in time to stop Donnie from collapsing in on himself.

Raph lowered both of them slowly to the floor and readjusted the blanket before it fell off his shoulders. Placing one of his arms around his trembling brother to give as much strength and support as needed.

“Hey, Donnie it’s okay. Can you hear me?” Don only gave him a slight nod in response but Raph noticed it was taking all of his will just to remain calm.

“Can you take some deep breaths for me?” Raph gently removed Don’s hand from his face and received a shaky inhale from his distressed little brother.

“That’s it… nice and slow… shhhh deeeep breaths little brother, deep breaths.” Donnie sniffled and tried his best to calm down but the tremors still remained. Raph thought they might be from the cold as well as him being upset and wrapped the shawl more around his body before pulling him closer.

Raph gave soft shushes as he gently rubbed Donnie’s shell and placed his chin on his scalp. Slowly but surely the tremors started to dissipate and his breathing began to even out some. They sat there for a few minutes and Donnie subconsciously rested himself against Raph who instinctively pulled him closer into a comforting hug.

“I’m… I’m sorry I… I don’t know what came over me.” Donnie shuddered but didn't move out of the hug, he just stayed in Raphs protective embrace in quiet acceptance. Raph wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing but he didn't want to think about that at the moment. He just needed to make sure Don was okay.

“Hey, it’s okay little brother. If I didn't give hugs when they were needed, then what kinda big brother am I?” He felt the vibrations as Donnie chuckled in between sniffles. “Areeee you okay enough to tell me what’s wrong?” Raph looked down and felt like someone had just clutched his heart.

Donnie’s eyes were closed and a noticeable ring of shadow hung under them from his monitored lack of sleep. He just… looked so tired. It didn't help that tears were forming in the corners of his eyes, his distress from earlier still visible on his face. It hurt Raph to see his little brother in such a state, but he didn't want to bring attention to it, Donnie needed to open up on his own and giving him space was important. If that meant waiting a few minutes, regardless of the rush they were in, he would do so.

“Ye… ye I can-” Donnie sniffled, “I can talk about it.” He took a deep breath “Raph, I've made a big m-mistake and I don’t know if my lack of f-focus was the cause or not. But there was a solution to our t-temperature predicament sitting in p-plain sight this whole time…” Donnie looked up at him with dull eyes, “we could have avoided all of this, if I had just noticed the oven sooner…”

Raph gave him a confused blink and Donnie sighed, “the oven c-could have been a source of heat. We c-could have used it as a natural f-furnace and set up the kitchen as a temporary sleeping area and th-that little detail could have solved this whole… situation a lot f-faster. I failed to notice it when the cold first started, my mind too focused on that stupid space heater. Heck Mikey even USED the darn thing several times a day!” Don put his head in his hand, “I am such an idiot.”

“No, you’re not. Stop saying that you failed, you weren’t right in the head because of that silly cold. Plus, I seriously doubt the oven would have helped us out all that much. The colds been getting worse over the past few days.” Raph gave Don a look of stubbornness.

“Raph, stop downplaying my a-nguish and let me wallow a little bit here,” Donnie chuckled as he looked up at his big brother. The weary smile showing that Raph had done a decent job calming him down. “But, I guess you’re right… no sense cl-inging to past blunders when we have a brother to find.” At that, Donnie moved himself slowly out of the hug, though he looked reluctant to do so, and allowed Raph to help him stand.

“You… sure you can handle a search right now? You look like something Mayhem dragged in” Donnie snorted at that and gently smacked Raph's chest.

“I’ll be just f-fine, thank you very much.” Don gave the oven one last look and took a deep breath before walking slowly out of the kitchen. Raph watched him go and as soon as he was out of sight he gave the oven a once over.

He dragged a hand down his face with a huff and made a mental plan for when they got back with their missing sibling. He just hoped that Mikey hadn’t gotten into too much trouble being gone for so long. With that, Raph sighed and made his way to his room to prepare quickly for their search mission.

---

Don rubbed his eyes to get rid of the tears that had appeared as he made his way towards Leo with the bottle of pills. Can’t believe I actually broke down over a stupid oven… I must be even more out of it than I had realized. With one more breath and a sniff Donnie entered the canopied living room.

Leo was sitting slightly propped up by pillows and staring off into space when he walked in. He held the semi-cold mug gently in his lap as he looked to be intentionally taking deep breaths. So he was still calming down… No wonder he needed these Don thought as he looked back down at the bottle clutched in his hand. It didn’t occur to him till now that he had been practically strangling the bottle in a vice-like grip till he noticed the small fractures appearing in the orange plastic. With a deep breath, he eased his grip and made his way over to Leo’s side.

“Here Leo, th-these should help you out a bit,” Don took out the proper dosage and handed them to his anxious brother.

“Th-Thanks,” Leo sluggishly fixed his slouch and took the pills gently from Don before a slow sip of his tea.

“You… gonna be a-alright on your own Leon?” Don didn’t know why but after that sudden loss of composure earlier he could feel a maelstrom of emotions bubbling to the surface and didn’t know how well he’d be able to control them in his debilitated state.

Leo took a deep breath, “y-ye I’ll be al-right…” he paused for a moment in thought, “Don, are y-you gonna be o-kay? Looking for Mikey?” The look of such genuine and knowing concern that showed on Leo’s face made Don freeze like the ice in the lair.

“I…” Donnie looked away, he couldn’t figure out how to process anything right now. The revelation of the oven was a huge blow and an avalanche of other emotions he had tried so hard to keep under wraps were coming to the surface. It was almost impossible to keep a straight face, though he was still managing somehow. In truth, Donnie was scared, terrified actually, about so many things it was overwhelming. His baby brother was missing, Leo was in a state of perpetual panic and required pills to help stay calm (which he hadn’t needed in MONTHS might he add), Splinter was putting so much effort into keeping him awake and stable that Raph had to maintain everything else on his own.

But what truly terrified Donnie was his increasing drowsiness that he had no control over. Whenever he would space out it was like he just went blank, like someone deleted the thoughts in his own mind and he was just left with emptiness. Absolutely nothing. When he finally snapped out of it, it was like he just woke up, but his thoughts felt like they were dripping in tar. Sluggish and unfocused.

He hated it. But Donnie couldn’t let his mental state and emotions get in the way right now. He needed to find his brother, that was all he needed to think about right now. Nothing else.

Donnie took a deep breath before facing Leo again who had been waiting patiently for his reply. “To be h-honest, I don’t care about m-myself right now and I have no idea if I’ll be okay or not… it all d-depends on where we find Mikey.” As he looked at his brother, Donnie noticed how he paled slightly at his last few words.

“Leo? Wh-what's wrong? Are you okay?” Leo shifted his gaze back down to his mug.

“...I w-wish I could go with you… I hate being stuck here while y-you both run around in that stupid cold… I should be helping but I’m st-uck h-here… I have a bad feeling Donnie… please be careful o-kay?” Leo looked back up at him with worry. Donnie had to take a gulp before nodding.

“If it helps, we c-could keep in touch with you while we search?” Leo smiled at that. Don knew that Leo would be freaking out the whole while they were gone, regardless of medication. He didn't want to stress any of his brothers out anymore than they already were.

With a determined nod, Donnie shifted to stand but Leo grabbed his arm to halt him. Don looked at him in confusion but his blue banded brother just gently set his mug to the side, and slowly pulled him in for a hug. Don stiffened for a second but felt Leo let out a sigh of relief. It only took him a second to return the embrace and buried his face into his shoulder.

They stayed like that, Leo gently rubbing his hand up and down on Don’s unprotected shell, for several minutes before they had to separate. Donnie tried to hide the tear on the edge of his mask as he got up to leave but knew it was too late, Leo saw.

“Alright… If splinter w-wakes while we’re gone, do you think you could ex-plain what’s going on?” Leo nodded.

“I’ll give Pops the r-rundown. You b-better get going and find our missing little misfit aight?” Don grinned, that was a very Leo response… man how he missed that banter.

“Why of course dear Leon. With s-such an elementary problem, I’m sure we will be back with Micheal in t-tow within the hour,” Don boasted as he started to walk out of the canopy. He heard a snicker in response as the thermal covering closed behind him.

----

Raph waited at the exit tunnel patiently, assessing his gear to make sure he was well equipped for the search. He didn’t know how long they’d be gone, or what state Mikey would be in when they found him, so he packed his large backpack with as much equipment he deemed necessary. The most important being a rope and a first aid kit. What if Mikey fell down somewhere and needed help up? He could easily remember a few places within the sewer that might have happened; those would probably be his first spots to search.

He looked up at the sound of heavy boots. Donnie was walking towards him in his heavy winter gear and battle shell securely on his back. He noted that Don also had a messenger bag hung at his side most likely with extra gear he couldn’t tuck away.

“You sure you’re up for this Donnie?” Raph asked with concern lacing his voice. He could still remember what happened not too long ago in the kitchen. Donnie never broke down like that. That wasn’t the least bit normal for him and the only cause was most likely the cold. Turns out the cold was messing with a lot of things around here and Raph didn’t like it one bit.

Donnie sighed, sounding drained, “yes I’ll be okay Raph. I’ll be f-flying most of the time to conserve my energy during the search,” Raph watched as Don pulled out one earpiece, handing it to him. “Here, this will help us k-keep in touch without you needing to h-hold your phone as well as update Leo. His ph-phone should already be connected to the f-frequency of my goggles as should your earpiece.”

Raph took the earpiece from his purple brother and gently placed it in his tympana.

“Hello h-hello, this is Blue Pillow reaching out from the c-comfort of bed, has the p-party started yet?” Raph smirked at the sound of Leo’s voice.

“Ugh Leo, we don't n-need code names for this mission… Also h-how is it that when you’re delirious you come up with a b-better codename than you would cognizant?” Donnie chuckled at the scoff from his goggles.

“I’ll have you k-know that I’m P-PERFECTLY capable of coming up with codenames in any st-ate, you just don't ap-preciate my g-genius.” Don gave a single laugh in response.

“Don’t worry about it Leo, can you hear us okay?” Raph felt a little more at ease with the comfortable banter.

“Can hear you l-loud and clear, big guy. No st-aticy mumbo jumbo on my e-end.”

Raph looked over to Donnie and saw his face shift from relaxed to serious. The fun was over, now it was time for business.

“Alright, let's come up with a p-plan. Raph? Got any ideas on how we c-commence the search?” Don looked up at him expectantly as he mulled over his thoughts

“As much as I’d hate to suggest it, we might need to split up to cover more ground… Though there’s no guarantee he’s even down here still, he could be stuck up top.” Raph said with a frown growing as he spoke.

“Hmm fair p-point, if ‘Angelo IS up top then the search r-radius would have to grow exponentially. For now, tho, let’s h-hope he’s still underground and keep our eyes out for any clues that m-might suggest otherwise,” Don nodded and began getting himself ready for their departure by spraying some sort of antifreeze on his battle shell.

Raph couldn’t help the return of a slight grin after hearing Donnie speak. He sounded much better than he did in the kitchen earlier and looked the most focused he’d seen him in several days. Any remaining doubts or concern for his little brother were dashed now and he knew they were ready for this mission.

“You ready Donnie?” Raph asked as he turned towards the exit.

“Why of course Raphela, I am a-always ready.” Don snarkily replied.

Without a second glance, Don and Raph stormed down the tunnel.

Right before they split up, Leo spoke softly into the earpieces but there was no denying his worry. “G-good luck you t-two”

Chapter Text

The last few traces of water could be heard as Raph’s large boots stomped down and echoed through the sewer chambers. He saw puffs of air from his mouth as he exhaled rhythmically with every step. His trek so far by himself had been, as expected, uneventful. He had already checked several tunnels and still no sign of his baby brother.

Raph let out a huff of annoyance. Of course he wouldn't just BE right there, that was too optimistic, his mind-Raph stated. He would just have to try harder and move faster. They didn't have much time.

Raph gestured to his earpiece as he spoke, “Hey D, how ya holdin’ up?”

Donnie sighed. “Just as fine as the last time you asked me, which was ten minutes ago, he grumbles .” Raph couldn’t help but chuckle at his little brother's narration.

“I’m sorry, Donnie, but it's my job to worry about you.” He heard a ‘hmph’ on the other end. “Don… about earlier-”

“It’s okay, Raph… Really, you’d be AMAZED at what a little bit of pressure on your shell can do,” Donnie interrupted. 

Raph stared blankly ahead at that statement. I guess if he says so I’ll take his word for it , he thought in confusion. The worry etched into Raph’s face as he thought back on the little… Incident in the kitchen. Donnie had never reacted like that before, at least not to that degree. He was always melodramatic to an extreme but it was usually played for laughs… this was a full mental breakdown.

“If you’re sure, Don-”

“Positively.” Raph waited quietly for his brother to continue. “Now, mind updating me on your status?” the intimate moment was over, back to business.

Raph stopped to take a quick breather and looked around at the four tunnels surrounding him. He knew the sewers like any human would know their way around their block. He didn’t need a map, and thankfully Mikey had come through this way ages ago putting a small graffitied marker on their regularly used paths to the lair. Each marker was different depending on the direction one was traveling, and the current one he was staring at was the marker for ‘north-east.’

Mikey had the bright idea to use their belt insignias to help identify which way they were going by rotating the image each time like a compass arrow. It was genius. Raph couldn’t help but give a sad smile as he looked at the small piece of art. He just wanted to pick up his little tangerine of a brother and give him the biggest, and warmest hug. He wanted to give all of his brothers a bear hug even if it didn’t have the power to take the cold away. 

The snapper didn't like being the only one “left standing” as it were. He was the only one, after Mikey left, to be relatively unaffected by the cold. It was upsetting to watch his little brothers, one by one, fall to the icy grip of the cold. The thought of him also yielding to the cold and leaving his brothers helpless brought a chill down his spine. That sensation got him out of his thoughts just in time to hear-

“Raph? Ya there, buddy?”

“Sorry, sorry, yeah I'm here.” Raph coughed awkwardly as he shook the remnants of his spiraling mood away, “I’m at the north-east four-way, closest to the docks.”

“Huh, you made great time. What? Were you sprinting the whole time?” Donnie chuckled.

“Uhhhh.”

“Raph… Did you actually sprint to the docks?”

“...Maybe?” 

Donnie groaned, “Unbelievable.”

“Hehe, well I can say that Mikey definitely didn't come this way.” Raph cleared his throat.

“Ugh, all right. I guess… Make your way over towards the east side, I’ll finish my rounds in the south and make my way westward.” Raph heard Donnie sniffle on the other end.

“You… Sure you’re all good there, Donnie?” Raph asked, the worry present in his voice as he pivoted and made his way towards the east.

“Of course, dear brother, I’m completely fine-”.

“...Whaaaaaaaaat are you two talking about? Did I miss something?” Leo interrupted.

“It’s nothin’ to worry about Leo.” Raph shook his head in annoyance. “Any word from pops?”

“Yes, Red, I am here.” Splinter sounded exhausted on the other end and Raph had a feeling he looked no better. “Blue has informed me you two are out searching for Orange?”

“Yeah, I just finished the north end. Donnie’s still south but we’ve pretty much covered half the sewers all ready,” Raph tried to sound as professional as possible. “I’m on my way east now, how's Leo holding up?”

“I can speak for myself, you know,” Leo grumbled.

Splinter chuckled. “Ah yes, Blue is doing okay at the moment. Though, I’m not sure how much longer I can sit here with his delirious jokes. They’re even worse than his puns.”

“ Scoffs, ” Donnie mumbled, before falling silent. Raph waited for him to finish his brotherly jab, but the other turtle went quiet again without expanding on his thought.

Splinter filled the silence. “Listen, boys… I know I haven't been helping all that much and my negligence probably led to Orange fleeing to gather supplies so… I apologize.”

Raph’s gait slowed to a stop as he listened to Splinter. Every word that came out of his father’s mouth just made him more and more sad. This whole… situation was really getting to all of them and he was pretty sure that he wasn't the only one who just wanted to curl up and not be for a while.

“Pops, you don't need to apologize. You were practically running around the lair trying to keep us all warm and stable. None of this is your fault!” Raph paused. “Mikey made the decision to leave, and I was too distracted to notice he had left until Leo started to panic… If anyone should apologize, it should be us. I’m sorry, Pops,” he said, remorseful.

“Next time, if he doesn't leave a note or something, so help me I will lock him in his room for a week and make him write a 10,000 word essay on the word ‘Sorry’.” Donnie grumbled. Raph was pretty sure he would make good on that threat. “And Dad, don’t worry about it. I’m with Raph on this… ‘s fine.”

“As much as I’d hate to say it, Donnie’s right,” Leo chimed in. “Half the lair would still be freezing if we didn't have your help.”

“Heh… Thank you boys,” Splinter said softly. “And, Purple, don't tell him I said this, but I will turn a blind eye if you… happen to lock your brother up for a day or two.”

“Oh ho ho, I so want a video of that,” Leo said, his voice lilting just a tad in the way that Raph knew was a warning flag for mischief to come. I’m not sure I like the idea of Leo and Donnie teaming up… But before Raph could state his concerns, something caught his attention.

He hadn’t noticed till now how much ice and frost was creeping into the tunnels. What concerned him even more was that this was happening as he was getting closer to the lair. Where’s all this ice coming from? As he looked around he got even more confused, and his family's voices weren't helping him think.

“Hey uh, I’m gonna mute you guys for a sec. Be right back.”

“Wait, Raph-” Donnie was cut off as he hit the mute button.

Taking a deep breath, Raph began to investigate. He had noticed at the start of this mess that the water was disappearing into neighboring tunnels. He was pretty sure Donnie had told him something about it, but it was so long ago he couldn’t quite remember. I think he said something about the temperature? Maybe I’ll ask him later. But one thing he was sure of, was that there hadn’t been this much cold in the sewers, ever. Sometimes the cold would come in and occasionally leave some frost in places, but that was easily combated with a few blankets and the space heater Donnie had salvaged. This was an entirely different beast. Icicles were starting to form on the ceiling, a freezing breeze was constantly flowing into the lair, and there wasn’t a warm place anywhere in their subterranean home.

What could have possibly happened to cause so much cold to invade and so quickly? Raph began to feel a bit nervous as he looked around and treaded carefully around the various icy spots. His breath came out a little too quick for his liking as his head went through all of the worse case scenarios. He didn't like this. Not one little bit.

All he could think about was his lost brother. He could be anywhere. What if he was trapped outside the sewers because the manhole covers were frozen over? What if he fell down one of those storm drain pipes and landed in freezing water? Can turtles even survive being in cold water?

Raph’s head kept racing with thoughts as he looked around, suddenly feeling like the walls were getting too close. Did Mikey even pack the right gear? Was he freezing? What if he got his leg frozen in a block of ice!? Could they even get him out!? Would Donnie know how to get him out!? Would Donnie even be AWAKE to do that!?

Before he could start spiraling deeper, Raph stopped and tried to take calming breaths and just listen to his surroundings. But the quiet echo off the tunnel walls only made it worse and more apparent that he was, in fact, alone. Just like his baby brother was… somewhere outside.

“K-keep it together Raph, you’re okay. You just gotta keep looking for your brother and everything will be fine. Just stay calm.” He clutched his head as he tried to suppress his growing panic. No, he wasn’t going to crack right now. He can’t do that, not after he just saw TWO of his brothers lose it. He wouldn’t add to the problem.

After this was all over he was pretty sure he wouldn't leave Mikey alone for even a second.

Raph’s hands were pressing harder and harder into his head as a few tears started to grow at the corners of his eyes. Where were his brothers? His hands brushed up against something in his left ear and was startled out of his stupor. Slowly releasing his head he brushed his hand over the object when he suddenly remembered… He wasn't alone. Eyes wide, Raph quickly unmuted his ear piece-

“-APH, IF YOU DON’T ANSWER IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS, I’M GONNA-”

“D-donnie? DONNIE!” Raph put his hand to his chest and sighed with relief. “Good to hear your voice again, brother.” He grinned wearily and started the process of slow, methodical breathes.

Raph could hear soft, quick breaths before Donnie spoke. “...Raph? Are you okay? ...Did you forget you put us on mute?” 

“Y-yeah… yeah, I’m okay. I was just uh… trying to stay focused.” Raph waited for Donnie's response, but everything had gone quiet again. 

...his family was still there, right? Was his mic okay in this cold?

...oh god, what if it wasn't?

“... Raph do you need me to join up with you?” Donnie finally asked with concern. Raph had made him worry and he felt like an idiot. He wasn't going to slow down their search just because he was getting separation anxiety.

“No… No, I'm fine, stay in your area, Don. I’ll keep heading towards the east side.” He got a quiet “okay” in response before he started moving again at a quicker pace. They didn't have much time.

---------

Leaning all his weight onto the wall next to him, Donnie took a deep breath and held his head in his hands. The world looked blurry to him, and the vertigo he was feeling really wasn't helping his search. His exhaustion was just the cherry on top of this mess.

Slightly shifting his position on the wall, he tried to blink away some of the tiredness. The fuzzy feeling in his head had finally dulled and his balance returned rather slowly as he recovered from his most recent dizzy spell. These were happening more and more frequently. Every few minutes he would be hit with a wave of weariness that just became harder and harder to shake off. Donnie couldn't think clearly and it was driving him crazy.

The added worry he was feeling towards his brothers wasn’t helping the situation. Earlier, when Raph responded, Donnie could hear the tremor in his voice which could only mean one thing. Raph was starting to feel the effects of being alone again.

On a normal day, if you could really call their lives normal, Raph could easily handle time alone. Heck, sometimes he fought crime by himself! But the added stress plus how Donnie and Leo had been practically useless because of the cold really wasn't helping things.

Don let out a sniffle and put his hands over his eyes, rubbing his palms into them. He was still recovering from the events that happened in the kitchen and he seriously did NOT need to add onto those emotions right now. I need to focus. Donnie smacked his cheeks to try and get his head back in the game but it only brought a small amount of his mind out of the mud.

With a shake of his head, he tried to activate his rotors to start moving. But all he felt was a slight vibration and then nothing.

“...Oh you have GOT to be kidding me.” Donnie begrudgingly looked over his shoulder to see the damage and yep. His rotors were starting to freeze again. Perfect.

“I seriously dont have time for this, you stupid shell!” he dragged his hand down his face, tired. “Mental note, if my brain fog doesn't lose it in the cosmos, make a battleshell that actually works in the cold.”

Donnie reached into his messenger bag in annoyance to try and find his antifreeze. As he grabbed it, he could tell that the amount he had left was slowly dwindling. This was the fourth time he had to chip off the ice and blast antifreeze on his battleshell actually, and it was beginning to get old. As he took off his battleshell to start the process, he was suddenly interrupted.

“Hey Donnie, what’s the likelihood that you can save your tongue after it gets stuck to an icy pole?” Donnie blinked, processing the question, and groaned. “What? It’s a legitimate question. What if one of us gets our tongue stuck somewhere?”

“Leo, as much as I’d love to answer your hypotheticals all day, which I don’t, why is this the time to ask such a question?” He continued to go through the motions of cleaning off his rotors as he waited for the imminent pestering his blue brother would provide.

“Oh come oooooooon, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Besides I wanna know… for future reference.” Donnie could practically see the smirk just growing on his brother's face from across the sewers.

“Leon, if you dare Raph or Mikey to try that I will put you up for adoption.”

“Naaaaah, you wouldn’t get rid of your favoritest blue brother.”

“I would literally trade you for a bar of titanium.” Donnie deadpans.

Leo gasps dramatically on the other end, “BROTHERLY BETRAYAL! HOW COULD YOU!?”

“Oh please, you know they wouldn’t keep you for long. You’re the king of annoying after all.” Donnie started to softly smile as the banter continued. Leo always had a way of making him feel better in stressful situations, and the more they talked the more his mind seemed to get its gears moving again.

“Alright, I’m taking that title as a compliment and rolling with it.” Donnie heard a chuckle.

Their eldest brother spoke up. “You know he’s not gonna let you live that down, right? He’ll gloat about being king for a month.” Raph sounded better than he did last they spoke and that made the wasted time feel worth it.

Just remembering their limited time made Donnie’s smile disappear and got him moving again. With his rotors slicked up with antifreeze he had a good while before he’d need to use it again. Adjusting his battleshell, Don flew down the tunnel with new urgency. Every now and then he’d contribute to the conversation to try and keep whatever semblance of continuous thought he had gotten from Leo. He’d never admit it to his brother’s face, but he was thankful for his antics sometimes.

As he flew, he noticed that gradually, everything in his sight began to narrow. Though he knew his goggles were securely on his tympana, the sound coming from them seemed so distant, almost muffled. Donnie shook his head to get the darkness out of his vision but it kept creeping in. If his mind didn't feel like it was being weighed down and dragged into something murky, he probably would have showed signs of concern. But it was almost peaceful.

Donnie tried to shake his head again but that only amplified the sudden dizziness he felt and caused him to reach a hand up to his temple. He knew what was happening. His body was trying to force him to sleep but he couldn't do that right now. He needed to focus. 

He needed… He needed…………………. He needed to do… what again?

His battleshell quickly deactivated as he landed unsteadily onto the cold concrete below and clung to a wall. He was just fine a second ago, what was happening!?

Don shook his head again but the motion was sluggish and hardly did anything. Every time he closed his eyes he could feel the sensation of sleep creeping up on him like a predator who had exhausted its prey. His breathing came out ragged and he barely was able to register how clearly he could see his breath.

Oh.

It had gotten colder.

He knew he was starting to shake and did everything he could to remain standing. The instant he tried to sit down and possibly take a breather he knew he wouldn't be able to get up again. 

Quietly, he rested his head on the cold wall and put all of his concentration into his hearing. He no longer trusted his sight to keep him focused, and, against his better judgement, he decided to close them. Don knew what he was risking, but he just couldn't think of anything else. His tired mind wouldn't let him.

Gradually, Donnie began to make out the sounds from his goggles as he tried to focus.

“...onnie!? Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay!?” Donnie had never been so happy to hear his older brother’s panicked voice.

“Y-ye… ye…. I’m o-okay n-now… s-sorry...” His teeth were now chattering so loud that he knew Raph could hear his shivering.

“Don’t. DO THAT AGAIN! You scared me! I thought I lost you TOO! Are you sure you’re alright? Should I come to you?” Ironically parroting what Donnie said earlier, Raph’s big brother instincts were in hyper drive and Don knew he wasn't going to be easily persuaded. So he came up with a compromise.

“...c-can you ch-check the t-tunnels I missed on the w-way here?”

-------

Raph was not happy. Not one bit. Donnie’s sudden sleep spell really came at a bad time.

From how his brother explained it, he could barely function and it was taking most of his energy to keep standing upright and listen to him. When Splinter heard this on his end, he immediately put the breaks on their search and told Raph to return home after he got Donnie. Raph knew he should have trusted his instincts from the beginning and stopped him from coming to begin with. But he also knew that Donnie wouldn't be able to deal with the fact that he could have helped but was forced to go home.

Raph knew what that feeling was like, to be stuck and not able to help or do anything. His anxiety didn’t help in those situations either and it drove him nuts. Just like it was driving him crazy right now.

As he ran to meet up with Donnie, the echo of his footsteps bounced around the tunnels. He had agreed to do as Donnie asked and look at the tunnels he wasn't able to get to on the way. So far, nothing yielded a clue as to where Mikey was and it made Raph’s heart twist in pain. He was just so worried about all of them.

Leo had stopped talking a while before Donnie had gone silent as well. Splinter had told him that his blue brother had gotten too tired to do anything and had basically passed out right then and there. The fact that both the middle children came down with a sleep spell around the same time really freaked Raph out. He was sure if Leo was less delirious he would have made a joke about being ‘twins’, much to the annoyance of Donnie. Raph shook his head to regain his focus.

“How ya holdin’ up, D?” Raph asked as he jumped into another tunnel

“I-I’m okay… F-for now at l-least.” He sounded like he was shaking like a leaf.

“Don’t push yourself, I’m going through the north-west tunnel now,” Raph said as he practically flew through, briefly looking in the passing tunnels as he went. He didn't get a verbal response, only a tired mumble that he thinks was meant as confirmation.

“Just hold on a bit longer, Donnie, I’ll be there real soon.”

------

Donnie knew he shouldn’t be pushing it but he couldn't help it. He managed to get enough energy to activate his battleshell again but the trek was slow, mainly because if he tried to go too fast he would get dizzy and probably collapse again. His breath was practically a constant cloud.

Briefly, Donnie wondered how cold it was and decided to look down at his bracer. The current temperature was 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Joy. His body shivered in protest of the new information. He really was starting to hate winter.

As he made his way down the tunnel, he noticed how there were several cracks in the ceiling that had snow and dust drifting down from them. He needed to be careful. This area was clearly unstable and the fact that it hadn’t been investigated was a bit concerning, but thinking about infrastructure issues wasn’t something he should be focusing on right now. 

When Don looked ahead he saw a blockage in the distance, slightly illuminated by the moonlight and snow. At first, it just seemed like a regular dead end. But as Donnie observed the layout of the space during his approach, he realized this destruction was recent… alarmingly recent. He got a sinking feeling in his stomach the closer he got, and his breath became a bit labored as his throat tightened.

Then suddenly, his world came to a screeching halt.

Donnie floated there for a second in order to process what he was looking at. His eyes widened and his stomach sunk down into the deepest depths of his being. When his breath hitched, it sent a warning sound to Raph on the other end, who had kept trying to call out to Donnie while he was stuck in a haze.

“-ey Donnie! What’s wrong, can you hear me? Are you alright? I’m almost there, just hang on a bit longer-”

“Raph...” His brother stopped talking immediately. Donnie sounded so frail and young, Raph hadn’t heard his little brother sound that way in years. It just didn't sound like his confident, genius brother.

“Donnie? What is it?” Raph nervously asked.

“I found him.”

Raph was quiet for a second. “...found who?” his voice held a hint of hopefulness as he waited for his brother to speak.

Donnie was in so much shock and confusion at what he was seeing that he had to take a calming breath before he continued, “Mikey…”

The sound of Donnie’s rotors filled the space and the glow of his purple lights illuminated the prone form of his lost little brother.

“I found Mikey.”

Chapter Text

Splinter’s ear twitched in the direction of the phone as his son spoke softly. My son… he was found. The relief he felt was overwhelming and he let out the breath he was holding with a soft puff.

The events of the past week and a half had been, safe to say, rough on all of them. Splinter couldn’t even count on all of his appendages how much scurrying he had had to do. Not to mention watching over his sons. Truthfully, witnessing his own children succumb to the cold slowly while he was warm without much effort was trying on his heart.

With a deep breath, Splinter looked at his delirious son who had just passed out not too long ago after spouting nonsense related to ice and tongues. Really, what was with kids these days? With a careful hand, he placed another set of blankets over the young slider and tucked him in with care. Splinter hummed softly as he gently rubbed his son’s shell to try and comfort him in what little way he could. He didn’t think it was of much help, but it calmed himself down so it wasn’t totally purposeless.

He had started to zone out when a concerning noise came from the phone, which was still on speaker. Splinter quickly grabbed the device with his tail only to hear the sounds of clear distress. It came from Donatello.

He turned the speaker off so as not to disturb Blue. “Purple, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Donnie?” Red piped up when they both heard scuffling and a thud.

Quick, panicked breaths echoed through the speaker and a gentle breeze could be heard on the other end. 

“Purple?” Splinter asked and clutched the phone when he didn't respond. “Red, your brother is not responding, how far are you from him?” If he wasn't going to get answers from one he’ll turn to the last cognizant son.

“I-I should be there in a few minutes, Pops, don’t worry.” Red sounded like he was breathing hard, which only worried the old rat more. Honestly, these boys are going to give me an ulcer.

His thoughts were broken when a voice so frigid it could shatter like the ice that hung from their ceiling spoke up. “D-dad… M-Mikey’s h-hurt.” 

There was a heavy weight in his chest as his heart started sinking… and sinking… and didn’t stop. Splinter struggled to get himself under control enough so that the shaking in his hands didn’t carry into his suddenly quiet voice.

“...Donatello, what happened?”

------

Donnie stood over his prone brother in utter shock. He thought his head had been swimming before, but now with the added distress and ampt up emotions over seeing his little brother buried under a pipe and rubble… He was lost in his panic.

All he could do was stare and lean more and more heavily against the wall, eyes as wide as dinner plates as he took in the scene. Donnie tried to compartmentalize all that he could, but his brain was not letting him process anything.

He didn’t notice he was unbalanced until he registered landing hard on his side. The only thing Donnie could hear was a static ringing. His vision went in and out of focus, eyelids threatening to close from utter exhaustion but somehow he managed to keep them open. It took him a long moment of contemplation to notice he hadn’t moved from where he landed, and even longer still to register the sudden dull pain from his side from where he hit nothing but concrete.

Slowly and steadily, Donnie lifted himself up into a slouched sitting position. After a few blinks, he finally remembered why he had fallen in the first place and too quickly shot his head up to see his little brother. Donnie waited a few more beats for the room to stop spinning before reaching out to grasp at the younger turtles’ hand. He was distressed to find it unnervingly cold.

“Nuh uh, n-no, Michael you are n-not brumating right n-now!” Don tried to express his usual confidence through a hiccup.

Looking up at the pipe, he took note of the unusual break and followed it down with his gaze until his eyes landed on something he really wished they hadn’t. Mikey was hurt, bad. And it was only a matter of time before it got worse.

It took Donnie a minute to finally have the ringing stop overpowering his father and older brother’s voices.

“D-dad,” He took a deep breath, “M-Mikey’s h-hurt.” Donnie couldn’t help how utterly scared he sounded at that moment. His father’s response didn’t help things.

“...Donatello, what happened?” The usage of his full name was NOT a good sign. The soft voice nearly made him weep.

“I… h-he’s…” Donnie tried to get his brain working again and calm his shivering body as much as possible. He must have sounded distressed because his father just shushed him gently.

“Shhhh no, Donatello, we must calm ourselves. Breathe with me.” Splinter inhaled over the phone and Don took a second to try and follow along with the breathing exercises.

After a moment of just focused breathing, Donnie felt his head get back into gear.

“There you go, that’s it, Donnie, just like that. Can you tell me what you see?” Don nodded to himself before taking a final deep breath and looking up.

The pipe was directly on top of his brother’s shell with a giant gap almost a foot wide and several feet long. Concrete from above had followed the massive pipe and crumpled the remains of the previously used tunnel. A little bit of moonlight leaked in from the grate that barely remained intact, holding onto a single steel pole that somehow held it steady.

The area was a wreck and pebbles and dust still fell from above every now and then. This place isn't safe, it won't last long. Finally, Donnie looked at his brother, and what he saw almost sent him spiraling once more. An obvious attempt at escape was made from the visible marks in the dirt with no rhyme or reason to them. He panicked. Don shuddered at the thought of his little brother suffering under a pipe for so long.

It took him a few more moments longer to register what was by his brother’s hand, and Donnie’s face scrunched up. The regulator lay a foot in front of his prone brother. It was wrapped in a loop and, judging from the scuffs in the dirt by his brother's phone, Don got a general idea of what happened.

Reaching out, Donnie pressed the home button on the phone and noted the battery was dead. He looked away in irritation. Batteries did not do well in the cold, and seeing as how Mikey put such an effort getting it in the first place just made it feel like the universe was teasing them.

With a sniff and his sleeve rubbing at his tired eyes, Donnie responded. “H-he doesn’t look too good.” Don sighed and felt himself force his maelstrom of thoughts down. He was focused again. “I-it looks like a p-pipe burst and that m-made the area's foundation w-weaker, thus resulting in Mikey… becoming b-buried under s-several pounds of concrete and... a pipe.” The gasps on the other end of the line was expected.

“Raphael, you must hurry! Get to your brothers quickly!” Sprinter ordered, voice panicked, but Donnie’s groggy mind couldn’t fully register that fear. His whole head felt numb. Now that he had regained focus, he couldn’t afford to let it slip away again.

“I’m going as fast as I can! Don, I'm almost there, can you get the area ready for me so we can get Mike and book it?” Don nodded and only half remembered to give a vocal response before the conversation in his headset turned into murmurs.

He gulped as he scooted himself closer to his little brother and let his body run on autopilot with shaky hands. Shock… I’m probably going through mild shock as well as brumation… Just brilliant . Donnie grabbed the object responsible for this whole mess and shoved it into his messenger bag along with Mikey’s dead phone. He shuffled around, moving small pieces of rubble that could get in the way of freeing his little brother. Don carefully pushed a few metal poles within the rubble around his brother to slowly raise it and free Mikey from some of the weight.

A glance at the crack in the pipe drew his eyes to the injuries that lay within and Donnie wasn't too excited to do first aid in such terrible condition both mentally and physically. His sluggish hand gently placed itself on top of his cold brothers and gave it a soft squeeze. Mikey was still breathing, if slightly depressed, but that was most likely due to the pressure. Finally, footsteps approaching caught his attention, and it was none other than his bulky older brother with a look of worry only a mother would have. What a softy. Don couldn’t help the delirious smile.

“DON! Dad, I made it! Don, I’m here buddy-” Raph gasped upon seeing Mikey and jumped over the pile of debris with the grace of a stampeding elephant. Don looked up slowly and noticed the dust and rubble falling after the extreme movement. I should be worried about that .

“Mikey!? MIKEY!? Can you hear me!?” Raph asked, panicked. He started to slowly shake the trapped turtle and nervously checked Mikey's pulse to confirm he was alive. A small breath of relief escaped him, but his look of worry didn’t leave.

“Red, tell me his condition.” Splinter asked quickly.

“He ain’t good, Pops. He’s cold and not waking up no matter how much I call him!” Raph’s breathing was starting to pick up..

“How quickly can you retrieve your brother?”

“I-it might take us a bit of time,” Donnie interrupted, “There’s a lot of d-debris.” Raph looked around at Donnie’s mention of the mess, not noticing him begin to sway.

“...I will get the space ready for your return. Tell me Orange’s injuries after you get him out and get back here as soon as possible. Be safe.” They both heard the distinct click of their father leaving the call.

Raph looked over at Don just as the tired turtle slouched up against his arm. “Dee, you okay? Shoot, I can't deal with two problems at once like this… Can you hold on just a little longer?” Donnie registered the gentle shake and nodded before taking a deep breath and opening his eyes to focus on the turtle who needed the most help. Now’s not the time body, we’ve got work to do .

“Y-yeah… yeah I-I can do that.” Don sniffled, “Raph, w-we’re gonna have to be c-careful lifting the concrete and pipe. Mike’s f-foot is stuck in the c-crack where the p-pipe burst, and if w-we can move it out first, y-you can lift the rubble up as much as ne-needed for me to drag him o-out… s-sound like a p-plan?” He looked over at his older brother who searched his face in turn with worry before nodding.

“Think ya can patch him up after? I don’t know if I can help him with just the first aid that I remember.” Raph rolled up his sleeves a bit, exposing his arms to the cold, before starting to move some of the bigger chunks that Donnie couldn’t in his current state.

“S-sure. I f-figured from the start I’d h-have to anyway.” Don smirked matter-of-factly.

Raph snorted. “Smart mouth…” He heaved the last big chunk of rubble out of the way and dusted off his hands as he looked at the pipe. “...Woah” his eyes widening at the sight of the crack and noticing the stuck foot. “Uuuh… Dee I think his leg was bleeding.” The panic returned to his voice as he quickly looked at Don and then back at Mikey.

“Raph, d-don’t panic. We n-need to get him h-home. Now. We can w-worry about the r-rest of him when we’re s-safe.” Donnie shot his brother a look of determination even if it was a little drowsy. Raph gulped but nodded at Donnie. Now… the hard part .

“We n-need to go about this slowly and c-carefully. Help me s-stabilize the debris so no more a-accidentally falls on him.” Raph gave a noise of understanding before getting to work. Both of them worked like clockwork, if a bit slower than usual due to Donnie's current state. Removing slabs of concrete carefully and slowly from the top and stabilizing the areas around the pipe, it took longer than they would have liked but avoiding the risk was important. The lack of response from their little brother did not help Don’s nor Raph’s nerves, however.

“Dee, can we hurry this up?” Raph looked at him nervously.

“N-no. This is a d-delicate process and if we don’t do this s-slowly he could get worse.” Donnie shook his head of some of the fog after he spoke. When no response came, the purple turtle looked slowly up to see his older brother staring at the pipe worriedly. “Raph, y-you know the drill well en-ough to understand your r-role. You g-got this.” His words of encouragement fell on deaf ears.

Finally, with a sigh and a thunk from his tech bo, Donnie managed to catch his brother's attention as he transformed it into a makeshift car jack. Don placed it in an area he knew Raph wouldn’t be able to support and slowly cranked it till the rubble lifted off Mikey. The sound coming from the youngest as a result was like music to their ears.

Both of them shot towards the orange turtle as he groaned in discomfort. “Mike, Mikey?  Can you hear us?” Raph asked hopefully and gently shook the smaller turtle’s shoulder, resulting in more groans.

They watched with excitement as the youngest began to open his eyes.

-----

Mikey felt some of the pressure on his shell shift and braced himself for the expected collapse… but it never came. Instead, he felt some of the weight lift off him and the relief was welcomed greatly. As he woke up steadily, he began to feel some of the pain in his lower half again and couldn’t help the sounds he made. The sudden shaking did not help much.

“...ssssstahp i-it...” Mikey looked up with blurry eyes and noticed two forms in front of him that he didn’t see before. His eyes shot open and looked at the figures hopefully. Oooooh please be at least one of my brothers, please please PLEASE!

The feeling that filled him as his eyes cleared was complete and utter relief and joy on a level he had never felt before. Raph grinned down at him with so much love and concern it just made the smaller turtle want to hug him, right then and there. If the rubble situation wasn't a problem, he probably would have jumped right into that bear hug. He was even more happy to see not only Raph, but Donnie, who sat near him with happy tears in his eyes while clutching his chest.

“G-guys!?” Mikey sniffled with glee as his eyes filled with tears. “Y-you guys came!” A large hand rested on his head and rubbed him gently as he hiccuped and shook through the overwhelming wave of emotions and chill.

“Of course we did bro, what kinda older siblings do you take us for?” Raph looked down at him with a sweet smile as he continued to rub his head.

“Sc-off! I would have thought you had b-better faith in us, ‘Angelo, for sh-shame!” Donnie teased with fake hurt. The giggles that came from all of them only lasted so long before Mikey let out another pained noise. “Okay, r-reunion over. Let’s get you out of h-here little brother.” Donnie shifted with the help of Raph’s arm and set himself up in front of the younger turtle. It was only then that Mikey fully took in his purple brother.

The techy turtle looked absolutely drained even if he was hiding it behind a smile. He was blinking more rapidly than normal and his eyes looked foggy and distant as small tremors shook his form almost imperceptibly. Mikey, even in his current state, couldn’t help but worry.

“D-Dee? A-are you sure you sh-should be out here?” Mike asked quietly so only Donnie could hear. 

Don looked down at him and chuckled. “F-for you Mikey, I’d f-fight pneumonia just to make s-sure you were s-safe.” Mikey couldn’t help the pain in his chest as Don rubbed the youngest’s head in reassurance before looking away.

Mikey was scared. Not just for himself, but even more so for his brothers. Donnie looked far worse than he did last he saw him back in the lair, and it didn't help that he had to watch Don fight the effects of brumation as he worked to save him. Don would lean against concrete slabs nearby as he worked to get the rest of the area set up for his retrieval, just to catch his breath and wake up a bit. They needed to get out of here, and fast!

“Alright, you ready, Mikey?” Raph asked as he rubbed his hands together, preparing for the extraction.

“I… I think s-so? Wait w-what about my l-legs?” Mikey asked just as Raph placed his hands around the pipe.

“Don’t w-worry little brother, I got you c-covered.” Donnie said and shifted to get a better view of his injured legs. “Now Raph, on the c-count of three, I want y-you to lift the pipe s-slowly and as s-soon as I give the all-clear, you can put it b-back, g-got it?” Raph nodded. “Alright g-good. Ready? One…”

Mikey couldn't help himself as he felt his lungs start to inhale a bit more quickly.

“Two…”

He watched as Donnie moved his hands closer in preparation and Mikey had to close his eyes as he said-

“THREE!”

Almost instantly Mikey felt the pain and let out a yelp as the pipe was slowly lifted off him. He felt cold hands gently move his stuck leg free from the crevice and inhaled hard when more of the pressure was pulled off of him. He hardly had any time to register the quick pull of his hands and the intense pain from his broken leg spiraling up his spine making him want to pass out all over again.

He heard a large thunk and felt the earth vibrate as the weight from the pipe hit the ground and then big arms quickly, but gently, scooped him up and moved him farther away from the wreckage. Only once everything became still did Mikey open his eyes. They went wide from the scene. He finally got to see what the space looked like and register how terrible of a position he had been in.

A sniffle escaped him before he registered the renewed flood of tears. Raph gently placed him down on the flat floor and mumbled to Donnie about helping him with first aid before feeling Raphs hand rub his scalp gently again and letting him sob. I’m… I’m safe? I’m finally free?

“Yes, Mikey, it’s okay now, you're safe. We gotcha.” Raph answered. Mikey didn't realize he said those thoughts out loud and the pure terror he had felt stuck under that mess returned in force. Raph seemed to get the point and didn't need any question from the youngest to bring him up into a much needed bear hug. Donnie softly told Raph to be gentle and to not mess with his leg, but Mikey didn't care. He just wanted to be with his brothers and he finally got his wish.

It took a bit longer to get all the first aid done and the leg splinted before they were finally ready to get moving. The broken leg in and of itself was a pretty nasty injury, causing the youngest to muffle a scream into Raph’s arm as they secured it to some small wood planks they found. Donnie managed to get a hold of Splinter and informed him of the youngests current state and told him what to prepare for. Once everything was situated, Raph picked up Mikey, making sure not to jostle the injured legs too much, and looked to Donnie.

“All right, let's head out. You gonna be okay flying back?” Raph looked worried. Mikey felt the same way as they both looked at the purple turtle who was leaning heavily against a wall panting and obviously fighting hard to keep the sleep at bay.

“Yeah… I’m o-okay, let's just get out of here-” The sudden rumbling cut him off. Don quickly hopped up to the other two turtles as dust and small pieces of debris began to fall around them. “Move… WE H-HAVE TO MOVE!” Donnie’s shout came just before a small piece of concrete from above fell towards them and Raph quickly dipped away and pulled the purple turtle with him.

They made their way, dodging as much rubble and falling pipes as possible until they all began to hear a building sound of pressure. The giant pipe above them creaked and Mikey could have sworn he felt all the life drain from him. No… No please no, not again!

It all happened so quickly that it became hard for Mikey to process it all. “GET DOWN!” Raph tossed Mikey to Donnie who barely caught him and ducked close to the ground behind the larger turtle just as Raph pulled out his tonfas. The intense pressure that surrounded them from the pipe practically exploding scared Mikey to no end, and he clung to Donnie with what little strength he had. He couldn’t even tell through all the movement if the shivering was coming from him or Donnie as they squatted low.They heard a hard hitting thunk and a grunt from the biggest turtle before both cowering turtles looked up.

Raph had managed to block them from the pipe's impact but he was holding a lot of debris as the area began to crash around them. “GO! GET HIM OUT OF HERE, DONNIE!” Raph managed to get out as he strained under the effort of not crumpling under the heavy weight.

It took a bit longer than Mikey liked for him to register what Raph had said before he felt Donnie shift awkwardly and secure the younger turtle in his hold. With a few huffs, Donnie strained to press the button on his battle shell and wobbled as the rotors popped out. He waited a minute for the engines to start moving against the cold before rocketing off away from the chaos.

Donnie dodged and weaved sluggishly through the falling tunnel and Mikey couldn’t even see Raph anymore through the dust and suddenly falling snow. When the orange turtle looked at Donnie to ask him what they should do, he froze. Don was barely registering anything and that became apparent when a small piece of concrete threw them off balance. Mike watched as his older brother shook his head and tried desperately to fight the cold induced curse.

“D-Dee, come on, you have to fight it a bit longer, okay?” Mikey hated himself for trying to push Donnie even more, but he knew they didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. He didn't get a response but figured the purple turtle understood as their pace picked back up.

Gradually, the chaos subsided behind them and Mikey could feel himself breath again, but not for long as he felt a stomach-flipping drop before both turtles tumbled to the ground. Mikey let out a yelp of pain from the sudden jostle of his broken leg but shook that thought out of his mind as he quickly turned to his fallen brother.

His fallen brother who wouldn’t get up.

Whose breathing kept getting slower and slower.

Mikey shifted and pulled himself towards his fallen brother with what little strength his chilled arms had left. “Dee!? DONNIE!? HEY, YOU NEED TO GET UP!” He pushed Donnie’s body into a more comfortable position so he could see his face and gasped at the dull eyes and bone chillingly tired expression. “Donnie! Hey!” He gently slapped his brother’s face but didn’t get a response and tried to shake him. Nothing was working!

To his horror, Mikey listened as Donnie’s breathing got so soft it was almost inaudible and watched as his eyes slid shut. And showed no signs of waking up.

Chapter Text

The previous quakes from the unstable infrastructure began to fade away along with the dust and snowy powder that was disturbed in the recent activity. The calm did much to relieve Raph’s heart.

He had easily avoided too much damage, receiving a scrape here and there when he had to toss the downpour of concrete and ceiling aside after his siblings reached a safe distance… or at least he hoped it was safe. Raph wasn't able to gauge how far they went when all the dust and debris was still falling and created a cloud that covered the carnage so he wasn’t too sure if they fully escaped the chaos. From the looks and sound of it though, they were fine… probably.

With a sigh of relief, Raph picked himself off the ground and looked around the tunnel. The area where they had found Mikey under the broken pipe was completely buried and the likelihood of anyone from the surface finding evidence of the turtles were most likely destroyed. The thought that Mikey could have gotten squished if they hadn’t come around did cross his mind but he decided to shake that image away. There was no point in thinking about the what if’s right now. And if Donnie or Leo were in their right mind, he was sure the both of them would have pointed out something to calm his anxiety.

Speaking of Donnie…

Raph dusted himself off  before moving around the rubble as best he could with his bulky form in the direction he saw his purple brother fly off. He could tell after the dust settled that they weren’t anywhere near him, thankfully, but he also didn’t like them both being so far away. As he squeezed past a particularly big slab of concrete, he heard something. Raph froze for a second to try and understand what it possibly could be but even when the sound persisted, it echoed too much for him to understand. He pushed himself through, starting to jog now that most of the large debris was behind him.

His concern grew when he identified the noise as Mikey shouting. He was still too far away to understand what was going on but he switched quickly from jogging, to sprinting and finally… He could hear his little brother.

“-ONNIE PLEASE!!! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON’T DO THIS PLEASE DEE WAKE UP!”

It was like electricity shot through him. If a turtle could contend for world record sprinting, Raph was sure he would have bulldozed it out of the water (or at least a wall or two). Vaulting over a pile of concrete and crushing what little remained of the rubble on the other side, he finally caught up to his brothers. A sharp inhale was all he managed as he stood there like a deer in the headlights.

Mikey was crying, hard. He could tell his little brother was in extreme pain but he kept pulling himself closer and closer to Donnie, snivelling and gasping between each movement. Donnie, on the other hand, was completely motionless. His face was smooshed against the ground and his whole body looked limp. Raph could barely see the subtle movement of his breathing let alone hear it. If he didnt know the symptoms of brumation, he would have thought Don was dying. The mental image of any of his siblings dying was not something the snapper could take at the moment.

After a pained squeak came from Mikey, Raph finally shook himself out of it and quickly made it over to his downed brothers.

As the larger turtle knelt down, he gently put his hand on his little brother’s shoulder. “Mikey-”

“RAPH!” Mikey shouted as soon as he felt him. “RAPH PLEASE! HELP ME WAKE HIM UP! HE’S NOT MOVING, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!?” The smaller turtle gasped as he pushed through his sobs, looking up at his older brother with tear filled and desperate eyes.

“Mikey, it’s okay-”

“HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY BE OKAY!?” Raph flinched at the shrill shriek. “DONNIE LITERALLY PASSED OUT IN FRONT OF ME! WHA- hiccup- WHAT ARE WE G-GONNA DO!?”

Raph shushed him gently, whipping away some of the tears on his little brother’s face. Not that the action did much but he could tell from the shaking Mikey seriously needed a hug. With that thought in mind, he gently picked Mikey up and pulled him into a comforting embrace in which the smaller turtle practically melted into. It hurt Raph to see his little brothers in pain, and as he rubbed soothing circles on Mikey’s shell, he took a closer look at his unconscious brother.

Donnie seriously did not look good. Now that he was closer he could tell that Don was completely unconscious and doubted he’d be able to wake him up. That didn't stop him from at least trying as he removed his hand from Mikey’s back to gently shake him. Raph sighed sadly when there wasn't even a sound of protest. He didn’t like it but it's not like he didn't expect this to happen eventually. With the way things were going he was just surprised it didn't happen sooner.

Glancing back down at Mikey, Raph debated on how he could carry the both of them when the youngest decided for him. With a sniffle, Mikey raised his head but didn't look at him as he spoke. “I-I’ll ride on your back so you can carry Dee… I should be fine. I just have to hold on long enough for us to get home.”

“You sure you can hold out for that long?” Raph would have chuckled at the face he made, one that practically screamed ‘I can do this just watch me!’, but decided to just sigh and help the younger turtle get situated on his back. Mikey clung to his neck with a vice grip and nuzzled the side of Raph’s face as the larger turtle reached down and gently flipped Donnie over onto his back and lifted him up, cradling him close to his body to give the unconscious turtle any sort of warmth.

“Ah jeez, he’s freezing!” Raph whispered, an edge of panic in his voice, before standing up and beginning the jog back towards the lair.

As Raph ran through the sewers, he felt movement on his back and glanced over to see Mikey staring somberly down at their comatosed brother. Mikey tightened his hold around Raph’s neck and clenched his jaw at the sight. Raph knew that look, and it pained him to see his little brother full of guilt.

“...It’s not your fault, ya know.” Raph glanced back at Mikey for a second then returned his focus to his path before continuing. “You made a mistake, it happens, but Donnie’s condition isn’t your fault little brother.”

He felt the smaller turtles mumbling vibrate through his neck. “Ye, but he wouldn’t look so bad if he didn't have to leave the lair to rescue me…”

“We don’t know that Mike-”

“Yes, we do! If I hadn’t gone off on my own, Donnie would have been curled up with Leo on the comfy pillow bed instead of out here freezing to death!”

Silence filled the tunnels at Mikey's words. Raph could hear sniffling as drops of tears fell down the front of his winter jacket. It stayed quiet between them before Raph turned into a new tunnel, following Mikey’s vibrant graffiti markers as he went

“...If Donnie had stayed in the lair, you would have frozen, all alone, under that pipe.” Mikey sucked in hard at Raph’s words. “I’m not sure I would have made it in time if we didnt split up. I’m sorry you had to suffer all alone, but I’m much happier now that your safe.” He kept his eyes focused on the path, on the feeling of his brumating brother in his arms and sniffles beside his head. “We can’t change our past choices Mikey, we just gotta accept them.”

Mikey took a deep breath and something inside Raph finally settled. Nothing was fixed yet, far from it, but at least they had found Mikey. He could figure out a solution to their underground winter problem once they were all home and safe.

The rest of the journey back to the lair was uneventful. Mikey had rested his head on his shoulder after a while, the adrenalin finally leaving his system after several hours of being trapped under metal and snow. When he reached the tell tale increase in ice, Raph knew he was getting close to home. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the tunnel to their solitude, boarded up half way still but with enough room he could squeeze by. He had to duck extra low and shuffle carefully through the opening to help them all get through.

Raph’s reprieve at finally being home was broken when he was greeted by the stern look from their father.

“Red. Were you planning on telling your worried father what was going on?” He raised an scrutenizing furry eyebrow. “Or did the thought not cross your mind?”

“Uhhhhhhh-”

“Nevermind, I am just happy to see you in one piece.” Splinter squinted his eyes at the two limp turtles on Raph’s nervous body. “Well… relatively.”

The old rat motioned for Raph to follow him and the two of them quickly ducked under the blanket tent into the cocoon of warmth. The blob that was most likely Leo barely moved under the blankets, in full brumation at this point. Raph worried about the effects that such a state could have on them since they weren’t full turtle but shook it aside onto the neat pile in his head full of his worries. Splinter gestured to the open spot in the blanket bed that was already ready to go for Donnie, and Raph obeyed. He placed his unconscious brother down while Splinter reached around him and got to work removing the battleshell from his brother’s back along with the other unnecessary winter gear, replacing it with more comfortable pajamas and sweaters.

Raph couldn’t help but smile a little as their dad tucked Donnie in right beside Leo, like two turtles in a pod. The slight movement behind him alerted the larger turtle to his brother who was still clinging to his back.

“Oh, right. Sorry Mikey, here let me help you down.” Raph attempted to reach behind him for his little brother only to have his hand pushed away, startling him.

“...I got it.” Mikey grumbled, slipping down from his brother back carefully.

“Uhh Mikey? Your still hurt, I really don’t think you should be moving-” But before he could finish, the orange turtle slumped to the ground with more grace than he expected from someone trapped under a pipe. Mikey wobbled a bit but kept his hurt leg up, leaning against Raph who he finally allowed to hold him.

Watching Mikey force himself to move after everything that happened, didnt feel right to Raph. the look on his little brother’s face, it was still filled with guilt. He looked exhausted. Mikey’s eyes were drooped, not a spark of light within them as his eyes gazed everywhere but at his family. When the orange turtle finally sat down on the chair Splinter set down, Raph couldn’t help how his eyebrows scrunched up.

Was he… pushing away help as a form of punishment?

He expected such nonsense from Leo and on the rare occasion Donnie when he was especially depressed but not Mikey. This wasn’t right. Raph opened his mouth to say something but was stopped suddenly by Splinter’s raised hand. When he looked at their dad, he noticed the same concerned expression that he most likely had on his own face.

“Red, why don’t you get the kitchen ready for my famous soup. I will help Orange with his injuries.” Raph nodded and moved away to do just that when a thought came to mind.

“Actually, Pops, I think Donnie was onto something before we left.” He turned to look at Splinter who just raised an eyebrow and hummed curiously. “He mentioned we could set up the kitchen as a more secure space to keep everyone warm. The heat from the stove or oven could help with that too.”

Splinter’s face opened up in surprise and let a smile grace his face. “Leave it to Purple to point out the solution after the crisis has already happened.” He chuckled. “We still have a few heat insulating curtains left, cover the doors with those and use the left overs to create a blockage around the ground as well.” Raph nodded, smiling as he watched his father hum to himself and flick his tail around in thought. “If you put a layer of blankets on the ground, that should help the room retain heat too.”

Raph saluted before saying, “Aye aye, Pops!” and disappearing with a bundle of blankets. His smile fell when he was out of sight as he worried about Mikey, but Splinter had it covered. Besides, he had work to do.

—

Mikey kept his eyes focused on the ground, doing his best to ignore everything around him except the floor. He didn’t focus on his two brothers soft breathing. He didn’t register the fumbling noises of Raph in the kitchen. He didn’t watch in his peripheral the way Splinter’s tail whipped back and forth in mild annoyance.

He definitely didn’t focus on the fact that this whole situation only got worse because he made the dumb decision to run out, in the middle of winter, to get his family the much needed supplies only to royally fumble so hard everything around him fell apart. Some literally.

That stupid pipe.

Regardless of what Raph tried to say to him, he couldn’t help but feel awful about Donnie going into a brumated state like Leo. The scared thoughts of Raph possibly getting crushed under all of that rubble from the unstable ceiling. How did that even happen anyway?

Mikey felt his face stiffen at the thought before being suddenly startled out of his head by the sound of the med kit being clicked open.

“Ah, so there you are Michelangelo.” Mikey couldn’t help how fast his head shot up at the use of his whole name. Splinter smiled gently at him, the reaction most likely expected. He began to rummage around the kit before addressing him again. “I am happy to see you back with us, my son. We were all very worried about you.” He huffed. “Especially since you snuck away right under my watch. I must be a disgrace of a ninja to be outdone so easily.” Splinter looked up, still smiling and expecting Mikey to do something, but the orange turtle just curled in on himself.

Splinter sighed, pulling out a bottle of painkillers. “Not even a chuckle. So my humor is also lost, what a shame.” He reached down towards Mikey’s leg, the young turtle stiffening and cringing hard as his father adjusted it so it was elevated at the proper height and supported on a cushion. The pain that emanate from the broken limb came in waves but he hadn’t felt it all that badly since he was rescued until now. Not a moment later, Mikey was handed the pain medication and a glass of water.

“Despite my blunder, I must act the part of your father right now.” Mikey froze in his movements. It was silent, only the crackling of the low fire nearby broke the tense atmosphere. Splinter watched him, arms folded behind his back as sterness filled his expression.

“You made the wrong choice, going out alone in the frozen sewers without any thought for how it would affect me or your brothers.” Mikey slumped slightly into his shell. “I am greatly disappointed in you, Michelangelo.” He felt his lower lip tremble, eyes filling with tears as he grew closer and closer to crying. Splinter sighed. “But… I think you’ve been punished enough.”

When Mikey raised his head out of his shell, he was stunned to see how tired his father looked. He forgot, that regardless of the fact Splinter had fur, he was still just as stressed out about the situation as the rest of them. Watching his son’s deal with cold they arn’t used to, one by one falling like flies to the chill in different ways while he was relatively safe and warm. That wasn’t something any parent would be okay with witnessing.

Splinter reached out and gently cupped Mikey’s face. “You had good intentions, my son, but the results were a bit… distressing.” Splinter smiled as he wiped away the tear that fell. “Communication is important, why else would you have those new fangled phones around? Use those ‘chat rooms’ for their intended purpose!” Mikey couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him at his dad’s use of lingo. He sniffled and nodded before finally leaning away and taking the painkillers he had been offered.

Splinter turned away and began to riffle through the med kit again before interrupting the orange turtles sip of water with the words. “Oh and by the way… Your grounded.”

—

Raph looked around the kitchen skeptically.

All the stuff Splinter asked for was set out and ready to be used when he made soup. The floor was covered in two layers of towels and blankets and the doorways are covered with the leftover heat retaining curtains. Now all that was left was to move his brothers in here and hope the smaller, more enclosed space would keep the heat in better than their fire pit and makeshift tent.

He startled when he heard his little brother shout in pain.

Taking a deep breath, he ignored the noise as best he could, knowing that Splinter would shout for him if he needed it. Bones were hard to set from his understanding of first aid, and they couldn’t really go to the hospital or anything. He’s pretty sure Donnie had something in their medical kit to help with that but the less time he wondered about what was going on in the other room the better.

So Raph let his mind wander to another issue.

The ice.

Now that he was home, he definitely noticed the difference in chill. Even though they had covered up most of the entrances out of the lair, except the one, with boards and various slabs of metal from Donnie’s lab, the place was circulating the cold weather like a violent squall. Ice was forming in the upper levels and had long since sealed off the manhole cover in the ceiling.

Raph stepped out of the kitchen to really take in the state of their home. It was more ice than lair at this point and it looked worse than when they had left. Raph stepped around the space, looking for any source of the cold. If he remembered correctly, the ice was pointing in the direction the cold air was coming from. So if he just looked around… there!

Moving quickly, Raph grabbed the semi-frozen plank of wood on one of the far right entrances and yanked it off. He glances inside but is only greeted by darkness and grumbles in irritation before pulling out his phone and turning on the flashlight. He almost drops it at the sight.

The tunnel practically looks like a vicious mouth, ice spikes like teeth spiraling all along the surface. The light from his phone giving the space an eary bluish glow as flecks of snow from within drift to the floor. Raph listens closely and can hear the subtle sound of wind deep inside, most likely the source of the cold they have been experiencing.

Pulling away and setting the plank of wood to the side, Raph thinks about what he can really do about this. Something doesnt feel right. Donnie had theories about where all the cold was originating from back when he was more brains and less delirious. He suggested their AC system broke but when they checked it had been frozen over along with half their other appliances. Don had even suggested some sort of flash freeze might have happened but how that would work was beyond him.

Nothing in the news had really tipped him off to what could have possibly happened above ground except for maybe a sinkhole a few days back. There was also that construction site on 3rd that stopped all progress and a few beams fell because of the weight of the snow, but that was the most eventful the outside world got. Not a mutant in sight. The weather had been continuously awful, one of the worst snow storms in new yorks history due to the arctic winds coming down so far south.

The safest bet was for him, the last stable member of their family, to go out and investigate what might be wrong. But being alone, in the sewers, without any backup except maybe Splinter was enough to make his autophobia come out to play. Raph took a deep breath to center himself. It was a risk worth taking, he knew that, it was for his brothers after all.

Raph made his decision quickly, grabbing his bag from before when they were looking for Mikey and began gathering more equipment he might need. It felt like he was one of those ice explorers from a documentary he watched a while back, getting ready for an exceptionally daring hike. He stacked a few big bags of their pavement salt to take out with him as well, just to get some of the ice out of the way and to help make his return a bit easier. When he was all set to go, Raph placed the gear by the door to the kitchen and took a deep breath.

Time to talk to Splinter.