Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He was sick. He didn’t know how he was sick but he knew he was. No matter how many times Donnie said he was fine, said he was clear of illness, he didn’t trust it. She knew what he felt, he was always sick when they were younger. It felt just like it did back then.

    Only, it somehow felt worse. It intensified, ever since their last fight with Draxum, he had felt sick for indescribable reasons. He’s felt like this all week, something restless and chaotic stirring up inside of him. It scared her, not that star would admit it.

    Oftentimes, he felt like he was going to lose himself in his feelings, in this unknown madness. She wondered if Draxum had done something to him, he knew her brothers thought the exact same thing by the fact that they would always come back from ‘simple’ missions battered with bruises and blood dripping from their noses.

    As much as they wanted to know what was going on, he didn’t want to face the truth that it was Draxum who did this to her. Someone he tried so desperately to include in their family, someone who was about to be the reason she turned into a monster.

    He clenched his hands into a fist under the thin blanket, tears easily bubbling up in their eyes as they always had. He hated crying, but he just couldn’t help it sometimes. They would fall from stars eyes endlessly without his control.

    His shoulders loosening, what should’ve been a sign of relaxation was only a sign of his defeat. A sign of the fact that she had given up. Memories were fading, faces were fading.

    Words were losing their meaning and touch had started to burn him internally. People he once loved were becoming rotten. They had started to hate everyone, slowly. 

    He hated himself for that. He hated that she hated his friends. He hated themself for hating that he hated her friends because deep down, he knew it wasn’t her fault; as much as he wanted to blame himself for this, they knew it was someone else’s doing.

    And his siblings seemed dead set on finding out who did it to him, they were angry, they were vengeful, but perhaps worst of all, they were sad. They were oh so sad, she could see the sadness in their eyes, heavy with thoughts of someone they hoped wouldn’t turn into memories.

    He remembered when they woke up to Raph crying, his hands clenched on the thick blankets that Mikey had always loved. Donnie had said he would be out of bed in no time, and he didn’t want Mikey to get her own blankets dirty, but it had been a month now. He begged Donnie for the blankets, screaming about how he felt that he was dying, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to live anymore. Screaming about how she wanted comfort.

    Donnie had caved in an instant after that, and Mikey’s giant orange blanket was piled onto him, along with a blanket from each of her siblings. Raph came into the room that night and sobbed, screaming into the blankets.

    He wanted Mikey out of bed, he wanted his youngest brother jumping around happily as he had always done. But he didn’t know if he would ever be able to see that again. They could see how bad Mikey was getting, but more evidently, they could feel the sickness.

    It was his mystic magic, sticky like syrup trapping his very core, slowly pulling it down, Mikey going along with it. That’s what Splinter told them at least, his eyes heavy as he looked down at the floor. 

    He found it easy to recall the look of devastation in each of his sibling’s faces, the look of fear. She couldn’t describe it in words, no one could. You can’t describe hurt that bad in a few words. Words are like a spectrum, in a way.

    Hurt. It can be minuscule, a small scrape or cut. But it could also be life-destroying. It could cut you into your very core, you could scream at the world for hours upon hours but you would never feel better. Nothing would be able to make you feel better. And you know that it will never be the same, but you don’t want to think about that. You don’t want to think about losing them, because it isn’t possible for you yet.

    That’s how they felt. They would be indescribably hurt if they lost their baby brother.

    They didn’t have a choice though. They never seemed to have a choice anymore. After another run-in with Draxum and a few of the foot, they come back to the lair drained, Leo going to check on Mikey only to see a messy bed. Their eyes widened, their breath picking up. They grab the doorframe, gulping before looking around the room frantically. Where did she go? Did someone take him? 

    Leo can feel their vision go blurry, they ignore it, running out of the room and down the hall before stopping. They look at their siblings in the eyes.

    “Mikey’s gone,” They say breathlessly, panic blatant in their expression. Raph jumps up from the couch and Donnie looks at them, shock and ever-growing fear in their eyes.

    “Actually? What- What do you mean gone?! You say that like he can just- can just walk out the door, Leo!” Donnie exclaims, their breath picking up in speed as he staggers back, a hand over their chest. Raph looks at Donnie in concern, he himself could feel it getting a bit hard to breathe.

    “We gotta find him, now, oh god who knows what could happen..” Leo muttered, their eyes wide with dark bags under their eyes. None of them could think about when they last had a peaceful night of sleep. But it didn’t matter now, they didn’t care about that, they cared about finding their brother.

    “Okay, we gotta think, where would he go.. who would take her..” Donnie muttered into his hands, pacing around the plaza quickly. Raph starts tapping the floor sporadically with his foot, panic flooded on his face. Leo lets out a breathless whimper, their eyes wide as they clench their hands into a fist before undoing it. 

    “Draxum? No, unless he distracted us in order to find time to get him..” Raph’s eyes light up at that, “DRAXUM! YES! Who else would do this otha than him?” Donnie doesn’t seem to agree, and Leo knows that Raph himself doesn’t believe it, but he needs a lead. They all need a lead, because who knows that they would do without one.

    Leo bites their lip, staring down at the floor intensely before they stand up, walking toward the garage.

    “Let's go find Mikey,” Their expressions harden, pupils disappearing from sight as their eyes narrow. They nod, and the three are quickly off in the vehicle, ready to rampage.

Chapter Text

Draxum was concerned for these kids at this point. Constantly, they had set out to find him, yelling about something going on with the youngest, which explained why he was never there. And now, here they are once again, fighting him while demanding to know where he apparently took Mikey to.

He was admittedly worried for the three, but not just them, also Michelangelo. Her mystic magic had been.. off the charts, before he disappeared. But now it’s simply gone, as if they disappeared off the face of this universe.

Draxum was never good at expressing anything other than negative emotions, maybe it was because of his pride. But he had to put that behind him now.

He allowed his plant tentacles to block Leo’s hits, “Wait,” He spoke, grunting as he looked Leo in the eyes. Their pupils were gone, he thought that they were possessed the first time he saw them but no. They were focused and angry.

Leo narrowed their eyes at him, “What is it–” They said fiercely, spitting the words out. Draxum bit his lip, looking left and right before sighing.

“I didn’t take Michelangelo, but—” Leo growled, lifting their odachi from the plant tentacle to aim it at Draxum once again.

“BULLSHIT! Who else would’ve taken them?!” Leo exclaimed, their knuckles white around the hilt of their odachi. Draxum pursed his lip, deciding to continue.

“I don’t know who took him, BUT I can tell you what might’ve happened to him,” Leo stopped their advances once they heard that, their eyes still narrowed, looking at Draxum with suspicion, “What do you mean by that?” Leo asked, keeping their expression sharp and not letting their emotions show through.

“His mystic magic has been fluctuating sporadically the past few days before he was taken— someone was bending their mystic magic slowly, molding it into something or trying to expand the storage of said magic,” Draxum explained, relaxing his pose slightly. Leo took notice of this and slowly sheathed their odachi, calling the others over.

Leo walked toward Draxum, their stance straight and precise, “Tell us all that you know,” Leo said, their voice strong without an inch of hesitance.

Draxum nodded, his expression equally as serious. He summoned one of his plant tentacles to sit on, the others sat on the floor with their hands on their weapons.

“I will start from when Michelangelo’s mystic magic started acting odd,” Draxum said before clearing his throat, hitting his fist against his chest for more effect.

“A month and one week ago,” Draxum started off, his eyes just barely open as he looked over all of them, “We were fighting at the harbor, you were trying to stop a shipment of parts for us to strengthen the Foot clan’s weapons,” They all nodded, they could recall that fight, “Michelangelo was facing off against me while you three dealt with the abundance of Foot,” Raph looked at Draxum in confusion.

“What? We wouldn’t leave her to go up against you alone,” Raph said, his arms crossing as he glared at Draxum who rolled his eyes discreetly.

“Well, I am the one telling the story, and I remember going against Michelangelo at that moment,” Draxum says, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument. Donnie and Leo looked at each other in slightly concealed confusion.

“He was a fierce fighter, good technique that was mainly based on surprise, speed, and lethality. They were quick, and he knew it, so he did their best to make sure her enemies wouldn’t be able to spot his movement,” Draxum commented, causing Leo to roll their eyes at the praise.

“But I managed to get him caught, eventually,” The three looked slightly alarmed at that, gripping their weapons harder.

“That’s when it started,” Donnie looks at Draxum in confusion, “When what started?” They asked carefully and Draxum looked at him with his eyes before moving his head.

“The glowing and the eyes,” Raph grimaced, shivering at the unsettling words he used. Donnie seemed eager to find out more.

“Michelangelo struggled in the vines, but she eventually went lax, which unsettled me slightly; for I had felt that someone outside of the fight was watching us,” Draxum explained further, Leo and Raph getting more and more uncomfortable as the story continues.

“I looked up at Michelangelo after looking around the perimeter briefly, only to see something behind him, glaring at me deadly,” Draxum hesitated with his words near the end of his sentence, his eyebrows furrowed.

“It was an eye. A giant eyeball stared at me from behind the boy,” The brothers froze, goosebumps crawling up their arms. None of them spoke until Raph broke the silence.

“What- What? Just an.. eye?” Raph said, his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence. Draxum looks down at the floor, repressing a shiver. Donnie stands up on shaking feet, looking at Draxum in blatant horror.

“What color was the eye.” They asked urgently, their hands shaking as they started to get impatient with Draxum, who looked at Donnie in confusion. He marched up to Draxum, grabbing his hair and pulling him up just barely to be eye-to-eye.

“WHAT COLOR WAS IT?!” They exclaimed, tears started to steadily build up in his eyes. Draxum’s expression slowly shifted into one of terror before he spoke.

“It.. it was the darkest black I’ve ever seen,” He finally said, causing Donnie to go rigid. They drop Draxum before stumbling back, his hand over his mouth. 

“Oh god..” Donnie muttered, tears finally pouring out of his eyes. Leo and Raph looked at Donnie with alarmed expressions, not knowing the danger of the situation.

Chapter Text

“What? Donnie, what’s wrong?!” Leo exclaimed, getting up and running over to their twin, panic conveyed through their expression. All Donnie could do was turn and look at Leo with horror on his face, their arms shaking before he took Leo into a hug, Raph running over to join in as well.

Draxum looks at the three of them in sympathy, fear set in his expression as well. Raph turns to Draxum, his hands still around Leo and Donnie.

“What does the eye mean? Or, who is the eye?” Raph asks urgently, something akin to parental fear on his face. Draxum contemplates if he should tell them or not. Leo then stands up, concern visible on their face, unlike their masked expression from before.

“ Please Draxum, we need any information you can give us,” They say, their expression unintentionally pleading. He looks at Leo hesitantly before looking at Raph. He then spares a glance toward Donnie, something in his chest seeking at the horrified expression on his face.

“..The eye,” He stops, goosebumps trailing up his entire body, causing him to go rigid. He can feel it slowly appearing, and his eyes go wide, fear on his face.

“WE NEED TO GO, NOW!” Draxum explains, running ahead of the turtles and using his vines to bring Leo, Raph and Donnie with him. Leo and Raph soon jump out of the loose hold the vines had on him.

“WHAT?! Where are we going?!” Leo shrills, nearly slipping on one of the vines and falling to the floor. Raph quickly catches them, throwing them up in the air and allowing Leo to regain their balance.

“We’re going somewhere that oni hopefully cannot find us,” Leo and Raph glance at each other, hesitance on their expressions before they continue following Draxum, quickening their pace.

Draxum runs into the forest, darting through the trees and diving under branches, the others did their best to keep up with him, Donnie, still being held in the vine, near Leo and Raph as they run and weave through the forest.

Soon, Draxum comes to a stop, tracing a symbol over a small tree frantically. Light shines from his fingertip but slowly dies down. He looks down at the dim light and grunts, shaking his hand and blowing on his finger. The light brightens once again and he continues tracing the rest of the symbol.

A portal opens on the small tree, Raph and Leo can now hear the steadily building screeching of what they can assume is the Oni Draxum spoke about. Before he jumps into the portal, he turns to look at the two.

“If you ever hear the oni just know the farther it sounds, the closer it sounds, the farther it is, and vice-versa. Don’t ever look it in the eye,” Draxum warned before jumping into the portal, dragging Donnie down after him. Leo and Raph look at each other in panic before looking down at the portal and jumping in, Leo then Raph following after them.

Leo lands with a grunt, Raph maneuvering himself to make sure he doesn’t land on top of Leo. He lands on the floor with a groan, standing up slowly and popping his joints.

“Dear Pizza Supreme in the sky.. where are we,” Leo said, rubbing their head with one of their eyes closed from how they landed. Raph wipes his eyes, shrugging his shoulders.

“I dunno Leo, where did Draxum go? Where’s Donnie?” Raph asked, looking around the space that they landed in. It was decently small, a couch and a TV as the only furnishing in the area. In another room, they could hear a quiet yet tense conversation.

“—Are you sure we’ll be safe here? What if it finds us?” They heard Donnie say, worry evident in his voice. He heard someone readjusting their position in what they assumed was the kitchen. Then, Donnie spoke up again.

“Where are we even? How do you know it won’t find us?” He asked, hesitance in his voice. Draxum sighed, “I’ve went over this many times, Donnie—”

“It’s Donatello to you, Draxum. You haven’t reached that level yet,” They replied snappishly, crossing their arms. Draxum looks at Donnie with an exasperated expression.

“Whatever you say, Donatello,” He says before turning away and looking at Leo and Raph, “What are you two doing? Are you not hungry?” Leo and Raph looked at the counter Donnie was sitting on, now noticing the pizza that sat on the counter.

“Oh! When did this get here?” Leo asked, bouncing up to the counter and taking a piece of pizza out the box, looking at the pizza happily before closing their eyes and taking a bite of the delicious treat.

“It’s..” Leo’s mouth pulls into a grimace and they move the pizza away from their mouth, suddenly being flooded with memories of their currently missing youngest brother. They put the pizza back in the box, a weak smile on their face.

“Maybe we should save this for later..” Leo muttered, sighing before closing the box and walking out of the kitchen. Draxum watched them walk out the room, a small frown tugged at his face before he cleared his throat, ignoring the regret bubbling up inside of him.

“Well, that was futile,” Donnie said, looking down at the pizza box before side-eyeing Draxum. He had to admit he felt a bit bad for the.. previous villain? Retired villain? They didn’t exactly know what to call Draxum, but seeing as he told them what most likely happened to Mikey, took them to safety, and somehow summoned pizza, Donnie could chart him off on nearing their good side.

Raph frowned when Leo left the room, walking off to who knows where. He turned back to Draxum and Donnie before speaking.

“Sorry about that Draxum.. Leo, uh.. they haven’t been takin’ this all too well,” Raph explained, fiddling with his fingers as he gave a somewhat sheepish smile to Draxum, his snaggletooth moving with his words. Draxum nodded in response.

“It is alright, I can understand, this must be hard for all of you. Especially Leo, seeing as he was—” Raph stuck a finger up, looking at Draxum, “Actually, Leo uses they/them, not he,” Raph supplied before bringing his finger back down and smiling at Draxum, “Anyways, continue,” Draxum grimaced at Raph, “My apologies,” He said before restarting his sentence.

“As I was saying, seeing as Leo was made leader not too long ago, they must blame themself for what has happened to Michelangelo,” Draxum said, his words lacking sympathy but his expression making up for it. Raph gave a small smile, “Yeah, your right Draxum, I should probably talk to them about that..” He muttered before turning, about to walk out of the kitchen before he stops.

“Oh! Thanks by the way,” He chirped before walking off to find Leo, Draxum looked at the spot Raph was just standing at before some odd ticklish feeling encased his ribcage.

‘What.. what is this? Why do I feel..’ Draxum thought, his mouth agape as his hand slowly came up to touch his chest. 

“Bubbly?” A sudden voice inquired, Draxum jolted by a fraction before turning to look at Donnie who was still sitting on the counter, swinging their legs with a bored look on their face.

“I.. yes?” He spoke hesitantly, not knowing how to exactly label the feeling that was familiar to a degree. Donnie gave him a small smile, “Welcome to feelings-hood, I don’t exactly know what they are either, because Doctor Feelings would usually give all the emotion speeches seeing as that is quite obviously not my forte,” Donnie said, taking in a  breath before continuing.

“I take it you’re not used to feeling positive things?” Draxum raises an eyebrow, “And what would be considered a positive feeling?” He asks, Donnie slowly brings his head back to look up at the ceiling with furrowed brows. They then look down at Draxum, shrugging with their eyes closed.

“That, I do not know. Maybe you should as someone neurotypical,” Donnie said, his eyes still closed as they brought a hand up to their chest before opening their eyes.

“All I know is that they make you feel bubbly and happy, stuff like that,” Donnie waved his hand, a look of disinterest on his face. Draxum looks down at his chest, humming thoughtfully.

Before either of them were able to speak, a scream rang out inside Draxum’s lair, causing Donnie to jolt off the counter into a battle stance, and Draxum doing the same.

Chapter Text

“WE LEFT APRIL AND CASEY OUT THERE!” The voice yelled out after screaming, causing Donnie to stop and go lax in their stance. He drops his arms.

“Oh my gosh he’s right we left April and Casey out there..” Donnie muttered, standing there with their eyes wide before running out of the kitchen.

“RAPH!! LEO!! WE GOTTA GO GET THEM!” Donnie exclaimed, his eyes wide as he ran toward where the scream emitted from. They skirted around a corner, stopping when they saw the flash of red and blue from Raph and Leo respectively.

Raph stared at Donnie with wide eyes, “Oh no oh no what if they got them?! What if the oni got April and Casey?!” He dragged his hands on his face, “What if they’re dead right now and—” A hand slapping across Raph’s face causes him to stop. He snapped around and stared at the one who slapped him in shock.

“Leo.. why did you slap me,” Raph asked, his expression blatantly showing how surprised he was by the action. Leo shrugged, “I saw that it helped in some Space Heros show, or whatever it was called,” They said, Raph and Donnie looked at Leo for a few moments longer, wondering if they were being serious before Raph sighed.

“Yeah, sure, just don’t do that again,” He said, glaring at Leo for a bit before the other replied, “Yeah, but it helped, didn’t it?” They smiled smugly, causing Raph to shake his head and mutter something under his breath before standing up near Donnie,

“Alright guys, we gotta go get April and Casey, so how about Me and Donnie—” Leo pops up once they hear that, a frown pulling at their face, “WHAT! I am not gonna stay here alone with Draxum!” Leo exclaimed, their hands on their hips. Donnie stuck his finger up.

“Actually, you wouldn’t be alone, I brought the living experiment that Mikey somehow managed to accidentally create, although she doesn’t know it exists yet ,” Donnie coughed out the last part of his sentence before pulling their hands behind their back to rummage through his battle shell.

“Let’s see here..” He felt around for a bit before his face lit up and he pulled out a small red and white cooler, closing their battle shell. They slide the cooler open, peeking inside and smiling before pulling out a red bowl with ice cream inside.

“Here she is, ICK! Also known as Ice Cream Kitty,” Donnie said, holding ICK up to Leo’s face which brightened the second they saw the cat made of ice cream. ICK meowed at Leo, a content expression on her face.

“WOAH! Did Mikey really make this?” They asked, taking the bowl from Donnie’s hands and laughing when ICK licked him. Donnie nodded, a now sheepish look on their face.

“Well, it’s a bit odd, how ICK was created. It was more.. I was working on a serum in a breaker while Mikey ate napoleon ice cream. April brought in the stray cat he found and Mikey accidentally dropped a portion of her ice cream into the mixture. It bubbled up and overfilled, while Mikey tried to hide it, the cat snuck up and licked it, turning in to what we now know as ICK,” Donnie explained quickly, his fingers forming a triangle by the end of it.

Leo nods, not really paying attention while Raph seems frantic to get April and Casey back, “Alright! You have company now Leo, so me and Donnie really gotta go and get April and CJ, so we’ll be back soon with them!” Raph exclaims, dragging Donnie out of the room by their arm.

He then lets go once they’re at the spot where they dropped down, both of them looking up at the dark area.

“Soo, how do we leave—” Once the word leave exits Donnie’s mouth, the two of them are flying up, and in no time, they’re basically spit out of the tree. Donnie falls on top of Raph with a small groan.

Raph scrambles to get Donnie off his shell, quickly looking him over for injuries before deciding that the younger is alright. He sets Donnie down upright, dusting his hands off before looking at Donnie, who sturdies themself.

“Alright then.. to April’s apartment!” Donnie exclaims, his arm going up in the air as they march to the said apartment. Raph keeps his ears out, listening for the oni as they quickly jump rooftops and balconies to make it to the apartment. They land on the top floor of an apartment complex, Donnie leaning over to look at the number on the small plate, ‘129’ it reads.

“Hey, right here,” Donnie says, pointing at the door before jiggling the doorknob. It was open. Donnie looks disappointed at the poor show of security, but he ignores it in favor of opening the door wider so Raph can walk through first.

“Ladies first,” Donnie says, closing his eyes and giving a mocked bow. Raph’s eyes go wide at that and she smiles a bit before walking into the door, Donnie following after him. They can hear April and Casey conversing in his room, Donnie catches a few mathematical words from her high school, he would ask them what they’re talking about if they weren’t on limited time.

Donnie bursts into the room, April flinching at the sudden intrusion while Casey merely looks back, having heard the door open.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” April exclaimed, her eyes wide as she pulled his arm up to her chest, Casey looked concerned to a degree because of their reaction, but April eventually settled down, looking accusingly at Donnie and Raph.

“Hey! You don’t just burst into people’s apartments! I never even gave you a key!” He exclaimed, pointing at the two of them. Raph looked sheepish, rightfully, while Donnie had the audacity to look disinterested.

“The door was left open,” They said, causing April to turn and look at Casey. She merely smiled at April, shrugging. April sighed, shaking her head at Casey.

“CJ, you really need to remember to lock doors..” She smiled nervously at April, putting her thumb up, “Noted!” They said before scratching the back of their head.

“Anyways.. what are you guys doin’ here? Me and Casey were gonna swing over after I finished teaching him—” April stopped himself, “My bad Case,” Casey shrugged in her direction, “After I finished teaching Case a few high school things, she and I were gonna stop by with some food!” April exclaimed, his shoulders slouching. Donnie waved her off.

“No need for that now, we need to go now ,” Donnie stressed, grabbing Casey’s wrist while Raph carefully grabbed April’s.

“Hey! Where are you—” He yelped when Raph took a sudden turn, causing Raph to squeak, “My bad April!” She exclaimed before continuing to hurry to the forest. They could hear the oni, all except for April, who hadn’t gotten his ears trained to pick up smaller sounds. 

The oni sounded relatively close, But a bit far. They knew by that that the oni was gaining on them. Raph grunted and picked up his speed, rushing past Donnie who was barely floating with his jetpack while Casey ran.

“Come on, we’re almost in the forest!” Raph exclaims, ignoring April’s shouts of protest when he drops the high school homework. Raph didn’t bother looking back to see what would happen to it, because the oni sounded so far away that he could hear it right behind her.

What did bring her to a stop, though, was the sound of Casey’s cut-off yell. They were right in front of the forest, but Casey tripped on the papers and fell to the floor, allowing the oni to grasp at her, a gurgle of phlegm coming from deep in its throat.

April’s eyes were wide with anger and horror, she held a hand out to Donnie and once he felt the familiar weight of an upgraded bat in her hands, she popped her neck and rolled out her shoulders.

The oni, who seemed to notice that it wouldn’t be leaving without a fight, growled lowly, flexing its inky black appendages. A memory rang through Donnie’s head and they quickly spoke, “DON’T LOOK IN ITS EYE!” April quickly looked down when he heard that, glaring at Donnie.

“AND WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT EARLIER?!” He asked loudly, the baseball bat clenched in her hands. Donnie shrugged sarcastically with noticeable force.

“Well, obviously, I wanted you to fall victim to the oni’s power,” He said, shrugging while April continued to glare at them. Donnie then turned toward April, yelling, “OBVIOUSLY I FUCKING FORGOT!” He exclaimed, clenching the tech-bo in their hands and pushing their foot back.

“Yeah okay my bad, we’ll talk about this AFTER we get CJ back from this bozo,” She says, blowing a bit of her hair away from her face. Donnie and Raph nod, taking their stances before rushing at the oni in one force.

Raph goes for the top, Donnie goes for the eye in general aka the middle, while April does his best to make it unstable or break CJ away from it.

Nothing works, Donnie shoots it with everything they have, and screams every threat that he can think of, Raph pulls every move she knows, using as much force as he can in an attempt to get the creature to move from its spot. April wacks the drippy creature as hard as she can, flicking the switch that releases a knife from the baseball bat and cocking his arms back, spinning as he continuously strikes at the creature's thick muddy legs.

April almost gets through the entire leg before it regenerates, the oni roaring at April and quickly reaching down to try and grab her. He moves back quickly, backflipping and flipping the knife back into its latch.

Raph grunts as he punches into the creature's upper arm, black goo flying off its body and onto the floor, as well as splashing on Raph who wipes some of it off his mouth.

Donnie pants lightly as he flips his tech-bo out of the oni’s reach, using their mystic powers to summon a glowing arsenal and using all the firepower they can, the force sends the oni back where Raph takes this chance to punch the oni back, it flies and April, who’s hitching a ride on Donnie’s jetpack, reaches her hand out toward Casey who looks alarmingly tired.

“CASEY!” He exclaims, about to jump onto the oni before the movement is brought to a sudden halt, “April.. don’t! Just–” She groans, flinching before taking in a breath, “It’s taking my energy to resist.. please.. go.. I’ll–” Casey stops again, wincing and coughing out some sort of black goo. Donnie and April’s eyes widen and she clenches his hand into a fist.

“I won’t leave you Casey! I can’t! You’ve been through too much please just reach for my hand and–” April’s pleas are cut off by Casey yelling as loud as she could manage, “ GO! ” They yelled, flailing in the oni’s grasp. The three stop, watching as the oni stops for a moment before slowly starting to glow a toxic green as Casey goes limp. April’s shoulders drop and tears well up in his eyes.

“No..” April mutters, but it ends up coming out as a whimper, Donnie looks at the scene in shock, blinking back the moisture in their eyes before turning around and blasting off with April.

“NO! WE CAN’T LEAVE HER THERE NO PLEASE!” April yells, trying to jump off the jetpack before being stopped by Raph grabbing his legs. April slowly goes limp, swaying as the two run back to the tree, their hands shaking with regret written over their faces.

Chapter Text

They enter the lair, Raph carrying a silently crying April on his back. Leo looks over at them in excitement but that quickly end when they hear April’s silent sobbing and notice that Casey isn’t with them. They slowly stand up.

    “Hey guys... this would be a funny joke and all, but where’s Case?” They ask, gulping when April goes silent and their siblings look to the floor with sorrow settled into their expressions. Leo can feel their heart beat jsut a bit faster as they ask their next question, hoping for answers.

    “What happened to CJ?..” They asked, their voice cracking in the middle of their sentence. Raph whimpers quietly, her hands clenched into a fist. She hesitates on her next words, opening his mouth and closing it before Donnie speaks.

    “The oni took her,” Donnie said, their voice grave and empty of any tone at all. Leo’s shoulders hike up, fear and sadness in their expression, “Donnie, you better be joking..” Leo mutters lightly, goosebumps traveling up their body. Leo’s world seemingly shatters when Donnie shakes his head slowly.

    They look down at the short carpeted floor, “She’s gone?” Leo’s broken voice mutters, pulling at their heart cords. April’s body is racked with a sob at the words and he starts sobbing all over again, clutching Raph as she cries.

    Leo rubs their eyes, trying to stop the tears before they even begin but with their shaking hands the attempt it futile, the movement agitates their eyes and even more tears sprout out their eyes, rolling smoothly down their face until they reach Leo’s jaw.

    “I- I’m sorry Leo I-” Raph mutters, her own eyes filling up with tears as she tried to blink them away, holding April with his quivering hands. Donnie looks at the scene with blank eyes, only the glossiness of his eyes assisting in making it known that Donnie’s saddened about the potential death.

    While the three cry and the fourth sits there consoling their crying brother, Draxum watches with worry and frowns deeply when another unfamiliar feeling of sadness tugs at his heart strings.

    “What are we going to do now?..” April mutters, wiping her face with her hands as she looks at the other three sitting with him. They all shrug, their shoulders moving sluggish before dropping down. April wipes his glasses and frowns at their expression of hopelessness, rubbing her wrist with his hand.

    April looks up at Draxum from the corner of his eye, Draxum meeting her gaze before he steps out, making himself known. The attention in the room indirectly shifts over to him. Donnie slowly looks up with burden heavy eyes.

    “We neeed to find Michelangelo and Casey,” Draxum says, his voice firm before he’s interrupted by April squawking, horrible worry in her eyes once again, “WHAT?! That thing took Mikey too?!” April’s voice breaks in the middle of his sentence and the three nod, Draxum nodding solemnly with them as well. April’s shoulders go lax and he looks down at the floor. Draxum hesitantly continues.

    “We need a spy to somehow latch to the oni, we need more inside information if we even want a chance to find Michelangelo and Casey,” Draxum spoke, looking over all the children and frowning, clearing his throat, “We need a secretive device..” Draxum continues, not so subtly glancing at Donnie every so often. The mentioned merely continues looking at the floor blankly.

    “Maybe even a.. cockroach spy to latch onto the oni..” He tries once again, his ear flicking when Donnie slowly looks up at him slightly disbelieving. 

    “Are you saying.. that I can make a SPY ROACH?!” Donnie asks enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of their feet as they flap their hands continuously Draxum chuckles before replying to him, “Yes, as long as it’s small enough to not be easily noticeable.”

    Donnie nods with fervor at that, squealing at a higher pitch before jumping around Draxum, “Oh Oh! Do you have a lab down here?! How big is it?! What kind of mechanisms do you use for the secret door that you most likely have to hide the lab?!” Donnie asks quickly, their eyes sparkling, Draxum looks hesitant to lead Donnie to the lab but he takes in a breath, shrugging.

    “Alright, I’ll lead you to the lab, just don’t touch anything that isn’t yours,” Donnie nods enthusiastically at that, allowing Draxum to lead him to the lab as Leo, Raph, and April watch them go. April let out an airless chuckle.

    “Well that was i—” Donnie sticks his head out from the corner of the wall, “Ah, April! Almost forgot about you!” They exclaim before grabbing his arm and casually bringing her along. April looks at Donnie, portraying the same amount of confusion as a tired cat who just got rudely awoken.

    “Hey– Donnie! I know I’m considered a nerd in highschool, but why am I goin’ in there with you?” He asked, his arms crossed as she was dragged, Raph and Leo watching as she got dragged. Donnie looked down at April with a smile on his face.

    “You don’t want to help your most likely second favorite sibling and learn how to control said device that I’m working on?” April’s eyes lit up when she heard those words, his hands coming up to his chest.

    “Woah! Are you for real Donnie?!” He asked in disbelief, Donnie nodded enthusiastically, “Why of course I am dear sister of mine,” Donnie says, their eyes closed with a smile. April’s smile widened and she walked through the door to Draxum’s lab with Donnie. Leo’s shoulders slumped farther and they groaned, falling back into Raph’s arms.

Chapter Text

It had been an interesting time for April, she had learned many things about what Donnie plans on turning this project into, and she was more than invested. She wasn’t prepared to see something so small and well, compact!

    The device had the appearance of a baby cockroach, and it looked disturbingly realistic. Apparently, Donie used to make these to scare Raph, who was oddly afraid of cockroaches. It didn’t take him long to make the little guy, but what she could tell would take longer would be the internal programing. 

    The cockroach, which April decided to name Spike due to the pointed spike on its back, was basically lifeless at the moment. It was limited to simple idle movement, most of which was found in its antennas. 

    Donnie said they planned to strap a camera, as well as a microphone to it. It would be remote controlled, which is where April came in. He was entranced with how they compacted everything, and how they co-existed perfectly. He looked down at Donnie who was sat in his usual chair and smiled widely, patting his head affectionately.

    “Wow! Good job Don, this must’ve taken sometime to think out, huh?” Donnie stared at April with wide eyes when he heard the comment, their eyes basically shining with gratitude. 

    “Parental validation..” He muttered under his breath, his hands jerking before he finally brings them up and flaps them around, an overjoyed expression on their face.

    “AHH!! Thank you April, I will remember this way for the rest of my life!! Where did my calender short cut go I need to insert this..” Donnie muttered near the end of his sentence, scrolling furiously on the projected panel. April watches them with a small smile on her face.

    “Man Donnie, I don’t get you at all, but that’s what makes you you!” April grinned, her hand going to her hip. Donnie then cleared his throat, closing his eyes tightly. 

    “I will be so normal about this..” Donnie muttered, readjusting his glasses and cracking his knuckles, “Alright, the programming should be uploaded to the chips in about an hour, maybe a half,” He turns to April, a sly grin on his face.

    “In the mean time, let’s teach you how to use this bad boy,” April pumped her fist into the air once she heard that, “Yes!!” 

    On the other hand, Leo and Raph weren’t dealing too well with being left alone. Leo looked as if they had one million things to say while Raph looked like he was just waiting for Leo to start yelling. The two sat tensely in the living room, both waiting for the other to talk. 

    ICK meows from inside her bowl, looking at the two siblings worriedly. Raph smiles at the cat and reaches her hand out to pet it, ICK meowing happily at the touch.

    “Mikey would’ve loved Ice Cream Kitty,” Leo says off-handedly, causing Raph to look back at them with a balanced expression, slowly retracting his hand from ICK.

    “Leo, we don’t need to talk about this right now,” She said sternly, crossing her arms. Leo merely scoffs and Raph can hear the oncoming anger in their voice.

    “Well, maybe we wouldn’t have to talk about it if Mikey didn’t get taken by that thing in the first place,” Leo says once again, glaring at an empty corner of the room. Raph can feel sadness creep up his back.

    “It wasn’t your fault, Leo..” Raph mutters, reaching her hand out toward Leo who jerks away as if the touch burned him. They turn to glare at Raph, tears in their eyes.

    “Except, it IS my fault, Raph!” They stand up on shaking legs, bringing a hand to their chest, “I wasn’t watching her! She was vulnerable! If only I got there just a bit earlier, then maybe—” Leo’s rambling is cut off by Raph enveloping them into a hug, tears in her eyes as well.

    “Leo.. it can’t just be your fault. That’s not what being leader is about. You don’t have to take all the blame, it wasn’t our fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault but the oni who took him,” Leo shudders, tears clouding their vision as they fall with haste. They clutch onto Raph, their shoulders going lax.

    “I just..” Their sentence breaks with a sob, “I just want him back..” Tears hit the floor soundlessly in a barrage, “I JUST WANT MY BROTHER BACK WHAT THE FUCK IS SO WRONG ABOUT THAT?!” Leo screams, their dry throat burning from the volume. Raph doesn’t say anything, only holding Leo tighter.

    “It’s okay Leo, it’s alright we’ll get ‘em back I promise,” Raph mutters in a hushed tone as Leo’s sobs slowly turn into lessening hiccups. She rubs Leo’s back, rocking back and forth with them in their arms. 

    Once Leo’s asleep, Raph looks up and smiles at Draxum who had his hand outstretched, magic radiating from it. He nods at Raph before walking away from the doorframe to who knows where.

    Raph looked down at Leo’s sleeping body with a fond smile, brushing the ends of the mask away from his face. But the peaceful moment is shortly lived, being interrupted with a loud explosion

Chapter Text

Raph’s first instinct at the sound is to scramble up and go check on whatever made the noise, but with Leo on her lap she’s unable to. After a minute, April comes into view, popping out from the side of the wall.

    “Sorry Raph! Donnie measured data incorrectly and it overloaded one of our chips, causing it to explode..” He explained, a sheepish smile on his face. Raph nodded at the explanation, “Alright.. just don’t get hurt, alright?” April smiled, nodding frantically before swinging back around the corner back to the lab.

    “Alright.. thirty more minutes and it should be done uploading then we can put the device together!” April muttered to herself excitedly, pumping her fist into the air. She peeks inside the lab before entering.

    “I told Raph about the explosion, Donnie! She just said not not get hurt,” Donnie pulls up their welding helmet to look at April with an unamused expression on his face.

    “Scoff! We won’t get hurt, it was just a minor inconvenience!” Donnie declares, rolling his eyes. April gasps when he sees the small torch in Donnie’s hand.

    “Hey! I thought we were gonna wait until we had both parts before we start welding it together?” April said, her eyebrows furrowed as she walked up to the desk Donnie was welding on. They hold out a hood for April.

    “Yes, but it would be more convenient if we got this out of the way. We already have the measurements and we figured out the placement earlier. It’ll be fine!” Donnie waved the worry off, April shrugging before they both flip on their hoods.

    Donnie works in silence, April occasionally pointing out vulnerable spots that Donnie hadn’t seen. It’s quiet, quick, and efficient work. Once the welding is complete, Donnie pulls up their mask with a smile, turning to look at April as she pulls her hood off as well.

    “Great! We’re done with this, and the uploading has…” Donnie leaned over, grabbing the mouse for the computer and shaking it a few times. The screen turns back on, 80% shown in big letters. 

    “..About ten more minutes! Alright, what do we need to do now..” Donnie lets go of the mouse and leans back into the chair, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“We could start the plan on how to actually get this thing on the oni?” April suggests, Donnie perking up at April’s words.

“Ah yes! How have I not thought of that?” Donnie removes their 

mask and places it on the table, April reciprocating the motion. Donnie then spins the chair to face April. 

    “So, I’m quite positive that if we simply exit the base and walk around a bit, the oni will appear. So maybe I could throw a smoke bomb while also throwing the device at it, and we can use the smoke to escape?” Donnie suggests, looking back at April once they finished the thought. April seemed to think the plan over for a moment or two.

    “Yeah.. but how do we know the oni won’t lash out because of the smoke, and possibly catch one of us as a result?” They hum at April’s words, slouching down into the chair.

    “..It feels highly unlikely, but it is quite possible.. I could send a drone to drop the smoke bomb while we distract the oni?” Donnie then suggests, April smiling at the suggestion.

    “That’s it! We wouldn’t want to risk someone gettin captured!” April grins wider, throwing his thumb up. Donnie smirks at the reaction and readjusts his goggles.

    “Alright then, I had one of my beta drones with me while we were last running from the oni, so if I just unload this—” Donnie picks up the drone, opening the wide clasp and turning it over. They both stop when something clatters out of it.

    With shaking hands, April leans down and picks up the mask gently. It was Casey’s and the drone must’ve picked it up when she was turned upside down by the oni. They both stare at the mask in silence, looking at the empty eyes of the mask.

    April gulps and slowly stands up, putting the mask on her head and taking a few deep breathes in to calm herself. Donnie purses his lips before standing up.

    “April, you should go for a bit, maybe get something to eat,” Donnie suggests, April nodding soundlessly before walking out of the lab. Donnie turns around, watching him leave before turning back.

    Walking into the kitchen, she’s almost surprised to see Draxum sitting at the table, his head in his hands as he simply sits there. April looks him over, thinking that he’s asleep before turning around.

    “April,” The voice stops him, he flinches and snaps back around. It was just Draxum, he looks indifferent but April can see a hint of exhaustion in his expression. April repositions herself, clearing her throat.

    “Yeah?..” She says, looking at the table before snapping her eyes up to Draxum. He looks back at her blankly.

    “With.. With everything going on, I was wondering if you would like some training? Just to be more prepared with the possibility of something happening,” Draxum spared a glance toward the mask on April’s head, choosing not to talk about it.

    He seems to hesitate a bit before nodding, agreeing to the training. Draxum smiles at her and April can’t help but reciprocate it.

Chapter Text

Raph had eventually fallen asleep with Leo on her lap, it was a peaceful time for the two, although a bit uncomfortable because of the lack of pillows and blankets. But once again, a loud noise interrupted the two and awoke them rudely from their slumber. Leo opened one eye to glare at Donnie.

“I DID IT!! THE DEVICE IS COMPLETE, WE GOTTA GET OUT THERE AND ATTRACT THE ONI SO—” Donnie’s yells were cut off by Leo speaking, their voice mangled.

“Mmm it can wait Donnie.. we all need to sleep..” Raph yawns, nodding with Leo’s words. He slowly stands up, stumbling over her own feet. Once Raph is standing in front of Donnie, she carefully picks them up causing Donnie to squawk.

She places Donnie down near Leo, the former immediately latching onto Donnie. He groans before yawning, a conflicted look on their face.

“Noo!! I have so much to do! We need to find Michael and..” He yawns again, Raph’s tired eyes looking down at him, “Don’t worry Donnie. We’ll find him. But we need to sleep,” Donnie flutters his eyes, it had been two to three days since Mikey was taken and they had hardly slept. Donnie said no more before passing out, Leo going limp with him as they both slept.

Raph smiled down at them, the picture would be perfect if only Mikey was here. And, maybe even their father. She frowned at the thought. He was no where to be found and Raph had hald a mind to think that he fled for himself. But Raph knew he would never do that.

Walking out of the living room and past the kitchen, he stumbles upon a dojo where Draxum and April are sparring, neither donning weapons. Raph waits for a moment as to not interrupt, and once the sparring comes to a close he waddles in there; movig directly towards April.

She looks up at Raph, her confusion evident in her expression, “Uh, hey Raph, ya need anything?” Raph nods her head, making grabby hands toward April soundlessly. The older smiles at her, taking one of Raph’s giant hands in his own.

“Ah, you’re sleepy?” April coos, reaching her hand up and patting Raph. Draxum shakes his head fondly, a small smile on his face before he takes the second entrance to exit the dojo, leaving April and Raph inside.

Raph nods at April’s question, pulling her toward the entrance which he entered from. April chuckles at his behavior and allows himself to be pulled along toward the living room.

Once they enter the space, April smiles softly at Leo and Donnie who are sleeping deeply on the short carpeted floor. Raph then falls on the floor as gently as she could manage, curling up around Leo and Donnie with a content sigh. He gestures for April to join and he eagerly does. Raph looks down at a spot between Leo and Donnie with sadness and familiarity. April looks as well and he easily knows that that’s where Mikey laid.

Reaching over, she lays her hand on Raph’s head once again, smiling when Raph chirped before slowly falling into sleep. April looked affectionately over the three, wishing Mikey, Casey, and Splinter were there to perfect the picture. That’s when April stops, her eyes going wide and he resists the urge to spring up from where he’s laying.

Sunita and Cass. They’re still out there as well. Would they be safe? Would the oni go after them? Does the oni know they’re close to the group? April gulps, his eyelashes fluttering as he looks around the room. He hopes his girlfriends would be alright.

April lays with the three turtles for who knows how long, not really sleeping but not awake at the same time. Everything felt blurred for her. She was nervous. More so than usual. Her hands were twitching and her breath felt baited. She was scared. That was all she could feel at the moment.

She needed Sunita and Cass. At the very least she needed to know that they were safe. April clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth, looking around frantically before coming to her decision.

It was impossible to bear this any longer. April needed to find Sunita and Cass and she would do it on her own if she had to. Slowly retracting her hand from Raph’s head, she lifted herself up with upmost caution.

He already lost one of his favorite people and he wasn’t about to loose another. Rushing toward the couch, he scoops up his bat that was propped on the couch. He then walks toward the drop area of the living room, disapearing with a small sound.

Chapter Text

Draxum’s ear twitched. It was a miniscule change but only he would know that it meant more than it led on. He opened one of his eyes, looking around the dojo in which he was previously meditating in. Something had changed.

    Standing up carefully, Draxum made his way out of th dojo, walking past the kitchen and into the living room. He looked down at the three kids, a smile twitching onto his face. He looked around the room, noticing April’s bat was missing, as well as April himself.

    Biting his lip, he hesitated before beginning to walk out of the living room and toward the lab. There was no sound coming from the area but he continued on, pressing his hand to the panel and the doors opening with a small whizz of smoke. There was no one inside. 

    With his worry progressively worsening, he turns away from the lab, quickly closing the door behind him. So here he was now, left to stand in the middle of the living room while trying to quietly find April. He looked up at the teleportation area. April surely wouldn’t, right? 

    Left with no choice, Draxum sighed, his shoulders dropping before he walks under the high ceiling, soon being teleported out of the lair.

    Draxum had to make this quick, he knew the oni would be capable of finding him quickly, but right now his concern was more focused on April and how long she had been out here; if he was out here.

    Holding his hand out, he summoned a broach, slapping it on his chest before running toward where he felt April’s energy emitting from. He ran past houses and trees as well as cars and children walking with their parents. And he soon came to stop in front of a shoe shop.

    He looked suspicious at the bad cover-up, and he felt even worse knowing that April was with the Foot. Was he kidnapped? How would they have found his lair? Or did the kidnap April when he was out on the surface? Draxum looked hesitant to enter the shop but he rolled his eyes, feeling that he had to find April.

    “The things I do for these kids..” Draxum muttered, rubbing his hands over his face before straightening himself out and clearing his throat before opening the door to the shop.

    The first thing he saw when he walked in was April with her bat propped up on the counter, her arms shaking as she tightly hugged two girls that both seemed a bit familiar to Draxum.

    “April?” Draxum spoke, ignoring how the two girl’s snapped their heads up to look at him. He recognized one of them now, at least. Cassandra, the Foot recruit that he was quite acquainted with. Cass growled when she saw him, freeing one of her arms to wrap around April and the other girl who looked clueless.

    April lifted his head to look back at Draxum, confusion evident in her expression, “Sorry but who are you?” She asked, slowly letting go of Cass and the other girl. Draxum looked just as confused befor ehe remembered the cloaking broach. He pulled it off in one movement before looking back at April who wilted once he noticed who it was.

    “Oh.. Draxum.. Heyyyy what are you doing here?” She asked, a small sheepish grin appearing on her face. Draxum looked unamused, his arms crossed which made him look more serious than he really felt. All in all, he was really just relieved to have found April safe.

    “I came to make sure you were alright seeing as you weren’t in the lair,” Draxum said briskly, tapping his foot on the floor as April chuckled nervously. Cass snapped her head between the two.

    “HEY! Since when were you two all buddy buddy?!” Cass asked loudly, clutching April and the other girl closer. Speaking of that other girl, Draxum felt the need to knwo who she was.

    “You there,” He said, pointing at the yokai whom turned to look at him, pointing to herself as she tilted her head, “Yeah?” She said questionably, a small smile on her face as she pointed to herself.

    “Yes, what is your name girl?” The yokai smiled they heard that, “I’m Sunita! And I use they/she pronouns! What about you?” They asked, a smile casually on their face as they awaited for Draxum’s answer while still being squished in Cass and April’s arms. Draxum looked at her confusedly.

    “Um, you know my name already, and I use the he ones,” Draxum said quickly, just now remembering the very potent threat that was the oni.

    “April, take Sunita and the recruit back to the lair if you wish, but we must hurry before the oni catches wind of our location,” Draxum spoke with haste, placing his cloaking broach back on his chest before turning toward the door. April seemed surprised at his calm reaction to them, but he quickly nodded as he moved to grab his bat.

    “Right! Sunita, Cass, we gotta blast!” April said, a smile on her face when Cass rolled her eyes at the joke and Sunita’s smile widened. Sunita grabbed their own cloaking broach, slapping it on their chest before grabbing Cass’ hand and running after April hand-in-hand.

    “Quickly! The oni is a formidable hunter and we do not want to be found!” Draxum exclaims, not looking back as he only accelerates. April nods wordlessly, as does Cass. Sunita takes off the broach once they enter the forest, the oni sounds far. Cass positions her arms as Sunita climbs on top. Cass then grunts as she propels Sunita forward, the latter haphazardly stumbling before regaining their balance.

    Cass looks back to see the oni closing in, she narrows her eyes and doesn’t look back, looking down at her feet and jumping onto a nearby tree, using a sturdy branch to launch herself forward as well. The oni roars, a grotesque gurggled sound roughly ripping out from its throat. April holds back the scream that threatens to escape when a glob of some unknown substance lands right where she was about to step.

    April notices the tree to the lair and he skids to a stop as Draxum quickly lights his finger and swipes the symbol over the thin tree. Then in no time Sunita is thrown into the portal, Cass following shortly after them. April takes no time to dive in, Draxum glancing back briefly before his eyes widen and he’s stopped.

Chapter Text

Sunita tumbled through the portal, an esthatic smile on her face which soon came to an end when she fell right on top of a turtle pile, rudely awakening three previously sleeping turtles.

“Oh man.. what gives?! I was having a neat dream!” Leo whined, bringing their hands up to rub at their eyes to rid themself of bleary vision. They stop when they see Sunita in the middle of what was previously their peaceful turtle pile.

“Oh, hey Sunita, how did you get here,” They ask, stopping when April and Cass come through the portal. They sit up in surprise, Donnie and Raph following after them.

“Dude, did you seriously leave Draxum alone April? Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving?” The girl smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of her head, “Well, it’s a pretty interesting story, wait where’s Draxum.” 

The six look at each other blankly before the turtles are scrambling to stand up, scattering toward the area with the raised roof, but they’re put to a stop when April and Cass yank their mask tails.

“Hey! Young ones, you are not going face first INTO DANGER! That’s my thing,” April deadpans at Cassandra’s words but a smile comes onto his face anyways, “Cass is right guys, Draxum is a mystic warrior, and if he isn’t back by tomorrow, we’ll use the device we made and we’ll find everyone the oni took from us,” April grins, slinging her arm around Donnie who blinks in surprise before nodding proudly.

“Ah yes, our device! We’ll find them in no time with it! Thanks to our combined genius, of course!” April smiles even wider at Donnie’s words and the two giggle silently, Raph slouching once her mask tail was released. A solemn expression covers her face now.

“Man, I hope they’re okay.. did Draxum even get taken by th’ oni, or did he just go somewhe’ else?” Leo slides down the wall by him, shrugging at his concerns.

“I dunno Raph, but our best bet is that they’re safe! Like April said, Draxum is a powerful mystic warrior—” Raph interrupts Leo grimly, “ Was a powerful mystic warrior,” Leo looks unamused at Raph’s lack of hope, they sigh deeply.

“Yeah, was, whatever, but our brother is really powerful! Like, so powerful that some old oni wanted to kidnap her!” A frown jerks onto Raph’s face and he curls into a ball by the couch.

“Yeah but.. what if he destroys himself?” Leo freezes at that, his eyes wide, “What? What do ya mean by that Raph, nothing’s gonna happen—”

“You heard what Case said about what could’ve been our future,” Raph says firmly, but her voice was still soft. She was hurting, Leo recognized this easily, “They could be dead right now, broken apart into millions of particles..” Everyone in the room goes silent at Raph’s words, and he looks up to see tears in everyone’s eyes, most prominently April.

He stomps up to Raph, stopping right in front of him. He grabs his shoulders, forcing Raph to look up at him.

“Raph. He’ll be alright, we will make sure of it, Donnie’s working on making a tracker for Mikey’s mystic energy, and tomorrow we launch the device. We’ll find her. We’ll find everyone,” Raph blinks out the tears in her eyes to the best of her ability, and in a meek voice, she manages one word.

“Promise?” She mutters, so quietly that April nearly missed it. Surprise is evident in her expression before she smiles down at Raph, Squeezing her shoulder firmly.

“I promise you, little sister,” And just like that, Raph bursts into tears, ugly sobs ripping from his throat as he clutches onto April who smiles softly at him, holding him closely and rocking as Raph cries.

Chapter Text

They go to bed easily, couches pushed together, blankets strewn around the living room. Raph and April are side by side, Sunita and Cass are squished together on the other side of April. On Raph’s side, Leo’s stretched out over the couch and Donnie’s legs are the only thing you can see. Donnie’s perched over the top of the couch, his arms dangling as he sleeps soundlessly.

It’s the only peaceful moment in their life, at this point. Sad isn’t it? Only being at peace while you’re asleep? In a sense, I feel that everyone can relate to it. You feel nothing while you sleep. Time just... passes by without you ever knowing. 

But that peace is soon broken by a blaring alarm coming from April’s phone. They all jolt awake, panicked before relaxing when they realize it was just April’s alarm. She looks to read the alarm, and notices that it’s time.

“Hey, Don, time to release the roach,” April said, his voice husky but a smile easily heard. Donnie grins at the words and stumbles off the top of the couch, stretching their back and groaning, “Geez who let me sleep on top of the couch..” He grumbled before shaking his head and walking out of the living room.

“Well, come on April, I need to add a few more things then we can attract it over,” Donnie said, April nodding at the information and falling into step with Donnie. Cass, Sunita, Raph, and Leo watch them leave sleepily.

“I could never ,” Leo chuckled before rolling over and closing their eyes. Raph looks down at them with a smile before closing her eyes with a lengthy sigh. She settles back into the bed, only to snap her eyes open when she’s face to face with Cass. They stare at each other in silence before Cass jolts up.

“AAAAH OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU FUCKING—” Cass screeches, pouncing off the couches in one swift movement. Sunita looks between Cass and Raph with a look of confusion on their face.

“Do you not remember diving into the portal Cass? We’re here because of the oni,” Sunita explains, causing Cass to furrow her eyebrows before she perks up, “Oh. Oh yeah! That oni who.. who took the mean goat!” Cass exclaimed, standing up and pointing her finger up in the air. Sunita nods with a smile while Leo and Raph stare at Cass in exhaustion.

“How are you two still tired? We slept for at least an hour or two!” Cass raised an eyebrow, the two continued to stare at her until Leo spoke.

“Do you know everyone who was taken by the oni?” They asked, clinging to Raph’s arm, yet their face held a deadpanned expression. Cass gave Leo a discombobulated look, “There were more taken aside from the mean goat?” Leo nodded.

“Yeah, Mikey, Casey, and the newest addition, Draxum apparently,” Leo said, the neutral tone in their voice slowly darkening as they thought back to their missing brother they would soon hopefully find. Cass’ eyes swam when she heard Leo speak about Casey.

“Casey?.. They took her?” Cass asks in an oddly slow and somber tone for her. Leo‘s eyes dulled even further and they nod, a frown plastered on their face, displaying how they felt since this whole fiasco started.

“Yeah, earlier like a day or two ago when we were getting April, she tripped and well... it took her,” They said gloomily, Cass’ hands shook as she stared down at the floor. 

“Is she... okay? Do you know if they’re okay? Do you even know if they’re alive ?” Cass said gravely, slowly looking up until her eyes met Leo who stared at her in horror.

“Cass.. maybe now isn’t the time, we’re about to save them, and—” Raph tried to settle the situation, but Cass couldn’t be settled now. No, it was the last thing on her mind. She snarled and snapped her gaze to Raph with burning eyes. Whatever protest he had died down in his throat as he stared at Cass.

“SHE COULD BE DEAD, RAPH,” She yelled, her stance firm and her hands reddening by her sides. The living room went quiet and the three just stared at Cass as her chest heaved.

“They.. they could all be dead..” Cass muttered with her eyes now wide. Leo and Raph felt their breath hitching in their chests, and their pupils contracted until they were mere speaks of black. 

“The oni.. the tales are of a ruthless monster who would do anything for power.. the tale of a monster who ruined a peaceful man’s life..” The realization dawned upon them. The severity of the situation. The severity of the danger their loved ones could be in.. if they were still alive, that is.

But as prominent of the thought that they could be dead was, Raph had hope. His baby brother couldn’t be dead. No way, she was the oldest of the four, even though April was older than her, she should die before Mikey it wouldn’t be fair for him to die at such a young age so there’s no way he’s dead there’s no possible way!

The room is silent. No one dares to speak and break the tense atmosphere. None of them could. They simply stared away from each other and wallowed over their own thoughts.

“IT’S DONE!” Shouted a voice from the direction of the lab, the four looked up at the hallway to see Donnie and April strolling out, both unaware of the previously stiff atmosphere. Donnie held a small device with steady hands before displaying it proudly.

“Here it is! The little guy that will get us our friends back!” Donnie exclaimed, hope shining in his eyes although they could all see the insecurities of something going wrong shining in his eyes just as brightly. Sunita pursed their lips and looked at everyone in the room. She hoped this would work. For their sake!

“Everything’s connected, we’ll be good to go right now. April knows how to pilot the device and I have the smoke bomb as a distraction, as well as the cameras I made a drone set up so everyone will be able to watch from the lair,” Donnie grinned, holding the device just a bit tighter with his grin just a bit strained. April smiled with Donnie but it didn’t quite reach as far as it usually did.

“I’ll go ‘attract’ the oni so we can latch the device to it,” Donnie says, walking toward the area with the raised roof before Raph stops them, concern evident in her expression.

“Wait, are you serious? You’re just going to go out there alone? That’s how we lost Draxum, you know!” Raph exclaimed, mask drawing down in a show of worry. Donnie turned and their exhausted, heavy eyes met Raph’s.

“I’ll be fine. I promise, I just.. I have a smoke bomb, and no one ever catches us during escapes when we have these. I’ll get back as soon as it goes off, I promise,” Donnie said sternly, leaving no room for arguments in the way he spoke. Raph’s bottom lip quivered but she bit down on it with her snaggletooth, stopping the words that she wanted to say. She hung her head, looking down at her feet.

“Just.. don’t look at it. Okay? When you hear it, just throw it and don’t look back,” Donnie nodded dismissively, turning to continue toward the raised roof before Raph grabs their shoulder. They turn with an agitated look in their eyes but it’s put to a stop when they see the tears in his eyes.

“I don’t want you to go like Casey, please, Donnie,” His heart drops into his stomach and his mouth is now open, gaping as he stares at Raph. The latter smiles sadly before turning and walking out of the room, looking back before walking out.

Donnie closes their eyes and takes a few breaths to calm themself. They’ve got this. They’ll save them. It’ll be okay. And with that thought, Donnie looks at everyone remaining in the room, meeting their eyes.

Leo, April, Cass, Sunita. He smiles and nods at April who smirks, nodding back before running out into the hall toward the lab. Donnie takes that as his cue to turn around and exit. The last three watch him disappear.

Chapter Text

It was quiet outside, unusually so. This wouldn’t have bothered Donnie have it been any other day, in fact, it would’ve made his time there better. He found himself thinking something he’s thought often now, ‘I wish it wasn’t so quiet.’

    But this silence wouldn’t go away unless they got Mikey back. Donnie knew this. Even if the woods were bustling with people doing all sorts of things, he would still feel this dreadful emptiness that came with the feeling of loneliness.

    Shaking his head, he elected to ignore his own feelings in favor of rubbing his thumb over the small device before making sure he had th esmoke bomb, which he did. Pocketing both of them, he began to walk idly near the tree, acting as if he was unguarded which, he technically was.

    Eventually, he heard it. At first it was a deafeningly loud screech that caused him to jolt violently, then it faded into a loud but more bearable noise that was slowly lessening. That’s when he knew that the oni was heading their way, and fast.

    Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he snaps his fingers a few times before he catches a glimpse of the oni. He quickly pulls out the device and the smoke bomb which are attached, his eyes never leaving the oni. They’re at a standstill for a moment before it makes a bold movement in an attempt to catch Donnie, who takes this as his cue to throw the smoke bomb.

    The light purple bomb soars in the air before meeting the oni, it crowds its arms around its face in an attempt to shoo the smoke away. He looks back momentarily to see the device fly oni the oni before turning and darting into the portal inside the tree that Sunita made once they knew the plan was a success.

    Once the smoke clears, the oni snaps its head around the park area, knocking down trees and tearing up the floor while trying to find Donnie. Eventually, the oni gives up and snarl before taking off into the air, unaware of the device sitting on it.

    Donnie met Sunita in a high five the moment he appeared in the bunker, but he quickly scrambled up from where he fell to run to the lab, where April was. Raph, Leo, Sunita, and Cass follow after them.

    When they all walk in, they see April holding down on a button whilst muttering something under her breath.

    “Are you turning the device on?” Donnie asks before rushing over toward April who nods at their question once the light begins glowing green, “Yeah just did,” April replies before grabbing a small knob and turning it to the side, static comes through the microphone.

    April connects a wire into the large computer screen before connecting it to a smaller computer. He flips a switch and they hear a small locking sound. She drags the coding pad on screen and types in a quick command, the screen flickers to life, a low-quality viewing.

    “Try typing in command 130, it’s in the third section,” Donnie suggested to April who nodded before doing just that, the screen showing the video was now fitted to the screen, btu it was still blurry. April gazed at the computer screen, humming before hunching over th keyboard and typing in another command, the screen progressively cleared. 

    Everyone in the lair was silent, not wanting to mess up the flow that April had acquired, for she seemed to be in her own world. 

    He typed in another command before pulling up a microphone and bringing it close to his face, “394, controls,” He spoke with clarity. The computer beeped and he reached over for the controller on the desk which now had icons that were glowing with green accents.

    Unflipping the switch from earlier, another locking sound came from the device, she held the joystick down forward, crawling around the oni with care before stopping to rest on its head, where it had the best view. She reflipped the switch before typing in another command. Coordinates soon appeared on the corner of the screen. She turned to Donnie.

    “The coordinates are being tracked and recorded live, so we’ll be able to look back on the feed to see where the oni’s going, and if it teleports, we’ll have data on what happened, and how,” Donnie’s eyes lit up and he grinned at April.

    “Ahh! They learn so fast!” They squeaked, pumping their fist into the air. April shot him a look of amusement.

    “I’m older than you Donnie, I’ve been doing this before you were even hatched!” She giggled, Donnie rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, “And your point is? You’re technically my student, I don’t care if you’re older than me.”

    April stifled a laugh at Donnie before static filled the room at random. They all snapped their eyes to the screen, curious as to what could have caused the noise.

    The oni was gathering something up in its throat, a choking type of noise gurglign out of its throat. Cass looked at the screen in disgust, Raph and Leo sharing her expression as they stared at the screen. Sunita, on the other hand, seemed unphased by this interesting show.

    Soon, the oni spit out phlegm into the air, and the phlegm swirled into a portal. They all stared at the screen in shock as the oni pulled itself back before flying into the portal. The feed soon went to static.

    “Donnie, the coordinates, write them down! I’ll see if I can get the feed back up,” April barked out the orders to Donnie who nodded before turning and opening up a laptop. He gets another cord and plugs it into the laptop, plugging the other side into the computer.

    The video pops up onto the smaller screen, and Donnie winds it back, grabbing a stray piece of paper on the desk and grabbing a pen from a nearby cup. He clicks the pen before pausing the video, scribbling down the coordinates before crossing them out and writing them down neater.

    Keyboard clicks fill the room, accompanied by April’s mutters, Donnie’s pen scribbling, Raph and Leo quietly talking, and Cass hovering soundlessly over April’s shoulder, Sunita watching Donnie write down coordinates and extra things he noticed from the video.

    A low, starling static began to build up from the speakers and the screen faded into a glitched version of something they were unsure of how to comprehend. It was.. an oddly light world for the creature that in inhabited it. They all watched the screen intently as the oni began to fly toward a building in the sky, a buzzing from the inky colored wings of the creature catching on the microphone. The oni entered the large castle like structure and curled up into itself, the camera went black.

    “Hey! What happened to the camera?! Did the creature crush it?!” Casey Sr exclaimed, looking at the screen before turning to April who pulled up the program which was used to monitor the video.

    “No, the camera is just covered. I don’t think the oni knows the device is there yet,” April replied, dragging the tracking program to a separate monitor.

    “So if it just covered up the camera... why don’t you move the bug thing?” Leo asked, tilting their head as April sighed deeply before turning the rolly chair to face Leo.

    “There’s a giant probability that the oni would find out it’s being tracked AND monitored if we moved the bug. It’d be best to wait until it’s uncovered, we don’t want to risk missing the chance to find out where Case, Mikey, and Draxum are,” April concluded, Leo skipping over all the big words and only processing the last few.

    The scree lit up once again, at first it was submerged in a bright flash of what seemed to be light pink before the scenery changed into a dark, grim room. The walls seemed to have something akin to vines hanging down them, but they were purple in color with a displeasing textured appearance.

    Or, in other words, they seemed to be sentient tentacles by how they pulsed and flicked at the ends. The walls were no better, in fact, they were disgusting. The walls where a maroon-ish color, with occasional thick veins that pulsed out of the wall being a lighter red in color, sometimes a forest green or neon-ish orange.

    Raph shivered, they could only imagine the texture of those things, he would puke if he touched those things, likely. But he would do it for Mikey and Case if he had to, even Drauxm at this point, seeing as he’d been a huge help in their plan of rescuing Mikey.

    The oni turned a corner or two before stopping in front of two doors with the same tentacle-meat looking texture as the rest, but they were darker in color and looked to be tougher than the walls. The oni knocked with its head, nearly crushing the device but to their luck, it was unaffected.

    They watched with bated breath as the doors creaked open loudly, the sound causing Sunita and Leo to cringe. Donnie held a finger up to his mouth, signalling them to keep quiet to which they reluctantly complied to.

    Once the doors open, they saw it. Mikey and Casey in cages while being chained up to the wall, they were on a pedestal of sorts, piles of the tentacle-looking stuff on the floor in clumps that varied in size.

    The oni walked up the stairs that Mikey and Casey were caged above, the cages firmly against the wall. They caught a glimpse of red before the oni looked away to climb the wall and be closer to its victims. That’s when they noticed three other clumpy tentacle looking creatures planting on the roof, their eyes were closed but they opened up when they noticed the oni was staring at them.

    Garbles of incoherent words were exchanged between one of the creatures and the oni, as well as a worrying amount of gesutres directed at Mikey and a few at Casey. They were unconscious, and Donnie took a screenshot of the feed on his laptop and zoomed into Mikey first. She had cuts and bruises littered around, well, everywhere. Her legs were danging, uncuffed. Donnie would’ve scoffed at their stupidity if he hadn’t seen the condition of his legs. He didn’t even wish to speak on it. There was a small space where her shell should be, but Donnie elected to hope that the wall was keeping the part concealed.

    Aside from that, he was skinny, even more so than he usually was, which was, well, scarily already. It made sense, though. It had been a good few days since Mikey had eaten, even more when they think about the fact that Mikey had barely been able to keep down food even before he was kidnapped.

    Donnie looked down at the keyboard with solemn eyes. They wondered if Mikey was okay. Not physically, although they would have to put Mikey on bedrest for a while. Before Mikey had been taken, they seemed deadset on the idea that they were dying. And well, Donnie had believed it too for a second.

    He took in a shuddering breath before letting it out, ignoring his fears about Mikey’s mental and physical condition. Instead, he chose to zoom in on Case and hope she was in decent condition.

    Case.. case was alright..ish. There was a scar that was slightly disturbing in its size, also with the fact that it seemed to be infected. Donnie could see the puss gathered on the edges and the inside from here, and he was both disgusted and worried. Casey looked fever-ish, she was sweating copious amounts.

    Casey Jr was also covered in bruises, and that’s when Donnie noticed a small shard of some type of crystal sticking out in both of their chests. They scrunched their eyebrows together in confusion, writing the detail down before closing the photo program.

    The sound of gargles cut short with something that sounded like glass shattering, and Donnie jolted out of his thoughts. Either the oni or the creatures had seen the camera, and they destroyed it.

    He turned to April who was explaining something to the other four who were listening intently, he could see Raph summarizing the information under her breath so she would be able to process it all in its fullest.

    Donnie looked down at the coordinates on the paper. And for once in a long time, they allowed themself to feel hope.