#DON AND RAPH ARE LIKE ''NO PLEASE WE'RE SORRY''

[leo-kinnie]

OK YOU'VE CONVINCED ME

Draxum kept the two turtles who OBVIOUSLY would grow up BIG and STRONG and WARRIOR READY. Ofc by this i mean Raph and Donnie.

I mean listen they ALL grow up basically w the same personality minus a few hiccups here and there, but it's generally the same characters all around.

Except Donnie, donnie is a lethal little fuck.

but anyway there's so many funny little bits in the au like how Draxum's hatred towards humans rubbed off on Raph and Donnie but not in the way DRAX hates them. Raph and Don just learned as children that humans have a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE disease known as... cooties. and it KILLS sweet little turtle Yōkai.

i have this... little au.... where draxum has 2 of the boys and splinter gets the other 2...... and its silly goofy

[reagi-df]

Febuwhump Day 13: You weren’t supposed to get hurt

Old sketch design for my forgive me au but I’m gonna use it anyway

Donnie stares down at the screen as he types away, he's surrounded by the quietness of the lab. He's exhausted but he needs to finish what he started. It's been a rare few quiet days from having to go against any major Kraang players and he's taking this time to really get things sorted for when the time comes and he wakes up properly.

His fingers slow down on his keypad, eyes automatically looking up to his monitor showing the vital signs. Everything is stable for the moment and Donnie is grateful for that.

“Knock knock”  jolting, Donnie shoots his head around and sees Raph standing there. Even though his body doesn't have any eyes, he knows from how his head is tilted he assesses Donnie. 

And he doesn't like it.

“Raphael, what can I do for you at this hour”  he's glad his mask hides the bags under his eyes.

“Raph could ask you the same thing” the sounds of Raphs metal feet hitting his floor as he walks closer, Donnie lets his ninpō ripple under his skin as he subtly swipes away the taps connected to the chamber.

Raph cant see.

“Why are you still up?”

“Have a lot of things to do. Projects to finish. I need to make sure our defences are up and running frantically, even if the Kraang are being strangely quiet it won't last forever and I need to make sure we're ready” Donnies hands are flying about his keypad as he speaks.

A heavy hand rests on top of his own, stilling him. Donnie looks down at the metal digits, observes the grooves and scratches that litter his brother's metal casing. A sharp prain runs through him at the thought of not seeing his oldest brother's flesh hand again but he knows it's too late now. Even if he tried it wouldn't work.

And he doesn't want to go through that again. 

“You need to let me buffer out your hand again” he says absently.

Dragging his tiered eye up to these dimmed lit eyes of his brothers he hears Raph sigh. “Don, please go to sleep. I know its been hard  on you but I don't want you to burn yourself out again. I can't go through watching you die right in front of my eyes. Not again.”

Looking away Donnie swallows. “That wasn't my intention.”

“I know” Raph’s hand leaves Donnie’s and he secretly mourns the loss. “But you mean a lot to us Don, we don't want you to keep hurting.”

He stubbornly refuses to look up, “I’m fine, Raph.”

“Please donnie, Le-” 

“Dont!” Donnie grits out, cutting off whatever Raph was going to say.

Silence hangs in the air, tension heavy.

Closing his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose, “I'm sorry” he exhales.

Raphs gently places his hand back on Donnies broad shoulder and he leans into the touch. “I know I nag a lot, but I just don't want you to hurt”

Patting Raphs hand “I know big brother” looking up he turns to face Raph, metal hand falling from his shoulder. “Look I promise i'll go to sleep, I just need another 10 minutes”

They both stand there staring at each other, it feels like an eternity before Raph sighs again and steps back. “Okay, I know a losing  battle when I see one. Im making the rounds and when I come back and you're not asleep i'm dragging your ass to bed”

Snorting, Donnie bobs his head. “Sure” a small smile forms on his face.

Head shaking fondly, Raph walks to the door but pauses before he leaves. “I meant what I said Don” turning his head around he continues “you mean a lot to us, your family and we do anything for the family.

“Yeah” his voice catches in his throat.

They’ll do anything for their family.

Nodding Raph bids him farewell, “g’night don”

“Night” he whispers.

He stands there for a few seconds before he shuts all of his projects down, he pauses with his hand hovering in the air, he feels his ninpo running through his body, he brings up the tabs containing the chamber again and walks away as he transfers them to his gauntlet.

With a quick few strides to one side of the room, Donnie presses his palm to a hidden compartment, there's a hiss as the doors open. He's glad he never told anyone about this hidden room. It's become very useful for stuff he doesn't want others to see.

The doors close firmly behind him with the lights flickering on, with a flick of his fingers the tabs are transferred to the machine connected to the chamber. “I'll be quick, then you can go back to sleep. Donnie passes his time by making sure everything is working correctly, it usually takes about 10 minutes or so, but he's dragging his feet. He talks about anything that comes to mind, about the time Mikey ended up sleepwalking into a wall, or that time he ended up floating to the ceiling and unable to get down,. 

“He’s exhausted, Mikes been doing too much lately”. Donnie muses.

Donnie goes on, speaking about the time when April and he had found a stash of booze, that was strangely still in date, and got drunk. “April was cursing me out, she should've known that my metabolism is superior than hers.” he absently rubs his head from where she smacked him when he did tell her. 

His feet bring him closer to the chamber, “Jr is becoming a terror, coming more and more like his mother everyday” Donnie checks the systems and the vitals. “He's learning so fast, it was enjoyable watching him talk cheekily back to April” he pauses and looks down.

“You'd like him,” he whispers. 

A dull scratches his attention, turning his head Donnie sees a green hand with an IV cannula strapped to the back, tubing floating around his body. The hand drags down and his claws leave sharp grooves into the glass.

Walking up, Donnie places his own pawl onto the thick glass. Leo stares back at him with dull unseeing eyes, a mask firmly placed onto his mouth while his body is submerged in water.

“I'm sorry,” Donnie whispers as he watches those unseeing eyes flutter and shut.

“Please forgive me” he murmurs to the dead.

---------

Dropping this here for @febuwhump I was hoping id find something

Im hoping to get close to the juicy bits in Forgive Me, id love it if you'd vote for these boys in the @tmntaucompetition it'll be fun show what ive got planned 😈, as well as going up against other peoples

Again excuse my dyslexic unbetaed

[pebblestar]

Raphael x reader

【 Focus 】

"Woman. Your going to work yourself into the ground."

Raphael nudges you on your back with his foot and your quick to swat him away with a look of pure annoyance.

"I'm trying to focus. I'm almost done with this stupid report but..."

Your words trail off as you bite at the cap of the pen with clear frustration.

This report for work had been taking you forever to finish. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't concentrate on your own work and it'd already been two of hours of practically glaring at the paper in front of you.

It's a wonder how you haven't cried yet due to just frustrated you were becoming.

Raphael had obviously made sure you took breaks, but knew better then to tell you quit working- You were just as stubborn as the turtle was after all.

It's two more minutes of glaring at the paper in front of you, until a sudden idea hits you suddenly.

"Raph. Come here."

"Why?"

"Please?"

There's a sigh from the turtle before he's slipping off of the couch and settling down next to you on the floor.

"Look if your gonna ask me about taxes, I ain't got a clue on how to do 'em. You can try askin Don tho."

You chuckle at his words before shaking your head.

Instead you reach out your hand until your grasping Raphael's hand in your own.

With your free hand, you start up where you left off, jolting down what you needed to fill out by the end of the week for your job.

"...What are you doing?"

Raphael questions after a few minutes, Clearly confused by your actions.

"What do you mean?"

You respond back without taking your eyes off of the paper.

"Why are ya holding my hand?"

He watches you write for a bit longer and when you finally respond his face just about turns the shade of his own bandana.

"...Helps me focus. Especially when we're out in public and my anxiety is through the roof...It just calms me down. Makes me feel safe."

You pause in your writing before glancing over at Raph.

"Sorry. I can let go if you-"

"S'fine."

Raphael's immediately cutting you off before he can even think properly on what he's even saying.

"Uh... I just uh mean if it helps ya focus then whatever."

The turtle is quick to play it off like it isn't a big deal, but on the inside his heart feels fuzzy at the fact that he's able to make you feel that way.

God. What have you done to him?

He's never felt this way about anyone until you had came into his life.

You take notice of how the turtle scouches closer until both your shoulders are now pressed together.

"Thanks Raphie. I love youu~"

You coo at him and place a gentle kiss onto his cheek.

Then you return your attention back to your work, All the while Raphael felt like he would explode at any given moment with all the affection you'd just given him.

It takes maybe a hour or so for you to finally finish up your work but as soon as your setting your pen down, Raphael is pulling you onto his lap.

"Raph?"

You voice your confusion then feel his hands cupping your cheeks bringing you into a kiss.

A small noise of surprise leaves you before your closing your eyes and returning the kiss with a content sigh.

"Someone's clingly."

You tease once Raphael's parts away from your lips.

He huffs at you, Arms coming to wrap around your waist as he rests his chin on your shoulder.

"I guess you can say I've tamed the beast. You really are a teddy bear, raph."

"M'not, Shortcake."

"It's cute really. I like seeing this side of you. Well your rageful side is pretty hot too but-"

A quick kiss is pressed to your lips to silence you before Raphael buries his face into the crook of your neck.

He's mumbling something you can't quite catch.

Then you pick up on his soft yet embarrassed.

"...Love you."

A soft smile finds its way onto your lips and you press a final kiss onto his cheek before allowing yourself to cuddle into the turtle.

At the end of the day and through his grumpy little exterior, Raphael really was just a giant cuddly teddy bear at heart. And the best part was that this side of him was for your eyes only. No one else's but yours.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

.Dead asleeP.

Title: Chapter 3: N3 Prompt: You were peacefully sleeping when you suddenly wake up to the sound of a heart monitor steadily beeping somewhere nearby, and realize you are in the med-bay with no memory of what happened prior to this. // After watching movies with your siblings all night and passing out in the tv room, you wake up to find that you're alone. What happened? Fandom: ROTTMNT Word Count: 5806 Author: PhoebePheebsPhibs Rating: Gen Characters: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, & Raphael (disembodied voices) Warning: Derealization, nightmare-ish stuff (Leo is stuck in a dream) Summary: Leo deals with the inconvenience of being stuck in a dream and getting reacquainted with the 'ghosts' that follow him. Notes: More chapters to follow (3 more, to be exact)

@shr00mi3writefight @tmnt-write-fight @that-0n3-shr00mi3

Posted to AO3 <-

Leo strode through the maze of death fairly easily. Yes, there were traps and snares and mystical kitchen supplies, but for the most part he went through unnoticed.

"I don't remember it being this easy," Leo muttered.

"It wasn't," a voice reminded flatly. "Remember, everyone stay together. Draxum said something about drifting off --"

"So... what happens when I reach the center of the maze? Do I win, or...?"

"I'm not sure," one of the voices mused. "Just let us know if you feel any different, okay?"

"Okay," Leo nodded. "So... how do we know each other? Outside of the dream world?"

"We're very close. We're family."

"What do you mean?" Leo half-chuckles. "I think Splinter would tell me and my bros if we had any extended fam."

"What?"

"Or are you, like, my turtle parents? You mentioned... I think you said 'Barry', as in Baron Draxum, so maybe you're other mutants or something? Or... are you related to Drax?"

 Leo turned left, then right, then left again. He could almost see the center of the maze coming up. But the voices were quiet. Leo could sense their discomfort.

"What? What? Hey, what did I say?" he asked nervously.

"...It's nothing. You just kind of... glossed over the obvious."

"Obvious?" Leo questions. "How? I basically went through every option!"

"I think all we can tell you at this point is that we're family," one of the voices stated. "I don't think you'd be able to hear anything more detailed than that."

"Why not?!" Leo grumbled, kicking at a stone angrily. "Why can't you tell me?!"

"We're not the ones doing it!" another voice chimed in. "We've been TRYING to tell you everything this whole time, Nardo!"

"You haven't told me anything! And nobody calls me Nardo but Donnie!" Leo snapped back.

And then the realization snapped him right back in the face.

"...No one but Donnie has ever... Family, you said you're... obvious... Oh my gosh, I am so stupid. Donnie... is... is that you?"

Silence.

"H-hey, Don-Tron, don't go silent on me now! I figured it out! I know who you are, I know -- I-I'm sorry for getting mad! Please, d-don't leave me again! Come back! Donnie? M-Mikey? Raph? Are you guys..."

Leo came upon the end of the maze, a giant statue of gold at its epicenter.

"...there...?"

The center of this maze was not the same as the real one at all. For one thing, it wasn't in the center of the maze at all. Either that, or the maze had been carved in half. Just beyond the statue, the Hidden City and its magical town square awaited him.

His eyes glossed over. He felt so tired and sluggish. Leo's mind was cleansed, his memories of the pizzeria and the events prior were wiped clear.

"...Oh, hey! The Hidden City! I've always wanted to sight-see here!"

Leo ran out of the maze giddily and approached a brochure stand.

"Excuse me, do you have any sites you'd recommend for a bona fide hero like myself? Maybe something exciting, or daring, or maybe even a relaxing spa?"

"First time here?" the Yokai asked from behind the counter.

"No, no no no no no no no no no. No." Leo huffed and puffed out his chest proudly. "It's my eighth time!"

"It's your 13th time, dum-dum."

Leo looked around nervously.

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh-ho, no, we're NOT going through this again..."

"Hear what, kid?" the Yokai asked, shuffling through supplies as Leo whirled around in circles, anxiously searching for the source of the apparition.

"That voice, I --"

"Leo, long story short, you're stuck in a dream-world that's all fake. We're trying to help you escape."

"But, what --"

"Every time you get to a new area, your memory restarts."

"And we can't tell you who we are for some reason because... uh... mystic curses are weird?"

"But what, kid?" the Yokai gruffed.

Leo looked back at her, confused. He blinked, trying to process it all. There was a flood of emotions running through him, each one tethered to a soul that was not his own, but strangely connected to his. Frustration, hope, irritation, redundancy, resignation --

"Um... never mind. I think I just went temporarily insane."

"Oh, COME ON!"

There was the frustration again.

"Look, do you want the brochure or not?" the Yokai stall-keeper growled, waving the paper in Leonardo's face.

"I'll take it," Leo said quickly, snatching the map and walking away briskly.

Once he was out of earshot of the Yokai, Leo hissed at the ghosts.

"Okay, weird brain ghosts -- what is going on?!"

"We've already told you. THREE TIMES OVER BY NOW," one huffed with exasperation. "Okay. Just... calm down, we all need to calm down... Alright. From the top. Leo: you are trapped in a dreamworld. Nothing is real, but it's trying to keep you here. It's TRAPPED YOU. We used a magic spell to infiltrate your dreams so that we could help wake you up!"

"How?"

"Well, first off we had to draw these really cool symbols around your bed and --"

"N-no, I mean how am I supposed to wake up?" Leo corrected.

"Oh. Well, according to Mikey -- er, according to the most mystically-inclined of us, we help you get through a certain amount of dreams like levels in a video game."

"How many?" Leo asked.

"Um... I... don't remember. Barry said it had something to do with the whole... sleep cycle?"

"Oh, he was referring to REM and NREM, which means there will be five. Or, well, three now that we've gotten through two of them already," a ghost with a nerdy voice interjects. "Sleep comes in cycles, you see. It starts off with awake-slash-alert, and progressively gets deeper and deeper. After awake and alert, then comes N1, then N2, N3, and finally the REM, which stands for 'Rapid Eye Movement'. Rem is when you have dreams."

"And NREM?" Leo asked, curious. "What's that?"

"NREM is 'Non-Rapid Eye Movement'. It's just dreamless sleep, a time when the body rests and rejuvenates itself, repairing and regrowing tissue and rebuffing the immune system. Studies show that 75% of sleep is NREM. An interesting science fact, but REM periods are short, though the longer you spend asleep, the longer the REM periods will be!"

"Does that mean that the longer it takes us to get him through, the harder each level will get?" a nervous voice asks.

"...I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Leo asked, stuffing the brochure into his fanny pack. "Let's get going! Uh, do you guys know which way I should head?"

"Ooh, ooh, I do!" a cheery voice chimed in.

Leo watched with bewilderment as a fluttering golden light sparked before him, flying away and leaving a trail of shimmers in its gentle wake.

"Um... that was you, right?"

"That was Mikey. Uh, the mystically-inclined-light-guy one. He just ran off. He's not s'posed to, though."

"Not supposed to?"

"Well, Draxum said that getting off track would cause us to lose sight of what we're here for and pull us into the trap, but... if he's just looking for the way to the next dream, then I think it should be okay..."

"Cool, cool. Just so long as I'm not actually losing my mind... What do you mean by 'ran off'?"

"I mean that little beam of light WAS him."

"I thought I couldn't see you?" Leo wondered aloud. "What changed?"

"Mikey's been doing stuff like that the whole time. Anytime you see a golden light, that's him. You can't see what we actually look like, for some bizarre reason. You walk right through us."

"Have I been... walking right through you this whole time?"

"...Kinda."

"What does that even feel like?"

"Honestly, it doesn't feel like anything. And... I can't speak for the Mikey or Donnie, but it makes ME feel... lonely."

Leo swallowed sadly.

"...Sorry."

"Hey, it ain't your fault!" the voice kindly said. But their voice cracked, the vocal pitch shifted.

Leo felt a stifling, a sick knot in a stomach. The holding of breath, the looking away, a telltale sign that something was not as it seemed. Leo felt as though they were hiding something. Leo felt like there was a lie hidden somewhere. He tried to ignore it, and instead chased after the light, following the trail into the city streets. There were so many stalls and colourful people here, each one a personality extreme and boisterous. And each stranger Leo would have loved to get to know. He was a people person at heart, hence why he always took the role of 'face-man'.

"I didn't know that about you," one of the voices murmured.

"Didn't know what?"

"Oh did I forget to mention we can kinda read each other's' minds?"

"Wait, for real?!" Leo shouted as he stopped right in the middle of the street. "Are you kidding me?!"

"I never kid about ESP."

Leo fidgeted with his sash, adjusting and readjusting it as he swallowed the information given so nonchalantly to him.

"So what did you just hear?" he inquired.

"The people-person tidbit."

"Oh. Okay," he mumbled. Out of all the things he could think of, that was not the most embarrassing. "Now it's my turn! Think of something!"

"Well, uh, it... it doesn't really work like that..." the other voice responded.

"Oh, what? Boo! Totally unfair!" Leo complained. "How come you can hear my thoughts, but I can't hear yours?"

"Well, first off, we can't hear ALL your thoughts. Just the ones where you think to yourself, like a conversation. Secondly, you might not be able to read our minds, but you can feel our emotions."

"Huh?" Leo's stride slowed a bit, as he tried to understand.

"You can sense our presence, though you can't actually feel or see us," voice A explained. "Before, you could feel we were with you without being able to see or hear us at all! And Mikey -- the light guy -- said that you 'felt him' earlier. He'd made a beam of light around himself for you to follow. When you touched the light, you were actually holding his hand. You seemed to know who it was, and you even said his name! Mike was so excited..."

Leo slowly continued walking down the pathway, following the glittery sparkles that illuminated the path.

"...Can you do that?"

"Do what? Make light?"

"Yeah, can you make a light thing?"

"Why?"

"...No reason," Leo lied.

"He wants to be able to touch you, too," voice B snitched.

"Wha-hah-hat? No!" Leo opposed, laughing like a nervous wreck.

"I never kid about ESP."

"Narc," Leo grumbled.

Leo felt a swell of warmth. The sting of tears behind your eyes. Pride, longing, love. And then regret.

"Sorry, Leo. That's not my specialty."

"Specialty?" he probed. "What does that mean?"

"Mike-- The 'light guy' is good at magic and light-related stuff. The, uh... 'Narc' is good at bein' smart beyond all reason and buildin' all kinds of things! Me, I'm good at bein' strong. The tank, the shield... I can't make a light thing because that's not what I am."

"Oh."

"Are you... disappointed?"

Leo stopped again, and turned around. He tried to imagine a face to look at, to direct his thoughts.

"No! I mean, I'm a little bummed that I can't... y'know, feel you or whatever. But you sound really cool!"

"You think I'm... cool?"

"Yeah, dude! You sound like my brother, Raph. He's cool like that, too -- always strong, brave, working to make sure we're the heroes Splinter always knew we could become. And now I'm friends with a fricken' tank?! He would be so jealous; do you know how awesome that sounds?!"

Leo felt a short-lived pride. A small semblance of reassurance, a twinge of nostalgia. And then sadness.

"Thanks, dude."

"What's wrong?" Leo asked, reaching forward instinctively. He couldn't feel anything, but he sensed the loneliness the 'Tank' had mentioned earlier.

"Nuthin'. C'mon, let's hurry up and find Mikey before he gets too far ahead."

Leo walked along the streets. He noticed that the light was starting to dim. He also noticed that the dimming of the light made the other two ghosts -- Narc and Tank -- uneasy. He could hear soft whispers that they kept to themselves, thinking that maybe he couldn't hear him.

"Do you think that maybe he's lost? Does Mikey actually know what he's doing?"

"Of course he does. Draxum told him how the spell works --"

"But are we sure? I mean, I don't want to doubt Mikey's abilities -- but this is Leo's life at stake here."

"Keep your voice down! He might hear you..."

"Raph, this is a big deal. Leo has been comatose for seven whole days with no sign of recovery. I... I don't want to lose him."

"We won't. I'm sure we won't."

The two were eerily quiet. At first, Leo was afraid that they'd gone again, left him alone in the silence. But then one of them -- the Tank -- spoke up.

"We're still here, Leo."

"Oh, thank Pizza Supreme," the slider muttered under his breath. "You had me worried for a moment."

"You think we'd leave you?"

"I-I don't know," Leo admitted. "I... I'm not sure why. But I felt like... maybe? Like it happened before..." Leo stalled, slowing to a stop as foggy recollections came back to him. "I thought... I remember.... you left me? Or you went silent..."

"We didn't mean to," Tank responded. "The first time, you sorta... disappeared. You vanished, and Mikey had to search for you for a few minutes before we found you again. The second time, we were still with you, but once we came into the new dream, it was like everything reset, and we couldn't reach you anymore. We keep having to fight to reach you."

"Why?" Leo asked. "The light guy mentioned a curse, I think. Is that part of it? Part of whatever's keeping me trapped here?"

Tank considered it deeply before answering.

"I don't know. Mikey would know better."

"The light guy?"

"Yeah, the light guy."

"Where is he, by the way?" Leo wondered, looking around.

The streets were getting busier. The sparkles getting dim, almost completely faded.

"Well, that's not good."

"What do we do?" Leo asked. "How do we get out of here?"

"Follow me," Narc said quietly. "I think I can find 'Light Guy' using my ninpo."

"How am I supposed to follow you if I can't see you?" Leo reminded, not even considering to skimp on the sass.

"But you can hear me. Follow my voice, okay?"

"Got it," Leo said with a nod.

Narc started to talk. And talk. And talk.

Wow. Okay. He liked to talk a lot. Leo started to groan from all the things he went on about. He spoke of science, the stars, astronomy. He talked about black holes, and the theories behind what would happen if you stepped inside one. He spoke of the different classifications of stars, such as red giants and dwarf stars and why they twinkle or change colour in the night. He talked about the moon, and how he was convinced that there was a secret second moon.  Narc mentioned his favourite conspiracies. He spoke of the rewriting of history, the possible faked moon landing, the mysteries behind the Lost Colony of Roanoke. He talked about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Jersey Devil, but he refused to touch the subject of aliens for some reason. Instead, he brought up biology. Microbes, bacteria, germs, single-celled organisms. The mitochondria were the powerhouse of the cell. Red blood cells, white blood cells, bone structure, muscles, how hair and nails were made of the same thing, melanin, mutations, and so forth.  To say he touched a bit on the subject of botany would be an understatement...

"Man, you would really like my brother Donnie," Leo noted. "He's totally into this stuff, too."

There was silence. Leo felt an awkward tension.

"Ahem. So, uh... do you guys like Jupiter Jim?"

There was a stifled cackle from Tank.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do. But not as much as Lou Jitsu!"

"Seriously?" Leo gaped, excited beyond measure. "I LOVE Lou Jitsu's films! And you may have figured it out by the genetic resemblance, but in case you didn't, did you know that --"

"Um, guys?" Narc piped in. "Have we been here before?"

Leo looked around at the stalls. There was a florist pop-up stand, a shoe shop set up against a stone cavern wall, a water fountain, a park bench, and a few other stalls that all sold shady-looking mystic trinkets.

"...I don't think so?" Leo offered. "It doesn't look familiar..."

"I could have sworn we came this way before..."

"Do you think we've gone in circles?"

"I thought so... But it's Leo's dreamscape. If he says no, then.... Let's just keep going for now, Mikey's trail is getting cold."

Leo followed the sound of Narc and Tank talking. He joined in, each one speaking of their favourite Lou Jitsu film.

They passed by a fishmonger, a jeweler, and a children's school for wizards.

Narc mentioned how some dreams hold deeper meaning, and some things represent deep-rooted fear or a danger. He mentioned how dreams were often used to predict the future, and how some people can even see future visions in their sleep.

They passed by a series of diners and Yokai eateries.

Tank wondered where Light Guy was. He started to worry about what might have happened to him. Tank seemed like the worrying kind. They discussed how someone could get lost inside Leo's mind. It unnerved him to think that there was a person snooping around his subconscious.

They passed by a florist, a shoe shop, and a water fountain.

Wait... didn't they just...?

"Do you guys see that?" Leo asked, pointing. "We passed that flower stand already, right?"

"I TOLD YOU we were going around in circles!" Narc whined.

"Wait, so we must've taken a wrong turn somewhere!" Tank deduced. "Maybe we try retracing our steps?"

The group go back the way they came. Past the flower stand. Past the diners. Past the wizard school. Past the jewelers. Past the fishmongers. Past the shady-looking trinket stands. Past the park bench and water fountain. Past the shoe shop. Past the flower stand...

Uh-oh.

"Wait, how does that work?" Leo wondered aloud, pointing in the two directions they'd come from.

"A common nightmare is going round in circles, moving around but never getting anywhere," Narc offered. "This might be something of that nature."

"Uh... what exactly happens in those kinds of dreams?"

"You never get anywhere, as to be expected. They represent psychological distress, usually related to interpersonal problems, work-related issues, or basically anything that revolves around a stressful or anxiety-inducing situation."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't have any of those problems!" Leo exhaled with relief.

The nagging feeling of swallowing your words, hiding the truth, lying. Leo could feel it in the others.

"What? What are you guys not saying?"

"Huh? Nothing! Nothing at all..."

"Uh-huh. Right. Anyway, Narc, how do we break out of the loop?" Leo asked.

"First off, hate that nickname. Second, try doing anything out of the ordinary? Maybe try... going off the path?"

"Alrighty then, let's think outside the box!" Leo whooped, jumping over the flower cart and racing away.

He could feel Tank and Narc close behind him as he ran in odd zig-zaggy patterns. He bobbed and weaved through the crowds, trying to maneuver through them as he searched for a new path to take. The crowds parted. There was a florist pop-up stand and a shoe shop.

"What the what?!" Leo yelled, throwing his fists in the air. "This doesn’t make any sense! How am I supposed to escape this dream prison thing if I can't escape a single avenue?!"

Leo started running again. This time, out of pure anger. He ran and ran and ran, hearing Tank shout after him. He ran and ran and ran, ignoring Narc's scoldings. He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.

Leo ran out of breath. He collapsed to his knees, laughing over the thought that he couldn't breath when he couldn't feel the effects of breathlessness. It didn't hurt his chest. It didn't even feel tight or constricted. He wasn't even tired. He couldn't feel anything other than despair.

Leo happened to glance down at the cobblestone path beneath him. There was dust, dirt, pebbles... and a sparkling glitter trail, just faint enough that you would miss it if you weren't a few inches away from it. He pressed a finger against the sparkle. It grew brighter against his fingerprint. Hmmm...

"Tank?" Leo called out. "Are you still there??"

"I'm here!" Tank shouted back, running up towards Leo, his voice gaining volume as he did. "What is it?"

"You said that Narc could make anything, right?"

"Yeah?" Tank confirmed slowly, his tone sounding wary. "Why?"

"Can he make something that can make these brighter? Or track them like a metal detector?" Leo asked, holding his finger up in the air.

"Well, 'Narc'?"

"First of all, you don't have to call me that, you know my name. Don't call me Narc. Secondly..."

There was a pause. Leo could faintly feel something like a soft breeze around his hands. He looked up in expectation to see something holding his hand, lifting them up to inspect. But he couldn't see anything. It made his heart sink.

"...I can work with this."

There was a rush of wind, a burst of electricity, and Leo had to cover his eyes or else he would be blinded. When he opened his eyes again, there was a strange bracelet-gauntlet-wristwatch-thing on the ground before him. It was glowing purple, and looked like it had been made from tangible light, like a hologram.

"What is this thing?" Leo asked, picking the device up and examining it thoroughly. 

"It's an enhancer; specifically it enhances ninpo. It is locked on to 'Light Guy's signature, so it will not only follow his magic trail, it'll also enhance it! And if he made it to the exit, then hopefully it lead us out of this loop."

Leo smiled as he placed the device on his wrist. A surge of something strange and powerful coursed through his veins, up his arm, and filled his lungs. It was exciting, brilliant, clear and logical, cutthroat but loving in its own nerdy way.

It was Donnie.

"...Don...?"

"Hmm?"

"This... Donnie, is this you?"

A pause, baited breath, terror and desperate hope fogging up the air with a tension so thick that not even Leo's odachi could carve through it. He could hear the audible gasp of shock from Tank, but the silence from Narc Donatello was deafening. Leonardo heard him take a deep inhale before answering.

"...You're not going to faint or get a memory wipe again, are you?"

"What does that mean?"

"This isn't the first time you figured out who I am, Nardo."

Leo swallowed.

"The last time... I forgot you?"

"I think you figured it out just as we were entering a new dream, so that might have been the cause."

"Oh. But.... it is you, right?"

Leo could feel the breeze around him shift, encompassing his arms and shoulders. He reached out for it, trying to grip it in an embrace if he could.

"It's me. It's Donnie."

Leo tried not to cry. But all he wanted was to hold Donnie close, hold him tight, say he was sorry for forgetting him, not recognising his voice or mannerisms at all. He wanted to apologise for so many things, he wasn't even sure what. There was a bubbling force in his stomach, urging him to say sorry for leaving them and the invasion and everything he was responsible for.

But instead, he just hung his head sadly.

"...I'm sorry, Don."

"It's okay, Nardo. We just want to help you get better. To get out of this."

"...So does that mean that 'Tank' is... Raph?"

"That's me," Tank Raph said, and Leo could hear the smile in his voice.

"So... so who's Light Guy?"

"You... you can't figure it out?"

"Well, I was gonna say Mikey, but Mikey can't do all that magic stuff you guys mentioned!"

There was another silence. Leo sensed their confusion, the withholding of information.

"What? What aren't you telling me?"

"Leo... how do you think I was able to make the wristlet?" Donnie asked.

"I dunno, brainpower? Imagination? We're in the dream world, after all."

"Yeah, but we can't actually do anything in here," Raph told him. "We can't affect the world around you, we can't even interact with you."

"So... so then how did you make this?" Leo asked, turning his wrist over to inspect the bracelet.

"With my ninpo.... But you don't know what that is, do you?"

"...Um... Yessss, I do?" Leo tries.

"You're lying. You don't know what that is. You can't even hear me say the word, can you?"

Leo squirmed uncomfortably.

"You said you'd only been to the Hidden City eight times when you've actually been here thirteen. In the last dream, Hueso said you saved the world, but you were confused by what he meant."

"Leo... what's the last thing you remember?" Raph asked nervously.

"The... the last thing I remember?" Leo reechoed. "Like... from the dreams?"

"No, from real life."

"I-I'm not sure," Leo whispered. "The dream world feels real, I can't really tell when the memories end and the dream starts... was... we had a sleepover... was that real or a dream?"

"We've had a lot of sleepovers," Donnie chimed in. "Are you thinking about the one you dreamt of? With all the snacks and pizza and--"

"And Raph exploded the Vitamin Water?" Leo finished. "That... that was a part of a dream?"

"Yeah. Leo... what was the last big mission you went on?"

"Uh... the Shredder?"

"Which Shredder mission?" Raph asked.

"What do you mean, which one? We... we got rid of him..."

"...Did we work with Big Mama to banish him?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Who's the leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

"Who? Is that like, some off-brand version of the Mad Dogs?"

"...Who is the leader of the Mad Dogs?"

"Raph is."

"..."

"...This is not ideal."

"Why? What's not ideal?? What aren't you telling me... is Raph not the leader anymore? What happened to Raph, why can't he lead??"

"Nothing happened to Raph, he just... Never mind. We need to find Mikey."

Leo wanted to keep prying, find out what was so devastating that no one would tell him... But the glowing device on his wrist began to glow, and the sparkles that had all but disappeared from the ground began to brighten, and by contrast, the rest of the Hidden City began to dim.

"There! Follow that glitter!"

Leo ran after the path, going in circles at least twice before the glittering specks led away from the path, down a different and unseen lane. Leo could feel a strange emotion rising up slowly. One that was lost, scared, feeling hopeless... but strangely tired. The exhaustion that weighed down this soul was crushing, Leo almost felt like he too would fall asleep if he wasn't wary. There was also a strange cloud of confusion surrounding the feelings. Leo could feel this person was lost, not just physically, but also mentally. They felt... Leo wasn't sure how to describe it. They felt like everything they knew was slowly fading away.

Leo pushed past a group of Yokai and saw the sparkling light that had attempted to guide him before, only now it was alone, laid limp on the ground, and growing duller by the second.

"There he is!" Donnie yelled. "Mikey!"

Leo felt the ghost of something move through him, purple light surrounding the small star on the floor. The light fluttered before suddenly vanishing completely. Leo gasped in terror before feeling something like a warmth over his shoulder.

"Mikey?!"

"He's okay," Raph soothed. "He just came out of the light form. Donnie has him now."

"Is -- is he -- what's going on, why was he on the floor like that?! Could you see him, why did he feel like -- like he was -- like he --"

"He's alright, just semi-incapacitated," Donnie informed them. "Angelo, wake up. Angelo?"

"This must've been what Draxum was talking about when he said not to get sidetracked," Raphael realises.

"Meaning?" Leo interrogated. "Sidetracked from what?"

"From you," Raph whispered. "If we stay away from you for too long, we'll 'lose sight of what we're here for', and become trapped just like you."

Leonardo heard a soft mumble, followed by a growing sensation of comfort. Mikey was waking up.

"Mmmm....? Wha... wha' happ'ned...? Who... who are you?"

"What? Angelo, it's me! It's Donnie!"

"Why... why couldn't I hear your name?"

Leo felt sickness rising in his stomach. Donnie and Raph felt like they were going to puke. Mikey's head was fogged up and cloudy, heavy with confusion and riddled with sleepiness.

"What's going on?" Leo asked. "What's wrong with Mikey?"

"I-I don't know -- Mikey, look at me. Do you recognize me?"

It became quiet for a moment. All eyes (invisible and not) were frozen to the spot where Mikey was found. Leo could feel the fear rising, the worry in Raph and the burning anger over the situation growing in Donnie. But then he felt clarity in Mikey, and the drowsy spell that had been cast over him dissipated.

"...D-Donnie...? Raph?" there was a sudden joyful gasp. "Leo!"

Leo blinked, expecting to feel or see something, a hug or a smile. There was nothing.

"L-Leo? Are you okay? Wait, why can't I touch you -- what happened, why are we... we..."

Mikey's voice softened as the memory came back.

"...Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I --"

"You don't have to apologise, Mikey," Leo whispered, looking down at his hands.

"You know my name?"

"Yeah, I know who everyone is. But what happened to you?"

Mikey hummed quietly, groaning as he apparently sits up or stands with Donnie's assistance.

"I... I remember trying to lead the way out, but I went too far ahead. I almost made it to the next dream, but then -- then I forgot where I was, why I was there, I even forgot you guys, and the more I forgot, the s-sleepier I got..."

"That's why Draxum told us to stick together and stick with Leo," Raph reminded him. "We might've lost you. But we know what not to do now."

"You said you almost found the way to the next dream?" Donnie reiterated.

"Which way?" Leo's voice was filled with hope. He wanted to get out as soon as possible for his brothers' sakes. He couldn't bear the idea of them getting hurt because of him. Again.

Again? What --

"The way out is over there!"

Mikey's voice interrupted Leo's thoughts. He took in a deep breath before standing up and looking around. Up ahead, there was a small avenue that led to a cave tunnel.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!" Mikey assured him. "A-although, somebody's gonna hafta carry me... m-my legs aren’t exactly working right now. I think I used up all my mystic powers."

"Raph's gotchya, big man," the eldest brother stated, noisily hoisting Michelangelo up and walking towards the cavern. "Come on, guys, we're halfway through this trial!"

Leo and Donnie followed after the duo into the cave. It grew dark, cold, clammy. Quiet and calm. Leo appreciated the calming atmosphere, as he felt anything but calm.

"You okay?"

"Are you asking because you can read my thoughts?"

"Guilty. Is it about what happened to Mikey?"

"Sorta. I mean, I'm upset over what happened to him, but mostly I'm scared. Is that what it's like when I enter a new dream?"

"So far, yes."

"And that means that soon, I'll forget again. I'll go full Groundhog Day."

"But we'll remind you of everything again."

"...But it hurts you," Leo whimpers. "I know it does. It hurt me to see Mikey so confused like that, even if it was only for a short minute. And I don't want to be stuck feeling alone anymore."

"We won't let you get lost, Leo," Donnie promises.

He can almost feel him take his hand, before realising it's just the hologram wrist tech he has yet to remove.

"But there's more... you guys aren't telling me something. You keep skirting the subject, avoiding things, pretending like there isn't an issue when I can clearly tell that there is!"

"We're just trying to not overwhelm you."

"Overwhelm me how? I mean, some witch or a crazy new mutant must've put a weird sleeping beauty spell on me, right? What could be more overwhelming than that??"

"...That's not what happened."

"Say wha?" Leo questions. "What does that mean --"

"Guys! Up ahead!" Raph shouts. "Do you see that light?"

Leo runs up ahead to see what Raph's commotion is about. As he does, a familiar drowsiness sets in. The light up ahead grows brighter, more vivid. Leo can hear noises and sounds like joy and excitement and cheering... The light soon becomes too bright and his eyes close to keep from going blind.

Leonardo emerges from the tunnel into a large arena, the walls painted black with red pillars and humongous skulls decorating them. The grandstands are filled with Yokai, each of whom looks like they'd have a warrant or a bounty on their heads. The dust blows around the ground as three spotlights are shone directly onto Leo's face, his body encased with armour fit for a gladiator. A screeching whine of feedback echoes over a series of loudspeakers before Big Mama's voice shouts over the commotion and applause of the bloodthirsty crowds.

"LADIES AND GENTLE-GERMS, I GIVE YOU... THE NEXT CHAMP-I-ON OF THE BATTLE NEXUS, NIGHTMARE EDITION!"

[taffycandyqt]

Seeing someone who writes for the 03 characters beyond just the turtles is making me insane (/pos) like thank you for giving April and Casey some love! Wanted to say that first! But can I request fic where 03 Casey’s spouse (I’d prefer he/him or they/them be used for reader please!) gets kidnapped by the purple dragons or something and everyone’s like awww shit but actually reader comes back ten seconds later saying “I just taught those morons why they don’t mess with a jones” or something I’m sorry if this is formatted weird I’m just really excited to see someone writing for a character I’ve been obsessed since I was thirteen 😭

I'm so happy I write for a character you love!! Your so sweet this req got me giggling and kicking my feet!!

Don't Mess With A Jones

2003 Casey A. Jones x gn reader

Very slight angst, fluff, slight crack

Warnings: mentions of blood (like twice), angst if you squint

You and Casey have been married for a while now. In that time you both thought that the Purple Dragons were out of commission after the turtles took down not only Shredder but Hun as well. That was a stupid assumption apparently.

You were missing. You were missing and the only thing in your place was a note from the Purple Dragons. And of course it was about the turtles. If he wanted you free the turtles and himself had to give themselves up to the purple dragons.

Yeeeeeah, no.

Instead of doing what they asked Casey went straight to the lair to formulate a rescue plan. Casey being Casey however, he did it... less than gracefully. Once he was lowered into the lair via ancient elevator he was yelling and effectively freaked out all the turtles there.

Everyone gathered at the entrance weapons bared and ready to fight off whatever unholy being just cursed their home. Upon seeing it was Casey though, they put their weapons away while Raph yelled at him to get it together.

"Cas- CASEY! CHILL OUT!" He shouted while gripping his shoulders. After he had calmed down he was able to ask, "What happened?"

"It- it's y/n. Look." Casey handed him the note. Before Raph could properly read anything important though, Leo took it and began reading it. This prompted an annoyed huff and arm cross from Raph.

"What's it say?" Asked Donny looking over Leo's shoulder with Mikey trying to get a better look. Emphasis on 'trying'.

"The Purple Dragons kidnapped y/n and the only way they'll set them free is if we all, including Casey, give ourselves up."

"That's lame. How dumb do they think we are?" Commented Mikey.

"Dumb as you apparently." Raph quipped in response.

"HEY!"

"Does it say anything about where they took them?" Don asked.

Leo handed him the note, "They did give an address of where they want us to go. It's hard to say if y/n is there or not."

Donnie continued to study the note. Mikey made his way over to look too and Don moved it towards him a little to make it easier for him to read.

"So what are we gonna do? We can't exactly walk into an obvious trap." Raph directed his question towards Leo.

"I'm not sure yet. When we had run ins with the Purple Dragons in the past there wasn't the life of an innocent on the line. On top of that we know the Purple Dragons aren't exactly the patient type. So whatever we do come up with we're gonna have to act fast."

"Leo, I can't lose them. Kay'? I already lost too much to the Purple Dragons, I'm not losing y/n too."

"No one's losing anyone today Casey. Not in my watch." Leo looked around at everyone.

"Oh!" exclaimed Mikey, "What if we all went to one base of the purple dragons that we know about? We go stealth and look around for y/n!"

"That would be too risky Mikey, and it would take too long to. If none of us find y/n we could be waisting precious time." Leo told him, "I'm going to talk to Master Splinter. He might be able to see this from a different angle."

Grabbing Leo's shoulder Casey asked him, "Umm how long do you think that's gonna take. I'm kinda freaking out over here."

"Hey, Case, you need some water?" Raph offered, "Could help. At least a little."

Casey looked at Raph and then back at Leo.

"I'll be as quick as I can." Leo told him. And with that Casey was following Raph to the kitchen to get some water. Don went back to his lab to pack some equipment for some inconveniences that might present themselves during the rescue. While Mikey was back to reading comics on the couch.

After Casey had chugged his water he began to pace around the lair.

"Dude you gotta chill out. Y/n will be fine." Mikey smiled over the couch in hopes of getting Casey to sit down.

"I can't CHILL Mikey! I've got a real bad feeling and the longer I'm here the more I feel like I should be up there looking for them."

"Your anxiety is understandable but maybe you should rest had breath a little. Sharpen your mental focus a little for when we do go out to get them." Donny advised.

"I am mentally focused."

"Hey, maybe just let the guy be huh? Nothing we can say with calm him down anyways." Responded Raph.

Just then Leo came out of the dogo and with confidence stated, "I have a plan."

Everyone came from their respective areas and gathered around to hear what Leo had to say.

"First we are gonna need-" just then everyone heard the sound of "elevator" to the lair open. Then out stepped you. Bloody, battered, slightly limping, and a bat wrapped with barb wire in your hand.

"Y/N!", Casey ran to hug you. After giving you one big, slightly painful, squeeze he looked at you concerned, "What happened, what did they do to you? Oh I'll kill em' all of em'."

"Nothing much happened really," you responded and he looked at your face, "just taught them a lesson about messing with a Jones."

Casey had never felt so proud of you. Gosh he loved you so much. The pride that you were his, that you were so amazing and you were his. He hugged you again, softer this time, and buried his face in your hair. You were bloody, covered in wounds, and smelled like a combination of blood, sweat, and dust, but he didn't care. You were safe.

"Wait. Did you just... beat them all up then?" Asked Mikey.

------------------------------------------------------------Not gonna lie, figuring out how to write this one was a little challenging but in the end I can say I'm very happy with it!

[tinkabelle24]

To Build a Home

Chapter 17: Birthday Shenanigans (PART 1)

A/N: Alright, here we go. Get ready! This and the next two parts are a few of my absolute favourite chapters! I remember writing these Easter 2023, whilst driving cross-country to see my side of the family. The memories... 🥰

TW! PTSD flashback.

Masterlist / Chapter 16

---

It was nearing 6 on a balmy Friday evening; Val was standing with her luggage in the alley beside her apartment, anxiously tapping away at her phone screen whilst awaiting her ride.

After three weeks of (justifiable) stonewalling from Molly, her best friend finally reached out today, enquiring about weekend plans. Val feared her answer may scare her off, but she refused to re-enter this already vulnerable friendship with another lie...

She answered truthfully.

Up until then, Molly had been rather receptive, answering each of her texts within five minutes - Val had been on 'read' for this one for over an hour.

The boys were always punctual; she only had another minute or two of relative peace before the birthday shenanigans officially commenced. She wasn't about to let this weekend be dampened by her drama, so it needed to be at least semi-dealt with now.

C'mon, Mol...

She could feel the window of reconciliation rapidly closing on her.

6pm hit; any second now.

Please, please, please...

Val's head snapped up at the tell-tale revving of the Shellraiser's engine.

Her heart sank. Time's up.

Casey's was the first face she saw as they rolled to a stop beside her. He looked suspiciously smug.

"Well, hello there, little lady..."

Val blinked at him. What in the world...?

She wasn't sure whether to be impressed or horrified by his scarily accurate impression of Herb the Perv from Family Guy - lisp and all.

"Would you care for shom candy- oof!"

A pale, slender hand that could only belong to April smacked the man upside the head, nudging him forward. A startled gasp escaped Val's lips as another larger, green hand suddenly appeared behind his seat, striking him as well.

"Oof! Val, help - I'm bein' assaulted!"

"Quit bein' an idiot!" Barked a Brooklyn-accented voice inside the vehicle, before the door promptly slid open. Her better half stood at the opening, smiling down at her.

"Hey," Raph greeted warmly as Val approached to hand him her suitcase; but not before stealing a quick kiss.

She giggled against his lips as a collective "ooh!" emanated from inside the cabin.

"Oh, shuddup, the lotta ya!" The terrapin hissed as they broke away. He then lowered his gaze to her luggage - the small suitcase and a pair of insulated grocery bags - quirking an inquisitive brow ridge. "What's in the bags?"

Your present-

Well, one of them.

"Noneya," Val smirked.

"Ohhh..." he playfully narrowed his eyes at her, muscular arms folded across his plastron. "It's gonna be like that, is it?"

"Yep-"

"Guys!" April called impatiently from the front passenger seat. "Have your lover's quarrel inside-"

"Please, don't-"

"Shoosh, Donnie! ... Look, we're running out of time to beat weekend traffic. Val, get your butt in here!"

Nodding, Val quickly retrieved the rest of her luggage (swatting Raph's hand away when he attempted seizing them) and stepped inside the vehicle.

"Oh, wow!"

The interior had been completely transformed, akin to a soccer mom's van (the only comparison she could conjure up - sorry, Don!). The previously empty centremost space had been replaced with two rows of three seats. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey occupied the back seats, while Raph and little Tyler sat in the front two. Everyone's luggage was stacked neatly at the rear of the cabin, secured by ratchet straps.

"This is awesome, Don!" The brunette exclaimed, flashing the group (Tyler, specifically) a cheery smile as she took her seat between him and Raph; shopping bags at her feet. "I can't believe you were able to fit everyone in here-"

Raph harrumphed as he nudged her leg; a petulant attempt at conveying a message.

"Yes?" Val leaned against him, smiling mawkishly. "Did you have a hand in this as well, my love?"

Casey and Mikey sniggered at that; she caught Raph stifling a bashful grin as he sunk into his seat.

---

Thankfully, traffic leaving the city wasn't as bad as they expected; they were even able to pick up dinner - KFC (Raph's shout; he practically shoved the cash into Val's arms) - without much delay.

They had roughly two hours to kill till they reached Northampton.

Leo and Donnie were talking amongst themselves, organising a Sunday morning sparring session (because of course they'd train on vacation). Raph and Casey were debating which vehicle to drag out first - the latter's old Chevy or their ATKs.

"I was hopin' to put Val behind the wheel at some point this weekend..." Raph gently squeezed Val's thigh, drawing her attention away from the cute youngster attempting to play 'Peek-a-Boo' with her.

"Can you drive stick, Val?" Casey enquired from the passenger's seat; April booted him from driving duty as he couldn't stick to the speed limit.

Val's bewildered gaze ping-ponged between the raven-haired man and her partner. "Uhhh... I've never driven. Period."

"What a stupid question, Case," Mikey scoffed, rolling his eyes. "She's a New Yorker; why would she need to know how to drive?"

"You can drive," Casey countered, before gesturing to himself. "I can drive, April can drive- basically everyone in here can drive, except Ty, obviously... and Val... and Leo-"

"Why am I being dragged into this?" Leo peeked over their heads at Casey, unamused.

Casey shrugged. "I'm just statin' facts-"

"No," Mikey snickered as he nudged his eldest brother, who sighed in exasperation. "He's totally ribbing you for not knowing how to drive-"

"Alright, alright!" Raph's hands shot between the squabbling men, promptly silencing them. "We're gettin' off topic..."

"...Wow." Donnie snapped toward Val, awestruck. "Tell me your secrets."

"Yeah!" Mikey concurred, fixing her a playful glare. "What have you done to our brother? He never stops a fight."

"I can still start one, though." Raph side-eyed his youngest brother, cracking his knuckles.

The orange-banded terrapin snorted. "Not in front of your girl, you wouldn't- hey! Wha..." Reaching down, he retrieved what he assumed was what flicked his face off the cabin floor; quirking a suspicious brow ridge at Val. "Did you just hit me with a hair-tie?"

The brunette winked over her shoulder.

"Now I know what she sees in you-"

"I'm tuning you guys out, now." April dialled up the volume on the stereo; the iconic guitar intro to 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers filled the cabin, prompting a collective gasp from its occupants.

"Aw, yeah! How good's that?!" Casey exclaimed, sharing a delighted grin with his wife.

"ImPECcable timing!" Mikey added.

"It's my 'Roadtrip' playlist," April laughed, nodding to the phone resting atop the centre console.

"Ooh!" Val lunged for the phone. "Can I, pretty please, add to your queue??"

"Sure - go nuts!"

Raph threw his head back. "Urgh, here we go..."

"For that - add two songs, Val."

"Aw, what?!"

"Three."

Val shot him a shit-eating grin.

"Ha!" Mikey smacked the back of his brother's seat. "Sucked in!"

"You're gonna regret this..." The red-banded terrapin sing-songed.

"Shoosh, you!" Val giggled, elbowing him gently. He attempted peeking over her shoulder at the screen; she pushed his face away. "Ah-ah-ah, none of that! It's a surprise."

Defeated, Raph slumped back into his seat with an exaggerated sigh. Val shot him a look at that, before returning her attention to the phone.

As he watched her scrolling away, humming softly to the current tune (somehow ignoring Mikey's 'singing'), he couldn't help fixating on the delicate way she chewed her bottom lip, and her fingertips tracing along her prominent clavicle. Though it wasn't her intention, those little tics of hers were riling him up big time.

They haven't done much since that first time; with everything going on, it hadn't felt appropriate. She'd been assaulted, dropped by her best friend, and slapped with charges of her own - aggravated assault - within 48-hours of each other. The prosecution really pulled out all the stops to ensure someone's - anyone's - neck hit the judge's chopping block.

Luckily, said judge had some common fucking sense.

Though she hid it exceedingly well, he knew she was still hurting. It obviously went without saying he was more than happy to wait as long as she needed them to; till then, he'll focus on helping her heal.

"I'll be nice, this once." She grinned mischievously as she returned April's phone. "As for the next one? Well..."

Just what is it that you want to do?

"We wanna be free!" Val turned to Mikey for back-up, who readily obliged; as did April and Casey. Tyler beamed at the ensuing chaos, while the three wet blankets shared a wry look.

We wanna be free to do what we wanna do...

And we wanna get loaded

And we wanna have a good time

And that's what we're gonna do-

No way baby, let's go!

We're gonna have a good time...

We're gonna have a party!

---

Darkness had enveloped the truck by the time it finally rolled through the paint-worn front gates. Confident he wouldn't slump forward in his seat again, Val carefully removed her hand from the sleeping youngster's forehead to check her watch, wincing at the blaring light - 9:12pm.

"We're here," Raph murmured, entwining his fingers with hers then resting them atop her thigh.

"Have a nice nap, nanna?" She whispered impishly; he'd been snoring into her ear for nearly thirty minutes.

The terrapin hummed as he nuzzled her shoulder; his warm breath on her neck sending a shiver down her spine. "It was quite pleasant, yes - thank you."

Val giggled, then a sudden, excited gasp escaped her when she finally glimpsed the farmhouse; aided by the truck's enormous headlamps.

They spoke fondly of it often; it was their refuge in times of physical, emotional, and spiritual recuperation... It was also their father's eternal resting place.

It appeared to be a traditional colonial-style home, boasting three storeys and a steeply pitched shingled roof. To its left stood the silhouette of a hulking barn, nearly twice the size of the main house. Thick woods and mountain ranges lined the rear of the multi-acre property, accentuating its secludedness.

As someone who's never lived nor vacationed outside the city limits, this was a brand new experience for her.

"It's gorgeous..." She breathed.

Raph chuckled softly, enamoured by her ever-present childlike wonder. He never thought he'd meet someone as sheltered as they were, growing up.

Just wait till you see the stars...

Casey scoffed. "You shoulda seen it a few years ago; it was about to keel over from neglect."

"No argument, here," Donnie remarked, barely looking up from his phone screen. "No electricity, no running water, no heating... It was essentially a shell. Pun intended." The terrapin finally acknowledged Casey with a smirk. "Who made it habitable, again?"

"...You did," Casey muttered.

"Thank you."

"Well, I supplied the thing, so I should at least get some of the credit..."

"Can the rest of us go inside, or do we need to witness this..." April frowned as she gestured between the two men. "Well... this?"

"I vote we leave," Leo suggested.

Val nodded immediately. "Ditto."

"Yep," Raph added.

"Please!" Mikey begged, eager to stretch out his aching joints.

The redhead turned to her husband with a smirk. "Seeya," then proceeded exiting the truck; Casey grumbled under his breath as he followed suit.

Val carefully unbuckled Tyler as April slid open the side door. "Hi, sweetheart..." The boy stirred as his mother lifted him out of his seat and into her arms. "Shhh... Val, could you grab me his Buzz? He dropped it on the- thank you... C'mon, buddy, let's get you to bed."

As expected, the first thing Val looked to once outside was the sky. Again, as expected, she was wonderstruck. "Look at all the freaking stars!"

That was the boys' first reaction, also.

"Yeah, that's what it looks like when not obscured by light pollution," Donnie remarked before joining Raph, Mikey, and Casey at the rear to begin unpacking.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Leo nudged her gently as he stepped to her side. "One of the things I miss about Costa Rica is sleeping under this, every night... Hey, by the way."

"Hey." Val then smirked at him. "What about the mosquitos?"

"No," he chuckled. "I definitely don't miss the mosquitos. I swear, they were as big as my head."

At that, the brunette shuddered. "Urgh! Yeah, no, thanks."

"Jeez, Val!" The pair turned to find Mikey hauling out her suitcase, exaggerating each and every sound effect. "What've you got in this thing - bricks?!"

Rolling her eyes, Val finally ambled over. "Give it here, you big baby!"

---

Screams rang through the empty street as he rapidly gained on her.

She felt his grubby palms slam her back, then a coldness as blood trickled down her battered face.

Airways constricting.

Skin tearing.

Bones grinding against brick, like carrot on a grater.

And those eyes...

She swore a part of his soul clung to her as it was unceremoniously ripped from his body.

She still felt him.

All of him.

"Val!"

Val jolted awake, immediately blinded by hot tears. A hand touched her wet cheeks and she flinched again, a frightened squeak forcing its way out.

"Shhh, I've gotcha..." A familiar voice soothed, their delicate touch returning warmth to her face. Another hand enveloped hers, pressing them against a hardened surface; a rhythmic lup-dup knocking against it. "You aren't there, Val; you're here - with me."

Vision finally clearing, she realised she was already sitting up.

"Hey..." The hand at her cheek moved to her chin, tilting it up. The moment she met his eyes - aided by the moonlight peeping through the bedroom window - she felt grounded.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be sorry," Raph insisted, wiping the last of her tears away. He cocked his head slightly, searching her face with a regretful look. "I wish I could take this from you..."

"I know..." Val croaked, squeezing his hand comfortingly. He kissed the back of hers, before leaning forward to plant another at her brow.

Forehead beaded with sweat, she winced away.

"I don't care." The terrapin gently seized her occiput. He kissed her there again, then carefully returned her head to her pillow and laid down himself. Pulling the quilt back over them, he draped an arm over her middle and pulled her close; back flush against his plastron.

"Thank you," she sniffled softly, resting her hand atop his just below her breast; he responded with a peppering of featherlight kisses along her bare shoulder.

"No need to thank me," he murmured.

"...Happy birthday, by the way."

He smiled against her skin. "Thank you, beautiful."

"I love you, Raph."

"I love you too... Now, back to sleep."

---

She couldn't be idle in this state any longer; she needed to do something productive.

Careful not to rouse her slumbering partner, Val silently slipped under his arm and off the mattress; tugging her floral chemise back down her thighs.

The air had a bite to it, causing goosebumps to prickle her skin. After slipping into something a little warmer (a pair of boyfriend jeans and oversized hoodie), the brunette retrieved her sneakers from the foot of the bed and quietly left the room; clicking the door closed behind her.

Val neither heard nor passed a single soul on her way to the ground floor. Understandable; it wasn't even 5am.

She exited through the front door; an objective to fulfil. The boys' individual gifts were mostly complete, save for the finishing touches, which she'll tend to after breakfast.

This gift, however, was all for Raph.

One thing: she had to change locations, as there was no way on God's green earth she's giving it to him in his father's bed.

She luckily found the cosiest spot up in the barn's near empty hayloft; with its own skylight! How much more perfect could you get, honestly? It'll take a little longer than initially planned to set up, but she was confident she could pull it off undetected; whilst everyone else was enjoying the lake.

As she pottered about the westside of the property, watching the sun finally peek over the mountains, Val suddenly found her view obstructed by an enormous white oak; its dense, sprawling branches surrounded by lush greenery and weathered, particoloured string lights.

It was the most beautiful tree she'd ever seen; and she lived just across the street from Central Park.

Lowering her gaze to its trunk, something caught her eye. A wooden grave marker stood before it; a posy of desiccated wildflowers lay atop the grassy mound, preceding a small dish of water and a ladle. Etched along the horizontal board, the epitaph read:

Splinter

Beloved teacher, father and friend.

"You're up early."

Val hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath; instead of a gasp, something akin to a strangled squawk escaped her lips. She whipped around to find Leo standing there; a fresh bunch of flowers in hand and a sheepish grin on his face.

"You lot need bells!" the brunette tittered breathlessly, clutching her chest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's all good," she smiled reassuringly. "You saved me my morning coffee."

At that, Leo chuckled softly, before gesturing behind her. "I see you've met dad."

"I did..." Val awkwardly inched away from the grave, afraid she may have violated some unspoken boundary. "Is it okay, my being here? I didn't mean to-"

"Wha- no!" The terrapin's amber eyes widened as he fervently shook his head. "No, no - you're fine! It's perfectly fine; you're more than welcome, here."

The brunette heaved a relieved sigh. "Oh, good..." She muttered, trailing off. "Good, good, good..."

Leo eyed her carefully. "I heard you crying earlier... Is that why you're up?"

She lowered her gaze, glimpsing her disfigured knuckles before shoving them inside her hoodie pocket. "Well... that, and my body clock; I'm usually up by this time, anyway..."

He ignored her tangent. "So, why were you crying?"

Stubborn, the both of them...

"...He's still here," She finally admitted, jamming both hands in her pocket in an effort to keep from gesturing aimlessly. "I can still feel him; o-on my skin, my hair, my face! My... my-"

"I get it-"

"I wanted to kill him..."

Leo said nothing; only listened, as she continued.

"Had you not come when you did... I-I honestly don't think I'd have let him live..."

"Aren't you glad I did come, then-"

"No, actually. Cos you suffered the consequences of my mistake-"

"Blaming the victim, again, Valerie?" He stared hard at her as he folded his arms; posy sitting snugly in the crease. "Because that's what it sounds like-"

"I'm not-!"

"You are," he shot back. "...Have you forgotten what I told you? It's not your fault."

"Yeah, well..." The brunette shrugged helplessly, fixing him a pleading look. "I'd rather we not get into this, today, please? Not on your birthday... and definitely not in front of your dad."

Leo compressed his lips. He stared at her another moment; she could see the metaphorical cogs in his brain turn as his expression steadily softened.

Finally, he spoke. "Could you wait in there for me?" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, toward the barn. "It's too dewy out here for what I wanna try- just... humour me, alright? Please? I'll be there in a minute."

---

"No, that's alright - leave the door. A little wider... Perfect, thanks; it'll give us some natural light... and prevent us from getting smoked out."

Smoked out??

Leo...

The moment I think I've got you figured out, you throw me this meteorite-sized curve-ball.

Val's suspicious gaze followed Leo as he proceeded about the barn, lighting an array of partially melted pillar candles; retrieving an incense burner and refills from atop a dust-covered storage box, then scooping out two flat, round cushions from inside said box.

She stepped forward. "Do you need some-"

"No, no - I'm good." He easily nudged the lid closed with his elbow. Setting the cushions side-by-side in the centre of the room, burner just within reach, he beckoned her over. "Have you meditated before?"

Oh, thank God...

Unfurling her arms, the brunette tentatively approached. "No, I haven't..." she answered quietly, lowering herself into a cross-legged position atop one of the cushions. Once he'd smothered the flame on the stick (leaving only a tiny, smoking ember), Leo leaned back onto the last cushion; bracing himself on his heels.

"I practice at least once a day; well, twice, now, over the past few weeks..." He mustn't have liked what came out of his mouth, as he grimaced, then cleared his throat. "...It helps."

Leaning forward, Val carefully searched the terrapin's face. She's seen more of him in these three weeks than she had in the first two months. These days, he's present for nearly every group activity; even suggesting a few himself. She wanted to be happy he was finally coming out of his shell (for lack of a better term), but she couldn't help but worry...

Whilst the pleasant smoke blessed her senses, Leo corrected her posture.

"Straighten your back for me? That's it; this'll allow more air into the lungs. Alright, now, from here..." Pressing a palm against the centre of his plastron - the diaphragm - the terrapin commenced with a long, deep inhale. "...And out. Just keep doing that. Close your eyes, if you need, as well."

Oh, I'll need to...

In...

Val creaked an eye open mid-breath to check whether she was being watched - yes.

"This is stupid-"

"It's only stupid because you've never tried it. So, try it." Leo smirked at her. "Go on, I dare you."

Now, I HAVE to.

Shrugging off her nerves, Val tried again.

---

"Well, good morning, early birdies!" April greeted cheerfully as the pair finally sauntered inside. The redhead was standing near the kettle, several mugs neatly lined before her. "Tea? Coffee?"

"Tea, please," Leo answered politely as he approached the sink. "I'll give you a hand; let me just wash them, first."

April nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Valerie. "What'll it be, Val?"

"No, thank you," she replied, finally prying herself from the back door to stand by her friend's side. "I'll help, too... Is everyone up?"

"All except one..."

"Who?"

April gave her a look, implying she should already know the answer.

Groaning inwardly, Val petted the redhead's shoulder as she left the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

She passed Mikey, Casey, and Tyler in the living room on her way to the stairs.

"Morning!" She greeted hurriedly.

"Morning!" Mikey and Tyler answered cheerily.

"Goin' to ish your boy, are ya?" Casey enquired with a smirk.

"I've no idea what that means, but yes," the brunette replied. "Wish me luck."

"Tell him if he doesn't get off his lazy butt, then Case is comin' to get him!" He called after her; she giggled under her breath.

She met Donnie in the hall.

"Good morning! He's still snoring in there..."

"Morning, and he won't be in a few seconds."

The terrapin let out a squeak as he hauled ass downstairs.

Pushing their bedroom door open, Val found Raph sprawled on the bed; snuggling her pillow as he usually did, whenever she wasn't with him.

He looks so cute-

No, don't you dare!

It's time to get up!

Steeling herself, the brunette stalked toward his bedside. She went to make a move-

He struck.

Raph lunged for her, snatching her waist then yanking her beneath him.

"You-!" Before she could finish, he crashed his lips against hers. A tingling warmth bloomed in her belly as he moved between her legs; one hand behind her head, the other fondling her thigh.

"The door's open!" She hissed, once he pulled away.

"You weren't here when I woke up," he pouted. He squeezed her ass, and she jolted.

"Again - door open!"

"Mm, I miss the dress you had on..." He hummed against her neck; his wandering hand was under her hoodie now, toying with her bra.

I'm talking to a brick wall...

"Raph, stop!" She laughed; his fingers were grazing her ticklish spot.

He met her gaze with an impish grin. "It doesn't sound like ya want me to stop."

"Raph, no-!"

He dug in.

After a moment or two of kicking and squealing, Val suddenly spotted a figure in the doorway - a little one.

"Stop, stop, stop!" She cried, pushing at Raph's arms. "It's Tyler!"

That made him move.

The terrapin threw himself off her and onto his feet, whipping toward the doorway with the deer-in-headlights look; after quickly adjusting her clothing, Val hauled herself to a seated position.

Tyler was, indeed, standing there; grinning like the cat that got the canary... but so was his dad.

Casey finally showed himself, arms folded as he leaned against the frame. "Kids make great contraception, don't they?"

Finally snapping out of his daze, Raph promptly snatched the nearest pillow and hurled it at him; which he smacked away with a laugh. "You asshole!"

"Happy birthday!" Casey cheered, disappearing down the hall as his friend gave chase.

---

Masterlist / Chapter 18

@android-cap-007 @happymoonangel @miss-andromeda

[futureboy-caseyjones]

Incorrect Quotes: Casey Jones Flavor

— Mikey is Miguel, Leo is Leon, Raph is Raphie and Donnie is Don

Miguel: WHY. why did you give Casey a KNIFE?! Leon: I’m sorry. He said he felt unsafe. Miguel: Now I feel unsafe! Leon: I’m sorry. Leon: ... would you like a knife?

— Mikey™

Miguel: Social distancing says you shouldn't be within an elbow's distance of each other. *later, in a barfight* Miguel: Social distancing doesn't say nothing about feet! *kicks opponent in the face*

— HE WOULD xD

Miguel: I'm never having a debate with Leon again, he literally started his argument with "Riddle me this."

— This is so funny (Where'd you acquire this skills? The apocalypse)

Casey: *Pulls a glass a water from out of nowhere* Raphie: Where did you get that? Casey: My pocket. Raphie: How do you keep a glass of water in your pocket? Casey: Skills.

— HaHA!

Don: You're alive. Casey: There's no need to sound so disappointed.

— Seems about right

Miguel: Good morning. As you begin your day, remember that violence is always an option and often the answer. Don: Miguel: Don: ...Please, go back to bed.

—

— POV Casey doesn't like Pineapple on pizza

Leon: BWWAAAAAAAAAA! Oh, you hear that? That's the wrong opinion alarm. Casey: That is not something you actually have installed. Leon: Sorry, say again? I couldn't hear you over my alarm that YOU SET OFF with your WRONG OPINION.

— This fits literally all of them

Miguel: I’ve been here in jail so long I think I’ve lost my mind. Miguel: The days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months. Miguel: How long have I been in here now? Almost a year? Raphie: This is Monopoly.

— Yeah.. that's in character

Raphie: Leon, what if there are monsters? Leon: Don’t worry, we’re top of the food chain. Much later… Raphie, lying awake at night: I am the monster.

— Pfft they would as adults honestly

Leon: *mixing different alcoholic beverages together* Raphie: What are you making? Leon: A mistake

— Second in command

Don: Honestly, I am so evil. So full of darkness. I feed of the souls of the living I strike fear into- Casey: You sleep with a teddybear. Don: He’s my sECOND IN COMMAND IN MY ARMY OF DARKNESS!

— Twinds

Leon: This is horrible! This is the most humiliating thing to ever happen to me! Don : Oh-? Even more humiliating than- Leon: We are not doing this!

— Not a champion just a swordmen 😔

*Leon is fighting a monster* Miguel: Just stay calm! You already have everything you need to beat it! Leon: The power to believe in myself!? Miguel: No, a knife! Stab it!

— Bonding

*Casey and Leon are in a mirror maze* Casey, seeing Leon: C'mon, you got it! Almost through! Leon: I see you! *runs straight into a mirror, shattering it* Casey: *screams*

— I don't really think Bee fits

Bee: I think we should have glow stick juice injected in our bones when we're born, so if we break our bones, we get a fun little surprise. Casey: What's the surprise? Sensei: Blood poisoning.

— He's most definitely talking to one one of the Apocalypse Duo (probs Mikey tbh)

Casey: I scare people a lot because I walk very softly and they don't hear me enter rooms. So when they turn around, I'm just kind of there and their fear fuels me.

— Happens ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Casey: Hello, I'm Casey. I work at a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget it. Very helpful, as that does happen.

— Uncle's 😔✋

Master Michelangelo: Do you want this handful of moss? Uncle Donnie: Why would I want a handful of f#!?ing moss? Master Michelangelo: Damn, you could’ve just said no.

— Invasive little gremlin (lighthearted)

Sensei Leonardo : Casey, remember when you said you weren’t going to interfere with my love life? Casey: No, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

— Casey accidentally(ish) starts a crow Mafia more at 11

Casey: I’ve become a bread crumb dealer to four crows at the lake. They pay me with a bit of everything. Like shiny things, fabric, or pens. But recently they paid me with a 20 dollar bill they found somewhere. So I decided to buy them some more expensive bread. They loved it. So they understand what to do. Give me money. I’ve probably racked up about 200 dollars at this point. Is it morally wrong though, I mean. They’re the ones who steal the money from others. Or perhaps they just have a big pile laying somewhere. Should I keep on doing this? Master Michelangelo : You sound like the start of a Batman villain.

— 😮☝️😐✊

Casey, about Master Michelangelo: They're speaking some kind of French. Sensei Leonardo: Let me handle it. I speak Spanish. It's the same thing.

— Themb

Sensei Leonardo: Is there something you would like to say, Donnie? Uncle Donnie: Oh, there are SEVERAL things I would like to say.

[saga-project]

Okay, Do---Cain. Why'd you get us all here.

Yeah, what's happenings.

You look upset, who d'we need t---

Just. Let me talk. Please. All of you.

Right. Go on.

I....uh. This is......that is to say. GAHHHHH I had a whole speech prepared why isn't anything--

Hey. Deep breaths.

....Right. Right. Okay. So, firstly, there's....there's where I've been going. Sometimes. There's a sort of pocket universe that connects to here. Full of people that I....consider. Close. Acquaintances of sorts. I go there when things get overwhelming here. Which I realize is....often. I will try to work on that--

Awww. Don's makin' friends.

'Nardo, do not patronize m--eep.

...you haven't called me. 'Nardo. In a while.

Uh. N-no. That's the....the other thing I wanted to talk about. I....I went through a closet space when you were all out shopping. I....I found a box. Full of things you saved Donnie. I realize it was probably off limits, but....I....I just.....

....what's up, Cain?

We're not mad, we promise. We're not gonna punish you. You didn't call all of us just t' tell us that, did ya?

No, no. I.....I wanted to say I.....it....I.....rememberallofyounow.

What?

I remember all of you now! Okay? A-and I know I've been gone for nine years, a-and I know that I can't make up for that, a-and.....and I thought you all didn't care about me but you do, and I'm a terrible brother because I forgot but I remember now, I remember sneaking into Raph's bed after I had a nightmare and I remember sharing things with Leo and I remember so many of the things I was going to do with Mikey a-and---

Don, hey--

--and I missed so much, I'm sorry, I swear I was trying to get back and I didn't think it had been that long and I--

Donnie, breathe.

....I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I forgot all of you, I'm sorry, I forgot Leo, I f-forgot---

It's okay. It's okay. It's not your fault.

I don't know why I--

Probably repressed 'em or something. It's fine, Don! You're with us now.

Y-you guys aren't mad? You look upset.

....We're not mad. We're happy. Don, I'm so happy.

Really? Because I thought---OOF.

I n-never thought I'd be this happy over my little bro callin' a family meeting! You r-remember us!

Raphyou'recrushingme---

S-sorry! Sorry. It's just....we missed you.

....I don't know if I can be who I. Was before.

That's okay! If we made you feel that way--

No. I mean. Not entirely. I just.....you can call me Donnie, now. I just don't know if.....

That's okay. We can take it slow. Nice 'n easy. One day at a time.

Oooh! We can paint together more! Please please please?

Sure, Mikey.

....and I bet I can still beat your ass at Mario Kart.

I wouldn't be so sure.

....I'm really glad you told us, Don.

....I'm glad too. Can we....turtle pile tonight? Like old times? Sure, bud. Whatever ya want.

[foxsoulart]

Feral mode is triggered aka Chapter 4

‐----

The boys had returned from patrol arguing. Tension had been high the last few days and it escalated that night. A few cross words and everyone spiraled into yelling. Master Splinter couldn't stop them no matter what he tried. "Boys please-" "IF YOU HAD JUST LISTENED TO ME-" " AND WHY THE SHELL WOULD I DO THAT OH HIGH AND MIGHTY" " RAPH YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE LISTE-" "BUT DON LEO'S PLAN DIDN'T WORK ANYW-" "IT WOULD HAVE IF YOU HA-" "LEO, IT WOULDN'T HAVE"

They all paused to breathe in. Then Leo was tackled by a snarling Ali. "Ali stop! That's Leo!"

"Ah, let her he needs a few-"

"Raph she's using her claws!" Oh shell. Rushing forward they managed to get her off him; but not without getting hurt in the process. She lashed out at all of them, attacking anything that moved. Something was wrong, she was too animalistic, too savage and she had never attacked them before.

"Ali calm down its us!"

"We're not gonna hurt you!"

She hissed and spat from Splinter's hold. Thrashing as she tried to attack them. She flung her head back smacking Splinter's chin causing him to lose his hold.

"MIKEY DUCK"

Mikey hit the floor just in time as she lunged at him. "Sorry Ali" Raph murmured as he hit the back of her head with his sai's hilt. She collapsed unconscious, a snarl on her lips. "What was that?" Donnie asked as his legs gave out from shock and he sat down with a thump.

"I am not sure, but we must tend to you and your brothers first my son. As much as I hate to do so...Michaelangelo please go grab the rope, I'm afraid she can't be loose until she is in her right mind." Splinter's ears drooped at the thought of having to tie up one of his children. "Raphael can you help Leonardo get to the medbay? I will help Donatello" "Yeah, I got him"

The mood was somber as they patched everyone up. "I think...I might have an idea as to why Ali went....feral" All heads turned toward Donnie. "I think she sensed our hostility and anger, and maybe that triggered some sort of defense mechanism and I've noticed she's been hyper focused or hyperobservant the past few days plus she doesn't seem to do well with a ton of noise or things going on at once cause it would be harder for her to concentrate so our yelling may have startled her and kinda pushed her over the edge meaning she was probably overwhelmed or overstimulated or some form of that and her body's and mind's reaction to that may have been to regress into a more animalistic state and attack everything in an attempt to protect herself but I could be totally wrong I have no idea how exactly her mind works."

"And how would we fix or prevent that?" Donnie rubbed his head "I have no idea, not yelling at each other would probably be a good start. But I haven't researched enough on overstimulation to know for sure."

"So how do we get her back to normal?"

"I highly doubt simply not yelling would cut it."

"Hah, talk about an impossible task"

"Perhaps we should ask what exactly triggered it and work from there"

Donnie hmmed in agreement, hopefully she'd be back to normal when she awoke, otherwise they'd have a bigger problem on their hands.

Ali's face twitched and scrunched as she blinked awake. Shifting she noticed that she was tied to one of the pillars. Her ear flicked and she looked up at Raph. "How ya feeling?" She looked him over "Ali hurt you"

"No. That wasn't you"

"was"

"you weren't yourself-"

"was, Ali was. Ali hurt what supposed protect. Ali fault, should punish"

"No, it wasn't your fault it was ours. If we hadn't freaked you out you wouldn't have felt unsafe, so stop that kind of thinking right now." Her ears drooped "angry?"

"Not at you, let's get those ropes off" Untying her he sighed at her aversion of him like she was afraid of hurting him. "Do you know what triggered...the... aggression?" "Loud, bright, nightmare, family not safe, must protect, too much, too loud."

"Oh." He had not been expecting that knowledgeable and detailed of an answer. Great, that is alot of stuff to handle, ugh. "Well, Dad wants you to talk with him about it, he'll see what he can do to help. Donnie'll want to know too."

Quietly "okay"

Ali had been doing alot better after her talk with Splinter. And the boys now knew how to spot her warning signs and help her de-stimulate. The first and what they hoped was the last time they encountered feral mode, slipped into the past where it belonged as time wore on.

~~

Previous Chapter

Next

Summary

[lazypanartist]

So of course Im gonna do a Bonus Thing for Donnie x Yokai reader like the rest but i just had... either a Big Brain or Big Dumb idea of the different readers and the brothers talking to each other hang on lemme just--

----

Mikey: I dunno... *sigh* What if I mess up confessing to Starsick?

Raph: *snorts* Please, theyre so delighted with anything you say to them they wouldnt even notice.

Don: *typing something, deleting something, typing again* You could probably say something along the lines of "mmme date? you? please yes?" and they'd think its cute.

Leo and Raph: *laughs*

Mikey: Oh shut it! >:[ I just dont want to ruin my chances...

Leo: Believe me, baby bro, they are ENTIRELY smitten with you. Just go for it! Heck, at least you arent in Don-Tron's shoes.

Don: *stiffens* Hey!

Raph: Night Eyes is...Kinda scary man, sorry. I dont know how you wont choke asking em out.

Leo: You think theres like a whole custom thing you gotta do? or can you just take em out for tacos and woo em with your knowledge of ant farms?

Don: *grumbling* I shouldve dumped the colony in your bed while you were asleep- Look, ill take em to a nice restaurant, maybe go dancing... once I text them....

Raph: You cant take em to Hueso's, Mikey called that one.

Leo: Hey, not to bat for donnie, but Mikey also called like....17 other places. He's gotta pick one. And anyways, Raph, whats your plan?

Raph: *blushing* I dunno what you mean.

Mikey, Leo and Donnie: PLEASE.

Donnie: You are, according to extensive data research and watching you and Origami with my own eyes, crushing HARD on each other.

Mikey: Yeah! Come on big guy, you gotta ask em out. You're so sweet on them and they seem like they feel real comfortable around you.

Leo: *nods nods* You gotta do it bro. You're adorable together, and I think youre really good for em. Plus im worried they might, like, cry or throw up if they try and ask you out.

Raph: Whatever *rolls eyes* ...and what about you, eh?

Leo: *blink* What do you mean?

Don: ???When are you finally gonna ask Homie out??

Mikey: theyre already dating guys. I overheard them talking about date night on saturday.

Leo: Guys i already told yo- wait were you eavesdropping on us...? nevermind. We arent dating. Homie's just a close friend, they dont even like me like that.

Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Splinter (who just wanted some cake and is now part of This Shit): 🤨😒

-- Elsewhere, at a cafe --

Starsick: Gosh i dunno what if Michelangelo's just being nice?

Night Eyes: Mh, no. He's down bad. He looks at you like you hung the moon in the sky.

Homie: Look, if he doesnt ask you out by the end of the week, hes probably just nervous. try confessing your feelings and see if that helps!

Origami: *nods* a direct approach is a good one.

Night Eyes: Which is why I'm asking ~Othello von Ryan~ to come visit me at a dance hall. after dinner, of course. Sushi, my treat. 💅✨

Homie: Ooohohoo~ Look at you, going in for the kill!

Night Eyes: Hes just so cute~ I like how he talks about space travel. so facinating!

Homie: So, when are you going to tell Big Red you like him?

Origami: *sputters, face red* What!! No! I do not! I just, he, um..!!

Starsick: Is nice to you, helps calm you down, encourages you to take care of yourself....

Homie: *counting on fingers* reminds you of a teddy bear, thinks you look cute when you pout, helped get you out of the foot clan...

Night Eyes: Is so painfully smitten with you yet you remain unaware.

Origami: >~< he's so sweet, and Im worried I might...be mean, or blunt, and it makes him not like me....How did you ask Leonardo out?

Homie: ...??? who, me?

Origami: ...yes??

Homie: Oh, we arent dating. We're just friends, he doesnt like me like that.

Night Eyes, Origami, Starsick, April (who was bringing their order and is now in the middle of all This Shit): 🤨😒

-📝 Anon

WNSKABDODB

OHHH MY GOD

Everyone being friends and trying to help them ask each other out?? Leo and Homie being Big Gay Idiots is, like, my WHOLE Aesthetic!

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 5)

[Donnie x fem reader]

sfw, chapt. 4 here

Just as Donnie had predicted, the night air was cold on his scales. Right upon leaving, Mikey brought up to Leo going in pairs this time, to cover more ground, he said. An extra thorough patrol. Donnie honestly couldn't make up his mind and so by then he was flying by the seat of his pants, not objecting to Mikey's plan, but also not agreeing. He doubted Leo would be convinced, anyway. They didn't do duo patrols that often. 

"I was thinking we could split up this time, you know, me and Donnie, you and Raph?" suggested Mikey, closing the manhole behind himself.

"I thought you liked it when we're all together," Leo commented. 

Donnie shot Mikey a look, trying to tell him to cool it, but he shrugged, "Come on, it'll be like some kind of training or...something," Mikey went behind Leo and shook his shoulders, "aren't you into that?"

Internally, Donnie facepalmed. Unless he actively tried to stop this, it was going to happen, wasn't it? One way or another, probably; it all depended on how Leo was feeling that night. Raph was indifferent. He didn't care whether they were all together or in pairs, just that he got to flex his combat skills some. If he could, he'd go out and do it on his own, even. 

Leo looked around, considering Mikey's suggestion. "Okay," he agreed, eventually. "You and Donnie take East, Raph and I will cover the usual route and then—" 

"No," Mikey interjected. Both Leo and Raph's brows furrowed as they stared at their brother. He motioned toward Donnie, "Me and Donnie can take that, you guys just go on ahead," he smiled. "You know I like checking out the skatepark!" 

"No skating," Leo said. 

"I'll just watch whoever's there, then." He pouted.

Raph snorted. "Yeah, make sure he actually pays attention, Donnie." 

"As usual," Donnie sighed, and looked at Leo. 

"Well, what do you think, Don?" 

The decision is up to me? 

Turns out it was his all along, but he wanted to feign innocence in saying that Mikey was the one to drag him through it. Easier to not take responsibility and let life happen at you rather than making a conscious effort, at times. 

"I guess we can do that," Donnie answered reluctantly. He could have said no. Why didn't he? In the corner of his eye, he saw Mikey beam, giving him a discreet thumbs up. 

"Alright, meet back here by four AM, and if either of you run into big trouble, call. We'll come," Leo said. "Same for us."

"Yeah, we'll holler for ya," added Raph dismissively. "And nah, a big dog doesn't count as trouble, Mikey." He sounded gruff, but in actuality, he was still chuckling to himself over that years later. After they got over being annoyed that he had called them from that far while they were on a supply run. Chased by a junkyard dog—some of their least favorite parts about visiting those places. 

"Hey, it was mean! And way fast!" Mikey protested as they parted ways, them taking to the East and red and blue the opposite way. 

As per course, Donnie and Mikey took their normal route, and his heart skipped a beat when they met the scene of their last run-in with criminals. Not because of them, no, but because of the familiar apartment building that was now more intimidating than he'd expected. They circled the area like they normally would have, but Mikey came to stop them on a roof just opposite of the complex, eyes searching each window. Obscured by the height of the building, he sat on the edge. 

Donnie didn't know what to do with himself. He stood back a good ten feet, somehow paranoid of being spotted even though he knew it was not possible from their angle in the complex. Mikey was comfortable, and weirdly at peace as he sat there quietly on the edge, assumed to be waiting for his brother to make a move. But Donnie was stuck in place. 

"What are you waiting for, D?" 

The sudden question broke him from his stillness. It was true; he didn't know what he was waiting for. 

"I—I don't know what you want me to do, what are you thinking?" Donnie asked in return, stepping back a little further as he noticed movement behind the curtains of a lit window. 

"Get your phone out and talk to her," Mikey told him, waving his hand at the apartments. "What did we come out here for if you aren't gonna make it right, bro? Do some smooth talk, tell her you're sorry and you wanna get to know her better…"

"This is absolutely a ridiculous plan," Donnie said, though as if his hands had thought of their own, they reached for his phone, and a moment later he was looking at the messages. Still nothing. Radio silence on both of their ends. How would he approach it? "I'm sorry I went from hot to cold so fast. Please talk to me again." Too strong. "Sorry, can we get a redo?" Too casual. "I'd like to apologise for being a jerk." Okay, that's just not good. Reconciling was going to be as difficult as he'd thought it would be. 

Mikey came over and looked at his phone screen and his brother floundering, thumbs stuttering across the keyboard, deleting the text, retyping it over and over again for perfection where he wasn't going to find any–

"I got this, let Love Doctor Mikey handle it," he said, taking the phone right from Donnie's hand. 

"You've never been in a relationship, not even talked to anyone, how would you—" 

Mikey shushed him. Donnie was going to snatch the phone away but he spun around, draping himself over his shoulder.  "Just let me work my magic, dude!"  

Donnie couldn't watch; he had to turn away. How sure he was that Mikey was going to say something uncalled for, something weird or bone-headed, and the wait was killing him. What if she didn't even respond? Was that better than doing damage control for Mikey's shenanigans? For someone usually decisive, he could not for the life of him make up his mind about what he wanted at that very instance. 

The phone vibrated. 

Mikey cheered. "Got her on the line, now you just gotta reel 'em in," he grinned, handing the phone back to Donnie. 

"Hey :/

I thought you wanted to stop?"

Mikey kept trying to lean over to catch a glimpse of the screen, but Donnie felt that it was a personal moment, so without skipping a beat, he activated the electric current in his staff and poked it behind him into his brother's plastron. 

"Fine," Mikey whined. He stepped in one last time, "But don't hold out on me here!" 

Trying to find an graceful way to patch this all up, Donnie replied: 

"I apologise for that, and I know you probably want an explanation, but it's hard to explain

Moment of weakness? 

I guess... 

Anyway. I'm not expecting you to suddenly be cool with it, if you don't want to talk to me I understand 

Sorry."

Mikey noticed Donnie's dismal expression and he mellowed out accordingly, standing close but not putting a hand on him, nor saying anything. He didn't watch the phone, but Donnie's face and slumped shoulders. He'd thought it would have been going better by now. 

"I won't lie, I'm still confused 

But if you're going through something, I'm right here for you

Don't worry about it. Just don't give me a spook like that again, I thought it was me  

lol 

Okay it's not funny but this is a little awkward" 

Donnie's heart sank reading that. He'd made her feel bad, even question herself over his problem. Never had he wanted to make her think it was her that drove him off. 

"No, no, it was never you 

Again, I can't really explain…

Is it okay if we just try this again? 

I understand if not."

"Jeez Bo, I already said it's alright 

I WANT to keep talking to you, you're cool

So let's forget about it, yeah? 

Friends again :) "

And like that, his heart took a leap. A smile slowly spread across his face, and without looking away from the screen, grabbed Mikey by the shell, pulling him toward. "Look at this!" he exclaimed. 

"You see it too?" he quirked, pointing at the apartment complex across the road. 

Donnie paused and looked over his shoulder at him, "What?" 

On one of the balconies sat a lone girl, on her phone, and if Mikey looked hard enough, he could see a smile. Definitely a smile. 

"Ah!" yelped Donnie quietly. He scurried back against the wall of the attached building behind him, as far as he could. 

"Dude! Come on, this is perfect!" Mikey nudged him, and when he didn't hop up onto his feet, dragged his brother near the edge of the roof. Donnie was boneless but unwilling, his mind stuck on the fact that she thought he was cool. Him, cool. Was he? She didn't know even the half of it. She didn't know he was a martial artist, technically a genius, and that he'd gone against some of the worst the city had to offer. And without that, she still thought he was cool, as an average guy. 

As average as what my circumstances will allow me to be. 

Feet dragging all the way, Donnie's stomach did a flip as they met the ledge, peering carefully over it in a crouch. They were prone, watching the girl who was completely unaware of their presence. He was, simply put, enraptured, for a second there, studying her features as much as he could from where they were. The details of her face were not distinct due to the distance, but he could tell she was both nothing like he'd imagined and so much more. For once, he didn't immediately question the validity of the situation; there was no "it could be a coincidence", or "it's too unlikely that she would be out just as they were". Not right away. But it hit him when Mikey spoke. 

"You're so lucky, D," he said wistfully. "Really." Head rested on his forearm, his gaze fell on not one thing, but the whole scene, a somber smile gracing him. He was excited, happy for his brother. But deep down, Donnie knew that though Mikey wasn't envious of him in a resentful way, it had to have stung to witness such a thing unfold for someone not himself. Their youngest had always craved connection the most. He looked away from the girl, "I wasn't gonna let you throw away an awesome chance, was I?"

Releasing a heavy breath, Donnie crawled away from the edge, but his eyes remained on that balcony. It was weird to watch someone who didn't know they were being watched. Not in that context. 

"I...guess I may be," Donnie responded. But it would only get more complicated from there. His phone vibrated, breaking his trance, and the message he found read:

"Anyways, with that out of the way, what are you doing?"

Just watching you from a roof, nothing much, Donnie thought. 

"Currently out enjoying the night" 

"Isn't it kinda cold?" 

"What about you?" 

He knew what he meant, because he was there watching her as a chilled breeze rolled through, but she told him she wasn't doing anything. Only relaxing and talking to him. 

It took him a few minutes to get his bearings. To know that he now had tangible evidence that she was a girl, an ordinary person, and that said person really thought he was cool. Worth the effort. He felt exceedingly difficult for not being able to give her a rightful explanation, but comforted by the fact that he wasn't being demanded of one. He felt light. Almost weightless, with Mikey next to him instead of his other cynical, skeptical brothers. For a moment, he had nothing to worry about. 

From across the roof, he could still see the yawn escape her mouth. Probably an indicator that it was time to wrap things up. He didn't want her to stay up too late; it was already odd that she was up at such an hour, almost two AM, but glad nonetheless. 

"Are you tired?"

"Yeah

I think I'm gonna hit the hay

So goodnight, Bo

Talk to you later (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞" 

She got up, leaning on the railing which faced them. 

"I want to stay up with you but—"

Donnie sucked in a sharp breath as she looked up, just barely able to see from underneath the balcony above her. He snagged the strap on Mikey's shell and yanked him back with him away from the edge of the roof, taking cover behind the wall. 

"Shit," hissed Donnie, "do you think she saw us?" 

These shells, they make us look so big! 

"Relax, bro, even if she did, it was only a little bit. Besides, we could be anyone from this far, they don't have pigeon vision." 

"You mean 'eagle vision'?" 

"They're both birds!"

Donnie deadpanned and peeked over the wall. She'd gone in. Three minutes later, he hadn't gotten any texts yet about something weird on the rooftops, so he could finally relax, groaning lightly. "Too close," he breathed out, "Mikey, we need to go, Leo's going to notice we're not back in time if we don't hurry up and get the rest of this route done."

"Already on it," he whooped, vaulting onto the next roof.

As Donnie was scaling the wall of the attached building, he felt his phone vibrate, and curious, he checked it one last time before getting on his way.

"One question before I go

You ever see stuff you can't explain but even if you did you'd sound crazy?"

Oh, no.

"No, I don't."

Chapter 6

[moonlightflower21]

Since we're on the Raph train I was wondering (mafia or not) how would react to his S/O being shot whilst also being pregnant with his baby? You don't have to do this if you don't want to tho! ❤

i loved this ask! this is totally also based on my one of my fave series because i thought it fit well.

disclaimer: mentions of shooting and hospitals. angst with fluff. kinda long, sorry bout that.

"You're not alone Raph. I know-" "Just stop please just stop, I can't take yer false optimism. It's not helping me, just stop" Raph growled at April, twirling his sais in his hands. It was a habit for whenever he was scared or nervous and she could really see both as clear as day in his face. For possibly the first she can tell just how scared the brute is.

Normally he would be laughing in the face of danger but it seems now that he's cowering away. April understood the outburst, knowing she would be falling apart if she was in his shoes. She left him for some peace but his mind was a prison, trying to remember every detail of this horrific accident.

His hands tremble when he notices your blood spattered against them, taking him back to when you were shot. That particular moment is forever burnt into his head, his heart dropped all the way to the ground when he first saw you in that state. You both had just even talking, laughing until the shot was fired.

Your mouth parted, gasping for air frantic to stop the flow of blood but it was impossible. The bullet penetrated deep through the muscle, embedded within your stomach. But what the worst was is that you were pregnant, halfway through month five. He rushed you to the hospital which thankfully wasn't far. The doctors rushed forwards to help you, shouting for the needles and the IV drip to stabilise yours and the baby's heartbeat. But once they went to the surgery room, no doctors had confirmed anything either. It felt like hell waiting and waiting for a word of confirmation. Anything to tell him that you and the baby were okay.

His brothers were trying to track down the gunman along with Chief Vincent and her team but Leo refused for Raph to join, claiming that he was also a potential target. That it would be too much to take on. He blew up on him, of course but Leo was adamant, taking him off the case. That killed him even more.

Donatello held the warm cup between his hands, watching his brother through the glass. He was scowling, angry that Leo hadn't given him much information about the whole incident. And as much as he understood Raph's pain, he knew why Leo refused for him to take part.

Donnie took a deep breath entering the room, shooting a small smile at the terrapin. Raphael looked up, a deep frown on his face as he paced trying to think but coming to no avail. Hearing his brother come in, he paused and raised a brow. He wished it was April, providing any useful information to take down the killer. He knew how to analyse the humans, but his brothers were harder to get information out of. Raphs shoulders deflated when he realised it was Donnie instead. He didn't even bother to try and hide his discontent from him.

"Were you with April?" He asked roughly, looking at him if he were a complete stranger.

"Here, I brought you a green tea. It won't make you as jittery as coffee" Donatello handed the warm cup to Raph who held it but kept his focus solely upon the purple banded turtle.

"You came instead of April because you knew I'd be able to read her" He spoke almost hoarsely, trying to hold back all his fustrations but it was clear they were slowly being let free.

Donnie's tongue ran across his bottom lip, trying to think of something that could diffuse his tension. But there was nothing he could say that could alleviate the pain Raph was feeling. Dancing around the bush simply meant he would become infuriated which was the last thing anyone needed.

"That is correct" He began but Raph was quick to speak again.

"And Leo sent ya here to see if I'm stable" He scoffed. "He didn't say that but..." Donnie trailed off, a soft nod of agreement at the statement.

Raph shook his head, placing the cup on the table. "I don't get jittery" His brows furrowed, sighing impatiently.

"Usually you don't, but your carotid tells a different story. I've counted 10 heartbeats in the last 3 seconds, it's about 20 percent higher than usual when you're stress-"

"Don I know yer only trying to protect me, I get it, but knock it off! I just want to know what you've learned" Raph fought the urge to punch something, anything, desperate to know if you were okay. Desprate to kill the fucker who messed with you. Donnie cleared his throat, placing his hands in his pockets as his eyes focused on his older brother. He decided to take another approach, hopefully one that will allow Raph to see this in another light.

"When you first told me about Y/N, I'd never seen you like that. The decreased levels of central serotonin in your brain cause intrusive thinking. When I finally saw you guys together, that's when I knew for sure. Your pupils dilated, your posture changed, and I saw you involuntarily reach for her hand. Science confirmed it. You found the one. Do you believe that?" He asked, stepping closer to Raph. His older brother was never one for showing his true emotions, never one for crying or asking for help. But the unshed tears in his eyes, the pained expression tell another story. One that doesn't need a genius to see that it is killing him inside.

"Yes..." He whispered softly, the hardened stance slowly softening just a crack.

"Then believe this. Our team loves you, and we are not going to stop until we find whoever did this. But we can only do that with a completely dispassionate and unprejudiced point of view. Paternal instinct is a deadly bias that we just can't risk. It's for your protection, Raph. I swear" Donnie's eyes were warm, comforting. That even though he couldn't relate to this situation he understood the fear that coursed through the terrapins body. But no matter what happened, he wasn't there to go through the pain alone.

"I hate ya...." Raph rumbled, but he let out a small smile knowing he was grateful for his brother in times like these.

"Me too bro"

[brightlotusmoon]

I would not wish any companion in the world but you - Chapter 14 - BrightLotusMoon, Sissystinger - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

I feel weirdly proud of this whole bit

@remmushound

-

Mikey crossed his arms. "That better be chocolate or coffee flavor."

Don smirked. "Remember when Raph got angry after Vern brought french vanilla by accident?"

Mikey laughed. "Oooh, mocha flavor. Does this mean you're making us coffee?"

"One ADHD medication coming up. In a few minutes. My kingdom for an actual alpha-2 adrenergic agonist."

Donnie perched on the end of the long wide table, watching both Mikeys carefully.

Michelangelo grabbed the straw happily and, once he had the straw, gladly drank the Gatorade without argument.

"Excellent, thank you." Donnie's goggles came down and he took out his tablet to type things. "Your brothers will be pleased to know that you are improving. Whatever Mikey did is having a cumulative effect."

“Thats good.” Michelangelo scrambled back into the warmth of Donatello’s shell armor. “Sorry I said I would bite you.”

"We're turtles," Mikey shrugged.

“Yeah.” Michelangelo shrugged, “I guess. But it’s still mean. I wouldn’t have actually bitten you. April might if you get on her nerves though.”

"Good to know," Donnie said. "Our April is fierce enough to punch people in the face. Years of field journalism and taking no shit."

“My April had a mystic bat! She beats up Yokai with it.”

"Ooooh," and Mikey leaned forward. "Everything about your world is the best thing ever."

“I agree!” Michelangelo chirped, “you guys should totally meet Hueso when you visit! He’s a skeleton!”

“A skeleton?”

“Yes! He’s like one of those sugar skull things from Mexico, except a full Skeleton. He’s a former pirate and hates Leo with a burning passion. But he does give the rest of us discount pizza.”

"Does he...eat pizza?" Don queried.

“He doesn’t like pizza, but he eats a lot of tacos.” Michelangelo shrugged, “he still had muscles and organs and all that stuff, it’s just all invisible except for his bones. Leo once poured flour over his head to see what he looked like. He’s terrifyingly buff, btw.”

"...huh," they both said.

"Also, my unflinching sense of science doesn't know how to feel about that," said Donnie.

“Yeah, it was a horrifying revelation.” Michelangelo nodded, “but he’s a decent guy.”

Mikey let his head fall to the side, mouth open, and smacked Don's bicep with the back of his hand. "Dude. We really gotta get out more."

Don blinked at him. "Did you eat another gummy?"

"T'was yummy."

-

[queenchaos]

So...I did a thing....

Ahhhh I’ve been so bored during these times that I went back through old art n my many DED DeviantArt accounts. I found this old beauty from 2013-14.... and I decided to redraw my girl in the middle

It’s me and two old friends during our TMNT phase in middle school. Kelsi (Sophie), Ella (Me Emma), and Tara (Sara). We’d actually call each other by these names and have over text Role plays....

Wrote fanfics bout us n everythin! Here’s the only one that I help with:

Kelsi gave a tiny wave to Donatello as he left with his brothers for patrol. He turned around and looked at her with pleading eyes. He had tried to convince them he needed to hang back, but now that Tara was here they decided to let her take over on watch patrol there. He glanced between the Shellraiser and his friend.

"You sure you don't want me to-"

"Nope! I'm fine, Tara will be here, and if I run into problems I can call. Just go, I can handle myself!" Tara gave a sharp nod and motioned with her hands for him to move along.

"Go on Don, I've got her." He hesitated before slipping inside and driving off. There was a moment of silence between the two cousins, smiles beginning to form on their faces.

"Is he gone?" Kelsi stretched her neck in an attempt to get a closer look. Tara ran over and peeked out.

"Gone, the taillights just disappeared." She looked back with a grin. "Ready?"

"Ready!" She snatched her laptop from underneath her wheelchair and opened the lid, browsing through the list they had made an hour earlier, complete with links and information underneath each case.

It wasn't that they were hiding this from the turtles they just…they wanted to do this on their own. If any of them figured out what it was they were up to, they were toast. No doubt that they would immediately be banned from continuing their new pastime, and life would go back to its former dull throbbing. There were nine pages worth of things to look at, and they couldn't choose for the longest time.

"We might want to start with something easy." Tara sighed, leaning back and scanning her eyes over the list. "I don't know, like maybe a missing cat."

"That's way too easy."

"Not for you." She teased. "But yeah, I know. What are you thinking?"

"Maybe bump it up a notch and try missing person?" Kelsi scrolled the cursor over the link to the site.

"You do realize you're on that list right?" Tara smirked. "Lucky me, I found Kelsi, how much money do I get?"

"Shut up." Kelsi threw her head back and laughed. "Just shut up, that's not funny."

She turned back to the screen while her cousin gave a fake pout. "Seriously, they'll be back in a few hours we need to pick something." She opened a link up to a case involving a missing car. It was merely out of curiosity, she had a feeling their first job would end up being a cat after all. She skimmed over the article and blinked in confusion, mumbling to herself.

"What is it?"

"Just reading, according to this article the car disappeared last Sunday when some hijacker stole it, but according to the owner, the car never left his garage."

"Pshh, well it's gone now, it had to end up leaving at one point or another." Tara leaned in closer to read the tiny print. "Footage? The guy kept six cameras in his garage? Must be quite the car."

"Yeah, it is actually." Kelsi opened up the picture attached. A cherry red Corvette that shone like the sun came up on the screen, and Tara could only cringe and suck in air through her teeth.

"Ouch, talk about money down the toilet."

"If there's a reward of over 1,000 dollars then he's not too hurt over it."

"One thousand?! For a Corvette?! This guy's trying to pull off some bargain, nobody's going to look for a Corvette with only one thousand dollars to gain."

"Nobody…except us."

"No."

"Tara! Come on!" Kelsi whipped her head around and pleaded, whining and shaking the monitor. "One thousand dollars, we can get it if we try!"

"Absolutely not. Not for that much money."

"We could weasel more out of him when we're done." Kelsi gave a grin. She wanted this really bad, Tara could tell. Though she didn't blame her, she spent a lot of time down there after all. The smell was beginning to become the norm for Tara. That was new.

"You are evil." Tara laughed.

"Come on, are you in or are you out?"

Tara hesitated. She wanted the money out of it, she wanted the adventure out of it, and she wanted to completely defy all rules she had been given in the past week. And finding that Corvette with her cousin could give her all of it. Kelsi held out her hand and raised an eyebrow, giving another annoying whiny plea. Tara sighed and shook her hand, letting another smile spread across her face.

"I'm in, let's go get that car."

Tara had her head phones plugged into her phone, simultaneously FaceTiming Kelsi as she walked down the streets of New York. It smelled like gasoline and crap, but she had started the mission and she was fine with it. The boys were on the other side of town, nothing could bother her as of right now.

“Okay, the garage should be coming up on your left,” Kelsi said. She was peering at the directions on her laptop and looking up to check on her cousin every two minutes. “There’s an alarm planted on every angle of it though, watch it.”

“How am I going to get in then?” Tara replied, making eye contact with her cousin through the screen. The resolution was fuzzy still, but she could manage. “I can’t take down all of the alarms, there are probably hidden ones.”

“Yeah, there are.” Kelsi began squinting at the screen again. “But you might be able to take them all out if you could disable the mainframe on the top floor.”

“I don’t know how to disable the mainframe Kels’, I’m not that smart.” Tara approached the building and crossed the street, leaning up against the side of it and pretending to smoke with a fake cigarette she had made a few minutes earlier. “I wish you could take it out for me.”

“I can’t, I would have to be there in person, besides, I’m not even sure I could accomplish that, I’m not terribly good with computers outside of error code fixes.”

“Then what do I do? I’m lost as to what you want from me here.” Tara peeked down the sides of the alleys, hoping nobody was listening in on their conversation. The feed went static, then came back in.

“You need to climb up the fire escape on the tattoo parlor next door and hop across to the roof of the garage.”

“Hop across? As in, jump-in-mid-air-and-land-on-the-other-rooftop across?”

“Yes, that kind of across? Cool?”

Tara swallowed a lump in her throat and shrugged, stuffing her fake cigarette back into her pocket. She found the fire escape and swung up trying to make as little noise as possible. It was really dark outside, but a few people roamed the streets checking out street vendors. Her main fear was either falling from the building or getting caught. She couldn’t choose which one was worse.

“I’m at the top.” Tara’s hair blew off to the side and she looked back down at her phone. Kelsi had her eyes fixed on her cousin with a weak smile and twitchy hands. “I’m going to jump now.”

“Just pray you don’t end up like me.”

“Thanks for the encouragement.” Her heart pounded as she approached the edge of the building and scuffed her foot on the concrete ledge. It definitely wasn’t comfy below, but she had to jump now or the entire mission would end. Was this even worth it? Self-doubt was incredible.

Tara gripped her phone tight, took in a deep breath, and pushed off. The first few seconds were slow motion, she couldn’t even tell she was falling or flying through the air. She didn’t dare open her eyes, she shut them tight enough for them to split. Her legs flailed around uselessly. She landed on the other rooftop with a solid thumping, and all the air in her lungs whooshed out with a grunt. Concrete again, she had made the jump.

“Yes! Tara you made it!” Kelsi clapped and gave a cheer.

“I…I need a moment.” Tara’s body shook with fear and her limbs ached, but she was more than proud that she had made it. She was okay now, she could complete the mission. After thirty seconds she managed to stop shaking and stand up again.

“Okay Tara, see the entrance?”

“No, there’s an air vent and weeds up here.” Tara said. “And a few dead cockroaches, ew.”

“About that air vent…hehe…”

“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT, NOT IN A MILLION YEARS KELSI!” Tara glared at her phone, her cousin rubbing the back of her neck and whistling awkwardly.

“That’s the only way into the mainframe com-“

“NO! I AM NOT SQUEEZING THROUGH SOME DUMB AIR VENT, THINK AGAIN CHAPMAN!” Tara shook her head furiously. No way in no universe was anyone, especially Kelsi, going to force her down a stuffy air vent where she couldn’t breathe, and where she would get her arms stuck a moment later.

“Tara, there is literally no other way to get in, I’m sorry.”

“Then the deal’s off, I am not climbing through an air vent.” Tara shook her head and pursed her lips. “Not today, not ever.”

“Tara!” The whiny voice had come back, Tara hated that voice. “Please, don’t you want that money?”

“Yeah, but it isn’t worth a trip down that death hole air vent.”

“Tara, I didn’t want it to come to this but…climb down that air vent or I will tell Raph.” Kelsi had a slightly amused face now.

“I don’t really care if you tell him.” Tara shrugged.

“We aren’t talking about the same thing Tara. I’m talking about this mission, here and now. He will kill you.”

There was a moment of silence where they just stared at each other making strange faces and giving glares. “Don will kill you too to be honest.”

“No he won’t. I didn’t leave the lair. He would kill you though for leaving me down here alone. Options Tara, tick, tock.” Kelsi seemed really amused now, she had the worst poker face known to mankind. Tara stared at her with a hard glare.

“What if I told Donnie that you did something illegal?”

“I didn’t do anything illegal. That argument is invalid.”

“You’re assisting my break-in into some rich guy’s car garage.” Tara gave a smirk and crossed her arms. “So much for ‘invalid’ sister.”

“Why are we even talking about this, get into the air vent and get those tapes!”

Tara really hated this. She really hated this. There was nothing else for her to do, she didn’t fancy the idea of jumping across the buildings and climbing back down the fire escape again. She didn’t fancy sitting there waiting for the cops or Raph to find her either. She could always try climbing down the side of the brick building though. “I’m climbing down the side of the building and coming back, let’s get a new mission.” Tara headed over to the side and stuck one leg over when-

“Tara you’re a coward! Get in that air vent or I’ll tell them all you were a wimp when I reveal our mission!” Kelsi shouted.

“THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU KELS’!” Tara swung her leg back over and punched the lid off the vent, sliding her body inside. Hot and stuffy. Delightful. She crawled further down and it got cooler though, before she knew it she was directly above the entrance to the mainframe security, and she dropped in as quiet as a mouse. “What now?”

“There should be a power switch on the wall, flip that down.”

Surely enough, there it was, a big red switch she took pleasure in killing. The lights flickered out, leaving Kelsi’s FaceTime as the only source of light. “Now turn it back on, the computer should have corrupted.” And corrupted it was, error messages flashing on the screens, security cameras twitching, and not a single alarm going off.

“Genius. You’re a genius Kels-“

There was a soft thump behind her and she whipped around to face another girl about her age with medium length dark hair. She wore a jean jacket and black leggings, and she brushed off her legs with a huff. Tara’s heart leaped and she took a staggering step back. The girl looked up with a crooked smile and shoved her out of the way, opening the door to the garage and slamming it behind her.

“Get back here you punk!” Tara stuffed her phone in her pocket and ran after her, trailing the ear buds on the ground and nearly tackling the stranger on the concrete if it weren’t for her quick dodge and arm lock. “Let go of me you idiot, I will kill you right now!”

“Yeah, sure.” Her voice was soft and delicate. “I’m guessing you’re looking for the tapes on that Corvette too? Well they’re mine, thanks for taking security out for me.” She dropped Tara and ran to the back wall, stumbled up and freed one of the cameras from its plastic holders. Tara was red in the face and ready to kill.

“What right do you have?!”

“Every right, the same rights you have.” She landed softly back on the ground and gave another grin. “But your nerd forgot to tell you that there was only one camera working that night. And that’s this one.” She pointed at the device and sighed. “Such a shame you missed out on that money. Well, I’ll catch you later!”

“NERD?! EXCUSE ME!” There was a muffled shout from Tara’s pocket that she ignored. She reached in and hung up the call. Kelsi couldn’t bother her right now.

She made a dash for the exit but Tara grabbed her by the arm and slammed her into the ground. “No thanks, I think I’ll catch you later!” She snatched the camera and sprinted out the door and down the stairs to the exit. Her feet practically flew across the cement, but the same girl flipped over her and landed in front of her, hand outstretched.

“It was mine first.”

“I don’t care.”

“Who do you think you are?” She crossed her arms and glared.

“Tara. Nice to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me…” She ducked in-between her legs and kept running. “I have business to take care of!”

Tara hated this girl, she wanted to put a good nineteen feet between them and get back to the lair before any of the turtles came back. Patrol time was almost up. She could hear the footsteps behind her though, that idiot was going to follow her. She needed to lead her in the wrong direction.

She reached the bottom and skidded across the ground to the fire exit, but the girl yanked her hair, stole the camera, and pushed ahead again. Tara shouted and cursed, waving her fist and chasing after her, but the dark haired girl disappeared into the dark alleys across the street before Tara could catch her. A small piece of paper fluttered in the breeze, Tara figured it were just a shred of a magazine or newspaper. But instead it had handwritten words on it in silver sparkling pen ink. She snatched it from the wind’s grasp and fumbled picking her phone back up to redial Kels’. The note made her even angrier.

Have a wonderful day!

~Ella

Tara crumpled up the scrap and stomped on it, her breathing heavy again. She slipped back into the sewers and trudged through the raw sewage all the way back.

Ella was going to regret messing up her chance for the money.

She was going to regret it.