#very funny how now none of the aus are a part of the comp

[nights-flying-fox]

Get respored!!!!

[Prev]

[Hop is called Leo here bc it is from his POV!!]

Leo couldn��t move. He was frozen with what he was seeing.

Null was standing in front of Twin-Sync Leo’s corpse, his blade colored red with blood. Something he had seen through Null’s eyes in their memory link was right in front of him. Null slowly turned to him, his expression the same as the day he attacked him. The same as the moment he almost killed him.

Leo wanted to scream. To run and push Null away from Twin-Sync Leo’s body, to tell him to stop because that is not Null. Null has grown to be better, he realized his mistakes and became a better person and he was trying so hard to hold on and–

And–

This wasn’t his brother.

It couldn’t be his brother.

This must be a nightmare.

His eyes focused on the mask Null held– tattered with time, now covered with blood stains.

Not real, not real, not real.

“Hop?”

And yet, Null called his name. Calm. Collected. A contrast to his cold stare. The same way he had found Leo alone, sulking and letting himself freeze.

Leo couldn’t breathe. He was shaking and yet couldn’t take his eyes away from Null. Even when he approached him, blood dripping from his mystic katana.

“Hop, what’s wrong?” He asked, as if everything was okay. As if everything was fine– except Leo himself.

Leo only could shake his head, his eyes briefly landing on the body of his friend laying on the ground lifelessly.

Finally, he managed to speak, “Y-you aren’t real. C-can’t–” He felt his throat knot, and words die before he could finish his sentence.

“Hop?” Null’s deadly eyes didn’t show any emotions. “Are you okay?”

“Stay a-away from me–!” Leo tried to sound serious, but it came out like a frantic beg. Probably because of the panic that didn’t stop. The fear that slipped through his eyes, blurring them, showed itself though his shaking hands.

Null was now right in front of him. Leo knew he should run, or at least fight. But he was frozen on the spot, and he couldn’t look away. He felt like he was stuck, just like every other Leo that was stuck in the Prison Dimension. Except his enemy wasn’t Krang, it was his very own brother.

The deja vu of Raph holding him, ready to kill him, under Krang’s influence. The moment Leo was bleeding because of the wound on his side, Null holding him the same way, ready to kill him. The memories haunted him.

He tried to gasp, and yet, it was much harder. It was too much. The fear’s grip was worse than how it was before. He didn’t have anyone to his tears away from, he was alone. Why should he even fight, if he never had managed to save him. Was it all nothing? Was none of this a reality? Why couldn’t he find the breath to speak, tell he was sorry. A final truth before he dies?

He kept hearing his name.

“Hop?! You’re worrying me–”

Hop. That was his name. After all, Leo wasn’t he. Leo was the kid that lay on the ground dead.

Hop was stuck, frozen.

He was in the Prison Dimension. He was in the Technodrome. He was bleeding on the roof of a building. He was trying to breathe against the grip. He saw the blood and the metal and the last breath of his ancestor. He was alone.

“Kid?!”

He was nothing, letting death himself hold him ever so gently, readying himself against the cold blade sharp as a wolf’s fangs.

“Hey! Hey! Monkey, look at me!!”

Monkey?

Hop– Leo– managed to blink, push himself away. Hardly, with gasps, he looked sharply at Null, “Don’t– Don’t ca-call me that– you can’t— you aren’t him you— no—”

Null silently watched him.

He wouldn’t accept that Null did such a thing, “Stay back!” He growled, biting back a sob. “You changed! I-I know you did!”

He saw Null’s grip on the katana tighten. Leo grabbed his own katana, ready to attack. Then he noticed how strange his hand looked. And then the glitch. The same as Null’s. He gasped for breath when he saw his reflection on the sword. A copy of what Null was, covered in blood and soulless eyes looking back at him.

The same reflection he saw in Null’s memories.

Leo dropped his katana. He couldn’t– no– he—

Everything was too much.

“Monkey, please,” He heard Null speak. “I don't know what you're seeing, but it is not real.”

“Liar.” Leo hissed, his hands still shaking.

In the silence he heard a sigh, “I don't blame you believing it, and I know what I'm asking you is impossible, but I need you to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Leo asked, his voice breaking. He kept looking at the blood in his hands, to the reflection. “I won’t kill like you.”

“We aren’t killing anyone.” Null promised.

“Says the guy with blood on his hands.” Leo retorted. Funny, considering he also had blood on his hands. His friend’s blood.

“I can prove there is no blood in my hands.” Null calmly said.

“How so?” Leo asked, trying to ignore the small desperate hope he felt.

“You said it is on my hands. If so, you should feel it if you touch them.” Null explained.

“You want me to approach you.” Leo replied, cautious. “How do I know you aren’t tricking me?”

Null looked at him, silent. Then he answered: “You don’t.”

But Leo had promised Null he would trust him, didn’t he? He had promised he would be by his side no matter what. Against the fear, his promise, the small light of hope was there. Leo watched him, Null didn’t move. He was just waiting for what Leo would do.

Trust me. That was what Null asked him to do. Could it be..?

He trusted Null. He trusted him with his life many times before, didn’t he? But the corpse of Twin-Sync Leo was still on the ground, and the blood was on their hands.

But he didn’t want it to be real, and a small part of him let the hope beam.

He took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

He walked towards Null, still cautious. He ignored his katana on the ground. He ignored the cold look in his eyes. He stopped for a moment, the fear of what he will feel holding him still for a second. But he reached and touched Null’s hand.

He didn’t feel the blood.

No blood.

He turned to see again and again, seeing the dried sickly red. He gasped, a sob escaping as he shut his eyes and holding his hand tightly. He couldn’t talk, not say a word, just felt the mixture of panic and relief.

He felt Null gently pull him as he walked. Leo followed him obediently, doing his best to push away his fears. “None real?” Leo gasped as he briefly opened his eyes to sit down next to Null.

“None.” Null responded, his tone a contrast to what he was seeing.

“Twin-Sync Leo?” He asked as he held onto Null’s cloak, leaning towards him as he felt like his world was spinning.

“He is fine. Not here.” Null answered.

As if on cue, Leo heard Twin-Sync Leo’s voice:

“Hey guys I– wait. What’s going on?”

Another wave of relief hit Leo and he wasn’t able to hide his tears. He barely heard Null explain what had happened. Then he felt a hand holding his.

“Hey, it’s okay. We are here.” He heard Twin-Sync Leo say. “We got you, pal.”

Leo took a breath, feeling himself calm down a bit. The fear was still here, and he was so tired. He wasn’t sure how long passed since he had lost himself in all of the emotions he felt, and in the nothingness he found himself in eventually. He only focused on Null and Twin-Sync Leo’s presence. It helped that they were here, both grounding him by merely existing. It helped that Twin-Sync Leo kept stroking his hand too. There was a moment they called to him softly, and Leo didn’t find it in himself to answer, but squeezed the hand and held onto the cloak tighter briefly to let them know he was still here… somewhat. He just needed a moment. And he knew they would know. They always did.

Eventually he felt like he was more like himself, he blinked a few times. “Null? Leo?” He looked at them.

“We are here.” Twin-Sync Leo squeezed his hand. “Are you okay?”

Leo hummed, tiredly. “Had been better.”

“Do you still..?” Null began but didn’t finish his sentence.

“No.” Leo answered. He noticed the sighs of relief coming from both of them. He laughed, a bit too forced, “You guys gonna get Raph chasms if you keep worrying like that.”

“Oh shut up.” Twin-Sync Leo pushed Leo gently with his free hand. “At least you are truly doing better.”

“Yeah, I think I am.” Leo sighed. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Twin-Sync Leo said.

Null was quiet. A bit too quiet. “Big guy, are you okay?” Leo peeked at him.

“I’m fine.” Null responded.

“Liar.” Leo replied. He noticed Null look at him concerned. “I-I didn’t mean it like that.” Leo quickly fixed his mistake. Too soon. “I mean, there is definitely something bothering you.”

Null looked away.

“Don’t you lie to me or look away, you know you can tell us, right?” Leo leaned a bit more on his arm, putting his head on the cloth.

Null sighed, “You can guess.”

“I probably can.” Leo hummed. And apparently he had to. What a shame, he still felt tired. “Okay then, is it the whole spore accident? Am I on the right path?”

Null nodded.

“Alright. Is it… oh.” He realized the possible reason. His fear of what he could do– of himself becoming like him. Oh no. “Null, I didn’t mean to.”

Null avoided looking at him, and Leo knew he had understood that Leo figured it out.

“No, listen. Look at me.” Leo held him and got back to his feet, holding Null and letting go of Twin-Sync Leo’s hand. “Null, what I saw– it has nothing to do with you. Hey, don’t glare away, look at me.” He held his face and turned it to him, so their eyes met. “Trust me. I am not afraid of you, and I know you. I trust you. Don’t let a hallucination fool you as it fooled me.”

“Are you aware it shows what you are most afraid of?” Null said back.

“It does, but fun fact! I am afraid of many things and losing my family and seeing them troubled is one of them! Ending up hurting them or seeing them hurt is one of them! I know you would never do that! I have seen it!” Leo told him, and every word was genuine. “I trust you. I need you to trust me.”

Null was uncertain. Leo knew that. But he needed his brother to trust him. He knew how he was hurt because of what he did in the past, and now he didn’t want him to be hurt just because of some visions Leo saw. A lie can hurt, but hope… trust… his family. They saved him. He just wanted Null to let him save him too.

“Please.” He added. “I would never believe it if it wasn’t those stupid spores, you know that, right?”

Another silence, then– “Alright.” Null sighed. He wasn’t fully convinced, but he still was trying to trust him. He was trying for them, and maybe for himself, and Leo was so grateful for that.

“Alright’s better than nothing, but believe me. I know you, you’re my brother after all.” Leo grinned. Null smiled slightly, rolled his eyes, and grabbed Leo by the tip of his shell.

“We still got a notebook to take back.” Null said, Leo on his hand held like a kitten doing nothing. Sometimes Null reminded him too much of Raph.

Twin-Sync Leo smirked, “Now you are talking. Let’s go back to action, shall we?”

“I thought you wanted a nice vacation.” Leo grinned.

“First gotta kick some mushroom butts.” He replied.

Leo snickered, “That sounds like a great plan! Mushrooms suck anyways.”

Null nodded, then he turned to see Twin-Sync Leo jumping on his shell, hanging on him like Leo often did. “Onwards, big guy!” He announced.

Leo laughed as Null shook his head and grabbed Leo in a more comfortable way, holding him and keeping an eye both on him and Twin-Sync Leo as he went after the guy that caused all this mess.

Leo smiled to himself, watching them. They definitely were his family, a part of him and not only because they were alternative versions of him. But because they loved him, and he loved them. He trusted them and would trust them no matter what…

[Featuring Null from @noxvee6 's Sub-Zero AU and Twin-Sync Leo from @little-banjo-frog 's Twin-Sync (More Than You Think) AU :3 they helped me a lot with this idea and yall should check out them now!!!]