Archive of Our Own

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This was not how Donatello Hamato wanted his day to go. It had been rough from the moment he woke up, but now? Mark the calendar because this was chopping up to be the worst day ever! How did it all start?Donnie was woken from his sleep, quite rudely. Meaning his twin slammed his door open, scaring the shell out of him, and in his panic he had gotten tangled in his blankets and fallen out of bed. Leo rushed to his side to confirm that he was fine. His elbow hurt, but Leo confirmed that it was only a bruise and no other damage. The reason for the intrusion was, in his very correct opinion, not worth it. They were going to the Hidden City as a family and meeting Draxum there. Now, like Donnie, Leo wasn’t excited about that part. The twins still didn’t trust the sheepman yokai. After all, he had thrown Leo off the roof of the Nexus Hotel. And in the purple brother’s opinion, the only one allowed to harm his twin was him. Not even Raph or Mikey got a pass. But, thanks to their baby brother, Draxum was slowly becoming a part of the family. Gross.At breakfast they received a message from April saying that she would not be able to join them. Something about studying for a big test. Donatello would gladly trade places. He would even be willing to help her study. But no. Leo insisted that if he had to be a part of this day then so did Donnie. And twin solidarity was a thing. They stood up for each other and suffered together. Why did he agree to this twin thing again? Splinter insisted that today was going to be a day like no other. And that it would be the start of something quite exciting. Raph tried to get the information out of their dad, but he wasn’t as good at prying as Leo. Mikey seemed to have too much energy to focus on the conversation, and was just glad that Draxum would be joining them for the day. Prolonged sigh. He was stuck with the day as it was planned out, without his input or consent he might add. But that wasn’t the worst part.“You what? When did this happen? How? Why?” Leo was flustered. Not a good sign. Mikey was practically vibrating, hugging Splinter and Draxum. Even Raph had a smile on his face. Leo turned to Donnie, who shared his disbelief. Splinter smiled, patting Mikey on the head.“As you know, Draxum and I have been spending a lot of time together. I can’t say when it happened, but it did. We will be a family. This is a good thing, Blue.” Leo turned to their dad.“A good thing? HE THREW ME OFF A ROOF!” Draxum coughed into his hand, looking bored with the conversation.“That was a long time ago. And you’ve been through worse. Your father and I care deeply for one another and I promise to never throw you off of buildings again.” Leo just stared at him in disbelief. Donatello cleared his throat.“I have to say, this is too sudden for me. I need time to process this new development.” Raph frowned.“Donnie. You know you’re not allowed to wander around by yourself.” The softshell glared at him.“I’m sixteen, Raphaela. I don’t need a babysitter.” Raph gave him a stern look.“No, you need someone to keep you out of trouble.” Before he could answer, Leo jumped up.“I will go with him. I also need time to think about this.”“Wait, that’s not - and they’re gone.” Before Raph could stop them, Leo opened a portal and the twins dove through it, leaving the remainder of their family to hope that the two of them could stay out of trouble. At least until they located them again.****Donnie and Leo wandered through the market they had landed outside of. Both didn’t feel like talking about the news of their dad marrying a former enemy. I mean sure, it made sense. Mikey insisted that Draxum was their other dad. It was probably his fault that the two started spending time together. Leo sighed and looked around.“Maybe I should have portaled to the surface. I don’t recognise this part of the Hidden City.” Now Donnie looked around as well.“Neither do I. Perhaps we should find an open area and portal home?” Leo nodded and the two began to search for a spot where they could portal without anyone else stumbling into the portal or losing a limb as Leo swung his katanas. Maybe it was the fact that they were in an unfamiliar area, or maybe it was because of the absolute bomb that had been dropped on them, but the twins didn’t notice the woman following them. They finally found an area hidden from prying eyes and raced to it. “Let’s go home, Nardo. This place gives me the creeps.” Leo pulled out his katanas when suddenly he was enveloped by a pink cloud. “Leo!” Before Donnie could react, another one enveloped him. He couldn’t breathe properly and his head was spinning. It smelled sweet, like candy. His vision swam and he felt like he was falling. Only once he hit the ground did he realise that he had been falling. Just before everything went black he saw Leo also laying on the ground and reached for him.“Now you’re mine.” Donnie’s world went black.****Mikey scratched the back of his head. Where in the Hidden City were his brothers? The family had been searching for the twins since they ran through the portal Leo made. It was getting late and yokai shops all around were beginning to close. They asked around, but no one seemed to have seen the twins. More like they had not paid enough attention to see them. Neither of them were answering their phones either, which was probably the most concerning. Sure, the two could hold a grudge, but they wouldn’t do anything to purposely worry their family. He walked past an alley when something caught his eye. Frowning, he walked in, hearing Raph call him from behind.“RAPH!!!!” Mikey screamed and ran over to what had caught his attention, falling to his knees. Behind him he could hear Raph and their two dads running over.“Mikey, what’s wro-oh. Oh no.” Splinter and Draxum caught up to them.“Boys, what’s - are those Blue’s katanas?” Raph bent and picked up another object.“This is Donnie’s battle shell. He would have never taken it off. Not willingly.” Draxum looked around, confusion on his face.“There are no signs of a struggle. It’s like Leonardo and Donatello walked here, put their things down and walked away.” The rest of the family looked around and saw he was correct. There were no scorch marks, or blood, or destroyed property. And no one had reported that there had been a disturbance. Mikey looked up, clutching Leo’s blades tightly.“What happened to my brothers?” Splinter and Draxum exchanged looks. They didn’t have an answer, but they were determined to get their boys back.

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Leo groaned as he started to regain consciousness. There was a sweet scent in the air and that, coupled with the way his head was spinning, made him nauseous.“Leo?” Distantly he heard his twin and forced his eyes open. Was that licorice? Blinking his vision sharpened and yup, that was a giant twizzler. He looked around and couldn’t help the snort that came from him. He was in a cage made of red licorice candy. Someone wasn’t very bright. Slowly he sat up; there was just enough space for the slider to sit cross legged in the cage. Across from him, chained by his neck to the wall, was Donnie. The softshell looked relieved to see him awake. “Are you okay?” Leo nodded, looking around at their surroundings.“Yeah, just a bit of a headache. Where are we?” Donnie leaned back against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest.“I’m not sure. What I do know is this stupid chain has some mystic properties. I can’t access my ninpo.” Leo tried to pry the bars apart. They were made of candy so it should be simple. He yelped as parts of the bar unraveled and began wrapping around his arms. He struggled to get free, resulting in more candy vines wrapping around him. He needed to teleport out of here, but he couldn’t feel his swords and connect to them. Were they destroyed? Or was he simply too far away?“Struggling makes it worse. Sit still and you’ll be released.” Leo froze and he and Donnie turned to the sound of the voice. A woman walked towards them, long white hair falling to her waist and green eyes glaring at them. True to what she said, as soon as Leo stilled the vines fell away and went back to being a part of the bars of his cage. Donnie sighed.“Annoyed sigh. I was nowhere near Witch town. Why did you kidnap me and my brother?” Leo blinked and then noticed the wand in her hand. Why did his twin have to piss off an entire town of witches with his ‘science is supreme’ speech?“Because even though the other witches are content to just have you banned from the town, I think you deserve a harsher punishment for what you did.” She walked over to him, a wicked glint in her eyes. “And what better punishment than having you be my slave?” Donnie raised an eyebrow.“Scoff. I don’t think I’ll be your slave. I have much more important things to do.” Her smile sent a shudder down Donnie’s spine. She looked back at Leo and the slider managed a forced smile.“I too am not really into slavery. Besides, Donnie’s learned that magic isn’t so bad. Isn’t that right my dear brother?” She looked back at the softshell who nodded.“Yes, I have recently discovered a family magic of sorts and I’ve been learning a lot. And I apologized for what happened to the town. And a full and true Donnie apology is hard to come by.” Leo nodded his agreement. “So, can my brother and I go now?” She backhanded the softshell, stunning both turtles.“Stop talking.” A growl sounded behind her and she looked at Leo.“Don’t you dare touch my brother.” She walked over the cage, a wave of her wand causing it to fall apart. Leo suddenly felt exposed and nervous, sliding backwards to get away from her. The look in her eyes was not helping with the growing fear.“Leave him alone.” Donnie tried to get her attention, but she ignored him, continuing her advance on Leo until the slider backed into a wall.“Look, I think this is all a big misunderstanding. Donnie can pay for the damages.” She crouched in front of him, her hand reaching out to stroke his cheek. It was cold and sent a shiver through the slider.“The only misunderstanding here is you and your brother thinking you have a choice in what is about to happen. You see, I’m going to make your brother lower than dirt. He’s going to become a pitiful shell of who he is now, and lose who he is as a scientist. All that intelligence and bravado that he has now will be stripped from him until he is a pitiful, broken wreck. Then, and only then, will my anger be satisfied. And you are here to make sure that happens.” Leo gulped. Before he could say anything, she said something in a language unknown to both of the twins and touched her wand to Leo’s forehead. His pupils disappeared and his eyes glowed pink. Donnie strained against the chain.“What did you do to him?” She stood up and looked at the purple brother.“He is under an enchantment and will do whatever I tell him to. What I tell him to do will depend on how well you listen to me.” Donnie hissed at her and she pointed to a table. Donnie looked over at the table which was piled with candy. “Eat until I tell you to stop.” Leo got up and walked over to the table and began eating. Donnie frowned.“You’re forcing him to eat candy? That will just make him hyper.” She smiled.“Maybe. But it will also make him sweet. And I do like my food to be sweet.” Donnie’s eyes widened.“You what? You don’t really mean you’re going to eat my brother, do you?!” He nearly choked on the last words. She couldn’t be serious, could she? The witch simply laughed.“That’s up to you. Are you ready to listen to me?” Donnie looked over at his brother, watching him shove more sweets in his mouth.“Fine. Just make him stop eating all that junk. He’s going to get sick.” The chains fell from around his neck and he stood up. She grinned, seeing the look in his eyes.“He will stop when your task is complete. And if you think that attacking me will help, you’re wrong. You see, my spells are quite potent. If I’m not there to get him to stop, he’ll keep eating. And if you try to take food from him, he will begin to eat whatever he can get his hands on. Including himself. So, do you really want to try attacking me?” Donnie deflated. There was the chance she was lying, but he couldn’t risk it. Not with Leo’s life at stake.“What are your orders?” She cackled and pointed to a closed door.“My bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. I want it spotless. And remember, the longer you take, the more candy your brother is forced to consume.” Donnie bit back a growl and ran to the bathroom, barely holding back a gag as the smell hit him. He didn’t have time to throw up right now. Using his ninpo he made a mask to help with the smell. She had left cleaning supplies outside the bathroom and he grabbed these and got to work.****Cleaning the bathroom had taken way too long. As he exited the bathroom he saw Leo throw up. Based on the amount of vomit on the floor, it wasn’t the first time. Even under enchantment he could see the pain on his brother’s face.“I’m done. Please get him to stop.” She walked past the vomiting turtle and towards the bathroom to inspect it. Donnie could only watch as his brother stopped throwing up and resumed eating. What was taking her so long? She stepped out of the bathroom.“I must admit, I’m impressed.” She waved her wand and Leo’s eyes cleared for a second before glossing over as the slider doubled over. Donnie ran to his side, avoiding the vomit and pulling his brother away from it. She pointed to another room. “That is where you two will reside. Get him in there.” Donnie bit back an angry retort and picked up his brother, again using his ninpo to help him. He wished he had his battle shell. His metal arms would come in handy right about now. He carried his twin to the room and set him down on one of the woven mats, the slider rolling onto his side and curling up, holding his stomach. “I will come and get you when I need you for another task.” With a wave of her wand the door closed and he heard it lock. He also felt his ninpo disappear as whatever enchantment was activated blocked it.“Leo?” He turned to his brother, not sure how to help him.“Hurts.” It was the only word Leo could get out before he started crying. Donnie rubbed his shell. He wished the witch had given them some water. A quick glance around the room confirmed that there was nothing for them, other than two woven mats. There was no furniture, no windows, and the vent must be hidden because Donnie couldn’t even locate that. It was just a bare room. He turned back to his twin.“I know. I’m sorry but I can’t do anything about that at the moment. Just try and get some sleep, okay?” Leo looked up at him, tears running from pain filled eyes. Donnie felt his heart break.“I want to go home.” Donnie hugged his brother, continuing to rub circles on his shell the way Leo did for him when he had a stomach ache. He grimaced as he used his hand to wipe some of the vomit from Leo’s mouth, trying not to gag as he waved his hand and flicked it off. She could have at least given him something to clean his blue brother.“I know, me too. I’ll find a way, Leo. I promise.”****Raph and Mikey looked up as Splinter and Draxum walked back into the lair. The looks on their faces told the brothers everything they needed to know. They still had no idea who took Donnie and Leo. April and Cassandra walked in next, their sister looking sad and Cass looking like she was ready to rip some limbs off.“The foot clan was not behind this.” April sighed. Raph tilted his head.“We’re sure?” April nodded her head towards Cassandra, who glowered at the snapper.“YOU DOUBT ME?” Raph winced at her loud shout. Cassandra had one tone when she was mad, and she was currently mad.“No, we don't doubt you, Casey. We’re just worried.” Thank you Mikey. Her face softened.“Sorry. I understand this is a VERY HARD TIME. When I find out who took the turtles blue and purple I WILL CRUSH THEM WITH MY BARE HANDS!” Splinter patted her on the back.“First we need to find the boys to make sure they are safe. What other ideas do we have?” April seemed quiet, like she wanted to say something but was hesitant. Draxum seemed to be the one to notice.“You seem quiet, O’Neil. What are you not telling us?” All eyes turned to her and she wrapped her arms around herself.“I promised the twins I wouldn’t tell anyone. Well, I promised I wouldn’t tell unless it was an emergency. And seeing as all other leads are dead, I think this counts. Leo and Donnie, well, they sort of - you see - “ Mikey huffed.“SPIT IT OUT APRIL!” Everyone jumped as Dr. Delicate Touch made his presence known. April cast a glare at her little brother, who just crossed his arms.“Ugh, fine. Leo and Donnie have been hanging out with Big Mama.” April saw the shock on all their faces and got to the count of five before everyone started shouting at once.“What do you mean?”“How long? Why?”“Why did you not tell us sooner?”“I WILL CRUSH THE SPIDER!” April raised her hands, waving them to get everyone to quiet down.“I didn’t tell you sooner because, firstly, I knew you would all freak out. And secondly, I don’t think Big Mama is behind this.” She got blank stares and facepalmed. “From what they have told me, she really likes them. She’s even protective of them.” Mikey frowned.“What if someone kidnapped them to get to Big Mama? A ransom of sorts? We should talk to her.” There were nods of agreement. April sighed. Everyone firmly believed that Big Mama knew something. She guessed it made sense, what with Big Mama being a crime boss. But what if she had no idea? There was no evidence to say who took the twins. She wished they were there. The two always had a way of figuring things out.

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Mikey curled up in his beanbag, holding two blankets close to his chest, weeping into them. They were Leo and Donnie’s blankets. If he tried really hard he could still smell his brother’s scents on them. It had been two weeks since the twins had disappeared. At first Mikey had been optimistic. They would find the twins and lecture them for running off. Then he was hopeful that Big Mama would find them. Much to the family’s surprise, excluding April, Big Mama had been livid and threatened to burn down the Hidden City in her quest to bring the twins home. But as the days turned to weeks everyone’s spirits had fallen. No one seemed to know what had happened to his brothers. Everyone that they knew was searching. Sunita and Hueso had the staff eavesdrop on every conversation. Piel reached out to some contacts he still had in the pirating circles and they promised to keep an eye and ear out for the brothers. Big Mama poured her resources into locating her ‘turtely-boos’ stating that no one stole from Big Mama. No one told her the twins didn’t belong to her. April and Cassandra patrolled nightly, keeping an eye on any of their enemies. But none of the usual suspects gave any indication that they knew where the twins were. He felt a hand fall on his shell and looked up to see Raph.“You okay?” Mikey shook his head, clinging to the blankets even tighter.“I miss them so much. I’ve tried to reach out with my ninpo, but even that isn’t working. Why wouldn’t that work? You don’t think they’re-” a fresh wave of tears burst from the box turtle and his big brother scooped him up and clutched him tightly.“We’ll find them Mike. They’re not gone. Maybe they just can’t access their ninpo at the same time. We have to believe that they’re alive and causing trouble. We’ll get them back.” As Raph held his brother he blinked back his own tears. He could only hope he wasn’t lying to them both.****They weren’t the only ones losing hope. Donnie helped Leo back to their room, where they both collapsed on the mat they used as a bed. He had lost track of how long they had been here. There were no windows in any of the rooms that they were allowed in, and the witch was unpredictable when she demanded he do something. Sometimes he got a longer break, other times, a shorter one. There was no way he could tell. And Leo. He looked down at his brother who was laying on his side, curled up and holding his stomach. She didn’t always make him eat candy, thankfully. But he was beginning to wonder if forcing Leo to eat so many sweets was the lesser evil. There was one day, or time, where she whipped the slider until Donatello had completed his task. The bruises were still there. The door opened and he looked over as a tray was pushed into the room before the door closed and locked again. She always gave them each a bowl of water and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Donnie stood up and retrieved the tray, bringing it over to his brother.“Come on Leo. Let’s get some water in you to help with that stomach ache.” Today had been a forced eating day. Donnie had swept the kitchen as fast as he could, making sure to not miss a spot. She knew if he cheated. It wasn’t fast enough as Leo had thrown up twice. His tolerance for sugar was becoming less each time. Leo struggled to sit up, tears trickling down his red stripes. Donnie wiped them away and helped his brother drink from one of the bowls. He managed a few sips before turning away.“I can’t do this anymore, Dee. I want to go home.” He sounded so small, so un Leo-like. It broke the softshell to know his brother was suffering all because of him and some stupid thing he had done in the past. As he took a sip from his own bowl he once again contemplated how hard it would be to build a time machine to go back in time and stop himself from accidentally destroying the town. “Dee?” He looked over to his brother and his breath caught in his throat. Leo’s eyes were big and filled with tears. “Wanna go home, Dee-Dee. Pwease.” Oh no no nononono. Leo was regressing. It made sense and if Donnie thought about it he was proud of Leo for holding out this long. When the slider had a bad panic attack or too much stress, he regressed. This was NOT the place to do that.“Shh, it’s okay Lee. Donnie’s here. How about you try and get some sleep, yeah?” Leo shook his head, his thumb coming to his mouth. Donnie gently pulled them away. “Don’t do that. You haven’t washed your hands in a while. That will make you sick.” Leo cried and Donnie pulled him onto his lap, stroking his shell and rocking gently, humming an old lullaby. He was exhausted but his brother was little right now and needed him even more. And of course that’s when the witch decided to fling open the door. Leo chirped in distress, clinging to Donnie. The softshell held his brother tightly. The witch’s eyes fell on the shaking slider. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want. Just leave him alone.” She shook her head.“That’s not how this works.” Tears sprang into Donnie’s eyes.“I’m begging you. Please leave my brother alone. Please.” She looked amused.“Begging huh? Well, in that case.” She aimed her wand at them and the brothers were forced apart. Leo’s terrified chirps cut into his brother’s heart. The witch used her wand to pin Donatello to the wall, muting him when he tried to bargain with her. Leo sat in the corner, terrified and crying, chirping for his brother. She crouched in front of him. “Age regression?” She looked to Donatello who could only nod, defeat on his features as he feared for his little brother. She turned back. “Shh, sweet baby. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. How old are you?” Leo chirped and she released Donatello’s voice. “How old does he think he is?”“He’s a baby, too young to speak. Please, don’t hurt him.” She smiled.“A baby, huh?” Before Donnie could respond she hit his brother with a spell. Immediately the slider passed out and Donnie screamed.“WHAT DID YOU DO?” She stood up and headed for the door, releasing Donnie, but stopping him before he could run to Leo’s side.“My television is broken. I want you to fix it. And I would hurry.” With a fearful gaze shot his brother’s way, Donnie was forced to follow the witch out to fix her television.****Thankfully the fix was a simple one and that meant Donnie had it fixed quite quickly. She brought him back to the room, locking him inside. Donnie looked in the corner where his brother had been. He wasn’t there. Frowning, he looked around and froze. A baby mutant red eared slider crawled over to him, chirping happily.“What the fu- oh no. She did not physically turn you into a baby. No no no no. This can’t be happening. Oh this could not possibly get worse.” The baby reached him and held up his arms, making grabby motions. Yup, this was definitely Leo. He picked him up and paced the room. This was fine. This was FINE! No need to panic. Perhaps the witch was more compassionate with a baby and Leo was as safe as possible in this form. He could fix this, somehow. Or maybe Draxum? Draxum? When did he get added to the solutions list? A small chirp pulled him from his spiral and he looked at his now, very little brother. “What am I going to do?” A chirp was all he got from his brother. “Helpful Nardo. I’ve got to find a way to get us out of here. But how? And now that you’re a baby you won’t be much help at all.”‘Chirp’“Sigh. Let’s see if I can get you to take a nap at least.”****When Donnie woke up to someone shaking him, the last thing he expected was to see Leo as a teenager again. He bolted upright.“You’re useful again!” He pulled his shocked brother into a hug.“Useful? What? Donnie, what are you talking about?” Reluctantly he let Leo go, but held his hands as if to assure himself that Leo was real.“The witch turned you into a baby.” Leo made a face that Donnie couldn’t quite decipher. “You regressed and she came in and found out. So, she turned you into a baby.”“Rude. Okay, but now that I’m me again, we need to talk. I can’t do this anymore Donnie. I constantly feel sick from all the candy she forces me to eat, or sore from the beatings. Tell me you have an idea of how to get us out here. Preferably before I get fat.” Donnie sighed and looked at their joined hands.“I’m trying, but I just don’t know what to do. When I have access to my ninpo she has you under an enchantment. If I attack her then, you could be stuck in whatever enchantment she puts you in.” Tears brimmed in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” Leo squeezed his hands.“It’s not your fault.” Donnie gave him a look and he offered him a smile. “It’s not. She’s the one who can’t leave the past in the past. Everything that’s been happening is her fault. We’ll figure this out together. We always do. We’ll show her you don’t mess with the disaster twins.” That got a small smile from the softshell. The nickname that their family gave them in hopes of calming them down had backfired and the twins took every opportunity to rise to the title. Raph tried calling them the wonderfully behaved twins to see if they would respond the same way. They filled his bed with itching powder, then fled after he found out, laughing hysterically and yelling ‘Disaster Twins strike again!’ He missed those days.“Alright. I’ll try and stay positive. But try not to regress again. Please.” Leo chuckled.“I make no promises Hermano. But I’ll do my best.” The door opened and Donnie shoved Leo behind him as he faced the witch. She smiled.“I see someone has grown up. Good. This next task will take both of you. Now come.” The twins exchanged nervous looks but rose and followed her out of the room, Donnie noting that he could feel his ninpo. A tap on his shell. So could Leo!

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The witch led the twins to the basement and pointed to an ancient looking furnace. Donnie gaped at it.“Okay, I know I’m good at fixing things. But THIS thing is beyond repair. I’d have better luck building you a new one.” She glowered at him.“I want you to fix this one. As for you.” Here she turned to look at Leo, who couldn’t help but move slightly behind his brother. She pointed behind him and he found himself facing mountains of paper. He looked back at her and she pointed to boxes that were already labeled. “Organise that mess. You both have one hour to impress me. If not, there will be grave consequences.” With that she went back up the stairs and they heard the door close and lock. Donnie shook his head.“Well my dear brother, you have the easier task.” Leo walked over and picked up one of the papers, glancing at the boxes.“This will take forever. And she didn’t exactly give us a goal other than impress her. She doesn’t seem easily impressed.” Donnie walked over to examine the furnace, shaking his head.“No, she’s not. But, on the bright side, she isn’t making you eat mountains of sweets till I fix this.” Leo couldn’t help but chuckle.“Yeah, I guess I’ll take the win. Think she wants these papers organised by a certain category in the boxes?” Donnie looked over and shrugged.“Try organising by date? Older dates in the front.” Leo nodded and grabbed a small stack of papers, sitting cross-legged on the floor near the boxes and beginning to sort them. The sound of Donnie tinkering away at the furnace was actually soothing and helped him forget that they were in danger. There was no clock in the basement, so neither had any idea how long they actually had. They doubted she would wait longer than an hour. It was more likely she would come back earlier. Leo finished his first pile and stood, walking over to the stack he had taken the papers from and grabbing as much as he could carry before heading back to the boxes. It was tedious, and in any other situation he would have been complaining about how boring it was. But he had to agree with Donnie. It was better to be given a task rather than put under an enchantment and come out of it covered in vomit and with his stomach feeling like it was ripping apart. And it was better than the beatings. So, he kept his complaints to himself and set about his task with as much energy as he could.When the brothers heard the door unlocking, they exchanged worried looks, but continued on with their tasks. Leo and Donnie had talked briefly, and that was just Donnie asking Leo if he thought he could teleport them out. Only then did Leo realise his ninpo was blocked again. Donnie still had his, but was worried that if he tried blasting them out it would be too risky. Leo had managed to get through one of the giant stacks and was about to start tackling another when the witch came down. She walked over to Donnie first.“How’s it coming?” He held up a part.“I need one of these. It’s beyond repair and is important in the heating mechanism. Everything else is, surprisingly, salvageable and once I have this new part replaced your furnace will be fixed in an hour.” She raised an eyebrow and held out her hand for the part, which Donnie handed to her. She eyed him suspiciously.“You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?” He shook his head. She turned and walked back over to Leo, who had another stack of papers in front of him while he sat among the boxes. She pulled a box towards her and looked through it. Leo felt like his heart would leap out of his chest with how hard it was beating. She smiled. “Perhaps I should have made better use of you earlier.” He managed a small smile, until hers disappeared. “Unfortunately, I’m not impressed with either of you.” The twins froze, staring at her in disbelief. Leo couldn’t speak as fear gripped him. Donnie was able to find his voice though.“But I told you that I couldn’t do the repair without that part being replaced. And Leo made it through one tiny mountain. With what we had and the time available to us, I think we did pretty good.” She pulled out her wand and Leo scrambled backwards, trying to get away from her, papers scattering in his attempted escape. Her eyes hardened and she hit him with a spell. He stopped moving, but Donnie could tell by the way he was shaking that it wasn’t the usual enchantment. She turned on her heel and headed to the stairs.“I will get you your new part, Donatello. And then you will have an hour to fix the furnace, like you stated you could. As for your brother, well, he will really need that furnace fixed.” She walked up the stairs and he heard the door close and lock behind her. Donnie bolted over to his brother.“Are you okay?” Leo shook his head, his body still shaking.“Co-col-cold.” Donnie reached for him, his hand pulling away immediately. Leo’s skin felt like ice. “I am st-st-star-starting t-to ha-ate magic.” Donnie wished there was some way to warm up his brother, but a quick glance around revealed nothing useful.“Me too, Nardo. Just hang in there as much as you can. I’ll continue sorting with you. Maybe moving will help a bit. Plus it will get through more of this pile. Maybe she’ll ease up on the spell if we get through a lot of this.” Leo nodded and the two brothers got to work, Donnie grabbing his own stack and the brothers set to their work. Eventually Leo’s shaking was so bad he could barely move. Donnie conjured up a small space heater and set it next to his brother, using his ninpo to power it. Leo practically wrapped himself around it, watching his brother continue with the sorting. Finally he heard the door unlock. Donnie jumped to his feet and met her at the bottom of the stairs, practically ripping the part from her hand before racing for the furnace and getting to work. She looked over at Leo, smirked, and turned back to the softshell.“You have one hour.” He didn’t acknowledge her as he began putting pieces together, digging through the toolbox for what he needed. He barely heard her leave.“Hang on Leo. I’m going to get this done as fast as possible.” Leo didn’t answer, and Donnie spared a glance at his brother. He was barely conscious, which was alarming. If Leo entered brumation, he might not wake up. Donnie realised that an hour was too long. He had maybe thirty minutes before Leo was too cold. With that new fear he threw himself into his work. He couldn’t lose his brother. “Hang on Leo. Just hang on. Try not to go to sleep.”****Leo couldn’t remember ever feeling this cold. He could distantly hear his brother begging him not to sleep. Right. Sleeping now was dangerous. He fought to stay awake. Even with his twin’s ninpo heater, he couldn’t seem to warm up. It was like the heater wasn’t even on anymore. Was it? The cold seeped into every part of him, driving the breath out of his lungs. It really was getting hard to breathe, to think, to - what was he doing? Maybe a nap would be nice. Wait, someone was telling him to stay awake. Who was that? There was a loud noise. He couldn’t remember what the sound was. Then he felt hands on him. They were warm. And they were pulling him? What did they want? He was too cold to go anywhere. Wait, was that warmth? Oh, it was. There was something warm and the hands were dragging him closer. That was nice. He would have to thank the hands.“-eo? Leo! Wake up. Open your eyes. Please Leo.” Man, that Leo guy should listen. The voice sounded scared. Now the hands were shaking him. Rude. “Leo, please open your eyes.” Wait, the voice was talking to him? The hands were still shaking him. Did they belong to the same person? Why wouldn’t they just leave him alone? He tried to tell them to go away, that he was sleeping, but his mouth didn’t cooperate and a mumble came out. “Leo, I know you’re tired, but it’s still too dangerous. I need you to open those beautiful eyes for me. Can you do that?” He smiled, or at least he thinks he did. He did have beautiful eyes. He thinks. He could open them for a second. That should be okay. “Leo, please. Don’t leave me.” Oh, oh no. The voice was crying. That was bad. Okay, time to open your eyes Leo. He was trying. He really was. He felt arms wrap around him and he melted against the warmer body. That was nice. Wait, he was supposed to be opening his eyes. Why couldn’t he do such a simple task?****Splinter sat in his chair, staring at a photo in his hands. As Draxum got closer he saw it was a photo of the twins. They looked like tots and were wearing matching sweaters. Leonardo looked delighted and was hugging his less than enthused, by the grumpy look on his face, twin. He also saw the tears pooling in Splinter’s eyes and he knelt by the chair, pulling his fiance into a hug. It had been a month since the twins were gone. There was still no sign. It was as if they had vanished without a trace. Their enemies didn’t know anything. He made sure to interrogate them, personally. To his surprise, two of their enemies offered to help look. Hypno and his boyfriend, the worm (what was his name again) said that they had a soft spot for the blue turtle, for Leonardo. Apparently, when they weren’t being villains they had been teaching the slider some magic tricks. They were worried and wanted to help. More eyes and ears out for the twins didn’t seem like a bad idea. However, Draxum was not blind to the fact that his family had lost faith. Raphael couldn’t walk in the section of the lair that housed the twins' rooms and Donatello’s lab. Michelangelo had removed all the blue and purple colors from his art supplies. And Splinter just sat in his chair, staring at photos and crying. April visited less. Cassandra would call in once a week to declare she still had nothing. He could see it and hear it in their voices. The girls were also giving up. Even their contacts in the Hidden City had seemed to move on. He wasn’t sure about Big Mama. She seemed to be going about business as usual. However, even he had heard the rumors of yokai entering meetings with the spider and never leaving them.“Draxum?” He released the hug and looked down at the rat, his heart breaking at what he saw there. “Blue and Purple are never coming home. How do we move forward? How do I help my remaining sons move forward?”“We can’t give up, my love. We all know those two can get into some crazy trouble. Maybe they fell - wait, why didn’t I think of this earlier?” Draxum jumped to his feet and Splinter stared at him. “Vanished without a trace. They could have fallen into another dimension. That’s why we can’t find them. We need to find the dimension they fell into. Where are their items that were left behind?” He rushed off, Splinter hot on his heels. Raph and Mikey came out of the kitchen at his shouts.“Dad? What’s going on?” Draxum rested his hands on his youngest son’s shoulders.“I think I know how to find your brothers, but we must move quickly. Where are Leonardo’s katanas?” Raph frowned.“In his room.” Draxum raced to the slider’s rooms, running back out with the swords and heading into Donnie’s lab, his family chasing after him. “What’s going on?” Draxum started searching the lab.“What if Leonardo’s portal malfunctioned and instead of bringing them home in this dimension, they were sucked into another? Michelangelo, you told me he shared that his portals had started to feel weird, right?” Mikey’s eyes grew huge.“Yeah, he did. Ohmigosh! You mean they could still be alive and just waiting for us to open a gateway?” Draxum continued to search. Man, when Donnie got back he was going to be pissed about the mess their dad was making. Shelldon flew over.“Woa dudes. Why are you tossing the lab?” Draxum looked up at the robot.“Where does Donatello keep his mystic scanner?”“I’ll get it. Stop making a mess.” He flew over to a cupboard and came back with the scanner. “Here ya go, sheepman.” Draxum grabbed it and began to scan the katanas for any dimensional residue. This had to work. It was their last hope.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Leo groaned as he slowly woke up. He opened his eyes and flinched as Donnie appeared close to his face.“Nardo, are you alright?” Leo weakly pushed him away.“Yes, but you’re too close and we haven’t brushed our teeth in forever. Please back up.” Donnie chuckled and sat back.“You’re no spring daisy yourself my twin. I’m just relieved to see you awake.” Leo slowly sat up and looked around, noting that they were back in their room. Donnie passed him a bowl of water which he drank gratefully. “Leo, we need to escape. I don’t know how long we’ve been here, but I have noticed that we are already suffering, beyond the obvious.” Leo looked at his brother, seeing the way his skin looks paler than usual, and he could feel the tiredness and weakness for himself. He reached back and felt his own shell, before asking Donnie to see his shell.“I see what you mean. We’re in desperate need of some sun. I don’t know how long we’ve been here, but our shells will start weakening soon. And yours can’t take that. And with our stupid diet, we’re definitely going to have a problem with calcium, which will result in weaker bones.” Donnie nodded his agreement.“Next time she lets us out, we make a break for it. We’ll have to move fast to combat her magic. If she puts either of us under any sort of enchantment, it’s game over.” Leo was about to reply when the door opened. Both brothers looked up as the witch walked in, a crazed look in her eyes.“Come.” Obediently, they both stood, making sure to look defeated and stare at the floor. Leo spotted the key sticking out of her pocket and carefully swiped it. As soon as the turtles were out, they reacted. Donnie turned and punched the witch in the face, the sound of bones cracking heard briefly before she screamed. Leo hoped that it was her nose and not his brother’s hand, but seeing the way he clutched his hand, Leo knew Donnie had broken his hand. He grabbed the door and slammed it shut, locking it with the key. Inside the witch screeched in rage. The twins bolted. They didn’t have much time and they needed to find the door. Something exploded and Donnie accessed his ninpo, blasting a hole through a wall. It led to another room. Growling in frustration, the softshell led his brother through the space. If all else failed he was going to blast through every wall until they got out.Leo chanced a glance back and saw the witch. She aimed her wand at them and a blast came from it. He pulled Donnie out of the way and a scorch mark appeared on the wall in front of them. They veered in another direction. Leo looked back and saw another blast coming at them. There was no time. He threw himself on his brother’s back second before he was hit. A scream ripped through the slider and he fell. He heard Donnie scream his name, but the only thing that existed was the extreme pain in his shell. Was it still there?Donnie saw the cracks in his twin’s shell, all splintering off from a scorched mark practically in the middle of it. There were pieces of shell missing from where Leo had been hit. His brother’s screams drowned out any other sound. All that existed was his brother, his screams, the cracks and Donnie’s vision went red. His ninpo formed an M777. He didn’t see the horror appear on the witch’s face. He fired multiple rounds, the house caving in around them. Just in time he came back to himself and formed a shield over him and his brother. Once the dust cleared he released the shield, the pieces of house falling around them. He turned to his brother, who had gone silent. Tears formed in his eyes. “Leo?” A pained chirp came from the slider and Donnie collapsed with relief. “Thank Newton. Do you think you can stand up?” Leo shook his head, tears running down his face. “Oh, okay. I’ll try and help. We can’t stay here. I don’t know where the witch is.” He reached down and helped Leo to his feet, the blue turtle screaming in pain. Too loud. His brother was too loud. He needs to be quiet. Be quiet! No. Donnie shook his head. He couldn’t have a meltdown right now. They weren’t safe. He had to get them safe. He was tired but he forced himself to form a battle shell jet pack. There was no way to hold Leo without hurting him. He wrapped his arms around his brother and blasted off. Mercifully, Leo passed out. Donnie scanned the area, desperate to find anything familiar. The docks! Not the safest, but it was familiar. He could find his way home from there. At least, that was the plan. Temporarily passing out and causing he and his brother to plummet into a ship was not. The last thing Donnie saw before completely losing consciousness was the sight of pirates running towards them.****Draxum sat dejectedly on the couch in the living room. Curled up next to him was Splinter. Raph and Mikey were curled up together in one of the beanbags. It had been five days since he had tried to scan Leonardo’s katanas. They had no dimensional residue. The twins had not fallen through a dimensional gateway and the family had all lost hope. The living room had become the only room they occupied lately. It had been quiet. None of them really talked. They just existed. He and Splinter knew changes needed to be made. They had even talked about holding a memorial for the twins. The sound of one of the phones ringing caused everyone to jump. Raph looked around before finding the phone and answered. His eyes widened as he listened.“When? Where are they now?” Well that got everyone’s attention. “We’re on our way. Keep them there!” He hung up, turning wide eyes, that were beginning to tear up, towards his family. “Donnie and Leo are at the docks.” There was a moment of silence before everyone jumped up and raced out of the lair. They ran out of the sewers, making a beeline for the first Hidden City portal.****Donnie opened his eyes and looked around, confusion on his face. He was in some sort of room, on a bed with an itchy blanket on him. He kicked it off and sat up, scratching his arms and legs to try and rid himself of the feeling. Looking across the room, he froze. On another bed lay Leo, on his plastron, bandages wrapped around his shell. Donnie rushed to his side, nearly collapsing at the sudden movement.“Leo? Can you hear me?” A groan came from the slider before one eye was peeled open. He managed a smile. “Hey.”“Hey.” Leo looked around. “Where are we?” Donnie saw a window and stumbled towards it, looking out.“I think we’re on a pirate ship.” The door opened and somehow Donnie covered the distance between the window and his brother before anyone could step in. He stood protectively in front of his brother, a dangerous hiss warning whoever it was to back off.“DONNIE!!!” The shocked softshell barely had time to react before he was tackled in a crushing hug from his baby brother. Raph was right behind him, scooping the two up in a crushing hug. Donnie felt like his skin was on fire and squirmed until they let him go. Splinter and Draxum came in, slower than their sons. Splinter walked towards the bed and reached for his son.“Oh, my baby blue.” Before he could place a hand on his son’s shell, Draxum yanked him back, his hand barely escaping Donnie’s jaws. A dangerous growl sounded from the purple turtle. Everyone blinked in surprise. “Purple? My son, it’s your father.” They saw the way his pupils had turned to slits and knew that Donnie was not in his right mind at the moment.“Donnie? It’s Raph. You and Leo are safe. Your family is here.” Leo reached out and took Donnie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Donnie spun to look at him and he chirped at his brother. The softshell blinked a few times and recognition showed on his face. Another blink and when he turned back to his family his eyes were back to normal. “You’re okay, Donnie. We’re here now.” Donnie felt Leo squeeze his hand and squeezed back.“Sorry for that. It’s been a rough few days.” Mikey looked sad.“Few days? Dee, you two have been missing for just over a month.” The twins stiffened at that, exchanging mortified looks.“It’s been that long?” Leo’s voice was raw and quiet. “I’m ready to go home.” He tried to sit up and hissed in pain. Donnie’s hands hovered, unsure how to help. Raph felt his heart break.“Can Raph carry you?” The twins stiffened again, exchanging looks. Donnie reached for Leo to help him, yelping in pain as he moved his right hand. All eyes turned to him. Leo sighed.“We need to put your hand in a cast, Tello. You broke it, remember?” Donnie slowly nodded, guilt on his face. “It’s okay. Raph can help me.” The snapper walked over, gently lifting his little brother into his arms. To everyones, other than Leo, surprise, Donnie climbed into Raph’s arms and snuggled up to his brother. Leo wrapped his arms around his twin. Draxum couldn’t keep the fond smile from his face.“Let’s get you both home and taken care of.”

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When the twins had finally been found, Splinter thought they could all breathe a sigh of relief. Piel and the pirates had told him that Blue’s shell was in bad shape, and he still thought everything would be okay. What he had not expected was for Purple to almost bite him when he tried to reach for Blue. But this was okay. His sons had clearly been through a lot in the past five weeks. They would bring them home and everything would go back to normal. Again, he was wrong.Once they got home, the family brought the twins to the med bay to tend to their wounds. Purple made things more difficult by refusing to leave Blue’s side. The softshell actually bit Red when he tried to move him. So, Draxum had examined the twins together. His poor sons were a bit of a mess, but he believed it would be okay in the long run. He hoped. Purple was malnourished and dehydrated with a broken hand. Draxum put it in a cast and managed to convince him to get an IV put in for fluids and the necessary vitamins and minerals. Then they watched as Draxum slowly removed the bandages from Blue’s shell. The process was made all the more difficult because every time the slider hissed or chirped in pain, the softshell would snap at Draxum, almost getting him a few times. Then it took time to get him to calm down before Draxum could resume his work. Piel and the pirates had drastically understated how bad the shell was. Pieces were missing and cracks formed all over the once beautiful shell. It looked like something had exploded on his son’s carapace, a burn mark at the epicentre of it all. Draxum looked mortified that something could cause this much damage to the turtle and still leave him alive.“Alright, first thing’s first. Let’s get you on an IV as well. Pain medication, I’m thinking morphine, as well as fluids and vitamins and nutrients. Then I want to take an X-ray. This much damage to your shell has me worried about your spine, Leonardo. Donatello, I swear if you try to bite me again I’m going to sedate you. I’m trying to help.” The softshell merely growled at the yokai. Leo reached over and squeezed his good hand.“It’s okay, Dee. Let him do his job. Plus, I could really use those pain meds.” The purple turtle calmed down, sad eyes looking at his twin. There was even a hint of something else, Splinter noted. Guilt. Raph waited until Draxum was ready to do the x-ray before approaching again, his hand wrapped in a bandage from the last time he had grabbed his brother.“Hey Donnie, you have to get off the bed. Just for the x-ray and then I’ll put you right back, okay. Please don’t bite me.” Donnie whimpered seeing the bandage on his big brother and hugged him as Raph picked him up.“I’m sorry.” Raph rubbed his shell.“Hey, it’s okay. You’ve probably been through a lot this past month. Just remember that we’re your family, we love you and we are here to help. Both you and Leo.” Donnie nuzzled him before looking back at Leo. As soon as Draxum moved the machine away he was reaching for his twin and Raph put him back down. Splinter felt his heart break. What could have possibly happened to his boys that would cause this kind of trauma, both physical and mental?****Draxum rubbed his temples, a headache forming. The twins were home, but this didn’t mean they could relax. While Donatello seemed, mostly, alright physically, he had clearly suffered some mental trauma. He slipped into feral mode too easily and it was making treatment of the two more difficult than necessary. But Leonardo seemed to have taken the brunt of the physical trauma. His shell would take a long time to heal, even with their quick healing. For a regular slider, they would be looking at a few years. Leonardo would be looking at one year, minimum. The x-ray did show swelling around the spine. Thankfully it seemed to be intact. He walked over to the slider, seeing that he looked a little more relaxed with the pain medication finally kicking in.“Leonardo, I’m going to run you through some tests. You won’t have to do much, but they’re important, okay.” He nodded. Draxum placed a hand on his left leg, noting that the turtle didn’t respond. “Tell me when you feel my hand on your leg and which leg you feel it on.” Another nod. He saw the alarmed looks on everyone’s faces when they noticed his hand was already on Leo’s leg. He moved his hand from the calf up to the thigh, stopping before he reached the shell. Still no response. He did the same on his right leg with similar results. Hesitating a moment, he reached and carefully touched Leo’s tail, knowing that the slider hated having his tail touched. His family did too and fear filled their faces when the blue turtle didn’t react.“I’m paralysed, right?” Draxum took his hand off Leo’s tail and walked to the head of the bed so Leo could see him.“You knew?” Leo blinked back some tears.“I suspected. On the way home I was in a lot of pain, but I was aware that something felt off. Then I saw Donnie was laying on my legs and realised that I couldn’t feel him. Is it permanent?” Draxum turned the screen so Leo could see, knowing that Leo had been studying medicine as the self proclaimed team medic.“I don’t think so. There’s just a lot of swelling, nothing appears to be broken. I think as your body heals, you will begin to feel your legs again.” He and Leo shared a look and he knew that Leo could guess what he was in for. He would need to relearn to walk, depending how long he was paralysed. And the question of what side effects would he have to live with for the rest of his life went unasked. The silence in the room was deafening, until the sound of sniffling made all eyes turn to Mikey. Leo’s face softened.“Mikey, it’s okay. I’ll recover. Can’t keep ol’ Leon down for long. You know that.” Mikey wiped his eyes as Raph came over and placed a hand on his shell.“But if we had found you sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.” Donnie looked at Mikey, his features softer than anyone had seen since the reunion.“Mikey, we know you all did the best you could. We were well hidden. When we first escaped, nothing looked familiar. There is nothing you or anyone else could have done. Leo and I had to escape on our own.” Mikey looked at him.“But -”“No buts, Angelo.” Leo giggled and Donnie rolled his eyes. “The situation sucks, that much is obvious. But we are home now, and that’s all that matters.” Mikey held his arms to his chest and Donnie sighed and held open his arms. “Sigh. Come here. It’s a limited time offer.” Mikey didn’t hesitate and dove into his brother’s arms. Leo reached over and took Mikey’s hand, giving it a squeeze since hugs were most certainly out of the question. Draxum watched from the side as Raph walked over, taking a chair with him so he could be with his brothers. It hurt to see the twins being handled delicately, but he was just glad that they were safe.****Donnie woke up with a start. Something was wrong, but what. Then he heard it. Distressed chirps and crying. He looked towards Leo’s bed and OH SWEET GALILEO! Leo was a toddler. Donnie dove for his gauntlet and quickly locked the medbay doors. His family couldn’t see this. He hurried over to try and console his very distraught brother when his eyes fell on the IV. Right, the IV was giving Leo fluids, nutrients and….oh no. Painkillers!!! He quickly stopped the IV drip before causing his now much smaller brother to overdose. He would have to look up the correct dosage. Leo looked up at him, tears in his eyes.“Dee-Dee. Shell owie.” Donnie’s heart clenched. Had Leo been in pain this whole time and not said anything? He would be having a very serious talk with him when he was no longer regressed.“I know Lee, and I’m sorry. Let me find some medicine, okay?” He nodded and then cried again, giving Donnie a burst of speed as he ran to the pain medicine cabinet to find something safe for a toddler. Even when they normally regressed, they were still the same age physically. There was no reason to have child medication in the lair. He mentally cursed the witch. Apparently this enchantment had stuck with his brother.“Deeeee” his brother wailed and he grabbed one of Leo’s books to see how much morphine he could give a toddler. Seeing the dosage he ran back to the IV drip and corrected it before letting it flow again.“Shhh, the medicine is coming. Soon the pain will go away.” There was a bang on the door and he pulled up the security feed on his gauntlet just as he heard his older brother.“Donnie, why is the door locked? I thought I heard Leo crying. What’s going on in there?” Donnie felt his heart race with panic.“Oh, nothing dear Raphaela. I have everything under control.”“Donnie, open this door.” Oh, now Mikey was here too. At this rate the whole family was going to come. He couldn’t let them see Leo like this. There would be too many questions and he didn’t want to give answers.“It’s all good. Go back to bed and we’ll see you in the morning.”“Donnie!!” Both brothers shouted and by the looks of the view from the security camera, it seemed like they were contemplating ripping the door off. He ran to the door.“I promise, everything is fine. Leo just had a-a-a nightmare. Yeah, and he doesn’t want to talk about it right now. So, please, just leave.” He stared at the screen and saw his two brothers exchange looks. Why couldn’t he be as good at lying as Leo? Speaking of Leo. His gaze darted back in time to see little Leo lean over the edge of the bed and throw up. Dammit! “I’ve got Nardo handled. Please just go back to sleep and come back in the morning.”“Fine, but call us if you need us.” Donnie promised he would, even though he had no intention of keeping that promise and raced back to his brother. Had he given too much morphine? He quickly glanced through the medical journal and saw that nausea was a side effect. Well that was just great. Leo looked at him with puffy, glazed eyes.“Sowwy.” Donnie sighed.“It’s okay, Lee. It’s not your fault. How does the shell feel now?” Lee seemed to think about this.“Better, but feel itchy.” He scratched his arms and Donnie stopped him.“Sorry about that. It’s a side effect of the medicine making your shell feel better. Try and get some sleep, okay. You’ll feel better when you wake up.” Leo yawned.“Scawy dream.” Donnie sighed. Of course a nightmare was the cause. Carefully he climbed onto the bed and snuggled against his little brother.“I’ll protect you. You’re safe, Lee. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Leo gave a happy chirp, nuzzling into Donnie’s plastron.“Wuv you.”“I love you too.” The smell of vomit drifted up to the softshell, but he was tired and Leo needed him. I’ll clean it up in the morning, was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Donnie, please wake up.” The softshell groaned as he woke up, blinking his eyes open and sighing with relief to see the regression had passed and, thanks to the enchantment, his brother was sixteen again. He stretched and then looked closer and saw the pain in his eyes and - was that vomit? Leo looked guilty but before he could say anything, Donnie leapt out of bed and ran to the sink, pouring him some water and helping him drink, avoiding the vomit on the ground. “Hurts.” Donnie looked and saw the IV bag needed to be changed.“I’ve got it. Just let me clean this up first. The smell is revolting.” Leo laid his head back down and Donnie quickly got the cleaning supplies and cleaned up the vomit, old and new, regretting that he hadn’t cleaned it up last night. Maybe that was why Leo had thrown up again. After cleaning the floor he got a washcloth and cleaned Leo up, now that he could. They both needed a proper bath, but it appeared that the pirates had cleaned them up a bit before calling their family. He was glad for that. He and Leo had certainly needed it. “Okay, now to get you some more pain meds.” He went and got a new bag from where Draxum had prepared them and set it up, adjusting the dosage back to Leo’s current needs. “You regressed last night.” Leo hummed.“I’m surprised the rest of our family isn't here then.” Donnie sat in the chair so Leo didn’t have to crane his neck to look up at him.“The enchantment is still there. You physically turned into a toddler.” Leo looked horrified. “I locked them out and wouldn’t let them in. However, our family is going to have a lot of questions and not just about last night. They will want to know what happened while we were gone. I-I don’t think I’m ready to tell them.” Leo nodded, the medicine beginning to kick in, based on how he looked more relaxed.“If we told them they wouldn’t understand. And quite frankly, I don’t want them to know about all the things I was forced to do. It-Well it’s embarrassing.” Donnie reached over and squeezed his hand, tears in the corner of his own eyes.“I feel like I failed you.” Leo started to shake his head but Donnie held up his free hand. “Please let me finish.” Leo nodded and Donnie sighed with relief. “A lot of what happened to you was completely out of my control. I couldn’t compete with the witch’s magic. That I know. But, if I had done some of the tasks faster, you wouldn’t have had to suffer as much. If I had reacted faster, we never would have been caught. If I had just stayed out of witch town when April went there, none of this would have happened. This whole thing is my fault. You got hurt because of me. You’re sick, because of me. You are stuck under an enchantment because of me.” Now the tears fell freely. “I’m sorry, Leo. I’m so, so sorry.” Leo pulled him close, as best as he could with his limited mobility.“Donnie, stop. Please stop. NONE of this is your fault. No, don’t interrupt. Now it’s my turn. The witch played dirty. I never told you this, but I was aware of everything that happened while being controlled. It was like watching a movie. I couldn’t fight it, but I could see what was happening, hear what was being said, and so I knew that she was playing dirty. She would put me under the enchantment before giving you your task. That was her way of making you suffer. As time went by and I got sick faster, she knew it was hurting you. She made it so that you never stood a chance. I don’t blame you, Donnie. You are not at fault, so drop the guilt. Would you blame me for not fighting the enchantment more?” Donnie looked horrified.“No, absolutely not.” He sighed. “I guess I see your point. It doesn’t make the guilt leave though. So, what do we do about our family? They, as well as our friends, will have a lot of questions. And I don’t think we can just dodge them.” Leo sighed, his eyes fighting to stay open.“We tell them we’re not ready to talk about it. They have to respect that.” There was a knock on the medbay doors.“Purple? Are you boys awake? Please open this door.” Donnie sighed, seeing that Leo was just about asleep again. He smiled fondly and moved to the doors, unlocking them and opening the doors to see his entire family, along with April and Cassandra, and even Sunita. He stepped out, gently closing the door behind him, scratching absentmindedly at his cast, earning a stern look from Draxum. He dropped his hands.“Leo just fell back asleep.” Draxum moved towards the doors.“I’ll just quickly check on his IV.” Donnie blocked him.“I just changed the IV bag. He’s fine for now.” Draxum frowned, but Mikey was the one to speak up.“Donnie, he just wants to help.” The softshell didn’t budge. “What’s going on, Dee? You’re acting like we’re a threat to Leo.” He looked at the ground.“It’s not intentional. I-well you see-I, it’s just hard right now. I’m just adjusting, I suppose.” Raph frowned.“What happened to you two that you would feel like your family is a threat?” Donnie looked up.“It’s not that I see you as a threat, I-I just don’t want anyone near Leo. It’s hard to explain.” Mikey crossed his arms, and oh, it looked like Dr. Delicate Touch was about to make an appearance. He quickly continued. “Leo and I will tell you all what happened, but just not now. We’re still processing. We didn’t realise that it had been over a month since we were taken. And Leo needs time to heal. I want to make him a wheelchair as well, so that when his shell isn’t in constant pain, he can at least leave the medbay.” Draxum rubbed his chin thoughtfully.“You know, I have some healing potions back at my lab. With the right spells, we could speed along the healing process.”“NO!” Everyone jumped at Donnie’s shout, and then took a back when they saw the pure hatred in his eyes. “You will stay away from him. Don’t you dare touch him! All of you stay away!” He turned and ran back into the medbay and everyone heard the door lock behind him. They shared confused looks.“Ugh, what just happened?” April’s voice sounded too loud in the sudden silence. Nobody answered her.*****Leo woke to the sound of his brother tinkering. For a second he forgot everything and thought they were back in Donnie’s lab. That everything that had happened was just a really bad dream. Then the pain hit him and he was brought back to reality. He must have made a noise because the sounds of Donnie working stopped and when he opened his eyes his brother was standing in front of him.“Nardo, are you in pain?” Leo managed a weak smile.“Yeah, a bit. Maybe I should be on something stronger.” He looked closer at his brother. “You look like shit. What happened?” Donnie pulled up a seat and sat down.“I may have, inadvertently, freaked out on the family.” Oh, well that’s a problem. “Draxum mentioned using magic on you and I-well, I-” he looked down instead of finishing. Leo felt fear grip him at the mention of magic being used on him.“No, it’s okay. I don’t want magic anywhere near me.” He shuddered, then hissed as pain pulsed through his shell. Donnie seemed to snap out of it then and went to the medicine cabinets.“What’s safe to give you while on morphine? Or do I take you off the morphine?” Leo took a deep breath to breathe through the pain for a second before answering.“Take me off of morphine. It’s useless with my shell pain. Go into the far cabinet and get the Hydromorphone. It’s way stronger.” Donnie followed his instructions, Leo telling him how much to set the dose to. He saw Donnie consult the medical journal to confirm and couldn’t stop the fond smile that came to his face. He knew Donnie would keep him safe. His twin wouldn’t let anyone else use magic on him. As the new medication kicked in, he felt his mind clouding over. Oh right, side effects. That was his last coherent thought before he lost consciousness.****Donnie was alarmed with how fast Leo passed out and thought he did something wrong. He double checked the dose and frowned. No, that was right. He looked at the side effects and felt himself relax. Sedation was a side effect. He looked over the rest of the side effects so that he would be prepared. Great, nausea was still there. His brother must be tired of throwing up. Wait, did he even have anything left in his stomach? They hadn’t really eaten anything in a long while. Maybe he would ask Mikey to bring them something when Leo woke up. He checked his brother’s vitals once more before going back to his project - making Leo a wheelchair. It was coming along nicely. The part he was struggling with the most was the back of the chair. It would have to be comfortable for Leo’s damaged shell. He looked at the materials he had and realised he didn’t have anything soft enough to be gentle on the shell. Maybe he could just put two bars to hold Leo’s support belt so he didn’t fall forward. The bars would be close enough that he wouldn’t fall through, but far apart enough that his shell wouldn’t press against it too much. A small knock on the door drew his attention, followed by his youngest brother’s voice.“Donnie, can you please open the door?” He hesitated. The last time he had opened those doors he had yelled at his family. “Donnie, please.” Donnie could just picture the big eyes Mikey would be giving him right now if he could see him.“Dammit, even in my head they work.” He stood up and crossed the room, opening the door just enough to look out. And yup, there were the eyes.“Donnie, please talk to me. What’s going on? You really lost it earlier. I thought you were about to attack Draxum.” Donnie looked at the ground.“I thought about it.”“Donnie!”“Shh, Leo’s sleeping. Look Mikey, I don’t want to talk about it. Sure, I admit I may have overreacted, but I stand by it. No magic near Leo.” Mikey frowned.“I thought you were over your whole science is superior to magic shtick. He just wants to help. We all do, but you are literally shutting us out. Let us help you.” Donnie bit his lower lip, as he hesitated with how to respond.“When Leo wakes up we should both eat something. Think you can help with that?” Mikey’s face lit up.“Of course. Just let me know when he’s up and I’ll prepare you guys a meal.” Donnie gave his brother a small smile.“Don’t go too crazy. Leo’s on a new pain medication, his recommendation, and side effects include loss of appetite and nausea. He probably won’t eat a lot.” Mikey nodded.“You got it.” With that, he ran off, saying something about needing to make sure they had enough groceries. Donnie chuckled and shook his head. Mikey was going to make a feast, he could just tell.****Leo woke up and felt much better. At first he panicked, thinking that magic had been used. Donnie quickly assured him that it was only the pain medication he was on. Leo saw the chair and his face lit up.“You made me a wheelchair? Donnie, this is amazing. I’m really tired of laying on my stomach. I want to be upright, pronto.” Chuckling, Donnie gently helped him sit up. A wave of dizziness hit Leo and he and Donnie both expected him to vomit. Fortunately, he didn’t. Donnie helped Leo into the chair, strapping him in. Leo leaned against the handlebars, smiling at his twin. “Thank you, Dee. Now, let’s take this IV out and get out of this room. I need fresh air.” Donnie laughed.“We’re not leaving the lair, dum dum.” Leo chuckled as Donnie took the IV out.“I know, but it still smells like vomit in here. We need to air this room out.” The softshell agreed and pushed his brother’s chair out of the medbay. Voices sounded from the kitchen, so the twins decided to head to the bathroom first, to wash up a bit and let Leo go to the toilet. It was a bit of a struggle, but Donnie was able to help him onto the toilet and then back into the chair when he was done. Leo felt so embarrassed, but he could see that Donnie wasn’t bothered.“It’s not your fault, Nardo. And you trying to move yourself with your shell the way it is, is a bad idea. Now, time to wash up as best as we can without being able to actually go in the shower or tub.” Leo smiled.“You can sit in the tub, just keep your hand out. By the way, how were you able to build this with only one hand?” Donnie turned to grab the soap.“I used my ninpo.” Leo was glad Donnie’s back was to him, because he’s pretty sure he had looked terrified at the idea of his brother using magic. He shook his head. Their ninpo was not bad. Not all magic was bad. This was fine.“Makes sense.” Donnie finally grabbed everything he needed and filled the sink with warm water and soap. “Dee, take care of yourself first. I can wash my face, neck, arms and plastron, as well as my upper legs. You can help with the rest when you’re done.” Donnie hesitated, but saw that Leo could easily reach the sink, and he wasn’t in any pain, that he could tell. He relented and ran the bath, removing his filthy shorts and submerging all but his right hand. Leo watched him with a bit of jealousy before beginning his sponge bath. A knock sounded on the bathroom door and he looked towards it as Donnie’s head popped back out of the water. They exchanged worried looks. “Who is it? This room is currently occupied.”“It’s Draxum. May I come in?” Leo saw guilt flit over Donnie’s face briefly, but the softshell gave him a look that said it was up to Leo.“Yeah, sure.” The door opened and Draxum walked in, looking back and forth between them. If he was upset with Donnie, there was no evidence.“How are you boys feeling?” Leo shrugged.“Fine, all things considered. I switched over to Hydromorphone. It’s much more effective.” Draxum nodded.“I have something much more effective.” He glanced at Donnie as a growl escaped the softshell. Leo, hearing the warning in the growl, quickly shook his head.“No magic!” Draxum frowned.“But-”“I SAID NO!” Leo screamed, starting to shake. Draxum reached for him, but Donnie lunged out of the tub at him, hissing dangerously. Draxum’s warrior reflexes were the only thing that saved him from losing his hand to the softshell’s jaws.“Get. Out!” Draxum looked like he was about to argue. “I SAID GET OUT!” Donnie opened the door and shoved Draxum out, into Raph who had come running when he heard the screaming. Donnie was shaking with rage. “STAY AWAY FROM MY TWIN OR I WILL KILL YOU!” Before Raph or Draxum could say anything, the bathroom door was slammed in their face. Splinter and Mikey came running, followed by the girls. Cassandra looked around.“Who was shouting? ONLY I SHOUT!” April patted her back and turned to Raph and Draxum.“What happened?” Draxum sighed.“I tried to offer Leo some help.” Mikey winced.“With magic?” The yokai nodded and everyone sighed. “I don’t get it. Leo would have jumped at the chance to get healed and up and out faster. Why is it suddenly such a bad thing?” They all headed to the living room to give the twins their space. Cassandra eyed them all.“Isn’t it obvious?” All eyes turned to her. “HA, I AM SUPERIOR TO YOU ALL!!!” Sunita wiggled a finger in her ear.“Do you have to shout? What have you figured out?” Cassandra puffed out her chest a bit.“Whatever hurt them was magic. I saw the picture Mikey showed of the Blue one’s shell. That looks like a magic blast scorch mark.” Silence followed her statement, everyone’s eyes wide. April smacked her forehead.“That makes so much sense.” Everyone nodded. Draxum looked guilty.“I can’t believe we didn’t think of this sooner. I owe those boys an apology.” Mikey hugged him.“Well, yes and no.” Everyone gave him a confused look. “They could have just told us they were uncomfortable with magic because of how Leo got hurt. Instead, they kept it all a big secret and now everyone is hurting. We’re all going to need a session with Dr. Feelings in the next few days.” Cassandra crossed her arms and looked away.“I need NO THERAPY!” Mikey glared at her and she glared right back. Splinter sighed.“First let’s get the boys out of the bathroom and get some food into them. Clearly they were starved and they won’t heal without a proper meal. Is everything ready, Orange?” Mikey nodded and Splinter went to the bathroom to talk to the twins.****Donnie slammed the door and turned quickly to Leo, who looked like he was hyperventilating. Was this just a panic attack, or a side effect? Wait, Leo could not regress right now.“Nardo, I need you to take deep breaths and calm down. Please, do not regress right now. I do not want to explain why you’re a toddler or baby or whatever.” That got a snort from Leo and he watched his brother begin to calm down. He sagged with relief, sitting on the edge of the tub before realising he was naked. He glanced at his shorts, but opted to jump back into the tub, stopping at the last second when he saw how dirty the water looked already. Sighing, he grabbed a towel to wrap around himself and drained the tub.“Sorry for freaking out.” He turned to the slider, who was wringing his cleaning cloth like he was strangling it.“No apologies needed. He should have backed off. I already told him the answer was no.” The twins sat in silence.“HA, I AM SUPERIOR TO YOU ALL!!!” The twins exchanged looks as they heard Cassandra shouting, smirks appearing on their faces. There was something absolutely lovable about the former foot recruit. In a very chaotic way.“I wonder why she thinks she’s superior this time.” Donnie laughed and shrugged, looking at the now empty tub as if considering a second bath. He did still feel dirty, but maybe that was just his mind messing with him. “Go for it.” He looked at Leo who was smiling at him. “Take a second bath. Your first was more a rinse than anything.” Donnie smiled and began running the water again.“You’re right. How’s your water?” He walked over to the sink but Leo smiled sheepishly.“I didn’t really get a chance to start before Draxum came in.” Donnie nodded, checked and felt the water was cold, so he drained the sink and filled it again. “Thanks Dee.” Donnie turned off the bath water and smiled.“Of course.” A knock sounded and both boys froze.“Boys, it’s your father.” The twins exchanged nervous looks. Donnie cleared his throat.“What do you need, Papa?”“Can you open the door, Purple?” Donnie walked over and opened the door a crack. Seeing Splinter was alone, he opened it a bit more. “Boys, Draxum sends his apologies. Though you should have told us that magic hurt you.” Donnie was stunned. Behind him, Leo gasped.“How-” he started and Splinter gently pushed the door open more so that he could see his other son.“Cassandra figured it out.” The twins shared a look. So that’s why she was superior. They were definitely giving her that title right now. “Look, Draxum won’t ask again. Now, you boys haven’t eaten a thing in a long time.” Leo managed a smile, taking his cloth out of the sink and wringing it out before responding.“Can we at least finish washing up?” Splinter smiled fondly at his son and nodded.“Of course Blue. But I’m only giving you boys twenty minutes before I send Red to drag you both out.” Donnie chuckled.“Sure thing. Oh, before you go. Could you swing by our rooms and get us some clean clothes?” Splinter nodded and walked off. Donnie closed the door, but didn’t lock it, before shedding his towel and jumping into the tub, churring with contentment. Leo chuckled.“You don’t have to rub it in, you know.” Donnie chuckled and grabbed his own cloth to begin cleaning himself.“Sorry. As soon as you’re up for it, physically, I’ll make you a cover for your shell so you can take a bath. Deal?” Leo grinned.“As long as it’s a bubble bath.” Splinter came in then with some clean shorts and Donnie’s favourite purple hoodie. He looked sadly at Leo.“I would have gotten your hoodie, but I’m sure your shell doesn’t want anything touching it at the moment.” Leo smiled appreciatively.“Thanks Dad. The shorts will be fine for now. If I get cold, we can put a blanket over my legs for now.” Splinter put Donnie’s clothes near the tub and then turned to Leo.“Would you like me to get Red to help you?” Leo bit his bottom lip and Donnie turned to him. Leo knew Donnie was going to use his ninpo to help and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.“Yes, but not just yet. We’ll holler when I’m ready to change.” Splinter nodded, set the shorts down and left, closing the door behind him. Donnie looked hurt and Leo knew he had to explain quickly. “It’s nothing personal, Dee. I just, well you would need to use your ninpo, which is like magic, and well-” he looked down at the cloth in his hands.“I understand, Lee. It’s okay.” Leo sighed with relief, looking up and seeing true understanding in his twin’s eyes.“Thank you.”*****The boys finished washing. In Leo’s case they had to be careful when Donnie cleaned his shell and changed his bandages. He handed Leo a pill and a glass of water.“You’ll have to take this in pill form for now.” Leo nodded and downed the medication while Donnie stuck his head out the door to call for Raph. The snapper came quickly and between him and Donnie, they were able to get Leo’s shorts off. Donnie quickly washed Leo, much to the slider’s embarrassment, even if it felt good to be clean down there. Once that was done, Raph held Leo, careful to mind his shell, and Donnie helped him put his shorts on before they strapped him back into his chair.“Thank you guys.” Raph kissed the top of his head before gathering the dirty laundry.“Of course. You two head to the kitchen, I’ll clean up here and be there shortly. Oh, and Donnie?” The softshell looked up at him. “Please don’t bite Draxum.” Leo saw the smirk on his twin’s face and stifled his own laughter.“I make no promises. Come now, Nardo. Real food awaits us.” They left the bathroom quickly, neither seeing the concerned look on their older brother’s face. As they got to the kitchen, the smell of Mikey’s cooking caused Donnie’s mouth to water. Leo seemed uncertain about the smells, almost nervous. “You okay?” He managed a smile.“Yeah. Just suddenly not feeling very hungry.” Donnie gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.“Probably just a side effect of the pain medication. It was listed as one.” Leo hummed and was wheeled into the kitchen. Faces lit up at seeing the two and Leo felt his stomach churn at the sight of all the food on the table. Oh, are those chicken wings? Okay, maybe not all the food made him nervous. Mikey beamed at them.“I know you said go easy, but with everyone here I wanted to make a special welcome home feast. Where’s Raph?”“Right here. Just had to get some laundry started. Everything looks and smells amazing. Let’s eat.” Everyone sat down, Donnie’s chair next to Leo in his wheelchair. Food was passed around. Donnie was so excited as he grabbed some fish and placed it on his plate, followed by salad, chicken wings (plain of course) and some chicken parmesan. Everyone, including Donnie, was digging into the food. No one noticed that Leo seemed less excited. Some of the smells were bothering him. He had taken some salt and pepper wings, but seemed to pass off other things. Raph, who was sitting next to him, noticed that his plate looked empty and frowned. “Hey bud, what do you need?” Leo stiffened and looked around. All eyes were on him now. Something was making him nauseous. But he couldn’t pinpoint it.“I’m not sure. I’m not really hungry.” Raph passed him a chocolate pudding cup. Leo gagged and turned away. Donnie, as if on instinct, reached over and grabbed the pudding, tossing it away. “I really don’t think I can eat.” The smells were becoming too much. Mikey looked worried.“What if you started with something light? How about some yogurt? Or maybe a bowl of soup?” Leo started to shake his head. “Leo, you haven’t eaten in who knows how long. You need to eat. Donnie’s eating.” Leo heard his twin hiss at their younger brother, eliciting a reprimand from Splinter. He knew Mikey was right, but there were just too many scents. Some were good. When he had picked up the wings to put on his plate, they smelled good. But that pudding. The mere smell made him feel sick. Donnie was about to say something when he suddenly bolted towards the garbage and emptied the contents of his stomach. Raph ran over, his chasm deepening.“Donnie! Woah, what’s wrong?” Draxum frowned before it dawned on him.“Leonardo, when was the last time you and Donatello ate?” He shrugged. “You don’t know, or don’t remember?”“I don’t know. We had no concept of time.” Leo knew he had to get away from the table or he was going to be sick. Sunita passed him a bowl of chopped mango and he pushed himself away from the table before throwing up. Splinter and Raph, who were helping Donnie, looked alarmed. Sunita dropped the bowl as if it had bitten her, Cassandra and Mikey raced to Leo’s side. Draxum stood up abruptly.“Get them both out of here. Back to the medbay with Donatello. Michelangelo, can you and Cassandra take Leonardo to the bathroom to clean him up before returning him to the medbay? April, Sunita, I need you to go to the store and get chicken broth. Not soup, just the broth. We don’t know when the last time these boys ate. Getting them to consume so much food, so quickly, is dangerous. We need to ease them into it. I’m going to take blood samples to see what we’re working with. Make sure they both drink some water. We can’t risk dehydration so soon after we just corrected it.” Everyone nodded. Donnie shook his head, tears forming as he watched Leo get taken away. Even Leo looked panicked. Splinter looked sadly at his sons.“My sons, we will put you together. We just need to clean Blue up. I’m sure you would both prefer to not be covered in vomit.” Donnie hesitated. Cassandra placed her hands on Leo’s shoulders, getting him to look at her.“We shall make this fast. Orange one, get him a change of shorts. I shall meet you in the washroom. Purple one, prepare a place on the bed for him, understood?” To everyone’s surprise Donnie nodded and Leo looked less panicked. Something about Cassandra seemed to soothe the twins. Everyone took advantage and leapt to their tasks.Minutes later Cassandra and Mikey wheeled in a now clean Leo. Mikey turned to Draxum as his friend wheeled Leo over to the bed so that Raph could settle him in the bed.“Are they going to be okay, dad?” Draxum prepared to take Leo’s blood, having taken Donnie’s while they were washing Leo.“If I have anything to say about it, they will be. And I’ll do so in a way that they are comfortable with.” He looked and saw the tears in Leo’s eyes. He walked over and drew the blood he needed before preparing the IV again. “A pill may be too harsh on your stomach. We’ll give you your pain medication through the IV. Get some rest, both of you. And when you wake up it’s chicken broth for the both of you for the next few days. Understand?” The twins clutched each other’s hands and nodded. After giving Donatello something for his nausea, Draxum sent everyone out of the medbay to let the brothers sleep. He knew they had a long road to recovery, but these blood samples would give him a better idea.

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Draxum stared at the results as he heard the twins stir behind him. He turned and walked back over to the bed and saw Donnie sitting up and Leo blinking groggily.“Leonardo’s blood sugar levels are extremely elevated. Too many sweets? That doesn't make sense. If anything they should be low like yours.” Leo looked sick at the mere mention of it. Donnie growled.“Don’t.” Draxum saw the dangerous look on the softshell’s face and opted to drop the questioning.“I’ve made you all to be superior beings. It is a minor setback. This will correct itself shortly. I will have Michalangelo bring you some warm broth. Leonardo, would you like to sit in your chair for this?” He nodded and Donnie helped the yokai get the slider into his chair and strapped in. He still looked a bit woozy, but Draxum wasn’t worried. After all, he was on a lot of medication and had an empty stomach. Without another word, he left the room to find his youngest son.****Leo stared at the bowl of broth in his lap. He knew he needed to have some of it at least. His stomach was most definitely empty. Mikey pulled up a chair.“Would you like some help?” Leo looked over and saw Donnie sitting on the bed, slowly sipping his bowl. He sighed and reached for his spoon, not trusting himself to lift the bowl with his shaky limbs. Unfortunately, the shaking prevented him from getting the spoon to his mouth as well. Tears stung his eyes. He couldn’t even feed himself right now. Mikey, seeing the struggle, gently took the bowl and held it to Leo’s lips. “Here. Small sips.” Leo tried to turn away, but looked back when Mikey squeezed his hand. “I know this must be really hard for you, but let me help. Please? At least until your hands stop shaking and you can do it on your own.”“Let him, Nardo. Or I can help too and finish my broth after.” Leo sighed.“Mikey can help. You need to eat too, Dee.” Silence fell on the three brothers once again as the twins drank their broth, Mikey assisting Leo. The slider almost finished half before he looked away again. “That’s it for now, Mikey. I can’t stomach anymore.” His younger brother put the bowl to the side, Donnie adding his empty one next to it. Leo was glad that Donnie was recovering quickly.“Don’t worry Leo. Before you and Donnie know it, you’ll be right as rain. In fact, you’ll probably be good to go by your birthday. Oh! I still have to buy your presents, and plan the menu, and ohmigosh there’s so much to do. I’ll come back later with more broth.” He grabbed the bowls and bolted out of the room. Leo paled.“Our birthday? What is today?” Donnie pulled his phone out of his pocket.“June 1st. Twenty two days until our birthday.” The twins sat in silence for a minute, processing. Birthdays meant cake, ice cream, chocolate and candy. Leo felt nauseous just thinking about it.“I don’t think I’m going to be ready for that. The very idea of all that sugar-” he cut himself off as he gagged. Donnie ran over with a bucket, in case he threw up and Leo was grateful. He was tired of throwing up all over himself.“I’ll tell the family to ease up on the sugar this year. After all, we’re turning seventeen. Perhaps I should recommend something calmer. We may be stronger and a bit more recovered, but you won’t be fully healed in twenty two days.” Leo nodded.“Think we can leave the medbay? Maybe go to the living room and watch a Jupiter Jim movie or something?” Donnie smiled. Without answering, he moved behind Leo’s chair and began pushing him out of the room. They had just made it through the doors when they bumped into Raph. The snapper smiled.“Hey you two. Feeling better today?” They both nodded and continued on, Raph falling into step beside Donnie. “Where are you two heading?”“The living room to watch a Jupiter Jim movie.” Leo looked up at him. “Do you want to join us?” Raph smiled sadly.“I would have loved to, but Mikey wants to head to the Hidden City to get some groceries. He kind of ran out after that feast yesterday.” Leo’s face fell at the mention of the failed welcome home feast. Donnie muttered an apology. “Hey, hey. No, that’s not - it wasn’t your fault. We should have asked some more questions before throwing a giant feast in your honor so soon. Anyway, do you two need anything while we’re out there?” Leo frowned before speaking.“Maybe some crackers, although my favourites are on the surface, so maybe not.” Raph shook his head.“That’s not a problem. Those Brenton crackers, right?” Leo nodded. “You got it bud. Donnie?” The softshell thought for a moment.“Maybe some sesame snaps please.” Mikey joined them, already penciling something on the list.“Brenton crackers and sesame snaps. You got it bros. Anything else?” They both shook their heads and Mikey and left with the eldest brother while the twins continued to the living room.****The next twenty two days flew by. Donnie’s hand healed and the swelling went down around Leo’s spine. Unfortunately for the slider, the feeling that came back was pain like he was being stabbed with multiple needles repeatedly. Donnie had made him compression wraps, which helped a bit but the pain flared up if he bumped his legs. The slide woke up with dread crushing him. It was his birthday. Usually, he and Donnie would be ecstatic and meet early in the morning to exchange their own gifts before joining the family in the kitchen for breakfast. This year was different. There was a quiet knock at his door and he sat up as Donnie walked in.“Happy Birthday Nardo.” He smiled as his twin joined him on his bed.“Happy Birthday Tello. I guess this year we’re lucky to be able to celebrate, huh?” Donnie chuckled and looked down at his hands.“Yeah. I-uh-I got you something. I really don’t want you to feel bad that you couldn’t get anything for me. Just having you still around is a gift enough for me.” He passed Leo a small box wrapped in blue wrapping paper. Leo smiled.“Who said I didn’t get you anything? Look in my closet, top shelf.” Curious, Donnie went to his closet and opened up the closet and found a purple gift bag where Leo had said. He took it down and turned to face his brother.“How?” Leo smiled.“The internet and Cass. Open it.” Donnie sat on the bed, facing his twin and being careful not to bump his legs. He looked inside the bag and froze, his eyes widening as he looked up at Leo, who had a shy smile on his face. “I hope it’s the right one.”“Leo-” Donnie choked up. He reached into the bag and pulled out purple headphones. “Are these the noise-cancelling ones I’ve been trying to get all year?” Leo nodded. “I-I don’t know what to say. And you found them in purple? How?” Leo’s smile grew.“There was a guy in Chicago who was hoarding a bunch. I sent him the money and he tried to get more, so I sent Cassandra to talk to him.” Donnie cackled, hugging Leo, being mindful of his shell.“Thank you so much. Now, open mine.” He flapped his hands excitedly. Leo chuckled and grabbed the present, tearing it open and his eyes shone with excitement.“Donnie! I love it!” He held up the unicorn hoodie, chuckling at the horn on the hood. “Can you help me put it on?” Donnie nodded and helped him into the hoodie, knowing that he had put the air conditioning a bit higher for this reason. Leo snuggled into it, pulling his twin into another hug. “Thank you so much.” Donnie smiled. It had been too long since he saw such a big smile on his brother’s face.“Alright, let’s get you in your chair and get ready to face the family.” Leo nodded and reached for his compression wraps, Donnie helping him to put them on. Then they worked together to get him in his chair before Donnie pushed him out of his room and towards the kitchen. As usual, the whole family was there and they were greeted with shouts of Happy Birthday. Leo planted a smile on his face, his eyes roving over the spread on the table. There were scrambled eggs, cubed hashbrowns, bacon, ham, sausage, toast, and waffles with lots of toppings for both the toast and waffles. For drinks there were different juices, coffee and teas. Mikey was practically vibrating. April and Sunita brought bowls of fruit and placed them on the table.“Angelo, you have outdone yourself. Everything looks great.” Their baby brother ran over and hugged them both.“Only the best for my bros. Let’s eat!” Everyone sat at the table and started piling food on their plates. The twins’ appetites had been slowly returning, but it still wasn’t back to before their kidnapping. Donnie’s was much better than Leo’s but Leo knew that was because his body hadn’t taken as much of a hit as his. As the food was passed around, he was careful with what he put on his plate. A small portion of eggs, a few strips of bacon, a slice of toast and Cassandra passed him a cup of green tea. He smiled appreciatively at her as she sat on his left, Donnie positioned on his right.“Happy Birthday Blue one.” He grinned as they bumped shoulders. He had been so grateful for Cass over the past few days. She had been more aware of most things than the rest of their family and friends. She also seemed to be aware that anything sweet was still risky with him. Their movie nights had involved salty foods like nuts, crackers and chips. She didn’t even bring pop or candy for herself. They had experimented with flavoured water and found that they both enjoyed lemon water. She saw him eying the spreads for his toast. “What do you need?” He hesitated. Peanut butter would be safe, but he was still sick and tired of peanut butter.“Just butter.” She saw the dejected look on his face.“Let me show you something.” She stood up and went to the fridge and came back with some bean sprouts. After buttering his slice, she added the beansprouts and then put the scrambled eggs on top. Everyone was looking over at them, curious. “Try that.” He took a bite and his eyes lit up.“This is delicious. Thank you Cass.” She winked at him and made her own. Mikey was intrigued and tried it as well, adding some hot sauce to his. Draxum and Splinter smiled as they looked around at all the happy faces. Leo finished his plate of food and sat back with his tea, enjoying the happy atmosphere. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.****Donnie and Leo were panicking. Mikey had made TWO cakes. One was plain vanilla. The other was chocolate with strawberries. Before the incident - they still refused to talk about it - Leo would have been ecstatic about a chocolate and strawberry cake. Now, the very thought of it made him want to hurl. Donnie pulled Draxum aside.“You told Mikey about Leo’s high blood sugar, didn’t you?” He raised an eyebrow.“That was a number of days ago. He should be fine. It’s just in his mind right now.” Donnie hissed with frustration.“I tested his blood earlier this week. It’s still too high and I KNOW you looked at those results. Why wouldn’t you tell him not to make Leo a literal coma worth of sugar?” Draxum glowered at him.“Why won’t you and your brother tell us why his blood sugar is so high?” Donnie froze. “You have all had lots of sugar before. Your blood sugars have never reacted this way. So, why is this happening to Leonardo now? What are you not telling me?”“Leo!” Mikey’s shout caused Donnie and Draxum to forget their fight and race to the kitchen. Leo was throwing up in the garbage can, Cassandra holding it for him. Donnie raced over, taking note of the half eaten sliver of cake. You could barely call it a slice.“Leo, why did you eat that?” Tears sprang into his twin’s eyes. Cassandra bravely held the garbage can as he hurled again.“He didn’t want to hurt Michal’s feelings.” She looked at him. “Are you done?” Leo was about to answer when he slumped forward. Donnie caught him and Cassandra practically threw the garbage can to the side. Splinter leaped forward to catch it before it tilted over and spilled the already spilled guts“Is Blue okay?” Donnie felt like he was hyperventilating. Leo was unconscious. Together with Cassandra, they raced to the medbay with Leo and placed him on the bed, attaching him to the machines again. Draxum came in next and immediately drew blood and went to test it.“This makes no sense.” The rest of the family ran in. “I believe he’s in a diabetic coma. But I don’t understand how.” Donnie and Cassandra were consulting Leo’s journals. He had been putting in a lot of hours researching diabetes. They had hoped that it was getting better, but now the worst had happened. Leo was in a coma and he didn’t know how long it would last. He looked at the journal. It was dangerous, but reversible“If we can’t lower his blood sugar he’s going to die.” Mikey broke down crying. Cassandra ran to a cabinet and started grabbing supplies.“We have to hurry. Draxum, help me start an IV line. We need to attack this with what Leon called a 4 pronged attack. First we need to get him on a lot of fluids. He said saline. Then we need to start him on a low dose of insulin and monitor his electrolytes and replace as needed. Lastly, figure out what caused it. LET’S GO!”

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“No, please. Stop. I’m going as fast as I can!” The witch cackled.“Not fast enough. Oh look, he threw up again.” Leo was doubled over, on the ground, throwing up, his whole body shaking with exertion. “I would move faster, boy!” Blood dripped from Leo’s mouth as he reached for a piece of cake.“No Leo! Stop, you’re hurting yourself.” Leo looked at him with a blank expression.“This is all your fault. I’m dying. Don’t you care? Do you hate me that much?” Tears poured down Donnie’s face.“No, Leo I love you!”Donnie bolted up with a gasp, short ragged breaths coming from him. Suddenly Raph was in front of him.“Hey, easy bud. You’re okay. You’re safe.” Donnie couldn’t stop the tears.“Leo?” Raph looked over to Donnie’s right and he turned to follow his gaze. Leo was in the bed next to him, still comatose. He sobbed and tried to get out of bed. Raph, seeming to realise that Donnie needed to be near his twin, picked up the softshell and brought him over, gently placing him in the bed. He curled up to his twin, clutching his hand. “I’m sorry Leo. I’m so, so sorry. Please wake up.”*****Raph waited until Donnie fell back asleep before leaving the room to find everyone else sitting in the kitchen. Seeing him approach, Mikey leapt up and made him a plate of lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Raph smiled.“Thanks Mike.” He grinned and the two joined the others at the table. Draxum looked over at him.“You’re upset. What’s wrong? Are the twins alright?” Raph sighed.“I don’t know. Leo still hasn’t woken up. Donnie’s having nightmares. He woke up from a bad one and wouldn’t settle until I put him in Leo’s bed. I’m really worried about him. About both of them.” The family went silent while they ate their dinner. Without talking they knew they all had the same thing on their mind. They had to find out what happened to the twins for the five weeks that they were gone!****Donnie woke up, curled up against his brother, his arm draped over him to hold him close. The nightmare from before was still in his mind. Leo had never said those things, that was just his mind working with the nightmare. Leo didn’t blame him, right? He sat up and immediately regretted it when he came face to face with Draxum, Splinter, Mikey, Raph, April, Cassandra and Sunita. The slime yokai had become family when she and April started to get close. And Mikey was in his Dr. Feelings outfit. Great.“Um, hello?” Mikey stepped forward, motioning to a chair.“If you could please join us, dear Donatello. I believe it’s time for a session.” Donnie hesitated. “Don’t make me invite Dr. Delicate Touch to the session, Donnie.” The softshell dropped his head with a groan before getting out of bed and walking over to join his family and friends. “Now, Donatello,” oh boy, Mikey was using his full name. “Would you like to tell us what happened to you and Leo?” He folded his arms across his chest and sighed.“Not really.” Mikey’s eyes narrowed. “What? You asked if I would like to tell you. I’m being fully honest here. I don’t want to talk about it.” Raph sighs.“Donnie, we need to know what happened so that we can better understand what’s happening to Leo.” The softshell growled.“What’s happening is he is in a diabetic coma because someone didn’t care that his blood sugar levels were through the roof already.” Mikey shrank back and he quickly corrected himself. “Not you, Mikey. I’m talking about Draxum. He knew!” He hissed, earning a disapproving look from Splinter. Draxum frowns.“His blood sugar levels should have balanced out by now. That is why none of you have gone diabetic with all the junk you eat. So, Donatello, is there a reason his are not?” All eyes turned back to him and he glared at them all. Before a fight could break out, a groan had all eyes turning towards Leo. His eyes fluttered open and Donnie was at his side in an instant.“Nardo? Can you hear me?” The slider nods, signing that he’s thirsty. “Let’s get you upright. Cass, can you help? Mikey, can you get some water for Leo?” Raph came with Cass and they were able to sit Leo upright and place him gently in Raph’s lap. Mikey came running back in with a bottle of water and passed it to Donnie. “Small sips, do you hear me?” Leo nodded and Donnie helped him drink until he pushed the bottle away.“Thank you. What’s going on?” Raph snorted.“You just woke up from a coma, that’s what’s going on.” He stiffened.“A coma? Oh, sorry.” Donnie sighed.“It’s not entirely your fault.” Splinter sits beside Raph and takes Leo’s hand, getting his attention and then reaching over and taking Donnie’s.“Boys. Your family loves you very much. Please tell us what happened? Why are you so sick and injured, Blue?” The twins exchange looks, anxiety written all over their faces. After a moment Leo sighs. Donnie looks down. “I guess we should tell them some of what happened. I can tell them if you’re uncomfortable with it, Dee.” The softshell kept his gaze on the floor and Leo reached out with his free hand. Donnie put the water bottle down and took it. Leo turned to his family. “The details are still a touchy subject, but I can give you the gist of what happened. Donnie and I were abducted by a witch. She wanted revenge on Donnie.”“Seriously?” April couldn’t help but interrupt. Sunita elbowed her and she mumbled an apology. Leo smiled.“Yes April, seriously. She wanted to make Dee her slave, and the way she controlled him was by magically controlling me.” This time Draxum interrupted.“It’s called an enchantment.” Both twins glared at him and he held up his hands in surrender.“Whatever, it sucked. One of the things she liked to do was make me eat more sweets than I could stomach. I got sick a lot because of it.” Mikey gasped.“How dare she use delicious treats like that!” Leo couldn’t help but smile at his younger brother.“So that explains everything then.” All eyes turned to Draxum. “In normal situations, Leonardo’s blood sugars would have balanced out on their own, like usual. However, eating so much that you get sick, and I’m assuming this wasn’t a one time thing?” They shook their heads. “Take about 5 weeks of that treatment and throw in an enchantment and you have mutant diabetes. It’s much worse than the kinds humans get. Leonardo, you might never be able to eat sugary things again. Unless,” he paused, tapping his chin. Mikey jumped up.“Unless what?” Draxum looked sadly at Leo.“Unless we could convince the witch to reverse the enchantment. That would allow his superior immune system to combat it and he would be healthy again.” Donnie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. The witch undo all that she did to Leo? It would never happen.“She would kill Leo before she did that. No, there has to be another way.” Leo looked a bit miserable.“There is.” Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. “I live like this for the rest of my life.” Draxum shook his head.“No you will not. We will find a way. Until then, you just focus on getting your body healed as much as you can. Okay?” The slider nodded.****Three weeks went by and Mikey was at his wits end. Feeding Leo had become so difficult. Donnie had tried to take over his meals, but Mikey wouldn’t have any of it and Dr. Delicate Touch was more than happy to send him running from the kitchen. Leo’s legs had regained full motion, but he still needed crutches to aid more often than not. His shell was still extremely sensitive. Draxum had gone out and bought a protective covering for it so he could take baths, which had pissed off Donnie because he was making one. The twins still spent almost all their time together. It was rare to see them separated. And Leo had refused to leave the lair. Raph had offered to carry him so they could all go to Run of the Mill and the twins could see Hueso. Leo got as far as the entrance to the lair and had a full on panic attack that had set off Donnie’s feral mode. It took an hour to calm them both down. The box turtle could also see that they were not getting enough sleep, their eye bags visible even with their masks on. He guessed nightmares, but the twins never answered when he asked.“The truth is that this is the way things are right now, Miguel. Just accept it and move on. It sucks, but there is nothing else we can do.” Mikey would not accept it, as Leo put it. He loved his brother too much to watch him suffer. To just sit there and see his brother be a husk of his former self.Mikey walked into the living room and saw Leo laying in a beanbag chair, watching a Jupiter Jim film. He pulled up his own beanbag and sat beside his big brother. Leo hummed his acknowledgement, but didn’t take his eyes off of the movie. Mikey waited till the credits started rolling before he spoke.“Leo?”“Yes Mikey?”“You want to get better, right?” The blue turtle turned a confused gaze on him. “I mean, you want to be able to leave the lair sometime, right?” His face softened.“Of course. Once I’m all physically healed up I will absolutely need to leave the lair. I’m just not ready right now.” Mikey bit his lower lip.“Why is that?” Leo groaned.“Not now Dr. Feelings. I will talk with Mikey, but not you.” Mikey smiled.“I am Mikey. And I honestly want to know why you are unable to leave the lair. And I want the truth. I will bring out Dr. Delicate Touch if needed.” The look Leo gave him told the box turtle he had gone too far.“You want the truth? Alright, here’s the truth. I can’t leave the lair because I’m scared that we will run into that witch and she’ll hurt me more than she has. But not the way you’re thinking. No, she’ll put me under her stupid enchantments and make me do what I don’t want to. She’ll make me hurt you, or try to. And she will make it in such a way that the only way to save yourselves, to stop me, is to kill me. So tell me, Michelangelo, is that really what you want to hear? Your brother is scared that the only way this ends is with you all killing him!” There was so much venom in his voice that Mikey shrank back, tears welling up in his eyes.“We could stop her.” Leo growled.“No. You can’t. She won. Get used to it. Leonardo Blue Hamato is dead, and I’m just a pathetic reminder of him.”

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Four weeks passed since Leo had his talk with Mikey. He was getting stronger everyday and could now walk around the lair unaided. It didn’t really improve his mood. He still sulked about, mostly hiding out in his room or Donnie’s lab. His shell was still far from healed and Donnie had made him his own battle shell to keep him safe when he was able to leave the lair. He tried, he really did. This time he was able to take five steps out of the lair before turning and running back to his room. He really wanted to be able to leave the lair, but it was proving to be more difficult than he anticipated. The nightmares were still there. Meals were still difficult.As he entered the kitchen, Mikey was preparing breakfast for the family. Today they were getting waffles. Well, not Leo. He was getting plain oatmeal, and a protein smoothie. He took his seat and Mikey turned to smile at him.“Good morning Lee. How did you sleep?” The slider yawned, shrugging.“Fine I guess. Is there hot water for tea already, or do I need to boil some?” Mikey switched on the element, filling the teapot.“I was waiting for you before I got it ready. What kind of tea would you like?” Leo stood up, heading for the cupboard.“I can make my tea. You focus on not burning those waffles.” He picked his teabag, green tea with matcha, and turned to watch his brother work as he waited for the water to boil.“I’m researching ways to make waffles that you can eat, so you don’t feel left out. I almost have enough recipes to work with and then I can start experimenting.” The kettle whistled and Leo turned off the element, pouring water into his mug.“Thanks Mikey. I appreciate that. It would be nice to have more variety in my food, you know?” Mikey nodded and both brothers turned as Raph walked in. Their older brother smiled at them.“Good morning.” Mikey excitedly greeted his brother, giving him a big hug. Leo merely waved as he went to sit down again. Slowly the rest of the family trickled in and the food was placed on the table. As his brothers dug into their waffles, Leo picked at his oatmeal and sipped at his shake. He hated eating with his brothers. They had offered to eat the same things as he did at meals, but Leo had adamantly refused to let them suffer. Donnie said it wasn’t suffering. But as he watched his twin dig into his third, plain, waffle, he knew that Donnie would have missed these meals. The family chatted about their plans for the day. Even Donnie was participating. Leo couldn’t be bothered. His plans involved sulking around the lair and hating the witch for what she did to him.“Blue?” He startled out of his thoughts and looked up to see everyone looking at him. He shifted uncomfortably.“Sorry, was lost in thought there. What is it dad?” His father looked heartbroken at seeing his once larger than life son turned into a shadow of himself.“I asked if you would be trying to join your brothers today? Draxum and I will be leaving for our honeymoon and will be gone for several days. Your brothers were thinking of going to a resort in the hidden city.” He chewed his oatmeal slowly. A resort sounded nice. If he could get himself out of the lair that is.“I will think about it.” The family went back to eating, not bothering to argue with the slider. They all knew what that really meant. He would be staying behind, alone.*****Donnie looked at the list again. “Mikey, are you sure we need all these things? I’m sure the resort has food.” The youngest bounced through the marketplace, Raph and Donnie struggling to keep up.“These will be the best snacks ever, baby. And they will be safe for Leo too.” Raph chuckled and Donnie sighed. There was no use arguing with his baby brother. He should have known better. As they wandered through the market, Donnie found himself looking around, scanning the crowd. He felt like someone was watching him, but every time he looked, there was no one there.“Yo, Donnie. Everything okay?” He turned and saw Raph giving him a concerned look.“Yeah, fine. Sorry.” He hurried to catch up to this brothers and they continued through the market, following Mikey as he practically bounced from stand to stand.****Leo sank into the beanbag, releasing the battle shell and putting it to the side before wrapping himself in a blanket. He glanced at the time. His dad and Draxum had left three hours ago. His brothers had headed to a yokai market about an hour ago. He had encouraged Donnie to go with them, but now he was wishing at least one of them had stayed behind. He was bored. Reaching over, he grabbed a remote and turned on a movie. Might as well find some way to pass the time.He was about halfway through the movie when he glanced at the time. His brothers should have been back by now. What was taking them so long? He paused the movie and grabbed his phone, opening the group chat he had with them and asked if they were on their way back yet. As the clock ticked his anxiety grew. Why weren’t they answering? They always answered. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong. He tried calling Donnie. No answer. Raph? Same thing. With shaking hands he dialled Mikey’s number, his heart sinking when he heard his last brother’s voicemail announce that he was unable to answer the phone. Maybe it was just too loud? Yeah, that could be it. They couldn’t hear their phones. He huddled deeper in his blanket, trying not to cry. His brothers were fine. He repeated the phrase over and over, fighting the fact that his mind wanted to feel younger and younger. He couldn’t regress. What if his brothers needed him?****The crowds scattered as Donnie fired missiles. He knew he was being watched. It was her. The witch who had ruined Leo’s life. Raph attacked next and she blasted him. A quick look confirmed that the snapper was stunned, but otherwise alright. Mikey wrapped his chains around her, flinging her into a building. She fired a blast at him. Fortunately he was able to dodge the magic blast, but he wasn’t able to avoid her fist and went flying into Raph. She turned to Donnie, a wicked smile on her face.“Looks like it’s just you and me, scientist.” Donnie created more missiles with his ninpo.“That’s fine by me. You’re going to pay for what you did to Leo!” He fired, but she was able to avoid them, firing back with her own magic. Donnie activated his bo staff and charged; the two in a dangerous dance of dodging attacks and returning their own blows. Some blows were landing. Donnie spat out some blood as she smashed him in the face with her wand. He glared up at her, ignoring the multiple cuts and bruises on his body. The witch was not much better. Blood pooled from a gash at her temple and her left arm hung uselessly at her side, a bone sticking out of her elbow. She blasted him before he could move and he hit the side of a building, hard.“You can’t win. I am victorious.”“Think again.” Mikey’s chains appeared around her and tightened, the sound of bones cracking barely heard above her screams. Raph appeared in his ninpo, an enlarged fist smashing into her. She coughed up blood as Donnie walked over to her, pressing a button on his staff to send out a blade.“You should know, no one messes with our brother and gets away with it.” Before either of his brothers could stop him he swung the staff, the blade taking the witches head off. Mikey’s chains vanished and Raph’s ninpo construct disappeared, the snapper landing heavily near Mikey.“Donnie, what did you do?” Mikey turned around and threw up. Donnie looked at his older brother, anger slowly disappearing from his eyes.“I avenged Leo.”****Leo sat in silence as Donnie explained why they had been late. Raph and Mikey, standing off to the side, looked nauseous and worried. Donnie was sitting next to his twin, waiting for a response. The slider had a blank expression and the softshell was beginning to wonder if perhaps he had gone too far. He didn’t regret killing the witch. However, he would regret telling Leo if it meant his twin was scared of him. Leo finally looked at him, tears forming in his eyes.“So she can’t hurt me or you anymore?” Donnie felt his heart clench in his chest.“That’s right. We will never see her again. She will never hurt us again.” Leo lunged at his brother, hugging him and crying into his shoulder. Donnie gently hugged him back, being mindful of his shell.“Thank you Tello.” He smiled, relief flooding through him. Leo wasn’t scared of him.“You’re welcome Nardo.” Two days passed and Leo approached Donnie in his lab. He looked nervous and was tugging at the ends of his sleeves.“Leo, what’s wrong?” The slider smiled, looking embarrassed.“Would you want to go for a walk? Just us two?” Donnie’s jaw fell but then his face lit up.“You’re ready to leave the lair?” He nodded, though there was still hesitation. “Then I would be happy to accompany you.” The twins left the lab, holding hands. Mikey and Raph looked up as they walked past the kitchen, following their course before shock registered on their faces. Jumping up they watched as the twins approached the entrance to the lair. Leo hesitated. He knew it was safe. Donnie had killed the witch. He had on his battle shell as an extra precaution under his blue hoodie. “Take your time Leo. I know this is a big step for you.” Leo nodded, took a deep breath, and released it. He was safe. Donnie was with him. His twin would keep him safe. Steeling himself, he took another deep breath and stepped out of the lair.