Chapter Text
The air was knocked out of Leo’s lungs as he was slammed into the ground. Black spots were growing in his vision. Everything was so blurry- he could barely make out the Krang’s ugly snarling face. He coughed, sputtering up something wet and tangy. At least…. At least his family was safe…. That’s all that truly mattered. He softly smiled.
“WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE!” The Krang slammed its fists into Leo’s plastron. They’d be fine… They could live without him…
He couldn’t feel the comfort of his brothers’ ninpo anymore….
The warmth. Gone, leaving a heavy, empty void where it had settled.
The Krang threw him through concrete. Something cracked.
His shell?
He didn’t know
Didn’t care
Everything hurt so much– That was okay… His brothers were safe–
They were safe— safe—
He was floating… Drifting and floating through the dark void.
Debris all around him, hanging like broken stars
He clutched the photo of his family tightly, holding it to his chest.
He should have done more. He should have protected his brothers better. He should have been a better leader. He should have…..
He closed his weary eyes.
He was cold… So… So cold….
It was freezing here….
The cold crept into his bones
Making it hard to move
He couldn’t hold on any longer….
That was okay– everything was okay–
The only thing that mattered was that his brothers were safe… They were saf–
The pain faded away
There was nothing
He couldn’t feel anything
He looked down at his fading semi-translucent hands
No longer connected to his body
He could feel his ninpo–
His soul
Unravelling
Pulling off in threads
Burning away…
Blue wisps after blue wisps
Curling away from him
He couldn’t move
Couldn’t move away from his beaten corpse….
A bright golden light appeared
Growing and twisting into a portal
It was his time
And that was okay
His soul was fading
And that was okay
He died for his brothers
For the world
A life traded for millions
He could see his brothers now
Their faces blurry
Warped
A red ninpo construct arm reached out from the light and grabbed his limp, broken body
He crossed through the threshold
Leaving threads of burning soul
Drifting
He managed to get one thought out
They’ll be okay
The world went dark
***
Mikey stared at Leo’s face. His mask was soaked in blood. That… That couldn’t be his blood– it– it had to be someone else’s- his face was already turning black and blue with bruises. A soft smile painted onto his face. Leo didn’t smile like that . He was loud, always moving, his grins always wide– he didn’t smile like that .
That– that wasn’t Leo– it couldn’t be Leo– He’d jump to his feet any moment, laughing and joking, he’d tell them that it was just a prank– They’d yell at him for scaring them– for telling Casey to seal him away with the–
Leo didn’t move. He didn’t get up. Blood oozed from the cracks in his plastron. Why was there so much blood?! This was a prank– Just a prank– It had to be a prank– Mikey needed his older brother to be pranking them. He– Leo was always pulling pranks–
“Leo–?” Mikey took a trembling step towards his brother. “This– This isn’t funny–”
Please. Get up–
Leo was still too still. He was never not moving– that– this was a prank— this wasn’t Leo lying on the ground in front of him—
“You dumb dumb –!” He could hear Donnie start. His brother’s hands moved up and down as he started doing chest compressions on Leo. “I can fix this– I can–”
Mikey opened his mouth to tell Donnie that Leo– Leo didn’t need– no words came out. Leo– Leo would be fine– Leo was fine— He HAD to be fine—
Mikey shakily turned to look at Raph. His oldest brother was frozen in place, other than the two slow tears that coldly slipped down from his eyes. When they hit the ground, Mikey realized. “no,” he gasped, collapsing to his knees. The world around him spiraled, and he felt like he was in a tight, air-locked box. Everything turned numb as his brain shut the world around him out. Time seemed to stop, and he didn’t even realize his breath starting to quicken as he started choking on the spit of sobs that pierced through the atmosphere. He couldn’t think, anything other than this wasn’t happening.
His mind wouldn’t allow it, but deep down…
He knew, and continued to sob, folding forward and screaming into the ground. Nothing could be loud enough to break through the despair. Everything had always been okay. They were a team, everyone was supposed to survive, that's how it went. That’s always how it went.
“ please… you can’t do this. ” Mikey whimpered. “We’re supposed to get through this together, you can’t die please , you’re not dead , you’re not- ..” Mikey felt for Leo’s pulse in one last act of desperation, and felt nothing but the leathery skin in response. Like he was just some inanimate object now. Like there had been nothing there, nothing special, just a husk.
Mikey was drowning in his tears now. His mind started to spiral, and he couldn't keep track of what his body was doing. He couldn’t hear or feel anything over the sounds of his continued whimpering sobs.