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“Michel, for the fifth time,” Leo let out a loud sigh, his eyes squeezed shut tightly with both of his hands resting on the bridge of his beak as he tried to remain calm. Peeling his eyes open and trying to prevent a grimace, Leo watched as Mikey leapt around Casey, making adjustments to the costume he and Donnie had put together for Halloween this year. “We don’t have time to fix every minor detail of Casey’s costume. He already looks like he’ll blend in with us and it’s not like we’re staying in New York for long, the haunted house is in the Hidden City.”
“And as I’ve said before,” Mikey ignored Leo for the most part, still dancing around Casey as he began fiddling with different parts of the costume he had poured hours of his time into, not staying in one piece for too long before he was spotting something new to fix. “You can’t rush perfection. Casey’s first Halloween isn’t going to be ruined by a faulty costume.”
“Everyone’s first Halloween is meant to be ruined by faulty costumes though, and eating too much candy until you puke,” Leo quickly added on to the end of his sentence, remembering when he and his brothers were younger and they would run around in either poorly made costumes or ones that had been thrown out the previous year, storing it for the spooky season. Though every house they went to always thought they were trying to dress up as more than one thing, reminding them that their group turtle outfits were cute and coordinated unlike whatever else they were trying to be that year. Staring at the scene in front of him unimpressed, Leo reminded Mikey, “You might want to focus on your own costume a little more, your mane is looking a little deflated.”
“My mane is perfect thank you very much,” Despite his words, Mikey still found himself stilling for a few seconds, his hands brushing up against the wig he had wasted a full can of hairspray on. Fluffing the strands of brown up a bit, Mikey tried not to pay too much mind to it before his hands were skittering over Casey again. “The same can not be said for that mop on your head. Ever heard of a comb?”
“Take that back,” Leo gasped loudly, both of his hands shooting up to rest on his chest to show his offence. The disconnected microphone that Donnie had helped to attach onto the end of his cane so it looked more like a microphone stand bumped into his chin, his balance lightly swaying until he placed the over-glorified stick back on the ground as he still wasn’t stable enough to stand without it, let alone walk unless he wanted hell from not only his ruined knee but also his brothers. “My wig is perfect and looks nothing like a mop. It has the exact amount of shagginess required.”
“Bleh,” Mikey shakes his head to himself, tongue stuck out as he makes the noise. Half of Leo’s mask shifts up as he raises one of his brow muscles, waiting to hear the cause of his youngest brother’s reaction. Having to wait a few seconds as Mikey steps back to admire Casey’s costume, a small ounce of hope sparks in Leo before it quickly vanishes as Mikey spots something else for him to nitpick at. “You sound like Donnie.”
“We’re twins Mikey, we’re going to sound similar,” Huffing to himself, Leo stuck his beak as far into the air as his neck would allow him, his cane raised for only a few seconds before it came hurtling back towards the ground, tapping the floor in a loud bang of annoyance. “That’s just how the world works.”
“Sure,” Mikey drawled as he started messing with the makeshift shell that had been hooked onto Casey’s back, entering dangerous territory as he tampered with something that Donnie had created. “Whatever you say rock star.”
A loud humph erupted from Leo’s chest as Mikey used his costume as an insult. Looking down at the outfit, Leo was met with the familiar colours of blue, orange and cream that he knew looked amazing on him. It was an identical replica of the costume Lou Jitsu used to wear, he would know since he sewed it together himself, Splinter looming over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t stuff it up. The only thing that was out of place of the whole thing was the slight bulge on Leo’s right knee, his knee brace hidden beneath the fabric. Due to Doctor Donnie’s orders—Even though Leo was the medic of the team and surely knew better—he was made to wear it at almost all times. The only occasion it could be taken off was when he was sleeping, and thanks to some fancy tech Donnie had rigged it with, his twin was notified whenever the brace was taken off or wasn’t being worn correctly.
“I think your costume looks great Leo,” Casey offered the dressed-up turtle a kind smile, only being met with squinted eyes in return as Leo stared back at him unimpressed, making him falter a little as he remained stuck in place due to Mikey’s prodding. “It makes you really look like a rock star.”
“Of course, you would think that you think Raph’s cat onesie is cool,” Leo rolled his eyes, prepared to throw his hands up before remembering his forgotten sense of balance, making him keep both feet firmly planted because of that. As if Raph’s stink could sense them talking about him, a waft of the eldest turtle’s excitement hit Leo in the face, making him almost gag with how strong it was. “Have you ever even seen a rock star before? Not including moi of course.”
“Umm,” One of Casey’s painted green arms shifted to scratch at the back of his head, his once oily hair brushing smoothly through his fingers now that Leo had shown him how to properly look after his hair since there was no apocalypse-stopping him from the self-care. The next thing Leo was working on implementing into the human’s life was a skincare routine. “I can’t say I have. We didn’t have many of those in the future.”
“A tragedy in itself,” Leo pretended to sympathise, his left hand resting over his heart as he hobbled towards Casey with downcast and hooded eyes. Shifting where he stood, Casey dropped his hand and leaned back slightly, making Mikey huff from behind him as he was forced back as well to accommodate the change, still working on something that had to do with Casey’s shell. Casey had originally hoped he wouldn’t touch it too much since he had thought of keeping it after Halloween but he might just have to scrub it clean with the amount of times he had felt Angelo either smear or stick something to it. In a second, the remorse that was on Leo’s face vanished as he pointed a finger at Casey’s face, booping him on the nose after he spoke. “But that just proves you don’t have an opinion.”
“Oh…” Casey slowly trailed off, eyes going crossed-eyed and lips thinning out as he watched Leo pull his hand back. Casey knew that he didn’t experience a normal childhood and never would. And he didn’t blame anyone in the future for it- well didn’t blame anyone anymore (*cough* the younger Leo that he was now conversing with *cough*), but he couldn’t help the flare of discomfort—and what had Mikey told him? FOMO?—that settled in his chest with how easily Leo brought it up and preyed on it.
“But don’t you worry, my dear little Max,” Having half a mind to reach out and pinch Casey’s cheek, Leo thought better of it when he saw the human’s eyes startle wide, confusion clear on his face as he stared at Leo. “That’s why tonight when we’re sick on expired candy and scared witless, I’ll help to educate you on some of the non-ruined world’s rock stars.”
“Cool-”
“Casey isn’t going to spend his Halloween night huddled in your room while you fan girl over mediocre singers,” Mikey quipped from behind Casey’s shell. Mikey himself had been forced to sit bored out of his mind for hours as Leo info dumped about various artists, he wasn’t going to just sit around and let Casey suffer the same fate. He had just finished putting the last pieces together when he looked up to find Leo mimicking his previous words, Casey fighting to not let out a laugh as he watched the red-eared slider throw himself at every odd angle he could muster. “No wonder Draxum changed his mind and made Donnie the older twin.”
“Draxum didn’t change his mind,” Leo almost growled, hand raising and curling forward into a tight fist before he took a calming breath, two of his three fingers pinching the bridge of his beak as he had to yet again explain a losing battle to his now one and only younger brother. “Dad just got it mixed up. Remember he gave us our ages based on our heights? I was taller than Dee at the time so Dad obviously thought I was the older, better and more mature twin.”
“And how the tables have turned my dear brother,” Donnie smugly said as he finally emerged from his lab after dispersing in it after breakfast. Wearing fancy dress shoes that Leo didn’t even want to know how his twin sourced, a brown trench coat with a white button-up tucked into some beige slacks, Donnie topped off his Oppenheimer costume with a tie that almost matched his trench coat. The only reason Leo could place a name on the outfit was because of the three hours Donnie had sat him down to watch. “It was only a matter of time before our Papa realised who the superior twin was.”
“You’re scared of beach balls, Don Tron,” Leo gave his only recently declared older brother a deadpan stare as he watched his twin’s body rattle, the brain instantly kicking into high alert at the mention of an inanimate object, his hackles raising as he jumps away from Leo and hisses in his direction. “How superior can you really be with a fear like that.”
“I would have conquered my fear months ago if it wasn’t for someone dressing up as a massive beach ball and chasing me around the lair for an hour,” Donnie leaned forward, his massive forehead nearly brushing against the side of Leo’s face as he stared him down in anger. “Remind me again of who’s great idea that was?
“I don’t think I know what you’re talking about,” Leo hummed, pursing his lips and tapping the foot of his good leg as his eyes darted away from Donnie, trying to draw as little attention to himself now that all eyes were on him, Casey’s eyes filled with an overflowing amount of wonder. “Where’s Raph and April? They’re the only two missing before we go to the Hidden City.”
“April couldn’t make it tonight,” Donnie muttered after a few seconds of holding his narrowed gaze on Leo, allowing the slider to relax once he finally started speaking of their human friend.
“And what about Raph?” Mikey asked, stepping to stand shoulder to shoulder with Casey as he stared over at the twins.
“Don’t know,” Donnie shrugged, already bringing his wrist closer to his face as he tapped rapidly across the screen of his gauntlet. Trying to bounce over to his twin, Leo moved in a disgraceful hop, not letting his right foot touch down on the cold floor as he used his cane as a new leg. Plopping down behind Donnie, Leo hooked his chin over Donnie’s shoulder, his left hand gripping onto the long coat that covered his battle shell as he peered down at the expensive wristwatch. “I can check but he’s probably just in his room.”
“I could smell his excitement stink not too long ago,” Leo supplied, pushing himself onto the tips of his toes so he could get a proper glance over Donnie’s shoulder. On the small screen, Donnie flicked through a number of different cameras he had set up around the lair, half of them being ones Leo wasn’t even aware were there.
Donnie kept scrolling through the different clips until he spotted the eldest turtle standing in front of the bathroom mirror in his black and white cat costume, the door wide open allowing the camera just across the hallway to have access to his actions. While staring at himself, Raph seemed to make a mixture of faces, most involving showing off his teeth in one way or another. Drily, Donnie commented, “Looks like we found him.”
“What is the big guy doing?” Leo murmured mainly to himself as he pursed his lips, trying to hold back a smile as he watched his brother try and scare his own reflection. “I’ll go get him.”
“I’m already on it-”
The rest of Donnie’s sentence was left on Leo as he sliced his sword through the air, a ripple cutting through the air before a blue portal the size of Leo lit up into the air, making space for the slider to step through it, a small curl in his stomach coming with the motion. As Leo came out on the other side, he could see Raph through the open doorway to the bathroom, still making poses in his cat costume as he showed off his snaggle tooth.
Sneaking towards the giant snapping turtle, Leo slipped back so he leaned up against the wall, prompting his arms to cross so he looked like the pinnacle of relaxation.
Raph was none the wiser to his brother’s presence, making it so when Leo cleared his throat to get his attention, the inhuman squeal that erupted from Raph made Leo’s bone shake as they made eye contact in the mirror.
“Uh Leo,” Flinging himself around, the hood of Raph’s costume came flying from his head. Straightening his spine as much as his shell would allow him. He shuffled back and forth as he stared down at Leo with a faint blush dusting his cheeks out of embarrassment. “How long were you standing there?”
“Not long,” Leo mused in feigned disingenuous. For a few short seconds, Raph allowed himself to partake in a relieved sigh, that was, of course, until he saw Leo trying to pucker his lips to keep the uplift of his smile hidden. “But Donnie showed me the security video of you checking yourself out. Gotta say, Boss Man, didn’t expect you to be the type to ogle yourself in the mirror. Me? Yes. You? No.”
“I wasn’t checking myself out Leon, I was just making sure my costume-” Raph’s eyes had squeezed shut as he explained himself, hands making a varying degree of gestures as they were splayed out in front of him. Embodying the motion of being calm as he explained himself, that all came crashing down once the first half of Leo’s sentence caught up to him. Snapping his eyes open with a startled grunt, Raph stares down at his brother with wide eyes. “Security cameras? I thought we all agreed that Don wouldn’t put any cameras up in here to respect our privacy?”
“Oh, they’re not in here,” Leo waved the snapping turtle’s worries off with a wild flap of his hand.
“Few,” Raph’s shoulders sagged.
“He has them in the hallway so that when the door is open he can see inside,” Cutting into Raph’s few seconds of peace, Leo hobbled his way towards Raph, throwing an arm that strained to wrap around his taller shoulders. “Now, before you start lecturing me as if that’s going to have any effect on Donnie-”
“Wha-” Raph stuttered. “That’s not-”
“-We’ve got a haunted house to get to,” Leo held a finger up to his eldest brother’s lips and shushed him, so he could continue talking. Using the arm looped around him, Leo gave Raph’s scaly arm a few pats. “So let’s get going. Everyone is in their costumes so now the only one we’re waiting on is you.”
“Even Casey?” Raph questioned, doubtful. Though, as Leo began leading the way, one hand resting on one of the spikes that lined Raph’s arm while the other clutched his cane for support, he led the two of them back to the room his brothers and Casey were occupying, opting to walk instead of teleport. “Last time I saw him he was still strapping every part of his costume on while Mikey looked ready to pounce him.”
“Yeah, and for the last twenty minutes, I’ve been trying to get Mikey to leave Casey alone so we can get this show on the road,” A satisfied curl of Leo’s lips lit up his face at the groan that Raph let out at Leo’s pun, his unoccupied hand rubbing down his face in exasperation as he prepared himself for a night filled with puns about ghosts any other form of haunted being.
However, Raph didn’t think he minded too much as he saw the subtle happiness that had etched its way onto one of his youngest brothers’ faces. That had also been an odd new development since the war.
Casey randomly stating the fact one day that Leo wasn’t actually older than Donnie, the twins instantly being in disagreement as Leo tried to keep his older sibling status while Donnie wanted the new information to be fact-checked by Draxum. To say that some of the dynamics had changed only slightly would be an understatement. The news had practically no effect on Mikey but Donnie had stepped up to the big brother’s plate, taking it in stride as he helped Leo with his recovery while Raph himself only tended to coddle the slider more, though he wouldn’t say that was a big difference from before.
“Guys, look who I found,” Leo called out to the room in a sing-song tone of voice, instantly gaining the eyes of everyone else in the room. Joining the bale who wasn’t originally there when Leo left was Splinter, who sat in the favoured chair that he frequently visited whenever he was in the room.
“Perfect,” Donnie’s eyes darted up from the gauntlet on his wrist, his hand absently swiping something away as he stared at his two brothers. “Can we leave now then? I want to finish this haunted house that you keep insisting we venture to in ample time so we still have a chance at getting some of the candy that has been left out.”
“You boys be careful while you’re out,” Splinter announced from his reclined seat, hands resting folded over one another on his rounded stomach. His eyes immediately darted towards Leo, staying there for a few seconds in warning to the turtle before turning back to address the rest of his sons and Casey. “I don’t want to hear about any of you getting into trouble tonight. Halloween is about candy, so if I don’t see all of your bags filled to the brim for me to feast on I’m going to be very disappointed.”
“Are you only using us to bring you back candy?” Raph slowly asked, his two index fingers tweaking together as he asked the question. “So you can stay here and watch some of your shows?”
“Yes,” Splinter proudly said. “What else would I use you for?”
“Right…”
“Of course we will bring you back everything you want Papa,” Donnie raced forward, planting a hand on Raph’s plastron and pushing him back so he could stand with the rest of the bale. Patting Raph’s plastron a few times, Donnie turned to Leo with both of his hands pressed together. Leaning towards his younger brother, Donnie inquired “Now, can I have the coordinates of this opposed haunted house, Leon? I’ll start creating a route to get us there within the hour.”
“No need,” Leo said as he brushed his way in between Raph and Donnie, trying to make it look like he was gliding even with his cane. Flexing his arms out in front of him, a few of the joints in Leo’s shoulders popped as he made an act of readying himself. “I’ll just portal us there.”
“Do we have to?” A loud groan instantly followed Mikey’s words as he slumped forward, staring at Leo with annoyed, hooded eyes. Fixing his posture from leaning forward to overly leaning back, both of his hands landed wrapped around on his stomach. “I still get queasy whenever you make portals now.”
“It’s the best way, Miguel,” Leo sighed as if there was no other option. Resting a hand on Mikey’s shoulder, Leo pretends to mourn the idea of not being able to take a non-mystic route. “It’ll be over before you’ve even stepped inside.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Mikey objected as he watched Leo pop himself up quickly, any remaining feigned sorriness being wiped from his expressions.
“It does when you think about it,” Nodding quickly, Leo tried to show that his thought process was correct as he momentarily splayed his hand out to nothing, watching as Mikey looked towards it and began to grow in thought. “It’s also quicker. Like dear old daddy said, he wants his candy.”
“A portal is not necessary Leo, I just need the coordinates,” Donnie attempted to shoot the idea down, grabbing onto Leon’s arms and cranking them back, trying to wind him back down so he didn’t open one up. Immediately, Leo’s face dimmed as he stared up at his brother, almost shaking his hands off of him as he leaned away from the older turtle. Donnie himself almost flinched back as he watched the movement, retreating his arms as quickly as possible back to his plastron where he began to fiddle with his tech gauntlet, pulling up his GPS once more. “Still awaiting an answer.”
For a few seconds, all Leo could do was stare, just like the onlookers of his family, staring at the interaction with their own odd expressions. Tapping his finger back and forth between the space bar and the delete button, Donnie tried to pay them no mind while Leo shrunk in on himself for hardly a moment before his eyes were flickering to the ones trained on him, never staying for more than a jiffy before he was directing his attention to someone else.
“Come on Don Tron, I have a quicker way,” Shaking his limbs out, Leo began to take up more space around himself, trying to not look physically shrunken. Pulling his mystic ōdachi from his shell, its sheath nestled away behind the fabrics of his shirt, Leo tore it through the thin air in front of him, a bright blue portal rippling to life. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
Vanishing before anyone else could get a word in, Leo stepped through the portal he had created, almost diving head first. Like Mikey had mentioned, a queasy feeling passed through Leo, something he only ever felt when he was first learning how to use the mystic weapon he had found. It started with a quick curl in his stomach, but when travelling greater distances it sometimes grew to something more; something sickening.
It Never lasted long though, not when Leo was stepping out of the portal moments later. Letting his cane land first to stabilise himself, Leo followed after and took a few wobbled steps, shaking his limbs out to try and get rid of the feeling as he waited for his brothers to come through.
In front of him, as Leo stood alone, his brothers still yet to step through the portal and follow him, Leo witnessed the haunted house he had heard so many rumours about. As Leo felt the first one of his brothers step through the portal, something telling him it was Donatello, Leo took in the building’s dark exterior. With cracks running through the ash-coloured bricks, a tree curving and growing into the side of the building, and a broken fence that stood too close to the walls, it looked like every stereotypical cursed house in all the movies that Leo had watched over the years.
It was perfect.
“Here we are my hermanos,” The portal That Leo had opened up fizzled away quickly once he was sure they had all stepped through it, not wanting any of his brothers to be portal-chopped. Stepping forward as he sheathed his ōdachi away, Leo did his best to spin around smoothly with his walking stick, the action more of a hobble as he now faced his brothers with the large building behind him. Presenting both of his arms out, one raised higher than the other to make sure his cane still brushed against the ground, Leo announced, “The famous haunted house I was telling you about. Never once has it been beaten, but tonight the Mad Dogs will be the first.”
“Uhhh,” Raph was the first to speak after he and the brother stared past Leo and at the building he was so proud to show off to him, his hands shuffling together as his eyes flicked from the building to nervously stare at his brother. His nervousness wasn’t due to the building planted behind Leo. To say it wasn’t what they expected would be an understatement. Raph was expecting a more childlike house with kids lined up out front waiting to go inside and run around with their friends. Instead, he was met with a barren clump of bricks and wood that looked like it was going to crumble at any given moment. “Leo?”
“Yes, Raph?” Leo was still grinning, either not minding or simply not comprehending the grimaces and disgust that crawled its way onto each of his brothers and Casey’s faces.
The confidence in Leo’s voice threw Raph off as his younger brother stared up at him with a grin, waiting expectantly for his answer. Shrugging his shoulders up and lowering his head down, Raph waddled away from their small group and closer to Leo, trying to let him down softly as he asked, “Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Positivo,” Leo exclaimed in Spanish, surprising Raph when he didn’t say more in the language since he had heard the slider practising on Duolingo for a few hours a day when he was on bed rest. “I came the other day while they were setting up to check.”
“It’s just…” Raph trailed off, not knowing how to break the news to him as he looked back over at the building and tried to smile, his expression physically paining him.
“It looks abandoned,” Mikey plainly said, stepping in for Raph when he faltered. In the time that Raph had tried to state his mind to Leo, Mikey had scrambled up his shell, sitting on his shoulders and was staring at the supposed haunted house in clear distaste. Shifting that look to Leo, Mikey watched as his brother snapped his head back to the building, double-checking it before staring at Mikey with a scrunched face of confusion. “That place hasn’t seen a living soul in years.”
“Yeah because all the dead ones are haunting it for tonight,” Sighing out, Leo leaned forward on his cane-turned-microphone, propping his chin on his hands which were folded over the disconnected microphone’s head. “Maybe they’ve been harvesting some new Yōkai spirits in the back, especially for us.”
“That doesn’t sound too good Leo,” Casey warned, a hand reaching out to tug the slider back and away from the house, taking it a step further to position his body in between the two of them, Leo’s words rattling in his skull as the human couldn’t find the quip within his sentence.
“It’s nothing to worry about Case,” Shifting the arm that Casey had latched onto, Leo took Casey’s hand into his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze as the human tore his gaze away from the barren house. Locking eyes, Leo gave Casey a large smile, showing him the ease that he now felt and would continue to feel long after he entered the haunted house where Leo had found a lousy flyer too. “I’ve been here before and made sure of it.”
“Can we circle back to the point where Leo came here and none of us noticed?” Donnie’s fingers whirled around themselves, trying to backtrack. As if subconsciously, Leo now shifted Casey to stand in between him and Donnie instead of the house, using the earlier protectiveness that Casey had shown to shield himself from his twin. “Leo, you know you can’t leave the lair without one of us coming with you. Your knee, let alone the rest of you isn’t healed enough for you to go out by yourself. What if something happened while you were gone?”
“Nothing’s going to happen, Dee,” Leo complained, voice almost a whine as he rolled his eyes and looked off to the side, tired not of the turtle but the repetitive treatment he was being shown since the invasion. Trying to put an end to the conversation, Leo drops Casey’s hand as he starts to walk towards the house, saying as he goes, “It’s me we’re talking about.”
“That’s exactly why I’m bringing this up,” Donnie followed after him, his voice slowly beginning to drop to a quieter tone as he tried to get closer to his younger twin. Pushing himself in front of Leo, he stops him from walking any further, the rest of their family staying a few paces behind where they first came out to let the two sort this out. “You should know yourself better than others; you get into trouble wherever you go.”
“Can we not do this now Don?” Exasperated, Leo asked, trying to push his way past Donnie. But due to his now faulty knee and the cane he was forced to carry wherever he went because of ‘doctor’ Donnie’s orders, Donnie was able to keep in front of him.
A loud sigh tore its way from Donnie as he stared over at his brother. He tried to take a calming breath so he could talk to Leo with a straight mind, though that didn’t help to keep the annoyance mixed with a watery emotion from his voice as he asked, “If we’re not going to do this now then when?”
“I don’t know, okay?” Where Donnie tried to be quiet, Leo’s voice rose in volume, bringing the attention of his brothers—which he already had—towards them. The longer the two of them spoke, only a few steps away from their family, the more Leo’s top lips began to lift in a snarl, a silent warning to Donnie that the softshell chose to ignore. “Can’t we just go in the probably crappy haunted house and then go trick or treating after? You don’t need to make such a big deal out of this”
“Leo, I- we almost lost you because you decided you could handle the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Despite Leo’s clear insistence not to be touched, Donnie gathered both of Leo’s hands into his own, more to comfort himself then the slider in front of him as he held on for dear life. The brows that Donnie always insisted on drawing onto his face were curved inwards, his back slightly bent as he hunched forward to reach the same height as Leo, trying to connect with him. “I’m sorry but I’m not going to lose you again because you went off on your own without any backup.”
“No Donnie, I’m sorry,” Leo shook his head, a few short bursts of violent movement as he ripped his arms back towards himself, cutting Donnie away from him. Despite the quiver in the corner of his lips that remained down-turned, or his eyes that were almost shaking as they stared at Donnie with a glazed-over expression, Leo stood strong with his body shielded away from Donnie, slightly turned with a large amount of pressure resting on his cane. “You don’t just get to act like my older brother now that Draxum has suddenly appointed you that title.”
“Leo,” The name came out as a whisper, like a last call of hope as Donnie stared at his little brother.
Though he went ignored.
“Who’s ready to get started?” Leo yelled in a loud flourish, wobbling back as he paced backwards towards the poorly put-together house while turning to his two other brothers and Casey, beckoning them over to the house as he blindly made his way towards it.
It took a moment for his brothers to start moving, Casey being the first to step forward like he normally was when it was something involving Leo. Then slowly after the others began making their way over, all three of them casting Donnie a reassuring glance as they pulled him along with them.
“Are you sure you’ve got the right place, Leo?” Mikey asked again, watching as Leo stepped up to the front door and knocked on the wood with three loud bangs. When no one came to answer the door, Leo went to knock again. “There isn’t another Yōkai in sight.”
“There’s no sign-in or anything,” Leo commented just as his fist was about to come down on the door. But instead of meeting the wood, the door flew open, smacking against the wall as it displayed the dimly lit house that seemed to stretch on for miles even if from the outside the house wasn’t that big.
For a few seconds, everyone stood frozen as they stared at the opened door, Leo’s hand still hovering in the air from where it had gone to pound the wood. From where they stood, Leo could see hundreds of cobwebs dusting the ceilings and hanging lights. The floorboards were chipped, some planks missing and the dirt underneath peeking through because of it.
Peeking his head through the doorway much to the dismay of Raph as he let out a bunch of hissing grunts with his hands flying out to try and stop him just to be ignored, Leo checked both sides of the doorway for any Yōkai who could have waited to open the door for them. When he was instead met with walkways that led to different rooms, each seeming to be clouded with a ghostish mist.
“Huh,” Leo muttered when he didn’t see anyone. Taking a few further steps into the house, Leo stood just within the doorway, an instant wariness rising within him that he chose to ignore as he stepped further into the entryway, muttering once again, “Strange.”
Leo could hear the thuds from Casey’s boots as he walked in after him, the human looking around as well before taking a few steps to the side, taking a closer look at something that had been smudged onto the wall.
“Uh, before we all go in there,” Raph’s voice put a halt to any more of Leo’s steps, the turtle looking over his shoulder to see the tall snapping turtle. Half of Casey’s body turned towards Raph, though his eyes never left the weird drawing that had been written into the wallpaper. Raph stood just in front of the open door, his feet bordering the door frame as his head was ducked down for when he did eventually step through. “How was it that you heard about this place Leo?”
“Oh, I found a flyer at Run of the Mill when I went to pick up some pizza last week,” Leo supplied, turning and trotting further into the house once he answered Raph’s question, expecting something a bit more wary from the big guy. Cupping both of his hands around his mouth and using the wall to balance himself, Leo called out into the house, “Hello? Anyone in here?”
“Really?” Raph asked in a hushed tone, stuttering out of the way as Mikey pushed past him, stepping into the house and following after Leo as he took in the house with wide eyes and rapid spins to make sure he didn’t miss anything. “They promote things like this?”
“I don’t think they normally do,” Leo shook his head, not looking back at Raph as he answered. Donnie was the next one in the house, ignoring Raph as he waited just beyond the wall’s borders. “When I asked Señor Hueso about it, he didn’t seem too pleased with the piece of paper.”
“Why would he keep the flyer up then?” Mikey asked as he began dusting off a picture planted on the wall and trying to see the faces in the frame. As more and more dust began to bunch up on his lion costume’s arm, two red eyes peered down at him, almost glowing at they bore into the box turtle. Leaning back, the eyes began to follow Mikey as he tried to move away, only flicking back to their original position when Mikey let out a soft noise in confusion, “Er.”
“I’m not sure, I didn’t really care to ask back then,” Leo shrugged as he came over to where Mikey had previously been standing and took a look at the framed picture. Pointing a finger up at the photo, Leo said, “Ha, cool decoration. Now, what way do you guys want to go? This place is meant to be unbeatable so I’m sure anyway is good.”
“Raph thinks we should pick quickly so we can go trick or treating next,” Raph’s voice cut through the house as he brought all the attention back to him where he barely stood within the house. With all eyes on him, Raph grew sheepish as he chuckled softly. “What? Pops still wants his candy.”
Stepping further into the house, the snapping turtle was startled along with a few of the other members of the bale as the door leading to the outside world was slammed shut by an invisible force. Immediately Raph came hurtling further into the house, seeking out Mikey and using him as a personal support teddy bear as he pulled him closer with thick arms, huddling over him like a second shell as he willingly followed the youngest around like that.
“They should have a list of instructions by the wall,” Donnie stated with an annoyed sigh, speaking up for the first time since he entered the house. As a few blank faces turned around to stare at him, his eyes darted between them all with a glare. “What? If they aren’t willing to greet us by the door and instead just let it fly open before running off, they should at least tell us how we’re supposed to get through this haunted house?”
“I don’t think there are many rules to a haunted house Don,” Mikey snorted, turning to the taller turtle with his hands on his hips. Raph was quick to react behind him, almost clinging to Mikey’s arm as he turned with him, not letting the box turtle get too far away from him.
“Maybe we can make our own,” Raph suggested, grinning at the idea while the rest of his brothers couldn’t do anything else except for groan. “No running, no screaming, no biting, no hitting, so basically no fighting. Do you think I missed anything?”
“If we can’t do any of those things what’s the point of being here?” Casey asked as he rejoined the bale, confusion clear on his face as he went over Raph’s list of rules. From the timeline he came from, practically all of those rules were expected of. It was the only way people could be alerted or to make sure no one overstepped in the small base they had.
“Great question Casey,” Raph fired a finger gun at the human, making Casey quickly lift his arms up in a shield to try and block the non-existent oncoming attack. When he wasn’t hit by anything, Casey peeked around to see Raph staring at him guilty. “There isn’t one. So why don’t we all just get out of here and go and see Señor Hueso while we eat some pizza?”
“But we do that all the time, Raph,” Leo whined, hurrying over to Raph as he widened his eyes, trying to make them as big and innocent-looking as quickly as possible. Staring up at his eldest brother with puppy dog eyes, Leo begged, “Halloween only happens once a year. Can we please stay, just for a bit?”
“Hmmm,” Raph tried to resist, hoping to look anywhere but Leo but whenever his eyes flicked away the slider would hop his way over so he presented himself in front of Raph’s vision, not allowing him to escape. Deciding to look Leo head-on in hopes of a better chance at resisting, Raph was met with the full force of Leo’s saddened eyes as he waited for Raph’s answer. Slowly and against his better judgement, Raph agreed, “Okay.”
"Whoo,” Leo instantly cheered, trying to jump up but not being let off more than an inch from the ground as Raph kept him from doing so, thinking of Leo’s knee.
“But we all need to stick together,” Raph added to his list of rules, making sure Leo stared at Raph and didn’t try to escape as Raph had previously been doing as he laid out his ground rules. “I don’t want anyone running off so we can get out of here as quickly as possible.”
“You got it Raphie,” Leo continued to beam, reaching a hand up to gently pat Raph’s spiky arm before he was turning, eyes darting around the lobby. Once they landed on Casey, Leo’s smile only grew more as he began making his way over to the human. Reaching out his free hand to grab onto him, Leo said, “Come on Casey, let’s go.”
“What about what Raph just said?” Casey hesitated, not allowing Leo to pull him off too far.
“They’re coming with us, don’t worry,” Leo quickly stated, almost vibrating in his spot as he waited for Casey to hurry up and come along with him. When a small piece of resistance still lingered in Casey’s eyes, Leo asked, “You trust me, don’t you Case?”
“I do,” Casey said, eyes hardening as honesty seeped into his words. Leo’s smile broadened at the declaration. With a tug, Casey stepped forward, once again following after Leo blindly. As they passed, Casey’s hand shot out for Donnie’s just like Leo had done to him. As he latched on, Casey mused, “Come on Donnie. You heard Leo.”
“What?” Both twins said at the same time, Donnie pulling Casey to a stop while Leo whirled around to see what Casey had been doing, staring with a horrified expression at his brother.
“Let’s go,” Casey prompted, not caring for the light change in Leo’s grip as more pressure was applied, though Casey could tell it wasn’t aimed at him or had any intent to actually hurt.
Donnie’s eyes dashed over to Leo’s where the turtles were flicking back and forth between Donnie and Casey, trying to gauge the interaction going on. As Leo noticed Donnie looking at him, he turned his attention elsewhere, refusing to meet Donnie’s stare again as he waited for solely Casey to start moving again. Though Casey was waiting for him. With obvious hesitancy, Donnie agreed, “Okay…”
“Perfect,” Casey grinned, staring at Donnie for a few seconds before whirling towards Leo. “Let’s go then, Leo.”
Leo stood rooted to his spot for a few seconds, staring at Casey as the decision was made for him. With a dry throat, he said, “Alright.”
“What do you think has been going on between Donnie and Leo?” Raph whispered from Mikey’s side, the two of them following after the trio a few metres ahead of them. “It’s been a while since Leo has picked a fight with anyone. The last time I remember anything was before the… you know what.”
“I’m not sure,” Mikey mumbled, swinging his arms back as he thought. When one of his arms couldn’t move too much because it was still engulfed by Raph, Mikey stopped for a few seconds and turned, making his way around the turtle, having to circle him a few times as Raph chased after him, Mikey made his way up Raph’s shell until he sat comfortably on his back. “But it’s Donnie and Leo, they always seem to figure things out.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Raph still worried, his eyes never leaving his brothers in front of him as they navigated their way through the house, Leo pointing out everything to Casey to make sure he didn’t miss any of the generic Halloween things. “I just can’t remember the last time the two of them fought like this. Leo’s not even looking Donnie in the eye.”
“That’s just Leo being dramatic,” Mikey laughed, trying to keep it on the lower side so he didn’t draw the attention of the turtle in question towards him. All of them had been on the receiving ends of one of Leo’s tantrums, even April, Splinter and Draxum. It was only a matter of time until he and Casey had a fight of their own. “Remember that time I accidentally spilt a smoothie over his Jupiter Jim comic? He didn’t talk to me for a week straight unless he had you, Donnie or April delivering a message.”
“What did you do to get him to talk to you again?” Raph curiously asked, a plan already beginning to formulate in his head. “Maybe we can trick those two into recreating it.”
“It wasn’t anything that I did,” Raph could feel Mikey shake his head before the youngest chose to rest his chin on Raph’s shoulder. “I think Leo and I got separated from everyone else and there just wasn’t anywhere else for either of us to hide so we were kinda forced to make up on the spot.”
Just as Raph was going to speak up and say more on the matter, an almost golden colour shone out from the floor, glowing against his feet as it began to expand and circle around Raph and Mikey. Shifting from where he lay, Mikey re-positioned himself so he sat on one of Raph’s spiky shoulders, ready to jump down at any given moment.
Mikey never got the chance to move again though as once the circle had completed itself, rays of yellow light shot up, connecting to the roof in sharp beams that looked like they could have sliced through Raph’s flesh if he had tried to reach out when the initially made an appearance.
“What’s happening?” Raph’s question rang out as he stared at the blinding yellow light surrounding them, the beams shooting up to the roof so there was no way out unless they wanted to go through. From where Mikey sat on his shoulders, Raph could feel the turtle try to reach out and touch the glowing light but with a quick shift from Raph he was unable to as he was jerked back. “Guys?”
No one turned around at Raph’s call, Donnie, Leo and Casey still walking ahead of them with Casey standing in between the twins, appointed there by Leo as a barrier.
“Casey,” Mikey tried to get their attention, almost falling from Raph’s shoulder as he tried to get closer without touching the golden light that obstructed their vision. When he heard no returning call from Casey, Mikey tried for his brothers, “Donnie, Leo! Anyone!”
“They can’t hear us,” Raph concluded after a few moments of silence, the two of them barricaded off from the rest of the house.
“Raph,” Mikey stopped trying to get anyone’s attention, instead turning to face Raph. Lifting his head up so he could meet his youngest brother’s stare, Raph could feel his hope begin to crumble as Mikey asked, “What’s happening?”
Thinning his lips together, Raph didn’t want to answer. Didn’t want to leave Mikey scared that his big brother couldn’t protect him, but there was nothing else for Raph to say except for the truth. “I don’t know Mikey.”
As soon as the words left Raph’s lips the glowing light caved in on them, burning against their skin as it consumed them whole.
Completely unaware of what had just happened to his brothers, Leo whirled around with a call on the tip of his tongue. Any words died down though as he was met with a completely empty space, only the outline of a singed circle on the floor.
“Hey,” Leo snatched the attention of his remaining brother and friend away from whatever it was they were previously doing to point towards the empty space. Before turning, Leo hadn’t even heard a sound regarding his two brothers, making him think they had even fallen too far behind or were just being extremely quiet. Leo hadn’t thought they would have run off though. “Where’s Raph and Mikey gone?”
“Maybe they got lost?” Casey suggested, uncertain as he looked at the open space.
“Oh, come on,” Leo whirled towards Casey, the strands of his blonde wig flying around. Placing one hand on his hip and cocking it to the side, the other hand holding his cane-turned-microphone stand in front of him, Leo embodied what Casey would have guessed a rock star would have looked like. “It was the big guy who put the rules together and now he can’t even follow them? It’s outrageous.”
“It’s probably more than that, Leo,” Casey tried to subdue Leo’s dramatics by reminding him of some of Raph’s traits. “Raph isn’t the type of guy to just run off like that. He would have told us if he and Mikey were going to go a different way from the rest of us.”
“I’ll try and message them to see if they need help finding us,” Donnie offered, already with his wrist outstretched in front of him and his coat sleeve rolled up so he could see his purple gauntlet.
“Let’s keep moving at least,” Leo pleaded, ignoring Donnie’s announcement in favour of speaking to Casey, not dropping the stubborn act just because two of his brothers had gone missing. “If we finish the haunted house before we find them we can always come back for them.”
“I’m not too sure about that Leo,” Casey put off Leo’s request for a few seconds. If they were going to try and meet up with Raph and Mikey again it would be best that they stayed in the same spot so it would be easier for them to be found. Turning to Donnie, Casey asked, “Have you heard anything back yet Donnie?”
“Not yet,” Donnie’s head shook, a furrow in his drawn-on brows. “My messages aren’t going through. I’ll try calling them.”
“But the longer we wait for them the longer we’ll be stuck in here,” Leo didn’t pay any mind to Donnie’s struggles as he continued trying to persuade Casey. “I thought you wanted to get the full Halloween experience Case? We can’t do that if we’re in here all night.”
“There’s always next year,” Casey shrugged, already accepting the fact that this year’s Halloween wouldn’t go as planned.
“Nonsense,” Leo denied, making his way over to Casey in his usual slow way due to his cane. Wrapping an arm around Casey’s shoulders, Leo stated, “I don’t want to hear another objection out of you. Raph and Mikey can take care of themselves. I’m sure if we really need them we’ll be able to smell Raph. So let’s go.”
“We can go, Casey,” Donnie agreed, pushing Casey that tiny bit further to agree to Leo’s shenanigans as he was the only other voice of reason right now. “Leo’s right, Raph and Mikey have each other so they’ll be fine. We’ve dealt with worse things than just a supposed haunted house.”
“See,” That was as far as Leo was willing to acknowledge Donnie as he gestured blindly with a hand towards him, not even turning to look at him as he kept his eyes on Casey. “Donnie agrees so let’s get moving and beat this dirty old house.”
“Only ‘cause Donnie said yes are we moving forward,” Casey sighed, trying to match the excited but slightly peeved smile that Leo gave him. The feud between the two of them was getting annoying but Casey refused to step in. “Since you’ve said you’ve been here before, lead the way.”
“I only came to the outside when they were setting the place up, I haven’t been inside other than today,” Leo reminded, showing his little knowledge of the house they were in but the extensive amount of haunted houses by themselves. “But I will gladly lead the way so you don’t need to worry your little head over it.”
“So you don’t know where you’re going?” Donnie asked.
The silence that stretched out after that was long and heavy, Leo acting as if Donnie hadn’t spoken at all. Not attempting to speak again, Donnie was willing to go ignored for the remainder of their time in the house.
“Leo,” Casey called, getting a soft hum from the slider as he looked over his shoulder to show that he had heard Casey. “Donnie asked you a question.”
“Well, I’m going through the house,” Leo said after a few moments of silence, contemplating that if he answered would he be directly talking to Donnie since Casey was bringing his attention back around to the softshell’s question? But when it became clear that Casey wouldn’t accept an answer, Leo responded, “How much harder can it really be to lead someone through a haunted house?”
Casey and Donnie weren’t able to try and mutter an answer as a loud bang echoed from in front of Leo, sending small bursts of dust flying up from the ground and other decorations they coated. The noise had effectively put a still to Leo’s movements as he searched for what could have caused the noise.
“What was that?” Donnie murmured lowly, taking a few steps ahead of Leo to try and get a better look at what had caused the noise since he would have a better chance of staying upright against whatever it was.
“Maybe the scare actors are finally doing their job,” Leo mused, grinning as he reached out to Casey and pulled him along, trying to catch up with Donnie. Leo had been beginning to wonder when they would run into their first scare, and in true haunted house fashion, he wasn’t impressed. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to do that.”
From directly behind Casey, a quick patter of steps dashed by, a soft gust of wind following as it had Casey dislodging himself from Leo’s grip to whirl around, trying to catch what had made the noise. Coming up blank, Casey’s eyes flicked back and forth between where he had heard the steps start and end.
A loud scoff rang out from Leo as he also turned to try and catch the culprit behind the noise. Leaning heavily into his prop cane, Leo held clear disbelief in his eyes, an almost amusement settling there. With a flourishing eye roll to draw the attention of whoever was watching, Leo asked, “Are they even trying?”
On cue, one of the small display tables that held a dying plant on it was sent flying, almost banging into Leo’s chest if it hadn’t been for Donnie pulling him back. Frozen in shock, Leo stared at where the crashed vase lay on the floor and a knocked-over table stood where Leo had previously been.
“Leo…?” Casey called, trying to draw the sliders shot wide eyes away from the scene.
“There are probably just have a few clear wires around here,” Leo quickly snapped out of it, shaking his arms to try and release any of the tension and bag energy that had gathered there. Seeing the worried expressions on both Casey and Donnie’s faces, Leo tried to reassure them, “Relax, this place isn’t actually haunted.”
For a few seconds, Leo’s words did the trick. That was until something brushed against Donnie’s battle shell.
“Wah,” The softshell screeched, jumping forward and hurting around to try and spot who had touched him. But like everything else, they were met with no explanation as only thin air and an empty corridor were what Donnie could see.
“What’s wrong Donnie?” Casey asked, coming over to Donnie to try and figure out what had caused the shout from him.
“Something touched me,” Donnie almost screeched, losing any of the cool he had been able to retain. Giving a full-body shudder, Donnie’s battle shell rattled as if there was empty space in there. No matter what he tried to distract himself with, Donnie could still feel something. “Ew, I can still feel its hands.”
A rattling, toe-curling laugh flooded the room, so high-pitched it sounded inhuman.
Before anyone else could react, Donnie was wildly pulling out his phone from his coat pocket, no longer trusting anything else on him as he searched through it for a specific contact. Leo tried circling himself to find the source, but like many times before, he was left with nothing.
“April, please pick up,” Donnie practically cried as his phone vibrated in his hand, an old photo of April being displayed on the screen as the softshell waited for her to pick up. Almost reaching his breaking point, Donnie clung to his phone like it was his lifeline, not seeking any comfort from Casey or receiving any from Leo as the slider ignored Donnie’s state in favour of trying to act like he wasn’t there. “Ohmigod, I can’t be in this place for much longer.”
“Dee?” April’s crackling voice sounded out of the speaker, breaking Donnie out of his depressed and fear-frozen state to instead once again focus on the device in his hands. It was almost like a beacon of hope had been sent Donnie’s way as he heard the human speak, reminding Donnie that he’d be able to get out sooner or later. “What’s up? Why are you calling me I thought you were going to that haunted house Leon wanted to do?”
“We were- or are but now Raph and Mikey have disappeared and aren’t answering their phones and I swear this place is playing tricks on me,” Paranoia seeped its way into Donnie’s words as he spoke down the microphone of the phone, his eyes frantically darting around the haunted house as if he always needed to be alert because he wasn’t alone. “And Leon won’t talk to me so I’m basically only with Casey as Leon won’t even communicate with me through him.”
“What do you mean the house is playing tricks on you?” April prompted, doing her best to get an understanding of Donnie’s situation during the few seconds she had stolen away from work to answer his call.
“One second I’ll see something and the next it’ll be gone,” As Donnie spoke, he could have sworn he saw something dash across the hallway from the corner of his eye, making him take a few steps towards Leo to protect his flank. But as if the slider had detected him, Leo took about double the steps Donnie had taken so he ended up on the other side of the room they had taken shelter in. “And all of my tech is acting up even though I’ve checked my programming and there is nothing wrong with it.”
“It’s probably just because you’re in the Hidden City,” April reassured. It wouldn’t have been the first time Donnie’s tech had been faulty, though April knew how many hours he put into creating his inventions. You couldn’t outright tell the softshell that he had made something incorrectly, not unless you wanted him to spiral and tear everything he’s ever created up to try and fix it even if it didn’t need fixing. “Now, put me on the phone with Leo. I’ll have a word with him.”
“April wants to speak with you, Leon,” Donnie called to his brother, finally turning to face him. As he walked over, he could see that Leo was fighting the urge to run away again, sticking to his spot thought he had a sour expression in place and trained on Donnie as he took the phone from him. “Don’t give me that look. Just because you’ve chosen today to be a Dumb Dumb, doesn’t mean you can take it out on me.”
“Leon, you there?” April asked as Leo escaped Donnie’s hovering, turning his shell on him to get some sort of privacy.
“Yeah, I’m here April,” Leo spoke into the phone, a small smile taking over his face as he heard the voice of the girl who deemed herself his older sister. “What did you need?”
“Stop giving Dee a hard time,” That smile quickly vanished from Leo’s face as he heard April’s words. Preparing himself for a lecture, Leo let out a loud sigh, hoping that it would be picked up over the phone. “That can wait until you are safely out of the house and he isn’t freaking out because his tech is failing him. Just answer him when he’s talking to you and stick by Casey’s side. Who knows that that boy is thinking being trapped in there with you two?”
“Casey’s doing fine,” Leo dragged out the last word for as long as possible, his eyes flicking over to where the human was the embodiment of calm, not put off in the slightest. The same couldn’t be said for Leo himself. “It’s me who’s trapped in here.”
“Then you can just portal your way out of there,” April suggested as if the idea hadn’t crossed Leo’s mind hundreds of times.
“But we need to beat the house,” Beginning to sound like a broken record, Leo was starting to wonder if they would ever actually get to beating the house with how many problems seemed to arise along the way. “That’s the whole point.”
“Sometimes you’re impossible,” April groaned. Leo could tell she was shaking her head from the other end of the phone.
“I know,” Letting out a dreamy sigh, Leo brought a hand up to place it over his heart even though he knew April couldn’t see the action. “I pride myself because of it.”
“Whatever,” April had to fight down a small laugh as she rolled her eyes at Leo’s antics. “Give me back to Dee.”
“Hm?” A soft hum filtered out of Leo at April’s demand. He wasn’t willing just yet to let Donnie back in. It may have been petty on his part but Leo was ready to drag this on for as long as possible until either Donnie snapped or an intervention was put in place. Leo just knew he wouldn’t be the one to give in. “Who’s that?”
“You know who,” April groaned, any amusement that Leo had put in her quickly being evoked by his previous actions. Leo could almost feel himself feeling bad for stressing April out while she was at work. Keyword being almost. “Don’t make me reach through this phone and strangle you, Leo.”
“Sheesh,” Leo cried as he spun around, preparing to walk over to Donnie and hand over the phone to him when he saw the softshell rooted to the same spot and staring at Leo like he was a kicked puppy. Due to how close Donnie was to him, Leo tossed the phone over to him, not caring if he caught it or not after saying to April, “Remind me to never call you when you’re working.”
Even after Donnie caught the phone with fumbled limbs, Donnie stared after Leo as he easily trailed past him. “April?”
“I’m sorry to say it, Don,” April’s voice was almost far away as she spoke, preparing herself to warn Donnie for the night ahead. She had done the best she could from her place at work, not having the opportunity to come and save them herself. “But you’re in for a long night.”
“Sigh,” Donnie sagged forward impossibly more, eyes tracking Leo despite himself. “I know.”
While Donnie talked frantically into his phone, Casey continued to walk around the space they had stopped in, still taking in all the odd things that lined the house and trying to find a practical reason as to why what has happened to them happened. Half of the things inside the building Casey had never seen or even heard about in the future.
When he was still young and the apocalypse was still on the newer end, his Sensei’s had tried to recreate Halloween for him, though they could never do too much as they needed the resources for other things such as keeping the rapidly decreasing troops alive or repairing their base. So in companies, Casey had heard many stories over the years, one of those being this house, though he hadn’t heard about it from any of the turtles, them never getting the chance to explore it since the Kraang attacked way before Halloween.
Instead, Casey had heard about the haunted house from a Yōkai who practised witchcraft. Funnily enough, she and the Donatello from the future never got along. So now that Casey was in the house, he wanted to take it all in and find every detail that the Yōkai had mentioned.
Running his hand along the wall, Casey could feel the unevenness under his fingertips, not all of the wooden slabs completely in place as some stuck out too far or others were tucked away. Pressing his fingers a little deeper, Casey heard something click into place.
“Woah,” The human whispered as he watched a glowing purple outline start to trace its way along the wall, tearing through the wallpaper as if it burned it away. Taking a small step closer once the outline was completed and made the shape of a door, Casey once again pressed his fingers towards it. As he came in contact, the wallpaper completely disintegrated, showing the wood behind it as it began to shift. One by one, the pieces folded into each other before slamming back, creating an opening for Casey to step through. “I wonder where this goes.”
Walking a few shuffled steps forward, Casey stepped through the border. Behind him, the wall started to reappear again, sealing him in and the Disaster Twins out, completely cutting him off from everyone else in the house as he navigated his way through the walls.
Casey wasn’t too worried about what he had left behind. The two turtles had to work out whatever this fight was about sooner or later and Casey was guessing that when they did they would need or at least want some form of privacy from any prying eyes. Besides, the two of them were more or less fine in the future, or as fine as two mutated turtle twins could be in an apocalypse future, he was sure that whatever it was that was bugging Leo, the two of them would be able to figure out a solution.
Whirling around the same spot a few times, Leo’s head swung back and forth, searching for the human he had been neglecting for the past few minutes in favour of ignoring Donnie and talking to April. It had been a while since the slider had seen Casey, even longer since he had heard him mutter a word. It had started to cause a small panic in Leo.
Even if Casey had survived years at war in a future that Leo couldn’t even begin to imagine, a spike of anxiety still shot through Leo as Casey didn’t immediately reappear into his vision after a few seconds of looking for him.
“Casey?” Leo called into the house, his eyes wide as he dragged his faulty knee along with him in his search. Ignoring the pain that trickled through him with every misstep, Leo continued searching for Casey. Bringing a hand up to cup it around his mouth, Leo tried once again to grab his attention as he yelled, “Where did you go, Case?”
Unfortunately for Leo, he got the attention of someone else as a certain softshell came rushing over to him. Donnie was quick to set a steadying hand on Leo’s shell once he saw the condition that he was in, only asking the other he going in contact with his brother, “What’s wrong with Casey?”
“Not that it concerns you,” Leo snapped quickly, his head viciously swinging towards Donnie as his free hand scrambled to push Donnie away from himself, only resulting in almost pushing himself over as Leo stumbled away, Donnie hardly moving an inch. A ragged breath escaped Leo as he relied on his cane to catch himself, righting himself up slowly as he stared at Donnie like he was the one to do this to him. “But I’ve lost him.”
Both of Donnie’s brows pinched together, not only at the treatment he was receiving or the way Leo was reacting to everything that simply involved him but also at the words that Leo had muttered. Donnie hadn’t even noticed Casey’s disappearance and probably wouldn’t have for another few minutes if Leo hadn’t said anything. “What do you mean you lost him?”
“I mean he’s not here,” Leo’s arm shot out to gesture to the surrounding area, his eyes rolling as if it wasn’t obvious. Walking forward again, Leo continues to look for Casey, not allowing for Donnie to slow him down. “I lost sight of him when I was talking to April and now he won’t answer.”
“How could you lose a person?” Donnie began looking for the human as well, trying to tap into the tracker he had placed on Casey through his gauntlet only to be met with a large error screen, locking him away from most of the apps on the wristband.
“Me?” Leo yelled aghast, stopping in his actions where he was going to try and cup his mouth and call out to Casey again. Now, he could only stare at Donnie in disbelief at the accusation. “If you hadn’t made me talk to April he’d still be at my side.”
“Oh, so this is my fault?” For the majority of the night, Donnie had been trying to not let any anger seep into his words, but the softshell wasn’t sure how much longer he could allow Leo to turn everything around on him and just let the bubbling annoyance within him sit.
“Well it’s not mine, Casey loves me,” Leo was more than happy to throw the favouritism card around since he and all of his brothers knew who Casey favoured out of the lot of them. Even if it had taken a bit of warming up to during the war on both of their parts, it was plain to see that Casey had a certain soft spot for Leo. “He trails after me like a toddler every time I leave the room.”
“It’s never your fault, is it?” Donnie finally blew up, vile behind his words as he abandoned his search for Casey and instead focused on Leo. Walking closer to the turtle, Donnie didn’t allow Leo to try and run away from him again as he reached forward and shoved one of his hands into Leo’s shoulders, pushing him back without much resistance from the slider due to his knee until his shell hit the wall. “You’re unable to take the blame for your own actions. The great Leonardo can do no wrong.”
“You’re right,” Leo grinned, though there was nothing kind behind his smile as he leaned forward and into Donnie’s space. There was almost a wild dilate in Leo’s eyes as his pupils thinned the longer he stared at Donnie. “I can’t. ‘Specially not when it’s not my fault that the kids missing.”
“Grow up, Leo,” Shaking his head, Donnie backed away from Leo, no longer trapping him. “You’re acting like a child.”
“Oh, I’m sorry big brother,” The name was a taunt, intended to make Donnie uncomfortable. And by the stumbled back steps as Leo continued to push his way towards Donnie. “Am I not the perfect little brother like Mikey? How can I be better? Please tell me so I can fix myself.”
“Pizza Supreme,” Donnie threw his head back, his two hands gripping onto either side of his face as he choked out a laugh. Leo was driving him to the edge and he was reaching the breaking point of just turning around and leaving this haunted house without the rest of them. “What does Mikey have anything to do with this?”
“Nothing-”
Leo had begun saying, his teeth gritted together. But before he could get a full sentence out there was a loud gasp followed by the clattering of items. Donnie’s head instantly turned towards the noise, seeing the flutter of messed up props before they were disappearing before his eye. The echo of footsteps racing around a corner before abruptly stopping kept him interested and his focus kept away from Leo for a few seconds before he felt the mutant shift, turning to see what had caught Donnie’s attention in those moments.
“Did you hear that?” Donnie asked as Leo faced the scene too late, nothing being left in its wake except for a hallway that they had previously been walking towards. Donnie could tell that Leo had lost any patience he had with Donnie, probably thinking that this was all some quickly thought-through ploy from the genius.
“Hear what?” Leo snapped out, keeping his heated gaze on the same spot as Donnie, seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the house.
“There’s someone here,” Donnie lowly said, hoping that whoever it was lurking hadn’t caught onto his awareness. If they had they could be long gone by now, truly leaving Donnie to fend for himself with an even more enraged Leo.
One of Leo’s brow muscles ticked up as he finally tore his gaze away from the empty hallway, nothing presenting itself in the few seconds Leo had given it to step forward. “Well, I didn’t see anyone.”
“Let me check my scanners,” Donnie dismissed Leo’s observations, already tapping rapidly at his gauntlet. He would have to bypass the errors that had been popping up, instead switching some of the less useful programs off so he could get a better signal for what he needed. “They’ll be able to pick something up.”
“While you do that, I’m going to look for Casey,” Leo didn’t wait for an answer from Donnie, leaving him to freak out over something that wasn’t even there. Putting good use to his cane, Leo started forward, his voice turning sickeningly sweet as he said, “Have fun with your little toys.”
Leo felt a hand snake around his waist from behind as he tried to walk past, making a trill as he was yanked back. Came skittering out of his hand, Leo watched as it was quickly swallowed up by the house, gone without a trace as his shell hit someone’s chest. Not able to get his legs properly underneath himself, jagged pants escape Leo as he tries to turn in the arm that held him tightly down, only for his eyes to land on Donnie, the older turtle standing with his staff out as he surveyed the room, keeping Leo close to him as he scanned for any threats.
“What are you doing?” Leo asked in an only slightly panicked voice, trying to wiggle his way out of Donnie’s arms so he could keep himself upright. It was to no use though as Donnie kept Leo securely at his side, pushing him back and behind himself so the only thing behind Leo was the wall, Donnie taking up his front. “There’s nothing there.”
“My scanners say otherwise,” Donnie muttered, the goggles he had hidden tucked away in one of his pockets now planted on his head as he looked forward, slowly tracing a pinpointed figure. Though he couldn’t actually see any outline of the person, only the traces that they were there. “I just can’t see them yet.”
“Oh really?” Leo angrily mused, his voice sounding as if he had blown a fuse. “There’s someone there because your little glasses say so but you can’t see them?”
“I know you’re asking a rhetorical question but yes, that is exactly what I’m saying,” Donnie’s voice almost turned robotic for a few seconds as he tried adjusting his glasses with one hand while the other kept a hold on Leo. However when the task proved difficult Donnie made the unthoughtful (not because Leo didn’t want him to let go but because he hadn’t thought it through enough) decision to let go of Leo so he could properly collaborate with them. “Now if you’d let me focus I’ll be able to locate them so you are no longer in danger.”
“I’m not in danger and I can take care of myself,” Leo hissed sharply, using his newfound freedom to start wobbling away, his footing refusing to come back to him ever since Donnie took it away from him. To Leo’s disbelief though, Donnie still trailed after him, keeping at least one end of his bō staff in front of Leo’s body from some angle. Leo watched the weapon with distaste from the corner of his eye. “Pizza Supreme, I don’t need you taking care of me, okay? You’re not my protector.”
In a quick flurry, Leo tried to take a sharp turn away from Donnie, making the softshell forget about the camouflaged figure who he had been trying to locate.
“Leo wait,” Donnie called as he took quick steps to keep up with the slider, Leo using the small head start got to his advantage. Donnie’s mind was running a million miles a second as he tried to reach his brother, already thinking back over the words he had previously muttered to get this kind of reaction out of his brother. “That’s not what I meant.”
“No, I know what you meant,” Leo came to a sudden halt, making Donnie almost crash into his shell before he was being forced to back up as Leo whirled around, an accusing finger being pressed into his plastron. “Just because I got hurt one time, it doesn’t mean I’m incapable of taking care of myself. If you would stop babying me you would see that.”
Turning before his brother could get another word in, Leo turned as sharply on his heel as he could and began walking away, his cane echoing across the thin walls as it tapped against the creaky floorboards.
“Where are you going?” In an exhausted breath, Donnie called after Leo.
“To try and find Casey,” Came Leo’s gruffed-out response, the words almost coming as a bark as he snapped over his shoulder. “He’s not someone who deserves to be wandering around in this house by himself.”
Looking back, Donnie wouldn’t have known what came over him but he allowed Leo to walk away, instead turning away and walking in a direction that wasn’t anywhere near the younger turtle. Leo couldn’t tell if he was glad or ecstatic that he was finally left alone for more than two seconds in that house.
Trying to enjoy it, Leo took in all of his surroundings. Where he was in the house, the walls were lined with candles, thin green panes of glass barrelling them in so the flames didn’t flick too close to any passers. The walls seemed to stretch on forever, the roof never coming into view as it was fogged over by a cloudy mist that Leo couldn’t find the source of, though he guessed there were some hidden fog machines hidden in the walls. With every other one of his steps, a loud creak would run through the room, echoing and bouncing back and forth along the walls.
Originally, Leo wanted to try and call out to Casey in hopes of bringing him closer to Leo, a guide so they both weren’t alone for much longer. Though something told Leo not to when he felt something brush up against his leg. Looking down at where he felt the touch, Leo found nothing, only the empty space that had been there before.
Straightening up, Leo walked a bit quicker, trying to keep his weight off the cane so it lessened the amount of noise he was creating. As he walked, the walls leaned closer, or at least he thought it looked as they did, gaining on him with every step he took.
It took until he felt both sides of the wall brushing against his arms, constricting tighter until they began to apply pressure and press him in that it became clear that it wasn’t just an illusion set up by the house that the walls seemed to move.
Continuing to push forward, Leo marched onwards, trying to ignore the space that was only growing tighter and tighter until he was walking sideways, either side of the hallway pressed to his shell or plastron. A quivering breath exhaled its way out of Leo as his movements slowed to a stop, the pressure on either side of him squeezing him in so tightly it was growing harder to breathe.
Trying to reach an arm up to grab onto his ōdachi, his arm was sucked back, bumping against the grainy wallpaper where something spiky wrapped around his wrist. Trying to tug his arm forward, Leo’s movements were extremely limited, his hand not giving in any way while his elbow was only able to weave back and forth lightly, banging against either end of the wall.
Throwing his head back and forth, Leo tried to look for a way out. But when he found nothing except a corridor that seemed to expand at the very end but constrict just where Leo stood, he did the only thing he could think of.
“Donnie,” Leo cried out, his voice a wail as he searched for his brother. He could hear his voice repeat to himself but it seemed to never go further than where he stood, like he was being silenced from the rest of the world. Trying again, Leo let out a shout in hopes that would reach his brother’s ears, any of his brother’s ears. “Donatello!”
When there was no answering call, Leo could do nothing but attempt to struggle more. Thrashing back and forth, his cane-turned-microphone stand banged against either side of the tightening walls, the end of it digging through the thin wood at one point and getting stuck there as the material fixed itself around it, splintering into it as it was torn from Leo’s grip and stayed hovering.
Shaking his head back and forth, Leo resorted to trying to shove himself back and forth as violently as possible to try and ease up the tall walls pressing against him. When it did nothing but make them enclose again, forcing a shuddering gasp from the slider, Leo was only able to mutter repetitively to himself with his eyes squeezed tightly shut, “No, no, no.”
Thwack.
Snapping his eyes open, Leo saw the edge of Donnie’s bō staff stabbed through the wall dangerously close to his head. The wall around it seemed to wither before the staff disappeared, taking any of Leo’s hope with it for the few seconds it was gone. When it came back a second time, the head of the staff had expanded into a large mallet that tore through chunks of the wood, tearing away pieces of wallpaper as it made way to a heaving softshell who stood with an angered but determined frown on his face.
“Donnie,” Leo exclaimed again, this time his voice filled with relief as his brother revealed some of the pressure on his chest by ridding the wall from in front of him.
Stepping through the rubble that he had created, Donnie’s eyes locked onto his outstretched arm and where it was connected to the wall by a thin cord that dug into Leo’s scales with thorns. Digging his thumb into something on his bō staff, the weapon instantly shifted, the mallet head shifting into a spear point.
Digging the staff upwards, Donnie aimed the arch towards Leo’s wrist where it tore through the restraint. Sagging upon release, Leo allowed himself to fall towards Donnie, stealing the comfort that he had previously tried to offer him before this point.
Allowing the contact, Donnie’s bō instantly shrunk back to its disengaged form before he was pocketing it in his Oppenheimer costume suit pocket. Running his hands up Leo’s arms before letting them rest on his shoulders, Donnie kept the slider close before he was guiding him away from the mess of torn-down walls.
As they made their way to a more open space, Leo allowed Donnie to do a proper check over him.
“Are you okay?” Donnie mumbled the question, not being able to go more than two seconds without making some form of contact with Leo. Donnie was able to check over Leo’s arms, neck, shell, plastron and his thighs, anything after that being deemed unnecessary by Leo as he grappled for purchase on Donnie. In the moments he was observing Leo, Donnie was also able to notice the absence of one of Leo’s costume pieces. “Where’s your cane?”Leo shook his head at the questions, but not in an answer as he stared in wonder at his brother. Though his throat felt dry, Leo forced it to cooperate as he stated, “You came back for me.”
“Of course, I came back for you,” Donnie said as if Leo’s words had been treason, something so unthinkable that a great mind like his would never waste a second amusing them. “You needed me.”
“But I said-”
“That doesn’t matter,” Donnie cut him off, a shake of his head ruffling his coat. Leo wasn’t able to let it go just as easily as Donnie though as he reached for Donnie’s arms like the turtle had done before they entered the house what felt like hours ago.
“I’m sorry I said those things to you,” Leo murmured the words, his expression pained from his actions. Every ounce of his face was warped in sincerity as he searched Donnie’s eyes, searching for a forgiveness he didn’t need to find. “I just… When we found out that I was no longer the older twin I didn’t want things to change between us. Mikey acts the same since he can only ever have older brothers, and Raph for the most part doesn’t act any different. I think he coddles me a bit more than before but that’s just Raph. But you… I wanted us to stay the same but everything is different now.”
“Leo, no one cares about you not being the second oldest anymore,” Donnie almost laughed at what had caused the small outbursts from Leo, all of which had led up to this day that it finally seemed to spill.“I mean, in arguments or when I want you to do or don’t do something it’s a good title to hold over your head, but it means nothing to me. You’re still my annoying twin brother. Only now you’re my annoying, younger twin brother.”
As much as Leo wished to agree with Donnie, he couldn’t help but recap all the differences he saw in his life now. Every meal that Leo wanted to eat would be tracked and prepared by Donnie. His daily outings were limited to one on a good knee day and were to always be chaperoned. His training had been put on hold and any use of his mystic ōdachi was practically forbidden.
Wherever Leo went Donnie was at most three steps behind. It had all changed and Leo hated it.
With a trembling lip, Leo asked, “Then why have things changed?”
“Because we lost you, Leo,” Donnie pulled Leo closer as he spoke, though he hooked his chin down so their eyes could remain locked. As he spoke, his vocal cords were ruptured with a ghost of agony that couldn’t disappear soon enough. “You left us behind while you sacrificed yourself. I thought I was never going to see you again once you went through that portal.”
“Donnie, it was the world or me. I feel like one slightly outweighs the other more,” Despite his actions of bravery, a hiccup formed at the memory, making Leo attempt to burrow deeper into his older brother’s arms, though Donnie made sure he couldn’t go in too deep as they were still speaking and now that the slider had opened up Donnie wasn’t going to allow him to close himself off again. “I wasn’t going to let that- that thing hurt any of you. Casey told us about the future that was waiting for us, I couldn’t just stand around and let that happen. Couldn’t just let us all die for nothing. And besides, I came back anyway.”
“And you were half dead when you did so what did it matter?” Donnie didn’t miss the small flinch Leo gave at his words, the slider trying to cover it up with a huff. “You may have been physically there but you weren’t conscious when we had to run you halfway across New York so we could treat your wounds. You weren’t awake when I had to drill screws into your shell just so we could close the cracks. You may have come back Leo, but it was a long time before any of us could even see you.”
In the long moments that Donnie had been talking, his rant pushing him forward as time slowed around them, giving them the peace they needed, Donnie had pushed Leo back and out of the comfort of his arms, instead planting both of his hands firmly on the edges of his shoulders, his fingers clenched into light green skins that had only recently begun to gain some colour back.
With startled wide eyes, Leo stared into Donnie’s matching expression, only his was laced with a familiar fear that had kept the softshell up late at night and staring worriedly at vitals for hours at a time without looking away.
Slowly, the panic that had wound Donnie up began to trickle out. Donnie still kept Leo where he stood, fighting the urge to pull him back towards him to get his point across. “Leo, my behaviour didn’t change because of some power trip that came with becoming your older brother, it was because I was and still am scared that I’m going to lose you again. In those moments that you were gone, I learnt what it felt like to not have a twin and I don’t ever want to have to experience that again.”
“Okay,” Leo murmured after a few long seconds, blinking slowly before he leaned into Donnie and rested his forehead against Donnie’s with a bump. Donnie’s eyes stayed startled open for a few seconds before he felt himself relax forward, closing his eyes and taking Leo by the shell to ring him in. It was only a few short seconds before Leo’s whispered voice was cutting through the air again. “Donnie, if we survive this stupid house can you do something for me?”
“If we survive this I will watch all of your Jupiter Jim movies with you, just so we never have to do something like this again,” Donnie claimed, though a little over dramatic in Leo’s opinion. “And maybe to treasure the time this house has stolen from us. But yes, what is it?”
“Remind me to never go to Witch Town again,” As soon as Leo was done speaking he held his breath, almost wincing as he waited for Donnie’s reaction. At first the softshell was confused as he looked down at his brother, the odd display making him speak quickly to reassure him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we never step foot in-” There was a long pause after Donnie spoke, cutting himself off as the words finally settled in. “Wait a minute. Did you say Witch Town? Leo, what have I told you about Witch Town? It is an uncivilised place that holds no care for science. To think that you would ever bring me here!”
“I’m sorry Dee,” Leo whined, his shoulders hunching up as he looked around the room they were in. “I never want to be anywhere near this part of the Hidden City again.”
“Good,” With an assured nod, Donnie straightened himself and Leo up, keeping an arm on the slider for support now that he didn’t have a cane to do that for him. Taking a look around the house, Donnie almost cockily stated, “Now that I know that this disturbing house is crawling with what these uncultured buffoons like to cool magic, I think it’s time we get out of here.”
“But we have to beat the house Don,” Leo put a halt to any actions Donnie was preparing himself to take, bringing him back to the challenge Leo had set out to do since the very beginning. “That’s the whole point I brought us here.”
“And we will,” Reassuring the slider, Donnie began moving them, allowing Leo to put as much weight as he needed onto Donnie as he began leading them further away from the wreckage. “As far as I’m concerned there is no other exit except the door we came through. As it seems this house likes to keep us separated and that we have never been in the same room twice, I’m guessing to beat this ‘haunted’ house we just have to get out of it again.”
“Casey’s been alone for a long time,” Leo reminded the both of them, his earlier search for him being put to a halt when the walls had started to suffocate him. “Do you think he’s alright? Ohmigod, this is all my fault. If I had just sucked it up or not brought us here we would all be together and Casey wouldn’t be alone in this house, and it’s not like we know what’s happened to Raph or Mikey either.”
“I’m not going to say it’s not your fault for bringing us to Witch Town when you know how I feel about this place,” Leo physically deflated at Donnie’s words. As if his mood had sent a signal to his knee, a sudden pain washed over Leo as it became harder to walk, leaning into Donnie’s side more. Donnie took the extra weight in stride as he wrapped some of his battle shell arms around Leo, almost lifting him off the ground so he didn’t have to worry about straining himself. “But you couldn’t have known that his place would literally have tried to kill us. You’re too much of a Dumb Dumb but it’s all going to get better now since we know what we’re dealing with and how we’re going to find everyone else now.”
“How are we going to find everyone else?” Leo asked, dread in his voice as he looked around the room they were in, almost an exact repeat of half the other rooms in that house. If they hadn’t scuffed up half the rooms in that place, Leo would have thought they’d been walking in circles for hours. “Raph and Mikey have been gone since the beginning and Casey never answered any of our shouts.”
“You’re going to portal us to them,” Donnie stilled the both of them to a stop as he spoke. Pulling out Leo’s sword for him, he could see hesitation flick through Leo’s face as the weapon was placed into the hand he had been using to hold onto his cane before he lost it. As Leo opened his mouth to share his rebuttal, Donnie cut him off before he even had the chance to speak. “And before you say that’s cheating, there were never any rules given to us when we first entered the house, meaning that you can use your mystic ōdachi as much as you like.”
“I don’t know where they are though,” The hand holding the ōdachi shook like the weight of it was too much for Leo. Setting his own hand over the top of it, Donnie helped to hold it up, steadying Leo as he spoke. “How am I going to locate them and open a portal that actually leads us to them?”
“When has that ever stopped you in the past, Leo?” Donnie smiled at Leo despite their situation, bumping their foreheads together briefly to offer the slider a slither of comfort. “You saw how small this place was from the outside. We’re in Witch Town, the only reason this house seems so big is because of the illusions they’ve created. They could be right on the other side of that wall but we wouldn’t know because of some trick they’re playing on us.”
“Okay,” Leo gave a firm nod, taking Donnie’s words in and letting them roll around in his head.
Drawn on brows pinching together, Donnie still smiled as he confusedly asked, “Okay?”
“Let’s find Raph and Mikey,” A new determination set itself behind Leo’s eyes as he looked into Donnie’s. Though Leo couldn’t yet match the slim smile on Donnie’s face, no matter how small it was, there was a shift in Leo as he prepared himself for their new plan for the night. “And Casey along the way.”
In a sharp, jagged line, Leo tore his ōdachi skyward, a blue strip cutting through the air before it expanded, creating a rigged circle big enough to fit the two turtles through it next to one another. Keeping a hand firmly on Donnie for balance, Leo led the two of them through the portal, ready for whatever they were met with on the other side.
A sickening feeling still shot through Leo as he came out the other side, making him still as he gained his gatherings. Donnie came out a few seconds after him, taking a few extra steps away from the portal so that when it closed there weren’t any parts of him that got chopped off and left on the other side.
As the portal shut, Leo took a few careful steps around, searching for why his mystic ōdachi had drawn him towards this part of the house. That was when he heard it, a soft sniffle and a loud screech. Rounding towards the noise, Leo allowed Donnie to practically carry him again as he used his battle shell arms to pick Leo up, moving the two of them quickly as they raced towards the noise.
“Raph,” Leo called once he heard another loud cry, a familiar smell wafting towards his nose. “Mikey!”
“Leo?” Mikey answered, his voice distant and fear-filled.
Donnie was the one to answer next, his eyes closed so he could strain his ears to hear their next answer, “Where are you two?”
“Can’t you just follow our voice or something?” Mikey barked out, fear vanishing as it was instead filled with hope and annoyance. “It’s kinda hard to know where we are in this maze.”
“You better keep talking then,” Leo warned in a sing-song tone.
“Oh, Leo, Donnie,” Raph’s voice fizzled out, a sigh on his lips. Leo could tell from the way he was speaking that it had been who they had heard sniffling to himself. “Raph thought he lost you.”
“That’s it,” Donnie shouted, eyes snapping open as it seemed he had locked onto something. Picking up his pace, he called out, “Keep talking so we can find you.”
“Is Casey with you?” Leo asked, thinking of ways to keep the conversation going. Once the two of them found Raph and Mikey, they would still need to locate the human before they even thought about exiting the haunted house, no man—or dressed-up turtle in Casey’s case—being left behind.
“No,” Mikey spluttered, the idea sounding absurd to him since the last time he had seen Casey he had been wedged in between Donnie and Leo. “Why would Casey be with us?”
“Did you lose Casey?” Raph cried, voice echoing and louder than any of his other shouts had been.
“Leo,” Donnie hissed under his breath, trying not to let the other two hear so as not to panic them further. “Why would you ask them that?”
Crossing both of his arms over his plastron, Leo completely lifted his feet off the ground, letting Donnie and the arms of his battle shell take on his full weight as he whined, “I was just wondering where he got off to.”
“Well, you’re not helping-”
“Twins,” Raph cut Donnie off as the two stepped into the same room as Raph and Mikey. Cradled in Raph’s arms was Mikey, the youngest turtle bearing his teeth at every creak that rang through the house. Rushing towards one another, Raph plucked Leo from Donnie’s battle shell arms and squashed him next to Mikey, dragging Donnie towards him with his now free arm to hold them all together in a tight family hug. “You’re here, we’re here, we’re all together. It’s time to get out of here.”
“We need to find Casey first,” Leo reminded his eldest brother, trying to push his way out of the snapping turtle’s arms.
Snapping his head towards his second youngest brother, Raph felt one of his eyes twitch as Leo denied letting them leave. The reasoning was valid, though his brain didn’t want to hear that as he wanted to go home as quickly as possible. “Can’t you just open a portal and have him fall through it?”
“I don’t know where he is though,” Leo muttered, once again looking crestfallen at the confession.
“We’ve been over this Leo,” Donnie groaned, shuffling around in Raph’s hold so he could reach Leo, having to push Mikey out of the way and further into Raph’s plastron so he could do so. “You don’t need to know where he is to find him. You found Raph and Mikey, you can find Casey.”
“But we weren’t near them,” Leo tried to remind Donnie.
“They’re right there,” Donnie looked around, making Leo do the same to take in his brothers surrounding him because of Raph’s hold. “You just need to focus, okay? Don’t get distracted by us or the house. Just try to find-”
Donnie was cut off by a purple glow coming from the wall making Raph jump back as if it had burned him. Fighting to try and see what it was, Leo watched as the wall folded in on itself, wooden planks being tucked away to reveal a pathway where Casey stood, looking as if he had gone for a nice stroll.
“Casey?” All four brothers shouted in unison, confusion taking over all of them as Raph ran them all over to him.
“Where have you been?” Leo cried, reaching a hand out to grab onto Casey’s hair and tug him over.
“I was walking through the walls,” Casey hissed out, trying to ease the pain in his hair by un-wedging Leo’s fingers from his head. Other than Leo’s assault, it seemed as if Casey hadn’t gone through anything out of the ordinary that night. “Oh look, you found your brothers.”
“What the shell,” Mikey screeched, ramming his forehead into the back of Leo’s neck as he tried to see past him.
“Can we leave now?” Raph hissed in a whisper, setting Donnie down before taking Mikey into his other arm so he couldn’t try and bash his head into Leo’s any more. “Leo, as your older brother I’m demanding you open a portal and get us out of here.”
“Okay, sheesh,” Leo muttered as he lifted Raph’s arm off of him. Flipping his mystic ōdachi once, Leo sliced it through the air, a blue portal whirling to life instantly and expanding enough that it could fit all five of them if they truly wanted to. “After you.”
Raph was the first to dash through it, taking Mikey with him as he fled from the scene of the haunted house. Casey followed closely after them as Donnie pushed him forward, making sure he couldn’t go travelling through any more walls. Then, Leo and Donnie went together, Leo using Donnie once more as a personal walking stick.
As they came out on the other side, the portal opened up just before the front door, allowing Leo to step out of it and complete the haunted house just like he had been hoping to all night.
Stepping away from it, Leo looked over his shoulder briefly at the house, taking in the small and dusted stage it had always been in. Turning back around, Leo asked his twin softly, “You got any farewells to this place?”
“Yeah, just two,” Donnie grumbled, not even bothering to give the house one last look. “Avada Kedavra.”
EvilAngelx Sun 05 Nov 2023 04:34PM UTC
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