Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sister laughs, low and menacing. Her vile amusement bleeds into Mikey. He cracks a grin, a few giggles slipping past his beak. The lower life forms take a step back, horror etched onto their faces. Mikey’s gaze finds the Key. The black tendrils underneath his skin rip free at his wrist and pull salvation from the human’s grasp.

Victory! He feels, he shouts, he sends to the rest of Krang. His brothers’ approval seep into his very being, wrap around his very soul. For a moment, Leo struggles against the flow, but Mikey pats him down gently, Raph drags him down forcefully, Donnie tugs his consciousness every which way- until Leo quiets and everything is Good and As It Should Be.

“My son…” the rat murmurs mournfully, reaching forward.

Krang and Raph and Krang push through Mikey’s body with a hiss. Behind him, the black, goopy tentacles crawl along the ground, attach to the Technodrome- to Donnie- to Krang- however far away it-he-they are. With each step forward Mikey takes, the tendrils pull at his throat, his arms, his eye sockets, wherever they’re attached- until he’s given another few feet of leeway by his masters. Mikey feels the tendrils throb now, a comfort, a reminder that he is not alone, will never be alone again. 

His brothers curl up in his mind and body and soul. Together, they seem to whisper to him- to each other- to themselves- Together now, forever. A promise, a dedication, a regret.

They turn away. They have fulfilled the mission. They hear the rat and the two humans try to follow. They know Sister’s intentions before Mikey knows his own next move. Screams echo.

Mikey Krang walks on

Do you see now? they all whisper to Mikey. Do you see?

Yes.  

He thinks he’s forgotten something, but it no longer matters because he’s with his brothers, he is his brothers, and they’re all Krang- they’ll fix this world, conquer it as it should be, take what is theirs-

The last few tears drip solemnly down his face. He can’t remember why he was crying.

Somewhere deep in the hive mind, what was once Leo struggles in vain to break himself free, to save himself, to save his brothers.

The more tightly-knit the other three become, the more they weave their own minds with Leo’s, suffocating his willpower, his very being.

Who’s Leo, again?

The black tendrils creep up his arms- in his arms- Mikey’s breath quickens, heartbeat rushing in his head- he can feel it beneath his skin, towards his neck, on his face -

“Donnie!” he shouts uselessly, choking on a sob. He can barely see the giant head at the controls anymore. His vision is too blurry. The black goo of the Technodrome presses against his body, suffocating him.  “Donnie, please! Please don’t! Let me go!” He lets out another sob as the invasive parasite pulses.

“It’ll make sense soon, Angelo,” Donnie says. Mikey pulls every which way but he remains suspended in the air. The tendrils hurt and they’re inside of him and there’s fire in every one of his nerves and they’re probably in his brain by now and- and-

Clarity.

What was once Donnie feels a flicker of irritation. He understands that objectively, yes, having himself, Raph, and Leo gang up on Mikey must be scary for the youngest turtle. He remembers feeling this fear himself only minutes ago, before his mind was opened and he realized the power of the Krang. Of course the Krang must rule this world, who else can? Mortals are inconsequential. The Krang, however, are forever. They must all join together or perish, in the end. Donnie has chosen life.

He hates that they scare Mikey right now, but he- and Raph, and Leo if he would settle down already- just want their family together, proud soldiers for the Krang. Mikey must think they want him dead- but no, no, even Brother and Sister and Prime have seen the merit of mystically-altered mutants. They are more powerful as allies than dead, you see.

Besides that, the Littlest Turtle is no threat on his own. Brother and Sister and Prime’s vicious amusement at his cries trickle down the hive mind into Donnie.

It isn’t quite amusing to the brothers, but some of the guilt seeping in from Leo is brushed aside anyway.

A stray thought from Prime- he briefly considers killing the Littlest Turtle- and for a moment the three brothers are united in anger and protection. Their defensiveness over Mikey stuns Prime briefly, but he allows Mikey to live, so long as he sees the error of his ways.

Donnie can persuade him.

Mikey runs, but Donnie is the Technodrome and can sense his younger brother’s location. He looks through Raph’s eyes- Leo’s mind too caught in its forever struggle for control for Donnie to stay for long. He tracks Mikey, never loses sight of him.

He doesn’t want to hurt his brother, thus the reason for his hesitation, but he knows it will be over soon. Donnie reaches out to Mikey with the black clumpy material of the Technodrome, a brief caress before taking the plunge into his nervous system.

Leo tears his hands away from Mikey’s shoulders as though he’s been burnt, a loud, rough, pained gasp choking him as he does so. Mikey can only watch as the glow in Leo’s eyes flicker, as his immediate older brother stumbles back a few steps. He knows the danger is still present, but Mikey reaches towards his brother anyway.

Leo sees, shakes his hands and head fearfully. A look Mikey rarely sees and has now seen twice in one day.

“Mikey, you have to-” Leo chokes, the glow of the corrupted ninja mind meld returning briefly before Leo breaks through once more. “Get out! We- they- it’s you! We want you!” A warning, a threat.

“Not without you guys!” Mikey replies as sternly as he can. His voice wobbles. The tears in his eyes drip down his face. “I’m not leav-!”

“Please!” Leo pleads, voice raw with how much effort he puts into it. It scares Mikey, heart up in his throat and pulse hammering in his neck. He’s never heard Leo sound like this. So lost, so scared, so desperate. It shakes him to the core.

He runs.

Leo and Raph follow the maze of hallways that Donnie opens up for them, leading them straight to Mikey. The littlest brother. Leo smiles.

Just one more, and they’ll be complete.

But there’s more, he’s sure there’s more-

There’s just the four of them, and then their family will be complete. No one else matters. The world will be remade in the image of Krang.

“No, no, no, NO!” Mikey panics, Leo sees so very clearly. Donnie closes off the exits. Raph stays in place as Leo walks towards the missing link. Leo can practically feel the empty slot in his mind where Mikey should be. 

Leo continues to smile, hoping to calm his younger brother. He raises his hands, but his legs are tense, ready to leap forward. Mikey turns teary eyes to him.

“It’s okay, little brother,” Leo soothes. Mikey backs up a few steps. Leo follows. “It’s going to be okay. You trust us, right? We’d never let anything hurt you.” Leo’s mind hums with Donnie’s and Raph’s agreement.

Mikey’s lip quivers. “You-you aren’t my brother. Not really. Not any of you!” Raph screeches, tongue lashing out. Mikey adopts a defensive stance. His nunchucks rattle in his trembling hands. 

“I know you’re scared, but once you let the Krang in, you’ll see,” Leo comforts. Behind the glow of his eyes, tears are forming. He doesn’t understand why. “This is what we were made for! It’s-” horrifying “Exhilarating!” The word flows from Leo’s lips but comes from Donnie’s mind. Is there really a difference anymore?

“Stop it! Just stop it! Snap out of it, you guys! You can beat this! Beat them! I believe in you, so- so you can do it, I know it!” Raph charges the youngest turtle. Mikey darts away.

Leo’s fingers twitch towards his katana- 

No, not Mikey! I- we- won’t hurt Mikey!

-but returns his hands to his sides. Weapons won’t be needed. They have Donnie, after all.

Mikey won’t be going anywhere.

Leo stalks Mikey, predator chasing prey. But, no, that’s not quite right. He- and Raph and Donnie- won’t kill their youngest brother. Why would they ever do that? No, they just need to enlighten Mikey to his true purpose, just as the rest of them have been.

No! No, stop! This isn’t right!

Even as Leo closes in on Mikey, he feels something claw its way up out of the very depths of his mind-

Leo is a swirling storm in Donnie’s mind. Donnie urges Leo to fight but the storm swells, eases, then suddenly rushes over them both with the Krang leading the charge. Donnie has no time to mourn the loss of Leo’s mind, has only seconds to process that the storm is coming for him now-

He can feel Mikey standing below- and isn’t that disorienting, to be the very vessel that carries passengers within it- and in those seconds he realizes that his youngest brother will be in extreme danger momentarily.

“Leo’s down!” Donnie speaks, but his physical body feels so far away. If Mikey replies, he doesn’t hear it. He’s very quickly sinking deeper and deeper into the Technodrome-the hive mind-he should help his brothers-he should help the Krang-

No!

Stop! He can fight this, he can-

“Mikey, you have to run! The hive mind-” The storm overwhelms him, cuts him off mid-thought.

He can’t fight this.

He no longer wants to, though.

So he doesn’t.

Why did he fight it before, again?

Leo recoils sharply, body physically stumbling backwards as though to forcefully remove his mind from Raph’s. He can’t return to his own mind fast enough.

Images of devastation and conquering and pinkpinkpink assault him. Raph’s presence is far, far away- did Leo ever really feel him in the first place?

He scrambles away physically but mentally he’s tormented-persuaded-suffocated by slaughter-genocide-victory. He tries to swim to the surface, break the connection- “Raph, please!”- but the Krang-hisbrother-hisbrethren pull him back to prison-home-safety.

In his cage, Raph huddles away from the bars. If he doesn’t move, the Krang can’t get him. If he doesn’t break the bars, Leo will be safe.

He wills Leo to leave. The Krang redirects the message. Raph is none the wiser. He keeps his eyes shut and his beak in his knees and waits for the nightmare to be over.

In the control room, a giant head attached to the Technodrome shudders, triumphant grin dropping instantly to horror and fear.

“Leo…”

Outside, Leo’s body maintains its placating form, eyes glowing hauntingly, face blank.

Inside, Leo is suddenly and immediately assaulted by waves of color and overlapping emotions that he both can and can’t pick out. For a moment, Leo gets lost in them, forgets where and who he is. He’s Leo then he’s Raph but that’s not Raph it’s Krang master he’s a monster a soldier a pest a brother-

A brother.

Leo focuses on maintaining his self, forges through the pink jungle that casts shadows in the depths of his brother’s mind. It’s a risk, going deeper into the connection and leaving his body vulnerable, but if it’ll save Raph-

It’ll save Raph. It has to. He has to.

My fault-

Through Raph’s connection to the Krang, Leo faintly feels Donnie. A spark of complete and utter terror shoots through his veins as he wonders when and how his twin was caught- where is Mikey is Mikey okay- he can’t feel his only younger brother so he must be safe- well not safe they’re on an evil alien’s spaceship in the sky-

And there- spaceship- Donnie is the spaceship, Leo can feel that now. He pushes aside his confusion, settles on a brief spark of relief, before returning his senses to the mind he’s currently tied to.

Leo metaphorically bats away the twisted vines that clutter Raph’s mind, racing deeper and deeper towards the tiniest light that he knows has to be his brother.

Raph! he shouts. Together they can fight this! He just knows it! Raph needs a bit of help but they will do this!

He feels Raph stir, fear the predominant emotion washing over Leo in waves. His physical body trembles, his swords slip from his fingers.

I’m here, Raph! he encourages, dodges the parasite that has forced itself at home in Raph’s mind. I’m here!

For a split second, Leo sees a ghostly image of his brother, surrounded by a cage of pink. He rushes forward, hands mere inches from tearing the gooey bars apart-

The vines slither towards him instead, and Leo flinches. He sets his jaw and grasps the cage bars. Raph doesn’t seem to see him. Leo’s on his own. He grits his teeth as he tears bar after bar away from the cage. Each time he pulls one away, another vine takes its place. Leo rips several away at once and stretches to grab Raph.

That’s my brother, and you can’t have him! he shouts defiantly.

The vines close while his arm is still in the way. Leo suddenly realizes his error- the bars he’s ripped apart haven’t fallen to the ground. Rather, they’ve attached themselves to his limbs. And now his arm is caught in the cage, the vines giving the optical illusion of going through his flesh.

We already do. Leo trembles as the Krang’s voice echoes around him. And now we’ll have you as well.

Leo reaches futilely once more for Raph. The Krang reach back.

It takes him a moment to recalibrate, to understand just what he’s experiencing. He isn’t just looking at a computer; he is the spaceship and the spaceship- Technodrome, it whispers- is him.

At the edges of his mind he senses Raph caught beneath a forest of Krang tentacles. The Krang sense his presence and leap towards him. Donnie jerks his mind back to the confines of the Technodrome, using the neural coding as a means of protection against invaders. The Krang pound at the wall he has attempted to construct, but as quickly as pieces collapse, Donnie reconstructs them. He refuses to become a puppet; he has a brother to save.

And a world, too, he supposes.

The entire day, Leo has been trying to think of how he can save Raph, how he can undo whatever the Krang did. He’s refused to believe he can’t get through to his brother. But really, what’s his plan? He seemed so confident before, but really he has no idea what he’s doing. He can’t single-handedly drag Raph out of here. He can’t hold him. He can’t face-man his way out of this one. And, loathe though he is to admit it, Raph can beat him in a fight any day.

No, really, what’s his plan?

No plan.

Right.

Leo’s speaking, trying to break Raph out of the Krang’s hold, but he barely hears himself. His voice and body work on autopilot as his thoughts race.

He feels the Krang’s leering gaze on his shell, and for a moment wonders if maybe Raph is lost to them. Maybe the monstrosity wearing his brother’s face is a permanent transformation. Leo forces those thoughts back as he dodges another strike. But the doubt still lingers.

Leo swings his katana on the offensive this time, freezes when the being crouching on the ground looks up. That’s no ordinary enemy. That’s his brother. The guy who’s always been there for him, even when Leo was, admittedly, a pain in the ass. The guy who made sure he was fed back before any of them knew how to use the stove. The guy who bandaged his scraped knee when they were tots. The guy who held him when he had a nightmare.

(When had Leo stopped going to Raph for everything?)

He falters.

Raph attacks again.

Isn’t this how it all started? With a stupid fight?

Maybe…maybe he should try something else.

But what, exactly, can he even do? Because clearly the power of love and family is working, if the continuous attacks aren’t clue enough.

No. Fighting isn’t helping. And the stupid Krang hasn’t even lifted a finger from his stupid throne- chair, it’s a chair. Like he knows there’s nothing that can defeat his puppet no don’t say that it’s Raph his brother’s still in there he has to be.

If only he could just rip the Krang’s control out of Raph’s mind. Leo doubts he can pull the tentacles from Raph’s body, and if he does, if that would even break Raph free. Or just cause him unimaginable pain. 

(What if he pulled the eye from it’s socket-)

Wait-

Leo continues dodging and defending as a new plan forms

What if he can go into Raph’s mind and separate him from the Krang? They can ninja mind meld. Maybe- just maybe- that could work.

He hesitates, but lowers his katana. He considers sheathing them entirely, but he can’t bring himself to move.

Is he seriously going to mind meld with a Krangified Raph?

Yeah.

Of course he is.

He has no choice. 

“I’m done fighting you,” Leo says, and hopes his voice isn’t trembling as much as his hands are. “But I will help you fight him.” He points a katana in the Krang’s direction but doesn’t bother looking at the beast.

Leo sees Raph’s muscles tense, ready to launch towards him. He mentally steels himself, briefly thinks that this is probably a bad idea-

And melds with Raph’s mind.

Consciousness rips into him with no warning.

He falls.

There are others around him. Others- he knows them. He knows their voices. He- They-

He yells as sudden, raw pain gushes into one of his eyes. He clutches at it. Feels slithering, slimy, something burst out from around his eyeball. It came from deeper within his head, the spread of the pain down his facial nerves tell him. No, it started from within, has moved out-

He can’t see- could he before? He doesn’t think so, can barely think at all with the pain, the fear- why is he scared?

Touch. People are touching him. He remembers pink rope and taunting touch and throws the people away.

The pink fills his vision, now, the slithering stretching beyond a few tendrils and now reaching far further. He presses against them, begs them to go back inside, it hurts- They only grow larger.

A presence is in his mind, now. Or perhaps has always been there, hidden by the pain that’s slowly turning into an ache. This is- Oh. He understands now. The Krang’s triumph and arrogance fill his very being.

He thinks someone speaks. He pays them no mind.

There is no other way but Krang. He knows nothing else and does not care to.

Attack, Prime orders, and he does.

Raph thinks he’s going to die the moment he covers Leo’s body from the Krang’s attack. He hadn’t even thought about moving, his body instinctively knowing that Leo can’t outrun the Krang, that it has to help. Raph finds himself hovering protectively over his little brother in what feels like the blink of an eye. His muscles tense; he struggles not to collapse from the complete and utter pain that erupts from being stabbed through the shell. He attaches the escape pod to Leo, looks away in defeat as he awaits his death, hopes that Leo will be far away enough to not witness it.

Death is not what comes. 

He’s taken and restrained- resisting the best he can, but the Krang are massive, are strong, are deadly. His heart races. Torture. Interrogation. Can he fight the pain and fear to protect his family? His planet?

He must.

He takes what little strength he has left after the fight and channels it into what he imagines Leo would do. He snarks and refuses to tell the Krang what they want to know. He thinks he can keep this up for a while- he expects his family to come up with a plan and stop the Krang. The least he can do is distract them a bit.

Instead, slimy tentacles inch closer and closer, becoming larger and larger as they near his eyes, touch his face, slip under the mask, into his eye-

He struggles, heartbeat racing- is this what a heart attack feels like? Will his heart give out right here, right now? He feels the tentacles moving, slithering against his eye, further back- touching his brain- His eyes hurt the most; he wonders if they’ll split open, blood rinsing down his face and neck to join the pink that’s tied him up. Or maybe they’ll pop out, hang against his mask until snip they’re released from their sockets and plop onto the ground. Would they bounce? Would they sink into the floor?

Pictures flash in his mind’s eye. It takes him a few seconds too long to realize that the Krang is accessing his memories, actively searching for the Key, for his home. Raph tries to think of anywhere else, anything else, but blocking one’s thoughts from an intruder is a lot more difficult in reality than it is in the movies. 

He knows the Krang has found the location of the Key. He wants to rip the tentacles right off of the Krang’s body. But at last, the tentacle invasion into his brain retreats-

But something is still there- something is there . Like a leech in his mind. In his brain .

He can’t breathe, and soon he can’t see at all.

He remembers- anata wa hitori ja nai- you are not alone.

Raph clings to this even as consciousness leaves him, has total faith that his brothers will save himthe world.