Work Text:
Unnatural
(Undead)
Goretober 2023 - Piece 30
✦
Leo's lifeless form lay on the cold, metallic table, a tragic painting that etched itself into the minds of his brothers, staining them. Mikey's sobs were raw, unrelenting. The pain of loss was writ large across his face. Raph’s face remained set, jaw tight, brows pinched.
He exhaled shakily, watching his twin.
Donnie knelt beside Leo, hands trembling as he attached the defibrillator pads.
He stood back up, pushing himself upward and clicking the final pieces of the mechanism in place on his hands, then with a quiet mumble of, “Clear,” he watched his brother’s body seize.
Each pulse of electric current felt like a desperate plea to the universe, a futile attempt to reverse the irreversible. The room echoed with the haunting rhythm of the defibrillator, a rhythm that mirrored the brothers' despairing spirits.
Mikey's tears fell freely, his grief escaping in wails that filled the silence. Raph, though his eyes glistened with unshed tears, remained stone-faced, a façade barely holding against the weight of the moment. As Donnie continued his futile attempts, a shared realization settled among them—
Leo was gone.
Donnie's desperation escalated, the electric shocks now punctuated by whispered pleas.
"Come on, Leo. Come on," he muttered, his voice a threadbare prayer. The room seemed to contract, the walls closing in on the grief-laden trio.
Mikey, unable to bear the scene any longer, stepped back. His voice cracked as he choked on words between sobs, "Donnie, it's... he's gone. We can't..."
He curls inward, scratching at his own arms as he hugs himself tightly, weeping.
Raph, too, took a step away, his eyes trained on the floor. "It's- It’s over, Donnie. We lost ‘em."
The weight of defeat pressed upon Donnie's shoulders, the crushing reality of Leo's departure settling into his bones. But within the void of despair, a spark of defiance ignited in his eyes.
He stopped the electric shocks, his gaze narrowing on Leo's lifeless form.
"No," Donnie whispered, defiance wrestling with the grief in his voice. "I won't accept it. There has to be something, something we can do- I can do."
Mikey, his eyes red and swollen, approached Donnie with a pained expression. "Donnie, you can't... do anything . It's not right."
Raph, too, "We gotta respect the dead, Donnie. We can't mess with this."
But Donnie, fueled by a desperation bordering on madness, refused to yield. "There's technology, experiments. I've read about things, theories. Maybe there's a way, a chance."
The other two paused at the implication, eyes widening.
Was he suggesting bringing back the dead?
Mikey shook his head, his voice pleading. "Donnie, he's gone. Bringing him back... it's not natural."
Raph's gaze bore into Donnie's, snarling out, "You can't play with death, Dee. It ain't right."
Donnie's eyes flashed with anger, unshed tears glimmering. "What's right is bringing him back. We can't just let him go like this. I won't."
The purpler terrapin’s desperation intensified as he grasped onto the thin thread of hope, his eyes glinting with fervor. “There are experiments, studies, things I've read about. We can't just give up without trying!”
Mikey, his voice choked with emotion, pleading quietly to himself in mumbles. From beside him, Raph's eyes narrowed, a blend of anger and sorrow coloring his tone.
"You're talking about tampering with life and death. We can't play God."
But Donnie, unwilling to yield, pressed on. "Sometimes, science challenges what we think is possible. We can't just accept that he's gone."
Mikey, shaking his head again, shot back, "But what if it's not natural, Donnie? What if it's wrong?"
Raph's frustration boiled over, his fists clenched at his sides. "It IS wrong. This ain't about science. It's about respecting the dead-"
“DON’T-” Donnie’s voice, peaked, his voice tinged with desperation, snapped, "Respecting the dead? What's respectful about letting him stay dead when there might be a chance?"
Mikey, caught in the emotional whirlwind, tried to reason, "Donnie-."
"You're risking everything! You could make things worse!" Shouts the older twin, stepping in front of Mikey.
“Make WHAT worse?! He’s already-” Donnie choked on a sob, shoulders shuddering heavily, "And- And what if it works, Raph? What if we bring him back?"
Raph, fists clenched, turned his glare up from the floor toward Donnie. "You're playing with forces you don't understand. You can't control life and death! "
Mikey, seized in the crossfire, stepped forward, a poor attempt to quell down the twins. "Guys, we're all hurting. But this... this won't help."
Donnie, fueled by grief and determination, retorted, "I won't accept that he's gone. I won't!"
Mikey, grief-stricken, begged, "Donnie, please, let him rest. We can't keep him alive through machines and experiments."
Raph, his voice drenched in rage, a silver lining of desperation, "Donnie, you're tearing us apart. We're losing Leo, and now we're losing you too."
But the younger twin, lost in his grief, refused to hear reason. "I won't lose him. I can't."
Mikey, now pleading, whispered, "Donnie, please, for Leo's sake, let him go."
“But- Mikey-”
Raph, his patience worn thin, shouted, "ENOUGH, Donatello! This is insane!”
In the oppressive silence that followed, Raph's restraint shattered. He pointed an accusatory finger at Donnie, voice rising in anger. "Donnie, you can't bring him back! Promise me you won’t touch our brother’s body."
"Raphael… I-"
"PROMISE ME!"
“I…” The scientist swallows, tears now lost, face damp as his face clenches, twisting in a cruel agony (and if it were any other situation, Raph would’ve given into his twin from the raw, adultered vulnerability displayed in his expression), his shoulders shake one last time as he mumbles a quiet response.
“I promise.”
.
.
.
(It’s late into the night, now.
Mikey had asked Raph to sleep over, likely to have a tangible form next to him, knowing he hadn’t lost all his brothers.
Donnie is in the lab.
And with a flick of a switch, the machine hummed to life. The lair was bathed in an otherworldly glow as energy surged through the room. He remained hopeful yet cautious, as the machine worked its magic.
Donnie's heart pounded in his chest as he monitored the readings. The seconds felt like an eternity. Doubt crept in, but he pushed it aside.
Failure was not an option.
And with one final whirr of the machine and a flashing light, smoke filled the room. Donnie shielded his eyes, the acrid smell of burnt circuits and ozone filling the air.
Coughing, he desperately cleared the smoke, fearing the worst.
As the haze dissipated, Donnie's eyes widened.
There, on the table, Leo's form stirred. The once vacant eyes flickered, and the color returned to his cheeks. The room fell silent, the weight of the moment sinking in.
Donnie crossed his fingers. He didn't believe in luck, but he sure needed it right now.
This was gonna work.
This HAD to work.
And then, through the dissipating smoke, a faint cough cut through the silence, sending a shiver down Donnie's spine, the rumbled voice that followed made his nerves scream.
"Donnie?")