Chapter Text
Leo was beyond tired.
He constantly had to be at least visible to everyone not wanting to worry his family more. But even that became draining and he didn’t know how long he was going to last. But every time he tries to rest he’s met with the same nightmare.
He falls, he splatters, the figures follow him then he wakes up.
But they have started to follow him out of his dreams. When he feels he’s about to fall asleep he feels hands coming out to drag him through the floor. He’s even been seeing them around the lair. Like when he was keeping Mikey company in the kitchen or hearing Donne ramble in his lab. They would always be in the corner just…watching.
Now he’s had his fair share of visual hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation but his was different. It was like they were staring deep into his soul, calling out towards him. Wanting him to follow them.
But he can’t! His family needs him. He was there when his family slowly started to come undone when he was gone. He can’t leave them again. It doesn’t matter if he’s straining himself thin. It doesn’t matter that he’s past the point where he is struggling to even appear to his brothers.
He needs to be there for his family.
He has to stay visible to calm Donne’s nerves that he is, in fact, really there with them. He has to be tangible for when Mikey would come out of nowhere and give him a surprise hug. It’s gotten to the point that Mikey has learned to repress the shiver of meeting Leo’s ice cold skin.
He would be doing the same for Ralph but he hasn’t seen him in awhile. The only time he comes out of his room is for meals and missions. It’s totally out of character for him to not be doing something in the lair, be it training to planning missions to even cleaning up the other’s messes. The times Leo has seen Ralph he always looked happy around him but his eyes told a different story. His eyes looked hollow and filled with grief, only being highlighted by the deep eye bags.
He hated that look on his big brother’s face.
Sure he lost a brother but still. He’s back now! It’s like he never left. Shouldn’t Ralph be happy that he’s back with his family, that he’s not gone forever? Why can’t things go back to normal?
That’s how he found himself now, overthinking every minuscule detail. Pacing back and forth in his room. He is completely off, recharging. If any of his brothers would walk in on him now all they would feel would be a strong breeze in his room. He found out the hard way that when he tries to rest with him being visibly or tangible was not good for him. It would just drain him more, kind of like when you keep your phone charged at 100% it ruins the battery power and it doesn’t last as long. As long as he doesn’t appear as he did the day he died infront of anyone it was a win.
Usually he would be worried because technically he’s “asleep” but he found that when his mind is racing the figures don't appear in the corner of his eye. But overthinking wasn’t very helpful right now. Over analyzing every single thing about his interactions with his family is suffocating.
You would think getting a shrine to himself would be his greatest achievement. That’s all he ever wanted, to have this type of attention. To be honored and seen as a hero.
But at what cost.
He just wanted attention, is that too much to ask. And not the suffocating one like when Ralph wraps him in a blanket burrito and holds him in the air. The type that was genuine.
That little smile Ralph did when he did something right. The time Donne got so excited he hugged Leo instead of using his words. When Mikey and him have a flour fight in the kitchen, then Mikey leaves him to clean up all by himself.
When he would cry for splinter to look at him like he’s not invisible.
Leo shook his head trying to clear his mind. He decided to start moving around, his thoughts getting a little too much.
He made his way to the kitchen. He glanced at the stove clock and saw it read 3:00AM. Guess the rumors are true, 3 AM is when the ghosts come out. Leo laughs at himself as he grabs the tea pot and starts to boil water.
He still can’t drink but he can steal the warmth the tea has. He used to do this normally, just brewing a cup of tea just to ground himself in the warmth.
Sadly his thoughts didn’t leave him like he wanted. He just stared down at the mug in his hands. The warmth only reaching his palms, almost like it’s mocking him.
Another one of his comforts stripped away from him over an accident. That was his fault-
No. His hands tighten around the mug in his hand. It wasn’t his fault he got dropped off a building.
Draxum was the one that threw him.
He hears shuffling in the dark as he snaps his head up. Looking around he didn’t know what to expect. Splinter? Draxum? A stray cat Mikey always tries to sneak in?
The hooded figures with long arms beckoning him to join them?
He heard a yelp and the sound of the light switch flicking on. Leo looked down by the entrance to see Mikey’s shell on the floor. His little brother pops out jumping up.
“Leo, you scared the shit out of me!“
Mikey jumps over the counter to shake him by the shoulders while Leo laughs.
“Swear jar Mikey.”
“No! I get a pass because you scared me!”
“Fine.” Leo sighed and rolled his eyes as he peeled Mikey off of him.
“What are you doing up so early…” Leo looks over to the stove's clock to see the time is now 6:30 AM. Oops.
He felt Mikey’s grip on him tighten around him as Mikey shifted so he would hang off of Leo like a koala.
“So…. What do you feel like making this morning hermano?” Leo giggled trying to ease the tension in the room.
“What were you thinking about?” Mikey mumbled into Leo’s shoulder.
“Why?”
“You looked…angry.”
“Me? Angry? Mikey, you know me. I’m not quick to anger like Donne nooo. If looks could kill he would show up on one of those makeup true crime story times you were obsessed with a year ago. I mean-“
“No it’s not that.” Mikey cut Leo’s ramble short as the air stiffened. “Your eyes were glowing…like a lot! And your mask was wiping around like crazy! You just seemed…off.”
Leo didn’t respond this time, what can he say to his little brother. No, I was just thinking about that man who killed me. Nothing to worry about my mental health is fine! No, that would make him a liar, and Leo is not a liar. He just bends the truth.
“I was thinking about when Donne stole the last of my pop tarts and now I can’t get him back” Leo flicked Mikey’s forehead. “Speaking of pop tarts, let’s make a spread because I think April brought down a bunch. I think she even got those limited edition ones!”
“The Man Spider ones!”
The atmosphere brightened up as the two joked with each other. They may have forgotten the toaster rule but it was fine. It was only a small fire that they could cover up saying that it was just burnt.
_____
After getting a lecture about toaster safety and how Leo is still under the toaster ban he just wandered around. He found that he was bored easily, not wanting to push himself too far.
So which brother to bug? He glided past Donne’s lab and he heard the sounds of tinkering. Well he says tinkering but really it was just loud EDM music echoing past the soundproof doors.
Leo doesn’t even knock as he slips through the door. He jumps into his chair, spinning it around until he’s next to his twin.
Donne doesn’t even look up from his code flashing across his monitor. Donne was oblivious to Leo sitting right next to him, just bopping his head to EDM music.
He tries and fails to make out what his brother was doing. Something about a S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N, whatever that is. While Leo was studying the screens Donne shifted his head to the right, jumping in his chair.
“OH MY- Leo! You scared me!” Donne yelled over his music.
“That’s the second time today.” Leo yelled as Donne finally lowered the music. “So what'cha working on?”
“It’s a surprise!”
“Oh so it’s definitely going to blow up in our faces later then.”
“Offended gasp!” Donne clutched his chest dramatically. “I would never.”
“20 dollars.”
“I am not placing a bet that my invention will fail.”
“I’m not saying it’ll fail, I’m just saying that it has a 92% chance of turning evil.”
“Where are you getting your numbers from?” Donne pinched his nose bridge as Leo laughed.
“Sooo…can I get a hint on what the surprise is?”
“No! Then it wouldn’t be a surprise. Now get out!”
And with that Donne pushes Leo out of the lab with a metal arm.
Leo pouted at the door for a moment before walking out of the lair.
By the looks of the code on Donne’s screen he had some time before the surprise was ready. Which was good because right before bugging Donne Hueso called him in to cover a shift. Yay work, so much fun.
He was starting to get stir crazy staying inside all day.
“Where are you going?”
Leo stopped in his tracks as he heard Ralph’s voice. He looked over to see his big brother leaning on the wall by the exit.
“Out”
“Out where?” Ralph moved to block his path. Leo is fighting with himself on whether or not to just go through Ralph.
“Just out.” He shrugs as he slides past Ralph and out the exit.
“Why do you want to leave so badly?”
Leo could tell that there was some underlying reason Ralph was asking but he decided to ignore it.
“I think if I stay cooped up any longer, I might just explode.” Imitating an explosion with his hands.
Ralph let out a long sigh, a Ralph casm forming.
“Fine. But be back in time for dad’s lesson ok.”
“Ok!” Leo gave a mock salute as he walked down the tunnel.
He could still feel Ralph’s eyes burn a hole into the back of his shell as he made his way to the sewer cover.
_________
Regret.
So much regret.
He really should have taken a power nap or at least attempted one. But that’s what he gets for running on 3 hours of sleep for the past week. To be fair, why do ghosts need to sleep in the first place? It’s so unfair.
Hey at least he kept the number of broken plates to a minimum.
As he was walking down the tunnel he remembered what Ralph said before he left. He fumbled with his phone to see that he was 30 minutes late. Stupid Brandon showing up 20 minutes late to a shift, Ralph’s gonna kill him.
He runs further into the sewer, in the back of his mind he’s telling himself to just portal directly into the living but he shuts down that thought.
1) it would bring attention to himself and then he will get in trouble for sure.
2) He hasn’t tried the whole portal thing since he died.
It barely worked when he was alive. Why would it work now?
As he ran into the lair he heard his siblings voices coming from the projector room. He made his way in as casually as possible seeing Donne and Mikey play out a scene from Lou Jitsu Meets the Mummy King. Donne was, of course, the victim and Mikey the mummy. Usually this is were Ralph would come in-
“Where have you been!”
Leo swears he jumped a foot up as he looked back to see Ralph looming over him. Leo fiddled with his fingers trying to avoid Ralph’s glare.
“You’re 30 minutes late! You missed the one thing I told you to come too.”
“I lost track of time! You can't blame me for that.”
Leo flashed a grin as he tried to wave Ralph off.
“I actually can. Where were you in the first place?”
"Nonya.” Leo muttered. “What was that!” Ralph crouches down to meet Leo in the eye. Leo looked anywhere but Ralph’s eyes, sweat dripping off his brow.
“Come on guys stop bickering! We’re going to miss the Lou Jitsu Meets the Mummy King movie playing in the park!”
“No no no! You boys can see that another time after you CLEAN!” Splinter yells from the couch.
“No, our plans foiled!” Donne cried out. “Yeah splints we cleaned last year!” Leo joined in with his twin.
“It’s not even that bad.”
That all looks over the table where mountains and mountains of pizza boxes lie. The bottom ones are caved in with a sludge leaking out of it with bugs of all kinds, skittering ground.
“How about we find the turtles that did that and make them clean this up.”
“Great idea Leo.” Ralph slowly turned to him, grinding his teeth as he grinned.
“I vote Leo does it!”
“Mikey! Why me!?”
“You skipped out on dad’s lesson!” Ralph pointed down at him. Leo crossed his arms as he pouted like a toddler. “If you call watching a movie training.” He mumbled again.
Ralph glared daggers at Leo as he shrivels down into his shell. He may have crossed one too many lines and pushed too many buttons today. He makes a zipped lip motion and Ralph slowly backs off.
“While it may be funny if Leo does all the work I may have a-“
“A fix bro?”
“A fix bro. Hey! Leo stop stealing my lines.”
Leo gasped as he rushed in front of Donne, getting right up in his face. “Is this the surprise you were talking about!”
“Hey, no spoilers!” Donne waved a mechanical arm to push away Leo who just let it phase right through him. Leo stuck out his tongue as he mocked Donne, moving out of the way of the robotic hand trying to shove him off.
“ANYway! Now prepare to-“
“Eatith thy words!” Leo didn’t react fast enough and a metal arm hit them square in the face.
“Now before I get rudely interrupted again.” He shoots a glare at Leo. “I give you all, Shelldon!” with a rapid tap of a button a small silver drone appears out of the table with bright orange eyes.
“Good day kind sirs.”
Oh so that was all that code from before. Donne made his own ai. Leo would shower him with praise but if he did Donne’s forehead might grow bigger then it already is. He’ll let Donne have his zing moment as Shelldon cleans and brings out snacks.
Later they all settled in the arcade room getting to test out all of Sheldon's new features. Leo honestly was just trying to stay awake and he thinks he’s hiding it well. Shellon is the perfect distraction with the purple and orange duo playing a game and Ralph getting a shell massage.
Something seems fishy with how much Shelldon is favoring Donne though.
“So is my bet still on?”
“Uh no! Shelldon here is not capable of whatever you mean by “failing”.”
“Oh so you’re just making him favorite you?” Leo said as he watched as Mikey got launched out of the video game chair.
“Master Donatello would never.”
“Suuurrree, and I’m Da Vinci”
“Technically you are…” Leo threw a tennis ball at Donne’s head to shut him up.
—-
So if it wasn’t obvious before it is now. Shelldon is favoring Donne.
From not allowing them to eat leftover pizza, the audacity. The robot also had lasers which lines up with his theory that these robots are definitely going to go rouge.
Donne made a true enemy at night though. Leo was looking forward to it all day, letting sweet unconsciousness rip him away with hopefully no night visions.
Of course Donne had to ruin that dream with him blasting his daily affirmations along with his terrible EDM music. It made the whole layer shake from the sheer volume.
“Could you at least play some vocaloid!”
He had no choice, he had to treat Shelldon like an Alexa.
“Hey Shelldon, I'm sad play David Bowie.”
“Hey Shelldon, play Despacito.”
“Shelldon, what is the weather like tomorrow?”
“Hey Shelldon, play some Hatsune Miku.”
“Hey Shelldon, what are the lottery numbers?”
“Hey Shelldon, play the Fanboy and chum chum theme song.”
Eventually Leo overheated the system and Shelldon turned it off. With a job well done he walked off to his room. He turned a blind eye to Ralph and Mikey sneaking into Donne’s lab. It’s not his business and he ain't no snitch.
Well maybe he should have been a snitch this one time. He should have seen it coming with Ralph and Mikey acting like Sheldon was the new Donne. Leo acted along because it was hilarious and he wasn’t missing out on that opportunity. But things got… out of hand.
“Come on bros, just let me turn Donne into turtle dust and then us real bros can hang out.”
“Does this mean I get my 20 dollars?”
“No this doesn’t count! You guys reprogrammed him!”
“We would never.”
They ran out of the kitchen into the main hall as Shelldon followed them out.
“You can’t be our fourth brother!” Mikey pointed up at the drone.
“I beg to differ.” The. Shelldon unleashed a thousand sharp arms from out of the roof. Seriously why did Shelldon need this many robot arms with weapons of mass distribution.
“Just admit it Donne, you made him favor you over us.”
“You made him try to vaporize me!”
“Enough whining Donne.”
They start to move around the moving saw blades and pinchers. They punched and distorted as much as they could be the robot started to overwhelm them.
Shelldon managed to pin Ralph and Mikey to the wall and strapped Donne down to a table to be sawed open.
Leo did the only thing he could.
“It’s burrito time!” The floating microwave came zooming in by Ralph. Ralph grabbed it right out of the air and chucked it at the robot. That seemed to do the trick as everything came crashing down.
“Sooo my 20 dollars.” Leo drawls out as he shoves his hand to Donne. “No, because I have a backup Shelldon 2.0.” They all looked at Donne for a solid 3 minutes, “this time no favoritism.”
“I was right!”
—-
Leo once saw an article saying that after 4 days of no sleep you start to develop sleep deprivation psychosis.
That must be what’s going on here.
“What’s wrong buddy, have a staring problem”
Leo is starting daggers at one of the hooded figures that has been a thorn in his side since he died. He really wishes that would tell him whatever reason they have been stalking him instead of just staring.
“Like do we have a problem or something?”
The thing just stared unblinking.
“What are you, the ghost of Christmas past?”
Leo laughed at himself for the joke. At least that’s what he told himself. A type of static energy filled the room making his skin prickle.
“Come…with me.” The figure whispered out though to Leo it sounded like it was screaming in his head. This is the first time one of the things actually talked to him and if he wasn’t already freaked out he is now.
“Why should I?” Leo pretended his voice didn’t shake. Its voice echoed against his skull.
“… responsibility..” it breathed out, reaching out its hand. It beckoned him forward. Something deep inside him wanted so bad to take its hand and follow it.
But what about his brothers?
“If you want me to come with you… then why do you just follow me around? Why don’t you just take me?”
“…willing…”
Leo’s heart sank right to his stomach, a chill crawling its way up his spine.
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
The figure reached its hand out to him again, calling to him. Calling his name over and over again. Begging and pleading for him to follow it. Leo's breath quickens like something is squeezing his lungs. He feels something inside him yarning to follow it, pulling him towards the figure. He starts to panic as he gets out of bed and starts walking towards it. In his head he's screaming at himself. He doesn't want to follow it. He needs to be with his brothers, they still need him.
He can't just disappear again.
He hears crashing down the hall and he breaks from his trance. When he looked back the figure was no longer there. He lets out a breath that he didn't know he was holding only to let out a yelp as his curtain doors were ripped open. Mikey came sliding into the door frame staring at him for a second only to get a running start and pounce on Leo.
“Wha- Mikey what’s wrong?”
Mikey just hugs him tighter, Leo tries to return the hug but his arms slip through Mikey’s shell for a brief moment. He panicked and just hovered his hands over his little brother.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Mikey nodded his head against Leo’s shoulder and hugged him impossibly tighter.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Mikey shakes his head no so Leo just shrugs. If he was Ralph he would probably press for more information. Instead he rocks back and forth until Mikey eventually lets go enough so that they are sitting up side by side with Mikey still holding his arm.
He knew Mikey hated being babied and belittled. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t use his younger brother privilege, he just wants to be confronted, not lectureed.
As they settled on Leo’s bed, he was starting to nod off as he watched Mikey play on his phone flipping from one social media to another. Leo actually thought he might be able to finally sleep. He felt his eyes get heavy as he closed them for a minute longer until they no longer opened.
They snapped open though when he felt that annoyingly familiar sensation of being watched. Where the old phantom was a different one. This one was surprisingly, not a hooded figure. This one was a Japanese woman with a high bun and a flowing kimono. Her expression was full of sorrow and longing.
Normally Leo would just ignore what he thinks is a hallucination driven by his sleep deprived brain. But Mikey is right next to him. What if it messes with Mikey too.
What if it tries to take Mikey away too.
“Leo!”
Leo snaps his head towards Mikey. Mikey’s eyes are blown wide and his lip is trembling. Leo tilts his head to the side, quickly risking a glance at where the figure used to be only to see nothing.
“What was that!!”
“What was what?”
“The..you know the-the” Mikey flails his arms around, “your eyes and masks and everything was glowing!”
“Again?”
“Again!”
Leo rubs the back of his neck looking anywhere but Mikey.
“Are you going to explain it?”
“Are you going to tell me about your nightmare?”
Mikey pouts, crossing his arms, now it’s his turn to not look Leo in the eye.
“Soooo….” Leo taps his fingers together, leaning against Mikey.
Mikey takes a gulp of air “If something was going on you would tell us right?” Mikey blurted out.
“Only if you do the same.”
Of course he wouldn’t burden his own problems onto his little brother and by the way Mikey sinks down further in the blankets and pillows, he knows he feels the same.
Leo rubs the edge of his mask tails between his fingers trying to fight off the awkward silence. He just couldn’t stop staring at the corner.
Mikey, taking the opportunity to change the subject to show Leo his phone.
“Look!
Leo leaned over to get a better look at Mikey’s screen. It seems to be an old ad for a game when-
“Oh my gosh there is a Lou Jitsu game!”
“We gotta get it! I need this in my life right now!” Mikey jumps up on the bed to shake Leo. After Leo was thoroughly scrambled Mikey goes on the hunt to order it.
“Found it!” Mikey slams down the purchase button. “Oh baby! We are going to be the proud owner of a copy of Hot Soup: The Game! Let’s go!”
“So when is it going to be mailed here?”
“Oh wait, I have to pick it up at an auction house.”
“How are we going to pick it up with, well, with this whole situation.” Leo gestures to Mikey’s face. “Plus Ralph will never let you leave alone.”
“There’s only one way to find out!” Mikey jumps off the bed to run off to wherever Ralph is. Leo just sighs as he drags himself off the bed. He has a bad feeling worming its way in his stomach.
He looks back in his room before he shuts the curtains when he sees the same woman before in the same corner.
He quickly runs off after Mikey.