Chapter Text
- Leo! Are you sure you’re feeling better?
- Of course, Mike. Trust your big brother. Do you think I’d go out without knowing I could handle this? – he said, jumping from one building to another without looking.
- LEO! You’re going to give me a heart attack if you get yourself hurt! – said Raph, watching how his brother nearly slipped off the edge by just a few centimeters.
- Leave him, Raph. If dum dum gets hurt, he’ll be waiting for me in the medical wing this time.
That made Leo worry. His twin could be cruel sometimes, but he did it for his own good – just like the others. They only worried about him.
After the battle with the Kraang, his brothers realized how easily they could lose him. But Leo had always felt that fear. Being left alone would make him useless, and he wouldn’t allow any of his brothers to get hurt.
While they searched for traces of the hounds the Kraang had left behind, Leo felt the sting in his leg again. His brothers noticed the change in his expression.
Golden chains from his little brother wrapped tightly around him, pulling him back through the air straight into the arms of his older brother.
- Mph… Raph? Can you let me go? I’m fi—EEE HHhh… DONNEY!! Don’t touch my leg like that again! – he yelled, watching his twin inspect his knee.
- You’re not fully recovered, Lee. We have to go back to the lair. – said Mikey, poking his head over Raph’s shell, where a clear wrinkle of worry was already forming.
- Sigh… fine, guys. You’re right, my leg’s not completely healed, but that’s all. How about we rest for a few minutes, and if I feel better, we do one more round and call it a day?
His brothers exchanged worried glances, sighed, and decided to rest.
- But if it starts hurting again…
- Yeah, yeah, I know – back to the lair, hahaha relax.
He tried not to show pain when he sat down, but his mask — the “I’m fine” face — was slowly fading. He realized his brothers truly cared about him, just as he cared about them.
While he was distracted watching the city, he felt someone sit beside him. He turned, expecting Miguel, but was surprised to find his twin.
- Dee?
- Shut up, Leo. You know you’re not okay. We can see it. You don’t need to push yourself if it’s not healed yet. We can wait a little longer.
That made Leo’s heart feel warm. His brothers’ concern, even if it made him uneasy, carried love in every word.
He smiled and bumped shoulders with Donnie so he’d look at him.
- Like I said before, don’t worry. I’ve got this under control. If I need help, I’ll say it — pinky promise.
- Leo, you know we don’t have pinkies.
That made him laugh, and for a few minutes, the heavy atmosphere lifted.
The city, calm as usual, stayed that way until Leo’s phone rang — surprising him to see it was Señor Hueso.
- Señor Hueso! What’s this call about?
- PEPINO! Trouble in the Hidden City! One of the perros somehow ended up here and we can’t control it! We’re at the central port — if you can get rid of it—HEY! ATRÁS PERRO SARNOSO— the call cut off.
- GUYS! Hueso, help, dog, now! – he said, standing up and opening a portal to the location Señor Hueso had mentioned.
His brothers looked at each other, nodded, and ran through the portal.
Leo went last, taking a deep breath before stepping through. The portals reminded him…
When he arrived, his brothers were already protecting the nearby Yokai — among them Señor Hueso, who was holding Hueso Junior.
He approached and noticed the hound had a collar and chains around its legs, as if someone had tried to capture it. That didn’t just anger him — his brothers radiated the same fury.
- Alright, guys. Donnie!
- I don’t see any improvements in its system, or any magic in its body. The chains only have a faint trace of minor magic.
- Raph, get the chains. Mike, more of your chains — let’s make this dog sit down.
And just as he said, his brothers pinned the hound to the ground, giving it no chance to escape.
- Donnie, look for traces of the chain’s magic. It might lead us to whoever tried to capture it.
He said this while helping Señor Hueso stand up.
- Thanks, Pepino. I knew we could count on you guys. The cops here didn’t even dare to show up.
- Thanks for calling us, B.Man. Is Junior okay?
- Yeah, it was just the scare. Caught us off guard — when he wakes up, he’ll want to know who his savior was.
- Hahaha, yeah B.Man, as if he won’t think it was you. – he said with a shy smile.
Once he made sure the Yokai were safe, he turned to his brothers, who were still watching the hound.
- Any clue about the chains, Dee?
- Nothing yet, but if we move, I might be able to track it.
- Alright, then let’s finish this once and for all. – he said, drawing his swords, but a hand stopped him.
His twin leaned in and whispered:
- Don’t you think this isn’t the right time for that?
He lifted his gaze and saw Michael staring at him with frightened eyes, and the Yokai around them were tense and overwhelmed by what he was about to do right there in the middle of the port.
His hands trembled with frustration, but Dee was right. Up until now, Mikey hadn’t seen how they got rid of the hounds.
With a sigh, he opened a portal beneath the hound, sending it to a secure place his brother had built for such cases.
- Alright, guys, we’re done with the dog. Now let’s find the idiots who tried this. Dee, lead the way.
Once Donnie managed to track the magical residue from the chains, they followed it to some nearby warehouses. The mess around the place made it clear the hound had escaped from there.
- WHERE IS IT?! I PAID TO KEEP IT, NOT TO LOSE IT!
They heard a jackal Yokai yelling at another one with his back turned.
- We’ll find it, sir! My guys already went after it, they should be close.
Once they confirmed those two were alone, they appeared right in front of them, grabbing their attention.
- I’m afraid your dog is ours now. – Leo drew his swords menacingly. – And bringing it here was a bad decision.
The yokai with his back turned, now visible wearing a thief's mask, slowly backed away as the jackal yokai advanced furiously.
- You… YOU! If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened! My wife—she wouldn’t have turned into… I’LL KILL YOU! – he screamed, lunging at them.
Leo dodged him, feeling pity for the jackal’s pain, but seeing his brothers’ faces filled with the same emotion, he decided to step in and try to calm the situation.
- Hey, hey, sir, we still have the dog, we didn’t hurt it. I just need you to calm down so we can talk this out. – he said, taking a step forward carefully.
The jackal seemed to calm down, stopping and breathing heavily while staring at the ground.
- Leo, I don’t think this is a good idea — he’s giving off too much magic. He might be a mage.
And with that distraction, Leo didn’t notice the jackal pulling a coin from his jacket and slamming it onto his chest plate.
- What—?
In the spiral of air, yesterday sleeps,
the echo of a fault that begs to repeat.
I turn my hands, not to time, but to soul,
unbinding the sorrow, restoring the whole.
Let time shatter its own design,
let it swallow the pain, erase every line.
Let the cursed echo break in its spin,
and only its voice remain within.
Nothing happened at first. His brothers stayed tense, worried because they didn’t know what was coming — but everything went to hell when a purple light burst from beneath the coin.
- HAHAHAHAHAHA! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! – he heard the jackal shout.
- LEO! – his brothers screamed.
His vision began to darken, slowly, inevitably. The noise, the voices, the light... everything disappeared. And only nothingness remained.