When Donatello and Leonardo are thirty-five, another high-stakes mission is required.
This time, they will be gone for a little over a month in total, with Draxum staying behind to watch over Casey. An iffy choice, but Todd had already opted out of babysitting and they didn't have many people left to watch over the boy.
The mission, objectively, was simple. Travel to Minnesota for a trade with another group, scavenge for items, then leave.
But of course, fate thinks of Donatello's family as its favorite plaything.
The Kraang was waiting for them as they left Minnesota.
They fought back, but were chased around in circles like some sort of twisted game of tag. The Sister picked them off one by one, with Kraang-hounds or other. Donatello witnessed acquaintances turn into mindless Kraang-zombies. And this admission makes guilt crawl under his skin, but he's hoping it's only the people he's barely talked to that continue being lost, instead of his friends and family.
"Donnie, on your left!" He hears April warn him through his communicator, and turns just in time to mercilessly bash his bō into the head of a Hound.
He has no time to even thank his sister before he's surrounded by more. Oh, what he would give to have his mystic powers right now. But enough of that.
He presses a button on the side of his improved tech-bō and a flamethrower appears, and when he waves the flames the beasts screech and back away, hissing dangerously at him but never running away. Donatello growls in frustration, but doesn't retreat just yet.
He scans the area, looking for a weakness in the ring of Hounds that surround him.
When he hears a chittering beside him, he finally strikes.
Quickly pressing another button, a blade pops out just in time for Donatello to jab it into one of the smaller Hounds' heads. When he removes the blade, another beast is already leaping towards him, a snarl on its face. He nimbly dodges, and the Hounds forget him for a moment to feast on the fallen one.
It disgusts him, but it gives him ample time to flee.
He brings his wrist towards his face to check the communicator, briefly reminded of the Fallout games, before checking his friends' trackers. Leonardo hasn't moved from the same place in over an hour, and Donatello doesn't trust the implications of that. He quickly starts racing towards where his twin should be.
He passed several prone bodies of people he barely knew, as well as enemies. He can't bring himself to feel anything but worry though, because his brother's tracker is somewhere here.
He finally sees Leonardo, and his brain, in an attempt to lighten his mood, briefly compares his body to the death by glue trap meme. He starts cackling, even though it isn't that funny. Donnie falls to his knees and skids to a stop beside his brother, his laughter trailing off into sniffled hiccups as he sees the gouge carved into Leo's side.
Leonardo turns with a grunt when he hears Donnie, and the mechanic just notices the prosthetic that's missing, but he can't bring himself to care about his hard work rendered void when his brother is currently bleeding out right in front of him.
"Hey, don't close your eyes!" Donnie starts lightly slapping Leo to keep him awake, but he's given a cheeky grin for his effort.
"Weren't you just telling me to get some sleep a while ago?"
"Yes! But you're bleeding out! You. Will. Die!" He giggles, before coughing out a sob.
Leo hums nonchalantly, before shuddering. Donnie immediately grabs Leo and brings him closer.
"Are you cold? What happened? Where did your arm go? Not that I care, I just want to know if you think you'll make it since your the head medic and I'm just the mechanic–"
He's fretting and rambling, but it's the only thing he can do as his brain melts with panic. Being cold isn't a good sign, right? Leo grabs his wrist, grounding Donnie and making him pause.
"You know the answer to that." He breathes. "We're what? Ten days from the base? I'll never make it like this, you know that."
Donnie choked, a high pitched keening noise escaping him because he does know that, but he's tired of being pessimistic and he just wants his brother.
Leo sighs shakily, gently moving Donnie's wrist so it cups his face.
"Can you hold me for a bit?" He requests.
Donnie nods quickly, maneuvering Leo so his head is on Donnie's lap, and he gives the mechanic a small smile.
"Remember that forcefield you had?" He brings up after a quiet moment.
"It-" Donnie coughs. "It's still in beta, so it's nothing more than a glorified sound-proof wall."
"Perfect. Can you set it up?"
And Donnie quickly brings out a small disk, pressing the top of it before setting it beside them, and it surrounds them in a translucent purple dome.
Leo closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. The world smells like limestone and dust, with an underlying scent of death, but Donnie refrains from pointing it out as Leo gives him a soft, knowing grin.
"Go ahead, let it out."
And Donnie wails.
He screams, he hiccups, and he sobs. And Leo gently pats his legs, baring through it. This isn't fair! He cries, but the world won't hear him. The world doesn't care.
He's fatigued, he's sad, he wants to go home and he misses his dad. He wants his dad! He wants Raph! He wants someone!
"I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark." Leo mumbles, and that stupid reference, the dumb comment from years ago about Donnie's markings is what breaks him even further.
Leo chokes, before spitting out a wad of blood and hyperventilating.
Donnie wants to help, but he can't do anything because he's also hyperventilating. So he tries to press a shaky hand against Leo's chest, trying to remind him to breathe. But his own rasping gasps just send Leo further into a panic.
He cries harder, and he's never felt more useless in his life as his other half fades away, his last moments filled with pain and panic.
____________
Supported by Usagi, Donnie collapses the second he's in the base, and the yokai lets him fall before joining him, unconscious before his head hits the ground.
They're left alone for a total of five minutes, before the featherlight footfall of Casey joins the room.
Eleven-year-old Casey nervously sits next to Donnie.
"Dad?" He asks. "Where's papa?" He looks around, searching for Leo like he's hiding. Casey catches sight of the blade he knows Leo always had with him, and Donnie's tears come back tenfold, the blood on his overalls making him feel like a murderer as he swipes a thumb over the blue bandana tied around his wrist.
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Crestfallen at The End of The World
Fanfiction"But at least we can restart?" - At the tender age of sixteen, Hamato Donatello was trapped in a new circle of Hell, along with everyone else. Thank you, Kraang, he thought sarcastically. It was an accident. That's how it started. It was no one's fa...
