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memestertrucks2025-03-15 03:07 pm
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Entry tags:
MARCH TDM
After tumbling through shadow you find yourself in a shrouded, ruined garage. It’s full of shattered windows and broken mechanical equipment, with all sorts of sharp edges to watch out for. Between that are strange symbols scrawled into the ground. Outside is cloudy weather and the beginnings of a storm flickering and rumbling.
Beyond the rundown garage is a rundown gas station surrounded by rolling, grassy hills. Close by is a Convoy of vehicles, either parked or driving up to station.
01: SUMMONING CIRCLE
This time the summoning circle and car garage is attached to retro diner, and an old wind turbine, barely still spinning and providing fading power. There’s also a broken radio playing a message about Nirvana and imploring people to head north. In fact, there’s a large amount of broken electric equipment in here and spitting sparks.
A fan circles overhead, stirring those sparks and creating a breeze. Trails of paper are attached to the fan, spinning lazily about. If Drifters choose, they can easily retrieve those paper talismans with little more than a slight static shock. While the paper is tattered and smeared with ink and blood, the following can be made out: “Broken in two […] Nothing to lose-“ “Moon mourns, call her down, ease her pain-“ “Need […] Better vessels from afar. Stronger souls-“ “Imbue with moon sigils, Give blessings of moon, share her pain. Put the ritual right.”
Hard to say what that all means, but it seems to have something to do with the summoning circle here. And there’s lingering power crackling through the building. The sort that makes the lights flash and flicker… And line up eerily with flashes of thunder on the horizon.
A fan circles overhead, stirring those sparks and creating a breeze. Trails of paper are attached to the fan, spinning lazily about. If Drifters choose, they can easily retrieve those paper talismans with little more than a slight static shock. While the paper is tattered and smeared with ink and blood, the following can be made out: “Broken in two […] Nothing to lose-“ “Moon mourns, call her down, ease her pain-“ “Need […] Better vessels from afar. Stronger souls-“ “Imbue with moon sigils, Give blessings of moon, share her pain. Put the ritual right.”
Hard to say what that all means, but it seems to have something to do with the summoning circle here. And there’s lingering power crackling through the building. The sort that makes the lights flash and flicker… And line up eerily with flashes of thunder on the horizon.
02: START UP
New arrivals will have a similar experience to before; a Convoy waiting outside for them, and a collection of vehicles, one of which feels like it belongs to them. The key to the vehicle may already be in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on their person, ever since they woke up in that garage. Either way, Drifters have the keys to the vehicle now.
…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
03: STORM WARNING
There’s something odd in the sky; it shifts between a dark cloud, and a collection of birds. As the thing draws closer, it clearly becomes a mix of both. Car-sized, dark feathered birds and skeletal avians fly in a thundering flock, and turn the sky stormy in their wake. That alone is bad… But what’s worse is how the shiny chrome of the Convoy and vehicles draws the birds. As they dive towards the ground to snatch at the shiny metal, they pull the storm and bring a tornado with them. The Convoy does its best to anchor to the ground, but lighter vehicles and Drifters might not be so lucky.
The garage and diner takes it worst of all: the electric devices start spitting sparks and can even act as homing beacons for lightning strikes if a Drifter with electric abilities gets too close to them. Any remaining, intact windows shatter as the storm winds pick up, pelting Drifters with razor shards. And water starts pouring in, further shorting electric equipment and soaking anyone to the bone. There’s even a strange droning, siren like noise to warn about the storm and cut into one’s hearing. It’s difficult conditions for anyone caught up in the blow-out.
The garage and diner takes it worst of all: the electric devices start spitting sparks and can even act as homing beacons for lightning strikes if a Drifter with electric abilities gets too close to them. Any remaining, intact windows shatter as the storm winds pick up, pelting Drifters with razor shards. And water starts pouring in, further shorting electric equipment and soaking anyone to the bone. There’s even a strange droning, siren like noise to warn about the storm and cut into one’s hearing. It’s difficult conditions for anyone caught up in the blow-out.
04: WEATHERING
Once the main force of the storm hits, the following happens:
Diversion: Those with Fast cars can drive away from the station and divert the birds. They’ll want a second Drifter to come along; either to snipe at the pursuing birds, or keep eyes on the terrain! Eventually the birds will tire or get culled enough that the storm disperses.
Updraft: There is the risk of getting swept up in the tornado winds. Damage, injuries… And a particular quirk this storm has. Drifters who spend more than a minute in the storm winds will find that they begin to take on traits from the Harpy monster. These traits increase in potency if the Drifter experiences hunger or violence. As the weather clears and days become calmer, the traits fade.
Downburst: If Drifters get slammed into the ground by the storm, or the dark birds flying about. They may also find themselves drenched with rain. Any injury they take mends quickly, but is replaced with scales, as the Drifters begin to resemble a Naga monster. These changes grow worse if they tell lies, but disperse with the storm.
BIRDS: The birds themselves are vicious: those afflicted with Naga traits are seen as prey, while Harpies are seen as rivals. The birds are deadly, but also clumsy if forced to the ground. The screens on the Convoy recommend crippling the wings before finishing the bird off on the ground.
Diversion: Those with Fast cars can drive away from the station and divert the birds. They’ll want a second Drifter to come along; either to snipe at the pursuing birds, or keep eyes on the terrain! Eventually the birds will tire or get culled enough that the storm disperses.
Updraft: There is the risk of getting swept up in the tornado winds. Damage, injuries… And a particular quirk this storm has. Drifters who spend more than a minute in the storm winds will find that they begin to take on traits from the Harpy monster. These traits increase in potency if the Drifter experiences hunger or violence. As the weather clears and days become calmer, the traits fade.
Downburst: If Drifters get slammed into the ground by the storm, or the dark birds flying about. They may also find themselves drenched with rain. Any injury they take mends quickly, but is replaced with scales, as the Drifters begin to resemble a Naga monster. These changes grow worse if they tell lies, but disperse with the storm.
BIRDS: The birds themselves are vicious: those afflicted with Naga traits are seen as prey, while Harpies are seen as rivals. The birds are deadly, but also clumsy if forced to the ground. The screens on the Convoy recommend crippling the wings before finishing the bird off on the ground.
04: MONSTER SHIFT, NAGA
This month, Drifters will have access to the serpentine Naga. On top of all Naga species traits being available, the following occurs:
+Cold Blooded: the rain and storms can potentially make Naga slow and sluggish, or inclined to sleep or seek out other heat sources to gain energy; this includes basking in body heat from others!
+Water Divert: With their water shaping, Naga can divert falling rain and even ground saturation to make the area or other Drifters more dry. They can also concentrate water into different areas, and can also change water into mist or ice.
+Blue shift: the scales of Naga become more vibrantly blue, or a strange mottled combination of blue and stormy gray, the more intense the rains become. These scale colors can also reflect their moods.
+Extra arms that are painful and disorienting to grow, and can result in coordination issues.
+Scale Pains: Pain and discomfort when scales grow in, as well as fangs or talons!
+Water glide: during floods from the rains, Naga find they can easily traverse deep water as though they were simply walking (or slithering) across it.
+Thermal vision, making it easy to track others in the middle of storms. Vision may also become disorienting, and eyes become slitted.
+Cold Blooded: the rain and storms can potentially make Naga slow and sluggish, or inclined to sleep or seek out other heat sources to gain energy; this includes basking in body heat from others!
+Water Divert: With their water shaping, Naga can divert falling rain and even ground saturation to make the area or other Drifters more dry. They can also concentrate water into different areas, and can also change water into mist or ice.
+Blue shift: the scales of Naga become more vibrantly blue, or a strange mottled combination of blue and stormy gray, the more intense the rains become. These scale colors can also reflect their moods.
+Extra arms that are painful and disorienting to grow, and can result in coordination issues.
+Scale Pains: Pain and discomfort when scales grow in, as well as fangs or talons!
+Water glide: during floods from the rains, Naga find they can easily traverse deep water as though they were simply walking (or slithering) across it.
+Thermal vision, making it easy to track others in the middle of storms. Vision may also become disorienting, and eyes become slitted.
04: MONSTER SHIFT, HARPY
The storm will bring a second monster this month, in the form of Harpy. On top of all Harpy species traits being active, the following occurs:
+Storm Rider: high agility and capable of flying through the storm winds without hindrance. Even tornadoes can be mastered!
+Feather pains: itching, or full pain when growing feathers or wings. Talons may also be painful when growing from fingers or from feet.
+Wind Affinity: able to shape wind, including diverting the worst of the storm winds, or summon and focus wind into razors.
+Warbling Voice: words may waver and slip into something more songlike, or even a damaging sonic scream if emotions are heightened.
+Height Call: a need to get higher into the air, whether through perching on buildings or the convoy, or through flight. A sense of euphoria as they go higher.
+Nest Building: a compulsion to create a nest out of spare and soft objects, and feeling more safe inside that space.
+Heightened vision like a bird of prey, able to pick out details even at great distance. This may be disorienting at first, as vision becomes telescopic.
+Storm Rider: high agility and capable of flying through the storm winds without hindrance. Even tornadoes can be mastered!
+Feather pains: itching, or full pain when growing feathers or wings. Talons may also be painful when growing from fingers or from feet.
+Wind Affinity: able to shape wind, including diverting the worst of the storm winds, or summon and focus wind into razors.
+Warbling Voice: words may waver and slip into something more songlike, or even a damaging sonic scream if emotions are heightened.
+Height Call: a need to get higher into the air, whether through perching on buildings or the convoy, or through flight. A sense of euphoria as they go higher.
+Nest Building: a compulsion to create a nest out of spare and soft objects, and feeling more safe inside that space.
+Heightened vision like a bird of prey, able to pick out details even at great distance. This may be disorienting at first, as vision becomes telescopic.
05: RAIN, SHINE, OR SALVAGE
Upon culling enough birds, the storm disperses. The monster avians dissolve as they drop into streams of energy, feeding into Drifter Sigils and providing limited healing. And handful remain intact when they hit the ground and can be harvested for meat, feathers, and possibly even talons.
There is one extra problem, in the form of falling debris. After being pulled up into the sky, wreckage (and possibly stray Drifters) are going to drop back down. It’s advised to look out for falling objects and people. It might be possible to salvage something in the form of scrap metal for any vehicle repairs, but such a task requires two.
There is one extra problem, in the form of falling debris. After being pulled up into the sky, wreckage (and possibly stray Drifters) are going to drop back down. It’s advised to look out for falling objects and people. It might be possible to salvage something in the form of scrap metal for any vehicle repairs, but such a task requires two.
06: STORM SHOT
The storm can be dispersed in one of two ways. One is waiting the storm out. The second is a battered collection of machines melted into the roof of the garage and gas station. When touched they burn the hands of Drifters, but also fire a jolt of lightning into the storm. One shot lessens the effects of the storm, repeated shots completely disperses the weather.
In the aftermath of the storm, something different rains from the sky in the form of glowing, quicksilver feathers. These feathers can suppress one avian or serpentine trait for a month, and can also drain away any Naga or Harpy changes from the event completely.
Alternately, the feathers will allow Drifters to temporarily access flight for one day. Doing so completely robs the feather of its magic: only one effect can be chosen from a feather.
In the aftermath of the storm, something different rains from the sky in the form of glowing, quicksilver feathers. These feathers can suppress one avian or serpentine trait for a month, and can also drain away any Naga or Harpy changes from the event completely.
Alternately, the feathers will allow Drifters to temporarily access flight for one day. Doing so completely robs the feather of its magic: only one effect can be chosen from a feather.
MICRO ENCOUNTERS:
PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.
Windy Days: Preceding the storm are gales of strong winds, enough to stagger Drifters or send them staggering into other people or other vehicles.
Diner Is Served: While the retro diner attached to the garage has only limited food stores, curiously there is a respectable amount of cooking equipment that can be plundered. Portable stoves, pots and pans, spoons, and the like are all available for the taking.
Fading Storm: In the aftermath of the storm, the garage and diner look like they’re on their last legs, barely held up by their shelving. Anyone who wants to try salvaging had better move fast and carefully, before the entire thing comes crashing down.
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We almost lost you once.
almost
Leo stares for a moment, his eyes almost blank, as the words and their implications wash over him. What does it mean? What is Donnie referring to?
They did lose him - or rather, he lost them, but he had to, it was the only way...
Leo wraps an arm around Donnie again, much more loosely this time, more on instinct than anything. He's staring somewhere beyond Donnie's shoulder.
"I just meant... I mean, if I'm a... zombie, or whatever I am now, it's probably not a big deal. That's all. You don't have to worry about it."
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He tenses at the very suggestion. Is that what it is? Zombies are monsters, but Leo's not out chewing on brains... Something else, then? His monster lore is heavily reliant on movies, comics and video games.
"...you're my brother. It's impossible not to worry."
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Leo chokes up at that, his eyes suddenly watering again. Even if he’s dead, they still…
He rapidly blinks his eyes and sighs, like he’s being majorly inconvenienced, even if he doesn’t actually feel that way.
“Fine, fine… If it’ll make you feel better, we can dress it.”
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Donnie doesn't like that Leo's words and his general attitude have just been so...accepting of everything. Resigned to his fate, away from home, away from the rest of their family. That thought somehow hurts more than anything else, and it prompts Donnie to wrap his arms around Leo again, like he can remind him with another hug, how things are supposed to be, how they'll always be.
"It'll be a start," he says in some attempt at levity.
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“Let’s go to the convoy - I have some stuff on the train.”
He slices with his sword, and a portal opens, which will take them to one of the bunk cars.
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Donnie grunts, trying to gather himself up. This is what he gets for never focusing on core exercises.
"The...oh, right." He'd almost forgotten about everything outside of the diner and garage. With how wobbly he still is, trying to get used to the new tail and all, he's glad for the extra hand in keeping him upright. He's even more grateful for the shortcut, which minimizes his having to figure out how snakes move. Watching it on Nature Planet is one thing, putting it into action is completely different!
"So what's the deal with all the cars and stuff out there. -if that dumb tornado carried off the one I replaced the tires on..."
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He helps Donnie through the portal, and soon they’re at the bunk Leo claimed as his. Not that there’s much to tell it’s his - he has meager possessions, after all. There’s some fabric scraps under the bunk, a few random baubles he’s found in other cars and houses, a cap hanging off a nail that says “HOT ROD” in gaudy, flaming font, and, taped to the wall beside the bunk, the picture of all of them, come from the future and across dimensions.
Leo starts rummaging around as he talks.
“It’s called the convoy - the train thing, and all the cars that ride with it. We’re supposed to follow it to some place called Nirvana - probably a trap, but we don’t have any better ideas so far.”
He pulls out a messy roll of bandages, trying to spool them back into something manageable. “Everyone feels a pull to one of the vehicles - mine’s a sweet motorcycle, by the way! Looks like one of the shellhogs, actually. And the train has some kind of shield, so it’s the safest place to be when anything weird starts happening… Here.”
He holds the messy bandages out to Donnie.
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It's strangely sobering to be brought to a space that isn't familiar in any way. Yet, Leo's made this bunk his own and even with its meager decorations, there's still just enough to make it obvious for those in the know. Donnie finds his lips quirking in a crooked smirk at the cap there. Typical Leo. And then his eyes find the picture, making his chest ache once again with that uncomfortable feeling.
"I guess it'd be pretty tricky trying to get any information from anywhere when there doesn't seem to be much of anything around... Although listening to some mysterious broken-up voice on a radio doesn't exactly sound ideal either..."
Nirvana? Traveling with a convoy to find it? It sounds all sorts of suspicious, if not flat-out weird. "Sounds like a B-movie plot."
Donnie glances over as Leo starts gathering up bandages, frowning although it's hard to tell it's because of the state of the roll or the vehicle situation. "A...pull," he echoes, snout wrinkling. More magic nonsense? "I think I was too busy trying not to freak out to notice."
As Leo offers the bandages, Donnie manages to turn himself around. He seems to have figured out how to balance enough, but he still looks down as he tries to work out what part of his tail should be moving first for him to get anywhere. After a bit of windmilling he makes it...a couple of inches enough to reach out and take the bandages, inspecting them before he nods.
"All right. This'll be easier if you sit down."
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Actually, it's all been pretty harrowing, but Leo doesn't want to frighten Donnie right off the bat - not when he's already freaked out by the sudden snake tail. He doesn't need to know about the chromehounds, or the trees that try to kill you, or the weird shrines that no one should touch...
Yeah, definitely not. Donnie himself admits he's already freaked out enough.
"Well, you'll find it soon enough," he says of the vehicle. "Maybe it was the one whose tires you just had to change, you nerd."
It feels good to call Donnie a nerd again. Even if it's a little mean. At least he doesn't fall over when he takes the bandages away.
"Alright," he says, and sits on his bunk, facing the wall with his legs curled up under him so his shell is facing out. He has a feeling Donnie won't have a handle on sitting yet, so he tries to make this easy.
At least Donnie may be grateful to see there's no obvious signs of infection or rot around the crack. It's not even as bad as it was after the Krang's assault, though it's still discomforting long. And there and there are a few places where it spiderwebs out, little spindly lines snaking over his scutes.
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"If that storm and those funky birds hadn't come in I would've gone down the line and fixed what I could, but it was already kind of hard to do just one tire when I can't lift things for long or put too much pressure on my arms and hands," he sighs as he sets to work.
No, he has not mastered sitting, but he manages to bunch up his coils under him so he's relatively at level with Leo once his brother's sitting on the bunk. And now he has a chance to really have a better look at that shell damage.
It looks almost deceptively better than he'd last seen it, and while he's thankful for the lack of signs hinting that it might be getting worse, he doesn't like that it's still open, still cracked. Had those other fractures always been there?
Donnie falls silent as he works, wishing he had something more than bandages. Maybe even some duct tape. Then again removal would be such a mess...
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Leo suddenly feels a stab of guilt as he puts together the implications. It's only been about six or seven weeks, assuming Leo came straight here after he- after. Leo didn't get to see the damage Donnie took after interfacing (and apparently getting ripped out of!?) the ship, doesn't know how the landing was after they tumbled from the sky. From the way Donnie says it, it must have been pretty bad. Is that why he isn't wearing his battleshell? And Leo hasn't even asked about Mikey or Raph...
He stares across at their smiling faces on the wall and wishes he could go back. Stop any of it from happening.
But he can ask now, so after letting Donnie get a good start, he clears his throat and asks, "Was it bad? Your injuries, I mean." He rubs his arm with one hand, keeping his eyes ahead. "You said you can't put pressure on your arms or hands... Was that the ship, or the fall?"
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"...not terribly. I mean, direct interfacing with an organic computer was not how I envisioned my first flight on a spaceship to be but I didn't really have time to think about...everything after that." Not when the everything just went nonstop, one after the other.
"The fall wasn't as bad as it could've been if Raph wasn't there. I think a lot of it was from trying to deflect a direct hit from the Kraang, on top of the whole nerves thing."
He pauses, flexing his fingers, still at times feeling prickly.
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But it makes sense, given how... fleshy that whole ship was. Eurgh.
He's glad to hear it wasn't too bad, though, and Raph was able to catch them.
Leo feels Donnie's hands pause in their work, and adds, "Don't push yourself to do this, then. I can grab someone else to help if you need to stop."
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"I can do this," he says abruptly at Leo's suggestion. "I think it's just a hypersensitivity issue. Having new claws sure didn't help there, hah..."
At least Leo can't see the face he makes as he looks at those strange finger tips. Part of him is glad he must have been too overwhelmed by the storm to have processed exactly how painful that had been.
"That feel snug enough?"
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“Yeah, it’s good. Thanks.”
He turns around then, scooting over so Donnie can try to get on the bunk if he wants. Leo even extends an arm to help.
“What… about Mikey?” he asks as he does. “And… and Raph.”
Really, he wants to hear about everyone, but he tries not to deluge Donnie with questions. And Raph is probably the most pressing matter on his mind, anyway.
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"Huh? What about Mikey and Raph?" he blinks once he's settled, trying to get his coils to settle into the right position without threat of pulling him off the bed again. It takes him a moment, but he figures maybe it's fair that Leo hasn't been completely aware of the extent of everyone else's injuries, not with how bad off his own were. He nods.
"Mikey... I think out of all of us he skated by with the least amount of injuries. Superficial, mostly. The worst were his arms. I'm...not sure what would have happened if Raph and I hadn't been there to support him when he ripped open that hole between dimensions."
He rubs at his right arm, still remembering that sensation, that brief moment where it felt like it had been on fire before something in them stabilized.
"Raph...he's doing better. We had to make sure that crack in his plastron and the edge of his shell didn't get worse. There's no replacing the chunks that are just...gone, but otherwise it'll be fine. Mostly it's his right eye that's been bothering him. I've been monitoring it."
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It's confusing that Donnie is confused by the question - isn't it obvious Leo would want to hear about all of them? He doesn't know about anything that happened after. But at least Donnie answers, and... it doesn't sound too bad.
Raph's eye... of course that would still be bothering him. Leo hopes he can get someone else to monitor it, while Donnie's here. Oh man, he must be in such a tizzy right now. Losing a(nother) little brother so soon, Raph has to be panicking.
Leo will just have to get Donnie back to him as soon as possible so he doesn't worry.
And Mikey... It's good that his wounds were only superficial. It's not that much of a surprise, since Leo doesn't remember him getting into too much of a scrape while they were fighting (they all protected him too much for that), but it's still a relief. As long as the damage was only to his arms from...
from...
Leo blinks a few times, just staring at Donnie.
"Mikey did what?"
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Something like worry flickers across his face for a split second before he shakes his head. No, focus on this!
"The whole 'mystic hands' thing? He tore open a hole between us and the Prison Dimension to get you back," Donnie explained, watching Leo carefully as he does so. "Raph pulled you out, but that Kraang guy was right behind you, and I wasn't letting him have you."
He winces, glancing down before forcing his hands to loosen from the tight balls he'd wrung them into.
no subject
He tore open a hole...
I wasn't letting him have you...
between us and the Prison Dimension...
Raph pulled you out...
But... no. None of that happened. Leo was pummeled by the Kraang, he felt himself getting hit over and over, felt his bones crack and snap and his shell splinter and then he was here.
No one got him out. No one but whoever summoned him here.
"That..." Leo's voice comes out hoarse and warbling, as he stares at Donnie, uncomprehending. "What kind of joke is that? Why are you saying that?"
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The words that come out of his age-twin's mouth are almost incomprehensible. Donnie finds himself slowly shaking his head, not understanding what's being asked.
"What do you mean? Why would I joke about that?! You asked what happened, how Mikey and Raph were- don't you remember?"
But what if he doesn't? His earlier responses, his reactions... What if...?
That cold dread creeps up his spine, making Donnie pulls his arms closer to himself again.
"Leo... we saved you."
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It's only Leo's complete loss of control over his tongue that saves him, keeps the words from coming out in a desperate scream. They didn't save him. They couldn't have saved him.
(Or they could, and they-)
He shoves that treacherous thought away. Tries to yank himself back to the here and now, Donnie staring at him, the thin mattress of the bunk under his legs.
"No... I don't... remember any of that," he stutters out, his voice still hoarse. "I-" died "...I blacked out and I woke up here."
He doesn't think Donnie would really lie to him about this. Donnie's a horrible liar, anyway. But then why... why... why...
Why doesn't he get to remember it?
no subject
And yet he can't bring himself to say it, that Leo must have been brought here before that point, somehow. That's the only feasible reason he can think of, one he's only reluctantly open to because of all the time anomalies they've already created just by one visitor from the future hoping to catch the mistakes of the past before they happened.
But this isn't Leo's fault. It's not like Leo desired to be cheated escape, cheated his family.
The end of his tail slips around Leo's wrist, a subconscious gesture when he's got his arms folded so tightly against his plastron. It's probably not good to keep doing that when it keeps making them hurt, but it feels like the only thing Donnie can do to keep himself from falling apart. He's decided that the one who's responsible for putting his brother through this hell is who or whatever had brought them here in the first place. But without that vital piece of information he has no idea who he's supposed to nuke in the face, no outlet for this growing spikiness of a feeling that wars in his gut with the uncomfortable lump from Leo's situation.
no subject
They tried to save him. Of course they did.
But...
A bifurcated time branch echoes in his memory. And that makes the most sense, right? There must be two versions of what happened in the Prison Dimension: one, where Leo was pulled through a portal, escaped hell, got to go home, and the other...
Leo feels the sting of it, right through his chest.
Why wasn't it me?
It's not Donnie's fault. Not his fault that he saved his own Leo, and not this one. Leo doesn't feel bitter towards him.
But he does feel bitterness, creeping up into his heart. Because someone else got to go home. Someone else got to be with his family. Someone else got to be warm and safe and loved.
And Leo gets to be this.
A ghost.
It's not fair.
He can't move, to reassure Donnie, to comfort him back. He's too devastated to do anything right now. It feels like his one wish was just shown to him, and then snatched away.
He wishes he'd never known.
no subject
He doesn't mean for his tail to pull tighter, but it might, just a little bit. It's like some physical lifeline, the anchor being his unresponsive brother, not that Donnie can hardly fault him.
no subject
Donnie's tail tightens on his wrist, and Leo lets his arm be tugged in his brother's direction. He wants to reach out, to say something, to seek comfort, but his body barely feels like it belongs to him anymore.
His breath hitches, and then he crumples, his face buried against his knees. His breathes come in fast pants, his body shaking. It feels like it did when he tumbled out of Raph's escape pod, what feels like a billion years ago.
He still lets Donnie hold his wrist, dangling between them.
(Is it terrible, that he doesn't want his brother to go? That he doesn't want to be left behind again? Even if it means being here?)
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