TW: Suicide

It takes Donatello and Sarina the night and much of the next day, but soon enough, they unveil six guns laid out on a table to the gathered mutants and Casey (Annalise had gone home that morning, stating that she had school the next day). They look like old Kraang blasters, square with a rectangular nozzle, fashioned from sleek grey metal and shot through with red veins.

"I can't stress enough that these are NOT toys," Donatello says, smacking Michelangelo's hand as he reaches for one. Michelangelo pouts and Donatello sighs. "Sorry, Mikey."

"Use your words, man," Michelangelo says as he grips his arm and purposely makes his hand go limp at the wrist. Donatello raises an eye-ridge at him and he adds, hastily, "But I will...also not touch the guns until you give the go-ahead."

"Thank you," Donatello says tersely. He clears his throat. "Anyway..."

"The reason that these guns are so dangerous, and why we must stress that fact, is because we have used some of the mutant hunter serum in the creation of them," Sarina adds. Michelangelo takes a big step back from the table. "We retrofitted the mutant hunter serum into old Kraang guns so that the laser contains mutant-destroying properties. This should ensure a quick and painless death for any shadow beast caught on the wrong end of them."

Raphael eyes the guns with mild discomfort. "You guys are seriously scary, you know that?"

Donatello and Sarina shrug.

"Okay, so there are six of them," Leonardo says. "I'm guessing you made one for each of us turtles, Des, and Casey?"

"Correct," Donatello says. "Sarina has her own lasers—" Sarina lifts her hand and the palm glows blue. "—and of course, Zilla is already a shadow mutant."

"I can't hold a gun anyway," Zilla pipes up.

Donatello flushes. "I...forgot about that. I apologize."

"You're good," she says with a shrug.

"They work like regular guns," Sarina continues. "We will do a quick safety tutorial before we head out. Until then...Leonardo?"

Leonardo squares his shoulders. "Keep in mind that although we're going into this hoping to end things peacefully, we must be prepared for anything. Don't let your guard down." He crosses his arms over his chest. "The plan is simple. We'll get in through the roof access you escaped from the other day. Zilla and I will do most of the talking when we get in. We'll do our best to convince him to euthanize the beasts. If that works, then hopefully we'll be able to help him further."

"Seems simple enough," Destiny says.

"Almost too simple," Raphael mutters. "The whole plan hinges on this guy giving up on years of work. It's not gonna be easy."

"But we've gotta try," Casey says.

"The beasts are too dangerous to leave him to his own devices," Sarina says solemnly.

"Guys," Zilla says. Every eye turns to her. "Thank you, for helping me."

"Of course. That's what we do," Leonardo says, lifting his chin slightly. Destiny smirks at him as her tail wags.

----------

It takes a ride to the Bronx in the Shellraiser, a few grappling hooks, and two different methods of flight, but the Hamato clan, Casey, and Zilla reach the top of the skyscraper next to the Necromancer's hideout. The door hangs open, the latch still broken from when Destiny rammed it open. It makes it easier for the mutants as they descend into the dark stairwell.

Casey is honestly just pumped that the turtles didn't try to stop him from coming along. He'll rest when everything is settled again. For now, it's good to be back in his hockey gear, with his goalie mask on and stick in hand. As they move down the stairs in silence, Casey wishes that his heart would settle, but the further down they go, the more it seems to thrum insistently in his ears.

Finally, they reach the bottom landing.

Zilla sticks her hand out and the door swings open with a burst of cold air. The door creaks open into a dark warehouse. Five pairs of glowing white eyes seem to float as the turtles and Zilla emerge into the room. Sarina follows them and Destiny's eyeshine activates in response to her glow. Only Casey enters the darkness blind.

"Wallace?" Zilla's voice echoes. "I just want to talk."

After a breath, there's the squeak of plastic wheels before a single, lonely lamp switches on. Wallace sits in a rolling office chair, slumped against it as he swivels to face them. There's a low growl as Beast Mode appears from behind the desk. He sighs and cards his hand through his hair, his other hand tucked into his jacket pocket.

"You want to talk," he repeats. "But you've brought armed mutants into my sanctuary."

"That's insurance," Zilla says.

"Ah, I see. Well, it's a good thing I have some of my own."

He pulls a pistol from his pocket and aims it right at Casey—the tension skyrockets. The turtles go for their guns and Destiny lets out a snarl as she puts herself in front of Casey. Zilla holds her hands up, expression composed. From the back of the warehouse, an echoing shriek of tortured beasts sends chills up every corporeal spine.

"Please," she says, keeping her voice low and gentle. "We really do want to talk."

"Do we have anything to talk about?" Wallace asks. He pinches the bridge of his nose between his eyes as they squeeze shut, as if fighting off a headache. In the yellow lighting from the lamp, he seems even more gaunt and exhausted. "You are never going to help me."

"Not in the way you want me to," Zilla says, "but we are here to help."

He lets out a toneless, weak laugh as he looks back up at them, the gun still held aloft. "Oh?"

"Your beasts are dangerous, and I know you don't have much mutagen left. You can't save them. The guns we've brought can send them on their way," Zilla says, keeping her hands up. She floats just a little bit closer. "When they're gone, you...you can move on to better things."

His jaw clenches as his eyes moisten to glistening. "M-Move..." The gun trembles and his arm starts to drop, the gun slowly moving away from anyone that it could hurt, and he lets out a weak sob. "How? This...this is all I've done since they died. This is all I have."

"It's not. I promise it's not. They would want you to—"

"Don't start with that. That's what everyone says, but what do they know?" he demands as a tear slips down his face. "It's easy for people to say that. It's easy to say that things will get better, because they all get to go home to their living, breathing, healthy families, and I...I-I—" A ragged breath, another gasp for air. "I have no one."

He leaves the gun on his lap as he buries his face in his hands, broken, shaking cries drifting into the air.

Leonardo takes a few slow steps closer to Zilla, voice hushed. "He seems unstable. I'm not sure about this," he murmurs.

"Trust me," she replies. "Please." Leonardo nods and takes a step back, hand still hovering over the hilt of his mutant-hunter pistol. Zilla focuses her attention on Beast Mode. "Nala," she says. "Is there any chance?"

Beast Mode's ears tuck against her sleek, muscular head. "I fear for him. I fear for us."

"The others, how long do they have?"

She lets out a tiny mew, like a whimper, and hunches as she puts her muzzle on her paws. "It's too late."

There is another chorus of shrieks, a cacophony of torture and pain mixed with the distinct creaking of metal bending. Zilla turns to the others and she shakes her head.

"Shit," Raphael mumbles.

"Wallace," Leonardo calls. The man looks up, eyes wide and red. "You hear your beasts, don't you? If they escape into the public, people will die, and those consequences will be your burden to carry. You have to let them go, and you have to let Louisa go."

"You're just a child. Barely a man," Wallace whispers. From another's mouth, it would sound like an insult, a jab at Leonardo's humanity, but from Wallace, it is the musings of a father. "You can't possibly understand the depths of my grief."

Leonardo's jaw clenches, lips pursed. "I haven't lost a child, but I know loss. Please, let us help you." He motions to the gun. "They won't feel any more pain. It'll be quick."

The creaking of metal gets louder, the wails getting harsher, more desperate and yet almost excited. Wallace gets to his feet as he picks up the gun again, shaking his head.

"I have to get her back. If you want to help..." He meets Zilla's eyes, pleading. "You must resurrect her. Whether it's mutagen or life force—"

"You think that's what you want," Zilla says, "but I promise it's not. What if you try, and she returns as a mindless, living corpse like your shadow beasts? Do you want your last memories of your little girl to be her as something twisted, something...evil? Is that how you want to remember her?"

He stares at her. The gun hangs from nearly limp fingers, tapping against his thigh. He tilts his head up to the ceiling, cheeks shining and flushed with sorrow. "She smiled. Right until the end, she..." He swallows hard. "She never stopped smiling."

There's a loud bang and the sound of creaking hinges from the darkest depths of the lab. The turtles, Casey, and Destiny raise their guns toward the darkness. Sarina's palms start to glow. For a moment, clarity leaks into Wallace's expression, and his thin mouth curves into something like a smile.

"It's too late," he breathes. His voice shakes as panic strikes his body. "They're too far gone. It's all my fault."

"Wallace—" Zilla starts.

His entire body seems to tremble for another second. Beast Mode rises to her paws as she lets out a low roar, her hackles rising as she gazes up at her master. Wallace turns to her and his smile softens, his body going still.

"I'm sorry, my dear friend, that I cursed you to this," he whispers as his thumb pulls back the hammer. He turns back to them, to Zilla, and lifts the gun to the side of his head. "Pray for my soul."

"NO!" Zilla screams as she flies forward. Beast Mode lets out a roar.

But the gun goes off and Wallace collapses in a spray of blood and brains, his body passing straight through Zilla's. For a horrible, fleeting moment, it's like everyone holds their breath, ears ringing.

The beasts come from the shadows in a teeming, writhing herd.

"Watch each other's backs!" Leonardo shouts as his gun powers up. His voice, strong and unwavering, snaps everyone from their shock.

Beast Mode yowls at the beasts, hackles up, teeth bared, but they don't acknowledge her. The beasts surge towards the Hamatos and the mostly-dark warehouse lights up with bursts of red light.

Zilla stares at Wallace's body in numb shock. There's a soft smile on his face, eerily peaceful for the circumstances, and Zilla can't get herself to move.

----------

Casey wishes he had night vision. Destiny and Sarina are the best equipped to handle the onslaught of beasts, but Casey struggles to pick individuals from the mass of shadows. They're all glowing white eyes and teeth and fur and claws.

The air is so cold that Casey can see his breath fog before him. He aims and fires with as much accuracy as he can. Some beasts go down in one strike, but most scream in pain and keep fighting. They're fast, ferocious, and feral, a dangerous combination.

The chaos splits the team apart and Casey can only tell that the others are alive and well from the red and blue lights that burst in the darkness like flashbangs. A goose flies at his face and he blasts it in the chest, earning a squawk as it seems to disintegrate from the blow.

As Casey tries to catch his breath, hands clammy, he dares to look back towards Wallace's desk. Zilla hangs in the air like a deflated balloon, head bowed, and Casey starts to call out to her when the stag from days before, Bucky, emerges from the darkness, nostrils flaring, head lowered as he barrels towards her.

Casey aims his gun, but curses. Bucky is moving too fast and Zilla is directly in the line of fire. Casey deploys his land skates as he rushes towards her, his mind going blank of everything except protecting her.

He runs right through her, the chill hitting him in his very bones. He grabs hold of Bucky's mighty antlers and throws all of his weight to the side, wrenching Bucky's head with him. The buck bellows as it careens away from Zilla and Casey hangs on tight, expecting to be thrown again.

Instead, the bastard chomps his shoulder.

The energy leaves him in a wave, like his soul being sucked out of his body as the stag's cold, blunt teeth grind into his flesh. Bucky pins him to the ground as Casey struggles to keep his eyes open, his limbs turning to lead as he tries to pry the stag's teeth off of him, shoving against his antlers as the pain gets sharper.

His heart pounds. Numbness spreads through his shoulder and spots appear in his vision. Stay awake. STAY AWAKE, he tells himself.

"Casey!" Raphael shouts.

Another blast of cold air rips Bucky away from him—Zilla's shadowkinesis. Bucky barely gets the chance to bellow before a red laser plugs him between the eyes and he disintegrates into nothing but jet-black fur. Casey gasps for breath as he fights to stay awake, but it's too much and the darkness swallows him.