Raphael reaches into the duffel bag where the remaining devices lay, and his eyes narrow at the sight of his t-cell flashing a bright red and emitting high pitched tones. "Aw, sewer apples! One of the sensors is already going off right down that tunnel," He turns towards his younger brother standing at the opposite end of the tunnel, shouting," Let's get a move on, Mikey!"

"Whoa, dude," Michelangelo exclaims, poking his head out from one of the tunnels," Should we call the guys?"

The red cladded turtle retorts, curling his hand into a fist," We don't need backup. I'm gonna pay those little freaks back in full for the little shell-kickin' they gave me earlier. Hell, I'll even leave a tip!"

"Dude," The orange cladded turtle yells waving his hands frantically," Hold up! Maybe we should take a sec and think about this -"

"Since when do you care about thinkin'? We need to act," Raphael barks back in agitation, grabbing the tails of his brother's mask and dragging him upwards," C'mon! We're gonna lose them!"

"Oh," Michelangelo huffs, slapping off the latter's hand," This does not spark joy, my dude."

There's a chittering down the tunnel as the two mutant turtles skid to a halt as the older of the two raises his fist. The creature hisses lowly as its brightly colored eyes flicker over in their direction before it shifts underneath its cloak and continues wriggling its way down the tunnel. Two more creatures come from two opposite tunnels, forming one straight line as the creatures chitter in unison, their light steps barely imperceptible in the winding, dark tunnels. The three creatures skitter up a ladder, their claws clinking against the rusty metal and the two mutant turtles follow.

Raphael and Michelangelo push aside the manhole just in time to see the three creatures scale a wall with ease and climb in through an open window. The two mutant turtles meet each other's eyes and with a quick nod, they scale the wall until they reach the glass dome-shaped roof peering in curiously. The three creatures are gathered around a wooden pedestal hosting a scroll that has crimson ink scraped over it in a foreign language neither recognize. One reaches forward and curls its fury, pointed fingers round the scroll, furling it closed before holding it high over its head.

"Mavakaa sekulaa nadavaaaa," The creatures chant in unison, their voices animalistic growls and snarls as they paw at the claws clenching onto the scroll, "Mavalaa sekul -"

"Booyakasha," Michelangelo cries out, dropping down from the ceiling with one of his nunchaku drawn," You're not going anywhere with that old paper, dudes!"

Raphael yanks out both of sai, Rowling them expertly in his grip as he growls," Hey, guys. Remember me," He smirks, charging," I know it's hard to forget a handsome mug like this!"

The orange cladded turtle emits a battle cry swinging his fist towards one of the snarling creatures. "Hiya-Whoa," He squeals in horror, as his fist squelches moistly into the thing's face. He groans, shaking his arm frantically and pulls it free with a long trail of warm, sticky sludge that oozes from the thing's mouth," Ew - Ahhh!"

"Hold still so I can hurt you," The red cladded turtle snarls, irritated as the thing evades the blades of his sais with ease. Then his younger brother is thrown into him, making them both soar through the air before slamming into the wall," Damn it, Mikey! I'm not lettin' these things kick my shell again! I'll never hear the end of it -"

"Bro! Duck," Michelangelo calls, rolling onto his side with his grappling hook at the ready," Ha!"

"Nice one, Mikey," Raphael compliments as the scroll is knocked out of the creature's hand and goes tumbling out the window," Now, c'mon! We're gonna get that scroll - !"

———

"Long story short -" Raphael is cut off with a yelp as Donatello shoves his arm back into his socket without any warning. He sighs aloud, going on as he experimentally twists his arm,"-We didn't get the friggin' scroll."

"Oh, and who's fault is that," Donatello demands, slamming the lid of his first aid kit shut," You should have called us, so we could have come up with a plan of attack!"

The red cladded turtle snarls back," I had a plan - Attack! I can't just sit around waitin' for you to formulate a plan that ain't even gonna work," He taps the side of his head with his finger," You overthink things!"

"And you apparently don't think at all - !" The purple cladded turtle hisses.

"Can you guys both just simmer down," The orange cladded turtle interjects.

April exhales sharply, her hand resting on her forehead as she utters," Mikey is right. We're all tense right now and it's giving me a headache," She turns to the purple cladded turtle, asking him," What happened, happened. It's over now, and no one was seriously hurt. Let's just focus on the scroll now."

Donatello nods stiffly, clearing his throat and announces," Okay, guys, listen up. This is important," He diverts his gaze to his laptop and his fingers hurriedly dance along the keys," So the penthouse belongs to a wealthy collector of the weird and obscure, mostly magical stuff.

Michelangelo peaks over his brother's shoulder commenting," Sounds like the perfect candidate for I'm the boss of a freaky cult."

The purple cladded turtle scrolls over to a picture in the corner, informing the group," I think this is the scroll they stole: The Scroll of the Demodragon."

Casey interjects, his voice laced with panic," A scroll? Like a magic scroll," He groans, tossing his head back and clenching his eyes shut," Aww, man, I hate magic."

Eyes flitting over the brightly lite computer screen, Donatello continues," It's an ancient evocation said to summon a powerful monster called Kavaxas," As he says the name, the lights overhead flicker and he frowns deeply, before going on hesitantly," He, uh, belongs to a mythical race of Demodragons believed to reside in the Netherworld. Magicians are rumored to have summoned them for a millennia, their efforts always ending in tragedy."

"Eh, sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me," Raphael states with a shrug," I mean, a friggin' dragon with as lame a name as Kavaxas - " The lights flicker again, this time a bulb shattering overhead and the shards barely miss the red cladded turtle," I take it back!"

Abruptly, Michelangelo squeals in excitement," Aw, yeah! Ghoul busting Mikey to the rescue - Ow," He squawks in surprise as his older brother's hand slaps his face," Ow!"

"What'd I tell you about the imagination thing, huh," The red cladded turtle snaps as the latter growls at him," Focus!"

April rolls her eyes, and turns to Donatello, inquiring softly," What have you got, Donnie?"

"Well, with the new sensors I've determined a clear pattern of movement," Donatello motions a hand over the map depicted on his laptop," Right here under the south-east part of Lower Manhattan. And here and here. But they all converge at what appears to be a dead-end at this one place."

The human girl wonders aloud," Hmm, you think this is where they live?"

"Whoo," The orange cladded turtle cuts inc wiggling his fingers as his hovers behind his older brother," If they're actually alive."

The purple cladded turtle scoffs," Alright, meeting dismissed. I think I have lunch duty-"

"Finally! I'm so hungry I could think straight," The orange cladded turtle groans in relief.

"And here I thought you were just born that way," The red cladded turtle quips.

———

Raphael sighs aloud, his shoulder slumping as his eyes scan over a picture of Leonardo in particular. He kneels in front of the shrine, gently taking the picture into his hand. "I remember when this was taken," He utters, his eyes softening at the image of his smiling older brother," It was a little while after you woke up during that time we spent at the farmhouse. We found an old vintage camera while we were doing some spring cleaning and I actually managed to sneak up on you. I think it's the only picture we have of you were you're not forcing that big toothy grin of yours. You were painfully unphotogenic."

"He was," April agrees, slowly entering the room and going to stand by the latter," Sorry if you want I can come back later -"

"No," The red cladded turtle objects, consciously scooting over," I can share. But don't get used to it

The human girl laughs softly, kneeling beside him as she tells him," I won't," Her eyes land on the photograph in his hand," Huh, that one actually isn't half bad. There weren't a lot of bad things you could say about Leo, but man, he never looked good in a picture."

"He tried too hard," Raphael states, sliding the picture back into its place," It was moments like that when he just allowed himself to cut loose and not care about how the world saw him, that he looked the best. Sorry, uh, we should probably get going. The guys will be expectin' us -"

"Raph, I hear him, too," April interjects solemnly, placing her hand over his," You don't have to close yourself off to me, to any of us, because you're afraid of what we'll think. Maybe they hear him too -"

The red cladded turtle gently pulls his hand away, coldly informing the girl," You don't hear him, not the way I do. No one does," His jaw clenches," Don't act like you know me! You may be able to get a reading off of me, but you'll never, ever know what - You know what just forget it!"

The human girl's eyes go downcast and she apologizes," I'm sorry, Raph. I shouldn't push you into talking about things you're not comfortable -"

"No, you shouldn't," Raphael snaps, agitated. He shakes his head, groaning as he goes on," It doesn't matter, okay? Just go. I'll meet up with you guys in a minute."

April nods, going to her feet and leaving the room without another word.

Raphael stood at the doorway, his hands stubbornly folded over his plastron. "You hurt yourself again," He scoffs taking a few steps closer," I thought you were supposed to be perfect?"

Leonardo shrugged nonchalantly and attempted to use a single hand to fix his injured arm. "I never claim to be perfect," He states simply," He lets out a barely audible grunt of pain, before continuing," You're the ones who just assume I should be."

With a sigh Raphael leaned close and took the roll, gently winding it around his arm. "Here, let me," He grunts out," Hold still."

The blue cladded turtle watched for a few seconds, then turned away, whispering," Raph...?"

The red cladded turtle looked up slowly, his fingers still lingering over his brother's arm. With a hitched breath the latter turned away again. The sai wielding turtle accidentally tugged on the bandage too tightly, making the latter yelp in pain and his fingers curl around his wrist, clenching down on it.

"Carefully," Leonardo grits out, easing his fingers off the latter's wrist.

"S-sorry," Raphael grunts out, but the other turtle shook his head, shaking off his brother's apology," Maybe if you'd stop wigglin' like a damn worm -"

Raphael's cheeks abruptly reddened as those big blue eyes bore into his and his lips part ever so slightly. Leonardo simply turned his back to him, gently tugging his arm away as he goes to stand. The red cladded turtle catches his arm, making the other turtle stiffen and snap his head around to face him. The blue cladded turtle blinks stupidly at the latter, gulping nervously, before turning to face his brother again, not pulling away from the hand enclosed on his arm.

"Leo..."

Raphael shakes his head, gritting his teeth as he goes to his feet. "Damn it, " He hisses to himself, slamming his fist into the side of his leg," Pull it together, man."

"Uh, who are talking to, Raph," Donatello questions, suddenly entering the room.

"No one important," The red cladded turtle answers briskly," Just myself. Come on, let's head out."

———

The group runs swiftly, their footsteps soundlessly as their feet kiss the concrete, until their leader signals for them to halt. "Hmm. This is the place where they meet up," Donatello states aloud, motioning to the tunnels surrounding the area where he stands," Doesn't look suspicious. April do you have a reading?"

April raises her fingers to her temple and she grunts," I sense something strange close by, but I can't pinpoint it."

"What's the plan," Raphael demands.

"I'm thinking," Donatello murmurs to himself, tapping his chin in thought," And it's hard to do with your heavy breathing -"

Casey interjects, pointing a gloved hand down one of the tunnels," Dudes, we got creepers creeping stage right!"

Three of the creatures emerge from the darkness, chittering softly among themselves. Filing into a single line, they glide across the concrete simultaneously, down the tunnel until they reach a spacious area with drainage pipes branching up the walls and into the concrete floors. One creature steps forward, grazing its claws against a single brick and the entire wall splits apart with the low rumbling sound of rock. Running hunched over with their arms extended behind their backs, the group moves swiftly into the crevice in the wall, not alerting the creatures that were roaming not too far up ahead.

The two oldest of the mutant turtles edge forward, taking the lead as they carefully step down a flight of stairs that leads down a torch-lit hallway. In the distance, there is throaty chanting in an indiscernible language. Donatello abruptly stops, lifting his fist up to signal the rest of the group. Raphael goes to stand beside his brother and stiffens when the eerie chanting grows louder. The two turtles edge forward, taking a stance beside two towering boulders that are on either side of the gaping mouth in the stone wall. The youngest of the turtles and the two humans in their company split up behind the rocks, tentatively peering from their concealed spots to see what is occurring on down below.

Hundreds of the creatures are huddled closely, in a great, swarming crowd, as they chant while swaying their hooded bodies. In front of the crowd of hooded creatures, is a pair of winding steps that lead up to a great stone platform with a pointed star that is surrounded by flickering candles that scarcely illuminate the darkness. A tall, stocky figure in a cloak slowly makes their way up the steps, the back of his hood swaying in the chilling wind that blows throughout the cavern.

"Children," The figure's deep, gravelly voice booms across the space as he stands on the stone platform," Our time is nigh. We finally have the Scroll of the Demodragon in our possession! We shall soon summon a being who will give us all the power we will ever need," Then he brings his hand forward, yanking down his hood," But first -"

"Tiger Claw is the cult leader," Donatello utters, shocked.

"-my Foot Cultists. Long ago, it was prophesied by an ancient and powerful witch that once served our clan, that a turtle bearing the color blue on his banner would be the one to slay our master," The mutant tiger sweeps his arm forward and two more mutants enter from a small entryway towards the back, a large bundle hidden by cloth in their arms," Today, as a reminder of our success, I bring you this very fine gift..."

Michelangelo gasps aloud, pointing towards the two approaching mutants," Bebop and Rocksteady? This whole thing is wack, bros!"

Bebop and Rocksteady lay the bundle at Tiger Claw's face, before giving him a stiff bow in unison and stepping back. Tiger Claw gives a toothy smile, roughly undoing the ropes that hold the cloth around the bulging bundle and tears open the cloth. He reaches between the two parted sheets and produces a muscular, green-hued arm that is completely limp in his grip. He chuckles, letting it drop onto the rock floor below with a reverberating thud. The hand is stiff and pale, the three fingers curled up around empty air.

"No," Donatello chokes out, gulping thickly," He wouldn't - He wouldn't dare!"

Tiger Claw takes a step forward, revealing the corpse lying slack on the torn and frayed sheets of cloth. "Leonardo, the blue bearing turtle, is dead," He hisses coldly," And it shall be our master that rises! You all understand the higher truth of our goal! Now I will use the scroll to summon Kavaxas! And with this mystic Seal of the Ancients, I will control him, and be his master."

Michelangelo has his face buried into the side of Raphael's shell, unable to look at the pale, limp form of their deceased brother. Leonardo's eyes were wide open, his lips parted, but his blue irises held a sudden sadness. Raphael holds his brother close with one arm, listening to his muffled sniffles and hitched breaths, but his eyes are glued to the corpse of his brother. Those emerald eyes had a deadness, a stillness. His unmoving gaze was accompanied by deliberate slow breathing like he was fighting something back from within and losing horribly.

"Leo," Raphael grits out, his voice hollow.

"Alright, dudes. Not good. Not good at all," Casey sequels to the group, panicking," We need to like do somethin' and quick, yo!"

The purple cladded turtle's eyes burned with an anger that rarely boiled up to the surface of the turtle. "April, Casey, and Mikey, you guys distract the cultists, while Raph and I get that seal," The color was drained out of his face," Then we're getting his body back. We won't let them desecrate his memory, not for a damn second longer!"

"Let's do it! I'm ready," The human boy exclaims in anticipation, quickly standing with a hockey stick at the ready.

The human girl chirps," Me too!"

"I'm pretty sure these guys are ready too," The orange cladded turtle squeaks nervously, pointing at a small company of cultists growling in the corner.

"Aww, sewer pickles!"

Swinging his hockey stick into a defensive stance, Casey demands," You couldn't sense them, Red?"

"Their minds aren't like human minds," April replies, raising her bladed fan.

With a few grunts of exertion, the clashing of their weapons against the inhuman creatures, the mutant turtles and two humans are wrangled up. They're all thrown to their knees in front of the mutant tiger, toppling over onto their stomachs as the cultists dig their feet into their backs forcing them down.

"My old enemies. Perfect timing," Tiger Claw purrs, his hands folded behind his back," Now you can bear witness."

Growling, Raphael thrashes upwards, facing the latter," The Foot is done for! Master Splinter saw to that," He scoffs, scrutinizing the mutant tiger," Why'd you come back? So we could kick your striped ass again?"

"The Foot is by no means finished," The mutant tiger retorts, raising his metal hand and clutching it into a tight fist," Look all around you. We have been reborn. After our last battle, when your master put an end to mine, the Foot was forced underground. And in these very sewers, we discovered a strange race of creatures completely dedicated to the Shredder. But before they would completely give themselves over to me and my commands, they demanded that I present to them the body of your fallen brother. For they too had heard the prophecy and wanted to be sure there would be no interference."

Tiger Claw slams his foot over the turtle's unmoving chest, before kicking it down the stairs, and it limply tumbles down the steps, before rolling to a stop a mere few inches from April. April chokes out a breath, clenching her eyes shut as she attempts to turn her head away. Raphael roars, thrashing violently against the clawed hands holding him in place. Michelangelo pants heavily, pulling against the claws that dig into his skin as he attempts to tug away from the creatures. Donatello is the only one of the mutant turtles that can stand to stare at Leonardo, his eyes scrutinizing the corpse as his brows furrow in confusion.

"You may have him back now. You will be joining him soon enough," The mutant tiger states coldly.

"Leo! Leo," The red cladded turtle cries out, leaning forward against the hands keeping him pinned down," Don't touch him - You son of a - !"

Tiger Claw chuckles deeply as he descends down the stairs, crouching down and lifting the corpse's head by his blue bandana tails. "Make them watch," He orders the creatures, dropping the lolling head onto the ground with a thud," I want their eyes to behold the coming of a greater being, Kavaxas, the most powerful of all the Demodragons."

"Let us go, Tiger Dude," Casey grits out," Or I'll knock all nine lives out of you."

"...And his power will soon belong to me," The mutant tiger trails off, slotting the stone seal into the podium. As the stone slips into the podium, lave bursts forth from the stone pillar, spilling into the cracks surrounding the pointed star in the middle of the platform, "Navasa, zaan, kanda, athrovaxa, noruto, zavasay."

A pillar of billowing smoke erupts from the middle of the carved star and the chanting of the cultists resumes, but this time the mutant tiger joins in, "Mavakaa, sekulaa, nadavaaa..."

April watches with horror as lighting strikes in bursts around the pillar of fire, not noticing a three-fingered hand creeping around to the tanto blade at her back. The fire erupts into a mountainous form, and a shock wave blasts everyone around it back with a force as the crackling flames abruptly goes out with a gush of smoke. The turtles and their human allies grunt in unison as they're thrown onto their backs, and skid across the rocky ground. The Demodragon emerges from the receding smoke with blazing yellow eyes that turn skin into a sickly pallor, and claws able to lacerate even the sturdiest to mere ribbons of flesh and bone.

"Mortal," Kavaxas demands with a growl, "You dare call upon Kavaxas?"

"Great, another villain that speaks in third-person," Donatello huffs, mouth pulled into a tight line.

"I will burn you and the rest of these abominations to ash," The Demodragon snarls, snapping open his cavernous maw of razor-sharp teeth to release a column of emerald-colored flames.

Gulping, the purple cladded turtle nervously states," On second thought, he can speak however he may like. Who am I to judge?"

Tiger Claw thrust the Seal of the Ancients into the fast-approaching flames, making them part around his form. "You will do nothing, but obey me," He hisses in response, brandishing the seal.

"Ahh! The Seal of the Ancients," Kavaxas roars in fear, thrusting one scale arm in front of itself," You are wiser than I thought, creature. Very well, then. What would you have me do," He grits his fangs, before giving a stiff bow," Master?"

The mutant tiger laughs haughtily, ordering him," You will destroy the turtles and their human allies, as a sign of fidelity to the Foot. Make it slow. Make it painful...just like it was for their dearly departed brother."

The orange cladded turtle heaves the corpse of his brother up onto his lap, resting his hand on his face. "What do we do, dudes," He whispers pathetically,"...Leo..."

"As you command," The Demodragon purrs lowly, wings thrusting out to either side of him as he crouches, before taking flight.

"Get him," The purple cladded turtle commands throatily.

Michelangelo stands, gently laying down the body onto the ground, and he gives a determined nod before he pulls out his nunchaku and charges forward with a battle cry. Raphael brandishes his sais forward, snarling low underneath his breath as he darts up the steps. Donatello swings his bow staff forward, trialing after his two brothers with their two human allies at his back. Kavaxas lets out a deafening roar, his maw cracking open just as a billow of green flames bursts forth.l and the turtles and their allies stiffen, their eyes widening. Leonardo's eyes shoot open and with a flurried mantra muttered underneath his breath, he's lunging in between the group and fire-breathing demon raging above their heads with only a tanto blade. The entire outline of the mutant turtle's body has a soft glow to it and that dull gleam extends to the short blade in his tight grip.

"What," Kavaxas roars in surprise, eyes widening as his flames are instantly extinguished as they clash against the small metal blade, "What's this? A mortal gifted in the arts - ?"

Leonardo slowly lowers the steaming tanto blade, stepping back to take a defensive stance as he growls to the demon," Don't you dare touch them!"

"It cannot be," Tiger Claw roars, slashing his arm across the air," It's not possible!"

"It can be and it is," The blue cladded turtle retorts, raising one arm forward with the tanto blade drawn steadily in front of himself," Now, let them go, or you'll be forfeiting your lives! And...you'll have to face something far worse than any creature that rises from the Netherworld - A severely pissed off older brother!"

"Leo," The red cladded turtle gasps out, as his lower lip quivered.

The purple cladded turtle whispers," Leo...He's alive...he's alive! But how - ?"

The human girl smiles weakly as she whispers, "I knew I felt him...I knew it."

The mutant tiger shakes his head, hissing a command," Ignore the others, for now, end him, now! Now!"

Recovering from his initial shock, the orange cladded turtle twirls one nunchuck in the air, lassoing one of the gargantuan beast's arms. The Demodragon smirks, his lips slowly parting to reveal a pointed grin as flames crackle down the chain of the nunchuck and the turtle is sent flailing back with a cry of pain. Just as he pummels near the edge of the platform, the blue cladded turtle lunges in front of him with a shout, skidding across the rocky surface on his knees and cradling the younger turtle in his arms.

Leonardo grabs both of the latter's arms pulling him to his feet and swiftly commands," Mikey, I need you to listen to me," Then his eyes widen as a great ball of fire nearly slams into the younger turtle, before he grabs him by his shoulders and tosses him off to the side," I need you to get to the others and get the shell out of here. I'll hold that thing back."

Michelangelo nods frantically, shouting in return, "You got it, dude!"

Suddenly Leonardo turns to Raphael who is staring at his brother with his jaw hanging open, his eyes wide. "Stop gawking at me and pay attention," He shouts, muttering a quick incantation that forces his brother to turn around and face the cultists banding together to surround him.

April is suddenly running towards them and she calls out over the chaos,"Leo!"

Leonardo turns to her, yelling over the thundering of rock crumbling from the walls,"April! Kavaxas is impervious to physical attacks. It's up to you and me to hold him back while the others escape," Eyes boring into the human girl, he questions her," Can you do that?"

The human girl nods and responds determinedly," Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

"When I say so, you're going to retreat, too, and follow the others out," The blue cladded turtle adds, and almost as if sensing she's about to object, he goes on," And that's an order."

"Okay," April agrees as a muscle in her jaw twitches," And you'll be following me out?"

Leonardo let out a soft chuckle, handing her back her tanto blade as he comments wryly," I just got back from the dead. I'm not that eager to die again any time soon."

"What will you fight with?"

"Don't worry. I've got that covered," The blue cladded turtle extends his hand behind his back tot he pair of empty sheathes there and incants under his breath, "Watashi!"

April blinks rapidly as a long, svelte katana blade seemingly apparates into his grip as he pulls his hand forward. Leonardo then turns his attention to Raphael, who narrowly avoids a burst of lasers from Kavaxas' spindly fingers with a backflip, before turning his gaze to the other turtle. Panting, the red cladded turtle stares at the latter, his emerald eyes assessing him as he opens his mouth to say something. Then another fiery rain of lasers ours down, splintering the rock and sending great chunks of debris into the air, and he grumbles in frustration, charging towards the demon with his sais drawn.

"Raph, Donnie, Mik- Don't!"

Donatello charges toward Kavaxas with his bo staff spinning expertly from hand to hand, but as he pounced forward with a battle cry, he's thrown off the side of a platform. Raphael and Casey charge up the stairs in unison with Michelangelo hot on their tails. Casey skates forward, retracting the electric prong from his glove, only to have a fist slam into his stomach and send him flying through the air. Raphael roars in anger, jumping into the air with his sais drawn in front of himself, but the flat of the creature's palm swats him down, then its tail snaps against Michelangelo.

"They never listen," Leonardo hisses in aggravation, running towards Raphael, gently placing a hand on the side of his face, "You guys have to go, now! Help Donnie and Mikey, then tuck your stubborn tails and run!"

Raphael settles his own hand over the one on his face, staring up at the latter with wide eyes. "Leo...I'm not leavin' you. Not again," He hisses softly, fingers squeezing his hand tightly," You can't make me."

"Go! It's okay," The blue cladded turtle exclaims, quickly pulling his hand away," I'll be okay. I'll be right behind you."

The red cladded turtle hesitates, before getting to his feet with a pained grunt and runs towards the edge of the platform. He crouches low with the human boy, gripping his brother's hands and attempts to have him upwards. The blue cladded turtle turns to face the human girl, giving her a quick nod and raises his hands in front of himself, incanting a mantra hurriedly under his breath as a pale glow appears over the outline of his body.

"April! He's trying to attack them from behind," Leonardo barks out," Cover them!"

"Right," April exclaims as both skid to a halt in front of the group, and she slams her body over the turtle and the human, screaming," Duck!"

April stands upright, her hands extended at either side of herself and the fire splits in half, roaring on either side of the hunched group. The heat of the flames are close but they do not even singe them. Kavaxas growls in frustration, parting his fingers and making the ball of fire expand, pushing into the telekinetic shield the human girl had formed around herself and her friends. She slams her energy forward, and with a cry of pain, combined with determination, the great ball of fire is extinguished and she falls to her knees.

"The mortal has gifts," Kavaxas realizes aloud with a sneer, his hands dropping to his sides," And when I eat her whole, I will absorb her power and use it as I wish!"

April grunts weakly, throwing her hands forward with a small burst of telekinetic energy, before her head goes slack. Kavaxas laughs as his thunderous footsteps approach the defenseless human girl. The human girl shakily raises her head again, jaw tight as she raises her hands upwards and grits out," Why can't I...move you?"

"Because I am not of this reality, child - Aughhhh," The Demodragon roars in agony as a smoldering blade slashes across his extended hand, tearing a barely visible cut into the scaly flesh," What? What's this? No mortal, in all my years of life, has ever been able to make bleed my own blood!"

Leonardo twirls the katana blade, extending his arm to his side as he crouches with the blade in front of himself. "Go! All of you retreat, now," He barks out tensely," I said now!"

"Let's go," Raphael exclaims, stepping behind his older brother to help April up as she moans softly in pain," C'mon, Mikey! Get movin'! Leo -"

"I'm right behind you," Leonardo reassures him, slowly reaching into his belt, fingers fumbling around a smoke bomb.

Kavaxas purrs pleasantly, not making a move to retaliate as he watches the group disperse and scale the rock walls surrounding the caverns. "You, you are quite the interesting mortal...you're very different. I can feel it in the very air you breathe," He steps closer as the latter's lips draw back into a snarl, "Oh, and I can smell it on you, too. You reek of an odor I am all too familiar with...death."

Leonardo's nostrils flared and his mouth twisted. "I died," He informs him bluntly," Obviously it didn't stick."

The Demodragon gave him a lopsided grin, his mouthful of razor-sharp teeth glinting in the torchlight. "You are no mortal, or at least not like any I've ever encountered. It's a shame I shall have to make you one with death once more," He opines pleasantly, "A bit redundant, seeing as your new breath of life is already flickering out like a candle in the wind."

"Death is overrated," The blue cladded turtle quips, smirking as he crushes the smoke bomb in his grip.

Then he scales up the wall, digging his hands into small crevices in the rock to boost him upwards until he gets to the gaping mouth in the wall. Then he feels hands scrabbling around his arms and heaving him upwards before he's yanked up onto his feet. He feels a warm, calloused hand curl around his wrist with a crushing grip, and then he's been tugging down the tunnel with the burning heat of flames licking at his feet. He's panting by the time the one holding his wrist skids to a halt, collapsing against the side of the tunnel they're all running down.

Leonardo glances down, trailing his eyes up the arm that belongs to the hand still holding fast to his wrist until he's staring dumbly at Raphael. He gulps softly, splaying his fingers over the hand in place there and feels the digits around the flesh of his wrist contract in response. "Guys," He utters at last and all eyes are suddenly on him, "It's...It's a long story..."

"I don't care, bro," Michelangelo chokes out, launching himself into his arms, burying his face into the crook of his neck, "Just tell me you're real, dude. Please, just tell me that you're here...!"

Leonardo sniffs, "I'm here, Mikey. I'm real."

Donatello goes to his knees at Leonardo's side, raveling his long, muscular arms around him and pulling him close. "Explain everything later, but for now...just..." He trails off, but his arms tighten instinctively," I don't even care how or why not right now."

Raphael keeps his fingers clutched around his wrist and wordlessly embraces him with one arm, resting his head against the side of his face. Leonardo closes his eyes, breathing shakily as he brings his own arms around the brothers huddled around him, tugging them closer to him. The world around turned into a blur, even the sounds, and he paused as a lone tear traced down his cheek. His eyes flicker up to the two humans standing a few feet away, and he gives them a watery smile, then wordlessly they throw themselves into the midst of the vast embrace.