metalogs | I want to be blinded from this dull today

Entry tags:

I want to be blinded from this dull today

Who: Leonardo

faceguy, Donatello

purplexing, Accelerator

levelshift
What: Three children commit light B&E and felony theft.
When: Late May. Probably after that Fantastic announcement, what timing.
Where: An electronics recycling facility in Central.
Content Warnings: Kids committing crimes, body horror, psychological horror, blood, sensory overloading. These kids have trauma, thanks nightmare floor! Will update as necessary.

[With everything going on in Central City - the flooding, the lockdown, Fantastic taking over the Alliance - the smart thing to do would be to delay this whole mission. Or even better - call it off, because even though it should be a (mostly) harmless crime for the benefit of Donnie, stealing equipment meant to be recycled is still illegal. But no, they've made plans, scoped the place out, trained. Dropping things now would be putting all that time and effort to waste, and besides, it should be a simple stealthy in-and-out mission, right? It's a recycling facility, how bad can the security be?

Besides, it'll be fun to stick it to Fantastic. A heist (albeit, a small one) happening right after he becomes head of the Alliance? Now that's fantastic.

Accelerator isn't too sure what to expect. He's been in a recycling facility before, back in Academy City, and the security was incredibly lax. This is a different city - different universe, with different rules. He's a little cautious, since this was originally his idea, and he's the one with only thirty minutes of power to work with. Otherwise he's a weaker-than-normal high school student relying on two very capable ninjas.

It's fucking weird to be relying on other people. He kind of hates it, and he isn't totally sure why, though he can't exactly overthink it right now like he usually would. He's trying to stay focused on breaking into the facility and not fucking anything up for Donnie and Leo. He's even made something of an effort for tonight, with a duffle bag to store equipment (a smaller backpack is inside for stuff he'll grab for the Society's cut) and a black hoodie in case he needs to hide his hair (he isn't sure, white hair just doesn't seem very stealthy).

So far it's going smoothly. With Leo's planning and leadership and Donnie taking care of the security system they're able to sneak in and avoid the paths of the security guards. In fact, it's going so well that it sort of seems like they might be able to get in, grab what they need, and get out with no incidents whatsoever.

Of course, it's absurd to throw all caution out the window simply because things are working out right now. Especially when they run into their first obstacle.

After dodging a few more guards, the trio will come to a long hallway, the only path to their goal without having to pass directly several security stations. Spread through the length of the hall are little red lasers, arranged into one very elaborate grid meant to ward off would-be thieves such as themselves. It's like something out of a spy movie, and it's unclear whether these are the kinds of lasers that will cut a limb off or simply sound an alarm if tripped. Maybe it's both.

Accelerator leans heavily on his crutch, looking thoroughly irritated with this obstacle. His reflection might be actively detrimental here.]

This is fucking ridiculous.

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Ohhhh this is so much worse now.

[He hadn't wanted to look once Leo had identified what had grabbed him, but Donnie does it anyway. A hand, an arm, a someone attached to him and not letting go in the slightest.

The sight of more shapes in the bloody sea do not help to put him at ease, especially as they stand, and the more hands that reach for them, the further he wants to retreat. They effectively keep him from reaching for his goggles, to try retreating back into blindness of the visual aspect of the situation, but he's not so sure that feeling disembodied hands on him will make things any better.

He also hasn't realized he's gotten a grip around Leo at some point himself, clutching at Leo's arm as the room begins to populate more and more.]

Wh-who...?

[It's not really a question of where they'd originated from, although even though he's never seen these girls before, there's something definitely not right. The weird tendril-like limbs, the coloring... Leo never told him about that aspect of the Krang, the part about their being able to mutate people.

He's not sure what to make of the goggles either. It's all too strange. It's almost too much to puzzle out.

Donnie's eyes finally focus on Accelerator, and if it hadn't been clear whose nightmare this was before, it's hard to miss it now. Even then, he doesn't understand, and he's beginning to think he actually doesn't want to.]

[There is suddenly a lot happening at once. The girls rise out of the blood, and they've clearly been Krangified, the mutating goo warping their limbs into alien monstrosities. Leo feels his heart thud hard in his chest, because Raph had looked like that, Raph's arm and his eye had been changed in the same way, all because Leo-

Donnie winding himself around Leo's arm is what pulls him back to the present, to focus on what's actually happening in front of him. The girls aren't attacking, even though they're clearly infected. The slight cognitive dissonance is enough to let Leo grab onto a few coherent thoughts: the Krang are not here, and they didn't infect anyone, this is just his own nightmares mixing up with-

Accelerator jerks like he's about to vomit, effectively answering the question of whose nightmare this is part of.

But they're definitely getting tangled together, or why else would the girl (Misaka?) use that phrase? Hearing his family's motto twisted back on them like that makes something ugly wrench through Leo's stomach, and it's this more than anything that pushes him to action.

He sheathes his other katana, against the screaming of his instincts to not be disarmed, because he needs an arm and Donnie has the other one immobilized right now.

He reaches with his newly free hand for Accelerator, grabbing his bicep if he doesn't pull away.]

It's not real, remember? Just keep walking.

["'You would be better off leaving them behind,' says Misaka, while observing that only the strong prevail," says one of the girls. Leo tenses at that comment but does not make any move to follow that advice.]

[The actual words of the Sister doesn't register with Accelerator, it doesn't really need to. The problem is that it's her, the very last one he killed, standing there in front of him and speaking like that afternoon in the alley never happened at all. Like some sick joke where he's allowed to have a second chance with the ones he murdered, like he's allowed to redeem himself and forget about the past. Like he has the chance to be forgiven.

His vision is wavering and his heart is racing as he chokes down his nausea. It's bad enough that he doesn't even notice Leo grabbing him for several seconds. He doesn't pull away - his distaste at being touched is the last thing on his mind, and he isn't seeing straight. Looking up, seeing the Sisters standing there like blank dolls coated in nightmarish alien body parts, doesn't help. Nevertheless, he lets himself be dragged along. A more normal reaction for him would be to switch his choker on and get violent even if the Sisters did attack them, he wouldn't be able to fight back. He wouldn't even be able to reflect them.

More hands keep reaching out out of the blood to try and slow them, or force them to stop, now grabbing at Accelerator too. It's enough to make him outright stop at points, his legs shaking like he's going to collapse.

The Sisters who have fully formed, thousands of them, start crowding in closer. Still not attacking, but to get through them they're going to have to be moved out of the way. They're reaching, too.

"'You tricked us into coming here. You said you wanted to spend time with us. You lied,' says Misaka, remembering a familial argument during a demolition derby she was not present for and with a father she does not have," one of them with a Krang eye over her goggles says, as half a dozen mumble other words, all overlapping with each other as they reach for Donnie's battle shell, trying to get at his soft shell underneath.

"'How come nobody trusts me? None of you guys have any faith in me. Why?' Wonders Misaka, feeling overwhelming insecurity from a lack of trust," another Sister close to Leo explains, a Krang-like tentacle in place of an arm moving from his shell to his one good katana.

Dozens, hundreds of other start speaking as well. Some of them are talking over each other, some are speaking in unison, and some are finishing each other's sentences. It's a mess, and none of them appear to care that it might be hard to discern what they're saying.

"'Furthermore, Misaka...'" one girl starts, and another continues.

"'... in anticipation of the planned experiments...'" she says, and a third one with one eye replaced by a bulbous Krang eye speaks up smoothly.

"'... has undergone various tuning...'" And a fourth.

"'... and any alterations to the project would be difficult,' explains Misaka." She finishes.

The one identified as #10 031 merely stands there, unmoving, in their way. "'Where are you going?' Inquires Misaka, not wanting to be left alone," is all she says.]

...not real, it's not real, it's not real...

[It's a mantra Donnie mumbles under his breath, inching along beside Leo. His eyes are darting from side to side but there are way too many around them to keep track of.

Except it is real to him, because it's not merely about horrifying visuals, of places and people he'd rather not see. There aren't any emotional attachments there. The horror still clearly exists on a sensory level and that's not something he can easily ignore.

His breath hitches as more hands and grasping appendages reach for them curl around his arms, brush his legs, nearly entangling his already faltering footsteps as every step seems to sink them deeper into an unsettling pool of-]

I-I can't-!

[Donnie's clinging to Leo's arm, trying to drag his thoughts away from the deepening blood lake around them. Must...be...closer, they've got to be- He just has to lower his goggles. Keep moving ahead, they all have to just keep moving.

Those particular words echoing around him then make him go rigid, familiar words spoken years ago but it tugs a very intimate thread, and they have no business being spoken by complete strangers. It jabs at a tender little knot of raw emotion, an exposure only amplified by the creeping sensation he can feel as slender fingers and tentacles grasping at the edges of his battle shell.

He can't shut out the words, can't shut out all these bodies around him, grasping, clinging, constricting. He's started to hyperventilate. Leo might not be able to feel his arm for how tightly Donnie's locked himself around it, the compounding horrors around them ratcheting his nerves to their limits. ]

[It's not real, but the tentacles making their way over his shell to grab at the hilt of his katana send shivers of panic over Leo's skin. Donnie's got his arm in such a death grip it's going numb, and Accelerator stumbles along after him like a newborn foal.

The fact that this is a recycling plant and there's a real chance they'll be discovered by security staff has completely receded to the back of Leo's mind. This isn't about not being caught, this is about getting them out of here before any of them ~~are mutated by the Krang, become one of them, trapped forever, die here~~ have a mental breakdown they can't recover from.

Donnie's breathing is loud and harsh in his ears and Leo knows he's at his breaking point. Accelerator is trembling in his grasp like he's about to shake apart. And Leo doesn't know what to do. What can he do? He's not big and strong like Raph, who would just carry them out. He's not a genius like Donnie. He's not going to soothe emotions like Mikey.

"'We need Master Leonardo, and all we have is this guy,' Misaka says, acknowledging that Leo's shortcomings are insurmountable."

And isn't that just it? What can he do? He's not good at anything, he's only good at screwing up. Can't even sacrifice himself right, he had to mess that up, too.

The dust in the air of the prison dimension stings his throat. The smell of blood clogs his nose. It's up to his waist now, and the girls, the Misakas, make it near impossible to advance. He can't let go of either of them, but he needs to keep pushing forward, and the one behind him is still grabbing for his katana-

Deep breath.

He needs a plan. If he has even one thing he's remotely good at, it's this. Might as well prove it now.]

Donnie? Buddy? You with me? [He doesn't know if he is, but he hopes he's at least coherent enough to...] I need you to get on my back. I'm gonna carry you.

[He'll figure out what to do about Accelerator next.]

[With Donnie cracking under the pressure the Sisters seem to be zeroing in on him. There's more of them going for his shell, his goggles in case he gets the idea to put them on again. Now they're even trying to wiggle fingers and tentacles in between his hands and Leo's arm to loosen his grip. Logically, the next step after overwhelming them is to separate them.

To make matters worse, the Krang influences aren't the only unnatural things about these girls. There's a sudden BOOM! as a bolt of lightning arcs up into the air. Then another. And another.

Hundreds of Sister begin firing off spears of electricity, their esper ability. None of them aim towards the boys - the act is clearly meant to disorient all of them with the loud noise and flashes of light. That means to clearly distinguish what any of the Sisters are saying, they're having to get even closer.

One of them gets right up next to Leo, right next to his ear. "'You ruined everything. And now, my wrath will be reversed for you alone,' Misaka recalls, noting the accuracy in his statement."

Accelerator barely notices that one of them is faltering, he's buried in the mountain of corpses he created. Each one of their deaths is flashing through his mind and even though they're all identical and warped by the Krang, he's certain he could number each and every one surrounding them.

While Leo is trying to help Donnie another Sister approaches him, this one free of any Krang appendages, her goggles perched up on her forehead to reveal blank brown eyes. Static is hammering Accelerator's ears as he stares at her, and she reaches up to take his face in her hands. It isn't visible because of the depth of the pool but there's a gunshot wound in her torso, one he caused because he had been trying to leave the research facility when Misaka #00001 shot at him.

His back had been turned, so instead of redirecting the bullet away from her as he had all the others, it went straight back into her. He still remembers the noise echoing off the white walls.

"'What would you have done,' asks Misaka, 'If Misaka had cried out for help instead? What if you had scared Misaka like you do everyone else and she said she didn't want to fight anymore?'" She asks, and he really does look like he's going to break apart.]

Edited 2023-05-23 02:17 (UTC)

[There are words being spoken that aren't meant for him, but he can tell they're measured, extracted from them, specifically for them.

It isn't fair. This is essentially their own doing. Who better to know what would get at them the most?

Leo's voice seems barely audible amidst the constant murmurs, the innocent-sounding recitations of words heard from some point or another, yet still sounding so mocking. Donnie would be angry if he weren't feeling so spent.

"'You shouldn't be depending on your brother or anyone else to back you up when you're like that,' Misaka points out, simply acknowledging that a valid point can still be made by someone who can call themselves scum."]

....

[His grip slackens slightly from around Leo's arm, pulled away by the Sisters- They're not herethey'renotherethey'renothere

The explosive sounds jolt through him. Impossible as he knows it is, he can practically feel those tendrils sliding across his shell. He opens his eyes, looking at Leo desperately.

Donnie's here. Barely. He's...he's trying, he's shaking so bad and it seems to take so much effort to move his arms again, feeling like he's being pulled away, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind it can't be physically possible, but he manages to sling an arm around Leo, curling against his shell as he pulls his other hand around.

It doesn't come about immediately, but Leo will find his vision cleared as Donnie slips his goggles over his brother's face.]

[One of them says the Krang's words to him right in his ear and Leo shakes hard, because it's not the right voice but he can still hear it exactly as it was that day. It's hard to stay focused, hard to keep his thoughts in order, but he has to, he's the leader and he has to keep his head.

"'He never should have made you leader,' says Misaka, pointing out the obvious."

Donnie pulls away from him, and for a second Leo is panicking for an entirely different reason, because if he loses Donnie in the crush of bodies he's not sure he'll be able to find him again-

But then he feels Donnie curling against his shell, his arms wrapping around him, and one of the vices on his heart eases just a little. He hasn't lost him, he still has him. Screw whatever these weird goopy girls say, he's getting them out of here.

The sudden pressure of the goggles on his head startles him.

He wasn't expecting Donnie to give them to him - if anything Donnie needs them more, to block out at least one of his senses before he gets completely overwhelmed. But instead, he has them, and he sees things in a whole new light, literally.

The girls, the Krang debris, the blood, all of it falls away, and he sees the dimensions of the room, the door they need to get to somewhere on the other side. They're barely over halfway, and the distance still feels impossibly far, but there is an end, if they can get there.

He can still feel the slimy, slithery touch of the Krangified sisters on his body, can still hear their treacherous whispers as they lob all the cruelest words he's ever heard or thought about himself back at him, but he can't see them anymore. He can see the goal. He can move to the goal.]

Thanks, Donnie.

[First, he needs to get Accelerator.

He can't see the girl talking to him, and he only caught the tail end of what she said, but he can tell from the way Accelerator just looks broken that whatever it was, it wasn't good. He's never seen Accelerator like this, emotions raw on his face like he's been torn open.

(He's the same age as Mikey.)

Leo still has a hand on his arm, but now he yanks him in closer, trying to get his arm around his shoulders. He wishes he had Raph's power, right now, so he could become bigger, as big as he needs to be, to pick them up and run them right out of here, but he doesn't have Raph's power, and he can already tell that trying to open a portal while he feels this strung out wouldn't end well. So he just has to bundle them both as close to him as he can and get them out of here, however he can.]

Hey, Accy, I got you. We're leaving, okay? We're leaving.

[He says it to bolster his own confidence, too. He can't see them anymore, but he can still feel the crush of bodies in front of them, pushing them back.]

[The words of the Sisters, though still remaining emotionless, grow in a cacophony until all twenty thousand of them are speaking or firing off lightning. It's a calculated attack, maybe even worse than trying to cause physical injury. Why risk injury to yourself when your can mentally break down the enemy instead?

Even when Donnie's arms encircle Leo they don't stop. They - the magic system in place, rather, it isn't deterred. That Leo has the goggles makes no different to the system either, the Sisters take hold of Donnie's arms and Leo's shell, gently trying to pry them apart.

Accelerator doesn't even notice. His gaze has completely blurred, yet it's still turning into tunnel vision directed solely at Misaka #00001. Her question is one he's thought about himself, spurred on by Last Order on the day they met. What if, before a single Sister was sacrificed, they had come to him with tears in their eyes? What if even one had said she wanted no part in the experiment?

He knows what he would have done. Every day he's utterly disgusted with himself for needing that much. He should have been able to stop it all on his own, without a single one of them asking. A good person would have stopped the experiment before it started, without needing that prompting -

He feels sick all over again. She's standing there, waiting for his answer, and he can't tell if he wants to start laughing or break down crying. He's lost.]

I - I -

[He doesn't finish that thought, as he's suddenly being tugged away from her. The Sister turns her head slightly to watch him, unmoving, and there's an arm around his shoulders that jerks him out of his spiraling thoughts. It feels like a total betrayal to her, but he breaks their locked gazes to look down and see Leo's arm. And his voice, filtering through all the static and voices of the Sisters. That stupid nickname. They're leaving.

It brings him back down enough to reality to not resist. And it's cowardly, but he doesn't try to go back to Misaka #00001, even though he knows he should face her. Instead he gives a tiny nod that he heard him and curls a little bit closer.]

[He can't not depend on his brothers, as much as he wishes he didn't have to. But in this moment, Leo's the only one who can keep going. It's feels like a cruel thing to do, but Donnie knows he won't be able to do it himself.

He can't lead them. Leo can.

Eyes squeezed shut, it's still a poor compensation for his lack of being able to see anything, and those hands and creepy Krang appendages are still there, his skin crawling at their touch, still trying to ease him away from the only real contact in this room aside from Accelerator.

There's a momentary pang of guilt as Donnie realizes he's completely lost track of the esper, quelled only slightly as he hears Leo speaking to Accelerator. Leo won't leave him. He won't leave any of them. He won't give up.

Those hands try harder, even at their gentlest touch, and Donnie practically buries his face against Leo's shell, his arms so tense they hurt, but he knows if he loses his hold, he's never getting out of here. The dread of being stuck in here, dragged under blood and limbs with a million voices and crashing sounds all around nearly threatens to shut him down.

His arms twitch, and for a heart-stopping moment almost feel like they slacken. He's barely hanging on, and it's taking everything for him to just do that, so overwhelmed as he is.

It'd be so much easier just to not feel anything.]

[There's nothing wrong with depending on his brothers, is what Leo would say, if he knew, and if he weren't, well, busy. Leo's learned his lesson about trying to do everything himself.

Though right now, if it's on him to be the one pushing ahead at all costs, then he'll do his job and he'll do it right.

He can feel the hands trying to pull Donnie away from him and he feels Donnie gripping as tight as he can, tight enough that it hurts, but Leo doesn't care about that pain because it means Donnie is still there. And Accelerator...

He nods, and he curls in close, and that means he heard Leo. He broke past whatever this place is trying to show him, and Leo has a lot of theories just based on what he's seen and heard, but that doesn't matter to him right now because Accelerator looks absolutely wretched and if this place has pulled out all their worst nightmares then whatever Accelerator did, he's torturing himself enough for it without Leo adding on.

And he told Accelerator they're leaving and he means it. He's not going to leave him behind.

He's not leaving any of them behind.

"'You left Raph behind,' says Misaka, contemplating how someone could do that to their own brother."

She says it right in his ear, and Leo can feel one of the Krang tentacles slide over his shoulder, the same place Raph was hurt protecting him, and he wants to scream but he grits his teeth instead.

With no weapon and no free hands, Leo's only real recourse is to push his way past the sisters using his chest and head and body, literally headbutting or shouldering them out of the way as he moves. It's slow going, because Leo is conscious of Accelerator's crutch, which makes him slower than Leo even when he isn't struggling to stand, and even when there isn't fake blood resisting their steps. But that's okay. One step, and then another. Every one brings them closer to the goal.

Leo can't see it through the goggles, but a red light starts sweeping the blood pool, appearing between the flashes of lightning. Krang Prime himself hasn't made an appearance yet, but that is his searchlight...]

[Whatever feelings carved his brain into pieces have settled into place, leaving a raw, aching sort of feeling. Honestly, if he wasn't being physically dragged along, he'd likely stay there and let the Sisters do whatever it is they're aiming for. Rationally Accelerator knows it isn't them, and that Leo is right. He knows that he should be thinking about both of them and not these fake illusions, but he can't. He ruined the lives of these girls, they deserve a chance to do the same with him.

It's easy to think that it would be better if they did, when he's an entire universe away from Last Order.

"'Misaka can be automatically produced at the press of a button as long as the proper machinery and chemicals are prepared,' explains Misaka. 'Misaka has an artificially made body and a borrowed mind. Her value is 180,000 yen.'"

There's another Sister chiming in as she tugs on Accelerator's sleeve. "Misaka adds as a reminder, quoting the administrator, 'There is value in each individual Misaka’s life and not Misaka as a whole. Nobody can replace a Misaka. If Misaka were to die, then there would be people who would cry for Misaka, says Misaka as Misaka asserts proudly.'"

He winces when he hears Last Order's words. That split in his head isn't quite letting him tune most of this out anymore, so he's picking up bits and pieces of what they're saying to Leo and Donnie when it's intelligible.

His vision is still completely fucked, but it's impossible to miss that red spotlight. It sticks out, completely different from the softer green glow coming from the goggles the Sisters are wearing. He's got no idea what it is, and if it's something dangerous he isn't sure he can bring himself to care.]

["'Putting a lot of effort into something that could just die on you despite everything still seems like a waste of time to me,' Misaka suggests from a conversation about gardening as Misaka wonders if it carries over in regard to other subjects," chimes one just behind the three, words Accelerator had told Donnie not too long ago, horribly dark without context, particularly with such a delivery.

He's still got his eyes shut, unsure of whether it's helping or not, but he'd already seen enough of what's around him to just imagine the myriad of mutated Sisters. At the moment all he's able to do is hear the words they relate, things that if they aren't targeted, seem meaningless. They aren't, not here. If it's not for him, it's for someone else, although in that moment he's not sure who it's meant for, but it's a chilling suggestion all the same.

Donnie's arms and legs are starting to ache, but at least it's his pain and not something conjured by this cursed room. It's the slightest thing, but it's new in the face of everything else that it provides a new point of focus. He struggles to drag himself out of the mental retreat he'd nearly slipped into. Being a deadweight won't help them.

Being a burden won't help Leo.

How far are they? Where were they, even? Donnie risks a look and instantly regrets it the moment he catches a glimpse of something new. What is it? He's not sure, but it has to be something bad if it's here.

Something tells him they need to move faster before they find out exactly what it is.]

...-ow far? [His words almost stick in his throat, barely above a whisper. Swallowing audibly, he tries again.]

Leo? Our position?

[Leo just barely caught what the Sister said to Accelerator, and it occurs to him for the first time that these are all clones. Even though the first one said a number, some of the others have said numbers, he just assumed they were all visions of the same girl.

A messed up thing to learn, but it’s not slowing him down!

He continues pulling them forward, unaware of the red searchlight, even as it sweeps dangerously close to their position. Leo doesn’t have the coordination or energy or desire to lift the goggles right now, so his awareness of the nightmare is limited mainly to his other senses. Which, really? More than enough.

Donnie speaks up, and Leo feels just a little better hearing him, even if he sounds… not great.]

We’re… fifteen feet from the other wall.

[Donnie said the room is forty-five feet before, and they had covered ten feet when they hit the pool of blood. So they’ve covered twenty feet since then. He almost laughs - it feels like it’s been miles and miles.

Still… can’t lost hope. Look on the bright side!]

We’ve made it two thirds of the way there, so, no problem right?

[The Sisters are still saying things right in his ear, now berating him for letting Mikey and Donnie get separated from him in the tunnel under Metro Tower, now berating him for leaving Gram-Gram behind, now berating him for lying to his brothers about the Maze of Death (oh come on, he was fourteen). Some of the things are meant more for Donnie than him, he thinks, and he tries to filter those out as much as he can.

He pushes forward another step (fourteen feet), then kicks at a Sister in front of him so he can move again (thirteen feet). The searchlight passes by just to the left of them.]

[Another Sister reaches out in the blood and takes hold of his free hand, tugging, and it's taking whatever bits of broken willpower Accelerator has left to not just go with her. She's mumbling something but he can't discern it, and it doesn't really matter, because he's heard that inflection before. She's likely repeating something she had said to him in the past, back when he was trying to force conversation out of her before their trial began. For a second he actually squeezes her hand back before Leo's grip on him and Donnie's voice brings him back, and he lets go.

Two thirds of the way there. Only one third left.

The searchlight sweeps closer, over the crush of Sisters, and though it looks harmless right now he can't help but think what if it hurts them? Not himself or Leo or Donnie - his priority is the clones. It's always been the clones, since August 31st. That's why he visibly winces when he catches sight of the kick, though he doesn't make any moves to stop Leo from what he's doing. It's an uncomfortable dichotomy of knowing that they're fakes controlled by the security system and whatever Krang influence was overlaid on top of them, that they need to get moved out of the way so the two real people can survive, and wanting to protect them because of who they are and what they represent regardless.]

... They're innocent people. It isn't their fault.

[He's croaking that out quietly, even if it won't make any difference. They don't deserve to get hurt, even if these ones are illusions designed to drag them down and break them. The real ones, both alive and dead, certainly don't deserve to have their faces be used in this way.

The searchlight sweeps over again, and this time he manages to pull together a question amidst the cracks of lightning and girls talking over each other.]

What is that?

[More waves of words that threaten to crush against him, submerge him under the sounds. Yet Donnie can actually make out the words here and there, suspecting because they're specifically said towards him, and it threatens to tug at already unravelling threads.

Fifteen feet.

He's not sure he can hang on for that long.

Leo's still trying to keep things light, and Donnie's not sure how much of it is show. He'd already seen the affect just seeing that place around him had been. But he's still trying.

...and because of that, Donnie can't give up either. He can't let Leo shoulder it all again. What kind of useless weight of a brother is he? Being useless is even worse than any of this, and that thought seizes him tightly.

Another voice speaks up, almost unrecognizable for who it is by how different Accelerator sounds. He's still with them. He's hanging on. But they can't stay another minute.

It's especially troubling to hear the esper's confusion as he too takes notice of the strange, searching light. In that moment, Donnie's thoughts are clear: Leo can't see this.]

L-Leo, I'm going to cut the distance, but you need to tell me when we get close enough. Hang on to Accelerator.

[The lack of further explanation says a lot, but Donnie can do this much. They don't need to fly fancy. They just need to move faster.

The rotors of his battle shell unfold, flaring that trademark neon purple as they come to life before boosting them forward, just as that sweeping searchlight arcs around again.]

[They aren't real, is on Leo's tongue at Accelerator's objection, and the only thing that keeps him from saying it out loud is the wince, still perfectly visible on Accelerator's real face goggles or no. The girls aren't real but Accelerator's reaction to them, his feelings about them, are real, and Leo may not care about the apparitions but he does care about that.]

Sorry. [It's what he says instead, and he doesn't make more efforts to force the Sisters away. But this leaves a problem, because he doesn't have any limbs left and he's worn out from physically dragging the other two along and he doesn't know what he's going to do if he has to take the Sisters' wellbeing into account-

And oh great, apparently there's something new.

Leo is about to ask for some elaboration, since he can't really maneuver the goggles off to see for himself without help, when Donnie is speaking up, urgently.]

Okay.

[He doesn't know what Donnie's plan is at first, but he trusts his brother and if he has an idea then Leo is all for it.

And then he hears the rotors open, and he doesn't really need any explanation, anyway.

He changes his grip on Accelerator so he's holding him around the back instead of the shoulders, hooked under his armpits so he doesn't lose him. As much as he's been telling Accelerator to exercise, it's really helping that he's a skinny twig right now.

And then Donnie is boosting them, which handily solves the problem of how he's going to get past the Sisters without force. They push through the sea, and while he can still feel their gentle touches grabbing at him, they're moving forward.]

...Nine feet... eight...

[He helpfully counts down.]

[Leo's apology is met with a stony silence. Accelerator knows that they don't have any options here if they actually want to get out (and the turtles, at least, deserve that much), but he can't bring himself to say anything. On the flipside, he isn't actively trying to stop him from getting the Sisters out of the way. It's a middle ground that makes his guilt surge. He'll have to figure something out to say later - if there's a later.

There may damn well not be a later.

His brain is settling on that thought when Donnie speaks up. It's hard to hear him over all the noise, but he catches the neon purple out of the corner of his eye and Leo's grip is shifting around him. Well, any plan is a good plan, at this rate.

Holding his crutch a little tighter he - and part of him can't believe he's doing this - uses his free hand to grab onto Leo. As he does his gaze follows the searchlight (mentally numbering each Sister that it touches, one of them is asking him why he isn't helping her), and he looks upwards to try and see what the source of it is.]

[Seven...six...

Donnie remains silent as his focus is too frayed to try juggling things as easily as he'd usually be able to.

He just needs to stop them before they run headlong into the wall, or the door, he's not sure if they'd angled off any from their original path. Track of things had been lost rather quickly the moment everything became blood.

...four...three-

Out of the corner of his eye he sees it, something big, red light only highlighting edges of some kind of armored creature.]

-cutting the rotors! Leo! Keep going!

[Momentum stops, but it's as close as he'll risk it, not without visuals. The urgency in his tone should be clear enough.]

[Leo can't see it, but when Accelerator and Donnie look, it will come more into view - a massive, menacing suit of armor, with a big red eye being the source of the light, making it difficult to look directly at it. But if they look close enough, they'll be able to see the pink face of the Krang, stuffed inside the suit, with a hateful scowl as he searches for his prey.

Leo, oblivious for the moment, focuses on the door, just a few feet in front of them but a bit to the left - drifting off course was inevitable with everything going on. He angles toward it, dragging them with him, and they're close, they're so close to being out of here, he's reaching for the handle to escape-

"Ah, there you are, pest," says the voice of the Krang, booming through the space, and Leo's breath hitches. "Do you really think you can escape me?"

Leo is frozen. They've nearly escaped, his fingers are brushing the door handle, but he can't bring himself to move, every muscle in his body tensing in preparation for a blow he knows is coming.

The logical part of his brain, telling him that it's not real, just open the door, keep moving - it's drowned out by the fear, and even though Leo can see the shape of the door, he feels trapped.

What if they're wrong and this is real after all?]

[It isn't a kaiju, but it's certainly a monster. What Accelerator can see of the Krang is burned into his brain as they come skidding to a stop.

That thing. That fucking thing.

There are fewer Sisters close to the door, the majority of them having been concentrated away from it in order to keep the three of them in the room. They stop moving, even pulling back as if to let the Krang take over instead.

Fuck.

It's completely illogical since the Krang is obviously fake like everything else on this floor, but all Accelerator can think is that fucking thing is the reason why the Sisters are so messed up, why the turtles may have had their lives ruined back home. His head is already killing him, but now it feels like something sharp is completely splitting his brain in half and shredding it into dozens of tiny pieces.

He wants to kill that thing. He wants to kill that thing so bad. He doesn't care how much of a monster that makes himself, he's letting those feelings swallow himself up. All this room did was show him who he is, so he might as well indulge it.

From his back bursts six pitch black jet sprays, stretching dozens of meters and twisting and writhing wildly. Accelerator barely has the things under control, the wings grinding against each other before three of them shoot straight into the Krang. He's under no impression that those things will actually kill that thing, he still has no idea the extent of the wings, and he has no idea what the Krang is fully capable of. But he doesn't care. He wants to smash that thing in the face and provide them a few precious seconds as the remaining three of the wings arc over their heads and slam into the door, sending it flying into the opposite wall. Then they curl back behind them, hitting the floor to launch them through the opened doorway.

(Since Leo has the goggles on, he'll be able to see the wings extending from and made up of the same field that's constantly surrounding Accelerator.)

He has to leave the Sisters, but it's them or the turtles, and the turtles aren't fake.

This isn't going to be pleasant, though. There's too much force in the wings, so they're all going to be smashing against the wall like the door did. When Accelerator hits the wall the wings shoot back through the doorway, intending to crash into the Krang again, but he's exhausted and at his limit, so they short out and disappear a few seconds later.]

[The armored Krang is frightening to see, every inch of it menacing, and the true brain of the suit that looms there isn't any more pleasant for the look it casts in their direction.

It speaks, and just like that, their move for the exit stops.]

Leo? Leo, Leo you've got to move, you need to move..! Leo, please!!

[He pleads for his brother to go, it's all he can do and it's not enough, and he can't do anything else. He clings tighter, as though whatever physical strength he has left can keep this mental construct from harming Leo any more than it already has.

Suddenly, things explode.

Donnie can't possibly process any of this, only staring in shock at these sudden protrusions writhing from their esper friend, and if his arms didn't feel cemented around his brother, Donnie might have let go simply out of reflex. He sees them begin to twist and extend, and then he's shutting his eyes again, hearing sounds of destruction and having no idea what is happening any more.

They're moving again, but he hadn't felt Leo take another step. Opening his eyes is once again a mistake as the scenes just seem to 'snap' from one thing to another, and he can't even register anything before impact.]

[Donnie pleads with him to move, but Leo's feet feel welded to the floor, like he couldn't lift them if he tried. Twin spikes of failure and guilt twist up with the fear but they aren't enough to actually get him to make that last step as he flinches against the sound of the Krang.

It comes to mind that he should at least turn and then maybe he can shield Donnie from whatever happens next, but before he can put that thought into action, Accelerator does... something.

It takes him a moment to process the wings, black and writhing, springing from the flickering aura (hadn't Donnie said it was a field?) that covers Accelerator's body. Leo hadn't put any thought into it before, but now he's briefly in awe as the wings arc back toward the Krang, and then forward into the door-

And then they're being launched and Leo slams hard into the wall, his plastron leaving a turtle-shaped dent in the drywall. He's lucky his head didn't go through it, too, though he'll probably have some whiplash later.

He sinks to the ground in a heap. He has no idea where they are now or where the others are. The goggles are still on, but now they aren't registering anything magic. There's just the hall, and himself and Donnie and Accelerator.]

[Running into a wall without his reflection on is easily the worst pain he's felt since those fights getting the shit pummeled out of him by Kihara. The wind is knocked out of him and he's seeing stars in his eyes, it's kind of amazing he didn't flat-out knock himself out with that move.

But he didn't, which means all that hatred and anger is still roiling in him in full force, another spike of it rising up when he feels his wings break and split apart. Goddamnit, not now, not when he hasn't gotten the chance to tear that piece of shit apart --

He pushes himself up on one arm, looking through the doorway they just came through. There's nothing but an empty, dark room. No blood, no prison dimension, no mutated Sisters. Certainly no mechafied alien coming after them. It's like none of that ever happened, aside from the broken door and the dents in the wall.]

....

[Shakily and without really thinking, he starts to reach up and switch his choker on. He needs his reflection on, and... he should check the vectors of his body for any internal damage, but before he reaches the button he stops. He vaguely realizes his brain is still in shambles, that thought to check for injuries squeaking through a myriad of disorientation, confusion, anger, guilt. His heart is racing badly and he still can't see straight. Despite being able to form those wings there's no way he could manage actual calculations.

So... he drops his hand. The vague shapes of Donnie and Leo are there, but he doesn't say anything to them as he sinks back down onto the ground and puts his free arm over his eyes to try and force his vision to settle down.]

[The sudden shift between extremes is disorienting enough without being nearly knocked senseless by a wall. Donnie lies where he'd fallen, his shoulder throbbing from the awkward angle he'd met the wall, his ears ringing in the wake of the dead silence around them.

The hall's too bright, the floor's so cold, everything feels like it's all angles and edges and he's not sure if he actually welcomes the pain or resents it. All he can hear is the thudding of his heartbeat and the raggedness of his breath, two things he can't really shut out. His eyes are squeezed shut like he's trying anyway. Slowly, Donnie tries to curl into himself like he's physically trying to pull himself together.

Leo? Accelerator? He's sure they're here somewhere, but no one's spoken, and every movement Donnie makes just seems so loud right now, yet he can't coax himself to speak just yet.]

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