"Des, wait! Please!" Leonardo cries, but the dark wolf just gives him a final sad look before she's gone.

Leonardo takes a staggering step toward the shattered window only for his feet to give out. The adrenaline's fading too quickly, everything hitting him at once. He catches himself against the floor, trying to get his breath back even as emotion grips him. His chest aches and he wants nothing more than to collapse onto the floor and stop existing for a few moments.

She didn't say it back.

He closes his eyes, tries to centre himself. He can't fall apart, not when danger is still present and his brothers need him. He forces himself back to his feet, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"Leo," Raphael starts.

Leonardo hurries to his brother's side, helping him to his feet. Raphael's arm matches his mask—red and tattered. He sags against Leonardo.

"I thought...I thought she was going to—" Raphael starts.

"We have to go," Leonardo interrupts. "She's gone now. We have to go."

Raphael's pained green eyes narrow. "We can't," he insists. "We have to go after her before Shredder gets her again!"

"We can't," April pipes up. She stands, wringing her hands for a second. "Think of Donnie and Mikey! And you two are hurt too," she continues, panic edging her voice. "And Casey! He...oh, god, he's gonna bleed out if we don't hurry."

Raphael's shoulders sag and Leonardo keeps holding him up. "The Shellraiser's outside," he says. "Raph, think you can help at all?"

Raphael grimaces, blinking at the wetness in his eyes even as he nods. "Yeah, I can."

"April," Leonardo continues. "You—"

"Help."

The three of them snap towards the voice just as Diaval gets to his feet, wobbling slightly as he rubs the back of his head.

"What?" April asks.

Diaval glances at her, then the two unconscious turtles. He starts towards Donatello, the closer of the two, and kneels down at his side, reaching out for Donatello's bitten, twisted ankle.

"Hey, answer her!" Raphael demands. "And don't lay a single finger on my brother or you'll regret it."

Diaval's hand freezes as he sucks in a breath. "I'll," he says, grimacing, "help you."

"Like shell you will!" Raphael snaps, storming towards him.

Diaval takes a hesitant step back as the turtle reaches him, Raphael's good hand latching around Diaval's cloak and tugging him down to eye level. Their height difference would make for a comical sort of scenario if it weren't for the circumstances.

"Are you really stupid enough to believe that we'll trust you for even a second?" Raphael seethes. "After what you did to Destiny? I oughta rip your guts—"

"Yes," he answers.

Raphael stops, the heat of his rage dimming. "Huh?"

"'M stupid enough...just wanna help," Diaval mumbles, burying his chin and mouth against his bunched collar. The red-masked turtle's eyes narrow further.

"Raph, stop," Leonardo says, approaching the pair. He pries Raphael's hand from Diaval's collar before staring up at the pale man. "Why?"

Diaval doesn't break the stare. After a second, Leonardo feels a tingling against the back of his head and he shudders, reaching a hand to the nape of his neck and scratching in an attempt to get rid of it.

Diaval blinks. "You want help."

Leonardo's jaw clenches, but he looks away. Raphael's gaze darts between the two of them, his face slackening.

"Leo, you can't be seriously thinking of trusting him," he says.

"We need help, Raph," Leonardo retorts. "You've got one working arm, April isn't strong enough to carry Mikey, Casey, or Donnie..." He cringes visibly and exhales. "We have to."

"Oh my f—"

"Raph, just drop it," April says, voice choked. "We don't have to bring him to the lair. We just need to get everyone into the Shellraiser."

Raphael purses his lips, but gives in as his hand goes to his arm again. "Fine..."

Leonardo looks up to find that Diaval has already walked away and busied himself. He drapes his cloak over Donatello before pulling the lanky turtle onto his back, tying the cloak around his waist and throat like a baby hammock. Donatello lets out a moan of pain that makes Leonardo flinch, but Diaval keeps going. He makes quick work of pulling Michelangelo up onto his free arm, carrying him like a parent would for their toddler. With both turtles safely secured, he stands and waits for Leonardo to give him an order.

Raphael stares at Diaval, trying to comprehend how such a skinny guy could possibly be strong enough to carry two full-grown teenagers, but he can't make out the right words. Leonardo kneels next to April and hoists Casey into his arms. Once ready, he jerks his head to the side. The battered group makes their way out of the building, ever cautious of another attack.

----------

Splinter waits in the dojo, meditating. An unsettling feeling comes over him and his eyes snap open, shattering the peace he had almost completely obtained. Something doesn't feel right.

He gets up and heads out into the main living area, the dread growing deeper with every step. His ears twitch as the rumbling engine of the Shellraiser comes down the tunnel. Some of his worries decrease just knowing his sons are returning to him.

The vehicle screeches to a halt outside the gate, the doors sliding open. Leonardo pokes his head out, eyes wide with fear and sorrow.

"Sensei, we need help!" he shouts.

Splinter hurries to his son's aid, helping to unload Casey, Donatello, and Michelangelo from the vehicle and into the living room. "What happened?" he asks. He sees the wound in Raphael's arm, the puncture marks in Leonardo's. "Who did this to you?"

"We were attacked," Raphael gasps as he sits down, still clutching his broken, mangled arm.

Splinter moves to his side and gets him to lie down, examining his arm and starting to carefully set the bones. Raphael grits his teeth, squeezing a pillow as he suffers through it. April returns from Donatello's lab with a first aid kit, hesitating for barely a second before moving to Casey. She strips him of his sweater and pushes his shirt up, wincing as the full scope of his wound comes into view. She starts working on him while, at her back, Leonardo goes between Donatello and Michelangelo, wrapping Donatello's ankle and making sure Michelangelo is comfortable. He's arguably the least injured of the boys but it doesn't make Leonardo any less nervous.

"You did not answer me, my sons," Splinter says. "Who attacked you? And what has happened to Destiny?"

Raphael closes his eyes, his jaw clenching, and April looks up at Leonardo with a haunted look. Leonardo's shoulders droop and he takes a deep breath.

"It was her," he says, trying desperately not to choke on his words. Splinter's ears pull back. "Shredder...took over her mind and turned her against us. She broke out of it, but..."

"How?" Splinter asks. He presses a spot on Raphael's arm gently, but the turtle yelps and turns his head away, teeth gritting.

There's a sudden clanging noise that rings through the entire lair, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor that alerts the residents to a newcomer. Diaval lays face down on the ground, one foot hooked on the turnstiles and his baggy red shirt slipping down his back. He gets up, clutching his nose and checking for blood. There's a little bit, not enough for him to be bothered.

"Who is this?" Splinter demands.

"Diaval," Raphael snarls, his glaring green eyes returning to the boy. "He was supposed to stay back!"

Diaval averts his eyes. "Wanted cloak back. Kinda cold..." He shivers, bunching his arms closer to his torso.

"Leonardo..." Splinter starts.

"Sensei, he...uh..." Leonardo swallows, pinwheeling his hand a bit. "He..."

"Let her go," Diaval says, carefully moving further into the lair. He's greeted with blank stares and he grimaces, swallowing. "Shot the robot, broke the connection but—" He rubs at his head, his pained look getting more prominent. "Dunno how long it'll last."

Leonardo's chest gets all tight again. A part of him had hoped that Destiny heard him and broke herself out and hearing that Diaval let her go leaves him with the strangest mix of emotions—the fact that there's even a hint of gratitude felt towards him makes Leonardo feel sick.

Shredder was a second away from killing him. Destiny's teeth were closing in on his throat and it wasn't love that stopped her. It was a moment of empathy from their enemy, of all people, the enemy that forced her to do this to his family.

"How long it'll last?" April echoes. "What does that mean?"

Diaval fidgets. "Won't be good."

"Leonardo, explain," Splinter says. His voice is firm but gentle, treading carefully. "After Diaval freed her, what happened?"

"She ran," he says. "She wanted us to leave her behind and...when I refused, she ran." His voice breaks again and he tries to cover it with a cough. "She's gone."

Splinter exhales and finishes setting Raphael's arm. Raphael pants, forehead covered in a sheen of sweat, and Splinter starts cleaning the wounds. He'll need stitches, then Splinter will use his healing mantras to take care of the rest. Donatello's ankle will need repair and while Michelangelo's external injuries are minute, internal could be another story.

Diaval shuffles over to April as she finishes dressing Casey's wound. He points at the cloak still draped over Donatello and she hands it off to him without a word.

"So..." April starts as Diaval retreats. She starts working on Donatello's ankle. "How do we find her? She can't be running around the city like that."

"We'll search everywhere," Leonardo says. "We'll track her down, talk some sense into her, and—"

"No, we can't get her back," Splinter interrupts as he starts to stitch Raphael's cuts. Raphael breathes hard, still white-knuckling his pillow.

"Huh?" Leonardo and April ask. Diaval, having missed what they were saying, just blinks and looks up from where he'd been fastening his cloak.

"We cannot risk going after her, not when all of you are injured," Splinter says, graver than a cemetery. "You must remain here and heal. Destiny...will return to us if she so chooses."

Leonardo sputters. "B-But, Sensei, she's alone! She's hurt and God knows how much pain she's in," he rambles. He thinks of the bleeding wound in her side, left by his own blades. "I can't just—"

"Leonardo, I know that this is hard. Do not think that this doesn't hurt me greatly. However, I have to think about what is best for our family." He looks down at Raphael's injury as he pulls the skin closed, stitching as efficiently as he can.

"Des is a part of that family!"

"Leo," April says. Leonardo turns to her and her eyes are dewy, lips pursed. Her gaze flickers to Diaval just as the boy winces and rubs his head again. "Whatever was happening in her head...it's dangerous. She must have realized something we haven't, right?"

"Like Shredder's still got a hold," Raphael finally speaks up. His voice is thick even as he lifts his head, focusing his attention on Leonardo. "You saw it, Leo."

What little resolve Leonardo has left takes a heavy hit. She had that second where, even without Diaval's influence, she lost herself. He pictures her in his mind's eye; how she stared at him in agony, her teeth gritted, her nose bleeding and her hands stained, begging him to abandon her, begging him to go against everything he is.

Most of all, he remembers seeing the inner turmoil building up inside her eyes right before she whispered the last apology. He remembers the "I love you" that she never returned. Maybe she did love him, but she felt as though she couldn't say it.

He looks at his father, at the sorrow sagging his shoulders. Raphael lets his head fall back again as Splinter murmurs assurances to him that he's almost finished. He looks at Donatello, Michelangelo, and Casey, at April as tears roll down her cheeks.

They're right.

Raphael breathes a sigh of relief as Splinter finishes stitching. He bandages him up and puts his arm in a sling, then moves on to take over from April. She retreats to Casey's side, gently brushing some of his raven hair from his eyes even as she cries softly to herself.

"Leonardo, please, sit," Splinter urges as he gently pushes Leonardo into a seat. "April?" She sniffles and hastily wipes at her tears. "If you please, blindfold our guest and lead him back to the surface. Perhaps give him a cloth for his nose."

"We can't just let him go," Raphael insists. "He'll walk right up to Shredder and tell him where the lair is."

"Won't," Diaval mumbles.

"Raphael, if he had not done what he did, I fear this day would have ended far worse than it did." Splinter's gaze falls on Diaval. "He has helped us, although he has hurt us. We will repay his kindness."

April grabs an extra bandage and a cloth before she stands, walking to Diaval's side and handing him the items. Although he eyes the makeshift blindfold with hesitance, he ties it around his eyes without a fuss. April takes him by the elbow and starts to lead him away, going at a slow enough pace that he doesn't trip again.

Splinter dresses Leonardo's wounds and he stays silent, the weight of the night resting heavily on his heart and mind.

When Splinter moves on to the others, Leonardo stays put, running his hands over his bandages distantly. When he looks up, blue eyes lock on green. Raphael stares at him and he stares back, the brothers each searching the other for some kind of answer. Raphael purses his lips and gives a solemn nod. Leonardo understands but he wishes he didn't. The truth has never hurt so much.

The fact is, Destiny may not come back. She could be gone, never to return to her family. That could've been the last he saw of her and he might never get to know just how she feels about him.

Leonardo's throat tightens, his eyes itching. He sits down next to his red-clad brother, resting his elbows on his knees as he tries to keep himself collected, but one thought of Destiny makes that all fall away. He lets the tears run down his face and soak his mask, his cries slowly growing louder. He feels Raphael's good arm wrap around his shoulders and he hunches over as the cries rack his body.