So, maybe 'smooth sailing' was a bit of an exaggeration.

Considering the situation Leo has found himself in, it was definitely a stretch.

After the Turtle Tank stopped abruptly in front of a 'disgusting, drippy slime jungle', as DonTron called it, they went in to get to the Metro Tower that was on the other side. And it was going great! Really!

Up until the point where a crazy train Kraang monster showed up out of nowhere and attacked them. Donnie and Mikey ran back to the tank, but he and Casey kept pressing on. After all they had to get Raph, right?

And now they are stuck in some kind of technical room filled with debris, with no way out probably.

"What the heck was that?!" Casey slid down something that must've been a wall before.

Yeah! That train was crazy, right? "Some kind of drippy Kraang monster I think."

"No, I mean you!" Him? He didn't do anything wrong.

"Why weren't you listening to anybody?" What? But he was! Donnie and Mikey just had wrong ideas, that's all. Right?

"I was trying to get us into the building." He justified.

"That sure worked out well!" The sheer amount of criticism in Casey's words made Leo want to curl in a ball, but it was the sarcasm that made him actually pull his head and shoulders closer.

"But I was doing everything right. How could it go so wrong?"

"Because you weren't listening to your team! You don't have all the answers all the time!" Casey kept shouting at him.

"You're impulsive and arrogant! You don't see that every decision you make could cost someone their life!" Okay, maybe he did mess up a bit, but it wasn't so bad.

Casey sighed. "You want to know what really happens to your siblings in the future?" Oh it wasn't gonna be anything good.

"They die. Everybody dies fighting the Kraang."

What?

I- Is that even possible-? They've been through so much together. Leo couldn't even imagine what it would be like to wake up one day and not see Mikey in the kitchen making breakfast, to not have Raph by his side, to walk into the lab at 3a.m. and find it empty.

But it can't be true, right? Raph is too strong, a- and Mikey is too fast, and, let's be honest, Donnie is the most unkillable person in the world. There is no way they could actually get killed by those bubble gum bit-

Maybe they can. Maybe Raph is already dead and this whole mission was pointless.

"The world needs master Leonardo. And all we got is this guy."

Casey's right. Even compared to himself, Leo sucks. He's an awful leader and even worse brother.

A picture, the picture Casey brought from the future, landed in front of Leo silently.

The faces of his siblings, who could well be dead by now, if the train found Mikey and Donnie- taunting him with their smiles.

He has to fix it.

There is no proof that everyone's dead yet. That probably means they aren't. And that means Leo can still fix it and keep everyone from dying.

But he's not gonna do it alone. Not anymore.

He stood up and climbed to where Casey has just put aside a bigger chunk of debris to reveal a small hole in the wall.

As soon as the kid saw him, he scoffed it almost sounded like Donnie and turned to trying to break down the wall.

Leo sighed. "Look, I know I'm not the Leo you knew in the future, and maybe I never will be. This whole time I was sure my family needed me," the words heavy on his tongue "but the truth is I need them."

Casey's gaze seemed to soften at those words.

"If we're gonna survive this, we have to do this together."

And they did. They hit the wall at the same time. The barrier keeping them in this room finally gave in.

Outside was an elevator shaft.

Leo did the only logical thing. Jumped into the shaft and started climbing up the steel rope used to pull the elevator up.

After a quick while the two found themselves in the main hall and- "Oh man, is that what future looks like?"

The floor, walls and ceiling were covered in the weird slimy kraang goop, with still, unmoving eyes everywhere. No living soul was in sight, every human present here before probably dead or hiding somewhere.

"Nope." A response came from Casey. "The future is worse. Much worse."

If the hall looks like this then how bad it has to be everywhere else. Good thing nothing has yet jumped down from the wall to attack them, or something, like with that train.

Right. The train.

How are his siblings? Have they escaped? Have they died? Where are they?

"Mikey, Donnie, do you read me?"

The response from Donnie came quickly, easing the swirling vortex of Leo's thoughts and swandering?? any bad scenario he might've imagined immediately. "Come in, Leo. Come in, Leo."

"Donnie, Donnie, Where are you?" He asked before his mind could jump back onto the 'they are gonna die' train.

"We have extracted ourselves from the subway and are currently ascending a staircase." His twins overcomplicated words flew out of his communicator.

Just as they said that, dad, April and Mikey shot out of a nearby staircase.

"I'm getting a lot of interference, but if you hold still, I can triangulate your position using complex, geo-location algorithm." They kept talking, when Leo was already hugging his brother and sister. They are alive! Ha! Take that, brain!

"Ugh, I never get to use my algorithm." DonTron complained when Splinter cleared his throat to bring the fact that everyone has found each other to them.

"Man, I'm so glad you guys aren't dead." Leo went in for another hug from Mikey. He played this whole 'dying' thing as a joke, but could see April's concerned gaze when he said that.

Raph would've given him the same look.

Right. Raph.

"Okay, before this gets too mushy, we need to locate Raph. And Sky." He honestly tends to forget she's also been taken. "Donnie, can you locate them?"

"Bet your momma's subatomic particles I can." Don's response was clear. Yes, yes they can.

Good. So far the plan to save Raph was going... okay. They did get sidetracked because of that train, but now they were back on track and ready to fight again, if that means getting Raph.

"Got him! He's close. He's almost on top of us." Higher floor? That might be dangerous.

"No. He is on top of us." So...? Not a higher floor? How does that-

Donnie looked up, so Leo's eyes instinctively followed theirs. His gaze befell something resembling a cocoon.

Was...? Was Raph in there?

Judging from Donnie's expression: yes.

"Raph!"

"Quick, cut him down, get him outta there!" He shouted at... at someone, it didn't matter who!

Casey's chainsaw hockey stick cut through the weird viney-like things holding the cocoon like butter, getting it down. Leo quickly cut through the gross, fleshy shell and pulled out two figures.

Right, Sky was also there.

"Raph?" No response from the snapper. Is he- ?

"W- Why didn't you come sooner?" A weak, feminine voice spoke. Whoever it was, was right. Why didn't they come sooner? They should've. And now Raph, his big brother, might be-

A roar interrupted his train of thoughts.

Raph stood up! He's alive!

Something was wrong.

He was- He was fighting his siblings, who were trying to hold him down. Why?

Suddenly something alive and sickeningly pink erupted from his right eye, covering half of his body, twisting on his arm, forming claws and spikes around his body.

What was that?

"You could have prevented it." The same hurt, weak, feminine voice.

Could he?

He could.

If he came sooner. If he wasn't such an idiot. If he listened to Mikey and Donnie and just-

"And now he's kraangified." The feminine voice spoke again. But it didn't sound like a weep anymore. The previous shadow of a cry for help was gone. Instead now it sounded like the girl was mocking him. Fake concern spilling out, making something in Leo's stomach twist.

He knew that voice.

It was Sky.

Looking behind, he saw her, completely undisturbed, comfortable even, with the key in her hand and a calm smile on her face. Her left eye was covered partially by the kraang goop, which twisted around her shoulders and waist to form a tail, swishing side to side peacefully.

She... didn't look like she was made for battle at all.

"Raph is great at getting all the attention on himself, right?" Her voice was distorted, like it was split into two different ones talking simultaneously.

"What did they do to you? To him?" Leo asked involuntarily almost. He's never seen anything like this. Was it mind control?

"To him? Yeah, we had to put a bit more effort into him. He was awfully rebellious and didn't accept the power of the kraang as easily as we'd want." Sky's voice switched to the second one. It was deeper and more... artificial.

"Oh, but she gave in so quickly! It took only slight tampering with her loyalties to make her obey!" The thing said, with a smile.

"But! Enough chit-chat." Sky jumped and tackled him to the ground only to transform into a cat-like creature and sprint towards April.

Before he could do anything, Sky grabbed April's backpack into their teeth and ran towards one of the walls covered in kraang goop. Then, what previously appeared to be a wall, opened, letting in two of those stupid pink aliens.

As if on command, Raph let everyone go and took his place by Kraang's side. Leo wanted to run after him, but he couldn't even take one step before the floor opened and the train monster along with kraang sister and what looked like an army of no-longer-human monstrosities jumped out of it, blocking his path.

"I don't think you'll need this anytime soon." Sky pulled out a handful of vials filled with some strange blue liquid and crushed them all in her, not covered in kraang goop, left hand.

The liquid started dripping down her forearm, sizzling, the skin underneath starting to bubble. Whatever it was it must've been leaving awful chemical burns. And yet this girls face remained frozen in a creepy smile.

Leo wanted to barf.

Then, Sky stepped closer to the kraang and gave them the key with her right hand, bowing.

The last thing Leo heard before the fleshy door closed was

"Tear them apart!".