Dagger From the Mirror (ROTTMNT/TMNT 2012 Crossover Fic)

The Curse of Understanding

Donatello was freaking out.

And in his defense, he had absolutely every right to be. His little brother was missing, his counterpart was the worst individual alive, and he had caused a member of his team to get kidnapped. And as if that wasn't enough, now he was stuck in a dimension that made absolutely no sense with a team who he still hadn't admitted his deadly mistake to. So yes, he could freak out if he wanted to, thank you very much.

But unfortunately, he wasn't the only one panicking.

"This is Dimension X?!" New Raph exclaimed, staring at the backward world in front of him in panic as the group walked along. Unlike everyone else, he seemed to be lost in his own mind instead of in the world around him—even Donatello was spending more time marveling at the horrifying scenery in front of him. "The Mikeys have been here alone for over an hour now?! They're going to get hurt!"

He stopped walking only when his smaller counterpart grabbed him by the arm, halting him in his path just before he walked off the edge.

"You're going to be the one getting hurt if you don't pay attention," The older Raphael snapped, "None of us are gonna be any use to the Mikeys if we're dead."

"Raph's right," Leo said, then paused, "Uh, our Raph," he clarified. "...The shorter Raph."

"Stop calling me that!"

"And we need to be careful," Leo continued, "So stay alert. We still have no idea how this dimension works and no idea how to find the Mikeys... so let's go already. We need to cover as much ground as possible and stick together. We don't want anyone getting lost."

With that, Leo kept walking across the island, his brother Raph following right behind him. They were both equally determined to cover as much ground as possible, yet at the same time, Donnie hung back. His thoughts were a hurricane threatening to overtake him, and he needed a moment to think on them. Just a moment, and then he'd be good.

Okay, that was a lie; just thinking wasn't going to change anything for him. How was he supposed to tell them about New April now?

"You good?"

Donnie looked up, seeing New Raph standing over him with a concerned look painted on his face. It was a strangely familiar face, mirroring that of his own brother's perfectly, but with one key difference: there was no veil of indifference carefully disguising the care.

Strange.

"I mean, considering this situation?" Donnie chuckled nervously. "I'm okay, I guess, but that's not saying much."

"I guess you got a point," New Raph mumbled. Donnie hesitated.

This Raph was much gentler than his brother and seemed like he'd be easy to talk to than either of Donnie's older brothers. Maybe he could tell him about New April now—no, Donnie cut that line of thought off right where it was. New Raph was already worried half to death for their brothers. Adding worry about his April on top of that would be borderline cruel, honest or not! Donnie would tell him later.

So instead, Donnie sighed. "What about you?" He asked, "How are you doing?"

"Awful." New Raph's reply was instantaneous. Turning to Donnie with a sadness in his eyes, he shook his head and sighed mournfully. "I chased my own little brother away. I was just tryin' to protect him, but now I put him into even more danger... again. I keep putting all of my brothers into danger with the Kraang and I don't know how to stop it!"

With deep regret, he sighed and stared at his hands in shame. He squeezed his fingers into fists.

"I... I think I'm just a terrible leader, or worse, a terrible brother. I'm so worried about them but I can't keep 'em safe at all. I don't know what to do anymore."