Talk Too Much

C h a p t e r S i x

"It's just, he came out of nowhere!" Usagi stated, pacing frustratedly between piles of junk.

"And you're mad he bought you... Water?" Mantis rested his head on one claw, perching on a lightly sun-bleached and torn sofa, "Who even gets water when someone offers to buy them a drink?"

Usagi widened his eyes and brought his lips into a straight line, looking directly at Mantis and pointing to himself, "Me apparently!"

"He was nice to you, why are you angry with him for that?" Mantis asked.

"No no, no, I'm not angry at him, I'm baffled," Usagi put his head in his hands and squared down to the dirt, "Why would anyone be so nice to a legitimate stranger?"

"Who did you say this was again?" Mantis questioned.

"I'm not sure you'd know him, this turtle, Leonardo?"

Mantis's expression immediately, dropping into an annoyed scowl. "The turtle, of course."

Usagi looked up at the mutant, concerned, "What's wrong?"

Mantis sighed, placing a claw to his forehead, "Look, kid, his whole circle cannot know you associate with me, we aren't exactly buddy-buddy."

"You duped them didn't you?"

"Ah- not exactly, but yeah..."

_________________________________________

Leo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of his subway car room, unable to fall asleep yet again.

The only thing he could think about was the nightmare he had woken up from nearly an hour ago, he didn't want to recount it, but his mind kept replaying it.

He was held in the air, wide-eyed and struggling, and in front of him, holding him in the air with a long tendril, was his big brother.

"Raph, please-" Leo begged, but it was no use.

The alligator snapper growled briefly before pausing, and slowly, the pink-purple growths receded, showing the turtle's now blind right eye, that side of his face covered in a scar. It was as if in the moment, the Raph that had been in that time changed to the current Raph. Despite this change, his aggressiveness didn't falter. He still held Leo in the air, now with a scarred arm and hand.

"Raph-" Leo choked out, but he was interrupted.

"What, are you going to beg me to stop? Tell me that this isn't me?" Raph's grip tightened, and Leo felt himself tearing up, "You got us into this mess, you always get us into these messes," Raph dropped Leo, and the Slider turtle realized that Prime had not been in the room at all, it was just him and Raph, "Go home, we don't need your immaturity right now, let us handle your mess, like always."

At that, Leo woke up, he didn't get up for snacks this time, he instead just laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He knew that was not Raph, his sweet big brother could never be that harsh, could he?

Leo shook his head, picking up his phone and checking the time, 6:30, he'd woken up later today. He sighed, it was still too early to be up.