Casey's Loose Ends

Revived Danger

Casey pov:

Today was another long day at school, bullies, angry teachers, loud places everywhere, but today was different.

Today I had a terrible headache and I can't remember much of it.

Right now, I'm watching my turtle friends play video games, the funny orange one currently winning, my rage filled best friend in second.

"I'm gonna win!" Mikey yelled.

"Not on my watch!" Raph yelled.

April walked in. When she noticed me curled up on the couch, she came over to me.

Mikey cheered as they finished their game.

"Hey, you ok? You seem out of it." April asked me.

I looked at her, halfway out of it.

"Y-yeah... Just tired, I guess..." I answer.

They all send me a worried look.

"... What?" I asked them.

"... You're tired less often than Mikey... Are you getting sick?" Don asked.

"What?! No!... I don't think so..." I answer, I very rarely get sick, so sometimes I misread the signs of me being sick.

Then...

Everything goes blank.

??? Pov:

I woke up for the god-knows time today, this time in the lair of the four turtles Casey calls friends.

"Casey, are you ok?!" The purple one yelled.

I think his name was... Donnie?... Yeah, the gap confirmed it.

"I'm fine, Gap tooth." I tell him, slightly aggravated.

I know Casey has no control of when I front, but damn it! It's angering to be doing something, then suddenly zapped into fronting!

"Casey, chill... You passed out, Don's just checking on you." The red one, that actually knows we're a system, said, putting his hands up defensively.

Raph was the only person Casey ever trusted enough to tell that we are a system. After Raph did some research, Casey explained on a minor level of why we're a system.

I curl up differently than Casey, subtlety letting Raph know we switched.

His eyes slightly widened, then he pushed his brothers and April away.

"I think Casey should get some rest, I'll take him to my room." He says, helping me up and walking with me to his room.

"... Was there a trigger, Phantom?" He asks after we're out of earshot of the others.

"No, Casey's just been all over the place today... He doesn't realize we've been switching all day." I explained to Raph.

He opened his door and we both walked in, sitting on his bed.

Raph reached under his bed, pulling out a small box Casey brought a while ago. In the box was a single red fox stuffed animal with a little, hand made collar with "Red" spelt out in beads.

I opened the box, gladly taking the plush out of it, and held the plush close to me.

Red the fox was one of our few comfort items. Jack had bought him a few days after adopting us.

I'm a lot more quiet and reserved than my alter ego, but also much more easily angered. I enjoy sewing and I do have a tendency to send Casey's classmates to the hospital.

Raph checked the time.

"It's almost time for patrol, you wanna come with?" He asked me, I nodded and put away the stuffed animal.

After I hid Red, Donnie bursts into the room, yelling.

"Raph, Casey, we have to go, now." He shouted.

"Why?" I asked him.

"I'm picking up on strange readings, it's different than a mutant, but it's not alien or human either. Several of the reading are gathered just outside of the city." Donnie told us.

Quickly, we all packed for the short trip and ran to where Donnie said the readings were, I paled when I saw the building.

"... Casey?... Are you ok?" Mikey asked me.

"I'm fine." I said harsher than I intended to.

This confused everyone, but they were more focused on the strange readings, but now I know exactly what they are.

"They're people, experimented on people." Don and I said in sync.

Everyone looked at me, confused how I knew.

"Look, we can not go in there tonight... The scientists there would gladly kill more than they do to get their hands on you 4... It's not safe." I told them, honestly.

"And how do you know this?" Leo asked me.

Everything suddenly came crumbling down as tears left our eyes. I looked away from them.

"... This is where I was raised..." I told them.

Finally, I broke down.

I'm supposed to be the protector of our system, but this?

The fucking lab that created us?!

I couldn't handle it.

"I-I nee-ed to g-go home." I shakily told them as I turned away from them, walking back to our house.

"Casey! Wait!" I heard someone yell.

I continued walking, not even holting for a moment.

I could slightly hear the others following me, but I just crossed our arms and continued walking across the rooftops.

When I finally got home, I was greeted by our dad and sister.

"Welcome home-... What happened?" My dad asked gently.

"Nothing. I'm just... Tired." I told him.

He let me leave and I went to my room, grabbing myself the weighted lamb plush I had bought a few days ago.

I sat on our bed with my plush in my lap, it helping me relax. I also had some meditation music from YouTube on, it helping to take my mind off of a few minutes ago.

I hear a knock on my window, it's Raph.

I got up with the stuffed animal in my arms and let him in, he forced his brothers and April to stay outside and he shut the window.

"What the hell is going on with you all, Phantom?" He asked sternly but gently, if those two can go together.

I sat back on our bed and paused the music.

"I-I... I can't go into detail cause of Casey... But, we were raised in that lab." I told him.

"Can you show us?" He asked me.

"Bring Donnie and his machine in... I should read similarly to those other people." I told him, and that's what we did.

The others were let in by Raph, he explained, without saying that we're a system, and Don scanned us.

"... He's right... He reads the same as those other people in that lab... What's happened to you?" Donnie said then asked me.

"Honestly... A lot." I vaguely answer him.

"Can you?-"

"Can you all just go?... Please?... I wanna get some sleep..." I cut Leo off.

They all responded with a yes or sure and left.

I laid down and covered us in our blankets, sobbing into our pillow as it felt like the whole world came crashing down on me.

I think I switched out after an hour, but we were tired enough that we could have just fallen asleep.

We are not ready to explain our past just yet.
______
1144 words