Horror/Dark AU (Title is a work in progress)

Chapter 1

They're so young. To think that someone would just abandon these innocent children. I want to save them... Shelter them... I know I'm being utterly selfish. I'm a ruler. A leader. My people, they need me. But right now, I feel that these children need me more.

"Alright, Leo, have it your way!" Raph exclaims with a sicking, crooked smile on his face. The next thing Mikey saw was Leo getting tackled to the ground. There was a struggle between the two, for sure, but it was all shrouded by Raph's abnormally large wings. But the struggle soon became playful roughhousing and their laughter filled the empty hall. "There you boys are." Leo and Raph ceased their banter, directing their attention towards their father. "Hello, father!" Leo was definitely on the more formal side than his brothers. Always addressing Splinter as "Father", where his brothers would vary between "Dad" or "Old Man" (One of Raph's personal favorites). "Hello, my sons. Having fun playing in the hallway?" He smiled lovingly. "We were just busting each other's shells, Dad." "I can see that. Say, where is your brother Donatello?" The three exchanged looks towards each other, and the their surroundings. "Dunno. He was with us during lunch, but I guess he wandered off without us noticing." Mikey seemingly shrugged off his brother's absence, since it hadn't been the first time he'd done it. "I see... I'm going to go check on him." The boys watched their father travel down the bright white hallway with marble flooring. His footsteps echoing all the way down. As soon as he left their line of sight, Raph assumed it was time to move on from the topic of their fourth brother. "First one to the living room gets to choose what we watch!" His wings snapped open and he took flight. "No fair! You didn't even give us a three second count down!" Mikey followed suit, gliding down the hallway alongside his brother, cape dancing from the breeze. Leo merely shook his head and smiled. The two practically collided as they made their way to large, plush sofa. However, their eldest brother had already beat them to it. Remote being tossed in his hand, flaunting his victory. "You cheater!" Raph clenched his teeth. "You used your stupid teleport power, didn't you??" "Maybe." Leo smiled as the television lit up with the words "Space Heros" taking up a majority of the screen. Mikey and Raph groaned at their defeated, settling into the sofa and watching the awful television series Leo was so heavily invested in. After an hour, their brother Donnie joined them. "Hey D! Where have you been?" Mikey offered him snacks, which Donnie happily accepted. "Science." He said rather vaguely. The three responded with confused looks, but didn't get anymore from him, so they moved on quickly. Meanwhile, Splinter quietly sat down at the counter of the living room's miniature kitchen. Admiring his sons from afar and thinking to himself about how lucky his is to have gained such a family. He worries for them greatly, though. They may only be eight years old now, but soon, they'll be old enough to have to face the real world. He wants them to be ready for it. He needs them to be ready for it.

I've never seen such... Peculiar turtles. Could it be natural adaptation? Genetic engineering? We're they created by someone? If so, for what purpose? For destruction? Chaos? I'm probably overthinking this... But where I found them... That was no coincidence. They were there for a reason. I'm certain I've tampered with something beyond my comprehension. With someone... Possibly him... But that matters very little at the moment, I just need to get them to the palace. They'll be safe there. They'll be safe with me.

The boys had mixed feelings about their 10th birthday. Splinter was trying something new, but he clearly wasn't confident in his idea either. The morning started out normal. There were balloons, cake, games. But now they're sitting at the island in their master kitchen watching a middle-aged man in a cutesy cartoon mascot outfit attempt to dance and sing in front of them. This was supposedly the "entertainment". Raph was showing pure disgust over this sight. He thought this was a waste of time and for "babies". Mikey, on the other hand, was very entertained. He even started to dance and sing alongside him. Leo and Donnie on the other, although sharing Raph's perspective, remained stoic. That is until Donnie took the "entertainment" in a different direction by chasing the middle-aged man around the first floor with a knife in hand. Raph found it down right hilarious and cheered his brother on the entire time. Meanwhile, Mikey and Leo struggled to take the knife away from Donnie's possession. Splinter was mortified, since he had only left for a mere 5 minutes to gather the presents. Splinter apologized profusely and offered financial compensation. It was a disaster. Once they had left, Splinter gave an exasperated sigh and left his sons to their own devices. He entered his main office and sat lazily in his chair. They're so different from what he's used to. They're special. They have all these quirks and abnormalities about them. How is he gonna be a decent parent to them at this rate? They're nothing alike, nor are they like him. But he loves them more anything, so he knows he has to try. He silenced his thoughts and eyed the endless amounts of documents stacked on his office table. Some were bills, some were proposals from other regions, others were civilian complaints. "Maybe I should just leave these for my representatives..." He muttered to himself. "Father?" He jolted slightly in his chair at the sound of Leo's voice at the side of his chair. "My god- You scared me, Leonardo." Laughing it off as he hoisted Leo onto his lap. "How is my son? Having a good 10th birthday?" Leo nodded, but it wasn't true. He was having a terrible 10th birthday. He's 10 now, so no more games for him. That's how he sees it. Most of his time spent today was cleaning up after his brothers and helping the staff prepare activities. Though they insisted he have fun with his brothers, he refused. No more games. Now that he's getting older, he needs to start preparing to fill his father's shoes. He needs to be the responsible one. Like his father. "That's good. So, what brings you here?" Leo was silent for a while, eyes fixed on the various self portraits of Splinter. Some with Splinter alone, others with himself and his brothers. "Leonardo?" Leo blinked a few times before responding with, "Nothing in particular, just saying hello.". After that, he left his father to his work. On the route to his room, he met up with Mikey who had various bottles of glitter and glue secured between his arms. "Hey Leo!" Greeting him with a bright smile. Leo's greeting was more somber in tone. "What's the matter? Why are you sad, dude? It's our birthday-" Leo said nothing and quietly entered his room, shutting the door behind him. Mikey was stubborn though, so he dropped the glue and glitter and entered Leo's room. To his shock, Leo's pitch black eyes glimmered and flooded with tears. "Bro..." He climbed onto the bed and hugged Leo tightly without giving it a second thought. Leo told him why he was unhappy, but it wasn't the truth. He told him that he was stressed from the fiasco with Donnie, which Mikey believed wholeheartedly. Leo didn't want his brothers to know that he felt the weight of this family on his shoulders. Because to him, it was his role to play. His purpose. There's no reason to cry over it.
Mikey convinced him to have dinner with him and his brothers, and that cheered Leo up.