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dandywonderous · 8 months

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ROTTMNT Bad Things Happen Bingo #2: Lost Their Voice from Screaming

for @badthingshappenbingo

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Characters: Draxum, Leo (the others make minor appearances)

Square: Lost Their Voice from Screaming

Warnings: Major Character Death (canonical), Bad Future Timeline

Notes: The death is offscreen but the fic deals with the direct aftermath so take care. I've put the entire fic under a cut in case you'd rather skip.

This will be up on AO3 tonight unless tumblr deletes my post a second time in which case I will probably be too tired to continue

Draxum has become a father three times in his life.

The first time, of course, was with Michelangelo. The boy had helped (or harassed) him much over the last few months, and at this point his visits were an expected part of Draxum’s routine. Even, if he were honest with himself, an anticipated part of his routine, something he looked forward to the rest of the week.

It was during one of these visits, while Michelangelo was baking cupcakes in his tiny apartment kitchen and chattering away about what he and his brothers had been up to that Draxum recognized the warmth in his chest for what it was. This wasn’t merely his creation - this was his son.

The second time was immediately after their victory against the Shredder.

He had acknowledged the kids as his boys to Lou Jitsu, but that feeling of fatherhood was still missing between him and the other three. That didn’t stop him from opening his apartment to them, because they were exhausted and that pit they called a home was full of rubble and bad memories.

Long after the others were asleep, Raphael sat awake, back to the wall and eyes watching the door and the windows. When Draxum asked him about it, he admitted he felt like he couldn’t sleep - like the moment he closed his eyes, something would hurt his family.

Draxum didn’t bother telling him to sleep. He just sat next to him and promised to keep watch. And when the boy’s head finally listed and came to rest against Draxum’s shoulder, he gained another son.

The third time was months later. Michelangelo had been coming to his apartment regularly for training in his mystic powers, and Donatello had started tagging along. He claimed it was because he had an interest in alchemical compounds, but Draxum had a feeling that wasn’t all. There seemed to be growing tension back home that both boys were desperate to escape.

Draxum didn’t ask. He let Donatello peruse what books he still had at his leisure and allowed him to conduct alchemical experiments in the bathroom (under strict orders not to destroy anything).

The day the boy came to him with his a successful compound, Draxum told him he’d done very well. He received the first genuine smile he’d ever gotten from Donatello, and while he quickly schooled his expression back into something more neutral, Draxum would never forget that moment of pure joy on his son’s face.

Of the four of them, only he and Leonardo were still at odds. He wasn’t hostile, and he accepted Draxum’s presence in the family easily enough, but he kept Draxum at arm’s length, never opening up, never letting down his walls, never offering anything more than the surface level.

Where the other boys had come around, Leonardo still

resists

against the hold of Draxum’s arms, digging his feet into the dirt and straining to be free. He wriggles one arm loose, reaching back toward the smoldering wreckage of the collapsed tunnel, and he screams at the top of his lungs.

“DAD!”

“Leonardo, stop,” he commands, dragging them both back two steps before the child lurches again. “There’s no sense in this.”

“We can’t leave him!” Leonardo insists, struggling as hard as he can. “Dad! DAD!”

“If you go back there you will be killed! Which is exactly what Lou Jitsu did not want.”

“I don’t care! Let me go! LET ME GO!”

He lifts the boy up and ignores how he flails and kicks. If his leg weren’t injured, he might be able to escape, but as it is he’s lacking in his usual force. Only the adrenaline is keeping him upright, Draxum knows. At least his swords are caught between his shell and Draxum’s chest.

He’s still screaming, but Draxum ignores him, looking over his shoulder at Raphael. He has his other brothers tucked under either arm. Michelangelo has retreated entirely into his shell, but Draxum can hear him crying even from here. Donatello is quiet, but he looks seconds from doing exactly the same as Leonardo and running off into the rubble. Raphael himself is silent, staring at the ruins of the tunnel’s entrance in disbelief.

Draxum’s voice is a commanding bark - he has to pull the kids out of their trance and get them out of here. It’s what Lou Jitsu asked him to do, after all, and he will do it.

“Raphael! Take your brothers and go back to the hideout!”

“But… but Pops-”

“Your father is gone,” says Draxum plainly, because they need to understand that. They need to get that through their heads. There is no time to be soft about it.

Raphael flinches. Michelangelo’s wails grow louder and Donatello sags, tears starting to stream down his face.

In Draxum’s arms, Leonardo howls.

“He wanted you boys to be safe and I will make sure you are.” Draxum jerks his head. “Now go! We will be right behind you.”

For a moment he thinks Raphael will resist, too, and he isn’t sure what he will do then because he can’t hold them all. But Raphael relents, lifting Donatello and Michelangelo more securely in his arms before taking off with them both, leaving Leonardo in Draxum’s care.

The boy sags suddenly, going limp in his grasp. Draxum doesn’t trust it for a moment, so he doesn’t let go, though he does lower him to stand on his feet.

“My brothers are gone,” he says. “You can let me go now.”

“So you can run straight in there and get killed?” Draxum scoffs. “I will not.”

He steps back again, dragging Leonardo with him, but still the boy resists. He tries to dig in his heels, but Draxum can tell his leg is starting to hurt too much for it to count.

“I’m not going to die,” he snaps, wrenching his chest to try and escape. “I’m going to save my dad.”

“If you would listen to me,” Draxum hisses, pulling him another few feet back, “you would know your father is beyond saving. And we will join him if we don’t leave now.”

“You must be happy about it,” says Leonardo, and his words sting like acid. “You guys never got along, right? You never cared about him.” His voice is rising again, growing to a shout. “You never cared about any of us!”

“I care about you very much!” Draxum argues, giving the boy a shake. It’s the first time he’s ever told him this, and he doesn’t even feel embarrassed because he just needs Leonardo to see sense. “Otherwise I would just leave you here and be done with it!”

“Then do it!” He kicks one last time. “Let me go! Dad! DAD!”

Draxum doesn’t want to do it, but he can hear the sounds of those monsters as they grow closer; the time Lou Jitsu gave his life to buy them is growing short. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and he’s never been more desperate.

He aims a kick of his own at the large gash in the boy’s shin, and Leonardo lets out a yelp of pain and surprise, folding over Draxum’s arm.

That’s all he needs - he takes the moment while Leonardo is limp and lifts him, then turns and runs.

Leonardo realizes what’s happening, and he tries to struggle but Draxum keeps him pinned to his chest, arms gripped tight. With no other recourse, Leonardo looks up at him and snarls ugly, ugly words.

“You don’t care… You let him die! I hate you! I HATE YOU!”

“Then live to hate me,” Draxum snaps down at him, and that’s all he says as he carries Leonardo far away from the wreckage of the tunnel, as fast as he can.

In his arms, the boy screams and screams and screams, until his voice grows hoarse, until it quiets to a whisper, and he finally gives out.

…

Mrs. O’Neil is waiting for them when they arrive at their hideout - an old basement storm shelter near the ruins of their apartment building. “Oh, baby,” she says softly, putting a hand on Leonardo’s forehead. He doesn’t react - he hasn’t reacted to much at all for over ten minutes now, his eyes staring up sightlessly at the red sky.

“His leg is injured,” Draxum informs her, and her brow creases.

“It wasn’t the krang, was it?” she asks. If it was, they would have to put the boy in isolation to make sure the wound wasn’t infected - hardly a good place for him to be now, in the midst of grief.

Thankfully, that is not the case. “No; there was an explosion and he was struck by the shrapnel.”

“Oh, honey,” she says, stroking his forehead. “We’ll get you patched right up.” Her eyes go to Draxum’s. “The other boys are with April.”

Draxum sets Leonardo down, making sure he’s steady before pulling back his support. He doesn’t say anything, just leans against Mrs. O’Neil and follows her away, the same shell-shocked expression on his face.

Draxum watches them disappear into the small medic center, then makes his way to the sleeping quarters to see his sons.

They’re easy to spot among the huddled humans, thanks to Raphael’s size. He’s sitting against the wall, head leaned back and eyes on the ceiling, tears rolling down face and dripping onto his neck. Michelangelo is still inside his shell, cradled in Raphael’s lap. April is sitting next to Raphael, her arms wrapped around the shivering mess that is Donatello. Draxum can hear the younger boys and April crying from here.

He sits down on Raphael’s other side and runs a hand over Michelangelo’s shell. The boy pokes his head out, eyes puffy and skin crusted with tears. He pops the rest of his limbs out when he sees who it is and climbs into Draxum’s lap, burying his face in the front of his robe. It’s seconds before a fresh round of tears start, but Draxum doesn’t do anything to discourage the clinging.

Next to him, Raphael sniffs, then starts sobbing louder. April looks up, then gives Donatello a gentle nudge; after some maneuvering, they take Michelangelo’s spot in Raphael’s lap, letting Raphael hug them and crying into his plastron.

It occurs to Draxum that these kids are his responsibility now; Lou Jitsu isn’t here for them anymore. Take care of our boys, he’d said, before using mystic force to push them out of the tunnel. He hadn’t meant just today.

They are his, and he will take care of them.

All four of them.

…

The kids eventually fall asleep, and Leonardo still hasn’t returned. Draxum makes sure they won’t miss him, gently laying Michelangelo back in Raphael’s lap, where he and April sleepily curl around each other, before he leaves to go find his last wayward creation.

Mrs. O’Neil hasn’t seen him since she finished patching up his leg, so he has to go hunting. There are a few other humans hiding out here, too, mostly people from the block whose homes were similarly destroyed. They’re all unphased by mutants and yokai by now, and they all know Leonardo, but none of them have seen him. He’s not in the makeshift kitchen or the central eating area, and Draxum would have noticed if he went back to the sleeping quarters.

The foolish boy wouldn’t leave, would he?

Of course he would, Draxum thinks, and hurries for the entrance.

Thankfully, he didn’t go far - as soon as Draxum emerges into the cold night air, he spots the shadowy shape that is Leonardo, huddled in the remains of the building that used to be next door. He had the sense to hide under an overhang, at least, his eyes staring out at the ruins of the city that has always been his home.

Draxum has to climb up a mountain of shifting rubble to get there, cursing the boy’s ability to teleport, before he finally arrives. He approaches cautiously, half expecting Leonardo to run, but it seems like the fight has left him now.

As good as that is for Draxum, it adds to the melancholy air hanging around the whole scene.

“You know you shouldn’t be out here,” he says simply. Leonardo doesn’t so much as look his way. “...How is your leg?”

To that he receives a shrug. Leonardo still isn’t looking at him.

“Are you hungry? There’s still leftover soup in the kitchen.” He’d tried to get the others to eat, but none of them had been interested. It doesn’t surprise him when Leonardo shakes his head. “Still, you should at least come back inside; it’s not safe to stay outside for long.”

Leonardo doesn’t respond to that. He just stares out at the city.

Draxum folds his arms, trying not to let the irritation he feels show in his voice and failing. “Are you this intent on giving me the cold shoulder all night? I’m trying to help you.”

Leonardo’s eyes narrow, and he lets out a long sigh through his nose. He lifts his wrist and pulls up the communicator Donnie made him (the only way they have to communicate long distance since the phone lines went down), typing a message on the holographic screen that he then turns to Draxum.

throat hurts cant talk

Draxum thinks about how the boy screamed and screamed until he couldn’t anymore, and it clicks. Of course his throat would hurt. They’re lucky if he didn’t severely damage his vocal cords.

I hate you!

He shakes the memory of the boy’s words away, focusing on the present moment. He may not be able to do anything else about this awful day, but this he has a solution for.

“Don’t go any further into the city by yourself,” he says. And then he leaves.

He returns to where his possessions are stored in the hideout, hidden behind a barrier spell to keep any nosy humans out. He fishes around until he finds what he’s looking for, then goes to boil water in the kitchen.

Soon enough he’s returning to Leonardo, an old, chipped mug cradled in his hands. It’s precarious trying to climb up to the boy again without spilling, but he manages.

Leonardo looks surprised he came back, but, predictably, he doesn’t say anything, turning his attention back to the sky.

Draxum doesn’t say anything either, instead coming close and sitting down next to him. Leonardo doesn’t react, and he chooses to take that as a positive.

“Here,” he says, holding out the mug. “Drink this.”

For a moment Leonardo only stares at it, but then he slowly takes it in his hands. He gives it a sniff, his snout crinkling in displeasure at the smell.

“It’s a medicinal herbal tea from the Hidden City,” Draxum explains. “Worthless for any large wounds like your leg, but it’s effective at soothing muscle pains, headaches… sore throats.”

Leonardo’s eyes go wide for a moment, then he turns his head away, handing the mug back to Draxum. Draxum takes it before he drops it, and he has to swallow down his protest when he sees Leonardo typing again.

The message this time reads:

give it to someone who needs it

“I am,” says Draxum, and he presses the warm mug against Leonardo’s undoubtedly cold skin. “You need it, so I’m giving it to you.”

The boy hesitates a moment longer, but then exhaustion seems to leech into him all at once, leaving him slumped and shaking. He turns and takes the mug in his hands again, taking a long moment to just feel the warmth.

Then he takes a small sip, and Draxum’s chest loosens.

Immediately Leonardo’s mouth puckers, and Draxum can’t help but chuckle. “The taste isn’t very good, but it’s better than that artificial grape nonsense you humans use.”

Leonardo makes an amused noise and wags his free hand in a maybe gesture. Then he takes another sip, and then another, and his shaking starts to slow down, his posture growing more relaxed.

Draxum sits next to him in companionable silence, watching the eerily silent New York and waiting for him to finish. They can’t see the moon anymore, not with the permanent dust cloud in the sky, but he still knows it’s getting late when Leonardo finally sets the cup aside.

“It’s best if you don’t speak for now,” says Draxum, “but are you feeling better?”

Leonardo gives a slow nod, giving his throat a light rub with his fingers. Then he types a new message on his holoscreen.

hated drinking it tho

Draxum chuckles again. “I thought you liked tea.”

Leonardo makes a face.

not this tea. it tea-rrible

“Ugh, was that a pun? That’s what’s terrible.”

Leonardo actually smirks. It’s small, but it’s there.

Taking advantage of his improved humor, Draxum asks, “What kind of tea do you like, then? I can’t promise I can get it, but I can try.”

The smirk drops off the boy’s face. He hesitates, then shrugs, giving his head a small shake.

“You don’t know?” Draxum guesses, and Leonardo nods. He hesitates again, his fingers flexing over the keyboard of the holoscreen, before he finally types a message.

dad always made it for me

Draxum reads those words, then shifts to look at Leonardo’s face. His eyes are glassy, his lip trembling, and he shivers but not from the cold, this time.

Quietly, Draxum shifts closer and wraps one arm around Leonardo’s shell.

The child breaks - tears that grow into hitching breaths and harsh sobs. He tries to stay quiet, curling in on himself, and Draxum holds him tighter, telling him without words that it’s okay, he’s not alone.

There, at the end of the world, Leonardo cries himself out, and, for the fourth time, Draxum becomes a father.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #bad things happen bingo #lost their voice from screaming #rise leonardo #baron draxum #cw family death #rottmnt bad future #fanfiction

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