A/N: It's been a while, but I'm back on my bullshit, at least for now. xD I noticed I had received reviews for my older works and got inspired to get back to posting! (The magic of reviews!)

I've been gone for a while, but I've also written a lot. The thing is... none of the stories are finished... so I'm thinking about editing my old stuff and posting them later to see if that'd get me inspired to actually finish them. I've just been really busy, and now that I'm not, I've just been tired. But I'm trying! (Also, the problem with an old account like this is that you have to look at your older work. Yikes. Hope I've improved.)

Please be aware that the story begins with violence right away, and well, continues with violence. xD And as always, read the tags, yes, I'm a one-trick pony, always here to write Leo whump. Hope you enjoy anyway! Also, I'm thinking of the 2k3 verse turtles as I write this, but you can picture any verse you feel fit.

Driven by his panic, Donatello ran.

The ground under his feet was slippery, familiar. He was used to running here, in the dark tunnels of the sewers. The darkness surrounding him rarely bothered him, but now it was pressing in on him, making him work his legs to run faster. He couldn't remember the last time he had run like this, gasping for breath as his heart hammered against his chest.

The distant screams echoed in the tunnel, footsteps following him, gaining on him. He didn't know which was making him run faster; the tortured screams of his brothers or the need to get away from his pursuer.

Closer, closer, his chaser was getting closer. Donatello could almost feel it behind him now, ready to strike him down, to do what it had already done to his brothers. Brothers who he was trying to reach while escaping, but their screams echoed all around him, it was difficult to pinpoint where they were coming from. Not knowing, running out of time- it all amounted to his growing panic.

The next turn was coming. Donatello knew he could lose his chaser if he was just fast enough, knew the oncoming maze of tunnels like the back of his hand- he forced himself to jump over the trash on the floor, almost crashing to the wall as he made the turn, but he made it. He made it, but never stopped running, ignoring the agony in his muscles as he pushed himself to run, run, run-

Sudden pain forced out a scream out of him, and he stumbled. His knees hit the ground hard, he managed to catch himself with his hands, but pain shot up them as well. Ignoring it he tried to push himself up, but the searing pain radiating from his left thigh stopped him. He gasped for breath, felt something still lodged into the back of his leg. The sound of footsteps had stopped, the tunnel was quiet except for his heavy, ragged breathing.

The pursuer wasn't out of breath. It stood behind him, as if waiting for Don's next move, and the turtle could feel himself start shaking. Don pushed through the pain, grabbed the cold and damp floor, and dragged himself forward. He had to escape- had to get back up, had to find his brothers, had to help them-

The thing lodged in his leg was grabbed and twisted, and Don screamed. Whatever he had been stabbed with was pulled further down through muscles and nerves, towards his knee, forcing a long, pained wail out of him. Donatello threw himself on his side in order to escape the pain, but it only made it worse. With tears in his eyes Don looked up at his torturer, only to see and feel the sharp weapon yank out of him, lifted and aimed for his other leg-

Donatello woke up with a gasp, his heart still beating wildly from the nightmare he had just escaped from. It hadn't been as vivid and strong as the worst ones, but bad enough to leave his hands shaking as he tried to get his breathing under control, as he tried to assure himself that it hadn't been real. He sat up quickly and felt along his leg, not finding any wounds. Nothing hurt. It hadn't happened, he was alright. But his brothers, were they-?

His door slammed open, and the startled, already distressed turtle pressed himself against the wall out of pure instinct. He tried to reach for his weapon that was resting against the wall next to his bed, an act led by his instinct as well- but something was coming at him fast, crashing right into him, stumbling to find him properly in the dark, and then holding him tight.

"Donnie!" Michelangelo, who now had him in a crushing embrace, pressed his face against Donatello's plastron, bringing his brother as close as he could. Don had to blink a few times to get rid of his surprise, allowing his body to relax, both from the nightmare and the sudden appearance of his brother.

"Mikey-?" Don questioned him softly, lifting a hand up to his shell, trying to move him slightly so that he wouldn't be crushed in his hold. "What-"

"Raph and Leo aren't in their rooms!" Mikey only hugged him tighter. "I- I saw this awful dream, and wanted to check on you guys, and, and you're the only one I could find-"

"Calm down, Mikey," Don pleaded, trying to sound soothing, but could feel his own heart-rate picking up again. He had seen a nightmare as well, had wanted to check on his brothers too- it wasn't unusual for them to have nightmares, but for him and Mikey to have one at the exact same time? It wasn't impossible, but it was quite a coincidence that their dreams had made both of them worry about their older brothers at the same time. Why would Leo and Raph be gone from their rooms in the middle of the night? And right after two of the brothers had a nightmare?

Unless it was morning already, and Mikey had just forgotten to take that into consideration. It wasn't unusual to be disoriented after waking from a bad dream, and Mikey could have just panicked. The thought gave Don some relief; it really was Mikey's style to panic without thinking the situation through first. "They could've gotten up already, Mikey. Did you check the clock?"

Mikey drew back hesitantly, allowing Don to grab his alarm-clock. 4 AM. There was no reason for Leo and Raph to be missing from their beds at this time; even Leo didn't get up this early. Don's own panic threatened to come back, the nightmare ghosting in his mind again, pushing his rational thoughts away. It wouldn't be the first time a dream tried to warn one of them about something. And for both of them to get the warning-

The blankets were thrown to the side as the genius jumped up from the bed, grabbing his shell cell from his nightstand before heading out of the room. Mikey followed him closely, and when Don suddenly stopped, the younger brother ran right into his shell.

"Ow, hey-"

Mikey didn't get to finish his complaint, since Don was already moving towards the stairs. And once Mikey continued following him he realized why Don was heading downstairs. There was a faint light coming from the kitchen. The youngest just hadn't seen it when he had rushed from bedroom to bedroom in search of his brothers.

Michelangelo caught up with Donatello quickly, and together they rushed into the kitchen. They stopped at the entrance of the room, looking bewildered as they stared at Leonardo and Raphael, who were simply sitting in front of the kitchen table, staring back at them. The surprised silence didn't last long; Mikey was the one to break it, dashing towards the eldest brothers. They were sitting pretty close to each other, so it was easy for Mikey to wrap his hands around both of their necks, drawing them into a crushing threeway-hug.

"Dudes! Do not scare me like that!" Mikey accused, but his voice was full of relief. Raph growled, not pleased with the sudden closeness, and pushed Mikey away.

"Mikey, indoor voice," Leo tried to hush his brother once he, too, was freed from the embrace. "Master Splinter's still asleep."

"Sorry," Mikey whispered now, then looked at the two cups on the table. "What are you guys doing? Drinking tea this late? Or, well… this early?"

Raph glanced to the side, and Don noticed his uncomfortable look. He also noticed just how close his brothers were sitting, how Raph was now pushing his chair back as to hide that fact.

"We were both having trouble sleeping," Leo explained, turning to grab his cup now that Mikey had mentioned it, lifting it up to take a sip. Raph gave the leader a quick glance, but said nothing. Instead he turned to frown at Mikey, and glanced behind him to see Don, who had finally wandered closer to his brothers instead of just staring from the entrance of the kitchen.

"What's up with you two?" Raph asked, returning his gaze to Mikey. "Bursting in here like it's the end of the world."

The question made relief fade from Mikey's face, and before Raph could protest the youngest had his arms wrapped around Raph's neck once more.

"I had a horrible nightmare, and I couldn't find you and Leo!" Mikey acted dramatic, but he didn't sound as distressed as he had when he had first entered Don's room. He was mostly trying to get on Raph's nerves now, almost sitting in Raph's lap as he kept babbling about how scared he had been. He was most likely trying to distract himself from the nightmare by being annoying.

Don and Leo rolled their eyes at each other, but once Leo got a good look at the genius he tilted his head. The leader stood up, bringing his cup to the sink before coming closer to Don.

"What about you, Donnie? Mikey woke you up?"

The question brought back flashes of the nightmare, and the soft tone of Leo's voice made Don want to just spill out all the horrible things his subconsciousness had created. The dream hadn't even been that bad, yet Don wouldn't have minded wrapping his arms around his brother, much like Mikey had already done to all of them. But he did his best to appear calm, nodding at the question.

"Yeah. Mikey's worry just made me worried too."

Leo gave him a long look, but nodded as well, accepting the answer. Mikey's yelp brought his attention back to the sibling behind them, and Leo gave Don one last look. "Go back to bed, Donnie. There's still a few hours before practice. I'll make sure Raph doesn't tear Mikey's head off."

Don chuckled at that, but nodded. He felt exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all tonight, and wasn't really looking forward to falling asleep during practice. He was a bit hesitant to leave alone, giving his brothers a long look, but ended up heading back to his room.

The next night it took him a moment longer to realize he was in his bed, not in the middle of that cold, dark place he seemed to find himself from lately. He had to reassure himself that he was clutching his blanket, not the broken form of a brother-

Yet he still had to reach for the lamp next to his bed, his hand shaking as he turned it on. He had to make sure the blanket in his hands wasn't soaked with blood, had to turn it over to be absolutely sure.

"Ridiculous," Don whispered to himself, dragging his shaking hand over his face. "It was just a dream. Again. Just a dream…"

Yet he couldn't shake the odd, awful feeling still lingering. He realized he was too worried to lie back down, feeling a bit stupid at that. His brothers were fine, he was the one who kept seeing these nightmares that always followed the same pattern. They all struggled with dreams where their family got hurt, but who dreamt about being chased every night? He felt childish. He had faced things much worse than that during their missions.

But just like after every nightmare, the same thought remained. Were his brothers really okay? Sighing, knowing he had to check before he could even hope to sleep again, he stood up and left his room.

Raphael's room was the closest, and the door to his room was opened quietly. Only after it was half open did Donatello hesitate. He wanted to, no, needed to check on his brother, but hated the idea of waking his sibling up. Still-

Raph shifted in his bed, moving restlessly. There was a whimper, almost like Raph was in pain, and that's when Don realized Raph was in his bed, not in his hammock. Raph using his bed was rare, he usually only slept in it when he was injured, when getting into his hammock was too difficult or painful. The worry of bothering Raph was quickly forgotten, new worry adding to the pile of worries Don already had. His nightmare felt very real all of a sudden, and Don's hands were shaking again by the time he stood next to Raph's bed, when he reached for his brother, fearing to see all the blood-

Strong hands grabbed his wrists, yanking him to the side, and with a yelp Don was thrown down onto his shell. He fell on the bed, so his fall was soft, but Raph's grip on him was rough.

"What the hell, Don?" Raph questioned, seeming to have recognized him from his yelp. Immediately his grip softened before leaving his wrists completely. Instead of holding him in place Raph placed a hand on his shoulder, helping his brother sit back up. It was too dark to see Raph's face properly, but Don could imagine he was frowning.

Sheepish, Don looked down, even though it mattered little in the dark. "I thought… I thought you were hurt." Which reminded Don that Raph could still be hurt, he still hadn't seen Raph, had no proof that his brother was alright. He searched for Raph's arm hurriedly, finding it, gripping it tightly. "You're not hurt, right? I, I mean, Raph, I-"

"Hey, slow down," Raph quickly recognized the signs of Don's rising panic, something that was rare from the genius, but something that happened occasionally with all of them. "I'm not hurt. Why are you even asking-"

"I need to see," Don whispered, his voice small all of a sudden, and Raph reached for his bedside lamp. The sudden light was bright, and Raph groaned, shielding his eyes with his hand. Don didn't care about almost being blinded, forcing himself to quickly look over his brother. Nothing, no blood, no wounds. Don sagged under the sudden relief and exhaustion, and didn't resist when Raph made room for him and dragged him down again, this time to lie next to him.

This was nothing new, although rare. They all needed some comfort every now and then, usually after a dangerous mission. Their life had been pretty quiet lately, nothing life-threatening in a long time, yet Raphael hadn't questioned Donatello's worry. He seemed to understand.

They were quiet for a long moment, Raph idly, a bit awkwardly, running his hand over the edge of Don's shell. Don knew his brother wasn't used to showing affection, thinking he didn't know how to do it, but Don was feeling better already. He focused on the comforting presence of his brother, of his chest moving right next to him, of the hand moving along the side of his shell. Slowly he relaxed, and as the worry faded, it made room for embarrassment. Don knew there was no reason for such a feeling, but he rarely needed physical comfort like this. Waking his siblings and keeping them awake like this wasn't like him… but he definitely hadn't imagined the pained whimper he had heard earlier. If Raph wasn't hurt, then- oh. Perhaps Raph had been having bad dreams as well. That would explain why he hadn't recognized Don immediately; he had been barely out of a nightmare, just half awake.

Don had startled Raph, and he wanted to apologize. But his thoughts went to last night, how late it had been, how close Raph had been sitting to Leo in the kitchen. How his hand had rested on the table, Leo's hand almost touching his. He was pretty sure Leo had been in the middle of comforting the hotheaded brother before he and Mikey had appeared to the scene. Was Raph having repeating nightmares just like he was?

"Better now?" Raph interrupted his thoughts, and Don nodded. He was feeling much better, even if the images of the nightmare weren't fully gone. They never fully went away.

"You were having a nightmare too," Don stated. It wasn't a question, so Raph didn't feel the need to answer. "Last night as well, right?"

That made Raph look down at him with some confusion. "I- yeah, how'd ya know?"

"Leo made you tea," Don stated simply. "You never drink it unless-"

"Stop being so observant," Raph grumbled, but kept running his fingers along Don's shell.

"Did Leo have one, too?" Don pressed his head against Raph's shoulder. He was fine, now, but the physical contact was rare and comforting. "He said you were both having trouble sleeping."

"He was just covering for me," Raph mumbled. "Shit. Now I owe him one."

"I don't think Leo expects anything like that," Don chuckled. "None of us would. Raph, you know you can come to any of us if you need to."

Raph only grumbled as an answer. They were quiet for another moment before the turtle in red spoke again. "I… I didn't ask him. He was awake when I went to his room, but I didn't ask him why he was awake, if he was having trouble sleeping. He didn't say anything."

"He never says anything if he has a nightmare," Don sighed.

"True…" Raph copied his sigh. "I… I didn't think to ask. I was thinking about my own so much that I-"

"Hey, I'm not saying you should've," Don reassured him quickly. "There was no reason to think he had one."

"Then why did you ask?" Raph lifted his head up slightly to properly look at his brother.

Now it was Don's turn to take a moment before answering. "Because me and Mikey had them last night, just like you. And now we're having them again."

"Ain't like it's anything unusual," Raph said. "Sometimes they come every night, and then they stop coming for a while. Besides, if Mikey was having one, he would've already dashed to someone's room."

Don shifted. "How do you know he's not already in Leo's room?"

Raph hesitated before answering. "Right. Maybe he is. What's your point?"

"I don't know," Don sighed again. The nightmare was pushed to the back of his mind, and his eyelids were starting to feel heavy. "Just weird that we're having them at the same time, even though nothing out of the ordinary hasn't happened."

Had this happened after a big fight it would've been understandable, but their life had been fairly peaceful lately. There wasn't really any reason for the sudden appearance of the nightmares.

Don yawned, and felt Raph pulling the blanket over them.

"Wake me up if you can't sleep, okay?"

Don couldn't help smiling at Raph's words. It was rare for him to show such care, and Don nodded, already drifting to sleep.

"You too," he managed to mumble before his eyes closed.

It didn't really come off as a surprise when Mikey emerged from Leo's room in the morning. He didn't look sleep deprived, so it seemed that Leo's presence had chased off whatever nightmare the youngest had had.

Don woke up feeling rested, too. Raph had already been up when Don had opened his eyes, but he hadn't moved in fear of waking up the still sleeping brother. Don had mumbled something about making coffee, and had escaped the room before he could start feeling embarrassed again. He was old enough to not go running to his brothers when a nightmare struck. But with it happening so many times in a row… maybe he could be excused.

Besides, he was pretty sure that Raph had gotten some peace of mind while having someone sleep with him. At least Don hadn't woken up to his brother having any more nightmares, and even though his two eldest brothers were stupidly good at hiding their discomfort, Don wasn't a heavy sleeper. He would've woken up if Raph had had trouble sleeping. So, it was a win-win situation, right? Both of them had been able to sleep the rest of the night.

The third night in a row that Donatello woke up with his heart hammering against his chest, still glancing around to see the pursuer, he didn't even consider it twice before jumping out of bed.

This time his legs took him towards Leonardo's room. It hadn't been Leo's dying body he had cradled on his arms in tonight's dream, but his mind was still mixing the dream with reality. He didn't know if Mikey and Raph were here- all he could see was their broken forms lying in that dark place, and he couldn't go back there. He needed to find Leo, needed to make sure he wasn't lost as well, needed him to tell him that their brothers weren't hurt, that he had the situation under control like he always did.

He felt like a scared little kid seeking big brother's comfort, but at the moment he absolutely didn't care. He was used to all sorts of nightmares, even if they shook him, he was collected enough to sneak into his brother's rooms to check on them instead of just barging in- but tonight had reduced him into a shaking, mindlessly scared state. The nightmares had started as mild, leaving him anxious, not panicking like this. The last few nights had been bad, and only seemed to be getting worse. Don shuddered as images from the dream flashed through his mind, forgetting to be quiet as he pushed Leo's door open.

Immediately he knew that Leo wasn't in the room. His heart seized up in his chest, and he whirled around. If he was gone as well- no, no, maybe the kitchen again? He knew he wasn't being quiet as he ran towards the stairs, but he didn't really care. There was no light coming from the kitchen, meaning that Leo wasn't there either, and his panic only swelled.

Before Donatello could think of what to do, the kitchen light came on, revealing Leonardo standing by the kitchen entrance, looking up towards the bedrooms. He had most likely heard Don's hurried footsteps and was now trying to see who had been making the noise. Leonardo looked like he was alright, no wounds, just standing there. Overwhelming relief washed over the turtle staring towards the kitchen, and Don didn't slow his steps as he hopped down the stairs, practically gliding towards the leader.

"Donatello, what's the matter-"

Leo's sentence was cut off when Don wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. It wasn't like him to rely on physical contact for comfort, last night with Raph had been just an exception, this was more like something Mikey would do- but the fear of not finding Leo, the fear of being completely alone had been so strong-

Leo's hands wrapped around him, and Don had to bite his lip to keep down the sob that threatened to leave him. Why was he so shaken over the dream? He had seen worse, and he knew it hadn't been real. Leo had been absent in the dream, already caught by the pursuer, but he was alright, the proof right here in his arms. Yet… yet the fear lingered, stronger than it should've been.

"It's okay, Donnie," Leo comforted him with hushed words. "It's okay. Come sit with me?"

Don nodded against Leo's chest, but didn't let go just yet. Leo was patient, allowing him to take his time before Don could let go. When he finally looked at Leo again, his brother gave him a reassuring smile, leading him towards the nearest chair.

"Why didn't you have the lights on?" Don asked, trying to not sound accusing, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"I only came to get a glass of water," Leo explained. "I didn't plan on staying long enough to put the lights on."

While Leonardo opened the cupboard to get a glass for Donatello, the turtle in purple noticed the kettle on the stove. It had been hours already since Leo had brewed the tea he usually had before bed, and Leo always washed the kettle afterwards and put it away. He had been about to make tea. Something must've woken him up as well. But he had said he had been here just for a glass of water...

"Tea?" Leo asked, seeming to have noticed him looking towards the kettle. Don shook his head.

"Water's fine."

Leonardo brought him a glass of water, and Donatello hadn't realized how much he had needed the cold drink before he had already downed half of it. Leo took a seat next to him, waiting for Don to say something first.

Despite the intensity of the panic Don had felt only a few minutes ago, the horrible feeling was finally starting to fade. Don stared down at his hands, unsure if he wanted to talk about what he had seen or not. He simply moved his hand closer to Leo, who got the hint, placing his hand over Don's and squeezing his fingers reassuringly. Don realized that this was the third night in a row when Leo had to comfort a brother, first Raph, then Mikey, and now him. He couldn't help wondering if Mikey was looking for comfort in Raph's room tonight. Were those two still having nightmares like he was? Was Leo having them? Was that the reason he was in here so late, about to make tea, refusing to admit it?

"Weren't you able to sleep?" Don asked.

Leo looked down at the table. "Woke up when Mikey ran into Raph's room."

"Huh." Don had been too caught up in his own dream to hear that. He wished he had heard, so that the dream would've ended sooner, so that he wouldn't have needed to see how-

"Donnie." Leonardo's voice brought him from his thoughts. Leo was squeezing his fingers, but softened his hold once he had Don's attention again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Don said, frowning. There really wasn't. It was always the same dream, his brothers getting hurt, him getting chased. "But this place I keep seeing… it's the same every night, and so familiar. It's always too dark to see properly, but I know… I know I've been there before. A long time ago, though. And every night I'm there, every night something bad… something really bad happens, every night..."

Donatello swallowed, not having meant to continue, but doing so anyway. "Mikey and Raph- they both got so hurt. And you weren't there at all, I… I…"

Leonardo squeezed his hand again, bringing his attention back to his brother instead of the nightmare. "Don't think about that. We're all fine." Leo seemed to have noticed that the familiarity of the place was bothering Don, since he was now asking about it. "If the place is familiar, are there any details you remember? Don't think about the dream itself. Just about your surroundings."

Don thought about it, but it seemed like his mind was only offering him details of the part of the dream he didn't want to go through. Don closed his eyes as if to shield himself from the images, but that only made them so much more vivid.

He hadn't noticed Leo standing up before his brother was tugging at his arm, urging him to get up as well. "Hey. It's no use going over it now. You're exhausted."

Don didn't protest, following his brother, but a new fear was forming inside his head the closer they got to their bedrooms. He didn't want to sleep alone, he didn't think he could sleep alone, but didn't want to make it a habit to start bothering his brother's sleep. He had already slept in Raph's room last night, so-

"Do you want to sleep in my room?" Leo asked once they got up the stairs. Relief washed over Don for not having to ask that himself, saving some of his pride, and he could only nod. Leo smiled at him, guiding him into his room.

"I'm getting really fucking tired of this," Raph grumbled, shifting to get into a more comfortable position.

"Sorry," Don mumbled from next to him, trying to give Raph more room, but his brother pulled him back closer.

"No, not at you, Donnie," Raph said with a softer tone.

"What? Why just me? I'm not even hogging all the blankets!" Mikey complained from Raph's other side, and Raph rolled his eyes in the dark.

"Not at you either, Mikey. The freaking nightmares. How many nights in a row, now?"

"Four," Don said.

"And they're just getting worse," Mikey's voice was quieter, and he snuggled closer to Raph.

"Yeah. Shit." Raph stared up at his dark ceiling, sighing. It wasn't long since Mikey had dashed into his room, soon followed by Don, who had been more quiet in entering. Raph had already been awake at that point, and hadn't been bothered at all to have his brothers here. His own nightmare was still fresh in his mind. "Try ta get some sleep, okay? We'll try to do something about this tomorrow."

"Night," Mikey called through a yawn. They were all exhausted, the last few nights leaving them more tired than rested. It had started to affect their focus, and Don was glad they hadn't had any missions during the past few days.

Despite the exhaustion, Don couldn't fall asleep. Having a brother next to him had helped during the previous nights, and now he even had two, but something was still amiss. They weren't all here.

It seemed like something was bothering Raph and Mikey too, judging by the way Mikey kept shifting, and Raph kept sighing. They weren't able to fall asleep either.

"It's bothering you as well, isn't it?" Don asked quietly.

"What is?" Raph asked, grunting as Mikey leaned over him to talk to Don.

"Leo's not here," Mikey said, and Don nodded in the dark.

"I'm not gonna go into his bed," Raph stated immediately.

"Why not? You two were holding hands the other night, after you had a nightmare," Mikey said, poking Raph into his side.

"Wha- we weren't holding hands!" Raph slapped Mikey's hand away, but the youngest only chuckled, climbing over Raph to get out of the bed.

"Stop pretending like you're not bothered by Leo not being here. You're coming, right, Donnie?"

Don was already sitting up, reaching for Raph in the dark. "Come on, Raph."

This time the turtle in red only growled quietly, following after his younger brothers, not wanting to be left alone.

They didn't expect to find Leo asleep, but hadn't really expected the eldest to be sitting on his bed with a single candle burning on his nightstand, looking like he was meditating. Leo cracked open one eye, then the other in surprise at seeing all three of his brothers by his door.

"Guys…?" Leo began, watching as Mikey hopped onto his bed and made himself comfortable next to him, laying his head on Leo's lap. Don took his place from Leo's other side, and Raph sat down at the end of the bed, leaning against Mikey's shell.

"Couldn't sleep without you," Mikey told the eldest, closing his eyes. Leo smiled warmly down at him, but gave a worried glance at Don and Raph.

"You're all still seeing the nightmares?"

"Yeah," Raph grumbled. "Starting to get on my nerves…"

"Aren't you seeing them, Leo?" Don asked, looking straight into Leo's eyes. Finding Leo alone in the dark kitchen the other night was still bothering him, and Leo hadn't given him a straight answer the last time he had asked. Mikey cracked open one eye, glancing up at his brother, and Raph was looking as well. Leo was the only one who hadn't sought his brother's presence during the last few nights. Not like he could've, since there had been someone visiting his room every night.

"Not really-"

Mikey reached up, grabbing the side of the mask Leo was still wearing, yanking it down. Surprised, Leo had no time to react before the blue cloth was pulled down, revealing the dark circles under his eyes.

"Liar," Mikey accused softly. "You haven't been able to sleep either."

Leo hesitated, but seemed to realize that he was cornered, and sighed. "...Yes, I've been having them as well."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Don asked. "Even though we were pretty sure you were having them too, but still."

Leonardo shrugged, and Donatello let it be. It wasn't anything new that the leader didn't say it when he was hurting, but four nights of nightmares in a row, and he still hadn't thought to mention it. Don made a mental note to talk about it later, but now it was confirmed that all of them had been having nightmares for the past four nights. There had to be something behind this. But what?

"Could it be an attack?" Mikey asked. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried to attack, you know, our minds."

"Yeah, there was that time when we thought the lair got flooded and thought that everyone was…" Raph didn't finish the sentence.

"But this is different," Don said. "These are just dreams, and we've been able to wake from them without any problem. They're affecting us at the same time, but we don't share the experience, like back then."

"I've been seeing a certain place, just like you mentioned you had, Donnie," Leo said. "I didn't want you to go through the dream again by asking you for details, but…"

"You think we could've had the same dream?" Don asked, turning his head to look at the eldest.

"It depends on what you saw," Leo said quietly, and they fell silent as they realized it was now time to share details about their dreams.

"I," Don started, looking down at his hands. Leo lifted his hand up, placing it on Don's shoulder.

"You don't have to tell," Leo said. "In my dream, it's always dark too. We're holding flashlights. I think we're in one of the sewer tunnels."

"Well, that happens in my dreams," Mikey said. "Something's always chasing me, and…"

Don nodded so that Mikey wouldn't need to go further with the details. "Sounds familiar, the chase too."

They glanced at Raph, who nodded as well. "Yeah. It's the same with me."

Leonardo was silent for a moment. "Alright, without going into… further details, I think this is enough to conclude that you're having the same kind of dreams," Leo said, looking thoughtful.

"If it's an attack, it's not a very efficient one," Raph huffed. "It's not like we can't wake from the dreams or something like that. They're just nightmares."

"I don't know, I haven't been feeling very good lately," Mikey said. "I wouldn't be on my best if we had to fight now."

"Mikey's right," Don said. "This could be an attempt at keeping us out of the streets. Or make us have a disadvantage in a fight. Not being able to sleep properly makes us exhausted, and that's a huge advantage for an enemy."

"It's clear that this can't go on, whether it's an attack or not," Leo agreed. "We'll talk with Splinter in the morning. He's the one who figured out what was going on when we were stuck in the same dream."

"Think he's been having nightmares, too?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know," Leo said. "We'll have to ask him."

With that the turtles made themselves comfortable in Leo's bed- at least as comfortable as they could with the limited space. Had things been normal there would've been a lot of kicking and pushing, but now they settled down quickly, Leo reaching over Don to blow off the candle.