It happened a few days ago... Or at least that's what it seemed to you.

You were in the heart of the ruins - an old underground subway station where, according to Donnie, the Kraang were keeping something important.

The battle began suddenly. A terrible screech, screams, flashes of bioenergy. The Kraang were piling on from every side - there were more and more of them, and each battle seemed like the last.

You realized it before anyone else. You were losing.

"Leo, let's go!" you shouted, drowning out the roar of the explosions. He didn't hear. Or didn't want to.

You rushed towards him, pulled out one of his katanas, and, wounded by your own magic, ripped the air in front of you, opening a portal. A blue and white rift rushed through space, sparkling like a wound in reality.

"What are you..." Raph began, but you had already stretched out your hand forward, and the magic hit everyone at once.

They flew into the portal, one after the other.

You lingered. You watched. Sadly. Farewell. Calmly.

When your gaze met his, you smiled a little. Just a little. As if to say, "Don't blame yourself."

At the last moment, before the rift slammed shut, you threw the sword back. It fell at Leo's feet.

The portal disappeared. A moment - silence.

Leo jumped up first. His eyes were wild. He grabbed the sword, swung it through the air.

"Come on!" he hissed.

Nothing. One more try. And another. And another..

The swords sparkled, but the portal did not open. He fell to his knees, clutching the hilts. His eyes filled with pain.

Donnie came up behind him, put his hand on his shoulder. Leo turned around - there was despair in his eyes, like a lost child.

Donnie shook his head. Not saying anything. Just shaking.

Mikey stood next to him. Raph came up last - he hugged them all from behind, squeezing them like the last anchor.

Leo cried. Silently. Tears fell onto the metal.

Later: 3 years. Year: 2029. Morning. 07:42.

The ruins of New York were swallowed by fog. Roofs like broken teeth stuck out of the swirling haze. The world no longer breathed. It groaned.

Leo climbed the half-collapsed stairs of an old apartment building, step by step, carefully. To the left, a hole in the wall, to the right, a collapsed flight. He jumped, crawled, peered into apartments.

Everything was dead. No supplies. Not a trace. Not a sound.

He climbed onto the roof, looked at the empty horizon. Then — he jumped to the neighboring building, an old shopping center, all in holes and traces of lasers.

A broken window. He flew into it deftly, crouched by the wall. Hid. Listened.

...rustle.

He tensed. He moved quietly down the hallway. Bloody walls. Mold. Bloated bodies of zombie Kraang lay on the floor.

He entered one of the rooms, closed the door, and hid. Silence. Exhale. He turned around, about to sit up.

Drip. A drop fell on his shoulder.

"…what the?.." — Leo raised his head.

And froze.

You were hanging from the ceiling. Like an animal. Like a shadow.

Half-torn clothes hung from your body. Your pants were stained with dark pink slime. Your T-shirt was torn in half, exposing your collarbone and ribs. One of your arms was gone. In its place was something slimy, moving, almost alive, from which semi-transparent tentacles extended.

Half of your face was covered in Kraang infection. A jelly-like mass through which the eye socket showed, yellow, streaked with thin red lines.

The other eye - still yours. Warm. Recognizable. But full of pain.

The skin on your neck - covered with black veins. You were breathing raggedly. As if it hurt.

You moved. Debris fell from the ceiling.

Leo jumped back, pulled out his katana, holding it in a fighting stance. His chest heaved.

“W-what are you…” he whispered.

You turned your head. For a moment, silence.

He blinked. And looked again.

No. This can’t be happening.