We're in a cage. That's all this is.
Usagi led Leo around the large room that Usagi, and a couple others had taken to calling the Center, for whatever reason.
“So… We just walk around here like live-stock?” Leo asked skeptically.
Usagi laughed “No, don’t worry. This is just a pass-time, there are a bunch of things we gotta do.”
Leo leaned his head against Usagi’s arm, the muzzle on his face was starting to hurt his neck with how heavy it was. “Like what?” he asked.
Usagi’s ears twitched in concentration as they walked around the room in circles, they passed several yokai sitting on the floor, talking, playing or sleeping. This place was a prison, how could they be so happy?
“Well,” Usagi said, snapping Leo out of his thoughts.
“We can garden, there’s a HUGE garden that provides our food and stuff, it’s really cool. Then there’s the gym, also very big, there’s the activity center where we can do creative stuff like paint or sculpt and stuff like that. The lab! How could I forget the lab? Anyone is welcome in the lab, you just have to pick something you think you’ll be good at and then you get instructions and explanations on how stuff works and what things mean and all that!”
Leo took in the information with a hum, that’s so weird, this place is where yokai go to die, they live in fear of a man who takes a bit too much joy in their suffering.
And yet; there’s all of this stuff to do! And they’re all so happy!?
Something’s up.
“The man, who was he?” Leo asked Usagi abruptly “Uh- He’s- um… How do I say this…?” Usagi scratched the back of his neck his his free hand, his ears twitching nervously.
“He’s…. Our owner? I guess?”
Leo stopped walking.
“What do you mean by owner?” Leo demanded, letting go of his friend’s arm to look him in the eyes.
Usagi avoided Leo’s gaze.
“Well, I-uh” Usagi stammered, Leo was running out of patience, he grabbed the rabbit’s face, forcing Usagi’s hazel eyes to meet his own crystal blue ones. “Holy sugar honey iced tea- your eyes are so blue, it’s actually insane.”
“Nice try” Leo got out with a dark chuckle “But you aren’t getting out of this that easy. Now tell me, what the fuck do you mean by ‘owner’? Usagi.”
Usagi gulped, “I mean that we aren’t recognised as human by the American government, so if we’re not human then we’re considered as animals, which makes it technically perfectly fine for him to keep us here. His name is Baxter Stockman, or at least that’s what he told us, and he has legal adoption papers for everyone here. We’re his property.”
This man, this horrible man, had thousands of yokai being kept here, parents, siblings, children, in a literal prison with no daylight or fresh air, only what he provides. Not to mention that he sends them out to die for his own enjoyment. In here, Leo and all of these living creatures weren't alive, they were property, his pets. Being kept on an artificial island who knows where with absolutely zero hope of survival, let alone escape.
All of these yokai may not realise this, and if they have, they seem very optimistic, but they’re all going to die here, one way or another; they’re never going home.
If Leo’s Sensei has taught him anything; it’s that any issue always has a solution, it just depends if you’re open to the answer or not. God, he hates him, but boy does he love a challenge.
“Uhm, Leo?” Usagi said, breaking Leo’s train of thought. “You’re kinda hurting my face a bit”
Leo immediately let go of his friend’s face, Usagi rubbed his jaw.
“Wow” He said, impressed “You’re insanely strong! That was kinda hot…” Usagi whispered the last part.
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
—--------------------------------------------------------In New York:
“So you literally have NO traces of him?”
“Raph, I told you, the trackers I had on him just- I DON’T KNOW! Okay? They aren’t supposed to shut off like that unless they’re broken! And the only way to break them is to extract them from under his skin!”
…
“Under his skin?”
“Uhhhh”
“You put trackers under his ski- ARE THEY UNDER OUR SKIN TOO?”
“Bro, that's so freaky.”
“Shut up Mikey!”
Splinter walked into the lab, disrupting their quarrel. “Have any of you heard anything from Leonardo yet?”
The three looked at eachother, Donnie spoke up “No Sensei, we haven’t. Which is weird because he’d been sending letters quite regularly until a week ago…”
“Why, Sensei? Weren't you just telling us like a month ago to let Leo go?” Mikey added, his arms crossed over his chest.
A moment of silence rang through the air. Realisation hit Raph.
“You’re… Worried about him aren’t you?” Raph stated, he let out a breathy chuckle, his hands coming to pinch his nose bridge as he muttered under his breath.
“Raph-” Mikey reached out a hand, reaching to grab his older brother’s shoulder, only for Raph to slap it away. “Don’t.” Raph snapped “J-just… Don’t…” Raph’s shoulders sagged.
“I can’t… I-I really can’t with this anymore, Leo hasn’t made any contact with us for months! And our father, who might I add is the reason for all of this, is only JUST NOW starting to worry.”
No one moved.
“I know we all love him but h-he’s my twin! My other half! Literally!” Raph almost yelled, emphasizing his point with a small tap on his chest “And we’re all just going around this like any other missing person case but it’s NOT!” Raph sniffled, his eyes welling up with tears.
“Nothing’s been right since he left, and I don’t know what it is but I can just feel that something’s wrong! Very, very wrong.” Mikey ignored Raph’s protests and pulled him into a hug.
“We’ll find him, don’t worry Raphie. We won’t let him go.” Mikey reassured his big brother, rubbing soft circles into his shell, Raph sobbed silently into his baby brother’s shoulder.
Mikey looked up at Donnie and mouthed the words ‘He’s exhausted’ to which Donnie nodded in agreement. Donnie briefly glanced in their father’s direction, just in time to see him leave, his tail grasped tightly in his weird rat hands.