Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. Just love to tell their stories.

A/N: I know some of you may have been waiting for this one. I have a feeling it's going to be intense emotionally.

Raphael knocked at the open metal frame that acted as a lab door. "Hey, Donnie, ya busy?"

Donatello looked up from what he was working on, sliding the welding goggles onto his forehead and shutting off his torch. "Actually, yes. Is it something important?"

"Well, uh, I dunno. Leo's tryin' to fix the toaster again. Does that count as important?"

"What!" Donnie tossed the torch aside and dashed past Raph, who chuckled.

"I guess so." He started to follow his brother, but something caught his eye. He moved towards the desk Don had been leaning over a moment earlier. A small metal triangular device flashed a set of blue lights. The lights were dim as if not at full power. A part of the casing was missing and an electrical wire was hooked into the side of it.

For some reason, it looked familiar. He picked it up to examine it further. It looked like Triceraton technology. "What's Don doin' with this?" At that moment, the lights flickered and Raph felt a shock run through his body. It was such a sharp jolt it shot him across the room. He rubbed his head. "Mm, what the shell was that?" He looked up to see the device smoldering. "Don's gonna kill me!"

"Leo, what were you thinking! Forks do not go in toasters!" Donnie carried in the blackened piece of kitchen equipment.

"I was just trying to get my toast out." Leo trotted behind him, waving his hands in a pleading motion. "I didn't do it on purpose."

Mikey stuck his head in the lab door with a wide grin. "Just like the last dozen toasters."

Donnie's attention was no longer on his brothers though. "Oh, no! What happened here?" He moved to the charred piece of Triceraton technology.

Raph stood up, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Uh, sorry, Donnie. I guess I did somethin' to it."

Leo shrugged. "I was in the kitchen with you."

Mikey stepped fully into view as Don and Leo looked at him. "I swear, it wasn't me, bro. I was watching TV."

Raph frowned. "Didn't you guys hear me? I said it was my fault."

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Raph…"

"What about him?" Leo folded his arms.

"I left him in here. He came to tell me you were fixing the toaster." He looked around. "Where'd he go anyways?"

Mikey's brow furrowed. "Now that you mention it, I did see him walk in here. But I didn't see him leave. And I was sitting over there the whole time." Mikey pointed at the couch that had a clear view of Donatello's lab area.

"What do ya mean ya didn't see me leave? Of course, ya didn't, 'cause I'm standin' right here!" Raph half growled.

"He probably just snuck past you, Mikey. Especially, if he did break Don's new toy." Leo suspected Mikey wasn't paying that much attention.

"It's not a toy!" Don clipped.

"No way! I'm telling you, I would have noticed. I was sitting over there and when the lights flickered I looked this way. There was a flash of light and a funny noise, but I never saw Raph come out of here."

"Haha, very funny wise guy." Raph went to grab Mikey, but somehow didn't make contact. "This is so not funny, guys."

Don frowned at his younger brother. "What kind of noise?"

Mikey shrugged. "I dunno, some kind of high pitched whine."

The genius's eyes widened. "Uh, oh. It sounds like that power surge activated this."

Leo went tense all over, his eyes narrowed. "What exactly is that, Donnie?"

"It's piece of Triceraton tech. I scavenged out of one of their labs from that fallen ship we were in. I believe it is a type of transporter device. I was examining it." He turned the half-melted piece of hardware over his gloved hands. "I was keeping it on a kind of standby mode, so I could test it without actually triggering a transport."

Leo felt his heart race. "Do you think Raph messed with it?"

A touch of fear flickered in Donnie's eyes. "It has definitely been moved."

"I'll go ask him?" Leo started to leave and Raph grabbed for his arm.

"But I'm right here!" Raph gasped as his hand passed through his brother's arm.

Mikey started to protest, but decided against it when he saw Leo's slightly worried expression. Maybe he did slip past me. He really hoped he had. He frowned, feeling a chill race up his spine.

"Alright, you guys are startin' to scare me a little. If this is some kinda joke, I ain't laughin'." Raph waved a hand in front of Mikey's face. "Come on, numbskull. Look at me!"

When Mikey didn't even flinch, Raph turned to Don. He got right up in his face. "Donnie, please. I'm sorry. Don't give me the silent treatment, bro." Again, he waved a hand within centimeters of his brother's beak. "Can you hear me, Donnie? Just look at me! I'm right here!" Not even the slightest reaction. Donnie just kept staring at the device, his gaze distant and troubled.

After several minutes, Leo returned. "I can't find him anywhere." There was obvious fear in Leo's expression now.

"What is going on, my sons?" Splinter had sensed there was something amiss and came to investigate.

Relief washed over Raph. If this really was a sick joke that had gone on way too long, Splinter would not play along. The turtle hurried over. "Master Splinter! You can see me, can't ya?"

But Splinter looked right through Raphael at Leonardo. The leader frowned. "I can't find Raph. He was here a few minutes ago, and now he's just gone." A thought struck him. "Donnie, check the security system. If he left the lair, then he'd be on the recording."

Donnie nodded and moved to his computer, but his troubled countenance never changed. He rolled back the footage for the past ten minutes and shook his head. "No. Nothing. He didn't leave the lair." He said, though there was no need as everyone had been watching over his shoulder.

Mikey felt his stomach bottom out. "But if he didn't leave the lair and he's not anywhere inside the lair? Where is he?"

Donnie cleared his throat as he looked at the device again. "I'm not entirely certain, Mikey. I had this thing half pulled apart. There's a number of things that could have happened. It could have transported him across the world or across the galaxy. Or it could have thrown him into a dimensional void. Or… it could have…" His voice broke off.

Leo took a step forward. "It could have what?"

Donnie swallowed hard. "Demolecularized him."

Mikey gasped. "You mean it could have disintegrated him?"

Don gave the smallest of nods. Leo balled his fists at his side and tried desperately to keep his voice even. "What do you think happened to him?" He trusted Donnie's opinion. He knew his genius brother would take all things into consideration before answering.

There was a very long pause, before Don clenched his eyes closed. "Based on the condition of this teleporter device, I believe a large voltage passed through it. Too large for it to properly trigger the device into any type of transport."

Mikey shook his head, not wanting to believe what he thought he was hearing. "Donnie, just tell us straight."

Don sank into his chair, dragging a hand down his face. "I believe the latter is the most likely to have happened."

Mikey's jaw trembled. "You think he's dead?"

"I'm not dead!" Raph shouted. But panic washed over him as he saw his brother nod again and begin to shake all over. He rushed over, trying to grab Don's shoulders but unable to. "I am NOT dead! I'm right here!"

Raph turned to see Splinter cover his eyes with one hand. "Oh, my son…"

Leo looked like he was in shock. He stared around the room for a moment, uncertain for once of what to do. He began to shake his head slowly at first and then with more determination. "No! We are not giving up on him that easily! It could have sent him somewhere!" He marched forward and pointed a shaking finger at the device. "You said he might have been teleported!"

Donnie was staring at him with tears pooling in his eyes. "Leo… The chances are so small…."

"We've wagered on smaller chances before and won. Come on, Donnie. See if you can get this thing to tell us where our brother is." When Don blinked at him with a dubious look, Leo frowned. "I know you can do this, Donnie. When I was hurt, none of you gave up on me. And I'm not willing to give up on Raph either."

Don sat up straighter and swiped at his eyes. "You're right. No matter how small the chances are that he survived, we need to try."

"That's the spirit, bro!" Raph half cheered. "Get me out of this limbo!"

Mikey swiped at his face as well and walked forward. He frowned at the blackened device. "How are you going to get that thing to tell you anything?"

Don sighed. "I don't know, but I'm going to try – for Raph."

Raphael was settled against a wall in Donnie's lab. He was staying close in case his brother was able to get the burnt equipment to work. But so far, there was nothing. Don had been at it for hours, picking apart the melted pieces, trying desperately to get the thing to even take an electrical current. But nothing had worked.

Raph had just started to drift off to sleep, when Donnie let out a frustrated roar and toppled his desk. "I can't do it!" He fell to his knees. "There's nothing left to salvage!" Raph rushed over as Donnie buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Raph. I'm so sorry." He began to sob.

Raph wanted to comfort him so badly, but he couldn't touch him. "Oh, Donnie…I know ya tried…I know ya did."

"What happened!" Leo followed shortly by Mikey entered the lab. Seeing their brother look so broken, their tendrils of hope began to slip away.

Mikey pushed past Leo to kneel beside Don. "Donnie…"

"It's my fault!" Don sobbed. "I shouldn't have left it plugged in! Raph is gone because of me!"

"No, it's not!" Raph shouted. "It was mine! I was bein' stupid!"

"That's not true, bro!" Mikey protested at the same time. "You tell us all the time not to touch your stuff."

Leo was looking at all the parts on the floor. "So, you can't get it to work?"

Mikey glared. "That's not fair, Leo! He's been trying for twelve hours! He hasn't even eaten anything!"

Don scooped a handful of melted plastic and metal. "I can't even get ten bits of data from this thing. I…I don't know what to do."

Mikey could see his brother was terribly distraught by this fact. Don was usually the one with all the techy ideas. "Maybe we can contact the Fugitoid or Traximus. They might be able to help."

Leo lit up. "That's a good idea, Mikey. Can we contact them?"

Don gave a sharp nod, a tinge of hope returning to his features. "I'll send a signal, but it may take a few hours for a response." He sat in his computer chair and hit a few keys. Meanwhile, Mikey righted his desk and gave his eldest brother a worried look. Finally, Don turned back to them. "All we can do now is wait for a response."

Mikey put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, since you can't do anything else here, come get something to eat."

"Okay."

As Don stood and followed Mikey out, Leo paused looking at the broken pieces on the floor. Raph was surprised when Leo knelt down beside the pile, his firm exterior fading to one of sorrow. "Raph, you better be out there somewhere, bro. Because I don't know what we'll do without you."

Raph felt his heart ache. This was the Leo he remembered from their youth, before he was named leader. The Leo that showed he cared and didn't maintain that stoic expression all the time. "Leo, I'm here." He knelt down next to him. "I'm right here beside ya." He tried to place a hand on top of his.

Leo shuddered and took a sharp breath, fighting down the panic that wanted to consume him at the thought of never seeing his brother again.

"Leonardo?" Splinter called from the living room.

The turtle stood, schooling his features back into an emotionless mask, before stepping out to see what his father wanted. "Yes, Sensei?"

Raph followed him out and watched as Splinter spoke to his brother. "I have been in meditation, searching for your brother's spirit."

Light flickered in Leo's eyes. "Did you find anything?"

Splinter frowned. "I am not certain. It is as if he is here and yet not here. I am unsure of how to interpret the sensation. But if he has been sent somewhere off our planet, I am certain I would not feel his presence here at all."

Leo's frown returned and it was even deeper than before. "So, you're agreeing with Donnie. You don't think he was transported."

"I do not believe he was transported off planet. But if he were here, I should be able to connect with him on the astral plane and I could not."

Raph frowned. "But I wasn't meditatin', Master. How could ya sense me, if I wasn't meditatin'?"

Leo bit his lip and gave a slow nod. "Thanks for trying, Sensei."

Splinter put a hand on his arm. "I have not given up hope, my son. We will find your brother."

Leo nodded again as Splinter took his arm and guided him towards the kitchen. Raph started to follow but something dark flickered at the corner of his vision. He spun around, searching the lair. Was there an intruder? No, the security system would have gone off. But he could feel his skin prickle with another presence. Instinctively he reached for his sai, spinning them and backing towards his unsuspecting family. "Who's there! Show yourself!"

There was no response from the empty room before him. Nothing moved or made noise, but it did not put the ninja's nerves at ease. Something was out there, watching them.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I'm working several fics at once right now, so updates may be a bit slow. Don't forget to review pretty pretty please!