Hello there! One small a/n: this author likes constructive criticism, so please do not hesitate if you have any!

CHAPTER ONE

"Hurry it up, Donnie!" called out Leonardo, "I don't think they can last much longer!"

"I'm trying, Leo!" said Donatello from his position next to his brother, "But I just whipped up this airplane last week! I'm still getting used to how she flies!"

Leo's shellcell beeped, and he quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Are you guys here yet?" asked Mikey over the cell.

"Almost, Mikey," said Leo, "We're approaching the freighter now."

"We're going to have to make this as quick as possible, Mikey," said Donatello, speaking into Leo's shellcell while flying the plane, "Be ready to hop aboard the second that we fly by."

"Got it."

"Are the ship's controls jammed?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah, Raph is taking care of that now," said Mikey, "I'll tell him the plan. See you soon!"

"Let's just hope that the Purple Dragons are all unconscious out by the time we pass over the ship," said Donnie, "I don't want to tangle with them in this contraption."

"Right," said Leo, "There's the ship!"

"And there are our brothers," said Donnie, looking down, "This is going to be close!"

Within seconds, the airplane flew down low over the freighter, just close enough that two mutant turtles could jump onto the left wing as they flew past. The entire airplane shuddered with the weight, but Donnie was expecting that. He moved the airplane so that the two wings were level once more.

"They made it!" said Donnie, daring to look outside and see his brothers on the wing.

"Good," said Leo, obviously relieved, "That was a job well done, Donnie. Let's bring 'em in."

Leo swung open the airplane door and noted with satisfaction that Raph was using his sais to crawl his way up the wing of the airplane.

"Hey Mikey, ya need any help?" Raph offered.

"Um, sure bro," said Mikey, clinging helplessly to the wing. The one problem with nunchucks was that they had no sharp points for climbing.

"I'll help you, Mikey," Leo offered, yelling so that his voice could be heard over the wind.

Using his ninja skills to walk across the wing, Leo grabbed Mikey's hand and began leading him back towards the fuselage, where Raph was already waiting for them.

"One step at a time, Mikey," Raph said to them.

"Great," said Mikey, looking a little greener than usual, "Thanks, guys."

Suddenly, Mikey slipped.

"Mikey!" called out Leo and Raph.

Instantly, Leo reached out and grabbed his brother by the hand, just barely preventing him from falling off the wing of the airplane.

"Hang on!" He shouted, "I'm going to throw you into the plane!"

"Why do I get the feeling that's not a good thing?" asked Mikey, groaning as he held onto his brother with one hand while watching his other three limbs dangle towards the ocean below.

"One…two…three!" called out Leo, and he threw his brother towards the open door of the airplane.

Raph managed to catch Mikey, but instantly cried out and threw him aside.

"Hey!" said Mikey as he landed roughly on the floor of the fuselage.

"LEO!" called out Raph as he jumped back out of the plane.

"Wait, what happened?" asked Mikey, running to the door that had just been vacated by Raph.

Leo was clearly off balance, about to fall off the wing.

"I'm comin', Leo!" called out Raph.

Just a second before Leo actually fell, Raph grabbed him by the shell and hauled him back onto the wing.

"Thanks, Raph," said Leo.

"Guys!" Mikey called out from inside the plane, "Donnie says we've got company!"

"What kind?" asked Raph.

"The purple dragon variety!" said Mikey, "They're coming up in small boats!"

"Hurry, get back inside!" said Leo.

"Too late!" said Raph as a bullet grazed his shoulder.

Together Raph and Leo slowly made their way across the airplane wing.

"Hurry!" Donnie's voice came loud and clear over the plane's inner intercom, "Get inside, guys! They're packing heavy weapons!"

With a grunt, Raph pushed Leo into the fuselage, then followed him in.

"Hurry, Donnie!" called out Leo, "Get us out of here!"

Leo ran up to the cockpit, while Mikey stood by Raph, who was attempting to close the open door.

"It won't budge!" Raph called out, "This stinkin' door won't close!"

"It has to!" said Mikey, "If any of the purple dragons shoots into the open door-"

"I know, I know!" said Raph.

"Hurry, Raph, you have to close that door!" said Donnie over the intercom.

"I'm trying!" said Raph, straining against his will.

"He's trying, but it's stuck," Mikey said, pressing the button on the intercom that would allow him to talk to Leo and Don. He then turned back to his brother at the open door.

"No!" said Raph, "Stay away from the door! They're still shooting at us, Mikey!"

"Stay away yourself!" said Mikey.

"Raph, the door!" called out Leo through the intercom.

Mikey pressed the button on the intercom.

"Come on, Don, get us out of here!" he said.

"I can't!" replies Donnie, "They're all around us! And we can't get away from them unless we go to a higher or a lower altitude. And we can't do that as long as the door is open!"

"Raph, you have to hurry bro," said Mikey, "I'll help!"

"No, stay outta this!" said Raph, "I got this!"

"Leo, we need you!" said Mikey into the intercom.

"Give me a second, Mikey!" called out Leo on the other end of the intercom.

"Like he'll be able ta do anything," said Raph.

Suddenly, Raph stopped. He stepped back, away from the door.

"I know what the problem is," he said to Mikey, "I can fix this!"

"Great, and how are you going to do that?" asked Mikey, yelling to be heard over the wind and bullets rushing through the door.

"One sec," said Raph.

He ran to the back of the aircraft and grabbed an old stewardess cart that had been left in the airplane since before Donnie had taken out all the seats from the fuselage.

"Outta my way!" Raph called, pushing the cart in front of him.

"How will that fix the door?" asked his orange-wearing brother.

"It's not," said Raph, braving the bullets to push the cart all the way to the cockpit, "It's to fix the cockpit."

He took the cart and jammed it against the cockpit door, effectively blocking anyone inside from leaving.

"What?" asked Mikey.

Suddenly, Raph pulled out a sai and jabbed it into the intercom. Before Mikey could react, he then snatched his brother's shell cell and killed it with the same sai.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey, "What are you doing?"

"There's only one option left, Mikey," said Raph, "Tell them I love them. Father too."

"Raph, what are you planning?" asked Mikey, scared. Raph only called their Sensei 'father' on special occasions, and he hardly ever told anyone that he loved them.

But before Mikey could get an answer, Raph jumped out of the airplane, braving the many bullets, and stood out on the wing.

"Raph, come back!" called out Mikey.

"Trust me, Bro, this is the only way to close the door!" called out Raph, pushing the door closed from the outside, "I gotta do this, it's the only way!"

Mikey suddenly realized that he had been standing still far too long.

"Raph, wait!" he called out, running towards the closing door, "Raph, no!"

But the door slammed shut in his face.

Mikey tried to open it again, but it was sealed shut.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey.

He ran to the intercom, but it was too damaged to use. He turned to the cockpit itself, but Raph had blocked it too tightly for him to remove.

Climbing over the blockage, ignoring a few cuts he was gaining in the process, Mikey repeatedly began banging on the cockpit door.

"Don! Leo! Stop!" he called out, "RAPH IS OUTSIDE THE PLANE!"

Unfortunately, the reason there was an intercom was because Donnie couldn't hear anyone when the cockpit door was closed. Suddenly, the plane lurched downwards. Since the door was closed, Donnie could now get away from the Purple Dragons.

And apparently the method Donnie chose was to try out his new airplane-to-submarine technique.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey, running to the window.

But it was too late. The airplane entered the water, and was rapidly plowing into the depths, far below the radar that the Purple Dragon's used. Even if Raph had held onto the wing, he could not survive for long if the plane was under water.

"Raph..." said Mikey.

What could he do? He couldn't contact anyone…

He slumped against the side of the airplane, and unceremoniously landed on the floor.

"Sensei," he whispered.

"Phew, looks like we finally got away," said Leo, "I'll admit, when you dove into the a few minutes ago, I was a little shocked myself. I wish I could have seen those Purple Dragon's faces! That was some good maneuvering, Donnie."

"Thanks," said Don, "That was a close one. We never would have done it if Raph hadn't closed the door in time. Speaking of which, they've been quiet for a little too long. We'd better check on them."

"Hey Raph, you did good," said Leo into the intercom.

No response.

"Um, Don? They're not answering." said Leo.

"I'm sure it's fine," said Donnie, "You probably just pressed the wrong button. I'll look at it later, right now we need to get home."

Leo's shell cell rang.

"Hello?" he answered. His eyes widened. "Sensei? What's wrong?"

"Why is Master Splinter calling us?" asked Donnie.

Leo took his ear away from the cell. "He's calling to check on us," he said.

"The mission was a success, Sensei," Leo said, "Mikey and Raph are in the back of the plane. They're fine."

There was silence in the cabin as Leo listened to Master Splinter.

"Alright," said Leo, "We were just going to check up on them anyway."

"What did he say?" asked Donnie as Leo hung up the phone.

"He wants us to check up on them," said Leo, raising an eyebrow, as if asking, isn't that obvious?

"If you think you can fly this thing, then I'll do it," said Donnie, "I need to stretch my legs."

"Sure thing," said Leo, taking his brother's seat.

Donnie walked over to the cockpit door and went to open it.

It wouldn't budge.

"Hey, what gives?" he asked, pushing against the door.

"What's wrong?" asked Leo.

"The door won't open," said Donnie, "I think it's stuck. Hey, can I borrow one of your katanas? I think I can get the door to open inwards instead of outwards."

"Sure thing," said Leo, tossing him one of his swords, "I hope this isn't one of Mikey's tricks."

"With Raph monitoring him? Naw, I'm sure the door is just sticking," said Donnie, "Ah, here we go!"

Pulling the door off its hinges, Donnie gasped.

"Leo, there's a cart in the way!"

"A cart?" asked Leo.

Donnie threw him his katana and stepped over the cart. That was when he saw Mikey on the floor, his feet crossed, and with tears streaming down his face.

"Mikey!" said Don, rushing over to his brother, "Mikey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Don, what's going on?" asked Leo, "Is Mikey okay?"

"Mikey, answer me!" said Don.

His brother just pointed in front of him.

"Raph, what's wrong with Mikey?" asked Don.

There was no answer.

"Raph?" asked Don, looking up, "Mikey, where's Raphael?"

Mikey only pointed again.

Don turned around to see that his brother was pointing at the door.

"He said there was only one way to close the door," Mikey said, almost in a whisper, "And he said to tell you guys and Sensei that he…loved you."

Don turned back to Mikey and took him by the shoulders.

"Mikey, where is our brother?" he asked him.

"Don, what's wrong with Mikey?" Leo asked.

Don shook Mikey again.

"Tell me how he closed the door!" Don yelled, unwilling to believe what he was starting to believe, "HOW DID HE CLOSE THE STUPID DOOR!"

"DON!" called out Leo, "WHAT IS GOING ON BACK THERE?"

Mikey didn't answer Don, and Don didn't answer Leo.

"Where is Raph?" asked Don, loud enough for Leo to here, "Why isn't he HERE!"

"Don, I need you up in the cockpit," said Leo, "There's turbulence."

Obediently, Don left his sobbing brother and took his seat in the cockpit, tears streaming down his own face. He was back in his area of expertise, his element; and he now had something to keep him occupied. His mission was to get his brothers home.

He didn't notice that there was no turbulence, because the airplane was still underwater.

Leo put one hand on Don's shoulder and left it there for a second, before entering the fuselage and sitting next to his youngest brother. His eyes took in the cart, the broken intercom, the smashed shellcell and the sobbing brother who continuously pointed towards the door.

He sat down and pulled his brother into a hug.

"It will be all right, Mikey," he said, a tear coming down his own face, "It will be all right."

"But Master Splinter, we've searched the area ten times. If the bullets didn't get him, the fall or the Purple Dragons in their boats would done so. We just have to face facts."

"I agree with Donatello," said Leo, "We've tried everything. I can't think of anything else we can do, and it's been five months."

"He's not dead," said Mikey, from his position in the corner.

"Michelangelo?" asked Splinter.

Mikey stopped leaning against the wall, but kept his arms crossed as he spoke to his Sensei.

"Raphael is not dead," he said.

"Mikey," said Leo.

"Why can't I say his name?" asked Mikey, "He's my brother, Leonardo. Just because you guys refuse to say his name anymore doesn't mean that he's dead."

"Mikey, it's been too long," said Leo softly, "You of all people should know the situation. You were there when it happened."

"I do not believe that Michelangelo is ready to give up the search," said Splinter, "Perhaps we should wait one more week."

"Alright," said Donnie, "One more week, and then we stop the search."

"Is it a deal?" Leo asked Mikey.

His brother was silent.

"We shall resume the search in the morning," said Master Splinter, "In the meantime, let us all get a good night's rest."

Splinter, Leo and Don all began filing into their respective bedrooms.

"Oh, and Mikey," said Leo softly, "Don't think we want him to be dead. It's just that, well, we can't spend the rest of our lives ignoring the facts."

Mikey didn't answer him. He didn't want to.

It was precisely 12:33 am when Mikey found himself awake. Someone was poking him in the ribs.

Poke. Poke.

"Raph, knock it off!" he said, turning over.

Poke. Pokity-poke.

"Will you quit it?" Mikey asked, turning over. Then he sat up in surprise.

Donatello stood next to the bed, his eyes closed. And he was poking him.

"Ugggggggh, not again!" Mikey groaned, "Donatello, you're sleepwalking. For like the fifth time. Go back to bed."

Donnie turned and walked back out of the room. Mikey was sure that, once again, he'd vehemently deny this episode in the morning. He always did.

Mikey knew he should really get a tape recorder and put it up on the dresser.

"Hmph," he smiled, turning over.

But instead of going to sleep, and after a few minutes of tossing and turning, he got up and out of bed. He filled a small cloth with a few necessities and tucked it safely into his belt next to his favorite weapons.

"Goodbye guys," he whispered quietly as he walked out of the lair, "Raph is alive. And I'm going to bring him back."