Chapter 1: Together Again
The night air was getting colder even though the concrete and tiles under his feet retained some of the warmth of the day. It felt good to run across the roofs, the only noise the soft pat of his feet after launching himself over a street. It didn't feel as good as it used to though but he needed it more lately. He was starting to understand Raphael more and more, or rather, as much as one could understand a need he had and didn't know where it was coming from and never could satisfy.
It had been sunny today, he guessed. He hadn't seen it himself. In their new lair there was no sunlight to be had. Donatello said he was working something and then went about with other tasks most of which he couldn't understand but he supposed were more important than his recent urge to see the sky from inside. He didn't really know why it bothered him so much. They had lived most of their life without any sunlight, or trips topside for that matter. He was missing something, he just didn't really know what.
Even Michelangelo seemed restless. It wasn't in the same way Raphael felt it, he was sure. Raphael had days where he was completely unapproachable. He seemed more wild and violent during sparring and then took to his punching bag or pacing until the sun was low enough to make his escape. He reminded Leonardo of a caged tiger. Sometimes his amber gaze would settle on him and he swore it looked feral. On those days he was best left to himself. Even Leo couldn't bring himself to keep him below ground or start another confrontation.
They didn't really talk much any more. Not about anything important, at least. He knew what Raph thought about his decisions as of late. That argument had been going on and on with them for so long he knew the words before Raph had a chance to speak them, or yell them as they exchanged frustrated blows. He didn't want to fight him any more. He sensed Raph had come to the same tired conclusion. They tried to keep out of each other's way after an exceptionally violent confrontation they both ended up feeling guilty about but neither wanted to apologize for.
That night they had come very close to seriously harming one another. Donnie and Mikey had tried to pull them off each other which proved difficult. Their bodies were slippery from the blood seeping from numerous cuts and puncture wounds. He hadn't even noticed them at first until their frightened screams had finally reached him and he let go of Raphael suddenly. They had fallen with a thump against the tatami mats as Don and Mikey failed to compensate for the lack of resistance. When he looked up and around the room as his rage cleared he felt sick to his stomach. There was so much blood, his own, his brother's. Most of it was Raphael's. He had used his blade on him and the spray of red painted colourful arches on the walls as testament to his fury.
Raphael had dealt his share of pain, mostly bruises, a dislocated arm, a broken jaw. The worst of it was a single puncture wound in his thigh that had nicked an artery. He had struggled against Don's hold as he suddenly tried to reach Raphael to make sure he was okay. Donatello mistook it for a sign of aggression and continued to hold him back from behind with an arm coming in front of his neck in a choke-hold ready to act. Leo found his brother's amber gaze and held it. Both of them were panting and looking at each other in a slightly bewildered state before they were dragged off to the infirmary. They never meant for it to get that far. They both understood their regret in that moment. They hadn't spoken of it since.
There were more than a few things that churned in his gut about that day. How he had lost control and came at his brother like a savage animal was one. How little he remembered of the actual fight was another. He remembered the way his usually calm, intelligent brother trembled when he held on to him, trying to keep his brothers from killing each other, Mikey's broken sobs as he curled himself around Raph. He had been begging him to stop knowing that if Raphael wanted to, he was strong enough to get to Leo. Even with all this the one thing that turned his blood to ice was when he turned his head and saw his father steadying himself on the frame of his door, walking stick discarded in his rush to reach them. The look on his aged face was one of terror and it haunted Leonardo to be the one who put it there.
A crackle of static coming from his headset brought Leonardo out of his reverie, his smart brother's gentle voice on the other end sounded a bit winded from his run. He was going to have to speak to him about his stamina training. "Does anyone else see that? I think there's some smoke up ahead. It looks like it's coming from the old apartment building on Bleeker Street that was programmed for demolition next week."
Leonardo had managed to get his brothers back on regular patrols for the last few days. At least three of them. Master Splinter hadn't been happy about it. He was trying to keep everyone closer to home as of late and Leonardo had been fighting with himself about having that conversation. The rat was getting into his late years and his instinct was telling him to keep close to his father who needed his proximity more than ever. He spent most of his time in his room, in bed. His energy seemed to have left him but his eyes shone whenever Leonardo asked to meditate with him when he was feeling stronger or share a cup of tea in his room when he wasn't. His brothers needed the escape and his duty was to them as well. They had all become restless and irritable was becoming their base setting now. Even though his father argued and was correct to say that since their alliance with Karai's foot clan the crime rate was under control and there was no need to leave every night, he needed to give them a direction, motivation to work together and not fight against each other. Even if it meant running in circles across roof tops and stopping purse snatchers.
"I can't see it, but I can smell it. Phew! Definitely a fire somewhere. I'm headin' over from the east." Raphael's gruff voice came over loud and clear. So much for stealth, he thought, but said nothing. Maybe a year ago he would have admonished him for not keeping quiet. Right now he was just glad Raph hadn't argued and come along with them on their run. It had been so long since they had all gone out together.
Instead, he said quietly, "Don, meet me across the street from the building, we're coming from the north to take a look. At the first sign of police or fire-fighters disappear." He heard Don's breathless words of agreement and Raph's grunt of acknowledgement which made the corner of his mouth pull upwards before he could stop it. This was going much better than he anticipated. Perhaps Raph missed him as much as Leo did. He was right to push master Splinter on this. "Mikey, what's your location?"
"I'm already there. There's a fire on the third floor. Dude! I think there's someone in there! I think I saw the silhouette of a person walking around."
"Wait for us, Mikey. Don't just run in. This might be better left to the firemen. You could get trapped in there or seen by someone." Leo's commanding voice came across loudly over the earphones. Stealth be damned. He knew what Mikey's tone of voice sounded like, he was going to go in the building regardless. He sped up and spotted Donatello sprinting as fast as he could across a roof on the other side of the street, his panting breath coming over the headset. They were going to have to go in after Mikey, he was certain, but they were too far away to do anything at the moment.
"We can't just sit by and watch! We have to do something! I'm going in, you can do whatever you want." The communication went silent as they heard heavy footfalls on metal. He must have jumped onto the fire escape to climb into a window
"I see him! I'm almost there! I'm goin' after Mikey. I'll drag ya out if I have ta, don't make me chase after ya!" Raphael was practically yelling over his microphone but Mikey didn't answer as he crouched by a window trying to open it with a small hidden dagger he pulled from his wrist wraps. Raph was still a block and a half away on a taller building muttering under his breath as he realised there was no way to roof jump all the way there from his direction. He would have to waste precious time climbing down, run through the streets and then reach the abandoned apartment building to climb back up. He really didn't want to run into a fire either but he wasn't going to allow his little brother to run into a burning building chasing shadows on his own. He could see the dark outline of his brother against the light colour of the building as he watched him disappear through a window. He cursed through the headset in colourful adjectives half expecting his elder brother to complain but knowing he wouldn't say a word about it. Not any more he wouldn't. He kind of hoped he would, it would bring a little normalcy back into their lives. Leonardo was being very careful and distant around him and it just pissed him off more than when they were throwing insults and fighting each other. Except that one time, he thought for a moment but pushed the memory away.
Michelangelo waited to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the interior of the room and then made his way towards the end of the building where he had seen the figure walking around. The layout of this place was confusing. It had been small flats and for a short time an office building. Some walls had been torn down to make the floors into a single space made up of small disjointed rooms and old narrow hallways that all looked very similar but not quite symmetrical. It was like a maze. He let his sense of direction guide him and he knew he was going in the right direction when he noticed the smoke at the end of a long hallway. He crouched down slightly to avoid breathing it in as he approached silently, then thought better of it and cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Hello? Is there someone in here? Hello? There's a fire, you need to get out!"
He made a turn at the end of the hallway thinking he'd call out a bit more and then make his way out. Maybe the person he saw had left already. As he turned another corner he saw a shadow dart in front of an open door and down another hallway towards the fire. "Wait! Don't go that way! Dude! You need to get out of here! Guys, there is someone in here. I'm going to get them out. Guys?" He couldn't hear his brothers though he could make out what he thought were their whispers through the headset. He couldn't really hear much above the roar of the flames though. It was getting very hot and he had to crouch low to the ground to move around and avoid the smoke that was making him cough and his eyes water. He avoided opening any closed doors, feeling the walls for increases of temperature that would tell him there was fire on the other side. He chased the shadow around a few corners. He called out for him to stop to no avail. Maybe he caught a glimpse of me and I frightened him, he thought frowning. He seemed to just catch the end of him entering a new corridor with the corner of his eye every time he changed direction until he came to a large door.
There was no other way out. He was certain the person had come this way and there was no way he could have passed by him without him knowing, the hallways were too narrow. He must be in there. "Don't be scared, I'm here to help! I'm going to check this room and them I'm out of here! I'm warning you!" He walked up the door and put his hand on it. It was cool to the touch so he turned the handle and stepped in. There was black smoke everywhere and it was very hard to make out anything. He was crawling on his hands and knees as he called out when he saw her. She must have gone into the room and breathed too much smoke. She was laying on the ground flat on her back and very still. Mikey scrambled up to the woman relieved to have finally reached her but worried about the lack of response. Was she even breathing?
"Come on! I gotcha, lady, we need to leave right now." Mikey figured even if she wasn't breathing he couldn't perform CPR in a burning building so he needed to carry her out. He paused with a hand on her shoulder, looking back. He had been turned around so many times during his chase he wasn't sure how to get back out the same way. At least he had to get them both away from this area. He slipped a hand under the woman's shoulders and knees and lifted quickly as he turned his body intending to dash out of there. She fell right out of his hands, he yelped and fumbled trying to adjust his hold but couldn't and something rolled away coming to a stop as it bumped against the wall. He began to apologize when he stopped a second, confused, and looked down. He really looked this time and he felt his heartbeat pounding in his chest and in his ears, a scream bubbling up in his throat.
"What do you mean you LOST him?!" Leo yelled at his brother, all reservations about causing an argument forgotten as he looked into the angry gaze of his soot-covered brother.
"I can't find him! I was right behind him!" He brought his hand up to wipe the sweat from his forehead leaving a black streak. "The communicators ain't working, it's a maze in there and the fire is out of control!" Leonardo held back his angry retort when he heard the frightened break in Raphael's voice. "If he ain't out here we need ta get back in there!"
"It's only Mikey's communicator that isn't working. Maybe he turned it off?" Donatello pulled out the shell cell and started going through menu options."His phone is on, his signal shows he's at the southern corner of the building." He looked up, his hand shaking a little. "He hasn't moved in the last seven minutes but maybe he dropped it..." another menu came up and another map with a blip on it was on screen. "The tracker in his carapace shows him in the same place, he isn't moving." Raphael turned and made to go in through the window but Donatello pulled him back, talking quickly at the enraged look he shot his way. "We should go around to that side of the building from the outside! The way might be blocked through the inside, it could take too long!"
Leonardo nodded and opened his mouth to give out orders when he was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream through the communicator. His little brother's. His eyes widened and he snapped his mouth shut. As one they launched themselves into action as they ran around the building and up the fire escape making their way as quickly as they could to find him, to save him. Terrible scenarios played out in Leonardo's mind. Michelangelo under fallen debris, crushed. Mikey trapped with no way out, burning alive. He pushed it all back when his brothers screams died down and silence returned. He was trying deperately not to think what the silence meant. Mikey is alright. Mikey is in trouble but we'll get to him in time. Mikey isn't... d– He looked to Don urgently when they reached their location, Mikey wasn't there. "He isn't here, Don. Where, Don, WHERE IS HE?" He didn't bother to keep his calm façade in place. He was panicking and looked to the one brother who always gave him an answer for the worst of situations.
Donatello shook his head, his mouth opening and closing as he looked from his brother to his phone. The blip showed Mikey's tracker was where they were standing and then suddenly jumped to a new location nearby. "This way!" He ran down a hallway with his brothers at his heels and turned a corner so quickly he nearly tripped over the dark lump on the floor. "Mikey!"
Sirens started wailing in the distance. Without a word Raphael reached down and slung Mikey over his shoulder. Making his way quickly back the way they came. They went into a dark alley and hid out of sight just as the police and firemen reached the scene. They made their way quickly needing to reach a safe distance before they could stop to look him over.
Michelangelo's weight was heavy against his shoulder. His limbs swinging uselessly bumping against his body with every step. Donatello whimpered softly for a moment as he watched the motion and bit down any more sounds as they continued to run. Raphael, needing to be reassured, put a hand to the back of his baby brother's thigh and squeezed, willing him to react but not daring to voice his worries when he didn't move. A knot was lodged in their throats and none spoke as they reached a secluded manhole cover they could climb down. Leonardo ran ahead and removed the cover. He jumped down and lifted his arms waiting.
Donatello helped Raphael with his little brother's limp form, manoeuvring his body to lower feet first into the waiting arms of the eldest. They climbed down after him and set Mikey's body on the floor flat on his carapace in a dry area. He was breathing and had started to wake, to everyone's relief. A collective breath was let out as they watched him stir. Don leaned down to pat his cheek which turned into a caress as he called out his name softly, the fear that hadn't left him not allowing him to do more than whisper. Now he was back in his hands where he could do something to help. He had been so frightened when he heard his screams and couldn't rely on his equipment to reach his brother. His technology had failed him. He rummaged around in his duffel bag he carried across a shoulder and pulled out a rag and a bottle of water. He moistened the rag and wiped his brother's black face removing his mask and taking special care to clean around his eyes, nostrils and mouth. Mikey moaned and scrunched up his face a moment before relaxing again.
"He must have inhaled a lot of smoke. He needs oxygen, we need to get him back to the lair." Raph and Leo nodded silently and Raphael made to pick him up again when Mikey sat up abruptly looking wild-eyed and confused. "Mikey?" Donatello asked carefully motioning Raphael to stay back and give him some room.
Mikey's breath was coming in short gasps and he seemed panicked and disoriented. He was turning his head looking into the blackness of the tunnels and Raphael had to look behind him at his brother's fearful whimper to make sure there was no one there. His hackles were raised and something was feeling off. "Did you see her?" Mikey looked at Leonardo sounding small and scared. "Did you see what they did to her?"
Leonardo tilted his head and knelt closer to him, his eyes darting between Mikey's trying to understand what he was asking him as he reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Mikey flinched and pulled away, struggling to stand. Donatello made to stop him but he pushed his brother's hands away and used the wall of the tunnel and a pipe that went along it to prop himself up. His legs wouldn't hold his weight and he just huddled against the wall. "Who?" Donatello asked, his hands outstretched as if he were approaching a wounded animal.
"Was she a ghost? Did it really happen? What did they do to her? I didn't know they had... I'm sorry. She just fell apart." He was swaying slightly on his knees and his voice trailed off as he paled and then bent over on all fours and hurled, his body shaking violently.
Donatello surged forward snaking an arm under him, his hand flat against Mikey's plastron to keep him from falling forward into his vomit and another on his carapace patting lightly and drawing soothing circles waiting until he was done retching. Leonardo and Raphael looked at Don, expecting answers. After a moment, Donatello scrunched his beak at the smell of bile and tried to explain what he could "Smoke inhalation can produce nausea, shortness of breath and confusion, amongst other things. We need to get him back to the lair and on oxygen." It didn't cause hallucinations, he kept to himself. He didn't seem to have any wounds on him so why had he been screaming? What happened? Something terrible had happened to his only little brother and he didn't know how to help him.
Seemingly satisfied, Leonardo handed Don the water bottle he was reaching for and they both gently pushed him back into a sitting position when he had emptied his stomach so they could wipe the throw-up off his mouth and hands and he could rinse his mouth and drink. He was still breathing in short gasps and turning his head this way and that. It seemed like he was expecting something to come at them. It was putting Raphael on edge. He was feeling hunted just watching Mikey's reactions. When they asked if he could walk he didn't seem to understand so they tried helping him up, his legs buckling after a shaky step.
Raph reached the limit of his patience, worry fraying it at the edges. He pushed Don and Leo aside and lifted Mikey into his arms bridal style. The three of them stopped and looked at each other when they didn't hear the complaint they were expecting. Leonardo's mouth pressed into a thin line and curled down at the edges.
Raphael started walking in the direction of the lair, all of them in silence. It was unnerving him, Mikey was never this quiet. "Sheesh, Princess, you need to let up on the candy. You weigh a ton!" He directed a half-smile at his baby brother hoping for a come-back, a reply, anything, but he didn't. After a while his brother started whimpering and buried his face into Raph's neck. It wasn't the whimper of a frightened Mikey. It sounded like the pained, shrieked whimper of a wounded animal. He could smell the salt of his ears, felt the way his body shook in fear. Raphael picked up his pace and began a light jog. If he ran any faster he would tire quickly and would need one of his brothers to carry Mikey for a while and there was no way he was letting go of his baby brother while he was like this. He would never tell them. He hoped they knew how much they meant to him. How scared he was of losing one of them, or them getting hurt. He wasn't one for demonstrations of affection or... words. They would probably mock him for it under normal circumstances, but if anyone else noticed him holding Mikey a little closer and nuzzling his head gently, they didn't mention it as they jogged alongside him.