After a week, April started to consider that the boys were never coming back.
They'd gone missing the Tuesday before, vanishing right out of nowhere. The trackers on their phones had just blinked off the face of the Earth. She'd combed through the Don's records, attempted to find some out where they went, joined Casey when he searched the streets. They'd even managed to get Mutant Animals to help. But every time she came up short. No location. No radio waves. No boys.
She didn't know what she'd do if they never came back. She'd lost too much in her short lifetime. And she wasn't the only one.
She glanced over her shoulder. Splinter's door was closed as usual, though April knew far too well what he was doing inside. For the last week, when he wasn't searching for the boys physically, Splinter had been trying to find them in meditation. Make up for his failure spiritually where his own body had failed. Like April, he'd had no results on either end. He'd searched high and low for the boys, even breaking into The Shredders layer a few days ago. There was still nothing.
April asked him yesterday if he knew, if he was positive, the boys were still alive. Not in those exact words, of course. Splinter's serious expression didn't change when she asked, but there was a sadness to his eyes that April never wanted to see again.
"They're alive. I would know if it were otherwise."
And, well, April knew better than to press the matter after that.
She jumped off the couch she was perched on, heading for the kitchen. It wasn't an entire mess, but it wasn't clean either. There were still dishes in the sink. Usually Mikey did them. She stared at the pile for a few moments. If the Foot didn't have the boys, that didn't leave many other options to where they might be. She could picture the boys trapped in cages, put on lab tables, and experimented on and- no. That was a train of thought she wasn't willing to take. She sighed, rolling up her sleeves and grabbed a sponge. Master Splinter was working himself to the bone. Getting him to eat regular meals was turning out to be a challenge. It couldn't hurt to help out. Plus, doing something was better than nothing.
She was on the third plate (red, with a chipped corner, Raph's favorite) when her phone rang. Probably Casey with a status update. She dried off her hands on a nearby towel and reached for her phone. Looked at the called ID.
She'd never answered a call faster in her life. She slammed pressed the answer button so hard it was shocking it didn't crack and cradled the phone close to her ear. "Don? Don, is that you?"
She wasn't sure what she expected. Maybe a voice worn out and hurt, or maybe a threat from someone other than the purple masked turtle. Or just static. But she didn't expect the almost ecstatic reply from the other end.
"April! You will not believe what just happened!" Don. It had to be. She knew that voice well enough to be sure. In the background she could hear the other three mumbling.
"Oh my God," she put her hand over the receiver. Raised her voice as loud as she could. "Master Splinter! It's Donnie!"
Splinter's doors opened with a large crash. They'd be lucky if there wasn't any damage. He was at April's side in an instant. He tore the phone from her hand, pressing it to his own ear. April didn't blame him. He had to be frantic. For every terrible thought she had, Splinter probably pictured a dozen more. He'd spent 15 years worrying about a day like this.
"Donatello," he said. That was all April got of the conversation because soon he was speaking in rapid Japanese.
To be honest, April was caught a little off guard. She knew the boys spoke Japanese, she'd heard them speak it all the time, but Splinter had always made an effort to speak only English when April was around. In fact, he encouraged the boys to do so as well, claiming "it is rude to leave Ms. O' Neil out of conversations." April told him the fuss wasn't necessary (in fact, she'd started to try to learn herself with Donnie's help), but he'd stuck to it anyway as long as they weren't in the dojo. This was the first time he'd done otherwise.
There was a long pause over the line. She heard Don ask what sounded like a question, also in Japanese. Splinter glanced at April before answering.
The rest of the conversation went like that, Splinter asking questions and one of the boys answering them. Even though April couldn't understand any of the words, she was able to pick up on a few things from their tone. The boys sounded fine. In fact, their tone of voice seemed to fall under reassuring. It was enough to put April at ease. At least they were okay.
After around five minutes of conversation, the phone call came to an end. There were a few more words that April figured were goodbyes, and the boys hung up. Splinter handed April the phone with care and turned around deep in thought.
"Sensei?" One of Splinter's ears flicked up. "What happened?"
"Did you not-" Splinter cut off in mid sentence. He suddenly looked very embarrassed. "I am sorry, I didn't realize."
April put her hands up in front of her. She wouldn't have minded if it was just a conversation about groceries. She was not going to fault a worried father on how he communicated with his children. "No, no, it's cool, I totally get it." She shot him a sheepish smile. "Can I have a summary?"
The summary was…complicated. Something involving time-travel and a girl named Renet. Also dinosaurs. April figured she'd have to get the story in person to parse any of it. Apparently, the boys had no idea they'd even been gone for so long. After what seemed like an age (and after calling Casey), she could hear the boy's voices in the distance. Master Splinter headed towards the entrance of the lair on high alert. Soon enough all four appeared, all in one piece. They all paused when they saw Master Splinter standing there. Master Splinter cleared his throat-
"My sons.-"
He didn't finish what he was about to say. Michelangelo ran forward and wrapped his arms around his father's midsection. Hugged him tight while keeping his eyes on the floor.
Whatever he said next, April didn't understand. It was in Japanese, soft and full of emotion. His brothers followed suit, all of them taking a slight bow and repeating the same phrase. Whatever it was, it seemed to touch Splinter. He patted Mikey's shoulder and peeled his son away. Kept his hand on his youngest's head.
"It is alright, my son. But please use English," he gestured to April. "We have guests."
Soon enough the boys were regaling her with the story of their adventures. Honestly, even after the explanation, April had trouble understanding it. Time travel? After the tale, she decided to walk back home. She been neglecting sleep since the boys had gone missing, and now it was beginning to catch up with her. Mikey offered to walk her to the entrance, which she accepted. After a week of picturing the fun loving kid she saw as a little brother dead, she was more than happy so spend more time with him. They made it all the way to the sewer grates when she remembered the display from earlier. Mikey's words that she didn't understand. Splinter's expression.
"Mikey," she said, remembering the events from earlier. "What'd you say to Master Splinter earlier? If you don't mind sharing, that is."
Mikey didn't seem to mind, his face stretching into his iconic smile. It was one of the things she had missed most when they had all gone missing. She was worried she'd never see it again, even if they got Mikey back.
"That? I told him that we were sorry for worrying him," Mikey said. "He seemed pretty worked up."
April thought back to Splinter's perfectly calm voice when the boys arrived. It was a stark contrast from what April considered worked up. Sure, she knew better, but she'd actually seen him doing the worrying. They boys couldn't have known from just his expression how frantic he'd been. "How'd you know?"
Here was the thing about Mikey. He wasn't a genius like Donatello, or the most logical, but the kid was smart. Smart with emotions, with feelings. He was a people person at his core. Sometimes it shocked April how well he could read complete stranger's emotional states on the street. It seemed his father was no exception.
Mikey shrugged. Looked up at the night sky that could be seen through the grates. There were no stars visible, night pollution, but he seemed intrigued enough anyway. "Sensei's pretty good about keeping folks in the loop. It's why he makes sure to speak English when you're around. He doesn't want you feeling left out. So for him to forget that, when you thought we were all in trouble?" His voice got low, a whisper. Like he was guilty. "Well, he must have been terrified."
April didn't answer.