Howdy, Weezellee here with my first TMNT fanfic. I'm a huge fan of the turtles. Firstly, this fic was inspired from Plato's Republic! It is such an awesome book, but don't worry. You don't need to have read it to understand this fic. I know my writing ability sucks, okay? I'm doing this purely for fun! I'm sorry if I slashed your favorite turtle's personality, I didn't spell some words correctly, or whatever. Okay, I'm done with my rant. LOL! Anyway, enjoy, and thanks for reading.


Reason

Brittany Johns

"The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." -Socrates

Chapter I: Sacrifices

"Stupid!" Don muttered to himself as he dove for the apartment rooftop. Making it, Don turned just to see the ninjas still following him. Running past a few discarded trash bags, Don jumped down to the apartment building's fire escape. Below was the alley's end, but there was also a man hole to the sewers of New York City. That would be his escape to home.

Landing gracefully, Don reached down to the sewer hole cover but stopped. There was a tiny electronic beeping sound. It was a trip alarm placed right below the circular, steel sewer cover. Thinking quickly, Don concluded that the ninjas had placed those but for what purpose Don wasn't sure yet. The alarm system wasn't lethal.

Looking above him, he realized with dread that he would have to come up with theories while running. Ninjas were surrounding him, and there were too many for him to face alone. With no other alternative, Dontello ran to the alley's exit to the streets.

Above him rested a midnight sky clouded with the city's smog. The air was warmed with a damp summer night, but few people roomed the streets at this time of night. Streetlamps and lighted windows gave the city it's nightly apparel, but how Don longed for the sewer- for home.

It was a mistake on his part. He left alone because none of his brothers could join him for a nightly scavenge run to the junkyard. Envisioning them now, Don could see Mickey battling the final boss of his newest video game. Leo was somewhere with Master Splinter enjoying a meditation session or a cup of sweetened green tea. Raph was in the dojo for a solo boxing match with his sand bag. They were home- enjoying the evening- while Don was running for his life.

Where there more ninjas chasing him than an hour ago? Don looked around seeing a legion of ninjas on the rooftops, streets, and sidewalks. All were following him. Frowning, Don realized he should have never left home alone again.

Then a thought crossed his mind. If the ninjas wanted to capture or fight him; they could have easily shot a tranquilizer gun or something. Don was tired from too many all-nighters sessions with his tool box, so Don wasn't running to his full capacity. They should have caught up to him by now.

As he studied this thought, Don's shell cell on his belt rang loudly. Don had only been chased for an hour now, and he knew now was the best time to call for help.

Opening his own designed phone, Don panted, "You couldn't have called at a better time, guys."

"Whoa, Donnie." Mickey's voice. "You sound like I'm running."

Rolling his eyes, Don answered. "I am running, Mickey. I'm being followed by some Foot ninja."

"Seriously?" The baby brother gasped, "How many."

Looking around, Don huffed. "At least thirty; maybe thirty-five. Should I stop and give a head count?" Okay, he was being sarcastic, but he was also tired and outnumbered.

There was a moment of silence, and then Leo's voice asked on the other side, "Where are you?"

"They have all the man holes triggered with some sort of alarm system." Don panted as he side jumped back to the rooftops. "It's almost like they expect me to…" Then the realization of the ninjas' plan hit almost leaving Don breathless. Again he cursed himself for being so stupid. They were following him; waiting for him to run home to spring a full attack on his family in their own home! It was a trap. It was all a dirty trap!

Leo sound angered, "That's not what I asked."

"It's a trap, Leo!" Don practically yelled. "They want me to retreat so they'll find out where our lair is. They have an alarm system on every sewer entrance in Manhattan. Oh shell, I should have expected that when they didn't attack me at the junkyard!"

"That's not what I asked, Dontello!" Leo was yelling back. "We'll handle their ambush when that happens. Now where are you so we can find you."

Don said, "No, Leo. Don't you see? That's their contingency! You guys will use one of the man holes to find me. There must be a trigger system throughout the whole sewers. They were just waiting for one of us to leave."

"Then what do you expect us to do, Don." Leo growled, "Leave our brother up with an army of ninja!"

Don just kept running and jumping with the phone still pressed to his ear. Options were few and depleting with each second, and Don was never a spontaneous type of genius. The ninja were drawing closer, and Don's legs burned with too much pain.

"Don! You are not reassuring us here." Leo shouted.

"Sorry. It's just hard to think, run, and talk at the same time."

"We're coming."

"Did we just have the conversation?!" Don roared, "That's what they want, Leo!"

"I won't leave you, okay? Conversation is over! I order you to tell me where you are!" In the background Don could hear Raph yelling curses about locking Don his lab for a week. Mickey and Splinter were nearby but silent.

Hesitating, Don smiled. "I've got an idea."

"You'd better hope it brings you home, Dontello."

"It will." Don jumped down to street level, and just like puppies; the ninjas followed. Because the threat of a fight was gone, Don slowed down enough to snap off the headset to his shell sell. Now he had two free hands to clutch his bo staff. "I don't think these guys were ordered to fight only to follow until arriving at the lair. If they realize I'm on to their plan, that will create enough of a distraction for me to disarm an alarm system."

"What if they're ordered to complete their missions even with combative alternatives if necessary?" Leo asked firmly, and Don knew that was a valid question.

Don shrugged, "Socrates said it's better to trust a plan than to do nothing but doubt."

"Yeah." Leo huffed, "And Socrates was executed, so what's your point."

"Here's hoping."

"Okay, but do not close this line."

Don stopped dead in the center of a wide rooftop. To his left was the glassy harbor and the grandeur of the Statue of Liberty. Ships were sailing softly in this dark night, and Don was hopeful he would get a good night sleep.

So far so good. The ninja surrounded him as if waiting for him to continue to running. Looking around him, Don grimacing seeing at least forty of them. He'd never seen so many since he and his brothers stormed the Shredder's tower.

Digging in his belt, Don found the electrical receptor. Setting the dial to discharge, Don smiled. "Okay…I'm on the Red Eye hotel rooftop. My receptor should disarm the alarm the three holes around the building. I'll hold off as long as I can so…"

Static! It fizzled into his air full of white noise. Oh shell, Don cursed taking off the worthless head set. Who ever was running this operation was smart- too smart. They had their own disruptor, and were using it to render his cell useless. Growling, Don knew that the tracker inside his device was useless as well. There was but one more hope. Holding up his own receptor, Don swore under his breath. It was also dead. So it wasn't his receptor that rendered the cell useless; it couldn't disarm itself.

"Very clever." Don said to the gathering ninja. Surrounded. Outnumbered. "I give you guys too little credit." Taking out his bo staff, Don resorted to defensive measured and the small hope that his brothers would come sooner than later. "I'm clever too." Out of his belt, Don took out three smoke booms. One would be significant for normal citizens but these were ninjas.

Once he tossed the black pellets, the surrounding area was shrouded in smoke. Easily Don slipped do the rooftop edge. Thirteen dizzy stories high, Don jumped down each ledge until he arrived at the street. He found the man hole and the alarm system surrounding it still active. No brothers.

For more bad news, the smoke was dissipating, and the ninjas spotted Don. Don thought to himself, when life closes the sewer hole; find a river. Thankfully the river wasn't far off. Humans compared to turtles were horrible swimmers, and there was a few hidden cracks in under the bridge that lead to the storm drains which lead to the sewers.

After a two block run, Donnie jumped into the cool river. Behind him the forty ninjas jumped after him! Underwater was darker than the outside, and was debatably pitch black. Don dove further and further, and panicked seeing the ninjas unsheathing and turning on their underwater flashlights.

Oh shell, the river was such a bad idea. This was defiantly not Don's night. Now they could easily follow him to the storm drains, and it sounded like such a good idea at the time. It was a good time to abandon the river, so Don swam away from the ninjas. Coming up to the surface, Don took one breath when he heard someone yelling his name.

"DONNIE!"

At first Don was relieved to see Raph standing at the river's edge, but that was before forty ninjas completely surrounded him in the very dark water. Gloved hands were tightly holding to Don's arms and legs, and Don tried to fight them off. Successfully he managed to knock out ten or twelve, but they just kept coming.

"Get away from him!" Raph yelled over the incentive splashing. Don's ninja skills were depleted when he was outnumbered and in the middle of the river. A few ninjas jumped out of the water to combat Don's brothers. Enough ninjas still held Don captive until they could drag him to land.

Too much water from the struggle had entered Don's lungs leaving him coughing and heaving for breath. His heart pounded painfully in his ears from the near drowning experience, but still four ninjas held him captive. They even bound his hands with strong cords, and forced him to his knees.

"Drop your weapons" The ninja holding Don's mask tails yelled to the other turtles ",or you will have one less brother to worry about." Just then a polished blade dangerously hovered on Don's neck. The ninja jerked Don's mask; forcing his head to rise more. This exposed the blade and Don's unprotected neck for all to see.

He couldn't see them, but Don heard Leo's katanas, Raph's sias, and Mickey's nun chucks hitting the sidewalk. Closing his eyes against the chaos, Don searched his mind for a solution, but only found one that would result in self-sacrifice.

Buying time, Don spoke to the ninja holding the blade. "You only need one of us, right? Take me and lave my brothers alone."

"Shut up, turtle!" spat the ninja, and the blade pressed just a little more. The were a momentary sting then the hot tricking of blood. Hearing Mickey's gasp, Don gritted and tried again as his hands reached for the smoke pellets in the his belt. "Leo, you remember reading Socrates' Death with me, right?" Got them!

"Wha…"There was a silence, but then Leo realized what Don was saying. "You…Oh no, DONNIE! NO!"

"What's going on?" Raph demanded angrily as he normally was when out of the loop.

"Socrates was offered an escape by his friends, but Socrates answered no. He wished to die for a greater cause, he called it- wisdom." Don felt a tear sliding down his face. "I'll do the same, but my cause will be…for love."

With bounded wrist, Don smacked the pellets to the ground. Seven pellets of smoke caused an almost opaque mist to surround Don.

"RUN!" Don screamed to his brothers. "LEAVE ME! SAVE YOURSEVES!"

"You impudent scum!" The ninja cursed near Don's head.

"DONNIE!"

"Mickey, we have to go!"

"Not without Don!"

"There's no time, Raph! This is what…LET'S GO! NOW!"

Don allowed himself one smile hearing his brothers leaving. At least they were safe, and in the end wasn't that what truly mattered. Half expecting the blade to slice his neck-ending his life, Don was surprised when nothing happened. The smoke cleared, and he was still alive. Still he smiled seeing his brothers had obeyed his last wishes.

"You must be wondering why we spared your pitiful existence." The ninja sneered. "Our master needs but one of you. Oh you will die in the way most fitting for you, Donatello. You will die for science."

Pain erupted in his skull when the blunt of the ninja's katana hit the back of it. Don collapsed in darkness with his fleeting thoughts on his brothers and sacrifices to Asclepius.


Yep! People are going to kill me! LOL! Anyway, that's chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed it. I encourage people to critique, praise, or give out cookies! Me love cookies!

-Weezellee