Still don't own TMNT. I really wish that turtles had ears, even though that would look weird. Read and Review please.


The man sat inches from his face, peering into his eyes. His expression was unreadable, his eyes impenetrable ice. Don shifted under the scrutiny, casting his gaze to every corner of the tiny room in an attempt to escape it. There were dull grey curtains covering a small window. Lines of dawn light peered through cracks and tears in the curtain, illuminating the dust in the stale air. Piles of books lay everywhere, some opened, others torn to shreds and discarded on the concrete floor. But no matter where Don looked, his eyes always came back to the man. No bindings held him to the chair, yet somehow he could not move. He felt a trickle of sweat slide down his face.

"What is it you want," Don squeaked, unable to handle the silence any longer. The man leaned slightly closer."You wear no mask, Donatello." It was a quite statement. Don nodded, shifting back his chair an inch.

"Use your voice. I have no intent on causing you harm yet."

Yet. The word lingered in Don's mind, growing ever louder until it became a constant thrum. Yet. What exactly did that mean? Seconds ticked by. The man didn't move.

"Who are you?" Don burst out finally, "Why did you bring me here? What do you want?"

The man held up a hand, his calm demeanor silencing the turtle. Don snapped his mouth shut and turned away.

"I am Laurel. I brought you here for a reason I refuse to say. Not yet."

There it was. That word again. Yet.

Don cast a longing look at the dark wood of the door. It was probably locked from the outside. Laurel was thin, but not for a second did Don think he could take him down. He was too calm, too composed. It reminded him too much of Splinter. Besides, who ever had been hiding in the shadows on the journey here was probably outside the door. There was a silence between them. Eventually, Laurel smiled. "Enough talk, I am sure you are hungry and tired, no?"

Don nodded silently.

"Your voice, Donatello."

"Yes," The turtle stuttered, staring into his lap. Laurel clicked his fingers twice then stood and left the room. Don watched his retreat, confused. The dark wood door closed and locked with a click, leaving Don feeling claustrophobic in the cramped space. He shifted, trying to ease his discomfort.

Laurel had not been gone a minute before a sickly sweet odor flooded the air, blocking Don's throat and making him gag. He covered his face waving one hand in the air. The smell found its way past his fingers into his lungs. He coughed, and gasped, trying to expel the chemical. Another time, Don may have wondered about the chemical compound. He might have marveled at its strategy. But as a wave of dizziness passed through him and panic flared, the only thing he wanted was the smell to leave. He was suffocating. The world tipped sideways, sending Don, and the chair, crashing to the floor. The world was fading fast. He blinked up at the ceiling, only faintly aware of Laurel standing over him. His lips were moving, but the sound was dulled, as though Don was listening from under water. Black fog crept in from the sides of his vision and slowly, the world faded into darkness.


Far above the sewers, sunrise spilled across the cityscape, flooding the land with colours and light. For many, it was the time to rise. For the more fortunate of people, it meant nothing. They could just sleep on through it. Mikey groaned, wishing he was one of those people. Or turtles. He opened his eyes and peered though the gloom of the lair. Everything was cast in the blue glow of the T.V set that he had left on from the night before. It was still paused on a dramatic scene. The hero of the movie was just inches from the finishing blow. Mikey grinned and sat up, sweeping the mountain of crumbs and popcorn off himself onto the floor. The movie was paused at his favorite part. " Michelangelo, if you are awake, you are welcome to clean your mess." Mikey jumped at the sound of Splinter's voice, cold calm and quiet as usual. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head , "Sorry Master splinter,"

Mikey stood up, searching for his master with his gaze. The rat was sitting, legs crossed, eyes closed in the center of the floor. Beside him, Leo was silently imitating the position. He could hear Raph pummeling the life out of his punching bag. No one was paying attention to him. He smirked. With a sweep of his foot, the youngest turtle pushed the mess of food under the couch. "Done," Mikey sang, sounding way too pleased with himself.

"Then perhaps you may invest your time in training," Splinter said quietly, without moving.

"Yeah. And wake Donnie up!" Raph called from the other side of the lair, "He's been sleeping long enough!"

Mikey gave him a thumbs up, waking people up happened to be his specialty. He marched to the doorway, clearing his throat.

"Yo Donnie boy, time to get your shell outta bed!" Mikey sang as loudly as he could, poking his head into the silence of Don's room. He glanced at the bed. Apart from ruffled bed sheets, there was no sign of his brother in the room at all. He shook his head, strolling over to Don's lab. "Donnie!" he called, peering into the emptiness, "You have a bed for sleeping in," No reply. Mikey frowned. The lab was as empty as the bedroom.

"Is he coming or not?" Raph growled, sending his fist into his punching bag.

"He's not here,"

Raph stopped punching his already abused bag, Leo opened one eye and peered at Mikey from the ground whilst Splinter remained still.

"What do you mean, he's not here?" Raph asked.

"I mean, he's not here." Mikey said with a shrug.

Leo sighed, breaking his stance. He stood and walked to Don's room. Raph came to stand beside Mikey. "Did he leave a note or something?" Raph asked, rummaging around the lab.

"Not that I could see,"

"There's nothing in his room either," Leo said, coming to join them at the lab.

"Why the shell would he go somewhere without telling us? Its not like him," Raph growled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, that's your thing," Mikey quipped, earning a hard stare from Leo and a smack from Raph.

"Maybe he went for a dump run?" Leo suggested, "I'll call him."

Leo pulled his shell cell out and called his missing younger brother. A ringing sound, loud in the sewer silence, echoed into the lair from the tunnel just outside. Raph shoved past his brothers, striding out into the gloom beyond the lair, his fingers wrapped around a sai. The tunnel was empty, save for the tiny, green device ringing loudly on the floor.

Raph snarled, drawing his sai, "I don't like this,"

Leo hung up the phone and collected the device from the sewer floor. The ringing sound stopped, leaving an uneasy silence between the three brothers. It was broken by Raph smashing his fist into the tunnel wall.

"Raph, you need to calm down," Leo's voice barely reached him.

He smashed the wall again.

"Calm down?" Raph growled, "How the shell am I supposed to calm down when my brothers gone MIA?"

Mikey wrung his hands, shifting from foot to foot. "I dunno Raph. Maybe he dropped his shell cell but didn't realize?" he suggested.

"Yeah, right! Donnie's practically attached to his technology. Something's wrong!"

"My sons, what has happened to your brother?" Splinter called from the lair.

"He's gone, master Splinter, Leo answered, guiding his fuming brother back into their home, "We don't know where."

"Why are we wasting time here?" Raph snapped, "We need to start looking."

"I know Raph, but this isn't helping. We need to figure out a plan-" Leo started, his voice calm.

Raph cut him off with a snarl."Well I've got a plan," he snapped, "We quit talking and start looking for Donnie!"

There was silence in the lair as the Turtles and their master shared a pained look.

Raph stared between them, his eyes narrowed.

"Fine then. If you guys wanna sit around talking all day, I'm gonna go find my brother,"

"Raph! Not the time to be hot headed. Bedsides, it's too close to daylight." Mikey said, concern colouring his voice.

"No, it's okay," Leo cut him off, "Raph, you go. Ring if you find something. Stay out of trouble and don't let anyone see you."

Raph nodded, running a finger over a sai. "If trouble finds me-"

"You'll call,"

"Yeah, sure thing Fearless," It was impossible to miss the sarcasm in Raph's voice as he turned and darted from the lair. Two turtles and their sensei watched him go. "And then there were three," Mikey muttered.