Chapter 2

At first, not one of the turtles would have spared the strange looking reptile inside the cage more than a quick glance due to them searching desperately searching for a turtle-like-being- one with a shell.

The problem was this being- now distinguished as Leonardo- had changed dramatically due to being trapped in dimension X for however long in Kraang terms a week was.

Leo was cut and bloodied, some scars were only just beginning to heal and even older ones covered his limbs in a maze of white, while fresher wounds were bleeding lightly. He no longer wore his wraps or straps- nor did he have his blue mask, and a thick metal collar held him closely bound to the cold bars.

Yet that was not the worst of it.

Leonardo had been deshelled. Somehow, the Kraang had cut Leo's shell away, leaving behind light skin around his torso and bloody skin held together by uneven stitches lining the place where his shell used to be attached to his body.

That was how not even his brothers had managed to recognise him at first.

"Leo…" Donnie croaked, his voice wavering.

"Wait…" Mikey cried in horror, "That's-"

"Yeah." Gulped Raph, "That's Leo…"

For a long moment the brothers could only stare at the prone figure of their leader and brother- frightened and worried by what had become of him in just a single Earth week.

Then a groan echoed through the bars- startling the three- yet their brother did not move.

"Leo…" Mikey tentatively asked, tears forming as he attempted to reach his brother through the bars, yet his arms were not long enough, despite the cage being small.

A bleep from the direction of Donnie's odd device brought Raph's perspective back into focus. He tore his gaze from his elder and grabbed Donnie by the arm,

"How close?"

"500 yards." Donnie stammered automatically- his eyes- like Mikey's- were wet.

Raph didn't know how far that really was, but nodded, pretending to know what he was doing, when in reality, his mind was still fixed solely upon Leonardo.

"Right…" he murmured, then raised his voice as loud as he possibly could with the Kraang nearing, and filled himself with false confidence, "Right, Don- turn that thing off- Mikey, help me get Leo out of there."

The youngest turtle nodded and put on a brave face while the scientific turtle left to shut down his device.

Pulling out his Sai, Raph quickly sliced an opening in the cage, ignoring the locked door on the other side, and hopped through the bars, catching the sliced ones so not to make a sound. Mikey followed and together they moved the bars out of the way silently.

With only two footsteps, they reached their brother- so small was the cage- and within a second, Donatello pushed past to start checking their brother's vitals.

"Pulse weak but still with us, air ways sound fine- blood clotting taking place- no sign of infection…"

"So he's alright?" Mikey asked hopefully, but was met with the cool stare of Donnie.

"Not alright Mikey," he sighed, "Leo is suffering from a multitude of injuries- we need to get him out of here and into my lab." Donnie ran his trembling fingers over his brother's body all the while, probing from wounds, but Raph noticed that his brother's hands hovered over the area a shell should have been from a while longer than need be. Donnie paused for a second, then moved back and nodded to Raph who started to get to work on the iron collar around his brother's neck. Mikey held the metal way from Leo's skin, revealing the flesh was rubbed raw and deep groves showing how Leo must have attempted to break free of the collar- up until… No, Raph cursed mentally, don't think like that. The metal of the collar was thick, forcing Raph to saw through it slowly, driving his patience to the edge,

"Come on…" he hissed as his Sai grinded through the metal, but suddenly, it gave way and the metal released its cold hold on their brother, falling into Mikey's waiting hand. Raph sighed in relief as Donnie turned round from keeping watch, the two turtles shared a quick glance at their brother being free of his bonds.

It pained Raph to see Leonardo this way- chained and beaten- no longer strong and fearless.

Yet suddenly, as if hearing his thoughts, there was another slight groan from Leo, but this time, his eyes, one swollen nearly shut, flickered open- going wide at the sight before him.

"Leo?" Raph whispered, kneeling down before the slumped form of his brother.

"…W…what, took… you…s…so, long?" The eldest teased weakly, before jerking forward suddenly with a pained gasp as he clutched his bare chest.

Donnie shoved past Raph and probed his brother's torso once more.

"There could be some internal bleeding," was his verdict when Leo spasmed once more, collapsing into Donnie's lap, unconscious.

"Is he…?" Mikey couldn't finish.

"No." Donnie stated simply and a silence filled the cage, which, after a couple of seconds, was broken by a robotic voice.

"Kraang, report to the place which Kraang has heard a thing known as, noise."

"Yes Kraang."

"Sewer apples." Cursed Donnie, struggling under the weight of his unconscious brother, "Raph! We need to get out of here!"

The red banded turtle nodded and readied his sai as he asked Donnie over his shoulder, "You got the portal device?"

The science genius nodded and shifted Leo over to one shoulder so he could reach the Kraang technology. He pressed a button then tossed it to his elder brother, who then passed one end to Mikey.

The portal activated, the pink glow illuminating the cage as the triangular dimensional gateway opened.

"Go!" Yelled Raph, no longer worried about stealth, releasing his corner of the portal, forcing Mikey to do the same before pushing him through. Donnie followed with Leo slung over his shoulder, just as a Kraang droid rounded the corner. Raph winked at the droid then jumped through the portal, hitting what he was sure was the disarming button as he did so.

Finally, they were safe.

Poor old Leonardo...

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed- and thanks to those who I can't PM personally. the support I'm getting is great.

SO ANSWER THESE IN YOUR REVIEWS:

Will Leo manage to recover?

Will Donnie manage to save Leo's shell?

What will Splinter, Casey and April's reactions be to Leo?

Why did the Kraang only take Leo?

Thanks for reading and i'll try and update as soon as possible!

LL99 out!