Chapter 2:

(3rd:)

It's not that Mikey didn't understand Leo's reasoning; because he did. His brother just wanted to protect them and keep them as safe as possible and they valued that about him.

But now was not the time to be playing the hero; he had Mikey to watch his back; it's what Shichi trained him to do. To change his mind when it needed to be changed and tell him which way to go next.

Maybe it was just a 'little brother worshiping his big brothers' thing but he knew that Raph and Donnie could handle it by themselves and that he was just going to be in their way if he stayed behind and Leo understood that too; Mikey could tell by the way he was ignoring him.

"Is he always this – scary?" Taro suddenly asked and the orange-banded turtle couldn't help but look at him in confusion before realizing that he was talking about his brother and was barely able to reframe from laughing out loud

He always wondered how other people saw his brothers but he had to admit scary hadn't always been on the list.

"Don't worry." He told the man quietly knowing that Leo could hear them. "He just wants you to think he's mean; but he's actually made of cotton balls."

"Better than gummy bears." Leo added without looking at them causing his brother to glare at his back where he was just about to tell him off with a cleaver comeback when Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks to hold up his fist in the 'hold' signal.

Mikey immediately tackled Taro and held his hand over the guy's mouth to insure he didn't give away their position and waited as Leo cautiously looked around the corner up ahead before pulling his sword out cautiously causing Mikey to quickly followed his lead and await the signal.

However the oldest turtle seemed to be slightly confused as he studied something around the corner before pulling back to stand against the wall again and looked back at his little brother who raised an eye-ridge in a silent question. But the only answer he got was a shake of the head indicating that he wasn't sure before pointing toward the corner and Mikey silently moved to take a look for himself.

'Okay that was weird.' He thought as he suddenly found himself somewhat relieved that at least they knew where all the pirates were hiding now; as at least 50 of them were standing at attention there in the hall; but they weren't doing anything other than breathing.

The orange-clad ninja quietly flattened himself against the wall again and gave Leo another questioning look. Even if this was a military ship no one was that still; they should have been running around trying to get the sub moving again or at the very least looking for them; but instead they were just standing around like Lego figures.

"Where's the bridge from here?" Leo whispered right in Taro's ear and the man pointed across the hall.

So they wouldn't have to face the quiet-brigade directly but it seemed they would still need to pass them, so Mikey quickly looked back around the corner at the stick figure crew to find that none of them had moved yet and turned his gaze across the opening to the next hall which suddenly seemed a lot farther away.

He kept watch on the pirates as Leo walked up next to him again and readied himself to cross the thresh hold before quickly flipping across the floor to the other side as Mikey watched the army like a hawk; but not one of them even so much as twitched in response.

As Leo and his brother switched places; leaving the oldest to stand watch this time; the orange-clad ninja quietly reached behind him to grab Taro by his shirt and maneuvered him into position before waiting only a second for Leo's signal and pushed the man across no-man's land to safety.

Even with the clumsy attempt at stealth that the guy had displayed the army still didn't move; which had Leo and Mikey exchanging another look before the younger turtle joined them as well only to turn back and find that they were still – still.

Now this was getting weird, not that it wasn't already.

"Ooo – k" Mikey stated quizzically in Leo's ear after they had backed up all the way to the next hall where they were out of earshot and his brother simply nodded in agreement before beginning another search of the area for any threats, as he was now more paranoid than ever.

They found a few more hallways full of living stick people as they made their way through the ship but luckily didn't have to get so close; however after several minutes of searching Mikey found himself checking a random doorway and couldn't help but smile as he realized they'd finally located the bridge.

…

(Donnie's POV)

I moved onto another patient and quickly assessed the damage as a head injury and possible kidney failure before taking a deep breath and started the treatment.

I had rationed out my supplies the best I could but still I was running dangerously short and had serious doubts that it would last through the rest of the injured sailors; especially with all the internal problems they were displaying, as a lack of food and water for such an extended period of time had really taken its toll on them.

A few minutes later I had finished treating the man who didn't even so much as wince through the whole thing, obviously that he was already in so much discomfort that nothing I did could even come close to comparing.

Raph appeared at my side a second later and helped the man take in the smell of the little bottle I had given him before laying him back down with a concerned look.

"These guys are a lot worse off than the others." He commented quietly.

"Yeah." I agreed and looked around for the next person that needed treatment the most and moved to her. "Oh no!" I said under my breath before kneeling down to gently place my ear against her stomach.

"What?" Raph asked immediately picking up on my distress.

"She's pregnant." I whispered checking her pulse and breathing quickly.

"She is?" My brother responded looking at the woman in confusion.

"Yeah." I answered placing my hand over her womb and looked at her face. "2 months?" I guessed and she weakly held up her hand to show me one finger in a slanted position. "2 and a half?" I answered and she nodded.

"How long have you been here?" I asked her gently but she only shook her head that she didn't know.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Raph asked kneeling down next to me. "What about the baby?"

"They'll both be fine." I answered confidently. I couldn't afford to show doubt right now; not in front of this mother who had done everything in her power to save her child.

She'd done her part now it was my turn.

As I started the treatment and slowly adjusted her back into comfort so she wouldn't go into shock I noticed something else and lifted her arm to examine the little marks there.

"Are those –" Raph asked and I nodded before looking back at the woman.

"They gave you drugs?" I asked and she nodded. "How many?" She just shook her head again; either she had lost count or had been unconscious through most of it.

"What's that gonna do?" Raph asked and I turned to place a hand on his shoulder to calm him down a little. He'd always been kind of jumpy around anything to do with kids. "I'm not sure what but they were obviously intending to do something with that baby." I answered as I slowly removed the tanto from my belt and lay a gentle hand on the woman's arm as she eyed the blade in fear. "It's okay." I assured her. "This isn't for you."

"What are ya gonna do?" Raph requested watching the blade as well as I brought the edge to the palm of my right hand where I quickly sliced the skin there. "Hey!" My brother complained immediately. "What are ya –"

"It's okay." I told him while I once again lifted the woman's arm and placed my injured hand over the needle marks there before closing my eyes and concentrated on the nano-bots in my system.

"Donnie?" Raph started again.

"Shhh." I insisted immediately and he shut up.

I had brought this idea up with Olcadan a few years back and he'd worked to help him refine it; but it was the first time I would be putting it into practice so it was not a good time for distractions.

My brother seemed to understand that I needed to focus as he carefully moved to the woman's side and tried to keep her calm while I worked and a few minutes later I was deep in my subconscious where I started to concentrate on my ability to heal. However this time I would be redirecting it; which would be tricky since my target was not only the lady but her unborn child as well.

I had to get those drugs out of their system for who knew what kind of damage they had already caused; I would not allow them to harm this baby any more than they already had.

After another minute I started to feel the nano-bots in my body responding to my call and move at-will into the woman's body; taking my blood and the powerful medicines within with them to destroy the toxins in the mother's bloodstream and safely treat the baby; not to mention protect them both from the negative affects of the drugs in the future.

If it worked

…

(3rd)

It would seem that Donnie's plan to come up in another area of the ship had paid off; as several TV screens displayed people rummaging around in an area that looked an awful lot like the hole the turtles had made in the bottom of the sub; where the pirates were obviously so busy trying to find their targets that they didn't even realize the turtles had already found them.

Leo materialized on the other side of the doorway with Taro in tow and studied the bridge closely for enemy action. There were only five pirates in the room which they could easily take out before giving away their position and so the oldest brother spoke a few commands via hand-signs and Mikey nodded before moving into position.

Using the dark area to their advantage they snuck right up to the first two guards near the back of the room and simultaneously knocked them both out before dragging them into the shadows to await further unconsciousness.

However as they moved apart to opposite sides of the room something began to nag at Mikey; like there was something he was forgetting and took a minute to study his surroundings again before finally spotting it; a sixth guard deep in the shadows of a section of the room that really shouldn't have been there.

It was obvious that this little nook had been made specifically for the purpose of hiding a guard and the turtle was lucky to have spotted it in time for if he had taken one more step he would have been spotted.

Quickly checking on Leo's position Mikey measured out the symmetrical room and figured that there should be another of those little crevices in his area as well. Unfortunately he couldn't see it from where he was but if he was right; his brother still had lots of room before he was seen.

But it was Mikey's guard who was going to be the problem for if he didn't take him out first the guy would soon see them both.

So backing up a few steps; Mikey maneuvered closer to the wall and up into the pipes and bars crossing the ceiling to scurry over where he was directly above the hidden guard and quietly reached down to cover his mouth and dropped down to hit the back of his neck to knock him out.

Mikey then moved out to check on Leo again who was doing just fine on his own, as he had taken out a main guard and seemed to be well aware of the hidden one. However something still didn't seem right and this time Mikey was a second too late to find it.

Movement caught his eye behind his brother and he immediately thought it was another pirate; but as the form came into view he realized it was Taro. He got ready to throw something; thinking that he had gone traitor on them but it appeared that he was wrong; as the man was lifting the pipe he had brought with him over the head of the guard that Leo had just knocked out and it was then that Mikey realized the danger.

Leo was so focused on his hidden target that he would react without thinking should something suddenly happen behind him and even though there was no doubt that he'd be able to stop himself from killing Taro a more pressing matter would soon reveal itself."

"Leo no!" Mikey yelled as the sound of Taro's makeshift weapon swinging through the air caused his brother to instantly turn to defend himself; thus unintentionally leaving himself wide open to an attack from the guard who had just spotted him from behind.

If the older brother had registered Mikey's warning just a second or two later; Leo might not have lived to regret it. But thankfully it was all he needed to realize that his true target was behind him and turned back around to find the hidden guard he had been stalking; swinging a freaking axe at his head.

Unfortunately he was too off balance to avoid it; so he was forced to parry the hatchet with his sword; which wasn't the best move on his part as his weapon had been in his left hand at the time leaving him unprotected on his right and it seemed that his opponent was very much aware of this; as the guard quickly pulled a long knife from his belt and slashed at the turtle again.

Leo couldn't dodge it; not with the man barring down on him so he had to make a choice; to either loose his head or loose his arm.

He chose the latter.

…

The pain was so sudden and so severe that Raph couldn't help crying out in shock and quickly placed his hand over the area on his lower right arm. However a second later he jumped as a small hand touched his own and he looked around to find the lady watching him with concern.

"It's okay." He told her quickly. "Don' ya worry, Donnie's gonna take good care of ya." He gave her a reassuring smile trying his damndest to not provoke her into a panic as she already looked terrible; the last thing she needed was a heart attack.

When he was sure she was okay he turned back to check on his little brother; which judging from the calm expression on his face hadn't felt the phantom pain so he could continue to help the woman and her baby uninterrupted.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Raph told the mother while gently laying a hand on her shoulder; which caused her to clung to him for a second as if afraid that without his protection her rescue would reveal itself to be a dream. But she was able to slowly calm herself again and nodded understandingly before letting him go.

He quickly got up and made his way through the sea of sick and injured people and back over to the door; where with one hand on his sai; he checked the corridors for anything out of the ordinary. But nothing was amiss and he could only hope that didn't mean all the pirates were busy killing his missing brothers.

As that unpleasant thought passed through his head he couldn't help but grab the place on his arm that was still stinging like nobodies' business. He was sure it was Leo, for he was also sensing Mikey panicking and knew that his baby brother wouldn't have been acting like that had he been the one in pain.

Unfortunately though he couldn't tell if the injury was serous; only that it had been a blade that had caused it. Checking the hallway more thoroughly gave Raph a chance to calm his nerves before heading back into the prison to check on a few of the other people that he was worried about.

Thankfully his brother knew what he was doing as no one had died or gotten any worse under his watch, in fact most of them looked noticeably better; even in the short amount of time that the turtles had been there.

Raph was finding it difficult to function through the unpleasant feeling that he was more or less useless now; as the only patients that remained were those that he just wasn't qualified to care for. But he'd get over it; besides they did seem to become more comfortable when he was near, like he was their personal manifestation of protection and one woman even smiled at him as he walked by.

He smiled back at her and knelt to see if she needed anything but she only touched his hand in reassurance before closing her eyes to drift into a quiet sleep. As he got back to his feet; making sure he didn't disturb her; something started to nag at him again.

He'd noticed that during his training time with Roku his ability to detect danger had become more and more potent, so he never ignored the feeling when it occurred and found himself looking around for the threat that his instincts demanded was there.

And that's when his heart stopped.

"Donnie!" He called loudly as he realized that the injured fish mutant they had saved before was now pointing a gun at his brother's head.

O.O

Oops!

I realize this is a bad chapter to do this; but it must be done.

…

I am currently in the process of moving and so I may or may not post next week because of it.

I'm sorry ;(

*Runs and hides*