Sorry for the wait, guys! School and life have been kinda rough lately.

It's a short one, but its up!

Chapter 4

Leo sighed, bowing his head and admitting defeat. There was no way he was going to win this battle. His opponents were just too strong, too stubborn. Too determined to take him down. With one last remorseful glance, he laid down his arms, sheathed his katana and nodded. Outnumbered, outgunned, he had no choice.

There was just no way he was going to win against them.

Donatello was just too dang stubborn. And of course, Michelangelo teamed up with him. April didn't really take vote in the matter. Splinter had decided to take her out on a training exercise. If she was going to help them find Raph, she was going to have to know how to fight better than she did. They had Raph against them now, for whatever reason. And with Falco, who knew what was going to happen? So, April was out.

Leaving Leonardo on his own.

"Alright, fine. We'll go out and look again. But no longer than an hour."

Donnie made a little indignant sound of protest, but closed his mouth as Leo raised his hand to cut him off. Leo glared at him, an annoyance to rival their missing brother's. What? Someone had to pick up the slack. Not really. Leo's temper was just on the edge because now, he had to take care of his family. And he didn't have his other half to help him shoulder the weight.

Since Raph, his track record was getting hammered into the dust.

"One hour, Donnie."

"Why? We can barely do anything in an hour. We won't get far-"

Leo sighed and relaxed his glare, regaining his usual composure. Come on. He was Leonardo, the leader. He had to be calm, collected, and more importantly, patient. He knew where Donnie was coming from. An hour wasn't really that much. But right now, his overprotective brother mode was in charge, and he had his reasons.

And he knew Donnie did too. Donnie was worrying himself sick over this. Literally. Leo could tell by the dark marks under his eyes that he hadn't been sleeping well. He knew that Donnie blamed himself for Raph's disappearance. Leo wasn't as smart as Donatello, but he was smart enough to know the signs. Donnie knew that Falco was a big one for revenge, and naturally, it was him that had thwarted his plans. And to take out Donnie, Falco would've had to use the strength of the group. So it was his fault that he had gone after Raph first.

But it wasn't. And no matter what Leo told him, Donnie just wouldn't accept that. So, gentle Leo it was.

"Donnie. You're the resident genius. Think for a second! You have a head injury and Mikey still has stitches. If it wasn't our brother that was out there, then I wouldn't be letting you go anyways. An hour is all you get tonight, until you two heal."

Donnie looked as if he was fighting a battle with himself. Probably was. But he couldn't deny what Leo said. After a few moments, Donnie sighed and nodded. Mikey looked at him in surprise, but didn't say anything. Donnie met Leo's eyes. Leo smiled and turned towards the stairs.

"Come on."

The sewers were dark and cold, as usual. The recent rainstorm they'd had last night had the waterways rushing torrents. But they would fade down in a few days. Mikey kept bouncing ahead to peer around corners and would hop back to them, but he still didn't say anything. Strange, but acceptable. They walked in silence for a few blocks, but then Leo suddenly perked up. He snapped his gaze over to Donnie, gaining both his brothers' attention.

"You still have your radar set up, right?"

Donnie shrugged and nodded, looking a bit confused.

"I haven't taken it down since I made it. A few weird readings out over by Central Park, but they didn't seem anything like him or the Foot."

Leo shook his head, stopping. A strange, giddy, excited feeling washed over him.

"No, no, no, I don't mean for them. What if we set it up down here?"

Mikey gave Leo a weird look.

"Down here?"

Leo nodded, looking back to Donnie. His heart was racing with the sudden idea. There was a chance.

"Down here, in the tunnels. Falco controls the rats, right?"

There was nothing that could measure up to the astonishment and hope in those chocolate-brown eyes as Donnie realized what Leo was getting at. Quickly he looked away, muttering under his breath and counting stuff out on his fingers, both of his brothers watching him curiously. Finally Donnie grinned and looked back up.

"That might just work."

"What might work?" Mikey piped up. Donnie turned to him, the excited look in Leo's eyes switching to Donnie's.

"If I can set my radar to detect the rats and set off whenever a rat passes by, then we can track their movements by using the multiple radars lining the tunnels." Donnie explained, half to himself. "They'll lead us straight to Falco! Yes, yes, it's perfect! If we find Falco, then…" Donnie looked up to Leo, a new light in his eyes. Leo grinned and looked to Mikey, who was still looking confused.

"If we use the rats, we find Falco. If we find Falco, we find Raph. And if we find Raph…"

Mikey perked up, grinning as he understood.

"We find the hidden treasure at the end of the rainbow?!"

Spoke too soon.

Leo sighed and shook his head, shooting Donnie a look.

"No, Mikey. If we find Raph, then we can help him and get him back to normal. And then we have our brother back."

"And then we find the treasure."

"No, Mikey."

"But I had the Lucky Charms and everything!"