Okay, here is chappie 3, and you will get a little flashback on how Don was saved from those evil scientists!

Oh, I never mentioned this before, this story sets after Fast Forward, even though it doesn't mention anything about it, it will eventually in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, they belong to Mirage; all I own are Zarah, Philip, Sally Thompson, along with all other characters that belong to me, if you wish to borrow them, you can if you ask my permission.

Void: Chapter 3-Answers and More Questions

"Sally, I'm surprised this day has come so soon."

Splinter could not help the smug look as the ghost returned to her translucent state, pouting. After a few moments, the infernal pouting turned into a small sad smile, "You've raised him well."

The old rat beamed proudly at the complement, "Thank you," his proud expression furrowed, "What exactly happened to cause or contract to come into order so quickly?"

Sally sighed, "I didn't intend for it ta happen. All I wanted was ta see my lil' girl grow up, start a family of 'er own, but it happened so fast, the drunk driver, I was busy talkin' to my husband, then suddenly I was dead."

The old rat nodded, his eyes soft, "I will be forever in your debt for saving Donatello ten years ago, Ms. Sally."

Sally only smiled slightly, before stating, "He didn't deserve any of that kinda stuff. I mean, my co-workers were insane, an' when he looked at me with those frightened eyes, I saw my own child, an' I couldn't let them do that to 'im."

The old rat nodded, face stern at the memory. It was the one heart-wrenching mistake that turned out being one of his greatest blessings.

------

Zarah stood in the room, her toes curling at the cold temperature of the room. She shifted from one foot to the other nervously staring at her father. Her aunt sat on the couch blabbing on and on about how stupid her name was the way it was spelled; the woman held something against her since the moment she let out her first cries of life.

What she did not know was the spelling of the name was actually her father's idea.

"Sammie, could ya shut your trap for five minutes," Lady Jones snapped at the rude woman. The brunette on the couch shut her mouth, staring at Lady Jones with hard grey eyes. She drew in a sharp intake of breath when Lady Jones elbowed her lightly, motioning her to speak with her father.

"Daddy," her eyes rested worriedly on her father, "um, do ya mind if I could spend the rest of my summer with Lady Jones?"

Philip glanced at Lady Jones, sending her a questioning look, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, sir, more then anythin'," he stared at his only child for a few moments, before nodding slightly.

"You can go, just please be careful," he didn't show it much, but Zarah was the world to him, and if anything happened to her he'd most likely suffer because of it.

Zarah brightened up, before quickly walking up to her father, "Thank ya, Daddy. Ya'll won't have ta worry 'bout me, I'll be fine!"

He smiled slightly, before hugging her back gently, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," he sighed, glancing at Lady Jones.

"Go and pack, afterwards, get some sleep," he tapped the end of her nose, making her roll her eyes at him.

"I know," she stuck out her tongue as she pulled back, and quickly ran upstairs to pack. Samantha glared at her kid brother, hands on her hips.

"You're letting your daughter go? Her mother just died, she needs to be here with you!" the woman snapped at him.

"Hey, Sammie, she just needs time away from here," Lady Jones sent her cousin a slight glare, "remember when your ma died? You wanted to get as far away from home as you could, so ya went and got eloped!"

"Th-That's different!" Samantha hesitated on her words, it was a mistake, she knew. The man she eloped with ended up being a big fat lazy ass that took advantage of her.

The elderly couple that was Sally's parents just watched looks of disappointment on their features. It had been rough on the both of them, just the thought of loosing both of their children before their time was up. Their son had died due to multiple brain tumors at the age of twenty-nine, and they had just lost their daughter because of a drunk driver.

Why couldn't the fighting stop?

------

"Nice to see ya finally get out of yer own little world," Raph stated gruffly as Don walked past, towards the fridge to pull out whatever beverage he could find. He noticed that their brainy brother was a bit shaken up, and upset.

He wasn't the only one who noticed the slight change in their brother.

"Don, you look like you saw a ghost," Leo stated, staring at the purple-banded turtle as said turtle pulled out a can of country style lemonade. Don stared at him wide eyed for a few seconds, only to sigh and shake his head.

They wouldn't believe me even if I told them.

"I'm just a little hungry," Don forced a small smile, before walking over to the table, pulling out a chair, and plopping down into it. Raph sent Mikey a slight smirk, before handing the pizza box to Donnie.

"So, did ya get any answers to that little date that you've been thinkin' 'bout lately?" Don noted that Raph stated it in a teasing way. Rolling his eyes, he opened the pizza box that was in his hotheaded brother's grasp, and pulled out a slice.

"Or that girl's name," Mikey obviously was playing along.

"What the shell?" Leo glanced between Raph, Mikey, and Don, his eyes wide, "What in the world has been going on here?"

He was asking not only as a leader, but as a curious older brother who was wondering if his little brother's were talking about him behind his back.

"Frankly Leo," Don sighed, noticing he wasn't as hungry as he thought he was, "I have no idea either. I mean, July eighth, 1997, and the name Zarah, I have no idea why the shell those two things keep coming to mind, and it's frustrating."

"Oh, so the next thing we're going to hear you talk about is that you'll hear a voice calling out to you in your dreams," Mikey snickered, before making his voice sound girly, "Help me, Donnie, help me!"

Don paled slightly, before taking a bite of pizza, ignoring as Mikey continued his lame little girl impression. He could not understand why this was happening; he was just fine until three weeks ago.

He blinked. Three weeks earlier, it had all started, and nothing weird was going on before then.

"Mikey! Stop acting like an annoying brat," Leo narrowed his eyes at Mikey as the orange-banded ninja continued his little impression. It was not very cute, and it defiantly was not helping Don at all.

Raph let out a small chuckle, "Aww, come on Leo, ya gotta admit that's kinda funny." Leo rolled his eyes at Raph and Mike's child like behavior. Glancing at Don, he noted that their brainy brother was taking this a bit too…

Strangely.

------

It was a depressing memory for Sally, just to remember what happened on her daughter's birthday ten years prior. She didn't want to remember, but she had to.

"I really wish to know, how did you get Donatello out of that horrible place?" Master Splinter asked.

Sally sighed, a sad smile forming on her lips, "Alright, I'll tell ya…"

-Ten Years Prior-

Sally held the clipboard to her chest, a slight frown on her lips, "Philip, I dunno, ain't that a bit extreme to get a six year old for her birthday." Her husband was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey, I got a puppy for my sixth birthday," he stated, "plus she'll love one."

"Honey, I love puppies as much as any other woman would, but sweetie, she's just so young," the woman shook her head, "couldn't we consider a goldfish, or a turtle, or somethin' like that?"

The man sighed, glancing at his watch, "Well, break's over. Maybe we should talk about this when we're on our way home in three hours."

She smiled slightly at him, "Alright, besides, I wanna see what Joseph's so exited 'bout from his trip to New York two days ago." Philip smiled at his wife, before leaning over kissing her soundly on the lips. She smiled slightly, kissing him back gently before they broke apart, slipping on their lab coats and slipping from the break room.

They walked side by side until he slipped into laboratory A-7 and she continued towards the lab she worked at which was B-9. After a few minutes of walking, she turned into her lab area only to pause seeing her partner excitedly tiding up her lab area.

"Joseph, ya varmint, get away from my reports!" she walked briskly towards him, ripping her work from his grimy hands. She frowned at him, her eyes flashing angrily.

"I'm sorry, but the boss is going to come in here after you leave to see what I brought from my trip!" the man seemed really giddy.

"Okay, what did you and those other six scientists find," the woman rolled her eyes at his excitement.

"Okay, follow me," he seemed more excited by her little statement. She followed him, even though something in her gut screamed not to.

The frown on her lips deepened when they reached the animal labs. She could hear the soft moaning sounds of the lab monkeys as she passed their cages. She hated this one part about a few of her fellow co-workers.

They did not really think about the thought of animal cruelty.

She paused when he opened the door to an isolated area.

"Joseph, did ya find some new species or somethin'?" she asked in a serious tone.

"As a matter of fact, I did," the man grinned, allowing her to enter first. The first sound she picked up was the sound of a child whimpering, which made her think that this was some kind of cruel and twisted joke. She stared at the cage in the room for a few moments before taking a few steps forward, the whimpering turning into soft crying.

She stopped when she was only a tiny distance away; peering into the cage, she reached out grabbing one of the metal bars that made up the small prison. The shell was apparent that this was some kind of terrapin like creature, but the arms and legs screamed that it was more humanoid.

She glanced at Joseph, before glancing back into the cage. The creature was staring at her wide eyed, terrified of her presence.

It hurt her more then anything; reminding her of those, few times she punished her daughter for doing something bad.

She tore her eyes from the creature, sending John a glare that screamed 'you are a no good bastard.' John was beaming too proudly to notice her look of hate.

Suddenly the door swung open into the isolated area, a grey haired man peaking in, "Professor Ross, the administrator wishes to speak with you, and he wants you in the meeting room immediately."

Joseph glanced at Sally grinning, "When you're done, you can get back to whatever project you were working, okay, Sal?"

She stuck her tongue out at the two men as they exited the room.

As soon as the door shut her eyes darted around the room for the keys, and when she found them, she grabbed them, fumbling around with them until she found the popper key for the cage. She opened the entrance to the cage with a soft click, and she carefully slipped in.

She watched as the humanoid terrapin move, trying to get as far away from her as possible. She would not blame it for doing that, so she got on her knees, getting to its level. She held her arms out, sending it a gentle look.

She did not want it to fear her.

She watched as it stared at her with a bit of confusion, "I'm not goin' ta hurt ya."

"P-Promise?" she blinked when she heard the small trembling voice of a little boy escape its throat. Correction, his throat.

"I promise," she watched silently as he carefully stood up, walking towards her cautiously towards her, before allowing her to pull him into a gentle hug.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, "I'm so sorry that they did this ta ya."

"I wanna go home," he whimpered, "I want my brothers, and I want Master Splinter."

She held his trembling body close, "Shh, it's gonna be okay."

She had to get him out of there; he did not deserve anything like this. He was just a child. Her eyes glanced around until she noticed a purple cloth on the chair just outside the cage, which appeared to be covering many items.

She held him tighter when he let out a heart-breaking sob, "I'm goin' ta get ya outta 'ere."

She would get him out of there, and if she were caught, she would be fired for it in order to save his life.

-Three Hours Later-

"Sally, honey, the administrator is going to be at our necks if we do this," Philip seemed a bit peeved with the idea, "I mean if we hack into the security system and put on a repeated simulation for four and a half hours…"

"Hon, it ain't gonna be that suspicious," Sally whispered, "you'll think 'bout Zarah when you set your eyes on 'im, he's just a trembling little child."

"Fine, but if we get in trouble for this…" he paused at the look in his wife's eyes, "we'll take all the responsibilities, and we will take him and our daughter and be on the run for the rest of our lives."

"Ya call that takin' the responsibilities?" the woman rolled her eyes, watching her husband hack into the security system. After about five minutes, he smirked.

"Done."

"Okay, good, everyone in that area is probably in the meetin' area, which takes maybe an hour for a presentation before they go an' check whatever project or discovery it's about," Sally murmured, "that gives me enough time to grab a laundry cart and get 'im."

Philip nodded, "I'll be at the care getting everything set up." The couple smiled at each other, before they went their separate ways.

Sally swung her large purse over her shoulder, her eyes darting around for the nearest abandoned laundry cart. Her features brightened when she found one located in the animal labs, and she was glad there were many items inside of it.

She pushed it towards the isolated lab, and opened the door quietly. She smiled slightly in relief that none of her co-workers were in the lab, just as her husband said. She finished opening the door, pulling the cart inside.

By the thickness of the room, the child was even more terrified.

Glancing at the purple-clothe, and debating with her mind for a total of five seconds, she grabbed it, and whatever was under it, stuffing it into her purse.

In a matter of seconds, the cage door was unlocked, and open. The child looked up at her, tears running down his face…

-Present Day-

"It was hard, trust me, just getting' 'im outta there," Sally murmured, "I'm just glad my husband was willin' ta help."

Master Splinter nodded. How his son was saved from a horrible fate had always been a mystery, especially by the fact that when he separated him from the family that saved him, and took care of all his other needs.

It was surprising that they wished to reunite Donatello with their family. But there was only one problem that occurred that day, the daughter and his son's closeness.

Donatello had the closest thing to a relationship with the opposite gender then his brothers did at the time, years before bumping into April O'Neil. He would never imagine them meeting April, but it happened, and she accepted them. He could even tell then that a small bit of the memory of the little girl from his long forgotten past had reached out of the void of Donatello's mind.

It worried him greatly, the way Donatello reacted to Miss O'Neil as he did to the little girl whenever she gave him a hug, or those few pecks on the cheeks the small child would give away at random.

He remembered before erasing the children's memories she had given away a big hug to every person present, including himself.

And he knew that a small child was more accepting then an older human.

"How is your daughter?" it was a small, yet randomized question, but Sally knew that it would have been asked sometime within the hour, before she'd be forced to watch as the turtle household slept, cozy in their respected bedrooms.

"She's so different now," the ghost muttered, "I mean, I'd never imagine my lil' girl becomin' such a stubborn young woman, like 'er father, and like 'er Uncle Derek. I mean, she ain't a child anymore, but she's changed so much. The night I died, she seemed so distant."

Splinter nodded, finding it odd.

Very odd.

-----

Mike had finally stopped the little girl impressions, but he still sent Don cheeky grins from across the table as Don polished off his third slice of pizza, then taking a huge gulp of his lemonade.

Raph had left minutes earlier, heading for the showers. He was starting to tire of making fun of the smart one. Leo was clutching onto his glass, eyes darting between Mike and Don.

Don looked like was about to loose control, and Leo wouldn't blame him; he'd probably be the same way with random information, reaching out from the vacuum of his mind and brought into the subconscious. Shifting in his seat, Leo forced a small smile, "Are you going to be okay, Don?"

Don glanced at Leo, forcing a tiny smile, "I'm fine, Leo."

Leo nodded a bit, unsure.

This was starting to freak him out.

"Well, I'm going to play video games," Mikey grew bored of teasing Don for the moment, and pushed back on his chair with a loud screech.

Leo winced at the annoying sound while Don watched Mike trudge from the kitchen, and he could feel the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile as their baby brother plopped down on the couch in the living room, and began playing one of his violent and blood filled video games. He took a large gulp of the last of his lemonade, glancing at Leo who was staring at him with stern eyes.

Big brother mode was on, and he found his heart quickening in panic due to it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" it was a simple question.

"Because," Don thought for a bit, setting the empty can on the table, "I didn't want you to worry."

Leo acted like a mother hen at times.

"Listen, Don, don't let this quest effect your training or our family," Leo stared at him, eye-ridge raised, "I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble."

Don remembered when he fainted in his lab, because of the ghost woman. That was when he noticed Master Splinter did not return to the kitchen for supper.

"Leo, can we talk about this later," Don glanced at Leo, sending him a small smile, "I gotta go work on a project."

Leo rolled his eyes, "Tomorrow, directly after practice."

"Night," Don stood up at his dinner spot at the table, before quickly walking to the lab. He was trying his best to hide the dread that was building within him at his brisk footsteps. He paused, a small way before reaching the doorway to his sacred haven, and after a few moments after, he entered.

He nearly let out a surprised sound seeing Master Splinter and the Ghost speaking with one another. He seemed happy to see her, as she was to see him. He tensed slightly seeing the ghost's pale eyes glance up, staring at him.

He blinked for a few moments, before she sent him a loving smile, "I'm glad ta see he grew up to a strappin' young man."

Young man?

She was the first thing that ever called him a 'young man,' usually they were called freaks, turtles, mutants…the list would go on. This was completely new to him, and yet he found himself completely comfortable with her words.

Master Splinter glanced at him, a soft smile on his muzzle, "Donatello, I know you wouldn't remember, but I would like to re-introduce you to Sally Thompson."

"Like I said before," the ghost woman nodded, "It's been awhile Donnie, and sweetie, I missed ya lots."

Don kept his mouth shut, staring at her, so many questions running through his mind.

"I know what you're thinkin'," the ghost let out a nervous laugh, "'How could this ghost know me, and why does my father remember her while I don't?' Frankly, you ain't the only one. Does the name Zarah ring any bells?"

"Donnie, I love you!"

His mouth twitched into a small smile as the little girl's voice squealed those words in his mind.

Zarah…

"Maybe a little," he stated. He watched as the ghost sent his adoptive father a frown, before glancing at him.

"She was my daughter and well…" the ghost glanced to Master Splinter, before staring at him again, "she's takin' the returning memories not as well as ya are."

Returning memories?

"That explains why I don't remember disappearing," Don muttered, eyes staring at the floor.

"Listen, Donatello," Master Splinter sighed, "Professor Thompson and I believed it was better for you and young Zarah to have your memories wiped, though Sally..."

"I was against it," the ghost stated flatly, "so, my husband, Splinter, an' I made a lil' deal, when I died, then we would tell ya 'bout it. Back then, I was expectin' to see my lil' girl grow up, but I didn' count on bein' hit by a drunk driver three weeks ago."

"So, you're telling me…" Don pointed at the ghost, frowning, "I disappeared ten years ago, and you and your family reunited me with my family, and that your daughter, Zarah, is going through the same confusion as me, but she's taking it harder. Harder how?"

"She gets sick," the ghost stated bluntly.

Don cringed, "I so didn't want to know that."

"Listen, Don," Don stared at the ghost tilted her head, the loving look growing, "ya were the son I never had, and when your memories return, I hope ya remember that. And, I hope ya remember what you and Zarah had."

"Thank you, Miss Sally," the old rat smiled at the ghost, "I hope your cross to the other side goes well, and it was so nice to see you again."

"I'll always be here," Sally stated grinning, "Don, Splinter, ya'll take care of yourselves, alright now?"

Master Splinter nodded, while Don blinked in confusion as the ghost faded.

This was just too weird.

--------

Zarah zipped her duffle bag closed, before setting it down on the floor. She sighed in relief, before grabbing the manila folder of pictures that she pulled from the old trunk, before carefully putting them in a book bag that held the journal. After a few moments, she turned on her heal, paddling out of her bedroom, and towards the attic doorway.

She slipped inside, flipping on the switch, not caring at the moment what trouble she would be in later on. Carefully walking towards the trunk, she flipped it open, studying the objects inside, she began moving through the clutter of child drawn pictures, before she felt a small flimsy piece of plastic under her fingertips. She grabbed it, picking it up, and flipped it open.

On the cover in gold letters was Album, and a piece of tape was taped underneath it.

Her eyes widened, because written on the piece and tape was the words Zarah and Donnie.

"What the…" her voice trailed off; before she flipped open the cover…


PLEASE REVIEW!

Evil Cliffy! Hehehe, how I love thee!

I wonder how Zarah's gonna react when she opens the album…oh, in one of the previous chapters, someone asked why I preferred blonde girls named Sarah or Zarah in this case, okay, one, my little sister is named Sarah, but that has nothing to do with this story. For the blonde thing, I'm kinda tired of some people stereotyping blondes as in they are dumb, because I'm blonde…well brownish-blonde, but people still stereotype against me, and one of the Mary-Sues (not under this category) that I've come to love and hate is blonde.

Chapter 4 will hopefully be up soon. Somebody reviewed in two of my other stories me letting me know I have to get to work on two stories that I've had writers block for…umm…about a year, so sorry I've been slow, but I haven't had inspiration for any future chapters…but I'll get to work those stories as soon as I get some ideas.

Constructive criticism is welcomed, or telling me if some parts are very unrealistic! And hopefully in later chapters Zarah and Don will be reunited in some sorts…