Warning: Depicted, non-graphic character death.
Chapter 6: The Belly of the Beast
"I can't believe we're back in here again."
"Jeez, Mikey, can't you shut yer yap for just one second?"
Ignoring his brothers' whispered argument, Leonardo determinedly continued crawling forward in the ventilation shaft. Oddly their bickering didn't annoy him but actually helped him relax a little. It was familiar, comfortable. Clicking on his headset, Leo said in as soft a voice as possible, "You still tracking us?"
"I sure am," said April. "Can't believe how lucky we were that the trackers Don built into the shell-cells still work after all these years."
From behind Leo, Mikey piped up. "That's our Donny!"
Leo grimaced and decided to ignore Mike's comment. "How's our progress coming along, April?"
There was a pause, while April was presumably checking her maps. "Okay, you should pass two more opening in the shaft, then you'll want the third opening."
"How d'ya know that's the one?" Raph asked, sounding uneasy.
The three turtles heard a sigh, clear as day, over their headsets. "Honestly, I don't know," April replied. "Don's not wearing anything I can use to track him, unfortunately. But the set of rooms I'm directing you towards? They're giving off massive power readings." There was another pause, and when she spoke again, her tone sounded as uneasy as Raph's. "There's definitely something freaky going on in there, and if I was a betting kind of woman, I'd bet that's where we'll find Don."
In front Leonardo stopped crawling, and Mikey ran right into him. "Hey! What's with the holdup, Leo?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Leo held up a finger to shush his loud younger brother. "This is our exit," he whispered and pointed to the ventilation shaft opening.
From behind Mike, Raph grinned, his white teeth glowing ominously in the dark. "Aw right. Let's do it, Leo."
---
With ninja silence, skulking up on a security guard from behind, Raphael effortlessly knocked out the man with a single blow to the face. While Mikey offered Raph a congratulatory high-three, Leo absent-mindedly scanned the hallway for more security.
Absent-mindedly. Ugh. That used to be a word that never would have been applied to Leonardo. But even as he tried to focus on the present, on his mission, he felt worry creep into consciousness from the edges of his mind. He'd always worried—his brothers would perhaps argue it was an essential feature of his character—but it had always been something he could control when he needed to. Not something that controlled him.
Leo felt cold sweat prickle on his arms.
"It's okay, Leo. Everyone's okay."
Donatello had always said that, whenever he would catch Leo looking worried after a battle. He'd always say it with a small smile and gentle eyes, and Leo would always smile back. Suddenly Leo felt a wave of sadness wash over him, mixing in bitterly with the already-present worry. He wished Don was here right now to smile and tell him that things would be okay.
"Leo?"
Leo's focus snapped back into place at the sound of Mikey's voice. Blinking, he glanced over to Mike and Raph, who were both giving him an odd look. Leo strode past them, not saying a word, and knelt down next to the unconscious security guard. He ripped the building security card from the man's belt and stood back up. Then he swiped it through a card reader next to the door in front of them. A quiet beep followed, then the doors whooshed open.
Pocketing the security card in his belt, Leo stepped through the doors. A few seconds passed before Leonardo could hear his brothers' footsteps fall in behind him.
---
Raphael glared at the back of his older brother's head. If looks could kill, Leo would be pushing up daisies. Where did Leo get off acting all high and mighty? When it had been Raph who'd taken out the guard? Especially since Leo seemed kind of spacey right now for some reason.
Next to him, Mikey sighed, and Raph glanced over. He wondered if Mike was thinking the same things he was. From in front, Leo muttered, "Quiet, you two."
All right. That was it. "Why don't you shut up, Leo? After all, all o' this ain't our fault. It's yours."
Leonardo whipped around so fast that Raph recoiled from pure surprise. Leo's eyes narrowed down to little white slits in his mask. "And just how," he said, voice soft and dangerous, "is this all my fault?"
"You're the one who left Donny behind."
"I had to."
"Like hell."
As Leo took a step forward, Raph angrily stepped forward too. But the truth was, he was just as angry with himself as he was with his brother. He should've said something. Done something. Back when they'd first escaped from this house of horrors … and back when Leo had first ordered Don to leave.
Unbidden, the memory bubbled up of the first time Raph had missed Donatello. At first Raph had agreed with Leo's banishment. Hell, he hadn't just wanted exile, he'd wanted to rip Don's head right off his neck. But less than a month after Splinter's death, Leo had gotten hurt badly in a fight with the Foot. As Mike and Raph dragged him back to the lair, an almost-hysterical Mike whined that he didn't know how to take care of Leo.
Neither did Raph, of course. But once safely at home, Raph didn't have a choice—he rifled through the old medical supplies Don had left behind, grabbed what he thought looked most useful, and sloppily dressed Leonardo's wounds. Within days the wounds became infected, oozing ugly yellow pus. Leo ran a fever and babbled incoherently. For a short while, before Leo's fever finally broke, Raph agonized over he was going to lose yet another family member.
And Raph could remember wondering if that's how Don had felt every time he bandaged someone's cuts or tended to someone's illness. Whether Don had felt that overwhelming sense of fear when he slipped the needle into Sensei's arm.
---
The first major blow-out between Leonardo and Raphael didn't happen until they were around nine or ten, but it had been a doozy. Yelling. Punching. Biting. A young Michelangelo had instinctively cringed at the hostility. He'd huddled in a corner, watching with large scared eyes, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he'd looked up and had seen Donatello quietly smiling.
"Wanna come to my room to play some checkers?"
Wiping at his runny nose with his arm, Mikey had nodded. They'd stayed in Don's room, playing checkers, most of the afternoon. And it had been like that ever since, with Don acting as Mike's shield whenever things got too rough, offering up his room as a refuge.
Oh, what Mike wouldn't give to have Don back right at the moment.
The room's many-colored blinking lights cast odd shadows against the cold metal walls and reflected in the angry eyes of Michelangelo's two eldest brothers. Taking a deep breath, Mike stepped in between the two of them and placed a restraining hand on each brother's plastron. Hot fear coursed through him with every pump of his heart.
As Raph and Leo's eyes both widened in outrage, Mike was saved from retaliation by a crackle over the headset and April's voice. "Guys? How're things going?"
For several tense moments, the only sound in the room was heavy breathing. Then Leo cleared his throat. "Things are going pretty well," he told April. "We've gotten a security card and are in one of the inner rooms of the compound."
"Glad to hear it. Just wanted to let you know that sensors are back online, so they'll know your position soon. But your target room is only down the hall."
Leonardo gave a tight nod, though April couldn't see. "We're on it. Leo out." Clicking off the headset, Leo turned and quickly headed down the hall. Raph followed after, grumbling to himself, and Mike let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
---
The only sounds in the large room were the soft scratch of a ballpoint pen against paper and the steady electronic beeping of a heart monitor. Glancing up from his clipboard, Agent Bishop gave his test subject a once-over. Still breathing but still unconscious. He dared not run another voltage trial, though, not for a little while longer at least.
He set down his pen. Then his fingers skimmed over the work counter, to the black mask nearby. Smiling, Bishop gingerly picked it up with both hands and held the mask up to the light. Though he was a scientist and government agent, not a game hunter, he couldn't help thinking of it as a trophy.
Then a sudden alarm tore through the room, echoing wildly off the walls, and Bishop fumbled the mask. His head whipped around towards the door before the mask even hit the linoleum. Intruders. Scowling, he reached for his government-issued gun as he headed towards the hallway.
As soon as he set foot outside the door, he noticed two things simultaneously. First, the two guards he'd posted outside were now on the ground, apparently knocked out, one of them oozing a little bit of blood from a split lip. Second, two sets of strong arms grabbed him by the elbows while something quite sharp pressed against his Adam's apple. Before he could pull the trigger on his gun, a large hand wrapped around his wrist and squeezed hard, all but crushing his bones. The gun dropped from his hand, but Bishop couldn't hear it hit the floor over the clanging of the alarms.
Then a familiar green face appeared, filling Bishop's entire vision field. This one wore a red mask and a nasty-looking grin.
"Where is he, asshole?"
Bishop raised an eyebrow. A second later the sharp weapon pressed a little deeper into the soft skin of his throat, and he gagged.
"Jeez, don't kill him yet! We need to grab Donny first."
They were trying to intimidate him. How foolish. He'd been up against worse than them. Suddenly he was being dragged backwards, into the room with the fourth turtle. The red-wearing turtle grabbed him by the hair and turned his head to face the test subject. "How do we get him outta that Iron Maiden?" he growled.
"I don't see any reason to help you," Bishop replied coolly.
The creature pulled back a little, and his weapon suddenly came into view. It looked a bit like an oversized fork. "I got yer reason right here, bud."
Bishop's eyes slowly made their way around the room. The orange-clad turtle was hunched over the examining table, studying its restraints, while the blue-clad turtle stood facing the door, holding two long swords and appearing rather tense.
The one in blue glanced over. "Tell us how to help our brother," he commanded.
Bishop smiled and gave a small shake of his head. These beasts prided themselves on their honor, and they knew as well as he did that they wouldn't harm him. This pompous macho display was really quite ridiculous.
"Last chance," said the blue-masked turtle, glancing over again. When Bishop still didn't respond, he calmly nodded towards the one in red. "Okay, Raph. Go ahead and kill him."
Agent Bishop's eyes went wide, and the last thing he saw was the glint of steel flashing under the harsh laboratory lights.
---
"I don't remember him being this heavy."
Head throbbing, Donatello drifted in and out of consciousness, trying to concentrate and identify the voices he was hearing.
"Yeah, well. I don't remember him smelling like burnt leather, neither. Things sure do change, huh?"
Burnt leather? What? That made no sense. Confused, Don decided to try to figure out the weird floating sensation he was feeling.
"Quit complaining. Let's just get him out of here."
"Oh, man. How are we gonna get him down the ladder, Leo?"
Leo. Don knew that name. He tried to remember the context. But before he could place it, there was a sudden jolt followed by a falling sensation. Don landed in water, and his eyes flew open as he instinctively began flailing. Then two shadowy figures leaned forward and hauled him onto his feet, supporting his weight by linking their arms under his elbows.
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, Don realized that he was underground. He coughed and spit out some sewer water while a hand hit him roughly on the back of his shell to help. When he looked back up, Donatello saw three pairs of eerily white eyes gazing down at him with concern. Suddenly full awareness returned, and Don offered his rescuers a shaky smile.
Mikey leaned forward, grinning like a crazed maniac, and happily observed, "You're alive!"
"In a matter of speaking," muttered Don in a hoarse voice, his throat feeling raw.
But Mike just kept grinning. "I knew you were alive, Donny, I always knew. All these years I've known." He paused, and a sudden realization dawned in his eyes. "Whoa. Do you know what this means?"
Shaking his head, Don raised a quizzical eye-ridge.
"It means that the Black Ghost is my brother! How sweet is that?" Then he frowned and added, "Even if you did totally rip off your look and weapons from Turtle Titan."
"Mike," came a quiet voice from behind, and all eyes turned to Leo. He was breathing hard, eyes locked on Don. "We need to get a move on," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "To put as much distance between us and this building as possible." Something flickered in his eyes—something that betrayed an emotion other than calm. But then Leo's eyes and his voice returned to a study of neutrality as he abruptly turned to Don and asked, "Can you walk?"
Don honestly wasn't sure but replied, "I … I think so. Yes."
"All right. Let's head towards the lair, then." Turning, Leo began briskly walking down the tunnel. He clicked on his headset. "April? We got him."
---
Halfway across the city, April leaned back in her desk chair and let her head slump down to her chest. She hadn't even realized how much tension her neck had been holding in.
"April?"
She smiled at Casey's worried tone and reached up for his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "They've got Don. Thank God."
Casey gave a squeeze in return. Then he stepped behind her chair and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They remained perfectly still for several long moments, until Casey was startled by something wet falling on his forearm. He spun the desk chair around and frowned in concern upon seeing the tears stream down April's face. He took her face in both hands and began brushing the tears away with his thumbs, until she reached up and took his hands in hers.
"I don't get it," Casey admitted, still wearing a frown. "They got Donny outta there. So why're you cryin'?"
"Casey?"
"Yeah? I'm right here, April. Talk to me."
"Marry me."
---
As Donatello stumbled a bit, Michelangelo caught him by the elbow to steady him. For a moment bile rose in Mike's throat, as he caught a whiff of something faintly smoky. Mike suppressed a shudder and glanced away. Raph had been right. Don did smell like burnt leather.
On Don's other side, Raphael stepped up and took his other elbow, and Mikey shot him a look. But Raph didn't glance over, staring straight ahead with a sort of desperate determination. Don caught Mike's look, however, and gave him a small, grateful smile. They made it down another tunnel or two before Don stopped dead in his tracks, causing both Mike and Raph to lurch forward and almost trip.
Raphael glared. "Hey! What the hell was that all about?"
Not meeting anyone's eyes, Don stared down a nearby tunnel. "This is my stop, I'm afraid," he explained softly. "That tunnel leads to my apartment."
"Your apartment?" Mikey began shaking his head vigorously. "Donny, we're not gonna just—"
"Are you strong enough to make it back home by yourself?" Leonardo had stopped too and was now looking back at his three brothers with that perfectly impenetrable expression that drove Mike nuts. There was an unmistakable note of challenge in Leo's voice, and Mike couldn't help wincing a little.
Don's face tightened up into something hard and slightly cold, but his eyes stayed soft. Sad, even. Still staring down the tunnel, he gave a brief nod. Then without a word or look back, he began slowly down the tunnel. He was still a little unsteady on his feet but didn't seem likely to fall.
Mike took a few steps towards the tunnel, then Raph clapped a hand on Mike's shoulder to keep him from following further. Angrily Mike threw off his brother's hold and stomped over to Leo. "I can't believe," Mike began, sounding more on the verge of tears than angry, "that after all these years, now that we've got him back, you're sending him away. Again!"
Leo shook his head. "Mikey, you gotta understand."
"I do understand!" With a growl of frustration Mike threw his hands in the air. "You think I wasn't pissed at him for doing what he did? Of course I was. We all were, Leo."
"Then you know why I—"
"What I know is that my father is dead, and nothing is gonna ever bring him back." Mike paused and glanced down the tunnel. Already all signs that Don had ever been there were gone. Once a ninja, always a ninja. "And I know that my brother is alive, and you could bring him back. You just won't." And with that, Mike spun on his heel and headed in the opposite direction that Don had, towards the lair.
Leo sighed and ran a weary hand over his face. "He doesn't understand," he muttered.
Raph shook his head. "Leo, I ain't so sure I do either. But then, nobody really understands you." He shrugged and started following after Mikey. "Let's just go home."
Nodding, Leo still didn't move for a few moments, staring down the long black tunnel that Don had disappeared down. He took a careful step forward and paused again. Listening intently, he heard nothing. Staring, he saw nothing. Leonardo sighed softly and turned around. He quickly caught up to his two remaining brothers, and together they headed back home. The entire trip back, not a word was said.
---
Author's Notes: Sorry that this chapter came rather later than most of my updates do. Hopefully the extra length will make up for its tardiness. There's an epilogue to follow. Thanks for reading!
