A/N: You guys are all so totally awesome! Well, this chapter is much more of a filler chapter than the last chapter, but again the information is important. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I've wanted to own them for a very long time, but sometimes dreams simply do not come true.
After reaching the lair, Raphael and Donatello sent Michelangelo to find their master while they carefully carried Leonardo into Don's lab. They laid him gently down on the spare cot that Don sometimes used when he ended up staying the night in his favorite space. Leo moaned slightly. The scientific turtle's brows creased with worry as he checked his brother's bandages. They were soaked with blood.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Raph. Mikey was right. Leo's very badly injured and I'm not sure how well he'll be able to recover."
"So what's that mean, 'xactly?" Raph was barely able to keep a trace of panic from creeping into his voice.
"It means that Leo will live, if there aren't complications, but he may have many serious problems with things like his digestive system even after he's regained his health. The tanto went right through his stomach and also probably nicked part of his intestines. I just don't have the skills to do a surgery on him in order to fix that. We're just going to have to hope that it can heal on its own."
He gently pulled the bandages off of his brother. The some of the blood had congealed along the edges, but the middle of the wound still glistened wetly.
"In addition, his prolonged unconsciousness is most likely due to his body going into a state of shock with the amount of blood that he lost. He may need at least one transfusion. I'm just hoping that it's not due to any poison on the blade." Don shook his head doubtfully. "I just don't know how much I'll be able to do," he confided.
"Jus' do what'cha can, Don. An' I'll help you with anything you need. Need blood? Here's m'arm. Heck, I'd give Leo my own stomach if I could. Just don't ever tell him I said that."
"Thanks." A small, appreciative smile tugged at the corners of Donatello's mouth. "I'm going to need some boiling water and clean cloth. This wound needs to be cleaned before infection has the opportunity to set in."
"I'm on it."
Just after the hot-headed turtle exited the lab, Master Splinter, closely followed by Michelangelo, hurried in.
"My son! Oh, my son! What happened?"
"Mikey?" Donatello looked at his brother expectantly.
With his head bowed and in a low voice, Michelangelo recounted the battle with the Foot Tech. He ended with the stabbing of his brother.
"And that is when you and Raphael arrived?" the rat turned to Donatello as the red-clad turtle re-entered with a pot full of steaming water and many cloths.
"Thanks, Raph." The scientific turtle took the equipment from his brother. "No, Master, we didn't arrive for a while after that."
"What happened next, Michelangelo?"
"Um…I made them let go of me and we ended up fighting. Then one of them started to threaten Leo." He stopped.
"And?" Donatello asked as he carefully cleaned Leonardo's wound.
"I…I don't remember…everything after that is just a blank."
"You don't remember nothin'?" Raphael exclaimed incredulously.
"Hmm," Splinter mused, stroking his beard. "We will deal with Michelangelo's lapse in memory later. In the meantime, how is Leonardo?"
"These first couple of hours will be crucial, but after that we should be able to tell for sure."
The rat walked over to his second youngest son and looked at his eldest's wound. "I will help you in this matter, Donatello."
As the next half-hour went by, Donatello tended Leonardo's wound under the expert guidance of Splinter while Raphael was kept busy boiling more water and rinsing out the soiled cloth bandages. Michelangelo, though, was momentarily forgotten. Without anyone noticing, he slipped away to his room, curled up in a corner, and cried.
With tears still streaming down his face, he glared at a lone action figure that was lying by his feet. Suddenly gripped with anger, he snatched up the toy and flung it across the room. As it hit the brick wall on the opposite side of the room, one of the arms became stuck in some of the loose mortar. Michelangelo dropped his arms and hands back onto the top of his knees. Just then, there was a soft knocking on his door, immediately followed by the soft padding of his Master's feet as the rat walked in.
"Is…is Leo going to…to die?"
"No, my son." The turtles' Sensei knelt down next to his son and gently hugged him. "He has stabilized very much and will probably awaken soon. Your brothers are both with him for now."
"Good." Mikey remained where he was without moving.
"You, too, are injured, my son," Splinter reminded him. "Not necessarily physically, but mentally. It is time for you to heal as well. We will start with some warm tea and then you must sleep. You are exhausted."
"Yes, Sensei," the youngest turtle agreed flatly. He really disliked warm tea.
"Anything?" Raphael asked from the side of Leonardo's cot as Donatello peered through a microscope at a chemical mixture. The scientific turtle had been analyzing the remains of his brother's blood that had clung to the tanto as well as the edge of the tanto itself.
"Sort of. Not poison, at least, but it looks like there is a concentrated mix of haloperidol on this blade."
"Say what-a-doll?"
"Haloperidol. It's a powerful sedative. Guess they didn't want Leo giving them any trouble when they took him to Karai."
Leonardo groaned and his arm began to twitch. His entire body tensed up.
"Don! He's moving!"
The purple-clad turtle jumped up and ran to his brother's side. "Leo? Leo, can you hear me?"
The eyes behind the blue-bandana remained tightly closed. Suddenly, Leonardo's body went limp.
"DON! What's going on?!?"
Donatello placed his finger along Leonardo's neck and was relieved to find that his pulse was regular, though weak. His breathing was shallow but also consistent.
"I'm guessing a side effect of the haloperidol. It's been known to cause tremors in some cases."
"Damn that Karai," Raphael growled. "When I get my hands on her, I'm goin' ta—"
"You are going to do nothing, my son," Master Splinter reprimanded the hot-headed turtle as he walked in. "Your brothers need you here, not out where you would most likely also be injured.
Just then, Leonardo breathed in deeply and his eyes flickered open. They all hurried to his side. His dark, hazel eyes darted from one face to the other, as though he was searching for someone, while his mouth moved slightly even though no sound came out. With an understanding smile, Master Splinter gently rubbed the turtle's brow.
"Michelangelo is resting in his room. He is safe and well."
Leonardo smiled contentedly before closing his eyes again. Donatello again felt his brother's pulse.
"He's sleeping now. The drug is probably still in his system, so it may be a while before he awakens again."
"So we jus' wait 'round 'til he wakes up?"
"Pretty much, Raph. There's really not much else that we can do."
"Then we shall wait," Splinter said, setting himself down on Donatello's wooden lab chair. "In the meantime, I have sensed that something is terribly wrong with Michelangelo's spirit. There is an intensity and anger that I have never seen in him before. It is even greater than that which you frequently feel, Raphael."
One of the red-clad turtle's eyeridges cocked up in slight disbelief as he sat down on the cot next to his brother.
"He's right, Raph." Donatello sat down cross-legged next to the cot.
"Yes, you know more about this than you are telling. Isn't that so, my son." Splinter's tone indicated that it was a statement, not a question.
"Yes, Master," Donatello admitted. "I know what Mike did that he doesn't remember."
Even with a filler chapter, I can't avoid cliffhangers! Of course, I can't give you the next chapter unless I get reviews! Flames will be used on one of my text books!
