"One night. Is that too much to ask for? One night where we don't have to worry about getting blasted to another dimension or messed up time period. That doesn't seem like too much to ask."

Normally he wasn't prone to bitter thinking. That was left for Raphael. Unfortunately, he had disappeared along with Michelangelo, Donatello, April, Casey, and Splinter. Leonardo stumbled around in the dark. He had always been the one with perfect balance, so why was it so hard for him to stay on his feet?

"Donny? Mike?"

His voice echoed unnaturally through the never ending darkness.

"April? Casey? Raph?"

He knew no one would answer. Why should they? They had disappeared like the apartment and like the rest of the city.

"Master Splinter?"

"Yes, my son?"

Leonardo jumped and whirled around to face the direction (or what he hoped was the direction) the voice had come from.

"Sensei?"

"Yes, Leonardo?"

"Where are you?"

"Right in front of you."

Leonardo reached out a hand and his fingers touched a furry hand.

"Leonardo, why are you here?" Splinter asked.

"I don't even know where 'here' is," Leonardo answered.

There was the sound of a match being struck. A flame danced from the wick of a candle. Leonardo looked around. April and Casey's apartment had been replaced by a basement apartment that was littered with moving boxes and furniture.

"Where are April and Casey?" Leonardo asked.

"At their apartment," Splinter replied.

He walked over to an old couch and sat down. He placed the candle in a holder.

"There are more candles in the box beside you if you wish to light more," the ninja master explained.

"Why don't we just turn on a light?" Leonardo suggested.

"Because it is safer to light a candle these days," Splinter answered quietly.

Leonardo opened up the box his father had pointed out and looked inside. Four color coded candles lay at the bottom of the box.

"Sensei, I've never seen candles like these before," Leonardo said, holding up the candles.

Splinter smiled sadly.

"The Ancient One made them for us."

"So, where's Raph's?" Leonardo asked, looking down at the purple, grey, orange and blue wax in his hand.

"Raphael's burned out years ago," Splinter whispered, closing his eyes.

"Raph isn't...is he?" Leonardo breathed.

Splinter opened his eyes and looked at his eldest son. Leonardo's eyes shone with fear and horror.

"Has the plague infected you as well?" Splinter asked.

"What plague?"

Splinter didn't answer.

"Sensei, is there something I should know?"

"Yes. Stay hidden."

"Stay hidden?" Leonardo repeated. "What's so dangerous about the city that I can't go out and look for my brothers?"

"The night is no longer our ally, my son. It is best to wait until the sun has risen," Splinter instructed.

Leonardo sighed as he walked over to the holder in which the first candle sat. He placed the wick of each candle he held up to the flame in turn.

"It is better to light and candle than to curse the darkness," Splinter muttered.

"Raph would disagree," Leonardo replied quietly as he set the four colored candles in a holder of their own. "He would go right on ahead and curse the darkness. Then, if it came back to bite him, and only then would he consider lighting a candle."

Splinter smiled.

"Yes. He would do that," he whispered.

Leonardo gazed into the hypnotizing dance of the small flames in front of him. It really wasn't fair. It had been a freak accident, just a burst of energy. Why should only Raphael pay? Leonardo shook his head. No. Raphael was still out there; still alive.

"Master Splinter, where are Don and Mike? Why aren't they here with us?" Leonardo asked suddenly.

"They went to the surface to find food," Splinter answered casually.

Suddenly, the flames on the purple and orange candles swayed violently. There was no wind, and Leonardo realized he had held his breath when the flames flickered. He let it out slowly.

"Hurry back, guys. I don't know how much longer I can take like this."


Everything was silent. The candle flames cast eerie shadows across the dark walls of the small living area. Leonardo closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't will his brothers to return hard enough. Splinter was kneeling on the floor, obviously meditating. Leonardo was lying on the couch, trying to shut his mind down long enough to get to sleep. The leader pulled out his shell cell and opened it. He opened his tired eyes to read the time. One o'clock in the morning. An agonized moan escaped his throat as he buried his face in the pillow.

"Leonardo, are you sure you are not ill?" Splinter asked, appearing at his son's side.

"Yes, sensei, I'm sure. I'm not sick. I'm just going slowly crazy," Leonardo explained.

Splinter's ears folded back against his head.

"Master Splinter, what's wrong with me? I've never felt this restless before," Leonardo said.

"Perhaps your injuries were more serious than I thought," Splinter whispered.

"Injuries? What injuries?" Leonardo asked. "I haven't been in a fight."

"The night Raphael disappeared, you went out to look for him."

"That sounds a bit like me, I guess. But, you always tell us that we should let Raph be alone for a while after he storms out," Leonardo said.

"I could sense that something was going to happen. So, I sent you out to look for him. You were gone most of the night," Splinter continued.

"'Most of the night'?"

"You came back in the late afternoon."

Leonardo's eyes widened.

"Say what?"

"You had always been the most patient and calm of your brothers."

"Patient? Maybe. Calm? When my brothers are in danger, not so much. You sure you got the right Leonardo?"

"I am sure, my son. You were captured by Bishop."

"That would explain some things, I guess. But, what did he do to me?"

Might as well play along.

"We do not know exactly. But, Donatello found out that most of your injuries were inflicted mentally," Splinter explained.

"Oh," was all Leonardo could manage to say.

"Get some rest, Leonardo. It has been a trying day."

"I won't be able to sleep knowing that my brothers are out there with Bishop on the loose," Leonardo objected.

"Donatello and Michelangelo are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Now, rest. You will feel better in the morning," Splinter instructed.

Leonardo sighed in defeat. There was no way he would win this argument. He turned over on his side, back facing Splinter, and closed his eyes. Unconsiousness came all too quickly for his liking.


When had it become so cold? The couch had been replaced with a hard table, the pillow replaced with steel. Leonardo slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't in the apartment anymore, but in a genetics lab. The ninja pushed himself up and rubbed his head. It wasn't like Bishop or Shredder to leave their prisoners strapped down.

Voices drifted in from the hallway. Leonardo frowned. One of the voices was his own. It sounded completely foreign. It was far too calm, almost to the point of forgiving. The doors opened and two figures walked in. Leonardo's eyes widened when he saw himself (or his twin) walk into the lab. The eldest rubbed his eyes and looked up to see Bishop walk in seconds after.

"What is going on?" Leonardo thought.

"You are co-operating a little well," Bishop said. "I had expected a lot more resistance."

"Resistance has never been one of my strong points."

Leonardo blinked in confusion.

"Since when?" he asked himself.

"Resistance wastes energy and focus."

Now it was Bishop's turn to look confused. Leonardo shook his head.

"Okay, Leo, time to wake up. You are obviously dreaming and it you have to wake up."

The doors opened again. The breath caught in Leonardo's throat. Shredder walked into the lab.

"Bishop. What is taking so long?"

"You had to go and capture the patient one," Bishop muttered.

"Who did you want? The hyper one?" Shredder asked bitterly.

Leonardo glanced between Bishop and Shredder. He was just waiting for the tension to snap and for a fight to break out. However, the Foot leader walked over a control panel and pushed a button.

"I would brace yourself if I were you, Bishop," Shredder said.

Bishop took the advice. Before Leonardo knew what was going on, the lab disappeared in a burst of dark red energy. He heard his double groan.

"So much for patience," Shredder said.

"Leo?"

Leonardo's eyes shot open. He was lying on his back, staring up into worried brown eyes.

"Donny?"

"Sorry to wake you up so early, bro. But Master Splinter said you weren't feeling well," Donatello whispered.

"I'm fine," Leonardo breathed, placing his hand over his eyes. "But my patience isn't."

There was a short silence.

"When did you get back?" Leonardo asked, looking up.

"Get back? Leo, me and Mikey have been lost in New York for almost five hours," Donatello replied.

"Splinter said you two had gone to get food supplies."

"Uh, yeah. Our twins did. Me and Mike ended up in an abandoned building after April and Casey's apartment disappeared," Donatello explained.

"What do you mean 'twins'?" Leonardo asked.

"He's a little slow, isn't he?"

"Mikey?"

"Nope. That's Dren. Mikey's helping Tech put their brother to bed. He kinda reminds me of you, Leo."

"Dren? Tech? Where the heck are we?" Leonardo asked.

Donatello shrugged.

"Wherever we are, we got split in two," he informed.

"Then that means Bishop still has my double," Leonardo realized. "That's why Master Splinter has been asking me if I've been feeling all right."

"And that's why we woke you up," Dren said. "We were hoping you could tell us where our brother is."

"How would I know?" Leonardo asked.

"Lil' bro has a weird sense of what people are dreaming," Dren answered.

Leonardo slapped his hand over his eyes again.

"You know we still have to find Raph, right?"

"I don't think we'll be finding him anytime soon," Donatello confessed.

"He's still alive, Don," Leonardo whispered. "As long as he's with Rea, he's alive."


I'm filling up space. I know I am. I'm sorry if you feel that way as well, but I've had a lot of stuff on my mind lately.

Let me know what you think and what I can do to improve in future chapters.