Chapter 9

0050 Hours

Raph's P.O.V

The moment the door slammed shut, Raph spun to his eldest brother, fire in his eyes.

"What the hell man? You let him take Donnie?"

The hothead saw his brother flinch but refused to accept the guilt in his features as a good enough apology. Leo had willingly sent one of their little brothers off with a madman. That was not his call to make.

"You don't think Donnie's worthless do you?" Mikey butted in, his eyes wide in panic. Raph growled.

"See what you've done?" He hissed at his brother, only to receive a glare which quickly silenced his anger.

"Why do you think I sent him off Raph?" Leo snapped, "You think I want him to take anyone? But he made me choose, I was the one he asked and I made the decision which would give us the most strategic advantage." Raph took a step back, and was about to start on something resembling an apology, but Leo was fired up. Once he started, there was no chance of stopping a lecture. "Out of the four of us, only me and Donnie can compartmentalise information in order to give us a detailed look at our surroundings. We can both search for exits and weaknesses in our surroundings without giving anything away to our captors and can make a decent plan. I had to choose, so I made the call. You think I wanted that outcome? I just want –" But before he could finish, Leo's eyes widened and his mouth moved, yet there was no sound. Without a pause, Mikey had darted to his brother's side and had helped the eldest turtle to the floor as he began to tremble, whatever the words were he was about to say now dead in his throat.

For a moment, Raph could only stare in panic. What if something was seriously wrong, what if…?

"Snap out of it!" Mikey's voice was surprisingly harsh, making the hothead meet his baby brother's gaze, the blue orbs icy. Raph nodded and moved next to his brothers, dropping to his knees beside the trembling form of the eldest. With a jolt, he realised the leader's face was screwed up in pain and there were the faintest sign of tears – actual tears – in the corner of his narrowed eyes.

"What is it?" The youngest took charge, moving Leo's head onto his shoulder as Raph checked his pulse. Erratic.

"Ri…bs… Some…thing… Mo…ved…" He managed to gasp out. "Tri…ed to… igno…re it… Kuso…" He broke off with a curse. One of the few words Raph had bothered to learn in Japanese. Shit.

"You idiot." He put a hand on his shoulder and commenced to replicate the check he had watched Donnie perform earlier. Unlike the positive response Don had received earlier, as Raph pressed on Leo's plastron gently, he found his brother hiss with almost every touch and his frown deepened.

"Sheru." Shell.

"We need to keep you still." Raph looked to Mikey. They weren't doctors – that was Don's department. All they could do was ensure if any soldiers returned, they wouldn't lay a hand on their brother.

"You need to sleep." Mikey piped up, drawing a disbelieving look form the eldest, but for once Raph had to agree.

"Listen to him. You're going to need to rest if you're going to get us outta here." Raph gave what he hoped was an apologetic smile and helped Mikey lower their brother down to the floor without jogging his ribs further.

"Wa…ke me… the… mo…ment… Don's… back…" He muttered, reluctantly showing his exhaustion. The younger two swapped knowing smiles as Leo's eyes closed. Soon his breathing evened out slightly and Raph shook his head.

"I messed up, didn't I?" He muttered. Mikey made a choked noise, attempting to stifle a laugh.

"Dude, I thought Leo was gonna kill you." He teased, but his eyes grew harder. "But we need to trust him. Leo hates us getting hurt, so we can't doubt his actions." Raph turned his gaze to his little brother.

"I know. I just…" He sighed. "Remember the first time when Shred-head kidnapped all of us?"

"The one where he stabbed Leo through the shoulder or the one where he broke Donnie's leg?" Mikey checked, obviously the numerous times they had all been captured by one person or another blurred into one.

"Leo." The hothead confirmed. Mikey's face paled a little at the memory but nodded all the same. "I know he thinks before he acts but it still…" He struggled for the word.

"Frustrating?" Mikey offered. Raph took it.

"Yeah. That covers it… It's like that time with Shredder, he demanded that we would all be left alone if he went with Shredder himself and when he was thrown back bleeding, he told Donnie about the manhole cover by the entrance of the dungeon. He made a plan, but I got so angry about him being stabbed I kinda lost it…"

Mikey raised an eye ridge.

"I think throwing yourself at Shredder yelling "I'm gonna kill you, you bastard" is a bit more that 'losing it.'" Raph chuckled in agreement. He hated it when his anger got the better of him. He trusted Leo's judgement so why couldn't he just accept the logic behind the actions? "You don't want to see us hurt, that's your only problem." The youngest continued, "You're the protector, that's your role in the team, so when you see someone hurt, you blame yourself. Like Leo does, but with less thinking, more hitting people." Raph turned to Mikey to look at him – really look at him. Something about his words sounded hollow. That was it, his eyes, they were harsher, as if he were burning a hole through the floor with a mere gaze.

"Is there something that creep said to you which you should be telling us?" He asked in his most gentle voice – only just about keeping the overwhelming urge to force an answer out of his brother out of his voice. Much to his frustration, Mikey just shook his head. The harden gaze vanished, leaving Raph to wonder if he had seen something.

"Nothing I didn't know. I'm just tired."

Raph wasn't convinced, but Mikey clearly didn't want to share at this stage. He let it go.

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch."

"Thanks Raphie." The youngest curled up beside Leo and soon his soft breathing joined the leader's.

Now Raph just had to wait for Donnie to get back and hope he wasn't as badly hurt as Leo. They needed an escape plan, and fast.

Donnie P.O.V

As he was forced along the corridor, Donatello was desperately searching for any weaknesses in his surroundings, anything he and his brothers as ninjas could use to their advantage. Maybe that was what Leo chose him for, or maybe it was because he needed Raph and Mikey with him. The exact reasoning was still a mystery, but Donnie was determined to prove his value to the team. That man knew how to press buttons and exploit their weaknesses, so if he was being honest, Donnie just wanted to prove the harsh words wrong.

Worthless.

No, the genius cursed himself. He needed to concentrate.

The corridor he was being led down was plain white with guards posted at regular intervals, no air vents, no breaks in the plain white floor, and no door without an electronic lock on, which – without his gear – Donnie wouldn't be able to hack. Nothing.

His attention was snapped back to where he was going as he tripped on the Cain connecting his ankles together, the metal bands rubbing against his burnt skin and making him hiss in pain.

"Look, the freak can't even walk properly!" One of his very supportive escorts teased making his companion laugh, "Maybe we should let it crawl instead, that might make it feel more comfortable!" Donnie righted himself with some difficulty, ignoring the burning heat in his cheeks. Thanks to his green skin, blushing wasn't often too noticeable, and with a muzzle strapped to his face, he doubted his embarrassment would be picked up, but the chortling from these former ninjas or street thugs suggested that they had noticed. Determined not to trip up again, Donnie put his full attention into where they were going, his mission to find any escape route of weaknesses in security somewhat forgotten.

At the end of the corridor, the men turned right and after passing a few doors, they stopped at one and unlocked it with a thumbprint and an electronic key which was attached to the belt of their black uniforms. The scientific turtle took this information and stored it somewhere safe until he could relate it back to Leo.

The guards pushed him through the door, making him trip and fall face first into the room. The door slammed behind him. With a groan he attempted to right himself – very difficult with his arms bound in a straightjacket – yet he needn't have bothered for a second later, a hand reached down and pulled him to his feet, bringing Donnie face to face with the Master.

"So you're the one Blue wanted to sacrifice? Interesting." Donnie attempted to meet his eyes but soon found the man's gaze to be too strong and had to look away. "My sources tell me you're the smartest of the creatures, isn't that correct?"

Even if he wanted to respond, Donnie couldn't talk with the muzzle forcing his mouth closed. He just stared at the floor.

"Remove the bindings." The genius blinked in surprise as the hands holding him up began to remove the straightjacket, muzzle and cuffs. Maybe he could – "And before you think of attacking me, you may want to think of the other creatures you claim to care so much about." The Master smiled. This time Donnie met his gaze. "You fight my orders, and they will suffer even more. I will ensure it." Grudgingly, Donnie allowed the bonds to be taken off him and stood, tense, waiting for whatever tortures were about to befall him. The soldier bowed to the master and left the room, leaving Donnie alone with the master. With a worried glance behind the man, Donnie saw a collection of items lined up along a table, each with a number in front of them, labelled one to six. At the front of the table was a single green die. Donnie's stomach dropped.

"I see a flash of recognition, could it be that the creature can read!" The man asked in mock horror. "Tell me, freak, what do you think of Luke Rhinehart?" Before he could stop himself, Donnie had answered the man.

"His theory is one-dimensional. He neglects other human beings just for the advantage of his pseudo-revolutionary viewpoint. He looks at life being determined by a die and throws away his entire career just for this single, narrow minded theory which leads him on a path which he uses as an excuse to indulge in his sexual desires." Donnie clamped his mouth shut, knowing he had said too much.

"Ah, it has opinions." The man's eyes gleamed. It was the look of the hunter who had a deer in its sights. The genius shivered but remained silent. The man smirked at this refusal to speak and waved a hand behind him, as if proud of the collection. "What I want you to do is to carve your own destiny. You know the gist of the novel; Dr Rhinehart makes decisions based on the throw of the die so I've collected a range of methods we could use on you but you ultimately have the final say in what will happen." Donnie felt a trickle of sweat run down his face, but he remained silent. "A one: we have a glass of brandy. In it is a drug which will cause cardiac arrest. Choose this and you will have to force one of the other mutations to drink it and watch them die under your hand. Option two: that is a key to a room where you will spend a night alone with one of my men. You know what I mean by that." Donnie winced. No need to be so blunt. "Option three: I will put you on display in front of some lovely scientific community for their research purposes, no matter what they want to do to you. If you can't see the link with The Dice Man there, think of all the times where the ethics of a study are called into question. You will understand how unjust it can be to be subjected to thinks which others have determined to be for 'the benefit of humanity.' Fourth: That is a whip. During one erotic scene, which – don't panic, I see what you are thinking in your eyes there – I will not be replicating that, the man gets viciously whipped. You get what I'm getting at. Option five: you will be isolated from the other creatures. The good Doctor himself was placed in isolation as he was deemed too unpredictable to be around the others. At least that one won't psychically hurt anyone." By this stage Donnie could only glare. Raph had been right, this man was a complete psycho. "And option six, is the one I'm personally hoping for." The Master concluded, "You will be examined. Only, unlike the novel, you see one the table is a scalpel. This examination will be more… Extensive…" The man leered. "Take the die. Let us see what you choose."

Barely suppressing a shudder, Donnie moved over to the table and looked at all the options. Which would actually be acceptable? Of course not number one. He would rather drink the fatal mix himself, but something told him that the Master would not permit that to occur. The isolation he could handle, for at least that means his brothers wouldn't be harmed. Maybe…

"Take them now. Or else I may alter the odds." The man hissed.

Donnie took up the die, breathed and threw.

The green cubes fell with a clink onto the metal surface, spun, rocked and suddenly fell flat.

Donnie shivered and closed his eyes.

"Now thank your master for allowing you to choose."

Donnie couldn't speak, afraid to open his eyes and see what number the die had picked. Then a vicious slap landed across his beak, forcing his eyes open.

"Thank me, mutant."

But Donnie couldn't tear his eyes away from the die.

"Do you need me to repeat myself? I can make this even worse for you."

With a shaking breath, Donnie whispered those hurtful words.

"Thank you, Master."

The man nodded.

"Now take your item and go with my man outside to your room."

With a final look towards the die, Donnie moved towards the door.

This was not going to be pleasant…

0062 Hours

Leo P.O.V

The moment Raph gently shook him awake, Leo knew something had happened. Rubbing his eyes, he saw Mikey huddled over the lanky figure of Donnie who was moaning and was… Oh shell…

Careful not to jostle his ribs, Leo sat up and manoeuvred himself over to his brother.

"Donnie?" He tried, afraid even speaking would hurt his little brother.

"…'m fine…" Came a groan. But as soon as Leo placed a hand on his brother's bloodied form, the genius trembled at the contact. Leo quickly pulled away.

"What…?" Was all he could get out as the guilt began to build up inside. He had chosen Donnie, he had been the one to send him to his fate. How could he forgive himself?

"Whip…" Came the strangled reply. "Just… give me… a sec…" Mikey took Donnie's hand gently as his face down brother attempted to slow his breathing. This gave Leo enough time to look over Donnie's body. Must to people's surprise, a turtles carapace could be damaged, but it did take either excessive trauma or repeated actions to make any sort of mark on a turtle's shell, so the fact there were long whip marks all over the genius' back suggested that he had been subjected to a long period of beating. The fact Leo felt well rested suggested that he had been asleep for around ten hours – and if Donnie had been gone all that time… Well he didn't want to think about it.

Marks also covered Donnie's skinny arms and legs with a couple of marks forming on the back of his head, but the majority had clearly been directed onto his shell, making the process long and painful.

Eventually Donnie's breathing evened out and with a wince, he pushed himself to his knees, gasping at the movement.

"What did they do?" Mikey's voice was faint.

"Gave me a choice…" Was all Donnie said for a moment. "You were right Raph." He admitted after a long pause, "He is a psycho." Another wince. "You know I banned that book from you guys – the Dice Man as it was perverted and if you didn't understand the psychological theories behind it, you want be sacred for life?"

"So he used a whip like in one of those later chapters. When that prostitute whips the man Luke kills?" There was worry in Leo's voice. "Don, they didn't…" Donnie's eyes widened.

"Oh no! No, no, no." He waved his hands, the panic in his features confirming he was telling the truth. "One option was in relation to something along those lines, but it was just a beating…"

Raph and Mikey shared a look, both as confused as each other.

"Basically in the book the main character rolls a dice to choose what he does or how he behaves." Leo quickly summarised.

"So you ignored my warning and read it?" Donnie snapped, obviously forgetting the pain for a second to direct his annoyance at his brother. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Are we really discussing this now?" A glare told Leo that they were.

"We will in a second." Donnie shifted position slightly, "But first." He lowered his voice "I found out something." He gestured his brothers to move closer as he lowered his voice. "The guards all have electronic key cards but to get through any door you need a card and a thumb print. That suggests only certain guards can get through certain guards. There're no air vents, no holes or escape routes that I could see." Leo smiled. He knew his brother wouldn't fail in the unspoken mission, however he regretted the pain his brother had to go through just to receive it.

Leo leant in and pulled his brother into a gentle hug, careful to avoid the whip marks.

"Thank you Donnie. And I'm sorry for putting you through that… If there was any other way…"

"You made the right choice…" Donnie whispered back, his shoulders shaking slightly as he held back tears. "It'll heal… In time…" The last two words were almost like a wish, uncertain but hopeful. Leo squeezed his brother closer softly.

"It will. But you've given me something to work with. Thank you." The two brothers broke apart and Donnie hastily wiped his eyes. Leo moved into the corner and moved into the best meditative position he could with his damaged ribs. "Now give me a moment, I want to try something."

With that he closed his eyes and once he let the pain and fear drop away, Leo found himself on the spiritual plane. Now all he had to do was find a way to reach his Sensei…

Shell, that was a long chapter! Sorry about that.

So the book is called The Dice Man and is an... interesting read, but not for anyone who is innocent in mind or who is underage... Enough said.

But anyway, here are the questions:

- Will Donnie heal?

- Will Leo find Splinter?

- What's next in store for our heroes? Hint: Raph's next on the Master's list! Mwahahahaha!

Thnak you as always to you lovely people who review, and I'll update as soon as possible.

LL99 Out.