BIG NEWS! 1056 Hours won 2nd place for most interesting OC for the Master in the Reader's chocie awards! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this series and who voted for me! I feel so humbled that the Master made such an impression on you all, thank you so much! I never thought I would win anything so this has made my day, week, month, year!

Sorry for the long wait for an update but I went away with my boyfriend and couldn't write for a weekend. Hope this makes up for it! Please don't kill me...

Chapter 9

0340 Hours

Donnie P.O.V

Stretching slightly, Donnie lifted his aching body from the bed, preparing himself for another day. Since talking with Splinter there had been a noticeable change among his brothers – one that was driving the genius insane. The tension from before had been dispelled, albeit slightly, yet what remained was far worse. The lair had been filled with false security with the others emerging from their self-isolation more than before as if nothing had occurred. Raph now spent his time in the corner of the pit, subdued and focused upon whatever comics he found lying around while Mikey – despite Donnie's orders to fully allow his hands to heal – had begun to attempt katas again, his scarred face set. But by the worst by far was the way Leonardo – ever determined to be better than the rest of them – had taken Splinter's words to heart and was determined to coax confessions from his brothers regarding their time in captivity despite refusing to tell of his own experiences.

It made Donnie sick.

He could probably cope if they all just tried to move on with their lives rather than focusing upon the events which caused his silent disgrace, yet there Leo was, acting like the leader he failed to be as if he could make up for his failings now.

But then wasn't that what Donnie himself was doing?

The silent argument continued to rage inside his mind as he grudgingly moved to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, however, upon entering the room he found himself faced with his three brothers, all around the table with various expressions of discomfort. At the head of the table, Leo was nursing a steaming cup of green tea, his bandaged hands trembling slightly at the mere effort of supporting the mug. The sight would have been pitiful if there hadn't been that determined glint in his eyes.

Just as the genius turned to leave, Leo spoke up.

"Wait, Don. We need to talk."

Seeing no point in arguing – and having no other option for grabbing his mug of coffee – Donnie lowered himself onto a stool, and accepted the torturous lecture he was bound to be given. And as if to prove him right, Leo began to speak in that authoritative tone of his.

"It's been two weeks since… You know what." Great, Donnie had to keep the sarcastic remark to himself, such confidence to inspire the masses, truly inspiring. The eldest cleared his throat. "My point is, we're never going to be ready to face what happened to us, it isn't something that will suddenly get better…" At these words Raph and Mikey raised their heads, actually looking at their brother for the first time. Donnie merely rolled his eyes, not buying the spiel yet to his surprise Leo continued, his voice hushed. "We have to open up… As much as I hate to admit it, it's the only way…" He took a breath, "I keep seeing him… W hen we went to those labs… When he drowned me…" A shudder passed through the eldest turtle's frame, and Donnie found his anger receding slightly. The fear that crept into Leo's face was real – not something he could fake for sympathy points… He was actually… He was actually opening up to them? Now even the genius was watching with rapt attention, determined not to miss a single thing said. "He killed me… And I've been pretending that's okay, but it's not… I keep reliving that… Over and over… There was no air… Nothing to grab onto… Just water… Just death…" He hurriedly took a long gulp of tea to hide the crack in his voice, yet they all heard. A heavy silence settled upon the room for a long moment then the unexpected happened. Raph's voice piped up, his tone uncertain and fearful – containing no trace of the old Raphael.

"After he broke my knee… I was in a cell… He came in and…" The former hothead swallowed thickly, "I realised he would happily kill me if I made him mad… Every time I rebelled… He attacked…" An actual tear slipped free from the former hothead's eye and he hastily wiped it away. "I didn't want to die…" He finally admitted, voice thick with emotion. Donnie stared at his brother and realised how beaten down Raph now appeared, how drawn and insecure he seemed. And to think Don had helped the monster who did this… He shook the thoughts away. "He treated me like an animal… And if I didn't obey, he was… he was going to kill me…" His words died upon his lips and he lowered his head in shame, cheeks burning.

"People came in with various weapons…" Mikey filled the silence, his eyes hard and shoulders tense. "They just beat me… over and over… And insulted me all the time… They wouldn't stop, and there was so much pain…" He gulped, eyes darting away from Donnie with such raw fear that the genius felt his heart clench. "And I heard…"

"What did you hear?" Don whispered, dread filling his heart. Had Mikey heard the deal? Heard the way he had betrayed his family? Were his efforts in dealing with their injuries all a waste?

"You…" Mikey still didn't meet his gaze. "You were… Laughing…" Raph and Leo turned to Donnie, eyes wide in shock, but Don only stared at Mikey, his mind flying back over his imprisonment, trying to remember such an instant, until he suddenly recalled one event.

"The gas… The metallic taste and smell…" He muttered, recalling the day when the Master pumped gas into his cell that he was surprised to find did not kill him… "It must have been nitrous oxide… Laughing gas." He added seeing their blank expressions. "I couldn't remember what happened after – only when I woke up back in the cell…" Mikey's mouth hung open as though this was an answer he hadn't allowed himself to dream of, but something else was currently occupying Donnie's thoughts.

Despite the sudden honesty, none of this emotional crap was actually helping. He felt just the same as he had before.

Pushing back his stool, leaving his cup of coffee abandoned upon the side, he got up to leave.

"Donnie, wait!" Leo also stood, swaying slightly from the sudden movement and Donnie suspected that if he hadn't had to grab the edge of the counter top for support, he would have charged over to the genius and forced him back to the table. As it was, this didn't happen and the Don quickly looked over his shoulder as he reached the doorway, taking in his brothers' pained expressions – pain he had all inflicted through conspiring with the Master.

"He forced me to grab hold of burning metal." He snapped, lifting one claw like hand so that the way his fingers had been pulled downward by the burnt skin was visible. "And I did it. Without question. I mutilated myself so he wouldn't hurt me. I am not reliving that moment, that you very much. I'm going back to bed." And with that he left, hurrying to his room and shutting his door with a final slam. Only then did he permit the tears to fall. Drawing a pillow from the bed, he pressed it to his face and sobbed. He didn't know why he was crying, he hated the emotions taking control – he was aiming to shut them right down and hide from the problems rather than face them anew.

But the tears kept flowing.

How could he stand and listen to his brothers' tales of suffering when his own was justified. He deserved the punishments, not them. Listening was too painful.

He wanted it all just to stop.

"Give me peace…" He choked out into the pillow, "Just give me fucking peace…"

0341 Hours

Leo P.O.V

Following Donnie's sudden departure an awkward silence descended upon the kitchen, creating a growing sense of unease in the eldest's stomach. After listening to Splinter he had formulated the perfect plan for attempting to regain his lost honour: he simply had to show he could still lead his brothers by guiding them back to their old selves. He sadly found the only way to initiate this process was to mention his own experience.

Of course he couldn't tell them about his… deal… with the Master, but if he mentioned the drowning he had experienced, maybe it would be enough to kick-start his plans. He had been attempting to get them to all talk about their experiences for a while, so he had doubted this new plan would work.

And then it had.

Raph had spoken up, recalling how he had been treated like an animal, leading Mikey to talk about his own beatings. But then Donnie had brought Leo's hopes crashing down.

He had stormed off with harsh words and a cold glare, yet there was one thing Leo focused upon. Don had mentioned his own experience – true, it had only been in passing, yet it told them about the curled up fingers and what had caused such brutal injuries.

And every piece of information was a new tool in the former leader's arsenal. He had to learn all he could about his brothers and what had occurred to them so he could help them, and help them he would, even if the resident genius was making things difficult. How else would he regain enough of his honour to be allowed to stand alongside his clan and help others?

He knew there was no way to truly rid himself of the dishonour he had brought to the Hamato name, yet by assisting others he could at least pretend… Couldn't he?

Clearing his mind from the doubts that were closing in, Leo turned his attention back to Mikey and Raph at the table, taking in their tense frames and fearful gazes. He could still turn this around.

"So what was the worst?" He made his voice sound small, as if he were still dwelling over his own tortures – almost ironic since his failure to set aside the memories of the Blue room were driving this whole operation. Mikey flinched and looked away, at least not before Leo caught a sharp glare of mistrust… Strange, he would have to explore that…

"The suspense…" Raph muttered, "We never knew what was going to happen next or to who…" A shiver passed through his frame and the eldest found himself turning his head down to avoid his glance. He recalled the accusation from Raph all that time ago when he found out Leo had kept information back about who the Master would choose next following his deal… There was no hint of the same malice now – so far had Raph fallen into his dread – but that did not stop the guilt from crushing down upon him.

"We were gone a month and a half…" Mikey broke in. "But we didn't know one day from the next."

"One session rolled into another…" Raph's head folded down into his shell slightly, his vulnerability almost tangible. "Until there was only pain…"

"And doubt." Once again the youngest's gaze turned to Leo, and this time the eldest was certain that Mikey knew something – the icy grip of fear crawling its way up his throat. Pushing it aside he quickly added to the discussion.

"But the worst was hearing it all…" A leader put others before themselves.

"And being powerless…" Mikey's dull blue eyes were glistening with tears now, and Leo reached across the table to carefully rest a bandaged hand upon his baby brother's arm, careful to avoid the various wounds scattered across the pale green skin. At the touch, Mikey allowed the tears to fall and placed his broken fingers upon the hand as if drawing strength from the touch. For Leo himself, the touch was too much like a reminder of the contact he had experienced with the Master, however he suppressed the urge to shudder, knowing that Mikey was suspicious enough as it was.

After a long moment, punctuated only by the soft sobs of Mikey, Leo noticed how Raph seemed to shrink away from the comforting scene. The eldest searched for his brother's gaze and eventually caught it. With a gentle nod, Raph brought out a hand which Leo caught hold of and gave a soft squeeze, offering silent reassurances he could not voice.

At least not yet.

But soon, he allowed himself to think as he sat with his two brothers, offering silent comfort. Soon he would reach his goal.

And maybe then the shame would finally go away…

0719 Hours

April P.O.V

Hugging her bag closer to her side, April cast a look to the figure beside her, the face half obscured by the unruly raven hair, yet the discomfort still apparent for all to see.

"You sure about this, Casey?" She muttered, hating herself for voicing her doubts. He grimly nodded, not tearing his gaze away from the tunnel path they were tramping down.

"Yeah… We have to tell them, red. Besides," He shrugged, "They'll probably want to know what happened to Dan." April nodded her agreement, but the reassurances did not remove her fears.

"But how do we bring it up? You haven't seen them as much, they're frightened…"

"Of course they are. Who wouldn't be?" Casey's tone was gruff, and the young woman could see her friend's underlying fears – that he had lost his best friend to the monster who caused all this suffering, that he would no longer be welcome by those he had come to see as family. April caught his eye and transmitted some positive energy towards him, hoping to lift his mood slightly and offer some sort of hope – no matter how faint. Nothing else was said, yet Casey's frame relaxed slightly, suggesting her mental manipulations had worked somewhat.

At last, the human pair reached the familiar sight of the lair, the now typical subdued aura surrounding it no longer such a shock. Without a pause, April strode down the steps and – with a quick wave towards Mikey and Donnie in the pit – she left Casey to say hello and put the groceries in the kitchen while she headed up the stairs to the dojo.

"Hello April." Splinter's soothing voice reached her ears and she turned towards the meditating rat, noticing how he had not even opened an eye.

"Hello sensei." She responded as she knelt before him, "How are the guys doing?" Splinter actually smiled at this, lifting April's spirits.

"Things are definitely improving." Splinter explained, "They have begun to talk to one another and the stories they have shared are…" He sighed wearily, revealing how tired he really was, "are rather disturbing…" Meeting April's eyes he elaborated, "Donatello is still rather closed off, yet he has explained how he sustained the injuries upon his hands, that evil man forced him to take hold of red hot metal." April winced at this, but Splinter was not done. "Raphael has told how he was shocked every time he raised his voice and Michelangelo said how his fingers were broken one by one." Feeling the blood drain from her face April shook her head at the horrors her friends had endured.

"And Leo?" She didn't want to ask, yet she had to know. The rat just shook his head sadly.

"Like Donatello, Leonardo is still rather closed off, yet he has admitted to being drowned and having his katanas forced through his hands…" The pure disgust was clear on his face, causing the redhead to look away. Taking a breath she cleared her mind and changed the conversation.

"As glad as I am to hear that there's progress," She began, "I really need to talk to you." There was a sudden shift of the atmosphere in the room and Splinter's attention became fully focused upon her. With a nod he indicated that they move to his quarters where they could speak in private over a cup of tea.

"Dan finally got word to me." She began once they had settled down, recalling the phone call she had received the night before. "He is currently unable to give any details, but he's finally been allowed to contact us and let us know he will be released soon." At this Splinter nodded, pleased for such good news.

Since the raid on the Master's building, the actors – and their families – had been taken into custody to validate the legitimacy of their claims of being kidnapped as well as to offer protection until the identity of the Master was confirmed. April had been waiting for some contact from their new ally, knowing that for security reasons Dan couldn't reach out too soon – but then the call had come, and the news that accompanied it had been surprising. "He said that the police are in the process of collecting evidence that the Master was actually involved – but would like to come here with Frankie – his partner –" She quickly added at Splinter's blank expression, "to give us all the information in relation to the trial once it's all over." The rat regarded her for a long moment before speaking.

"Has he learnt the name of this monster yet?" He inquired. April merely shook her head.

"They haven't been told much, only questioned and told to wait for the full debrief before the trial, once the full picture has been established."

"And as for Dan, do you believe his presence could benefit my sons?" There was no hostility in the question but April could sense her sensei's fear that such a meeting could set back the progress that turtles were seemingly making at the moment. She nodded, taking a sip from the mug of tea, savouring the refreshing taste.

"Yes. I sense something in his past – some sort of darkness that haunts him…" She set the mug down and met Splinter's eyes. "It feels like a similar sort of darkness to what Leo's holding onto." At this a spark appeared in the rat's eyes.

"In that case, he may come. But, April –" His voice lowered slightly, "Do not tell my sons yet. Too much progress has been made as of late to spring this upon them suddenly."

"Hai sensei."

Teacher and student bowed to one another before standing.

"Now should we go and join Mr Jones?" Splinter added with a smile, "Knowing his brash attitude, I believe it best not to leave him alone for too long." April gave a small laugh and the two left the peace of the dojo expecting to come across chaos, however reality was uprising. Casey had somehow managed to get all four turtle brothers in the pit around a battered board game while the TV was left playing some random news report silently in the background. If not for the mass of bandages covering the brothers, it could have been a normal games night.

However not even that could last long.

On the screen a new report flashed up showing a close up photo of a dark haired man in a crisp business suit. That in itself was pretty unremarkable but it was what followed what destroyed the brief moment of peace.

Mikey's eyes raised from the board for a second, yet as he saw the screen a high pitched, strangled cry emerged from his throat as his hands jumped to his scarred mouth, eyes wide. At this, Raph jumped back in fright and almost in sync, he and Donnie saw what Mikey was looking at and instantly seemed to shrink away from the television, the former hothead curling in on himself while the genius turned away, bottom lip quivering.

Before April could even ask, Leo turned around and looked upon the man on the screen. His lips moved soundlessly for a moment before April caught a strangled, "It's him… The Master…" Before he began to shake uncontrollably, and the lair descended into madness…

Hehehe... Evil cliffhanger or what?!

So...

- What's happened with the Master?

- What will the guys do with this sudden shock?

- Will Dan be able to help?

- WILL THEY EVER HEAL?

Thank you all again for your amazing support, and I look forward to hearing from you in the reviews! See you in the next chapter. :)

LL99 Out.