Author's Note: First of all, thank you for all the reviews. I was so worried about the last chapter that I honestly thought that someone was going to say that I had no idea about what I was talking about o.0! Anyway, because of the way the story is planned, not much really happens in this chapter as it's sort of in-between a few major events but is still needed as a lead up to them. The next two chapters however will be quite busy.

Chapter Ten: Collared.

Raphael's initial reaction was to try and take the radio collar off. Squeezing his fingertips in-between the leather and his neck, the teenager tried his best to stretch it out, just hoping that he would be able to pull it over his head. He grunted in defeat when he realised that he was being too optimistic. Raphael quickly learned that it wasn't like a noose that could either tighten or expand, probably because the scientists would have feared that he could accidentally choke to death if they used that tactic. Instead the collar was set in a predetermined length or circumference, as though it had been buckled, however Raphael couldn't feel anything to support his hypothesis.

Yet naturally one try wasn't enough. Starting off slow before entering a mad frenzy, Raphael gripped the annoying collar and yanked it repeatedly, either wishing it would snap or through some magic he would be able to slip it over his head. Emitting a low growl, Raphael tried pulling the other way, hoping to get it over his shoulders and shell even though they were much wider than his skull. Anything was worth a try at that point. "Ow!" Raphael yelped when he had yanked the strap of leather so hard that he felt a twinge of pain in his neck. He hissed when he surmised that one of his muscles had suddenly been caught underneath either a disc or bone. Raph grumbled as he stopped his pulling motions just long enough for him to try and massage out the pain at the top of his spine.

Not being able to go home and now being provoked by pain, Raphael's mood swiftly turned sour. All of his frustration hurriedly swamped his arms and legs, his whole body eventually brimming with an explosive amount energy just pleading to be released in a mad fury. Raphael never knew where this primitive desire to enter into a tantrum originated from. He considered himself a fairly patient individual, however he couldn't deny that small streak of rage that seemed to be embedded into the fibers of his genes. Every so often the blinding anger would surface and cloud his mind, rapidly taking control of his body. Raphael didn't know why it happened, but he did know that it needed to be released, and quickly.

Completely pissed off, Raphael emitted loud, long growl that ascended into an annoyed shout. Unleashing his frustrations, he whipped his hands around, grabbing and yanking the surrounding ferns out of the soil before furiously hurtling the uprooted plants back towards the ground. He kicked the dirt, sending dust and dark sand particles scattering and floating through the air. When that wasn't enough, he rabidly picked up pebbles and rocks, only for them to be thrown almost as soon as he had got a hold of them. Sticks were kicked and snapped in anger while leaves were ripped off some of the shorter trees. Eventually he resorted to sparring with the trunks of trees, punching and kicking the bark.

Raphael felt so hopeless that he felt like he needed to convince himself that he was still in control, like he still had some power, which was why he resorted to such violent tactics. Puffing from exhaustion and bleeding from all the punches his knuckles had endured, the turtle calmed down for a split second in order to gather his scattered thoughts once again. Realising the state that he was in, Raphael only became angry with himself for being so stupid and wasting his energy when instead he should have focused on the actual problem. Then, going full circle, Raphael entered another fit of rage, once again attempting to yank the collar over his head, ignoring the pain in his neck which immediately returned. Growling, Raph bashed his whole body repeatedly against the trunk of the tree that he attacked earlier, this time hoping through some bizarre reasoning that the collar might break or disintegrate upon impact.

With his muscles aching from being either used too recklessly or from a build up of acid due to his erratic breaths, Raphael finally stopped his rampage. Now the teenage boy just wanted to bellow out and cry, but he refrained from doing so, determined not to let such a simple little device defeat him. As he tiredly lowered his arms to rest and dangle by his sides, his hands brushed up against the handle of his weapons – the sai. In an instant Raph withdrew one of them, twirled it causally around in his hand while he paced in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Unlike most sai that were sold in martial art stores, Raphael's where sharp and deadly. Originally the sai was designed for farming purposes before it was adopted by the karate fighting style many centuries ago, which the turtles always thought was ironic considering the very meaning of karate meant 'empty hand'. Yet over the years the weapon had evolved into a dagger and a projectile while it could even be used for grappling and disarming an opponent. While Leonardo had always told the adolescent turtle that a weapon was only as strong as the person who wields it, Raphael and his father alike had always thought that the sai was the most versatile of weapons.

Staring at the rather heavy, shiny pronged instrument, Raphael came up with a brash idea. It didn't have a blade as such, but the sai was extremely sharp, and Raphael reckoned that he could eventually scratch and weaken the leather enough for it to snap right off. At the very least he figured that he could disrupt the live camera footage. Taking and holding a deep breath, Raph pointed the weapon towards himself, slowly bringing the tip closer and closer to his neck. He groaned and then relaxed, dropping his hand down by his side again. "What am I doing?" Raph muttered to himself in disbelief, almost chuckling his words, but he returned to being serious before he could giggle about his own stupidity. He sighed knowing that using his sai wouldn't work. Firstly, he couldn't see what he was doing because of the position of the collar on his body. Secondly, if he had slipped or poked too deep through the device, he would have stabbed his own neck, and then he would have a more serious issue to worry about other than the scientists discovering their lair.

Reluctantly giving up, Raphael leaned his carapace against the trunk of the damaged tree before slowly sliding downwards in order to sit on the forest floor. He admitted that he needed someone else to help him. Raphael pondered whether he could just cover the camera lens up with his bandanna, but he figured that the collar also had a tracking device attached and the scientists would find the location of their lair regardless of whether they had any visual confirmation or not. Raph grunted in annoyance for the umpteenth time when he realised that he had no choice but to wait until help from his family arrived. He hoped that they wouldn't be too angry with him…

Hours passed and Raphael had drifted off to sleep, still slightly drowsy from the affects of the sedative. "Raph!" The boy absentmindedly heard someone call out. "Raph!" The turtle opened his eyes in response, finally coming out of his slumber. It was Donatello.

"Stay there! Don't come any closer!" Raphael yelled out in a panic. But it was too late. Donatello stopped a fair distance away, but Raph knew that his uncle would have already been caught on camera.

"What is it?" Don loudly whispered from his position, wondering if it was a trap or if someone was using his nephew as bait. Raphael groggily stood up and rubbed his eyes.

"The scientists… they attached something to my neck. I think it's a video camera," Raphael reported. The boy could hear his uncle's sigh.

Donatello cursed himself for not noticing the collar sooner. The last thing he had wanted was to be caught on tape. No human had seen him for years, and now he had just provided them with proof that not only he was with the rest of his family, but also that he was within the United States and could easily be captured again by the military considering that no world politics would have to be overcome. Don didn't know how highly sought after he was, or if Intelligence wanted him at all anymore, but he couldn't help but feel that he was placing the rest of the clan in danger.

Don frowned and relaxed his tense stance, figuring that he had already been filmed and that there really was no point in hiding. Raphael ashamedly turned away as Donatello calmly approached, pointing the camera in a different direction even though it was rather futile. "I'm sorry," Raph whispered, feeling extremely guilty, knowing how much his uncle valued the secrecy of his existence.

"You couldn't help it," Don mumbled in defeat. "Let's just get this off."

Raphael remained still and continued to face away as Donatello inspected the collar. "Well?" Raph inquired when he felt Don's fingers slide around the leather band. "Can you get it off?"

"I need a screwdriver."

"What?"

"Okay, there's a buckle, right? Well that buckle is covered by an additional flap of leather, which in turn is specially screwed into the actual collar. That's why you wouldn't have been able to get it off by yourself. You can't get to the buckle until you unscrew the flap," Donatello calmly explained as he looked around the forest floor.

"But I can't return home like this!" Raphael started to panic once again.

"Don't worry, you won't. The screws are fairly large, so if we just find a small rock or a piece of wood or something that's the right size and shape…" Donatello trailed off, venturing away from his nephew, eyes focused on the ground. Raphael tried to look at his uncle without pointing the camera towards him. A few seconds later Don returned to stand by his side, this time with a small variety of stones in his hand. Using his peripheral vision, Raph watched as Don fished through his little collection until he came across an oblong-shaped rock that was tapered and thinned on one side, thus having a rather sharp edge to it. A few seconds later, Raphael could hear and feel a grinding along his neck. "It's a bit hard… but I'm getting there," Don kept Raph informed, becoming slightly annoyed that his rock kept slipping out of the indent at the top of the screw. Eventually the brainy turtle could simply use his fingers to twirl it around and dislodge the bothersome little sliver of metal.

As soon as the last screw came loose, Don swiftly rummaged his fingers over the buckle and easily removed the collar from Raph's neck. "Thanks," Raph said with a large, grateful grin, rubbing the back of his sore neck with a spare hand. The teenager raised an eye-ridge when Donatello grumped in reply, already absorbed in studying the collar. Raph frowned, finding it rather ironic that for a turtle who was so scared of the video camera, Don certainly didn't mind the troublesome object when it could finally be dissected into it's basic electronic components.

"The design is fairly crude…" Raphael heard his uncle mumble to himself. "It seems to be a video camera, radio collar and microphone all rolled into one," Don assessed.

"Microphone?" Raphael's eye-ridge furrowed.

Donatello shrugged. "Seems like it. Looks like they're trying something different this time around," he summarised, still inspecting the collar as best he could without placing his face directly into the camera's field of vision. After learning everything he could from the object, Donatello carelessly dropped it on the ground. "We should head back and tell the others," the purple-wearing turtle ordered. Walking a few steps towards the lair, Don suddenly remembered the original reason why he was looking for his nephew. "Oh, and Diana's also been wanting to talk to you about something… It seemed rather important," Donatello slyly dropped a hint. He turned around in time to see Raphael look nervously away, gaze distant, mind scrambling with thoughts. The boy didn't catch on that Don knew the whole truth of the situation, but he did realise that his problems with his half-sister were only going to develop into something worse if he didn't own up to some responsibility soon.

"…Yesmal… I think you need to see this…" Dr Aquel eagerly invited, excitedly rewinding back the footage they had recorded. From his seat beside her, Dr Yesmal swiveled his chair in closer and leaned towards the screen so he could get a clearer view of the television. It wasn't the best setup. Under contract, Andrew Walker had to allow the three scientists a place to conduct their research. So the park ranger gave them permission to utilise the camp's outdated gym, which basically consisted of a large building with one wall being dedicated to rock climbing while some basic exercise machines lined the perimeter of the room. Forbidding the public to enter, the scientists painstakingly plugged in all their electronic equipment that was on loan from the Government, before also setting up the few microscopes that they had taken with them from New York.

As soon as they had arrived back at the camp from their short turtle hunting spree, Aquel and Yesmal sprung into action. They phoned Dr Quease who was staying at some expensive hotel in town and told him to come down and study the blood sample they had obtained from Raphael. While Dr Aquel focused her attention on the video footage, Dr Yesmal decided to take care of the tracking systems and sound recording, while also helping out by studying some of the other pieces of information they had collected from their brief turtle encounter.

Dr Yesmal's mind was crammed with sadistic thoughts. He had traveled thousands of miles in order to meet that one particular turtle again, and yet now that he had accomplished that, he didn't know where to go from there. Did he just want revenge and therefore end the turtle's life? Dr Yesmal knew that if he chose to destroy the red-wearing shelled beast, then he had to be extremely careful that his involvement with its death wasn't discovered otherwise he could lose his job along with his high paying income. As he stared blankly at the television screen that Dr Aquel was observing, Dr Yesmal figured that there were other ways to make the turtle suffer, whether that involved isolating the turtle itself, or making the entire clan miserable. A cruel smile flew across his lips. He just wanted Raphael's world to fall apart, and after he saw what his work colleague was referring to on the videotape, he knew how to start his personal vengeance.

"It's definitely the purple one," Dr Yesmal confirmed, eyes seemingly glued to the screen. The turtle was only on film for two seconds at the most before Raphael turned the camera away, however it was more than plenty for the scientists. Dr Aquel rewound the footage again so she could freeze it frame by frame.

"…That's amazing…" the female scientist murmured mainly to herself in astonishment.

"Why?"

"Well… Think about it. The last time this turtle was seen was in New York. The rest of his family was in London at the time. So somehow they managed to meet up again. Don't you think that's kind of amazing?" Dr Aquel explained her line of thought.

"Or they could have found each other after the family had escaped that second time from the zoo, since they both could have been in New York," Dr Yesmal offered another theory.

"…But the purple turtle wasn't on that plane heading towards Australia, otherwise he would have been captured and placed in quarantine as well," Dr Aquel was quickly getting confused. Dr Yesmal simply shrugged.

"Oh well, they met up somehow. What's it matter now?" Yesmal muttered. "Anyway, I should phone The Pentagon about this," the male scientist stated.

"Why?" Dr Quease asked from his spot behind a microscope. The scruffy white-haired scientist had been listening in on their entire conversation, though he had been too busy studying Raphael's blood sample that he couldn't be bothered stopping to view the video footage as well.

"This is the turtle that escaped from The Pentagon. I was told to inform them if I ever found him again, just in case they still want him," Dr Yesmal explained. Although he was just completing an order, the scientist also had a sadistic desire to break the bale of turtles up.

"Is that really necessary? What exactly do they need him for? Surely the conservation of this species is more important than pointless military operations, or whatever on earth they're gonna do with a giant mutant turtle!" Dr Aquel argued, appalled at the Government's prioritising. "His genes can greatly benefit the species. The worst thing we can do is separate him and cause undue distress on the rest of the family!" she continued to debate. Once again Dr Yesmal indifferently shrugged his shoulders.

"Orders are orders."

"…How exactly do you phone The Pentagon?" Dr Quease wondered, interrupting their conversation again.

"I've got a special number to dial," Dr Yesmal answered as he reached for his cell phone. Everyone fell silent as Yesmal pulled out a business card from his pocket before punching in the numbers.

"Hello. How may I direct your call?"

"Can I speak with Joseph Fiffer please?"

"Who's speaking?"

"Dr Darren Yesmal."

"One moment please," the female receptionist said calmly as she placed the scientist on hold. Yesmal rolled his eyes when some classical music began to play while he waited. After what seemed an eternity of Mozart, a tired and gruff masculine voice finally interrupted the tune.

"Hello? Joseph Fiffer speaking."

"Hi, it's Dr Darren Yesmal. We've met before, years ago, back when one of the turtles came under your care?" the scientist said, hoping the mathematician would remember him just so that the conversation would progress easier.

"Ah, yeah. I remember," Joseph said casually, even though he vaguely remembered the man he was speaking to. The name certainly rang a bell in his mind, most likely because the turtle's species was named after the scientist, however Joseph still had difficulty in remembering the man's appearance.

"Well I was told by the Government to phone you if we happened to encounter that particular turtle again. We've just received video footage of his presence on Kauai, Hawaii. If you like, we can capture him for you and transport him to The Pentagon," Dr Yesmal explained, attempting to sound more important and organised than he really was.

Joseph Fiffer had always predicted that one day he would receive a phone call just like this, however no matter how many times he had thought about it, he still feared what the outcome would be. It had been seventeen long years since he had seen his reptilian friend, though he could still remember every conversation they had held. Witnessing his endless devotion and love towards his family, Don's attitude made a huge impact on how Joseph viewed his own life and it finally convinced him to get out of the office and gain a social life. Thanks to Donatello for opening his eyes, the mathematician was now married with three children even though he was saddened when he realised that he still occupied the same job. Although the turtle didn't know it, Donatello had helped Joseph, and while the man had already aided the reptile in escaping, he still felt like he had to owe more. Once again it seemed that Joseph Fiffer had to manipulate the scenario into his favour.

"Dr Yesmal? Do you have a colleague that I could speak to?" the mathematician boldly asked. The scientist furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes. Dr Quease and Dr Aquel," Yesmal answered, quite confused by the direction the conversation was going.

"Can I speak with Dr Aquel please?" Joseph asked, though it was more of a command. He had heard of Dr Cornelius Quease before, considering the eccentric man was renown for his astounding knowledge in a various range of scientific studies, while also being notorious for being kicked out of most academies for being too rowdy and obnoxious. Dr Aquel seemed to be the safer choice, especially if he wanted his plan to work. Joseph Fiffer had encountered people like Dr Yesmal before; men who would grovel and hog all the credit of their team's work, thinking about their career more than the actual assignment. It forced Joseph to curiously ponder whether Yesmal's colleagues respected all the decisions he made.

"Um… sure," Dr Yesmal's voice fluctuated in uncertainty as he handed the phone over to his female co-worker, still rather baffled by the request.

"Hello?" Dr Aquel said, almost as confused as Dr Yesmal.

"Hi. My name's Jospeh Fiffer. Before I make a decision about whether or not he needs to be captured, I have a few questions about the purple turtle that I would like to ask you," the mathematician started.

"Um, yeah. Sure. Go ahead," Dr Aquel said, still rather taken aback that the man had requested to speak to her. By this time Dr Yesmal had resorted to glaring at the female scientist, quite peeved about the situation. Dr Aquel looked away from his annoyed gaze, just knowing that he was listening very intently to everything she said.

"If you captured the purple turtle, will that have negative effects on the rest of his family?" Joseph calmly asked.

"Yes," Dr Aquel seized the opportunity to voice her own opinion even though she couldn't go into great detail considering the close proximity her coworker was situated in.

"Will the purple turtle's unique abilities be compromised if he was removed from his habitat?"

"Most likely. Yes," Aquel confirmed, once again giving a simple answer so that Dr Yesmal couldn't detect that she was jeopardising his goals.

"Alright. Thank you. That's all I need to know. Tell Dr Yesmal that we do not need the turtle to be captured. Technology has come a long way over the past couple of years, so we don't really have a need for him. He'll be better off with the rest of his species," Joseph Fiffer announced. Most of what the mathematician has said was true, however even though Donatello wasn't needed for code cracking, the Government did have a natural curiosity in the knowledge and wisdom he contained. But Dr Aquel had provided Joseph with a few valid reasons for why Donatello shouldn't be isolated from the rest of his clan, so in the end Don benefited while Jospeh himself wouldn't be criticised by the decision he had made. Joseph couldn't help but smile to himself, just knowing that if he had continued on talking with Dr Yesmal, the outcome would have no doubt been completely different. "It's been nice talking to you. Thank you for your time. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Dr Aquel ended the overseas phone call. Dr Yesmal's eyes went wide, feeling rather insecure that he wasn't the one to finish the conversation. "We don't have to capture him. They're not really interested in him anymore," Dr Aquel reported the outcome to her two colleagues. Dr Yesmal frowned, realising that he would have to come up with another way or reason to capture the turtles. "Guess we've got some more studying to do," Dr Aquel said with a smug smile on her face, simply loving how everything seemed to go in her favour.

"I just don't get it, Donny! Why would they do that?" Leonardo asked once Raph and Don had told the clan the full story about the bothersome collar.

"I don't really know. Though I have seen those things being used in documentaries before and also for scientific research…" Don trailed off.

"I know that! But why didn't the scientists just capture Raph? Why the sudden change in tactics?" Leo reworded his question, slightly frustrated and scared that he could no longer predict his enemy. Venus and the four children looked towards Donatello for answers while Mike kept his mouth shut for the time being.

"…Maybe they were just using him as bait? Maybe they do want to catch us, but they'd rather do it all in one go when they find out where our lair is?" Donatello suggested, assuming the worst as usual. "We should move while we still have the chance," the purple wearing turtle resurrected the old debate.

"Oh no, not this again!" Mike muttered under his breath, yet his comment was still loud enough for Don to hear.

"I'm serious about this! I was definitely caught on tape! The United States military are probably on their way right now!" Don argued, though he was panicking more than fighting for what he believed in. There was a brief silence before Venus finally turned to her husband.

"It's not fair to place Don's life in danger like this, even though we'd all have to move in order to accommodate his needs," Venus said gently to Leonardo. Don nodded his head in agreement before smiling slightly, just knowing that his leader tended to be rather biased when it came to listening to Venus' opinions considering the relationship that they shared.

"…You're right. We're just gonna have to find a new home," Leo admitted with a sigh.

"No we can't," Michelangelo finally spoke up. Everyone in the clan gave him a surprised look, rather shocked by how defiantly he was disregarding Leo's decision.

"What do you mean?" Don squawked.

"I mean that if we leave this National Park… then the scientists will have a reason to capture us… or even have permission to kill on sight," Mike disclosed his inside information. Although what he had heard was greatly beneficial to his family, he still was rather reluctant to admit the whole truth of the matter, as he knew that too many questions would arise concerning his whereabouts.

"…How do you know this?" Leo suspiciously raised an eye-ridge. Looking his brother over, Leo noticed that Mike timidly held one hand behind his back. Being overly inquisitive, Leo speedily reached around Mike's shell and yanked out the object he was hiding in his shocked three-fingered grip. It was a bag of chicken flavoured potato chips. Leo immediately growled in response.

"Dammit Mike!" Leonardo cursed, angrily scrunching the bag up in his hands. "You seriously have a problem, you know that? You're addicted to this crap!" the turtle threw the packet of junk food to the ground before kicking it viciously out of his sight.

"It's not what you think!" Mike protested.

"What am I supposed to think, Mike? All I know is that you're willing to risk all of our lives just for some potato crisps!" Although the two turtles had endured the same type of argument before, Mike truly believed that Leo was getting angrier every time.

"Okay! I admit it! I have a problem, okay! But when I was snooping around that camp site, I overheard Dr Yesmal, Aquel and Quease talk about us!" Michelangelo explained, hoping to focus the conversation back onto the more serious issue. Once again the clan fell silent.

"What did they say?" Raphael quietly inquired, hoping that his uncle might be able to solve the burning question as to why a radio collar had been placed around his neck earlier that day.

"Basically the scientists don't have the right to capture us because we're currently protected by National Park laws. If we are considered a threat to humans, that is, if we're found around more populated areas, then they'd have no choice but to shoot or tranquil us. So currently their trying alternate methods of studying us," Mike said.

"You overheard all this?" Leo wondered, quite impressed by his wealth of knowledge.

"Yes," Mike partially lied, not declaring his true source of information.

"…Then I guess we have no choice but to stay…" Leo murmured, realising that the consequences of their actions would be far worse if they decided to flee into town in order to find a way off the island.

"But what about The Pentagon? It's not as though a little environmental law is going to stop them," Don quietly stated, not particularly wanting to accept the situation he was in.

"Well, you better pray that you never get captured," Leo grimly said.

"I hope this works this time," Dr Yesmal said, though his words came across like a complaint. Susan Aquel frowned at her colleague's constant whining. From day one, since they had arrived in Hawaii, both Yesmal and Quease had disagreed on how Aquel had wanted to conduct the non-intrusive research. In fact, the two male scientists had even placed bets on how long Raph's radio collar would last. Susan could understand why Quease wanted the turtles in captivity, mainly because he specialised in that type of close range study, however she could not think of a motive behind Yesmal's reasoning. Some days he was incredibly rapt up in the excitement of discovering their genetic secrets, while at other times he showed complete disinterest and even apathy towards the species that was named after himself. Not knowing what the man was thinking, Aquel simply labeled his changing opinions about the turtles as a phase he was going through, yet she hoped that his arrogant attitude would disappear soon.

Since Donatello and an unknown prepubescent turtle had been filmed previously, Aquel was curious on how large the population size was. She wanted to know if anymore offspring had been born or if the turtles hadn't conceived any young since they had last seen them nine years ago, which meant that there was a possibility that they might have to intervene in order to keep the species going. Eventually she aimed to collect blood samples from all of the turtles just for database reasons, though she knew that that wasn't some goal that could be achieved within a week. It would take time and patience – two factors that Dr Yesmal hated.

"Almost done," Dr Aquel assured Yesmal as she turned on the last hidden night vision video camera. Instead of dangerously trudging around a forest and individually hunting down each mutant reptile, they decided to once again change their scientific approach and simply rely on pure happenstance. Setting up tiny sensors along what they predicted was a common track that the turtle's used, the scientists hoped that they would be able to both film and photograph the entire population of the endangered species. A photograph would be taken if anything passed in front of it, while the cameras would start filming if one of the sensors detected any movement. In the end it was a very tedious task in setting everything up, especially when all the technology had to be heavily camouflaged.

"All I can say is that this better be worth the effort," Dr Yesmal grumbled for the umpteenth time, causing Dr Aquel to cringe and grind her teeth from his repetitiveness.

"You'll see," Dr Aquel said, hoping to prove her greatest critique wrong.

To be continued…