A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to. - Gandalf. The Fellowship of The Ring. J.R.R. TolkeinI am not a wizard and this chapter is far later than I intended it to be. If it is any consolation, my writing life for the past two weeks has consisted of nothing but this story- tying the scenes together, last minute rewrites, editing. I apologize for making you wait this long and those of you who continue to follow this story will have all my gratitude.
Now, I have made you wait long enough, I shan't keep you any longer! On with the story!
(Oh, and before I forget, a mild warning in this chapter for references to alcohol use)

It was a rare town where their coming was the attraction. The traveling performers were much more used to being a side note to a larger celebration. But they'd scarcely had time to set up camp in Sir Leatherhead's field before curious townsfolk were venturing forth from the city hoping to see a show.
They were not disappointed.

"Tempus fenestram, aperire!"

Gasps and cheers filled the air as a mist began enveloping the staging area where Renet was performing. The audience was entranced as she told the past and future of a random member of the crowd. Arturo still did not know exactly how she did it and she refused to reveal the secret behind her act to the other members of the troupe. But he figured that she had a right to her secrets; after all, they had poached her from another show and if she had given those performers her playbook, her act might not be such a novelty anymore. Any man could understand the desire to protect one's means of making a living for the long run as well as the short.

Mikey smiled at Renet as she exited the stage. "You were great out there." He said, straightening out the front of his brightly colored tunic. He and the other acrobats were up next.

Renet grinned back at him as she took off her oddly shaped hat. "Thanks. Good luck out there. Although, with me warming up the crowd for you, I don't think you'll need it."

Mikey flashed her one of his trademark self-assured grins. "I may not need it, but I'd never turn down the well wishes of a lady." She giggled and he grinned even wider, filled with even more confidence for some reason as well as the desire to be extra awesome while Renet was watching him perform.

Arturo watched the interaction as he contemplated the choice placed before him. The acrobats flew through the air, relying upon their team members to catch them. It was not quite so dangerous as some feats he'd seen them perform, but any of the routines involving tosses and flips garnered some risk. The appearance of danger was necessary to the show. Arturo lowered his ears and sighed resignedly. He knew what his choice would be.

April collapsed onto the mattress offered at one of the inns located in Dunfirth. Her pack made a dull thump as it fell to the floor. The day had been long, tiresome, and stressful. The cart ride had been an unexpected windfall, but it hadn't lasted forever and April's feet were sore from the walking she'd had to do after the kind farmer had arrived at his stop. Shelly padded up to the bed, licked her mistress' hand and flopped to the ground with an exhausted whine.
April smiled at the retriever, "Long day, huh girl?" a single thump of a tail against the wooden floor was her answer.

She hadn't started out with a particular destination in mind, but as the night led to morning and the morning dragged on into the day, April found her steps being drawn towards the crossroads at Dunfirth. It took a few more hours to remember that the town held more significance than its convenient location along the trade routes. In the weeks that Leonardo had been her patient he and Donatello had spent a great deal of time catching up. Out of her close proximity as his healer, April had been privy to many of Leonardo's stories and one stood out to her now. When he first set off from Dunfirth, Leo had asked the wife of the innkeeper- his former employer- to keep an eye out for his brothers. It was as good a place to start as any.

April sat up. Just one moment; start what exactly? Why was she doing this? If her suspicions were correct, she'd just been chased from her home because Lord Oroku's men had drawn some connection between her and Raphael through Donatello. The smart thing to do would be to forget her former apprentice, change her name, travel as far as her money would take her, and make a new life for herself doing what she loved. April glanced at Shelly; as if the dog could give her the answers she was looking for. The retriever merely opened its jaw in a doggy grin and thumped its tail against the floor a few times. April rolled her eyes with a smile and reached over to scratch the retriever behind the ears.

"I'm having an emotional and moral dilemma, Shelly. A lot of help you are." April joked, to which the 'unhelpful' canine licked her cheek. April chuckled half-heartedly.

She glanced at the door again. If she got involved now she'd best prepare herself to be in all the way, because what this family was involved in would suck her into more than just giving medical attention and a bit of mothering to a few teenagers. They wanted to be a family again- she knew that. April also knew that their father was in prison, one of them was an outlaw who kept the company of outlaws, one of them was still missing, and the two she had met didn't care a whit about any of that. They would do whatever it took to be a family again and if she wanted to help them, she'd be putting more than her home and career on the line; so she'd better be prepared to help them. Losing her home might only be the beginning.

April bit her lip as she gazed at the door. Just beyond it lay the hallway, and at the end of that the stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs were the people who just might know something about Donatello's family. Finally she just sighed. If she was perfectly honest with herself she knew that she could never just run off and forget her apprentice and his family; if she did nothing to help them she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" She rose to her feet, squared her shoulders and marched determinedly towards the door. She thought of the soldiers likely tearing through years worth of notes and medical stores back at her little cabin. She thought of the little village which had abruptly been left without a healer. She thought of Donatello and Leonardo; having a solid home open to them had been good for both of them and now it was not only gone but dangerous. She thought of herself, running away from everything she'd built. If she was honest, there was more than a little vindictiveness in her decision as she pushed the door open.

April glanced back at Shelley who had already made herself comfortable at the foot of the bed and threw out one last comment to her silent companion.
"They ran me out of my home without a reason. I'm going to go give them one."

That night after the campfire, Arturo prepared to consult Martin about what the answer to Lord Mortu's offer should be. He was beginning to lean towards acceptance, even if it would mean setting some of their members up with different companies. It was dangerous, but Sir Leather head was right about Lord Oroku. He had to be stopped for everyone's sake.

As the fire died down and everyone went their separate ways, Arturo approached Martin and his wife with a smile.

"Martin, Elsbeth!" he pulled the two of them up into a bear-hug, lifting them up off the ground. "Forgive me Elsbeth, but I must steal your husband for a few moments. There is something I must discuss with him." Arturo addressed the ferret-lady with an apologetic smile.

Elsbeth nodded, "Just don't keep him too long," she said with a coy glance in Martin's direction, "I'm not done with him yet." The way she walked away from them was clearly a calculated move to remind her husband why exactly he shouldn't stay away too long. Just in case he had forgotten.

"Alright Arturo, whatever you wanted to talk to me about, make it fast." Martin requested once they were alone.

"I'm afraid I can't promise that." Arturo replied, "It seems that the new opportunities we came to this land seeking have found us. But you may not like them, my friend."
Arturo launched into his explanation and his heart sank as he watched the reaction on Martin's face. He had been right.

Mikey sat outside his tent, staring absent-mindedly up at the night sky and trying to make the good mood from earlier last as long as possible despite the heavy thoughts weighing on his mind. As he had nearly every night for the past three years, he could not help but think of his family. The same thoughts ran through his head over and over again, wondering where they were, if they were alright, if they were happy, if they were having any luck looking for one another, if he'd done the right thing staying with the troupe for so long, and on and on. Lately his biggest questions centered around whether he should really be on this side of the pass or not. True, this country was safer by far than Lord Oroku's lands would ever be, but what use was that without his family? Michelangelo was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Renet's approach until she draped a blanket over his shoulders and sat down next to him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that." He said even though he hadn't shown any signs of being startled.

"Right. Next time I'll shout my blanket generosity it to the skies instead of just saying 'you look cold'." Renet replied with a smirk, "So what's got your brain running on overdrive?" she asked then noticed that Mikey had already gone back to thinking. "Or is it the usual?" she muttered sadly to herself before snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Wha-!" he exclaimed, jerked out of his thoughts for a second time that night.

Renet raised an eyebrow at him, "I can't help you if you don't even tell me what's wrong. Family again?" she surmised.

Mikey nodded, "I keep wondering if I really should be here. What are the odds that any of them wandered this far away from home?" he asked with a sigh.

"You did." Renet pointed out.

Mikey grimaced, "Yeah. I'm nomadic now. It's not that hard to imagine. But what if they aren't? What if they all found someplace cool and are just waiting around for me to show up?" He looked up at Renet, his expression begging for dismissal and was filled with relief when she rolled her eyes and snorted at his suggestion.

"Oh puh-lease! Michelangelo, you've got, like, two older brothers and a twin out there and if they miss you half as much as you miss them, then they won't rest until they've found you." She reached down beside her and picked up an object she'd set down on the ground upon arriving, "It's totally a legit prediction. I brought the hat."

Mikey smiled, "Far be from me to argue with ridiculous-looking magic headgear."

Then, without really thinking it through, he leaned over and kissed his best friend on the cheek. He couldn't help it, really. She was always there for him when he needed her and she always knew just how to make him feel not so alone in the world… and the flickering embers of the campfires made her blonde hair glow. She didn't give him an odd look after he kissed her on the cheek for the first time ever, instead she just reached over and slipped her hand into his and leaned against his shoulder.
They sat there like that for a long time, watching the stars.

The bottle was halfway empty. For a long time after Martin left, Arturo had sat up in his wagon trying to think of how to tell Sir Leatherhead. It didn't help that he'd fallen back upon his old stress reliever to help him out. Arturo guiltily took another swig. He knew that he would feel it in the morning.

Martin was right, of course, the risk was too great. It wasn't fair to ask so much of so many. His troupe relied on him to see them safely to their next performance. How could they trust him to do that if he agreed to Sir Leatherhead's proposal? Arturo growled in frustration. The air was growing stale in his wagon. He staggered to the window and opened the shutters. Most of the fires had died down to embers and been banked for the night. The troupe slept safely, peacefully, trustingly. Arturo let out a defeated sigh. He gathered up his resolve as he steeled himself for the task he would have to perform the next day.

The next morning came too soon. Arturo woke with a hangover and no answers. He still had a meeting with Sir Leatherhead that afternoon and nothing to give him but a half-hearted refusal. For the first time since he took over the position, he found himself wishing he was not the leader of the troupe. In the days when he was young, before he accepted all that responsibility, he could have just quit and accepted the offer.

As he wandered the camp covering his melancholy and hangover, his gaze rested on two of the youngest performers making breakfast together. It was nothing odd. Michelangelo and Renet often pooled their resources at mealtimes as did many of members of the troupe. Perhaps it was the way he had only just been reminiscing about his youth. Perhaps it was nothing.

However, as desperate men often do, Arturo began to grasp at straws, to put together pieces of a puzzle that barely fits. Michelangelo's past; his friendship with Renet; the way Renet had always been so secretive about her act, just in case she were to ever leave; the wrongs done to Michelangelo's family. It was perfect. He himself could not leave and he could not put the troupe in such danger. But what if he convinced someone else to go in his stead? Someone who had every reason to desire Lord Oroku's fall from power.

Arturo knew exactly where he was having breakfast that morning.

There you have it! I hope that was worth at least some of the wait. If that still didn't satisfy your Brother Quest cravings, check out the deleted prologue posted in The Scenic Route on my profile, if you haven't already (yes, it's a shameless plug... your point?)

A big thank you to everyone who has favorited, reviewed, or followed. And a huge thank you again to everyone who is still reading.
Now to start work on the next chapter. See you again in May!... Hahaha... I'm kidding. It was a joke! Hey, what are you doing with those pitchforks...