Chapter Eleven:

Leonardo shucked the clothes on that he'd snagged from the 'Big N' Tall" section of the store he'd snuck into. It was after hours, and he left the money and a note on the counter. Hoodie, pants, shoes, 2XL. This should cover it. He'd meticulously planned how to take out each camera and disable the alarm system. Too many times they'd run into problems with systems like that, so Donatello had- he stopped, with half an arm through the sweatshirt. Donnie, he thought, a pang of grief causing his lungs to stop working. He tried to keep his thoughts from replaying. Remembering the fire. Remembering him shouting to them, even in his final moments, trying to warn them of the very danger that would end his life. Trying to save them.

He shook his head, pushing his arm all the way through, and gathering his katana and the rest of what he brought with him, tucking them carefully into the corner of the abandoned apartment building. No one would be there for a long time. It was nearly collapsed, covered in some places with tarps, others in caution tape. Around the back of the building, there was a room still in pretty good shape, and he stayed there during the warm days, patrolling and scavenging for food at night.

He looked at his pocket watch.

It was almost time.

He leapt through the broken building, eventually landing on the roof next door, and took off with the night wind behind him. He came to a halt about six blocks away, in a shadier district of town. The club below bumped with the bass of a rap song Mikey used to play a lot when they were young, and people stumbled out of the door, illuminated by the pink and purple lights from within. He watched as a tall woman with raven colored hair took a drag of a cigarette and offered it to a significantly older man beside her. He gave her a once over hungrily, fishing inside his pocket to produce a few bills. She grabbed his hand and disappeared around the corner. The sign shone bright with the Foot emblem, and he wondered if they knew. If they knew the sleazy guy who owned the place was a murderer. That he took his family. Destroyed their home. He wondered if they knew… And if they did, did they care?

He carefully crept down the side of the building, staying in the shadows. He stayed close to the wall, his eyes narrowing as he looked inside. It was almost two-thirty. It should've closed a half hour ago. He glanced past a woman right by the window, as she bared her breasts to a man who used a finger to flick a silver tassel. He recognized him from the news- he was some big wig politician up for the next election. She giggled and sat slowly on his lap, and he tucked a few bills into the band of her g-string. He could smell vomit somewhere in the alley, mixed with alcohol and cigarettes and sweat. Summer was approaching and the humid heat made the smell of the city all the more pungent. A few more people piled out of the place, and that's when he saw her.

Dark make-up smeared under her amber eyes, and the glitter in her tights caught the light. He watched her, in a small black leotard, her thick thighs holding her weight as she swayed her hips down the pole. The pink streak in her hair fell over her shoulder, and she crouched, gathering money from a few guys who sat beneath her. Leonardo gritted his teeth. He ought to beat their faces in. He hated the way they looked at her. Like she was some piece of meat. Like her sole purpose was to get their dicks hard. He cursed Saki for doing this to her. A thought crossed his mind, and he shook it off, focusing on staying hidden.

You could go after them.

Michelangelo's hands were starting to shake.

Leonardo was nowhere to be found.

No note. No traces. He just…

Disappeared.

He knew deep down that he probably needed some time. He could take care of himself. But that wasn't the point. While he was out wherever he was, Mikey was stuck there to take care of everything. Still. He hadn't even said goodbye.

His anger was starting to get the best of him. How could he just run off? They had lost nearly everything. The four of them in that house was all they had now. How could he just abandon that? Without even a warning?!

He jutted his fist out suddenly, punching a hole in the wall of the barn. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes as he shakily rubbed his knuckles.

"Fuck," he whispered.

He reached in his pocket and fished out his phone, dialing. It rang only once.

"Michelangelo!"

"Renet."

"I'm so glad to hear from you…"

"I need a favor."

She paused. Of course she knew.

"Mikey, you know I can't-"

"Please."

"Revealing the future is forbidden. And you know what changing the past does."

"I can't… You don't understand. I can't l-live without… without…"

He broke down, then, sinking to his knees, heaving with sobs. Grief crashed all around him, making it impossible to breathe. He clutched his arms, dropping the phone, wishing the pain in his chest would go away. The room was spinning, and he coughed, just as someone's arms closed around him.

"I got you," they said. The blood was rushing behind his ears. "I got you."

It seemed like eternity before the place closed and the customers dispersed. All but two. He eyed them as they too hid in the shadow of the alley over. The thought popped into his head again. You could go after them. Before long, she came out of the building. She had a bag strung diagonally around her, sweats and tennis shoes on. She popped an earbud in and as he predicted, the two men emerged from the shadows.

"Hey," one of them said. "You."

She paused, wrapping the headphones around the phone, and shoving it in the bag. She started walking when the other spoke up.

"We're talkin' to you."

"What do you want?"

"Why don't you come with us? Then we can show you." They got closer, and the taller of the two lifted up his shirt to reveal a handgun tucked into his pants.

"And if I say no?"

"Then we'll have to use this piece we got-"

He was cut off by a swift kick to the head, knocked unconscious immediately. The other man's eyes widened and he started to run, fumbling for the gun. She dipped into the shadows, lurking. Waiting for her chance to strike. Leonardo silently dropped from the fire escape, and grabbed him mid run, shoving him to the ground and pinning his arms behind his back with one hand. The other reached around and grabbed the weapon, which he tossed into a dumpster. He withdrew a knife and pressed it into the man's back.

"Leave now. And I won't sever your spine."

The guy nodded, and Leo released him, watching him run.

"Y-you…!" she shouted, stumbling back into the light. His heart twisted at the hatred in her gaze.

He turned, taking off his hood. She crouched, her skin rippling with scales, and he watched as her eyes turned bright green. Just in time, he dodged her blow, doing a backflip and landing atop a closed dumpster. She hissed and went after him again. He leapt over her, his feet hitting the pavement again.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"I don't want to fight you, Karai!" She hissed again, and caught him off guard, as a shuriken lodged itself in his arm. He cried out as the warm blood oozed down his arm. Leonardo ran toward her, and crouched, sweeping his legs under hers.

"I said I didn't want to fight! This isn't you and you know it! You're under his control again!"

"No!"

"Karai, please!" he pleaded. She launched a fist toward him and he dodged her blow. "What he's doing to you isn't right! This-this isn't you!"

"What the fuck would you know, you freak?!"

He took a step back, her words cutting him, and gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he pressed a foot against her neck, pinning her to the ground. She struggled, and he only pressed harder. Tears gathered in his eyes.

"Our father is dead, because of him. My brothers-my family… I can't let him do this to us. Not anymore."

"Get off of me!" She croaked, scratching at his leg.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, striking her across the head. She went limp, and he picked her up, slinging her over one shoulder.

This is the only way, he told himself.

Raphael hated the smell of sterile metal. Since he was a kid. He'd taken great care of his teeth, partly because Splinter was adamant about it, but mostly because he knew that if something were to happen, they didn't have the resources nor the knowledge to properly handle that situation. As they got older, it wasn't just Splinter helping out anymore, it was Donnie too. He hated showing weakness to his brothers. He'd accidentally cut his mouth on a jagged fork, when they were twelve, and got an infection. Of course, there was nothing much they could do, but scrape out the infection and stitch up the wound. I'm sorry, bro. This is gonna hurt., Donnie had said. Needless to say, the whole debacle ended with a black eye and a swollen cheek… And he wasn't the one with the black eye.

He replayed those words in his head as he stared up at the ceiling of the dark cell. His family was out there. Maybe alive. Maybe dead. Maybe held prisoner, too. He wondered if they'd gotten split up. Or if they headed to the farmhouse, as was protocol in the event of an emergency. He shuddered at the memory of Mikey trying to free him from the rubble, and the look on his face… He shuddered at the memory of the horrifying realization that he was going to die, there. Under their ruined lair. The sickening feeling that he would never be able to try that sushi Leo liked. Or get a bear hug from Mikey. The awful, terrible pain. The fear… He wondered what happened to Casey. Was his body still down there? In the sewer? Did he escape? Did his sister know where he was? Did he ever finish that truck he'd been working on? He reluctantly remembered the last time they'd been together…

"I'm tellin' ya, man… Ain't nothin' like fightin' crime. But this shit? It's almost just as good. Almost," Raph slurred, taking another swig out of a fifth of cheap liquor. He belched, and Casey laughed, leaning to reach for it. He took a drag from a cigarette, and blew the smoke into the bottle as he took a drink. The rest billowed from his nose and mouth as he spoke.

"You goin' home tonight?"

"I probably should. You know how Leo gets. All high n' mighty… Why? You want me to stay?" he asked, cocking a brow ridge. Casey was as red as his mask.

"Only if you wanna. I mean, it's a safe place to crash. Plus, we remember what happened last time you came home late, drunk off yer ass."

"Yeah, that was… Not a sight I wanted to see… April's hot n' all, but… Her n' my brother is just a plain old other story… And on the couch? It's like they wanted to be discovered. I guess that's just his way of coping. Apparently, like, three days before, Mikey caught 'em. He didn't say much, but he might've been more embarrassed than they were. Mikey's been real quiet lately…" He took another gulp and gritted his teeth, his eyes squinting as the alcohol burned his esophagus on the way down. "It's hard to believe sometimes, that he's gone, ya know? Especially with fuckin' Leo and his antics. Splinter'd know how to handle him. Help him. Anyway… yeah, I'll probably crash here. That okay?"

"For sure. I gotta be up for work anyway."

"You still workin' on that Ford?"

"Yeah… I swear I don't know how it ran as long as it did. That company must've had a pretty low budget. And the driver must not have had the commercial license or whatever. It was not taken care of…"

They sat in silence for a bit, just passing back and forth. Raph looked at him and smiled.

"I'm so glad I beat your ass all those years ago," he said.

Casey smiled.

"For the record, I beat your ass. And… I am too…"

Raphael didn't know if it was the liquor or the tobacco high, or both, or maybe the fact that he'd been thinking about doing it for years, but he took the chance anyway, leaning swiftly in to press his lips to Casey's. He felt him stiffen, then ooze into it a bit, before he suddenly pulled away. He scrambled off the couch, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Woah."

Raph cleared his throat.

"Dude… I am so sorry, I-"

"You can't just like… do that, bro. What-"

"I'm sorry-"

"I just… Maybe it is better if you go home tonight."

His stomach dropped.

Just another thing you ruined, Raph. Way to go.

"Casey, please, I'm so sorry, dude-"

"Just go home, alright?"

The turtle in red sighed, clenching his jaw.

"Yeah… Sure."

He slunk to the window, cursing himself.

"I really am sorry-"

"Just get out, would ya?!" Casey shouted, his chest rising and falling heavily.

He shook his head and hopped onto the fire escape, disappearing into the shadows.

He glanced around to see if any guards were crossing. The observant part of his mind reminded him that this was the point at which they switched off. No one would be around for at least five minutes. In a small line he'd cut in his belt strap, he pulled out the crumpled piece of paper and unfolded it. He had no idea how he'd kept it hidden for so long, but he wasn't going to chance leaving it somewhere in the cell for them to find and use as leverage. The top right corner was burnt off, and he saw his leg through a small hole in the bottom. It was the letter Splinter had given him, the day before he passed. He gritted his teeth and read it, almost hearing it in his father's voice.

Raphael,

I am so proud of the man you have become. Your perseverance, and courage astound me every day. I know you must be angry. But remember: like a river over stone. You are strong, my son.

Just then, as he began to wonder how their father could make a measly four sentences be so profound and helpful, shuffling could be heard coming down the hall, and he jumped to shove the paper back in it's place. He sat up as the sounds got closer, and watched as two guards dragged Donatello by his arms, his head hanging between his shoulders. His legs scraped the floor behind him. Raph ran over to the bars that separated the two rooms, and started to yank them.

"Donnie!" he shouted. He felt fiercely protective of his brother, always. But especially since finding out he lived. It made it even more clear to him that he wasn't ready to die that fateful day in the sewer. He wasn't ready to leave his family. For so many long, agonizing days, he was alone in that place- in that cell. They tortured him, wanting information that he couldn't give them; he simply didn't know the answers. The longer he spent there, the more he started to believe that he really was the sole survivor. Until Bishop had wheeled his brother into the room. Until he couldn't even hold back tears as he realized that he was no longer alone. Until he realized that Donatello had been there the whole time- and that he would do anything to make sure he never left his sight again.

"Shut it, mutie!" one shouted, pressing a button on his baton and making electricity spark on the end. " I take it you don't wanna be on the receiving end of this, now, do you?!"

"Let him go!"

The man reached in abruptly and stuck him in the side with the weapon, causing his body to stiffen and convulse, dropping to the ground as the electricity coursed through him. He felt his teeth clamp down against each other, and his jaw tensed shut. When the pain of the shock stopped, residual aches arose, causing his muscles to tremor and twitch.

The two men laughed, and he watched as they tossed his brother into the cell, his body limp. He cried out, helpless to do anything. He couldn't move. Donatello groaned as he turned on his side, clenching his abdomen. Raphael tried to say something, but the effort was too much. The men left, chuckling, and the breath in his throat hitched as his abs tensed suddenly. With his cheek against the cold pavement, he watched his genius brother's eyes lazily meet his. His abs tensed again, and his brow furrowed in pain. He got a better look at him. His left eye was swollen shut- a small gash colored his forehead dark red, and bruises littered his body. Like leprosy. He held on tightly to his plastron, hissing as he tried to move. They stared for awhile, a silent conversation between the two injured turtles. His genius brother winced as he shifted, producing from his shell, a key card. Raphael's eyes widened. Something in Don's eyes gave him a shred of hope- maybe they would survive this. Maybe.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I know it's a bit short. The next few will probably be this way as we see the characters' stories develop from all ends.