Hey guys! Sorry for taking a while between chapters. I've been overthrown with stressful school work and junk and yada yada yada. But thank you for patiently waiting XD I have the best readers in the world *Hugs* :D
Oh! And if any of you are remotely interested at all, I have a tumblr account: StormyNight108 . If I get followers of this story following my tumblr, I'll announce on there when I get a new chapter up. I don't know why I waited this long to tell you guys, since this story shouldn't be more than three more chapters long. But hey! If I start on any new stories, you guys would be the first to know ;D
Leaping the turnstiles at the entrance, the four raced across the distance of the lair and towards the area where the Jets were being held prisoner. Master Splinter sat in the kitchen with the curtain drawn open, sipping a drink as they entered and perked up at the sight of them. He gave them a warm greeting as they passed. "Welcome home, my sons." He called. When he saw Donatello was not with them, he saddened, his ears lowering.
"Master Splinter." Leo was wasting no time. "A group of Foot ninja were in the sewer systems, heading this direction." He gestured to the doorway with his palm out, his eyes glued to his father's. "We took care of them, but there could be more on the way to get you."
"I'd like to see them try." Raph pounded the wall with a clenched fist, looking into the room of prisoners. At the sound of the large thud, Mikey and Leo turned in their brother's direction with surprise. But Raphael didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care. "Alright, you worthless, pathetic excuses for people. Where did they move him?"
Raph's brothers approached as two of the six lifted their heads to their captors. One with dark brown hair lifted his head high, looking over the turtles with confusion and disgust. "Move who?" He muttered tiredly.
Raphael lashed his arm out and hooked the rope bounding this one. He lifted him up, holding him up to his eye level as he crouched down. The man's eyes merely widened with shock, but he said nothing. "You know who. Our brother. Donatello? The turtle in purple that your master has in his prison? Where are they?" He gritted his teeth, demanding the answer.
"Whoah, they're gone? No kidding?" The second one awake piped up, looking over at the other. He looked up at Raphael after a moment, shaking his head. "We don't know where they could have gone. Anywhere across the city, really. Probably in one-" He broke off, realizing he was about to say too much and then turned away.
"Where?" Raph dropped the man he was holding and tromped over to the second one, who seemed more vulnerable in a position to speak. "Tell me now!" He grabbed him by one shoulder and pulled him up so that his knees hovered over the ground.
"Nathan you idiot!" The first one snapped. "Keep your mouth shut!"
"I-I- I only meant-" Nathan leaned his head away from the snarling red-masked turtle.
"Where have they taken him?" Raphael said once again. Leo and Mikey joined his sides this time, crossing their arms and looking down on him with looks of pure disgust.
"H-hey don't hurt me, alright?" Nathan said, sweat beading off of his forehead. He tried to scramble away from the angry turtles, but it only resulted in him being shaken to death.
Raph's grip tightened. "Tell me where he is or so help me-!"
A folded sheet of paper slipped out of his jacket. Raph had continued to threaten the man, but Leo broke off from where he stood and stepped over to where it had fallen. Picking it up between his thumb and finger, he flipped it over before unfolding it. When it was open and flat, his eyes widened. "Raph." He said. "Stop shaking him."
"What?" Raph growled, lifting his head with a questioning gaze. He lifted the man with his gesture. "He's bound to spill sometime-"
"Raphael stop shaking him." Leonardo repeated. "Look."
With a grunt as the man was thrown to the ground, Raph and Mikey made their way to each side of Leo. They peered over his shoulders, looking down at the spread sheet in his hands. A city of New York was sketched in black and white, with blue markings on certain buildings. "It's… another map." Leo said.
"Of the Jetwing territories?" Mikey guessed, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder to balance himself as he got on his tip-toes and studied the sheet for himself.
"That's exactly what it is." Leo confirmed, holding it up higher.
"When I get out of these ropes, you are so dead Nathan!" The first one was trying to move towards the man, a look of pure rage written all over him. "When Shredder finds out what you've done he'll have our heads!"
"It's not like I just gave it to him!" Nathan snapped back weakly, looking horrified to have to face this man.
Leonardo led his brothers out of the room, ignoring the two bickering men. "Come on guys. We're going to have to search these places. Let's figure out how to do this." He gave Michelangelo a sharp glance. "And we are not splitting up this time."
The door slammed open.
Donatello cringed.
The heavily armored man strode across the room with a look of pure rage. This had to be it. This had to be the moment The Shredder would take his life, yes? No? He had stopped, looking over Donnie in a silent motion. Go ahead. Donnie wanted to say. He could barely hold his head up, his eyes half open as he looked on at Shredder. His legs dangled under him, and he could feel the heat and mark of every scratch and cut given to him.
"Many of my men have disappeared from this location you have given me." Shredder had begun.
Confusion crawled through his head, and he had to stare at his enemy for a few moments before registering what he had said. Even so, it still didn't make any sense. "Huh?" He mustered out, blinking a few times. His head wound had begun to bleed again, a small trail of blood flowing down his left eye.
"My men have disappeared." Shredder repeated more impatiently, unsheathing his gauntlet. The very sound made Donnie's skin crawl. "Are you certain this location you have given me is valid? Because I am giving you one last chance." He raised his weapon, pointing the spikes at the purple-masked turtle.
"Disappeared?" Donnie croaked in reply, trembling with the effort of holding his head up. "I don't-"
The blades neared his face. "Do not play games with me, turtle. What location have you given me?" He demanded, his voice rising.
Fear mixed with shock and confusion made a bad mix. Tears sprung almost reflexively in Donnie's eyes at his enemy's voice, and he wished he could pull himself into his shell right then. But no, even if the chains bounding his arms had been removed, he wouldn't have been able to make his limbs obey him. When he tried to speak again, his voice came in a shaking stutter. "I-I don't understand, it's-"
"Stop this at once and tell me the correct location!" Shredder's free hand reached out and grabbed Donnie by the throat. Suddenly having to gasp for air, his head lifted and he choked for oxygen. His heart pounding, blood roaring, the room spinning around him, this wasn't good at all. He attempted to speak, shutting his eyes to block the swimming ceiling. "Th-that is the correct- location-" He could barely be heard between his gasps and squeals, fighting for air as the fingers tightened around his skin.
"Then where are my men?" Shredder demanded, holding him higher. His arms gained slack from the chains, and he was no longer being held from his wrists. Even so, being held by the throat wasn't much better.
"I-I'm telling you-"
And then an idea clicked.
It would have taken much sooner for the genius to come up with the idea. But in his condition, he was surprised he could think straight at all. Donnie seemed to go distant for a moment, thinking it through. Yes, it would work. But air. He needed air to make it work. And air was something he was not getting.
When Shredder seemed to realize killing him without getting information was pointless, he removed his hand. Donnie began to choke and cry at the same time, his coughs filling the air as he gained his breath. "Answer me!" Shredder demanded.
"Okay! Okay!" Donatello cried out after he had gotten his breath back. He felt drained. Weak. But the mind would work. His voice was uneven and broken, but he didn't care anymore. He wasn't sure where Shredder's men were, or why the lair's location seemed to be a death trap for them, but the least he could do is lead on that it actually was a trap. Now that no one else's life was on the line, he could easily slip the lie. And so he did. "It's a trap! I led your men to a trap!" He falsely admitted, taking short, shallow breaths. Something wet fell from his chin. Was he crying? He was crying. The room was still spinning, even when he closed his eyes. He felt gravity tipping around him.
The Shredder seemed to hesitate. That was a first. Piecing his mind together, he seemed to be debating the truth. And then he drew his gauntlet back, striking out so that each end embedded in the wall on each side of Donnie. "What kind of trap?" He demanded.
He only took a second to think. "Invisible drop off! Ground missing in one of the tunnels! Uh- the tunnel is blocked off from each end so no one falls in and drowns!" He had attempted to shift in the chains, drawing his arm and suddenly wincing. That hurt. And that excuse. What kind of a trap was that? Invisible drop off, pfft! He just prayed that Shredder had never been in the sewers before.
"You will regret lying to me." Shredder said, drawing his gauntlet out from the wall and putting it to his side. "What is the correct location?"
Donnie opened his mouth to answer, and ended up letting out a small cry. He hadn't meant for that to slip at all. He was biting his tongue now, trying to hold back the sounds of his pain. "Answer me!" The Shredder demanded.
And then he had to think to himself. What was he doing? All that would happen is Shredder would send men to the false location, and then come back to kill him once he knew he was still playing with him. So why was he stalling? At first, he had been stalling so that his brothers would have time to rescue him. Did he deserve to be rescued after what happened to Mikey? How could he let it happen? Leo and Raph… he had no idea how they'd react. Did they already know? Had they found his body?
A sharp headache began to pound in his skull, and he resided to putting his chin against his plastron and breathing. And then he gave Shredder the location. Well… he gave him a location of a junction across the other side of the city. The more time, the better.
The Shredder wasted no time in leaving the room to pursue the information he had been given with his men. And then Donnie let out sharp gasps of pain, left alone once again as the door was slammed shut. Drained, tired, alone, and hurt, he hung limply in the fetters. Maybe telling Shredder the false location would get him off of the old location. Raph and Leo wouldn't have to put up with the lair getting attacked. Finally satisfied that he did something right, he closed his eyes to count down the minutes to when Shredder would return to finish him.
They had to take the sewer systems to get where they wanted to go. It was bright outside, presumably around two or three in the afternoon, when they reached their first location.
Raphael made a mental note to keep Mikey in his sight. There was no way he was letting him disappear like that again. Since Mikey didn't have a T-Phone, Raph had given him his T-Phone for this mission, insisting he could take care of himself if anything happened. With hesitation, Mikey took it. Raph made sure to stay subtle around Leo in case his older brother decided he needed his own T-Phone with him. But even so, he felt like Leo would agree it was better for Mikey to have it than him.
The first warehouse was easy to get in to. It was only guarded by a handful of Jet gang members, who were oblivious to their existence. In and out, no sign of Donatello.
But it was when the three were crossing the darkest parts of the alleys did they see it. Shredder. Crossing from the doorway of a large warehouse building into a van. The building he had come from? It was one of the marked spaces on the map. And as they watched the van depart with Shredder and a handful of ninjas, they took flight towards the building he had exited from. Raphael felt new confidence as he pressed his shell against the outer wall, waiting as Leo picked the lock. Their brother was in there. He could feel it.
