Note: I switch to Mikey's point of view for a little while. There was a whole different aspect to the story that needed to be told and I just couldn't make it work without switching who told the story. Enjoy!

We hadn't seen Angel in weeks and it was starting to worry all of us, especially Leo. He had spent countless hours pouring over the data Donnie gave him every night, hoping for any sign of her. So far, nothing had shown up that could get us anywhere. I sighed once again, playing with the necklace dangling from my neck and absently kicking the floor with my heels as I sat on the couch.

"Mikey!" Raph yelled from the other room. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. "Stop that annoying sound! It's driving me up the wall." I stuck my tongue out in his general direction but stopped my heel-scuffing nonetheless. Everyone was on edge nowadays and I didn't want to start any friction if I could avoid it. Suddenly Donnie yelled from the other room, scaring me out of my shell. Figuratively, of course.

"Guys, you might want to get in here. Like, now!" He sounded excited, which was happier than I had heard him since Angel had disappeared. Maybe this was a good sign! I flipped backwards off the couch, pushing myself free of the back of the couch with sheer arm strength. Landing lightly on my feet despite my size, I took off toward Donnie's lab. His jumble of computers in the room was beeping wildly, and Don looked practically ecstatic. Leo and Raph joined us soon, worried looks on their faces.

"Relax, dudes." I said nonchalantly, "It's no big deal. Donnie's just found our sister, that's all."

"Actually," Donatello interrupted before we could all get too excited, "I haven't found her, per se, but I have found the people who know where she is and you're not gonna' like it."

"Well, whoever they are they're gonna pay, big time. It's been over a month since we've seen her and for all we know she could be in serious trouble" growled Raph, cracking his knuckles ominously. I grinned, feeling the same feeling of protectiveness welling up inside myself and knowing that whoever got in-between us and Angel was going to wish they had never woken up that morning.

"Slow down, Raph," chided Leo, "We don't even know who we're going up against here. Donnie, what intel do you have?" Don's brow furrowed as he pulled up a file with a complicated-looking name that I didn't even dare try to sound out.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news? We've fought them before, so we know their tactics and tendencies and can compensate with our formations to attack them at their weak points and ensure maximum success and minimal casualties on our side."

I shot a sideways glance at Raph. "Geez, does this guy come with subtitles or anything?" I asked under my breath. He chuckled. If my brainiac brother heard me he didn't show it.

"Besides, even with seven to one odds we have a pretty good chance of winning. Ten to one, we're stretching it."

"So what's the bad news?" Asked Leo. I shifted my weight from foot to foot excitedly, liking where we were and not caring where we were going.

"Who cares about bad news?" I asked, punching Leo in the arm playfully. "They can outnumber us ten to one and we'll still win! What can possibly make the situation not in our favor? We're holding the universe in our three-fingered hands, man! And we're going to get our little sister back! I say we go right now and get her back in time for dinner and a late-night marathon of Wipeout."

"That's just the problem," piped in Donnie, lifting his goggles off his face and rubbing his hand over his eyes wearily. "From the minute we enter the building we have exactly 23 minutes before the whole mission will be compromised. In order to follow the path with the smallest possibility of compromising the mission on our own will take at least half an hour. Maybe 45 minutes. Therefore…"

"We take the risk." Leo's voice left no room for argument. Donnie looked conflicted.

"Leo, If we wait another week so I can gather more intel we could have a greater time limit that would ensure minimal losses. Give me another week so-"

"So what? So we can strap our knee pads on more tightly and wrap ourselves in bubble wrap so we don't get hurt? Little brother, for all we know she could be on the brink of death, thanks to these people! Unlike you, I'm not willing to wait another week to find out or not whether or not that's true," spat Leo. Don bristled.

"I never said I didn't want to bring her home, Leo. I was just stating facts."

"Facts aren't going to bring her home! Data can't protect her, Donnie!"

"But it can protect us!"

"Hajime!" Splinter barked from the hallway. The tension in the air was thick and I winced, knowing sensei had caught us butting heads yet again.

"What is this all about?" he implored, looking at us one at a time. Nobody spoke. Finally, rolling my eyes at the still-fuming Leo and Donnie, I piped up.

"Don-man found the place where the bad guys have Angel and we think she's located within the property or in a relatively close proximity. Statistics drawn from the data he's been able to gather so far suggests that we would have just over twenty minutes to get her out of there before reinforcements diminished our chance of success dramatically while in reality we would need twice that amount of time to accomplish the task with minimal chance of casualties on our side, thus creating a dilemma." I took a deep breath, reveling in the astonished looks on my family's faces. I hadn't used words that big in years! Finally, after allowing a faint smile to pass over his face, Master Splinter began to stroke his beard thoughtfully.

"Donatello wants to wait and increase the chance of success, I assume, while Leonardo is eager to reunite our family as soon as possible. Hmmm…. Raphael," he addressed Raph suddenly, catching all of us off guard. "What are your thoughts, my son? You have stayed unusually quiet regarding this heated issue thus far. What is in your mind, child?" Raph was too busy with his own thoughts to notice sensei had called him 'child'. I gave a small smirk.

"Well, sensei, I'm afraid it's nothin' special and I'm pretty sure shell-fer-brains wouldda figured it out had we given him a minute to think, but… What if we just waited a couple of hours, maybe a day or two, worked overtime to get all the info we can about this place and the goons who took our sister and then attacked. Now, I'm not one for putting off the fight…" I chuckled at that, agreeing wholeheartedly. "…especially when it comes to family, but what the nerd says makes sense. So, I guess I'm sayin' we do both."

Now it was my turn to stare. Had Raph really just suggested a compromise? This was the turtle who went for a full two weeks without speaking a word just to win a bet, the turtle who would beat the living daylights out of the dummies in the dojo if they looked at him funny. A compromise?!

"A wise idea, my son." Sensei said sagely, looking at Raph with impressed surprise. I rolled my eyes.

"Sensei," interrupted Leo, fuming, "Forgive me if I am out of line here, but I can't believe what I am hearing! For weeks now we have been searching ceaselessly to find Angel and now we have a good start as to where she is. And you want us to sit here and do nothing?!" He raised his voice, fists shaking as he looked at each one of us in turn. I shied away from his fiery gaze. "For all we know she could be hurt or sick, lying in a corner somewhere freezing to death while we sit here and wait warming our toes by the fire until it's safe for us to take a walk around the block! We should be out there already and-"

"Silence!" Splinter barked, bristling with rage. "Leonardo, of all your brothers I would have thought you would be the last one I would have to tell to mind your temper! You mistake our reluctance to jump into action for cowardice, when it is exactly the opposite. By enduring the present a little longer we are ensuring success for the future. My son, we all want our family reunited just as much as you do." He suddenly sounded very weary. "Do not think we are cowards for wanting to be safe. I do not think I could bear it if you or one of your brothers perished tonight. For weeks I have dealt with the possibility of losing a daughter. Do not ask me to lose a son as well."

Leo could have cut the silence with his sword if he had wanted to, it was so heavy. I fiddled with my belt nervously. Finally, with his head hung low, my big brother spoke.

"Forgive me, all of you. I know we're all of edge. We have been ever since she…you know. I guess I just let it get to my head. I just want her home." He voiced all of our hearts with that one sentence. I gave him a sad smile.

"You and me both, bro."

"My sons," Splinter chided, "this is not a time to mourn. Do not dwell on what you cannot change or it will drive you to madness. For the moment, let us concentrate our efforts on bringing Angel home. Donatello?" Donnie's head lifted, meeting our father's eyes. "Tell us what we need to do and we shall do it. I want my daughter home by this time the day after tomorrow, whatever the risk may be to us."

"Hai, sensei. I can work with 48 hours." And just like that, Donnie was all business. I grinned. Now we were getting somewhere.