A/N: Wow, it's been a while since my last update. This story seems to be drawing to a close and it's time for me to switch gears and get Amiah up and running again. This story will weigh in at 40 chapters. So we're in the home stretch.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles, the Foot or any other associated persons or places. They are the property of Mirage Studios. I make no money from this and I mean no harm. Please do not sue.

Chapter 37

Leonardo had been gone for several days when Mikey realized that Donnie was not taking his dad's absence as well as he pretended to be. A rather dejected looking Donatello sat on the couch with a small device that Mikey did not recognize.

"Hey, Little Dude, whatcha got there?" Mikey asked brightly as he approached the couch.

"It's a music player. Pretty much an MP3 player, except it doesn't use MP3s."

"Sorry, you lost me." Mikey informed his nephew as he took a seat next to Donatello.

"MP3 is a common type of music file. When you save a song on a computer, you often condense it to an MP3 format. The sound quality isn't quite as good as the WAV formats used for CDs, but for most things it's good enough. This just uses a different format."

"Kinda small, isn't it?" Mikey asked after he listened to the explanation. While he didn't quite understand the whole thing, he got the gist of it.

"Well, you can only get a couple of tracks on it, and I used some weird tech I found in the storage closet." The teen gestured vaguely toward one of the many storage spaces in the lair.

"Ah, you found the stuff we salvaged from the utroms and triceratons." Mikey replied when he spotted the closet Donnie was referring to. "I wondered when you'd discover that stuff."

Donnie shrugged. He'd heard a few stories about the various alien species that his family had come across. Over the years he had even met a couple representatives of a few of those species.

Mikey just sat next to the teen who obviously needed to talk to someone. That much was clear from the look on Donnie's face.

"This one's the prototype, it doesn't work very well. I gave Dad the good one."

"Was that the watch thing you picked up just before we left the lair?"

Donatello nodded silently, put the prototype music player next to him and pulled his knees to his chest. As he did so, Mikey watched his nephew carefully and stifled a sigh. The lost look on Donnie's face tore at his heart, and he wrapped his arms around the smaller turtle.

"I miss him, Uncle Mikey." Donnie admitted quietly into his uncle's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know you do, Little Dude. I do too. It's going to be an interesting few months until he gets back, but we'll make the best of it, ok?" Mikey could feel his nephew nodding.

"Just out of curiosity," Mikey asked after a moment. "What were the tracks you put on the thing you gave Leo?" He had a feeling he knew what some of it was.

Leonardo was feeling more than a little homesick. In his thirty years of life he had never been away from his family for this long, and he was just starting his journey. He had no idea whether this feeling was one he could get used to or not. For now, he hated it. If he had had the option, he would have turned back. He leaned his head back against the crate behind him and brought his hand to his face in an attempt to use pressure points to disperse the headache that was beginning to develop behind his eyes. As he did so, he hit something with his wrist, and his attention was drawn back to the thing that Donatello had given him. For the first time, he put the earphones on and hit the play button.

"Hey Dad!" Suddenly, Leo had a feeling he knew why Donnie had told him not to listen to this before he left. "I hope your journey is going well. I guess it isn't so much a journey as a pilgrimage." The teen paused there as he considered what he'd just said before continuing. "Well, whatever you call it, I hope you find what you're looking for. I don't really know what else to say for this thing, other than I miss you, and I love you. And I hope you find whatever it is you need really soon so you can come home, but I guess that's just me being selfish." At this point, Leo heard Donnie's previously bright voice falter a little. There was another pause, and if he listened carefully he could hear himself arguing with Raphael in the background. Mikey threw in a comment, but the argument continued over it. "Well, I should probably give Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph a chance on here too, huh? I love you, Dad." Donnie finished.

"Hey bro!" Mikey greeted. "Um, I have no idea what Donnie has planned for this, but it seems pretty important to him. He promised that he won't listen to it so I guess that means I'm free to pretty much tell you what I want." Mikey's voice hardened for his next statements. "He's a horrid, little monster and now that Raph and I have finally gotten our hands on him, we're really going to teach him a lesson!" After a moment Mikey laughed. "Nah, I'm just messin' with ya, bro. He's a great kid, and we'll take good care of him until you get back. Actually, to tell you the truth, he's probably better able to take care of himself than we give him credit for. He'll be taking care of us by the time you get home." Mikey laughed again. "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for, Leo. As much fun as I'm sure we'll have while you're away, we're gonna miss you. Stay safe, bro."

"Hi Dad, me again." Donnie's voice interrupted after Mikey's segment. "I just wanted you to know that this next one took the longest to get, but then you probably already knew that."

"Hey, Leo. Your kid's got somethin' up his sleeve for this, I just know it, but he's been beggin' me for days. So here I am. I just want you to know that we can manage here without you just fine. You don't need to worry 'bout that. But if I know you, you will anyway. All the same, I'm gonna tell you not to, not that you ever listen to me, but still." Raphael paused for a moment. "In all seriousness, Leo, we can get on without you, but I don't think any of us really want to. I hope you find what you're looking for. I know you've been searching for a long time. Good Luck, Leo."

"Hey, Leo." This time April's voice issued from the speaker without an interruption from Donnie. "We just wanted to wish you well on your journey."

"Yeah, Uncle, Leo." Anna's voice added. "We hope you find what you're looking for!"

"Yeah, and uh, have fun, Leo." When Casey added that last line, Leo could hear someone smack him in the arm and ask what kind of comment that was. He couldn't quite tell if the quiet voice was Anna or April, but it didn't matter. Casey had just been the same old Casey he had always been, and Leo found it good for a small laugh. April came back on next.

"Take care of yourself, Leo, and hurry home."

"I bet you thought that was everybody, but I've got another thing that I found." Donnie said when he came back on the recording. "I was going through one of the old storage closets a few weeks ago when I found this. Um... I don't know if you'll like it or not, but I really hope you do."

There was a long pause next, and Leo wondered if his son had run out of space on the recorder before the next thing could start. It would have been rare for Donnie to overlook something like that, but stranger things had happened. Just as he finished his thought, he heard a click and a soft hissing noise like the sound of an old tape player being turned on.

"My sons," Leo was floored. It was a voice that he had not heard in ever a decade.

"Oh, Donnie, where did you find this?" Leo asked quietly.

"Your path in life will not be an easy one." Master Splinter's voice continued. "You four are so different from those who dwell in the world above. You cannot be a part of that world. All of you have grown strong, and I am proud of you. Together you can accomplish so much as you have proven again and again. Each of you has something to offer. Leonardo, your leadership skills have blossomed and your dedication to your art is admirable, but be sure that you do not take it too far, my son. While I understand as well as any that it is a way of life, always make time for other interests." The lecture was so familiar and yet some part of Leo felt like he was hearing it for the first time.

"Raphael, your strength is a valuable asset, and your emotions give you power, but that too, is a double edged blade. Do not let your anger consume you, my son. You must learn and exercise control." Leo had to smile at that. Of all of them, Raph had probably been the one who had come the farthest. He could still lose his head at times, but the occurrences were fewer and farther between.

"Donatello, your technological skills have been invaluable over the years, and your ability to think with your head as well as our heart is truly amazing to me, but exercise caution in deciding which you will follow. I am glad you have returned to us, but you must find your own place no matter how difficult the search." Leo had to smile at that too. It really dated this recording for him. The blue-masked turtle couldn't help but wonder how it had survived all these years.

"Michelangelo, your personality has brought joy and laughter into many an otherwise dismal situation. Do not lose that sparkle, my son, but you must also be sure to use caution in your timing. There are times to be serious, and times when a joke is appropriate or even necessary. I believe that you, Michelangelo, have the wisdom to tell the difference, if only you search within yourself." And that is where the tape ended. Leonardo could not remember that particular conversation, though he had heard the gist of it many times in his youth. After a brief moment there was a sharp click and Donnie's voice came back on the recording.

"Maybe this isn't the place to say this, but..." Donnie trailed off for a moment. "I know that he has to be talking to your brother when he talks to Donatello, but I feel kind of like he's talking to me at the same time. I can't really explain it, but there it is. Did you notice that he called you and Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph 'my son' at some point, but never used it for Donatello? Is that because he was a spirit rather than alive or just because he didn't happen to say it?"

Leo froze when Donnie pointed that out. It was probably just a coincidence because Leo knew that Master Splinter had applied the term 'my son' to the Donatello's spirit as often as he had to the flesh and blood turtles, but the fact that the tape Donnie had come across lacked that particular reference was almost spooky. Still caught up on the lacking term of endearment that had just been pointed out, Leonardo missed some of what Donnie said next.

"-time left on here, and I don't know how else to fill it up, Dad. So I guess I'll just- heh... I should tell you how this works, shouldn't I? The play button also acts as a stop button. Double click to reset to the beginning, and if you hold it down, that's fast forward. Just in case you want to listen to anything specific without listening to the whole message." Leo chuckled to himself. Just like Donnie to almost forget to tell people how something worked. It all came so naturally to the kid that he often forgot there were people out there who couldn't look at something and know just how to use it.

"Well, Dad. I do want you to come home, but not until you find whatever it is you're looking for. I'm almost out of space here, so I suppose I should wrap this up. Bye Dad. I love you." Leo heard Donnie's voice falter again before the bright tone returned. "Have a safe journey. I miss you." If the rest of the recording had been insufficient to elicit an emotional response from Leonardo, that last little hiccup in his son's voice would have been. Donnie had made the recording, and obviously put a lot of time and effort into it, but Leo could tell that the bright tone he had used every time he spoke was masking a broken heart.

For a moment, Leo just looked at the item on his wrist. It took him longer than usual to realize that it too was a Donatello original. Donnie's style was very similar to Don's and Leo had been around enough of each of their work to be able to tell the difference between an original design and something that had been fixed. This bore several of the indicators that it was original, but there was also something different about the styling, like it had been borrowed from somewhere. Leo wondered where it had come from, and would have to ask about it in the first letter he sent. He knew that a reply would be a long time coming, but he would have to ask anyway.