Well I hope that all of my American readers enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinners! XD
I apologize to everyone for my late update, things have just been so busy lately! But I hope you all enjoy this chapter.:)
Thank you to everyone who has continued to read this fic, and thank you to all of the lovely reviewers who left their amazing reviews, I appreciate all of them so much!
Also a giant thank you to Marie Allen for Beta reading this for me:)
And now, please enjoy!
Chapter 48
Leonardo watched as Donatello shuffled guiltily in front of him. "You didn't go to April's last night, did you?" he asked quietly as he sat cross-legged in the dojo, applying oil to the prongs of one of Raphael's sais.
Feeling both tired and restless, Leonardo had decided to occupy his time until he was able to speak to Donatello by cleaning and polishing Raphael's weapons, almost as if this action would somehow ensure that his brother would use the weapons again.
Looking up to meet Donatello's gaze, his brother avoided his eyes but didn't deny his accusation.
"Donny-" he began as he slowly stood, gathering Raphael's sais up in his hands.
"I made a mistake, okay," Donatello interrupted as he raised his chocolate brown gaze to his own.
Not expecting the sharpness in his brother's voice or the defence of culpability, Leonardo found his mouth snapping shut in surprise.
"I know I lied," Donatello continued, "but I want to help Raph, so I went to the only person I knew who might be able to help him."
Leonardo felt his heart drop as pin prickles of adrenalin sparked down his arms. He knew he had been too distracted by his troubled heart, his sense of loss and the terror and hopelessness that all but consumed him as he had sat vigil outside Raphael's cell door, watching his red-masked brother pace back and forth, ignoring Leonardo's presence to pay much heed to Donatello's words when he had explained he was going to April's.
But this morning, deciding to see if he could coax at least some toast into Raphael, he had noticed that their cupboards and fridge looked no different than the night before. He knew immediately where his brother had gone, and there had been part of him that hoped Catherine had offered up some morsel of wisdom to help with Raphael. But Donatello's demeanour and air of helplessness led him to believe that he was unsuccessful in his late night endeavour.
"How was she?" he asked softly, feeling guilty that he had not been the one to ascertain Catherine's well-being. "What did she say?" he wondered with a sick kind of apprehension, to have stripped Donatello bare of any and all hope.
"Icy, aloof and running," he answered grimly.
"What do you mean 'running'?" he asked in concern.
"When I broke in, she was packing her suitcase," he quickly answered.
"You broke in?!" he exclaimed.
"Um… I wasn't sure if she'd answer the door if I knocked."
"So you didn't give her a choice?" Leonardo asked scathingly.
"I am trying to save Raphael's life."
"At the expense of hers!" he accused.
"No! Because unlike you, I decided to go and see how Catherine was doing and if she was okay, then I was going to ask her to help Raph if she could."
"I decided to leave her alone and let her recover, and I took the hint -when she didn't come storming in here- that she wanted to be left alone."
"I locked this place down, Leo, she couldn't have come storming in here even if she wanted to."
"But we would have known if she had tried and she didn't," he retorted.
Donatello blew out a breath and deflated. "I know, but I had to try."
"Donny…"
"Raph really hurt her," Donatello offered softly and Leonardo felt himself pale. "Not physically," he hastened to add, "but emotionally," he clarified. "She thinks Raph meant everything he said to her."
Leonardo hung his head at the damage his hot-headed brother had wrought against the woman whose only crime had been trying to help him.
"But she said that she can't help Raph because he doesn't want it," Donatello said softly and Leonardo nodded in understanding as they were struggling with the same problem.
"Did she say when she was leaving?"
"No, I didn't-"
The sudden blare of the alarm and the accompanying red of the flashing lights silenced Donatello. Sharing a concerned look, they both ran for the lab.
Michelangelo was already standing at the monitor, abandoning his post at Raphael's cell door, his face clouded with worry.
"Is it Catherine?" Donatello asked quickly as they both walked around the desk to better view the monitor, Leonardo placing Raphael's sais down on the desk as he leaned in for a better look at the screen.
"Not unless Cat owns a black van with tinted windows," Michelangelo intoned worriedly.
Watching the van on the monitor, which had breached the perimeter setting off the alarm, Leonardo felt icy fear fill him. He didn't know who was in the van or how they had found the entrance to the garage, but whoever they were, the van was travelling at a high rate of speed directly towards the entrance, which was disguised as a brick wall.
"All of the security measures are in place, correct?" Leonardo asked his genius brother, trying to keep the growing waves of foreboding from washing over him.
"The door is reinforced and both blast and bomb proof. They won't be able to get in." Donatello affirmed with a quick nod of his head.
"Is it a new enemy, an old one?"Leonardo wondered. "And how did they even find the entrance?"
Donatello shook his head. "I don't know," he said, his fingers flying across the keyboard trying to get a better angle from his surveillance cameras and not managing a better view of the driver.
"They don't look to be slowing down," Michelangelo observed, and Leonardo wondered if the intruder or intruders were going to attempt to ram the secret entrance.
"If they hit that door at the speed they are currently travelling, the van will crumple like a tin can," Donatello observed with a crease of worry etched between his brows.
"Are they insane?" Michelangelo asked. "I mean, what are they thinking?!" he asked gripping the back of Donatello's computer chair with tense fingers.
"That we'll open the door?" Donatello hazarded.
"So they can come in and attack us?" Michelangelo wondered incredulously.
"I don't-" Donatello began but another sensor added its own alarm to the din already echoing around the room.
"Wait. Is that-?" Leonardo stared at the schematics on another screen, a blinking line indicating that the garage door was opening of its own volition.
"The garage door is opening!" Donatello shouted as his fingers wildly hit the keyboard's keys, his eyes scanning the codes that flashed before his eyes. "Our security system has been hacked somehow!" he cried out in dismay.
"Hacked?!" Leonardo cried out in disbelief.
"I can't…Whoever hacked this is…is a pro. I can't even see where they accessed the system," he murmured as his fingers continued their frenzied typing across the keyboard. "But the signal is definitely coming from the van."
"Get that door closed, Donny!" Leonardo shouted as he unsheathed his swords.
"I can't!" he shouted shaking his head back and forth. "The vehicle is too close. I'll have to disable the safety features."
"Do it!" Leonardo ordered as he ran from the lab intent on confronting whoever was in the van in the event that Donatello couldn't get the door closed.
Sensing his baby brother behind him, he quickly turned. "Mikey-" he began.
"I'm coming, Leo," Michelangelo snapped, his nunchuck clasped in his good hand, face filled with determination.
Knowing he didn't have the time to be fighting with his youngest brother, but still worried that he wasn't in any condition to fight, he still paused, assessing both his brother and the situation.
"Raph is completely out of commission and Donny is trying to get the door closed. I'm not letting you deal with whoever is in the van alone." There was an oddly steely note that had seeped into his brother's voice that brooked no opposition, and Leonardo wondered when his carefree baby brother had lost his boisterous innocence.
Giving a curt nod of acceptance, they ran for the garage just as the van pulled in, Donatello obviously failing to disable the safety features that had been put in place to ensure the heavy garage door did not crush any incoming or outgoing vehicles.
The side door of the van slid open and two silver canisters the size of spray-paint cans suddenly flew at them from inside the van, hitting the ground with a clink of tin against stone before a stream of smoke spewed forth from the canisters blocking their view of the dark clad figure that suddenly emerged from the van.
Coughing against the smoke that invaded his lungs and stung his eyes, Leonardo pulled his shirt up over his nose attempting not to breathe and charged towards the shadowy shape still hidden within the densely rolling cloud, only to find that his legs suddenly gave way beneath him as the shadowy figure slipped past him.
"Mikey!" he gasped in sudden horrified understanding, looking back at his brother who was being held by the figure in black, his brother's eyes staring back at him with wide-eyed fear.
Attempting to regain his footing and push down the sudden terror that was rushing through his body as fast as whatever toxin was speeding through his veins, he found that he couldn't; his limbs having gone numb and his eyes now so very heavy.
"Stay…away…from…" he tried to get the words out as he felt himself slump to the ground, his katana blades falling from his numb fingers as he lost his battle to remain conscious and his world went frighteningly black.
Raphael opened his eyes and frowned, reaching out a hand to shut off his alarm clock and wondering why he had set the damn thing in the first place; until he realized that the sound that was echoing around him wasn't his clock, but an alarm.
Peeling his eyes open, memory flooded back to him as he realized he was sitting upright in the corner of his cell in his self-imposed solitary confinement until such a time as he could figure out what his next move was…if there was even another move to make.
Frowning at the alarm that seemed to be hammering directly in his head, he tried to stand but found that his tired and nutrient deprived muscles were not ready to obey such an order.
He heard Donatello's voice raised in panic, calling out Leonardo and Michelangelo's names and not receiving an answer.
Sudden, sickening dread filled Raphael as he realized that the lair was under attack, and that his brothers needed him.
Gritting his teeth he realized that starving himself hadn't been the best idea. Shifting, he managed to get to his hands and knees, adrenalin coursing through his bloodstream as he got one foot beneath him, fighting and using all of his remaining strength and sheer force of will to push himself into a standing position.
Staggering forward a few paces, he clenched his hands together and released them a few times, working himself up, feeling the licking flames of rage suffuse his system and burning a righteous energy through himself that would allow him to protect his brothers, because he refused to allow any harm to come to them.
He had resigned himself to death, it was a path that he wished to take, but it was one he was going to take alone.
Making it to the doorway, he leaned against the door jam, his eyes scanning the lab and found it to be empty.
Besides the screaming of the alarm and the red flashing lights indicating that they were under attack, the lair seemed oddly quiet. There were no sounds of battle, no signs of any kind of life but for his own rapidly beating heart and the panicked blood that rushed through his ears.
The stillness of the lair sent pin-prickles of dread skipping down his spine and the fear that had already settled in his gut suddenly lay more heavily in its twisted home.
Stumbling over to Donatello's computer desk, he snatched up his sais, which looked to have been freshly oiled and cleaned. Skirting around the desk, he caught sight of Donatello's form sprawled just outside the door of the lab, a human dressed completely in black, a hood pulled up over their head, kneeling beside his motionless brother checking his vitals.
Clutching his weapons in a white knuckled grip, Raphael charged towards the intruder. "Get away from him!" he roared in fury, wondering if Donatello was more than just unconscious.
Quickly turning, the human stood and Raphael blinked in shock as he realized that the human in front of him was a woman, and she was wearing a gas mask that completely obscured her face.
Skidding to a halt and covering his nostrils with his forearm, his eyes searched the air for any sign of the gas that she had presumably used to knock his brother out. At least, he prayed that the gas had only done this and had not been poisonous.
Taking hold of the mask she tore it from her face, dislodging her hood, a dark obsidian braid streaked with crimson tumbling over her shoulder. Believing that the removal of her mask meant that the air was safe to breathe and straightened his stance, his mind unable to process what was going on.
Staring at her, green eyes flashing at him from an alabaster face as he lowered his forearm, she lifted the gun he hadn't realized she had been holding in her hand -it having blended in with the black cargo pants and black army-style jacket that she wore.
Catherine fired as soon as the gun was levelled at him and he didn't even hear it fire; his heart beating too loudly, the blood pounding in his veins deafening him complete
Donatello watched as the orange flame greedily ate away at the white paper, his oldest brother's name vanishing as the envelope turned to black ash like the previous one –emblazoned with his own name- had before it.
Cleaning up the mess he had made and stomping down hard on the guilt that filled him at his clandestine, traitorous actions, he turned off the torch.
Making his way back to the living room, his thoughts heavy and restless, he sat down in the armchair, his features cast in grim contemplation as his gaze flicked guiltily at his two unconscious siblings.
When he had regained consciousness, he had found himself lying upon the rug in the living room, both Michelangelo and Leonardo beside him.
He had been terrified, his fear lessening somewhat when he discovered that his two brothers were only unconscious and seemingly unharmed.
Quickly moving Leonardo to the loveseat and Michelangelo to the couch to be more comfortable, he made a sweep of the lair, trying to determine if the intruder or intruders were still there, who they were, and what they wanted.
He had found the tranquilizer dart that had rendered him unconscious lying by his fallen bo in the hallway just outside of the lab, his attacker rendering him senseless before he even had a chance to glimpse more than a swift black shape emerging from a billowing cloud of white smoke.
Moving into his lab, he had found another dart and Raphael's cell empty.
Running into the garage, he had discovered that the van was gone, the spent gas canisters that had knocked Leonardo and Michelangelo unconscious lying innocuously on the ground.
He had understood then that the two different methods that had been employed to render his family insentient had resulted in him regaining consciousness before his two other brothers.
Having assessed that the lair was empty and that Raphael was missing, he had run back to the living room intent on trying to rouse his siblings. Upon entering the room, he saw a thick white envelope with his name written across the front in a neat feminine hand sitting upon the coffee table, something he had missed in his initial panic when he had first awoken.
Suspicion and dread had filled him and he had darted forward, snatching up the letter and tearing into it, his eyes scanning the pages with incredulity.
Sitting down on the coffee table's cool wooden surface, he slowly re-read the letter and looked at the two accompanying letters –one addressed to Leonardo and the other to Elizabeth- that had been enclosed.
His mind had then rapidly reconstructed the events that had taken place and he marvelled at the undertaking.
The conversation he had shared the previous evening with Catherine, though straight-forward enough, suddenly became fraught with hidden meaning and portent.
Catherine had claimed that she could not help Raphael as things were at the moment, so she had decided to change them so that she could. She had taken the burden of Raphael's entire recovery upon herself; enacting a plan she felt she had no other choice but to follow through with.
She made it very clear in her note that there was no other option. She was sorry for the way in which she had executed her plan and for any unnecessary turmoil that she had caused, but wrote that she was determined to help Raphael; whether he wanted it or not.
Raphael was dangerous and Catherine had already suffered too much at his red-masked brother's hands. But she had asked Donatello to trust her, and he still strongly believed that she was the only one who could save Raphael from himself and she promised him in her note that she would, because she loved Raphael too much to let him go.
The revelation of Catherine's feelings was surprising and he could not help the smile that crossed his features as he read this. Elation turned to traitorous guilt and suspicious worry as he realized that he had just placed the happiness of one brother above the other. This had then caused him to wonder if Catherine's admitted feeling were nothing more than a ploy designed to push Leonardo –the one whom she actually had feelings for- away, and knowing Raphael's feelings for her, a reason to get better.
A groan from the couch caught his attention, jolting him from his heavy, burdensome thoughts and bringing him back to the present.
His eyes flew to Michelangelo as his brother attempted to sit up, clutching his good arm to his head as he did so, before the pain of his broken ribs stopped him from completing this action.
Rushing forward, Donatello helped Michelangelo to sit upright. Reassuring his baby brother that everything was alright, Donatello asked him if he was okay and if he had injured himself.
"I'm good," Michelangelo replied. "Just a little confused," he murmured dazedly.
Donatello's gaze quickly shot to Leonardo who had begun to wake as well.
Leonardo sat bolt upright on the loveseat, his eyes wide and panicked as he spun on the seat cushions looking at them both before his head shot around, double-checking his surroundings.
"Donny?" he asked carefully.
"We're all okay," he assured his oldest brother soothingly.
Leonardo relaxed slightly, dragging his hands down his face as he let out a huff of air before standing. "Do you know what happened? Who it was? Was anything taken?" he asked in rapid-fire succession.
Donatello stood from where he was crouched on the floor next to Michelangelo. "Yes," he affirmed seriously which caused Leonardo to look at him in confusion and opened his mouth to speak. "To all three questions," Donatello interrupted.
Making his way back to the armchair, Donatello eased himself into his former position while Leonardo continued to stand, his eyes darting around in agitation.
"Come on, Donny, just tell us what happened already!" Michelangelo griped impatiently. "I mean, someone comes barrelling in here, knocks us out, and then…" Michelangelo's words trailed off as his eyes suddenly shot around the living room.
Noting Michelangelo's searching gaze, Leonardo did the same before finally understanding what had caused Michelangelo to cease his speech. Quickly, Leonardo asked in a voice that was steady but strained, "Where's Raph?"
Donatello looked away from his oldest brother's searching gaze and acknowledged the painful truth: that over the past month they had gotten so used to Raphael not being a functioning member of their family, that his absence had not even been noted until now by his two brothers.
Lifting his eyes, he looked directly at Leonardo, whose face paled as Donatello tried to formulate his reply without driving a proverbial dagger straight through Leonardo's heart and twisting it violently.
"Raph was taken," he began softly.
"Taken!" Michelangelo yelped in horror, struggling to stand up as Leonardo strode forward, placing a restraining hand upon Michelangelo's shoulder to keep him seated while searching Donatello's gaze, no doubt wondering at his calm demeanour.
"Who took him?" Leonardo asked sharply.
Shifting, Donatello pulled a sealed and folded letter from his back pocket and placed it on the coffee table; the only letter he hadn't burned.
He felt bad about deceiving his brothers, but he felt that it was for the best.
After reading Catherine's letter which had been addressed to himself, he had stared at Leonardo's letter, knowing that what she had written to his brother was none of his business, but he had to know if the sentiments she had expressed in her letter to him had been repeated in her letter to Leonardo. And after ripping the letter open and scanning its contents, he had discovered that they were.
Catherine was very forthright and honest about her feelings and although this would be painful for his brother to read, it was Catherine's formality and assertion that Leonardo had never loved her and was instead in love with the 'idea' of her that first placed the notion into Donatello's head to hide the letter until later. But Catherine's accusation that Leonardo's affections truly lay elsewhere and that her absence would allow him to see this clearly, had caused Donatello to decide to burn the letter, getting rid of it completely.
Until such a time as Leonardo and Catherine could have a face to face conversation rather than a note written with great thought and designed to push Leonardo firmly but politely away, his oldest brother was better left in the dark.
And although Donatello suspected who Catherine was alluding to, he had no basis for determining if this belief was even true. However, knowing his brother as he did, there was a possibility that Leonardo would not take what amounted to an allegation very well and would deny it, even if there was a grain of truth to it.
Donatello was not completely convinced of Catherine's declaration of love for Raphael and knew that Leonardo would not believe Catherine's words of affection for Raphael either, believing them to be nothing more than a way to push Leonardo away and stop him from pursuing them.
Regardless of the motives behind Catherine's confession and her suspicions about Elizabeth and Leonardo, the fact remained that it would be better for everyone if Donatello used his own discretion regarding the entire situation.
"I found this when I woke up," Donatello said, gesturing to the letter. "It was here in the living room on the coffee table and both of you were in here lying beside me."
"They moved us?" Leonardo asked carefully as he stared at the note with trepidation, reaching out and unfolding it. The furrow between his brother's brows deepened, a frown pulling down on the corners of his mouth. "It's addressed to Elizabeth." Leonardo observed in bewilderment, as if this new information completely skewed whatever prominent belief he had been holding in his mind.
"I believe Catherine has been planning this to some degree since she returned to New York."
"Catherine?!" Leonardo intoned in shock.
"Yes." Donatello nodded as Leonardo's stared at the letter addressed to Elizabeth as if he was trying to divine what was written inside. "As I said, I believe-"
"Hold on!" Michelangelo interrupted with incredulity, "You're telling me that Cat, our Cat, hacked Donny's security system-"
"She didn't hack my system," Donatello defended, cutting off his brother's words. "I just…didn't realize that she had taken the sensor from Raph's motorcycle," he mumbled with embarrassment, chagrined that he had believed his system had been compromised when it hadn't been.
"Soooo…Cat stole the garage door opener and-" Michelangelo continued.
"It's not a garage door opener!" he bit out in exasperation, interrupting his brother again. "It's a highly sophisticated sensor that identifies our vehicles even if the codes to the lair are changed. It's mounted to the frame of the bike. I'm surprised she even knew about it," he grumbled finding himself grudgingly impressed at Catherine's observational skills and ingenuity.
"But…if she had the sensor, why did the perimeter alarm go off?" Michelangelo questioned in confusion and Donatello felt stunned, not only at Michelangelo's keen observation, but also at the complicated ingeniousness of Catherine's actions.
"She wanted the alarm to go off," Leonardo answered grimly.
"Why?" Michelangelo wondered in bewilderment.
"To make sure that we all came running to the garage so that she could incapacitate us," Leonardo answered. "Only she probably didn't count on Donny staying behind."
Both of his brothers' eyes found his and he gave a nod of agreement, even though he knew that only half of what Leonardo had surmised was correct. It was true that Catherine had obviously wanted to let them know of her impending arrival to draw them to the garage, but she had known that he would stay back to try to override the security system's safety measures. She was counting on this as she hadn't wanted him to be unconscious as long as his two other brothers. The note addressed to him had informed him of such.
Blinking, Donatello asked, "What?" having missed a question directed at him.
"How'd Cat get past you?" Michelangelo asked, Leonardo's gaze upon him, heavy and filled with the suspicion that he had allowed Catherine to come into the lair and take Raphael with his permission. Though truthfully, he wasn't sure he wouldn't have done exactly that if it had come to it. But the way Catherine had accomplished her task, Donatello was left completely blameless.
"She hit me with a tranquilizer dart," he replied. "I didn't even see her coming," he admitted under his breath. "I also found the tranquilizer dart in the lab that she must have used on Raph."
"Where'd Cat get…" Michelangelo began before he paused as a thought seemed to strike him. "Wait… Cat stole your tranque gun, the one you couldn't find after Raph lost it on everyone?"
Donatello nodded.
"Dude," he said with impressed awe. "But where'd she get the knockout gas?" Michelangelo asked as he digested Donatello's answer.
Donatello blew out a breath. "The Foot logo was on the side of the canisters I found in the garage."
"So she went to our enemy-" Leonardo began.
"Former enemy," Donatello quickly corrected.
"-to gain a weapon to use on us so that she could kidnap our brother," Leonardo hissed angrily.
"Essentially," Donatello stated bluntly almost relieved for the moment that Leonardo was angry. Angry was better than heartbroken, and he could only hope that once Leonardo got over the shock of what had happened, that he didn't divine the true motive for Catherine's actions.
"Though," he began in a conciliatory tone, hoping to temper his brother's anger, "I believe that Catherine would not have gone to Karai. After all, Karai is not the only one in the Foot organization that she knows," Donatello observed.
"Chaplain?" Leonardo guessed his voice incredulous.
"He would have access to the weaponry and probably feels like he owes Catherine for what she did for him and Karai. He would be a safer ally and I highly doubt Catherine told him what she intended to use the canisters for."
Leonardo was silent for a moment. "You…you didn't plan this with her, did you, Donny?" he accused softly.
"No," he said shaking his head back and forth, not taking any offence to his brother's accusation, because he could see how he could have arrived at the conclusion. It was suspicious that only the night before, he had been at Catherine's asking for help, and then the very next day, Catherine up and kidnapped Raphael.
Leonardo closed his eyes and pinched the area between his eyes in irritated bewilderment as he obviously tired to sort out what had happened. "Donny, we-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Michelangelo said holding up his good hand. "Let's just back this truck up a bit 'cause I'm having some problems putting this one together." He looked back and forth between Leonardo and Donatello before continuing. "So you're sayin' that Cat stole Donny's tranque gun and the garage sensor from Raph's bike, stormed the lair, gassed us with canisters she got from the Foot Clan, hit Donny with his own tranque gun and Raph too because she wanted to kidnap him because…why? And how did she even get Raph out of here? He's like, at least two hundred pounds of solid muscle and she's like…five foot nothing and one hundred pounds…soaking wet." Michelangelo observed.
Standing, Donatello walked around the couch and brought out a plywood board with wheels affixed to the bottom that he usually used to slide under their vehicles and his inventions if he needed to. "I found this behind the couch. She most likely used this to move Raph and I guess she didn't want to leave us lying on the cold stone floor, so she moved us all onto the rug in here."
"That was nice of her," Michelangelo murmured under his breath. "And I guess that explains why when the gas was getting to me and I almost fell, the person who had gassed us lowered me gently to the ground," Michelangelo mumbled under his breath before his eyes shifted to where Leonardo still stood, his gaze resting upon the letter addressed to Elizabeth.
Slowly Michelangelo stood and turning, he faced their older brother, his features sliding from thoughtful into grim, angry lines. "Leo, you're an ass," he growled as Leonardo's eyes shot to Michelangelo's in surprise. "Cat had to plan this big, giant…thing…just so that she could help Raph because she knew you would shut her down and lock her out after everything that happened."
Leonardo opened his mouth to reply when the proximity sensor went off again. The red flashing lights filled the room as the wail of the alarm reverberated throughout the lair.
"Oh, come on!" Michelangelo whined as Donatello ran from the living room to his lab.
Rushing around his computer desk, Donatello looked at the monitor and spied a familiar motorcycle heading towards the garage. He hit the button to shut off the alarm and opened the garage door for their visitors and strode past Leonardo who had followed him into the lab. "It's Elizabeth's motorcycle," he informed his oldest brother.
"Catherine?" Leonardo inquired.
Donatello gave a non-committal shrug, knowing it was a possibility as there were two riders, but somehow suspected that neither one was Catherine.
Passing the living room, Michelangelo followed as they made their way to the garage, Leonardo informing their baby brother that it was Elizabeth's motorcycle.
As they entered, two female figures were dismounting from the bike and the height difference between the two women confirmed his belief that it was not the two sisters. Confused as to who the second woman was, the two helmets were removed and the women revealed their identities: Elizabeth and a woman whom Donatello had never met before.
"Sabrina?" Michelangelo gasped in shock as the taller woman, whose gaze had been captivated by her surroundings, turned large blue eyes upon Michelangelo.
"Blue!" Elizabeth pulled off her helmet, her eyes wide and full of panic. "Is Cat here? Have you seen her or talked to her today?" she asked, clutching at her helmet in a tight grip. "I was with Sabrina for most of the day and I came home and all of Cat's things were gone. There was no note, no nothing and I…I…" her words trailed off as she gazed at Leonardo hopefully. "I didn't know where else to look…."
"She was here," Leonardo answered carefully.
Elizabeth took a hesitant step forward her face full of relief but wary of Leonardo's answer. "But…?" she wondered softly, her knuckles turning white.
"She left you a note," Donatello quickly offered, looking pointedly at the letter that was still clutched in Leonardo's hand.
Slowly setting her helmet back upon her motorcycle, Elizabeth reached out to take the letter that Leonardo proffered. "What happened?" Elizabeth asked, searching Leonardo's gaze before she looked around to all of them. "What's going on?"
Sharing a look with his brothers, all of them reluctant to divulge what had happened, or rather, not really knowing where to begin, Leonardo stepped up and explained that Catherine had made her way into the lair and that she had incapacitated them all, including Raphael, and that when they had woken up, she and Raphael were gone and the note left for Elizabeth had been sitting on the coffee table.
Elizabeth had gone alarmingly pale and Leonardo had taken Elizabeth's arm, walking with her from the garage into the living room, the rest of the assembled company in the garage following closely behind.
Leonardo gently encouraged Elizabeth to take a seat upon the couch. She didn't say a word, only stared at the letter in her hands as if it was going to bite her.
Sabrina sat down beside Elizabeth and placed an arm around her shoulders. "It cannae be tha' bad, Lizzy," she informed her friend softly.
Without replying, Elizabeth tore into the envelope with shaking hands, the silence in the room so thick and heavy that they would have been able to hear a proverbial pin drop.
For a few moments Elizabeth said nothing, only staring at the white sheet of paper.
Angrily, Elizabeth suddenly shot to her feet tearing the letter up, bits of white paper fluttering to her feet while she shook her head wildly back and forth. "I won't accept it," she said, finally finding her voice. "Blue," Elizabeth implored, "you have to find them. Your brother is dangerous and I can't… She's gone and I…"
Sabrina quickly stood in an attempt to comfort her suddenly distraught friend, but Elizabeth stalked up to Leonardo eyes wide with terror and misery, tears streaking down her face. "She said when I saw you again, to tell you that she was sorry. I had no idea what she was talking about, and I didn't think I would even see you again, but now… What do I do?" she asked wretchedly and Leonardo reached out, wrapping her in his arms attempting to soothe her.
Donatello, watching his oldest brother comfort Elizabeth, suddenly understood why Catherine had left her note in the lair as opposed to at the Brownstone. She had known that Elizabeth would be upset and need support when she found out what had happened and read the letter and Leonardo was the perfect one to give it to her.
Leonardo was able to take control of a situation and knew the right things to say to give comfort, hope and reassurance; all of which Elizabeth needed right now. She was beside herself with worry and had no idea how where to even begin looking. Listening to her choked, heaving explanation that they had never really been apart since they were ten years old, it was obvious that Elizabeth was terrified of being alone and of the situation Catherine had placed herself in.
"We'll find them," Leonardo soothed as he looked down at her, his gaze intense. "I promise," Leonardo vowed before catching Donatello's eyes and practically ordering him to begin tracking Catherine and Raphael down.
Donatello shuffled from side to side, glancing over to where Michelangelo was having a private word with Sabrina, their heads held close together, their faces serious but containing a hint of joy at being in each other's company again.
Feeling oddly like a third wheel, Donatello retrieved a dustpan and brush from the kitchen and swept up the scattered bits of paper that had made up Elizabeth's letter from her sister. Dumping the pieces in a bag and putting the dustpan and brush away, he made his way back to his lab, where a few minutes later, everyone filed in and watched him intently as he began his search for any trace of Catherine and Raphael.
While doing this Leonardo had picked Sabrina and Elizabeth's brains, trying to figure out where Catherine could have gone. After coming up with a few locations, Leonardo and Elizabeth had gone to check out a penthouse that the women's uncle had owned as well as the Brownstone to search for any clues, while Michelangelo and Sabrina had scoured the city, trying to follow Catherine's path while Donatello had hacked into the city's traffic cameras seeing if he could locate the van, but to no avail. He had managed to find the van driving through the city at several intersections, but lost the trail.
All four had come back empty handed and they had left him to continue his search of the city using his computer alone.
After what felt like -and probably was- hours of fruitless searching, Donatello leaned back in his computer chair and stretched his stiffening muscles. Looking up as Michelangelo entered, Donatello asked, "How's Elizabeth?"
Michelangelo gave a non-committal shrug. "As good as she can be I suppose. She's curled up on the couch. Leo made her tea and told her she could stay here for as long as she needed to, even though Sabey said that El could stay with her."
Donatello nodded, knowing that Elizabeth most likely wanted to stay close in case he found something. "You and Sabrina seemed to have worked things out, where is she?" he asked curiously.
A blush rose up in Michelangelo's cheeks and he ducked his head in embarrassment. "Yeah," he agreed, a grin spreading across his face, "after she lectured me. I couldn't understand half of what she said. It was adorable," Michelangelo said dreamily before he gave his head a little bit of a shake. "I just got back from dropping her off at her apartment. She has to work in the morning, but she's going to stop by as soon as she can and I'm supposed to text her if we find anything."
Donatello looked at the clock and realized that it was by far later than he had thought it was; the tiny numbers indicating that it was just past midnight.
Stepping forward, Michelangelo walked closer, his face turning serious. "Have you found anything?" he asked quietly.
"No," Donatello admitted with a shake of his head as he dragged his fingers down his face, admitting defeat for the moment.
Michelangelo nodded, biting his lip, looking towards the door before lowering his voice to just above a whisper and said, "Maybe you shouldn't." Eyes shooting to his baby brother's in shock, he stared at him dumfounded. Michelangelo fidgeted, looking uncomfortable before he continued. "I'm just saying that… maybe it's better this way. I know El is a wreck because Cat is gone and she's worried 'cause Raph can be violent, but… Even after everything Raph did and said Cat's still trying to help him. She might even forgive him, and maybe if they spend more time together…" Michelangelo's words trailed off and he looked away guiltily.
"You're hoping that Catherine will eventually return Raph's feelings," Donatello concluded softly.
"I'm the worst brother ever," Michelangelo said with a grimace.
"It's okay, Mikey, the same thought has crossed my mind as well. But even if they spend time together, there is no guarantee that Catherine will return his feelings. You can't choose who you love," he intoned seriously.
"I know, but maybe Cat will see that Raph isn't an ass all the time."
Donatello gave a small smile. "I believe that Catherine is quite aware of the many facets of Raph's personality."
Michelangelo's shoulders slumped as if his words were a death knell to all of his hopes of Catherine falling in love with Raphael.
Seeing his brother so disheartened, Donatello said, "Chapter fifty-nine."
"What?" Michelangelo asked in confusion.
Donatello pushed a torn up scrap of paper that had been taped together with scotch tape towards him.
"What's this?" Michelangelo asked, picking up the paper.
"Catherine's note to Elizabeth."
"You put it back together?" Michelangelo asked incredulously, looking both impressed and slightly scandalized.
"It wasn't that hard. It didn't say much."
"Wait, this is all of it?" Michelangelo asked in surprise.
Donatello nodded.
"'Lizzy, I know you're upset and I'm sorry. I promised that I would keep you protected and happy and I know you will be. I hope you understand. I love you,' signed Catherine. P.S. PPCH59," Michelangelo read aloud. "Okay. I get why El was pissed, this thing doesn't say much and what's PPCH59?"
Donatello turned the computer monitor towards Michelangelo.
His baby brother's eyes scanned the words on the screen, a line of concentration furrowing his brow. "Donny, what am I reading?" Michelangelo asked, turning his attention away from the screen and back towards him.
"Chapter fifty-nine of Pride and Prejudice," he answered smoothly, though the truth was, it had taken him the better part of an hour to figure out the post script.
"Soooo…you think the letters and numbers are meaning this chapter of the book you just said?" he asked skeptically.
"Yes," he affirmed. "Keep reading, Mikey," Donatello prompted.
Michelangelo let out a huff of irritation but complied with Donatello's request and after a few minutes of silence, finally slid a look his way. "Seriously, I don't get it. Are you sure you are reading the right chapter from the right book?" Michelangelo asked dubiously. "Because I don't see the connection."
"This book is important to both sisters and even if Elizabeth didn't know the exact chapter, I think she knows the book well enough to know what Catherine was alluding to," he informed his brother.
"And she was alluding to what?"
"This is Catherine's confession to her sister."
"Confession? What conession?" Michelangelo asked hesitantly.
"Her feelings for Raph," Donatello answered finally convinced beyond any doubt that Catherine's feelings for Raphael were sincere.
Grabbing the computer screen, Michelangelo turned the monitor back towards him so that he could scan the words again. "Okay sooo...this Elizabeth chick is telling her sister Jane that even though it's hard to believe, she loves whoever this Mr. Darcy guy is, even though she used to hate him…" Michelangelo observed skeptically before his eyes widened in understanding and his gaze flew to Donatello's own. "Cat loves Raph?" he asked incredulously. "Are you sure?"
Donatello nodded.
"But…she like…slapped him and walked away," Michelangelo pointed out, as if the reality was too good to be true, "as if she never wanted to see him again."
"Yes, she did."
"Which was…kinda an over-reaction for her…wasn't it?"
Donatello frowned at his brother's words. "Yes, it was," he said in agreement, understanding that Michelangelo was contemplating that Catherine may have slapped Raphael and stormed away in order to conceal her intentions to kidnap him once she had everything in place.
Michelangelo suddenly beamed with happiness. "Cat loves Raph," he whispered. "That's aweso-" his words halted and his face fell, "-oh… Poor Leo," he breathed out softly.
"Yeah," Donatello agreed quietly.
"But…why didn't El say anything?" Michelangelo questioned. "And why did Cat make it so hard to figure out? I mean. Why didn't she just say in her note to El that she loved Raph?"
Donatello opened his mouth to answer and then snapped it shut as the blood drained from his face at the realization that Catherine had obviously believed that he would open the letters and would possibly decide not pass them on if he found something within them that he objected to.
Swallowing and clearing his throat, he answered, "I don't know." He shrugged, hoping that the renewed guilt he felt would be sloughed from his shoulders by the movement; even though he knew it wouldn't be. "Maybe she didn't want to break Leo's heart if Leo happened to see the note while Elizabeth was reading it," he postulated preferring this theory to the previous one he had come up with, but knowing that it was unlikely as Leonardo would have received his letter first, before Elizabeth even had a chance to read hers. Shaking away this thought he finished answering his brother's questions. "As to why Elizabeth didn't say anything…maybe she wanted to keep silent for the same reason," he theorized. "The question is…do we tell him?" Donatello wondered glad of opportunity to lessen the burden of his illicitly gained knowledge, and having a second opinion of the situation from the brother who understood the emotional needs of their family better than anyone.
Looking down and staring at his hands in serious contemplation, Michelangelo was silent for a few moments before he spoke. "Cat not telling Leo herself was harsh, but I can understand why she didn't," Michelangelo began and Donatello had to push down the guilt that assaulted him at knowing that Catherine had left Leonardo that information and Donatello had opted to keep it from him. "But…" Michelangelo glanced up at him, "I don't think we should tell him. El doesn't know we know and if she hasn't decided to tell Leo yet, it would be unfair of us to tell him before she is ready to. I know it sucks for Leo and maybe it's cruel for us to keep him in the dark when we know the truth, but I think it's for the best."
Donatello digested his brother's words for a minute, comforted by the fact that Michelangelo shared his view on the situation.
Falling into a heavy silence he broke it when a thought struck him. "I can't stop looking for them you know," he warned his brother and continued to talk even as Michelangelo opened his mouth to protest. "Not because I want to find them, but because I'm expected to find them."
"Donny," Michelangelo pleaded.
"I didn't say I would look very hard, but I will find them eventually. I can only hope that by the time we do, that Catherine will have been able to help him….If Raph allows her to help him."
Michelangelo snorted a small grin sliding across his sombre features. "The woman he loves, stormed the lair, took us all out, and tranqued and kidnapped him. I'm pretty sure that for Raph, that is probably like, the most romantic thing ever. I doubt he'll be able to say no."
Donatello remained serious, not as confident in Michelangelo's words as he was. "I hope so," he said in response.
For a few minutes they both sat in contemplative silence before another grin suddenly spread across Michelangelo's face.
"What?" Donatello asked his baby brother who looked as if he was attempting to rein in his sudden mirth.
"I was just thinking… I would pay money to see the expression on Raph's face when he wakes up."
I know that there is probably some disappointment that there wasn't really any Raph and Cat this chapter, but I thought they both deserved their own chapter...
Hope you enjoyed!:)
