Michelangelo felt much more awake by the time Raphael and Donatello returned to the cavern with Leonardo, but the orange-masked turtle wished he was dreaming. The combined shock of the attack on his oldest brother, the abandonment by the Ruairi, and the kidnapping of Kamryn was so strong that he didn't say a single word for almost ten minutes while Donny was trying to grasp Leonardo's condition.

Raphael was bristling as he sat beside Mike, and he sensed that his red-masked brother was angry enough to take on an army. It's really too bad we don't have a few of those Ruairi in front of us right now. Raph would probably take them out all by himself.

Mike winced at the sound of Leonardo's deep cough, and the way his breath seized in his chest. Donatello had covered Leo up several times, but the blue-masked turtle persisted in kicking the blanket off.

"Donny, isn't there something we can do to help?" Mike asked.

"Not unless you can find us a good supply of water. I don't suppose the Ruairi left us anything to survive on," Don replied bitterly.

"They wouldn't have to leave water," Ezra mentioned. "The existence of the tree down in the valley means there has to be ground water, even if it's under the surface. I would be happy to go and see what I can find."

"If the ground ain't already open, I can fix that myself," Raphael added. "That's one thing I know I can do."

Don looked up from Leonardo. "Would you and Ezra stay together then? Take the empty flasks with you just in case, and check if the Ruairi happened to leave anything behind we can use."

Raphael hopped to his feet. "We're on it, Donny."

"Don't separate, okay?"

"We'll stick together," Ezra promised.

The red-masked turtle and the Irishman disappeared outside, and Mike went over to join his brother.

"What's happening, Donny?"

Donatello took a long moment to respond. "I'm positive his core temperature is too low…and he's experiencing almost complete paralysis of his upper body. Leo told me it started with his muscles, but now it might be affecting his organs too."

"It might be?"

"Mike, I don't have any equipment to tell me what's going on inside. Leo's working too hard to breathe, which leads me to the conclusion that the neurotoxin is affecting the function of his lungs. His symptoms are reminding me of vasculitis, but there's no way to know for certain," Don finished quietly, as though talking to himself.

"What's that, Donny?"

"Oh, it's just…um…inflammation of the blood vessels in the lungs, which can be caused by a number of things, including an allergic reaction. I wouldn't be surprised if a neurotoxin induced something like that."

"So what can you do?"

"I don't know," he murmured, sounding far away again. "I'm trying to address his temperature to start with. This is when we could really use that stupid extract from the elohim."

Mike surveyed the blue-masked turtle silently, shaking his head at the seeping wound on his shoulder. He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't feel it would help. Donny doesn't have the answers. How could he? We need someone who's seen this toxin before.

Fear churned in Michelangelo's stomach while he watched Donny address Leonardo's wound with another strip of material that had come from one of the cloaks. Leo groaned softly and his knee rose slightly under the blanket.

Donatello carefully pressed Leo's leg down. "Easy, Leo. You're all right."

"Don, get it off," Leo rasped. "I'm burning - get it off."

"I wish I could, Bro, but you're too cold. I know it doesn't seem like it, but you are," Don insisted, pushing his knee back again.

Mike cocked his head. "Is it possible for him to have hypothermia and a fever at the same time?"

Donny gave him a doubtful look. "I don't know anything about this toxin, but I wouldn't think so, Mike. We're talking two opposite ends of the spectrum temperature wise. It could be that his perception of the temperature is off."

Leonardo coughed violently, and Mike stretched to reach his hand. "Hang in there, Leo. Please."

"Mike?" he mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Mike was incredulous. Amazing. He's hacking his guts up under some unknown toxin, and he's worried about me? He took a deep breath and gripped his hand harder. "Yeah, I'm cool, Leo. I've got your hand right here."

"I can't feel it," he said drowsily.

"But you can hear us, right? Donny's helping you, so you gotta do what he says."

"He always helps." Leonardo wheezed through his next breath.

"Leo, I don't think you should keep talking," Donatello said. "It could be aggravating your cough."

"I'm so dry. Is there water?"

Mike exchanged a glance with Donny.

"I think there's some left in the bottle I wasted to help you wake up, Mike. Would you mind grabbing it while I finish wrapping his shoulder?"

Mike retrieved the flask and came back to help Donatello sit their brother up far enough to drink without choking. The orange-masked turtle winced when he realized the flask was only about a quarter of the way full, but he gave it to Donny anyway.

The purple-masked assisted Leonardo in getting the water down, and shook his head apologetically when it was gone. "I'm sorry, Leo, that's all we've got. Raph and Ezra are searching for more."

"Is Raph being careful?" Leo asked.

Mike ducked his head and nearly laughed. "Bro, quit worrying about us. We've got this under control, right, Donny?"

"Yes, Leo," Donatello agreed. "Please try to relax."

When Mike started to lay him back down, the blue-masked turtle renewed his effort to breathe deeper.

Don glanced at Mike. "Could you help keep him propped up maybe? I think it's easier for him to breathe that way."

Michelangelo resumed supporting his oldest brother's dead weight, but tried to avoid the injury that Donny was still cleaning up. He knew the purple-masked turtle was nervous, even though Donatello was doing his best to hide it.

"Water," Leo pleaded.

Don swallowed. "I'm sorry, we don't have any more," he told him again. "Don't talk unless you have to, all right?"

Mike held onto his brother tighter as another wracking cough took him. He closed his eyes briefly, but refused to give in to the emotion that wanted to rise. Leo needs us to be strong for him. Donny can't be the only one holding it all together.

The sound of heavy footsteps made Mike's head jerk upright, and Donny spun in the direction of the entrance to the cave.

"Raph, we really need…" Donatello trailed off with a shocked expression and a soft curse as he saw something that Mike couldn't from his vantage point. "Is he…"

Michelangelo stretched to see what was going on without abandoning Leonardo. He gasped when the red-masked turtle and Ezra came into view carrying an elohim between them.

"The good news is, I think the bastards left behind some stuff we can use," Raphael offered. "The bad news is, you're gonna have a couple more victims on your hands, Donny. I'm not sure what we to focus on first."

"We should bring the supplies up," Ezra suggested. "It doesn't look like much, but I think there are real dressings in the kit at least. The elohims' wounds are brazen; there is no doubt the Ruairi meant to kill them."

Donatello bent over Bahri, studying the elohim for a few seconds before looking back up at Raphael and Ezra. "Go back for Ghyath, and bring whatever supplies you think will help the most for the moment. Then we need as much water as possible. Leo is dying of thirst, and I've got to have it for cleaning too."

"You got it, Donny," Raphael answered tightly.

As the others left Mike watched Donatello bend over Bahri again and pull aside his ripped tunic. Don winced over the makeshift bandage haphazardly covering the elohim's chest, and immediately began applying pressure to the injury. "Bahri. Can you hear me?"

"Donny, what's wrong with him?"

"He was attacked too, Mikey, but his wounds are a lot deeper than Leo's," he answered. "Bahri? Open your eyes for me."

Michelangelo looked on in amazement when the golden-haired elohim raised his head a couple of inches. "Donatello," he said wearily. "Where is…Ghyath?"

"Slowly, Bahri, don't push yourself." Donny tried to keep him calm.

"Ghyath," he repeated stronger.

"Raphael and Ezra went back to get him," Don told him. "How are you moving? I thought the neurotoxin had a paralytic effect."

"Does, it does," Bahri answered. His glassy blue-eyed gaze widened when he locked onto Leonardo. "No." He sounded breathless at once. "No, not him. No."

The elohim went so slack Mike thought he'd passed out, and Donny's concern was evident.

"Bahri? I need your help. You've got to stay awake and tell me about this toxin."

"Take this." The elohim lifted one hand, and pressed a small pouch into his brother's palm.

"What…" Donny started, but didn't finish, peering inside the bag instead.

Bahri struggled to get his elbows underneath him. "It will help to cleanse."

"Is this like the drug you gave to Mike?"

"Yes, but…different. You have to load it." Bahri sank back to the ground with a groan.

"Stay with me," Don encouraged him. "Load it? What does that mean?"

"It is here, if you could help…" The elohim fumbled with the folds of his bloodied tunic, clearly searching for something.

Donatello began carefully looking through the same area, and withdrew a small device that was nothing Mike expected to see.

"Is that a gun?" Mike asked.

"No," Bahri said. "The vial goes inside. I can show you."

Donny rose up further on his knees, studying the "gun" and a cylindrical object side-by-side. "I think I can figure out how it works, but how much is he supposed to get at one time?"

"Start with two whole vials…and then…in three hours, give him two more."

The purple-masked turtle peered into the pouch. "I'm counting eight vials. Is that enough for the three of you?"

"Give it to Leonardo. Save him," Bahri said quietly.

"What about you and Ghyath? What's going to happen to you?" Donny persisted.

"We each had three vials already. That is why the paralysis did not take full effect. Leonardo is the one to save. The toxin…" Bahri stopped for a couple of seconds, pausing to gather strength. "The toxin will filter out of the blood stream, but the cleanser will speed the process. Please do not wait. Give it to Leonardo."

Donatello held Bahri's gaze for a long moment. "I can trust you, can't I?" His voice shook with the question.

"I would not hurt you or your brothers, Donatello."

"Will you promise to be honest with me about everything?"

"We never intended to hide things," Bahri said weakly. "It is hard to explain."

"Well, I don't want any explanations from you right now, except for what I need to know to help Leo."

"The larger dose of the cleanser will make him sleep, like Michelangelo did."

"Okay, so we don't have to worry if he passes out. Anything else?"

The elohim shook his head. "Has to run a course. The drug will dilute the toxin's effect."

Donatello got up and approached Mike, who was still gripping Leonardo "Leo? I have to give you something. It's kind of a shot, but I'm not sure how it'll feel going in."

"How did Doc get it?" Leo murmured confusedly.

"We're trusting the elohim," Donatello continued as if their brother could understand. "This is going to happen twice. Don't worry about anything. You're just going to go to sleep."

The purple-masked turtle brought the device to Leonardo's arm, and squeezed the trigger to empty one of the vials. He reloaded it with another cylinder and fired a second time. Donatello maintained an even exterior, except for the flash of fear that Mike caught in his eyes.

When Don held his gaze, the glimmer of anxiety was gone. "Can you watch over him for me, Mike? Make sure he's covered up, and that his bandages aren't bleeding through. Stitches are going to have to wait for a while."

Mike nodded. "I'll do my best, Donny."

The orange-masked turtle carefully set his brother down so that he could create a better "nest" for him, as he remembered all too well how uncomfortable a cavern floor could be when one was sick. Leo watched him work through half-closed eyes.

"You don't have to fight it, Leo," Mike assured him. "Bahri said you'd go to sleep. That's what's supposed to happen."

"Will you wake me up at 6?" he asked in a daze.

Michelangelo tried not to smile. "Forget about your routine, Leo. Get some rest. Donny's going to take care of everything."

"I don't want to get behind."

Mike did laugh that time. "You're gonna sleep, Leo."

The blue-masked turtle sighed achingly. "It's still hot."

"I know, Bro. I'm sorry," he said mournfully. "But you're gonna be okay."

Mike glanced up from his drowsy brother when Raphael and Ezra came into the cavern again. He heard Donny take a sharp breath while they carried Ghyath over to join Bahri. The golden-eyed elohim never said a word, but only lay silently on his side as Donatello examined his back.

"Talk to me, Ghyath," Donatello encouraged him. "Can you move?"

The elohim slowly turned his head to see over his shoulder. "A little."

"Okay. You don't have to fight to look at me – just lie back and relax." Donatello turned to Raphael. "I need water really badly."

"The ground has already been broken a little, we just gotta open it further," Raphael told him. "There are a few more things below, but I brought you these for now so that you can stop cutting up our clothes."

The red-masked turtle unslung a bag from his arm, and Donny immediately started rifling through the contents. Donatello smiled as he withdrew a material that looked similar to gauze and nodded at Raphael.

"I think I can adapt with some of these things. Thanks, Raph. Don't push yourself too hard, but…"

Raphael shook his head. "Genius, do your thing, and we'll do ours." He strode over to Mike and crouched down low to see Leonardo. "Hey, Fearless. You doing okay?"

"Mmhm. But they're ganging up on me."

Raphael snorted. "If you're not a good patient, I'll come down on you too."

Leo tried to open his eyes wider but they rolled back in his head instead.

"It's okay, Raphy; he's had some drugs," Mike said quickly. "He was supposed to go to sleep."

"Take care of him, okay?"

"I got his back," Mike said determinedly.