A/N: Wow, I haven't written on here in a while... Heh... This was a pretty busy month for me. I hope ya'll have been enjoying everything I've posted so far! A very special thanks to Techno Dawn for all your reviews! I'll get back on the writing train and get some more chapters out!

Chapter 6 - Not Real

Raph tapped his foot impatiently, watching as Leo paced back and forth in front of him. Their patrol had ended a short while ago, and the oldest brother's incessant pacing was starting to get on Raph's nerves. The hot-headed brother glanced back, noticing that it wouldn't be long until the sun rose.

"Leo, you can stand here all you want, I'm going home."

With this announcement, Raph turned and walked over to the edge of the building. Before he could leave the rooftop, a firm grip dragged him back to the middle of the roof. Raph roughly pulled his arm out of Leo's hold and stepped out of reach.

Raph shot his older brother an annoyed glare and Leo met it evenly. "We are staying right here until our brother's return."

"Why?" Raph demanded. "Mikey and Donnie know how to get back to the lair."

Raph paused and reconsidered. "Donnie knows how to get them back to the lair."

"I know that." Leo snapped back, crossing and uncrossing his arms. "I'd just rather we all head back together."

"And I'd rather not." Raph grunted, watching as Leo walked to the edge of the building. Either not hearing him or purposefully ignoring the comment, Leo asked. "You think something happened?"

"No." Raph said, shaking his head as Leo began pacing.

"I don't see why you're being such a baby. They're late all the time."

"But what if this time, it's more than them just being late?" Was Leo's comeback. "What if they're in trouble?"

"They're ninjas. Pathetic ninjas, obviously, but pathetic or not, they can handle themselves."

"But what if this time they can't?"

"You worry too much."

"You worry too little."

"Actually, I worry just the right amount."

"Really? Because you don't seem to worry at all."

"What's the point of worrying over nothin'?"

Then, as if fate was agreeing with him, he spotted Donnie and Mikey headed in their direction.

"See, they're fine." Raph said, gesturing. "Can I go back to the lair now?"

Leo spun around and then visibly relaxed when Donnie and Mikey joined them on the rooftop.

"Dudes, this was the most boring patrol ever!" Mikey complained immediately. "There were no bad guys doing bad things!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Leo asked.

"That's what I said." Donnie shrugged.

"Well, it's a good thing because no humans are, like, hurt or anything..."Mikey agreed. "But I can't be an awesome ninja-hero if there's no one for me to save!"

Raph shook his head, allowing Leo to start his lecture about how 'no crime is good' and noticed Donnie staring out into the distance. He raised a nonexistent eyebrow, wondering what the genius was looking at, when the hot-headed turtle suddenly remembered the brightening sky.

Just because he wasn't a fretty mother like Leo was, didn't mean Raph wasn't concerned with the safety of his family. He knew that them being out in the daytime was dangerous, so he turned back to the oldest and youngest turtles.

Seeing the blank look plastered on Mikey's face, Raph knew that he wasn't going to remember anything Leo was telling him and therefore had no problem interrupting the pointless lecture.

"Hey, fearless. We got the slowpokes, I'm heading back now."

"Can't you wait one second? I'm in the middle of something!"

"No. Your lectures always take hours and the sun's risin'."

Leo glanced back, blue eyes widening and demanded. "What? Why didn't you tell me how late it was?!"

"I just did!" Raph snapped back, clenching his fists as he wondered why he even bothered. It's not like Leo ever thanked him!

Leo's response was to shoot him a look, one that was far from thankful, and turn back to Mikey. It was at that moment the two oldest both realized that the youngest turtle was gone.

"Mikey!" Leo cried out immediately, panic in his voice.

"Dudes, over here!"

They both rushed over to see Mikey on the sidewalk, holding what appeared to be an alley cat. Beaming, he held up the brown animal and said. "Check out the cat! Isn't she purrrrrrrty?"

Leo's response was to jump down next to him and commanded. "Enough puns, Mikey. Now put down the cat, we're heading back."

Happy grin fading, Mikey clutched the cat to his chest and said "No! I've barely gotten to know Brownie!"

"You named it?! Already?!" Leo demanded, surprised.

Raph shook his head, used to the amount of craziness Mikey was prone to show, and turned back to Donnie. His emerald eyes momentarily widened, before he let out an aggravated growl.

The genius turtle had disappeared. Something that was honestly more surprising then Mikey disappearing because Donnie didn't usually take off without his brothers.

Sighing, Raph began to head in the direction he had seen Donnie staring. He might as well go get their brainiac brother back. Leo was never going to let them go home without Donnie, and Raph was so done with Lame-O-nardo's endless worrying.

Frankly, he was done with Leo in general.

Whatever Donnie was doing, his younger brother better have a great reason for running off and wasting Raph's precious time...

Donnie didn't realize he had started running until he leaped off the side of a building and landed smoothly in the alley below. He scanned the shadowy, trash-filled alley around him, looking for any signs of the figure.

Ever since they left the sewers, he'd had a distinct feeling that he and his brothers were being followed. He had searched for 'them' over and over, but whoever it was seemed to know what they were doing, always staying out of sight.

He was tempted to tell his brother's about his suspicions, but he'd never actually seen anybody following them. He just had a strong feeling of being watched.

He shivered slightly, gaining a clear feeling of déjà vu from the night before, and held his bo staff at the ready. Earlier, when Donnie had spotted a figure moving out of the corner of his eye, he'd immediately taken off after it, his instinct to find out who it was and assess the danger they possessed.

He was beginning to wonder if he'd just imagined it when he spotted movement. Narrowing his eyes, he spun towards the figure cloaked in darkness. The moment he got a clear view, he stepped back, eyes widening as he recognized the glowing, blood-red eyes.

"Hello, Donatello." The Demon said smoothly, stepping towards him with a wicked grin.

"H-how is this possible!?" Donnie demanded, voice shaking against his will. "You're not real! You're not - You were just a dream! You-you can't be here... Unless I'm still dreaming?"

He warily eyed at the Demon, wondering why he couldn't remember going to bed, and the Demon simply smirked.

"You're not sleeping, Donatello. Believe me, I'd be having much more fun if you were."

Donnie stepped back when he moved closer and shook his head, the scientist part of him denying the reality. "I have to be dreaming. Not only were you a figment of my dream, but you're a demon, and demons don't really exist, which means that you can't exist."

"Then, explain how I'm standing right in front of you." Was the smug comeback.

Donnie blinked, his mind racing to try and explain what plainly wasn't real. After a few moments, he relaxed, setting his staff to his side as he announced. "You're some kind of illusion, a post-trauma hallucination, perhaps."

The Demon said nothing, watching him silently and Donnie continued. "You appeared last night, which means you must be my brain's way of trying to cope with almost losing Mikey. You're a demon, which means you could be a representation of my inner demons and the dream... Since the dreams 'came' from you, you could be my mind's way of punishing me for what I did to Mikey."

Donnie finished his explanation with a calm and knowing air, feeling much better now that he could rationally explain what was happening around him. As if to help prove his point, he walked over and reached out to touch the Demon.

His arm passed right through and the Demon suddenly disappeared. Donnie jumped back and noticed that the Demon had appeared to his left. Turning to face him, Donnie took this to mean his predictions were true, the Demon certainly wasn't arguing, and smirked, announcing. "See? Everything can be rationally explained."

"But if your predictions are true, wouldn't that mean you are, in fact, not rational?"

Donnie's smirk disappeared. "W-what?"

"Think about it Donatello, If I'm your post-drama illusion-"

"Post-trauma." Was the instinctive correction.

"Yes..." The Demon shot him an annoyed look before continuing. "If I'm a post-trauma illusion, then would that not mean your mind created a Demonic image to converse with. I don't believe that's normal human behavior, now is it? And is your mind not alike to that of a human's?"

Donnie was silent and the Demon could feel the worry and fear that filled the turtle at his statement. Calmly circling the frozen turtle, he said "I believe seeing such things is not well taken with others. Nobody wants a lunatic around, and so they lock them up. Hide them away. You can't trust someone who can't even trust that what they're seeing is real, now can you, Donatello?"

"I'm not insane."

Donnie turned to meet the smug gaze of the Demon, trying to ignore the doubt now implanted in his mind.

"Aren't you?"

Donnie was about to reply when he heard his name called out. Jumping back, his head shot up and he saw Raph land on the ground right next to him.

Shooting Donnie his usual annoyed glare, Raph barked. "There you are! What'd you run off for?"

"Well, I saw-" He paused and glanced over at the Demon, noticing the amused smirk he wore. "I-I mean, I thought that I saw someone." He corrected himself, avoiding his older brother's gaze.

Raph glanced about the alley, and then down at Donnie, asking. "So you just ran after some guy? Here? Why?"

"I don't know. It just happened." Donnie replied honestly.

Raph rolled his eyes, not happy with his brother's reasoning, and replied. "Yeah, well, don't go doing it again, Donnie. This family already has one crazy brother running off after animals and whatnot, we don't need another."

Raph glanced up, not noticing the fact that Donnie winced as though he'd actually been punched, completely unaware that the Demon was mixing up the words in his younger brother's mind, making his comment sting more the Raph had intended it too.

Turning back to Donnie, he added. "We'd better go find fearless before he realizes we aren't nearby and has a heart attack."

Donnie nodded numbly and followed his hot-headed brother back up to the roof, ignoring the piercing eyes of the Demon in the back of his skull.

Fingering his staff, he ran after Raph, unconvincingly trying to reassure himself that the Demon was wrong. That he wasn't a lunatic.

Yet, the more he considered it, the more he couldn't help but wonder...

What if the Demon was right?

"Yeah, well, don't go doing it again, Donnie. We don't need a crazy brother in the family."