Trying to Understand

For the first time in his life, Donnie couldn't make sense of the facts.

Huddled up on his bed, as if it could preserve him from the uproar outside, he thought about said facts.

First, the Year End Festival had been suspended. The surprise Donatello had made for it was still waiting in Leatherhead's forge. He had been so proud of it, so impatient to test it - it was a way to send colored flames in the sky without bending.

Donnie shook his head. He shouldn't let his attention drift. The festival had been suspended because of the second fact: one of his brothers had disappeared without leaving a trace.

Adults kept saying he had left - but why would Leo leave without telling them goodbye? And he could see how much their mother was worried, it was obvious she had been crying a lot. Leo would never want to upset her like that.

Third, another one of his brothers was about to be temporarily exiled. Raph would soon leave with the caliphe's delegate - and Donnie who had been so happy about Bishop's arrival now wished he had never set foot in their home.

So. No festival, no Leo, and soon no Raph.

And none of this made any sense. None of this had any logic. Yet Donnie lived by and for logic.

He needed to understand. He needed to understand. He needed…

"Donnie?"

Mikey's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Donnie hid his face between his knees so Mikey wouldn't see how upset he was - but Mikey wasn't so easily fooled. He climbed on his twin's bed and somehow found his way against his chest.

"Are you thinking again?"

"I don't understand. I need to understand. Where is Leo? Why must Raph leave?"

"I don't understand either, but you're not going to find the answers if you stay in our room. Why don't we go ask Mom?"

Donnie hesitated. "You think she won't mind? She's very busy."

"Let's try it."

Mikey disentangled himself from Donnie's arms and pulled on Donnie's sleeve. Donnie reluctantly stood up and followed his twin to the kitchen.

Their mother was there, cooking food for the people who were still helping to search for Leo.

Donnie would have thought so many adults working together could manage to find one teenager, but apparently not. Adults were disappointing.

Except his mother, of course. His mother was still the best.

"Hi, Mom," Mikey said, hugging Tang Shen.

Mikey hugged people a lot these days. It was as if he knew they needed the comfort. Donnie liked hugs to, but only with the people he knew very very well.

"Hi, Michelangelo." Tang Shen wiped her hands on a dish towel. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Mom, we wanted to know…" Mikey hesitated and turned to Donnie.

Donnie knew he expected him to explain what, exactly, they wanted to know.

He cleared his throat. He had already asked why Leo had left, and his mother not only had no answers, but she cried - so he wasn't going to ask that again.

"Why does Raph have to leave?"

His mother sighed. "It's his punishment for fighting with Slash. But don't worry, Donatello, he'll come back in a few weeks."

"He could have been punished inside the oasis," Donnie went on stubbornly. "We need him here. Why do we have to do what Bishop says?"

"Because Raphael hurt him, and because he's a representative of the caliphe," said his father's voice.

Donnie turned to him. He had just entered the kitchen and looked exhausted - like his mother and everybody else, except he and Mikey who weren't allowed to take part in the search.

Tang Shen looked at him with hope. "Any news?"

Yoshi shook his head and her shoulders sagged. He sat down at the kitchen table and took Donnie on his lap.

"You know we are part of the caliphate, right?"

Donnie nodded. They had been taught that, and he remembered.

He always remembered everything.

"And Bishop is allowed to speak in the caliphe's name. He's someone very important. We have to listen to what he says."

"But it's not fair," Donnie protested. "He doesn't know Raph like we do. Raph never meant to hurt him!"

"Yeah, it was an accident!" Mikey added. "You always say that we won't be punished if it's an accident, why is it different for Raph?"

Yoshi sighed. "It happened because he was fighting with a friend, and that can't be tolerated."

"Slash isn't Raphie's friend," Mikey pouted.

Donnie nodded. He had come to the same conclusion.

Their father took Mikey on his lap, too.

"They're from the same clan. We all are. In order to survive in the desert, people need to help each other. Your brother and Slash will have to patrol in the desert together, what if they can't trust each other?"

"I don't like it," Mikey whispered.

"You don't have to like it," Yoshi said softly. "But try to accept it, alright?"

"I'll try," Mikey said.

But Donnie knew it was just to make his father happy.

Later that day, Donnie and Mikey went looking for Raph. They didn't even say it aloud; they knew they both wanted to be with him.

Raph wasn't in his room, although he was grounded at home - so they went to the gardens.

Raph wasn't here, either.

"Do you think he left like Leo?" Donnie asked, feeling close to tears at the mere thought.

"I don't know." Mikey bit his lip. "Wait, I know where we could look for him!"

Donnie watched him with hope. "Where?"

"In the tree grove behind the house. I saw him go there with Leo once."

Donnie's eyes went wide from excitement. The tree grove wasn't exactly in the gardens, but it was close enough that Raph could have heard people calling him - so maybe he wasn't disobeying their parents and just wanted to be left alone? Mikey said that his relationship with their father wasn't at its best, and Mikey noticed those things.

Donnie and Mikey ran to the edge of the grove, then tiptoed inside, just in case.

Raph was there indeed, and so was Karai.

Donnie's eyes widened in excitement. His elder brother and his cousin looked like two conspirators. Maybe they would learn something interesting?

He exchanged a knowing glance with Mikey and both hid behind a tree, careful to keep silent.

"Nothing adds up," Raph was saying. "I know my twin. It's not like him to act that way."

"What, you think he was kidnapped?" Karai shook her head. "By whom?"

"No, I… I don't know." Raph kicked a few leaves. "I'm just saying, this makes no sense."

Donnie nodded gravely. It was a good sign if Raph had been able to figure that much. Donnie had been worried about his brother after his fight with Slash, but said brother was beginning to use his head again.

"I know, Raph."

Karai put a hand on Raph's arm, and Donnie frowned. He hadn't known they were that close. He glanced at his twin, and Mikey mirrored his own expression. He hadn't known either.

"I'll keep investigating, I promise," Karai went on. "Try not to get into any more trouble than you already are, okay? And I know it's easy to say, but try not to worry too much about Leo. He has a few surprises in store for whoever might want to harm him."

Donnie frowned even more. What was Karai talking about?

Raph sighed. "I know. And I've been thinking, maybe it's for the best if I spend time with Bishop. If he has anything to do with Leo's disappearance, I might find clues."

"You think he might be involved?"

Donnie pricked up his ears. Did he?

"Well, I…"

And then Mikey sneezed, which caused Raph to stop speaking.

Donnie glared at his twin, and Mikey made him apologetic puppy-dog eyes.

"Who's there?" Raph said threateningly, and Donnie and Mikey had no other choice but to go into the open.

Raph's expression softened considerably when he saw them.

"What are you two doing there?"

"We were looking for you," Mikey immediately said, his face pleading. "To tell you goodbye."

"I'm only leaving tomorrow."

"It's just in case you forget," Mikey went on in a small voice.

Raph knelt to be at their level. "Mikey, I won't forget."

"But Leo did," Mikey pointed out.

All of a sudden Raph grabbed Mikey and held him close. "I know, Mikey, I know," he whispered in a choked voice. "Don't be mad at him. I'm sure he would have if he could."

"I'm not mad at him," Mikey answered sadly. "I just don't understand."

Raph sighed. "Me neither, little brother." He stayed silent for a while. "You two want to stay with me for the rest of the day?"

Donnie and Mikey nodded. Karai watched the three of them with a fond expression.

"I'll set to work immediately," she said. "Good luck, Raph."

"Thanks," Raph answered.

Donnie made a mental note to talk to Karai later. Obviously she knew more than they had thought about what was going on.

That night, Donnie and Mikey slept with Raph again. Raph made them promise that they would be good in his absence, and they promised, crossing their fingers just in case.

It was too dark for Raph to notice.

Then, right before falling asleep, Mikey asked the question that Donnie hadn't dared to say.

"You'll bring back Leo?"

Donnie waited for Raph's answer in expectation. The adults hadn't been able to find Leo, but Raph was his twin and maybe he would succeed where everyone else had failed.

"I won't rest until I have," Raph whispered fiercely. "I promise."

And Donnie didn't need light to know Raph hadn't crossed his fingers.

That same night, and unbeknownst to the three brothers, their parents' room was the stage of a matrimonial fight of epic proportions.

"Yoshi, this can't go on," Tang Shen said between gritted teeth. "Tell me what you know."

Yoshi kept a watchful eye on her. She had crossed her arms and was sitting as far from him on the bed as she could. She seemed very close to throw something to his face, something that wouldn't be a cushion. "My love…"

"Don't 'my love' me! I know you're hiding something . My son has disappeared, and you refuse to speak!"

"Please, Shen, trust me," Yoshi said desperately. "I only want what's best for our family -"

"You don't understand," Tang Shen added. "Either you tell me what I need to know, now, or I'll consider that you're not interested in our marriage anymore. And I'll act accordingly."

"Shen!"

Yoshi's shock was obvious, but it didn't stop his wife. She was worried sick and at the end of her rope.

"What's your choice, Yoshi?"

Yoshi's answer seemed to come an eternity later. "Fine. I'll tell you."

And he was true to his word. Tang Shen had a hard time believing her ears as he told him about Leonardo - their son - bending water, and about the threat posed by Bishop.

But nothing shocked her more than the end of his story.

"You send him away?"

"Shen, try to understand," Yoshi whispered urgently. "I've done it to protect him."

He reached out to her, but she refused his arms.

"All this time, you knew what had happened to him, and you let me imagine the worst," she accused, tears coming down her cheeks.

"It had to feel real," her husband said, his voice broken. "For Leonardo."

Shen wiped her eyes angrily. "And Raphael? He couldn't know either?"

"No, for the same reason you couldn't. I'm so sorry, Shen."

He looked miserable, but she wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

"You have to tell him."

"Shen, he's going to spend weeks with Bishop, who is both one of the cleverer men I know and the last person who must learn about Leonardo's fate. Of course I can't."

"Raphael would never betray his brother."

"And what if Bishop realizes he's lying? That man is dangerous. Please, my love. Help me on that. For both our sons' sake."

This time, Tang Shen allowed him to take her in his arms as she cried.

Bishop gazed into the starred sky. He had decided to move from the Hamato house; he didn't want to cause more drama.

He had been accommodated with a sumptuous tent, but he had decided to sleep under the stars instead.

The caliphe's delegate didn't know what to think of Leonardo's disappearance, but his family's despair was genuine, there was no doubt about it. And it didn't threaten his plans in the slightest.

Raphael's reaction, however, had given him a golden opportunity to make a move he could only have dreamed of.

The sons of two of the most influential men in the oasis would soon be under his supervision. He could influence them, show them how necessary his mission was - and even if they failed to realize that, they would still make fine hostages.

Bishop smiled. His future had never looked brighter.