IT'S A THANKSGIVING MIRACLE!

Sorry for the LONG hiatus. New job, new living situation, little time to do much else.

I had planned for this chapter to be longer, but I'm posting what I have and trying to work through the writer's block I have for the back half. Trust me guys... it'll be worth the wait.

Enjoy!

May 5, 2013

"Whadda we do now, Leo?" Raph propped his foot up on the ledge of the building looking out over the destruction of the city. The Technodrome continued plodding down the street.

Leo twirled his mask tails between his fingers; a nervous habit he thought he had outgrown. "I don't know, Raph. I don't see a way in…"

While the two older brothers discussed strategy, Donnie retreated as far into his shell as he physically could. The pain in his head had subsided for the precious few minutes he had tried to help formulate a plan, but then it returned tenfold. The teen trembled at the thought of what his girlfriend - his best friend - was having to endure at this moment. He barely registered Mikey's presence next to him as the younger boy stroked his arm.

"Hey Dee. How ya feelin, bro?"

Donnie gritted his teeth, glaring at the boy beside him. "Like crap, Micheal."

Mikey shook his head in sympathy. "Man, I'm sorry about that dude. Never thought your bond with April could backfire on y'all like that. But hey - hate to bug ya, but I gotta quick question." He pointed to a group of Kraang corralling humans into a pod. "Whadda think those weird pods do?"

It took considerable effort, but Donnie managed to crane his neck over the edge of the building so he could see. "Best guess: the Kraang need test subjects to experiment on or want to catalog as many samples as they can."

"Um hm, um hm. Interesting…" Mikey stroked his chin. "Thought. Since the pods're taking people back to the big ship, couldn't we just hijack one and sneak in that way?"

The rooftop was silent as everyone stared at Mikey.

"Huh. I can't believe it," Raph scoffed. "Mikey had a good idea!"

Mikey shot to his feet, thrusting his finger towards his red-clad brother. "I can have good ideas! Why does that surprise everyone? YES, I have WAAAYYYYY too much energy," He started listing off his fingers. "YES, I can be disorganized; YES, I sometimes have the attention span of a fly; YES, I probably have ADHD…" The boy blinked, having lost his train of thought. "Wait… I was going somewhere with this…" He snapped his fingers, rounding on Raph once more. "Oh yeah! I notice EVERYTHING, Raphael. I don't always share my ideas, but I can still be a help to the team. And it CRIMPS my SHELL that you guys don't see that!" Mikey finally backed down, his chest heaving.

Leo blinked. "Whoa, Mike. I-I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way…"

"None of us did." Donnie struggled to his feet to pop another Tylenol.

Raph hesitated before surging forward to embrace his brother. "I'm sorry, little brother. I'm sorry if I've ever made you feel like less than part of this team." He pulled away, holding Mikey at arms length to look him in the eye. "You are a key player. We couldn't do any of this without you."

Tears played at the edges of Mikey's eyes as he pulled Raph back in for another hug. "Thanks, Raph." Mikey mumbled into his brother's shoulder. "Love ya bro."

"Love ya too, little brother." Raph smirked as he transitioned the hug into a lighthearted noogie. "Now let's use that awesome idea of yours to get April back!"

The teens slunk down the side of the building to where several Kraang surrounded a pod. They quickly dealt with the Kraang before hopping in. Donnie grit his teeth as the pod brought them closer to the Technodrome. It appeared that the closer he got to April, the more their bond would hurt.

No one said this was gonna be easy…

It wasn't long before their pod entered the Technodrome alongside the other pods containing specimens.

"Alright guys, this is it!" Leo hissed. He nodded to Raph who positioned himself to open the pod's dome on Leo's mark. "On three. One, two, THREE!"

Raph grunted as the dome lifted. Almost immediately, they all began floating around the vast corridor. "What the heck's going on?" Raph was already starting to feel queasy.

"Looks like someone didn't pay their gravity bill!" Mikey giggled. His smile froze as a mechanical arm lurched out to grab him. Leo pushed off from the pod to push Mikey out of the way. "Thanks, bro!"

"It appears that the Kraang use anti-gravity to move around more easily." Donnie swam through the air, still wincing at his headache.

"Any way for you to turn off the anti-gravity?" Raph was looking even greener.

"It would take too long to find a terminal and that would give away our position." Donnie gripped his head in his hands again. "We're running out of time!"

"But how're gonna find April in this place?" Leo gestured around them. "This place is massive!"

All their blood ran cold as they heard a scream. Then Donnie began screaming.

"Donnie!" They were on him in an instant.

Images flashed through the purple turtle's mind as the pain quadrupled. April's nightmares as a child, her mother's body, the Kraang drawing her blood the last time they had captured her, what they were doing to her now.

Donnie then noticed that the pain in his head was forming in one spot on the right side of his head. Ever the scientist, he tested a theory. He carefully rotated his head in the direction he was feeling the pain. The pain itself shifted towards the middle of his head. Opening his eyes revealed a tunnel.

"Guys…" He groaned. "I think I know how we're going to find her…"