It hadn't taken long to wake Mikey when the sun finally went down, which was probably due to the rude awakening he received from Raph, and in what felt like moments, they were on the rooftops.
Despite the rather depressing mood that had befallen the Lair before their trip to the city, Mikey was now jumping around and blabbering just the same as he would any other night except that now he had renewed energy, and his talk consisted of only one subject.
"When we find him, I'm gonna give him the biggest hug in history!" Mikey declared as he landed a somersault across one roof. "One that'll make up for all these years! He's gonna be thrilled to see us!"
Leo resisted the urge to remind Mikey that the turtle that he was picturing in his head was a completely different turtle than the one they had met the night before, and most certainly had not looked thrilled to see them. But the leader in blue knew that his words would go through one ear and out the other faster than one of Splinter's lectures on old Japanese lore.
Which made the next thing he had to do, what he had promised himself he would do, that much harder.
"Okay, stop." Leo ordered, stopping his momentum, but it took several moments for his brothers to reluctantly do the same.
"What, Leo?" Mikey whined, flailing his arms about dramatically.
"What is it, Fearless?" Raph growled, clearly irritated at the delay.
"I need you guys to listen to me." Leo stated, crossing his arms over his plastron. He took a moment to gather himself to say it, and when he spoke, his voice was calm. "We're going to find out what happened to Donatello, nothing more. And I need you two to promise me that after we do, after we find out the truth, there will be no more what iffs and no more fantasies. We put all of that to bed. Are we in agreement?"
When he received no response, he gave Mikey a pointed look.
Mikey's face was unusually serious as he looked back at his oldest brother.
"Yeah. We'll put it to bed, Leo." Mikey promised in a quiet voice.
Leo then looked at his immediate younger brother, gauging his reaction.
Raph's face was one of stone, his scowl set in place as he stared back at his brother.
"Raph, will you put it to bed?" Leo asked. "Please? For the family?"
That was a low blow, especially for Leo. Anyone who really knew the hot headed turtle knew that he would do absolutely anything for his family, so Leo's plea was pretty much the equivalent of hitting below the belt.
One nod was the response he received from Raph, but Leo knew better than to push for more.
"Okay, so we start with the Purple Dragons. Somebody will know something." Leo said.
If Mikey or Raph had any protests, they didn't voice them as the three turtles raced along the rooftops of New York, each lost to their own thoughts.
Leo was planning the leads they would trace if the Purple Dragons turned up nothing, determined to find something tonight, however unlikely.
Raph was abnormally quiet, not making one single quip or snide remark, not even when Mikey face planted on one roof after trying to show off.
The leader in blue was growing increasingly worried about what this whole ordeal was doing to his family, and wondered just how bad it would get before it was over.
"Hey, Fearless, that what we're looking for?"
His immediate younger brother's voice brought him back from his thoughts and he looked in the direction that his brother had pointed to.
In the alley stood around a dozen Purple Dragons, each holding an automatic of their choice and other various weapons while other Dragons worked on unloading-
Mutagen?
Granted it was only two canisters, but the appearance of the valued material surprised the leader in blue almost as much as it's handlers. What need did the Purple Dragons have for mutagen? Unless his earlier assumption had been correct and they were working closely with the Foot.
One of the Purple Dragons stood in the middle of the bustle, directing the others toward two trucks, his focus constantly on the containers of mutagen.
Actually, Leo wasn't entirely convinced that the man was a Purple Dragon. As far as he could tell, the man didn't have any visible tattoos on him, which made him stand out from his inked out companions. He also didn't wear the usual street garb that was so befitting of the gang, instead what he was wearing was more in character for a buisnessman.
Leo was about to point his findings out to his brothers when the man spoke.
"I want these trucks moving in two minutes. We're taking it to Stockman and if we have any problems, I will have no problems throwing you to Master Shredder." The man proclaimed and got into the passenger side of one the trucks.
None of the Purple Dragons seemed to like being ordered around, but it seemed that the threat of bringing the wrath of Oroku Saki on them had sufficed to frighten them into submission and they all filed suite and climbed into the two trucks as well.
"Leo," Raph whispered beside him. "We've got to follow that truck. If it's going to Stockman, I'll bet your tail that the other canisters will be there too."
Leo hesitated. This was supposed to be about finding out what happened to their brother, not about the mutagen.
But he also knew that this was their chance to get the dangerous substance away from their enemies and thwart whatever plan Shredder had concocted.
Sorry Donnie, Leo thought to himself with a sigh. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise. Just not right now.
"Okay, stay close to the trucks but do not let them see you or they might change course." Leo ordered as the trucks started to move. "Let's go."
I know it's a short chapter but I promise the next one will be longer. If you're still reading this, thank you so much! The next chapter will be out quickly, possibly by Wednesday. Normally I'll only be posting on Mondays and Fridays though.