To say that the old father was worried would have been an understatement.
When he had finished his meditation, he discovered his children nowhere to be seen in or around the Lair.
Though it wasn't unusual for his three rambunctious children to frequent into the world above, the concerning conversation that the family had not that long ago gave the father more than enough reason to worry about his children's whereabouts.
For the first couple of hours, Splinter attempted to keep a lid on his growing worry, telling himself that this was normal and that they would heed his words.
Never during that time did he allow himself to think about Donatello. He didn't have the time to think about this new discovery until his other children were safely in the Lair.
But as the clock ticked, the hours stretching, Splinter began to grow wary. His children were never this late. And if they were, they always made sure to call.
Something was wrong.
Splinter, feeling that something was most definitely amiss, started out of the Lair and into the sewers, heading in the way of the O'neil apartment with a kind of hurry that only parents were capable of.
He slipped inside the apartment quietly and was welcomed with the sounds of constant typing from in the living room, confirming that at least Mrs. O'neil was home.
He quickly stepped into the room, watching as Mrs. O'neil picked up her cell phone.
"Hello, yes, this is April O'neil. I called not that long ago and I wanted to know if you had found anything yet? No- well, yes, he is an adult- I understand that it's not been twenty-four hours." April sighed. "Wait, but-"
The line obviously went dead because April hung her head and placed her phone on the table.
"Mrs. O'neil?" Splinter asked.
April whirled around, her mouth open with shock at the unexpected visitor.
"Master Splinter." She gasped before signing in relief.
She really needed to invest in some security one of these days.
"I apolagize for showing up unannounced-"
"Oh, it's fine. I just didn't see you... Come in." April said. Really, she should have been accustomed to unexpected visits and silent entrances.
"Mrs. O'neil, do you know where my sons are?" Splinter asked, aware of her shifting eyes.
"I've been looking." She said quietly. "But I can't find them anywhere. They were supposed to be back hours ago and I've tried calling them but nobody's picking up and-"
"Calm, Mrs. O'neil." Splinter urged. "Now, where were they headed to?"
"They went to some pizza place. It's run down now, I think. I've been looking, but there are so many-"
"Why were they going there?" Splinter asked.
April hesitated. The guys would be angry for getting them in trouble with their father, but if Splinter was going anyway then he had to know, just in case something went wrong.
"They- they were going to meet Donnie." April admitted, watching as Splinter's ears pressed flat against his head. "They wanted to talk to him. They should've been back by now, Casey went with them, but none of them are answering-"
"I will return. If they come back, keep them here." Splinter said sternly.
April nodded her consent and turned back to her computer.
Splinter raced out of the window, heading in the direction of his children's previously favorite pizza place before it shut down, keeping to the shadows that had started to fade. This would have to be a quick trip to the rooftop or he would risk being seen in the coming daylight hours.
Splinter shook his head. What had they been thinking? He had specifically told them not to speak with Donatello, and yet they blatantly disregarded his authority and did exactly that. The old ninjitsu master saw many long hours of training in their future.
But the reprimanding would have to come later, when his children were safely in the Lair and no harm in sight.
When he arrived at the rooftop, the first thing he did was sniff the air. His son's scents met his nose, old, but most definitely there. There were multiple spots of blood on the rooftop that the old rat sincerely hoped were not his children's. Splinter sniffed the air again.
Multiple people had been on this rooftop, none of which he recognized. Well, he couldn't exactly say that. There was a peculiar scent mixed with the others, similar to his son's and yet completely foreign to him at the same time.
Donatello.
The throbbing in his chest came back full force and the father had to take a moment to gather himself again before continuing his search of the rooftops.
And yet, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything more that could lead to his son's whereabouts. Besides the blood spatters, there was nothing more to see. The Foot had obviously ensured that no trace was left.
Splinter sniffed again.
Oddly, he didn't find a whiff of Mr. Jones on the rooftop. April had made it clear that Casey had accompanied them to this rooftop, so why wasn't there any trace of the human?
Splinter glanced at the surrounding rooftops. Perhaps...
Splinter stood and began his search of the human man, using his heightened sense of smell to find any traces of his presence.
He had searched three of the surrounding buildings before he stopped, the familiar scent of gasoline, paint, and that too-strong cologne that the human always wore.
And yet, other than the old smell, there was nothing else to hint of the human's whereabouts.
Had he gotten taken as well?
But no, the scent hadn't been as old as his son's had been. It was still relatively fresh, which meant that he was still out here somewhere.
Splinter watched with a heavy heart as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the tops of the surrounding buildings. He would have to hold off on his search until sundown.
He took one last look at the buildings before making his way in the quickly retreating shadows to April's apartment.
As he approached the window, his ears immediately picked up on a not-so-quiet conversation being had in the living room.
"I mean really, you're more bruised up than the first time you ran into Hun, Casey. What were you thinking?" April demanded.
Splinter perked up, making his way deeper into the apartment and he saw Casey sitting in one of the kitchen chairs with a very concerned April pressing a large bag of ice to the side of the man's head, which was indeed blacker and more purple than the old rat ever remembered seeing him.
"M-Master Splinter!" Casey sputtered.
"Mr. Jones, do you have any news on my sons?" Splinter asked, hoping that the human would simply tell him that they were sleeping somewhere in the apartment.
"I- uh-" Casey started hesitantly.
"Casey, he knows." April said before he could attempt to lie.
"Oh." Casey said, then settled his eyes on splinter. "They took 'em. All of 'em. He- he came up on the building, I thought he would've gone to Leo, but-"
"You're talking about Donatello, correct?" Splinter asked.
Casey nodded.
"Yeah. He said something about how it was 'flawed'?" Casey threw his hands up in confusion. "Hell- heck, sorry Master Splinter- I don't know. He said something about how you should've gone through the vents, not the top or the bottom? I have no idea. He was just rambling, trying to distract me. Then he knocked me out and when I came to, they were dragging the guys into a van. I followed it to their headquarters but when I tried to go through the window, well, they about got me. I had to get out of there and that's when I came here."
Splinter didn't move for a moment. Donatello knew about his attempts to break into Foot headquarters? But did he know everything? And why had he allowed Casey to walk away but helped to capture his brothers?
To say the situation was confusing would have been putting it mildly.
"When Donatello first went missing, before I thought he was..." Splinter cleared his tight throat. "I attempted multiple times to break into their headquarters, but was always thwarted. I attempted to go through the windows and once through the tunnels and was never able to. I believe he meant for you to tell me this so that we would be successful in rescuing the boys."
"You think he's trying to help us?" April clarified.
Splinter nodded. "I believe so. That, or this is all a very odd cooincidence."
"We need to go in there." Casey said boldly. "Right now."
"Mr. Jones, you are in no condition to fight. And myself will not be enough to infiltrate the Foot." Splinter reasoned.
"But Master Splinter, the guys are alone in there! We need to get them out now." Casey stressed.
"Mr. Jones, I will not leave my sons with the Foot." Splinter winced at the obvious irony of the statement. "We need to regroup or we will have no hope of rescuing them, or else I would go now."
Casey sunk in his chair in defeat.
"Did he say anything else, Casey?" April asked as she replaced the ice pack on his head.
"Maybe? I don't know. My head is still pounding." Casey sighed and sunk lower before suddenly perking up again. "Well, he did say something, before he hit me. But it wasn't really about the guys or how to get to them, so it doesn't really help."
"What did he say?" Splinter asked, curious despite himself.
Casey shrugged and repeated what he thought to be irrelevant information.
"He said, 'forgive me.'" Casey said. "You know, right before he knocked me out. So I'm not really entitled to forgive him any time soon."
Splinter considered this.
He didn't know what to think of his estranged son. His decisions were erratic, as if he changed his mind every time he breathed. Or as if he were being torn in two, a compassionate side who waited to attack, and an aggressive, more obedient side who followed the lead of the Foot no matter the order.
Splinter shook his head, wondering once again how he could have made such a grave mistake as to leave one of his children in the hands of Oroku Saki. He should have checked! He should have continued his searches until he found his son. He should have thought about going through the vents before giving up!
But when he felt the harsh pull in the astral plain, he had been so sure...
Obviously, he had been wrong and his mistake had costed the family a great deal.
Splinter shook his head. Dwelling on past mistakes would do nothing to help any of his children now. He needed to gather allies and materials for an attack as soon as possible. Something told him that he would need it.
It's not very long, I know, but I thought that I needed to get this out of the way. Splinter's coming! I'm not that great at doing Splinter, so there probably aren't going to be many chapters in his point of view. Thank you for reading!