Donnie paced back and forth, his mind wreaking havoc on his nerves as he wore marks on the floor with his constant movement.
Raph had been gone for two hours now and none of them had heard a single word from the angry turtle. If Donnie hadn't been worried then, he certainly was now.
He had trusted Leo when he had said that this was a common occurrence with Raph, but his instincts told him something was wrong.
Finally losing his patience waiting, he walked out of his room and into the living room, surprised to see Splinter and Leo already there.
"He's not back, is he?" Donnie asked, already certain of his answer.
Leo shook his head. "No, and he's not answering his phone either."
"Are we going to look for him?" Mikey asked, who Donnie hadn't even seen in the room.
Leo seemed to be weighing the options.
On one hand, the sun was going to be up in a mere few hours, on the other, even he knew that Raph didn't stay out for this long.
Leo gave the two brothers a stern nod but didn't say anything. His expression was controlled, unreadable, though Donnie doubted that was how he was actually feeling.
Donnie ran back to the lab to grab his bo-staff, tucking it safely onto his shell before rejoining Leo and Mikey in the kitchen.
"Come on." Was all Leo said before turning and starting toward the exit.
The run toward the nearest manhole cover was done in complete silence, each turtle more anxious than the last, though you wouldn't be able to tell it by Leo's expression.
Donny didn't question where they were going this time and simply followed Leo and Mikey up to the surface, where they proceeded to scour the rooftops for their missing brother.
"Try calling him." Mikey urged after about a half hour of searching with nothing to show for it.
"I have, Mikey." Leo stressed. "I've called him a dozen times."
"Well, try again." Mikey suggested.
Donnie could see Leo's patience wearing thin by this point and quickly intervened.
"Mikey, if he didn't pick up then, why would he now?" Donnie asked, hoping the logic would get through to his younger sibling.lp
"Maybe he was sleeping then. You never know." Mikey defended.
Donnie sighed and turned back to the eldest.
"Is there somewhere he likes to go when he goes off on his own?" He asked.
"Usually he would be with Casey, but I've already called him and he hasn't seen Raph either." Leo said. "Casey's looking for him now, said he would call if he found anything."
"Maybe Raph took a trip to New Jersey." Mikey suggested.
"Or maybe he's in trouble." Donnie emphasized with a glare in his younger brother's direction.
"We don't know anything yet guys." Leo put in. "What I do know is that when we find him, I'm gonna tear his shell off for going off on his own at a time like this."
A loud shrill sound rang out, making all three turtles jump in their shells and Leo quickly dug out his phone.
"Perfect timing, Jones." Leo muttered before answering it. "Hey, Casey, do you have anything?"
There was a few moments where Leo's face changed and he seemed to be listening to Casey speak.
"Yeah, yeah we're on our way. Just do what you can, alright?" Leo said before hanging up and turning to them. "Casey found him, but from how he described them, it seems like Baron's guys found him first. Let's go!"
Neither Donnie nor Mikey needed telling twice and they ran with new vigor, following their oldest brother's lead.
Leo stopped and held out a hand to keep them from going forward.
"Mikey, run ahead and scout it out that way we're not running in blind." Leo ordered.
Mikey saluted them and jumped to one of the nearest buildings and quickly became a blur to the other brothers.
Donnie took the brief respite to suck in several quick breaths, his body not used to the constant running. He was so going to have to train some more when they got back to the Lair.
Leo was staring anxiously where Mikey had run off to, not speaking.
"Did Casey tell you how Raph looked? How he was acting? Was he bleeding?" Donnie demanded, firing off the rapid questions.
"He just said Raph was unconscious and that there were about ten or so of Baron's men around." Leo answered. "Didn't say anything about Baron himself, though."
"He lets his soldiers do the fighting for him, for the most part. He's like Shredder in that way." Donnie said, then sighed. "But unlike Shredder. Baron's got a mind of his own. He's clever too, and he'll always have backup plans on top of backup plans."
Leo nodded thoughtfully and his head snapped up when they heard Mikey's swift approach.
"I counted eight." Mikey informed them immediately. "No sign of Baron. Casey's fending them off but..."
Mikey just shook his head while Donnie frowned.
Jones was managing to fight off eight of Baron's men when they barely managed to survive them? Donnie just couldn't see it.
"Alright, listen. We get in, we get out. Raph is the priority here, we're not here to tangle with these guys again."
Mikey and Donnie nodded and gripped their weapons tighter.
"Go!"
This time, Donnie and Leo followed Mikey, allowing him to take the lead into battle.
They found Casey standing protectively in front of Raph, guarding him against the eight soldiers with his hockey stick, which was in such a poor state that Donnie was surprised that it hadn't broken yet.
"Hey dudes!" Mikey yelled when their feet touched the rooftop. "Happy to see us again?"
It quickly became apparent that they were most certainly not happy to see them.
Donnie was extremely glad that Splinter had begun his training, because if he hadn't Donnie wasn't sure how well he would be doing right about now.
As it was, he was keeping on his feet and wasn't doing half bad.
Something kept nagging at him, staying on the forefront of his thoughts even as he dodged the soldiers' blades.
Something's wrong here.
Donnie swung, his staff knocking the wind out of one soldier, only to have another quickly take his place, swinging a katana toward his face with deadly accuracy, forcing Donnie to duck under the blade to avoid decapitation, which gave the soldier the upper hand and Donnie felt himself being kicked roughly into the rooftop.
His staff was kicked out of his hands, clattering far out of his reach and the foot on his shell pushed him down further.
Donnie tensed in expectation of a blow that never came, and instead felt himself get kicked away.
Confusion overtook him for several moments.
Why exactly was he not a turtle kabob?
"Hey Donnie!'
The turtle in question's head snapped up in time for him to turn over and catch the staff that his younger brother had kicked back to him.
"You're not supposed to throw your toys, Donnie!" Mikey teased, and then yelped when he almost lost an arm when he wasn't paying attention.
Donnie didn't respond as he jumped to his feet, swinging his staff into the neck of the soldier, his eyes bulging and dropping his katana.
Donnie didn't immediately move, staring at the downed soldier, confusion warring in his thoughts.
He clearly had the chance to kill him. Shell, they probably had plenty of opportunity to kill Raph and Casey before they got there.
What was going on?
Donnie glanced around them and his frown deepened.
Was it just him, or did it seem like-
A low groan to his left caught Donnie's attention and he ran to his immediate older brother's side, barely taking note of Casey standing guard beside him, looking worse than Donnie had ever seen him, but standing nevertheless.
Raph's eyes were open a sliver but he didn't really seem aware of much of anything.
"Raph?" Donnie asked. "Raph, can you hear me?"
All he received in return was another groan.
"How long has he been like this?" Donnie asked, forced to yell over the commotion.
"Been like that since I found him." Casey supplied.
"Raph, Raph come on look at me." Donnie urged, even going as far as to slap Raph's face a few times in the hope of knocking some sense into his older brother.
I think he rubbed off on me, Donnie thought wryly as he realized how much like Raph he was being.
His efforts weren't in vain though because Raph's eyes opened more and fixed Donnie with a stare.
Donnie breathed out in relief.
"Raph can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" Donnie asked, holding up two fingers not far from his brother's face.
To his credit, Raph merely swatted his brother's hand away, proving to the other that he was feeling more like himself.
"Did you just- did you just slap me, Genius?" Raph demanded, to which Donnie let out a nervous laugh.
"Story for a later time." Donnie said. "What happened? What do you remember?"
Raph looked confused for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts.
"Baron. He attacked me. Something got me in the neck." Raph mumbled, one of his hands attempting to reach his neck.
Donnie leaned forward but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but his eye caught the sight of a small dart that Raph must have taken out before he passed out.
Donnie picked up the dart and turned to Casey.
"We have to get out of here. I want to check Raph out in the Lair." Donnie told him.
Casey only managed a nod, apparently too exhausted to speak.
"Leo!" Donnie yelled. "Leo, I've got Raph. We need to go!"
Leo and Mikey started backing up toward them and Donnie took that opportunity to throw Raph's arm over his shoulder.
Jumping from building to building had proven strenuous on a regular occasion, but proved to be near impossible when one was carrying their brother while doing so.
"Guys, guys." Mikey called from somewhere behind him.
Donnie hadn't been keeping track of where his other brothers were, so focused on not dropping the one he was carrying.
"Not now Mikey." Leo said. "We need a place to hide out and I don't think they're going to fall for the old Lair again."
"I don't think we're going to have to worry about that dudes." Mikey spoke up, causing Leo to finally stop and look back, the others following suit.
It was then that Donnie realized that he hadn't heard any sounds of a pursuit and turned around to find that it was because nobody was pursuing them.
"Where'd they go?" Leo asked, more to himself than anyone else.
"Maybe they went home, called it a day." Mikey suggested happily. "I think that's a great idea and we should probably do the same."
Leo, halfway supporting Casey, looked around at the surrounding buildings, searching for even the slightesthint of moving shadows and found nothing.
Donnie caught Leo's gaze and knew that the unsettling feeling in his gut was shared with the leader.
"To the sewers, now." Leo urged.
Donnie carefully made his way down the building, all too aware of the brother he was carrying, who groaned with every movement but didn't seem entirely aware of anything at all.
"Here, I'll help ya D." Mikey offered as soon as he jumped down after Leo, running up to take Raph's free arm and helped to support his weight.
"Thanks Mikey." Donnie panted, feeling much of the weight he had been holding shift to his brother.
"No problem D, we all know I'm the strongest turtle anyway." Mikey boasted with a grin.
Donnie couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness that was Mikey before Raph's groan brought him back to the seriousness of the situation.
"Mikey, when we get to the Lair, help me get Raph to the lab. I want to make sure Baron didn't poison him and I want to identify what he used to knock him out."
Leo shot him a questioning look but didn't comment as Mikey nodded enthusiastically.
"Whatever you need, D." Mikey promised.
"Is Casey hurt, Leo?" Donnie called back.
"No, I think he's just exhausted." Leo answered.
"When we get to the Lair let him sleep. I'll check him over later." Donnie instructed, sighing in relief when he caught sight of the entrance to the Lair.
Together, Mikey and Donnie hauled Raph up to the lab, not stopping even when Master Splinter came out of the dojo to ask what had happened, both decidedly leaving that task to Leo.
Mikey helped him to lay Raph down on the cot and Donnie got to work on testing the vile he had found to figure out what kind of cure he needed to make.
He was suddenly very glad that April had decided to help him turn the room into a proper lab a few days prior. He was so going to have to thank her later.
"He's gonna be okay, right D?" Mikey asked him from Raph's side, where he still hadn't moved from.
Donnie glanced up from the computer to his brothers.
Mikey was looking at him with those wide, begging eyes and Raph still hadn't moved an inch, almost looking like a corpse on the cot.
"He's going to be just fine, Mikey." Donnie promised him, hoping that he wasn't lying to his little brother just as the computer dinged, telling him that the results were ready.
"That's..." Donnie shook his head, confused over the too simple diagnosis on the screen.
"What's wrong with him?" Mikey demanded anxiously. "Is he gonna die?"
"He's... He's gonna be fine, Mikey." Donnie assured him, to trying to make the pieces come together to no avail.
"Then what's wrong?" Mikey asked with obvious confusion.
"It just... It just doesn't make sense!" Donnie exploded. "It was only benzodiazepine. Just to- to knock him out. I don't understand."
"Well, I don't understand a lot of things, D. It's nothing to be worried about." Mikey assured him, confident that was the issue.
Donnie just shook his head before picking up a syringe and filling it with a clear liquid, one he hadn't thought he would have been using.
"What's that?" Mikey asked urgently.
"It's just going to clear his system out and wake him up. I don't know how much of a dose Baron gave him." Donnie explained, talking more to himself than to Mikey toward the end. "Why don't you stay and watch Raph and I'll go check on Casey, alright Mikey?"
Mikey nodded confidently and sat down in Donnie's chair, and Donnie knew that Mikey wasn't going to leave from that seat for anything.
Donnie grabbed some gauze and disinfectant just in case and headed downstairs where Casey lay on the couch, obviously passed out from exhaustion.
Master Splinter and Leo were trying to tend to his wounds with what they had, but even though his wounds weren't life threatening, they were plentiful and deep enough to bleed through what fabric they had found.
"Master Splinter." Donnie offered the gauze and disinfectant to Splinter, who didn't seem at all surprised to see him there, while Leo jumped slightly.
"How's Raph?" Leo asked almost immediately.
"He's... fine." Donnie said with a frown.
Leo's eyes narrowed at his tone but whatever he was about to say was cut off when Casey groaned and his eyes opened slightly.
"Ugh," Casey groaned. "My head man!"
"Are you experiencing any nausea? Lightheadedness? Are you dizzy?" Donnie asked, wanting to catch a concussion early if he had one.
"That's way too many questions at one time." Casey muttered.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Donnie demanded, holding two fingers a few feet from Casey's face.
"Two, now are you going to leave me alone or you got more questions in you?" Casey demanded with a huff.
Donnie merely sat back down, breifly reminded of Raph, and was satisfied that Casey would be fine.
But this merely raised Donnie's suspicions more. Casey and Raph were relatively unharmed, which was hard to believe even if he didn't know that one was unconscious. And why use the drug at all? Donnie had confidence in his brother's fighting ability, but he just couldn't see Raph being that much of a threat to that many of Baron's soldiers for that to be a necessary move.
"What happened out there?" Leo asked as Splinter sat back.
"I was patrolling the rooftops, trying to find Raph and I saw 'im but he was on the ground and those guys were around him, so I called you guys and I jumped in." Casey explained. "I could've handled it, I just thought you guys would want to know where he was."
Donnie couldn't help the roll of his eyes and the look he and Leo shared.
He acts way too much like Raph, Donnie thought. Both pig-headed and think they can take on the world.
"How were they acting?" Donnie cut in before Leo could ask another question. "Baron's men, how were they acting?"
Casey shrugged slightly.
"They were just kind of standing around Raph so I jumped in and, well," Casey shrugged, figuring they could figure out the obvious.
Donnie's frown deepened with the information.
"Thanks, Casey. You rest and I'll call April and tell her what happened." Leo offered before standing up and leaving the room.
Casey sighed and leaned back against the couch cushion and closed his eyes.
"Something troubles you my son." Splinter said, more a statement of fact than a question. "What is it?"
Donnie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, something he had noticed he was doing more and more lately.
"Casey's story. Well, all of it, actually." Donnie admitted.
"What do you mean?" Splinter asked.
"This whole thing, from the moment we got there something just felt... off." Donnie said carefully. "It seemed planned, Master Splinter."
"Something wasn't sitting right with me about it either." Leo agreed as he sat back down. "They seemed too easy compared to the last ones."
"That too." Donnie said. "But it's not just that. The drug that was in Raph's system? It was only benzodiazepine. It just makes the person unconscious and it has no side effects, other than a massive headache. So I don't understand what they were trying to do. I checked his neck too and there's barely a mark left."
"They seemed like they were pulling their punches during the fight." Leo said with a nod.
"They could have killed Raph before Casey even got there but they didn't, they waited." Donnie said with a shake of his head.
"But why?" Leo questioned. "Were they waiting for us or something else?"
"Before Raph passed out on me, he said that Baron was there. He didn't say anything about soldiers, just Baron." Donnie informed them. "Why would Baron just come and go like that? That's not his style."
"Are you sure that Raph saw Baron?" Leo demanded. "Because he seemed pretty out of it, he might've been imagining things."
Donnie shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't know why Baron just came and went, but I think Raph knew what he was seeing."
Leo didn't look quite convinced but didn't argue with him either.
"Alright, from now on, no one goes anywhere alone and visits to the surface will be minimal." Leo said firmly. "If this was an attempted capture, we make sure everyone is accounted for when we do go up to the surface."
"Attempted- you think they were trying to capture him?" Donnie asked.
"Him or all of us, it could be why they waited." Leo said.
"If they wanted to capture us, they would've stopped us on the roof. But they didn't. They let us leave." Donny pointed out. "I don't have any idea as to why, but they did."
"Or maybe they did try, but we stopped them." Leo said with slight exasperation. "Maybe Casey held them off long enough for us to get there."
"All due respect to Casey, but he had a hockey stick, Leo. And he isn't exactly a master of ningitsu." Donnie deadpanned.
Leo conceded to that point at least.
"And you have a stick." Casey, who Donnie hadn't realized was awake, grumbled and motioned lazily to his staff.
"That's a bo-staff, Jones. That is a weapon. What you have is used to hit hockey pucks around ice." Donnie said indignantly. "Very different things."
"They're both sticks, and you're both annoying." Said a distinct voice.
Leo, Raph, and Master Splinter all looked up to see Raph making his way to them from the lab, Mikey hovering beside him like a mother hen.
"Gerroff Mike." Raph grumbled, sitting down on one of the cushions.
Casey looked up, assured himself that Raph was fine, and leaned back into his cushion.
"You should be resting in the lab." Donnie told him, choosing to ignore the stick comment.
"I woke up and got tireda' Mike's hovering." Raph answered. "What the shell happened?"
"What do you remember, my son?" Splinter asked.
"I... I remember going to Casey's, and the fight." Raph glanced over at him and Donnie swallowed. "I left, I think, but I don't really remember anything else."
"Nothing at all?" Donnie questioned. "Not about Baron? Or the fight?"
Raph thought for a minute before shaking his head. "No, can't remember nothing about that."
Leo and Donnie shared a look but didn't say anything.
"My head's poundin'." Raph muttered. "Did I hit it?"
"No, it's the drug they shot you with." Donnie answered, then turned to his younger brother. "Mikey, can you go get some aspirin?"
Mikey, as eager to help as ever, nodded and ran to the kitchen to get the desired medicine and came back a few moments later with the bottle in hand.
Donnie made sure to thank him before taking two and putting them in Raph's hand, who threw them in his mouth and swallowed before Mikey could go get any water.
"You four should get some rest. Mr. Jones will rest here for the night." Splinter declared.
No one protested about that and Leo helped Raph- despite his grumbling about not needing his help- to his room.
Donnie said a quiet goodnight and headed back to the lab to clean up and go to bed, exhausted to his bones.
When he did get everything cleaned up, he fell into his cot.
His mind was still puzzling over the day's events as he fell asleep.
Leo normally wasn't scared of his immediate younger brother. Sure, he could sometimes be intimidating when he was angry, but Leo had never really let that affect him.
However, Raphael when he was injured and wanted to be left alone and not needing, "to be carried to his room like a damn turtle tot" as he put it, made the "Fearless" leader hesitate often.
And despite his being injured, Raph didn't hesitate to tell him off for not letting him even open his door when he wasn't that hurt.
When Leo did get into the room finally, Raph pushed away from him and struggled briefly to get into his cot.
Leo had tried to help but the flaming glare that Raph had sent his way made him reconsider and he had stepped back to allow him to do it himself.
"You don't have to hover, you know." Raph grumbled as he fell back against the pillow. "You three are such mothers, you know that right?"
Leo merely rolled his eyes. Of course Raph would see caring as smothering and unnecessary.
"Night Raph." Leo said and turned for the door.
"Leo?"
The tone of Raph's voice, the hesitance of it, made Leo turn around.
"What Don said back there, when we were arguing, do you think that's true?" Raph asked, making sure to keep his voice quiet.
Leo didn't answer for a moment.
He had tried not to think about what Donnie had meant, but now that there was room to breathe and think, the prospects weren't looking good.
"I don't know." Leo answered honestly.
Raph just sighed and rolled over and Leo took that as his sign to leave.
As he walked to his own room, Leo couldn't help but glance at the lab and wonder about exactly what Donnie had meant, and then decided that, for tonight, he wouldn't think about it.
Tomorrow, though, he would find out. And he wasn't going to weasel out of it this time.
He stared out from the platform, watching the soldiers move the new shipment from a companion of his overseas into the weaponry.
Their new base of operations, though already previously prepared for this event, was still lacking in weaponry and security, things they would soon be needing.
Shredder, as he had heard from his agent within the Foot's headquarters, was furious at the betrayal. He had immediately sent Foot to search the city for the rogue soldiers that Baron was certain he would never find.
Hidden in nearly every way he could make it, deep underground, was their base of operations.
"Sir."
Baron turned around to see one of his soldiers waiting, to which he motioned his permission, and the young man stepped forward.
"How did your mission go?" Baron asked.
"Exactly as planned, Master Baron." The young man confirmed.
Baron nodded and looked back toward the new shipment.
Let the pieces fall as they may, he thought with a smile.
First off, let me apologize for not publishing lately. School started and I've been pulling longer hours at work. But I'm so sorry and I will try to publish more often. Thank you for all the reviews, they mean so much to me! Thank you guys for sticking with this! I appreciate every one of you!