Leo frowned as he watched Donnie and Mikey in the kitchen together. Mikey was trying to teach Donnie the basics of cooking homemade pizza, but it had quietly become apparent that cooking was one of those subjects that he had never ever had the chance to learn, not that it was such of great surprise to anyone.
Granted, Donnie didn't appear to be the same cooking-chaos that Leo was, but he was definitely worse than Raph. He kept trying to go by the recipe, but Mikey would simply hide the instructions and tell Donnie to go with his gut, and they quickly found out that "winging it" was most definitely not Donnie's thing. Donnie took to this guessing approach with all the likeness of a mouse to a snake, questioning everything Mikey told him to do, or more often than not questioning himself with every step.
Donnie helped Mikey with the rest of dinner with little more argument and it actually came out pretty well, all things considered.
"You did good, D!" Mikey exclaimed. "Much better than Leo and Raph."
Leo smirked at the scowl on his immediate younger brother's face.
"How's it feel?" Leo asked him.
"Least I didn't try to burn down the kitchen." Raph shot back.
"For the last time, I did not try to burn down the kitchen!" Leo snapped.
"I swear they're having their own little war going on." Mikey whispered to Donnie.
"Who? Leo and Raph, or Leo and the kitchen?" Donnie whispered back.
"Both." Mikey answered. "Leo's getting teamed up on."
The two youngest turtles promptly burst into laughter, which caused the two eldest to look up at them questioningly, which only made them laugh harder.
Raph and Leo glanced at each other, both for once in agreement of something: their little brothers were crazy.
But Leo couldn't help but grin.
This, this right here, was the very definition of perfect in Leo's mind. All of his brothers around the table eating a meal and laughing with one another. The four of them and it felt right.
Even Raph was smiling at the scene as Mikey and Donnie regained their composure and they all began eating.
"Hey D, we should team up." Mikey said, turning to Donnie with a mischievous grin. "Team up?" Donnie questioned.
"Your brains and my pranking prowess, we would be unstoppable." Mikey encouraged him.
"Don't even think about it." Raph threatened the two youngest.
"Come on Donnie." Mikey whined.
"I have no intention of getting pummeled by an angry Raphael, no thank you." Donnie answered.
"You ruin everything Raph." Mikey grumbled, sulking in his seat.
Raph smirked and opened his mouth to answer when several loud, ear-piercing alarms rung throughout the Lair, seeming to come from the lab.
Donnie was immediately on his feet, running up to his room before the others could even stand. "Donnie? What is it?" Leo called to him.
Receiving no response, Leo started toward his brother's room with Raph and Mikey right behind him.
"What is it?" Leo asked a frozen Donnie who stood behind his computer with an unreadable expression.
The look in his brother's eyes was more than enough to clue him in, but he walked over to the computer anyway and looked.
What he saw made his heart drop into his stomach
Figures dressed in black, figures that Leo too-easily recognized, slithered between shadows that should have hidden them had there not been cameras.
"Baron's people, I'll guess?" Leo said slowly, making sure to conceal any stray panic that might have been showing on his face.
"Baron's people." Donnie confirmed, his hands curling into fists.
"How far out are they?" Leo demanded.
"Not that far." Donnie responded grimly.
"How did they even know where we were?" Raph growled.
"I don't know." Donnie muttered.
"We've only met these guys twice!" Mikey exclaimed. "They've gotta be more obsessed than the Foot!"
Raph's mouth was set in a hard line and his hands were balled.
"Then let's go show these wannabees not to come around our home!" Raph snarled.
"Hold on Raph, let's think this through." Leo warned. "The first time we went against these guys we barely made it out, and the last time something was clearly up. We can't just do this half-brained."
The reminder of their last encounter with Baron's men sent a spike of adrenaline through Leo, though he desperately hid it for his brother's sake.
"What is wrong?" Sensei's voice cut through the rising tension as they turned toward their father.
"We have intruders." Donnie informed him quickly, turning the computer so that he could see.
Sensei was the epitome of calm as he watched the men on the screen creep toward the Lair.
"Leonardo, Raphael, prepare to defend the Lair." Splinter told his sons. "Donatello, Michelangelo, find another means of escape if we need it."
Leo, Raph, and Mikey ran to do as they were instructed while Donnie stayed back to grab his staff and followed them out with Splinter.
To say that Donnie's heart was pounding would have been an understatement. It was so loud in his ears that he was shocked the others didn't hear it even from where they were at in the front of the Lair.
Mikey was uncharacteristically quiet as they scouted all the possible exits they could take if this fight went bad. There was the obvious exit of the garage, but Donnie didn't like the idea of running through such open space. What they needed was a way to get out of the Lair as quietly as possible, like they were never there to begin with.
Of course, Donnie still wanted to know how they knew the location of the Lair anyway, but that would have to wait for another time.
"There really isn't a whole lot of options, D." Mikey said, eyeing him carefully for a reason that Donnie didn't understand.
"The river that opens up in the Lair, where does it go to?" Donnie demanded. "Mikey, where does it go to?"
"A river on the east side, why?" Mikey answered.
"We can use that, if we have to. We can hold our breath for about six minutes, fourty seconds. Humans can't hold their breath for half of that." Donnie told his brother.
Mikey's eyes narrowed at him. "That's... oddly specific. How do you know that?"
"Doesn't matter right now Mikey, come on."
They met Leo, Raph, and Splinter in the front of the Lair, weapons drawn and tense.
"We have two options, either through the garage or the lake." Donnie informed the rest of their family. "We would have the better advantage in the lake."
Splinter nodded, while this information seemed to only irk Raph more.
"No! No way!" He shouted. "We're so not doing this again! We already lost our home once, we're not going through that again!"
"No one said we were giving the Lair up without a fight, Raph." Leo assured him. "We don't even know if they actually know where the Lair is."
"What do you mean they might not know?" Raph growled. "They're in our sewers Leo!"
"Raphael, calm yourself." Splinter scolded.
Raph seemed to calm slightly, or at least he wasn't yelling anymore, and clenched his hands around his sais.
"Raph," Donnie ventured carefully. "Baron was the one that led the mission the last time in the sewers looking for Splinter, if I was him, the first place I would be looking would be there."
Raph looked back at him but didn't respond.
"Sensei, what do you want us to do?" Mikey asked, and they all looked to their father for the answer.
Their father seemed to have already decided on his answer.
"We will defend our home. If it becomes a losing battle, we'll take one of the escape routes." Splinter declared, looking at all of his sons. "Is that clear?"
A chorus of, "Hai." rang out among the brothers and they each ran to get what they thought they would need.
Donnie ran up to his room, vaulting over the railing to save a little time and looked at the screen. They were close, definitely closer than they had been. But they were wary too, slinking slowly along the walls of the sewers like they didn't know what was going to come out of them.Baron was leading them this time, carefully moving forward with a small tablet in his palm. Donnie zoomed in on it as close as the cameras allowed, having to switch views a few times to get a clear picture.
What he saw made his heart drop into his stomach.
Idiot! His mind screamed at him.
Idiot!
Idiot!
His fingers fell from the screen and he heard someone behind him.
"Donnie, how close are they?" Mikey asked. "The others are wanting to- what's wrong?"
Donnie couldn't find it in him to answer, he just ran. He didn't bother with the stairs and vaulted over them to find his brothers and father in the same place they had been before.
"D, what's going-" Mikey started, following close behind him, but for once Donnie paid him no mind.
"Raph, sit down." Donnie demanded, his voice shaking slightly despite his attempt to keep it steady.
"What?" Raph said, turning toward him. "Donnie, we don't have the time for-"
"Make time." Donnie snapped, his voice hard.
Something on his face or in his tone must have clued Raph in because he finally obliged and sat down on one of the steps and Donnie quickly moved behind him.
"Donnie, want to clue us in on what's going on here?" Leo asked, his voice even but firm.
"Just a sec." Donnie muttered and began pressing his fingers into the back of Raph's neck. "Hey! What're you doin' Don?" Raph asked, but Donnie put a hand on his shoulder when he attempted to get up.
"Just give me a minute Raph, I have to see if I'm right."
"Right about what?" Leo asked.
It was then that Donnie felt it, a bump under the skin of his brother's neck, and he couldn't help the string of profanities that slipped from his mouth as he stood up.
Mikey's eyes were comically wide and Raph looked amused, even more when he realized Splinter wasn't in the room.
"What?" Leo asked. "What's wrong?"
"I'm an idiot. I'm such an idiot!" Donnie muttered before turning to his eldest brother. "Baron was holding a tablet with coordinates that were moving so it got me thinking- I should've checked!"
"What's that mean?" Raph grunted. "That he's tracking us?"
"No." Donnie muttered into his hands. "He's tracking YOU. I felt the bump in your neck when we brought you back to the Lair, but I thought it was just irritation from the injection. But I should've checked!"
Donnie shook his head at himself, at his stupidity.
"That's why they were so easy on us last time." Leo said with a nod. "They wanted us to take Raph back to the Lair."
"God- I should've checked! I should've known..." Donnie muttered to himself.
"You couldn'ta known, Brainiac." Raph told him. "Can you get it out?"
"They know exactly where we are then, don't they?" Leo asked, already certain of the answer.
"Yes. I'm not certain for how long they've known, but yes." Donnie answered, a bite in his tone that Leo was certain was for himself.
"All the more reason to get it the hell out." Raph ground out.
"Language, Raphael." Splinter chided as he came back into the room.
No one asked where he had gone, but Raph silently rolled his eyes at what their Sensei would have said had he been there a minute ago.
Donnie moved behind him and warned him that it was going to sting, but before he could even start, they all heard the commotion at the entrance and both Donnie and Raph shot up, weapons in hand
Donnie tried to keep his breathing steady as Baron walked through the entrance to the Lair and stood, looking down at them with a small smirk on his face.
Donnie kept his expression cold when Baron looked at him, determined not to show anything.
"Turtles." Baron greeted, then scowled at Splinter. "Rat."
"Baron." Leo spat.
"So this is where the great Hamato Yoshi has been hiding for eleven years..." Baron gave a distasteful snort. "I would have expected something better than the sewers."
"Well, at least I can say I'd rather live my whole life down here than have a face like yours." Raph shot back, a smirk on his face.
"Ooh, burn bro." Mikey complimented, giving Raph a fist bump.
Baron's smile turned to a sneer.
"I see Dr. Roland failed to break you." The name sent chills down Donnie's spine involuntarily and he sucked in a breath. The others glared, their grips tightening. "Fortunately, I don't fail."
"That so-called doctor will get his." Raph snarled. "But thanks for saving us the trip of tracking you down so we could kick your sorry shell."
"It's a good thing I have friends." Baron said as his ninja swarmed in behind him.
"I don't think I like his friends." Mikey muttered under his breath.
"Stand down Baron, and we won't have to hurt you." Leo said, but it was obvious that even Leo was ready for this fight, wanted it.
Baron didn't entertain the statement and looked back at the ninja, who promptly threw themselves down at the turtles.
The ninjas seemed determined to separate them as they continued pushing them apart and Donnie couldn't help but be reminded of the Foot's ambush on the rooftop. Luckily, the others seemed to be thinking along the same line and never strayed far from each other.
"Hey watch it buddy!" Mikey yelled when one of the ninja's katanas had gotten too close for his liking.
Donnie pushed the hidden button on his staff and the blade sprung loose, and he quickly brought it down on the ninja's shoulder and used his foot to kick him into another ninja that had been coming their way.
"I had that." Mikey pouted.
"Of course." Donnie agreed with a roll of his eyes. "Just thought I would help."
Donnie had to turn away to fight off a ninja that had been aiming for his shell and kicked him into one of the pillars.
Mikey grinned and turned in time to deflect the Kusarigama that had been aimed at his face.
"Not cool man, not cool." Mikey said when Baron jumped in front of the two, wielding his weapon at the ready. "I was trying to have a conversation."
"You talk far too much, turtle." Baron said and with a flick of his wrist, sent his weapon flying at Mikey again.
Mikey, to his credit, was too fast and agile for the Kusarigama to hit and dodged it every time. It was when Mikey had to fend off two of Baron's ninjas that Baron finally got the chance.
He the metal arrow pierced easily through Mikey's arm and he cried out when Baron yanked him toward him.
Donnie heard the cry of pain from his brother, but couldn't identify who exactly it was, and turned in time to see Baron standing over Mikey with that sadistic smile on his face before he yanked the weapon out of Mikey's arm.
Instantly, all fear of the man disappeared, replaced with a hate and rage that Donatello had never felt before.
He ran, swinging his staff into Baron's stomach and using the momentum to kick him into the wall oppisate of him before backing toward his brother.
Baron grunted at the unexpected attack but righted himself quickly and looked at Donnie with pleasant surprise, like he was a student that had executed an unanticipated move.
"You will not hurt my brothers." Donnie snarled, taking a defensive stance in front of Mikey. "I won't let you."
"Oh, protective are we?" Baron mocked. "Where's the Donatello who was obedient and stood aside as he was told?"
Donnie bristled at the word but tried not to show it.
"He's dead." Donnie said, his voice so filled with venom that he could practically taste it. "Long gone."
Baron smirked.
"I don't think so. I think he's still there. Eleven years leaves marks, after all. It would just take some work." Baron said.
"Never." Donnie spat. "I will never follow you, I will never listen to you. I'll die before I do that again."
Baron merely smirked.
"Oh, I believe there are ways to make you comply to things." Baron said slowly, looking at Mikey who lay behind Donnie's feet, weakly attempting to stand. "They would make great soldiers, after all."
Donnie's mind briefly froze with terror, the horror of that sentence freezing him where he stood. They would make...
"No." Donnie breathed.
The thought of his brothers going through even half of what he had to endure electrified Donatello's every nerve in his body and everything in him screamed in protest.
"You. Will. Not. Touch. Them."
Baron seemed to take that as a challenge and grinned, taking a step forward.
Donnie took two, baring his teeth instinctively and crouching, ready for the inevitable fight.
"We'll see about that." Baron said, right before he lunged.
In training, Baron held back very little. He maimed and teared and scarred, but usually held back enough to avoid immediate death. The fight was nothing like their training. Baron held nothing back, had no restraint.
Donnie was no better.
He used every tactic, executed every deadly move that Saki had ever taught him, the fear of what would happen if he lost fresh in his mind, fueling him, pulling him forward. At that moment, all he wanted to do was kill the man in front of him, to make absolute certain that he would never be able to lay a finger on him or his brothers again.
Donnie lunged again, aiming the speared end of his staff downward toward Baron's chest, but Baron saved himself by capturing his spear in his chains.
Donnie let out a furious yell and shoved on his staff, willing it to go farther, but Baron had too good of a grip for it to do anything but bob slightly.
"Where was this during your training? During the missions?" Baron demanded with that awful smirk on his face. "Looks like Saki taught you something after all."
Donnie didn't bother to answer him verbally and instead let out a small growl and had to yank himself back when Baron reached into his jacket to pull out several throwing stars, one imbedding itself into Donnie's thigh.
Donnie grinded his teeth together and forced himself to breathe and looked down. The star wasn't in too deep, but if he removed it, he would bleed quicker. Not enough to bleed out completely he knew, but it didn't take much blood loss to make you slow, and that made you an easy target.
It was then, when he looked back to Baron to see the man edging toward Mikey undoubtley to use him as leverage, that Donnie completely lost it.
He lunged, swinging his staff wildly, but not without precision or tact, gaining the upper hand when Baron had to retreat from Mikey's still form in order to protect himself. Hundreds of lessons swam through his mind, the deadliest moves that he had been taught at too-early of an age infecting his hands, subconsciously mimicking them to near perfection. Every attack that could be used to kill a man with a bo-staff, he employed viciously.
He put a considerable amount of distance between them and charged the man, slamming his staff into the ground and shoved his feet into Baron's chest.
Before Baron had a hope of standing, Donnie had the speared end of his staff at his throat.
Baron swallowed once, but otherwise showed no sign of fear.
Donnie raised his staff to bring it down for the kill, to end it. But he couldn't do it.
His hands stalled, his fingers twitching, his mind freezing. He couldn't do it. He couldn't force himself to take a life, not like this. If he did this now, it would be worse than when he killed that kid.
Part of him wanted to, needed to know that this man wouldn't be a threat to his family any longer, the other part was ashamed that the thought had ever crossed his mind.
His hesitance had been enough that he didn't have to make the choice; Baron made it for him. He sent a well-aimed kick that knocked his staff out of his hands and wrapped the Kusarigama chain around his legs and yanked.
Baron planted his foot firmly on Donnie's shell, pushing his face roughly into the ground, but there was little Donnie could do to fight back. He groaned in pain when the star in his leg buried itself deeper at the shove.
"Pathetic," Baron spat, his voice close to Donnie's head. "Truly pathetic. And I was just getting impressed. You can't even kill an enemy when you have full opportunity."
"I'm not you!" Donnie hissed in return.
"No, but by the time I'm done, you'll wish that death were an option for you." Baron said easily.
"You will not lay a hand on any of my sons." A voice said, the anger seeping into the cold tone that both sent shivers down Donnie's spine, and relieved him to no end.
Baron stood, facing Splinter with such open disgust that you would think he was looking at alge.
"You're Hamato Yoshi." He said slowly. "I was expecting something... threatening."
The chain was released around Donnie's legs as Baron pulled his weapon to him and Donnie tried to stand, failing after a wave of pain sent him stumbling to his knees.
He hadn't even felt the wounds that Baron had inflicted during their fight until that moment and couldn't contain his groan of pain.
Splinter's eyes flickered to his, but never truly left Baron as he began to edge toward him until he was standing directly in front of Donnie.
"Get your brothers out of here." Splinter told him, glaring at Baron.
"But what about-"
"Go, I'll follow." Splinter cut him off.
Donnie did as he was told, making it to his feet as Splinter lunged, moving the fight away from him, he realized.
He stumbled over to Mikey, limping with every step, and put his brother's arm over his shoulder and carried him toward where their two eldest brothers were defending each other in the living room.
The Lair was covered in the bodies of the ninjas who had fallen, blood covering much of the ground at their feet. The familiar scent made its way into Donnie's nostrils and made him want to throw up, but he swallowed back the bile and forced himself forward.
Defending both himself and Mikey was proving difficult when said brother made his left arm useless, but he managed with a spear that he found by one of the bodies.
Leo's eyes widened when he saw them and Donnie figured that they must have been a sight, the two of them.
"Mikey needs help." Donnie told them as they edged closer to the two of them. "He's lost a lot of blood."
"What the shell happened to you two?" Raph demanded in that way that Donnie knew meant that he was concerned.
"Baron happened." Donnie spat.
And I couldn't finish it. Donnie thought beratingly.
Leo and Raph's eyes narrowed, but neither pressed him for details. At least, not right then.
"We have to get Splinter and get out. We're not winning this." Donnie told them.
"Where's Sensei?" Leo demanded, instantly alert.
"With Baron." Donnie answered evenly.
Leo nodded and turned to Raph.
"We get Sensei and we leave. Understood?" Leo asked.
Raph's eyes flickered over to his younger brothers before giving a stiff nod.
Donnie helped them to finish off what remained of the ninjas- though they all knew that more were well on their way- and Raph took Mikey from him, saying that he would be able to carry him easier, which Donnie didn't argue with.
They found Splinter and Baron in the dojo and Donnie was relieved that not only was Splinter not injured, but he was managing more than well enough against him.
Splinter didn't look at them when they entered, but they could tell Splinter knew they were there because he shifted to stand in front of them.
"You have lost." Splinter said slowly.
"Lost? You think this is the end? No, this is the beginning." Baron hissed. "And I have many, many friends."
Donnie's Shell-Cell vibrated and he opened it to see even more ninjas coming in from the sewers.
"He's got backup coming in from the east sewers." Donnie announced. "We have to get moving."
They backed out of the dojo and once it was clear, Donnie ran up to his room and hurriedly packed the brown satchel that April had gotten him some time ago that he never had use for before and filled it with as much medical supplies as he possibly could before heading down to his family.
They were waiting for him beside the open water. Splinter was assessing Mikey, who was sitting up and though obviously drained, still up to making jokes as he asked what and who had hit him.
"Alright, let's get out of here before Baron's backup arrives." Leo says once Donnie's feet hit the floor.
"Mikey, do you think you can hold your breath if we carry you?" Donnie asked, leaning down toward his little brother.
No one noticed Raph edging away from the group, too focused on how they were going to get Mikey down the river, and didn't see Raph move toward the garage until Donnie was in the water, being handed Mikey to carry until Leo could get down there.
"Raph?" Donnie asked, Mikey's arm over his head, looking at him with confusion. At that, the others turned toward him too.
"You heard what Don said." Raph muttered, reaching up to feel the back of his neck. "Baron's tracking me, not you guys. You guys aren't safe around me."
"Raph, no. We don't split up, we'll figure something out." Leo said.
"I can get it out Raph, it's just going to take some time. We just have to get somewhere safe and I'll get it out, okay?" Donnie reasoned, but he could tell it wasn't doing any good.
"And if they come before you get it out?" Raph started toward the garage again and Leo followed after.
"Raphael, stop!" Splinter ordered.
"Raph no!" Leo growled as Raph turned and shut the garage door and they all heard the sounds of the garage locking.
Leo pulled and yanked and tried everything he could think of to open that garage, all to no avail.
"Raph! Open the damn door!" Leo shouted.
Donnie half expected Splinter to correct him on the language, but he seemed to be too occupied with watching out for Baron and his backup.
They all heard the telling sounds of a motorcycle revving up and slowly disappearing.
Donnie checked his phone and nearly dropped it when he realized how close they were.
"Leo, we have to go. He's already gone, but we have to go. Come on Leo, they're almost here!" Donnie shouted at him.
But Leo seemed frozen in his state, still trying to find a way to open the door even though Donnie was pretty sure that Raph was long gone.
Splinter lowered himself into the water and Donnie passed Mikey to him before getting out of the water, hissing when he put weight on his foot.
He limped over to Leo and grabbed his shoulder.
"Leo, we will find him, I promise. But if we don't leave now, we'll be sitting ducks for Baron's backup and we're not in any condition to fight right now." Donnie reasoned with him. "Come on."
Donnie only had to tug him a few feet before Leo seemed to regain his common sense and willingly followed after Donnie and jumped into the pool of water.
Leo took Mikey on his shoulder and told him to hold his breath and tap him on the shoulder if he thought he couldn't hold it anymore.
They ducked under the water just as the first of the ninjas made their way into the Lair's entrance.
Donnie tried to ignore the pain, the most prominent coming from his leg, but he had so many wounds that he had yet to take stock of yet and he could tell that it was slowing him down. Mikey had tapped on Leo's shoulder two minutes in so Donnie had time to catch up and take in some air.
"Donnie, are you alright?" Leo asked.
He managed a nod but didn't otherwise speak.
He yelped when Splinter's tail wrapped around his plastron and yanked him out of the way and into Leo, who tried to help steady him.
Donnie looked back in time to see an arrow zoom past right where he had been, a group of ten ninjas in the water behind them.
"I don't think his friends like us very much either." Mikey mumbled.
"Swim as fast as you can my sons, go!" Splinter told them and they all ducked under the water again.
Donnie tried, he really did. He tried to keep up with his family, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that he was too weak at the moment to offer much in that way.
They had the advantage of being water animals, able to hold their breath for much longer than them, but the ninjas were uninjured and therefore not slowed down.
Donnie struggled to follow after them, his eyes tearing up and his lungs desperate for air.
Donnie truly began to panic when he felt that awful, merciless breathing mask on his face and vainly tried to tear it off only for his fingers to find nothing there.
The logical, sensible part of his brain knew that there was no oxygen mask on his face, but that part was easily overrun by the terrified, panic-induced feeling of ok knowing that it was on his face.
He could feel the restraints on his wrists and ankles and that only further panicked him.
He couldn't think he couldn't breathe.
He had to get out. He had to get it off!
He desperately clawed his face, trying to get that horrible mask off so that he could breathe, but his fingers never seemed to be able to reach it. The metal table felt cold and merciless underneath him, holding him there.
He pulled and yanked and tried to tear the mask off, but to no avail.
Before he could try further, he felt something wrap around his plastron tightly and pull him up.
Air! His mind screamed, but the mask was still on his face, pressing too tightly on him and he still couldn't breathe.
Faces and figures blurred in front of him that he vaguely recognized as his family, but he couldn't piece together why they were there or what was happening.
"Donnie, what's wrong? Donnie what is it?" Leo asked, trying to juggle Mikey in one arm and help Donnie with the other.
"M-mask." Donnie managed. "Can't breathe!"
"What're you talking about? YOUR mask?" Leo said.
Why couldn't he breathe? Why could Leo and Mikey and Splinter breathe, but he couldn't?
Don't breathe in the air! His mind warned him. It'll hurt you if you breathe it in.
So Donnie didn't, not that he really could anyway with that stupid mask on his face.
"My son? What is it?" Splinter was in front of him now, voice calm as he tried at assess the problem.
Why couldn't they see it? Why weren't they helping him get it off?
"Oxy-oxygen m-m-mask!" Donnie gasped out, once again clawing at the thing on his face to get it off.
"My son, stop. Stop my son. You are hurting yourself. Listen to my voice, listen to me." Splinter's tone was soft, calming, as he gripped Donnie's arms and pulled them away from his face.
"My son, there is nothing on your face. You are safe, you-"
"There is! I feel it! Get it off-"
"Donatello look down! At the water, look at your reflection! Look, my son." Splinter urged.
Slowly, Donnie did look down at they water, focusing on his reflection there.
Splinter was in front of him, Donnie's arms in his firm but gentle grip. Mikey and Leo stood to the side anxiously, watching on in tense silence.
Donnie focused on himself and instantly realized why he hadn't been able to get the mask off.
There was no mask.
Hesitantly, Donnie reached up and touched his face and the reflection mimicked him. There was no oxygen mask on his face, nothing there except for several new, long scratches. There never had been. He'd just been panicking.
His breathing evened out and he looked up at Splinter, who had an understanding look in his eyes.
"Our memories stay with us for a very long time, Donatello. Whether we want them to or not." He said gently, releasing his remaining arm.
Donnie could only nod and offer a shaky apology that the others dismissed immediately.
Donnie swam over to Mikey and began to assess his injuries, focusing on the wound on his shoulder.
It was straight through and would definitely need stitches.
Donnie asked Splinter if he thought they were safe enough for him to stitch Mikey's wound.
"I doubt that our enemies will find us here." Splinter assured him.
Where is here? Donnie thought and began to look around.
He had been so completely out of it that he hadn't realized that he had been led into
another part of the sewers that the river opened out to.
"We should go to April. She'll be able to help Mikey." Leo was saying to Splinter as Donnie began to stitch up the gory wound.
"I'll stitch this up, but he's in no condition to help us find Raph. We need to take him somewhere safe."
"We'll take you two to April and Casey and then we'll go after Raph." Leo said. "April will be able to help get whatever we need for Mikey-"
"I'm coming with you guys." Donnie cut in firmly.
"Donnie, you're not much better off than Mikey." Leo told him. "You look like you'll kneel over any minute and you're not in any position for a fight."
"Do you know how to get that tracker out of Raph?" Donnie demanded. "No? Then that leaves me. There may not even be a fight Leo."
Leo opened his mouth to argue when Splinter held up a hand and turned slightly.
"Under the water! Now!" He barked.
The brothers wasted no time in following the order.
Donnie didn't bother to hand Mikey off to Leo or Splinter and just tightened his grip on his brother and dived under the water. Donnie didn't ask what had alerted Splinter, but followed the order without question.
It was a good thing too, because no sooner had he ducked did he see darts shooting past where they had just been.
Darts. So they weren't trying to kill them, at least not right then. They must have orders to bring them alive.
Donnie wasn't sure which one was worse, brought alive to Baron or killed by his ninjas.
Actually, he was sure. Death was much preferred.
Donnie continued swimming when the feeling of being suffocated returned, followed by the feeling of the mask, but he fought to ignore it. He couldn't freak out when he had Mikey right beside him. He Wouldn't do that.
Relief swept through Donnie when Mikey tapped on his shoulder to tell him that he needed air and he quickly swam up, trying to ignore the instinct to rip away something that he knew wasn't actually there.
Reflection, he reminded himself. Look At Your Reflection.
He looked down and focused on his face, comforting himself that it was just a trick of the mind, that he wasn't there.
Taking a deep breath, Donnie looked around. They had come to a fork with two streams and Donnie started to panic when he couldn't find Leo or Splinter when they both came up for air and Donnie breathed out a sigh of relief.
"D, are you okay?" Mikey asked, his words slightly slurred but otherwise lucid.
Donnie nodded. "Yeah, come-"
They both saw it at the same time, the small disk being thrown above them, landing but a couple feet from Leo and Splinter. On the top was an almost innocent-looking red blinking dot and Donnie felt his heart stop at the sight of it.
Leo and Splinter saw it at the same time he did.
Donnie didn't even get the chance to start toward them before everything exploded, sending both him and Mikey through the air, despite their distance to the bomb.
Donnie tightened his grip on Mikey and positioned himself to take the brunt of the hit as they were slammed into the wall hard enough to jar him and make his head spin.
Oww, he thought to himself, trying to force his eyes open, not realizing he had closed them.
Something must have happened because when he did open them, Mikey was struggling to stay afloat and help him at the same time with his injuries.
Donnie quickly righted himself and pulled Mikey's arm over his head, ignoring the pounding in his head and turned back to where Leo and Splinter had been.
Donnie swam them over to a small ledge and told Mikey to stay and that he would be right back, and dove under the water, looking for any sign of their family. Trash was floating atop of the water, burning everything that wasn't completely soaked. Donnie looked for anything, even bodies if it came to that. Anything at all, but the most he found was just evidence of the explosion, but nothing to suggest any death. Donnie came up for air and glanced back to make sure that Mikey was still there and began looking above the water for any evidence there.
"Leo!" Donnie yelled. Not the most stealthy way to find someone, but he was too panicked to find another avenue.
Nothing.
The panic began to swell in his chest but Donnie struggled to keep it contained. It wouldn't do any good to let Mikey see him panic. What good would it do, anyway?
"Leo! Answer me! Leo! Sensei!" Donnie cupped his hands over his mouth. "Sensei!"
"Donnie?" Mikey asked from his spot.
What was he supposed to tell his little brother? What was he supposed to say?
Donnie slowly swam back to his little brother and shook his head.
"I don't know where they are, but I didn't find any bodies." Donnie flinched. He had always been rather blunt, even in times like these. "They might have just swam down the river."
Or they might be unconscious and floating down the river, Donnie thought with dread. Unconscious or dead.
"We need to move." Donnie stated. Even now he could hear the faint splashes of the ninjas.
"We'll find them, I promise. But right now we need to go or they'll come for us next."
Mikey nodded and put on a brave face and allowed Donnie to help him.
"Hold your breath." Donnie told him before they dove under the water.
We'll find them, Donnie promised himself. If they had their Shell-Cells on them, he would find them.