They were careful as they made their way through the sewers, freezing at any small sound that their sensitive ears caught.

Donnie's stomach was somehow knotted into a tight ball, and at the same time, rolling to the point that he thought he was going to be sick. His head was pounding vigorously and he knew that his feet weren't the most steady at the moment, to say the least.

Mikey, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten better. His skin wasn't nearly as pale as it had been and he seemed much more lucid than before. Donnie hadn't seen him move his arm much, but he figured he probably wouldn't either if he were Mikey.

They just had to get to the surface and get to April and Casey, then he could leave Mikey with them and-

"Did you hear that D?" Mikey asked him suddenly, perking up and looking around.

Donnie was instantly on alert, silently chastising himself for getting so lost in his thoughts.

"No. What was it?" Donnie demanded.

"Hold on, where are we..." Mikey asked himself, detangling himself from Donnie and looking around. "I think I know where we are! Wait there!"

"Mikey, wait!-" but he had shot off like a rocket before Donnie could even finish the sentence.

With the sudden loss of the body he had been supporting, Donnie felt himself stumble back and had to grab onto the wall to keep upright.

Huh. Maybe Mikey was the one supporting him.

"D, look who I found!" Mikey exclaimed, running back to him with giddy excitement that Donnie felt didn't fit the situation.

Donnie was about to ask the next obvious question when Leatherhead appeared behind Mikey, not running but not walking either.

"Donatello." The croc greeted. "What happened? Michelangelo just said the Lair was attacked and you two need help."

Donnie nodded quickly.

"Do you have anywhere we can go? The sewers aren't safe right now." Donnie told him.

The quicker they could get out of here the better.

"I have somewhere safe," Leatherhead confirmed, then looked him over. "Can you walk?"

Donnie nodded but it became very obvious that he couldn't and instead had to put his staff underneath his arm and made a walking stick out of it.

Leatherhead didn't lead them out of the sewers, but he did lead them down a remote tunnel and to a virtually hidden train car.

The car had obviously been remodeled for the crock's use but was still plenty capable of handling the two extra turtles.

Leatherhead let the two turtles go up first and Mikey bounded up quickly and then turned to help his immediate older brother.

Donnie grunted when his leg hit the door of the train car and shuffled to a large assortment of pillows and blankets, suddenly feeling very lightheaded when he made Mikey sit down on it.

He pressed a hand to his head and shook it in a vain attempt to clear the fog as his other hand reached into his bag to grab some of his supplies.

He numbed and sanitized Mikey's shoulder- an experience he never wished to have again- before restitching the wound and wrapping it securely.

Mikey paled once he caught sight of his arm and proceeded to ramble about different ways you could eat pizza- even claiming that pizza shakes were delicious and that Donnie had to try them- to distract himself.

Leatherhead said nothing as he worked, choosing to keep back and watch instead.

Once Donnie was certain that Mikey's injuries were taken care of, he settled onto the makeshift bed and readied himself for his next task.

Carefully, Donnie numbed his leg and gradually began to pull the throwing star from his leg, thankful that he couldn't feel it when the weapon finally came loose in the large teasers.

"Donnie, are you sure-" Mikey began hesitantly.

"I just need to do this really quickly, Mikey." Donnie cut him off.

It was when Donnie went to stitch the wound after sanitizing it that he realized just how badly his hands were shaking.

"Allow me to help, Donatello." Leatherhead said, gently taking the supplies from Donnie's hands and putting them beside him.

Donnie didn't argue. It was obvious that he was in no shape to fix himself and the sooner this was over with, the sooner he could go looking for the rest of their family.

His head had gradually begun to grow lighter and lighter- something he blamed on the blood loss- and he must have spaced out for a few minutes because the next thing he knew, Leatherhead was shining a too-bright light in his eyes and he groaned.

"D, are you okay?" Mikey was asking. "Donnie?"

His little brother's voice had grown frantic and Donnie hated that he was the source of his brother's worry.

"M'fine, Mikey. What's wrong?" He slurred, not understanding why he couldn't pronounce the sentence correctly.

"What's wrong?" Mikey repeated, his voice turning shrill. "You passed out Donnie!"

"I did?" Huh. It felt like he had just closed his eyes. He must have been more tired than he thought.

"Yeah, you did!" Mikey said accusingly.

"Donatello, did you hit your head?" Leatherhead asked seriously.

"He did." Mikey confirmed with a glare in his direction before Donnie could deny it.

"You may have a concussion. You need to lie down." Leatherhead told him sternly.

I don't have time for this, Donnie thought with a grimace.

"I'm fine. I have to find the others. Mikey, you stay-"

"And what use are you to your family if you're too injured to help them?" Leatherhead cut in easily.

That stopped him. He was right, after all. What good was he if he collapsed before he found them?

Donnie sighed in defeat and leaned back, his head pounding and his body giving way to new aches.

"You both need rest." Leatherhead told them, moving Mikey over to the bed.

Mikey didn't bother to protest and laid down as he was told.

Donnie tried to stay awake, he really did, but his body had been through literal hell and once his head hit the pillow he was out, assuring himself that Leatherhead would wake him if something happened.

When he did wake up, it was in a panic that he couldn't explain. He had the overpowering urge to check on Mikey, which he did, quickly rolling over to make sure that his little brother was alright.

Mikey was snoring peacefully beside him, mouth open slightly, and Donnie couldn't help but smile at the peaceful expression on his face, so at odds with their situation.

Donnie grunted when he tried to sit up, his many aches suddenly making themselves known.

"Are you alright, Donatello?" Leatherhead asked from his spot in his chair.

Donnie jumped to his feet at the unexpected voice before relaxing.

"Yeah, just..." Just what? He thought. Just what exactly?

But Leatherhead merely nodded.

"I have pain medication, if you would-"

"No, no it's fine. Really, it's fine." Donnie shot that down immediately. Pain brought everything into sharper view, and he didn't need that muddled by medication.

Remembering what needed to be done, Donnie looked around the small train car, searching for his Shell Cell- the name was permanent now, he figured- before finding it beside Leatherhead on top of his satchel.

He was only slightly hesitant as he reached over and grabbed his stuff, immediately getting to work and turning on his brothers' trackers.

Leo and Sensei's locations were mere inches from one another and Donnie had to contain the relief that flooded through him at the sight. They weren't in the sewers anymore, instead having moved uptown that Donnie thought looked to be in an almost familiar spot. Raph, on the other hand, was on the opposite side of the city, but looking to be out of the sewers too.

Satisfied that he now had locations on all of his family, Donnie set about getting ready, making sure that he had enough medical supplies in case Sensei, Leo, or Raph were injured and mentally preparing a plan.

He would go after Leo and Sensei first. He had an idea about where they would go and would undoubtedly be easier to find than Raph. His immediate older brother didn't want to be found and it would be much easier to hold him down if he had help.

But how was he going to get that thing out of him in the first place? He couldn't use Leo's katanas, and he couldn't count on Raph giving up his Sai when he was already being so uncooperative.

Donnie's eyes landed on a scalpel sitting on a table neatly- innocently- laid out among the other medical tools.

Donnie felt his heart pick up its pace at the sight of the object but fought to push it down. He had no doubt that it was there for medical reasons only, knowing Leatherhead. But, then again, there were a lot of things that went under 'medical reasons'.

"Leatherhead, would you mind if I borrowed the sc- that?" Donnie felt the shame rise when he choked up, unable to even get the word past his lips.

"Of course." Leatherhead said, watching him carefully, but not unkindly.

"Thanks." Donnie said quietly, holding the tool in his hand before slowly putting it into his bag.

"I don't suppose I can talk you out of looking for them in your current state?" Leatherhead asked, sighing at the expected shake of Donnie's head. "I didn't think so. You four can rarely be swayed when it comes to each other."

Donnie had to smile at that.

"We're stubborn like that, aren't we?" Donnie chuckled.

"Yes. Stubborn and resilient." Leatherhead said pressingly and Donnie got the feeling they were no longer being funny.

Donnie didn't answer. He didn't feel very resilient. He could barely hold a scalpel, couldn't even say the name without freaking out. How was that resilient?

As if Leatherhead could read his mind- or maybe he wasn't as good at hiding his emotions as he used to be- he smiled understandingly and motioned to the tools on the table.

"Science has the ability to explain the things man has never known, but some take it too far. Some will never stop for anything in that search, even if it means hurting another creature." Leatherhead's tone had turned harsh and Donnie felt an understanding pass between them. "And those kinds of experiences never truly leave us, Donatello."

"Does it ever stop?" Donnie found himself asking quietly. "That... feeling of being terrified to go to sleep, and ending up back on a table?"

Or worse, he thought, one of the others taking his place?

Leatherhead didn't answer him and Donnie understood his answer- no. Of course, he had already known it, but seeing it was true even for Leatherhead sunk some of the hope he didn't know he had.

"I surrounded myself in every protection I could get my hands on once I escaped, but I've found that only one thing truly makes you feel safe: family. You have a strong family, Donatello, surround yourself with that. You'll feel safer with them than any amount of devices you can create."

Donnie swallowed and nodded resolutely, tightening his grip on his bag. He had to find them.

"I'll watch Michelangelo until you return." Leatherhead offered, already knowing the question Donnie had been wanting to ask. "And I'll ensure that he is cared for."

Before, Donnie would have protested. He wouldn't have felt alright knowing that Mikey was in anyone else's care. But Donnie trusted the crock, and he knew that Mikey would be safer with him until he returned.

Donnie gave him a bow of thanks before turning and running out of the train car, following the blinking dots of his eldest brother and father.

Raph grunted as he rolled his neck, his helmet in his hands.

Looking down, he couldn't help but grin at the bike's low rumble, despite the dreadful circumstances. He really hoped to ride the bike for the first time with his brothers around, with Mikey cheering too loud and Leo shaking his head and muttering about how unsafe but useful on missions it would be, with Donny and him going back and forth on what they could improve.

Raph felt a no-so-dull ache in his chest at the questions that he refused to think about. Were they alright? They had gotten out of the Lair, right? Were they hurt?

Raph's love for his family was a hidden but fierce thing, only seen when you were on the unlucky side of his Sai after threatening his family or when Raph was truly scared for his family's safety.

He wasn't Mike, he wasn't nearly that expressive but that didn't mean that he didn't care. You just had to know him well enough.

Raph stood up and put the helmet on the bike before looking around.

The abandoned town was perfect for hiding in without anyone seeing him. Raph and his brothers trained here a lot when they first found it, as it was perfect for mutant turtles who didn't want to be seen.

Raph carefully moved the bike into one of the smaller buildings and proceeded with a heavy heart to cover it with the debris.

We have to paint it over anyway, Raph told himself.

Once he was satisfied that the bike wasn't easily noticeable, Raph looked around and realized his problem.

He had absolutely no plan. He had only been thinking of how he had to get away from his family as fast as possible, he hadn't even considered what he was going to do once he was alone.

He wasn't the planning type of turtle- that title belonged solely to Leo and Donnie while he and Mikey were just fine with going along with whatever was decided.

Raph looked around at all the buildings. It wasn't a bad place to defend himself actually, so that's what Raph set out to do. He chose the highest building with a lot of windows and two doors he could use as his exit if he had to and prepared himself.

They would be coming, Raph had no doubt about that. Boy were they going to be disappointed when they figured out it was just him, but Raph wouldn't have it any other way.

Raph wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed before he heard the first creaks of wood that signified another presence within the house.

The red-banded turtle tightened the grip on his Sais and readied himself for what was to come.

"And you don't know where the others are?" April asked again, since Leo didn't think he had answered the first time anyway.

"Raph left on the bike before we even got in the water, thought he was protecting us." Leo ground his teeth together and shook his head.

"What about Mikey and Donnie?" April asked.

"We got separated after the explosion." Leo admitted.

Leo had only caught a brief glimpse of his youngest brothers before the explosion went off, before Sensei had covered his body with his own and shoved him away.

The force of the explosion had sent both Leo and Splinter into the wall hard enough to leave two distinct dents there. Leo was sure that they had blacked out, at least for a few minutes, because by the time Leo had shaken himself awake, he could barely make out the flames of burning trash.

His head pounded angrily but it was manageable as he swam over to his father's unconscious form.

It hadn't taken long to wake his Sensei and they tried to make out Mikey and Donnie, having been swept by the flow of the water too far away from where they had been to have any chance of seeing his brothers.

Leo and Splinter had painstakingly made their way to April's- the only option that Leo could think of at that moment- and she had immediately hounded them.

April was currently tending to Splinter's burns, using a cream that she said would help with infections but there wasn't much else she could do for such a wound.

"Do you have any way of getting ahold of them?" April asked. "Do you think Mikey has his phone on him? If he's with Donnie, you might be able to-"

"The phones!" Leo realized out loud before grabbing his and opening the tracking app on it.

Mikey was obviously still in the sewers and didn't appear to be moving- which scared Leo more than he would like to admit- but the leader told himself not to jump to conclusions. He could simply be resting.

But what concerned Leo almost as much was the fact that Donnie was nowhere near Mikey, proven by the quickly moving dot on his screen.

What happened? Did they get separated?

Donnie was moving quickly, gradually getting closer to him and Leo didn't understand where his brother was headed at first, his brain too muddled to really think about it clearly.

Beside him, Sensei straightened, looking around them for a threat that Leo didn't see before relaxing.

"Sensei? What is it?" Leo asked, but his question was answered before his father could reply.

"You're really predictable, Leo. You know that, right?"

Leo turned and almost sagged in relief at seeing his genius brother on the windowpane, grinning at him before ducking inside.

"It was the only place I could think of, okay? Cut me some slack." Leo muttered, checking his brother over for injuries. What he did see had obviously been taken care of but they still looked bad to the fearless leader.

"Are you okay? Is Sensei? You guys were so close to the blast- we didn't know if you were dead or hurt or-"

"Deep breaths, Donnie." Leo advised before moving out of his line of sight so he could see Sensei sitting at the island, mostly unharmed.

"Sensei!" Donnie breathed out.

Splinter smiled at his second youngest son to let him know that he was alright before he frowned.

"Where's Michelangelo?" Splinter demanded, his tone controlled.

"He's fine, he's with Leatherhead." Donnie assured them all quickly. "I didn't think he needed to be moving around so I made him stay behind."

Otherwise known as, "I was afraid he was going to get hurt, so I left him in a safe place."

Leo was very familiar with the unspoken language and nearly laughed when he heard his brother use it.

"What happened? I looked but I couldn't find any signs of you and I thought that you were dead and floating down the river and I yelled and-"

"Donnie! Deep breaths, remember? You kinda have to breathe to talk." Leo informed him.

Donnie blinked like he hadn't realized how hysterical he had been and imitated Leo's dramatically deep breaths until the elder was satisfied that he wasn't going to have a panic attack.

"The explosion knocked us out, I think. By the time we came to, we couldn't see you or Mikey and we thought that you guys had to assume that you were safe and, well, headed here." Leo motioned lamely around them. "Sensei got burned from the blast because he was closest to it, but he's mostly alright."

At that, Donnie turned to April and asked how severe the burns were, ignoring both his and Sensei's attempts to listen when they told him that Sensei was alright.

That was when it hit him. He really should have noticed it before now, but he had been so preoccupied with calming Donnie down that he hadn't given any thought to what he had said beyond what was necessary.

Donnie had called him Sensei. Not Master Splinter, but SENSEI.

Leo wanted to ask his father if he had noticed or not but decided against calling any attention to it for the moment.

"Can you still fight?" Donnie asked, breaking Leo out of his thoughts.

"I'm unharmed." Leo confirmed.

"Good. I was tracking Raph, he's on the other side of the city. I don't know if Baron's caught up to him yet but we should get to Raph before he does." Donnie said.

"Donnie, you're in no condition-"

"Do you have a better idea, Leo?" Donnie asked, cutting off his argument before it could begin. "No? Then let's go."

"He's right." Casey agreed, standing, his intent obvious.

Donnie didn't even notice the human in the room but quickly recovered from his surprise and turned back to the leader in blue.

Leo merely sighed and gave them an exasperated look before nodding.

"Fine." He bit out before turning to his father. "Sensei?"

"Go get your brother. From there, we will figure out our next course of action.

Leo immediately began making a plan as Donnie pulled up Raph's location.

"Wait, is that the old military base?" Casey asked from over Donnie's shoulder.

"I think so." Leo said, eyes narrowing. "If it is, that would be easy to defend with the three of us."

"We can't waste any time." Donnie said. "Baron doesn't know that he's alone or that we know about the tracker; the quicker we get it out of him the better."

Leo couldn't agree more.

The two brothers waited for Casey to grab what he needed before they said a quiet goodbye and promised to be careful before heading out the window that Donnie had come in.

The three were silent, allowing the shadows to cover them as they raced to their brother's location. Raph had barely moved, which Leo took to mean that he had found somewhere that he felt secure enough to stay put in.

"Don't know why he would do something this stupid! Running off on his own, then holing himself up in a building." Leo muttered as the base came into sight.

"Logically, it made the most sense." Donnie said. "If he had gone with us, no matter who he had ended up with, Baron would have found them and none of us were in any condition to fight."

"And now he's alone, being hunted. Which one's better?" Leo countered, but they both knew the animosity wasn't really directed at Donnie.

"Neither is exactly good, but if we're talking logically, it's still the preferable option. He's safe, he's hiding. He knows what he's doing Leo." Donnie said in an attempt to soothe his oldest brother.

"Bet that's the first time anyone's ever said that." Casey muttered.

"I'm going to kill him when I find him." Leo said, but there was only exhaustion in his tone now.

"Let's just focus on that last part for right now." Donnie suggested with a grin.

"We find him, and we get that tracker out of him and we're gone. we're not staying to dance with these guys. Got it?" Leo asked once they landed on the rooftop where Donnie's Shell Cell said Raph was.

"Got it, Leo." Donnie said. He couldn't agree more; the last thing he wanted was to run into Baron or anyone associated with him right now.

"I was looking forward to a round two." Casey muttered, but it was obvious that he would follow Leo's order.

"Go." Leo said, his voice low and commanding and Casey and Donnie didn't hesitate- they slipped through the windows and entered the too-spacey building with its overly abundant shadows and hiding spaces.

Give it to Raph to choose the building where the most ninja could possibly hide in.

Donnie was on edge as the three began to search through the building, freezing at small sounds and constantly making sure that Leo and Casey were in his sights at all times.

They were creeping up to the final floor, Casey taking front while Leo and Donnie covered his back, when the human was thrown back into the wall, groaning from the impact but trying to get up.

Leo and Donnie immediately had their weapons drawn, ready to fight in order to get to their brother, when the red-banded turtle stepped through the door that Casey had just been trying to enter through, his Sais drawn and expression threatening, before he caught sight of the room's occupants.

"Geeze, Raph, I wasn't even ready." Casey muttered to his friend as he stood up, using the wall to support him.

"What are you three shell-heads doing here?" Raph snarled, his anger overcoming his surprise. "And how did you even find me?"

"To the first, I think you already know." Donnie responded, refusing to wilt under his brother's glare. "And to the second, the next time you're trying to hide from us, maybe don't use the tech that I made."

Raph's eyes went wide and he glared down at the Shell Cell like it had personally betrayed him.

"You were tracking me?" Raph demanded in a near yell.

"Well, yeah. All of you, actually. Came in pretty handy, really." Donnie shrugged.

"What is this? Stalk Raph day?" The hothead muttered.

Donnie opened his mouth to respond when Leo beat him to it, his voice audibly tense, making the words come out more harshly than probably intended.

"Maybe if you hadn't run off like a shell-head, Donnie wouldn't have had to track you!" Leo snapped.

"Oh please Fearless, we both know Baron's guys would've found us if I stayed with you." Raph countered with a roll of his eyes.

"No, actually, we don't know that Raphael!" Leo steamed, his hands balled into fists.

Raph just rolled his eyes again and turned to Donnie.

"What happened after I left? Mike and Splinter alright?" Raph asked, his voice strained.

"Sensei got burned by an explosion but he's mostly alight, just resting at Casey and April's." Donnie assured him quickly. "Mikey's with Leatherhead. I thought we could go back for him once we found you."

"Was he hurt?" Raph demanded.

"He was exhausted, fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. But he wasn't too bad- I just didn't want to risk it." Donnie told him. "Leatherhead's watching over him to make sure he doesn't overdo himself."

"Maybe you would know that if you had the sense to listen to me and stay with us!" Leo growled.

"Actually, we all got split up anyway, so that's kind of a moot point now." Donnie pointed out, ignoring the halfhearted glare that the leader sent his way.

"I mean, what were you thinking?" Leo pressed on angrily. "You could've been killed! We're all better together so we can watch each other's shells, you know this! That was not the time for you to go off on your own just because-"

"I was trying to protect you guys! Why are you acting so high and mighty like ole' Fearless wouldn'a done the same damn thing?" Raph yelled.

"Guys, you need to calm down. Baron's guys could be here any second. We need to hurry. In and out, right Leo? That's what you said." Donnie reminded him, but both elder turtles ignored him.

"That's different, Raph. I'm the leader, that's my job." Leo insisted.

At this point, Donnie was genuinely afraid of a physical confrontation between the two and stepped between them, trying to push them away from each other with little success.

"Oh here we go again! The mighty Fearless Leader is above his own rules!"

"I never said that!" Leo snapped.

Donnie tensed as Raph hooked his fingers around his Sai before a voice spoke up above them.

"Wow, for ninjas you guys sure are loud. And I thought I was the noisiest turtle here." Mikey said before dropping down from the rafters and landing beside his brothers.

Donnie took Leo and Raph's surprise to shove each turtle away and planted himself firmly between them.

"Good stealth, but how-" Donnie began to ask before answering his own question.

"Leatherhead told me that you were using the Shell Cells to track Raph and Leo, so I just-" Mikey held up his phone awkwardly before slightly glaring at his glaring at his genius brother. "NEVER leave me behind like that again. I'm not a little kid, alright? I can handle this stuff same as you guys."

Donnie felt shame rise in him when he realized how it must have looked to Mikey.

"I'm sorry Mikey, it won't happen again." Donnie promised his little brother, feeling relieved when Mikey grinned back at him.

"If we were being as loud as you say, we need to hurry. They could be closing in on us." Leo said, his tone clipped.

Donnie bit back the retort that came to mind at that statement and focused on Raph.

"Raph, sit down over there. We need to get that tracker out of you before we go anywhere." Donnie told him. When Raph said something about not having the time, and how they needed to leave, Donnie squared him with a glare that invited no argument.

"Sit down, Raphael." He snapped before opening his bag and looking through it to find what he needed.

Not even the resident hot-head dared to disobey the order and begrudgingly sat down as he was told.

Donnie dug around until he felt the scalpel in his hands and knelt beside Raph.

"Woah, you're gonna use that?" He demanded in obvious alarm, which did absolutely nothing to quell the rising anxiety in Donnie's chest.

"How else am I supposed to get the tracker out, Raphael?" Donnie asked, his fear making his words come out harsher than intended.

Donnie took several deep breaths to calm himself and gripped the scalpel, hovering it over the skin of his immediate older brother's neck.

"This is gonna hurt, but try not to move around too much or it'll make this harder." Donnie advised him, wincing at his own advice when he realized just how much like Roland he was sounding.

"Just get it over with." Raph grounded out, oblivious to his brother's struggle.

Donnie had to take a deep breath before he sunk the blade of the scalpel into his brother's neck, cutting in a neat line where he remembered the syringe had been.

Raph froze, his hands shaking in his attempt to remain still as he was told.

Donnie's own hands were shaking as memories that he would rather leave buried began to swim before his vision but he pushed them away, trying to remain focused on the task at hand.

BREATHE, he told himself, but the air seemed to be trapped in his throat.

"D, you alright bro?" Mikey asked from somewhere close to him.

Donnie tried to suck in several breaths in order to answer.

He had a job to do, and he needed to do it fast.

"Fine." He managed.

Donnie wiped away the blood from his brother's fresh wound and could easily see the small tracking chip embedded there, taunting him.

Using a pair of medical grade tweezers that he already had in his bag, he carefully pried the chip from his brother's skin and dropped it onto the ground beside him.

Raph gave a violent flinch and Donnie immediately apologized and began wrapping up the wound.

"There, you're done." Donnie told him.

Raph jumped up, one hand reaching up to cup the back of his neck as he shoved past Leo to stand beside Casey.

"What're we gonna do with that?" Mikey asked, pointing to the chip in Donnie's hand.

"Destroy the damn thing." Raph spat angrily.

"And let them know that it's useless to them now?" Donnie asked. "I say we just leave it here and let them think it's still working."

"I agree, better to keep them here thinking Raph's still oblivious than have them start looking for us." Leo said.

"Hey guys?" Mikey called back to them from his spot by the door.

Donnie looked up from cleaning his shaking hands, his brother's tone catching his attention.

"What Mikey?" Donnie asked.

"I think they already started looking for us." Mikey said in a worried tone and motioned to something Donnie couldn't see from his position.

Raph, closest to Mikey, leaned over to see what he was talking about and cursed while Leo went still.

"How many?" Donnie asked.

"More than enough." Leo responded darkly.

"Is Baron with them?"

"I don't see him." Leo answered.

"What's the plan guys? Cause I don't think these guys look too happy with us." Mikey said as he quietly closed the door, pulling out his nunchucks as he did.

"Take them out, head straight to April's. Watch your shells." Leo said, katanas in hand.

Donnie stood, making sure he had all of his supplies in his bag, and grabbed his bo from his shell, dreading the inevitable.

He'd had more than enough fighting for one lifetime and certainly wasn't looking forward to any more today.

Now that they were actively listening, they could all hear the soft, almost inaudible movements around them, coming from downstairs and the roof, effectively cutting off their exits.

The four turtles and Casey were tense, waiting for the attack to commence when the door burst open and three round metal disks were thrown inside.

"Bomb!" Mikey squeaked and dove to the side, taking Donnie down to the ground with him.

Leo and Raph immediately jumped behind the sparse furniture available while Casey dropped to the floor, covering his head with his hands.

Donnie's heart was pounding inside his chest and he couldn't move, too frozen with fear.

But after several moments of terror and nothing happened, the four turtles slowly stood up and looked at the three innocent-looking disks on the floor.

"C'mon Case, up you go, you big goof." Raph said as he helped Casey off the floor. "You actually thought that was gonna work, Case?"

"I panicked!" Casey defended himself while Raph chuckled.

But Donnie wasn't paying any attention to his brothers, more interested in the purpose of the disks.

Cautiously, he picked up the one closest to Casey and examined it.

"Careful, Donnie." Leo advised, holding out a hand as if to stop him.

"Just looking, Leo." He assured his eldest brother.

Donnie probed the weapon- because there was no doubt that's exactly what it was- and saw several small holes along the exterior of the disk.

"What is it, Don?" Raph asked.

"I don't know." Donnie admitted slowly as he continued to look over the disk.

"Wow. I guess there is a first time for everything." Mikey said with an easy grin.

Donnie sent him a halfhearted glare that had absolutely no heat in it before turning back to the disk.

"Maybe it was a dud." Mikey volunteered.

"All three?" Donnie shook his head. "Unlikely."

"You're the only dud here, Mike." Raph muttered.

"Hey!" Mikey protested with a pout.

Donnie had brought the disk up to his eye to look into the holes when it began emitting an almost clear, white smoke.

"Get back!" Leo ordered, shoving Donnie behind him as the others took several quick steps away from the disk. "Hold your breath!"

They all did, but something told Donnie that it wasn't poison. The smoke was too clear and there was no scent. And besides, it didn't add up. If Baron had wanted them alive up to this point, why stop now suddenly?

Donnie gave a faint shiver, unable to stop himself, and curled his free hand closer to him.

"Guys, I don't think it's gas." Donnie called out to his brothers.

"Good, cause I accidently breathed it in and I totally thought I was a gonner for a second there." Mikey said in obvious relief.

"Guys, is it just me or is it getting really cold in here?" Casey asked.

As if in response, all four turtles gave a violent shiver.

"Th-the disks!" Mikey stuttered, kicking one away with his foot.

"Well wh-what goods that do?" Raph grumbled and Donnie didn't think he was imagining how slurred the words were.

"We're cold blooded Raphael!" Donnie snapped, remembering all too well what Roland had said. "You forget that part?"

"Guys! They're coming in!" Mikey yelled.

They had enough time to grab their weapons before Baron's ninja swarmed through the door and busted the windows, shattered glass raining down on them all.

Donnie could feel it, the chill in his body that seeped into his bones and making him ache, how it slowed him down, how his stiff his fingers had become around his Bo.

The icy gusts were still blowing freely from the three disks, and though Donnie had no doubt that it was affecting the ninja, he could clearly see that it was harming him and his brothers even more.

His brothers' movements were shaky at best, their reactions slowed.

Donnie jumped back as one ninja swung two tantos at his face.

"You don't handle cold very well."

Donnie's body wracked with shivers so violent that he nearly dropped his staff, barely having the mind to use it to block the weapons before kicking his opponent.

What he hadn't seen, however, and was too slow to react or counter, was a ninja shoving a Makibishi through his shoulder from behind.

Donnie let out a hoarse yell and reached to claw out the weapon, but it was already being yanked from his shoulder.

"Donnie!"

He tried to pinpoint the source of the voice, but he wasn't sure if it was the pain or the mind-numbing cold that made everything so blurry.

He had at some point during the fight- don't ask him when, he couldn't even tell you where he was at that moment- lost his Bo and was trying to fend off the attacks coming at him from seemingly every side.

The cold was so deep now that he couldn't feel any of his injuries, even the one in his shoulder, much less could he fight back enough to stand his ground.

In his defense, none of his brothers were doing well either.

Leo was wobbly on his feet, swaying when the ninja knocked him off balance- which on a normal occasion was a rarity- but now he was barely able to keep upright, his knees visibly wobbling from the cold that refused to quit.

Mikey- the epitome of swift, random movement- seemed barely able to evade the ninja's blows. And if the multitude of injuries his little brother had acquired was anything to go by, he wasn't dodging all of them.

Raph- actually, Donnie couldn't spot Raph at all. But he could see Casey, swinging his hockey sticks ferociously, his expression both angry and desperate at the same time.

Donnie's legs gave out from underneath him and no matter how he tried, he just couldn't force his feet to support him anymore. Actually, he couldn't feel them at all. He couldn't feel anything through the cold numbness that had settled in his body.

"Can you not move?"

With Roland's words burned in his mind, Donnie's eyes drifted closed.

Not totally happy with this chapter, I may come back to redo it. I am making plans to begin naming the chapters and redoing some of the ones that need it. thank you to those still with this, and to those who comment I cannot express how happy those reviews make me. they literally make my day. thank you guys so much!