Part 6-Snowstorms and Shadows

Mikey's Side…

"Shell…this mountain's…a lot bigger than I thought…!" Mikey said breathlessly as he trudged through the thick snow.

"Yeah, it is…but we've faced tougher environments than this, right?" Leo pointed out as he looked back at Mikey with a small smile.

"Yeah, you're right…" Mikey said with a small sigh before he spotted something on a rock at the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Leo! Look!" He alerted his brother as he pointed at the rock.

"Is that…?" Leo said as he took a closer look at what seemed to be written markings on the rock.

"Looks like someone's left a message on this rock…" Mikey guessed, tilting his head in thought as he looked at the markings himself.

"It's not just a message, Mikey…It's written in Japanese, and it also includes somebody's name!" Leo corrected his little brother as he pointed at one of the carved words from the rock.

"Really!? Whose name is it?" Mikey asked, now even more curious.

"Well, the writing says…'Usagi…was…here'!" Leo translated whilst removing some of the snow off of the rock.

"Then that means he must've wrote this whilst he was up here!" Mikey guessed.

"Yeah…!" Leo replied, his heart now filling up with hope.

"See? I told you that there's still hope, bro…!" Mikey reassured his big brother cheerfully as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're right, Mikey…" Leo replied with a thankful smile before he engulfed his little brother into a hug and said, "Thanks, bro…I'm glad you're still here with me…"

"No worries, bro…!" Mikey said as he greatly accepted the hug.

"Come on, let's keep going…If Usagi was here, then he would've continued climbing up the mountain to find shelter…" Leo said after releasing himself from the hug before hastily continuing his walk up the mountain, with Mikey following him closely from behind.

Sometime later, Leo and Mikey came to even-levelled ground and they took this opportunity to take a few-minute breather before they could carry on.

"Mikey, watch your back!" Leo suddenly alerted his brother just as the orange-banded turtle took a step back without seeing a large hole behind him.

"Whoa!" Mikey cried out as he lost his footing and almost fell into the hole if Leo hadn't grabbed him in time.

"I got you!" Leo cried out as he held onto Mikey's hand tightly before pulling him back and away from the hole.

"Thanks, bro…" Mikey said gratefully whilst holding onto Leo's arm for a moment as he tried to calm his heart down.

Whilst this was going on, Leo looked at the hole and suddenly felt a sense of worry when he thought of the possibility that Usagi might have fallen down it during his search for shelter.

"Mikey, I think there's a good chance that Usagi might be down in this hole…" He said.

"Do you really think so, dude?" Mikey questioned in an uncertain and worried tone.

"Only one way to find out…Hand me some rope, I'm gonna go down and investigate…" Leo answered before he held his hand out for Mikey to give him a line of rope.

Despite feeling reluctant due to the risk of his brother being put in danger, Mikey handed him his line of rope and watched as Leo wrapped one of the ends around his waist and tied it tightly. He was then given the other end of the rope to hold.

"Remember, Mikey; if anything happens, blow the emergency whistle…" Leo instructed calmly.

"O-Ok, Leo…Just be careful, ok?" Mikey pleaded nervously.

"I will…" Leo replied reassuringly before he got himself into position by the edge of the hole.

"Alright, let's-Whoa!" Leo cut himself off when his foot slipped, causing him to lose his balance and fall down the hole.

The rope then tugged in Mikey's hands so hard that it slipped out of his grip.

"Leo!" Mikey cried out as he watched Leo fall further down the hole until he couldn't see or hear him anymore.

"Leo! Can you hear me!?" Mikey called out after a moment, but he still couldn't hear a word from Leo.

"Oh, man…What do I do!? What do I do!? What do I do!?" He said whilst pacing back and forth in a panic. Suddenly, he stopped pacing when a memory popped into his head.

"The whistle!" He cried out in realisation before he grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew it as hard and long as he could.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee!

"C'mon, guys…!" Mikey said anxiously before he blew the whistle again.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee!

"Please, hear it!" He then begged before he blew the whistle a third time.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee!

As Mikey continued to blow the emergency whistle, the weather slowly begun to take a turn for the worse with winds blowing harder and snow falling at a heavier rate.

/

Leo's side…

"Urgh, shell…" Leo groaned as he slowly sat up from where he landed after the fall. Luckily for him, he had landed on a pile of soft snow instead of hard ice.

"Where am I? Is this an ice cave?" He questioned as he looked around the ice cave.

It was then that Leo remembered the reason why he wanted to go inside the hole in the first place.

"Usagi? Are you in here? Usagi!" He called out before he listened out for a response.

However, after waiting anxiously for two minutes, all he heard was his voice echoing within the cave and received no other voices within it. Leo immediately felt disappointed; he was confident that Usagi would be found within the ice cave, but the rabbit samurai was nowhere to be seen.

"Well…I guess I'd better find a way out of here and get back to Mikey; he must be worried sick about me by now…" Leo said after releasing a defeated sigh before he walked through the cave to find a way out.

Soon, he reached an opening that led outside of the ice cave and back onto the snow-covered mountain. Even though he was glad to get out, Leo became concerned when he realised that he was in a different area on the mountain and couldn't see any sign of Mikey, and a blizzard had also started to hit the area he was in.

Suddenly, he spotted something that looked like a tall shadowy figure in the distance.

'Huh? What's that?' Leo thought with squinted eyes before deciding to move closer to the figure and investigate more.

"Hello!? Can you hear me!? I need some help!" Leo called out to the figure to try and get its attention.

The figure did not pay attention to Leo and it begun to walk up the mountain without thinking about looking back.

"Wait! Where are you going!? Hey!" Leo shouted as he followed the figure up the mountain, with the blizzard getting stronger during the process.

/

Meanwhile…

Raph, Donnie, and Yukiko were all sitting inside the warmth and security of the tent that they had put up just minutes before a heavy snowstorm struck.

"I'm getting worried, guys...Leo and Mikey should be back by now…!" Donnie said in concern for his oldest and youngest brothers' safety and wellbeing.

"I too am starting to sense that something is not right…" Yukiko agreed in a grave tone.

"Ah, stop yer worryin'…They're probably almost here by now…!" Raph said gruffly.

"I don't think so, Raph…The snow is starting to fall a lot heavier than it did earlier, and the wind is getting stronger too…" Donnie pointed out as he peeked through the gap in the tent's doorway to assess the snowfall.

"Well then, let's go look fer 'em if yer so worried!" Raph replied snidely.

"Are you not worried for your brothers, Raphael-san?" Yukiko asked.

"Of course I am! I just don't worry about 'em every 5 minutes like you two are doin'!" Raph snapped his answer.

"Need I remind you that both our oldest and youngest brothers are missing because of your angry outburst towards Mikey earlier?" Donnie reminded his red-banded brother whilst looking at him with a glare.

"Hey, it was Mikey who decided ta run off cos he couldn't handle da truth!" Raph bit back angrily.

"What happened earlier was an accident that was beyond his control, Raph! Also, this so-called 'truth' that you're stating is far from true; Mikey does know the seriousness of this mission and he would do anything to keep us from getting hurt!" Donnie countered defensively, his face getting too close to Raph's face.

"Senpais, please! If we do not hurry, Leonardo-san and Michelangelo-san will be in even more danger from the cold!" Yukiko cried out fearfully but calmly.

Raph and Donnie looked at Yukiko for a moment before they lowered their heads in shame when they both realised that she was right; their oldest and youngest brothers were still outside on the mountain and a heavy snowstorm had just arrived to make things more complicated for them to return safely.

"I'm sorry, Yukiko…you're right…" Donnie said guiltily.

"Yeah, me too…C'mon, let's go find 'em!" Raph said apologetically before he got up and made his way out of the tent, with Donnie and Yukiko immediately following his lead.

/

20 minutes later…

"Leo!" "Mikey!" Raph and Donnie called out their brothers' names to try and get them to respond, but after shouting them a fifth time, there were still no replies from them.

"Where da shell are they!? We've been out here fer ages!" Raph complained as he started to feel the cold coursing through him, despite wearing high quality thermal gear.

"They must have come this way! There are no other pathways up here!" Yukiko pointed out.

"Well, I don't see 'em…!" Raph replied impatiently as he looked around to see no sign of his brothers.

"Less complaining and more searching, Raph!" Donnie scolded, now getting tired of Raph's current behaviour.

Then…

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee…

"Do you hear that?" Yukiko questioned as her ears twitched and straightened at the faint but high-pitched sound in the air.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee…

"I know that sound…It's the emergency whistle! Leo and Mikey must be in trouble!" Donnie said when he heard the sound more carefully.

"Well, let's go and help 'em then!" Raph said before he dashed off to find the source of the whistle, with Donnie and Yukiko quickly following from behind.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeee…!

Soon, the sound of the whistle was getting louder as the trio got closer to where Leo and Mikey were located, which they didn't know about yet. However, the sound was also starting to get weaker, meaning that whoever was blowing the whistle was beginning to succumb to the cold.

"Over there!" Donnie suddenly shouted as he pointed at something shiny a mile away from him before he, Raph, and Yukiko ran towards it.

When they got closer, they discovered a snow-covered body lying on the ground with the whistle clamped tightly in his mouth, and they soon figured out who it was when they recognised the orange-coloured mask on his face.

"Mikey!" Raph said first before he, Donnie, and Yukiko begun removing all of the snow off the poor turtle's body.

Raph then gathered Mikey into his arms, carefully took the whistle out of his mouth, and looked at his cold and pale face to check if he was still breathing. Luckily, he was because his breath could be seen visibly due to the cold air around him, causing the others to sigh in relief before they noticed that his eyes were opening up slightly.

"Atta boy, bro…Where's Leo?" Raph said in both relief and concern, because even though he was glad to see that Mikey was still alive, he started to worry when he noticed that not only was the orange-banded turtle struggling to stay conscious due to being in the freezing cold for too long, but he also discovered that Leo wasn't with him.

"D-D-D-Down t-t-t-there…" Mikey said weakly as he turned his head to the left where the hole was whilst he shivered continuously due to the cold nearly consuming him.

When the trio looked over at the hole that Mikey was pointing at, their eyes widen when they noticed how deep it was.

"Are you serious…!?" Donnie said in shock.

"Why did he go down there!?" Raph questioned in anger.

"Leonardo-san probably thought that my cousin might have gone down there because he either fell in or he was sheltering himself from the cold…" Yukiko theorised before she saw Mikey nod slightly, meaning that her theory was correct.

"Well, either way, we need to get him out of there! He might be hurt!" Donnie said seriously.

Raph and Yukiko agreed, and after wrapping Mikey in a thick blanket, Donnie stayed by his side whilst Raph prepared a rope by wrapping one end around Yukiko's waist to help guide her down the hole without falling.

Donnie watched as Raph lowered Yukiko down into the hole before he looked at his nearly-frozen baby brother with a reassuring look on his face.

"Hang in there, Mikey…We'll get you in the warmth as soon as we find Leo…" He said calmly whilst tightening his hold on his brother slightly.

Then…

"Guys? What are you all doing here?"

A familiar voice was suddenly heard from behind him, and he turned around to see Leo approaching him with a confused look on his face.

"Leo! Guys, he's ok! He's right here!" Donnie shouted out in relief.

"Wha-? Whoa!" Raph said before he realised that he had let go of the rope that was attached to Yukiko.

"Waaaaaaaaaah! Ugh!" The female rabbit yelled out before she felt a firm tug from the rope after Raph caught it.

"Sorry!" Raph shouted apologetically before he started the process of pulling her back up.

"Thank you, Raphael-san…" Yukiko said gratefully after she was pulled out of the hole by Raph before they headed to where Leo and the others were.

"Oh, Mikey…You're frozen…!" Leo said in a worried tone as he gathered his baby brother from Donnie's hold and into his own arms, and then he held him close to try and get at least a small amount of warmth in him.

"L-L-Leo…" Mikey said shakily with a faint smile of relief when he saw his oldest brother safe and alive next to him.

"Shhh…don't try to talk, bro…save your strength…" Leo said to prevent Mikey from talking due to how weak he currently was, whilst he wrapped the blanket more securely around the shivering turtle.

He then watched as Donnie assessed Mikey's condition before he spoke in a worried tone.

"This isn't good…We've got to get him out of this blizzard or he'll succumb to hypothermia!"

Everyone became shocked and worried after hearing that, and they were about to start making their way back to the tent when Yukiko spoke out in a sad and frustrated tone.

"I believe that we should stop the search and head back to the village once this storm has settled…it is now getting too dangerous for us to go any further…"

"No! We can't just give up now, not after we found signs that Usagi was here!" Leo immediately protested.

"Yeah, he was here, bro…! Who knows where he is now! Fer all we know, he could be-" Raph begun to speak in frustration before he was cut off halfway by an angry Leo.

"Don't say it, Raph! I'm not giving up on Usagi! Mikey and I did not have those visions of him for no reason!"

"Guys, let's continue this discussion for when we're back in the tent…Mikey's not doing so good over here…!" Donnie said firmly but calmly as he looked from Leo to Mikey in his arms with worry showing on his face.

"Yeah…dat is if Leo still cares about him or any of us…!" Raph said bitterly. That made Leo extremely mad.

"Don't you DARE accuse me of neglecting my own brothers, because I do care about you all! Besides, I didn't ask you all to come with me in the first place!" Leo shouted back furiously.

"Well, I'm sorry dat we didn't forget da number one rule in bein' brothers, Leo! And dat is, 'No-one gets left behind!', or have ya forgotten about dat da minute ya set foot in Tibet!?" Raph bit back as he threw his arms in the air.

"No, I haven't, Raph! I always put my brothers first before anything else…so, stop making me look like the bad guy here!" Leo countered back as he got closer to Raph's face. "Also, you were the one who caused me and Mikey to get separated from you guys because of your anger towards our little brother!"

"Senpais, please-" Yukiko tried to calm the tension between the two older brothers, but then…

"ENOUGH!"

Leo, Raph, and Yukiko froze at the loud voice that echoed around them before they looked at Donnie, who had somehow managed to lift Mikey onto his back by himself and was looking at his older brothers with a ticked off and tired look on his face.

"Look, I'm going back to the tent with Mikey…he's our main priority right now, so you guys better do the same and get back into the warmth before more casualties are added to the list!" He said firmly before he started his walk back to the tent whilst carrying a weak and cold Mikey on his back.

"Leonardo-san…We will continue our search for Usagi in the morning…however, if danger occurs again at any point during our search, we will turn back with no more objections…understood?" Yukiko said in a serious but tired tone.

"I…I understand, Yukiko…Let's get back to the tent…" Leo answered with a sad sigh, even though his heart was against the idea.

"Ya don't have ta tell me twice…!" Raph said flatly before he and Yukiko followed Donnie back towards the tent.

Before Leo did the same, he turned around to look at the rural scenery behind him and spoke.

"Usagi…No matter what happens, I will find you…I promise!"

He then turned around and followed the others back to the tent, hoping and praying that his youngest brother would be ok and that the storm would stop soon.