Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the TMNT franchise in any way, shape, or form. No money is being made. This is just a labor of love for the series. Please don't sue me, Viacom!

Alternate Universe fic. The timeline is the same as the TV series until just after "The Pulverizer Returns."

Warnings: None of the ones I promised to warn about, however, there is angst. Quite a bit of angst. :)

A/N: Welcome back again! So very glad to see you here! This one's a little longer than the last one. Thankfully. I want to give a very big THANK YOU to those who have followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! I feel truly honored that you felt my story was worthy of that! If I could hug you all, I would! I hope that you will continue to enjoy what I have written. And please continue to review if you have. And if you haven't, please don't hesitate to do so. I know I say it all the time, but really...I do love hearing from you!

Chapter 8

"How does a message saying that his T-phone's been busted mean that Donnie's been caught?" Raphael snapped, refusing to believe what Leo said. "It could have just been messed up in the fight. And since when do these things send messages when they're smashed?"

"The message didn't say it was broken. It said self-destructed," Leo corrected quietly. Raph looked like he was about to start hitting things, specifically Leo. Leo continued before Raph had a chance to blow a gasket. "After the MOUSERS incident, I talked with Donnie about how we realized that he and Mikey were in trouble. He decided that we needed a more definite way of knowing when one of us is in trouble. So he said he'd program his phone to send a text to mine just before it self-destructed. That way someone not answering a call could just mean that they can't talk at the moment, but that text would mean something terrible had happened," Leo explained hoarsely. "We were going to test it to make sure it worked. Then Donnie could program all the T-phones to message each other, but things got busy before we had a chance. I'd honestly forgotten about the idea until now." Leonardo laughed weakly and without joy. "I didn't even know that he'd managed it."

Raph stood there in stunned silence for a moment, allowing what Leo said to sink in. Once it had, he turned his back on his companions and took several steps away from them. He stood there breathing for a bit, trying to keep his in temper in check. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore; he made a guttural roar and punched the tunnel wall as hard as he could. Pieces of brick flaked off. Stupid Donnie had really gone and gotten himself caught. His eyes closed and all he could see was his brother: smiling that gap-toothed smile of his, yelling at him for something stupid, lecturing them on some boring science thing, rolling his eyes, laughing with them. "Stupid, stupid Donnie!" he growled to himself while he punched the wall until the wraps around his knuckles turned red. The pain worked through his rage and forced another set of images of to enter his mind. Donnie looking worried while trying to fuss over his injuries…followed by Donnie looking terrified. The final image that flicked through Raph's mind made him stop his frenzy all together. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and rested his head and forearms against the wall while the horrifying image of his little brother lying in a pool of blood assaulted his senses.

As Raph expressed his anger, April sank to the sewer floor with Leo. Without anger or hope to hold them at bay, sorrow and guilt really set in. What would the Kraang do to Donnie? Would they kill him? Experiment on him? She whimpered and covered her face when she suddenly imagined Donnie floating in one of those gruesome tubes. And she may as well have put him there. The tears that she'd been fighting ever since they'd escaped began to leak out. "No! No, I can't think like this. This isn't helping! Donnie needs us! He needs us to get him out of this and tears won't make that happen," she firmly told herself while rubbing at her eyes.

Mikey, meanwhile, stood there shaking his head disbelievingly. This couldn't be right. It couldn't be real. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft but it slowly became a shout. "No. No way, Leo! You're wrong. That…that message has gotta be a mistake. Donnie's gotta be alright!" He'd already lost Leatherhead. He couldn't lose Donnie too! Before anyone could stop him, Mikey bolted down the tunnel. Leo was wrong and he'd prove it! He would go to Murakami's place. Donnie would be there and everything would be the way it was supposed to be.

"Mikey!" Leo cursed under his breath and dragged himself to his feet. He chastised himself for losing his composure. All it took was two minutes for the whole team to fall apart. This was the last thing they needed right now! He grimaced when he caught himself wishing that Donnie was here to calm Mikey down. Just before he went after Mikey, he felt April grab his arm.

"You stay with Raph. I'll take care of Mikey," she offered.

Leo was thankful to see that someone else had managed to pull themselves together. He nodded in agreement with her suggestion. She gave him a weak smile before she ran off to catch up with Mikey. Once she was out of sight, he moved over to Raphael, who had finished venting the bulk of his fury. He leaned against the wall and quietly waited for his brother to acknowledge him. Eventually, Raph's eyes opened and he glanced at Leo. He looked as miserable as Leo felt. "I knew I should have gone after him," Raph said quietly as he looked back to the wall and tried to hide the moisture in his eyes.

Leo sighed at this. He should have known that he wouldn't be the only one blaming himself for this. "I'm the one that made the call, Raphael. If you're going to blame someone, blame me."

Raphael looked at Leonardo more fully this time. Then he sighed and turned around so that he was leaning his carapace against the wall. He closed his eyes again, trying to push all the anger and sorrow as far away as he could. Raph didn't want to think about what could be happening to Donnie. If he did, he was going to break his hands trying to punch a hole in the tunnel. He also did his best to ignore what Leo said. The temptation to blame him for this was strong enough without Leo offering himself up for that blame. Instead, he chose to focus on something more pressing. "So…" he croaked out. He cleared his throat and tried again. "So, what do we do now?"

Leo blinked at the question, amazed that Raph wasn't laying into him. He decided that he didn't need to read too much into it. "The only things we can do. First, we go to the lair and tell…tell Splinter what has happened," Leo said. That was something he was not looking forward to. "Then we start working on a plan to get Donnie out of there."

Raph nodded at this. "What if…" he paused when the words stuck in his throat. "What if we're too late?"

Leonardo's eyes narrowed resolutely. "We ARE bringing Donnie home. Even if all we have to bring home is his body."

"Man, he's fast," April thought as she raced through the sewers. She'd lost sight of Mikey a while ago but she was pretty sure she knew where he was going. After a few minutes, she reached the manhole that she needed. She quickly discovered that the cover was too heavy for her. "How do the guys manage this?" she growled, trying one last time and almost getting a hernia for her efforts. She looked around, smiling when she spotted a storm drain. Once she'd clambered out, she dusted herself off and tried to ignore the looks the people on the sidewalk gave her. "Note to self: next time…try to come out of one of the subway lines."

The shop door chimed pleasantly, announcing her arrival. "Hi, Murakami-san," she quietly greeted.

"April-chan! How are you? I didn't expect you this late," the blind shop owner replied.

"I'm…honestly, I could be better, Murakami-san. It's a long story so I'll have to tell you later. Right now I'm looking for Mikey. Is he here?" she asked as she scanned around for him. She spotted him at the back of the shop.

"Ah, yes, he is here. It seems Michelangelo-kun could be better as well," Murakami said softly.

"Yeah. I'm sure he could be," April said before moving over to Mikey. He didn't acknowledge her approach. She didn't say anything as she sat down next to him. They sat there in silence for several minutes. "Not hungry?" she asked in an attempt to get Mikey talking while she gestured to an untouched plate of gyoza that was sitting on the counter. "I can't blame you."

"Those are for Donnie," Mikey responded weakly.

April winced. She'd never heard Mikey sound so…lost. Even though they couldn't be more different, Donatello and Michelangelo were amazingly close. They were always there for each other. Maybe it was because they were the 'little' brothers? Whatever the reason, it was clear that their closeness was going to make Donnie's absence especially hard on Mikey. She swallowed an emotional lump down and tried to speak. "Mikey…I don't think that Donnie is going to show up."

Mikey's jaw clenched at her words. "You're wrong. You and Leo are both wrong!" he responded unwaveringly. "Donnie said he'd be here. He SAID he would! Donnie doesn't lie about important stuff. He'll be here!" April felt her heart ache at the faith Mikey had in Donnie. It made her feel guilty for not having that same faith.

"Alright, Mikey," she said sympathetically. "We'll wait for a while. But we can't stay here forever."

Mikey looked at April in surprise. He'd thought for sure that she'd try to convince him to go home. The hopeful smile returned to his face. "Thanks, April!" April couldn't help but smile back.

Telling their sensei about Donatello was even harder than Leonardo thought it would be. It wasn't that their father became visibly upset. No, Splinter remained as stoic as ever when Leo talked with him. However, Leo picked up on the signs of apprehension and sorrow. He had never felt the burden of leadership more keenly than now. It was his job to keep his brothers safe and he'd failed in the worst way possible.

Leo shook his head to drive the depression away. He didn't have time for it. His eye ridges furrowed as he stared at the printout of the Kraang facility he'd taken from Donnie's lab. They could try to get in the same way they originally had, but Leo was pretty sure that the Kraang would be watching it now. He growled angrily when his vision blurred. Sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford. He had to figure this out!

"Leonardo," Splinter said, snapping the turtle out of his focus. Leo looked up at his sensei who he hadn't even heard come into the kitchen. "It is nearly morning and you have yet to sleep. You must rest if you are going to be effective in your planning," Splinter said concernedly.

"Sensei, every moment we wait is another moment that Donnie has to spend with the Kraang. We have to get him out as soon as possible," Leo insisted.

"Indeed, you must. Yet a poorly made plan will ensure that the rest of you are captured. Then there will be no one to help Donatello," Splinter countered. Leo flinched at this then hung his head. Splinter came over to him and gently placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I have confidence in you, my son. You and your brothers will succeed."

Leo looked at his father in surprise for a moment before he smiled wearily. "Thank you, Sensei. I'll go to bed like you asked."

"Good. But before you do, where are Michelangelo and April? They are not in their beds either."

"They haven't come back yet?" Leo asked worriedly. He'd been so fixated on saving Donnie that he'd neglected to make sure the whole team was safe. "I'll call them and find out where they are," he said, cursing himself for being so stupid. He reached into his belt for his T-phone and almost panicked when he couldn't find it. "That's right. Mikey still has mine. I'll have to borrow Raph's."

Raphael was pretty easy to find. He'd passed out on the couch while waiting for Mikey and April. Leonardo shook him into wakefulness. "I need to borrow your T-phone."

"Why?" Raph gruffly asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"April and Mikey haven't come home yet. So I was going to call them to find out where they are," Leo patiently responded.

Raph growled a bit and sleepily reached for his T-phone before it seemed like a switch flipped on in his brain. "Wait, those two aren't home yet?" Leo nodded. "Well, forget calling them. We're gonna go get them!" Raph declared. He got up, grabbed Leo by the arm, and almost dragged his surprised brother to the Shellraiser.

"We don't even know where they are!" Leo said when Raph shoved him into the driver's seat.

"I have an idea. Just drive."

The plate of gyoza was completely cold. They had been waiting for hours with absolutely no sign of Donatello. "He really didn't make it," April thought and she quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped. She could see that the sun was starting to rise behind the shop's curtains. Murakami's shift would be over soon and one of his employees would be running the 24/7. Someone that wasn't used to having giant, talking turtles around. Not to mention that the morning customers would be coming in soon. They had to leave.

Before she could turn to Michelangelo, she heard him sniffle. She looked at the orange clad turtle. What she saw broke her heart. She'd never seen any of the turtles cry; she hadn't even been sure that they physically could. Now she knew for sure because here was carefree Mikey, trying so hard not to break down. "Mikey," she said softly as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

He finally tore his gaze away from the gyoza to look at her. His blue eyes were like a mirror, reflecting every bit of fear and regret back to her. "This is all my fault," he choked out.

April was shocked. She reached out to cup his face. "What do you mean, Mikey?"

"I should've noticed you two were gone. If I had, then we could've gone back for you. If I had just paid attention, all of us would've made it out! Now the Kraang have Donnie and are gonna do who knows what to him," he sobbed, his tears soaking his mask until they dripped from it. April inhaled sharply at his confession. She quickly pulled him into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her in return, hid his face against her shoulder, and continued to weep.

"Oh Mikey, no. No, this is not your fault! Not your fault at all," April tried to soothe her distraught friend while she tried not to break down with him. She failed as the tears began to trickle out. April cradled Mikey to her while they both poured out their heartache.

The front door chimed announcing the arrival of another customer. April gasped at the reminder of the danger they were in. She protectively clutched Mikey tighter to her before she glared venomously at the door. There was no way she was going to lose two of her friends in one night! She sighed in relief when she saw Leo and Raph hurry in. "Thank goodness that it's only you two. I thought for sure we were in trouble."

"We all will be if we don't leave now," Leo stated frankly as he came over. "There are people heading this way as we speak." His eyes softened at the sight of his baby brother in tears. He rested a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Mikey," he said softly to get his brother's attention. Mikey sniffled loudly and looked mournfully up at Leo. Leonardo gently rested his other hand on Michelangelo's cheek while he crouched down so he could look Mikey in the eyes. "We're getting him back, Mikey. I swear to you. The Kraang won't have Donnie a second longer than necessary. You got that?" Leo adamantly vowed not only to Mikey but to all of them. Mikey took a shuddering breath at this. He swallowed hard, nodded, and tried to stop the flood of tears. "Good. Let's go home." Leo moved to help Mikey and April to their feet.

"Wait," Raphael said. The three of them paused to look at him. "Murakami-san, may I have a to-go bag for these dumplings?" Murakami smiled knowingly and fetched one for him.

Leo looked at Raph incredulously. "Raph, we don't have time for that! Forget the gyoza!" he barked while he herded April and Mikey towards the door.

"It's a waste of food! Besides," Raph hurriedly dumped the gyoza into the bag before running to catch up with the others, "Donnie's gonna need something awesome for his 'Welcome Home' meal," he said with a confident smirk. Leo's eyes widened at this before he returned the smile.

A/N: OK, I know I said poor Donnie last time, but...poor, sweet little Mikey. It's always so hard to see him without that sunny smile of his. :( (takes a deep breath) Things are about to start getting rough for poor Donnie, so I hope you all will stick with me! As always, if you could please let me know how you feel about this chapter with a review, I would be stupidly happy. If you haven't already favorited or followed the story yet, but are enjoying the story, please consider it! I promise to do my best to not let you down! :D