Chapter 25: The Price

Leonardo looked at the list in Slash's hand one more time before jumping down into the sewers. It seemed like Rockwell had sent them on a wild goose chase and Slash was in on it to some extent. Raphael was clenching his fists tight as he ran through the sewers with Michelangelo hot on his tail. Leo couldn't blame them. His brother was in pain and they weren't there to comfort him.

"I'm sure everything will be alright," Karai reassured, matching Leo's steps.

Leo took a deep breath before turning to his sister. "I know. Sensei is with him. I can't help but worry."

"Gaptooth must have been hiding some kind of wound from his little trip," Casey stated, trying to be loud so Raph could hear him as well.

April nodded in agreement. "You know Donnie, always putting the welfare of others before himself. He probably didn't want to worry you guys."

"You guys are probably right. I'm just worrying too much," Leo stated as he jumped over the turnstiles with his brothers.

The lair was quiet. The bad kind of quiet. They couldn't see the large form of Donatello near the couches, only Rockwell as he leaned at the back of it. Rockwell looked up at their entrance and slowly walked up to meet them.

"Hey, Doc. Is everything okay?" Mikey asked. "Where's Donnie? Is he back in the dojo?"

Rockwell inhaled deeply. "I wasn't completely honest with you before you left. I wanted to get Master Splinter's opinion on the subject before you all were told of the situation."

"What situation?" Raph asked nervously.

"When I looked at Donatello's blood sample, I found out some horrifying news. His cells couldn't handle the second mutation and were breaking down."

"Bradford handled a second mutation just fine," Karai pointed out.

"Mutation is highly unstable and even more unpredictable. We can never be sure what it is going to do," Rockwell stated. "My work with finding a cure was still weeks, if not months away, and we did not have enough time…."

"How long?" Leo asked. Rockwell paused, unsure how to answer. "How long!"

"A few days at most," Rockwell answered. Mikey cried out, his blue eyes immediately filling with tears as he latched onto Leo's arm. Raph stumbled, almost falling to the ground if Slash hadn't grabbed his arm.

"But," Rockwell started again, unable to continue watching the three remaining brothers break down. "There was a way to save him."

"Really?" Mikey's small voice whispered as the tears continued down his cheeks. Rockwell nodded and turned away, motioning towards someone. Out of the dojo, came Master Splinter, holding a bundle of white fabric. He met the monkey mutant at the couch, giving him a strange look before looking over at his sons.

"My sons, please, come over." Leo, Raph, and Mikey all looked at each other before walking slowly forward, unsure about what was going to happen. Karai also took a step before Splinter said, "Please, my daughter, wait. I feel it would be for the best." Karai nodded and backed away to rejoin April and Casey.

"Sensei…." Leo slowly started before taking a hard look at the rat. He looked so tired and so full of grief. "Father, what is it?"

Splinter sighed, "I'm sorry, my sons." He lifted a paw and slowly pulled back the white fabric to reveal a small box turtle. "It was the only way to save him." The three remaining brothers stared at the small turtle in Splinter's hands, unable to say anything. Raph took one step forward, reaching with shaking hands towards the turtle. The small turtle tucked his head in his shell, startled by the sudden movement.

"Donnie," Raph nearly cried pulling his hand back for a second before reaching back to the small turtle. "It's okay." Raph gently ran a finger over the shell, causing the little turtle to poke his head back out. Raph gasped as the brown eyes blinked up at him, all intelligence was completely gone.

Splinter gently held the tiny turtle out, offering him to Raphael. With shaking hands, Raph picked the turtle up from the cloth, holding him close to his chest. Leo and Mikey both surrounded Raph and looked down at their brother. Leo gently ran a finger over the small turtle's head. The turtle turned to look at the touch and stared at Leo, the blank eyes staring up.

"No….." Mikey breathed, falling to the ground, tears streaming down his face. Leo stopped for a moment, glancing between his two brothers before knelling down next to Mikey, pulling him into his arms. Mikey's cries only increased in volume as he latched on to his older brother. Raph stared at the two for a second before pulling Donnie to his chest.

"Donatello only had a few more days at best," Rockwell continued. "To be able to find the cure, Donatello had to pay a terrible price."

"What's the price? Where's Donnie?" Karai asked, taking a few steps forward. Mikey's cries filled the liar as he sobbed into Leo's shoulder. Raph shuddered, turning around to the group to show what was in his hands.

"No….." April cried out, sinking to her knees with Casey following, making sure she didn't hurt herself.

"Is that…. Donatello?" Slash asked, stepping forward to get a good look at the tiny turtle.

Raph held Donnie closer to his chest, not wanting to let him go before whispering, "Yes."

"Why…..?" Karai breathed, walking over to Raph to get a better look at the turtle. "Why would you do this to him?" She was shouting at the end of her sentence. Her eyes were shimmering with tears and the disturbance caused Donnie to tuck back into his shell. Raph took a few steps back and began to gently rub the shell, murmuring soft words.

"It was the only way. We were running out of time!" Rockwell yelled back.

"We could have found another way!"

"This was the only way to spare Donatello's life," Master Splinter spoke up, laying down the white cloth. "I asked Donatello what we should do and he agreed with us. His retromutagen was the only solution at the time. I am not losing my son."

Casey looked up from where he sat with April, "What can we do?"

"It will be easier to attempt to replicate his original mutation," Rockwell said.

"Attempt?" Karai asked, crossing her hands over her chest.

"It will take time," Rockwell answered, looking back at Raph who held Donnie close.

Author's Note: Well, that's my job is to pull on heartstrings. Okay, so there are two different ways the story can go and I'm trying to figure out which way to go. I like both and can I can work with both. Option A is Donnie is restored properly. No other details shall be provided so it's still a surprise. Option B is Donnie is restored in stages. What I'm talking about is we'll be a seeing a little Donatello. Cuteness. Option B will make the story longer. So send in your pick and I'll see what I decide. Special thanks to Pilyartquitect, Juanita27, AutumHills10, Sonic155, Aoifetello, Andraia452, BipperCipher3, and Fever To Write for the reviews!