Chapter 46: Another Rescue

Donatello dashed across the roof, running as fast as his legs could take him. Every instinct in his body screamed to not be captured by the giant tiger. Donnie had managed to duck just before the mutant could grab him and made a break for the nearest roof. He could hear the furious growls behind him and tried to run faster. Each step brought regret of leaving home. He didn't bring a weapon or tell anyone where he went. Donnie just wanted his brothers.

Donnie ducked as a claw sailed over his head, forcing him to deviate his path. A dark shadow caught his eye and the turtle sprinted into the familiar hiding place, keeping invisible and making a break for another roof. He couldn't fight so running was his only hope. He needed to get into the sewer. That was his only hope.

The dark of the alley below was almost like a shining beacon. He was almost safe, sort of. As Donnie readied himself to jump down, something caught the tails of his bandana, forcing him backwards.

"Not so fast, turtle." Tigerclaw sneered, pulling the turtle up, wrapping a paw around his neck. "You're not getting away that fast."

Donnie could barely speak as fear overtook him, the sting of tears in his eyes. He didn't want to be here. He wanted his brothers.

"DONNIE!"

Donnie turned to the familiar voice, pushing past the fear and scream, "RAPH!"

"We need to split up. Keep you cells on you at all times. Send out the emergency beacon if you find him and go back to the lair. Do not engage in anyone unless you really need to. Our mission is to find Donnie and bring him home. That is it." Leo's orders still rang in Raphael's ears as he ran across the roofs, searching for his little brother. He needed to find him no matter what.

There was panic when they discovered Donnie was gone and conclusions were drawn. He had found the flash drive with the security footage and watched it. He must have panicked and left the lair. He must have wanted to get away to process what he just saw, something Donnie always did whenever he felt bothered by something. And knowing Donatello, he left the sewers to get fresh air, which was even worse. He had no weapon and no cell. No way for him to contact them or for him to even get home. In short, Raph was terrified.

Leo had decided that Raph, Mikey, Karai, and himself would split up to search for Donnie. He couldn't have gotten too far but he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Raph had the emergency beacon ready that Donatello had installed in each cell. When it was pressed, it would send the location to the other cells. This would let the others know if someone had found him.

Raph saw a flash of orange to the side and ducked into a shadow. Mikey was on the other side of the city, near Casey's apartment. Someone else was up here. Raph slowly looked around the color, trying to figure out who was there. His breath caught in his throat as the back of Tigerclaw was in view. Do not engage. That was his orders.

Tigerclaw turned, revealing his hold on a small turtle with a band of purple over his eyes. Raph jumped out of the shadows, pushing the beacon and ran over to the two. His anger burned as he saw his little brother's eyes fill with fear and tears. He needed to get Donnie away from the mutant.

"DONNIE!" Raph screamed, trying to let his brother know he was coming.

He saw Donnie glance around, trying to find his brother as he screamed, "RAPH!"

Raph flicked out his sais, slamming into the tiger, forcing Tigerclaw to drop Donnie to the ground as he growled in anger. Raph ducked away from Tigerclaw, reaching over to drag Donnie away from the danger. A loud hiss of rage told him that Karai had joined in the fight and Raph could focus on his brother.

Donnie was shaking in fear and a few tears slipped onto his cheeks. Raph put away his weapons and reached over to brush the tear away, forcing Donnie to look up. "Raph….."

"It's okay, Donnie," Raph soothed, trying to remain calm. The ring of steel in the air caught his eye, forcing him to turn around briefly to see the battle. Leo and Mikey had joined Karai in forcing Tigerclaw away. Karai was in her snake form and was trying to get a good shot to get Tigerclaw with some of her acid while Leo and Mikey tried to help. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Donnie shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm sorry I ran away, Raphie. I just….."

"I'm just glad you're okay. We'll talk more at home," Raph said, cutting off his brother.

"Raph! Get him out of here!" Leo order.

Raph nodded, for once not wanting to join in the fight. The need to keep Donnie safe was greater than his need to beat up the mutant. "I want you to hang on tight, okay?" Donnie nodded as Raph lowered himself and beckoned for Donnie to claim onto his back. The small turtle whimpered and clung tightly onto his brother. Raph felt a little better knowing his brother was safely with him and took off, running as fast as he could.

Raph jumped down from the roof, knowing the alleyway had a manhole cover. It would be a lot safer to disappear into the sewers. Leo, Mikey, and Karai would follow when it was safe for them. For now, the mission was to get Donnie home. The little turtle remained silent the whole trip as Raph slipped into the sewers, dashing down the tunnels, water splashing as he ran.

"Donnie?" Raph asked, feeling it safe enough to talk. He felt more than heard the younger turtle hum in response. "Why did you leave?"

Silence lingered in the air. Raph knew Donnie wouldn't want to answer. Knowing from experience, if Raph waited, Donnie would eventually answer. He hated leaving a question unanswered, even if it was one he didn't want to answer.

"I turned into a monster."

Raph sighed. He was right. Donnie saw the video. "You're better now."

"Not all the way though," Donnie mumbled, hugging tighter to Raph. "I was older in that video."

"Docter Rockwell is making everything better," Raph tried to reassure.

"How long will it take, Raphie?" Raph nearly stumbled at the lost tone of Donnie's voice.

"Everything take times, Donnie," Raph finally answered. In his option, this whole thing was taking too much time. Donnie was lost to them for so long and then was mutated for a while and then was a small, regular turtle for a while, and finally was going through these age stages. It was too long. Even Donnie with his blocked memory knew this was just too long.

Author's Note: Another update! I'm on a roll! Hope you all liked this newest chapter. So many of you thought Donnie was captured again. Anyways, special thanks to Pilyarquitect, Glazier Blue, XxTurtletracerxX, Fever To Write, HyunaLeo96, roxanne0910, Juanita27, and tmntlover2013 for the wonderful reviews.