A/N: And as promised, in this chapter, here's Donnie!

Please note: Character thoughts are in italics.

Disclaimer: If I owned the turtles I'd be writing episodes instead, oh what fun that would be!

Chapter 8-Utrom Inventor

Donatello felt himself falling backwards onto his shell. Using the momentum he rolled onto his left side and reached for his fallen bo staff. Weapons practice was his least favorite part of practice. As the Guardian advanced the purple masked turtle leapt to his feet and took a defensive stance. He dodged the forward strike and spun his bo in expert hands before using it one handed to swipe at the Guardian's feet. The Guardian deftly jumped over the swinging staff but landed exactly where Donatello had calculated, leaving him open to Donnie's elbow striking him solidly in the chest. Momentarily stunned, the Guardian grunted at the force of the blow while falling to his knees indicating the end of the match.

The two opponents bowed, concluding today's practice. Donatello walked to the edge of the mat, grabbed a towel and began wiping the sweat from his brow, his mind immediately returning to the invention he had started earlier that morning. Practice was never the purple loving turtle's favorite part of the day, but he couldn't deny the utility from the exercise it provided. The physical exertion gave his mind the downtime it needed to recharge and the adrenaline rush gave him the energy he would need to continue his work well into the late evening.

As the purple masked turtle began chugging a water bottle, the Guardian nodded to Donnie and walked out of the dojo. The bo wielding turtle glanced around the empty dojo and let out a sigh. The Guardians and the Utrom had taught him well over the years, but they were a quiet race. And while he didn't mind the silence most of the time, there were days when the quiet nature of the Guardians and the Utrom left the purple masked turtle feeling rather lonely.

With his water bottle now empty, Don walked the familiar hallways back to his laboratory, letting his mind wander back to his fractured memories. He knew at some point in his early life, he was not alone. Despite the evidence to the contrary the genius turtle was convinced that at some point in his early youth he had spent time with fellow mutant turtles. But despite his best attempts sort through the piecemeal images, he could not recall what happened to them.

Frustrated with his incomplete memories Donatello had turned to Mr. Mortu for help. It was the only time the normally kind and caring Utrom captain had turned cold as ice towards the puzzled turtle. He evaded every single one of Donnie's questions and ultimately left the bo wielding reptile more frustrated than ever. The genius turtle had only ever been able to piece meal two facts from the information he gathered from Mr. Mortu and the Utroms over the years. Fact one, at some point there were additional turtles who were just like Don and fact two, something happened to them many years ago during a confrontation with a great enemy to the Utrom. But despite his best attempts, the lone reptile was never able to unveil any more specifics than that. Whatever happened, it had been a great loss for the Utroms and it seemed to be a grave event that no one wanted to relive by telling the curious turtle.

Entering his lab Donatello sat down and stared blankly at his computer screen. His adrenaline rush from practice was already starting to wear off and his latest invention sat on the table behind him, untouched. His mind was once again distracted by the puzzle of his missing brethren. Donnie had assumed that the fallen turtles held some type of relation to him, if for no other reason than because they were also mutant turtles. But what happened to them all those years ago? And why won't the Utroms ever talk about it?

He leaned back in his chair, his fingertips pressed together into a V. Sometimes he pondered how different his life would be if they had also survived. He could've had friends, maybe even have been close enough to one of them to have a best friend. Or perhaps they would have been something more, cousins or brothers? It would have been nice if Donnie had someone else to talk to sometimes. Another turtle to bounce his ideas off of. A confident he could turn to when troubled. A partner when sparring with the Guardians. The purple masked turtle had no problem with being alone, but sometimes, even the quietest of turtle's needs a little excitement and companionship in his life.

Well no point in continuing to dwell on the past. Donatello cracked his knuckles and leaned forward, ready to once again focus on the task at hand.

To the casual outsider, even a Guardian in a rush would move silently past. But to a fellow trained ninja, the leader of the Guardians rushed by in quite a hurry. Perking Donnie's curiosity, he grabbed his bo staff and slipped it into the holder on his back and he exited his lab and followed.

I wonder what happened? I've never seen him move so quickly after a patrol before.

Sticking to the shadows as he was trained, Donatello crouched behind a large machine to listen in on the conversation. He had missed the beginning of the conversation, but that wasn't a problem for the genius turtle, he could piece together the facts anyway.

Mr. Mortu's incredulous reply carried to the hidden turtle's ears. "They are all alive?"

"Indeed sir, and it appears that the red and orange one's are still together. I don't think those two are working for the enemy. However, the blue one appears to be working for Ch'rell."

Mr. Mortu frowned. "That's going to be a problem. It appears that Ch'rell is preparing to make a strike soon. We'll need to recruit them, all of them. We can only defeat Ch'rell if the four of them are united and working together."

Donatello's eyes narrowed as he pondered the conversation. Who the shell is Ch'rell? And who is still alive? Four of what?

"Sir, what are you going to do about Donatello?" The Guardian asked.

A sad smile slide over the Utrom captain's face as his eyes looked over at a large machine and he addressed the hidden turtle. "Donatello, you can come out. It looks like you are finally going to get the answers to your questions on your missing brethren…your long lost brothers."

The eavesdropping turtle walked out from his hiding spot with a sheepish look on his face, while his thoughts raced at a thousand miles a minute. Then he stopped in his tracks as his body finally caught up to his mind. Wait, did he just say I have brothers?

The only thing worse than dealing with an angry Raphael, is dealing with an angry Raphael who had just lost a fight. And that's exactly what Mikey and Master Splinter were facing right now. The red masked turtle was hitting the punching bag so hard, it was slowly beginning to deflate as the stuffing poured out of it. The sand began to pile up on the floor, alongside a weight that had rolled to a stop after the angry turtle toppled over the weight rack during his outburst.

Trying to stay as far away from his pissed off brother as possible, Mikey sat crossed legged in front of Master Splinter, recapping the night's earlier events.

"And then we dug our way out of the rubble and came back here."

Master Splinter narrowed his eyes as he listened to his youngest son's tale. Leonardo's actions spoke volumes to the rat master. After so many years in the Shredder's care, it was no surprise that the evil ninja would order his loyal son to steal. But what was surprising, as well as encouraging, was that deep down inside, Leonardo's need to shield his brothers had not waned after all these years apart from them. All they needed to do now, was to help Leonardo remember his brothers, and his father, Master Splinter.

It appeared that all of his son's had a gap in their memories from that fateful day and Master Splinter wasn't sure how to help them recover those memories. Years ago, he walked Michelangelo through a series of meditation exercises, but it was unsuccessful. And no matter how many times he had caught his youngest son staring blankly into his brothers' rooms, the sight never triggered any sense of familiarity for the lonely turtle.

And now there was Raphael. His second eldest son was even more hot headed and impulsive now that he was a teenager. Yet his desire to protect his brothers was as strong as ever. It was this fact that had driven the angry turtle to seek refuge through punishment of his punching bag. Raphael and Michelangelo had been unable to get through to their older brother. And none of them knew what to do about it.

Rising from his spot on the floor, Master Splinter addressed his two frustrated sons. "My sons, I am going to mediate on this matter. Be sure to get some rest, we will resume training in the morning."

Both turtle's faced their Sensai and bowed.

"Good night Master Splinter."

"Night Sensai."

Leonardo kept his eyes trained on the floor in front of him. He was eager for his father to dismiss him, now that he had completed his assignment and delivered the Muramasa sword. The black banded turtle was growing more confused than ever and wanted time alone to meditate on the two turtles. He had always thought he was the only ninja turtle in the world, but clearly that was no longer the case.

Saki's eyes roamed over the turtle before him. And then he noticed the bruise beginning to form on his upper arm.

"My son, what happened to your arm?"

Leonardo had to stop himself from looking up in surprise at the unexpected question. Careful to keep his voice level and his breathing even he lied about the injury. "I hit it against a falling crate when I retrieved the sword."

Saki's eyes narrowed at the young teenager's lie. "I see. You are dismissed. Go get some rest my son."

With a quick bow, Leonardo hurried out of the room.

Years ago, when the sword wielding turtle questioned his father about where he came from, Saki had brushed it aside. He thought the other turtles had been destroyed during the explosion. So he told the curious turtle that he rescued him from his greatest enemy, an evil that Saki had vowed to stop. And with Leonardo under his wing, it appeared that Saki would have the upper hand when he was ready to wipe out the Utrom race. Saki had been lucky that Leonardo could not remember the events of that fateful day and he easily accepted Saki as his mentor and master. But now, the reappearance of this other turtle brought the risk that Leonardo would question what Saki had told him all those years ago. He could begin to question where his loyalties should lie, to his Master Saki, or to his brother? And if all three brothers were found, that could give the Utroms the upper hand they needed to defeat Saki. Saki simply could not allow this to happen. Even if all three brothers resurfaced, it was imperative that Leonardo did not rejoin them. For without their leader, the turtles would not be able to defeat him.

Saki's eyes hardened as he continued to ponder the situation. Yet, it appears that Leonardo is withholding something. Leonardo is too skilled to injure himself from a falling crate. His young charge was hiding something, but what? Did he run into his orange banded brother again? If so, why hide it? It didn't appear that the confrontation was peaceful, which meant that Leonardo was still loyal to the Shredder. The black turtle would not be easily convinced by the random appearance of one lonely turtle. But if the others were also still alive and had resurfaced, this could spell trouble for Saki. If Leonardo realized that he had brothers, and that Saki had lied to him, well then there was the risk that he could go rogue. The black masked turtle was a great warrior and it was obvious to anyone who saw him in battle that he was a natural leader. Reuniting with his three brothers could be just what was needed to unleash the full potential of both Leonardo and his siblings.

Saki's eyes hardened. No, Leonardo cannot learn the truth. Which means that his brother needs to be taken out of the picture.

With his decision made, Saki summoned his Elite Guard for their next assignment.

A/N: Whew, this chapter marks the first time all four brothers have appeared not only in this story but also in the same chapter. I wonder if Donnie will meet any of his brothers soon? Thanks for reading and please write a review before you go! Virtual pecan pie (or blueberry, or apple, take your pick) to those who do!