A/N: Finally. Reliable 'net access so I can have an author's note. Well here it is. After struggling to find my notebook, I've posted this fic's update. I'm working on the next chapter now, but it's exam week... Anyway, warning: I believe Raph's older than Donny. Just so yanno. My personal preference. They're of course all the same age, but they treat each other as such. The only edit this achieves is fixing the break so there actually is one. Nothing changed in words.
It was close to five minutes later when Leonardo first saw what that call had done to Raphael. The usually volatile turtle was now reduced to something his brothers have never seen before. Raph was bent forward on his knees with his head held only inches above the wet ground; his brother's bo staff held tightly in a single clenched fist. Leo slowly approached him, unsure how to react to this version of his brother. "Raph?"
It took two more calls before Raph's eyes finally lifted enough to spot his brothers' feet. "He's got'im." Raphael said almost too quietly to hear. "And he's gonna let'im die…"
"Who?" Leo asked; voice filled with a calm that grated on Raph's nerves.
Raph's head shot up at that. "I don't know! Some scientist crack-pot who thinks he can kill Donny and get away with it!"
"Did you see where he took Donny?" Leo asked next, his calm mask still in place.
"I toldja! I woke up and he was gone! Don'tcha get it? I didn't see a thing 'cuz that bastard has some kinda knock-out gas! I don't even know how I got here! Where am I, anyway?" By this time, Raph was on his feet.
"Brooklyn Cemetery." Leo told him.
"Ha! I bet he thinks this is all a big joke, huh?" Raph glared at his surroundings, "Ya think yer so funny, huh? Well I ain't done yet! Once I find Donny, I swear I'll kill ya, ya bastard!"
"Ra-aph…?" Mikey said before turning to Leo, "What's up with him?"
Leo just shook his head before addressing Raph. "Raphael, this isn't productive..."
"Are you ready for stage one?"
The voice had all three turtles freezing. Raph quickly searched out the walkie-talkie before his eyes widened as Mikey went for it. "No!" He yelled as he leaped for it, just managing to grab it before his brother could.
"Raph, what the shell-?" Leo asked, but Raph wasn't listening.
"Where is he?" Raph tried not to growl into the communicator.
"That was a close save, Raphael."
"Where are ya?"
"I have many eyes in this city. Now that the three of you are together, we can begin…"
"Who is that, Raph?" Leo asked.
"Tell me where he is then." Raph very nearly growled, ignoring his brother.
"It would be too easy then. You might actually find him in time. That would ruin the whole fun of the game. I just love hearing Donatello slowly lose his mind…"
Raph let out a roar of rage, his finger slipping off the button so the man on the other side could not hear it.
Leo's face finally showed the worry he had felt since Raph's phone call, before it flashed fear and then anger. He still didn't know all the details, but he knew enough to understand the man on the other end of the airwaves was Donatello's captor.
Mikey was now unable to think of anything funny. His joke book was now a thing of the past. His immediate older brother…was 'losing his mind'? It wasn't something he liked to hear from an enemy…
"Are you ready to begin yet?"
"O'course I am-" Raph said, breaking off his own sentence before it became a curse.
"Let me speak to him," Leo offered with his hand outstretched.
"No." Raphael said, for the first time acknowledging his brother.
"Raph."
"I said 'no', Leo!" Raph growled, "Leave me alone. Ya don't get it…"
"Why don't you tell them the rules, Raphael? All of them. I'd like to hear what they think."
"Ugh," Raph grunted out.
"What's he talking about?" Leo asked.
"They want to know. Donatello's life depends on it, remember…"
"Just shut up!" Raph said, his whole body shaking with barely controlled rage.
"…Raph?" Leo tried again.
"We don't have time fer this!" Raph said next.
"I don't care how long you waste. Time is ticking away…"
Another roar of frustration and Raph finally told his brothers' the main rules. He hated playing this guy's game, but he knew he had no choice.
"How long do we have?" Leo asked, immediately following.
"I don't know," Raph said before pressing the button to talk, "How long does he have?"
"I believe it is more entertaining to let you wonder. Donatello would know. It's too bad he's not in any shape to answer questions on it. You're not a very good big brother if you can't even calm your little brother down. He's still panicked. And all the air he's wasting…"
"Well then tell me where he is!" Raphael roared.
"Now Raphael, you know better than to yell at me. Maybe you need to calm down before we can get back to the game…"
"I don't have time fer that…" Raph said, quietly as his eyes burned with frustrated tears he would not shed.
"Then don't lose your temper with me. Maybe the next time we talk, you'll have better control over your emotions…" And then the static returned. Raph stumbled heavily to where he dropped Donny's staff and collapsed next to it; taking no notice of his audience. "I'm sorry, Donny…" Raph said as he took the wooden weapon into his hands. He couldn't do anything without a clue. He was static; frozen because of his own temper…
Leo walked over to Raph and laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll find him. We can start at the beginning. Where were you when you lost sight of Donny?"
Beating against the walls of my enclosure for so long has finally forced me to slump in defeat. I can't do it! There's no way out! Not on my own anyway… I know that now. I'm getting so tired. What time was it when I was captured? It had to be so long ago. It feels like it's been forever… But, how would that help me? It's not information I can use. I don't even know how long I was unconscious! It could have been days! I'm going to die either way. How can my brothers find me when I don't even know where I am?
Then I remember. "Raph." I feel around frantically for the device I used before. I hope I didn't hit it out of my reach! Come on, come on! Where is it?
My hand brushes against it and I can already feel the static pressure that has been pressing closer in the dark, finally start to recede a little as a shred of hope replaces it. I carefully bring it into reach and try the button. "…Raph?"
Raph was near to giving up. Leo's suggestion of heading to the place where it started headed nothing. He was going to tell Leo that when he heard the small voice. He quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie. "I'm here, bro. How're ya holdin' up?"
"I can't get out myself… I need help…"
"Yeah, I know. We're tryin'." Raph sighed in relief at the clarity of his Donny's voice. His brother was back, if still a bit terrified.
"I don't know how much air I have left. I don't want to die down here…"
"Yer not gonna die, ya hear me?" Raph said, firmly. "It jus' ain't happenin'. How 'bout ya jus' talk ta me fer a moment. You've always been good at distancin' yerself from stuff. So tell me things that can help us find ya."
"I woke up in darkness, Raph. There's not much I can tell you."
If this moment wasn't so serious, Raph may have laughed at his brother's sarcasm. As it was, the stress nearly forced it out of him. "Just start with sproutin' off details. Fer tha first time, I wanna listen ta yer techno-jargon. Don't waste it."
"Heh heh, okay. I'll try."
Raph did smile at the laugh he received. He could hear Mikey's voice carrying over from where he and Leo were talking, but the exact words were blown away by the rainstorm. He wasn't paying that much attention anyway. If he was, he may have pounded Mikey for his baby brother's joke about Raph's ability to make anyone laugh.
"The enclosure's small. There's hardly any room to move. Approximately two extra inches all around, excluding the ceiling, which is about six inches of free space. It's difficult to be exact due to the lack of light. And…that means…"
Raph heard the detached quality of Donny's voice up until the end when it turned fearful. Something was wrong. "Donny?"
"Oxygen quantity for negative space… Raph, I can't do this! I don't want to think about it!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down, bro!"
"I don't even know how long it's been since he blocked up the air vent. How would determining the estimated oxygen supply help?"
Raph noticed Donny seemed to be mostly speaking to himself here. But there was one thing he latched onto. "He spoke to you?" Because how else would Donny have known about any air vent? "What did he say to you? Can you tell me anything about him?"
"He didn't say much. Just taunted me. I wasn't really listening anyway – I was just waking up – but I did catch his name. Maybe that'll help? It was Don-"
The rest of the name was drowned out in static. Raph wasn't prepared to acknowledge what that meant. The answer had been so close! That name could have been his one shard of hope; a clue that could have led him straight to his brother. So he called to Donny through the static airwaves, hoping – no praying – for a response; anything!
The hand on his shoulder stopped him. There was Leo again; offering assistance in his calm, authoritative way. Even Leo could pull off the detached look. Maybe that's where Donny learned it from? By watching the leader in action? Still, it wouldn't feel the same without the brainiac with them. Raph really needed to stay on track. He had a brother to find and a scientist to kill. Thanks Leo. The static wasn't so pressing anymore.
A/N: Please leave a review if ya haven't already o.o I love reviews.