Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, but real life is getting in the way, but we're back. This chapter is one we were excited to do, can't tell you much but you'll understand. I won't take up much more time, so enjoy.

Chapter 23: Rat Trap

Silence was an essential, and deadly weapon for a ninja, depending how it was used. They could use it to conceal their presence from their enemies, travel through the shadows, to keep them hidden from harm, until the chosen opportune moment to strike. But if Donnie was truthfully with himself, he didn't feel much like a ninja anymore. More still the prey. Something was waiting silently in the shadows, waiting for him to drop his guard down again, but determined to prove that inner voice wrong. The young teen had remained in his lab at his desk for an undetermined amount of time, fighting to justify his stupidity of what he was about to do to bring their Master Splinter home for his brothers. He was a ninja, and it was about time he started acting like one.

On a more realistic side of things, in his current condition, going out looking for trouble, would more than likely get him killed. Reading the letter over and over again, he knew he was in fact manipulating their Master because he would never allow anything bad to happen to his children.

"Can you really still be counted as one of his children?" That voice coming from the dark places in his head asked him.

"Yes I am! Stop it! Just stop thinking like that!" Don frustratedly ran his hands over his head trying to push out the negative thoughts that sounded like the Rat King. Whenever one of the disembodied and argumentative voices came up, it was in the tone of Rat King, not his…but it must be his. The Rat King was dead, he was only still alive in Donatello mind.

"You're a headcase Donatello! You should be in therapy!"

Don chastised himself. He needed to get a grip, like Raph said, he just had to remember that Splinter loved him – That's a farce – No it isn't! Donnie looked at the clock. It was a little past midnight. Silence had befallen on the other side of the door. The brothers clearly given up trying to reason with him… Maybe they had gone out on patrol, but he didn't think so. He had upset the applecart. The clan didn't like going out when one of them was in distress in case the worst happened. Either way they were going to be mad at him. Hopefully when he reappeared with their Sensei, all would be forgiven… maybe? Hopefully?... Shell he was well and truly screwed.

He decided now would be a good time to slip out before that space in his head got too full of negativity. Grunting he managed pull himself to his feet by the aid of his desk for support. Why was he not stronger by now? Why was he still so drained? Slowly he made his way to the door waiting for any signs of life. His lab wasn't soundproof, something he sometimes regretted, but Master Splinter had cautioned him, though it was his choice, it may not be wise. He should be able to listen for trouble if needed. That meant living with constant noises from the lair disrupting him. Today however it worked for its merit. He would hear the faint sounds coming from the TV area, and maybe a word or two being traded by his brothers…all that is currently absent.

"It's time to go," The teen said to himself turning around and heading to the far side of the lab grabbing his Bo-Staff on the way and placing it behind his shell. A strained grunt escaped him as he kneeled down on the floor, hands reaching for the wall. Fingers trailing against the grooves, gripping a panel before removing a large section of the wall, big enough for him to crawl through, leading into the lair. A small secret secondary exit he had made for personal reasons. Like now when he was in his lab and didn't want anyone coming after him.

Making sure to put the panel back in place with a silent snap, he made his way through the tunnel to the lair to find it was dimly lit. Not wanting to alert his brothers, he had to suppress another grunt as he got to his feet. Not wanting to use his staff as a walking stick, the tapping of the wood made to much noise, so he could only use the wall for support. It had taken much practice, but he could make it the rest of the way slowly without support. By the time he reached the outside door of his lab again, his eyes landed on a figure sitting outside entrance. Raphael had parked himself on the floor. His shell pressed against the door, with his head hug down seeming asleep.

"Talk about first responder." Don thought to himself, knowing his red clad brother's tricks. If Don had attempted to exit through the usual front doors, Raph would be alerted, likely jumping on him, drawing everyone else to the party. Not today.

"I'm Sorry Raphie… But don't worry I am going to fix this. I am going to bring our family back," he said sadly. Forcing his eyes away from Raph, he searched the lair for Leo or Mikey. No where to be seen, as they must be in bed. Taking a breath, he continued to walk slowly on his shaky legs towards the exit that lead to the sewers.

Raph was going to kick his shell when he found out what he was about to do, and he would deserve it.

It took Donatello a much longer amount of time to walk through the sewers, not just because of his injuries, but the fact he was wanting to surface at his chosen destination in the city. He wasn't up for jumping across roof tops at the moment.

However, if he thought walking through the lair was difficult, he should have smacked himself over the head not thinking about the sewers. The darkness, ever so eeriness in the sewers felt a lot more dangerous than before. Still infested with rats. Every now and then he saw them swarm around him… Or was he having another hallucination? It must be, why would they be following him!?

He couldn't repress a flinch hearing them squeaking or a painful squealing. Maybe they were just real rats? It was the sewer after all. But the scurrying of many feet sounded like they were right behind him, chasing him and getting louder… before long it sounded more like only one, heavy set of feet were chasing him. Serval times Donnie had to stop and turned around, back tracking himself, making sure no one was behind him. Had one of his brothers seen him slip out? If so, why just follow him and not confront him? The smart turtle stood still, watching the darkness, waiting to see if any other shapes appeared. The disembodied footsteps stopped right along with him every time. "Splinter?" He called not sure if he wanted to see his rat master or was he just mad still? However, Splinter wouldn't had made a sound if he was following him already. There was no one there… Still that creepy feeling trickled down his spine, but it was all in his head!

"Get a grip brainiac, get a grip!" Shaking his head seemed to dispel the paranoia for now.

He continued walking in the dimly lit tunnel trying to ignore the illusion of silhouette scurrying after him. After thirty-five minutes he finally stopped by a ladder leading up to the chosen manhole. Now that he was here, his heart started to beat rapidly, realizing just how crazy he was being. It was as though his brain was filled with fog. The only thing that was clear was the goal of bring Splinter out into the open. "It's the only way to bring your father home!" The voice in his head that still irritatingly sounded a lot like the Rat King. "This is the only way you can prove to him and your brothers you are worthy." His good hand gripped at the steel before making his way up the ladder. Leaving the lair and sewers for the first time in a month… His breathing uneven at the thought of ascending out of his comfort zone.

Part of him was hoping if he faced his fears of seeing Master Splinter and the world above, the Rat King would finally be out of his head. Face your fear and the imaginary rats would be gone. By the time he reached the top, he was more determined than ever. Get a grip brainiac, your almost there. Another grunt forcing his full weight against the manhole cover, emerging into the midnight air of New York city. A gentle breeze in the alleyway was there to greet him, but instead of offering relief, it just sent another shiver down his shell, because he knew what building was just a few block away. To add further insult, the sounds of feet had followed him out into the open, but they were still invisible, proving once more it was just in his head. It took a lot of will power not to just climb back down the tunnel and return home.

"Better get a move on," he told himself as he looked over to the side of the nearby building, spotting the fire escape. To his relief the ladder was easily accessible, Shell, looking up massive metal structure, he wasn't sure how he would pull this off. "Shell…this is going to hurt."

"Prove your worthy! Your almost there." The Rat King inner voice pushed. A little while later Don was hunched over, hands on his knees, panting out of breathing. How could he still be so drain? This didn't make any sense. Just climbing up the fire escape was such a chore! He was out of shape, but he was on the roof, finally!

It was fairly large for the building itself, the entrance into the building was on the other side. The door closed and looking aged. There was even a waterspout where a hose could be connected to it, yet no hose. The only other thing present was a green house. A small structure made completely of glass sitting idly on the roof. Yet after looking at the glossed over glass, and lack of plants within, it seemed it hadn't been used for a long time. The chances were that the building below wasn't inhabited. Good. He didn't need some random person finding him up here if he couldn't make a quick getaway.

He looked into the distance feeling his heart pick up and his blood run cold. His target building just three or four blocks away. Foot HQ. "Well Master Splinter, I hope I was right about you trailing us when we leave the lair." He said as a silent pray to himself. "Go on… Just a little further to the edge." The negative voice interrupted, egging him on. A wave of tiredness came over Donnie so much he had to use his bo-staff as a walk stick again as he walked over to the edge of the building, not really understanding why. He couldn't jump right now, as It was a long drop, a growing fear inciting within him. He wasn't sure why of that either. Heights didn't bother him. It must be because he was so close to the Foot building? Why was he here? … He wasn't in control here… But he was here… It was too late to turn back now.

*Hiss!*

Don jumped suddenly at the familiar sound. It was the sound of the Rats made when they attacked him… But there were no rats up here! What was going on…? and why did his head hurt? The patter of small feet scurrying all around him.

*Squeak!* *Hiss* …. *Growl*

Either his eyes or his ears were lying to him, but Donnie found that he dares not move as they grew louder… He gripped harder onto his bo-staff to keep himself up right, but something felt wrong. He didn't realize it until he looked over at his weapon again, but instead seeing his bo-staff, he was now holding up a thick bloody rope with a noose on the end. The very same noose the Rat King had tried to hang him on!

He gasped in shock, dropping the rope, but he only heard his bo-staff hit the ground with a loud clatter. He almost fell off the side of the building in the process. It was close, but he managed to stumble back before he slipped. "What!? What the shell was that?" He had to stop himself from saying to loudly. With shaky hands and his heart in his throat, Donnie picked up his Staff again. His hallucination was getting worse outside, but the voice was still there egging him on.

"Do it! It will be over quick. Save your family," The dark voice in his head said.

"What? No… No! what am I saying?" He shocked himself. "I would never… It's not real…it's not real…it's not real…." He repeated realizing what he had just told himself to do! When did his mind go to such a dark place? He shouldn't be here. This was wrong.

He looked down to his belt finding his shell cell there. Almost reaching for it like it was a lifeline. All he had to do was press a panic button, and all his brothers would be alerted at the same time, although it would take them a long time to get here -"There is no danger here! You came to get your family back together… There is no need to call them. Turn it off! Prove you will do the right thing for them!" The same dark rat king like voice and yet somehow his own voice whispered to him. His senses were in over drive… Something… No. Someone was walking around him that he could not see.

Why was he here? He looked around suddenly like he had just realized what he was doing. There were so many other ways he could have brough his father out in the open without running from his brothers and walking towards their mortal enemies. Was he insane? But the more he told himself this, the more a cloud seemed to fog his brain. There was more sharp pain in his head again, only this time it radiated through his ears. He had to get out of here! Yes, he should go!

Unfortunately, the old turtle luck was on over time!

The shadows and spooky noises around him were sudden interrupted. Donnie stiffened as he became aware of the three new presences behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The grip on his Bo-Staff tightened as they approached, their eyes boring into his shell as he knew things were going to go south.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"Drop the weapon turtle," One of the Foot ninjas spoke.

"Why are you here?" The second asked. "The Mistress has respected your space. Why are you not respecting ours?!"

Donatello didn't respond and kept his eyes down cast, watching their feet walk around him. He had partly expected them to just attack. They were not known to be diplomatic. Boy, how much the Foot had changed since the Shredder had been exiled.

"Answer!" The first raised his voice. Obviously, they still weren't ones for being patient. Obviously, they couldn't hear the many little footsteps and squeals around them, or the shadows flitting by. They didn't notice he was having a nervous breakdown here.

"You weren't exactly being stealthy on this roof top here. We heard you three blocks away. Well, you have our attention freak, so what do you want?" The second demanded.

"Wait a minute, I recognize this one," The third said stopping and looking him over. Donnie and his eyes met for a brief second. "I recognize you" He cracked his knuckles. "Purple mask… yeah this is meant to be their tech freak, the "smart one." He sneered.

Greet. Donnie reputation proceeded him.

"Really? Oh yeah." The other said. "I have lost teeth with this one and his tech is a pain in as behind!" He looked at the other two. "Well, well, well. This may not be such a boring night after all." Talking among themselves now, Don could do nothing but listen. "I say we take this one into own hands for a bit of pay-back. What do you say guys?"

"I don't know… What about the mistress?" The first looked questioningly.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt us. If anyone asks, he came into our space and "attacked us" for no reason. We had to defend ourselves," He said with a dark sarcastic smirk.

Charming!

"And just imagine how lost his clan will be without there freaky little nerd building their stuff for them. That would be a big plus for future battles." The other pointed out drawling his sword, preparing a strike.

"Shell!" Donatello mind yelled as the rapid footsteps approached. Pivoting on his feet as he gripped his Bo-Staff ready for the oncoming assault. Right away delivering a strong swing with it as the sword came down. His aim was lucky as the wood made contact with the incoming ninja as cries of pain escaped him, he stumbled to the side before falling.

"Hey!" The first and second Foot ninjas saw the attack, giving them the green light to follow suit. Taking off in a charge he ran for a few feet before doing a jump kick, sailing across the rest of the way.

Don just had enough time to see this, bringing his weapon up to block it, grunting once more as it made contact. Unfortunately, the momentum of the kick transferred, and due to his body not being at hundred percent, it easily knocked him back to the edge of the building. "Don't fight it turtle. Just let them kill you." The Rat King voice was so loud in Donnie head now, he was surprised the Foot ninjas didn't hear it too.

"Ugh!" the teen barely stopped himself from going over the edge as his knees buckled, making him slide down to the ground, barely able to hold onto his weapon in the process. Shell, this wasn't a good idea. He could hardly fight back the state he was in. He tried to push himself back up, only to have two hands grab at his shoulders, pulling him back up to his feet before a punch was delivered to his plastron knocking the wind out of him. Don just about doubled over, but a strong hand gripped his shell to keep him up…only for a knee to be driven right into the same spot, expelling even more air.

The strong hands then gripped the back of his head before a sweep to the front of his legs made Don go plummeting down to the ground, head making contact with the concrete. The vile laughing that followed wasn't coming from the ninjas… It was in his head. Right at that, his vision went back, head spinning and seeing stars… and a dark figure that wasn't any of the ninjas crossed his vision.

"No! No it couldn't be… he's dead!" The Rat King smiled at him darkly before sweeping out of Donnie line of sight again like a ghost. His vision and senses started to clear, only for new pain to start fluctuating through his bandaged arm as it was wedged behind his shell, a knee pressing down on his shell keeping him down. Once this registered, Don cringed as he tried to pull his arm free. This was greeted with many feet kicking him. It was futile as what little energy he had started draining away.

"Stay down!" The first Foot ninja shouted twisting the limb.

"This was way too easy, what if this is a trap?" The second one spoke up as he got up to his feet, dusting himself off.

"What do you mean a trap?" Donnie heard another say but he didn't care. He had just seen a ghost that was a hundred times more disturbing for him.

"He is meant to be the smart one… not very smart coming here alone, unless he's faking it… Where are the rest of this freak's party? They always travel in a heard." He said looking around nervously.

"If it was trap, we would be in it by now. Besides, look at 'it!" He said looking over the wounds still visible. "It's clears not in a good shape. Maybe this freak just wants us to put him out of his misery?" He sneered.

"We should take him to mistress, see what he knows," The first holding him declared again.

"No, too risky, I say we do it a favor and eliminate 'it' now." the two Foot ninjas shook their heads before retrieving his sword, the blade gleaming in the moonlight.

"But I don't think-"

"That's the problem, we don't think…we just do as we are told," the Foot ninja narrowed his eyes under his mask. "And I am sick of it! I say we start thinking for ourselves and I think I want this things head on my wall. We eliminate them now!"

If Don wasn't panicking before, he was plain terrified now! But not for the reason they thought.

Where was Master Splinter? If he was watching out for them, he would have intervened by now, right? He would have saved him… wouldn't he? Was he even coming? He wouldn't allow anything bad to befall him…that is…unless he was wrong about the letter. Or he was wrong about Splinter consider him as his child but leaving him to his fate at the hands of these three Foot ninja. "He's abandoned you Donatello. There is no reason to continue. We can finish was we started." The voice addressing him for the first time as a second person. This came back with more sharp burning in his inner ears and now both his eyes. Donnie didn't know what to be more deviated about. That he was about to be killed by the Foot. Being wrong about Splinter still caring, or the Rat King not been as dead as he thought.

His mind shifted again as Donnie then heard another deep growling and then a loud squealing. It was echoing all around him and this time the three ninjas holding him heard it too. The three stopped dead in their tracks.

"errr… What's it doing?" He heard one say looking nervous at the captured turtle in his grip.

It was only then Donnie realized all the strange wild animal like noises he had been hearing, were in fact coming from him!

Donnie looked up as more pain pressed through his skull. His body had started violently shaking… He tried to hold it in, but the noise involuntarily burst from his mouth, releasing an inhuman noise somewhere between a growling and a retching squeal. It unnerved the three ninjas so much, they actually recoiled from him while still trying to keep a grip on him.

"He sounds like a pig being slaughtered! I didn't know turtle could make noises like that." The one holding the sword said watching the mutant gasping for breath as he started painful retching out more distorted noises. The three realized something bad was happening to this freak and surprisingly it was nothing to do with them.

"Somethings not right here. I don't like this!" The other taking a tighter grip on the mutant damaged arm without getting too close to his head, nodding at the third to do the same. "Kill it! Just kill it already!"

By this point Donnie wasn't even aware that he was about to be killed. The pain in his head was making him want to vomit, but when he retched, all that came out was these terrifying noises he had heard all the time he had been with the Rat King. The predator was stalking him from within him. Oblivious to the blade, his struggling increase but only because he could feel he was losing control of his body while his mind was being dragged away into darkness.

"Hold 'it' still!" the one with the katana yelled at the others now struggling to keep the mutant down. If they were honest, the sounds he was making were scaring them. Fear of getting their throats ripped out, one of the ninjas quickly jammed his knee onto the mutant's shell, almost sitting on him in an attempt to stop him moving. He jumped suddenly when the mutant head turned just enough towards him, hissing like a feral rat… But it was his eyes that unnerved them the most. They were so blood shot, like they were about to burst into flames and melt out of his head.

None of them were aware that an additional figure had appeared on the roof, keeping to their blind spot. Eyes narrowing and teeth gritting at the sight before him. Moving in the shadow around the glass Green House. Then like lightening, the figure charged forward, raising a blunt object above his head.

*Thwak!*

*Thwak!*

First two ninja holding Donatello down had strikes delivered to the exposed heads. The one holding the weapon had barely time before something hard struck him hard across the mouth and nose, making him stumble back and dropping the weapon with a clatter. The first two clutched their skulls, confused as to what just happened before dropping the mutant with a thud. Before any could recover, a furry hand took an iron grip of one before easily throwing him across the rooftop, while another felt something like a snake wrap around his foot, yanking him hard backwards, smashing the back of his head against the concrete. The remaining ninja clutching as his nose, barely registered that his colleagues had been removed from the scene, was met with a giant angry looking rat.

Before he could take a defensive position, a walking stick was rammed into his belly, forcing the air out of his lungs. As he hunched over clutching his abdomen, the rat spun in a completely circle, wiping his tail across the side of the Foot ninja's face with a sickening crack. His head harshly snapped to the side, only to be met with a blunt side of a knee on the other side of his head, throwing him straight to the ground, blacking out on impact.

Donatello hadn't even registered his release. He was vaguely aware of the thud as he hit the ground. His mind was trying to make sense of the fireworks taking place in his brain. In a last-ditch attempt, he pulled himself up on all fours as the dark mist clouding his mind became suffocating. It was at the last moment when he realized it was a battle he could not win. "They never saw you Donatello. You can shout and scream as much as you like, but they will never hear you again. Thank you for completing my link to the next stage of my journey." It sounded as though the words were whispered in Donnie ear. That was the last thing he heard. But just before he vanished into darkness, his eyes found his savior looking down at him.

Master Splinter was here, he had come following after all. He had been right… But he had a look in his eyes that said he was livid! A scowl that Donnie had only seen in his nightmares, but at this moment Donnie didn't have enough fear left in him to be afraid of his Rat Master, in favor of being terrified of the Rat King rising from the dead. He didn't even flinch at the angary words. Manly because he could barely hear them… More growling from him, but not him, then everything went dark. He was gone… where? he didn't know yet.

"WHAT THE WERE - you… thinking D- ?!" Splinter yelled down at his son on the ground before him, but the last word of the chastisement died on his tongue as he soon realized something was very wrong with his smartest son. At first, he thought he was injured, but then he saw his eyes. In seconds he saw Donatello's eyes vanished and were replaced with the blood red glow he knew so well. "No!" He gasped realizing what was happening, but it was too late. Donatello was no longer looking at him, someone else was.

With a final snarling, the Rat Master blood ran cold as the creature inhabiting his son's body said, "You have lost him," before collapsing to the floor.

A/N: Hope you like, you weren't expecting that were you? Well Don's plan worked, and Splinter was lured out, but something else happened. You didn't think it would be that easy for Don did you? Man this is something we were excited to do and we eagerly wait to see your reactions. I want to say more but it'll be a huge spoiler if I do. For now if you have questions, feel free to ask and I'll do what I can to do so without spoiling anything. The next chapter will be good, Glazier Blue and I promise you that. Till next time.