Chapter 6: Gone Donnie Gone

A/N: So here we come to another chapter in this saga. We all know what's going on with Donnie, but what about the others? This chapter will answer what's been going on with them and how they'll react to Donnie's disappearance. Thanks a million to all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me that you're enjoying this story.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. The 2003 Turtles are owned by Mirage Studios. I only own the plot and nothing more.

Splinter awoke to a bad feeling. He looked around, trying to gauge where the feeling was coming from and why it was there. He got out of bed and went to his sons' rooms to check on them. He found Leonardo sleeping peacefully in his room. Raphael was tossing and turning, but he was often a restless sleeper. Michelangelo was mumbling in his sleep about Turtle Titan and defeating evil, which caused Splinter to smile a little. But upon looking in Donatello's room, he found that his son wasn't there. Curious, Splinter went to the lab where his purple-clad son sometimes spent late nights working on inventions and doing research, but there was no light visible under the doorway. The Rat slowly pushed the door open but found that Donatello wasn't there.

With a gasp, Splinter hurriedly woke Leonardo and his other sons.

"What's going on, Sensei?" Leo asked.

"Donatello is gone!" Splinter cried.

"What are you talkin' about?" Raph inquired. "Don's supposed to be in bed."

"He is not here," Splinter answered. "I have looked in his bed and his lab, but he is not there."

Mikey peered around and looked in the lab. "Yep, it's definitely empty," he noted. "But where would Donnie go?"

"Maybe he went to the dump," Raph suggested.

"Not at this time of night," Leo said. "He knows he needs to be in bed for training."

"Maybe he went to some science convention," Mikey suggested.

"There isn't one in town," Leo replied. "And Donnie would know better than to go off like that."

"Well, there is another possibility," Mikey said.

"What's that?" Raph asked him.

"He could be at April's."

Raph whapped Mikey in the head. "Why would you think that? April's asleep by now, and she has strict rules that we can't come over at certain times of the night. Besides, Casey's over there, and I don't think Donnie would want to visit with Casey over there."

Mikey grinned cheekily. "Unless he wanted to get some action," he said.

"I doubt he went to April's," Leo said. "We'd better check the garage."

The Turtles went to the garage, but Don wasn't there. The Battle Shell was in its place as was The Shell Cycle.

"Looks like everything's where it needs to be," Mikey pointed out.

"Not quite," Leo said. "The helicopter's gone."

"You mean the one we stole from Bishop?" Raph asked.

"That's the one," Leo answered.

"It appears Donatello has taken it out," Splinter noted.

"But why would he do that?" Mikey asked.

Splinter was also puzzled as to why his son would take a helicopter and pilot it so late at night. Donatello knew better than to do such a thing without his brothers. What had possessed him to go off and do something like that?

"Maybe he had a reason," Leo noted.

"Like what?" Raph barked.

"Well, he said something about how he was mad at Bishop and wanted him to pay for what he did," Leo explained.

"Yes, he did say something of the sort," Splinter added. "So he obviously left to go and take care of Bishop."

Mikey looked pale. "But why would Donnie do it without telling us?" he asked. "We're a team. We do things together."

"Perhaps he did this because he knew if he told you, you would dissuade him from doing this," Splinter replied.

Leo sighed. "You're right, Sensei," he said. "Donnie definitely would think that."

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Raph demanded. "We can't let Donnie go off and face Bishop alone."

"We'll have to go after him," Leo answered. "It's the only way. Do you want to come with us, Sensei?"

Splinter nodded. "Yes, I think that would be wise."

"Good," Leo said. "Let's go to Donnie's lab and see if we can't find some clues as to where Donnie might be."

Once in the lab, the Turtles turned on Donnie's computer. With a few clicks, Leo was able to find Don's history and found exactly what they were looking for. Spread out before them was Bishop's new base.

"How did you do that, bro?" Mikey asked his older brother.

Leo smiled. "I've been practicing," he said.

Raph whistled. "So Donnie did go to Bishop's base," he said. "We gotta go after him."

With this settled, the Turtles and Splinter prepared themselves for the rest of the day to go after Donnie. There wasn't much they could do at the moment, but once night fell, they would be ready to bring back their brother and just hoped Donnie didn't do anything rash.

"Should we bring Leatherhead?" Mikey asked.

Leo shook his head. "Not a good idea," he replied. "We don't want him to go crazy at the sight of Bishop again."

They continued to plan until it was time to go. Splinter even led them through practice to warm them up and prepare them for the battle ahead. He knew this was going to be a very dangerous mission once they found Donnie. He only hoped that Bishop hadn't harmed his son, and if he had, he was going to pay for what he did. But if Donatello was unharmed, he was definitely going to get punished severely for going off on his own without telling them where he was going.

"I always thought it would Raphael who would sneak out like this, not Donatello," Splinter said to himself. "He has obviously been in distress for some time, and none of us have said anything about it. When we get out of this, I am going to talk to my son and let him know that I am sorry I did not see what was bothering him. I am going to hold him close and never let him go. And then I will punish him for what he has done. I think an essay will do as well as some flips."

When night fell, the Turtles and Splinter made their way to the Battle Shell and got inside. Leo started up the engine and backed out of the garage. He already had the map programmed into the Battle Shell's computer, so it wouldn't be hard to find Bishop's new base and get to Donnie. Splinter sat in the back and kept trying to think of all of the signs of Donatello's new state. He had been feeling better after the cure, but Splinter remembered that his son had been listless and a bit angry about everything. He had changed after they had told him what had happened. Perhaps they shouldn't have said anything and left Donatello to wonder. If they had, none of this would have happened to him, and he never would have sought out Bishop for revenge.

Mikey was humming along with the radio when he gasped. "Dudes, I just saw something!"

"Where?" Leo asked.

"Over there," Mikey pointed.

Leo turned the Battle Shell and followed the direction Mikey had been pointing.

Splinter looked up but saw nothing. Leo stopped the truck in an alley, and they exited the vehicle and made their way to the rooftops. As they were jumping, Splinter suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure and one he hadn't thought he would see.

"Donatello?" he gasped.

A/N: Yep, I'm ending the chapter here on a cliffie. So what will happen next? You'll have to read on and find out. Yeah, I'm evil, I know. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.