As his fist came in contact with the surface of the cylinder object, a ripple effect occurred, like waves of water across the stiff fabric. The sound was deafening, but no one would have heard it. No one was around to hear it. He was alone in the room, a gymnasium, and not his of course. The gym belongs to his girlfriend, or rather, belonged to his girlfriend, though details didn't matter. 'Belonged', because he didn't know whether she was alive, dead, or just plain missing. He wished she were alive, but it depended on the condition she was in. He didn't want to find her alive with a broken back or fractured skull, and he trusted her past with Karai that it wouldn't happen, but he felt somewhere inside of him that there was a higher chance of her being dead. It had been two years after all.

He lived in two years of sadness, anger and heartbreak with happiness only coming from moments with his brothers and Casey. His best friend seemed oblivious to his despair, and he was quite surprised he hasn't realized till now. Being seventeen, he should move on, but he couldn't. Breathing the air reminded him of Jaylene, so there was no way he could just, forget the year he spent with her.

He slammed his clenched hands into the red, and now-scratched and dented punching bag; the impact caused the chain that held it to break, sending the punching bag flying through the room before skidding on the floor. The turtle panted heavily, sweat dripping from his chin and tears streaming down his face.

Hopefully she won't be mad that I broke it…if she ever returns, the thought crossed his mind, also pushing in his feeling of doubt into the sentence. He first, entered her apartment without permission and second, broke three of her punching bags in counting, but he didn't count trespassing as a bad thing since Jaylene probably didn't mind.

A picklock to opening her apartment window lay on the balcony floor when he came to her home, and that was of utmost, not, an accident. Three words came into his head seeing the picklock, She. Was. Prepared.

Prepared for what was going to happen, prepared to be taken away by the enemy to protect them. The sacrifice was daring, but she did not know the pain it brought to him from the moment he heard that she had done something like that.

Raphael strolled through the hallway outside of the gym, making a beeline towards the kitchen. He grasped his water bottle that was placed on the kitchen bench, the cold droplets of water dampening his fingers, before he put the bottle to his lips and allowed the cool water to trickle down his tongue and throat, satisfying his thirst. Upon placing his bottle back on the kitchen bench, his emerald green orbs spotted a white piece of paper which seemed misplaced, or he had never realized it was there before.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he picked up the paper, skim reading through the words written.

Dear Mrs. Lawson,

Sorry this may have been a late notice, but I'm in Italy right now because some friends have invited me to stay with them for a while. I will contact you when I return, and please tell my parents that I will be gone. Thank you for being my tutor as I have learned a lot from you, so there is a gift from me, waiting at your house to show my gratitude.

Yours Sincerely,

Jaylene O'Denlly

The note was slightly wrinkled on the edges, indicating that Mrs. Lawson had already read the note, but from the start of the message, Raph knew everything written was a lie…well, most of it anyway. He remembered Jaylene said to him that she was lonely and was glad she met him and his brothers, as she didn't have many friends because her father travelled so much. She never had time to settle in a public school to make close friends, and the only one she had since she was young, was Karai, so she was definitely not in Italy with friends. Wondering where she really was reminded him that her location was unknown.

Since Karai dumped Jaylene in a kraang van to move to a new base, which was Donnie's theory, she could be anywhere. Possibly even out of the country and on the other side of the world, and again, thinking about her whereabouts reminded him that she was prepared and planned everything out, even for her tutor.

A small movement stirred behind him, and there was no doubt that it wasn't a fly. His instincts told him that whoever or whatever was behind him was dangerous, for the reason he did not know why. Grasping three shurikens from his belt, each one held between the gaps of his fingers, and he tosses it in the direction of the intruder.

The sound of an object blocking his shurikens rang three times, one after another. Raph knew this person too had fast reflexes, and decides to catch a glimpse to make sure he knew who he was battling.

Turning around, he comes face to face with the youngest member of his family holding nuchucks on both hands and both legs bent after whacking the shurikens away. Though he was not so young anymore, the turtle was still immature. Even becoming a seventeen year old didn't stop Mikey from shifting into having a more mature attitude, and it definitely didn't stop him from pulling more of his obnoxious pranks on his brothers. Heck, even I didn't change too much from the turtle I was a couple of years ago, Raph realizes as he takes four confident steps towards his brother.

"What are you doing here Mikey?" he demands, feeling that Jaylene's apartment was only meant for him to hang out at. It was sacred, Jaylene and his territory.

"You think I haven't been to this place dude? I love coming here, and I know about the picklock. But I came here for the swimming pool in the other room", the orange banded turtle replies and points behind him with his thumb while beaming brightly before dropping his hand back to his side and changing his expression to show he is not going to joke around at the moment. "Raph, you're almost always not at the lair anymore", the young turtle states and Raph crosses his arms, cocking one eyebrow at the same time.

"So? Why do you care where I am in the day?" he says curtly, the tone of his voice pricking Mikey slightly. Mikey shifts his weight uncomfortably, searching for the words to reply with.

"I remembered when you walked out on training, Y'know, a few years ago. I thought sensei would stop you, but we know you took her sacrifice the hardest. And when you came home, Casey was following behind you and I remember Donnie saying that it will be a disaster since two 'Raphs' are gonna be at the lair", Mikey chuckles holding his hands over his abdomen as he continues to laugh. The young turtle's laughter was the same as usual, never changing, and Raph felt less uncomfortable hearing it every time.

The red banded turtle grunts in response, but smiles inwardly as his grip tightens on the forgotten note. The crinkling of the paper caught Mikey's attention, and the turtle tilts his head to stare down at the note in his brother's hand. "What's that Raph?" his curious voice squeaks when he asks, and points at the paper.

Raph also glances at the note and loosens his grip around it, sighing sadly. "It's a note from Jaylene to her tutor…nothing too important though", he exasperatedly replies and rapidly mutters the last part.

A buzzing on his hip interrupted him, and he placed his hand against his belt to grab his t-phone. Quickly glancing at the caller ID, Donnie's picture appeared on the screen. Seeing it was his brother, he pressed the button to answer the call before placing the phone to his ear and said, "Hello?"

A split second later the purple banded turtle replied. "Raph! Come home quickly, there's something I need to show you!" the turtle on the other end exclaimed and hung up. Raph looked at the phone with a quizzical expression and shrugged as Mikey stared at him. He seemed to have heard what Donnie had said and was already walking to the balcony. The red banded turtle followed suit, scurrying after his brother; still clutching onto his phone, and started heading back to the lair.

"Hey man, where have ya been?" The raven black haired teen greeted his friend with a clap on the shell as he entered Donnie's lab with Mikey swiftly trotting past and headed straight to stand next to Leo. The red banded turtle shoved Casey with one hand and rolled his eyes playfully. "Just outside", he replied plainly as a sad smile crept up his lips, but his now-twenty, year old friend didn't notice.

Hearing the presence of his brother from the chuckles near the doorway caused him to face-palm. The purple banded turtle had received an urgent message just recently, and here they are, joking around like they were fifteen. It was weird to think that him and his brothers were seventeen already, April was eighteen and Casey was twenty years old. He couldn't believe that two years had passed, but since he was so caught up in the search for their missing friend, maybe two years passing by was believable.

He almost forgot about celebrating their mutation day when he woke up on the date of that morning, and his brothers claimed he was too obsessed with searching for Jaylene, but he always countered with why they were giving up. After a year Leo and Mikey lost hope while he continued searching, and Raph was still convinced she was alive. It was hard though, because he didn't know where to start looking and they didn't have any spies to work as double-agents in the enemy's base, until an idea came into his head ten months ago, which he needed to inform his brothers of, because he had gathered an essential piece of information.

"Well if you two meatheads aren't busy, I have some important news for everyone", Donnie says to interrupt Casey and Raph, but loud enough for April and his brothers to hear his announcement. Everyone's eyes were laid on him as he stood up from behind his work desk and leaned a single armed against it.

"Ten months ago while we were on patrol and we came across a group of foot soldiers right?" he asked the gang in the room with everyone nodding in response and it motions for him to continue.

"Yes well, I took one back to the lair, but don't worry, it didn't do any harm", the purple banded turtle rapidly added when Leo's expression changed into a slightly angry, and stunned expression.

"Anyway, I was able to override its systems and plant a device that allows us to monitor its movements, and see what it sees. I sent it back to the Foot headquarters, and the Footbot does not know that we can track it while it does its regular routines. I figured that it will work as a 'double agent' in a way, and it may find out where Jaylene is", he grinned at the end of his explanation with his front, gapped-tooth teeth showing.

The others stood jaw-dropped at his plan. It was genius, and something only Donnie can come up with. "So, have you found anything?" Leo asks and it pulls everyone out of their hypnotic state that began from the moment they heard Donnie's plan.

Donnie smiles wider and nods excitedly, glad one of his brothers finally asks the question. "I did find out that the Shredder returned from a business trip in Japan, when the Footbot bowed down to him at his lair. And, we hit the jackpot when I found out that the Footbot we are using is one of the messengers for the kraang and Shredder, so most of the time it receives important messages exchanged between them", and he paused, allowing the gang to process his theory.

"And just earlier today when I watched the Footbot's camera, it was searching through computers for the kraang, and I was even able to record their password patterns and everything, but that's not the point. The point is, the Footbot searched through a whole lot of files, just to find a particular location. It went to a lot of trouble to find that place, so it must be top secret, meaning it's important. Again, I overrode the Footbot and searched through the files to find at least a small portion of information about that place, and a profile about this teen named Astraea, came up. I didn't find out much about her before I had to sign off and let the robot go back to its usual self before the kraang around it suspected anything."

The purple banded turtle spun around and moved to stand behind his desk, hands on the keyboard of his computer, ready to type. The tapping of his fingers against the keys was the only sound heard for several minutes in the lab, aside from the heavy breathing caused by the nervous tingling that lingered in the air and made all except Casey, sick to the stomach. Wondering if Donnie's lead would help them find Jaylene stuck to their minds, and they were afraid of the truth.

Donnie motioned with one hand for everyone to gather around his computer as he pointed to the screen and said, "This is the place."

On the screen there was a picture of an old, unused building, but with a white van parked in the alleyway adjacent to it, and the familiar face of a disguised kraang in a human suit, was definitely suspicious. "The photo was taken last year, so the kraang are probably still in the building, doing who knows what", Donnie spoke again, but with his eyes fixed on Raph, showing hope and fear in them.

He didn't need to tell his brother what he was feeling, because the red banded turtle plastered on his 'it's go time' face with his fists clenching. "Wait…and why are we going to go to that place?" The twenty year old asked, and Donnie was sure he heard a gasp coming from his younger brother.

"To look for Jay! And even I know why we're going…I think", Mikey burst out and waved his arms in the air to emphasize his point. All eyes were on Casey, but judging from the look on his face, he still didn't get it. Leo face-palmed and groaned, irritation clearly displayed while Raph grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him. "Seriously?! Do you even know who Jaylene is?!" he yelled and Casey's expression changed from the mention of her name.

"Jaylene? Yah mean Jaylene O'Denlly?" He asked with a hint of remembrance on his face.

"None other", Donnie replied curtly, but wondering why Casey was clueless to her name. I'm sure Raph already told him about Jaylene…, he thought, but he had a suggestion of the possibility that Casey might have not known this whole time.

Casey rolled his eyes at the purple banded turtle and scowled, but shrugged and mumbled, "Yeah I do remember her now. And I don't think I have told you guys, but I met her at a party my friend hosted", and from those words, Leo was relieved that Casey does know who Jaylene is, but also spoke up from hearing the words 'A party my friend hosted'.

"You mean, Darryl Haglen's party?" he asked with a hint of strain in his voice. The raven haired teen nodded and arched an eyebrow, curious expression spreading across his face.

"Yeah…how'd yah know that name?" he inquired since he had never spoken about his human friend to the turtles, and even April. Leo was hesitant to reply and shot a look at his brothers, wondering if he should tell Casey the truth about his 'best friend'. He hoped Casey would not break down as he opened his mouth, knowing he may regret his action.

"Casey, your friend…Darryl…are you guys…close?" the words tumbled out of his mouth, and he figured it may be easier to start with this question first.

"Oh yeah, we're tight dude. We're the stars of the hockey team, but obviously I'm better. We're also seniors though, so the rest of the team won't stand a chance against our power", he replied, not holding back on the proud tone he spoke with. He pounded his fists together and smirked as the blue banded turtle's face was drained of color, leaving only a light, pale shade of green remaining. He had a sharp intake of breath and dragged his feet across the floor to rest on the other, the skidding of his toes clearly implying his nervous attitude.

"Casey, Darryl is not who you think he is…" Leo starts.

"He's a ninja working for the Shredder. He's more like our enemy than a friend…and I think Leos jealous because Darryl is just like him and he thinks Karai likes Darryl better than him!" Mikey blurts out and races to hide behind Donnie incase Leo would attack him, but Leo, trying to act like the mature adult he is, only glares at his little brother for a few minutes before turning to Casey and saying, "Mikeys right. Darryl is not really your friend…sorry you had to find that out and we hoped you would never know, but it's hard if we were about to battle him."

Casey widens his eyes at both Mikey and Leo as he listens, and turns to look at Raph for if he agreed that the information was true or not, but somehow, he suspected that Raph would nod for 'yes', so he was not surprised at the turtle's reply. His expression is blank and body unmoving, only the small sound of his breathing heard instead of a reply including words.

April moves to stand beside Casey and places a warm hand on his shoulder, in a caring gesture, which Donnie responses to by flinching slightly. He scratches his chin and raises his hand, hoping to receive everyone's full attention. "We're going on a mission. Check out the apartment, gather some intel, and get. Out", the purple banded turtle instructs, and at the same time, cutting in April and Casey's moment by giving orders.

The turtles and April nod in unison as Donnie glances at their faces, before coming to a halt when his eyes settle on Casey. "You ready Jones?" he asks the raven haired adult and the twenty year old pounds his fists together, no longer disappointed by the news about his friend and says, "Let's go", with determination gleaming in his eyes.

Fin

Sorry for the long wait, but at least the first chapter is up, but again, the next chapter will come a while later. This chapter is also rushed, as you can tell, and not as much action as the other one so apologies for that too. So the turtles, April and Casey are on a mission, and a surprise awaits for them at the kraang base. Please review!

Cat girl:
In reply to your previous review, I'm intrigued as to how you two are similar since the kunoichi is mysterious and dodgy, and I don't think you are, but reading the story further, you may have some similarities to her. Cool name by the way, and thanks for your review! Really appreciate it and hope you continue to read! :-D

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT 2012