A/N: Okay, I made you suffer long enough.
Yoshi woke groggily, the sedative still lingering in his system. The first thing he noticed was that he was laying on something cold and hard. The second thing he noticed were manacles that were attached to his wrists and neck. He tried to stand but the chain was too short, the best he could manage was his knees. He blinked, still trying to clear the fog in his head.
Memory suddenly flooded him and his eyes shot wide. "Dad!" He jerked at the chains but he was still too weak from the drug. Gazing around the room, he discovered he was locked inside a cell made of thick concrete bricks on two sides and wide metal bars on the other two. He growled, fighting against the chains with everything he had. He had to get back. He had to help his father. He had to know if….
"Awake already. You are a resilient one." The slim shadow of Cole appeared in the open doorway across the room. "But I guess I already knew that."
Yoshi's growl increased. "Cole! Why are you doing this!" His expression dropped. "I thought we were friends."
Cole stepped into the light. His bandana had been removed and the unmistakable points of Neutrino ears were displayed. "Friends? Why would anyone want to be friends with a disgusting freak like you?"
Yoshi couldn't prevent the small gasp. "You're…. a Neutrino?"
"And you and the rest of your freak family are abominations." Cole snarled coldly. "Ones I plan to rid the universe of."
Reality hit Yoshi like a bus. His heart pounded loudly and his hands began to sweat. "You used me to draw them out."
"A simple trick really." Cole said smugly.
Yoshi sat up straighter. "My father? What did you do to him? Where is he?"
Cole strolled forward and squatted beside the cell so he could be at eye level with his captive. "He is dead."
Yoshi felt his blood run cold. His breath caught harshly in his throat. "N-No! You're lying!"
Cole shrugged, his countenance cool. "Why would I bother to lie? I plan to kill them all anyways. But it is rather disappointing. I was hoping to kill him and Michelangelo myself."
Yoshi struggled against the chains again. "Why! What did we ever do to you!"
Cole glared. "They killed my father."
Yoshi stared at him blankly. "Your father?"
"Yes." Cole stood and walked towards the door. "And thanks to you, I will finally get my revenge."
The sound of the heavy metal door closing echoed through the mostly barren room. Yoshi fell forward on to his hands. He wanted to retch. He wanted to break something, He wanted to scream. But he was too weak to do anything, his body was still pumped too full of the sedative. He fought the sting of tears. My father is dead? No! It can't be true! I won't believe it! His heart twisted in uncertainty and guilt. "Oh, Dad… What have I done?"
Several things happened all at once when the elevator doors opened on the lair. Shinta and Cat both ran at the group. The young turtle took hold of the sheet they were using to carry Raph in and help support his massive weight. Cat managed to squeeze between Leo and K-three to grasp Raph's cold hand. Kala ran forward to help Kaz with Mikey as they followed the others out.
Cat was sobbing hysterically by the time they got Raph into the lab. Donnie immediately started giving orders. "Sarah the transfusion kit. Mira get some of Raph's stored blood. K-three the sutra kit. Leo someone needs to check Mikey's leg." Everyone instantly began moving. Don rolled Raph onto his side, so he could have easier access to the back of the wound. As soon as he moved the bandage the place began to bleed again.
Sarah put a comforting hand on Cat's arm and then on her hand as she took hold of Raph's forearm to insert the tube. Mira was behind her hanging a bag of blood above the bed. Once Sarah was done, she stepped away from Cat and Leo shoved a chair under the blonde's shaky legs. She sat heavily, barely noticing the mayhem going on around her. Her eyes were fixed on her love's face. It was pale and his skin was way too cold. She swallowed hard, squeezing his hand as tight as she could. She lifted it and pressed her lips to it, whispering into the familiar callus covered palm. "Please don't leave me."
She felt a sharp pain in her head and lowered it to rest beside his hand on the cot. She wouldn't leave his side, not even for a moment. Not for anything in the world, except…. Her head came up and she caught Leo's arm. "Yoshi?"
Leo glanced at Donnie, who was working feverishly, and then at the brother dangling so close to death. "We don't know where he is. But don't worry we will find him. I'm going to see if Mikey knows anything more. I have to patch him up anyways." He held her watery gaze for a long moment. "Just focus on Raph for right now. He needs you." He squeezed her shoulder before taking the bandages and leaving with them.
Cat turned her attention back to her spouse. You promised you'd never leave me. You can't break that promise now. I won't let you.
Leo ushered Shinta out of the room from where he'd been lingering in the door and pulled it shut. He could see the worry and fear in his son's blue-gray eyes, so he gave his shoulder a warm squeeze before turning to the living room.
Kala was fussing over Mikey, but her gaze kept floating to the lab every few minutes. Mikey was sitting with his injured leg propped on the coffee table. Leo moved around with the first aid kit and bandages in hand. He checked the cut on his brother's shoulder first. It didn't look bad. "This one's okay. Let me see your leg."
The injury was in the back of his calf, so Mikey stretched out on the couch on his plastron, his head resting in Kala's lap. "How's Raph?" He asked after an awkward silence.
Leo's voice was even. "It's too early to tell." Mikey felt his stomach lurch and not from the fact that Leo had just inserted a needle into his skin either. If his brother died, it might very well be his fault. He was supposed to be watching his back. Leo's hand rested on his shell. "Raph's too stubborn to die, Mikey."
Mikey bit his lip, as Kala's slender fingers stroked his head and shoulders. He forced a small laugh. "Yeah, he is."
Leo wrapped Mikey's leg and urged him to sit up. "I need to know exactly what happened tonight."
Mikey frowned. "I don't really know a whole lot. Raph came in while I was making a snack and said Yoshi had called him and said he'd seen some Foot. Me and Raph went to see if it was legit or not. Yoshi's never seen a real Foot soldier before. It was just supposed to be to check it out and bring Yoshi home."
Kaz leaned forward from his place on an adjacent sofa. "What happened to Yoshi?"
Mikey shook his head. It was still a little unclear. "We saw him standing there with that friend of his before we got jumped. But when we went to leave, they weren't there anymore."
Leo's brow bunched. "What friend?"
Mikey frowned. "I don't know. Raph just said he'd made a human friend and they were out together."
Kaz felt the slight tinge of jealousy. When had Yoshi made a human friend? And why didn't he know about it? They used to tell each other everything. His gaze moved to Ona, who was standing across the room shaking, her arms wrapped around herself and a frightened look in her eyes. Before he knew what he was doing he was at her side, pulling her into his chest. Things had changed between him and Yoshi in the past few years and he knew it was mainly his fault. Guilt ate at him. He didn't regret finding Ona or loving her, but he knew he'd become distant with Yoshi even though it had been unintentional. "We have to find him."
"We will." Leo reassured him. "But we need to make sure Raph is stable first. He's priority at the moment."
Inside the lab, Don had repositioned Raph on his back, stuffing a pillow under his shoulder to keep the strain off it, as he finished up the last of the stiches. Raph was slowly regaining his color, but Cat looked like she might hurl any minute. She was pale and sweaty, and she still had a death grip of Raph's hand.
Mira crossed the room to the small sink and came back with a glass of water. "Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better." She pressed the cup into Cat's hand and her aunt nearly dropped it. Mira steadied it and Cat gave her an appreciative though shaky smile.
"Mira, why don't you and K-three go let the others know he's out of danger." Sarah said softly as she rubbed gentle circles on Cat's back. Mira nodded and K-three pulled her close as they left the room. Sarah checked Raph's vitals again. "He's leveled out."
Donnie let out a heavy sigh as finished the last of the sutras and taped a bandage over the wound. "Good." He put a hand on Raphael's plastron. "You gave us a pretty good scare, bro." Raph didn't respond and Donnie hadn't expected him to. Sighing, he moved around to kneel beside Cat. "He'll be alright now, but maybe I should take a look at you. You don't look well, Cat."
She shook her head. "I'm just stressed. Raph almost died and Yoshi's missing." Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, her hard exterior lost. She kneaded her temple as another pain shot through her skull.
Donnie frowned, motioning to Sarah for his penlight. She passed it to him and he forced open one of Cat's eyes to watch the pupil react. It was slow to respond, but it did. He did the same with the other just to be sure and it reacted the same. He frowned again. "How long have you been having these headaches?" Cat shot Sarah an accusing look. But Donnie shook his head. "She didn't tell me anything."
Cat sighed. "It's no big deal. I just get them when I'm stressed."
Donnie gave her an unconvinced look, but decided not to argue with her for the moment. Instead he stood and crossed the room to the medicine cabinet, and returned with a pill. "Here."
Cat frowned at it. "What is it?"
"A painkiller. It'll help with the headache and should also help you sleep." He watched her glance at Raph. "He'll be resting, so you might as well too." She nodded and swallowed the pill. Don looked up at Sarah. "I need to talk to Leo."
"I'll keep an eye on Raph." She touched his arm warmly and gave him a weak smile. He returned it, squeezing her hand before leaving.
Cat watched Sarah fiddle with the last of the blood bag, making sure it was all used. They'd given him two full bags. She cuddled his hand, realizing it had regained some of its normal temperature. "Will he need any more blood?"
Sarah looked down at her, understanding in her brown eyes. "He shouldn't, but we'll just have to see. As long as his vitals stay strong, he should be good."
"But if he does, do we have more?"
Sarah frowned. "No, we gave him what we had of his. If he does need more, we'd have to use one of the others, probably Mikey's. They're the closest match."
Cat looked up at her. She was starting to feel the effects of the painkiller, feeling a bit lightheaded. "What do you mean?"
"Although they are brothers, their blood types are slightly different. None of them are an exact match for each other, but they can take it if necessary. Raph and Mikey are a close match and Don and Leo are a close match. If push came to shove then they can use each other's blood."
Cat nodded and scooted closer to the head of the bed, to nuzzle against her love's shoulder. All she could do now was wait.
Donnie stepped into the living room, meeting Leo's concerned gaze. "He'll be okay, but that sword tore up a lot of tendons. It will be a long time before he gets the full use of his shoulder again, if he ever does."
Leo frowned. "That bad?"
Don gave a sober nod. "Even with the mutagen in our system, he isn't going to heal like he used to."
Leo nodded, he understood. Their bodies just didn't recover like they once had. "But he's stable."
"Yes, he'll probably sleep through until tomorrow, but he'll recover."
Leo glanced at his watch. "Good. We've still got a little over an hour till daylight. I think we need to check the place out where we had the fight for any sign of Yoshi."
Don glanced nervously at the lab door. "Do you think that's such a good idea?"
"You said Raph was stable."
"Well, yes, but…"
"Sarah and Mira will be here to keep an eye on him." Leo reassured him. "We need to look for clues before the sun comes up."
"I'm coming too." K-three said as he and Jamie appeared from the back bedrooms.
She'd been keeping an eye on Katsu. Not that he'd been much trouble. He'd slept through most of the chaos that had ripped through the lair that night. She frowned at Leo as she came to stand beside him. "You're not going back out, are you?"
Leo frowned, sensing her hesitation and fear. He rubbed her arms. "We'll be careful, but we have to look for Yoshi while we still have the dark to conceal ourselves."
Mikey started to get up. "Okay, I'll show you where we last saw Yoshi."
"You're not going anywhere, Mike. You'll be no good to us in a fight with that leg." Leo informed him. "Kaz and K-three will come with me and Don."
Shinta spoke up. "I want to come."
Leo frowned at his son. Shinta wasn't quite fifteen and had yet to take his final, but there was no disputing his skill. But still…
Donnie couldn't help but laugh. "It isn't so easy, is it?"
Leo shot him a glare that just made his brother grin. "Just because you're used to it-"
"Used to it?" Don shook his head. "It still makes me nervous as shell to take Mira or even K-three into battle. It isn't something you get used to." Leo made a face and Donnie almost felt sorry for him. Mira and K-three had been fighting as part of the team for more than ten years. But Shinta had yet to join them. Don sighed, taking pity on him. "You just have to learn to have faith in them."
"I can fight." Shinta pointed out.
Leo turned to him, still a bit uncertain. "Yes, but this isn't like training. The Foot isn't something you mess around with. They won't hesitate to hurt or even kill you."
Kaz rubbed his knuckles which were a bit sore. "Yeah, they're robots. They ain't gonna see you as a little kid, just an enemy."
Shinta gazed up at his father expectantly and Leo finally sighed. "Okay, but you have to stay close." Jamie looked even more frightened than before. He squeezed her hand and touched her cheek. "Don't worry. We aren't engaging, just tracking."
Donatello felt the wash of fear burn through him. He turned to see Sarah standing in the door to the lab. He frowned as he stepped back to her and wrapped her tightly in his embrace. "Hey, it's okay." It had been a long time since he'd felt this type of true fear from her. Normally patrols and the such didn't bother her much. He sighed. But this isn't normal.
She clutched at him fiercely, pressing her cheek against his chest to savor the sound of his heartbeat. "Don't go. I have a bad feeling."
Her whispered plea nearly broke him. His arms tightened around as he felt the world spin for a moment. The last time she'd had a bad feeling, Amaya had died. He pressed a kiss into her hair, trying to regain his nerve. "Sunrise is in one hour, that's all. So, in one hour we will be home." He squeezed her tightly, her trepidation spiking inside him. And again his resolve wavered. Maybe this isn't such a good idea.
"Donnie." He lifted his head to see Cat staring at him from across the lab. Her green eyes glistened with tears and heartache. "Bring Yoshi home."
A/N: Poor Yoshi... :( Poor Cat... :( Thoughts?
