Chapter eight:
The next day Donatello has everything up and running to get the others to the next world. "Okay. Here we go." He tells everyone who is standing there waiting.
Except for this worlds Leo who is resting in the medbay.
This worlds Raph came to see the group of wanting to show them his gratitude. He is so happy to have this Leo back home safe and sound.
The machine roars to life and a few moments later creates the portal.
"Thank you so much for what you did for us." This Raph mentions gaining the groups attention. He smiles to them with true gratitude in his eyes. "We truly appreciate it a lot more than you could ever know."
"It's alright. We're just happy that we could help." Leo assures this Raph then leads the group through the portal.
The portal is closed after they've all made it through.
The three glance around to figure out which of the two worlds they have ended up in.
"Donnie?" A voice speaks gaining the threes attention to see this worlds Leo and this worlds Raph.
The two confused at why Don is with two who look like them.
"My world." Don mentions to Leo and Raph before heading over to his worlds versions. "Look, there is a good explanation for this." He tells them before explaining everything while the two listen.
Once they've heard the explanation this Leo and this Raph glance to each other, a little concerned about what they have just heard.
This Leo turns away first and steps forward. "Well for now you two can come to the lair. I'm sure Donnie here will be able to help you get home."
"While we're here we'll do what we can to help you in anyway you need." Leo mentions remembering that this worlds Mikey happens to be missing.
"If you'd like. For now let's head back to the lair and take at least a moments break." This Leo agrees and takes the lead as they all follow after him.
They arrive to the lair with Raph and Leo feeling a little at home, since this worlds lair is more like theirs than the Rise worlds, even though this isn't their home world. They all settle in the living room for now to plan.
"Okay. So I will work on the machine that will help these two return home." Don nods to Raph and Leo, while this worlds Raph and Leo nod.
"And we will do whatever we can to assist in finding this worlds Mikey." Leo repeats his previous statement just in a way that says exactly how they'll help.
Don gets up with a thank you then heads off to begin his work.
Leo looks to this worlds Leo and Raph. "What should we know about your Mikeys disappearance?" He inquires causing them to look to him.
"Well our knowledge is a little limited. He just ended up missing one day and we don't really have a clue as to why." This worlds Raph explains slightly leaning back though his eyes betray that he is worried. "We've done many sweeps of the city to try to find him. So far nothing has really come up from any of our searches. So there's not really much to work with."
Leo wonders if this might be harder than the previous one. He decides that he needs to ask though. "I'm only asking this because this was a case in another world. Is there anyone who might have seen your Mikey as a 'threat' to them getting with who they want? In another world, one we were at while going through the various worlds of the group to get home, one of us was kidnapped and held in a secretive spot because of this. So I want to figure out if we can rule out that possibility. Has anyone been clingy to someone recently? Maybe been acting a little weird?"
This worlds Leo and Raph look thoughtful for a moment before shaking their heads.
"No one comes to mind." This Leo confirms to which Leo hums in thought.
"So it may not be that then." Leo brings a hand to his chin trying to think of what else might have happened.
"I don't think we should rule out the possibility of an enemy getting their hands on him." Raph brings up and its this worlds Raph that responds.
"We do consider it a possibility. Though so far any enemies we've been able to find haven't given any evidence they have him."
"We'll leave it on the table just in case they're trying to trick you." Leo states and the three mummer in agreement.
"So where are we supposed to start?" Raph inquires seeming to get a little impatient for this.
Leo has an idea why Raph wants to get this done and be able to go to the next world; for it is obviously their world that is next. He almost blushes knowing what will happen when they get back. He pushes away the blush that tries to come up, to do his best to focus on the task at hand. "Maybe if we split up we can cover more ground. Well split into two groups. One Leo and one Raph. One group will do a patrol of the city and the other will look into the enemies. Since we all look alike with our worlds having similar looks it won't raise suspicion. Well it shouldn't at least. I know you two said that you already did this, though it never hurts to keep trying again just in case something does come up. We will also consider other possibilities of why someone might go missing."
"You two can look over the city. Me and my Raph will go on the mission to look again at the enemies." This worlds Leo brings up as if kind of taking over this decision making. "Our worlds may be very similar however this is still our world so we know it best."
Leo nods his head briefly in agreement as he can understand this Leo's point.
"Okay then let's go." Raph gets to his feet so the others do too.
They head to the surface together then split up from there.
Leo turns when Raph comes up to him and nuzzles his cheek. "Raph." He begins only to get a kiss from the other who then smiles at him.
"Just had to show ya some love Fearless." Raph churrs slightly in his teasing tone. He turns away and heads to begin the search.
Leo can't help a slight blush on his cheeks at this. He wants to call Raph back, to tell him to do it again. He wants to kiss back and make it a bigger kiss. He closes his eyes shaking his head before stopping and opening his eyes, then going to join Raph to start looking.
The two hop from building to building scanning not just the streets, and alleys, but also buildings for anything that catches their eye. They are also looking to see if any place gives them a bad feeling. They can't rule anything out so they'll investigate every little possible lead... Even if it may lead nowhere... They so far don't find anything so they just continue onwards. They search high and low leaving no area untouched in their search. Their search of the city this way takes a good while, though it is worth it to cover everything that they possibly can. They come to the last section of the city with nothing found.
"Hopefully we'll find something here." Leo mentions having a bad feeling that this search may end up with no clues. He has a slight worry that this might end up being harder than the previous one. Which he had been hoping wouldn't be the case.
"We'll see." Raph sighs as he clearly has the same feeling about this case as Leo.
The two of them still give it their best, just hoping that this could be the spot... Only for them to come to the end of the city on this side with nothing.
The day has passed and it is practically night.
Raph and Leo glance to each other with concern at this. They suppose that they may just have to hope that this worlds versions of them found something. They turn and head back to the lair to see if the other two are back with any news. They arrive and find the lair to be rather quiet. They walk around finding no signs of this worlds Leo and Raph. They share another glance as their hope picks up that maybe they did find something.
Raph turns heading to the lab.
Leo is about to stop him before coming to realize what the other is doing. So he instead follows after Raph.
They approach Don who is organizing some pieces of a machine.
"Hey Don?" Raph ends up being the one to speak between the two of them. His questions gains a sound of inquiry from Don. "Did your world Leo and Raph text you about anything that they might have found?"
Don looks up from his work to glance to Raph. He turns away to check his phone as if to make sure. "No nothing yet." He informs the two who feel less hopeful that something was found.
"Alright thanks." Raph nudges Leo to make sure that he leaves the lab.
The two sit down on the couch to await for the other two to return.
Leo leans on Raph who puts a loving arm around him. "You know." He mentions getting Raphs full attention. "You didn't give me a second kiss." He blinks trying to do the woman trick of fluttering his eyes at Raph.
Raph smiles at this and leans down sealing his lips onto Leos.
Leo leans into the kiss, both of their eyes falling shut to enjoy the kiss, and the two let their love shine through the loving gesture. He feels satisfied for now as he is getting that other kiss he wanted hours earlier. He keeps his mouth moving with Raphs, as they let it go on until they need to break for air.
They open their eyes to meet each others gaze. Their lips curling up in a loving smile shared between the two of them. They snuggle there on the couch to wait for the other two to return.
When the two do return they shake their heads when given asking looks.
The four glance between each other wondering where to go from here.
What happened to this worlds Mikey?
In Leo and Raphs world...
Donnie has been pouring over the parts of that machine that they managed to bring home. He has tried test after test to see if any results come up... Only for it to end in failure over and over again. He sighs bonking his forehead against his desk; in a spot just below where the bunch of papers are keeping record of everything single test. He just wants to be able to replicate that portal that opened as maybe then they can get Leo and Raph back. Yet he's failing to be able to do so. He has deeply considered the possibility that it was something that happened when the machine became this state. He hates the idea of that since that means that if it is true then he might not be able to replicate it.
It could have just been all a freak moment as things malfunctioned. It'd be nearly impossible to be sure what malfunction caused the portal if that is the case.
"Dee?" Mikeys slightly unsure voice gains Donnies attention so he lifts his head to turn to him. He's standing at the entrance to this part of the lab looking a little worried towards Donnie. "How is it all going?"
Donnie lets out a quiet breath not wanting Mikey to hear it. "Well so far nothing has worked." He turns to the stuff that he's been testing on. "It's possible that the portal was a freak occurrence after the machine became like this. Which makes it impossible to really recreate."
"But then how do Raph and Leo get home? Do you just build a machine to make a portal like the one we saw?"
"If only it was that simple." Donnie sighs which he can feel Mikeys slight hope drop; as if the hope hung in the air then vanished. "We have no clue where the portal threw them to. It could have been somewhere on this planet, or even another world. There is sadly just way too many variables to properly make a machine to find them. If they got taken to another world, we have no clue how powerful that incident was so it can't be ruled out, then that means that they could be somewhere in billions of worlds."
"Is it even possible to travel to other worlds?" Mikey inquires sounding as if he kind of regrets asking all these questions.
Donnies gaze turns to Mikey who he notices looks down in worried disappointment. He lets out a breath then gets to his feet. He heads on over to Mikey bringing the other into his arms for a hug.
Mikey is quick to return the hug and buries his face into Donnies chest.
"It may take more time but we'll figure out something." Donnie knows that at this point the odds are against their favour, however he can't stand the look on Mikeys face. "Or Leo and Raph will figure out something before we do. They are clever in their own ways. So even if they got taken to another world I know they'd do their best to find their way back home."
"Do you think they'll finally admit their feelings?" Mikey shifts his head to blink up at Donnie who blinks back at him.
Donnie smiles softly before rubbing his left hand on the top of Mikeys head. "Perhaps they might." He tells the younger who smiles softly at hearing this.
"Thank you Donnie." Mikey leans in giving Donnie a kiss which is returned. He pulls back then heads off back to the main area of the lair.
Donnie hopes that by some miracle they'll all be reunited.
If not for the sake of the city then for Mikeys feelings especially.
Though there is truly only so much that they can do right now. Realistically at least.