So now we can get properly into the story. Please let me know what you think and if you have any pointers or suggestions! I do not write often and would very much like to stay motivated and finish this story!

I do not own TMNT or Usagi Yojimbo

xxxxx

Just another typical day in the lair. Or evening rather. It was hard to imagine the abaondoned water reserve we'd made our home had ever been a quiet, empty place. I cannot even imagine it without the noise and echoes of some-one in my family sparring or the drone of the various Tvs or the soft noise of Donny's machines.

I was sitting in the armchair, calmly waiting for my two brothers to come to a decision about what to watch. And by come to a decision I mean I was waiting for one of them to wrestle the remote away from the other long enough to break it so the channel couldn't be changed again. I sighed and uncrossed my legs, getting ready to intervene. If they DID break the remote Donny was gonna throw a fit.

"Hey come on. Isn't there something you both want to watch?"

Mike and Raph stopped their wrestling long enough to both spare me a look and a unified "No!" before they continued to try and pry each other off the remote. The Various TV screens flickered and sporadically changed channel as the two of them pressed random buttons in between elbowing each other. I sighed, standing up.

"Come on guys, you're gonna break something"

"Yeah! Like Mikey's head!" Raph said as he shoved our youngest brother off of him, and the couch.

Mikey gave a yelp as he hit the ground, barely missing the coffee table. Seeing the eminent danger I hurried forward and saved the lone teacup that I had placed there earlier.

"Watch it!"

"Yeah Mikey! Watch it!" Raph grinned, sitting triumphantly on the couch with remote in hand, grinning down at Mikey. I was mildly irritated that for the second time Raph had used what I'd said as a means to further his and Mike's game.

Mikey threw him a pout. "No fair Raph! You got to pick the show last night!"

"Only cuz you didn't wanna watch anythin'. But it's my day today so you're just gonna hafta cope." He twirled the remote in his hand teasingly.

"And here I thought you'd return the favour!" Mikey grumbled as he pushed himself up off the floor.

"That's 'cause you're too trustin' Mikey" Raph retorted as he made himself comfortable and flipped the TV to his channel of choice.

I made my way back to the armchair and sat down, giving the sulking Mikey a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry Mike, I'll let you have my day ok?"

He looked up and gave me a grin. "Thanks Leo! Good to know SOME PEOPLE still look out for their brothers!" He said, shooting Raph a glance.

Raph ignored him, watching his show. Mikey sat up and clambered back onto the couch next to him, nestling down, legs crossed to watch whatever Raph had turned the channel to. I smiled, glad they'd both finally settled down and turned to watch myself. It was nearing evening and we were set to go on a patrol later. I didn't want Michelangelo and Raphael to get each other all wound up before we even went out.

Raph had turned the TV to some or other gun-fu show. Or it might've been a movie that was half-way over already, I wasn't sure. Either way I enjoyed switching off my brain if only for a while before going out when I'd have to keep my senses peaked and my wits sharp. I guess on some level you could call it a sort of meditative preparation, without the meditation part. There was nothing wrong with formal meditation, I enjoyed it but it was harder to accomplish with Mikey and Raph's rough-housing. Watching mindless TV wasn't a bad substitute.

"What's playing?"

I looked over a shoulder to see Donny coming closer. He must've finished whatever project he'd been working on for the day. Either that or Mikey and Raph's noise had broken his concentration.

Raph merely gestured at the TV in reply. "It's almost over." He said without bothering to turn around.

"Then why did you wanna watch it so bad?!" Mikey whined at him.

"'Cause the end is the best part! So shut up." He grumbled, keeping his eyes on the TV.

Donny stood himself next to the couch, not bothering to sit down. He scrunched his muzzle slightly. "You're watching that?" He said as if he couldn't believe Raph would lower himself to such a level.

"Just because you like your movies with more robots Donny don't mean the rest of us can't enjoy ourselves." Raph said irritably.

"Yeah! And that's not just referring to the actors you like!" Mikey chimed in, giving Donny a grin.

Don rolled his eyes "Very witty Mikey."

I remained silent as the three of them argued. Perhaps it'd be better to go on patrol early tonight. Every-one seemed to be rather antsy. I turned to check the time on the VCR which Donny had miraculously managed to tune. It was almost 7. Rush hour, no time for 4 mutant turtles to be running around the rooftops with all those frustrated motorists sitting in unmoving traffic. I sighed, wondering how I could keep my brothers from starting a scrap before we went out. I could see a second wrestling match not far on the horizon, and I was pretty sure Either Mikey or Raph or both of them would drag Donny in as well this time. Then of course I would try and step in, be unsuccessful and somehow find myself joining in instead. And then by the time it was late enough for us to go out we'd all be a little tired already and less in the mood to put any real training into the exercise. For now it seems we were still ok though. Raph was trying to watch his movie, and Mikey and Don aren't very good at arguing with each other. But once the credits started to roll I'd better find a way to keep them all relaxed. I got up and walked to the kitchen, hoping a bribe would do the trick. I entered and made my way to the fridge, opening it and pulling out a couple of sodas. I tucked them under my arm, pressing them against my plastron so the cold wouldn't sting my skin more than it needed to before turning and heading back for the entertainment area. Whatever debate has happened between Mikey and Don had petered out and they'd both settled to watching the end of the movie. I came over and handed Don a can. He seemed a little taken aback but thanked me politely as Donny tended to do. I gave the other two to Raph and Mike, the latter smiling happily before cracking it open while the former gave an unintelligible noise in thanks. I sat down again and cracked open my own can. The credits crawled across the screen.

"Does the ending strike any-one else as slightly abrupt?" Donny asked before taking a sip.

"We get it Don. Ya don't like the movie." Raph grumbled at him.

Donatello shook his head. "No I'm not saying that to be critical I honestly want to know if I'm the only one who thinks so."

"All I know if the dude cuts off another guy's face!" Mikey grinned happily. "That's all an ending needs as far as I care!"

I saw a corner of Raph's mouth go up at this but he gave Don a shrug. "It does its job Don. What more d'you want?"

"I dunno." Donny sighed, sitting down on the arm-rest. "I just felt it could've elaborated a little bit more than it did."

"Dude gets his face sliced off!" Mikey said again as a way of argument. "Not his head but his FACE!"

"I don't think there was much left ta worry about Don." Raph said, ignoring Mikey. "Besides, the last movie you watched didn't exactly have the most concrete ending either. The guy flies off into the sky? Yeah, THAT makes a lot of sense."

Don made an aggravated noise. "It's just a visual representation of the extent of his abilities regarding warping the artificial world around him done in the least amount of time! It's not meant to be over-analysed!"

"Only understood about half of that Don." Raph said almost uncaringly.

The TV chimed the hour and the evening news started its broadcast. I tore my attentions away from the argument to scan the headlines quickly. A fire had occurred on Jerome Ave. But it didn't appear to be overly serious apart from property damage. There was some or other report on the current state of politics which I didn't pay much attention to and apparently there was a story regarding Greenpeace or something. Nothing overly serious that we needed to concern ourselves with. Besides, I make it a habit of reading the paper in the morning so unless a major event had occurred during the day I tended to be pretty on top of things regarding the state of the city. I turned my attention back to the others who were still arguing which movie had the more ridiculous ending. I didn't want to take sides, especially since I knew Donny was not the type to need backing up in a debate. Besides, watching him and Raph having a, well not argument but a difference in opinions was always entertaining to watch.

"At least the movies I like tend to deal with more than just shooting the bad-guys till they die." Don said with that air of slight arrogance that signalled he was getting annoyed and flexing his intellect.

"Yeah, that's only what the main plot concerns itself with." Raph sneered at him.

"But you shouldn't always let the main plot be your focus! There are so many subtleties going on under the surface of the main plot! That's the mark of a well formed story! One that delves deeper than the mere plot-line of going from point A to point B via a string of circumstances! It's what made the classics classics! Kubrick, Kurosawa and Scorsese understood this! That's why they're considered the best of their class!"

Raph gave him an extremely bored expression, resting his head on a hand. "But generally it still involves people shooting and stabbing each other."

"Yes" Donny said in frustration. "But that's not the point!"

"I like Gamera" Mikey interrupted with a broad grin.

Raph shot him an annoyed look. "What does THAT have to do with it?"

"He's the friend of all children Raph!" Mikey reprimanded him. "And he can breathe fire! And he can fly!"

Donny put his face in his hands.

"We should figure out a way to fly." Mikey carried on. "'Course then we'd hafta do stuff like fight giant monsters and I' don't think Raph's the "friend of all children" type. He'd probably just eat 'em!"

"That's it!" Raph bunched his shoulders and made a threatening lunge at Mike. "One more crack like that and I'm gonna whap you so hard it'll knock all that cotton right outta your head!"

Mike gave a yelp and sprung off the couch, rounded the arm-rest and put Don between Raph and himself, putting his hands on Don's shoulders and using him a shield.

"Hey!" Don protested. "Hey!!" He repeated himself when he saw Raph clambering over, clearly planning to go through him to get to Mike.

"Cut it out guys!" I said, doubting they'd listen "It's almost time to go, just save it till then."

Raph made an irritable noise but slumped back down onto the couch. Don relaxed, not noticing Mikey pulling faces over his shoulder at my more impulsive brother. Luckily it seemed Raph had for whatever reason decided to take my advice and ignored him.

"...said that tensions are still high regarding the matter but that he is confident this meeting will mend some of the animosity between the parties involved." The news reporter babbled to no-one but herself. "And on the lighter side of the news it seems that animal rights group "PETA" had a minor demonstration at a construction site in Prospect Heights today when one of their members dressed as a rabbit supposedly fell out of the sky, landing on a mound of construction sand before fleeing the scene."

"Really. I appreciate the sentiment but I find that sometimes their protests border on the criminally insane." Don said with a light frown.

"Great. Every-one can fly but us." Mikey grumbled.

Raph gave him a confused look. "Say what?"

"Well how else do you just 'drop out the sky'?"

"Ever hear of jumping?" Raph cocked a brow at him.

"...of the group denied any involvement in the rather bizarre event but have not ruled out some of their members taking things into their own hands. However they claim no responsibility and discourage their members from copying the example set by the mystery individual."

"You know Estelle, I realise PETA is known for their radical demonstrations but sometimes I find them to be a little cryptic in their message. Using a rabbit as a symbol I understand by the point behind wearing a kimono over the suit escapes me." The chipper co-host smiled at the reporter.

"Well unless the person responsible comes forward I guess we'll never know" She replied as they shared an astoundingly phoney laugh together.

"How would he get into the construction yard dressed as a rabbit to jump off it?" Mikey argued, still preoccupied with Raph.

"How the heck should I know?" He snapped.

I sighed and checked the time again despite knowing it was going to show 7:30 since the News just ended. The earliest I wanted to leave was 8 o' clock, anything before that I felt posed too big a risk of being spotted.

"Donny'll know!" Mikey carried on, turning to him expectingly. "Hey Don! How would you drop out of the sky in a rabbit suit like that?"

Don didn't answer. He was still staring at the TV with a deep frown on his face.

Mikey blinked at him. "Hey. Yo! Donatello!"

Donny started and turned to stare at him. "Huhwhat?"

Mikey gave him a smirk. "Dude, try staying on Earth for like, more than an hour for once."

I smiled. "He asked how would you get into a construction site dressed in a rabbit suit unseen."

Don met me with a rather serious stare. "I was just wondering the same thing."

My smile dropped and I sat up a little straighter. "Is something wrong?"

Mikey and Raph both turned to look at him, keeping silent.

"Well, Not exactly but I was just thinking." Don said, putting his chin to his hand. "It sounds a little suspicious to me. I know the news said it was just PETA up to their old tricks again but..."

I frowned at him. "What are you getting at Don?"

"Think about it Leo." he said, turning back to look at me. "A rabbit, in a kimono, falling out of the sky?"

Something in my head clicked and I gaped at him. "You don't think..?!"

He nodded at me. "I think maybe our friend Usagi is in trouble."

"Usagi?" Raph said skeptically. "He's always warped straight here whenever he decided ta drop in on us, not in the middle of downtown! He ain't really the type to make a mistake like that."

"Maybe he took a wrong turn at Albequoiky" Mikey said.

Raph's hand whipped out and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Maybe not, but Don's got a point." I answered Raph's question. "it's too big a coincidence not to look into."

I got up and checked the time once again. 7:47. Close enough.

"Prospect Heights is a large neighbourhood Leo, How're we gonna find him? If it even is him?" Donny asked, getting up himself.

"We start at the construction site and work our way from there." I said. "Get the battleshell ready guys, we'll take the bridge into Brooklyn."

"Woohoo! Road trip!" Mikey rolled back on the couch before pushing himself off of it and on his feet as if he had a spring for a spine or something.

"Yeah but I'm driving!" Raph called quickly, as he got up too. "Last time we let you behind the wheel we almost got pulled over."

Donny trotted in the direction of his converted subway car, probably to get his bag. As Raph and Mikey made their way to the service elevator I went to tell Master Splinter we were leaving. An uncomfortable tightness had settled in my stomach. Despite it being unliley I was still worried the news report was indeed about Usagi. I'd never known the Samurai to make a mistake like opening a portal to the wrong place, but then I didn't know much on how the whole portal thing worked. Perhaps in his own way Mikey had been right and Usagi'd taken a wrong turn somehow somewhere. Whatever the reason though, I was very worried. The fact that the report had been part of the lighter side of the news was a relief. It meant that Usagi, if it was him, had been able to avoid getting caught. But this meant he was probably hiding out somewhere in Brooklyn. if he had warped himself back to his own dimension he'd have warped straight to our lair to tell us what happened. I felt a deep pang of sympathy at the thought of him lost in the city. I knew he had the sense to stay out of sight, but there was such a difference between his world and modern New York I could hardly imagine what he'd do all by himself in this place. There are so many things he doesn't understand of our world and should he get on the wrong side of a car, or a subway train... I shuddered to think about it.

Of course there was the possibility that it wasn't Usagi at all and it really was a strange coincidence, but I told myself if we didn't find anything tonight that I was gonna ask Master Splinter if we could open the portal to the Battle Nexus and try and contact Usagi through there to make sure he's alright. Maybe that's a little bit of paranoid behaviour on my end, but I couldn't help it. He was my friend. Besides, we rarely had a chance to speak to each other and at the very least this could be an excuse to hang out again.

There was one other thing bothering me though. I could buy the fact that maybe Usagi had merely lost his bearings a little trying to get to our lair, but I was concerned that there could be another reason for him to be so reckless. I hoped nothing'd happened in his dimension. I knew that, just like us, he had terrible enemies whose influences spread very far. Unlike us however, Usagi was often involved with the politics of his world. He didn't talk about himself much and I didn't feel right prying into what could be personal business, but what I did know was that he often involved himself with missions and even battles for a province or a lord. When I was in his dimension for a brief time during the whole mess with Draco, I had the pleasure of meeting a particularly aggressive Daimyo, Lord Hebi. It wouldn't be very far-fetched to think the snake might've pulled a move that had endangered our friend and he had to run, or something like that. But Now I was just letting my concern get the better of me. If it was Usagi and we found him, he can tell us himself what's going on. ....If he's ok...

xxxxx

Author's note:

Dun dun duuuuun~