This is now officially the longest thing I have ever written EVER! 8'D thank you so much for supporting me guys!

Next update will be over a day from now.

Xxxxx

It's been four damn days by now. Four days of sitting around on our butts waiting for the bad guys to make their move. Sitting around and waiting is not exactly my strong point. I'm the guy who likes to get things done. 'Course the problem is we gotta wait for something to happen before we can do something about it and that's the part I have a bit of a issue with. And four days is a long time to not do anything. I think it goes without saying I was starting to get a little restless. But if I was getting restless then Usagi was going stir-crazy. Can't say I can blamed the guy. I swear the only reason he hadn't completely lost it yet is because Leo'd been asking him to spar when he saw the rabbit was getting overly tense. And when he and Leo weren't training or hanging out, Master Splinter would spend some time with him, though I don't really know what Sensei and him would talk about. I guessed Sensei just gave his support as a guy who often worried about his own chowder-headed kids. Well whatever they talked about it obviously helped keep the rabbit sane.

I dunno if it's just me but I kinda got the feeling Usagi's been a little snappy. I dunno maybe it is just me, I mean it doesn't take very much to set me off and I know that. I don't know if the other's felt the same way or not. If they noticed it too they're doing a damn fine job of ignoring it. I gave the guy a break though. It's not his fault he's feeling so edgy.

Donny'd already set up some sort of detection system in the park by this stage. I wasn't too sure how it worked, but basically it was like a trigger alarm for when portals appear. Something to do with energy fluxes or something like that. I didn't get all of what Don explained. All I needed to know was when the alarms start ringing we get to the park. Simple and straightforward. That's how I like doing stuff.

As for Master Splinter, when he came home from the Battle Nexus he told us what the Daimyo had to say about the whole portal thing. To be honest I think it's a waste of time to be focusing on how the guy gave the rabbit the slip when we should be focusing on where he went when he did. Anyway I didn't pay much attention, I figured that was all Don's department and if it has any affect on how we're doing things I'll fill myself in on the details then. From what I could gather though the Daimyo said one thing you could do in a portal was to open a second portal while warping. It's like opening a back door. Problem is you gotta know where you're opening the door to, and you gotta know how to do it fast, so you couldn't do it the way we warp to the Battle Nexus using chants and carved symbols. But when they started talking about different ways you could instantly warp I just tuned out. I really didn't think it was worth my time trying to follow what Don was saying.

Despite Don putting up his sentry-system Leo thought we should still take it in turns to scout out the park between midnight and 3. It seemed a little overkill to me but I didn't call him out on it. I might be getting agitated but Leo was doing his typical thing where he was trying to shoulder both his and Usagi's stress while also juggling what we're gonna do next. We were all getting kinda squirrely and I did not wanna get on his bad side right now.

With all the tension in the air I found myself hanging out with Mikey a lot. Dunno why, just felt like the natural thing to do. He drives me nuts but at least I didn't feel like I was suffocating when I spent time with him. He didn't seem as hung-up by all this like the others. I don't think it's 'cause he didn't care, far from it, but his damn optimism was keeping him from moping around like the rest of us it seems. I dunno, I don't analyse things. Point is he wasn't acting as unhinged as the rest of us. Just unhinged in his normal way. Plus kicking his butt when he pissed me off was stopping me from blowing up at either Leo or Usagi when they got on my nerves.

I still don't know why he lets me use him as my personal stress reliever. When we were little kids I kinda bullied him for a while and I know he really didn't like that. I was a brat as a kid. I stopped when we hit a certain age and I realised what a little shit-head I was being. For some reason I've never been able to figure out, Mikey didn't hate my living guts for it and even weirder he still let me pound him without being pissy about it. If it had been me I'd have held the biggest grudge on the face of the planet. Mikey on the other hand didn't seem to give a damn. I have no idea how his head works, but I gotta tell ya, I'm grateful for it. Not that I'd ever be so mushy as to tell him that.

But getting back to the present; It'd been four days by now. Donny was the one who was out on patrol tonight in the park, leaving the rest of us to get some sleep. I'd been the one who was out the night before and although I'd managed to get an hour or so's sleep once I got home I was still tired. I'd turned in early that evening and it didn't take very long before I was out cold.

The piercing noise slowly worked its way through the thick heavy fog in my head before growing steadily louder. I shifted irritably and rolled over, thinking that might for some reason stop the annoying disturbance. It didn't. The noise continued to blare loudly pulling me out of my sleep and waking me up. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands. My head felt kinda off-balance, signalling I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep yet. I gave my head a shake, trying to get it working which caused the hammock to swing very slightly. It was almost as if the thing was trying to coax me into lying down and going back to sleep. I swung myself around and got up instead, avoiding the temptation. I felt around till I found my mask and put it on. I'd done the knot so many times I could've tied it while being completely asleep. I tied the belt but I left the knee and elbow guards for now. Some-one'd turned off the noise and I could hear activity outside my room.

I pushed open my door and stumbled out, tugging on my bandanna tails to tighten the thing. "What's goin' on?" I asked when Mikey trotted past me.

He turned to face me, running backwards for a few steps. "Wake up Raph! We're going to the park! Donny's alarm went off!"

He turned and continued his run to the main room. I followed after him, my head clearing as I started to wake up more.

Both Leo and Usagi were already there. Leo was talking on his shell-cell while the rabbit was tying back his kimono sleeves. His face said he meant serious business.

"We headin' for action?" I asked, grinning widely. I could feel the adrenaline start to pump through me already.

"Yeah." Leo removed the headset from his phone and put it on, turning to me. "Our portal-hopping friend's shown his face on the west side of the park. Don's tailing him and making sure he doesn't get away."

"We taking the Battle shell?" Mikey asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot excitedly.

"No, we're doing this one on foot." Leo said. "We don't want to announce ourselves before we know what we're dealing with."

"You are heading out?"

We turned to see master Splinter walk into the room briskly.

Leo nodded. "The alarm was triggered and I've got Don on the line whose tailing him."

Sensei gave a quick nod. "Then go. And be quick about it."

I gave a nod and turned to get the rest of my gear and my sai.

----

The night air was warm and humid, somehow making the intensity twice as strong. We were running rooftops, following a black Ford on the street below us. The plan was simple; don't worry about sticking together, just follow the car and as soon as it gets to its destination stay put and call the others. No heroics, no running in guns-a-blazing and don't get seen. Not exactly my favourite way of doing things but right now I didn't have time to brood about it. All my attention and energy was focused purely on not losing that car.

The guy we were looking for apparently got into the thing which had been waiting for him outside Central Park. Donny'd given chase, giving us directions till we were able to meet up with him. From then we'd been running. Just running. Ahead of me was Leo and ahead of him was Usagi. Mikey was close behind me and following him Don was bringing up the rear. I didn't think we could keep up with the vehicle but since it was being a good little motorist and going the speed limit as well as stopping at every stoplight we could just about keep sight of it if we didn't stop.

Usagi was practically leaving us in the dust. I've never seen any-one run that fast. Leo was doing his best to keep up but he was still a good few paces behind him. Made sense. The guy's a rabbit, what d'you expect?

The car kept going and I was starting to run out of fuel. I got quite a bit of stamina but I can't flat out sprint for such a long stretch and I could feel myself slowing down. I was already breathing heavily. Behind me I could hear Mikey panting too. He can't keep going for as long as me and Leo can and I knew he was gonna start falling behind real soon. I knew for a fact Donny has gotta be having trouble keeping up himself. I felt the sick realisation hit me that we were gonna lose the car.

My chest was burning, my legs were trembling and we were gonna lose this guy!

However just as I was about to give in, unable to run any-more, the car turned into a side street and into a lot before coming to a stop. We kept going till we reached the roof closest to the building before we stopped and quickly hid ourselves in the shadows. The small parking lot was attached to a rather unimportant looking building. It wasn't that big, was a drab grey in colour and had a large hanger-like door on its side. The windows were mostly dark but a couple of them nearer the ground floor had their lights on. I could see human figures inside, walking around and doing perfectly normal looking things.

"What is this place?" Usagi asked. I could hear he was just as out of breath as I was.

"I don't know." Leo replied.

I saw Mikey close by crouch down to sit on his haunches, trying to catch his breath.

"It just looks like a normal office building," Donny said, practically bent over double, his hands on his knees.

"Sh! He's getting out!" Leo shushed us.

The door of the car opened on the passenger side and out stepped the infamous man in the blue suit. He looked on the younger side and kinda scrawny. He adjusted his tie in a rather pompous way, a big, smug grin on his face. How'd this bozo get the better of Usagi? The rabbit was a trained samurai who'd basically just set a new record in long-distance running! And this skinny-ass yuppie somehow managed to get past him, steal this Jotaro kid and make his escape before Usagi could so much as blink. The rabbit had said this guy was a monster, that he had some supernatural speed or something. Seeing the guy standing there looking like high-school bully-fodder and knowing he'd somehow managed to give Usagi a run for his money convinced me the rabbit was telling the truth.

Usagi made a guttural noise and I saw him reach down and grip the hilt of his katana tightly. He tensed but didn't move, glaring at the man below us with bloody murder in his eyes.

I pulled a face as I watched him for a few seconds. He wanted to tear this guy apart, I could see it. Remind me to never piss this rabbit off. He hadn't even done anything yet and he was creeping me out.

The man in the suit started walking towards the garage door which was busy opening itself up. Some-one inside must've been expecting him. A second man stepped out of the darkness of the garage, flanked by two other guys who looked a lot bigger and gave off the faint scent of military. The second man was dressed in black apart from a white shirt. He moved stiffly and very deliberately. This was a guy who didn't have time to mess around. He moved towards the younger man and reached out a hand business-like. They shook before they turned to enter the building again.

I frowned and squinted my eyes. The guy in black. I knew that guy.

I felt my stomach tear open as I recognised the black shades and combed back hair as he turned and the poor light hit his face.

"Leo!" I hissed, not daring to look away.

"Leo!" Donny echoed. "Leo That's Bishop!"

Leo said nothing.

I continued to stare as the phantom of Bishop escorted the blue-suited man into the building.

"Leo!" Donny repeated, he sounded like he had an elastic band around his throat. I turned to look at him and saw he'd grabbed hold of Leo's arm and was squeezing it so tightly his fingers were digging into it. I could visibly see his face pale and his eyes widen.

"My God you don't think he'd be heartless enough to..."

He didn't finish his sentence and the unspoken words hung in the air around us. Memories shot through my mind of metallic tables and leather straps and screaming saw-blades. My heart started to hammer in my chest.

There was a sudden movement and a brief flash of blue.

"Woah! Stop!!" Leo yelled out, lunging forward and throwing out his arms. "Usagi No!"

He'd grabbed the rabbit around his waist and pinned him to his plastron. Usagi struggled but couldn't break Leo's bear-hug.

"Let me go Leonardo!" He cried out, not even bothering with the honorific.

"No! Usagi they'll shoot you!!"

"I do not care! Let me go!"

"Usagi for crying out loud get a grip! You won't accomplish anything by getting yourself killed!"

The rabbit tried to push Leo off of him but then settled, breathing hard and staring at the figures of the men as they entered the building and the garage door closed behind them, leaving the parking lot empty.

I took a step closer to Leo and Usagi quickly, ready to help if my bro couldn't keep hold of the rabbit by himself. I knew Usagi could free himself from Leo's grip if he really wanted to, but he'd have to hurt his friend to do so. Usagi wouldn't do that and that's the only reason Leo was able to keep him at bay.

He'd stopped struggling though and Leo loosened his grip. The rabbit was still staring at the spot where Bishop and the other guy disappeared, his teeth clenched and his shoulders so taut they were shaking. He'd drawn his sword and I could see the blade trembling in his hand.

Leo took a shaky breath and licked his lips before he spoke.

"Usagi... I know... I know you-"

"You do not know!" The rabbit snapped, spinning in place and smacking Leo's arms off of him.

Leo visibly started at this.

"You do not know because you are not a father!!" Usagi continued to yell. "He may not belong to me but he is still my son! He is of my blood and flesh and I am the one who is responsible for him! You are not a parent!! You are practically a child yourself !! How dare you assume you know how I am feeling?!"

He fell silent, glaring at Leo.

I was staring at him in disbelief. My gaze flitted nervously to the drawn sword in his hand for a brief second. I took another small step forward, my protective instincts instantly kicking into overdrive.

Leo was staring at Usagi in a state of shock. His eyes were wide. He almost looked like he was holding his breath.

No-one said anything. Usagi did nothing and I slowly felt the brief moment of fear for my brother melt away. But when it did so I felt my guts twist up instead, making me feel sick.

Leo closed his mouth, swallowed, then spoke. His voice sounded like it didn't belong to him. It was shaky and uncertain.

"Usagi-san... Please... listen to me. If that man catches you he will kill you. He won't even think twice about it, he will kill you.... And he will cut you open and take you apart. Please... Jotaro is counting on you to rescue him. What'll happen to him if you get yourself killed?..." Leo swallowed again, keeping his eyes locked on his friend. "Please I... I don't.. I don't want anything to happen to you."

No-one said anything. I looked back and forth between them. Usagi hadn't budged, still staring daggers at my brother. Leo staring back, his brown eyes pleading for his friend to listen to him.

Usagi straightened and replaced his katana in its sheath, never breaking his gaze from Leo's. Leo in turn did nothing.

Usagi stared at him for a couple of moments longer before he turned and started to walk away. Away from us and away from Bishop's building. He walked a while longer before I saw him break into a run and get lost in the darkness.

When Leo gave a long breath I turned back to look at him. He sunk in place and closed his eyes, his whole body exhaling.

"Leo..." a trembling voice said somewhere behind me. "...you ok bro?"

Leo didn't open his eyes, but he nodded.

I turned and started heading in the direction Usagi had gone. "I better go get him."

"Raph." Leo said and I stopped, turning to look at him. "...don't yell at him."

I pulled a face and made a noise, but nodded. "I won't."

I started to run after the rabbit, blood throbbing along my cheekbones. I didn't know whether to be angry or not. Normally I would've been furious that any-one dared to throw Leo's concern back in his face like that and to be honest I wasn't sure I wasn't gonna try beating the rabbit's face in when I found him. But right now my head was still reeling from what just happened. But I could feel it caged up inside me. Burning, venomous anger. I didn't even know who I was angry at. Usagi or Bishop? I couldn't tell.

Bishop had Usagi's son. Possibly the very worst thing that could've happened and here it is. Hell knows what he wanted with the boy. I didn't know and didn't care. All I knew was that Bishop was a merciless bastard with no compassion. There was a good chance.. .. shit... ..there was a good chance.. that there was no longer anybody to save.

Xxxxx

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