I don't own TMNT or UY.

Xxxxx

What happened between Raph and Mikey yesterday really got to me. I admit, my first thoughts had automatically been that Raph had, for some reason or another, lost it and lashed out. But some-how, learning that it had in fact been Mikey who'd started the fight just made the whole situation seem worse. And after we'd had such a good day too. It was very unsettling.

When Raph marched out the room I had tried to calm Mike down and get him to tell me what had happened, not in detail since he was still angry but at least so I'd know what Raph had done to infuriate him this badly. Mikey didn't want to talk though. He'd pulled himself out of my arms and had told me to leave him alone and that he was tired of every-one sticking their noses into his personal business. Seeing the danger I immediately dropped it and told him if he didn't want to tell me right now it was ok. He seemed to calm down a little at this but not by much. I somehow got the impression he was suddenly angry at me too, although I had no idea why.

But I've had many shouting matches with Raph and I knew the pitfalls when it comes to dealing with an angry brother. I left him alone, telling him he didn't need to talk to me, just to go and cool down. After that he'd turned and left the main room, exiting the lair and disappearing into the sewers. I was uncomfortable with that but I didn't know if running after him was such a good idea.

Before the rest of us could make any other move, Master Splinter came into the room. Seeing the opportunity to put my worries at rest I quickly told him about the fight and that Mikey had left the lair. I was relieved when Sensei went after him.

I was left with Usagi and Donny. What the heck had just happened? I thought everything was fine. Why on Earth would Mikey and Raph suddenly blow up at each other like that? They haven't had a fight this bad in years. It didn't make any sense. They only possible link to any of this I could see was the fact that Mikey had been feeling very depressed lately. I mean I'd noticed it but I didn't think it was this serious. But then, I hadn't had time to give it proper attention. I was trying to be there for Usagi and try and keep us going down the proper path as the leader. Somehow, with my mind split in so many directions, Mikey's unhappiness had slipped through the cracks a little. It had reached the point where I guess it'd just become too much and exploded.

I don't know. I didn't have all the facts so all I could do was speculate meaninglessly.

When Master Splinter left I turned to look at Donny. He stood silently, hugging himself tightly. He appeared to be shaking but I could see he was calming down. I walked over to him to make sure he was alright. He'd nodded in response, telling me he was just shaken. After that I excused myself to the two of them and went to try and coerce Raph out of his room so I could talk to him. I wasn't going to yell, I just wanted to know what was going on. I hadn't been very successful though, and eventually I gave up and let him brood.

When I came back to the main room Donny had gone but Usagi was still standing where I'd left him. I was concerned at first, not liking that he had once again gotten sucked into our dirty laundry. However when I came closer he'd given me a sympathetic look and quietly said; 'Daijoubu?' asking me if I was ok. I realised the reason he hadn't left the room was because he'd been waiting for me to get back to make sure I was alright. I'd nodded in response to his question, although in reality I felt far from ok.

A short time later Master Splinter had returned, bringing Mikey with him. Mike didn't say anything, heading for his room and closing the door. After that Splinter had gone to Raph's room. It was a while before he came out again.

When he exited he told me what he'd been able to figure out. Raph had apparently tried asking Mikey why he'd been feeling so down lately and somehow the conversation had gotten out of hand. Mikey got angry and a fight broke out. Master Splinter didn't tell me the exact details, he only said that it wasn't Raph's fault and that I shouldn't lecture him about it or pry deeper into what happened. This worried me but I had no choice but to agree.

After that Sensei had left to find Donny. I felt bad for our father, always having to do damage control like this.

The food Don had been preparing had burnt to a crisp by the time things had calmed down enough to get to it and frankly, no-one felt in the mood to prepare a meal from scratch all over again. So out came the list of phone-numbers and we ordered pizza.

Heh. That feels very nostalgic somehow. Possibly because by now it had been such a long time since we'd ordered out for junk food; eating as a the band of brothers we are, loud and energetic. Things had become so weird with all of this, it feels almost like a full year ago, not just a few weeks.

Dinner had been tense. Mikey and Raph had both come out of hiding to join us which I was relieved to see, but they didn't say a word to each other and avoided looking each other in the eye. None of us said very much and we ate in silence.

That is until Usagi said he didn't like the food very much, causing Raph to snicker and Mikey to give him a look of disbelieving horror. After that the tension in the air seemed to ease up a little bit, despite the continuing weird vibe between Raph and Mike.

Now it was morning again. I was the first awake, blowing on my mug of coffee as I sat alone in the kitchen, listening to the faint rumble of subway trains somewhere overhead. You could only hear them when things were absolutely silent in the lair. I guess some people might consider the notion of hearing trains when it's quiet as annoying, but I'd grown up listening to the noise late at night before falling asleep as well as in the small hours of the morning before any-one else was up. I found it a quiet comfort. It was something familiar, homey, and unchanging.

I sighed before drinking deeply from my mug. I had trouble getting to sleep last night, and when I finally did I had the vague memory of troubling dreams. But I couldn't remember them now, only that they had made my sleep feel restless. When I woke up in the middle of the night I'd noticed Donny wasn't there. He must've been pulling another all nighter, or maybe he just wasn't able to sleep. I had half a mind to get up and go find him, but I was tired and before I could act on it I had fallen asleep again.

Despite my anxiety I found it easier to sleep in Donny's room or some reason. When we were little kids all four of us had shared a room together in the old old lair. Even earlier than that we had, all five of us, shared a room. I had very vague memories of even earlier than that when we had no room to share, but we were all together all the same, but it was so long ago I couldn't recall it properly. Bunking with a brother was not a strange concept. Mikey especially would slip into one of our rooms during the night and bunk down for one reason or another. But I'd been sharing a room with Donny now for well over a week. It'd passed the feeling of just 'rooming together'. It reminded me more of when we were little than anything else.

It's strange. I wonder why I've been feeling so sentimental lately. Maybe it was just a comfort thing. A coping mechanism or something. I didn't really know but I didn't over-think it.

"Ohayo" Came the, by now, familiar greeting as Usagi came into the room, his hands to his ears as he did the knot, tying them back.

I smiled at him. "Morning."

He got himself one of the traditional teacups and went about making himself a cup of green tea as if he owned the place. I bit my lip, trying not to grin too broadly.

"Did you sleep well Leonardo?" He asked, turning to face me.

I gave a half-shrug. "I didn't really sleep well, but I did manage to sleep. So I guess it was ok."

Usagi nodded, coming back and sitting down at the table himself, blowing on his cup.

"The tension is thick." He commented. "Every-one is aware it will not be long before we make our move. It is not strange to feel restless."

I nodded solemnly, taking another sip of my own mug. "Yeah."

He drank his tea thoughtfully. "This whole situation is becoming tiresome. I will be happy once we can put it behind us."

I gave a light laugh, surprised I was still able to do so. "That kinda goes without saying doesn't it?"

He lifted his eyes to me. "Well. Yes. But it is not only the resolution I am anxious for." He gave a sigh, cradling the cup in both hands as he swirled the liquid slightly. "There are other reasons contributing to my wish for this ordeal to come to an end."

I blinked at this, putting my mug down. I felt a slight unease grow in me. He was probably getting sick of listening to the lot of us fight all the time. "Oh?"

He nodded. "I can not remember the last time I have stayed in a single place as long as I have done here." He sipped from his cup again. "In a way it is a great comfort, but the lack of simple mobility is a little bit frustrating. I miss being able to walk amongst people in the open."

I relaxed a little and gave a nod. "It's not exactly the same as running the length and width of Japan is it?"

He gave a light laugh at this. "No it is not. However it is not the roaming I miss. After all I do not plan to carry out the rest of my days as a vagabond. But I do miss the simpler things. The sun being the highest on the list. Followed closely by a more natural surrounding."

I smiled and gave an understanding nod. "It's hard to get use to. Heck I've lived like this my whole life and it's still hard to get use to."

Usagi smiled and nodded. He then rolled his eyes slightly as he sat back in his seat. "As I sit here and insult your accommodations and way of life. I apologise. It is not my place."

I gave a shrug. "Everybody needs to complain now and again." I gave him a smile. "And besides we're not very strict on etiquette here. Insult away."

Usagi laughed again, finishing his cup.

It felt good to talk like this. To trick myself into thinking things are still normal. Mikey and Raph's fight still weighed heavily on my mind, and I knew it wasn't something I could just pretend didn't happen. Eventually I was gonna have to try and patch things up between them if they don't do it themselves. But at the same time it was a great stress reliever to have an obscenely normal conversation with my friend without us focusing on worry, or stress, or lack of success, or children that were in danger, or the foreboding knowledge that soon we were gonna jump into something we all knew would drag us in way over our heads.

"What d'you plan to do when we get Jotaro out of there?" I asked. Purposefully using the word 'when' and not 'if'.

Usagi blinked, thinking for a few moments. "The very first step would be to get back to my home dimension and then travel to the village so that I may inform his mother that he is unhurt." He pulled a slight face at his own thoughts. "Although I am afraid of what her reaction will be to us having been out of contact for so long."

"Will it be ok?" I asked with concern.

He paused for a moment with a thoughtful noise before he nodded hesitantly. "I believe so." He turned back to me and gave a shaky grin. "Hopefully."

I gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she'll understand if you explain things."

He gave a puff of a breath worriedly but nodded.

I chuckled at him, finishing the last of my coffee.

I put the mug down on the table.

"Of course," I found myself saying. "It's gonna be kinda lonely when you go."

He turned back to look at me with a slightly stunned expression, tilting his head.

I wasn't able to elaborate though because, as if on cue, Donny came into the room and interrupted us. We both turned to look at him as he came in, looking dead tired but wide awake nonetheless.

I gave him a smile. "Morning."

He gave me a nod, coming over "Good Morning."

I eyed him. "I noticed you didn't sleep tonight either." I said, purposefully trying to shame him for it.

I heard Usagi make a noise at this, almost as if he was annoyed.

Donny held up his hands. "I know I know. My bad. But I couldn't sleep and well... there was something bugging me that I wanted to go over."

This time I frowned at him, turning in my seat slightly. "That's no excuse Don."

He groaned, sounding almost impatient. "Yes yes I know. Look I'll sleep all day tomorrow if you want me to. Right now I really need to talk to you."

I blinked at this. "Is something wrong?"

He bit his lip. "I don't know. Maybe."

I frowned again, more deeply. I nudged a chair with a foot. "Sit." I said to him.

He nodded and took the seat, his eyes fixed on mine. They were tired, but focused and serious, staring at me hard.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

I heard the noise of a chair as Usagi got up and went to the kettle, switching it on again before turning back to face us as he waited for it to boil.

Donny pulled a slight face, his gaze breaking from mine. "I don't know if I should really tell you just yet." He shook his head and turned his eyes to me again. "I don't really have any solid facts or anything but... but I've come across too many coincidences and, I'm concerned that if I don't at least tell you what I'm thinking it's gonna hurt us later."

I kept my frown. "You're babbling Donny. What are you trying to say?"

He made a frustrated noise, sitting back in his chair. "I don't know. It's just... I've been trying to piece things together from Bishop's files, and I'm worried about how I've gotten all the pieces to match up."

A corner of his mouth twitched almost into a smile for a moment. "It's probably nothing but paranoia and sleeplessness. But..." It faded again and he looked troubled. "But there's too much information backing up a theory I've come up with."

I pulled a slight face. I wasn't liking the sounds of this. The kettle switched itself off and I heard Usagi messing with some mugs and teacups behind me.

"Why don't you just tell me and I'll let you know if it sounds like paranoia to me." I said gently.

Donny took a breath. "I don't wanna scare any-one."

My frown deepened. "The more you say stuff like that the more you're scaring me anyway."

Don turned to look at me again before he swallowed and gave a reluctant nod. "Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right."

Usagi came back, placing a mug in front of Donny as well as one in front of me before he sat back down, a cup in his own hands. I could smell the scent of green tea wafting up from the drink. I gave him a small nod as thanks, knowing he wouldn't take offence since I was occupied with Donny at the moment.

Don took a deep breath, as if preparing himself.

"Well. First off I've completely exhausted those files. There's absolutely nothing more in there that's gonna benefit us. I mean the info was pretty scratchy to begin with, but I've combed through all of it hundreds of times now and really, there's nothing more I can do."

I nodded, listening quietly as I picked up the teacup, blowing on it absent-mindedly. Donny picked up his own as he spoke.

"After I was sure there was nothing I'd missed regarding the base itself I started looking into the files that didn't really have much to do with it, like the meeting minutes and employment files. There wasn't much to go on, but I think I was able to piece together enough stuff to at least have a theory on what Bishop might be doing."

I nodded again. "Go on."

He shook his head slightly. "Before I get to that, there's this Tibalt guy. Our man in the blue suit. There's no employment file on him which struck me as rather strange. Sadly it means I can't paint a proper picture of him but I did manage to get an idea of how he's involved even if I still don't really know who he is. He doesn't seem to be working for Bishop. That is he's working for Bishop yes, but he's doing so under the orders of a second party or something. In the minutes between him and Bishop, Tibalt often refers to 'my boss' or 'our benefactor'. It seems wheoever Mr Blue suit is really working for has some kind of hand in all of this."

I frowned, not liking the sudden appearance of a third player. "Any idea on who it is?" I asked.

Donny shook his head mournfully. "Not a clue. There's not so much as a hint in what I've been able to find. It doesn't look like Bishop has had any direct contact with him. Tibalt seems to act as a kind of messenger boy between them."

I sunk with a thoughtful noise, taking a sip from my tea. This complicated things. But it wasn't a major set-back or anything luckily. It merely meant Bishop is pandering to some-one for money. It didn't change our mission or what we had to do. Our focus was on rescuing Jotaro. All this other stuff are just distractions. All the same though, I was worried it might spell trouble.

"You say he referred to this man as 'benefactor'." Usagi interrupted. "Does that mean he is providing Bishop with funds?"

Donny nodded. "Looks like it."

I pulled a slight face. "Any idea what for?"

Donny gave another nod, but more hesitantly. "I think so but I'm not sure." He shook his head and turned to look at me again. "And this is what I wanted to talk to you about. There are quite a few files regarding something called 'Project Gateway'. It was mentioned in Jotaro's file as well but it's not mentioned in any of the other specimen files. It also seems to be the main topic whenever Bishop and Tibalt are discussing business. I'm not entirely sure what it is exactly, but I think," He swallowed. "I think I might be able to guess based on what I have."

I blinked at him anxiously. "Yes?"

He took a slight breath before he continued.

"It seems that, for some reason, Bishop is trying to create a portal device of his own." He lifted his eyes to look at me nervously. "I mean, that's what I think he's doing."

My frown deepened. This didn't sound good at all.

"Wait," Usagi interrupted again. "Why would that be necessary?"

I turned to him, slightly confused. "What d'you mean?"

He turned to look at me with a light frown. "If he is trying to build a portal gate then that would imply he is unable to travel between dimensions at this present time. But then how is it that this demon named 'Tibalt' is able to create portals on his own? Is it not meaningless to try building something when you already have some-one in your employment who is able to accomplish the task without it?"

Donny shifted in his chair nervously. "Well yeah... unless...."

I turned back to him, not liking his tone. "Unless what Don?"

Donny chewed his lip before looking up at me again. "Unless he needs a bigger portal. You know, so that," He cleared his throat nervously. "a larger number of people can warp at once."

I felt a cold chill run through me at this, my eyes widening as I stared at Don. He stared right back at me, as if he was begging me to tell him he was wrong. I blinked and recovered myself, but I felt the pained expression settle on my face as I tried to digest this new fact. A larger portal. Big enough for a large group of people to use at once. That alone felt rather ominous. But the fact that it was Bishop who was building such a thing made my blood run cold. Bishop, who is obsessed with creating his super-human army. Bishop who believed with his whole being the only defence is an offence. It didn't leave much up to the imagination as what he would do with a thing like that.

"Are you implying that this man might try to invade 2nd Earth?" Usagi asked.

I could hear the very slight tremor in his voice. I turned to glance at him. He was staring at Donny with wide eyes, leaning forward in his seat. I noticed the fur on the back of his hands bristling ever so slightly.

Donny shook his head but not to say 'no'. "I don't know. I'm only telling you what I think might be going on in that man's head based on the facts I've managed to find. That might not be his intention at all. After all if he wanted to start a war he'd be talking to the military and not to a private benefactor. There's... there's just not enough information to be a 100 percent sure of anything."

"Yeah but that could also mean he's building it so that whoever's funding him could use it." I said.

Donny nodded again. "Maybe, but then you gotta wonder what's in it for Bishop? Besides some extra money for his own projects I mean. You know the government is losing its patience with him and have cut his budget. Hence the whole 'fake invasion' stunt he pulled a while back."

I gave a tight shrug. "I can't try and guess Bishop's motives. I've never been able to figure him out. But whatever the reason and whatever he plans to do with it the fact remains that Bishop will have a backdoor to Usagi's dimension. And no matter how you look at it, that's a very, very bad thing."

Donny pulled a grim face and nodded. "If that is what he's doing. I mean I can't even give you a solid yes or no if he's actually building a portal or not. It could be something else entirely. But," He sunk with a breath. "I've checked over the information and no matter how I look at it, that's what it seems to spell out. Besides, the name 'Project Gateway' isn't doing much to dispel my theory."

"But this is terrible news!" Usagi suddenly blurted out, standing up sharply. "We can not have that man infiltrating where I come from! We have not the technology to combat him! Nor do we have the unity amongst the provinces to stand together against him! We have barely settled the civil war! There are still Lords and Daimyos who fight amongst themselves for power over land! There is too much animosity between us as a nation to band together against such an overwhelming threat!"

"Hey hey hey, calm down!" I said hurriedly, getting up and rounding the table quickly, seeing the rising panic in his face. I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Calm down. We're gonna handle it."

Usagi shook his head violently, his hands curling into tight fists. "If that man marches into our country we would not stand a chance!"

I nodded, increasing the pressure in my hand gently, but not enough to hurt him. "I know. I know that Usagi. But calm down. We don't know anything for sure just yet. Donny's just trying to give us his opinions. It doesn't mean it's true."

Donny nodded dumbly, staring at Usagi with a guilt-ridden expression.

Usagi went quiet and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He closed his eyes, staying silent for a few minutes.

"I know we are merely speculating," He said, turning to look at me. "But the mere thought of it is too terrible to comprehend." He shook his head tightly and I felt him tense up again. "Leonardo he will annihilate us."

I felt my expression harden as I shook my own head, not taking my eyes off his. "No he won't."

Usagi pulled a face, clenching his teeth. I could see the distress growing in his face. He almost looked terrified. It shook me. I'd never seen him get this unhinged.

"He will crush us." He said.

I shook my head again, putting my other hand on his other shoulder. "No. He won't."

Usagi said nothing, staring at me in silence. I gave his shoulders a slight squeeze before easing up a little.

"He's not gonna touch you, or your friends, or your world Usagi. I won't let him."

Usagi took a deep, shaking breath before he nodded. I felt some of the tension in his shoulders relax just slightly.

"I didn't mean to scare any-body." I heard Donny say with a sigh.

I turned to look at him. He was staring at the top of the table, looking ashamed of himself. I shook my head at him, letting go of one of Usagi's shoulders but keeping the other one in my grip gently.

"It's better we know now than we get there and find out when we're unprepared." I told him.

Donny shook his head slightly. "But it might not even be true."

I nodded. "Maybe not. But if there's even the slightest chance that it is, we need to be ready to stop it in its tracks."

Donny nodded thoughtfully. He then straightened and nodded again more meaningfully, turning to look at me, his expression more determined.

I felt Usagi slip out my hand as he sank back down in his chair. He put his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands, giving a very deep sigh.

"Somehow... this has all become.. ..much larger than I can handle by myself" He said weakly.

I stared at him sympathetically, replacing my hand on his shoulder again as I leaned down a little to talk to him.

"You're not gonna have to." I said. "I'm not abandoning you now Usagi. We're seeing this through together; whatever it is Bishop's got in store for us."

He turned his head to blink at me wearily.

"I just want my son so that we can go home." He said. His tone of voice sounded so dejected. He looked at the end of his rope and for once he seemed to not care enough to try and hide it. It didn't suit him at all.

I gave him an encouraging nod. "Don't worry. We're gonna fix this."

He stared at me, as if trying to figure out if I was somehow lying to him. He then exhaled and gave a nod.

I nodded back, satisfied that he understood I was being serious about what I said. There was no chance, no chance in hell of us backing out of this now. If anything, this had just reinforced my determination. There was no room for failure now. Not that there had been to begin with, but now, it really was do or die.

"We need to move." I said, addressing them both. "We scope out the exterior of the base tonight. Tomorrow we decide how we're gonna break in."

They both nodded, Usagi sitting up straight again, his warrior's mask slowly settling back into place at the talk of action.

"We need to find out just what exactly Bishop is pulling and how to stop it. But most importantly we need to rescue Jotaro. If what Donny is thinking is true;" I turned to look at him. "And I've never known him to be wrong just yet, then the stakes have been risen. However whether it's true or not, we can't lose focus. We are putting a stop to Bishop's plans, and we're not leaving that building until we do. But more importantly, we are not leaving that place until we rescue Jotaro. All this extra stuff is just added trouble to the main mission. And that mission is still this; Rescue Usagi's son." I clenched my hands into fists. "We are not coming home empty handed. Not again."

Xxxxx

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