A/N: Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed and favorited my story! I really really appreciate it! Your reviews make me so happy! Enjoy some feels in this chapter!

Chapter 12:

His breaths came in ragged gasps and his limbs continued to spasm randomly, but Donnie was grateful that he had at last been granted a respite from his torment as his captors left his side to participate in the preparations needed to put their plan into action.

He had succeeded in alerting his brothers to the whereabouts of the Kraang, but he had paid dearly for it. Being very unhappy with the results of the phone conversation, the aliens had ensured their captive had become well acquainted with their torture stick. Now, as they finally moved away from him, he closed his eyes and hoped that the aliens would forget about him, would just leave him alone until his brothers arrived to rescue him. Inhaling deeply, Donnie tried to calm his over-wrought nerves and rest his weary, aching muscles as he longed for the oblivion of sleep to block out the memories of pain.

For a few minutes it seemed that he might get his wish and be left alone. Then he stiffened as he heard two of the Kraang talking to each other about him.

"What will Kraang do with the one who is the prisoner of Kraang, who was once known as one of the turtles?"

"His usefulness is no longer being useful to Kraang. Kraang must secure him in a containment unit until his usefulness is once more determined to be useful by Kraang."

Donnie frowned. He didn't know what sort of containment unit the Kraang were referring to, but whatever it was, it sounded as if it would make the task of rescuing him more difficult. When he opened his eyes, four Kraang bots were standing around him. He trembled slightly at their approach, but kept his face grim, still determined to appear strong before his captors.

The robots reached out their hands and grasped his arms, their metal fingers taking hold in a pincer like grip. The next second a hidden lever was pressed on the underside of the table, and the metal bands restraining him slid fluidly into the surface, disappearing as if they had never been there. Despite his situation, Donatello could not help marveling at this display of technology, and wished to be allowed to study the device more closely. The aliens, however, had other plans, and immediately lifted him off the table and slid him to the ground, maintaining a continual grip on his arms. Donnie stifled a cry as his injured ankle struck the hard floor, and the robots began dragging him off in another direction.

So strong was the fourfold grip on his arms that Donnie knew that, even had he been in possession of his full strength, and had both legs been whole, he would never have been able to free himself from their grasp. Weakened as he was from the repeated nerve attacks, he did not even attempt to struggle free. He knew it would be pointless, and he wished to conserve his remaining energy for escape when his brothers came for him.

As he was being dragged unceremoniously to another part of the facility, Donnie was able to see the entirety of the building for the first time. The center of the vast enclosure was almost entirely occupied by a Kraang ship. This vehicle was slightly smaller than a passenger jet, but its shape was elliptical. It was made mostly of the shiny metal apparently favored by the Kraang, and Donnie caught a glimpse of several windows, glowing pink. The ship was parked on four thin legs, and a hatch on the underside was open. Several Kraang were walking up and down a ramp through the opening. Donnie did not have time to watch them more closely to see what they were up to, for he was then turned around and made to face a different part of the room.

Here he observed several large transparent pink tubes hovering vertically about three feet off the ground. Each tube was about seven feet high and two feet in diameter; the perfect size for containing a human being, Donnie realized with dread. All of them were empty.

As they approached these containment units, one of the droids placed a hand on a nearby control panel and the pink walls of one of the tubes disappeared, leaving only a round metal disk floating in the air at the top and bottom. At this Donatello realized that the tubes were not constructed of glass, as he had at first supposed, but of an energy field. He tried to closely observe the robot who was controlling the containment cell, to understand how it worked, but did not see much before he was lifted forcefully onto the metal platform of the open unit.

He attempted to sit on it, but was forced into a standing position by the unwavering grip on his arms. This proved difficult and painful for Donnie, who was only able to put his weight on his right leg.

Holding him in place, one of the Kraang droids said, "It would be that which is known as unwise to come into contact with that which is known as the energy field."

At that instant, the droid by the control panel touched the blinking screen again and with a hum the pink walls of the containment unit reappeared all around Donnie, just as the robots released their grip on his arms. He swayed slightly as he tried to regain his balance on his one good leg, and the toe of his left shoe accidentally grazed the pink energy in front of him. He quickly jerked it back as the bit of rubber at the front of the shoe melted instantly into a shapeless blob. He gulped and determined not to let any part of him touch the energy field.

This was easier said than done. The walls of his new prison were mere inches from his body on all sides. He could only stand straight, his arms at his sides, to avoid touching them. This would have been difficult enough with two strong legs, but as it was, he knew that maintaining a standing position in his weakened condition, on one leg, with nothing to lean on for support would become a torturous task before any great length of time had passed. He hoped his brothers were not far away.

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Darkness had fallen, and Leo was glad of that, for he and his brothers felt more comfortable in the dark, slipping easily through the shadows as they made their way toward the Kraang facility that was holding their brother prisoner.

The three ninjas had been running for well over an hour and they were only halfway to their destination. Leo had never felt so slow in his life. True, they were all running full out, and were going nearly as fast as they had been able to when they were mutant turtles, but all the while the echoes of his little brother's screams haunted his thoughts, urging him forward, and no speed could possibly be fast enough. Every moment that passed was another moment of torment for Donnie, and Leo couldn't bear to let him suffer one minute longer than what was absolutely unavoidable. There had to be a way to reach him faster!

The boys were racing along the sidewalk of a dark street with few pedestrians. Several cars were zipping past, far outstripping them in speed. If only they had a car! Suddenly a bright yellow one drove by and Leo stopped short. Raph and Mikey nearly ran into him, so unexpected was his halt.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Raph, who was still itching to take his furious revenge on some Kraang bots. Leo caught Mikey quickly flinging some angry tears from his eyes.

"It will take us another hour and a half to get there at this rate," said Leo, frustrated. "We need transportation. I think we should take up Donnie's suggestion from last night."

"What, you mean take a taxi?" asked Mikey, brightening slightly at the prospect.

Raph looked incredulous, but Leo nodded. "We're not on a stealth mission this time. The Kraang already know we're coming and time is of the essence. Need I remind you that our brother is being tortured as we make our way slowly across the city on foot?!"

Raph growled deep in his throat and begrudgingly agreed. "Fine. Anything to get us there faster."

Curious and excited, Mikey did the honors of hailing a cab and a moment later the three of them had piled into the back seat.

"Drive as fast as you can!" Raph told the taxi driver shortly.

The driver, a rather unkempt looking fellow, lazily chewing on a piece of gum, raised an eyebrow at him. "Where to?"

"What?" asked Raph.

"What's the address? Where do you want to go?" the cabby asked, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry," said Leo, and told him the name of the street.

The cab pulled away from the curb and began moving down the street, much too slowly for the ninjas in the back seat.

"Um, could you go any faster?" asked Leo. "We're really in a hurry!"

The bored driver rolled his eyes at them, but he pressed his foot to the pedal, and for several blocks they sped along, covering a good chunk of the city in a much shorter time than they had anticipated. This brought Leo some relief. He could feel Mikey beside him, emotionally torn between the excitement of riding in a taxi and the worry he felt for his captive brother. Raphael glared out the window at the city passing by, drumming his fingers impatiently. Although they were now moving faster, it irked him to be sitting still, simmering in his wrath, rather than releasing it in battle against the Kraang.

Despite their increased speed, Leonardo could not stop his imagination from creating worst case scenarios, and as they drove through the city image after image forced its way into his mind, each more bloody and horrifying than the last, and all the while he could hear his brother screaming and see his brown eyes, wide with fear and pain, begging Leo to rescue him. Leonardo clutched his head in his hands and moaned, trying to block out the disturbing pictures. It needn't be that bad, he tried to convince himself. They didn't actually know yet what was happening to Donnie. But he could not shake the feelings of dread and urgency.

When they were still a few miles from their destination, they entered a busy street which was packed with cars. Joining the traffic jam, the taxi slowed nearly to a standstill.

"What's this?" shouted Raph. "Are we just going to sit here?"

"There's always traffic on this street," drawled the driver. "We'll be stuck here for a while."

Raph grunted and turned to Leo. "How close are we?"

"Only a few miles."

"Then let's forget this and go the rest of the way on foot!"

Leo instantly agreed and they opened the door to exit the car, right in the middle of the street.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" cried the cabby.

"We're in a hurry!" explained Leo. "We're going to run the rest of the way."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" The man grabbed Leo's arm, preventing him from following his brothers into the street. "What about my pay?"

"Oh, sorry," Leo said, having completely forgotten that taxis cost money. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of bills, and hoping it was enough, shoved them into the driver's hands and rushed out into the night.

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Donnie was trembling with the effort of standing on one foot. He had not been able to keep a precise track of time, but he was sure it had been more than an hour since he had been placed in the cell. The muscles in his leg were cramping, and without thinking, he attempted to shift his weight, his breath catching in his throat as the pressure was applied to his broken ankle. His whole body ached and he longed to lean on something. To sit. To lie down. A vision of his bed at home flitted before his eyes and he wished nothing more than to crawl into it and ease his sore muscles. His eyes closed. If only. . .

No! He snapped his eyes open again. He must stay alert. One slip and he could lose a finger, or an arm, or worse. To distract his mind, he focused once more on the Kraang. From his position in the containment cell, he had a grand view of the entire facility, though everything seemed to be tinted pink as he looked through the energy field.

He could see the Kraang loading the two large canisters of mutagen onto the ship. They were preparing to fly it over the city, shooting everyone in sight with first the green, and then the blue mutagen. If the aliens had their way, the whole city would be filled with Kraang before the week was out.

Suddenly Donnie felt the fingers in his right hand tingle, and soon his whole arm was numb with the familiar sensation of his unstable mutation. A moment later, the feeling returned to his arm, but a numbness of fear had come over his heart. These tingling episodes were happening more frequently. What if his right leg was next? What would happen if he suddenly lost control of the one limb that was keeping him in his upright position? He dared not think about it. And then a worse idea crossed his mind. He knew he was nearing the end of the time allotted to him to be human. What would happen if he started to mutate back into a turtle while in the containment unit? Remembering the violence of his last mutation, Donnie knew that maintaining a standing position through such a process was a complete impossibility.

Despair threatened to consume him as the muscles in his leg twitched, desperate for release. Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused his mind on the hopeful image of his brothers running to his rescue as a single tear slipped beneath his mask and trickled down his cheek.

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At long last, Leo led his brothers around a corner and the Kraang's headquarters came into view. It was an enormous building made mostly of concrete, with no windows. A huge door, fifty feet high and twice as wide, somewhat resembling an over sized garage door, took up most of the front of the building, but Leo paid little attention to it. He was focused on the ordinary sized door around the corner, through which he saw a Kraang droid enter the building. The door did not appear to be locked.

Silent as shadows, the three ninjas crept to the entrance. As it turned out, there was a keypad with a code required for entering, but a few stabs with Raph's sai and the lock broke, allowing the door to swing wide.

They stepped inside and took in the scene at a glance – the large ship in the middle of the room, the countless pieces of alien equipment scattered about, and the swarms of Kraang droids moving everywhere like bees in a hive.

"Where's Donnie?" asked Raph in a low voice, as the aliens had not yet been made aware of their presence.

Scanning his eyes more carefully through the room, Leo finally spotted the hovering cells glittering with pink energy. Inside one he could just make out the form of his brother, but he was too far away to see if he was injured. "There!" he pointed.

Raphael felt the familiar smolder of anger in his chest rise to a full blown flame as he saw his brother thus imprisoned. He growled in determination, tightening his grip on his sai. The Kraang would learn this night that, turtles or not, you do not mess with the Hamato family!

"Raph, you and Mikey look for the Blue Goo. I'll get Donnie." Leo was already moving in the direction of his captured brother, but turned for one more word. "And Raph?"

Raph turned to look at him.

"Destroy as many Kraang as you can!"

Raph smiled grimly at him. "With pleasure!" And he and Mikey instantly leaped forward to wreak their vengeance on a group of the surprised aliens as Leo rushed off to rescue Donnie.

As he came closer, Leo saw his imprisoned brother look up, relieved, as he caught sight of him. There was quite a number of Kraang droids surrounding the containment cells, but his little brother needed him, and Leo knew that nothing was going to be able to stop him now. With an angry shout he charged the robots who were unable to withstand the vengeful fire of his wrath.

Donnie watched in eager anticipation of relief as he saw his oldest brother making his way towards him. Katanas singing, Leo fluidly took down Kraang bots as he moved until there were no more standing in the immediate vicinity. Donnie's leg was shaking now and he doubted whether he could maintain a standing position much longer. A moment later Leo was standing before him, horror and concern filling his features as he perceived the pitiful state his brother was in.

"Donnie!" he cried, reaching a hand toward him.

"Don't touch the energy field!" shouted Donnie.

Leo immediately withdrew his hand. "How do I get you out of there?"

"The control panel. Over there." Donnie nodded his head to indicate the direction. Leo leaped toward it and began to inspect the panel. Donnie attempted once again the futile action of shifting his weight, only to bite down hard on his lip as the pain shot up his broken leg once more. 'Oh, Leo, be quick!' he thought.

"Donnie, I don't know what to do!" came Leo's panicky voice. "There aren't any buttons to press!"

Donatello closed his eyes and tried to focus on not falling over as he shouted. "It's touch sensitive. Use one of the robot's hands!"

He saw Leo frantically look around for one of the robots he had destroyed, grab the nearest one, and drag it toward the control panel. As Leo pressed the droid's hand to the blinking surface, he was relieved to see the energy shield power down. An instant later, Donnie collapsed into his brother's arms.

"Donnie! What did they do to you, Otouto? Where are you hurt?" Leo asked desperately. He moved his fingers gingerly over the stream of dried blood that ran down Donnie's arm, but the wound at its source did not appear to be deep and was no longer bleeding.

"My legs," Donnie mumbled. "My. . . everywhere. It hurts. Oh, Leo, it hurts so bad!" He clutched at Leo and buried his face in his shoulder. His big brother had come for him, just as he had known he would. Leo wrapped his arms tighter around his trembling brother, holding him close and whispering Japanese words of comfort in his ear as they sat together on the floor, the sounds of battle echoing distantly around them.

Donnie felt safe in his brother's embrace, and as he breathed in, trying to calm his nerves and release some of the pain, he noticed that, despite the mutation, Leo still smelled the same. Tears sprang to Donnie's eyes as inhaling that scent brought back so many comforting childhood memories when his big brother's strong arms had held him and chased away the nightmares. For a moment he was tempted to sob into Leo's shoulder like he had done so often when they were young, but he knew this time he could not have that luxury. They still had a city to save. Breathing deeply once more, he drew comfort and strength from his older brother. Then, opening his eyes and lifting his head, he said determinedly, "Help me over to that computer console, Leo."

A/N: Hope you liked the brotherly comfort at the end there! Next chapter is the last one, so stick around for the climactic ending!