A/N: Haha, D. The first isn't technically a chapter, so I posted that after pausing to clean my room some. Anyways. Good student. *pats head* ;)

Sciencegal, I still get no notifications about your reviews. I'm honestly convinced that my account is biased against you. D:

September 24
6: 29 P.M.

Breathing was difficult. Almost too difficult for Hamato Donatello. Some unknown pressure weighed him down like an anchor; however, his ringing ears and vertigo were more prominent reminders of had just taken place. Groaning, he felt around with his hands.

Rubble. Some cold puddle of sorts. Dust. A flashlight. More rubble. Had the implosion been that bad?

"Sensei!" Raphael's voice was muddled, as if he spoke through water.

Donny craned his neck sideways and blinked away water droplets that sprayed from above. Flashlight in hand, Raphael knelt beside their father, whose leg was obscured by a concrete chunk. Twisted iron rods protruded from it and a rich red seeping across the cracked floor settled apprehension further inside the Chūnin's gut.

Raph shoved the concrete chunk aside then brought the mutant rat to a distressed brick column that had once supported the ceiling beside the kitchen. It ran diagonally now. Once settled, Splinter waved his son away with words that were lost to the high-pitched cry inside Don's head.

"Donny!" Raph sounded clearer now. "Ya alright?"

The genius wiped cold moisture from his face, nose scrunched when a waft of sulfur and ammonia worsened his vertigo. "I—I think."

"Then quit lyin' around an' help me!"

But wasn't he pinned? Donny's fingers ventured from his sides to his chest. He could've sworn a thick slab rested there, except his fingertips brushed smooth bone below a coating of dust and water, not rouge stone. So, he swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth then rolled to watch his brother remove several concrete pieces from a ramp.

'Was that the upstairs hall?' Don shook his head, praying it was a mistake. When his eyes reopened, Raph climbed an incline that led to higher ground, and his chest tightened. Beside it, remnants from Michelangelo's video game collection and comforter peeked out between two other columns.

"Mike? Melody?" Raphael shoved a bolder-sized concrete piece. It tipped over the ramp's edge, settling into the debris below with a dull thump. "Nia!"

"At least pause for a reply, Idiot!" Donatello cried.

"That's hard ta do when all I can hear is fuckin' ringin'!"

The genius scowled. "Join the club!"

"Will ya get off yer ass already?"

The hothead returned to shifting through rubble as Don held his tongue. He pushed himself up then dropped to a knee when the world spun. Staying grounded tempted his reason like a luring Muse. But what would sleep accomplish? He focused on the frigid water beating against his skull, so his eyes remained open. Then, he stood again.

"About time," Raph said when his brother joined him at the incline's top.

Don inhaled, his hands surveying the seven-foot-tall wall that cut him off from the Lair's other half. "Melody?"

No answer; just pitter-patters from the broken water main he had left behind.

"Mel!"

"D—D—Donny?"

"Nia!" Raph pushed aside his brother to peer though a slender break in the barrier. Darkness reigned beyond it, but it let the artist's small voice penetrate the dense stone.

"Nia," added Don. "Are any of you hurt?"

"I—I—uh—" A cough echoed. "I don't know. It's so dark."

"Call for them."

"I have been! Th—they aren't stirring and…ah!"

The genius leaned closer towards the break. "What is it?"

"Mel. I think."

"Good. Wake her. She can help."

"N—no." Nia sniffled. "Something's wrong. I—I can feel her twitching. Why's she so hot?"

Apprehension sunk further, chilling Don. "What do you mean?"

"She's breathing hard, too. Oh, God."

"Shuǐ"—Raph put his face cheek-to-cheek with Don's to speak through the break—"ya gotta keep yer cool. Freakin' out's just gunna hurt Melody more."

"I know, but…What do I do?" Another sniffle. "Ow."

"Ya okay, Ni?"

"F—fine."

"You sure?" Don knew he sounded pushy, yet ignored his brother's confused glare. "Were you hit?"

"Um…"

"Be honest."

"M—Mel needs help. And I can't find Pez or Klunk. Or Mikey."

"That's not an answer, Nia."

"But—"

Don slammed a palm against the crumbling stonework. "It's important, dammit! Where were you hit? Your pelvis?"

"What's her pelvis gotta do wit' anythin', Genius?"

The purple-masked Chūnin sent a look at Raph then stole the flashlight from the hothead's hands. He shined its beam through the crack, although scarce details were revealed in the opposing room. Nia's bloody back, at most. It reflected off Melody's robotic arms to a point. Michelangelo was nowhere in sight.

"Shit. Nia?" The light shook with Donatello. "I—I'll call LH. He can help us move debris, so…"

"Something's wrong; I can feel it," Nia said.

"I get that Mel isn't doing good, okay?"

"No, Donny. It—it's something else."

Like an aftershock? What sense did that make? Yet Donatello felt the shaky movement below his feet. He stepped back on the ramp as Raphael stole the flashlight, glancing around for an answer. He saw Splinter stand, just for a moment when the light beam twirled. The rat gimped forward, a ceiling chunk landing with a splash in a puddle near him.

"Sensei!" Don yelled.

"How are my children, Donatello?" It seemed like Splinter's cry loosened the stone pieces from their precarious perches, although Don knew otherwise.

"We can't reach them, not without help," Don answered. His head twisted back to the only current light source, squinting. "Wait…is there a new break in that room?"

"Ni? Ni! What do ya see?"

No reply came from the artist. Clicks from rocks hitting each other answered in her stead. That, and a whirl. Electric powered. A low hum. Like a hand-held drill on steroids. What confused Donny the most was how the new light source increased when the trembles moved from the room he stood in to the one beyond the blockade.

They hadn't called for help yet.

"Knock, knock!" someone called out. Male. Adult with a slight Jersey accent. Don could determine no more than that as he placed his chin on Raphael's head.

The Sai master squirmed below his sibling, stuffing an arm though the slim opening that it couldn't fit through. "Nia, run!"

Useless. A dart hit Nia in the shoulder. It kept her on her knees then brought her down, her head thumping against the concrete. Two males in black gear entered, one shorter than the other. The tallest—an Asian whose crooked smile hid his eyes atop his cheeks—tucked a gun into his pant's waist band. The barrel length spanned Don's forearm, easy, and he would bet money it was responsible for Nia's unconsciousness.

"Unbelievable," the Asian said. "To think they actually live down here. But not one of them is…well, call my Daddy a monkey's uncle."

"Glad we brought the care packages now?" The second man laughed from somewhere in Don's blind spot, but his excitement spoke volumes of his poor mental state.

"Touch her, assholes," Raph said, "an' ya'll never be able ta hold anythin' ever again!"

"There's where the other three must be." The Asian faced the fractured wall. He reached behind him then eased up. "Guess they're trapped."

"And here I was thinking they had blown the place on purpose. Looks like we were more prepared after all."

"I'll show ya prepared!" Two Shuriken flew through the crack. One bounced off the uneven sides while the other hit its mark. The Asian drew his hand back from Nia, falling on his butt with a curse.

"Walter, the gun! This beast is waking up."

Walter sent a glare Raphael's way before wiping his red-stained hand against his black outfit. Donatello willed for a rock to render the Asian unconscious; he felt helpless standing around. If only he could do more. If only his hands could reach the intruders.

"Mikey!" screamed Raph. "Ya need ta get up, Shell-for-Brains! Wake up an' protect yer sisters!"

A soft whip cut through the pattering water drops from behind. Mikey wouldn't be moving for a while.

"Don"—distress and anger lowered the hothead's tone, as fierce as his grip on his brother's arms—"ya gotta have somethin'."

"All my heavy-duty inventions are at the garage. I can't—I can't do anything from here."

"Bullshit! There's gotta be somethin'!"

"Let's move the lighter one first."

Attention broken, Donny leaned in close to the wall. Walter neared Nia again, a little hesitant this time.

"Should we even bother, Chet?" he asked. "Master Changeling never once mentioned—"

"She's with them, isn't she?"

Walter focused on something in the corner, where Chet's voice originated from. He then glanced at the crack.

"Yeah," he answered with a shiver. "Freaky things. Thought I was going crazy from extra work shifts when I saw 'em through my ambulance's windshield that night."

What windshield?

"Well, you weren't. Now help me before the Jammer conks out. Don't wanna think what could happen if this cyborg chick's paralysis wears off."

"Quit your nagging. This is a lot to take in."

Walter whirled. He stepped forward, rubbing his buzz cut, then stopped. A little creature blocked his path. Between Walter's legs, Don assumed it was Klunk until he saw a hint of gray and white, not orange.

Pez stood before Nia, small hooves fidgeting across the concrete. Deep grunts and bellows unlike any Don had heard before left his open under-bite, which made them seem more fitting for an animal ten times his size.

"Dear, God, what is that?" The Asian backpedaled. It was hard to tell if surprise or the creature's bared-teeth prompted him, but Pez had the courage to advance.

"That 'a boy, Pez!" Raphael's fist pump just missed Donatello's chin. "Bite 'em in the ass!"

"Fuck, Walter, it's the size of a Pomeranian. Kick it!"

"I've kicked plenty of things in my day, but this—shit!"

Walter shouldn't have turned. The moment he did, Pez complied with Raphael's demands for the first time ever. His long teeth sunk into the man's butt as easily as biting into a peach, and Water's howl filled the room as he writhed. Again and again, he punched Pez's stub head behind him. The creature never budged.

"Shoot it, Idiot," Chet said—a disembodied voice in the genius' eyes.

"Its damn teeth has the thing pinned!"

"Oh, for the love of."

Footfalls approached Walter. Chet held something with a fine point whose silhouette riled bad memories for Donny. The man dug it into the tender flesh below Pez's head-plate armor. Few seconds passed. Slowly, Pez's mouth grew slack, and before he fell from Walter's butt, Chet snap kicked the beast into a bolder.

Pez bounced then dropped, motionless.

"Sons 'a bitches!"

"Raph!" Don pushed down his brother's arm, so he could see again.

"How's your ass?"

"Shut up, Chet. He could've paralyzed me."

Chet chuckled at the Asian who touched a dark spot that soaked his backside. "You should've kicked when you could."

Walter blanched.

"Move on, Walt. Master Changeling said these Shells will enhance our strength. I'll carry the girl and the cyborg. You take the turtle beast."

"Shells?" Raph asked near a whisper. "Ain't those the enhancement suits Mike 'n Pink got? Thought they looked a little familiar."

"Yeah," Donny answered. "They're supposed to have the only two left in existence. Marco burned the rest."

Or so the story goes.

"Here's to testing." Several steps placed Walter out of Don's field of vision. The Chūnin hated that, about as much as he hated how Chet slung Nia over his shoulder.

"Let her go!" Raph bellowed.

Chet smiled. "Nearly a year of nightmares. Now, I can finally see what you are. They said I was hallucinating. Roy, especially. Yet here you are. And it's going to make me rich. Don't worry; if this deal goes well, we'll be back for you three before you starve."

Raphael roared. He beat the wall, kicked, and cursed. All in vain.

Walter bypassed Chet, his load a familiar green lump, and the shorter man picked up Melody's foot without any respect for her well-being. They left the room through an opening where a bright beam shined through. When the clanks, squeaks, and shuffling stopped, though, so did the light.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Raphael kicked ahead.

"He mentioned a rich future," Splinter added.

Ashamed at having forgotten him, Don offered a hand to steady the mutant rat on the ramp. He held their flashlight in his paws. When had that been dropped?

"Do they plan on—on selling our clan?"

"Ni was just startin' ta get over what happened last year!" Raph cried. "Like hell I'm gunna let some greedy nobody drag her back inta that darkness!"

"Same goes for Michelangelo," grumbled Splinter.

"Okay, okay." Donny shook his head, even if it did little to steadyt it. "Here's the plan. We call LH. Get out. Fire up the Battle Shell. Track Mel. At least we know they'll stay together."

"How are ya so calm, Genius?"

Did he look calm? He sure didn't feel calm and swallowed thickly so he wouldn't prove otherwise by barfing.

"Leo would be calm," Donny told Raph. "If we panic, we'll only hinder ourselves."

"They took Mel too!"

"Raph!" Adrenaline jolted through the purple-mask Chūnin, urging his fist to meet his brother's face. He ignored it. "I saw what happened."

"Ya were freakin' out earlier. Did ya forget that?" Raph's question registered like knives against Donny's brain. "An—an' ya never answered. Why were ya so worried about her stomach? I—is there somethin' I should know?"

Donatello turned his head in a slow, stiff move. Raphael's bright eyes glinted within the flashlight's beam and his subsequent growl let Don know the matter wouldn't be dropped.

Guess now was as good a time as any. He'd find out soon enough…