Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
Donatello sat at a chair in the basement. He was alone. He was surrounded by darkness. The dark pressed in on him. The glow of his computer was nearly swallowed by it. His coffee brown gaze scanned over the monitor. He leaned back in his cushioned chair. He glanced at the time on his screen and nodded. It was late night, almost the morning of the next day. He'd been working for nearly two days non-stop. Ever since Leo's sudden disappearance, he had remained quiet, withdrawn, and had lived in the basement over the past month or so. No one had bothered him. They were all searching still.
Searching for Leo.
So far there was still no trace of their missing brother. No one knew what had happened. No one knew why he left. He never came back. He never called or messaged anyone. Everyone's phone calls had met his voice-mail. It was like Leo had just vanished from the face of the earth. He had run off, much faster than anyone else but Michelangelo. Mikey, however, had not been very fond of Leo at that time and had not chased after him at a dead sprint. So, Leo was gone without a trace. No one knew where he might have gone. They had no clues. No information to go off of. Only that Leo had not been in the right mind when he had left, and might be dead now.
Only now did Mikey regret not chasing after Leo. Mikey regretted it so much now. He was quiet most of the time. Never ate. Never slept. Never did anything unless it involved searching for Leo. The search would end soon, Donatello knew it. They hadn't found Leo or any trail of him. They needed to go back to New York City soon. Donatello couldn't wait.
He wasn't eager to return home. He just didn't want to be around April's questioning gaze anymore. He didn't want to be near her. He didn't want to think about her. His thoughts turned dark at the mention of April. If he thought about her for too long, he knew something bad would happen. He could be coaxed into forcibly moving her and Casey apart. He didn't want to do that, or at least he knew it would end badly if he did. Because, Donatello very much wanted to drive them apart. He wanted her away from Casey. As far away as possible. Casey was bad for her, according to some of his more emotionally driven thoughts.
So Don wanted to leave. He wanted out. He wanted out of the situation he had been thrown into. He popped his neck and sighed as he stared at his computer screen. His program was done. His work was done. What now?
He glanced at the door that led out of the basement. He wondered if Mikey was going to recover from his quiet state and how Raph was dealing with everything else since Leo abandoned them.
~.~.~.~
Raphael stood in the kitchen of the farmhouse, working on the stovetop. He glanced down at the boiling pot of water and added some salt before pouring pasta shells into it. He turned to the oven where rolls of bread were baking. He had to admit, he was getting better at the cooking thing. He turned to the stovetop and shifted some chicken thighs around in a pan, making sure they weren't burning. He glanced at the doorway that had been broken a month ago. He sighed and leaned against the counter.
Why did Leo run off like that?
His gaze dropped to the ground. His brother had been acting off a little lately, what had started it? Raph shook his head. It would've had to have been something pretty bad to set Leo off like that. Although, considering what the guy had been through, Raph didn't blame him. He was actually surprised that Leo had still remained with them after everything that had happened. Leo had been tortured, electrocuted, forced to trade places with his worst enemy, unable to contact anyone he truly cared about, attacked by those he loved, and he even gave his heart to Mikey as a last resort to save his baby brother despite the cost of his own life. Hell, Leo was still able to pull through with them after that. He had still been the Leo they had grown up with. Then the Foot attacked again, and everything about Leo changed.
Leo got into that major battle with the Shredder, costing him his left eye and the death of the Shredder. Raph had always thought that when the Shredder was finally killed, that everything would finally be alright. That everything would be better off. He had never felt so wrong.
With the Shredder dead, Master Splinter was gone with him, and now, so was Leo. Their older brother left, without a word, and no explanation. Raph rubbed the bridge of his brows tiredly. Was this how their family would fall apart? Don never talked with anyone; he kept to himself in the basement, preferring the company of his computer over anything else. Mikey took Leo's departure the worst. He didn't do anything other than search for Leo now. The past three weeks had been a sort of hell on the baby brother. Mikey regretted not speaking with Leo when the eldest was still around.
Raph felt differently. Talking to Leo wouldn't have made any difference at all. He knew Leo better than that. When their eldest brother was dead set on something, he could not be swayed. Leo had changed. There was nothing to be done anymore. They had searched for him but there was nothing else to be done. It was apparent that Leo didn't want to be found.
April and Casey had backed off lately, and they felt that Leo's disappearance had to do with them. They thought it was their fault. Raph shook his head. He had hoped that coming out to the farmhouse would ease tensions. He had hoped to heal old wounds. He had been wrong and now he was the leader.
Raphael sighed and turned back to his cooking.
~.~.~.~
Scalding water sprayed down from the showerhead, it pelted Michelangelo's skin with the pattering sound of rain. He sat with his legs sprawled out before him in the shower, his shell to the wall. He stared at the shower's floor tiles. The water burned him and caused his skin to flush red, but he ignored it. He didn't care about it. It was his entire fault.
Leo was gone because of him.
The same person who had thrown his life away to save Mikey… and Mikey had turned his shell on him. How could he have done it? How could he have been so cold to the person who was always there for him?
His big brother…gone… and it was his fault. It was Mikey's fault.
He should've talked to Leo. He should've been there for him. Leo had never abandoned him when he needed help. Leo had always watched over Mikey with a tender gaze. Mikey had taken advantage. He had taken Leo for granted, knowing subconsciously that Leo was hurting. Leo was hurting inside, no matter what anyone had said, Mikey knew it. He had heard it in Leo's voice.
He slowly lifted his blue gaze to the ceiling, tears forming in his eyes. He had known that Leo was troubled. He had known his eldest brother was tired and sad. So sad. And Mikey had done nothing about it. He hadn't said a word. He didn't do anything to help. He, who was supposed to be Leo's closest friend, had abandoned his brother when Leo needed him the most. He had heard his brother—not literally. Leo had been silent and impassive, but Mikey could tell that on the inside, he was weeping. Leo was so tired and had felt so much pain… and Mikey had done nothing to help him.
Mikey closed his eyes as his shoulders shook with sobs that were drowned out by the constant drumming of the water on the shower tiles and his own sensitive skin. This was his fault.
Mikey knew Leo. He knew his brother. He knew Leo wouldn't want to come back. Not for a long time, or not at all.
~.~.~.~
Donatello sat at his computer typing away in his dimly lit lab. It was late. Dark circles were under his tired brown gaze. He hadn't slept well in weeks. None of them had. Leo had been gone for three months
now and no one knew what had happened to him. They didn't even know if he was still alive. Don felt like an inconsiderate jerk. That first month that Leo had been gone, he hadn't helped much to find
their missing brother. Now Mikey had retreated even further inside of himself. It was hard to look at Mikey these days. He was nothing like how he was. He never did anything that he wanted to do anymore. It was always either sitting and staring into space, doing what he was told, or talking about Leo. It didn't even feel like he was there anymore but as a constant presence. Like a shadow of his former self.
Raph was the big brother now. He kept them together by having them all sit together for dinner. No one talked. It was always him talking and no one else but a few words of input from Don and a nod or grunt from Mikey. He led the morning training sessions. He kept the lair clean. He still went out on patrols, making sure that Don and Mikey knew when he left. He was far more responsible. He was even working at a mechanic shop. He worked the nights and picked up the money that the owners left for him.
He was doing everything right. He had changed so much for the better in the past few months.
He was tired though, Don could see it. Raphael was shouldering all the burdens that Leo normally would. He did everything around the lair. He cleaned, he cooked, he bought groceries, and he always checked up on Mikey and Don.
He was trying very hard to be Leo, and it was admirable, but he wasn't Leo.
Don leaned back in his chair and scanned over the computer screen. He had been spending the past few months trying to track Leo down, but he hadn't had any leads at all. Now that he was away from April and Casey, he had been able to concentrate more on the task but it was nearly impossible. Leo was a ninja, if he didn't want to be found then no one would find him. Don sighed and cradled his head in his
hands. He felt hopeless. Their brother was gone yet again.
He didn't know how to find him anymore. He had tried everything. Maybe it was time to accept that Leo was gone. They had to move on.
Leo was an adult, he could take care of himself and if he wanted to leave, that was his thing. Don just wished Leo had left on better terms and had told them that he was leaving.
He had to worry about his other two brothers now. He couldn't just ignore them and search for Leo as much as they seemed to need him.
Donatello stood up from the desk and turned towards the door before freezing. His hand tightened on the back of his chair as his wide coffee brown gaze stared ahead in a mix of shock and horror.
A skeletal creature that was mostly shadow stood lurking half in and half out of the shadows near the doorway. It seemed hunched over on itself. It reached out with a bony hand covered in gray fuzz. There was a cracking sound as its fingers twitched. Don took a step back and reached for the bo staff that rested against his desk.
"Donnie." It's raspy voice creaked. Don's breath hitched as the voice grated against his consciousness. He wrapped a hand around his bo staff.
"How did you get in here?" He managed to say as he brought his staff up to bear. He swallowed but kept himself at the ready for anything.
The skeletal creature tilted its head to the side in a slow falling movement that elicited another crack like that of a bone snapping into position. "Donnie...brothers..." It whispered like a paper rustling. It was so quiet that Donatello could only catch pieces of what it said.
"Wait, what about my brothers?" Don asked, his grip tightening on his staff as he tried to piece the strange encounter together.
The creature slowly slipped back into the shadows, raising a bony finger to its mouth. "Help... them... too... late."
"Hey! Get back here! Too late for what?!" Don's voice escalated as he darted forward, his mind racing with wild thoughts and a fearful panic even as it ran on its reserves.
Don's palm slapped against cold stone. Whoever had just talked to him was now gone. Somehow, the creature had simply disappeared. Don shook his head and took a step back. "Things don't just disappear. Where did it go? Not even a master ninja could vanish like that." He whispered to himself as his tired gaze swept over the solid stone wall.
Don slipped his bo staff into the strap on his shell before rubbing his hands over his head. He sighed. "Maybe my sleep deprivation is finally affecting me."
He glanced at the small bed in the corner of his room.
"But there's just too much to do. Too many things and never enough time. I'll get some sleep later. Maybe some coffee will settle my nerves for now." He murmured to himself.
Don turned towards the door and opened it before heading into the kitchen. He went about the kitchen, opening cabinets and pouring water into a coffee pot before starting the coffee maker. He leaned against the counter and waited for the inevitable beep that signaled the end of brewing and the beginning of liquid caffeine.
Don glanced at the kitchen table to spot a map with black ink trailed over parts of it. He frowned. So his brothers were patrolling the city. No wonder Raph hadn't checked up on Don in a while. Yet, why
hadn't Raph told him before he left?
Don yawned. Maybe Raph had said something and Don hadn't paid much attention to him. Don had been so engrossed in his work that he didn't deny the verify or possibility of his hypothesis.
He straightened and his hand shot up to his bo staff instinctively as he heard a series of crashes. He glanced around.
"Raph? Mikey?" He asked aloud.
Silence.
Don slipped his bo staff free of its sheath and headed out into the dark living room. All of the lights in the lair were off.
Don's gaze had narrowed in suspicion and he retreated into extreme caution. His security system should have activated. No one but his brothers and a few select others should be able to get inside the
lair.
"Who's there?" Don asked in a much more stiff and sharp tone. There was a grunt of effort that caused Don to turn sharply in its direction.
"Raph got hurt." Mikey's voice, lacking its humorous ring, echoed in the darkness. Don turned to a lever that controlled the lights and pushed it up into position. The floodlights came to life with a humming sound.
Don dropped his bo staff at the sight.
Raph leaned heavily on Mikey's shoulder while the younger terrapin supported him with most of his body weight. Blood dripped from multiple slashes on Raph's body and it streamed from his mouth and
down his throat. His feral amber gaze was glowing with anger.
" The Foot and Karai are back. I guess Leo didn't have the balls to kill her." Raph growled.
A/N: Please review, this chapter took me awhile to figure out. I finally figured out my problem with this story and I should be good now :)