hurray! i finished chapter six! sorry about the wait i was justhaving a bit *cough* a bit of writers block, i think it'll go a little faster now, but no promises!

Leo groaned, was he dead, drowned? It didn't feel like it, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be feeling pain in heaven. Unless he hadn't gone to- never mind. He was obviously alive and he felt his heart began to pound. Where was he? Had Donnie found him? Please no. He couldn't bear the silence in the lair, and his father...he was a failure.

As Leonardo grew more aware of his surroundings, he felt the sand underneath his eyelids begin to burn, and felt water lapping at his feet. He rubbed his hand slowly along the ground, sand. He managed to open his eyes, only to snap them shut again, the sunlight was really bright. He cracked his eyelids and groaned, getting accustomed to the bright light. Then he tried to move his arms, they were stiff, and a strange color, he could only assume he was sunburned, though he'd never had been before.

Leo sat up, disoriented, the water lapping at his feet spread out into an enormous blue sheet that touched the edges of the sky, the ocean. As the blue clad turtle looked around, he found out two things. One, he was on a sandbar near an island. Two, the island was the only land he could see.

He got shakily to his feet and rubbed his head, his finger caught on the worn out, sun bleached blue mask over his eyes. He pulled it down around his neck and checked to see if his katanas were still in place on his back. Miraculously, one had stayed in it's scabbard but the other wasn't there. Leo sighed and his throat burned with salt and dehydration. He hoped beyond hope that there was freshwater on that island.

Leo tentatively stepped into the ocean, the water felt cool on his bare feet, his wraps must have fallen off, and as he waded in deeper he could feel his strength slowly returning, not fully of course. He waded in until he had to swim, and then took a breath, he plunged down into the water and pushed himself forward with his arms, the water tugging at his mask around his neck, he debated opening his eyes and finally decided to. He was met by an amazing sight, it was like an underwater rainforest, huge spires of coral reached up from the ocean floor and fish scattered as he let himself go to the surface, he treaded water and peered at the island, it was farther away than he'd thought, so he dove underwater again and swam until the ocean floor rose up to meet him, and then he walked, his chest and arms rising out of the water as he strode forward, he stepped out onto the sun warmed sand and looked along the beach. There didn't seem to be any civilization. Leo decided it would be best to search for freshwater, because if there wasn't any he'd die of thirst. He staggered up the sand dunes and scanned the edge of the forest for a stream, it made sense that the it would flow into the ocean, so he decided to walk along the edge of the trees, he set off underneath the shade, but in sight of the beach. He wondered if mikey or Raph had come home yet, but then pushed them into the back of his mind, he had failed them, so he shouldn't think of them.

After what seemed to be hours, and it possibly was, Leo literally stumbled across a small stream, stumbled meaning he face planted in it. But he managed to ignore the pain in his nose from hitting a rock as he scooped up a handful of the water and brought it to his lips, it was fresh. A sigh of relief escaped his parched lips. He swallowed the mouthful and looked up at the sky, the clouds were pink and purple, red streams streaked across the sky. He had to find a place to sleep.

The darkness was almost swallowing, it surrounded hims and he covered his ear slits. The shouts of his brothers as they left haunted him to the fullest extent.

I said i quit!you quit all the time, what makes me different?

Yeah? Well i'm sick of you acting like you have to tell us what to do all the time!

I'm a failure…

Donatello jerked upright, gasping for breath, he stared down at his trembling hands laying on top of his blanket. Why did his mind have to do this to him? He used to be glad it was always busy, always something to think about. But now that they were always on his mind...he almost hated himself for thinking of what may have happened to his brothers. Donatello got out of bed and walked to the dojo to find splinter deep in meditation, Donnie had never enjoyed meditation that much, finding it difficult to clear his mind, but now he wanted to clear it.

The purple masked turtle knelt next to his father silently, cast a worried glance at him, he seemed so old now. It was...terrifying to say the least. Donnie closed his eyes and concentrated on clearing his thoughts, for a moment it seemed to work, but then a landscape rolled out around him, trees, hundreds of trees, there was birdsong too, but that was not the only song he could hear.

"She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes…" a voice sang halfheartedly, Donnie sprinted towards it, weaving through the trees to find him.

"Mikey!" he shouted, "I'm coming!"

"She'll be- oh whatever, i don't even wanna sing." the singing stopped, replaced by footsteps on the crinkled leaves below, Donnie rounded a corner and saw his younger brother walking towards the west, why was he so far away?

"Mikey!"

"I wonder…" mikey muttered, "nah, it's fine." the orange masked turtle rubbed an improvised bandage that was on his face, "not infected." Donnie sprinted towards Mikey, he was so close, his brother was right there, but the ninja ran right through his brother and both their forms dissipated.

When the darkness faded from donatello's eyes he was on a cliff, staring down on a rocky valley, the side of the cliff was an anthill of holes, caves large enough to fit houses, and it wouldn't surprise him if tunnels connected them all. The rattling of stones startled him and he turned, nothing was there, and then a few rocks tumbled down the mountainside and the purple clad ninja jumped out of the way of the rockslide. His eyes widened when he saw a figure on top of a flat stone, riding the rockslide like a wave.

"This is legit!" Raph yelled, "i could never do this at ho-o-ah!" he fell from his perch and donnie gasped, he stared into the mess of rocks for some glimpse of his red masked brother, the rocks tumbled away and he spotted his brothers prostrate from, the turtle groaned and lifted himself onto his elbows. "Ow…"

"Raph!" donnie shouted, "can you hear me?" his brother did not respond. Raph clambered it his feet and winced, grabbing his arm.

"Stupid rocks." he mumbled, "wish i never left home." Donnie felt relief flood through him, maybe raph would come back! "But it's not like they'd want me if i stayed." the red masked turtle continued to himself, limping into the depths of a cave. Donatello raced after his brother, but as soon as he entered to cave he fell onto soft sand, as he took in his surroundings he saw he was on a beach. A small island by the looks of it, a freshwater stream gurgled nearby and seagulls cawed from above.

"Where-" the turtle stopped when he saw a figure crouched by the stream. The figure was obviously leo, but what was he doing? Then it struck donnie, his brother was meditating. "Leo!" the blue masked turtle lifted his head and glanced around, then resumed his meditation,

"Where are you," he muttered, "i know i can find you if i try."

"I'm right here leo!" Donnie shouted, running to his brothers side and waving his hand over leo's face, "i'm here, come home!" leo reached out and touched to surface of the water, he reached right through donnie to do so and donnie felt himself slip away. "No!"

"My son, are you alright?" Donnie blinked to find himself sitting in the dojo, Splinter looked concernedly at him. "I Did not hear you come in."

"I-i was just meditating sensei." Donnie replied, "It was..just a dream. I must've dozed off. I'm sorry."

"Do not apologise my son." splinter said, "you were not dreaming, you were visiting, i can see it in your eyes that you have seen your brothers, they are alive and well?"

"Hai." Donnie murmured, lowering his gaze,"they are fine father." he tried not to think of mike, injured and alone, or raph, nearly crushed,or leo, stranded in the ocean.

"That is good." splinter sighed, "thank you Donatello." Donnie looked up at his father and noticed again how old he seemed.

"Are you ok, father?" the turtle asked, Splinter sighed and his ears sagged, he seemed even older now.

"I...will be alright." he sighed, "i will live to see you and your brothers together again, i know." Donatello felt a thrill of fear, his father thought he would die soon?

"Do you want me to check your vitals?" he suggested, "so i can keep you healthy until...they return?" Splinter Hesitated, then shook his head.

"You must focus on finding them and bringing them home Donatello." he murmured, "nearly a year has passed and Michelangelo has not come home, they will need a push in the right direction."

"hai sensei." Donnie said regretfully, "father-"

"Yes my son."

"It's my fault Mikey left." the purple clad ninja choked out, "and no one even blamed me for it, leo and raph just fought, they fought each other." Splinter took the young ninja in his arms and squeezed him gently.

"Donatello." he murmured, "it is not your fault. Michelangelo needed to teach himself that he could make his own way, before returning to live with his brothers again." the rat sighed, "and Raphael...he will learn to control his temper, for i believe it is guilt that keeps him from returning, as for Leonardo…" Splinter pulled away and shrugged helplessly, "his greatest fear was to lose his team, his brothers, and he believed it had happened, he did not understand that the story i told him...was just a story."

"H-hai." Donnie sniffled, sitting back and wiping his eyes, "thank you father...but-"

"No buts Donatello." Splinter said sternly, "now you should get some sleep, come, i will make you a tea that brings you a dreamless sleep, your dreams are troubled still."

"Yes father." Donnie said softly, he got up and followed his father into the kitchen, feeling only a little better. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind...if he had just kept to himself like he usually did, his family would still be whole.

I've been thinking...one action can change an entire world, my world, Mikey's world, leo's world...Raph's world. And not just them, my father's world, we've all been effected, April and casey are at college, they know though, and i'm sure it changed their worlds. I wonder...what could i have done different so many times to change our world? What if i always managed to hack the kraang portals and computers on my first try? Would the first invasion even have happened? What if i hadn't fallen for April? She might have been used to conquer the earth..so many consequences for one small action. If only...if oly i could have noticed sooner what my actions might do. My family would still be whole. But it's not. I stuck my foot six inches to my left...and i broke our family. Mikey can outrun Raph, he's the fastest, but my foot caused our family to fall apart. My actions, my actions will be better from now on. I'll think even more about what i'm doing, and i'll build our family back up. For splinter, my father.

okey dokey! so this chapter is finished, i just wanted to assure you that leo was still alive and then go to the lair,m which you obviously have seen...so yeah! thanks for all the reviews of encouragement i got after posting the last one...about my writers block, it really made me feel like people actually care about this book, which is great! don't forget to R&R to this chapter!