A/N: Thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me. And thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Disclaimer: see chapter one

Donatello once again found himself sitting in front of Alfredson's old computer. He had been searching the hard drive for any information Alfredson had stored that could lead him to Raphael's location. Donatello had discovered a hidden cache of some old e-mails that were encrypted. After breaking the encryption he had found several messages sent to a guy named Aaron Travis. The turtle shifted in his chair and clicked on one of the first messages, wondering who this Aaron Travis guy was. The message didn't contain much information; just a friendly invitation to meet and have a chat about his artwork. According to the message, Travis was some kind of extreme artist. Donatello went through a few more messages before things started to take on a different and darker tone. The more Alfredson and Travis chatted, the more twisted the messages became. It was no longer about art, but about torture; or as Alfredson called it "The Art of Torture".

Donatello put a hand over his mouth as his eyes grew wide with horror. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Alfredson was training someone to become a another Grim Reaper. Just when he thought Alfredson couldn't get any more sickening. Donatello clicked on the last message, dread and fear making his stomach churn. It was Alfredson's final e-mail and it was dated to be automatically sent the night he died should he not return to disable the automated mailing setting.

Dear Travis,

If you are reading this, it means I am no longer among the living. Do not fret, for this is the reason I have been training you. Your time has come at last. You are finally ready to carry on my legacy and become the new Reaper. My killer is a mutant turtle who wears a red bandana and goes by the name of Raphael. I made sure he had no other choice but to kill me if he wanted to keep his brothers alive. But they will never be safe, not while you are around. Find him, Aaron. Find him and make sure he knows what happens when one crosses the Grim Reaper. Tell Ash that I love her and not to worry. My death will be avenged by your hands. Go now and finish what I have started. Good luck, my friend.

Derek Alfredson

Tears streamed down Donatello's face as he finished reading the grisly e-mail. It had been a trap all along. Raphael was never supposed to make it out of that fight unscathed. Alfredson had made sure that he was going to die by Raphael's hand and no other. Donatello put a hand over his eyes and tried to keep himself from breaking down. If Travis had been trained by Alfredson then Raphael was as good as dead. From the e-mails, Travis had become a cold-blooded, methodical torturer. He made sure his victim suffered severely until their dying breath. If Raphael had fallen into Travis's hands then it would be better off if they didn't find him alive.

Just then, Donatello's shell cell started to ring. He picked it up from the desk and opened it, placing it to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered softly.

"Did you find anything that would help us find Raph?" Leonardo asked anxiously.

Donatello wiped the tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah," he replied. "A guy by the name of Aaron Travis was Alfredson's apprentice. Alfredson trained Travis to take over for him after he died."

"You have an address?" Leonardo asked.

Donatello took another breath and slowly let it out. "Uh...yeah. The Bronx. 248th. House number ten."

"The Bronx?" Leonardo repeated. "We're in the middle of Manhattan."

"I'm just telling you what I found," Donatello snapped sharply.

Leonardo frowned. "What's wrong, Donnie?" he asked quietly, his voice laced with concern.

"Nothing," Donatello answered, a bit too quickly. "Call me when you find something."

Before Leonardo could say anything, Donatello ended the call and dropped the shell cell on the desk. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He stared at the e-mail and could only imagine what Travis was putting Raphael through. However, something bugged him. Who was Ash? It was the first time the name came up in the e-mails between Alfredson and Travis. Donatello began going through the files again, hoping to find something that would give this Ash person a face. He came across some pictures of Alfredson and a young woman in different parts of the city. The more pictures he looked at, the wider Donatello's eyes grew, until he came to one picture that was just of a young girl dressed in a Halloween Grim Reaper's costume and the caption on the bottom read, "Daddy's little girl."

"Oh shell," Donatello whispered in horror.

Leonardo stood in an alley across the street from the house Donatello had told him about. It was already nightfall and the knowledge that Raphael was still in the clutches of a sadistic torturer made his stomach churn with worry. Leonardo looked around to see if anyone was around before running across the street and heading to the backyard, staying close to the shadows. He turned the doorknob on the back door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He frowned in suspicion. No one left their doors unlocked in New York City; not unless it was a trap.

Slipping out one of his swords, Leonardo opened the door and made his way inside. It looked like the home of a normal, everyday human; a bit on the clean side to the point of being almost too clean and perfect. With his defenses on full alert, Leonardo searched the house. Again, it seemed as if the house was too picture-perfect. He made his way upstairs and searched the bedrooms. The search turned up nothing, until he found his way into another room that he assumed was Travis's. A computer sat on a desk on the far side of the room. Leonardo went over to the desk and turned the computer on. He huffed in irritation when he found that it was password protected. Taking out his shell cell, he speed dialed Donatello's number.

"Did you find anything?" his brother's voice asked after the second ring.

"I think I found Travis's computer," Leonardo said. "But it's password protected."

"Search for anything that might stand out as a possible password," Donatello instructed.

Sheathing his sword and placing the phone on the desk, Leonardo began going through the drawers to find anything that might have been used as a password. While going through the desk drawers, Leonardo came across a large and very thick, leather bound journal. He picked it up and began going through it. With each turn of the page, Leonardo got more and more sick. Each page was filled with detailed notes on different torture techniques and how to apply them. Leonardo turned to the final page and his breath hitched in anguish when he found a picture of Raphael strapped to a table, bloody and beaten. Leonardo couldn't tell if Raphael was still alive; so much blood covered him, his emerald skin was more crimson than green. The leader's eyes drifted down to the bottom of the page where a caption in bold red letters said, "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds~ J. Robert Oppenheimer".

"Leo?" Donatello's voice inquired softly on the other end of the line. "Did you find anything?"

Leonardo shook his head and snapped the book shut. Travis was messing with him; his brother was still alive. He would have felt something if he had died…wouldn't he? Dropping the journal onto the desk, Leonardo sat down in the chair and began going through different passwords he had found; none of them worked. Growling, Leonardo looked around the room. His eyes fell on a picture on the bedside table. He picked up the phone and placed it to his ear.

"Does Travis have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Don't know," Donatello answered. "But, in one e-mail, Alfredson mentions someone by the name of Ash."

Leonardo leaned his shoulder against the back of the phone to keep it to his ear while he typed in the name Ash and pressed enter. The computer unlocked with a ding. With a heavy sigh, Leonardo began going through the files on the computer. Again, it contained more torture techniques and e-mails linking Travis to Alfredson. It was enough to make Leonardo sick. However, there were a couple of e-mails between Travis and Ash. They were mostly love letters, but the more Leonardo read, the more details about his brother's disappearance was revealed.

"You still there, Leo?" Donatello asked after several silent minutes.

Leonardo took a hold of the phone again. "Yeah, I'm here. Do you know who this Ash person is? I found a bunch of e-mails going back and forth between Travis and someone by the name of Ash."

Donatello closed out of the picture of the young woman. "No idea," he lied, pretending he had never found the picture or figured out who she was.

Leonardo huffed in agitation. "There's nothing here," he said. "All that's here is torture methods. There's no location for where he's holding Raph."

Donatello went through Alfredson's e-mails again, checking to see if there was something he had missed. He straightened up in the chair. "Alfredson owned some land outside of the city. He had something built out there, not sure what, though."

Leonardo nodded. "Okay. I'm coming back to get the Battle Shell," he said.

"Okay," Donatello replied softly.

The brothers hung up at the same time. Donatello re-read Alfredson's final e-mail to Travis again and his heart sank into his stomach. He had to break the news to Leonardo somehow. Raphael had been in Travis's hands for three days now; the chances of them finding Raphael alive was dwindling into the single digits. He just didn't know how he was going to tell his older brother.

When Leonardo walked into the lair an hour later to get the keys for the Battle Shell, he found Donatello sitting on the couch. Frowning slightly, Leonardo walked over to the couch to find Donatello staring at the shell fragment that was held gently in his hands. It was clean of the blood and the tracking chip had been removed. Leonardo knew that there was something on his brother's mind.

"What's wrong, Donnie?" the brother in blue asked quietly.

"Besides Raph being in the clutches of a cold-blooded and sadistic torturer?" Donatello asked numbly.

Leonardo's frown deepened. "What is it, Don?"

Donatello took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He began shaking his head. "I can't," he whispered sadly.

"You can't what?" Leonardo asked.

"I can't face Raph. Not after three days of torture," Donatello finally confessed miserably.

"What are you talking about?" Leonardo questioned in shock.

Donatello held up the shell fragment. "If he's still alive, will he be the same Raphael we knew him to be?" he asked softly.

"There's no 'if' about it, Don. We will find him alive," Leonardo insisted.

Donatello looked up at his brother. "He's been gone for three days, Leo," he said in a hushed voice. "The injuries that he sustained over that period by that psycho...if he somehow manages to survive, he'll probably be crippled for the rest of his life. Do we want that kind of life for him? That's torture in itself."

Leonardo swallowed hard, nervous about his next question. "What are you saying, Don?" he asked gently.

Tears began to fill Donatello's eyes and he had to look away. "Maybe it's best if we don't find Raph alive," he whispered wretchedly.

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