Mikey kept his palms pressed flat against his ears, grimacing now for what felt like hours. He didn't know an argument could last this long and still be in full heat, though now none of them really seemed to be listening to each other. They'd reached the point that they were all yelling at once, trying to be heard all at once and yet too stubborn to back down. Even if he dropped his hands, all hope of following the argument would've been futile. And yet, he wasn't sure why he was still standing there. Probably the same reason Splinter hadn't yet intervened, though it was no question whatsoever that the old rat knew what was happening.

He'd been looming in the shadows under one of the archways to the dojo, the divider pulled back just enough to keep him concealed, for at least long enough that Mikey had stopped glancing over at him in hope that he'd put an end to this.

The youngest was quite unsettled. He never knew his sensei to stand statically off to the side as an argument carried out before him. Usually, five seconds in he'd break out his pressure-point intervention and paralyze everyone involved. But then again, Mikey and his brothers normally settled their arguments with a few punches and a little wrestling.

This time, for whatever reason, neither Raph, Leo, nor Karai had moved from their respective sides of the pit. It was rather amazing actually; especially considering how quickly Raph had been willing to attack Karai earlier that morning. This time he was staying his ground, and Mikey couldn't help but wonder if Leo's presence was the agent that kept that red-banded hothead from moving.

Mikey frowned as the volume of the argument bubbled around him like he was listening to it under water, dampened by the thump of his own heartbeat.

He shifted his eyes to the side and caught a glimpse of April shuffling toward the entrance. He nearly ran to stop her, maybe tell her to go back home or something so she wouldn't have to sit in the middle of this too, but he thought Donnie would be smart enough to do that himself.

However, Donnie did not appear, and April's movements were slow, as though she was dragging her feet. No … as though she was limping.

Mikey finally let his hands fall away from his ears, but the uproar no longer bothered him. He trotted over to meet April at the turnstiles and rushed forward with alarm when she looked up at him and completely crumpled.

He caught her in his arms and gazed wide-eyed at her tousled hair and bruise-spotted skin.

"April, what happened?" His eyes glanced over her and then around her, taking in the yawning absence of his brother. He met her gaze again. "Where's Donnie?"

Her eyes immediately glossed over, and her lips sealed themselves as if of their own accord. Her head shook, and she held out her hand.

He looked down at it and the purple strip of cloth wrapped around her fist. A sharp inhale closed itself in his throat, and he slowly eased her fingers open to confirm what he was looking at.

His teeth came together behind his lips and he covered her hands with his own.

"Leo!"

He began to stand, but realized April was still in his grasp.

He set her down carefully, trying not to notice the tears that now freely fell down her cheeks. "Wait here."

He trotted toward the pit. "Leo …"

"Talk? You never talk to me, you don't even listen to me!" Leo was shouting, still fully engaged in verbal war. "You're not even listening now!"

"It makes no sense!" Raph was barking back.

Though neither seemed to be paying her any mind now, Karai's voice still hovered over their spat, shouting, "You can't even go five goddamn minutes without fighting! I think I liked it better when I had no siblings."

"Leo!"

Mikey's voice was buried beneath theirs. Not a single one of them glanced in his direction.

He clenched his fists and stomped down to the center of the pit, filled up his lungs and bellowed, "Shut up!"

All eyes snapped toward him as the atmosphere hiccuped under the echo of his voice. Then Raph was next to him so fast, he didn't even get to flinch before his brother snatched him up by the ridge of his plastron. "Listen, you little weasel …"

"Raph, put him down! See this is what I'm talking about," Leo said.

Raph turned to glare at his older brother, and Mikey shoved him away before he could start the argument up again. "Forget about that," he said. "Leo, Donnie's gone!"

Leo blinked, and his eyes softened as they hovered on his little brother. "What?"

"Donnie's gone," Mikey repeated. He waved an arm toward April. "They took him."

All three of them glanced over toward the turnstiles where Splinter had appeared next to April and was kneeling beside her, his hand on her shoulder, eyes glinting with something that looked like fear. April was shaking her head in tears, Donnie's mask pressed against her mouth.

For a moment, they all just stood there as though they weren't sure how to accommodate this wrench that had been chucked into the middle of their battle.

Raph seemed only able to breathe, his gaze confused. Karai stared over at April with pale cheeks and a troubled furrow to her brow. Leo's eyes were round and shifting, first taking in Splinter and April, then Mikey, then Raph. He looked back at Mikey one last time, as though to confirm the truth in his little brother's eyes. And then he was gone.

He moved so fast, Mikey didn't even get a chance to open his mouth before his brother was on the other side of the pit and running for the tunnel.

"Leo!" Raph shouted after him, his tenor caught between rage and surprise.

Splinter looked up just as Leo sprinted past and leapt over the turnstiles. "Leonardo!"

The young leader listened to no one. Mikey wasn't even sure he saw him enter the Shellraiser. One moment he was gaping at the back of his brother's shell and the next Leo was nowhere in sight. The Shellraiser started up with a rumbling growl and was taking off down the subway tracks two seconds later.

Mikey didn't realize he had joined everybody else in running toward the tracks, as though they could stop the hulking subway car with their bare hands. They were forced to skid to a halt at the edge of the platform as Leo drove away and left them all gawking after him in a stupor.

A frightening pause pressed in on the lair, and then all eyes shot to Splinter who had already put on a mask of severe composure.

"Take the go-kart. I will go on foot." He leapt down onto the tracks and began sprinting so swiftly that he became a shadow in seconds.

A knot formed in Mikey's throat. He didn't have time to glance around and remind himself why Donnie hadn't spoken up and corrected Splinter with something like, "It's a patrol buggy!" Raph was ushering him toward the little kart before he could even wrap his mind around what they were about to do.

He climbed numbly into his seat and strapped his helmet on his head with shaking hands.

"You're not coming!" Raph said to Karai. He planted himself in Leo's seat and slapped the football helmet on his head.

Karai was already gracefully sliding into Raph's spot. "Yes I am." She picked up Leo's helmet, which Raph had tossed to the side, and placed it firmly on her head.

Raph growled but said nothing else as he started up the kart and gave April two more seconds to get herself settled in Donnie's seat. She wasn't crying anymore. In fact, the resolve with which she donned Donatello's helmet was so fierce, Mikey was afraid to look at her. She kept the mask clutched tightly in her fist.

Raph stomped on the gas and they shot down the subway tracks after Leo and Splinter.

Mikey tried to catch a glimpse of his father sprinting through the shadows as they whipped through the tunnels, but everything that flew by was a blur, and he didn't think Splinter would've made himself visible anyway.

They were zipping down the middle of the street, surrounded by breezy open air, before Mikey could take in a breath. "Do you think he went to Shredder's lair?" he shouted up toward his brother.

"Where else would he go, Mikey?" Raph snapped.

Mikey frowned and sank back against his seat, gripping the seatbelt across his plastron. "Do you think Donnie's okay?"

"Don't ask me that right now!"

Raph jerked the wheel to the left and Mikey tensed as they whipped around a corner.

"Can't you drive straight!" Karai said, her hand holding Leo's helmet in place as they barely avoided slamming into the back of a parked car.

"You, shut up!" Raph barked in response.

"Raph …"

"Mikey, if you ask me one more question, I will slap those stupid freckles off your face! Everybody just shut it and let me drive."

No one spoke for the remainder of the stomach-lurching ride to Shredder's lair.

Mikey thought that his brother would have stopped a few blocks away and parked the patrol buggy in an alley, but instead the wheels screeched to a halt directly across the street from the looming church building and Mikey was even more bewildered to see the Shellraiser parked three feet in front of them. But he kept his mouth shut and followed as his brother, Karai, and April all jumped out of the buggy and threw down their helmets.

Raph started leading the way around the alley where they usually climbed up to the roof and infiltrated the lair through the broken window—that was, when it was necessary. But April halted herself in the middle of the street and grabbed Mikey's bicep before he could continue past her.

"Wait. Something's not right."

He looked over at her. She was staring up at the building with a disturbed focus to her eyes.

Raph, who had already made it to the mouth of the alley, stopped and looked back. "What? Come on, April, we don't have time for this."

April moved, but not in Raph's direction. Instead she ran straight for the front doors.

"April! April, stop, what're you doing?"

The two turtles both ran to catch up, drawing their weapons, and shoved themselves in front of her as she pushed the doors open.

Mikey's eyes darted in every direction, fully prepared to see an army of Foot soldiers and mutants just beyond the threshold prepared to jump out at them. They'd probably already stuffed Donnie and Leo into cages suspended from the ceiling, or chained them up to the wall, or … worse.

Mikey's heart beat with panic, and for a split second he squeezed his eyes shut, suddenly afraid that he'd find his brothers speared through the middle, shells cracked, blood spewing out onto the floor.

But when he opened his eyes, there was nothing, not even an army of Foot soldiers. The throne room was completely empty. Though, he didn't dare drop his gaurd for a second.

Fingers tight around his nunchucks, he followed his brother's lead, standing shell to shell, and inched across the threshold, turning in circles and scanning every corner, nook, and beam on the ceiling. It took maybe five more seconds than it should have for them to realize no one was going to leap out from the shadows, and they lowered their defenses. Though, Raph remained tense and hunched down, ready to spring.

"Where the hell is everybody?" he said under his breath. He snapped his gaze over to Karai as though expecting her to answer, but she said nothing. She didn't even look at him. Instead, her gaze hovered on Shredder's empty throne, eyes mystified.

It was April who shook her head and spoke up. "Raph … There's no one here."

"What d'you mean there's no one here? This is—"

Everyone jumped as a loud echoing clang broke the silence to their left. They automatically moved toward each other, weapons ready. The sound of footsteps darted closer.

Mikey held his breath. Raph growled readily under his.

A handful of heartbeats passed and Leo emerged from the shadows, running straight for the opposite end of the room. Mikey didn't even get a chance to exhale before Raph left his side and ran straight for their older brother.

Leo didn't spare half a second's glance in their direction. He didn't even look as though he knew they were all standing there.

"Leo!"

Raph intercepted him before he could disappear through the doorway on the right side of the room. They hit the ground with a grunt and Leo wiggled viciously beneath the red turtle's weight.

"Get off of me! They have my brother!"

"Leo, get a grip. Stop it!" Raph slung an arm around his neck, pressed his weight into his shoulders, and hooked his ankles around Leo's to stop his feet from kicking. "You're out of your fucking mind! This is Shredder's lair. You can't just bust in here by yourself! What the hell's the matter with you?"

"They have my brother!" Leo repeated, refusing to let Raph subdue him.

"He's my brother too," Raph shouted in his ear. "That doesn't mean I'm gonna get my ass caught trying to save him. You're being ridiculous. What sense does that make?"

"Get off!" Leo wailed. "We have to find him."

"Leo, there's no one here!"

Leo finally stopped flailing around and dropped his forehead to the floor, panting against the cement.

"There's no one here, Leo," Raph said again.

Leo's head shook. "But Donnie—"

"I know." Raph's voice wobbled, and he lowered his head, pressing his temple against Leonardo's. "He's not here."

Mikey watched them as they lay in a heap, their breathing broken and rough. Leo stopped trying to buck Raph off of his shell. Instead, he turned his head to the side, away from Raph and everyone else and covered his face with his hand. No sound escaped him, but Mikey could see him trembling beneath their red-banded brother as Raph whispered something in his ear.

Then he lifted his head and turned a glare on Karai. "Where are they?"

Karai blinked. "I don't know."

Raph's nose wrinkled and he pushed himself up, kneeling over Leo's shell, though now with an air of protectiveness to his posture. "Where are they?"

"I don't know! How am I supposed to know? I wasn't here."

"You're the Shredder's daughter. You're the one whose been living with him your whole life."

"I am not his daughter!"

"If you don't cough it up—"

"I don't know where they are!"

"Figure it out! Shredder's got my fucking brother with him."

"That's not my fault."

"Enough!"

They all snapped their attention to Splinter who, after shifting his gaze around the throne room, calmly walked over to them. He gestured for Raph to stand and then tugged on Leo's shell.

The blue-banded turtle gazed at the floor with a gleam of hopelessness to his broken blue eyes as, for a moment, he just allowed himself to hang there while Splinter pulled him up. It gave Mikey's stomach a twist of unsettled desperation. He grimaced and looked toward April who was also watching Leo. She could see that something was off kilter about him too, and her expression affirmed that she didn't find it very reassuring either.

"Tate," Splinter said, quietly but clearly, shaking his son by the shell.

Leo finally obeyed and stood, rubbing his scarred cheek as he did so. Splinter tilted up his chin and inspected his face.

"Are you alright?"

Leonardo didn't meet their father's gaze, but he nodded.

"Good."

Splinter struck him so hard that it sent an echoing smack around the room.

Leo yelped and slapped a hand on his neck, gazing at his father with an open mouth.

"Do not ever do that again," the rat said, eyes gleaming with maybe something more than just paternal sternness. "You are the leader of a team. You never run off on your own. Understand?"

Leo pressed his lips together and swallowed before dropping his eyes to the floor. "Hai, Sensei."

Splinter rested a hand on his shoulder. "We will find your brother." His amber eyes glanced up at the rest of them. "Let us return to the lair and come up with a plan."

A hesitant pause settled itself around the room, but once Splinter began leading Leo toward the exit, no one resisted following.

Mikey walked alongside April, watching the backs of Raph and Karai who kept as far away from one another as possible, neither one looking in the other's direction.

They all crossed the street in silence and stopped when Splinter stopped. He nudged Leo toward the Shellraiser and the turtle did no arguing.

"Raphael, you and Michelangelo take the go-kart home."

Mikey glanced off to the side and pressed his lips against interjecting that it was a "patrol buggy."

"No way!" Raph said. "Mikey can do that himself. I'm goin' with Leo."

He began stomping after his older brother, but Splinter struck the ground with his staff in Raph's path. "Iya! You will take your brother and go in the kart. I will hear none of you and Miwa's arguing on the way home."

"Then make her go with Mikey!"

The fur on the bridge of Splinter nose bristled and he whacked Raph in the arm with his staff.

"Ouch!"

"Take your brother and go," Splinter ordered. "Now! And you will not say a word once we are home. Understand?"

Raph narrowed his eyes bitterly but said nothing. He turned instead and marched toward the patrol buggy, snatching Mikey's bicep with a bruising grip along the way. Michelangelo stumbled along and bit his lip against a comment as Raph pushed him into his seat.

He bowed his head to hide his face from his older brother and stuffed his helmet back on.

As the buggy hummed to life, Mikey turned his blue eyes back to the face of Shredder's lair. His throat began to swell as he thought of his brother, mask-less and alone, caught in a spider's web.

Wherever Donnie was, Mikey hoped he wasn't suffering too.