Chapter Four
Don and Mikey quickly pushed aside the rubble and debris the collapsing warehouse had created. Large chunks of concrete littered the ground and broken pieces of glass and wooden pillars were strewn haphazardly across the wharf. However, that wasn't the only thing in the rubble. Bodies of Foot Ninja and a few Purple Dragons were also found amongst the debris. They hadn't been quick enough to escape the collapsing warehouse.
Don carefully picked his way over the bodies and moved towards the middle of where the warehouse had once stood. A large hole split the earth in two; a giant gaping mouth. Don didn't get too close; the edges looked weak and brittle, on the verge of collapse. Getting as close as he dared, he looked down and was greeted with darkness.
"Raph, Leo, can you hear me?" Don shouted but his voice was quickly swallowed by the shadowy depths.
"Do you think they're alright?" Mikey asked, making his way slowly over to Don. His eyes were moist with the threat of tears and his lip was starting to tremble.
"I don't know," Don answered honestly. "I have no idea how big the drop is or where it leads to."
"We have to go down there and find them," Mikey said in determination, taking a step forward.
"No, Mikey," Don said, quickly putting his arm out to halt Miky's movements. "We can't, the ground is too unstable."
"Then how are we supposed to get to them?" Mikey demanded.
"I don't know," Don sighed in frustration. "Our safest bet is to get back to the lair and tell Master Splinter what happened. I have some old maps of the city in my lab. I might be able to determine where this hole leads to."
"Okay," Mikey nodded reluctantly in agreement. "But we need to hurry."
"We will," Don promised, "don't worry, Mikey."
Mikey took a deep, steadying breath and lowered his head. "We just got Raph back. We can't lose him again. And Leo…"
"It will be okay, Mikey," Don said softly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder for comfort. "We'll get them back."
They started back towards the lair when something in the rubble caught Don's attention. Carefully stepping around the debris, Don slowly made his way over to the body of a Foot Ninja and crouched beside it.
"What is it?" Mikey asked, making his way over.
Don reached out and pulled a small vial from the Foot Ninja's belt and held it up for inspection. It was filled with a bright blue liquid.
"What is that?" Mikey asked, frowning at the vial.
"It looks like some kind of poison, or antidote…" Don said, trailing off with a gasp.
"What is it?" Mikey demanded.
"Leo, he got cut by one of the Foot Ninja's blades. There is a possibility that the blade could have been edged with poison."
Mikey's face paled. "Leo's been poisoned?"
"I don't know for certain," Don said, shaking his head. "I'll need to run a test on this to confirm."
"If he's been poisoned, he doesn't have a lot of time," Mikey said slowly, his voice quivering.
"That's only one problem," Don said grimly. "The Foot and the Purple Dragons are working together, but why?"
"We need to tell Master Splinter, he'll know what to do," Mikey said.
"Come on," Don said, leading the way. "I have a sinking feeling that time is not on our side."
"This is not good," Master Splinter murmured once Don had finished explaining to him what had happened. "I don't like the fact that two of our enemies are working together. That only means danger for us. And Leonardo and Raphael..."
"Don't worry Sensei, we'll find them," Don quickly assured his father.
"I believe that you will, Donatello," Master Splinter bowed his head. "But I must meditate on this further."
"Come on, Mikey, we should call Casey and April," Don said, heading towards the kitchen.
Mikey followed sullenly behind, eyes cast to the ground.
Don picked up the phone and dialled April's number.
"Hey, this is Case."
"Casey, it's Donnie."
"Oh hey man, what's up? Haven't seen you guys for ages."
"Casey, something's happened," Don cut in, hating to be the one to deliver the news. He realized how April must have felt all those months ago; ringing to tell them that Raphael was the Night Watcher.
"What's happened? Is it Raph?" Casey asked, his voice turning serious.
"Raph and Leo," Don sighed. "We were ambushed. The Foot and the Purple Dragons are working together. There was an explosion. Leo and Raph...Leo and Raph fell into the tunnels under where we were. I think Leo's been poisoned."
"Holy shit," Casey breathed. "Are they alright? Have you found them? Why are the Purple Dragons and Foot working together?"
"We don't know," Don said glumly. "We don't know anything. I have an old map somewhere of the sewers. I should be able to find where Leo and Raph would have fallen. You and April better come over."
"Alright, we'll be there in ten," Casey said. "And Donnie? Don't worry, we're gonna find them."
"Yeah, I know," Don said quietly before hanging up.
Gesturing to Mikey to follow, Don led the way into his lab, flicking on the lights and illuminating the messy area. Scraps of metal littered every available surface and piles of papers and thick paperbound books were crammed into the remaining spaces. Walking over to his desk, Don tugged open a drawer and leafed through the files of paperwork he had stacked in there.
"Ah-ha!" He said after a moment, holding a rolled piece of paper in the air.
"What's that?" Mikey asked, stepping closer as Don cleared a space on his desk.
"This," Don said, rolling out the paper, "is a map of the schematics of the whole of underground New York!"
"That's great, Donnie, but how exactly will that help us?" Mikey asked, confused.
"By locating the warehouse, I'll be able to see the schematics of what lies below that part of the city, and trace a route to that location from the lair," Don explained.
"And find where Leo and Raph fell," Mikey finished slowly.
"Bingo," Don said, studying the map intently.
Mikey watched in silence, not daring to make a sound in case he distracted the genius.
"Here's the warehouse," Don said, pointing to a place on the map. He studied the map carefully, a frown descending on his features.
"What is it, Donnie? Do you know where Leo and Raph are?" Mikey asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.
"I do," Don murmured, his troubled gaze meeting Mikey's. "They're in the Underground City."