Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait, I had writer's block for a while and I finally finished. Now this part is a small filler, but not exactly since it goes with what's going on. Anyway Enjoy.

Chapter 23: Aftermath

The air on the rooftop was filled Raph's fast pacing and loud grunts, fist clenched as his anger still boiled within him. Currently he and his brothers were on the same rooftop where their lost brother had given them the slip. It had been a few minutes since Don left them, leaving the three disheartened at the chance of finally getting their brother back. Mikey had slumped down on the ground, sadden at what happened, Leo kneeling down beside him trying to comfort him, while Raph angrily paced.

"Raph calm down," Leo said, looking up from his youngest brother.

He did stop, but then a glare hit the leaf green turtle as his teeth clenched, "Calm down…how can I calm down Leo! We basically blew our only chance at getting our brother back!"

"I know this," Leo responded, trying to keep his emotions in check. It wouldn't help if he got into a verbal argument at the moment, who knew what could happen. "But at least we got a lead, that's better than nothing."

"Oh don't get me started with that," Raph resumed his pacing. Of course they were talking about Don's association with the Foot. They were still baffled at the fact that their brother is wearing a bandanna with the Foot symbol on it, It was very clear that their brother is allying with the Foot. "How could he do that…I mean they are our enemy, how could Don side with them!"

"Maybe they brainwashed him, because that's not like Don," The blue clad turtle stood up. "He's been gone for nearly two years, that's plenty of enough time for them to do anything to him."

Raph frowned as he stopped and folded his arms, "I know that…whatever happened…Don is a lot different than before."

"Yeah…he made that clear," Mikey finally said as he looked up at his brothers, finally saying something. "Didn't you all see how fast he moved, it's like his speed increased."

"That we did," Leo nodded, folding his arms as well as he recalled the chase they just had. The way Don jumped across the rooftops and managed to climb the fire escape with such speed surprised them. "He's gotten faster, maybe at least your speed Mikey."

"And he's much stronger…Didn't you see how he has more muscle on him," Raph pointed out next.

"Yeah, Shell I was surprised when you couldn't hold him," Leo responded back, once again surprised at that fact. "Don did change, more than physically, the Foot is definitely behind this, but yet what did they do to him?"

"I don't know, but I say we find out now," Raph suggested, mind already set on storming Foot headquarters.

The declaration made Leo turn towards his hothead brother, knowing this was a bad idea. "Raph, we can't do that."

"Why not? We know where he is, we can just burst in there and get him!"

"Remember what happened the last time we tried to infiltrate?" Leo reminded them, the memory of their failed attempt of trying to get their brother long ago. "We need to think this through, especially since they could have tightened up their security."

"Guys," Mikey said but he went ignored.

"What does it matter, they won't expect us hitting them now!" Raph argued.

"Listen-" Mikey said once more but was ignored.

"And risk us getting captured or killed? No Raph we can't do that!" Leo argued back, things heating up once more.

"Guys!" Mikey shouted out, stopping the two from speaking and causing them to look at the youngest, who was panting after shouting.

"What is it Mikey?" Leo asked, wondering what had caused him to burst out like that, Raph as well.

The orange clad turtle had a worried expression on his face as he waited a few seconds before speaking. "What do we tell Master Splinter?"

That one statement caused the two to go eye wide, the realization of their brother's comment hitting them like a speeding truck. What were they going to tell their father? His son working with the very enemy who killed his Master, the very enemy who he had taught them to fight against. How would he take this news, and most of all what would come from it?

All three of them were in silence for a bit until Leo decided to speak, "The truth…we can't lie to him."

Don huffed and wheezed a bit as he kept moving across the rooftops, not stopping for a second even though his legs burned. He didn't care, the only thing he wanted was to put as much distance between him and his brothers as possible. It was lucky of him that he was carrying a couple of flash bombs, it gave him enough time to blind them and make his escape. He wasn't sure where he was, but yet he didn't care at all, as long as he was as far away as possible.

After jumping another roof both of his legs buckled and he fell forward on his hands and knees, panting heavily. Beads of sweat rolled down his body as he came to the conclusion that this was far enough and looked around. He managed to sigh in relief as he didn't see any of his brothers at all.

"I…I can't believe what happened…I got careless and they found me…why did I have to go there?" He talked to himself as he tried to regain whatever energy he could. "I…I couldn't hurt them…no…I couldn't." It was true, during the confrontation Don seriously contemplated fighting them, but yet he couldn't throw a single punch. Deep down he didn't want to hurt them. Even though his mind is messed with he still retained some part of himself.

"Need….need to get back, now!" Looking around to get a feel of where he was Don then tried to make his way back to Foot HQ, being very careful to make sure he doesn't have another run in with his brothers.

After a bit of time and be careful Don finally managed to reach his desired destination. Making sure to enter through the garage. Knowing that he was ok the black clad turtle then started to slow his pace, wanting nothing more than getting to his room to rest and try to forget this night. There seemed to be a few people still on duty in the garage, who gave the turtle a nod as he passed to the elevator. The elevator moved up as Don stood in the middle, body a bit fidgety as he so desperately wanting to get to his room, he didn't want to talk to anyone, just be by himself for a while and hopefully forget anything about tonight.

A few minutes passed and he exited to the balcony garden, where the special elevator up to his room was located. Don fast walk towards it but ended up stopping, "Have a nice run Junko?"

Turning the olive green turtle found Shredder sitting down on one of the stone benches there, from the look of his posture it looked like he was waiting for him. Seeing his sensei made the turtle gulp as a bit of fear hit him. For some reason Don thought he knew what happened, but yet how could that be? He wasn't followed so no one could have seen what had transpired tonight.

Mentally sighing he decided to play things cool and hopefully keep quiet about his encounter. "It was ok sensei."

Oroku raised an eye as his pupil spoke, which made Don hitch his breath, apparently he must have done something wrong. "You seem…nervous Junko, did something happen?"

"No, no, nothing at all, just a relaxing day out in the city," The olive green turtle responded, unfortunately he said it a bit fast.

Both of Oroku's eyes narrowed as he heard this, now he was convinced than ever something had transpired. "Junko, what happened?"

"I…I…nothing, nothing at," Don shook his head and was about to turn and walk away but Shredder stopped him, a soft expression on his face.

"Junko, there's no reason to be afraid, you know you can tell me anything that troubles you. Just like I told you before, there's nothing for you to fear. Tell me, what happened?"

Donny adverted his eyes, not wanting to look his sensei in the eyes, now feeling ashamed for being scared of this issue. He remember what Shredder told him earlier, anytime he needed to talk he would be willing to do so, how could he have forgot about that? He didn't want to explain his encounter, but how could he hide something like this? After everything his mentor has done and is willing to do for him, he shouldn't hide anything. Yet he wanted to say nothing, it was his own problem, one that frighten him. He needed to deal with this on his own. Yet he knew he couldn't keep this secret.

Breathing deeply Don then sat down on his legs and bowed his head at his sensei, "I…I had an unexpected run in."

Both eyes of Oroku rose, he knew who Junko was talking about but he wanted to act oblivious so things would seem normal. "Run in? With who?"

Don's hands clenched at the question, being silent for a bit as he took a few breaths to compose himself. His sensei stood close, waiting patiently as there was no reason to rush his pupil. "My brothers."

Oroku mentally sighed as his suspicious were already confirmed, this was bad indeed, but yet the fact that he's still here is a good sign. Still he was curious as to how the encounter went, and how he handled the situation. He pretended to be shocked, "What happened exactly?"

"I was having a good run…but for some reason I stopped at a place…one that was so familiar to way before. I don't know how it happened, I must have gotten careless so my awareness wasn't at best…and they managed to sneak up on me. I was so scared when that happened that…I ran off."

"You…ran?" Oroku raised an eye for real. This wasn't something he was expecting, he thought at least Junko would have put up a fight. That was one of the main purposes of the conditioning he went through, so that way if his brothers were to see him he would fight them. "Why?"

"I don't know for sure but…I didn't want to hurt them. I don't know why but I have these glimpses of them hurting me…but, I know it wasn't them, but it feels so real. But still I can't bring myself to try and fight them, I can't."

By now Don's body is trembling, still in wonder of what his sensei would say or do. For not fighting and for running instead, he would surely be on the receiving end real bad. Both eyes clenched shut as he waited for something to happen, but froze as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Opening them up he looked up to see Shredder, but yet not angry.

"You did well, you managed to outrun and get back here in one piece."

Don's mouth dropped a bit, shocked at what he heard, "But…I ran instead-"

"You're still here, and that's what count, now rise," he instructed, and after a few seconds saw his pupil get back up to his feet. "I know you had a strenuous night, and I think it's best you go and rest."

"I…" Don began to say but yet he didn't question it. He was a bit tired, but now he was glad his sensei wasn't made at his actions, he would just take what he got and live with it. He nodded, "Thank you sensei."

"Sleep well Junko," Oroku said as he watched the turtle turn and head for the elevator. Once the door closed a snarl appeared on his face. He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number, "Dr. Adams we need to talk, now."

The long walk home was filled with nothing but silence, and shame for the three brothers. Silence for the fact that they failed at the, maybe, only attempt to get their brother back. After so long they finally see him once more, but it wasn't the reunion that they hoped for. And shame for the fact that now they would have to tell their father the news of his son's status among their enemy. The reaction he would have is unknown to them, but they knew it would be bad.

At first they had trouble trying to figure out who would break the news, but Leo stood and claimed that he would. Of course Raph tried to talk him out of it, but the blue clad turtle wouldn't have any of that. Saying that he was still the leader and it was his burden to carry. Of course there was more protest but Leo said his decision was final.

They arrived at the front door, and after entering the code they headed back inside. The home was a bit dim, a sign that the lighting was going out some more, yet they were still glad it was still on. The three all looked around the lair to find their sensei, and after searching they found him in the dojo sitting in a large circle of candles. The three ended up getting a bit nervous because it looked like he was waiting for them.

Their suspicious were correct, "Please, sit my sons."

Their nerves increased as they hesitantly stepped into the circle of candles, all of them taking a set on their knees in front of their father. Once they were all comfy the old rat opened his eyes, the very eyes his sons looked into and they could see…distressed.

"Sensei…we just…came back early," Leo first said, head bowed.

Splinter nodded at the response, "I know…but I felt something is amidst, something happened during your outing, please…tell me what happened?"

This was it, the moment they were all dreading, oh how they didn't want this to happen at all, but yet their father always knew when something was wrong and it was no used to hide anything. The three looked at one another as Leo was the one who spoke, as he said he would.

"Master Splinter," he started, trying not to look him in the eye. Taking a moment to get an intake of air. "We ran into Don."

A sharp intake of air followed by a gasp was heard by the three, all of them looking and seeing a look of shock on their father's face, along with raised eyes. "Y-You did? How, and where!" his voice was shaky and quick, almost like one would be after seeing a ghost.

Nodding, Leo tried to remain calm as he continued, "Yes…It was unexpected-"

"We were having a race," Mikey then took over, surprising the blue clad turtle, yet he didn't stop him. "I was ahead and we were heading to our favorite exercise spot, and that's where I saw him…but sensei, he's different."

Splinter still held the shock expression on his face as he tried to speak, "H-How so?"

"He was much stronger…and faster," Raph then said next, head bowed. Now would come the hardest part. "But…that wasn't the only thing we found out."

Splinter's heart seemed to race as his ears twitched, he wasn't sure what was going to be said next, but he knew it was bad, "What is it…please tell me."

It was then Leo took things over, he said he was going to believe the news and he would uphold his promise. "First off…I don't know what happened to Don, but he managed to give us all the slip, it's like his skill has increased a huge notch…and…he…had a different bandanna."

More of Splinter's mouth dropped, a bad feeling engulfed him more, it couldn't be, it can't be. Still he had to hear it, "What…what was it?"

"He wore a black bandanna…with the Foot's symbol on it," A pained silence filled the dojo as nothing was heard. It was as if all the sound had been sucked out as the three brothers looked up at their father. Splinter's mouth had dropped and eyes wide as disbelief was etched out on his face. "Master Splinter…we believe that Donny is a member of the Foot now."

It was as if a gunshot went off as they saw a tear fall from their father's face, "D-Donatello…he's really?" All three of them nodded. "No…this…can't be…" Splinter's breathing increased as both of his eyes squeezed shut as he fell forward on his hands and knees, a few more tears coming out.

"Master Splinter!" they made the attempt to get up and go to their sensei, but stopped once they saw him raise his hand up, indicating them to stop.

The aged rat took a moment to recompose himself, almost as if a tear was made in his heart. One of his sons, joining with their long time enemy, there had to be something else to it, there was no way Donatello would willingly do something like that. Wiping his eyes he then looked up at his three remaining suns, both eyes were red. "Are…Are you sure of this?"

"Yes…we saw it, all three of us," Leo began, which only seemed to affect their sensei more. "But the Foot must have done something to him, maybe brainwashed him. We don't know but they did something to him."

"I…I am not sure what to think of right now," Splinter's eyes closed, right now he wasn't sure what to further say. Just the news of his son's status among his enemy is a lot to take in, it just was too overwhelming for him. Just then both of his eyes widen as he felt arms circle around him. Looking he found his sons kneeling around and hugging him. More tears feel as he wrapped his arms around his sons, as nothing was said. Nothing should have to be said, right now he needed their embrace.

Shredder paced around in his office, irritated and waiting for someone to arrive. A lot had to be discussed and things had to be done right now. His pupil Junko didn't do what he was conditioned to do, and now something had to be done in order to correct it. His head perked up as the door to his office opened and the good doctor walked in, a neutral expression on his face as he didn't know what was going on and why he was called.

"What's going on?" Dr. Adams asked.

Shredder frowned as he sat down in his chair, "Junko ran into his brothers tonight."

Both of the doctor's eyes rose as he heard that, this was something he knew was bound to happen but yet not too soon. He wondered how the turtle handled the situation, "What exactly happened?

The teeth of Oroku gritted as his fists clenched. "He ran…he didn't even fight them."

"What?! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Dr. Adams said, shocked at the response he received.

"What's going on, you said all the tortures and conditioning would turn him against them, but Junko told me he couldn't even think about laying a hand on them!"

Dr. Adams then started to sweat as he could see anger on Shredder's face, unless he wanted to be dead he had better come up with a reason why Junko didn't fight them. "Maybe we didn't imprint on him enough, maybe the three ninjas you had perform the tortures weren't effective enough."

Shredder growled as he heard the explanation, "You may be right…but that will be addressed later, for now we need to push Junko to the point where he'll fight his brothers, and kill them."

"What do you propose we do next?" He asked, curious as to what's going to happen next.

Both of Shredder's eyes narrowed as he said nothing, he then got up from his seat as he took a few breaths. "That's why we have backup plans to fall back on. Tomorrow when you have your session with Junko, perform backup plan swipe."

Both of Dr. Adam's eyes widen in surprise, he was told of this plan but he didn't think it would have ever had to be used. "Uh…my lord…are you sure? I mean, has it really come down to that?"

"Yes! It's important that he fears his brothers and rat sensei. We need to push him to that point, and this is the only way we can achieve it!

Dr. Adams didn't say anything at first, but then slowly nodded, "Yes, it'll take most of the night, but I'll have things ready for tomorrow."

"Good, you're dismissed," Shredder announced as he sat down in his chair, watching the doctor leave the room. Things were going to go his way now, at least once the session is over with. After tomorrow once the doctor worked Junko will fear his family, and also it'll instill that he will fight them. He smiled at this prospect, yes things were good.

A/N: Hope you like. Now in the next chapter things get somewhat extreme. The next one is going to take things up a notch and really going to mess with Don. I'll try my best to get this up as fast as I can, but I have midterms coming up in a few weeks so it might be hard for me to write. Till next time.