Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long wait, there were just some complications that held me back from writing. Still I did my best and here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it. Please Enjoy.

Chapter 29: The Answer

An uneasy silence filled the large office of Shredder, no one currently inside expect for the man himself. No, he didn't want anyone to disturb him at the moment, not after the phone call he had just received. There were about four Foot ninja in his presence once he answered the call and was told of his pupil's failure on the mission. The moment he heard those words he basically made a hole in his desk, making his ninjas jump.

They then had to face his wrath of anger as he shouted at them to leave him be. The Foot knew what their master was capaible of if they hadn't obeyed and bolted out of there, leaving him be and basically saving themselves from whatever he would dish out.

For about an hour Oroku sat in his office, head filled with vicious thoughts about the failed task. He wasn't happy, mostly with his pupil. He sent him on a task that would be easy for the turtle, and that would benefit himself with his business front. But now the target is still alive and may be much harder to get to after the faux stunt he pulled. His student would have some answering to do, especially after another matter that had just occurred.

He knew that Junko would come to him, after spending time with the turtle he knew his routines. A failure on his part the turtle would report to him, because that was in his nature. It's then he'll get the answers for what had happened, and then decide what will happen from there.

The van had just pulled into the underground parking lot, coming to a stop in the designated zone before being turned off. The whole crew inside hadn't said a single word once they regrouped. There was some animosity towards Junko as he returned to them. Of course once they were alone they all shouted as to where he was and what happened.

The black clad turtle had remained silent, not looking at a single one of them as he headed for the van. The turtle had wanted to go back home, and fast. The encounter with his brother had shaken him and whatever had just happened with him with his head made him want to get away even more. Of course no one made a statement towards the turtle even though the hostility was still there. They would let their master deal with him once they got back, they had made the call reporting what happened and they knew he was angry.

Once back the disguised men all got out and went their separate ways, taking another route away from the black clad turtle. Meanwhile Donny couldn't be happier to be away from them as he made his way towards the elevator. The failure of the mission on his mind still, instead of his brother, or the mental problem he encountered. Right now he had to face his sensei for the failure of what he did, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

He started to near the elevator and reached out to press the call button, but his finger never touched it. Out of the blue he was grabbed and pulled to a secluded spot of the parking lot, away from prying eyes and any camera that may be there.

Donny was about to react but froze in place as he came face to face with his surprised attacker. "Gavin, what are-"

"Shhh!" he shouted out loud, looking out, as if checking if they were truly alone. "Keep your voice down."

"Gavin what's going on?" the turtle started once more, keeping his voice down like requested. Confused as to why his friend grabbed him the way he did and acting strange.

"Look, I need to talk to you, but somewhere else," he responded, looking at his friend and showing a serious facial expression.

"But I can't right now," Don dejected. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Look, forget about what you're doing at the moment."

That caused the turtle to raise a curious eye, "I can't, I have to go meet Mr. Saki, it's really important."

As soon as he said that name both of the human's eyes widen, "No, that's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because…because…look I can't really tell you without going into detail. All I can tell you is that we need to talk now."

Hearing his friend's voice had made the turtle uneasy. He knew Gavin must have something really important to say, but he knew he couldn't put his sensei on hold like he was being requested to do. No he couldn't do that, even for his friend. Chances are the men he was with radioed in they were back, and Oroku expect his arrival. Whatever Gavin had to tell him, couldn't it wait for a bit?

"I really can't Gavin, believe me. You just have to take my word as to why seeing him is a priority right now," Donny had to unfortunately say, knowing this would hurt his friend, basically pushing him off.

The facial expression on Gavin fell as he heard those words, now completely silent as it seemed like he was in thought. Both of his eyes closed as he finally responded back, "You know…maybe going will be good, be less suspicious, but I really need to talk with you."

"About what?" He asked, really wanting to know what is going through his friend's mind.

"Like I said I can't really go into it without going into detail," he responded, now looking out once more to check. "Listen…have your talk with Mr. Saki, but you need to meet with me after."

"Ok…" Don nodded, still confused and taken back as to why he wasn't told what is going on. "Where?"

"Your lab, believe me it's the best place."

"Ok…I'll see you there," Don nodded in affirmation. Glad to have worked this out without trouble.

"Remember, your lab right after," After receiving a nod Gavin left his friend, Don still confused as to what was going on. Still he had to trust in his friend and meet with him as he requested. Now he had to get through his meeting with his sensei and hope for the best. This is his first failure after all, and now he had to face the consequences of his actions. Taking a big breath he then made his way towards the elevator.

Oroku's eyes looked upon the door as an echoing knock could be heard. He knew who it was, since no one would dare disturb him after the order he had given them. A few seconds later his hunch was confirmed as his student came walking in, closing the door behind as he walked closer, head tilted and looking at the floor. It was almost as if looking up was a bad idea, which was at the moment.

Oroku then stood up from his chair, both eyes never leaving the turtle as he walked around and stood in front of his desk. Both arms clasped behind his back as a look of disappointment was plastered across his face, although Junko hadn't seen it.

Don had sat there in complete silence, knowing speaking wasn't a good idea and waited to be spoken to first. His senses told him that his master's eyes were on him, almost burning into him. Silently gulping he continued to wait.

"You failed me Junko," Shredder's words finally came out, causing the turtle to flinch as the words surprised him.

"I am sorry sensei…I really am," Don spoke, almost feeling really small at the moment as his breath was shaky.

"I am very disappointed," he watched and saw his student's hand clench, an obvious sign that the comment stung, real deep. "After your successful task, I expected you to do this one easily, but I guess I was wrong."

"Sensei I-" Don tried to say but was swiftly cut off.

"Do not speak until I tell you," the chastising voice commanded, which caused the black clad turtle to hang his head, shaking a bit now. Shredder knew how his student must be feeling, but this verbal treatment was warranted. He needed to assert authority here and let his student know that his stay wasn't going to be one of comfort. The reality had to sink in, and now his student must know the darker part of his stay.

"Do you not care for the wellbeing of those who are innocent? Are you ok with letting a corrupted individual the chance of running free and causing more suffering to other who don't deserve it? How do I know can rely on you to remove more of these individuals? This one failure basically tells me so much…"

Don's body shook as he took this verbal abuse from his sensei. All in all the turtle knew this was warranted, but yet he hated the fact that his sensei automatically thought he liked having people like his target being on the loose. He didn't want his master to think he was completely useless, because this would mean there was no reason for him to be here.

All in all he knew this wasn't his fault, and that fact got him angry, because this wasn't completely his fault. Finally having enough he looked up at his sensei, "It wasn't my fault!"

Completely unfazed Oroku raised an eye at his student's outburst, a little angry at being interrupted but proud that the turtle taking a stand. But still what he said didn't make sense at all. "Ok, how is it not your fault?"

"I…I got distracted…my brother interfered-"

"Wait…your brother?" both of his eyes rose in surprise.

Don nodded, "Yes, he caught me off guard and basically wouldn't leave me alone without a fight. So I had no other choice to fight him, and by the time It ended…I had missed my only chance."

This new piece of information surprised Shredder, this was something he didn't expect happening. When he received the call he thought that his student had messed things up on his own. But this completely changed everything, mainly since this could be trouble in the future. But yet something else popped into his mind.

"Junko…did you…eliminate your brother?" Oroku asked, needing to know this piece of info. Mainly since if he did this could be the start of his next plan.

"Uh…I…" Don then looked back down at the floor, not sure how to say this next part. Still it had to be said, there was no way he's going to lie. Taking a big breath he spoke up, "No…I couldn't."

"I see," Oroku responded in a tone that didn't show either surprise or disappointment, which made the turtle more unease. As he wasn't sure what was going to happen next, all he wanted was this to be over with. "And why didn't you?'

"I…I'm not sure…I had him in a defenseless position and moved in for the kill but…but…" He stopped saying, getting a bit choked up at his actions at the time.

"But what Junko, you must tell me," Shredder urged on, moving closer to him.

"I don't know what happened," he finally responded, still keeping both eyes on the floor. "It's like…I just looked at him and…my head started to hurt…bad."

"Tell me more," he rose an eye, intrigued at what was being said, as well as red flags going off in his head. If this was something that pertained to the therapy that his student went through then this would be very bad indeed.

"I…I don't know for sure," his head shook as he now looked at the floor, not sure looking up will help at all. He had trouble as it is trying to keep his composure and looking at his sensei wouldn't help that. "When…When I thought about all the times they were cruel to me…it…it…it was like I got a feeling…that it wasn't true."

Just then the red flags in Shredder's mind suddenly changed into alarms, this was most definitely not what he had expected to happen, at least not so soon. This only meant that the brainwashing seemed to have not had a permanent effect like he wanted to. This would needed to be corrected as soon as possible, but yet he didn't know what, or how to go about this. He would need to speak with Dr. Adams about this matter later.

"Junko," he responded, which he saw the turtle twitch a bit as his name had been called. He could see nervousness radiating off of him. "Because of the interference of your brother, I realize that the mission failure isn't your fault."

Hearing his sensei's words caused the black clad turtle to sigh out in relief, at least he knew that he wouldn't be in trouble. "That's a huge weight off my mind…at least I won't be punished for this," He thought to himself as he finally looked up at Oroku, waiting for him to finish speaking.

"But for now you won't be doing another task yet, at least until I work a few things out," Shredder announced as he turned and went behind his desk. At long last Don finally rose up to his feet, but didn't leave yet, he waited to be dismissed like usual.

"I understand, still I'll await the next one, as well as our next training session," he bowed towards his sensei, who returned the same gesture, then sitting down at his desk.

"Good, you may retire for the night if you want," he dismissed his student, who just nodded and turned away to walk out, like all the other times he had done so. Not a word or action was done until both of his eyes watched the turtle finally exit the room. Once the door clicked Shredder then reached for his phone and dialed a number. Fingers drummed against the desk as the phone rang for a few seconds, but finally a voice could be heard on the other side. "Dr. Adams, there may be a problem with Junko."

"Sir, that's not the only problem," The doctor's voice responded from the other line, which surprised him a lot. This was not a good day, since had multiple problems today, what more could happen.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and stayed silent as Dr. Adams spoke, and after a few seconds both of his eyes widen. "What!?"

"So Raph…please explain what happened again," Leo spoke out in disbelief, he, Mikey, and Splinter were still too shocked at what the emerald green turtle had just told them. Just the first sentence shocked them all, not sure what to say.

Raph rolled his eyes as he sat, hunched, on the couch in front of the TVs, the rest of his family either sitting or standing as all eyes were on him. "Like I said, I had an encounter with Don again."

"What happened!?" Mikey hastily asked, heart beating as the news been retold again, desperately wanting to know what else happened.

The red clad turtle lowered his head as his left hand rubbed his face, now retelling the bad part of the news. "We got into a scuffle…and…he has really improved big time?"

"How so Raphael?" Splinter asked his son, who sat in his arm chair, sitting on his legs as his walking stick laid across his lap. He showed not hit of emotion as he heard this, but on the inside he was a mess. Worry and concern flowed through him over the events that happened.

"He was able outmatch me," he spoke, which caused Leo and Mikey to gasp, and caused Raph to nod. "I know…usually he would never had given me a challenge…but…he's better, maybe better than me."

"But how can that be? If Donny is with the Foot, then that would mean…" Leo stated out, but then trailed off as the worst started to be realized.

Splinter then said the dreadful words after an intake of breath, "The Foot must be training him…"

"Whoa…whoa…no way!" Mikey instantly said as he stood up from his seat. This was something he definitely didn't want to believe in, no matter how much brainwashing could have been done. "There's no way Donny would accept training from the Foot. Despite what they do to him, he's gentle by nature, and their training is nothing but hurting others, there's no way he would accept something like this.

"Either way, Donny managed to easily beat me, and it wasn't because of the skill he previously had. Also the extra muscle he put on, even I had trouble trying to fight him back strength for strength."

The three then looked at their father as a sigh left him, eyes drooped as his head bowed. "Donatello seems to be further out of our reach now, you three finding him the first time was nothing more than a miracle. Now Raphael finding him was another stroke of luck, but what are the odds that it will happen once more."

"Hardly any," Leo crossed his arms as a small silence came upon the small family. The situation proving itself even more now as the thoughts of finding their brother grew slimmer and slimmer. Now add in the fact that he could be training with their enemies and now things were much worse. If they truly brainwashed him then what chance would they have at getting him back.

"Although," Raph then spoke, catching everyone's attention as all eyes were back on him. "He had me pinned with my own Sais, and I thought he was going to kill me."

"How so?" Mikey then asked, raised eye in curiosity.

"He literally started to choke me to death," Raph said as everyone was shocked to hear this. But then realized something must have happened if their brother was here to tell the tale.

"What happened," Leo asked in a need to know tone, now much more curious as to what else went on.

"That's the thing…I don't know. All of a sudden he cried out in pain and clutched his head," Raph shook his head as the memory replayed in his mind. Watching his brother release his neck, and move away from him, almost as if he was in pain. He had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was saved his life. "It was like…like…I'm not sure, something stopped him."

"Stopped…him?" Mikey repeated, shocked at what he heard.

"Yeah…after a bit he calmed down, and returned back to normal," he said next, eyes scanning his family, now all quiet as they looked at him. "Then…he left."

Don wasn't sure what to think at the moment as he rode down the elevator. His meeting with his sensei gone much better than he planned it, he at least thought he would get punished regardless of what made him fail his task. Still he wasn't going to dwell on it anymore and least be much thankful for the end result. Now that it was done with he could focus on the next thing on his mind.

His only friend: Gavin.

When meeting with him in the parking garage, well actually literally pulled into the conversation. He was really concerned with what his friend had to say that was really important. And the way he acted really added to the concern, and confusion of the whole thing.

Either way he's on his way to his private lab so now he could find out what is going on. And finally solve the mystery, well a short one, of what was plaguing him. His heard perked as the ding was heard and the elevator doors opened, taking a breath he walked out.

"Wait, wait," Leo spoke immediately, something clicking in his mind as those words were said. "He just left…just like that?"

"Yeah, why?" Raph responded as he stood up, looking at his eldest brother.

"That's weird?"

"How so Leonardo?" Splinter asked, a bit confused as he watched his eldest place his hand on his chin, in a thinking pose.

It was quiet once more as everyone watched Leo think some more, confused and curious as to what could be going on in his mind. All he heard was that Don didn't finish Raph off, and then went into thinking. A bit of a tense atmosphere started to fill the area as this went on for a bit.

It was then the blue clad turtle's body froze as both of his eyes rose, hand leaving his chin and mouth dropping a bit. "Wait…that…that must be it!"

"What do you mean Leo?" Mikey asked hastily, a bit started at his brother's words.

"The password!" Leo happily told them with a smile.

Don reached into his pocket and pulled out his access card, sliding it into the reader and waiting until the confirmation beep before opening the door. Walking in he saw a few scientist in the labs, all doing their own thing to notice him.

"Even though Gavin has something important to tell me, I'm just hoping it'll be quick, I'm really tired and just want to sleep." He thought to himself as he started to make his way through the area, letting out a small yawn in the process.

The assignment had really taken the energy out of him, especially the scuffle he had with Raph, and he really got a good workout there. If it wasn't for doing things like this all the time the black clad turtle would have dropped already. But thankfully he was still on his feet as his lab came into view.

Leo, Raph, Mikey and Splinter were walking fast towards Donatello's lab, with the leaf green turtle leading them. All of them started when they heard what he had discovered, and of coursed asked what it was and how he came up with it.

"It's simple, so simple I can't believe I didn't think about it!" Leo said out load as they approached the door and opened it, revealing a rather dusty and non-touched lab. The computer, the item of interest on the other side, powered down.

Leo walked in, like the space was his, and turned the work chair so he could sit in it and booted the computer up.

"Leo, for shell sakes, what is it!?" Raph asked, getting a bit irritated that his brother is not sharing something that is really important.

"Yes, Leonardo, please tell us what you found out," Splinter asked in a calm voice, now too wanting to know what his son is thinking.

Waiting for the computer to boot, Leo turned in the chair to face his family, "Raph, you said that Don tried to kill you, but something prevented him from doing so, right?"

The red clad turtle nodded, "Yeah, so what does that has to do with this."

"Guys, what is one thing that Donny had cared about all of his life?" Leo asked them simply, knowing they would figure it out themselves.

He watched the three of them in silence as the three of them thought of it for a bit. And smiling he saw as they slowly started to get it.

"Of course…why didn't I think of that!?" Raph shouted, feeling stupid.

"Me too, it's too perfect!" Mikey responded.

"It is truly what Donatello would put," Splinter said last. They watched as the eldest turtle nodded and turned back in the chair as the login screen popped up. Raising his hands he started to slowly type in the password, his first finger hitting "F"

Don sighed as he approached his lab, but was surprised as he found his door closed and the blinds shut. Despite not being able to see the inside the turtle was confused as to why the lights were off. The lights would still be able to show if they were on, even if the blinds were shut.

"That's weird…didn't he say he wanted to meet in my lab?" he questioned in a soft voice, laced with some confusion.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Splinter, Mikey, and Raph watched Leo type in the password. Already hitting the first letter.

"Please let this be it," Leo thought to himself as he hit the next two letters, "A", and "M"

Slowly Don got himself mentally and physically prepared. Something must be wrong for there to be no sign of anyone in side. Whether if it was good or bad it was best he prepared himself for the worst.

"Well…here goes nothing," he said to himself, slowly reaching for the door knob.

Things were tense even as the words were being typed in, mainly because finding their brother could be resting on this one word that they failed to realize. Breaths were uneasy and hitched as Leo hit the next two words. "I" and "L"

"Please let this be it…please, we really want our bro back," Mikey thought as a bead of sweat fell down.

Don, with a shaky hand finally grasp the door knob and slowly started to turn it. Not really excited at what could be on the other side of the door. He always kept his lab unlocked, there was no reason to keep it locked, mainly since a feeling of safety always was present here.

Finally the knob turned he slowly started to push the door in, no sound being made as it slowly opened, revealing the darkness of the lab.

Things seemed to go a bit faster as Leo put in the final word, "Y". The one word that Donny held up in highest regards, and loved most of all. And something he would never come to lay a hand on or hurt intentionally: Family.

"Please Master Yoshi, if you are watching over us, please let this be the answer," Splinter mentally prayed, his nerves already tensed as it was. Those nerves increased as Leo then pressed enter.

Finally Don pushed the door, and the small amount of force used was enough to push the door forward to open it all the way. Taking a deep breath his eyes then scanned the inside as he flicked the lights on, illuminating the room, and revealing…

"Gavin?" Don said in a normal tone as he saw nothing inside of the lab. His body relaxing as nothing was inside the small area, but also confused as to the reason why it was empty. "Gavin, are you here?" he asked once more, walking further in but still finding nothing.

"Ok, this is strange, Gavin told me to meet him in the lab, and of course since he had a head start he should be here…unless something else held him up, but that doesn't make sense. What he had to say was really important so chances are nothing would deter him from meeting with me," He thought to himself as he walked over and sat in his chair.

A disappointing sigh left him as he leaned back, the chair squeaking a bit from the movement. "I guess I should wait a bit, just in case if he's late." He said to himself as a sigh left the black clad turtle. Whatever his friend had to say, he would have to wait a bit longer.

The family of four sighed in disbelief at what they saw on the screen. "Really, that was still the wrong password?" Raph stated out loud, anger now filling him as another bit of hope was crushed.

Leo's head slumped into his arms as a loud breath of air left him, "I'm sorry….I really thought that would be it."

He then felt a hand on his shoulder, turning and hearing his father's calming words. "It was still a good try my son, you still should be commended on this."

"But why, it wasn't the right answer," Leo shook his head, feeling that nothing positive shouldn't be felt from this.

Mikey had both of his eyes closed as his head lowered, disappointed as well that the word failed. That should have been it, it's the only thing that their brother would choose because of his nature, and love for his family. Shell even thinking about it now baffled him.

"I don't get it…that should have been it, it's perfect for Don and nothing else. Because now that I think of it, Donny always…wait…wait," just then both of his eyes widen as something came shooting back into his mind. A memory from back to the turtle's childhood, a time where things were at their most innocent.

"Wait, Mikey do you have something?" Leo turned to his youngest brother, as did Raph and Splinter.

"Do you guys remember when we were kids, when Master Splinter was giving us our lessons?" he responded, which he received a nod from his family. "Let me," he said, moving to the keyboard.

"Uh…sure," Leo moved, now curious as to what his brother was thinking of. "Mikey, what do you have?"

"Remember our Japanese lessons…the one word Donny kept saying over and over again?" Mikey responded as he took Leo's spot on the chair and moved his hands into place.

The three took the time to think about that time back then. Splinter would give them lesson on how to understand and speak Japanese. Mainly on the grounds that the rat said it would be good for them to know a new language. The of course, as kids, thought it was useless and a waste of time, but Don and Leo excelled at it. And of course Donny found the meaning of one word, and kept saying it over and over again.

It was then that one single word played back in their minds as all eyes rose up and mouths dropped. Could it be really that simple?

"You can't mean…" Raph started off, but didn't finish.

"Yes…the same meaning, but in a different language," Mikey explained as another tense feeling appeared in the room as now it was Mikey's turn to have at it. Slowly his fingers touched the keyboard, typing the words one by one.

"K…a…z…o…k…u…" Mikey slowly started to say as he typed in the letters, the word being Kazoku, which in Japanese meant: Family. "The one word Donny kept saying all those years ago…"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they each placed a hand on the youngest shoulders, deciding to give him the honor of hitting it. Feeling this Mikey nodded as his finger hovered over the "Enter" button. And with a quick breath, he pressed it.

"Access Granted"

A/N: Hope you liked. Now I rushed though this last part and it was late, so I didn't really get time to edit the mistakes I made, if there is any. Hopefully none of you will mind. Now nice twist? Finally getting the password to the computer. I always figured Don would be more protective of his family and that would mean everything to him. So that's why I chose that as the password. Now believe me that something big is going to happen in the next chapter, please feel free to ask questions if you like. Till next time.