*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Author's Notes: Chapter 8 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and this one is a bit angsty. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone enjoys it.

Thank you so much to all my wonderful readers, followers, and friends. I'm totally blown away by the fact that I received my 200th review for this story today. Oh my gosh! I'm so very grateful for the amazing feedback you've all given me. Thank you with all my heart! Also, I want to thank everyone who nominated and voted for my stories in the 2017 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards. It is such an incredible honor to be among the many talented nominees and winners. {B

Shout outs to my creative consultant, Captain Vegeta, and my beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. These two girls are so awesome, there are just no words to describe how much I adore them. Thank you both to infinity and back. ILY!

Okay, let's do this! Thanks for reading. ;) CJ

Chapter 8 – Breaking Point

It was a proven fact that the Shellraiser's top speed was about one hundred twenty-five miles per hour, which was nothing to scoff at considering it was a revamped, old subway car. But as truly impressive as that speed was, the vehicle was still going around seventy-five miles per hour too slow for Leonardo's liking right now.

Normally, the sensible leader practiced safe driving skills when behind the wheel of his genius brother's most cherished invention. In fact, Leo's cautious nature was the main reason why Donatello had chosen his oldest brother as the designated driver of the Shellraiser in the first place…

"Now, I've assigned everyone to a station based on your individual skill sets. I can't drive, because my station's in the back. So…"

"DRIVER!"

"Leo drives."

"Why?"

"He's least likely to hit something just for fun."

"True…"

Had the brainy turtle been there at this very moment to witness Leonardo's suddenly reckless behavior, he would've revoked the leader's driving privileges, permanently. In his haste to get to the location of his second youngest brother's T-phone, Leo had pretty much thrown all caution to the wind. With the exception of a few hairpin turns that required him to do some last-second braking in order to keep the Shellraiser upright, Leonardo had been going full throttle the entire time. Something Donatello most certainly would've never approved of. However, the rest of Leonardo's family didn't seem to have any objections to him driving like a maniac, therefore, he continued to do so until they neared the location of Donatello's phone. Once they were within about a hundred feet of where the GPS indicated Donnie's T-phone was, Leo pulled the Shellraiser to a screeching halt, parking it in an inconspicuous alleyway to keep from arousing any additional suspicion from humans.

The family immediately climbed out of the Shellraiser and commenced searching the area, with Leo leading the way, as to be expected. He had his T-phone held out in front of him like it was a compass, squinting down at the tiny coordinates on the display.

"According to the GPS, his phone is somewhere in this vicinity."

Upon hearing Leo's announcement, Raph whipped out his own T-phone and fired off a call to his genius brother, figuring it was the best way to pinpoint the phone's exact whereabouts.

Then, they all listened attentively.

With his sensitive hearing, it was no surprise that Master Splinter was the first to detect the familiar ringtone of Donatello's phone.

"I can hear it, my sons! It is coming from above." Before even finishing his second sentence, Master Splinter was already effortlessly scaling up a nearby fire escape to make his way to the rooftop. An instant later, his three sons were also climbing up the side of the building, anxiously following their father as well as the sound of the Donnie's T-phone.

They found the device lying abandoned in the middle of the rooftop, just a few feet away from the genius turtle's discarded bo-staff. Other than those two items, the space was completely empty.

Much to their despair, Donatello was nowhere to be seen.

Mikey bent down and scooped up his immediate older brother's T-phone, clasping it close his heart, as if holding something of Donnie's might bring him some form of comfort.

No such luck…

"Donnie! Donnie!" Moving along the edge of the building, Leonardo searched for any signs of his missing brother. The rest of the family started to comb the rooftop as well, not really sure what else to do. Up until this point, they had all been clinging to the small speck of hope that Donatello would still be with his phone.

That little bit of hope was now draining out them like water through a sieve.

Soon after they began exploring the rooftop, Mikey's blue eyes widened in sudden recognition.

"R – Raph… Isn't this the same roof that we found – " The youngest turtle stopped mid-question when he saw that his hotheaded brother had already come to the same unnerving realization. Mikey could tell this by the way his big brother was glaring at the three distinct gouges carved deep into the metal roof vent.

It was the exact same rooftop where they had found Donnie lying unconscious the night of Spike's transformation.

Was it just a freaky coincidence or had Slash planned this?

Was he really that vindictive?

From his current vantage point, Mikey could see Raphael was taking the discovery even worse than he had. The turtle in orange thought for sure his vile-tempered brother was going to burst into flames at any second.

Fortunately, Master Splinter's voice distracted Raph from spontaneously combusting.

"Leonardo." Just a little way from where Donatello's bo-staff laid stock-still, Master Splinter stopped and stared down at the surface of the rooftop with a clearly shaken expression. An expression the boys rarely saw from their father.

Upon hearing Master Splinter gasp out his name, the oldest turtle felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, like his insides had turned to stone. Even worse was seeing the distraught look on his father's face. It made Leonardo's chest tighten with indescribable dread. He wasn't sure just how much more of this he could take…

The leader approached Master Splinter with hesitant footsteps, as did his two brothers; scared of what they were about to see.

It didn't take them long to figure out why their father was so noticeably upset.

There, on the surface of the rooftop, was what appeared to be a significant amount of blood.

As soon as Michelangelo saw the deep, crimson stain, he whimpered and walked away, not emotionally equipped to deal with the reality that that was his closest brother's blood.

Leonardo also turned away, as if to gather his composure.

Raphael, on the other hand, kept his gloomy eyes fixed on the pool of blood, despite his growing agony inside. The hotheaded turtle felt the need to stare at the evidence of his younger brother's pain, as though he didn't deserve the reprieve that looking away could possibly bring. He owed Donatello that much.

As he continued to gaze down at the gruesome bloodstain, Raph could hear his last conversation with Donnie ringing inside his brain…

"Has he hurt you?"

"Y – Yes."

"How bad, Donnie?"

"R – Raph… you d – don't – "

"How bad, Donatello?!"

"'B – Bleeding p – prof – fusely b – bad."

It had been hard enough hearing those words, but actually seeing the proof brought Raphael ever closer to his breaking point.

"This is all my fault. That monster has our brother and it's all because of me." Shoulders sinking right along with his heart, Raph continued to gaze down at the rooftop through a thick layer of tears. He would have given anything to take Donnie's place right now. The thought of his genius brother out there somewhere, hurt, terrified and alone, made the hotheaded turtle want to scream.

For several awkward moments, Leonardo found himself hopelessly tongue-tied, torn between a seemingly infinite number of emotions. He sealed his eyes shut, trying to steady himself before he said or did something he would most certainly regret. A part of him wanted to chew Raph's shell out for what he had done, while another part of him wanted to bypass the lecture altogether and simply throttle his red-masked brother without mercy. Leonardo had heard the awful things his hotheaded brother had said to Donnie to make him leave the lair. He had seen the broken look on Donnie's face before he had run off. He had been forced to listen to the blood-curdling screams of his second youngest brother. All because of Raphael's hurtful words…

"All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"

All because Raphael couldn't control his temper…

How could Leo not blame his hotheaded brother for what had happened?

But there was another part of Leonardo that could see just how much Raph was suffering over what he had done. The remorse was hurting the red-masked turtle far more than any unkind words or punches the leader could have thrown at him.

Ultimately, Leo chose to try to spare his temperamental brother any further torment. Not necessarily for Raph's sake, but for Donnie's. Leonardo needed Raphael's help if they had any chance of finding their missing brother.

"This isn't your fault, Raph." The turtle in blue just hoped that the actual words sounded far more convincing than what he was feeling inside.

In no mood to listen to his older brother attempt to put a positive spin on what had happened, Raphael's response came out in a bitter growl. "Don't give me that sanctimonious crap, Leo! You know just as well as I do that Donnie would've never gone off on his own if I hadn't lost my temper and yelled at him!"

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie to you. Yes, you were the reason for Donnie going topside alone," Leo admitted, trying like shell to keep any iota of anger from his words as he spoke. "But Slash is out for revenge and he obviously had his sights set on our brother from the get-go. You and I both know Donnie would've eventually gone off on his own at some point, whether you yelled at him or not. It was only a matter of time before that monster went after him." Once he finished with what he had to say, Leonardo turned around and looked Raphael square in the eyes, if only to keep his own eyes averted from the revolting sight of his little brother's blood staining the rooftop.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better, Fearless? Because it doesn't! That psycho took our brother to get back at me! That blood… Donnie's blood… is on my hands, Leo!" Needlessly pointing towards the stained rooftop at his feet, the hotheaded turtle's body started to shake. The intense rage and immense sorrow were getting to be too much.

"Raphael, I understand the burden that you are carrying inside, but perhaps it would be best to focus your energy on what is truly important here: finding your brother. There will be time for penance once we have located Donatello." The tone of Master Splinter's voice was terse, maybe even verging on bitter. He was beginning to feel as though his two oldest sons had lost sight of the bigger picture.

"With all due respect, Sensei, I don't think you could possibly understand what I'm feeling right now." Casting his gaze away from his father's judging eyes, Raphael's own eyes once again landed on the three gashes left in the roof vent. Seeing them instantly reminded him of something Slash had said during that awful phone call…

"Me and Donnie boy had a little unfinished business to take care of. Isn't that right, Donatello?"

Raphael couldn't help but wonder just how long Slash had been plotting this. Had that monster been stalking them for the past three weeks?

Was everything that had happened so far part of some sick, twisted plan?

"My son, you are not – " Master Splinter's words were abruptly cut off by his youngest child's high-pitched voice.

"Dude!" When they all turned to look at Mikey, he was holding Donnie's T-phone out as far away from himself as possible. His once-wide eyes were screwed tightly shut, like he was suddenly terrified of the object clutched in his hand.

"What is it, Mikey?" The first one to make it over to Michelangelo's side, Leonardo tried to console his youngest brother, only to have his efforts rejected. Mikey immediately shoved the T-phone into Leo's plastron, desperately trying to rid himself of the device as though it was pure evil. This caused the oldest turtle's heart to hammer inside his rib cage. He was quick to snatch the phone from his petrified baby brother's hand; afraid Mikey was going to drop it.

A moment later, Master Splinter was beside Michelangelo, holding his son in his arms in a vain attempt to calm him. He guided his youngest child to the opposite side of the rooftop, away from where Leonardo stood. The blue-masked ninja was now staring down at the phone in utter horror, informing Master Splinter that he was better off not seeing what was on the small device. He shuddered to think what could have gotten his children so visibly rattled.

While Master Splinter continued to comfort Mikey, Raphael approached Leonardo, moving at a slow, tentative pace. Whatever was on that phone had made their baby brother even more of a basket case than normal, and Leo didn't look a whole lot better.

Drawing in a rickety breath, Raph ceased his forward momentum just inches away from where Leo stood. The red-masked ninja swallowed nervously before peering down at Donnie's T-phone still clenched in the oldest turtle's hand.

"Is that… Is that a –" Raph started, but he had to stop halfway through his sentence to keep himself from totally losing control.

Unable to look at the appalling image a second longer, Leonardo shifted his teary eyes away, which only confirmed Raphael's suspicions.

The hotheaded turtle yanked the phone out of his older brother's trembling grip and stared down at the picture that had been set as Donnie's wallpaper. The background image was slightly blurry, but it was clear enough to make Raph's skin crawl.

There on the screen was a picture of the genius turtle, lying on what was presumably the same roof that they were standing on. Donnie looked to be unconscious and badly beaten. But as appalling as it was for Raph to see that his most peaceful brother had been viciously attacked, it wasn't what ultimately sent the red-clad turtle over the edge. The object latched around Donnie's neck did.

Rushing to the ledge of the rooftop, Raph screamed out one word into the night, over and over again, until his voice was raw and hoarse.

"Slash! SLASH! SLASH!"

From four buildings over, an enormous figure loomed in the shadows, spying on the three turtles and their rat master while they frantically searched the rooftop for their missing loved one.

They were never going to find him.

A lopsided smile crept across Slash's face as he watched on with eager anticipation. The youngest brother had just bent down to pick up Donatello's T-phone. The very phone that Slash had purposely left behind for them to find. Always a bit of a scatterbrain, Michelangelo failed to notice what Slash had placed on the device right away, but the largest turtle knew it was just a matter of time before someone thought to check the phone on the off-chance Donatello had left some sort of clue behind.

They would find no such thing. Instead, they would come across the little message Slash had made especially for them.

He couldn't wait to see their reactions.

This is gonna be too good…

Presently, the family was so caught up in their futile search efforts, they had no interest in the phone, but Slash was confident one of them would eventually discover his special message. Then, they would surely come undone, all thanks to him.

While he continued to watch them from afar, he made sure to exercise more caution than normal. That was partly because he knew how angry he had made the family. That anger made them much more dangerous than before. But it was also partly because the brothers had brought their 'father' along. Slash never in a million years thought that the old rat would venture up to the surface to aid in the search. During his time spent with the Hamato clan, Slash had noticed it was very rare for the former human, now rodent to leave their lair, even during times when his sons were in grave peril. Slash had always assumed the turtles' sensei suffered from some sort of phobia or disorder.

The rat's presence was something the largest mutant had not factored into his plan. Hence, the reason Slash was staying further away than he usually did when stalking the brothers. While the three smaller turtles didn't intimidate him in the least, their father certainly did. Slash knew that Splinter was a grand master of Ninjutsu. He also knew that the rat had extremely heightened senses. He had seen how Splinter could take the brothers down with practiced ease during their constant training sessions. It was as though Splinter didn't even have to put any effort into it. In other words, the rat was definitely not someone Slash wanted to tangle with.

The giant turtle focused his attention back on the family, making sure to use the darkest shadows to conceal himself. He could see that the four of them had stopped to gather around something they had found on the rooftop.

Hmm… What do we have here?

When the little one walked away from the group like a coward, Slash knew they had found the bloodstain the brainy turtle had so conveniently left behind.

Another sinister smile made its way across Slash's face as he continued to observe the family's varied responses. From what he could see, it looked as if Raphael's initial reaction was sadness, but the red-masked turtle was now going off about something to Leonardo, waving his hands around as he did so. Raphael looked to be quite upset about something. Perhaps the sight of his brainy brother's blood was a little too much for him to handle.

Oh, poor Raphael… Slash internally scoffed without even a smidgen of sympathy. As far as he was concerned, Raphael deserved to suffer for what he had done to him. He deserved to suffer in the worst way possible. Slash zeroed in a glare on his former master, taking endless gratification in watching the smaller turtle's distress. The enormous mutant couldn't help but reflect back to one of the last conversations he and Raphael had had before the turtle in red had betrayed him…

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"The others hold you back. Limit your potential. Ya don't need 'em. Just like you said."

"No! They're my brothers. I never wanted this."

"There's no turning back now."

"Stop! I won't let you hurt 'em!"

"I'm not here to fight you!"

"But I wanna fight you! You're not Spike! You're some kind of warped monster! A deranged, hideous freak!"

For as long as he could remember, Slash had been nothing but loyal to Raphael and Raphael had repaid him by calling him a warped monster and a deranged, hideous freak. Then, Raphael had gone and chosen his useless brothers over him…

"I'd rather be like my brothers than you any day."

Even now, Slash's insides burned with hatred for his former 'caretaker.' He had once thought that he and Raphael shared a bond deeper than brotherhood. He had mistakenly thought that he and Raphael were one and the same, but the turtle in red had turned on him and Slash despised him for it…

"We are nothing alike! You're pure evil!"

The words still made Slash's blood boil.

Well, Slash intended to show Raphael just what an evil, warped, deranged monster he could truly be. The hotheaded brother would pay dearly for what he had done, as would poor little Donatello. The genius turtle was about to learn the hard way exactly what monstrosities Slash was capable of and Raphael would never be able to forgive himself for it. The guilt over losing one of his precious brothers would no doubt destroy him.

Heh. It'll be the ultimate revenge.

Keeping his seething eyes glued to the red-masked ninja, Slash could see that Raphael was now pointing at the surface of the roof. The rat master then began to speak, probably offering up some words of wisdom like he always did whenever one of them was upset about something. The old rodent could be as long-winded as the 'fearless' leader. The two of them were always handing out advice no one actually wanted or needed…

It was at this point, Slash suddenly heard Michelangelo cry out like he was in terrible pain. That was when Slash knew they had at long last found his message.

It's about freakin' time!

Upon hearing the youngest one start blubbering, the almighty Leonardo was instantly at his baby brother's side, followed by the rat, and then, Raphael. Pathetic, little Michelangelo appeared to be completely inconsolable, which brought yet another smile to Slash's face. He then watched Leonardo's response to the message and it was divine. Fearless wasn't so fearless after all. It looked as though he was going to drop to his knees and cry like a girl.

Slash would've paid good money to see that…

Finally, it was Raphael's turn to look at what was on the purple-masked turtle's phone.

The reaction was exactly what Slash had been hoping for. So much rage. So much hate. So much grief. Then, it got even better when Raphael charged to the edge of the roof and started screaming out Slash's name, again and again, for all the world to hear.

Slash listened on with unrepressed amusement as Raphael's voice started to go out on him for the second time that night. And still, even without a voice, the red-clad turtle was trying to yell out his name.

When Raphael's voice was all but gone, the old rat stepped towards him, presumably to console his unhinged son. Before long, Splinter's scrutinizing eyes were scanning the surrounding rooftops, as if he suspected that someone was out there, watching them.

This was Slash's cue to quit while he was ahead. After all, he had gotten precisely what he had come for. The chance to witness Raphael's emotional downfall was reward enough.

Slash's towering figure retracted deeper into the cover of the shadows, letting them swallow him whole. Just as the rat's eyes veered towards the rooftop where Slash had been posted at, the massive reptile ducked behind a roof vent. Had he lingered around a few seconds longer, the old rat would have spotted him.

It had been a little too close for Slash's comfort. With the highly-trained Ninjutsu master out hunting for him, the immense mutant turtle decided it would probably be best if he laid low for a few days… maybe longer. Either way, it was definitely time to call it a night.

After all, he needed to start working on 'housebreaking' his new pet…

To be continued…

Author's Notes: Uh-oh. No good will come of this…

Please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story. It's always good to know if people are still reading and if they still like the story. Oh, and it's my birthday today, so please try to refrain from leaving me any flames on this chapter for at least 24 hours. It would be nice to not get my feelings hurt on my special day. I'm just saying… XD

Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it far more than words can convey. ;) CJ

*Special Note: I just wanted to thank everyone who checked out my latest TMNT Shell Shot, 'Promises Broken.' I really, really appreciate it.