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

*Author's Notes: At long last, here is chapter 22 of 'Slash's Revenge.' I sure hope everyone's still with me.

Thank you so much to my readers, followers, and friends. I adore ALL of you!

CJ

Chapter 22 – No Hope in Shell

Body arched forward and fists tightly clamped behind him, Leonardo continued to sprint across the rooftops at breakneck speed. Every so often, he would check his T-phone to confirm he was still heading in the right direction, but he never let this slow his stride. All the while, Michelangelo and Master Splinter maintained the same fervent pace as the eldest turtle, not wanting to fall behind. They were both reasonably certain Leonardo would leave them in the dust if they failed to keep up with him. He hadn't even bothered to look back to see if they were following.

Entirely caught up in his thoughts, the turtle in blue had barely spoken a word since taking to the rooftops. Of course, his refusal to talk may have also had something to do with Mikey repeatedly – and annoyingly – asking what Raphael had said…

"So, what'd Raph tell you, Leo?"

"Just that he'd found Donnie and they're on a rooftop by a Channel 6 News billboard."

"Well, he must have said something about Donnie's condition. Is he okay?"

"Raph said he's unconscious."

"Unconscious! Dude! Why's he unconscious? What happened to him?"

"I don't know, Mikey. That's why we need to find them. Now, let's go!"

"But you still didn't tell us what Raph actually said about Donnie, Leo! Are you trying to hide something?"

Leonardo knew his baby brother was just concerned about Donatello, but due to the extremely stressful circumstances, the broken-record approach had been grating on the eldest turtle's nerves, big time. Fortunately, Master Splinter must have noticed this. His astute intervention had succeeded in putting a swift end to Mikey's exasperating interrogation…

"My son, your concern for your brother is understandable, but for the time being, I believe it would be best to do as Leonardo says without further question."

It had been the nicest way to tell someone to 'shut up' Leo had ever heard. And, as an added bonus, it had worked like a charm. Michelangelo had been unusually quiet ever since. While, at first, this had seemed like a blessing, the oldest turtle was now starting to worry about the youngest one. It wasn't like Mikey to go more than a minute or two without making some kind of noise. The silence was most likely a cry for help, indicating just how much he was hurting inside.

We all are, Mikey…

The sound of his T-phone ringing out mercifully interrupted Leo from his troubled thoughts. Without missing a beat, he snatched up the phone and held it up to his ear slit. "Yeah?"

"Yo, Leo. I got the Shellraiser, just like you said. This baby is super sweet! How come you never – "

Forgoing manners in the interest of time, Leo's uncharacteristically gruff voice stopped the caller's sentence short.

"Okay, now I need you to head towards Raph's GPS location. We'll explain more when you get there. In the meantime, try not to get pulled over or hit anything along the way."

"No worries, Leo. Casey Jones is an awesome driver. See ya in a few."

No sooner had the call ended when the turtle in blue's face stretched into a grimace.

If Donatello ever found out that Leonardo had actually asked Casey Jones to drive the Shellraiser, there would no doubt be severe consequences, but the oldest turtle couldn't see any other way around it. If Donatello was in as bad of shape as Master Splinter and Raph had claimed, they couldn't waste precious time lugging him halfway across the city. The Shellraiser was hands down the best option they had. And since Leonardo needed April to stay back at the lair to get the infirmary ready for their arrival, he had been forced to enlist Casey's help. As much as Leo didn't like the idea of the rather reckless teenager cruising around the city in Donatello's most-prized invention, the eldest turtle hadn't had much of a choice. He simply couldn't trust Casey with getting the infirmary set up. Leonardo may not have known the human boy all that well, having just met him a couple of weeks ago, but the leader in blue already felt fairly confident that, if left alone inside of Donnie's lab, Casey Jones would destroy everything in sight, including himself.

Tucking his T-phone back inside his belt, Leonardo continued to dart across the rooftops as though he was on autopilot. Tunnel vision fixed straight ahead, the oldest turtle focused solely on what was in front of him. According to his GPS, Raph was only about a half mile away, which meant they should spot the Channel 6 billboard sign any second.

As if he had tapped directly into Leonardo's thoughts, Mikey's voice finally rang out for the first time in ten minutes, loud and boisterous as ever. "THERE IT IS!"

With that said, the blue-masked turtle popped his head up to lay his all-white eyes on the billboard sign they had been searching for. Then, it was Master Splinter who broke his silence.

"I see them!"

Rushing past Leonardo as though he was standing still, the old rat revealed he had intentionally been lagging behind the whole time.

The leader's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment while his mouth turned down into a pout. A dozen or so demeaning turtle jokes came to mind, each one more belittling than the last. Leonardo just hoped Master Splinter would spare him the humiliation of voicing the obvious terrapin stereotypes that went along with being slow.

Swallowing his pride, Leo rushed towards the rooftop where Master Splinter had already dropped into a kneeling position. Every step closer the oldest turtle got, the more his stomach twisted into knots. He had tried to prepare himself for the worst, but it still wasn't enough.

The way Raphael was hunched over Donnie just about made Leo fall to his own knees and the terrified leader's momentum and breathing all but stopped.

No!

"DONNIE!" Mikey raced past his oldest brother to get to his other two siblings. A moment later, he, too, was down on his knees. Panic immediately setting in.

At long last, Leo made his way over to them. Though it had only taken him an extra second or two to get there, it had felt like hours. As soon as he was standing beside his family, he also dropped down to the rooftop and hovered over the genius turtle. Mouth ajar, unable to form any actual words, Leo could only gape down at Donatello's severely beaten body. That night Slash had first attacked them was nothing compared to the gruesome wounds that seemingly covered every inch of Donnie's skin.

This!

This was just plain evil.

While Donatello's three brothers sat there, trying and failing to take it all in, Master Splinter began the gut-wrenching task of examining his brilliant son's many injuries. The dutiful father's long face was pinched into a bitter scowl, leaving no question just how utterly appalled he was by Donatello's deplorable condition.

Afraid his anger might come pouring out, Splinter tightened his lips into a thin line as he continued his examination.

Before long, the silence grew too heavy for the brothers to stand. A very distraught Michelangelo was the first to speak.

"Is – Is Donnie gonna be okay, Sensei? Why's he still unconscious?"

"I do not know, my son."

The response made Mikey's jaw tremble with sorrow; unsure which question Master Splinter had been answering. Either way, the youngest turtle knew things were really, really bad. He could tell just by the way his two oldest brothers were acting.

"I tried and tried, but I – I couldn't get him to wake up." The agony in Raph's voice was palpable, making him sound years younger than he was. He was clinging tightly to Donatello's hand that was swathed in a strip of tattered, crimson fabric.

When Leo noticed the familiar red material, he looked over at his hotheaded brother and soon discovered that Raphael's mask and wraps had been removed. No doubt he had used them to try to staunch the blood flow, but there were still more wounds that needed to be treated. Following Raphael's lead, Leonardo quickly started to remove his own mask and wraps. A moment later, Mikey was doing the same, eager to help in any way he could.

"Tell me what you have learned of his injuries so far, Raphael."

The temperamental turtle peered up at his father with a wide-eyed expression.

How could Sensei possibly expect him to answer such a question without totally losing it?

As Raphael struggled with how to respond, Leonardo's most soothing tone sounded out, soft and compassionate.

"Just tell us what you can, Raph."

These words immediately triggered the memory of something else the oldest turtle had said not all that long ago…

"I know it's hard, Raph, but you have to pull yourself together."

A slight nod of the head indicated the red-clad turtle's accord. He apprehensively cleared his throat before speaking in a fragile voice that sounded nothing like his own. It was as if someone had turned his volume down to the lowest setting. "His leg... it's, uh... it's pretty infected. And his hand... it looks… it looks like… his finger was… just about cut off."

A loud gasp from Michelangelo caused Raph to stop and stare down at Donatello's mangled hand, which was still firmly clutched in the hotheaded turtle's own blood-stained hand. Raphael was trying to apply pressure to the wounds, while at the same time, hold onto his critically injured little brother for dear life.

"You are doing well, Raphael. What else can you tell us, my son?"

Haven't I said enough already? Raph thought miserably, but forced himself to continue for Donnie's sake…

"Right now, you have to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about Donnie!"

"When I… When I found him... he was totally out of it. He kept saying I wasn't real… like he was hallucinating or something. Maybe it's because he's got a really high fever?"

"That is one possibility, yes. There are a great number of things that could contribute to such a state." As he muttered his uneasy response, Master Splinter tenderly wrapped Michelangelo's bright-orange mask around a deep cut on Donatello's less-injured thigh. The father was doing anything he could to distract himself from the metal collar still latched around his gentlest son's neck. Something that would surely need to be removed upon their return home, but it currently posed no threat to his child's life.

It did, however, pose a serious threat to Slash's life.

No one treated one of Hamato Yoshi's children in such an inhumane manner.

No. One.

"How could someone possibly be so cruel and heartless? Donnie – he never did anything to hurt anyone."

"You're right, Mikey. The person who did this to him is nothing more than a coldblooded monster." Eyes still fixed on Donatello, Raph let his tears dribble uncontested down his face. This time, not even the rain could hide them. The added moisture didn't go unnoticed by his family.

As if taking a page straight out of the Captain Ryan playbook, Leonardo spoke with so much conviction, it was almost laughable. "Don't worry. Slash isn't going to get away with this."

"I wasn't talking about Slash... "

They all knew what Raphael meant by this statement, but no one tried to debate it. They were all battling with their own inner demons at this point.

Raph hung his head down even further than it already was, as his own voice began to mercilessly mock him yet again, with all the sympathy of a gunshot to the gut…

"You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"

"I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"

"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!"

Then, it was Donatello's ominous voice relentlessly taunting him…

"You did this to me, Raph!"

"You sent me off to my death!"

"You aren't m – my brother! I know you're n – not, because m – my brother... My brother doesn't – he doesn't care about me!"

"Y – You – you left m – me for dead!"

"It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."

With the obvious exception of Donnie's, all eyes were now upon Raphael. The turtle in red could feel their heavy stares burning holes into his flesh, but he refused to look up. Not because he was scared to see their reactions, but because he was too ashamed to lift his head.

"He's gonna die because of me."

Another gasp squeaked out of Mikey before his indignance took center stage. "Dude! Don't say that! Donnie's gonna be fine! He's gonna be just fine!"

Raph vigorously shook his head, unable to forget the words from his nightmare…

"It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."

"If we lose him, it'll be – "

"SHUT! UP!"

One would have thought that those two words had come from the youngest turtle, who was clearly the most emotional member of the family. Not just now, but at all times. But the words weren't spoken in denial or hurt, like they would have been if Mikey would have said them. They were spoken out of sheer, unadulterated rage. So much rage, it was enough to make Raphael finally look up, and the moment he did, he saw the fire smoldering in his older brother's stormy blue eyes.

Before Leo had a chance to further demonstrate his anger, his T-phone blared out, cutting through the thick tension like a sharp knife.

"Talk to me, Casey."

"Hey! The GPS says you're right above me. Can you guys see the Shellraiser?"

Grateful for the excuse to get up and walk away, Leonardo peered over the side of building and breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief. Mostly because he saw the Shellraiser parked in the alley below them, but also, because the vehicle still appeared to be in one piece.

Leo wasn't exactly sure who he had to thank for that, but he was eternally indebted to whomever it may be.

"Yeah. I see it. Guys! Casey's here." The clipped, no-nonsense tone of Leonardo's voice signaled that he had shifted into full-on leader mode.

Though his family craved an explanation for Leonardo's unexpected outburst, they understood this sudden new mood change. The need to get Donatello back home far outweighed anything else right now.

"How are we gonna get him down there without hurting him more?" Michelangelo asked in a whisper-soft voice, clearly worried about his injured brother's safety.

Without so much as a word, Master Splinter crouched over Donatello's unconscious form and lovingly gathered him up into his arms, like the teenager was a sleeping infant. The father held his son this way for a prolonged moment before carefully hoisting his wounded child over one shoulder. Donatello emitted several whimpers of pain, but otherwise, remained unresponsive.

None of the boys questioned their father's decision to forgo any assistance. They knew from firsthand experience it wasn't wise to mess with Master Splinter. Especially during times of crises. Plus, it almost felt as if they would be intruding on the poignant moment between father and son.

True to form, Leonardo led the way down the side of the building. Master Splinter followed closely on his heels with relative ease considering the substantial weight of his cargo. Mikey was next in line, matching the tempo set by his oldest brother. Raphael lingered behind them, moving at a deliberately slower pace. As he made his way down to the pavement below, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them, but the presence didn't feel threatening like it had before.

Something had changed.

Something Raphael couldn't quite explain for the life of him.

Gazing through the dense shadows surrounding them, Raphael half-expected to spot a pair of equally fierce green eyes shining back at him, but there was nothing.

Perhaps, it had just been paranoia.

But the feeling was so strong.

A feeling he hadn't felt for some time now.

Not since before he had lost –

Spike…

Fighting back yet another round of tears, the temperamental turtle realized that what he was searching for; what he was desperately hoping to find was long gone. On the heaviest of feet, Raphael climbed inside the Shellraiser and settled in next to his badly injured brother. Less than a second later, Raph buried his face in his trembling hands, attempting to muffle the sob that somehow managed to escape the recesses of his throat.

He couldn't go through this again. It was all too much to bear.

Losing Spike had broken Raphael's heart beyond repair.

But losing his little brother?

That would completely destroy him.

There's no way in shell he could possibly go on without Donnie.

No way any of them could.

If Donnie didn't survive this, Raphael didn't know what he was going to do. His family would never forgive him. Sure, they had claimed, over and over again, that he wasn't responsible for what had happened, but Raphael had seen the look on Leonardo's face just minutes ago. He had heard the unmistakable hostility in his older brother's voice. Leo blamed him. They all did. They could deny it all they wanted, but the fact of the matter remained: Raphael was the reason Donatello was dying.

He was DYING!

A fact that was now killing the hotheaded turtle as well.

To be continued…

*More Author's Notes: Ouch! This chapter makes my heart hurt. The family is finally reunited, but it's definitely not a happy reunion. Poor Donnie. Poor Raph. Poor everybody.

If you're still reading this story, please, oh please, let me know and take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on. I would absolutely love, love, LOVE to hear from everyone and could really use the positive feedback. Things have been a bit rough lately… /(,o︵o,)\

As always, thanks so much for reading.

CJ