Season 5- Episode 2- Missing Him

—-

Raph couldn't stop training. All he did lately was use the punching bag to try and calm down, which didn't manage to work. It was either that, or lock himself in his room. He felt guilty for not being there for Mikey and Leo, and even Splinter or his friends, but he could feel himself falling apart. He missed Donnie. He couldn't accept the fact that his little brother…

That Donnie might be gone.

He noticed how Leo was constantly checking up on everyone. Like a true leader, he always cared about his team. Even if Leo felt intense guilt, since Donnie sacrificed himself especially for him.

Mikey ceased being as positive as he was before. He lacked energy, and the smile that he used to constantly wear.

Splinter wouldn't leave the dojo, since he tried nonstop to contact Donatello through meditation.

Casey and April were coming over here and there, making sure that everyone was taking care of themselves. But aside from that, they, themselves, weren't in the best shape.

And Karai? Well, she, like Raph, constantly trained. And like Leo and their friends, she always made sure that everyone was taking care of themselves. But it wasn't a secret that she felt guilt for what had happened to Donnie. And as much as Raph wanted to blame her, he couldn't. He lacked the energy to, and he knew that it would make things worse.

Raph sighed as he sat on his bed, staring at nothing. He knew that he needed to leave the room. Even if it wasn't long since Donnie sacrificed himself. Not long at all.

Splinter gave them a break from training and patrols, obviously. He insisted that they needed to gather themselves together if they wanted to look for Donnie.

Raph sighed as he finally got up from his bed, and slowly walked towards the door.

He opened it and looked around, noticing how everything was quiet. He walked slowly to the kitchen, basically dragging himself by force to take each step.

He opened the fridge and grabbed some leftovers, knowing that if he wanted to get ready for finding Donnie, he needed the energy for it.

"Raphael?" He turned around as he heard Karai address him.

"I told you that calling me Raph is fine, princess." He rolled his eyes as he went to heat up the leftovers.

"Of course, Raph." Karai smiled as she sat on the chair near the table.

"Are you doing alright?" She asked, her smile being replaced with a worried frown.

"Is that a serious question?" Raph asked cynically as he took out a plate.

"You are right. I apologize." She sighed, as Raph looked at her.

"You don't need to apologize. And it's not your fault, you know." Raph mumbled as she whipped her head to his direction in surprise.

"You don't blame me?" She gasped out.

"As much as I want to, I know that I can't. Not only Donnie would get mad at me if I did, but it's mainly because of what has been going on lately." Raph replied with a frown.

"What do you mean?" She asked in curiosity.

"Well, since Donnie found out about the Shredder, he was getting… Worse. You noticed it too. Not only that, but he wasn't allowed to leave the lair. It probably made him much more determined to do something about us being in danger. He made a decision that he was going to make sooner or later." Raph sat beside her as he started eating, and she simply stared at him in silence.

"Oh… I did notice. Actually, it's one of my main reasons for leaving in the first place. To take care of the Shredder and make sure that he could go back to normal again." Karai mumbled sadly.

Raph stared at her, understanding exactly why she did whatever she did. He probably would have done it as well. Perhaps it's the reason as to why he can't get mad at her.

"We shouldn't act as if Donnie is gone forever. There's still hope." Raph flashed a quick smile at her.

She stared at him in surprise, and slowly smiled back at him.

"Yeah… You are right." She said quietly.

"And when we get him back, we aren't going to leave his side until he's better." Raph chuckled, making Karai giggle as well.

"Obviously." She sighed with a smile.

"Hey, guys." Leo greeted as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Leo." Both Raph and Karai responded.

"You seem better. I'm glad." Leo smiled a sad smile, as Karai flinched with guilt. Raph noticed her flinch with a raised brow as Leo's back was turned to them, looking through the fridge for something to eat.

"Yeah. We need to get better in order to look for Donnie. Remember?" Raph said nonchalantly as Leo's shoulders stiffened.

"Yeah…" He responded with a hesitant sigh, closing the fridge and giving up on eating.

"And it's not your fault either." Raph added as he finished eating.

Leo flinched once again as he turned to look at him.

"It isn't?" He asked, like a little child waiting for an approval.

"Yes. We both knew that Donnie would leave the lair sooner or later and put himself in danger. Now that it has happened, we need to find a solution." Raph bit his inner cheek in frustration with himself, sad that he couldn't help Donnie in a time of need.

"...True." Leo responded after a few seconds in a sad tone.

"And we need to help Mikey and Splinter, and also Casey and April, get back to their usual self. We need to stay focused on finding Donnie." Raph declared.

Leo looked at him in surprise, until a small smirk formed on his lips.

"Say, Raph. You seem to be very calm. It's unlike you." He said, making Karai chuckle.

Raph, ignoring the sting, replied. "Yeah, I'll make a good leader." He rolled his eyes.

"Not really. But you do have the whole 'calm right when you need to be' thing figured out, apparently. Since when are you so collected, little brother?" Leo asked in serious curiosity.

"First of all, I'm not 'little'. Secondly, I guess that you simply don't know me enough to figure it out yourself." Raph huffed.

"It's still something to be proud of, Raph." Karai said with a smile as Raph blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled as he looked away, as Leo and Karai gave him knowing smirks.

"It's going to be fine, Raph. We will get Donnie back and you can bully him all you want." Leo said, as he and Karai smiled and Raph slightly smirked.

"You promise?" They looked to the side to see a depressed looking Mikey enter the kitchen slowly, looking as if he had cried for days, which was probably true.

Leo hesitantly, looking all over Mikey's form, replied.

"Yes, little brother. You can calm yourself. He will be back to normal in no time."

Mikey smiled, something that he didn't do for days, as he ran to Leo and hugged him.

"Thanks…" He mumbled quietly, as Leo hugged him back.

"Don't worry, Mikey. It will be fine." Leo replied with a calm smile.

—-

Splinter couldn't stop meditating. He swore that he could see flashes. Flashes of Donatello's mind. He swore that he could sense that Donatello was still in there.

That he wasn't gone.

Not yet.

He couldn't give up now. He must find his son and make sure that he's safe.

—-

"Are you alright, April? You seem off lately." Irma hesitantly asked as she and April walked slowly through the school's halls.

April seemed distant. She didn't lift her gaze from the floor as she didn't smile or laugh for days.

"Both you and Casey." She looked behind her to stare at Casey, who followed them, that looked just as off as April.

"It's just… Something personal had happened to us." April replied quietly as Irma knew that she shouldn't dig in any further.

"I see." She said hesitantly, still curious, but not about to invade their privacy. Besides, something to upset 'Casey' THIS much is probably something very bad and personal.

—-

"ARGH!" The Shredder yelled as he slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne in anger, the slam echoing all over the room as Bradford flinched.

"We can fix this, master. We still have a chance to capture Donatello and Karai!" Bradford exclaimed in determination.

The Shredder went quiet for a few seconds.

"You are correct, Bradford. It's not too late." He declared.

"Of course it isn't, master." Bradford bowed his head in respect.

"I shall fix the mess that Hamato Yoshi had caused. I will make sure that such a thing never happens ever again." The Shredder growled in rage, determined about his new mission.

—-

And this is it for this episode! Please stay tuned!