Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction ❯ 3 Weeks ❯ 7 ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: snarky

Thank you all so much for reading, and reviewing! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you seemed to like the last chapter. Now let's head back to the others, shall we?

Disclaimer: They still don't belong to me. It's a real wound to my ideal future.

----------------------------------------------------------------- -

“Okay, guys, you know the drill,” Leo stated, folding his arms over his plastron firmly. After dropping in to collect Casey, they had assembled on the roof of his building for a brief meeting before getting patrol underway. “We're going to take the same routes as last time. Try to make it a good, clean sweep. Don't rush through an area just because it was useless last time. It's not about covering everything tonight, it's about covering what we can thoroughly. Most importantly, be careful to stay out of sight.” He paused to take a breath and continue, but a gusty sigh from Casey cut him off. A sharp flash of something went through his face, causing his brothers to take a few cautious steps away from the human. “Is there a problem, Casey?”

Mikey, utilizing his usual amount of tact, tried to gain the vigilante's attention with large gestures and muffled grunting noises. He shook his head frantically, drawing his finger across his throat, in an effort to convey the value of keeping one's mouth shut, but to no avail. Donatello made no similar efforts, slightly peeved that Casey would bring Leo's precautionary speech to a standstill. The sort of pep-talk he'd given earlier had somewhat renewed the genius's determination to find his brother, and the more time they spent up here, the less time they had to search. His eyes narrowed and he shook his head slightly. Their human friend remained ignorant to the warnings of Michelangelo.

“D'we really have to go through the whole spiel again, Leo? I mean, ya went over this stuff last time, right?” The youngest turtle groaned exasperatedly, hands dropping to his sides. “Seems like wastin' time we could be usin' to search for leads.”

The icy glare Leonardo affixed him with was one usually reserved for anyone in the `mortal enemies' category, and fully capable of sending a group of Foot ninja running, should he so desire. The blue-banded ninja stepped forward, leaning his face towards Casey's in a challenging invasion of personal space. Mikey groaned once more, exchanging a glance with Don.

“Yes, Casey, I'm aware of the fact that you've heard this little `spiel' before. And yes, it is necessary to run through it again. In case you haven't noticed,” he seethed, oozing cold fury, “we're missing one of our brothers. I'd rather spend a little more time going over a few precautions than bring that number up to two. So if you don't mind, the only thing currently holding up tonight's patrol is you.” The human backed up a step, hands in the air in surrender, but still bristling slightly for being spoken to so condescendingly. Donnie decided it was time to intervene.

“Can we pick another, more convenient time to have it out? Preferably when Raph's here to jump into the fray? Being out of leads has us all wound a little too tightly, but this squabbling isn't helping us, and it certainly isn't helping him. Now, please, let's continue where we left off.” His voice was sharp and derisive, and Leo's stance immediately relaxed. He backed away from the hothead, both seeming equally ashamed. Mikey breathed a very audible sigh of relief.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to jump on you like that-” The human cut him off, clapping him on the shoulder roughly.

“Ah, it's no problem. Yer just tryin' to look out for Don and Mike. Not like I didn't know you was frustrated. Let's get this show on the road, right?” He said, grinning behind his mask. Leo nodded, determined front back in place, before addressing his brothers.

“Right. Like I was saying, whoever took Raph is still out there somewhere, and we don't know if they're looking for the rest of us as well. Keep hidden and be sure to check in every thirty minutes. Report if you get into trouble, even if it's only a small-time fight. We can't take any chances. If you find any clues, call it in right away and we'll all meet up at April's place. Headsets?” He asked, putting his own in place. Mikey gave him a thumbs-up, flashing a slight grin that sent an unexpected pang through the oldest brother's heart. It wasn't natural to see his creative, outgoing brother looking so world-weary.

“Fully functional,” Donatello stated, any obvious outward signs of his previous frustration already receding. Leo inclined his head softly in acknowledgement of the fact. His normally pacifistic brother's eyes were bright and fierce. In Raph's absence, he had the tendency to be more aggressive and assertive during any given situation. The leader could see the message very clearly: he'd do whatever he had to do to get his little brother back. He found he wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment.

“Then let's get going.”

*******************************************************

“Checking in. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Donnie?” Leo asked, timing on the nose, as usual.

“Nothing here, either. Sorry, Leo.” Though his brother couldn't see him, the eldest nodded grimly.

“It's fine. Just keep it up. Mikey?”

“Nothin' here. I'll keep looking, bro.”

“Alright. Talk in a few.” The brothers disconnected with a simultaneous sigh.

Crouching cautiously, Leonardo settled himself upon the now-familiar roof of the warehouse where they'd found Raphael's belongings. This was where he always ended up after his initial run, watching, waiting for some sign of the unknown enemy's return. So far, there hadn't been so much as a stray animal. Truth be told, by now he knew better than to expect anything to turn up. By now, he simply wanted to be as close to his missing brother as possible.

Seeing his brother's belongings lying there, stripped from him and cast aside into a pile like garbage...The sai he had always cared for with the utmost respect...Just remembering made him sick to his stomach. Leo reached down towards his side, fingering the red mask that he had looped around his belt. A mask, a discarded pair of sai on the wall, a few stains on a rooftop... He brushed his fingers against the cold concrete, heart twisting painfully, bringing moisture to the corners of his eyes.

It wasn't enough.

Not when they'd spent the earliest years of their lives attached at the hip. Back before the word `leader' had been ever been brought up. It wasn't enough when they'd only recently been able to make even the slightest attempt to build a bridge across that strange and painful rift. Not when Leo had hurt his brother so badly in a single moment of bad judgment. Kneeling on a cold warehouse roof, he spread his fingers gently over a dark red stain as though sheer force of will could bring his little brother back. It would never be enough, because he might never be able to apologize. It could never be enough, really, because his brother was not there.

Now, the eldest turtle did not generally consider himself to be an ungrateful person. He appreciated all of the lessons life saw fit to teach him, regardless of how harshly the lesson had to be administered. Like when Splinter had sent him to train with the Ancient One: he'd left the encounter a stronger person than he had been when he arrived. This event, Leo supposed, could be construed as a lesson in not taking someone for granted. He hadn't noticed until Raph was gone just how much of an impact the hothead made on their family. The younger ninja had been a constant presence, quiet and angry and strong, always having their backs, watching out for them, jumping to their defense with that insane protectiveness. Without him, they were incomplete. Without any of them, the others were incomplete. The blue-clad turtle closed his eyes against the tears threatening to fall. If he was meant to learn that lesson, it was learned a million times over by now.

3 weeks...21 days.

21 mornings of waking up to a mockingly quiet lair, a silent Michelangelo, an aged Master Splinter, an overworked Donatello. 21 days of starting his katas, only to end up staring at the sai mounted on the dojo wall, waiting for their wielder to return. Knowing they may be mounted on that wall for the rest of their lives. 21 days of waking up clutching the familiar red mask like a lifeline, cutting off a scream left over from his now frequent nightmares. 21 nights of fruitless searches, building frustration and hopelessness, fighting back the urge to shout and threaten and destroy whatever he could get his hands on because Raph wasn't there to do it. His brother was gone before he'd been able to tell him how much he was worth.

Mikey hadn't taken him for granted. He'd soaked up every opportunity to spend time with his brother, to play with him and tease him and get him to laugh: that low, rumbling laugh that they almost never heard to begin with. Of course, knowing what you stand to lose before you lose it just makes the blow that much harder to take. The youngest turtle was doing his best to come through this on two feet, to remain optimistic, but Leo could hear his nightmares through the walls at night, heard him run into Raph's room as if on autopilot. He wasn't sure which hurt him the most to hear: the nightmares or the muffled sobs the youngest tried to hide in his big brother's pillow afterwards. It didn't matter when it came down to it, because he couldn't bear to set foot in Raph's bedroom long enough to comfort him. He was a coward and an even bigger failure because of it.

Was this anything like what his brothers had gone through, Leo wondered, when he'd stopped writing while in Central America? Just...waiting, day after day, for some sign of life, any kind of hint that he still existed? It was no wonder Raph had been so resentful of him. Not knowing what had happened was torture. His determination was weakening by the day, no matter how hard he tried to hold onto it, to be strong for his family. He couldn't be strong much longer, he couldn't watch his family fall apart even as he tried to hold them together, like watching water slip through the cracks between his fingers, and just the thought of a future with only three brothers out of four drove him insane. This...was all his fault. He couldn't take it anymore.

Leo was snapped out of his all-consuming spiral of guilt and hopelessness by the ringing of his shell cell. Reaching for his belt, the blue-clad ninja pulled it out to make sure he'd heard correctly. He frowned, wondering why on earth his one of his brothers would call when they had the headsets on and fully functional. They wouldn't, his brain said with a sharp kick, which meant it was either April, Casey or Splinter. Without further ado, he flipped it open and brought it to his ear with a tense “Hello?”

“Leo? Leo, can ya hear me okay?” Casey's voice, loud and stumbling over words, made Leo wince slightly and pull away from the phone.

“Yeah, Case, I hear you. What's wrong?”

“Nothin's wrong. I need ya to call the guys and get to April's place fast as ya can. I got somethin' offa these guys and-” Leo didn't need to hear any more. By the time he'd relayed the message to his brothers, he was flying across rooftops at record speed.

Please let this be it. I can't take another dead end.

----------------------------------------------------------------- ------

Right, another chapter posted. I know it's not got the most of anything in particular. But I've got a game plan for every chapter (pretty much), and I thought this should be thrown in there. What do you think? Reviews are a request, not a demand.