When Donatello woke up, he was not in New York anymore. He was lying on a flagstone floor in a square room that looked as if the walls were also made from some sort of stone. There were torches in holders on the walls, and yet, the shadows cast by them had a bluish tint to them.

There was a slight scuffling noise, and then Mona popped up out of thin air. Don just watched her, used to her sudden comings and goings by now.

"Oh good, you're awake," she said happily as she saw him. "I was afraid those demons did something to you."

"How long've I been out?" Don asked.

"Oh, an hour, maybe two," Mona shrugged. "I brought you here because it's safe from Raum and his crew. Plus, we have a huge problem that needs to be addressed."

"Do tell," Don said dryly.

Mona fixed him with a stern look. "Don't be smart. Come on, we have to see my boss." She helped him to climb to his feet and lead through a side door.

There was something very large in the room. The very faint-torch light made it hard for Don to see exactly what occupied the space, but it was huge. And it was restless. Whatever it was, it was shifting from foot to foot, fluttering, never stopping its motion.

The thing finally noticed them. "Mona – there is-"

"A rather large problem, yes," Mona said, looking just as restless. Don realized the thing's voice sounded familiar – it was who Mona called her boss, the creature hidden in shadow he had met previously.

Now the creature addressed him, "How long has the Risen One known of your new duty?"

Don stared blankly. "The…sorry, what?"

"The Risen One!" It said impatiently. "The only One capable of joining with you to banish the demons who would steal the souls for their own gain!"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Don shrugged.

"Donatello, have you told anyone of your secret?" Mona asked him.

"Well, Raph, but-"

Mona let out a little squeak.

"Peace, Mona, peace." The creature said. Something flapped, and Don thought he saw a few feathers, though he couldn't be sure.

"Hey, I thought you said if I told anyone, there would be consequences."

"And there have been." Mona's boss came a bit closer – Don caught a glimpse of a clawed foot. "By you telling your brother, you have alerted Raum that there is indeed a new death, and a new Risen One. Now he will do anything in his power to keep you from collecting any souls, and keep you away from your brother."

"Why would he keep me away from Raph?" Don asked, "If he wants me away from my family, keeping Raph away wont' do it – I have two other-"

"Silence, New One."

Don shut up.

After a great much more shuffling, the creature finally stepped out of the shadow he concealed himself in.

The purple-banded ninja was now craning his neck to look up at a giant black owl, no less than ten feet tall. It looked down at him and opened it's beak – the now familiar voice came out.

"Donatello, the Risen One, the only one able to help bring down the demons without serious harm to himself, is your brother Raphael."

Don stared at him. "That's ridiculous."

"Who had the easiest time letting you go off to do your duty?" Mona asked mildly. "As I am aware, your brother Leonardo still feels uncomfortable about it. And Michelangelo may believe you, but the tasks ahead of you would cause his personality to fade."

"Just curious, how is it you know all this?" Don demanded.

Mona smiled. "That's not something you need to know."

"So tell me something I do need to know."

Mona's smile faded, and she backed away slightly. "Raum and the demons he commands are fast running out of souls, since you've been doing your job so well." Her smile returned a bit, "But they won't be satisfied much longer. If they can not get to the souls of the dying, they will turn to a different option."

"And what's that?" Don had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"Children."

The giant owl stepped in at this point. "Children's souls are not as guarded as adults'." He explained. "They are not quite as easy to get as the dying, but they are not impossible either."

"But…children…who aren't even on their way out, I couldn't even dream of-"

"You don't have to collect their souls as you do a dying person," Mona continued. "This is where your brother comes in. He will not be able to collect souls as you do, and you will not be able to protect them as he will be able to do."

"Protect them?"

"Your brother, the Risen One, has been given a special task, just as you have. In fact, because of you. Raphael will be able to guard the souls against anyone or anything – except you, of course. You must help each other to banish the demons back to where they came from."

Don sighed. This was all becoming very complicated. "And how are we going to do that?"

Mona shrugged. "That's all we can tell you, I'm afraid. Now you must consult the book, and find answers for yourself."

"But-"

Mona snapped her fingers, and Don found himself standing in the middle of his bedroom once again.

He had barely reoriented himself when there was a short knock at the door, and Raph let himself in.

"Hey Donnie, there's kinda a problem with the- what's the matter?"

Don had turned to look at him with an "Are You Kidding Me, I Can't Fix Something Right Now!" look.

"Raph, we have to talk."

-

An hour later, the two brothers were sitting at the kitchen table, the book and Morris the cat sitting between them.

"I don't get it," Don despaired, "she said to consult the book, but there's nothing in there."

"Well I'm this Risen thingy right?" Raph asked, grabbing the book and flipping it open. "Maybe it'll work for me."

He flipped through a few pages, but all they yielded were blank pages. "Guess not."

"Ugh," Don banged his head on the table. "I did not ask for this job."

"Look braniac, we just gotta keep tryin'. Yer the research guy anyways, ain'tcha?"

"I guess. How am I supposed to research this though?"

"Google?"

Don rolled his eyes. Raph shrugged. "Worth a try."

Morris stretched luxuriously and padded over to the book, sniffing it for a moment before batting at the cover. Don absent-mindedly pushed him away. The cat came back, batting some more. Again he was pushed away. Un-phased, the feline came back a third time, and this time managed to get the book open.

"Morris, what are you…" Don glanced down at the book and snatched it up so suddenly Raph started.

"What?"

"Shh…it's writing something."

Don stared at the text intently.

"So what does it say?"

Don looked up at his brother disbelievingly. "Try Google."

-

"Okay, so there's two possible places the demons will strike tonight," Don said. He was sitting at his computer, Raph leaning over his shoulder. "St. Peter's Children's Hospital, or the orphanage down on 35th."

"Why those places? There's plenty of places kids are."

"Yeah, but these places are where children are their weakest. It would be easier for the demons to take their souls."

"Okay, so here's the puzzle," Raph said, leaning back. "Which one of the places do we go to?"

"That's the problem," Don said. "We don't know which one to go to. And we can't split up, because we need to be together to defeat them. The only thing I can think of to do is to recruit Mike and Leo."

"But you can't tell them what's going on."

"Right."

Don leaned his head on his hand, tapping the desk with his other. "I have a plan, but it's going to take some finesse."

"Any skull bashing?" Raph asked, "'Cause that's more my area of expertise."

"Actually, yes, but leave some for the demons," Don snorted. "Do you wanna hear the plan or not?"

"Lay it on me, geek boy."

"Okay. So we're going to pick the hospital and go there. What we need is to have Mike and Leo to go to the other place. We're going to tell them that you owe me a favor and are going to accompany me to the junkyard – we'll have to stage something for you to owe me the favor."

"With ya so far. You and me are at the 'junkyard.'" Raph pulled out a sai and began to balance it, a habit he had when he was thinking hard. "So how are we gonna get Mike and Leo to the orphanage?"

"That's where you come in," Don continued, "I need you to get in a fight."

Raph grinned. "No problem."

"With the Purple Dragons."

"Also no problem."

"And then admit to Leo you can't handle it by yourself and ask for backup."

"What? Hey, I don't-"

"It's staged, remember?" Don rolled his eyes. "Anyway, on our way to whichever place we pick – or the 'junkyard' – we're going to split up long enough for you to find the Purple Dragons, rile them up enough to chase you, and then lure them to somewhere around the orphanage– just outside it would be preferable, but whatever you can do."

Don began to fiddle with a pen on his desk. "This is where it gets kind of tricky."

"Like it wasn't before?"

"Shut up. Listen. Tell one of them – actually, make it Mikey, he'll be more willing to do it – tell Mikey he should go inside and skulk around and make sure all the kids are okay, and tell him if he sees anything weird to contact you. Make sure the number of Dragons you lure isn't overwhelming, because you need to have a "fight" with Leo and do your disappearing act so you can meet up with me at the hospital."

"Okay, and the demons come in where?"

"If the demons are at the orphanage, Mike will notice something weird going on and call you, and we can go back. If they're at the hospital, we'll know. Also if we get tied up with them at the hospital and don't show for a while, Leo's bound to track you through the shell cell, especially after your little "fight.""

Raph grinned and shoved his sai back into his belt. "It's gonna be a fun day."