~!~ This is broken-hearted wings speaking. This is my first turtlefic, so you'll have to bare with me while I sort things out and get my muse levels up and going. This wasn't too terrible for my first chapter ever posted, a little short. I'm aware that the Leo and/or Raph leaving idea has been done plenty, but I'm hoping to add a little twist and some Mikey-humor in there too. I hope it isn't too boring, as I tend to open my stories with fighting and action, etc., so if this one moves a little slow, then make sure you wait for the next chapter! I'm promising fists, blood, and action! And Raphael! So read on and press the lovely review button down at the bottom! I have cookies! ~!~

Chapter One

"Wahah!"

"Mikey.."

"Donnie! I don't wanna die! I dont wanna- Ow!"

"There. All done. You can open your eyes now."

"You sure?"

"Yep. No more big, bad needles to stick you with. I am unarmed."

"Heh, right." Smack.

"Ow!" Mikey rubbed his head and glared in the direction of his older brother before bouncing off the chair and snatching up Clunk. "I won't let the evil Donatello have you, no I won't!" The purple-banded turtle gave him a look and grabbed a bandage, pushing his brother back into the chair with one hand and wrapping his arm with the other.

"Gah, sit still! If only Raph were here, then you'd.." He trailed off and the younger turtle met his gaze, unhappiness shining in his eyes. Donatello wished he hadn't opened his big mouth. "Sorry, Mikey." The orange-banded turtle bit his lip and Don sighed.

"If Raph were here, a lot of things would and wouldn't happen." Mikey muttered, getting up and running lightly back to his TVs and video games. His brother watched him go and sighed again, heavily. Raph, shelferbrains. And Leo too. Without the two of them.. He turned to look at Master Splinter, who was kneeling in front of his master's orb. He had barely moved from that spot for days, always watching and waiting for the inevitable to happen, for one of his missing sons to turn up, dead or crippled.

We never did well solo. Donatello sat down, resting his chin on his hand as he looked from Splinter's hunched form to the back of Mikey's head, staring stubbornly at the bright screens. Don didn't have to see his face to know what expression was there. Out of all them, he'd always been the most passionate, the most empathetic. He felt this separation worst of all.

At first, Don had thought that he hated Raphael, for doing this to them. He was the force of their team, the powerful vibrations that moved the tsunami forward from the ocean. He was brute force to Don's calculating mind, raw power and endurance to Mikey's streamlined speed. But it was his forcefulness that had created the crack that had split their family, Leo against Raph, an ageless battle.

But the purple-banded turtle knew he could never hate his brothers. Either of them. But without Raph to move the wave, or Leo to guide it, they were a simple current, pushing aimlessly against a sandy shore. Even the Purple Dragons had been walking all over them. And Michelangelo wasn't helping. His recklessness never ceased; he only made things worse, especially with only one pair of eyes looking out for him.

If Raphael or Leonardo knew they were taking on criminals by themselves, the two of them would be furious. But Leo was out searching again for the Ancient One. He'd told them that he was looking for the answer to his anger, like his second sensei would hand him a key and everything would be okay. They all knew that wasn't going to happen. He was only leaving to try to give Raph some space and to improve himself; he wanted to be a better leader.

Donatello made a face. The Ancient One had done well the first time when it came to confronting and disarming Leonardo's anger, but this was different. This was between them. Something only they, as a family, could solve.

He got up from his chair and walked over to Master Splinter, kneeling quietly. He rarely sought out comfort from his father, which was usually something his older brothers did, because their problems had always been pressing and physical. Don found solace in his family and in his work. Now he only had one, and it was the lesser of the two.

Splinter looked up at his son after a moment more of meditation and murmured,

"What is it, Donatello?"

"It's Mikey." His son informed him. "He's depressed and unhappy. He wants his brothers back." Splinter looked at him for a moment.

"So do you." He said, as wise and perceptive as ever.

"Well, yeah.. But Mikey's different. He needs someone to look out for him, especially when he goes topside. I can only watch him so much; he needs Leo and Raph." There was a pleading tone in his voice. He didn't want to lead. He would never shirk the responsibility, but it wasn't a job he was ready for. And he was so alone.

"I know." Frustration spilled into his voice and Donatello had to take a moment to calm down. He never got angry, especially not with his master. But he'd do anything to get his brothers back, to make sure Mikey was safe.

"So try and get Leo and Raph to come back! We need them!" His sensei looked at him quietly, his brow furrowed.

"This is not just your journey, Donatello." He said gently. "They are following their own paths and learning their own lessons. If that is what it takes to make them realize that they need us, their family, then we must be patient and allow the future to run its own course." Don bit his lip, not wanting to blurt out something insensitive.

"But we've always shared our future. We're brothers, we're a team. Our destinies have always been linked, you said so yourself. Running solo has never worked for any of us; we're a team for a reason and without one of us, or two of us, we can't function right." Splinter lifted an eyebrow as he continued to gaze at his orb.

"Indeed, your destinies have been linked, and will remain that way. But there is no reason for you to learn the lessons that they might require. Raphael must learn the value of patience while Leonardo must learn to believe in himself and trust his instincts." Don knew what he meant.

"And Mikey has to learn not to be so impetuous; he trusts his instincts a little too much." The turtle sighed. "I understand where you're going with this, Master Splinter, but this lesson learning isn't going to happen fast enough. And you know going vigilante isn't the honorable way." He looked at his sensei meaningfully.

"Raphael knows this, but he is too stubborn and too hurt by Leonardo's actions to put away his anger and guilt. At least he is holding on to compassion and is trying to help people and not take his anger out on them." Shocked, Don shook his head. Raph would never, ever do that. He may act and talk tough, but everyone knows he's a big marshmallow on the inside.

"But Leo's problem isn't with himself, it's with Raph and us. All they did was argue.. And everything fell apart.." Don knew his guilt was misplaced. He hadn't been involved in any of it, and had he known that Raph would leave after Leo did, then he would have stopped it. But he had thought that Leo was doing the right thing, leaving to give both of them some time to cool off and be rational. Until Raphael had taken his anger out on the others and gone rogue. Splinter sighed.

"Raphael is his own person. I cannot force him to-"

"But Master Splinter!" Mikey emerged from behind the couch, looking desperate. "He's gonna get himself hurt out there!"

"It's not him getting hurt that I'm worried about." Donatello muttered under his breath. Mikey ignored him for once.

"You've always said that we are a team. Donnie and I can't handle all these Foot and gangsters by ourselves. We need Raph and Leo back! Ask Leo to come back; he will once he finds out. Then we can solve this whole thing with Raph." Splinter touched the orb with a single fingertip.

"He's searching for answers-"

"So is Raph!" Mikey interrupted, again. Splinter looked up, but his son carried right on. "Listen, Master Splinter. We never worked well when we go solo. Leo got his butt handed to him by the Foot and it took him days to recover! Donnie turned into a rabid monster and-"

"Raph ended up blind once." Don offered. "He told me about it."

"Exactly! Bad things happen when we do things by ourselves. We have to get Leo back and find some way to talk Raph out of his.. um, issues, and put our family back together again!" Their master looked back and forth between the two of them. Donatello, who looked agitated and overwhelmed, and Michelangelo, desperate.

"All right." He said, and Mikey whooped, punching his fists into the air. Don face palmed, groaning. Of course Mikey's whining would get him farther than Don's logical debate. It only figured. Master Splinter held up a finger and his youngest son quieted.

"But there will be complications. It will take energy and concentration for me to contact Leonardo, or the Ancient One, and call him back here. Secondly, Raphael will not be eager to return if he knows that his brother is already here. And," A sad look drew upon the rat's furry features, "He doesn't seem to think much of listening to me. He wants to, but his fear of favoritism has always manipulated his feelings."

"Yes, well." Mikey muttered. "It isn't hard to envy our Fearless Leader."

"You sound like Raph." Don informed his brother with a snort. "And since when do you worry about that? Physical stuff has always come easier to you. Anyways," He turned back to his master, questioningly. "How do you think we should go about doing this? As you said, Raph won't just waltz in if he knows Leo's here."

Mikey seemed to have an answer.

"We could lie." He pointed out. Don wished he could tell someone to smack his little brother, though he didn't dare tell Master Splinter what to do. Giving Mikey a look, the purple-banded turtle pointed out that,

"We're trying to get him to come back and be a part of the team again, right? Don't you think lying is not the best way to instill a sense of trust and cooperation?" Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

"Cooperation, swoperation." He said. Don rolled his eyes.

"Seriously. How are we going to do this?" Mikey grinned.

"I'll tell you how!"

"Mikey..." Don groaned. The orange-banded turtle laughed in his exceedingly annoying and exuberant way, a sound that Donatello realized he hadn't heard in quite a long time. It arose his suspicious feeling that arose whenever Mikey looked like he was concocting some evil scheme to try and remind all of his brothers who had won the Battle Nexus Championship.

"This isn't just some scheme; we really need this to work!"

"I know, Donnie! Just hear me out." Donatello sighed. He was going to regret this, he just knew it. Mikey beamed when his brother stayed silent. He then proclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air that,

"In order to reunite my family and bring my brothers back, I will be run over by a truck!"