Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were created by Eastman and Laird but are owned by Nick. So, despite my personal feelings towards Nick, the turtles do not belong to me. I only own my original characters.

Title: What You Never Lost

By: AmberShine/KagomeSMercury

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Partially AU.

Summary: Five years ago a massive collapse in the sewers left one turtle separated from his family, believing his family was dead and struggling with memory loss. Now, when a strange clan called the Foot involve themselves, things could turn deadly for a certain young turtle…

A/N: Well, this is my first TMNT fanfiction, so I would love your feedback. For those of you who are wondering when I was going to update any of my other stories, they will be updated and/or uploaded. As for Ninja Turtles, I have never really written for them before until just about a month ago when I started to write notes on a small oneshot for Donatello. While I never finished the oneshot, this story hit me when I was actually writing a new chapter for my Inu-Yasha fanfiction. So…I guess you can blame the plot bunny on that xD!

Also, I PROMISE I will go back and show you more about what happened in this story. I am just trying to write a different style for my writing and I'm testing to see how this one works out. If not, I will most likely be editing this story until I get a product I'm truly happy with.

Chapter One: Nightmares Return

"Donatello, my son! Hurry!" His master called out. It was easier said than done. When debris and massive amounts of water were keeping you from trying to catch up, it was hard. Water was rushing and even Leo was having a hard time trying to keep up with their father as they struggled to avoid the rising water.

Nearby construction had started to cause collapses on supporting walls within the sewers. Donatello could vaguely remember the sudden explosions and then the massive chaos that ensued.

"I-I'm trying!" The young ten year old turtle called out. The young turtle was not exactly scared of heights like his eldest brother had been, but rather, he was scared of drowning. How ironic considering he was a turtle…

Splinter never got the chance to reach down and grab his son before an explosion and the pain of a massive rock hitting his head. Donatello felt himself losing consciousness as he hit the water below…

Donatello jerked awake from his bed. Sweat covered him and he found himself shivering as the 15 year old glanced down and saw his blankets were lying on the cold concrete below.

"Not again…" Donnie murmured as he rubbed his forehead to sooth a headache that had already started to form. Over the past few years, the young turtle hadn't really had dreams about the tragedy in his past. Mostly because the small turtle had come to accept the fact that the tragedy had already happened and he needed to get on with his life.

However, it still did not stop nightmares and dreams that came about from his dead family. Family…a word he described with mixed feelings. He had no family for almost a year until he turned 12. That was when he accidently revealed himself to an elderly Japanese couple when he saved them from a mugger.

The couple, Takahashi Akira and Sorano, had never once told anyone about their small friend who was not a human who often visited them (and more than often, he often stayed at their house during the winter months). Akira was a gentle old man who had studied martial arts up in his youth and throughout most of his adult life when he immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. Well, as for Sorano, she a woman who loved to cook for Donatello and for the local soup kitchens. So naturally, they took kindly to the quiet turtle coming and going during the summer months.

Pushing himself out his bed, the turtle wearily got up and walked into the small kitchen area of his "home." Despite the pain the sewers had caused him in the past five years, he had actually found a small area of the sewers that he had stayed in off and on. Now that he was 15 and his love for computers and electronics grew, the small lair of his turned into a small home for him. Donatello's main reason for staying in the sewers was because he knew Master Splinter would have wanted it for him.

However, the winter months were upon him and Donatello, despite his best ability to keep his small lair warm in the winter months and easily hidden thanks to technology, knew the chances of him becoming very sick again was high if he risked staying in the sewers any longer than he had to. It was already late October and while there had only been a few light snows for the winter, the teenaged turtle knew the worst weather was still to come.

Donatello blinked as he opened up his small refrigerator and gave a small groan. There was no milk left and he had already run out of coffee a few days ago.

"I guess it is water and bagels again," he told no one in particular. How odd. He was talking to himself as if there was company in the kitchen to listen to him talk. In all honesty, Donatello wondered if it made him crazy he liked to talk to himself.

In the first two or three years living here, Donatello had pretended every once in a while he was having breakfast with his entire family here. Mikey would still provoke Raph by stealing the last bit of cereal. Leo would be trying to get Mikey and Raph to quit fighting while Splinter would be watching television (on the television that Donatello had fixed and repaired for the entire family to use) of some strange soap opera. Then they would be off in the dojo training after breakfast.

Yeah, those days lasted up until Donnie started to hit his 13th birthday and finally realized that, despite him pretending, he would not be having a breakfast like that again. Now, Donatello simply talked to himself to help keep from going mad.

Several minutes into his "breakfast" and watching television, a ringing sound brought Donatello's attention to his shell cell – a mobile cell phone like device he had created to talk with the Takahashi family if they ever needed anything in an emergency – and he answered.

"Hello," Donatello replied, sounding a bit cheerful. Hmm…maybe it was he was excited to talk to someone other than himself for a change.

"Hello, Donatello. Sorano was wondering if you were still coming by tonight to help repair the oven. We would call a repairman, but since you a smart child…" Akira's voice sounded amused as he trailed off.

Donatello smiled and resisted the urge to point out he was no longer a child but did not. Akira had always called him child almost from the moment he rescued the elderly couple, "Sure Akira. I understand. I'm not busy right now anyways." Which translated to, 'I have nothing else I'm doing than besides playing with my experiments and training.'

"Thank you child. Blessed are we to have you in our lives," Akira replied which made Donatello blush and beam inside. Yes, the Takahashi family was his family in so many ways.

"No…it is nothing. See you in small bit," Donatello replied. The turtle heard the click on the other before he hung up his shell cell. Now he had just an entire day to find something to do until he went to the Takahashi's house.

Time supposedly helps heal wounds. It is supposed to help ease the pain anyone feels in their life when they have experienced problems and loss. Time is also supposed to help you learn to eventually move on with your life, especially after you have lost a loved one.

'Sure,' Splinter thought, 'time may help ease wounds but it does not make you stop thinking about that loved one.' The elder rat, in many times in the past five years, often reflected on loosing people in his life. He lost his Master Yoshi to the leader of the Foot Clan and five years ago, he lost one of his sons.

The rat was never one to really try and focus on the pain in his life when his sons were present. However, since his sons were currently off playing video games (mostly Raphael and Michelangelo) or in the dojo, he found the best time to think was when he had the peace and quiet. Now, he read a journal to try and help make sense...of what…he could not really explain…

Journal #1 – January 10, 2001

Hello…my name is Donatello. Wow, that was a great introduction. I'm just glad I finally got a journal I can write in. Hopefully I will fill this journal full of lots of memories and details. Anyways, back to me.

I guess I am not what you would call normal. You see, 9 years ago I was covered in strange ooze which mutated me into what I am now.

What was I, you ask? Well, I was born like any normal turtle. Yes, I was born a turtle. Hard to imagine huh? Anyways, I was just a normal baby turtle up until one day some canister of a strange liquid feel down a storm drain and covered not only me, but my brothers as well.

We were mutated into walking, talking turtles. I guess I would say that my brothers and I are all turtles that can walk and talk. We all have our own special personalities and abilities that separate us from humans. First off is we are ninjas (more like ninjas in training) and our father is a giant rat.

Well, we call our father Master Splinter because he is training us in the art of ninjitsu. (At times, I admit, I would prefer to be playing with the electronics Master Splinter has found in the nearby junk than training. I hate the idea of hurting someone else…)

Anyways, back to my brothers…there are four us. Each of us wears ninja masks. (Though the ones we have now look like a bandana over our head rather than an actual ninja mask. I'm afraid to point that out to one of my brothers who just adores these things.)

Leonardo is the oldest and he wears the color blue. Raphael is the second oldest and he wears the color red. Then there is me, Donatello, the second youngest and the one who wears the best color: purple. Finally there is the baby of us, Michelangelo who wears orange.

I really do not remember how purple became my favorite…

Splinter put the journal down. He felt no reason to continue reading the first entry again. He had read it almost a hundred times at least. The thought of simply reading the journal again did not seem to make any sense either.

Today, Splinter had ended his morning practices early when he felt distant…distracted. He had not really been paying close attention to how his sons were sparring (especially Michelangelo who was taunting Raphael more than once this morning in particular).

Lately, his recent mediations had been leaving him tired and confused. What kept coming up in his mediations was his long dead son, Donatello. Though Splinter often thought of Donatello, he had not seen his dead son in his mediations in years. No, it pained him to think of the small turtle that did not grow into a teenager with his brothers now…

He had been stupid to even risk the idea of coming this far away from the comforts of their lair to simply train the boys. At least, he would like to take the blame. When he visited this area of the sewers days prior there was no sign of construction or any type of sign of human activity since the tunnel had been constructed.

However, within the chaos and continuous search of his missing son, time had passed too quickly with any hope of finding the young turtle alive. He had been searching for weeks now. For any sign of the turtle and he had revisited the area of the collapse numerous times.

However, the water was too deep to attempt to swim in. His sons were excellent swimmers but he did not risk them swimming in that water, especially when he investigated the cause of the collapse. There, within the rubble and ruined tunnels, was a familiar type of ninja Splinter had known too well.

Foot Ninja.

He would recognize the way they were dressed anywhere. Besides, even if the Foot Ninja did not keep wearing their clothes from when Oroku Saki attacked his Master Yoshi in Japan, Splinter recognized the emblem the humans wore on their uniforms.

The rat resisted the strongest urge to go and start attacking the humans. The rat had three reasons: one for causing the collapse and flood in the sewers, two for working for the Shredder, and three for causing more pain to his family. However, Splinter had three reasons not to risk exposing himself to the humans. Those three reasons lay in bed back home, incomplete without the fourth there to make them whole.

Splinter slowly edged away from the humans and took the long way back home. He stopped every now and then to make sure he was not being followed and moved quietly through the sewers. The rat moved to make a right turn when he stopped. He noticed a small piece of wood in the water.

It was not unusual to find random items in the sewer water…however this did not seem to belong in the water. It belonged back home Splinter noted as he bent down and picked up the piece of wood. He recognized it instantly as the bo staff he had been allowing Donatello to carry around. Though all of his sons had been training in different weapons and were only allowed to carry them at certain times, Donatello had been wearing his when he fell into the water…

Splinter resisted the urge to break down as he studied the broken staff. Blood stained the purple cloth that Donatello had wrapped around the staff. Though the water had smeared most of the blood, the cloth was still stained with a deep red. He was too late…

It was not unusual for Takahashi Akira in his youthful days to borrow money. However, even he knew the rent for his apartment was too high for him continue to pay. The man owed money to Oroku Saki. In his youthful days, the old man had wasted his money on gambling debts he owed. Now, he had come to that same man asking for leeway for the money due on the apartment that Saki had provided for him to live in for the past 15 years.

Akira knew Saki would come to collect. Saki had tried to collect the money Akira owed almost five years ago when a young mutated turtle saved himself and his wife. Unknown to the turtle, the 'mugger' was actually an untrained Foot Ninja. The ninja's task had been simple…kill old couple for the money Akira owed Saki.

While Akira and Sorano were surprised to have been rescued by the turtle they would never forget the young turtle who they had grown attached to.

The young turtle had accidently revealed himself that night and from then on, the couple had taken to liking him as if he was their own son. Donatello had been a quiet and broken soul when he had saved them. While they knew they did not entirely to help heal the wounds of the turtle's past (though the turtle was still weary to mention anything of his past), the turtle seemed to enjoy the company of the elderly couple.

Akira was brought from his thoughts as when his front door was kicked down. In full view was the Shredder…the man also known by the Japanese community as Oroku Saki. The older man reached for the shell cell that the young turtle had given them. While he knew the young turtle never stood any chance against him, he pushed the panic button anyways. He hoped the young turtle would stay away if the recording device activated by the panic button would keep the turtle away.

He just wished he had been able to tell Donatello more…

"Leo, it is freezing tonight. Can't we just once skip training to stay in the warm sewers?" A voice complained.

Up on the rooftops, three turtles stood as they moved around to try and keep warm in the cold weather. The sun had gone down an hour before and the weather was already bad. Snow was coming down and covering the city in a blanket of snow.

"Can it Mikey. You aren't tha only one cold," a thick Brooklyn accent replied to the previous voice. Raphael eyed Michelangelo as the two turtles shivered.

Leo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Look guys. Just a quick run and we will head back." The oldest turtle was cold but even he could not deny he wanted to be out of the sewers. Also, this run would give him a chance to clear his head. While he loved his two brothers, he could not deny they got on his nerves often. Both gave him headaches and almost gave him several ulcers from making him worry so much.

A smirk formed on his face as he recalled another brother who would tease about ulcers. His second to youngest brother, Donatello, would have teased along with Mikey that that he needed to learn to loosen up.

Donatello would simply have stated, "Leo, at least Mikey keeps you from going insane by his crazy jokes." The smirk on Leo's face was not necessarily a depressed one but it did sadden him that their dead brother was no longer with them.

"Uhh…Leo? Ya gonna keep starting off into lala land?" Raph asked. Leo turned towards his brothers and simply brushed the smirk off. Judging by how Leo had been staring into space, Raphael figured it might be because Splinter had been distracted a lot lately.

It had concerned all three of the turtles. Their master did not explain what was on his mind but they had hoped the rat would eventually tell them.

"No, come on. Let's go," Leo replied and took the lead.

Donatello walked quietly through the snow as he stood wore clothes to keep himself from freezing in the snow. The distance between his home and the Takahashi's residence was about two miles. Normally the quiet turtle would have avoided wearing clothes but it was easier for him to appear as a human in clothes when it was snowing.

It made "blending in" all easier when he was covered up in human clothes. His brown bag hung by his side and his bo staff in his hand. Though hidden by his clothes, Donatello stayed away from busy streets and took to walking in the alleyways to avoid human contact. This was why he was walking down an alleyway now.

For the most part, his route to the Takahashi's residence worked. He had a few people here and there that tried to mug him but he always managed to knock them out without creating much of scene.

"I can't wait to get there," Donatello whispered as his teeth clattered together. The turtle got his wish when he rounded the corner and stopped when he heard screaming. Frowning, he used his old ninja training to blend in the dark.

A man stood, outside of the apartment building that the Takahashi's lived in dressed in a full metal suit. Don blinked his eyes and wondered if he had his mask on too tight. There was human dressed in armor? He watched idly until he heard screaming again.

Alarmed, the turtle moved to where he could see better by moving towards the shadows again. This time he took cover behind some trashcans in the alleyway he had been walking down. The turtle scanned his with his eyes when he heard another loud scream. To his shock, he saw Akira and Sorano out in the snow.

"Akira! Sorano!" He whispered loudly to himself. What was going on here? He waited several seconds as he saw a group of humans form closer around the man in the armor. He studied them a bit longer before he realized they were dressed as…ninjas?

Gripping his bo staff, Donatello felt anger arise. He was fixing to move again when he heard footsteps from behind him and Donatello, despite his advanced hearing, turned to meet the welcoming of more of these ninjas coming towards him.

"What is this? A spy?" One asked. Donatello's eyes surveyed the group of ninjas in front of him. There were too many to count but he could see at least 15 or so surrounding him.

"We must eliminate all witnesses," a figure walked up between the ninjas and Donatello was shocked to notice a rather large man with blonde hair. The turtle gulped. He could handle small thugs here and there since he continued to practice his training that Master Splinter had wanted him to know…but this man was LARGE. He had familiar tattoo on his arm. Where had he seen that tattoo before?

Akira's blood curling scream was all that Donatello needed before he brought his bo staff in front of him. The Takahashi family needed him and he would help…even if he had to go through this large man to do it and these ninjas.

However, he could not stop the sudden fear that had risen from his stomach…

Please review and more coming soon! (: Thanks for reading!