Well, this is end of Act 1. Next week we'll continue with Act 2.

I do want to respond to one reviewer (without a username so I couldn't answer directly) about why I put up 1 chapter at a time instead of the whole work all at once. This is how I've operated for, eh, 5 years? 6 years, maybe? After I got my habit of writing distilled into a process, I wrote A LOT. A LOT, you guys. One year alone I wrote 5 novels and something like 16 oneshots. With that kind of output, I felt like there was value in letting a story emerge one chapter at a time; plus, honestly, I hate the idea of spamming people who followed me only for specific fandoms.

I'm sorry if anyone finds that troublesome. If you want, leave me a review and I can give you the schedule of when each Act will be finished so you know when to go catch up on the Act while the next one goes up. Is that fair?

In case you missed it, the theme-song for Act 1 (and for the first 4 Acts of the 8 total) is Theory of a Deadman's "Angel." You don't need to listen to it for things to make sense, but I recommend it anyway!

Thanks for sticking with me. SO much more ahead!

Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Found

His return to the world came slowly. By the time Donatello realized he was, in fact, awake – and therefore still alive – he had been blinking his eyes and staring vaguely upwards at an unfamiliar beam holding up an even more unfamiliar ceiling for some untold amount of time. Once he was certain he was not asleep any longer, however, his mind sharpened and began to work again. Events came back to him easily and he had no doubt as to why he felt as though he had been neither awake nor asleep for a long time.

Don was just glad not to be dead.

His eyes felt dry. He moved to wipe at them, only to find he could not move his arms. Nor his legs. Donatello sucked in a sharp, panicked breath, only to have it explode out of him in a fit of coughing.

In an instant, a warm, furry hand was on his head, though not one he expected.

"My friend. Breathe slowly. You must not strain yourself."

Donatello's eyes fixed on a white face above him. "U...Usagi?"

The ronin rabbit's own eyes widened. "Are you truly back with us, Donatello-san?"

Don squeezed his eyes shut, feeling an uncomfortable sandiness in them causing them to water. He forced himself to slow his breathing, counting the beats of his heart until the urge to choke had passed.

When composed, he opened his eyes again. "I think so, but...how long have I been out?"

Usagi smiled brilliantly. "Almost exactly two weeks, I am afraid. You have wandered between sense and senselessness for many days, but never have you spoken like yourself until now."

"Two weeks?" Donatello clenched his hands. "Shell."

"Indeed. Give me a moment, my friend, and I will release you." Usagi bustled to one side, quickly untying the restraining straps that held the turtle down.

The moment Donatello had use of an arm, he gratefully rubbed at his eyes, dislodging more grit. "Does this mean I'm going to be okay?"

"Yes," Usagi confirmed from near his feet. "The poison to which you were exposed lingers in the body like a ghost, but it fades with time and rest. Now that you are awake and fully aware of your surroundings, you should not lapse again. Though you may require time to heal in other ways."

"Yeah, that figures," Don agreed. He could tell his body was sore and a little weak, though that could be from illness or whatever near-liquid diet he had been on while unconscious. But other than a slight pounding behind his eyes and the urge to cough when he spoke, he felt no worse than he would expect after staying up for several nights in a row and then being woken from his one nap by something that couldn't wait.

As Usagi moved to get Donatello's other hand and Don watched, the sight of his father stretched out beside him came into view.

"Master Splinter?"

"He remains in a state of profound rest," Usagi said, "but he, too, has survived this long. I believe you must credit your otherworldliness for this. Should even I have absorbed as much as he, I would not have lived more than an hour. But he is stubborn and strong."

"It makes sense the poison wouldn't work on us the same way it does on people from here if our physiology is a little different. Plus, our blood is full of mutagen. That could have any sort of impact on the lethality of a given chemical compound." The rambling was easy and Don gave into it while he waited for Usagi to release his last bound limb.

"The Daimyo has also survived," Usagi informed him, "primarily due to the speed of your reaction and warning. He is very ill and cannot even leave his bed, but he grows stronger with each day."

"I'm glad," Don said. Then he paused. "Where're the guys? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to see you, Usagi. But...well…"

Usagi smiled and settled into a kneeling position beside Donatello but to the side so the turtle had an unobstructed view of Splinter as well. "I am not offended that you wonder after your brothers, my friend." He did not glance away, but his eyes lowered slightly. "I feel that I owe you an apology of sorts."

"Why? What happened?" Donatello's heart sped up and he had to fight to keep the coughing from returning.

"They are well." Usagi held up his hands calmingly. "They were not injured as a result of Jurou's actions, though we treated them for the poison just to be certain. However...the situation here has changed since that night."

"How so?" Don decided he was tired of lying down and eased himself upwards, able to take a deeper breath when the weight of his plastron was not spread out on top of his lungs.

"Leonardo-san has been named Heir by Lord Kawauso. He has been ruling the han in the Daimyo's place. Raphael-san and Michelangelo-san have left to go to the lands that border Nezumi's own in order to defend us from incursion."

Don blinked. Then he rubbed his head. "Did...I hear that right? Leo's the Daimyo now and Mikey and Raph went off to a war?"

Usagi nodded. "I believe Leonardo-san was convinced that accepting the appointment as Heir would ensure he could protect you and Master Splinter, for otherwise the entire han would be in danger from any ambitious rival. As for Raphael-san and Michelangelo-san, I believe...it was difficult for them."

Don would have heaved a sigh but for his breathing. He shrugged instead and nodded. "Sickroom duty's never been something either of them is much good at handling. Leo can sit by someone's bedside for days, but it's tougher for them. Mikey wants to be doing anything other than sitting still, and Raph needs to vent his worry or he goes nuts. I get it."

"I apologize that they are not here to greet you."

Don managed a smile. "Don't sweat it, Usagi. I appreciate that you were here keeping me company."

"You and Master Splinter have never been alone, nor unguarded," Usagi said, and Don realized then that the ronin still wore his blades. "When I have not been here, Leonardo-san has had trusted guards and healers here to ensure your safety and wellbeing. And he has slept the little he does sleep here, as well. He would not leave you if his duty did not demand it."

"I get it. There's a lot of people that need protecting and Leo's the best protector anywhere." It did sting a little in Donatello's heart of hearts, but he also understood and forgave Leo. Plus, he figured his older brother would have spent every instant he wasn't watching over them blaming himself for not being there, and that nagging guilt that always seemed to plague Leo was more than enough punishment for any slight as far as Don was concerned.

Usagi smiled with relief. "Your acceptance does you honor, my friend. I had hoped waking to one other than your family would not cause you immediate distress."

"I'm way more distressed by the whole been-out-of-it-for-two-weeks thing," Don said honestly. "Though I'm also kinda weirded out by Leo being the stand-in Daimyo."

"I believe that is very like what Michelangelo-san said as well," Usagi told him.

"How long will Leo be Heir, anyway? And do you know how long until Master Splinter wakes up?"

"I believe the answer to one is the answer to the other," Usagi said. "Lord Kawauso is recovering more slowly than you, but when he is again healthy, he will either find or produce another Heir, at which point he will relieve Leonardo-san of the responsibility. But I believe your brother will not willingly relinquish the role of Heir until your father is also well."

"That's Leo, all right. If he can't fight the poison, he'll focus on our physical safety." Then Don looked more closely at the ronin. "Thank you for taking care of us, Usagi. I'm really grateful. And thank you for the herbs, too. I bet if we hadn't taken those when we did, we wouldn't have made it this far."

Usagi bowed his head. "It has been my honor to watch over you and Master Splinter, Donatello-san. And I, too, am grateful that I was able to provide some help at such a crucial moment. I appreciate that in the time of greatest danger you trusted me without hesitation."

Don smiled. "Of course I did. Besides, after your herbs saved Leo in the Battle Nexus, I had all the proof I needed that you knew what you were doing. I gotta figure out what's in those, see if I can make something like them for us for when we go home."

"You will have ample opportunity to study them as you will need to continue taking them for at least another few weeks if not months. Though the poison has loosened its grip on you, I would not wish to see it return."

Don nodded. "Makes sense." He stretched his arms out, feeling the slight shakiness that reminded him of his recovery after the Outbreak Virus. "What other restrictions have I got, doc?"

Usagi smiled faintly. "I believe your body will enforce its requirements without any help from myself, but you will obviously need to continue to rest for a time. You may also find that, even after you feel entirely well, your energy will flag unexpectedly."

"Okay, well, I'll try not to overdo anything, then." He glanced to Splinter. "You sure he's going to be okay?"

"Check him if you wish, my friend. He still battles with great energy, and though it may be a good deal longer before he is fully returned to himself, I trust in his courage."

Donatello would have trusted his Sensei even in the middle of the end of the world – and had, more than once – but he took his chance to push on his hands and knees across the small gap between them so he could settle at the edge of his father's mat. He felt his body shake a bit at the exertion, but he did not actually collapse, so Don counted it a success.

Donatello didn't have his full kit and didn't feel like asking Usagi for it, but he checked Splinter's vitals as best he could on his own; he took his pulse, dipped his head to listen to his breathing and heartbeat by pressing his ear to his father's chest, checked his reflexes.

"Seems pretty stable," Don finally concluded. "Does he really need to be tied down?"

"Until he wakes, there is every possibility he will be again taken by the dangerous tremors that have plagued you both," Usagi said. "You yourself had one such attack just yesterday. This way, he will not do harm to himself, nor exhaust himself."

"Hmm."

"Donatello-san? There is one more thing of which you should be aware."

Don turned to him. "What's that?"

"Those who have endured this poison are sometimes...more easily overwhelmed by their emotions. You must know that you cannot risk great emotional trauma any more than you can risk physical trauma, for either will make your spirit weak to the last effects of the poison."

"Kind of like how you can't panic someone who's just had a heart attack. That's why you're trying hard to take it easy on me and prepare me for things, aren't you?" Don looked at him. "You're trying to help me adjust without freaking me out."

"Something like that." Usagi's eyebrow raised. "I have no guarantee that your brother will greet you as calmly as I have done, so I wish you to be prepared to care for yourself."

"Thanks."

"Do you feel ready to visit with Leonardo-san?"

Donatello considered for a moment. He could feel a shakiness in his muscles he didn't remotely appreciate, but his head was clear and his feelings were even.

And with Raph and Mikey gone who-knew-where, Leo would have been dealing with ten-thousand problems without much in the way of help.

"Yeah, I want to see him. Can you get him to come?"

"At once, my friend." Usagi rose and went to the door of the room which Donatello finally recognized as one of the small outbuildings within the castle's perimeter. From the slight scent in the air buried under the smell of green tea and familiar herbs, he guessed it had been used for making and storing ink. Usagi spoke briefly to someone outside. Donatello looked at the deep golden color of the light filtering in the partially-open door and guessed it was just around the dinner hour.

Speaking of which…

"Got any food in the meantime?" Don asked when Usagi closed the door and turned back.

"Let us begin by seeing if your body is ready for less-watered-down tea. It has been some days since you consumed more than tea, herbs, and small portions of rice-mash."

"Hmm. Good point. Leo won't appreciate it if he gets here and the first thing I do is throw up on him."

"No, he will not." Usagi's face quirked slightly as he went to the pot of water that hung over the low fire. In minutes he poured two cups of tea and handed one to Donatello. Don sat on his mat, noticing the impression his shell had left in it; the impression was not clear at all, but was blurry and distorted.

I wonder how many times I had what Usagi called dangerous tremors which I'm guessing is a seizure. Probably a lot by the look of these marks.

The tea was hot and plain, and it burst upon Donatello's tongue with extremely welcome, familiar flavor. He knew better than to drink it too fast, though, so he forced himself to savor every sip.

Donatello was just draining the last bit when the door practically slammed open.

Usagi flashed to his feet, hands dropping to his weapons, but he did not actually draw against the blur of green and robes that half-ran, half-fell into the room.

"Donnie!"

Donatello didn't have enough time to think about putting his cup down before he had an armful of Leonardo hugging him so tightly he couldn't have drawn a full breath even if coughing wasn't a risk.

"Shell, Donnie. I was starting to think…"

Donatello returned the hug as tightly as he could, grateful when Usagi rescued his cup from his hand so he could grip his brother more firmly.

"I'm okay, Leo," he said. "I'm okay."

Leo held on for one more trembling moment before he pulled back, his expression folding from almost hysterical relief to something stern and angry.

"What the shell were you thinking, Donnie? How could you just go up there and confront that guy without help? Without backup? You could have been killed!"

Donatello did not smile or chuckle, but it was a near thing. "You know why."

The quiet response took some of the wind out of Leo's sails. He glanced sideways to Master Splinter and took a deep breath. "I...I know you were trying to protect Sensei…"

"And the Daimyo and anybody else in range. I didn't know what we were dealing with, Leo. It might have been something that could kill everyone in the castle, or even the village, if it got loose. Turns out I was right, wasn't I?" Don raised an eye-ridge. "Tell me you wouldn't go alone if there was a bomb planted somewhere back home and you couldn't risk anyone being hurt if it went off."

"I wouldn't go alone if I had you to help me!"

Don shook his head. "Yes you would. You'd do it to protect us. Just like we'd protect you."

"I believe he is correct, my friend," Usagi put in. He had risen and was preparing more tea.

Leo gave a gusty, frustrated sigh. "I don't think you two should be allowed to team up against me."

"Sorry, young Lord," Usagi said with an entirely straight face and eyes that twinkled.

"Don't you start," Leo warned. He shrugged at Don's questioning glance. "That's what they all call me now. I'm not exactly a fan."

"I bet," Don smiled. He hadn't missed that his brother now wore a different kimono, one with the mon of Lord Kawauso upon it. "Seriously, Leo. I am sorry. I never meant...well. Things got a little out of hand and…" His smile faded and he looked to Splinter. "It shouldn't have happened."

"No, Don. Don't blame yourself. I know you did your best. And you saved a lot of lives. Lord Kawauso made it clear that Sensei chose to grab the poison out of the air after Jurou tried to release it. None of that is your fault. The only thing that matters to me is that you never gave up."

The warm, firm grip and the unshaken certainty in Leo's voice unwove a knot of guilt in Donatello's stomach.

"You know me, Leo. Takes more than that to stop me." He looked at Splinter again. "And a lot more than that to stop Master Splinter. I got through it and so will he."

Leo's smile seemed heavier under a certain weight and strain he had developed since the last time Don saw him. "I know. We all had faith in both of you. Speaking of which, I'm sending a messenger to the front to let Raph and Mikey know you're awake. They'll head back this way with the next report and be here in a few days."

"I'm surprised you let them out of your sight," Don said.

"If I didn't, I'm not sure how much castle we'd have left after Raph punched holes in all the walls," Leo answered. "Believe me, it wasn't easy. But...I couldn't ask them to sit here…"

"It's fine," Don said. "I understand. Though it seems weird to me for Mikey to have gone. I mean, sure he was probably bored, but a warfront just doesn't seem like his first choice."

"I think he volunteered in order to make sure Raph didn't do anything stupid."

"Since when has Mikey been any good at keeping Raph from doing anything?" Don asked.

Leo shrugged. "Well, he would have more luck than any of the samurai."

"Fair enough."

Usagi appeared with a cup of tea for each of them which they accepted with thanks. They lapsed into silence for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts and the warm, restorative tea.

After a few sips – Donatello noticed Leo holding the cup properly as they had learned in Splinter's study as children – Leo looked at his brother. "I did mean to ask you something."

"What?"

"How did you figure it out? I mean, the last I knew, we all agreed that it was over and you and I were arguing about Shuo Katsu, and then I got a message about poison and...well. What happened in between?"

Don tipped his head to one side, thinking.

"Well, there were just some things that never made sense to me about the whole thing. Like the prayer scrolls."

"The prayer scrolls?" Usagi repeated.

"Yeah. The priest and Jurou put them up because everybody was sure it was a ghost. But we figured out pretty quickly that if the prayer scrolls weren't total fakes, they should have worked. And if you remember what Usagi told us way back at the start, all the ghostly things that were happening took place outside the heavily-warded rooms in the hallway or other parts of the castle."

"That's true," Usagi said. "Except for the former Daimyo's death."

"Right. So something felt off from the beginning, like the ghost story didn't quite add up with the fact that the Daimyo died. But I forgot about it with everything else that went on until that night after I talked to Splinter about Shuo Katsu. He left to go talk to the Daimyo about commuting his sentence and I stayed to meditate. And that's when I remembered the other weird thing."

"What was that?" Leo asked.

"The body. We'd been told that the body had been frozen in an expression of terror, which had to mean poison because of how bodies go limp after death otherwise. Well, I mean, there are other possibilities, but when you added together the suddenness of the death and everything else, it was the one that made sense."

"So you figured that, what, someone had poisoned the Daimyo and blamed it on the ghost?"

"Basically, yes. That someone with something to gain had seen an opportunity when Nezumi's ghost act started and took advantage. And nobody would ever have figured it out because it was easier to believe the ghost had found a way to kill the Daimyo than to believe there were two culprits with entirely different methods involved."

"And when we were listening to Nezumi that day, he didn't say anything about poison," Leo realized. "All he talked about was scaring the Daimyo to death."

"Exactly. If he had been behind the poisoning, they almost certainly would have at least mentioned it."

"I know how you figured out about Jurou – the kannushi told me. But to figure out the rest of it...Lord Kawauso would be dead now if not for you. Nobody else could have made that connection about the body's expression and the prayer scrolls actually working."

Don shrugged. "I only stumbled on it because I was thinking Shuo Katsu didn't deserve to die, which got me thinking about the charges against him. And I didn't know he was going to die until I found Akako crying at the shrine that night before we talked. If I hadn't been thinking about trying to save him, I probably wouldn't have come up with it at all."

Leo patted his brother's shoulder. "Then I'm more glad than ever for your stubborn feelings about the sanctity of life. You saved a lot of lives by worrying about just one this time, bro."

"What did happen to Shuo Katsu, anyway?" Don asked, and he hated that he was afraid to know.

But Leo gave him a soft smile. "Lord Kawauso gave me permission to pardon him, since he wasn't actually the one responsible for killing the former Daimyo. He's been a guest in the castle ever since, though I think he's just waiting for you to wake up."

"Before doing what?"

"Leaving." Leo's smile faded. "Even though he has been cleared of the murder, he still acted dishonorably. He isn't really welcome here now. He will probably have to go find another village in which to live. But Akako has pledged to go with him, and with her skills to support them, they'll be all right."

It wasn't a perfect solution, but it did make Don feel better. "Thanks, Leo."

"Honestly, I'm glad we didn't have to kill him, either. This works out for everybody."

Don wasn't quite sure how to answer that, but he was grateful the young otter would live and that Akako could be happy with the person she loved after all. He still felt uneasy with Leo's calm acceptance of the punishment in the first place. But that reminded him of something else.

"Is Akako okay? Her dad…"

"He died without honor." Usagi's voice was rough with anger. "He died a criminal's death." Then his expression cleared. "However, Akako has not been blamed. Her character is too well known. She would rather have died herself than have her father kill to increase her social standing. She has not been punished and she will not be."

"I'm glad," Don said. "I bet she's having a hard time."

"Better with her betrothed freed, thanks to you," Usagi said.

Donatello nodded, then yawned unexpectedly.

"You should rest, Donnie," Leo said immediately. "You're going to be okay, but you don't want to push it."

Don would have argued, but Leo helped him lie down and it felt good to rest so he just nodded. "Sure."

"I will stay with him," Usagi said. "Go to your duties without fear, Leonardo-san. Soon, your brother will be at your side."

"That's good to hear. I'd rather have your head picking through these problems with me, Donnie," Leo admitted. "It'll only be a few days before Raph and Mikey get here, too. And then we'll be together again."

"As little as I doubt the safety of the han in your hands, my friend, I doubt it even less with all four of you to safeguard it united as one," Usagi said.

Leo looked to where Donatello's eyes had fallen shut and he was already asleep. "You're right, Usagi. Even though I'm doing my best, the people will be much better off with all of us than just me."

-==OOO==-

Donatello spent the next few days working on re-teaching his stomach to accept solid food and sleeping less and less. His old kimono had been destroyed because of the contamination, but Akako lent him a new one from a similar material, which he was glad to use; the warm afternoon air felt chilly to him, a weird and annoying side-effect of his long illness. Don took to sitting in the sun whenever he had the energy in order to combat the cold. By the time Michelangelo and Raphael rode up to the gate on exhausted horses, he was even getting up and wandering around for short periods of time as long as it was bright and warm outside.

Which meant he heard the shouts from the guards about his brothers' arrival one afternoon and was able to meet them just inside the castle walls.

"Donnie!" Mikey whooped with joy and practically jumped on Donatello, bringing them both crashing to the ground.

"You trying to kill him, you doofus?" Raph yelled, roughly yanking the over-exuberant turtle from Don's chest and hauling Don back to his feet. Somehow, Raph managed to get Donatello into a hug while still smacking Mikey on the head.

"Sorry, bro! I really didn't mean to!"

Don coughed and laughed against Raph's shoulder. "I take it nothing much has changed while I've been out of it?"

Raph pulled away and smiled, relieved at Don's own humor. "Nope. Mikey's still a shell-for-brains."

"And you're still a hothead!" Mikey shot back.

"But Leo's a king-wannabe, so that's kinda new," Raph said.

"Nah, he was always a king-wannabe." Mikey bounced on the balls of his feet, getting an arm around Donatello's shoulders. "Now it's just official!"

"Another good reason to be out on the border where he can't push me around in person," Raph grumbled, though it had little heat in it. "I get enough orders on scrolls in his goofy handwriting."

"It's called calligraphy," came Leo's voice. The three turned to see him standing there with a few samurai in tow. The samurai were clearly scandalized at the teasing, but Leo just smiled. "You could try to learn it, Raph. Then we'd be able to read more than every third word of your messages."

"Yeah, well, the rest of 'em ain't for polite company," Raph shot back.

"Hey! Did you show Donnie mine?" Mikey asked.

Leo's smile broadened. "You mean did I show Donatello the cartoons you drew me to express troop movement and to document battles? No, I didn't."

"Dude! You totally should! They were epic!"

Don laughed and leaned into Mikey. "I bet they were. Did you draw Raph the way you always do?"

"Yeah, but I added horns this time."

"Then I definitely need to see them."

"Come on," Leo said. "There's food waiting for you guys. Let's go somewhere and catch up."

In minutes, the four were seated around a table with half a feast on it in a room in the keep that was almost as fancy as the Daimyo's own bedchamber. Mikey and Raph dug into the food as if they were starving, but Don ate slowly, picking only those things he was sure he could consume without overtaxing his still-weakened stomach. Leo watched them all fondly.

"So, how's Master Splinter?" Mikey asked around an entire mouthful of rice.

"Usagi's with him. He's about the same, which is a good sign," Leo said. "He's still healing, but no signs of consciousness."

"He got several orders of magnitude more poison than I did," Don put in. "If my healing is anything to go by, he'll be in and out of consciousness for a long time before he finally wakes up."

"But he will?" Raph asked, and only his brothers could hear the vulnerability behind the habitual gruffness.

"Yes," Leo said firmly. "And no matter how long it takes, this han will take care of him."

"Good," Mikey said.

"But that raises the major question," Leo continued. "Which is – how long do we stay here?"

Raph looked to Donatello. "There any reason we should bring Sensei back to the lair for you to do your medical wizard stuff to help him?"

Don considered for a moment. "Normally I'd say yes, but I'm worried about the strain on his body passing between dimensions. Plus, the poison is really specific to this world, so I might not be able to synthesize an adequate treatment from ours. We could try it, but it might be a risk."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Mikey said. "You got better here and Master Splinter's getting better, too. Who cares if it's slow as long as it works?"

"That's what I think, too," Leo said. "Besides, even if you did take him home, I am honor-bound to stay here to take care of the han until Lord Kawauso chooses another Heir."

"And how long will that be?" Raph asked.

"Well, Lord Kawauso's not even up to walking around yet, and to get an Heir he either has to choose someone or, you know, sire one. And Honda can't be the Heir because of some old history with the Shogun. So a while, probably."

Don frowned. "Are we talking weeks, months, or years here, Leo?"

Leonardo shrugged, looking down. "I don't know."

"We might be stuck here for months?" Raph asked.

Donatello looked at him in surprise. He would have expected rage from his brother, not quiet resignation.

"Or years?"

And Donatello definitely didn't expect that note of hopefulness from Mikey.

"It's possible," Leo said.

Well, they might have had this fight ten times already, Don reasoned. It's only news to me. They've had weeks to get used to the idea. In which case, I'm glad I missed it. I don't really want to find out if Raph and Leo fighting sets off a coughing fit if I can help it. 'Cause it probably will.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Don asked, pushing away his surprise.

"We protect Master Splinter and the han," Leo said, lifting his gaze and squaring his shoulders. His robes – no mere kimono today, but proper robes like those the Daimyo wore – settled in an elegant, intimidating pool around him.

"If we're gonna be here a while, do you think I could go visit Mitsu's village? See, uh, if they're doing okay?" Mikey asked.

"Sure," Leo said. "If you don't want to go back to the border, I'm sure we can find things for you to do around here. What about you, Raph?"

"Not sure yet," Raph said, spearing a piece of meat and eating it in one big bite. "Ask me after I've had a bath and a good sleep away from Mikey's snoring."

"Dude! You snore way more than I do!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Leo sighed and looked to Don with a long-suffering half-smile. Don returned it.

Looks like not everything has changed around here, he thought.

Leonardo leaned close to him. "I know staying here seems sudden to you, but I'm sure you'll get used to the idea soon. It's a little bit like a vacation, though you're the only one who gets to rest for the moment."

"As soon as I'm better, I'll help out too," Don promised.

"First on the list, can you make a saddle that actually fits our shells?" Mikey asked. "No offense to whoever-san makes them, but they are not designed for our curves if you know what I mean."

Donatello huffed a laugh. "I'll see what I can do."

Raph looked up. "It's good to have you back, Donnie-boy."

Leo smiled widely. "It's good to have all three of you back. Feels like old times. Maybe I'll ask the guards to keep you around for a while, just in case you think about wandering away sooner."

But as he said it, he delicately folded the sleeve of one robe out of his way so he could pluck a morsel of food from the table, eating it with dainty, refined movements that seemed strange to Donatello somehow.

"Yeah, if by old times you mean you're still a bossy windbag," Raph muttered.

Leo gave him a mild glare that was pure Leo Scowl of Doom and Don relaxed.

The most important things hadn't changed. In this world, like on an alien planet or back in the past or far in the future, they were still brothers. Leo was still their honorable, slightly stuck-up leader. Raph was still prickly and defiant as he challenged Leo and everything else in the vicinity. Mikey was still the goofball full of energy and laughter.

What did it matter if they had to stay a year before Leo could step down as Heir? They were together. That was all that mattered.

Or so Donatello sincerely hoped.

-==OOO==-

End of Act 1

-==OOO==-