Chapter 16; Beating Heart

A/N: sorry for the wait on this. Hope you enjoy.

I own nothing.

Donnie grunted as Nenji threw a kick into the side of his body. For someone so small, he knew how to throw around his weight appropriately. He could remember training as a child and Master Splinter telling him that it didn't matter how small you were, it was your heart and determination that made you a strong warrior. Don could remember wanting to be strong like his brothers but he knew he could never measure up to them. He wondered if Nenji had been taught the same practice, although it was hard to say, knowing the Shredder. Bringing his arm up, Don blocked the bulk of the weight from the kick the young human had aimed at him, he swung his other arm around, knocking the boy away.

"Why my master wants you if beyond me. "He muttered, striking at him again. "You're weak and useless. "

Donnie knew that, he'd known that since he was a child. He was always falling behind his siblings, struggling to keep up in the simplest exercises but he always tried his best. "Beats me. " He muttered, falling to the ground as Nenji struck him across the face.

Rolling over onto his side, the purple banded turtle groaned in pain. As badly as he wanted to hate the young man, he couldn't. He wasn't doing this to be mean, in fact it was only because his master told him to beat him down that the young human was raising his fists at him. Don understood that to a degree. He would do whatever was ask of him from Splinter because he wanted to please him.

"I should just kill you now and get it over with. "The young boy snapped, raising his sword, only to be stopped by his masters hand. The Shredder looked more dangerous than he had in a long. His eyes were narrowed toward the young boy and his hand shook with rage.

He tossed Nenji back with a push, "You are not to touch the turtle. "The smaller ninja barely caught his foot and slammed back into the matts lining the wall. "I need him. If you kill him before you are told I will punish you, do you understand boy?" Nenji nodded and looked away from his master.

Donnie couldn't help but feel for the young man, apart of him wished he could do something to help him. He struggled to lift himself up off the ground and when he finally accomplished it, Shredder was hovering over him. Despite the fear traveling down his spine, Don refused to flinch away. "You're purpose will come forward soon enough turtle, for now you can stay in here and rot." Narrowing his eyes, the human struck out at him, knocking him back down to the ground.

His head hit the ground with a sickening crack and Donnie saw stars. Rolling over onto his side, the genius closed his eyes, trying to keep from crying out. He couldn't let these people know how terrified he was, Leo would tell him to keep his head and be brave. "Lock him up and this time do not release him. " the metal door clicked shut and Don's eyes rolled to the back of head, the world fading around him.

"The Foot tower is going to be guarded at all times, it's not going to be an easy task getting into that building. " Leo looked up from the plans in front of him towards the only human in the room. He still couldn't believe that he had allowed this man into their family after he had killed Donnie. What had he been thinking? Clearly he wasn't, Leo would never allow such a man close to his brothers.

His future self was disconnected, he didn't need the story to know that, at this moment his older self was standing as far away from the group as possible, his back was turned away from them and Leo didn't have a clue if he was listening or not. "That building may seem impossible to get into it but it can be done. "He tore his eyes away from his counterpart and looked at the small group in front of him. "We've managed before. "

"We had Donnie before, he planned everything out. "Mikey cut in. His youngest brother had been silent for the most part since the truth about Nenji came out, he didn't need to say anything but Leo knew he was fighting his own battle inside his head. "We don't have the same resources he had. It will be damn impossible now. "

Leo sighed quietly, laying his hand down on the map. "Don would never abandon us. We are going to find a way to get inside, we have to. "His eyes flickered to Raphael and Michelangelo before slipping back down into the map. "I don't care what it takes, I will not allow him to die there. "

Raph, who had been all but absent from there conversation, pushed himself off the wall and made his way towards them. "We don't even know if Donnie is in New York. What do you plan to do, Fearless? " He asked, standing face to face with him. "Are you going to storm the building, risk out lives only to discover that he isn't there-"

"He is there. " Nenji cut in, ignoring the glare Ralph shot him.

"How can you trust him, Fearless? He killed Donnie!"

Leo shook his head and squeezed his brother's shoulder. "I don't trust him but he's the only led we have in Donnie. We have to try something, Raph " he hadn't missed the glares his younger brother had been shooting him since he returned, he knew Raph blamed him and he had every right to. He was supposed to be the eldest, he was supposed to protect them but he let their brothers killer into their family without a second thought. Leo knew it was a possible future but he couldn't help but feel responsible. Donnie was his to protect and he had failed him. "We need to do this. "

Raph fell silent, pushing back away from the small group. Leo let him go, not knowing what else to say to his brother. When he looked back towards the others, they were staring at him. He'd always had this feeling of leadership hanging over his head. Even when they were tots he felt it was his responsibility to look after his brothers. Now he didn't know what to do, he didn't know what direction to take and that terrified him. Splinter walked up behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"Okay, Nenji what do we need to do?"

When Donnie came to The Shredder and Nenji were gone and he was shackled again. His head hurt like a bitch and his muscles tensed whenever he moved. He wished Shredder would just do what he had planned and get it over with. He was tired of waiting for something to happen. He wondered what the human had planned for him.

He always knew of the fight between his father and the Shredder. The man had taken everything from Splinter, that was part of the reason he had kept them a secret, he didn't want to loose the only family he had left and he knew if Shredder found out about them, he would take them from Splinter. Of course they hadn't listened to his warning and slipped out into New York's daylight.

Everything from that day on changed. They fell into a world they didn't understand and got trapped in a fight they had no choice but to participate in. Their lives were always at risk, no matter how hard they fought, someone was always stronger than them. They had almost lost Leo and then Splinter. Their family was always fighting to stay together.

A loud bang filled the room and a flash of light followed after, blinding him for a moment. Don lifted head to stare over into the dark room, his eyes narrowed. It took a moment for his eyes adjust and when they did he was couldn't believe what he was staring at. Nenji was standing in front of him, a sword resting at his side. They stared at each other for a moment before the human lept towards him, swinging the sword.