The night flew by in a blur of shimmering city lights, the darkness of the rooftops concealing the cover of the ninjas. The streets below were too full of life and noise to hear the whoops and hollers of excitement with each jump. Their flips and turns were executed so precisely, and their landings were carried out in one fluid motion.

"Wanna grab some pizza?" Leo called back, looking over his shoulder.

"Is there even a question?" Raph responded with a small smirk.

With an excited howl from Michelangelo, they began to run on the edges of the rooftops, scanning below for the pizza delivery guy. "Who's paying?" Donnie asked. All three brothers exchanged a blank glance, and then the purple clad ninja sighed. "I guess that would be me."

Drawing out a handful of cash from his shell, he heard Mikey claim to spot the pizza delivery boy. They assembled on the side of the roof, peering over the edge as the boy began to turn onto their road. Noiselessly descending down the fire escape, they landed easily on the concrete below. Sticking to the shadows, they waited until the boy was close enough. And then they struck.

Staying behind his line of vision, Mikey grabbed one of the pizza boxes from the back of his moped, expertly tossing it to the waiting Raphael in the shadows. Leo took the cash from Donnie, tumbling forward and wedging it between the remaining two pizza boxes. Donnie sprung forward and grabbed Leo's outstretched arms, his momentum carrying both him and his brother out of the road in a swift flash.

As the oblivious pizza boy sped away, the other four gathered in the alleyway. Raph opened the pizza with one hand while the other supported the box, taking in a deep whiff. "Good and fresh. Better than the last pizza we got."

"Awesome!" Mikey leaned forward and took one big smell, standing on one foot as if in awe.

Raph smacked him, knocking him away from the steaming cheese. "Don't ruin a perfectly good pizza, you dork."

"If Donnie paid today, I guess that means I pay next." Leo said, crossing his arms as he glanced back up to the rooftops. "Remind me to grab money on my way out next time."

"No problem." Donnie said.

Raphael sealed the pizza box lid, turning and vanishing into the shadows with his brothers. He took the lead, keeping one hand under the pizza box and the other grabbing hold of the fire escape ladder, flipping his way up carefully so he wouldn't drop the pizza. Leo followed close behind, relaxed and steady as he casually carried his weight up.

Mikey took hold next, managing to monkey his way up the side of the fire escape levels, eyes narrowed playfully as he tried to get to the top before his other brothers. Then Donnie took hold of the bottom rung, tensing his muscles to leap.

And then the shadows broke from the walls, reaching out with swift speed that only a ninja could carry out. They grabbed hold of Donnie's limbs, and pulled a cloth over his mouth, holding him down as he suddenly began to struggle. Muffled yelps escaped through his gag, and he felt multiple hands hold his arms together behind his back. He withered and fought, straining to get control of his limbs again. More hands grasped his arms, and suddenly, something heavy struck him in the back of his head. He collapsed, falling to his knees. His chin hit his chest, his eyes shut as he took in the pain. His vision was blurry as he opened them again, and his eyes watered with pain. His struggles grew feeble, until he couldn't find the energy to fight back any longer.

Another strike against the back of his head, and he was out cold.

When Leo first looked back, he saw the figure of his purple-banded brother climbing the fire escape ladder to the top. He was climbing over the edge of the roof, taking a stand at the top. Leonardo waved with his hand, motioning for his brother to catch up to them Then he tore his gaze away to turn, and continued to glide across the roof, tensing his muscles and leaping over the alleyway below. Raphael was launching himself ahead, and Mikey had chosen to take the lead with a precise flip forward. Their yells of excitement tore through the night, unnoticed by the busy city folk below.

After a few moments and another leap, Leo looked back again, expecting to see his brother only steps behind. He continued to run with his head folded over his shoulder, watching the alley shrinking behind him and froze. Donnie was still standing at the roof. No, wait. This time, there were two figures. They were running towards the second roof, and it was then that Leo noticed their human shapes. With a beat of alarm, Leo skidded to a halt. "Guys!" He called through clenched teeth. Both of his brothers paused in their run, turning to look towards the rooftops behind them.

Only a few seconds had passed before the three brothers were shoulder to shoulder, weapons drawn on the same rooftop with the figures coming. The pizza was placed at the corner of the roof, left abandoned to give themselves an opportunity to fight.

The figures multiplied in numbers. As they came closer, they were identified none-other than the Foot Clan ninja. More poured over the rooftop edge, and Leo raised his katana in a threatening gesture. They paused yards in front of them, facing each other with hostile glares.

"Where's Donnie?" Mikey asked, his joyful gaze turned to serious as he held his nunchucku at ready.

"Probably fighting on the fire escape." Leo replied, his impatience making him frustrated. "Let's just take care of these guys and go home, alright?" His gaze never left the enemies before them.

"Fine by me." Raph replied, charging forward without further instruction. He let out a battle cry, taking on the nearest Foot by him and knocking him to the roof ground.

Leo and Mikey sprung in only a second after their brother, letting out threatening yells of their own as they engaged the enemies. The Foot Clan attacked in return, silent with each motion.

At first, he didn't seem to have any recollection of what the heck had just happened. He remembered waking a few times in a lucid state, literally half-awake as he felt himself still in the arms of unknown people. He was being unceremoniously carried, half dragged across something hard. His toes scraped against the ground, and by reflex he tried to draw them upwards. He lifted his head up with a wince, trying to blankly struggle against his captors. This drew attention from whoever was carrying him, and he received a smack on the head. He let out a groan, only to find it come out muffled under his gag.

The person directly above him ordered for silence in Japanese, and Donnie let his head droop again. His toes were still scraping against the cement, but he didn't dare try to help himself. He tried to open his eyes, finding his vision extremely blurry and unreadable.

He awoke again later in a van. He knew it was a van because of the familiar vibrations of a moving vehicle. His cheek pressed against the shaking floor, he felt every swerve and felt ready to be sick. Hands grasped his upper arm and shoulder, pinning him to the floor.

When he finally awoke long enough to gather his senses, his wrists and ankles were chained to the wall, his head tucked against his chest. The room was dark, with no natural light seeping into the atmosphere. It felt devoid of life. At least the hands of his strange captors were no longer grasping and grinding his skin. That, he could be thankful for. But instead, it was replaced with metal cuffs.

The gag was still in place over his mouth. He wanted to take a deep breath, but instead, received shallow, pain-filled inhales of air. His head stung from whatever had hit him. When he tried to focus his eyes, the room was spinning and dancing, making him nauseous.

His feet weren't touching the ground. The chains were holding him in the air, mercilessly harming him. The fetters around his wrists were digging into his skin, and he winced, trying to re-position himself. All he received in turn was a shock of sore pain shooting through his limbs, and he caught sight of the cuts in his skin from the chains. Donnie winced.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, forcing himself to breathe slowly before he could start panicking. A million questions were thrown into his mind, but he forced himself to take a few seconds to plainly breathe. The room was quiet, full of garbage shoved up against the walls. Two light beams overhead illuminated the room. He was alone.

At least, he thought he was.

The door at the end of the room opened, a wave of light pouring into the room. That was when he saw the weapons lining the walls at the end of the chamber. But that wasn't what caught his attention more. Instead, he spotted a ninja in black staring at him with his hand still pressed against the door. He leaned his head back and shouted in Japanese. Another shadow-figured ninja entered through the doorway, making his way towards Donnie without pause. He reached upwards, his fingers digging into the gag against Donnie's mouth and yanked it down. Donatello let out a feeble wheeze, taking a deep breath. The ninja stepped back.

The Shredder entered behind him.

Now, up until this point, Donnie had been pretty sure that it was the Foot Clan that had captured him. No doubt a stupid scheme of The Shredder's. Heck, he probably thought they were going to just kill him. Or maybe keep him here to use as bait to draw his brothers in.

So why would Shredder be here?

He watched, eyes heavy as he kept the room from dancing in his vision. The Foot ninja bowed in respect to The Shredder, then made is way out of the door. The armored man stepped forward, and the black-clothed ninja shut the door, surrounding them in the faint lights upon the ceiling.

"Alright, Shredder." Donnie's voice cracked at first. He tried to ignore that. "What do you want with me? To torture me? Use me as bait? If you wanted me dead, I wouldn't be breathing right now, am I wrong?"

When The Shredder finally stopped under the light, Donnie locked eyes with him. The heavily armed man seemed to stare at him for a few moments, and then let out a soft chuckle. "This is true, turtle."

"What's also true is that if my brothers were still breathing, I shouldn't be in here much longer." Donnie drew his lip up in a faint snarl.

The Shredder crossed his arms, staring up at the mutant turtle chained to the wall. "You don't have much room to be making such assumptions here, little one." The Shredder replied coolly.

He would never admit aloud that he was terrified. Donatello kept most of his focus to keep from trembling or moving. Any slight fidget could cut further into the scars the chains had given him, anyway. But he had to keep strong. At least until his brothers got here to save the day. "What do you mean by that?" Donnie asked, narrowing his eyes. "Do you have them chained up here?"

The man laughed. "No." He turned away, his cape making a soft swoosh as he began to walk to the other end of the chamber. "Not yet, anyway." He added.

Donnie kept his growl in his throat. Mainly because he was trying to figure out what his nemesis was doing. He had walked into the shadows, now out of the turtle's sight from his chains. But as he heard the clink of a blade swish from the darkness, he fell cold. The Shredder continued, his voice quiet as if he were facing another direction. "Besides, I don't really need them at the moment."

When he re-entered under the light, a small knife cradled in the palm of the Shredder's hand. "I only need one to get the answers I want."