Song: Fire - Beartooth

Raphael, Donatello and I are on the move. I lead the way across rooftops as Donatello calls up directions to me.

"Turn left here," the purple-clad turtle is saying. "Take another left," he speaks again after a few seconds. He continues to direct us until finally, he orders us to stop.

"I don't get it." At the confused note in Donatello's voice, Raphael and I look over. Our tallest brother has his brown eyes locked on the tracker in his hands. "It says Mikey was here for a long time, but now he's traveling north. And at a pretty fast pace, too."

"What do you think that means, Donnie?" I ask him. I hope it isn't bad, but my fear is only confirmed when my brother answers.

"It either means Mikey had some desire to have an adventure in the middle of the night, or someone got to him before us."

I bite my lip. Michelangelo may not be the brightest light bulb, but he knows better than to go out on adventures by himself. That leaves only one obvious answer: my youngest brother is in trouble, and it's all my fault.

I don't get a chance to beat myself up for it, however, because Raphael starts talking.

"Leo, I swear, if you're thinking awful thoughts about yourself again, I will personally push you off of this building," he scolds me.

I'm caught off-guard. "H-how did you know-"

"I know how it feels to hate yourself for mistakes," Raphael cuts me off impatiently. "You're our leader, and even you'll do things you shouldn't. We're only teenagers, so no turtle can blame you. So, stop whining and get your sorry butt into action!"

I blink. I'm taken aback by Raphael's speech. Regardless of how he knows what I'm thinking, he's right; I need to stop moping around. It's time I start acting like a real leader again and get our brother back.

A surge of strength passes through me. I look over at Donatello. "Do you have Mikey's coordinates?"

Donatello starts to press buttons on the gadget. A few moments pass before his attention is on me. "Location locked," he confirms.

"Let's move out!" I command. I take the lead more confidently than I did before, and we set off on our mission to finish tracking Michelangelo.

   We fly through the night, rooftop to rooftop. We land effortlessly and never once lose our balance. We are ninjas; we train for this. It's what we live for.

   At Donatello's word, we pause in our tracks again. "Mikey should be in this very building." He puts his tracker away. "Judging by the looks of this place, this is a Foot Clan hideout." Donatello quickly surveys the area for a way in. "There's a sun window over there.  We can lower ourselves inside with our grappling hooks."

   "No way," Raphael argues. "That's practically saying, 'Hey, ambush me!'"

   "We don't have a choice, Raph," I reply, grateful for his usual protests.  Everything is almost normal again. "We weren't going to get out of this without a fight, anyway."

   The red-clad turtle doesn't look convinced, but he also doesn't protest again. Instead, he cracks his knuckles and whips out his grappling hook, along with a sai. "Let's go take out some Footbots."

   I unlatch the sun roof and open it slowly. The floor is a long way down.  The darkness swirling below almost makes me dizzy.  Nothing stirs in the black depths, providing me with a sense of momentary reassurance.

   "Careful, team," I warn as I turn my back to the window. "I don't see anything right now, but something could be down there and waiting to pounce."

   Raphael and Donatello nod, so I take that as a sign that they're ready. I launch my grappling hook around a billboard pole in front of us. My team copies me, and we lower ourselves as one into the building.

   It's even darker once my feet touch the ground. I have to squint my eyes to see. I stay close to my brothers, our shells connected, as I examine the room.

   Suddenly, lights flicker on and I can see everything before me. Rows and rows of Footbots. Karai leads them with her tanto extended. Behind them, I can just make out Michelangelo and Elizabetta tied to chairs. Joy flashes in both of their eyes when they saw us.

   Excitement floods me from head to toe, disregarding the anxious feeling of Elizabetta being here. They're safe.

   "Decided to come save your little friends, have you?" Karai's mouth twists into a smirk. "I think I'll just take you all back to my father instead. It would be a nice treat for him."

   "You'll have to catch us first," I respond as I unsheath my katanas. "Ninjas, attack!" I order, before throwing myself into battle.

   I want to go after Karai. All of my instincts say to. But I can't; I have to get Michelangelo and Elizabetta free. Then I can face her.

   I literally fight for every step I gain towards them. Footbot after Footbot gets in my way. I jab, slice, and decapitate many, but they keep coming. By the time I get halfway through, I'm panting. Being out of breath slows me down, and while I'm battling another 'bot I lose my balance and stumble. It gives the Footbot enough time to swipe something sharp across my arm. I let out a sharp scream of pain and stagger back.

   About that time, I see a flash of red dart across my vision. I assume its blood from my arm at first, but it's actually Raphael. He is fighting the Footbots that surround me.

   "Go!" he yells. "Get them out of those chairs!"

   I obey without hesitation. Ignoring the stinging pain on my arm, I shove my way through the last of the Footbots and reach the victims. Using my katanas, I slice the ropes that attach them to their chairs.

   Michelangelo and Elizabetta are on their feet in an instant. They look at me gratefully.

   Michelangelo looks up at me with sparkling eyes. "I love you, dude!" he exclaims.

   "Thanks, Leo," Elizabetta mumbles, barely managing to meet my gaze.

I nod to both of them, feeling a bit self-conscious. "It's what I'm here for."

   "Our weapons are over there!" Michelangelo points to a table nearby before he bolts towards it, Elizabetta hot on his heels.

   I cover them as Footbots chase them. I hook both of my katanas around two of the 'bots and take them out in one movement. I swiftly jump onto a Footbot's shoulder and jab my katana into its chest. I leap onto another Footbot and repeat myself.

   The third 'bot I land on, however, catches on to my plan. It runs backwards into a wall and squashes me. I scream angrily as my weapons clatter to the floor. I try to force the enemy away with my feet, but it doesn't do any good. Pain pulses through my arm injury as it's pressed against the wall, taking my breath away. My lungs scream for oxygen, but I'm trapped.

   Just as I feel myself starting to get dizzy, the pressure the Footbot is applying disappears. I fall to the ground, looking up into the eyes of Elizabetta. She has her dagger at her side as she bends down beside me.

   "You alright?" She asks me. There is no mistaking the concern in her eyes.

   A figure is sneaking up behind her. "Watch out!" I shout.

   Elizabetta spins around to face her attacker. It's another Footbot. It's already weakened, so she simply bats it aside with her dagger and it crashes to the ground in ruins.

   "Retreat!"

   I see Karai standing dead center of the chaos. She must have realized her minions are almost completely destroyed.

   The surviving Footbots all stop what they were doing and race out of the building. Karai heads after them last, fixing me with a hard stare. I'm surprised to see triumph in her eyes. Didn't she just lose?

   "I'll see you again before the night is over," she says ominously. Then she's gone.

   I witness Raphael running over to Michelangelo. He embraces the orange-clad turtle tightly, temporarily lifting him off of the ground in the process. "You're alive, little brother!" he gasps in relief.

   Michelangelo's face is smashed into his brother's plastron when his feet touch the ground again. "Dude, you're squashing me!" he squeaks, but he doesn't try to pull away. He actually appears quite content.

   The red-clad turtle releases him and gives him a stern look. "Don't you dare scare us like that again! I was-" he stops himself- "We were worried sick!" he snaps, but I know he's only mad because he cares.

   Donatello comes up behind Michelangelo and pats his back affectionately. "Make sure you inform us next time before you go on a mission," he says gently.

   Michelangelo smiles up at his brother. "I will. I'm sorry," he murmurs sincerely.

   Raphael's gaze trails over to Elizabetta, and he gives her a nod. "It's good to have you back," he comments in his usual, guarded voice.

   Elizabetta gives him a small smile in reply. She hesitantly glances over at me and shows me the same smile. She looks a bit nervous, but before I realize it, she's engulfing me in a hug.

   "Thank you," she whispers.

   Smiling ever so slightly, I rest my chin on the top of her head. As I wrap my arms around her, I know everything is back to normal between us. "I'm just glad you're alright."

   Once I let go of her, I step back to assess my team. Raphael is practically unharmed. Donatello has a few cuts and bruises, but he will live. Elizabetta looks fine, though she has reopened the old wound on her hand again. Michelangelo is the worst off: he is covered in deep scratches and has one of his legs raised slighty, like he was limping.

   "Mikey, you look horrible," I tell him, as if he isn't already aware.

   "So does your arm, bro!" Michelangelo replies.

   I glance at my wound. It's covered in blood, but it's dry. "It's nothing," I promise, though I take note of the stinging sensation protruding from it.

   "Guys," Donatello speaks up. "We need to go. We need to get to TCRI."

   "What's TCRI and why do we need to go there?" Elizabetta questions him promptly.

"TCRI is basically Kraang's headquarters," Donatello explains. "And we're heading there because I think I found out why Shredder wanted your memory messed up."

   Elizabetta's green eyes light up with sudden interest. "Really? Why?" she quizzes him further.

   "I'll explain on the way. Come on, we're wasting time!"