Song: Those Nights - Skillet

Rubbing my eyes, I walk half-blind into the kitchen. I stretch and involuntarily groan as the stiffness retreats from my body.

I have completely recovered from last night's freak-out. I still can't explain why a shadow tried to kill me, but I also don't care. It's over with. Time to move on.

My arrival catches the attention of Edmund, who is standing at the kitchen window. "Morning!" he greets me, taking a sip from the glass of orange juice in his hand. He gestures towards something out the window. "They're working hard, aren't they?" he comments.

I walk over to see who he's talking about. Leonardo and Elizabetta are training in the backyard. I got here just in time to see Elizabetta perform a backflip. It would be perfect, if she didn't land a shift away from where she is supposed to.

"This is really interesting to watch," Edmund says, his tone thoughtful.

Yeah," I grumble. "When Leo isn't being annoying."

Edmund laughs and takes another swig of his orange juice.

Even through the window, I can see that Elizabetta's face is red from effort, and beads of sweat drip down her face. She must've been practicing for at least an hour now. The sun is almost above its peak, too; Leonardo doesn't need to risk being seen. I decide it's the perfect time to interrupt.

I open the back door and poke my head outside. The cold air sends a chill up my spine, reminding me it will be winter much too soon. Snow and freezing sewer tunnels. I am not looking forward to that.

"Hey, Leo!" I yell. "You planning on working her to death so you don't have to teach her anymore?"

They both turn their heads toward me in surprise. "Ha, ha. Very funny," Leonardo calls back sarcastically.

"Yeah, I thought so," I smirk, polishing my fingertips on my plastron.

I come back inside, and it isn't long before Leonardo and Elizabetta follow suit. The early-risers sit down at the kitchen table, worn out.

"Is it too early to take a nap?" Elizabetta yawns. Her brother sits a glass of juice in front of her. "Thanks," she says with a tired smile, before drinking it.

Edmund sets more glasses of the orange liquid in front of Leonardo and I. We thank him as he takes a seat at the table with us.

I study Leonardo as the blue-clad turtle examines his drink. He seems to be lost in his thoughts... Again. Why does he keep doing that? What can he possibly be thinking about now?

Michelangelo bursts into the room, breaking my train of thought. He has two brown sacks in his arms.

"Hey, dudes and dudette!" Michelangelo says cheerfully. He ungracefully drops the bags onto the kitchen table. Food spills out of them and a delightful aroma spreads throughout the house.

"Where did you get that?" I ask him suspiciously. It isn't unlike the youngest turtle to turn up with food, no. It's unlike him to turn up with cooked food. Other than pizza, that is.

"Penelope!" Michelangelo grins. "I stopped by her restaurant and ordered it." He opens a container and starts to munch on some of the delicacies.

Leonardo sits up in alarm. "Were you seen?!" he questions immediately.

"Relax, man, it's all good!" Michelangelo replies nonchalantly, his mouth crammed full. "She hadn't even opened up yet. She only just happened to see me peeking in. Now, come eat!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," I say, getting up to scavenge through what he brought.

We all have a nice, long meal together. Donatello joins us after a while, too, blabbing about how fascinating the atmosphere in the small town is. He gets into a bunch of technical language that none of us understand, so we all just nod along and pretend to be interested until he shuts up.

None of the food is left once we all have our fill. I lean back in my chair, satisfied and ready to start the day.

Michelangelo belches so loud that it echoes into the next room. A few laughs broke out. I thump him on the back of the head and glare at him, while Leonardo gives him a horrified look.

"How many times have I told you not to do that when there are girls present?" Leonardo sighs.

Michelangelo shrugs, unconcerned. "Dunno."

Elizabetta laughs, however. "Don't stop being yourselves on the count of me," she says.

"Yeah, Liz and I used to have burping contests all the time," Edmund adds.

I look over at the siblings with interest. I notice Elizabetta's cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

"When we were younger," Elizabetta corrects, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

I smirk. "Go on," I insist to Edmund. This is way more entertaining than teasing Michelangelo.

"Don't!" Elizabetta protests instantly, but her brother ignores her.

"Back in the day, we would each gulp down a whole bottle of soda and go at it. She won most of the time!" Edmund explains, tossing her playful glances. "I mean, normally I'd argue that I won, but I think she should take all the glory right now."

Elizabetta ducks her head and avoids our gazes. "I hate you, Ed," she mumbles, blushing deeply.

"Love you too, sis," Edmund chuckles, looking quite proud of himself as he goes back to his fruity drink.

Michelangelo and I burst into laughter, while Donatello and Leonardo try to contain theirs by covering their mouths.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," Elizabetta grumbles, but she is smiling. Once we all calm down, she changes the subject to a more serious matter. "So, what's the plan for today?"

Donatello is the first to speak up. "Well, we need to go investigate the houses of the victims who vanished. Do you think anyone would hinder us from that?"

Elizabetta shakes her head. "Last thing I heard was that the officials gave up on trying to find clues. They've put the whole situation at the bottom of their list. We should be able to go in with no problem."

"Even with that reassurance, we still need to be stealthy," Leonardo puts in. "Full ninja mode, team. We should split up to make this go by faster."

Michelangelo bounces out of his seat and stands behind Elizabetta. "I wanna go with Lizzy!" he exclaims.

Before Leonardo can hesitate, which I highly expect to happen, I speak up. "I'll go with you, Leo," I volunteer and rise to my feet as well.

Leonardo looks at me for a moment, deep in thought, before nodding. "Fine. Donnie, you're on your own," he adds to the purple-clad turtle.

"I want to help, too," Edmund declares. "I'll go with Donnie."

"You sure?" Leonardo asks, surprised. When the teenage boy nods determinedly, he relents. "Alright, then. Lizzy, which houses are we investigating?"

She writes down John Patch, Velma Greenway, and Mr. and Mrs. Cyprus' addresses. She hands each group a paper with an address on it.

"Remember, you're just collecting clues," Leonardo warns us. "Stay out of sight and do not, under any circumstances, reveal yourselves. It's daytime, so we're more exposed. But we're also ninjas, so we will use that to our advantages today. Got it?"

When everyone agrees, he says the word, and we fan out.

~*~*~*~

As Leonardo and I leave Elizabetta's house, we go straight for cover. We find a row of hedges that hides us perfectly and we get down low behind it.

   Leonardo pulls out Elizabetta's paper and scans the address on it. "We're going to the Cyprus'," he announces. "Their street is that way," he adds, pointing westward.

   I nod once, and we set off again.

   It's a struggle to stay concealed. There just isn't enough structures to keep us hidden. And the sun exposing all of our movements does not help.

   It's even harder to hide whenever Leonardo drifts off into his own thoughts. He nearly gets caught twice. I only just manage to pull him behind a building in time.

   It isn't like Leonardo to be so distracted. He's our leader, and though I hate to admit it, he is the best at everything. The fact that he suddenly sucks at stealth worries me. It also makes me want to slap some sense into him.

   Once we reach the house, I don't give Leonardo time to issue out an order. I simply grab him by his arm and tug him inside. I shut the door behind us and roughly throw him in front of me.

   "Hey!" Leonardo protests, a confused expression on his face. "What was that for?!"

   I sigh.  "Look, I know we have another job to do here, but I refuse to go on until you spill it."

   Leonardo looks even more puzzled. "Spill what?" he asks.

   I roll my eyes. "You know what I'm talking about! Why do you keep getting distracted? And why are you so miserable? You dragged your feet the whole way here. I wouldn't be surprised if someone back in New York heard you." I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down. "You've done a lot of shell-brained things, but this is something new. What's wrong?"

   Leonardo shrugs. "Nothing's wrong," he answers, but he avoids my gaze.

   I let out a mocking laugh. "No, no, no. We are not doing this little dance. Tell me what's wrong, or I swear I'll beat it out of you," I growl.

    Leonardo hesitates. He shuffles his feet and finally finds the courage to look me in the eyes again. "You were right about me having feelings for, uh, Lizzy," he begins slowly.

   "Duh," I mutter under my breath.

   "I tried to tell her last night," Leonardo continues, then he pauses and closes his eyes.

   Surprised, I press for him to go on. "And?"

   Leonardo scrunches his eyelids together, as if it causes him pain to talk. "I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I completely chickened out!"

   His voice starts rising and I take a step back.  "After all of the terrifying things I've done in my life, that was the worst! And I just couldn't face it!" Leonardo suddenly looks frail. He turns his back on me. "I don't deserve to be a leader."

   Horrified, I walk up beside him. "Don't you dare say that about yourself!" I snap. "Master Splinter never would've made you leader if he thought you weren't able. Don't disrespect him, or yourself, because you couldn't find the guts to do one thing."

   Leonardo stays silent and refuses to acknowledge my words.

   My voice softens. "I know some things are tougher than others, but you're the most capable turtle I know. You can tell her. I know you can."

   "What if she rejects me?" Leonardo whispers. "I don't think I could live with that."

   I bite my lip. There's a chance she isn't interested. Then again, she does go out of her way for Leonardo quite a lot. And she does laugh at all his lame jokes.

   Still, that doesn't mean she feels the same way. It just means she trusts him and is easily amused.

   I'm not the turtle he should be talking to about this stuff.

   "I'm no love doctor," I say, patting his shoulder awkwardly. "And I'm not good at comforting people. But I know one thing: if she rejects you, then that's her loss. She's missing out on a great turtle with a big heart."

   Relieved, Leonardo smiles a tiny bit. He finally looks at me, his blue eyes full of gratitude. "Thanks, Raph," he says quietly.

   I remove my hand from his shoulder and give him a swift nod. I have to admit that soothing people is not one of my talents, because it always makes me feel uncomfortable. But I guess I did something right, because Leonardo stands up straighter with determination spread across his face.

   "You search the first floor," he orders.  His tone is back to normal: bossy and brisk. "I'll check the upstairs."

   "Fine," I agree. He walks off, renewed confidence in his steps.

   I survey the living room first, thinking it's more likely to have clues than any other room. I am wrong. From the drawn curtains and the dusty furniture, to the ragged carpet, there is nothing worthwhile.

   Thinking I'm just being deceived, I start checking every crevice in the room. When I turn up with nothing, I go into the only other room I can find downstairs- the kitchen.

   I look in every cabinet, under the table, and even in the sinks. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

   How can a couple just disappear without leaving a trace? Why would they even want to? It makes no sense.

   Leonardo comes down the staircase, looking just as distraught as I feel. "Find anything?" he asks. When I shake my head, he voices my very thoughts. "I don't get how two people can just vanish like that."

   "Maybe Donnie had more luck," I suggest.

   "Hopefully," Leonardo mumbles, though he doesn't sound too certain. "Sweep the place once more."

   We do just that. We still find no clues. Whatever happened had been done very thoroughly, leading me to believe that something bad came upon them. Why else would the place be swept clean?

   Leonardo and I meet back in the kitchen. He looks even more disappointed than before. "Let's head back to Lizzy's place. We've done all we can," he decides.

   I am about to agree, but then something catches my eye. On the floor, right beside the back door, is a spot that doesn't belong.

   I walk over to investigate. Looking closer, I notice it's a bloodstain. Dried and crumbled, but it's blood, no doubt about it.

   Leonardo peers over my shoulder. "Well, well, well, what do you know? Looks like we actually found something."