//------------------------------// // Bummer... // Story: Teenage Mutant Ninja...Ponies? // by MemoryLane //------------------------------// "Mikey! I swear! Take one more step and I'll make sure that the next button I hit will send you straight to space!" I heard my brother shout from the other room, followed by an amused cackle of laughter. I sighed. They're at it again. I tried to ignore them, as I knew Donnie was never one to fight anyways. I flipped the page of the newspaper I was reading, trying to engage myself. It didn't last very long, as my attention easily shifted. "Come on dude! I'm just checking it o-" I heard Mikey start. Whether he was 'Checking it out', or simply investigating, even I knew that he shouldn't have phrased it that way. I could hear Donnie scoff loudly, cutting him off. He sure was cranky today, but I already knew why. Usually, him and Mikey got along so well... "I don't care! You touch it, then I touch you with the end of my staff!" Donnie threatened. Whoa. Well, time to investigate. I let out a loud sigh as I set the newspaper down on the armrest of the chair and stood up, just seconds before a loud, yet familiar voice pierced through our sewer home. "BOYS!" I heard Master Splinter yell. Uh oh. I walked over to the scene of the crime into what most would call our living room, although it's completely out of the norm of what most den's look like. It had area's for all four of us to put our things. There was an orange, sticker covered half pipe in the lefthand corner of the room from where I entered, along with a large flatscreen television. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that was Mikey's idea. On the lower left corner belonged to Raph, and to be honest I'm quite surprised that I didn't see him over there. That was where most of the weight equipment was. The adjacent corner was mine, although I'm barely ever in it. It's actually quite empty. The only thing over there was a few shelves full of books and ancient teachings. On the lower right corner of the room was where the 'action' was going on. Donnie was in his corner of the room, his usual multi-monitor computer station was nowhere to be found, and in its place was...some sort of machine. It was round, and had a very large opening. It almost looked like a ring, except it was large enough for someone to be able to easily step through it. He called it a "Tele-Portal". I'm not sure on all the details. Donnie was kneeling down on the ground, tools in his hand and glaring angrily at Mikey, who was cheekily standing over him, clutching his orange skateboard. He meekly rubbed the back of his neck, pulling at his orange mask just a little bit. "Heh...sorry Donnie..." He chuckled. Trying to put on a good face for Master Splinter, who only glared at him. Donnie didn't have time to accept or refuse his apology. "Michelangelo, let him be. You have training today. You should be readying yourself." Splinter set both of his paws on his cane. Mikey only smiled obliviously at him. "Come on, Splinter. Did you not see those moves I was pulling on my skateboard earlier? I've never been more limber!" He held up his skateboard before dropping it on the hard floor, letting a loud clanging sound ring throughout the home. Most noises are easily echoed throughout the area, so I had to resist flinching at the loud clamor. Mikey took out both of his nunchaku from his belt and began twirling them at an intense, and rather impressive, velocity. I knew where this is going. The nunchaku spun all around his body, as he handled them effortlessly, attempting to show off. Three. Mikey was tossing the nunchaku in the air and catching them as they continued to twirl in midair, almost as if he was juggling. Two. Mikey was now spinning the nunchaku behind his shell joyously. One. "OUCH!" Mikey exclaimed as one nunchaku his him directly over the head. As he tried to grab his head in pain with the arm he just used, he neglected his other nunchaku as it swung and smacked him right in-between his legs. He let out a single groan of agony as he collapsed onto the floor. Splinter and I let out a simultaneous groan, while the temptation to laugh was growing inside of Donnie. I could just tell. "Meet me in the dojo in one hour, Michelangelo...." Master Splinter deadpanned as he walked back to his own quarters. Mikey still lied on the ground in a painful mess as he furiously rubbed his head and held his crotch rather awkwardly. Donnie turned back to his device as I heard new footsteps appear behind me. I saw a glint of red in the corner of my eyes, and I didn't need to think twice about who it was. "...Was it a two-fer?" Raphael asked me, while staring down at Mikey, who still had tears in his eyes. I gave Raph a quick nod. Embarrassed, Mikey pulled himself together, standing up and walking over to his television to sit in peace. Raph chuckled to himself, almost laughing at Mikey's pain. "Can't believe I missed it this time..." Mikey hurting himself with those things is definitely normal around here. Which leaves me to wonder, out of all of us, why was the most clumsy and carefree brother given the most complex weapons? Oh well, I'm sure Master Splinter did it for a reason. Raph looked over to Donnie, who was typing on some sort of laptop on the ground. Digital codes were appearing to and fro on it as he remained locked in concentration. I wasn't going to disturb him, but Raph had other ideas. "What are you doing?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. Donnie turned to look at Raph to explain, losing precious focus for only a few moments. After realizing his mistake, he turned back to his screen, only to see a new, bright yellow message: "ERROR". Donnie let out a frustrated groan and cursed to himself, almost slamming the laptop on the ground. "Gah! I almost had it!" He exclaimed. Now it was my time to get a little curious. I've never seen him this bent out of shape before. I know that he can get a little paranoid and cranky when he's tinkering with things, but this is a new high for him. "Almost had what?" I asked. Seeing that since he had to start his lines of code from the beginning, he decided that now would be a good time to explain. "My Tele-Portal! I was so close! I was running the last line of code!" He growled, a large vein pulsing from his forehead. "Tele-what now?" Mikey was suddenly standing next to me now, no longer holding his head, or his crotch. Well, he certainly heals fast. Donnie angrily sighed, far beyond irritated at this point. "Tele-Portal! For the third time! I know I've told you all about this earlier!" He kept his voice down, as to not alarm Master Splinter. Mikey and Raph simply shook their heads. I remember Donnie specifically chatting with me for a little bit, but he didn't give me much details. I really think Mikey and Raph are just forgetful. I'm sure Mr. ITT would remember telling them if he did, anyways, he's smarter than both of them combined. Donnie let out an exasperated groan. "It's a molecular transportation device, capable of sending electrons using air patterns as their guides to pinpoint exact locations where a beam will rebuild said electrons into a single solid mass! It's revolutionary!" Mikey, Raph and I stared at him dumbly. He knows better than to speak to us in techno-babble. I'll admit, Raph and Mikey were definitely not smart...science wise, and neither was I. Although I think I know what he meant. He grumbled to himself, turning back to his machine. "It's a teleporter." Mickey let out a small "Ohhh..." sound, while Raph looked extremely unamused, steaming just a little bit at Donnie's attitude towards him. I saw Donnie attempt to run his codes again. "Come on, let him be for now..." I said, ushering for Raph and Mikey to leave him alone. Raph was more reluctant to come along, while Mikey was more than happy. That glint in his eye hinted to me that his video games were calling him. "Just wait a minute! What're ya making that contraption for anyways?" Raphael asked, barging right past my attempts to corral him. I should've known that it was a lost cause. It took a minute for Donnie to get to a reasonable point in his codes to where he could stop without crashing the whole program again. "Why not? If it works, it'll be the future! Right here in our sewer!" Donnie dramatically threw his arms in the air to prove his point, although Raph could care less, really. Suddenly, there was a sudden knock above us, sending three echoes throughout the whole place. Apparently, someone was knocking on the manhole cover. "Haha! My pizza's here!" Mikey shot out of his seat, not even bothering to pause or turn off his video games as he bolted out the door at an incredulous pace. It's a wonder how he can move so fast, but only when food or pizza is involved. I felt like smacking my face. Everyone else disregarded him, as usual. "Yeah. Whatever." I would've though that Raph would've asked more questions, but surprisingly he began to walk away. Weird...I let out a soft sigh while wishing Donnie good luck with his work, to which he half-heartedly waved back. I stared at the Tele-Portal. It sure was large, and it was just slightly sputtering. As if it was trying its hardest just to come to life. I quickly walked back to my awaiting newspaper, briefly glancing at the clock. It was almost six in the evening. It was almost time to train. *** Master Splinter was more than prepared today. Our usual japanese style dojo was now COVERED in 10 foot long vertical sticks, all pointing towards the ceiling and miraculously standing on their own. There were literally dozens of them! I wasn't really in the mood to count them all. Raph sighed, he knew what was coming. Balance training. Raph HATED balance training. Splinter was standing on the stick nearest the door. A single furry leg standing on it, while the other was resting, crossed with his other leg. His balance was impeccable. It honestly looked like he was sitting, and there is no way a normal person...or turtle...or rat...could do such a thing without falling. I guess that's why he's the teacher here. Splinter opened his eyes and jumped to the ground, admittedly not getting much air as he did so. "Another balance exercise? Again? Masta' Splinter, we just did one yesterday!" Raph argued, crossing his arms. You can easily tell he was born and raised in New York, and that he picked up a few things. He's the only one who seemed to have that Brooklyn accent. Mikey...no one knows where he learned to talk the way he did. But it's Mikey, no one really questions him. Master Splinter bonked Raphael on his thick skull with his cane, sending his reeling back. Raph silently seethed at his master, holding his head. He growled just a little bit, but he knew better than to do anything about it. "Yes. You boys appear to be lacking. So until you all improve, balance testing will be our main focus." Splinter commanded. Everyone, save for Raphael, gave him a confirming nod. I actually liked balance exercises. I'm pretty good at them, and sometimes it's fun to show up my brothers. Master Splinter wisely closed his eyes, and began to walk down the line of us turtles. Starting with Donnie on the end, then Mikey, then Raph, and then finally me before turning around and going through the cycle in reverse. "Balance is your saviour in combat, turtles." He said boldly. "You may not know it, but one misplaced step could equal death in an instant. That is why we are studying balance, Raphael." Mikey bit the inside of his cheek at the mentioning of the word "death", and Raph was visibly trying to control his distaste for all of this. "Balance is something you need, Raphael. Without it, your body and your mind have no foundation." It was obvious that he was hinting at the fact that Raph lacked the ability to control his anger. Which, subsequently, only made him madder. I leaned over to him, and quietly whispered in his ear. "Chill..." Raph growled, but listened, knowing that I was right. "Without balance, one cannot amount to anything. As you see, I have these wooden pillars here-" Mikey thought it'd be a great idea to rudely interrupt. "Where did you even-" "Today we are going to have a little contest." Oh no...not sure I'm going to like this. "Last one standing on the pillars, wins, bo-" Once again, Master Splinter was interrupted. This time by Raph, who really needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. The guy was more impulsive than Mikey was sometimes. I noticed Splinter frustratingly grip his cane a little tighter, as if he was going to smack Raph with it again. "Alright! Battle Royale!" Raph specifically turned to me and poked my chest, hard. "You're goin' down." Raph and I have always had a terrible sibling rivalry. He's always been trying to one-up me, ever since we were little. He's still a little sore that Splinter chose me to be the "leader" of all of us. Which is only expected since I'm the oldest. But Raph thought otherwise. And ever since he's been trying to prove that he's better than me. Well, I know that Raph's probably going to go straight for me when this all pops off. In my mind, I was already trying to strategize. I had a good feeling, but then something clicked in my head. "Splinter, why are we fighting against ourselves?" I asked, and Splinter smiled at my intuitiveness. "Your goal is to simply be the last one standing on top of the pillars." Splinter repeated. I get it now. If we all wanted, we could simply stand on a pillar, and make this an endurance contest. I know that Raph isn't going to let that happen. He was chuckling to himself as of right now, cracking his knuckles one by one and giving me a sly grin. I wasn't intimidated by him, but I knew this wasn't going to end well. *** A matter of minutes later, all four of us were balancing on the sticks, each one of us occupying a single corner. Raph and Donnie were doing quite well holding their center of gravity, while Mikey was, unsurprisingly, having problems. "Alright...Raph, I know what you're thinking..." I started, he jerked his head in my direction, grinning expectantly. "Fighting each other isn't going to do any good..." I tried to reason with him, almost cooing to him. It was the only way that I could. I definitely didn't want to provoke him. He rubbed his wrists. "I agree. I think endurance is a better way to gain better balance that fighting..." Donnie chimed in, hopping from stick to stick. Raphael completely disregarded him. "If I wanted to have an endurance contest like this, I'd count how long I can stand on one leg!" Raph shouted. I looked over at Mikey now, who was wobbling. I'm pretty sure he's almost fallen about three times in the last minute. "I'm ready to have a little fun!" He cheered menacingly, running at me full speed as his feet bounced from stick to stick. It was impressive that he didn't even have to watch where he was stepping; he already knew. Before I had enough time to react, Raphael lifted up his leg for a high kick, the momentum sending his body spinning. Typical Raph, going into a fight he isn't even prepared for. I swiftly ducked his leg. The temptation to sweep his only foot that kept him upright almost got to me, but I controlled my urges. This wasn't what Splinter wanted of us to do in the first place. Raph let his other foot fall on an adjacent stick and he hurled his fist at me, grunting as he did so. Seeing that I was still crouching, this wasn't an easy decision. The way I was squatting on the stick didn't allow me to block, so with a "humph!" I jumped back, letting my arms fly over my head, hoping to catch the nearest cane. When I felt something hard grace my fingertips, I gripped it, and hauled myself to my feet ontop of the shaft. "Raph! Knock it off!" I shouted at him. That was a close call. Raph is a strong fighter, but I know all of his weaknesses. We're brothers, after all. We spar all the time. I think I've lost count how many times, really. This guy is hotheaded, that's enough. Sometimes, there are cases where Raph completely loses it, and me being the leader, it's my job to calm him down. The last time he got angry was because Mickey ate the last slice of pizza. Now that wouldn't have been such an issue, had it not been the one that Raph had been saving in the refrigerator with a note that specifically said "Raphael's. Don't eat!". Splinter told me a little something that helped me to understand Raph just a little more. He told me a certain quote: "Anger is a shortcut to self-destruction". Sure, it didn't mean much to me at the time, but I've remembered it every time Raph had a little episode, and things always turned out fine. Raph was naturally left handed. He watched me, prepared for me to fight back. He held his left hand in front of his face, as if to jab, while his right was just below his other hand. "Come on brotha'! Lighten up!" He chuckled. I cracked my knuckles. "If you say so, Raph." I gave in. I knew if I didn't fight him, he'd still come after me anyways. Everyone knew it was his chance to impress Splinter. What he didn't know was that this was only hurting his chances. He's not leader for a reason. He'd get all of us killed in action, and he knows that. His impulsiveness will get him extremely hurt one day. "AAAH!!" I heard a scream from behind me, followed by a small "OOMPH". Well, no doubt that Mikey finally lost his balance. Great. Maybe Donnie will actually give me a hand, although I doubt it. He's not much for fighting. "Agh! I scraped my knee! Anyone gotta bandaid?" I heard Mikey call from ten feet below us. I rolled my eyes. Raph, after realizing that he missed a perfect opportunity to attack me while I was distracted, charged at me, ready to hurl another punch that was headed straight to my chest. I jumped to the stick to my right. I had a feeling that he was going too fast to stop, that's what it seemed like to me, anyways. When he tried to change the direction of his punch, it was already too late. Predicting correctly, I jumped and spun kicked the area where I just was, and where Raph was now occupying. The kick smashed into his chest, knocking the breath out of him as he flew off the stick, through the air, and down towards the ground. Well, that was easy enough. I thought it was over until I tried to look down at him to make sure he was alright. I groaned as I noticed that he was still grasping onto the stick about five feet from the ground, not ready to give up just yet. He jumped from the stick upwards, cracking my chin with his fist. He landed on the stick that I was just standing on. Luckily, I recovered from his punch and managed to regain my balance on another stick a few feet away. I rubbed my jaw, pain coursing through it. "Hah!" He shouted pridefully, quite proud of himself for that punch. I've got to give him credit, he got me on that one. "Come on Donnie! Get in there and show 'em who's boss!" I heard Mikey shout from below us. "No! I'm not fighting!" Donnie whined back at him. It's a shame, he has such great fighting potential, yet he remains a pacifist. Although, I guess it's not really a bad thing. He'll still fight if he has no other option, which is the least he can do. "Raph! I'm warning you!" I shouted at him, but he refused to listen, once again. Unbeknownst to me, Master Splinter was watching each and every one of our moves intently. Raph was strangely having a blast. He wasn't...insane. Just overly eager, which is very unlike him. He came at me with various chops and jabs, most either aimed for my gut or face. I had bare milliseconds to dodge, but I used them to my advantage as I, rather clumsily, moved out of the way of most of the attacks, although a few of his punches did manage to clip my side. I had no choice but to back up. I had studied the placement of the sticks earlier, and realized that they were in some sort of pattern. Each stick was about four feet away from the last, diagonally. Using logic, and intense predictions, I effortlessly walked backward. Raph slowed down his punches and ducked down just slightly. I knew what that meant. I ducked down along with him, just in time for him to fly over me, gliding through the air like a pigeon with his leg extended in a strong kick. "Donnie, look out!" I heard Mikey shout from down below. I heard a thick "THUD" as Raph's kick collided with Donnie, who was passively balancing behind us. He let out a grunt as he was sent hurdling to the ground, coincidenly, landing right on top of my youngest brother. Donnie wiped the sweat off his brow as he looked at his brother, who had comforted his fall. "Heh. Thanks." He said meekly. Mikey just groaned in response. "And then there was two!" Raph mumbled. Somehow, he had landed on a wooden stake. I'm was really surprised he hadn't lost his balance yet. Maybe he had been practicing a little bit. It's not easy to do kicks on these sticks. Even I was having a little bit of trouble. Also, there was a large risk for splinters. I seriously doubt that Master sanded these before he put them up. "No. That's it! Both of you!" Master Splinter yelled, breaking the rather tense air with his bold words. Donnie had helped Mikey up to his feet after his nasty fall. Mikey coughed and stood up reluctantly, holding onto his stomach. He definitely looked like he was in pain... "But Masta' Spl-" Raphael started, but Splinter raised his cane at him, giving him a hard stare. He immediately shut up. "You both failed." I felt my heart drop as him, along with Donnie, and a still limping Mikey, walk out of the dojo. "I want to have a talk with both of you later." He muttered, as the door to the dojo shut loudly behind them. Raph proceeded to jump down from the cane he was standing on, and punch a hole through the nearest thing, which happened to be the wall. "DAMMIT!" He shouted and he walked out, leaving me alone once again. I knew it. *** "What was the meaning of that, boys?" Master Splinter asked us later that night. Donnie and Mikey were fast asleep at around this time. I wasn't not very sure, but I think it was about 11. Master Splinter specifically asked us to stay up so that he could speak with us in private in the den. I had a terrible feeling about this, I knew for sure that Splinter was terribly upset with the both of us. "Meaning of what? I was trying to win!" Raphael argued, throwing his arms out in front of him pleadingly. Sometimes, I had to wonder about what went on inside Raphael's mind. Some of the things he says and thinks never mean much, even if he meant it. Master Splinter narrowed his eyes, still a little bit angry with the red-masked turtle. "You were trying to win a game using force. Force is NEVER the first resort." Splinter muttered back, surprisingly keeping his cool through all this. Raph should really pay more attention to what Splinter says. He told me himself most of what the Master says is "pointless jabber" anyways. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with how he happened to phrase that. Well, now he knows. "That was the point!" Raph mumbled, trying to follow Splinter's example. "No...the contest was to see who could stay balanced the longest...it was an endurance contest..." I said for Splinter, who only nodded, glad that I actually understood. Raph looked at me in shock, not wanting to believe his own mistake. I kind of felt bad for him, but it's his fault for letting simple rivalry get in the way of rational thinking. "W-Well, so what? I should at least be praised for my fighting out there." He rebutted. I simply rolled my eyes at his blindness, and rather stupid remark. Does he really think he should be praised for injuring Mikey like that? Not to mention kicking Donnie straight in the chest? "No, you should, and are, banned from training with the rest of your brothers." Raph's jaw dropped along with mine. Whoa, now that seemed a little extreme. I knew it was pointless to argue, but I thought that I should at least put my input in on the whole situation. "Do you really think he deserves something like that?" I forced myself to stand up for Raph. Sure he may have went a little rogue, but that's no reason to basically ground the guy. "Yes." Splinter stared Raphael right in the his emerald eyes. "Raph you have been showing an increased lack of discipline as of recent. And you know better!" Splinter was starting to get a little angry now, so I decided that I might just want to start backing off now. Raph suddenly turned towards me, his teeth bared in anger. "What about Leo!?" He shouted. I felt my eyes soften, was he really going to try and pin the blame on me as well? "Of course Mr. Leader gets to get off scot free yet again!" He hollered. I really hoped he would quiet down. At this rate, half of New York would be making complaints. Luckily, Master Splinter was on my side. "Leonardo didn't want to participate in your little 'battle royale'. You forced him." He stated, bringing Raph up to a boil. "That's not fair, Splinter!" "Leonardo is leader for a reason! You took out one of your own brothers due to your impulsiveness and recklessness! Until you fix that you will NEVER be the leader." Splinter hissed. Raph...was dumbfounded at what he was just told. He looked manic, like he wanted to lose it again. But he didn't. He looked at Splinter, then me, and then the ground. I'm not sure, but I think I saw tears in his eyes. "Fine. I don't care. Psh. Move it." he said as he barged passed me, presumably returning to his room. Splinter sighed, obviously regretting what he had just said. But obviously it needed to be done, so I didn't blame him one bit. I had a feeling that Raph was going to hate me for this for a while. "You are free to go, Leonardo." *** It was very early in the morning when I heard a maniacal shriek from the living room, followed by eager footsteps. "HAHAHA! YES!" The voice repeated once again. I groaned restlessly, wanting to block out the noise and go back to sleep. But it just wasn't in me to do so. In a dreamy haze, I sat up in my bed, sighing and recollecting myself before I actually took a few steps. As my vision began to focus, I saw what seemed to be a bright blue light radiating from the living room pour into mine and lighting it up to the point that I didn't even need to turn on a single light. I darted into the kitchen, grabbing my katana's just in case. You can never be too careful here in New York. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph were all standing in front of the Tele-Portal, which was shining brightly. I had to shield my still-adjusting eyes for just a moment. The ring of the Tele-Portal was covered in some kind of swirling blue mass, almost making it look like a moving wall. There was electricity cackling all throughout the room, all given off from the alabaster machine. Donnie was psyched, almost freaking out over his new invention. "It works! I can't believe it actually works!" He cheered, almost jumping into the air. I stared at him. I can't believe this! "Donnie! What's going on!? It's 4 in the morning!" Mikey shouted over the cackling of both Donnie, and the electricity. Mikey was decked out in blue duck pajamas, which was weird since the rest of us slept without pajamas. There wasn't really a need for clothes. Unless you're undercover, that is. Raph knows all about that. "I couldn't sleep! I just wanted to tinker with it, and what do you know! It actually works!" I was starting to wonder where exactly Splinter is during all of this. Surely he wasn't stil sleeping. I looked at the machine, it was apparent that it still needed to be fixed up, as it rattled occasionally. "I just had to play with the flux capacitor knobs!" I had no idea what a flux capacitor was, but I really didn't care. "Well! Turn it off!" I shouted over the loud noise. The waves that the machine was giving off were sending things crashing throughout the room. Papers and furniture were flying EVERYWHERE. I even heard Mikey's flatscreen fall over in a shattered mess. Mikey was none too pleased as he got down on his knees and held out a single hand, as his other was holding his teddy bear. "NNNNOOOOOO!" He sobbed into his hands. "Gimme a second!" Donnie replied, noting the destruction that the Tele-Portal was causing. He casually walked over to it and pressed a large, red button. To me, it appeared to be a stop button, but when the velocity of the machine started to increase, I knew something was wrong. "What did you do!?" Raph screamed at him, causing Donnie backed away defensively. "I...I don't know!" Donnie said. It was the last thing that I would hear him say. Before there was any warning, the Tele-Portal soon started to inhale, sending Donnie screaming as he was the first to fly inside of the machine and into the blue portal. "DONNIE!?" All three of us screamed. As the power of the machine increased, it was getting harder to keep our ground. Raph and I both grabbed onto steel bars on opposite sides of the room, while Mikey was a little too slow. He was still in the middle of the den at the time after crying about his television. The portal soon began to drag him across the ground towards it as he hollered unintelligibly. I instinctively grabbed his hand, not wanting his to fall through the portal like Donnie just did. "Don't let go!" He shouted at me, almost pleading and begging me with his eyes. No way that was going to happen. What the shell happened to him? Where did the portal take him?! How do we turn this damn thing off!? The strength of the portal was only getting stronger, and it was to the point were Mikey's feet were up in the air due to the force. It was like there was a tornado right in our home, and it was trying to eat us all one by one. It was getting harder and harder to hold onto Mikey, as his hand was quite slippery due to fear. "Hold on!" I shouted, but it was in vain. The portal was pulling him too hard, and he had no way to adjust himself. I felt my own youngest brother slip from my hand and plummet towards the portal, flying through the air with a terrified scream as he did so. "No!" I shouted. Dammit Leo! First Donnie, and now Mikey! This isn't happening! "Leo!?" Raph shouted from the other side of the room. I turned my gaze over to him, firmly placing both my hands on the steel pipes. The only thing keeping me from flying through the air at this point. I could tell that Raph was having a hard time as well. "What the SHELL do we do!?" There were two options: Hold on tight, and hope for the best, or jump in. Part of me was hoping that it would be the former, and that after a little while the machine would sputter and die out. But another part of me completely doubted that that would happen. But, what if the portal would bring us to different places? What if we would't be able to find each other afterwards? Then what would do? And then how would we get back? I decided we'd have to figure that out once we got there. "We jump!" I announced, gaining a shocked look from Raph on the other steel pipe. "What!?" He hollered. It was getting harder and harder to hear with all the noise. "That's insane!" True, but it was best option right now. This way we at least had a chance at finding Mikey and Donnie. "We don't have any options! We have to get Mikey and Donnie!" I shouted back. Originally, I didn't think he was down for it until I mentioned our two, now currently gone, brothers. I saw his gaze soften before giving me a nod of confirmation. "You're the boss..." he replied. I didn't know if he meant that in a good way or not, but I'd worry about that later. "On three!" I shouted back at him. He and I both let one hand go from the steel pipe. "ONE! TWO! THREE!" I shouted, like I planned, Raph and I both jumped. The air was sucked out of me as him and I both yelled as we were forcefully pulled inside of the portal. I remember falling in first, because Raphael was behind me. And then everything went black.