As Fate Would Have It

That Sinking Feeling

"Okay, rise and shine people, it's time to- oh you have got to be kidding me!" Donatello groans out loudly as he realizes the guest train car is empty. With a knitted brow, he rubs his temples. He barely got any sleep because he'd been preparing for tests and now the subject is missing. Isn't that wonderful?

"I swear, no one commits to plans these days! The nerve!" His eye twitches as his hands ball into fists and shake, his frustration getting to him. "This morning was to be dedicated to innovation, but here I am without my one and only source of data!"

The softshell doesn't get to lament his test subject's absence for too long as his younger brother calls him from outside.

"Yo Dee, what's the hold up? Am I giving the bunny dude his clothes or not?"

The older sighs and turns around to walk back out, sliding the door shut behind him. He crosses his arms and sighs.

"It appears not, Angelo, the rabbit's gone. Doesn't seem to be around either, he took his weapons with him. He's most likely a runaway."

"Say what?! No goodbyes, no two week notice, just up and left? He was wearing Leo's handouts too!" Michelangelo scowls and slams a fist into his palm. "I swear there's no appreciation for hospitality these days! If I ever see him again-"

"Uhh, now now, let's not get too hasty! I do have a suspicion..."

While Donatello may have just been a short stop away from a meltdown, he can't let his little brother blow a fuse. That's never a fun thing to deal with and admittedly, he still has more to check. He was simply just getting ahead of himself.

He raises his geared up arm and fiddles with his tech. "Luckily for me I always plan ahead so while Leo was busy playing nurse I went and planted a tracker."

He taps on the screen a couple times until a map of the city appears with several flashing icons. Each representing the location the respective being is in. He zooms in on where Yuichi is—sure enough his unofficial twin's icon is there as well.

"Ugh, just I thought! I should've known Nardo wasn't going to just leave that guy alone! The man's an insomniac, there's a new mutant yokai thing around, they're about the same age, it's a rabbit...the math adds up. I was just too distracted by science to see it."

"Oh yeah that does sound like Leo, sooo what now?" Michelangelo asks his brother, unclenching his fist and instead raising one up to his chin, perplexed.

"What about Leo?" A groggy Raphael emerges from his room, still sporting his onesie and retained, holding a teddy bear in one arm and rubbing his eyes with the other.

"The man has taken my test subject!" The softshell replies with clenched teeth. "It's pushing back my schedule for today and you best believe he will get lectured once he's back here."

Donatello puts his hands together and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "The day is still salvageable though, I just have to get those two back here in the next ten or so minutes."

Raphael scratches his head, not understanding. "Why ten minutes? Does it really matter that much, Donnie?"

"Because...carpe diem!" The middle child crosses his arms, glaring at him. The truth is that's how much longer he's willing to suppress an outburst. "I'm not waiting any longer. Reminder, this is interdimensional travel we're talking about! So either you two stay here to man the fort or you're coming with me. What's it going to be?"

Michaelangelo and Raphael share a look that clearly is a means of judging their brother (which Donatello couldn't care less about) before looking back at their impatient brother and shrugging.