Under the Shining Lights

Where Are You?

"Mona? Are you there?" Raph asked, feeling her forehead. She slowly blinked up at him, her eyes struggling to focus.

"He doesn't have his tracker!" Donny grumbled, tapping at his gauntlet with panicky fingers, "A-and he dropped his phone, which is broken now-"

"Donny! Leo's gone!" Mikey cried, clinging to his brother, "What are we gonna do!?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Donny snapped, removing Mikey from his person. 

Raph rolled his eyes despite himself, kneeling with Mona. Focus on one thing at a time, he reminded himself. Mona was slowly recovering, so he turned his focus to his brothers, who were losing their minds beside him.

"Guys!" Raph snapped, his brothers jumping, "Chill!" He looked at Donny, "What was that? What did it do to Mona?"

Donny swallowed and flicked his goggles down on his face, scanning the reptile in Raph's arms. What he saw must have confused him, as an arm emerged from his shell and swabbed his arm. Watching that happen made Raph aware of how sticky he felt, like a layer of slime was dried on his skin. 

"It wasn't just smoke," Donny mumbled, looking over whatever reading he got from that sample, "It was a diluted poison!"

Raph gasped, glancing at Mona again. She was slowly coming to, her eyes no longer dilated. She was squinting at Donny, seemingly hearing him. 

"Mona, can you hear me?" Raph asked, tilting her chin to him, "C-can you see me?"

"Y-yeah," Mona coughed, blinking hard, "Everything's just...fuzzy,"

Two sets of running footsteps had the boys flinching, taking defensive stances as their owners appeared. A rabbit and a lizard revealed their selves, panting hard as they observed the scene. 

"Ah!" The rabbit, Otto Raph recalled, huffed, "It's Leo's brothers! And...I don't know her, but it's Leo's brothers!"

"Thank the gods!" Duru cried, running up to the group, "You've got to help us! Signey's gone missing!" Duru took a moment to catch her breath, "We were hoping Leo's heard from her-"

"Leo's just been taken," Donny grunted, tapping at his gauntlet to avoid eye contact, "Tell me: do you recognize this smell?" Donny held his arm up to Leo's friend, the two looking confused.

"What do you mean he's just been taken!?" Duru shouted, Mona flinching. Otto leaned forward to sniff Donny's arm curiously.

"Woah! That's sweet!" Otto scrunched his nose, his eyes dilating. 

"Donny! His eyes!" Raph pointed, slowly lifting Mona to her feet, "The same thing happened to Mona!"

Donny immediately scanned Otto, humming as he took notes. Duru looked between them, getting more worked up.

"What's going on!?" She asked, Mikey popping up in front of her.

"Leo got kidnapped," He answered, "Whoever it was set off this really weird smoke bomb,"

"It has a heavy effect on regular yokai," Donny mumbled, "Mostly because we're resistant to most poisons, but it was still a very effective cover for whoever had the gall to kidnap our brother,"

"You're resistant to most poisons?" Stunned by the news, Duru took a shaky breath, "Wha...what are we gonna do?"

Raph swallowed, fighting off his panic to try and think of a plan. The gas was a mild poison that could inebriate the average Yokai citizen, apparently, Leo's friend Sygney has gone missing, as well as Elana and Leo's been fucking kidnapped. One thing at a time, one thing at a time...