And Then There Were Five

Chapter 17: The rescue

The song for this chapter is Baby Came Home by The Neighbourhood

(Leonardo's POV)

I didn't know much longer I could take waiting for Donnie to try and track some Kraang so we could go any find any information on Shredder's whereabouts. We had a sneaking suspicion that they were working with Shredder and his henchmen, so it was worth a shot. I sat in my plain little room, my head in my hands, my head and throat throbbing from holding in tears. You don't realize what you have until it's gone. Without Silvana the lair seemed empty, hollow. The halls loomed darkly, and the beaten up old couches in the main area seemed to sag even more, missing her as well. She was everywhere, but she was nowhere. I was going crazy, my brothers knew it, Splinter knew it, and I knew it. No one to make fluffy pancakes for us anymore, no one to hum as they tidied up the kitchen, no one to cast their inviting silhouette down the hall late at night. A tear was hanging from my bottom lashes, threatening to fall when I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" My voice had become hoarse and dry from not speaking for long periods of time.

"Don't worry, it's just me," Raph's voice slid underneath the door.

"Okay." Slowly the door creaked open, the whisper of it brushing the floor seeming so loud in the heavy silence. Raph didn't say anything, just sat beside me and put a hand on my hunched shoulder. We stayed like that for a good ten minutes before he spoke.

"We'll get her back, Leo. I promise."

"You can't guarantee it."

"Yes I can. Leo, we all want her back just as bad, you know that."

"I know." This conversation was going nowhere. Why was Raph really in here? After a couple days of trying to comfort me, they gave up even trying to talk to me. I was silently going over ever way I was going to kill Shredder in my head, I didn't care if it killed me too. Six days, eight hours and twenty-three minutes since Silv was taken from me. Six days, eight hours and twenty three minutes of torture that she must be enduring, all because I let her come with us. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was I the leader? I couldn't make decisions to save my life, scratch that, to save Silvana's life.

"Leo. . ." Raph started again. breaking through my inner self-torture.

"Yes?"

"Don't freak out."

"Okay. . .?" I was trying to keep it together. She wasn't dead, was she? Raph doesn't usually treat me with this much sensitivity. He was always the hot head. But he has been very supportive the last few days, which it didn't show, but I needed it.

"Donnie thinks we may have a legitimate lead on where we can find intel on Silv." Oh my shell. I knew there was a God up there somewhere, collecting my karma for good behaviour over the years.

"What are we waiting for?" I shot up, moving faster than I had in almost a week.

"Whoa hold up, we can't just go storming in. Come on Fearless, use your head. I'm supposed to be the reckless one, not you," he put his hand across my chest, restraining me.

I nodded, "Get the guys and meet me in the kitchen in five." He gave me a cheesy salute, and marched off to Donnie's lab, and Mikey's room.

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Everyone was present; Mikey, Donnie, Raph, Casey, April and Splinter. We were all standing around a table with multiple weapons on it.

"Here's the plan: we track the kraang signal to some bots, and then interrogate them for information. If they won't give in or don't know, we move on to a second signal Donnie has traced and repeat the same thing. Now, I'm assuming that if we make it to Shredder's hideout, it will be heavily guarded. Casey, April, are you sure you want to get yourselves into this?" I moved my eyes over the whole group, addressing them, my eyes finally resting on Casey and April.