Slash's Revenge

Chapter 10 - Not the Same

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Author's Notes: Chapter 10 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and this one is a bit on the sad side. I hope no one minds me posting it a week earlier than normal. My stepdaughter is getting married next week, so I wanted to get this chapter up before all the craziness starts. XD

Thanks so very much to my absolutely amazing 'editing staff,' Joanne N. Grey and Captain Vegeta. I am incredibly blessed to have these two remarkable women helping me with my stories. They are the super glue that holds me together!!! I love you both!

I also want to thank all my readers, friends, and followers. You're all super and amazing, as well.

Okay, let's jump right into the chapter before I get too sappy. Thank you lots and lots for reading. ;) CJ

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Chapter 10 – Not the Same

The laboratory doors were closed up, good and tight. They had been ever since that night.

That awful, awful night...

Raphael found himself looking in the general direction of the lab every few minutes or so, half-expecting his genius brother to come bursting out of the sliding doors to tell them all about some crazy new invention he'd just finished. Never in all his life had Raph wanted so badly to hear the sound of his immediate younger brother's screechy 'look what I did' voice. The same voice the hotheaded turtle had oftentimes rolled his eyes at or tuned out completely, because he had better things to do or didn't have the patience to listen to whatever his brainy little brother had to say.

He hadn't realized how important that voice was until it was gone. He would've given anything to have it back again. To have his brother back again...

It had been four days since the abduction. Four days since any of them had seen or heard from the genius turtle. Four days since the family had been forced to listen to the atrocious sound of Donatello being mercilessly tortured by the monster who had taken him away from them.

His screams still haunted their every thought.

Currently, Donnie's three brothers were moping about in the pit of the lair, just waiting for the sun to set so they could resume their search efforts. Their father had strictly forbidden them from going up to the surface during the daytime, claiming it was much too dangerous for any of them to be topside while it was light out. This had not been a popular decision by any means. The boys had adamantly voiced their strong disapproval of the ordinance – even the ever-dutiful Leonardo – but their father had stood his ground. As much as Master Splinter wanted to go up there and bring his second youngest child home, he could not risk the lives of his other three sons. If mankind were to discover their existence, the consequences could be deadly.

Hence the reason the boys were left to impatiently wait in the confines of the lair until darkness settled over the city once again.

It was an excruciatingly painful process. The daylight hours crept by slower than the three brothers could ever remember; each minute seemed longer than the last.

They attempted to occupy their time with their usual daily activities, but it didn't seem right to do the routine things they enjoyed while Donnie was out there somewhere, being held prisoner by an insane, bloodthirsty mutant. The thought of what Slash could be doing to their gentlest brother was enough to suck the joy out of everything.