More Than Just One

Chapter 7

Splinter liked the silence. His sons were doing God knows what, so he was left alone to watch his shows. He sat comfortably in his chair, cake crumbs and milk spills adding to the reasons he couldn't—and wouldn't—move.

During an intermission, Splinter called for his sons, just to make sure they were still alive.

After a long pause, Splinter called again.

With a heaving sigh, he reluctantly sat up. He jumped onto the ground and brushed the crumbs off his robe. He walked around the lair for any sign of his sons.

He found their skateboards lined up against the wall, the kitchen empty, and Don's lab full of his tech. He checked each of their rooms, as well as the barely-used dojo. Nothing, nothing, nothing .

Splinter was starting to get worried when April came running in.

"Splints! Have you seen the boys?"

"I was just looking for them!" Splinter replied. "Have you? Are they on a mission?"

April shook her head quickly, "That's why I came to see you! Donnie's not answerin' and neither is Mikey!" She pressed a few quick buttons on her phone and put it on speaker.

" You've reached Raphael! I'm busy— "

"None of them are answering!"

Splinter hummed, "Something is very wrong. They always have their phones on them. Maybe Purple has something in his lab that can help."

April agreed and they made their way to Don's lab. It felt off being there without the turtle, but Splinter pushed that side of him away.

As they searched, they got more and more desperate. No tracking devices, no mission plans, no "this is where we are if we ever magically disappear" letter. Once they confidently came up with nothing, April decided to call Baron Draxum.

"They just... disappeared?" Baron asked slowly.

"That's what we think!!" April said. "They won't answer their phones and Donnie's tech is all here!"

Baron hummed, "I'll see what I can find. Splinter, meditate on it."

Splinter was about to refuse when he remembered it was about his sons, then nodded. He left for the barely-used dojo and sat on the mats. He crossed his legs and laid his hands, palm-up, on his knees. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.

The last time he had done this, he was only a teenager, training, before he wanted to be a star. He was never excellent at it, but it was passable.

Now, he had to channel all of his training. He had to center himself.

He took another deep breath and receded into his mind. It was dark and foggy, but he kept going. Every breath was a step forward.

His grandfather's words circled his mind.

You must be centered before searching, Yoshi. Relax, breathe, ground yourself. Find calmness. Listen to your breath.

Splinter let himself relax. The outside world started to fade away until it was just him. He made sure he could stay grounded before searching for his sons.

He didn't really know what to do, so he went looking for hues of purple, orange, blue, and red. He looked for signs of them, clues of their whereabouts, and answers of how to find them.

Slowly, a grey-purple cloud came into view. Splinter rushed towards it. It showed his sons, all snuggled together. They were asleep. But, two more turtles laid on Red.

One looked like Purple and the other like Orange. Another that looked like Red sat on the couch the six leaned against.

The background was a sad living room, obviously in the sewers. Though, it wasn't a part that Splinter had ever seen. It looked to be a subway station, abandoned long ago.

Splinter let out a breath, thankful his sons were safe and that they had each other.

A soft hand on his shoulder shook him from his meditation.

"Hey, how'd it go?" April asked once Splinter looked up at her.

"Good," Splinter said. "They are safe."

April nodded, "Baron located them to be in another universe. He can reach them pretty easily, he just won't be able to go with us."

Splinter and April stood in the center of a glowing, blue symbol. All the lights in the lair were off. Baron's magic crackled.

"I will bring you back in three days," he said.

April nodded, "Thanks, Drax."

Baron nodded. He slammed his hands onto the ground and the world went dark.