TMNT are the property of Mirage. Still.

It was wonderful!

Don, walking fearlessly and cheerfully through the tunnels by himself, felt grown-up; indeed, he felt as grown-up as Leo had theorized earlier.

"Ah, Leo," he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as if he were the older brother listening to a much younger brother's views, "you are very imaginative- and yet, not far from the truth I think."

The way was well-known to him, and Don was more than confident that he would get to the junk yard, quickly secure two perfect controllers, and return long before Splinter made it home!

Walking along, dressed in his battle gear, carrying the Jo stick, he felt invincible! He felt as if he were the bravest of the brave.

He felt NINJA!

YES! For the first time, he actually felt what (he imagined) it was like to be Ninja!

He began to stick to the shadows (easily done; the sewer tunnels were not well-lit, but still, one worked with what one had), leaping here and there to escape the notice of imaginary foe, moving stealthily- so stealthily that he actually was able to approach one of the many sewer rats without its noticing him until the last possible second, and then he bolted before he could touch it with his Jo.

Then he began to "perform" a few of the suburi that he'd mastered- there were twenty in all, but he had only learned nine- and still, he was ahead of even Leo in this respect!

He stopped for a moment, and got into position, starting with Choku Tsuki, the basic thrusting movement that was utilized in many of the jo waza.

Donatello, show LEONARDO again!

Those had to be the three sweetest words he'd ever heard in a sentence!

Don had that lesson to heart. He'd been amazed that day when the four of them were first introduced to the lesson and that HE had won the gold star and the remote for mastering the moves!

In fact, Splinter had been so pleased that he'd pushed forward with the training, teaching them the next three moves in the series. Mikey had only managed by the end of that lesson to trip Raph up, smack Leo on the tail, and drop his Jo on Splinter's foot. Raph and Leo had each semi-mastered three of the four moves, but only by sheer determination after the fact that Don had mastered the first one before any of them did. Indeed, Leo had not been happy when Splinter had told Don to demonstrate for him, and had worn an almost Raph-like scowl that he mainly directed at his younger brother the rest of the session .

Don smiled as he went through that first one again, remembering the sound of Splinter's voice as well as the praise as he had successfully performed the first four of the twenty suburi: Choku Tsuki, Shigoku Tsuki, Kaeshi Tsuki, Ushiro Tsuki.

"Excellent work, my son! You have a natural ability for the weapon, I believe! Well done!"

Don, puffed up with pride, continued on his way, once in a while launching into some of the other suburi as he fought his way through imaginary enemies who tried to prevent him from his quest: to bring back the remedy that would heal his family!

It was like a MOVIE! Yeah, like one of those really cool Japanese movies, or like one of the Japanese fairy tales that Mikey loved so much!

"Donatello and the Cursed Brothers," he laughed, making his own story up, all the while thrusting, leaping, spinning, and fighting his way through evil samurai, treacherous ninja, a few ogres, and a monster who barred his way to the junk yard...

Donatello snapped out of his daydream as he realized that he'd reached the abandoned tunnel.

Straight ahead was the well-known, better lit passage that he and Splinter always used on their way to the junk yard. To his right was a partially boarded up opening that was black with the unknown.

And yet, Don was convinced that it might be a short cut. He was sure he'd found the other end of it at the junk yard. In fact, he had just been prepared to explore that end when the dog had shown up, trying to turn him into his personal chew toy.

Don swallowed. Hard. Until now this had been a grand Adventure.

Now...

Drawing a deep breath, he took his flash light out of his bag and flicked it on. The bright, steady beam was calming on his already racing imagination, and he directed its brilliance into the tunnel, cutting a straight path through the inky blackness.

It looked like every other sewer tunnel; only more scary.

NO! Don shook his head fiercely. Not "more scary"! Not even "scary"! It was just a tunnel, like every other tunnel- only boarded up a bit... and cluttered with abandoned things... and dark... and dusty... and cobwebby... and...

Why hasn't any of the rain water washed that stuff away?

Granted, the opening was about three feet above the floor level of this one, which puzzled the young turtle to no end. Oh, he could get into it; but should he?

It must be boarded up for a reason, Brainac he could almost imagine Raph's voice telling him this.

He was about to continue on the regular way when he heard Raph's voice again.

"He wouldn't know Adventure if..."

Using the Jo, he levered off some of the haphazardly fastened boards, making a large enough opening for himself. Then, after much struggling and jumping, he got himself into the opening and started carefully on his way into the Unknown...

Dark. Dark and dripping, damp yet dusty. Contradictions bothered Don. How could it be damp yet dusty? And where was all that dripping coming from?

He bravely walked on, wondering at the amount of old tools, boxes, litter. Now and then he would splash into a small, cold puddle of water, but at first he paid it no mind; after all, he and his brothers were usually ankle deep in the stuff in the storm drains and sewers. Instead his focus was on the items littering the tunnel floor.

Some of this stuff looked ancient! Even the walls seemed older than the ones he was used to; was this part of the old system? But that didn't make sense.

This was more like an access way than a sewer tunnel- a sort of short cut between one main junction and another. But why board it up? Why not keep using it?

Dust. Dirt. Old boards. Warped wooden boxes, empty and useless. Rusted stray tools, so bad off that even Don could tell they were not worth scavenging. Cobwebs galore!

Yet no spiders, thank goodness. These remnants were old, full of dust and nothing else.

Here and there were crumbled piles of stonework. Looking up, Don could see that some sort of water damage had brought down bits of the ceiling here and there. Probably a leak in a pipe or something... yeah, leaking pipes; that would explain the dripping and the occasional puddles.

He stumbled over another pile of rubble, staggering for a moment before he caught himself. He breathed a sigh of relief and pressed forward.

Hey! Hey stupid! Turn around and go home! This is nuts! This is crazy! This is something Raph would do, and you know how his adventures turn out!

Don shook off his inner-Don.

"I'm not Raphael. I'm smarter than that."

Sure! So smart that you've broken how many of Splinter's rules? Let's see... Don't touch the weapons without Sensei's permission; Don't take a weapon out of the dojo; Don't leave the Lair...

"Don't listen to your own self-doubts!" he snapped out fiercely. "Don't give up! Don't accept defeat!"

Don't get too wrapped up in your own goals that you neglect your own safety.

Don gritted his teeth against that last one. He made a few one-handed moves with the Jo more for comfort than for practice, and continued doggedly on his way. This had to lead to the junk yard. It just had to!

"Doesn't matter that it seems like it's taking a long time," he sniffed to himself. "That's just 'cause I'm moving carefully. Yeah... Just around that bend I should start to see the exit... just around that bend..."

Just around the bend was a large chunk of the roof, pretty much blocking his forward progress.

"Damn!" he exclaimed- then froze in shock! HE had SWORN! HE had used one of the words that had earned Raphael a really painful spanking (though the older turtle still muttered it when he was sure that Splinter would not find out about it).

Clapping a hand over his mouth, he stood there for a moment, knowing that he had to turn back and yet not wanting to admit defeat.

Carefully he examined the obstruction. His flash light played over the entire pile, pretty much showing him that there was no way past it- and then, there it was- a space that looked just the right size!

Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes!

Without thinking he shoved his bag trough the opening, tossed the Jo through after it, and then, gripping the flash light in his mouth, he wiggled his way to the other side!

In the distance he thought he could see a vague outline of an exit!

VICTORY!

Retrieving bag and Jo, he began his triumphant march to the end of his quest!

Don-a-tello! He will always find the way!"

Don laughed aloud in surprise at himself. Mikey was always making up songs about stuff; he had made up several really good ones about all of them (though Raph had sworn an oath of honor that if Mikey EVER sang "Daffy Raphy, with the tail of steel/ a spanking is the only thing it can feel" one more time, he would personally beat the living daylights out of him no matter how many centuries Splinter grounded him for!), and he had made that one up about Don after the brainy turtle had first presented them with the magic of the remote control for the television. At the time it had embarrassed Don to no end.

Now, however!

Don began to sing the song even louder, laughing joyfully.

Don-a-tello! He's the one we call!"

As his foot came down to touch the floor, he splashed into a shallow puddle- and pitched forward as his leg rapidly sank into a sudden hole that opened under him!

Down he came, down hard on both hands, crying out in surprise and fear, barely registering the scraping of the rough stones as his left leg sank abruptly below floor level up to the knee- his knee pad wedged against the small opening, and protected his skin from the most jagged part of the floor. Yet there was no mistaking that stabbing pain- something had pierced through!

He was sprawled now on his plastron, lying there stunned and afraid to move, trying to figure out what the heck had happened, choking on dust and dirt and a growing panic.

He swallowed down the bile he could feel rising in his throat, and shakily pushed himself up into an awkward sitting position. His bag was still close by. The flashlight, too, was close, and undamaged.

But his Jo was just out of reach.

He studied his situation, trying to detach his emotions, trying to be grown-up, trying to see exactly what had happened to him.

The floor must have been weakened by the leak from above. He wondered if the entire floor was safe; so far, only this section had given away.

It was a small hole that accommodated his leg. The kneepad was firmly wedged, and in the glow of the light he could see a small amount of blood- no surprise, he was sure that he'd scrapped himself pretty good.

What had mostly surprised him was the pain in his ankle- and the realization that he'd become somehow trapped between two pipes!

As he sat there, the growing realization that he was in a world of trouble, his inner-Don just couldn't let it go.

Yep- Adventure sure is sweet, isn't it Donnie?

With a start he awoke- again he had dozed off, probably had cried himself to sleep, he wasn't sure- unless there wasn't much oxygen in the tunnel, and he was blacking out?

No, he was sure that there was plenty of oxygen. He didn't feel dizzy, and he could feel a sort of breeze from somewhere. He didn't smell anything dangerous, just dirt and dust and the usual sewer smells...

Carbon dioxide has no smell he reminded himself.

"My head doesn't hurt, and I don't feel sleepy!" he said loudly, in an attempt to drive away his nagging doubts and worries. "I can breathe! Everything is fine! I'm just stuck!"

And in his frustration and fear and anger he jerked mightily on his left leg, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in his ankle and knee. He felt some of the floor around his leg crumble a tiny bit, and he froze. What if the entire floor gave away? He'd be in real trouble then, probably hanging by a broken ankle!

When he had stepped on the spot, he had retained his grip on the flash light, but the Jo had rolled just out of his reach.

"Think, Donnie! Think!" he told himself in frustration. There had to be a way out of this, there just HAD to be!

The Jo! He needed to get hold of the Jo. With that he might be able to pry the pipes just enough to get his foot unstuck!

But it was just out of reach; even trying to use the flash light was no good.

He sighed again, and stared at everything around him. The only thing close to hand was his canvas bag...

It was a neat bag. The handle had come loose at one end, but Don had managed to stitch it back on himself. Then he looked at the Jo lying so close and yet so far...

"I could, my little Akio," he replied, patting his head. "But solving it on your own is the best way to learn..."

With a lot of pulling, and biting, and tugging, and attempts to damage the threads with a jagged piece of rock, Don managed to get through the stitches that he'd so lovingly put into the handle, and he was left with his bag, attached at one end by the canvas strap, the other end of the strap grasped in his right hand.

"Now, let us solve this puzzle," he said, and tossed the empty bag at the Jo- knocking it a bit further away.

He wanted to curse, but he kept his cool- he had to, this floor was not stable. He could feel a bit more of the hole around his leg open up. Were it not for the fact that his ankle was trapped, he could pull free.

The bag landed on top of the Jo! Carefully, carefully, he dragged on the strap, and was rewarded by the sound of the wood scraping on the floor- and then the bag came free, leaving the weapon behind.

Again and again he tossed the bag, once knocking the staff back almost the entire length he had managed to drag it.

That was when he nearly gave up.

"Every problem has a solution, my Akio! Keep trying! Never give up!"

Toss- pull- scrape- stop- toss- pull- scrape- stop-

His leg sank below the kneepad, and the edge of his shell came suddenly in contact with the floor, pinching his tail painfully!

Desperately he stretched out on his plastron, arm outstretched, fingers questing- he put down the flash and kept tossing the bag with one hand, while struggling with the other- his right leg screamed in protest at the strange angle it was forced to assume as leverage, while the left was shouting its own complaints of pain, pain, stabbing pain!

Once more a bit of flooring crumbled against his thigh- just as his fingers touched the Jo!

Carefully, slowly, he teased the weapon closer and closer until he could grasp it firmly!

He didn't even spare himself a relieved sigh. He sat up and, with his free hand, worked at the space around his leg, then aimed the flashlight once again into the hole- he could see his foot now, just a bit- the two pipes were definitely rusted. Perhaps he could break one just enough to get loose. It would be easy! He was sure that there was no hot water in it- he was sure no water was in it at all, as rusted as it looked.

It should be safe! He worked the Jo into the hole next to his leg. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, and it was hard to maneuver it especially with one hand, but he managed to come into contact with the water pipe. He prepared to start striking it, to see if he could break i.

"Unless it's a gas pipe," he suddenly said out loud, and his face almost crumbled. "If it's a gas pipe, I should be able to get out and get down the tunnel before any fumes could reach me."

You can solve any problem if you put your mind to it...

He put the flash light and the damaged bag a little in front of him, where he could quickly grab both and make his escape down the tunnel. Grasping the Jo in both hands, he took a deep breath, let it out, breathed in again, and made ready.

With all of his concentration and strength, he made a powerful downward strike!

CLANG!

The sound was encouraging even as the Jo slid off to the right, but he held on tightly and did not lose it down the hole. No sounds other than the sound of wood on pipe greeted his straining ears.

CLANG!

Something stabbed him a bit; the foot seemed a bit looser, he could move his ankle more!

Downward strike! CLA-RACK!

Something gave way- something cracked and the pressure on his ankle was suddenly gone, though something was scraping against his already damaged skin.

Quickly he pulled the Jo from the hole, then scrambling with all his might he dragged himself out of the hole and collapsed, hard on his plastron, gasping in dirt and dust and cobwebs-

- and then he heard it- the crack of stone.

The floor where he had been trapped was slowly collapsing! Bits of the ceiling was beginning to shake down over him as if in sympathy with the ever crumbling floor!

"Damn!" he coughed, and without thinking beyond the word "run" he grabbed the Jo and the flashlight and started to run- only to collapse on his injured leg. But he wasted no time in tears or cries of pain or more cursing. Up again, using the Jo as a support, he half hopped, half limped as quickly as any turtle could further and further away from that ever-growing trap, keeping his eyes on what appeared to his grateful, tearing eyes to be the exit from this "short cut".

"Just a few more yards! Just a few more yards!" he gasped dizzily, spitting dirt and blood from his mouth- he had bitten his tongue when he had fallen, but had paid little heed to the coppery taste that was coating his mouth, he had to get out! No telling how much of the floor was being pulled into the possible sinkhole! He had to get out!

"Just a few more yards!" he made a final lunge, and tumbled out of the wide exit- and landed splash in a runoff channel.

He was out of the tunnel- and still in the sewers.

The short cut had not lead to the junk yard.

But for the life of him, he had no idea where it had led to.

He was safe, but he was lost.

He lay there, the runoff water sluicing around his body, his breathing slowing, his heart beat coming more and more under control.

"Well- Adventure can't say it hasn't had a mouthful of my ass today," he sighed, eyes closed, shivering in the cold water.