Raph stared into leo's eyes as they readied to spar,

"Hajime!" splinter said firmly, Raph grabbed his sais, leo his katanas. Watching his brothers every move, Raph slowly circled him, then, without warning, he charged. Leo jumped nimbly out of the way, but he swerved quickly and tripped his blue clad brother. Leo thumped to the floor, raph placed his foot on his shell.

"Well that was easy." he said.

"Yame!" splinter commanded, Raph let leo up. Leo looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry master splinter." he said, "I was, distracted."

"I'll say!" Raph boasted, "it usually takes me a whole two minutes to beat you!" leo glared at him, splinter did as well, "sorry." raph muttered.

"What distracted you my son?" splinter asked leo, leo sighed.

"A, I guess a memory." he stammered, "I had a dream last night, a nightmare. But it was about something real." raph wondered what leo had dreamed, the black hole generator? Zarr narron? The triceratons?

"What memory?" splinter pressed, raph looked at the floor, not sure if he should be overhearing.

"A long time ago." leo whispered, "we were five, i don't know why it has me so confused, i'll get over it." raph saw leo's dark blue eyes travel to the lightning shaped chip in his plastron, and his mind reeled. Leo had dreamed about that? Of all the horrible things, he dreamed about raph hurting himself?

"I see." splinter said, "you may both go now." Raph walked out next to leo, when they were in the living room he looked at leo.

"You, you still remember that?" he asked, leo looked up sadly.

"It was one of the worst days of my life." he replied, Raph frowned,

"Why? I mean, leo, you almost died once, we saw our world get sucked into a black hole for crying out loud, why is that one of the worst days of your life?"

"Because," leo hesitated, "it was my fault." Raph almost laughed right out loud at that.

"I was the idiot who took a running jump off a cliff." he said, Mikey and Donnie look up from their video game.

"Uh, you look ok to me bro." Mikey said, "not even a scratch." Raph rolled his eyes.

"You don't understand." he said waspishly, Mikey looked at him sympathetically.

"Was it the cows?" he asked.

"What the shell?"

"Yeah, I'd stay away if i were you." mikey advised, "the cows are evil."

"What are you talking about?" Donnie asked, "what cows?"

"The evil ones, duh." Mikey said, Raph just looked at him as he turned back to the screen.

"Ook." leo said, "thanks for the advice mikey,"

"It's what i do." raph looked at leo, who shrugged.

"Well then."raph said, "let's forget that happened."

"It was my fault." leo repeated "because i left you behind, i knew you would get lost" raph looked at leo for a moment.

"Ok." he finally said. Raph turned away from his older brother, Leo had really felt guilty for that dumb thing for ten years? Wow. Raph sat next to mikey to watch, Donnie was way far ahead of him, about, 10 life points. He was obviously going to win.

"Augh! The cows!" Mikey exclaimed, raph looked at the screen.

"Those are not cows." he said, "those are bears."

"Oh, false alarm." Mikey said happily, "thanks raph." raph rolled his eyes, only mikey could mistake bears as cows. Raph suddenly felt restless, they should be out there, hunting bad guys. Not sitting around here, playing video games.

"You ok raph?" donnie asked, not even looking away from the screen, raph could have sworn donnie was psychic!

"Yeah, I dunno, i just feel like we should be out there."

"Why don't you take the afternoon sewer patrol?" leo suggested, "to keep yourself sane." Raph contemplated this, saying yes would be agreeing with leo, saying no would be a death sentence. Not that leo would hurt him, he just wouldn't survive being here that long.

"Sure, why not?" he grunted, getting to his feet. "See you guys."

"Watch out for cows." was Mikey's reply. Raph chuckled as he went out into the sewers. As he walked along, his thoughts returned to what leo had said earlier. It had been years, literally years, since raph last thought of his accident. He'd taken at least three months to heal all the way, but it wasn't a very vivid memory.

"Spread out." a voice said, and Raph stopped in hi stracks, "we know they live down here, it's only a matter of time until we find them." it was rocksteady.

"Aww man! Why do you get to call the shots?" beebop complained, "I'm the one with shnazzy new equipment!"

"New equipment?" Raph muttered, and looked carefully around the corner, their Rino and Piggy friends were walking along the sewers. He took out his t-phone and texted leo found some mutants. He slipped it back into his belt without checking to see if it got through.

"I say to spread out!" Rocksteady growled, "do the splitting up."

"Don't you know that's a bad idea?" beebop asked, "dummy." beebop stopped and sniffed the air, Raph remembered he could smell mutants.

"Aw shell." he muttered,a dn grabbed his sais.

"Man! One of 'em's here! Listening!" beebop said, "you probably made them find us with your loud mouth!"

"It was not a me." rocksteady said, "you are the one with fancy new equipment."

"Oh yeah!" beebop took out a metal cylinder. "Here, turtle," he called, "come out to play."

"Rargh!" Raph roared, jumping at them, he hit rocksteady first the hulking rino turned, annoyed.

"Hey, beebop, i is doing the finding today!" he grabbed raph's shell, Raph took the opportunity to Stab his sai into the thick skin on his hand. "Ow!"

"And i is doing the hurting!" raph said, breaking free from his grasp.

"You Mock me!" rocksteady roared, slamming his fist down towards raph, raph jumped nimbly out of the way.

"That the best you got?"

"Let me handle this Rocksteady!" beebop said, running from the side with his pathetic metal cylinder, Raph held his sai's ready, but rocksteady slammed his rhino horn into raph's back, he thudded against the wall with a sickening crack.

"Heh, shows turtle right for mock me." Rocksteady said, grabbing raph's shell as he tried to recover from the blow. Raph saw his sais laying on the ground next to the wall, he'd dropped them.

"Let's see if that fly guy was right about this!" beebop said, holding up the cylinder, he pressed a button and a sleek new blade slid out. "Fancy right? He said it's adamantium, should cut right through their shells." Raph's eyes widened.

"No, NO!" he yelled, and kicked his foot back into Rocksteady's face, if he didn't get that blade away from them, his whole family could die. The giant rhino stumbled backward and dropped him, raph rolled to his sais and grabbed them. "Not gonna be that easy." he growled, "how about this beebop," the pig looked at him, "you and i, no help from Rocksteady now, you and I fight, sword against sai. If i win, an i take your blade, you give me the blade and leave. If you win, you kill me with it. Deal?" beebop looked at rocksteady.

"Yeah man! No helping me out! I can handle this pathetic excuse for a reptile!" he boasted, Raph grinned, that's what he'd been hoping for.

"Meh, fine." rocksteady growled, "but if you fall, i will crush the turtle's shell like the blueberries." he leaned back against the wall. Raph held his sai's out, he was about, 67% positive he'd win. He knew enough about math to know that was a bad percent.

"You think those tiny skewers will do anything against this?" beebop asked haughtily "this is pure titanium!"

"Yeah, you said," raph growled, "get ready to find out." he charged at beebop, but as he caught the pigs blade in his sai, it sliced right through the steel. "What the,"

"Oh yeah, and that scientist dude especially made sure it could break steel!" beebop laughed, "too bad you didn't know that!" Raph threw the ruined weapon away and held his remaining one up in defensive, his percent had dwindled down to about, fifty four, you know, because he was so sure that he was smart. He watched beebop carefully, aware that rocksteady had relaxed visibly when they saw the blade did it's job.

"I bet it only works once." he growled, casting his senses around, trying to buy time, "why don't you try again?" he realised that this was the tunnel he remembered from that one day, he wouldn't have if leo hadn't brought it up. But he knew a chasm was only a few hundred yards behind him. He backed up slowly,a plan beginning to from in his head.

"Hey, where you goin man?" beebop yelled, "that's a dead end!"

"Well, hope you don't die." Raph responded, bebop came after him.

"You know, I'm gonna love slicing right through your shell." he said.

"Really? I feel the same about you." raph said, getting closer to the edge every second, he stopped about a foot away, "why don't you try it?" beebop accepted the invitation and ran at raph, raph tried to dodge, so that he'd fall. But apparently this guy wasn't as stupid as he looked. Instead, ,he swerved too, and slashed the sword down toward raph's head. Raph swung his head back, but his plastron wasn't as fortunate. The blade caught right in the crack already existing in his shell, a faint voice played in his head.

You should really let me seal that crack raph, it might be a weak spot. Thanks a ton donnie. Raph thought, turns out, you are right about everything. Not about to give up, and despite the agony crawling through him, raph grabbed the sword in his hands as he fell backwards over the edge, beebop didn't expect that, and let go. Raph fell into the dizzying darkness. He fumbled for his t-phone during the fall, aware he was losing consciousness fast, he just managed to call leo before thudding onto the ground and also falling into darkness.