Leo felt his t-phone buzz and pulled it out. "Raph?" he answered and said his brother's name again, then he heard a sickening crunch, and silence, only penetrated with a single ragged breath. "Raph!"
"What happened?" Donnie asked, coming over.
"I, I don't know!" Leo gasped, "Raph called me, and, and he's not talking!" Donnie took the phone and listened as a second painful sounding breath was heard.
"What the?" he gasped, Mikey looked over.
"Is his phone broken or something?" Leo looked at Donnie, if they told Mikey what was happening, he'd freak out.
"Mikey, don and I need to go out." he said, "tell master Splinter to call me, and I'll tell him."
"Uh, ok." Mikey said, seeing the terrified light in Leo's eyes.
"Can you track his phone Donnie?" Leo asked his genius brother, who nodded, pulling out his own.
"On it." they hurried out of the lair as Donnie keyed in instructions he looked at the map in his brother's hand.
"There?" he asked, Donnie shrugged.
"I guess." but Leo was thrown back in time, ten years ago.
"Hurry." he said, picking up the pace. They got to an intersection however, and skidded to a halt, voices.
"I dunno, who won? Cause he took my sword, but he's dead." it was beebop, and probably rocksteady.
"Well, you cracked his shell like the blueberries." rocksteady replied as they walked past, Leo and Donnie jumped up and hid on the ceiling, "so, I think you won." the two of shredder's cronies passed and Leo jumped down, followed by Donnie.
"Raph." the purple masked ninja whispered, and the two brothers took off in a full sprint, they skidded to a halt at the edge of a familiar chasm, Donnie now understood why Leo had paled.
"Oh, here."
"Yeah." Leo whispered, he was afraid to look over the edge, to see what had happened to his brother. But he had to. He slowly looked past the chipped concrete, and almost threw up. Raph lay so still, at the base of the cliff. But that was not the only reason. Donnie gasped.
"His, his plastron!" Donnie grabbed his grappling hook, "come on Leo! We have to get down there!"
"R-right." Leo stuttered, grabbing his own, but unable to tear his gaze from the sight of his brothers broken form. They landed hard, but barely noticed the impact. Donnie immediately went to their brothers side, Leo followed. But he stopped, a shiny blade glinted a few yards away, he walked to it. It was undoubtedly a work of Baxter Stockman, his tech all had a similar look.
"Leo! Get over here!" Donnie barked, Leo walked over, and again felt his lunch rise in his throat. "I need you to help me." his younger brother pressed, "I, I think I can get him home safely."
"Ok." Leo said, his mouth dry, "what do you need?" Donnie looked at him.
"I know you don't want to leave him, but I need you to go get the shellraiser, I drew a map of how to get here without falling off a cliff, but hurry,and make sure my first aid kit is in there."
"Ok." Leo said, standing, Donnie would never want him to leave unless it was absolutely necessary. Leo used his grappling hook to get back to the top, and then sprinted back home, he'd run so much in the past ten minutes, but he couldn't stop.
"Leo!" Mikey said as he ran into the lair, "where's Donnie?"
"Leonardo," sensei said, "i was just going to call you."
"You have to come with me sensei." Leo gasped, "in the shellraiser, Mikey, stay here." he grabbed the keys, "let's go." Splinter must have noticed that Leo was distressed, and followed without comment.
"Michelangelo, please get all my herbs ready, I have a feeling I may need them." Leo didn't argue, he was right. And Mikey nodded, his eyes wide. Leo jumped into the shellraiser and it roared through the sewers, taking a route he didn't recognise without the map Donnie had sketched. Splinter remained silent, and Leo hardly realised he was there until he skidded to a stop in the chasm, a few hundred yards away from the huddled figure of his brothers.
"Over here sensei." he gasped, running yet again. Donnie looked at master Splinter.
"Good idea, I may need his help." he said, Leo nodded, and looked past Donnie to Raph's still figure, he watched his brother's mangled chest rise with a painful breath, and slowly fall.
"Donatello," Splinter said firmly, "find two straight pieces of rock or wood, as long as Raphael's chest." Don nodded and got to his feet, he began searching the chasm floor for rubble. Leo stared at master Splinter.
"My dream, was it warning me?"
"I do not know." Splinter admitted, "but we must not dwell on that now, Raphael needs our help."
"Will these work?" Donnie asked, holding up two relatively straight chunks of wood.
"Yes, Leonardo, get bandages from the first aid kit." Leo nodded numbly, and pulled the duffel bag out of the shellraiser, rifling through it.
"Here sensei." he said, handing them to his father. Splinter first wrapped Raph's whole chest with bandages, then placed the wood on either side, the front and back.
"To straighten his spine." he said, then wrapped yet more bandages around that. "Donatello, do you happen to have a stretcher in the shellraiser?"
"Uh," Donnie looked into his creation, "we can use the panel that covers the hatch for the stealth bike."
"Very well." sensei said, and Leo helped Donnie pry off the flat piece of wood. They then carefully, under Splinter instruction, lifted Raph and gently placed him on it. Don went to the shellraiser and returned with thick leather straps.
"I had these, but not a stretcher." he muttered, "Donatello the genius." Splinter didn't comment, but secured Raph safely on the panel, before allowing them to carry it to the shellraiser.
"Leonardo, you will still drive." Splinter said, Leo sighed, he had been about to ask if he could sit with Raph.
"Hai, sensei." he said, and sat in the front seat. As soon as sensei said that Raph was secure, he slammed the gas pedal. He tried not to let his emotions overflow, if they arrived hysterical, Mikey would freak even more than he was going too, Leo was glad that most of Raph's injuries were covered by bandages. By the time he realised he was about to pass the lair, he slammed the breaks. "Sorry." he gasped, looking back at his family, Raph was still breathing, that was good.
"Guys!" Mikey shouted, coming to meet them, "I got all your healing herbs...Raph!"
"Michelangelo." Sensei said sternly, "go with Leonardo and set up the cot in the lab, and then take him to get clean." Leo looked at himself, he realised he was streaked with dirt, grime, and most sickeningly, blood.
"O-ok." Mikey stammered, and Leo walked next to him numbly, not speaking, Mikey was pale, almost as pale as Raph. Leo spun around, he had to help Raph.
"Leo!" Mikey exclaimed, grabbing his arm, "we're going to the lab!"
"Raph!" Leo shouted, Mikey grabbed his other arm.
"We're going!" he said, hugging Leo tightly, "I don't know what's wrong with Raph, but I know he's gonna be ok." Leo stared at Mikey, "now come on, master Splinter said he needs the cot." Leo followed him now, and helped him set up the cot. Then Mikey brought him to the bathroom and sat him on the edge of the tub. In a few minutes,after Mikey helped him clean off the rest of the grime they went back out to the lab.
"Master Splinter?" Mikey called, "can we come in?"
"I dunno sensei." Donnie said inside the lab, "Leo was pretty freaked out."
"I'm going in!" Leo yelled, and pushed past Mikey into the lab. Raph was laying on the cot, his bandages now removed. Leo stared at the huge crack running through his plastron. With it cleaned, it did not look any less horrifying. Mikey came after him, but stopped.
"Oh…" he gasped, and turned around. He left the lab, Leo knelt beside his brother. This was all his fault, he'd told Raph to go out into the sewers, he'd even had a dream to warn him, and he still let Raph get hurt.
"Leonardo." Sensei said, "if you wish to be in here you must help." Leo nodded, and looked up at his father.
"Yes, what do you need me to do?"
"Get a bowl of water, and wash cloths" Leo nodded, and got to his feet, when he returned with the items he knelt by Raph and took his three fingered hand. He took one of the rags and washed the bloodstained fingers cleaned. As he finished he looked at the thick calluses that covered the fingers, Raph must have gotten awful blisters with all his work, but he'd never once complained. He rubbed his own fingers absentmindedly on the calluses. Sensei continued to wash blood and dirt from Raph's wounds, and did not ask Leo to do anything else. Leo knew he was scared of losing Raph, Leo was too. But Mikey's words echoed in his ears.
I know he's gonna be ok
"I know you're gonna be ok." Leo whispered to his brother, "so, so prove me right ok?" Splinter finished cleaning the wound and got his healing herbs, Donnie ended up leaving to help Mikey, who'd thrown up in the living room, and Leo was alone with his father and brother. Leo watched him make a dressing to put on Raph's wound, and looked back up, he wished he hadn't. It looked like Raph's lightning shaped crack had been the start of the wound, like the sword caught in it. Now the crack reached down to around his belt, and there was a chunk missing over his left lung and heart area. The skin there that remained was pale green, because it had never seen sunlight. Blood still oozed from there, and Raph's breathing was more ragged than ever.
"Leonardo." Splinter said, Leo looked up.
"Yes?"
"We need to make Raphael as comfortable as possible." sensei said, "please go to his room and get his pillows."
"Hai sensei." Leo said, getting to his feet. He walked to Raph's bedroom and opened the door. He walked to the bed, but something on the nightstand caught his eyes, he looked at it and his jaw dropped. It was the shattered photo he'd saved from the kraang invasion, the one he'd placed next to Leo's bedside as he recovered. He still had it. Leo took it in his trembling hands, he rubbed the scotch tape that held the remaining glass together and placed it back on the nightstand, he scooped up all the pillows on the bed and carried it out to the lab, Mikey and Donnie had fallen asleep on the couch a while ago it seemed, and Leo walked into the lab, he set the pillows on the floor and saw that sensei had rewrapped Raph in clean bandages, he had also cleaned the hand Leo had been holding.
"Good Leonardo." Splinter said, "now we will not prop him up until he heals more, we only need one for his head, but I'm afraid his leg is injured as well, we will cushion it." Leo nodded and grabbed two of the pillows. Then, as Splinter adjusted him, Leo went back and got a blanket, and the picture. He set it on the floor next to Raph and resumed his act of caressing his hand. Splinter stood over them for a moment, and then left. Leo didn't realize when he fell asleep, but in the morning he rubbed gum from his eyes as he awoke.
