Lost Forever
Chapter 4: The Real Reason Part 2

A/N: Here's the belated Chapter 4.

Disclaim: I don't own the TMNT

I leaped over the edge of the building, not thinking, and fell after him. I got closer and closer as the ground hurdled towards us. I reached out my hand and Mike reached for it. I grabbed it and then I put on one of those wall-climbing-claw things and rammed my hand into the wall we were falling next to. It stuck and we stopped. I began to tremble from the shock on what had just happened and Mike held tight to my wrist with both hands. I pulled him up and he clung to my back as I dug into my belt for the other claw. I dug that into the wall and Mike nodded. He dug into his belt and pulled out his claws and slipped them on. He made sure they were secure to the wall before letting go of me.

"You ok?" I asked, taking control over my voice.

"Y-yeah, I think so," Mike said, avoiding my gaze.

I led the way up the building and helped Mike over the edge. We both lay there, panting with fear. I watched as the clouds rolled overhead for what felt like eternity. I turn my head, finally, and look at Mike. He had his eyes closed and I placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me.

"You ok bro?" I asked. He nodded. I stood and stretched while Mike just sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. Sighing, I held out my hand to help him to his feet. He took it but pulled me towards him. I landed on top of him and he rolled me onto my back, pinning me down. "What the shell are you doing Mike?"

I tried to get from under him with no prevail. Two figures joined us and they were laughing.

"Why did you do it Raph?" the figure to my left asked, humor in his voice. "We had shared a lot when everyone was asleep."

"Why did you leave us Raph?" the figure said to my right asked, clear in his voice. "You left us to die and now we'll kill you."

"We'll wear you down by sheer numbers and then kill you with your own weapon," Mike said above me, an evil little grin on his face. "You'll die slowly and painfully."

Hundreds of Foot soldiers surrounded the two figures, Mike, and me. I looked around and jumped to my feet instantly when Mike pushed off of me. I was armed and ready. Instantly, the Foot were upon me and it felt like my energy was being drained when one Foot ninja went down. Soon, I was on my hands and knees, shaking from the amount of energy I had 'lost'. One sai had slid over to Mike and he picked it up. He walked over to me as I lifted my head. Helpless. Fear. The two feelings I never wanted to feel overwhelmed my senses as Mike raised his hand. I couldn't move. Mike brought the sai down right where my neck met my shell and I felt a sheering pain rip through my head, neck, and back.

"Wake up, Raph," Mike said with an evil grin on his face. ""Wake up."

I lost the feeling in both of my arms and I fell onto my face. In a matter of seconds, my world was consumed by red before black.

Pain grew as a gentle hand shook my body. Was I ? No, it was more of a sleep. A deep, deep sleep I didn't want to wake from. I had to though. I could feel hot tears on my face and I had to open my eyes but my eyelids felt like metal plates welded shut. I tried to lift my arm, just one, but it was heavier than a building. I had no control. I looked for control. I looked hard and deep. When I brushed it, I clung to it and held tight. I felt the control flood through my body and I forced the welded plates for eyelids open. I blinked away the blurry scene and saw that Mike was above me, crying.

It took him a bit to notice I had finally opened my eyes and when he did, he turned and ran out of the room, yelling, "He's awake! He's awake!"

I rubbed my eyes and pushed myself onto an elbow that didn't set my shoulder on fire. 4 people ran in.

"Raph!" two voices yelled at the same time as another said 'Raphael' with a sigh. Three million, or close to, questions began to fly and I just laid back down, smiling lightly to myself. All at one, the voices stopped and I looked at the people around me. Don stepped forward.

"What happened?" he asked. I blinked.

"What happened?" I asked, getting a little agitated with the question. "How the hell should I know, considering I don't believe what I thought I saw."

Leo placed a hand on Don's shoulder and stepped forward.

"Tell us what you saw," he said, commanding and gently at the same time. I so didn't feel like talking.

"I chased after Mike, he fell off the building, I leaped after him, I saved his shell and mine, we pulled ourselves over the edge back onto the roof, we laid down, then I got up, then Mike pulled me to the ground and pinned me there, hundreds of Foot appeared with two figures, I was battered and broken, and last but not least, I was stabbed where my neck met my shell by Mike with my own weapon," I said, leaving out the part that we had a few words passed between us and that I had seen Mike fall and land hard on the sidewalk. "Happy?"

"All of that happened while you fell?" Don asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Mike had looked over his shoulder just in time to see you fall into an alleyway," Don said, glancing at Mike who was standing near the door. "You landed hard on your shoulder and Mike thought that…"

He didn't finish. He didn't need to. I knew what he meant. I nodded and Don smiled. He turned and ushered everyone out. Mike eagerly ran out of the room, Leo took one more look at me before leaving and Master Splinter placed a hand on my good shoulder before leaving.

A few days passed and Don said I was healed all the way, bone wise. He said I could spar now but I had to be careful of my shoulder. I didn't listen. I eagerly went to the dojo and found that Leo, Mike, and Master Splinter were waiting. Don joined us shortly and we separated. I ended up with Mike, Master Splinter's request. I leaped into action quickly, hoping Mike would give me his all. Each time I attacked, though, he would back away. I frowned and attacked harder and harder, trying to pull Mike in to defend. I was stopped and Mike was told to practice with me like nothing had changed by Master Splinter. He nodded and we began, for real.

I attacked first and Mike blocked. I applied pressure and he braced back. Harder and hard I pushed till he pushed me off. He did a roundhouse kick, landing it on my shoulder. Pain numbed my whole left arm and I kept myself from loosing it. He said sorry and I said don't worry about it. This time Mike attacked and he hit me on the shoulder, this time with his nunchaku. The pain grew even more, having black creep into my eyes. I shook it off and prepared again, saying that I didn't block it. This time, I wasn't going to mess around. We got into our fight and not even 2 minutes later was I kneeling with my right hand holding me steady. Mike had brought a nunchaku around hard, almost blacking me out. Controlling my anger, I stood and we went at it again when it suddenly got ugly.

My wound was open again, getting over everywhere. Mike was pale with fear as I became a monster of rage from the pain. My wound got bigger as I strained my shoulder and Mike had a few cuts on him as well. The floor was getting a bit slick with the all over it and my shell and chest were drenched in .

"Raph! Stop!"

Leo ran over and tried to grab my arm but I brought a sai around and landed it in his chest. Everything just seemed to hold its breath. Drip…drip…drip…drip. Everything seems to listen to the dripping on the floor. Then, everything breaks. I take a step back, Leo collapses to a knee, Mike runs to his side, and Don runs to get the First Aid kit.

Drip…drip…drip…drip. Another step. Everything happens in a blur, people ask me questions but all I hear is Leo's and mine. Drip…drip…drip…drip. Mind running, I sprint to the surface. Harder and harder I run, not caring where I go or how far I get, all I cared about was getting the out of my head. Drip…drip…drip…drip

Tired and from loss, I collapsed on a random roof. The ground around my head began to turn red and I began to fade into unconsciousness. My vision was blurry and I realized that I was crying and had started crying as everyone was asking me questions, checking Leo, and checking me. I choked down the tears as my world became black.

- - - - -

The sun was setting and Kat was sitting against the base of an evergreen, Shadow lying by her side. I was leaning against an oak with Silver sleeping at my feet. Kat nodded and I sat down.

"That would explain the dried and pale complexion of yours when you had stumbled into me," Kat said. She was making a bracelet out of some string she kept in her back. She looked up from her work. "Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't really lie," I said, my eyes on the changing sky. "I just didn't tell you the full truth."

"True," she said, standing. She walked over and sat next to me, to my right. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. "I would have like the truth though. The full truth. It still doesn't explain why you're running from your brothers. It's not like you've done anything bad. All you did was cry which, by the way, tough guy, isn't a bad thing."

"I guess," I said. A wolf howled in the distance and Silver's ears came up. Shadow's ears laid flat against her head. Kat howled back, long and loud, and Silver and Shadow joined in, taking up the same note. Other wolves all around us did too as well and I chuckled. Soon we saw about 8 glowing eyes looking at us. Silver stood and growled, looking at each of the pair of glowing eyes. The alpha male stepped forward and walked over to Silver, his teeth bare. Kat glared at the Alpha.

"Bare your teeth here and your throat is slit," Kat said, her hand holding mine.

"How can a human understand us?" Alpha growled.

"Not just this human can understand you," I said, Kat's power flowing though her hand into my body. "I can also."

"What are you two?" Alpha growled, his teeth no longer bare. Silver stepped forward as the Alpha female stepped forward.

"They are the Protectors," Silver said, standing tall.

"Mentor," the Alpha female said, her ears flat and her tail between her legs. She walked forward and she toughed Silver's muzzle with hers. "I am Sia and this is my mate, Kata."

"We heard your call," Kata said, his mate returning to his side. "We came to answer."

"I was the one who called," Kat said. "I need help. We do."

"What can we do to help?" Sia asked, bowing her head.

"We need guidance through these lands," Kat said. "We need the help of the native wolves here."

"To where?" a male wolf asked from the other eyes.

"To the other edge of this land," Shadow said. All the eyes of the new wolves landed on her and many backed up. Kat frowned and Silver growled but Shadow stood her ground.

Shadow had midnight black fur with a silver streak like a lightning bolt down her muzzled from between her ears. Even though she was a gray wolf, she didn't look like it. Most of the wolves began to mutter among each other and the male wolf who had spoken up had bared his teeth.

"Bare your teeth here and your throat is slit," Kat snapped at the male. The male's ears became flat against his head and his tail went between his legs.

"What is a monster like that doing here?" was one thing Raph had caught and he instantly gripped his sai.

"We won't help you," Kata said, glaring at Shadow who stood proud.

"You will help us if you value your lives and land," Kat said.

"Your lives I can take easily," I said, pulling a sai out and spinning it. Almost all the wolves backed away and I smiled. That usually worked. "So, are you going to help us?"

"What do we get in return?" Sia asked.

"An easy meal for a year as well as healthy cubs for the next two," Kat said and Sia nodded. With that, Kat and I stood and followed the native wolf pack with Silver and Shadow on our heels.

A/N: I'll try and get Chapter 5 up as soon as possible.