A/N: Just another reload, pay it no mind.

7.

It had been almost ten minutes since Bima had landed near the river bank, and Raphael was getting restless and hungry.

Raph's stomach grumbled loudly and he sighed. "Hey, Keilah?" Her response was a sleepy 'Eh?' She'd just switched places with Bima, who was now taking a nap in her mind. The turtle patted his complaining tummy. "Think we could go get some food?"

She stared hard at him. "You wanna go out in public? I beg to differ. "Raph groaned as she ticked off all the reasons not to go out on her fingers. "Number one, there's a possibility of Nechai and Keron prowling about and because of Bima's carelessness, your bros aren't here to save you this time. Number two, you're a freak, Raph. Think walking around in a crowd while it's broad daylight is a good idea?"

"You're jus' as bad as Splinter." Putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture, he winked arrogantly. " But, you forget. I'm a ninja."

"Yeah, and ninjas stay in the shadows, and, if you haven't already noticed, there aren't too many of those in the daytime." Raph got up and stretched. Anybody who knew him well enough was aware of his incapability to stay in one place for a long time. She shot him an icy glare as he edged toward the exit. "I said no, Raph. It's not safe."

He narrowed his eyes in defiance. "Y'know, now you're startin' ta sound like Leo. Lay off, I'll be okay." Keilah made as if to stop him, but he was already gone.

At the lair, Don was having some difficulties keeping Mikey under control. Leo and Splinter were doing katas in the dojo, so he was on his own.

"For the final time, Mikey, stop bothering me! This is delicate work!" He stuck out his tongue, working the screwdriver into a circuit. "I'm trying to upgrade the BattleShell, so if you would just—"

"What's this thing?" Mikey held up a device that fit neatly onto your hand, a button on the top for use. He was about to press it with his thumb, when Donnie snatched it from his hand.

"Don't touch that! It's a magnetic disrupter and it'll fry whatever circuits are in the room! Now, please, leave! I need quiet!" He pointed a finger to the door. His younger brother sighed and trotted out, rubbing the back of his head.

He turned around. "But, Don, I—" The door had already been slammed shut. Mikey felt unwanted and annoying as he picked his way down from the train car. He plopped, rejected, onto the couch in boredom and turned on the tube. The screen flickered before shutting down completely. "Not again!" he moaned, pitching the remote to one side. "TV's busted and Don doesn't want anything to do with me."

Rising from his seat, the turtle's gaze rested on the dark opening of the sewer tunnel. "Might as well do some skateboardin'." With that, he sprinted to his room, appeared with an orange hoverboard that Donnie had made by salvaging Utrom technology, and jumped upon it. Mikey mashed the heel button and zoomed out of the lair with a whoop. Unknown to the eccentric partier, he was being watched.

Raph peered around the corner of the wall, ducking a passerby's overly curious glance. "Darn, where's a pizza guy when ya need one?" He turned around with a frustrated growl and a rumble of his empty stomach. The mutant started walking to the emergency ladder to continue his search on rooftops. A single leap had him on the iron rungs and climbing with the agility of a spider monkey.

Raphael vaulted onto the hot roof and jumped nimbly around, trying to minimize the burning sensation as much as possible. Finally making it to a shady spot under a stairwell, his feet felt an overwhelming sense of relief. "There's another reason we don't cavort about in the sunlight." the turtle muttered sarcastically to himself. He took a breather and was soon doing the same routine of hopping about like a scalded frog and yelping softly as the sun-warmed bricks stung his tootsies.

For a strange reason, hunger's intuition nudged him to the edge of the building, where he sighted his target. "Bingo! Pizza, here I come!" He sprang into a nearby alley and waited like a leopard seal for a penguin. As soon as the man carrying the heavenly box was near, Raph pulled him in and knocked him out with a flat blow to the back of his neck. He opened the package and gave a groan of displeasure. It was pepperoni. Still, he reasoned, it's better than nothing.

Closing it once more, he left the guy in plain sight before retreating up the ladder, box of pizza balanced on his hand. "Ouch! Owowow, hot hot!" he squealed, jumping in different places. Each patch of shade along the way to the bridge was a savior to his sore feet. Raph could almost see the steam rising from his feet as they cooled off.

The home stretch. The hotfooted reptile prepared to dash across the buildings, gritting his teeth. A war cry and a few yelps later, he was on the ladder, grimacing in pain. He slid carefully down before landing on the grimy alley ground. He eyed the bridge railing and made sure no one was on the way before vaulting over it and landing nimbly in ankle deep river water.

Sloshing loudly, he struggled to the muddy banks, searching for Bima's hideout. Raph's search was rewarded with Keilah's frantic face peeking out of the tunnel. He smiled and leapt into the shadows. Keilah was going to get a bit of a scare. Before he was even two feet away, she lunged toward him and, of course, missed the red garbed ninja as he sidestepped.

"Nice try, kid." She rose indignantly, her brown hair full of dirt as he chuckled and entered their cave. Raph plopped down in the center as Keilah brushed out her hair with her fingers.

She sat down, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "How'd you get the pizza?" she asked as he offered a slice with a displeased face. "Oh, don't tell me," she groaned. "You knocked a guy out and stole his pizza, is that it?"

He shot a glare at the diapproving girl. "Funny how annoying that mind readin' thing gets."

Bima chuckled groggily, proof that she'd only just woken. Oh, get used to it, Raph. Your bros will be feeling the same way when you're stuck with Rijinn.

Crumbs spewed from the turtle's mouth as he chewed thoughtfully. "They won't have long to complain. Pretty soon, Splinter's gonna be the one who's being mindread."

I pity the fool who gets Iwansi. She's gotta be the peppiest and most annoying person you'd ever meet, although I have to admit, she's a good fighter when she's not making jokes about someone who particularily stands out.

"I know a brother who fits that exact description: Mikey."

"Stop bein' such a sourpuss. Bima's got more sibs than that, and boy, will they bother you to the moon!" gruoched Keilah. "From what I've heard, Saesha, Bima's youngest sister, is gloomier than a stormy day in Florida, while Kiyo's got more of a quiet personality."

"'Xactly how many sibs you got, Bima? Ten?" Raphael spat out an olive slice that had intruded onto his cheese when the pizza had been assembled.

The dragon snorted impatiently at the task of having to recite them again. I practically just listed them off for you, Raph. Kiyo, Rijinn, and Saesha. How many is that, O Wise Scholar of the Sewers? 3. Any thickheaded lump would be able to figure that out.

Raphael stopped eating a fourth piece of the Italian food. "You callin' me dumb?"

Hey, you're not exactly Albert Einstien either, egghead.

While they continued to insult each other, Keilah proceeded to pilfer a pizza slice and take a large bite. "Oh really? Since when do you know of Albert Einstein? The guy wasn't even alive when you were still young!" scoffed Raph, pulling out a Sai and stabbing it into the soft, loamy soil of the banks.

Bima leapt to her feet and screwed her face into an ugly snarl. Info gets around! And are you still trying to say that I'm a crusty old cheezer? Take it back!

"Never even mentioned crusty old cheezer, although now that I think 'bout it, the title fits you just fine!" he sneered. Bima decided to take things up a level and turned around, waggling her rump mockingly in his direction of mind. "Why you…"

Keilah stood, finally deducing that this war had to be stopped before she was forced to let Bima out. "Alright! Break it …um, up." One hand was keeping the enraged turtle from tearing the invisible dragon apart, while the other supported empty air. She felt slightly sheepish looking at a culprit that wasn't present to receive punishment.

The ground outside began taking on a reddish pallor as afternoon started to die. Luckily for the three travelers, it was closing in on winter, which meant that daytime was growing shorter. Keilah sat Raphael roughly down like a punishing mother. He'd noticed the daytime's ending and had went slightly pale remembering his last encounter with flying.

Keilah saw him staring at his toes uncomfortabley. "Looks like eating wasn't such a good idea. Seems you'll just be tossing your cookies again."

And another unfortunate person will get an untimely Christmas present on his windshield, Bima muttered, voice dripping in dread-covered mirth. Ohoh, I wish I could've seen the guy's face when he got a large, chunky gift.

Keilah stretched for a final time. "I guess it's about time for you to start. Only good thing I can say about you, Raph, is don't look down."

"Oh, that's real helpful…" he moaned, clutching his flip-flopping stomach.

"Tatsu morph!" Bima appeared seconds later, refreshed and wanting revenge for earlier comments. No, Bima, he's gonna be bad enough as it is, Keilah repremanded.

Fine, she grumbled, letting the trembling reptile clamber onto her back between her wings. But, I want him to know, I will get him back for calling me a crusty old cheezer—

Just start flying!

Okay, okay, no need to yell.