A/N: The chapter I've been promising. Let light be shone on the darkness, and let everything be revealed. Enjoy! :D
Disclaimer: see chapter one
The small room had a heavy scent of jasmine that was rivalling the scent of tea leaves for dominance. A fire pit had been dug into the middle of the floor, where a small flame now crackled, heating up the tea pot above it. Raphael stirred the leaves in the pot, his eyes remaining fixed on only the pot. Splinter sat across from him, watching his every move. He was the only one to ever set foot inside Splinter's room. It had been that way ever since he was a child.
He didn't know why he had been chosen. He was no different than any of his brothers, with the exception of Leonardo. His youngest brother had always been the weakest of the four of them. Leonardo had always been frail and sickly as a child, too easily able to catch a cold or flu. Raphael was surprised his brother had survived this long. But, it was only a matter of time before something caught him.
"Why did you hesitate?" Splinter asked, finally breaking the silence. "You know the rules of a challenge."
"I couldn't," Raphael whispered. "He's my brother."
Splinter growled low in his throat, but didn't say anything. No matter what happened, blood was blood. Raphael had always found it difficult punishing his brothers, especially Leonardo.
"Were you able to find out Shredder's location from your latest interrogation?" Splinter asked, changing the subject.
Raphael shook his head in regret. "Forgive me, sensei. We've failed at every turn. Try as we might, we can't find a Foot soldier who has any useful information."
Splinter hummed, closing his remaining eye. "The Shredder is more cunning than we thought," he mused. "He sends only low level soldiers into the city, knowing that if we were to take one of his higher ranking soldiers, we would get the information we are looking for."
"I can have Donatello comb the country side," Raphael said, still not meeting Splinter's gaze. "Shredder can't hide forever."
He looked down when he felt a hand on his. Splinter had his fingers wrapped tightly around his hand.
"You have done well, my son," the rat praised. "I can no longer join you in battle, but I do not need to. You have become my instrument of justice. I know you will find Shredder and make him pay for what he has done to our clan. You lead your brothers well."
"Except Leonardo," Raphael muttered bitterly.
Splinter sighed. "Unfortunately," he agreed. "He has always been different, set apart from you and your other brothers. He does not believe in what we are trying to do. He does not understand the dishonor that has befallen our family."
"I can make him understand," Raphael said.
Splinter hummed in thought and nodded. "Yes. He must be shown. He must remember what it is we are fighting to rectify."
"I'll take him as soon as the sun sets," Raphael said.
He poured two cups of tea and handed one to Splinter before taking the other for himself. Splinter took a small sip of the tea, sighing in delight at the mint taste of the tea.
"You have grown into a strong warrior, Raphael," he commented. "You have given our family great honor."
Raphael bowed. "Thank you, sensei," he said, his voice low.
"You will lead us out of these dark times and into an era of light," Splinter stated.
"I can't even get one brother to follow me, sensei," Raphael pointed out. "How am I supposed to lead us out of the darkness?"
Splinter reached over and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "You will find a way, my son," he said. "I have faith in you."
Raphael nodded, but remained silent. He took a sip of his tea. His eyes drifted up to the clock on the wall. It would soon be sunset. He finished off his tea and bid Splinter good night. Raphael placed the cup down and got to his feet, heading for the door. He opened the door and stepped outside. Somewhere in the lair he could hear Donatello and Michelangelo laughing maniacally.
There's two brothers, now where's the third? Raphael asked himself.
He started off for the dojo, figuring that was where Leonardo was held up. Raphael walked into the dojo, standing in the doorway to watch his youngest brother go through his katas. It pained him to see his baby brother struggling with the difficult exercises. However, no matter how much he stumbled, Leonardo would always press on, determined to get the katas right. Raphael walked over to where Leonardo was and grabbed his brother's wrist when he put his arm back. Leonardo spun around, eyes widening when he saw his red masked leader.
"Practice time is over," Raphael said. "You're coming with me."
"Where are we going?" Leonardo asked.
"Topside," Raphael replied.
He released his brother's wrist and headed for the door. Leonardo stood frozen in place. Topside? With Raphael? Did Splinter finally give the order to put him out of his misery? Raphael turned around, holding his hands out in a questioning manner.
"Well? You comin' or what?" he asked.
Leonardo sheathed his swords and followed his brother out of the dojo. They left the lair and made their way topside. They hit the rooftops and broke into a run. Leonardo pushed himself to keep up with his larger, faster brother. The run lasted longer than Leonardo would have liked, but they finally reached their destination. The brother in blue slowed to a stop, gasping for breath, his weak lungs fighting for air.
"Where are we?" Leonardo asked, trying to regain his composure.
Raphael gave him a quick glance before pointing down to something below them. Leonardo walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. Down below was a small park. Leonardo looked at Raphael for further instructions. The red masked turtle nodded down towards the park. Hesitantly, Leonardo made his way down to street level, looking around to make sure no one was around before dashing towards the park. He hurried through the gate and walked around. Gravel paths stretched through a canopy of trees.
Leonardo walked through the park until he came to the center. Nestled in front of an old oak was a stone grave marker. Leonardo made his way over to the grave marker and looked down at it. A turtle's shell was carved into the top of the stone. Along with the symbol were two names.
Hamato Titian and Hamato Andrea.
Leonardo looked over his shoulder when he felt his brother's presence behind him. Raphael's eyes were haunted as they gazed down at the grave stone.
"Who are they?" Leonardo asked, his voice quiet.
"Our brothers," Raphael answered in a whisper.
"Our...brothers?" Leonardo echoed. "But...there are only four of us."
"There used to be six," Raphael told him, walking away.
Leonardo looked back down at the marker. "I don't understand," he said.
Raphael took a deep breath, remembering the story Splinter had engraved into his memory since early childhood.
"We were science experiments," he started. "The six of us. We were injected with a super soldier serum by a group called the Foot clan. They wanted to see if they could create the perfect soldiers. Mindless, soulless drones. Splinter, or Yoshi, as he was known back then, was ordered to look after us." Raphael ran a hand over his face. "We were just innocent baby box turtles, used as test subjects. And when we started to mutate...well..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Shredder was in his glory."
Leonardo's heart fluttered. "We were supposed to work for the Shredder?" he breathed in horror.
Raphael nodded. "Yeah, we were. Ironic, isn't it?"
"So, what happened?" Leonardo asked.
"Yoshi broke us out," Raphael continued. "He freed us and told us to run. We didn't get very far. Yoshi tried to fight off the Foot ninjas, but he ended up getting stabbed with a serum needle in the process. Injured and weak, he grabbed the six of us and ran. Disappearing underground."
Leonardo bowed his head. "Why don't I remember any of this?" he asked.
"There was a fight," Raphael told him. "A showdown between the six of us and the Shredder. We were just kids, we never stood a chance." He shook his head and closed his eyes. "All I could do was watch helplessly as Shredder dropped a building on you, Titian and Andrea. I managed to pull you out of the rubble, half dead and comatose. Mikey and Donnie pulled out Titian and Andrea. It was too late for them. Splinter was never the same, after that. Shredder had taken two of his sons, and had made the remaining four run back to the sewers like scalded dogs." Raphael opened his eyes again and turned to look at Leonardo. "Shredder dishonored our family. And shortly after killing Titian and Andrea, he ran. He disappeared like the coward that he is. He wouldn't even show himself when he caved in our old home ten years ago."
Leonardo felt his eyes begin to burn. "I didn't know," he whispered.
"Now, you do," Raphael said, walking up to him. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "And, now you know why we've been so hell bent on finding higher ranking Foot soldiers. We need to find Shredder and make him pay for what he did to our brothers."
Leonardo shivered at the vengeful tone in his brother's voice. Surely they were never meant to be assassins. There must have been a time where they fought for honor and justice, not revenge. When did their training take a dark turn? Leonardo looked down at the grave stone and he knew the answer. It all started with his brother's deaths. Two brothers he had no memory of. And he doubted Splinter had a picture of them.
"I don't like being hard on you, Leo," Raphael's voice broke the youngest out of his thoughts. "You were never the same after that building collapsed. Hell, it took you almost a year before you could remember your own name."
Leonardo looked up at his brother. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked.
Raphael pulled away. "I guess we were all hoping you would remember on your own," he confessed. "But, at that point, Splinter had turned our training into a constant death match. Pushing us to the edge, making us stronger. Truth be told, when Splinter saw how much you had deteriorated, he wanted to put you down." Raphael lowered his eyes. "He almost did, too."
Leonardo's breath hitched in his throat. "What stopped him?"
Raphael raised his right arm, exposing a large scar underneath that Leonardo had never noticed before. Leonardo then had the sickening realization that Raphael had taken the blade that had been meant for him.
"Cost me two weeks in solitary confinement, but I had already lost two brothers, I couldn't lose another," Raphael explained, lowering his arm. "After that, Splinter convinced himself that everything about you must have been cursed. He lost two of his stronger sons, not the weakest. I guess he thought Shredder's super soldier serum must have taken a hold on you. He told Donnie your blood was bad, and forbade him from using it. If the serum was taking a hold, he didn't want anyone else being lost to the Shredder's grasp."
He looked up when sirens sounded off in the distance. Without saying a word, Raphael made his way for the park gate. Leonardo followed closely behind his brother. They headed back down into the sewers and made the long trek back to the lair. When they walked into the lair, Raphael went off towards the dojo, leaving Leonardo standing in the doorway.
His mind was spinning. There was so much to process. Leonardo gazed around the lair, his eyes falling on the frail form of his father. Lowering his gaze, Leonardo made his way upstairs to his room. He closed the door and went over to his bed. He now understood the reason behind Raphael's cruelty and his father's bitterness. But, surely there was a better way of doing things? One that didn't involve slaughtering people when they didn't give up information.
Leonardo lay down on the bed, stretching out on his back and stared up at the ceiling. There had to be a better way. But, like his memory, he was at a loss.
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