I do not own TMNT.
Leonardo wiped a wet rag across his charred skin, trying to rub away the ash sticking to his arms. He sat on an old vinyl sofa in the lair. The brown color was fading and there was stuffing leaking out of several tears in the cushions, but he felt grateful for anything comfortable to sit on at this point. The drip, drip of water falling off the ceiling seemed loud compared to the quiet atmosphere.
"Just hold still…" Donnie muttered gently to April as he wrapped bandages around her bloody ankle. It had taken quite a while for him to remove all the glass shards. April had remained strong throughout the entire ordeal, although it was obvious that it was painful. Leo stared up at the ceiling. He had only come to about a half hour ago, and he still felt light headed. Thoughts were spinning through his head, but there was one in particular he couldn't quite manage to brush aside.
Where's Mikey?
"GUYS!"
Leonardo snapped his head up as he heard Michelangelo's distinctive sing-song voice ring from the entrance of the lair, like an answer to his question. Mikey was grinning from ear to ear as he rushed in, nearly tripping over his own feet. Donatello practically jumped off of his chair, causing the bandaging he had been wrapping around April's ankle to drift onto the ground.
"Where the heck have you been?!" Donnie shouted, rushing up to his younger brother and engulfing him in a hug, "We were all worried that…." He suddenly trailed off, not wanting to continue, but it was obvious from his expression what he was going to say. We were all worried that Raphael killed you.
"You won't believe what just happened!" Mikey said, his eyes a mixture of horror and excitement, "I followed Raphael after he ran off, and do you know where he went?"
"You can't just wander off on your own like that!" Leo immediately snapped, glaring at Mikey, "You could have been injured, or worse, killed!" Mikey either very conveniently didn't hear him, or was ignoring him.
"Raph went to the Foot's hideout!" Mikey said, "And Shredder got him!"
April let out a gasp in shock. "Shredder?!" she choked out, her eyes wide with panic.
"That's not all!" Mikey said, a smile tugging at his lips, "Shredder said something about poison: I think they have something to do with Raphael turning rogue on us. They must have poisoned him! Do you realize what this means? It isn't Raph's fault! I was right!" Mikey grinned and threw his hands up into the air, his light blue eyes sparkling with triumph.
"Mikey…" Leonardo sighed, his voice sober. Before he could continue, Michelangelo turned to him, his eyes ablaze with anger.
"I know what I saw Leo!" Mikey snapped defensively, "I'm not joking. Do you seriously think I would be joking about something like this?!"
Donatello glanced at April. "Mikey, we know you aren't joking," Donnie said, carefully choosing his words, "But Raph tried to kill April. What would Shredder have against her? The Kraang are gone, so he can't make a bargain with them if he captures her, and he certainly has no reason to want her dead. I don't think this could have anything to do with Shredder." Mikey opened his mouth to protest, but April beat him to it.
"Raph didn't try to kill me!" April growled, "Where the heck would you get that idea from?"
"You were unconscious when he dragged you out of the van, remember," Donatello said.
"It was because we drove into a brick wall!" April said, her voice escalating, "The airbag knocked me out, it had nothing to do with him!"
"He ran into the brick wall, and you were in the van. I count that as attempting murder," Donatello said, his tone serious.
"He wasn't driving, I was!" April shouted.
"You WHAT?!" Donnie screamed, all his compsure gone in an instant, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! You don't even have a license yet! You could have been killed!"
"Well I was doing just fine before I had to reach over and grab Raph's T-phone!" April yelled.
"Why were you trying to get his T-phone?" Donnie asked, his voice becoming a bit calmer.
"He told me to bring him to a part of the city none of us had been in before," April said, exhaling deeply, "Then as we were driving, he was trying to turn off his phone, but apparently you never showed him how to, so I was reaching over to grab it and turn it off for him when I realized I was headed for a dead end. Then we crashed."
"You still shouldn't have driven!" Donnie said, his voice regaining some of its previous fury, "You aren't licensed, and you've only just gotten your permit."
"Whatever," April muttered, bringing her knees up to her chin.
"See?" Mikey smirked, "Raphael wasn't trying to kill April. Now there's nothing to prove that I'm wrong, so Raphael must be poisoned-"
"Just SHUT UP!" Leo shouted, his voice echoing eerily off the concrete walls. His blue eyes, normally calm and collected, were angry and tense as his gaze flitted between them. "Stop feeding us false hope," Leo snarled.
"But Leo-" Mikey began, his gaze defiant.
"NO!" Leo shouted, "Raph is trying to kill us. All of us! Is his life really worth all of ours? You didn't see him in that crash. He's tried to kill all of us, and there is nothing that will stop him from trying again. I tried to believe that there was still a chance that he would come back, but look where that got me! Nearly dead! I never wanted to choose between my brothers, but there is no hope left for Raph. Who will protect the city if we're dead, huh? Certainly not Raphael!"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, letting Leonardo's words sink in. Donatello cast his eyes downwards and April played nervously with a strand of her hair. But Mikey just straightened his shoulders with resolve and looked Leonardo in the eye.
"Fine then," Mikey spat bitterly, "You go ahead and protect yourselves, since you're all so important. Give up on Raphael! But count me out. If none of you will act like brothers, then I will."
"Mikey, no!" Donnie shouted, "Get back here right now you idiot!" But Michelangelo had already spun on his heel and stormed out the exit, clenching his fists with rage.
"That's right, I'm just stupid Mikey, with his stupid ideas!" Mikey shouted as he left, "Nothing I do is right, and everything I say is a joke. Well, at least I'm trying, unlike SOME PEOPLE!" He broke out into a run and disappeared before either Leonardo or Donatello could go after him.
Donnie suddenly whirled around to face Leonardo, his face filled with disgust. "Some leader you are! You can't even keep your sane brothers together," Donatello said with remorse.
"Why is everything always MY FAULT?!" Leo screamed, "I tried to do what was best, I tried to be a leader, but you two wouldn't even listen when I gave you orders! We were a mess in the crash! You both ran off on your own! Maybe we could have actually accomplished something if you two had just listened to me!"
"If you want to be listened to, maybe you should try listening yourself," Donnie retorted.
"Fine then! I don't need to deal with this! Any of this!" Leo snarled. He whipped around and stormed out of the lair, every movement pulsing with rage.
"Good riddance!" Donatello shouted, then went into his room and slammed the door, causing the entire lair to shudder. April suddenly found herself alone on the brown vinyl couch, the sudden silence engulfing her. April's throat tightened and she tried to hold back tears, but before long she buried her face in her knees and her body began to shake with sobs. Everything about this was wrong. Raphael had torn their family apart in one swift move.
One swift move I helped him make.
April relapsed into sobs again, her hair falling to create a curtain around her face and her black leggings growing wet from tears. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She swallowed and looked up into two black, beady eyes that were filled with sympathy and comfort.
"Splinter," she choked out, trying to wipe away her tears, "I'm sorry you had to see me like this-"
"Hush," Splinter said softly, "You've been through a great deal." April just nodded miserably, leaning on his shoulder. He gently rested his arm around her in a hug.
"It's my fault," April suddenly burst out in a new fit of tears.
"Your fault?" Splinter said, starting with surprise, "Why would you think that?"
"Because I helped Raphael," April said in remorse, "If I had just let Leo and the others deal with him, none of this would have happened."
"April," Splinter said, shaking his head, "You didn't even know Raphael's intentions. There was nothing you could have done. Besides," he added, a glint in his eye, "Do you really think there is no hope left for Raphael?"
April paused, debating the question for a moment, then replied, "Well….no. I think Leo's wrong. There's always hope. We're a family, and we should stick together, no matter what."
"You are wise," Splinter said, standing up, "Now, your father must be very worried. I will go phone him to let him know you're alright. I imagine he's already found out about his car being destroyed." Splinter turned around, whisking his robe somewhat dramatically as he headed for the dojo.
"Splinter?" April called out, and Splinter paused, "Do you think there's hope for Raphael?"
"I want my son back as much as anyone," Splinter said, carefully choosing his words, "But I will not be foolish. We do not know yet if there is way to cure Raphael."
"So you think it's poison?" April prompted.
"I do not think Raphael would do these acts on his own free will. There may be something darker going on behind this," Splinter said, "Not necessarily poison…but yes, something of that sort. However, I could be wrong, so do not take my word for it." Before April could ask anything else, Splinter had slipped into the dojo. April sat there for a moment, going over Splinter's words in her mind. She could feel her resolve growing with each passing moment.
If we're going to win this battle, we're going to all need to stay strong and stay with each other. Maybe I can't help Raphael…but I might be able to bring the other boys back together.
I have to try.