Hey guys… really sorry this is late. I was literally in bed about to go to sleep when I… remembered… to post. Lol, thanks for the friendly nudge CocoKissesTMNT! I truly did mean to post after school, but I got distracted because I was going on a… date. Which was really fun! And then I received mail I've been waiting for… and yeah. My brain is dead, I really need to get an alarm for posting days! I'll do that once this chapter is out. Lol. This chapter… oh this chapter is fun. I love this chapter. Really glad I didn't forget to post this chapter… mwehehehehehe,
To Shaymandy: yep! I forgot how much I loved these twists….
Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT and also I think fanfiction is eating reviews again…
And now, the chapter!
"Are you kidding me?" Leo asked in shock, "Again?" he dialed his brothers' number, Don picked up instantly.
"You find him?" he asked. Leo sighed. "Leo that isn't a good sound talk to me what happened," Don said without breathing.
"Don, Raph's in trouble. The thing is, I have no idea where he is." Leo sighed. "Track my phone, we need your help before we can find him." Donnie sighed miserably.
"Okay, I hope he's not hurt…" he mumbled before hanging up. Leo shone his light into the hole further, the still wet blood on the rock glinted. He grimaced.
"Sorry Don…" he said to himself. "I think he's hurt." April was sitting on the log, a hand over her eyes. Leo knelt in front of her. "April, hey." he lifted her chin. "We'll find him, I swear. After all, the most dangerous things out here are squirrels right?" April smiled a bit, then frowned.
"That I knew of when I was five," she mumbled, Leo chuckled.
"Well, we'll find him," he said, sitting cross-legged. "We just need to wait for the others." She nodded and they fell into a silence, Leo felt his uneasiness grow the longer they sat waiting, and then he heard his brothers crashing through the bushes and stood.
"Leo!" Donnie gasped, out of breath. "Talk to me!" Leo gestured them over and shone his light into the hole. Mikey let out a small whimpering sound.
"Let's go," Leo said, pulling out his grappling hook. He attached it firmly to a tree near the hole and lowered himself into it. "Walk down the wall, April you next, then Don, then Mikey. Keep an eye out for anything important."
"Well, he definitely fell," Donnie muttered, eyeing the disturbed dirt on the steep sides of the hole. Leo nodded and slowly walked into the darkness, jumping the last bit to the rocky floor of the cave, which seemed more like an underground ravine at this point. He knelt and picked up Raph's mask, one of the tails and a spot near where Raph's temple should be had blood on it as well, Leo bit his lip and shone his light around.
"Raph?" he called, it echoed in the darkness as his brothers and April joined him. Leo sighed and tucked the mask into his belt. "Let's go, we need to find him." he glanced around. "Mikey and Don, you take that way. Me and April will take this way." he gestured to each side of the cave, everyone nodded. They started out and Leo shone his light around. Looking for anything that might show his brother had been there. Then he stopped.
"Leo?" April asked, looking around. Her eyes fell at where he was shining the light, a partial three-fingered handprint of blood. "Well, we know he went this way now."
"Raph!" Leo yelled, the echo was the only response and he groaned, starting forward again, then paused and looked at the handprint. It was on a rock on the floor, not the wall. And it was positioned in a strange way, had Raph been grabbing the rock for some reason? He shook his head and continued on, watching for anything else. They didn't see any more blood or footprints, and then Leo stopped and stared in dismay.
"Seriously?" April asked, shoulders slumping. "You have to be kidding me. You're kidding me right?" Leo shook his head grimly, shining the light around. It was a dead end.
"Raph where are you?" he growled in annoyance, turning back the way they came. He was surprised to see Donnie and Mikey walking toward them. "Don?"
"We got a dead end," Mikey said moodily, then stopped. "You too?! Come on man!"
"There has to be a turn off we missed." Donnie mumbled, "maybe if we walk the other way we'll see it." Leo sighed, shining the light around again.
"Worth a shot." he sighed, the group of four started back down the tunnel only to find themselves right back where they started by the log. "Augh!" Leo growled, grabbing his head. "He has to be down here! We must have missed something!"
"Like the second hole?" Mikey asked numbly, everyone spun to where he was standing. Just into the tunnel, they'd just exited, near the handprint. Leo walked over, shining his light. Mikey was right, there was a second hole. It was like a third tunnel, a cave. There was a gigantic rock rolled in front of it. Leo narrowed his eyes. Raph wouldn't have done that, so who, or what, had?
"Oh geez." Donnie sighed.
"Help me," Leo said, handing April his phone and going to the stone, pushing on it. Mikey and Don joined him. It was heavy, but they finally moved it enough to provide access to the third tunnel.
"Raph!" Mikey called into it, there was still no reply. But Leo spotted a streak of blood on the floor like he'd been dragged. A sick feeling entered the leader in blue's stomach and he started forward.
"Come on, hurry," he said as they walked after him. They could make out marks in the dirt where Raphael had been dragged, some drops of blood as well. What had taken him, and why?
"Oh, Raph…" April said softly, Leo looked at her sympathetically. The tunnel turned and twisted, it was longer than the other one.
"Raphael!" Donnie called, it echoed back and he sighed. "Come on Raph, where are you?"
It was two things. Dark and cold. That was Raphael's least favorite combination. Then again, the turtle wasn't exactly sure where he'd woken up. It was about four feet by four feet by five feet, and he'd felt all the stone walls for cracks and doors, finding none. So it was dark and cold, and he had a bandage on his head instead of a mask.
"Raphael!" someone yelled, Raph heard it echo and he jumped, hitting his head on the ceiling. He gasped, holding his head gingerly. "Raph, where are you?" that sounded like Donnie, and he was close. Raph moved toward the noise, opening his mouth to speak, and then he noticed something he hated even more than the cold and dark. A metal, not leather, contraption strapped around his face. Locked with a key. Tears sprang to his eyes and Raph tried not to panic as he rammed his fist into the stone wall. There was no reply. Raph let out a muffled sob and slid down the wall, hugging his legs. They were so close, what was going on? His head hurt, he was cold, and he had no clue what was going on. The last thing Raph remembered was running into the forest, which probably wasn't a smart move on his part. Another sob shook his shoulders and Raph buried his muzzled face in his arms, clamping his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears. The attempt was unsuccessful.
"Raph!" a voice called farther away. "Come on dude!" Raph choked out another sob, an ugly one. The stupid muzzle made it quiet, which was undoubtedly the purpose.
"Oh don't worry." a voice said, Raph's head jerked up. "They'll find you, Raphael. When I want them to." Raph heard a stone shift and someone dropped down into the small space from above. He could barely see, but their voice told him exactly who it was. Karai. Raph whimpered, eyes wide. "What's the matter?" Karai crouched in front of him. "Is Raphie having a bad day?" she grabbed Raph's face and held it firmly. "We noticed that you went out of connection for the special dreams we gave you," she said sweetly, Raph's eyes widened in horror. "And while I could have just brought the tech here, my father didn't really care. He thinks you're a lost cause you see…" she paused. "But I proved him wrong." Raph struggled out of her grip, kneeing her hard in the stomach. Karai grunted in pain, then held a blade to his throat. Raph's eyes widened. "He thinks the mind control serum failed. Why don't we test it out?" Raph let out a muffled cry as Karai pulled the blade away and shoved his head against the wall, making it ache again. "Stand up. Now." no, Raph wasn't going to. Stand up. He couldn't. Stand up! Raph stood up, tears rolling down his face. Karai smirked.
"I thought so," she said, smiling. "You have to do everything I say, don't you?" Raph glared at her, Karai smiled, grabbing hold of the back of the muzzle and forcing him to spin before slamming him up against the wall. "I could tell you to...kill your brothers, and you'd have to do it." Raph whimpered, trying to struggle out of her grasp. "I could tell you to never speak again no matter what anyone else tells you, and you'd have to do it." she continued, pressing a blade to the back of his knee. "I could tell you to kill that girl, slowly so you'd watch her die…" Raph let out a sob. "And you'd have to do it." then she released him, Raph nearly collapsed out of fear, but he turned to face her with narrowed eyes. "But I won't." Raph scowled. Karai smiled. "Oh, that doesn't mean we can't have some fun first, does it?" she smirked, shaking her head. "Raphael, you are very interesting. Intriguing, I might add. But your father killed my mother, so here's what you get to do." Raph's eyes widened in horror at Karai's smirk. She couldn't, he wouldn't! He shook his head desperately and Karai laughed.
"I didn't even tell you what you had to do yet," she laughed, "and you won't be able to stop yourself. I'm sure of that, now." she paused, thinking. "When you speak to Splinter…" Raph flattened himself against the wall, tears running down his face and neck. "You either tell him you hate him, or you never speak to him again." No, Raph clamped his eyes shut. He could never do that! Tell him you hate him or never speak to him again. "This way you have a choice, you see." Karai smirked, "but it will make Splinter so miserable either way, and it will be all your doing." Raph opened his eyes and glared at her, Karai smirked. "What? I gave you the order. You have to follow it." you have to follow it. Raphael's shoulders slumped in misery, and he didn't notice Karai bringing the hilt of her tanto up until it hit him in his other temple, and the darkness became darker as he slumped against the wall.
"Raph!" Mikey yelled at the top of his lungs, "RAPH!" no response, it was another dead end. Leo growled, spinning to punch the wall.
"Where is he!" he growled, "I can't do this again! We can't just lose him again!" Mikey gasped as a shot of pain wracked through his head again, he grabbed it.
"Leo…" he whispered, everyone looked at him. "Raph got hurt again…" everyone paled.
"Someone must have him," Donnie whispered in terror. "They must be hurting him…"
"RAPHAEL!" April screamed, whirling around to the tunnel they'd just exited. "Raphael!" she all but sobbed as she started running through, the brothers all looked at each other worriedly and ran after her.
"April be careful!" Donnie called, jumping over a large rock. April seemed to either not hear him or ignore him, Mikey ran faster.
"RAPH!" he yelled, also beginning to panic.
"Guys stop freaking out!" Leo begged, "we have to search for him logically!"
"I Am LOGICAL!" April yelled, whirling. "We've searched all the tunnels! What are we supposed to do, Leo!?" she brushed tears away angrily. "Raph's missing and he's hurt and, and, and we need to get him back!" Mikey glanced from April to Don, who had a strange expression on his face. The freckle-faced ninja sighed, this really wasn't the time for a love triangle but hey, it had to happen sometime.
"RAPH!" Mikey yelled, running past his family. "Hey RAPH! Uh, MARCO!"
"Polo." a voice suddenly called back, Mikey froze and the voices behind him paused. It wasn't Raph's voice, who was it?
"M-marco…?" Mikey asked, voice shaking.
"Polo?" the voice asked back, Mikey spun toward a wall, it had come from there for sure! He ran over to it.
"Marco!" he said urgently, knowing he was probably just going insane.
"Polo!" the voice replied, then laughed. Mikey heard footsteps and shivered as they faded into nothing.
"Marco…" he said again. No reply. Tears welled up in Mikey's eyes as he examined the rock, and then his eyes widened. Whoever made this made it really well, you could hardly tell which rock was fake! Mikey reached up and knocked gently, hearing the echo.
"Mikey, how did you do that?" Donnie rushed over, knocking on different places quickly. "There's a whole room in there!"
"Look out!" Leo said. Mikey turned to see him hefting a large stone.
"Leo what are you-"
"Look out!" Leo snarled, they stepped away and Mikey's eyes widened.
"Leo what if you hit-" Leo ignored him and slammed the rock into the fake stone wall. It cracked. Leo hit it again, then backed up and threw the rock as hard as possible, ignoring April's scream
"LEO!" she yelled as the wall crumbled to pieces, showering the room and whatever was in it. Leo ignored her. Mikey ran to the room and shone his light in, tears filled his eyes.
"Oh no…" he whispered. "Raph…"
"Sensei!" Leo called as they rushed into the farmhouse. "First aid kit! Quick!" Donnie and he lay Raphael down on the couch, and Don immediately knelt to start picking the lock on the muzzle.
"My sons, what happened?" Splinter gasped upon seeing Raph's battered form.
"We don't know!" Mikey sobbed, "he was missing and then we found his mask but he wasn't there and there was blood and-" he dissolved into tears on April's shoulder. The girl had been crying the entire way home, and Don had a small feeling he knew why. He shook his head, focusing on picking the lock. It had been obvious the past week, really. He had no idea why he didn't notice sooner. Donnie stuck out his tongue in concentration.
"He's hurt bad Master Splinter!" Mikey choked out, Don glanced up to see Splinter cleaning and bandaging the wounds on Raph's arms. There was a click and the back of the muzzle popped open, Don smiled and gently lifted it from Raph's face.
"Okay, now his head." Donnie murmured to himself, glancing at the hasty bandage on one side. Whoever had Raphael had patched him up from his fall, and then hurt him more. He had wounds from blades, as well as rocks.
"I shouldn't have smashed the wall." Leo mourned, sitting in the chair heavily. "I could have-"
"Forget it, Leo." Donnie said sharply, "focus on now. We need to make sure Raph is okay, pity party later." Leo sighed, staring at the ceiling. Donnie wrapped a clean bandage around Raph's head, covering both wounds on his temples. As he did so, Raphael's eyes flickered open.
"Raph!" Don gasped, Raph blinked at him in confusion.
"Raphael, my son!" Splinter said in relief from where he bandaged Raph's arms. Raph visibly flinched at his voice, and he still didn't talk.
"Ohmygoshyou'reokaywhatwereyouthinking!" April said without breathing, kneeling next to Raph. Donnie smirked and scooted aside, Raph turned his head sadly away, and the smirk melted off. What had happened?
"Raphie?" Mikey asked, wiping tears away. "Raph please talk to us! Please! We were so worried about you, you just disappeared and then I weirded us all out by playing Marco polo but then someone answered and-" everyone gasped as Raph rolled onto his side, Donnie's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Someone had written a note on Raph's shell, in what looked like blood. Raph didn't seem to know this, and he frowned when they all fell silent, then he turned to look and his eyes widened. Japanese symbols, Donatello wasn't sure what they all meant, but he knew one was his father's name. Splinter's eyes widened in horror.
"What…" April reached forward and gently touched Raph's shoulder, he looked away again. "What does it mean?"
"The Shredder found us here." Splinter said softly, staring at Raph's back. "He did this to Raphael."
Dun dun dun…. Karai really isn't a nice person in this… of course, she thinks Splinter killed her mother. Hmmmm *wink* anyways… That's that for ya! Some Raphril fluffies… and Donnie seems to notice. What will happen next, will Raph ever be able to talk to Splinter again? You'll know on Friday because I'm about to go set an alarm! Thanks for reading and please review!
Until Friday, (i promise it won't be as late)
-Jelly
