-Redemption-
Summary: Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...
Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*
A/n: A big thanks to my Beta Amonraphoenix for taking the time to read over my work and turn it into something worth reading. Also a shout out to her friend, DarkUnderworld for also having a read-over. A big thank you indeed you two! Now, enjoy the angst!
~Leonardo's POV~
It felt like a millennial before we got back to the sewers, even with Casey's accelerated driving. With each minute that passed by, I grew more and more agitated. I felt like my body was wound tighter than a clock. Raph had thankfully fallen unconscious again a few minutes after we had gotten him into the battle-shell. His skin was a sickening shade of grey-green, and Donnie was worried that he was developing a fever. His body was wracked with violent shivers, yet his skin was sleek with sweat, and burning hot to the touch.
I think Donnie was worrying about infection, because he checked on Raph's wounds every three minutes, making sure they were clean and properly wrapped up as best they could be with the limited equipment we had available. My biggest concern however, was his leg. I couldn't believe what Raph's leg actually looked like. That's when I realized that it was more than just badly broken, it was shattered. His leg had been turned into so much shredded meat that it was barely recognizable as a leg anymore. I didn't know how we were going to get him all the way through the sewers and into the lair. Especially when moving him from April's car to the battle-shell had caused him such sever and agonizing pain; and that had only been five meters. This would take a lot longer, especially with the slow, cautionary pace we would have to take to get back to the lair.
I just prayed for once that Raphael would remain unconscious for the entire time, and be oblivious to their movements and the pain they were going to cause him.
I didn't have any more time to worry or try to form a half decent plan. At that moment Casey pulled up in front of the garage Donatello had disguised for us by making it look like part of the graffiti-covered wall, (complete with trash cans wielded to the door.)
Casey let the engine die and sighed, letting his shoulders slump in exhaustion. The sky was just starting to change from a deep midnight blue to an array of soft blues and pastel pinks, as the sun slowly started to rise. It was then that I realized how tired I really was, as well as realizing how tired everyone else would be too. We had heard the news about the accident at around 9:00 pm last night. We had left the lair soon after and had been searching for Raphael ever since. And once we had found him and got him into the battle-shell, it had been a thirty minute drive to get back here, although it felt like an eternity had passed. None of us had slept for over 24 hours, and I knew, with a deep sigh, that the night wasn't over for us yet. Not by a long shot.
"Okay." Don said, his tired voice breaking through the silence that had fallen once the rumble of the engine had died. "We have to get him down to the lair as fast and as carefully as we can."
I looked down at Raph, my hand still clutched tightly in his. I hadn't realized how cold my brother's hand had gotten.
"Leo, Mikey and Casey, you guys carry Raph down to the lair," Don was instructing, breaking through my reverie. "April and I will run ahead and inform Master Splinter of what's happening, and hopefully get things set up in the lab for Raph. Bring him straight there."
I looked at Mikey and Casey, nodding in agreement. There were flaws in the plan, complications, like how long it would take for us to get Raph out of the car and down into the sewers, and if the bacteria of the sewers would further infect his wounds. I also worried how painful the whole journey would be for Raph if he woke up, and I wasn't even sure if Don had all the right equipment to deal with Raphael's injuries.
But all of these things didn't matter in the end. It was the best plan we had and we didn't have time to try and form another.
April and Don jumped out of the battle-shell and disappeared into the dark garage at a run.
We had to start moving Raphael, now.
"Okay..." I breathed, not realizing how shaky my voice sounded. "Casey, you and Mikey get Raph's shoulders. Carry him between the two of you. I'm going to get his legs."
Casey and Mikey shuffled around until they were in position beside Raph. I sucked in a deep breath and leaned down to whisper in Raph's ear, not knowing if he could actually hear me or not.
"Hey buddy," I whispered softly. "We're back home now, but we're going to have to move you into the lair alright? This is going to hurt a lot... I'm sorry little brother." I gave Raph's hand a final, encouraging squeeze before I let go to get his legs. "Kay…" Raphael grunted through clenched teeth.
I felt my heart drop lower in my chest. He wasn't out of it, at least not completely, like I had hoped. So it looked like he was going to feel the journey after all.
Not wanting to delay moving him any longer, I quickly slid down to his legs, shifting so I had a good grip on him. Looking up to make sure Mikey and Casey were ready as well, I sucked in a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Raph." I said before giving them the signal to lift all together in one smooth movement.
Raphael screamed. I had expected him to scream, but I hadn't expected the chilling sound to make me almost drop him. Gritting my teeth together and telling myself this was for the best, I gripped his legs tighter and shuffled out of the battle shell with Mikey and Casey supporting Raph's shoulders and his shell.
We had gotten him out of the vehicle, now we just had to get him through the sewers and into the lair, which was easier said than done.
"Come on." I said through clenched teeth, beginning a quick pace through the garage. Casey and Mikey quickly stumbled after me; supporting Raph as best as they could.
Raphael gasped in pain with each step that we took, our movements straining his already broken and battered body to the limit.
We got into the centre of the garage and I froze. I hadn't realized that to get Raphael down into the sewers, we'd have to go through a man-hole. Casey and Mikey came to the same horrified conclusion I did, because we all froze at the same time and shared a worried, desperate look.
"How are we going to get him down there?" Casey asked with wide eyes, his arms starting to shake under the strain of holding Raphael up. I forgot how heavy we were, especially Raphael.
"Lay him down carefully," I instructed hastily, realizing that we were wasting precious minutes... minutes Raphael might not have.
We carefully lowered Raphael to the cold, hard ground. Thankfully, Don had left the man-hole cover off for us, so that was one less thing we had to worry about.
"I'll go down there first," I said, thinking quickly. "You guys wait up here and lower Raphael down. I'll get him from below, and then once I've got him, you guys follow."
Casey and Mikey nodded, knowing there was no other way to do this. I was thinking about telling Raphael what the plan was, but by the agonized look on his scrunched up face, I didn't think he wanted to know.
I quickly scrambled down the man-hole, the familiar musty, stale smell of the sewers as familiar to me as my own katana blades. It was cold in the sewers, a lot colder than I would have liked it to be. It wasn't long before my skin was covered in goose-bumps and I quickly tried to rub some warmth back into my body. The dirty, rank sewer water came up just past my calves. Luckily, we would be able to keep Raphael clear of the foul water. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if any of the sewer water got into his wounds.
"Okay!" I called back up to the others, squinting through the darkness to the tiny hole of light above him. "Lower him down, gently!"
I heard the sound of movement before Mikey's voice called out; "Okay, we're lowering him down now!"
I heard Raph's screams before I saw him. His agonized cries echoed loudly around the empty, hollow space; making his cries of anguish sound that much louder, and resonating from everywhere at once.
Raph was finally, gently lowered down into my waiting arms. Casey and Mikey were grunting as they held onto his carapace and shoulders, whilst they gently tried to lower him further down without dropping him. I quickly moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, making sure I had a tight grip on him.
"Okay, you can let him go!" I shouted up to Casey and Mikey.
They slowly released him, and I braced myself as I took his full weight. I tried to support Raph and keep him out of the dirty water at the same time, while I waited desperately for Casey and Mikey to help me with my heavy burden.
Thankfully I didn't have to wait for long. Casey and Mikey quickly jumped down and instantly took hold of Raphael's scarred shell and shoulders again, grunting as they tried to get a firm grip.
"Sorry little brother," I whispered, trying to see Raph's face through the shadows. "We're nearly home now."
We started moving again, this time with more speed and urgency. Raphael had stopped making any sound, which could only mean he was getting worse and had fallen into blessed unconsciousness again. I could feel the tremors racing through his body and feel the heat coming off him in waves. I hoped his blossoming fever was not getting any worse, but I had a sinking feeling that it was.
I don't remember much of the journey, just bits and pieces. It took us another fifteen minutes to navigate through the twisted sewer maze and get back to the lair. Of course the fifteen minutes felt like days too long and by the time we got there, we were all panting and dripping with perspiration. My arms were shaking badly from holding Raphael for so long but I ignored it. Under the almost sickly yellow light of the only functioning sewer light, which is right outside the door to our lair, I could see Raphael better. It was at this moment that I realized I wished I wasn't able to get a look at my injured brother.
He was a lot more pale, even more so under the sickly hue of the light. His face was slack, and his lip was bleeding from where he had obviously been biting it to stop himself from crying out at the agonizing pain. His body glistened with sweat and his wounds were starting to bleed through the hasty applied bandages Don had wrapped around them in the battle-shell.
I quickly pulled the secret leaver to the lair. Home; a word you'd think would always be accompanied by a grateful sigh and a happy smile. This time however, seeing the lair, my home for seventeen years, I felt nothing but an impending doom. We had grown up here, shell we made this place what it is today. We all helped to make this a better home, to make it seem like we weren't underground living in the sewers. A lot of things have taken place in this lair. We've fought in it, trained in it, eaten in as a family, lived in it as a family. Hell the kitchen even caught fire once after I tried to make toast. But never did I think I'd be bringing back a brother here to die.
Don't think that, I snapped at myself angrily. He is not going to die.
A familiar presence surrounded me and I broke out of my turbulent thoughts to look into the worried eyes of Master Splinter, who had hurried over as soon as we stepped through the door.
"My son…" His voice was raspy, and I could hear the unshed tears in it.
I felt a lump rise in my throat at the sight of Sensei clutching the hand of his dying son, whispering false encouragements that fell (upon) deaf ears.
"You must keep fighting, Raphael," Master Splinter whispered in Raph's ear. "You must not give up on your family…or yourself."
He squeezed Raph's arm once before stepping back to give us room to keep moving him towards the lab. Just then, Don emerged from the other room.
"Quick, bring him into my lab." He said, turning away and quickly retreating back into his lab now turned infirmary.
We don't exactly have what you would call a 'hospital bed' down here. The best we have is a sort of reclining chair, like those chairs that they have in the dentists. It's cold and hard and made of steel. As we brought Raph into the room, I could see that Donnie has tried to make it as comfortable as possible. A few old throw pillows and quilts were placed on the seat to make it a little less cold and hard. Beside the chair/operating table, Don had already set up a tray laden with bandages, ointments, rolls of thread, tweezers as well as other surgical tools and equipment I was unable to identify. We carefully lay Raphael down on the table/chair, adjusting him to make him as comfortable as we can. Don is racing around his lab, pulling various books off the messy shelves, gathering more equipment and wheeling out an IV drip line and what I can only assume was a crude heart rate monitor.
"Leo, I need you to get me some hot water," Don said, not looking up from his task of setting everything up.
I grabbed a nearby sterile metal bucket and quickly ran out to the kitchen, turning on the hot tap and waiting impatiently for the hot water to fill the bucket. Once the bucket had been filled, I quickly ran back into the lab, setting it down beside all the other equipment Don had set out.
"What do you want me to do now, Donnie?" I asked, forcing myself to look away from Raphael's prone form.
"Wait in the living room," Don said briskly without looking up from where he was skimming through a thick medical textbook.
"Wait, what?" I asked, not sure that I had heard him right.
"You heard me," Don said, looking up from his book to fix Casey, Mikey and I with a firm look. "You all need to wait out in the living room until I'm done."
"In case you haven't noticed, our brother is lying there possibly dying for all we know, and you just want us to wait in the living room)?" I said incredulously, the harsh tone brought on by my worry for Raphael.
"Yes," Don said, an irritable look crossing his face. "And don't take that tone with me, Leonardo, in case you haven't noticed, Raph is my brother too. And what he needs right now is for me to help him as best as I can, and I can't do that with a crowded room full of worried family and friends."
"But-"Leo started to protest.
"You'll be in the other room," Don interrupted, holding up a hand to stop me from talking back. "April's going to help me in here as best she can. If anything happens, we'll let you know. But until then, you have to be the leader and look after everyone else."
I snapped my mouth shut, swallowing the words I had been about to say. I didn't want to admit it, but Don was right. There wasn't a lot I could do in here except be in the way. What Raphael needed was for me to give Don enough space to work in. I had a responsibility, as the leader, to also look after the rest of my family. But that was hard; knowing one of them may not survive the coming day.
"Okay." I said, but the word sounded strange and unfamiliar on my tongue. I swallowed down the lump that was lodged in my throat and forced myself to straighten my shoulders. "Come on guys, let's give Don his space."
Mikey and Casey cast a quick, final glance at Raphael, not wanting to leave his bedside either, before sighing in reluctant defeat and following me out of the room.
April passed us on the way out. She looked pale and her hands were shaking by her sides, but she had a determined look in her eyes.
"Hey." She whispered, placing a comforting hand on my arm, halting my footsteps. "He's going to be okay," she murmured encouragingly, giving my arm a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah, of course he is." I choked out, unable to look April in the eye; unable to express the gratitude for everything she had done for my brother and our family.
She gave my arm another quick squeeze before disappearing inside Don's lab, the door closing behind her with the loud click of the lock.
I had thought the journey to the lair had taken forever, but now forever had taken on a whole new meaning. I could hear each small tick of the clock; could hear each beat of my heart, pounding painfully in my chest; hear the restless footsteps on the worn floor. It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. It was like the tiniest of sounds had been amplified to a near deafening roar. My throat was dry, despite having tried to drink a glass of water to sooth it.
Perspiration had broken out over my face, rolling down the back of my neck, my forehead, and into my eyes. My hands were sweaty and it felt like a humming bird was trapped inside my chest.
How long have we been out here, pacing restlessly around the small space that was our living room? Minutes? Hours? Days? I couldn't be sure anymore. Each time I glanced at the clock on the wall I never took in how much time had actually passed. It looked as if the hands were stuck where they were; stuck creeping towards the final minutes of Raph's life.
Casey was sitting in the armchair, elbows resting on his knees, which he kept bouncing in anxiety. Mikey was sitting on the main couch and looked like he had to pee. He kept trying to be still, but after a few attempts of trying and failing, he'd start moving again; small movements, like a hand fluttering absently against his leg, or his fingers drumming against the armrest, but movements never the less. Master Splinter was the only one who looked like he had any semblance of calm left. He sat cross-legged on the floor, hands resting on his knees, his eyes close and ears fixed towards the closed lab door.
Master Splinter was always calm, no matter what the situation was, now showed signs that he (too), was anxious and getting impatient. He was sitting a little stiffer than usual, and his ears were fixed in the direction of Don's lab. I could tell they were straining to pick up the slightest of sounds coming from the sealed room.
I saw Master Splinter stiffen a second before I heard it. Raphael's pained scream shattered the silence, and fell on us like a tsunami wave. Everyone in the room instantly stiffened as he continued to scream, long, agonized soul ripping screams that Don's thick lab door were unable to muffle.
I was about to race towards the door, when I felt a familiar furry paw rest on my shoulder and pull me back.
"Leonardo, you must stay here," Master Splinter said softly, his gaze torn and filled with pain.
"But, he needs me!" I yelled as another pain-filled scream tore through the air. "I have to go to him!"
"Leonardo," Master Splinter said more firmly. "You cannot disturb Donatello and April while they are working on your brother. I am confident that Donatello knows what he is doing, and is not intentionally causing your brother pain. You will stay here and comfort your brother."
My head snapped in the direction of the lab as another scream reached my ears. I could tell it pained Master Splinter not to be in there with his son, but I could tell he was trying to be brave and in control, for our sakes.
"Yes Sensei." I whispered, bowing my head in defeat.
Right then, I knew that turning my back on my brother's screams was the hardest thing I had ever done. Squeezing my eyes closed, I took a deep breath before slowly making my way over to Mikey, who was huddled up on the couch. His baby blue eyes were wide with fear, and his muscles coiled. I could see the few stray tears streaking down his cheeks and gently wiped them away.
"It's going to be okay, Mikey." I whispered, sitting down on the lounge beside him and pulling him in for a fierce hug. "It's going to be okay, Mikey."
I just wished that I could believe my own words.
~Normal POV~
Master Splinter watched with a heavy heart as his eldest son embraced his youngest son, pulling him against him and murmuring gentle encouragements. Mikey wrapped his arms tightly around his big brother and buried his head against Leo's shoulder, muffling the sobs that racked his body. Leo gently patted his shell and fought to keep his own tears at bay as he tried to calm Michelangelo down. Nearby Casey was furiously wiping his face with his sleeve and cringing guiltily every time Raphael's screams reached his ears.
Master Splinter sighed, and with a sinking heart, turned and walked towards his room. He needed to meditate. He had to be strong for Raphael, for his family. He hoped that once he entered the spirit world he would be able to find Raphael's spirit and help him through the obvious horrific pain he was enduring now.
Entering his room, he lit a few candles and knelt down on the floor, closing his eyes and trying to fall into a meditative trance.
But this was a hard thing to do when his son was screaming his lungs out in the next room.
A/n: More to come soon guys, I promise. You haven't seen anything yet! *Evil, sinister laugh*
Don't forget to leave a review!
Love and flowers,
~Cat