I don't own TMNT.
Chapter 24~A Friend in Need
"Excellently performed Raphael," Usagi commented as Mikey made his way out of the dojo and back to the living room.
"Oh, hey Usagi," Raph said, lowering his sais.
Raph frowned, "I guess you heard the news."
"I have such been informed of Le-"
"Please, don't say it," Raph interrupted.
"This is a difficult time for you," Usagi said, sitting down on the floor where the turtle family often meditated.
"Yeah, it is," Raph agreed, his strong voice sounded as if had been sandpapered down to it's very strip of existence.
"You are still at unease," Usagi said.
"What makes you say that!?" Raph shouted, his old booming voice coming back to the surface.
"You are wearing…" Usagi paused for a moment, knowing not to speak Leonardo's name, "Your brother's mask."
Raph glanced at the ground his voice saddening, "Yeah I know."
"Join me Raphael," Usagi said gesturing to the spot next to him.
Raph sighed but did sit down next to the rabbit samurai.
"Raphael, please you must speak of your brother if you wish to come to terms with his sudden death."
Raph cringed at the word death and opened his mouth, then clamped it shut again. Usagi smiled understandingly and waited. He knew all he had to do was wait, Raphael would speak soon. He just had to be patient.
It took half an hour but finally Raph began to talk, well not really talk, just rant. He went through memories, battles, good times bad times. One hour into the rant Usagi interrupted.
"Pardon me Raphael but please, would you explain how you began to drift away from your brother? From what you say, you two were very close when you were quite younger."
"Ok, I never told anyone this but," Raph paused then swallowed.
"I was one of the middle children. Leo and Mikey got most of our father's attention. Leo was the best at nin-jutsu, Donny was smart and Mikey could bring a smile to anyone's face. I trained long and hard but I was never as good as Leo. When Master Splinter mentioned one of the four us becoming leader of the team I thought it was my chance to prove I could do something."
Raph's voice leveled out as he began to sink into the memory.
"I know I'm going to lead us! Just watch!" a young Raphael shouted to his father as he ran from the dojo.
He entered the living room to find his best friend meditating in front three candles, his baby brother glued to the TV and his tech loving little brother pulling apart an old remote control. He smiled and for a moment glanced at what Mikey was watching, an old Power Rangers episode.
Raph eyed the red ranger as he led the colorful team into battle and thought, "I'm gonna be like that someday."
He joined Mikey on the couch and watched the rest of the show. Raph of course made a very special study of one scene where the red and blue ranger combined their weapons to blow the enemy sky high!
"Yeah, that's gonna be me and Leo," Raph thought as he looked back at his still meditating older brother.
"I'll lead and he'll be right there by my side to help out and take over when I'm not there."
Yes, the red banded turtle thought he had it all figured out and he imagined it would be a perfect life for them.
"My sons it is time for dinner!"
"Oh goody! I hope it's pizza!" Mikey yelled and shot into their kitchen.
Donny snapped the cover on the remote and pointed it at the TV. With the press of the power button the screen grew dark.
"Success!" Donny cheered then set the remote down and entered the kitchen as well.
Raph got up and turned to find Leo blowing out the candles. Raph walked over to him and offered a hand to help him up. Leo smiled and took the offered help. They walked into the kitchen side by side only to find Mikey vibrating like a beeper, the cause was the large pizza on their kitchen table.
"Pizza!"
"Calm down Mikey," Donny said.
"But Donny, the delicious golden food of the heavens is begging me to eat it!" Mike shouted.
"Leo! Raphie! Hurry up!" Mikey whined, "I want to eat now!"
The two eldest laughed and took their places at the table so they could all eat. Some time into the meal, Raph realized something he hadn't before as they each exchanged conversations about their days. Their sensei called them by their full names, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo. They of course had shortened their names to, Mike, Don, Raph and Leo, but they had their child-like nicknames.
They mostly called Mike, Mikey since he was the youngest. Don, they sometimes changed to Donny. On rare occasions, mostly to mock they called Raph, Raphie.
Raph realized they all had those special nicknames, except for Leo. You really couldn't call him anything besides Leo or Leonardo. There was no nickname for him.
"That seems unfair," Raph thought, "I'll have to come up with something. I'll ask Donny and Mikey to help later. Hey, it could be a surprise for Leo on his birthday. It is only two weeks away after all."
So that night, while Leo was meditating in his room the three younger turtles met in the living room and listened as Raph told them his thoughts.
"You're right that doesn't really seem fair Raphie," Donny said as he turned his gaze to a notebook and started writing.
"Don't worry bros I'll find something in no time!" Mikey shouted, scanning a random comic with his curious blue eyes.
"What are you doing you can't even read yet?" Raph said, yanking the book away.
"I can too I'm reading the pictures!" Mikey protested and grabbed the book back.
Raph shook his head but continued planning. It had to be something special, especially since it was for his big brother. They thought for hours but nothing seemed to fit.
"We'll think of something before Leo's birthday," Raph said as they got up the next day to blank minds.
Then, later that day, tragedy struck.
"Mikey hang on!" Leo shouted as he glanced around for something to use.
"AHH!" a voice wailed.
"DONNY!" Raph yelled as he reached for his immediate little brother's hand but caught only the air.
As the purple banded turtle plummeted down while calling for help Raph found himself frozen. What should he do!? Where was Leo!?
A shout echoed out from the tunnel behind him and Raph watched in amazement as Leo actually jumped off the side of the 200 ft. drop zone.
"Leo what are you doing!?"
"I don't know!" he shouted back as he got closer to Donny.
He reached out and grabbed his little brother's hand.
"I've got you!" Leo yelled.
"Oh no!" Raph shouted as he realized they both were going to fall now.
"Raphie!" Mikey shouted.
Raph's gaze flicked over to his youngest brother, where he was holding onto a bent pipe that had been embedded into the side of the wall and then back to his immediate older and younger brother. Mikey looked down too, not noticing the pipe slipping from the wall. They both watched in nothing short of pure fascination as Leo and Donny suddenly stopped falling. After a closer look they found Donny was pretty much strangling Leo with his tight hold around his neck and they were hanging by a rope.
As Mikey and Raph followed the rope they found a grappling hook attached to the end that was caught on a small ledge at the edge of the tunnel where Raph was standing
"Donny, choking not breathing," Leo strangled to say.
"Sorry," Donny said and lightened his grip.
Leo took a deep breath and then started climbing, Donny clinging to him like a frightened child. After a few long minutes they were half way up the wall when the pipe Mikey had been holding onto completely tore away from the wall. They all gasped and Leo told Donny to keep climbing as he forced the still scared turtle above him on the rope. Leo cut the length of rope between him and Donny with a shuriken then plummeted after Mikey.
"LEO!" Raph and Donny shouted.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Mikey shouted, hoping someone would save him.
He screamed again when he felt someone grab his hand.
"MIKEY IT'S ME!" Leo shouted, trying to calm his little brother down.
Mikey opened his eyes and clung tightly to his big brother. Then, they stopped falling. Mikey glanced down, they were 50 feet from the bottom where sharp stones and debris littered the floor. A large pile of glass made him forever thankful that Leo was there. Mikey buried his head in Leo's shoulder and cried, somehow managing to say thank you through his sobs.
Donny and Raph were in tears, they had lost sight of their brothers and thought them to be dead.
"How are we gonna tell dad?" Donny cried.
Raph met the purple banded turtle's tear filled eyes with his own and said, "We're just going to have to tell him."
"Bros, a little help here?" a voice called from below.
Raph and Donny gasped as they shot to the edge and glanced down to find Leo climbing up the length of the rope he had cut away, all the way up to the tunnel. Donny froze so Raph reached out to take his older brother's hand.
"No, get Mikey up first," Leo commanded.
Raph elbowed Donny, who woke up from his daze and they both reached down to lift their little brother up. Mikey immediately fell onto Donny in tears and Raph reached back for Leo. After they were all in the tunnel and mostly calm Donny turned to Leo.
"Leo, you cut away a lot of the rope when you told me to climb up. How did you have enough rope to get up and with the grappling hook still attached up here?"
Leo pulled up the short rope he had used to reveal the shuriken he had previously used on the end, "As for the length of the rope I just swung from side to side until I got up here."
GO Turtle Tots! Hmm...that makes me hungry.
~Moonsetta