FF: THERE WILL BE AN IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER!

FF: (*SCREAMS* I FORGOT TODAY WAS MONDAYI'MSOSORRY) Sorry about the delay- I really did try my best to keep up! Terribly sorry :(

I Write When I Am Bored: Hello again! 8D Yeah, too bad the Angry!Liza is an elusive creature that only appears once in a blue moon, I'm sure she has interesting things to say! Well, as for Raph's reaction,this chapter will provide some answers!

Roxygirl: Yup, Angry!Liza be Scary!Liza. Pff, they better let you back in soon! You gotta show'em how awesome you are at training! I'm so glad you liked it! :)

FF: Oh dear, things seem to be going badly...can they turn things around?


CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

"Wait, what?!"

Liza gasped as a hand clamped around her arm and yanked her back around to face Raphael, her eyes wide and mouth dropped open in shock- none of them had ever grabbed her like that before.

"What did you just say?" He demanded, expression a strange mix of wide yet glaring eyes and a snarl on his lips that sent ice down her spine.

Her throat locked- no sound came out, not even air- and her eyes could not possibly get any wider as her hand automatically snapped up to clutch at the one Raph had gripping her bicep, a burst of fear kicking her heart into high gear.

Donny tried to interrupt, alarmed. "Raph-"

"Did you just say that you got abused?" The snarl deepened, steamrolling over his brother's protest, and her legs shuddered beneath her. "And then tried to pass that off to Donny?"

"Raph…"

Her choked voice was scarcely more than a whisper, a plea, but Raph blinked as if suddenly realizing what he was doing and instantly dropped her arm, stepping back in shock. His gaze tightened when her hand wrapped protectively around where he'd grabbed her, but what was worse was how she looked at him.

Shocked, hurt…..afraid….

"I'm sorry, I didn't…" He rasped, horrified at himself. He hadn't meant to grab her so tight. He was just so angry at what she'd tried to do, angry that she'd tried to leave after dropping such a revelation- he'd just wanted her to stay, to explain. "...why didn't you tell me? Tell us?"

"How could I do that to you?" She whispered, small shivers still rippling through her body. It's okay, he let me go, he didn't mean it, it's okay. She had to keep telling herself that, had to calm down. "Why would I make you sad?"

His jaw clenched; how could she act like he was the victim now, like he needed comfort more than herself? "Liza…" His hands reached for her- he had to fix this, repair the damage he'd done, erase that horrible fear- when he saw her eyes fall, track his movements-

He froze, halfway to reaching her, his heart sinking as he realized too late that touching her now would not help.

But she didn't move. She just….waited. Watched. Why wasn't she flinching away? Why wasn't she trying to step out of range? Why was she just standing there?

"You wouldn't-...I'd never-...how could-..." He shook his head faintly, expression twisting in frustration, anger, grief as he pulled his hand back.

Liza's eyes tightened and, to his disbelief, reached out to gently touch his arm. "It's okay." She whispered, staring at him with tentative earnesty and shaky gentleness. "You didn't mean to. It wasn't your fault."

"Don't say that!" His voice came out harsher than he intended, and he flinched just as much as Liza did- jerking back in shock and hurt. He huffed out a sigh and restlessly paced to the railing and back. "Just because I didn't mean to doesn't make it right! And why didn't you fight back, or yell, or-or yank your hand away- I know you can!"

She stared at him, frightened and overwhelmed by the entire situation. It took a second before she could gather the courage speak. "...I can't…" She finally whispered. "I'm...I'm not a fighter, I couldn't..." She trailed off, unable to explain it right, and wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

"But...with your mom…" Donny blinked, confused and already dreading the answer.

Liza glanced up a moment, and her expression was so worn when she dragged her gaze up to his. "...it was better not to." She said, her voice numbed to the cruelty of the admission.

"Why are you so calm about this?!" Raph snarled, turning on Donny abruptly but shooting Liza a sharp glare. "How can you talk about this so- so casually?!"

"Raph." Liza didn't shout, but her voice did rise in an effort to grab his attention. When he snapped his eyes onto her, she did her best to meet his gaze steadily, even as her voice wavered. "There's no point in getting upset over this. It happened years ago, it's done. Nothing can be changed...I'm sorry."

Raph stared incredulously. "Are you kidding me? 'No point in-'" He sharply turned away, throwing his hands into the air and stalking to the railing. "I need some air." He growled.

"Raph, wait-!"

He ignored her plea, leaping to the next roof without a backward glance and leaving them behind.

Liza stared after him, the hand that she'd automatically stretched out in a vain attempt to reach him slowly lowering as she watched him vanish from sight. She ducked her head, closing her eyes before the sting of impending tears grew too much. "This is why I didn't want to tell anyone, Donny." She murmured roughly. "Now look at this mess."

"Liza, this isn't your fault." He told her firmly, easily reading the self-blame in between her words. "Raph is just Raph- when he cools down and thinks it through, he'll be fine."

"Will he?" Liza straightened, a fixed look on her face as she stared out at the city. Her voice was that horrible mixture of fake calmness and ice. "Because I won't."

"Liza-"

"I told you I didn't want to tell anyone." She turned to him, eyes narrowed in a smoldering glare, mouth a thin line. "And yet you made me do exactly that. I know you think you're doing the right thing, but did you even consider what I wanted? That I had a good reason? I've thought about this Donny, I made a conscious decision all those months ago to keep this from you guys because I couldn't see any benefit worth this!" She pointed accusingly after Raph.

"Liza, this-" He gestured exasperatedly in the same direction- "is a temporary situation! Raph won't stay angry forever!"

"No." Liza deflated, anger draining away and leaving behind a sad resignation. "But now things will be different."

He paused. "What do you mean?"

She sighed, but it came out as more of a gentle huff. "Isn't that what always happens when some dark secret is revealed? People look at you different. The horror, the pity, the unspoken 'you poor broken little thing' in every conversation-" She cut herself off, shaking her head sharply. When she spoke again, her voice was thick. "...I didn't want it to happen with you guys…"

"Liza." Donny came up beside her and gently took her shoulders, turning her so that she faced him. "You are not broken."

"Oh, but I am, Donny." She laughed softly and smiled sadly. "I've been broken many times. I just want you to understand that just because I'm broken, it doesn't mean I've given up. I want you to know that I've been living with this for years and I've been doing just fine. There's no need to treat me differently. I'm still me."

"That...is a very good viewpoint to have." He said after a moment, shaking his head with a faint smile.

"I try." She smiled for a moment, but it faded and she sighed. "Donny, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so upset at you."

"Well, to be fair, you had good reason to be upset." He shrugged, wincing a little.

"That doesn't mean you deserve to be yelled at." Her eyes lowered and she stared at the ground, guilt welling up in her chest.

"Hey." He nudged her chin and smiled when she looked at him. "It's okay. Really. I'm not mad. Admittedly, we both could've handled that better."

"That's an understatement." She chuckled. "...thank you, Donny. I know you were just trying to help, but...it's hard for me to talk about it. I'm not...I'm not good at letting people know how upset or hurt I am. It feels like I bother everyone..."

"You're never a bother." He soothed, pulling her close for a warm embrace.

She hesitated but happily returned the hug, laying her head on his shoulder and tightening her hold on him so that their fronts were pressed together. "Thank you." She murmured.

"Anytime." He squeezed her affectionately, then pulled back. "I should go after Raph before he does something stupid."

"Yeah." Liza nodded, sighing a little. "Tell him I'm sorry, please. I didn't mean t-...y'know..."

"I'll explain everything, okay? Don't worry about it." Donny assured her, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"Thank you. Again." She placed her hand over his and squeezed gently. "I'm gonna head inside. It's pretty late."

"Yes, right. Sleep well, Liza."

"You too, Donny."


"So, calmed down yet?" Donny asked, landing gracefully on the rooftop and padding over to his restlessly pacing brother.

Raph shot him a thin glare, the muscles in his crossed arms tensing.

"I'll take that as a maybe." He stopped just out of range and put a hand on his hip. "What's wrong?"

"'What's wrong'?" Raph repeated incredulously, turning sharply to face him. "I dunno, maybe the fact that Liza was abused for who knows how long and never told me?! Kinda seems like the thing you should share instead of hiding it for no good reason!"

Donny opened his mouth to speak, but Raph cut him off.

"And you! How'd you know? Why'd she tell you and no one else? How's that fair?!" He demanded, throwing his hands into the air. "I mean seriously?! Why wouldn't she say anything, what if we did something that scared her or something, or triggered a flashback or something?! Just-" He made a frustrated noise and turned away, huffing.

Donny waited a moment to make sure the rant was done before he let his hand slip off his hip, clasping it with his free hand. "...Liza was physically abused from when she was 12 to when she was 15, emotionally since she can remember." He said quietly. "She didn't say anything because she felt it would burden everyone- she only talked to me about it because I found her medical records and figured it out."

"That's…" Raph looked to the ground, searching for words. "That's really messed up."

"Yeah. It is."

"...I didn't mean t-..." He gestured helplessly, unwilling or unable to say what he'd done. "...y'know…."

"I know. Liza knows that too." Donny risked a few steps forward to place a hand on his brother's shoulder. "She doesn't blame you, Raph."

"That's messed up too!" He roughly shrugged it off, glaring at him half heartedly.

"In a way, yes."

"What do you mean 'in a way'? She doesn't blame me for scaring her and acting like a jerk- that is messed up! Like how she wouldn't even defend herself!" Raph's eyes narrowed, hardened. "...but I think I can fix that."

Donny blinked in surprise. "What? 'Fix it'? How?"

"I'm gonna train get Master Splinter to train her." Raph said determinedly, slapping his fist onto his palm. "And if he won't, I will."

"She's gonna be terrible at it, Raph. She's gonna be too terrified to actually learn anything." He added quickly, cutting off the beginning of his brother's furious protest. "Look, Raph, I'm all for Liza learning how to protect herself- especially with what's going on- but she said herself- she's not a fighter. It's not in her nature."

"She'll get over it." Raph muttered, unwilling to acknowledge the point but still undaunted.

"Everyone's going to want to know why, and you know Liza wouldn't want us to say anything about this." Donny said warningly.

"I'll deal with it." He growled.

Donny snorted. "Yeah, I've seen how you 'deal with it'. I'll deal with it."

Raph paused, eyeing his brother. "You're actually gonna help?"

"It's a good idea, a smart one. We don't know if or when things are going to get worse. She needs to be prepared." Donny hesitated a moment, glancing over. "...Are you sure we can't tell her-"

"She'll just kill herself worrying over everything." Raph interrupted. "It's better if she doesn't know."

"Wow, that sounds like what Liza said about her abuse and telling everyone." Donny noted, the casual tone undermined by the sarcasm.

"Shut up- I get it, alright? Let's just get started on convincing our Fearless leader and Splinter to train Liza."


FF: Oooh, it seems Liza isn't the only one keeping secrets!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

I really, truly, hate to do this but I need to put this story on hiatus. Let me explain why:

I had originally started posting when I had around 36 prewritten chapters. Unfortunately, during the editing process after I began posting, I found some plotholes that needed fixing. I can't fix them and keep up with the updating schedule, as my life has gotten rather busy, so I need to take some time to get the story back on track.

I'm hoping the break won't last more than a month or two, and, again, I am so very sorry to be putting this on hiatus! At least I haven't left you guys on a cliffhanger, right? Sorry. Thank you for reading and understanding, and I'll do my best to have this story up and going ASAP!