A/N: I'm sorry about this taking so long. I was having a bit of a hard time figuring out what to do with this chapter, and I've been really busy lately. I'm happy with this chapter though.

A little bit of a trigger warning here. A huge part of this chapter is a manipulative, and pretty abusive relationship. If you've been in a relationship like this (romantic, platonic, familial, work related, whatever), if reading this kind of thing bothers you, feel free to not read it. Your safety is more important than this chapter.

Leo tried to keep his head down and mind his own business. It wouldn't do any of them any good for him to go about drawing attention to them. They had a job to do here. They were so close to being able to return the Heart of Miwa back to her and saving the world, he didn't want to ruin that with his impatience. All he had to do was take a deep breath, keep his mouth shut, and do what he could to help Raph get those sais of his. Leo didn't really want to cave in to the whims of someone who was just throwing a tantrum to get what he wanted, he didn't want to reward that behavior, but they didn't really have much of a choice right now.

The demigod brothers were a pair. If Leo thought he could get away with it, he might just try to focus on getting Donnie's help. Donnie was smart and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Leo didn't think it would be too hard to convince him to help them, if it weren't for the fact that Donnie was loyal to his brother. If Raph wasn't on board with their plan, then neither was Donnie. Raph had made it clear that the only way he would even consider helping them was if he got his sais back first. If that was the only way to make it happen, then Leo was all for it, and he would do whatever it took to make it happen.

Leo stayed close to Raph as they traveled. The angry demigod was storming down the streets, glaring at everything that they passed as though expecting trouble at any given second. Donnie seemed too caught up in his own mind to properly hold his brother back if they ran into any trouble, so that's what Leo was planning on doing.

Leo completely ignored their surroundings and the mutants and yokai around them. He focused completely on Raph. Leo had learned from Master Splinter how to focus so fully on something, how to notice every little detail about it. Because of this, Leo noticed the way that Raph would tense every few minutes or so as he glared up at the roofs at something. Whenever Leo tried to follow his gaze, the most he ever saw was a shadow that could have been a figure, but just as easily could have been a chimney or pillar, or something else along those lines. The shadow would disappear before Leo could get a good look at it, and Raph would move on like there had never been anything there in the first place.

After some wandering around, Leo began to wonder just how well Raph actually knew where they were going. He tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but Leo could only be so patient. "How long until we get there?"

"Soon enough," Raph growled. He turned to glare back at Leo, but his gaze then moved past him towards Donnie. Leo frowned slightly. There was a strange look in Raph's eyes, somewhat like regret, but also intense impatience. That look only lasted for a moment before Raph paused in his path completely, a clear look of confusion on his face. "Where's your brother?"

Leo froze. "What?!" He snapped around and felt a pit form in his stomach when he saw that Mikey wasn't there. Leo looked around desperately, but there was no sign of Mikey. "Where…?"

"Is it normal for Mikey to wander off?" Donnie asked. He was the only one of the three of them who remained relatively calm.

"I...yes," Leo said quietly, feeling slightly ill. He liked to think that his brother would know better than to wander off, but Mikey didn't always think things through when he got excited or distracted. It was actually incredibly likely that Mikey saw something interesting and got lost. "We have to find him."

Raph scowled. "We don't have time to turn around and look for him. We've got to get to Slash. He probably knows we're here, and he's just going to get angry if we keep him waiting,"

Leo glared at Raph. "I'm not just going to leave my brother."

Raph looked insulted at the idea, even though he'd been the one who had practically suggested it. "Look, why don't you two go find him, and I'll go after Slash."

"No," Donnnie said sharply. "Absolutely not. I told you, we're either facing Slash together, or not at all."

Raph's expression softened slightly. "We can't ask Leo to wander around the Hidden City aimlessly. We'll just end up with two lost mortals on our hands."

Donnie was quiet for a moment. He looked pained. After a long, tense moment he sighed and held his staff out to Raph. "I hate it when you're right. I still don't want you to go after Slash without me, but if you accidentally run into him, I want you to be as prepared as you can." Raph looked at the staff uneasily. He looked like he was afraid of being attacked by it. Donnie grimaced, looking really regretful about something. "Please,"

Raph met his brother's eyes before he cautiously accepted the staff. Donnie immediately relaxed. "I'll look for Mikey, but Leo's staying here with you," Donnie said. Leo and Raph both looked at him like he was nuts.

"What? No!" Leo scowled. "I'm going with you to look for my brother,"

"No, you're not," Donnie said sternly in a tone that left little room for argument. "I know you're worried about your brother, but I'm worried about mine too. Raph's right. You can't look for Mikey on your own, but I can't leave my brother on his own either,"

Leo hated this, he really did, but he knew that the demigods had a point. He didn't know his way around the Hidden City, not the way that Donnie did. Even if Leo was able to find Mikey, he wouldn't be able to find his way back. And it just wouldn't be fair to ask Donnie to look for Mikey while abandoning his own brother. Donnie was doing Leo a huge favor, it was only fair that he return it.

"...I'll keep an eye on him," Leo promised. "I swear," And as reluctant as he was, Leo was a man of his word. If he made a promise, he kept it. That was how Splinter had raised him. Donnie gave Leo a small smile in appreciation before turning and running back towards where they had come from. Leo and Raph watched him go.

As soon as Donnie was out of sight, Raph sighed and looked at the staff in his hands. His eyes were full of regret. "I'm sorry, but I don't want you to be involved in this." At first, Leo thought that Raph was talking to him, but then the demigod looked up towards the roofs and glared intensely at absolutely nothing. "Okay, he's gone. Can we stop this pointless chase?"

Leo tensed as he saw a large shadowy figure come into view on the roof. Leo knew that it was whatever Raph had been glaring at all this time. He didn't need three guesses to have a pretty good idea of who it was.

"That...that's Slash," Leo didn't say it as a question. Raph's behavior was answer enough.

They stared at Slash for a long, tense moment, neither of them daring to move. Finally Slash drew back again. Raph grimaced. "Looks like I'm going to have to go up there." Raph looked back towards Leo, and he definitely didn't like the look in his eyes. Raph looked incredibly vulnerable, almost scared, but still determined. If Leo hadn't already promised Donnie that he would watch out for Raph, he would have decided right then and there to not let him confront Slash on his own. Nobody should have to confront something that so obviously scared them on their own, at least not without emotional support. Even if the only available source of that support was from someone that you didn't like.

"I shouldn't be too long," Raph said with a gentle tone that he mostly just used when he was talking to Donnie. "Just stay here, and I'll…"

"No," Leo said sternly. "You're already going behind your brother's back to meet up with Slash," It was clear that Raph had known that Slash was around, and he had gone out of his way to get Donnie to leave. Leo understood that Raph was just trying to keep an eye out for his brother, as well as keep Slash more content in hopes that he would be more willing to give the sais back, but that didn't change the fact that Raph was knowingly going against his brother's wishes. "The least you can do is let me do what he wanted, make sure you're okay."

Raph stared at Leo for a moment before he huffed in frustration and turned his attention back to the roof where Slash had retreated. "Do what you want," With that, Raph ran into the alleyway and began to scale his way up the building. Leo followed quickly behind him. Raph may not be forcing him to stay behind, but he wasn't going to be waiting around for him either.

Leo had always considered himself a decent climber, but Raph got up to the roof completely effortlessly, even with Donnie's staff in his grip. Leo trailed behind more than he would have liked, so he pushed himself to go faster. He didn't know what Slash would have in mind for Raph. He couldn't afford to waste a second. Leo had to be available to be backup, just in case Raph would need it, and he probably would.

As Leo finally pulled himself up to the roof, he saw Raph and Slash staring each other down. Leo was finally able to get a good look at Slash, and he stiffened. Leo didn't know how large mutants usually were, but Slash seemed massive. He was a few feet taller than Raph was, and much broader. Leo had always been really fond of turtles of all kinds, but this was the first time that he found himself intimidated by one. Slash was a scary guy.

Slash scowled when he saw Leo. "You brought a mortal with you,"

"Ignore him." Raph said darkly. "He won't interfere. This is still just between you and me." Raph held Donnie's staff out to the side, keeping Leo back. He didn't know if Raph was trying to hold him back, or if he was trying to protect him. Either way, Leo didn't like it at all. He didn't want someone to make his decisions for him.

Slash growled and Raph tightened his grip on his staff. "There's no reason to sound so disappointed. We're just two friends talking." What should have been reassuring sounded almost like a threat from Slash. Like, if Raph didn't relax and act like there was no bad blood between them, then Slash would make him regret it.

Leo could practically feel the rage pouring off of Raph. "Don't act like we're such pals. You stole my sais from me,"

"I stole nothing," Slash smirked. "They were given to me by another old friend of yours." Raph flinched ever so slightly, but it was enough for Slash to recognize. The mutant's smirk grew and he took a step towards them. Raph didn't step back, but he took up a defensive stance. He was ready for trouble.

"It's good to see you after so long, Raphael," Slash said, still making it sound like a threat. "Here I thought the gods had abandoned you," Slash glanced towards Leo, his expression darkened. He looked furious with him, even though Leo and Slash had never met each other before. Where could his animosity be coming from? "They wouldn't be the first ones,"

"Shut up!" Raph snapped. He stepped to the side slightly, blocking Leo entirely from Slash. "And leave him out of it."

"Why are you protecting him?" Slash asked, clearly trying to plant seeds of doubt. "What have the humans ever done for you? Why have you allowed your brother to talk you into helping them?"

"Don't talk about Donnie," Raph said. "You don't get to talk about him,"

Slash ignored Raph's threatening tone. "You've dedicated your life to serving the gods and helping the humans, but what have they done for you in return?" Leo heard Raph's breath hitch. Slash's words were getting to him.

"Raph," Leo said quietly, but Slash spoke right over him.

"They abandoned you!" Slash shouted. "Do you really think that the ocean, the gods, or this mortal behind you, have your best interest at heart? That they don't have ulterior motives? Tell me the truth, Raph."

Raph relaxed ever so slightly, but Leo didn't think it was because he was calming down. In Leo's experience, when someone is being truly affected by negative things that were being said, they either got defensive, or they got defeated. Raph's anger had been defensive. Leo hadn't liked it very much, but he would actually prefer the furious fight to this hopelessness.

"I don't care about what the mortals and gods want anymore," Raph said, though his tone suggested that he actually cared a lot. "But that doesn't mean that I care about your opinion either. You aren't any better than they are,"

Slash all but roared at Raph. "I've never demanded anything from you."

"Are you kidding me?" Leo relaxed ever so slightly when he heard the anger in Raph's voice. The fight hadn't left him completely. "You tried to keep me from my brother. As horrible as the gods, the ocean, and a few mortals are, at least they never went that far. We may have been abandoned, imprisoned, feared, and about everything else I can think of, but we were still together. You're the one who tried to take that from me,"

"You don't need him," Slash stepped forward again until he was standing just in front of Raph. "He just holds you back,"

"Hey!" Raph used Donnie's staff to push Slash away from him. "I told you to not talk about him." Raph gave his staff a meaningful glance. "And the only way he holds me back is when he stops me from doing something that I'll end up regretting."

Slash was quiet for a moment. He silently watched Slash for that horrible smirk returned to his face. Slash grabbed Donnie's staff and pulled it towards him. Raph cried out in alarm and tried to pull the staff back, but Slash's grip was firm.

"I saw how reluctant you were to take Donatello's staff," Slash said. "Why was that?" Leo hadn't thought a lot about it, but he'd actually noticed that as well. He'd just thought that Raph hadn't wanted to leave his brother defenseless, but the way that Raph seemed to freeze at Slash's question told Leo that there was something more to it.

"None of your business," Raph said too quickly.

"In the past, you always used your brother's staff as easily as you used your sais," Slash commented. "I've never seen you scared of a weapon before, let alone a weapon that belongs to your brother. So what happened? What did he do."

"Nothing," Raph seethed. "He just…"

"He used his powers against you," Slash said. Raph let out a wounded noise, and Leo stared at him in shock. Donnie seemed to care about nothing more than his brother, and yet they were fighting with each other. Leo understood that brothers fought, it just happened sometimes, but this was not the best time for that. Raph really shouldn't have gone anywhere near Slash without feeling like he had his brother's complete and unquestionable support. Slash knew Raph better than Leo did, and he had to recognize the vulnerability there, and he was taking advantage of that.

Slash pulled the staff, bringing Raph even closer to him. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Donatello may claim to care about you, but we both know how ambitious he is. I'm surprised it took this long for your brother to get tired of dragging you behind him."

"That's not what happened," Raph growled. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" Slash used the staff as leverage to shove Raph back. Leo stepped forward and steadied Raph before he could fall. He frowned when he felt Raph's hands shaking slightly. Slash was getting to him. "You're telling me that after five hundred years, your brother has been just fine with holding himself back just to spare your feelings?"

"That...I don't..." Raph blinked. He looked slightly ill. "Shut up."

Leo had kept silent so far, because he'd had no way of knowing how Slash could react to Leo's interfering. The whole reason why he stayed with Raph was because he'd promised Donnie that he would keep his brother safe. Slash wasn't physically attacking Raph, and Leo didn't want to do anything to change that. The problem now was that while Raph wasn't being physically attacked, he certainly was emotionally and mentally. It just didn't feel right to stay back and keep quiet when Raph looked like his world was cracking at the seams.

"Unless you can read Donnie's mind and know exactly what he's thinking, I suggest you stop speaking for him," Leo glared at Slash as he kept a grip on Raph's shoulder in an attempt to ground him. "If Raph and Donnie didn't tear each other apart while stuck on that island, do you really think that it'll be this easy to break their relationship?"

"They only had each other on that prison island," Slash commented. "They would have been fools to push each other away, but now that they're free, Donatello has no reason to stay with someone who can't use powers."

Raph snarled. "I can use my powers as soon as I get my sais back."

Leo really didn't like Slash's dark, smug expression. "Are you sure about that?" Slash reached behind him and pulled out two sais. He tossed them carelessly at Raph's feet. Raph stared at them cautiously for a moment before he adjusted his grip on his staff and bent down to pick up his sais.

Raph relaxed slightly as he examined his sais. He put one of them at his sash, which Leo now noticed had a spot just for the sais to go to. Raph twirled the other sai around experimentally. For the first time since Leo had seen him, he seemed completely content.

Leo wasn't as relaxed as Raph was. He may have gotten what they'd come here for, but it couldn't be that easy. Slash had to be up to something, and Leo was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Raph took a deep breath, not to gather his nerves, but to savor the moment. "You're going to regret all of this, Spike," Slash snarled at the incorrect name, which was probably exactly what Raph had intended. The demigod clutched the sai tightly and made a purposeful slashing motion with it.

The three of them waited tensely for a moment. Leo didn't know what was supposed to have happened, but apparently it was supposed to be something more than the nothing that happened. Raph paled and stared at his sai in slight horror. He tried waving it again, but there was no change. Slash chuckled darkly.

"Where's your mighty powers over water?" Slashed asked mockingly.

"Wh-why?" Raph looked slightly traumatized. "Why didn't it work?"

"Focus, Raph," Leo said. This really wasn't the time to freak out. "You're probably just a little rusty because it's been so long," Leo didn't really know how Raph's powers worked, but he was still trying to do what he could to help. "Is there anything else you can do?" Leo couldn't care less if Raph was actually capable of using powers, but it seemed to mean a lot to the demigod. Leo didn't have to understand it to know that it was important, at least to Raph. Leo desperately wanted Raph to be capable of doing something, anything, with his powers, for his own sake.

Raph's grip on the sai and staff tightened so much that his fingers were becoming white. "...Maybe," Raph adjusted his grip on the staff and put the handle of the sai against the top of the stick. He pushed the two together. Leo felt a small shudder go down his spine. There was an unfamiliar power in the air, and it seemed to be coming from the weapons.

Raph let out a shaky laugh as he let go of the sai and held out the staff. The sai, remarkably, stayed on the top of the staff. It no longer looked like two weapons, but somehow just a single one. Leo realized in awe that he was looking at Raph and Donnie's shared weapon. The trident.

Raph smirked and held the trident out towards Slash in a threatening manner. The mutant looked unimpressed, but Leo had no idea if this was just an act, or if he really wasn't the least bit intimidated by Raph in all his demigod glory.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" Slash stepped towards Raph again. "Transform? What makes you think you can shapeshift if you can't harness the power of the water?"

"My control over the water was a gift from the ocean," Raph said irritably. "Our shapeshifting was a gift from the gods when they turned us into demigods. As long as I'm not a mortal, I should be able to do this," Should. Raph sounded much more confident than Leo thought he should be.

Raph grasped the trident with both hands and Leo felt that rush of power in the air all over again, and it was getting stronger. Leo was starting to hope that something was actually going to happen when it all went wrong. The power stopped so suddenly that it left Leo with a slight feeling of vertigo. He watched in horror as the sai fell off of the staff and clattered to the ground.

"My...my powers," Raph sounded completely destroyed, like he had lost absolutely everything. "Where...why…"

Slash chuckled and grabbed at Donnie's staff again. With one pull Slash was able to pull it out of Raph's grip. The mutant took the staff and swung it harshly, hitting Raph hard in the chest so hard that Leo was worried that the crack he had heard was more than just the sound of wood hitting flesh.

Raph fell to the side, and Leo was horrified to see that he wasn't moving at all. Leo doubted that Raph was actually knocked out, but the chances that he was completely giving up was far more likely than Leo was comfortable with.

"Raph!" Leo rushed to make sure that the demigod was okay. He picked up Raph's sai on the way, figuring that they should probably keep this weapon away from Slash. Before Leo could get to Raph, his arm was grabbed in an iron solid grip. Leo cried out in pain as he was lifted painfully into the air. His arm wasn't dislocated or anything like that, but Leo thought that it was pretty darn close. He didn't dare struggle, for fear of hurting himself.

Leo's cry of pain turned into a shout of anger and concern as Slash, still holding Leo tightly, stalked over to Raph, who was still lying on the ground. Slash used Donnie's staff to nudge Raph to his back. Once he was sure that Raph was watching him, Slash carelessly tossed the staff off the edge of the roof, making Raph let out a sound that was almost like a whimper. The whimper quickly became a groan of pain as Slash put his foot on Raph's chest and slowly applied pressure.

"Stop fighting me, Raphael," Slash said, though Donnie was pretty sure that Raph was beyond the point of even thinking of putting up a fight. "We both know it'll be easier if you just give in,"

Leo now understood Donnie's hatred for Slash, and why he'd been so adamant about his brother not interacting with the mutant at all. Leo hated Slash with a passion. "Don't listen to him, Raph," Leo said furiously. "He's just-" Leo's angry words are cut off by Slash covering his mouth with his other hand. The mutant snarled and stepped down harder on Raph's chest, making him grunt in pain.

Leo grimaced and closed his eyes as Slash tightened his grip on his arm. He hated this. Leo had promised Donnie that he would keep Raph safe, and he was failing quite spectacularly. Not only had Slash completely torn down Raph's barriers, but he'd also attacked them both physically as well, and Leo couldn't do anything to stop it. He was completely helpless. They both were, and there was nothing they could do about it.