Donnie clutched his staff tightly as he stared at the wall of water in front of him. He desperately wanted to talk to his brother, or at least see him, but the ocean wouldn't allow that. Donnie was really starting to hate the sea. It had abandoned Raph, and then started mistreating him, and now it was cooperating with Raph and protecting him from the rest of the world. Donnie hated how unpredictable the ocean was.

Donnie wanted to be pleased that the ocean was starting to accept Raph again and be on his side, but he couldn't. The sea may be siding with Raph, but it was siding with him against Donnie. He understood that Raph was upset, and he had every right to be, but Donnie didn't think that it was healthy for Raph to just try to shut things out like this. And the ocean especially shouldn't be enabling this behavior. It was just extremely frustrating.

"Hey, Donnie, are you okay?" Mikey asked. Donnie turned away from the water barrier to look towards his new friend. While they were waiting for Raph to calm down, they'd just be sitting on the boat. Mikey had been talking quietly with Leatherhead, who was resting in the ocean. After Leo had returned from talking to Raph, he'd joined them at the edge of the boat, leaving Donnie on his own to worry about Raph. Leo and Mikey had been respecting Donnie's space, but it seemed like Mikey could only keep quiet about his concern for so long.

I'll be fine as soon as I know that Raph's okay," Donnie said. He looked at Leo. "How is he doing?"

"Raph's fine," Leo said, not for the first time since he had returned. He just needs a little bit of time,"

"I know," Donnie said. He just wasn't happy about it. Donnie looked back towards the water wall that Raph was hiding behind. "I just don't know what I can do to help him right now."

Leo shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I don't know Raph as well as you do, but I don't think he actually needs help, just support."

Donnie shook his head. "Raph would consider support to be help,"

"Maybe you can support him without him knowing," Mikey suggested. Leo looked slightly annoyed at his brother. Donnie didn't think that Mikey's idea was a bad one, it just wasn't something that he thought would work right now.

"I used to do that all the time," Donnie said quietly. He felt the wind blow gently at his hair. Me and Raph used to fight all the time on that island. When we fought, Raph needed space from me, but I couldn't just abandon him," They'd been left by everybody. The last thing that Donnie ever wanted to do was to hurt his brother the way their parents and the gods had hurt them. He knew that Raph felt the same way, so Donnie just didn't understand why his brother would actually expect him to leave him.

Donnie looked up into the sky and saw some birds flying around the island. "I knew that going after Raph when he was mad at me could have just made things worse. I knew that Raph had always been more willing to open up to animals, I guess because he wouldn't have to worry about being judged, so I started trying to transform using just my own staff and powers."

Leo's eyes widened. "That's why you learned how to transform? So you could become an animal and comfort your brother without him even realizing it?"

Donnie nodded. Maybe he could have done things differently, but Donnie didn't regret a thing. He'd done what he thought was best for his brother, he would never regret that, even if Raph seemed to think that he should.

A moment later the ocean wall seemed to separate slightly, opening a window. Donnie tensed and held his breath slightly when he saw Raph sitting on the beach. Raph was tense, but nowhere near as much as he had been before. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Raph patted the sand next to him. Donnie took this as an invitation.

He practically jumped off the boat and rushed towards the hole in the water barrier. He half expected it to close around him or push him back, but the water left him alone. The sea was letting him in, and Donnie hoped this meant that Raph was willing to open up to him.

Donnie sat down on the beach next to his brother, far enough away to give him space, but close enough to let Raph know that he was there for him. Donnie noticed the water barrier close again, blocking them off from the others and giving them some privacy.

"It looks like the sea is back on your side," Donnie commented. Raph scoffed.

"More like it thinks it has me on its side again." Raph sighed, sounding exhausted. "It's so demanding, and half the time I don't even know what it wants."

Donnie had a fairly good idea of what the ocean wanted from Raph right now. It seemed pretty set on helping Mikey and Leo return the Heart of Miwa to the goddess. Donnie was still on the fence about this idea, but he knew that Raph was almost completely against it. If the ocean thought that Raph could help it, then it must have thought that Raph was beginning to change his mind. Donnie would normally be relieved about Raph being more open to returning the Heart of Miwa, but he couldn't help but be concerned.

"You're not planning on helping them return the Heart just because it could get you back in the ocean's favor, are you?" Donnie asked cautiously. Raph shook his head.

"It's not just the ocean," Raph said. "I don't want us to be the villains to the mortals, and I definitely don't want to be the gods' punching bags." Raph glanced at his brother. "You deserve better than that...we both do,"

Donnie was relieved to hear his brother say that. "I just don't want you to do something you don't want to do just because you think it's what the ocean wants," Donnie grimaced. "Or something that I want."

Raph raised an eyebrow at him. "You do things for my sake all the time...like spending fifty years relearning how to turn into a bird just to keep me company when I was too hard headed to want to listen to you."

Donnie looked at his brother in slight surprise. This wasn't the reaction he had expected from Raph when he found out what he'd been doing this whole time. Donnie had thought that Raph would react with defensive anger to hide his embarrassment. This calmness from Raph was odd to say the very least.

Raph scowled and twirled his sais around in his hand. It felt good to see Raph holding his weapons again. Things were still far from being okay, but Donnie hoped this was a sight that things would at least get better.

"You were right. I really shouldn't have confronted Slash on my own," Raph frowned, looking way too vulnerable for Donnie's liking. "I let him get to me,"

"You didn't let Slash do anything," Donnie said firmly. He hadn't heard most of what Slash had said, but he didn't have to. He knew Slash, and he knew his brother. He'd seen all of this before, and just like last time, it wasn't Raph's fault. Even if Raph could have responded better, Donnie still didn't think he was to blame. As far as Donnie was concerned, no matter what Raph did, it wasn't ever his fault if he got hurt.

Raph looked at him. "I want to believe you, really I do, but Slash has always been able to get under my skin." Donnie knew that much.

"Well, who do you believe more?" Donnie asked. Raph smirked slightly and nudged Donnie.

"I definitely trust you more," Raph said, and there wasn't even a trace of doubt in his tone. "It's just hard, you know?"

Donnie flinched and rubbed his arm, right where he thought his tattoo-like birthmark would be if he'd been born with one. "Yeah, I know," No matter how many times Raph told him that they didn't need any destiny marks on their skin, Donnie latched much more to the few criticisms he heard about it. The negative just always seemed to be so much louder than the positive.

Raph stared at Donnie quietly for a moment before he let out a short self-deprecating laugh. "We're seriously a mess, you know that?"

"A complete disaster," Donnie agreed. "I feel like I don't know what I'm doing half the time, and the other half the time I end up either doing the wrong thing, or hurting you."

"But you never thought about leaving me," Raph said quietly. He started to draw a pattern in the sand with one of his sais. "Did you?"

"It never even crossed my mind," Donnie confirmed. "You never thought of leaving me either."

"Of course not," Raph scoffed. "You're my brother." Donnie raised an eyebrow at Raph, whose face went slightly red in embarrassment. "Shut up," At least Raph realized that he was saying the exact thing that he'd gotten mad at Donnie for saying.

"Being brothers is a two-way street," Donnie said. "And it's not an obligation because of blood. It's love, and friendship, and loyalty from knowing each other for five hundred years and going through all that we've been through."

"I know," Raph sighed. "I just don't want you to feel like you're stuck with me,"

"I'm not stuck with anything," Donnie said. "I want to be here, and I want to be with you. There's really no one else I'd rather be with."

"That's just 'cause you're such a loner, you don't know anybody else," Raph said, but his smirk and tone said that he appreciated what Donnie was saying a lot more than he would ever dare to say. Donnie knew that Raph still didn't completely believe him, but at least he was willing to listen to him. Donnie knew it would take time for Raph to really take anything that he had to say to heart, but he didn't mind putting in the time and effort. Donnie would spend his whole life telling Raph that he was worth it if that was what it took.

Raph was quiet for a long time. He seemed to have something on his mind, and he just wasn't sure how to say it. Donnie waited. He didn't want to rush his brother. Finally Raph spoke up, though he was still quiet and hesitant. "How did you manage to transform on your own? I couldn't even get some water to splash for me earlier."

"So you're a little rusty," Donnie shrugged. "You'll get the hang of it again. Especially if the ocean is happy with you again." Donnie sighed. "As for transforming, it took a long time to figure out. The key was that I used to think that the gods gave us these powers to be this way so we wouldn't be too strong,"

"I remember," Raph said. "You don't think that was it?"

"Not exactly," Donnie said. "I think it's just because we've always been at our strongest when we're with each other. We make each other stronger, and the transforming is just one way that is."

Raph looked at him in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how cheesy you sound?"

Donnie chuckled. "Yeah, I know, but do you have a better explanation?"

"You've always been better at coming up with explanations than me," Raph said. "But if you're right, how come I couldn't do anything when I tried to transform? It's not like I stopped caring about you when I tried it, and I even had both my sais and your staff, so why couldn't it work?"

"Remember, it still took me a long time to figure out," Donnie said. "Just because something is possible doesn't mean that's an immediate guarantee. But I figured it out with time, I'm sure you will too."

"...But what if I don't?" Raph looked terrified. "What if my powers are just gone...for good?"

"I'm sure they're not," Donnie said. "But if they are, well, I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but I don't care. I love my brother, not the demigod of the sea." This wasn't the first time that Donnie had said something along these lines. He enjoyed being a demigod, and he appreciated everything that the gods had done for them, but he didn't revolve his life around it.

Raph was scared though, worried that he wasn't good enough, and Donnie wanted to ease his concerns. He stood up and held a hand out to Raph. "Let's give this another try, then,"

Raph stared at him like he was crazy. "I just barely told you, it didn't work."

"I wasn't with you before," Donnie said. And Raph hadn't been positive that Donnie had his back in everything. "Just give it another try."

Raph looked incredibly uncertain, but he took Donnie's hand anyways. Once they were both standing, Donnie kept a grip on Raph's hand. With his other hand Donnie held out his staff. Raph frowned slightly, but he took one of his sais and slowly put it on top of the staff. Donnie felt the power going through their weapons, and he knew that Raph could feel it too.

"You can do this," Donnie said. "Let's start with an easy one." While they could both transform, they could only become animals that went with their element. As the demigod of the wind, could only turn into animals that flew, while Raph, the demigod of the sea, could turn into any water animal. While they used to not have any trouble shape shifting into whatever animal they were able to, both Donnie and Raph had a much easier time turning into animals that were both of the wind and the sea.

Donnie closed his eyes and focused on his brother's presence. He squeezed Raph's hand and both of them clung to their trident. The breeze picked up around them and the tide rose. Their elements were responding to them trying to use their powers like this. Donnie couldn't remember the last time the ocean and wind had done this.

The power between them strengthened and all of a sudden Donnie felt the shift happen. He no longer had the form of a human, but that of a bird. A pelican.

Donnie immediately opened his eyes and looked towards his brother. He felt relieved and proud when he saw another pelican where his brother had stood. Though there were differences between them, with Raph's webbed feet being noticeably larger while Donnie had longer wings, he knew from past experience that they still looked incredibly similar to each other right now

Raph's eyes were closed tightly. He seemed to be afraid to open them. Donnie nuzzled against his brother's feathers. Raph reluctantly opened his eyes slightly, but a moment later his eyes shot wide open when he saw he saw his form. Raph spread his wings wide and just stared at them. Even though he was a pelican, Donnie could see that his brother was ecstatic.

Raph stood tall and flapped his wings aggressively. They both knew that Raph couldn't fly, it was something he'd never been able to get the hang of, he was just giving his form a try. Raph was proud, and he had every right to be.

Donnie stretched slightly and nudged his brother. Raph looked at him in excitement, as excited as a pelican could be. Flapping his wings more, Raph made his way into the ocean and sat on the surface of the water. Raph had always felt closest to the water and his powers when he was resting on it like this. Donnie felt the same way when he was gliding through the air as a bird.

The water barrier that had been surrounding the island eased down and the ocean went back to normal. It no longer felt the need to block things out for Raph's sake, because Raph no longer felt threatened by the world. Raph now had reason to believe that he had access to his powers. He wasn't powerless or helpless, so he felt ready to take on the world.

Donnie thought that Raph would want to stay in this form for quite some time. It had been so long since Raph had felt in control of anything, and Donnie wanted Raph to enjoy for as long as he needed to. However, Raph only rested on the water for a minute before he turned back into his human form. Donnie didn't wait a moment before following his lead.

"Are you alright?" Donnie asked. Raph was still standing in the water.

"Alright?" Raph laughed and turned towards him, smiling more broadly than Donnie had seen in five hundred years. "I can still transform! I'm great!" Raph closed his eyes and bent down, putting his hands in the water. "I can't remember the last time I felt so connected to the ocean," Raph opened his eyes and looked at Donnie. "Or you,"

"It has been awhile since we've actually combined powers like that," Donnie pointed out. He took their trident and joined Raph in the water. Donnie held the trident out to him and Raph wrapped his hand around it. For a moment the two of them just held onto it together. They both felt each other's power coursing through their weapon.

"So...the Heart of Miwa," Raph said slowly. Donnie looked at his brother, but Raph's eyes were on the small boat where Mikey and Leo were pretending to not notice them. "I think...maybe we should help them out,"

Donnie didn't know how he felt about that. "Are you sure?"

"No," Raph sighed. "But I am sure that if we don't go, those two idiots will get themselves killed, if not by the ocean, then by Karai."

Raph had a point. Leo and Mikey practically knew nothing about sailing, and it had already almost got them killed. They also didn't really know just what they were going up against. Karai wasn't a powerful mutant or yokai, she was a goddess. Neither of the mortals would have a clue about how to deal with her, and even if they did they would still probably get killed or seriously hurt before they even had the chance to try.

"Besides, I don't want the world to die any more than the next demigod," Raph looked at Donnie, who just stared right back at him. "I want to help, and I swear it's not just because the ocean, or the mortals, or you want me to do it."

"Yeah, I know," Donnie looked towards their new friends. When he made eye contact with Mikey, the boy grinned and waved enthusiastically at him. Mikey really was a nice kid, and so was his brother. Donnie didn't want anything to happen to them either. He sighed. "Okay, we'll help them out,"

Raph gave him a small, uncertain smile. "Just maybe not quite yet. I still don't know just how much control of my powers I have right now. It would be suicide to try to fight a goddess when I don't even know what what I can do," Donnie had never been more relieved to hear that Raph was actually thinking things through.

"It might also help if Leo or Mikey actually knew what they were doing on that boat," Donnie said. If either he or Raph had to stay on the boat at all times to make sure that it didn't capsize, they would half their chances against Karai.

"Then let's get started," Raph smirked, sounding more confident than Donnie felt. They both felt like they were doing what was right, and even what was necessary, but Donnie at least was worried that this was a stupid and reckless idea that would ultimately end up being a mistake.

Donnie just hoped that this wouldn't be the last stupid mistake they ever made.