Some people said that when coming back to consciousness, the first sense that came back to them was hearing, or maybe touch. For Raph, the first thing that came back to him was his sense of smell. The salty scent of the ocean was the first thing that Raph was aware of. For the longest time, while they were imprisoned on their island, Raph would sometimes feel sick to his stomach when he smelled the ocean breeze. It seemed like a reminder of everything he had lost

Now though, when he couldn't move or feel anything, felt completely paralyzed and terrified for reasons that he couldn't really remember, the sea was comforting. It wasn't an old friend who had abandoned him, it was an old friend who was the only thing keeping him grounded.

Very slowly but surely, Raph started to become aware of everything else around him. He began to hear the sound of the waves on the shore, and the rough sand against his skin. It all came to him very slowly, until he started to regain feeling in his shoulder, at which point the pain seemed to kickstart the rest of his senses.

Raph groaned and tried to shift away from the pain, though moving just made it even worse. His groan grew to a shout of pain when he felt hands grab his arms and pull him up into a tight embrace.

"Ge'off," Raph tried to say. He tried really hard to force his eyes open, which was much more challenging than he thought it would be. Finally he was able to open his eyes enough to see his brother clinging to him. "Donnie…"

"Just be quiet and hold still," Donnie said quietly, his voice shaking. "I thought...Raph, you really scared me there for a while,"

"Sorry," Raph muttered. "What happened?"

"That's what I was wondering," Donnie pulled away just enough to get a better look at Raph. "I just know that Karai attacked you. I was only able to get you away with Leatherhead's help,"

Raph frowned. Something sounded off about that. "Karai...I'm not sure she attacked me."

Donnie's eyes widened and he put his hand on Raph's forehead, as though he was feeling for a temperature. "She bit you, she was holding you under the water. She was hurting you. What else would that be if not attacking you?" Raph's shoulder burned. He moved his hand towards it, but Donnie stopped him. "Raph, what happened between you two?"

"I don't know," Raph frowned. "But I don't think this was just an attack because we were in her territory. It felt more personal than that,"

"I think that makes it more of an attack," Donnie said.

"Well, yeah, but…" Raph frowned. Something was really bothering him about this, but he felt so dizzy and unfocused that he could barely figure out how to voice what was on his mind. "The way she looked at me, it was like I hurt her first, and she was just getting back at me."

"It doesn't matter why she's hurting you, she still hurt you. That's not okay," Donnie said sternly. "And what do you mean you hurt her first? We've only met her once. We never did anything to her."

"I'm not so sure about that." Raph frowned. He remembered the fury and pain in Karai's eyes. He felt like he was all too familiar with what he'd seen from her. This kind of pain, it came from being hurt over and over again by everybody until you finally just gave up on expecting anything more.

Raph couldn't remember hurting Karai this much, but...but…

"You said you couldn't sense Miwa at her island?" Raph asked. Donnie nodded. "Why would the ocean have brought us to Karai if Miwa wasn't even there?"

"Because the ocean likes to mess with you," Donnie scowled and glared out towards the water.

"What about the wind?" Raph raised an eyebrow challengingly. "It helped us just as much as the sea did. They both brought us there."

Donnie frowned, looking conflicted. "I...don't know," Donnie hated not knowing things, and he especially didn't like to admit when he didn't know something.

"And the ocean helped Mikey and Leo come all this way and find us," Raph said. "The ocean's moody and unreliable, but it seems to have been planning this for years. The ocean really doesn't have that kind of patience unless it's for something really important, and I doubt that almost getting all of us killed by an angry goddess qualifies."

"Where are you going with this?" Donnie asked.

Raph struggled to stand, and winced when his entire arm seemed to flare up. His legs gave out beneath him and Raph would have collapsed if Donnie hadn't caught him. "Where...where are Leo and Mikey?" Raph thought he had an idea. He remembered what Mikey had told him about how the elements were connected to each other. He wanted to run what he was thinking by Mikey, as he would probably know more about this.

Donnie grimaced and looked pained and conflicted. "They left," Donnie said. Raph looked at him in shock. Leo and Mikey didn't strike him as the kind of guys who just walked away from something like this, especially since he had gotten so hurt. They were good kids, very friendly and caring. Why would they just abandon them here? Donnie sighed. "I made them leave. I pushed them away."

Raph frowned. "Why would you do that?"

"You have no idea how scared I was." Donnie said quietly. "I thought you were going to die, Raph, and they wanted to go back there and deal with Karai. I couldn't have them here. I couldn't...I just couldn't handle it,"

You think that it's better for them to go face her themselves?" Raph almost growled, sounding more concerned than truly angry. "They stand no chance against the goddess,"

"You stood no chance against her," Donnie raised his voice slightly, just shy of yelling.

"Not in a fight," Raph admitted. "She's stronger than I am," Donnie looked at him in alarm. Just like how Donnie didn't like to admit that he was wrong, Raph was usually reluctant to admit that he had weakness. "But I think...I think maybe fighting her isn't the thing we should do here."

"You don't want to fight?" Now Donnie actually looked scared. "You always want to fight."

"You should have seen the way she looked at me," Raph clutched at his arm, away from his wound, which he was avoiding even looking at. "You know the way that I used to glare at the ocean? How I wanted nothing to do with it, but I also wanted it to make everything right again?" Donnie flinched and nodded. They both remembered those times all too well. "She looked at me like that."

"But why?" Donnie asked. "I don't understand what you could have done,"

"I think I do," Raph said. It was actually something that they had both done, and they both needed to make things right, but this first confrontational push, Raph felt like this was on him. If Karai got angry and lashed out again, Raph didn't want his brother to be in the line of fire. "And I think I know how we can fix it, fix everything."

Donnie looked at Raph cautiously. "I don't want you to get hurt again,"

"And what about everyone else?" Raph asked. "The whole world could be in trouble if we don't do something."

Donnie laughed humorously, looking defeated. "Leo and Mikey said the same thing." Donnie was quiet and stiff for a moment before he sighed. "You're right, you're all right, and I hate it,"

"Hey, you can't know best all the time," Raph smirked and nudged his brother's shoulder. "Trust me, I 'm not really in a hurry to get myself killed, but I think I have a plan."

"Alright, fine, we'll give it a try," Donnie grabbed his staff and one of Raph's sais. He put them together, forming their trident. Donnie held it out to Raph, who grabbed it with his uninjured hand. The two of them transformed, though it wasn't with nearly as much ease for Raph. Transforming with injuries was a complicated business. The injury didn't just go away, but it didn't always show itself in the same way.

As a sailfish, Raph's injured fin felt completely numb, and it was concerning. He could still swim, but he kept on having to adjust to make sure he didn't get completely off course. He probably would have had a much harder time if the waves weren't pushing him along. It seemed like the sea was on his side again, at least for now.

Raph was familiar with the ocean, while to other people it would all look the same, Raph could find the subtle differences in different parts of the water. It didn't seem like they were heading straight back to where they had run into Karai. At least that meant that the two mortals weren't trying to fight Karai on their own...hopefully.

Raph stopped swimming when he saw Donnie dive into the water just in front of him. Raph knew his brother wouldn't do this unless he had something he wanted to say, so Raph surfaced and transformed back into human shape. Raph was about to ask what was up when he saw the raft right in front of them. Raph grinned and moved to swim the small distance to the ship, but he froze and cried out in pain when his whole arm flared up. He wanted the numbness back.

"Raph!" Donnie hooked his arms around Raph and helped him finish the short distance. "Are you okay?"

"Don't think so," Raph grunted. "It's getting worse,"

"At least you're awake," Mikey helped to pull Raph onto the ship.

"And alive," Leo grinned at them, looking more sincerely happy than Raph was used to. He looked at Donnie in confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were done."

"I was," Donnie said. "I still want to be, but Raph insisted."

Leo's eyes widened and he looked at Raph in shock. "You did?"

Raph nodded. "I think I have a plan," He looked at Mikey. "You know how you told me that the elements are connected?" Mikey nodded. "Miwa's a goddess of the earth, and if we treat the earth badly, it might get dry and withered and...burn?"

Mikey nodded slowly before a look of realization came to his eyes. "You...you think Karai's…"

"I think so," Raph rubbed at the wrist of his sore arm. "I don't know for sure, but I've got to give it a try."

"Me and Mikey actually talked about that," Leo said quickly. "We can't ask you to do this."

"You're not asking," Raph said sternly.

Mikey fidgeted. "Actually, I think Raph's right." He took off his necklace and barely hesitated for a moment before handing it off to Raph. Mikey looked at his brother. "We came all the way here to make things right, but returning the Heart of Miwa is only part of that." Raph completely agreed, and thought that he finally understood. His sais had been stolen from him, given to Slash by the sea. He'd been able to get them back, but it still hurt that they'd been taken, and he didn't know if he could fully trust his old friends again, at least not for awhile. If one of them had given his sais back, made things up to him, he would feel much better about it.

With at least the beginnings of a plan figured out, and the sea and wind on their side and leading them, they began to make their way back to where they'd left Karai. Raph hoped the journey was a quick one. With every passing minute his arm felt worse, he couldn't even feel his shoulder anymore, and he came closer to backing out and leaving this job to someone else.

He didn't really want to do this. He was scared of Karai, wasn't even sure that she was who he thought she might be, and even if she was, that wouldn't make things automatically good. They'd hurt Miwa. Raph completely understood why she would be upset with him. And just because he tried to make things right didn't mean that she was going to forgive him, or let him off easy.

Before too long they saw the sky darkening in front of them. It was the smoke from Karai. Raph took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Heart of Miwa. He tried not to think too deeply about what he was about to do. He just had to go through with it.

Raph sat against the edge of the ship and dangled his legs into the water. It was time to end this. He was about to push himself into the water and swim the rest of the way towards Karai when Donnie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just...be careful," Donnie said quietly. "I don't want to lose you,"

"Just keep these guys safe," Raph said. He was going to try to calm Karai, but if it didn't work, he didn't want the others to suffer the consequences. "I'll do my best." He went off into the water and transformed. He swam slowly, taking his time so to not strain himself. He was also stalling, but as he was getting there eventually, so it wasn't that bad.

As Raph swam, he felt the water get warmer. Karai was here. Raph gathered his nerves and surfaced, transforming back to his normal form. Raph glanced behind him to see the others on the ship, definitely there and offering moral support, but they weren't in danger. Raph took a deep breath and raised the Heart of Miwa.

"Karai!" Raph shouted. "I've gotta have a word with you!" He heard Karai hissing and felt the water rise to a near boiling temperature. He felt the tight grip of Karai's tail wrap around him. He knew it was going to bruise later, but he couldn't think about that right now. She poked out of the water. Her fury was clear, but she froze when she saw the Heart of Miwa.

"Thought this would get your attention," Raph said. "Look, I get that you're mad, but I want you to hold still, shut up, and just listen to me for a minute." Karai's grip didn't tighten, but it moved up and brushed against his arm. Raph hissed and stiffened in pain, but he had to bare through it. "I-I'm sorry."

Karai's fury edged away into a look of surprise. She released Raph and he nearly fell under the water, except the sea was supporting him, practically holding him up completely.

"L-look," Raph grimaced and looked her in the eyes. "I get it how you feel," Karai growled, but Raph had already got going. He wasn't about to let her intimidate him into stopping. "You really think I'd say this just to suck up to you? I don't do that, not even for the gods. If I say I get how you feel, I mean it."

Karai glared at him, but she didn't attack, or scream, or even move to ignore him. She just waited for him to explain.

"We were abandoned." Raph said quietly. "All our lives, me and Donnie gave everything we had to serve the humans. We obeyed and assisted the will of the gods. When we took this heart," Raph looked at the amulet in his hand. He felt his chest tighten. "It didn't seem any better or worse than anything else we've ever done. We thought...we thought that we could use the heart to help the humans. We knew that other beings were after the heart, so we didn't see the harm."

Karai hissed again. Raph grimaced. "We were trapped on that island for so long, and I didn't understand why. The gods were punishing us, the humans started to not see us as heroes anymore, but as villains, just because of one mistake. They hated us, and I hated them right back."

Raph sighed and closed his eyes. Talking about this, it hurt. He barely brought these things up with Donnie. "I thought it was unfair. I got so mad at everybody. At the gods, the humans, just the whole world, and I thought it was right. I thought I was justified. But being mad, it just made me feel worse, and then I started to take that out on the rest of the world. It was exhausting."

"I was so caught up on myself that I never thought about the damage that I had done. How we had stolen your heart from you, and as horrible and angry as I felt, I ended up making you feel the exact same way, and I...I'm sorry, Miwa," Raph closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I just want to make things right," Raph took in a deep breath and looked at Karai, who looked so vulnerable.

Raph moved the necklace up over Karai's head. She stiffened, and he paused. He didn't want to scare her so much. When she didn't move, Raph adjusted a little more and slid the necklace up over her head. He led his hand down the chain till it rested against the amulet. He slowly pulled his hand back, leaving Karai with the heart right back where it belonged, with her...with Miwa.

The flower on the amulet began to glow pink. It was just barely noticeable at first, but then it gradually became so bright that Raph was blinded. He closed his eyes and tried to shut it all out, though the light bled through his eyelids. After a long, painful moment the light gradually began to fall away. Raph squinted his eyes open and his breath got caught in his throat when he saw Miwa, no longer serpentine and fiery Karai, but the goddess that took the appearance of a young human.

"There you are," Raph grinned. Miwa closed her eyes, lowered her head, and clutched tightly to the necklace resting on her chest. The ocean began to support her just as much as it was supporting him.

Miwa bit her lip and some tears came out of her eyes. "It hurts." She gasped slightly. "It still hurts so much."

"It really does," Raph muttered. He put his hand on Miwa's shoulders and did the kind of thing that Donnie would do when he was really hurting and upset, he pulled her towards him and just held her tight. Miwa began to cry quietly into his shoulder, and Raph just held onto her. It hurt too much to try to do anything else.

A/N: I know that the previous chapter was building up to Mikey and Leo returning the heart themselves, but character growth wise, I felt like this was the best thing to do and what made the most sense. Raph feels hurt and betrayed by the world, and lashes out because of it, which is exactly what Karai was doing. In the movie Moana, it made sense to have the girl who wasn't sure who she was help someone else to remember just who they were. In this story, I felt like it made the most sense to have someone who was so hurt and angry, and had caused someone else to feel that same way, to make things right.

And I feel like this chapter is very anticlimactic, but when you think about it, the movie kinda had an anticlimactic (in the best possible way) resolution, so I think it works.