I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE DEAD!

And I'm sorry to anyone out there that is still reading this series that have been waiting for so long. I don't really have an excuse for not writing this time, other than no motivation. For a while, I felt like I was forcing myself to keep writing this stuff. Not just this story, but my other ones as well. For a second, I almost thought that I wouldn't be able to finish it, and I hated the idea of doing that. But... in light of this quarantine situation I found myself with a lot more time on my hands than before. I can't make any promises at the moment, but I am going to try to be better and give myself more motivation and discipline. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

Also... be careful out there, y'all. This world is going to shit and you need to make sure you and your loved ones stay safe and try to be as happy as possible. I wish you all the best. Thank you.


Ch. 9

The Good, the Bad, the Casey Jones

"You're kidding!"

"I'm not kidding, Vanessa."

"Dude, this is crazy!" she yelled over the phone. "I can't believe it! How long ago did it happen?"

"Like, three days ago."

"Girl, have you talked to him about it yet?"

I squirmed slightly. "No… I've been too embarrassed to be alone with him since."

Vanessa groaned. "Nia!"

"I know, I know! But… I can't help myself. I don't know what to say."

"Just be honest about everything!" she explained. "Tell him how much you like him and that you wanna make this a thing."

"I can't just say it like that!" I retorted. "He'll think I'm crazy."

"Girl, the boy has feelings for you just like you do. For all we know, he's probably had them for a long time. You two have been dancing around your feelings for too long and now it's time you did something about it."

I sighed. "Yeah… maybe you're right.

"Just give it a chance, Nia. You don't know what you're missing out on."

"I'll think about it. Talk to you later."

"Keep me posted, hon."

I hung up on her and put my phone back in my pocket. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure if I really believed Vanessa or not. I just wanted to keep her from worrying about it so much. I was worrying about it enough as it is. I was too nervous to talk to Raph alone about any of this. He must be just as nervous as me, because he never made any effort to get me alone either.

I sighed, agitated. I looked at the time and saw that it was almost noon. Remembering that we still had training, I got up, tied on my mask and strapped on my kamas and tessen. The others were still lounging around in the pit, not even making their way to the dojo.

"You know, we have training in a few minutes," I called out to them. "You guys better get up quick before Sensei makes you."

"We'll be there, we'll be there," Mikey groaned, waving a hand at me.

I rolled my eyes and continued my way into the dojo. Since no one else was in yet I figured I could get some stretches in before training started.

No one was in the dojo, not even Sensei. I shrugged and sat in the center of the room. My legs had felt a little strained lately so I decided to work on those first. But just as I started to stretch my legs I heard footsteps from behind me, and I turned to see who it was. My body went stiff. It was Raph. He looked as if he had just woken up, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging down. As soon as he saw me, he froze, suddenly straightening his posture. We both looked at each other for a few moments. I cleared my throat.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Silence again. Not an awkward silence, but it was heavy. I could feel the tension without even moving. Raph kept his eyes on the ground as he slowly walked towards me, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, uh…"

"Yeah?"

But at that moment, Mikey came bursting into the dojo, arms waving around. The other two and Sensei followed closely behind him. Raph and I gave each other a look before getting into our positions for training. We all stood in a circle, facing each other. Sensei walked beside us, his arms behind his back.

"My children," he started. "You are truly becoming impressive warriors, but to grow as a team, you must know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

I took out my tessen as the others took out their weapons as well. Mikey did an impressive move with his nunchucks before leaning forward and burping in Donnie's face. He grimaced, rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh, right in my face! Really?!"

"Garlic and clam pizza!"

"This competition is a free-for-all," Sensei bellowed. "Last one standing wins. Hajime!"

We all took defensive positions for a moment before charging. Raph ran past me and headed straight for Donnie, and I decided to go for Leo. He was waiting for me, already holding his katana up to block my tessen. I spun around and aimed for his side, but he blocked that too. He swung his blade down, and I slid to the side to doge it. He leaned down and sprinted towards me, holding his katana, ready to swing. I waited until the last second to jump up and avoid his strike. I landed on the ground when I heard a yell from behind me. I turned around to see Raph kick at Mikey's feet and knock him to the ground. Raph turned to face me, smirked, and ran straight towards me. I gulped as I ducked to avoid his sais, then raised my tessen to block him. He raised his other arm to strike, and I grabbed his wrist with my free hand.

"You're looking tired, Nia," he said. "Need to take a break?"

I stared up at him. He was being much more relaxed now than he was earlier. Like he was more comfortable talking to me while sparring. I smirked.

"Where's the fun in that?"

I shoved him away, putting some space between us. I was about to start sprinting towards him when I felt something kick at my feet. I fell onto my side, dropping my tessen.

"What the heck, Leo?" I heard Raph say. "I was fighting Nia!"

"What part of 'last one standing' didn't you understand?"

I picked up my weapon and looked up. Leo and Raph were the only ones still up. They were standing several feet apart, circling each other.

"Distraction, misdirection," Sensei spoke up. "Powerful weapons in a ninja's arsenal."

"Looks like you leveled up to the boss fight."

Leo grunted. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face. Permanently."

Raph ran forward first, raising his arms. Leo raised his katanas to block him. He went to swing with his blades, but Raph caught them and his sais and swung out, knocking one of the katanas out of Leo's grasp. Leo immediately advanced on Raph, swinging and slicing at him until he knocked one of the sais out of his hand. It spun out until it embedded itself into the tree. Ran sprinted forward, snatching it out of the bark, Leo running close behind him.

Raph turned around to block, but Leo was faster. He leapt up, lifted is leg and his knee connected with Raph's chin. Raph dropped his weapons and fell to the floor, flat on his stomach. Leo didn't say a word as he picked up his katanas and sheathed them.

"Welp, Leo won it this time," said Donnie.

Leo walked forward towards Sensei and kneeled in front of him. Suddenly, I heard loud heavy breathing and turned. Raph was on his hands and knees, his chest heaving, his teeth bared. He looked absolutely furious.

"Uh oh," Mikey muttered. "He's awoken the beast…"

Raph raised his eyes to glare daggers at Leo. He started breathing very quickly and suddenly sprang to his feet. He let out an angry yell as he ran forward, sais raised. Leo whipped around, looking surprised. He raised his arm and Raph caught his wrist in-between his sais.

"Raph, stop!" I yelled, getting to my feet.

Raph didn't listen. He elbowed Leo hard in the stomach, then whipped around and punched him in the face so hard that he went flying. He landed on his stomach and didn't move for several moments. The others and I ran over and kneeled beside him, checking to see if he was okay.

"Raph what're you doing?!" Donnie snapped.

I whipped my head around to look up at him. Raph's angry demeanor had disappeared completely. His eyes were normal, and his jaw was hanging open. He looked stunned and ashamed.

"I- I didn't mean to hurt him," he stammered. "It was an accident! Seriously."

Leo stirred for a moment before slowly pushing himself up. I grabbed his arm and helped him to sit up straight. His eyes rolled slightly as he held his head in his hand.

"Did you guys get the number on that bus…?" he groaned.

"We have spoken about this time and again, Raphael," Sensei said sternly. "Anger is a dangerous alley. It clouds your judgment. You need to control it, lest it controls you."

Raph shook his head. "But Sensei, I wasn't angry. I was just- determined to win."

We all paused in helping Leo to his feet to look at him. I could feel the others glaring at him, and all I could do was stare at him. Raph looked from the others to me, and his shame turned to anger again.

"What?! I said I wasn't angry!"

He glared around at all of us before letting out a huge huff and throwing his sais on the ground. He stomped past us, his eyes narrowed as he exited the dojo. I straightened myself up as I watched him go. I frowned at him for a moment before turning around and snatching the sais out of the ground. Then I turned and followed him out of the dojo.

"Nia, wait!" Donnie called out, but I ignored him.

I just managed to see him run past the turnstiles and out of the lair. I glared slightly before sprinting off after him, jumping over the turnstiles. I could hear him groaning and panting, his feet getting louder and faster. Even from this far behind I could feel his anger.

"Hey!"

Raph whipped his head around, saw me, and I saw his jaw fall open. He quickly slowed down until he came to a stop, and I was finally able to catch up to him.

"What is it with you guys and running away when you're all mad?" I asked exasperatedly.

"As if you haven't done it before."

"…Fair point."

Raph sighed. "Look, I'm not in the mood for a lecture today, so just-"

"Are you okay?"

He stared at me. "What?"

"Are you okay?" I repeated myself.

Raph didn't say anything for several seconds. He didn't even move. He looked absolutely surprised that I had even asked such a question. But, it was the only question I had. Raph has always been competitive and cocky whenever it came to training, but it had never escalated like it did today. Raph wasn't always like this. Something had to be up.

"I'm… I'm fine," he said softly.

I didn't say anything at first. We stood there and looked at each other in silence. He sighed.

"I just… have a lot on my mind, I guess."

I nodded. "Trust me, I understand."

Raph walked over to the edge of the concrete and slowly sat down, still saying nothing. I watched him for a second before walking over and sitting down next to him. I nudged his shoulders and he turned to look at me. I held his sais out for him. He hesitated before reaching over and taking them.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Raph stayed quiet, holding his sais in his lap. I sat patiently, waiting for him to say something. But, he wouldn't budge. Finally, after several minutes of nothing, I just asked.

"So, what is it?"

"Huh?"

"What's been on your mind?"

To my surprise, Raph chuckled as he turned to look at me. "You mean… you don't know?"

It took me a few seconds before I realized what he meant. Of course, he was talking about the kiss. I felt my face flush slightly as I let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh, right," I gulped, trying not to let my voice shake. "Um… Do you wanna talk about it?"

Raph hesitated before saying, "…I guess so."

I grinned up at him. I saw him blush slightly as he set down his sais and turned to face me. I thought maybe he would say something first. I wanted him to say something first. My heart was racing, my skin felt hot, and I was too nervous to speak. But he remained silent, his eyes going from me to the floor. Screw it. I took a deep breath.

"So, I'm just gonna come out and say it," I said quickly before I had a chance to change my mind. "I… I like you. A lot. I'm not sure how it happened or why it did, but I do. And… I'm thinking that you like me, too. You know, since… you kissed me and all…"

I felt my throat tighten up slightly, and I gulped. Raph was looking up at me now, eyes slightly wide. My arms started shaking, and I gripped my fists tightly.

"So… I guess what I'm asking is; was it real? Or just a heat of the moment kind of thing? I won't be mad if it is," I added quickly. "I just need to know, because… well, it would kind of suck if it was, and… um…"

I felt my cheeks start to heat up more, my words caught in my throat. What was I saying? So, what if it was real? What would happen then? What do we do? I was too nervous to even ask or say anything aloud. Taking another deep breath, I looked at Raph and waited for him to say something. He hunched over slightly.

"I... I'm not good with words," he said. "So, if I screw up, I'm sorry."

I nodded. He sighed.

"I've… liked you for a really long time," he started. "And… I never thought you would ever like me back. I kept telling myself to get over it, but I couldn't."

"Why didn't you think I would?"

He raised his brow at me. "Really, Nia? Look at me."

"Raph, you know I don't care about that."

"Yeah, I know that now. That's- that's why I haven't really been trying to get over it. If me being a mutant wouldn't stop you, then… maybe it could happen."

His voice trailed off and he sighed. I stared at him, contemplating what I should say next. I knew what I wanted to say, but should I say it? I scooted closer towards him and leaned over slightly as he turned to look up at me.

"So… did you wanna try?"

Raph's head snapped up as he stared at me. "T-try what?"

"You know, us. Whatever this is," I smiled. "Do you… do you wanna try?"

There was silence between us for a moment. We didn't move or do anything as we stared at each other. He seemed shocked at first, but I could see it in his eyes that he was thinking it over. I could feel my heart racing as I waited for him to respond. He took a deep breath as he straightened up, and to my surprise, he grinned. Then he chuckled, shaking his head.

"You know this is crazy, right?"

I grinned. "Yeah… but we're used to doing crazy stuff, right? What's one more crazy thing?"

My heart was still beating fast, but for once it didn't bother me. This was happening. This was really happening! Holy crap! We both sat there, grinning at each other. I watched Raph's eyes as they slowly lowered to a spot on my face- my mouth. I looked at his, too. Suddenly, we both started to slowly lean in towards each other. I reached my hand out to touch his as I closed my eyes.

The first kiss had been cute, but a little awkward. This one was a little more relaxed. My face was warm and the butterflies in my stomach felt like they were going to explode. I felt the hand I was touching shift to grasp my own, squeezing it slightly. I squeezed it back. A few seconds go by and we pull apart. I open my eyes. Even I can tell that we're both still nervous as hell about all this, but for once we weren't being awkward about it. Raph smiled at me, and I gave his hand another squeeze.

"Hey, I got an idea."

Raph grinned. "Oh yeah? What?"


There were a handful of buildings and rooftops that the guys and I loved to train at. My personal favorite was the music store, because they always had good tunes blaring through their speakers, and I loved to train with music. Sometimes there would be a great street performer singing nearby, too. But, none of that was going to matter right now.

"What's the point of this again?" Raph asked.

"Well, you obviously don't wanna go back home yet," I answered, tightening my mask slightly. "And you're probably still mad about what happened. So, I figured I'd blow off a little steam."

"Can't argue with that," he said as he stretched his arms. "So… any rules?"

"Hmm… Nah, nothing out of the usual."

"Perfect."

I took a few steps forward until I was standing several feet from Raph. I reach in my belt and take out both of my kamas, tossing one up and catching it as I took a stance. Raph smirked as he took out his sais, spinning them in his palms before taking his own stance. We each stood still for a moment. I sprinted forward at the same time as him, holding my blades out. As we got closer Raph raised his sais to swing at me, and I blocked it just as we reached each other. I shoved him back and swung my blades at him. He leapt back several times to avoid any hits. He suddenly crouched down and leapt forward, aiming for my legs. I was able to jump over him in time and land right on my feet behind him.

I swung one of my blades back around me just as he turned, and our weapons collided again. I pushed against him as hard as I could, trying to keep him at bay. He suddenly shoved me right back, moving my blades out of the way, and began charging at me once more. I turned quickly and ran across the roof of the building. I reached the ledge and leapt over it just as I heard him yell, "Hey, get back here!"

I landed on the fire escape safely. I ran over to the ladder and quickly forced it downward, bringing myself closer to the ground faster. Sprinting down the alley, deeper into the maze of buildings, I could hear Raph as he landed on the ground behind me and started running. I heard something moving through the air quickly, and I ducked my head instinctively as I saw a few ninja stars fly past me.

"That's a dirty move, dude!" I called back.

"Oh, come on! I knew you'd dodge 'em, you're great at that!"

I chuckled slightly as I made a sharp right turn and started sprinting down another alley. I stopped shortly after going in and pressed myself flat against the brick wall. Looking out, I saw Raph finally appear where I had come from. He looked around for a second, then let out an angry sound. He ran around the buildings, trying to decide which one I was hiding in. He stood still for a moment, starting at the building I was leaning against. I held my breath and waited. Raph's attention seemed to go to the building next to me, and he sprinted that way. I smirked as I turned and ran down the alley. Perfect, I've led him away, I thought. If I climb the fire escape, I can follow him from above and attack from there.

I ran along the side of the building, getting closer and closer to the fire escape. But just as I reached it there was a loud sound of metal against metal, and suddenly the ladder lowered down in front of me… with Raph on it. Before I had time to register what happened he had leapt down and grabbed both of my arms, throwing me behind him towards the alley wall. I fell flat against it but had just enough time to grab my kamas before he was on me. I blocked his attack and held him there, pushing against him. He suddenly kicked one of my feet out and I landed on my knees. He leapt back and held one sai up to my chest. I froze. I had lost.

"But, how-"

"Easy," Raph used one sai to point up at the roof of the building they were next to. "I climbed the other side and leapt off the fire escape right above you when you got close enough."

"But how'd you know I was here?" I asked irritably.

"I saw your foot poking out from behind the wall."

I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head, huffing angrily. Such a careless mistake… If I was in a real battle, a slipup like that could have been bad for me. He chuckled before lowering the sai and taking a few steps towards me. He kneeled in front of me and I looked up at him.

"But, the only reason I beat you was because I saw your foot," he admitted. "You probably would've gotten me if I hadn't. You're usually way smarter than me."

I blushed slightly as I smiled at him. Raph looked so much calmer and more relaxed now. Not only because he won, but because he finally got all that energy out of his system. He really needed this.

Suddenly, something small flew by and smacked Raph right on the side of his head. He yelped in pain as the object fell to the round next to us. I looked down to see that it was a black hockey puck. I blinked and stared at it for a moment before I heard loud footsteps from the other end of the alley A tall figure was walking towards us, staring at us. He was dress in all black, a dark hoodie covering his face. He had what seemed to be several hockey sticks and bats strapped to his back, and when he lifted his head, I could see he was wearing a large skull mask over his face.

"Anyone ever tell you it ain't nice to hit girls?" a muffled male voice asked.

I didn't move as I stared at the figure. He was coming off as slightly intimidating, but he didn't seem like he'd be too big of a threat for us. And his voice… it sounded so familiar.

"Uh, it's not what you think-!" I started, but the guy cut me off.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

"Who the hell is this clown?" Raph muttered.

"Me? I'm the last thing you're gonna see before I knock you the hell out!"

Oh geez… I thought to myself. This guy was obviously just trying to be helpful, but we didn't need this right now. Raph stood up and turned away from me to face the boy completely. I could feel his irritation from here as he took a few steps forward, walking out of the shadows.

"Another mutant?" the boy gasped.

"Got a problem with that?" Raph snapped.

"Wait, what are you? Some kind of turtle ninja?"

Then, to both of our surprise, the boy started laughing. Straight up threw his head back and let it out like someone had just told him a hilarious joke. I could hear Raph growling from here, and I saw his grip on his sais tighten.

"Raph, don't!" I hissed.

He had just taken one step forward but stopped just as I spoke. He looked back at me for a moment, and I shook my head. This guy didn't look like one of Shredder's goons or like he worked for the Kraang; he wasn't our enemy. This was just some poor bloke that got caught up in something he didn't need to see. Raph didn't need to start a fight with this guy. He shook his head and turned to look back at the guy, who had finally calmed down from laughing.

"Look, this isn't any of your business," he said threateningly. "So why don't you just beat it?"

The guy straightened up and seemed to glare through his mask. "No way, lizard. I didn't come out here to not kick any tail tonight."

The boy reached behind him and took out one of his large hockey sticks and his bat. He spread his legs and took a surprisingly strong stance, clearly ready for a fight. I could see Raph smirking from here as he held his weapons at the ready. I slowly started to rise from my knees as I reached for my kamas.

"This outta be good…" Raph said, sounding almost excited.

"I'll teach you to mess with other people," the guy raised his bat and stick and hollered as he sprinted, "GOONGALA!"

Raph leapt forward and each of their weapons collided with each other. I stood up straight and glared. Okay, if this guy wanted to fight, then we'll fight. I held my kamas up and started forward, looking straight at the guys back. But just as I was about to make a move, Raph came across in front of me, and I skidded to a halt to avoid colliding with him. I stared as Raph swung and punched at the guy, but he seemed to be able to block every hit.

"I told you to back off!" Raph yelled.

Finally, he delivered a powerful kick to the guys stomach, knocking him back into the alley dumpster. Raph smirked and placed his sais back in his belt. He turned to look at me.

"See? Not so hard."

But just as I opened my mouth, I heard groaning coming from the dumpster. We both turned to see the guy crawling out of the garbage. He was breathing heavily now, and he sounded angry.

"What? You think I'm gonna sit in there and take that? You're gonna pay for that, freak!"

Raph blinked in surprise before his signature angry smirk appeared again. But just as he reached for his sais, the guy jumped very quickly and pushed Raph against the brick wall. He had enough time to duck before the guy swung his bat at his head, smashing against the brick wall.

Damn it! I thought. This was ridiculous. I needed to get in there and help calm them down. But, they were moving so fast. Every time I saw an opening to get to him, Raph would cut in and get in the way. How the hell am I supposed to stop this? And then, it hit me.

Just then I heard a loud groan and looked to see Raph on the ground, the boy standing over him.

"Ha! Ain't turtles supposed to be endangered?" the boy said mockingly.

"Only the ones who can't do this!"

Raph flipped around and kicked the guy back with both of his feet. Finally, he was able to knock him down. Raph quickly got to his feet and looked up in time to see me running out of the alley. I waved for him to follow me and he started running in the direction I had pointed. I grinned and started sprinting in order to stay ahead of them.

"What, you're running away now?" the boy yelled, getting closer. "That's pretty lame, don't you think?"

Raph didn't respond, we just kept running. I ran until I had finally reached the street we were on earlier. I could hear yelling from behind me, and I quickly turned right and hid behind the wall. A few seconds go by and I can hear footsteps getting closer. A moment later, Raph ran out and turned right. He stood beside me and lay flat against the wall.

"What are-"

But I held a hand up to silence him. I grinned when I heard more footsteps coming. I ran forward and threw my leg out just in time for the guy to walk right into it. He froze for half a second before he fell backwards on his butt, hunched over and couching. It sounded like I had knocked the wind out of him. I lowered my foot and cautiously started to move towards him. Just as he was getting to his feet, he lifted his head to look at me. Through the eyeholes, I could see his eyes widen as he spotted me.

"You? But-"

"Sorry," I said genuinely. "No hard feelings. I just needed to get you off my friend for a moment."

"Wait, you're helping him? But, I thought he attacked-"

Just then Raph yelled and shot forward, tackling the guy to the ground. I could see his face from here, and it was filled with rage. The same kind of rage he let loose on Leo earlier. He had grabbed his sai and raised it above his head, yelling in anger.

"Raph, stop-!"

I heard the boy scream in fear as Raph brought the sai down quickly… only to stop an inch above the boy's face. There was silence for about 3 seconds, in which we all just sat there in shock. Raph was breathing heavily, not moving from his spot. Then, he let out a loud sigh, lowering his weapon from the boy's face.

"What am I doing?" he asked out loud, leaning back slightly. "Maybe I do have an anger issues."

Before I could tell him to get up and calm down, I saw the boy raise his arm and thrust his hand into Raph's chest. He was suddenly hit with a burst of electricity and screamed in pain.

"What the-!"

For the briefest moment, I saw red and was hit with the urge to tackle the boy myself. But, in a flash Raph was on the ground, flat on his shell. My urge to go for the boy went away and I immediately ran over to Raph, but he was already starting to sit up. The shock must not have been that bad. I heard the sound of wheels on concrete, and I turned my head to see the boy was rolling away on his skates, going as fast as he could. Then, a car pulled out in front of him, and he grabbed onto the back to let it drag him away faster. Part of me wanted to go after him, but I knew it wasn't worth it.

"You ain't seen the last of me, turtle!" he yelled out as he rounded the corner and disappeared.

Raph sat up completely, rubbing his head. He started growling in anger as he suddenly sprang to his feet, knocking me back onto my butt.

"Yeah, you better run!" Raph yelled. "Or… skate. WHATEVER!"

I sighed, shaking my head. I stood up, put my kamas back into my belt, and placed a hand on his arm. He flinched slightly and turned to look at me.

"Hey, let's just go home."

Raph stared at me for a moment before I felt his shoulders relax. He groaned and nodded.

"Yeah, whatever."

I gave his shoulder a small squeeze before lowering my hand. "C'mon, I saw a manhole over this way."

We both turned and started walking back down the street. Raph was looking very angry and put out, not saying a word. I cursed the boy in my head. After all the effort I put into trying to make him feel better, he had to go and ruin it. It didn't matter what the reason was, I hated seeing any of the guys upset like this.

In a few minutes we finally reached the manhole cover. I peeked around the corner to check if anyone was there before stepping forward. I heard an alley cat screech as it leapt into the dumpster to hide. We both crouched and pulled the cover off together so as to not make as much noise. I glanced back at the other end of the alley to make sure we were still alone before starting to make my way in. But, as soon as I was halfway in, I stopped.

"What's up?" Raph asked.

I looked up at him. He was kneeling in front of the manhole, waiting for me to move so he could come down too. His expression was neutral, but I could see in his eyes that he was still bummed out. It made my stomach twist for some reason.

"Come here."

Raph raised an eyebrow as he took a step closer. "What's wr-"

But he didn't get to finish as I stepped back up the ladder, leaned forward, and I pushed myself up to kissed him. He froze and let out a small gasp but didn't pull away. I kissed him for several seconds, trying to put enough feeling into the kiss. Then, I pulled away, opening my eyes and grinning slightly.

"Sorry about what happened. Kind of a bummer, right?"

Raph looked as if he couldn't figure out how to speak. His mouth was opening and closing slightly, trying to find words that wouldn't come. I watched him long enough to see his jaw finally fall open and his face go red before I finally ducked down the ladder, feeling my own face start to heat up.

"Hurry up, Sensei's gonna wonder where we are."

We didn't say another word to each other as we walked home. But, every now and then I would glance over to look at Raph, and he had the biggest, dorkiest grin on his face I had ever seen.


Raph avoided Leo for the rest of the night and for most of the next morning. He's always been hesitant to apologize, even if he knew he was wrong. It was his pride, mostly. But, I could tell he genuinely felt bad about what happened. Leo didn't want to provoke his brother too much, so he didn't force Raph to speak with him if he didn't want to.

Tonight, the boys and I decided we wanted to binge some more Super Robo Mega Force tonight, and it wasn't hard for us to agree. Donnie got some extra pillows for the couch and Mikey offered to make us popcorn. While they got everything set up, I was over on one end of the pit playing on my guitar. I had finally managed to memorize my lyrics and was practicing my music even more now. The other bandmembers were really impressed with my progress and were now excited for our gig next weekend. Martin was especially impressed with the way I had improved with my playing. It took a while to get used to singing and playing with others. Now that I had, I was finding it easier and easier every time I practiced.

As I strummed a few notes, I glanced up and noticed Raph was standing in the hallway, leaning against his bedroom door. I was wondering why he was standing over there when I saw Leo walked out of his bedroom. Raph waited until he passed him to walk up and grab his shoulder.

"Hey Leo, you got a minute?"

"I was gonna check out Super Robo Mega Force."

Raph ignored him. "Cool. So, here's the deal," he rubbed the back of his head for a moment. "See, I… me-ugh! I'm, um… sorry."

He said the last word rather quietly, but it was enough for me to hear it. I grinned, proud that he had come clean and apologized so quickly. Leo paused for a moment before leaning forward slightly.

"What was that?"

Raph looked up at him. "I-I said… I was sorry."

I could see Leo smirking as he raised a hand to his head, pretending not to hear. I frowned at him slightly as Raph started to get visibly angry.

"Sorry, okay?" he yelled. "Sorry!"

He raised his voice suddenly, causing Leo to flinch back a bit. I glanced over at Donnie and Mikey and saw that they were staring at Raph in shock. He took a deep breath and continued.

"I thought I had my anger under control, turns out I didn't, but now I do. Seriously!"

"He means 'for now'," Mikey whispered.

"Mikey," I said warningly, but he just smirked.

"Wanna make a bet? I give him 10 more seconds. 9…8…7…"

"What're you saying, Raph?" Leo asked. "It's not that you are angry, but we make you angry?"

"5…4…"

"I never said that."

"3…2…1-"

Raph suddenly whipped around, anger plastered on his face as he yelled, "SHUT UP!"

The scream was enough to make all of us flinch. My guitar nearly slipped from my grasp and Leo had to take a step back. Mikey was the first to recover.

"Bing, bing, bing! We have a winner!" he jeered.

I turned back to look at Raph. He was breathing heavily, still visibly irritated. Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, but Raph shrugged it off.

"Raph, wait!" Leo chuckled. "I was just busting your shell. Come on, hang out."

"Ah, let the big, green baby go," Donnie said, not taking his eyes off his laptop.

I saw the flash of metal as a star shot through the air and buried itself in Mikey's popcorn, causing pieces to fly up and fall all over them. Raph said nothing else as he leapt over the turnstiles and ran off. I stared after him before turning to look at the others. Donnie and Mikey were still picking pieces of popcorn off of them- Mikey eating most of it- and Leo had taken a seat in the pit. I felt my grip on the guitar tighten a bit.

"Leo, that wasn't funny," I said firmly. "He was really trying to apologize to you, and you teased him over it."

"Oh, come on, Nia," he said. "It's not like I was trying to be mean, he just took it personally."

"But you know how hard it is for him to admit he's wrong."

"Why are you defending him, dudette?" Mikey asked with a mouthful of popcorn. "You're usually the one telling him to chill out, not us."

My face was starting to heat up, but I bit my tongue. Not wanting him to run off again, I took my guitar off my shoulders and placed it in its case. I started to stand up but felt something grab my wrist. I looked down to see Donnie holding me.

"Nia, just leave it," he said, his voice softer now. "He probably needs some space this time."

I hesitated for a moment before pulling my arm away gently. Folding my arms, I sat down next to him.

"He wouldn't need space if you guys hadn't messed with him," I muttered.

I think Donnie was the only one who heard me, because the other two continued watching the show while he kept staring at me. I frowned as I looked at the screen, but not really paying attention it. Mikey was right though. I am usually the one trying to calm Raph down, not the one defending his anger. But it was justified this time, right? He was trying to be sincere (or as close to sincere as he can be), and they were making fun of him for it.

10 minutes into the show, my mind was still buzzing with what had happened. And I was casually watching the entrance to see when Raph came back. Something told me he would be gone for a bit. I felt the weight of the couch shift next to me and looked over. Donnie had moved to sit closer to me, holding a smaller bowl of popcorn out to me. I raised an eyebrow as he gave me a sheepish smile.

"I, um… I'm sorry," he whispered so the others couldn't hear.

I looked down at the bowl for a moment before taking it. I didn't respond as I looked forward and ate a handful of popcorn. Donnie didn't move away or go back to watching the TV. He glanced over at the other two before whispering again.

"So… I'm guessing things are good with you and Raph?"

I gasped slightly and choked on the popcorn. It was only at that moment that I realized I hadn't told Donnie about the kiss. I probably should have, considering I've been honest with him about all of this from the beginning. I guess I was busy processing everything that it hadn't crossed my mind. Donnie was staring at me, surprised by my reaction. I glanced at the others as well before leaning in slightly.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You two have been acting a bit weird the last few days. Anything happened?"

"You could say that."

I paused. Donnie gestured for me to keep going, and I groaned.

"Don't scream or anything, okay?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. Not wanting to be heard, I leaned in closer and cupped my hand around my mouth.

"We kissed. Like, an actual kiss."

Donnie made a loud choking sound for half a second before slapping a hand over his mouth. I flinched as I back away from him.

"You okay, Don?" Leo asked, looking over at him.

"Ah, yeah! I-I just bit my tongue!"

Leo gave him an odd look before turning back to the TV. Donnie and I both sighed with relief as he turned to look back at me. His eyes were wide and white.

"Are you serious?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes."

"B-But when?"

"After the fight with Slash."

Donnie settled down for a moment. "That makes sense… When he kissed your cheek it was after you risked your life for us in the Technodrome."

"Yeah. He said he wouldn't know what he would have done if he lost me that night, just like the time with the Technodrome."

Donnie chuckled slightly. "Why do you have to risk your life in order for him to have the guts to talk to you?"

"Need I remind you-"

"Leave April out of it."

I gave his arm a playful nudge. He nudged me back and we both laughed quietly. I took a deep breath before I decided to keep going.

"We're not… technically dating, I guess?" I explained. "But… we know we both like each other and… we're trying to see where it goes."

Donnie blinked. "That's… that's wonderful, Nia."

I grinned, my cheeks going red.

"Oh, come on!" Leo spoke up, gesturing to the TV. "How can one guy infiltrate Super Robo Mecha headquarters?"

"He used his laser tentacle to shut down the defense system," Mikey said smartly. "Duh!"

"You guys watch so much TV, your brains are gonna rot."

I whipped around. Raph was back and was looking much calmer than before. He grinned over at me as he walked towards the pit, and I grinned back.

"Yay, Raph's back," Donnie muttered, and I elbowed him in the side.

"You cool off yet, man?" Leo asked.

"I'm always cool. Move over."

Leo moved away as Raph sat himself down next to me. He sat back, laying his arms along the couch. He looked over at me, and gave me a small smirk. I blushed slightly and turned away. Donnie gave me a knowing smile, and I rolled my eyes.

Then we all heard the sound of metal falling on the floor, and we turned in unison. I noticed a fork on the floor before my eyes landed on a tall figure standing by the turnstiles. A guy in a black hoodie and wearing a skull mask. Him again?

"An intruder!"

The guy shrinked back slightly. "Oh man…"

"You again?!" Raph yelled.

We were instantly up on our feet and ran towards him. He didn't try to run and leapt over the turnstiles, swinging his hockey stick at Raph, he was able to block it though, and the others managed to grab him before he could do anything else.

"Get your stinkin' paws off me!"

"You know this guy, Raph?" Mikey asked as he struggled to hold him still.

"Unfortunately, we do," I said as walked up to stand in front of him.

"You?!" he gasped. "What are you doing in here… with all these mutants?!"

"You broke into our home and you're asking what I'm doing here?" I asked angrily.

"You know him, too?" Donnie asked.

"Long story."

Leo stepped forwards to stand in front of the intruder. He reached up and yanked his mask off him. He raised his face to growl at us, showing that his face was covered in a similar skull pattern like his mask. We jumped back at first, but Leo was the first to recover.

"It's face paint," he said. "He's just a kid!"

"Argh! Let go of me, you stupid reptiles!" he hollered.

"You don't get to make threats in our home you freak!" Raph snapped at him.

"Oh, you're calling me a freak?"

"Casey?!"

We all turned to see April running towards us from the dojo. This distracted us enough that the guy was able to slip out of the boys' grip. Everyone yelled in unison.

"You know this guy?"

"You know these guys?!"

"Uh, April? Little help here?" I suggested.

"Don't hurt him, he's my friend!" April turned towards the guy. "Casey, what are you doing here?!"

"Me?! A better question is, how do you know these freaks!" he asked, pointing at the boys.

April looked over at them. "These are the, um… other friends I told you about."

He blinked. "Wait, so they're not the bad guys?"

"No way!" April smiled and gestured to the others. "Casey Jones, meet Leonardo…"

He gave him a small nod.

"Donatello…"

He smiled awkwardly.

"Michelangelo…"

"What up?"

Raph reached up and smacked the back of Mikey's head.

"The one and only Raphael," April put a hand on my shoulder. "And this is Lavinia."

It was at that moment something clicked in the back of my mind.

"Wait, did she say your name was Casey Jones?"

He squinted at me. "Yeah… have we met?"

"It's me, Nia," I said, feeling a little more relaxed and smiling. "We met on Halloween, remember? You knocked your hockey puck so hard it went through a window and almost hit me."

"He did what?!" Raph snapped, but I ignored him.

Casey stared at me for a moment before his eyes went wide.

"Holy, crap… it is you!" he said. "Ha, didn't recognize you with the mask and the gear on."

I nodded and laughed slightly. Casey smiled before turning towards the others.

"Weird names though… are you guys Italian or something?"

"Not quite," I heard Sensei's voice from behind us. "I named them after my favorite painters and sculptors from the Italian Renaissance."

I turned to see Sensei standing in front of Casey, holding up his book titled History of Renaissance Art. Casey gasped, screamed as he pointed at Sensei before falling flat on his butt, apparently unconscious. Sensei and I looked at each other, but I just shrugged. Unless he had a fear of rats, he shouldn't have reacted that badly. April kneeled down to pick Casey up and started shaking him.

"Casey!" she slapped him across the face, finally waking him up. "This is just Master Splinter, Casey. He's cool."

"You do not have to fear me, my friend," Sensei said, smiling. "Rest assured, I do not bite."

Casey didn't look convinced. "H-he's a… gaint t-t-talking rat?"

Raph laughed loudly. "HA! Big, bad vigilante's afraid of rats!"

Mikey took his opportunity to pick a roach up off the ground and hold it close to Raph's face. As soon as he noticed, he screamed and leapt into the air, retracting into his shell before falling onto the ground. I couldn't help but giggle. I always thought it was funny and cute when the boys did that.

"Ha! Just like you and cockroaches, huh Raph?" Mikey laughed.

April had managed to get Casey to his feet by now. He gave Sensei a nervous look before looking over at me.

"A-are they always like this?" he asked, stuttering.

"Pretty much," I said. "You should see them on a bad day."

Suddenly, April groaned as she clutched her head. We all stopped and turned to look at her.

"What is it, April?" Sensei asked.

"Sensei… we're not alone!"

She gasped and we all looked around. The lair was suddenly swarming with Footbots, all standing in different corners of the room and on the ceiling. They were staring at us with red, soulless eyes.

"Aw, crap," I muttered.


Raph's P.O.V.

I was on my feet as soon as I saw them. We all drew out our weapons as a few Footbots started to descend towards us.

"Raph, you lead the enemy right to our lair?" Leo asked accusingly.

"Hey, it's the kids' fault!" I explained. "He was following me!"

"My fault?!"

But before I could argue more the bots charged. Mikey managed to attack the first one, giving us time to prepare for the others. I swung my sais at one that was coming right for me, stabbing him in the arms before I stabbed it in the head and kicked it away. Another one came up and I blocked an oncoming katana. I swept my leg around and knocked it to the ground. As I straightened myself up, ready for more, I felt something bump into me. I looked and saw it was that Jones kid. I shoved him away as I blocked another bot in front of me.

"You're the one who did this," I glowered at him.

"They followed you too, dude!"

"Don't 'dude' me, dude!"

One bot ran at me and I managed to block it, throw it above my head and back onto the floor. As it came forward, Sensei came forward and started throwing punches like crazy. He hit it so hard and fast it didn't have time to do anything else. He gave it one powerful kick in the chest before it fell, sparks flying everywhere.

"Wow…" the others sighed, amazed.

"Stay alert, more are coming," he warned us.

More bot suddenly emerged by the turnstiles. One bot stood on top of them and looked all around the room, clearly scanning the area. Aw shell…

"Hey, he'll give away our location!" Donnie yelled.

"Don't let that robot escape!" Sensei ordered.

The rest of the bots advanced on us as the other one turned to run. I knocked over a few bots before running after the other one. But from the corner of my eye, I saw the Casey kid running a little ahead of me.

"Casey Jones is on it-"

I shoved him aside as I ran after the bot. "Tell Casey Jones I don't need his help!"

I could still hear his footsteps behind me but I ignored him. I pulled out my grappling hook just as I rounded the corner. My eyes fell on the bot as it started crawling along the side of the tracks. I swung the rope a moment before throwing it out only to have it hit Casey just as he stepped in front of me. I groaned loudly as I dropped the rope and continued running.

"What're you doing?" Casey snapped at me.

"Me?! You got in my way!"

"Did not!"

I rolled my eyes and continued running, Casey right beside me. Had to admit, he was pretty fast. We were just about to catch up with it when suddenly, a group of bots dropped from above, camouflaging the one with our location.

"Where'd he go?" Casey asked.

I drew out my sais as he took out his hockey sticks, and we both charged at the bots. I dodged an oncoming blade and stabbed the bot in the head. Another one leapt up on my shell and tried to grab my head, but I managed to grab it and throw him off. Through all the swinging, kicking and stabbing, I couldn't tell which bot was the one we were chasing.

"If that bot gets back to Karai, and gives away our hideout, you answer to Splinter."

"The rat?!"

At that moment, one of the bots leapt up on the sidewalk of the tracks and turned to run. It was the bot we had chased. Casey then pulled out what looked like a can of spray paint, shook it and then threw it at the bot. It hit it and exploded, covering the bot in bright yellow paint. Now it wouldn't be able to hide anymore. Smart idea, but I wasn't going to admit that.

"Next time, tag it with a real grenade."

Even with his hockey mask on I could tell he was giving me a 'Really?' sort of look. I ignored it as I barreled through the other bots, knocking them down easily.

With the other bots down, we finally started chasing the first bot again. It didn't manage to get too far, but it was still ahead of us. Casey jumped up as his shoes turned into skates, and he started skating along the edge of the tracks, now ahead of me.

"Faster, man! Move your shell!"

I growled at him as I continued running. Just as we were catching up with it, I felt the tracks start to shake slightly. I heard the squeaking of the wheels and whipped my head around. But just as I saw the lights of the train I felt myself get shoved to the side and land on the sidewalk. It took me a second before I realized that it was Casey. We both quickly got to our feet, staring at the train for a moment.

The realization of what just happened seemed to catch up with me. I breathed heavily and I clutched my arm to keep me from shaking. I almost got hit by a train… If Casey hadn't been there…

"You okay, man?"

I looked up at him. I could see his eyes through his mask, and he looked surprisingly concerned. Weird, considering he wanted to knock my teeth out less than an hour ago. I swallowed hard.

"Thanks."

He gave me a firm nod. I glanced behind him up at the train and saw the Footbot was running along the top.

"There he is!"

Casey turned to look at him before looking back at me. I could tell he was smirking at me. I smirked back and nodded.

I took out a grappling hook and tossed it at the top of the train. I grabbed his arm just as the rope pulled us up. he tripped a little while I landed with ease. Carefully, we managed to run across the top and reach the bot. It turned back to face us before raising its arms and jumping into the air. It came at us fast and we both had to block its blades as it passed. It skidded to a halt before lunging at us again, now with spinning saw on the ends of its hands. I ducked the first strike as Casey was able to block it. I swung at its chest as he struck him down with his stick. I swept my leg to try to kick it off, but it dodged. I leapt around to try to strike it in the back as Casey struck the front, but it blocked us again.

The bot leapt over us so it was in front of us again. Casey ran forward to hit it again, but it was faster and tripped him. He lost his balance and started to fall. I quickly grabbed my rope and threw it at him. It wrapped around his torso and caught him right before he hit the rails. I pulled him up as hard as I could until he was able to crawl back up. Panting, he sat up on his knees and looked up at me.

"Thanks, Raph."

I grinned. "Now we're even."

We stood up and started sprinting towards the bot without hesitation. It started running before jumping up and smashing through the window of a subway hall(I don't know what it's actually called…). Casey leapt up first, baseball bat raised. I leapt up in time to see him swing and miss the bot. He ran up to him with me right behind him. We kept swinging at the thing, but it managed to dodge or block us.

"Outta my way!"

It slipped passed us and tried to run the other way, but ran after it and swung my sais at it, trying to slow it down. I heard Casey running up behind me and ducked down. He jumped up in the air, yelling as he swung his bat down. But it dodged again, and as Casey fell on the ground it raised its blade to strike him, but I quickly kicked it in the torso and knocked it down the stairs.

"I can take this robot down myself!"

Casey leapt over me and landed on the railing, sliding down it with his skates. The bot instantly got up and started running again. Skipping the stairs, I jumped over immediately and threw one of my sais at the bot. It landed in its' shoulder, pinning it to a pillar. I ran up to grab it, but it ripped its own arm off and slipped away before it could get to it. I yanked my sai out of the pillar as we both started running again. It jumped over the turnstiles, and we jumped after it as it started to make its way to a stairway leading back outside.

"He's goin' for the street!" Casey yelled.

"We can't let it get away!"

I started running up the stairs and looked back in time to see Casey suddenly jump. I grabbed his arm and with as much force as I could, threw him forward. He held out his hand, ready to shock the bot. In an instant, he was on the thing and it was electrocuted, stunning it long enough for him to grab it and toss it back down the stair. I threw my sai at it just as it hit the wall, and got it right in the head. Pink sparks started to shoot out from it and it twitched violently before going limp. Casey walked down the stairs before leaning on his knees, breathing heavily.

"That was… too close."

"No kidding."

We both turned to look at each other. There was silence for a moment and I cleared my throat.

"You're a good fighter, Jones," I said as I walked up to the bot. "Sure, you're raw, unfocused, dangerous, crazy…!"

I grabbed my sai and yanked it out of the bots head. Its limp body fell over onto the floor. I placed my weapons back into my belt as I turned to look at Casey. I grinned.

"…But not bad."

Casey lifted his mask and raised his hand. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."

I raised my hand and gripped his. He gripped mine tighter. I tightened my gripped and pushed him slightly, and he smirked.

"For an amphibian."


Nia's P.O.V.

Leo leapt up to a group of five bots and slashed at them before they had a chance to move. They froze for a few seconds before crumbling to the floor in pieces. Leo straightened up.

"Is that all of them?"

Suddenly, another one rose up behind him, ready to swing at him with a large mace. I was about to throw my tessen at it when Sensei leapt forward and stabbed it through the chest. Leo whipped around as it fell to the floor.

"Yes, that is all," said Sensei.

I looked around the room, checking to make sure that that was indeed the last one. The entire lair was covered in destroyed bots. It would look like a massacre if they had been real people.

"So, what happened to Raph and Casey?"

"They went after the bot that got our location," I said as sheathed my tessen.

"Do you think they're okay?"

Before I could answer I heard voices coming from the entrance of the lair.

"Dude, the way we chased that thing down!"

"And what about when I shocked it with my stunner! How cool was that?"

"Hey, don't forget the subway chase. That was the awesomest part!"

Casey and Raph were back. They came through the turnstiles, laughing with each other and looking much friendlier than before. They turned to look at the lair and their mouths fell open.

"Aw, what's up? No more robots for me and Raph?" Casey asked, leaning and around on Raph's shoulder.

"They look cozy," I muttered to Mikey.

"Wow, what's with you two? You're like best friend forever now, or something?"

I elbowed him and he let out a soft "ow". Sensei placed his hands behind his back and walked up to them. Casey flinched and glanced away from him.

"I see you have found a new ally, Raphael," Sensei said.

"Yeah, Casey's cool."

Sensei turned to Casey. "Thank you for helping my family."

Casey stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat.

"No problem, rat dude. Wasn't a bad warm up," he turned to Raph. "But now, it's time to clean the scum off the streets!"

Raph smirked. "Let's do it!"

"Great," Donnie whimpered. "You- you know what this means, right?"

"Raph made a new friend?" I asked.

"Worse!" he shuddered before yelling. "Now, we have… TWO RAPHAELS!"

Mikey and Leo's eyes widened and they groaned in irritation. Even April seemed concerned with the idea. I rolled my eyes at Donnie's dramatics and turned to look at Raph, only to see him and Casey pounding fists and yelling in each other's faces, clearly pumped up and ready to go. They laughed and hollered as they happily turned and leapt over the turnstiles, off to who knows where. Raph looked oddly happy… I was happy, too.

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked the others, smiling after the two boys.