Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: I couldn't believe the responses I got. I'd feel guilty if I didn't continue this. Less than a week and I got seven reviews. I feel so loved! And thanks for pointing out my mistakes; they've been taken care of now.
References: "..."- Talking '...'- Thinking
* * * *
Time passed. A few hours after the incident, Raphael found himself sitting on a stool in their equivalent of a living room. He loosely held a Sai in one hand, with the point facing the floor. He held his head in his other hand, his elbow resting on his knee.
A medium sized beetle crawled across the floor in front of the stool. It scurried as fast as its legs could carry it.
Thunk.
The beetle emitted a small, almost inaudible squeak, then made no other noise. The point of the Sai hit it dead center, impaling it to the floor.
Raphael sighed as he held his head with both hands and looked at the dead beetle through six fingers.
'Just like that,' he thought to himself. 'Just like that, and I hurt Michelangelo. No, I didn't hurt him. I almost killed him, if I haven't killed him already. It was bad enough when he stopped breathing halfway to the sewers. I felt like sitting down and crying. Or at least running back to the building and pushing myself off. At least then it would have been fair. Yeah, it would've been fair...'
His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of an ancient walking stick approaching. He looked up to see Master Splinter standing in the doorway. His face was set, because he rarely ever looked upon his sons in anger.
"What happened?"
Raph stood up. "Well, we were patrolling by foot on the rooftops-"
"No. What happened to Michelangelo?"
"I tossed my opponent off of me, and he ran into him; he was standing too close to the ledge and he fell. I ran over and he was hanging on the edge of a brick. I tried to help him back up, but we just couldn't hold on to each other."
Master Splinter closed his eyes, almost as if he was trying to imagine how the incident had occurred.
"It-it was an accident-"
Master Splinter opened his eyes then turned to leave. "Come."
Raphael swallowed the lump in his throat, then followed his Sensei.
~
Michelangelo lay on a bed in Donnatello's lab. He didn't look much better than when he came in, if not worse. There was a bandage wrapped around his forehead, which had a red stain slowly growing. There was a tight bandage wrapped around his entire torso, covering the hairline crack that had appeared from the impact with concrete. His entire left arm was immobilized, from shoulder to wrist. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. Raphael was thankful he was breathing at all. Leonardo and Donnatello stood by his bedside, both equally worried.
"A broken left arm, at least two broken ribs, and a very serious head injury," said Master Splinter, giving the list of injuries.
Leonardo looked at his Sensei with hopeful eyes. "When will he wake up?"
Master Splinter shook his head. "I do not know."
Raphael had to swallow another lump in his throat as he felt the hotness behind his eyes again. The hopeful look in Leonardo's eyes gave way to worry.
Raph could remember the last time he had seen his brother in orange anywhere close to that terrified. Him and Mikey were sparring mono-e-mono. Michelangelo was tossing his usual comments to fire up his brother, which was working too well. In a fit of anger, Raphael lost all sense and knocked his brother down, coming at him with a pipe- a pipe!- and fully intending to use it on his brother's skull. At the last second, Master Splinter intervened and Raph realized that he had just tried to kill his own brother. One look at the almost terrified look in Michelangelo's eyes sent Raphael to the rooftops, saying something about getting some air.
"Raphael," came Master Splinter's voice, this time in the current time period. "You know what you must do."
'Yea, I know.' He had to apologize. To everyone. But mostly to Mikey. But, to Raphael, it didn't sound like enough. 'No. No more running. This time I'm going to make it up to you Mikey, to make up for last time, too. I'm going to make sure the first thing you hear when you wake up is me telling you I'm sorry.'
"No Master Splinter."
An old eyebrow went up as Master Splinter began to wonder if his son was disobeying him. The other two standing turtles looked worriedly at their other brother, wondering if the mental shock had finally taken it's toll and that their brother was now insane.
"I'm going to do better than that. I'm going to wait by his side until he recovers. I don't care how long it might take. I'm the reason he's like this, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he pulls out of it."
Master Splinter soberly regarded his second eldest son. 'It is clear he is still pained with great guilt. I fear that if Michelangelo does not recover, it will break him,' he worried to himself. 'Raphael, you have always been strong willed, even when you were frightened...'
*Flashback*
After putting the boys to bed, Master Splinter meditated in his study. The mutated rat enjoyed the time of peace and quiet that he could occasionally get with four mutant turtle three-year-olds. He tried to teach the boys, but being young, found themselves unable to sit still. Young Leonardo seemed to pick up more quickly than the rest, as he was usually the last to start fidgeting.
The sound of small feet on a hard floor brought Splinter back to awareness. He listened carefully, then heard a few sniffles coming from outside his door. Slowly getting to his feet, he walked over, opened the door, and looked down.
Splinter still didn't know why he wore the red facemask when he went to bed, but young Raphael refused to sleep without it. Raphael stated, with the best of his ability, that it made him feel tougher. Now, as Splinter looked down at the large eyes brimming with tears staring back at him, it didn't look like it was doing its job.
"Madter Spwinter?"
Splinter got down on his knees so he was almost eye level with the child. "Raphael, why are you up and about so late?" The tone in his voice was calm and comforting, as it was obvious Raphael was upset about something.
Raphael sniffled again. "I had a bad dweam."
Splinter gently took the child in his arms. He gently patted the back of his shell; Raphael put both arms around his neck and rested his head on Splinter's shoulder. "Dreams may seem scary, but they are really pictures our mind makes up. Dreams cannot hurt you, because they are not real."
"But it was so scawy..." young Raphael sniffled.
A small smile appeared on Splinter's face. "Yes, sometimes they will be. But when you wake up, your brothers and I will always be here for you."
This reply seemed to reassure the young turtle, as he sniffled once more, then closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he fell asleep.
Once his breathing became regular, Splinter carried the small child back to his room. As he put him back into his bed, he glanced at the other three turtles, sleeping quietly. Michelangelo was drooling on his pillow again. He smiled in amusement, then turned to leave. Just before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder at the four mutants, dreaming peacefully.
"I will be here for you all, each and every one."
*Flashback Ends*
* * * *
Author's note: Done and done. I hope you guys like it, cause I already know how it's going to end. I do that a lot. Next chapter soon, I hope!
Author's note: I couldn't believe the responses I got. I'd feel guilty if I didn't continue this. Less than a week and I got seven reviews. I feel so loved! And thanks for pointing out my mistakes; they've been taken care of now.
References: "..."- Talking '...'- Thinking
* * * *
Time passed. A few hours after the incident, Raphael found himself sitting on a stool in their equivalent of a living room. He loosely held a Sai in one hand, with the point facing the floor. He held his head in his other hand, his elbow resting on his knee.
A medium sized beetle crawled across the floor in front of the stool. It scurried as fast as its legs could carry it.
Thunk.
The beetle emitted a small, almost inaudible squeak, then made no other noise. The point of the Sai hit it dead center, impaling it to the floor.
Raphael sighed as he held his head with both hands and looked at the dead beetle through six fingers.
'Just like that,' he thought to himself. 'Just like that, and I hurt Michelangelo. No, I didn't hurt him. I almost killed him, if I haven't killed him already. It was bad enough when he stopped breathing halfway to the sewers. I felt like sitting down and crying. Or at least running back to the building and pushing myself off. At least then it would have been fair. Yeah, it would've been fair...'
His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of an ancient walking stick approaching. He looked up to see Master Splinter standing in the doorway. His face was set, because he rarely ever looked upon his sons in anger.
"What happened?"
Raph stood up. "Well, we were patrolling by foot on the rooftops-"
"No. What happened to Michelangelo?"
"I tossed my opponent off of me, and he ran into him; he was standing too close to the ledge and he fell. I ran over and he was hanging on the edge of a brick. I tried to help him back up, but we just couldn't hold on to each other."
Master Splinter closed his eyes, almost as if he was trying to imagine how the incident had occurred.
"It-it was an accident-"
Master Splinter opened his eyes then turned to leave. "Come."
Raphael swallowed the lump in his throat, then followed his Sensei.
~
Michelangelo lay on a bed in Donnatello's lab. He didn't look much better than when he came in, if not worse. There was a bandage wrapped around his forehead, which had a red stain slowly growing. There was a tight bandage wrapped around his entire torso, covering the hairline crack that had appeared from the impact with concrete. His entire left arm was immobilized, from shoulder to wrist. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. Raphael was thankful he was breathing at all. Leonardo and Donnatello stood by his bedside, both equally worried.
"A broken left arm, at least two broken ribs, and a very serious head injury," said Master Splinter, giving the list of injuries.
Leonardo looked at his Sensei with hopeful eyes. "When will he wake up?"
Master Splinter shook his head. "I do not know."
Raphael had to swallow another lump in his throat as he felt the hotness behind his eyes again. The hopeful look in Leonardo's eyes gave way to worry.
Raph could remember the last time he had seen his brother in orange anywhere close to that terrified. Him and Mikey were sparring mono-e-mono. Michelangelo was tossing his usual comments to fire up his brother, which was working too well. In a fit of anger, Raphael lost all sense and knocked his brother down, coming at him with a pipe- a pipe!- and fully intending to use it on his brother's skull. At the last second, Master Splinter intervened and Raph realized that he had just tried to kill his own brother. One look at the almost terrified look in Michelangelo's eyes sent Raphael to the rooftops, saying something about getting some air.
"Raphael," came Master Splinter's voice, this time in the current time period. "You know what you must do."
'Yea, I know.' He had to apologize. To everyone. But mostly to Mikey. But, to Raphael, it didn't sound like enough. 'No. No more running. This time I'm going to make it up to you Mikey, to make up for last time, too. I'm going to make sure the first thing you hear when you wake up is me telling you I'm sorry.'
"No Master Splinter."
An old eyebrow went up as Master Splinter began to wonder if his son was disobeying him. The other two standing turtles looked worriedly at their other brother, wondering if the mental shock had finally taken it's toll and that their brother was now insane.
"I'm going to do better than that. I'm going to wait by his side until he recovers. I don't care how long it might take. I'm the reason he's like this, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he pulls out of it."
Master Splinter soberly regarded his second eldest son. 'It is clear he is still pained with great guilt. I fear that if Michelangelo does not recover, it will break him,' he worried to himself. 'Raphael, you have always been strong willed, even when you were frightened...'
*Flashback*
After putting the boys to bed, Master Splinter meditated in his study. The mutated rat enjoyed the time of peace and quiet that he could occasionally get with four mutant turtle three-year-olds. He tried to teach the boys, but being young, found themselves unable to sit still. Young Leonardo seemed to pick up more quickly than the rest, as he was usually the last to start fidgeting.
The sound of small feet on a hard floor brought Splinter back to awareness. He listened carefully, then heard a few sniffles coming from outside his door. Slowly getting to his feet, he walked over, opened the door, and looked down.
Splinter still didn't know why he wore the red facemask when he went to bed, but young Raphael refused to sleep without it. Raphael stated, with the best of his ability, that it made him feel tougher. Now, as Splinter looked down at the large eyes brimming with tears staring back at him, it didn't look like it was doing its job.
"Madter Spwinter?"
Splinter got down on his knees so he was almost eye level with the child. "Raphael, why are you up and about so late?" The tone in his voice was calm and comforting, as it was obvious Raphael was upset about something.
Raphael sniffled again. "I had a bad dweam."
Splinter gently took the child in his arms. He gently patted the back of his shell; Raphael put both arms around his neck and rested his head on Splinter's shoulder. "Dreams may seem scary, but they are really pictures our mind makes up. Dreams cannot hurt you, because they are not real."
"But it was so scawy..." young Raphael sniffled.
A small smile appeared on Splinter's face. "Yes, sometimes they will be. But when you wake up, your brothers and I will always be here for you."
This reply seemed to reassure the young turtle, as he sniffled once more, then closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he fell asleep.
Once his breathing became regular, Splinter carried the small child back to his room. As he put him back into his bed, he glanced at the other three turtles, sleeping quietly. Michelangelo was drooling on his pillow again. He smiled in amusement, then turned to leave. Just before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder at the four mutants, dreaming peacefully.
"I will be here for you all, each and every one."
*Flashback Ends*
* * * *
Author's note: Done and done. I hope you guys like it, cause I already know how it's going to end. I do that a lot. Next chapter soon, I hope!