Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from TMNT or even ROTTMNT, the characters belong to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and NOT me.
Papa Leo
Breakfast the next morning was intense.
The four ninja turtles were seated at a full table with individual plates that contained their first meals of the day; Leo and Mikey both had leaves as they were vegetarians, Raph ate a smorgasbord of worms and caterpillars and Donnie (as he was a carnivore by nature) simply ate a plate full of bugs and mealworms. The only thing left to eat were rats and the brothers absolutely refused to eat rodents as their father, Splinter, was a rat himself!
The atmosphere was icy and the tension between the four brothers was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.
While the turtles had their own small space, the rest of what was left of humanity had their food in the caverns deeper below as the rather small percentage of survivors that were left after the Krang had ravaged the earth above ground had either been taken by the Krang to serve in their labour camps or had taken refuge deeper underground, with none other than the four ninja turtles taking it upon themselves to become their leaders.
One would think that the underground would be full of sadness and sorrow due to the people coming from depressingly suppressive backgrounds, but they'd be mistaken; they had somehow managed to dredge up a semblance of contentment and even a peaceful habitation in their underground dwelling, they worked together to forage for food and make their homes and surrounding environments habitable. Of course, there were some disagreements among the people but Raphael had managed to find a way to get them to behave.
At first, the human populace were wary and even scared of the existence of their terrapin figureheads.
But, as time went on, and with the help of none other than commander April O'Neil, they warmed up to the four brothers and treated them with respect.
However, more problems arose when it came to the humans learning to cohabitate with the Yokai citizens of the Hidden city —the Krang had a bit of difficulty getting to them but they, too, like the turtles, were dragged out of hiding and then an underground civil war became a serious problem which the Mad dogs were still trying to quell with difficulty.
Anyways, the four turtles just sat in a very uncomfortable silence.
Leonardo angrily stabbed the legs of his fork into a pile of crumbly leaves, lifted it to his mouth and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed and let his teeth grind the disgustingly tasteless vegetation into mush and pulp that had the odd bit of twig sticking within, he could even feel it splinter his tongue as he used it to push his mouthful into the back of his throat and swallowed painfully. His whole body shuddered in distaste as his body rejected the "breakfast" he was forced to munch on.
Then, with a sigh of depressed resignation and also some anger, he slid the fork out of his mouth and lowered it to stab it into another section of leafage and foliage. He could even feel his gut churn and curl at the mere sight of the plant life he, his siblings and the human life living around them had been forced to call "food" and "sustenance".
His face was fixed into a scowl, his eyes were narrowed and huge bags sagged beneath his bloodshot eyes.
He looked exhausted and understandably so.
He'd been up all night with the baby and got little to no sleep afterwards despite how exhausted he felt —he had wanted to fall asleep so desperately or, maybe even down a mug of piping hot coffee (which there wasn't much of an abundance of so coffee beans were being stored away for emergencies) all he could do instead was munch on his breakfast with as much ferocity as he could manage at the moment.
Even his teeth were tired and he didn't even know how that was possible.
Leo just kept eating, ignoring the fact that Raphael wouldn't stop looking over at him from across the table —clearly Raph wanted to try and open up a conversation…but Leo wasn't ready to have one with him right now, he recognised that him being dog tired and irritable wasn't the best condition to try for a conversation with reconciliation as said conversations end goal.
The terrapin dressed in blue evaded his big brother's silent look which pled for understanding and he couldn't lie and say that the staring made him feel rather disconcerted…but he refused to show anyone that outwardly. He wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve all that often, especially not when he was cross, so all he could do was just keep munching and crunching his first meal of the day aggressively.
The atmosphere was painfully frosty and it was practically bone-chilling.
Mikey's eyes were full of concern for Leo, whom he sat next to, and he ate his breakfast of leaves, twigs and foliage in silence.
He munched on one or two chunks of bark, some twigs sticking out of his mouth.
He didn't know what to say to cool or even remedy the quarrel between two of his older brothers, not that Michaelangelo was in a state to act as peace-keeper in the first place when he, too, was feeling the effects of anger that was directed at his oldest brother.
Donnie grimaced as he took a mouthful of his food and shuddered when a "crunch" in his mouthful indicated that he inadvertently ate a cockroach. He wanted to spit it out so badly but ignored the urge and kept eating. He was repulsed with himself by even having considered eating insects as a meat substitute, being the germaphobe he was, but just forced himself to get on with it as it was either this or starve as he couldn't tolerate plants since it wasn't part of his species dietary recommendation but he had made sure to keep plenty of hand sanitizer on standby.
Before the war, he was content with simply eating warm bacon sandwiches for breakfast…how he missed them.
Raph just sat silently, stewing in his own thoughts as he picked at his food.
He had felt a huge amount of guilt for what he had said the evening before —he really hadn't meant to say what he had; he made Leo felt bad for something that wasn't his fault and, in doing so, made him mad at him and Mikey was upset too and had went to bed without so much as a word which made the snapper feel worse and absolutely disgusting.
But, thankfully, Mike seemed a bit less angry after a good nights sleep.
The only sound that filled the silence was the munching and crunching everyone did as they painfully ate their disgusting but necessary breakfast.
It was so foreign and discomforting.
Then, Donnie decided that he should break the ice as he couldn't let his siblings stew in this silence any longer.
"Soooo…how did everyone sleep? I hope everyone got their required amount…"
It felt so strange that it was Donnie and not Mikey trying to bring everyone back together but the intellectual turtle dressed in purple knew that this whole situation could be considered "new ground" and he had to remember that everyone's reactions yesterday was based on emotion and not much else.
Don's gaze flickered back and forth as he awaited one of his siblings to respond with mounting discomfort.
It was like he could hear a pin drop.
The relief on his face was immense when Mikey finally made a response.
"Meh." He glanced away from his siblings, a very uncharacteristic dullness present in his tone. "I slept okay, I guess."
Raph didn't really answer, he just grunted with acknowledgement and picked at his food with his fork.
Leo glanced away in a sulk.
"On account of me not sleeping much on account of my new responsibility, I'm just peachy…" he grumbled.
A retort about how if maybe he'd asked for help Leo wouldn't be so fatigued had quickly found itself on Raph's tongue. Alas, the giant snapper turtle had made the decision to bite back the urge to let that remark slip from the confines of his own mouth so as to resist worsening the situation that already was. Nevertheless, the large one-eyed ninja turtle shovelled up a spoonful of grubs and shoved it into his own mouth.
He didn't want to open his big mouth and make his brothers even more cross at him than they already were.
Raph wished he could lend a hand to his little brother dressed in blue but he couldn't do a thing about it to remedy the situation and knew he couldn't unless Leo took the first step and reached out to them instead of the others doing the reaching out.
He was more than willing to lend a hand…but he couldn't.
Not with Leo being so stubborn.
However, Raph knew full well that his brother wouldn't be able to last long nor be able to function on such a minimal amount of rest so, hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer before Leo relented and let his brothers assist in raising baby Casey.
Mikey grabbed a twig out of his mouth and started to use it as a toothpick, sticking the pointed edges into the gaps in between his teeth and dislodging any food that happened to be stuck in there. His eyes were glossed over with the purest form of compassion —the youngest of the ninja turtles released the spoon he had been holding in one hand, letting it drop to the tables surface with a "clatter", and then raised said hand to place over Leo's shoulder.
Mike had expected Leo to shove his hand off immediately upon contact…he didn't even know why he was surprised when it turned out that that was exactly what happened next as his older brother dressed in blue's shoulders bunched up and he visibly bristled in response.
Leo didn't even need to look at him for Mikey to tell that he was wearing a dark scowl on his face which wasnt helped by the massive bags of exhaustion sagging under his bloodshot eyeballs.
With a facial expression equal to that of a kicked puppy, Michaelangelo retracted his hand and looked down in reluctant defeat. He furled his own arms around himself, hugging himself tight as if a numbingly cold breeze had just enveloped both the room and those occupying said room.
It was after yet another round of silence that the unlikeliest person spoke up.
"Okay. That's it. I cannot just let you all behave in such a childish manner any longer."
All eyes turned to Donatello who had hung his head so low that shadows shielded his expression; he slammed both hands on the table and did it so hard that it caused all of the plates to jolt a little to the left. After a few terse moments of silence, Don raised his head as well as both of his hands off the table and cringed hard when he realised how slamming them so hard to make a point wasn't the best idea and it really hurt.
It felt like little needles were suddenly digging into the palms of his hands and his fingers.
"Ow, ow, owwwwwww…"
With his hands feeling like they were on fire due to the aftermath of him hitting his palms against the wooden surface of the table, the intellectual soft-shelled terrapin raised his head and glared holes into each of his brothers souls and, in return, they all looked stunned, dumbstruck, stupefied and guilty when they saw the fierce scowl on Don's face.
"Okay…Alright…"
He sighed to himself when the burning sting in his hands truly dissipated but his glare never faltered.
Then he resumed in the reaming of his brothers.
He turned to Leo first.
"Nardo! You're behaving like a brat whose got a new toy and won't share it, except it's draining you dry in regards to energy and it's leading you to make irrational decisions! Besides, I'm pretty sure you're only raising the tyke because you think it'll somehow absolve you of the role you think you had in turning the world into the apocalyptic hell we are now inhabiting!"
Leo's eyes were wide with shock and he felt a chill crawl down his shell. He hated to admit it, he really did, but his nerd of a brother had a point. He had been acting rather childish but he was tired so how could he be blamed? Simple answer, he couldn't…could he? He had to say something! He had to make a come back and yank his little brother off the saddle of his high horse!
Alas, before he could say a word, Don turned his scathing scowl to Raph next.
"Raph! You said something dumb! Sure! It made everyone mad at you, but that's no excuse to be all surly and vexed! Nows the time to get over it and make amends instead of brooding over breakfast!"
Raphael looked down and pondered his brother's words. He, too, was shocked that Don was yelling like this —especially when it came to going for the throat in regards to the source of their current little petty wars and the source of each of their individual grievances. He couldn't help but feel even more ashamed than he did earlier but the shame was more targeted towards himself instead of towards himself like before. He bit his lower lip and his eyes hardened into a glare that turned his gaze into one that could melt titanium. Don was right. He was the oldest and he shouldn't be stewing like this! He should be trying to make amends.
Of course, Donnie wasn't finished.
Mikey was last.
"And Angelo!" I know you're mad about what Raph had said last night but seriously! You're supposed to be the glue of this family! I mean, what happened to Dr. Feelings? What happened to "You need a healthy way to express your feelings to your family"? Is this healthy to you? Well? Is it?"
Mikey looked down at his food in shame. He was really impressed that Don had recalled his "Hug it out" seminar from a few years prior despite his disinterested demeanour at the time…but he also felt guilt squeeze away at his stomach like a hand squeezing the life out of a stress ball —and he was pretty sure that his less than satisfactory breakfast was the cause of it. How could he have let himself get so mad that he forgot everything that he had been teaching his family about keeping the peace over all these years.
Having finished tearing his brothers a new one, Don gave a sigh of frustration.
Then he gave one last scowl to the three dumbstruck terrapins as he decided to finish his tirade.
"Unless you dumb-dumbs are willing to act your respective ages, I'm gonna be an adult and go an' get things ready for the next mission! So you could either feel sorry for yourselves and sulk OR get it together and work out your differences! We aren't kids anymore! Remember that!"
Don got up from the table, his brows gathered like enraged thunderheads, shoved his disgusting dinner away from himself and then proceeded to grab hold of any tech he had meant to ticker with in the duration of eating his first "meal" of the day but didn't get to before he just flounced away in a right strop. His face was full of fury, he would have smacked the table again if it didn't hurt his hand so much the first time.
He left Mike, Leo and Raph all by themselves.
They couldn't do much of anything while they stewed in the angry silence that Don had left, shocked and letting their brains properly absorb what had just happened out of both shock and disbelief.
Did that really just happen?
Don wasn't an emotional turtle —it was his niche!
But he had just verbally curb-stomped all three of his brothers, ripping them apart over their abhorrent behaviour and left in a huff. Nobody could recall the last time he had looked so infuriated, he had annoyed and even a bit cynical throughout this stage of their lives where they had been fighting a bunch of aliens that wrecked the world and have been coming scarily close to taking over but, other than that, he had been trying to smother most of his negativity to make sure no miscommunication regarding his brothers feelings would take place. Although, there have been times where he wanted to facepalm at his brothers stupidity.
Mikey, Leo and Raph just sat there.
Their appetites had disappeared as they felt it was too awkward to eat.
Not to mention that it was so painfully silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Heck, the sound of crickets chirping or the sight of a tumbleweed passing through would have been very appropriate right about now! Yeah, they knew that it was ridiculously cliche but the three were mostly unsure how to take the floor that Don had more than likely expected them to.
It was back to this again!
And, unlike last time, there was no angry chomping and chewing of food to mitigate the uncomfortable silence.
Mikey decided to just suck it up and finally break the ice as he coughed and then looked away for a brief moment, his gaze fixed to the floor below as he found himself unable to meet his oldest brother's eyes. The orange-spotted humanoid box tortoise rubbed his own forearm as he fumbled for an apology.
"Gosh…I'm…I'm so sorry, Raph…I've been a jerk to you."
Raph's eyes widened in their sockets as he was momentarily shocked at his little brother's show of sincerity.
"I'm sorry too, lil' bro. I should'a known betta than to say sumthin' like that. We're all hurtin' after learning what happened to Cassandra…"
Then the two whisked sympathetic glances over to Leonardo who didn't say anything but he didn't need to as his emotions were displayed perfectly all across his face: his eyes were glassy yet narrowed as he tried to scowl, his brows were creased as if he were making an attempt at making a stoic expression but his mouth was forming a squiggly line as he tried his hardest not to burst into tears right then and there. His posture was like a crumbling tower made of twigs —unstable and pathetically built but still trying to keep hold of some false phantom of foundation.
It was clear that the exhaustion, the grief and the fatigue were beginning to bring him down.
His heart was shattering but he was trying so hard not to let his brothers see.
Raph reached out towards his brother.
"L-Leo…?"
Leo just stood up abruptly and made a beeline out of the kitchen area, heading out through the narrow passageways and straight towards his quarters and just like the night prior, he had a frosty air encompassing his very being that seemed to spread through the atmosphere.
Raph looked over at Mikey and the two exchanged a look of worry.
It appeared that Leo wasn't quite ready to accept the truth yet.
The truth was that he needed help.
Morning drifted into afternoon like an autumnal leaf snapping off of a tree branch and fluttering to the ground below.
Leo hadn't emerged from his room even once since Don's strict words and the apologies this morning.
The only sounds that could be heard from within were baby Casey's incessant crying and the odd bunch of uneven footsteps Leo was probably making as he probably tried to soothe the squalling babe.
The three turtles found this difficult to watch as they hated seeing Leo struggle so much to the point he was starting to hurt himself physically (as evidenced by the burn he had sustained the previous night) and who knows what gloomy thoughts were bouncing around in his noggin? There was no point in saying that things weren't going easily at the moment as it was all just chaotic from the sound of things…
They didn't know what to do.
At this rate, it won't be long before Leo crashes and burns from fatigue.
They needed help to try and convince him.
The terrapin trio knew exactly who to contact and, besides, this person needed to be here to pay her respects to their sadly deceased friend.
After all, who needed to be here more than none other than Cassandra's dearest friend?
Raphael had taken to sitting down in his generals seat and anxiously drummed his fingers against the armrest, his expression betrayed the full extent of his anxiety and he knew that his nervously-darting-around-the-room-at-record-breaking-speed nor the fact that he was sweating bullets were doing him any favours whatsoever.
The red-banded snapping turtle hung his head ad he grew tired of the monotony of what had became he and his siblings stations to hide in order to ignore the fear trickling into each of their souls like rain softly drizzling from a tiny and insignificant puff of cumulus.
Being anxious was doing little to either help or solve the problem at hand.
He then heard someone clear their throat, clearly trying to gain his attention.
It was after swivelling in his seat to turn around that he saw two men stood in front of him.
This must have been some sort of report.
"General." One or two men whom were members of the human portion of the underground resistance approached Raph with emotionless expressions on their mugs. "We've received word that commander O'Neil is on her way here from her temporary station in the Brazilian rainforests in South America."
Raph raised a hand and pinched his temples in exasperation.
"Good. And what's the damage report over in Brazil?"
The two men looked at one another and then back to the one-eyed giant humanoid snapping turtle.
They were clearly nervous.
Raph sat in his big chair and faced the two, his expression fierce and tough but patient.
"According to our sources, the city of Rio De Janeiro has been taken over by the Krang, however the Commander had managed to save a good majority of the city inhabitants before the Krang could get a hold of 'em…but the South American region could be in better shape. The jungles are on fire, the cities have been reduced to rubble and ash and the invasion over there is going slower than expected. We've also received word that commander O'Neil's mission to recruit more members for the resistance is proving fruitful."
Raphael nodded in understanding.
It was upsetting to hear about the rainforests and how the cities have been made uninhabitable and he couldn't help but fret for not only the Brazilian wildlife but what was left of the human population over there. He was fairly eager to try and find some ways to lend a helping hand to the other struggling countries but, sadly, he knew he couldn't right now since even the resistances' resources were being stretched thin.
They couldn't afford to lose any more rations.
Soon, Leo would need to go topside once again to gather items to help the colony run even smoother.
But then the man added some more to his report.
"…A-And her second-in-command, Sargent Draxum, has been left to hold down the fort over there in the duration of Commander O'Neil's absence."
Raph froze as the name "Draxum" made him flinch slightly.
While Mikey had all but forgiven Draxum for the atrocities he had committed (which especially included the events that led to their mutation in the first place) and had even officially recognised him as their second father, the other older turtles were still reluctant to take as big a step with him…especially given what had happened to their actual father, Splinter not long ago. Of course, Draxum had made huge strides when it came to redeeming himself and especially when it came to stepping up in his role as a dad to the turtles but the wounds were still fresh and a bit raw so it would take some more time to get used to.
If Raphael had fur, it would have been bristling and he'd have his hackles arching across his back and neck.
As if noticing the giant reptile's sudden mood-shift, the two men decided to excuse themselves and make a hasty retreat —lest they wanted to be on the wrong side of their general's fury. Despite them already running to the entranceway/exit, Raph dismissed them with a simple wave of his hand as the two scouts both made their exit.
"Woah. Never thought I'd see grown men quake and quiver in front of Raphael the big ol' softy."
Raph would have jumped if it weren't for him being already anchored down by his own thoughts.
He recognised that voice immediately and spun around as fast as a whip to face one of the entrances/exits of the cave and was greeted by the sight of a familiar friend leaning against what would be a doorway in a cave hole/door.
April O'Neil had taken on a more grizzled and tougher appearance as she grew from a teenager to a lean and strong woman. She had styled her hair into an Afro and wore a pair of goggles over her hairline. She was dressed in a black trench coat with a flaring collar and shoulder pads protecting her upper arms and shoulders. Underneath her long coat, she wore a simple but torn green shirt and black trousers to compliment it and her feet were protected by a pair of thick and bulky yet metallic combat boots. Over her shoulder was a large wooden baseball bat that had nails sticking out, especially from the handle.
That wasn't all, however.
A strange yet unmistakable creature was stood by her side.
It had large pointed ears, a bright red nose, a pair of tusks growing out of its upper jaw and sticking out of its mouth and pointing in curved directions, slitted maroon eyes, and a fluffy chest and tail with three toes on each paw. His fur was a rich combination of orange and yellow with blue markings on his ears, down his back, and on the tip of his tail. He also had small red markings on his forehead, around his eyes, and a red chest. Mayhem was but a small furball back then…only now he had grown and this was apparent in a number of ways such as, instead of being as big as a Jack Russell terrier, he was now the same height as a miniature Great Dane and had the body type similar to a jaguar or a panther with a puffy fox-like tail that swished around behind. Unfortunately, Mayhem hadn't come out of the war unscathed and had acquired a few scars that included a large one on the right side of his mouth which caused a crack to appear in one of his tusks.
Upon seeing Raph, Mayhem practically bounded up to the giant turtle and almost bowled him over with his enthusiasm…literally.
"Easy boy, easy!" Raph crouched down on the ground and scratched the Yokai atop his head. "Raph is happy t'see ya too."
Mayhem purred contentedly, especially when the turtle moved his hand from his head and tickled the under part of his chin instead.
April spoke up from where she was by the entrance.
"Sorry we're a lil' late, we kinda got a bit lost in these caves and caverns…"
This was understandable.
The underground caves were difficult to navigate, especially as they were changing day-by-day with all the tunnels and holes being dug to make the caves deeper in order to accommodate more of the survivors from the Krang attacks. The turtles and some other members of the resistance had claimed the upper quadrants while the other unfortunate human and Yokai took up residence in the lower caves.
Sadly, though, the joy faded quick when April caught Raph's eye and he noticed how saddened and hollow she looked.
It was a painful thing to see as even Mayhem had picked up on it and went back to comfort his master by placing a claw on her torso in a show of support.
It was so sweet it could have made teeth rot and then drop out of gums on the spot.
But no was not the time for semantics.
"H-Hey there, April…" Raph could only just bring himself to be able to muster a tiny and weak smirk at the woman. "Th-Thanks fer comin'. I figured ya needed t' know about what had happened pronto."
April just gave an appreciative nod before she glanced away to avoid eye contact, her heart clenching in pain in her chest as she tried to conceal the tears that constantly threatened to dampen her eyeballs; the human woman had a look of worry and apprehensive caution written plainly across her face —this was a face she hadn't made in ages, not since a time before the Krang had invaded.
She clearly knew something was up.
Unsurprisingly, her intuition was as knife-sharp as ever.
"Raphie…Cassandra…is sh-she really…?"
Raph nodded, his one seeing eye glassy as he felt moisture begin to prickle in the ocular structures.
"….Yeah. I'm so sorry."
April and Cassandra were the best of friends, they had been since they were younger and had spent a lot of time together in their youth so April becoming quiet as she pondered things over in her mind was understandable however, it was also very unnatural to see the former not being a talkative burst of energy on two feet (this was partially why Cass and April became such good friends) and it was strange and it wasn't a nice state to witness her be in.
Neither Raph nor April knew what to say to one another, the atmosphere grew terse and the only two occupying the space had no idea on what to do or say to make this moment less awkward. All they could do was fidget on the spot they stood and dwelled on their current situation…but then April recalled something and she looked to Raphael with a semi-serious expression on her face.
"….So? What is the other thing ya need to show me?"
Raph's one eye widened.
"Huh?"
April clarified.
"When Donnie called me. He said that there was something else I needed to see that Cassandra left behind."
Raph's eye widened even more.
He almost forgot.
The baby!
He wasn't too shocked that Don had not told her straight off the bat as everyone was still coming to terms with the two facts that Cass was deceased…and that she had a son and didn't tell anyone; that still boggled the mind, how could she not only keep that a secret from her dearest friends but also raise this baby all by herself for seven months while living in a desolate wasteland? It was an impressive feat for sure but surely she must have had her reasons.
Now if only they knew what said reasons were…
The giant mutant snapping turtle began to lumber heavily along out the exit/entranceway whilst giving a "follow me" gesture with his hand. He could hear April start to follow him with slow steps full of caution and trepidation from behind him, along with the additional little paw pads of Mayhem intermingling with her steps.
"C'mon." Said Raph. "I'll take you to 'em."
The commander of the resistance blinked with a perplexed expression etching upon her face.
Them?
Who was "them"?
The giant one-eyed, red-banded terrapin guided April and Mayhem out of his quarters and started to lead them through a couple of literal twists and turns. They meandered through a couple of tunnels and winding ways in this labyrinth of tunnels and caverns, not daring to say any more as they both knew that this was a serious matter and needed silence.
It didn't take long to reach their destination.
Raph kept right on leading both April and Mayhem through the caverns and, soon enough, they found their way to the one cave that doubled as Leonardo's bedroom and they hardly hasted any time in entering, despite it being almost pitch black in the room/cave.
The first thing that was noticed was how dark it was.
There was little to no light whatsoever, just pitch blackness.
Drip
Drip
Drip
Drip
The sounds of water dripping off from the stalactites above reverberated throughout the entire space and it even created a rather ominous ambiance which was heightened by the fact that Raph and April could make out Leonardo's silhouette sat on the ground; Leo was sat on the floor and staring at the wall. He didn't blink, he didn't flinch…it was hard to tell if he was even breathing or not. Heck, anyones first thought would have been to panic and come to the horrifying conclusion that the Red-eared slider had just died while sitting on the spot if it weren't for the fact that he was clearly still breathing.
However, it was obvious that something wasn't right with him.
He didn't seem to react to anything.
However, the attention of Mayhem, Raph and April was drawn to the baby on the basket which was set on the surface of a coffee table. Little Casey was asleep in the basket, his chubby face peaceful and his tiny thumb wedged inside his puckered mouth as he suckled contentedly.
April was dumbfounded.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Wh-What…? Whose baby…? Where did…?" She sputtered, unable to complete a sentence out of disbelief.
Raph stared a bit longer than he probably should have as this was the very first time he'd seen the child up close since Don did the check up the previous night and the more he stared, the more little bits of Cassandra he begun to notice; this boy had his mother's eyes, his mother's ears and his mother's cheeks.
Fair enough, perhaps he wasn't the mirror image of his mother but he was undoubtedly Cassandra's child.
The one-eyed reptile felt his heart break a little bit —this poor boy was effectively an orphan and he just lost his mother last night and was now all alone in a scary world full of raids, attack and turmoil and, to make things even worse for the little one, the only family he had left has been temporarily divided.
It wasn't fair that this babe was caught in the crossfire of all this.
Raph hadn't even noticed before he found that his giant hand had apparently moved on its own whilst it lowered into the basket and planted itself on top of baby Casey's head.
Shockingly, his hand was even bigger than the boy's head itself. He could probably even hold the kid in one hand if he wanted to! Anyways, since his hand was already resting on Casey's head, he relented and just stroked his hairline as gently as he possibly could. He even had to bite his lower lip, his snaggletooth catching against his chin, to keep from laughing when he felt the child's black hair tickle against the palm of his hand.
The infant squirmed slightly, stirring a tiny bit from his slumber, but Raph was quick to prevent him from waking up completely by using his other hand to grab hold of the blanket that had been discarded on the side of the basket and then carefully tucked it safely and securely around the barely-awake 7-month-old and tugged it carefully so it covered him up to his chest; the comforting warmth of his blankie furling around him and the last remnants of his mother's scent was all Casey needed to close his eyes and resume his late-morning slumber.
Raph briefly wondered how the blanket ended up beside the basket instead of in the basket with the baby but quickly concluded that it had probably wound up outside of the blanket either because the little one kicked it out of the bed or Leo had probably thrown it aside in a exhausted haste while dealing with the infant late in the night.
After withdrawing his hand from Casey's hand and admiring his own getting-little-children-to-sleep-prowess, He closed his one good eye and sighed both out of relief and of uncertainty.
He happened to whisk a glance over to April and frowned when he saw the look on her face. A flash of immediate concern shot flew through him like a spear of ice launching through the air, a pang of worry hit him right in the heart as he couldn't help but worry about the former journalist/current commander's mental well-being right now.
What must she be thinking?
April used one of her hands to grab her own sleeve in a death grip, her eyes watering, her lip quivering and her face bunched up and tight as she clearly tried her hardest not to break down and burst into tears right on the spot. She gripped her sleeve so hard that the fabric was wrinkling beneath her fingertips. Her chest heaved in and out as she tried to keep from sobbing.
"…This kid belongs to Cassandra doesn't he?"
Raph just nodded in response to the question whilst avoiding eye contact, not wanting to see the look of despair on his friend's face.
Meanwhile, April knew she couldn't lose it.
She was a commander for goodness sake!
She was supposed to be in control at all times!
But it was so hard!
"Why didn't she tell me? She had a kid all this time and we never knew! She shoulda' told us, we've been besties since we were still teens, haven't we? I woulda' helped her out if I knew she was preggers!" She exclaimed, her voice trembling and full of hurt.
Raph responded to her outburst without thinking what words would leave his mouth.
"That was probably why…"
April blinked in teary-eyed confusion and cocked her head at him.
"H-Huh?"
Raph decided to explain.
"Cassandra's always been a strange girl t' figure out…especially when in these kinds of situations. It's possible that she didn't wanna bother us or thought lil' Casey would make things harder for us while we right against the Krang? Either way, we can't know what Cass was thinkin'…but what we can do is be here now."
So she released her vice-like grip on her jacket sleeve and tried to reigned in the hurricane of emotions that threatened to develop into a cyclone of anguish. She remembered the time when her and Splinter's mother, Karai, had shared the same mind and the elder had taught her about calming herself in the toughest of times. She shut her eyes for a long few seconds before reopening them and exhaling deeply through her nose and, just like that, she seemed to calm down considerably.
Raph and Mayhem both knew this was a facade as it was as clear as crystal that she was hurting bad.
April decided to change the subject.
"S-So…what's the lil' renegade's name?" She asked, trying to keep her voice level.
Raphael was still worried but answered the question whilst giving a nod of his own head to the babe asleep in the basket.
"Casey Jones Jr."
A brief silence followed before April managed to smile a genuine smile for the first time since she arrived.
"….She named her own son after herself?" She asked, raising a brow at her large and tough friend.
Raph responded by shrugging and flashing a sheepish grin her way.
"Seems tha' way."
Meanwhile, as Raph and April talked, Mayhem sat back on his haunches and sat up while placing his paws on the surface of the table to keep himself steady. He peered into the basket to study the sleeping babe. The dog-like Yokai craned his neck in order to sniff baby Casey and, after doing so, his throat elicited a delighted purr as his tail began to wag.
He liked this tiny chubby thing!
April then happened to glance over towards Leo.
The turtle in blue still sat on the floor with an empty expression.
His posture was erect and he was breathing (as evidenced by his shoulders rising and falling in a slow yet rather rhythmic manner) although it was pretty apparent that he still hadn't seemed to take notice of Raphael, Mayhem or even April's presence in the cavern/room and he just stared off into space. He didn't appear to have an ounce of emotion on his facial features whatsoever and that was really worrying.
"….And Leo? What's his beef? He's practically conked out on the floor over there."
Raph sighed and shook his head regretfully.
He'd rather not divulge this now, not when the wounds were still so fresh.
"I'll…tell ya later. Right now theres somethin' I gotta-"
"General!"
Raphael and April whirled around to face the door/entranceway/exit and saw another familiar face:
Todd.
Even Mayhem had stopped gazing down at the slumbering infant and looked up at the anthropomorphic moustachioed mole.
Todd gulped nervously, a droplet of sweat dripping down his face…or maybe it was just the water dripping down from overhead. He narrowed his squinty little eyes in a determined scowl while looking up at the big terrapin, he was trying not to visibly shudder in the presence of the general and swallowed anxiously…but clearly he had something to say.
"Th-The scouts are ready to head out and retrieve the body of Cassandra Jones, General Raphael."
Raphael sighed and nodded in sad acknowledgment.
He happened to look over to his younger brother and, even now, he hadn't moved a muscle and he clearly was in no state to go anywhere…let alone deal with something so awful; alas he couldn't leave Cass out there all alone, deceased or not.
"Thank you, Todd. Go prep the rookies and I'll…prep Leo…"
"No."
Raph was stunned when April interrupted him, her eyes filled with grief and hurt.
Seeing such a look on his friend's face made his heart squeeze with pure guilt and he found himself wishing he could take that pain from her, from his brothers too, and take the brunt of it for them. He had wished he could do that for ages since he always did take his big brother role supremely seriously. Just thinking about it made his heart squeeze even tighter.
April reached down and patted Mayhem on the head, earning a contented purr from him, but she couldn't bring herself to look her friend in the eye. She knew what look she'd see and she didn't want to see any more sadness —she was struggling with enough emotional baggage as it was right now and all she wanted to do was take a walk.
"I'll go…Cass was my best friend. Besides, I need to clear my head anyway."
"Ya sure?"
April nodded, obviously very sure.
She didn't say anything more.
She gave a low whistle, quiet enough to not wake the baby still asleep in the basket nearby, and watched as Mayhem immediately returned to his master's side eagerly. He did look really concerned, however, but any dog —or Yokai, in this case— worth its salt could tell when their owner was feeling upset and he was determined to stay by her.
Raph thought as April began to make her temporary departure and his mind began to run a mile a minute with the worse possible scenarios and outcomes. What would happen if she stepped out and met the same fate as Cassandra? What would happen if she got ambushed by those very same Krang or, worse, one of the three leader Krang? What would happen if she got captured? What would happen if she got caught up in an explosion and got badly hurt? He couldn't bare to lose another friend, especially not the others!
All of those haunting thoughts made his anxiety shoot through the roof.
So, fuelled by panic, he called out after April as she left but he managed to catch himself before he yelled after her and whisper-yelled after her instead.
"Please be careful, April!"
April didn't react much but she did raise her hand in the air and gave a "yeah, yeah" hand gesture.
Raphael then looked back at Leo whom still hadn't moved a muscle since the last time April and Raph had looked over at him despite it still being dark. The oldest of the ninja turtles could see pretty well in the dark as he used to eat a lot of carrots since Don had told him and Mikey and Leo that eating carrots could help see in the dark but, as they had also spent years in the shadows (being ninjas and all) they could easily make out shapes in the inky abyss of black that was their surroundings a lot of the time.
He wanted to do nothing more than to go over to his younger brother and talk out their differences but he had a gut instinct that now was not the time so he just exhumed a sigh of defeat (albeit he knew that this was but a temporary defeat) and turned around to make his own exit like April and Mayhem had done mere moments ago.
As he made his leave, however, his gaze fell upon the basket still set aside and the baby sleeping inside of it. The sight of the baby was so endearing sleeping inside that not only did it make Raph's heart melt but it also made it so the tiniest hint of a grin stretch across his mouth.
It was almost too cute for his heart to bare.
He then made a vow to himself that, one way or another, he was going to get his family back together.
That innocent child was not going to grow up lonely or sad as a result of being surrounded by constant quarrels.
He was going to make sure that the child was loved.
This was a promise he was determined to keep.
A/N: Hi, guys! Here is a new chapter for Papa Leo.
It seems like there is still some tension between the brothers but what can be done to solve the problem? And whats going on with Leo?
As a side note, I thought that maybe Mayhem should grow a bit and after seeing that April and Draxum shared the image where their future designs were shiwn that they could be working alongside one another…and Draxum is a sargent. Not only that but (except for Mikey) the other turtles still need some time to warm up to their other fatherly figure.
And if you are wondering what happened to Splinter, I'll answer that question in a later chapter.
You guys are awesome and I hope you have a wonderful day/night.
-Chloemcg