Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT.

Warnings: Angst, torture and goodbye

Mindless Babble:

dojo- practice area for martial arts

Otóosan- Father

kata- form or shape- in this instance a type of meditation or discipline that moves from one stance to another in a flowing motion.

ki- life-force

kanji- Japanese writing

"ARRRRG!"

"Umm, didja need some help in there, April?" Casey Jones glanced at the smoke detector on the living room wall, waiting for it to go off.

"No! I'm fine! I said I was going to cook you a homemade meal and I'm going to! Even if it kills me!"

Casey swallowed. It wasn't her he was worried about dieing! He winced as he heard another crash in the kitchen. He tugged at the collar of the shirt he was wearing. Having dinner with the girl of his dreams had seemed like a good idea at the time. Then she told him that she was cooking.

"I hope you like your steaks well done!"

Casey was saved from replying as the phone rang. He looked at the ceiling, silently thanked whatever god was listening. Knowing that April had her hand full, he walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Yo! April's place."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before a weary sounding voice asked, "Casey?"

"Leo?" The man couldn't help but grin. "Man, am I happy to hear from you! Listen, you gotta help me! April's trying ta poison me! I mean…"

"Casey." Leo's voice had a strange tone to it that quieted the man in mid-rant. "We found Raph."

Casey didn't know what to say. He had thought his pal had returned to the lair since nobody ever called again. Now he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, as Donnie always said, but he was smart enough to know that something bad had happened.

"April and I will be there ASAP."

"Hurry." Leo's voice broke, scaring Casey even more.

The man returned the phone to its cradle and slowly walked into the kitchen. If it had been any other time, Casey would have loved to have seen April like this. The young woman wore a sleek black dress under an apron that said "Kiss the cook". In her hands were the remains of a pair of steaks in a blackened pan. She looked up at Casey, annoyed.

Casey took the pan from her and set it in the sink. "We need to leave. Now."

"Why? What's going on?" April asked as she removed the apron. She heard the fear in her friend's voice and it made her nervous.

"They found Raph and it doesn't sound too good."

Ten minutes later, the humans found themselves entering their friends' home, though it seemed more like a tomb then a home. The lair had always been a place of movement, whether it was Donnie working on some new gadget, Mikey playing a video game, Leo practicing his katas or Raph lifting weights. This was a place of kinetics. The stillness and the deathly silence were more then a little unnerving.

"Miss O'Neil, Mr. Jones."

The two humans nearly jumped out of their skins when a deep voice broke the stillness of the lair. They turned to find the ageing rat standing behind them. He looked tired.

"Master Splinter, you startled us!" April said, willing her heart to slow down.

"I apologize," the rat replied, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "The silence is … strange."

"How's Raph? Leo didn't say much but then again he didn't really have to." Casey dreaded the answer.

Splinter bowed his head, closing his eyes. "It is good that you are here tonight."

"Is it really that bad?" April asked softly.

Splinter held up the piece of paper that Leo had drawn the kanji on. "He had been held by the Foot and was tortured for a very long time. Raphael wrote this in the cell he was kept in with his own blood. It simply says, 'kill me'."

Casey turned away, trying to hide the tears that sprang to his eyes. It had been less then a year since he had met the hotheaded turtle, but in that time, Casey had found a kindred spirit. Raph was the closest thing to a brother the man had.

"His brothers are already with him in his room," Splinter said as he began walking. "None of them were in any condition to greet you."

April fell into step with him while Casey followed behind them. "Let me guess. Leo is blaming himself, Donnie is trying to figure out how to fix things and Mikey is just an emotional wreck."

The ghost smile came back as Splinter looked up at the woman. "You know my son's too well, Miss O'Neil."

As they walked into the room, April felt her heart break. Leo sat to Raphael's left, one hand over his brother's heart. Mikey sat on the other side still holding the cold, limp hand. Donnie lay face down across the foot of the bed, one arm stretched out to brush Raph's free hand. Three sets of pain filled eyes looked up at the three.

"Raph…"

All eyes fell on Casey as he dropped next to the bed. Tears were finally released and ran down ashen cheeks, unchecked. He took no notice of the shocked stares that were directed at him as he touched his friend's hand. He recoiled at how cold the pale green skin was.

"This isn't happening. This can't be happening!" he mumbled. "We were supposed ta go down fighting…"

April knelt behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back. She was surprised to find him trembling. Although she knew that the two hotheads had grown close over this last year, April hadn't realized how close. She saw, now, that Casey wasn't mourning the loss of a friend; he was mourning the passing of a brother-in-arms.

"Hey, guys? Something's happening…." The fear in Mikey's voice caused everyone to look up.

"'Bout time you got here!"