Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT.

Warnings: Blood. Short.

Mindless Babble:


"Hey, Mikey. How ya doing?" Leo asked as his brother moaned. The blood had come from a small cut that had opened when Mikey had hit his head. It hadn't been too deep but it was a head wound and as such had bled profusely. They had moved the young turtle to his room where he would be more comfortable. Both he and Don had stayed with their youngest brother while Splinter cleaned up the blood from the floor.

"Ooohhh, did you get the plate of the truck that hit me?" Mikey asked, touching the bandage on the side of his head.

Leo laughed. "Yeah, R-a-p-h-1."

Mikey smiled. "I guess I got him really mad, huh? Where is the hothead anyway?"

"He's in his room, sulking, probably," Donnie said. "Why?"

Mikey shyly smiled. "I wanna apologize to him."

"What! Why? He almost killed you!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I knew he was in a bad mood to start with." Mikey looked at his brothers sadly. "He just hasn't seemed himself lately and I wanted to try to make him laugh."

Both Leo and Donnie grew serious. Leo spoke first. "I know what you mean. It's like he's pulling away from us more and more each day."

"Now that you mention it, he has been spending a lot more time by himself lately," Donnie added.

"And he doesn't eat or sleep that much either," Mikey quietly put in.

"Maybe I should go find him," Leo said, standing up from the bed. "You know, to let him know that he didn't kill Mikey."

Leo walked into Raph's room to see his brother lying on his side on the bed, his shell facing the door. "Hey, Raph. Mikey's going to be okay and he's as..."

Leo had walked over to the bed and put his hand on Raph's shoulder. That was when he discovered something wasn't right. The skin was too cold. He rolled his brother onto his shell and stared in shock at what lay before him.

His brother was covered in a sheet of his own blood. His face was twisted into a mask of pain and something else. Four bloodied blades lay near his head, the strings that had been tied to them tangled and soaked in red.

"Raph Wha no," Leo stumbled away from the bed in shock. His young mind couldn't process what his eyes were seeing. "NO!"

His cry had alerted Splinter and he rushed in thinking that Raph was attacking Leo. Instead, he found a parents worst nightmare. Leo was backed up against the wall farthest from the bed, his eyes opened wide in shock. His other son lay seemingly lifeless on the bed. Raph's eyes were closed and his expression did nothing to ease the fear that clutched the rat's heart.

"Donatello!" Splinter called as he rushed to the bed. He ripped the sheets that were still bloodless into strips and began to bind his son's arms. The boy's chest barely rose. He felt another enter the room and without looking said, "Donatello, please take Leonardo back to Michelangelo's room. And stay there!"

Donnie nodded, not seeing what was going on because of Splinter's body. He quietly stepped over to where his brother sat. He noticed the eyes behind the blue mask were opened wide, seeing nothing but the horror he had witnessed.

"Come on, Leo. We need to go see how Mike's doing." The purple masked turtle gently took his brother's wrist and pulled him to a standing position. Leo stood like one in a trance. He stared at Splinter, seeing for the first time, his sensei.

"Raph?" he whispered, unable to form the question.

Splinter spared a moment to look over his shoulder at the brothers. Don was shocked at the terror in his teacher's face. "GO!"

Donnie jumped and pulled Leo from Raph's room and back into Mikey's. The orange masked turtle was sitting up, panic clearly written on his face. He opened his mouth but closed it at the look on Don's face.

As he sat Leo down on the bed next to Mikey, Donnie asked, "How would you guys like to play a game? We could play chess. You and Leo against me?"

Mike knew that look and sighed. He wouldn't get any answers until Splinter came back. "Okay, but I don't think Leo will be much help."

The eldest turtle looked up at his name. He had heard everything and knew that Donnie was doing the right thing, keeping every one distracted. "I'm better at strategy then you are, Mikey."

Donnie raised an eye ridge. He hadn't really expected a reaction from his brother right away. "So you accept the challenge?"

"It won't be much of a challenge. Mikey and I will kick your shell," Leo joked weakly.

Donnie managed a shaky smile. "You wish!'

"So I guess neither one of you is going to tell me why you're walking on eggshells or why Raph's not here."

Leo looked at Don but the other turtle hadn't seen anything so he just shrugged half-heartedly. "Not yet, Mikey. Wait until Master Splinter comes back."

Another sigh. "Okay, but Leo and I get to be white."

Donnie stared at him blankly. Mike pointed at the chess pieces. "White goes first, right?"