A/N: - Here's the next instalment of Wreaking Revenge. Sorry it's so late! Thank you for all your patience and reviews! And my shout-outs are at the end of this chapter, so if you didn't review then you don't have to go through all of them first – but I will plead with you to review if you are not doing so already as it makes this author very happy! I was thrilled with the reviews I got from the last chapter, and if any of the reviewers are from England, like me, then I would be interested to know. Ok, enough chit-chat – ENJOY!
"I assume from the concerned looks on your faces that you saw what was on the News last night?" Roshiri asked as soon as the turtles, Splinter, Casey and April arrived the next morning.
"We did – and it was after seeing that and reassessing the risks to my sons that I decided we had no choice but to work with you." Splinter told Roshiri and Ramakha. Ronald and Reginald shot each other quick glances, each daring the other to laugh.
"We are pleased to hear it," Ramakha bowed politely. He would have to stay on the good side of Splinter… well, as much on the good side as he could after his past experiences with the old rat's various family members and close friends.
"Does anyone else think we should go inside?" Leo cut in, shifting uncomfortably.
"Good idea, Leonardo," Reginald replied, "come, we will explain our plan to you."
"Your plan?" Leo's voice was edged with the essence of someone who was desperately trying to control their temper.
"We formulated a plan last night after having seen the News," Reginald looked to his brothers and backed away a little from the turtle in blue, having caught sight of the gleam in his eyes, "We knew we couldn't risk leaving it in case Marcie attacked you and your brothers some time during the night." Reginald watched warily as Leo bit his lip in deep thought.
"I understand," he said finally, "But I would rather that, while in the truce, all plans are made with our opinions as well. Ok?"
"Good, it is agreed," Ronald smiled warmly and ushered them in front of him, shooting Roshiri a malicious look of blood-lust, which was returned with equal malice by his brother.
"Hey, Leo," Mikey pulled his older brother back, "I know I'm not the one who usually mistrusts people…but do you really think we can trust these guys?"
"I think they will hold their end of the bargain and help us kill Marcie. But I have a feeling that their plan to kill us will happen immediately after Marcie takes her final breath…"Leo answered grimly.
"What do we do?"
"We wait – and we concoct a plan to combat whatever moves they could be planning to try with us."
"I hate waiting."
"I know, Mikey, but this wait could be what gives us time to come up with something to save our shells!"
"GUYS!" Raph yelled back at them, "WE GOT THREE MINUTES TO GET TO THE HQ BEFORE THE TRAPS ARE FIRED UP AGAIN!"
"COMING!" Leo called back, "we'll talk to Raph and Donnie later…they can give us their feelings. But I'm glad I'm not the only one who can see through them…although maybe after this is over they will see sense and allow us to put aside our differences."
"Whoa, deep thinking, bro – I can practically see your brain clunking away!" Mikey laughed as he and Leo headed up the stairs.
Once in the headquarters, Leo and Mikey sat either side of Splinter, who was still looking highly doubtful.
"So…what's this plan of yours?" Leo asked, breaking the stony silence that had settled in the space of a few seconds.
"We have made the decision to lure Marcie and her troops here."
"That's it?" Donnie raised an eye-ridge at Ramakha's words.
"No…just give me a chance to explain…" Ramakha rolled his eyes in frustration, "we lure Marcie, Hun and the rest of those Foot traitors here."
"And then what is to happen?" Splinter inquired coldly.
"We kill Marcie."
"And then you kill us while we're on your territory – where we do not have a chance to escape?" Splinter's voice had a dangerous edge to it.
"That's not how it is," Ronald interjected crossly; "we will give you a day's head-start."
"I do not want a day's head-start – I want this deal cancelled. I want us to help you defeat Marcie and then I want to be allowed the peace of mind knowing my family is safe from danger and finally being able to sleep in peace, in the good knowledge that we will be able to live as normal a life as is possible in our situation of life."
"I know…" Reginald spoke unexpectedly gently, "and we appreciate that – but your sons killed our brother."
"And your brother killed my Master Yoshi and has repeatedly jeopardised the lives of my sons. You think that is fair? We have as much reason and motive to kill you – but we make no such bargains."
"I'm sorry. Your sons made the deal and the deal stands. You can help us kill Marcie and then die or you can just die and Marcie will still live and hurt innocent people." Ramakha bellowed. Splinter was silent and Raphael scowled, only prevented from exploding by a warning look from Leo and a pat on the shell from Mikey.
"Those guys are really starting to annoy me…" Raph growled in an undertone to his older brother.
"It's ok, Raph," Leo added in determination, "they won't kill us – I would not let that happen."
"Always the hero, huh, Leo?" Raph joked.
"You got it, bro," Leo replied. It was in rare moments like this when Raph and Leo got on and acted like teenage brothers who didn't want to rip each other's heads off that made Mikey and Donnie smile - and usually fished out the camera except this time they didn't have one to hand, so they contended themselves with exchanging a significant look.
"What do we do now, oh fearless leader?" Raph asked sarcastically as the four brothers sat alone together the following evening.
"Whaddaya mean?" Leo looked up from where he'd been reading a book he'd found in the human brothers' library.
"Tomorrow morning the plan is put into action and that means Marcie will be here by midday at latest."
"So? We kill her – Roshiri and the others have been over that a zillion times!" Leo rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his hot-headed brother.
"I know that! I mean after that, bozo! What happens when Roshiri, Ramakha, Ronald and Reginald try to kill us? And, more to the point, what about when our day's head-start is up?"
"We will have to concoct a plan to get rid of them. We will reason with them and try to negotiate a compromise before we turn to violence, no matter what your opinion on negotiation is, Raphael," Leo used his brother's full name, hands on hips, "then, if, and only if, they don't wish to make a new bargain with us and live alongside us without disturbance then we shall have no choice but to fight them."
"Then I hope we fight them – they deserve to get what's coming to them after everything they've done to us!"
"Raph - let it go! Please – just put your grudge against them aside while we dispose of Marcie. She is our prime problem at the current time."
"But she hasn't caused us nearly as much pain as the Foot Elite."
"We would never have got poisoned and captured if we hadn't trusted her…" Leo muttered softly, almost daring Raph to argue.
"Yeah, well don't blame me for that one. It wasn't my fault and you haven't exactly got a perfect track record when it comes to trusting people, have ya, Leo?" Raph's eyes glowed, knowing he'd just hit a raw nerve with his older brother, but he didn't stop, "I think you'll find that you're bad judgement has caused us the most problems – and if it wasn't for you and your stupid 'I can make the city a better place' attitude then we never would've met Shredder! We might not have had to face him for years!"
"Don't you dare throw that in my face…you know that wasn't my fault entirely!" Leo snapped.
"Oh? Then whose fault was it, fearless leader?" Raph stepped forward to face Leo, "was it Mikey's fault, maybe? Or was it Donnie's fault? Or even my fault? You seem to blame me for most things anyway! Oh, I know! You think Master Splinter's at fault, don't ya? You're too stubborn to admit that you might be wrong and that you ain't the world's greatest creation!"
"You can't talk to me like that!"
"Funny, I just did! Your oh-so-perfect honour ain't always perfect and you gotta learn at some point that you can't force every single person into your single, narrow-minded way of thinking!" Raph was almost as red as his bandana and Mikey swore that he could almost see steam coming out of his temperamental brother's ears!
"Narrow-minded? That's rich coming from someone like you!"
"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean? Learn to take a few risks, Leo, and learn that the world's problems can't all be solved by peaceful negotiation."
"They could if everyone was willing to be peaceful – but it's hot-heads like you that spoil all that!" Leo was trembling with rage; Raph had hit a part of him that made him angry – at himself, at Raph and even at Splinter.
"Well, not everyone's like that – so wake up, bro, and stop being such a righteous prick!" Raph finished by yelling his final insult so clearly that he spat slightly. Storming out, he left the room behind him in an awkward silence.
"My son," Splinter crossed paths with Raphael in one of the corridors, "you look tired and angry – what is the matter?"
"Nothin', Sensei," mumbled the red-clad turtle.
"I do not believe that, Raphael, and you cannot bottle up your anger every time you fight with Leonardo…"
"…How did you know?"
"…So you shall come with me and talk about it," Splinter took hold of his second eldest son's arm and led him into the room he'd been given to sleep in while they stayed with the human brothers.
"What did you fight about?"
"Leo still thinks this whole situation can be solved by negotiation – I know…think…otherwise. I said some stuff and he said some stuff; I got angry and so did he so I left." Raph summarised the story as quickly as he could.
"What did you say to each other? I can tell by your voice and behaviour that it was not the usual sort of things you say to each other in fights."
"I wanted to cause Ramakha and his brothers as much pain as they caused us and Leo told me to stop holding a grudge and that Marcie was our main priority. So I pointed out that she hasn't caused us nearly as much hurt as the Foot Elite and he said that if we'd never trusted Marcie then we wouldn't have been poisoned…so I…I…" Raph suddenly realised the magnitude of what he'd said to his brother. He was saved from finishing by Splinter, who was tuned into his sons and their ways of thinking.
"You said that had he never been so determined to do some greater good then you would not have had to face the Shredder so early on at so young an age."
"Pretty much, yeah," Raph stared at the ground.
"Raphael, I am very disappointed in you – you know how much those memories hurt your brother. He was not to know any better and you have all matured so much since that time. You would have had to face the Shredder at some point, but fate chose to make it then." Splinter put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"I know, Sensei, I just get so angry with him – he's so irritating! And he'll keep his temper with Donnie and Mikey but not with me! As soon as I contradict him then it's straight off with the shouting and trying to pin it all on me."
"Raphael, you are children. You are not of age yet – and it is not a crime to fight with your siblings. You and Leonardo are so alike that your characters clash, aggravated by the few small differences between your way of doing things; he has more self-control than you and is more willing to look into the spiritual side of things and the planning and leadership side of things, whereas you tend to go for the practical approach and acting on the impulsive decisions of everyday life, every moment wasted planning or talking frustrates you. It is this clash of character that makes you such an admirable team when you work together. It is also what has made you care so strongly for each other – all of you share such a strong bond. Michelangelo is the one who has so many times brought you all back from the depths of despair and so from failure. Donatello with his ingenious inventions and incredible knowledge of science and technology has saved you all countless times and has stepped in to prevent your fights with Leonardo from getting violent. Leonardo has led you both into and out of many scrapes and has always made sure that everything is carefully planned, even when under pressure, and he's so dedicated to the spiritual side of training and the practical side. You, Raphael, have a fiery temper that has prevented all three of your brother's from getting too big-headed many a time, and your fiercely protective nature has led you to so many victories in battle and you have often prevented us from running away from battles which we would have run away from."
"But Master Splinter, what about all the times I've really lost my temper and you've told me I should control my anger?" Raph was thoroughly bewildered by now. This was all so much to digest at once.
"You do have an exceptionally bad temper, my son, but it also has its advantages. All four of you have a tendency to under-estimate your abilities. You must learn to appreciate yourselves for what and who you are, not for what you want to improve." Splinter paused and sighed deeply, "I suggest you go and make your peace with Leonardo – don't always wait for him to go after you…good luck."
"Yes, Sensei – thanks, Sensei," Raph bowed and left the room, feeling completely drained mentally, Now to try and explain to Leo – I need all the luck I can get!
A/N: - Please Review and I'll update as soon as I can! These are my shout-outs from chapter 12 – if you reviewed then you'll find your answers here…
Spootycup: - Oh, believe me – things are going to get a lot more heated between Leo and Raph…and just as Splinter punishing Leo seemed almost impossibility…well, you'll have to read – but I will say that Raph is about to say a word no-one ever thought he would say to Leo! And thank-you for all your reviews.
BubblyShell22: - I have to agree – Mikey is a little unique! And his taste in pizza is definitely very odd! Thanks for your review – I'm still not sure exactly who will suffer what fate in the end, although I have almost decided!
BlueRaven: - My favourite TMNT? Leo all the way! Who's your fave? I'm really glad you liked it and thanks for the review.
Lioness-Goddess: - They do have a big problem! I sometimes wonder if I should give them a vacation – but where would be the fun in that! Heh, thanks for all the reviews over this story!
Leo Oneal: - I know what you mean, they haven't had an easy life considering they are so young – I just want to hug them sometimes and make Shredder go away - . But we all know what he's like…! Thanks for the review, I appreciate it.
Chibi Rose Angel: - Thank you so much for the kind words – and, just as a warning, if you think BBOTML and this so far is putting them through shell and back then you are gonna hate me in later chapters grins evilly but I can say no more here or it will ruin the surprise!
