A/N: Yeah, I know what you're thinking. FINALLY! LG updated again! Yep, I am. And I truly am sorry I haven't updated this story more. It's just been raining. A lot. I know that sounds like a really stupid excuse, but I get depressed when it rains for more than three days. It's how I am. But now that I think of it….it's STILL raining, but I decided to update for you guys. Aren't I nice?

…

Splinter sat on his bed, his legs crossed, breathing deeply. It had taken him nearly an hour to calm down after discovering his sons' excursion to a certain tunnel…that tunnel. But he had been on his way to explain to them the truth, when he discovered them. That didn't change the fact that he still needed to tell them, and soon, before he lost his nerve and they discovered it from some other source. He wasn't sure what this other source could be, but whatever it was, he felt the pressing need for his young sons to hear the truth from him, and him only. Splinter rubbed his temples. He needed to relax a little. The rat climbed out of his lotus position and headed to the kitchen for some tea before confronting his sons.

…

"Oh man, we are in so much trouble…oh man…ooh, Splinter's really gonna be mad…" Leo paced around the small bedroom, muttering things of this nature to himself. Raph watched him tiredly. His older brother's pacing was making him dizzy.

"Chill, Leo would ya? It's not like he's gonna throw you out or anything."

"He wouldn't do that anyway!" Donnie said from his huddled up position on his bed. "He'll probably just make us practice more."

"See?" Raph said to Leo, "That's not even punishment for you! You like doing extra practice."

"But being made to do it because of something shameful you did is different!" Leo protested. Raph rolled his eyes. Sometimes there was no getting through to his brother.

"It ain't shameful." Raph said confidently. "There's somethin' weird goin' on down here, and sensei knows we're gonna find out what it is!"

"If he wanted us to know, he would tell us, Raph." Leo countered, "He doesn't want us to know about this…this…ghost you found."

"He knows somethin' about it! I know he does! Lookit the bear!" Raph held up the brown object in question, "The tag has a name on it, right? Well, our toys do too!"

For as long as they could remember, each turtle had had their very own stuffed animal. Raph's was a tiger, Leo had a wolf, and Don had a jackelope, of all things. Each of the boys had their respective names written on the tag, in Splinter's handwriting. Just like the bear. "There's somethin' goin' down, and if sensei don't wanna tell us, I'll just hafta find out!"

Raph ran over to the closed door of their bedroom and flung it open, sticking his head out to make sure all was clear, ignoring Leo's protests. Raph grinned as he saw Splinter heading towards the kitchen. Perfect.

Raph waited until Splinter had gone all the way into the kitchen, and then cautiously stepped out of the room and froze, expecting Splinter to dash out of the kitchen any moment and catch him. But his master stayed safely in the kitchen, and Raph successfully made it to Splinter's room without any mishaps.

Inside Splinter's room, Raph wasn't sure what to do. He had made it in, but then what? It wouldn't be like Splinter to leave things lying around to give Raph any clues about the strange ghost. He would have to do some detective work of his own.

He decided to start with Splinter's desk. There had always been a small desk by Splinter's bed with various papers on it, but Raph had never really cared what was on it – or in it. He did now. Raph glanced over his shoulder quickly to make sure Splinter wasn't returning, then looked at the top of the desk. There were a few papers on it, some writings in kanji, and papers Raph and his brothers had used to write on during their math lessons. Nothing of interest. After another glance over his shoulder, Raph carefully pulled open the drawer to the desk.

Inside, there were more of their school papers, and a few photos Splinter had managed to get of them with a camera he had found with some film left inside, miraculously undamaged by the sewer water. Raph was about to replace the drawer and give up when a crack in the side of the drawer caught his attention.

Frowning, Raphael poked it with his finger. The bottom half of the crack started to give way, and Raph snatched his hand back. The last thing he wanted was to be caught breaking sensei's stuff. Raph was about to leave empty handed when a small flash of white caused him to pause. He was pretty sure it had come from near the crack…

Raph poked the crack again, harder this time. It gave way enough so Raph could see what was inside. There was a white piece of paper…but as the young turtle pulled the slip out, he realized it wasn't just a mere piece of paper. It was a picture! Flipping it over, Raph gasped as he realized what was actually in the picture. The image was him and his brothers, as babies, and holding their respective stuffed toys. But there weren't three small turtles – there were four. And the smallest was clutching a bear. The four of them couldn't be older than two.

The young Raph frozen in the picture had his shell slightly turned to the camera, apparently trying to rip off one of the ears of his tiger. Donnie had fallen asleep on Leo's shoulder, his jackelope dangling from one hand, and Leo simply stared at the camera with a bemused expression. The fourth one though, stared at the camera with a huge grin on his face, clutching his bear to his body as if he would never let it go for anything.

As Raph stared at the picture, the fourth little turtle – moved. Raph saw the image of the grinning turtle suddenly stick his tongue out at him! Raph stared at the picture hard, but the strange turtle had gone back to his happy expression. Gotta be a trick of the light. Raph thought to himself.

His ears caught the sound of motion near the kitchen, and Raph knew it was time to scram, before he was caught breaking the rules for the third time in a row. Tucking the picture into his belt, Raph made a mad dash for the bedroom, making it in just seconds before Splinter emerged from the kitchen.

Leo and Don approached Raph. "Raph, what-"

Whatever Leo was going to ask, nobody ever knew, because at that moment, there was a soft knock at the door.

"My sons, may I come in please?" Splinter's voice floated in from the hallway. The brothers exchanged confused looks before Leo answered, "Hai, come in, sensei."

Splinter slipped inside the room, closing the door softly behind him. "My sons," he sighed, "I have something very important to discuss with you." He sat on Leo's bed, and motioned for his sons to sit around him. Leo sat on his left side, Don on his right. Raph opted to sit on the floor, in front of his sensei.

"My sons, I have always strived to be honest with you, but there are some things that I considered you not old enough for. Certain events however, have brought to my attention that perhaps you are old enough now, to know the whole truth about your history, and your family.

You know how you came to be, about the glowing ooze that you crawled in when you were ordinary turtles, and how I found you. What I have kept from you, was that you were not always three. When I discovered you, there were four.

I named you from an art book I found, and I did the same for your brother. His name was Michelangelo. Raphael, I believe you found his toy wedged into a pipe the other night, did you not?"

Raph nodded. "But sensei, how come he's not here with us now, if you found him with the rest of us?" Don wanted to know.

Splinter sighed. "I am coming to that, Donatello. You see, when you were toddlers, the four of you were extremely rambunctious, to say the least. I had trouble keeping an eye on all of you at once. Raphael and Michelangelo were often wandering away from the rest when I was away, despite explicit instructions.

One day there had been excessive rain, and the sewers became flooded. I instructed you four to stay safely in the lair while I checked to make sure no major damage had been done to the systems. You all knew the dangers of the outside world by then, young as you were.

I left to check the systems, but something upset Michelangelo – I do not know what – and he came after me. I was, at this time, on a rather perilous ledge, hoping to see if any of the other tunnels were damaged. Michelangelo tried to climb it as I had. Unfortunately, due to flooding, the handholds I had used were slippery. I had climbed them easily with the use of my claws, but Michelangelo did not have such luxuries. He slipped – I tried to catch him, but I was too late.

He fell into the water, and was swept away. I followed as best as I could, but there was no trace of him. I had to give up. Michelangelo had perished."

The rest of Splinter's sons were speechless. "His ghost is still here, sensei!" Raph blurted out.

Splinter looked at him. "I do not know of this spirit of which you speak, Raphael, but it is entirely possible that your brother can not 'pass on' as they say."

Raph wasn't listening. It was all starting to make sense to him now, why Master Splinter hadn't seen or heard or sensed this Michelangelo ghost, and why the picture had moved, also why the ghost disappeared so quickly when Splinter had come! The ghost had to be connected to the picture somehow. When it – he, Raph corrected himself, - wanted to roam, his image disappeared from the picture. He had to return to the picture when someone was looking at it. Splinter must have been carrying the picture with him when he discovered Raph in the tunnel!

Raph was about to say something, when a large crash outside the lair caught their attention.

A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. Owch. For those of you who don't know, a jackelope is an imaginary creature. It's a jackrabbit with antlers. I have a stuffed toy of one. :)