Chapter 2

I've been thinking about making this a chaptered story, but I'm still a bit unsure. I'm not all that good a writing a believable dialouge between characters, which is why most of my work is character study.

However, change is always good, and depending on the reviews I get, I'll either continue this story, or leave it as a one-shot. Happy reading!

Raph ran atop the rooftops, anger at his brother blinding him to anything else. Why couldn't he go topside every once 'n a while? Yes, he was topside now, but this wasn't a sanctioned trip. Leo, perfect Leo, wasn't letting any of his brothers go topside because the Foot activity had been steadily increasing, although as to why remained a mystery even to Splinter, regardless of how many hours of meditation he put forth. And so, all four of the brothers where now stuck in the sewers, seeing way too much of each other and tempers where reaching the boiling point…

"Mickey, I swear to God, you do that one more time and I'm going to shove that firecracker so far up your ass, Donnie won't find it with a torch!" And with that comforting threat firmly in place, Raph returned to channel surfing while trying to ignore his rising frustration. Ever since Mickey found those firecrackers after a late night patrol with Don, he had been driving them all crazy, setting them off all over the Lair. Already he had booby trapped the bathroom, to where each time someone used the toilet, they were greeted with a colorful display of sparks and confetti. As Raph sank deeper into the hypnotic lure of daytime T.V. he failed to notice Mickey creeping up behind him, firecracker in hand.

POW!

For a second Raph wasn't sure what had happened. Everything was dead silent and bright spots of color were flashing about the room. Turning around, he spied his youngest brother giggling, rolling on the floor behind the couch, the remains of a firecracker around him. Raph shook his head, trying to clear his hearing as Leo walked into the room, an annoyed expression dominating his features. As Leo opened his mouth, beginning to lecture Mickey, Raph slowly began to make out what was being said.

"Mickey! Three times in the last hour! What's wrong with you? You know we're all stuck down here until either the Foot activity calms down or we get some idea of what they're up to."

"Ya know, Leo, perhaps if ya let us go topside every once 'n a while, we'd be able to figga out what the Foot's up to? I don't think that's gonna happen with us sittin' around on our buts!"

"Shut up Raph! You know, for someone who's always complaining about me sticking my nose into other people's business, you sure do seem to do so quite a bit yourself.

"Your business? Excuse me Leo, but this is between Mickey and me, and we were doin' just fine before you butted in."

"Raph –"

"Nah, I'm done! We've been sittin' around, rottin' down here fer God knows how long, while the Foot are up there, runnin' the city. It's time we do somethin' bout it 'n ya know it!"

Arms crossed, Leo snorted, "And just what do you suggest we do?"

Raph hit the side of his head. He was beginning to think that Leo's brain was malfunctioning due to sitting down here for so long, "Duh, topside for patrol!"

Leo shook his head, "Too risky, Raph. There's too many of the Foot. We'd be outnumbered one-hundred to one. I don't like this any better than the rest of you, but before we go advertising, we need to know what we're going up against."

"Ya, well, the only way that's gonna happen is if we go topside, which is exactly what I'm plannin' on doin'!"

That said, Raph stormed over to the door, and proceeding to make his way down the sewer, ignoring Leo all the way…

K guys, it's now up to you. Do I contuine or leave is as my original one-shot? Read and Review!