Authors Note: I would like to say a huge thank you to Hakucho! I was helplessly stuck with this chapter and she answered my pleas and came up with the inspiration for the Dragons scene about three-quarters through the chapter. And as ever, thanks to those who review.

I know I said I was gonna divulge from the series from this chapter, but I had to revisit an idea that was in there. It's done differently and the next chapter has no bearing on any episode. I was gonna put it in here but it was getting a little too long so I cut them up. Meh, enough of my rambling – enjoy!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Casey Jones covered his head as the shop blew. He was trying to run but the blast knocked him off his feet and instead he lay, breathing asphalt and rain water, wondering how badly he was hurt... and how badly his friends were hurt.

The main explosion subsided and he cautiously raised his head. The first thing he noticed was that there were no emergency services at the mouth of the alley they were fleeing. A bonus, but that would change soon. Those guys were damn good.

Ahead of him he could see April, still on her feet and apparently unharmed by the explosion – but her face had gone slack and she was showing all the signs of shock. It was her home, her life that had just gone up in flames and he supposed he shouldn't be surprised, but he needed her help if any of them were to escape this nightmare.

He didn't dare to hope for all of them.

Turning, he saw Splinter, incredibly on his feet, limping back into the flame filled nightmare. Casey paused – the fire scared him, made him want to get the hell away – but his friends were in there. If he left them now, he could never live with himself.

He walked cautiously back into the alley, every step bringing fear into his heart.

Ahead of him, he saw Donnie get up and hope rose in his chest. The turtle was breathing hard, but didn't seem to be badly hurt. Beside Don was the limp form of Leo, his unconsciousness aiding his survival through the blast – he had been so limp that he hadn't been injured.

Further injured. Leo was in bad shape. The noise hadn't done a thing to wake him and Casey felt his fragile hope dimming. That was most of them, but there was still two of them missing...

The two closest to the shop when it went up, Raph and Mikey. Raph had been severely injured before the shop went up. What had become of them?

Splinter limped past Don and Leo, after a look to satisfy himself that they both breathed, and Casey followed. If they needed help, the rat was in no condition to do so.

They found the two turtles close to where they had made their escape from the shop. Mikey lay on his side, knocked out cold, a nasty lump growing where he had hit the wall, blisters forming where the flaming debris had struck him. Raph lay close by, blood already trickling down to the ground where he lay, senseless.

That left Leo and Raph in dire straits, Mikey unconscious, April in shock, Splinter injured. Casey and Don were the only ones able to help.

"Casey."

Casey turned, rather surprised to find Don behind him.

"Can you take Leo? We have to get away from here. I'll take Mikey and ... and Raph. Splinter will help April."

"Sure thing." Casey was willing to let Don take over as he had no idea what to do. Instead, he made his way over to Leo and grabbed the turtle around the waist, trying to pull him up.

Don was slowly dragging Mikey and Raph out of the alley. "We need to get away. I need to... their wounds..."

Casey understood. "Maybe the sewer first. And then – I've got a place we can go. Out of the city, no one looking for us."

Don flashed him a look of pure gratitude. "Can you arrange it?"

"Sure, no sweat..."

"CASEY!"

"Huh?" Casey awoke from his dream, which had been more of a memory and glared at April. "What is it?"

"Is this your Grandma's house?"

Casey blinked, trying not to yawn. After the events of the previous day he had doubted he would ever be able to sleep again, but evidently he owed a lot more to adrenaline than he had originally thought.

"Yeah! This is the place! Just like I remember it!"

April sighed as a shutter fell from the upstairs window and landed on the floor. Just her luck,. Beat up and then rather than a nice clean hospital, she got the farm that time forgot.

"I wonder how the guys are holding up?"

&&&&&&&&

Splinter bowed his head in the trailer they had bought dirt-cheap. It was rusted and old, but it let the five of them travel without question.

Leonardo was still unconscious. Had been so since the shop. No change.

Raphael also was unconscious. Donatello had stitched him up but there was no blood transfusion available or even possible when they had to run so quickly. Splinter knew little of medical matters, bu it looked to be touch and go. Maybe he could live through the wounds.

Maybe.

Michelangelo had come to shortly after they had escaped the alley, dazed but understanding the danger they were in and helping the injured through the sewers. Now he was huddled in a blanket, staring at his brothers with a combination of anxiety and anger. Whom did he blame for what had happen to them? Splinter, for persuading them there was another life out there? Himself, for listening to Splinter? Saki, for orchestrating the attack?

And Donatello, looking after all of them. Concurring with Splinter that they couldn't risk returning to the lair, he had taken over care of his brothers, tightening the makeshift tourniquet on Raph's arm to minimise the blood loss, checking Leonardo over to see if there was anything more they could do.

Casey had really come through for them, arranging both the car and the trailer within two hours of the explosion, even thinking of the blankets they were all wrapped in. The temperature outside was certainly cold and that wouldn't help the wounded. But Donatello insisted that April drive due to the large lump on the back of Casey's head that he suspected was a concussion. By this time, they had managed to rouse her from her shocked state and in spite of a tearful outburst, she had recovered herself remarkably well considering everything she owned was in the shop.

They had stopped only once – long enough for Michelangelo to liberate some medical supplies from a doctors office, closed hours earlier. Donatello had spent most of the drive attending to various wounds, starting by stitching up Raphael and moving on to the others. He declared Splinter's leg to be broken and wrapped it so well that the old rat was surprised. The quiet turtle had managed to astound him several times but this medical knowledge was something he hadn't expected, with them growing up as Foot ninja.

The one thing he had expected was correct; the four were harder, colder than he would have liked. They had banded together to help each other in the shop, but their constant sniping at each other had not gone unnoticed.

And they hadn't told him they were leaving the lair to go after Leonardo. The rat was hurt. True, they had been hurried and weren't used to seeking his help – but they hadn't even thought of him when they needed aid. If he hadn't heard Donatello shouting April's name, he wouldn't have known where to search.

And if he hadn't arrived at the scene when he had, his sons and their friends would all be dead at the hands of the Shredder.

Splinter gave a weary sigh. This time away from the city, he would use to ensure things changed in this family. No matter what he had to do to enforce it.

&&&&&&&&&

Don and Mikey carried their wounded brothers into the house, Don asking Casey if there was some way they could heat the room in a hurry. There was always the risk of hypothermia with extreme blood loss and the room was cold, obviously having been unused for a long time. Casey nodded and went outside, returning a few minutes later with some wood and starting a fire in the grate.

"Always keep some in the shed," he explained. "Saves having to run off chopping wood as soon as I get here."

There was no reply and after a moment, he shrugged and returned to the task at hand.

Mikey laid Leo out on the couch, wrapping the blanket more tightly around his brother and adding his own. Donatello placed Raph in a nearby chair, trying to be careful – but the movement seemed to startle Raph out of his unconscious state and he blearily opened his eyes.

"Raph!" Don immediately started checking the pupils. "How do you feel?"

"Peachy," croaked Raphael. "Thirsty – what does a guy have ta do ta get a glass of water?"

Casey handed him a bottle, having thought of that need too and not trusting the pipes here having not been used in a while. Mikey peered over Don's shoulder and gave Raph his first genuine smile of the day.

"Bro! You're awake!"

Raph glugged at the water gratefully. "Where's Leo?"

Mikey lost his smile. "On the couch. He's still not woken up."

"Still?" Raphael stared at his brothers prone form, starting to get up. "Is he..."

"I don't know Raph," said Don soberly, putting out a hand to stop Raph rising. "But you have to stay where you are and get rest for the next few weeks. You lost a lot of blood and you have to give your body time to recover."

Scowling, Raph slumped back in the chair. Normally he would take out his frustration on his punch bag and now he was supposed to stay away from it for weeks on end?

Belatedly, he realised he couldn't see his punch bag. In fact, he had never been to this place before in his life. "Hey, where are we?"

"Casey's grandma's farmhouse," said April, her weariness showing in her voice. She glanced over at Leo. "Why won't he wake up?"

"It takes time. And he is suffering from more than just physical wounds. His spirit has also been grievously injured." Splinter hovered around Leo, knowing there was little he could do but unwilling to leave, superstitious dread making him fear that the life would leave Leo the moment he turned his back.

"But," he added with a pointed look at the other three turtles. "It is said that the voice of a loved one may guide a lost spirit back to its home."

"I don't think we can get Karai to make a house call," snapped Mikey.

"Can it Mike," growled Raph.

"It can't hurt I suppose," said Don, tentatively approaching Leo's bed. "Hey Leo... it's me, Don."

Oh yeah, that'll help.

"Listen, you've gotta pull through this. You always come through for us and I know you will again. You have to. You know what kind of trouble we'd get into without you. Like... remember that time I hacked into the security system at Foot headquarters?"

"It'll be great Leo!" Donnie's voice was full of excitement as he tapped rapidly away on the keyboard. "We'll put in some extra training against the security system and then we're bound to do really good when we spar – and maybe Master Saki will take us out for ice cream!"

Leonardo looked at his brother, bemused. Don's recent obsession with ice cream had been subject of many jokes among the four turtles but he somehow doubted Master Saki would take them out in broad daylight for a treat. And they had been warned repeatedly that ninja training took many years. Perfection didn't occur overnight, no matter what they went up against.

Still... he was seven years old. Focused and serious he may be much of the time, but the chance of an impossible dream actually coming true... improving his sparring AND getting ice cream as a reward? What seven year old mutant turtle could resist such allure?

"Master Saki might get mad."

"He's never told us not to mess with security," said Don reasonably. "See? All I had to do was unlock the code and the seventy-second floor is our playground!"

"Sensei told us we shouldn't go on that floor."

"It's the only place we can! And I bet when he finds out how much training we did, he won't be mad!"

Leo nodded and the pair hurried off, taking the elevator to the forbidden floor. Donnie's tampering had worked; the corridor was alive with swinging blades. Don paused. Suddenly, his neat idea didn't seem so neat after all. But there was no way he was backing down in front of Leo. The other turtle was always so focused, brave. Don looked up to Leo, although he would never have admitted it to him.

Instead of turning back, he walked into the corridor, jumping and ducking to avoid the blades. Several feet into the corridor, he broke out into a relieved grin. It was easy! The blades were sharp by the look, but slow moving and easy to avoid. He was going to be a ninja master! And there would be ice cream for sure...

His foot seemed to sink slightly into the floor and he glanced down in confusion. Sure enough, the spot beneath his foot had depressed. There was a click from the ground and a sudden whirring noise in the walls and he had a moment to realise he might have set the lightweight weapons to activate – but evidently there were more and he hadn't deactivated them.

"DONNIE!"

Don felt frozen to the spot as he slowly turned his head to the right, seeing a sharp, spinning blade heading his way and knowing he couldn't avoid it...

And then something slammed into his shell, knocking him aside. He lay for a second on the floor, half-expecting the blades to split his skull down the middle.

"MOVE shell-for-brains!" Leo grabbed Don by the wrist and yanked the terrified turtle to his feet, dragging him back in the direction of the elevator. The pair ran back, aware of the additional dangers coming out of the walls, more like something from one of Leo's favourite Indiana Jones films than what they'd expect of their home.

And then they were in the elevator and out of danger.

Leonardo hit the button so hard Don thought for a moment he might have broken it – but the door closed and the elevator began its smooth journey to the ground floor.

Don struggled to get his heart beat back down to normal. "Leo? You know the one that nearly got me?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you think it looked a bit like a giant pizza slicer?"

Leo gaped at his brother in disbelief.

"You really came through for me that day Leo," said Don, beginning to ramble a little. Leo hadn't responded in the slightest. There was no change in his breathing, no indication that he might have heard. Don wasn't sure what he had hoped for – probably for his brother to get up and announce he was feeling much better – but he had expected something.

"Looks like ya got him hanging on your every word there Don." Raph snorted and sank further into his chair. All your fault Raphael... all your fault...

"Let me try!" said Mikey suddenly, with a total reversal of his earlier disdain for the idea. He leapt over to the couch and knelt beside it. "Listen bro. Just like, concentrate on the sound of my voice. You always said if I ever needed to talk to you, you'd listen... remember?"

Leonardo entered the room quietly, pausing at the threshold and waiting for his brother to look up, give him a cheery smile and suggest video games, perhaps a skateboard through one of the seldom used corridors of Foot headquarters. But Mikey kept his head down, staring at the corner and refusing to meet Leo's eyes. The room was in shadows, the light dimmed until Mikey's form was barely more than a silhouette sat on the bed.

"Mikey?"

Michelangelo didn't tell him to go away but the words weren't needed; the implication was clear in the way he turned around and gazed at the other wall instead.

"Mikey, look at me."

Still no movement.

"Mike!" Leonardo walked in and rested a hand on his brothers shell, only for Mikey to pull away. Leo was at a loss what to do. He was only nine years old and felt as if the world had been pulled out from beneath his feet already.

"Talk to me, please!"

Mikey looked at Leo over his left shoulder and he couldn't help but wince at what he saw. Mikey's face bore two deep, ugly slash marks, the neat surgical stitching not hiding the severity of the disfigurement. They were already freaks; but Mikey stood out among them now as the ugly one, the disfigured one.

"I don't want to talk about it Leo."

"You can't pretend nothing happened..."

"It was an accident! It's just a scratch!"

"Mikey..." Leonardo had plans to run, to leave, all of them preferably but just him and Mike if need be. He didn't want to see his brothers hurt.

Mikey had other ideas.

"We have training in the morning," said Michelangelo, turning away from Leo.

"Mikey! We have to do something, get away from here!"

"And do what?" Mikey concentrated on the wall. "Go where? We can't exactly contact child services. You other guys – you're all doing well with the Foot. It's only me who needs to change."

"I don't want you to change."

"Tough rocks. I don't want to talk about it."

Leo nodded, knowing that Mikey could see his shadow on the wall. "But if you ever need to talk about it..."

"I DON'T want to talk about it!"

"Maybe I need to talk now," continued Mikey. "I always knew you were there for me when I got the guts to talk about it – without you, I don't know what I'll do!"

"If ya ask me, Leo's not coming back 'cause he's afraid," snarled Raphael suddenly.

"No one asked you," snapped back Mikey.

"He got his butt whooped and now he's too chicken to face it! Well, who needs ya!"

"That's enough!" Don clenched his fists angrily, prepared to go over to Raphael and give him a piece of his mind, recovering from serious injury or not – but changed his mind when he realised he could see tears starting in his brothers eyes. Raphael reacted more strongly than the rest of them to everything, be it anger, frustration or sorrow and he was feeling all of those at that moment.

Raph bowed his head for a moment, fighting to get his emotions under control. He hated to cry, always had done, even as a child.

"Back in the day, I always thought I'd be top turtle. I was strongest, bravest. Leo was too cautious, always insisting on thinking things out. I knew to lead ya need to make split-second decisions but Leo always said wading in wasn't always the best way. Remember that, Fearless Leader?"

Raphael hurried out of Foot headquarters and took to the rooftops, feeling more secure out of sight of human eyes in spite of his usual Dragons-wear of baggy pants and a hoody. There was something going down that night, something major and although Hun hadn't shared the details, he had asked Raph to be a part of it.

Oruku Raphael, the only turtle of the four asked to be a part of the Purple Dragons as well as the Foot Clan. Obviously Sensei believed him the only one capable of managing both his ninjitsu training, allegiance to the Foot and take on the lucrative sideline that the Dragons afforded.

So why was Leonardo throwing his weight around?

That thought dimmed Raph's enthusiasm slightly. They were all the same age but it was obvious that neither Mikey nor Donnie had the drive or desire to be leader. Leonardo was dedicated to his ninjitsu training but spent too long working on tactics and planning ahead when it was obvious to Raph that once a battle was underway, a plan could go all the way to hell with only one unforeseen event and then what else was there to do but rely on split-second decisions?A leader had to think for himself, not follow some pre-arranged schedule.

It seemed evident to him that the reason Sensei had allowed him to work with both teams and not Leo was because it was he who would be expected to be the turtles leader. He was out getting the connections and experience while Leo was stuck at home, practising his katas.

The Dragons meeting place loomed up ahead and Raph dropped silently into an alley before approaching. Inside, there were almost thirty others already there. The mood was optimistic but determined. It might have been a lot more party-like had it not been for the constant, brooding presence of Hun.

"About time," he said to the young turtle. "Now maybe we can get on with it."

The warehouse fell silent as Hun continued, barely having to raise his voice. "We're taking down an armoured car tonight."

Raphael felt a frisson of excitement and quelled it, determined to be serious and focused, like a future leader of a group of skilled ninja should be.

"We'll split into teams." He reeled off a list of names. "You guys are our lookouts. Keep everyone posted. Two-Ton, Spike, Modo, you're backing up Raphael. Raph, it's your job to stop the truck. The rest of you, subdue the guards and grab the cash. Anyone messes up..." he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

Raph couldn't hold back the grin this time. He was in charge of one of the most important parts of the mission! And Master Saki had to know of his role in the heist, which meant – proof! He WAS supposed to be top turtle!

He barely noticed the way the Dragons he was teamed with were angry at him being put in charge and if he had, he wouldn't have cared. They may be older and more experienced as Dragons, but he was a ninja and better able than any of them to pull this off...

Then the armoured car turned up and everything turned to shit in a hurry.

Raph's plan to stop the car had been simple. Force the damn thing off the road. For this, he had Two-Ton and Modo in one car, Spike in another and he would jump in as soon as the car was stopped and attach a signal dampener to the door, probably do some damage with his dagger to the wheel at the same time. Simple and effective; get the job done and get out.

The truck turned the corner and Raph hissed into the comm-link. "Move out!"

He expected to hear the roar of engines from the street but there was only silence. Then Two-Ton came over the link. "The engine won't start!"

"What do you mean, the engine won't start?"

"I mean, the engine won't start! Battery's dead!"

"WHAT! What the fuck were ya doin, playing the radio or somethin?"

The silence on the other end told Raph all he needed to know. "Ahhh SHIT!"

Spike's car squealed around the corner and headed from the truck. There was a complicated moment when he seemed to realise he had no backup, then the vehicle and the armoured car both hit the brakes and skidded around each other. The armoured car slowed enough to check on the other, but Spike seemed to have lost his nerve and drove away at high speed.

"SHIT! SHIT!" Raph froze, at a loss of what to do. He didn't have a backup plan. It should have been so simple...

And then a figure walked out in front of the armoured car, seeming to stumble drunkenly. The driver was forced once more to hit the brakes and Raph took his chance, leaping down the fire escape and lurking in the shadows as the car screeched, looking like it was going to hit the drunk who had frozen in the glare of the headlights – but in the second before the collision, the drunk had an amazing recovery, leaping skillfully out of the way and vanishing into the night.

The driver pulled the car to a stop and opened the door to check to see if he had hit anyone, a confused look on his face and Raph leapt at the truck, slamming the signal dampener to the side and yanking the guy out. His buddy reached for the radio, trying to get a message out, but within seconds the Dragons had surrounded the vehicle and the robbery was in progress.

"Nice job there," commented Hun later on that night. "If you hadn't stepped in front of the truck, we might never have stopped it."

Raphael nodded silently, brooding. He couldn't quite bring himself to tell Hun that it hadn't been him who had stopped the truck.

But he had a good idea who it had been.

He never brought the subject up with Leo and Leo had never mentioned it. But after that day, Raphael was less likely to argue with Leo about tactics versus action and more likely to let Leo take the lead. Maybe there was some sense in having a back-up plan after all and Raph knew he wasn't the one to come up with it.

"I don't even know why I told ya that story," growled Raph, sliding further in to the seat and pulling the blanket around himself. Suddenly, he was ice cold. "I guess I just – I mean, what I'm trying to say is..."

Splinter glanced over at Raphael. "Your brother hears you and understands."

"What would you know about it?" Raph refused to look at Splinter and the old rat sighed. But it was obvious the turtle was under stress and now would not be the best time to rebuke him. Rather, he could give an example.

"Leonardo. You must gather all your strength and confront your fear, as you did many years ago."

Raph snorted. "Shows what you know. Leo's never been scared of nothing in his life!"

"Not so Raphael."

Splinter had been out searching for food, returning with very little. Half a pizza thrown away by a passing drunk, a few semi-eaten burgers. The late-night takeaway wasn't the best place to find food but the children had been particularly rambunctious that day and Splinter didn't have the energy to search further afield for supplies. And he was afraid, as he always was, that one of the little ones would awaken and find him gone. It happened on occasion.

Nearing the lair, he heard a quiet whimpering and picked up the pace. Their home may be safe from the eyes of humans but there were other things in the sewers...

The ragged blankets on which the children slept showed only three lumps beneath and Splinter ditched the bag with his finds in at the door, atop a rickety stool where the less intelligent rats couldn't get at it. satisfied that the three in bed were asleep, he followed the whimpering to a dark corner, where partially hidden behind a pipe he discovered...

"Leonardo!"

The tiny turtle looked up at him through tear-stained eyes. "Sp'inta! Dere!"

The rat looked where the turtle pointed a shaking finger, scenting the air cautiously lest intruders had found their sanctuary. "There is nothing there."

"Is!" Leo reached out and grabbed Splinter's leg tightly. "Is brack fink!"

"Brack fink?" Splinter's linguistic skills were yet to develop fully and he frowned. "I do not understand."

"Brack fink! Dere! Haff hands!"

Splinter was unnerved by Leonardo's insistence but knew there was nothing in the lair save for five mutants. Carrying the whimpering child on his shoulder, he made as if to go over to the corner – but Leo tightened his arms to a choke hold and began to wail.

Gasping, Splinter managed to prise the arms looser. "Hush! You will wake your brothers!"

"Brack fink eat me," snuffled Leo.

Still confused and worried, Splinter stared at the corner. His senses were sharper than his sons and he could see what was there – or rather, what wasn't – better than Leo in spite of the poor light and the strange moving shadows...

The shadows that looked a little like a figure, if one were to narrow ones eyes. A moving figure with disproportionately long hands.

Splinter muffled a chuckle. "Leonardo, there is nothing there. Your 'brack fink' is a shadow."

"Dere!"

"See?" Splinter set down the resisting turtle and walked over to the corner, reaching out his hand and ignoring Leonardo's frantic, inarticulate warnings. He brushed his hand against the walls, hoping to quell the child's notions.

"See? Nothing there."

"Brack fink dere?" Leonardo clenched his fists and took a few cautious paces forward. Splinter was impressed. He had hoped to settle Leonardo down enough to sleep, but the courage he showed in confronting what he surely saw was astounding from one so young.

Slowly, Leo reached out, ready to snatch his hand back – then a wide smile broke out on his face.

"No brack fink dere!"

"No brack fink," agreed Splinter, taking his sons outstretched hand and leading him back to the bed.

"You ignored the fear then Leonardo. Do so again."

There was no response from the turtle lying motionless on the couch.

"Well, that worked," muttered Raphael.

Michelangelo strode over to the chair Raph was huddled in. "Do you take classes in how to make things worse?"

"I'm just being a realist here!"

"Mikey, calm down," said Don, grabbing Mikey by the arm and trying to pull him away. "Raph's injured too."

"Hey, I don't need you to look after me Donnie!" snapped Raph.

"Noooo," replied Don with heavy sarcasm. "Because you do such a good job of looking after yourself!"

"Guys..."

The whispered voice cut through their bickering as if it had been shouted. On the couch, Leonardo had opened his eyes and was blinking sleepily at them.

"Do you... have to shout so loud?"

"LEO!"

Don and Mikey dived for the couch, mindful of Leo's injuries as they hugged him. In the corner, April and Casey grinned in relief and exchanged hugs of their own. Raph felt his irritation melt away, replaced with a sense of profound relief. Until that moment, he didn't realise how resigned to Leo's death he had become. And how much he blamed himself for it.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked over to see Splinter beside him.

"The path to recovery will not be an easy one for him Raphael."

"I guess not," muttered Raph, slightly embarrassed by what he had said to the rat earlier.

"Or for you."

"Hey! I'm not that badly hurt!"

Splinter didn't reply immediately, looking over at the rest of the groups rejoicing. "When things do not go your way, when the four of you should lend each other strength, instead you lash out at each other. All of you. And yet, when one of you is in jeopardy, the rest of you fight for them."

Raph shrugged. "That's what families do."

"No. That is what the Foot Clan does. If you are ever to recover from your experiences with them, the first step is to break this habit. Only then can you become stronger as brothers – as a family."

This was too philosophical for Raphael, who was feeling tired again. "Can we think about it later?"

"Of course," replied Splinter. He didn't doubt there would be much to think about over the coming weeks. But for now they could wait. For now, that all the family were alive and happy was enough.