Hey! Finally the next chapter! Just a heads up, things are going to slow down for a bit but please bear with me! I promise it gets better!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters named and mentioned in the story below. Only the plot.

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Chapter 5

Raphael jolted awake with a panicked breath of air, just barely biting back a scream. His heart pounded in his chest as he panted for breath, his eyes darting back and forth, urgently taking in his surroundings.

At first, the only thing that filled his vision was utter darkness. But, as his eyes adjusted, he began to recognize the faint silhouette of the old locker on the far left wall and his personal drum set in the corner closest to him.

He sucked in a long calming breath, and let it out slow. He was in his room. The familiar, warm scent of leather and sweat hung heavy in the air, soothing his frayed nerves.

Flopping back onto his pillow he exhaled roughly. The comfort and safety of home washing over him.

Man, what a weird dream, he thought, closing his eyes with a sigh.

He glanced over at the digital alarm clock sitting atop one of his bass speakers.

"Holy sewer cakes!" Raph shouted, throwing off the covers and jumping out of bed, "Is it really that late?!"

Grabbing his gear, which consisted mostly of foot and hand wraps, along with his elbow and knee pads, he sat back down on the bed, putting them on as quickly as he could.

"I can't be-lieve I slept in!" he growled at himself, slipping on one of his knee pads, "I'm going to catch it from Sensei if I'm late for training."

He shivered at the thought of what kind of punishment his Sensei would resort to. Perhaps solo Randori?

Raphael swallowed hard and began to work faster.

When he'd fastened the last wrap around his ankle, he jumped up from the bed and, snatching up his tattered red bandanna, made a beeline for the door. Once the door was open, he ran out as fast as he could, tying on his bandanna on the way to the dojo.

"I'm here!" he announced, running through the dojo entrance.

Relief washed over him when he saw that Donatello and Michelangelo were only stretching, most likely in preparation for the sure to be brutal training session. Though, he had to admit, the part that relieved him most was that Master Splinter was no where in sight.

"Man! You sure like cutting things close, don't ya Raph?" Mikey smirked.

"Yeah well I'm here aren't I?" Raph responded gruffly, quickly regaining his composure.

"Hey, at least you aren't last," Donnie commented, beginning a round of light, warmup exercises, "Leo's not even up yet."

"What?" Raph said, both stunned and alarmed at his younger brother's statement.

Leo was usually very good about keeping schedule, especially if it involved training, and was commonly in the dojo, warmed up and ready to go, long before any of the others.

"Is he really still sleeping?" Raphael asked.

"Mm-hm," Mikey nodded, "Yep, sure is!"

"He must have come back from patrol really late if he's still too tired for training." Donnie thought aloud, and Raph was sure he could see a mischievous glint in the genius turtle's reddish brown eyes.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Mikey seemed a little more energetic and bubbly than he usually was before training. The orange masked turtle tried to hold back a smirk, but Raph had already caught sight of it and was instantly suspicious.

He frowned, "Guys? What did you do?"

"Nothing," Mikey replied innocently.

"Then what is it?" Raphael asked, crossing his arms across his plastron, "I can tell when you two are up to something, so come on. Spill it. What's going on?"

"Nothing! Really!" Donatello insisted before chuckling lightly, "It's just kinda humorous is all."

"Yeah!" Mikey interjected excitedly, "The one who's all like, 'we need to train' and is always here before the rest of us on any other day, is late for the first time because he was out patrolling too late! I mean, this story is just filled to the brim with ironing!"

"Irony," Donnie corrected.

Okay. Raphael had to admit that it was hilariously ironic. And it would feel really satisfying to not only go unpunished through training, but to also see the goody two blades, who never seemed to do anything wrong, get punished instead for once. Oh how sweet an experience that would be! And it just got better! Raph could hold this day over Leo's head for the rest of their natural lives.

But when Raphael thought back to those terrifying moments when he thought that he himself was going to be late and, because of that, punished... Despite how tempting the situational outcome was, he knew he couldn't be that cruel.

"Someone needs to go wake him up before Splinter comes out and notices that he's not here," Raph said, glancing over his shoulder at their Sensei's room.

Mikey looked at him, confused.

"Why?" he asked, "If someone gets him, the levels of irony will degrease!"

"Decrease," Donatello corrected.

"Come on guys," Raphael scoffed, "Do you really want Leo to get in trouble?"

He'd asked the question rhetorically, but when Donnie and Mikey exchanged glances, Raph got a sinking feeling.

Well, at least it's nice to know I'm not the only one, he thought to himself, and if they were in a different situation, he would've smirked.

"You do, don't you," he asked, and they both shuffled awkwardly.

"W-ell, now that you mention it.." Mikey confessed, though not with very much conviction.

Raph shook his head.

"That's way low, even for me!" he accused, looking at his younger brothers feigning disappointment, and shame, "You two oughta be ashamed of yourselves! In fact, to make up for it, I think one of you should go wake Leo up. Donnie?"

Donatello shook his head and subtly pointed at Mikey.

Raph turned his attention to the orange masked turtle.

"Mikey?" he half asked half commanded.

Mikey shook his head.

"Uh-Uh. No way. I'm not going!"

"Mikey, go get Leo," Raphael growled.

"Nooo!" Mikey whined, "Why can't Donnie go?"

"Donnie's stretching."

Mikey's left leg shot up, and he practically hugged it to his chest as he balanced precariously on one foot. He was always the more naturally flexible.

"Look! I'm stretching!" he exclaimed desperately.

"Too late," Raph insisted sternly, "Now go wake Leo up."

"It's cutting it too close! Sensei could come out any second! What if I don't make it back on time?!"

"Then you'll have suffered for a good cause, and Leo won't have to be punished by himself."

"Please don't make me go!" Mikey begged.

He should know by now that begging doesn't work on me, Raph thought.

"Why can't you go?!" Mikey whined.

"Because I wasn't the one who was-" Raphael searched for the right word, "Insubordinating."

He could see Donnie smack his forehead in the background, and only rolled his eyes in frustration.

Well I'm so-rry if I misused one stinkin' word Mr. picky genius.

"Mikey, go get Leo right now, or I will personally make sure that this will be the worst training session you have ever endured in the past, present and future. Got it?"

Mikey gulped, nodded, and, with a pitiful whimper, began to make his way past Raph towards the dojo exit.

Suddenly the door to their Sensei's room slid open, and Master Splinter stepped out.

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Uh oh! They have no idea what's going on! What's Master Splinter going to do? Guess you'll have to find out! ;D

I also want to give a special thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment on my story. It's really inspiring to see that people honestly take an interest in my stories! Thank you so much for your support! You make it so much easier for me to get up in the morning and start writing.