A/N: We have reached chapter 50 and I never thought it would be this long. Still I must follow the story where it takes me. I hope you are enjoying the ride. Since 50 is such landmark this chapter is a little longer than usual. Let me know your thoughts!

Corruption

Sol dipped and soared through the tunnels that separated the space it now called home from the strangeness and chaos of the outside world. It vibrated and pulsed in complicated patterns as it roamed, venting its uncertainty and confusion into the empty darkness.

It wasn't supposed to be out here, roaming alone, but it wasn't like it was powerless. It could protect itself if the need arose and it was too upset to remain with the family.

why?!

It flashed.

why does the goddess fear?

Sol did not understand. Luna had Leonardo. She should fear nothing.

Sol had selected a stalwart protector, a calm advisor, a powerful being with infinite potential to be her bonded. One who was not an immortal, for they were too caught up in the machinations of Olympus to truly support her. No, Sol had chosen one who knew this world. One who could help her navigate through it's perils and pitfalls. One who could protect her physically from further harm.

Leonardo understood dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice. He matched her selflessness. He could be counted on to soothe, heal, act, or avenge at need. He was competent, decisive, and strong. Strong enough to resurrect her mortal life.

And Luna was good for him as well.

Leonardo's soul had been aching and incomplete when Sol met him. It had cried out in recognition the moment Sol had presented itself and introduced the goddess. Luna was the ultimate answer to all his needs and desires, so when Sol wordlessly offered the bond, Leonardo's soul latched on with no reservations.

It had been the right choice. Helios himself had reinforced it.

Leonardo was utterly devoted to her. Not just soul bound but dedicated to her with mind and heart as well. Why then would the goddess reject him in her time of need? By driving Sol away, she was preventing Leonardo from fulfilling his purpose.

it hurts luna. it hurts leonardo. it hurts sol. so why?

Sol knew about the darkness that worried her. It could feel the shadow creeping in a little more each day. But Leonardo was helping. Unbeknownst to her, Sol hovered each night at Leonardo's side as he silently poured his light and energy into the sleeping goddess. But Leonardo could not fix the problem for good if Luna would not tell him what was wrong.

Frustrated, the little flame dipped down into the dirt of the floor and spun up a powerful dust devil, sending debris spinning hard and fast against the tunnel walls. It had just begun a full blown expression of it's irritation, flashing rapidly and flooding the tunnel with blue light, when another member of its family came into view.

It was the funny one, the one that made Luna good things to eat, the one who saw through her emotions without trying, the one who nearly died to protect her.

Michelangelo stopped suddenly and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the still flying rocks and Sol's bright glare. Caught in the act of throwing a temper tantrum, Sol dimmed suddenly and sank to the tunnel floor in shame. It forced the wind to disperse and the dust to settle quickly.

"What the...? " Mikey said, looking around and finally focusing on the small teardrop huddled just above the floor. "Sol? Is everything ok? What are you doing out here all alone?"

Sol bobbed a little shrug. It did not like to speak much to others but for the family it made exceptions. Especially for this one. He had given so much for Luna.

luna said go away.

Michelangelo's eyes softened at the incredibly sad, confused, tone of the soul's projection. It's normally happy little chime was completely absent.

"I'm sorry, lil' guy," Mikey said, comfortingly. "Don't you usually hang out with Leo when Luna is busy?"

leonardo is recharging.

Michelangelo's face scrunched up in confusion. It was the middle of the afternoon and he didn't think Leo was taking a nap. Sol sighed a little hissing sound. This was why it rarely spoke to others. It was too hard to make them understand.

leonardo sits very still and asks the world for power. it comes.

Mikey's eyes finally lit up with understanding. Leo was meditating. Again. It seemed he was doing that more and more in recent days. When Mikey had gently teased him and inquired why, Leo just said it helped him focus and pierced Mikey with a look that said he might benefit from a little focus as well. Mikey had beat a hasty retreat before Leo could order him to join in.

Meditation as recharging. That was a new perspective for Mikey. It turned his thinking in a different direction. Suddenly Leo's frequent sessions began to concern him. What was he using all his energy on that he needed to spend so much time refueling? There hadn't been an immortal battle in weeks and no one was currently in need of healing.

Could it be something else? Maybe to do with Leo's emphatic gift? Come to think of it, Luna had been practically absent for days. And when Mikey had seen her, she looked drawn and tired. Perhaps Leo was spending his energy trying to cure her of some ailment.

Mikey frowned then smoothed out his expression when he noticed Sol shiver. It still hovered below his knees just above the floor. He hated to see the little soul so down, especially after it saved him of its own accord during the Hades catastrophe.

Mikey didn't know why Luna had sent it away, but it was obvious that Sol felt lonely and lost. A distraction was in order and that was something Mikey could easily provide.

"You can hang out with me if you want, lil' guy," Mikey volunteered. "I'm headed out to meet April for the weekly groceries."

Sol perked up a little at that and floated up to Mikey's shoulder. It rarely associated names with individuals, preferring instead to refer to them by their relationship to the goddess or Leonardo, so it didn't know who this April was. When Leonardo or Luna was around it didn't matter since Sol could pick the image of the person under discussion from their mind. Sol couldn't do that with this brother. It hissed again in frustration at having to ask.

april?

"You know...April. Human woman, red hair, green eyes, bright and bouncy personality," Mikey said.

ah. mortal sister.

Michelangelo was startled. April was like their sister. She had known them so long, she was more than just a friend. She was a vital connection to the outside world but he certainly thought of her as family. He was surprised, however, to hear Sol refer to her that way. He chuckled softly.

"Yeah, sister," Mikey agreed.

Sol had paid attention to the mortal woman because Leonardo felt great affection for her but it immediately realized she was family. Sol didn't need to read glyphs like Hades or Luna to know that this human woman carried the Hamato mark, regardless of her lack of blood ties. In fact, Sol sensed this human sister was going to be good for the goddess in ways that even her own blood kin were not. She was practical, supportive, and Luna respected her advice. Maybe that was the way forward. Perhaps it was time for Sol to reach out again for help, as it had with Leonardo. This sister might be able to lead the goddess to sense.

ok. sol go.

"Alright! Let's go lil' buddy," Mikey said enthusiastically. "We shouldn't keep a lady waiting."

They proceeded down the tunnel at a good pace, quickly outdistancing the area Sol would have dared on its own. As they left its comfort zone, Sol began to fidget a little in distress. It had not been this far away from Luna or Leonardo since the wraith attack and it was concerned for their safety.

But Luna, and the home, had many protectors. There were two mighty fathers, Fina, the red brother, and Leonardo there. This brother needed someone with power to keep him safe. If Sol had known the orange one left home weekly, it would have followed him before now.

Since the attack that claimed Luna's first mortal life, Sol regarded other humans and the outside world in general with deep suspicion. It didn't trust them around its family. Because of this, it harbored great concern about any of the unempowered that left their home. That included the mortal sister. She lived outside the protective circle. She had nothing to assist her if their enemies discovered her location.

It had run this worry by Leonardo on several occasions and though he shared the emotion, Leonardo would not insist that April join them. Sol did not understand this but had accepted the decision. That didn't mean it was satisfied.

Sol had a bad feeling about what was coming. It wouldn't leave any member of its family undefended, so as they traveled further from the relative safety of home, Sol swooped down to the tunnel floor and picked up a small polished rock. It concentrated hard on the stone, imbuing it with power and purpose as they traveled along. Before they reached the mortal sister, Sol would create a solution.

Trine pulsed brightly, then dimmed and pulsed again, seeking any cracks in the protection of the crystal orb. The prison was too good. Trine couldn't find any weaknesses to exploit. The crystal had been immersed in the river Styx, the river of hate, deep in the confines of Hades. Like all the waters there, the Styx main purpose was keeping souls from escaping and it was doing a good job. Trine flare again in frustration.

It had been weeks since it pushed Splinter into the ley-line to help him escape and despite the promise that the family would return to set Trine free, nothing had yet occurred. Normally, this would not have concerned it but over the past few days the feeling that something wrong was approaching had put the usually bouncy and innocent soul on edge, inciting an unwelcome restlessness.

Also, keeping up the charade of indignant anger and rage for the Oracle was draining . Trine didn't like having to feign such emotions, it went against the clever little souls natural spirit. Luckily, the Oracle was intimidated by Trine's show of strength. She only opened the orb every few days or so but she seemed convinced of Trine's corruption.

Trine eventually had given her a bunch of nonsense coordinates, assuring her that it would only make sense as a location when she had all four. There was just enough truth in the deception to make it believable. Luna had divided the coordinates and given one piece to each of the souls but there was no way Trine would ever divulge the correct information. Even if Luna was killed.

Trine hissed a sigh and abandoned its efforts. Nothing it could do from the inside would weaken its bonds. Suddenly, it ceased its pulsing and dimmed as it felt another presence enter the room.

It wasn't Serra.

Trine stretched its senses and felt an immediate affinity for the person who slipped through the door. Angry innocence pulsed against the outside of Trine's prison as a young boy made his way across the open floor with all the stealth an eight year old could manage.

The boy stopped about 3 feet away and glared at the orange glowing orb. Trine waited, to see what drove this young page to break the Oracle's rules and enter this forbidden room.

"Can you hear me?" the boy demanded in an angry tone.

Trine flashed an affirmative, curious and impressed by his daring.

"Is it true?" the boy growled low. "Did you kill the Master of Pages?"

Trine dimmed. This innocent boy was grieving and angry because of its deception. It could feel the emotions pulsing across the small distance between them. The boy's expression twisted up in despair.

"Why?" the boy wailed, "Was it because he was a monster? It wasn't true. He might have looked scary but Splinter was nice! He was only one here who cared at all what happened to us."

The boy gestured toward the door and Trine realized he wasn't alone. Two young girls and three more boys were crouched in the doorway, watching the daring one with frightened eyes.

The girls were teary eyed and Trine could feel their fear but they stood firm to find out what had happened to the kindly rat who watched over them.

Trine chimed softly to calm them and made an instant decision. These children were prisoners here, just as it was, and it could not bear to inflict further grief or pain upon them. In fact, when the family came, Trine would insist on the evacuation of these children as well, if Luna or Splinter didn't take care of it first.

When he didn't get an immediate answer, the boy clenched both fists, his jaw, and took a threatening step forward. He froze when Trine's quiet voice rang out.

splinter is well.

Trine had to focus almost all of its energy to force a projection past the orb. Even the short distance was exhausting but it was worth it to see the anger melt off the child's face.

"What happened to him?" the boy said, his eyes wide at hearing Trine's 'voice'.

he escaped. the light fooled the oracle.

"He escaped?"

Trine flashed an affirmative, saving its strength. The boy's face fell.

"So he won't be coming back."

he is sending help.

Hope blossomed in his eyes.

"Will you ask them to help us?"

Trine flashed again and the boy flicked frightened eyes toward the door.

"We better go. Don't worry, we won't tell," he promised sincerely, and all the others nodded in agreement before crowding out the door.

Just before it closed, the boy stuck his head back in.

"Don't forget us," he said softly, worried.

Trine glowed as brightly as it could through the restriction of the orb and chimed again to soothe his fear.

never.

Medes rested, conserving as much of its energy as it possibly could, knowing that its suffering was far from over and refusing to draw any more power from its tiny remaining link with the goddess. It had long ago lost the power to hold it's preferred form and retreated instead to a small teardrop shape. It was just easier.

Now it was all Medes could do to hold back the sucking void of darkness that surrounded it.

It knew it deserved punishment. After all, it had only itself to blame. Medes had been taken in by the deceptive face of evil and played right into its hands.

When Charon had first approached it, Medes had been ecstatic. It had spent almost two years seeking Luna with no result but it recognized this immortal. It was aware of his intense desire for the goddess and Medes had thought to use that longing to its advantage.

Charon could find Luna where Medes could not.

But in its eagerness Medes did not look past the fair mask to realize that Charon had sunk into the tainted blackness of hatred and obsession. By the time that came to light, it was too late. Charon betrayed Medes. He corrupted the pure power of the soul with the touch of a mimic. Its poisonous embrace slowly drawing the will from the soul of knowledge.

Medes shuddered to think of the damage the mimic was causing with its form and knowledge. For days into weeks it consumed Medes power until one day, unexpectedly a small shot of silver, pure celestial energy from the goddess herself, flowed back into Medes instead.

At first Medes rejoiced. The goddess had discovered its predicament and was sending much needed aid. Perhaps now it could regain enough power to escape this wretched existence. But after a lot of contemplation, it came to the horrible realization that the mimic must have touched the goddess directly. That was the only explanation for that tiny lifeline.

So now Luna knew that Medes had betrayed her. Unintentionally perhaps, but its form had been used as a mask so a demon could accost her. That was an unforgivable sin and Medes wallowed in the shame. After a time, the nefarious presence of the mimic disappeared and the drip by drip death Medes was experiencing from the power hungry creature ceased, but the little soul had lost faith in being rescued.

Time passed, and though Medes felt it didn't deserved the forgiveness of the goddess, the tiny silver thread linking them remained. Power slowly flowed back in, recharging the exhausted soul. Again Medes rejoiced. The goddess had somehow survived.

But its happiness was short lived. Charon didn't need the mimic to torture the little soul. Thousands of years of experience ferrying whole souls into Hades for judgement had taught him more than a few painful tricks for restraining one.

Each hour spent in Charon's company became an agony of spilt power and disgrace.

Medes had long ago lost the last of it own resources. Now all that was keeping it intact was a slightly stronger influx of power that appeared each night. Medes almost wished it would stop. All it meant was one more day of painful existence.

It didn't want to hurt anymore. It didn't want to slowly bleed the goddess to death. The spirit of the little one had been corrupted, perhaps past all repair.

All it wished for now was peace.

Fina whirled around in dizzying circles leaving a vacuum of air behind it that snapped shut with a loud crack as it swept across the lair, seething from Luna's abrupt dismissal. And yet, despite its anger Fina knew that goddess was very upset. Not only hurting, but afraid, and that was something it would not tolerate.

If anyone could make Luna feel safe again, it was Raphael. Fina thought it was long past time to get him involved. It knew Luna depended on his strength a lot more than she let on. Leaning into his vast bulk was physically soothing but his leashed rage was just as reassuring. It bespoke a tremendous power and a surprisingly strong will, both of which Luna found extremely comforting.

Even if Raphael could not erase the darkness that was troubling her, he could help alleviate her fear. If only she would let him see it.

Fina growled a little rumbly sound and sparks flew in all directions. Luna had her emotions on selective lockdown and had been avoiding the entire household for more than a few days. It was driving Raph nuts. Splinter had advised Raphael to wait for her to approach him, but Fina knew better. After today's eviction, it knew Luna had no intention of involving her mates in this issue.

Fina swooped into the gym, drawn to Raphael's location like a magnet. The hotheaded turtle was punching the living heck out of his third best punching bag, which meant he had already destroyed his first and second best. If Fina possessed eyes, it would have rolled them.

raph! stop a second.

Raph grunted as the little red flame made a dash in front of his eyes in an attempt to break his focus.

"What?" Raph snapped irritably. "Fina, I'm tryin' ta concentrate here."

snap outta it, tough guy. Luna's out there cryin' and shaking in fear. she needs you.

All motion ceased and Raphael froze with one arm partially extended to strike as his entire body locked down in response to that statement. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to restrain the enormous surge of raw rage and fiery power it conjured.

If he hadn't, the whole lair would have gone up in flames.

He reached deep, searching the emotions flowing between himself and Luna for the some sign that she was in trouble. Before he could angrily protest that she felt fine, Fina piped up again.

she ain't fine. she went to talk to splinter about the darkness. it's worse than she thought. he knows something about it that is making her freak out but she doesn't want to involve you.

Raphael looked up to where Fina floated above him, an internal conflict plain on his face.

"Splinta's talkin' to 'er?" he asked. "I should probably stay outta it. He's usually good at this sorta' stuff."

raphael, shut your trap and get in there now. she is totally freaked! she won't ask for your help but she needs it. she is scared to death.

Pain crossed Raph's face and he back away from Fina, hands outstretched and palms down in defeat.

"Leo should probably go. I ain't good at that stuff," his voice was sad and slightly ashamed.

you are her mate! why would you deny her?

Raphael wanted to be the one to comfort her, God knew he wanted to, but it was probably better if he didn't try. Desire and self-hatred warred inside him. Face it, he knew he would only make whatever it was worse. Leo was the one with all the empathy.

"Someone else should…" his voice trailed off, as Fina moved abruptly.

Fina had enough. It knew when Raphael reacted he would do the right thing. He was overthinking this. Fina zipped into Raph's forehead with such force that it rocked him back on his heels and sent power rocketing through the bond. It broke Luna's selective barriers and let the full force of her emotions through to Raphael. Suddenly everything was revealed to him and the effects were frightening.

Darkness had begun to blight the silver purity of her consciousness. Her brilliant light was slowly being corrupted. In a flash of insight Raphael saw the world fade into shades of black and white as all color drained from his vision. Without her fire, there would be no visible bounds between light and dark. No golden hues or calming blues, nothing but dull grey world filled with despair.

Fury at her fear and helplessness roared to the surface as her terror hit him in the gut. That feeling hurt more than the worst beating he'd ever received. His chest heaved as he fought for breath against a pressure that felt like a vice, crushing his hopes for their future.

Luna thought she was becoming the foretold destructor. The one who would end his family and change the balance of power on Earth towards evil. And she was considering drastic, permanent, measures to stop that possible outcome.

"no."

It came out as a hoarse whisper. He didn't have enough air to vent the pain with a scream.

He had felt this way himself once, poised on a ledge at the top of a twelve story building. Knowing that just one more step would change everything. A ending and a new beginning for those he'd leave behind.

Raphael had stood on that ledge for hours that night as Leo pleaded with him to move back. He'd thought he had considered all the ramifications but, in the end, he realized that most of his fears were unfounded.

Leo had to explain it to him. Raphael had been unable to see the alternatives. Now Luna was the blind one. She could not see past the horror of this realization. There was no telling what she would do but it wasn't going to be good.

Raphael found himself moving at top speed across the lair to his Master's quarters. As blasphemous as it felt, he didn't even pause at the shoji screen door. He shoved it violently out of the way, fell to his knees next to his mate, wrapped his arms tightly around her limp form, and crushed her to his chest.

Luna gasped in his embrace and turned a swollen tear streaked face to his.

"I can stop this," she cried. "Let me end it now and save everyone."

He raised a hand to her face and gently wiped her tears.

"You can't save everyone, Luna," he said gruffly. "Can't you see what losing you would do to Leo? or Don? or Mikey?"

Her eyes snapped to his, stricken.

Then he added more softly, "Don't you know what it would do to me?"

In that moment, Raphael opened his heart to her fully. His whole body began to glow a deep pulsing red as thoughts he'd never revealed and emotions he'd never exposed flowed across their bond. His aching need for her. The world's need. His love and adoration. His experience on the rooftop and his enlightenment.

That light reached out and wrapped tightly around her, enclosing them together in a perfect union.

Raphael's strength silenced her fear. He would not let her fail and fall into ruin. He would hold her up and help her face any situation. He understood the darkness. He held her close and together they pushed through her terror.

Finally she could see past it to the dawn. To the fiery sunrise burning in his eyes.