Tribulation: Chapter Two
"Heart knows no sorrow like the sorrow of regretting."
-Martha Hoffman
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
***Italics=flashbacks***
Let us recap shall we!
Putting on his helmet, he revved up his engine, bringing it to life.
"Raphael!"
"Bite me," was the last thing I heard from him before he bolted off into the stormy night.
"Raph, Raph, RAPHAEL GET BACK HERE," I shouted while stumbling out of the garage only to have my voice drowned out by a rush of thunder.
"Fine go on, ride your bike in the storm!"
Growling in exasperation, I briefly shielded my eyes as the chaotic night air began furiously blowing icy rainwater onto my heated skin. OnceI became aware that exposing myself to the extreme weather might not be the smartest idea now; I began making my way towards the elevator.
"He's such a hothead," I mumbled to myself as the doors slowly closed off my view of the garage.
Rubbing the images out of my eyes, I gently placed the glass container aside. Moving to a more comfortable seated position, I stared absentmindedly ahead at the map.
"I should have tried harder to stop you that night; I should have gone after you right then and there. My decision to stay behind was foolish. I was upset and my judgment was clouded and because of that you were…I-I failed as a leader...I-I failed as a brother."
Burying my head inside my hands, I shamefully hid tears that were freely falling as I relived the events that led to my immediate younger brother's demise…
Raphael's angry last words were ringing in my ears as I stood in the elevator waiting for it to reach the main area of the lair. The selfishness and lack of discipline held by my immediate younger brother were proving to be difficult attributes to contain.
"Not to mention his unhealthy desire to 'see the world' while putting us all at risk," I muttered to myself as I exited the elevator doors, "hopefully all that rain will be just the thing to cool that hot head down so he can think clearly."
Heading over to the kitchen, I quickly made my way towards the fridge. Opening the door, my heated body was met by cool moist air as I rummaged through its contents searching for a bottle of water. When my fingers felt the chilled plastic surface, I gently removed it from its position, letting the door of the refrigerator shut behind me.
"What am I going to do with you…?"
Walking towards the stairway while opening the bottle, I abruptly stopped to take a sip of the icy water. As it slid over my tongue and down my throat, I let the cold fluid calm my angered demeanor.
Looking around the area, I noticed that it was abnormally quite.
'That's strange, the lair is usually teeming with life at this hour,' I thought to myself as I looked around again, 'Dons lab is empty, and I haven't heard a peep from Mikey in quite some time.'
Before I could give more thought to the situation, I heard an exaggerated lengthy whistle followed by a couple of shocked gasp from the living room.
'That's more like it,' I thought to myself as I made my way to the source of the outburst.
Once I arrived to the living room, I noticed Don, Mike, and Master Splinter glued to the television set with wide eyes watching the evening news.
Turning to the wall of multiple television screens, I too could not help but to stare with my mouth agape. There was footage of swirling winds, downpours, hail, and debris scattering about. It looked nothing like New York City; it resembled a dooms day film.
"The storm is getting very horrible quickly," Don stated in awe while simultaneously stroking his chin.
"I agree my son. It would be wise for everyone to stay in their homes this night," replied Master Splinter in the calmest tone while standing up and silently existing the room.
"Yeah," Mikey chimed in sitting straight up while checking to see if Master Splinter was indeed out of earshot, "Mother Nature does not seem happy tonight, maybe it's her time of the month?"
"Not funny Mikey" Don teased while playfully smacking the back of his head.
"Ouch," Mikey yelped while looking around and locking his eyes on my form, "Leeeooo, Don hit me, his incredibly funny and handsome baby brother for no reason whatsoever."
Shooting a stern look at Mikey, which ended his protest immediately, I gave my attention back to the news. Now, aerial footage was broadcasting from a helicopter that was hovering over the city. The streets for the most part were deserted. There was the occasional cluster of cars carefully driving by, a lone pedestrian or two running with their umbrellas held high and their hooded jackets drawn snuggly against their heads, and emergency crews setting up giant bags of sand along sidewalks and other places they saw fit in case there was a flood.
Staring at the chaotic weather outside reminded me that my two other brothers and I had an intense training session. Just when I was about to demand for everyone to get in the dojo, I was startled out of my thoughts by my youngest brothers shouting.
"Dudes, check out the dumb ass on the motorcycle speeding through the city!"
"What an idiot,' Donatello responded, "who in their right mind would go out joy riding with the weather acting like this they could get seriously hurt or killed!"
Snapping my attention back towards the television set, my heart instantly fell to my stomach. As the screens all brandished the same image, realization began setting in. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest, and my vision started to obscure. I tried to breathe, but it felt like I was inhaling through one of Donny's thin coffee straws. Focusing on my brother's mockery of the lone motorcycle rider, I began to calm down.
"Hahaha maybe that guy has a rental and he wants to return it before the late fees set it"
"Mikey," Donatello spoke sternly while trying desperetly to hide a smile, "whoever is out there can get seriously hurt, and you shouldn't be making jokes about it,
"Raphael," I whispered faintly.
My brothers suddenly quite the banter amongst themselves and turned to face me slowly.
"What Leo," Donatello questioned slowly, "what did you just say?"
Clearing my throat while staring at the stilled image of Raph's bike zooming towards some unknown destination on the television I inhaled a deep breath and spoke again.
"Raphael…t-that's was Raphael riding off into the storm."
A/N: Sorry about the much-delayed update I felt like I have been dead to the world of fanfiction for a little while haha. I am having a very busy summer so writing is a bit scattered! Well, I am back and ready to tackle my stories! Originally, this story was only going to be one chapter, but I am stretching it into three or four very short ones, so I hope you all enjoy! Please R&R I would love to see what you people have to say. Constructive criticism is also welcomed. Thanks for the support!
ChatterBOXX