Chapter 11: Rage Against the Foot
A/N: So, here I am again with another chapter. The good thing is that I won't keep you hanging for a whole year this time. Now, we're going to explore Raph's side of things and how Leo's capture affected him. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I'm going to enjoy posting it. Thanks a million to all those who have read and reviewed so far. It means a lot to me that you really like this story and are willing to stick this out. And for my long-time readers, I'm glad you aren't mad at me for the long delay I had between chapters.
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Raphael was sitting in his room watching a DVD. He was trying to contemplate one of the greatest mysteries of wrestling: Was John Cena really a good wrestler or just a robot with a limited set of moves? He had borrowed one of Mikey's John Cena DVDs to ponder this mystery. It's not that Raph totally hated Cena like some fans did. He just wasn't as fond of him as so many others were. He admitted that Cena had talent but that it was wasted on his limited use of moves. Why was it that he only had a couple moves to his name?
Just as Raph was really starting to crack the mystery of John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. Leo came upstairs and called, "Raph, it's time to go on patrol! Come down!"
Raph sighed. Why did Leo always have to be a slave driver? Why couldn't he just lighten up and let everyone have fun? He stopped the DVD and put it back in its case. If he ruined it, Mikey would surely get revenge by pulling another prank on him, and Raph didn't want that. He'd had enough of Mikey's creative pranks. Then he donned his gear and went downstairs where the others were waiting for him.
Splinter wished them well just as he always did and even expressed his wish to wait up for them. Leo tried to shoot that down at once, but the sensei insisted on staying up for them anyway. Even though Raph was often rebellious, even he knew that you couldn't argue with Splinter. He would always stay up until all of his sons came home, a fact Raph knew only all too well from his own late night outings. He even learned not to get drunk while out after the stern lecture Splinter gave him about alcohol consumption after one of his outings with Casey. Raph had protested, "But Casey dared me to get drunk!" to which Splinter had responded, "And you were foolish enough to take such a dare instead of refusing. What if you had been attacked by the Foot while on this outing and in such an inebriated state?" At which point, Raph had hung his head in shame and had promised never to drink alcohol while out with Casey.
After they said goodbye to their father, the Turtles went to the surface, and Leo gave them very explicit directions of what they'd be doing. Raph couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance at Leo's very bossy tone. He always had to act like the strict schoolteacher when it came to patrol. He really needed to lighten up a little bit more. Raph snapped out of his thoughts when Mikey suggested they play a game of ninja tag. Leo was against it until Mikey begged with his puppy dog eyes. Raph couldn't help but smirk at that. How many times had he been subjected to those eyes and had given in to Mikey's pleas to play a video game or take part in a joint prank on their brothers? Finally, Leo gave in.
Mikey grinned and tagged his big brother. "You're it!" he called and then ran away from them. Leo gave chase, and the others followed. Then they all decided to split off from one another and go their separate ways.
Raph was excited as he ran away, hoping that he'd run into something exciting while on this little adventure. Soon, he heard Leo giving chase and decided to humor his older brother. "Let's see if you can catch me this time, asswipe!" he teased as he leapt over a rooftop. Just as he predicted, Leo continued to chase him, determined to prove himself to his hotheaded brother. It was always a competition between the two brothers to see who was better than the other at something. More often than not, Leo won, but there were times where Raph beat his older brother, though not many.
Just as he was approaching Fifth and Main, something caught his eye. Was that a Foot Ninja running across the rooftops? He leapt to the rooftop but didn't see anything. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. Leo caught up to him and was about to tag him when he spotted the Foot Ninjas on the roof across from them.
"This can't be good," Leo muttered.
Sure enough, the Foot Ninjas spotted the Turtles and immediately surrounded them. The brothers pulled out their weapons and engaged in battle. At first, Raph thought it would be a routine fight between their foes, but soon the tables turned as more Foot Ninjas appeared. He could see that Leo was getting tense and knew his brother was thinking back to the last time he'd been ambushed by Foot Ninjas. But this time was different because Raph had his back now.
Knowing that they were in over their heads, Leo cried, "Raph, call Mikey and Don! Tell them we need them now!"
Raph was very thankful that Don had programmed the phones so that they each had a speed dial button because he wasn't sure if he would've been able to dial the normal way. He contacted his brothers and told them what was going on. Both Mikey and Don promised they would be there soon, and Raph managed to avoid a Ninja who was aiming straight for him. He was lucky because if the Ninja had struck him, he probably would've damaged Raph's Shell Cell.
Sure enough, Don and Mikey arrived to help out. Raph smirked as he saw Mikey battling some Foot Ninjas. "Glad you could join us, Mikey," he teased.
"Me, too," Mikey agreed. "So, any idea where these guys came from?"
Raph shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Leo was chasin' me, and they suddenly just appeared outta nowhere." He continued to deflect attacks, hoping that the Foot would just give up. But then again, that wasn't their style. More attacks kept coming, and Raph was getting worried that they wouldn't be able to hold them off much longer. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leo suddenly collapse to the ground.
"Leo!" he yelled. Something definitely wasn't right, and he tried to get to his brother to see if he was okay, but he was blocked by the Foot Elite. His other brothers stood beside him, wondering why the Foot Elite were blocking Leo.
Rage filled Raph's eyes as he stared into the red eyes of the Foot Elite in front of him. "Get out of the way," he growled lowly, implying that if the Elite didn't get out of the way, there would be trouble. He wasn't about to let them hurt Leo again. Not like last time.
The Elite didn't answer Raph but just kept on staring. One of the Elite Ninjas picked Leo up and disappeared with him. On instinct, Raph and the others tried to fight to get Leo back, but it was no use. The Elite wouldn't let them get by, and they were much stronger than the Turtles anyway. They were knocked back by the Elite and watched as the Elite disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Raph growled and leapt to his feet. "Get back here!" he yelled. He made to go after them, but Donatello held him back.
"Raph, don't!" the purple-clad Turtle warned as he forcibly restrained his brother.
Raph rounded on his brother. "Those bastards took our brother, Donnie!" he yelled. "We have to go and get him back!"
"Not without a plan," Don replied. "You know that if any of us were in trouble, Leo would come up with a plan to rescue us. We need to do the same for him."
Raph was surprised that Don was taking charge in this instance. Normally, he let Leo do the leading and just offered his advice when he felt it was needed. But since Leo wasn't here, and Raph wasn't making things easy by trying to be rash, Don had to take it upon himself to be the voice of reason. Raph's face softened at Don's words, and he sagged a little in defeat. "Yeah, you're right," he said softly. "I guess we'd better go home and see what we can do to get Leo back."
Dejectedly, the Turtles headed back to the Lair to tell their father the news about Leo's capture. Although Raph knew Don was right about needing to come up with a plan, he couldn't help but feel that they were wasting their time waiting around for a plant to materialize in front of them. While they tried to come up with something, who knew what would happen to Leo in the meantime. Would the Foot keep him alive, or would they kill him instantly as a way of sending a message to his family? Trying to repress a shudder at the thought, Raph tried to keep his face stoic. He knew that he had to step up to the plate now that Leo was gone and that he had to be brave for his brothers no matter how he truly felt.
As expected, Splinter was alarmed when he found out that his oldest son had been captured. He suggested that they come up with a plan to rescue Leo and execute it as soon as possible. Don said he would call April and tell her the news. Raph decided to call Casey the same day and see if he could come back to New York to help them out. The Turtles knew they couldn't get into the Foot Headquarters alone, and they would need their friends' help to rescue their brother. Raph wasn't sure if Casey would be able to come, but he would do all he could to try and persuade him. Mikey suggested using the Justice Force as spies. Raph didn't think it was a good idea, but Don explained that it would be best to find out as much information as possible in a short span of time.
Splinter suggested that they all get some rest and prepare for the plan tomorrow. The Turtles headed upstairs, but once he was in his room, Raph didn't lay down on his bed. Instead, he took his frustrations of the night out on his trusty punching bag that he'd set up in his room. The bag was pretty worn out by now, but Raph didn't care. As he punched and kicked, he imagined the bag to be a Foot Ninja or a Foot Elite. His punches and kicks became more rapid as he continued to vent his frustrations. His mind settled on the last time Leo had been ambushed and wounded by the Foot. Back then, Raph had been helpless in aiding his brother because he hadn't known what was happening to him at the time. But this time, Raph was determined to help Leo in any way he could. He wouldn't let his brother down again.
A knock on his door caused Raph to pause in his workout. He thought that maybe it was Mikey coming to pester him or something, but then he heard his father's voice say, "Raphael, are you all right?"
Raph sighed. "No, not really," he answered.
"May I come in?" his father asked.
"Sure, Sensei," replied Raph. He watched as his father opened his door and came into the room. He noticed that his father's face was full of worry and attributed it to being about Leo and not anyone else. And yet, he knew that Splinter hadn't come to his room just for a casual visit. He had to be worried about each of his sons and wanted to make sure that they were dealing with this in a rational way.
"Raphael, I can sense your frustration and anger at what has transpired tonight," Splinter began. "I know that you are eager to help your brother in any way you can and that you want to help him as soon as possible. However, I do hope that you are not thinking of carrying out your own plan alone. While your concern for your brother's welfare is admirable, it would not do for you to be so rash and impulsive at this time. You all must operate as a team and work as a cohesive unit."
"I wasn't gonna go after them alone," Raph told him. "I know Leo wouldn't want that for me. I'm not gonna look for trouble by myself, Master. I know what would happen if I did do that, and then Leo would chew me out once he got home." He couldn't help but wonder if Leo would ever chew him out for being impulsive ever again. Shaking that thought from his mind, he looked at his father to see what he thought of his words.
Splinter smiled at his second oldest son. "I am proud of your answer, Raphael," he praised him. "You are showing an incredible amount of maturity in your thinking. You now realize what it means to work as a team and not as separate individuals. You have also realized that your brother only has your best interests at heart and that he loves you dearly and does not want to see you come to harm. You must learn to think of what others may feel instead of just thinking of yourself and how you feel. This, I believe, is something you have now learned about yourself and your brother. I am sure Leonardo would be proud of you for learning these things just as I am."
"Yeah, but Leo wouldn't admit it," Raph replied.
"Do not be so quick to judge him, Raphael," Splinter warned him. "Leonardo is often very proud of you and your skills. He has often told me that you are improving immensely and often has asked my opinion of your skills. I believe he has faith that you will be a great second-in-command and could eventually become a leader yourself should the need arise."
Raph couldn't help but snort at that statement. "Look, Sensei, I'm sure Leo was just sayin' that to impress you," he said. "We all know I'd suck as a leader. I'd get all of them killed. I ain't a leader like Leo. He's better at this than me. That's why you chose him, Sensei. You could see it in him more than you could see it in me."
Splinter let out a sigh at his son's words. "Once again, you judge your brother too quickly," he answered. "He was not saying it to just to impress me, as you put it. He really meant what he said. Yes, you do have faults, but so does Leonardo. He knows this as well as we all do, and it sometimes causes him to put burdens on himself when things do not go his way. You and Leonardo are more alike than you care to admit, Raphael. You both are very close to one another, and you both often carry burdens you should not bear. While Leonardo's burdens have to do with protecting his family and living up to a certain standard in his mind, your burdens are about resentment that you will never live up to your brother's level. And while both of you deal with your burdens in different ways, you both do not realize that you could benefit from each other. I am sure once Leonardo is returned to us he will continue to carry the burden of failure from this battle. All I ask of you, Raphael, is that you support him in any way you can and try to help him see that he is not at fault."
"I'll do that, Sensei," Raph answered. "I won't blame him for anythin'. So, do you really think we have a chance of getting him back?"
Splinter nodded. "Yes, I do," he said. "I do not believe the Foot will dispose of him so quickly. Karai is consumed by her hatred of Leonardo and will do all in her power to make sure he suffers as much as she has suffered since her father was exiled."
Raph nodded. It made a lot of sense to him. Karai wouldn't want to kill Leo instantly but would make him suffer. "But, Sensei, that's even worse than a quick death," he mused. "I mean, she's gonna torture him so he'll beg for death. We gotta get him back before that happens. I'm not gonna let the Foot hurt Leo again."
"Yes, I know, Raphael," responded Splinter. "That is why we must think of a plan quickly. I only hope that Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones will be able to aid us in our rescue effort. We will need all the help we can get. Now, I suggest that you try and get some rest so you will be fresh for tomorrow. I will see you in the morning."
"Okay, Sensei," responded Raph. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night, my son," Splinter said. Then he rose and exited Raph's room.
The red-clad Turtle waited until he heard his father's footsteps fade then began to cool down after his workout. Splinter's words kept echoing back in his head, and he couldn't help but feel that his father was right. Sure, Leo was sometimes a pain in the shell, but when it came down to it, Leo cared for his brothers and wanted to protect them. In his mind, Leo felt it was his duty to lead his brothers in battle and to please Master Splinter, even though Raph knew that Splinter didn't expect Leo to be perfect. That was just the way Leo was. Raph knew that Leo would beat himself up over this whole ordeal, and he was determined to be there for his brother so he didn't start acting like Raph's evil twin. Smiling at the thought of that, Raph settled down to sleep so he'd be fresh for tomorrow.
22222
The next day, Raph called Casey to see if he could come and help them with the rescue mission. "We need you, Case," he said. "We can't do this by ourselves."
Casey sighed. "I wish I could be there, Raph, but I can't right now," he said regretfully. "Ma's still up here, and she wants to stay a bit longer than I thought. I tried to get her to let me go, but she said she still wanted me to stay with her. I'm sorry, buddy. You know I'd do anything to help you guys out. I'm kind of stuck in a rut here."
"Fine, whatever," Raph growled. "I just thought maybe you'd make an effort to help us out."
"Raph, I want to!" Casey insisted. "I'd give my right arm to help you guys. But you know my mother. She doesn't let anyone off the hook like that. Look, I'll try my best to persuade her to let me leave, but I don't know if it'll work. Just keep in touch and let me know what's goin' on, okay?"
"Okay, I will," Raph promised. He knew his friend really wanted to help, and he could understand where Casey was coming from. Still, it was frustrating to be so helpless.
After Raph hung up, he went downstairs and asked Don what was going on with April. Don reported that April wasn't able to make it because of her sister, which made Raph even angrier than before.
"Dammit, why is this happenin' to us?" he burst out. "Our brother's missin', and our two friends can't even come and help us out! I swear, this world is so fucked up!" He stormed into the dojo and began a fierce workout. Nothing was going right for them, and Raph couldn't help but think that the world was out to get them. He wanted to take action, but they couldn't do this on their own. They needed the help of their friends to get into the Foot Headquarters. Why was everything so complicated?
The day was filled with tension as Don tried to hack into the Foot security himself with no results. April hadn't brought her computer with her, and her sister didn't have Internet so she could give Don the link to hack into the security system. Mikey had enlisted the help of the Justice Force, but they still hadn't gotten any leads either. When night fell, Raph decided to out and blow off some steam. He had the urge to just go to the Foot Headquarters and bust Leo out himself, but he knew how risky that would be. With his luck, he would get captured too, and then they'd have to save two brothers instead of one.
Raph leapt across the rooftops, trying to figure out what they could do for their brother. He stopped a few muggings along the way, which made him feel a little bit better. At least he was doing something productive while the others were just sitting around. He came back home, feeling a little better about things. Splinter was waiting up as usual, and Raph gave him a reassuring smile to indicate that he was okay. Splinter nodded and waited until Raph had gone to bed before retreating to his own chambers.
22222
Two months had passed, and they still hadn't rescued Leo. Raph was beginning to fear that his brother was dead, and that if they did get him out of there, they'd be carrying his dead body. He tried not to think like that, but as time kept passing, he couldn't help but feel that any hope of finding Leo alive was lost. There was no way the Foot would keep him alive that long. Maybe Karai had bided her time, hoping that they would come to rescue their brother so she could enact her revenge on all of them. But since they hadn't come to rescue him, she probably figured that her plan wasn't a success, she had decided to kill Leonardo and wait for his brothers so she could present his dead corpse.
Then, Don came out of his lab after receiving a call from April. She was home and ready to help. Mikey ran up to Raph's room to give him the news and burst in without even knocking.
"Jeez, Mikey, have you ever heard of knockin'?" Raph grumbled. He hated when anyone did that.
"Dude, April's back," Mikey replied, ignoring Raph's question. "See if you can call Casey and get him here."
So Raph dialed Casey, worried that his friend was still in Northampton. Casey answered on the first ring.
"Hey, Casey, are you still at the farm?" Raph asked his friend.
"No, I'm home," Casey answered. "Ma decided to let me come after all. She said she didn't need me anymore and that she could handle stuff on her own. You still need help?"
"Shell yeah, we do," Raph answered. "April's back, too. Why don't you meet us at the Lair so we can get this mission started?"
"Sounds good to me," Casey responded. "See you in a few."
Raph and Mikey hurried downstairs to tell Don and Splinter the news. The atmosphere in the Lair changed from despair to hope as they waited for their friends to arrive. Once Casey and April came down, they all organized a plan to get into the Foot Headquarters and rescue Leo. Raph was just itching to get into the fight and wanted to take the Foot down. There was no way he was going to let Karai and the Foot get away with anything. From what Don had gathered, Karai was away in Japan having a memorial for her father. This would give them an ample opportunity to get into Foot Headquarters without her interference. Raph was a bit disappointed she wouldn't be there, but he figured that sooner or later she'd be back. And when she did come back, he was going to deal with her and punish her for what she did to Leo.
When the time was right, the Turtles, Splinter, and Casey headed out to Foot Headquarters to begin their operation. April guided them in, and they made their way through the tower, hoping to find where Leo was. At first, it seemed like nothing could get in their way, but then Foot Ninjas caught wind of their intrusion and immediately engaged them in battle. Raph let out a yell and got right into the fight. He was enjoying it immensely and looked for an opportunity to try and interrogate a Foot Ninja to see where Leo was. However, it never came as more and more Ninjas kept coming for them. Although they were able to escape them eventually (using their chi as Mikey had suggested), Raph knew they weren't out of the woods yet. He found another door and kicked it in, scouting the area to see where they were. The sight that met his eyes was something that would be ingrained in his memory for a long time.
Leo was chained to a wall, a group of Foot Ninjas blocking him. Apparently, they had anticipated that the Turtles would come and were ready to prevent them from apprehending their brother. Leo wasn't conscious, and Raph feared that he was dead. But for now, he couldn't dwell on that. He had to get Leo out of there. He led the charge as they fought the rest of the Foot Ninjas to free their brother. Raph found an opening and managed to make his way to where Leo was.
"Hang in there, bro," Raph whispered. "We're here to get you out." Then he used his sais to try and free his brother. It took some work, but he managed to somehow release him. He caught Leo before he could hit the floor and turned to his brothers to indicate that he'd succeeded in freeing their brother. Don used some smoke bombs he had invented that would give them a better chance to escape. As they made their way to the Battle Shell, Raph just held on to Leo as though he'd never let him go. His brothers helped lay Leo down on the makeshift stretcher Don had put into the Battle Shell, and Don checked his vitals. He reported that Leo still had a pulse but that he was badly wounded and in need of care.
When they arrived at the Lair, they carried Leo to the infirmary where Don immediately patched up as many of Leo's wounds as he could. Then they arranged who would watch Leo throughout the night.
"I want first watch," Raph offered.
"No, Raphael, I will take first watch," Splinter insisted. "You must rest."
"Okay, then I get second watch," Raph declared. Everyone agreed with that, and they arranged that Mikey would have the next watch and then Don would have the last watch. April and Casey went home, and Don promised to alert them if Leo's condition changed. After Splinter took a seat in the chair that was placed beside Leo's bed, the other Turtles decided to get some sleep. Splinter told Raph that he would wake him in two hours. Raph nodded and immediately went to sleep, ready to wake up when Splinter told him to.
When it was Raph's turn, he woke up and asked Splinter if there was any change in Leo's condition.
"No, he is still the same," Splinter replied.
Raph nodded and went down to the infirmary to take his own watch. He looked at Leo's still form and willed his brother to come back. How could this happen? Why was it that Leo was the one who always ended up getting hurt? Sure, the others suffered injuries once in a while, but it seemed like Leo got the brunt of them most of the time.
"C'mon, Leo, fight," he pleaded. "You can beat this. You're the tough one, remember? We can't go on without you, bro. You gotta get out of this and come back." He thought that maybe his words would will Leo to open his eyes, but nothing changed. Sighing, Raph continued to talk to his brother, to share stories of when they were younger and encouragement for Leo to come back. When his two hours were up, he went and woke Mikey for his own watch. After telling his younger brother that nothing had changed, he went back to his own bed to catch up on sleep until his next watch.
22222
Two days later, nothing had changed, and the Turtles were worried that Leo would never wake up. Everyone was gathered in the infirmary to try and see if maybe being together would encourage Leo to wake up. He was still breathing, but Raph was afraid that he would suddenly stop breathing and just die right there.
"Is he awake yet?" Mikey asked.
"Not yet," Don replied sadly.
Raph was getting agitated. "Well, he better wake up, soon," he growled. "You hear me, asswipe? You better snap out of it."
Just as Raph finished speaking, Leo moaned and opened his eyes. They were all startled and hurried over to him. But something in Leo's eyes wasn't right. He was looking at them as though he didn't know who they were. He began demanding where his brothers were, and they kept telling him they were with him. Splinter, recognizing that Leo didn't know them, began to calm Leo down and told him to close his eyes and concentrate. Leo did so and finally realized where he was and who he was with. He revealed that Karai had told him they were dead and that she was going to kill him soon, too. Raph couldn't' believe the nerve of her and vowed that when he saw her again, he was going to make her pay.
Once Leo had calmed down, Raph and Don left to go visit April and Casey to let them know what was going on. Raph felt so much better now that Leo had recovered. He saw Casey watching television, a beer in his hand.
"Hey, Raph, what brings you here?" Casey asked.
"Leo's awake," Raph replied. "I came to just spread the news, I guess."
Casey's eyes lit up. "Hey, that's awesome!" he exclaimed. "So, he's gonna be okay?"
"Don thinks he'll pull through now that he's awake," Raph answered. "It was a pretty close call though."
"I'll bet," Casey said. "You want a beer?"
Raph nodded. "Sure, I can have one," he said. He didn't plan on getting drunk since he figured Leo would still need him in case anything went wrong. Casey tossed him a beer, and he popped the tab and drank some. The two friends spent some time together watching a hockey game and placing bets on who would win. Casey won the bet, which meant that Raph would have to buy the beer the next time they got together.
"It was nice seein' you again, Raph," Casey said. "I'll drop by tomorrow and visit Leo."
"Yeah, he'll like that," Raph said. "See you tomorrow, bone head." Then he left Casey's apartment and headed back to the Lair. Splinter was waiting for him and smiled when he saw Raph come in. Raph returned the smile and checked on Leo before going to bed. His brother was sleeping peacefully, and Raph was relieved that Leo was okay. He went to bed himself, promising to stay at Leo's side as long as he could to help him get better. And once Leo was better, they would get revenge on Karai and the Foot to let them know that they had messed with the wrong family.
A/N: Whoo Hoo! Another chapter is done. I'm so happy that I'm finishing this story quicker than I thought I would. There are only three more chapters left before the story is finished, and I'm so excited. Feel free to leave a review after you've finished reading. Have a shelltastic day.