A/N: So here's another chapter for DR! =D I just want to give a big thanks to Randomguest815 for messaging me that they really really wanted more of this. Your words were just what I needed so thank you! =) Now, this is in an Alternate Universe. Truthfully, I got inspiration to start making this after watching Leo and turtles beat Shredder in the 2k3 cartoon. I just loved it, so I guess this would technically take place some odd months after that, and Shred-Head just never came back (because it was bull-honkey that he was an alien). So with that, I hope you enjoy this! ^-^ (I'm so scared because this is in Raph's POV...)
[DISCLAIMER] I do not own TMNT. If I did, then I'd probably make something like this out of it.
*The song I used as my muse - Carnivore by Starset.
Part Two: The Lost And Found
―Raphael―
I grunted, feelin' the familiar ache as my fists tightened, muscles savorin' each blow made to the punching bag. Through all the beatings, though, I was never able to just... give up this anger.
It wasn't possible anymore. Not ever since that day ― that damn mission...
The mission that changed all of our lives. The one where we lost our brother. And I mean lost him.
M.I.A, never to be found or heard from again.
I refused to believe he was really dead. There was no way he could be.
I let up on the beatin' I was giving to the old and familiar punching bag, feelin' the sting in my knuckles ― the bandages didn't help much. I still managed to make scars somehow.
The lair ― ever since that day ― stayed... quiet. A depressed mood draped all over the place. Everyone changed.
Mikey wasn't as chipper as usual, he was completely mellowed out ― which freaks the hell outta me to this day. All he does is sit around and play video games or read comics all day... Master Splinter always made'em get up and train, but no one could make our youngest brother train harder than Le―
I bit the inside of my cheek. I couldn't... We couldn't. It was an unspoken rule to not ever speak his name. It caused too much pain to everybody.
Don was a different story. The brainiac was always usually hauled up in his lab most of the time, but he made it a point to check up on'em regularly to make sure he was sleepin' and eatin'. Without our brother around, Donnie's sleep and eatin' pattern has gotten all whacked up. He stays in his lab 24/7. Hell, it's his new room.
As soon as the... mission was over, we looked everywhere for'em. But all we got was nothin'. Even after we got our shells handed to us by those Foot ninja wannabes...
. . . .
(Past)
"We have to go back in there and get Leo!" That was Mikey, worried as heck. We all were, but I wasn't about to express it. Us three were standin' right outside the falling building ― the smoke clouding the vision of our brother still inside.
I just knew he had been hurt before the building went down, damn ninja clan...
Who the hell were they anyway? Targeting my brother?! I could tell they were all aimin' at our fearless leader, and if I had to take a wild guess, it was because of ol' Shred-Head. Even beyond the grave that guy is still makin' our lives even harder than it is...
Smoke was still rising as more debris fell, and if we didn't hurry the cops would be on the scene...
"Raph!" Donnie shouted at me as I leaped off the ledge of the building we were standing on. I could hear him mutter something unintelligible, but I didn't care.
You never leave a brother behind, that was my personal sayin'.
The smoke stung my eyes as I jumped headfirst into the disaster pile of Foot base. My whole face was strained as I tried lookin' for Leo. I could see some of the bloodied remains of a few of the punk Foot ninja, and I held back the urge to kick one of their bodies.
That could wait until I find our leader.
I started liftin' concrete slabs up to look underneath ― hopin' to hell I would find a non-squished mutant turtle underneath.
I let out a heavy, choking breath after the fifth attempt ― the clouded air was only getting thicker under here. Where the shell could Leo be at?! He had to have fallen around this spot, unless―
A sudden coughing sound could be heard not too far from my right and I instantly fell into stance and pulled out my sais. Got company, huh?
I slowly edged closer to the sound, expectin' a survivin' Foot ninja. I readied my sais as I saw a shadow just a few feet away.
With a battle cry, I swooped in for a blow to the head.
"Raph?" The voice of my baby brother cut through to me and I halted ― flinging myself to the side to avoid hitting him.
"Mikey?" I questioned, gettin' up now that I had a clear look at'em. "What are ya doin' here?"
Mikey just smiled and held up his dirtied hands. "What's it look like? Lookin' for Leo."
I smiled at that, decidin' to help him out. We lifted a large concrete slab together, and grumbled when we found nothin' underneath. I started looking around after that, wonderin' where the brainiac of the bunch went to.
"Where's Don?" I asked Mikey, who looked around before pointin' in another direction.
"He went off looking that way." I nodded, and we decided to head that way since it was better if we stick together ― plus we can lift more together.
I noticed how shaken-up Mikey was and bumped shoulders with him. "Hey, don't worry about ol' Fearless. He'll come around soon."
Mikey looked a little more hopeful before looking down again. "But what if he's really hurt? Or buried under ― Raph, what if he's suffocating and we're―"
"Hey!" I turned to face'em, puttin' a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Stop worryin' so much ― Leo's been through worse remember? He can take this, and we'll find him. Promise."
I wasn't too sure if what I said really helped ― Leo and Donnie was better at this stuff than me ― but Mikey smiled and nodded at me.
At the same moment, we heard Donnie call out to us and we ran to him.
"Any luck finding Leo?" Don asked as soon as we met up with him.
We both shook our heads while I asked, "What about you?"
He shook his head. "His shell-cell must be broken because I can't reach him. He isn't even in the spot where we saw him last!"
I could tell Donnie was gettin' stressed over this... Man, where's Leo's cool-head when you need'em?
All we could do was search some more, and the smoke slowly thinned around us, makin' it easier for us to see. Still, nothing came up of Leo. We were even gettin' less and less bodies of the ninja that attacked us.
"There should be more of them! I know this isn't all of them..." Donnie started sayin', pacin' as we cleared the area.
"Guys..." Mikey's serious tone was enough to get our attention and we both looked at'em. "What if... what if they took him?"
Donnie's eyes grew wide, and I clenched my fists together. No. We would have seen it!
"He was injured when the place came down..." Donnie mentioned, and I exhaled a loud growl ― immediately slammin' my fist at a chunk of concrete beside me.
"No! They couldn't have taken him!" I shouted, and the loud blare of sirens sounded nearby and I cursed.
"We need to get out of here," Donnie said, but I only growled, refusing. Our brother was still out there! And worse, the enemy had him! The Foot had him!
"Raph..." I heard Mikey mutter, but it was lost in my fit of anger.
Donnie grabbed my arm. "Raph. We have to go ― now!"
I ripped my arm out of his hold ― I wasn't about to leave! "Leo is still out there! We can't leave'em behind!" My heart was pounding so loud that it was ringin' in my ears.
"We're not! But we also don't want any cops finding us!" Donnie spoke softly, but urgently, and I immediately hit the cold, hard ground.
"Damnit!" Because no matter what we did... No matter how long we searched that night and all the nights after...
Leo, Fearless leader, Leonardo, our big brother... Was nowhere to be seen.
. * . * .
Yeah, we lost'em that night. And ever since it's like everyone lost an important part of themselves... We just weren't whole anymore ― not without Leo leadin' us...
I tried, but I wasn't a quick-thinker and strategist like him. When we got into a mess, I was always the one to push on, but now I had to worry about my brother's safety. My actions affected them when we ventured out ― and sometimes we would have to fall back. There were just so many risks to think about... how did he do it?
I walked out into the living room, done pummelin' the punching bag for a day, and wouldn't ya know it? Mikey was there on the couch with remote in hand, flippin' through channels. He had a bored look on his face, and his other hand was in a tub of popcorn. Seriously? I was getting ticked just looking at'em!
"C'mon lazy ass." I went up and punched the TV off ― enough for it to shake a little, but not enough to seriously damage it, because I would get an ear-full of that ― and turned to the baby of the bunch. "We're goin' outside tonight, get your gear ready."
Not botherin' to listen to a whiny excuse about his favorite show comin' on in an hour, I trudged over to Don's lab. He kept the door shut now, like he was tryin' to alienate himself from the rest of the family. Well, that crap isn't happenin' on my watch.
"Don!" I knocked loudly on the metal door, and then waited but no response. "C'mon and open up Donnie, or I'm comin' in by force!" Yeah, and I'm pretty sure ol' Braniac doesn't want a broken door.
The metal door screeched open like somethin' from one of those creepy horror movies. Gee, Donnie really gets depressed when he's... well, depressed. I walked inside and found Donnie sittin' at his work bench pourin' over blueprints for what looked like a new vehicle.
"Yo, Don. We're goin' out on patrol tonight, so gear up." I told him, not really wantin' to have small talk.
I waited for him to nod, but after a few seconds I frowned. The guy didn't even acknowledge me!
"Don!" I shouted, yet still nothin'. I walked around and slammed my hands on top of the blueprint he was studying oh so closely. "Eyes on me, Braniac."
He looked up then, eyes blank and face passive. I really missed that light twinkling in his brown eyes whenever he poured into an invention ― now he was just... like a robot. Unfeelin', and only doing what was required of him. I was sick of it.
"We're goin' out, so get out of whatever mood you're in and hop to it." I left the lab and I heard him sigh as I walked out.
If he's annoyed, then that's good. At least it's different from completely nothing.
The last stop was Master Splinter's. He spent most of his time meditatin' in his room. Like all of us, he had been affected by Leonardo's absence. It was only natural, since Leo was the closest to him out of all of us. The dutiful, prodigal son... And how he was ripped away from us, and caused our sensei to hole up in his room in deep meditation. Constantly searchin' and searchin'... Tryin' to reach the one we just can't find.
I knelled before the tatami door, and it was only a few seconds before Master Splinter spoke up. "Yes, Raphael?"
"We're headin' out on patrol tonight, just wanted you to know." So you don't worry too much.
"Thank you for telling me, please be safe, my son. And keep your brothers safe."
I nodded my head ― because knowin' him, he could see it, or feel it in the air, or whatever ― and started to get up, but I paused. "Have you... found anythin' on him yet?"
I could hear shufflin' inside before Splinter started talkin'. "I have sensed something amiss while focusing in meditation. Whenever I try to find his presence, all I feel is a strong sense of dark emotions. The epitomes of anger, hate, vengeance, and guilt grip fiercely at his spirit."
I could feel my eyes widen a bit at hearin' that. "So then ya found him?!"
"It is not certain, but I do feel his presence. I can feel it drawing closer, but keep in mind, Raphael, that my meditation focuses in both the living realm, and the spirit. He could very well be among the spirits, and his mind has finally linked with mine, but the darkness around him prohibits us from contacting."
I felt my shoulders slump at that. So then... There was a good chance that he was... dead? My fist stung as I punched the floor. "Damnit! He can't be!"
"Raphael, there will be no language here. I remembered stating that 'he could be among the spirits' not that he was. I will not lose hope, if you do not."
I stood up then, that was all I needed to hear. "Alright, then you're gonna be hopin' for a long time!" And with that, I was off to get my brothers so we could search until dawn!
. ~ * ~ .
The night was really cool in the shiver-here-and-there kind of way, but not the freeze-your-shell-off way. It was perfect for a fast pace to keep your blood pumpin'.
"Hey, c'mon slowpokes!" I hollered back at the two trailin' behind me. Mikey was close to catchin' up with me, but he just wasn't as enthused as he always was when comin' out to the city. Don was the farthest behind, havin' really no motivation whatsoever. Comin' out to the city now just reminded them of the failed mission more. "Guys, remember what we're here to do!" I started lookin' forward again.
They may not believe that he's still out there, but I wasn't about to give up! I would just have to believe for all of us.
We ran across rooftop after rooftop, and I focused so much that I was startin' to feel a headache comin' on. Great.
I decided to call a break when the pounding started gettin' worse, and as soon as we stopped to rest, the two numskulls slouched to the ground as they panted.
"This is what happens when you two stop workin' out as much," I grumbled, turnin' away from them to stare around the area. We never encountered any enemies anymore... It was like they all vanished with him.
Suddenly, I heard a groaning sound come from nearby and I instantly grew alerted. I hastily pulled out my sais and crouched down. "What was that?!" I started looking around another time, and then settled my gaze on my now responsive little brothers ― they had weapons drawn too. "Did you guys hear that, too?"
They both nodded, and Mikey responded first. "Yeah, dude. It sounded like someone or something was in pain." He looked scared at the something part.
"Raph, it came from that direction, over by the buildings." Don pointed at the tall maroon buildings situated toward the end of the rooftop we were on. This was a remote area, and to be honest, I wasn't sure why I decided to head over here when we never found anything, but I had a gut feelin' ― and you know what they say, always trust your gut. There were a few of those tall storage buildings on top of this place, and I easily saw how well they were at hiding things between them.
I nodded at my brothers when we shared eye-contact. Time to move. Donnie and I took up the sides while Mikey headed straight down the center. We peered around the corners of the buildings and focused in on a sitting form nestled in between the large grooves of the buildin' behind it. It was pitch black out, so it was hard to take in on who or what it was, but I could tell it was knocked out.
When I blinked my eyes to focus, my whole body grew numb from the shock. I distantly heard the loud clang! of my sais hittin' the concrete below me, but my mind was completely jumbled up.
It's him... But it couldn't... Is it? I felt like slappin' myself a good one in the face, but my body was still numb and mind completely screwed.
"L-Leo...?" Don's soft, shocked voice reached my ears, and that's what it took for me to snap out of it.
"Leo!" Mikey exclaimed, soundin' tearful as he ran toward our fearless leader. I was right behind him, and I could feel Don catchin' up to us.
I only felt excitement, relief, and so much freakin' joy that my nerves were buzzin' on end. When I caught up to our leader's unconscious form, however, all I felt was dread and horror.
Just what the shell happened to him?!
. * . * .
A/N: Yep, there you have it. I know this chapter isn't as good as the first, but to be honest, I poured everything into that first chappie - to which I will always be proud over. This is my first TMNT fic, so I apologize if I get any of the character's too OOC. =( But this is fanfiction, so, in a way, aren't they all like that? Well, anyway, thank you all so much for reading this, it would really help me out a lot if you guys could tell me your thoughts on this, positive feedback helps fuel the writing machine (me).
More to come~
