Well here we go. Chapter 17. I'm pleased with how fast I'm getting this up. I'm also happy with the reviews (wipes forming tears). Anyway...
Raph's No. 1 Girl beta read this.
The TMNT characters do not belong to me. Honestly, did you really think they did? But, all OC's do belong to me.
Thanks and enjoy!
Mikey's hand went instantly to his shell cell in his leather belt. He wished he could call his brother's phone and just follow the ring to the owner. But Raph no longer carried a phone.
There were twenty rooms on each floor, each he had to go in to search, due to the smoke blinding his vision. He tore the first door open and ran inside. He was glad the mask allowed him to see somewhat in the smoky area – Raph wasn't in there.
Five doors later, he tore open another door. Nothing. With a scream of frustration he rushed to the next one, which proved to be vacant as well.
One his twelfth room, he felt a small beep going through the mic – Donny. His five minutes was up.
NO! Mike's heart raced as he pushed the small button on the side of his helmet to answer the call.
"Mikey!" Donny screamed. "You have to get out now! The building's about to give way!"
Mikey didn't answer his brother. Even as he spoke, the building started to sway roughly, throwing the young turtle off balance. His eyes snapped up, franticly searching the un-searched rooms and eyes landed on the last one at the end of the way. Something tugged at his heart and if it was the last thing he did - he had to search one more room. Just one.
He raced forward, ignoring this brother's shrieks in the mic. His hand reached for the knob and literally tore it off the frame. Stepping inside, he gave a weak gesture to wave the smoke from his face. He searched the room, his heart racing.
Nothing.
He was about to turn when something bright red caught his eye. Raph?
"Mikey!" Don screamed.
It was Raph. The turtle was laying face down, blood covering most of his body and wounds marking his green skin. His mask was torn and soot covered.
"I found Raph!" Mikey yelled into his mic as he knelt beside his brother. "Third floor, last door."
"Thank goodness." He heard Donny mutter. "Hold on Mikey, I'm on my way up."
The mic was switched off and Mikey went back to the task of getting his brother out alive. As he reached to turn him over, he spotted something lying under the red clad turtle. A pale hand was barely visible under the plastron. Raph had been shielding someone, Mikey thought as he rolled his brother off the person. It was Suri!
The young girl was out cold, her eyes closed and her cheeks red. He quickly took one last breath from his mask and fitted it over the girl's mouth. Under Raph, he had not only protected her from the blast and the flying debris, he had also shielded her from most of the smoke, allowing her to breathe a little easier.
A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder and Mikey didn't need to turn to know it was Don. The purple masked turtle quickly fitted the extra mask over Raph's beak before picking him up bridal-hold. Mikey did the same with the girl, his breathing getting harder by the second as more smoke poured into his lungs.
Don's eyes widened slightly when he saw his brother with no mask on, but was in no condition to argue. With a jerk of his head, he began to race down the hall and towards the steps. As they were going down the last steps on the second floor, the whole building started teetering and swaying dangerously.
Mikey clutched Suri tighter to his plastron and ducked his head as dust and plaster started to empty on them. There was the door, no more than a few feet ahead. Mikey heard a deafening collapse behind him and knew they were out of time.
Vigor started pumping through Don as he strained his leg muscles for all the energy he had left. They would never make it to the door, but maybe that window… He was ahead, having a slightly harder time, bearing the largest turtle's weight alone. He reached a still standing window and crashed through it, closing his eyes as glass shattered around him and Raph. He heard Mikey behind him, the turtle letting out a loud "OOMPH!" as he landed.
Casey was standing near the battle shell, the survivors huddling around the vehicle for the warmth rolling from the heaters inside. All watched in stunned silence as the place they had been able to call home for the past month buckled before their eyes. Some cried; some had anger on their faces, some too stunned to really comprehend what was happening.
Casey opened the back, and Don was relieved to see Leo sitting up, swaying slightly and the mask still over his face, but alive and breathing.
Leo shook his head in attempt to clear his foggy head as his brothers approached and moved off the small gurney for Don to place Raph on. Mikey had Casey lay down heavy blankets on the floor and he gently let Suri fall to the blankets. Don ripped of his mask and began checking over Raph.
Mikey just then noticed April among the people, checking them for injuries and damages. Some were lucky to escape with a few scratches, others not so lucky with broken bones and bad sprains. April noticed Mikey's frantic gestures to her and she hurried over, blood already covering her hands from previous treatment.
"How's he doing, guys?" she asked as she scurried over. Her mouth gaped open slightly at the sight and she slapped a hand over it. "Oh my…" she whispered.
Mikey knelt beside Leo, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "How ya doin', bro?" he asked quietly.
Leo shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "I'm okay. How's Raph?"
Mikey glanced over at his brother. His shoulders sagged. "He's breathing." He offered hopefully.
Leo snorted as he stood. He went up behind Don, who was busy wrapping the turtle's arms. "Donny?"
"He'll live – maybe." Don told him briskly, the medical tone in his voice as he replaced the mask over Raph's beak. "Although I have to say it isn't good – not good at all."
"What's the extent?"
"His leg is severely broken," Leo eyes automatically shifted to Raph's legs, but a heavy blanket covered them. He was somewhat relieved; he really wasn't in the mood to see a broken leg and when Don said severely, it meant it was bad. The purple clad turtle never used those words unless something was.
"He also has some melted metal from the fire on his shell and quite a few deep cuts that'll need stitching." Don stood up, wiping the blood off his hands before he reached for a needle and a small thing of thread. "He has some bad burns, a number three I believe, mostly on his legs and on his arms. He was tossed around a bit from the first explosion and he inhaled a lot of smoke," his voice lowered so only the two of them could hear. "And that's not taking into account the last injuries he sustained. I'm worried most about his leg; if he was having trouble using it before then he's going to a have a shell of time with this. He'll be bedridden for a few weeks - we need to see if April has a wheelchair we can borrow for when he has to move – and can't use his leg at all until I say. He can't even bump it, that's how bad it is."
Leo breathed out, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "So are you saying that if we're not careful Raph could lose that leg?"
"Not lose it," Don corrected. "He'll have to use a cane to get around for the rest of his life if we're not careful with it. One knock against something, one wrong move, and he'll never be the same." His toned lowered another notch. "I mean that if anything happened…he…he won't be able to be a ninja."
A picture of Raph never again going on runs with them, never training, never bashing in heads, but hobbling around the a lair with a cane forced its way into Leo's head. The thought scared him, and if that were to happen, Raph would never forgive them. A ninja was all he knew – the only life he's lived – breaking it now could cut the final string of hope remaining between the brothers. He couldn't let that happen.
He just couldn't.
"So what do we do now?" Leo asked, regaining his voice. Although he tried to sound like a leader, he could detect exhaustion and fear in his voice. Fear of what had happened. Of what could still happen.
"April and I will take care of the leg," Don told him as he began rummaging through a medical kit. "You need to let Casey and Mikey know that they need to stay back until we have the leg wrapped and protected. That way we'll at least be able to move him…" his voice trailed off as he produced another roll of gauze.
Leo moved away and let his brother and their red-headed friend take care of his injured brother. He needed to talk with Mikey but as he began to walk out the door, he spotted Suri lying still unconscious on the floor of the van.
"What about her?" he tilted his head in the girl's direction.
Don paused in the middle of wrapping a bruise, his eyes landing on the girl's still form. "I…I have Raph to take care of." He told Leo. "She can wait."
"Don," Mikey had climbed into van, limping from the burns on his leg. "The cops are on the way. Seems someone called in."
Leo was a bit shocked, but not surprised, that it had taken this long for someone to either A, notice the flames or B, have enough courage to swallow their pride and help someone else for a change. That's New York, he thought ruefully as everyone hopped into the van.
He was about to close the van doors when a young blonde haired man ran up to them. He was soot covered and had a long scratch down one cheek and multiple bruises dotting his arms. He grabbed the door, halting Leo in closing it. His eyes locked on Suri.
"I'm going with you." He announced, his voice thick with determination.
Leo was about to chase the boy off when he noticed a small, very young girl at his side. She had wide blue eyes that blinked up at Leo innocently. One hand tightly gripped a small blanket and the other a small stuffed dog. Tear tracks streaked her dirty face and her lip quivered as she starred at the blue clad turtle.
Leo sighed. He held the door open wider and motioned them in. "Quickly now, the cops are coming and we can't be seen." The young man nodded and scooped the small girl up to Leo before hopping in the van himself.
The girl quickly snuggled into Leo's plastron and gave him a small smile. Leo frowned before offering the girl to Mikey.
Mikey took the girl. He gave her his famous beam and she frowned. First she looked at Leo, then to Mikey. Her eyes were narrowed. Donny made a comment to April and she turned to look at him with a thoughtful expression on her small five-year-old girl face.
Mikey smiled. "Hi there. I'm Mikey, what's your name?"
The small girl continued to frown at him. "Raphie?" she asked.
"No, I'm Raphie's brother." Mikey told her as he reached under the seat to grab a granola bar. He offered it to the girl. "Hungry?"
She nodded and tore it open, biting into it hungrily. It was gone within a minute. She offered the wrapper to Mikey who took it with a chuckle, throwing it into a small trashcan.
Mikey tried again. "What's your name?"
"Sammy." She told him in a small voice and then pointed to the young man who was sitting on an empty seat. "Joey." She informed him.
"Sammy, huh?" Mikey grinned.
Sammy nodded urgently as if it was very important that he understand it. "Yes, I Raphie's friend." Her voice got quite again. "He told me I big girl."
Mikey smirked at the thought of his rough and rude brother holding the small girl. "Did he now?"
"Yep." Her face brightened. She pointed at Leo. "Raphie's other brother?"
"Yes, Sammy. Why don't you go say hi?" he set the girl on the floor. Sammy slowly made her way to the blue turtle. Leo was so lost in thought he didn't notice the small girl until she tapped his leg with one small finger.
"What do ya want, kid?" Leo asked.
Sammy didn't say anything, just climbed into his lab and snuggled down. Leo stared in surprise. She looked at him and gave him another smile before wrapping the small blanket around her, shivering slightly. Leo grabbed a spare cover and wrapped the small girl in it. She quickly fell asleep.
"She likes you." The young man finally commented. "It took a few days for her to get used to Raph. She took to you quickly."
Leo snapped his head up to stare at the boy. "And you are?"
"Joey," he offered his hand, which Leo ignored. "I take it you don't like us."
Leo didn't say anything for a second. "I have my reasons." He paused. "And I'm Leonardo."
Joey nodded. "Leo, the leader of the clan. Raph enjoyed telling the smaller kids stories about you guys. They ate them up, especially the one where you all finally defeated Shredder in space."
"Raph told you guys that stuff?" Leo asked in disbelief. "I thought he was trying to ignore anything that had to do with us?"
"He was." Joey told him. "After he came back after he was out cold from the fight, a kid asked him and it started one story that led to another and another before everyone gathered around for story time. Heck, I enjoyed them. You guys really did all that stuff?"
Leo just nodded, shifting his weight to make himself more comfortable. "We're almost to the lair, you'll understand that we'll have to blindfold you; it'll be dangerous for you to know its location."
Joey shrugged. "As long as I stay near Raph and Suri, I'm fine. They're my friends."
Leo took out a small cloth and had Mikey blindfold the boy; glad he wouldn't have to do it to Sammy. The small girl was still sound asleep in his arms, resting her face against his chest. Leo motioned for Mikey to run ahead to prepare the infirmary and tell Splinter.
Leo didn't remember much about the trip through the sewers to the lair. He remembered Donny and April taking extra care of getting Raph to the lair on the gurney, carefully weaving around anything that could trip them and even taking the longer routes if it would be a smoother path. They weren't taking any chances.
As soon as his foot stepped in the door of the lair, he spotted Splinter keeping vigil by the medical part of the lair. Splinter twitched his whiskers at the small wrapped in bundle Leo was carrying.
"What is that, my son?" Splinter questioned, sniffing the air.
Leo revealed the sleeping girl's face to his sensei. Splinter's eyes twinkled at the sight of the child; it had been so long since there'd been an infant in the lair. His sons were the only children he really ever knew and despite all the trouble they got into, he loved every moment with them growing up dearly.
Leo placed the sleeping girl on the couch and laid a heavy blanket over her before facing his sensei. "Master, we found Raphael again."
"Michelangelo informed me, but failed to give me the details." Splinter looked at Leo expectantly.
Leo paused, not sure how to break the news to him. "Casey showed me where he lived and I was going to go visit him, you know, just to check up on him. I guess he hasn't been living too carefully 'cause there were three people there, looked like Purple Dragons, and they were about to blow up the place. I tried to stop them, but one of them got to it anyway. I think I messed something up – I don't think they had time to finish the bomb."
"Bomb?" Splinter's eyes flared at the word. His tail lashed back and forth.
"Yes sensei." Leo looked troubled. "The explosion caught the warehouse on fire and I just had enough time to call Don and the others to come help while I, um, helped people escape."
"You did what?" Splinter's eyes narrowed at this eldest. "And I suppose by helping, you rushed into the building?" his voice got deadly calm at Leo's meek nod. "I see."
A quick blur of brown and Leo was rubbing his sore arm where Splinter hit him with his walking stick. As the eldest, Splinter never expected Leonardo to do something so foolish as rushing into a burning building when he had no protection or mask – he'd leave that up to Michelangelo or Raphael.
"Go assist your brothers." Splinter dismissed Leo. "Help them get Raphael here – but tell me first, what are the extent of his injuries?"
Leo gave the details from what Don had told him. Splinter seemed particularly troubled about the leg.
"If he loses use of the leg, we may lose Raphael all together." Splinter told him firmly. "We must be cautious around him; he needs to heal both physically and mentally. This time the physical must be top priority, if we lose that we lose the mental part of the war."
"Yes sensei." Leo bowed before hurrying off into the sewers where he would intercept the others.
When he got there, Raph had still not woken up. Don and April carried him, while Joey carried the bruised Suri. Leo noticed they had taken his blindfold off. He didn't want the young man to know the location of the lair, but getting Raph there was more important. He could deal with matters of security later.
As they arrived at the lair, they had a repeated process of going into the infirmary, although Mikey and Casey were the only ones kicked out. Leo assisted Joey is treating Suri's wounds, while April, Splinter and Donny took care of Raph. Leo could almost hear his youngest brother's anxious pacing outside the doors. He wanted to comfort him, after all that was his job, but he had more important things to take care of. If Suri was really injured and there were lasting affects and Raph woke up and discovered that they had treated him before her, then he'd really be mad. It was a two-way deal.
As he glanced over at Raph though, he thought he saw his brother's lips moving slowly beneath the mask, as if he was trying to speak.
"Donny?" Leo pointed out the movement to his genius brother who quickly took off the mask. Raph's head was twitching slightly, and his mouth moved. Leo leaned over, his ear almost to his mouth. He strained to hear the pained words his brother said.
"Black…Demons." Raph painfully gasped out, his voice barely audible, and his eyes not opening. "Black Demons." Then he was still and silence once again overtook the lair.
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