Raphael wearily slumped onto the bench in the dojo, feeling spent from the hours of exercise that had served as nothing but a diversion. And not a good one at that, he thought morosely. Only thing I can think about is finding the Akiudo and dealing with them properly. Maybe another trip to Okinawa should be in the works. He shook his head in frustration. As if we'll be able to track them down without Don's help? Shell, we need him so bad, and not just for the smart techie stuff.

The red-masked turtle swiped a hand across his forehead to remove beads of perspiration. He'd expected Karina to interrupt him at some point, but the woman had maintained her distance. She's probably just busy, like taking care of our kid, he told himself with annoyance. It ain't like Kari doesn't do enough around here. Lately I'm sticking her alone with Liv on every whim I get.

Raphael glanced up when there was a knock at the door. He sat up straighter in preparation to face Karina. "C'mon in."

It wasn't the bronze-haired woman, but his older brother who peered around the door frame.

"Hey," Leo called softly.

"Hi, Fearless. I'm done," he assured him immediately.

"I didn't come to stop you, Raph," the blue-masked turtle said evenly. "I just wanted to make sure that the rest of our equipment was in one piece."

Raphael smiled at Leonardo's meager attempt at a joke. "Yeah, I ain't trying to destroy all our gear, Leo. We still need some of it."

Leonardo waved him down as Raphael started to rise. "What's your rush? It's not like we have somewhere to be."

Raphael looked down at the floor. "Ain't that the truth?"

His brother offered him a bottled water, and sat down on the bench beside him. Raphael twisted the cap off so hard that he felt the plastic crack in his hand. He threw back a couple gulps of water before looking at Leonardo again. It's better to be proactive than to beat around the bush.

"What do you wanna say, Leo?"

"I don't know. I hadn't really planned anything."

"That's not like you." Raphael smirked slightly, but then peered closer at Leonardo. "You look bummed, Bro."

"Unsatisfied," he corrected. "Just like you, I imagine."

Raphael shook his head. "Not much we can do about it, is there?"

"No, except try to be prepared for whatever's coming next."

Raphael took another pull from the bottle as he stared into space. "How are we supposed to prepare for something when we don't even know what it is? Maybe we're overthinking this, Leo. How many of these jokers could be left out there? We might be giving them more credit than they deserve."

Leonardo sighed. "It doesn't take an army to create large problems, Raph. Sometimes, it only takes a man; one man who's willing to overlook the rights of everyone else to further his own agenda. One person who's evil enough to destroy anyone and anything that gets in his way."

"Are you giving Takashi that much thought, Leo?"

"It's hard not to," he replied. "Raph, somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this wasn't over. It's been stirring in my spirit for months. There's been uneasiness, a lack of finality, all trying to warn me. I overlooked it and convinced myself that it was nothing but my imagination. I told myself that I'd get over it in time. That worked out well, don't you think?"

"It ain't like it's your fault, Leo. We all thought this was finished," Raphael returned. "You don't need to turn this into some personal failure on your part."

"The temptation is there, Raph, but I'm not going to. Taking on that kind of guilt is a waste of time, and it doesn't help anyone."

Raphael turned his head to look at Leonardo again. "So what are we doing in the meantime? It's like we're stuck sitting around waiting for something to happen."

"That's pretty much where we're at," Leo acknowledged. "But it doesn't mean we're completely idle. We need to keep our eyes open and our spirits centered, so that we're ready to act when the time comes. Don needs our support, and Brandon…." Leonardo trailed off for a moment. "Bran needs a lot of help and understanding. He could have a long road back, mentally speaking. I think the complications that Donny is experiencing only make this harder on Brandon."

The red-masked turtle rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "I wanna help Bran, Leo, you know that. I'm just not sure what the best thing to do for him is. Sometimes I think he wants space so I leave him alone, only for one of the girls to find him huddled up terrified in the bedroom like something was trying to attack him. It sure doesn't seem like he's ready to talk about anything."

"No he's not, but I don't think he wants to be on his own either. He wants the freedom to be left alone, but not actually be alone. Does that make any sense?"

"I guess it does. I'll keep my mouth shut, Leo, but it's hard. All I wanna do is apologize and tell 'im we didn't know he was missing."

Leonardo nodded. "I feel the same way, but I also think that could put the focus back on the very thing he doesn't want to talk about."

Raphael's shoulders hunched as sadness coursed through him anew. "Why'd it have to be him, Leo?" he mumbled. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Madness usually doesn't," Leonardo said. "There's no real answer for that. Brandon went through something that he never should have, but he was strong enough to survive it. I have faith in Brandon, Raph. With time and support, I believe he'll be back to full strength."

"I believe that too, Leo," he affirmed. "It's just a matter of how long it's gonna take."

It had been another quiet evening around the Den, full of the weighty silence of which Raphael had grown so tired. He'd spent time with Karina and Olivia, and had even cleaned up a large portion of the kitchen after dinner to make up for being missing a good part of the day.

When it came time to go to bed, however, he was wide awake. The red-masked turtle had tried watching some TV, but couldn't find anything that would hold his attention. What he really wanted to do was bug Mike to join him, but he knew his youngest brother was asleep, and he wasn't about to bother him because he couldn't settle down.

With TV remote in hand, Raphael suddenly stopped on a show depicting three eager looking people standing behind large baskets. He cocked his head curiously as the announced addressed the apparent "contestants".

"Chefs, please open your baskets. And the mystery ingredients you must include in your entrées are: flank steak, grape juice, goat cheese, and lemongrass. You each have thirty minutes to complete your entrée, and your time starts…now."

He rolled his eyes as he flipped the station again. Who would eat that stuff in real life? What a waste of time. Raphael sank further into his chair as he brought up the on-screen guide and began running through the programing at a rapid-fire pace. One good show, is that too much to ask for? He rested his chin in his hand, and felt like his eyes were glazing over the longer he stared at the titles passing by.

A shout from down the hall startled Raphael, and he jerked so hard that he dropped the remote control. He immediately recognized Brandon's voice, and vaulted out of the chair. When he threw open the door of the bedroom, he was met by the distressing sight of the traumatized man backed into a corner. Greg was giving Brandon some space, but also extending his arms in a way that suggested he was trying to calm him down.

Greg turned to look in Raphael's direction as he entered the room, and it couldn't have been a worse time to take his focus off their irrational friend. Brandon levered his elbow like a sledgehammer, driving it into the other man's face. The turtle lunged forward to steady Greg as he staggered. Surprised by his rapid reaction, Brandon dropped further into the safety of his corner. Raphael was torn over leaving him, but he needed to make sure that Greg was okay too.

Raphael backed out of the room with a firm arm around the sandy-haired man, and met a sprinting Leonardo in the hall. The blue-masked turtle shook his head when he saw their friend's blood.

"Are you all right, Heff?" Leo asked.

Greg grimaced even as he shrugged. "Sure. I don't really need my nose that badly, do I?"

"I swear you're going to lose it one of these times," Leonardo said ruefully.

"With my luck," the man muttered.

Raphael winced apologetically. "I'm sorry for distracting you, Heff. If I hadn't come into the room—"

"You didn't hit me, Raph, and Bran didn't know what he was doing. You'd better get back in there and calm him down, seriously."

"He's right, Raph," Leo spoke up. "I've got Greg, unless you'd rather I go deal with Brandon."

"Nah, I got this," Raphael assured him.

He went back inside the bedroom more slowly this time, and found Brandon crouched near the floor in the same corner. Silent tears were coursing down the man's face as he stared at the floor. Brandon stiffened as Raphael came toward him, so the turtle changed direction to sit down on the bed instead.

Raphael hesitated on the edge of the mattress, waiting to see what Brandon would do. When his friend didn't move or acknowledge him after a couple of minutes, he finally spoke.

"You know where you are now, don't you, Bran?"

"Yes," he answered softly. "But I wasn't here, and there was someone else. Donny was…" Brandon's face screwed up as he fought for control of his voice. "They had him. They killed him."

The turtle got back to his feet and came to sit on the ground, about a foot away from Brandon. "Don's not dead, Bran. He's still with us, remember? Things ain't great, but the docs think he can get better. Both of you are safe, so you can relax."

Regardless of his words Brandon's gaze remained fixed on the ground. "I'm not supposed to be here," he murmured. "I was never supposed to make it out. I'm screwed. I'm so screwed, Raph."

"No you're not," Raphael said adamantly, barely resisting the urge to touch him. "You're gonna be okay, Brandon. Things are going to get better for you too."

"You don't know, you can't see it," Brandon faltered. "Nothing about this is right. I'd be better off if I'd died back there."

"Brandon, don't say that," he ordered. "Don't you ever say that. Your sisters love you; we all do. Nobody wants to lose you."

The man's head dropped so low that it was almost brushing the floor. "It's not you guys. It's me. I don't think I can live with this, Raph."

"It's hard, I hear you," Raphael replied. "But you're going to make it, Bran, we'll make sure of it. We're here for you, Man, and we're not going to abandon you."

"You should," he said sharply. "You weren't there; you don't know what happened."

Raphael shook his head. "I don't know, Bran. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on you."

"I gave up on you," Brandon said faintly. "I gave up hope of making it. When they were..."

"Brandon, you don't have to do this."

"I tried to die, and they wouldn't let me. They wouldn't let me, the bastards!"

The momentary surge in Brandon's anger was followed by a greater weariness, and the man slumped to the floor. Raphael swallowed back emotion as he got up to retrieve him, and put his friend back into the bed.

Those Akiudo should be in pieces. I ought to hunt them down again myself, so I can finish them properly, he fumed. It's not fair. It's just not fair.