-Redemption-
Summary: Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...
Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles. *Images what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*
A/n: Here's the next chapter guys. Hope it's not awful; I'm swamped with assignments at the moment :(
Warnings for swearing and blood.
April paced restlessly around the small apartment, face pale and hands gripping her practise sword in fear and worry.
"How long have you known?" She whispered, turning to face her boyfriend.
Casey shrugged. "I don't know, maybe one, two weeks tops."
"And you never bothered to tell me?" April demanded, narrowing her emerald eyes at Casey.
"Hey it wasn't my secret to tell," Casey defended. "Raph didn't even want me to know."
"Then how did you find out it was him then?" April asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"I was out patrolling one night, ran into him. After that it wasn't hard to tell who was under all that metal."
April shook her head sadly, her eyes shining with brimming tears. "I don't understand why he didn't tell anyone. I don't understand why he did this in the first place."
"He wanted to get away," Casey murmured softly. "Well at least I think he did. Think about it April, Raph isn't the kind of guy who just sits around doing nothing."
"He could have gotten a job, like the others," April whispered.
Casey shook his head. "As what? A night time patrol man? Face it April, fighting and bustin' up bad guys is in Raph's blood, and Leo leaving won't change that. Being the Night Watcher allowed him to do what he does best, whilst still staying in the shadows but giving him enough cover to step out into the night with."
"I still can't believe..."
"Don't say it," Casey said, his own eyes brimming with barely contained tears. "I know Raph, he's strong, stronger than anyone else I know. He ain't dead April. We're going to find him."
"I know we are Casey," April said soothingly. "I promise we will."
"Then what are we doing just sitting around here for?" Casey demanding, hockey mask already over his face. "We should be out there lookin' for him now, before the patrol groups find him."
"They won't find him before we do," April assured him. "As soon as the boys get here we'll go." Seeing the concerned look in his eyes for his friend, April gently gripped his arm and forced him to turn around and face her.
"We will find him Casey," she whispered. "Together. We'll bring him home."
Everything hurt. Every small movement, every breath he took, sent shockwaves of pain radiating through his body.
Raphael groaned and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but stopped when a sharp pain filled his side. Clutching his ribs, Raphael bit his lip to stop the scream that threatened to break free.
He had managed to pull his gloves off, but the rest of the metal gear on his body was too painful for him to remove. He had managed to drag himself over into a thick cover of bushes, hidden from the highway and concealed in the long shadows of the late hour.
Raphael slowly moved his hand towards his pocket, trying to find his shell-cell before realizing that he had left it back in the lair. Grounding his teeth in frustration, Raphael leaned his head back, resting it against the rough bark of an old oak tree.
He felt like he was going to pass out at any minute. Black dots creeped in from the edges of his vision and his whole body felt like led. A voice in his head whispered for him to close his eyes that if he did that all his pain would go away. Raphael wanted so desperately to listen to the voice, to just let go and slip into the comforting darkness that would make his pain go away, but he knew he had to stay alert. He knew that when the police found no body next to his bike they would send out search teams. It wouldn't be long before someone found him, and he had to be ready to move further into the forest when the inevitable occurred.
Raphael took this moment of solitude to asses himself for injuries. He knew his right arm and leg were definitely broken, and hung limp and lifelessly beside him. He could feel the cut on the side of his face, which was now covered in dry blood. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore. He was also certain he had a dislocated shoulder and knee, and if his harsh breathing was anything to go by, some broken ribs.
"Damn it," Raphael cursed silently, feeling the taste of blood in his mouth. Not to mention the serious road rash he had running up his right side from sliding across the road. Parts of his costume was bent out of shape and dented from the impact. It would take a lot to fix this, and even longer to fix his bike, his beloved bike.
God Raphael loved that bike. He loved the feel of it purring beneath him, nothing but energy. He loved the feeling of going fast, of racing off into the night, him and him alone. When he was on his bike he felt so free, so unchained from the rest of the world. It was his one true means of escaping his life and all within it, even if it was just for a couple of hours. Now, his bike, his lifeline, was destroyed.
"Damn it!" Raphael cursed again, groaning at the pain that exploded in his ribs.
Momentary panic consumed Raph. No one knew he was the Night Watcher. Well, except for Casey, but surely Casey didn't watch the news. He wouldn't know what had happened.
Raphael heard the voice in his head again, louder this time, coaxing him towards blissful sleep. Raph tried to fight off the voice, tried to shut it out. But he realized he was winning a losing battle.
How easy, he thought to himself, it would be to just let go, to let the darkness take this pain away.
Raphael jerked awake when he realized he had been dozing off. A sinking feeling settled in his gut as he realized that no one was coming for him. This was a battle he had to fight for himself.
He just didn't know if he could do it.
Leonardo's POV
"What...what do you mean Raphael's the Night Watcher?" I asked slowly, unable to process Donnie's words properly. It was like my brain had completely shut down.
Don made a frustrated gesture with his hands. "I...Casey said that Raphael's the Night Watcher. That...that it was him that was in that accident..."
"No!" Mikey wailed, tears shining in his beautiful blue eyes. "No it can't be!"
"Don what else did April say?" I demanded, trying to shove my grief aside.
"Not a lot," Donatello whispered. "She...she just said that Casey knew Raph was the Night Watcher."
"Donnie," I said quietly, dragging him a few feet away from Mikey so he wouldn't hear. "Is there even the slightest chance that...that the crash wasn't fatal?"
Donnie gulped and looked back towards the TV, his own brown eyes shining with tears. "I...I doubt it," he whispered and I felt a pang in my gut. "I mean...there is a small chance but...I seriously doubt it Leo."
"Well even a little chance is still a chance," I said, fighting away my panic and forcing my tears away. "We're going to find him."
"But Leo, there will be search patrols all over the place," Don whispered.
"We're ninjas," I said. "We won't be seen."
"Are we going to go find Raphie?" Mikey spoke up, a hitch in his voice.
"Yeah Mikey," I said, walking over to my youngest brother and pulling him into a hug. "We're going to find him and we're going to bring him home."
"Leo..." Don started but I cut him off sharply.
"Don, go tell Master Splinter what has happened, then call April and Casey, tell them we're going after Raph."
Don opened his mouth to protest but closed it with a snap and ran off to find Master Splinter.
"Leo...what if..." Mikey sniffed and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "What if...Raph didn't survive the crash?"
"Don't think like Mikey," I whispered, lifting his chin up and gently wiping his tears away with my thumb. "We're going to find him. Raphael is alive Mikey, I know he is."
Mikey swallowed and nodded and stared down at the ground, trying to will his tears to dry.
I turned around quickly so Mikey wouldn't see my own tears, Donnie's words floating through my head. I doubt it... I seriously doubt it Leo.
No! Leo thought furiously, shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts. Raphael was alive. And he was going to bring his baby brother home, no matter what.