A/n: A big, big. BIG thank you to my amazing beta, Amonrapheonix for beta-ing this chapter, even after all my sporadic periods of updating. Your input has been amazing and greatly appreciated!
-Chapter Twenty One-
Raphael was eager to leave and was impatiently tapping his fingers against his leg. It had been nearly three months now since he had last been outside the lair and the deprivation of starry nights, cool winds, and the sounds of New York City was starting to take its toll on him.
"Come on already," Raphael said irritably, already starting to hobble towards the door.
"We're coming, we're coming, hold your horses," Don sighed, appearing from his office with Mikey.
"Yeah dude, don't run off on us now," Mikey grinned impishly.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Raphael growled sarcastically. "And where's Leo? What's taking him so long?"
"Well, I thought you might need these," Leo's voice said from behind him.
"What are you-" Raphael broke off when he turned and saw Leo holding out his Sais to him in open palms. The metal gleamed like it had just been freshly polished and the red bands wrapped around the hilt looked newly replaced.
"I've been holding onto these for a while now," Leo explained, handing them to Raphael. "Well, just until you needed them again, that is." He amended.
Raphael took the proffered weapons; the feel of the cold blades was very comforting and felt just so right. It was like a part of him had been taken away and he hadn't even known it. But now, with his familiar weapons in his calloused hands again, it felt like that piece that had been missing, had been returned.
"Thank you," Raphael murmured gratefully, turning the Sais over in his hands tenderly before meeting Leo's eyes.
Leo smiled and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go topside."
It took a lot longer than it usually did, but finally, after thirty minutes of navigating through the sewers, they reached the surface. The journey, which usually only took ten minutes, was filled with snarls, muttered curses, frustration and pain. With the help of his brothers, Raphael was now perched on the ledge of a rooftop, his leg throbbing in painful agony. But despite the immense pain, Raphael was happier than he had been in at least three months. He had almost forgotten what New York City had looked like.
The sky was studded with stars that glowed like diamonds; a cool, refreshing, early spring breeze blew gently, rustling through the trees and rustling the tails of his mask. Down below, the city was lit up like a giant, multi-coloured Christmas tree. Cars lined the streets, and people filled the footpaths as they rushed to and fro. But from his position on the rooftop, it felt like Raphael was miles away.
"I know it isn't exactly forests and hills, but it's quite pretty," Leo said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," Raphael agreed with a content hum. "A lot prettier than the sewers, that's for sure."
"Does it feel good to be back out here again?" Mikey asked.
"Definitely," Raph with a grin, "it feels…normal. I feel normal."
"So was it worth it, coming all the way out here?"
"Yes," Raph said without any hesitation. Despite all the pain and hassle his leg had caused, it was the most worthwhile thing he had done in months, and he didn't regret it at all.
"We should come out here more often," Mikey said. "It's nice to be outside without having to patrol or worry about the Foot or the world ending."
"That it is," Leo mused with a smile, before gently lowering himself into a sitting position next to Raphael.
"Say, Mikey, feel like a bit of rooftop-tag before we call it a night?" Donnie asked, having a feeling that Leo wanted to talk to Raph alone for a bit.
"Sure, last one to the next clothes line is a rotten egg!" Mikey yelled before racing off into the shadows, Don following quickly behind him.
"So?" Leo asked as soon as Mikey and Don had left.
"What is it Leo?" Raphael sighed, turning his head to look at his brother. "I can always tell when something is on your mind."
"You know me too well," Leo said with a sigh, turning to look out at the star-studded sky. There was a pause before he said; "Raphael…what happened that night?"
Raphael stiffened and glared angrily at Leo. "Can't you just let it be, Leo? I came out here to relax for once, not be asked questions and interrogated!"
"I'm not interrogating you, Raph; I just want to know what happened!" Leo shot back, trying to maintain his calm.
"What makes you think something happened anyway?" Raphael grumbled.
"I know how you ride, Raph; you don't just fall off your bike. Something must have happened."
"It was an accident okay? Simple as that," Raphael said firmly, his eyes showing clearly that the topic was closed.
Leo sighed in frustration but knew he wasn't going to get an answer out of Raphael tonight; though he was determined to get one eventually. Deciding to leave the topic for now, Leo sat in silence beside his brother.
A sudden sound made Leo and Raph turn their heads around. On the surrounding rooftops, dark, all too familiar shapes appeared.
"Damnit!" Leo hissed, jumping to his feet and unsheathing his swords. "I shouldn't have dropped my guard!"
"It's the Foot and the Purple Dragons!" Mikey yelled, racing towards then with Donnie on his heels.
The shapes started moving forward, and the unmistakable glint of steel flashed wickedly in the moonlight.
"Protect Raph!" Leo barked, moving to stand directly in front of his injured brother.
Raphael growled angrily from behind him. "I can protect myself," he said, trying to get to his feet.
The others ignored him and moved to form a protective semi-circle in front of him, weapons drawn and at the ready.
A group of fifty Purple Dragons and Foot ninjas moved into view, their stance menacing, weapons drawn.
"What do you want?" Leo demanded with a growl.
The Purple Dragon at the front of the group looked past Leo and locked his eyes on Raphael. "To finish what we started," he said with a cruel smirk.
Leo stiffened and felt a shiver race down his spine. Something wasn't right. Before he could put his finger on it, the Purple Dragons and the Foot attacked.
The turtles moved forward to meet the charge while trying to stay close enough to Raphael to protect him.
Raphael had managed to get to his feet and draw his Sais, but from the grimace of pain on his face, there was no way he was going to be able to fight, let alone defend himself.
Leo knew that the three of them could take thirty opponents on easily, but the problem lay with the combined forces of both the Purple Dragons and the Foot. This cooperation led Leo to question of why the Purple Dragons and the Foot were even working together. Leo had no time to think of a plausible explanation before he was surrounded by at least twenty Foot Ninjas and Purple Dragons.
Leo bared his teeth and fell into a familiar stance used in knocking down and disarming foes to the left and to right. What he didn't realize though, was that the Foot and Purple Dragons were luring him and his brothers further and further away from Raphael.
The sound of Raphael's pain filled cry echoed through the air, slicing through the sounds of battle. Leo froze, feeling the blood in his veins turn to ice. Whirling around, he saw a group of five Foot Ninjas quickly binding Raphael's hands behind his shell. A thin trail of blood ran down his face from a cut just above his eye, extremely close to his temple. His crutch had been discarded and thrown away, and he lay awkwardly on his side, trying to keep his weight off his bad leg and still try to fight off his assailants in his semi-conscious state.
The Foot started to drag Raphael across the rooftop, roughly jostling his bad leg and making him cry out in agonizing pain.
"Raph!" Leo roared, moving to help his brother. But before he could reach him, he felt a sudden intense pain in the back of his head as something hard and metal connected harshly with his skull.
The last thing he saw was his brother being dragged away before everything went black.
A/n: Dun, dun, dunnn! You really didn't think I would leave you all off with a happy chapter without suspense and action? Of course not! Hang onto your seats guys, and better strap in, from now on it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Feel free to leave a review; I'd love to hear what you think so far!
Until the next time,
~Cat