Summary: Sequel to Redemption. 5 months after the accident, Raphael is slowly coming to terms with his disabilities and moving on with his life. But one night everything is about change. Caught in an ambush, Leo is the one who needs saving this time. But can Raphael get him home in time? Or will his disabilities mean death for them both?

Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Author's Notes: All of this couldn't be possible without my amazing and faithful Beta readers, Amonraphoenix and DarkUnderwolrd. Thank you so much for sticking with me guys and helping me with this story.

-Retribution-

Chapter Three

-Raphael-

The darkness was impenetrable. He couldn't see anything as he was falling, he could only feel the air rushing past. As he was falling, Raphael got an eerie sense of déjàvu. He flung his arms out wildly, groping in the darkness for purchase, but only air brushed past his fingertips. He didn't know how long he had been falling; if it had only been a few seconds, or if time was slowing it down to feel like minutes. And then suddenly he wasn't falling anymore. There was a loud splash as he hit icy water shell-first. The impact jolted him and knocked the air out of his lungs. Surrounded by darkness, lungs and body aching, Raphael clawed desperately in the direction he thought and hoped the surface would be. A moment later he burst free, gasping in a great lungful of air. The cold water sapped away his energy and made his body tremble. Raphael was just thankful that he had hit the water with his shell; otherwise he probably would have broken or even shattered a few bones.

Raphael blinked water from his eye when he remembered with a jolt what had happened. The floor had given way in the warehouse, and he and Leo had plunged into the darkness.

Leo...

"Leo!" Raphael yelled, looking around him blindly in the inky darkness for any signs of his missing older brother. "Leo!"

He was surrounded by the cold, black water, and there was no sign of Leo anywhere.

"No...NO...Leo!" Raphael shouted, sucking in a deep breath before plunging back under the murky water, groping blindly for his brother. His fingers brushed through the water, but there was no sign of Leo. Resurfacing to take another desperate breath, Raphael dove deeper, desperately reaching through the depths.

And then his fingers brushed against something familiar. A shell. Grabbing onto Leo's scarred shell for dear life, Raphael swam for the surface; the extra weight of his brother dragging him down and making his movements slow and sluggish. Breaking the surface once more, Raphael clung to his limp brother.

"Leo, Leo are you OK?" Raphael asked desperately, fear knotting in his gut when his brother didn't respond.

A sudden pull made Raphael almost let go of his brother. Kicking out in fear, thinking that something had hold of him, Raphael looked around desperately for the source of the pull. With a sinking heart he realised he was trapped in the middle of a strong current.

Raphael tried to fight the current, but his limbs were numb and all of his energy was depleted. Holding on to Leo tighter, they were swept downstream in the strong current. He fought to keep their heads above the water as the current grew stronger. A strange noise reached his ears and Raphael tried to figure out what it was. He had heard that noise before; he just couldn't put his finger on it...

Then it dawned on him...a waterfall. Raphael fought the current desperately, trying to swim away from the oncoming drop, but the current was too strong. Knowing this, Raph stopped swimming and wrapped his arms around Leo's head just before he and his brother were swept over the edge.

God, Raphael hated falling...

The waterfall wasn't as big as Raphael had feared. When he surfaced, he was still in one peace. But he was alone once more.

"Leo? Leo!" Raphael called, looking around desperately for his brother. Taking in a deep breath, Raphael dived under the water, searching for his brother. Thankfully the water here wasn't as deep and Raphael could just make out the blurred shape of his brother floating a few metres away in the dim light. Grabbing his arm, Raphael surfaced with his brother in tow. Leo was limp in his arms, and the blood that coated his brother's head told Raphael that he must have hit a rock at some point.

Spying the shore a few meters away, Raphael forced his tired limbs through the cold water. Reaching the rocky shore, Raphael wearily dragged himself and his brother up onto the rocks, and collapsed in exhaustion. He fought the numbing blackness that was creeping up on him, knowing it would mean death if he allowed himself to close his eyes and slip into the darkness. Shaking his head and stretching his aching limbs, Raphael crawled over to Leo and checked for a pulse.

There was none.

"No, Leo!" Raphael shouted in panic. Quickly rolling Leo onto his shell, Raphael started to give him CPR, pumping on his plastron and quietly counting to himself. He was starting to become frantic. The minutes ticked by and Leo remained still, lifeless. How long has Leo not been breathing? Was it before the falls or after? Raphael didn't know but he did know the longer Leo didn't breathe, the greater chance for brain damage to occur...and the harder it would be to revive him.

"Come on, bro, please don't leave me!" Raphael begged, continuing the compressions, desperation giving strength to his exhausted body.

Suddenly Leo started coughing and Raphael quickly rolled him onto his side as he vomited up a mouthful of water quickly followed by another.

"Leo! Leo, thank God," Raphael whispered, relief and joy flooding the tight pang that his heart had felt a minute ago. In a rare moment of affection, Raphael pulled his brother close, till Leo was sitting in his lap. Raph wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight hug. "Don't ever leave me again," Raphael growled softly.

"Promise," Leo croaked weakly, his voice hoarse from vomiting up the stagnant water in his lungs.

"Where are you hurt?" Raphael asked, gently examining his brother for injuries.

"Right arm, leg, ribs and head," Leo murmured tiredly, his eyes growing heavy with exhaustion.

Raphael saw the bump on Leo's head from where he hit it on a rock underwater and a smaller knot from the brick in the warehouse. Blood trickled slowly from both wounds, but they weren't deep and didn't require stitching. Raphael untied his mask and used it as a makeshift wipe to clean the wound. He moved on to Leo's arm and winced. By the bruising, swelling and unnatural angle of the arm, Raphael could tell that it was broken. He shifted it slightly, so that it was resting comfortably on Leo's chest. He'd have to find a way to reset it so it will heal right.

The cut on Leo's leg had bled through the bandage that Donnie had used. It needed to be stitched and re-bandaged. Raphael was concerned about infection; he had no idea what was in the water.

Raphael saw that Leo had closed his eyes and felt worry clench his gut again. He didn't want Leo to fall asleep in case he had a concussion and slipped into a coma.

He tried to shake Leo awake, but Leo only feebly swatted his hand away and kept his eyes closed, rolling into a tighter ball on his side as he snuggled closer into Raph's chest. Raphael started to rub soothing circles into Leo's worn shell, as he tried to fight away the exhaustion that was creeping into his bones. He had to figure out where they were and try to come up with a plan. Surveying his surroundings from where he sat, Raphael realised that they were in some underground cave. There was enough dim light to be able to see, though it was still gloomy. He was surrounded by cliffs of rock. The waterfall emptied into a deep pool in the middle of the cave. There appeared to be some sort of tunnel a little ways away.

Raphael carefully laid Leo on the stone floor and got shakily to his feet, his prosthetic leg aching like something horrible. He hobbled towards the tunnel and peered down the dark, rock-corridor. There was a faint trace of light coming from the other end. Looking around, there was nowhere else to go. There was something about this place that seemed oddly familiar to Raphael...

With a jolt he realised they were close to the UnderGround City.

Returning back to Leo, Raphael knelt down beside his brother. They had lost their Shell-Cells in the fall, and Raphael realised with a sick feeling in his gut that they had no way to contact Don or Mikey for help.

And then it dawned on Raphael that it was up to him to get himself and his injured brother home.

"Well, shit..." he muttered.

A/n: More to come soon. I'd love to hear what you all think!

Until the next time,

~Cat