Chapter Text
Raph let out a growl, kicking a stray can as he stomped through the sewer tunnels near the lair. It wasn’t like he had meant to aim at Leo, and yet he was the only one that was lectured. He kicked the can when it came back into range, his mood not improving as the dented tube of metal moved away before hitting the wall, before bouncing into the water. Raph glared at the can as it bobbed up and down, slowly floating away. Now he had nothing to keep his attention from training.
Letting out a huff of air, he slid down the wall, crossing his arms over his knees. It just wasn’t fair. He’d been working just as hard as Leo and the others, but with just one mistake, he found himself on the receiving end of Sensei’s anger. Gripping his arms tight, he began to mentally prepare for the return to the lair; better to get the second lecture that was coming his way over with sooner rather than later.
Pushing himself up, he froze. What was that? Not moving, he strained his ears, trying to pick up what he thought he heard. Nothing. Was he imagining it? He moved to turn back towards the lair when something else caught his attention. Turning, he was shocked and confused at the sight before him.
Light, almost like a kaleidoscope, of light gold and blueish green, moved at the end of the tunnel near one of the corners. Remembering Sensei’s warnings of remaining hidden, he began to slowly back away from the light, trying to be as silent as possible.
Help.
Raph felt his body stiffen. Did he just hear someone asking for help? This was becoming more freaky the longer he stayed here. He moved to begin running back home.
Help. Please.
Looking back at the now-fading light, his curiosity began to become stronger than his fear. Slowly shuffling along the wall, he moved towards the corner, focusing on keeping his movements as quiet as possible. By the time he had made it to the corner, the light had completely disappeared, but now something else had caught his attention. It sounded like… chirping?
Peaking around the corner, his suspicion quickly turned to shocked confusion. In front of him, lying on its front with a dark green cloth wrapped around it, was a small turtle. Based on the size, the turtle was most likely a mutant with red stripes curling over its closed eyes and two more on each arm in yellow. They constantly let out chirps and clicks, and as he moved closer, he noticed that they were covered in multiple wounds, thankfully nothing that looked life-threatening from what he could tell. He carefully kneeled in front of them, slowly reaching a hand forward.
“Where did you- OW!”
Shocked, Raph could only stare, not even pulling away, as the smaller turtle latched its beak down on his hand with a small hiss.
“Hey! I’m trying to help… you?”
The turtle, not removing their beak but loosening the strength of their bite, opened their eyes, showing their right eye was red and the left was blue; both seemed to be more vibrant than his own green eyes. They stared up at him, their eyes wide and full of terror as their body was visibly shaking. Raph let out a small sigh, coming to a decision.
“You were just scared, weren’t you.” He said, gently pulling his hand out of their beak.
Reaching down, he placed his hands underneath their arms to pull them up, only to stop and freeze as the turtle released a loud, pain-filled screech. Slowly, he put the turtle back down on the ground. Looking over the turtle, none of the wounds that he could see looked like they would have caused that kind of response. What was he missing?
A whine from the turtle quickly caught his attention, where they were attempting to pull themselves into their shell, only to stop partway through, their face scrunched up in pain as they let out another whine. Raph felt his body fill with fear, his eyes moving from the turtle to the cloth wrapped around its back. Please let him be wrong. Please let him be wrong. Carefully, not wanting to scare them more than they were already, he grabbed hold of the cloth, gently pulling it off the turtle’s shell. His eyes widened at the sight hidden beneath.
Cracks and blood covered the top of the shell, with some of the cracks thinner than Sensei’s whiskers while others were almost as thick as some of Donnie’s pencils. How was he supposed to move them with this kind of wound? What did Sensei say he had to do when he cracked his plastron as a baby? Would that work in this situation? His own crack was on his front and was much, much smaller. Should he leave them and get Sensei? He would most likely know what to do.
Placing the cloth back down, he stood up and turned to run back down the tunnels towards home when a cry came from the turtle, this one full of fear. Frozen mid-step, he slowly turned his head to look at the smaller turtle. Their eyes, blown wide and staring right at him, were full of tears as they reached a hand towards him, whimpers and soft chirps escaping their beak. Raph could feel his face pinching in worry. He needed to get Sensei if he was gonna help them, but they obviously didn’t want to be alone either. What was he supposed to do now?
“Raph!”
The call of his older brother quickly caught his attention, an idea quickly forming. Looking back at the turtle, he gave them a smile he hoped was reassuring.
“I’m not leaving.” He told them softly. “But I know how to get help.”
He moved to the corner of the tunnel, trying not to freeze when the other turtle let out a small whine, as he called out for his brother.
“Leo, over here!”
Peaking around the corner, he saw his brother running towards him, a look of concern on his face.
“Raph,” he started, stopping before the other, “about what happened during training, I-”
Raph cut him off. “Whatever you have to say can wait. I need your help.”
Without waiting for a response, he moved back to the new turtle, kneeling down in front of them as they reached for his hand. Leo’s gasp of shock soon came to his ears as the older moved over to them, kneeling down on Raph’s right.
“Where did they…” Leo trailed off.
“I don’t know, but they’re hurt.” Raph said, carefully lifting the cloth to show his blue-clad brother. Raph felt Leo tense up as the wounds came into view.
“I don’t know how to move them without hurting them further. I need you to run back and get Sensei.”
Leo looked back and forth at Raph and the turtle before nodding, determination taking over his face. He quickly stood up and began running down the tunnel. Raph let out a sigh of relief. Now all he could do was wait, trying to keep the turtle calm.