Of Turtles and Lizards

Confrontation

By the time they got back to the lair Raph, Casey and Mikey were there waiting for them. The red-masked turtle approached them with his arms crossed over his plastron. Raphael frowned at his purple and blue-clad brothers, sensing something was up. "What took you so long?"

"Took a while to find the canister." Leo answered.

Green eyes narrowed at his older brother. Leo always was a lousy liar. "Cut the crap, Leo. What happened?"

"We ran into someone." The leader admitted reluctantly, attempting to shield his brother from the truth. But the brief flash of anger that surfaced in his deep blue eyes gave it away.

"What did she tell you?" Raphael asked, his bright green eyes staring straight into his older brother's.

Leonardo broke the intense gaze and stared at the ground, determined not to answer. Casey and Mikey looked at each other nervously as the tension in the room grew so thick it could be cut with a knife. Donatello looked from one older brother to the other before speaking. "Everything. She told us everything."

Raph turned to his immediate younger brother in surprise, while Leo scowled at him. "How can you be on her side?" He asked with frustration.

"How can you not be, Leo?" Donnie yelled back, making the others exchange glances. A fight between Leo and Raph? Totally normal, happened all the time. A fight between Donnie and Raph? Also normal, though a little less common. A fight between Donnie and Leo? Now that was totally not normal.

"She hurt my brother!"

"I believe her! And he's as much my brother as he is yours!" Donnie's raised voice echoed through the room and there was a moment of silence before he continued at normal volume. "She came to us and told us the truth, even though she knew we wouldn't believe her. She admitted she made a mistake. And despite what happened you have to admit that she saved his life." He paused and sighed at his eldest brother's stubborn expression. "She came to us on her knees, yet she didn't beg for forgiveness. She asked for judgment, for punishment. She was submitting to us, Leonardo. It was an act of honor."

"What would she know about honor?" Leo sneered.

Raph bristled and tensed, fists clenching at his sides as he answered, "A shell of a lot more than Karai."

Leonardo's eyes were on fire as he turned towards Raphael. Casey and Mikey gulped at the murderous expression on his face. The eldest leaped at his brother, forcing Raph on the defensive. It was Leo who threw the first punch, which his brother blocked expertly.

"Yame!" A voice rang through the air. All the turtles tensed as their father glared at his two oldest sons. "Stop this right now. Both of you."

The leader and the hot-head pulled away from each other, Leo with a guilty expression on his face. "Sensei, I can explain-"

"No, Leonardo, I have heard enough." The rat sighed and approached the blue-clad turtle. "Leonardo, I know you have always been very protective of your brothers. You and Raphael get particularly aggressive when someone threatens our family. I know that you are trying to do what you think is best, and as leader your sworn duty is to protect your brothers. But you cannot allow anger to cloud your judgment. To be a great leader is to value the opinions of others and use them in making your decisions."

Leo stared at the ground, feeling slightly ashamed. "I'm only trying to protect my family sensei."

"I know, but I'm afraid that this is not your decision to make, my son." Splinter put a hand on his son's shoulder and Leonardo looked away, defeated.

The human-turned-rat faced his second son, who stood with an unreadable expression on young face. "Raphael." Splinter put both hands on his strongest son's shoulders and looked directly into his bright green eyes. "Whether or not we can believe this girl is telling the truth is up to you. However, keep in mind that if you choose to trust her, you take upon yourself responsibility for her actions. Any betrayal on her part will be no one's fault but your own. Think it over carefully."

"I have Sensei, and I am prepared to take full responsibility...I too have heard what she had to say." The turtle brothers stared at him in shock, Leo especially. Splinter nodded in understanding, not the least bit surprised by that bit of information. "As you said, Sensei, it's my choice and I choose to trust her. But I do not forgive her because there is nothing to forgive."

The others listened with confused looks on their faces, while the fatherly rat remained silent. "Explain, my son."

"What happened that night three weeks ago was also my choice." Raph stared into his father's eyes with a conviction that never wavered. The rest of the clan perked up with interest, even after his recovery Raphael still hadn't said a word about what had happened, and right now he was about to come clean. The red-masked turtle sighed and lowered his gaze. "I went with her to spy on the Krang facility. We engaged them, and we were doing well. Kicking major shell, watching each other's backs. When I saw that Krang with the missile launcher..." Raph's voice went soft, the way it always did when he was worried or upset. "I knew there was no way that she'd see it in time. But I had to do something! So I jumped in, pushed her out of the way and took the missile myself."

The turtle looked back up into his father's gaze, green eyes filled with a sense of duty and concern that Splinter had never before seen in his temperamental son. "As you always say, Sensei, we must all bear responsibility for our actions. The choice to take the hit was mine, and mine alone." He stated, the last phrase directed at Leo, before turning back to the old rat. "I have chosen to trust her, Father, and if she betrays that trust I'll be the only one to blame."

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Splinter's POV

I nodded my approval and returned to the dojo to meditate over what had been said, while my sons stood in silence, staring first at their brother and then at me as I left the room. I knew that this would not be the last time they had this argument, but at least it would be over for now.

I sat down and lit a single candle, placing it on the mat in front of me as I closed my eyes and surrendered to my thoughts.

Tonight I saw something in Raphael's eyes that I have never before seen. Instead of a raging fire, his eyes reflected a cool cascading stream. Tonight I finally saw the maturity I have been trying to provoke for years, a mere glimpse of what he could truly become.

My second son has always bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even when they were little, I did my best to give them the type of life they desired, but for Raphael, it was not enough. Always longing for something that he could not have: a life above.

Unlike his brothers, Raphael needs the city as much as it needs him. He belongs there in a way that his brothers do not, and probably never will, understand. My son has always been a protector of the innocent, and especially his family, not unlike his older brother. But his temper turned his protective nature into a unique form of aggression, a mask that he could hide behind to push the others away from what Raphael had convinced himself that no one would ever understand.

His need for release became more and more common and I allowed him to pull away a bit. I gave him some of the freedom his heart had desperately desired. The city above was Raphael's home, and the streets were his playground. By the time I had come to accept the fact that my second child needed more freedom than his brothers, he began to change.

Having relations with the human teenagers April O'Neil and Casey Jones had finally allowed him to open up a little more and I once again began to see the soft, caring and emotional side of Raphael that he had been so reluctant to embrace.

But now...this was something very different.

This time something within him changed. When I listened to my son's confession and saw the expression on his face I realized that he was finally starting to become the turtle I knew he was destined to be. Raphael had finally learned the value of trust, responsibility and compassion. For a moment I did not see the rebellious temperamental turtle I had once known. Tonight, I saw Raphael Hamato for the first time. My son as he was meant to be, what he would become once his restless heart was finally at peace. And I realized this girl could either be the making of my son...or if things go wrong, his inevitable destruction.