Raph's Nightmares

Escape

I have never thought about it but... Suddenly, it hits me. Can he hear us? Is he slightly aware of what is going on around him while he's passed out?

These questions twirl in my mind only when he starts struggling against the straps that keep him tied up to the metallic desk. And he started right after Donnie said he was going to disconnect him.

We need no orders to tackle him down, I fling myself over his upper body while Mikey does the same over his legs. But he keeps struggling until he manages to get rid of the tiny wires that kept him connected to the monitors and to our desperate solution of bringing him back to us. Donnie screams, but I can't really hear it over the beeping of the machinery, that seems to have gone crazy. I just close my eyes and tighten my grip on my brother, hoping against all odds that the equipment isn't broken and we still get a second - or third - chance to wake him up.

Mikey's cry of pain makes me open my eyes and take in the situation. Leo has kicked him off, and although Mikey is doing all he can to pin him down again, Leo has managed to free his legs. I glance over at Donnie, but he is only freaking out about the equipment, typing histerically on the keyboard and staring at the screen with wide - almost crazy - eyes. So I'm alone in the fight. By the time I want to turn to Leo he's almost sat up.

"No, Leo, please... stay..."

I must have loosened my grip slightly. Or perhaps I lost focus when I talked to him. Next thing I know, he has shoved me off and is looking around for something. That's when Mikey reacts and tries to tackle him, but Leo dodges and runs off. I shout some words, I'm not even aware what they are. And finally, Donnie looks up from his stupid monitor.

"He's running away!"

Okay. Someone had to point out the obvious. And it had to be the smartest out of all of us. I live surrounded by idiots.

I don't even bother to reply to such an absurd remark, I'm already on my feet and ready to chase Leo down wherever he's heading to. Sadly, I have quite an accurate idea about where he's going.

TCRI.

"Move your shells, both of you!"

I merely fly to the door of the lab, and Leo is nowhere to be seen. Mikey is almost immediately by my side, his nunchucks ready in his hands.

"But the equipment has gone mad!" I hear Donnie behind me, still stuck in the lab.

"So has your brother! Priorities, Donatello!"

I don't wait for him, nor does Mikey. We both run to the tunnels, and my brother simply follows my lead. My only thought is about finding Leo before he arrives to the kraang facilities. A second one pops up in my mind though, praying that I'd be right about the location.

What if the kraang have set up a different building, or warehouse, to perform the experiment?

What if I waste precious hours on my way to TCRI and those are vital to save my older brother?

Focus, Raph... Focus.

"Which way bro?"

No time for hesitation.

"To the TCRI." I glance back with a scowl. "Why is Donnie not following?"

And since when am I the leader here? I can't help but growling when I finally see my purple clad brother, arriving only a split second behind us. A split second I could have used to find Leo.

"Any ideas?" I almost bellow at him, while running in the direction of the kraang headquarters. He seems startled by the question.

"Uh... No, not really. We can't knock him out because he is already unconscious. In a way".

I grunt, and Mikey huffs.

"This is really complicated..." I hear him mumble, and I can't help but agreeing with him.

"Donnie... we still need a plan".

"Why do I have to come up with a plan? I thought you had become the leader here"

I glare at him.

"Not the time to argue, don't you think? I have barely slept and it's already surprising for me I'm keeping up with this strange situation and running for dear life. So don't get on my nerves, dork."

He frowns and looks ahead, the dim lights of the TCRI symbol also catch my eye. I realize I'm praying for Leo to be there and I stop at once. My mind is really trailing off...

"There he is!!" Mikey points ahead, at the very front door. I sigh, relieved. Not that seeing my sleep walking brother stepping right through TCRI's front door is a pleasant sight. But at least we had tracked him down to the correct place.

And there's where my brain stopped working. Screw the plan, I'm just going to tackle him down, toss him over my shoulder and bring him home. And if he ever wakes up, I'm going to slap him so hard he'll pass out for another good two days.

I speed up to catch up to him, not quite aware whether my brothers - my team? - are following or not. I storm through the front door only a couple of minutes after Leo does. I dodge lasers while I draw out my sais. I look around. No trace of Leo. Only bright pink blasts aiming at me. Deafening me. I hastily make my way to the elevator, slicing some creepy robots. I have no idea where I am going. But I keep moving. I pant and breath heavily when the elevator doors close on me and muffle the sound of blasts, keeping me safe for a moment. Too many buttons, and I hit the pannel, hoping that it is my lucky day and that one of those contains the prize I want to win.

"You shouldn't be here, Raphael".

I scream, crash into the doors and turn around, all in a split second. I point my sai at the voice, but there is no body to match it.

"You stupid bitch! You are only in my mind! You are not real!"

She laughs.

"And if I am not real, how come I have your brother trapped under my grasp?"

Yeah, well. I have no answer for that. So I do what I usually do when I run out of words. I stab the walls, the doors, the buttons, as if that could make her stop laughing, her laughter is ringing in my ears and driving me insane.

"Stop - that! And let my brother go or -"

"Or else what? You are helpless against my power... Since, like you said, I do not exist. Do I?".

I growl and hold my head, but then the elevator comes to a halt and the doors slide open. I step into an empty room. It's eerie, metallic, full of machinery that I don't understand and, honestly, I don't want to. Some tables are arranged around the room, but they are empty. I reckon it must be some kind of laboratory, I don't quite like the feeling that has clung onto my stomach and it's making it churn. Everything looks so clean, it even smells good, but I'm sure that's a strategy to hide a more horrible truth, although I have no idea what it is. I look around, still alert, my weapons ready. I reluctantly start to walk in, and my eyes widen some when I catch some kind of buzzing sound.

I turn to my right, to notice a door I haven't seen before. It's gray, like the rest of the wall, so it blends in pretty well. I take a deep breath to try and make my heart beat at a normal pace.

That's when the elevator doors open again at my back, so I turn around again to face my new enemy.

But there's no enemy.

It's Mikey, dragging an unconscious Donnie.

"Uh...Raph? A little... help here?" His voice is weak and almost squeaky; I hurry over to them, but can't catch him before he collapses to the floor.