Archive of Our Own

It was dark, and Raph's mind was swimming. It felt like he had fallen asleep, although he couldn't recall feeling tired or what he had been doing beforehand. 

Then came the soft sounds of flowing water, a stream of some sort. Its peaceful reverb was soothing on Raph's ears yet failed to clue him in on why it was so hard to open his eyes.

Then, a voice disturbed the serenity of the void, tinted with worry:

"Raph? Hey Raph-a-doodle, are you okay?" 

"He just crashed through several walls of  concrete , Leo. Does he  look  okay to you?"

Raph instantly recognized Donnie and Leo's bickering; their voices fading in and out; their words muffled, then sharp, only to become faint once more; overlapping with the echo of the nearby stream.

B-thump...

Raph's head started to throb the longer he tried to decipher their heated exchange. An ache crept over his body, and the more the Snapping turtle grew aware of these sensations, the more pronounced they became. 

Groggily, Raph's eyelids fluttered open. The first thing that came into view was Mikey's concerned expression; Donnie and Leo stood a few feet behind the Boxshell, still carrying on about who was at fault for 'this whole situation.' 

But something wasn't right: everyone was upside down, his vision blurry and doubled. Dizzy, Raph struggled to focus on Mikey's inquisitive gaze. He mustered a groan, and Mikey's face brightened with relief. 

"Hey! He's waking up!" Mikey called over his shoulder, "Raph? Can you hear me? Blink once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'!" 

Raph could've sworn his eyes crossed before he managed to blink slowly in response, " Ugh ... how're you guyss s-standin' on the ceiling like that?" He slurred, dazed yet impressed with their latest ninja ability. 

"Well, for starters, we  aren't  on the ceiling," Donnie informed, " You  are  upside down ." 

Raph strained to look himself over, and true to Donnie's words, he was head over heels, partially embedded within a wall of stone that managed to catch him.

"Ah, I see," Raph noted with a grunt. His feet twitched, his body too sore to move on its own accord, "...er, help me up, fellas?" 

Donnie and Leo directed Raph to sit right-side-up on the sewer's walkway. He swayed, and his brothers moved quickly to steady him. An impressive crater marked the wall behind him while rubble from the other walls he successfully crashed through littered the tunnel, disrupting the sewage water's course.

Raph dipped his feet into the cool, discolored stream while his brothers studied him closely, gauging his well-being: there was no blood and no cracks to his shell, save for a few broken spike tips. 

"Uh, so is anyone gonna fill Raph in on how I got here?" Raph asked, tenderly rubbing the back of his head in confusion. 

Mikey gasped, "Oh, no! He's got amnesia!" 

Donnie promptly stepped in-between Mikey and Raph, lowering his goggles to examine the Snapping turtle further, "Yeah, no, that's not it. A concussion, mayhaps, but there's no indication that the  hippocampus  region of his brain has endured any significant signs of trauma-"

Leo shoved Donnie out of the way, cutting off the Softshell's diagnosis, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude, the  speed  you got going down Donnie's water slide was  epic! " Leo praised enthusiastically.

"Donnie has a water slide?" Raph's face lit up as bits and pieces of his memory returned to him: a towering water slide with multiple chutes weaving in and out of each other, a ladder that seemed to go on for forever, and a strip of yellow caution tape ripped in half...

Donnie crossed his arms, "Yes, and I tried  warning you guys  that the  Splash-Coaster 3000  was still in  beta  and therefore not ready for splishing and or splashing, but did you listen to me?"

"... I'm guessin' that's a 'no,' huh?" Raph winced sheepishly, shrinking under Donnie's hard stare.

"You yelled, and I quote,  "I am going to smash this slide like a boss,"  and then flew out of one of the chutes with such velocity that you're lucky your shell's still intact  mister, " Donnie scolded, hands on his hips.

It was Leo who came to his big brother's defense, "Aw, c'mon, Don! No need to be so hard on him. We're fine, he's fine, no harm, no foul! Right, big bro?" He winked at Raph, nudging him coyly with his elbow. 

"Yeah!" Raph agreed, regaining a shred of confidence. "And now we know for sure that nobody ought to ride your water slide 'til it's ready, so you're welcome!" Disregarding Donnie's irritated scowl, Raph rolled the kinks out of his shoulders, popping his joints as he stretched, "What say we hightail it outta here and go get somethin' to eat? All this wall-smashin' business has me hankerin' for some pizzas!"

B-thump!

As soon as Raph hopped to his feet, a great pain overtook him. He clutched at his head as the ache became unbearable. He screwed his eyes shut and blindly backpedaled into the fractured stonework behind him, sinking to his knees.

"O-Okay," Raph gritted out, "Th-that's not a good head feel." 

"Raph!" Mikey frowned, rushing forward to his brother's side. He had seen Raph hurt before, but that didn't stop the Boxshell from worrying. It was upsetting to see their stoic leader - their biggest brother - rendered to such a state. Mikey faced Donnie and Leo, "We gotta get him back to the lair, and fast! Dad'll know what to do!"

"I-I don't think I can walk, Mike," Raph admitted hoarsely. "My head's killin' me. Maybe one of you should-" 

Before Raph could finish his thought, he felt Donnie and Leo come up on either side of him; each slinging one of his arms over their shoulders, their free hands bracing against his wide plastron for extra support. The twins counted to three and lifted Raph to his feet. It was difficult for Raph to maintain his footing, what with his head pounding; still, he made an effort, for his brothers' sake. 

"Y-you guys don't have to do this," Raph frowned, knowing how much he outweighed his brothers. "I'll just wait here, and you guys can go and get Pops-"

"We're  not  leaving you," Leo declared, slightly strained under Raph's frame. "And besides, you're always carrying us around. It's about time we return the favor!"

"That's right," Mikey agreed, "It's our turn to do all the heavy lifting, baby!" 

"Yeah, you're not the only one who's been pumping iron around here," Donnie grinned sympathetically, patting Raph's wrist. A pair of mechanical arms from his spider-shell gripped the back of Raph's shell, providing additional leverage. "Let's get you home, big guy." 

Raph's eyes welled up with tears, touched by his brothers' determination to get him to safety, "Th-thanks, guys." He sniffled gratefully. There wasn't much Raph could do given his current state, but that didn't stop him from silently appreciating how Leo and Donnie worked together to distribute Raph's weight, timing their steps thanks to Mikey's guidance. 

It looked like all those team-building exercises were starting to pay off.

Eventually, they navigated the sewers until they encountered the familiar stretch of abandoned railroad tracks that would take them back home. Raph, for most of their journey, had been quiet, save for the few times his headache pulled a whine from him or whenever he reassured his brothers that he didn't need a break and that they weren't hurting him.

"We're almost there!" Mikey announced from a few paces up ahead, "Just a little bit more! Y'all are doin' great!" He kicked piles of junk and garbage out of the way, clearing a path for his brothers.

"Heh, thanks,  Dr. Hype-man ," Leo smirked. While the Slider was eager to return to the lair and get Raph the medical attention he needed, he realized he was walking a bit faster than Donnie and slowed down, meeting the Softshell's pace. "Need a break, Dee?" 

"Negative," Donnie replied, "Although I may require a nano-second to recalibrate my grip." They stopped moving, granting Donnie enough time to make the necessary readjustments. "Alright, I'm ready when you are, Nardo."

An unexpected chuckle came from Raph, causing Leo and Donnie to pause, uncertain if something else was ailing their brother, "Y'say somethin', buddy?" Leo asked.

"He could be delirious: a common side-effect of head injuries," Donnie mused aloud. He then turned to Raph, "Perhaps a refreshment to revitalize your senses?" Another mechanical arm emerged from his spider-shell, procuring an unopened apple juice box, and offered it to Raph with an enticing wiggle.

"Heh, no, it's not that," Raph shook his head, a weak smile crossing his weary features. "I was just thinkin' how lucky I am to have you guys for brothers."

"Better than havin'  sandwiches  for brothers, eh, Raphael~?" Mikey teased playfully, sticking his tongue out. Donnie and Leo snickered as they continued along the train tracks; Raph’s feet dragging softly along the wooden slats.

"Y'got me there, big man," Raph grinned, "And yeah,  way better  than sandwiches."