Chapter One

Raph yawned and stretched as he walked downstairs; the tantalizing scent of frying bacon had easily drawn him from sleep, and he promised himself he'd get downstairs before his brothers ate it all. But as the brawler entered the kitchen, he noticed that the room was one brother short.

"Where's Leo?" he asked, grabbing and filling a plate with pancakes, hash browns, and the ever-coveted bacon.

"He had a headache last night," Donnie replied distractedly. His fingers moved at a rapid-fire pace across his laptop keys and he didn't bother looking up at his sibling. "I gave him some pain meds for it. He's probably just sleeping them off."

"He actually took meds? Musta been a doozy."

Mikey turned around from the stove with another plate of pancakes and set them on the table, then untied his apron and took a seat, making his own plate of food. "He's been under a lot of stress lately. That's probably part of it."

The padding of feet and the soft whisper of cloth drew their attention even over the sound of food cooking and they turned towards the doorway as Splinter appeared. "Morning, Sensei!" Mikey greeted cheerfully.

The aged mutant smiled at his youngest son, but that smile soon faded when he noticed what Raphael had only moments earlier. "Where is Leonardo?"

Donnie closed his laptop and set his gaze on the food in front of him after bowing his head at his teacher. "Sleeping, Sensei. I gave him headache medicine last night before he went to bed."

"I see. Hopefully he will be feeling well enough to join us by morning training."

Leonardo didn't join them for any part of morning training - not warmups, or sparring, or even the meditation afterwards. By the end of the two-hour session, all of his family members were beginning to worry.

"Maybe I should've checked on him this morning before breakfast," Donnie mumbled to no one in particular.

"He wouldn't just skip training, would he?"

Raph snorted in response to Mikey's question. "Please. Mr. I-Gotta-Be-Perfect-At-Everything? Never in a million years."

"Enough," their father said, the edge in his words belying his own concern. "Raphael, go fetch your brother. This has gone on long enough. If he is truly this ill, then Donatello will examine him and decide on the next course of action."

"Hai, Sensei," the boys echoed in unison. The red-masked turtle swallowed a grumble as he trekked down the hall to Leo's room. It wasn't that Raph didn't sympathize with him; he just disliked how truly mopey the leader could get sometimes, especially when he was in pain.

He rapped sharply on the door, finding a cruel sense of pleasure in the way his knuckles clanged on the metal sheeting. "Leo, you awake in there?"

No answer.

"C'mon, Fearless, get your lazy shell out here. You slept right through morning training."

Still nothing.

Raph frowned as worry and annoyance battled for dominance inside of him. "Alright, Leo, I'm coming in." The brawler opened the door to a dark, silent bedroom. An odd feeling settled in his gut, almost like dread, but he ignored it and flicked on the light.

His neon eyes focused on the quilt-covered lump and the worry disappeared completely. Who does Leo think he is, laying there ignoring me when he knows I've been calling him? He stalked forward, fully intent on giving his brother a piece of his mind, ripped back the blankets-

-and froze. Leonardo's skin was tinged a dull greyish-green and his face held more peace than he'd ever known. The lines that had been so deeply etched into his young face were gone.

Wrong, Raph's brain screamed at him. Wrongwrongwrong-

He extended a shaking hand and gasped when it made contact with Leo's ice-cold skin.

"No." Raph shook him, ignoring the chill that traveled up his hand and forearm. No response. The hotheaded ninja gritted his teeth and blinked away the tears threatening to flow down his cheeks. "No," he said again, vehemently this time. "Dammit Leo, wake up! This isn't funny anymore!"

Silence.

Raph stilled again, chest heaving with rage and sorrow and denial. The world stopped spinning and everything faded into grey as he became hyperfocused on his brother's face.

Wrongwrongwrongwrong-

He was up and running before he even realized it. He tore past Mikey and Donnie, not registering their alarmed cries. His feet carried him up through the sewers and onto a rooftop a few miles away from the Lair, where he finally sank to his knees.

Green clouded with water and hands fisted in the gravel beneath him. The sky ripped open and rain poured down as Raphael threw back his head and screamed.