"What if we don't find him, Master?" Leo asked.

"We will," Splinter replied, moving carefully through the tunnels, in search of his missing son. The frightened wails bounced and echoed off the walls, making it difficult to track it back to the source; he felt as though he were the proverbial rat in the maze.

"I donno," Mikey said, "Look at this place. We could walk forever and never even come close." Donny frowned and pinched him. "Ow!"

Don whispered, "Shut up. If Master Splinter says we'll find him, we'll find him."

It was imperative that they find Raphael before a surface dweller became any the wiser. He could see it now: a grate peeling back, blinding light spilling into the tunnel. Raphael, sitting in a pile of murky water, bawling his eyes out. Helpless. Splinter forced himself to concentrate on navigating. "Keep your ears open, boys. We cannot afford to make another wrong turn."

Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo tagged along behind him, double checking routs adjacent to the main one they were traveling. Had they been older, and more familiar with the territory, he would have let them go out on their own. Four searching for one stood a much better chance, but he wasn't about to risk losing all of them.

"There!" Mikey called, pointing. "Over there!"

Leo stepped forward cautiously. "Raph?"

The crying stopped. A small, round shadow sniffed loudly. It could be seen leaning forward, as though to peer through the darkness. "Mikey?" it asked. "Leo?"

The three ran up ahead, helping Raphael to his feet. He sniffed again and rubbed at his eyes, swollen and bloodshot. Mikey hugged him and patted him on the head. For once, Raphael didn't pull away and brandish a fist above his head.

"I thought I was gonna be lost forever," he said. "I don't remember anything. I woke up here and it was cold and wet and I didn' know how to get home."

No one giggled or smirked or made a move. Splinter was thankful his boys knew the difference between crying when you didn't get your way, and crying out of absolute fear. It made him proud that even Michelangelo was keeping a straight face.

"I'm afraid you've had another episode," Splinter said gently, taking the child's face in his hands and turning it over. There didn't appear to be any wounds. "Are you all right?"

Raph nodded quietly, head bowed in embarrassment.

"It seems we have again underestimated your ability to leave the lair, even while asleep..." he sighed, placing a firm hand on Raphael's shoulder. "We are all learning, Raphael. We will figure this out." He stood back up and straightened his robe out. "Let us return home," he said, ushering Mikey, who was second most likely to go missing, down the tunnel. Donny followed a moment later. "Raphael, Leonardo."

Leo slid his hand into Raphs, who still had his head bowed. "Come on, Raph," he whispered.

"I bet you're gonna make fun of me now, huh?" Raph asked in a small voice.

"No. Maybe tomorrow," Leo said.

"I knew it. Jerk."

Raph yawned and lazily followed after Leo like a dog on a leash. Walking turned to shuffling, and shuffling eventually became a heavy leaning with minimal walking.

"Raph," Leo said, pushing his half-asleep brother off him. "You can't lean on me, come on. Get off."

Raph frowned sleepily. "Why not?"

"You smell," Leo complained. "Really bad."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. Get off!"

Splinter fought the urge to chuckle. It was a close to 'getting along' as things were going to get. "Boys, come along now."

My Raphael is a sleepwalker. Aw, smelly brotherly moment. And sorry I haven't been updating. Nothing has been officially *stopped*, I've just been very, very busy.