Chapter Two
Leo walked into the kitchen just before 4:30am. He thought it futile to try and sleep another 30 minutes. He stopped in the doorway, seeing Raph with his head on the table.
Leonardo walked over and shook him gently. "Raph?"
Raph mumbled something incoherent.
Leo nearly smiled. 'Maybe things are getting back to normal.' He shook him again. His brother's eyes blinked open, but looked unfocused. "You okay?"
"Wha-?" Raph asked, then realized he was still in the kitchen. "Fell asleep." He propped up his chin in one hand and placed the other on the side of his head.
"Headache?" Leo asked. Raphael nodded slightly. "Want something for it? I'm sure Donnie's got something stashed away..."
"No," Raph said. "I'm fine."
Leo sighed and sat across from him. "You've been saying that since we found you yesterday morning. I don't believe that you're okay, even though you keep saying you are. The way you've been acting... you're not... yelling or mad like usual. And you've hardly really said anything at all, except that you're 'okay'." He paused waiting for an explosive response... and didn't get it. "We're worried that something happened to you and we don't have any idea of what it is."
Raph eased his head back down to the table and stared out the door. Leo watched his eyes and thought he saw a flicker of anger in them. "Leo..." But it faded just as quickly.
"Yes?" Leonardo answered. "What is it?"
"I..." Raph began, then paused. "Forgot."
Leo sat back and folded his arms over his plastron. "I just want to try and help, but I don't have anything to work with here."
Raphael sat up, leaning back in the chair, and stared at Leo, but didn't say anything. Leo watched his eyes again, and, for a split second, he thought he saw the anger again, which dissipated just as quickly yet again. Now, it was just a staring contest.
Just when Leo was about to get up, he saw the flicker again, and Raph pounded his fist on the table, making Leonardo almost jump at the sudden display.
"What is it?" Leo asked, hoping to tap into whatever reserve his brother still had.
"The bottle," Raph said, finally.
"What?"
"The steps. Casey's building. The bottle. It..." Raph said, then stopped in mid-thought and shook his head.
Leo got up, went over to the phone, and dialed a number. He turned to face the kitchen again and found Raph watching him. "Casey... yeah, he's... but, I... he what?... Was there a bottle... yeah, on the steps?... Do you still have it?... Hang onto it, I'm coming to get it... Looks like our only clue... I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up. "I hope we're onto something."
Leonardo came back just before 5am with the less than half full beer bottle. He headed straight for the kitchen and found Raph still at the table. Leo put the bottle in the middle of the table. "Look familiar?" Raph nodded. Leo picked up the bottle again and looked at it.
"Morning, guys," Don said, entering the kitchen. "Whatcha got, Leo?"
"Quite possibly our only clue as to what happened to Raph," Leo replied. "I have a feeling there's more than just beer in this bottle."
"Then I'm way ahead of you, Leo," Don said, as Leo handed over the bottle. Don left the kitchen and headed for his lab.
Leo sat down at the table again. "Can you remember anything else?" Raph shook his head no.
Mike walked into the kitchen, still stretching and yawning. "Mornin'."
"Morning, Mike," Leonardo said, then looked at Raph.
Raphael was now looking at the table. "Mornin', Mikey."
Mike stopped abruptly, then grinned widely. He went over and gave Raph a hug. "He's in there, somewhere!"
Leo smiled, but frowned when Raph didn't reply.
Michelangelo let go of his brother and sat down. "What'd I do?"
Leo watched Raph's eyes, first returning Leo's glance, then watching Mike, looking distant again. "I think he just fell back into it, Mikey."
"Awe, man," Mike complained, then paused. "Where's Donnie?"
"Right here," Don said, coming back into the kitchen.
"Well?" Leo asked.
"Right now, I've got good news and bad news," Don answered, then sat down. He glanced at Raph, who was now playing with a frayed spot in the table cloth.
"What's goin' on?" Mike asked.
"Raph mentioned a bottle, so I called Casey and got it from him. According to Casey, it came from a six-pack that Raph nearly finished off," Leo explained, then paused to glare at his now seemingly absent-minded brother. "I thought maybe it was tampered with, but it doesn't really make sense since Casey had bought it..."
"Oh, boy..." Don said, while Leo said his last sentence. "That was all that was left?" He looked at Raph again. "Maybe I should amend what I said earlier to 'I've got bad news and worse news'." He paused. "There *was* something in that beer all right. I haven't been able to identify exactly what yet, but obviously it's really subdued Raph. It could be one of many things, or even more than one thing. I don't know how far I'll get, though, considering it's alcohol I'm testing. Anyway, now that I know how *much* of it he drank, there *is* a chance he will come out of this eventually, but..."
"He could very well lapse in and out of it," Leo finished.
"At any time," Don confirmed.
"Is that the bad or the worse news?" Mike asked.
"The bad. The worse is that if he'd finished all six bottles, he'd probably be dead. So, if there is a 'soluable' antidote of sorts... well, at any rate, even if I do find an antidote, it's going to take a while for him to be back to normal, unless he just snaps out of it," Donatello finished.
The four sat in silence, until a fist slammed into the table, and the others looked at Raphael. The anger flashing in his eyes again. "Dammit!" he swore, then lowered his head to the table again.
"Leo?" Don said, turning towards him. "Has he done that before just now?"
"Twice before that I saw," Leo replied. "Why? What is it?"
"I think he's trying to fight it," Don said, then stood. "I'm going to try a few more tests. I think I have an idea." He left for the lab.
Leo and Mike walked into Don's lab. "Find anything, Don-san?" Mike asked, sitting next to him.
"Nothing yet. Unfortunately, the alcohol really did a number on whatever the drug was. I can't get a clear reading on what it might have been," Don said.
"And there was nothing left in the alley," Leo said.
"What about where Casey bought this?" Mike asked. Leo and Don looked at him. "What?"
"Mikey!" Don exclaimed and hugged him. "That's it!"
Leo got the same idea and went for the phone.
"Okay, thanks anyway, Casey," Leo said, then hung up.
"Nothing?" Don asked.
"Nope. Casey said he usually picks up a pack every week at the liquor store on 50th street," Leo replied. "Someone had to have snuck into his apartment and..." He was suddenly cut off by a yell.
"Was that...?" Mike began.
"Sounded like..." Don added.
"Raph!" Leo finished, and the three ran towards the dojo. They came to a halt at the door. "Master?"
Splinter sat cross-legged across from Raphael, who remained sitting in the same position with his eyes closed and a pained expression on his face. "The meditation."
The other three turtles surrounded Raph and watched him.
"What do we do?" Mike asked.
"We wait," Splinter replied.
Slowly, the pain on Raph's face dissolved and turned into anger. He let out an angry cry, then blinked his eyes open. He looked at the others surrounding him. "What're you guys starin' at?"
"Raph?" Leo said, surprised.
"Yeah, Leo?" Raph asked, sounding annoyed. He went to stand, but nearly fell back down. "Alright, someone wanna tell me what the hell's goin' on here?"
"Damn," Raphael said, amazed.
Donatello looked over his papers. "I cannot figure out how you came out of it so quickly."
"Meditation works wonders," Leonardo said, proudly.
"Yeah, it must've *really* been workin' wonders since Raph wasn't exactly 'all there', ya know," Michelangelo said.
Raph elbowed him. Mike, I'm sittin' right here!" He turned to Don. "Ya mentioned that I might slip back into it? Ain't there somethin' to prevent that?"
Don shuffled through some more papers. "There just might be, but I'm still getting results..."
"Raph, who were those guys you were fighting?" Leo asked.
Raph shrugged. "How the hell should I know? They jumped me from behind, then when I did see 'em, they were in street clothes." He paused. "'Sides, I couldn't exactly see straight, anyway. Didn't Casey see 'em?"
"Yeah, but he didn't know," Mike answered.
"Great, just great," Raph said, then sighed. "I bet I'm gonna be stuck here, too, while you guys go and find those freaks. Dammit."
"It's so good havin' ya back!" Mike said, then hugged him.
Raph rolled his eyes. "Mikey, get a holda yourself and get off me!" He gave his brother a little shove, then smirked at the pout Mike gave him. Suddenly, the smirk fell, and Raph raised a hand to his head.
"You okay?" Mike asked.
"Raph?" Leo said.
"I think he's lapsing," Don said, quietly.
They watched him hold his head for a few moments, then slowly look up again. "Wow," he whispered, "whatta rush."
"Donnie, we *need* to find some type of antidote," Leo said.
Don shook his head. "The words are running into each other."
"Maybe Leo an' Mike'll find something," Raph said, then paused, "an' soon."
"Hope so, because I'm not," Don said, then turned to Raph. "How are you feeling?"
Raph shrugged. "Kinda burnt out."
"Well, it is nearly midnight," Don said, then yawned. "And I'm going cross-eyed from reading. Think I'd better get some sleep."
"I'm gonna wait for Mike an' Leo," Raph said, as they left the lab. Don continued to his subway car, while Raph dropped himself on the couch. He grabbed the remote.
"Raphael?"
"I'm just waiting for Leo an' Mike to get back. I wanna find out right away what they find," he responded, then turned to their Sensei. He paused, and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't--uh, well, I..." He let out an audible sigh. "I know what the guys seem to think about all this and I appreciate their help, but what about you, Master? What do you think?"
Splinter walked over and sat in his chair next to the couch. "I have tried several times in my meditation to search for an answer, my son, but I have yet to find one."
Raph looked down at the arm of the couch and started picking at some loose threads. "Master, I didn't tell the others, but..." He looked up. "I don't feel like myself. At first, when the guys told me what happened, I was ticked off. From right there, I shoulda been top-side looking for some heads to bust, but I never felt like it." He turned his gaze to the threads again. "I'm--well, I'm actually afraid I'll never be myself again."
Splinter reached over and rested his hand on Raph's, causing him to stop picking at the threads. "They will help you. Your brothers and I will do all we can to help you, Raphael."
"What if you can't?" Raph looked up again, his eyes giving away his fear. "Do they even *want* me to be the way I was?"
"My son, of course we want you to be the way you were We want you well again. You must believe that..." Splinter began.
Donatello quietly closed his door and sighed. "We've got to do something and soon."
"Leo, how can we find something if we don't know what we're looking for?" Mike asked.
"Just look for anything suspicious," Leo replied.
Mike pointed towards the same alley as before. "How 'bout Casey busting some heads over there?"
"Come on," Leo said, shedding his hat and trenchcoat. He ran to the alley, with Mike right behind him. They helped clear out the group.
Casey crossed his arms defiantly. "Did I *ask* you guys for help?"
"We thought you could use a breather," Mike said, giving him a playful slug on the arm.
"Casey, do these guys look like the same guys that jumped Raph?" Leo asked, beginning to search the unconscious gang members.
"They're street punks, how should I know?" Casey replied.
"Well, you're a big help," Mike said.
"Ah, shuddup," Casey said.
Leo rejoined them, holding a paper. "I think I found something."
"What's it?" Casey asked, trying to look at it from Leo's left.
Mike moved to Leo's right. "What is it, Leo?'
Leo read it over. "I think Donnie better decipher this." He turned and headed for the nearest manhole cover.
"You comin'?" Mike asked.
Casey shrugged. "Why not? I'm outta guys to bash."
The three dropped down the ladder.
"Keep quiet. I'll go get Donnie," Leo said, then walked quietly past the couch, where Raph had ended up staying.
Mike and Casey walked up behind the couch. Casey pointed down at Raph. "He any better?"
Mike shrugged. "Seemed better, but Leo and Donnie still look worried."
Leo entered Don's car and found him reading. "Find anything?" Don asked, standing.
Leo handed him the paper. "This. Can you make sense of it?"
Don read it over quickly, a frown deepening while reading. "This doesn't look good at all." He left the car, with Leo in tow. They walked past the couch, and Leo signaled for Mike and Casey to follow.
In the lab, Don sat at his computer and began typing. "I recognize some of the drugs listed on this paper. It's a good possibility that *all* of these are in Raph's system." He paused, then shook his head. "This won't be pretty."
"With this list, can we figure out an antidote or something?" Leo asked, bluntly.
"I'm about to find out," Don replied. The others watched him type in various names and codes, then watched results come up. "Oh no."
"That doesn't sound good," Mike commented.
"Leo," Don began, then looked at him, "Raph was asleep out there, right?"
Leo glanced at Mike, who nodded. "Yes, why?"
"Well, because according to these results, he's going to be out--and I mean out cold--for atleast a few days."
Leo turned abruptly and left the lab, heading for the couch.
Don sighed and sent his findings to the printer, then followed Mike and Casey out. They watched as Leo shook Raph several times.
"Raph? Wake up!" Leo said, shaking him. He looked at Mike. "When we *really* could've used those cymbals..." Mike shrugged.
Don joined Leo. "He's out cold, Leo."
"Well, we'll put him in his room, then," Leo said.
Mike groaned, then commented. "You know how heavy he is?" Casey laughed. Leo and Don glared at them. "Fine, fine, but you're helping, Casey." The two lifted Raph and carried him to his subway car.
Leo turned to Don. "Is there anything else, Donnie?"
"There's a chance he may not wake up. There's a chance if he does wake up, he'll be in that same subdued state. Or he may wake up and be himself again. I'm really not sure because of the way the alcohol mixed with those drugs," Don said, then sighed. "I've already printed my findings. I'll work on it tonight and try to find something even remotely close to an antidote." He turned and left for his lab again.
Mike and Casey joined Leo again. "Man, when Raph wakes up, I'm gonna tell him to go on a diet!" Casey complained.
"Or maybe *you* should consider giving up beer," Leo said, glaring at Casey accusingly.
"Oh," Casey began, then took on a look of defiance. "So, it's *my* fault, huh? Just because *he* can't handle his liquor? Well, I-"
"What is going on here?" Splinter questioned, entering the clearing they call a living room.
"Think I'll go," Casey said, then quickly went up the ladder.
"Sorry, Sensei, Casey just got a little... mad, that's all," Leo said.
"Very well. Now, I think we should all get some much needed sleep," Splinter said, then headed back to his subway car.
Mike shook his head. "I can't believe Casey went off like that."
Leo sighed. "Truly amazing how much he and Raph are alike." He paused. "I--I think I'll look in on Raph." He headed towards the subway car and went in, closing the door after him. He stared at his brother. "What happened?" He walked over and took vigil in the corner. "Deja vu."