tushanshu | [Video]

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[Things just kept gettin’ better and better. Last thing he remembers is getting attacked on that rooftop by a bunch of Pinocchio wannabes pretending to be ninja. And now? Now he’s stuck in another dimension in some city that’s supposedly floating on a giant freakin’ turtle.

Needless to say, Raph was Not Happy. He had no idea where his brothers were, and he was starting to wonder if this was like the thing with Draco and the Daimyo’s son. Constantly getting hurled into other dimensions was really starting to tick him off.

At least those kedan guys seemed all right. They took it pretty well when he’d given one of them the shakedown while he was trying to figure out what the shell happened. The guy didn’t even fight back, and Raph felt kind of bad about it in retrospect, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

The best part was that most of these guys around here looked just as weird as him. Some of them were even uglier. You never knew if the guy next to you was gonna have tentacles or gills or an extra arm. He liked it. Kinda felt like walking around the Battle Nexus. Even the buildings looked kinda similar.

That was the only reason why Raph even thought of getting on that computer. Since nobody's screamed or tried to dissect him yet, the way he looked obviously wasn't a factor, and if he was gonna find his brothers, it was the quickest and the easiest way to do it. Not to say it still didn't make him nervous, but finding his bros was all he cared about. He'd just have to suck it up and be careful, because the sooner he found them, the sooner he could get his hands on whoever the heck was responsible for this mess.

And if he couldn't find them, then he'd just have to do it alone.

So, here goes nothin'.]

Bet you think you're real funny, puttin' me on a giant turtle. People seriously gotta work on their sense of humor.

[Raph's not even sure if whoever's responsible for this little unexpected vacation can hear him, but he's mad, okay? So what if he vents a little?

He glowers into the camera, cracking his knuckles]

Any of you people know how the heck we got here? 'Cause I'm about this close to marchin' into that palace and showin' little miss Emperor exactly what I think about her business.

[All right. Enough of that. Gotta keep it together. He folds his arms over his chest, getting down to the real reason he posted this.]

And I'm lookin' for my brothers. They look a lot like me, so you'd know it if you saw 'em.

[He's kinda dreading the answer to that last one. Wouldn't be the first time he wound up in another dimension alone, but after that crazy fight back home, he just needed to know they were okay.]

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[It's good to see Leo's in one piece, but there's no way Raph's gonna rest until this whole thing is over.]

Who cares about scarin' them? The sooner we find Don and Mike, the sooner we can get up to that castle and make little miss Emperor send us home.

[He brushes past Leo on his way over to the next suite, fully intending to bust down the door if he has to.]

[Oh boy.]

Raph, wait! [Catching up, reaching forward to grab your shoulder.] Look, I'm just as worried as you are, but we can't just - barge into peoples' homes! We can look for our brothers without trampling every guy who isn't them.

[Raph shoots a glare at Leo before pulling away again, still headed for the door.]

Jeez, Leo. Ever heard of knockin'?

[And knock he does.]

Guys? You in there?

[Nothing.]

Guys?

[Still nothing. So obviously that means he should just knock harder. That quickly turns to banging after a few minutes of no response. By the fourth knock he's pretty much just slamming his fist onto the thing, getting more frustrated every passing second.]

...knocking. Right.

[I am suspect of your banging on that door, Raphael. 8| Better step in before you break the thing down.]

Hold on - I'll check around the back.

[And with that, he'll slip off around the corner of the building. It only takes him a few seconds to spot a window into the suite. He slides up to it carefully, conscious of the broad daylight, and peers into the room.]

[It's dark as hell in there; he can't make much out. It certainly doesn't look lived in, and unless Don or Mikey immediately left after being situated by the kedan, it doesn't seem likely that it's occupied at all. But on the off-chance that they did just step out...]

[Leo rounds back to where Raph is, pulling a shuriken from his belt and shaking his head.]

I don't think you're going to get an answer, Raph. It looks empty. [He holds up the shuriken between his thumb and finger, glancing at the door.] Best we could do is leave a message.

[Fine, he'll stop banging, but he's gonna need something else to hit real soon.]

The best we could do is keep lookin'.

[Leave your message, Leo, but Raph's search isn't gonna stop there. He'll tear this whole place apart if he has to.

So he picks a direction and starts walking, not even sure where he's going. There's only one thing on his mind. He has to find his brothers and they have to get the shell out of there.]

Raph, that's not what I -

[But Raphael is already on the move. Leo gives a low growl and turns to the door, the shuriken flying from his palm and lodging into the top of the door with a dull thud. Then he turns on his heel after his brother.]

[He doesn't touch Raph when he catches up this time, but keeps pace.]

Raphael, just stop for a second, will you? You really think we'll find them by just walking off in some random direction?

[He reels around, cutting Leo off.]

So what do you want me to do, huh, Leo? I tried the computer thing, and I just spent half the day sittin' on my butt tryin' not to punch those kedan guys in the head. Any more sittin' around and I'm gonna go crazy!

[He can't just do nothing with Don and Mike still missing. It might not be the best idea to just go running off without a plan, but right now he sees no way of even coming up with a plan. All he knows is that he's scared and worried and confused, and he's letting his temper take over because he just doesn't know how else to deal with it all right now. Not when all his thoughts are on finding his brothers.

Still, the minute he realizes his anger's really starting to take control, he takes a deep breath, swallows, and tries to cool his head a little.]

We gotta at least have a look around, get an idea of what's out there. And maybe we'll find Don and Mike in the process.

[Leo bites his tongue. He knows Raph is just worried about their missing brothers, and the last thing either of them needs right now is for Leo to snarl something back and land them in an argument.]

[In fact, he realizes with a flash of guilt, Raphael has been on his best behavior. Leo used that six-hour cart ride to center himself, evaluate their last fight, and determine that they probably hadn't been in mortal peril. How had Raph felt, crammed into a space filled with strangers and not a single brother? How desperate must he have been to show himself on the network like that?]

[By the time Raph calms down, Leonardo has stopped fixating on his missing brothers and instead focuses on all of them. When Raph throws out a plan, he's silent for a moment. Then he crosses his arms and nods. They can run with that.]

There's a whole city out there. We should try and find some kind of map to maximize our efficiency. Checking the network now and then couldn't hurt, either; there's always the chance they'll turn up there looking for us.

[Sure, Leo's got a point. Maps and strategy will help them out a lot, but right now, all Raph's concerned about is action. He needs to do something. And even if they don't find their brothers, at least he'll get a good look at what's going on around them.]

Yeah, whatever floats your boat, Leo. But for now? I'm hittin' the streets.

[He jumps up and pushes off the concrete windowsill, pushes off an adjacent wall and flips himself up onto the roof for a bird's eye view. Luckily the buildings are close enough together they won't kill themselves hopping from roof to roof, and darkness is starting to settle over the city. In front of him, the whole of Keeliai unfolds around him, lighted by the warm glow of lanterns and the bio-luminescence of the turtle itself.

It's a pretty nice-looking place, but Raph only takes a moment to study it, just long enough to wait for his brother to join him.]

Edited 2012-12-07 01:27 (UTC)

[Leo appears on the roof's edge not ten seconds later. Silently he moves to join Raph, eyes sweeping the horizon, and his mouth narrows into a thin line. The skyline is like a parody of New York: the dark silhouettes of buildings stretched against the darkening sky. But the lights are wrong; the glow too gentle, the air too clean and the stars breaking through red hues in the sky.]

[Their presence is suddenly heavy - he can feel the weight of it, pressing down in his stomach. This world is new and beautiful and they shouldn't be here.]

[His eyes scan the rooftops, then dip into the streets to follow their curve around buildings. His gaze is unwavering as lifts a hand and motions forward.]

Keep it simple for now. A clockwise sweep around the perimeter.

[Yeah, yeah. Raph's not in much of a mood to follow direction. What he really wants to do is go scope out the castle. But for now, he'll play nice, even if it's just to keep Leo off his shell.

He travels in silence, keeping eyes and ears sharp, pausing only to listen in on conversation, or watch the crowds of people in the street.

Soon, they've wound up in the seedier section of the Fire Sector, perched atop what all signs point to being some kind of brothel. In the distance, the grand Palace of Landed Sky is a foreboding presence on the horizon.

Raph stops, hands wound into fists and anger burning in his chest. It takes everything he's got not to just take off in that direction. The distance and foreboding, barren landscape between it and the city limits is the only thing that stops him.]

[But for Leonardo, orders mean productivity. Taking charge means taking control. He knows Raph is in no mood to play it by his rules, not today, but simply stepping into his role like shoes with the soles worn down is cathartic for Leo. Their senses of direction have always been impeccable, so he doesn't fear getting lost. Simple recon. For now, he can do that.]

[When Raph stops, so does Leo. He looks at his brother's clenched fists, the way his muscles tense at his neck like they're ready to wrench out of his skin. Leo follows his line of sight to the Palace of The Landed Sky. Memories of the Foot Clan building, ominous and piercing the heavens like a great lance, press against his skull - he shakes them off and steps forward, placing a hand on Raph's shell.]

Come on.

[Raph grits his teeth, wanting nothing more than a fight. Something to hit. It's a bad idea to go charging in there half-cocked, especially with Mike and Don possibly lost somewhere in the city. He knows that, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

He has to tear himself away, still taught, still angry. But they'll be back, and they'll be ready.]

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