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Raph was walking in the sewers with his family when he saw a rat scurry by. He grinned and slipped his hand out of his father's, beginning to chase it gleefully.
The snapper was always fond of animals, even random ones. Very random ones.
He followed the random rat for a long time, and sometimes got it mixed up with other rats along the way.
He continued to follow it before he rounded a corner and it was nowhere to be seen. Raph frowned, turning back and striding to walk with his family once more, only to stop in his tracks and have fear swell inside him.
His family was gone.
Raphael let out a silent squeak as he started to go in random directions. He had no idea what to do or where to go. The only thing going through his mind was the fact he was alone. He could feel his breath start to shake as as he quickened his pace and continued to wander aimlessly through the sewers.
No no no..
He started to feel weird. Like there was something trying to come over him, a type of instinct, perhaps.
Raph didn't know. He was just 6. Donnie was the genius of the family, not him.
The mutant muttered to himself as he continued forcing his way through the random sewers, clenching and unclenching his hands.
He felt tears swell in his eyes as the instinct and fear got stronger. He rubbed at his face before rubbing at his hands, slowing his steps until he stopped completely.
Alone. Alone alone alone alone.
He's completely and utterly alone.
He felt the instinct completely take over, and he ran. Along the way of running, he bumped into a wall, causing his football helmet to crack a bit.
The snapper didn't know what happened next. Everything was white and practically gone. Nothing mattered anymore. His instinct had taken over and there's nothing going on in his head except for the fact that there's no one there for him.
And that. He's. Alone.
-*-*-
Splinter rolled his shoulders before he let out a yawn. He decided to do a headcount of his turtle children.
Orange was holding onto Blue's hand. Alright, check.
Purple was reading a book while walking close to him. Check.
Red was nowhere to be seen. Che-
Wait, what?
"Have any of you seen your eldest brother?" The rat questioned with a worried tone, beginning to look all over.
"No," Donatello replied as he shut his book, looking around aswell. "What about you, Leo?"
"Nope," Leonardo responded. "Mikey?"
Michelangelo shook his head, a frown forming on his face.
"Oh no- where could he have run off to?! Come on boys, we have to find Red."
Splinter started to look through the sewers, his children close behind. He could hear the sniffling of Orange, who was probably sad about the fact his biggest brother had disappeared.
What kind of dad is he, losing his children like this?
"Uhm.." Purple grabbed onto the rat mutant's robe, catching his attention. The softshell pointed towards a corner, where there was a visible heap of something. What stood out, though, was the football helmet visibly there.
Splinter let out a sigh of relief, striding towards his lost son. "Red, don't run off like that! Who knows what trouble you could have gotten yourself into!" The rat shook his head, finally reaching the snapping turtle before instantly scurrying back at the sound of a growl.
"Yo, Raph, come back home!" Blue ran towards his brother and touched him.
A mistake, indeed.
Red snapped at the blue-clad turtle, standing up and becoming fully visible.
His helmet was slightly cracked, and his pupils were no longer there. He stared at all four of them as if they were complete strangers.
Splinter looked baffled. "Raphael, what has gotten into you?"
The mentioned turtle just narrowed his milky eyes, looking just about ready to attack. The rat didn't know what to do or what happened to his son. He released a breath and was about to speak before Purple beat him to it.
"Raph, it's us! Your brothers who you care so much about," the purple-clad turtle approached his big brother, hands up in a harmless manner. "How about you snap out of it and come home, yea? We can have a big cuddle pile and some hot cocoa."
Red stared silently, form becoming less tense. Was this really working? Splinter hoped so, because he really didn't feel like having his son injure his other sons. Or him.
"Yea! What Dee said!" Orange exclaimed, running up to Raphael and wrapping his arms around him. Red seemed to relax more, though he still looked out of it.
The rat decided to sit in a calm position and watch. If anything got out of hand, he would interfere instantly, but for right now he just tried to look completely harmless.
"Mhm." Was all Blue said, joining the hug. Purple (with great reluctance) joined in on the hug aswell.
Splinter sighed with relief when he saw his eldest son close his eyes and open them, to which they now contained pupils and his regular warmth, but also extreme confusion.
-*-*-
Raph blinked, extremely confused.
What just happened?
All he could remember was that he was alone, and nothing else after that. He blinked again, a smile forming on his face as he saw his brothers hugging him.
"What happened?" He asked, staring down at his brothers.
"You got all weird!" Mikey stated, waving his arms in the air. Raph just raised an eye ridge.
"'Got weird'? What do you mean?"
"You growled at dad and than snapped at Leo!"
The snapping turtle didn't know how to respond.
He would never snap at his brothers. He would never growl at his dad. He would never do any of those things! What could have possibly made him do it? What-
"Anywho, let us go and watch some Lou Jitsu," His pops said, interrupting his train of thought.
Raph's brothers nodded, and he followed them as they all headed back to the lair. He could ask Donnie about what happened to him later. Right now, he just wanted to spend some time with his family.