Fort Raph

Age: Seven Years

"You spelled that word wrong."

"Grrrrr."

"And that one."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr."

Raph sat on the sofa trying to do his homework. Trying being the key word since a certain brainy brother of his was hovering over his shoulder and had been for an annoying amount of time.

"That word should be—"

"Stop it!" yelled Raph. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! It's my homework! Not yours!"

"I'm just trying to help." said Donnie.

"I don't need help."

Raph pointedly turned away from Donnie, hoping he would take that as his cue to get lost.

He didn't.

"That word needs an E."

"Grrrrrrrrrrr!"

Raph grabbed up his materials and marched away.

"Where are you going?"

"To do my homework somewhere without you!"

The tiny, enraged turtle stomped across the lair towards the entrance to the dojo, hoping to find some peace and quiet.

Instead he found Leo.

Raph glared as he watched Leo go through some basic kata in the middle of the dojo.

"Hi Raph."

"Hi." responded Raph curtly.

He sat down and took out his homework.

Leo smiled.

"Homework?"

"Duh."

"I already finished my homework." said Leo proudly.

"Good for you."

"I could help you if you want. Daddy says I'm the best speller next to Donnie."

"He does not!"

"Does so. He put a smiley face on my last homework. If you were a better student, maybe you would…"

Raph growled as Leo broke into a mini-lecture. He picked up his stuff and marched out of the dojo. The last thing he needed was more of Leo bragging.

He marched down the hallway and into his room, slamming the door behind him.

He flopped down on his bed. Finally! The one place in the entire lair where he knew he could be alone, away from his annoying brothers.

After a moment of relishing the sweet quiet of not having his siblings breathing down his neck, he sat up in bed and started back to work on his assignment.

His nose twitched.

"Ah…ah…choo!"

"Bless you."

"Thanks."

Raph wiped his nose to rid himself of any post sneeze—

"WAH!"

Raph jumped out of his bed, slightly frightened that an unseen voice had just said "Bless you."

He looked around the room until his eyes alighted on his bed.

He knelt down, and cautiously looked under the bed only to find-

"Mikey?!" yelled Raph.

And sure enough, there under Raph's bed was none other than his youngest brother, staring back at him with big, blue eyes.

"What are you doing under my bed?!" asked Raph.

Mikey stared for a moment.

He shrugged.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Raph stomped angrily out of his room and slammed the door behind him.

"Stupid Mikey! Stupid Leo! Stupid everyone!" yelled Raph as he rampaged back towards the living room. "I just wanna be left alone!"

As he stomped angrily into the common area he immediately headed towards the couch, and jumped up onto the cushions in a huff. Everyone knew the couch was Raph's favorite place to do homework. Sure, he didn't actually like doing homework, but the fact that his brothers were keeping him from doing it made him want to do it all the more.

If only there was a way to have the couch all to himself without his stupid brothers being able to bug him.

Raph sat brooding for a long moment.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Ten o'clock.

The hour when all good turtles were in bed.

Or so Splinter thought.

Splinter stood in the storage room grabbing his scavenging bags. It was Friday which meant it was time for his weekly trip to the surface to grab supplies. Like a normal school, Splinter gave his children the weekend off so they could rest their bodies from training and catch up on any homework they might have been behind on during the school week.

But, on a more personal level, a weekend off for them also meant a weekend off for Splinter.

Because there were no lessons on the weekends once a week Splinter was able to go on an all-night scavenger hunt to gather supplies. He could spend the whole night getting whatever they needed from across the city, and then sleep in the next day to recover. He still had to wake up to prepare meals and such for his children, but beyond that the day was his to slumber.

Splinter finished loading on his last bag and headed out through the turnstiles for his nighttime quest; the turnstiles giving a small clink as he passed through on his way out.

But unbeknownst to him, that small clink was just what one little turtle had been waiting for.

As Splinter strolled down the tunnels towards the nearest manhole cover, Raph slowly slipped out from behind a corner, a big wad of blankets in his hand.

He waited just a little while to make sure Splinter was really gone then ran across the living room right towards the couch.

He flung the blankets over the couch and then quickly ran to the storage room to grab supplies. A broom here. A piece of wood there.

After only a few minutes of work, Raph stood back and admired his handwork.

For there in front of him stood a fort. Not just any fort mind you, but Raph's fort: A mighty stronghold composed of the couch, numerous blankets, and a bunch of stuff he had salvaged from the storage room. It was big, bold, and best of all it had a big sign out front that read "No Brothers!" in bright, red crayon.

"Cool fort!" said Mikey.

"Thanks. I—Wah!"

Raph screamed at Mikey's sudden appearance behind him.

"Can I come inside?" asked Mikey.

Raph glared.

"No! It's my fort!"

"What's going on?" asked Leo as he and Donnie slowly trudged into the common area, the sleep still plain in their eyes.

"Raph built a fort!" said Mikey.

Donnie and Leo immediately perked up.

"Cool!" said Leo. "What are we playing?"

"We could play pirate." suggested Donnie.

"I wanna be the parrot!" said Mikey.

Raph growled. He quickly ran into his fort, climbed up on top of the couch, and looked down on his brothers from atop the fort walls.

"No! No pirates! This is my fort and no one else is allowed!"

"But why not?" asked Donnie.

"Yeah! Why not?" asked Mikey.

"Because I said so. That's why."

"But that's not fair!" yelled Leo.

"Too bad!"

Donnie glared.

"Well, then I'm gonna build my own fort!"

"Me too!" said Leo.

"And me three!" said Mikey.

"Good! Just leave mine alone!" yelled Raph.

The four brothers all glared at each other before Leo, Donnie, and Mikey all ran off in separate directions.

Raph glared after them. Finally, he would have the peace and quiet he deserved.

He climbed down into his fort and grabbed the notebook he had brought with him. Time to finally finish his homework.

…

But first he had to grab a candle because it was really dark in his fort and he had no idea what he was looking at.

A small, paper lantern glowed next to Raph as he sat inside his fort scribbling away at his notebook.

He finished writing one last word before closing his notebook.

Done!

At long last he had finally finished his homework. Normally their homework wasn't actually very long, a page of spelling here, some math there, but Raph had soooorta been neglecting a few of his assignments this week which meant he had a lot to catch up on.

He tossed his notebook to the ground next to him and leaned back, relaxing in the warm afterglow of a job well done.

…Yep.

Relaxing.

All alone.

In the complete and total solitude of his fort.

…

He wondered what his brothers were doing.

At the thought of his brothers he realized there was one thing he had yet to do: Go rub his finished homework in his stupid siblings' faces.

With that thought in mind he grabbed his notebook and exited the fort.

"Leo!" he yelled. "Donnie!"

Silence.

Raph furrowed his brow. Typical. The moment he wanted to gloat his brother were nowhere to be found.

Still, he would not be deterred.

He checked their rooms first to see if they had gone back to bed, but upon seeing that they weren't there he decided to check the bathrooms, which were also empty.

He walked back towards the living room, curious as to where his brothers had gone, when he spotted a small glow coming from inside the dojo.

He grinned.

He quickly ran across the living room and rounded the corner into the dojo only to find a large fort made of sheets, wooden planks, and wooden practice weapons; the glow from a paper lantern shining through the thin fabric of the sheets.

"Guys?" asked Raph tentatively.

The front fold of the fort opened revealing Leo wrapped in a towel like a robe.

"Hey, Raph." said Leo coolly.

Raph smiled as he held up his notebook.

"Hey, Leo! Check out my homework! I finished it all by myself without your help. Wanna see?"

Leo jutted out his chin proudly.

"Sorry, but anyone who wants to enter the castle of Shogun Leo must first do all the basic kata totally perfect."

"What?!" shouted Raph indignantly. "But you can't even do all the basic kata perfect!"

"Can too!"

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

"Cannot!"

"Quiet!" shouted Leo. "As Shogun of Castle Leo I banish you from the dojo! Go find someone else to look at your homework."

Raph growled.

"Fine! I will!"

He stomped out of the dojo as Leo glared at him from behind.

Raph stomped down the hallway indignant. "Shogun Leo." More like Shogun Stupid Face.

As Raph vented his anger a small growl suddenly emanated from his stomach.

He was hungry.

With his new desire for a late night snack surpassing his desire to stay angry at Leo (barely) Raph made his way into the kitchen.

Once inside however—

"Hi Raph!"

Raph groaned as he stood before a large wall consisting of blankets draped over the kitchen table and chairs. It was far bigger than Leo or Raph's fort, and unfortunately for Raph it also blocked all access to the kitchen's food supply.

High up on the kitchen table stood Mikey, waving a spoon in greeting and wearing a pot on his head.

"Welcome to Mikey-Landia, the funnest place on Earth! I'm the king. See my crown?!"

He tapped the pot with his spoon.

Raph decided to ignore the question.

"I want a snack."

"Sure!" said Mikey. "What's the password?"

"Password?"

"Duh! If you want a snack you have to say the password." Mikey looked around cautiously.

"It's Bubble Monkey." he whispered.

Raph glared.

"Bubble Monkey."

Mikey giggled.

"You don't just say the password, silly. You have to sing it!"

"What?! I ain't singing!"

"You got to sing if you want a snack." said Mikey in a singsong voice.

Raph growled.

And unfortunately his stomach growled back at him.

He sighed.

"Bubble Monkey~!" he sang.

"Yay!" said Mikey. "Snack for you."

Mikey climbed down off the table, onto a chair, and behind his fortress wall.

Raph tapped his foot impatiently as he waited until a single piece of bread came flying over the wall.

He quickly grabbed it out of the air, fumbling for a moment before finally getting a firm grip.

"There you go!" said Mikey as he climbed back onto the table.

"But I wanted an apple!" whined Raph.

"Sure! All you need is the apple password. And you have to say it while doing the official Mikey-Landia dance. I'll show you. First you turn around like this…"

As Mikey proceeded to demonstrate his kingdom's national dance, Raph turned and stomped out of the kitchen. He may have wanted an apple, but he'd definitely settle for bread if it meant not having to do his brother's dumb dance.

As he marched back towards his own fort in the living room sullenly eating his bread, he spotted Donnie walking towards the storage room with a few coloring books in hand.

Raph immediately perked up.

"Hey, Donnie!" he shouted. He quickly ran over to Donnie and held out his homework.

"I finished my homework all by myself. Wanna see?"

"No thanks." said Donnie.

"What do you mean, 'No Thanks?'" asked Raph. "You love looking at my homework."

"I'm too busy working on my fort!" said Donnie excitedly. "I'm calling it Donnie City! I have so many ideas!"

"But what if I got something wrong?"

"I'm sure you did fine."

Donnie opened the door to the storage room.

"Later Raph."

He shut the door.

Raph stood staring at the door.

Leo was in his fort.

Mikey was in his fort.

Donnie was in his fort.

And Raph was all alone.

Total peace and quiet…

Silence drifted throughout the turtles' sewer home.

Leo sat in his dojo castle absent mindedly fiddling with the edge of his robe.

Mikey laid across the top of the table, rolling around an apple as he sang "Bubble Monkey" over and over in a bored fashion.

And even the president of Donnie City, once absorbed with the idea of building his metropolis, sat staring at the wall, his work complete and nothing more to do.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A cry rang throughout the lair.

"Raph?" asked Mikey.

Quickly all three brothers ran from their forts to the living room only to see Raph standing in front of his partially collapsed fort and using a piece of wood to fight against…nothing.

"Back! Go away you big ugly monster."

"What are you doing?" asked Donnie.

Raph collapsed back onto his butt, breathing heavily.

"Whew! It's gone."

"What's gone?" asked Mikey.

"The monster!" shouted Raph.

"Monster?" asked Leo.

"Yeah! It was a big, giant, evil squid monster with fire breath and laser eyes!"

"It was?" asked Leo excitedly.

"Yeah! It attacked my fort. I tried to fight, but it turned invisible! It could be back any second!"

"Cool!" said Mikey.

"What should we do?" asked Donnie, also getting excited.

Raph grabbed his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"It's too strong for just one of us. If we wanna defeat the monster we have to take all our little forts and make them into one big fort! We can do it here in the living room!"

"I can grab weapons from Castle Leo." said Leo.

"I'll grab extra supplies from Donnie City." echoed Donnie.

"And I can bring snacks from Mikey-Landia!" shouted Mikey.

Raph smiled.

"Good! Now hurry! Before the monster comes back!"

"Yeah!"

Mikey, Leo, and Donnie ran off to their respective forts to grab supplies for the great ensuing battle.

And Raph just grinned, happy to have his brothers back once again.

Step, 2, 3, 4. Step, 2, 3, 4.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Splinter trudged back towards the entrance of his home, numerous bags of supplies hanging from every part of him. It had been an extremely successful night. He had gotten everything he had wanted with plenty extra.

Unfortunately, his extra supplies meant that his load was extra heavy.

As he heaved himself and all his bags through the turnstiles, he noticed a large, odd looking structure standing in the middle of his living room.

Curious, he sat down his bags, thankful to have them off his shoulders, and walked over to the structure.

From what Splinter could guess his children had created some kind of fort, though this particular fort was definitely their biggest and most complicated one to date.

Slowly, he creeped around to the front of the fort and opened the entrance flap.

He smiled.

For there, inside the fort, were all four of his children, nestled together and sound asleep with wooden practice weapons still gripped in their tiny hands.

Gently he closed the flap and went back to his bags of supplies.

He wasn't entirely sure what had gone on while he had been away, but he could tell just by looking at them that they had had an extremely active night.

Tonight, he would let them stay together in their cozy fort dreaming of all their nighttime adventures.

They could clean up this giant mess tomorrow.

Author's Note: Hi Hi Everyone, and Happy Belated Mother's Day!

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my own Momma, the bestest Momma in the world! (Yes, I totally know we all say that, BUT STILL!) How did you guys celebrate Mother's Day?

Let me know what you think of this latest chapter. Thank you so hyper much for reading, and, as always, have a Hyper Happy Day! LOVE YOU GUYS~!