Here it finally is, everybody! The sequel to Picky Portals! Man this took forever.

You know, I realized that I've reached thirty chapters in this story. I think I'd like to keep these at about thirty chapters a piece, so this is the final chapter of Brotherly Bonds. Don't worry; I will soon be posting a new collection of oneshots called Brotherly Baggage.

So enjoy the last chapter everybody!

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I watched my brother head towards the freaky sphere with his head held high. I had never felt more terrified and more proud. My little brother. My little brother truly was a hero. But—the sacrifice. He can't, I won't allow it! I can't lose him, none of us can.

"You can't do this." I whispered, one of my hands extending only to fall away limply as Raph shook his head. I felt as though glass shards were slicing into my heart.

"I have to, Leo." He looked at our little brothers sadly and turned back to me. "Please, whatever happens, take care of our little brothers."

Bleary-eyed, I shook my head. "I will." I honestly have no idea how I managed it, but I didn't stutter at all even though my throat was closing up.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He smirked.

I choked, my strength wavering. The sight of his answering smirk made me want to yell, laugh, and cry all at once.

We watched with bated breath as our hotheaded sibling jumped into the green sphere surrounding the strange man. Suddenly there was a blinding explosion and a blood-curdling scream hit the air, the likes of which I had never heard before. The voice was one that I knew well. Every bit of air left in my lungs was forced out in a desperate, tortured cry of my brother's name. I darted forward, blinded by light and the need to reach Raphael. The bright orb of light exploded. I was flying backwards, my head hit something hard, and the world went dark.

Did any of that really happen? Or was it just a dream?

When I awoke, a blurred green and purple head was leaning over me. I blinked a few times and my vision cleared. Donnie's face was grave. I sat up slowly and raised a hand to rub the back of my head, but found out it was wrapped in bandages.

"Donnie?"

"Severe concussion. You had us real worried for a while there. How you feeling?"

"Not so hot." I admitted honestly.

He nodded, but said nothing.

"You guys alright?"

"Mikey and I are fine. Minor injuries."

"Raph?" I asked insistently.

Don avoided my gaze. "Leo..."

Every muscle in my body tensed. I surged forward and seized Donnie by the shoulders, almost falling off the lab table in the process.

He stabilized me. His face was very grave and there was no emotion in his eyes. Panic rose up in my gut.

"Donnie, where's my little brother?"

His lip trembled. His eyes fell to the floor of the lab, tellingly.

"No." I gasped. My arms gave out and I fell back on my elbows. Tears flooded my face. Not Raph. Not my little brother. Please, no. In my minds eye I could see his face. The striking neon green eyes that had held so much fire and passion were pale and soulless. My brother was gone and all that lay before me was a lifeless shell. "Raphael..." I whispered.

"Leo—" Don's voice tapered off, his hand fell just short of my shoulder. He knew there was nothing he could say that would make me feel any better. I'd just lost a brother. One of my precious little brothers. I was their leader, their guardian. This shouldn't have been able to happen. I shouldn't have allowed it to happen.

"How?"

Don's head rose and he stared incredulously at me. "What?"

"How did this happen?" I asked, my voice drained.

"I don't know, Leo. We didn't find a body. He's just gone"

"Then he could still be alive." I whispered.

A pitiful expression spread across Donatello's face. I scowled, not about to take pity from anyone. As long at there was still a chance—

"Leo, the magnitude of that explosion was—" Donnie's voice broke. He swallowed. "If Raph was at the center of it then—"

"I won't accept that, Donatello."

"Leo's right, Donnie." Michelangelo whispered from off to the side.

I sat up and stared at my younger brother.

Mikey looked horrible. His youthful face was pale and his eyes were red from crying. I opened my arms and offered Mikey comfort, which the youngest readily accepted.

Donnie joined in from Mikey's other side and said, "It's not that I want to believe he's gone, Mikey...but it already hurts so much."

"Your pain is understandable, but your eldest brother is correct," said a deep voice from off to one side.

My head snapped up and I turned on the speaker.

"You," I snarled, my heart igniting with angry fire. The man standing in the lab door was the same one who'd condemned my brother to death. My eyes darted about the room for my weapons, but they weren't within reach. So I flew at him with all the strength in my body.

Donnie grabbed one of my arms, and the next thing I knew, a green and orange blur grabbed the other.

"You! You're the reason he's dead! How dare you show your face here?! My brother died because of you! You don't deserve to live!"

"LEO!" Mikey shouted, yanking me back and whispering in my ear. "Cool off, bro."

"Cool off?!" I shouted incredulously. "Raph's gone and it's all his fault! How the shell do you expect me to cool off?"

"Then you do believe your brother is gone?" he asked.

My eyes narrowed, "As long as I have no proof of his death, I will never accept it."

"He has loyal brothers."

"I won't give up on him." I reaffirmed, my fists clenching angrily. "You know where he is, don't you?"

The rickety old man frowned and his voice boomed around the room. "I can but conjecture where the portal has taken him."

"Where?" I demanded.

He shook his head. "The prophecy was that only the purest of creatures with a heavy heart could appease the portal."

"Appease it? You speak like it's sentient."

"The portal transports its victims so they see what must be seen and feel what must be felt."

"Which translates to?" Mikey asked.

The old man didn't answer. My soft growl was the only sound in the lab.

"What do you mean a 'heavy heart?" Donnie asked.

"More importantly," I said, stalking over to the old man, "where is my brother?"

———————————

Ugh. My red bandana tails had flopped down in my face and I brushed them aside. I rubbed the back of my neck and pushed myself up as best I was able.

"Anybody get the number on that bus?" I grumbled.

Shell, my muscles ached. My lungs felt like they were on fire. What the heck happened?

I glanced around. My brothers! Where are they? What—wait! That old dude! The creepy portal thingy and the dreams! I screamed and my brothers shouted my name and then—

I'm here.

But where is here?

I grunted and pushed myself up onto my feet. My muscles felt weak. I swayed a little. My eyes cut through the darkness like a knife through butter. Wait a second—a

I'm in the sewers! Not far from the lair, actually. But why the shell would that portal thing send me here?

Aah! What the—shell?

Someone struck me from behind and barreled me over onto my carapace. The next thing I knew, there were two blades dangerously close to my throat. I gaped at the shadowy figure above when I realized who it was.

"Leo? What the shell—"

The katanas almost grazed my neck. Leo's eyes narrowed dangerously. His glare was cold and cruel. The kind he reserved only for enemies.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

My eyes widened. "Who the shell do I look like? I'm your brother, numbskull! Will you get those things out of my face?"

"What are you trying to pull?"

I growled. "Pull? I ain't trying to pull nothing! I'm your brother, Raphael! Seriously, Leo, will ya quit with the games and let me up?"

Leo shook his head, the katana inching closer. "You're the one playing games, stranger! I don't have a brother named Raphael! I never have had. If this is some trick designed by Shredder then he's got another thing coming."

My jaw dropped. Leo couldn't be serious and yet...he was serious. Completely serious. Leo's a horrible actor, there is no way he's faking this. I shook my head.

"No, it can't be, but I am Raphael. I am. And you're my brother. So are Mikey and Donnie. What the shell is—" that was when I realized: "The portal—it took me here. Transported me to one of those," I snapped my fingers searching for the phrase, "alternate realities. I—I don't exist here."

Leo's swords pulled away a little. He stared straight down into my eyes, into my soul. I've always hated that he can do that. I growled a little and his katanas rose again. I smiled.

"What's the matter? Scared?"

Leo scoffed. "Of you?"

I couldn't help but grin a little. "Well at least you're still the same, Fearless."

"Fearless?"

"'S what I call you. Back home." My mind wandered. I couldn't help but wonder about my brothers. Were they alright? Did they get affected by the portal like I did?

"You're telling the truth, aren't you?" Leo asked, katanas lowering.

I nodded.

Leo's eyes scanned me up and down. "You are unarmed?"

"What? You think I'm hiding weapons in my shell?" I asked dryly.

"Are you always this cooperative?" Leo responded.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I smirked. "This is about as cooperative as I get."

"Bet it drives your Leo up the wall."

"Nah, you're used to it." I grinned.

Leo sheathed his swords. "Follow me."

He led me through the sewer tunnels to the lair. The sound of voices could be heard from just outside the door. Leo gestured for me to go in first. He followed soon behind. As soon as we were inside, Donnie, Mikey and Sensei all turned toward us.

Don and Mikey stared at me with shocked and uncertain faces.

"Leo? Who's—" Don began to ask, but another voice cut him off.

"Raphael..."

All heads turned to Master Splinter. Leo's eyes narrowed. The old rat crossed over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Raphael," He repeated.

By that time I was getting a little freaked out. And I don't exactly do physical contact very well. I shifted uncomfortably and he must have understood, because he released me. As he stared into my eyes, realization dawned on him.

"You are not ours." He said softly.

"Father, what do you mean? How did you know who he was?" Leo asked.

Splinter sighed and his ears flattened against his head. "My sons, I wish to apologize to all three of you for the secret I've kept from you for all these years."

"What do you mean?"

I was beginning to understand. "So I did exist here once."

Splinter turned away and lowered his eyes.

"Father, what's going on? We don't understand." Don said, softly.

"For all these years, I have led you to believe it was just the three of you, but I'm afraid that is not quite true." Splinter sighed. "You had a fourth brother whose name was Raphael."

Mikey's hands were shaking. "What? W-What happened to him?"

Splinter turned back around to stare at me. I shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"He died before you turned four. The four of you wandered out into the sewers and ended up getting caught in a dangerous drainage duct. Raphael managed to save the three of you, but in doing so sustained great body trauma. I cared for him the best I could, but infection set in. I did not have the means to save him."

My hand automatically rose to the crack in my plastron. Splinter noticed.

"You went though a similar experience, I take it?" he asked.

I nodded. The others looked at me. "Everything happened just like you said, but in my reality, I was able to make it through the worst of it, though my father and brothers were very worried."

"Losing you the way we did, I have always felt guilty. If I had only had greater knowledge and supplies, I might have been able to—"

"It wasn't your fault. It just wasn't meant to be." I said.

Splinter smiled. "It pleases me to know that in an alternate reality, you have grown up as strong and fine as the rest of your brothers."

"I can't believe it." Leo whispered. "All this time and I never knew I had another brother." He stared at me. "Raphael—"

"You can call me Raph." I shifted under the intensity of their gaze and rubbed the back of my neck. "It's what my brothers call me." I coughed. "My brothers back where I come from, that is."

"Raph." Leo accepted, awkwardly extending his hand.

I took it and pulled it up into the starting position for one my secret handshakes with the Leo back home. He watched and slowly copied my actions. Once that was done he looked at me with his eye-ridges raised. I smiled.

"It's kinda my and Leo's thing."

Donnie and Mikey were still just staring.

"Whatsamatta brainiac? Cat got ya tongue?"

Don blinked. "Are you talking to me?"

"Guess nobody calls ya brainiac when I'm not around, huh?" I crossed my arms over my chest. I glanced at Mikey. "What about you, goofball?"

"Don calls me that sometimes." He said softly. "Are you really my brother?"

I shook my head. "Naw, my little bro is back in my universe, but in a way, I sorta am. Guess you can say I'm what your bro would have been like if he hadn't—"

"Raphael," Splinter called. Even though he wasn't exactly my father, I responded with the same stiff position.

"Hai Sensei." I answered. My 'brothers' looked at me strangely. "Something wrong?"

"You need not be so formal, Raphael." Splinter said easily.

"Guess my Splinter's more strict," I muttered.

"Perhaps," Splinter agreed. He looked at me. "Raphael, if you would be so kind, I would appreciate it if you could tell me about your life. It would ease my tired heart."

Leo nodded in agreement. "Yes. I want to know what it's like...having three brothers. Please."

I sighed. My shoulders drooped. "It ain't always easy. I give you guys shell sometimes, which you really don't deserve. Wish I could do better for you, but I'm a hothead. I jump in to all kinds of situations that get you guys hurt. I don't mean to. Sure, we get along just fine, but I've got a short fuse and you all get on the wrong side of it at some point or other." I scoffed. "Leo and I fight at least once a day."

"Why?" Leo asked softly.

I sighed again. "Different philosophies. You're a better ninja, a thinker, a leader. Like I said, I'm just a hothead. We clash."

"That doesn't seem like enough justification."

"It always has been for us."

Leo looked a little bit sad at the knowledge. "So we don't get along very well."

"I never said that." I added.

He tilted his head to one side.

"We're best friends. So alike we can practically read each other's thoughts, that's part of the reason why we're so good at getting under each other's skin."

"What about us?" Mikey asked.

I smiled at him. "Oh we fight all the time, little brother, but most of the time our fights involve drawing on each other's faces in permanent marker, or a bucket of water propped in a half-open door. Well," I grinned, "that and me chasing you around the lair with a wooden spoon."

Mikey giggled, mischief lighting up his face. "That sounds like fun."

"It is." I agreed. "Though it's annoying as shell, sometimes. Wouldn't have it any other way."

Master Splinter seemed pleased by the smile on my face.

"And you, brainiac. Sure, I'm a meathead, but that doesn't mean we don't look out for each other. I do what I can to help out. Even tried to help you out with April a few times."

Donnie blushed. "There's an April in your reality as well?"

"Yep, and a Karai and a Casey and the Mighty Mutanimals—"

"A Casey?" Leo asked.

"Mighty Mutanimals?" Mikey echoed just as perplexed.

I slowly realized why they were confused. "You-you don't have a Casey. You've never met him because I was the one who—"

They nodded in understanding.

"And the 'Mighty Mutanimals' you mentioned?" asked Donnie.

"Spike was my pet turtle, who got mutated. He's their leader."

"A turtle with a pet turtle? That is the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Mikey cracked up.

My fists clenched. "Can it Mikey! Or I'll give you a knuckle sandwich!"

"No way! You'll never catch the Mikester!"

"Oh no?" I smirked and threw myself at him. He squealed and took off at top speed. I had one advantage, however: this Mikey had never seen any of my tricks. With one hand, I signaled to my older brother—well, this Leo.

He grinned mischievously and nodded, moving into position. Mikey and I sprinted around the room, but the next thing the youngster knew, he was being bowled over by the eldest. He squealed nervously and tried to get up, but I tackled him. He looked nervous. I smirked viciously. My fingers immediately began running up and down his sides. He shrieked with laughter.

"Stop! Stop! Uncle! I yield!"

I tugged him into a headlock. "Say it little brother!"

"Say what?" He laughed, wildly.

I blinked. Right. It's so easy to forget these aren't really my brothers. "Right. Guess I never taught it to you. Repeat after me: Raphael is all wise and powerful and he's better than me in every possible way..."

Donnie appeared to be extremely amused, but the look on Leo's face made me a little bit uncomfortable. Mikey did exactly as I said, laughing hysterically the entire time. I turned back to Leo.

"Something wrong?"

Leo sighed. "This will sound strange, but I've always felt our family was slightly off balance...like something was missing. With you here—that imbalance is gone. It feels right."

Guilt and sadness rose in my gut. "Don't get used to it. Eventually I'll have to go back—"

"—but what if you don't?" Leo asked softly.

I frowned. "What the shell are you saying?" I asked, a hint of anger in my voice.

Leo put his hand on my shoulder.

"What if you were meant to end up here? To replace the brother that we lost."

I shook my head. "I can't, Leo. I have brothers back home. They need me. They probably think that I'm dead. You didn't even know my name before today. They've been left grieving for a brother they've known for seventeen years."

"But what if they can't find you? What if you can never go back?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to stay."

———————

A week passed. I felt myself slowly growing closer and closer to my alternate siblings. Everyone here was eager to spend time with me. Splinter was extremely interested in my life, my upbringing, my brothers, my feelings. He truly wanted to know all he could about me. I almost feel like a child again. The alternative Leo and I have grown extremely close. His willingness to spend time with me had resulted in the same close, yet open friendship that the Leo back home and I had developed when we were tots. Sure we bickered, but we didn't fight nearly as much as back home Leo and I usually did.

Donnie and I had formed an easy friendship. I spent time sitting in his lab listening to him talk about his projects and telling him a little bit about some of the things he'd built for me over the years.

Mikey and I had so far had three prank wars, all three of them put to a stop by either Leo or Master Splinter before they could last more than a day. Whenever I wasn't hanging in Don's lab, or in the dojo with Leo, the goofball followed me around like a puppy. It was kinda annoying, yet kinda nice to know I was appreciated that way.

Speaking of the dojo, I discovered that the alternate Leo isn't as skillful as the Leo back home. After watching us spar, Master Splinter concluded that the difference was due to the fact that I was never around to provide a challenge to Leo's abilities.

"Hey Raph, time for lunch." Leo called, sticking his head inside the door.

I hummed and stood. We walked down the hallway together.

"You alright?"

"Just thinking about home." I said softly.

Leo gave me a sympathetic glance. "Raph—Donnie still hasn't turned up anything. But I hope you know that this is your home now."

I looked at the hand on my shoulder and smiled gratefully at my older brother. No. He's not my older brother. He's not. My older brother is back home. But—I guess staying here wouldn't be so bad. It's so easy to be myself around here. I can be open and never have to worry about whether my brothers will think less of me because I know they won't since they never really knew me before. It's like starting all over again.

But then...

A strange sound made Leo and I tense and spin around. In the corner of the room a strange light materialized. It flashed extremely brightly and we were forced to cover our eyes.

Suddenly I felt myself being bowled over.

Alternate Leo's voice shouted: "Raphael!"

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring up at Leo. I knew at once. It was Leo. The real one, not the alternate. His hard, blue eyes stared icily at me. Oh man, I am in a heap of trouble.

"Guys! What's—" alternate Mikey shouted as the rest of my alternate family came running into the main room.

Behind the real Leo were the real Donnie and Mikey. At the sudden intrusion they reached for their weapons, but I shouted at them.

"No, guys stop! They're okay!"

They took one look at my face and lowered their weapons. Leo got off of me and scowled.

"Hamato Raphael, what the shell were you thinking? Oh wait, I forgot, you weren't!"

I growled and jumped to my feet. "Shut your mouth, Fearless! I was thinking I would save your lives and the lives of everyone in the entire city!"

"Do you realize how much strain you put us all under? If you had half a brain in your head you'd have at least thought about that!" he shouted, leaning over into my face.

Suddenly, he was shoved away from me. I stared. Alternate Leo had backed real Leo up against the wall. Alternate Splinter took a few steps forward, preparing to intervene, but in the end, it wasn't necessary.

"Don't you ever speak to my brother like that again! He doesn't deserve that after what he did for you." Alternate Leo growled.

I felt honored that he was taking my side. The real Leo shoved him off.

"He isn't your brother! He's obviously ours! Stick to yours!"

"They don't have one," I said softly. "In this reality I died from infection when I was four."

I watched the real Leo's eyes dart to my scar.

"Raph?" He asked.

I said nothing, feeling torn.

Alternate Leo came over to me. "Raph, I think it's obvious you'd be happier here with us."

Leo looked a little panicked. "Raphael, you can't really be considering staying here."

Again I didn't answer.

Melting into a scowl, Leo's face hardened. "You'd abandon your family?"

"Leaving them would be just the same, Leo. They're my family too." I said softly.

Donnie shook his head. "Raphie, we're your family. You're not their Raph. You're not their brother."

"Raphie, please!" Mikey begged.

Alternate Mikey and Donnie came over and wrapped me in a hug.

Alternate Donnie said softly, "You can't leave us Raph. We don't want to lose you again."

"I've never had so much fun in my life since you've been with us, Raph. Don't go."

"I—" I bowed my head.

Alternate Splinter sighed. "Raphael, you must go with your heart. There is no other way."

Alternate Leo scowled at the real Leo.

"No matter what you decide, Raphael, we'll understand, which is less than I can say for those three."

Donnie bristled. "How dare you! He's our brother! He's always been out brother! You can't just—"

"Don, stop." Leo said softly. He came over to me.

Alternate Donnie and Mikey scuttled away to give him room. Leo put a hand on my shoulder and the next thing I knew, I'd been yanked into a tight hug.

"I was devastated when I woke up and Donnie told me you were dead. I refused to believe it, no matter what the odds. I couldn't just accept that my little brother had given his life for me. The guilt was destroying me. I should have been able to stop it, but I couldn't. We can't even bear to think about a world without you in it, Raph. It's all we've ever known. Losing you would destroy us...it would tear me apart."

My hands slowly came up to return my big brother's hug. Over his shoulder, my eyes met alternate Leo's. He looked pained, but he nodded. He understood. I glanced over at alternate Don and Mikey. They too, looked upset, but they motioned me to go on.

My heart felt heavier than ever. I'd always regretted that I couldn't be more open with my brothers. That heavy-hearted feeling had gone away when the alternate family had taken me in and allowed me to be myself. I felt the pressure returning as I made my decision.

I turned to my alternate brothers. "I-I have to go home."

The three of them drew closer together.

"We understand," alternate Leo said.

I barreled into them, wrapping them in one last hug. They clung to me tightly, knowing we would probably never see each other again. Alternate Splinter joined us. I held back the tears. Man, I was gonna miss them.

Finally I tore away. "I gotta go."

They nodded sadly. My real brothers were waiting for me with sad looks on their faces. Donnie pressed some kind of homing beacon on his belt and portal opened to take us home. Mikey grabbed my hand and tugged me into the light. We grimaced as pain flashed through our bodies.

The last thing I saw was alternate Leo mouthing out: "We love you, Raphael."

I felt a tear run down my cheek. Next thing I knew, I was falling straight down on top of my brothers. They grunted.

Mikey grumbled, "Geez, Raph, you need to lose some weight."

I said nothing, too busy thinking about my alternate family and the events of the past week. The portal was still open. Wait—where's Leo? Just as I thought that, Leo appeared and fell right on top of me. I grunted and shoved him off.

————————————

I watched Raphael go through the portal and started to follow, but a hand grabbed my wrist. I turned to glance back at the other me.

"Take care of him."

"We will." I said, nodding solemnly.

"Be open with him. He needs that more than anything."

I sent him a grateful glance. "I'll do everything I can."

Just like the journey here, the transport home felt like I was being torn into a million pieces. I yelped as I suddenly found myself falling straight down. I landed on top of Raph, who grunted and rolled me away.

"How'd you guys find me?" Raphael asked.

"That old guy helped us. The one who kinda got you thrown into that portal in the first place. He finally told us how we could find you. He helped Donnie design and build the equipment." Mikey answered.

"So where'd he go?"

"Part of the deal." I grunted. "We gave him a one-way ticket out of here." Raph grinned a little. I smiled and gave him a one-armed hug. "It's so good to have you back, little brother. I was worried."

"I think we can all agree with both those sentiments, Leo." Don agreed, hugging Raph from the other side.

The hothead growled and tried to shove us off, but we just laughed. He smiled.

"Ditto." Mikey said, joining the pile.

Raph's smile dimmed. "I wonder what'll happen to them now."

We all knew who 'they' were. We looked at each other. I squeezed my brother a little tighter.

"Their life will go back to the way it was before you came into it."

"I—" Raph's voice died and he didn't finish.

"When you're ready, Raph. We can talk all about it. Don't push yourself. For now we're just going to be happy you're alive and well." I said.

One of his arms came up and swatted at my head, playfully.

"Fine. But you still aren't getting off easy for that stuff you said about me not thinking. I'm gonna kick your butt in training for that."

I laughed, just happy to hear Raph's voice again. "I'm sure you will, Raph. I'm sure you will."

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How was it?