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((Author's Note: Part One originated from a dream-post in a TMNT RP--where I play Raphael himself--and I couldn't resist using the idea of comparing the guys to the four main elements as the focus of this fic! 3nodding I hope y'all enjoy what I hope to be Part One of a very long fic!))

"Father?" Raphael called as he moved through the trees. It was spring in Central Park, and the flower trees were in full bloom. Dawn lit up the horizion as the turtle approached a familiar figure meditating beneath an old Japanese cherry tree.

Wise eyes opened. "Good morning, Raphael. Please, join me in meditation."

"Love to, but...it's still hard to find my center, y'know?" Raph answered as he sat directly across from the rat. "I...I guess I ain't as good as Leo yet." For the last few weeks, Raphael freely admitted that his elder brother was the best student of their father and sensei.

"Leonardo is like the ocean: calm on the surface, yet his emotions and power runs deep beneath. But you are more like the flame: passionate, fiercely strong, and can grow out of control if one is not careful." Somehow, they were standing in grasslands, and watching a wildfire devour the endless fields before them.

Raph winced. "Like what happened between me and Leo the night before the Portal opened, huh?"

Splinter nodded in agreement. "However, water could also be very destructive, if it gained enough momentum..." The image shifted to a tsunami crashing into a random city. "And fire can also be used for good." Flashing images of gas stoves, camping fires, liquid metals in factories, and explosions from demolition sites.

"Each of you--my sons--are very much like the main elements of this world," Splinter went on to say. "Michelangelo is similar to the wind, and Donatello is as steady as the earth itself." Images of Mikey going at top-speed with his nun-chakus with the wind blowing around him, as well as that of Donny practicing with his Bo staff in a mountain forest.

"And Leo and I are opposites--fire and water," Raph finished.

"That is correct...though I would not call you two opposites," Splinter added with a hint of humor in his voice. He grew serious again as he continued, "You are nothing more than brothers, and brothers--like all siblings--will always argue over various things. However, you are all old enough--and trained enough--to put all your differences aside in order to work as a team. When you combine your strengths and weaknesses, the result is a nigh-unstopable force."

All four Turtles were leaping into battle, and Raph thought it odd to see himself. It...it was almost like an out-of-body experience as he watched the fearsome "Green Team" triumph over numerous foes by working as one.

"But all of you have only begun to take the final step in your training," Splinter pointed out. "You have learned that the true strength of the ninja comes from looking within. You have even touched the Astral Plane. Now, you must hone your spirit, and become one with the element of your soul."

"Element of my soul? What do you mean, Sensei?"

Splinter pointed his staff at a roaring bonfire. "Reach into the flames, Raphael, and harness its power."

Raph gave his father and teacher a look mixed with confusion and concern.

"In order to master the element of your soul, you must first conquer the fear of your element, my son--and fear it, you do."

"Of course, I fear it, Sensei! I'll get burned if I touch it!"

"You should not fear this fire, for this flame...is your inner strength, Raphael."

"My inner strength...? Sensei--Father...are you sayin'...the fire is...me? How?!"

"You fear yourself. You have always feared yourself since that night..."

Raph suddenly found himself teleported back onto that rainy rooftop, pinning a weaponless Leo down while raising one sai up for the final blow.

"Ever since your last fight with your brother, you have feared what had powered your fighting skills--your strength, your temper, and your passion to defeat evil and uphold the moral codes of justice. You fear that if you unleash your fire--your inner strength--again, you will create a wildfire that will destroy all in its path--including those closest to you. In order to become one with the flame--in order to find your center within--you must first conquer your worst fears..."

Out of the bonfire stepped out himself--at least, the person he was that night before he almost killed Leo. "Night Walker" Raphael pulled out his chain whips, each with a heavy metal ball on the end.

"Are you ready, my son?" Splinter inquired, handing his son the all-too-familiar pair of sais. Raph looked at his favorite weapons, and then warily--and uneasily--at 'himself'.

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