What was going through Raph's mind when Shredder disposed of Splinter in "The Invasion"? Small drabble. Read and Review please! :D

Raphael's POV

"You…You MONSTER!" I yelled at Shredder as he grabbed his shoulder and made his way out of the sewers. I can't believe this is happening. That coward. How dare he throw my master, father, away like a piece of garbage and then re-treat. At that moment, I lost any sense of control and was seeing red. I could feel my blood boil as my fists made contact with the grate that kept me and my brothers from getting to Splinter and Shredder.

Once my fists made contact with the grate, I couldn't stop. Metal was hitting flesh as I continued to pound it with all the strength that I had. I faintly hear someone yelling at me to stop. Mikey? I could barely make out what he was saying to me. My ears went deaf to the sound of his voice making it hard to understand what he was trying to communicate with me. It was like everything was happening in slow motion as I tore away from the grates.

"ENOUGH" I heard someone say in a firm voice. I screamed like a wild animal, blinded by rage and hurt. I barely made out an orange and green blur lunge towards me. I was about to fend off my attacker when I felt arms wrap around my torso, pulling me closer to him.

My vision finally came back to me as I realized that it was Mikey. "It's okay bro. Sensei is a master ninja. He's going to be just fine", I hear him say to me as he pulls me closer.

Mikey. He brought me back to reality. I managed to sneak a glance towards Donnie and April. Donnie looked sad. His chocolate brown eyes were fighting back the tears through his purple mask. I thought I saw one escape as he put his head down, trying not to let us see him getting ready to break.

And April, she looked sad but I caught a glimpse of fear in her gaze. Was she afraid of me? Was she afraid of the monster that I was? I know deep down that she was aware of my anger issues but I have never shown her how out of control I could become. I never meant to scare her or my family.

"Everything is going to be alright" I hear Mikey finish as I bury my head in his shoulder and wrap my arm around his shell tighter. I can't believe after my fit of rage he wasn't afraid of me. He could have let me go on my tirade but he didn't. I could have lost it on him but I think he knew that. He still took that chance because he wanted to comfort me in a way that he only knew how. For a goof, he sure knows how to calm down even the most savage beast. I see how he is with Leatherhead, always getting him to quiet down before hurting someone. How does he do that? I am so thankful for him or I would have gone on a rampage by now. With the Krang littering the streets, I knew that would be a bad idea.

I hear a sniffle and Donnie say April's name. I barely made out what she was saying about not running away this time. I was so physically and emotionally drained at this moment. We lost our Father to god knows what and Leo, ah Leo got the tar beat out of him. I could feel Mikey loosen his grip on me as a tear escapes down my cheek. This is not fair! Are we being punished for something that I am not aware of? As more tears started to fall, a sob escapes my lips and I pull Mikey tighter, signaling that I wasn't ready to let go. He got the hint and continued to let me work out my emotions.

I could hear the tears in Mikey's voice when he asked me if I was okay. When I let go and held him out at arm's length I was surprised to see that he didn't cry. At least, not yet. Giving him a puzzling look, I nodded. When did you get so strong, Mikey? Here I am pouring out anger and sadness and he, he's standing here solid as a rock, comforting me and trying to put on a brave face. Our roles got reversed. I guess this invasion has brought out the best and worst in us these last few hours.

Mikey wiped some stray tears away as they escaped down my face and tried to give me a small smile. I could see the pain behind that smile he gave. Master Splinter always said the brightest smile always hides the worst of pain. In that moment, I couldn't agree more with that logic.

As we walked back towards the lair to assess the damage done to the Turtle Mech, Donatello and April were chatting about various ways we could take down Krang Prime. And Mikey? He was silent. I caught him sneaking glances towards me as if to check on me. At one point I stopped and grabbed his wrist. April and Donnie were so caught up in their conversation that they kept on going. When Mikey turned to face me, I cupped his face with my hands and spoke softly, not above a whisper.

"Mikey, I'm fine. Believe it or not, I am actually much better. I'm worried about you"

"Don't worry about me bro. I know we'll get through this" I could see tears threatening to spill out of his once bright blue eyes. At that moment, he lost control. I pulled him close as he buried his face in my chest. Tears were staining my plastron as I heard him mumble our Father and brother's name.

I whispered, "It's okay, I got you. It's okay to fall, you don't have to be so brave, Mikey". I was surprised that he lasted this long without a break down. I guess in a way, Mikey has always been like that. He always manages to surprise us in the most unexpected ways.

I heard sobs turn to hiccups and knew then that we needed to catch up. I could hear Donnie's voice echo our names through the sewers. I gave Mikey a smile just as he did for me. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze before we started to run to try and catch up.

I don't know what is going to happen to us. I don't know if Splinter is alive or how bad Leo's injuries are. But I do know, I can't let the rest of my family fall. I need to take all of my anger and strength to keep them together, we will get through this nightmare. We always do.

END! This is one of my shortest ones to date! But I had to get it out~