Lately, I've been reading a lot of fics like this and I felt... inspired. Try listening to either Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin or Hallelujah by Imogen Heap when reading this. Thank You.
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
The night is dark, and the quiet is tainted with the sounds of the dying. The cool, crisp air is warmed by the amount of bodies on this roof, living and dead. My mind is fuzzy, maybe from that blow to the head I took earlier, but I manage to hit target after target in exactly the right spots. That's how I must think of my enemies this night: as targets. Because if these targets were human beings, I might be a murderer, and this might be a massacre. If that thought penetrates my mind, I'll be as useless as I would be if you slit my throat. I can't be finished yet. My brother still needs me.
He lays behind me, the neon sign on the roof illuminating the halo of blood around his head. I know by the way he lies so still that he could be dying. I also know that he managed to hit the panic button on the shellcell before he went down. The others will be here soon, but right now I'm all he's got; his last chance at survival. I won't let my brother die tonight.
I'm detached as I fight. I do things by instinct and reflex instead of thought. The weapons are dealing out death over and over.
Slash.
A scream sounds off.
Stab.
A gurgle bubbles out.
Thunk.
Another target falls.
It was like clockwork. One target does down, four more take its place, all to meet the same untimely end. But if it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll sure as hell get. They aren't leaving me much of a choice; it's either the targets or my brother. I attack over and over and over….and before long there's a deafening silence. Thunder suddenly booms all around me, and I fall to my knees. The battle's over for me. There's blood everywhere. I'm numb; tingling as the rain finally comes and starts to wash it all away. I crane my head and realize that I moved away from my brother during the slaughter. I try to stand and run to him, but I just can't bring myself to my feet. So instead, I lie on my stomach and drag myself through the graveyard I have created on the roof.
Dead eyes stare at me from every angle. I shiver involuntarily, and the movement jars something within me. Pain shoots through my body, and I cry out, but keep going. I have to get to my brother. The numbness overwhelms me again, and I can't even feel the bloodstained gravel digging into my skin anymore. I can't help but feeling bitter. The idea of murder makes me sick.
When I finally reach his prone form, the first thing I do is clean off his weapons and curl them into one of his hands. I had to use his own weapons to protect him. Mine are about ten stories down right now. For a brief second, I feel relieved that my brother is unconscious. He won't ever know what I did with those weapons of his. I don't want him to ever know.
I inch a hand toward him, his name on my lips, when a guttural cough echoes through the lifeless roof. I double over in pain, and curl in on myself, a wet sticky substance trickling down my plastron. I catch what it is a split second before the rain washes it away. It's blood. More blood. My blood. I finally snap out of my daze. Only then do I think to check my own injuries. I look down at myself and see….swords.
Swords, kunai, shuriken, tantos. All sticking out in awkward angles, all impaling me. My eyes widen, and the sudden realization that my brother has a far more likely chance to survive than I do hits me like a train. I slowly pull one of the swords out, and my blood starts gushing out. I wince, but push myself to my knees. I can still help my brother; make sure he makes it until the others get here. With trembling, unsteady hands, I rip cloths out of the clothes from a nearby body, and begin to bind his wounds. I almost collapse a few times, but I keep myself going through sheer willpower. I manage to staunch the blood flow of everything except the awful gash across his eyes. I take another piece of cloth and tie it around his eyes before I fall to the ground, wheezing and heavy. And then, much to my relief, he says in a strangled voice, "Nii-san?" With my free hand, I grab the hand he's reaching for me with, and imagine it as the line tying me to life, if only for a few minutes more. I can't feel any pain, but I can feel myself slipping. I finally muster up enough energy to whisper, "I'm here, I'm here." He gives my hand a weak squeeze. "Did you get 'em?" I'm shaking all over now. It's so cold, with the rain pounding against my clammy skin. "They c-can't hurt y-y-you anymore," I stammer out. It's getting harder and harder to breathe. I cough up a mouthful of blood, and let out a strangled wheeze. My brother must be delirious if he can't see the shape I'm in. I'm thankful for this as well. He won't have to see me like this.
My brother relaxes. "Will you stay with me while I sleep?" He asks. I'm hesitant to reply for a moment. These could very well be the last words I ever speak. I take a deep, rattling breath, and tell him, "Yeah. I'll…. I'll never leave you."
He slips back into unconsciousness. I roll onto my back, never once releasing my brother's hand. And even though it rains, with lightning cracking through the clouded sky, I swear that I can see stars. They're beautiful, even on this night. So this is how it all ends for me. Each time I blink, I can see my life flashing before me, all laid out. I see my brothers and I fighting, arguing, yelling, fierce in the heat of a battle. I see my brothers and I playing, laughing, smiling, and alight with joy. And lastly, I see my father.
His grayed fur is sleek and glossy. He has his back to me at first, but slowly he turns, and a smile graces his face. His eyes are made of the warmest suns, deep and endless. His arms open wide to me as he stands amongst the stars. This is when I know I'm close to the end. My father has been dead for eight years.
His lips never move, but I can hear him speak words to me. In his wise, timeless voice, he says "Time to rest now, my son." I try to hang on for a moment, fear of judgment coursing through me. My father just shakes his head. "There is no judgment here. Only forgiveness." Tears fill my eyes that are as clouded as the skies above me that still shine with a thousand stars.
I hold on long enough to hear my newly arrived brothers' scream my name and then I just…..let go. I reach my arm out towards my father, and suddenly, I'm not in this world anymore, and I'm floating towards my father. Lightning flashes one more time and I close my eyes. My last thought is that of my brother's face, and I know that everything was worth it. I feel the arms of my father around me, and then I am gone.