Prologue

The one who gave everything.

The one who lived.

The one who blames himself.

The one who can't forgive.

The one who sacrificed.

No one ever knew the amount of agony which would fall upon the world the day Oroku Saki unleashed his deadliest weapon. We don't really know why he did it so out of the blue, so sudden, never giving anyone so much as a hint as to when it would happen. Not even his daughter, Karai, knew about the events which were about to take place upon this young planet of ours. Some suspect he was bored, some suspect it was an accident..but some suspect it was because of the deep hatred he had stored away in what was left of his wretched little heart. He had lost his fight so many times that he had twisted himself into something more than just a man who wanted to dominate those weaker than himself. No, he was much more than that at this point. He was bloodthirsty, prowling the hunt like a beast among lambs. He was ready to destroy, and not just the world around him, a world which was more like a cage than a place of freedom. Oroku Saki, The Shredder, the most cruel being on the face of the earth, was ready to destroy our family, ripping it apart piece by piece until he was satisfied with his work.

On November 29th of the year 2017, approximately 1:43 A.M, Shredder released a massive super virus, sending volunteers who would give their lives to spread the virus out into four major cities in the United States: New York City, San Francisco, California, Houston, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois. It killed 5,000 innocent people within two weeks.

Doctors tried everything to come up with a cure, but everything they did was a failure, what with most of the doctors dying from contracting the disease from their patients before they could get any further in their studies. By the end of the first month, Earth was in a panic, declaring a world wide epidemic. Airlines were shut down, railways blocked off, and checkpoints were set at every border, whether it be state or country. No one was allowed in, and no one was to go out. The people of Earth truly believed it was the end for us all, saying their final prayers and preparing themselves for a sickly death. And then the worst happened.

It reached us.

(NOTE: This story includes my OC's Anocari and Avolla. Anocari is the wife of Donatello and Avolla is the wife of Leonardo. This story is also told in the perspective of different characters in each chapter, so please pay attention to the note of which character is speaking at the beginning of each chapter.)

Earth Infected

Chapter 1

Speaking: Anocari

First come the symptoms: Itchiness. Swelling of the infected area. Bronchial spasms. And worst of all, the burning.

We all sat in a silent shock as Raph's screams echoed through the walls of the lair, making his pain all too real for us.

"IT HURTS! OH GOD IT-IT IT HURTS..P-PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT-MAKE..!" Every now and again a sob would escape between the horrifying pleas, "GOD IT BURNS! IT-IT'S BURINING MY SKIN OFF! IT'S GOING-GOING TO..PLEASE! OH GOD PLEASE IT HURTS! STOP THE BURNING! STOP THE BURNING! STOP THE-THE..STOP..PLEASE! KILL ME! KILL ME! DO ANYTHING TO MAKE IT STOP BURNING ME ALIVE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PL-"

Finally, there was silence, but his agony still seemed to ring through our ears, playing his screams over and over again in our minds. I think at that moment we all knew we'd be haunted by this day for the rest of our lives, never once letting us forget the terrible events before, and the ones that were still to come. You see, Raph was infected, and none of us knew if we were ever going to see him alive again after that night.

I squeezed Donny's hand as the door to Splinter's room slid open, the place where he had been examining Raph. It was a horrifying realization to think that my brother-in-law could be lying dead in Splinter's room at that very moment, and it brought tears to my eyes. Donny put his hand over mine as he felt me tremble, feeling every bit the same amount of fear I did for his brother's life, probably even more. I looked around the room as everyone tried to make themselves appear as if they were prepared for the worst, but I knew deep down no one really was..not even Master Splinter.

Splinter, set the tip of his wooden cane lightly down on the hard floor, a haunting silence falling over the room. He sighed, thinking for a moment, then lowered his grip on the cane, "My son's and daughters..Your brother, Raphael, has indeed been infected by the Shredder's super virus.." We all seemed to swallow at the same moment, frozen in time together.

Leo sat up, his hands gripping the edge of his seat, Avolla at his side, "But..will he...?"

Splinter was quiet for a moment, then slowly began to nod his head, "He will live..but he will still suffer much pain as long as there is no cure found for the infection..I have used Master Yoshi's ancient healing techniques to slow the process by a tenfold..but the infection will continue to spread throughout his body as long as he is alive, and will need constant treatments of the same kind."

"Is he.." Mikey began in a nervous tone, "contagious...?"

He sighed, nodding sorrowfully, "Raphael will be contagious for the next 48 hours..the amount of time in which the disease would normally kill a person.." In that moment, Splinter lowered his eyes once again, letting the room fall into its awful pit of silence, just as it was while we listened to Raphael's aching screams. Closing his eyes, he tightened his grip around the neck of his cane, trying to find a way to speak the words we were all yearning to hear.

Donny was the first to lean forward as he stared at the painful look on Splinter's face, "...Father?"

Leo followed after him, realizing there was more to this grimacing explanation than we had previously thought, "..Father..what is it? What's wrong?" Splinter was silent, still, "..Father please tell me what's going on..please..we need to know! We can't just sit here and-"

"Leonardo," Master Splinter spoke his name softly, just as if he were talking to a sleeping infant, "I..." he opened his eyes, looking up at his son with grief in his sorrowful gaze, "I do not have much time."

Leo stepped forward, reaching a hand out towards Splinter, "What do you-"

Splinter suddenly jumped back, avoiding the touch of Leo's hand on his body, making us all stare in complete shock.

Leo stood in his own confusion, staring at Splinter with longing in his eyes, "W-why?"

"I am sorry...my sons..but you may not touch me nor stand too close.." Splinter took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment as if he were holding the secrets of the universe in a single breath of air, "Because I am the one who must treat your brother..I have come into contact.. with the infection..therefore.."

"No..no...Father..no..." Leo stood, shaking as the color began to drain from his face.

"Leonardo, let me finish.."

"Father no!"

"Leonardo!"

"No! I won't let you say it! I won't! I can't! I-"

Splinter slammed his cane down on the hard floor, the clacking sound echoing through our ears as we sat in utter disbelief, "Leonardo you will silence yourself and listen to your father in the remaining hours he has left to live!"

I put my hands over my mouth as I watched Leo tremble and fall to his knees, sobbing for the life of his father, his master, the only one who ever looked after him his entire life. Donny's hand was shaking as he gripped my knee, tears falling silently down his cheeks. Mikey sat, silent, as he was the whole time, staring endlessly at his father as his tears wetted the edges of his orange mask. No one could move, not even Avolla could find the strength to kneel with Leo as he knelt before Splinter, his weakest hour finally upon him.

Silently, Splinter knelt in front of Leo, placing his cane gently on his lap, "My son, look at me.." Leo's lip trembled as he raised his eyes to look into the face of his dying father. Splinter looked up at all of us, "All of you, look at me..listen to me.." I grabbed Donny's arm, feeling it shake alongside my own, "..My purpose in life was to protect all of you..my sons..my daughters. All of you are my joy in life, and I would protect your lives in the face of the utmost evils in this world..even if it means giving up my own.." He paused for a moment, "It was the only way I could protect your brother, the only way he would be able to continue living and fighting alongside all of you. I am giving my life to save my family..just as Master Yoshi did so long ago.."

Slowly, in front of my eyes, in front of the eyes of his family, Leo broke down...falling slowly away into an abyss of which he would never be able to escape. A wise man by the name of John C. Maxwell once said, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." and without Master Splinter..there was no one to show us the way..we were truly lost.

That night, I held Donny tightly in my arms as he sobbed softly onto my shoulder. I felt the back of his neck with my fingertips as I felt tears of my own fall down my cheeks, which were rested on his head while he kept it buried in my chest.

"What..what are we going to do without him..?" his tattered breaths vibrated gently against my body as he squeezed me tighter, "W-what...what will we do?"

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, which was interrupted by stutters as I tried to hold the sobs back, hoping I could be strong for him, "I don't know, my Love..but..you must believe that you and you brothers can move on from this.. you must.."

He pulled his head back from my chest and I raised my hand to wipe away the puddles under his eyes, "Nothing will ever be the same when he's gone..nothing..and Raph.. I can't even stand to think about the amount of pain he will be in for the rest of his life...what's worse is that Leo has to take lessons from..from.." he let out another sob, unable to say Splinter's name without bursting back into tears.

I stroked his cheeks, trying to calm him down as much as I could, "Shh..it's alright...just speak to me...tell me what's hurting..just let it out.."

He sniffled, looking into my eyes with suffering beneath his own, "You saw how Leo was...he refuses to believe..yet he must learn how to heal Raph the same way..he has to spend the last remaining days as Splinter's student...and not his son.."

I thought for a moment about how horrifying that must be for Leo..having to look his father in the face every hour of his last moments, unable to embrace him, unable to care for him, forced to learn the same techniques that Splinter used to give his life up. I ached inside for him, knowing Leo had always been closest to Splinter..not only as a son, but spiritually. He was always his best student, thriving on the lessons he would learn each day during sparring practices and meditation sessions. Leo lived for everything Splinter taught him..and now..everything he ever lived for was slowly slipping away before his eyes..and there was nothing he could do to stop it.