They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Donatello hadn't expected thousands of broken promises to swirl through his darkening vision, but he wasn't surprised to see them.
He made promises a lot. It was more of a habit than anything, but he was sure he would keep them. He had a long list, in order of priority, from the finally crossed off promise to April at the top to a promise of hovercrafts from a conversation nearly a decade ago. The list seemed to stretch on forever, and just as he made a dent in it, something new happened, and he had to add more.
The sounds of the battle surrounded him as he stared at the concrete floor, counting each promise. He had seen the list so many times it was all but memorized, and he gained an odd comfort from the words.
His brothers were watching him even as they fought, choking back gasps as they studied the wound. He had been distracted, wasn't paying attention, when he was shot, leaving an entire area of his shell gone.
Strangely, the pain was barely noticeable, a slight pinch but otherwise, he felt fine. Terrified, sick to his stomach, but fine. He watched Kraang fall around him, staring into the dead, mechanical eyes. His brothers were muttering above him, and it wasn't until he heard his name hissed that he forced his eyes up and noticed that the fight had ended.
"We can't fix this, he's the one with medical knowledge!" "Wait, h-he's gonna be okay, right?" "We don't…let's just try to make him comfortable." They were talking about him. He was going to die, they had as much as said so. But he couldn't die, he had so many things to do, promises couldn't let die with him. He struggled to sit up, the simple action leaving him gasping for breath.
"I'll be fine." He insisted, coughing. The wound was severe, yes, but he would get through it. He had to, he had no other option. Who else could keep those promises but the one who made them?
In a flash, his brothers were around him, staring at him with mixtures of sorrow, sympathy, and fear. Meeting each of their eyes, he struggled to say "I can't die yet. I'm not ready."
One of his brothers sucked in a breath, and they all exchanged glances. His youngest leaned towards him, forcing one of his omnipresent smiles, and Donnie remembered a promise high on his list, a promise to keep his brothers safe no matter what happened.
"You'll be okay, bro. I swear, if it's the last thing I do, you'll be alright."
Donnie closed his eyes with the comfort that he was no longer the one with broken promises.