He Lives Within You

My name is Raphael and I sit here waiting for my other brothers to get ready for the night. Tonight is going to be a night not for fun or laughter nor a friendly game of ninja tag. A cloud looms over my family over the lost not just of a friend but a family member. Taken too soon from us, I scratch my plastron what has been stitched shut by my younger brother Donnie after my operation.

Every beat from my heart reminds me how the one that took him away from us still lives. I ignore everything I was taught from an early age to seek the one thing that will bring maybe a little justice to him. Once I bring the news he will finally be at peace, a least that's what I hope.

Please give me guidance and rest for my wry soul. For the actions I take tonight are of those my own and not of my other brothers.

I stood up and stared at his picture then departed from the dojo. I had to peek into his room to see if he was still resting before my brothers and I departed. We lost one and barely saved the other.

"Please forgive us for what we are about to do tonight." I whispered into his room.

I took a sword from his room and strapped it to my back. I wanted him to be there with us when we took him down. He may not be there in the physical sense but in the spiritual.

I ran out of the lair to the garage where my other brothers were waiting for me.

"Are we all ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Donnie said getting into the driver seat of the battle shell.

Mikey nodded and got into the back while I took my place in the passenger seat. When everyone was strapped in we drove into the heart of the Purple Dragons; Me, Donnie, Mikey, and Leo.

The stitches on my plastron were annoying and I was constantly scratching them. I didn't know if it was a way to make me calm or if it was just to keep my mind at ease but it was working much to Donnie's annoyance and constant yelling at me about picking at them.

I pressed my hand over my heart and let the thumping and rising and falling of my chest be my companion in this. Mikey was quiet throughout the entire ride and ordeal, the once tears that rolled down his face and stained his mask were gone and my baby brother grew up to be the turtle I knew he could all ways be.

"Get ready we're about to hit it." Donnie ordered.

I rolled down the shutters to the windows and the ramp on front. Donnie reeved the engine and pressed the accelerator. We flew into the Purple Dragons warehouse, taking down as many Purple Dragons we could with the ram on the front and my other brothers manning the missiles.

My heart was beating out of its chest with all the excitement I was going through. I didn't know about my other brother but all restraint I had flew out the window the moment we stepped foot into this place.

"We're taking too much damage we need to leave now!" Donnie ordered.

Donnie got the truck ready for autopilot while the rest of us ran to the back of the truck to wait for him.

"Get ready!" Donnie cried.

Donnie pressed the command button on the dash and ran to us. And bolted out the back. We watched from behind some crates as the Battle shell continued to blast missiles and ram into Purple Dragons until one of them took out their own missile and fired it at the Battle Shell, blowing it up into millions of pieces.

I thought Donnie would complain or wine about rebuilding it but I could see that he didn't care. It was a sacrifice that he was fine about. My brothers and I used the shadows to our advantage to cross the countless numbers of Purple Dragons that were on the lookout for us. Donnie was able to get a good portion to leave when he hacked into the system to send some of them away to other warehouses or ports to check their merchandise. Still there was a good army left for us to deal with. With Donnie's help and tech we made our way into the heart of the Purple Dragons to find him sitting at his desk barking orders over the phone.

*THUMP* THUMP*

My heart was calm for once since this all started I didn't understand why but I didn't care. The one that took him away from us still lived and stood in front of us.

"There's no turning back after this." I told my brothers.

But their eyes never quivered or moved. They stared directly into mine and told me that they were not leave.

I kicked opened the door and grabbed my sais tightly into my hands. My brothers joined suit soon after.

"Well look what the cat brought in rats." Hun said slamming the phone down.

"You'll pay for what you did Hun." I yelled.

"Ha all I did was make your family from five to four. You still have your other members to care for." Hun spat.

"Please it had to be done he was getting too old and needed to be put down your-"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be wishing I killed you after I finish." I roared.

"Fine have it your way." Hun said.

Hun flipped the desk over and threw it at us. We all jumped and dodge the desk. I gripped my sais tightly and charged at Hun.

Hun may have power behind him but we have speed. My brothers and I used his oversized body against him just like he taught us. Mikey was the fastest out of all of us dodging Hun's onslaught of punches while Donnie kept Hun in one place with his bo staff.

All that left was little old me and Leo. Charging quickly we got the drop on him from behind and round kicked him into the floor. I took his head and slammed it into the floor. The sound of us fight us have gotten the attention of the other Purple Dragons because we could feel the vibrations of them coming this way.

"Block the doors!" I ordered.

Donnie and Mikey took the large desk and placed it against the door. Donnie started wielding it shut with Mikey using all of his strength to keep it closed for him. While Leo and I continued to fight Hun.

Hun wasn't too happy over us destroying his office but we didn't care he mercilessly took his life away from us. Regaling his tale of his death over and over to his followers and master.

I took my sais and plunged them deeply into Hun's sides. He doubled over in pain clutching his sides to try and stop the bleeding. While he did this I took the sword on my back, with two hands I grasped the handle and pressed the cold metal against Hun's neck. He looked at me from the corner of this eye.

Cracking a smirk when he stared at me.

"Too bad I didn't get you too. He must be lonely all the way down there." Hun joked.

I raised the blade over the my head for some reason the blade that was once light as a feather weighed heavily in the air. My hands shook and Hun could see it shake slightly in my hands.

"What you too much of a coward to kill me? And here I thought you wanted revenge for me squeezing the life out of him. Do you want me to remind you how it was like to see the life leave his eyes?" Hun asked.

Hun started laughing at the site of me shaking but I didn't know if it was from fear or excitement.

"This isn't revenge." I said.

"Then what is it?" Hun asked through his laughter.

"No its vengeance." I said.

The blade made a swishing noise in the air and I whispered Hun's last words to him,

"I'll see you in hell."

The sound of the blade swinging in the air was now covered by the crunching and splatter of blood and bone. Hun's head rolled onto the floor as his body trembled a bit then caved in.

"We're finished here." I whispered.

My brothers agreed. We left through the windows of the office. Running and jumping watched from the top of a roof the rest of the Purple Dragons finally bursting through the doors to see their leader dead on the floor.

"Did you finish it?" I asked Donnie.

"Yeah." Donnie said handing me a remote.

"Finish" Mikey said to me.

While finishing off Hun Donnie placed small bombs as we went through the Purple Dragons headquarters and office. We didn't need another person to become someone like Hun and taking out this headquarters and leader was going to place the gang on the bottom of the totem pole.

I pressed the button without a second thought. My brothers and I watched from afar the headquarters go up in smoke and a blaze of fire. We stood there watching until the fire was put out. Racing home to I made a pit stop at his grave to tell him the news.

My heart constantly beating quickly in my chest as I came closer and closer to his grave.

"Sorry for being late." I whispered.

I was cleaning off the marker when I sensed someone behind me.

"It is alright."

"Oh its you." I said.

"I know what you did tonight." He said.

"And what you're going to lecture me tonight?" I spat.

He walked over to my side and we stared at his grave.

"I miss him too." He said.

"Not as much as I do."

I pressed my hand against my chest over my stitches.

"Never forget what he did for you." He said pressing his hand against mine.

"I know."

Each beat in my chest reminded me that he's always with me.

"He lives inside you Raphael."

I closed my eyes and pictured him in front of me smiling. I threw the image of his body after my operation into the back of my mind. I wanted to remember him as he was not what he had become.

"I miss him so much." I said.

I could feel my heart in my throat trying to hold back the tears that threaten to leave my eyes.

"As do I but we must move on."

"I know but it's so hard." I said.

"You may come here to talk to him but just as I told you before he lives with you and you must always remember he loves you."

We both listened and left my heart pumping blood in my body as we stared at the marker reading.

Leonardo

A.N:

How many of you guess the ending correctly? More to come. R&R