Well... I've managed to write out a very long one-shot during the long scene in Exodus. D'ya remember? The one where they planned to overload the power core and kill themselves along with the Shredder? Yeah, that's probably one of my favorite scenes in this whole series. I didn't change much except give a little bit of struggle between them as they try to speak and move. I mean, c'mon, Leo was just stabbed, how on earth could he be talking and moving so easily, y'know?

Enough chat. Let's dance.

"Leo! No!"

Before him lay his brother.

With his killer standing wordlessly over him, her sword... Leonardo's sword... rested in the palms of her hands. Her eyes projected no happiness or excitement, and instead was placed with a look of puzzlement. Her face was stone. She revealed no emotions. Her eyes looked down at the turtle at her feet, laying on his side. The stab-wound bled. Leo did not move.

Raphael's head spun around him, causing his voice to falter and grow weary. The sais in his hands grew extremely hot under his skin. In fact, his whole body began to tremble. The noises around him blocked themselves from him, and his eyes trained themselves on Leonardo. His shell was facing him, with his katana scabbards loosely resting on the side. The strap that had held itself to Leonardo's shoulder had cut under the blade held in Karai's hand. Leonardo lay deathly still.

A deep growl had formed in the back of Raphael's throat. He hadn't noticed at first. His whole body further trembled at the sight of his fallen brother. The brother he mouthed off to whenever he got the chance, the brother he accused of being perfect, the brother who chewed him out when his pride got the best of him. All of it was pushed aside. His brother, the brother he loved with his other siblings, was dying on the ground before him. His whole body continued to tremble on the inside from seeing his fearless brother laying helplessly on the ground. He was frozen. Shocked. In a state of utter panic. The brother he secretly looked up to, the one who should be the last to stand in a battle against all odds, fell at the blade of his own sword.

"Karai!" He spat aloud, his eyes raising themselves to his brother's murderer. His growl grew audible, and his trembling grew visible. He tightened the grip on his sais, anger overwhelming his body. He began to walk towards her, forcing his body to move with his mind. His pace picked up, gaining on the woman above his brother. Her gaze looked to him, and he let out a cry of anguish.

He swung his sai, watching as she side-stepped with a grunt. He swung the other one, letting out yells of grief with each aimed blow. He stood over his brother's broken body, as if in a protective state. His mind ordered him to keep any harm from touching his brother. Karai backed away, her eyes widening with horror. But Raph would not let her slip away so easily. He turned, lifting his leg and landing a strong blow to her side. She flew across the platform, landing roughly with a grunt. The sword dropped from her hand, clattering against the metal floor. Leo's sword.

She faced the ground. She used one arm to pick her upper body off the ground, trembling with pain. But Raphael was indifferent to her suffering. With a battle-cry of anger, he launched himself into the air, landing another strong kick to her body. She gained air once again, flying away from him and landing forwards. She slightly slid, her back hitting the railing and stopping her speed.

Raphael was not finished with his brother's murderer. He began to race after her, sais tight in his grasps. His growling cries never ended, and he prepared to land another blow.

He was intervened. The Shredder stepped in front of Karai's feeble body, looking down at the ninja turtle with a look of hunger and bloodlust. He reached down with his bladeless hand, grabbing Raph's shoulder and lifting him to his eyelevel. The anger bubbling in Raph's heart made him strike, pulling back his free arm and aiming a blow at the Shredder. His grip tightened on the sai. His whole body was a mess now, attempting to give any blow or any piece of his mind.

The Shredder ceased his hand, crumping the wrist so that the sai slipped from Raph's hand. Gravity took hold, letting it clunk against the floor with an echoing shatter. That noise meant the end. This was it.

There was a grunt as Raph was smacked against the Shredder's knee, obviously breaking a few ribs on impact. Raphael let out a cry of pain, his tense body growing limp under the Shredder's hand. He willed the Shredder to take mercy, something he never usually plead to. But this was extreme. He felt like his lungs were about to burst, and his heart thudded in his ears. Blood roared through his body, and the wreck under his skin continued to make a mess of him. But the Shredder is merciless. He threw the battered ninja to the ground, letting him roll over and over across the cold floor.

His whole body shut down. It refused to move. The only thing that worked were his eyes. He lifted his heavy eyelids with all the power he had left, realizing he had fallen next to his brother. Leonardo. He lay beside him. But Raphael faced away from his broken brother, unable to turn over. Instead, his eyes trained themselves on his other two brothers. They had regained consciousness, standing to their feet and looking to the Shredder. Their gazes were persistent.

Raph began to slip in and out of consciousness then. his vision was fuzzy. The world spun around him and he grasped his fingers into a fist. For a moment, he wished only for the darkness to take him under. But the moment soon left him when he heard his baby brother cry out in agony. His heavy eyelids opened once more, making out Mikey's limp body drop to the ground.

Don was all that was left.

Raphael felt the world begin to spin again. Don raced forward, pulling his staff backwards and aiming a blow at the Shredder. It clanked against the metal, doing nothing to shatter it's armor. The shredder's hand encased the staff and swung Don to the ground.

My brothers... they are falling all around me...

And I am unable to protect them.

Don got to his feet, persistent in his cause. He aimed a punch at the shredder, but by the enemy's reflex, his wrist was caught in the Shredder's grasp. Donatello's look turned to pure horror. Raph tried to move, tried to do something, but his body failed him. Gravity held onto his limbs. He couldn't move under the pain. Breathing was a difficult task as it was. His consciousness toyed with him.

The Shredder landed a hard, hard blow to Donnie's neck.

Donnie faltered.

Donnie fell.

And all the Shredder could do was laugh.

Raphael shook violently, feeling his stomach churn under his skin. He felt like he had been torn to pieces. With all of his efforts focused on breathing under his cracked ribs, he could not move. It was far too painful. All of his brothers had fallen around him. He could do nothing.

His consciousness slipped as the Shredder began to walk towards Leonardo. The world had become too dizzying to keep his eyes open any longer. But Leo... how could he let his mind drift when his brother was going to be finished off? He did not know. He only remembered opening his eyes to the groans of pain from his brothers.

He mustered up the strength to lift his head, only to have it fall back onto the cold floor. His body trembled. He felt sick. Breathe. In, out, in, out. He repeated in his mind, letting out a soft groan. Each breath sent pain through his ribcage, and he withered with each gasp for air. "Ah man... my... everything hurts." Mikey groaned aloud. Raph grew at ease at the sound of his baby brother's voice. At least he was alive, and talking.

"The... the Shredder's trying to get back in." Leo? Raph turned his head, much to his own dismay to see stars dance before his eyes. He held onto consciousness as tightly as he could, though he felt like it was inevitable. His eyes opened once more. Leonardo's hands were grasping the control box, his whole body shaking. He shouldn't be trying to get up. The stab-wound...

Raphael breathed a small sigh of relief as he realized the stab-wound must not have entered his heart. That meant there was still a chance. He had thought his brother's fall would be his last, never making a move to stand on his own two feet again. That was what he most feared. He hadn't actually seen the wound until now, though he had assumed it to be fatal. But as Raph looked his brother over from where he lay, he realized the stab-wound must have only cut his stomach. "He'll finish us for sure..." Leo put one arm over his own shoulder, blocking the wound from his sight. His voice was gruff. Each word came out strained. It pained Raph to hear it, though all of his brothers sounded this way. Broken.

"How's Master Splinter?" His blue-masked brother began to make his way towards their sensei, each step obviously taking all the effort the turtle had left. He looked ready to collapse under his own weight and falter. But he managed to slowly walk towards Master Splinter, his eyes narrowed for concentration. Donatello as well had found the strength to sit up and crawl towards his father. Raph could not move. Maybe in a moment, he could sit up, but for now, his limbs would not listen to him. His body refused to work. It only trembled.

Donnie passed by my side, crawling on all fours towards Master Splinter. His eyes were deeply concerned. At least everyone was alive... Raphael suddenly winced, feeling the pain push against his heart again. Breathe, Raph. Breathe. He thought to himself, slowly taking deep breaths through his throat.

"My sons..." Raph paused, shallowing his breathing to listen to his sensei. "I am sorry..."

"No sensei, it's our fault." Leo managed to sputter out, letting his weight bring him to his knees. His arm grasped his shoulder, and his eyes looked heavy. I could not see Master Splinter from my point of view, but I knew he was burnt. He was broken, like the rest of us had become. "We couldn't stop him." Leo explained, his gaze intent on sensei. Don turned his head to his blue-masked brother. "We failed."

We failed...

We failed.

Raphael felt his muscles tense at the simple thought. They had truly failed. That was when he found the strength to sit up. His body felt ready to collapse under him, and his breathing became quick breaths. Placing a hand to his chest, he began to crawl towards his brothers and sensei.

"We failed the utrons... Master Yoshi... We failed you..."

We failed so many...

"...I failed you."

Raph grimaced. They had all single-handedly failed their sensei. Leo didn't need to keep going on about who they failed. At least, he didn't need to single himself out. He was not the guardians of his siblings. He did not hold the responsibility of their lives, though he deemed it so. When he reached his brothers and sensei, he reached into his throat for a voice. "...So that's it?" He mustered out, his arms feebly holding his weight. "Shredder wins?"

Mikey turned over on his shell, managing to sit up. He grimaced, making Raph even more sympathetic. Mikey should be cracking jokes, not cracking limbs. He looked torn and beaten, truly a horrific sight for his brothers. "It's not like we're in any shape to stop him..." The orange-masked brother groaned aloud. Raph turned away, unable to look at his youngest brother in pain.

"Unless..."

Raph turned his head to his blue-masked brother, managing to find a position to sit in that allowed him to breathe easier. "You know..." Leo turned his head, facing the giant mass of blue energy encased in the cylinder shape. Raph suddenly had a feeling he knew what his brother was thinking. "That's a lot of energy."

"In the wrong hands..." Raph started.

"It would make a pretty big bang..." Mikey finished reluctantly.

"We'd never survive..." Don pointed out, though everyone in the room was already aware.

"But neither would the Shredder." Leo marked, his voice growing determined. Raph lifted his head to his brother, watching him for any sign of reluctance. Nothing. The duty he saw in his brother's eyes was strong. "We could end this."

His voice gave into a growl-like manner. It made Raph's eyes slightly widen at how gruff he had let his words slip out. He knew he was determined, but he sounded... so unlike himself. Of course, he had just been stabbed in the stomach by a woman he had been reaching out to.

"No, my sons." Sensei lifted his limbs, motioning a forbidding posture. All gazes turned to him. "I could never ask you to..."

"It's okay sensei." Raph turned his head to his orange-masked brother, letting his heart shatter under his broken ribs. Mikey leaned against the handrail, using his upper body strength to keep him up. He must have broken both of his legs... Raph thought with a pang of sadness. Donnie and Leo aren't in good shape either. They both look horrible. Raph let his mind speak, using his strength to keep himself sitting up. What he would do to give in, and let himself collapse under his own weight. But that wasn't wise, especially when he could hold himself up. He continued to breathe while Mikey went on. "We know the score."

Raph found sense in the plan. He knew it was the only way to go. He took a few more deep breaths before stating his own opinion. "If we don't stop the Shredder now..." He started slowly.

"Millions of innocent beings throughout the galaxy will suffer at his hands..." Donnie finished his brother's sentence, his soft voice determined as ever. All brothers agreed to the plan. All brothers found it the last option, and their last hope. They found it necessary to sacrifice their own lives to save thousands.

"It's alright father." Leo assured Master Splinter. "We're all agreed."

There was no point in arguing, and Master Splinter knew it. He raised himself up. "Then let us finish this together."

Donnie reached down to the communicator he had dropped. The screen bore a shatter mark, though it seemed intact. He made his way to the control box, seemingly stronger than a moment ago as his strength slowly returned to him and his brothers. "C'mon professor..." He muttered to the device. "Be okay." He begged. "Be okay."

The screen fluttered to life before his eyes, revealing the head of the fugitoid. "Donatello!" The professor exclaimed calmly. "What-"

"Professor." Donnie cut him off urgently. "We need you to overload the power core."

"But... That would cause an explosion of great magnitude, and..." The professor's robotic eyes met with Donatello's seemingly serious eyes. He faltered under the gaze. "Oh." He muttered, finding the plan beneath Donnie's expression. "I see. I feared the situation was... hopeless." He spoke sullenly, knowing that his actions would bring the downfall of his friends. "But... I understand. I am with you to the end."

Too much sappy stuff. Raph thought, anger boiling up inside him. He already let himself begin to break under the thought of losing Leo. He wanted to get this over with now, so that they could all rest in peace. This had to hurry up before Raph got any second thoughts. "Here we go then." The professor said as Donnie reached down, inserting the device in the power box.

The professor began to count down. "Overload in five..."

Silence.

"...Four."

The benefit. The Shredder would be finished with. It would cost their lives, but Raph realized he could never live with knowing he could have saved thousands of lives if he had only given up his own. Raphael turned his gaze to Donnie. He seemed persistent as ever, like when he was in the middle of an experiment. Raphael knew that face was never to be bothered with. It was the face of concentration that Don would carry around during his work.

"...Three."

Raph turned his head to his baby brother. The orange-masked ninja continued to lean against the railing, using his body weight to keep himself up. His face was... scared. It was a face that he never wanted to see on this brother. This one needed to stay innocent. He needed to continue making jokes, laughing and having the time of his life. Sure, it annoyed Raph's shell off, but it was who Mikey was. Looking at his face so... so terrified but determined, sent shivers up Raph's spine.

"...Two."

Raphael's breathing hitched. The second thoughts poured over him, making him pray that the last two seconds left of his life would last two years long. He didn't want to die. He didn't want his brothers to die. Not after coming this far through everything they've been through. He gritted his teeth together. He already agreed to this. He would be a hero. He looked at Leo. His face was determined. He stood here scarred, dying, and beaten, yet he refused to give up on hope for the millions of lives around the galaxy. Raph had to admit his respect for his older brother. There was so much left unsaid between them, and Raph felt it necessary to pour it all out on the spot. But he knew that he could never explain a lifetime of arguments in two seconds.

"...One."

The door behind the turtles slid up. The shredder revealed himself, a look of anger crossing his face. The anger turned to pure terror. "No..." He muttered to himself, watching the battered turtles by the core.

The device began to beep. Raph watched as Donnie turned to make a run for it, as if it would do any use. He watched as the world spun from the explosion, knocking him upwards and onto his feet. He was turned sideways, brutally pushed aside and put under the mercy of the explosion.

And then the world froze around them.