A/N: I was looking up TMNT pictures on the internet and came across one with Leo and Raph. Leo was dressed in his South American "Ghost of the Jungle" attire and Raph was in his Nightwatcher uniform (the picture is the cover picture for this story). Anyway, the more I studied it, a scene began to form in my head, and thus, this one-shot was born. Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Lights flashed in slow intervals through closed eyelids. Blue, red. Blue, red. Voices buzzed like angry hornets. Heavy eyelids fought to open; amber eyes gazed through the tinted visor of the helmet to see the police haul away four thugs. The eyes closed again, but were accompanied by a weak smile. Good. That problem was taken care of. Now, for the other problem. Amber eyes opened again and moved to glance down at the trail of red running down the silver uniform. One of the thugs got a lucky shot in before he was taken down.
Leo's gonna kill me.
It was a humorous thought since he was probably going to die here in the alley from a gunshot wound than from his blue masked brother's wrath. Amber eyes turned upward towards the stormy sky. What had possessed him to go out tonight? Why did he feel the need to don the Nightwatcher uniform and pull the old silver bike out of retirement? Why tonight of all nights? What made this night so special?
"I'm better than you."
Right...that, he thought hazily.
It had been another stupid fight. Five years after the stone Generals and thirteen monsters incident and the blue and red masked brothers were still at each other's throats. Raphael couldn't even remember what he and Leonardo had been fighting about. Probably something stupid, as always. Raphael tried to keep pressure on his bleeding side, but he was losing too much blood too fast.
Well...at least the Nightwatcher went down fighting, he thought.
Then, why was he terrified of dying? He always thought that, when his time finally came and his number was called, he would be ready to meet whatever awaited him on the other side. His eyes stung as they began to water. A horrible realization suddenly hit him.
I don't want to die.
He wasn't ready. He couldn't leave his family, his friends. Would someone even be looking for him? Or would they have the "Raph just needs to cool down. Better leave him alone" thinking? Raphael squeezed his eyes tight and clenched his teeth as pain stabbed his side. Oh, god, he didn't want to die. Not like this. Not alone and in pain. Somewhere, in the deep reaches of his mind, Raphael had always pictured himself dying with his brothers by his side. But, reality had a nasty habit of not giving you what you want, especially if you're a mutant turtle.
Raphael opened his eyes and turned his head skyward. Rain pelleted his helmet's visor. Darkness began to curl its fingers around the edges of his vision. A chill started to snake its way up his spine like a cobra. His body started to go numb. This was it; the Nightwatcher's last ride. He had a good run. His only regret was that he was going out before he could tell Leonardo that he was sorry.
Raphael managed to whisper a quiet apology before his eyes slid closed. His head fell forward and his hand fell to the ground, landing in a pool of thick, crimson rain water. Off in the distance he heard someone yell his name. Whoever it was, they were too late.
Good-bye.
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