"I. Hate. You."

He had said it with a smirk, hoping for the words to be as sharp as poison. But somehow, the tables have turned and that very poison was destroying him, bit by bit, tearing his heart and soul into a millionth of the size of shattered glass. And yet, this was only the beginning.

(In the kitchen)

"Hey, I wonder what's wrong with Donny," Mikey said, curious as he chewed on his slice of pizza.

Nah, he said it was just a nightmare. Even Don has fears, Mike," Leo said, brushing off the question.

Raph shook his head silently – this wasn't the first time Splinter Jr. was oblivious to something.

"Leo, can't you see? Don's acting all jumpy. He's the reasonable type and never once had he let a nightmare get to him. Which just proves that this time is different! Something's wrong," Raph said.

"Well," Leo started his argument. Mikey, not wanting to hear their petty 'discussion' on the matter, picked up his plate of pizza and left the kitchen abruptly. As he neared his room, his oldest brothers' voices fade away but he could hear whimpers coming from Don's room. Curious, he knocked on Don's door before pushing it open gently, only to find that he's brother had fallen asleep again, but it wasn't peaceful. Tears streamed down the genius turtle's face as he whispered in his sleep. Mikey could hear him say 'No'.

(the dream)

"Leo? Mikey?" Don asked, wondering why his brothers were kneeling in the middle of the dark, their faces sullen.

"What do you want?" Leo asked, spiteful.

"Get lost, murderer," Mikey added bitterly.

"What…what did I do?" Don whispered, disbelieving. Why'd Mikey call him that? Why was Leo angry at him?

Suddenly, the last turtle appeared out of thin air. Parts of him were getting blown away slowly by an icy breeze. Don reached out a hand but he couldn't feel his brother. He was but a soul.

"Ýou…"´the soul said, right before the ground below Donny shattered like fragile glass and he fell heavily onto the ground far beneath.

"…killed me," the spirit continued.

Suddenly, all was dark and Don couldn't see his own hands. Raph's Brooklyn accented voice boomed throughout the never-ending darkness.

"You. You told me I should just kill myself."

"No…"

"That if I'd even think of killing Leo, I should just kill myself…attempt suicide. You didn't even know the whole story! So I did what you told me, murderer. But it wasn't just an attempt, now was it?"

"No! Please stop!"

"Did you stop when you said all those things about me? Well, did ya? No, you didn't…"

"Stop!"

"Why should I? Or a better question, why didn't you? Why didn't you stop when you called me a murderer, when you told me I should just kill myself? Or how about when you claimed I wanted to kill Leo for my own sake, not because I wouldn't want to deny my brother's death wish? So why should I stop?"

Don tried to stand up, he felt too tired - every part of him was aching. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. It was almost as if he was being held down by a million steel chains.

"Please! Raph! You said you forgive me! What happened to that? Why are you doing this to me? Stop it, please!" Don cried out, tears streaming down his face.

Don heard footsteps. Leo and Mikey! They neared him, looked in his direction, but only for a few seconds. Both shaking their heads, they walked away, leaving their pained brother lying on the ground, hopeless. Don listened as their footsteps faded away.

"Oh, and guess what?" Raph's voice echoed through the darkness.

"I hate you."

Don could almost hear him smiling as he said that. He felt trapped, unable to move or snap himself out of the hellish dream.

"Please…WAKE ME UP!" he yelled, fear of the whole nightmare engulfing him.

And when he least expected it, a sudden warmth jerked him back into reality. His eyes snapped open to see that his baby brother was hugging him.

"Hey, Mikey…what are you doing?" Don asked, hoping that he hadn't screamed while he was asleep.

"C'mon, Don. It's obvious you were having a nightmare," Mikey said, releasing his hug. Don smiled at his brother's kind gesture.

"I, of all people, should know what it's like to have a nightmare!" Mikey said smirking. "So I know how it feels to wake up alone," the turtle continued.

Don was shocked that his brother, the joker, had said such thoughtful words. Taken aback, the genius just smiled at his brother, but his smile was a curtain, closing a million tears from the world.