One week earlier...
The lair echoed with the bang of the elevator doors opening. Raphael walked into the lair, but only making it as far as the ramp before his legs gave out. He collapsed, chest heaving, fighting for breath. He reached up and pulled off his helmet, looking down at himself. His body was covered in blood. Some of it his own, some of it not. He vaguely heard footsteps come running across the lair towards him. Someone said his name, but it was distant and fuzzy.
He jumped when someone touched his shoulder. Raphael's head snapped upward, meeting concerned brown eyes within a purple mask. Donatello's expression said it all. Raphael lowered his head and closed his eyes.
"Raph, what happened?" Leonardo asked as he came running out of the dojo.
Donatello held up a hand towards his eldest brother, stopping the blue masked leader in his tracks. Raphael never realized his body was shaking. Donatello started giving orders, but he didn't hear what his brother was saying. All he could hear was the screeching of tires, the crunch of colliding metal. The lair was replaced with a city street. Two bikes lay in the middle of the intersection, the drivers lay a few feet away.
How could he have been so stupid? He should have been watching where he was going. And, now someone was dead because of him. Raphael jolted when something was wrapped around his shoulders. Donatello pulled the blanket tightly around his brother's trembling body.
"You'll be okay, Raph," he said.
"I'm a murderer," Raphael whispered.
Donatello and Leonardo looked at each other before turning back to their brother.
"Why do you say that?" Leonardo asked.
"I killed someone," Raphael replied, his voice low and hoarse.
"How?" Donatello wanted to know.
Raphael looked down at his hands. Blood stained, they looked as though he had butchered someone. The screeching of tires echoed through his memories again. The look of pure terror on the kid's face when they collided sent shivers shooting down Raphael's spine.
"Raph?" Donatello said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "What do you mean by you killed someone?"
"I...was..." Raphael shook his head. "I was in an accident. Kid ran a red light just as I came through. I t-boned his bike, we went flying. I walked away and he didn't."
He hung his head again, closing his eyes against the burning tears. Donatello and Leonardo looked at each other again. Leonardo turned and headed for the bathroom. A minute later the sounds of running water filled the lair. Donatello helped Raphael to his feet and guided him towards the bathroom. Leonardo was filling the tub up with warm water.
When the tub was filled, Leonardo took the blanket and helped Raphael into the steaming water. The brother in blue stayed by his sibling's side while Donatello went to get the first aid kit. The water was already starting to turn red as the blood began to soak off of Raphael's body. Leonardo gently washed the blood off of his brother. Raphael had fallen asleep. Leonardo looked up when footsteps shuffled into the bathroom. Worried blue eyes gazed down at the scene.
"Is he okay?" Michelangelo asked.
"He's fine, Mikey," Leonardo assured him. "He'll be fine."
"Donnie told me he was in an accident," Michelangelo said. "He said the other guy didn't make it."
"Apparently not," Leonardo confirmed.
Michelangelo moved further into the room. "Poor Raph," he whispered. "I can't imagine what he must be going through."
"We take care not to cause harm, but even we aren't immune to accidents," Leonardo said.
The brothers lifted Raphael out of the tub, dried him off and helped him upstairs to his room. Donatello met them upstairs and stitched up the wounds that needed to be stitched, wrapping others in heavy bandages. Leonardo took the first watch to make sure Raphael was okay. Reluctantly, Donatello and Michelangelo left the room to find something to keep themselves occupied.
Leonardo watched his red masked brother sleep, praying that he would be okay. Every now and then, Raphael would whimper in his sleep, possibly from a bad dream. Leonardo sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do to help. All he could do was be there for his brother, be a shoulder to cry on, or a punching bag. Whatever Raphael needed him to be. Leonardo took his brother's hand in his.
"You'll get through this, Raph," he whispered. "We'll help you through. You're not alone."
Deep within the darkness of his nightmare, Raphael felt something stir. He looked around for the source, but it was so dark he couldn't see his own hand that was mere inches from his face. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to wake up. But something kept him trapped, something didn't want him to leave. The darkness was crushing, suffocating. He could feel it pressing in all around him.
"Raphael," a voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness.
Raphael spun around, eyes wide. He knew that voice all too well. It was his voice, but with the metallic ring of the Shredder's.
"Raphael," the voice whispered again.
Raphael's eyes widened when two red eyes blazed from the pitch black. He stumbled back when the eyes ignited, illuminating the haunting form of the Shredder.
"No," the turtle breathed.
"You cannot run from me, Raphael," Shredder said, advancing on the turtle. "I am your destiny. Your fate. I am what you will become."
Raphael closed his eyes, forcing himself to wake up. "You're not real," he said. "You're nothing more than a nightmare."
He gasped when a strong hand suddenly grabbed him by the throat. His hands flew to the one around his throat.
"We will take what is rightfully ours," Shredder hissed. "All give in to their Demons. You and your pathetic brothers are no different."
Raphael cried out when Shredder began to morph into something otherworldly. It was a creature of pure metal. It opened its mouth and roared, exposing five rows of razor sharp teeth.
"I am what you will become, Raphael. You cannot hide from your destiny," the creature said. "Your bodies, your souls will be ours."
"I'm nothing like you," Raphael choked.
"The Demons shall inherit your world," the creature declared. "Your souls are ours."
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