A/N: Guten tag! Thanks for all the reviews! They mean a lot to me :) Anyways, here's chapter ten! Hope you guys enjoy!

Same As It Never Was

Part One: Insanity

Chapter Ten: To Kill Somebody

Don took a deep breath in, wiping the blade on his scythe clean. If there was one thing he was starting to notice about himself, was that he never carried his work with him. Anything that would happen would have to be left where it happened, he could not carry that with him. Perhaps it was because at first it was like carrying the guilt with him, and he had to rid himself of it. Now though it did not matter, he did not care anymore. He had surely succeeded in very little time of not caring, of being able to bury any guilt that wanted to float around, deep inside of him. No longer did he hesitate, did he even think about what he was doing. There was no need. The things, for they were not people, that he kindly disposed of were parasites upon the earth. Parasites, as everybody truly knows, need to be taken care of. The worse the parasite, the worse the punishment. Few survived, and even fewer wanted to.

The papers called him a scourge, of course. The bounty on his head was high, he had never seen so many zeros for one person, if he could even call himself that. He was simply doing what he did best.

Turning his head swiftly, Don dropped to the ground. Swift, albeit quiet, footfalls pattered across the near rooftops. For all of his strength, for all the times he shunned fear in the face, there was nothing that he could have possibly predicted about what sent those quivers through his body. He had thought he was ready to face them, but even their silent sounds put terror in what he had left of a heart.

No longer were jokes being thrown in there, no longer were they pushing and shoving each other around as they should. They were much to quiet for their own good.

Creeping closer, he kept his eyes glued on them. All their faces, even little Mikey's, were hard and grim, their mouths pressed into thin lines. Leo looked liked he had lost weight, while Raph seemed to have bulked up. Mikey was pale, his eyes have lost thier luster long ago.

Leo signaled for them to stop, and they did. He seemed to pause, as if trying to decide what to do. "We have to find him," His voice was low, his stance pathetic.

"No," Raph snorted. "We have to stop him. By all means necessary."

Mikey whimpered slightly, clutching his nunchaku close. "Guys...I don't think..."

Leo turned to face his closest brother. "We're not going to-"

"Kill him? Leo, have you read at all what he's done?! It has to be put to a stop!"

"He is our brother! You cannot expect me to-"

"I didn't say you had to."

The silence seemed to echo. Mikey was cowering, even though the fight had been short, it had not lacked in intensity. Don knew exactly what they had meant, exactly who they were talking about. None of them seemed pleased by the situation, but they weren't against it either. His own brothers...oh well, it wasn't anything he wasn't going to eventually do to them.

A smirk threatened to spread across his lips. This was certainly one interesting game. But who would win first? Would he be the hunter or the hunted? Only time could tell.

The shadows around his brothers seemed to shift, and Don scowled. He wasn't having the Foot ruin his plans now, he was to far into them. They knew not to mess with him, but them? Leonardo? Raphael? Michelangelo? Apparently they were fair game to everyone, and that was something he would not allow.

His brothers' skills may have been good at one point, but they had seriously declined in the past weeks...or months. It wouldn't even be difficult, but if it wasn't fun, what was the point? No, Don wanted to do things his way, and nobody was going to stop him.

Slinking right alongside the shadows, Don wondered if he should just knock the careless ninja out, or slice his throat. Either would be acceptable solutions, but which one would be the best?

It took only mere seconds for the blade to slide ever so gracefully across the man's throat. His strangled gasps did not affect Don, in fact the sound pleased him. Thick, red blood dribbled down onto his arm, and he sneered. The man slumped forward, right in front of Don's brothers. Their shocked looks as the rest of the Foot scattered, and the realization that Don did in fact just save them did not seemed to register. They did recognize the signs, and Mikey almost took off right there. His bottom lip quivered, but Leo and Raph stood on either side of him. They were protecting him, even though they never protected Don. Or at least...never tried like they were now.

A small growl erupted from the back of Raph's throat. They were aware of his presence, but the previous conversation seemed almost forgotten. The goal of killing their brother was only in the back of their minds- surviving right now was first and foremost.

Despite the situation, this was not how Don wanted everything to end. No, he was adamant about going by his plan. But seeing the clear contention by his brothers, he may want to wait a little. Divide and conquer, Abraham Lincoln said. His plan would work so much better if he just bided his time...let them fall apart...and them tear them apart from the inside. It's what they did to him, and now he was going to let them feel his pain.

Slipping away, Don knew it would be a long time before he would see his brothers again. He would keep an eye on them, yes, but get this close? No, not like this. Not again, not for a long time. Not until he was ready to face them, and ready to take them out once and for all.

Watching them disappear into the sewers, Don knew they were already defeated. They knew they were already defeated. But defeating someone and breaking them were two completely different things. And Don's intention was to break them. Break them to the point where he was, where they would embrace death, but could not accept it. Where they would shun their family, and be ready to tear each other apart given the chance. His entire evolution was like yeast, or cancer. Just a little bit of it would change everything, tear them apart, slowly but surely. But first it would expand and cause unimaginable pain, making the body, the family that was left, to suffer in it's wake. And when that happened...well, they would all be like him. Alone, desperate for each other, but unable to be one of them. Distant, but keeping a close eye on all.

Time was on Don's side. Time would be like putting salt on a wound, rubbing it, irritating it, until it would finally be too much. He would just have to wait, be patient. That was one of life's biggest trials- waiting. But it was one he had conquered, among other things. Life couldn't throw anything at him that he could not take. It was one of the privileges of outside of anyone else.

A smirk spread across Don's lips as he heard the echoes of another argument. He wouldn't have to wait to long. All he had to do was calculate the variables of Raphael's rising temper, Leo's complete falling apart, and Mikey's withering personality. He could only imagine what state Splinter was in.

A part of him sighed. Why did he feel like he was going to regret all this? Why couldn't he stomach the thought of destroying those who destroyed him? It was the weak part of him, the part that surfaced every once in awhile. The part that tried to bring back his conscience. But it wasn't going to work. He already wasn't going to allow sentiment to reach into him, he was never going to feel again. He couldn't bear the pain, nor the guilt. He couldn't think about love, because it was something he did not deserve. He never deserved anything, but then again, nobody else did either.

Trudging back to the shack that he called home, Don mulled over what had occurred. He had the perfect chance to take them out, to see the fear etched on their faces, but he didn't. Why? Was he scared? Or was he really sticking to his plan? He was not scared, never scared. He could never be scared, because fear would be his downfall. And Don would never fall. It wasn't in his nature...

It's not in your nature to kill. It's not in your nature to take revenge. Nothing you are doing is in your nature.

Don clenched his jaw. The sappiness was starting to get to him. He needed to go kill somebody before he broke down. Anybody would do...he just had to kill somebody.

A/N: So, Don is still torn (and at this rate will always be). And now he's turned to killing people to help him cope. Wow...what an interesting concept. Anyways, tell me what you think! I would love to hear from you!