Raphael leapt onto another rooftop and glanced around quietly, unsure of his surroundings. The Heaven Star hung from its chain around his neck. He crouched down and lifted his hand, revealing a small case filled with water. "Where is it?" He asked under his breath, the anxiety of the situation was wearing him down.
The water rippled in the small hexagonal case and Raphael listened as his brother's voice reached him.
"North. Two hundred feet."
Raph nodded and tucked the water back into his belt before gripping the edge of the rooftop and vaulting over a busy street to land in a run on the adjacent roof. His breaths came out in even puffs as his legs pumped tirelessly underneath him. His bare feet smacked against the concrete, occasionally splashing into small puddles.
He glanced up at the sky; several stars glowed and almost hummed with music as they vibrated wildly. He turned his attention back to the task at hand and leapt again, landing in a roll and rising to his feet in a run. He needed to focus on saving his brother and getting the Heaven Star to Leo. He didn't know what Leo would do with it, and he didn't care at the moment. Leo was alive and Raphael knew where he was. That was all that mattered.
Another morsel to feed my appetite?
The red masked terrapin froze, skidding to a stop. He whirled around anxiously, his eyes sparking red for a moment. He was alone on the rooftop. Raph took a step back and glanced around suspiciously. Was this a side effect of being a Contractor? Hearing voices? Raph shook his head, clearing his head. "Focus, Raphael. Leo needs you." Raph muttered lowly. He turned around; facing the rooftop access door to the six-story hotel he stood on. Mikey had told him two hundred feet. He wasn't counting, but he knew what two hundred feet felt like during a run.
He lifted the case of water. "Mikey, is this it? Leo's in here?"
He was met with silence. Raph frowned and glanced down at the water. "Mikey? Hey, are you gonna answer me?"
"I don't quite believe he will. Raphael, is it?" A melodic male voice questioned from behind Raphael.
Raph whirled around sharply, his gaze narrowing to slits at the sight of December 22 sitting comfortably on a lawn chair. "What the hell's that supposed t'mean ya' ass hat?"
December made a face that one might make at a pouting child as he stood up and brushed dust off his coat. "Now that is quite colorful language, Raphael. You should know that you possess something which I would very much like to have. Relinquish the Heaven Star and I may feel inclined to not harm your precious baby brother."
Raph tensed at that and clutched the pendant tightly with one hand. He had only just left Mikey back at the lair. There was no way that this British Contractor could have found him in that short amount of time. "You're lying outta your ass." Raph challenged him.
December chuckled at that but quickly sobered and leveled an even glare on Raphael. "You presume much, child, and your rogue charm is wearing thin on my exhausted patience. My hunter has already found your Doll brother and rooted him out. He is a specialized Contractor I specifically handpicked for the occasion. He is skilled in the way of finding Dolls, as well as the way of ending them."
Raph swallowed uncertainly.
"You don't believe me? Call on your Doll again."
Raph glanced down at the water filled case in his hand. He glanced back up at December and his gaze narrowed to slits before sparking red. "Give me a reason t'not kill your tea-sipping-ass."
December only adjusted his tie, obviously very calm with the entire situation. "Your brothers are going to die should you fail to cooperate. The Wraith is already broken, all we need do is let him die. The Doll is unprotected and very vulnerable. Do you think either of them dying is worth keeping a silly pendant? My hunter is under orders to kill your Doll should you fail to relinquish it, or should I fail to report in a manner of five minutes." December purred softly in contentment, finally having the edge over his opponents. Raph glared him down silently.
Mikey had said that the Heaven Star was dangerous beyond all measures, and it had to be taken directly to Leo to be dealt with, but these were his brothers at stake. His brothers always came first. The world be damned to hell. He'd had enough of the world coming first. He just wanted his brothers.
Raphael released a breath and tore the pendant from his neck, holding it out to December. "Take the damn thing and give me my brothers. If you fucking go back on yer' word, I'll make sure you're breathing through a straw in your ass fer' the rest of your fucking life." Raph snarled.
December smirked and strode forward, plucking the Heaven Star from Raph's grasp. "Of course, I am a man of my word, Raphael." He said as he walked past the turtle. He paused for a moment and turned his head to glance at Raph. "But then, I am a man of my word." He reiterated as his eyes sparked red.
Raphael burst into flames. He issued a pained cry as December turned and continued on his path back to his hotel room. His shoes clicked through the small puddles as he walked to the roof access door, ignoring Raphael's pain induced cries.
He glanced up momentarily and smiled for a moment. "There, now, my dear. I haven't forgotten about you, August." He said softly as he opened the roof access door and closed it behind himself. "I could never forget about you." He said under his breath and his hand tightened over the Heaven Star as he walked down the stairs to his hotel room.
.,.,.,.,.,.
Michelangelo sat on a chair in the kitchen, staring down at his feet. He blinked slowly. His gaze rose to the table top where a glass of water sat in front of him. He moved his hand out to touch the water only for his wrist to be gripped tightly. He glanced up to see a figure made entirely out of Doll energy gripping his wrist. It was a Doll hunter, Mikey knew that much. He'd only ever met one before and Leonardo had dealt with it swiftly. He knew it was a specialized Contractor who could sniff out Doll energy and who absorbed the very same energy to kill the Dolls. They operated remotely, much like Dolls, and could contain the Doll energy to work as physical weapons.
Mikey bowed his head low again and stared at the floor. His brother couldn't save him this time. A tear formed in the corner of his eye and streamed down his cheek to drop on his lap. He smiled softly.
He couldn't save Leo either. His eldest brother was dying. Leonardo was in pain, lots of it. Michelangelo didn't dare try reaching out to Leo. It was too dangerous for the both of them.
Mikey's shoulders tensed for a short moment before falling back in place.
Leo was going to do it this time, and Mikey felt sorry for his older brother for shouldering that burden. After everything, it was going to end abruptly. The orange masked turtle glanced up at the humanoid figure formed of Doll energy. He could feel it. He was going to die too.
He was going to die, but hell be damned if he was going to die alone.
"Raphael?" Lumen echoed. He glanced at Leonardo. "Your brother?"
Leo licked his bloody lips. "He probably found out that I'm still alive." He broke into a coughing fit, raising his arm to catch the blood that came with the coughs. He shook his head with a groan.
"That changes nothing." Lumen said.
"It changes nothing." Leo agreed.
"You told me about the Heaven Star, but why carry the Hell Shard?" Lumen asked as he moved to a table, lifting the red object with the sleeve of his robe, careful not to burn himself with it.
"To destroy the Heaven Star."
"Destroy it?" Lumen asked incredulously. "Why destroy it?"
"To end it all before it begins. The Heaven Star needs to be destroyed."
"That's a cryptic answer." Lumen argued.
"Do you want to follow your God or not?" Leo rasped sharply with narrowed eyes.
Lumen frowned and looked away. "Yes, I do. But for all I know, this could be a ruse. It's not very believable as it is."
"A magic man in the sky who grants wishes is?" Leo retorted in a calm tone.
Lumen shot him a glare.
"I was there when the Heaven's Gate collapsed. I know exactly what the Gate feels like and the Heaven Star has that same aura. Think about it. Why didn't anyone want the Heaven Star before the Gate collapsed? It was a minor artifact of little importance at the time. No one thought of it as more than a curiosity."
Lumen looked away, mulling it over.
Leo relaxed against the wall with a sigh. "Don't you want to be the good son before you die?" He asked in a more subdued tone. "Make up for being what we are? For doing what we do? Even if it is a long shot-isn't it worthwhile to believe we can make things right?"
Lumen glanced back at Leo. "You speak as if you care."
Leo coughed again and grimaced. He shrugged his shoulders. "Who's to say I don't? When death rears its ugly head in your face, you'll probably care too."
Lumen frowned and tugged at the cross around his neck as he thought Leo's words over. He sighed and glanced down at October.
"Should the Heaven Star activate, it will kill all humans. Why should that bother me? Perhaps it is the final Judgement."
"So your precious god's chosen people are the Contractors?"
The monk's mouth twitched at that and he looked away. "Where is Raphael?" Lumen asked the Doll at his side.
"Dead or dying, as he deserved it. Either way that is none the matter, Lumen." Came the melodic voice of December 22 as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind himself. "Your brother Raphael had much to learn in the way of Contractor deals. He left out the part where he lives." December commented as he tossed the Heaven Star from hand to hand. "It's a shame really, had you just given me the Heaven Star from the get-go, he never would have been involved in the first place."
Leonardo tensed at those words and a stab of pain impaled his chest. He screwed his eyes shut at the words. Raphael. Dead. He didn't doubt December, the man was a talented and skilled Contractor, but he had thought that his own sacrifice would have saved the red masked turtle enough time to survive. He could have sworn that the abilities given to Raphael would have kept him alive. The Heaven Star in December's hands was proof enough of Raphael's death. Leo only hoped that his brother's death had been quick. Leo cursed himself silently for dragging Raphael into the situation.
December glanced from Lumen to Ravage's unconscious body. He raised a brow at Lumen. "What's going on here?"
Leonardo released a heavy breath and cracked his eyes open. He could sense the Heaven Star's power even without being a Contractor. He glanced at December and eyed the Heaven Star.
Leonardo's eyes turned to Lumen. The monk caught the glance and turned to face December.
"I've learned to care." Lumen commented. His pupils sparked red and a shard of light speared through December's chest instantaneously. December grunted once and dropped to one knee. He bowed his head low and his hands fell to the ground, supporting his body. The Heaven Star clattered out of his hands and bounced along the floor to rest at Lumen's feet.
The monk stood strong. "I'm not going to apologize, December. It had to be done." He said calmly and the spark of red faded from his eyes. December coughed blood and trembled. He glanced up at Lumen with a knowing look and chuckled lowly. He shook his head and dropped his brilliant bright eyes back to the floor. Blood dripped from his lips and streamed down his chin.
"That's quite alright. I should have known you would turn away, Lumen." He said smoothly even with a hole punched through his chest and his lungs filling with blood. "You and your absurd Christian virtues... They're the death of me." He joked before coughing blood again.
Lumen watched quietly, not saying a word.
"Wraith, I apologize." December began. Leo turned his eyes to the Contractor in suspicion. "I can no longer fulfill my deal with your brother Raphael. I sincerely regret to inform you that Michelangelo will be executed within the next minute or two."
Leo stared at December, his eyes unreadable, but his jaw clenched tightly.
December grimaced and closed his eyes with a smirk, his body went rigid for a moment before going limp and still.
Lumen turned to Leonardo and glanced at the Hell Shard still in his hand. "I'm with you, Wraith, as long as this will stop the destruction and the murder."
"It won't stop those, just Contractors." Leo replied quietly, staring at the ground once more. Lumen frowned and opened his mouth to speak when the touch of October's hand on his interrupted him. He turned down to the child but her eyes were fixed on the wounded terrapin.
"Leo."
Leonardo glanced at October and winced as a sharp pain reverberated in his skull. A hauntingly familiar voice echoed softly through his mind and he shook his head. He shifted his broken body against the wall, wincing as pain flickered through his consciousness.
Lumen glanced from October to him. "Wraith," he began, but the voice in Leonardo's head drowned his words out.
"Leo."
Leonardo grimaced and closed his eyes, ignoring Lumen's questions.
"Michelangelo, what," he breathed, in utter shock that his brother was able to reach out to him.
"I wanted to say good-bye." Mikey's voice spoke softly.
Leo paused at that, remembering December's words.
"Mikey," he began.
"No. Not alone."
Leo wet his lips. "Mikey," he began again.
"Not alone." Mikey reiterated, and Leo could hear a strain of emotion behind the words.
"Michelangelo, don't," Leo rasped quietly.
"Do it for us."
"Wait," Leo started worriedly.
"I forgive you."
Leo opened his eyes slowly and quietly. He released a heavy breath and glanced aside, stiffening as his youngest brother's voice suddenly twisted into an unnaturally high octave before going quiet.
Leonardo stared at the floor. He glanced at October tiredly. The young child met his gaze with vacant eyes.
October nodded once. Leo nodded in reply and rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes again. He released a deep breath, brows furrowed, body tense.
Lumen bowed his head. He had sensed the Doll's death. He pressed the cross to his forehead in a quiet prayer, for both of the souls that had departed then. October pulled on his robes with one hand and pointed at the Heaven Star. Lumen lowered the cross and glanced at her. He turned his gaze to the pendant and knelt. Lumen lifted the Heaven Star and turned to Leo. He still held the Hell Shard with the sleeve of his robe. He watched Leo silently and decided that his task as a servant of God came over the terrapin's grief. "How does this work, exactly?" He asked.
Leo remained silent and dropped his gaze to his stunted right arm. He recalled his brothers. Mikey. Don. Raph. Dead, he had been too late. His efforts, at the end, were not enough. He could fix it, though. He still had one chance. He looked up at Lumen. "It won't be destroyed without the death of the Contractor who collapsed the Gate."
Lumen paused for a moment and turned to Ravage's unconscious body. "Ravage?" He asked, recalling the stories that the sadistic Contractor recounted.
Leo shook his head. "Me."
.,.,.,.,.,.
Raphael slapped at the flames that spread over his skin, his eyes sparked red of no control of his own. Consumed by flames, the gentle blue glow of synchrotron radiation outlined his body. He dropped the hexagonal case of water, and it snapped open upon impact with the concrete rooftop, breaking his connection with Mikey. He continued slapping at the flames, panicking as his mask tails caught fire.
Painful isn't it?
Raphael gripped his mask tails and cried out as his palms sizzled. His entire body burned painfully. He dropped to his hands and knees with gasping breaths. He should be dead now. He was being roasted alive.
She did try to fight back, but wouldn't use her ability, how pathetic.
Raphael's eyes snapped shut as he focused. Shadows leapt at his body from the darkness that surrounded him. They spun around him, whirling angrily and whipping the flames apart. Raphael heaved a sigh as the flames died. The shadows dropped back to their place as the red spark faded from his eyes. His chest heaved and his entire body felt irritated and sore.
He groaned as he rose to his feet, shaking his limbs as he did so. He popped his neck and sighed. The voice he kept hearing was grating and sounded arrogant. It sounded familiar, too, though he couldn't place it.
Raphael started towards the roof access door when he heard the sound of something scraping on concrete. He whirled around to face two male Contractors. One was a heavily muscled black male. The other was slimmer but Raphael could spot the tell-tale signs of a man who had seen many fights.
The terrapin tensed and his gaze sparked red.
"Looks just like Leonardo, huh?" Jack commented with his arms crossed in front of his broad chest.
Viktor shrugged his shoulders and his gaze sparked red. "He'll fall just like him too."
Raphael started forward only for snatches of images to flash through his mind. He fell back a step and braced himself on the ground. He stared at them in shock.
"Look, he's already tripping." Jack joked with a smirk.
Raphael shook his head; the images were too swift for him to make any sense of. He rose to his feet once more only to fall back again. A pained voice twisted into an impossibly high octave shattered his thoughts. Raphael's eyes went wide.
"No. Mikey. Not Mikey." He whispered.
Come closer, and it gets worse.
He rose to his feet, glaring at the Contractors. "You think this whole mess is fucking funny?! My brothers are dying around me and you fucks are laughing about it!"
A blade of shadow formed in Viktor's hand and Jack moved forward. Raph's eyes darted to the movement just as Jack's eyes sparked red.
Jack's eyes went wide and his muscles tensed. He issued a scream of agony, throwing his head back as his spine arched painfully. Viktor's stared and moved away from Jack's steaming body. The muscle-bound Contractor screamed again and clutched at his head before the sound of something snapping echoed loudly.
Raphael and Viktor braced themselves as something akin to a tangible and invisible physical force flew at them.
Jack's body dropped to the ground, his eyes rolled back and his jaw slack. A twinkling blue star fell from the sky.
Viktor stared at his partner's corpse before turning to Raphael with a horrified expression.
Raph's malevolent and glowing gaze was still narrowed to slits.
Viktor glanced back at the body and back to Raphael again. He had never seen a Contractor do that before. He'd never thought it possible to physically snap someone's mind—a body jumper's mind at that. The Russian tensed and took a step back.
You have more fight than anyone I've met yet. You fight because you have reason to.
Viktor turned and leapt from the building. Raphael turned and sprinted to the roof access door.
I'm going to take that reason from you.
.,.,.,.,.,.
Lumen turned and stared at Leo. "You're willing to kill yourself?"
Leo stared at the floor. "What's it worth? I'm already dying. Just about everyone I cared about is dead. Let's just end the dance while we're ahead."
Lumen nodded. "There's something I understand. Selfish desire. You don't want to be alone."
"I'm done being left behind." Leo admitted.
They were both silent for a moment. Leonardo released a heavy breath and turned his tired gaze to Lumen. "You need to kill me and shatter the Heaven Star together with the Hell Shard. I can't do it." He lifted his hand and waved his hand-broken fingers and all. Lumen nodded and strode forward, kneeling by Leo's side. He pressed the Heaven Star to the center of Leo's plastron, right above where his heart should be. Leo moved his hand and held the artifact in place with broken fingers, ignoring the pain.
"You'll have to use both hands to drive the Hell Shard into my heart. My plastron is pretty thick." Leo explained tiredly before coughing again. He wheezed and his body trembled under the stress of his wounds. He breathed in through blood flecked lips and nodded to Lumen. The monk wrapped both hands around the Hell Shard, wincing as it began burning his bare skin. He brought the artifact back, ready to drive it in with all of his strength.
The door to the room slammed open, hitting the wall and causing Lumen to whirl around. The monk slammed into the wall next to Leo. A hand wrapped around his throat with a vice grip and drove him into the wall. The Hell Shard dropped to the floor with a metallic thunk, rolling to rest at Leo's side. The former Contractor's glazed over pale hazel eyes turned up to Lumen's attacker.
Raphael, covered in dust, smelling of smoke, and looking slightly singed, stood with bared teeth, glaring at Lumen. Leo stared in shock and he drew in a rattling breath. Raphael was alive.
"You tried to kill my brother." Raphael snarled.
"He wanted it." Lumen barely managed to say as his hands wrapped around Raph's wrist and his feet fought for purchase.
Raphael slammed the back of Lumen's skull into the wall. "I don't care what he wanted. He ain't gonna die because of the likes of you."
"He agreed to sacrifice himself for the greater good!" The monk argued, straining against the death grip on his throat. Raph snarled and slammed him into the wall again. "There ain't any fucking greater good than him."
Leo stared at Raph, surprised by the outburst. He fought to get his tongue to move. "Raphael," he managed to say with a strangled breath. Raph glanced down at him with blazing amber eyes.
"Let him go." Leo breathed as he bowed his head low, his strength waning.
"Let him-Let him go?! He tried to fucking kill you!" Raph shouted, turning back to the monk and tightening his hand around the Contractor's neck.
"Under my request." Came Leo's breathy reply. "Let him go."
Raph glanced back down at Leo and seemed conflicted about the command. He finally gave a frustrated shout and threw Lumen on the ground; he balled his fists angrily and shook his head. He turned and knelt next to Leo.
Lumen rubbed his raw throat from his place on the floor and watched quietly.
Raphael cupped his brother's cheek and took in Leo's injuries with a sweep of his eyes. Leo looked broken. His body couldn't take any more of a beating. Raph swallowed. "We need to get you home, get ya patched up, and tucked in."
Lumen glanced up as October held a hand down to him. He took her offered hand and she helped him into a sitting position. His brilliant bright eyes turned to the two brothers. He could sense Leonardo's impending death. It would be soon. The former Contractor's body was worn down and broken. Lumen would let these two have their moment, so long as it did not interfere with the destruction of the Heaven Star.
Leo's glazed over eyes met Raph's and he shook his head slowly, too tired to speak at this point. He had used most of his energy trying to convince Lumen to kill him and destroy the Heaven Star.
Raph shifted in place and frowned. "I-no. Don't you do this to me, Leonardo. Sure you ain't looking like yer' usual prissy girly self, but you'll be fine. Just need a little pulling back together."
Leo's eyes turned down to his wrapped and stunted right arm. Raph' gaze followed and he swallowed hard at the sight. The bandages had turned dirty and red. A rivulet of blood dripped from the wrap to the bloodstained wooden floor. Leo's eyes met Raph's again and the younger turtle shook his head in denial.
"We've been through worse, Leo. You'll be fine."
Leo remained still, his pale eyes locked on Raph's, not needing to say anything. He eased his head back, resting against the wall again. He didn't have the energy to keep his head upright. His eyes fluttered shut then, betraying his tired body.
Raph looked away and he exhaled deeply. "You can't do this to me."
Leonardo's eyes were closed, but he listened and his chest rose with each rattling breath he took.
"How can you just leave me after this? It ain't right! You can't just leave me like this!"
Leonardo's eyes snapped open and captured Raphael in their pale orbs. He'd heard those words before, in a situation much like this, but not by Raphael's mouth. He swallowed uncertainly then and his hand pressed down on the Heaven Star, digging it into the center of his plastron. His anxiety was spiking. "Are you... are you in any pain, Raph?" He asked softly, sounding sixteen again.
Raph bit his lip. "Shut up, Leo. Don't be making jokes." He whispered bitterly.
Leo winced and shifted his body. "Not... a joke. Are you hurt?"
"A little crispy, but I'm fine. Don't worry about me, 'kay?" Raph assured him.
Leo exhaled and his eyelids fell over his glazed over eyes.
Raph glanced down at the ground and his shoulders shook as he laughed nervously.
Leo lifted his eyes to his brother and watched worriedly. "Raphael," he began weakly.
"It's nothing. I just realized this is the first time we actually got to talk without fighting. I-wow. Just our luck, huh, Leo?" He chuckled bitterly.
Leonardo suddenly cringed and bit back a whimper of pain. Raph immediately pushed closer. "Leo?"
Raph pulled his brother on his lap, holding him with one arm around Leo's shoulders. The former Contractor groaned and twitched in pain. "You're okay. You're gonna be just fine." Raph said softly.
"Raph," he began. "I don't have time or... the—the energy to explain... everything. I'll never be sorry... enough... for what I've done." Leo rasped as he trembled in Raph's arms.
Raphael wanted to cut in; he wanted to interrupt his brother. He didn't want to hear the apologies.
"But, I need... I need him to kill me. I need him to drive the Hell Shard through the Heaven Star and through me." Leo spoke in a whisper thin voice as he nodded his head in Lumen's direction. Raph shot a glare at the monk. "No."
"Raph."
"Damn it, no! Not him!" Raph snapped angrily. "It'll be me before I let anyone else even so much as look at ya funny! Fuck, why is there a need for this?!" Raph ended in a whisper.
"I don't have time to explain it, Raph... I'm in pain. Please let me die." Leo breathed.
"Screw death. I need you. You're all I've got left."
Leo stiffened at the reminder. He killed them. He killed all of them. But it wouldn't matter anymore. It wouldn't matter by the time he breathed his last. It was going to end soon. No more suffering for him or any of his brothers. He was going to make it the way it was supposed to be. He wet his lips as he spoke.
"It's going to be alright. It's going to get better. I promise. But I need... this needs to happen." Leo assured his younger brother. Raphael screwed his eyes shut and held Leo close.
Leonardo lay in Raph's arms silently. He watched several different emotions pass over his brother's face. He never wanted this for Raph. His brother was alone already, this was making it worse. Raphael bowed his head and sighed deeply, recognizing Leo's wish. His amber eyes met Leo's hazel ones.
"Just... just tell me one thing, and I'll do whatever the hell you want." Raph whispered in a broken tone.
Leo nodded once.
"Why did you come back when you did?" Raph asked in a way that Leo could almost hear the strain and pleading for the right answer from him.
The broken terrapin closed his eyes. "Someone broke through to me, and reminded me of why I chose this life... because of our family."
"Then why treat us like shit? Why didn't you give two shits about any of us when it came down to it?"
Leonardo's eyes snapped open and he glared fiercely at his younger brother. "I was cold, I was emotionless, and I was a hired killer. I did what I could. You can't have expected me to just start caring again when I didn't have the means to do it. I'm not going to even begin making excuses for my actions, but you should know that I have had my own demons to," Leo began before breaking into a violent coughing fit that wracked his body. He coughed and wheezed blood on his own plastron. Raphael only bit his lip and held his dying brother in his arms. He gently wiped the blood from the corner of Leo's mouth.
Leo's coughing subsided and he lay limply, looking pained and tired. "I'm not a good person, Raphael. I won't say that I had all of your best interests at heart, because I didn't. It's a year overdue, but I'm trying my best in making up for all the pain I gave you guys. I can only regret what I've done to our family."
Raph stared at his brother, not knowing how to react to his words. Leonardo had never looked so vulnerable and weak before. Raph swallowed numbly. He had thought Leo's words would give him the closure he needed. He was wrong, it had only made things worse. Leo noticed and smiled weakly. "I wish I had better things to tell you." He whispered.
Leonardo closed his eyes and relaxed in Raphael's grip, ready to embrace the chill of death. Raph closed his own eyes and mentally shut off, knowing what he had to do. "Then tell me it won't hurt you, Leo."
"It will. It will hurt a lot. I can't lie to you about that."
Raphael shook his head and bit his lip.
"What I can do... is promise that everything will get better. You'll see them again, soon." Leo murmured.
Raph stayed himself for a moment. "You said that before. What does that mean?"
"When it all comes to an end," Leo sighed deeply in contentment, the pain subsiding. "There will be so much to look forward to." He finished in a barely audible rasping whisper, smiling as he said it.
"That... that doesn't fucking make any sense. What the hell does that mean?" Raph asked, opening his eyes and staring at his brother.
Leo remained still, his chest barely moving as he breathed. Raph frowned.
"Leo?"
Leonardo was limp in Raph's arms. He made no movement or sign of hearing Raph.
"Leonardo, you better fucking answer me." Raph snapped bitterly as he shifted Leo closer, looking at his brother's face. Leonardo didn't answer him.
Raph's face fell and he looked away.
Lumen stared and balled his hands into fists before finally rising to his feet, speaking. "Raphael, he's almost dead, hasten yourself and kill him!" The monk ushered in a hiss of nervousness.
Raph shook his head and stared at his brother's serene expression.
"He's unconscious with seconds left of breath! He won't feel it! Don't waste our one chance to set it right! Do as he instructed!" Lumen shouted.
Raph screwed his eyes shut and lifted the Hell Shard, not feeling any burning from the artifact. He brought it down with an anguished sound. It broke through the pendant with the sound of shattering glass and through Leonardo's plastron with a sickening crack. Leonardo's eyes snapped open and his spine arched on reflex. His breath came out in a gasp and blood sprayed over Raph's hand and across his plastron. Leo's eyes rolled back and his body shuddered in Raph's grip.
Raphael pulled the artifact free and tossed the bloody object aside. Lumen watched silently, waiting for some strange phenomena to occur. He stared hard, searching for a sign before he shook his head. He turned away from the sight and took October's hand. He led her away from the bloody scene, to the door.
Raphael wrapped both arms around his brother and pulled him close. He trembled as Leo's limp body moved without the usual grace that had accented its every move. It was just a body. An empty shell. A bloodied and battered corpse.
Raph glanced down at his brother's face, eyes fluttering open weakly, hoping to see his brother ready to comfort him, to give him some last words, to say anything that could make Raphael feel better. Leonardo's mouth was slack and his eyes were wide open-staring up into nothing. Raph screwed his eyes shut and slid his free hand over Leo's eyes, closing them.
Raphael buried his face into his brother's neck and rocked back and forth as he felt the pain. Time hadn't slowed down enough for him to feel this when Don and Mikey died. The real pang of loss hadn't hit him. It hadn't hit him until the moment he finally had his older brother back-only to lose him just as soon after. The pain of being alone hit him. There was no one to comfort him this time. There was no one to really understand him.
He was alone.
He was actually alone.
"I can't, Leo." He whispered as tears burned at the corners of his closed eyes. His shoulders shook with the sobs that wouldn't leave his throat, catching each time he drew in a ragged and rattling breath.
"I can't do this alone."
Raphael heard a strange shrill sound and turned his gaze out the window of the hotel room. In the distance he could spot a strange shimmering light spreading over the horizon. It tore through buildings and scattered bricks and mortar as it pushed through the city. Raphael stared at its blinding brilliance and smiled for a moment as realization dawned on him. He chuckled and hugged his brother close.
A ringing sound began as the brilliance came closer. Raphael smirked and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall and holding his brother's corpse. The blinding light washed over him and he sighed in relief.
When it all comes to an end, there will be so much to look forward to.
A/N: *sighs deeply* Well, there's just an epilogue left. Man, I had this scene planned out for a while now and I still feel like it's really inadequate. Please review and tell me what you think. Hopefully it's not a disappointment, but if it is-please help me make it better by submitting some constructive criticism.
Thanks for reading and here's to another year of fanfiction.