I know you guys were practically begging for another cliffhanger, so I wrote this chapter. ;)

In all actuality, though...I had an idea of what I wanted to do for this chapter, and then I forgot it. So it took me a while to write this. Sorry.

Chapter Fourteen: Nee

I don't know how long I sit there on the cold marble, completely numb to what's going on around me. Kaneko is dead. I failed my parents.

I failed myself.

Pain shoots through my head and I whimper, squeezing my eyes shut. All my fault. All my fault. I'm not physically damaged – with the exception of my head, at least – but my chest and heart ache so fiercely right now that it feels like I'm dying.

After a long time of staring at nothing, something pierces through the haziness of my mind. A noise. It sounds familiar. Almost like-

Suddenly I place it. My eyes widen and my head snaps up. Mikey!

And there he is, tied to the same posts Kaneko was lashed to not hours before. He's been stripped bare of everything, allowing Tiger Claw the perfect access to any and all green flesh on his arms and legs. The cruel, barbed whip tears into Mikey's skin and he screams again, jerking forward.

I let out a scream of my own, yanking against the chains holding me to the floor. "No! Leave him alone!"

"Is this not what you wanted?" comes a taunting voice. Shredder descends the steps from his throne, walking closer to me. "A life for a life? An even exchange?"

"Let him go," I beg. My voice cracks and tears trickle down my cheeks. "Please, let him go. He didn't do anything to deserve this."

"He is an abomination. That is reason enough."

"I'm the one you want, Saki. Just let him go and you can do whatever you want with me."

At that the warlord turns, hate surfacing in his expression. "You think I want you, after all the trouble you've caused? No, girl. I want nothing but to make you watch this, the greatest and worst of your triumphs."

Snap. Another pain-filled scream, echoing through my very bones.

A half-sob tears from my mouth and I close my eyes again, bowing my head. I'm so sorry.

After some time, Mikey falls silent. Either he's unconscious or...no. I won't let myself think that. Shredder orders him to be released and dragged from the room.

"Take him to Stockman."

I can do nothing but stare helplessly as they haul him away. He's bleeding from so many places that it leaves a trail of red on the floor.

Shredder turns his attention to me once again. But this time, there's a smile on his face. "I must say, han'nin. As much of an annoyance this whole ordeal has been, I did get one of Hamato Yoshi's disciples out of it. So I suppose I should thank you for that." He leans in close, his eyes inches from mine. "Let me show you my gratitude."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, I know what's about to happen. But I can't stop it.

Slowly, so slowly, my gaze travels down to the shining metal embedded in my gut. A hot, burning pain spreads through my abdomen, overtaking everything else. My vision darkens.

They say that in your final moments, your life flashes before your eyes. That isn't true for me. All I see is Mikey's anguish-ridden face. All I feel is regret.

"Thank you," Saki hisses, pulling his gauntlet out in one fluid motion. Without the support of his arm, I sag towards the ground. My cheek lands on the marble floor that's quickly becoming red with my blood.

There's a ringing in my ears as he leaves the room. I can feel the life draining from my body, as surely as Leo knew Splinter was alive after the Invasion. The irony of it all strikes me and my weary chuckle comes out more like a hacking cough. All this time I lived serving evil, and I'm cut down when I try to do something good.

You deserve all this. Every moment of it.

Yes, this I know to be true. Despite what Mikey told me, there was no way I could get off scot-free after everything I'd done. I just...didn't think my end would come so soon. But I can feel Death reaching out towards me, coming to claim me as his own.

I don't want the last thing I see to be the blood-soaked marble before me. It takes a few minutes of agony until I've shifted enough to see out the cathedral windows. And there, in a sky normally filled with smoke and clouds, are the stars. They gleam, winking down at me, and a voice echoes in my mind from long ago.

"It's so dark outside, Mama. I'm scared."

"You have nothing to fear from the dark, my love. Were it not for the dark, we could not see the stars. And look at them, Nisshoku. Look at how they shine for you."

Tears trickle down my cheeks again. There's a lump in my throat that I try to swallow down as I stare out at the skyline.

It's comforting in a way, this peace that's slowly overtaking my body. This strange numbness that blocks out the pain and noise around me. Wait...noise? The throne room is empty. Isn't it?

I force myself to concentrate, and the sound slowly becomes clearer. "-ikey? Mikey, where are you?!"

Donnie.

They're here.

A groan escapes my lips as I struggle to sit up. The noise brings them running, and they're at my side in seconds. "Nee," Donnie gasps. "Oh my Kraang."

"S-Sorry," I manage as he raises my head. "Failed h-him..."

"Who? Failed who?" Leo asks, kneeling next to me. His cobalt eyes are wild with fear. "Where's our brother?"

"They t-took him...b-brain worm...Shredder is going to take c-control of his mind." Red-hot fire travels up my throat and I cough, sending blood spattering on the floor. Once I can speak again, I grasp Leo's arm. "He's h-hurt, Leo. Really bad. They-"

"All right," the blue-banded turtle cuts me off. "Donnie?"

"Let's get her back to the Lair first, then come up with a plan."

Wait, what? I must be woozy from blood loss. Did they just say they were taking me back to the Lair? "Thought...you guys...h-hated me."

Leo presses his lips together and it's a second before he replies. "You're the only one who knows this place inside and out. You have the information we need to rescue our brother. Anything else can wait until he's safe and sound again."

Donnie takes a towel out of his bag and presses it to my stomach, then picks the lock on my wrists. He picks me up gently and holds me against his plastron. "Leo, you scout ahead. Raph, cover our six."

By the time we get outside, the towel is soaked through with blood and I'm losing feeling in my body. The world tilts a little as Donnie takes another leap across a gap. "How you holding up?" he asks, keeping his eyes on the rooftops ahead.

"Been better." I lean my head on his shoulder and close my eyes, but he shakes me to get my attention.

"Don't go to sleep," he orders. "You have to stay awake."

"'M tired," I slur.

"I don't care. You can sleep when we get to the Lair."

Suddenly, Leo lets out a shout of warning. Donnie swears, clasping me tight against his chest. Then we're falling, falling, falling down into an alleyway. My head slams into something hard and unyielding.

And the world goes black.

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