The older Leo and Splinter had their hands full dodging the numerous claws protruding from the Shredder's exo-suit. With Splinter still injured, the older turtle found himself having to cover for his old master more and more.

Older Leo's mind kept replaying the death of his youngest brother. It wasn't supposed to work like that! He was the eldest. The leader! He had stood by while his younger brother died and could do nothing about it.

His helplessness consumed him and the Shredder knew it.

"One nuisance gone," he chuckled as a jagged claw clanged off of Leo's katanas. "And another on its way." Flicking his eyes to the still form of younger Leo.

"NO!" the old turtle yelled.

Laughing cruelly the Shredder easily parried his blades, while narrowly missing cutting Splinter's head off.

The old rat panted heavily. He was losing too much blood. The death of his dimensional son also weighed heavy on his soul, like a stone.

A clawed hand came flying down towards the wounded warrior, too tired to react in time.

***CLANG***

A wooden staff slammed into it, knocking the deadly blow off course. Donnie leapt in to stand before his wounded master.

"You won't touch a hair on his head!" Donnie spat, his eyes still lost in his all-consuming rage.

The Shredder stopped laughing. Facing three warriors such as these was not to be taken lightly, even if they were injured.

His face contorted into a snarl as he began his attack on the three ninjas.

…..

Karai was within range now. She had somehow lured the old Raph close enough to the Shredder without him realizing it. She would change everything here.

Raph still reeling from Mikey's death took another lunge towards Karai. The bitch had ruined everything. Ever since they first met her. Karai was a poison that had been slowly killing his family for years.

And now? She had succeeded in snuffing out the one ray of sun left in this messed up world.

Mikey.

Again he lunged, aiming at the soft flesh of Karai's throat. The female ninja gracefully sidestepped before landing a solid roundhouse kick on the older Raph's injured arm.

The old terrapin hissed as he fell to his knees. The pain was excruciating. Flipping the sai in his good hand he turned to defend himself, but was met with a terrifying sight. Karai had lifted the blaster once again and was aiming at Splinter, the older Leonardo, and Donnie.

"Not this time you bitch!" he screamed.

In a last ditch effort the old warrior launched himself at Karai, both hands armed. His mind pushing far beyond the pain.

Karai turned her head just in time to see the sai plunge into her chest. Her breath hitched as she felt the cold metal pierce her heart.

As she fell she tried to reach her hands to the bloody wound, but found her other hand had been pierced as well, pinned to the now damaged blaster.

Her gaze fell on the glow of the now exposed crystal. She knew what it meant. She closed her eyes as the resulting explosion enveloped her, and the red banded ninja.

….

The older Leo could feel the heat of the blast slam into him.

He also felt the strong and steady presence of his brother disappear.

"RAPHAEL! NO!"

Ducking away from the Shredder, he ran through the smoke searching desperately for Raph.

The acrid smell of burnt flesh reached his nose. Karai's corpse lay charred and blackened. Her blade fallen at her side.

Without stopping Leo pushed forward, suppressing a wave of nausea.

Where was his brother?

Pushing through the choking air, he found Raph facedown, the now sparking blaster only a few feet away.

Throwing down his weapons the old turtle gently rolled his brother over, placing a shaking hand on the still plastron of the red turtle.

"Raph! Raph! Please Raph, answer me!"

The warrior was met with silence from his once volatile brother. The pain of it all came crashing down on his bowed head. All those years of fighting. All those precious moments wasted. What he wouldn't give just to hear Raph call him "Fearless" one last time.

Beyond the use of words, Leo threw his head back and screamed in anguish.

….

The younger turtles were visibly shaken.

Mikey couldn't stop the tears streaming down his face, even in the midst of his battle. He had never heard a sound like the one Leo was making. It was one he was sure would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The young Raph found his anger disappearing, replaced with an ache so profound he gasped aloud. He had watched himself die. And he had watched it tear his oldest brother apart.

Desperately he reached out for something, anything that could ground him and bring him solace however fleeting.

Leaping back he came to stand next to the sobbing Mikey. It didn't matter that they were fighting the Foot Elite. Right now, all that mattered, was standing by his brother.

The two young ninjas fought shell to shell. Their grief and fear fueling their movements.

Donnie however, had frozen in place. Nightmares. Waking nightmares had come to him and the echo of the older Leo's cry cleaved his very soul in two. He had failed. He had come back to this dimension so sure this time would be different. This time he would save everyone.

"My son! Move!" the shaking voice of Splinter fell on deaf ears as Shredder swung a bladed hand towards the dumbstruck turtle. With a grunt the old rat managed to tackle Don, preventing the cruel blade from embedding itself in the purple turtle's chest.

They rolled to a stop just beside the broken blue warrior. Head hung low they heard him whisper, "He's gone…"