A/N: I'm so excited! Only 22 reviews away from 100 reviews! Thank you so much guys! I really hope you like this chapter. I kind of ended it with a cliffy :D

Same As It Never Was

Part One: Insanity

Chapter Fourteen: All Your Fault

Don sighed as he gazed out over the city. It was bustling as it was supposed to, never taking a moment's rest. Every single was person was busy, carrying out their lives as they always seemed to, day in and day out. The night didn't make them slow up at all, and in fact only brought out the worst in people.

The wind blew peacefully though, almost in an ironic way. With as busy as everyone seemed to be, it was the simple things that mattered. Like a quiet breeze, or the discovery of a new life.

That's why he was out here. The family he had been staying with for so long discovered that they were going to be adding to their clutch. Merry said it meant that they were going to have four kids now, but it only made Don turn away.

He hated to admit that he had let himself get close to them. He had grown to know each of them on a personal level, and he did consider them his family. But in all that, he had forgotten that they were trying to raise their children, their own flesh and blood, and he had gotten in the way. They may trust him, and he may trust them, but he was to dangerous.

How long had it been since he had moved in with them? It had been after his birthday, but before winter had set in. Summer had come and gone now, and Don couldn't believe how fast the time had gone by. How many had gone without any bloodshed. The story of the Dark Turtle had died down, and no one knew where he had gone. Just as easily as he had struck, he had vanished, leaving no clues.

Well...that had changed tonight. Something inside him snapped because he knew what had to be done. The monster was not happy with the decision he had made, with the fact that he knew he had to leave. And so it hunted once more...

Turning around, Don could only shake his head at the sight of fallen bodies. Blood was splattered on the ground, and not one of the Purple Dragons was left alive. It truly was a gruesome sight, one that Don did not entirely remember. The creature had taken control, and he had blocked out the pain and grotesqueness of what it would do.

One of men had been split open, his organs littering the rooftop. Don could feel the heat as it seemed to seep out of the still warm body parts. It made him want to vomit, the sight, the stench, the mere thought that he had been the cause of it.

Another gang member's chest had been crushed, and the sound of bones crunching echoed in Don's ears. He could still hear the man's screams, and he could still feel the remorseless hatred burning inside of him. But as his adrenalin settled, and the monster curled back up into the shell it called home, Don began to shake. This wasn't him. He wasn't a killer, he was a builder. An inventor. But it was too late for him...he murdered these people in cold blood, something he had never thought himself capable of. But here he was, practically knee deep in their own fluids.

Sighing, he walked away as silently as he had come. He wanted time to think, he needed time to think. It was something he was allotted so little of...in his own mind. It was a battle to live as he was now, but just as he had lost control, and those people had lost their lives, the same could happen to any of the people he lived with now. And the thought them dying at his hand was too much to bear. He would rather commit seppuku right here, right now, if they were going to die because of him.

How long would he wait though? Would he not go back tonight? Would he have a long farewell? Would he write a note and disappear into the sunset? He had so many choices, and he hated making them. He always failed as making choices before, why did he have to now? Why did their lives hang in the balance? Why did this have to be so much like before? Why?

That single question...it was a curse. All his life had been was questions, and that was something the word hate couldn't even describe. He loathed that, he despised it. He wasn't himself any longer, he was just...existent. He didn't believe in what he did, he didn't even like it. It no longer satisfied him, because it never truly had. Killing had been the monster's thing, and it still was. But it wasn't him, and it never would be.

Merry said she was shocked to find out how far along she was. Twenty weeks, already half way through her pregnancy. In twenty more weeks their child would be born...but it would never meet Don. It needed a life of security, of stability. It did not need a man killing mutant living in its house, it needed safety. And that was why he had to leave. To make sure their family was safe.

Glancing down at himself, Don knew he had to get cleaned up before going back. If either Harold or Merry saw him like this...well, the questions would rise again, and he avoided that like the plague.

Slipping into some person's apartment window, Don locked the bathroom door and turned on the shower. It seemed whoever was home was either not paying attention, or assumed that it was someone familiar using their bathroom. Whichever the case, Don was thankful for the peace.

With his skin soaking wet, Don flew across the rooftops, staying far clear from the bodies. It made his trip longer, but it was definitely worth it. As he neared his temporary home though, something red caught his eye. The bouncing head of his hot headed brother was bounding just a street away, but Don could feel the anger coming from him. Whatever had happened wasn't very pretty, and it had caused something drastic.

It would be highly unwise to approach Raphael at this moment, but Don felt drawn to his brother. It had been months since he had last seen him, and he longed to be in his company once more. Although...the last time he had seen him, it had not been so pleasant.

It did not matter. Raphael represented some form of stability he had ages ago, something Don craved for. Maybe...just maybe...no. He could not even fathom it, no matter what he wanted.

Glancing back up, Don realized he had lost Raphael. His brother was gone, and who knew how long it would be before he would see him again.

Something slammed up hard against him, banging him against the rooftop shed. Fists pounded his face, and Don recognized the fighting style. Grabbing his brother by the wrist, Don flipped him hard onto to his shell. "I don't want to fight you Raph!"

The red banded turtle jumped to his feet, pulling out his sais. "A year Donatello! It's been a year since you left!"

Don blinked. A year? A year had passed already?

"We know what you were doing! It's not right! You...you killed people!" Raph was boiling in an anger rage. "How could you?"

Lifting his hands up to surrender, Don's shoulders dropped. "I know Raph...I...I don't know..." Looking into his brother's eyes, Don bowed his head, signaling that he was ready for whatever punishment he deserved.

"Donnie?" That one word, despised by the monster, but welcomed by Don flooded his sense. His brother recognized him.

"A lot has happened since...well...everything."

Raph's face flushed. "A lot has happened," Clenching his hand into a fist, he posed to strike. "And it's all your fault!"

A/N: Thanks for reading! Could you please review? I accept anonymous ones in case you didn't know :D But again, double, triple, quadruple thanks