Identity

"What?" Michelangelo exclaimed, dumbfounded.

He shook himself and immediately went to his knees next to Luna to search for her pulse. He would not normally doubt Donatello, especially in the field of medicine, but he just did not want to believe it. His questing fingers found nothing and his face hardened as he turned towards the God of the Underworld.

"You said you'd never hurt her!" Mikey accused.

Years of training stopped Leonardo from dropping his katanas but his hands shook as he sheathed the blades and turned to his beloved. His eyes filled with tears as he summoned his power; coating his entire body in blue. Before the others could blink, he was kneeling at Luna's side, his eyes closed in a silent plea. His hands over her heart.

Please... any god who might be listening... please...She is my light in the darkness, my voice in the silence, my reason for existence. Bring her back to me.

If there was even a spark of life left he was going to wake her. He didn't care if it took every iota of power he had; even if it killed him. He would gladly trade his life for hers.

Raphael stood frozen in place. His heart stuttered then shattered into a million pieces. His legs collapsed and he dropped to his knees. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't.

His brain kept protesting it was impossible even as a pain so intense it felt like the end of the world began in his core and radiated outward through his limbs. In it's wake, it left nothing but an intense aching void so vast that even his never ending rage could not fill it.

"No," Leonardo whispered.

There was nothing there for his power to latch on to.

"NO!"

This second denial was a roar, as Leo clutched her body to him

Donatello attempted to keep his hold on the god but Hades simply phased out of his hand and walked slowly across the room toward Luna. Don wrenched his bo around and slammed it into Hades back as he walked away; it bounced off leaving Don's hands smarting from the vibration.

Mikey's eyes blazed in anger as he placed himself between the approaching god and Luna.

"Don't take another step," Mikey growled low.

Hades paused, his eyes flashed over Michelangelo, assessing his unseen symbols.

"Brave," Hades muttered, "but also foolish, son of Yoshi. For I am not a lesser god restricted by the physical planes."

Hades body became translucent, his cloak of shades separated, and the pieces swirled all around the room.

"I am a sibling of Zeus and Poseidon," his voice thundered.

"We defeated the Titans and divided the world."

Hades form grew to twice his previous size.

"Zeus chose the overworld; it fulfilled his never ending lust for admiration."

His eyes began to glow.

"Poseidon took the sea; its powerful ebb and flow melding perfectly with his mercurial personality."

He raised his hands and his power pressed them all nearly to the ground.

"All that remained was the underworld, the forgotten realm, the land of souls.

I laid claim to that.

My brothers laughed thinking they had the better part of the bargain but in the end I have absolute dominion. For everything dies eventually- even the gods."

As Hades spoke darkness swirled out from his body into inky black clouds that oozed across the floor and began to fill the room, made all the more frightening by it's absolute silence.

Mikey got the feeling that he didn't want that nasty stuff to touch him. He backed away slowly toward where Leo sat with Luna cradled in his lap. Raphael did not move; he merely watched with dead, flat eyes as the darkness grew closer; bringing with it the silence of the grave. He didn't care. His spark had gone out.

Fina was not ready to give up. It made a piercing cry of protest and flashed down to form a shield that shimmered and chimed softly over the motionless Raphael holding back the dark silence that billowed threatenly all around him.

Sol moved to shield Leo and Luna as well but as the black clouds drew closer and Michelangelo flinched back it expanded to cover him too. Luna's consciousness might be gone but her soul would not allow harm to befall her family.

Mikey raised a hand affectionately to the blue glow over his head.

"Thanks Sol," he whispered gratefully, before suddenly realizing his other brother had no such protection.

"Donnie!" Mikey called in a panicked voice. "He's outside Sol's shield!"

Raph's head snapped up as Mikey's frightened call pierced his veil of despair. Donatello had backed himself against the far wall, one hand outstretched in front of him trying in vain to ward off something he couldn't touch. The other hand he held fisted behind his back.

Raphael started to move toward Don, bringing Fina with him to share it's protection, but he only made it a few steps before a pure silver light began to leak out of Don's closed hand. It highlighted Don's shell against the wall and the same celestial chime that Fina and Sol were making sounded loudly through the muffled silence of the cloud.

Raph stopped in confusion.

Hades smiled grimly as his sharp eyes examined Donatello.

"There you are, little goddess," he purred. "I knew you had not gone far. You could never leave your family in danger."

Hades clenched his fist and it was all over. The darkness disappeared as if it never was. Sol dissolved back into it's familiar form and Fina followed suit. Hades solidified, returned to his normal height, and waved a hand. Donatello was pinned to the wall arms outstretched.

"Now," Hades said calmly to Donatello, "whoever you are, whatever you are, release her so she can return to her family."

"What are you talking about, dude," Michelangelo said hotly. "That's Donatello, our brother. Luna loved him, so you better leave him alone."

"Actually, he's not your brother," Hades quipped with a lopsided smile. "He lacks the family markings the rest of you carry."

Leonardo raised his head slowly finally taking his focus from Luna's still face. He may have lost the love of his life but his responsibilities as a brother and leader would not be ignored.

"Are you saying Donatello is not a member of my clan? Because you are dead wrong." Leo said while climbing to his feet.

Leo's hands shimmered as he began to form a blue plasma bolt. His voice was lethal, as he continued to address Hades. "We will defend him."

"Commendable," Hades replied. "But unnecessary."

Hades snapped his fingers and glyphs appeared on everyone in their respective colors; everyone but Don. Mikey stared at his arms and legs in awe, twisting his head this way and that trying to read the writing. Leo glanced down uncertainly at his own, then looked at Raph's.

"What are you saying then?" Leo's asked.

Raphael's gaze was riveted to the silver still leaking from Donnie's palm.

"He's sayin'," Raph growled, "that that ain't Donnie. An' da' silver light is Luna!"

Hades nodded to Raphael.

"If you would kindly free your mate then I can remove this...thing." Hades replied.

Hope, so intense it burned, rose to fill the emptiness inside of Raphael as he rushed forward and pried at the hand that held the light. He wrenched the creature's wrist around, despite Leo and Mikey's cries of protest, until a far too familiar crystal sphere filled with silver dropped into his palm.

Rage roared to the surface as Raphael realized she was trapped. He raised his arm overhead and dashed the crystal to the ground with all of his might.

Hades watched serenely as the small silver flame, freed from inside, floated across the room and entered Luna's still form. Fina dove into the goddess followed by Sol. Her body changed colors, first silver, then red, and finally blue. In seconds her heartbeat filled the room.

The blue faded and Luna's pale flesh resumed it's normal flush of life. Her chest rose and fell softly. Raph and Leo sprinted to her side, each scooping up a hand to hold tightly in his own. Mikey grabbed a pillow from her bed and slipped it under her head, smoothing her red hair gently with his hand.

Mikey laid a hand on each of his brothers' shoulders and they all exchanged looks filled with relief and joy.

After a long moment, Leonardo looked up at the God of the Underworld.

"Why did you help us?" he asked quietly.

Hades met Leonardo's incredulous stare with a shrug and his own calm gaze.

"I was listening..."

Donatello tried to open his eyes but all he could see was darkness. He blinked several times in confusion but it didn't help. He suddenly realized his eyes were covered. What was going on? The last thing he remembered was that awful smile on the child he'd thought was Medes.

He gasped and tried to sit up. He had to warn Luna and the guys.

A hand caught his shoulder and pressed him back into a prone position. It was a warm human hand, five fingers, and way too large to be Luna. Don struggled against it, even though the motion was painful, but stilled when the human spoke.

"Woah, woah, Hey Don- cut it out. Lie still will ya'?"

"Casey?" Don asked, surprised.

A smaller more feminine hand softly touched his other shoulder. April's signature perfume came wafting over him.

"April," Donnie sighed in relief, relaxing back on the table.

"I'm here, Donnie." April said quietly. "How are you feeling? Do you have a headache?"

Donatello lay quietly for a moment, taking stock of his body and injuries. His head definitely hurt, it pounded in time with his heartbeat and made thinking difficult. But Don and his brothers had long ago been taught techniques to help them push past incredible pain to accomplish what had to be done. He invoked some of them now, locking down the throbbing so he could see past it and assess the rest of the problems.

His skin felt…tight and crispy. Flexing his muscles was agonizing. It felt like someone had beat him with a baseball bat, then set him on fire. And why were his eyes covered?

"I think I'll live," Don said, "April, where am I? What's going on? Why can't I see?"

Before April could answer that barrage of questions, Don's mind threw the memory of that horrible smile again behind his eyes. He gasped and tried to sit up.

"Donnie, I thought we settled this. Ya' gotta lay still!" Casey exclaimed.

Don laid back but reached out to grip April's arm urgently turning his face blindly in her direction.

"April, you have to warn the others. There's a…a... thing loose inside the lair. It pretended to be a piece of Luna's soul. I practically invited it in. Damn it! But in the end it looked more like a… goblin or something." Don's voice was frantic.

If that thing had hurt his family, or Luna, he would never forgive himself. Don froze as a thought suddenly occurred to him and all the blood ran out of his face.

Why were April and Casey taking care of him? Where were his brothers? Leo would have healed him by now. What has happened?

"April," Don said carefully, "Where is everyone?"