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4 yearsago…

Serena

"Hey, wake up." I screamed at the unconscious man before slapping him hard across the face. He shook wildly in surprise. He struggled against his bonds before realizing he was handcuffed to the wall behind him. He cursed and yelled in Japanese, but stopped when I backhanded him once more.

"Do yourself a favor… Shut the fuck up. Now with the whole Japanese thing, I'd switch to English. I know you can speak it. Plus, my Japanese is a little rusty and I know you won't understand Italian." I stepped back and crossed my arms, a calm demeanor across my face.

"What do you want from me?" he spat.

I clucked my tongue and shook my head, "See that's a problem for me. No respect, no formalities, just straight to the point and rudely too."

"You have me handcuffed, you fucking bitch." My hand pulled back. His nose cracked audibly beneath my fist. Blood ran down from his nostrils as he cursed the pain.

"I really don't like being called a bitch. It is very chivalrous of you." My hand shook the blood left on it off.

The man breathed heavily from his mouth, "Please… Why are you doing this to me?"

"Alright, that is a little bit better, but that is the golden question, isn't it? I would expect a sick, drunkard such as yourself to be able to remember what happened almost eight years ago," I laughed coldly.

"Wha… eight years ago…" he mumbled absently, searching his mind desperately for the reason as to why this young assassin was targeting him.

"Let me help you," I snapped his face forward to stare into my eyes, "you killed my family, and to a lesser extent, myself too. I am here as a reminder and for a fitting punishment."

"No, please… I would never hurt anyone," he begged realizing my full intent.

"But you did, and you worked the legal system so you would never face the consequences. I afraid for people like you, there will always be consequences. They may just not be carried out by a force you would have imagined." He began whimpering fiercely, falling from angry to weak in seconds. I had no mercy for him. He was only wasting his time. From a wooden table nearby, I picked up a full syringe. Locating a prominent vein in his arm, I prepared to inject him.

"What is that?" he blubbered.

"Adrenaline, can't have you passing out at any point because of the pain." I answered simply without faltering. There was a lot to happen tonight, and the ignorant pig was to experience it all.

I hadn't been able to sleep for the past two nights. Visions terrorized my mind and phantom senses lingered. A grown man screaming, the smell of burning flesh, it had been two days but I experienced it all over again every moment of the day. No one had come to call upon me, not even my father yet. I believed that perhaps he told the others that… well, I needed time.

It had been two days before knuckles struck my door. I knew it was him, his presence was strong enough. The sound of rustling paper accompanied him. He circled behind me and laid a single hand onto my shoulder. The touch was comforting and gentle, rare for him. "I am proud of you my daughter. Not only have you destroyed the rest of your demons, but you have proven yourself a worthy and skilled ninja. It is now that become who you truly are and embrace the Foot Clan fully."

"And who am I… father," I replied to Oroku Saki.

"You are Senshi Della Notte. The warrior, and I have chosen you as my heir as well as another role, if you accept."

The warrior, I was no longer the same girl I was born as. I looked over my shoulder at the newspaper article on the floor. Local Business Man Found Murdered was splashed across the title in Japanese. All the details were there. How he had been found with dozens of knife wounds as well as blow torch burns on nearly 60% of his body. A crime of passion, they called it.

With a new name, a new identity, came new demons. I pondered whether or not I had created more for myself when I answered my father. "What is it that you had in mind?"

…Now

Raphael

I was really getting sick of dreaming. Honest to God, I never did before. Back then, I wished I did dream more. Now I would retract that statement in a heartbeat.

I was playing chess. No seriously, I was on some sort of beach seated on one side of one of those chess board table things. White pieces sat perfectly in their little square in front of me, while the black ones waited for orders on the other side. When I tried to look at my opponent, it was nearly impossible to do so. The more I focused on her (I assumed it was a woman) the more invisible she became. "Are you ready to play?"

"What?" I asked. All I could make out from her was long hair and black clothes from the corner of my eye.

"You win, you save my life. You lose, I die. Interesting bet, huh?" Her voice seemed to be a combination of the same voice. It was almost like different recordings of the same person experiencing different emotions. Some parts sounded like she was choking on sobs while others were like she was laughing hysterically. All, seemed to harmonize somehow.

"Why don't you throw the game?"

"Then we both die," she replied matter of factly. She slammed her first pawn a space ahead.

"I guess I'll play then," but when I tried to move my own pawn, it was stuck firmly to the board, "wait, it won't move."

My fingers left the piece, and she made her next move. "Wait, I didn't make a move."

"Yet the game must go on." This pattern continued with me trying everyone of my pieces while she continue to move her own. I was trapped, and this girl had no choice but to keep playing. The turns continued until she took my first piece. She wailed as the pawn she captured faded from the board.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked anxiously, still unable to look at her fully.

Her voice was small and hollow compared to before, "The game must go on." Again and again she continued to capture my pieces. With every soldier that faded from the board, a new cry escaped her as if every blow to my team was one to her directly.

"We should stop. You're hurting yourself."

"No, you can't stop the game halfway. If you want an honorable story, you must see it to the finish."

For the rest of the game I was silent, unsure of the meaning behind her words. She continued to take more of my pieces away instead of finishing the game right away. Soon, it was just my King standing surrounded by the enemy. With a shaky hand, I could see her pick up her own Queen, mine taken long ago. "Interesting isn't it? The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board, yet she would willingly give her life to a pawn in order to protect the King at his most vulnerable."

The black Queen instantly slammed down just before my King. I was shocked, though I'm not sure why, when the color of the Queen began to change to match the white of the King. "The Queen would do anything for her true King."

Just then I began to understand. This wasn't just some random dream from too much late night television, this was a message. I finally had the right strength to focus on her face. When I did, I was not surprised to see Serena staring back at me. "Serena, I… I don't completely understand."

"I wouldn't expect you too, but you will. Remember this is all you Raph. I'm just another piece of your mind."

"What's going to happen?"

She smiled sadly, "I'm afraid we will know all too soon, Raphael. But you need to wake up soon."

"No, but I—" I was interrupted by one last blood curdling shriek from Serena. This one made her throw her head back and cry louder than the rest. Looking at the board, I realized my King was now sitting in check mate, the Queen at the mercy of all the other pieces. I had lost the game. The bet had not been in her favor.

From behind her seat, a smoky form emerged from the shadows. Curves of fog solidified into armor. Sharp steel blades and plates made up a terribly familiar humanoid shell. The Shredder's face loomed above Serena's left shoulder, cold eyes twinkling behind the helmet. I was stuck fast to my seat and forced to look on. "When you succeed, so does she. If you fail, she must protect you. Is this clear?" His voice was like nails on a chalk board.

"No, it isn't."

"Well then… How many times will you watch her die?" with that, he drew back his hand a sank his blades into her side.

"Rahhh!" I screamed sitting straight up in my bed. My left hand struck out with the knife I kept close. I couldn't see clearly, but I heard a clear yelp.

My vision corrected itself, and I stared at Donnie. My brother held his hand to his left shoulder where skin was overlapped by plastron. He pulled his hand away and narrowed his eyes in confusion at the blood on his hand. More ran from the deep, straight cut I had left across his shoulder and plastron.

"Donnie… I… I," I started to say before bolting from the room. I heard all the others call my name, but my tunnel vision fixated on the exit.