A/N: And since it's my birthday today, I thought that I'd post the final chapter! I will note, however, that it is slightly possible that I may post two more chapters in the future, although I'm going to mark this story as completed. 'Cos I probably won't get around to writing those two chapters. Thanks again to the magnificent Hoodoo for the fantabulous beta-job! And thanks much to my anonymous reviewers! Ya'll are great! :)

There are some things in life that terrify me

My family would expect that my nightmares stem from the Shredder. Am I afraid of the Shredder? I certainly respect his power, and I do feel a certain degree of fear of him. But he doesn't terrify me. No, the terrors that keep me company at night come from visions of broken brothers lying in some abandoned ally, of my dear Father writhing from a mortal battle wound.

To lose part of my family would cause a part of me to die. It would cause unstoppable ramifications in my remaining clan, ramifications which I, as their oldest brother, their leader, would be unable to stop. We are bound by the steel bonds of brotherhood; what happens to one, happens to all.

And at that moment, I could feel my soul shudder in that terrible fear.

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to keep up with Donnie's unyielding pace. His eyes were glued to the small LED screen in his hand, save for an occasional glance forward to note any obstacles. He slid to an abrupt stop, a grey pond blossoming at his feet, its tranquil waters lazily lapping at the springtime-green shore.

''Donnie?" Mikey shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot as he regarded his older brother, his hands restlessly fingering his nunchucks.

Donnie shook his head, his eye-ridges furrowing in panic. "I-I don't... It just went blank--Leo, it just went blank!" Don's voice escalated as he frantically pushed various buttons on his homemade, tracking device. I glanced over his shoulder to see a blank screen. Dead. Black.

"Don, can you remember Raph's last position?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm; the tremor betrayed my panic. I couldn't help him with electronics, but I could help him keep focused.

Before I had finished asking the question, Don had already pried off the back of the device. "It isn't that simple, Leo." I could hear the sign of rising anger in his voice as his fingers tested connections and tweaked wire positions. "

The tracker could have completely misinterpreted his position. I can't find anything wrong with it; that leads me to think that it was behaving inappropriately before now." Donnie said belligerently. I could tell from his tense posture and harsh breathing that he was more than a little alarmed. He sounded downright panicked. "For all I know it could've chosen a random cell signal and bounced that signal to my tracking device. It—God, Leo, it was just an experiment. This piece of junk hasn't even been tested!" He snarled, crushing the useless piece of technology in his hand.

I sighed heavily, my eyes searching the woods for an answer to my predicament. "But it's the only lead we've got?"

Don's hands trembled.

"Yeah."

His word was a barely choked-out whisper.

"Uh, Leo...?" Mikey stammered, "I think you s-should--"

Mikey's thin voice was cut off by the sound of him retching. I spun around to see him on his hands and knees, shaking uncontrollably. Sharing a worried look with Don, I eased over and layed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder...

"Leo."

Don's voice was hushed but urgent. I looked in the direction of his pointing finger and saw a crimson painted clearing. Rolling nausea caused me to break into a cold sweat. It was everywhere. It coated the grass in grisly chestnut and drizzled haphazardly down tree-trunks; the sickening smell wafted cloyingly on the light, early morning breeze.

The viscous liquid led a clear path into the forest, drops of it frosting the grass and bushes. Two bodies lay in growing pools of blood at the base of a towering oak tree. Through swimming vision I saw Donnie inch over to them, his facade of professionalism effectively taking over. In careful succession he placed two, green fingers to each of their carotid arteries. Without a word he looked at me and shook his head. His face was a grim mask as he surveyed the numerous bruises and stab wounds that decorated their lifeless bodies.

"Leo, these wounds were made by sai," I heard Don grind out.

Confusion was my first reaction. Raph killing? Raph, killing? Sure, my younger brother was a hot-head, but he would never...

Don continued his examination of the bodies. I saw his jaw suddenly clench as he roughly grabbed one of the bodies and pushed it callously aside. Beneath the corpse lay a gun, its cool metal covered in a macabre coat of vermilion. Don turned his back to me and gingerly picked up the firearm, appraising the cold apparatus with a malevolent glare. He swiveled his head back to me, his eyes steely and his hands hanging onto the gun with a deathgrip.

"There are several bullets expended, Leo."

It felt as if a physical force had slammed into my plastron. Raph had been shot. I tried my best to remain calm, to think objectively, to formulate a plan, but my eyes were inexorably drawn to the drying droplets of sun-dappled blood, to the pitiless instrument of death that my brother held in blood-dampened hands. Then, during their migration, my eyes caught the glint of silver. It was no more than a dull gleam in the midst of the shaded forest, but I knew what we'd find there.

"Don..." I pointed, my legs refusing to obey my command to walk, my voice barely rising above a whisper. Don's eyes caught on the object of my attention. His face became carefully blank as he walked over and squatted down to get a better look. A vehement curse and he was standing again, gun discarded, clutching two, blood-soaked sai.

Those idiots stole M'sai.

They stole M'sai, Leo.

I wavered and groaned before falling to my knees beside Mikey, stomach heaving. Bile burned my throat as I coughed and heaved up what little I had eaten for breakfast. I felt Mikey's reassuring hand on my shaking shoulder as my stomach began to calm.

"Looks like we won't need the homing device."

Mikey's voice was weak and soft as he grabbed my shoulder and helped me to a standing position. I nodded silently and eased forward to follow the grisly trail of breadcrumbs our brother had inadvertently left.

My stomach continued to clench and roll as I began to run. The blood trail was spotty but easy to follow to a trained eye. Several times I almost lost my fragile pretense of calm as I plunged heedlessly through the forest, my eyes searching for the next ruby leaf or crimson blade of grass.

But suddenly at that time, when the situation was painfully dire, I found myself worrying about the most unimportant, miniscule things. Did Don remember to take the Battle Shell's keys out of the ignition? Did Master Splinter turn off the tea-kettle? Did we remember to close the door to the warehouse after our hasty departure?

My gait began to flag and I was desperately gulping in draughts of oxygen to keep my legs going. I held the blood-encrusted sai firmly in my grip, willing my brother's weapons to lend me strength. My pace quickened again, and it was only dimly that I realized that my two brothers were lagging behind.

I rounded a cusp of green fingered, oak saplings and was presented with a clearing, a small, sun-speckled clearing perfumed with the aroma of newborn wildflowers, surrounded by gently swaying aspen and maple trees. And there, lying prone on the red-tinged grass, was my brother. I accelerated as much as my weary body would allow and dropped heavily beside him.

"Raph?"

One, crimson hand lay limply beside a gaping hole in his plastron. Blood sluggishly leaked out of the cavity and slid slowly down his yellow carapace. His face was slack, his chest immobile.

"D-Donnie!"

I felt the scream rip from my throat as I frantically felt for a pulse to no avail.

"Don--"

"I'm here bro, move aside."

And with the placid expertise that only Don could muster, my younger brother shoved me aside and felt at Raph's neck. His eyes narrowed to slits as he pressed harder against my brother's throat. Then, weakly, his olive-green hand fell away. He shook his head disbelievingly before slowly standing and lurching to towards a gnarled oak on the edge of the clearing.

I stared at Raphael's face in shock. You can't be dead, Raph. My eyes watered, salty tears rolling down my face and dripping forlornly to my immobile brother's scarred plastron. Mikey dropped beside Raph, his hands ghosting to his brother's chest. I could hear his broken sobs as I bowed my head and tried to stem the flow of grief cascading down my face.

I heard Don hissed an angry curse before he, too, returned and fell beside his fallen brother.

There we four were. Together, as it was meant to be.

Time passed impossibly fast. The sun had long since met her zenith and was grudgingly surrendering the sky to night, leaving a vibrant trail of coral and magenta as testimony to her battle.

"We need to leave. Master Splinter..." I let the sentence hang in the cool, evening air. My throat closed and another wave of tears clouded my eyes. I stubbornly fisted them away.

"Don, help me get Raph on my shoulder."

Don looked like he was about to protest, but stayed silent. Unbidden, Mikey went to Raph's arms. I leaned over Raph, looking deeply into his face, memorizing every feature, every scar. What suddenly struck me about him was his face. His features were calm, at peace even; they weren't twisted in a painful grimace as I would have expected. I felt a much-needed strength well up inside my soul.

With renewed vigor, I and my brothers gently hoisted Raph's body onto my shell. Don led the way out of the hidden glade and Mikey brought up the rear. I clung desperately to my brother's cold form as I placed one weary foot in front of the other, willing myself to have the strength to bring my Father's slain son home.

"Hey, Bro."

My heart jolted in my chest. An eternity seemed to pass before I slowly turned my body around to face--

"Raph?"

He was as peaceful as I'd ever seen him, his face relaxed and drenched in serenity.

I knew this specter wasn't real; my pseudo-brother was tinged with a blue aura that softened his naturally hard features. But my soul didn't listen to my mind's stern cries for reality. My heart leaped wildly in my chest. "Raph, what--"

Raph looked at me and cracked a cocky, half smile, effectively silencing my questions.

"Take care of 'em, Bro."

His voice cracked and his chin fell to his chest as he fought for stability to continue.

"And do me a favor, will ya? Don't blame yourself. There wasn't nothin' you coulda done, Leo."

I opened my mouth to speak to him, to ask him what was going on, but a regal lady with flowing, green hair stepped out from behind a grove of trees and motioned for Raph to come to her. Her angular features were alight with joy and her bare, white feet danced in tandem to some unheard melody.

Raph smiled at me, backing towards the green nymph.

"Leo, do somethin' else for me?"

I nodded, my brown eyes locked with his hazel ones.

"Tell everyone... Tell 'em that I love 'em, will ya?"

He turned his back to me seemingly ready to depart. But he suddenly turned his head to me, his face shining with brotherly love.

"And Bro? I love you too."

And then he was gone, fading into the night as surely as the last rays of sunlight.

"Leo?" Mikey was looking at me with swollen, questioning, blue eyes. I shook my head and favored him with a watery smile before resuming my painful journey. My grip tightened on Raph's lifeless arm and I felt a thick knot form in my throat.

I closed my eyes before raising them to the starry heavens, crystal droplets coursing down my starlit face. Even in this pain, I felt a soothing tranquility descend upon my soul. I smiled through my tears at the diamond-studded sky as I imagined the blue-tinged specter of my brother watching over me.

"I love you too, Raph."

And in that moment I swore I could hear a sweet melody rising on the strains of the night wind, like a tickling on the edge of my hearing.

Fin