Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT 2012.
Both Raphael and Leonardo were staring at the disfigured turtle with newfound fear in their eyes. Michelangelo, on the other hand, was trying his best to keep down his laughter when he saw the looks on his elder brothers' faces. April just shook her head.
"What did Shredder want with you, my child?" Splinter asked, sideglancing at his youngest son.
"Apparently," Donatello breathed out, his words laced disturbingly with a hint of delight, "Shredhead wanted to announce a formal declaration of war."
…
"I find it strange to be happy to see you, Saki," I hissed, glaring at the computer screen, "and what do you mean by 'Midoriyasha'?"
"Just a little something I picked up from my subordinates," Shredder replied, that irritating glee still in his voice. "They have watched some surveillance videos from earlier today, and were both frightened out their skins and consumed by their anger to see a demon savagely and dishonorably slaying their colleagues. Shall I show it to you?"
Before I could retort, the screen flashed and the enemy's face was replaced by a horrific video. It was of me from when I tackled the Foot who killed Mikey. But…I had doubts that the mutant turtle in the video was me, for he had blank eyes and was grinning insanely as he slew the armed ninja mercilessly, their blood spraying all over him. The video was stopped and Shredder popped up again.
"I have never seen such bloodlust before in my life. You have proven yourself to be a worthy adversary, Midoriyasha."
"YOU GET YOUR SHITTY ASS DOWN HERE, BASTARD, AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHY YOU NO WANNA FUCKING MESS WITH ME!" I howled, ignoring the stares I knew I was receiving at the moment. "You'll pay for taking Sensei and Mikey away from me. I'll see to it that I personally give you a slow and painful death!"
"And I look forward to clash blades with you, turtle. But we shall do it on the battlefield."
"What the shell do you think you're talking about?"
He let out a deep chuckle that rattled down my spine.
"I wish to declare a war between our forces. Your makeshift coalition against my battalion of Foot ninja and Kraang. Of course, you battle me. I believe that you will be…a more compelling opponent than the weakling you call your father."
My imagination got the best of me and Shredder and Sensei's battle played in my mind. I pictured Master Splinter falling at the hands of the enemy, his face contorted in pain and determination burning in his eyes. Before I knew it, I was growling again and this entertained Shredder.
"What do you say, Midoriyasha?"
"If it's Midoriyasha you want, then it's Midoriyasha you'll get!" I barked, approaching the computer screen. "I'm gonna make ya eat your words, Tin Skin. I accept your challenge!"
I heard gasps behind me and I sensed April coming to me, so I raised my hand at her to stop her, not turning away from the screen.
"No, Donnie! It's too dangerous! We…the whole faction can't stand a war with the entire Foot clan and the Kraang!" She exclaimed.
"Ape's right! It's no use!" Raph added, the sound of his footsteps shuffling towards me a little. "There's just too many of them and so few of us! Use your brain and make the calculations, genius!"
"We've lost a good number of our comrades in the past," it was Leo who reasoned next and placed a hand on my right shoulder, "including our father and our little brother. We don't want to lose you, too, Donnie. Never again."
I moved my shoulder sharply, effectively knocking his hand off. Tearing my eyes off the computer screen, I confronted all of them.
"I've been gone for nearly thirty years," I stated my point as a whisper, but then raised my voice for even my enemy to hear. "You think I'd just sit here and do nothing if that's what I've contributed through my absence? THINK AGAIN! I have learned so much from my travels to change my way of thinking, my way of fighting. I have suffered so many times over, believing blindly that everything here was going fine. This was my mistake and it resulted into the corruption of the world I knew and the deaths of my loved ones. Now…"
My hands reached the back of my head and tightened the knot of my bandanna mask.
"…I'm gonna fix it!"
"Donnie…"Raph trailed off, looking at me sadly with his remaining acid green eye.
"Such a noble speech delivered, young one," Shredder remarked but I didn't turn around. "As a show of decency, I shall give you and your pathetic group two months to prepare for the war. It is required that you will become opponents worthy of my time."
"Two months is more than enough," I muttered, walking out of the room and stopping in the doorway as I kept the double doors pushed open. "Bring me to where you store all your equipment, April, and I'll start repairing 'em up. We begin preparing for the war NOW!"
…
"And prepare we did," Donatello adjoined, smirking somewhat. "We spent the two months loaned to us salvaging and stealing tech from the Foot that patrolled the city, revamping and patching up what weapons we had, training and teaching ASF members how to hold their own in a fight, and so much more. I barely got any sleep or anything decent enough to eat because I did most of the work, including tutoring ASF's scouts and spies some ninjutsu. April was practically in full-out 'Mother Hen Mode' and forced me several times over to get a few hours of well-needed rest."
"And what about…your brothers?" Leonardo asked with much reluctance.
The alt-dimension brainiac turned to the blue-masked turtle with a hint of anger in his burgundy eyes, but that died down as he sighed.
"We…didn't really talk to each other a lot," he admitted, looking at the floor in lament, "and I regret that with all my soul."
"Why?"
Such a simple question, yet so hard to answer. Donatello gazed up from the floor as tears welled up in his eyes.
"They died."
…
It was in the war, beginning on the noon of October 9, 2042. The ASF and Shredder's forces were even now with all the firepower and artillery I added to our arsenal. The 'Battle of New York', as it was later dubbed, was held in the bare wasteland that was once Central Park.
Metal collided against metal, shots were fired, explosives were lobbed and detonated. I lost sight of April somewhere in the battle, but I could hear her battle cries and that was enough to assure me of her safety. April was a strong fighter, that I knew.
"And so we meet, Donatello."
The sound of that voice chilled me to my very core. I squashed the Kraang in my hands and as I turned around, Shredder appeared, his steps shaking the ground I stood on. He was covered in shiny armor forged from what I presumed was near-indestructible alloy. There were several tubes spreading from two capsules on his back and were attached to each side of his neck, his chest and waist, his forearms and forelegs, the glowing, electric blue liquid in them probably enhancing his strength and skills. The mask covering the lower half of his face was like a gas mask, except that bulbs containing the same liquid found in the tubes were on either side of his mask instead of air filters.
Seriously, I would've gladly inspected his armor then and there if it weren't for the dire situation at hand.
"What's with the get-up, Shredhead?" I questioned, gripping my bo tightly. "Think you've come to a costume party or something?"
With a roar of rage, he charged at me at speeds inversely proportional to the weight of his armor. So I must've been right about the liquid. I sidestepped, narrowly dodging his claws as they came out from slits on his forearm plates. A blow on my carapace knocked the air right out my lungs and I stumbled forward. He must have kicked me when he had gone past me. I flipped over on my carapace, just in time to bring up my bo and block his claws' downward slash. His abdomen was exposed so I booted it with all my might, letting out a short yelp of pain when my foot collided with hard metal. Nonetheless, I was able to push him back and I took the opportunity to get back up.
"Such an amount of scars you have, turtle," he noted as he brought up his right claw. "Is there any more room for me to leave my mark on you?"
I grit my teeth and thumped one end of my bo onto the ground, its hidden blade emerging from the other end as I did so. After twirling my weapon, I pointed its blade at my enemy.
"Why don't you come and try, Shredhead?"
He rushed in again and this time, I was dashing forward to meet him. Using my naginata, I pole-vaulted over him, slashing the blade onto his back as I flipped above him. But all the action left was a trail of sparks as metal grinded against metal. I landed and quickly bent back, avoiding the inward thrust of his left claw. With the chain of Mikey's nunchaku, I grappled his outstretched arm and hanged on for dear life as he effortlessly raised it high above his head. I took advantage of gravity and planted a foot into his face and my naginata's blade into his right shoulder as the chain skidded down the armor. Again, my blade didn't penetrate the rigid plating. Letting go of one of the nunchaku's ends, I propelled forward and was back on the dusty earth again, hissing at the sting when the glass shard in my foot embedded itself deeper into my meat. No longer dazed, Shredder turned to me, the bulb on the right side of his mask shattered from my kick and freely leaking the electric blue fluid that was now mixed with a tinge of red. Seeing this, I couldn't help but cringe in disgust.
Kami, I think those bulbs and tubes are connected to his very body. Gross!
"What's the matter, freak?" He snarled, leaning forward menacingly. "Can't handle the sight of what technology has done to me?"
"Nah, I can take it," I nonchalantly replied as I suppressed a shiver, "I…just can't believe that the infamous Shredder is into drugs. What a disgusting old man!"
I could clearly hear the leather stretch as he clenched his gloved hands into fists. He dove in and I braced myself for his below-the-belt strike with my weapon held in front of me horizontally. However, as he forced down the shaft of my naginata with his right hand, out of nowhere his left arm lashed out at me and I had no other choice but to free my hold on my naginata to jump back. I successfully did so, but a searing sensation on my face constrained me to my knees. Gasping, I felt my face and sure enough, Shredder's claw had made their mark. There was this long, diagonal gash between my eyes that ran down to my right cheek, bleeding profusely, and my right eyelid was torn open, blood and pain clouding my right eye which was thankfully unharmed. My head was throbbing and what was left of my vision was fuzzy. I could only make blurs out of the people and robots who fought all around me.
"So it is I who first drew blood," I heard Shredder say, his shiny, unclear form advancing towards me.
I was kicked down to the ground and his foot was on my plastron, keeping me from getting up. Too much in shock to struggle, I could do nothing but watch with blurred sight as he raised his claw above my neck.
"I have wasted my time with you. Now…join your father and your brother in the afterlife!"
His claw came down, but I didn't feel it tear through my jugular. Instead, I heard a cry and the clangs of blades. The weight on my plastron was lifted and I felt callous hands help me up. My vision finally cleared and I was greeted by a green, eyepatched face.
"Donnie, you hear me?" Raph's question reached my earholes. "God, your face is bleeding!"
No duh, Captain Obvious!
As I frowned, my entire face ached and I let out a grunt. I tried to cover my wounds with my right hand, but Raph was faster. He grabbed the bloodied, purple bandanna mask that had been cut and hanging around my neck like an unmade tie, and began to wrap it around my right eye, careful not to tighten its coils too hard. Soon enough, the whole upper right of my face was secured with the heavily bloodstained strip of purple fabric.
"There!" Raph heaved out as he finished the knot on the back of my head. "Sorry if the dressing's a bit crude. I should've listened to you more before with these kind of things and – "
He never got to end his sentence for two blades had gone through his plastron from behind him, right where his heart resided. Blood that was not mine splattered all over my chest and neck as the blades retracted and Raph fell into my arms, limp. In front of me, Shredder stood with an air of triumph around him, his right claw glistening in the afternoon sun with the same red on my body.
"RAPH! NO!" Leo was a few feet away from the enemy, something in his ocean blue eyes that I have never seen in them before. "SAKI, YOU BASTARD! SHINE!"
As he clashed with Shredder, I fell to my knees yet again, the jacketed form in my arms. I didn't cry. I just stared at the bleeding holes on Raph's plastron then at his half-open acid green eye.
"You…you OK, Donnie?" He asked faintly.
I was mute. I just nodded.
"Well…that's f-fine with me…" Raph smiled weakly as he pointed at the lengthy scar on my left arm. "S-Sorry…for that, bro…and for n-not being a good elder brother to you…"
I finally had the courage to speak, but I was too late. Raphael…my brother…was gone. I…I never got the chance to…forgive him…to tell him –
The background was too quiet for my liking, even with the war still going on. Fearfully, I looked up from my brother's corpse…
…Just in time to see Shredder cut Leo's head off.
A/N
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not Raph and Leo, too! DDDX
Japanese Vocab Corner
"Shine!" – "Die!" (pronounced as "shi-ne", not "shine" as in with a light).
And here comes Midoriyasha!