Chapter 20

Raphael snapped awake and sat up. "What an ass." He mumbled to himself as he sat up. He looked down at himself and cursed. Now he needed to dunk himself in the world's biggest bucket of ice. The only thing his darker half had right was that he wanted her back so he could hold her, maybe tell her he loved her.

He stood up and stretched. But besides making him wild with desire, that little jaunt as his darker half had also made him realize that those smouldering looks that she had directed his way, had also been directed at his brothers. He had just been too dense to realize what those looks had meant. He had no experience with women. Their friend April was only that, a friend. They had never viewed her as anything else.

He wanted to kick himself. No wonder Leonardo had been as angry as he had been these last two months. If Raphael loved her as much as he did, and Leonardo felt the same way, but had tried stepping aside, well, ripping out his heart would be less painful. He walked out of his room.

Then there were Michelangelo and Donatello. She had always looked at them with the same intensity as well.

He found Donatello sleeping on the couch. He looked down at his sleeping brother. He had wondered why Donatello had picked the couch to sleep on, but as he neared it he could smell Her. "She's got us all." He whispered. But how could one brother take something he knew his other brothers wanted so badly? The answer was that they couldn't. And yet...and yet. He knew he still wanted her to choose. He wanted her to choose him, wanted her to stay with him. He knew he couldn't protect her from Hell, but he wanted to. He wanted to be her guy. The one who she turned to when she needed something, someone. His darker self was right, they all needed to sit down and have a talk. And what was she hiding?

He turned and almost walked into Leonardo. "I couldn't sleep." Leonardo whispered as he sat down on the love seat. Michelangelo walked up behind Leonardo.

"I couldn't sleep either. I was going to pop in a movie." Michelangelo said walking around the love seat to sit beside Leonardo.

"I think the only one getting any rest is sleeping beauty over here." Raphael said pointing at Donatello.

Leonardo looked at Donatello. "He's been working hard, trying to figure out all of those symbols, he's also been trying to figure out what she didn't want us to know."

"Well I was sleeping." Donatello grumbled as he sat up.

Michelangelo looked around sniffing the air. "Does anyone else smell bacon?" He asked.

They all looked at each other and followed the smell into Donatello's workroom. Donatello switched on the lights and looking around they couldn't see anything. It was then that the air began to feel heavy, like the feeling before a thunderstorm. The very air seemed to crackle. Raphael looked around wildly. One minute the spot where she had Fallen was empty the next she knelt in a ring of fire. The heat was so intense it drove them back. She slowly stood, they could only see her silhouette through the flames. Her wings rose the fell down quickly extinguishing the flames.

Raphael tried to move his legs to go to her but he was immobilized by horror. Her wings were in tatters, and the right side of her body was charred black. She was clutching her charred arm which had a piece of bone piercing through the charred flesh. If this wasn't bad enough there were sigils cut into every inch of her skin. They glowed red and were even cut into the parts of her flesh that had been charred. Her clothes were a ruin Most of her clothes were in tattered blackened strips that left most of her ruined body exposed.

She fell to her knees. She shook herself and tried standing again, but collapsed. Donatello was the first to move followed by Leonardo. Raphael ran to her. He looked down at her and didn't know what to do. Donatello had knelt in front of her, arms hovering over her shoulders. Raphael could see his problem he didn't want to touch her for fear of hurting her further, there just wasn't anywhere on her that wasn't either burnt or carved with crimson sigils. The right side of her face wasn't too bad, only a little was burnt on her cheek, but the sigils were carved even into the flesh of her face.

She looked at Donatello agony etched into her face. She looked at her arm. It was badly burnt and with the bone sticking out. "I'm sorry I...I don't." Donatello said shaking his head. She looked at her arm then grabbed her shoulder. "What are you...?" Donatello asked. She seemed to brace herself fingers digging into the flesh of her arm like... Donatello looked at her in horror and grabbed her hand."No..no there has to be something else!"

She removed the hand from her shoulder. She looked back at her arm took a deep breath and grabbed onto the piece of bone that was sticking out. "What are you..." Donatello began. There was a loud crack as bone broke from bone. She winced in pain and threw the piece of bone away where it promptly began to dissolve into a fine black mist. She grabbed her arm and with a sickening crack she snapped the remaining bone back into place. She screamed in pain, clenching her jaw tightly she closed her eyes. Bile rose in Raphael's throat.

Raphael heard Michelangelo gagging behind him. Leonardo looked at him. "Don't you dare puke Mikey." He said sternly.

"Goddess." Donatello whispered.

"Donatello I..." Something passed between them, some understanding that did not require spoken words and Raphael felt a stab of jealousy. She was trying to breathe steadily, her good arm protectively holding her injured one. Blood dripped slowly to the floor from the open wounds and charred flesh. She leaned into Donatello and he caught her. She whimpered slightly. Raphael could see that slowly her body was healing itself. Very slowly. Donatello clutched her to him like a drowning man. "Michelangelo." She said reaching out her good arm. Michelangelo knelt down beside her. She clutched at him. "Please stop me before I take too much." She pleaded. He held onto her arm while she turned back to Donatello. She nuzzled into his neck then there was a crunch as she bit into the soft vulnerable flesh of his neck. Donatello winced in pain then he groaned, but he still held her tightly. She drank, and drank and continued to drink.

Raphael looked at her in worry. "Leo..."

Michelangelo gently took a hold of her shoulders. She growled but let go. She looked at Donatello who opened his eyes and looked at her. He was looking very pale, almost grey. He seemed to be oddly dazed. She brought his face towards her own and kissed him. Donatello kissed her back. She broke away from the kiss and leaned her forehead against his. Raphael couldn't help it, rage ran through him shot with jealousy. She turned eyes toward him and he noticed the red glint in them. They were still green, but the pupil almost seemed to reflect red in the light.

"No, no, right here. I have a nice juicy neck to be chewing on. Besides I'm much better looking than Raphael." Michelangelo said as he gathered her into his arms. Slowly her attention turned to him.

"She's in so much pain Mikey, be careful." Donatello managed to slur out. Leonardo supported him as they watched her study Michelangelo. Her body was beginning to heal faster now.

The sigils were now completely healed and the more minor burns had begun to heal. She looked at Michelangelo studying his face. Slowly she moved in, but grabbed both sides of his face. She kissed him as she had Donatello. He kissed her back wrapping his arms around her. She pulled back and bit him. "Ow, hey that hu..." Then Michelangelo closed his eyes groaning. She drank him down as well, Leonardo tried to grab her shoulders, but she flinched back letting go of Michelangelo. She looked at Leonardo a little dazedly. She blinked and looked back at Michelangelo then to Donatello. She moved back to Michelangelo's neck and bit again. Michelangelo winced in pain but let her drink some more. Finally she broke away looking into Michelangelo's eyes. She moved Michelangelo's head to the side and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked him touching the side of his face. He leaned into her touch.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?' He said with a smile. She smiled back at him. She turned her attention to Donatello, who was looking worse than Michelangelo.

"Are you okay Donatello?" She leaned down and put her ear to his chest. She closed her eyes and Donatello wrapped his arms around her. They lay like that for about a minute or two. Michelangelo was pressed against her back. She opened her eyes and pulled back slightly. "I'm sorry Donatello. I need to get stronger then I will help you. If Leonardo and Raphael allow me to feed, I will be able to heal you, all of you by tomorrow." She leaned back a little and Donatello and Michelangelo both leaned their heads on her shoulders. She closed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Leonardo asked. He knelt down in front of her and tried to take her hand. She moved it out of the way before he could touch her. Leonardo looked at her in hurt and shock. Leonardo stood up and stepped back.

Raphael wondered what was wrong. He knelt down as well. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Don't." Was all she said. "I can't have either of you touching me right now, so just don't." She said in a soft voice. She didn't sound angry, just tired. He looked at Leonardo. He couldn't help letting the hurt of her rejection show in his eyes. Leonardo looked at him, his face an expressionless mask.

"Raphael, you are leaking so much rage at the moment, you could fill a kiddie pool, and Leonardo, you aren't doing much better, yours is just better contained. You both are filled with so much rage and hurt and jealousy. I need to heal first, and remember that I don't want to kill you. Your rage, your hurt, all of your negative emotions will flow over me, and consume me, and I will kill you all. My Blood Lust is trying to consume me. My body is vampiric and thus has all of the desires, all of the needs that come with it. When you consume someone's blood, you are consuming more than just blood, you are also taking their life force. There is no greater sensation than when drinking someone down than to taste the coppery sweetness rolling over your tongue; to smell the scent of fear or desire rising from a warm body; to listen as the heart begins to slow; to hear that last exhalation of breath, to see the light leave someone's eyes forever. To deny yourself a death is to deny what and who you are. Leonardo was right to not trust me, because make no mistake, there is a part of me that is a monster."

"You're not a monster." Leonardo said to her.

She smiled a half smile. "Yes I am. I can be as merciful as I can be merciless Leonardo. Never forget that." Her eyes were glinting red again. "Someone please kiss me." She whispered.

Michelangelo turned her face towards him and kissed her. Raphael turned his head away. Finally she said. "The Hunger needs a different desire. Desire for blood and for death, turned instead into a desire for flesh, for touch. It is either kiss them of kill them. I would prefer to kiss them."

"Then kiss me!" Raphael yelled at her.

She smiled at them. And he grew furious. She closed her eyes and smelled the air. She opened her eyes again and they were darker, pupils dilated but glinting red. She looked at him with lust filled eyes, but if it was lust for his death, or just plain lust he wasn't sure. Donatello turned her to face him and he kissed her.

"How can you two even sit there while the other one kisses her?" Raphael screamed.

She broke away from Donatello's kiss."Because they are not jealous like you and Leonardo. They are neither of them possessive in the way that you both are. They are also still feeling the after effects of my bite. My bite can be as pleasurable as it can be painful." She closed her eyes. "I was so afraid that I would kill them, that I would forget how much...I would never forgive myself if something happened to any of you." She leaned her head back. She tried to stand. She slid herself up the wall.

"Thank you." She whispered. She pulled them both up. They stood leaning against the wall, a little shakily, but they stood. Clear moss green eyes looked at Raphael. "Do you think you can help Michelangelo and Donatello back to their rooms? Please Raphael?" She asked him. He couldn't say no. His anger and jealousy had faded slightly and if he had to get rid of it in order for her to touch him again, he would try to let it go. Raphael looked at Leonardo who had been silent for almost her entire conversation. He looked like something was bothering him. Her gaze flickered to Leonardo and she looked back at him sending him a silent message. I need to talk to Leonardo, alone.

He looked at her. But..." he sent back to her.

Please Raphael.

Raphael nodded and walked over to her. "Thank you Raphael." She said to him as his name dripped from her lips like it was the sweetest honey.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." He whispered in her ear. He got himself under each arm of his brothers and helped them walk to their rooms.

Authors note: The next chapter is very rated M, just so you know, and you were totally wanrned.=)