He was too headstrong, too quick to act before thinking, and he always had been. So when he found himself in this situation he wasn't surprised, not really. Sure, he didn't think something like this would ever happen, but when it did, he was oddly okay with it. Deep down he knew this was how it would end for him. Lying in some dirty alley, covered in dirt, grime, and blood. No one knowing he was gone, or dying for that matter. Raphael chuckled as he clutched the wound on his side. It started right below his armpit, a long deep bloody line that went down to his waist. As he laid there, bleeding out the alley he lay in felt darker, colder. The atmosphere itself sharp enough to slice his skin, and he knew he was going to die here. Maybe his brothers would find his body, what if they didn't? What if humans found his body? His brothers would be in danger, and it would be his fault. The thought sparked whatever energy he had left and he slowly picked himself up from the ground, groaning, as the burning in his side became a fire. What little will power he had left was used trying to move a few feet forward, towards the drainage pipe, he grit his teeth at the pain that lanced up his side as his strangely numb and cold feet dragged across the cement, towards the sewer cover.

After what seemed like an eternity he reached the damned thing, and couldn't help but laugh at how pitiful it was that it took this long to move a few feet forward, he really was dying. The hardest part was probably going to be getting the metal circle up and out of his way so he could enter the sewers below and as he stood there, one arm hanging limply by his side he thought about his brothers and father. What would they think when they found him, lying there, in a pool of his own blood, lifeless? The hotheaded turtled suddenly felt really lonely, and as he pushed the sewer drain out of his way, the force causing blood to pour to the ground in small splats he laughed, it was a bitter, pained laugh. One that was filled with regret for not spending more time talking to Leo instead of fighting, for not listening to Don's rambles about whatever cool thing he had come up with, for not playing video games with Mikey, for not being good enough for his father. Tears stung his eyes but he quickly rubbed them away, smearing his own blood on his face as he started down into the sewers. His legs were too weak to hold his weight however and he slipped, trying to grab the ladder with his good hand, however it was slick with blood, and he quickly slipped, falling straight down into the sewer below him with a groan. He never had a chance to close the grate above him, causing a dim light to surround him from the streetlight that was next to the alley.

Sitting in the cold, dark sewers waiting to die. He'd never really thought about it, yet he didn't seem to mind. He knew this would happen one day, and was just happy it happened to him before any of his brothers. The silence around him only made him lonelier and he found himself longing for one of Donnie's rants, or Leo's lectures, maybe even Mikey's loud obnoxious shouting. As he lay there, bleeding out and dying, he swore he heard Mikey's voice, but shook it off as just his mind making things up. He was dying after all. However the voice seemed to get louder, and closer until the hallucination began to get too real, and he felt a warm three fingered hand on his shoulder. "Raphie!"

"Donnie! Leo! Over here!" In his last minutes awake, Raph looked up at the blur of green and orange.

"Hurry! Guys hurry!"

His eyes slipped closed as he felt two hands on either side of his face, "Raph! Hey hey, buddy c'mon! Open your eyes, c'mon Raphie…"

"Sorry…guys…" He murmured, falling unconscious to the hectic bustle of his three brothers above him.

Donnie swallowed, his eyes never once left Raphael's view. "We need to get home. NOW." He said as he felt Raphael's weak pulse.

"Is he...?"

"He's still alive Leo, but he won't be for too much longer if we don't get him some blood and take care of that wound of his."

Leo nodded, and picked Raphael up, carrying him piggyback style.

As they ran home Donnie thought back on the night's earlier events. Raph was going out for his usual meeting with Casey, when he didn't come home a few hours later they didn't really think anything of it, Raphael lost track of time a lot when he was out with Casey. So the four of them went on with their usual business. Leo sat on the couch next to Mikey, reading a book, Mikey was playing a game, and Donnie was in his lab working on his latest invention. Splinter was in his room, doing whatever he did. They didn't really begin to worry until a bruised and beaten Casey limped into the lair, mumbling something about foot soldiers before passing out. Splinter had told them to go and find their brother, while he tended to Casey. They had been searching for about two hours, but Raph was nowhere to be seen and they were running out of time to find him. Daylight was approaching fast, and they had yet to find a clue. How it happened, he didn't know, and he didn't really care. The three of them had finally decided they needed to go home, come up with a plan, and they would return to the surface, but that's when they heard it, the sound of something coming into the sewer, Mikey being the fastest had taken the lead, Leo and Donnie quickly following.

When Don had saw Mikey leaning over the too still, bleeding silhouette of his brother he had quickly run to his side, and seeing the damage he knew they had to move fast. By the time they had gotten their fallen brother home he knew he'd have to work fast.

Wasting time was something he couldn't do right now, everything had to be done correctly and quickly if he wanted to save his brother. He went through a checklist of what he needed, him and Leo running into the lab while Mikey ran to tell Splinter what had happened. "I need water, towels, and an IV!" He yelled, and Leo wasted no time in getting what he needed after placing their dying brother on the table. Donnie wasted no time in getting what he needed, cleaning the wound- he was sort of happy Raph was unconscious for this, the purple masked turtle had no medication to stop the pain. Once the gaping wound was clean he began stitching it together, it took about ten minutes. "Here you go Donnie." Leo said as he placed the towels and water down.

"Thanks Leo."

Splinter was in the living space of the lair, trying to keep Mikey from running into the lab. Don had told him to do so, if Mikey was in here he'd get in the way, and the only reason Leo was in here was because he had the same blood type as his hotheaded brother. "Well, let's get him fixed up." Once Donnie had gotten a blood transfusion going he stared on the easier part of his job: Cleaning Raphael off.

His brother had blood smeared on his face, and his hands and entire left side were covered in the sticky red substance. Right now he'd clean him off, then he'd wait. There wasn't anything else they could do for Raphael, and, in a few hours he should be okay. His injuries didn't seem to be anything internal. The brainiac wet a rag in warm water, gently rubbing it over his brother's face, washing the dried blood away, "Will he be okay..?"

"I think so." Donnie replied, looking over to his concerned older brother, "He just needs time to rest."

Leo nodded, and Donnie continued to scrub the blood off of his brother. Once he was clean he looked at Leo, who had Raph's blood all over his shell, "You should go take a shower bro." Don spoke up, "Get the blood off of you."

"I will in a bit." He muttered, looking down at Raph, and Don sighed.

"You can come back when you're done."

Leo was about to retort but before he could Don gave him a look that meant if he didn't leave no his own, he'd be kicked out and Leo quickly stood, leaving the lab. Once Leo left the room, Mikey and Splinter came in. Splinter's ears lay flat against his head when his eyes lay on Raph's broken form, but he said nothing, instead he placed himself in front of his son, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Mikey stood next to Splinter, looking down at his bandaged brother.

"He'll be fine guys."

That night they all slept in the lab with their brother, all of them wanting to be there when he woke up. He didn't know it just yet, but the red masked turtle had cheated death.