A/N: Here's a regular length chapter for all of you :3 man am I hungry right now... well whatever, enjoy and be sure to check out Night Skies, my new fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.

Raphael stood in the bathroom, staring at his face in the mirror. Underneath his red mask lay black marks made in ink. Bruises covered his throat. He placed a hand on one such bruise and winced at the raw pain. He looked away from the mirror, tearing his mask off violently and tossing it on the sink.

He moved back until his shell hit the wall and he slid on to the floor, his hands tracing the ink on his face that marked him as the eldest of his brothers. He could feel his eyes grow wet despite himself. He wiped at his eyes angrily.

How could Master Splinter do this? Why did it have to be him that had to... to execute Leo-no, it wasn't Leo. Naito. Why did he have to kill Naito?!

Raph dropped his head into his hands. It wasn't right. He grew up alongside Naito. How could he kill his brother?

Raph dropped his gaze to the ground beneath his feet. As much as he had been angered disgusted by Naito's murders, he couldn't bring himself to hate him. He hated what Naito had become, but not who he was.

How many times had Naito been there by his side in everything that they did? Naito had cared.

Raph closed his eyes. "But, if he cared so much, why did he try to kill me?" Raph muttered. Raph thought it over and shook his head. He opened his eyes and felt at a well hidden scar just under his jaw line. He remembered it well.

...

A younger Raphael stood, trembling with rage as he glared down at a well-designed young man who had attempted to entice a child into the alley they were in now. The human was a sick creature with a perverse outlook who had no pleasant designs for the child. Raphael had seen it, and he had intervened.

Raph gripped a sai tightly in his right hand. His amber eyes were devoid of all emotion except anger. He stalked towards the human, his muscles rippled underneath his dark green skin. The human made gasping sounds and scuttled backwards.
Raph emitted a feral rumbling as he drew closer. The sixteen year old terrapin brought his foot down on one of the human's legs. A thick crunch sounded and the human screamed as the bones snapped in his lower leg. Raphael gripped the human's suit collar tightly and drew him up close to his amber gaze. He drew back the point of his sai, ready to plunge it into the human's throat.

An emerald green form dropped onto the ground between them, breaking Raph's grip on the human and shoving them both away from each other. The human cried out in pain at the jostling of his broken leg while Raph glared at the newcomer.

Gray eyes, blue mask, and twin katanas strapped to his shell, Raph's older brother stood between him and the human. Raph started forward but a hand on his plastron pressed him gently, keeping him in place. "Raphael, he is injured and very afraid. It's done." His brother spoke with that gentle voice of his.

Raph shoved him off. "Like hell it is! Leo, if you had seen-"

"I did see. Raph, calm down. Don't make this mistake."

Raph shoved his brother aside and started for the human. A hand wrapped around his wrist and twisted his arm behind his shell, forcing Raph onto one knee. A blade pressed against his throat. Raph froze as the sharp metal pressed its cold and hard edge against his throat.
"Raph, taking someone's life is a serious matter. You can't just kill someone and be done with it. I will not let you kill him and forever stain your conscience with his death." He spoke in a voice with a hard edge to it.

"You don't know anything but your stupid meditation-philosophy shit, Leo. Let me the fuck go." Raph snarled angrily.

He only tightened his grip on Raph's wrist, but it was the wrong thing to do. Raphael did not like being held back and did not like his demands being ignored.

Raph brought his left elbow up into his brother's face, cracking against a cheekbone. He tore out of his brother's grasp and right into the blade that had pressed against his throat. Blood spurted from Raph's throat and spread over his brother's arm.

Raph stumbled back into his brother, dropping his sai and clutching tightly at his throat. Another pair of hands pressed against the wound and the sound of his elder brother's whispered apologies filled his consciousness even as he faded from it.

When he awoke again he found himself lying on the ground with something wrapped tightly around the wound on his throat. He blinked and slowly sat up as he felt at the fabric on his throat. He glanced down at it. It was a blue mask. His brother's mask.

Raph glanced around and found his brother sitting with his shell against a wall, watching him carefully. They were both silent.

"Where's the pervert?" Raph asked quietly. His brother stared for a moment, as if trying to read through Raph's eyes.

"Gone. In a hospital, likely."

"Safe and sound I bet."

His brother sighed. "Raph, please don't argue with me on this. You can't go around killing humans like this. You have no idea of how it will affect your mind. It will torment you for years. You'll see the faces of those you've killed. Raph, it's not safe."

Raph stared at his brother and saw a hint of desperation in his eyes. He lifted a hand to his throat again and saw pain flicker over his brother's features. His older brother looked away.

"I'm sorry, Raph... I didn't mean for that to happen. I was just... I didn't," He began but Raphael waved it off.

"Nah. I deserved it. I'm glad you stopped me before I did something stupid... thanks, Leo."
His brother cringed slightly but nodded.

...

Raph opened his amber gaze and dropped his hands onto his lap. He never really understood what his brother had meant at that time. Raph thought it had been about the Shredder, but now that he thought about it, it wasn't at all about the late villain, It was it? It had been about the real Leo. Naito had still felt guilty about it and wanted to spare Raph of the guilt that came with murder.

It didn't make sense to him. Naito hadn't felt at all guilty about the thirty or so he had murdered. Why would he feel guilty about Leo?

Raph froze. Had Naito had certainly not felt guilty about slaying the Shredder. Had Naito enjoyed beheading the Shredder?

Raph immediately shook his head. His brother had not had that perverse notion at the time. Naito had been protecting his family that time.

What about when Naito had nearly strangled him to death? Twice.

Raphael felt uncomfortable thinking about it. Did his brother really want him dead? Was the only thing standing between Naito and his brothers their master?

Raph stood and walked towards the bathroom door. He needed answers. Only one person would be able to answer his questions. He opened the door and went stock still at the sight.
Naito stood just a few feet away. His chains were broken. He turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening. His gray gaze was calm and... terrifying. He stared at Raph over his shoulder. His crystalline gaze seemed to glow in the darkness.

"I advise you not to stop me, Raphael. I'm leaving." Naito spoke softly. He didn't ask Raph. He didn't demand from him either. He told him.

Raphael stared. He was torn at Naito's words. His brother was a murderer. Naito couldn't be allowed to leave, but Raph didn't want to kill his brother either. His mind raced, what could he do to stop Naito from leaving and keep him alive?

Naito nodded and turned his head back. He moved to walk away.

"Wait."

Naito paused and slowly turned his head to look at Raph from over his shoulder.

"I... I wanna ask you a question." Raph said, stalling as he tried to find a solution. "Do you want me dead?"

Naito was silent. He turned about completely to stare at Raph. "No. I don't." He spoke again, but this time Raph could hear a sliver of emotion in his voice.

"Then why did you try t'kill me?"

Naito dropped his gaze to the ground before meeting Raph's amber eyes. "You won't like my answer, Raphael, but you did ask and I owe you the truth. The first time, when you found out of my tendencies, I was... unprepared for the level of stress. I control myself through killing. I need to kill in order to sate my dark side. Without it sated, I lose control. You attacked me and I had not killed recently. Even now, the need calls, Raphael. I cannot control it. I have to feed it. Master Splinter said that to me when I was about fourteen. I was naive. I didn't believe him." Naito sighed his last few sentences.

Raph froze. "Master Splinter knew?"

"Yeah. Shocking, isn't it? Everything you thought you knew about me was a lie."

Raph dropped his gaze to the ground and shook his head.

"No, no, you were... You still cared, didn't you?" Raph asked, lifting his desperate and wild amber eyes to meet Naito's cold gray ones. Naito was right. Everything Raph knew about him seemed to simply crumble away.

Naito suddenly looked sad. He looked away and thought of how to answer that.

"I... I did, Raphael. I do..." He sighed at this and Raph could see that Naito's gaze had grown wet. "I always cared, even when I wasn't a part of your family. I... never think I didn't care, Raph." He spoke hoarsely.

"And that time back in the alley? With that pervert? Why did you stop me when I could've been like you?" Raphael pressed, taking a step forward.

Naito screwed his eyes shut. "I never want you to be like me. Never. And you could never have been like me. If you had killed him, I would have been forced to act. That scar wouldn't have been an accident. I would've been forced to bring you back... and explain to Master Splinter why you killed that human. I would've been punished severely. You would have been punished severely. Worst of all. You would have known the thrill of killing. You would have turned to it out of joy and sick appeal. Nothing like me. Nothing at all. I've become more and more twisted since I began killing, but I have no joy or guilt for it. You would have been ridden with guilt. You would have killed yourself out of guilt, Raph. That's why I stopped you. Because I knew what it was like. I knew what it would do to you." He spoke, his voice remained calm but his body trembled as he fought off waves of emotion. He finally opened his eyes to see a look of understanding on Raph's features.

"You kill because you have to? But why go kill so many innocents?"

"I kill because I need to. I don't kill because I like it, whether I enjoy killing or not. It's a necessary evil that I have to live with. But, I do not kill innocents, Raphael." At this point, his voice grew harsh, almost angry. "The people I kill are deserving of death. They are murderers and rapists. Wife beaters, child molesters, you name it. I clean what no one else can. I clean out the wounds of society. I'm doing the city a damn favor by killing these disgusting men and women." He snarled before closing his eyes and releasing a breath. He forced himself to calm down before he spoke again. "I'm not much better than them, but I have my limits, Raph. Is that all you needed to ask me?"

Naito spoke the last with a glance in the direction of the bedrooms. His time here was drawing short and he needed to leave before there was a scene in which someone would definitely get hurt.

"Just one more thing, bro." Raph said, having figured out how to solve his own problem while Naito had rambled on.

"Do you really trust your twin enough to keep our home secret?"

Naito opened his mouth to speak but Raph moved swiftly, tackling the older terrapin. After their last few bouts, Raph knew Naito was a far better fighter than he had ever let on, however, he had a special weapon to counter this. He drove a black handle into Naito's side and sparks flew from it.

Naito's limbs went stiff as the taser's electric shock tore through his body. He felt his joints jerk in their sockets and gritted his teeth against the painful shock. He still fought against the shocks and drove an elbow into Raphael's cheek with a crack as bone met bone. His brother was knocked back by the blow and the taser separated from his skin for a moment. Naito leapt away but a sharp pain stabbed into his left thigh. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably and he uttered a cry of pain as he fell onto his plastron once more.

He clawed at the ground desperately as Raph strode up from behind him.

Naito rolled and flung his hand out, throwing a mix of dirt and pebbles at Raph's eyes. It was an old ninja trick, but it struck target. Raph roared and stumbled back, wiping at his irritated eyes.

Naito scrambled to his feet and flung his numb leg out, forcing it into motion.

The sounds of slamming doors erupted all around him as he sprinted lopsidedly for the lair entrance. Desperation fueled him. His need drove him onward. His instinct whispered to his body. Escape! Escape! Escape!

More of the stabbing pains erupted along the backs of his legs. He grimaced with each dart that struck him, but forced himself on.

He stumbled out into the sewer tunnels breathing raggedly. He needed to move fast if he wanted to survive.

Naito sprinted, thrusting his numb legs out while his muscles clenched and unclenched with throbbing pain. He could hear more footsteps following him closely behind. They were catching up to him. He skidded to a halt at the edge of a drop. He could see water at the bottom of it, but how deep the water was, he didn't know. He glanced back and muttered a curse. No matter what choice he made, there would be a dire consequence. Slain at the hands of his adoptive family or death by free-fall?

Naito leaped into the air and dived for the water, hoping it was deep enough.

The air rushed past him as he fell. His acceleration was swift and he struck the water with a splash only for something cold and sharp to pierce his left leg at the thigh. There was a watery cracking sound as bone snapped and flesh tore. He opened his mouth in a silent scream of agony. Bubbles escaped from his open mouth and blood clouded the murky water. He grasped at what had pierced through muscle and bone. A broken metal pipe.
He attempted to slide his leg off but gasped out bubbles as his bone scraped and splintered against the metal. He was stuck. He turned his head up towards the surface of the water.

He was but a foot away from air. He was lucky he hadn't passed out from the pain.

Breaking a femur was no small thing, it was the strongest bone in the body.

He dropped his crystalline gaze to his trapped limb.

He would die here. He would drown if the blood loss didn't kill him first.

...

Raph crouched near the lip of the drop into a long shaft that was filled with water near the bottom. His right hand rested on his thigh as he considered his surroundings. Don and Mikey, both looking rather disheveled but alert, staring at the surface of the murky water. They had suspected that Naito had leapt into the water, but the gray eyed terrapin had yet to surface and it had been at least thirty minutes.

The question of him swimming down a tunnel had been overruled. Don had used a echolocation simulator and found that it was a dead drop. Nothing out through the water. Either Naito was down there waiting in the murky depths or had been long gone.

Raph closed his eyes and cursed himself. He hadn't intended for this to happen. He wanted to stun Naito and try to talk his family out of executing him. He didn't think Naito would have been able to resist the electricity so strongly. Don had assured him that it would stun Naito. But even when Raph had shot the electric darts, it was as if Naito had been unaffected. The older turtle had continued running, although there had been a slight limp in his steps.

Raph rubbed at his eyes and slowly stood. He tossed the taser gun aside and dropped his sais.

"Raph, what are you doing?" Don asked cautiously and suspiciously. Raph ignored him and surveyed the water below.

"Don't even think about it,Raph, you don't know what's down there!" Don snapped at him, glaring with coffee brown eyes narrowed. "You could hit something, the water might not be deep enough, there might be parasites in there, or Naito could be down there waiting to snap your neck! It's not safe!"

Raph gave the genius an exasperated look. "He's our brother, and I ain't waitin' t'see if his body comes floatin' up outta' the water. I'm gonna' see if he's even down there. 'Sides, I thought you wanted to save him."

"I did... I do, but he's dangerous,and we still need to take precautions. Not jumping off a ledge into the unknown would be one of those."

Mikey had been uncharacteristically silent. Don and Raph continued to ignore his near silent murmurings as he stared down at the water, which was starting to take on a red color.

"Guys..."

"Raph don't you dare!"

"Guys..."

"Don't ya' be telling me what to do, Don!"

"Guys..."

"This is why there's always been tension in our group, Raph!"

"Guys."

"Yeah, tension is what I'm real worried about right now, huh, ya'," Raph began.

"Guys!"

Raph and Don continued their argument, oblivious to Mikey. The blue eyed terrapin gave a cry of frustration and dived off the ledge and into the murky water, startling the other two brothers who turned to follow Mikey with their eyes.

The water had indeed taken on a bit of a red hue, and that worried Mikey. He broke into the water with a splash and struck something rough and solid. It moved slightly, like a punching bag. He blinked under the water a few times,trying to see through the murk. He paddled a little closer to the object he hit and stared at it, trying to discern its shape.
It floated freely in the water but seemed anchored in place.

Mikey tentatively placed a hand on it and swiftly drew his hand back with an under water screech of terror. Whatever it was that he had touched, it was definitely fleshy.

He reached out again and felt along its length. No doubt about it. The floating object was Naito or a human with a carapace and three fingered hands. Mikey tried to tug the older terrapin with him as he swam to the surface but to no avail. Naito was stuck on something. Mikey swam lower, trying to find whatever it was that was pinning Naito's body down. His hand brushed against something cold and metal. He felt along the length of the metal and froze in horror as he found it impaled his eldest brother's leg. He felt for a pulse on Naito desperately. He felt for it on his wrists. Nothing. Mikey's panic began to rise. He felt along Naito's throat and still found no pulse. He felt for some sort or sign that Naito was alive. His hands flitted about Naito's facial features and leaned in as he anxiously tried to find proposed that Naito was alive.

A hand wrapped around Mikey's wrist and the younger turtle screamed under the water. Two crystalline gray orbs regarded the young terrapin with annoyance, although flickers of pain registered in their depths. Mikey stared at those gray eyes and sighed in relief, but he was still under water, so a cluster of bubbles escaped his mouth instead. Naito was alive. The older terrapin stared at the orange masked Mikey.

"I'm gonna get you outta here, alright, bro?" Mikey mouthed, grabbing onto Naito's hands. Naito stared and made a cutting gesture across his throat. Mikey stared for a moment until he realized that the gesture was not aimed at him. Mikey instead shook his head. "We'll get you outta here. Don't worry."

Naito relaxed for a moment before shaking his head and pointing at his impaled leg. It was truly stuck. Nothing would be able to free him except amputation or cutting at the broken pipe. He then pointed at his throat and made the gesture for choking. Mikey frowned and nodded before swimming up to the surface of the water he broke through the surface with a massive inhalation of air.

"Guys! He's hurt and stuck down here! It's really bad! He's bleeding out and needs air too!"
His brothers exchanged worried glances before Raph climbed down towards the water. Don turned and sprinted off, likely to retrieve a med kit.

Mikey sucked in a breath and swam back down to Naito's side. The water was filled with blood. He didn't know how Naito could still be alive with all the blood that continued to flow from his wound. Mikey placed his hands on Naito's shoulders and looked him over. Naito had his eyes screwed shut, like he was doing all he could to hold his breath. His body was shaking, the water was cold. Mikey drew Naito in a hug, desperate to keep his brother warm. He rubbed Naito's arms, trying to create some friction. The older terrapin opened his crystalline gaze slowly, as if he was surprised by Mikey's actions. He glanced down at his trapped leg and felt another throbbing pressure in his chest. He was running out of air. Being a turtle, he could hold his breath for awhile, but forty five minutes was the last record he had. He'd been counting, and he was up to forty seven now.

His lungs began tingling, burning for air. A bubble escaped him but he clamped his mouth shut. Mikey stared at him in worry. His blue eyes searching Naito's gray ones. Naito's lungs burned even more, like a fire slowly being stoked. He screwed his eyes shut as he fought the urge to breathe. Mikey's eyes widened and his mind raced, searching for a means to keep Naito from drowning.

Naito gasped out more bubbles and began struggling out of Mikey's grip in panic. He struggled to swim up to the surface, but his impaled leg held him back. He clawed at his thigh, desperate for air. Mikey blinked once as an answer finally found itself in his mind.
He swam up to the surface and gulped in a large breath of air before diving back down to Naito. He grabbed his older brother by the head and pressed his mouth to Naito's and forced Naito's mouth open. He forced air into Naito's mouth and to his lungs. Naito gulped it in greedily. Mike pulled away from his brother and swam back to the surface, he breathed in tiredly and saw Raph swimming up beside him.

"He's down there, he needs more air." Mikey said breathlessly. Giving his brother air had made him light headed. Raph nodded and gulped in air before diving down to Naito. He swam through the murky water and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the sight.
Naito floated in the water, his arms drifted and his crystalline gaze was lidded. He barely glanced at Raph, his head hung low between his shoulders and a slender length of metal pierced through his left thigh. Blood hung in the water around him.
Ralph felt his stomach clench. This was his fault.