A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry it's taken so long to update. Life's been crazy. Thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me. And thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. Glad you're enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: see chapter one
Leonardo stared at Donatello in disbelief. He couldn't believe his brother had just said that. How could he say such a thing about his own brother? Leonardo didn't even want to think of any other way of finding Raphael except alive. Without saying a word to Donatello, Leonardo walked away, and headed for the key rack that hung on the kitchen wall. He snatched the keys for the Battle Shell and made his way back to the elevator.
"We have to face reality sooner or later, Leo," Donatello called after him. "Alive or…Dead; Raph's not coming back the same."
The elevator doors opened and Leonardo stepped inside, the doors closing behind him. He took a deep, calming breath and slowly let it out. He could feel tears begin to sting his eyes, but he blinked the tears back. He couldn't afford to break down into a sobbing wreck right now; Raphael needed him to stay strong. The elevator doors opened again and Leonardo quickly jogged over to the Battle Shell. He opened the door and climbed in behind the wheel, put the key in the ignition, turned it over, and sped out of the warehouse, determined to save his brother.
As he drove, Leonardo could feel something wet trickle down his face. He brought a hand up to wipe away the tears that had silently fallen onto his cheeks. He hadn't realized he had been crying. Leonardo wiped his eyes to get rid of the unshed tears and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. He would have time for emotion when Raphael was safe and sound back at the lair. To keep his mind off of what Donatello had said before he left, Leonardo turned on the radio and was instantly blasted by one of Raphael's heavy metal CDs. The electric guitar and drums boomed loudly in the speakers. Leonardo was surprised that the windows weren't shaking in their frames. He turned the sound down to a much more tolerable volume, but kept the CD playing; it made him feel as though Raphael was in the Battle Shell with him.
Soon, he was leaving the city far behind him and was driving out into open the country. It began to snow lightly so Leonardo turned on the wipers. After an hour or so of driving, Leonardo saw a private road approaching on the left. He turned up the road and followed it, not sure if he was going in the right direction or not. Donatello had said that Alfredson had owned some land outside of the city, but he didn't say anything about where it was exactly, and he had gathered from Travis's emails where the road leading to the land was. However, Leonardo got his answer when the headlights of the Battle Shell illuminated a small concrete and steel abode no bigger than a bungalow. He parked the van a few feet away, and turned off the engine before climbing out into the frigid night air.
The snow crunched under his feet as he made his way towards what he assumed was supposed to be some kind of bunker. Leonardo went to the door and tried the door handle, his skin almost freezing to the cold metal. He twisted it and once again was surprised to find the door unlocked. Pulling out a katana, Leonardo pushed the door open and stepped inside. The inside was almost as cold as the outside. Leonardo shivered violently as he made his way through the bunker. It seemed like a normal house; a kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room with a TV and a couple of worn out chairs. Leonardo came to a door that looked to be a bit out of place. He opened the door and was greeted by a fathomless dark pit.
Leonardo quickly retreated and retrieved a flashlight from the Battle Shell. With flashlight and sword in hand, Leonardo made his way down the stairs and was unnerved by how quiet everything was. He came to the bottom of the stairs to find another door at the bottom. Sheathing his sword for a moment, Leonardo opened the door and pushed it open, as he pulled out the sword again in one fluid motion. Leonardo felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. A single light hung in the center of the room, illuminating a dried blood stained table with six clasps bolted on to it. The floor around the table was also stained with dried blood. Leonardo walked over to the table and looked down at it. Tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
"Oh, Raph, I'm so sorry," Leonardo whispered in anguish.
His grief was short lived when his phone started to ring. He sheathed the sword and took out his shell cell. Calming himself, Leonardo opened it and placed it to his ear.
"Donnie," he answered briskly.
"Pier seventeen, warehouse eight," Donatello said hurriedly.
Leonardo frowned in confusion. "What?" he asked.
"Pier seventeen, warehouse eight," Donatello repeated. "Travis leased the warehouse a few months back. I don't know what you're going to find there, but maybe it'll help you find where he's holding Raph."
Leonardo swallowed back the tears that were threatening to overflow. "Thanks, Don."
Donatello was silent for a moment before he quietly spoke. "Bring Raph home."
With that, the line went dead. Leonardo closed the phone and placed it back in his belt. Without looking back at the blood stained table, Leonardo headed back upstairs and out to the Battle Shell. The snow was coming down faster and thicker now, and the van was already lightly coated in a fine layer of white powder. Leonardo opened the driver's side door and climbed in behind the wheel. He turned the key in the ignition and the wipers instantly pushed the snow away from the windshield. With one final look at the bunker, Leonardo turned the Battle Shell around and drove back towards the city lights.
Raphael grunted when Hun dropped him to the floor of a large cylindrical chamber. A couple of hours ago they had moved him to a warehouse somewhere on the docks. He knew they were near the docks because of the sounds and smells; during their trip back into the city he had passed out a few times. They had stopped one time on the way, probably to pick up someone, but he didn't know who.
Raphael vaguely heard Travis talking to someone, his voice sounding distant when he was only standing a few feet away. It sounded like Travis was encouraging someone; and by the tone of his voice, it sounded like he really cared for this person, whoever it was. Hun moved away and someone else walked up. Raphael managed to crack open his eyes and look up. It was the hooded figure from before, but something was off and Raphael frowned. Up close he now saw that the figure had a distinct feminine shape.
"I've been waiting for this moment for two years," the figure said with a very feminine voice. "You've been allowed to live for too long, Freak. Why did you get to live and not..."
The figure's voice broke with emotion. Now, Raphael was really confused. There was no way this was the same Reaper he had seen a few days ago. That Reaper looked and sounded like a man.
"It's okay, Ash," Travis said soothingly. "You don't have to do this."
"No," the figure replied, back in control of their emotions. "I have to do this. He needs to know what's he's done to me…to us."
Raphael's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach when the figure pushed back the hood to reveal a female version of Derek Alfredson. Long chestnut brown hair fell around a pale alabaster face. Large, doe brown eyes looked down at him through a mess of bangs. The eyes were cold and merciless; they were the eyes of a serial killer.
"My name is Ash Alfredson," the woman bit out. "It was my father you killed that night two years ago."
Raphael shook his head. "It's not possible," he breathed. "The police said all his family disappeared and were presumed dead."
"And who do you think made them disappear?" Ash asked with a bitter laugh.
Raphael swallowed thickly. "Why?" was all he could manage to ask.
Ash shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not? They didn't deserve him. They never supported him, not after what almost happened to him. It's as if they didn't know about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"You serious?" Raphael asked incredulously. "He was a serial killer. He killed people for fun and sadistic pleasure. He was a psychopath!"
Ash dropped to her knees and twisted Raphael's broken arm, causing him to scream in pain. "You listen to me, Freak," she seethed. "You didn't know my father. He wanted to let people know what he went through when he was buried alive. If people died it was because their friends and family didn't try hard enough to save them...that wasn't my father's fault."
"How delusional are you?" Raphael gasped. "Are you really that insane that you would turn a blind eye to the lives he ruined? That he destroyed?"
Ash tightened her grip around his arm, but Raphael didn't make a sound; not anymore. He wasn't afraid to die, not by her hand or anyone's hand. He had cheated death long enough, if it was his time to go, then he would open the door to eternity with his head held up high.
"I'm not afraid of you," Raphael whispered so only Ash could hear. "I'm not sorry for what I did. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
Ash leaned over so that her mouth was beside his ear. "You will be, Red," she whispered venomously back. "You will be."
Reviews are welcomed, flames are not