To Die Happy (Tmnt Donatello Fanfic)

17. Take Them Home

The two opposing sides stared at each other as though they had to, tension filling the crisp night air.

One side of the fight was filled with confidence and a sense of accomplishment at a successful defence. The other side was nothing but nerves and dread. They had lost. How were they getting out of this?

Donatello and Hannah had awoken, but they were no use to the team. Hannah couldn't even sit up herself, and Donatello could just about breathe by himself. Raphael was paling more by the minute, his breathing shallow. He was in trouble if they didn't get help soon.

"You have lost, give up now while some of you are still alive." Shredder broke the silence, smirking inside his helmet. A sense of pride and accomplishment swelled up inside of him like a rapidly filling balloon.

Yet he didn't need all of them. He just needed the intelligence of the purple one, and he didn't realise it until not too long ago. Donatello could help him, but it would take a bit of... persuasion.

Leaning close to Karai, he whispered in her ear, "Abort plan B, reinstate the original plans."

Karai gave him an unsure look, but didn't give questioning him a second thought. She nodded in understanding, and sprinted her fastest to the entrance of the courtyard, and into the closest building on the left.

She came back in a split second with a clan of foot ninjas, fresh and ready for a fight. Leonardo and Michelangelo stood with their fists up, having no weapon on hand. They weren't going down without a fight, even though they felt they had already lost.

"Idiot turtles. You think you still have a chance?" Shredder mocked, enjoying the situation at hand. "No.Go on,eave while you can."

Michelangelo looked to his oldest brother, his eye ridge raised in confusion. It was too good to be true. Shredder wouldn't just let them go. There had to be a catch, and the youngest Hamato had a dreadful thought of what the catch was.

Swallowing deeply, Leonardo looked unsurely at the dominant man on the opposing side. He knew himself what was going to happen if they left. He knew they would come after his second youngest brother. Leonardo couldn't find it in his heart to tell the team to retreat.

How could he abandon his badly beaten little brother? Yet how could he stay and let Raphael die? In statistics, the rightful decision was to retreat, and come back for Donatello. But his big brother instincts got in the way of his leadership, knowing how much Donatello took from the kunoich in front of him, he couldn't leave him to suffer from her.

"It's only logic for one to save the rest." Karai smirked, her face still slumping a bit as she stared towards Donnie.

Leo turned, looking into the now open red-brown eyes of his little brother. He didn't see fear like he expected, but a sorrowful acceptance. Donatello forced his elbows under him, although every last nerve in his body screamed for him to halt, tolerating the awful and growing unbearable pain of movement unbelievably well.

Biting his inner lip and shutting his eyes from the pain, Donatello looked at his older brother, his own eyes pleading that he listen to him.

"Leo, leave. Go, please. Take them home." Donatello begged, searching his older brother's eyes which looked instantly hurt, as if he had just been stabbed in the back the instance Donatello uttered that last sentence.

Leonardo collapsed onto the ground beside Donatello, bringing his younger brother into a hug which both relieved Donatello's pain at sitting up on his elbows, yet further increased the pain everywhere else.

He winced, but hugged on to his brother, for that was the last hug he'd get for a while. Donnie felt his brother's tears dripping on him, and when he let go, his brother's bloodshot eyes was enough to make his own swell with tears.