Remember. [TMNT 2012]

60. The Deadly Blow; Elizabetta

Song: Everything Goes Black - Skillet

"Lizzy! No!"

Leonardo's voice is the last thing I hear before he crashes into my brother. The turtle lands flat on top of Edmund, a large pool of blood forming underneath them.

   I panic. I jump up and run over to them, stumbling over my own feet on the way. "Leo!" I yell out in worry.

   Leonardo can't be dead. He can't be.

   But the blue-clad turtle pulls himself up with no problem, and relief floods me.

   "What?" he asks. His eyes suddenly widen when he sees Edmund still lying on the ground below him. "Oh no..." he whispers.

   Leonardo's katana juts out of Edmund's back. The moment I see it, I know the wound is unfixable.

   "No!" I cry out. I fall to my knees beside him and remove the katana. I toss the weapon aside and turn him over, my emotions taking me over. I gasp for breath as I slap his cheek lightly, hoping to wake him up. "Ed! Open your eyes! Please!"

   By some miracle, my shouting works. Edmund's eyes fly open. They take on their natural green color, but they're dull and cloudy with the first signs of fatigue- the kind that can only be obtained from a fast approaching death.

   "Ed," I whisper as tears start skirting across my cheekbones. "We're going to get you help, ok?" I go on while he just stares blankly at me. "Donnie!" I call desperately for the purple-clad turtle.

   "Little busy!" Donatello replies loudly as he dodges a blow from a Footbot. Michelangelo and Raphael fight alongside him, their faces scrunched up in determination.

   Edmund's breathing starts to become shallow. His eyes slowly begin to glaze over, giving into the pull of death.

   "No! Ed! Don't go!" I sob. I slap his cheek so hard that he snaps out of his daze.

   "Liz." His voice is hollow and weak. Every breath rattles his whole body as he fights to stay awake. Despite all the odds, he manages to reach up and gently touch my cheek with his cold hand.

   "I'm so sorry," Leonardo breaks into the sorrowful moment. His blue eyes are full of remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

   I'm so messed up that my sadness quickly twists into rage. "Didn't mean to?!" I shout at him. "DIDN'T MEAN TO?! You stabbed him right in the back! You can't tell me that was an accident!"

   Leonardo looks at me, astonishment spread across his face. "Lizzy, it really was an accident. Honest!"

   But the tone he uses doesn't convince me. "You can't accidentally kill someone, Leo!" I scream, tears burning my cheeks. "Especially not my brother!"

   Leonardo bites his lip. "Ok, it wasn't an accident. It was instinct," he confesses.

   "Instinct to kill my brother?!"

   "What else was I supposed to do?!" Leonardo shouts back, growing frustrated with my arguments.

   I glare at him through my blurred vision. "I don't know! But you didn't have to do that!" My voice cracks every time I speak, but I refuse to be silent.

   How could he do this to me? He's supposed to be my friend. And last time I checked, friends don't kill each other's family members.

   Leonardo isn't giving in, however. "He was going to murder you, Lizzy!" he exclaims.

   I open my mouth to snap back at him, but a small sound from Edmund stops me.

   "He's right."

   I stare at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" I ask softly. My throat is beginning to close from so much crying.

   Edmund looks into my eyes. "There was no other way to get rid of the serum," he explains breathlessly. It's painful to watch his chest rise and fall. "It was created to stay inside my bloodstream for the rest of my life."

   He pauses to catch his breath, and then continues. "I didn't remember this before now, but I overheard Stockman talking about it when he injected me so long ago.  It wasn't going to go away, Liz." His eyes are almost completely clouded over by now. "I either die, or spend the rest of my life coming after you."

   I am speechless. Instead of responding, I grab his hand and squeeze it. I press my forehead against his, screwing my eyes shut as my tears drip onto his face.

   "I'm the oldest.  I was supposed to die first," I say hoarsely. I promised my whole life to keep him safe, no matter what. But I failed.

   Edmund's next words surprise me. "I always knew I would be the first to go," he mumbles.

   I'm at a loss for words again. The pain of losing him is worse than having a thousand deep wounds. He's the one I can trust with anything, especially my life. He's always been there for me, and now he isn't going to be around anymore.

   "I love you," Edmund rasps as he presses his forehead more firmly to mine.

   I can't open my eyes and face him. "I love you, too," I murmur, my voice quivering.

   "Liz, look at me."

   I comply, just barely. The light in his green eyes is fading out so quickly, leaving nothing in its wake.

   "Game on," he says quietly, and I immediately understand. He wants me to avenge his death; to get back at those who had stolen his life from him.

   With a shaking hand, I trace the scar running across his face. I never did get a chance to ask him where he got it. But now is not the right time.

   "Game on," I reply, as if it's a promise.

   At my words, Edmund's eyes close for the last time, and the breath leaves his body. He's gone, for real this time.

   I fall over him and cry into his chest. The blood covering him is already starting to dry into his clothes, and he feels unnaturally cold.

   A hand touches my back and Leonardo's breath brushes passed my ear. "Lizzy, you can't do this right now," he murmurs.

   I reluctantly release my death grip on Edmund and sit up. My gaze meet the blue-clad turtle's, and I feel myself breaking down. Once again, I yelled at him for something that he couldn't control. I am so awful to him.

   But Leonardo has conveniently forgotten all about that. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to him, never once breaking eye contact.

   "You're going to be alright," he reassures me softly.

   If it had been anyone else, I would have laughed in their face. I would have told them off for being stupid and irrational. I would have slapped them for lying to me and continued to mourn right then and there.

   But since it's Leonardo, I believed him. Something about him always makes things better. His presence surrounds me and makes my heart that much more resistant to grief. It still hurts, but less so than before.

   I throw my arms around his neck and embrace him tightly, whispering, "I know."