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It was supposed to be a normal patrol. There wasn’t even supposed to be anyone to fight. Mikey and Donnie even stayed home. It was just Raph and Leo tonight, patrolling the city, cracking jokes and talking about the show they were currently binging. Before either of them knew it though, foot soldiers were everywhere. They outnumbered them five to one. Leo and Raph jumped into action, they beat most of the soldiers fairly easily, they had done it many times before. When they were down to just the last few soldiers, they were almost done, and Raph felt fairly confident that they could beat them all and head back to the lair, something caught his eye. One of the soldiers on the opposite rooftops was holding a gun. Not a Kraang gun, but a modern american pistol, and it was aimed straight at Leo's head. Before he could say anything, before he could scream, he was running towards Leo. He wasn’t thinking, he couldn’t, he was just moving. He heard the gun go off right as he made contact with Leo, and for a moment he thought it was too late, but then a searing pain shot through his plastron. The bullet had struck Raph and lodged itself into his side. He crumpled to the ground, his vision going dark around the edges. He had never been in this much pain in his life, but all he could feel was relieved that his brother was okay. The next few moments were a blur, he heard Leo yell for him, and the scuffle of the foot soldiers retreating. They hadn’t exactly done their job, but they had done enough damage for the time being.
“Raph!” Leo screamed, bending down next to him. Raph was crumpled on the ground, clutching his side, his teeth grit. Leo put an arm around him and pulled him up into a seated position leaning against the lip of the building. “Raph! Are you okay?” Raph didn’t look good, and Leo knew it. Already, there was a puddle of blood that circled around them, soaking Leo’s knee pads. He ripped off his mask and pressed it to Raph’s side.
“Did you get hurt?” Raph grunted, weakly. The mask wasn’t doing much to stop the bleeding.
“Raph why did you do that?” Leo said. Tears welled in his eyes. His hands trembled as he fidgeted with Raph’s wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “I’ll call the others. You’re gonna be okay, Raph. Stay with me.”
“I was careless,” Raph said. There were other ways to stop this from happening, and he knew it, but he hadn’t been thinking. “Sorry, Leo.”
“Don’t say that,” Leo said, his eyes shiny and wide with fear. “Don’t say that, it’s not like you.” He fumbled with his t phone for a minute, his fingers wet with blood, but managed to dial Donnie’s number.
“Yeah?” Donnie answered after only a few rings. “What’s up?”
“Donnie, Raph’s been shot. We’re on top of the Wolf Hotel. I need everyone here. Now.”
“What?” Donnie said. “Shit, okay. Where was he shot?”
“In the side,” Leo said. “He’s already lost a lot of blood. Get here fast. I’m scared. I don’t-”
“Try to slow the bleeding. We’ll be there soon.”
Leo dropped his phone and turned to Raph. “Does it hurt?”
Raph scoffed weakly. “Yeah,” he said. “Leo, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it out of this one.”
“Don’t say that,” Leo said again. “Please don’t say that. You’re Raphael. You’ll be okay, you’ll be okay.”
Raph tried his best to smile at Leo, but he knew his attempt was a weak one. “I’m sorry,” Raph said again. “I love you, man.”
Tears streamed down Leo’s face. “I love you too,” he said. “Don’t be sorry. You saved my life. I should’ve seen the foot soldier I-”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Raph said, his voice hoarse and quiet. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Leo grabbed onto Raph’s hand. “Raph, please don’t die. The team needs you. I need you. Please.”
Raph smiled weakly at Leo. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” Raph said.
“Where is he?” Donnie’s voice rang out.
“Over here!” Leo yelled!
Donnie ran over to Raph. “Shit,” he said. “Shit shit shit. It definitely hit his liver, which is bad, but I’m also scared about his lung.”
“Is he gonna be okay?” Mikey yelled.
Donnie didn’t respond. He peeled Leo’s blood soaked mask back and pressed a cloth to the wound. Raph winced. Donnie looked up at Splinter, who was standing next to him. He didn’t say anything. He looked up at Splinter as tears filled his eyes and trailed down his cheeks. “I don’t know if I can fix this,” he said. “With his plastron in the way, I can’t put any stitches in. I don’t even know if it would be safe to pull out the bullet. I- I don’t know what to do. Sensei, I’m scared.”
“You did good, Donatello,” Splinter said. “Let me see him.” Donnie backed up and Splinter sat next to Raph, his robes soaking up blood from the ground and from his son. He held him in his arms, comforting him. Raph’s brothers were silent.
“Dad,” Raph said. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I-”
“Shhh, it’s okay, my son,” Splinter said.
“He saved me!” Leo cried. “He pushed me out of the way! He saved my life.”
“Oh, Raphael,” Splinter said. “Always so brave.”
“I tried my best, dad,” Raph said. “I just want to keep them safe.”
“You were amazing,” Splinter said. “You have always been amazing. I see how hard you work everyday. I am nothing short of amazed by you.”
“I’m scared,” Raph admitted. “It hurts.”
“I know,” Splinter said. “It’ll be okay.”
Tears filled Raphael’s eyes now. “I just wanna stay here. I want to keep protecting my brothers.” Mikey let out a sob that broke Raph’s heart into a million pieces. He couldn’t bring himself to turn his head to look. His eyes stayed fixed on his father.
“You did so good,” Splinter said. “Leonardo is alive because of you. You did such a good job protecting your brothers.”
“Thank you,” Raphael said. Tears spilled from his eyes now. “Dad, am I dying?” he said.
Splinter didn’t respond to his question. “You have proved your honor over and over,” he said. “But this is the most honorable thing a ninja can do. You have been nothing short of amazing, Raphael. You should be so very proud of yourself. I know I am proud of you, and so are your brothers.”
Raph took a breath. He was coming to terms with the fact that it would be one of his last. “Keep them safe, okay? Please,” he said.
“Of course,” Splinter said. “Raphael, I love you so very much. I hope you knew that every single day of your life, and I hope you know it now.”
“I love you too,” Raph said. “I love all of you.” He turned his head to look at his brothers. Leo had his arms around Mikey, who had his hands over his mouth. All three of them had tears streaming down their faces. Raph tried his best to smile at them. “I already miss you guys.”
Mikey sank to his knees. He was at eye level with Raph now. “Don’t go Raph,” he pleaded. “I need you.”
Raph gave him a smile. “I’m sorry,” he said weakly.
“Your family loves you so dearly,” Splinter said, tears filled his own eyes, but he didn’t let himself get choked up. Not yet. “It has been an absolute honor to be your father.”
Raph looked up at his dad again. It was nice being held, he thought to himself. He felt loved. His family watched as his body went limp, and his world went dark.