Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. Eastman and Laird do.

Warnings: Angst and blood. (The usual for me.)

Mindless Babble: As promised, the prequel to Red. This was going to be a one shot but “I CAN’T WRITE ANYTHING SHORT ANYMORE!” Nine and a half pages, 5493 words later, I have a 5 chapter plus epilogue story that I’m actually pleased with. Though I’m still waiting for Lioness Goddess to get back to me on the rest of the fic, I thought I would post this first chappie to make Sassyblondexoxo happy (and so she won’t come after me like a RE4 psycho). The fic is done for the most part, though, so it won’t be much of a wait for chapter 2.

I.

“That’s it, Mikey! I’ve had it with you and your stupid pranks!”

Michelangelo’s laughter turned to a shriek of terror as his brother charged at him, his deadly sais aimed for his brother’s heart. He managed to avoid Raphael’s first lunge, but couldn’t dodge as Raph twisted like a cat and threw a punch aimed for the younger ones head. There was a sickening crack and Mikey fell to the floor.

“Raphael! What did you do?” cried Donatello as he rushed to Mikey’s side. He had heard the commotion and had wandered out of his room in time to see the sopping wet Raph attack his orange clad brother in the middle of their living room.

“He had it coming!” cried the 13 year old. “He keeps playing these stupid pranks just to piss me off!”

“Damn it, Raph!” Leonardo’s blue bandanna tails fluttered as he brushed his brother aside. “Why can’t you control your temper?”

“’Why can’t I’ … Leo! It’s his fault!”

Leo ignored him and knelt next to his purple clad brother. “How is he, Donnie?”

“Not good. He’s bleeding.”

Raphael felt something furry sweep past him. “Here is the first aid kit, Donatello.”

Then Splinter turned on Raphael. The second eldest had been pushing his luck for some time now, and this was the last straw. When the turtle tried to defend himself, the old rat did something he had never done before. He struck his son across the face. Raphael was so shocked, he stumbled and fell. He looked up at his sensei. Splinter glared at him.

“You were trained to protect your brothers; not to kill them!” he growled, ignoring the fear that entered the young turtle’s eyes.

“Master Splinter!” Donnie’s terror filled voice caused Splinter to turn away from venting his fury. “Something’s wrong!”

Raphael watched the rat move swiftly to his other sons. He saw the angered looks that his brothers threw at him before returning their attention to Mikey. He saw and felt the anger and hatred that radiated from the group of mutants. He touched his stinging cheeks and retreated to his room.

Sitting on his bed, the dark thoughts returned to taunt him. They had visited him almost every day for the past year. Today, they spoke with crystal clarity.

‘They hate you. You were never meant to be their brother. You were meant to be alone. You bring nothing but Misery to those you love! You would have been better off never to have even been born!’

‘It’s true,’ Raph whispered, as trails of tears made their way down his face. ‘They hate me. And now I might’ve killed my baby brother, the one who might’ve actually loved me.’

He looked down at his hands and wasn’t really surprised to find one of his kunai blades in his hands. He slowly traced a line in his hand with the tip of the throwing knife, drawing blood.

The voices returned, whispering into his ear, cutting into his heart. ‘Do it, do it! They won’t miss you! They will be better off without you! They will forget about you easily!’

Raph choked back a sob, hearing only truth in their words. “I know,” he whispered.

He picked up the other three knives from the floor. He found a ball of string under his bed and was inspired. He cut four strands off and tied one to the loop on the hilt of each knife. Task completed, he took them and moved to the middle of his bed. He took each knife and laid them out in front of him. Mentally, he named each one. ‘Splinter’, the one that hurt the most, was the first to pierce the skin in the bend of the left arm, next to the heart. ‘Leo’, the one that came to the sharpest point, was plunged into his left wrist. ‘Donnie’, with it razor like edge, found its resting spot in the crook of his right arm. ‘Mikey’, saved for last, came to rest in the wrist of Raphael’s right arm. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he silently said goodbye to his family. He picked up the four strings in his mouth and threw his head back, tearing the knives from his arms.

Anguish and sorrow guided Raphael into the darkness.

tbc

Shout outs: (For the preview in Red)

Sassyblondexoxo: Glad you liked the teaser. I hope you like this chapter. If you’re wondering, I’m still stuck at the same point in RE4. It is getting a bit frustrating! (Cheat book instructions: Kill 14 villagers to continue.) Please don’t come after me like that! (Update “Heat” please!)
Lioness-Goddess: You know what you did now!
Reinbeauchaser: I now know that you have read the book that I’m basing Raphael’s Inferno on, so I really hope you’ll still read it! Did you get my E-mail about the cool story Mickis gave me? And thank you for think that Red is good enough for a nomination! That really made me grin!
cfxgirl: The last chapter was preview for this story. Sorry about the confusion.
Whitewolf89: Thank you for your kind words and thought for this fic. I hope you enjoyed the finished version!
Mickis: It’s not torture. It’s… ummm… helping him. Yeah, helping!
Did love “Dark Journeys”. I read some of the other stories but didn’t like them as much. Thanks for all your searching!
BubblyShell22: I am slowly reading your fic. It’s good so far. I haven’t had the time to really read it and post a review but I promise I will! Thank you for all of your reviews.
Castle-Cloud: You have made me very happy!
XXXElectraXXX: They would have to order a pair of jackets, one for me too! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Lone Warrior2: I actually originally named the knives so it would be easier to write that scene! But I did try to use your suggestion and put a bit more description in it. I hope that this works! As for what I have planed for post-Red Raph, well let’s just say it’ll be fun and a bit painful! If you do read my LOTR fic, bring tissue. I was told that I needed a warning about that.

Welp, on to the next chapter…