Ninja Turtles Cracked Shell

_Hello everybody._

_Here is my first story about the 2k14 movie and I really wanted to share it with you. I think you'll recognize the moment I chose to target here …_

_Enjoy your reading!_

_Summary : An awkward and strangled yell escaped his throat. This pain was unbearable and got under his rubbery, sparkling, dark green skin. His glowing emerald eyes were drowning in his suffering, whereas his vision turned blurred. When his shell began to crackle loudly and ardently, he figured out Shredder was going to kill him. 2k14 movie._

**– I do not own TMNT –**

**– All rights reserved to their creators –**

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**Cracked shell**

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The word _responsibility_, he didn't really know it. Upon his tongue, it was insipid and tasteless. On the contrary, he had always been reckless. He was a stubborn and a narrow-minded mutant who loved acting on his instinct. He loved recklessness, it allowed him to live and breathe elsewhere than the sewers. It authorized him to express himself, but above all, to assume himself. Therefore, _responsibility_ was not exactly the kind of words which built his vocabulary. And he was often blamed for that.

_"I'm the only one that has to be responsible?!"_

It took him some time to understand this tasteless word, but he did it. He did it when their lair had been destroyed and when his brothers had been ripped from him. He did it when, determined to save them, he had picked up their weapons and slid them between his belt and his shell. He knew he was not perfect and his personality was full of faults, but he was sure of having at least one precious quality, which he would never exchange for anything. Courage.

_"No, bro. You weren't the only one that had to be responsible"_, he thought bitterly while using his muscles to tear down the door which was in front of him.

In a heartbeat, his green eyes got paralysed and misted when they rested on his brothers. He was struck by their pallor, but especially, by their features. They looked lifeless, cold as ice, inarticulate as puppets, out of breath, but above all, devoid of hope.

"Leo!"

The hot-tempered mutant screamed their names. He screamed to make them react, but his voice seemed to vanish before the panes of their cages. His strength did not reach them. He wanted to free them, he wanted to prove them he was responsible and worthy of them, but the panes resisted him. Overwhelmed by anger and determination, he violently grabbed his twin sais, scowling and grinding his teeth.

"Raphael. Glad you could join us. The fourth cage is for you", Shredder enunciated, while aparearing from the shadows.

His blood boiled and, with hatred, the young mutant rushed at him. Nevertheless, when Shredder kicked him at first, Raphael was down and his brothers' weapons were scattered all around him. He tried to get up, but he was disarmed by the blows he received in return. He had never imagined receiving such a strength in the face. The violence his fists used to hide seemed to go back against him.

"The rat did not teach you well!"

Like a river over stone, he had tried to let flow the insults, but he was not Leonardo. He had no control neither over his emotions, nor over his actions. He was hot-tempered and stubborn and impatient. His willpower and his fury were so strong that, in spite of pain that got through his limbs and his articulations, he managed to find support on his trembling fists and knees.

"Look at yourself, turtle."

Breathless, he lowered his head. Hate and madness and rage filled in his emerald eyes, making his blood boil in each vein and each artery. His heart was only beating to get up and break the cages where his brothers were. His only desire was snatching the syringes out of their bodies to stop them from pumping their blood. His brothers were his one and only motivation. Nonetheless, in spite of Raphael's stubbornness, Shredder swiftly swept his leg under him and he collapsed on his plastron, releasing a loud growl when his jaw roughly hit the cemented ground. The hot-head shivered when Shredder's hard and cold armor pressed itself against his shell.

"You're a mistake. A freak."

When he heard the first crack, fear overwhelmed him. He didn't comprehend what was happening. He didn't know what was that noise which was making him shudder, but it terrified him. This crackle was ringing into his ears and did not leave his heart, which was beating crescendo.

When he heard the second crack, he whined, being able to feel his nerves and his blood vessels pulsing in his whole body, bust mostly in his shell. He felt each one of his bones cracking and each one of his scutes dying. Pain was driving him furious.

When he heard the third crack, his fists clenched, slowly turning red, and his teeth bit nastily his lower lip. In spite of himself, an awkward and strangled yell escaped his throat. This pain was unbearable and got under his rubbery, sparkling, dark green skin. His glowing emerald eyes were drowning in his suffering, whereas his vision turned blurred.

When his shell began to crackle loudly and ardently, he figured out Shredder was going to kill him.

With violence and strength, he smashed his forehead against the cold ground, right between his tensed fists. Deep groans of distress broke through his throat, whereas, griting his teeth, he kept his eyes tightly closed. Overflowing with pain, he had hardly felt the warm tears burning his glowing eyes and rolling down his cheeks. With the back of his hand, he fiercely wiped them away.

_"Your shell is the only one you'll ever get, Raph! Take care of it!"_

The words Donatello used to tell him suddenly crossed his mind and, for the first time, they did make sense. Raphael had always been reckless and his shell had often been damaged, revealing some breaks all over it. It was deformed, nevertheless, that didn't stop him from going on playing with fire, again and again. However, at this moment, the young mutant finally realized his heavy and mighty shell was actually fragile, precious, but especially, alive. It lived and it was yelling for help, just as much as him.

Anger mixed with distress, while a deep feeling of humiliation drilled into his heart. He was doubled up with pain, shouting at each break from his shell. Raphael had never felt so inferior and humiliated and powerless, but the worst thing to him was being watched in such a situation by his brothers.

_"My brothers."_

Shame and embarrassment burned up his cheeks as he buried his flooded face into the crook of his muscular arms. The bones under his shell were breaking, the ones after the others, and the intense red of his mask dyed his eyes, making him believe his tears were blood.

_"One day, you'll seriously get hurt. Your shell is a part of you, don't ever forget that!"_

Raphael used to have the most massive shell. It was different than his brothers', from its form to its hue. The impulsive mutant had never managed to describe it, but he knew every scuts were sparkling, mixing several colors. At that very moment, Raphael didn't dare to imagine how it looked like.

Suddenly, and after what seemed like an eternity, he didn't feel any pressure over his cracked and convulsive shell anymore. Nevertheless, Raphael was still able to feel his body burning, but especially, his heart beating in each piece of his broken carapace. Lying on his plastron, he seemed lifeless, but he was just free. Free from Shredder's weight, free from humiliation and free from the crackles. A sigh of relief escaped his aching throat while he slowly opened his bruised eyes, just enough to catch a glimpse of his brothers. April had injected a healthy dose of adrenaline into their veins and, lively, they toughly broke the panes of their cages. The red-clad turtle was broken and torn, nonetheless, a slight smirk drilled into his dry lips at this beautiful sight.

"So that's it, being responsible? Shell, that was worth it.", he mumbled under his breath.

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_So... Yes, in this story I've only explored Raph's feelings and thoughts in that moment of the movie. __How was it? Have you enjoyed it? Some reviews?_

_Well, now I can tell you this is my first try in English. Please, tell me if I've made mistakes, it'd help me to correct them and improve my English. By the way, do you think I should write a sequel?_

_Thank you very much for reading!_

_Love y'all. Hiveen._


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Ninja Turtles, Drama, Hurt-Comfort