Just a short note here, guys. I'm having a special Valentine's day writing contest. If you want to check that out, go look at my message board. The details are all there. :)

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There are some things in this life that can build a person up, that can turn them into the strongest warriors to ever walk the face of the earth. Things that ignite our bones and lead us to action for the greater good. Things that people go through that could mess up their minds, but they refuse to let it. Things that make who we are.

But then there are things that work their hardest to tear us down, to break us in every way possible. Things that want nothing more than to see us shatter like glass across the pavement of reality. Things that haunt us and destroy what little soul we have, wearing it down til it becomes as sharp and mindless as a knife.

At this point, Raph didn't feel like this was one of those 'building up a person' moments in his life. That is, if he was even still alive. If anything, this was something that was trying to break every bone in his body and eat away at his very being.

He walked down a long dark hallway, headed towards a pair of double-doors at the very end. His feet were soundless on the tiled floors and the noise of his breathing echoed off the walls. It was eerily quiet, but there was really nothing he could've done about it. So instead of worrying about that, he just kept walking, then shoved the two cold metal doors open.

The room before him was dark, but he still knew what it was- a theater. He could tell by all the chairs and the large screen a few yards away from the very front row. He had never been in a theater before, but he had seen them on TV a few times in shows and movies. Not knowing what else to do, Raph strolled down the nearest isle and took a seat. As soon as he sat down, the film began to roll. Praying that it wouldn't be some chick-flick, Raph propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his fist, but quickly pulled away after realizing that his hands were still coated in red. He sat up straight and tall and hoped that this film would ease his thundering heart.

It didn't.

The movie was of his life at that very second, of his family in the lair while they waited for him to wake up from his coma. Mikey and Madi's dog were sleeping in Donnie's room at the foot of his bed, which seemed kind of strange to Raph. You'd think that Mikey would've slept like a normal person would, but then Raph remembered that Mikey wasn't all that normal, either.

The scene changed to the dojo, where Leo and Master Splinter were doing some early-morning meditating like they usually did. It was great to know that that didn't change, even though Raph was currently in a coma. That showed just how much they cared about him. 

The movie switched scenes a few more times, showing April asleep in her room, LIsa snoring loudly in her own, Jacob passed out on the couch, and then himself unconscious in his own bedroom. The sight of himself made the turtle flinch- he was a mess. He had lost so much weight already and Donnie had given him an I.V. in his wrist so he wouldn't be dehydrated. Dark circles rested beneath his eyes and his mouth slightly hung open. The only indication that he was still even alive was the steady rise and fall of his chest that showed he was breathing.

"Holy Shell..." Raph muttered under his breath at the scene.

He was dying.

"I just don't get it..." A voice stated from another room. Suddenly Raph was looking into the kitchen, where Madi and Donnie were sitting and eating pancakes, eggs, and bacon while drinking fresh orange juice. It must've been morning. That would explain why Mikey, April, Jacob, and Lisa would still be sleeping.

Madi had been the one to speak. And from just how dry and rusty her voice sounded, she had obviously been through worse than Raph. Just like him, she had lost so much weight that the small bumps of her ribs were showing through her baggy pajama shirt and her vertabrae were poking out of her back. The poor girl must've not gotten much sleep, either, considering just how droopy she sounded and the dark shadows beneath her eyes. He wasn't the only one who was dying.

Yes, he was relieved that she hadn't truly died like he had seen in his last vision or whatever that had been. But she was still dying of starvation and lack of sleep.

"He's been like this for weeks now..." Madi trailed off, her voice cracking at the end of her sentence. He didn't know if he was imagining things or if he really did see the tear stream down her cheek and drop onto the table. "I just-....I don't-...." She couldn't finish her sentence. Donnie reached across the table-top and rested his large green hand on her small, fragile one.

"Madi..." He started, but stopped when Madi began to cry. She held her head in her hands and began to sob quietly, careful not to wake the others. 

"It's my fault, Donnie." She murmured between deep inhales of air. "It's my fault we're losing him. I killed him, Donnie. I killed Raph." 

"Don't say that." Donnie scolded her and stood up, quickly walked around the table and wrapped his big arms around her. She lifted her arms up and snuck them around his neck, resting her head on his plastron. He let her cry in his arms as he held her. "Don't you dare say that." But she didn't seem to hear him over the sounds of her grief.

"No..." Raph said out loud as he watched it all from his seat. Things were so wrong at this point. It wasn't Madi's fault at all. Things just...happened. She had no right to blame herself for this. Man, how Raph hated it when Madi cried. She had been through so much in the fifteen years of her life, so many terrible things that no one should have to go through. It shattered his heart to see her so torn up about him. At least her tears showed that she cared for him at least a little bit.

Raph was feeling so many different emotions while watching what was going on between the girl of his dreams and his brother. Sadness, guilt, sorrow, but what traumped all of those was his anger. Why was Donnie comforting her like that? Donnie knew that Raph had feelings for Madi, so why was he trying to make a move on her?

"Breathe, Raph." He told himself and took a deep breath. Master Splinter told him that anger was never a trurt-worthy emotion and that he shouldn't let it determine his actions. He was just thinking irrationally by assuming that Donnie was trying to make a move on Madi. His brother wouldn't do that to him, he had April. He wouldn't make such a low choice.

Would he?