#grandpappy raph au

[daboyau]

okay so this is sort of the opening of that time traveling grandpappy raph au i’ve been thinking about. Warnings for sort of death, and some gore. @iobsesswaytoomuch, I am tagging you since you mentioned you’d be interested in that one lol. We’re not at the grandpappy (more like dad i guess since raph is in his late 20’s/early 30’s here lmao) but this is the beginning of the journey!

@boots-with-the-fur-club

It hadn’t been a quick death, but as far as things went it hadn’t been the worst one he had ever imagined for himself. His brothers had all been there, hands bloodied from digging through the rubble, upset, but warm and alive as they crowded around him. They had made it through the battle, and that was all he needed to know that it was all worth it. He’d heard their voices, though he hadn’t been able to make out the words. He’d closed his eyes, smiling at the feeling of Mikey pressed close to his side, of Leo’s hands on his face, of Donnie’s knees pressed tight against his thigh.

He didn’t like that they had to see him like this, but he was happy that he wouldn’t be alone in the end. Maybe it was selfish of him. Maybe not. If he had to choose, he would have liked to have been with his brothers in their last moments, too. He thinks they’d feel comforted. Not as scared. Just like him. 

They hadn’t dared to try moving him. His plastron was a mess of gaping chasms, organs visible through the holes. His spine was damaged, his legs mangled, his throat mostly crushed. There had been no saving him, though he still tried to cling to life. He knew he wouldn’t last through the night - didn’t want to, at this point - and they’d all known it. Somewhere nearby, he could hear Casey screaming her fury to the sky, followed by the sound of something big being broken. April’s voice was soft in his ear, a comforting and familiar presence like she’s always been. Her hands were cold and shaking where they pressed against the wound over his heart, unwilling to let him go without a fight, no matter how he tried to tell her that it was okay.

He was just happy to know they’d all made it. His brothers and sister and best friend were alive, and that was all that mattered to him. His only regret was that he wouldn’t be around to protect them anymore. That, and that his last time seeing them, they were all crying like they’d never smile again. 

He hoped that that wasn’t true. He’d like it very much if they found happiness after he was gone. He hated that they had to see him like this, but…. Well, maybe it was selfish, but he was happy he didn’t have to die alone and afraid. 

 He made himself smile, forced out a final i love you all. so much. through the mangled remains of his throat, and for the first time in so so long, he decided it was finally okay to rest. He heard his family crying, screaming, fingers scrabbling against the few intact pieces of his body. He couldn’t focus, but for the first time since they had first fought against the kraang, he could have sworn he saw the stirrings of purple and blue and orange light surrounding him. Instinctively, his own ninpo flickered within his chest, the last warm and beating thing within him trying to reach back to them. From somewhere within that familiar warmth, he felt a tug. His heart gave one final, stuttering beat. His eyes closed. 

.

.

.

And when they opened again, he was somewhere new.