The work of saving the world does not end even when you die

Donatello Purple Hamato could boast that he had a significant resistance to sentimentality and, although living in the literal apocalypse could dull the feelings of the sweetest being, he could not remember the last time he let himself be carried away by his emotions.

He handled seeing his younger brothers again very well, he remained calm and temperate when he hugged Angelo and let him cry clinging to his arm, he remained stoic as he watched his twin fade away after greeting him. Yes, he kept his cool and was proud of it.

Only when he saw, among the roar of stone and iron falling as the building collapsed, the enormous silhouette of a familiar snapping turtle formed of red energy he felt that all his self-control was going to shit. His older brother, the one who died saving them, the one who lost his life thanks to his most terrible mistake, the one who said goodbye to him looking at him with a pained smile and without blaming him for anything... Raphael appeared again in all his splendor, like a boss, as they were accustomed to until the fateful afternoon when everything went to hell and they lost their father figure and the only security they had left in that destroyed world.

Without regard for the danger or those around him, he turned on the thrusters of his battle shell and flew to where the other three mutants were. It took Raph a second to notice and open his arms, after lowering the young Raph and the other Leonardo to the ground and receiving him with the best hug ever, the one that gave them confidence and protection, the only place in the world where they felt one hundred percent safe, where they were once again, for the duration of the hug, the carefree teenagers who snuggled up against their older brother to sleep, shutting out nightmares.

— I missed you too, Dee. — The soft purr of Raphael's deep voice made a sob escape the soft shell's throat and she snuggled further into her older brother's broad, warm chest.

— Never leave us again, do you understand? — he growled, trying to sound threatening but failing epically — don't you dare do something so stupid again, ever — at that point he had separated himself slightly from Rapha and was tapping the older man's plastron with a finger — or I will use the ADA against you and I will throw out the dissolving component and... — Raphael kept a sweet smile on his face, barely affected by his little brother's scolding, and he tightened the hug a little more, drowning out Donnie's next words.

— Yes, yes Donnie, I promise — the others, who followed the older purple one after he flew away, looked at the whole scene in surprise. The sequence of events that occurred in such a short time was dizzying... to begin with, Leonardo was rescued from a collapsing building in some way that was not yet completely clear and that probably involved the tremendous unknown mutant. Raphael was next to the young leader holding him carefully while he used his free hand to try to remove some heavy chains tied to his wrists; Seeing Donatello Hamato, alias Von Ryan, hugging the unknown giant turtle tightly as if his life depended on it was what actually most surprised the two teenagers who were watching the scene open-mouthed. If you thought about it a little, logic said that the newcomer was an adult Raphael, but the way he cradled his little brother and the sweetness with which he looked at him and smiled did not match the normally sullen temperament of the sai-user warrior. to which they were accustomed. He looked much more docile, even when he laid his eyes on them they couldn't feel intimidated despite his size. Curiosity invaded the young scientist in purple, filling his head with many questions.

And why was it so big? How big was it? What kind of turtle was it? What was happening to its eye? What would be the maximum weight it could carry? Donatello began to take notes in his mind so that when they returned to the lair they could bombard the eldest with it. Not to mention the other unconscious brother whom they hadn't met yet.