Author's Note:

Hey all! I'm heading out of town tomorrow, and I was going to wait to post this on Sunday when I got back...but since you sent me so many WONDERFUL reviews, I decided to give it to you earlier. With that said, I don't have time to answer each of you individually - but please, know that I am SO APPRECIATIVE of every little review you guys give me. LOVE ALL OF YOU!

Sorry about this, but I think that you all knew it was coming...Character death warning.(Sassy cowers as the angry mob runs toward her)

(Leonardo's POV)

The water rained down forcefully, the spray driving into my eyes. It was so cold, and I felt my breath catch painfully in my throat. Burying my face into my arm, I tried desperately to clear my vision. I heard a voice above the watery onslaught – Raphael. He was fervorently yelling Mike's name.

Oh God, Mike!

I tried to lift my eyes to search for him, but the water still blinded me. I forced myself to remain calm for a few more moments, waiting for the enclosure to start to fill. As it did, the spray died down, and I could once again see clearly. With the icy liquid biting above my ankles, a raw panic swept through me.

Michaelangelo's entire face was almost completely under. His body had started to convulse, trying to cough up the water that was flowing into his lungs. Even with all of the movement, he still didn't wake – the drugs continued to enwrap him in their slumber.

"MIKE!" I screamed, desperate for him to stand, to keep from going under. Raphael was doing the same, the area around him tinted pink with blood as he struggled against his chains.

But the water kept rising…rising…rising…

…until his entire body slipped below the surface.

"No! Mike, please…" my voice faded to a whimper. Tears welled up in my eyes and a sob tore through me, making me shake. For one awful, pain-wracked moment – or was it an eternity? – I felt like the object of a tug of war game, being pulled apart by loss and my own fear. Mike was dying…

We were all dying.

"Leo." I could barely hear Donatello over the rush of water. He too was crying, but his face remained oddly calm.

"Leo, its better this way-" his sentence broke as he exhaled sharply, shivering from the cold. "He won't feel anything, he won't even know its happening."

Although the thought was comforting, it did nothing to ease the grief inside of me.

The three of us watched him, silently, while the minutes ticked passed – so many, that we knew he had to be gone. The room had filled up to my chest, with tiny waves crashing into my face, making me cough and sputter for air. Now that Mike was dead, I did nothing to try and push the water away.

For the first time, I noticed Saki. He was still standing in the same place, eyes sparkling in unbridled pleasure at our suffering. Before this moment, I never thought that I was even capable of feeling such hatred, especially for one person. I shot him a look of pure venom.

Smiling at me, he knocked hard on the glass behind Raphael. My brother whirled at the noise, broken from his trance.

Seeing Saki, a cry erupted from Raphael that was full of such anguish, it nearly shattered my heart. Teeth bared, he kicked at the glass, then threw himself sideways against it. The loss of Michaelangelo put him into an absolute frenzy. The water churned with his attacks, and as it rose higher, we had to tread in order to keep our heads from going under. The movement was nearly impossible with our ankles bound and the heavy chain trying to drag us back to the floor. In just minutes, I felt my legs starting to give out.

I glanced frantically toward Donatello, and to my horror, realized that he had already dropped below the surface. I screamed at Raphael, but my voice was lost to his struggling.

And then I couldn't breathe.

The chain attached to my ankles was taught, and even with my head tilted, my mouth couldn't reach air. Panicking, I nearly sucked in a mouthful of water. I had to force myself to stay still, to keep from clawing at my wrists. I knew that moving would make me need air even faster.

That fact was completely lost on Raphael. Being pulled under did nothing to cease his hysterics. He had his back to us, attention still focused on Saki's fuzzy outline, beating against the glass with renewed vigor. Donatello's eyes were wide with fright, and I heard the faint sound of his voice as he tried to yell at Raphael through the water. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I could vaguely read his lips.

"Stop it, Raph…it only gives… more pleasure…to see… fight…"

His calls having no affect, we each watched painfully as time passed – and Raphael's thrashing became weaker.

Raphael! Dammit, Raph…please don't leave… In my mind I was screaming.

Suddenly, in one large convulsion, his movements ceased completely. The chain around his ankles dragged his limp body downward, raising his arms toward the surface in a sickening gesture of defeat.

Mental anguish lanced through me like lighting. Two of them…gone…

My chest tightened, both from loss and the need for air. The pain was starting to build, different from anything I'd ever felt before. Worse than a flesh wound, more awful than any battle injury. There was so much fear.

"Leo."

Don again, but my name wasn't spoken – it seemed to come from inside my head. My eyes met his, and I saw his body start to shake. He was running out of time.

His lips barely able to move, I watched him mouth his last words.

"Love you, bro'."

My heart broke.

"Love you, too."

He managed a slight smile before his eyes closed, soul fading away.

Damn you, Saki!

Three truly exquisite lives, all lost in a matter of minutes. We'd experienced so much hardship, yet managed to touch so many people, even if they'd never known that we had existed. To die so unceremoniously, in such agony, so many years before our time – it seemed completely unfair.

God, please make it be over…it hurts so bad…

Suddenly I felt like I was falling – I couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't react. The world had no up or down, only the sensation of cold, icy water. I wanted to scream in pain; but then numbness started to spread from the fire in my chest, pushing the agony away. It spread faster as it moved outward, and soon I could no longer feel anything, anything at all.

A few thoughts remained with me in those final moments. Raphael; had he known that I loved him? It had been so long since I'd told him…And Mike. It was probably best that he hadn't wakened…but we never got to tell him goodbye. Donny…oh god, please let us all be together when this is over…

Drifting…the world started to spin…

Plummeting…

I let the darkness pull me farther, closing behind me, and my thoughts began to go numb and fall away as well.

Drowning…

Drowning…

Drowning…

Nothing.