#SIW Don

[truths33k3r4]

(CONTENT WARNING!- Nightmares, medical-based trauma and situations! Panic!)

CHAPTER 10- Never Again

“Raphael.” Leo tightly warned, raising his hands onto the sides of his brother’s face. His normally calm tone plummeted into the negative degrees, replacing the warmth of brotherly concern with the chill of interrogation. Unfortunately, this was the only strategy that worked on his stubborn little brother. Kind, gentle words only added another brick to his growing wall of pride, coming off to the fiery sibling as demeaning and condescending instead of loving. The eldest deeply regretted how long it took him to realize this fact about his brother.

 It would have saved them both a lot of heartache growing up.

 Instead of getting lost in the past, he shoved his way back into the present, where his brother was shaking and crying, and not telling him why.

“RAPH. I am warning you- If you don’t tell me what’s going on in the next three seconds, I’m going to drag your shell to dad.”

Leo allowed a faint snarl to escape through his teeth, hoping that his go-to threat would work like always. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure if he would be physically able to haul Raphael to his father’s room- Despite how much the eldest had trained, Raph had always been faster and stronger. 

That didn’t aggravate the eldest in the slightest.

Not… at… all.

“I said I’m f-” Raph began, attempting to twist his head out of Leo’s grip, but the eldest’ hands remained planted on his brother’s face, snapping Raph’s gaze back to his icy irises. 

“You. Are. Crying.” Leo pressed in harsh whispers as he tightened his grip to emphasize how seriously worried he was becoming with each second. “You don’t do that. That’s not a thing that you do, and worse- you’re doing it in front of me… So…”

The eldest’s vice-like grip softened to a small caress, wiping away another escaping tear off his brother’s face. Leo’s harsh glare melted with the true warmth he felt for his hurting brother. 

“... I know something is seriously wrong.” He whispered with a gentleness his brothers all knew well. His breath shuddered as his hands slid from Raph’s face down to his shoulders. “You… were held hostage at some- s-some mad scientist’s lab for over two weeks, Raph… I have no… idea… what they did to you…”

Leo watched as Raph’s eyes kept overflowing with silent tears, reminding the eldest of a wordless history filled with pain and devastating fear that had been plaguing his brother for weeks. 

Leo couldn’t hold back the memories of finding his missing brothers at that horrible lab, rushing through the doors of the facility, maneuvering his way through the halls to the sound of screaming.

His brother. Screaming.

. . .

Don’s freckled face was nearly unrecognizable without his signature glasses and violet-hued mask. Those monsters had taken away all their gear- leaving them more or less naked and unidentifiable; Inhumane. Nothing but another creature for those psychos to study and pull apart… Not only had those heartless heathens stripped him down, but they had also strapped him down to the confines of a reclining chair via leather straps that painfully dug into his skin. 

Don’s expression began as listless while he focused on breathing through the pain of whatever vile concoction was being injected into his veins through an IV. But then a sudden realization sparkled behind his heterochromatic irises, and Leo nearly shattered into a million pieces when his genius brother locked eyes with him for the first time in weeks.

“R-Raph?...” The freckled brother shakily called, as he leaned forward, squinting his eyes.

The frail sound of his sibling’s plea for familiarity and safety sent an arrow of guilt piercing into Leo’s heart. Before another second could be wasted, Leo ran to Don’s side. With a quick shuffle into his belt, the eldest pulled out a pair of glasses, sliding it oh so gently onto his freckled brother’s face. Once Don’s breathing steadied, he looked up and lost his breath all over again. 

“Leo…” He gasped in between shuddered breaths. “LEO!!!” 

With the cry of the eldest’s name, Leo began to hurriedly disconnect all the equipment from his brother, who was now softly sobbing and shaking his head as if this was all just a dream. 

“T-This… This can’t be real…” 

Leo couldn’t even reply as he carefully began pulling out the IV from Don’s bruised arm with all the gentleness he could afford. Tears of relief and shame and love and sadness all poured from his face as he set right to work on un-doing all that had been done to his beloved sibling. He rapidly wiped away his tears as he reached behind to pull out one of his twin katanas. With a number of practiced swipes with his blade, all the straps that once held down Don fell to the floor. 

Now freed from his confines, Don arched himself forward, trying to push himself off the heightened medical chair. Slowly, and with Leo’s help, he finally had both feet on the floor, but not for long. As if a large gust of wind shot through the room, Don’s body began plummeting to the floor in an exhausted heap. As soon as Leo sensed his brother’s weakness, he swiftly sheathed his katana and reached out. Within a matter of seconds, he was on his knees with Don pressed tightly into his arms.

“I’m here! I’m here- I’m so sorry. I love you- I love you I love you-” He cried out, finally being able to say what had been on his heart for the last eighteen days.

“Leo…how…” Don quietly sobbed into Leo’s neck, smothered yet crystal clear, “How did y-you? H-how are you here? Are y-you okay? Did you… Did you find R-Raph?”

Leo winced in sympathy as he listened to the gravelly scratches carving their way painfully into Don’s throat with each word he spoke.

“Shhhh. Shhhhh.” Leo whispered into his brother’s ear, “You need to… to rest.” A whimper weaseled its way out of Leo’s throat, leaving his whole body shaking with emotion and adrenaline. He was supposed to be the foundation of his team; the stronghold that would protect his brothers no matter the costs- the firm walls that would keep his family safe from the cruel, outside world.

And yet here he was, dissolving into shifting sand in his beloved brother’s skinny arms. His facets of honor and maturity crumbled into broken shards of childishness as he let out a painful sob, finally unleashing a grain of the agony he had carried on his shoulders during the weeks of his brothers’ capture. The doubts and fears that plagued his sleepless mind were finally put to reassured rest.

Don was okay.

The stale air of the lab made Leo’s skin tingle with discomfort as he latched onto his little brother with all his might, vowing right then and there that he would never allow this to happen again. With a sense of determination he had not felt in some time, he pressed further into his brother, spreading warmth where only shadow and pain had touched. Each bruise and bandage littering his little brother’s skin was a testament of the eldest’ failure to protect those he loved.

Never again.

The moment was abruptly sliced in half as a blaring alarm began to scream.

~

Leo blinked. And there he was again, kneeling at Raph’s side, with his hands on his shaking brother’s shoulders. 

“It… It was a nightmare.” Raph simply shrugged, though his voice wobbled and shuddered like a glass cup during an earthquake. 

After wiping away the last hints of tears, Leo sighed with the tiniest glint of a smile.

Still playing the tough guy… But at least he’s speaking again.

Leo released one of his hands off of Raph’s shoulder and planted it onto his knee, steadying his own swaying form from the sleep he was currently missing.

“Do you want to talk abou-”

“-No.”

Before his sore legs gave out underneath him, Leo flopped down onto his butt with a somewhat content sigh, using his arms to hold him upright.

“Should've guessed…” He whispered as he slouched back. The smile on his face was still present, alighting the cold, dark room with a small ember of warmth. “Well… I’m… here when you’re ready to talk.” 

Raph turned his face to look down at his brother, silently contemplating Leo’s offer.

 The eldest would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt how cautious Raph was being around him. He’d noticed it for years, slowly watching as hour-long conversations after practice would turn into quick, hollow “hey”s before his fiery sibling briskly left the room. Late nights of reading comics and trying to catch their favorite movies on tv slowly lessened as Raph wanted to be by himself more. 

In all honesty, despite his own pride, Leo couldn’t blame him. He and the second oldest would get into horrible fights growing up. Every small conversation turned into a horrible argument. Any compliment had poison at its tip, sharp and designed to sting. And no sooner had those hurtful words escaped their lips, their fists began flying.

Leo once noticed, mid argument with Raph, that Don had carefully guided himself and Mikey out of the room. One more glance revealed tears falling out of his baby brother’s eyes, and a hardened, disappointed glare across Don’s face.

His and Raph’s actions had begun to affect his brothers. That’s when it became clear that something needed to be done.

So he and Raph just- stopped talking. Leo did his very best to back off unless necessary, and slowly over time their home became quiet again. 

But silence is a two-edged sword. What can be felt as peaceful can also be sensed as cold and apathetic; The natural quiet of a forest’s winter trails compared to the restrained hostility boiling under a volcano’s depths.

A cover-up. A simple bandaid rather than a full surgery. 

Not enough.

Through the years, Splinter had begun training Raphael in better handling his temper. Every day before practice, Leo would see Raph sluggishly dragging his feet into Sensei’s room, and through the door, he, Don and Mikey would listen in on some of the fiery brother’s lessons from their father. Splinter would guide Raph through his Bible, reviewing verses of pride, arrogance, and the need for love to be in the world. He then went over how important it was as christians to show Christ’s love to others. And especially, the ultimate need for that love to be in their home.

During that time, Raph wasn’t the only one Sensei honed in on. Seeing how Leo was half of the problem in the arguments bringing unwanted chaos into their home, he too had to be taught many lessons. The Bible verses his dad focused on weren’t very different from the ones he overheard Raph learning. Huh. Interesting. One specific lesson planted deep roots into Leo’s heart, leaving an impact that would be with him for years to come:

“Your love for your brother needs to outweigh your longing to win.”

And then… one day…

Raph appeared climbing down from the forbidden manhole cover with a shattered wrist and a bleeding crack chipped into his plastron. No matter how he was asked, persuaded, comforted, or threatened, Raph never told anyone how it had happened.

After that day everything began to change. 

And then about a year ago, he and Raph started talking again. 

Even now, as Leo looked into the eyes of Raphael as he finally calmed down from his panic attack, he could see the tenderness and healing within his troubled brother’s soul. Compared to the others in his family, Raph held the record for how many physical scars he had. For a long time, the brothers held him with the highest honor, as if he were a victorious war hero returning from battle… But Leo knew better now. The deep slash across his little brother’s eye was dealt by his blade. An accident, yes, but a permanent reminder of his past recklessness as a child; A lasting testament of who he could never be again.

As for Raph’s second scar- the small lightning bolt cracked into his upper plastron…

… Leo still doesn’t know where its origins stemmed from. And the fact that Raph had held that secret within, warns the eldest of unseen battles that were being fought behind thick, impenetrable walls. Battles he may have helped to fight, had he thrown down his own barriers.

Those times were long gone, and he would not squander the second chance God gave him.

Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth again.

“Okay… New subject-” He said as he sat up and leaned his elbows onto his crossed legs. “...Maybe this will help get your mind off of your nightmare. If you could think of anything to geek out about to me- right now- what would it be?” He asked with an inviting grin to his more-than-cautious brother.

Raph’s confusion only showed through his expression for a few seconds before his eyes were looking to the side, pondering over Leo’s question. “Uh…” He thought, tapping at the blankets draped over his legs. “... I guess… How kids’ tv shows go too easy on ‘em.” 

Huh. Oooooookay.

“Alright! Tell me about it.” Leo gestured vaguely with his hands at Raph, waving them in swooping motions to propel his anxious brother to keep going.

Raph’s nervous expression returned, but he persisted through his anxiety, sitting up as well, and playing with the blanket fibers between his fingers.

“Well… you know… Nothin’ real happens in them. Like- Okay listen to this-” Raph said, as a miniscule spark ignited behind his irises and spread to his expression and posture, silently revealing that Leo’s plan was working. 

Leo nodded with a small, but growing smile.

“Tell me, oh Team Medic, what would happen to a person if they fell off a three story building?”

Leo sat back with a sigh as his brain began pulling out pristine files from its shelves.

“Um… my personal guess would be they’d have at least a broken ankle, if not a seriously sprained knee…” He listed, as he began counting with his fingers for each injury that came to mind. “...Possibly a concussion depending on how they handled their landing- and most likely a good amount of scrapes and bruises to the knees and arms.”

Raph nodded emphatically to Leo’s medical diagnosis, gesturing stiffly with both arms as if to say THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYIN.

“RIGHT. So- ya know- there’s a thing called uh, what was it again- CONSEQUENCES.” Raph shout-whispered, still keeping his voice small, but making sure his words made up for the lack of volume. “So, you tell me, how… does FRIENDSHIP save you from breakin’ your neck after falling off a flippin’ building??!!” He quietly roared. Somehow.

Leo had to stifle a chuckle as he watched his brother become as animated as the cartoon shows he was complaining about. It was hilarious to see such fire in his brother’s eyes that didn’t spark from anything occurring in the real world. 

“That… doesn’t make any sense, dude.” Leo attempted to speak, but was unceremoniously interrupted by a snort escaping his nose. “Gah-geez!” He hurriedly whispered to himself as he smacked a hand over his mouth to somehow smother his growing laughter at the situation. 

Raph’s passionate expression softened at the sight of Leo fighting for his life to keep the serenity of their bedroom so his little brothers can sleep. Then his kind smile crackled and sparked into a mischievous grin.

After what felt like an eternity, Leo had finally gotten his laughter under control, plastering a stoic expression over the small gusts of laughter still tucked away in his throat. But all that hard work was blown to oblivion as Raph began to cross his eyes and flare his nostrils. Before the eldest could stop himself, another snort shattered the peaceful silence of the room.

My one weakness- THAT LIL BRAT-

In utter defiance and revenge, Leo thrust himself forward onto his knees and slapped Raph’s arm in playful, empty warning. With a hushed hiss he chittered,

“YOU STOP THAT THIS *SNNRT* THIS INSTANT, YOUNG MAN-”

“Ya mean turtle?~” Raph winced as he rubbed at his slightly stinging arm.

Then the brothers went silent as they took a single second to think. At that moment, they pointed to the other and whispered simultaneously, “ Mutant.” And then they were both fighting for their lives to not wake their brothers.

Despite their best efforts of shushing each other, smacking their hands over the other’s face, and trying to regain stoic countenances which always backfired, they were quickly interrupted by a meek, worried voice.

“Don?” 

Raph and Leo’s laughter was snuffed out instantaneously as their immediate instinct to protect their brothers pushed past any humor with full force. 

“Mikey? What’s wrong?” Leo asked with a slightly raised voice since Mikey was in the bunk above Raph’s bed. “Why are you calling to-” 

Leo’s sentence fell away into the shadows surrounding the bedroom as he gazed at Don in his bunk bed, cradling his head between his clenched hands. Shaking.

“Don?...” Leo asked, again raising his voice since Don’s bed was further away. At his call, the freckled brother turned his head slightly, the glistening of tears shining as they fell in threads down his face. 

“DON!” Leo outwardly cried, no longer attempting to remain quiet as the newly revealed emergency played out right in front of him. He pushed off his knees and used Raph’s mattress to propel himself off the floor into a quick sprint across the room. By only running on instinct to protect his brother, he didn’t have to think as he effortlessly leapt over the spare mattress and climbed up the ladder to Don’s bunk, landing in what Mikey would call a “spiderman pose”. 

“Is he okay?” Raph called from the ground, as Mikey briskly flipped off the side of his bunk, landing perfectly, and rushing to Raph’s side.

Leo suppressed a deep groan.

Mental sticky note- REMIND MIKEY to not risk damaging his ALREADY HEALING ANKLE.

With a disgruntled sigh, Leo turned his attention back to Don. In the moment he had, he ploughed through the medical checklists he could think of, assessing what was wrong with his genius little brother. However, it was clear without any medical expertise that Don was having a panic attack.

Him too?... What is going on?

Suppressing his growing questions, the eldest reached out his hand and placed it on Don’s trembling knee. Over the years, Leo found that physical contact worked as a solid anchor for his frightened brother; a grounding force that would pull his mind away from the fantasies that plagued his logic. Don had explained to him that when someone was having a panic attack, they were losing themselves to the lies in their mind. In order to remedy this and pull them out of it, they needed a firm foundation of truth to stand on. 

“I’m alive.”

“I’m not dying.”

“I can feel my heartbeat.”

“I can hear my breathing.”

“God is with me.”

“I’m safe.”

Leo stretched forward to place more pressure on Don’s knee.

“You’re alive, Don. You’re not dying.” He spoke firmly.

“Mmmhmm…” Don grunted as he shakily lowered his hands from the sides of his head, and slid them down to the nape of his neck, pulling down with constant pressure.

“You’re home. You’re not alone. I’m right here.” Leo pressed further both verbally and physically.

“Y-Yeah…” Don breathlessly agreed, as he tried to take a deep, calming breath.

“Whatever you saw wasn’t real. It was just a dream, okay?” 

Don’s expression twisted at those words, and he stuttered, “That’s.. n-not true, L-Leo… It… wasn’t as m-much a nightmare, as it was a m-memory…”

Leo’s own expression fell at Don’s fragmented words sputtering and glitching like a tv set trying to hone in on the right signal. He hated seeing his intellectual brother so shaken like this. Don had never been one that needed to fight his own body just so he could speak. Normally his rants and logistics would smoothly escape his lips, coming out clear and precise in neat rows filled with elongated vocabulary. 

Only one thing would have stolen that from him; something so scary and traumatic that it would resonate and affect him now.

“You dreamed about the lab, didn’t you?” Leo whispered at a volume barely audible as he slid closer to Don’s now relaxing form. He lifted his hand from Don’s knee onto his shoulder, but still kept a grounding pressure.

Don, once again at a loss for words, simply nodded his head defeatedly.

Not needing any more confirmation of Don’s condition, Leo pulled himself closer and held out his arms. Don had to know the option was there if he needed it.

At first, the freckled brother simply stared at Leo’s outstretched arms, as his pupils zipped back and forth in consideration. Then after he properly reviewed his options, he gently shook his head. “I think I’m okay now.” He sighed, gripping onto the soft, fur blanket over his legs. “I’m… okay.”

Leo nodded in understanding before he was forcibly pushed to the wall of the nook as Mikey and Raph joined him on Don’s bed.

“Don, ya good?” Raph asked in genuine concern for his twin, searching his brother’s expression and body for any wounds. 

Don nodded with an exhausted but real smile.

“Are you sure?? You were crying, bro. Last I checked, computers can’t cry.” Mikey playfully nudged Don’s arm, but the smile on the youngest’s face read of no ill will. “You want to talk about it?”

Don’s smile fell a little as he made eye contact with Raph, and both twins sighed in mental understanding. 

“I think he’s alright now.” Raph spoke up quietly, as he started pushing Mikey onto the ladder. “Let’s give him some space, Mikey.” 

Despite the youngest fighting and squawking in obvious displeasure, Raph remained persistent and continued down, pulling his little brother with him. Leo couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“...T-Thanks, Leo.” Don whispered, as he stretched out and placed his hand onto Leo’s arm. “I really… appreciated this.”

Leo’s smile brightened as he tapped his hand onto Don’s. The cool texture of his brother’s smooth skin brought its own wave of comfort to him, reminding the eldest of a truth he had unknowingly taken for granted for years:

They’re home.

Before any more tears decided to fall, Leo wished his brother good night and slid down the ladder, making his way back to his mattress, saying one final, silent prayer.

Thank You, Lord, that my brothers… are home. Thank You that they’re here and safe. Please continue to guide them as they recover from their time in the labs. Please guide me with what to say to them. And…

 Thank You for giving me a second chance.

Aaaand that's it for this chapter!

Man alive, it feels so good to be back. This chapter took a while to figure out because of the scenes with Leo and Raph- There were many options that I had to choose through over how Raph would react to Leo trying to calm him down from his panic attack- but this version won out in the end. :) To quote a very important Book, "Laughter doeth good like medicine". So I knew how I wanted this scene to go. :) As has been a running tradition in this book, there is a lot of hidden storytelling in this chapter~ Especially regarding Leo and Raph.

Feel free to reblog and share!

BIG THANKS TO @poetique823 FOR YOUR HELP!!! <3

@indieyuugure @writer-in-wonder @allyheart707 @oddartistl3 @risebabyx2 @joyjoygorl @carrots-bear @imagionationstation @howtotrainyourdragonprince @jasminegazer @brightonstudios @ninjaturtlefan-dee @rottmntlover14

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, comment down below!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

....... Imma need this..

Book Two is gonna get....

funnnn.. ;)

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femoral artery (inner thigh)

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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Shoutout to my $15+ patrons, Jade Ashley and Douglas S.!

[da-young-bizzyboy]

[Just a little story how Mimin met her uncle's old good friend who's ex-bizzyboy]

"But uncwe, why I can't come wif yew?"

Patty:"Dear, we already told you. We don't want to let you get hurt on da missions, so instead of da big missions, you're staying in da base"

"But pwease, pwetty pwease"

Patty:"But y'know what? I have one mission for yew"

"Oh, what's dat?"

Patty:"Listen, today is gonna be important for some of us, cuz there's gonna be a special guest. Your mission is meet and greet that person. You should tell that person about everything what is going on in da base. That's all, okay?"

"Owkay, uncwe Patty, I undewstood!"

Patty:"Good. And also...yew should change your clothes, yew don't need to wear uniform in this your mission"

[One and half hour later]

"Owkay. So I need just to wait for dat pewson and open da doow to dem. Wait fow him...ow hew...who's dat anyway? Is it a siw ow ma'am? I'll find out soon...I hope I don look so di–"

*knock knock knock*

"Wait a minute!"

[Mimin walked to the door and opened it]

"Hewoo, siw ow ma'am! Welcome to da bizzyboys base. My name's Mimin, it's vewy nice to–"

"...Meet yew...oh"

"Heya, Mimin, neva' saw lady like me, huh?" *chuckles*

"Umm...yew don look like da bizzyboy...where's yewr uniform?"

"I jus' burn'd it afte' I left base for a lon' time, heh"

"Umm...So, what's yewr name?"

"Oh, yeah, ma name. Thanks for remindin'"

"Ma full name's Kaigarava, bu' you can call me jus' Kai, 'kay?"

"Owkay, Miss Kai"

"No miss, jus' Kai, kid"

"Owkay, Kai"

"Good, now lets get inside, it's a bit cold here"

"S-sure, come in"

[Now about the most important thing that I wanted to show there]

The new character who's allowed for asks and requests

This is Kai, her pronouns are she/they (demigirl). You can ask them more things about herself or just try to imagine something. Anything you want:3

[blueburied]

s- sowwy.,, i didn't mean to kill the innocemt chiwdwen siw,, the owphanage just wooked wike it weawwy wanted to get fiwwed wif bobms.,,, pwease don' make me a waw cwiminaw..,,,,

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

You write such amazing fics! Tysm for all of them. Have /you/ read any to rave about lately? :)

Thank you for reading them! <3 I am flattered and overjoyed that people are reading and enjoying them! And yes, I absolutely have, here are some recs:

godworship series, insectoid_demigoddess (@si-siw​ on here) - Gaim, Kouta/Takatora, rated T to E depending on the story. I’ve recommended Fides’ Kouta/Takatora stories before and will continue to do so because I love them so much. They’re gorgeous and sweet and loving. my name is safe in your mouth in particular is just like...a warm blanket.

Tangled Paths, estelraca - Gaim, Takatora/Ryouma, rated E. Very intense Takatora/Ryouma, with excellent characterization and a heartbreaking ending

A Night Off, Laylah - Kuuga, Godai/Ichijo, rated E. Incredibly sweet, charming, and romantic, and then also there’s an excellent sex scene in there, so all around good stuff.

a million-zagin smile, Laylah - Gokaiger, Don/Gai, rated E. Sex pollen! I enjoy a good sex pollen scene between consenting partners. This story also has both humor and kindness, and it’s a great vibe.

The S Dilemma/A Problematic Amount of Sex and Snake Charmed, both by Megan - W, Shoutaro/Philip, both rated E. Speaking of sex pollen, these two stories are both incredibly funny takes on the subject.

falling through lost spaces, kathillards - LuPat, Kairi/Keiichiro, rated E. An absolutely beautiful little nugget of post-show emotional clarity.

Have Your Cake, renquise - OOO, Gotou/Date/Satonaka, rated T. This story is incredibly fucking funny and I regularly annoy my husband by quoting it at him.

You may have noticed that I read a lot of porn? I’m generally looking for something short when I want to read fic, since I also read a lot of novels, and I like a good sex scene.

Also, this isn’t toku, nor have I read it recently (although I ought to reread it sometime soon), but if you enjoy Red Vs. Blue I highly recommend:

cosmoverse series, eggstasy - mostly Tucker/Wash, some Grif/Simmons, a dash of Carolina/Kimball, mostly rated E except for the last one which is T. Deeply, desperately, chest-burstingly funny and full of emotional resonance and love.

[truths33k3r4]

(Warnings for this chapter are at the bottom of the page to keep from giving away spoilers.)

CHAPTER 9 - Dreams of the Haunted

Raphael watched as Lotus finally stilled in Leo’s arms, her stuttered breaths and sniffles slowly descending into silence. Her panicked words twisted and pulled at his mind, deepening his growing concern for her. Frustration began building in his heart as he watched someone so frail and scared fight a horrific, inner battle.

And all he could do was watch.

It brought him no comfort that he was the one that possibly sparked such awful memories in the frightened girl. How she looked at him… It was as if he was the ghost inhabiting all of her nightmares. As if it were him that caused her to flail out of bed in sporadic jolts, wearing beads of sweat on her trembling brow.

 The familiar, sticky tentacles of guilt quickly slithered around his heart, constricting the limited air in his lungs, and filling his mind with useless reprimands.

You shoulda just left her to Leo.

It’s your fault she’s afraid all the time.

She’s scared of you.

Raph shook his head in an attempt to focus back to the matter at hand.

The “matter” that now laid limp in his oldest brother’s arms, softly sighing and nestling into his plastron. The fiery brother watched in silent adoration as Leo stroked the young girl’s shell, successfully calming her enough to make her fall back to sleep. Raph remembered seeing Leo do the same calming motion when they were kids, using it to settle a frightened youngest brother surrounded by darkness, or steady a stressed nerd with too much homework, or simmer down a heated temper with nowhere to go but out.

Raph had used it once or twice as well. The faint memory passed through his mind like a soft breeze as he remembered Leo’s shuttering body hidden fully in his shell after another nightmare. However awkward that night had begun, Raph still recalled it with a warm endearment, remembering all of his brothers combining forces to bring comfort to their newly titled “leader”. Yeah, it was cramped and full of mushy feelings and tears; Three things Raph himself normally hated more than Math homework, but it was all worth it to be there for Leo. 

It was all worth it to bring comfort to their comforter.

As Lotus let out one final, heavy exhale, Leo skillfully weaved out of her embrace, laying her down gently onto the pillow and carefully draping the blanket over her. She didn’t stir the slightest, seemingly sinking deeper and deeper into the cushion of the mattress and the grounding weight of the blanket. Leo sighed as he looked down at her, his shoulders and body falling as if another weight had landed atop them. Tenderly, he reached out and wiped away the last of her tears speckling her cheeks. 

And he wonders why he was the best pick for Team Medic. Stinkin’ show off.

As Leo pushed himself off the floor with a winced grunt, he patted the dirt and grime off his knees and legs. Raph’s eyes involuntarily widened at the dark patches of dirt littering his oldest brother’s body. Normally the brothers kept their room a bit more tidy than that, but…

…a lot had happened. And some things carried more priority than household chores. 

“Raph, come on!” Leo shout-whispered, knocking the fiery brother’s train of thought clean off its tracks. “She’s asleep. Let’s go.” 

Raph gave a slight nod and followed his brother into the hallway, the two siblings being as silent and swift as wind sweeping across snow.

 They walked side by side in the hall, remaining quiet even after they were far past the brothers’ bedroom. Raph couldn’t help but subtly peer his eyes across to Leo, gauging what was going through the leader’s head. It wasn’t abnormal for the eldest to go silent, far from it in fact. Especially after something big happening, Leo would normally not speak as he contemplated the next best course of action. This had actually formed into a problem when they were younger, with Raph and Don’s impatience being stretched to their limits as they had to just wait for their leader to find a solution without a single conversation being had. That had sparked many unneeded forest fires of fury between the twins and their leader. 

Raph couldn’t help but snicker to himself as he remembered how ticked off Don had gotten, spouting off facts and insults in tandem when he wasn’t kept in the know-how. 

“Raph- What was that?” Leo asked suspiciously as he turned his gaze towards the fiery brother. “... Why… are you laughing??” He asked with a slight tint of incredulous confusion in his tone.

With Leo’s frosty irises now locked onto him, Raph found it a little hard to open his mouth and make words come out. 

“Uh… I was…”

Just speak, it ain’t that hard!!

“...Um…”

Leo’s Mom Glare™ suddenly shot up to a “should I be worried??” expression.

JUST. FRIGGIN. TALK.

Raph forcefully rolled his shoulders to release some of the energy building in his body.

“Heheh I was… rememberin’ how ticked off Don got when you went quiet on our missions. You remember the crazy insults he called you?”

Leo’s interrogative gaze flickered and dissipated as he turned his face to the ceiling and sighed with a smile.

“Ahhh yes…” The eldest huffed as his grin grew in nostalgic amusement. “Dad caught him swearing so many times so he just decided to make up new insults…Ah man, which one had you and me cracking up that one time?”

“Ooof, dude. How could ya pick? There’s too many good ones HA!”

“... Was it “Lint Licker”? Or maybe “Shiitake Mushroom head”, HAHA!!!”

Hearing the past substituted insults ignited a warm, soothing flame to ignite in Raph’s heart, leaving him clutching his stomach with how hard he was now laughing alongside his brother.

“WAIT WAIT- HAHAHEEE- Do you remember the time he called you a “Mother Clucker”?! BROOO I couldn’t even breathe I was laughin’ so hard!!!”

“OH DANG- HAHA!!! I can’t believe I forgot that one!!!” Leo was now clutching at his side too, leaning his shell against the wall of the hallway for support as he cackled and sniffed away tears from his eyes. “Don was so mad his face was as red as your mask!!!”

Now Raph could barely breathe with how hard he was laughing.

“Heee… He just sat there- HAHA- With his arms crossed holdin’ his breath- HAHAHA!!! You were afraid he was gonna pass out!!”

“He almost did!!! You had to catch him!!!” Leo’s voice cracked and broke with the laughter erupting out of his throat. Without meaning to, some of his words shot to an extremely high pitch, only worsening Raph’s guffaws to the point where he collapsed to the floor, splayed out and pressing down onto his torso.

There the two brothers were, one propped against a wall, the other laying flat on the ground, laughing.

Despite all that they had been through.

Here they were.

Laughing.

As their chuckles petered out to sniffs and snickers, Leo pushed himself off the wall and walked up to Raph’s prone body. The eldest reached out his hand with a big, real smile gracing every inch of his face. Raph couldn’t help but return Leo’s kindness with his own grin, gratefully accepting his big brother’s hand and allowing himself to be helped off the floor.

“Come on…” Leo laughed again, gasping for air, “Let’s go check on the Clean Up Crew.”

Raph nodded with a knowing smile as the two continued down to the living room.

“MIKEY!!! DON!!” Raph called out with his hand cupping the side of his face. “WHERE YOU GUYS AT??” 

After being answered with silence, Leo and Raph ventured into the kitchen. Walking past the doorway, the first thing Raph noticed was the “used” trash bin propped near the sink. The second thing he noticed, or rather was SMACKED ACROSS THE FACE WITH, was the pungent smell of lavender fumes filling up the entire room. Both his and Leo’s eyes immediately sprung up with more tears as they began to flap their arms to wave out some of the potent aroma. It didn’t do much, and unfortunately, living in the sewers, there were no windows to open and let out the powerful scent. So they just stood there for a bit, waving their arms, until finally both of them gave up in between hacks and coughs and simply retreated to the couch instead.

Comparatively, hacking and choking on fumes was apparently a much more effective way to beckon for their little brother instead of just casually calling to him. 

“What the shell happened to you guys??” Mikey yelled as he ran through the lair’s entrance into the living room. He was out of breath and wearing far-too-big gloves on his hands.

“Us?? *COUGH COUGH*- What- a-about you?? WHY were you *HACK* up top?!” Leo sputtered indignantly as he turned his head to look at his thirteen year old brother that was apparently alone in the big, scary world that towered above them.

Raph chuckled as he watched Mikey roll his eyes and tsk at the eldest’s obvious concern.

“Leooo I’m fineeee. I literally just took out the trash, CHILL.” Mikey grumbled as he pulled off the oversized gloves from his fingers.

“I will NOT CHILL.” Leo retorted right back, now wearing his patented Mom Glare™ and speaking as if he were Mikey’s parent rather than his oldest sibling, “You, young mutant, are thirteen. You aren’t allowed up top by yourself, you know that.”

“Yeah~ I’m fully aware, Mom-o-nardo. But Don was busy trying to hold in his lunch, so I took care of it.” Mikey sluggishly declared, his words dripping with nonconchalance. “You’re welcome~.” He flicked his hands with the dramatic flair of a magician, tossing the gloves onto a nearby side table, effectively making them ‘disappear’ from his person. 

Raph let out a silent “Ooooh~” as he turned to see how Leo would react. And as always, the eldest did not disappoint.

“Do I need to tell Master Splinter of your little solo errand?” Leo asked in a tone that was as cold and sharp as an icicle’s tip. 

The youngest’s face fell immediately as Leo played his highest card:

“I’M GONNA TELL DAD.”

Classic oldest sib move, Raph thought to himself. Game set match.

With an offended pout only a youngest sibling could pull off, Mikey growled and stomped his way into the kitchen.

 He quickly regretted his decision.

Raph and Leo couldn’t help the satisfied grins crawling up their faces as they heard Mikey begin to cough violently, clapping his hands over his snout and hightailing it back into the living room. He unceremoniously crumpled to the floor in a hacking heap.

Raph leaned further into the couch cushions and rested his head over his crossed arms, while he watched his little brother writhe dramatically on the floor. With a quick glance, he saw that Leo was subtly checking if Mikey was actually okay or if he was just being dramatic. He obviously came to the same conclusion Raph did as the two oldest siblings sat back and watched, the smiles on their faces never leaving for a second.

“Yeah… seems Don did one shell of a job “decontaminating” the trash bin, huh lil bro?”

Mikey’s head lifted from the ground long enough for him to spit out, “I BET ASTRONAUTS COULD SMELL THAT.”

Leo shook his head as he rolled his eyes, allowing a faint smile to grow on his face. Raph couldn’t help but ask himself how long it had been since so much laughter and smiles had graced the rooms of his home. 

In order to keep the bright composure he was carrying on his face, he pushed aside that thought and just sat as he watched his brothers just be kids again.

. . .

Images flashed past Raphael’s eyes as his body was forcefully shoved through a long, grey hallway. Echoes of horrified and pained screams blared into his skull. Shadows peeled from the walls and engulfed him, slithering their arms into tight bands around his biceps and ankles. Despite the fear penetrating every cell of his body, his mind remained completely hollow, as if he didn’t carry enough strength to create a simple thought. 

The only voice that could be heard in his mind wasn’t his own.

It promised safety and warmth; an easy way out of this trap. Its gravely whispers poked and scratched inside his head, trying to tangle and pull apart any chords of willpower he had left. He could sense the bristling flame of his determination and spirit continue to flicker into nothing. With each seductive, hushed word, a vital part of his identity was extinguished, replaced with an empty husk of compliance.

He wanted to scream, to run, to fight. He longed to beat the shell out of the siren that continued to whisper and enchant his body to bend to its will. 

His mouth stayed shut. 

His legs remained still.

His hands hung limp at his sides, bristling the tipped edges of his sais.

Now watching as if a spectator in his own body, Raph’s legs began to move. They pressed forward with an unnatural uniformity, pulling him closer to a pair of doors leading into a frighteningly familiar room. Raph watched as a pair of crimson-tipped fingers unlocked the door, beckoning him to continue on his way inside. No matter how much Raph’s spirit bit and snarled and yanked, his body complied with the voice’s wishes.

His form climbed into a cushioned chair surrounded by heavy machinery littering every surface. The haunting shine of scalpels and saws glistened on trays set up near his head. His wrists and ankles were slid into metal cuffs as his body unnaturally relaxed into the reclining chair. Lights began flashing as the machinery around him began to glow in a sickly neon green.

“LET ME GO!!!”

Raph’s spirit froze at the sound of the new voice screeching at the doorway. It was a voice he could never forget; A voice of someone who drove him crazy, and pushed him to always do his best in everything he ever did. A scratchy tone that would sometimes pop into a high-pitched crack, leaving him dying laughing on the floor and dodging random office supplies being hurled at him.

His best friend.

“I SAID LET ME GO!!! WHERE’S MY BROTHER?” Don snarled as he was dragged into the room by two hulking jerks, twisting and yanking at the freckled mutant’s chains. He winced as they threw him into the similar chair positioned beside Raph.

NO!! PLEASE NO!!!

Raph’s pleads and screams never left his body’s lips. He could only watch as his twin was forced down into the chair, the two men not being gentle in the slightest as they tugged Don’s limbs through the cuffs with a loud *CLANG*.

“RAPH!!” Don yelled to the hollow husk of his twin in both concern and relief at the same time,”RAPH WAKE UP!! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!”

The fiery brother couldn’t look away as Don’s face fell when his twin didn’t even acknowledge his existence, nevermind his words.

“...R-Raph?... What did they do to you?!- WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!!” Don ignited in a furious explosion of raw, protective instincts as masked doctors began filling the room.

Even with Don’s kicking and screaming, clawing and biting, and choice vocabulary that would send his father into a coma, the doctors still swiftly worked around him, preparing the machine that menacingly hovered above the two twins. Nurses began attaching small, metal nodes onto the sides of the brothers’ temples; Don’s on the left, and Raph’s on the right. The freckled brother didn’t stop squirming and fighting for one second, using all his energy to somehow escape his binds. But Raph remained still, his mind fully possessed by the siren that dwelled inside.

With a small *click* the machine began to operate. Raph watched as his twin began to scream, not in protest, but in pain. His body twisted and jolted as if he were being impaled by a lightning bolt. 

NO! 

Raphael’s spirit began to burn. 

NO…

His anger blazed in an uncontrollable pyre.

I… WILL NOT… 

His body’s hand twitched.

..LET…

His placid face began to sneer and snarl.

YOU…

His eyes burst open.

HURT HIM!!!!!

His spirit lunged through its prison, disintegrating the coils of control the siren once possessed. The chords of his identity and soul found their purchase in the core of his mind, planting themselves deeply, and never allowing such intrusion again. With the fury of a lion and the love of a protector he screamed,

��GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

Electricity sparked and stuttered through him in an instant, coursing through every muscle and fiber. It pulled his limbs taut, causing a deep ache to ignite in his bones. His skull rang with loud static, and his body twitched uncontrollably.

His body.

He fought against his binds, shattering the metal into pieces.

The lights on the machine flashed and popped, spraying the surrounding doctors with shards of glass. The panels of the contraption began to shake, as the device rapidly began to overload. 

The room was swallowed by the following explosion, bathed in an iridescent, blinding white.

Raphael and Donatello gasped simultaneously as they shot up, flinging their blankets off their chests.

Sweat beads trickled down Raph’s face as he shuddered and snatched onto his blanket. His fingers pressed deeply into the fibers, cushioning his nails instead of allowing them to penetrate skin. The thick, warm feel of the fabric pulled him back from fantasy, and planted him firmly in reality.

I’m home…

I’m safe…

I’m okay…

He chanted these words over and over in his mind until a cool, slurring voice broke his concentration.

“Raph?... You a’right, man?” Leo groggily whispered from his place on the spare mattress in the middle of the room. In the darkness the eldest’s frosty irises glowed as they locked onto Raph. 

Before the fiery brother could turn away from his sibling’s concerned gaze, Leo was already pulling away his sheets and blanket, tidily folding them over the edge of his bed, before silently crossing the room to Raph’s bedside.

CRUD CRUD CRUD-

NO- SHOO- GO AWAY- NOT NOW-

Raph immediately turned over, flopping to face the wall of his nook away from Leo.

“-I-I’m fine, Leo. Go back ta bed.” He subtly hissed through his fangs, hoping and praying that he was not about to get a big ol’ talk about feelings from the oldest. 

“Yeahhh, I’m not gonna buy that.” Leo yawned as he sat down on the floor beside Raph’s mattress. “A fighter you are. An actor you’re not. Now what’s going on?”

“I said I’m fine.” Raph curtly mumbled into his blanket.

“Still don’t believe you, try again.” Leo sighed as he rubbed at his eyes.

“I SAID I’M FINE.” Raph finally snapped a little too loudly, twisting his body to face his oldest brother. 

Leo winced at the volume of his brother’s expected outburst, then simply shook his head with an unimpressed frown. But before he could say another word, his expression changed as he noticed something about his fiery brother’s face. His mouth parted minisculely as he reached out his hand. 

Raph’s temper and pride demanded he swat it away, but his curiosity and love for his brother won out against his stubbornness. He remained still as Leo’s hand softly landed on the side of Raphael’s face, rubbing something wet off it.

Oh crap I’m crying.

DANG IT NOW HE’S NEVER GONNA LEAVE…

The concern over Leo’s face softened slightly, as he asked again, in a firmer “I am the oldest but I’m also your leader” tone, 

“What’s going on?”

Once again, Raph was completely trapped. Not by a psycho scientist, or by some evil, government organization, but by his perfectionistic, calm, and deeply concerned oldest brother.

There was no way he was going to get out of this one…

And that's it for this chapter! :) You all have been begging to see more of what happened to Don and Raph at the labs, so I present to you a nightmare~. This chapter was certainly tricky to figure out at first- with so many different scenes compiled together, it was hard to keep a steady flow for my reader, but I'm really happy with how it turned out! :) AAAAnd yes, I did say that I would only draw one panel for each chapter, but I COULDN'T HELP ITTTTTT!!!

Feel free to reblog and share this!

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for helping me and encouraging me through this chapter!

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl, @carrots-bear, @howtotrainyourdragonprince, @jasminegazer, @indieyuugure

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, please comment down below! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

(CW- Nightmares, past medical trauma, being held down, and mind control!!)

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

Hey, everyone!!!

A while ago, I started noticing that some well-known artists were creating "Voice Claim" videos to show their audience what their characters sound like. (Thank you, @indieyuugure for the inspiration to do this!) And after watching their videos, I thought to myself- "Hmm... I want to do that!"

So, for the last few months, I have been searching and gathering intel trying to decide what my characters from my story, "The Strength in Weakness" would sound like. Finally, I had all my voices picked out.

Then the new year came, and with it, a whole new burst of creative inspiration and drive. One of my main goals this new year, was to practice animation more. And then it clicked: I was going to animate every scene I had picked out for my characters.

I have been working for the last week on this video, and now I can finally present it to you all!!!

~VOICE CLAIMS FOR "THE STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS" CHARACTERS~

Leonardo - It took me a LONG time to figure out my Leo's voice. In my chapters, I describe his tone being cool, calm, and very gentle. However when he's angry or feels threatened, his voice sharpens like the edge of an icicle. This specific tone was NOT easy to find in a VA- A tone that can be as tender and smooth as silk, while also snapping to cold and commanding in a mili-second. I went through many options, but eventually landed on the cool, kind voice of Kirby Morrow, from Scott in X Men Evolution. :)

Raphael - THIS DUDE- THIS....MUTANT- Took the longest to find his voice. Apparently looking up "Brooklyn-accented character" was as useful as a UNO card in a game of poker- A huge part of me wanted to just steal the voice of 2003 Raphael- (Cause he's amazing), but my stubbornness to keep the voices unique won out against that. Eventually I had two options left- Christian Bale in Newsies, or Renegade Knuckles from Sonic Prime. I couldn't find enough audio to use for Christian's voice, so I chose Renegade's instead. Vincent Tong delivered his gravelly, Brooklyn/New York accented lines in a way that fit perfectly with my version of Raph. :)

Donatello - It did not take me that long to see how perfect Jack De Sena's voice was for my version of Don. Sokka, (the original character voiced by Sena), is my favorite Avatar character- and his passion, intelligence in engineering, and squeakiness were just too good not to pick for my angry, freckled genius. :)

Lotus - My precious little oc took a bit of time to get the right voice.. In my story, (at least where I'm up to), she's mostly quiet, but has her explosive moments of suppressed anger or bitterness. She's also quite passionate and argumentative when it comes to someone "lying" or "manipulating" her in any way. She's very conscious of everything happening around her, always taking note of changes in emotions, attitude, and body language. This took a bit of searching, but eventually I found the perfect tone and attitude in the voice of AJ Michalka. :)

Michelangelo - After finding Kurby Morrow's voice, I remembered that his character in X Men Evolution had a little brother... With a chill vibe... and a surfer dude tone. And I was sold on the relaxed, surfer dude, innocent voice of Matt Hill. :)

Originally, I wanted to animate and record the voices for my Splinter and my main villain, Specter. But um... Life got busy again- as well as I was too scared to try drawing- NEVER MIND ANIMATING- Splinter... Soooooo yeahhh that didn't happen... But hope you guys enjoy this all the same. :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

(Warnings for this chapter are at the bottom of the page to keep from giving away spoilers.)

CHAPTER 8 - Deceptive Answers

Don cringed as he thoroughly sprayed down the empty trash bin, acting as if the fragrant, lavender scent would banish the acrid stench back to the pits of hades from whence it came. After the third round of air freshener, he slowly backed away from the bin with a cautious frown.

He proceeded to spray it down four more times.

Why did it have to be vomit…

As he walked to the kitchen sink he gently pulled off his latex gloves, neatly folding and placing them on the counter as he began to run the tap. After years of learning about germs and how to abolish them, he knew well that it didn’t matter if you washed them with hot or cold water. But even with this knowledge, it still brought him a slight ping of delusional comfort envisioning the hot temp burning the germs right off his hands.

That’s definitely normal.

He didn’t care all that much for the gooey sensation of the soap when it first puddles in his palms, but with a few quick scrubs, the sticky texture expanded into soft peaks of foam. The warm water mixed with the luscious suds did wonders for his dry hands. Thanks to the colder weather beginning to creep into the city, his home’s air had been stripped of its moisture. As a result, the skin of his hands and ankles cracked like the barren grounds of a scalding desert.

In other words ew.

With the last stage of washing his hands complete, drying them and folding the washcloth over the railing near the sink, Don began the trek back to his office. As he neared the doorway of the brothers’ bedroom, he paused.

Just move quickly. No big deal. Just ‘ninja’ your way around. Get to your office without attracting any unnecessary attention. Orrrr getting involved in any more emotional drama… Easy.

With a quick inhale, and his face tightened with concentration, he slowly took one silent step after the next, continuing his way down the hall past the bedroom. As he crept, little pieces of whispered conversation fluttered past his ears.

“...Lotus, what are you talking about?” 

Don instantly recognized the soothing tones of his oldest brother.

 “You are free. You made it out. We saved you. Shhhh, it’s alright.”

Don’s brows creased together as he paused to figure out what had happened to spark such concerned words from Leo. Going by what he said, the eldest wasn’t referring to Lotus being sick. The word “free” especially intrigued him. He continued to stand frozen as he leaned closer to the doorway, his curiosity now overriding the mission to get to his office.

“N-no… No, They…They’ll never go away…” A small voice cried in muffled whimpers.

Don’s mind began to process Lotus’ words one at a time; Every vowel and every fluctuation were filed into neat shelves in his brain.

Who’s “they”? Going by how we found her, she must be referring to the scientists at the lab, right? But what does that have to do with her being sick? Did those physician abominations give her something to make her ill? 

“Who, Lotus? Who won’t go away?” Leo gently whispered over Lotus’ smothered sniffles.

Don leaned closer. No verbal answer was given to Leo’s question, the silence only being filled by the frantic shuffles of sheets being pulled back and forth. 

“I.. I don’t… I don’t want to talk about it. I c-can’t.” Lotus pleaded as her voice continued to crack and splinter under the weight of whatever was haunting her mind. “I just c-can’t.”

Don’s posture physically slumped as he listened to the fear-stricken shivers of Lotus’ voice. The way her words jittered and broke in shards sounded all too familiar to him. She was so scared, but there wasn’t anything physically present that would make her react that way.

That left whatever was plaguing her to be something lurking deeper. Don couldn’t help the defensive snarl that escaped his teeth.

It has to be nightmares… That’s the most reasonable explanation for such behavior.

He knew that well, being reminded every night of the horrors he and his twin were forced through. Even though they were home. Even though they were safe. Even though it made no sense that the past has such power over the present.

And now he sees he’s not the only one.

How long was she there?...  How long did she live under the microscope of Specter’s prying eyes?

Don failed to suppress a shudder through his body as he was forcefully pushed into his own memories of the nightmare laboratory. His hands instinctively rose to cling to his shoulders, rubbing them down in an attempt at comfort. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, willing his mind to forget all those horrific memories that plagued him, but it was all for naught.

His twin’s screams echoed in a terrible chorus that consumed all his thoughts. 

A sickly, neon green glowed through the barrel of a syringe.

His chained wrists ached and burned from being yanked through long corridors.

His terrified face looked back at him through the reflective surface of dark-tinted lenses.

His body shook violently as an electrode was pressed into the left side of his head.

His vision erupted in white static when the nurse pressed the button.

NO! STOP IT- NOW!

IT’S OVER. STOP LETTING THIS GET TO YOU.

IT’S OVER.

Don gulped down the dread and anxiety clogging his throat, burying it deeper into the places of his heart he dared never to go. The chill of his memories forced another shudder to claw its way up his spine, leaving him gripping tightly to his arms and shaking his head. His legs shivered and buckled underneath him as if the weight of his memories added to his physical mass.

It’s over. That’s enough.

Don leaned and used the wall to stabilize himself, relying on the firm surface to steady his rampant thoughts as well as his shuddering body.

Just move. One foot in front of the other. 

With a withered sigh, he pushed off the wall and continued walking, blocking out the rest of the hushed conversations escaping the bedroom.

 I can’t deal with that right now. I just can’t.

Leo’s got it. He can handle it.

With his mind completely focused on simply reaching his office, he didn’t even attempt to sneak past the bedroom. It didn’t matter if they saw him, anyway. This was one of those pesky things that he just… couldn’t fix. 

So why try when it’s a waste of time? When there are others who are far more equipped for such a task?

Soon after, he finally reached his office, carefully closing the door behind him as he walked toward his desk. With a sigh, Don flopped onto his computer chair, causing a quiet squeak to fill the compact room. He leaned into the firm cushion of his chair as the whispered hum of the computer filled his ears. For a moment, just a small moment, Don took the second of mental silence to look around his room.

His gaze immediately rose to the high school certificate hung proudly on the wall closest to his desk. He remembered how excited he was to have such an accomplishment under his belt at the young age of sixteen, rubbing it in Raph’s face with a smug grin. His twin nearly shattered the frame before Leo and Splinter intervened. 

So much has changed.

As his eyes began to wander again, he suddenly caught sight of a small, blue sticky note left underneath the frame of his certificate. Don leaned and squinted his eyes as he read,“Please remember to drink! -Leo”. 

A cozy warmth filled Don looking at the note left there by his brother. It embraced his heart and settled his mind, leaving the faint feeling of a grin growing on his face. Don turned to his desk and took a good swig from the glass of water left there since that afternoon.

His eyes continued to wander, soon catching sight of his calendar and notes posted on the wall near his door. He again squinted his eyes, and even fixed and cleaned his glasses, but that all proved to be useless. He still couldn’t read very well, and it was beginning to drive him crazy.

With an annoyed growl, Don scooted and rolled his chair closer to the wall. He would have to figure out his sight problem some other time, no matter how many sparks of dread began to pop in his stomach at the thought of his vision once again failing him.

Shaking his head to repel any more worthless memories from entering, he once again gazed at the notes neatly stacked on the wall. Most of them were just phone numbers of the “co-workers” from his job. 

But then he finally saw his calendar. And the warmth that once thrived inside him vanished instantaneously. 

Leo’s words echoed back to him as he began looking over the wrong amount of days crossed out, reminding him just how much time he had lost.

“Eighteen days.”

For eighteen days he didn’t help his family.

For eighteen days he didn’t keep up with the repairs of his home.

For eighteen days he didn’t show up to work.

For eighteen days his family tirelessly searched for him.

For eighteen days you failed them. Weeks of worry, dread, and longing plagued your family all because of your absence. Did they even have fresh food this whole time? Did they have to resort to drastic measures? Did they have heat? Did any of them sleep? 

Don crushed his head under the clutches of his tightening fingers. 

How much pain did he inflict on his family all because of his carelessness?

Don hunched over in his chair, pulling his legs up to his plastron and pressed his head onto his knee caps. He squeezed tighter and tighter until it hurt.

How could I let this happen?

Why did You put me in this family if You knew I would FAIL THEM?

He pressed his head further into his knees. His arms clung tighter around his legs. His lungs begged for oxygen that he couldn’t supply. 

“Why?...” He whispered brokenly.

Just at the moment he felt his head would burst from the pent up energy and pressure, a soft *ding* sounded from his monitor. He couldn’t recall what he had been processing on his desktop, so he slowly lifted his head from his knees, gazing over to his computer as he dropped his feet back to the floor.

Then it clicked in his brain, and he shot his legs out to propel himself off the wall to his desk. After slamming his hands against the ridge to keep from crashing into the small table, he took a millisecond to gather his completely shattered mental state so he could focus on the task at hand. 

This was something he could fix.

His fingers comfortably found their rhythm clacking on the keyboard as he finally opened the files coded into Lotus’ implant. He was surprised to see so many, at least a hundred or so lined up in neat rows. Each one was labeled similarly, with the title “SUBJECT 19- PROCEDURE #”. 

As curious as he was to begin looking deeper into those files, one in particular caught his eye, labeled two simple words:

“SUBJECT INFO”

That should be promising.~

With his mind made up, Don swerved his mouse and clicked. The file opened to reveal many different types of documents: Blood types, heartbeat readings, and many more medical related data.

If Don weren’t so disgusted by what these felons had done, he would actually be quite impressed with how well organized all the information was. 

He pushed that feeling aside as he continued scrolling.

“MEDICAL HISTORY”...

“DIAGNOSES”...

“TREATMENT PLANS”...

Holy French Toast there’s SO MUCH… I’m gonna need weeks just to go through this all!

“MEDICATIONS”...

“TEST RESULTS”...

“PROGRESS NOTES”...

Down, down, he continued searching through them, just trying to find the end of the treasure trove of knowledge about his family’s new guest.

“IMAGING AND DIAGNOSTIC REPORTS”...

“IMMUNIZATION RECORDS”...

And then his cursor finally stopped. And at the very bottom of the list lied what he was searching for:

“VITAL RECORDS”

There you are.

Don clicked the file as he hunched closer to his monitor, the feelings of anticipation and dread filling him as he wondered what he was going to find. Lotus would finally get some semblance of answers about her past now. And from what he’d seen of the wounded girl, he knew she needed some good news.

The first document to pop up on his screen was a newspaper clipping.

What? 

The article showcased some kind of vehicle, flipped over and ablaze on the side of a dirt-paved road. All the dates on the paper were crossed out, as well as the last names of anyone involved. The cover read in bold letters,

“FAMILY OF FIVE KILLED IN UNFORTUNATE CRASH”

Don’s head cocked in utter confusion as he began reading through the article. He began clicking his tongue as all his concentration zeroed in on every word of the story before him. 

Somehow this connected to Lotus. And he was going to find out how.

The article stated that during a particularly rainy, spring night, a family of five, (husband, wife, and three children), slid off the road and flipped their car over. When help finally arrived, as well as the Press, the car was being swallowed by unrelenting flames. Only two bodies were retrieved, that of the husband and wife. Their names were Frederick and Jess, but their last name was crossed out. 

All that was left of their two toddlers and baby were scorched car seats. 

Don backed away from his monitor in horror, covering his eyes with his hand and sliding it down to his chin. The images of the husband and wife’s bodies hidden under sheets made his stomach tighten with sorrow. He squirmed in his seat, both guilty and grateful that he had never seen or heard anything about this tragedy.

All it took… was one thing to go wrong.

… And then… everything was gone. Everything. That poor family…

The rest of the article continued on to review the woe of their family’s relatives, as well as the following funeral that would occur at a later date. (A later date that was meticulously scratched out to be indecipherable.) 

Why is this in her records?...

After finishing reading through the article, he moved on to the next document in the file:

A birth certificate.

Don muttered an annoyed growl as he noticed that this document had been thoroughly crossed out too, with the only things left reading:

Alexis?... Is that Lotus’ birth name?... But… this is an official document by the State of New York- 

A human certificate.

Don’s brain whirled all this new information around his mind like an indecisive tornado. Nothing was making sense. No puzzle pieces were lining up. How could he be given so much information and none of it is useful?!? Here he thought those psychos with medical degrees were organized and thorough in their research- Here he thought he was finally given a buffet of answers ready to be feasted upon at a moment’s notice. How wrong he was to think this would be easy.

If he’s learned anything in his sixteen years of being a teenage mutant ninja turtle, it was the fact that easy never seemed to be an option.

His shoulders fell as he let out a sigh filled with disappointment. None of this would make Lotus feel better… If anything, it could make things worse. 

If these documents are true… 

Don pushed away from his desk, dropping his head onto the rim of his chair as the weight of the answers given to him pressed further into his mind. His chest ached and his head spun with the implications of the documents.

Was Lotus born as an actual human? 

Did she truly once have a family? 

And how did the newspaper article connect to this?

Was she in that crash? Did she escape the fire? 

Instead of clicking into place and revealing the steadfast truth, all that these answers had done was scatter the pieces of this mystery further apart, deepening the chasm that remained of Lotus’ past.

That's it for this chapter!! And now all of you get to really see the base mystery of my story. :) Hopefully these small pieces of the past will help you theorize what you think happened to Lotus and who you think she is. :) I was ECSTATIC to show you all this chapter. I'm honestly quite proud of how it came out, and I am so excited to delve deeper into the mystery of Lotus' past.

Feel free to reblog and share this!

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for helping me and encouraging me through this chapter! Also apologies for uh... breaking you. XD

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl, @carrots-bear, @howtotrainyourdragonprince, @jasminegazer, @indieyuugure

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, please comment down below! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

(CW- Implied past deaths, trauma, mention of medical trauma!)

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 6 - Brotherly Intervention

Don woke with an undignified SHHHNRK screeching out of his nostrils. A lean thread of spit gracelessly hung from his mouth, pooling into a disgusting puddle around his cheek.

Ew- gross- no- WHY??

His brain sent a signal to his right arm to lift and wipe away the offending slimy fluid now adorning his face. 

Apparently his body had a bad wifi connection- cause his arm refused to move. Something heavy was pressed down on his upper bicep, making it impossible for his hand to reach his face. With a quick test, he found that his left arm had fallen to the same fate.

Before claustrophobia began to take its toll, the whispered snores of his brother swiftly brought him back to reality in an instant. His twin’s shell was still flopped lifelessly over Don’s body, crushing any and all of his vital organs, as well as smushing his face deeper into the mattress below him. The pressure uncomfortably pressed his glasses further into his face.

Ah, yes. How could I forget? I’m being held against my will. 

After shaking away the fogginess of sleep, he weaseled his hands and knees below Raph’s body and shoved as hard as he could. Raph’s more quiet snoring faltered in glitchy spurts as his body slowly rose with each push from his smothered twin. Finally, with one last heave, Raph came crashing down off the side of the bed, pulling off the red blanket with him, and releasing Don from his twin’s cuddly prison. The fiery brother let out a few unceremonious expletives as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“-GAhhhhhhh Don! What the actual shell????”

Don unapologetically smirked as he sat up at the edge of the bed looking down at his fallen brother. But before he could shoot back his own insult, something caught his eye. He leaned his head to the side to get a better view.

“Why did you DO THA-” 

Don shushed his twin by whipping up one of his fingers to his lips. At Raph’s questioning brow, Don pointed to what he had seen:

Lotus, sound asleep and snuggling Leo’s blanket into her beak. 

Don watched as every ounce of anger in his twin’s body evaporated into thin air. With a defeated huff, Raph yanked off his hoodie and gestured with his head to the doorway of the bedroom. Don nodded, and both twins ninja’d their way to the hall, making sure not to disturb their slumbering guest. 

. . .

“So… how was your nap?” Raph smirked knowingly as the two brothers walked through the hall.

Don rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Oh, just wonderful. I love sleeping with one hundred and fifty two pounds of dead weight crushing my organs.” He deadpanned.

Raph snickered at that, but then his face changed. Don ran through the different emotions in his head, trying to decipher what was going through his fiery twin’s mind. As his brain calculated, Raph eventually spoke up.

“...So um…Are you uh… Are ya doin’ better now?” 

Don’s brow rose at such a sincere question from his twin, until he remembered how he had found his way into the brother’s bedroom in the first place.

Oh…right… 

“I’m fine now, Raph. Promise.”

Don watched as his twin’s expression went from concerned to unimpressed. Raph’s single brow rose interrogatively. 

“Oh come on, I’m being honest. I swear I’m okay now. Just had a… moment, that’s all.” Don counteracted his twin’s scrutiny of his words. He wasn’t lying, of course. Raph would see right through any kind of badly disguised deception he could play out, so there was never a point to hiding the truth from him. 

“Yeahhhh I know what that’s like..” Raphael sighed to himself, and then turned back to Don. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Tis but a bump in the road.” Don stated sarcastically, “Guess it would have been wrong if we had come out of something like that unscathed.” 

Raph shuddered, a choked breath escaping his lungs, as he began to rub his shoulders. Don wished the icy fear in their hearts could be relinquished by a gesture so small.

The twins soon arrived just outside the living room, but were abruptly halted at the broken sounds of… weeping.

What in the world?

The twins froze in place. Don and Raph simultaneously turned toward each other with wide, pleading eyes. Heterochromatic irises searched the other’s for any answers, but found none. The sounds of their brother’s sniffles and tears only grew the awkwardness of the situation. What are you supposed to do in this kind of moment anyway? Just go and join those who are mourning? UH- NO THANKS.

Don and Raph leaned their heads in the hall’s archway, attempting to identify the tragedy unfolding in front of them.

Don had to hold back a thin gasp as his eyes fell on Leo and Mikey in a tight embrace on the couch. He would’ve expected Mikey to be crying- his littlest brother had always been more sensitive, and would be found countless times mourning over things like a dead mouse in the tunnels, to a fallen prey animal on the Nature Channel. The youngest’s tender heart had resulted in hundreds of meltdowns and crying sessions over the years. So yeah, that was to be expected.

But Leo was crying too. 

Leo doesn’t cry in front of anyone. Not if he can help it. If there ever were times in the past when his oldest brother had reached that kind of breaking point, he would go and run off into one of the forgotten tunnels of the sewer they call home. Don recalled a time years ago when Mikey had broken Leo’s special mug, ending with the oldest scrambling away in an emotional whirlwind. Raph had simply told him that Leo “just needed a break of whatever”, as his fiery twin pressed an ice pack to his swelling right eye. 

The point was- Leo doesn’t break easily. 

Therefore, something was seriously wrong.

Don knew his twin shared his thoughts on the matter, as he arched his neck to meet Raph’s gaze. The fiery brother shrugged with a helpless expression. Don sighed, then gestured with his head to go to their brothers. Raph’s shoulders rose in discomfort as he took a quick inhale, and steeled himself.

Let’sss get this over with.

Don grabbed Raph’s hand and led his slightly embarrassed twin to their whimpering brothers. Raph followed Don’s example by purposefully making their ninja-silent footsteps far more detectable, so as to not frighten their brothers. It worked, because with one single footstep of the twins onto the fluffy carpet, Leo’s head jerked up as he immediately began wiping away his tears.

Yeah, nice try oh perfect leader. 

“D-Don! Raph!” Mikey shouted in surprise, as he too began slowly wiping away what was left of his tears. 

“H-How… how long have you been-” Leo started.

“-Long enough.” Don finished.

The oldest’s face fell instantaneously at Don’s curtness.   

“What happened? I can expect this from Mikey, but not you, Leo. What is going on?” 

“Hey!” Mikey squawked, clearly offended.

“Can it, Mike,” Raphael added, “you’d hold a funeral for a ‘DEAD END’ sign on the road.“

The red hue left from Mikey’s tears quickly spread to his cheeks as he gasped dramatically. 

“That’s not true! Ugh! You sound just like when we found poor Mr.Parmesan- JUST CAUSE HE WAS A MOUSE DIDN’T MEAN HE DIDN’T MATTER, RAPH. That poor little thing probably had a family!! A wife, fifteen kids, and another on the way- AND THEN HE’S DEAD!!! Who would pay the mortgage?? Who would bring home little cheese wheels for dinner?? WHO, RAPH? WHO?!?!” Mikey mournfully bellowed in a burst of anger.

Oh BROTHER.

Before Don’s twin was given a chance to continue this fruitless argument of a mouse’s worth in the world, Don changed the subject to something that actually mattered.

“Enough of that, Mikey. Not the point.” Don scolded with a raised finger at the youngest, to which Mikey huffed and fell back into the cushions of the couch with his arms crossed. “Leo, spill. What’s going on?”

The oldest’s eyes widened as he quickly realized he wouldn’t be let out of this awkward situation so easily. He didn’t speak a word, only just finishing wiping away the remainder of his tears.

“Well??” Raph pressured.

“It’s fine. We’re uh.. We’re fine, right Mikey?” Leo asked, silently pleading with Mikey to support him in the obvious attempt at deceiving. 

“Leo, dude, it’s a sin to lie. You know that.” Mikey scolded the oldest with a finger of his own waving in the air. “Nice try, but this time you’re not gonna ninja your way outta this one.”

Leo’s face hardened from the treachery of the youngest, but his resolve slowly fell through his fingers as he came to the conclusion that he was, indeed, caught.

“We… we were just talking-”

“-About what?” Raph interrupted, knowing Leo was trying to evade his answer to the question.

“- I’m GETTING THERE, Raph!” Leo burst, slamming his fists down onto the cushions below him. With a strangled sigh, the anger on his face soon vanished and was replaced with something else. His fists slowly opened as he took a long exhale. He looked like he was thinking. Planning.

“... We were going over what… happened.” Leo's vobrato diminished with each word, eventually ending his sentence in a barely heard whisper.

“Are you allergic to being specific? Afraid that if you tell the absolute truth you’ll just combust??” Don shouted exasperatedly, waving his hands into the air.

“-IT WAS MY FAULT YOU GUYS WERE TAKEN, OKAY?!?” Leo screamed as he shot up from the couch, and jabbed a self-accusing thumb at his plastron. “You never would have been found if I hadn’t allowed you to go that night! You would have never gone th-through… through HELL if I HAD JUST MADE A BETTER CALL!”

Everyone in the room went deathly silent as Leo finally broke right in front of them. In a pained whisper, he spoke,

“It was… it was all my fault.”

Don didn’t know what to do. He legitimately had no clue how to handle this situation. Because… 

Leo was right.

Had the leader not given permission to him and his twin to go to the scrap yard, they would never have been attacked and sent to the labs. 

It was Leo’s fault.

But he can’t agree!! Even if it’s true, siding with the oldest would only break him more. But Don can’t lie! That won’t do anybody any good! - AND STAYING SILENT WILL ONLY CONFIRM LEO’S SUSPICIONS THAT HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT IT BEING HIS FAULT! 

WHAT THE SHELL DO I DO?!?!

“Leo, all you did was make a mistake.” 

Everyone’s heads turned towards the quiet voice of Mikey. The youngest’s eyes held a deeply-rooted concern in them that made Don realize he and Raph weren’t the only ones who were wounded during their time taken from their family. 

Leo must have been blaming himself this whole time… How could I be so stupid to think me and Raph were the only people affected by what happened? 

They must’ve been so worried…

“Guys, please back me up here! Tell him!” Mikey turned towards Raph and Don with his brilliant blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Tell him it’s not his fault!”

Don froze as he was mentally backed into a corner. 

Fact- It was Leo’s decision to allow us to go to the scrapyard. If he hadn’t, we never would have been captured.

Fact- Leo never would have expected our capture to occur that night, so technically, it was indeed an accident.

Fact- Accident or not, his decision is what led to the unfortunate outcome.

Fact- You are screwed and there’s no right answer here.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Don clenched his teeth and felt sweat begin to bead on his forehead as every single set of eyes in the room fell onto him. On top of the heavy layer of scrutiny, there also came another weight in the form of silence, seeping from the cold of the room into his brain, and eliminating every brain cell trying to coach him out of the situation. 

Panic forced his mouth to open before his brain could fight back.

“It is his fault, Mikey.” Don briskly stated, resulting in a shocked gasp from the youngest and a horrified expression to loom over Leo’s face. Even Raph’s scowl twisted in surprise. “In all accounts, if Leo had never allowed us to leave, we never would have been caught.”

Shame dragged the eldest’s gaze to the floor. 

“-BUT!” Don shouted with his hands held up in a calming motion towards Leo, “...You never could have known that would happen. We don’t-...”

Don turned towards Raph for a confirmation, and his fiery twin nodded supportingly. The freckled brother took a breath as he slowly walked up to his wounded leader. With a hand calloused from years of repairs and tools, Don firmly planted his palm onto Leo’s shoulder as he knelt down. The eldest slowly lifted his head to meet his little brother’s gaze. 

“...We do not blame you, Leo. I promise to God, we don’t.” Don spoke resolutely, as he gazed directly into Leo’s icy irises. He kept eye contact, however awkward, to instill in his oldest brother how sincerely he believed what he said. 

“This was your fault.” Raph added, joining his twin at Leo’s and Mikey’s side. His expression mirrored Don’s, full of confidence and sincerity, but Don noticed that Raph was refusing to look Leo in the eye. “Even the golden child screws up sometimes. We can’t hold it against ya that you’re only human. Er- well, sort of- YOU GET WHAT I MEAN.” Raph flushed almost as brightly as the hue of his mask, getting swallowed by all the emotions swirling around the room like an inescapable mist. The flustered brother’s attempt at condolence sparked a few warm smiles to alight on his brothers’ faces. 

Even Leo’s. Though his expression resembled confusion and surprise more than joy.

With a defeated sigh, Leo sat up straighter and looked at each of his brothers standing at his side. His gaze traveled over every one of them: Mikey, Don, and hesitantly Raph. When Don’s fiery twin eventually looked Leo in his eyes, the leader’s face warmed into a meek smile. Raph’s brows creased in thought, as well as shared hesitance, and eventually landed into a subtle returned grin.

“Th-thanks guys.” Leo spoke as he reached his hand to land gently onto Don’s arm. He gave it a firm squeeze as his voice hitched. “I’m.. I’m still so sorry it happened.” He let out in a strained whisper. “We…we searched for so long.. I’m so sorry.”

Don and Raph turned towards each other with concern carved into every line on their faces. Raph instinctively reached his hand to land on his right arm, massaging the scarred limb. Don automatically went to fix his glasses, quickly being reminded of how grateful he was to be able to see properly again. He could feel the rooted chill of their past stretching its clawed hands over him and his twin, and he recognized the stiffness in Raph’s posture, a sign that he was forcing himself not to shiver. A question so simple, and one he should’ve asked long ago, but somehow never thought to:

How long had we been captured?

Don had never really thought about it. He tried to count the times he had been “fed”, but the minutes and hours blurred together and he quickly lost track. The lack of windows kept them from ever seeing the sun fall or rise, so that was no help. And the little sadists called doctors made sure to not have any calendars in their hell holes. Once Leo and Sensei burst into the lab to save them, no questions were asked. There was just no time. And once they got home…

Flashes of Leo shouting at someone blurred past Don’s mind.

Blood and bruises.

Someone hurriedly pulling needles out of his skin.

Leo carrying Lotus’ still form into the Medbay.

Mikey telling him he had been asleep for two days.

…There had just been too much happening at once.

“Leo..” Don carefully spoke. “How…” He gulped as the weight of the question he was about to ask truly hit him. “How long were we gone?”

Leo looked into Don’s face, his shy smile falling once again, as the jaws of pain and guilt came crashing down on him. The sharpness of the question’s fangs pierced into Leo’s heart in horrendous agony to the point that he let out a faint whimper. The eldest’s head fell solemnly into his hands, and with a mournful tone, he whispered words that shook Don and Raph’s hearts.

“Eighteen days.”

GUESS WHO'S BACK HAHAHHAHA!!!!! It felt AMAZING to get to writing again! This chapter holds a lot of, as we call it in filmmaking, "build up". Many different plot points are being established of what's going to happen in this story. Let's see how many of you can catch where they'll lead. ;)

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for proof-reading this, and helping me with great suggestions! :)

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl, @

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reblog!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

This is what happens when me and @allyheart707 are chatting about how adorable her turtles are with tails- It made me wonder....

..What would my SIW turtles look like? How would they react to having tails when they've lived their whole lives without them?

Hehehehehe chaos ensued quickly after~

Ok- Now that I'm done this little fun project, I can actually get back to writing the next chapter of SIW! See you guys later! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

DAY 14- Younger Sibling Uncharacteristically Fighting Back at Older Sibling - SIW - (Sketch version)

PART 1

(Tw for dizziness, nausea, drugging mention, vomiting)

(Part 2 will be linked here once I return to my computer and link it properly) :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

DAY 13- Realizing They’re Poisoned after the Battle is Long Over” - SIW

(Sketch form for now!)

(TW for stab wound, blood, poison, collapsing)

Nice to finally put the spotlight on my favorite tough guy, Raph. :) This comic took a WHILE to complete, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! (So far~) I may add or subtract panels once I finish these sketches digitally, but we’ll see. :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a bit since I've posted much- Things have been hectic and I got sick many times, so I've been doing a lot of resting lately. However~ BECAUSE I've been resting, I've been drawing a lot. :) So uh- enjoy!

With my SIW character Expression Sheets, I used references from this graph of expressions- I don't know who the original artist was, but I still wanted to clarify that I used their graph!

If you got any questions about any of my art, feel free to ask below, or send me an ask and I'll answer as soon as I can! :) Have a great day, guys!!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Is Leo will be sick, and what will happend ?

Hmmm. Do you mean "If Leo got sick, who would take care of him and be the team medic"? If so, I think I got an answer for ya. :)

(SIW Spoilers below!)

So, it is canon in my universe of TMNT for Leonardo to be the medic of the team. This position matches well with his eldest sibling role and his caring and gentle heart. However, sometimes things will happen that will force him to bestow/pass on this role- one of the main ones being when he falls ill or gets hurt.

Now, I really had to think about who he would give the role of "medic" to out of his brothers. (assuming Splinter isn't home or around). I already KNOW it wouldn't be Donatello- going by this simple example below of how he usually reacts to any kind of germs in the lair:

...As you can see, he wouldn't fit that role all too well. XD Despite being the definition of "THOROUGH" when it comes to sanitation, and understanding everything about bacteria and germs and how to burn them into oblivion, Don has a very difficult time showing any kind of empathy or nurturing. Rattling off facts can only be so helpful when it comes to comforting a suffering patient- so Leo wouldn't be all that quick to choose his freckled brother if he could help it.

Then there's Raphael- He can be just as caring, (and sometimes even just as gentle) as Leo. He loves his family dearly, but doesn't handle medical supplies all that well ever since returning from his time in the labs with Don. He's also not the best at handling situations when he doesn't immediately know what to do, usually choosing fight or flight rather than thinking past his feelings and emotions and doing what needs to be done. These factors, mixed with his past medical-based trauma, proves to Leo that Raph couldn't handle the pressures and uncertainty of being medic.

Leo would NEVER subject Lotus to perform any kind of medical procedures if he could. Knowing of her haunting past, and how she's still fighting the urge to run and hide when she's in the Medbay, she would never be his first pick to take over as medic. It also doesn't help that some of her medical-based trauma was sparked because of him.

And then there's Michelangelo- Whom is the actual answer to this question. If Leo had to pick one of his bros to take the role, it would be him. And I'll explain why. :)

First off, Mikey is in the Medbay the most out of all Leo's brothers. He's constantly getting himself hurt by not being careful, and each time he injures himself, Leo subjects him to a long rant/lesson about how dumb he was being and how the oldest was going to treat it. Scolding quickly became basic teaching. Leo would take every opportunity he could to call Mikey over and show him how to treat different injuries. And because Mikey loves hanging out with his oldest bro, he would never refuse to hear a lesson, so he found great joy when Leo called him over to practice basic first aid or watch a video about certain medical procedures. Eventually, Mikey became excited to learn as well as hang out with Leo.

This wasn't that much of a problem until blood was involved.

Just at the mere sight of the crimson liquid, Mikey would lose either one of two things: his lunch or his consciousness. And Leo quickly realized that he had to help his little bro get over his phobia if he were ever chosen to be the next medic or expected to care for one of his injured brothers on missions.

The following weeks were spent trying to desensitize Mikey to the sight of blood, (which was not easy seeing how Leo's student would be fighting not to pass out or hurl his guts out during each lesson.) But eventually, Mikey would at least be able to stomach seeing it and carry out any and all medical needs to the best of his ability whenever Leo wasn't available.

Cause someday there would come a time when Leo might not be there.

Hope this answers your question! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

What are the moments/phrases/comments that can REALLY set the turtles off?

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO ANSWER I NEEDED TO DRAW MORE PANELS FOR ITTTTTT

Hey, Anon! :)

As per usual, I will go answer your question going through each turtle at a time. :)

Donatello - There are a slew of different things that set Don off~ The main ones being when things (somehow) don't make sense to him, and ESPECIALLY when someone talks down to HIM when THEY are the ones being a colossal twit. If you don't have the facts to back up your theory or opinion, then DO NOT SHARE UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED FOR IT TO BE DESTROYED BEFORE YOUR EYES. If you can't take the cold-hard facts of life, then go live in a Fantasy novel.

Raphael - Like his twin, Raph has many things that annoy him and force him to resort to exploding like a volcano. The biggest one for him is when his home is just. Too. LOUD. It is very difficult to focus on sketching in your notebook when the obnoxious screeches of your little brother fill the air around you. The explosion reaches a crescendo when he realizes he accidentally poked his pencil through his sketchbook...

Leonardo - As someone who's normally quite calm in nature, Leo rarely loses his temper or shows emotions that he doesn't want to. But his precious composure sometimes crumbles into dust when his family doesn't communicate to him. This is especially true if it involves concealed injuries that are kept from him, the Team Medic. The art down below is based on what occurs in this chapter of my story, when Leo catches Raph hiding wounds he got from his time in the dreaded labs.

Lotus - This girl's temper rivals that of the twins. She has a difficult time toning down her fireworks of emotions since being saved from the labs that forced her to be silent. Her temper especially appears when someone (in person or in a tv show or film), convinces another weaker or shy person to act how they want: Manipulation, gaslighting, dehumanizing, etc. The brothers quickly learn to never pick any kinds of movies with that kind of villain, just to keep Lotus from spiraling into the unwanted memories of her past.

Michelangelo - The most rare to ever lose his temper given his sunny and chill personality, Mikey has to be pushed to his very LIMIT in order to explode like Raph or Don. Simple arguments don't do all that much besides annoy him, (just because of the fact that his brothers are fighting), but what really gets to him is when a fight lasts longer than it ever should have, and neither person involved is effectively communicating. Just... ARGUING. This is when he *lovingly* reminds them to look at their pride, KILL IT, and then focus on correctly fixing the dispute between the two.

Thanks for the question!! These were REALLY FUN to draw!! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 1 - BREATHE

Raph’s mind was drawing a gaping blank... Well, besides the panicked screaming echoing on repeat...

WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO???????!!

Today had already been full of uncomfortable situations. Enough tears had leaked through his eye sockets to rival those bad actors on one of Sensei’s tv shows. He became a stinkin’ breathing waterfall. Of..emotions. And now, here he was being clung to by a complete stranger. A stranger like him, but still a stranger. And now she’s crying TOO.

Raph lifted his eyes to the sky in a desperate plea.

Why did it have to be me?? Why couldn’t Mikey have done this?? Why do You enjoy stretchin’ me to my limit??? I’ve already been FEELING enough, now I got to deal with OTHER’S EMOTIONS???

Small hands continued to latch onto his. He didn’t try to pull away, but DANG IT ALL he was fighting against the constant urge not to.

I could text Mikey. Y-yeah, I could text him, he could come, do his little empathy magic, while I leave and sort things out… Ughhh but he doesn’t always carry his phone on ‘im. UNLESS OF COURSE HE NEEDS BLACKMAIL AGAINST ME- THEN IT MAGICALLY APPEARS IN HIS FLIPPIN’ HANDS.

The silence in the room amplified the awkwardness of his situation a staggering amount.

I could text Leo……

He wasn’t that desperate yet.

As he continued to try to make a plan of escape, a small sniffle pulled him out of his thoughts. He lowered his gaze back onto Lotus. However much of a complete stranger she was, she was still- well she looked just like a kid; So small and skinny.

And scared.

This… isn’t about me….right..

“Hey- hey, kid. It’s.. it’s ok. Ya need to calm down. At least take a breath.”

Lotus’ shoulders rose and fell as she forced a small puff of air into her lungs. It was pathetic, but at least she tried.

“I guess that’ll do for now.” Raph mumbled as he changed his position on the floor to something a bit more comfortable. “How about you do it again? In and out. Just try to hold it for three seconds.”

Lotus took another shaky breath in and was able to hold it for a little over two seconds, before she let it out again.

Still pathetic, but still progress.

“That’s it. Keep doin’ that. I know it’s been a bit.. scary comin’ here. Especially with my crackhead brother freakin’ you out… But uh- we may be freaks, but we don’t bite.”

Lotus finally looked up, and released some of her grip on Raph’s hand. It seemed that all of her tears had finally been spent, now replaced with a look of complete exhaustion.

It hadn’t been an easy day for anyone.

“Th- thank you, Rapha-…. Raph.” Lotus brokenly squeaked with a grateful smile. “You- you sound just like your brother.. The blue one- Um…Leo.”

Raph jolted in surprise as his brows creased in doubt.

“I’m nothin’ like him.” Raph offhandedly stated.

“Yeah sure,” Lotus scoffed, highlighting her exhausted complexion with a tinge of playful sarcasm, “ how could brothers ever act alike? My bad.”

Raph sat there with his mouth slightly ajar, blinking.

“I mean- YEAH, we’re brothers, but that doesn’t mean we’re all the same! This ain’t no cartoon where the only thing that defines us is our costume colors!”

“Huh. But you’re all soooo alike.. It’s probably a good thing you wear different colored masks, so people can tell you apart.” Lotus taunted, making Raph’s face burn in exasperation and a hint of embarrassment.

“N-NO, WE ARE NOT.” Raph sputtered indignantly, “I’M the tough guy, Don does machines, Leo’s the leader, and Mikey-” Raph takes a millisecond to think, “-We don’t know what Mikey is- But we are NOT ALL THE SAME.”

Raph looks back at Lotus and notices the gigantic, Mikey-Grade smile now shining on her face.

Little. Twerp.

Raph had to admit, it was funny. Clearly Lotus had enjoyed every second of tormenting him, but there was no way he was going to let her get away with it.

“Ya little brat! You’re trying to tick me off on purpose- what, did Mikey put you up to this???”

Raph playfully punched Lotus’ shoulder to congratulate her on a job well done. Though, going by her slightly pained expression after the hit, he realized he apparently punched her a little too hard..

“Heheh.. My bad..” He apologized as Lotus began rubbing her now sore arm.

“It’s fine..” Lotus snickered through a wince.

The room went silent.

Great. First emotions, now awkward silence. Just hittin’ all the marks today.

Raph used his unclutched hand to rub at his neck, as Lotus began looking around the room. Normally, during a moment of silence, a person would be contemplating what their next opener will be to a conversation, or even just taking in the scenery around them.

Not Raph.

No, he was too busy shriveling in the burning heat of awkwardness and feelings. He felt like a worm slowly getting cooked on the sidewalk.

Master Splinter had always taught Raph and his brothers the importance of caring for others; Putting their needs before your own and all that jazz. But just because he was taught that from a young age, didn’t make it any easier for him to do. He tried though! .. In his own way. A little jab to the arm here, a quick “good job” there… But that was the extent of his emotional capabilities.

And now here he is. The most emotionally-inept brother stuck with the impossible goal to comfort a weeping female turtle mutant. Fantastic.

The grating silence was disturbed by a prompt “SORRY!” from Lotus, as she finally released Raph from his prison her grip. Raph chuckled to himself as he began massaging his now freed wrist.

“It’s fine. You got a good grip on ya.” Raph was very grateful Lotus had decided to cling to his left arm.

“O-Oh.. Uh.. thanks.” Lotus shrugged, as she forced her hands back under the covers. She then tried to lay back down, but winced as she moved her recovering leg.

“O-ow!”

“Hey, you ok?” Raph turned to her, gripping his hand steadily on her shoulder to hopefully grant her more stability, “You shouldn’t be movin’ around too much. You still gotta heal.”

Lotus only nodded as a response, as Raph helped her lower her head back down to the pillow.

Ok- before things get quiet again- JUST SAY SOMETHING. Chat about the weather, favorite tv series- SOMETHING.

“Soo..Where’d you get those marks on your head and arms?”

REALLY?? THAT’S THE BEST YOU CAN DO??? Where do ya THINK SHE-

“..Um.. I was born with them?.. I think?” Lotus said in uncertainty as she looked over the star-like markings decorating her shoulders.

..She thinks?

“..How about you?” Lotus gestured to Raph’s arms.

“I was born with em’ too.”

“Even those scars?”

Raph’s pupils constricted as his eyes widened. His hand slowly raised to touch the deep green slash over his right eye, as his gaze lowered to peer at the lightning bolt scar imprinted into his skin at the tip of his plastron.

“N-nah. Didn’t get these until I got older.” His voice lowered almost to a whisper as memories replayed in his mind. He had to take a deep inhale to slow his brain down. He pointed up to the scar on his face. “This was an accident.”

Please change the subject.

“Oh..” Lotus nodded in understanding, “What about-”

Raph and Lotus both flinched as Don came staggering into the bedroom. His throat choked on every breath being squeezed out of his lungs, and his shoulders trembled.

“-DON?? What’s goin’ on? Are you oka-”

Raph looked into his twin’s eyes. He recognized the overwhelming fear plaguing his brother’s face. He knew it all too well. The silent link between the two connected in an instant, with message after message from Donatello.

( HELP. HELP. THEY WON’T STOP- I CAN’T MAKE THEM STOP. )

“Don, it’s ok! BREATHE.”

Raph watched as his twin’s gaze went from panicked to unfocused. He probably didn’t hear a word Raph had said.

The crimson-clad brother got off the floor and turned to Lotus.

“You good? I- I gotta take care of my brother-” He promptly asked, twisting his head from Lotus to Don with each word.

“Yeah, I’m fine-”

“-Kay. Rest up. Chill. Don’t move your leg. Take the two pills on the side table.”

And with that, Raph ran to his twin just in time to catch him before the purple-clad brother fell to the ground in a wheezing heap.

. . .

Donatello’s head pulsed with a deep ache as all his anxiety and fear combined into a tormenting storm in his body. Thunderbolts of adrenaline shot through his arms and legs forcing them to tremble. His instincts shouted for him to find help. GET HELP. GET HELP NOW.

Without his permission, his legs began moving towards the brothers’ bedroom. He didn’t register quite yet what he was doing, but it felt right to search for some semblance of comfort from one of his brothers. And by the fact that his heart rate and breathing were accelerating at a dangerous pace, he knew he needed to move as fast as he could before his low oxygen levels caught up.

HELP.

Donatello’s mind still thundered loudly with the echoes of his horrible memories, but then the sound of someone’s worried tone parted some of the clouds.

“-D-N?? W-’s goin’ on? - yo- oka-”

( HELP. HELP. THEY WON’T STOP- I CAN’T MAKE THEM STOP. )

The world remained a shadowed blur as he fought to gain back control of his body. The voice- Raphael’s voice, was telling him to breathe, which sounded like a wise thing to do. With each forced breath, Don’s vision slowly cleared. The red and green blur in front of him crystallized into the face of his worried twin. Don’s head continued to swim in the raging currents of adrenaline, but at least now he knew he was safe. The subtle waves of his brother’s comfort washed over him in a cool, refreshing tide. Fear and panic drained from his mind, leaving nothing but peaceful exhaustion. With a deep sigh, every ounce of adrenaline left him.

Quickly following his sigh, he all of a sudden felt the sensation of his brother’s arms wrapped around him, along with the coarse texture of grout and tiles scratching into his knees.

How did I get on the floor??..

Oh- right- Hyperventilation leads to low oxygen levels.. which leads to dizziness..

which leads to f- faaaain-

..I don’t feel so good…

“DUDE WHAT DID I JUST SAY!??! BREATHE GOSH DANG IT!!!!”

Ahhh my loving brother. So gentle. So polite.

“DON- Dude- DON’T MAKE ME SMACK YOU.”

Well that would be rude.

“I’M GIVIN YA TO THE COUNT OF THREE.”

..Why are we counting?

“ONE.”

Wait- what did he say again?

“TWO.”

Oh- he wants me to take a breath so my oxygen levels will return to normal leading to-

Don’s thought was literally smacked out of his head.

“H-heyyy!” Don coughed, after taking a big gasp after the blow, “Ow.”

“WELL- Ya wouldn’t BREATHE. I PANICKED.”

Raph’s smack wasn’t even that hard compared to those he’d given during one of their thousands of arguments. It was quite successful in clearing Don’s head..

Still though- ow.

And that's it for this chapter! :)

WE MADE IT GUYS!!! WE'RE OFFICIALLY IN BOOK TWO!!!!!! :) WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I have SO MANY PLANS for this book guys- I have a timeline, notes in my phone, in my notebook, AND on my computer!!!! THIS IS GONNA BE FUNNN~

I know my last book ended on a cliffhanger with the flashback, and TRUST ME- WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THAT- But first, I wanted to slowly bring you all back to the current story, where it's a bit more... calm, before I explain what happened to Don, Lotus, and Raph. Just take this little breath..

..cause you're gonna need it.

Anyways, hope you enjoy!! If you liked it, please feel free to reblog this!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

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