#so raph finds like minded peers <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[rust-painted-fingers]

ok but like

turtle fam going to infiltrate a highschool for a mission (technically they didn't have to but might as well enjoy the opportunity, cmon they have magic brooches) leo & donnie having a blast terrorizing the small theater program while the student director is loving it (they bring so much energy!)

and it's all great, and then one day in rehearsals raph comes to visit cause the twins forgot their dinner (it's hell week) and he doesn't want the student body dealing with hangry leo, not to mention donnie

and everyone sort of, stops? they all freeze, and he nervously asks where his brothers are (they didn't know the twins brother was Huge) but before anyone can answer a bang startles everyone and a blur shoots towards the relaxing raph

and they have a little moment with don and nardo whining and thanking his presence while raph gently pokes fun at them for forgetting and

everyone begins to accept that the giant new student who played football and was maybe a little terryfing- he was a total sweetheart

(maybe even a himbo, but the director slaps a hand on the manager)

[redstringraven]

an excruciatingly long ramble about the ‘03 turtles and the enneagram 🐢💜 pt4

[ intro + disclaimers post ] [ pt 2 - raph ] [ pt 3 - leo ] [ pt 5 - mikey ]

don, 5 with a 4 wing

addendums: [ 1 ]

intro

alright, donnie-bear, it’s your turn in the spotlight. which i know you hate, so i’ll try not to keep you too long.

don doesn’t really get to have like… a season-wide growth or 'arc' of sorts (leo’s is a main focus of season four and raph’s is more of a subtle thing you can notice as the series progresses). what’s interesting is, in some ways, being a 5 could explain that. IF we wanted to be charitable and say never addressing the wild shit don goes through was intentional. but i know that’s more self-indulgence or wanting to gently take the writers by their shoulders and shake them on my end.

please, flying spaghetti monster, get these boys some goddamn therapy.

let’s begin.

bare basics of the 5

5s are one of the three withdrawn types (along with 4s and 9s), and they’re members of the head triad (made of 5s, 6s and 7s).

the withdrawn types lack differentiation between their conscious self and their unconscious, unprocessed thoughts, impulses and feelings. their unconsciousness constantly wells up into consciousness through daydreams and fantasies. all three of the withdrawn types respond to stress by moving away from engagement with the world around them and into an “inner safe haven” in their imagination. in other words, they have a habit of “zoning out”.

the head triad may also be referred to as the ‘thinking’, ‘reason’ or ‘fear’ triad. members of this triad are concerned with anxiety; they carry a great deal of fear and are driven by it. they feel they experience a lack of support and guidance, and because of this they often engage in behaviors they believe will enhance their safety and security. they take in and relate to the world through the mind, and they tend to think and plan carefully before they act. 5s externalize it, 6s internalize it, and 7s forget it.

a 5’s basic fear is that of being helpless, useless, overwhelmed or incapable

their basic desire is to be capable and competent

they believe they’ll be okay so long as they have mastered something

childhood take-aways

as you likely expect, we return to the quote from master splinter in things change (s1ep1):

“your path in life will not be an easy one. the outside world will not be a friendly place for you. you four are different in ways the surface dwellers would never understand. to survive, you must master these skills i teach you: the powers of stealth and secrecy. you must become kage, shadow warriors, and you must never be discovered by the outside world.”

young 5s tend to be quiet children who occupy their time with books, collecting insects or plants, learning a musical instrument, using a computer, or playing board games or with chemistry sets rather than participate in play with their peers. anxious parents might find themselves coaxing their young 5 into basic activities--joining a sports team or going to a playground--in an effort for their child to be more ‘normal’; these efforts are often met with intense resistance from the 5. the 5 will sometimes feel overwhelmed by their protective figures, and they'll seek out other ways to feel secure and confident.

as children, 5s see the world around them with startling clarity. they elaborate on it in their minds, which will have repercussions later on for better or for worse. these types value independence--or, more accurately: non-intrusion. early on, 5s learn to believe that by not asking much from you, you won't ask much of them; through that, 5s attain safety and a feeling of control. as a way of defending themselves, they learn to cut themselves off from nurturance--any painful feelings of need and longing--by staying in their minds.

something i find interesting about the lesson (s3ep13) in retrospect of the enneagram is what don and leo choose to focus on when teaching a young casey. now, i know in some way the choices were kind of narrative jokes (as well as poking fun at the fact they’re like eight-years-old and trying to teach something complex like martial arts) but i think, in don’s case, there’s a bit more going on.

leo, who in his older years more focuses on strategy, went for meditation as his starting point (likely remembering where his own ninjitsu training might have begun and wanting to do it 'right') whereas don went for strategy as HIS starting point.

one could argue that out of the four brothers, don is the ‘weakest’ fighter (in terms of technique and natural skill, NOT physical strength; i will get to that). rather than focus on where his ninjitsu training began and giving casey the chance to see if his own physical abilities can develop, don goes right into where he knows HE’S capable: the thinking aspect. planning.

splinter says ��to survive, you must master these skills”, and here is a young don already recognizing that out of the four of them, he needs to rely on something more than just ninjitsu skills alone.

don’s best tool in an actual confrontation at this point--what would keep him capable and ‘not useless’--would be navigating a battlefield strategically and keeping himself one step ahead of his opponent.

in flashbacks from tales of leo (s1ep19), we can see don’s built himself a little robot car. this, obviously, will serve no form of protection or security in an actual fight or time of emergency; it’s a toy. he’s a child with a still-developing brain and knowledge of the craft. there's no context to if this story takes place before or after the events of the lesson, but it's evident he's already pursuing other areas to (hopefully!) master outside of ninjitsu that could aid him later.

don as a 5

5s can sometimes be nicknamed: ‘the thinker’, ‘the innovator’, ‘the observer’, ‘the sage’, ‘the specialist’, ‘the radical’, or ‘the expert’.

more than any type, 5s want to find out why things are the way they are. behind their relentless pursuit of knowledge is a deep insecurity about their ability to function successfully. 5s feel that they do not have an ability to do things as well as others. they believe in the safety and security of their own minds.

5s are highly motivated by a desire to understand. to them, gathering knowledge and mastering information are keys to survival. 5s collect and horde information like dragons to gold; they want to know at least a little bit about every obscure topic. they don’t want to appear foolish or uninformed, or be humiliated by not having the correct answer. while don’s physically present at the hockey game in the golden puck (s2ep18), he’s got his nose in a book about the sport's history. this could not only be his 5’s desire to collect information, but also an attempt to understand something casey (and maybe by proxy, raph) is interested in.

5s have a presentational or lecture-like “talking style”; if you ask them what they feel, they’re more likely to tell you what they think. due to this, they tend to respond to problems rather than react to them. it’s this ability that helps don stay as the level-head out of the four brothers. like 9s, 5s are able to remain neutral and see both sides of a conflict. but where a 9 might be worried about hurt feelings, a 5 will look at the situation objectively and shoot straight with you (a contributing reason to why raph might respond better to don calling him out than leo or mikey; don is always going to be straight-forward with him, something 8s, as we covered, value). raph and leo, being on the gut-triad, have a tendency to react to their instinct, and mikey doesn’t always slow down enough to exercise his 5 (it’s his security number, and we’ll get to that).

from a narrative/’tope’ standpoint, you could look at don having 'random' knowledge outside of his usual science and engineering expertise as him filling his narrative role as “the smart one”, but his 5 could also serve as an explanation for why he just… can either read or recognize an italian phrase in the darkness within (s3ep14) or why he has a pigeon puppet in search for splinter (s1ep25) that my bird-loving ass continues to be DELIGHTED over to this day. a 5 never wants to be put in a position where they have to depend on others to take care of them. the idea of losing their independence and self-reliance terrifies them. so, they gather all sorts of information and ideas and resources they deem potentially useful later.

and semi-due to this, the average 5 has a bit of a scarcity mentality. they’re careful to measure how much time they’re spending with others in comparison to time they spend honing their abilities to master something or expand their knowledge. this might lead to them hoarding their space, time, and even affection. it’s common for a 5 to have a space that is THEIR space. this could be as small as a specific chair they always retreat to for reading (that they get a little territorial about should you find yourself sitting in it one day), a corner of the garage, or a larger space such as a study or work-room. don, of course, has his lab which seems to be a (questionably) repurposed subway car for the majority of the series. i don’t know how he got it in the lair… that’s a question for another day. and given a 5’s secrecy and independence it, frankly, wouldn’t surprise me if no one knows how he got it in there. we'll touch on that more in a bit.

don’s wing was probably the hardest for me to pin down out of the brothers. i remember on the same site i saw raph being labeled as an 8w9, don was a 5w6. it took a lot of thinking, a lot of reviewing, but i’ve decided i disagree.

it’s possible he might reach for the 6’s influence from time to time, but i decided on 4 for two key reasons:

5s with a 6 wing tend to be more argumentative and will even actively antagonize people who disagree with them and their views (gives me more stockman energy than it does don; not saying stockman is a 5, tho), and

when mikey’s talking about the different freedoms they all have due to leo shouldering most of the responsibility in samurai tourist (s4ep13), he says don’s free to ‘dream’.

mikey’s insight and that word choice are important. again, i can’t help but wonder if the site’s decision to give don a 6 for a wing was to fully put him on the thinking triad rather than give him a foot in the feeling triad.

the 4’s influence brings with it the more surreal and fantastical; 5w4s are more creative and often seek niches unexplored by others, able to tap into the imaginative side of their brain rather than only the analytic. i think it goes without saying that several of don’s inventions are outside the norm and incredibly creative and innovative. the tunneler, whose existence would even be the undoing of the shredder in another world, is a fantastic example of this. additionally, don's limited access to resources forces him to think and problem-solve more even creatively, and i wouldn't be surprised if that fueled and developed his 4 more than his 6.

5s with a 4 wing are sometimes nicknamed ‘the iconoclast’. they’re creative, sensitive, and empathetic. they’re not always sure what to do with their feelings and prefer to process them in solitude. these 5s are more prone to experiencing melancholy, but they’re less emotionally guarded around others and tend to be better at being kind to themselves. they tend to be more creative than the other sub-type; their tinkering with familiar forms, ideas and concepts can lead to startling innovations. they’re often drawn to the arts, and their curiosity and perceptiveness combine with the desire to express their unique and personal visions.

stress & security numbers

don’s stress number is a 7, so in times of high stress and low spirits he’ll begin to express the negative traits associated to 7s. stressed 5s hoard and cling more tightly to things, make their world smaller and smaller, and will turn their attention away from the needs of others. in worst-case scenarios, they might refuse to help at all or even become hostile to the suggestion, as it would require them to use their valuable time, energy and resources that keep THEM safe. they might become frivolous, disorganized and distracted to the point of not being able to complete tasks and stop thinking about the consequences of their behavior. they’ll begin feeling even more inadequate, feel sorry for themselves, and do whatever they can to avoid pain.

these 5s become more impulsive, their minds speed up--restless and agitated--and they feel more compelled to distract themselves. under extreme stress, they might even become aggressive and insensitive in their pursuit of… whatever it is they want at the time.

examples of don’s 7 showing up could include:

his outburst at his brothers at the start of return to the underground (s2ep13), his frustration with himself for not being able to find a cure for their friends below, and remaining confined/isolated to his lab while his brothers continue to go about their lives and other activities

straight up ripping professor honeycutt’s head off in worlds collide pt1 (s3ep5) because he panicked. funny as it was, mikey’s right… that was kind of extreme. aggressive, impulsive, and insensitive, one might even say

we get a glimpse of one of don’s workstations in bad day (s4ep8) and it's a complete mess. it’s possible that leo’s shift in attitude is wearing don down internally. he’s not taking care of his spaces, and he might not be taking care of himself much, either.

in dragons rising (s4ep10), when leo’s hanging off the back of a truck and mikey’s sliding on the hood of the battleshell, there's a pair of dragons in a truck behind them. those dragons rear-end the battleshell, and don doesn’t hesitate to shoot a fucking missile right into the driver’s seat. had those dragons not thought fast enough to bail, they'd be off the census.

also in this episode, after don tries to look on the bright side (saying they stopped half the convoy) and leo snaps at him, he’s turned away from leo for the rest of the scene--he’s even cut out of the frame in one shot. boy has: completely withdrawn from the ‘conversation’ while the others remain engaged and listening.

don’s security number is an 8, so when mentally and spiritually healthy he’ll begin to adopt the positive traits associated with 8s. with the influence of their 8, 5s become more spontaneous, outspoken and physically present. they get energetic, confident, and much more talkative. the difference can be quite striking to people, leading to playful questions like “what’s gotten into don today?”.

secure 5s become more willing to participate rather than just observe. they feel empowered to take on major challenges, and some will even pursue or assume leadership roles. rather than fear the loss of the abilities or expertise that they’ve been careful to cultivate in isolation, they harness those skills strategically and constructively. they come out of their own heads and embrace a deeper contact with their vitality and physicality. they can take on a whimsical or dark sense of humor, and take delight in puns and wordplay. a more mischievous, lively and elfin side of them begins to show through. a 5 who wants to experience the abundance of life without worrying about what they can afford to lose is one on the high side of an 8.

examples of don’s 8 surfacing could include:

whenever we see him engaging in play with his brothers; he’s not only choosing to be present and share his time with them, but he also seems to--pardon the pun--come out of his shell a bit more. examples could include darkness at the edge of town (s1ep6), reflections (s2ep9), space invaders pt 1 (s3ep2), nobody’s fool (s3ep11), and time travails (s3ep17)

in the king (s1ep16) when the champions all battle cry and rush into the fight, he joins them. battle cry and all. fucking dweeb.

suggesting they all go get ice cream in the ultimate ninja (s2ep10); it’s small, but don’s choosing to not only remain present but to leave the lair and do an unplanned activity with the others

any time he exercises that gentleman’s snark of his, but i’m going to choose a class favorite: “nighty night, dragon-boy” from cousin sid (s4ep1)

how giddy and talkative he is at the start of return of savanti (s4ep20).

don’s 8 is subtle, but it breaks his habitual patterns. people who aren’t that familiar with him might think this is just him behaving ‘normally’, but those who do know him understand that he prefers being left to his projects, studies, and ideas. when he chooses to not only be present in the moment and spend his valuable time with his loved ones, it’s him leaving his safe spaces, risking to use up those resources he so carefully maintains and allowing himself to feel good and be confident in areas he’s normally not. his 8’s a little difficult to spot, but it’s there if you know how to spot a 5 dipping their toe into gremlin-mode. and it is highly endearing.

just don’t tell sam regiel that, he lives 24/7 in gremlin-mode, sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally, none of us are safe--

cardinal sins - 5 and greed

much in the way that raph’s cardinal sin wasn’t a surface-level explanation, neither is don’s. because i can already hear some folks protesting in regard to how generous and selfless he is. i hear you, and you’re correct. materialistically, 5s can be extremely generous. … however, as the greediest greed to ever greed once said:

“you humans think greed is only about money and power. but everybody wants something they don't have.”

remember that the thinking and head triad can also be called the ‘fear’ triad, and that types in this triad struggle with and are driven by fear. fear makes 5s shrink inward, and avarice makes them hoard whatever minimal resources they have around them. their greed, their avarice, focuses on their inner resources, their energy, and their time. they’re greedy for knowledge and improving their expertise, and they can easily feel intruded upon and learn to protect themselves by emotionally withdrawing from people.

5s want to conserve their energy and resources in order to avoid needing others too much, trying to take as little from the environment and those around them as possible. they feel as though there is not much of them to go around, and the needs of others can deplete or exhaust them. don even laments in his official profile that he longs for the day he can be left alone to explore his interests, and that maybe someday "he'll have the time he needs".

in new blood (s3ep12) don 'cheats' at their game of ninja hide-and-seek by using nightvision goggles to quickly find his brothers. he's both making up for, in his mind, his natural skill at the game, and he's possibly looking to speed things up a bit so he can return to what HE wants to use his time doing. i think it's also worth noting that in city at war pt3 (s2ep16), don’s the one who asks karai what’s in it for them should they agree to help her. in exchange for the valuable resources the turtles will give to help karai (their time, their energy, their literal safety), what do they get in return?

it’s also important to recognize that 5s consider information a resource. due to this, 5s are extremely private and secretive people. it’s rare for any one person to know everything about a 5; each colleague or friend might have a part of a 5’s story, but no one person or even group of people will have the whole story. 5s might even go out of their way to not introduce certain circles of friends to each other due to an underlying fear that they all might talk to each other and be able to piece together what information about the 5 they have. that information--their lives and experiences--is THEIRS. keeping that hidden away, not sharing that resource, is a method of security.

i think we get a fair amount of glimpses into this aspect of don throughout the series, and the first is quite earliy on, but small. when they meet april (s1ep3), don’s not the one who introduces himself as the tech-wiz in the group. mikey’s the one who talks him up, and don even tells him to ‘cut it out’ (even if he says this playfully or humbly, this is not technically mikey's information to share).

the way mikey reacts to don's pigeon puppet suggests this is the first time any of them have seen the silly thing. as far as we know, he never tells his brothers about the events of the king (s1ep16) or that he got tortured by triceratons (s3ep3)--FOR information, at that!--or about where he went in same as it never was (s3ep21). and the whole time he’s sick in the latter half of season 4, he keeps brushing it off as just a bug bite and then a cold. he’s probably in a lot more discomfort than he ever lets on, but… eh, no one needs to know that. it’s probably nothing. this is both HIS information… and, also, leans into the 5’s negative trait of neglecting their own health in stressed states and minimizing their own comfort. they don’t want to have to rely on anyone for anything.

as with raph and leo, let’s also peek at the other cardinal sins associated with don: with his 4 wing, 7 stress and 8 security, the others in his circle would be envy, gluttony, and lust respectively.

SaiNW and don straight up disappearing

a gentle content warning for mention of death in the last paragraph of this section. i know it’s kind of a ‘dead dove, do not eat’ situation with this being sainw and all, but just so you know it’s coming.

as i mentioned in an earlier section, don’s 5 aids him in being the level-head in the family. sainw!mikey even remarks on this in the episode (that "they really needed that level-head of his"). i mentioned in that same section that mikey does have access to the 5, with it being his security number, but… given the environment of sainw, i think it’s fair to say that all of the turtles would have been in the most unhealthy state of their core number. this would mean mikey’s 5 is closed off, and he’d be leaning more into his 1. they, as a team, had lost their links to any of the positive influence that could have come from the 5’s respond over react nature.

don’s disappearance is left vague, not only to us as the viewers but also to his family. he just disappeared. and when his brothers finally see him again thirty years later, it’s not even their don. they're just as in the dark as we are, meaning there was no big fight or blow up or otherwise ‘obvious explanation’ as to why don would have left without a word.

i discussed leo and raph's types at their highest and lowest points, so let's pause to take a look at don's real quick. at their healthiest, 5s can be described as: participating and visionary, observant and perceptive, focused and innovative. at their unhealthiest, they become: nihilistic and eccentric, horrified and delirious, oblivion seeking and self-annhilating.

the series itself is officially twenty years old, and sainw is one of the most utilized episodes when it comes to the creation of fanworks, so i’m sure just about every reason under the sun has been either touched upon or hinted at or explored to explain why don vanished the way he did. and, sadly, thanks to don’s 5, they could all work in my opinion. it’s painfully simple.

5s, due to their need for independence as well as their reluctance to talk about themselves, are the types of people who will leave the house without a word. if they realize the house coffee supply is running low, they’ll grab their keys and head out to the store. they have a library book that's due soon, so rather than go directly home after work like they usually do they'll detour to drop it off. maybe they just feel like taking a walk; out the door they go. no “hey, i’m heading out, be back in ten!”, no text, no post-it note, nothing. it’s not a reflection on how they feel about you or anyone else, it’s just how they are.

it wouldn’t surprise me at all if don was guilty of this. maybe in the middle of a project he realizes he needs something from the junkyard, flings his duffel over his shoulder and just heads out to go grab it real quick. if no one happens to cross his path between his lab and the garage door, he won’t go out of his way to tell anyone where he's off to or that he's leaving at all. they probably won’t know unless one of them text or call him (rip leo and raph’s stress-o-meters). there’s, of course, a chance his family has caught onto this habit and requested he let SOMEONE know, but… that also means don would have to comply to that. be it intentionally ignoring this request or maybe just being too wrapped up in his work or creative excitement to get what he needs and continue making progress that he just plain forgets to say something, who knows.

sainw!don likely did the same thing, and his exit would have likely been paired with a more unhealthy and stressed state of being. for some reason, a reason we’ll never have, he left their hideout and all dialogue/evidence points to no one happening to cross his path on his way out to learn where he was going.

maybe he just needed air. maybe he was trying to get supplies. maybe he got captured and/or killed while he was out there. maybe there are details surrounding casey and/or splinter’s death that we don’t have that caused him to actually want to break off from the others and go on his own (the 7 in him stopping him from being attentive to the needs of others and withdrawing in full, hostile to helping). maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a genuine, unrelated accident cost him his life and no one knew where he was or even to go looking for him when he never came back. we don’t know and we never will. it's another layer to the tragedy of the episode.

[ryan bergara voice] what happened to sainw!donatello will always remain… unsolved.

i’m sorry, if i don’t meme at least once in this section i will be depressed for the rest of the day, let’s move on.

brains and brawn? you mean don.

this has been commented on in the fandom a handful of times over the years: don’s probably the strongest, physically, out of the brothers. yeah, stronger than raph. there’s evidence not only in-series, but if you consider the enneagram aspect of don and his 5, it opens another perspective into some of the things we might not get to see on screen.

take don’s independence for example. the fact he doesn’t ever want to have to rely on anyone else. sure, yeah, being in danger out on the field--he’s aware of when he needs help and will ask for it in that aspect, as he has recognized that ninjitsu is not the ‘skill’ he has mastered or has aimed TO master��� but he’s not going to ask his brothers for help moving things around in his lab (especially given that his lab is one of HIS spaces). he’s going to do it himself, even if he has to spend two days building a one-use pulley system to make it happen. this is the enneagram type who just flat out leaves the house without telling anyone anything. you think he’s gonna wander out of his lab and ask someone to help him move a giant tire if he can figure out a way to do it himself? hell no. god forbid.

think about all the shit don has to move on a day to day basis to build and fix and modify the stuff he does. the average weight of an eight-cylinder car engine is between 400 to 700 pounds (that’s 181kg to 317kg). and the original battleshell wasn’t just a van, either, it was an armored car they ‘borrowed’ from the purple dragons (s1ep1). we see that he has a car engine removed and suspended while he fixes it in lone raph and cub (s1ep24) and it's fucking huge. it’s so funny to think that raph is over here like “i’m gonna be so strong [works out in his free time]” and meanwhile don’s out beside some abandoned car somewhere with the hood propped open like “hmm… i COULD call one of my brothers and ask them to help me strip this engine out and get it home… but i could also not do that [proceeds to not do that and gets it home himself]”.

i acknowledge that some of these can be dismissed as "cartoon physics", but humor me for a paragraph.

given that everyone else was busy fighting, don had to've dragged stockman's robotic arm--which is bigger than him--from inside the building to the outer edge all on his own in return to new york pt3 (s1ep23) so he can cover raph from the roof. we’ve seen don single-handedly lift a metal beam off his person (s2ep20), we’ve seen him stop an underwater fan with his staff and force it to stay still (s3ep9), we’ve seen him jam his staff into solid fucking cement cement (s2ep14), when everyone was getting sucked into the portal at the end of the battle nexus it was traximus--the eight foot triceraton--THEN don keeping the chain anchored to the ground (s2ep26), he’s thrown triceratons around with his own two hands--lifted one out of a vehicle even (s2ep4), he dragged two of his unconscious brothers toward the pedestal in april’s artifact (s2ep21), he and raph are both bearing the brunt of the weight of a slab of roof after the foot’s training building collapses in city at war (s2ep15), he’s been at the top of the turtle chain at least twice in the series when they’re hanging off of something (s1ep2 & s3ep26) which means he’s holding up roughly 720 pounds with just his own damn hands and arms.

in his pursuit to master mechanics while being fully independent in doing so, not needing to rely on his brothers to help him move things from the junkyard to his lab to the final piece, he’s unknowingly made himself the team muscle, too. my brother in bushido, do you even lift? yes.

anyway the entire point of this section is to say that whenever i see 03 don written as the physically weak one because he’s the nerd and not the most skilled fighter, i’m immediately yeeting myself out of the conversation. he’ll scrap with you in the vacant lot behind the arby’s and win.

yet another section about the first half of season 4

since we talked about raph and leo’s perspectives in this area of the show--and since i plan on dedicating a section for mikey in his post--don deserves a lookover as well.

if you were to ask me who was probably coping the worst with the outcome of exodus, it’d obviously be leo. duh. but if you were to ask me who was coping the worst aside from leo, i would place my money on don. the series doesn’t allow him to process like it did with leo, and if you zoom out a bit and look at season 3… there’s not a lot of time, we can assume, between sainw and exodus. narratively, there are three episodes, but two of them (the real world parts 1 and 2) take place on the same day as sainw. in both sainw and exodus, don is the last man standing at the end of the fight. in sainw he defeats the shredder after his brothers have perished. in exodus, master splinter and his brothers are all downed. leo and raph are even lying beside each other again. the whole thing had to’ve been too close for comfort on a variety of levels. a slap of deja-vu he didn’t ask for and that no one else in the room is going to understand.

we don’t get to see a lot of don directly engaging with leo’s shift in attitude throughout the earlier half of season four and, maybe while not purposeful by the writers, i think at least some of that could be contributed to his 5 dipping into his 7. where raph is challenging leo’s attitude shift and starting to push him away by becoming hostile (as a way of protecting himself), don is just straight up not engaging with leo at all if he can help it. in his head, he doesn’t have the energy or capacity to deal with this right now. his own inner resources are low, he’s still healing from sainw and exodus on his own, and not only does he not want anyone to know about that, he just can’t deal with leo’s needs at the moment.

his shared glee with raph over mikey having to do a rematch with kluh (s4ep6) could even be attributed to his 7’s desperate and scattered need for a distraction--a change of pace--oh, thank god, not only will this keep leo’s attention off ME and he’ll stop dragging me into training, but maybe it’ll humble mikey enough to get him to stop antagonizing raph for a day because the air around here is already too tense.

when we get to the opening of samurai tourist (s4ep13), don points out that raph’s right in recognizing leo’s shift in behavior is getting worse, but he does so in a way that's uncharacteristically removed for him.

“leo’s gotten really intense. ever since our final showdown with the shredder, he just seems so… angry."

like... this is an extremely surface level observation for the same guy who noticed that they very well could have been in nano’s position had master splinter not been a good person (s2ep11), or who pointed out to mikey that he shouldn’t call the undergrounders ‘monsters’ when to most people they are ALSO monsters (s1ep14), or who connected the dots that if it hadn’t been for the shredder they never would have become mutants (s2ep9), or who didn’t hesitate to give zog a breathing aid because he knew oxygen was poisonous to him (s2ep19)--just to name a few instances.

don has consistently throughout the series been empathetic and aware of the experiences and emotions and needs of the people they encounter. now, one of the people he knows better than anyone else on the planet has drastically changed, but all he can say is that he seems angry. don isn’t in a healthy enough place to feel secure in using his inner resources to spend on leo. they’ve all likely been focused inward and on keeping himself afloat, keeping his own struggles invisible and minimized, keeping his head down while tensions rise between raph and leo.

again, i wish so badly that the series had taken the time to explore the ripple effect of leo’s damage as well as any healing that the other brothers needed to do rather than simply saying “they’ve all healed, but you, leo, have not”. because i just don’t believe that. i do like that the brothers seem to be responding in their own ways to leo’s shift, with don and raph being on the unhealthier end of that and mikey being on the healthy side, but… yeah. wish we had a half season to explore all of them. guess that’s what fanfiction’s for.

conclusion

as mentioned in part 1, the two books i referenced and heavily pulled from in the more enneagram-focused sections of this project (the parts where the enneagram itself is explained rather than how it applies to the turtles) were:

the wisdom of the enneagram by don richard riso & russ hudson

the road back to you by ian morgan cron & suzanne stabile

oh my god, i can’t believe i only have one post left in this series to do. after over a year of working on this thing to finally see it come to a close is kind of wild. honestly, it was getting to the point i was wondering if i’d do it at all (which is why i just FORCED myself to post the disclaimer post as a way of holding myself accountable jfdkls).

anyway, i’m very excited. mikey’s the last one to go, and--as i had a reason i chose to cover raph first--i have a reason i chose to cover mikey last. the reason might be evident if you’ve been paying attention, too. but i’ll elaborate on that a bit more once we get into the post itself. u-u/!

thank you so, so much for reading yet again, and i hope you enjoy the warm drinks and snacks i set out for you. see you in the next one!

[leonmybeloved]

Hidden Connections

Chapter 1: April's Friend?

Chapter 2 • Chapter 3

Notes: I accidently deleted my last account so I'm going to slowly try reposting everything onto this account. ^^

Hidden underneath New York's streets the lair was unusually quiet this evening. Raphael was laying on the floor near the skate ramp, staring at the reflections of light bouncing off the ceiling, slowly lulling him to sleep, while Leo was practicing a skateboarding trick he saw online. Donnie, in his lab, was engrossed in some intricate tech project, his multiple screens glowing with data as he hunched over his desk, and Mikey was sprawled out on a blanket he set up, hugging a pillow and pouting.

“Guys, this is so boring! We’ve been doing nothing but sitting in the lair for 2 days straight now! We should go out!” Mikey exclaimed, throwing the pillow aside and jumping to his feet.

“What do you have in mind, Mikey?” Leo asked, landing a perfect flip and looking intrigued.

Mikey puckered his lips, thinking for a moment." “I don’t know, maybe we should call April! And see if she wants to hang out!” Mikey suggested with a grin.

Raph propped himself up. “Not a bad idea. She always has something crazy going on.”

Donnie peeked his head out from his lab. “If we're in need of April I shall give her a call. Let’s hope she’s not just too busy. I mean it’s not like she has any other friends.” Donnie said, typing on his wrist watch with half lidded eyes.

“What about Sunit-” Mikey began to say before April’s voice on the phone started and everyone shushed him.

“Hey, Donnie! What’s up?” April’s cheerful voice came through the speaker.

“Aprillll. It’s pretty dead in the lair tonight and we were all planning on going out tonight, even I can only work on so many projects before needing a relaxation day." He said dramatically. "So, we were wondering if you wanted to come over or maybe we could all do something top side?” Donnie asked, twirling a screwdriver in his fingers as he leaned on the wall.

There was a brief pause before April responded. “Oh, I’m so sorry, guys! I actually already have plans tonight. I’m meeting up with my new friend Marie.”

The boys exchanged curious glances. “Marie? Who’s that?” Leo asked, tilting his head.

“Yes, who is that, I don’t have them on my data banks, and I research extensively.” Donnie said tapping his wrist screen looking through his data on all the people April knows to see if he just forgot about her.

April chuckled. “You guys don't know her. I met her at school this week. She just moved to New York and doesn’t know the city very well, so I offered to show her around.”

“Oh, is April trying to prove she can be normal again?” Donnie teased, adjusting his goggles as he peered into his wrist screen, already researching Marie online to see what he can find. “Are you sure this friend isn’t another Yokai? Are you positive she won’t try to eat you? Maybe we should keep an eye on you, just in case,” he added, his tone half-joking but tinged with genuine concern.

“No way! The last time I hung out with someone, you guys totally brought trouble!” April accused, crossing her arms defensively. She could still remember the chaos of the last incident with the Foot Clan.

“Whaaaat! But that totally wasn’t our fault!” Leo whined, his voice rising in protest. “We were just trying to help!”

April sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Listen,” she began, her tone shifting to a more serious one. “I don’t care what you guys do, but leave Marie and me alone tonight. I’m not trying to be normal, but I don’t want this normal girl getting caught up in your guys’ crazy, m’kay?” She scolded, her eyes narrowing to emphasize her point.

“Marie’s just a regular girl who just moved to New York. She doesn’t need to get mixed up in ninjas, Yokai, magic, or whatever else decides to crawl out of the shadows tonight. So.. please, just give me one night to show her around without any drama.” Her words hung in the air, the weight of her request evident in the silence that followed.

“Very well then,” Donnie started, adjusting his goggles with a slight nod. “We shall leave you, and your new friend alone tonight.”

They could hear April sigh in relief over the phone. “Thanks, guys. Listen, we can hang out another time this week, okay?”

“Have fun, April!” Mikey shouted enthusiastically, his voice echoing through the lair.

“Stay safe out there!” Leo added, trying to mask his disappointment with genuine concern.

April's tone softened, grateful for their understanding. “I’ll catch up with you guys soon. Bye!” she replied before ending the call.

Donnie put his phone down, turning to his brothers. "Well, I guess we are on our own tonight."

Mikey pouted. “Aww man! I was looking forward to some April time.”

Leo shrugged, doing a handstand on the skate ramp. “Well, we can still find something fun to do. The night’s young boys, let’s get out there!”

Raph cracked his knuckles, a smirk on his face. “Maybe we could head topside and see what’s going on. There’s gotta be something interesting happening in the city.”

Mikey’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Let’s go find an adventure!”

On the surface, the boys made their way to the rooftop in their own unique ways. Leo, always the show-off, used his ōdachi to teleport up in a flash of blue light. Mikey followed, grappling up with his kusari-fundo, a wide grin plastered on his face as he cheered.

Donnie tapped on his wrist monitor for a moment as his hover drone effortlessly ascended him up on it’s own.

Leo, the first one up, smirked as he looked down at his brothers. “Come on, slowpokes! Keep up!”

Mikey reached the rooftop next, flipping gracefully onto the ledge and sticking his tongue out at Leo. “Hey teleporting is cheating!.”

Donnie floated up next, landing lightly beside his brothers. “Efficiency over brute force any day my brothers,” he said with a smirk, retracting his hover drone.

Leo chuckled, shaking his head. “Wait, where’s Raph?” He asked, walking over to the edge of the building.

Just then, Raph's fingers appeared gripping the edge of the rooftop. With a grunt and a heave, he hoisted himself up and flopped onto the floor, panting heavily. His massive frame lay sprawled out, chest heaving as he caught his breath.

Leo knelt down beside him, a look of concern mixed with amusement on his face. “You good, buddy?” he questioned, offering a hand to help Raph up.

Raph took a few more deep breaths before responding. “Need to... work on the cardio,” he admitted, accepting Leo's hand and pulling himself to his feet. His muscles still strained from the climb, but he managed to muster a grin.

“Yeah, climbing up like that isn’t easy for a big guy like you,” Leo said, clapping Raph on the back. “But you made it. Next time, maybe try the stairs?” He said pointing the the staircase on the side of the building.

Raph shrugged, still catching his breath. “Nah, I like the challenge. Besides, I wouldn't want to make it too easy on myself.”

Mikey bounced over, giggling at Raph’s state. “You sure you don’t want me to fling you up next time?.”

Donnie approached, adjusting his goggles. “Or perhaps a little tech assistance? I could rig something up to help with your ascents.” Donnie said, holding Raph's arm up measuring it with a measuring tape.

Raph waved them off, regaining his composure. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got this. Just need to do a bit more training is all.”

The boys laughed as they scanned the city skyline, looking for things to do.

“There’s always something happening in this city,” Raph said, cracking his knuckles. “We just gotta find it.”

Mikey pointed to a distant glow in the sky. “Hey, what’s that? Looks like a festival or something!”

Donnie pulled up a holographic map on his wrist screen, quickly searching on Google what was going on in town. “Looks like it’s the Summer Street Festival. Should be plenty of fun—food, games, rides and a concert by ooh! That DIGG band—for us there.”

“Sounds perfect,” Leo said, sheathing his ōdachi. “Let’s go check it out.”

Mikey grinned, bouncing on his heels. “Yay ridess! Let’s go!”

"We can't go on the rides, Mikey. People will see us." Leo reminded while him and Mikey walked away from the group.

Raph shook his head with a laugh. “Alright, let’s get moving.”

The turtles made their way across the rooftops, their movements fluid and synchronized, each of them a master of their own unique style. The sounds of the festival grew louder as they approached, the vibrant atmosphere calling to them.

When they finally reached the festival, they found it teeming with people enjoying the various food stalls, games, and performances. The turtles landed on a nearby rooftop overlooking the festivities, taking in the scene below.

“This is awesome!” Mikey exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement.

“Let’s split up and see what we can find,” Raph suggested. “Stay in touch and don’t get into too much trouble.”

Leo nodded, a mischievous grin on his face. “No promises.”

[trufflemacandcheese]

The curse

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 

#6

"And then she just threw me my sword and claimed she isn't our enemy..."

Leo finished his brief report as they jumped onto the unfinished skyscraper to get a better view to find Donnie. He shook his head, still incredulous about what had happened. The strange feeling that had taken possession of him when they both looked into each other's eyes still had an effect. Something was going on, but he couldn't grasp the feeling. It kept slipping away from him like a dream you tried to remember but couldn't.

"Leo...?" Raph gave him an odd look, and the blue one realized he had paused. He shook his head and concentrated again

"Well, I think she'll still flee towards the bridge. Any purple light that way, Mikey?"

Raph left it at that, right now it was more important to help Donnie. But he noted that Leo hadn't told them everything - and this time he'll listen to his intuition! Only... later.

"I don't see anything..." Mikey said, disappointed, as the three peered over Harlem and a branch of the Harlem River. The town was relatively quiet at this hour and no sign of Donnie or the thief anywhere.

“This top giant DUMDUM! Why is he doing this idiotic solo effort?! I'll kick his ass if anything happens to him!" outraged Leo to put his concern aside, not realizing how contradictory his comment was.

Meanwhile, Mikey's concern grew. They weren't teenagers anymore, but he will forever be the most sensitive of the four brothers.

In his mind's eye, he saw the thief grabbing his Nunchaku out of the air and throwing it further. Without effort. She was so fast! And so his Nunchaku flew on at a speed that took his breath away and made one of his nightmares come true: he attacked his brother and couldn't do anything about it!

After all, he had been fast enough not to smash Raph into anything but keep him in the air until the speed dropped, and he was able to free himself without destroying Mikey's weapon. Small consolation, because they had now lost the thief and no one knew what kind of devilry she had in store for Donnie. Mikey was filled with worry.

Then again… he thought. She gave Leo his sword back. Didn't fight him. Didn't hurt him. Still, he wanted to find Donnie as soon as possible - he knew about his brother's stubbornness and could only hope that it didn't get him into anything worse. In the end, no stolen thing from the museum was worth the life of his brother.

A strong impulse to order help built up in him.

"Maybe we should ask April and Casey for help...?"

Raph and Leo looked at him. Leo nodded slightly and Raph raised his left arm. The communicator flashed neon.

"April, Casey? Raph here. Can you hear me?"

April replied immediately. At the time, she was often up at night to do things for her job as a journalist that were left unattended during the day.

“Yay, Raph! What's up? Any trouble you want me to fix for you?" they heard her laugh.

“Yeah… um. April, indeed we... here, listen: we are here at 2nd Ave and E122nd Street and…”

And once again Raphael was robbed of his words that night. A shock wave went through the building on which they had moved into their vantage point on the 20th floor. It was a VERY strange feeling. A blast from inside the skyscraper that disregards the physics of walls, causing them to tremble without draining energy. The three turtles held onto the cold steel and stared at each other.

"Guys?!" April's voice was on instant alert. "What was that? GUYS?"

But no one answered her, the brothers stared over their heads where the wave lost towards the sky.

She glowed purple and white lines accompanied her.

Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo now knew where Donatello was. They looked at each other and felt, in sheer horror, the skyscraper begins to give way. #7

.

.

chapterlist

Find the full book on Wattpad and AO3

[remmushound]

Beyond the Bay chapter 3: What we’ve become

@brightlotusmoon @scentedcandlecryptid @selfindulgenz @ilo-artistry @digitl-art-monstr

The yelling started early today. Donatello was already working in his lab when the shouts reached him and he moved only to close the door before continuing his work; the muffled argument was a little less annoying, and he wasn’t going to let that new everyday occurrence disturb him. He just hoped they’d get over it quickly this time. His room felt hot as a sauna with the door closed. Michelangelo was still sleeping when the argument came to its peak and, though he woke up with the violence just outside his door, all he did was curl deeper into the blankets and try to ignore it.

“Why can’t you just trust that I’m right on this one?” Leonardo’s voice was softer than his older brother’s, but carried a viper's poison in the sharp words.

“Because you’re not!” Raphael boomed, his shouts like a deep base drum bouncing off the wall. When he prodded Leonardo’s chest, the slider hardly moved. “You think you are, but you’re not!”

“And you think you know what’s best for everyone, but you don’t, Raph!”

“I never said that!”

“You didn't have to.” Leonardo hissed through his teeth, and when he advanced on Raphael, the snapper kept backing up until he met a wall and could escape no further. “You keep acting like a dictator and won’t take our thoughts into consideration!”

“I DID CONSIDER THEM!” Raphael shoved his way past Leonardo to escape the interaction, “Don’t get in my face, you know I can’t stand that!”

“I didn't mean to.” Leonardo said, and there was truth in the statement; the relapse of calm didn't last very long as he pursued Raphael, “This is a lose-lose situation, Raph, and we need to choose what’s better for him!”

“Or what’s easiest for you.” Raphael snarled, his eyes darkening as he snapped back to look at Leonardo.

“You think that’s what this is about?” Leonardo pulled back, his mouth agape as he stared at his leader.

“Isn’t it?” Raphael flashed his teeth, “You just don’t want to put in the work. Like. Usual.”

Leonardo’s face was hot and flushed, his eyes burning, but still he stared into Raphael’s cold gaze. “You really think I would do that for something this serious…?”

“Right now, I don’t know what to think Leo…” Raphael lost his sharp tone, but his words were still bitter as he turned his back to his brother. 

“Guys.” Donatello knocked on the wall to announce his presence, startling both mutants. “I’m getting a strange inter-dimensional reading from downtown; we should check it out.” 

Donatello took his leave quickly before he could be addressed or questioned. Raphael started to give a response, but Donatello was already gone. Instead, he sighed and turned to Leonardo.

“We are not done talking about this.”

The trip over was spent in silence, Donatello in the lead of his brothers to guide the way. Raphael wanted badly to talk with Michelangelo, but when he saw the look of pure sadness imprinted on his youngest brother's face, he thought better of it. Michelangelo’s eyes were heavy, a small frown etched into his features where there had once almost always been a smile. One by one the brothers dropped into the alleyway, the younger two looking to the left and the older two to the right to make sure there was no obvious danger to them. When their shared mindspace revealed nothing but peaceful solitude, Donatello flipped his goggles down over his eyes to search for the signatures unseen.

“Maybe our friends came to visit…?” Michelangelo suggested hopefully, his voice painfully soft as he fiddled with his mask tails.

“No, there’s only one signature.” Donatello hummed as he started to track the signature, “It’s not mystic, but it… doesn’t seem quite mutant either. There’s definitely mutagenic properties though…”

“So… a non-mutant with mutagen?” Leonardo asked, his doubt creeping into his voice with a scoff. “Makes sense.”

 Donatello pulled up his goggles so he could face Leonardo unobscured. “Or a potential baddie transporting mutagen. Wouldn’t be the first one to attempt to recreate mutagen with his own sick twist.”

“He’d be the first to succeed though.” Raphael muttered, his voice low. “Doctor Feral has been trying for years to get it right according to Draxum.”

“Well today might just be his lucky day.” Donatello commented.

“Or unlucky.” Leonardo said, “Can you track where he or his lackey went?”

“Yes, that should be no problem…” Donatello said, distracted as he started to play around his his holographic screens. 

“Is there a separate problem then?”

Donatello didn't immediately answer. He finished up whatever he was working on, his brothers waiting impatiently, before he responded. “The signature is definitely inter-dimensional and Feral has never shown any interest in the subject. I’m just wondering how he could’ve gotten his hands on something capable of making a controlled black hole without us noticing, or without ripping himself apart. It’s a really delicate process.”

“So maybe it’s not Feral…” Leonardo mused, “Maybe it’s someone else?”

“We’ll just have to see.” Donatello sighed, his spider arms deploying and digging into the stone of the closest building to carry him upward. “Come on, signature’s this way.”

His brothers hopped after him one by one, leaving the alley and its single, hidden occupant in silence.

Following Donatello, the brothers took the rooftops straight for a long while before taking a sharp turn. They passed a water tower, and what remained of Cassandra’s bakery; the brothers stopped for a moment in silent mourning of the burnt-out building before carrying on. Thirty minutes into the search and Donatello hesitated, tapping the device that had been guiding him.

“What’s up, Don?” Raphael asked, approaching his brother's side to peer down at the machine; he couldn’t tell if it was broken or not by just eyeing it, so he asked a followup question. “Is something wrong with the tech?”

“I don’t know…” Donatello mused, tapping the machine several more times with a furious growl. “It stopped calculation…”

Leonardo looked around, and then pointed to the same water tower they had passed by ten minute earlier, “Looks like it was taking us in circles anyway.” 


“Odd.” Raphael said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “Don, explanation?”

“Working on it.” Donatello said, and he was.

“Donnie’s tech malfunctions all the time.” Leonardo commented, a smirk splitting his face as he leaned against a nearby wall to wait. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Can it, Nardo.” Donatello growled softly. “It was working just a few minutes ago.”

“If you say so.”

While the rest of the family waited, Donatello paced, mumbling lowly under his breath as he fiddled and tinkered. It didn't take long at all for Raphael to grow anxious; every moment they spent in the same place was another moment they risked being spotted by the Foot Clan or, even worse, the AMA. The city streets that used to be so quiet at this hour weren’t nearly so anymore; catching sight of a small group of humans in the streets below, Raphael and his brothers all ducked for cover. Donatello had to be practically dragged out of view and away from his hyper-focus on his tech issue.

“We can’t hang out here.” Raphael said, “We’re exposed. We can go back to the lair and Don can fix his geek tech, then we can come back.”

“But Feral or whoever it is could be long gone by then.” Leonardo brought up.

Raphael pursed his lips and gave a low rumble. Leonardo had a good point. With new mutants popping up what seemed like every day, they really couldn’t afford even more mutagen being produced and released to the public. They already had enough to deal with as the new super swarm of oozesquitos were emerging, and it would only get harder to contain them. Then he reconsidered again, and when the potential for injury or capture resurfaced, he quickly made his mind up.

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take then. We’re sitting ducks out here, and unless you want to find out if the rest of you are bullet proof, then we should hustle back home. Snipers could be anywhere.” Raphael winced at the painful memory of the bullets striking his shell, doing little damage but still hurting beyond measure.

“Ah yes, the infamous night snipers.” Leonardo rolled his eyes, “Sniping in the night. Gotta fear them.”

“Not funny, Leo.” Raphael snorted, “No time for joking, so let’s head home.”

The lair was painfully quiet when the brothers entered and called out to their father to announce their presence. There was no response, but then again they hadn’t been expecting one either. Raphael gave a nod of dismissal to his brothers before he strode off toward their fathers room. Donatello separated from his brothers quickly, still muttering his agitation at the device that refused to cooperate. Leonardo was waiting for Michelangelo to take off first, most likely toward his room or toward the kitchen for a quick snack, but the youngest brother didn't move. He was taller than Leonardo now, making the blue brother the smallest of the four, but still he clung tightly to his brother's arm like he always did; it was a habit not easily broken.

Leonardo frowned, but then tried to smile as he wrapped an arm around Michelangelo and started to lead him toward the gaming room.

“Hey Hermano, what say we squeeze in a quick game before Don fixes his doohickey? Might be a good way to pass the time.”

“Leo?” Michelangelo pulled away, resisting his brother's attempt to steer him away.

“Yeah, Miguel?”

Michelangelo, not expecting to actually be heard, was at a loss of words for several moments. He averted his gaze, arms folding behind his back as he hung his head low. His feet danced a nervous dance, tracing against the ground. Leonardo put a hand on his brothers shoulder, angling his head to try and get a glance at Michelangelo’s hidden expression.

“Bro…?” Leonardo asked softly, and when no response came, he pressed his nose to Michelangelo’s neck and gave a snorting chuff. Michelangelo giggled and pushed him away, and Leonardo smiled at the response. “Come on, you can talk to me about anything!”

“I… it’s just that…” Michelangelo rubbed his arm anxiously, “Would you wanna have a movie morning in the morning? You know, after Don fixes his thingie and we do our thing? You know, us, April, Casey, and… and dad? It’s just… we haven’t had one in a while and we used to really like them.”

Leonardo nodded slowly, his smile growing more genuine by the moment. He gave Michelangelo a solid pat on the shoulder. “Of course. I’d love to have movie morning with you, baby brother.”

Michelangelo scrunched up his beak. “Leoooo! I’m not a baby anymore!”

Leonardo practically hung on Michelangelo, using his baby voice to further mock and annoy Michelangelo. “You’ll always be a baby to me!”

“We were mutated on the same day, Leo!” Michelangelo giggled.

“Mikey, when you get to be my age—“

“You’re seventeen!” Michelangelo groaned.

“And you’re fifteen~” Leonardo booty-bumped Michelangelo. “And someone has a sweet sixteen coming up~”

Michelangelo bumped him back. “You know mine’s still a month away.”

“You’re already planning it, aren’t you?” Leonardo smirked.

Michelangelo gasped at the accusation. “I can’t plan my own surprise party! Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

Leonardo’s expression didn't falter, simply staring at his brother with an even smile. It didn't take long for the box turtle to break under the pressure.

“I have a five page wish list already…”

“Of course you do.” Leonardo ruffled his brothers head, “I’d expect nothing left from the master of all things party!”

“What, say what?! That is not my title!” Michelangelo and Leonardo started to walk side by side toward the gaming room.

“Oh? Then what is it, oh Party Master?”

“Definitely not that!” Michelangelo laughed, “Buuuut I’ll think on it.”

“We have all the time in the world, little bro.”

[missingjackklinehours]

run alone (until i bring you home)

Out of each pleasant memory of Gabriel trying and ultimately succeeding in graciously brightening his mood, Raphael holds a certain memory close to his heart.

Rating: Gen

No warnings apply.

Fic & Playlist available on AO3! (however, feel free to read under the cut.)

@spnarchangelweek <3

Asters indubitably remind Raphael of Heaven's Messenger; his younger brother, Gabriel.

Bold yet delicate petals that sway amiably in the breeze. Gabriel, the animated fledgling who would joyously dance when he was feeling down, carefree giggles falling from his flushed lips when he stumbled. Father forbid if one of Gabriel's elder brothers had a mere smudge of gloom present in their actions—The jubilant fledgling would've been dead set on a clear-cut mission: doing absolutely anything in his power to cheer up his brothers. Gabriel had always been his brothers' little ball of sunshine, much like the vibrant citrine center of an aster flower.

Out of each pleasant memory of Gabriel trying and ultimately succeeding in graciously brightening his mood, Raphael holds a certain memory close to his heart. He wouldn't forget it, even if his mind permitted so.

.•° ✿ °•.

Morning skies were always Raphael's favorite. The dawn of a new day, the faint ghost of the moon stuck stubbornly to the yellow skies like a splendid dream with far too much detail. He would spend countless hours just watching the stars fade.

This particular morning was radically different.

Raphael had just lost his childhood friend, the kind black swallowtail butterfly that had captivated him with her bulging eyes as a meek fledgling. She always met Raphael in his garden, sucking away at the supple nectar within the flushed milkweed flowers he'd grown specifically for her. However, it had been a few days since she'd returned from her lengthy adventure to find a mate, and Raphael was growing increasingly worried.

The dawn skies echoed glum without her fragile wings fluttering across them. The milkweeds looked to weep.

Raphael had never been an expressive angel, quite the contrary. It was all about subtlety with him, something only his closest brothers—archangelic—had knowledge of. He himself hadn't even noticed his mistake: He'd forgotten his watering can before he'd embarked on the short trip to his garden.

It was such a trivial feat that Raphael hadn't cared enough to realize it was missing, until he'd long since reached his garden and after he checked if his swallowtail friend had reappeared; She hadn't. It was like the cherry on top of his sick discontentment—He would have to trudge back to the familial archangel nest with a heavy heart and convoluted thoughts.

At least, he thought he would. A too-familiar presence had abruptly stumbled upon him, and Raphael slightly turned in a befuddled daze towards the nearing sensation of Gabriel's easily-recognizable grace.

Gabriel was supposed to be in combat training with Michael that day. There was no particular reason the youngest archangel should have been approaching Raphael's garden. Raphael blankly watched Gabriel land with a small crash—Gabriel hadn't mastered flight at that point in time.

Raphael couldn't help the nearly-imperceptible upward tug of his lips at the sight of his youngest brother now covered in soil and scrambling to stand up, trying to smoothly act as if he hadn't almost knocked himself out. In his jittery hands glimmered Raphael's steel watering can. Raphael peered at it with interest, his stare flicking up to his brother. Gabriel, after briefly maneuvering his head to the side to spit stray grains of dirt out of his mouth, wiped his lips with his arm before flashing a toothy beam at his older brother.

"You still have soil in your teeth," Raphael had remarked.

He observed Gabriel's expression switch from gaiety to dismayed surprise. The younger angel's hand shot up to scrub frantically at his teeth. Raphael's attention reverted to the spot behind Gabriel, the spot where his brother had crash-landed, and he softly sighed in dissatisfaction when his eyes scanned over the healthy aster bush his brother had crushed.

"... And, you ruined my flowers."

Gabriel's scrubbing stopped in an instant to offer Raphael an apologetic look.

"Sorry, dude," Gabriel once again displayed his bright beam, continuing to speak through his smile with a muffled tone, "Did I get it all?"

Raphael transiently paused his assessment of his brother's accidental floral destruction to sweep his sight over Gabriel's smiling teeth—Nothing but pearly whites. A chaste nod followed, and Gabriel's simper dimmed to a close-mouthed one. Raphael continued to eye the watering can curiously, prompting Gabriel to brighten, as if he'd completely forgotten what he'd come for in the first place. The youngest archangel tilted his head sweetly as he merrily extended his hands, presenting the steel watering can in all its glory. Raphael concisely inspected it, his gaze jumping back to Gabriel's face with slight suspicion.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Michael today?" Raphael hesitantly took his watering can from Gabriel's hands. His younger brother pulled his arms back, the grin on his face morphing into the signature pout that Raphael's mind always regressed to when thinking of Gabriel.

"Exactly right! I'm supposed to." Gabriel shuffled in place, his rascal pout never budging. "Let's just say this is a detour, okie dokie?"

Raphael's prodding eyes slanted in both incredulity and curiosity. Gabriel passively considered his brother's expression before swiveling on his heel, facing the aster bush he'd indirectly demolished. Raphael studied him silently, off-put by the lack of mischief that always seemed to follow his youngest archangelic brother.

"I can help replant these!'' Gabriel's voice was jam-packed with genuine enthusiasm. Raphael's suspicion has reached its peak, and he dubiously stepped forward to stand next to his younger brother. Side-by-side, the pair of archangels skimmed over the crumpled mess of lavender petals and evergreen leaves.

"Firstly, you're terrible at gardening," Raphael calmly stated, and Gabriel cocked his head to peer at Raphael with what was probably slight offense prominent on his face. Raphael ignored him as he spoke. "And secondly, why are you really here?"

Raphael marginally pivoted to watch his brother's expression. Gabriel's features didn't take long to fall, and Raphael's entire being peaked in both interest and concern. The Messenger briskly looked away with a hint of timidity, his eyes of sky falling back to the flattened plant before them.

"You forgot your watering can," He said meekly, as if afraid to speak its silly truth. He added even softer, "You never do that."

Raphael's stare simply bore more intensely into his brother, utterly bewildered. Gabriel continued, an anxiety-prompted ramble.

"And you came home late yesterday. I'm worried, Raph," The youngest archangel admitted, releasing a massive sigh as he did so. Gabriel seemed relieved, like the thought had been plaguing his mind significantly. Raphael immediately softened, quick to soothe his brother. His lips moved on their own, and a blatant white lie tumbled out.

"There's no reason to worry, Gabriel," Raphael delusively assured, and he slightly jumped when the Messenger's head snapped back up; Raphael could now physically see the uneasiness present on his brother's face.

"Y'know, you could at least try to sell it a little better," Gabriel whined with a tenuous smile, and Raphael offered an apologetic look in response. A couple beats of silence enveloped the pair, with neither one of the angels bearing the right words to say. Gabriel's abstracted gaze gingerly drifted elsewhere.

Raphael attentively followed his brother's now-fixated stare. The older angel's being subtly slumped purely out of sheer impulse when his eyes lay on the faded coral color of milkweeds—They seemed terribly empty without a familiar pair of miniature black and blue butterfly wings atop them. A flit of acquainted worry spread like a consuming disease over his grace, a halfhearted wash of paltry waves over a burning embodiment of celestial light.

A physically inaudible hum of lamented harmony buzzed from the grace beside him, and a gentle touch brushed against his shoulder. The sudden sorrow within Raphael fleeted away as quickly as it had birthed when the warmth was perceived. With a meager twist of his head, Raphael’s pale eyes once again met the now-sympathetic azure irises of his brother. Gabriel wore a modest frown, his face contorted in enhanced concern.

"Does it have something to do with Basil?" Gabriel's expression grew more worried when the words left him, and hearing it aloud somehow made it more real to both of them. "Is she okay?"

Raphael's movements delayed, and his own uncertainty seemed to float rapidly to the surface at the sight of Gabriel's shared fear. Gabriel had met Basil, Raphael's befriended swallowtail butterfly, a couple years after Raphael had become close with her; Gabriel had happily insisted that he wanted to introduce himself to his big brother's childhood friend.

Raphael's face remained stone as he hesitantly nodded. Gabriel's concern transformed into what looked to be frightened grief.

"Is she…"

"I'm not sure. She hasn't returned from her journey to find a mate." Raphael stated weakly, briefly glancing back at the milkweeds that lowly drooped in melancholy without the swallowtail. The wind drifted through their petals, calling out to her.

At this, Gabriel looked to be a bit relieved. The youngest archangel's face broke into a soft smile after a couple of seconds, and Raphael's eyes ever-so-slightly slanted in inquisition. Gabriel's simper never faltered as he kneeled down in front of the destroyed aster bush.

Raphael watched curiously as his brother began to speak in an upbeat, sing-song tone that was so… Gabriel. He simply turned towards Raphael again with a blinding flash of happily smiling teeth.

"If you say I'm that bad at gardening… then help me replant these! Let's surprise Basil with them when she comes back from her trip!"

A stunned pause ensued on Raphael's end, but never on Gabriel's; His younger brother's essence remained in a harmonizing melody, a sweet positivity radiating from his grace like comfortable currents of summery morning light.

Always so bright. Always so cheerful.

Raphael returned Gabriel's smile.

°•. ✿ .•°

It's silent without Gabriel.

Still. Empty. Void. Overpowering, almost.

And within that silence, thousands of words still seem to be spoken. Shrieked. Wailed. Raphael blindly listens, unaware it's merely a cold reflection of Heaven—of himself.

A muted cry of fear, a tremble of loneliness echoed across space and time. Velvet petals of lull lilac petals mirror the agonized harmony in pity. The aster bush he and Gabriel planted together distantly watches Raphael mourn.

Asters indubitably remind Raphael of Heaven's Messenger—his younger brother, Gabriel. And within the stillness, they remind him of Gabriel's absence.

Lavender beauty blooms quick, and wilts quicker. Raphael replants them every year.

He's counting.

It's as if the flowers hold a piece of Gabriel that Raphael refuses to let go of ever since his baby brother left Heaven. A pout perhaps, or a cheery bliss. A crack of golden morning light within their stamens, a careless dance in the wind. It's all so… Gabriel.

Raphael smiles in their presence, he can't help it.

In Heaven's soil, he plants aster flowers each day in hopes for his brother Gabriel's return.

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

oooh could you do protective headcanons for the golden deer too??🥺

{I most certainly can. Y’all know I love these tropes so keep ‘em coming. Hope it’s to your liking! :3}

Claude: 

6/10

Neutral, with just a tad bit of nerves. 

Look. Claude has bigger fish to fry than what you’re gallivanting on about during the day. The man has a dream to catch with literally a country and 1/3 (woot woot alliance) on his shoulders. 

First, the future. Then, you. Can’t have a life together if there is no place for it to be had, yeah? 

This doesn’t mean that he never worries about you. Quite the contrary, if he begins then he can’t stop. So he doesn’t tinker the thought. 

Instead he has his most trusted allies at your back. During the Academy days you were left under Hilda’s watchful eye, and during the war you are always nearby (courtesy of matchmaker Prof.Byleth) 

Once he puts a ring on it you’ll have guards. No problem. 

He also trusts your own capabilities. One doesn’t train every day to walk out with nothing  

Also

You make me laugh if you think Claude believes you’ll ever cheat on him 

Not that he’s cocky okay, maybe a bit  but no one would dare put the moves on “The Master Tactician’s” s/o

Any suitor coming your way is peasant fodder. If not to him, than to your own personal retaliation. 

Yupp, nothing to worry about. You’ve got it covered. He’ll only step in if you physically come ask him 

and with a bit of teasing he’ll comply 

However, Claude is very sensitive to illness for obvious reasons. This is why he’s listed at a six. He always insists on tasting your food

It was a gimmick at first, and in the beginning he’d make banter to sneak a bite while you remain all unknowing of his true intentions 

He’ll be damned if someone ever poisons you. They won’t ever get the chance

Ignatz: 

9/10

Let us face it. Iggy is a worry-wart.

He freaks out over the most minuscule of situations. The poor lad nearly gets a heart attack at least once a day 

And no, i’m not just referring to his pre-timeskip self. Ignatz may have grown a head taller, got a backbone, fancy harem artist pants--but no, he did not lose his inner anxious zealot. That trait will cling until the day he dies sadly 

Having you at his side only makes things worse (in a good way. The trouble is worth it to him) 

Especially if you’re more of the risky sort. Expect him to mother hen if you cause ruckus around the monastery. He can and will lecture you to death (only to apologize and hide away after)

Now not only does he worry about his own issues, but also yours. I swear Ignatz acts like you are his second being. If someone scolds you, hurts you, etc. he acts like they did it to him 

Can be a bit dramatic, not gonna lie. He gets so worked up that his ears go red. Like, you can just t e l l he’s holding so much back because he doesn’t want to go too far

Don’t even get me started on if someone tries to make a move on you 

He becomes t o r n. It isn’t his place to tell you who to hang around, but ohmygodwhatifyourealizeheisn’tgoodenough 

iggy no, bad iggy. don’t think like that

He feels threatened so easily and not many would peg him the jealous type. He is, but hides it very well. 

If need be he will talk out his feelings with you. That’s something noteworthy of Ignatz: he uses his words. He may find communicating such thoughts aloud difficult, but if he truly is concerned then he will be honest with you.  

Raphael: 

10/10

Raphael believes in trust. He expects you to be honest and to not keep anything important secret. In return he’ll do the same. 

This is why he doesn’t care if someone is flirting. He could give less of a thought on gossip, rumors, or anything really. That effort can go towards training 

He truly, honest to Sothis, trusts you with all his heart. There isn’t any time to spend doing otherwise. Raph just wants to live happily and that means having you by his side 

Nor does he feel intimidated by anyone else either. I’m not saying that he reeks of resolved confidence, but Raph believes that you love him. Love topples any mindless flirting that other people throw your way 

but let’s get one thing straight 

If anybody, and I mean ANYBODY, tries to hurt you 

This guy’s having them for b r e a k f a s t. Pounded, sliced, and Smoked. The same way he liked his bacon. 

You are his family. Raphael protects his family, and those he cares about. 

You will never be alone. Goddess if you cry and someone else is the cause then he will take action. One fault of Raph is that while he’s a sweetie, he doesn’t think before acting a lot. Similar to Caspar, he just goes for it 

It takes a lot to get underneath Raph’s skin. 

In short: do not f*ck with his loved ones. He would take on Nemisis himself mono-e-mono if it meant protecting them 

Lorenz: 

8/10

Y’all going to sit there and try to convince me that Lorenz Hellman Gloucester doesn’t try to establish dominance? 

Key word: try

He’s quickly shut down

“Lorenz if you tell one more person that we’re betrothed, I swear that I’ll shave off your eyebrows” - You, one month post-confession 

Saying that you’re his perfect match is no excuse. Considering all the preaching he does on noble humility, you’d think he would want your private affairs off the notice board? 

It doesn’t take long for your peers to start complaining. Claude finds his behavior entertaining, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t beg you to make him shut up 

Lorenz is also a bit old fashioned. He doesn’t like the idea of you fighting more than necessary

Once again, shut down 

Best way to deal with Lorenz is to let him think he has his way, then just do whatever. He gets upset, pouts, spouts his normal lecture, but then relents. All in due process with him 

Never thought I’d say this, but perhaps requesting not to be in the same troop together is the best option? You’d think he would fight better with an S tier relationship at his side? Nahhh. HE TAKES YOUR KILLS IT IS NOT FAIR 

He gives too much attention to what you’re doing, and not the enemy. Best if you stay separated

Ugh pray no one hits on you in front of him. Just... *screams* I don’t think anyone will, just to avoid him getting defensive. I swear the other deer take extensive preventative measures to avoid it.  

Hilda:

6/10

C’mon. This is Hilda we’re talking about 

You two most likely grew closer because she “asks” you for help so often 

Just like Claude, she has bigger fish to fry. The last type of person she wants to be is Holst (she loves him though don’t misinterpret that)

She does worry though 

Not enough to make her take the front lines, but a smidgen. Just to where you’ll get periodic check in’s 

Nothing obvious. A simple “what’s going on?”  as she inquired about your well-being 

A precarious scan-over as she checks for any new scars

She does get jealous though. There’s an entire castle full of available people and someone chooses to flirt with you? 

That just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the “once something is taken it becomes more desirable,” saying has some truth 

She’s quite the clinger. You’ll just be walking and suddenly, BOOM, bubble-gum pink arm-candy in the corner of your vision

Once you two bypass the ‘puppy-love’ early stages, she changes. 

Despite her negligence beforehand, she does become overprotective   

Will fight if needed. Say you have a paralogue? Just so happens she was nearby and wants to tag along 

She also has to protect you from Holst. My dear, you cannot do that yourself. Brotherly wrath beseeches you, my god. Run dude run 

Marianne: 

3/10

A possessive streak is nonexistent in her blood. Such thing is a personal fear of her’s. Marianne refuses to conform to the stereotypes associated with her crest 

However, she does believe that one day you may leave her side. Marianne isn’t the most confident person. She...doubts 

Often does she wonder if you’re there solely to make her hurt. To love her and then one day disappear without a trace 

Anxieties like so will not go away overnight. She will not seek reassurance, which makes her more uncommunicative than most partners 

but no one is perfect. Neither are you. All you personally can do is politely decline any advances, and do your best to let Marianne know that you love her 

She isn’t particularly protective in any other sense either. She’ll heal you if needed, but special attention isn’t there

Marianne treats being a healer like how an ER doctor operates. On the field, everyone is equal. She is needed everywhere and cannot stay by your side. Otherwise lives will be lost, and that won’t be good for her conscience.

The same goes for all other aspects. If you’re gone, then you’re gone. If you’re sick, then you’re sick. She cannot give you special attention and acts in accordance to severity of the situation. Patients cannot be weighed in value via personal bias 

She has a surprisingly strong sense of self control, let me tell ya.

Lysithea:

7/10

She...does not have much time. Entering a romantic relationship was not a possibility that crossed her mind once before you 

Why bother when the ending is certain? Why leave someone brokenhearted, or a widow? Why give herself that extra stress when she’s already under so much as it is?

You can’t blame her for being extra cautious. While her life may be hanging on a string, that doesn’t mean yours has to end 

After some time she develops a resolve. If needed she would gladly lay her life down if it meant you could live another day 

A problematic conclusion. You two will argue often over how she cannot trade a ‘life for a life,’ just because of her special circumstances. Her mind always enforces that it’s the logical decision, and has trouble recognizing her own value

I suppose that comes with being a know-it-all, huh? Once her mind is set then there is no changing it 

Despite her brain sending all the signals that acting on jealousy is wrong...well, we know Lysithea 

She won’t come out and say she gets protective for your sake. Apparently anyone flirting with you already had business with her

Business that miraculously unfolds once you leave. Then suddenly they no longer have an interest? 

What’d she do? Threaten to shove a thoron up their rectum? No one knows 

Leonie: 

9/10 

She is the mom who’d create a strict morning routine for her kids to follow before school 

Or a thorough itinerary on a vacation 

Not a moment or bullion to be wasted! 

Cannot express enough how much this girl cares. She can become annoying from all the interference, but you’ll never become a bum with her in your life 

You might want to ask her to butt out. Remind her that you’re not one of the kids from her village, and that you can handle yourself 

Sometimes you’ll joke and say “yes mom,” because she gets b o s s y 

Which will earn you either: a) a glare, or b) her playing along and confusing everyone else 

So in a sense, yeah she’s protective. Overbearing in her own Leonie way 

Not the jealous type. Leonie doesn’t look at what other people have, and instead focuses on her own life. If someone wants to shamelessly throw themselves at your feet then that’s their issue. You know better than to cheat on her 

I can see her complaining to the captain or to Byleth though. Why waste time when the issue can easily be solved? Obviously someone with the time to flirt has time to do training drills  

Bonus! Cyril: (because during my first play-through I kept expecting GD to take him under their wing. They did not, and Nintendo missed out.) 

5/10

He personally hates being treated like a child. When someone doesn’t take him seriously Cyril’s self restraint goes b o o m 

So he won’t do that to you. You’re a capable individual and that’s that. Nothing more for him to interfere with 

His only protective streak lies when you’re incapable of doing things yourself. Aka: injured, ill, resting, etc. 

He’ll nag you for not being careful, but it’s not hard to miss the tears pricking his eyes 

He’s also very perceptive towards break-in’s. Many people have tried to kidnap/assassinate people of higher standing. He’s witnessed many attempts towards lady Rhea. I see him taking night shifts for patrol often, and after the war the habit sticks with him.

He takes a lot onto his shoulders often. It’s not bad. Being dedicated is an admirable trait, yet if you’re down someone will have to stop him from picking up the slack. 

He’s no healer, and leaves that job to the professionals. However he doesn’t want anyone to disturb you with the work your missing. So he’ll do it in your stead 

Manuela lets him stay in the infirmary past visitation hours. Mostly because he’s so busy during the day that he can’t come by 

He won’t return to his room those nights. He prefers to be by your side, just in case. 

Other than this type of situation- no, he’s not protective in the slightest.  

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

The Forgotten - Part Four Temptation

Part four of my self indulgent smut and angst filled fic. 

SMUT SMUT SMUT (I know why you’re here)

In it’s entirety 

She could see Donnie; plain as fucking day but behind what seemed like a blue portal in flux. The light was in the middle of a giant arch, something the genius had been working on for years but was unable to get powered up. He had told her it was supposed to be a window between dimensions or possibly more. Leo had hoped it would be an easier way to move from Earth to the battle nexus and visiting Usagi but when the war had started it was abandoned for more important issues.

 It was like looking at an old tube television that didn’t have the best reception. The rolling lines of static rolled up the portal skewing her view of him occasionally but there was no doubt, it was her beautiful nerd.

She could see most of his body and he was typing away at a tablet in his hand. His goggles that sat upon his bald crown were smaller yet looked more advanced but that purple mask was still wrapped around his skull. Her feet moved before her mind caught up with them racing towards the gorgeous sight of the tall genius. “Don!”

 His head snapped up at her voice “Aurora!” Don’s voice was muffled like static, distant but she heard him. God he looked beautiful and most importantly alive!

 The view of the tall terrapin in the vortex suddenly became unstable swirling violently around him. Shrinking and growing with each pop of energy, like it was threatening to sever the connection at any moment. Aurora hurried to cross the large lab but the closer she got to it, the smaller the portal seemed. It was going away; she was going to lose him again!

 “Damnit!” She heard him growl looking down at the tablet that was now out of sight. “It’s still not right.” His brown eyes rose in sheer panic locked in on his advancing kunoichi. Donatello’s green arm pushed through the closing vortex outstretched for contact. “Aurora!”

 “No! Donnie!” She reached his hand just in time grasping it tightly reveling in the feeling of his three fingered appendage, he was warm and real. “Where are you?” she was nearly sobbing now as the portal shrunk further leaving only his shoulders and head visible. Her grip tightened on his hand ready to yank his tall ass through the opening. But then the warm flesh in her hand began to disappear, fazing in and out of solid matter much to her horror. No, she didn’t want to me alone anymore…..

 “Auo….r…a……I’m …st……tryi…….to get…….back.” his voice was breaking up along with the view of him.

 “No, no, no Donnie please I need you!”

 “My….broth…..I mis……..Aur...love………” Then the portal snapped and fizzled loudly before shutting down with a bang taking Donatello with it.

 The lab sank into darkness once again as the arch powered down. He was right there; she was touching him…..after 3 years Aurora had Donatello within her grasp. The crushing realization he was gone again brought Aurora to her knees. The cement floor was unforgiving but that pain didn’t matter. Her hands lifted to her nose and took a good pull finding his scent there, faint but it was there. She pressed the palms of her hands to her face trying not to cry, this wasn’t a bad thing, she had to remind herself. They thought he was dead; the idea of Donnie abandoning them was too incomprehensible to entertain so the other options were terrifying. Or maybe he was locked away in Bishop’s keep doing work for him against his will, the one they could never find. But now, now it was clear he had been transported someplace, someplace he was trying to return from. He was trying to get back; she had to hold onto that, it was all she had.

 Slowly she got her to feet, the resistance needed to know this. Maybe there was something they could do. Casey, April and Aurora could bring the arch back to head quarters and see if they could get it back open, find the last location of the transmission?

 Aurora began closing the Lair back down prepping for its extended hibernation. One last look at their bed she flicked off the light and made her way back up into streets of New York. April and Casey would be happy to know Donatello was alive and it would give the resistance new hope. It gave her hope.

 She kept to the roofs avoiding prying eyes from the streets. The way home was straight forward but still on high alert Aurora took a few extra turns to make sure she wasn’t being followed, even sitting in the shadows of a billboard to keep an eye on the horizon. There was no telling how persistence Raphael was in this state.

 When she deemed it safe to return to base Aurora slipped into the abandoned warehouse by the Hudson keeping to the shadows.  Moving past the old canning machinery and empty shattered crates the blonde made it to the secret door to the resistance’s base.

 As she reached the main level Aurora was greeted by April and Casey who looked like they had just returned their selves hands filled with boxes. April turned and let out a long breath seeing her friend returned safely.

 Casey set down the two boxes he had been carrying and greeted the kunoichi with a hug. “You ran into him? How’d the asshole look?”

 “He’s looking healthy and still a horny shit as usual.” Aurora moved to the boxes he had been carrying and peered into them finding canned goods and a small stash of ammunition. “Even under Bishop’s control he still has sex on the brain. I think his memories were trying to break through though. Raph remembered the game him and Leo used to play.”

 “Who marked you first right?” April chuckled handing off her extra weapon to the armory for safe keeping. “They were relentless weren’t they? I don’t’ know how you accommodated them every morning. You were lucky Mike and Don didn’t get into that.”

 “Yeah...” Casey chimed in handing off his gun as well. “They would have put you in a wheelchair for sure. They were in rut most of the time I can’t imagine four of them vying for the first fuck every morning. You’d never leave bed.”

 “They weren’t that bad…”

 “Commanders!” a voice shouted from down the hall. A young soldier came into view hauling ass as he ran to his superiors. His wide toothy grin was evident he had good news or at least thought he did. “We have one!”

 “You have one what?” Casey looked to April confused.

 “One of the turtles! We caught one! We wanted to surprise you.”

 All at once Aurora, Casey and April stopped breathing turning to each other in shock. This was not happening, what had they done?

 April swallowed hard moving towards the eager young man, “Which one?”

 “From what I’ve been told, Leonardo.”

 With the mention of his name the room began to spin. Aurora’s heart hammered into her chest making it hard to breath. This wasn’t happening. She pushed past April and gripped the man’s shoulders squeezing maybe a little too hard with her growing unease. “Please tell me you didn’t bring him here.”

 The man’s face paled instantly mouth opening to speak but nothing came forth. His silence was all the answer they needed.

 “Fuck.” Casey moved back to the armory and called for his gun again. “That’s it, we’re fucked you god damn morons.”

 “You fucking idiot.” Aurora growled pulling the inexperienced solider closer; she was ready to rip his head off his shoulders. “You did NOT catch Leonardo!” It was suddenly hot in the large hallway. Why was it so fucking hot?  “This was planned, Leonardo allowed you to catch him. Now he’s in the base compromising our position putting everyone here in danger. Please tell me you at least blindfolded him? Tell me you at least did that?”

 “Oh yes! We put Greg’s sound canceling headphones over his ears blasting his shitty music. Wrapped his eyes in black gauze and put a thick black hood over his head. He has no idea where we are.”

 “At least you had the sense to do that. But it might not be enough. Where is he?” April grunted in frustration resting her forehead on Casey’s shoulder.

 The soldier’s enthusiasm had dwindled with the curt scolding from his three superiors and now as he brought them to their willing captive the man’s head hung with embarrassment.

 As they moved towards the base’s center, where the lethal mutant was being held Aurora’s mind began to fill with anxiety. This is what he wanted; you don’t capture Leo unless he wants you too. He was a ninja master, taught by the very best and an efficient escape artist and a strategist, he was simply perfection. It was the very reasons Bishop coveted him and his brothers. In the wrong hands they were the prefect weapon, skilled killing machines that disappear into the shadows before you even knew you lost. This would not end well.

 Rounding the corner Aurora caught sight of him right away. Green taut skin stretch over mountains of muscle, thick arms and legs bound to the table in the integration room. His vision was still restricted but as soon as Aurora entered into the room Leo’s head turned towards her and she could see the fabric concave as he took in the air.

 “There you are.” His smooth voice purred through the fabric going straight to the center of her soul. She was in trouble and there was no denying her body still remembered him, craved him, just the deep vibrato of his vocal chords sent her body into overdrive.  

 Leo’s head followed Aurora as she moved around the table taking in his bound form. She watched his muscles flex and bunch as the terrapin tested his binds, calculating his options. The urge to touch the green scales of his arms was tempting, he was restrained but it was only a matter of time before he broke loose and reeked havoc on the good people here. She needed to prevent the bloodshed but how?

 April broke the bitter silence first her voice rising with her anger for their disregard of protocol. “How could you idiots bring him here without consulting us first? Especially Leonardo!”

 “We thought you’d be happy April. You too Aurora…..especially you…..We’ve been trying to get them back for years.” One solider stated as he stepped forward, the look on his face was of confusion but he had no idea what they brought down on their home. “He attacked us on our supply run and all of us were able to overpower him.”

 “Yes we want them back but not still under Bishop’s influence!” Casey came in next starting to pace the floor eyeing up his soldiers.

 Aurora paid no attention to the continuing argument between Casey, April and their team, the only thing that mattered was the green mutant laying a few inches from her. As she watched his hands clench and unclench Aurora remembered their soft caresses, endearing and sure. They were talented beyond anything she could have imagined when they first experienced each other. This deadly being, sleek, and inefficient so feared now, once brought her to the highest heights. She loved him without question but she knew if these restraints were gone he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her in this state of mind. Her fingers ran over the scar he had gifted her a few months ago. It was a sobering thought and a gloomy one.

 It was killing her being this close to Leo and not being able to touch him. Just a small touch couldn’t hurt…could it? Her hand moved from the cold metal table and ran over the dense muscles of his thigh. She smirked as they jumped at the connection; maybe fearless was a little anxious after all.

 “I have an idea.” Leo spoke again calm as ever yet pressing up into her hand. “How about we take this blind fold off, it’s getting rather itchy. Is this any way to treat a prisoner?”

 Aurora let a small laugh escape giving his thigh a quick squeeze before releasing the dense tissue. “Cut the shit Leo, we know well enough that you’re here on your own accord.”

 “Your troops got the better of me and subdued me with their superior skills; I am at your mercy my lady.” She could hear the sarcasm in his voice as Leo played out his game. She couldn’t see his mouth but Aurora could hear the smile, it absolutely dripped with superiority.

 “Where are your brothers Leo?” Aurora asked softly as the whole room watched their interaction.

 “Oh I assure you I am solo. When Raph came home he was rather frustrated. Told me he had gone looking for something we both covet, actually all three of us want but was unable to secure it. I decided I would try to locate it on my own. Besides, the thought of taking it first made me very……… motivated. Unfortunately I was found and taken captive by these fine soldiers before I could find my target.”

 Her heart began to thump wildly within her breast at the thought of his words, “What will you do when you finally get what you’re looking for?”

 The terrapin took in a slow breath before letting it out in a long low growl, “I haven’t figured that out yet. What does one do with something they obsess over? Kill it or let it consume you? All I know is I’m looking forward to the opportunity to purge myself of its influence.”

 Casey came up behind Aurora resting his hand on her shoulder. “Maybe we can send him to R & D and see if they can find that little thing in him? I mean now we know what it looks like maybe they can pin point it somehow?”

 That was something. There would need to be round the clock security on him but if he was here they could try and utilize the opportunity to see if they could locate the device with a living host. “He does not leave this table and his restraints will NOT be removed for any reason. Any reason you hear me!? Not without Casey, April’s or my explicit orders.” Her violet eyes moved with urgency as the soldiers took in her orders. “There will be no less than six guards posted to him at all times. If he tries to fidget more than usual you knock his ass out. Am I clear?”

 “Yes Aurora.” They all responded in unison.  

 The sound of the terrapin laughing behind her was off putting but she did her best to ignore him, she was too tired for this bullshit.

 As they carted Leonardo out the door towards the R & D wing she heard him, “I’ll be seeing you later Aurora.”

 The room empty April moved to her friend wrapping her arms around her neck pulling her into a tight embrace. “You look like shit.”

 “Thanks.”

 “How was the lair? Anything need attending?”  Casey asked softly coming up behind the two woman.

 That’s when Aurora remembered, she pushed April from her embrace and her face lit up, “Donnie!”

 “What about him?”

 “He’s alive! I saw him for a few second today! In the lair, in his lab!”

 Casey and April’s mouth hung open still trying to process what the kunoichi was saying.

 “Fucking what?” Casey moved first his eyes wide and hopeful. “Why for only a few seconds? Where the fuck is the genius?!”

 “Do you remember that big arch he was working on, the one he said would be a doorway to different dimensions? It happened right after I got off the phone with you. I could hear something going on in his lab and opened the door to that thing powered up and Donnie just behind the blue energy field.”

 “No fucking way! What did he say?” April was now bouncing up and down smacking Casey on the back waiting for more information.  

 “Oww Ape, fuckin stop it.”

 “No! Keep going Aurora.”

 “The portal was unstable and began closing right away and the connection was shottie. His voice was breaking up but I heard him say that it wasn’t right yet and he was still trying to get back.” Aurora’s voice was cracking with her exhaustion and her bubbling emotions, it had been months since she had a good night’s sleep and it was catching up with her. Taking a small second she recomposed herself and started again. “He’s not dead and he didn’t abandon us. God I wish the guys were here to hear this.” Another shaky swallow of her dry mouth and Aurora looked up at her hopeful friends.  “I’m not sure if we should bring the arch back here and see if we can figure out where the last transmission came from or if we should just wait until he figures it out? The thing is, I never saw it working before. Did he go to the lair the last day we saw him to work on it and did something go wrong? Mikey was certain he saw him go into his lab here before we went to bed.”

 Then two sets of hands landed on her shoulders making the kunoichi stop. April’s hands cupped her cheeks and leaned in to press a soft kiss to her parched lips. “Take a deep breath Rora, we are so happy you were there to witness it. It gives us hope, but I can tell you’re about to crash, you need some sleep.”

 “Yeah we’ll have this discussion when you’ve had at least 6 hours sleep. We’ll deal with Leo and the arch when you’re a little more rested. She’s right you do look like shit and today has been an emotional one for you.

“For us all.” Aurora corrected him with a shuttering breath.

 “Sleep.”

 Begrudgingly Aurora shuffled to her room, her large empty room and didn’t even bother with a shower. She could swear she still smelt Raphael on her and maybe, just maybe that would help her sleep. Maybe she could trick her mind into thinking he was there sleeping at her side. She stripped of her clothes and crawled into bed pulling the cool covers up to her chin.

 Closing her eyes Aurora pictured Raphael and Leonardo, the brute and his taste, her lips rejoicing at his familiar flavor and Leo’s voice and the feel of his skin. Then Donnie and the quick but thankful handful of his grasp, all it was missing was her ball of sunshine, Mikey. With their memories fresh in her mind Aurora’s subconscious began to drift allowing her a seamless transition to slumber.  

 She didn’t hear the door open or the bed dip with his weight but as the cold steal pressed down on the soft flesh of her throat Aurora knew it was too late. She didn’t struggle there was no point in it, if she moved even an inch the way he didn’t want he could soak theses sheets they had once shared with her blood.

 Her eyes opened slowly, Leonardo’s face coming into focus as the sleep faded from her vision. The terrapin was just above her and the look he wore was purely sinful. Like the cat that had just eaten the canary or was about too. Aurora swallowed feeling the mutant finish crawling onto the bed to join her.

 “H-how many did you kill?”

 A soft patronizing chuckle filtered from between his perfect lips. The blade clutched in his hand tilted making Aurora’s neck follow, that was if she didn’t want her carotid to open. “Don’t worry, I took no lives tonight.” Leo shifted forward grabbing at the thin sheet that covered her naked form and began to pull. “I came here for only one reason tonight and killing your people would put a rather large kink in my plans.”

 She didn’t resist and allowed the fabric to pull free of her breasts watching the blue in his eyes disappear as his pupils engulfed the vibrant color. “You mean your men.”

 Leonardo’s breathing had increased but his hold on that damn blade never wavered. “Yours, mine, it makes no difference, I did not kill a soul within these walls. They will wake in a few hours with splitting headaches.”  His lips pursed for a moment focusing in on the two round globes now heaving on her chest. “They are more spectacular then what I could have imagined.” The descent of fabric halted for a moment as Leonardo’s head lowered and his nostrils flared. “I can smell him on you.”

 “Your brother? Yes, Raphael was rather insistent that he have me before you.” Aurora rose slowly making sure not to make any sudden movements keeping her eyes locked with her deadly guest. “He found out just how inventive I can be.”

 Leo allowed her to rise to a sitting position finding as he did the rest of the fabric fell pooling at the ultimate prize. Her midriff wasn’t perfect, the scare he had left months ago plus a few others that kept it company had healed nicely. His free hand reached out touching lightly at the abrasion smiling as the muscles below jump at his contact. “Raphael is impulsive, undisciplined but none the less is the very best on my team. When he told me you got the better of him tonight my already peaked interest in you heightened. I didn’t’ dare tell him the mere scent of you on his clothes sent my animal instincts into overdrive. Now smelling him on you makes me want to drench you in my scent.”

 “It’s presumptuous to think I’d allow that to happen if I refused Raphael’s advances earlier.” Aurora’s voice shook slightly as her confidence waned at the sight of him looming closer, eyes practically fucking her. Suddenly the walls of her sodden cunt began to vibrate with unparallel need.

 “You forget my little ninja; I’m mutant and part animal.” His nostrils flared once again. “I can smell your arousal, its delectable aroma is thick and I can taste it on my tongue. In fact I am positive you want me just as much as I want you. Maybe even more?” Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath growling as her pheromones made every pleasure receptor snap to life. “Fuck…. why do I want you so much?”

 That was when she heard the desperation in his voice, it was faint, but she could hear the slight tremor in his words. He was breaking under the stress of uncertainty. That was her moment and she moved with all her training taking possession of his weapon and lunged forward.

 In the scuffle the sheets pulled free and Aurora found herself on his lap, arm securely around his throat pressing the tip to his jugular. Their mouths were so close, so fucking close and she could smell the tea on his breath as it fanned over her face. Leonardo still drank the same Gyokuro brew; his expensive taste followed him into servitude. Fuck, she didn’t think this through at all. She was naked straddling his thick powerful thighs and she could feel it, straining against his pants pulsating with each beat of his heart.  

 “Tell me I’m lying.” He mused but found his cockiness underappreciated and sucked in a breath as the tip of the blade pierced the green scales drawing a bead of crimson. But he was a stubborn turtle and refused to back down. “If we were something, show me. Remind me of what I’ve been missing all these years.  Your scent, your god damn scent has been haunting me for months, haunting us. I don’t do this… I don’t…… I don’t lose control and all I want to do is bury myself so far in your body that I forget everything. Forget this war; forget why I don’t feel at home anywhere but with you, someone I have absolutely no memory of. Do you have any idea how infuriating that is?”

 He had no fucking clue; her bitter laughter filled the room, “Try loosing the people you love the most for years, coming up empty handed in your pursuit to find them again and again. Then suddenly they appear with no knowledge of you, dead set on your demise. Try enduring the pain of being sliced open by one of the men you love and as you bleed out he wraps his hands around your throat slowly squeezing the life out of you.”

 She watched the cockiness drain from his face, unexpectedly at the loss for words. The hardness in his cold blue eyes softened searching her for the truth. He was contemplating something.

 She continued, “Raphael remembered something tonight, a game you and him used to play. I think smelling me on him jogged your memory a little as well.”

 The terrapin let out a long sigh and she could feel a little of the tension leave his body, he was no longer coiled to strike, “I wasn’t angry or jealous. It was strange……it was just the competitiveness; he had gotten to you first. ”

 “Tell me Leo, why did you come to my home?”

 “For you.” His voice was but a whisper, soft and sweet against her lips, the venom slowly disappearing with the space between them.

 Aurora’s tongue moved across her bottom lip tasting his breath, he was so close. “What do you want with me?”

 “I had two plans; one would rid me of the temptation and the other………. would satisfy it.”

 “I see since I am still breathing I deduce you’ve chosen the latter.” Her hips rotated slightly brushing the bulging fabric of his crotch against her folds, so close. “What was next on your plan then?”

 His vibrant blue eyes moved from her violet eyes to her lips before moistening his own with his tongue. “To…to taste you. I need to know what you taste like.”  

 Keeping the blade semi embedded Aurora leaned forward closing the last inch granting Leonardo what he craved, she in turn savoring him. The tea and his scent invaded her senses as she opened her mouth entering Leonardo’s with her tongue swiping over his finding it just as eager.

 Then she heard it, his rumble the deep vibrating growl that emanated deep within his chest pouring out and into her mouth. Over and over their mouths engaged and reengaged in a desperate battle, breathless and aggressive feeding off each other’s growing excitement. Leo made no attempt for the weapon, but his hands moved to her naked waist pushing her down coating his pants with her arousal gaining just enough friction he yearned for.

 Aurora whimpered into his mouth, what was she doing? What the fuck was she doing? Her body was moving on its own but she didn’t want it to stop. Her hand moved between them fumbling for the belt buckle of his pants making quick work of them. Her deft fingers unbuttoned the top of his pants and drew the metal teeth of his zipper down keeping it free is the sensitive flesh below.

 It didn’t wait for an invitation and sprung free as it’s clothe prison was peeled away. She could smell him now, the salty musk of his precum that was smeared over the spongy head of his freed cock. Her fingers encompassed the remarkable girth and the tip of her thumb dipped into the moister swirling it under the head making the terrapin gasp.  

 Breaking their kiss Aurora sunk the tip of the blade in further and Leo growled in reaction. “Tell me what you really came here for Fearless?” rising up Aurora hovered over his cock positioning the long throbbing flesh just below her. “Did you come all this way to fuck me, to have me first, to drench me in your scent?” Her tongue came out and painted a warm wet stripe up his cheek stopping at his ear. “Do you want to remember how it felt when you poured all that you were up into my womb, marking me inside and out…” lowering her body she pressed the weeping helm just into the wet heat of her cunt. “I want to feel the stretch of you filling me with this enormous cock.” Aurora could feel the tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes. It had been years since she had him like this. She could feel the heat of him, the throbbing flesh in her grasp. It had been too long. But she had to remember this wasn’t her Leo.  

 “I want to be inside you. I want it so bad.” Leonardo growled pulling her down on him, but the strength of her thighs held up against his.

 “Say please Leonardo…..don’t be fucking rude….” She could feel him shaking with need desperate for a taste of what his body was apparently so starved for.

 His sudden shift made Aurora pull the blade back before it severed his carotid as his warm mouth enclosed around her throat kissing and sucking gently. Leisurely his hands abandoned her hips and traced up her naked back making her arch at the wondrous feather light sensation. “Please.” He finally whispered through heavy exhales into the moister he left behind.  

 The sensation of him splitting her open on the down slide was overwhelming, reminding Aurora that it had been years since she had taken any of them. Thankfully there was no pain but a twinge of discomfort accompanied with the delicious stretch of being so splendidly filled. Leo’s ascending fingers finally reached the top of her shoulders and clamped down assisting the final few inches to climb home.

 When he was seated fully inside her body, the terrapin let out a throaty groan pressing his beak to crook of her throat. One hand left her shoulder and wrapped protectively around her waist keeping her securely sheathed. Besides the elevated breathing the mutant made no noises but refused to let her rise to ease the pressure building.

 Suddenly his hips rocked up eliminating any space that had remained between them. His mouth opened taking in a section of her neck letting his tongue run over the heated flesh. Then she felt his cock expand and his grip loosen allowing her to lift up beginning the unhurried pace.

 Rolling her hips rotating them just enough to make slow circles finally made the hulking turtle below her voice his appreciation.

 “Fu..ck…mmhmm…faster..”

 “No.” she growled softly into his ear while running the cool edge of the blade still in her possession across the green scales of his throat. “You came into my room uninvited with a weapon and intentions of ending my life, we do this my way or I send you back to the lab missing a few limbs.”

 Leo’s griped shifted back to her hips while he tilted his own to change the angle. When she gasped and shuttered at the new friction his mouth opened into a toothy grin. “You won’t hurt me. You said it yourself you love me.”

 Leaning down to his neck Aurora began to cover his lustrous green skin with open mouth kisses rising until just the tip of him remained in her body. When she got the weeping wound she had inflicted her mouth enclosed around the hole clearing the tepid crimson from his flesh. She felt the vibrations through her lips as his voiced his pleasure tilting his head to the side to give her better access.

 With a pop her mouth released his throat and she began gradually lowering herself back down on his titanium length.  “You nearly killed me a few months ago while Raphael watched on. I spend nearly a month in the infirmary because of you, one of the most important people in my life. That was a sobering reminder you are not my Leonardo, my kind, gentle, honorable leader…my lover. You may have his ridiculously muscled body, his unmatched skill but your soul isn’t there. There is something in your body keeping you under Bishops’ thumb, keeping the real you from surfacing. The real Leo would rather be dead then be in the service of that mad man and I am now 100% behind that. So you better be on your best behavior.”

 No form of protest came from the turtle, but his mouth turned up into a smug grin before leaning forward to capture Aurora’s lips. The demand behind the kiss was insistent as his tongue pushed into her mouth and his hold around her waist began to urge her to move.

 She could feel him throb with each beat of his heart; every inch of her core was stretched to its limit. That was how big Leonardo really was and he wasn’t even the largest of his brothers. Raphael held that title, his length was roughly the same as Leo’s but to take Raphael was always a slow start. Luckily he was a patient man.

 She began again, taking her time with each rise and fall on his engorged length. Up and down tilting her hips back so the tip of him could hit just the right spot. Every cell in her body started to ignite with awareness of the long lost sensation of being taken by a mutant turtle. Each time Aurora sheathed herself on every inch of Leo the head of his cock pressed to the back of her channel eager to flood it with his climax.

 The pace was kept slow. Aurora didn’t want this to end too quickly; it had been far too long since she had experienced any of their bodies like this. And she had forgotten how intense being intimate with them was. Leo’s grip on her was tight, keeping her as close to him as possible. His mouth ran wild over her, dragging his wet tongue over her throat to her clavicle and down to the top of her breasts. His hands moved up from her hips to her waist urging her back so the warmth of his mouth could find the dark tissue of her nipples. He sucked at each of the heavy globes with enthusiasm, circling each peak with his tongue until it hardened to a stiff nub. Trying her best to stay on guard as the blue terrapin began to worship her chest Aurora found the new angle and sensation of his feasting too distracting and released the pressure of the blade off his neck.

 “Leo…fu..uck…..” it was impossible to refrain from praising him, he was a man of focus. When he set his sights on a goal Leonardo did all he could to complete it to perfection and the act of lovemaking was no different.

 Both hands fell to his broad shoulders and started to roll her hips faster fighting at the coiling pressure of her climax as it started to chase her down. Harder she fell down on him spearing herself over and over until the fire in her belly erupted in a blinding rush of endorphins.

 Leo must have sensed her at the end of her rope and bit down on the puckered flesh of her nipple sucking it into his mouth. His right hand left her side and lowered between them slipping a single digit into her heat finding the soft pearl and began rubbing the flesh in soft circles.

 There were no words to express the feeling that washed over her senses. The feeling of dying and being brought back to life was the best way to describe it. Her body arched, tensing up and Aurora let her head fall back allowing his name fill the room in blissful cries of ecstasy.

 “That’s so pretty.” He growled breathlessly rolling his hips up harder into her body.

 As her body ran through her climax Leo took over the rhythm fucking her though her high right into the slow climb to the next one. The blade held loosely in her hand Leo took advantage of her momentary distraction and stole the weapon from her slack grasp.

 She barely registered the loss of the upper hand as he increased the tempo of his hips and kept the steady strike of that one spot sending her higher and higher prolonging her peak. Even after all these years his body knew how to bring her the utmost pleasure, or was it Leonardo himself remembering.

 As the crest finally began to ebb bringing her back to her mutant partner Aurora’s mind finally registered she was no longer in control of the knife. His three fingers held the handle firmly and ran the sharp tip over the scar he had left months ago and his eyes flashed dangerously.

 “Do it.” She wouldn’t be scared of him, if this was how she went it was one hell of a way to go; stuffed full of Leonardo still buzzing from her orgasm.

 Leo chuckled softly rolling forward until Aurora was on her back and he was hovering over her pressing her thighs open wide with the hard plain of his pelvis. His head tilted reaching for her chin making sure she was looking at him. He thrust abruptly sinking to the hilt before pulling almost all the way free. “I don’t think I will.” With the flick of his wrist the knife flew from his hand and embedded into the wood of her closed door. “I’m not done with you yet.”

 Grabbing her right thigh Leo hoisted her calve up over his shoulder and rocked smoothly forward sinking into her tight heat with great care. The plunging girth of the rooted flesh was overwhelming dragging splendidly within her walls igniting the fire in her belly. Rapidity it allowed her rising climax to feed on her view above her. The view of Leonardo, the dominate male taking claim to what was once his, it made her core clench and ache.

 As he started to drive forward gently Aurora could see the softness return to his gaze like her Leonardo. Like it was six years ago and he were still hers. She knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up as long as that thing still roamed his body Leo would never be hers. But in this moment she allowed herself to dream.

 Then out of nowhere Leo’s voice dropped an octave, dark and needy, “Aurora…tell me you love me.” The look on his face was serious but his eyes gave the mutant away, the blue orbs were pleading like he genuinely needed to hear the words. His grip tightened on her hips and he began to pound into her faster chasing after his own climax. “Please.”

 Ripping her leg from his grip Aurora rolled them claiming the high ground once again keeping with his hurried pace as she resumed her ride. She allowed him to recover pulling him back up into a sitting position. The terrapin wrapped his arm back around her waist and set his gaze back on her flushed face.

 “W-why? Why should I g..ive you that? Mmm …fuck!”

 “Humor me….please.”

  What could it hurt? She did love Leo, just not this version of him.

 Then she could feel him pulse and expand, he was about to topple over into oblivion. Eyes widened and Aurora arched as the extra width made her peak hit without warning. The heat of it raced through her body like a box of fireworks going off under her skin. Her hands shot to his face cupping his sharp jaw line and she leaned back into her spine curling climax. With what little cognitive ability she had left she gave him what he wanted. “I love you.”

 It consumed her quickly eating up all of her strength racking her body with small but powerful tremors. She blacked out for a moment but Leonardo kept her from falling, like he had always done, keeping her safe when she was most vulnerable.

 “Rora.” It was faint but the nickname only the brothers were allowed to call her escaped Leo’s lips.

 It was then she felt Leo tense and grip her hips sinking as deep as he could reach as the turtle spilled his molten seed deep into her willing body. Each brutal drive up erupted ropes of ejaculate coating her with his scent filling Aurora until it her body could take no more. With one final drive Leo pulled Aurora down on his cock locking them in place making sure every drop of his cum reached its destination, marking her. His.

 They clung to each other with all their remaining strength riding out their euphoria until Aurora kissed him, kissed him with such ferocity it stole the final breath from their lungs.

 With the need to breath staggering they finally pulled apart.

 As his blurred vision became clear Leo could see tears flowing freely down her cheeks, and the sight startled the leader momentarily. His hands reached to her face brushing the moister with his thumbs, “Did I hurt you?”  

 “No, not in this moment at least.” Aurora could feel her heart thundering below her chest as she stared at the terrapin. But this wasn’t her Leo and if she didn’t do something now their location would be comprised so she did what she had to do to keep everyone here safe.

 Her hands shot out in concession pressing into the soft tissue of his body. Three points, deep into the muscle making Leonardo gasp in shock. His blue eyes widened in surprise and his lips thin into an angry frown.

 “I can’t have you leave here conscious, he’ll take us all and kill Casey, April and I. Everything will be lost.”

 Leo’s hand shot out and his fingers tips dug into her arm sluggishly. His eye lids drooped and his mouth opened as his muscles gave up their tension. With his final conscious thought Leo’s lips formed his last thought before he succumbed to the darkness, “I would never ……….let him hurt ….you.”

 As his body went slack Aurora wiped away her tears and shuttered as he slipped from her body. The loss of his warmth tore through her like a hurricane sinking her further into despair. She took a moment to run her hands under his shirt tracing her fingers along the scarred lines of his plastron. She had to remind herself, he was warm, he was alive and he was healthy.

 With a heavy sigh she dismounted and wiped him clean before securing his pants. Gathering her com Aurora pressed the button making a connection to the person on the other end.

 “Casey, I need you to come to my room. We need to get him out of here before he wakes up.”

 “I’m on my way.”

@imthegreenfairy88 @alonia143 @ravn-87 @tmnt-bucklover @tmntspidergirl​

[soradragon]

Sugary Comfort

Art’s not mine I found it and credit goes to the wonderful owners of this master piece of a drawing!

First Mikey x reader! I am proud and content with this one!

Thank you my sweet new beta reader for helping me edit this fic I love u and your amazing! <3

Warnings: sensory overstimulation in the beginning, lots of fluff, one pun

Mikey x f! reader

Check out my main masterlist if you liked what you read and wanna read more!

If you want to be tagged in the upcoming fics don’t be afraid to ask me! ^^

Anyway, enjoy^^

~~~~

You gazed at the reflection of a girl. She looked utterly exhausted; bags under her eyes like she hasn't slept in ages. 

Her lips were tilted up in a sneer; it was evident that she was repressing the urge to scream. But instead of giving in to the voice begging her to do just that, she drove her foot through the water's surface. Not only disfiguring the reflection of the girl, but also dirtying the dress you nitpickingly chose to wear this day. At the time you felt beautiful wearing it. Proud that you chose the right clothes to fit with the dress, completing the look you wanted.

Now, you just didn't care.

You didn't feel pretty nor proud.

You choked out a sob, rubbing the back of your hand against your face harshly.

You wanted all the white noise to stop, wanted the crying to stop, wanted the searing headache to stop. Why couldn't time freeze? Then, maybe the chaos in your head would finally end.

You had tried everything you knew that normally should have worked. Out of all of the times for those methods not to work, why did it precisely choose now when it actually matters?

You followed all the steps. You even rehearsed the steps as you did them.

Step one: When you feel an episode coming, go to a quiet place with dull, even colours. 

You had almost dropped your project when you felt everything becoming overwhelming, muttering an explanation to your teacher before almost booking out of the school building, to the most calming place you could recall; the park.

Step two: Once you have found a quiet place, go sit down and use your headphones to block out all of the sounds.

The headphones did not work.

Your never-ending trains of thoughts took the place of the noise and multiplied it by two. 

Images that flashed before your eyes every time you closed them were too bright. You were unable to figure out the meanings behind the words your mind screamed at you. 

All of it only worsened the already painful headache.

After only a moment you tore the headphones from your head.

Step three: Try even your breathing, and count to ten to ground yourself.

This was the only step that worked. You managed to calm yourself and stop your ragged breathing but it took effort. It took two attempts of counting to ten before it succeeded.

This whole fiasco petered you out mentally and physically. You just wanted this unnecessary sensory to decrease and quiet down to at least a tolerable level. But alas, the world did not want to cooperate this time.

You sighed, casting your gaze to the heavens. 

The sky was beautiful this evening - painted in orange and pink - and you would have taken the time to admire it, had it been in a different situation.

After hearing a familiar yet obnoxious 'ping' coming from within your bag, you cursed under your breath. You snatched your bag from behind you crudely, zipping it open with a huff. As you turned it on, you flinched at the bright light of your screen.

One unread message from 'Mom.'

She was worried sick no doubt. You felt guilty for worrying her, and wanted to reassure her that yes, you were safe, but felt like trash and were in the middle of an episode that wouldn't stop. No matter how hard you tried, all the obnoxious and illogical sensory your brain's been picking up did not stop. Though, on the other hand, you just wanted to ignore the message and skip the whole situation of explaining everything altogether and just turn off the screen and put notifications on mute. You sent a quick 'k' to whatever she had messaged you and moved on to the mute button.

Your finger hovered above it when a notification popped up, causing you to hesitate.

One new message from 'The great Mikester dude!'

Without thinking, you pressed on the notification, staring with big eyes at the message he had sent you: Guess who and where dudette. :P

"Mikey." You gasped out, manoeuvring your head in all kinds of directions, eyes skimming all over the park, trying to find the one in question. You felt the tingling and buzzing feeling of hope and glee pool in your body, replacing the sadness and anger.

All problems were forgotten or pushed to the back of your mind.

The white noise died down suddenly when you heard a low thud and the slight rustling of leaves. 

There was no other explanation; they were here...You were sure of it. 

Only they could stop the chaos when everything else failed, though you didn't know how, nor the logic in it. 

You guessed it had something to do with their ninja nature or something. (Even though Donnie told you multiple times that it might have been because of the aura they carried with, them, being half turtle and all that jazz had its side effects on some humans, like how a pet could soothe its owner simply by being near them. You still blamed it on them being ninjas.)

With your mind settled down, you could think clearly again. 

You briefly acknowledged the fact that you most certainly were a dishevelled mess. Puffy eyes from crying, clothes covered in mud, and hair all over the place, considering that you've pulled and tangled your hair in frustration. Despite all of this, you didn't care.

You were too busy thinking of a plan to lure them - you guessed it was all of them, though it could be only Mikey - out of their hiding place.

You accidentally placed your hand on your phone, making it vibrate, and your hand shot back as if it had burned you. A few seconds after, a song piped up.  A lot of curses could be heard from the tree where the music came from, the leaves rustled like no tomorrow. Mikey fell out of said tree not long after, hitting the ground with an 'oof' followed by a groan. You stared at Mikey for a couple of seconds before doubling over in laughter as the realisation hit you:

You had accidentally called Mikey!

Well, it sure helped you find him!

You counted that as a win on your part. And it seemed that Mikey was on his own, for normally one of the brothers, cough Raph cough would have jumped out from their hiding place and scolded Mikey.

He rolled into a sitting position, giggling with you.

"Yo, dudette! Fancy seeing you here. Don't mind me dropping in," he said, peering at you with an expecting smile, seeming to wait for a reaction. 

It took you a hot second or two for you to catch on, eventually groaning at the pun and face-palming yourself for your delayed comprehension. He did jazz hands and everything.

The great ninja Michelangelo just punned...

You wanted to kick yourself, you completely forgot that April had warned you about Mikey using puns. She had messaged you not too long ago about how it was a "Big" (with capital B) mistake of Casey to teach Mikey "The Art of puns." For Mikey had become obsessed with them. - Throughout the whole exchange, Casey had managed to steal April’s phone a few times and messaged you some words. Three guesses which one was Casey’s input on the matter. - 

You had no clue what they meant with "mistake" throughout that whole exchange. 

You appreciated a good pun.

This was not a good pun. 

You could just imagine the brothers’ reactions to Mikey's newfound fixation: Raph screaming desperately for Mikey to shut up. Donnie being hella annoyed with something pressed against his (ears?) to drown Mikey out. Leo would definitely try to ignore him, probably without success, because you knew...oh, you knew Mikey would take every chance he got to make a pun.

Your heart went out for them. Needing to go through such torture was horrid, yet it was a funny sight to be completely honest. Not that you would ever tell them, heavens no.

You were not going to poke three bears with a stick - in this case, mutant turtles. You were not ready to die three separate times.

"Dude, that was so bad,” you said, making a face as if you had just been forced to smell Raph's feet. You still regret going through with that bet.

"Dude!"

Mikey frowned, throwing his hands in the air. You knew he wasn't really offended, just a bit pouty.

"It's the truth, dude," you retorted absentmindedly, casting your gaze from left to the right before it rested on your bag. Smiling slightly, you snatched it, hauling it over your back before turning back to Mikey who sat contently against the tree. 

"But," you emphasised the word by pointing your index finger in the air, "you can get better,” your grin widened as you spoke.

 “And I, Y/N, know how it's really done."

Mikey's pout vanished and a wide, child-like grin overtook his face. You had his full attention, as he observed you expectantly from his cross-legged position. 

The long uncut grass rippled towards and caressed Mikey, the blades of green curling slightly forward and creating an image of what looked like nature sheltering Mikey from the harsh reality outside of this garden of paradise. 

The green-filled branches of the tree hovered above him, leaves gliding down every now and again, covering Mikey in small dapples of shadow.

Dusk's hew engulfed the image before you in a soft purple radiance. Mikey's skin practically glowed, making him look like a forest fairy.

It was a captivating sight. 

You could mistake it for a painted fairy tale that had come to life. Whoever the painter was had made sure that each tiny detail captured the magic and beauty of the image before you.

A magic-filled world coexisting in the harsh one you stood in... what you wouldn't give to cast all worries aside and join that world.

You were so lost in the moment that you almost forgot to continue.

Shaking yourself free from the enchanting sight, you carried on, albeit flustered, "a-and I could, um, teach you a thing or two. If...If you want me to, that is."

Mikey almost jumped right in your face before the words had completely left your mouth. There were practically stars in his eyes! He actually looked really adorable.

"Really!? You would!? Y/N, you are the best!!"

Mikey engulfed you into a hug, his body nearly covering your entire body from the world.

You gave a chuckle as he kept his arms circled around you, letting you sit in his lap. You didn't mind at all, feeling cosy in his arms.

"Of course I would Mikester. It would be my pleasure!"

You raised your hands to Mikey's cheeks, giving them a couple of pats before you continued.

"That way, you have a reason to end patrol earlier so we can spend more time together," and it would give the others a break from the barrage of bad puns, but you didn't voice that out loud. 

Mikey seemed to agree. He didn't waste any time to establish when and where this 'class-session', as he called it, would be taking place. He wanted it to become, without a shadow of a doubt, a weekly thing, like movie night at the turtles’ place with everyone.

Mentioning movie night brought up some nasty memories of last time -the movie night itself wasn’t bad, just one of your episodes got out of hand -  and Mikey changed the subject promptly after seeing you wince slightly. 

He told you about all kinds of new skateboard tricks he mastered and invented.

After a little while - when everything had been said about skateboarding - Mikey started to eagerly talk about random topics, bringing up stuff like how his training went this morning or what he encountered on patrol. Just little things to draw more time spending in this position. You kept in mind that this peaceful moment couldn't last forever, for both of you would have to separate sooner rather than later. 

You needed to go home to your no doubt worried sick parents, before they would start search parties. And Mikey...had to wait till the next time you two could hang out. (Which wasn't as often as both of you desired)

You listened to his voice silently, only humming a reply whenever Mikey asked for your opinion, snuggling deeper into his embrace as you lost track of time. Drowsiness tugged at your consciousness, beckoning you to close your eyes and let sleep take over. The way Mikey held you close to him made you feel loved and safe, with you resting your head against his chest to hear his heartbeat. He rubbed soothing circles on your left shoulder with one hand, making it impossible to resist the urge to let sleep take you away to dreamland. 

You vaguely heard Mikey's voice murmur in your ear, "Sweet dreams, sugar muffin..." You felt soft lips brush against your forehead before sleep took you over.

*(*)(*)*

Michelangelo stayed seated for a little while longer, looking at your sleeping form with loving eyes. If the world would have let him, he would have stayed like this forever. Alas, the moment was broken when your mobile pinged inside your bag, vibrating like crazy.

Mikey panicked. Jumping to his feet (surprisingly without stirring you) without thinking. He opened your bag in such haste he had almost dropped you trying to grab the vibrating phone before it would wake you.

He sighed in relief when the phone stopped its obnoxious buzzing after he managed to keep you from falling. He shifted you gently onto one arm to hold you delicately, yet tightly to his chest, as if he was protecting you from the world around you.

Once he made sure you were nestled comfortably in his hold,  he glanced towards the device lying in his palm. Mikey held it at an arm's length.

One question drifted inside his mind: Who in their right mind would call you this late in the evening?

It was a question where he could get an answer, but Mikey didn't want to pry into your private life without your permission.

But the curiosity gnawed at him like he would do with pizza.

He shook his head and chastised himself for goggling the device longingly. "No, bad Mikey...Be the better man, you can do this," he muttered, moving to put the phone in your bag until your phone buzzed again, displaying the number of notifications on the lit-up screen.

It made him halt in his tracks. 

Mikey knew you were having a bad day today. After all, he saw you crying by the pond in the centre of the park. It was a mere coincidence, patrolling around the park at the time. He had seen you crying and decided right then and there that he would cheer you up. But he had no idea you had that kind of bad day. 

There were seven unread messages and three missed calls from your mother. All of them showed how worried she was about you, asking where you were and if you had one of your sensory overstimulation episodes.

Without really thinking about it, he typed a reply to your mother: Batteries died, was with a friend. Coming home through the fire escape forgot keys.

It wasn’t a  grammatically correct message, he knew. It was the best he could do with one hand and one thick tumb.

Mikey glanced towards you with gentle eyes and a soft smile after sending the message and put your phone back in your bag.

He moved you gently, holding you with both arms again and cradling you against his chest.

You, in turn, stirred and snuggled deeper into Mikey's chest, making his heart soar.

"Time to get you home, sugar muffins..." he whispered softly, brushing a couple of stray hairs out of your face.

Mikey moved swiftly yet precisely, ensuring you did not wake or feel uncomfortable during roof-top-hopping. You needed all the rest you could get; the bags under your eyes made him even more certain of the fact.

Your home came into Mikey's field of vision far too soon. Opening the window and laying you softly onto your bed felt too fast for his taste.

Mikey took extra care to tuck you in. He even attached a little note to your bag for you to find when you would wake up. 

He really wanted to stay longer, but the sound of your parents coming up the stairs told him it was time to go. He opened the door of your room slightly so your parents would know you were home. Michelangelo climbed through the window before your parents could see him.

He watched your parents turn on the light from a rooftop across your window. Your dad gave you an extra blanket before the two of them turned off the light and left your room.

Mikey stayed there on the rooftop for a little while longer before leaving, looking over his shoulder one last time and then he sprinted over the rooftops towards home.

*(*)(*)*

You found the note the next day. You smiled brightly at the words hastily scribbled on the pape. You texted Mikey a reply before you went to look out your window. Your eyes draw towards the morning sky, which was painted in a soft orange hue.  

You repeated the words inside your head, making you excited for the next time you would see your turtle in orange...

Yoo, dudette! Can't wait for the pun-session upcoming Friday! 

I'll pick you up at ten alright? It's a date! ;) <3

~~~~

Thank you for reading, and keep soaring high!^^

Forever taglist

@theincaprincess​ 

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite- Recovery (Chapter 3)

It was a decent day outside after a long, boring day of school. Crisp, clear, the sun peaking out from behind the canopy of clouds scattering the periwinkle blue sky. Casey strolled through the crowded streets of New York, thrilled to hang with his best (non human) friends.

"Casey, wait up!" Riley whined, blowing a huge bubble of pink bubblegum. She trailed behind her older brother with less pep in her step, due to her lugging a heavy backpack. She was a short middle schooler, with a jet black pixie cut and dark almond shaped eyes. Freckles dotted her fair cheeks. A complete pain, but he would be lying if he didn't say he cared for the little squirt.

"Sorry kid." Casey said, ruffling his little sister's hair, much to her annoyance. "I'll walk slower."

"So what are we gonna do today?" She asked eagerly. "The sky's the limit!" She flashed him a cheeky, braces filled grin. Riley didn't really have any friends of her own. Too shy, and a bit strange around her classmates. Her love of sports made her an outcast with the girls, and none of the boys wanted to hang with a 'weirdo'. Luckily, Casey would be her best friend for life, he had vowed that.

"You said it!" Casey checked his phone. A text from Raph asking if he was joining them for patrol.

Riley frowned. "Is that one of your friends again? The super weird ones?"

"Er...yeah." He pocketed his phone. "Boring friend stuff."

"Yeah, your gang."

"They're not a gang..."

"Mhm. Sure. I won't tell dad you're a drug dealer if you tell me the truth." She sang.

"I'm not a..." Casey said. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" She looked mischievously at him, winking.

Laughing, Casey flicked her nose.

Riley looked at him seriously. "You're not gonna ditch me for them, again, right?"

"Nah, don't worry. Come on, let's go to the rink."

But Riley seemed distracted. She trailed ahead, following something that Casey didn't see.

"Hey, Ri! Wait up!" He panted, raising an eyebrow. "Riley Elizabeth Jones! You can't just run off..." He was starting to sound like her mother- which was enough to make him stop talking.

"Look at it..." She crouched down, cooing at a little racoon blinking and twitching its nose at her. "I'm gonna call you Sparky."

Casey winced, reminded of rats just by looking at the weird creature. "Ugh, no you're not- come on before the rink closes, pipsqueak."

"Aw, okay."

~•~

Evening drew quicker than he expected, and before he knew it, the sun had dipped down the horizon and the sky was a peachy orange. After making sure Riley was safe at home, he ducked through a manhole cover and climbed into the depths of the creepy sewers. The sewers weren't terrible, but he would be lying if he didn't have to plug his nose in order to prevent the foul odors from entering his precious nostrils. He didn't know how the turtles managed it. Wait...do turtles even have noses?

'I'll have to Google that later.' He thought to himself, trudging through the mucky waters, trying his best not to think about what exactly was in the water. Though he already knew the answer, it wasn't fun to dwell on such disgusting matters.

No, Casey Jones could handle the smell. But what he couldn't handle was...

A rat scurried past him and he let out an involuntary squeal of horror.

Rats still gave him the creeps.

Sighing, Casey stumbled his way into the lair, where he was pleased to find Raphael hunched over a game of pinball, deep in concentration.

"Hey Raph." He greeted, leaning forward to get a closer look.

Raph only grunted in response.

"We're still on tonight to ride our bikes?"

"No, Dr. Frankenstein still hasn't fixed my bike."

"Ah jeez. We can still hang though tonight? At patrol?"

"Ha, I wish! Nah, Leo wants us to go searching for the mutant tonight." He grumbled back. The ball spun around and fell forward, the brief moment of distraction causing the turtle to lose. A big 'Game Over' in neon lights hung mockingly over his head. "Argh...damnit!" He punched the arcade machine so roughly it nearly toppled over. "Whatever, that game's stupid anyway."

"Where is Leo anyway?"

"Doing some meditation shit with April and Sensei." Raphael shrugged. "To focus their minds. I dunno, I wasn't really listening. I tend to tune Leo out, y'know?"  He gave a wicked grin. "Say, we might have some time to read some comics or-"

An aggressive, distorted guitar riff interrupted their banter- followed by what sounded like a man screaming like a banshee.

"Woah!" Casey exclaimed.

Raph grimaced. "Not again. He's always playing it at the worst possible moments."

"Mikey?" Casey wondered, thinking the genre of music must be the orange clad turtle's choice.

"Mikey?" Raph repeated, shaking his head. "Nope, that's all Donnie. When he needs to 'unwind' he plays it as loud as possible. Even without headphones!"

"Donnie?" Casey said, flabbergasted. "But he's so-"

"Geeky? Yeah I know. I can't believe he of all turtles thinks that crap is real music."

"Hey, it is real music!" Casey said defensively.

"Oops, did I strike a nerve?" Raph teased. "Didn't know you liked it."

"Well yeah! The Electric Skullz are legendary!"

"Aw, nerd bonding." Raph held a stubby hand up. "Please save me the embarrassment and go talk with someone who cares." He gave Casey a condescending pat on the head.

"Maybe I will." He said gruffly, following the noise.

Raph chortled with laughter, only stopping when he realized Casey was serious. "Wait- come on, man. I thought you and Donnie hated each other? Let's go do something- and he's gone."

Realizing he was now alone, he crossed his arms. "Eh, I'm gonna go watch Full House."

~•~

Casey hesitated, but ultimately his love for the heavy metal tunes was enough to follow it.  He felt awkward, like he shouldn't be doing this. Casey Jones was no snoop- he just was embarrassingly curious for his own good.

Passing Leo's room, then Mikey's, he finally found the last room in the hall. He creaked open the door, peering inside.

Donnie's room had clearly not been slept in very often. It was neat, but not in the same neatness as Leonardo's, who frequently cleaned his room but it still looked used. This room looked barely touched, and the bed had no creases or anything proving a living being had slept in it. A folded tatami mat was poking under the bed. Posters of scientists, newspaper clippings and photographs were decorating the dull grey walls, strung together with such precision. Some inventions were scattered on the floor, clearly failed ones as they had wires sticking out.

But what caught his eye was the turtle in the middle. He was...dancing. Every movement he made was precise, delicate. Of course, the skills of being a ninja helped, but each step was to the beat (well, less beat, more of intense screaming). It was surprisingly adorable.

Wait...adorable? That couldn't be the right word. 

"Sick moves!" He said, hoping his voice was loud over the music.

Donnie froze, suddenly aware he was being watched. His expression was a mixture of being mortified, then slowly switched to horror and anger.

"Wh- I- I wasn't-" He sputtered, blushing and stumbling over to shut the stereo off.

"Hey, hey, chillax." Casey raised one hand to show he meant no harm. "I love the Electric Skullz too!"

Donnie looked puzzled. "Y...You do?"

"Heh, for sure!" He replied genuinely, a smile revealing itself.

Donnie smiled back, finally relaxing. "And you're not just pulling my leg?"

"Nope. I'll prove it to ya. In 2012, the lead singer of the Electric Skullz was Nova Kun. She then stepped down after mysteriously disappearing. And then was replaced by-"

"James Mercedes!" Casey and Donnie finished in unison.

"Woah..." Donnie's eyes sparkled with delight. "My brothers always hated heavy metal. I don't even think they consider it real music!"

"Not even Mikey?"

Donnie shook his head. "He likes that bubblegum pop stuff. It's okay but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really my thing."

"Me neither." He agreed. "Don, you shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed. This stuff's cool."

"You think so?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

Donnie looked at him wearily.

"Would I ever lie to you about music?" Casey said. "I'm very serious when it comes to good tunes."

He thought for a moment, then smiled. "I guess not."

Casey returned the smile, bumping his shoulder playfully. The turtle's cheeks warmed, chuckling.

"Maybe you aren't so annoying."

"Gee, thanks, I'm touched." Casey said sarcastically. "You aren't so terrible either."

The bedroom door slammed open abruptly, causing both human and turtle to jump. A stoic Leonardo was behind the door.

"Patrol time Donnie." He said simply, his arms behind his back. "...and Casey?" He squinted, trying to process what he was looking at. "Uh...what's going on guys?"

They exchanged looks.

"Nothing!" lied Donnie.

"Just a couple of dudes being bros." Casey said, draping his arm around the tall turtle's shoulders. "Amigos, chum of chums..."

"Not there yet, Jones."

"Eh, he's warming up to me. We're like comrades...buddies..."

"I think I get it." Leo smirked.

Casey found himself leaning against Donnie's closet after he was pushed aside. "Say...why do you even have this? You guys don't even wear clothes..."

"That information is classified." Leo narrowed his eyes. "So, patrol?"

"No problemo Leo." Casey said quickly, stepping away to leave the room. "Are we partnering up again?"

"No, this is a solo stake out mission."

Casey looked back at Donnie who's eyes flickered in ...disappointment? The action was so brief, he barely caught it. No doubt Donnie was just upset about not being partnered with April. Yes, that had to be right. Why else would he be disappointed? Though Casey would be lying if he said he didn't want to talk about the Electric Skullz some more.

"You coming, Don?" Leo glanced back at his younger brother who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Yes, of course." The blank stare from Donatello had switched to a serious, determined one.

"Let's go."

~•~

Leo climbed out of the manhole cover, followed by Raph, Mikey, April, Casey and Donnie. He scanned the area, checking for anything suspicious. As the oldest brother and arguably the most mature, he had a duty to protect his family. So far the only suspicious activity was a raccoon rustling through a trash can. But he would never let his guard down for anything.

"Mikey and I last saw the mutant near Eastman and Laird. I'm thinking we scope around, keep our eyes peeled. If you see anything- and I mean anything, contact one of us and we'll come for backup. Your T-Phones are there for a reason."

"I dunno, Scalysnout was pretty tough!" Mikey said.

"Scalysnout." Raph repeated.

He looked sheepish. "Eh, it needs work." 

"A lot of work."

After each member was assigned locations, Donnie started his mission alert and focused. Though he liked working with his brothers, April and to a lesser extent Casey, he was more in his element when he worked alone. It gave him time to breathe. Of course, the return of a dangerous mutant wasn't exactly comforting.

Climbing the roofs, the mutant ninja concentrated on making sure he wasn't being followed. Which involved him frequently checking behind himself.

'It's not paranoia, it's called being sharp.' Donnie silently quoted Leo under his breath.

The night was oddly quiet though. One would breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of an early night, but Donnie still felt uneasy. He glanced around, the full moon glistening in the sky over a blanket of stars. Peaceful, if one wasn't anxious about a rampaging monster patrolling the dark streets.

Still...it didn't seem like anything was happening.

"Hey, let go of me!"

'And once again, I've spoken too soon.' Donnie thought bitterly to himself, but he followed the sound of distress.

He slid down the fire escape, landing in a dark alleyway. Turning the corner, but still hiding in the shadows, he found the source.

A girl, maybe eleven or twelve years old was furiously fighting off two Purple Dragons with her fists. Her attacks, though admirable, were completely useless. The gang members merely jeered and pushed her effortlessly to the ground. The girl was definitely a bit strange, especially with the racoon perched on her shoulder- but Donnie didn't have time to judge her.

"Ha, got it!" One of the members snatched her phone, tauntingly holding it over her head. Because of her size, she had no chance of grabbing it back.

"Give it back, creep!"

Donnie had to act now or this girl was toast. Raising his bō in front of him, he whacked one of the members to the ground with a swift movement.

"What the-"

"Who did that? Show yourself!" One of the men demanded, swinging his switchblade defensively.

The other lay on the ground groaning in pain.

Donatello knew better than to make himself seen- especially in front of the girl. But that didn't stop him from defending her. He jabbed his staff directly in the other man's solar plexus, knocking him down instantly. 

Realizing their invisible opponent was fierce, the Purple Dragons made a hasty retreat.

"Wow that was nuclear!" The girl exclaimed, eyes wide. "Thanks, er, whoever you are."

"Not a problem. Do you need help getting home?"

"Yeah, my brother would probably kill me if he knew I was walking home alone. I just came to pick up some food from Murakami and then those creeps attacked me."

"They're known for that." Donnie agreed. "You really shouldn't be walking alone at night. It's dangerous for a kid." He hadn't meant to sound condescending, but the girl bristled anyway.

"Hey, I'm thirteen!" She paused, biting her lip. "Almost."

Donnie chuckled lightly. "Still, I'll help you get home."

"Thanks...erm...?"

"Donatello." He supplied.

"I'm Riley." She started to walk ahead, but realized her new friend didn't seem to be following her.

"I'm behind you, don't worry." Donnie said. "Just have to keep my distance."

"Ain't ya gonna show yourself?"

"Better not. But if anyone comes at ya, I'll help."

Riley stopped, now suspicious. "Come into the light."

"Riley I..."

"Do it now."

He could hear Master Splinter's scolding as he stepped out of the shadows in front of the streetlight. He held his breath, awaiting a scream. A little girl seeing a giant humanoid turtle was destined to end horribly. But she had a gutsy look in her eye that comforted him slightly.

"Woah..." Riley uttered. "You're a ..."  She reached a shaky hand to lightly touch Donnie's bicep. "You're real?"

Donnie nodded slowly, his brown eyes looking gently at the little girl. "I am."

"Are you an alien or...is this a costume?"

He chuckled. "Not quite."

"Either way, I owe you one for saving me. I don't care what you look like. I've seen weirder."

Donnie had a faint suspicion she was referring to the Kraang invasion.

"Besides," She continued. "No one will mess with me if you're by my side." She smirked, and Donnie swore her cheeky grin looked strangely familiar.

~•~

By the time Donnie had returned, the other three brothers were already at the lair. To his surprise, it wasn't Raphael who was in a sour mood. It was Leo, who stormed over with the rage of someone who was told Space Heroes had been cancelled.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, cutting any small talk.

"On...patrol?" Donnie stared down quizzically at his shorter brother. "Like we were supposed to."

"Don't sass me. You had us worried."

"I wasn't worried." Raph replied honestly. " "Chill, Mother Hen. Donnie's a big boy." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Raphael."

"We all came back half an hour ago." Leo crossed his arms bossily.

"Don't mind him. He's just grumpy because none of us found Scaleysnout." Mikey murmured, eyes glued to the TV screen.

"That's not why I was...I was concerned, is all."

"I wasn't aware there was a curfew." Donnie shot back irritably. "Something held me up."

"Like what? A stop sign?" Mikey said, collapsing into giggles as if it was the funniest joke. When nobody laughed he scooted back to the television set. His oldest brothers stared at him for a moment, before looking back at Donnie.

"Explain?" Leo asked.

"The Purple Dragons attacked some kid. I couldn't just stand there so I defended her."

"Nice work D!" Mikey praised.

"How admirable." said Raph sarcastically. "You saved one person. Do you want a gold star? We save people all the freakin' time, genius. Except we don't usually gloat about it."

"I'd hardly call that gloating." defended Donnie.

"Besides you should really talk. You gloat, like, all the time Raph." Mikey teased, bracing himself for Raphael to slap him on the head. "Uncle, uncle!" He wailed. "I'm sorry! Raph, stop!"

Leo stayed silent, analyzing the situation. 

"She was just a kid. I didn't know what else to do." Donnie said, reading Leo's unimpressed body language. "And she didn't freak out when she saw me...so that's always a plus."

"She saw you?" Leo repeated. "Donatello, that was completely foolish! You know Sensei always told us to stay in the shadows."

Donnie hung his head, already preparing himself for a lecture.

"When I tell Splinter..."

"You wouldn't, Leo." Donnie interrupted. "Because that would be so hypocritical of you, and you know it. Showing myself was the only way to save her- Riley. And who's going to believe that a giant talking turtle saved her from a gang? Be realistic."

Leo's lips twitched, ready to retort, but didn't. "Fine."

Raph looked up, releasing Mikey from a chokehold. "Did you say Riley? That's weird."

"It's a fairly common name Raph."

"Well, yeah. It's also Casey's sister's name. He's mentioned her a few times to me."

Donnie perked up slightly. "Oh...that's interesting."

"Could just be a coincidence. New York is a pretty big city."

"I guess so."

"You need to be more careful, Donnie." Leo scolded. "You were lucky this person you saved was related to one of our friends. If she even is."

"Jones and I aren't really friends." He thought for a moment, remembering just a few hours ago when they bonded over music. "It's complicated."

"Aw no way!" Mikey complained. "I thought you two were finally getting along! This is bogus, dude!"

"Why do you even care?"

"Because you two have a lot in common!" Mikey scooted over. "I thought you guys would be bros in no time." He pointed at the screen. "Watch this for a sec. See, these two characters Ripjaw and Ellie hated each other!"

"Yeah, and?" 

"I remember this episode." Leo said fondly.

Donnie watched the television moodily. Two heroes in spacesuits seemed to be arguing about something.

"Stop following me, you fool! You're always getting in my way."

"So?" He said, hands on his hips. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Keep watching!" Mikey snapped, uncharacteristically harsh. "Look!"

"We have to put aside our differences!" Ellie yelled. "If we don't, the evil Slothman will kill our friends!"

"I'm not working with you!" Ripjaw sneered.

"Stop being selfish! Why do you even hate me so much?"

"Because...I love you."

"You...do?"

"More than anything."

"I love you too!"

Donnie made a face of pure horror as the character's embraced. "No. No way!"

Leo and Raph meanwhile seemed to find this extremely amusing.

"See what I mean?" Mikey pointed out, oblivious to the implications.

"Oh you bet we do." Raph sneered. "Can I plan the wedding?"

Leo batted his eyelashes. "I'll be the best man." He concluded.

"I'll be the Flower girl!" Mikey chimed in, eager to be included.

Donnie's cheeks turned beet red.

"Well I didn't mean you two kiss or anything." Mikey said sheepishly. "But you could totally be friends!"

Donnie shook his head furiously. "Over my dead body. I'd rather eat raw sewage than be friends with him. Let alone-" He blushed.

"Aw, love is still alive." Raph rested his head on his palms.

Donnie scowled.

Leo frowned. "Come on Don, you know we were only teasing."

"Whatever. This show is clearly for kids. I've got work to do."

The three remaining brothers looked at each other uneasily as they watched Donatello storm away to his lab.

"That ...didn't exactly go to plan." Mikey said nervously.

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part Two

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: An AU originally based off of the 2012 TMNT universe, but can be compatible with most versions of the characters. <3 2.8k words. A03 link can be found here. Also special thanks to @cloakedrabbit and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading!

While he considered himself fairly levelheaded, there were a lot of things that ticked Casey Jones off: The referee calling foul play when an opponent obviously deserved to be body slammed, the cafeteria workers skimping on tater tots (in no universe was four enough), and people being jerks to those who couldn’t defend themselves.

The worst feeling of all, however, was when people intentionally kept secrets from him.

From the moment April O’Neil had walked into homeroom that Monday, he could tell that she had something heavy weighing on her mind. The redhead had avoided his attention-seeking gestures and whispers throughout class, seemingly intent on doodling in her notebook and not paying the slightest amount of attention to the lecture. She rested her chin in her palm, arm forming a barrier that blocked her page from anyone who walked past. Even when Casey flicked a pencil onto her desk, her only response was to absentmindedly return the utensil and continue scribbling.

By the time lunch rolled around, Casey was nearly shaking with curiosity and frustration over the unknown. With one hand firmly gripping his sack lunch, the eighteen-year-old searched the sea of dark hair on the patio and in the cafeteria, and then finally stuck his head into the library – a first for him. Sure enough, April was tucked away at a table in the far corner of the reference section with her nose to a computer monitor and the same expression of deep thought on her face. 

“Alright, Red. Spill.” April jolted when he dragged over a chair with a deafening screech and then flopped into it. Turning his lunch bag over on the table and scattering its contents, Casey shoved an apple towards the hand she was clutching the mouse with and then picked out a peanut butter granola bar to munch on. “I can tell you’re freaking out about something. Is it homework related, or what?”

“It’s nothing,” she muttered, quickly attempting to minimize the tabs she had open on the screen – though not before Casey caught a glance of the website.

“Mysteries of the Deep: Unexplained Open Ocean Phenomena,” Casey snorted, sending a spray of granola crumbs flying, and leaned over to elbow the girl playfully. “What, are you trying to find the loch ness monster or something? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s in Canada.”

To his surprise, April let out a hiss of pain and grabbed her ribs right where Casey had poked her. The smirk on his face instantly vanished, and Casey raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa – I didn’t mean to hit so hard – my bad! Are you okay?”

April’s face tightened for a moment as if she were going to argue, her brows arching into the sassy look that Casey was used to seeing whenever he whined about how useless math was, but then she heaved a sigh and dropped her hand from her side. The girl motioned for Casey to quiet down, and then stood up quickly to peer over the row of computers around them. Once she seemed satisfied that no one was nearby, the redhead relented. “I got attacked when I was diving last night.”

“Wait – what?!” Casey nearly inhaled his granola bar and had to pause for a moment to cough violently. “By what? A fish? Or one of the other divers?”

“Shhh!” the librarian hissed from across the room.

“Don’t freak out – I’m fine.” April waved a hand dismissively, and then launched into a whispered explanation of what had happened. Casey listened with a furrowed brow, constantly interjecting with questions and April constantly hissing at him to quiet down and listen so that they would not be overheard. “He’s at Hamato Labs right now – probably still on constant sedation watch until they decide what to do with him. Dad wanted me to just go back to school today like nothing had happened, but –”

“You keep calling it a ‘him’. Did you get a look at –”

“Ew – no, Casey! Gross!” April let out a muffled shriek of indignation and punched the boy in the shoulder, though her quivering lips betrayed the hint of a smirk that Casey instantly decided was worth the shoulder pain. “I could just TELL that it was a ‘he’. He gave off a ‘guy’ vibe, I don’t know. And maybe the other one, too – though I didn’t get as good of a look at him.”

Casey seemed to calm down at this, as he leaned back in his chair with a grin and kicked his legs up onto the table – which April quickly shoved off with a jerk of her head towards the librarian’s desk. “Alright, so what’s going to happen to ‘him’ now? Or wait – do you get to name him as a new species or something? Like the ‘genus turtle-us, April-us’, or whatever?”

April shrugged, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the notebook that Casey finally realized was in her lap. The spiral bound pages bore dozens of doodles from throughout the day, all bearing features of turtles with cartoonish expressions. Several words had been written and crossed out in the margins, which Casey read aloud.

“Raph-ale? Donatello?”

The girl snapped her notebook shut with a ‘PAP!’ seeming to just notice that he had been looking at it. “Art history homework – another college course. Anyway, I should probably get back to class now. Thanks for letting me ramble – it’s just a really weird situation and I’m actually kind of glad to talk about it with someone that isn’t another scientist.”

“Well, I am definitely not a scientist, so no problem,” Casey flashed a thumbs up as April began to gather her belongings. “So, when do I get to see him?”

April froze, her hands hovering over her backpack. “Excuse me?”

The boy lifted his head to double check that they were alone, and then leaned closer to April. “You tell me all about some bizarre-o turtle man that might end up being on National Geographic or something, and then you won’t let me see it? That’s pretty low, dude.”

“It’s not that I’m against you seeing him – it’s just that I’m more than likely not even supposed to be mentioning the fact of his existence to anyone outside of the research team. Any number of hippie organizations or other laboratories would spring at the chance to claim him. Besides – if we determine that whatever made him like this is the source of an imminent biological or ecological threat, the lab is going to want to keep it out of the public eye until they’ve discovered a solution.”

“C’mon!” Casey slung an arm over April’s shoulder to keep her from standing up and leaving the table. “I won’t tell anyone! I promise – I just want to get a quick peek! It’s not every day that a kaiju saves your girlfriend – ”

“I am in no way, shape or form your girlfriend, and if you ever say that again I will punch you in the throat.”

“- from a squid! Come on – please?” Casey clasped his hands in a praying position and stuck out his bottom lip. “Please please please please please – I won’t stop until you say yes – please?”

April observed him for a moment with an expression of disgust, and then let out a deep sigh, earning a whoop of approval and a loud ‘Shhhhh!’ from the direction of the librarian’s desk. “Fine. I’m heading back to the lab after school anyway. You drive, and I’ll get my dad to sign off on letting you in with me.”

“Alright, all aboard the Jonesmobile, woo woo – ow! Why did you hit me?!”

***

The rest of the day went off without a hitch – though April would be the first to admit that she was less than focused during class. All she could think about was her interaction with the turtle, and the bubbling feeling in her stomach that occurred when she considered the fact that she would get to see him again that afternoon. Casey showed signs of distraction as well – though that was fairly normal for him. April made a mental note to ensure that he was getting his homework done and turned in.

When the last bell finally rang, the two teenagers hurried out to Casey’s old Jeep and gunned it to Hamato Laboratories. A quick knock on Dr. O’Neil’s door with no response told them that he was tied up on the phone, so the two decided to head towards the labs anyway.

“I don’t think they’ll let you into the actual exam room without my dad present, but you’ll probably be able to at least look through the glass,” April explained as the two rode the elevator down to the lower floors. Several marine biologists and lab technicians passed them on their way down, each stopping to ensure that April was doing well after the incident the day before.

“Didn’t you say he’d probably be unconscious or sedated or whatever?” Casey asked. He looked thoroughly out of place in the sleek laboratory building, all skinny jeans and beat up hoodie in contrast to the white lab coats and slacks worn by almost everyone they passed. Even April had grabbed her monogramed coat from the locker area before boarding the elevator and had thrown her hair up into a bun. Despite this, the eighteen-year-old still carried himself with an air of utter ease and confidence that April couldn’t help but respect. “Is that because he hurt you?”

April hesitated before answering. “Not specifically? It’s typically a standard procedure to sedate larger animals – particularly if they’re not reacting well to the lab environment. That way if they lash out, they’re less likely to hurt themselves or anyone else. But I could tell that he wasn’t trying to hurt me yesterday – it was just an accident.” She rubbed a hand on her side and grimaced slightly as her fingertips traced the tender bruises. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy explaining that to my dad. He still thinks that I was freaking out and imagined a lot of what I saw and felt.”

“How can you be sure that you didn’t?”

April’s eyes snapped to Casey’s as the elevator let out a ‘ping’ to alert them that they were nearing the correct floor. “Excuse me?”

Casey shrugged. “Nothing against you, but while this thing is cool and big and stuff, isn’t it possible that you kind of hallucinated him being… human-ish? I mean – maybe it didn’t really know that it was helping you?”

“No. He knew that he was helping me.” The words she spoke swelled with utter confidence that dimmed Casey’s doubts. “I just know it. You’ll see.”

Right as the words left her mouth, the elevator doors opened into a stark white hallway offset by the dark cement floor beneath it. Pipes and power lines ran the length of the ceiling in either direction, the whirring that they produced being the only sound in the otherwise quiet hallway. As the duo stepped out of the elevator, the motion activated lights immediately kicked on and flooded the halls with a dim light. A dozen heavy doors lined the walls, each accompanied by a keycard lock and a glass window to allow observation from outside. At the very end of the hallway, a large set of double doors beneath a glowing ‘Exit’ sign signaled the entrance to the garage through which creatures were delivered.

“Welp. I’m pretty sure we are going to get murdered in this hallway.”

April snorted and grabbed for Casey’s wrist, dragging him down the hallway towards Exam Room D. “C’mon, don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not. This… just looks like a hallway that someone in Saw would get murdered in.”

“Wuss.”

***

Despite her words of reassurance, April couldn’t help but feel on edge as well. She had grown up visiting labs with her dad and following him around as he worked. The smells of antiseptic and metallic surfaces were woven through her earliest memories, combined with days spent happily watching fish moving about in their tanks as her father helped to rehabilitate everything from enormous seals to tiny starfish. Such laboratories were what inspired her love of science and biology, and had always served as a safe place in her memories.

But even as she swiped her keycard and pushed open the door to the correct exam room, her recently donned lab coat rustling quietly around her, she could tell that something was very… off.

Casey stuck close behind, the warning of staying by the observation window clearly forgotten – or ignored - as the two walked hesitantly into the dimly lit room. April noticed that the main lights had been turned off – not unusual for when researchers dealt with deep sea or photosensitive creatures – and the only light being offered was from the panels that hung around the examination tables and over the door that led out to the loading dock. Filtered water gurgled in several tanks around the room, adding to the illusion that the room might have been located underwater or someplace hidden away from the rest of the world.

“Dude,” Casey murmured quietly. “I didn’t expect this place to be so creepy.”

“It’s not, usually,” April felt a palm along the white walls until she found the light dimmer and adjusted it just enough that they had a bit more light.

“Holy crap. You weren’t joking about how big he is.”

A large glass cage, usually reserved for seals, stood in one corner of the room. The bottom of the cage had been lined with a layer of sand, which had apparently been kicked up by the creature quietly whining and shifting inside of it.

The turtle within was currently laying on its side with his armored back to the two teenagers and one leg stretched at an uncomfortable angle as it seemed to be attempting to pull itself completely into the far corner of the container. A closer look told them that the turtle had been shackled, a large iron chain around its left leg prohibiting him from crawling into his shell.

“Yeah – he actually seems smaller than I remembered…” The red head hesitantly took a step forward, eyes watching as the turtle took a shuddering breath and twitched. He didn’t seem to have noticed their arrival yet – proving the recent sedative to be quite effective. “When he was moving around in the water I could have sworn he was taller than I was, but now he doesn’t even look five feet tall!”

“Tall or not, he looks kinda dead,” Casey suddenly strode forward to stand beside April and pressed one hand to the glass, tapping lightly with his knuckle. “Wake up, dude!”

“I doubt that will do anything, Casey – he’s really drugged up at the mo-”

As if on cue, the turtle jerked in its sleep and flailed momentarily in the sand, eliciting quiet shrieks of surprise from the two observers. They both leapt backwards as the turtle rolled itself onto all fours, limbs still trembling from sleep and head shaking this way and that as the creature attempted to orient itself. There was a moment of silence as he seemed to suddenly remember his predicament, and then the turtle caught sight of April and Casey.

Eyes shrinking to pinpricks, the turtle let out a squawk of terror and scrabbled backwards on his hands and rear end until the chain grew taut and he couldn’t retreat any further, chest heaving and eyes flicking in every direction as he searched for a way out. With a jolt, April watched as the turtle threw his body sideways against the glass and clawed at the walls. The laboratory room echoed with sounds of distress as the creature began to click and squawk frantically.

“Uh – do we need to go get somebody?” the dark-haired boy pressed both hands to his ears and furrowed his brow. “’Cause he doesn’t seem to be very happy about being in there!”

“We should probably get one of the lab technicians to administer another dose of sedative,” April nodded her head back towards the door, though her eyes remained on the turtle. The creature was still clicking loudly as it balled its hands into fists and beat them against the glass. “The walls should be strong enough to hold him, but he might hurt himself if he keeps freaking out!”

“Sounds good to me!”

The girl motioned for Casey to follow her, backing slowly away from the turtle and reaching out for the door handle. As they backed away, the noise seemed to falter and then suddenly -

“Help!”

April froze, her hand inches from the doorknob, and then turned to meet Casey’s round brown orbs. “Did you-?”

“Help!”

The two stared at each other silently for a heartbeat, and then slowly turned to face the panting terrapin. The creature’s amber eyes had tracked them across the room, and now locked onto April’s own eyes with an intensity she had never seen before.

“Crap,” Casey murmured under his breath. “What did you - ?”

“Tasukete kudasai!” The turtle pressed his trembling palms against the glass, eyes round and searching as they moved to meet Casey’s. “Help! Out!”

Next Chapter

[fabuloustrash05]

Courting a Salamandrian

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Words: 2531

Warnings: None.

Author’s Notes: All I got to say is that I’ve been looking forward to writing this chapter since I first started this fanfic and now it’s finally out and done! I hope you like it as much as I do! Also, similarly to Chapter 2 with Raph’s POV, this chapter will be through the POV of Mona, just to avoid confusion.

~~~~~

Chapter 6: An Unwanted Guest

Night begins to fall. Perfect time for me to be out on the streets again. I leave April’s apartment through the window, taking the fire escape - the same way I came in. Before I descend, I look out onto the city. The tall buildings begin to glow and the streets start to light up. New York is beautiful in the evening. The stars compete with the buildings’ luminescence. The city is also lovely during the day, too. But sadly, daylight hours are not for my kind. Nightfall is the only time when mutants, and myself, find it safe to venture outside of our lair. It is only then that we have a lower chance of being spotted by humans. Yet sometimes that chance is worth the risk. The taste of the short lived freedom is worth it. 

It's a shame we are not allowed to be out during the day. Maybe it's for the best. Bishop created these rules saying it's for our own good. Gosh, the city is more alive during the day! People are everywhere living their lives, crowded streets awake with chatter and activity. Humans of all kinds. I remember Donatello has explained to me that some humans can’t accept things that are different. But luckily there are some who do, like April, Casey, and Karai. Perhaps one day, mutants will be accepted by society - and my friends and I can be free from Bishop’s laws.

By the time I made it back to the Mutanimals lair, a large abandoned warehouse on the lower east side of Manhattan, it was fully dark outside. Carefully glancing at my surroundings one final time to ensure no humans saw me, I ducked inside. 

Dr. Rockwell was checking up on Mondo Gecko, who was lying on an old rundown couch. Mondo was now wearing a cast on his right leg, after his quick loss to Slash in their one on one fight early this morning. Leatherhead was peering over the couch talking with Mondo.

Without looking up, Rockwell says to me, “Welcome back, Y’gythgba.” 

I walk up to Rockwell and the others. “Hello, Rockwell. How’s Mondo Gecko?”

“He’s fine.” Rockwell answered, “He just needs to rest. He’ll feel better in-”

“Nooooo!” Mondo whines, interrupting Rockwell as he grabs his arm. “I-I don’t think... I’m gonna…” He coughs, “make it…”

Rockwell rolls his eyes as Mondo continues his over exaggerated performance.

“Mona Lisa,” he coughs again, “these may be my last moments here… but maybe a kiss from a lovely lady like yourself will-”

“NO!” I said, giving him a serious glare.

Mondo jerks up from the couch, completely healthy, and shrugs, “Eh, worth a shot.”

Leatherhead chuckles at Mondo as he pats him gently on the head.

“I can’t believe you're still on this team after all this time,” Rockwell mumbles to himself, loud enough for Mondo to hear him, as he packs up the medical supplies. Mondo turns to Rockwell with a shocked yet offended look. Rockwell then gets up and returns to his cluttered desk. It’s amazing he gets anything done with so many computer screens and monitors crowding the desktop. Yet, he needs them to patrol the outside of the warehouse. A better security system I have yet to see.

“Oh good, you’re back,” a gravelly voice interrupts my thoughts. I turn to see my friend and leader, Slash. “How was your time with April?”

“Oh, it was very nice. I always enjoy her company.”

“And no one saw you?”

“No, Slash. I was safe.”

“Well, you did take a big risk going out,” Slash reminded me. “You know we're not supposed to go out during the day.”

“Like you’re any better,” Mondo said, still lying on the couch. “He left a little while after you did, Mona.”

“I agree with Jason,” Rockwell said. “Slash, I saw you sneak out.” He sighs, “I don’t understand why you all insist on going out during the day when you know there’s rules.”

Slash’s eyes widened, knowing he had been caught.

“Well, why did you leave, Slash?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “It's not like you to disobey Bishop’s rules.”

Slash was silent, a look of embarrassed shock frozen on his face.

“He probably left to go woo that foxy fox again.” Mondo Gecko laughs.

“Alopex and I are just friends!” Slash said annoyed, “And beside I wanted to discuss with her the topic of joining the Mighty Mutanimals.”

“I thought Alopex already told you she’s not interested in joining the team?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips as I smirked at Slash.

“You like her!” Mondo exclaims like a small child. “When will you just admit it?!”

Slash ignores Mondo’s teasing and leaves the room, without adding another comment.

Leatherhead giggles at Mondo’s over exaggeration, then looks at me. “Since training ended early today, Slash and I decided to have another session later tonight. Will you be joining us?”

I smile. “You know I always enjoy a good sparring session, Leatherhead, but I will have to decline for today.”

Leatherhead continues, “Very well. We will be starting later, so if you change your mind and wish to join us, you can.”

I nod and head off to my bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I survey my quarters. It is quite a small space, but it suits me. Slash has told me it used to belong to a former member of their team, but they don’t ever talk about him. Raphael did tell me once that he knew him as “the world's most useless mutant”. 

Everyone was so welcoming and helpful, putting together my room when the Mutanimals offered for me to stay with them. April gave me some bedsheets and blankets for my bed that used to belong to her, lovely fabrics of a dark ruby color with a detailed pattern of pretty pink flowers. Although the pattern isn’t my style and I often wear blue, pink has always been my favorite color. Leo gave me some Spaceheroes posters to decorate the walls. There are also photographs of my friends, my Commander, and of course of my beloved Raphael and I. 

Shinigami helped with my closet, giving me many new options for Earth clothing. Like my favorite blue sweater I’m currently wearing. It’s been so long since I’ve worn my original armor, but I still keep it in a second closet in my room -  an arsenal of my armor and my weapons. Then finally there is my sword, mounted on the wall over my bed like a trophy. I haven't needed it in some time. No reason to carry a big plasma sword around when there are no criminals to fight. I still wear my wrist blasters from my old armor, just in case. Even when I’m not fighting, they do make a lovely accessory.

I lay down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. My mind cluttered with thoughts of the Earth tradition, marriage. An entire ceremony is put together for a couple who wish to join lives, just because they love one another. It sounds so wonderful. Being married and sharing a life together as a husband and a wife.

Then I remember what Raphael and I talked about last night. We're already in each other’s lives so maybe there's no point in getting married. Maybe it's best we stay the way we are...

Suddenly there was a knock on my door, “Mona?” Slash said from behind the door. I sat up from my bed, got up and walked to the door, opening it.

“Yes, Slash?”

“Hey, Mona,” Slash said looking rather confused. “Um, I hate to bother you, but Bishop is here. He said he wants to talk to you.”

Bishop? Why is he here? What could he want with me? Even Slash seems unsure of why the Utrom is here.

I leave my room, following Slash to where I see Bishop with the rest of the team. He stood there in his black suit, all seriousness and control. He was looking at my friends like how he always looks at mutants -- disgusted, like they are nothing more than low class citizens.

Slash and I join the Mutanimals. Bishop glares at me with that stern look always on his face. Never able to tell what he is thinking.

“Lieutenant Y’gythgba,” his greeting cold, emotionless.

I hold my head up high, “Bishop. What brings you to Earth? Your update inspection for us isn't for another few weeks.”

“I’ve actually come to talk to you,” he said, “I was going over my files this afternoon and I found this. “ He pulls out a hologram touch screen showing some written files. “This is the  contract the Utrom council created for you as part of your stay on Earth. According to these terms, you’ve been given permission to stay on planet Earth,” he continues, quoting from the contract, “as long as you are of use to this planet and its beings, such as assisting Earth in any cosmic threats, attacks, plagues, etc.”

“Yes, I am aware,” I said.

“Good, Lieutenant. Then, why are you still here?” Bishop asked.

My eyes widen. “W-what?”

“You and your Commander have agreed with the council and myself that you would remain on Earth to assist the planet if there were any future Insectoid, Triceraton, Kraang, or any intergalactic threat.” His tone is sharp, curt.

“Bishop, there hasn’t been any cosmic threats in a few years. This planet has been perfectly safe thanks to the Turtles.”

“Exactly. As long as your presence had utility to be on this planet, then you were permitted to stay. However, as you agree, Lieutenant, this planet has been at peace for years now. I think it’s safe to say that our agreement is no longer necessary, and neither is your presence.”

I stayed silent. In a way, he’s right. I mean, there hasn’t been any serious problems on this planet in a while. Only a few crimes here and there, but nothing major. Is my presence even worth being here? As a warrior, I am no longer fulfilling my purpose on this planet. Do I even have a purpose? 

Bishop continued, “According to the rules created by the EPF and I, only Earthlings are allowed on Earth, unless the non-earthling has an objective to stay. Since you have no importance here anymore, you will be escorted back to Salamandria by-”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Slash says, interrupting Bishop as he places his hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah!” Mondo Gecko proclaimed, stepping in front of me, puffing his chest out acting like a guard dog. “You may not think that she’s important, but she is to us!”

“She’s very useful, even if it is not for battle,” Leatherhead added. “She’s our friend. We’d hate to see her go.”

Rockwell agreed. “And not just to us, but to Karai, Ms. O’Neil, and the Turtles.”

“Especially Raphael,” Slash added with a smile as he looked at me.

I shyly smiled at my friends. Their comments were so kind, it warmed my heart. They care about me and they want me to stay.

Bishop was having none of this sentimentality. He was obviously annoyed, glaring at me.

“I’m sorry, Bishop, but I am not leaving.” 

My body began to slightly shake. Just saying “no” to him is a death sentence.

Bishop stepped forward, pushing Mondo Gecko, who still stood in front of me, out of his way. He leaned close to the side of my face. I could feel his breath on my cheek.

“Isn’t it a Salamandrian’s sworn duty to fight for honor and glory?” he softly growled. “A life dedicated to battle. You’re just wasting your life away with these mutants. You have no worth being here with them and being on this planet.”

“I-I may not be needed for battle,” I said strongly, trying to hide my worries, “but I’m needed by my friends on Earth, and that is what's important. I’m sure the rest of the council will understand...”

Bishop scoffs, stepping away from me. “Earth has made you weak.”

“T-that’s not true!” I said shaking, “Earth is my home-”

“You’re not of Earth!” Bishop says angrily as he raises his voice to me. “You’re just a guest who has ... overstayed their welcome.”

I say nothing. I don’t know if he’s right or wrong. Should I be letting him say these things to me? Why am I not fighting back? Is he right? 

Leatherhead places his hand on my shoulder to comfort me as he looks at Bishop and snarls. Mondo Gecko holds my arm and looks at me worriedly, as Rockwell looks at the Utrom with an angry glare.

Slash gazes directly at Bishop, “I think it’s time you leave, Bishop.”

Bishop stayed silent as he glared at us. He sighs with annoyance, fixing his tie. Finally, in a proper tone of voice, “Very well then, I’ll go.” He turns away from us and begins to walk to the exit. 

Just before walking through the door, he stops dead in his tracks, and turns and looks over his shoulder. His cold eyes peered through his dark sunglasses and met mine from across the room, sending a chill up my spine. 

“You can either leave this planet peacefully, or I’ll remove you from this planet by force. Either way, I will get you off this planet.” And with this vow still echoing in the room, he leaves, slamming the door behind him.

“That… was weird,” Mondo Gecko commented once Bishop was gone.

“Hmm, I wonder what that was all really about…” Slash thought out loud to us.

“Don’t look at me,” Rockwell said. “I can never read his thoughts. His mind is like a steel trap.”

“But whatever it was for,” Leatherhead added, “It seemed as if he was trying to warn you, Mona Lisa.”

“Or threaten me…” I added. “Why is he so desperate to get me to leave…?”

“Don’t let him get to you, Mona,” said Slash, trying to cheer me up. “He’s always tried to scare us mutants. He pulls every insult at us just to bring us down like he did with you.”

“Well, now you’re really one of us freaks!” Mondo joked before Rockwell smacked his arm, silencing him. “OW!” he cried.

Slash was right. I shouldn’t let this bother me, however I don’t understand Bishop’s sudden crude attitude. I knew from the beginning he was unhappy with my decision of staying on Earth, but he never took action. He told me that he’ll get me off this planet, but why? Is there something planned or something soon to come? Did I do something wrong? Or is he right, I have no purpose anymore to be on Earth. Maybe I’m not needed anymore, but my friends say I am.

 A Salamandrian’s purpose is to fight.

I’ve haven’t done that in so long. Am I even worth being called a Salamandrian warrior? What’s my purpose?

I know Bishop. He’s not going to let this slide. He’ll do anything to get his way, he could hurt me, or worse, my friends. Maybe Bishop is right. Perhaps it's best I… 

Must ignore these thoughts running through my head. I can’t let this bother me right now. I need to clear my mind and do something to help me relax.

“Hey, Leatherhead!” I said, “On second thought, I would love to join you and Slash for a sparring session!”

~~~~~

[TAGS]

@waferreyes for making the cover

@monarel @starfiretheninja @ryebread-02 @terra-mations @nerdgirllife @cesarin @kiaratheleo @petrichormeraki @watermelon-beauty-queen

(If you would like to be on the tag list to be updated on the newest chapters, message me and let me know!)

[arojenniferwalters]

No canon straight characters; using labels needed for canonicity? and period accuracy in fanfic

These are some random thoughts I have on couple of posts I've seen on my dash lately, so I'm just randomly writing down my thoughts:

1) most characters are not actually straight on canon because they don't specifically say 'I'm straight' or 'i'm only romantically and sexually attracted to people of the so called opposite gender'.

This is very true. In fact, most character never identify as straight unless there are non-straight or trans characters in the work as a counterpoint. Grace Adler says she's straight. Jennifer Walters is not lesbian. Peter whatever from Doubt is still straight when dating a trans woman. Kenzi from Lost Girl reciprocates Bo's coming out.

I recently wrote a long meta on another sideblog about how a character never identifies as straight and how the writing and portrayal lead to credible non-straight interpretations even though I know he's supposed to be straight.

So basically, straight characters are usually explicitly straight when it's known that not everyone is. If there exists character who are trans or not straight, other characters then might also express their straightness in response.

But mostly it's cisheteronormativity that makes us accept that unless they state otherwise, they are supposed to be cis and straight.

(Of course this gets complicated when we talk about rep bcus 'they didn't say they aren't x or y' doesn't really count as proper rep. But it's complicated, but like headcanons are fair game. Like, 'you shouldn't hc this canon straight character as not straight' isn't a good argument, because few character actually *are* canon straight. Most characters just have the potential to be or are in m/f pairings but that doesn't mean that straight is the only thing they can be.)

2) Labels are great. Labels tell people without a doubt who that character is and it is incredibly validating to see characters identify the same way you do (shoutout to Aled Last!). But does a character need to use a label to properly count as having this identity, if there is strong coding and word of god?

I'm conflicted. I really am. Because you can do a decent job of making characters gay/lesbian/m-spec without necessarily using a label (although not using it can be obnoxious, especially with m-spec characters), that's not necessarily the same with a-spec characters. Because there's not enough rep for us for people to read in and accept the subtext/coding. (Canon ace, coded aro is another issue but that's semi besides the point)

Here I'm mainly thinking of Raphael Santiago in books vs TV show, and comparing 2 word of god demi characters; Rivka of Mangoverse and Julian Blackthorn of The Dark Artifices.

So, book!Raphael for a long time was barely/maybe coded aroace and after he was killed off he became a word of god aroace through twitter. Then came 2017 and the tv show and new book appearances and suddenly he got to verbally say ace (and/or aro) things without using the label. I haven't read-read the books with that canonization yet but it seems to be very clear now that he is sex and romance repulsed aroace. Great.

The tv show canonized his aceness before the books did but they did it without using labels and basically making a mess of his romantic orientation (is he still aro? Arospec? Alloromantic who just didn't feel rom attraction much? He never did pursue a romantic relationship with Izzy after the addiction mess even though they acknowledged that they cared for each other, but was it romantic from Raph? We don't know! *throws hands in the air in frustration*).

As much as I love show!Raphael, "I'm just not interested in sex." isn't necessarily the best way to establish aceness. Mostly because if you google 'not interested in sex', you get articles on libido and how to increase it, with one article talking about aceness, but not in the title. But the fact that Raphael says he's always been like this, that he's never pressured into having sex and is at peace with his orientation does, to me, make it good rep. I still kinda wish he'd used a label though.

Then the demi rep: neither Rivka nor Julian identifies as demi in text. Shira Glassman didn't at first realize she was writing Rivka in a demi way, in fact the backcover identifies her as straight (kinda as a 'there will be no romantic tension between Rivka and Shulamit' way, similar to Bo and Kenzi in section 1). But when people mentioned that she seems like a hetro demi, Shira embraced that and while the world doesn't do labels the way we do, she is still demi. I love her and I am happy she exists and she is accepted demi rep.

Now, Julian is a different thing. In TDA, he is 17, the year is 2012 and the Internet exists. After the 2nd book, people started speculating that Julian is demi based on how he thinks about never being attracted to anyone but Emma, and how he had started to feel different from his peers when he didn't start experiencing attraction like they did. Someone asked about this from Cassandra Clare and she answered the ask privately, saying that if he was a modern, non-Shadowhunter teenager and he had access to information about the identity, that he would identify as demisexual. The issue is that considering the timeframe (2012) and everything about his situation, he doesn't have access to that label so he doesn't use it.

So. Here we have a canon demi character, based on coding and word of god who has semi realistic reason for not knowing the label and thus not identifying with it, even though he would if he could. But a lot of people don't want to accept that. And that's where my issues come from: Julian says and thinks some very demi things, and to me doesn't do anything that invalidates his deminess. Why is that not enough? Like, I absolutely want him to use that label, I want to read him say it and find comfort in it. But why is his character not demi rep enough because he doesn't use the word?

Rivka has similar reasons for not having the label (not our world and the terminology doesn't exist) and while I doubt there are that much overlap between the 2 fandoms, I am curious about the difference. Neither one is not identifying as demi because they aren't demi, they don't identify as demi because they don't know the identity exists. Yet both are still demi characters.

How much does a character have to emphasize that they've only ever been attracted to one person/very few people, with the author validating that reading, before they are acceptable demi rep?

Another point is Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess. That one has at least one demi character and maybe two acearo characters but they don't use labels. I love them all, but I feel uncertain about talking about Cid as an aroace character because she hasn't been talked about in that way the way Jayla has been. And I love Quinn and I cried when I read that the (pirate) ship has characters who identify as demisexual in a creator letter, but again, no one is using a-spec labels. It's frustrating. But it doesn't invalidate the rep.

3) I think the level of knowledge characters have on queerness should be an in-character discussion. Like, I've written characters as demi without the character using the label; I've written characters discovering a label; I have one fic where there's little possibility of the character having knowledge of the identity (because it's possible the label hasn't been coined yet). I try to stay in character about whether the character would know or have use for label and keep in mind the timeframe. There's a demi pairing I can't really write because neither characters exist in 2006 and beyond. Someone once complained that a book published in 2003 didn't describe the character as demi when the label hadn't yet been created while asexual worked as an umbrella term which included demis, so it still makes sense that the character would identify as asexual.

I don't think it's wrong to have a character be very knowledgeable about queer things if that's what you want to write, whether or not that's in character or realistic within the timeframe. Fanfic is about self indulgeance after all.

Some of that relates to what I'm in the mood to write. My magnum opus is 'this character is demi in all 78 eps of the show, but he'll only figure it out towards the beginning of the last season, just because I want that' and then I have another that's 'screw it, he has a better idea about his queerness but realizes the full picture in s4'.

I do try to be period accurate and think about whether or not the character would have access to the term. But sometimes I just want to have my faves identifying the way I want them to.

4) These are some very random, semi connected thoughts and I'm not even quite sure what the point was. I just feel like writing more about these things.

I am interested in discussing these issues. How much coding does a character need to be accepted as proper rep if the label isn't used? Can rep be valid if a random person reading it doesn't realize that there is that specific coding? If the book has queer readers, is there more leeway (sp) to not using the label, assuming that people reading a book with bi and trans characters or an f/f might also pick up the demi/ace/aro coding? If the author unknowingly wrote a demi character, does it still count if they accept that reading of the character and keep writing them as demi?

Anyway that was a lot of randomness.

[another-tmnt-writer]

Emperor’s New Clothes

Donatello x Reader

Emperor’s New Clothes

Author: Kitty

Summary: I was listening to the song and it just kinda hit me. Thank god, cause it broke my month long writers block.

Warnings: Piss-baby Donnie if that counts?

Word Count: 1197

“I’M TAKING BACK THE CROWN!” Your hand shoots out in front of you in a desperate, dramatic grasp. Your face shows nothing but pain as you sing your heart out, shortly switching to a smug and playful grin. The gritty sounds of Panic at the Disco’s Emperor’s New Clothes rings out through your speakers, surrounding you, taking you to your own little world. You may be standing in the kitchen of the Turtles sewer home, but with the noise pounding through your chest, your mind took you to a dark and dirty hole to hell, singing to all the souls that will shortly be yours. Edgelord. You were always dramatic, and always a theatre dork. Making your own mental music videos just made sense and happened often when you were alone. Being a natural alto caused a struggle with hitting all the notes, but every now again, you pushed yourself and could reach them. Today was one of those exceptions, hitting each note with accuracy and clarity. Your upper body ragdolls, only to fire back up as though you were made of springs. You hit your chest twice in time and continue to belt. “I’M ALL DRESSED UP AND NAKED,” One after another, your arms fire out in front of you once more. “I SEE WHAT’S MINE AND TAKE IT.” You fall hard on your knees and start pounding the floor with your fists until you spring up once more. As the song plays on you continue your dramatic little act, calling back to the video. By the end you’re panting but had a blast. Your throat hurt a little, but that’s not new when you’re trying to replicate the Brendon Urie. You return to your original task of doing dishes while the light and bouncy piano of C’mon starts up behind you on the counter. You sway and dance while scrubbing.

Naturally, unbeknownst to you, a few feet and around a corner stood one of the five people you had grown to care for so dearly. Donnie pouts between hushed snickers, because for once in a very long time he didn’t have a camera on him. He sighs and giggles at your almost childlike head bobbing. He gives up on trying to hide and enters the room, coming up behind you.

“Quite a show,” he remarks dryly. He tries to hold a serious tone for a moment but finds himself lightly laughing after a few seconds. His words make you jump. You become embarrassed, thinking, hoping, that he meant during C’mon and not Emperor’s New Clothes. You decide that he meant the former, because even the stoic and standoffish Donatello would laugh his ass off if he saw your ‘performance.’ Your spotify spits out Hard Times by Paramore as you stand in your embarrassment. A few awkward moments pass before Donnie’s half grin melts into his usual calculating and disapproving frown. A ruse Donnie didn’t like anymore, but had been keeping up lately.

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When you had first met he truly didn’t like you. He was convinced you were just around them to sell him and his brothers out. You had even grown on protective Leo long before Donnie spoke a word to you, other than the initial and blatant “I don’t like or trust you. Don’t expect me to.” Sadly, the reason he broke his streak is because you had messed with his lab equipment while cleaning, thinking he’d appreciate it (the road to hell being paved with good intentions and so on.) He spent 20 minutes cursing you out for being so invasive, let alone careless, then spent 4 days sulking, cleaning, and restarting his experiment. Slowly, however, his brothers told him stories of you during family meals and patrols. They were all enamored with how bright your personality was. How much you could make them all laugh or how you could find ways to connect with them while barely trying. It was all they’d talk about.

“Seriously bro, I’m telling you my Angelcakes is something to see when she really get into music.” Mikey starts dancing in the middle of his sentence. It starts with swaying, then bouncing. As his brothers scan the rooftops and alleyways, Mikey drops onto his shell and spins. He starts breakdancing to the music in his head.

“Knock it off, Mikey.” Raph’s words cut his actions quickly and Mikey rights himself. “She’s not your anything... “ Raph mutters. Leo stays quiet, but a small fond smile warms his face at the thought of Y/N and Donnie watches his focus be carried away.

“Oh come on Raph, you know I can’t help myself. She’s just so… So ugh lively,” Mikey croons. “She’s so beautiful and joyful and wondrous and-”

“Shut up.” Harsh words carry across the rooftop. Donnie was fed up. If he had to hear about Y/N this or Y/N that one more freaking time he was gonna snap.

Ohhhh, Y/N’s so amazing, she’s so funny and nice to us and she’s a good friend and totally not gonna sell us ouuut. Y/N’s our new best friiiend.

As Donnie mocks his brothers in his head, an unfamiliar burn spreads within him. His words slip out of him before he can catch it. “Whatever happened to us against the world? It’s too good to be true anyway, you can’t latch onto every human that takes a liking to us.” The remaining three all freeze up at the bite and venom in Donnie’s voice. They’ve never heard anything like it come out of their quiet brother before. It had them all just a little stunned.

“Donnie?” Leo asks, approaching Donnie like a live bomb. He gets only a grunt in response. “Don, are you ok?” Leo’s hand comes to rest on Donnie’s shell, gently. Carefully. Donnie brushes off the arm and storms to another side of the roof, peering over, pretending to actually patrol unlike some people. As he stalks away it dawns on him it was jealousy he was feeling moments ago. Why was he jealous? He had no reason, he was just tired of hearing about her. All the time. From his brothers that he adored.

And always had the attention of. Donnie groans and put his head in his hands.

That’s stupid. I can’t be that needy, jesus… reconnaissance. That’s how I’m gonna fix this. Observe her, then I’ll have the evidence I need to shut them all up!

    After that, Donnie had started actually staying in the room when you entered, and listening to his brothers stories. He never used to. He observed, took notes, scrutinized. In a matter of days you had gone from constantly forgetting Donnie existed to seeing him every time you turned around. Eventually, of course, he realized he was freaking you out and backed off, choosing instead to ‘act natural’ and strictly observe you when you naturally crossed paths. Or so said his battle plan. In the end he did end up siding with his brothers, agreeing that there was something about you but his stubborn need to be right had overridden everything, and he went back to acting like you didn’t exist, but admired you from afar.

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Hey guys, Kitty here. I'm gonna write this as hard as I can over the next few days and hopefully will be able to get y'all the next part soon c: As an exciting announcement however, your team of admins here at another-tmnt-writer have made a youtube account (channel?). Starting with this story, (and hopefully we keep it up for other stories,) if you click this link it'll take you to a playlist of music you might want to listen to while reading the story. Or not, you don't have to, up to you. Hopefully, soon enough there will be plenty of playlists up for you guys to enjoy c: I hope you guys enjoyed my first fic on this blog <3

[themakebelievediaries]

Catfished : Episode 16 : Finale <3

“Help with what?” you dry your eyes,

“It’s just…” Donnie is about to approach you until Raph stretches his arm across Donnie’s chest, “What if she is not herself?” he tries to whisper but everyone could hear him,

“I promise, it’s me” your try to convince them, but little did you know the purple glow in your eyes is throwing them off.

“Oh yeah?” Raph says hastily grabbing a piece of broken glass and holding it in front of your face, “turn them off”

You lean back as the glass is held in front of you and then you slowly look into it and it’s like the rest of your face doesn’t exist, just those purple eyes peering back at you, you want to scream but instead you place your hand over your mouth as you back away curling into yourself “Wha…. What is that? When..” you began to shake and hyperventilate, “I don’t understand” tears are flowing like an endless stream.

Finally Donnie pushes past Raph who sets the glass down and leans against the wall “Y/N” he says in a calm composed tone, he tries to take your hand, 

“No. Don’t touch me.” you cry rocking back and forth “I’m a monster.” April is instantly beside Donnie, “Hi Y/N, I’m April, I’m with them” she gestures to Donnie “what is the last thing you remember?”

Your voice is shaky filled with little hiccups from the sadness and fear that’s coursing through you,

“I was taken by them” you nod and Donnie and April agree with you “and they took me to a lab and showed me this video which I still can’t believe” you close your eyes picturing it, sobbing once more “and… and… I don’t know what happens next, I feel like it’s there but it’s in pieces”

“So you don’t remember anything from last night” April nods,

You hug your knees and lean your forehead on them, briefly wiping your tears on them, “I keep seeing fire and I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach”

April and Donnie knew exactly where to start, so they told you everything taking nothing more than 15 minutes, Mikey and Casey stood by the cell gate listening in,

“There was only a 40 percent chance but Leo was determined to take it and we are glad he did because you made it” Donnie finally says giving you a half smile,

You repeat what they say over and over and over in your mind, “Leo…” you look into Donnie’s eyes, when he hangs his head low breaking from your gaze, you cry “because of me?”

“You can help him though” April quickly assures you before you lose yourself in your emotions, “You can reverse it”

“How? I don’t understand these abilities, what if I become her again by trying to use them now?” they could see the fear in your eyes, “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“There’s only one way to find out” April squeezes your hand,

Donnie unlocks your cuff and you attempt to stand only to fall back onto the bed, April take a your arm and swings it over her shoulder, Casey immediately takes your other hand being the same height range unlike the turtles. “I got you” he smiles,

Their efforts to walk you to Leo are in vain when your feet fumble over each other, like they have forgotten how to walk.

You didn’t even see him walk up to you until he was right in front of you, your eyes start from his feet to his face, Raph seems to be looming over you with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face at first it seems like he not going to let you through but then without any warning he picks you up bridal style,

You hands by default go around his neck until you’re inches from his face, you turn away, looking ahead. This just got awkward.

He doesn’t say anything which makes this short walk even more awkward, the others are following along just as puzzled.

Even on the outside, you could sense the unpleasant atmosphere of Leo’s room, Raph for a minute hesitates to enter, he looks down at you and you nod assuring him it’s okay, his muscles tense up and he steps in,

You choke up at the sight of Leo’s pale body, Raph goes on one knee and surprisingly in a gentle way he places you next to Leo, he is lying on his side, his head on a pillow and a blanket pulled half way, his forehead is etched with sweat droplets,

The others stood by the door, Raph joined them,

“Oh Leo, how did it come to this?” you whisper looking down at your hands, really looking at them, following each line, your fingerprints “Come on Y/N” you say to them “You can do this”, you can feel the anticipation in the others out there, the anticipation growing within you.

You touch his shell and close your eyes and like a flood everything comes back to you, the lab, the transformation, the fight, what you did to Leo..

“Y/N!”

“This isn’t you.”

“Don’t get mushy on me blue”

“I won’t fight you”

And then you open your eyes, taking your hand off his shell, releasing a breath you didn’t realize you have been holding,

“Okay, Okay. Pull yourself together Y/N, that wasn’t you” you tell yourself and then you gather up all the courage you have and place your hand back on his shell, closing your eyes once more,

Concentrating on seeing Leo’s eyes open and his face light up with life, you remember your dream and you shake your head “No! You are not going anywhere Leo!” you say out loud, the others get concerned and they inch closer to the door, you focus and strain your mind to do something, anything!…….

Nothing.

Tears well up in your eyes “Come on!”, After a minute or so of nothing discouraging you, you begin to sob leaning your head on his arm, “Please..” you whisper into his ear, “just come back and I’ll buy you pizza” you cry into his arm,

“I’ll ~~~ hold you ~~ to that” 

You gasp and raise your head, looking at your hand its glowing purple,

“A-ha!” you laugh with the tears still trickling down your face and everyone runs in as Leo’s bright blue eyes wearily open, you let go his shell and your hand is still glowing, you hover it over your legs and you feel a tingling sensation “Woah” you say to yourself, April stretches her hand and you take it, standing perfectly still, you smile at her,

Donnie analyzes his health “Your heart rate is normal!” he says happily, Raph pats Leo on his shell “For a minute there I thought I had become leader”

Leo grins “You wish”  

Mikey just throws himself on Leo, squeezing him even though he groans in pain “Aww dude!!” 

“Mikey…. suffocating..”

“Mikey maybe you shouldn’t–” April is cut off by Splinters hand on her arm, she looks back and sees Leo’s smile and she let it go “nevermind” she pats Splinter’s hand,

It’s beautiful, his room now. Full of life and love and joy, joy that was taken away because of you, suddenly you wave of guilt coming over you like you don’t deserve to be apart of this,

You carefully sneak out into the sewers, up the ladder and into the cool streets of New York, thankfully you live just a block away, you sigh walking down the street, you catch your reflection in a shop window, the bright purple eyes piercing through once more, you tell yourself “This is who you are now”, you lift your dress ever so slightly the once elegant white silk fairy dress with a tear here and a tear there,

The watchman for your building had a look like ‘the hell happened to you?’  “Halloween” you give him a cheeky smile,

Oh how good a hot shower was, the hot water relaxing your muscles and joints, you stayed in there for a whole 25 minutes, 

Just as you were drying your hair, you hear the door bell,

You open the door to meet a wide eyed Beth standing there, she throws her arms around you hugging you tight, “I hate you so much”

You needed this affection so bad, so you squeeze her back, “I know. I love you too” you smile,

She pulls away, “Where the hell have you – Oh My God your eyes are purple?!”

Here’s your chance to tell her everything and so you do, from them taking you from the club to the lab and your powers,

At first she stares at you incredulously then a smirk appears followed by bount of laughter, “Aww man, how long have you been conjuring that up?” she laughs “I love the ‘my eyes are really purple’ line, nice cheer the friend up first technique, don’t get me wrong the purple eyes are a nice add on” she wipes a tear from her eye and gives you a look with an eyebrow raised “well? what’s the real story?”

You smile, “A friend from a long time ago, got sick, really sick, she needed me, she lives really far away and I lost my phone and couldn’t find you to tell you so I thought I’d make it up to you when I get back since it was only meant to be one day unfortunately I ended up staying with her for two days, just arrived today” you close your eyes already regretting your lie, “I was going to call you tomorrow” 

“Oh. I’m sorry about your friend” she says with sympathy, “I’m glad you are back” she smiles, 

“Thanks.” you nod, 

“Well I have to go Steve is taking me to the new sushi place that opened up on my block for our 3rd date” she smiles wide and gives you a quick hug, 

“Wait, Steverella?” 

“The one and only” she laughs, “you know I almost called the police, until I got a letter left at my club,”  

“Oh? what did the letter say?” you are genuinely curious, 

“Something about ‘its complicated but Y/N will explain when she gets back’” 

You smile to yourself thinking, Donnie. 

“Do you know who sent the letter?” Beth asks, 

You think hard “I….. would assume it was my friend when I told her about my situation” you shrug praying to God she bought it, 

She smiles “Well I’ll catch up with you tomorrow”. 

You lean your head against the door after she left, lies after lies you think, “Can’t fight this” you tell yourself, “I won’t fight you” 

“I won’t fight you” you think out loud, “where have I heard that before?” Your eyes grow wide and you were almost afraid to say it out loud “GreenNinja03”

You go over to your desk by the window, opening your laptop and reading your chat with GreenNinja03

Wednesday 8:09 pm 

NerdGirl4Eva : what are you up to tonight?  GreenNinja03 : reading a comic book  NerdGirl4Eva : I see, what's it about?  GreenNinja03 : a guy's brother goes dark and tries to fight him in a deadly tournament.  NerdGirl4Eva : Wow. Drama. 

 And just like that, there it is.... 

GreenNinja03 : much :) but the best part is the guy out of an act of kindness, drops his shield and says "I won't fight you" in hope jog his brothers memory, NerdGirl4Eva : Did it work?  GreenNinja03 : Yes it did.

You close your laptop, 

"I didn't have the right words" His voice startled you, your hand goes to your chest, he's seated on the window sill, 

"Leo!" you stand up, "aren't you supposed to be resting?" 

"Yes but..." he looks up into your eyes "I think you already know why I'm here"

"To give me back my phone?" you point at the little object he's holding in his hand, 

He grins, "Donnie didn't get a chance to hand it to you" 

You walk up to him, taking the phone from his hands, your fingers brushing against his, you look up into his blue blue eyes, "All this time" you whisper, "it was you." 

"Yeah... Donnie had this account for a game he was playing online, I borrowed his tablet that particular day and this chat popped up with your picture saying we matched", he shrugs "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I was trying to find the right time and well I couldn't tell you when I'm being shot by fireballs" 

You giggle, 

He grins watching closely the way you laugh, 

"This isn't what I expected" you say with a smile still on your lips, 

"I'm sorry I'm not some prince charming" his brows are furrowed and the smile is gone, he is about to leave when you grab his arm, "I'm not" you say taking his hand, 

Leo is surprised at first but then he rubs his large fingers over your little soft hand, just before bringing it up to his lips and placing a sweet kiss on it, his smile is back and his eyes not leaving yours, 

You bite your lip, "I'll be back with pizza" 

"You better." he grins and leaps off the window into the night.

No more secrecy, No more living in the shadows, You have found your prince.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note : And this is it. Catfished is over :’)  Thank you to everyone who supported and loved this series, This was meant to go up a couple of hours ago but I had a little mishap and long story short I had to rewrite half of it, I decided not to post the new series until Sunday but I assure you its already been written.

Much Love <3  Jo xoxo

[skyephilosopher]

Understood

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 DeviantArt Archive of Our Own expect html marks left over by my tired mind  ___________________________________________ It was more of a snarl than any English Donnie had ever heard. He felt his face contort as he forced it through the barrier clogging his throat, and he hated it. He loathed the manner with which he “spoke” and the way it made his little brother freeze and forget to breathe. All the anger only made the turmoil in his mind rage worse as the instincts fought to regain authority. Donnie clenched his teeth and shook his head madly, stumbling back and crashing into the wall. He voluntarily rammed his cranium into the stone, hoping far beyond reason that it would prompt momentary relief, but it instead nearly sent him over the edge. Donnie snapped his head up and released a howl of raw anguish.

“Oh, god, Donnie, stop!” Mikey cried, rushing over. “Donnie,” he said, softer, “stop it. Please calm down.” Mikey’s arms shot up, fighting to still Donnie’s thrashing head.  “Calm down.” At last, he got some hold when he abandoned the prospect of being gentle. He held his head firmly, forcing him to meet his gaze. Despite being so much stronger than Mikey, he didn’t yank himself free like it seemed his brother anticipated. Something in Donnie just melted when he stared into Mikey’s eyes and saw his reflection and wondered briefly how Mikey could stare so evenly at something so ugly.

“Donnie,” Mikey went on, his voice strained with all the strength he was putting into holding Donnie’s head, “calm down. I really doubt all that moving’s helping. Just lay down, take a deep breath, and relax.” His voice rose in a question, breaking eye contact to look at the battle raging beside them.  

“Everything will be just fine,” he said, bringing his gaze back to Donnie. “Just calm down.”

Donnie wanted so badly to comply and find a way to anchor himself. But he never gained enough mental footing, and he could hardly comprehend Mikey's words as everything in his head clashed. 

“Take a deep breath—” He couldn't relax. The animal, growing steadily more domineering, told him to do the opposite: rip himself away and ignore Mikey to jump back into the fight. It wasn't as though Mikey's fear scent was helping.

But he looked so determined…

Donnie shoved back the beast, asserting himself as well as he was able. If he let it win, then it would shatter Mikey's heart— all of their hearts. They would be disappointed in him for being so weak and hate him—

What? No!

The jolt of confusion allowed the animal to slither back in first with Donnie about to lose.

“Donnie, no!” Mikey clenched his teeth too.“Don't leave me— us.”  He jerked Donnie's head so he was once more staring directly at Mikey. “I've looked into confused animal eyes for too long. I'm not gonna let go of you without a fight.”

It's not your battle, Donnie's present sliver of conscious thought.

Suddenly, the animal made him wrench away with a growl, and Donnie almost slipped away completely.

“No, don't!” Mikey exclaimed, incapacitating the Footbot before Donnie could lash out. “Donnie, please. You're stronger than it. You can fight it!” He clung to Donnie’s forelimb and gritted his teeth, glaring up at him. “You’re better than it.” His face then fell, and his grip strengthened. “Please,” he said for the umpteenth time, “we’ve missed you.”

Donnie wanted to scream his frustrations, that he was trying, trying his hardest, as if that would help, but all that came out was a wordless roar.

“God.” Mikey's grip tightened to a point where it nearly hurt. Donnie whimpered, mustering enough willpower to relax in his touch despite the current roughness.

“Are you okay?” After a pause, Mikey led him away from the fight, into a corner. “Here.”

Donnie felt about as clear-headed as he did when he abruptly blasted back into the present. Better than very recently, perhaps, with Mikey so dogged next to him and the clamor of battle just a little quieter.

Now, Mikey wasn't helping the best, staring into Donnie's eyes. The animal wanted to purr and nuzzle him and show extreme, out-of-place affection. So Donnie broke away and gritted his teeth, hiding his face behind his massive hands and finally trying Mikey's advice, taking in deep inhales and releasing rather loud exhales that began to drone out the metallic, inhuman screeches.

Abruptly, Donnie shot up, disregarding the twinges of pain from everywhere on all limbs. His own panic flared, causing his heart to pound once more with the rush of anxious excitement. The claws that he had tucked in with much trouble now itched to unsheathe.

“Donnie?”

Donnie wanted to try to warn him, but he couldn't get his jaw to move correctly. The words died in his throat as the fresh wave surged in. A sea of ebony and a tangle of lethal instruments.

“Uh!” Mikey's head whipped back and forth, at last falling on his single super mutant brother. “Donnie, stay here.” As he whirled around, Donnie howled and lunged forward. 

“It's okay!” Mikey gave him a quick push. “Just hold on. Hang in there. Don't fight, whatever you do.” He screwed up his face, alternating in between left and right as he jumped in place. He rephrased, “Don't fight if you don't have to.” With that, he vanished in the swarm.

Donnie swallowed another wail and huddled in the corner, one hand outstretched with his talons glinting, his teeth bared. His lip curled back farther when one oblivious Bot staggered close with its back to him. He arm impulsively reached out, but he drew it back just as quickly, much to the animal’s displeasure. 

Donnie's head felt so jumbled, like five separate entities were bellowing orders over each other. A headache began throbbing behind his temple. Donnie pressed himself against the wall, unable to stop the deep growl from rumbling in his throat

I can't just sit here, Donnie thought, his gaze flickering rapidly over the wave. Why did he ever think he could let them fight such a futile battle alone?

He took a step forward before he properly tensed his muscles and measured his leap— though it took longer than it should have— and pushed up.

Hissing at the jolt of the impact, his paws— or could they be considered hands?— slammed down squarely onto one Bot, and it was sparking and inactive before it cracked its robotic head on the concrete. Too hastily Donnie tried to yank away with a claw snagged in its fabric, and agony ripped through his limb. Roaring, he twisted and slashed into the torso of a Bot he assumed had scored a wound across the small area of his exposed flank. He snarled and lunged without so much as a pause. Another Footbot connected with the concrete with a muffled clang.

Don't leave us. You're stronger than it. You can fight it. You're better than it. Hang in there!

In Donnie's head, Mikey's voice rose in a wail.

We've missed you.

Painfully, Donnie managed to make himself back off, just for a moment. Long enough to recapture his wits and look at his claw. It was his center digit, and the talon had completely wrenched free. Awkwardly, he bowed his head to lap at it, but he winced and stopped once the pain flared. Black flickered in his peripheral vision. Instantly, his arm flashed out to swipe at the Footbot. He missed by a lot in his alarm, and an instrument sliced his wrist.

Donnie was losing again. He struggled through the haze, getting some gears in his head to spin. Fight he would, despite Mikey's pleas. But he would fight with intelligence and put calculations into his moves for the best possible outcome, ruled only a minimum by instincts. As much as he could, at least.

And, it seemed to be working. The beast yet persisted, and it did begin again to worm its way back to the top. But it was eventual— slow. Donnie was still well half in control as he swiped and avoided the best he could manage. Perhaps, though, he did get carried away…

His lips were twisted into a snarl as his gaze raked over the room. All were dead, as he saw. Good. Donnie allowed himself to begin panting, though it did little to relieve the uncomfortable warmth.

“How did we ever get them all?” Donnie could indistinctly, faintly understand.

“Donnie.”

“No!”

Donnie blinked down at Mikey in surprise as he howled. Why was he upset? Donnie didn’t do anything wrong, did he? 

“What—”

“He was there.” Mikey looked close to tears. “Donnie was there and he <talked to me and—I-I told him not to fight—”

A short silence followed after  Mikey’s jumbled words broke off as he fiercely rubbed his face. After another moment, Raph looked up at him and hoarsely echoed, “Talked?”

I talked?

The pain that swelled in his chest as they stared at him with so much distress could not compare to every wound he bore outside. A wail rose in Donnie’s throat. Why were they looking at him like that? 

“Stop it!” he wanted to cry, but nothing articulate resulted. Were they lying? Mikey claimed he had spoken. When? When he had spoken? He had no memory of it. No hold on any of the moments Mikey had described.

Hold on. That sounded familiar—

Just hold on.

Donnie clenched his eyes shut and grimaced, baring his teeth. His wounds seemed to burst to life suddenly with new, biting, stinging fury. His limbs buckled, and he crashed to the ground. He buried his face in his arms.

How?

How could he?

How could he have slipped so easily? Let it win so quietly without him even noticing?

Without Donnie's consent, a low, mournful noise escaped his throat.

Their concerned murmurs came into focus as Donnie struggled enough out of the guilt to take note of his surroundings. He lifted his head to peer at them. With another sharp pang of regret, he realized they were speaking as though he was some dull animal.

But Donnie was more than that.

Donnie hauled himself to his haunches laboriously, grunting with the effort. Everything burned or ached.

“Lay down, Donnie,” Leo muttered. “You're hurt.” Donnie wanted so badly to reply, to say something remotely intelligible, but his jaw refused to move properly, and his tongue felt thick, and the blockade in his throat would not yield. The resulting noise was a strange, guttural one that distorted his already deformed face. Hastily, Donnie slid down and hid his head under his arms before he could see their bewildered reactions.

He trembled. Why can't I talk now? He grimaced and braced himself for a sob, but it never came.

Now it was anger that clouded his mind. The mutagen had robbed him of the ability to shed tears in response to emotional stimulation. One of the few things that was absolutely human about him and his brothers— and it had been stolen from him. He was nothing more than an animal.

Donnie swallowed the rising cry of distress and shifted his head to gaze at them forlornly, at least trying to express some intelligence in his eyes.

“See?” Mikey's excited voice startled him. He fell onto his hands-and-knees, beaming. “I told you he talked!”

“We never said he didn't.” April's voice, in comparison, was soft and thoughtful. She reached out but paused, glancing at him. She seemed to be asking for permission to touch him. A twinge of distrust and fear from the animal confused him further. 

After a moment, she hesitantly continued and brushed his arm while Raph said, “All he did was move his mouth weird.” Despite his tone, Donnie knew Raph wanted to believe that he was still in there and was present.

“Yeah,” said Mikey, “that was him trying.” He turned to him. “Right, Donnie?” With nothing else he could think to do, Donnie nodded, averting their gaze and examining his wrenched claw. It stung like fury.

“Wait,” Leo muttered. “Wait, wait, wait, wait…” He furrowed his brows. “Donnie,” he said slowly, articulating distinctly every syllable, “do you understand?” Yes. Again, he nodded.

Leo froze, his eyes momentarily clouding as though he were presently recalling some event. “Donnie.” His voice was little more than a weak whisper. He reached out, but he sharply drew his arm back before Donnie could react. “You're there,” he breathed. “Y-You’re Donnie.” Donnie's frown grew, and he tilted his head as he looked over Leo. He wished he understood what his brother was thinking, or had the strength to even begin trying to think beyond “he's not okay.”

The awkward embraces and overjoyed cries came after the immediate shock. Donnie soaked it up, drinking in their warm, familiar scents. Now, he couldn't help the purrs. As long he kept himself rooted and dominant, it was okay, he decided.

When he felt he was too vulnerable, Donnie heaved himself into a crouch, panting. Casey yet pressed himself against his right forelimb, and Mikey kneeled by his other.

“Why... arrre… we… herrre?” His voice was thick and guttural and utterly unable to be understood, as far as he was concerned. The last word trailed off and devolved into an inarticulate growl. But, he had managed. It distorted his face and sent painful spikes stabbing his throat. It probably wasn't worth it. Judging by their faces, they had no idea what he had tried to ask. Casey's grip on his lower arm tightened.

After a long moment, April quietly repeated, “‘Why are we here?’” and, when Donnie's face lit up, she smiled and said it again, louder.

“For you,” Raph said promptly. Leo elaborated.

“Do you remember why we came here the first time?” To prevent mutagen trafficking. But he did not dare try to say it aloud.

Leo nodded slightly, his gaze intense and his eyes gleaming. Donnie bit back a growl when he saw his reflection once more and forced himself to continue meeting his eyes evenly.

“Like Raph said,” he went on softly, “we came for you. Rockwell and Mr. O’Neil say they might be able to get farther with mutagen.” His eyes then narrowed.

“A blood sample too. But you wouldn't let anyone get close with that needle,” Mikey added. Casey's grip tightened more.

“Oh,” Donnie wanted to murmur, but not enough effort went into it, and it was instead a hoarse croak. He didn't quite know what they meant, but it was safe to assume Rockwell and Mr. O’Neil were collaborating to create some retro-mutagen. Faintly, faintly, Donnie recalled some burning malodor and an expression of disgust.

“But,” Raph then began, “you're hurt—”

“We're all hurt,” Mikey interrupted.

“—and we probably just need to go home.”

Donnie looked them over more thoroughly and narrowed his eyes. He very strongly desired to go on, but their injuries were concerning. Sure, they may not suffer exsanguination, but those wounds could easily get infected. Infections and fevers were not something they really needed— ever needed.  While lost in thought, Donnie absently began lapping at his toe.

“Donnie—” Leo had been approaching, but he froze at the sight of blood. “Oh, god…” Donnie flinched and lowered his arm, grimacing at the sight of the more clear, exposed quick. Unless they all wanted infections, they'd need to go home promptly.

“We need to go back to the lair,” April voiced his thoughts. “Now.”

Leo released a sigh through his nostrils. “We were so close.” His voice was soft.

“How about we go with stealth next time?”April replied.

“We would've, but Donnie…”

He couldn't help a snort, and he twisted to give the quick a few more licks before turning to Casey. He was too quiet, Donnie figured.

His lips were pressed into a thin scowl, and he stared unhappily into the distance. Then, suddenly, he bared his teeth and tilted his head downward. Sharp concern pulsed through Donnie, and he angled his head and pressed his nose to the small slice of Casey's exposed neck.

The boy jerked at the contact, drawing his lips back. He searched Donnie's eyes for a long moment. Then, he blinked and softened his features. He proceeded to lie his cheek on Donnie's arm for a few seconds before pulling away and resuming his glare, now fixed on Leo. “Where else are we gonna get mutagen?” He leaned forward. “They have to move their supply now after two attacks.”

Leo shook his head. “We'll find somewhere.”

“We have to!” Mikey insisted.

Donnie raised his arm once more but halted. He couldn't shake the feeling that this mission's failure was his fault. We're all injured, he thought. But had he influenced the decision more? Would Leo have opted to keep on going if Donnie weren't here? When he met Leo's eyes, all he saw was overwhelming pity and disappointment.  “It'll be okay,” Leo muttered

Donnie blinked and turned his gaze away. After a moment of shoving away his frustration and the urge to growl, which failed, he heaved himself to his feet and staggered forward, curling the tip of his tail as a way to beckon them.

“Okay.” Leo's voice was soft and soothing. But more anger swept over Donnie. Leo was talking to him as though Donnie was an incompetent animal!

B-But that was okay. He had gotten accustomed to talking to an animal. He’d start regarding him normally soon.

He pressed the furious surge down, flinching at the twinge of animalistic instinct as the beast was tempted out by the distracting, strong emotion. The inclinations were like a case of tinnitus, constant and grating.

Leo had trotted up to him, but now he seemed shocked and wary at the anger he must've sensed or seen in Donnie's eyes.

Donnie took in a deep breath and blinked, mustering some of the last dregs of his willpower to crush the unpleasant emotion. It was <em>not </em>Leo’s fault, and he had no right to be upset. He struggled to convince himself as he lowered his head and emitted a soft noise.

Now that every last motivating flare of adrenaline had gone out, his entire body ached, and his muscles shrieked with every moment and every laceration bit with near-impossible rage. He was tired of his slow mind and the persisting war in his head. He was… tired. All he wanted was to sleep.

Donnie's eyes flashed open, and he released a similar moan as he properly comprehended the upcoming trudge home.

“Hey, are you gonna be okay?” Raph muttered as someone brushed up against one of his forelimbs. He reached out, pressing his palm to his arm. Raph's brows were furrowed— all of their faces were creased. Donnie shook his head softly but then halted. He raised his head, butted Raph's hand as some way of reassuring him that Donnie would make it home alive, and took some more steps forward.

“All right,” Mikey said, “we're coming.”

Leo lead the way out. Donnie paused momentarily and let out an apologetic trill, directed at him, but, if he understood, he showed no signs.