Disclaimer: Ninja Turtles are not mine. Please do not sue and no flames.

One Tragic Day

After breakfast, the 13 year old turtles entered the dojo and started doing their stretching exercises. When Splinter entered, the turtles stopped stretching and formed a straight line.

"We will be doing training differently today," Splinter said. "Leonardo, please step forward."

Leo stepped forward and inquired, "What's going on?"

"I will be training you on how to run the sessions," Splinter replied. "I will not always be around to do so."

"Of course you will," Mikey said with a grin. "It's not like you'll die anytime soon."

"We should always be prepared," Splinter said firmly. "You never know when tragedy will strike."

"What should I do first?" Leo asked.

"First, I want you to take a defensive stance," Splinter instructed and Leo did just that. "The rest of you are to try to break that stance."

Donny, Mikey, and Raph used their skills to try to defeat Leo. None of them were able to do so.

"I'm not giving up so easily," Raph said, charging towards Leo who fell to the ground when his brother collided with him.

"Good job," Leo said and then Raph helped him up. "Now we will work on sparring with our weapons."

The turtles got out their weapons and took turns sparring against each other. Splinter decided to stand near the wall.

Several minutes later, the turtles practiced hand-to-hand combat. Eventually, Splinter stopped them and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Excellent work, my son," Splinter said proudly. "Keep in mind that teaching a training session will not always be easy. Now you may dismiss the class."

"Yes, Sensei," Leo agreed and then turned to his brothers and said, "You are all dismissed for now."

Mikey and Donny raced for the television in the entertainment area. The two of them were planning to watch cartoons.

Mikey turned on the TV and searched for the cartoons. On every channel, it showed a news report where a couple airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center.

"That's the World Trade Center," Donny pointed out, recognizing the buildings from the books he had in his lab.

"GET IN HERE!" Mikey screamed. Leo, Raph, and Splinter rushed in and saw the tragic news on television.

"Everything all right?" Splinter asked with concern and then saw the news on TV. "Like I said, you never know when tragedy will strike and this is a major tragedy we are seeing."

The news reporter announced that lots of people had been killed or injured. Some of the people were trapped under the rubble.

"I can't believe someone would do something like this," Raph said angrily, unable to stop the floodgates from opening which he usually felt he was too old for. However, at that moment, he didn't care.

"Unfortunately, there are bad people in the world and these people that crashed the planes into the buildings are some of them," Splinter said unhappily.

"Thanks to those people, lots of people are either injured or lost their lives," Leo said, his voice breaking.

"The people that crashed the planes are referred to as terrorists," Donny pointed out, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"I hope those terrorists get punished for what they did," Mikey said, the floodgates opening. Donny wrapped his arms around Mikey who returned the gesture and broke down completely. Donny gently rubbed Mikey's shell and rocked him back and forth.

Leo and Raph wrapped their arms around Splinter who returned the gesture and all three of them broke down completely. Donny felt his eyes pricking so he closed his eyes, took deep breaths, and then opened them again once he won the battle.

Later that night, Mikey woke up when he heard one of his brothers break down completely. He tracked down the sound and found that it was coming from Donny's room.

Mikey entered the room and found his brother in his bed with his face buried in his pillow and his whole body shaking. He carefully slipped into the bed and wrapped his arms around his brother who returned the gesture and broke down completely again. Mikey gently rubbed his brother's shell. Several minutes later, Donny pulled away and was surprised to see Mikey in his bed with him.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Donny inquired while sniffling.

"I heard you break down and I came to make sure you were all right," Mikey replied.

"Why would anyone do something that would cost others their lives?"

"I wish I knew but I don't."

"I'm just grateful we're still alive."

"True."

"There were so many lives lost today and some people are still trapped," Donny said, his voice breaking.

"Hopefully, the rescue people will try to save as many lives as possible," Mikey said.

"That doesn't mean that all of the lives will be saved."

"Either way, they'll do what they can even if they fail."

"That won't bring back the innocent people that lost their lives," Donny pointed out.

"Not to mention the pain those terrorists caused for the families of the people that lost their lives," Mikey said.

"The people that lost their lives are called victims."

"Good to know."

"Would you be able to stay here tonight?"

"No problem."

Mikey wrapped his arms around Donny who returned the gesture and broke down completely again. Mikey gently rubbed his brother's shell until the two of them fell asleep while holding each other.

The End