Title: "Starting Over - Again?"
Author: Kat Lee, formerly Pirate Turner
Rating: G
Summary: There's one thing they'll never have to start over.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
The four brothers stood looking at the destruction of their home. The younger stooped and began leafing through torn and tattered comic books with tears in his eyes. Raphael grabbed what was left of his sai collection and headed back out into the sewer, throwing Leonardo so hard against the wall that their eldest brother had trouble rising again. Yet rise he did and immediately followed Raphael.
Left to himself, Michelangelo looked around him one more time before trailing after Donatello. He found him standing alone in his laboratory and gazing forlornly at his destroyed inventions. Each of the instruments was something that could have helped mankind so much, and most had saved their lives several times over. Yet, now, they all lay in crumpled pieces at their genius creator's green feet.
Donatello sniffed. His tears were stopped from falling by Mikey's quick and tight hug. He rubbed his shell. "You can rebuild them, make them better than ever before."
Donnie clung to his little brother and nodded his head slightly in acceptance of the truth of his words. What was left unsaid, however, was that he shouldn't have to rebuild them, they shouldn't have to rebuild their lives and home yet again, and that, no matter how times they did have to start over, there was one thing that not Shredder, the Foot, or any other enemy could take from them. Their was one thing that could never be stopped or destroyed, and that was the love they shared.
The End
