TMNT
Together
Resume - After the return of Leonardo from south America, the relationship between the turtles began to change... fall into pieces. Splinter thought the change was due to the passage from childhood to adulthood, but he was wrong. Something was torturing his sons. Something no one would talk about. Trust vanished, leaving a cold and heavy atmosphere into the lair.
A tragic adventure about friendship, brotherhood, fighting, romance and well... humor.
Warning!
Further chapters will contain: violence, mental and physical torture, use of disturbing words, hardcore diseases and mature content
Couple of weeks after the 2007 movie.
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Chapter Zero
Decadence
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Lying on the couch like a fat cat, Michelangelo was zapping for hours. A Sunday afternoon, there was nothing good to watch.
"It is now the time for me to enjoy the presence of the TV, Michelangelo." said master Splinter displaying a large smile.
"There's nothing thrilling to watch, anyway... no offence to your tastes, master." sneered the orange turtle.
He gave the remote to his father, yawned and got up. He stretched his back and peeked a selfless look around the large lounge. Donny was silently working on a new invention. Mikey walked toward the concentrated turtle with sleepy steps. He stared at the metal pieces, but could not guess what the final result would be. Donatello subtly glared at his brother and meanly sighed. The brows of the younger frown of grumpiness. The purple turtle changed a lot after the return of Leonardo from South America. He was not as patient as before with Mikey and became more distant; constantly building new technical projects alone. Mikey ignored the warning and acted the way he always did. He needed to see a smile on the face of his brother. He picked-up some random scraps and place them on his own visage. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"I am the green mad Terminator and I am here to pierce your stone heart! MUAAAAAA!"
In the act, the orange turtle knocked down the invention that burst into pieces on the floor. His smile tensed. Donatello felt some strong trembling shaking his patience. He managed to restrain his anger.
"How many times did I told you not to come near my workspace when you are excitable?" he mechanically dropped.
"I am sorry, I did not meant to... I only wished to distract you."
"Yeah! That's exactly it... Distract me!" said the purple turtle with a nasty but calm tone of voice. "Distract me from my job! Because of your stupidity, I've lost days of work... again! I am tired of you. Tired to infinitely repeat myself! You know what? I've made a study about you and me. Result? I am loosing exactly 45 minutes of my life per day because you can't understand the expression: Please, respect my personal space! I don't ever want to see you at least two meters away from my workspace! Did I made myself clear?"
The metal pieces in the nostrils of Mikey fell, tinkling on the moist ground. He was so shocked by the speech of his brother that he responded nothing back. He returned a puny smile and left.
"Astalavista baby..." he muttered with a weak gesture.
Donatello kicked his destroyed invention with anger. And then, his heart started to ache.
"Mikey... Wait! I am... sorry..."
It was too late; out of reach. The purple turtle scratched the back of his head with shame and returned to his work.
The orange turtle sighed. The best way for him to forget about a quibble was to train until exhaustion. Raphael was already practicing some moves on the training floor. He punched the sand bag with an aggressiveness that made Mikey wonder how he could possibly manage to get so turned on by this lifeless thing. He sneaked near his brother. Raph suddenly stopped his motion and sadistically smiled at him.
"Want to fight with me? I'm bored."
"Yeah, sure! I need to train, anyway." happily said the younger.
Mikey pointed at the strange image glued on the punching bag.
"Eh! Is that a picture of Leo?"
Raphael eyes twitched. He rapidly removed the picture and folded it. His brother rose a brow.
"What? It helps me concentrating."
"Right... easier to fight against a picture than against someone as good as myself. Are you sure you can handle a training with me?" he teased him with a honest smile.
"Anything to snatch out that smile of ya." he returned with amusement.
Mikey did not really knew why, but the affirmation did not pleased him. It was just a joke... right? He shook his head. The fight started. The orange turtle dodged every punches and kicks with an ease that seemed to irritated the crudest one. And then, the combat became heavier and the cheerful feeling disappeared. The punches of Raphael were stronger. Strangely, his smile was still there... an odd smile that grown nervousness in the other one movements. Michelangelo ate a savage kick right into the stomach, but before he fell down, the red turtle seized him and pushed him onto the wall.
"Oh, come on. Ya can do better than that!" he sarcastically criticized.
A hand on his tummy, Mikey hardly strait up his spine.
"Yeah well... since it was just a training I thought..."
"A training? Oh Mikey, grow up a little. We are not kids anymore. We always have to do our best, even if it's a simulated fight."
"I guess you are right." he said, smiling back. "Let's continue, then."
This time, Raphael did not let him the chance to take advantage and buried him with tones of punches. Mikey hardly managed to protect himself from the assault. Fear took back his happiness. He fell on his butt. He immediately tried to get up, but Raphael kicked him strait under the jaw. His muzzle painfully met the floor. The victorious turtle deposed a knee on the carapace of the stunned one and leaned near his ear.
"I won."
"Awww, Raaaaaaph... it was just a training... there is nothing to win."
"Ya don't understand. Ya never understand, anyway." grumbled the other one, heightening his shoulders.
Raphael got up and returned to his sand bag. Mikey hardly managed to sit, rubbing his hurtful chin.
"On the battlefield, if ya lose, ya die. And there is no way I'm gonna die any soon. And ya should understand that before it's too late."
"I know that... but we were between brothers. You could have been more..."
"Gentle? Nice? Careful? Wake up, dude! Combat is not a game!"
"Yeah... not anymore." completed the sad turtle before leaving the training floor for his bedroom.
Mikey fell onto his bed. And detached his sweaty bandana.
"Awww, that huuuuuuuurts! Stupid Raph!"
If the younger noticed a changing in the personality of Donatello, he did for Raphael too. The red turtle became more... arrogant than before and he had a new way to have fun. His brothers were changing, aging. Thinking about all this just made him even more sad. He did not wanted to grow up. He took a deep breath and grabbed a comic book. He had to think about something less hurtful... forget about the real life... that was the only possible solution to feel better.
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The blue turtle served pizza on the kitchen table.
"Where is Mikey?" asked incredulously Leonardo. "He usually can smell pizza kilometers around."
"Probably resting from our last fight." sneered Raphael.
"Did you overdo it again?" he grumbled.
Raph opened his mouth to respond, but Donny took the speech from him.
"Well I... grounded him this afternoon. Maybe I was a little too harsh. I should tell him that I am sorry..." he gloomily explained.
"Why did you grounded him?" demanded Leo.
"Arg... about the same thing as always. He doesn't want to understand that I need space and tranquility."
"Then don't tell him you are sorry right now and give him time to think about it. Or he will forget about this argument and will come back tomorrow like if nothing had happened."
"Leonardo is right." completed master Splinter. "You are too soft, Donatello. Still, I can feel you want to change that fact. Maybe not in the best way. You can stay true to yourself and be more severe at the same time."
"I... I will try."
"Fine. I just want to make sure he is ok." ended Leo, vanishing from the kitchen.
"Great... doctor Leo to the rescue. I was enjoying the silence..." complained Raphael.
Splinter grumbled, but did not responded to the hateful comment.
The leader knocked at the closed door.
"Come innnnnnn!"
Leo smiled. He pulled the door and looked at his brother with interrogation. There was empty dishes on the floor.
"You already ate?"
"Yeah, wanted to eat in my room." he said with lightness.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"Right... well Donny said he was a little sharp with you today. Is everything all right?"
"Sure! I mean... I do understand now... that I am wayyyyy too much handsome for him to handle."
The turtles laughed.
"Alright. You are gonna come for the desert?"
"Already ate one, thanks."
"Oh... ok then."
"But, keep me a piece of pizza."
"Heh, heh. No problem, Mikey."
Leonardo got out. The smile of Michelangelo vanished. He was not felling at ease in presence of Leonardo anymore. Since the journey of his brother, he was not sure anymore who he really was. After all, he almost abandoned his own family... Mikey was always questioning himself after a ''speech'' from Leonardo. Was he sincere about his concern? Did he really always was telling him the truth? Mikey was also scared that Leo might chose to disappear forever one day... The heart of his leader was so hard to pierce and his minds impossible to read. But all this reasoning was terribly hurtful and Mikey thought he should just stop thinking about it.
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Four silhouettes were nimbly flying onto the roofs of New-York city. Since the death of Shredder, dangerous criminals were rarer. On this particular night, the turtles had to team up with April in order to get in the lair of a secret drug organization.
"Are you there, Don?" resonated a small voice.
"Yes, April. We are right in front of the building."
"Great. I can disconnect the security system for exactly fifty seconds. After the countdown, I'll have to reconnect it or they'll notice me. Tell me when you are ready."
"We will get only fifty seconds to enter this building." explained Donatello, looking at his leader like if the other ones were not present.
"Alright.'' responded Leo. "I saw an open vent on the north-east facade.''
''It is probably highly protected. If we exceed the available time, we are done for.''
''The vent is easy to reach.'' grumbled Raphael.
"True, but not for four turtles. Time is too short.'' retorted the genius.
"Then, we should let Mikey out of this.''
''Whut?''
''We will need him once inside.'' shook his head, Leo.
''I am not convinced about that.'' grumbled Raph, highly staring at his brother.
Completely insulted, Mikey intended to respond something back, but Leonardo took the speech from him.
''Let's find another entrance then.''
''Don, you have to move on. If I park here for too long, they'll notice my presence.'' told April.
''If we don't move right now, we'll have to resume this mission another day. No time for finding another entrance. Let's try the vent.''
''Alright.'' sighed Leonardo. ''Then, I agree with Raph, we should let Mikey guard the battleshell.''
''Guard the battleshell?'' exploded the younger. ''Why won't you just say the truth? That you don't need me at all!''
''April should not be left alone and you are the best person to keep an eye on her.''
The eyes of Michelangelo were so aggressive that even Raphael revealed some surprise. Still feeling guilty about the argument he had with his brother, Donatello rose a hand.
''I will stay with April. Maybe I could find a way to give you more time...''
Mikey smiled at the nice action of the purple turtle.
''Don?'' asked the small voice.
''Nonsense!'' growled the hot-head. ''Mikey's gonna mess everything up! He's never listening!''
''We have to move on, now.'' pursued Don.
''Leo!'' shouted Raphael.
''Raph... Mikey is stronger than you think. We are ready.'' cut off the conversation, the blue one.
''You can turn off the security system, April.'' said Donatello, giving his headphone to the oldest.
''Alright. The game is on!'' responded the human.
''We are gonna regret this... fearless leader.'' grumbled the red turtle accompanied of a mad expression.
Leonardo sighed at the wicked words, but there was no time to think about it.
Donatello stared his brothers disappearing, he then, joined his friend. He entered the battleshell with delicacy. April jumped from her seat.
''What are you doing here?''
''I'll explain later.''
Raphael was the last one to enter the vent. The passage was very long. Too long to reach the exit of it before the end of the countdown.
''Wait, Mikey! We are not gonna make it in time. We'll do this mission another day!''
''Think about the people we have to save. We can make it!'' he exclaimed before running toward the exit.
''Leo, only five seconds left.'' told April.
Raphael and Leonardo were too slow for the fast ninja in front of them.
''Mikey stop! We can't make it!''
''Still two seconds.''
''He's not listening, let's just run!'' shouted the hot-head.
''April, we need more time!'' ordered Leo.
Don responded.
''We can't do that! Abort the mission!''
''Mikey is already on the other side!''
Donatello restrain himself from turning back the security system. Raphael and Leonardo reached the younger.
''Ok, we are in. You can turn it on.'' murmured the leader.
''It took way too much time... I hate taking risks like these,'' grumbled the genius.
''Too fast for you.'' teased the orange turtle.
The security system got back, but an alarm had been triggered.
''Shit... I knew it was not a good idea to exceed the fifty seconds.'' said meanly the woman.
''Leo, April and I need to get out of their sight before they find us. I recommend you to abort the mission. These guys are not very friendly.''
Something shook the battleshell, followed by an explosion. The headphone of Leonardo started to heavily creak.
''Don? April! We lost contact. Let's go back, they might be in trouble. Mikey, stay behind us this time.'' added meanly the leader.
They rapidly ran back only to see a burning vehicle.
''Oh shit...'' exclaimed the red turtle with angriness. He turned toward Leonardo. ''Why are ya never listening to me! I told ya to let him out of this! Don't ya forget I know Mikey better than ya do! Ya were gone for two years!''
Leonardo felt attacked by the truth of those words, but kept his cool. Mikey started to tremble. It was all his fault again... It always was.
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April had to be hospitalized. Her wounds were very bad. Donatello was hurt, but nothing dangerous. The four brothers were silently sat before their dissatisfied master.
"The life of April had been endangered! What happened? Leonardo!"
At the sound of the name, Raphael stood up, bowed and left the room. The three remaining young mutants did not even had the courage to lift their eyes. Splinter rubbed his forehead.
"My sons. You forgot how to work in team. You forgot that you are brothers and not enemies. There is no respect anymore between all of you... no trust."
Splinter sighed. None of them were listening to him; stuck into their own minds. He shook his head and left his sons for his room. Master Splinter firstly thought that this behaviour change was caused by his sons passage from childhood to adulthood world, but he knew it was not the case. He felt that every of the turtles had a burden to hide... something that slowly consumed them.
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Years later
(The turtles are now 19 years old)
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"Join me and you'll become the most powerful one. Come with me, and I will show you how to avenge your sadness."
"How… how could I become the most powerful? I'm nothing more than a failure…"
"Weaknesses are the key to their loss… Weaknesses, my apprentice, are the most powerful tools you own against an enemy you know. Use them. Use this tools against your own Master, and kill him for me…"
The night was chilling. The sky seemed angry, hiding all the stars and the moon. A child was standing before a large wooden door with blank thoughts. His eyes were emotionless, but at the same time, aware of what he was gonna accomplish. He grabbed his double sword and placed a victory smile on his furred face. He heard voices and laughing that he knew very well, from the other side of the door. It opened. He jumped forward without any noise. A painful yelling pierced the silence. Two very young ninja fell on the ground, arms and neck sliced. The last ninja, completely shocked, could not even flee.
"Why…" hardly placed the terrorized kid between two trembling.
"Your presence is a nuisance."
The screaming was stifled by the merciless sword. We heard a strong grin. And then, the gaze of the mad child turned toward a small figure covered by the darkness. Trembling, the remaining mutant disinterred miserably his own weapon.
"You are not going any further." he courageously said.
"You should consider this as an invitation, my dear friend. Come… come with me and we'll rule the world."
"Stop spouting non-sense! What is power if… it's stabbing your own friends behind their back!"
"They were on the way. And if you don't want to be on the way yourself, stay by my side."
"You are crazy! You don't even know what you are saying anymore."
"Shut up! You never takes me seriously! You never shows me any respect! I let you the chance to change this tonight, but you screwed it up."
The mad child jumped before the other one. He approached his mouth near the ear of his friend.
"You always had been the one. The one to support and love me. I'm so glad we met. So glad to have been treasured by you…"
A kiss soiled their lips. Tears tumbled down. A nasty smile disfigured the horrible ninja and his double sword rose.
"Sayonara…"
Two wide open eyes appeared from the darkness of the room. The silhouette was hardly breathing, completely scared. That nightmare again... A paw slapped abruptly the ringing alarm-clock. He took a deep breath. Teeth shined because of a smile. Today, was a good day. He was waiting for the ninja turtles.
End of Chapter zero
What's next?
:: Aurora ::
The turtles were on the edge and master Splinter had tried everything to restore the respect between them. He sensed that his family was about to break apart. Leaded by the fear of losing his sons, he asked for help from a special fellow...
P.S. (The actual story had been written months ago. But I rewritten it all over and highly improved the plot.)