Ocean Song
By Kellie Fay
Disclaimer:
The TMNT belong to someone else not me. I'm not even sure who anymore but I know it's not me.
I've had this one sitting for a while so I could finish my Danny Phantom fic "The Siege." I love marine life (okay I love all animals) and this one has been in my head for quite some time. In order to completely understand this fic you should go back and read "A Turtle's Tail Tale, And the "Shadow Spirit" Where Benten and Dr Thomas were introduced.
Prologue
Help us, help us, you must help us. He didn't know this place. Darkness swirled all around him. A freezing cold crept up and down his legs, through his shell, and all around him.
Who are you? Where am I? How can I help you? He tried to say, but for some reason he could not use his voice. His limbs flailed wildly through space, but he could not see or make a sound. He could only sense of the movement of huge shapes moving past him.
Help us, we're dying, help us.
I can't help you if I don't know who you are. What's going on? Where - "Are you?" Donatello sat up abruptly feeling his lower back tighten and cramp in protest. Once again his over tired body decided to use his keyboard as a pillow instead of going into bed.
"I have got to stop doing this to myself," he muttered. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about helping their friend Doctor Robert Thomas with his little side project, but he knew he didn't dare tell any of the others about it yet. Leonardo and Raphael would completely freak out if they knew the source of his research. Splinter nearly did. Michelangelo would probably understand, but he'd never be able to keep the secrete. He rubbed at his eyes trying to get the persistent ache in the back of his skull to go away. Two weeks ago Doctor Thomas approached Donatello with an unusual dilemma.
"Don I need your help," Rob said looking slightly unsettled.
"What with?" Donatello asked helping the veterinarian clean up his examination room. Today Rob helped a family with some of their pet turtles, and he asked Don to come over for some insight, and their usual game of how his mutation had changed his physiology.
"An old friend called me the other day. She's doing some marine research out in Alaska and she has a problem."
Donatello finished tossing out the used gauze. "Alaska?" he asked "Kind of cold up there, but what does this have to do with me?"
Rob sighed. "Apparently a major glacier is melting in her research area, and it's making some of the animals sick." He pulled some photographs from an envelope, and handed them to Donatello. "Here, tell me what you think."
The photographs were of simple single celled organisms that Donatello never saw before. "Those are some really nasty looking prokaryotes," Donatello commented, the feeling in his stomach should have been a warning. "Are they some kind of new bacteria?"
Rob nodded. "The fish don't seem to mind them, but a lot of the larger mammals that live there are getting quite sick."
Donatello had a sinking feeling inside of his shell he knew where Rob intended to take the conversation, but he tried to be wrong. "So I repeat what does this have to do with me?"
"It has to do with a number of small protozoans that live in your bloodstream Don." Rob said with a sigh.
Donatello snapped around now angry. "Rob, you swore! You swore you'd never tell any-"
"Don I didn't!" Rob shot back. "Kristi was one of the Columbia students at the time who did the analysis of the first samples you and Leo gave me when Splinter was sick. She promised me she destroyed all the samples I brought to Columbia when it happened, but-"
Donatello sighed, and let the anger wash out of him. "No scientist worth their salt ever gives up notes even if they're not useful to them at the time."
Rob nodded. "Kristi remembered the serum we worked out, and how aggressive those cytokine cells were at destroying any bacteria that didn't belong in living organisms. She did quite a few tests for me back then, and she never forgets anything."
"You didn't tell her your source did you?" Donatello knew that Rob could be trusted but years of training made him ask anyway.
Robert shook his head a clear negation. "Of course not Don. I told her it was complicated and I might not be able to get her another sample. She still doesn't understand why I didn't want to do more research on them, or why I had her destroy the original sample."
Donatello understood that. If Rob had wanted to he could have gotten some major papers and maybe some research grants for discovering a new bacteria fighting medicine. Heck he himself wanted to do more research on the protozoans in his blood and the cytokines they produced, but there was no way he could ever convince any of his brothers to let him take a blood sample. "Why do I have a feeling this conversation will end up me giving you my arm?" He asked wryly.
Rob tugged nervously on the beaded necklace around his neck. "Don, I just want to see if I can culture the cells, and produce the cytokine in larger quantities. If it doesn't work I'll tell her I can't get any more. I've tried to say no to her before, but she's running out of options, and she's called me three times this month. A lot of animals are going to die if she doesn't come up with a solution."
Leo is going to kill me if he finds out, Donatello thought to himself then hopped up on the clean examination table, and said. "All right, Rob, lets get this over with."
In the end Donatello didn't feel so bad about it. Rob assured him that he wanted Donatello's scientific expertise in addition to wanting Donatello's blood. "Heck," he said saying goodbye to Donatello later, "Maybe you'll come up with something Kristi and I haven't thought of yet and I won't have to use your blood at all."
Donatello smiled. "It would be worth it if it keeps you from sticking needles in me," he teased.
Later Donatello realized it would be worth it if he didn't faint in front of his brothers. Unfortunately he did so soon after getting home. He thought he felt well enough for practice but after taking a quick swing at Raphael he found himself on his knees in the dojo wishing it would stop spinning.
"Whoah Don!" Michelangelo said spinning around to catch him.
"Donnie!" Instantly Leonardo knelt at his side.
"Are you all right?" Michelangelo said.
Donatello shook his head to clear it, but that only made things worse. "I...I was just a little dizzy for a moment."
"Donatello, my son look at me," Splinter commanded.
Still trying to get his equilibrium back Donatello managed to look his sensei in the eye.
Splinter looked at Donatello for a full minute before issuing his next command. "Michelangelo, help your brother to his room, and settle him into his bed."
"Yes Sensei," Michelangelo said. Despite Donatello's protests Michelangelo got him quickly tucked into bed.
"Mikey," Donatello complained, "I'm all right, I just got dizzy for a moment."
"No way Don," Michelangelo answered firmly. He absolutely loved being able to order one of the others around. "You nearly passed out on us. Do you want to tell me why or should I send Sensei in here to find out?"
In the end Donatello did tell Splinter. He scolded Donatello severely for not telling him, and for allowing Doctor Thomas to take the blood sample, but Donatello argued his case, and Splinter couldn't say much in the end."
"Sensei if Leo and I didn't give him our blood samples in the beginning we would never have been able to save your life!" Donatello insisted. "Even if Rob's friend didn't know us she helped us. The least I could do is try to help her."
Splinter frowned, but in the end he sighed. "I should know better than to get into an argument about a scientific problem with you my son. Please do not give Doctor Thomas any more of your blood, or at least do not unless you ask my permission. I do not wish for you to become ill helping these researchers."
"I won't sensei," Donatello assured him. But that night he had his first dream.
So what does this mean? Why am I having these dreams? The worst part of these dreams were they never ended. Even awake Donatello could feel them in the back of his mind. He knew that they were connected somehow with Rob's project, but he didn't know how. Lately he didn't want to go to sleep at night, because somehow he knew that the dreams would take over his mind. He didn't tell anyone about the dreams yet. He thought Leo and the others would blame Rob, and he knew the man didn't know anything about it either.
I am losing my mind slowly, or maybe rapidly, he thought to himself with a sigh. Feeling his eyes close on their own accord he jumped up from his seat, and looked down at his bed. "Sleep a refuged from the day's struggles? Hardly." he muttered to no one in particular. Still he had no choice in the matter he had to sleep. With a heavy sigh Donatello sat down then laid down upon his bed and covered himself up. The moment he closed his eyes he found himself back within the pool of darkness surrounded by the same large beings calling to him.
Help us, we're dying, you can help us.
