Hey howdy hey wassup!? Glad thatcha stuck with me. Did you all enjoy the last chappie? I hope ya like this one too.
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Fly away Chapter 3: Tears of a father
Splinter's POV
Two months ago: The night the turtles got captured.
I sit back and listen to them as their footsteps and laughter slowly fade down the sewer tunnels. Ahhh. My son has returned and everything is returning to the way it was before he left. I'm glad that they are going out. They all needed the fresh air and rexlation. I glance down at the practice dummy I'm currently repairing. I missed Donatello so much while he was away. I suddenly realize that I have not spent time with all my sons just simply for fun and play in a long time. I think that I should go join them but would they want that? They are teenagers now. They don't seem to want to "hang out" with me so much anymore.
I make my decsion and set the practice dummy and sewing equipment down. It will have to wait. As I leave I notice that the door to Leonardo's room is open. I walk up and shut it. As I shut his door I notice that his book, Romeo and Juliet, is not on his nightstand. His usual resting place for all the books he reads. He must have decided to take it with him.
I exit the house after making sure the security systems are online and all the lights are out. I silently plod through the sewers thinking about how happy all my sons looked when they left.
Suddenly I get this odd feeling. Like my sons are in some kind of trouble. It's probably nothing too severe. I stop and realize that I missed the first manhole cover. Well the next one's just up ahead no use going all the way back.
I climb up the ladder and up onto the street. I can hear the engine of a helocopter so I am careful and stick to the shadows as much as I can. I climb atop a building and see that the heocopter is on top of a nearby roof. As I look closer I see that there are people on the rooftop. It looked as if there was a fight and as I got nearer I could see that they were loading people onto the chopper. I couldn't see who it was but whoever they were loading was tied down onto a bed. I ran in hoping that I could help them but was too late and the chopper took off.
The wind from it almost knocked me down and I saw pages of a book spiral upward following the flow of wind. I bent down and picked one up. It was worn and ripped. It had odd stains on it much like the kind you would get from sewer water.
I stopped. Sewer water? Oh no! I quickly began reading the page.
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? Tis the east and Juliet is the sun." It read. I skipped down a bit and read even further. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."
I followed the stream of pages to their source and found the rest of the book. There it was lying on the ground wrinkled and stained a light green. upon closer examination of the book I noticed that it was also stained red in places. Deep, dark splotches that ate away at my spirit like cancer.
I picked it up and tears made their way through a dam that had been closed for years and they now flowed freely through my already soaked fur.
It smelt heavily of my eldest. Of Leonardo. It also smelt of worry and fear. That's who the chopper was carrying right now. My sons. I fell to the ground sobbing uncontrollably. Their first night of happiness in months only to have their hope and freedom ripped away from them. I quickly stood back up. Book in hand.
"There is no time for this." I said to the darkness. "My sons need me."
I took off running. Knowing exactly where to go. April Oneil's. Her and Casey were going to watch movies at her place tonight. I hated to ruin a night like this for them but, I had no choice. I ran full speed completely oblivious to the rain that had now soaked me and not caring whether I was seen or not. I reached her house and lept down onto the fire escape without stopping to time the jump right.
Yes they did indeed keept their date for I could hear the telivision even through the rain and it was rather obvious that they were watching a horror because I could also hear April's screams. I moved to a window that was closer to the couch that they were on and tapped on the window.
The response was immediate. April screamed and jumped off the couch and Casey started laughing hysterically. She then brought her gaze over to where I stood and a look of worry crossed her face.
She knew. She knew that something was dreadfully wrong and her worry replaced her embarrassment and she ran over towards me and opened the window.
once I got inside Casey handed me a towel and April led me to the couch, the movie abandoned. She looked at me and asked the question that I had been dreading the entire trip up here.
"Master splinter?" She asked. "What's wrong?"
"My sons." I whispered. Trying desperately to hold back tears. "Someone has taken my sons."
"WHAT!!" Casey shouted. "How? When?"
"I do not know." I said
"Wait. Hold on a second." April said. "How do you know it was them who got taken and not just someone else?"
"Because I know it in my heart and... because of this." I held up Leonardo's book. The one I had found on that rooftop only moments ago.
"Don't cha worry mastah splintah. Were here. We'll help ya find your sons." Casey assured me. "Besides, Raph's my best bud and I ain't gonna let him go without a fight."
And so, our search began.
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Two months later.
Still no sign of splinter's sons.
I promised myself that I would never resort to drinking such a vile substance to stay awake but sleep has taken it's toll on my searches and I felt an ever growing need to stay awake. I am now on my third cup of coffee.
"Splinter?" I had heard that voice quite often in the past two months.
"Splinter you really need to get some sleep." April said as she gently gripped my shoulder. "Overworking yourself is not going to help your sons any."
I silently nodded and allowed her to guide me to her guest room. Ever since the night that my sons disappeared I had been so worried and exhausted that I kept overworking myself. She finally got fed up with it one night when I had collapsed out of exhaustion and did not answer the phone when she called me. Well, she came over and found me passed out on the floor and when I came to she announced that I would be staying at her place until we found my sons and here I have stayed. As odd as it sounds she not just a mother to my sons but to me as well.
She rolled the sheets back and I sat down on the bed removing my robe. Under normal circumstances. I would never have allowed her to see me without my clothing but I had not had any sleep in a week and it was finally affecting me. I collapsed onto the sheets tucking my legs underneath the blanket as she covered me and the last thing I heard that night was her soft voice whisper "Goodnight Master Splinter."
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I awoke the next morning to shouting and what sounded like a very ticked off Casey. I looked at the clock. "Holy crud!" I thought. 1:30PM!? you have got to be kidding me. I looked at the switch for the alarm and sure enough it was set to the off position. She did it again.
"Will you be quiet." I heard April whisper harshly. "Splinter's still asleep and I don't want you waking him up. He's exhausted enough as it is."
"Well. Casey's in trouble."
I shuffled out from under the warmth of the covers and almost litterally threw my robe on. I walked out the door into the living room as I tied the sash. I was greeted with a rather odd sight. Casey had launched a chair through the window, April was firmly reprimanding him for that, and the Silver Centry was getting what was left of the chair off the fire escape.
Almost as soon as I entered the whole room went silent and Aplril shot Casey a look of "I am going to kill you." and that is exactly what she said.
"I am going to kill you. Arnold Casey Jones, do you understand the meaning of the word kill."
It was actually rather amusing. After she said that his face turned a bright red and he suddenly found the floor very interesting. I chuckled slightly to myself at the scene that lay before me.
"It is alright Miss Oneil. I was getting up anyway. Now my true question is what has happened?"
"I spotted one of your sons."
I quickly turn around to find out who had said that and sure enough the voice belonged to none other than the Silver Centry. I stared at him unbelieving.
"My sons?"
"Yes Master Splinter. Perhaps you should sit down."
I nodded, made my way to an armchair and sat down.
"You only saw one?" I asked.
"Yes, but I believe the others are with him as well."
"Which one?"
"I believe it was Raphael."
"Raph? Ya found a Raph?" Casey's voice decided now would be a good time to jump in.
"Well? Is he okay?"
"I'm afraid he wasn't in the best condition."
"What do you mean by that?" I quickly asked.
"Now I know very well what Raph normally looks like and I can tell you that from the brief glimpse that I got of him he was extremely malnourished and he has...new scars."
"What was he doing?" April interjected. Respectfully silent up until now.
"He was foraging. Looking through dumpsters for food and from the looks of it he wasn't just foraging for himself."
Just the thought of my sons malnourished or hurt was agonizing, but they was free wasn't he? Whoever took him that night did not have them now.
"Master Splinter, with your permission I would like to get the justice league to explore this as quickly as possible."
"Yes, of course. As long as I go too."
"Me too!" Casey shouted.
"Me three." April interjected.
"Very well then. Get packed. We are taking a trip up to Miami Florida."
Hope filled my spirits once again at the fact that he had seen one of my sons alive and well. I hurried off to the back room to pack quickly and soon we were on our way.
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Dun dun dun! Well there ya go! Splinter's point of view. So any guesses on what's gonna happen? To be truly honest I have no idea where this is leading, and yes I know I'm writing it and I should know. R&R!!
