The Winter Storm of My Brother' Heart
A/N: A new update! I'm so sorry I'm so late with the update but I've been having some personal problems at home, a person close to me just passed away and in school, and I've been trying to recover from them. So I'll give you a bit longer chapter today than the last one, as a gift, and I hope you will like it. Though I'm slightly worried about this story since it haven't done so well with reviews. So, please, please review this story.
Chapter 3, Back to New York City we go!
(Alex's P.O.V)
December turned into February and winter very slowly turned into almost spring. You know, that time of the year when the temperature goes up a few grades, the snow begins to melt and a few small flowers and buds starts to show on the trees and on the ground. Spring had decided to come early this year and I was happy for it. While I liked winter, spring and summer was better in my opinion. But this year, the spring wasn't as welcoming as it usually was. Mostly because everyone was in a rather sad, angry or awkward mood.
We had been snowed in for a about two weeks during the winter and since we couldn't train in the snow Raph and Casey had become restless and a bit jittery after having to sit inside for so long. Mikey had tried to keep the mood up and get the others to smile but it hadn't worked out so well. And we could all see that he was just as distraught as we all were. Leo was quiet, trapped in his thoughts and barely said anything these days. And April tried to keep everything together and I had tried to help her the best I could but I felt rather awkward and kinda like a traitor since I knew why Donnie hadn't been with us or talked to us in such a long time. Yeah, that was the biggest 'problem' since these guys were a team and now that one teammate was locked in the barn and never said anything to them it was affecting the whole team. And I was stuck somewhere in the middle, since I hadn't been that close to Donnie (I was a bit closer to Raph) and I didn't really see myself as a member of this team but I still liked to see the turtles and April and Casey as my friends. And knowing why the situation was the way it was and knowing I couldn't say anything about it was a pain.
Something that had been on my mind for a while was that Donnie had said that he would tell the others when he felt ready or when he found a way to fix his 'ice-problem' but he hadn't said anything in months! Well, what took him so long? Did it really take around six months to get used to these quote-unquote "powers" he got from the ice-mutagen? If he kept it up with this pace we would remain here until April, Casey and I got grey hair. It was time to take things into my own hands and do something! Just because I couldn't say why Donnie wouldn't come out of the lab, doesn't mean I can't do something to make the others come up with a plan so we could go back. When we came back to NYC, Donnie would sooner or later have to spill the beans.
I slammed my hand down in the breakfast table loudly enough so the others would react, but not with so much force that something would break or fall to the floor. As I expected, everybody looked up from the their food and looked at me. I put on my determined face and tried to sound stern.
"Is this how it's going to be? Are we going to sit here, day after day and wait for Kraang to take over? Sit around while they destroy the world and the human race? Well, is it?" When no one answered I stood up, placed both my hands on the table and looked Leo in the eyes. "IS IT?!" Leo winced at me, before he took a deep breath before he looked up at me with tired and dull eyes.
"Alex, it's not that simple. We need the entire team to go back, and Donnie's not here anymore. Besides, we don't even have a plan." It was clear he didn't want to talk about this and just wanted to eat, but I wasn't about to let him get off the hook that easily.
"So you're gonna let everything get destroyed because of a setback? Leo, if you came up with a plan that we agreed on and we all decided to go back to New York, he would have to go back with us, right? He can't let you all go back to a dangerous city without him, right? Besides, if we stay here and just sits around on our butts, who will save the people, the city and the world from the Kraang?" Raph slammed his glass of orange juice down on the table so hard that some juice was splashed over the glass and onto the table.
"She's right Leo! We can't sit around and do nothing anymore! If Donnie cares about it or not doesn't matter, we have to do something!" Mikey and April looked at each other and Mikey placed his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Bro, you know they're right. We've been stuck at this farmhouse like forever and New York isn't going to save itself. We have to come up with a plan and go home again." April stood up and walked over to Leo and gave him a hug.
"We believe in you Leo. We'll follow you every step of the way and if you fall we'll be there to catch you. You don't have to be scared." Leo took a deep breath through his nose and then looked up at us.
"Okay, give me a few hours and I think I can come up with a plan." I smiled in triumph, but then looked out the window and eyed the closed barn door. I knew that I had to at least tell him what was going on, and get the answers I was looking for. Whether he liked it or not.
After breakfast I sneaked out of the house and ran over to the barn. I had to be quick if I wanted no one to see what was happening. In case Donnie did let me in, which was a very small chance, I couldn't let anyone see it happen. Then everybody would ask me about it and Donnie would be busted. I walked up to the door and knocked on it, gently but still firm enough for him to hear this was serious.
"Donnie, I know you're in there! It's me, Alex! I have to talk to you, it's important!" For a few seconds I heard nothing, but as I raised my hand to knock again, the door opened, Donnie's hand reached out and grabbed my wrist and then yanked me into the barn and closed the door, all in a matter of seconds. The first thing I noticed was how cold it was. Seriously, it felt like being out in the middle of december wearing nothing but a tank-top and shorts.
"Donnie, what heck was-!" I was cut off when I saw how the inside of the barn looked. Ice covered both the walls and the floor, icicles grew from the ceiling and the floor, almost all of the equipment (except Donnie's laptop) was covered in frost, small snow drifts had formed along the walls and the floor, and the door was almost frozen over. Then I saw how Donnie looked. He also looked slightly different, a bit skinnier, dark circles around the eyes, paler skin and his eyes were filled with fear. I was almost scared of his appearance but I still walked up to him and tried to place my hand on his shoulder.
"Donnie, are you okay? You look terrible." Donnie flinched away from my hand and sat down against the wall and grabbed his head with both hands.
"I'm freaking out! I've been trying and trying to find a way to get this curse under control but I can't! It keeps growing stronger and stronger and I have no idea what to do!" I looked down at him and I saw that he was close to crying. I crouched down beside him and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Donnie, I understand that you're scared. But the rest of us are trying to come up with a plan so we can go back to the city, and we will come up with something. So either you tell them about this or you have to at least come out and help us. We have to go back sooner or later and you know it." Donnie looked up at me and drew in a deep breath.
"Yeah, I know. But I don't know what to tell them. And what will they say? What'll they do? I'm so torn!" I patted him on the back before I stood up.
"I don't know, but they're your family. And if they really love you, they will understand and be there for you." I walked up to the door and was about to walk out, but turned around before I did and looked down at Donnie, who hid his face in his arms.
"But you'd better make your decision soon, or else I will tell them cause once we get back to the city it'll probably be harder for you to hide from the others and this has gone on long enough as it is. And I'd hate to tell them something like this when you should." I tried to sound calm, but I knew that sounded a bit pushy. When I didn't get an answer I just sighed and was about to walk out of the barn, when Donnie started to talk.
"Okay. When we have a plan, I'll go with you back to New York, and when we're back, I'll tell them." He said it very quietly and he never looked up from the floor, but I still got the message and nodded slightly.
"Okay." I muttered and walked out of the barn.
When I walked into the farmhouse again I saw that the others sitting in the living room, talking. Leo looked up at me and waved me over.
"Hey Alex, can you come over here? We could use your help with this plan." I nodded absentmindedly and sat down on the floor, next to the chair Raph sat in. Leo started to talk about the plan they had come up with so far, but it was hard for me to concentrate on what he was saying. I heard something about fixing up the party wagon and storm the city with it and another something about finding Master Splinter, but I couldn't focus. All I could think of was how Donnie was doing right now. Maybe I shouldn't have threatened to tell his brothers about his powers, but I had to put my foot down, even if meant being too harsh.
"What are you thinking about?" I looked up from the floor and saw that Raph was looking at me with a raised eyebrow and I realized I had been staring into thin air for a while now. I took a deep breath and decided to pull one last lie, then I would either be quiet or say the truth.
"I- I was just thinking about how Donnie's doing. Y'know, he's barely showed his face for weeks, months even. I'm just getting a bit concerned." Raph nodded slightly and looked away. Everyone got quiet and looked away awkwardly. Ever since Donnie had stopped showing up at meals or anything at all, it had gotten a bit awkward to talk about him. The only who seemed unfazed was Mikey.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it dudette! Once we get him out of the lab, I'll see to it that he feels welcome and loved! That's probably why he's never around, he feels stressed or lonely or something. But I'm going to show that he is loved and wanted." I immediately knew that was a bad idea. Getting Donnie to talk to them would be really hard and I knew it wasn't because of stress or loneliness that he was keeping his distance, but I couldn't exactly say anything. Leo placed his hand on Mikey's shoulder.
"I don't know Mikey. I'm pretty sure if Donnie felt lonely he wouldn't lock himself away like this. I mean, wouldn't that make it worse?" Leo, had a good point, but Mikey just shrugged it off and waved his hand at Leo dismissively.
"Nah bro, you'll see that once we manage to coax Donnie out of the barn, I'll warm him up and everything will be back to normal." I sighed, stood up and walked out of the living room.
"I hope you're right Mikey. I really do."
(Mikey's P.O.V)
A few days passed and a plan to save the city started to take form. Leo, Alex and Raph stood up late and worked on the details to make it all perfect. Alex said she had talked to him through the door and that he had agreed on going back with us and talk to us about why he had avoided us and I had decided to make it easy for him to talk to us. And today, it was going to happen.
I woke up to the smell of eggs and coffee and for a second I didn't know what day it was, but it felt important. Then I remembered and jumped out of bed.
"We're going home!" I ran out of my room as soon as I managed to pull on my gear and almost ran into Raph, but before he could snap at me I took his hands and spun around in a circle.
"We're going home bro!" Raph didn't get time to answer cause I ran down the stairs and out of the front door and smiled at the warm sun and I saw that Leo was helping April with a kata.
"Today's the day, now that's for sure. I didn't know we did this anymore. Who'd have thought that sun came after rain." I ran out into the woods and, as my brothers would put it, goofed around.
"For months I've roamed these empty woods, why be lonely, I've never understood. Finally, he's coming out to train!" I ran up to a tree and hugged it.
"I'll see my actual real life brother, it'll be totally strange. But wow, am I so ready for this change!" I climbed up in the tree and once I got high enough, I looked out over the lawn, the barn and the farmhouse.
"'Cause for the first time in forever, there'll be laughing and no fights. For the first time in forever, I'll be smiling through the night." I jumped down on the ground and suddenly felt a little strange in my stomach.
"Don't know if I'm elated or gassy, but I'm somewhere in that zone. 'Cause for the first time in forever, he won't be alone." I sat down on the ground and saw a bunch of baby birds up in the tree and smiled up at them.
"I can't wait to talk to him again again!" I thought of something and gasped in excitement. "What if we could become friends again?" I smiled widely and stood up and pulled out my nunchucks and twirled them fluidly.
"Today, imagine me 'chucks and all, fighting my bros, I'll beat them all. The picture both of discipline and grace. Oof!" I snapped out of my vision when I accidentally hit myself in the face with one of my nunchuck.
"I suddenly see him standing there, my smart big brother, a sight so rare. I wanna stuff some pizza in my face." I pulled out a piece of day old pizza and stuffed it into my mouth.
"But then, we talk and hang all evening, which is totally bizarre. Nothing like the life I've led this far. For the first time in forever there'll be laughter, there'll be fun. For the first time in forever we could be together when we've won." I ran around and then rolled around on the ground in glee.
"And I know it is totally crazy to dream for one last glance. But for the first time in forever, at least we've got a chance." I smiled contentedly and enjoyed the warm sun and the green grass underneath me.
(Normal P.O.V)
Donnie walked up to the door and peaked out of the small opening and sighed heavily.
"Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy you know you have to be." He then walked up to the desk and pulled off his black gloves and put them down on the desk.
"Conceal, don't feel, put on a show." Donnie picked up a beaker and a screwdriver and tried to keep calm, but instead both the tools froze over. "Make one wrong move and everyone will know." He felt the fear rise slightly and put them down and put his gloves back on again.
"But it's only for today." Mikey ran out of the woods and ran over the lawn. "It's only for today." Donnie walked over the barn and tried to remain calm.
"It's agony to wait." Mikey jumped around and smiled widely. "It's agony to wait." Donnie walked up to the barn and pulled the door open after he took a deep breath.
"Don't let it show and meet all that awaits." Mikey saw that the barn doors was now open and got even more excited.
"Awaits. For the first time in forever." Donnie slowly walked out of the barn repeated his mantra, over and over again. "Don't let them in, don't let them see." Mikey picked up one of the chickens and twirled around with it.
"I get what I've been dreaming of." Donnie picked up his Bo-staff that leaned against the wall outside the barn and put it in the strap over his back.
"Be the good boy you know you have to be." Mikey put the chicken down and ran around the house.
"A chance to change his lonely world." Donnie leaned against the wall and took deep breaths. "Conceal." Mikey stopped running around and just stood in front of the chickens.
"A chance to show he's loved." "(Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show)" Mikey picked up another one of his chickens and hugged it close to him.
"I know it could end tomorrow, so it has to be today!" He put the chicken down and ran around again. "'Cause for the first time in forever, yes for the first time in forever. Nothing's in my way! Oh!" Mikey was cut off when he accidentally ran into Donnie and they both fell over and Mikey landed on top of Donnie, who lay on his back with Mikey half-sitting and half-lying over his chest and stomach.
"Oh, sorry Donnie! I didn't see you there, I'm so sorry!" Donnie put on a stiff smile and sat up, as much as he could, and supported himself with his elbows.
"No, no it's okay. Really, it's okay, I'm fine." Mikey got up from the ground and helped Donnie up. The second Donnie was up on his feet neither Mikey or Donnie said a word and the tension returned from when Donnie had come out of the barn to eat, and it wasn't until the others came out that both Mikey and Donnie walked towards them. The awkward tension was there the whole time and it spread to both Raph and Leo, but Leo still took the lead.
"It's time to go home guys!" All of the others nodded and Casey sat down behind the wheel of the party wagon. Alex and April argued a bit over which one of them who got to sit in the front seat, and in the end Alex won that argument. The rest of the team got into the back of the van and air was so thick and tense one could slice through it with a knife.
(Raph's P.O.V)
The drive was quiet for a very long time. Even Mikey seemed to shy to say anything and the air was both hard to breath and too warm, making us all feel awkward. No one said a word for about thirty minutes, until...
"Hi." Leo, who sat closest to Donnie, turned to him and looked both confused and surprised.
"You, you're talking to me?" Donnie smiled and nodded slightly at Leo, who smiled a little. "Oh, well uh, hi." Leo looked away from Donnie for a second and I could see they both tried to think of something else to say to keep the conversation going with little success. When Leo didn't said anything, Donnie did.
"You seem better now Leo. How's your leg?" Leo looked down at his knee and then looked back at Donnie with an awkward smile.
"It's a lot finer. I- I mean not finer, it's not finer. I- I mean better, it's a lot better!" Donnie chuckled lightly and smiled with a raised eyebrow.
"Hehe, good." Leo smiled awkwardly and then turned away for a second. "Finer? Really? Great work Leo, you can't even talk right! Get your head straight dude!" I thought and I could see he thought it was stupid and he looked down at the floor of the van before he turned back to Donnie who was smiling and by now both Mikey and I wanted to join the conversation.
"Finer? Is that even a word Leo?" I smirked at our older brother and Mikey and Donnie snickered a little at the comment, while Leo pouted a little before he joined the laughing. Donnie looked out the window and smiled at the blue sky.
"So, this is how spring looks like, huh? It's a lot more beautiful out here outside the city." Mikey smiled and looked out the window too.
"Yeah, and a lot warmer too, right?" Donnie nodded and smiled. I rolled down the window and stuck out my head and closed my eyes and let the cool air wash over my face.
"Yeah, and the air feels a lot better too, right? Not as thick and hard to breath as the city air can be." Leo hummed in agreement and Mikey leaned his head on Leo's shoulder.
"You know, I miss our home and I really want to go back and all, but I am going to miss being up here." Leo put his arm around Mikey and hugged him closer to him.
"Yeah, it was fun. But we have a city to clean up from aliens. But I don't know, maybe we can come here again sometime?" Donnie smiled lightly and leaned against the wall of the van and closed his eyes for a second.
"Yeah, that sounds kinda nice." Mikey smiled excitedly and opened his mouth to say something, when we were interrupted. Casey stood on the breaks and the van stopped in front of the walls that contained New York City. A bunch of guys in blue and black overalls and helmets stood guard there and had weapons in their hands, ready to fire at anything. One of the men walked up to the van and he removed his helmet and ordered Casey to roll down the window. Alex gasped when she saw the man's face. It was a tall man with dark, black hair, blue eyes and a long scar over his face. His mouth turned into a smirk and he looked down at Alex through the window.
"Well, well, well what do have here? If it isn't my wild, disobedient niece. It's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?" Alex sneered at him, but it was plain to see she wasn't happy to see him.
"Oh, Nothing big really. Dealing with boys, life and the issue of surviving the day. You know, the usual things a teenage girl goes through, now move your butt Bishop, we have to go in." The man, who's name apparently was named Bishop, scowled at Alex, stuck in his arm through the window and grabbed her red hair in a tight grip.
"You were always spirited. Something you've got from your father no doubt, but you know that I have him under my control and I have the same control over you as he did as well so start showing some respect for elders, young lady! Now, turn this car around, no one is allowed in or out of the city!" He let go of her hair and turned around and walked back towards the wall. Alex rubbed her head and scowled after the man Bishop, then she turned to Casey.
"Step on it." She didn't sound angry or pushy, but more serious and we all knew she would take over the wheel herself if she had to, so Casey stepped on the gas pedal and drove towards the wall. The gates that was the only way in, was slightly opened and even if the military shot at the van, we all managed to get in without too much damage done to the van. They stopped in an alley between an old apartment and an abandoned pizza parlor and they all got out.
"Nice driving Jones! Plan on getting us all killed?!" I yelled at Casey's face. "I know Alex told you to go but that doesn't mean you can drive like a complete maniac!" Casey looked angry, but before he could answer, Leo put his finger over his lips and shushed at us.
"Shhh! Not here, we're too exposed! Let's get inside before the Kraang finds us!" We all sneaked into the pizza parlor and made sure everything was closed and locked so no one could find or hear us. Luckily the windows were already covered in planks so no one could look in though them. April and Alex sat down at one the tables and Casey leaned against the wall. The rest of us remained standing.
"Well, we're here. Now what?" I couldn't help but ask. Leo put his finger to his chin and thought for a moment, then sighed and turned to us.
"Uh, first thing on the list is to find Splinter. I suggest that we go out in teams, one team at a time and go look for him. It's too risky for us all to go out at once. But for now, we need to think of the places he might be. What do you say?" We all agreed on that plan, mostly because we didn't have anything else to go on.
(Leo's P.O.V)
Mikey, Donnie and I walked around in the pizza parlor and tried to think of some place where Splinter could be, though I think Mikey just tried to look like he was thinking, always on our guard in case something would attack or come out of the shadows or barge into our temporary hideout. Raph, Alex and April sat at a table and seemed to think too and Casey leaned against the wall but he looked kinda bored. As we all thought and tried to come up with an idea my eyes wandered down to the gloves on Donnie's hands. He had not taken them off for even one second, and I was starting to wonder why. I walked up to him and decided to start with a small talk, that could warm him a bit.
"Hey, Donnie? You don't suppose that Shredder has Splinter? I mean, you said he was at the same prison that you were in before. What if Shredder has him?" Donnie closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.
"I don't know. It's a possibility, Shredder seemed to need him for something but I don't know what though. Splinter seemed rather weak before, chances are that he's weaker now or even..." He trailed off and looked down at the ground and both Leo and I understood why. I tried to smile and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry bro. I'm sure he's fine." The second I placed my hand on his shoulder I had fight the urge to pull my hand back. His skin was ice cold and it felt almost like placing a bare hand directly on cold ice. He looked at me and smiled, but I also felt that he had tensed a bit when I touched him. He shook my hand off his shoulder, but smiled at me nevertheless. Mikey turned to us both and placed his hand on Donnie's other shoulder, making Donnie jump a little.
"You were imprisoned with Splinter and didn't tell us?! What is he's hurt, or Shredder's torturing him or what if he's starving him to make him talk about where we are or what if-" As Mikey kept rambling he grabbed Donnie by both shoulders and shook him a little and more or less climbed on him. Donnie did try to push Mikey off, but wasn't let.
"No, Mikey please don't- Mikey get off me- Would you just stop?" His tries to get Mikey to let go of him was left unheard. I guess Mikey was stressed and scared, but it wasn't exactly an excuse to make such a fuss. And suddenly it seemed Donnie had had enough and shoved him off, hard.
"Stop touching me! I can't stand it!" Mikey landed on his butt and looked up at Donnie with wide, sad eyes. The rest of us were to surprised to say anything. Donnie had been angry before, but not like this. The anger in his voice sounded more like it belonged to Raph and the way he looked like an animal in a cage made it even more unnatural. Mikey looked like a kicked puppy and it also looked like he was about to cry.
"I- I'm sorry." I felt my heart break at the sound of his voice, so sad and it even cracked at the word 'sorry' and I could see the regret in Donnie's eyes when he heard it. Donnie rubbed his hand over his face and then looked down at Mikey.
"Mikey I-" Mikey quickly stood up was quick to brush it off.
"No, no. It was my fault, I was going to far, it's okay." Donnie still looked like he wanted to say he was sorry and he took a deep breath and turned his face away from Mikey.
"I don't things can go back to the way they used to be." That caught both mine and Raph's interest and Raph got up from the table and walked over to us.
"What do you mean? And why don't you think that they can?" Mikey tried to put on a smile and reached out to take Donnie's hand, already forgetting Donnie's little tantrum.
"Yeah dude, if we just-" Donnie turned away from Mikey and turned his back on all of us and crossed his arms over his chest.
"They just can't!" That took all of us by surprise and that's when I realized that while he had talked to us, he still didn't really want to let us in and let us get too close. Donnie stood with his back turned to us, then walked away and into the other room and closed the door. I turned to Mikey, who looked like he was close to tears and the rubbed his hand over his eyes. Raph walked over to him and wrapped his arms around Mikey.
"It's okay Mikey. I'm sure he's just tired or something." April said and placed her hand on his shoulder. I looked over at the closed door and took a deep breath. We were back in New York, but we still a few wounds that just refused to heal.
A/N: Aaand it's finally done! I really hope you like it and that's not too rushed for you. I'm sorry if the turn from 'nice conversations' to 'still shutting them out' was a bit sudden, but I tried to make a bit like the scene at the coronation party from Frozen. I will update as soon as I can and please review, favorite and follow! G'night everybody!
Song for the chapter: For the first time in forever - Frozen