Author notes:Hi guys! I'm back again. After having an exhausted weeks, I'll bring a new chapter. Thanks for my co-written, Glazier Blue and our amazing beta and proofer reader, XxTurtletracerxX. Without them, I couldn't have done this. And thank you guys for all your support.
And thanks again for review/favourite/follow my story. That means a lot to me. I really appreciate that.
Sorry if I'm gone for a long time
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TMNT OR ANY CHARACTERS
With Love and Hugs,
Hyuna ;)
Chapter Four: News Report
The next morning Donnie quickly got up and made his way to the shower room before any of his brothers were awake. Last night he was to shaken to think about the embarrassment of having a nightmare, and then having to be held all night by all three of his brothers in a turtle made nest. But the stupidity of it all was in full force.
The smart turtle lingered in the shower for almost 15 minutes as though he was trying to wash the nightmare itself out of his brain. He couldn't let this get out of hand. It was just a dumb nightmare. Yes maybe the news about April had taken him out of his comfort zone, but this was nothing he couldn't handle right?
By the time Don had gotten out of the shower and gone to the kitchen to make himself coffee and a bowl of Shredded Wheats, movement could be heard from inside the Dojo. Voices told him that Leo was in there speaking to sensei, obviously about him. Great! Donnie made his way over to the TV. Might as well see what disasters were plummeting the world into madness this morning.
As he watched the morning news Donnie was mentally preparing himself for the round of cross questioning he was sure he was going to get. He expected questions. Hell! He expected a near-on interrogation.
Whenever something was troubling one of the Hamato clan the family had a pretty set routine. One at a time the brothers would approach whoever was troubled and try to get him to talk. Each brother had their own strategy. Like a leader should be, Leo was always the most direct with his thoughts and concerns. Mikey (unlike Leo and Splinter) wasn't good at taking a hint and leaving any of his brothers alone long enough for them to drag their thoughts together properly. But at least Mikey was comforting when he did it. He, Donatello, was usually the clear problem solver. As such he was normally the first to confront any of the others about a problem. But as it was he who had the problem yesterday, he guessed it wouldn't be long before Leo turned up with that understanding smile.
Most of the time the brothers caved before they reached the wild card, Raphael. The hot headed brother's technique of cornering them was…well, painful. Master Splinter was often the last resort, if they didn't willingly go to him first. But how was Donnie supposed to open up if he didn't really know what he was upset about?
"And in local news a young boy has gone missing…. Seven year old Bobby James was reported missing last night after walking home just two blocks from a friend's house. So far the police have no leads except the area Bobby was last seen in."
At this Donnie looked up at the screen to see a photo of a smiling boy, a round face with big brown eyes and dark chestnut hair. Then the photo was replaced with a clip of a sobbing mother holding the picture like it was her very last link to her son. That yanked at Donnie's heart strings with the force of an iron grip. Donnie didn't have much experience with children, (besides Mikey) but even he couldn't ignore how this made him feel. Children being snatched off the street, even in daylight, never to be found. It was just too horrid to even fathom. Anyone who could hurt a kid was indeed the worse type of person.
"The street the locals have named 'Piper Avenue,' has repeatedly been searched and staked out over the last 11 years. But even with all this effort at least 9 children have gone missing in this vicinity. The search continues and the police are appealing for any new information." The report finished swiftly moving onto the weather.
"The Piper." Donnie repeated. He knew the reason for the seemingly random name. They were comparing the disappearances of the children to an old German kid's story. 'Bless Google.' Donnie thought as he tried to recall the tale. It was actually called the Pied Piper. A man travelled to a town that had asked for help. The people were overrun with rats that were carrying the black plague. The town was called…..what was it? Hamelin! Yes that was it. Hamelin was overrun with sickness and diseases. Until a strange man with a brightly coloured coat and a pipe had appeared saying he would take away the rats for the reward money. With the help of his… his pipe obviously. The stranger played the musical instrument and somehow the rats suddenly decided to come out of their hiding places and follow the man out of town and into the river. Which is not at all possible scientifically speaking.
All should have ended well, but after the job had been done the towns people had refused to pay the Piper what they had promised. Swearing revenge the piper then returned and played his pipe again, only this time it was all the children who came out of their homes and began to follow the stranger through the streets, out of the town, and into a valley. The mountain magically opened revealing a cabin. The children followed him inside and the stone closed behind them never to be seen again… Accept one little crippled boy who couldn't keep up. When asked the boy had claimed that somehow through the music, the piper had promised to take the children away to a land of paradise where they could always play and eat and never suffer ever again.
However over the years different versions of the story had written the Piper's character as having much more 'sinister' motives for taking the children.
What a disturbing, yet sad story. Lucky that's all it was.
Donnie shook his head….and no, he hadn't failed to notice the similarities between that story and what was happening to him now. The missing children, the flute music he had heard. But the logical scientist in him was quick to remind him that it was just a story. Like in those brothers grim dark fairy tales. Fairy tales were to teach children life lessons. Like never trust a stranger, or never be too selfish. Always be good or some mysterious malevolent force will turn up and make you pay, sometimes with your life… Basically kids having to learn that reality wasn't a fairy tale, through fairy tales…? How ironic that parents could use this method to plead naïve innocent's to their cruelty. Obviously he wouldn't point out the comparison in front of his brothers either. It just sounded to mad! No, there had to be a more rational explanation for this…? Such as…..? Like maybe he was mad! His best bet was to start with some research, see if there really was any connection. Hopefully he would find a reference to something more plausible before he was forced to venture off into the scarier side of his 'list of possibilities.'
"I hate it when reports like this are on." a voice said behind him interrupting Donnie's debate of sanity. It was Leo, right on cue with that warm smile.
"How you feeling?" The blue clad turtle asked making his way over.
"Much better thanks." Donnie lied. "It's just watching this stuff, makes me feel kind of useless. We patrol all the time and yet this still happens. It's not right."
Leonardo sat down. "New York is pretty big bro. We can't be everywhere at once. Would be nice if we could. I would very much like to get my hands on whoever is behind those kids vanishing." Leo could almost see Don leafing through the encyclopaedia that was his brain to try and find anyway they could be covering more of the city at once…but alas he knew there was none. Even if they split up they could only do so much. Plus with the likes of the Shredder and his army of mutant and robots, splitting up was never a good idea.
A short pause followed as Leo's preselected words were being prepared for the pep talk he was about to lay on his brother. Donnie, knowing what was coming and keen to deflect it, had his thoughts turn a one-eighty as he went from trying to figure out how to save helpless children, to how to stop his older brother from going on a nag fest. Sadly it seemed that Donnie had lost his thinking power. However looking down at his forgotten cereal a small pathetic idea struck him. Well he was desperate and embarrassed, so…?
"Donnie last nig-" Leo started but Don cut him off.
"- Well this bowl of Shredded Wheats has lost anything that was good about it. I now have a healthy and nutritious bowl of shredded wheat paste. I'll get some more before class." The purple turtle stood up making a quick escape back to the kitchen.
"Stubborn turtle!" Leo sighed in frustration. It was stupid to think that Donnie's defences would still be low enough for him to open up. Nope, classic Donnie was back and his lips were tighter than ever. Thinking he can fix himself like one of his machines. But last night had been nothing less than disturbing, if not a little scary. No! Leo decided. After speaking to Splinter this morning the rat had decided that he would jump ahead and speak to Donatello after class, and if he tried to deflect it Donnie would answer to all of them. Something was wrong and he wasn't hiding away from this, not this time.
To be continued...
End notes: Okay, not really dramatic. But cliffhanger. Again. I hope I can update the new chapter on next week.
Sorry if I had make mistakes for writing this story
Please take your time for read/ reviewing/favourite/follow this story
Bye bye for now
With Love and hugs,
Hyuna ;)
