Hi again! Sorry I posted so late again. Don't blame me, blame school XD. Okay, so I'm going to continue on with the story, and don't worry. Splinter and Mikey will be in this, okay? And thank you to all of the followers and reviewers! Thanks so so so much, I love them all! Read on, everyone!
He dropped his hands in utter defeat and returned his focus to the world around him.
Splinter was so frustrated at all of the work he'd done. All of this meditation has made him weary and has taken everything out of him. His body and mind were worn out, and he knew he couldn't meditate for much longer.
Four hours.
Four hours it has been since he started to meditate. Four hours is nothing but a walk in the park for Splinter. Shell, he could go up to twelve. However, this type of meditation required deep focus, deeper then he's ever went before.
Four hours ago, the rat felt something stir uncomfortably in his soul and mind. Something bothered it, like it was taunting him. And after a while, it started to make itself known, for he felt hurt in some way, both physically and emotionally.
So, to figure out this unknown feeling, Splinter decided to meditate.
Four hours went by, and he made no progress.
Was he not meditating deep enough? Was it too hard for him to comprehend? The poor rat did not know, but it was troubling him. He knew that he wouldn't stop thinking about it unless he discovered what it was.
'One more time,' Splinter thought. 'One more time, and then I'm done for now.'
But there were a lot of those 'one more times.' Every time he'd come back to the physical world empty-handed, Splinter would keep telling himself that he would try to meditate once more. But, he kept trying and trying and trying, with no answer as to what the feeling was.
"Why!?" Splinter said aloud, suddenly, not meaning to of course.
It was just so agonizing! He couldn't figure out what the trouble was!
Splinter was just about to give up, when something in his head told him not to. This could be something that will effect him or his sons. He needed to find out.
So, with one more deep breath, Splinter threw himself back into the mental world.
Just then, everything seemed quite different than what he expected it to be.
He first saw visions of red, though they were faint. Then they became bigger and brighter, clouding his image. All he saw was red.
Then the red faded, and in the distance of his vision, he saw blue. Dark blue. He assumed it would grow like the red did, but it just stayed there. It was so faint, that Splinter was surprised he noticed it.
Then it faded into the darkness, and everything went black.
The rat was about to quit meditating and return to the present when it felt like something suddenly struck him. His body felt as though he'd been hit, and it knocked all of the breath out of him.
His vision then turned to his two eldest sons: Leonardo and Raphael.
A red aurora gleamed around Raph, big and bright, while a faint blue one barely shun behind Leo.
Raphael's aurora felt festered, full of hatred and annoyance...while Leonardo's felt distant and sorrowful.
Suddenly, Splinter forced himself back to the physical world. He breathed heavily, trying to process what he saw. What was it that he saw?
Something was obviously wrong between Leo and Raph, though the rat didn't know what. Something happened between them, something that caused these auroras to shine in the way they did.
Usually when he meditates, Splinter fells that an equal balance lies between all of his sons. But now...now they're different. He was concerned for both Leo and Raph, since Raph's never gets that big, and Leo's never gets that small.
An argument, perhaps?
Yes, that was it. That is what must have caused all of this.
Splinter rose from the hard ground of the dojo, and made his way into the main room.
-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-
"C'mon, Donnie! You know I hate watching the news!" Mikey yelled in annoyance.
"What!?" Donnie yelled back, surprised, as his younger brother sat down next to him on the couch.
"Sorry bro," Donnie apologized. "I didn't realize the news was on."
Donnie was too busy thinking about Raph and Leo, that he failed to notice what was on the television.
"What?" Mikey asked. "You thinking of a new project to do or something?"
"Ya," Donnie said, quickly, not wanting to worry Mikey of the situation.
Donnie never wants to make their youngest brother worry about anything. It would put too much pressure on him, and besides, they were supposed to be there for Mikey. Not the other way around.
"Figures," Mikey said, as he flipped through the channels. "Ya know, you work too much, bro. Why don't you, I don't know, take a break from all of it and relax for once? Like I do."
"The problem with that, little brother, is that you don't work, but relax all of the time," Donnie replied.
It felt good to lighten up and joke around. Maybe this would be good for Donnie and it would definitely help keep his mind off of the Raph-Leo problem.
"Hey!" Mikey yelled. "I work! Sometimes..."
"Oh, yeah? What do you do?" Donnie questioned, a grin forming along his face.
"I, uh, you know. Uh..." Mikey was at a loss for words.
"Gotcha!" Donnie said.
"No fair!" Mikey responded, as he folded his arms and had a pout on his face.
"You lost on that one-" but Donnie was cut off.
"Donatello. Michelangelo. Have you seen your other brothers?" Splinter suddenly asked, as he made his way in from the dojo.
"No, sorry," Mikey said. "I could go look for them if you like," he said, as he stood up.
"No, Mikey," Donnie said. "They're in their rooms, Sensei. Well, at least they were when I saw them last."
"Thank you, my son," Splinter said, as he turned and went up the stairs.
But there was something in his father's voice that Donnie thought sounded...off. Something was obviously troubling him, and he could tell by the way he said it. Concern, was it? Or maybe even fear? This only made Donnie even more curious to find out what was going on.
"Sensei, wait!" Donnie yelled after him.
"Yes?" Splinter asked, as Donnie reached the landing with his father.
"Um," Donnie began.
Where was he going to start?
"Well, do you know what's going on between Leo and Raph?" Donnie asked.
He had to ask. As much as Donnie feared that he would be bringing his father into something that shouldn't be handled, he asked the question simply because he wanted to know what was going on. He felt as though he needed to know what happened so that he could help in some way.
"Why do you ask?" Splinter asked, trying to hide his concern and suspicion.
"I think Leo and Raph might have had an argument and- oh, Leo's going to kill me if I tell you this, but I think I saw him crying afterward. I tried to ask what it was that was wrong, but he hid it from me, and went to his room. Raph then barged out of his, and started yelling, so when I tried to ask him what happened, he just went back to his room, as well," Donnie finished.
Donnie felt better letting all of it slip. It took the pressure right off of his shoulders, and he thought that his father could make some sense of it all.
"Father," Donnie continued, "do you know what's going on?"
Splinter sighed, taking in this new information, and said, "I was meditating because there was this feeling. Something that you get when something is wrong or off, in a way. I then saw your older brothers, and Raphael was full of hatred, while Leonardo seemed hurt, or rather lonely. But what you saw, explains a lot, Donatello."
"Should we tell Mikey?" Donnie asked.
"I don't think we should bother him right now," Splinter said. "But if this issue grows into something more than an argument, we will need all of us to be there."
Donnie's heart skipped a beat.
"Even April and Casey?" Donnie asked.
"Only if the time comes, my son," his father replied.
"Okay," Donnie said. "So, what now?"
Splinter thought for a moment and then said, "I will go talk to Raphael and try to cool him down. Maybe then, he will tell me what happened. Are you comfortable talking to Leonardo?"
Donnie also thought for a moment, and asked, "But won't it be better for you to talk to him, Sensei? Leo opens up more to you than anybody here! I don't even have a chance."
"Leonardo must learn to trust in his brothers, as well as his father," Splinter replied. "It would be best for you to try and get to him. You never know, it might actually work," he finished, giving his son a quick smile.
"Alright, I'll try," Donnie said, as he made his way to Leo's room, and as Splinter made his way to Raph's.
I know, I know. It's not a very exciting chapter. But, never fear my readers! I promise the next chapter will be strictly on Raph and Leo. I just wanted to add Mikey and Splinter into the action, and *SPOILER ALERT* Mikey will learn about it soon enough! I will try to post again soon, but trust me, school is wearing me down :( Ugh, I hope the workload gets lighter! I'll try to update soon. Thanks again!
