Author's Note: First of all: this chapter was not supposed to take this long. I'm sorry if I've kept anyone waiting! ( ´A`) I don't understand college at all. Why can't I write one chapter of a fanfic and hand in that as my final assignment instead of some narrative analysis about politics?
But never mind all that IRL nonsense. Here's chapter four. :) Please tell me if there's anything you like, or anything that you don't like for that matter. Also, if those pesky grammar-goblins have been roaming the text, tell me where so that I can rid this story of them.
Thank you!
(And a BIG thank you to "n00btmntfan", who has been my Yoda in the art of English grammar, and given me the self-esteem boost needed to finish this story. ^-^)
Donnie opened the sliding doors, just enough for him to peek inside Splinter's room. It was pitch black, but the crack in the door provided him with a small ray of light. He could barely make out Splinter's body on the floor. His sensei was lying on his back on a mattress, hands on his chest and eyes closed.
The turtle squinted and observed him suspiciously for a moment. Splinter never looked truly relaxed, so it was always hard to tell whether he was asleep or not. Or breathing, for that matter. His master was lying deathly still and not even a whisker moved. Donnie had to restrain himself from running over to him and checking his pulse.
"Um… Master Splinter? A-Are you awake?" Donnie whispered, and waited nervously for an answer. "Just… out of curiosity. No particular reason, really…"
Someone had to check if Splinter was asleep, and the choice had naturally landed upon Donnie. If Splinter woke up and wanted an explanation as to why they were still awake in the middle of the night, Donnie was more likely to succeed in lying his way out of the situation. Not because Donnie was a great liar, but rather because they knew from experience that Splinter was more prone to believe him than the rest of his brothers.
Donnie watched his sensei for almost a minute, and then sighed in relief. He was fairly certain that Splinter was out cold and wouldn't wake up until next morning. And hopefully, they would all be back by then.
"Okay, good… Um, see you in a few hours," Donnie said, and was just about to leave, but then hesitated. "And, since you're obviously heavily asleep, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that we're off to do a little breaking and entering in the New York City botanical garden to bury that kitten we mentioned earlier, I hope that's okay, don't stay up and wait for us, please don't get mad, great, bye."
Donnie quickly closed the doors and ran out of the dojo. He didn't stop until he reached the TV couch, where Leo and Raph were currently sitting and studying a map of the city.
"I don't see the problem," Raph stated, with folded arms. "Just bring something heavy and smash the door open."
"No. 'Heavy' makes noise and leaves a mess," Leo explained. "And the last thing we want is for someone to wake up and call the police."
"What kind of cop would believe them?" Raph asked in disbelief. "It's a freaking garden! Who breaks into a place to steal plants?"
"A persistent paleoethnobotanist?" Donnie suggested, and sat down next to Leo.
"Donnie, stop making up words," Leo said calmly, while studying the map. "You're confusing Raph."
"No he's not," Raph stated, and cracked a knuckle. "But my fist has this weird itch…"
"I'm not making it up, it's a real profession!" Donnie said indignantly. "Just check the dictionary. It's an archeological sub field that focuses on-"
"Donnie, stop being pretentious," Leo continued, still without taking his eyes off the map.
"No. I'm tired of dumbing myself down for you guys," Donnie said, with a stubborn look.
"Who are you calling dumb?" Raph asked with a glare, and clenched his itching fist.
"Alright! Let's go!"
The three turtles looked up only to see Mikey eagerly leave his room with a huge backpack, which he must have found in a dumpster at some point. He jumped and landed skillfully next to his brothers and dropped the heavy bag on the floor, with a noise not unlike that of a rhino hitting concrete.
"Is he moving out?" Donnie asked in confusion, as Leo went over to the backpack and studied it with a skeptical look.
"Mikey, you don't need all that stuff," Leo stated, with a gesture to the packing.
"How do you know? You've never been to a funeral before either," Mikey said stubbornly.
"He's actually got a point," Donnie told Leo.
"I've got lots of points!" Mikey informed them, with a beaming smile. "And I've got everything we need in this bag. Trust me, bro. I really put my mind in packing this stuff."
"Is that why it's so dense?" Donnie couldn't help but to ask.
"Here, let me help you with that," Raph told Mikey, and picked up the backpack with the strength of someone who punched more than just training dolls all day.
"Hey…!" Mikey protested, as Raph then proceeded by opening the bag.
"What? I said I'll help you." Raph shrugged. "You'll break your spine in two if you try to carry this thing. Geez, what have you packed…?"
As soon as Raph loosened the last strap, the backpack burst open and spilled out a small flood of objects such as a toothbrush, card games, pencils, comic books, throwing stars, at least three different flashlights, and various 'precious' junk.
"Dude, that's gonna take forever to close again," Mikey informed him, as Raph sighed and started removing the contents of the bag.
"Let's see… This, you don't need," Raph declared, and threw out a harmonica nobody even knew that Mikey possessed. "This is unnecessary. This too. And this. You're NOT bringing this. Leaving behind. Leave, leave, leave. You're absolutely not taking this with you. Not this either. And this-"
Raph picked up a device that looked a lot like car battery with a dozen of wires connected to different parts of it. It was emitting a low, buzzing noise. He stared at it in confusion.
"… and I'm pretty sure we don't need this either," Raph said, with an uncertain look.
"Hey, that's mine!" Donnie suddenly yelled, almost causing Raph to drop the contraption.
"Huh. I wondered what it was doing in my room," Mikey admitted.
"It wasn't in your room, it was in my lab!" Donnie scolded Mikey, and took the object back from Raph. "I thought I had misplaced it somewhere… Why would you take it when you don't even know what it does?"
"'Cause I wanted to know what it does." Mikey shrugged, and watched the device with the eyes of a child who wants to open a Christmas present. "So, what is it? A game? A spy thing? Oh! Does it play music?"
"It's an electrical charger, which when in contact with other power sources such as batteries, or let's say any Kraang tech, overloads the circuits which then causes a chain reaction that overheats the core, and forces it to expand which in turn causes a massive explosion of devastating proportions," Donnie explained deadpan, not looking the least amused. "In other words, it's extremely sensitive to any electrical current… And I put it away because it's malfunctioning!"
"Oh. Good thing I didn't put it next to the flashlights then, huh? … Or this thing," Mikey said, with an apologetic laugh, and stuck his arm down the bag to pick up the remote control to the TV.
"Mikey…" Leo sighed, and took the remote. "Put the stuff back. If we're going to sneak inside the place, we need to travel light. And I've already made a list of things to bring."
Leo held up a sheet of paper, which Donnie immediately snatched and skimmed through.
"Let's see here. Hm. Good, good..." Donnie mumbled as he paced around Leo in a circle while reading the list. "Okay, not bad. But…"
"But what?" Leo asked, with a narrowed look. "I'm telling you, this is all we need. I've gone through it eight times. Unless you have a problem with that?"
"Not at all, I completely agree with everything on here," Donnie assured him. "However, with this being a funeral and all, I do have one question…"
"Of course you do, Donnie," Leo said, with a sarcastic smile. "And what might that be?"
Donnie held up the list in front of Leo, so that he could read it himself.
"What the heck are we supposed to dig with?" Donnie asked.
Leo's smile was replaced with look of surprise, and he slapped himself in the face.
"Shovels…!" Leo groaned.
"That would be my suggestion," Donnie nodded.
"I can't believe this…" Leo sighed, in frustration. "Okay, quick. Do we have any shovels?"
"I… Actually, I have no idea," Donnie said in realization.
"Okay, it's not like we're gonna have to dig a lot… Maybe we could just use our weapons?" Leo suggested.
"To dig a grave?" Donnie asked.
"Ooh… That does sound a bit wrong, doesn't it?" Leo said, and cringed.
"Not to mention tedious," Donnie told him. "Like eating noodles with a pair of toothpicks."
"What about the box of gardening stuff that Splinter keeps in his room?" Mikey suddenly asked.
The three brothers just stared at Mikey as if he'd just quoted Socrates, which was about as likely to happen as him saying something smart. Though, Mikey had always been full of surprises.
"Splinter keeps a box of gardening stuff in his room…?" Leo asked, in disbelief. "And you know this how exactly?"
"Saw it in his closet once," Mikey said, with a shrug. "…and I asked him. Seriously, have none of you dudes ever wondered how that tree stays in shape?"
"… Not lately?" Donnie answered, and scratched his neck.
"You guys stay here. I'll go get them." Leo said, and folded the map.
"Alright, but hurry up, will you?" Donnie asked worriedly, and picked up his t-phone to check the time. "April is probably already waiting for us."
"Aww, that's cute," Raph said with a grin. "Donnie doesn't wanna be late for his date."
"It's not 'cute', it's serious," Donnie corrected him, in annoyance. "It's in the middle of the night, it's dark, and it's New York City. Excuse me if I'm not comfortable with her being alone right now…"
"And she's soon to be a kunoichi," Leo added. "She can take care of herself for twenty minutes. Now, I'll go get the stuff from Splinter's room while you guys-"
"Oh, right. Hang on a sec!" Mikey suddenly interrupted, and darted back towards his room.
"How can he possibly have more stuff in there!?" Raph asked, with an angry gesture. "He must have packed his whole room in that bag-"
Raph went quiet as Mikey suddenly returned with a shoe box in his hands. He was walking calmly now, as if it contained something fragile. Raph just stared at it before looking away uncomfortably. Donnie and Leo didn't say a word and just watched their little brother, who was holding on to the shoe box tightly as if he was afraid to lose it.
"Do you think it's okay to bury him in this?" Mikey asked them curiously. "Maybe I should get something nicer?"
"It's perfect, Mikey. Don't worry about it," Leo assured him.
"I dunno…" Mikey said with a critical look at the shoe box. "I mean, I just grabbed the first thing I could find in that alley. I could get something better, you know?"
"Why?" Raph suddenly asked.
Leo and Donnie stared at him with narrowed eyes, ready to protect their little brother from anything Raph was about to say.
"I mean," Raph continued and ignored the double glare from his brothers. "... You're already throwing him a whole funeral, right? That's way more than most cats get, and especially a stray. He's probably just happy that someone cares about him. Do you really think he minds what you bury him in?"
Leo and Donnie looked completely dumbfounded at Raph while Mikey was carefully considering his words.
"Yeah… You're right," Mikey said, looking much happier. "Thanks, Raph."
"Okay, time to get a move on," Leo told them, and started to walk towards the dojo. "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the topside in five minutes."
"Can I call April and tell her that we're on our way?" Donnie quickly asked.
Leo stopped for a second to think.
"No," Leo stated.
"I'm calling her anyway…" Donnie muttered, making Leo laugh and then leave.
Leo swiftly snuck back into the dojo and entered Splinter's room quietly, making sure to only move in the shadows. His sensei was still lying on his mattress, seemingly still asleep. But Leo knew better than to underestimate him. He crept closer to the closet where he knew Splinter kept his personal belongings. He opened it carefully, and wondered when Mikey could have gone through Splinter's private stuff. Leo made a mental note to start locking the door to his room.
Leo looked inside the closet and made a low groaning sound. There was more than just one box. In fact, there were several of them. Leo felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He didn't want to go through Splinter's private things. Well, one part of him was curious, he had to admit. But the dominant part had too much respect for his father than to look through his secrets and memories.
But he didn't have time for seconds thoughts now. Leo picked one box at random and peeked inside it. To his surprise, the box contained a trowel and a small rake. Leo stared at the items for a second before closing the lid again. Huh. What were the odds?
"Are you planning on switching weapons, my son?" Splinter stated behind Leo's back, causing the young turtle to drop the box with a crash. Splinter studied the content of the box curiously. "A little shorter than your katanas, I believe."
Leo turned around and stared at Splinter with boggled eyes. Splinter smiled at him kindly.
"You… were never really asleep, were you," Leo stated, and could still feel his heart pounding his chest like someone who'd just cheated death.
"I was," Splinter replied, and picked up the box. "And very much so. You and your brothers are louder than you might think."
"I guess we are," Leo said, with an apologetic laugh. "Sorry about that, sensei."
"Sorry for what, exactly?" Splinter asked, and looked at Leo sternly. "What are you boys doing up this late?"
Leo's mind went completely blank. He had never been very comfortable with lying to Splinter, and he would need a great lie to get himself out of this. But the fact was that Splinter had already seen the box. In fact, he was holding it. It was game over, and they were in a bit of a hurry.
"We need to borrow that stuff for Mikey," Leo answered truthfully. "I know that you told us to leave him alone, but you see… we kinda decided not to."
"I can see that," Splinter stated without as much as a frown.
"We didn't mean to disrespect you or anything, sensei, but… He was in a really bad shape, and we just couldn't leave him like that," Leo continued. "And then we came up with this idea that if we arranged a funeral for that kitten and, well, tried to make something nice out of it, then… Maybe that would help Mikey cope with the whole thing better. I'm sorry, but we had to do what we thought were best for Mikey, and-"
"I never said that you weren't allowed to help him," Splinter interrupted calmly.
"But… You totally did!" Leo protested, but then looked uncertain. "… wait, you didn't?"
"I told you to be there for him when he needed you," Splinter clarified. "In other words, I did not expect your attempts to cheer him up to work. But I never said that you should not keep trying. Did Michelangelo appreciate this idea of yours?"
"… Yes," Leo said in surprise. "Yes, I think he really did. He's practically himself again."
"Good," Splinter smiled, and gave Leo the box of tools. "I have grown accustomed to a certain degree of chaos around me when I meditate. I do not enjoy changing my habits, and I am grateful that I will not have to in this case. Now go."
"Hai, sensei," Leo said with a smile, and hurried out.
"And Leonardo," Splinter said, just when Leo was about to leave the room. "Make sure that you are back in your beds in decent time. Funeral or not, you have training early tomorrow morning. And that goes for all of you."
April kicked a soda can as hard as she could, and then sat down on the cold stone stairs to the building. She picked up her t-phone and checked the time again. Where the heck were they?
"Don't mind me…" April said out loud to anyone who might be curious. "I'm just an average plant-fan who can't wait to watch some flowers and tree trunks. In fact, I'm so eager that I'm here nine hours early…! But hey, nothing's wrong with that, right?"
April glanced grumpily at the can she just had kicked. But the bitterness washed off her as she felt a small, moral tug in her chest instead. She got up on her feet, picked up the can, and threw it in a nearby dumpster.
The sound of metal against metal made April turn around rapidly, only to see the dark glass doors to New York's Botanic Garden open up all by themselves. On the other side stood Donnie and seemed to be putting back some lock picking tools in his belt while Mikey was happily waving to her from behind his shoulder.
"Guys, what the heck?" April asked, and walked up to them. "You said we'd meet at the entrance!"
"I thought this was the entrance?" Mikey said, with a confused look at the angry redhead.
"Yeah, your point being?" Raph asked her, in annoyance.
"Nothing," April sighed, and walked inside. "I guess I just assumed that we were going to break in together."
"Aw, don't worry April," Raph said and ruffled her hair, to April's but most of all Donnie's disapproval. "There's always next time."
"Let's hope not," Leo told him sternly, and closed the door behind them carefully.
"So, how did you guys get inside?" April asked. "Obviously not through the front door…"
"The roof is made out of glass," Leo informed her. "We're ninjas. I think you get the picture."
"So you're not worried that the staff here will notice a huge hole in the roof the size of a mutated turtle?" April asked, with a doubtful look.
"Not until the morning they won't," Leo smiled. "Lead the way, April."
"Awesome! A gift shop!" Mikey exclaimed, and made a beeline for it, but didn't get far before Donnie grabbed the back of his shell and effectively halted him in his tracks.
"We're already breaking and entering. Let's not add shoplifting to the list, shall we?" Donnie said, and steered his little brother away from the temptation.
"So what took you guys so long?" April asked as the turtles followed her. "Donnie said that you were only ten minutes away!"
"We would have been here in seven if it weren't for the code lock on the door," Donnie answered apologetically. "I honestly didn't suspect them to have one, and certainly not that advanced. One wrong move and the alarm would have gone off."
"And you still managed to open it?" April asked impressed.
"With patience," Donnie said, with a sigh that indicated that the procedure had almost depleted his supply of patience. "In fact, with just a few modifications, that electrical charger Mikey initially packed would probably have busted that lock open in a few seconds."
"I told you I packed it for a good reason!" Mikey said, with an accusing glare at his brother.
"You didn't even know what it did. You thought it played music!" Donnie replied.
"… At least Mikey seems to feel better," April said in a low voice to Leo.
"He does," Leo confirmed, with a glance at his two bickering siblings. "Who'd think that it would take a funeral to cure Mikey's depression?"
"Well, he's a special guy," April smiled, and Leo nodded in agreement.
April opened a door and let them inside the greenhouse part of the building. The brothers stopped for a moment and stared at place before their eyes. To four turtles, who had spent their whole lives in the sewers, this didn't come close to anything they had ever seen before. There were trees, tall as houses. Flowers as small as pins or big as footballs. And there were colors everywhere. Just the thought of all this existing in the midst of the streets and smoke of New York was baffling. April motioned to them to get a move on, and Leo quickly ushered the others to follow her.
"You know," Raph said, with a cautious look at their surroundings. ", with our luck there's bound to be some mutated plant hiding in here somewhere. Or Snakeweed. I've heard that the dating market for giant, mutated weed monsters are pretty sparse."
"Are you absolutely sure that there's no one else here?" Leo asked April suspiciously.
"Guys, relax," April said reassuringly. "It's a garden. Not a state prison."
"Are you saying that nobody is guarding the garden?" Mikey asked, and kept turning his head to look at all the plants and trees. "Don't they have a garden guard or something? No, wait! The guardian gardener of the garden! The royal garden guard! Oh man, there are so many levels to this…"
"I think you're done," Raph said in annoyance, but then suddenly stopped when the light from a flashlight suddenly hit his face.
The group of intruders immediately stopped and stared at the night watchman in front of them. And the watchman stared at them too. He was holding the flashlight in a vice grip and his eyes looked like they were trying to run and hide.
"April…" Leo said in a low, oddly calm voice. "Didn't you say ten seconds ago that this place was empty…?"
"Well, either this guy is just a figment of our shared imagination or I was obviously wrong…!" April answered, with a stiff smile but with a clear edge in her voice.
The watchman seemed to just realize that this nightmare wouldn't go away on its own, and thus opened his mouth to scream. Raph quickly snatched Donnie's bō staff and hit the guy hard over the head, causing the watchman to drop to the ground like a puppet without strings.
"What the heck did you do that for!?" Donnie yelled at Raph, and snatched the staff back from him.
"Do you have to ask? He saw our faces!" Raph said in defense.
"And so you beat him unconscious?!"
"Of course I did! We can't let him run off and tell everyone about us!"
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Donnie yelled. "He was only doing his job! We are the ones breaking in here, which makes us the criminals! Not him!"
"Guys, keep it down…" Leo begged them, with an uncomfortable look.
"Why?!" Donnie wanted to know. "Raph just knocked out the only person in the whole building who could possibly hear us!"
"He said shut up!" Raph growled to Donnie, and clenched his fist.
"Guys, GUYS!" Mikey interrupted.
Donnie and Raph stopped fighting for a second to look at Mikey. Their little brother glared at them disapprovingly.
"Show some respect, okay?" Mikey told them, still holding the shoe box in a tight grip. His two brothers stared at him awkwardly for a minute before looking away in regret. Leo simply slapped his forehead in annoyance.
"So, what do we do with this guy then?" April asked them, with a gesture to the unconscious watchman.
"… We have a shovel," Raph stated, leaving the details of his proposal to their imagination.
"Um… Alright, I think I've got it," Donnie said after a moment of thought. "If we place him somewhere strategic, he might wake up thinking that he just dozed off and dreamt the whole thing."
"And how did he managed to dream up a bump on his head?" Raph asked, with a skeptic look.
"I don't know, Raph, since I'm not the one who gave it to him…!" Donnie retorted, with a look that would like to give Raph a lot more than just a bump on the head.
"We don't have time for this!" Leo said, and walked up between his two brothers. He sighed and shook his head. "This was SO not part of the plan..."
"The part where there was a dude here or the part where Raph knocked him out?" Mikey asked curiously.
"Okay, okay… Let me think," Donnie said, looking stressed. "So… Um. Clearly, this," Donnie said and gestured to the body on the ground, ", is something that we'll have to take care of. Sooner rather than later, I imagine. But right now, we have a cat to bury."
"Well said, Don," Raph told him, and grabbed a hold of the man. In the next second, he had thrown the limp body over his shoulder like a sack of dirty laundry.
"You're not serious," Donnie stated.
"Eh. The more the merrier," Raph said, with a shrug that made the watchman's head dangle like some kind of morbid fishing lure.
"But that's- You can't just- Leo, say something…!" Donnie said, and turned to the leader.
" … I think we better bring him, "Leo said after a moment of thought.
"What!?"
"It's the only way for us to keep an eye on him," Leo explained. "And to make sure that he doesn't run off and call the police. Or write about us in his diary…"
"And your solution is to bring him with us? What if he wakes up?!"
"Then I assume that Raph will just knock him out again," Leo simple answered, and turned to April. "Let's keep moving."
As the team of four turtles and two humans, one being unconscious, made their way through the jungle-like environment, Mikey was observing the watchman on Raph's shoulder with childlike interest.
"What do you reckon his name is?" Mikey asked.
"Probably something meek," Raph deduced. "Like Randall. Or Ernest."
"I think he looks like a Kevin."
"Mikey, you're not renaming the watchman," Leo told him sternly.
"So, I was thinking somewhere around here," April told them, and stopped. "What do you think?"
They had reached a part of the garden that was exclusive for trees of various colors and shapes. Mikey immediately ran up to one of them with an excited look.
"Guys! Over here!" He called out, even though they were barely ten feet away from each other. "What about this spot?"
"Wherever you think is good, Mikey," Leo said, while Donnie was reading the sign and picked up a botany book he apparently had "borrowed" from the gift shop earlier.
"… that's a Manchineel tree," Donnie said, with a hollow voice when he looked up the name.
"I know it's a tree, bro," Mikey said with a confident grin. "Cats like trees. That's why I picked the place."
"It's also one of the most poisonous trees on earth," Donnie stated.
Mikey's grin was replaced with a hesitant look, and he seemed to go over this new information in his head.
"How poisonous?" April asked curiously.
"The leaves are toxic, the trunk is toxic…" Donnie read from the book. "Standing underneath the tree during rain can cause blistering to the skin. It's prone to cause severe allergic reactions. If you burn it, the smoke may cause blindness, and some of its toxins are unidentified which makes it difficult to produce an antidote. The fruits are presumably toxic too, but it's uncertain to which degree since no one has ever been stupid enough to eat one."
The turtles started to almost subconsciously back away from the tree, except from Donnie who was busy reading the book.
"Who would bring that thing to New York?!" Raph demanded to know.
"It says here that it's endangered," Donnie said helpfully.
"Not enough!"
"Guys, over here!" April called out from somewhere further down the path.
The turtles followed her voice and found her together with a delicate tree with widespread branches of soft, pink flowers. April was standing next to it, looking proud.
"It's a cherry tree," Donnie said, in surprise.
"Pretty…!" Mikey stated, with wide eyes.
"I think it's settled then," Leo smiled, and started to pick up the gardening tools from his bag.
Raph dropped the watchman indifferently on the ground to help Leo dig. Ten minutes later, they had made a perfectly square shaped hole in the soft soil beneath the tree, about two feet deep. Leo carefully smoothed out the edges and then motioned to Mikey to bring the box. Mikey didn't come forward immediately. Instead, he opened the lid and looked down at the kitten. April looked over his shoulder at the tiny creature inside the box.
"Oh, Mikey…" April said in a low voice, and watched the kitten sadly. "It was so cute."
"Yeah…" Mikey confirmed with a nod. He put away the lid and then carefully lowered the box into the hole. The kitten looked so peaceful that it was hard to imagine that it wasn't sleeping. Everyone looked from one another a bit awkwardly.
"So… What now?" Raph asked.
"I guess that… someone should say a couple of words?" Leo suggested, with a shrug.
"I think that Leo should do it," Mikey said with an encouraging nod.
"Me…?" Leo asked in disbelief.
"Who else?" Raph told him, while trying to prop up the watchman into a sitting position, but with little success. "And I think we all agree that I probably should do as little talking as possible."
"I concur with Raph," Donnie said. "And I also think that Leo should say something. It's actually pretty appropriate, if you think about it. According to Japanese customs, it's usually the oldest son's responsibility to handle the funeral arrangements when a family member passes away."
"Donnie, with all due respect; this cat was hardly a family member," Leo said.
"But he doesn't have a family," Mikey told Leo. "Not anymore anyway..."
Leo stared at his little brother with a guilty look, and then sighed in defeat.
"Something tells me that this is just one of many things we should have thought about before leaving the lair…" Leo mumbled.
"It's okay, bro. You'll do great," Mikey said with confidence, and put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Just speak from your heart."
Leo glanced at Mikey with a somewhat doubtful look. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes to think. He went through his mind to come up with something to say, and then cleared his throat with a look at the kitten.
"Alright…" Leo began. "We have gathered here today… Tonight, to be precise… To honor the memory of…"
Leo went silent. He sighed again and then turned to Mikey.
"Mikey. Did the kitten have a name?" Leo asked politely.
"Yeah?" Mikey answered, and tilted his head with a clueless look.
"Seriously?" Raph couldn't help but to ask. "When did you have time to name it? It was more dead than alive when you-"
Leo stepped mercilessly on Raph's toe, causing the red masked turtle to gasp in pain. Leo didn't even look at the damage he'd caused, and focused entirely on Mikey.
"Please tell us his name, Mikey," Leo said kindly.
"Klunk," Mikey told him while looking down at the kitten. "Or, that's what I was going to name him."
Leo watched his little brother for a moment in silence, and then patted him on the shoulder.
"Klunk it is," He stated, and cleared his throat again. "Okay, where were we? Right. We've gathered here to bid Klunk farewell. His life was taken far too early, leaving many close friends behind. Mostly us."
Leo hesitated and tried to think of what to say next. Donnie glared at Raph who wasn't as much paying attention to the funeral but rather busy trying to keep Kevin the watchmen from falling face down in the dirt.
"But… Even though he's no longer with us," Leo continued. "… He lives on in our memories. And hearts. We never got to know him very well, but I'm glad we're doing this for him. I hope it will help his kitty soul find peace… So… Earth to earth, dust to dust, and… Um…"
Leo looked a bit awkward and turned to Donnie.
"Donnie, do you know how the rest goes?" Leo whispered.
"I'm confused whether this funeral is going in a Christian direction or more of a Budhist-inspired one," Donnie told him.
"Forget it," Leo sighed, and turned back to the box. "Rest in peace, Klunk."
Mikey nodded approvingly at Leo's speech with a solemn look on his face.
"And now everyone say something," Mikey told them.
Raph looked up so fast that he accidentally dropped Kevin on the ground, while both Donnie and April looked at each other uncertainly.
"I'll start," Mikey stated with a content look and picked up a piece of paper from his belt.
"You wrote down what to say?" Leo asked. "I wish I had done that…"
"I had to. It's a poem," Mikey clarified.
Raph made a painful groan at this revelation, but was cut off by a pointy elbow from April.
"I don't usually write," Mikey continued with a skeptic look at the paper. "And I probably can't spell that well. But I hope he'll like it anyway."
Mikey read out loud:
I'm sorry that I wasn't faster. And for waiting too long.
Those guys hurt you a lot, and killing you was wrong.
I'm sorry I couldn't save you. 'Cause I really, really tried.
Your brothers and sisters too. I'm sorry that they died.
I hope that cat heaven rocks. I bet it's full of catnip and tuna and stuff to do.
At least you're with your family now. And families are pretty great too.
.
No one said a word. April wiped away something from her cheeks, but she didn't make a sound. The three turtle brothers stared at Mikey in utter silence. No one knew what to say.
"What?" Mikey asked, with a narrowed look. "You guys so don't get poetry…"
"Mikey. That was amazing," Donnie told him, in astonishment.
"For real?" Mikey asked, in surprise.
"Not gonna lie. That poem was great," April concurred sincerely.
"Yeah, and 'great' is pretty good coming from you, " Raph said, with his arms folded.
"Nice job, little brother," Leo said, not without looking a tad bit proud.
"Alright! Thanks, guys," Mikey said, with a bright smile, and safely tucked the poem back in his belt. "So, who wants to say something next?"
The others glanced briefly at each other, with Raph looking panicky over the bare thought of having to talk.
"I think…" Donnie pondered while scratching his chin. "…That you pretty much said everything I wanted to say."
"Same here," April said, with a nervous smile and shrugged.
"What she said," Raph stated with a nod to April and Donnie, and picked up the gardening trowel. "So are we filling this up now, or what?"
"Not just yet," Leo said and took the trowel from Raph, like a parent not trusting a child with a pair of scissors. "April? You wanna start?"
"Sure," April answered and opened her backpack. "I got this from Murakami-san. He said he didn't mind if I took it."
April held up a plastic, golden cat. It was quite fat and was sitting down with one paw constantly waving at them.
"It's a lucky cat," April explained to the turtles. "Pretty neat, huh?"
"Pretty ironic, I'd say," Raph said.
"Great idea, April," Donnie said encouragingly while trying to pinch Raph, but his brother batted his hands away in annoyance.
April ignored the fighting brothers and placed the cat in the box next to the kitten. Leo then picked up a small pouch from his bag and emptied it in his hand. It contained six pennies.
"There's this river Splinter told me about once…" Leo explained while studying the pennies in his hand. "The Sanzu river, or The river of three crossings. Apparently, you'll need six coins in order to cross it to the afterlife, so…"
Leo crouched down and carefully placed the pennies inside the box.
"Better be safe than sorry," Leo stated, and got up from the ground. "What did you bring, Donnie? I saw you getting something from the lab in the last minute."
"Oh, me? I just… I-I brought this," Donnie said nervously, and picked up a tiny piece of metal, about the size of a flash drive. "I salvaged this component from a Kraang droid a while ago. Don't worry, it's completely harmless. But it glows very bright in the dark, so I thought… This way, it won't be so dark for him."
"I like it," Mikey said, and watched the tiny thing with big, almost enchanted eyes.
"Yeah. Great idea, Donnie," April said, and smiled at him.
Donnie scratched his neck and blushed before putting the small object in the box.
"Okay, my turn," Mikey said happily, and started digging through Leo's bag. He pulled up a plastic box and opened it to reveal one single slice of pizza.
"I'm not sure what's more disturbing," Raph said, with a raised eyebrow. "The fact that Mikey brings pizza to a funeral or that I'm actually surprised that Mikey brings pizza to a funeral."
"It's a peperoni pizza with extra cheese," Mikey informed them, and held it up so that they could see for themselves. "Cats like peperoni, right?"
"… Probably?" Donnie guessed.
"I think they do," Mikey decided, and put the slice in the box next to the kitten. "There. In case he'll get hungry."
Mikey hesitated before picking up the poem from his belt, and added it to the pile of gifts in the box. Everyone then turned to Raph who stared at them in shock.
"What? No one told me that we were supposed to bring gifts," Raph said in protest.
"We did tell you," Leo said sternly.
"I thought you were kidding!" Raph defended himself.
"He brought Kevin, does that count?" Donnie asked deadpan, and pointed at their other human company, who was currently snoozing on the ground with his face full of leaves.
"No! And stop calling him Kevin," Leo said, and shook his head in frustration. "You know what? It's alright. Raph didn't bring anything, and that's fine. No one's surprised anyway."
"Shut up! Just… Hang on a sec," Raph said, and looked around.
Raph noticed a bush a couple of feet away. There was one, single flower growing on it. It was bright, blue and big as a fist. It was very beautiful, and a sign told visitors not to touch it. Raph went over to the bush, nipped the flower, and went back to the grave where he dropped it next to the kitten.
"That's… Actually one pretty flower," Leo stated impressed while Donnie was looking through his stolen botany book again.
"Don't tell me," Raph said, with a glare at the book. "It's poisonous. The petals cause blisters on the brain or something."
"Not that anyone knows of," Donnie answered without looking up. "…but this one's also endangered."
"You really think they'll miss one stupid flower?" Raph asked in disbelief.
"It says here that it only blossoms once every twelve years," Donnie read in the book. "Sooo... I guess not in a while?"
"Well, I believe that's all," Leo stated, and picked up the lid to the shoe box. "Mikey, is that okay for you? Is there anything else you'd like to say or do first before we close it?"
Mikey looked at the kitten for a second. He then got down on his knees next to the grave, and closely watched the small, furry animal in the box. He neither moved, nor said a word. His brothers and April waited patiently, no one dared to break the silence. After a minute, Mikey got up from the ground and turned to the others. To everyone's surprise, he was smiling.
"I think he looks happy," Mikey said.
Next Time: Getting close to the end now! And that's when things goes a bit dark… Let me just put out a warning that there will be blood, and let your imagination do the rest.
AN: Next chapter is actually done! I just have to read it through once more, and decide whether to add the epilogue or not. But the thing is; it shouldn't take more than one or two days TOPS. Stay tuned! Be awesome. :)