Hello all,:)
As always a big thank you to Amonraphoenix for her mad beta reading skills and medical knowledge! And to Dondena for her awesome editing skills as well!
Also a big thank you to Mela989898, I love Kittens too and Heather for your awesome reviews!:)
Chapter 7
Raphael looked at Donatello as he let out a pain filled groan.
"Leo!" Raphael shouted anxiously, standing slightly as he yelled over his shoulder for his older brother.
Leonardo quickly ran into the lab just as Donatello slowly opened his eyes.
Leonardo rushed to Donatello's side, Raphael stepping back slightly to allow his older brother to get closer. Leonardo knew more about medical things than Raphael did, though not as much as Donatello of course. Though Raphael had read over his older brother's shoulder when Leonardo had googled drug 'overdoses', to learn how to care for Donatello after his near-death, overdose experience.
Donatello groaned louder this time, clutching at his head. "Wha-?" He managed to slur out.
"Hey, Donny." Leonardo said gently, sitting down on the chair next to Donatello's cot. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly.
Donatello only groaned in answer.
Raphael was tempted to rush up to his weakened brother, pick him up, and punch him in the face for trying to kill himself. Instead, Raphael remained where he was.
Leonardo's hand reached out and placed a few fingers on his brother's neck, checking his pulse. He then moved his hand to Donatello's forehead, which had beaded in sweat.
"His pulse is slow and he has a slight fever." Leonardo informed him. Raphael's raised an eye ridge in concern, but nodded in understanding. According to several websites they had visited, the side effects Donatello was experiencing were expected.
Donatello struggled to sit up.
"Hey there, Donny. Just lay back down." Leonardo told their brother, placing a light hand on their brother's shoulder to gently push him back onto the bed.
Donatello ignored Leonardo and ran a shaking hand down his face. "What happened?" He asked in a hoarse whisper.
Raphael and Leonardo exchanged a look. They had discussed what they were going to tell Donatello about his suicide attempt. They had both agreed not to address it until Master Splinter had been able to first talk with Donatello. Until then, they were to only tell him that he was 'sick'.
Donatello groaned again and slid a shaky leg off the side of the bed. "I remember now." He grumbled as he pushed Leonardo away.
"Donny, just lay back down." Raphael snapped as worry skittered down his back. He didn't understand why his brother wanted to get out of bed so badly. It was then Raphael remembered that one of the side effects of an overdose was confusion.
"Donny." Raphael placed a restraining hand on Donatello's shoulder, while Leo placed his hand in the center of Donatello's plastron. "Listen, you've been very... sick, and you need to just lay back down and rest." Raphael soothed, resisting the urge to forcefully push his brother back down onto the bed.
"This was a bad idea." Donatello moaned as he clutched at his head in pain.
Raphael felt relief that his brother was finally going to listen to them and just lay down and rest.
"Should have at least let that fucking bastard suffer the effects of what he did." Donatello growled fiercely under his breath.
Raphael felt his jaw fall open at Donatello's words. Donatello rarely swore, ever. And if he did, the circumstances were usually extreme. Although Raphael supposed being brought back from the dead, could qualify as extreme.
Leonardo gently pushed Donatello back down. "Come on, Donny. You've been through a lot. You need to rest." Leonardo gently urged their brother.
Donatello's hazelnut brown eyes flashed with anger. "Leonardo, if you dare touch me, or talk to me in that condescending tone again; I will rip your arms from their sockets and shove them down your throat." Donatello threatened as he weakly pushed Leonardo away.
Leonardo seemed so surprised by the outburst that he didn't even stop Donatello as he slowly slid from the bed and stood up.
Raphael heard his baby brother give a gasp from over his shoulder, and he realized that Michelangelo had just walked into the lab.
Donatello continued to talk, his voice hoarse and gravelly."If there is one of my dear 'brothers' that I hate almost as much as Raphael, it is you, Leonardo." Donatello spat out viciously.
A horrifying thought began to slowly creep through Raphael's mind as he watched Donatello waver slightly on his feet, his hand lashing out and using the bed to support himself.
Leonardo reached out automatically to help Donatello. "Don't touch me." Donatello hissed, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Your blade scarred my Mistress. Do not think I have forgiven you for spilling her precious blood. And I remember what you tried to do to her, laying your filthy hands on her and forcing yourself on her."
Leonardo's horrified eyes sought out Raphael, who did not know what to do or where to look. Michelangelo slowly approached Donatello, his hands raised up as if trying to calm a frightened animal that could attack at any moment.
"Donny?" Michelangelo asked in a small voice that shook with fear and worry.
"Well isn't this special." Donatello began shifting his focus to Michelangelo. "The gang's all here." He snorted. "You probably all thought Donatello was going to die." Donatello chuckled darkly. "All hovering around him anxiously hoping he would wake up from his ordeal and recover. Ah well, he'll live." Donatello took a step in the direction of the door.
"Donny, maybe you had better..." Raphael began as he too approached his younger brother, arms held out slightly in front of him.
"Still alive, Raphael?" Donatello questioned in a sardonic voice. "Too bad. Although there may be some small bit of satisfaction in killing you in the flesh, so to speak." He continued thoughtfully as he took a menacing step in Raphael's direction.
"Dark Donatello." Raphael whispered in horrified realization.
Donatello threw back his head and laughed viciously. "Maybe you aren't as stupid as you look." Donatello moved then, swiftly lunging forward, knocking them both onto the ground. Raphael's carapace cracking as it struck the hard stone floor hard.
Raphael looked up at his younger brother as his own sai was leveled dangerously at his throat. The metal was pressed into his skin and Raphael had to fight the urge to swallow.
"Donny!" Leonardo yelled in horror and anger. "Stop, right now!" He ordered desperately.
Donatello ignored Leonardo as Raphael's own sai pushed closer to his throat, breaking the skin and drawing blood.
"Donatello!" The sharp voice of their father rang throughout the room.
Donatello did not waver in is attention to Raphael, but he pulled the sai away from Raphael's throat. "I have things I have to do." Donatello said as he pushed himself away from Raphael.
"What is your problem?!" Raphael shouted at his brother as he scrambled to his feet. "Why you got such a problem with me anyway?!" He questioned as he rubbed his throat and looked at the blood that was now smeared across his fingertips.
"You took something that I wanted." Donatello growled.
"I never took anything that you wanted!" Raphael protested.
Donatello's eyes narrowed as his lips pulled away from his teeth in a snarl. "You..." Donatello managed to grab Leonardo's arm and duck out of the way, pulling Leonardo in and over his shoulder, throwing Leonardo brutally into the ground.
There was a loud crack as Leonardo's carapace struck the floor with bone jarring force. Donatello's knee smashed into Leonardo's plastron hard, knocking the wind from Leonardo's lungs. Donatello pushed his knee harder into Leonardo's plastron, not allowing Leonardo to regain his breath.
Raphael felt rooted to the spot, too shocked to even move as Leonardo's face began to go an alarming shade of dark green. Leonardo struggled against Donatello's weight, his eyes finally rolling up into his head.
"That is enough, Donatello!" Master Splinter ordered as he stepped closer to his violent son.
Michelangelo stepped hastily in front of their father as Donatello jerked his head around and glared at Master Splinter. Donatello slowly stood, turning towards Michelangelo and Master Splinter. Leonardo lay limply at Donatello's feet, his body terrifyingly still.
"You three are starting to annoy me." Donatello growled, taking a threatening step towards Michelangelo, who pulled his nunchucks from his belt nervously.
Michelangelo's face was pale and beaded with sweat, his eyes full of fear and confusion.
"All three of you frozen within the crystal is so much better." He snarled as he took another step towards Michelangelo.
"Donny?" Michelangelo asked, his voice shaking as tears trembled on his eye lids.
"Yes and no." Donatello answered cryptically.
Master Splinter stepped out from behind Michelangelo. "I sense a dark presence emanating from Donatello." Master Splinter whispered in horror.
"Heh, you have no idea." Donatello mocked, a smile spreading across his face, his focus remaining solely focused on Michelangelo. "Hmmm, I do not seem to have a problem with you, Michelangelo." He said thoughtfully before turning his attention to Master Splinter. "As for the Rat... Am I ever glad that I never had to deal with you." Donatello said with a cruel smile that froze Raphael's very bones to the marrow.
Master Splinter stepped in closer to Donatello, who was studying Master Splinter much like a cat would a mouse. Silent menace rolled off of every line of Donatello's taunt body. Donatello tipped his head to the side, like a bird examining his prey, his expression suddenly shifting from malicious to thoughtful.
"Donatello, I do not know what is going on, but you must lay down, my son. There is a dark presence that is overriding your aura." Master Splinter cautioned gently.
"Why haven't I had to deal with you?" Donatello asked himself thoughtfully, completely ignoring Master Splinter's words.
Leonardo rolled over, shaking his head as if to clear it before slowly getting to his feet. His dark eyes took in the situation and focused on his father, asking him what they should do.
Donatello began stalking a circle around Master Splinter and Michelangelo, his expression thoughtful, but still holding a hint of violent menace.
"What do you want?" Raphael growled, trying to turn Donatello's attention away from his baby brother and father, and back towards himself.
Raphael had never thought of Donatello as being dangerous. Out of all of his brother's, Donatello was the most passive, and the least likely to fight unless provoked. But right now, there was nothing of his passive brother in this dark, twisted version that stood before him.
"I am looking for something." Donatello replied distractedly.
"Yeah, what? And where the hell is the real Donny?" Raphael asked, not caring what their father or Michelangelo thought. The creature that was stalking around their father was NOT their brother.
"Busy." Dark Donatello swiftly answered.
Raphael watched as Leonardo readied himself. His older brother looked as if he was going to tackle Donatello, and probably try to restrain him somehow. Donatello should still be weak from the three days he spent lying on the cot, unconscious. Leonardo should have no problem restraining Donatello, but for some reason Raphael didn't think that it was going to be that easy.
"I know of you, but I don't know you." Donatello said to Master Splinter as he easily dodged Leonardo's tackle. Donatello paid no more attention to Leonardo -who hit the ground hard, recovering and rolling to his feet- than he would an annoying bug. "I know of you, but I do not know you." Donatello repeated. "That sounds True."
Raphael could swear he heard the capital letter 'T' in the word true, as if the word had more significance than what Raphael could comprehend at the moment.
Donatello swiftly turned and stalked over to his computer desk. He rolled the chair back and looked at it thoughtfully as it continued to roll. He then started going through the drawers and cabinets that lined the walls.
Raphael and his family could only stand back and watch in confused horror as Donatello carefully went through his own things, some of which he looked as if they confused him for some reason.
Donatello wandered back to the computer desk and sat down. He picked up the list that Raphael knew Donatello himself had written in regards to his theory on his sanity. Donatello tapped it thoughtfully against his lips before setting it down and typing on the computer. "Raphael, come here." Donatello ordered suddenly.
Raphael felt a finger of icy dread slide down his spine at his brother's request. Raphael took a step towards Donatello, but shot a look of inquiry to his father and older brother, who was slowly drawing his swords.
If Donatello felt at all threatened, he did not show it. Instead, he waved Raphael over, never taking his eyes away from the screen. "When was this written, and who wrote this?" He asked, pointing a finger at the screen.
Raphael sidled up next to Donatello, keeping out of arms reach and looking at the computer screen. It was the document that had the words 'HELP ME!' written over and over again.
"You did, four nights ago." Raphael answered quickly.
Donatello's head swiftly turned towards him. "I did not write this." He snarled, pointing at the screen.
"Sorry, Donny did." He corrected himself.
"If I recall the night in question correctly, I was busy with my fingers wrapped around your throat. And Donatello was busy trying to save you from my wrath. So if Donatello and I were both occupied at the time; then who wrote this?" Donatello questioned as he suddenly stood.
Raphael stumbled back as Donatello strode past him, heading for the door and exiting the lab. Raphael moved to follow, but was stopped by Michelangelo's frantic grip on his arm. "Raph...what's going on? What's the matter with Donny?" He whispered wretchedly. "Has he...is he...insane?"
"I believe it is possible that Donatello has been possessed." Master Splinter said gently.
Raphael felt his jaw fall open in shock. "Possessed?" Raphael heard himself repeat numbly.
"What do we do, Master?" Leonardo asked in worry.
"Let me think, Leonardo." Master Splinter answered.
"But...but we don't know any priests!" Michelangelo sputtered in panic. "Where are we going to find an exorcist?! I am pretty sure they don't list in the yellow pages! Then we would have to explain that we aren't the demons, but that one is possessing our brother!"
Donatello suddenly strode back into the room. "None of this is right." He growled under his breath. "All of this is True, but yet...not True. So that means what?" He asked himself as he began to pace back and forth, like a caged animal waiting for a chance to escape it's constricting confines.
"Give our brother back!" Michelangelo suddenly yelled, advancing on Donatello his nunchucks forming the sign of the cross in front of him.
"Mikey!" Raphael hissed in horror.
Donatello stopped pacing and turned his attention to Michelangelo. "What are you attempting to do?" Donatello asked in confusion.
Michelangelo looked at his nunchucks and held them towards Donatello again. "I'm... I'm trying to get you to get out of my brother's body!"Michelangelo answered bravely.
Donatello cocked his head to the side. "Like a... demon?" He asked in astonished confusion.
"You aren't my brother!" Michelangelo shouted back. "You.. you... Donny would never intentionally hurt or attack one of us. He's never mean, or hurtful, or violent in any way!" Michelangelo continued as Leonardo quietly circled Donatello, his swords set in a defensive position, ready to strike if need be.
Donatello seemed to think over Michelangelo's words. "True." He finally agreed, which shocked Michelangelo, judging by his brother's stunned expression. Donatello took a step towards Michelangelo. "But you see, unlike Donatello, my loyalty lies with one person and one person only; my Mistress. If any come between me and her, or harm her in any way, they will suffer the full extent of my wrath. No matter who they are to me, I will kill them; even if it means killing my own brothers to protect her."
Raphael felt rooted to the spot, unable to move as he listened to his brother -who wasn't his brother- talk about things that he could not fully comprehend. But Raphael noticed that Donatello had referred to them as his brothers, not his 'brothers', which gave him pause and only confused him even more.
"W-who's your Mistress?" Michelangelo asked in a shaking voice.
Donatello frowned deeply. "If I knew that, I would not be here." He growled. "I've tried to remember." He said as he passed a shaking hand across his brow, exactly like Donatello would when he was frustrated. "But it is like trying to take hold of the wind. The knowledge is right there, within my grasp, but I cannot reach it." Donatello suddenly turned his attention back to Michelangelo, who gave a slight start, whimpering in his throat at the sudden intensity of Donatello's piercing gaze.
"But I suppose you bring up a very interesting point." Donatello continued thoughtfully as he took a step towards Michelangelo, his plastron brushing up against Michelangelo's outstretched hands. The makeshift cross shook slightly as Michelangelo held his ground. "If I am a part of Donatello, but separate from him, what does that make me?" He asked tipping his head slightly to the side. "I am not possessing Donatello. Possession would indicate that I have the option of leaving, and that I am separate from Donatello. We are one being. We cannot be separated from each other. Though I suppose if that were possible, which I think highly unlikely, we would both die."
Leonardo sheathed one of his swords and carefully opened a cabinet, slipping something Raphael was unable to see, into his hand.
Michelangelo swallowed nervously, his shaking arms still outstretched as Donatello continued to talk. The rest of their family hung off of each word Donatello spoke.
"So, unless some particular event caused Donatello to turn into me, the question then becomes; what am I? And what would have made him like thi-" Donatello fell to his knees clutching his head in sudden, agonizing pain.
Leonardo moved swiftly forward, tackling Donatello from behind, and jabbing something into his arm. Blood dripped to the floor where it trickled from Donatello's nose and ears. Donatello's body twitched violently on the floor, Leonardo holding him tightly before Donatello went unnervingly still.
Raphael rushed forward , fear skittering down his spine as he wondered what Leonardo had injected Donatello with; and if his younger, genius brother, was even still alive after his grisly seizure.
Leonardo slid off of Donatello, quickly rolling him over and onto his side. Leonardo checked Donatello's throat for a pulse, slumping with relief and nodding indicating that their brother was still alive.
"What the hell did you do to him, Leo!?" Raph asked as he moved out of the way slightly as Master Splinter knelt on the floor next to Donatello's prone body.
"I injected him with a sedative, but...I don't think it caused the seizure. When Donny had told us earlier that he may become a danger to everyone, he was showing us what vials to use and the correct dosage to sedate him. He had placed a few in this cabinet, and I hoped than he hadn't done as he had earlier and overfilled the syringes. But the dosage seemed less than the syringe from three days ago." Leonardo informed him.
Raphael nodded slightly in relief, glad that Donatello was only sleeping, but now very worried as to why he had a seizure, and what they were going to find when his brother woke up.
All eyes turned beseechingly to their father, who laid his hands on Donatello's chest and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes Master Splinter pulled his hands away from Donatello's plastron and shook his head sadly. "I feel a dark presence within Donatello, but I believe what Donatello said was correct." He paused as Raphael looked at his father, fearing what his father was about to say. "I can only sense Donatello's aura and spirit. This darker presence, this 'Dark Donatello', is as Donatello supposed earlier; another personality. However, this other personality is much more vicious, violent, and has a stronger amount of psychic power than Donatello ever possessed." Master Splinter finished wretchedly.
"So... Donatello has Multiple Personality Disorder?" Leonardo asked miserably, his gaze straying towards Donatello's unconscious form.
"Yes. I believe that is accurate." Master Splinter agreed.
"So what do we do?" Michelangelo asked in a small, shaking voice.
"We will deal with Donny's condition." Leonardo began. "And we will support him as best as we can." Leonardo answered Michelangelo's question.
"But how?" Michelangelo asked, his eyes pleadingly turned towards Leonardo, as if he could supply them with all of the answers. "We can't... We can't strap him to a bed and... and just keep drugging him." Michelangelo whispered in horror.
"We won't." Leonardo said, standing and walking over to Michelangelo. Leonardo reached out and placed a comforting hand on Michelangelo's shoulder. "We will do everything we can to help Donny. We will do research and find out a way to maybe make it so that Dark Donatello doesn't come out again."
Michelangelo nodded, his eyes lighting with a small ray of hope that Leonardo offered.
"Donny was right though," Leonardo began as he looked over at Donatello's unmoving form lying on the ground. "Dark Donatello is much worse than Raph on a very bad day." Leonard murmured darkly, no humour in his voice as he walked back to Donatello's unconscious body. Raphael leaned down and helped Leonardo pick Donatello up off the floor. They walked back over to Donatello's cot and gently laid him back down. Leonardo's hands hovered over the restraints that Donatello had welded to the metal frame a few days earlier.
Raphael looked at Leonardo, horror filling his eyes as Leonardo came to a decision, and slipped the restraints over Donatello's wrists and ankles, securing him to the bed.
Raphael felt his heart clench with horrified grief at the sight of Donatello strapped down to the bed.
Master Splinter walked up to Donatello's bed and laid a gentle hand on Donatello's forehead. Their father looked close to tears, but seemed to be attempting to hold back his emotions for the sake of his sons.
"What if... what if it isn't Donny who wakes up?" Michelangelo asked, his gaze going back and forth between Master Splinter and Leonardo.
"I sense that there is a deep spiritual disconnect within Donatello's mind. I am going to meditate on this matter and attempt to find a solution. As for Dark Donatello, you must remember that he is still Donatello, your brother. Although this new personality seems prone to violence, I believe that he is still able to be reasoned with." Their father removed his hand from Donatello's forehead and walked slowly out of the lab, his walking stick making sharp clicks on the stone floor as he left.
Leonardo answered Michelangelo's question. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it Mikey. The only thing we can do now is be prepared for Dark Donatello, if it is him who surfaces." Leonardo answered his baby brother, gazing at the restraints miserably.
Donatello paced around the living room of the lair, deeply agitated and worried. He knew that his darker self was controlling his physical body at the moment. He couldn't even explain how he knew, he just did. He knew exactly what his dark self was doing, but it was not like he was looking through his own eyes and unable to stop his darker self's actions. Instead, it was as if the memories of what he was doing were drifting -already made- into his own mind.
Donatello briefly wondered if this was how Dark Donatello knew everything that was happening when Donatello was in control of his own body.
Dark Donatello suddenly appeared in front of him. Donatello was not surprised but this, knowing that Leonardo had managed to successfully drug Dark Donatello.
Donatello was already moving, his fist lashing out and striking Dark Donatello in the jaw. Pain bloomed in agonizing waves across his own jaw. Donatello stumbled back, clutching at his aching face as he tried to regain his breath. For some reason his punch had hurt him much worse than his punch to Dark Donatello should have.
"Hurts doesn't it?" Dark Donatello mocked, rubbing at his jaw, a sardonic half grin on his face.
"Why does that hurt me more than it hurts you?" Donatello gasped as he straightened from his slightly hunched position.
Dark Donatello shrugged. "Hells if I know."
"And why did you attack Raph and Leo?" He asked, advancing on his darker self angrily.
"Because they piss me off!" Dark Donatello answered. "I like them so much better entombed within that large chunk of rock!" Dark Donatello growled back. "But it does make you wonder doesn't it? Why aren't they stuck within the confines of that crystal?" He asked thoughtfully.
Donatello paused in his anger fuelled advance.
"And why do we remember Master Splinter being dead, and yet here he is, alive and well and just as annoying as I would imagine him to be?" His Darker self asked.
Donatello thought furiously. He had done as Dark Donatello had instructed. He had snooped through the lair, and found that it was much different from where he lived. There were many similarities, but the differences ranged from, Raphael's room being across the hall from where it was actually located, to the devices in his lab being stored slightly differently and in different places; like the table that was behind his computer desk in his head, but not in waking life.
"You are acting like those visions were real." Donatello countered his dark self's observation.
"They were." Dark Donatello affirmed sternly. "You are not insane and you do not have Dissociative Personality Disorder."
"And if those visions were real, then what?" Donatello asked in frustration.
"You tell me." Dark Donatello countered with a smirk. "And by the way, I like the new get-up."
Donatello looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing exactly what his darker self was wearing. He pulled the tails of his black mask forward and gathered the folds of his trench coat around himself.
"Why can't you just tell me what's going on!?" Donatello yelled in frustration.
"Because I can't!" Dark Donatello shouted in frustration, pacing back and forth in sudden irritation. "You can figure this out." He ground out through clenched teeth, his fangs bared in a snarl, his trench coat whipping behind him like some dark, living creature. "When is everything True, but Untrue?" He asked unhelpfully.
"There can't be two truths!" Donatello yelled in frustration.
"You have two sets of memories. Two sets of..." Dark Donatello let the sentence hang.
"Realities." Donatello finished the sentence and frowned deeply in thought.
"There we go!" Dark Donatello said with a slightly mocking smile. "Two realities which means what?" He prodded.
The full impact of what Dark Donatello was suggesting hit him in the stomach like a sledgehammer.
"Yeah, so now we get to figure out what the in the seven hells happened." Dark Donatello said with a slight nod.
Donatello blurrily opened his eyes. His head felt as if it were filled with cotton, and his mouth tasted metallic and dry.
He had expected to be tried down to the bed after the rampage of his darker self, but he found his hands and feet to be surprisingly free; his body covered in a soft, warm blanket.
All of his brothers and his father were crowded around him expectantly.
"Donny?" Michelangelo questioned hopefully.
Donatello groaned and shook his head miserably. Fear flashed across Michelangelo's face as he scrambled back in horror. Raphael and Leonardo both tensed as Master Splinter just looked intently into his eyes.
"Sorry, Mikey, I didn't mean to scare you, it's me, Donatello." He told them all softly. "But I...I'm not... your Donatello." He informed them miserably.
Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!
