Author's Note: Once again my apologies for taking so long to update. I had a series of family tragedies to deal with along with being ill myself, otherwise this would have been updated a week ago. Anyway, there's another flashback in this chapter, which is set nine months after the previous flashback detailed in chapter six. Don't worry if there's still some loose ends as there's still one more flashback to go which should fill in all the blanks.
XXXElektraXXX - No, I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to meet Steve Irwin in person. He works in another state and I can imagine he's overseas a lot. However if I continue in my field of work, then I could end up working at his zoo, though I've heard that it's fairly hard to get employed there. ;)
Chapter Nine: Reality Television.
As soon as Diana opened her eyes to take in the morning sun, she knew that her life had irreparably changed. After spending the night with Raphael, she had no clue how to feel about what she had done. The sex wasn't like how it was portrayed on television. There weren't any wild screams of passion, nor were there any oxymoron moments where she experienced 'pleasurable pain'. The whole event was simply uncomfortable. She wished she was in a movie, where everything would feel right; feel like 'true love', but reality was so different. Diana had always thought that making love would be the greatest moment in her life, or at that very least the most fun and exciting time she would ever experience. Yet when compared to such great expectations, the whole activity was a colossal disappointment.
Diana was also under the assumption that she would magically evolve into a woman once she had given her greatest of gifts to another person, yet she still felt like a child, lost and confused. There was a small feeling of maturity, as though she was slightly older, but it wasn't in a good way, as if she could view the world in a new perspective now that she had realised that love wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Most of all, no one could have prepared her for the immense feeling of guilt she endured almost straight after deed. Did she regret her actions? Of course she did.
Diana watched silently as Raphael slowly stood up, grabbing his belt and equipping his weapons. For some reason the teenage boy didn't seem as open as he was the night before, instead presenting himself as being rather closed off from any feelings or inquiries. Diana instantly became worried. Raphael had changed as well. She had expected him to view her differently after what had happened between them, however she never guessed that he would seem to ignore her completely. Yet what the girl didn't know was that Raphael was just as confused as she was about their situation.
The adolescent boy never wanted to emotionally hurt his half-sister, but after spending the night together, he knew that it would probably be inevitable. During the heat of the moment, he felt that both of them were ready to take the next drastic step in their relationship, especially when they had known each other for years. But in hindsight he realised that neither of them were ready to advance their relationship that fast. The male turtle desperately wanted to speak to his lover openly about his feelings, but for some reason he became tongue-tied, bogged down with too many words that he wasn't able to eloquently express his feelings on the matter. Too busy thinking on how to structure his sentences, silence managed to seize the air, eventually churning it into awkwardness, which in turn only made both turtles more and more confused on what they had done. Both were partly ashamed for what they had committed, but most of all they were terrified that their friendship would never be the same again.
"We should start heading back. Dad will probably send out a search party if we don't get back home soon," Raphael said, getting worried. Diana nodded numbly, not knowing if she should mention what had happened the night before. Neither of them knew how to bring the topic up. Everything had seemed so surreal, especially now when the event seemed to be so hazy underneath all the shame, regret and guilt. The nagging at the back of their conscience had returned, interrogating them with the horrid thoughts of incest. Last night, the two half-siblings weren't even sure whether kissing was even appropriate, but after finally going all the way, they both admitted that they'd be in absolute denial if they thought that they hadn't crossed one too many boundaries.
Diana slowly fell back into step behind Raphael. Staring at his physique, she questioned whether she still had the same feelings for him. Diana still loved him, both as a sister and a girlfriend, but now her emotions were tainted with a haunting fear. This adolescent boy that she cared so deeply about now knew every intimate detail about her, and it frightened her to acknowledge that someone on the earth could possess that information. It terrified Raphael as well, though he was more concerned about what the rest of the clan would think if the news ever broke out. On the night before, no one else mattered to the couple, but now their family's approval meant the world to them.
The nightly mist had lifted completely, allowing Raphael the opportunity to learn what direction they were traveling, in accordance to the eastern rising sun. Their movements were often slow and painstaking, making sure to take careful notes of what natural landmarks they passed. Raphael frequently looked back over his shoulder, just making sure that his younger sibling was still following him. Whenever he did look directly into her gaze, Diana always thought she saw the faintest hint of a grateful smile, as though the boy was silently telling her that he still had feelings towards her. Although an awkward silence was still nestled between them, Diana gained some comfort in the fact that the male nevertheless cared about her deeply.
Knowing the contours of the land and reckoning that their lair lay roughly uphill, it wasn't long till they eventually found one of Donatello's crop plantations thanks to some educated guesswork and dumb luck. The two turtles swiftly made a transition from a brisk walk to a heavy jogging pace, wanting to reach home before their relatives decided to send out a search party. With tiny-leafed ferns whipping across their knees and thighs, they stealthily ran through the forest, not creating a single sound as they bounded towards the lair. Raphael slowed his fast pace when they were getting close, causing Diana to decrease her speed as well. Slightly puffing, Raphael once again glanced at his half-sister but blushed immediately shortly afterwards. Diana frowned when she noticed that he was staring at something on her neck. "What?" she asked, rather baffled at his horrified gaze.
The adolescent boy timidly pointed to a spot on her neck. "You have a, um…" he trailed off. Confused, Diana tried her best to crane her head so she could observe the very base of her neck, right where it started to flatten out and form her shoulders. She gulped in panic when she spotted something red in the corner of her eye. It was a hickey. A so-called love bite. Diana's eyes went wide with the fear of discovery. Knowing that she would be hesitant to return home, Raphael quickly stepped forward and rearranged her bandanna. "We'll just um… cover it up," Raphael murmured, biting his lip with worry shortly afterwards. Thankfully for them, Diana's bandanna tails were now long enough to be draped a little bit over her shoulder. He then gently took her hand in his and started to lead her towards their lair.
"Raph!" Diana wailed, stopping and pulling on her brother's arm. "I can't go back like this!"
"You know we have to! We can't let Mum and Dad worry about us!" Raphael tried to reason with her.
"But, but what should I do?" Diana stuttered.
"Just… Just don't move your head," Raphael suggested unconvincingly. Diana frowned, though her expression was filled more with fear than with displeasure. Giving her a little tug, Raphael nervously led his half-sister through the last couple of trees, finally stepping out into what was considered as their home territory.
"Raph! Diana!" Leo called out excitedly. The two turtles gave him a nod. It seemed that the family was just on the verge of leaving the lair in order to search for the pair of missing members. Breaking away from the others, Leo and Venus rushed up to greet them. Don and Mike walked over to the teenagers as well, though they stood a couple of steps away as though they felt guilty about getting separated in the first place. Judging from their sheepish expressions, Diana and Raph gathered that Leonardo had already lectured their argumentative uncles already. "What happened? We were worried about you when you didn't come home last night," Leonardo asked, though he held a large smile on his face, obviously relieved that everyone was safe.
"We got lost. So we stayed in the one spot overnight and then tried to make our way back home this morning," Raphael summarised. Leo nodded, agreeing with his adopted son's line of reasoning. Glancing over at his daughter, the clan leader frowned with curiosity when he spotted something on the girl's shoulder.
"What happened?" Leo asked, pointing to his own shoulder as a reference to what he was referring to. Diana immediately shied away with worry while she thought up a bogus story.
"I was bitten by a bull ant in the middle of the night," Diana lied. Her father stared at the red marking for a few seconds longer, raised an eye-ridge, before finally removing his gaze altogether, leaving Diana and Raphael to ponder whether he suspected anything unusual.
"It's good to have you home," Venus said, welcoming her two children, breaking the awkward silence that followed Leo's inquiry. After receiving a brief lecturing from Leonardo about staying within the areas of the island that had been explored previously by one of the adults, Diana and Raphael were finally free to complete their regular tasks for the day. At the first available opportunity, Raphael vacated the lair, telling the others he was going fishing. Diana sighed, wanting to be able to speak with him despite the fact that the conversation would have been extremely awkward. Feeling incredibly alone, Diana sat by herself in the alcove that was considered to be her room. She wanted to pour her heart out in tears, but she held off from crying, as the fear of being questioned was far greater than her feelings of shame and guilt. She didn't realise it, as it wasn't long till she lost track of the time, but Diana sulked in her bedroom for a number of hours, causing the others to ponder her unusual behaviour anyway.
"How are you going?" Donatello eventually approached Diana; the curiosity of her idleness had finally overwhelmed the older turtle.
"Alright," Diana muttered, avoiding eye contact.
"What happened to your neck?" Donatello asked, raising an eye-ridge. He watched as the girl squired uncomfortably under his suspicious gaze.
"I was stung by a bee. That's all," Diana mumbled, subconsciously covering the mark with one of her bandanna tails again, though it did little to hide the red marking.
"A bee, huh?" Donatello repeated, not believing her story. "So what really happened?" The adult asked again. A brief flicker of terror could be seen in Diana's eyes, though she quickly covered up her shocked expression.
"I told you! I was stung by a bee!" Diana defended her story.
"I highly doubt that," Don commented as he sat down beside the girl. "Especially when you suffer from a severe bee sting allergy. If you were stung by one and didn't receive treatment, then you'd be dead by now… Also, I overheard you telling your father this morning that it was a bull ant," Donatello explained, tearing the girl's alibi to shreds. The purple-wearing turtle already had an inkling of what the truth was, so did the other adults in the clan. None of them wanted to bring it up, but with Raphael in incommunicado and with Diana being so insecure, Donatello thought it would be best if he spoke with the girl just so that she had the opportunity to confide in someone she felt comfortable with. The conversation would have been too awkward with the girl's parents, while Michelangelo had already disappeared into the woods as well, obviously dealing with his own issues. So that left Donatello to listen to the girl's problems.
Diana immediately burst into tears when she realised that her secret had been blown. Donatello was startled by her extreme reaction, worriedly placing an arm around her shoulders in order to try and calm her down. "Shh, what is it? What's wrong, Diana?" Don tried his best to comfort the female. "I won't tell anyone else about it," the adult coaxed. He watched as a few more tears dribbled freely down her green cheeks. When it came to letting out her emotions, Diana often took after her mother, with a technique the rest of the family nicknamed 'pretty crying', where the two females could let out a few tears and still look completely fine afterwards. Yet Diana was heaving with sobs, and even though she had only been crying for a minute, Donatello knew that she was going to look terrible later on - puffy red eyes and all. It quickly dawned on Donatello that the problem was serious and that he might already be in over his head on what he could possibly advise the girl to do in order to solve the dilemma.
The girl shuddered, "I slept with Raphael." For a whole second Donatello had thought he had been imagining things, especially when Diana's confession was barely audible. But soon her words hit his ears like a roaring tsunami, deafening his mind with its billions of spontaneous questions. He had expected it to have gone as far as kissing, but not that far. Donatello had guessed correctly – he was in over his head.
The first issue that sprung to his mind was the girl's age. Thirteen was awfully young. Although Diana may not have thought so twenty-four hours prior to the event, it was clear now to Don that she would probably agree with him on that point alone. A grim expression of sadness slowly etched itself onto the adult's face, as he knew that in more recent times, a child acting older than what they were really prepared for was quickly becoming a common issue. Over the past decade, childhood had been shortened; all thanks to the constant bombardment of sexual images featured in various television shows, movies and advertisements. For so long the media had been relying on the 'sex sells' technique, that for the first time in history, the idea was beginning to fail as society was begging for more creativity rather than titillation as the whole concept no long held that desired shock value. Yet, as always, it still dragged in and fascinated the most curious viewers; teenagers. It hurt Don's heart to realise that Diana was simply another victim to the media's glorification, where the truth of matter was hidden away, as it really wasn't all as sweet as sugar.
The second barrage of thoughts that invaded Donatello's mind was that the two turtles had indeed committed incest. Usually whenever someone was terribly upset about something, the listener would respond almost immediately with calming phrases such as 'it's alright,' or 'that's okay'. Donatello couldn't even offer his niece that. Was it alright? Was it okay? His mind then circled what he had thought about in previous times where, for the survival of their species, inbreeding was essential. In fact, he started to internally argue that thirteen was not too young at all and that it would help their plight, considering the earlier the females started conceiving, the more offspring they would produce during their lifetime. Yet Donatello felt that it was incredibly dangerous to start thinking of his niece as some kind of experiment. They did consider themselves to have morals, and that was where most of their problems lay. In the end Donatello was so confused as to what to advise the girl, that all he did was pull her into calming hug and physically offer her a shoulder to cry on.
"I felt so uncomfortable," Diana sobbed into the top ridge of her uncle's plastron, not seeming to notice the adult's constant silence. Upon hearing her words, Donatello began to question another issue entirely. Something more dark, more sinister.
He gently pushed the girl away from him, only so he could see into her eyes and judge her expression. "Diana… this is very important. Did you, at any time, say 'no'?" Donatello sternly asked, fearing the worst. He didn't honestly believe that Raphael would do something like that, but he thought to ask just the same. The girl shook her head before resting her face into Don's shoulder again.
"No… It, it wasn't like that," the girl assured him, her voice muffled by his skin.
"You do know that you can say 'no' at any time, right?"
"Yes," Diana answered. Donatello sighed and relaxed a little, understanding the nature of her situation. "I feel so stupid," the girl admitted, heaving another sob, now starting to sound more tired than upset.
"You're not stupid," Don said to the girl. "Did you know that eighty-one percent of girls aged thirteen to twenty-one regret their first time?" the adult delicately asked. Diana leaned back slightly so she could look her uncle in the eyes.
"Really?" The purple-wearing turtle nodded his head rather matter-of-factly in response. "But why do I feel so guilty?" Diana's curiosity was beginning to stir.
Don sighed and brought the girl into another cuddle. "It means that your conscience is working. As for the actual guilt, people feel guilty for different reasons," he tried his best to explain. Don watched as Diana shakily raised a hand to her eyes so she could start wiping away a few of the tears.
"It's just… I wasn't expecting it to be like that…" Diana confessed in a whisper.
"I know," Don replied with the same amount of noise volume, solemnly remembering his own regretful experience. "But I suppose if it really was how it is portrayed in the movies, then no one would ever stop their love making, ever. Whole cities would fall and society would crumble, and frankly no one would give a damn. But of course, it isn't like it is in the movies. With an average time of eleven minutes and with three million sperm per milliliter of fluid where it'll only take one to get pregnant, it really isn't that appealing when you think of it like that. You see Diana, the media has a tendency to glorify all the physical aspects and never really portrays the more emotional side of sex, which is ironic considering it's our feelings which separates us from the animals and makes the gesture more special in the first place," Donatello started to analyse. Diana could tell that her uncle had thought about this topic before, and while she thought that he was being rather cynical, she still developed more of an understanding through his reasoning.
"Why didn't anybody tell me I'd feel this way?" Diana wept, still desperately trying to wipe away all of her tears. The girl knew that her efforts of making herself look more presentable were useless at that point because she was as fragile as a leaky pipe, but that didn't stop her from trying anyway. Donatello sighed.
"…You're right. Someone should have told you… but would you have taken any notice?" The adult calmly asked. The girl suddenly gave her uncle a shocked look.
"I would have listened!" Diana squawked, though her words seemed empty. Don gave her a weak smile before finally shaking his head.
"Diana… There are some things in life that you just have to learn for yourself. You know, I once made the exact same mistake you did. While we can place some of the blame on the media or our parents for not telling us everything, in the end it was a decision made by two people, and as part of that choice, there's nothing you can do but deal with the consequences of your actions," Donatello said very softly. Although Diana outwardly felt that Don was being rather harsh with what he was saying, deep down she knew what he meant. Last night, she knew what she was doing, and even if she had known more information, Diana couldn't deny the fact that it most likely still wouldn't have changed the outcome of her decisions. Although she didn't want to admit it, Diana realised that Don was rather wise in suggesting that instead of dwelling on the actual event itself, she instead needed to look towards the future. Thinking along those lines, Diana suddenly let out a scared gasp.
"I'm not pregnant, am I?" Diana fearfully asked. Earlier that week, the idea of having children intrigued the girl, but after going through all the prerequisites, Diana had learned the hard way that she was nowhere near ready enough to look after a baby. Previously the thought of something loving her unconditionally was appealing… now it was simply horrifying. Don looked at her face and noticed that she was panic-stricken; her tears seemingly frozen with terror upon her cheeks. It was the first time that he too had begun to ponder the possibility. Once again Donatello didn't know how to answer. He only wanted to be honest with the girl and emphasise the point that it takes two to tango, but he also didn't want to outright scare his niece.
"…Maybe, maybe not," was all Don could say in response. His heart seemed to shiver when Diana collapsed into a fit of tears once again.
"What will I do?" Diana cried out, looping her arms around Don's neck and squeezing him tightly as though she was only four years old again.
"Hey, it's alright. We don't know for certain yet," Don pointed out gently, as he rhythmically rubbed her carapace in an attempt to calm her down once again.
"But what if I am?" Diana was freaking out.
"Then we'll work something out, don't worry. We'll decide what to do later on if it comes to that," Don soothed.
"Mum and Dad will be so angry with me!" Diana wept.
"They're not going to disown you or anything! They'll understand and the whole clan will help you, so don't worry too much about it for now until it's actually confirmed. Okay?" Donatello slowly repeated, just wanting the girl to stop crying. He sighed with relief when Diana finally nodded, signaling that she acknowledged his words. She looked up, causing Donatello to frown when he realised her eyes were redder and more irritated than ever before. The teenager sniffled and started to once again try and wipe away her tears.
"What if I'm pregnant and Raph freaks out?" Diana continued on with her twenty questions.
"Diana… I think you really need to talk to Raphael about this."
"I feel so awkward around him now. I don't even know if he still loves me!" The girl was close to wailing.
"You know… he probably thinks the exact same thing about you. That's why you two have got to sort some things out. You've got to decide whether or not you're going to continue this relationship and what your feelings on the matter are, otherwise things are always going to be unresolved," Donatello softly explained to his niece. The teenager fell silent. A few days ago she felt that she could be entirely independent, and now she found herself acting like a scared youngster once more. "Would you like me to speak to Raphael about this then?" Don offered when Diana didn't say anything in response.
"No… It'll just make him wonder who else I've told," the girl answered quietly, finally owning up to the responsibility. Don nodded, understanding completely. "Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" The adult was baffled, especially when he felt as though he hadn't helped the situation at all.
"For telling things straight…" Diana mumbled, thankful to have an uncle like Don who she could confide in and seek information from.
The purple-wearing turtle was about to say 'If it wasn't for me, then who else would tell you these things?' but he held his breath and instead only gave the girl another one of his weak smiles. "That's okay. Thanks for trusting me," Don murmured, seeing that Diana was finally cheering up for good this time. There was one other issue that Donatello wanted to mention, and that was about the possibility of abnormalities due to in-breeding. Although he felt the need to warn his niece about the dangers of dating her half-brother, at that point in time he really didn't want to scare or stress out the girl any further. Since he had had first hand experience with genetic disasters, Donatello believed that he was the only one qualified to teach the young turtle about such topics. But even though he was terrified himself of the outcomes of incest, he knew that it was inevitable and that he would only succeed in making Diana bawl her eyes out again. He was certain that the younger generation knew of the problems associated with dating each other anyway, though sometimes he had to question whether they took everything seriously. Yet Don knew for a fact that genetic abnormalities weren't some kind of myth. After all, the memories of Morpheus were still fresh in his mind…
"So what are you going to call it?" Donatello could remember Michelangelo asking him all those years ago.
"It?"
"You know. What would you call your kid if it's a girl, and what would you call it if it's a boy?" Mike reworded his question. Donatello gave him a long and thoughtful stare as though he had never trivialised over what name to give. Instead he was quite shocked that his non-blood related brother had brought up the topic at all, though Don figured he was simply returning the favour considering Don had asked Mike the same question four years previously.
"I haven't thought it… But I guess I'll just stick to the whole Greek thing. So, if it's a boy, then I'll think I'd call him Morpheus," Donatello said while he made up his mind. The name of his future child was the last thing on the purple-wearing turtle's mind, but he was content in the fact that Mike was talking to him even if it was solely out of forced politeness and blatant curiosity. Don also wondered if Mike had asked him out of pity, as in just a few days time he would find himself in the same position as his comedic brother – a single parent.
Later on that week, Sarah would visit Hawaii again, and as Don had once originally thought, most likely for the last time. The turtles knew that it was only going to be a delivery, in every meaning of the word. It was clear to the clan that there was no way that Sarah would take part in raising Don's child. She was simply going to give birth, then hand it over to the turtles, as though she was traveling thousands of miles just to donate a bothersome package. Donatello could remember that the waiting for the days to tick by was more excruciating than witnessing the birth itself. He was just so anxious during that week; his mind so worried that he only ever succeeded in procrastinating in the days that led up to his son's immersion into the real world.
"Morpheus?" Mike scoffed. "You can't name your kid after a Matrix character!"
"What not? You named your daughter after your favourite song. Besides, Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams, so the name still fits the theme," Donatello argued smartly. Although somehow their brief conversation had turned into a mini-conflict, Don still appreciated the fact that Mike was simply only trying to take his mind off things.
The next thing that Donatello remembered was the aftermath that followed the baby being born. Sarah had flown over to Kauai a whole week before the birth; wearing loose-fitting, baggy outfits so she could hide her large bulge and pass it off as weight so that she would be given permission to fly. Once in Hawaii, she stayed at the camp nearby the woods where only the park warden grew suspicious when he didn't see Sarah for most of week. Instead of staying inside her cabin made out of wooden logs, the turtles collected her in the middle of the night and carefully led her back to the lair under the soft glow of some 'borrowed' flashlights. Thinking back to those days, Don couldn't help but admire Sarah's bravery, as she was the only woman he knew that would do such extreme actions while heavily pregnant. He couldn't even begin to imagine how terrified she must have been to give birth in the middle of nowhere, with no pain killers of any sort, no sterile environment, and to not even be sure in what species she was creating. All the previous children had been hatched out of an egg. This time the baby had been inside a womb for nine months, and no one had clue what was going to come out.
Donatello never found out the real reason why Sarah had never returned any of his emails after their little night fling, though as she stayed as a guest in their isolated home, Don came to believe that maybe the human was just simply ashamed with herself. She had made love to a turtle; a creature of another species, and Don suspected that maybe she was scared of what that would make her. Sarah was the first, and quite possibly the last human to fall in love with their kind, and Don wondered how those thoughts plagued her mind. Yet then again, Don could have been wrong and it might have been all to do with the fact that she had been drunk, even though he didn't think she was that intoxicated at the time. Or it could have been a great number of different things. All Donatello knew was that he ranked the week prior to Morpheus' birth really high in his list of the most unbearable times in his life.
Donatello didn't even remember most of the birth itself. Originally he was the one who was going to deliver the baby. Yet when Sarah started yelling about contractions, his whole body turned numb and unresponsive, causing Michelangelo to quickly step in and take control of the situation instead. Naturally Mike complained about that later, but Don no longer cared. He was now a single parent. His life and how he portrayed the world had just been altered forever. Yet even though those days of anxious waiting and hours of panicked pushes seemed to just slip by unnoticed in Don's memory, there was one brief millisecond that he would never forget. For that short moment, he remembered it so clearly that he felt that he could taste the atmosphere of the past.
It was the millisecond straight after Sarah's final push. Don could hear his own blood pumping in his ears as he strained to listen for any noise. There was no crying. Donatello couldn't see anything because Mike had his back to him, but he could sense that the orange-wearing turtle was doing something to the newborn. Later on Don found out that Mike was clearing the infant's blocked airways, though Donatello had always secretly wished that he hadn't. Like the sudden beep of a car horn, Don's son, Morpheus, began to wail for the first time. For a split second he was relieved… that was until he actually saw the baby.
It wasn't human, but it wasn't exactly a turtle either. One thing was for certain, and that was that the child was a mutant. A monster. Donatello always knew that their DNA shared certain genetic sequences with their human counterparts. He had even read an article from Dr Quease which stated that the Yesmal Turtle had as much in common with a human as a gorilla does. Yet from observing Morpheus' freakish form, it seemed that three percent of genetic differentiation went a long way. It looked as though the bare essentials such as lungs, the heart and the brain were the only things that were compatible together and fully formed, while the rest of his body seemed to be the result of mismatched and incomplete genetic codes. Morpheus' skin matched the Caucasian colour of his mother, though its texture looked scaly and paper thin, causing Don to seriously question whether the child would live long enough to experience his first reptilian sloughing. In some sections his skin looked so frail that he questioned whether Mike was bruising the infant just by holding him, especially when in some places he could see some of the veins and arteries pumping underneath. There was no visible shell, though Morpheus had a large hump across his back, as though the carapace was developing underneath, just wanting to break through the thin top layer of skin. None of the boy's fingers and toes were properly formed, as though his genes couldn't sort themselves out and decide whether to settle on three fingers or five, so instead he was left with a variety of mutated stumps that were quite useless. His eyes were brown and glazed over, while his skull took the form of his father. There was a little lump of cartilage surrounding the nostrils, as though the body was intending to grow a proper nose later on. The mouth had no lips, and instead was just a small opening that could flap open and shut.
After hearing the baby's wails, Don knew that the infant would have breathing difficulties throughout its entire life. Donatello even wondered if Morpheus would be able to ever move around on his own. For most part, the boy looked like he was going to be vegetable for most of his life; some kind of crying parasite that would beg for food and nothing else. Donatello couldn't help but feel that he was simply paying the price for his mistakes. He should never have slept with Sarah. It was obvious from staring at the abomination that humans and turtles were never meant to share their DNA. Now he was stuck with a burden of a child who could never be discovered by the outside world. If scientists ever found out that the Yesmal Turtle and humans could crossbreed, then more pathetic life forms such as Don's son would be created until something worthwhile would be needlessly engineered in the name of science. No member in the clan could ever forget Morpheus' face, as he was a direct warning of the impending genetic disasters that awaited their species.
"Where's Raphael?" Diana's question snapped Don out of his reminiscing state of mind. Donatello shook his head slightly as though he wanted to shake all those horrifying memories out of his head. He had decided a few minutes ago that Diana didn't need to be reminded of Morpheus' mutated body. The girl already had too many things on her mind and the last thing she had to worry about was what her baby would look like if it did end up that she was pregnant.
"I think he said that he was going fishing," Don slowly answered. "I'll find him for you. You should stay here for now," the adult advised.
"But-"
"-You don't want your father to ask what's wrong, do you?" Don inquired. The girl immediately shook her head. "I'll find him. Don't worry," Don promised before giving his niece a kiss atop her head. A few seconds later he set off into the forest, hoping to bring back the red-wearing recluse.
"This has got to be the stupidest thing we've ever done," Dr Yesmal complained to his female coworker as he trudged on foot through the woods, tranquilizer dart gun in hand.
"It's not as though we had much of a choice," Susan Aquel shrugged in response, accepting the difficulties of carrying out their research. Not being allowed to fly helicopters or drive anything that would disturb or destroy native plants and grasses that grew on the forest floor, the two scientists had no other option than to track down their targets on foot. It was no doubt an idiotic decision especially when the turtles were considered highly dangerous and unpredictable animals. Having no other form of protection except for the tranquilizer dart gun they hugged defensively to their chests, neither scientist could admit that they felt completely safe in their foreign surroundings.
Their mission thankfully was simpler than the capturing method. All they had to do was take down a couple of measurements, before attaching a little contraption they had developed with the help of a couple of film students also staying at the camp. All they had to do was knock out one of the turtles, though they both knew from previous experience that it sounded easier than what it actually was.
"Yeah, well, we should have thought of something… safer," Dr Yesmal continued to complain, not used to doing fieldwork. The female scientist couldn't help but grin at his displeasure. The two humans continued to wade through the ferns, anxiously peering around tree trunks and scanning the ground for footprints, timidly searching for any signs of the reptiles' whereabouts. All of a sudden Dr Yesmal fired his rifle.
Dr Aquel felt as though she had jumped two feet straight up into the air out of fright. "What the-"
"-I got him!" The man sounded excited. Surprised and worried at the same time, Dr Aquel looked in the direction her coworker had fired. Sure enough, one of the turtles desperately tried to stumble away, but Dr Yesmal was already hot on his trail. Dr Aquel gasped, immediately recognising the male turtle as Raphael, due to the red bandanna he wore across his face.
The teenage boy had been terribly distracted, with his mind filled to the brim with conflicting thoughts concerning his relationship with his half-sister. With his senses so diluted, he hadn't even noticed the two humans bumbling around in the forest until it was too late. He mentally swore at himself for not keeping his guard up; it had been so long since he had actually been in mortal danger. The tranquil stung his shoulder as he tried to make a run for it. His legs began to quiver under the mass of his shell. Raphael breathed rapidly in effort as he tried to keep moving, stumbling around, heading for any decent place to hide. Staggering, Raphael suddenly felt himself fall to the floor. The two scientists seemed to be on top of him in an instant.
"You didn't calculate the dosage correctly! He's not unconscious yet!" Dr Yesmal barked angrily. They didn't want to knock the turtle unconscious for hours at a time like they used to do as that would conflict with their new contract. Instead they only wanted him to be unconscious for a period of ten minutes. The turtle was immobolised, but the scientists had to question how long it would take before Raphael gained back the full usage of his limbs.
"Just get to work already!" Dr Aquel began to panic. Raphael tried to say something in protest, but all that he could manage to form was a few garbles and growls. Dr Yesmal stared straight into the reptile's eyes, realising that this was the creature that was responsible for so much grief in his life. A small part of the man didn't want to do anything at all except exact his revenge, but he knew that it wasn't the right time. The male scientist hadn't made up his mind yet about what he would do to the turtle, but all he wanted was for the animal to suffer.
Raphael panted and panicked as the two humans poked and prodded him, measuring the length of his body and shell, taking saliva and blood samples. Dr Aquel seemed to be the only one who understood that Raph was becoming highly stressed under his conscious state, and tried to make the observations as fast as possible. Finally, before leaving, Raphael surveyed in horror as something was wrapped and tightened around his neck.
Raphael watched and started to calm down when the two scientists eventually left his side. Although he felt extremely violated, he also felt horribly confused, knowing that what the humans had done was completely different to what they usually did. How come he wasn't in a cage? What did they really want with him? Most of all, he desperately wanted to know what had been latched around his neck. Vision blurring, Raphael was stuck, unable to move on the forest floor for ten minutes. Soon a slightly painful tingling sensation flowed through his body, as though his limbs had finally decided to wake up again. Little by little, he managed to sit himself up, his vision slowly returning to normal once again. The first thing he did was inspect his new accessory.
It was a collar. As his fingers slid and danced all over the strap of what seemed to be leather, Raph held a baffled expression on his face when he realised that he couldn't find the buckle to undo it. Continuing to feel around, he eventually came across what felt like a lens on the front part of the contraption. That was when he figured out the scientists' motive. He had seen it before on documentary films. Ingeniously inserted into the collar was a small camera, filming his every move. Raphael sighed in annoyance. For the second night in a row, he couldn't go home.
To be continued…
