I don't own the TMNT
Nod of the head to my bouncer LittleKy.
Hope you like this chapter. I added the dream sequence at the last minute, hope it doesn't come across as too cheesy.
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Sophia laughed. I could see the bells dancing above her head. She was naked, save the blood that coated every inch of her. Her eyes seemed to shine starkly amidst the dark crimson. I was also laughing, even as I reached my hands towards the drops raining from the sky.
It was raining. Raining blood.
The man before us was laid open, blood spurting from the gut wound like a fountain. It shot so high, I could feel the hot droplets pelting my skin. It was exquisite.
I looked down, smiling. April's image was at my feet, but the image quickly got distorted amidst the rain of blood. With a cry she disappeared.
Leaping in the air I danced, Sophia by my side.
I could hear my family in the distance, but oh, they seemed so very distant. The blood splashing against their skin looked like wounds. Their own wounds. So distant… All I had to do was turn my back, and I couldn't see them. They weren't there if I didn't pay attention.
Suddenly Sophia embraced me, her blood slick body sliding against my own. Our kiss brought the strong taste of blood to my mouth. It only served to rev me further.
She smiled against my lips. "Forget her. Forget them."
She laughed.
So much further…
My eyes opened.
Groggily I lifted my head and looked around. I was still sitting at my desk. I could see the spot where my cheek lay, the heated condensation it caused already starting to ebb away.
I sat there, blinking, trying to get my bearings. Flexing my hands, I looked at them, half expecting my fingers to slip against one another in the viscous feeling of blood.
They were bone dry.
Digging the heels of my hands into my palms, I leaned back into my computer chair. My muscles groaned at the movement, obviously still sore from the beating I put them through the previous night.
Last night…
Leo! I almost…but I didn't. Quickly I ran it through in my mind. All the events. I ground my teeth. Why did he have to try and confront me then? Why couldn't he wait until today? Some time when I wasn't twitchy and high from taking yet another criminal from the world? True, my muscles still twitched and my brain still buzzed. I still had the urge to run around the room despite my aching body, my head still felt light and giddy. But it still would've been better for him to wait until today.
How would he have known?
True…maybe I should stop thinking of this. It keeps on turning back towards me.
Pathetic. Real pathetic.
No, I wasn't pathetic. I was just realistic. Honest.
Roughly I rubbed my face with my palm, as if trying to physically wipe away my thoughts. Snapping my eyes open I looked at the clock. It was an hour before I normally got up. Almost two before practice started. Swiveling my eyes to the screen, I looked at the face before me. My next victim. No, not victim. Criminal. Evil person. Person who deserves to die. Victim sounded too…innocent.
Running over what I already wrote, I saw that I had already started the complex planning involved in getting such a high stakes person. After all, he was right below the mayor in the government. Not exactly easy. But he more than deserved it. I ran the plans through my head. Already I found a few mistakes, including a big one. I made a mental note not to take seriously any plans that I made in my immediate adrenaline high. It was somewhat obvious that not all my mental faculties were being utilized.
Like what I did to Leo.
Damnit, stop thinking of that! What's done is done!
Quickly I immersed myself in the planning. It would have to be extensive and accurate to work, this was not an easy person to get to. I would have to call Sophia sooner, too. We had to go over every detail of this, to make sure we got it right. Plus her experience in the Marines might help.
I heard the slight sound of a whistle before it was abruptly cut off. A teapot. Perking my head up, I listened. I did, indeed, hear the slight sound of a teacup being placed on the counter.
Leo. By this time, Splinter had likely already receded back into his room for private meditation. Right now, though, the other early riser, Leo, was alone.
Pausing, I found myself running the scenario over in my head. I didn't really want to see Leo. Truthfully, I didn't really want to see any of my family. I wanted to stay in my own world, in catching my release in the excursions with Sophia. They would never understand.
But you did almost kill Leo last night.
DAMNIT! Why did I keep reminding myself of that! Maybe I felt guilty but didn't know it. Maybe, in my current state, my current mood, guilt felt like something else. After all, it was true, I haven't been my normal self. But last night, I decided that I didn't care about that. Who were they to decide who 'myself' should be?
Actually, now that I thought of it, it was important.
What would happen if they found out what I was really doing? For sure they would stop me. They couldn't send me to jail or go through any legal activity, but they could do their own version. What if they found out about Sophia? Surely they could turn her in, anonymously. Couldn't they?
I pounded my fist against the table. How stupid I've been! I couldn't just ignore my family obligations. It raised too much suspicion. It raised too many questions.
For a long few minutes I mulled it over in my brain, going through the different scenarios, accepting and rejecting certain parts as they came to mind. Then I came to a decision.
Slowly I opened the door to my lab, sparing a glance at my room as I passed it. When was the last time I slept in my own bed? I couldn't remember. Picking up my head, I spied Leo settling at the table, sipping a cup of tea, sparing a glance at our day old paper. He paused mid-sip. I winced. He knew I was there.
For a moment we simply stayed where we were, in complete silence. It became obvious to me that he wasn't going to initiate conversation. It was frustrating. He was always the first to do it when it came to Raph, why treat me different? Well, this might work out better anyway.
I cleared my throat. "Leo…"
Damn! This was harder than I thought! Quickly I reformulated the thoughts in my head, the words that I planned to say. Yes, it would still work. It should, anyway.
He turned his head, looking at me with unreadable eyes. "Yes?"
I didn't really want to do this. I had more research to do. I had to call Sophia, set up more concrete plans. The planning for this next hit was going fast, if I did everything right we may be able to go after him within the next week. But first I needed to straighten things up here. I needed to present an adequate image. I purposely shuffled my feet, trying to look nervous. Instead of glaring at him I looked down. My face felt tight. "I wanted to apologize…for last night."
He turned around fully in his chair. Emotion shone in his eyes. Damn! Why couldn't he be pissed or something! I bit my tongue. He sighed. "It's ok, Don. I know that you've been going through a hard time lately." He paused, as if rethinking his words. "What were you doing last night?" He asked quietly.
I licked my lips, careful to avoid eye contact. I didn't want him to see the truth. He was so good at that. "Just running. A lot of running. I must've run nearly twelve miles. Some flips, a little meditation. I found that if I go for a run, work my physical body, let my mind think of things, then it's easier to manage." Allowing a slight hitch in my voice, I continued. "The dreams stop for a little while." I managed to force a slight tremble at the end of that sentence. Try to make it seem more real.
It wasn't a complete lie. I only tweaked a few facts, big time, but still only tweaked. Allowing a silent second to stretch I looked up to him. He was standing now, though he stopped within an arm's length. I resisted the urge to smile. Funny, he never was hesitant to get close to me before. He raised an arm as if to rest it on my shoulder, then seemed to change his mind and dropped it. He sighed, obviously out of his element. "Don, I want you to know that we love you, we care about you. Are you sure that these runs are a good idea? They seem to put you…in a mood."
Love. Caring. Seemed like a joke. I vividly remembered the accusations in their glances after April died on my watch. Now they're all up in arms because I'm not still good little well behaved Don. When was the last time I truly thought of April? Wasn't she the entire reason I got started in this? I shook myself. Something told me it was best not to probe too deeply in that direction. Funny how I was getting better at avoiding certain thoughts.
"It's my thought process. Sometimes it isn't a pleasant thing to look at, but I think it helps. You don't heal by ignoring the bad stuff like I have been doing. I know it puts me in a bad frame of mind, that's one reason why I do it so late at night, so as to minimize the chance that I'll run into one of you guys when I'm in a mood like that."
That sounded reasonable. Even I might buy it.
Sure enough, he nodded. "Ok, whatever you think is best. I also wanted to apologize, I didn't mean to say that you need to go back to your old self. Things like this changes people, and we're no different. I know that from experience. Just…promise me that if you need to talk to anyone, you won't hesitate to come to me. Deal?" He put on a worried smile. I resisted using my own sardonic one. Probably wouldn't fit the situation.
He sighed, then rubbed the back of his head. He was feeling awkward, that much was obvious. Funny, normally he's the one to go all angsty on us. Raph doesn't count, he's like that all the time. "Why don't you skip practice today? Get some rest. In fact, let me know when you go on your runs, then I can make sure that you have time to recuperate afterwards. And I can make sure we leave you alone for a little bit. It's the least I can do."
I resisted the urge to do a fist pump. Seriously? This would make my plans so much easier! And the chance to actually have a full sleep afterwards? Then I could also avoid accidents with my family, since they wouldn't see me in my post kill high, which would also help in avoiding suspicion. I could easily devote more time to my plans. Geesh, I should've tried to 'talk' to Leo earlier. Then maybe I would've already had my third kill under my belt.
My pleasure at his statement must've shown at least a little on my face, for he relaxed slightly and gave me a smile. "I'm glad you are finding your own way of dealing with this. Just remember, please, that we're here for you."
I hardly heard his words, my mind was already working furiously, deeply analyzing the different possibilities and alternate situations. Then I noticed him again. He just stood there for a moment, as if expecting something else. I realized that he might need closure for the conversation, my simply going back to my lab like I wanted to probably wouldn't cut it.
After all, I still had an image to present.
So I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in a brotherly hug, resting my chin on his shoulder. This seemed like the sort of thing he was waiting for, for he relaxed and gave me a full return embrace. His hand stroked my shell as if I were a child. My fingers tightened.
"Just remember, Don, we're here for you."
I smiled. "Yes I will."
We separated and he placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. My smile was slightly off kilter but he didn't seem to notice.
"Thanks Leo. You can trust me."
It is to laugh.
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Yes, I'm playing with brotherly relationship fire! I know, I know. No, I don't hate Don or the relationship with his brothers. I'm simply being mean and torturous to him for the sake of the story. Hope the stuff I'm putting his brain through doesn't turn you off too badly.
Let me know your thoughts, wishes, predictions and whatever else you have to say. I welcome the feedback and look forward to hearing from you!