Thank you soooo much guys for all the support! *hug* This chapter is sort of just a LeoxMikey bonding chap I guess. However, it IS sad, just a little warning. Hope you like it and please remember to review :)
Donny's POV
I sighed. I was sitting in my lab, hidden behind my computer. I'd decided by now, that I was going to keep myself away from the others, just incase they caught on.
I didn't understand the reason behind my actions the other night, and I hadn't felt right since. Light headed, headaches, not thinking clearly at all; all my symptoms so far.
"Think Donatello, think..." I mumbled under my breath.
Even though Leo and I had talked earlier, I still felt extremely damaged about the incident 6 months ago. I wondered if my actions were side effects of Leo's death, finally catching up to me? Even though he was here, in the lair, alive...It was another possibility. Or I was just going insane for no reason... Stress, mental suffering, too much gore in my life, electronic waves messing with my head from passing out in the lab too often...?
I let out another sigh of frustration. 'If only I could remember exactly what happened, I'm sure it would help at least a bit!' I thought.
Suddenly I heard a knock at the door. "Come in" I called. I heard the door open and footsteps behind me.
"Hey Don... What's up with Raph and Leo?" my little brother asked.
I spun around to face him, and straight away I knew he had noticed how tired I looked. Considering I hadn't slept for 2 days straight.
"What do you mean Mikey?" I asked. I searched my little brothers face, unaware of everything going on.
"Raph and Leo just had another fight, but Raph looked like he was playing with pixie dust. He looked pure evil and Leo's flippin' out bro! It's not cool. Sensei hasn't come out of his room since Leo's breakfast give away and I don't want to interrupt... I thought you would have some ideas?"
I lightly touched my stitched up brow, realizing the small amount of blood oozing out. "I uh... Honestly I'm not sure about anything at the moment Mikey... Can you hand me that cloth there?"
He turned around, reached for the cream coloured cloth on one of my far benches and handed it to me. I then dabbed lightly at my brow, successfully soaking up the small blood loss.
"But you always know? Is something wrong?" he asked somewhat innocently, tilting his head to the left in curiosity.
"I know that. I just..." I sighed. "I'm stuck for ideas, reasons for what happened the other night while I was looking for Leo... It doesn't make sense!"
My baby brother placed a hand on my shoulder. I found comfort in it.
"You told Leo?"
I shook my head. "No... I'm not sure I want to. I don't want to be left out of everything because I'm slowly going insane. I want to be treated normally. And how can I explain it to him if I don't even know how to explain it to myself?"
Mikey smiled softly at me. "Donny, bro, you're going to be fine! Leo will understand. Dude, he's died, what can be harder to explain than death?" I slowly nodded my head, his words sinking in. He was right, that would probably be the most difficult thing to describe. "Hey, it could just be a one time off thing? That night was really stressful!"
I smiled warmly back at my little brother. "Thanks Mikey... I appreciate it."
"Look, Don, I'm no expert on... Stuff... But I know that you need some chill out time and a good sleep. Leave the techno stuff here and come with me."
My brother gripped my hand and lead me out of the lab and into the lounge room. He pushed me down onto the armchair and walked into the kitchen. "Stay there!" he ordered. I frowned, thinking everything through. Mikey was right, I did need some time out, even though I hate to admit things like that. It was true.
I relaxed in the chair and closed my tired eyes for a second.
Mikeys POV
I walked into the kitchen and put the popcorn in the microwave.
'Poor Donny' I thought sadly. My techno brother hadn't been the same in days and I knew that it was only a matter of time before he officially broke down. He was strong like that, but not as strong as the rest of us.
Dons got the brains, Raphs got the attitude, I've got the awesomeness and Leo has the skill and the ability to hide his feelings better than anyone else. Sometimes I get a bit jealous of my brothers. But I also feel sorry for them. Take for example, Leo, he's always wanted a wife and kids; a family of his own. He also has guilt issues and I swear to god that if he was a Samurai instead of a ninja, if he failed, he would give up his life for his honour in the same way as the Samurai.
Raph usually has good ideas but introduces and ends them with violence. He usually always endangers us because of this. Deep inside, behind the shell, he's a pretty big softy. We got to witness a lot of that side after Leo died...
Donny, he relies mostly on his electronics. As you would have noticed, he has a knack for tinkering with those things. That kids got serious skill stored in that mind of his! I always thought that if we were human, Donny would be a billionaire right now, selling virtual phones or something, but instead he's down here in the New York city sewers, taking IT phone calls... Although he probably won't be for much longer now that Leo's back.
And now I must confess, that I am a sinking ship. I'm the comic guy as you know. I read some pretty twisted comics and I'm a mutant ninja turtle, sharing a lot of human qualities, age 15 and living in a sewer. But I still can't believe that Leo's back from the dead! Like seriously dude, it's normal in comics, but in reality it's just weird and un-natural... Not saying that my bro is un-natural! God I love him to shreds! But it just doesn't make much sense to me, or Donny... Or anyone else!
*Pop!*
I grinned and walked back over to the microwave.
*Pop! Pop! Pip! Pop!*
I opened the door and carefully took the popcorn back out, pulling the tabs and getting hit in the face with the overwhelming smell of melted butter and salt. I breathed in, enjoying the smell before tipping the popcorn out into a big green bowl.
As I walked to the couch, I noticed Leo standing next to the chair that I left Donny in. He walked toward me.
"Hey Mike" he said casually. I allowed him to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl. "Don's asleep. Did you knock him out with drugs or something?" he joked.
"Dude, not even those would have worked on him! He's like the king of ignoring sleep!" I laughed.
Leo smiled. "Yeah..."
I glanced at the blank TV screen and then back at my big brother. "Hey Leo, wanna watch a movie with me?" he seemed shocked.
"Y-you want to watch a movie...with me?" he choked.
"I uh... You don't have to... I just... Uh... Yeah I do Leo..."
"Sure" he answered softly. He smiled.
I grinned brightly at my big bro. "What do ya wanna watch?" I cried excitedly.
He smirked. "Shhh, remember Donny?"
"Riiiiiight..." I said. I turned my head towards my sleeping brother and smiled. "Sorry Don!"
"Here you choose what ever movie, I don't really care, I'll take Don to his room" Leo said. I watched as he picked Donny up in his arms, cradling him against his plastron like a baby. Don didn't even stir. Leo then walked up the stairs and disappeared around the corner. He returned a few minutes later.
"Leonardo, the dead man!.. Or turtle... Can still carry his little brother up the stairs!" I cried, imitating the circus headman. I bowed. "Thank you Ladies, thank you!" I cried, imagining roses being thrown at me. "He's single" I whispered, winking at my chuckling big brother. All of a sudden I grasped something in my left hand and still in my imaginary world, I tossed it at Leo.
He froze. I glanced at the thing in his hands. It's blood-red petals looked deadly. "How'd you get the rose?..." he asked hesitantly.
I looked at my left, there wasn't even a table there!
"I don't know..." I answered, glancing at the non-existent table next to me.
A few cold and silent seconds passed between us and the rose.
"D-did you choose a movie?" Leo eventually asked. I smiled and leapt to my feet.
"Did I ever?!" I cried. I started up the TV and popped the disc in the player. "Family videos!" I announced.
Leo chuckled. "Oh dear..."
Thankfully when we were wee little turtles, Donny had enough brains to fix up the video camera. Before it was all on tape, but Don had kept back up copies and recently managed to put them onto discs.
"Sit back, and enjoy my brother, for you are about to go on the ride of your life" I smirked.
"literally!"
I pressed play on the remote and we relaxed on the couch, scoffing into the popcorn... Okay the 'we' in that sentence was more 'me'... But a few minutes later Leo got into the spirit.
More than 2 whole hours passed and we had just begun re-living my seventh birthday; commentary by the one and only Michelangelo! (The younger one by the way!)
"Ohhh yeah, I'm awesome!" younger me cried, turning the camera around so that I was videoing myself.
"Miikeyyy, can I have the camera back now?!" Donny whined.
"Not yet!" little me raced over to my big brothers and stuck the camera right in their faces. They were playing a game of BattleShip.
"Mikey!" they both cried.
Master Splinter was chuckling over in the corner.
"Mikeeyyyy! It's MY video camera!" Donny cried.
"And it's MY birthday! You must do as I say! I order you to bow before me!" I announced.
Donny rolled his eyes. "I will have to be at your extreme mercy for that to ever happen Mike!" he placed his hands on his hips.
"Yeah KnuckleHead, Leo's da boss, not you" Raph chuckled, placing one of his pegs on the board.
"Awww come on!" Leo cried. "You just sunk my ship!"
Master Splinter stood up and walked towards me. "It is cake time I do believe"
In a matter of seconds all 4 of us had bolted to the kitchen table while Sensei retrieved the cake.
I eventually handed the camera to Donny who sat it on a stand so we could all be in the video at the one time.
I snickered. "Nawww Leo, you looked so cute!"
My big bro looked at me and smirked. "At least I'm still better looking than you Mike."
I playfully hit him and that's when Sensei walked into the room holding a double layer chocolate cake with whipped cream and strawberries.
Even now I was drooling over it!
We finished watching my birthday and about an hour later, the screen went black.
Leo and I stood up to turn it off. We got out of our chairs and I hugged my big brother.
"Thanks Leo" I whispered. After recovering from his state of shock he returned the hug.
"No, thank you Mikey. I can't believe how long it's been since you and I did something like this" he said amazed.
Suddenly there was a loud static sound coming from the TV. Then an image filled the screen. I recognized it, it was another video. A recent one too...
Tears welled up in my eyes as the screen came to life.
I walked with the camera around the lair. It was quiet. Only the soft beeping of the camera and the soft noises coming from Donny's tools as he worked on another new experiment could be heard. Raph was on the couch, eying the small cracks in the ceiling.
"Mikey, please put it away" Don asked sadly. He looked as if he had been crying.
I sighed. "Day 3 without our Leo here. Not going well. As you can see. Already we are falling apart. Leo, if you can hear me now, we miss you bro." I spoke into the camera. A tear tolled down my cheek as I pointed the camera away from my face. I walked over to Raph who had tears streaming his cheeks. He groaned and rolled on his side, covering his face.
"Raph, come on buddy" I said softly, touching my brothers shoulder. He looked up for a minute and spoke.
"Sorry I couldn't save you Leo" he said, sniffling and burying his face in his arm.
With saddened eyes I glanced at my eldest brother who was staring at the screen, tears falling silently. He looked a me, his jaw dropped, his eyes red and his cheeks stained with tears. His chin quivered. "Y-y-you, you...He..." he couldn't finish the sentence.
I reached for the remote. "I'll turn it off..."
He gripped the remote and choked on his words. "No Mikey..." he said softy. "I want to watch it.."
We turned our heads back to the TV and watched on.
"Mikey please turn it off" Donny begged. I walked towards my brother.
"Don, say something, then I'll get master splinter and then I'll turn it off. Okay?"
Donny hesitated. "I miss you Leo, if you can hear us, please know you won't ever be forgotten. Please don't forget us..."
He pushed the camera away and broke down into tears. He raced off to his bedroom and closed the door.
With a heavy heart I went in search for our Sensei. He was in his room, meditating. I knocked and slid the door to the side then stepped inside. He was in the usual meditating position, his ears flickering back and forth as I sat down. He seemed troubled.
"Michelangelo, I understand Donatello has gone to his room upset. What happened?" he asked, not opening his eyes.
"I asked him to speak into the camera as if it were Leo... He did but he started crying... I just... I don't know why... I just feel like it could be useful or something in the future and right now we need something to talk to."
Master Splinter opened his eyes, noticing the camera in my hands. He sighed. "Very well Michelangelo..." he paused. "Leonardo, my son, we miss you very much. You are in better hands now, though I can sense something
else is going on with your mind. Take care my son"
I frowned a little, unsure of what my father was talking about. "Is that all you were after my son?"
"May I have a hug father?" I asked.
He nodded and stood up, opening his arms for me to walk into. I placed the still recording camera on the floor. We embraced and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"It will be alright" he reassured me.
After all of that, I had found myself looking at Leo again. He looked like a ghost: almost transparent.
"you okay?" I asked.
He turned his head, colour returning. "Just dizzy..."
The two of us continued to watch the video diary. There was a video for every week. Each week the videos got even worse and everyone was angry, sad and lost. Eventually we came across one that wasn't a whole group video, in fact it was a video taken in the middle of week 16, after that weeks video. It was a video from Raph.
"Uh... Look Leo, about that night, I'm sorry I treated you like that. I-I don't know what came over me and I feel like a total idiot for my actions.
I'm sorry I fought with you so much, it was always me that started the fights and made them even worse. I'm a stubborn, selfish, idiot that didn't and doesn't deserve a brother like you in the first place. Shell, I don't even deserve Splin'r, Mike or Don!
Truth is Leo, I miss ya. I just hope that when my time is up, I can finally see you again. Even though I don't deserve to see you again.
I could have stopped them Leo. I could have saved you! But I didn't... And now... Now your gone..." he gulped and rubbed his eyes, rivers of tears staining his cheeks. He pressed the button on the camera and the screen went black. That was the last recording left.
Leo was full on crying. He was a total wreak. I'd never seen him so broken before.
I leant over and hugged him. "You didn't have to watch it" I told him.
He sniffled. "I wanted to Mike... I-I didn't know you guys cared that much..." he choked.
"Dude, of course we cared that much! Your our big bro, our leader, our protector, our guide line, you're Leonardo!"
Leo took in a few deep breaths and dried his eyes with the back of his hand. I knew the videos would be good for something: Leo needed to watch them.
He sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry"
I'm not sure what it was that caused a shiver to run up my spine, but after that I heard a scream. A high pitched, extremely piercing scream that came from up stairs.
I glanced at him, "No need for that now Leo"
We both bolted up the stairs and the screaming got louder. When we came to Raph's bedroom door, we were greeted with our hotheaded brother. We exchanged nods and the three of us continued running down the hall towards Donny's room. The door was closed and locked from the inside.
"Donny, Donny, can you hear me? Whats going on?" Leo called to him through the door. His only reply was more screaming and some coughing.
"Raph can you pick at the lock with the sai?" Leo turned to face us.
"I'll try, stupid little lock" he cursed, digging his sai in the lock.
"Why don't we just bust down the door?" I asked.
Raph glared a me and Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to get back to the lock picking
"The door is too heavy to do that Mikey." Leo told me, sounding calm as he spoke but I knew he wasn't.
The screaming quietened a little but it was still loud.
"The locks are so bloody small!" Raph continued to curse and a few seconds later there was a light 'click'. We pushed the door open and rushed inside the room.
Donny was gripping the sides of his bed tightly and his skin was pale. The screams got louder.
Hope you guys liked the long-ish chapter. Just saying, in future chapters there will be a fair amount of action. I'm unsure of the length of the next chapter at this stage, but there is a possibility it will be about this length. Anyway...
Take care my Ninja's and Review! :D
missymousemonster Xx