Picking Up the Pieces

Disclaimer: I wish they were mine. Sniffle.

A special thanks goes out to Quoth the Raven who took the time to help me with a slight case of writers block. THANK YOU!!!!

Chapter Twenty One: A Picture vs A Thousand Words

"Mbc. Whdl wb jlw va."

Wh-wha?

"Mbcchl. Yhxl pcm sihcl."

Mikey?

"Nbdl bc, sellar ilpm. Hw'x apxw cbbc."

I'm awake?

"Nbel bc. H fcbt rbv'yl ptpfl Mbc. Hw'x whdl wb jlw va!"

I guess shortly after I fainted I started to breath again.

"Mbbbcccchhhll," stop shaking me Mikey. My head hurts enough as it is. "H dpml wibxl nbkkll npfl dvkkhcx rbv ehfl."

My eyes blink open slowly and I find myself face down in my pillow. I thought I was dying last night. It sure as shell felt like it. My chest had just seized up and I couldn't breathe while my heart was pounding. I let my eyes close slowly. I may have had another 'episode' but other than feeling sore and tired I don't feel that bad. I'm a little hungry, which is probably the reason why Mikey's in here. How late it is anyways?

"Vaxhl Mphxhlx!" Ugh! I bounced a good foot of my bed. I lift my head and glare at my soon to be dead little brother who's sitting next to my hip with this ridiculously huge Cheshire cat grin on his face. His grin starts to falter while I continue to glare at him. Wow, I can almost see the gears in his head begin to turn as he realizes how stupid it was to jump on my bed like that.

"If you value your life," I say quietly while Mikey starts to fidget on the covers. "I would run if I was you."

How can Mikey scream ten times higher than his voice? It truly is a mystery. However I can't deny it's effectiveness in disorienting whoever it is he's trying to get away from. By the time I've semi recovered from that shrill sound, Mikey is already out the door and running down the hall by the sounds of it. I let my head flop back onto the pillow. It really would take to much energy to chase him down. It's not like he would learn never to do it again. I know he's going to be back in here jumping on my bed to get me up tomorrow.

I'm just starting to doze off again when I feel the side of the bed dip. Now who's here? "Mbc? Nbdl bc. Jlw va. Rbv ipul wb lpw xbdlwhdl wbmpr." I don't want to get up April. Just go away and let me sleep. Sleep is much higher on my priority list than food is right now. "Mbcpwleeb, lhwily rbv nbdl mbtcxwphyx pcm lpw xbdlwihcj by H'ee ipul Ypai mypj rbv mbtc wilyl." Why do I have the distinct impression that April just threatened me with something?

I turn my head off to the side enough so I can see her sitting on the edge of my bed watching me expectantly. Please don't make me get up. I want to spend the next week in bed asleep. Mmm… I'd guess that judging by how she's looking at me right now that I had better get out of bed before she really does something drastic. When it's pertaining to someone's health, drastic and April is a very good reason to do what the doctor ordered. I can't even count on mine and my brothers' hands how many times she has tied me to the bed because I refused to rest. And now that I really do need sleep she wants me to get up. That figures.

She turns to face the door and I can tell by the look on her face that she's going to call Raph in here to drag me out of bed. Look I'm getting up. You don't have to have Raph haul me downstairs. He enjoys doing that way to much sometimes, especially when he's been sent to 'retrieve' Mikey. I wait for April to stand up before throwing the covers off my legs and getting up. Shell, it's chilly in here. I can't help but shiver slightly and immediately catch the frown on April's face. Uh oh…

She catches on of my wrists in her hand and places her other hand on my forehead. She's still frowning. "What's wrong April?" For as long as I have known her I know that when April's frowning like that it can only mean one thing. I'm sick and running a fever judging on how her hand still hasn't left my forehead. I look up at her hand as best I can without moving my head too much. April might think I'm trying to escape the maternal side of her that wants to put me back to bed and make me eat chicken noodle soup until I explode. She's done it before and I know she would do it again in a heartbeat. "I'm running a fever aren't I?"

She steps off to the side and tilts my head enough so that the light spilling in from the living room hits me full in the face. Darn that's bright. I'm surprised Mikey didn't turn the lights on in my room when he was trying to get me up. April suddenly steps away but keeps a gentle grip on my wrist forcing me to follow her. Great, now what? "Ypai," she calls as she leads me to the stairs. "Ibt tpx Mbc kllehcj tilc rbv elkw ihd epxw chjiw?"

"Il xlldlm khcl ovw H mhmc'w pxf ihd." How can Raph sound angry even though I know he's not?

"Elb? Ibt tpx il tilc rbv wbbf ihd opnf wb olm?" We descend the staircase side by side and she still hasn't let go of my wrist. Okay, April, seriously. I may look like something Klunk dragged in but considering I haven't even lost my balance yet I don't think I'm going to fall over anytime soon. I didn't even think it was possible to her to be so motherly and overly concerned, usually that's what Leo does.

"Il xlldlm nulyer whylm ovw H mhmc'w wihcf pcrwihcj bk hw olnpvxl bk wil epwl ibvy. Tir? Hx xbdlwihcj tybcj thwi ihd?" And now cue Leo's mother-henning because he just got his first good look at me. I didn't know Leo's jaw could hit the floor like that. "Tipw ipaalclm wb ihd?!" And now Leo is going to jump out of his chair and gives me a look that it's all my fault even though it isn't.

"I'm blaming you for this Leo," I mumble as April makes me sit in a chair. Wow, I didn't realize how tired I would be just walking down the staircase. I hope some coffee will wake me up a little better than being hauled out of my bed at some ungodly hour of the morni- afternoon? Great. I slept away most of the day. Just great.

"H wihcf il dhjiw ipul ipm pcbwily xlhqvyl pw xbdl abhcw olwtllc tilc Elb avw ihd opnf wb olm pcm tilc Dhflr tlcw wb tpfl ihd va." April's standing behind my chair keeping a firm grip on my shoulder. I sigh and rub at my eyes with one hand while gentle pushing it away. If I haven't fainted yet April I doubt I'm going to faint sitting in a chair, lay off.

"Jvlxx Mbc'x xwhee gvxw px dvni bk pc vc-dbychcj alyxbc px il tpx olkbyl pee wihx." Whatever, Casey. I want coffee. I go to get up only to have April push me back down in the chair. I give her a look that makes her flinch slightly and she releases my shoulder instantly. Good now I can go get some coffee even if I do feel like a complete heel. Still, I don't function as the kind, caring, considerate turtle that everyone knows me as until after I've had at least six cups of coffee. I'll apologize to April after I feel more like a turtle.

"Elw dl ipcmel ihd," Leo scoots his chair closer to me and gently takes my arm before I can get up.

I give Leo the same glare I gave April. "Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you can prevent me from getting coffee anymore than she does." I try to get up again and like a suspected, Leo just tightens his grip. "Leo, I'm not joking around. I will shove one of your swords where you really won't want it if you keep this up!" Alright, so that was a little more violent than I think I've ever been, especially towards my brothers, but I will go through with it if I don't get my coffee in the next three minutes!

Um? What is th- Coffee! And… oh shell… Mikey made those coffee cake muffins that I love. He's is so spoiling me right now. "Thanks Mikey. You're a life saver." Mainly for Leo who I was getting really close to impaling. I dig into the food and coffee he set in front of me with something that could only be described as gusto. Though I think a more powerful word is in order.

"H wibvjiw Mbc ipm jbbm wpoel dpcclyx."

"Cbw tilc Dhflr dpflx wibxl nbkkll nvanpflx." Raph, Casey, whatever you just said I'm going to ignore because these things are heaven. I wonder how many of these I can get Mikey to give me before I'm cut off. Probably only six because I'm the only one who eats them and unless he made a double batch then the recipe is only for six. Darn.

It's not until I'm on my fifth muffin and third cup of coffee that I noticed Leo watching everything I do with that intent look on his face. There are times I have to admit that Leo would be one of the best scientists ever if I could just get him out of the dojo for a few hours. His powers of observation astound me. I really need to convince him to use them more than to find clues on a crime scene. "You know staring is considered rude Leo."

Okay, now he's narrowing his eyes at me. What did I do? I tilt my head to the side and furrow my brow in confusion. After seeing me ask 'what' he points to me, the side of his head and then to the center of his chest. Wait. What? Seeing me give him a double take he repeats the action again with that soft reassuring smile he gets on his face when he knows one of us is confused. How the shell did Leo know I know who he is?

Oh duh. Leo is Leo after all and I was just praising his powers of observation. He probably has noticed how I've started acting more and more like myself as I remember everyone around me. But what tipped him off that I knew who he was? Coffee. We're always fighting about me drinking too much coffee. He's always trying to prevent me from drinking it and drink tea instead and there has been a few times I've been caffeine deprived enough to threaten him with bodily harm. Luckily he always backed down before I really could come to blows with him. Mostly it's lucky for me. If Leo can wipe my shell in a sparing mach when I'm awake than he could most defiantly beat me when I'm still mostly asleep.

"Rb, Elb? Tipw'x va thwi Mbc? Mhm rbv vaxlw ihd by xbdlwihcj?" I slowly nod my head.

"Cb, Ypai. H pxflm ihd hk il fcbtx tib H pd pcm il'x xprhcj il mblx." I can tell when Leo excited and happy about something. It's in his tone of voice the most. It takes this odd tone that reminds me of a five year old who thinks they have outwitted an adult. You can also see it in his eyes when he's excited or very angry. It's like they glint with an inner light that makes a shiver run up your spine because it's just so creepy. Comforting but creepy. The gentle restraining grip on my arm has also changed becoming firmer but more supportive instead of restricted.

The entire room has gone eerily silent. I guess whatever Leo had said attracted their attention. "Dpfl xvyl il pcwvpeer fcbtx tib rbv pyl Elo," I didn't know April's voice could get any softer than that. It sounds like a bomb going off in the room though. I wonder what would happened if I dropped a pin. "Il dpr gvxw ylcbjchql rbv ovw cbw pnwvpeer fcbt rbv."

Leo points to himself, shrugs his shoulders in confusion and then points to me. Great, the one thing that has been plaguing me since I remembered Raph is coming back to haunt me. How am I supposes to tell Leo who he is if I don't have any form of communication where I can express the letters or the sounds? There's got to be a way. I don't even want to try and figure out all the signs I would have to make to tell Leo who he is to me. And even then he might not understand everything correctly. He might mistake something that I say, and then start believing that I think he's working for the Shredder and will start avoiding me just so I'll stay in the lair. That would be just my luck too.

Everyone is still waiting for me to say something. It's like they're posing or something except they need to breathe more often. I didn't think it was possible to make Casey shut up for more then a minute. I should go and get a picture of that for April. It's not everyday Casey is ready to have a picture taken. Wait…

That's it!

I hold up my finger to Leo and then get out of the chair and head for the bookshelf in the computer nook. I can be such an idiot sometimes. If I had thought of this sooner this would have been a whole lot easier to let people know that I'm getting better and remembering them. Okay, there's that encyclopedia set that April bought for me last Christmas. And the sixth book from the right should be 'K', 'L' and about half of the 'M' section. I flip through the pages trying not to pay attention to the words that are flying by at incredible speeds because that would probably give me a headache. Ah! Here we go. Taking the book back over to where Leo is still standing next to the table, I give it to him pointing at the picture that takes up the bottom right corner of the left page.

It's time to really see if a picture is worth a thousand words.

I watch Leo as he looks at the picture I pointed out. To anyone else, it's a picture of a very famous painting that resides in the Louvre in Paris, France. To Leonardo it's more than just that. It's by his namesake after all. Leo's hand lands heavily on my shoulder bring me out of my thoughts and I can tell by the look on his face that he's proud of me. He got it. He actually got it. I had hoped it would work. I couldn't think of any other way to tell Leo who he was and judging by his reaction it was the best way I could have picked. "Xb tipw'x thwi wil obbf, Elb?"

Oops. As Mikey has so kindly brought back to my attention, the rest of the family has been watching this whole interaction between Leo and I. I hate being the center of attention like this. Who would have guessed that I have a slight case of stage fright? "Mbc xibtlm dl p ahnwvyl bk wil Dbcp Ehxp," he still has the happily proud expression on his face even as he turns to look at everyone else. "Hw'x bcl bk Elbcpymb mp Uhcnh'x dbzw kpdbvx tbyfx."

Stunned is what I think would best describe everyone's faces as they look at me. Didn't I just admit to having stage fright? I rub at a nonexistence itch on my cheek with one finger and look away from the six pairs of eyes trying to pop out of their sockets. "What? How else was I suppose to tell him who he is?"

"Mb rbv wihcf il fcbtx tib wil ylxw bk vx pyl?"

I don't get a chance to really think of what Raph could have said before I have a bouncing turtle in my face carrying on about something. I didn't even see Mikey move. How did he get across the room so fast? "Tipw pobvw dl Mbcchl?! Tipw pobvw dl?! Rbv ipul wb fcbt tib H pd! H'd wil nvwl bcl! Lvlyrbcl yldldolyx tib wil nvwl bcl hx! Nbdl bc Mbcchl! Tib pd H?! Ivi?! Ivi?!" Mikey can jump a foot in the air when standing still? Who the shell let him eat Trix with extra sugar again?! I though we all decided that he was ever going to have those things again. "Mbbbccchhhhhllll! Mbc'w wlee dl rbv bcer yldldolrlm Elo! Rbv'ul jbw wb yldldoly dl wbb!"

Okay Mikey's beginning to hit an all knew level of annoying and I swear if he hits that high octave again I'm going to slip muscle relaxants into his dinner. Let's see him make a clamor all doped up on that stuff. What the shell is he all bouncy about anyways? Oh, duh. Mikey can be such an attention hog. He doesn't want to be left out and, since I've remembered Leo, he's expecting me to have remembered him as well. Maybe I should not 'tell' him and teach him a lesson about always assuming whatever he wants will happen but… he is my little brother and…

I'm such a sucker.

Leo put the book back on the table and I lift it up, flipping closer towards the back of the book as I go. Almost the- here we go. The Sistine Chapel. I doubt Mikey's going to know who painted this without asking for some assistance. He really needs to look into art history more, especially if he's going to write and illustrate his own book one day. All the different styles that he could learn would really help expand his knowledge of the arts beyond that of comic books and the occasional young adult novel. Yup, just like I thought he's passing the book to Leo. "Hw'x wil Xhxwhcl Nipale, Dhflr. Bcl bk Dhnilepcjleb'x tbyfx."

AAHH!! Mikey torpedo!!! Oof! Ow. Normally I hate it when Mikey tackles me to the ground in a bear hug but this time I'll make an exception. I can't tell what he's mumbling about but I can hear that slight hitch in his voice that tells me he's close to crying. Oh Mikey… I gently rub his shell as he tries to crush me to himself. "It's okay, Mikey. I'm here."

It takes a few minutes for Mikey to calm down enough to get off me. Leo gives me a hand off the floor with that same smile on his face. That's not going to be leaving anytime soon I just know it. As I'm righted I can't help but notice that Mikey's on cloud nine and is bouncing all over the room excited about me remembering him if I would hazard a guess. Everyone seems to be on some level of celebration or discussing logistics of what just happened. I can't help but notice that there is only one person that seems a little upset about my announcement.

Raphael.

It's easy to tell when Raph's upset because of his stance and his body language. His arms are crossed in a protective gesture and his feet are spread slightly further apart than considered comfortable for standing. It's kind of a cross between his normal stand-off pose and one of his fighting stances. Usually when I see Raph standing like that I avoid him because he'll just be looking for a chance to fight with someone and blow off steam but this time I know that he's just feeling left out. He's not in the mood to fight with anyone, he just wants to be left alone so that he can wallow in sadness.

I'll fix that. I walk back over to the bookcase and count over from where the 'L' through 'M' book was till I get to the 'Q' and 'R' book. Let's see… no… no… okay, here we go, 'The School of Athens', one of my favorite paintings done by Raphael. I take the book over to Raph and tap him on the shoulder. He gives me this less than impressed look before noticing its me and that I'm giving him a book now too. "Don't worry, Raph, I know who you are too."

Aaahh! I twist around for a minute but I can't help but smile when I hear Raph laughing at me. Okay, so he's probably laughing at my puny attempts at getting out of this headlock but at least he's in a better mood than before. Come on… Oh great, now he's give me a nuggie. Shell, Raph! Urk… Ow. I stumble back away from him after I finally pull my head free. "That wasn't nice Raph!" Though my words are harsh I can't seem to put any bite into them and I know that I have a stupid grin on my face. I've finally got through to all of them that I've remembered them.

Well, almost everyone.

Now that my brothers know that I know who they are I have two best friends and a father to reassure. I know that the only two calendars in the lair is the one I have on my computer and that… ummm… interesting one that Raph got from Casey awhile back. I don't think it would be a good one to tell April who she is either and I doubt that Leo and Master Splinter could prevent Raph from killing me. I don't even think he knows I know about it and I'll keep it that way to keep my head in place.

I tap April's shoulder and she stops talking to a still happy looking Leo to look at me. I draw a rectangle in the air before and then cut it in half. With my finger I draw out a seven by five grid pattern on the lower portion of the rectangle. April Fool's Day was on a Tuesday this year. Starting on the second block in I count out the squares that represent each of the thirty days in April. Then I go to the top of my calendar and count up to four on my fingers. I'm so glad that I have enough fingers for that.

My meaning must have got across to April. I won't admit it to anyone just in case it ever got back to Casey but I love it when April gives me a hug. And it has nothing to do with certain aspect of her anatomy despite what anyone else might think. When one of my brothers gives me a hug, it's strong and I feel protected. Well, Mikey's hugs feel like I'm being strangled around the chest by an octopus but I still feel safe and protected. When April gives me a hug it's gentler, as if she could protect me through sheer will power rather than through sheer strength. It probably has to do with not having any form of mother figure in my life till I met April and I would never be caught dead calling her that but… the caring and compassion in her hugs could never be overshadowed by the loyalty and devotion I feel when my brothers hug me.

She let's go of me and I head back to my work bench. Now where did I put that laptop case? I'm so glad that Casey's nickname is easy to 'sign'. Of course I guess I could have just as easily used Raph's favorite nicknames of 'bonehead' and 'knucklehead' but I don't think Casey would get that right away. Raph and Mikey would but Casey wouldn't. Maybe I should sign those to him. No, than they would think that I don't know who he was. At least not completely and that wouldn't be fair to Casey. Oh there's that messenger bag.

I slide the computer out and leave it setting on the table amongst the books. I wouldn't want it to get damaged and at least everyone knows not to mess with anything on this table. Well, April does but she usually waits until I'm somewhere nearby or she asks first and I know she would never hurt my laptop. I walk over and toss the case to Casey who catches it and than looks at it for a moment. Come on, Casey, you're not that much of a bonehead. I know that can even go through that thick skull of yours.

Oops. I duck, dodging the one armed grab that was probably going to pull me down into a headlock much like Raph has already done. I'm so glad that he's predictable. I spin under his arm as he tries to grab me and come up along side him. He has that befuddled look on his face as I punch him in the shoulder. "Come on, Casey. You know you can't pull the same move on a ninja twice."

Now comes the easiest person to tell I remember them. I can feel everyone's eyes on my as walk over to the table and kneel down so I can look up at it. I can just feel the anticipation in the room. It's like that feeling everyone has when whatever sporting event we've been roped into watching with Casey comes down to the last few seconds and both teams are neck and neck. Let's see… Here we go. Shell… come out you stupid… I reach up on top of the table and pull down a fork. This should do it. There we go. Got it.

Leaving the fork on the table, I walk over to Master Splinter and offer him the piece of wood I just pried off of the bottom of the table. I can see in his eyes that he's proud that I've been able to remember everyone so far and I can tell that he's even happier that I've remembered him too. I still wait until he takes the small splinter of wood from my hand before I bow to him. Even if he's my father he's still my Master. And he's my father. I come out of my bow and the first thing I do is fall to my knees and hug him. He holds me just as close. Dad…

Splinter's fur and robes muffle the sounds of everyone's voice but I know that they've come to an important decision. When I let go of Splinter –who has a smile that matches Leo's- Mikey taps me on the shoulder. He points to me, the side of his head and than back to me. They want to make sure that my memory is enacted and that I remember myself as well as them. I nod my head at Mikey before turning back to the bookcase. I should give them definite proof.

Okay, third book in. Unlike my brothers who were named after painters, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi was best known for his sculptors. The equestrian monument of Gattamelata at Padua is one of my favorites but it isn't one of his best known works. The free standing Bronzed cast David is much more famous and notable. It's said that Donatello's portrayal of David was what inspired Michelangelo's David but I've never found anything that really proves that. I think it's more of a rumor than anything. But it would still be cool if it did happen that it was true. I give the encyclopedia to April because she's closer and I can tell that's she's over joy by her tone of voice. "Hw'x Mbcpwleeb'x Mpuhm."

She's hardly said that before Mikey gives a whoop and jumps on me knocking both of us into Raph. All three of us hit the floor and I get the barest glimpse of Leo standing over us smiling. Casey's voice suddenly yells, "AHJAHEL!" and I get the barest glimpse of Casey rocketing towards us with a very surprised looking Leo being knocked down with him. OW! Now I have another brother and Casey on top of me and I can hear April and Sensei laughing at us as we lay there in a pile of arms, legs and shells. And somehow… I wouldn't want this any other way.

…

I can't believe I had forgotten how much my family loves to celebrate when something big has happened. Of course, to my family, Raph getting up with his first alarm clock is a huge deal most of the time because we don't have to listen to Mikey's terrified scream after he's gone to wake Raph up after the tenth time he's hit the snooze. At least I have a tendency of getting up in the morning after I've hit the snooze button for the third time and I don't make a huge show of it like some older brothers who will remain un-named. But I guess I can't place all the blame on Raph either, Mikey really doesn't have to scream like that.

I'm trying to catch my breath after all the festivities. It was weird, everyone was happy and congratulating me but the mood shifted and wasn't half as happy when they realized I couldn't say anything to them. No one could get those over joy looks off their faces but they were still upset that I wasn't one hundred percent. I sigh and give the ceiling a mild glare. Really this blows. My family and I have reunited so to speak but still no one has a clue of what I'm saying.

Then April caught me rubbing at one of my temples and next thing I knew Mikey had made me admit that I had a headache. Of course, that meant a lot of unneeded worry that I was going to collapse and have a seizure. No matter what I tried to tell them they wouldn't listen and I was forced to drink some tea before I was put to bed. They needed to pay attention to me. Then they would have found out that the 'seizures' were actually me remembering them and not a typical seizure.

I can't complain about being put to bed though. I needed the sleep. I'm just starting to feel like a regular turtle again and according to the clock I've been dozing for almost five- closer to six hours. I would have been able to actually sleep if I didn't have concerned brothers sticking their heads in here every hour. I can't blame them, I would be doing the exact same thing if any of them had been laid up like I am, and it was nice to wake up to them.

I woke one time to find Mikey curled up against my shell on top the blankets. He had been holding me tightly, mumbling something about a car accident in his dreams. I really couldn't get a good look at him and every time I tried to roll over he'd whimper and hold me closer. I stopped after the second try and just threw part of the blankets over him to help keep him warm. As far as I'm concerned, if Mikey wanted to cuddle with me than he could do so as much as he wanted. I missed having my little brother coming to me looking for comfort, though in that situation I was really sure if I was comforting Mikey or the other way around.

Later, I woke to find Mikey gone and instead found Raphael perched on the edge of my bed just watching me sleep. Had it been anyone else I would have jumped out of my shell but I lost count of how many times I've woken in the middle of the night to find Raph next to the bed hurt or worried that he really wrecked the bike again. I'm use to late night visits from Raph, though this time it was mid afternoon and as I tried to get up to find out what had happened he just pushed me back into the bed. He watched me for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh and than laying down next to me on the bed, throwing and arm over my shell and huffing into the pillow. The look in his eyes clearly said if I said anything about this to anyone he was going to throttle me.

I wasn't surprised to find Raph gone when I woke up next time or to find Leo sitting next to the bed meditating. I really don't understand how he can meditate for hours on end like that, especially sitting on a cold, hard, concrete surface like that. "Leo?" my voice was still heavy with sleep and I really didn't think I had been loud enough to attract Leo's attention but his eyes snapped open and he looked at me calmly. I had yawned and than moved over on the bed patting it with my hand. With a smile Leo got up and sat on the side of the bed with his legs curled up under him, ready to meditate again. I curled around him and shut my eyes, smiling when I felt him put a hand on my shoulder and gently squeeze it.

I love my brothers.

However, I still can't talk and there's only so much signing that I can do to explain to them what happened to me and what's still happening to me. There's no way for me to tell if I still haven't remembered everything and I know that the next thing they're going to ask me is if I know who did this to me. There is no way in shell my brothers are going to let the Foot get away with this. Leo probably only did a 'scouting' mission so to speak when he went after them on his own. See how strong they were, trying to find out where they took me and where exactly Karai was. I doubt he had to think much about that last one, Mikey and I figured that he had been keeping tabs on the Foot's new leader for awhile now.

If that's the case, Leo probably confronted her when he was on his own. Was he interrupted in his revenge before he could do much damage? No. That guy with Saka said something about Karai not knowing about this. In his confrontation with Karai, Leo and her most likely talked and they realized that it was a faction of the Foot that did this to them. I can't imagine Karai took that very well. I'm so glad that I never pissed Karai off to the point where I saw her mad. That can't be a pretty sight.

And that would mean that no one but me knows where Saka and his faction are.

Joy.

And again I'm landed with the problem that I can't talk to anyone and there's no way they'll let me show them. I'll be lucky to get out of the lair at all in the next week. Or month. Or year. Everyone's going to be so over protective of me I'm going to feel like I'm suffocating soon or something. I'm surprised that I don't feel like that now. Other than sleeping -and sometimes not even then- one of my family members has been with me.

Do I really want to show/tell them where Saka is? There's no telling what he would do to one of the guys if he caught them. Would he do the same thing to them that he did to me? Would he do some other experiment? Would he just out right kill them? I sigh and close my eyes. I have no idea what that guy would do to them. I don't even want to think of what he would do to them. I… I… I can't just send them after that guy with out knowing what'll happen. I don't want them to end up like me or worst. I couldn't imagine any of my brothers stripped of their memories like I was. I don't even want to think of that.

I sigh again and open my eyes to stare at the drawing board. Even if I don't tell them where Saka is it would still be nice to talk to them. I wish being able to discuss things with them, reassure them that I'm alright and -most importantly- be able to yell at them when they pick me up. Just because I'm the lightest doesn't mean I like to be hauled around like a toy or something. It's embarrassing to say the least.

How can I relearn how to talk again when I'm not speaking or hearing any form of regular conversation? I came to the conclusion long ago that this excuse of a language that my brain has come up with is not based on any known language. It's more like a random jumble of wards that have been mixed and matched together. As far as I can tell, sentence structure and pronunciation are the same so it's just the letters themselves that are being confused. It doesn't make it any easier to figure anything out knowing that though. I have nothing to base anything on so there's no way to check to see if I figured it out right. I don't even have an idea of where I could begin. This would be so much easier if I was literate or something…

Maybe I am literate… Well, not in the regular sense but I do still know how to spell. I just don't know what the letters stand for but if they're jumbled like I think they are than I would just have to see a word that I know means something and than match the letters together and solve it like a code. It might just work. All I need is a word wrote out in English so I can match it to gibberish and than I can test this. Now where am I going to get a word that I know the spelling of? It's not like I can write it out myself and there's no telling what anyone else would write if I asked them to write something down. If I could get them to copy down their names that would be the easiest to work with but how would I mime that to them?

Actually… I throw the blankets off my legs and walk over to the filing cabinet. The top three doors I use to keep ideas and research organized but the bottom two are filled with medical files for my family. Let's see… I was right. I wrote out their full names on the header of the files regarding them. Taking each of the five named folders from the drawer I head for my drafting board. I'm going to have to put them back after I can read so I don't put them in the wrong place. I set them on the board, shift the blueprints for the bike to the other end of the table and grab a fresh piece of paper.

Okay, now this could take awhile. I kept the files in alphabetical order so that means this first folder belong to me. I carefully transfer the gibberish onto the sheet of paper before writing out my full name below it in gibberish. They look so different but I won't be able to detect any form of pattern or translation if I don't get more of an idea of what English looks like. Okay, next is Leo's folder… Now Master Splinter's… Mikey's… and finally Raph's… Okay now let's see if I can make some sense of this.

Mmmm… there's a reoccurring theme with the 'a's in our names. They're all 'p's in gibberish. Raphael's name has both an 'a' and a 'p' in it so they're swapped. A=P and vice versa. I write those in its own column on the sheet of paper before me with enough room in between to write more letters that are sure to come and box them in our names so I can keep track on which letters are which. Okay… now the 'o's and the 'b's also seem to be in the same boat but without a 'b' in anyone's name it's hard to check that one. I'll go with it and change it later if need be. O=B and B=O are added to the list. 'D' and 'm' are next… 'N' and 'c'… 'L' and 'e'… 'W' and 't'… 'R' and 'y'… 'H' and 'I'… "X' and 's'… and finally 'g' and 'j'. I still don't know what 'f', 'k', 'q', 'u', 'v' and 'z' stand for but right now I have the rest of the alphabet written out on the side of the paper. Now that I have an idea of what is what I should test this out and see if someone can understand what I'm writing. It's not as good as talking but at least this is a start.

As I study the list of words in front of me to memorize it, I start to notice a pattern in it. If I start the alphabet at 'p' and than go backwards through it all the letters click into place. Instead of jumbling the alphabet my mind just shifted the alphabet back by sixteen letters to make a new one. I grab a note pad and using the code I just deciphered write out 'can you read this?' in English. In what I hope is the correct form of English anyways. I won't know for sure if this is the correct format until someone reads it. I look at the writing on my pad and than back at the code on the board. I hope this is right, 'npc rbv ylpm wihx?' looks so different compared to umm… I shake my head. Come on, Don, stop doubting yourself and just go find someone to test this on.

I open my door and step out of my room into the generalized chaos that is my home. Mikey's trying to touch the ceiling again. I've told him to be careful when he's doing that, with repetitive hits of that force lading on the half pipe it will eventually break and knowing Mikey he'll be on it when it happens. He's so cleaning up that mess. Raph and Casey are in front of the television yelling at it so there has to be some form of sporting event on right now. At least neither of them have anything heavy to bludgeon the TV with except each other and the last time they tried that the broke most of the furniture in the living room fighting over who was going through the TV. Again, I'm not picking that up. April is still up to her nose in books. It looks like Master Splinter is meditating or resting in his room. I can just barely make out the candles flickering from under the door. How he can meditate in all this noise I don't know… Well, he has had almost seventeen years of practice so yeah…

Leo's seems to be the only one not in the middle of something right now. Well, he's drinking his tea and judging by that neutral look on his face I caught him before he was able to get into the dojo for the next hour. Yeah, it is almost four so Leo is getting ready for his extra hour of self training he does everyday. No one can be perfect but Leo's getting pretty close with all the practice he's putting in all the time.

I can't help but feel nervous as I hop over the railing and land in the kitchen. Leo doesn't even seem the least bit startled that I'm up. He probably knew the moment I threw the covers off my legs. I need to learn how he's learned to tell where each of us is every second of the day. I might actually get some work done in my lab if I knew when everyone was previously engaged elsewhere and I could mess with some of my more dangerous experiments without having to worry about brothers barging into the room and throwing a proverbial and actual monkey wrench into things.

"Ilr Mbc. Kllehcj pcr olwwly?" Leo's not even looking at me when he's talking but I can tell he's addressing me because he's voice didn't rise above the din in the room to yell at anyone else. I shuffle my feet for a moment trying to build up the courage to give Leo the pad of paper. Shell, this is nuts. Just give him the pad… but what if he can't read it? I… Before I can think about it again and maybe finally talk myself out of this entire endeavor, I hand the pad of paper over to a confused looking Leo. He takes it looking at me concerned before taking a sip of tea and reading over what I wrote. That might not be a good idea…

I didn't know that the 'Enlightened One's training included tea snorting.

I think Leo's broken Mikey's record on distance.

He's out of the chair before I can blink and grabs my shoulder. I blink in confusion when he talks. I usually am able to at least make out what Leo's saying even if I can't understand him but whatever he says comes out in such a rush that I can't even follow what he just said. He's talking as fast as Mikey does when he's eaten way too much sugar. Whatever he said also seems to have caught everyone else's attention too. Now I really do feel nervous. A gentle shake on my arm brings my attention back to Leo. "Mbc, mb rbv vcmlyxwpcm dl?"

Why do I have a bad feeling that I've raised his hopes only now to just dash them? I take the pad of paper from his hand and write out, "I don't understand speech Leo. Write it out." I guess I can safely say that Leo understood what I had written. That alphabet that I figured out was the correct one. I hand the pad back to him and his eyes glance over it before he frowns and scribbles something out.

"So you can understand what we write but not what we say?" I wish I knew how to talk this would be so much faster.

Wait if I want speed than I should use a computer. I can type faster than I can write. Beckoning Leo to follow me I head for the table and the laptop that I had left there earlier. My master computer has more processing power but I have a feeling everyone is going to be standing over my shoulder watching what I'm typing so the more room the less claustrophobic I'll feel.

"Leb, tipw'x jbhcj bc whwi Mbcchl? Tir tlyl rbv pxfhcj ihd hk il vcmlrxwbbm rbv?"

"Mbc'x khjvylm bvw ibt wb tyhwl Ypai." I ignore what Raph and Leo are talking about as I perch on a stool and flip the laptop open. I should have thought about using a keyboard earlier. I learned how to type without looking at a keyboard when I was ten and last I checked all keyboards have the same formatting. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Using the F5 button, I brought up the blank word pad document. I programmed into the computer ages ago and right now I'm glad that I did. There's no telling how long it would have taken me to navigate through all the menus to get to it. I type into the computer as I feel Leo look over my shoulder, "My mind is processing the alphabet as if 'A' was 'P' and then 'O' is 'B' and so on. Think of it as if you have two alphabets below each other but one starts below the letter 'P' and goes from there."

I take my hands away fro the keyboard and lean to the side as Leo types something back to me. As it was with the writing it takes me a moment to translate it but it seems that everything falls together correctly. "Don, do you know what they gave you? If we knew what it was then we could figure out a way to fix it."

By 'we' he means April. "Mbc'x poel wb wpef wb vx?" Casey says and I glance over to find Raph and him coming over to look at the computer too. April is already standing behind me and judging by the crash and the following yelp Mikey's going to be over here in a moment too. I'm definitely glad that I chose to sit here and not in the computer nook.

I type, "I never got a look at the bottles of whatever he injected me with. As far as I can tell he gave me an amnesia causing drug with a few added side drugs to help keep me… placid." I really don't know how else to say that. I had to have been given some form of sedative judging by how I felt when I first woke up. And the few memories I have from during my time in the lab just seems to confirm that. I had to have been drugged out of my mind on more than one occasion.

"Pxf ihd pobvw wil xlhqvylx Elb. Xll hk il ipx pc hmlp pobvw tipw'x npvxhcj wild." Leo's typing before April's even finished talking. "What about the seizures? Do you have an idea about what's causing those and how to prevent them?"

As soon as Leo's fingers have left the keyboard mine's are back on it and flying. Finally, I can reassure them about this. "This is going to sound weird but the seizures have actually been a good thing. Every time I've fallen down, fainted, collapsed or had a seizure I was actually remembering something. My mind couldn't handle the sudden rush of information I got when I remembered something so it 'overload' and caused me to go down."

Leo takes control of the keyboard again. "So you remembered something else last night? What was it?"

"I remembered who you were." The response is almost immediate as Leo squeezes my shoulder which his hand has been resting on when he wasn't typing. I can't help but reassure him again even though I don't know if this is true or not. "Don't worry. I was in no danger of dying. I was just a little worn out."

Leo leans over the keyboard again. "Do you know why your breathing became depressed and why you started to slip into cardiac arrest?"

So I was right and I did have a heart attack after I remembered April. No wonder they were panicked when I woke up this morning. "I think it was just was from remembering too much in a short time period without the adequate time in between to rest from it."

"Khcm bvw tib mhm wihx wb ihd, Elb. Pcm tilyl tl npc khcm ihd."

Judging by Raph's face, he's looking for a fight. "Who did this to you Donnie? Do you know where he is?" I knew this was coming. Raph's looking for revenge and by the look on Leo and Mikey's face they're looking for it too. Should I tell them where to find Saka? I don't want them to get hurt…

My hands begin to fly over the keyboard without much thought. "The doctor that did this to me was called 'Doctor Saka'. Whether that is his alias or his real name I don't know. Unfortunately, when I was taken to the lab they took me too, I wasn't able to see anything to tell me where I was."

I can tell by the way Raph pounded the table that he's just a little upset by what I just said. "H'ee xll hk H npc khcm pcrwihcj pobvw p Mbnwby Xpfp," April mumbles before stepping away heading for the larger computer. I know she's going to see if she can find anything about Saka but I doubt she'll pull up anything. The more I think of it the more I think that his name is just an alias. At least I hope she doesn't find anything.

I think Doctor Saka and I are due for a little talk.