Mikey hummed to himself as he pet Mayunk. The usually cheerful and hyper cat seemed very tired and almost depressed. Mikey knew that it was because the cat could tell that April wasn't feeling very well, and she was worried about her. Mikey sorta wanted to leave Mayunk with April, but he didn't want the cat to get in the healer's way. And if April was just going to be getting worse, then Mayunk would probably become more and more distressed, and she didn't need that.
Mikey sat on the boat that he and Leo would be taking and he looked around the cave. He and Leo had gone into town to grab some provisions. Mikey had grabbed some non-perishable food and plenty of fresh water, though he'd also picked up Mayunk on his way back, because he'd thought that the cat might need some company.
Leo was responsible for getting other resources they might need. Mikey knew for a fact that Leo was going to be getting some rope, a couple of knives, and some old books of Splinters that might give them an idea of where to find the demigod brothers. Though knowing Leo he was probably grabbing anything else that came to his mind, which would explain why he was taking so long. They had agreed to meet back up on the ship, but Leo was sure taking a long time.
Mikey sighed and tightened his grip on Mayunk. He was anxious to get going already. Their island home had been getting a lot worse with every year that passed, and it seemed like these bad things were just accelerating. They had to fix things before they got even worse.
"Mikey!" The teenager breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see his brother running towards him, a couple of bags slung over his shoulders. "You find everything?"
"I'm sure if I forgot anything, you grabbed it," Mikey set his cat down and went to help his brother bring everything on the boat. Mayunk wasn't happy about being put down. She began meowing loudly and running between Mikey's feet. He nearly stepped on his cat a couple of times.
Mikey began to put the supplies that Leo had brought in the small storage area under the boards of the ship, where the food and water already was.
"I sure hope so," Leo said, his voice sounding equal parts nervous and excited. He pulled out a map from one of the bags he was holding. "Splinter says that there are a lot of Islands out there. If we need more provisions, we should be able to find something out there," Leo looked over the map before he folded it up and handed it to Mikey, who put it in the storage area along with everything else. Leo was adjusting the ropes on the sail. "Are you ready to go?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Mikey said. He was just as excited to get out there as Leo was, but he was a little concerned about leaving home for the first time. Mayunk meowed and began playfully attacking Mikey's feet. She wanted attention. Mikey smiled and bent down to pick her up. "Mayunk's ready too."
Leo paused and gave him a critical stare. "Your cat's not coming."
"I'm not leaving him," Mikey clung tightly to his pet. "April's not feeling good enough to take care of a cat, and Splinter will be too busy."
"We're going out on the ocean," Leo pointed out, as though Mikey hadn't concerned that fact.
"Mayunk's been near the water before," Mikey reminded his brother. He regularly brought the cat to the shore, and not once did she get into trouble. She was too smart for that. "I'll watch out for her,"
"And what about food and water?" Leo asked.
"He doesn't eat a lot," Mikey insisted. "And I'll share my portion of water with him."
Leo raised an eyebrow at him. "And what if you get dehydrated because you're not drinking enough?"
Mikey chuckled. "Dude, you're the one that said there are lots of islands out there. We can find more water."
Leo didn't look completely convinced, but Mikey wasn't going to budge on this. Mayunk was a social kitty, she got really upset when she couldn't get attention from either Mikey or April. Despite this, Mayunk was more of a wild cat than a domestic one. She knew how to take care of herself.
Finally Leo sighed. "We don't have time to argue about this. Just don't come crying to me if your cat begins drowning,"
"I won't," Mikey promised, though they both knew that if Mayunk fell into the water, Leo wouldn't hesitate to jump in and save him. He kind of acted like he was everybody's hero.
"Let's go," Leo said "While we still have some sunlight," Leo grabbed some rope that he'd brought with him from the village and tied one end to the mast. Holding the other end Leo then walked off the boat towards the water. Mikey got off the boat too, though he went to the back of it. While Leo pulled the boat, Mikey pushed it from behind. It took a moment, but they were able to get the boat out on the water. They continued pushing the boat until they were sure that the bottom of their boat wouldn't scrape against the ocean floor.
Once they couldn't push it anymore, Mikey and Leo climbed back onto the boat. Mikey didn't feel completely steady standing on the boat, so he crawled to the front of the boat and sat on the edge, dangling his feet into the water. Leo handed him an ore while he kept one for himself. Mikey had never used an ore before, but he had a basic idea of what to do with it.
Mikey and Leo awkwardly struggled with their ores to row the boat out of the cave. Once they were out on open water and there was a wind to work with, Leo set his ore down and began trying to use the sail. Though he'd been given a crash course that morning from Casey, and another one from Splinter a short while ago, he still had a long way to go.
"Are you going to be okay?" Mikey asked his brother as he picked up Mayunk and brought her to his lap. "Do you need help?"
"I'm fine, I just need some time to get the hang of it," Leo said, already slightly stressed. This was actually a good sign, as when Leo was just a little stressed, he had a tendency to focus more and be more productive. But when he was like this, he definitely worked best when left alone, so he could focus. "Once I figure this out, I'll show you what to do. Once we're both decent with the sail, we would probably want to take turns manning the sail and napping. I don't want to leave the boat unsupervised at night."
It sounded like a good plan to Mikey. "In that case, it okay with you if I take a nap now?" Mikey wasn't especially tired, but it would be better for him to sleep while he had the chance, or else he might be completely exhausted when he had work to do, and that might be disastrous. Besides, Mikey sleeping was probably the only way he could give Leo some privacy.
"Go ahead," Leo said, and he sounded almost relieved. He definitely liked his space.
Mikey stretched and laid down on the boards, using his arm as a pillow. Mayunk walked onto his face and laid down on top of it, making Mikey chuckle. The cat's purring sounded especially loud when she was right there, but Mikey didn't mind. He'd slept like this before.
Because it was the middle of the day, and Mikey wasn't very tired, it took some time for him to begin to doze off. Eventually though the gentle rocking of the waves, along with the cool ocean breeze and warmth of the sunlight on his skin, began to lull him to sleep. Slowly but surely, Mikey slipped into unawareness.
Mikey was resting comfortably, but he was roused when Leo shook his shoulders. "Mikey we got a problem,"
Mikey groaned and forced his eyes open. His vision was a little bleary, and he just wanted to go back to sleep, but Leo sounded really worried, and Mikey knew it wouldn't be for nothing. "What's going on?" Mikey rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"The ocean's still," Leo said, like it was a problem. Not completely understanding, Mikey looked out towards the water. Leo was right, the water was incredibly still, but Mikey didn't understand why this was a problem.
"Isn't that what we want?" Mikey asked. The stiller the water was, the smoother their boat would sail over the surface.
"Not like this," Leo knelt next to the water and poked his finger on the water. Mikey frowned when he saw that it didn't cause even a single ripple. The water was completely still, and Mikey realized just how unnerving it was to see. Mikey had seen the ocean a lot from their island, and even on the most pleasant there were still ripples and waves on the water. Without it, it just looked unnatural and wrong.
And it wasn't just the water either. It took Mikey a few moments to realize that the sky was cloudy and overcast, but even taking the clouds into account it was ominously dark. Then there was the complete lack of a breeze. Everything was just so quiet and still, but not in a peaceful way. It made shivers go down Mikey's spine.
"What's going on?" Mikey asked, though he didn't exactly expect an answer.
"I don't know," Leo admitted. He stood up and returned to the sail. "Why don't we go to that island over there and see if we can get any answers," Despite the lack of wind, Leo was able to manipulate the sail to bring them towards the island that Mikey could have sworn wasn't there a second ago.
Mikey wasn't used to sailing, so for all he knew this was completely normal, but Mikey could swear that the boat was moving way too fast. It was barely a minute before they were coming right up to the island, which was starting to look very familiar to Mikey.
"Is that…" Mikey trailed off."
"Home," Leo sounded sick. He dropped the sail's rope and jumped off the boat. Leo began to wade awkwardly in the water as he tried to run towards the shore. Mikey grabbed Mayunk and dashed after his brother. As Mikey's feet touched the sand on the ocean floor, they began to sink into it almost immediately. It felt like the ocean was trying to pull him under. If Mikey wasn't so close to the island shore already, he would probably be freaking out.
Mikey struggled to the island, and he was relieved when he got there, though that relief quickly went away when he felt the sand on the shore. Even up here, the water still wasn't moving. Right up to the waterline, the sand was still completely dry. It felt like the sand was scattering at the slightest touch. Nothing was grounding it. Mikey was reminded more of the sand in a dessert than the sand on a beach.
Mikey frowned as he saw the plants just beyond the sand. They looked normal, but nothing about any of this was normal. He was worried about what he might see. Mikey made his way to the plants. He reached out for the leaves and touched one of them, only for it to dissolve into black dust. To Mikey's horror it wasn't just the leaves that disappeared, but the dust began to spread quickly until all of the plants that Mikey could see were gone in a wave of terrifying dust.
"Leonardo, Michelangelo!" Mikey froze at those words. There were very few people who called him and his brother by their full names. He stood up to see Splinter running through the sea of dust, looking scared, which was terrifying in and of itself. There wasn't a lot that could scare Splinter.
"Dad?" Mikey stared at their father.
"Sensei!" Leo pushed past Mikey and ran towards Splinter. Just before Leo reached him the dark dust surrounding them seemed to explode and in an instant Mikey couldn't see either his brother or his father anymore. They were gone. The instant they had disappeared, the dust continued to storm out. It was coming towards him. Mikey instinctively turned away from it, only to see that everything around him was dissolving into the ashy dust. The sand, the sea, everything. It was all gone. And it wasn't long before the same thing would happen to him.
"-ey...Mikey!" His eyes flew open and he sat up with a start to see Leo shaking his shoulder, looking at him in concern. "Are you okay? You looked like you were having a nightmare."
"I-I'm fine," Mikey ran a hand through his hair. "I just..." Mikey ran a hand through his hair. He looked out towards the sea and frowned.. The waters definitely weren't calm and unmoving the way they'd been in his dream. In fact, the waters were rocky, and when Mikey saw the skies ahead of them he could quickly see why.
"We're sailing into a storm?" Mikey stood up, clutching tightly to Mayunk to keep her from being tossed overboard. The skies ahead of them were dark, and Mikey was a little upset to see lightning off in the distance. As a child he'd always enjoyed watching storms in the distance. It was amazing for him to see lightning in the horizon, even when he knew that the storm was coming right towards them. But back at home, they had shelter, and a father who always made sure they were safe. Out here, they were completely defenseless and on their own.
"I've been trying to avoid this thing for hours," Leo said. "But no matter where I turn, the ocean seems to be pushing me right towards it." Mikey frowned at the sea. He'd thought it was their friend. It was supposed to be guiding them on their quest, keeping them safe, and yet it was pulling them continuously towards what seemed to be a terrible storm.
"I don't like the looks of this storm," Leo frowned out towards the dark clouds before looking back towards Mikey. "Can you help me take down the sail? It's just going to make it easier for us to be tossed aside by the storm."
"I think that's going to happen anyways," Mikey said. If they took the sail down, it may keep the winds from making them capsize, but they would still be vulnerable to the water. Still, Mikey did as his brother said. Just because they were in trouble anyways didn't mean that they should just lie down and take it.
Neither of them knew a lot about the sail. They soon found that it was a lot harder to take down than they thought it would. Mikey had no idea how they were going to put this sail back up again, but they had to worry about just one thing at a time."
By the time they got the sail down, folded up, and stored safely with their other things the storm was practically right on top of them. Feeling desperate and not wanting to worry about anything else while they were in the middle of the storm, Mikey put Mayunk in the storage area too. He knew that it wouldn't be good to have her in there for a long period of time, but Mikey didn't want his cat to be knocked into the sea. She would be at least a little safer in there.
"Hang on," Before Mikey could close up the storage area again Leo knelt down and grabbed some of the thinner, but firmer rope. He tied one end of it around a plank, and from the other end he made a harness that he slipped onto Mayunk. It was tight enough to do something to keep Mayunk from getting separated from the boat, but it also shouldn't be so tight that it hurt her.
Leo grabbed some more rope and closed up the storage area. He pulled Mikey to the mast and handed him the rope. Make sure you're tied down. We don't want to be dragged away from the boat," Leo said as he tied the mast rope to his waist.
"Or from each other," Mikey followed Leo's example, though he also tied his rope to Leo's, just in case. If one of their ropes came loose, hopefully the other's would save them.
"Brace yourself," Leo warned. He and Mikey grasped hands. They could do nothing but watch as they were pulled towards the impending storm, waiting for the world around them to devolve into complete chaos. All they could do was hope that they made out of this alive.
Donnie frowned and narrowed his eyes at the storm clouds in the distance. He hadn't seen a storm like that for five hundred years. In fact, he hadn't seen any storms during that time, since he and Raph had washed up on this cursed island. This place was so secluded and separated from the rest of the world that Donnie sometimes referred to their forced home as limbo, while Raph seemed to prefer the term 'Hell'.
Even if the storm was miles away from them, just the fact that it was somewhat close to them was worth taking note of. This wasn't an ordinary storm, and Donnie was determined to figure out what was so different about this one.
Donnie tightened his grip on his staff. He closed his eyes and held the staff in the air. He could feel the wind around him. Using his staff he could easily manipulate the wind to his every whim, but that wasn't what he was doing right now. Here, that wasn't what he wanted to do. Donnie wanted to get a sense of how the wind naturally was right now.
Even from this distance, Donnie could feel the stiffness in the air. It was subtle, but he was the demigod of the wind. If there was even the smallest of changes in the air, Donnie could feel it.
So Donnie knew that something was wrong, but he wasn't content with just that knowledge. Donnie was a seeker of knowledge, always had been. It wasn't enough for him to know that there was a problem, he wanted to be able to solve it, or at least be able to explain it.
But first, he needed some help.
Donnie grimaced as he looked back towards the cliffs, where his brother had stormed off to a few hours ago. He and Raph had gotten into another fight that day. It definitely hadn't been one of their worst ones, but Donnie hated all of their fights equally. He and his brother had nothing and nobody else in the world besides each other. They should be really close, and they were, but they still frequently got on each others nerves constantly. It was exhausting, and emotionally trying. Especially for two people who would much rather push away their emotions, because they were too hard to deal with.
Whenever they fought, Donnie tried to give his brother as much space as he needed to calm down. Sometimes it took just a few minutes, sometimes it could be a couple of days. And Donnie could never predict how long it would take Raph to calm down, not even based off of how bad the fight was. Some of their mildist disagreements had ended with Raph disappearing for two or three days. It was infuriating, and very worrying.
Sometimes though Donnie couldn't help but go after his brother, whether because he needed something, or because he thought that Raph was so upset that he needed at least some form of comfort. Despite the fact that Raph tried to insist on his privacy when he was mad, he had yet to push Donnie away when he came to him. When Donnie was there to help Raph, he was careful not to let his brother know that he was actually there. Raph was a lot more willing to accept help when he didn't know it was being offered. And when Donnie needed help, no matter what Raph's mood was, all he had to do was ask. Raph always did anything he could to help him, even when they were mad at each other.
Donnie steeled himself and made his way towards the cliffs. Even though he was the demigod of the wind, and Raph had dominion over the sea, Raph had always felt more comfortable when he was higher up, where the wind was stronger. Donnie on the other hand liked to stay on sea level. He couldn't even tell you why. Donnie's closest guess was that the sea reminded him of his brother. Rough, unpredictable and uncontrollable, and especially harsh at times, but still nice and gentle.
Donnie liked to think that Raph liked the cliffs because of the wind, the same way that he liked the beach because of the sea, but he couldn't really say for sure. And Donnie was too afraid to ask.
Donnie made his way up the familiar rough path of the cliff. The overrun path was steep and treacherous for normal people, but Donnie was a demigod, and he'd been traveling this path for five hundred years. It gave him no problems, though he rarely decided to be as daring as Raph was. Donnie's brother preferred to climb straight up the cliffside. He said he liked the rush, though Donnie suspected that Raph also used the physical work to calm down his aggression and anger.
When Donnie got to the cliffside he found Raph standing at the edge, glaring out towards the sea. Raph didn't turn towards him, but Donnie knew that he had heard him.
"I'm guessing you saw the storm too," Raph said stiffly. He was clearly still mad about what they'd argued about, but he was doing his best to put his anger aside.
Donnie came to stand next to his brother. "I haven't just seen it, I've felt it," Donnie adjusted his grip on his staff. Raph looked towards him and glowered at the staff slightly, though Donnie completely understood why, and he didn't comment on it. It had been five hundred years since their encounter with Karai, but they both felt the pain as much as they had the day after it had happened. They'd been banished, stripped of a lot of their powers, and their weapon was separated.
Donnie had gotten off lucky. His staff had washed up on shore a few days after they had. They'd never seen any sign of Raph's sais, and Donnie could tell that his brother was missing his weapons deeply, even after all this time. The thing was, their weapons weren't just tools, they were part of them and had been since they'd been adopted by the gods as infants.
Raph took a deep breath and looked back towards the storm. "Any idea what's going on?"
"Oh, I have lots of ideas," Donnie said. He always did. "But I can't actually support any of them."
Raph's expression darkened. As annoyed as he could get when he thought that Donnie was acting too 'smart', Raph got even more furious when Donnie couldn't be confident about his knowledge.
"I might know how we can find out more," Donnie said somewhat reluctantly. He wasn't too eager to share his idea, but Raph shot him a heated glare that let him know that keeping his idea to himself wasn't a good idea.
Donnie sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "...We could always ask the ocean,"
Raph's eyes darkened so much that Donnie was almost worried that his brother was going to hit him. It wouldn't be the first time. "No,"
"It's been almost three hundred years," Donnie pointed out. "Something might have changed."
"Nothing's changed," Raph insisted.
"You don't know that," Donnie said just as strongly. Raph may be stubborn, but so was he. Donnie held his staff out towards Raph. "Please, just give it a try,"
Raph glared at the staff like it was going to bite him before he growled and accepted it. "Don't blame me if this doesn't work," Raph began to make his way down the cliff. Donnie was glad that he'd convinced Raph to at least give things a try, but he was also worried about how Raph might react. This little test that Donnie had convinced his brother to try, it never went the way that either of them wanted it to, and Raph always walked away from it really distressed, and every single time Donnie felt guilty for putting his brother through all that.
They had to give it a try though. Who knows, maybe they would get lucky today.
As they got closer to the water, Raph began storming less and he seemed almost nervous, and definitely cautious as he approached the sea. Donnie waited on the shore as Raph waded out into the water. He couldn't go very far, as they were stuck on this island, but for what he was about to do, the closer Raph was to the water, the better.
Donnie waited anxiously as Raph took in a deep breath and put the end of the staff in the water. "Hey...it's been awhile," Donnie watched as Raph's shoulder's stiffened. "I know I've been ignoring you for a long time, and I...I'm sorry about that, but it's hard, you know? We were so close, but I make just one mistake, and you've left me." Donnie felt his chest twist up. Raph was usually furious when he did this, but he just sounded hurt and upset, and Donnie completely understood why.
Just like how Donnie had a connection with the air, Raph had one with the sea, though it had been a long time since he'd felt anything from the ocean. The sea had abandoned Raph, which was a big blow for someone who'd been given the title of demigod of the sea itself.
Raph tried to reach out to the ocean, but the more he didn't get an answer, the more pointless he felt it was. Four hundred and fifty years ago Donnie had suggested that Raph try using Donnie's staff. It may not be his sais, but it was still a piece of their shared weapon. It should still symbolise his connection to the elements and the gods. Donnie refused to accept that Raph had been abandoned by the sea, but Raph was no longer as hopeful. Now Raph only tried it at Donnie's insistence, and every time he didn't get an answer it was even more time before he dared to try it again.
"Something's going on," Raph said. "I know you can feel it. Me and my brother just want some answers. And after the silent treatment for this long, I think you owe me that much."
They both waited with bated breath for the sea to answer. Neither of them dared to move. They waited for half an hour with no change. Donnie was about to suggest that they call it a day when Raph snapped.
"Fine!" Raph roared at the ocean. He pulled the staff back and Donnie could swear that he was about to throw the staff out into the water in his anger, but Raph surprised him. He instead slammed the staff against the water surface with a furious shout before storming back to the shore.
"Raph…" Donnie reached out towards his brother. Raph just growled and shoved his staff into his hands.
"Forget it," Raph said. His tone was angry, but Donnie could see the pain in his eyes. He was using his anger as a shield to protect himself. "Sorry I couldn't be any help," Before Donnie could say anything else, Raph stalked away, probably going to hide up on his cliff again.
Donnie wanted to go after him, but he didn't know what good it would do. He knew that Raph was feeling abandoned and unworthy, and Donnie didn't know how to change his mind when he was beginning to think that the sea really didn't accept him anymore, which wasn't fair. They'd both gone after the Heart of Miwa, but Raph was the one who had lost his weapons as well the very element that was his to claim.
It was heartbreaking, and absolutely infuriating. Throughout his whole life, Donnie had come across a lot of problems that he couldn't solve or explain, but this one, the one that was making Raph feel like he wasn't good enough, was the one that haunted Donnie everyday.
He just wanted Raph to be happy. That shouldn't be too much to ask for, but apparently it was. They'd made a mistake, and it seemed like this was their punishment. If these past five hundred years were any indication, they were going to be forced to spend the rest of their lives thinking that with all their strengths and powers, it would never be good enough.
They would never be good enough. Never again.
A/N: Finally, 20,000 words in and I'm bringing in Raph and Donnie. Now, the story really begins. I've been waiting to write Raph and Donnie. I have no idea why it took so long to get this story going. I guess the first few chapters were wanting to be built up slowly, and who knows, maybe the rest of the story will progress just as slowly. I guess only time will tell (because seriously, I have no clue).