Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they are the property of Mirage Studios, Inc. I am only borrowing them for the entertainment of those reading this. Please don't sue me, I assure you—I have no money. The other characters are mine, please don't borrow without permission.
Chapter 6: Michaelangelo
-4 Months Later-
Michaelangelo:
I pulled out my journal for the second time. It was definitely one of those days. I took my favorite seat by the window and looked out across the landscape. I never actually thought I'd go anywhere as far as Australia, and it was amazing. I still didn't have Athena convinced that it was okay for me to have a koala or kangaroo as a pet, but I was working on it. I chewed on the pen cap for a minute to decide what it was that I wanted to write.
July 27 (afternoon) -I know I already wrote once today, but Psyche said I should write in this whenever I feel like it and I guess I just feel like it. I realized about an hour ago as I was eating my lunch that it's been almost a year since we lost Splinter. Some days it makes me crazy to think about how much things have changed. Other times I wonder how I would have survived if they hadn't. Regardless, I still miss him every day.
Athena just called a little while ago to check in on me. She said everyone else is doing fine. I guess I'll have to just take her word for it. I started to miss them again when I got off the phone with her. Sometimes I wonder where they are and what they're doing. We've never been apart this long. I wish I could even just call them to say hello, but Athena's really strict about the "no contact" thing. I hope she'll get a chance to stop by again soon. It gets pretty lonely here.
Maybe Psyche will come visit again soon. She's the coolest, really. This journal was one of the best presents anyone's ever gotten me. She's one of the only people who's ever really appreciated my love for writing. At first I thought keeping a journal was kind of stupid, but here I am, and for the second time today, no less. I think that it's actually kind of therapeutic for me. I can't always get out what I want to say when I'm talking with Athena or Psyche, but I don't seem to have a problem if there's a pen in my hand.
I had another one of my nightmares last night. I don't know what just made me remember that. We were back at the farmhouse. Splinter was there. April and Casey were there, and Shadow. God, I miss that kid. I feel like it's been a lifetime since I last saw her. She'll be so big the next time I see her – whenever that is. Anyway, we were back at the farm, and everything was great. It was just like it used to be. I was busy making breakfast for everyone, but I kept hearing this noise from the basement. I went down and opened the door and I stepped into another place. There was computer equipment and monitors everywhere. The lights were so bright that it hurt my eyes. People in white coats were walking all around the place and talking, but no one seemed to notice me. A few of them were lined up in front of a wall of glass that looked into another room. I looked to see what they were looking at. I wished I didn't. Leonardo was lying on a table. They had him all strapped down and they were sticking needles in his arm. He was trying to fight, but it was no use. I tried to break the glass, but I couldn't. I yelled to him, but no sound came out. I tried to find another way into the room, but there wasn't a door anywhere except the one I had come in through. I opened the door expecting to go back up the basement stairs, but instead I was somewhere else entirely. I was in some strange building, and yet something about it was oddly familiar. I ran and ran; I could hear Leo screaming. I tried to get to him, but none of the doors worked. Then the men with the guns came down the hallway after me. I couldn't move fast enough; they shot me. I woke up screaming.
I guess it's not a huge mystery why I don't sleep too well these days. Psyche said that I should tell Athena about my nightmares. She said she'd know how to get rid of them. That would be good, I guess, but on the other hand I don't really want to stop them. I know what I'm dreaming about. I guess I'm waiting for some sort of clue, hoping my dreams will tell me something that my conscious mind can't, or won't, remember.
I took a good look at myself in the mirror before I got dressed today. Most of the time I think I'm still expecting to see a shell there. But there isn't. I guess I still mostly look the same. It's strange to be that much closer to being human, and yet you still know you're a freak of nature. Panaceia says I'm probably not done growing yet either. I'm already up to 5'7"--yet another thing that adds to my general awkward clumsiness these days. I wonder how tall everyone else is now. I wonder how different they'll look when I see them again. Speaking of seeing them again, I hope it's going to be sooner rather than later…