I hope you are all safe and coping with everything that has been happening this year.
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
What I Never Told You
Family means no one gets left behind
"Mama! Papa! Wake up! It' Chris'mas!"
The short 3-year-old pulled himself onto his parent's king-sized bed and bounced around in excitement. A pair of muscular arms reached out from under the blanket and pulled him down to lie on a bare, hairy chest. The large hands kept him there no matter how much he wiggled.
"Mama!" The boy laughed, "Help me!"
The boy's laughter intensified as the man put his lips against the toddler's cheek and started blowing raspberries, "PAPA!"
"Good morning my boys." A sleepy voice said from next to the man. Raphael crawled across the bed to hug the smiling woman. The woman returned the hug and gave her son a peck on his forehead before sharing a kiss with her husband, "Raphie why don't go see if Santa came last night while mama talks to papa."
Raph jumped off the bed and dashed out the room, "Ok Mama." His bare feet pitting and patting against the wooden floor as he ran down the stairs and into the main room where their family's Christmas tree was set up. Emerald eyes lit up at the sight of the presents piled up under the tree.
"Merry Christmas son!"
Donatello Carpenter wondered around the warehouse until he spotted Raphael punching something in one of the dark corners. He cautiously moved closer, keeping his eyes locked on the muscular teenager. Raph didn't notice his presence and kept punching the half destroyed punching bag.
"Raph." Don spoke into the darkness. A sudden movement from the only other person in the room caught Donnie off guard and he found himself on the ground, the taste of metal in his mouth.
Someone swore but Don was too focused on spitting the blood out of his mouth. Running his tongue around his mouth, he found the cause of the crimson substance. There was a gap in the front of his mouth where his tooth was supposed to be.
Now that tooth lay on the ground.
"I thought you had left." Raph said as he lifted Don off the ground, literally. Raph was so strong it took barely anything to fully lift the skinny teen off the ground. He set Donnie back on his feet and held him steady till he got his balance back, "Ya alright?"
Spitting out more blood, Don quietly answered, "Yeah… I-I'm fine. Y-Y-You just knocked my t-tooth out."
Raph used the sleeve of his black jacket to wipe the blood from Don's lips but the genius pulled his face away mumbling, "I need to go." Before he sprinted out the warehouse.
Donatello could faintly hear Leo calling him but all he cared about was getting out of there, as far away from the gang leader as possible. He ran and ran until he could no longer see the warehouse. When Don finally felt safe enough, he stumbled into an alleyway and leaned against the cool wall.
Taking the time to catch his breath, Don gingerly touched his bruised mouth and once more felt the new gap at the front.
"You ready for 3rd grade Donnie?" 6-year-old Serenity questioned her twin brother as they stood outside the gate of the prestigious private school.
"Yes!" Donnie excitedly exclaimed before grabbing his sisters' hand and running to join all the other kids.
Due to their incredibly high IQ's, the Carpenter twins skipped a few grades which they were more than happy about. The two of them had gone through kindergarten picking up every lesson with ease and then expanding on those lessons at home. Before they had even finished the first term, Donnie and Reni were already doing 1st grade work.
Donnie and Reni kept holding hands until they had taken their seats among the 8 year olds. The two of them were the last to enter the room so their seats were on opposite sides of the classroom.
When their first lesson of 3rd grade finish, Donnie found his sister hanging with a ground of older kids from their class. Excitedly Donnie told Reni, "3rd grade is amazing Reni! I can't wait to learn more!"
Reni giggled at her brother's passion for learning, "Me either." She turned to the older (and taller) students around her, "Donnie meet my new friends, Brianna, Josie, Elliot, Kasper and Rhianne. Guys, this is my younger brother Donatello."
"We're twins Reni." Donnie corrected, rolling his chocolate brown eyes.
The student that Reni had introduced as Rhianne stepped forward and shook Donnie's hand, "Nice to meet you Donatello. You can call me Anne, everyone else does."
"And you can call me Donnie. Um… Only Father calls me Donatello."
"Alright Donnie." Anne smiled, "Come on let's get to class."
Donatello wished he had something to drink with him. It would have been lovely to have a sip of his precious coffee; he would even settle for a nice glass of water right now. He just wanted to get rid of the metallic taste that was stuck in his mouth.
A small noise from within the building Donnie was leaning against made him quiet his breathing. He shuffled over to a broken window and peered in. At first, a moth-eaten curtain blocked his view, but the genius found a thin piece of metal in the trash and used it to nudge the material out the way.
The room was tiny. There was a pile of rubble along the far wall that had partly collapsed, a dusty, broken table in the corner and something else in the centre of the room which the evening light could not reach. The object looked uneven and…and it moved. Just every slightly but Don was certain that it moved.
Don jumped back, dropping the piece of metal which clanged as it hit the ground. Freezing like a statue, Don waited to see if the thing inside had heard him.
One minute… two minutes…
The famous inventor's son finally felt safe enough to move again. Don carefully picked up the piece of metal again and peered back through the window. Only this time, the room seemed dimmer. Actually, it only seemed to be in a certain area… in a shape.
Whizzing round, Donnie was thrown down the alleyway before he could see who was stood behind him. The force caused his reflective sunglasses to fly off his face and disappear down the street. Don rolled onto his stomach and tried to crawl away. A foot slamming into his back prevented him taking more than a few steps. When the attacker rolled him over, Don was scared.
When the attacker wrapped his hands around his neck, Don was petrified.
Young Raphael shuffled under the white blanket that was the standard for all hospital beds. He pulled the thin sheet over his head to hide his red face. While wiping his snotty nose on his hospital gown, Raph heard someone enter his room.
"Raphie?" Raph's father softly called as he perched on the edge of the bed, "Don't worry son, mama going to be just fine."
"I sowy papa." Sniffled Raph, peeking out from under the covers, "I didn' wanna hurt mama."
The man smiled and wiped his sons' teary eye, "I know son," He lifted the 3-year-old onto his lap, planting a quick kiss on the boy's dark auburn hair, "and your mama knows."
"Did I wuin Chris'mas?" Raph innocently asked, looking at his father with his teary emerald eyes.
Chuckling, the man squeezed Raph close, being careful of his bruises, "Of course not Raphie. We are still all together as a family and that is all that matters."
"Love you Papa!"
"Love you too Raphie!"
Don clawed at his attacker's hands, but it did nothing to release the tight grip around his throat. If anything, it made the grip tighter. The corners of Don's vision had started to darken, and he started regretting leaving Leo behind.
The hands suddenly disappeared and fresh air poured into Donnie's deprived lungs. He quickly sat up as he hacked into his hand. Still breathing deeply, Don opened his bleary eyes to the sound of people talking. Standing with his back to him was Raphael and in front of Raph was a heavily tattooed man with dark hair and wearing shades. What stood out most to Donnie was the tattoo of a purple dragon down the attackers left arm and the red scarf wrapped around his waist. Typical symbols for The Red Stripes and The Purple Dragons.
Two dangerous gangs.
"What is the meaning of this attack, Hun?" Raph yelled, taking a defensive position with his Sais out.
"Well look who it. I did not expect to see you again Leader." Mocked Hun.
Donnie heard several people snickering nearby. His vision had started to clear and now he could see more gang members stood behind the one referred to as Hun. All these members were wearing dark clothing, but some wore an item of red while the others had purple. The members of both gangs pulled out weapons which ranged from metal pipes to sharp knives. Don could just make out one of the Red Strip members pull out something that looked very much like a gun. He shuffled closer to Raph as he observed the gang members moving closer.
Raph lowered his stance but kept his beloved Sais drawn when he recognised his gang, "Lower ya weapons Red Strips, Donatello is not a threat to us." The gang members did not listen to the order and instead held their weapons ready to attack.
"I AM YOUR LEADER," Angrily Raph shouted, "AND THAT IS AN ORDER!"
The Red Stripes and The Purple Dragons were once more snickering.
"You are weak." Hun smirked, "You failed us one too many times boy. Now that you are no longer a member, we must dispose of you. Goodbye Raphael."
Hun lunged at Raph who blocked the attack and then countered with a swift kick to Hun's abdomen. Hun managed to dodge the kick but stumbled back when Raph aimed a punch at his face. When Raph jump into the air to deliver a kick to the new leader's face, Hun grabbed his ankle and threw him into an open dumpster, his Sais flying out his hands.
Now with one out the way, Hun turned his attention to Donnie and tried to punch him. Don rolled out the way just in time and kicked Hun hard on the side of his knee. Hun fell like a tree, so Don scrambled to his feet and ran over to the dumpster that Raph was emerging from.
Donnie was almost there when a chain wrapped around his chest. The Red Strip yanked on the chain and dragged Donnie across the ground, "Raph!" Don desperately yelled when he couldn't free himself.
Hearing the yell, Raph sprang out the dumpster and while sprinting to where the two gangs were surrounding Don, he grabbed one of his Sais. He took out the first group of gang members with a spinning kick and the second group with a chain he had taken from one of the fallen Purple Dragons. Raph used his Sai to loosen the chain around Don who quickly escaped.
Donatello, having practically no fighting experience, stayed behind the ex-gang leader as Raph kept the Purple Dragons and Red Stripes at bay but despite Raphael's years of training, the gang members were overpowering him and gradually pushing them closer to the brick wall. Part of a broken brick was thrown in their direction. Raph was able to avoid it but Donnie wasn't as lucky.
Hissing in pain, Donnie tenderly rubbed the side of his chest where the brick had hit, checking for any serious injuries.
"Ya alright?" Asked Raph between blows.
"I-I-I'm fine, just a bruise t-thankfully." Donnie quietly stuttered before just managing to twist out the way of a knife being swung at him.
Using his Sai, Raph stopped the knife as it swung for a second blow and then twisted the wielders arm, forcing the Red Stripe to release it. The weapon clattered to the ground where Raph pushed it behind him with his foot, "Donnie, use that to fight back." Raph told the genius over the sounds of the fight, "We need to get out of here."
"Y-You do know that fighting isn't exactly something I do." Mentioned Don as he picked up the knife anyway.
"Well now ya can learn pretty boy," Raph said, his temper starting to show, "Because right now, it's either fight or- AAHHHH!"
Hun's attack had come out of nowhere. He had struck Raphael in the shoulder causing him to crash into Don and the two of them to be trapped with their backs against the wall. Hun, the Purple Dragons and The Red Stripes surrounding them again. Donatello was the one who said out loud what the two of them were thinking.
"Uh oh…"
"Uh oh…" Mumbled Donnie with wide eyes.
It was the start of lunch and Donnie was with his new friends heading to the cafeteria, Reni said she would catch up once she had been to the bathroom. Don had been walking slightly behind the older kids and keeping out of their conversation. Their chat had seemed casual until they started glancing back at him.
It just went downhill from there.
They started making cruel comments about him, snickering at him and now this.
"Uh oh…" Donnie repeated, tensing up as the water from his own water bottle was poured over his head. His "friends" were laughing at him, not caring about the 6-year-old at all. The tears started rolling down his cheeks before Donnie could stop them.
This seemed to fuel their laughter.
"Ahhhh, look guys, he's crying." Anne mocked, "He really is a baby!"
Out of embarrassment, Donnie pushed through the group and ran into the boy's toilets just as Reni came strolling down the corridor. Donnie sniffled as he peered through the cracked open door.
"Where did Donnie go?" Questioned Reni, smiling at the group.
It was Elliot who answered, "Oh, he just ran away cr-" Anne's hand over his mouth stopped him.
"He wanted some fresh air." Anne lied, removing her hand from Elliot's mouth, "He'll catch up with us." Reni smiled and followed them.
Not one of them looked back at the upset boy hiding in the bathroom.
The attacks were coming from everywhere and every angle. Neither Donnie or Raph could move with the wall behind them and the combined gang members blocking every other direction. A swift punch at Dons head had him ducking only to receive a knee in his already abused face. Standing, Don noticed that the boarded-up window behind him had splintered from the punch hitting it.
Getting an idea, Donnie commanded, "Cover me. I have an idea." He kicked a Purple Dragon back and got to work on removing the boards with the knife he had gained earlier.
"What do ya think I've been doing this whole time Pretty Boy!" Shouted Raph as he shuffled more in front of Don.
Yanking the final piece of wood off, Donnie carefully tucked the knife back into his belt and climbed through the window. Raph, noticing what Don had done, delivered a strong kick and punch to the two closest gang members which caused a domino effect with the others. The last one standing was Hun so Raph deflected his blows before crouching and sweeping Hun's legs out from under him. Raph sprung to his feet and leapt through the window.
Once Raph was through, Donnie placed a large piece of wood in front of the window and Raph jammed some pipes that he had found among the debris in the window frame to prevent anyone else from entering.
"We need to get out of here now." Instructed Raph, "They'll be coming in the front door, but we can easily sneak out the back."
"Wait!" Don looked around the almost pitch-black room and then explained, "I saw something earlier and I want to check it out before we leave."
"Seriously!" Quietly shouted the ex-gang leader, "They're going to pummel you Brainiac!"
"Then help me look!" Don shouted back.
The little light Don had earlier was blocked by the new piece of wood in the lone window, making it hard to see in the pitch-black room. Don got down on his hands and knees, feeling around the cold hard ground. His fingers brushed over dust, small stones and dead insects but nothing concerned him until he touched a sticky substance. His eyes now adjusted to the dark, Don could faintly see the outline of a chair with someone sat on it.
Not just anyone, it was a young child.
"Raph, its Sarah." Breathed Don in relief, feeling around the chair to find any restraints, "We've found Sarah."
"Who?" Raph asked as he felt along the wall.
"Sarah York, the little girl Mikey helps his Grandma babysit. She went missing at around midday." Don explained, "We found Joan- that's Mikey's Grandma- and Mikey beaten up in that small park he likes to call The Hangout."
Trudging to the centre of the room where Don and the child were, Raph queried, "So ya just happen to stumble upon a missing kid?"
"No Raph," Responded Don with a hint of anger in his voice, "I've been searching for her with Leo since we discovered she was missing. Then we ran into you and I was going to ask for your assistance when you punched my tooth out." At the end of the sentence, the genius was glaring at Raph.
Sighing, Don untied the ropes that trapped Sarah to the chair, "She's only 4 Raph and this will probably traumatise her for the rest of her mortal life."
Remembering what happened that horrible Christmas when he was 3, Raph felt genially bad for the little girl but he didn't want to look soft, "Whatever," He snorted as Don removed the last of the binds, "Let's get out of here before the Purple Dragons and Red Strips turn up."
"I'm surprised they haven't already. I mean, we haven't exactly been quick." Uttered Donnie, lifting the unconscious child into his arms.
"Yeah, I thought I had trained them better- AAAHHH!"
Donnie protectively hugged Sarah to his chest as Raph was thrown across the room to land in the pile of debris with a moan.
"You're not Leonardo but you will make good bait."
To be continued...
