A/N: Okay, you guys will probably never get an update this quick from me again, but since I left such a suspenseful spoiler, I didn't want to leave you hanging for too long. So here it is final part of Chapter 12...Enjoy! Special thanks to Ravenshell for beta-ing this part! :)

WARNING: This part contains vivid violence and mild gore. Read at your own risk!

Edit 5-22-15: to include warning.

Chapter 12 part 3

"Donnie?..." I curiously call to my brother, but he's not paying attention. He's still looking back at April's window. I can't keep myself from grinning as I tease him. "I saw that kiss on the cheek, bruh."

"Huh?" That seems to get his attention.

"Yep! I saw it. Way to go, Casanova! Keep that up and you'll get a smooch on the lips before you know it!" I wag my eye ridges up and down with a cheesy smile.

Under the moonlight, his face flushes with an undeniable blush as he ducks his head. "Then I suppose I'm ahead of schedule…"

I give him a curious look. "What you talkin' 'bout, Donnie?" I question him using my best 70's sitcom impersonation as I pooch my lips out for dramatic affect.

He looks at me, mouth pressed tightly shut as if he is trying desperately to keep something under lock and key. I squeak excitedly when I realize exactly what happened before I woke up at April's. "Oooooooooooooh, snap, bro! You kissed her?! ...On the lips?!" I hold my fists under my chin as I dance from foot to foot barely able to contain this motherlode of joy.

"No…. yes…. I mean, technically she kissed me first, I just… kissed her back." He stumbles almost shamefully through the confession, but it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I know Donnie hates for me to talk about his aura, but oh man, it's like a Katy Perry music video up in there! I can't help but gape in total shock and awe at the little metal box in his aura…. It's finally open! Oh, the feels!

There are streams and bursts of purple vapor that spark into starry fireworks from the box at his core. I don't think I've ever felt such passionate vibes coming from my brainy brother. I watch curiously as the image of computer screens in Donnie's aura start processing all those good feels. This time he doesn't cram them back in the box, but allows them to float contently in his headspace. I wonder if this is what Master Splinter means when he says happiness is found in the harmony of the body, mind and spirit….

"DUDE! THAT'S AWESOME!" I shout from the top of my lungs, crushing my older brother in a hug. He yelps and eventually pries me off. I stare at him with a knowing smile and eyes so big, I probably look like a Manga character.

"Shh! Keep your voice down… and stop staring at me like that!" I keep staring. "Stop it!"

I giggle at his annoyance. "So, bro, what was the kiss like? Was it wet like a doggy kiss?... Oh! Did it taste like a Choco-bar?"

"What? No, of course not! ...It tasted like strawberries," he cheekily mutters the latter part as he jumps down to the next rooftop.

"Dude, wait, I want the deets!" I shout as I drop down after him. Over the next rooftop leaps, I pester him for juicy details, but don't manage to get any more out of him. Guess he's not a 'kiss and tell' kind of turtle. That's okay though; his aura is telling me everything that he isn't. I grin to myself. He really is head over heels for April, and from the occasional glimpses of her aura, she's pretty wild about him too.

The sound of glass breaking pulls my attention as I skid to a stop on a roof. "Look, D." I point to a group of kids vandalizing a charity donation storefront. "That is so not cool."

Donnie sighs through his nostrils. "We should be getting home. They're just a bunch of juvenile delinquents staying out past curfew. The police circuit this area pretty regularly—let them handle it."

Another window shatters as the boys whoop and cackle at their malicious aim. One of them climbs through the window and moments later emerges with a wad of cash. He starts distributing the money to the other three guys. "Bro, they're stealing from charity. We gotta do something! C'mon!" Without waiting for a response, I leap into the shadows of the alley, hoping to catch the amateur troublemakers off guard.

With a little stealth and my trusty kusarigama, I manage to take out two of the teens. I drop them into an unconscious heap at the entrance of the alleyway, but not before swiping the stolen money from them.

"Mikey! I told you to let the police handle it!" Donnie chastises me as he front flips from the fire escape to the dumpster and then lands with a thud on his large feet. He strikes another kid, who looks a little younger than me, with the end of his staff. The kid pulls out a knife, but D easily uses a series of pressure points to his shoulder, elbow, and wrist causing the knife to clatter to the pavement. Dumbfounded at being whacked repeatedly by mutant turtle, the boy drops the money and takes off in the opposite direction. I could still hear the kid screaming bloody murder down the street. Tuh!... Donnie barely even touched him!

"Dude, these rookies would have been long gone with a load of cash by the time the police came. Good thing we were in the 'hood, huh?" I gather the scattered cash from the ground to safely place back in the shop.

"Mikey, look out!" Just as I turn around to follow Donnie's line of sight, something hard connects with my head making stars burst into view. With doubled vision, I manage two steps toward Donnie before my world tilts and goes black.

Would it kill my brother to think before impulsively deciding to scare off a handful of wanna-be gangster teenie boppers?

I saw the bat in the last kid's hand before Mikey did. He's fast, but not fast enough to heed my warning. Dazed from the impact, the money falls from his loose grip. His eyes cross before rolling back in his head as his body hits the pavement.

Something fierce and dangerous makes my blood boil when that piece of wood cracks against my brother's skull. Aggressive protectiveness overwhelms my senses as I snarl at the detestable human boy. Shock and horror swells in his eyes as he looks from my fallen brother back to me. His fear only drives my infuriated mind. I train my eyes on him, violently spinning my staff to rival a propeller's velocity.

He hurt my brother…. my brother. Mine. The instinctual need to protect consumes my thoughts like a vicious mantra. My movement shifts to autopilot as the only thing I process is the need to make this boy pay dearly for his actions.

Make him pay.

Twirling my staff from left to right and back again, my hate-filled eyes never leave his face.

"Hey look, green-man, I'm sorry, yo. We were just messin' around and he came outta nowhere!" He points a shaky finger at my unconscious brother. "I didn't mean to hit 'im that hard, 'kay?" The kid is starting to panic as I approach him. "Huh-here! Here! Just take the money, yo, I'm outta here." He scatters the money at my feet, but the green paper merely sticks to the moist pavement as I walk over it.

Stop him! Don't let that disgusting insect get away!

He tries to run out of the alley, but I mercilessly swipe his legs from under him. Satisfaction fills me when I hear a bone-fracturing crack from his left shin upon contact with my staff.

Holding his leg, the boy howls in pain on the ground.

Make him pay.

I snatch him by the injured limb and drag him back into the shadows of the alley. He screams in agony clawing at the ground, trying desperately to escape my iron grip. With a firm yank, I twist the boy off his stomach and onto his back. I purposely place my foot on his broken leg and grind it into the ground. His screams irritate me.

"Puh-please, please, let me go," the boy whimpers through hiccupped tears, "I'm sorry! I wanna go home! Please just let me—"

Make him bleed.

Gripping my staff like golf club, swing down at his face. His head snaps to the side as he cries out and spits up blood.

Feels good doesn't it?

"Help me!...Somebody please help—"

"Shut up!" I glower at him as I bring down my bo across his temple. I strike him again in the face, as his sniveling becomes more frantic. I'm pretty sure I just shattered his jawbone as the blunt end of my staff pounds into his face again.

And again… and again.

Groaning, I open my eyes. I touch the back of my head expecting to feel a throbbing pain there, but to my surprise it doesn't even hurt. Everything looks blurry as I stand, but I can vaguely see I'm still in the alley. Looking down at my feet, I see my body collapsed on the pavement. Am I drifting?

My mind starts to piece together everything that's happened. "Donnie…" I look around for my brother. I can feel his presence but don't see him yet. Turning around, I see Donnie's aura near the entrance of the alley, but something is wrong. There's something dark seeping into his spiritual presence. It reminds me of the dark haze I saw in his aura weeks ago at the junkyard, but this time it's not a haze. It's more like thick, black turpentine with tentacles that is slithering through his aura. "Oh no," I whisper to myself as the invasive presence attaches itself to the mental computer screens and gears operating in his headspace like a syrupy web of darkness. Its molasses-like form is slowly spreading, reaching for anything in its path within the purple hue of my brother's spirit. My eyes widen with dread as I remember the vulnerability at my brother's core—the metal box. It's still open as a small glob of blackness drips slowly like thick snot into its opening.

"No! Leave him alone!" I yell at the thing attacking my brother as I charge toward it. It surprises me when its slow movements suddenly bulk up into a pitch black wall, blocking my view of my brother's aura. Crimson eyes flash in the wall of darkness as it guards its territory like an vicious beast. The vibes from this thing elicit an unexplainable fear that makes me tremble at my core.

I square my shoulders. No time to punk out now. I work past my fear, because this thing has my brother. My nunchucks materialize in the hands of my aura as I twirl them with raw spiritual strength Master Splinter is still teaching me to control. When the side of my chuck makes contact with the dark presence, I scream.

It grips my aura and refuses to let go. It feels like lighting striking and fire blazing in my soul at the same time—the worst pain ever.

The energy forces these horrible vibes into my psyche. Aggression, possessiveness, and a terrifying hunger coursing through my aura…. it's a dangerous sensation of being trapped in the thoughts of a hellish being with malicious intentions.

The dark energy disconnects from my aura, expelling me like a bullet with a spiritual warning to keep my distance. My aura crashes as it makes harsh contact with my physical body.

My knuckles are white as I slam my staff against the concrete; I lean against it slightly as I slow my enraged breathing. I look down at the grotesque face of the boy beneath me and realize he's still breathing.

One more blow to his temple, and his face will be nothing more than a concave bowl of bloody broth.

The mental image of crimson soup with floating pieces of brain matter and skull intrigues me as a smirk curves up the side of my lips. I raise my staff high above my head with every intent of impaling it with this human boy's head.

A feeble whimper wheezes from the boy's lips. His face is bruised and battered beyond recognition. He turns his head in a jerky, uncoordinated fashion with eyes swollen shut. "Pl-please…." The boy begs as his head rocks to the other side. "D-dad, h-help…." Blood spurts and splatters from his busted lip as he enunciates his P's. His heartrending cry for his father breaks my resolve.

A lump of remorse builds in my chest that I can't push down. He's just a kid, no older than Mikey or me, and I nearly beat him to his death.

The thick fog of rage slowly lifts, unclouding my mind as I visually take in the damage I inflicted. His face is a bloody mess of swollen bruises. His right cheek, directly beneath the swollen skin of his eyelid, is sunken in…. I broke his eye socket. My hands tremble as I hold tightly to my bo staff trying to make sense of what I almost did. Tucking the bloodied end of my bo back into its holster, I stumble as I kneel beside the boy. I gently pick him up and place him outside of the alley on the sidewalk, knowing the police will find him soon to give him the help he needs.

Heart racing and head spinning, I take several steps back into the shadows of the alley. I look down at my blood-stained hands and plastron. What was I thinking? It was like I lost all control and just—

Wanted to maul him like a savage animal mangles its prey?

No…. that's not what I wanted all! I just—

"Ahh!" I double over as my stomach cramps painfully. Another ripping pain grips my spine as I jerk my body upward and my shell hits the side of the dumpster. I wrap one arm around my middle, while trying to reach down the back of my shell with the other. Both pains demand my attention, but I can alleviate neither. I breathe out slowly as the pain slowly subsides on its own. My legs shake beneath me as I lean against the dumpster to steady myself. The metallic smell of boy's blood on my hands and plastron filters through my nose and I find it both sickening and…. appealing.

I shake the revolting thought from my mind. Something is wrong …. something is very, very wrong.

I need to get back to the Lair. The pain, the rage, the hunger, the thoughts I'm having…. none of them are right. I need to run some tests. My mind is going a mile a minute. I feel like I'm coming down off an adrenaline overload, but I mentally press pause the instant I hear a groan behind me. "Mikey." Guilt pinches my chest as I look up to see my little brother slowly trying to sit up. I didn't even check on him after he was hit. I could kick myself for my stupidity. Why didn't I just let the kid run off?

I take a few wobbly steps before collapsing to my knees in front of my brother. Get it together, Don, you can't let Mikey see you like this. I grip him by the shoulders to steady him in a sitting position. He blinks his wandering eyes a few times as I gently lean him forward to check the back of his head. The skin isn't broken but he has a sizable goose egg just beneath his mask. He flinches when I touch it. "Sorry," I mutter softly as I lean him away from me to get a better look at him. He doesn't appear to be injured anywhere else. He finally manages to focus his eyes on me.

"Mikey…. are you okay?" At first, he just kind of stares at me with these half vacant eyes and I start to think maybe he was hit harder than I thought. Then his eyes widen with unadulterated fear as he tries to push away from my grip.

"No! Get off of me!" he screams at me, shoving his hands against my plastron. I grab at his hands, trying to calm him down. He's disoriented and can barely muster enough balance to effectively push me away.

He's afraid of you. He saw what you did.

The thought of Mikey seeing what I did to that kid, paralyzes me. He saw it. He saw what I did, he had to; it's the only possible reason for his hysterical behavior.

"Let go of him... Let go of my brother!" I lean away from him, taken aback by his exclamation. His words worry me and I also find them a little disturbing, but don't let go of his squirming form.

"Mikey, stop, I'm right here!" I try to squeeze his shoulders reassuringly, but it doesn't seem to help much. He keeps staring at my plastron. "Hey, I'm right here." He trembles under my grasp as he continues to stare in horror at my torso. I grip the sides of his face forcing him to look up. "Look at me. See? I'm right here."

"Donnie?..." He looks at me wide-eyed and confused as if he doesn't trust what he's seeing.

He looks down at my plastron once again. "Hey! Look at me… up here…. there you go. I'm right here, Mikey." I'm trying to stay calm despite everything that's transpired, but his skittish behavior isn't helping. I dig into the pouch of my belt and pull out a penlight. Shining the light in his eyes, his pupils are even and normal sized. "Do you feel okay? You were hit in the noggin pretty hard. Any nausea or double vision?"

"You're hurt." He ignores my questions and looks at the blood smeared across my plastron.

"I'm fine," I lie as I wipe at the tell-tale blood. "We need to get out of here. The police will be circling this area any minute and see those kids.

"Donnie, it was horrible… I saw it."

His statement gives me pause.

"Mikey…. what exactly did you see?"

He furrows his brows as if he's having a hard time recollecting his thoughts. "I... I don't know." I implore him with a questioning look. "It was this horrible thing…. a creature. It had a wicked vibe bro…. it was angry and hungry. It was all over your aura."

My eyes light up as the wheels in my mind begin to turn. He's talking about that aura nonsense, so he obviously didn't see anything. I just need to convince him that everything's okay. We need to get out of here before he starts asking too many questions…. before he sees the kid I almost killed near the entrance of the alley.

"Mikey, everything's fine. You're just a little disoriented from the hit you took. Let's just go—"

"No!" He backs away from me. "I'm not confused! I know what I saw!"

"Fine." I challenge him with my arms crossed over my plastron. "Tell me what it was."

"Dude, I already told you! Its vibe was—"

"Physical characteristics, Mikey. What did it look like?"

"It was…" He holds the side of his head in concentration. "….It was dark and… and…"

"What it tall or short? Male? Female?" I drill him as I step toward him forcing him to step back.

His voice hitches as he rubs the back of his head. "Tall, maybe? ...I don't know! ...I don't remember…" He mutters the latter with a scared and childish whine.

"It wasn't real, Mikey. Whatever it is you think you saw, wasn't real. Let's go home." As I turn to the nearest manhole, I'm confident that Mikey is oblivious to what really happened. However, his next words make my blood run cold.

"Make him bleed."

Haunted by his words, I spin around. "What did you say?"

"I remember it saying 'Make him bleed.'"

He saw what you did. He sees the monster you truly are. You're a child-battering, blood lusting monster.

"SHUT UP!" My bellowing voice echoes in the alleyway as my calm resolve shatters. I breathe heavily as the built-up anxiety reaches a boiling point.

"Donnie… what—"

"Nothing happened. You didn't see anything, you didn't hear anything." I regulate my voice to a quieter and calmer tone. "That kid knocked you unconscious with a bat. You were just imagining things. Come on, we need to leave. I'll check you over again when we get to the lair." I touch his shoulder to guide him to the manhole, but he shrugs me off.

"No! I wasn't imagining it!" The vehemence behind his voice provokes my attention. "I saw it! ...heard it! It was dark, evil, and trying to kill—"

I grab my brother by the plate of his plastron and slam his carapace against the adjacent brick wall. "Nothing happened! I already told you, you were hit in the head. You were unconscious. I took care of the other kid. The police will be here soon. We. Need. To go. Now." I let him off the wall, only to slam him against it again with my forearm forcibly at his throat. I glare at him. "Don't breathe a word to anyone about this, understand?" With shocked, glossy eyes, he stares dumbly at me. I apply more force as I enunciate each word, "Do. You. Understand?" He nods quickly.

My glare softens when I see the leery disheartened look in my baby brother's eyes…. what am I doing?

Guiltily avoiding eye contact, I drop my hold on him and lift the manhole cover out of the way. "Come on," I order him as I ease down the ladder into the sewer.

The sewer walk back to the lair was a like holy silence. I use the sewer water to rid myself of the blood on my hands and plastron. It isn't the most sanitary solution, but it's better than the alternative of explaining the events of tonight to Master Splinter or Leo if they happened to be awake when we get home.

When we come in, Raph is sound asleep on the couch. I wonder if he was waiting up in hopes of pounding our shells in? Mikey and I stay close to the wall, to avoid waking him. I frown at the note on my lab door:

Two extra hours of training in the morning.

P.S.: You and Michelangelo will clean Raphael's room tomorrow. I'm not kidding.

-Leonardo

I stifle a groan as I rip the note from my door. Well, that would explain why Raph's sleeping on the coach. I silently motion for Mikey to come in my lab. He hesitates a second before following.

Mikey knows the drill as he sits on the medbay and waits for my usual administrations. After my unexpected roughness in the alley, I try to be extra gentle as I check him over, but he still stiffens under my touch. I can't find the words to explain my sudden temper to him, because I really don't understand what happened myself.

"You just sustained a nasty bump on your head, but you're okay," I speak softly to him as I hand him two pills and an ice pack "Take these, it'll help ease the headache. The ice will help with the swelling."

"Okay." My heart clenches knowing I'm the reason for his sullen voice. He hops off the table and shuffles to the door.

"Hey, Mikey… tonight I didn't mean to…" My voice trails off as I finally manage to look at his puppy dog eyes. I sigh and try again. "There's a high probability we're going to be in trouble for that prank we pulled, so it's probably best we don't tell the others about alley fight."

He's staring at my plastron like he did in the alley, then finally returns my eye contact. "Yeah… sure, okay, Donnie…. Good night." He forces a smile before leaving the lab. When the door closes I sigh. Now that Mikey's taken care of, I need to perform some self-evaluations. Sitting at my computer, I immediately open my 'Growth Spurt' files and start skimming through my logs.

Scalier speckled skin, increased height and foot size, severe muscle spasms, amplified appetite….

I suppose it would be adequate to add impulsive anger to the list as well. My eyes widen at the amount of time that has eclipsed. It's been two months since these symptoms started and every other week there's a pattern of increased intensity. It would explain why my moods borderline a bipolar patient, and why my appetite is nearly insatiable as of late. It's been two months…. and my brothers haven't experienced any of these so-called growth spurt traits. When we were thirteen, I was first to go through a growth spurt, but my brothers were practically doorsteps behind me. I don't think this is a growth spurt or unique to our specific genetic make-up….. I think it's just me.

I can't believe I let these symptoms slip pass me without looking into them further. I sigh as I look at the mutagen container on my lab table. My time has been so consumed with creating the retromutagen, I guess I didn't pay much attention to the peculiar things happening with me.

My T-phone buzzes in my belt pocket. I punch a button to open a text message:

April: You didn't text me… :(

I smile sadly at the screen. How did such a magnificent night go south so quickly?

Donnie: Sorry…I was a little preoccupied

April: so how much trouble are you and Mikey in?

Donnie: Two hours extra training and clean Raph's room. Completely worth it.

April: lol

Donnie: Talk to you later…need to run some tests

April: don't stay up too late

Donnie: I make no promises

April: smh….GN, Donnie

Donnie: Good night

April: *heart*

Donnie: (: (: (:

I'll keep my blood assessment low key until I know for sure what's going on. No need to unnecessarily worry anyone… especially April. Pulling out my blood testing supplies, I can tell it's going to be a long night.

"Hello?" With a jerk, I sit up in bed. I thought I heard something. My room is dimly lit by the small Super Robo Mecha Force Five lamp on my bed. Pizza boxes in the corner, horror flick posters on the wall, action figures on the shelf…. everything seems in place, but something still feels off. I try to lay back down, but the Sandman is being stingy with his sleeping dust and I'm wide awake. With a sigh, I swing my legs out the bed, deciding a glass of milk might help me get some shut eye.

Walking toward the kitchen something still feels strange. There's a coolness in the lair that puts goosebumps on my arms. I shiver as I wrap my arms around myself. In the den, the grey static screen of the TV gives an eerie glow to the area. Raph is still on the couch. I narrow my gaze as I look a little closer. It feels like Raph, but he looks different under the light of the TV screen.

"Raph…" I whisper his name as I reach for him. His body slumps under my touch and when I pull my hand back its warm and moist. Panic grips my mind as I reach behind me for the light switch on the wall. A sob is stuck in my throat as I see Raph laying in a pool of his own blood. His plastron is a splintered mess of bones and organs. It looks like something gutted him. "No…" I look down at the slippery crimson liquid coating my hand and feel sick. Trembling, I back away.

"Leo!...Leo! It's Raph, he's—"

My foot gets tangled and I stumble backwards, landing on my tail. "Nononono…." I untangle myself from Leo's body, or rather what's left of it. His lifeless washed-out eyes stare at me, begging for help that is too little too late. Strings of muscles and tendons saturate the floor with blood where his left arm and leg were once connected to his torso. My soul aches with a pain I can't name as tears and snot stream openly down my face.

I scrabble to my feet. I need to find Master Splinter and Donnie. I have to know that they're okay, that whatever mauled and murdered Leo and Raph hasn't gotten to them too. The light is on in the kitchen, but the sight before me makes me stops in my tracks. Thick tufts of fur and skin litter the kitchen floor. "Duh-dad…" I cover my mouth with a trembling hand as I see the mangled mess that was Master Splinter. I jerk at the sudden movement in the corner. It's Donnie but the back of his shell is facing me.

"Donnie…. what's going on? ...what's happening?" I whimper as my heart pounds too fast in my chest. When Donnie finally turns around he's covered in blood. No, this isn't Donnie… this isn't Donnie. But no matter how hard I try to convince myself, deep down inside I know it's him. His eyes are crimson, cold, and carry a barbaric undertone that sparks like brimstones against his emotionless face. He smirks, holding the baby turtle, Darla, out to me. Before I can take Darla, Donnie crushes her in his hand. "No!" I scream as blood spills between his fingers. Two innocent–looking squirrels appear on his shoulders and seconds later, Donnie and the squirrels bare their carnivore teeth as they dive forward with every intent of ending me.

I scream, thrashing in my bedsheets before hitting my floor with a thump. I yank the sheets off my head and frantically look around. I'm in my room…. it was only a dream. My heart is pounding, but it feels like it's in my head instead of my chest. "It was just a dream," I tell myself again as I take deep breaths. I glance at my clock. It's 3:00 a.m. My headache finally calms to a dull hum in the back of my mind. After a nightmare like that, I can't help but let my mind drift back to the dark presence from alley last night. Donnie said it was just a side-effect of being hit the head with a bat. I wince as I gingerly touch the bump on the back of my head. Maybe he was right…. I can't really remember everything… just bits and pieces of really bad vibes. Still, I can't help but think that maybe something did happen….

I tug my blanket around my shoulders, still a little shaken up from the dream. Standing, I ease out of my room and go to the one person I can turn to after a scare like that. Stopping in front of the room beside my bedroom, I slowly push the door open. I wouldn't have known he was in his room if not for the lump in the bed…. he's a silent sleeper. I waste no time shaking his shoulder to wake him. "Leo… Leo… you awake, bro?" I whisper as I continue to rock his shoulder back and forth. He grunts and shifts in his bed. "Leo…" I start to whine as I shake him with more urgency. He breathes heavily, shuffling a bit before his lamp suddenly flickers on.

"What, Mikey?" He grumbles my name as he props himself up on his elbow. His brows are furrowed into a frown and his eyes are narrow with irritability.

"I had a nightmare." Those four words are the magical 'open sesame' that will allow me full access to my big bro's bed. He's going to pull back the covers any minute now. Any minute now….

Leo couldn't look anymore apathetic than he looked at this very moment. Maybe he needs me to elaborate. "I dreamed you, Raph, and Master Splinter were all brutally murdered, and then Donnie and the squirrels tried to gnaw my face off. I think Donnie… something was wrong with him."

"…It was a dream, Mikey," Leo deadpans at me completely unmoved by the telling of this horrific nightmare.

I tug my blanket tighter around my shoulders. "I know but this dream felt different…. like a warning."

"Maybe it was a warning that you should go to bed, because we have practice in another hour and a half…." Leo mutters harshly.

"Leo."

"What…."

"You know how I can see auras and stuff?" He doesn't reply so I continue. "I think… I think there maybe something wrong with Donnie's aura."

"You know you're not supposed to pry into people's auras, Mikey." He chastises me but I shake my head side to side.

"No, I didn't pry, I just saw it… and maybe touched it…" I mutter the latter part. "….either way I think it's really bad. Haven't you noticed how moody he's been?"

Leo massages his temple, sighing a little longer and louder than I think is necessary. "There's nothing wrong with Donnie, at least nothing a little discipline won't remedy." He sounds so stern and definitive, like Master Splinter. "Actually, it wouldn't kill you to show a little discipline and responsibility for the messes you make."

Wow… okay, where did that come from? He seems particularly grouchy about something. Did he switch auras with Raphie or something?

"Like I said, we have practice at 4:30am so I suggest you go back to sleep."

"Can I stay in your room tonight?" I whisper, feeling a little ashamed after Leo's lecture.

"Mikey, you're too old to keep coming in my room every time you have a silly dream. Now go to bed." And with that final command he clicks off his lamp and rolls over giving me full view of his carapace. I swallow the lump in my throat as I stand there miserably in my oldest brother's room. When I realize he really isn't going to let me stay, I sullenly shuffle out his room and back to mine. I bury myself under my sheets and blanket, pulling myself halfway into my shell, trying to convince myself the awful images replaying in my mind are not real.

TBC...

I really want to thank you all for such wonderful feedback on the Apriltello scene in part 2; I really wasn't expecting such strong reception on that part, so thanks for totally making my day! I can't believe this story has 176 reviews! Never in my life would have thought I could write a fanfiction that would have so many awesomely wonderful people following and reviewing it. Your reviews flatter me, make me laugh and grin like an idiot, and offer me great and insightful critiques. I value your reviews more than I have words to express. As many of you know, I ALWAYS make a habit to reply back to everyone who leaves a review or adds my stories to their alert or favorite list, because that kind of support within a fanfiction community is important to me and I don't take it for granted!

And to my anonymous reviewers: Thank you so much for your reviewers...glad you liked the back and forth between April and Donnie's thoughts! :)

Well, I won't leave you with any heart-stopping teasers this time...one reviewer mentioned I scared her out of her skull, so let's not have that happen again :-P But I will tell you the next chapter will be a Donnie and Raph moment...from Raph's point of view. Raph is not my strongest character to write in so fingers crossed it comes out okay!

Later!

Poetique