A/N: Big thanks to Ravenshell for being my beta. Additional author notes at the end of chapter.

Chapter 62

"Thank you, Michelangelo," I say as he lowers a bowl of water beside me. Wetting a cloth, I wring it out and place it on Donatello's forehead. He has not been fully conscious since I sawed openings in his shell. He does not complain of backaches anymore, but it is uncertain whether it is because it no longer hurts or he simply does not possess the strength to do so. He is no longer able to safely swallow fluids and has become severely dehydrated. When he whimpers, I soothe him with soft words from my native tongue hoping to offer some small comfort to him. I feel the time is near. It will not be long before he changes. I can sense the struggle within him and I believe Michelangelo sees it too through his gift of aura vision as he continuously wipes his eyes.

Donatello. My dear son. Even now he puts us before himself; still struggling to keep the mutation at bay, hoping to protect us, despite his current torment. If he continues to fight against the nature of his mutation, I fear it will kill him. "My child, you do not have to fight this any longer. We are ready. It is okay to let go," I whisper in his ear, hoping somewhere in the chaos within him he can hear my voice.

Suddenly, Donatello opens his eyes with a clarity I haven't seen in over forty-eight hours. Tears dampen the fur around my eyes. "I love you, Donatello." Fresh tears break free from his eyes before he closes them. He inhales another rattled breath and exhales so softly I almost miss it. My tears fall freely as my beloved son's head lolls to the side in the crook of my arm. My grief is short-lived as Donatello's eyes shoot open and he sucks in air as if he has just escaped horrific nightmare. "Donatello…" His eyes screw shut in anguish as he lets out a deep groan, putting his brothers and myself on alert. Gently, I lower him to the floor as he curls into a fetal position. "Boys, stand back," I instruct Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo as I too stand and cautiously move away from my writhing son.

"Sensei, he's in pain." In his worry, Leonardo reaches out to his brother. Quickly grabbing his wrist, I pull my eldest toward me.

"He is changing. We must allow him space." Leonardo doesn't remember the pain of his transformation nearly sixteen years ago but I remember lashing out in agony during my mutation. I do not want my sons harmed unintentionally as Donatello mutates. Leonardo reluctantly obeys as his other two brothers gather beside us. Donatello cries out as his juddering movements vary from a fetal position to a frightful back arch as his mutation accelerates. He struggles to his hands and knees, his clawed hands ripping apart the pillows and blankets beneath him as his fingers clutch and extend beyond his control. Donatello looks up at us seeing, but not seeing through the blinding pain. I fight not to cringe as I hear and see bones grinding, shifting, breaking, reforming beneath the remains of his shell. The shifting extends to his extremities as bones elongate and break through his skin. I hold my sons back as I feel their anxiety and need to protect their brother but we cannot protect Donatello from himself. Donatello whimpers as he reaches to touch the exposed bone but his arm is pulled back like a marionette doll as another bone sprouts from the elbow of the opposite arm. The bones are not exposed long as tendons and muscles grow and quickly knit together to compensate the rapid transformation. Thicker, more calloused skin grows over it. We watch in horror as the transformation is only beginning.

My brain screams as this mutation plows through my entire body like the lava of a volcano as it incinerates everything in its path. The pain takes me deep within myself to some primitive place that knows how to cope with the kind of agony that precedes death because I am doubtful I will survive this. My vision blurs as my father and brothers' faces become a blotch of dizzying brown and green. I thought the sporadic cramping was the worst, because they were chaotic and irregular, interrupting my thought processes. Now the pains are continuous and I see they are far more debilitating, robbing my mind of its precious sanity.

Every thought is thrown into a blender of confusion as fiery pain licks up my back like a cutting torch through steel. I sob and scream through my suffering, but no one comes to soothe me, no one comes to pour water on the blistering fire inside my shell. Anger penetrates through this chaos and pain. Anger at myself for allowing this to happen. I wish the world would end rather than endure this sea of endless affliction crashing over me. My insides churn and twist. It feels deep and hot, like someone shredding my organs apart. I keep breathing, it's the only thing I can do; the only thing my body keeps forcing me to do.

Oh, God, it hurts! Skin cells ripping and regenerating to catch up with my growing bones as they poke and distort under my skin threatening to completely break free of their fleshly prison.

Why won't it stop hurting? My vision blurs in and out of focus. My brothers… why won't they help me? It hurts. My face feels like it's melting as the fiery burn spreads. I cry out for my father, for my brothers, but the horrid voice that comes gurgling out of my distorted vocal chords isn't mine… or is it? I don't remember sounding like… like..

An animal.

My insides are ablaze, inflamed from the lingering mutations taking place in my organs. It hurts. It hurts everywhere. I just want to die, it seems the only way to make this pain stop, but the ingrained need to survive forces my mental clarity to slip and my body to fight against death, to keep hurting, to keep growing, evolving into…. something else. Where am I? Nothing is familiar… these… these green creatures with color marked faces start to surround me, closing in on my wounded body. The mind-numbing pain blurs my vision again as pain erupts down my spine, exploding from my back like a series of knifes splitting me in half. All I know is this unrelenting pain as it radiates from my back and through the rest of my body like fiery poison. The only thing my mind can process is this torturous anguish and the presence of these green creatures. Green creatures and pain… Green creatures and pain…. green creatures….. causing…. pain. I instinctually back away from them, hissing with a low, warning growl.

I watch as my brother's humanity is ripped apart and something unnatural births from underneath. A strong smell of musk, sweat, and blood fills the air. We all stand dumbfounded, stuck somewhere between horrified and in awe as Donatello's mutations simultaneously come to a head. His skin stretches, rips, and regenerates as his neck unwillingly gives as his beak grows to resemble a dragon-like creature. His shell breaks in half, falling on either side of his body as his back widens and thickens with plated spines that stop at the base of his tail.

Oh God, that sound. My ears ring from the screeching wails coming from this beast that was once my brother. We follow Sensei's lead, slowly surrounding Donnie as he stumbles on his growing legs. I hold my arm in front of Mikey, keeping my wildcard brother in place. He voices his complaint but my eyes and mind are focused on Donnie at the moment.

Donnie's eyes glow red like hot coals as he trains his gaze on us, defensively backing away with a low growl. Raphael's fingers twitch at his side, waiting to see if Donnie is still Donnie but prepared if he's not. Master Splinter motions for us to hold our positions.

My eyes widen as a blur orange slides past me in one fluent movement. A quick double take confirms my fear as Mikey has slipped from my reaching distance and stepped toward our monstrous brother.

The snowfall is soft but steady as a few flakes land on my boots and cover the three inches of snow already on the ground as I wait for Casey on the front steps of my apartment. He suggested getting pizza to help us destress. I don't want to destress; I want to be with Donnie but I know it's too risky with EPF agents keeping tabs on my dad. Even now I can sense someone's unwanted presence nearby.

The only reason I agreed is because I know Casey's going through a lot with his mother now on hospice care. I told him he should really be with his mother right now, but he changed the subject in a typical Casey fashion and insisted on pizza.

"Sup, Red."

"Hey Casey." I force a smile.

"Ready to hit up Antonio's?"

"Yeah, I—" Grunting, I hold my hand to my head as a flash of intense pain burns behind my eyes.

"April!" I can barely hear Casey over the sea of agony pulsing against my sensitive psychic abilities. It's only when he shakes me by the shoulders that I finally blink out of the painful haze.

"I'm fine." I shake my head of the lingering dizziness as I hold on to the step rail.

"That was not fine. You nearly face-planted in the snow! Is this another psychic brain thing?" Casey asks while making the gesture for 'insanity,' pointing his finger to the side of his head.

I snort. "No, Casey. I'm not crazy but I think it was related to my powers. Remember when I told you I went into Donnie's aura?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Well, I think we connected there." I explain as I remember the feeling of our auras overlapping before he was consumed by the dark mutation within him. "I… still feel him sometimes."

"You felt him now?"

"Yeah, but this time was different. I think he's in real trouble. I felt him mutating."

"You can't just go down there. Those agent dudes could be tagging you, remember?" This is the second time Casey has talked reason into my actions. He's really on a roll. He's right though. Going there now could lead those creeps straight to the lair.

"I have an idea."

"Does it involve Simone?"

"No, why?"

"Uh... no reason." I shrug as he scratches the back of his head.

Those two are up to something. Since the O'Neils returned home from their supposed 'family visiting', they've been laying pretty low. As a matter of fact, neither of them have left the house in the past two days. Bishop gave me some pretty high-tech gadgets for tracking electronic devices. No outgoing calls, no internet usage reported…. nothing. Today, I spotted the daughter talking to a dark-haired boy. Casey Jones; the kid has a pretty hefty record of trouble-making. Surprised a kid like O'Neil would be giving him the time of day. Kids these days. I bugged the front door with a mic, so I'm able to pick up on some of the conversation:

…. another psychic brain thing? ... my powers ...real trouble …mutating …can't just go down there …have an idea...

Great, I can track electronic devices but can't get any decent eavesdropping equipment. I roll my eyes in frustration. I'm barely able to make sense of what they're talking about but I know it has to do with some sort of psychic abilities that the O'Neil kid has. That would explain why Kirby's been keeping quiet and laying low. He's trying to keep is daughter under the radar. She wants to go somewhere but the Casey kid doesn't look too enthused about going. The O'Neil kid is an unexpected person of interest in this Gary Lawson case along with Kirby and this Casey kid. Great. They're on the move.

"Johnson, the red-head's headed west on 5th street," I speak to my partner through the Bluetooth communicator hooked over my ear.

"Which red-head?"

"The teenie-bopper, and she's got company. Dark-haired male, roughly sixteen or seventeen years of age."

"On it."

This case has so many major pieces but none of them are fitting together. Gary Lawson is missing. Kirby O'Neil is the hottest suspect we have right now. Kirby's kid is a psychic, probably affected by Kraang mutagen. Then there's the reptile/human hybrid blood samples we found in Lawson's basement. Could Kirby and his daughter be spies for the Kraang? ...or maybe they are Kraang… no, scratch that. Their English is impeccable compared to the Kraang my team encountered a few months ago, but they still could be human terrorist spies for the Kraang.

Gary and Kirby were working on something unearthly in that basement, possibly for the Kraang. Whatever it was they were working on was dangerous, I'm talking extraterrestrial carnage level dangerous. The Kraang are ruthless, uncaring creatures. Could Kirby have disposed of Gary once the chemist finished the Kraang's bidding? I've got a feeling that April O'Neil holds the key to fitting this puzzle together. I make a call for containment forces. I've got a strong hunch about this and my hunches are never wrong.

My sixth sense isn't as on point as April's but I can definitely feel that we're being followed. At first it was just one guy, but April says she can feel two more agents on our tail by the time we get to Chinatown. We ditched going to Antonio's for Murakami's since it has closer sewer access to the lair. We keep our pace causal and walk in silence. When we get to the Noodle Shop, I open the door for April as I look behind us. I spot a guy leaning a little too casually against a lightpole.

"If you're gonna do this, you better do it now. Mr. Shades out there is coming in." I jerk my head toward the storefront window as I take a seat at the booth.

"Right. Thanks, Casey. I'm going to make a quick trip to the restroom first." I nod at her as she disappears into the back of the restaurant. Right on time, Mr. Shades makes his way inside pretending to be nonchalant. A split second after he turns away, I make a mad dash for the door.

"Hey!" he shouts, but I'm already out the door. I skid to a stop as two more guys in shades are right in front of me.

"Take it easy, kid. We just wanna ask ya a few questions."

"Well, here's my answer!" I flip the suckers the bird as I back away only to bump into Mr. Shades number 1. When he grips my shoulder, I grab his wrist with my taser-laden hand and give him the shock of his life. Shades number 2 and 3 come to his aid as I make a sharp turn down an alley where I know there is a fence I can jump. Stars burst in my vision as my body is slammed against the side of the building. I raise my hand to taze this fool, but he twists my wrist, slamming it against the wall until my hand-made weapon crumbles to the ground.

"Where's the girl?" He doesn't waste time with niceties like the other guys.

"Bite me." My back scrapes against the wall as he lifts me up by pressing his arm to my throat. Somebody's been lifting people for weights. "You really gonna kill an innocent kid?" I whisper out while gasping for air.

"No, but I have ways of making your life a living hell, Casey Jones. You've got a juvenile record from here to Jersey. I'll pull a few strings and have you locked up before you finish high school. Now where' s the girl?"

"Hey, Johnson!" Shades number 1 breaks up our little alley date.

"What is it, Martinez?"

"The girl slipped out the bathroom window. The snow's already covering her tracks."

Awesome. The distraction worked! I give Johnson a toothy smile and he slaps handcuffs on me. "Hey, what gives?! I didn't do anything!"

"Martinez, take him to the station for assault on a federal officer."

"You filthy, no good piece of—" I'm dragged to an unmarked car as I continue my string of obscenities. As they shove my head down to push me in the car, the only thing I can think of is how much my dad is going to kill me.

As I drop down to a lower tunnel opening, I nearly slip on a patch of ice. After I snuck out the bathroom window and down the fire escape, I headed for the subway. I couldn't risk taking a manhole with the disturbed snow being a dead giveaway to where I was headed. Pulling out my t-phone, I use the turtle tracker app Donnie installed on it knowing it will lead me straight to the lair where I know Donnie's t-phone is located. Flashes of pain and anger rip through my mind and I have to lean against the tunnel wall to ward off the dizziness that hits me.

"I'm coming, Donnie." I take off down the tunnels, hoping I'm not too late.

"Easy, Donnie."

"Mikey, don't!" Leo barks at me when I take step toward our mutated brother. I ignore him, taking another slow step.

"It's okay, D. Remember me? I'm your favorite brother." I quirk a lopsided smile. He snarls at me, scratching his claws against the floor as he steps back. "I know you're scared bro, but we're all here for you." When he doesn't back away, I take another step closer. His heated breath makes me squint as he huffs in my face. "I know you're still in there, Donnie." I stand still, stiller than I ever have in my life. Donnie's eyes mellow from red to brown. Extending my hand to him, Donnie nuzzles against it with his snout. "Yeah, that's it, bro. Everything's gonna be just—"

"Donnie! Donnie!" April's voice shrieks from the turnstile. I can feel Donnie tense under the sudden outburst. Startled, his eyes glow red and the next thing I see are rows of sharp teeth before pain explodes from my arm.

My unpredictable youngest brother jumps into action before I can grab the cuff of his shell. Of all the times to do something crazy, why now Mikey? I have a really bad feeling about this. Really bad. My hand trembles as it hovers over my belt pocket. Now may be my only chance to bring Donnie down peacefully. As Donnie hisses and snarls at Mikey, I steady my hand around the syringe in my pocket and ease it out as discreetly as possible. I just need to get close enough to-

My head snaps toward the entrance of our home, surprised by the sudden appearance and outburst of April.

Mikey screams. My reaction is delayed by a split second, but a split second was all it took for Donatello to clamp his jaws around Mikey's arm. The syringe of euthanasia slips from my fingers, forgotten on the floor, as my brain catches up to the scene before me.

"Mikey!" Raph and I exclaim. We both rush to our brothers, one hell-bent on mauling the other, but we're not fast enough to stop Donnie from shaking Mikey like a ragdoll, refusing to release his arm.

He see us coming and turns around, slashing his tail in our direction. As I duck, Raph leaps over Donnie's tail. The air is no longer filled with Donatello's screams but now the agonizing screams of our youngest brother. Knocking Raph away with his arm, Donnie snarls at us. Squatting low, he backs away as he eyes each of us like a predator guarding his prey, or in this case Mikey. He places his clawed hand (or is it his front leg now?) on top of Mikey's plastron, clamps down harder, and pulls. Blood sprouts from Mikey's arm like a fountain as he starts to pale beneath Donnie, screaming for his mercy. Master Splinter, Raph, and I freeze, afraid our movements will be the death of Mikey as Donnie backs away, dragging him away from us. I regret my clumsily as I see the syringe near the bottom of the couch. Now instead of one brother, I'm going to lose two. As Master Splinter's foot shifts and brows crease I know he's thinking, trying to save both Donnie and Mikey. His eyes glance over space around us. He's looking for a distraction; something to lure Donnie away from Mikey.

"Donnie, stop!" April's scream serves as good of a distraction as any as an invisible blast spears through my body. The psychic energy forces me, Raph, and Sensei to our knees, but it doesn't faze Donatello as he growls with agitation, now directing his death glare at April while still holding fast to Mikey's arm. "Let him go. This isn't you, Donatello." April pleads with him, pressing her fingers to her temple.

The snarl fades from Donnie's menacing face as his red eyes dull to a soft chocolate brown. He whines as he lifts his claws from Mikey's plastron and releases his death grip on his arm. Mikey's right arm flops out of Donnie's mouth with a sickening thud. When he wipes his arm across his mouth, I know Donnie's back in control. Splinter rushes to Mikey, ripping a strip of his robe to stop the bleeding.

"Donnie, we know you're in there." I keep my voice calm and steady as I step toward him. Donnie takes two steps back.

"Just take it easy, Don. We'll figure this out." Raphael adds.

Bumping into the corner behind him, Donnie looks frantic. His eyes roam from April, to Raph and me, and remain on Mikey who hasn't moved since Donnie released him. There's a deep, low moan that rumbles in the back of his throat as a tear rolls down his changed face.

"Donnie…" I risk another step, instantly regret it when Donatello glares at us before unleashing a monstrous roar that feels like furnace wind. With speed I hadn't expected from someone Donnie's size, he rushes between Raphael and me and nearly tramples April as he leaps over the turnstiles, howling into the tunnels.

"April! Help me. Leonardo! Raphael! Find your brother. Go, now!" Master Splinters barks the panicked order, but Raph and I are already in the tunnels before he finishes his sentence.

TBC

A/N: I know this is the chapter most of you have been waiting for, hope it was worth the wait. ;) I appreciate your patience.

I would like to address the fact that there have been a few anons who have felt this story has been dragged out or have expressed dislike of the gaps between chapters. Keep in mind that when you purchase a book that story is already complete. When you read fanfiction, you are reading a work in progress. This story has been a work in progress since 2014. From 2014 until now I have gone through deaths of family members and close friends, sickness, unemployment, and just the daily unpredictable ups and downs of life in general. Yet in the mist of it all I tried to make time to write and update this story. I can't predict when life will throw a curveball and force me to stop writing, but I have always promised my readers I would never abandon a story without sending a notification. Updating may take awhile at times but this story is not being abandoned.

While I am dealing with real life's unpredictable ups, downs, sickness, drama, and just the brain-draining tasks of daily routines I'm still, somehow, making time to write. It was my intention to post the second week in September...then hurricane Florence hit. Sometimes stuff just happens and you have to roll with the punches and take care of business.

I'm sorry for delays in the chapter posts and I appreciate all of your patience, just keep in mind that I have a life outside of fanfiction and as much as I wish I could post chapters every week, sometimes life doesn't allow me to. As always thank you for your support. :)

I'll see you guys next chapter!

Poetique