Bittersweet
A Ninja Turtle snippet
By Deana Lisi
This is my idea on what happened after the end of episode 1 of the new season, 'Back to the Sewers'.
(They have eyeballs! I'm so glad! lol)
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A hand touched Donatello's shoulder, but he barely felt it as he hung his head. "It's all my fault," he said.
Silence ruled over the lair…the lair that they had spent almost a year trying to get back to, having unexpectedly spent the time in the year 2105.
"But…but…you can get him back, right?" Mikey's shocked voice asked.
Get him back? Donatello suddenly found himself sitting down, belatedly realizing that Leo had guided him over to a nearby chair. He didn't answer Mikey...Viral had used Serling's weapons to blast Splinter into a billion tiny pieces of data. There's no way to get him back!
Tears slipped down his cheeks.
Everyone stared, having held their breath for Donny's reply. The sight of the tears from their genius brother completely destroyed their hope.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me!" Raphael bellowed. "Ya can't do nothin'? Ya tellin' me that Splinter's dead?!"
Donny put his head in his hands.
Leonardo squeezed his younger brother's shoulder. "Stop it, Raph! This isn't Donny's fault!"
"He was in that thing when it fired!" Raph shouted, pointing at Serling, who'd been trying to slink away.
Donatello raised his head at Raph's words, visibly shaking. "What? Are you saying that I…that I…"
"No, he's not, Donny," Leo said, squeezing his shoulder again before standing. "Are you, Raph?"
The red-banded turtle ignored them, stalking over to the futuristic robot. "What did you do?!" he shouted.
Mikey ran over and stood in-between them.
Serling waved his hands in the air. "It wasn't me! Viral took over my systems again! She sent a surge of electricity through all of my circuits, and then I had no control!"
"Electricity?" said Leo, looking at Donny, who was still shaking, his face in his hands. "Are you all right, Donny?"
The other turtle didn't answer.
"Donny?" said Leo, shaking his shoulder.
Mikey ran over, and Raph turned around, finally noticing the urgent tone in their oldest brother's voice.
Leonardo pulled Donny's hands away from his face, trying to see him. "Did you get zapped too, Donny?"
The olive-green turtle didn't look up. "My fault," he whispered, brokenly, still shaking.
"Let's get him to his room," Leo told the others.
Raphael, feeling guilty now, left the cowering Serling and went over to his brothers, who were pulling Donny up from his seat. He elbowed Mikey out of the way and picked Donny up himself, carrying him towards his room.
The other turtles silently followed.
The younger turtle was completely limp, apparently passed out. Raph wondered if it was caused by the electrical zap or his shocked grief.
He was in that thing when it fired! His betraying words filled his mind's ears, and he wondered just how much he'd contributed to his brother's current state.
"Raph—" said Mikey, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by Leo's stern look.
Entering his brother's room for the first time in almost a year, Raphael gently laid Donatello onto his bed, pulling a blanket over him. "I'm sorry, Donny," he whispered. "I don't blame ya."
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When Donatello woke up, he had a headache and his body was tingling. He didn't know why, and tried to shift into a more comfortable position. Who'd we fight this time? I don't remember, he thought. I must've been knocked out. I hope everyone else is okay…
A sigh met his ears, and memories of what had happened slammed into his mind with enough force to make him gasp.
Raphael looked up at the sound, and reached over to put his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Take it easy, Donny! Just stay put."
Donatello's eyes were opened wide and he was breathing heavily. "Sp-Splinter? Did that really happen?" He resisted Raphael's hold and managed to sit up, looking around and realizing that he was back in his old bedroom. "It did…we're home…Splinter…" He looked up at the other turtle as if seeing him for the first time. "Raph?"
Raphael sighed again, at the pleading tone from his brother. As they'd grown, he'd made it his job to keep an eye on his younger siblings, and he hadn't heard the 'what-happened-Raph-protect-me' tone from Donny in years.
Tears filled Donny's eyes as he remembered Viral turning Serling's weapons on his brothers, and seeing Splinter take the blast. He'd tried so hard to stop her, but he hadn't been good enough.
"What are ya sayin', Donny? Of course ya good enough," said Raphael.
Donny hadn't realized that he'd spoken aloud. "I tried to stop her, but I couldn't!" he said. "I'm sorry!"
Guilt overwhelming him, Raphael reached over and put his hand on the back of his brother's neck, bringing his forehead closer to rest against his own. "We know ya tried, Donny. None of us blames ya. I'm the one who's sorry. Ya know I have a bad habit of runnin' my big mouth without thinkin' first."
Donatello sniffed.
"If anythin' coulda been done, ya woulda done it," Raphael continued. "Stop blamin' yourself, bro, and try to think of a way to get him back instead."
Donny shook his head, the tears falling onto Raphael's knees, who didn't seem to mind. "I don't think there is a way, Raph! He's been blasted into a billion data bytes!"
Raphael wasn't surprised to hear that. Deep inside, he was sure that Splinter was truly forever gone. He had to swallow a few times before he was able to speak, trying to be strong for his brother. "If that's really true, Donny, then we'll have to find a way to get by. We still have each other. If it's not true, then you're the only one of us smart enough to figure out how to get him back."
Donatello nodded. "I'll—I'll give it some thought."
Raphael nodded back and clapped his brother's shoulder, before sitting back.
Donny remained where he was, head bowed. He wiped his eyes before looking around the room again. "Bittersweet," he muttered.
"Huh?" said Raphael.
"We tried so hard to get home, and now we're here," Donny replied, sounding dazed. "But at what cost?"
Raphael didn't know what to say. He took his brother's arm and pushed him back down to the pillow. "Just rest, Donny."
But the other turtle shook his head, even as his eyes closed drowsily. "Raph…"
"Yeah?"
"Where did Viral go after we got back?" Donny whispered.
Raphael's eyes opened wider. He opened his mouth to speak, but his brother had fallen asleep. Clenching his fists, Raphael knew that he and his brothers had quite a fight coming…and he couldn't wait.
The End