All TMNT characters are © Peter Laird & Kevin Eastman.
Author Note: Master Splinter was a happy adopted father until one day, a horrific nightmare alerts him that something severely drastic has happened to his son Donatello. Meanwhile, young Don does his best to hide what he has done while out on the surface world. It's a darkness within him that he doesn't want anyone, especially not his father, to ever find out about...
Main Cast: Splinter and fourteen year old Donatello. Please Read and Review, thanks!
Note: There's mature content due to the reality issues I often put in my stories, so it's not really for the little kiddies out there.
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Donatello's Darkness
Splinter had forbidden his adopted terrapin sons to go to the surface world, fearing they would be seen and killed. He told them repetitively never to venture into the human world.
The Turtles obeyed somewhat. As tots, they snuck topside to teach a kid (Casey Jones) how to fight, but Splinter found out and successfully kept them underground for years.
But when those Turtle tots became teenagers, Splinter, due to his declining health, wasn't able to watch them as well as he used to in the past.
One fateful evening, a young very inquisitive Donatello decided one short trip topside wouldn't spell doom and left the secret grate he had been using to stare wistfully out at the surface world.
He was tired of watching people go by and seeing them enjoy their lives above ground, while he stayed below wondering and wishing. He longed to be with those happy people and he wanted to enjoy life like how humans did.
Don knew from television that life was better topside. From advanced technology to pretty girls, real quality living could only be obtained within the surface world.
Splinter said countless times that the human world would never be theirs, but Don refused to accept that. Ever since he became six years old, he believed that he was just as much a human as any of the regular Homo sapiens.
Now as a very wise teenager, he viewed himself as a human being that deserved to join his kind. Yes, Splinter was wise too, but Don was aware of his fast growing intellect and deemed his own decision-making safe to follow.
Being careful not to be seen, he used his ninja training to keep within the shadows at all times. He joyfully observed the humans yards away, sometimes even several feet away.
It was the closest he had ever been to their kind... No, his kind. He wanted to make friends, but his gut told him to still hold Splinter's warning of staying hidden in highest regard. The terrapin in him made him trust his instincts more than his desires for now.
Don's short visit topside turned out to be a long one. The entire city was like a living museum with people going about their lives and doing things Don only could dream about.
He kept very still and quiet in an alley as he noticed a tall thin man approach a very pretty lady sitting on a bench. She greeted him with much intimacy and the two hugged, then began kissing.
Don was enthralled by this. Never before in his life did he yearn for what that couple had. True love between mates. It was beautiful and the young Turtle was entrapped by its magic.
The couple left in a machine that Don proudly knew was a car. If only he could have a girlfriend and a wonderful piece of machinery such as that car the skinny man had. Wow...
Don didn't care how his girlfriend would look like, just as long as she really loved him. He'd give anything to have a female in his life like that.
He watched a mother go by on the sidewalk with her toddler. The kid asked to be picked up and she did so, cuddling her son as she continued on her way. Now Don yearned to be a father, like how Splinter was with wonderful children to love.
Even having one child would be good enough. But having a loving mate and being a father were simply fantasies for this poor soul. Don sighed, feeling very dejected.
He reluctantly knew deep down inside that he would never have a mate nor be a father someday. Those were the cold hard facts that Splinter had been telling him all his life.
He was 'human' too (well, human-like), yet he couldn't really be one. Their world could never be his. Just like Splinter said. And had been saying. Continuously.
A cruel reality. His reality...
No. He couldn't accept defeat. He wouldn't. Facts or not, he could truly be at one with the humans and their world. He was smart enough to do it. He just had to try at least!
Suddenly, a shrill scream made the young mutant aware of danger. He should return back to the safety of the sewers now and avoid being seen. Instead, Don went to where he heard the scream to investigate.
As wonderful and amazing as the humans were, they were not without their dark side. He knew plenty of the terrible things humans did to one another from news reports on TV. And what they did to helpless animals...
Don and his brothers vowed amongst one another to put an end to it somehow once they were strong enough to. Don was sure he was strong enough now. He could be a hero today!
He wasn't a kid anymore. Why, he was practically an adult. He just turned fourteen recently and he knew how to take care of himself. Now he was going to take care of others with what Splinter had taught him.
"No, please! Don't!" cried a female voice from a vacant lot. A nice looking teenaged girl was being attacked by an overly tan guy brandishing a knife. The girl wished she had listened to her mother and had not gone to her friend's house this late at night. Now she was in big trouble.
"Shut up!" The guy jabbed at the girl to scare her into submission so he could rape her with more ease. Don yanked his bo staff from its holder on his shell and disarmed the guy.
"What the-?!" The guy looked to where his knife was knocked to then to where Don was standing. The purple clad Turtle was concealed in shadow, so they weren't frightened yet.
"Please help me!" the girl cried, grateful for the rescue.
"Whoever you are, you are dead!" The guy trash-talked Don some more before charging at him. During the brief fight, the guy pulled out a second knife and tried to cut the ninja's throat open.
After much struggling for the blade, the guy suddenly went limp and he slumped down to the ground. Don's bloody fingers were wrapped around the handle of the blood-soaked dagger.
It took him a moment to realize what he had done. During the fight, Don had stabbed and killed the guy! Accidentally, but still. And not only that, but he wasn't in the shadows anymore.
The girl saw the blood dripping from the knife and her eyes traveled up Don's green arm. When she saw that he wasn't human, she let out a horrified shriek before bolting away in extreme fear.
"No, wait! I didn't mean to!" Don cried, holding out a hand. But he lowered it in defeat as he repeated almost silently. "I didn't mean to..."
Splinter was meditating in the living room of their rundown home. He sensed Donatello trying to sneak past him to his room and without opening his eyes, he spoke.
"Where have you been, my son?"
Don froze in his tracks as he put his blood stained hands behind his shell. He swallowed hard and fought to find his voice.
"In my laboratory." he said, hating himself to lie like that. But he couldn't tell his father that he had taken a life. Not on purpose, but deep down inside, he was pleased that he did it regardless. And that was what bothered him. Frightened him.
What would Splinter think of him if he found out that he went topside and killed a human? Don feared Splinter would disown him instantly, so he was forced to lie.
"Don't stay out so late, Donatello. I was getting worried." Splinter said quietly, knowing that his son was lying to him. He could smell the blood on him. He had done something dire, but the rat decided to give his son a chance to tell the truth on his own.
"I won't do it again, Sensei. I promise." Don replied, meaning it. He never wanted to kill again. It brought out something... baneful out of him.
When he murdered that man, he felt an odd joy deep inside; a dark enjoyment he immediately hid shamefully as soon as he felt it. He couldn't really LIKE killing, could he?
To Be Continued in Chapter 2!
My first story with Splinter in it! ^_^ Thanks for reading and please leave a review. :) Until next time!