All TMNT characters are © Peter Laird & Kevin Eastman, now Nickelodeon.
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
When Don returned to the Lair shortly after killing that mugger, Splinter was up late meditating in the living room. Where the old rat sat made it impossible for Don to sneak past without being sensed.
Splinter's nose wiggled as he smelled blood again. The scent made him open his eyes to see his smartest boy trying to flee up to his room as fast as he could. He was not fast enough.
"Donatello, what are you doing up so late?" Splinter asked, not letting on that he suspected him of doing a lot more than just that. Would his son lie to him again?
"I-, uh, I just went to the bathroom, Father..." Don replied, avoiding his eyes and turning his face away to shut his eyes in shame. Splinter's ears dropped in sadness. He lied again. The rat narrowed his eyes and stood up.
He approached Don quickly, making the young Turtle back up in surprise. Splinter stopped and gave him a foreboding stare that sent much anxiety through the now frightened mutant terrapin.
"Show me your hands." Splinter demanded and waited.
"I...I can't..." Don squeaked, but his father wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"I said, show me your hands. NOW!" Splinter barked, getting angry.
"No! Master, please, I...-!" Don tried to escape, but Splinter forcefully got a hold of his arms and yanked his blood-stained hands forward. The Turtle tore his hands free, breathing hard. He was in so much trouble!
"Why is there blood on your hands, my son?" Splinter asked, although he could sense what may have happened. His son must have murdered someone.
Splinter knew the day would come when his sons would kill, but why was it so soon? And why did his meekest son do so first? The rat believed Raphael would be the first, but never Donatello, the son who was a pacifist.
"I-I didn't, I-!" Don stammered, unable to get out of this one.
"You didn't what?" Splinter demanded, frowning. Don couldn't say more as he dropped to his knees with tears blinding his eyes. When he began to shake with sobs, Splinter put his arms around his son tightly.
"You've done something terrible, I know. I will not pry it out of you. I can wait until you are ready to tell me what has happened, but do not lie to me again. Do you understand, Donatello?" the old rat asked as he held his trembling child close.
Don nodded his head and squeezing his eyes tightly shut with fresh heavy tears flowing down his cheeks. Splinter pulled away and wiped his son's face tenderly. The look in his eyes made Don fight to find his voice. He struggled to tell Splinter the truth finally.
"I-I..was going topside the last two nights..." Don whimpered, his voice wavering. He had his eyes to the floor, then raised them to Splinter's.
"Go on." Splinter said, his eyes filled with sadness and anger at this confession. He had warned them in excessively to never go topside, but his gentlest boy had disobeyed him. It was hurtful.
"And...and..." Don gasped for air as he wiped his right eye hard with his forearm. "...I k-killed someone...each night... Oh, God!" Don broke down and cried harder as he curled downward to his father's feet.
"And I ENJOYED it, Master!" The purple clad Turtle hiccupped and sucked in more air heavily. "Please, please! Forgive me...!"
Splinter's entire furry body drooped with terrible sorrow. He slowly went down and put his arms around his fallen son and held him close. But as he did, he suddenly saw a vision entered in his mind, a horrific vision. A vision he had seen before in his nightmares and had tried to forget about...
There he was, against a wall. Battered, bruised, and broken. And Donatello before him, splattered with blood. His bloody hands were arched with hatred... A vicious snarl on his beak with dark detestation burning in his brown eyes.
Splinter shook his head to make it go away, but it didn't. He had to pull away and stop touching his son. The vision went away finally. It unnerved the old rat and he ushered Don to his room, doing his best to calm him even though he was shaking himself now.
'No, these visions-...nightmares can NOT be true!' Splinter thought in alarm. He could not bear to have any of his children despise him, let alone want him dead. This just could not be so!
'I must take Donatello to the temple tomorrow.' The old rat knew he had no choice. He had to rid Don of his demons before they manifested themselves physically against Splinter, using his son's own natural savage reptilian roots to do so.
Although Splinter had this nightmare once, it was one that disturbed him to his core. His dear sweet Don had somehow transformed into a huge monstrous beast of savagery, hungry for death. Splinter was being hunted down by his own son in this terrible nightmare and at the end, he was caught and about to be eaten alive by Don when he woke up crying out in shock.
'He must go and be cleansed...' Splinter was sure once this was done, things would be right again. Safe again.
To Be Continued in Chapter 4!
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