Part 3-It All Comes Out

A whole week had passed, and life within the Hamato family lair was the same as usual.

Leo and Master Splinter were in the dojo finishing up with their afternoon meditation before heading towards the kitchen to make themselves some herbal tea.

Raph was in the garage working on some repairs on his motorbike after his ride out last night had resulted in a close collision with another vehicle, causing him to skid and land roughly on the side of the road. Luckily, he only received a few scrapes and bruises on his body, but his motorbike had sustained some damages such as a punctured front wheel and scratched paintwork on its left side.

Donnie was not present in the lair, because he had left straight after breakfast to go to Leatherhead's lair again to continue working on their project.

And finally, Mikey was in his bedroom sewing up the last two stitches on Donnie's duffle bag. He tied and cut the thread before he held up the bag and smiled proudly as he looked at his handywork, which had taken the entirety of this week to finish.

"There…it's finally finished…!" Mikey said to himself before he carefully placed the duffle bag back into the box and covered it up with the flaps, and then he took a roll of duct tape and taped up the middle of the box to keep the flaps down.

"Ok, Mikey…time to give this to Donnie…!" He then told himself as he picked up the box, walked over to the door, and opened it before he left his bedroom altogether.

/

Donnie's side…

Meanwhile, in the sewer tunnels, Donnie was walking with Leatherhead next to him as he

When he arrived at Leatherhead's place earlier, Donnie realised that he had forgotten his box of tools that he needed to help with the project he and Leatherhead were working on. Before Donnie left to go and get them, the big reptile himself had offered to come with him to assist him in carrying his tools since they have been known to be quite heavy.

"Thanks again for coming with me to help me, Leatherhead…" Donnie said gratefully to his large friend.

"It is the least I could do to help you, my friend…You have been coming to my home and providing the necessary materials needed many times now, so I must return the favour my going to your home to help you with your needs…" Leatherhead replied warmly.

"And I'm grateful for that, Leatherhead…Also, I'm sure that Mikey would be really happy to see you as soon as we arrive; it's been a while since he saw you…" Donnie said when he thought about his immediate younger brother.

"Indeed…I am looking forward to seeing him again, as well as the rest of my friends…" Leatherhead replied in excitement.

Donnie smiled even more at Leatherhead before he soon recognised the area of the tunnel that they were in, meaning that they were getting closer to the Hamato Family lair.

"We're here…" Donnie announced as soon as he saw the lair's entrance.

Just as they had entered the lair, however…

"HE DOESN'T WANT YA AROUND ANYMORE!"

Donnie and Leatherhead jumped and froze in surprise when they suddenly heard Raph shouting up ahead.

The duo walked a bit further before they spotted the red-banded turtle standing in front of a shocked-looking Mikey in the living room, with Leo and Master Splinter standing beside them whilst also looking shocked.

"Huh? What's going on?" Donnie questioned quietly before he and Leatherhead positioned themselves behind the wall leading to the kitchen to avoid being spotted and listened in.

/

Mikey's side (10 minutes earlier)…

After coming out of his bedroom, Mikey walked down the stairs whilst carrying the box in his hands. He had reached the bottom of the stairs and started looking around for Donnie whilst walking towards the living room, but he couldn't find his purple-banded brother anywhere. It was then that he saw Leo and Master Splinter walking out of the kitchen with a cup of herbal tea each in their hands.

"Hey, Leo, have you seen Donnie?" Mikey asked.

"Not since this morning, Mikey…He left for Leatherhead's place straight after breakfast, remember…?" Leo told him as he and Master Splinter went to place their teacups on the coffee table.

"Oh, right…I forgot about that…" Mikey replied in disappointment.

"Is something the matter? What's in the box?" Leo asked in both concern and curiosity when he saw the box in Mikey's arms.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just wanted to give this to Donnie, but I guess I'll have to wait until he comes back…I can't tell you what's in it cos it's only for Donnie to open…" Mikey explained calmly, even though he was feeling bashful on the inside.

"I see…" Leo replied in understanding.

"I am sure Donatello will appreciate what you are planning to give to him, Michelangelo…All you need to do for now is to wait and be patient until he returns…" Master Splinter told his youngest son wisely.

"I know, Master Splinter, and I will…" Mikey replied in understanding.

Just then, Raph walked into the living room after deciding to take a break from spending some time working on his motorbike in the garage.

"Hey, what's up?" The red-banded turtle greeted gruffly.

"Nothing's up, Raph; Mikey was just wondering where Donnie was, but we've already let him know that he went to Leatherhead's earlier…" Leo explained.

"Ok, but what's with da box?" Raph then questioned as he looked at the box with a raised eyebrow.

"It's for Donnie…" Mikey answered instantly.

"What's in it?" Raph questioned next.

"That's only for Donnie to know; it's a surprise for him…!" Mikey answered firmly, now getting tired of being interrogated by his red-banded brother.

"Why would ya think dat Donnie would want anythin' from you? Fer all I know, it could be somethin' from yer prank book!" Raph accused heatedly.

"No, it's not! What I'm giving him will cheer him up, I'm sure of it! He's been down in the dumps since his duffle bag got ruined, and I just want to-"

"HE DOESN'T WANT YA AROUND ANYMORE!"

Raph's sudden outburst instantly stopped Mikey from talking and made him, Leo, and Master Splinter look at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Before Mikey and the others could respond to Raph's words, the red-banded turtle continued speaking.

"Don't ya get it yet!? Donnie doesn't wanna hang out with ya anymore, cos yer a stupid screw-up who has no clue on da stuff he does, and ya always badgerin' him when he doesn't want ya around him! Leatherhead will always be a better best friend ta him than ya will ever be, and all yer doin' is tryin' ta ruin it cos yer jealous of their friendship!"

"Raph-"

"SHUT UP! I don't know why yer always stickin' up fer dis nuisance, Leo, cos ya agree with me deep down dat ya don't want him around ya either!" Raph immediately accused, stopping Leo from scolding him altogether.

"T-That's not true…!" Mikey stuttered as he tried to defend Leo.

"Oh, yeah? Then, why does everyone here avoid ya each time ya try ta talk to 'em about doin' somethin' with ya!?" Raph questioned harshly.

Mikey wanted to answer Raph's question, but he was struggling to get a single word out of his mouth due to the shock and hurt that he was feeling in his heart. He didn't have a chance to reply, anyway, because Raph spoke seconds later.

"Dat's what I thought…So, get it through yer brainless skull, Mikey; none of us here wants ya as their best friend cos ya have nothin' in common with us and we don't accept ya fer dat, and that all we want from ya is ta GO AWAY!"

"Raphael! Enough!" Master Splinter scolded, instantly stopping Raph from going any further.

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Mikey was looking at Raph as if he had just been shot in the chest and his body was trembling like an earthquake. His eyes were also overflowing with tears, which immediately fell down his cheeks.

Not taking any more of Raph's cruelty, Mikey dropped the box and covered his watery face before running away from the group.

"Mikey, wait! Don't go!" "Michelangelo!" Leo and Master Splinter cried out to try and stop Mikey, but the poor turtle had already disappeared through the lair's exit.

/

Donnie's side…

After watching a tearful Mikey run away and leave the lair altogether, both Donnie and Leatherhead became angry and decided to reveal themselves by leaving their hiding place and walking over to the others.

"What's been going on in here!?" Donnie questioned in a demanding tone.

"Donnie? What are you doing back so early, and with Leatherhead too…?" Leo questioned in confusion with his anxiety starting to build up when he saw the anger showing on Leatherhead's face.

"I forgot some of my tools when I left earlier, and Leatherhead had offered to come back with me to help carry them for me since I didn't have my duffle bag anymore…" Donnie explained before he turned to look at Raph with an angry expression and continued on.

"…And as soon as we entered the lair, we heard you yelling at Mikey, who we saw run off whilst crying his eyes out! What the shell did you do to him!?"

"I just told him some home truths and he didn't like it, so he ran off like a lil' baby!" Raph explained cruelly.

"That's not what happened, Raph…! You were being too hard on Mikey by telling him that no-one wants to be around him or be his friend!" Leo corrected scoldingly.

"He said what!? What's this all about, anyway!?" Donnie questioned in shock and confusion.

"I too would like to know more about this, my friends…" Leatherhead said firmly with a serious look on his face and arms crossed.

"I will tell you both everything…You might want to sit down for this, though…" Leo instantly told his brother with a small warning of what he was about to tell him and Leatherhead.

The smart duo looked at each other in confusion before they decided to sit down on the double sofa, with Leo, Raph, and Master Splinter joining them.

"Ok, here's what happened…" Leo said, beginning his explanation on what had been happening lately.

/

15 minutes later…

By the time Leo had finished telling his story, Donnie and Leatherhead were looking at him with shock on their faces.

They could not believe that, ever since the turtles had found Leatherhead a new home, Mikey felt like he was being pushed away and left on the back burner because no-one wanted him around or have him as their best friend. Donnie immediately looked at Raph with an angry scowl.

"How could you do such a thing to him!?" The purple-banded turtle stormed.

"Hey, ya gotta agree with me dat Mikey needs ta stop tryin' ta be around ya all da time…!" Raph defended, still denying that he had said anything wrong towards Mikey.

"No, I don't agree with you, Raph! Yes, I do want to have my own space now and then, but I have never said that I don't want Mikey to ever be around me all the time…!" Donnie disagreed adamantly.

"That goes the same for us too! We all know that Mikey can be a handful, but that doesn't mean that we should treat him like he's not part of our family!" Leo joined in firmly, agreeing with Donnie words.

"I never said dat he wasn't!" Raph denied instantly.

"Then why did you tell him that he didn't belong with us due to his interests being too different compared to ours?" Leo questioned.

"Cos da things he loves, includin' comic books, video games, and superheroes, are all kid stuff! I'm tired of bein' forced ta do all dat with him when I've got my own stuff ta do!" Raph answered in a fiery tone.

"But those are the things what Mikey is passionate about, aside from Ninjitsu! How would you like it if someone mocked and rejected you because of your interests being different to theirs!?" Leo pointed out in Mikey's defence.

Raph froze before he realised that Leo had made a good point. He would be just as upset as Mikey was now if the red-banded turtle was ridiculed by his own friends and family because of his own personal interests. He sighed in frustration and looked away from the others.

"Donatello, Michelangelo wanted to give you something before the conversation became heated…" Master Splinter spoke, breaking the silence and changing the subject, as he pointed at the now abandoned box in front of him.

"What is this, anyway?" Donnie questioned as he looked at the box curiously.

"Michelangelo explained to us that he was going to give it to you as soon as you returned home…We are not sure what its contents is, though; he just told us that it was a surprise for only you to see…" Master Splinter explained in an unsure tone.

Donnie looked back and forth from Master Splinter to the box a couple of times before he walked over to the box, picked it up, and placed it on the coffee table. He then carefully removed the tape and lifted the flaps.

When Donnie looked inside the box, he gasped before he reached in to grab its contents.

"What is it, Donnie?" Leo questioned.

"He…He fixed my duffle bag…!" Donnie answered in shock as he took the bag itself out of the box.

"What!?" The others cried with a gasp.

"Yer jokin', right?" Raph then said sarcastically.

"It's not a joke, Raph! Look at this!" Donnie snapped before he held up the duffle bag to show the others what he had found.

When the others looked at what Donnie was showing them, they too gasped in amazement at what they were seeing; on the bottom of the bag was a neatly sewn line with cross stitches overlapping it, and the thread used was purple in colour to match with Donnie's mask.

"Woah…Mikey really did dat!?" Raph questioned in astonishment.

"He must have done it! April hasn't said anything about doing any sewing, and I know that I didn't ask Master Splinter to fix it because I thought that it was too badly damaged to do so…!" Donnie told him in determination.

"No wonder he was in his room a lot, and here we thought that he was just doing some cleaning up…" Leo realised whilst shaking his head.

"But why would he hide dis from us?" Raph questioned in confusion.

"He must've kept this all a secret to avoid embarrassment if we ever found out…" Leo theorised sadly.

"Or maybe he didn't like how upset I was when it first got damaged, and he wanted to cheer me up by fixing it instead of getting a new one…" Donnie then told them his theory.

"Either way, it is a very thoughtful thing Michelangelo has done for you, Donatello…" Master Splinter complimented his youngest son's actions proudly.

"Indeed…The craftmanship on the stitching is very impressive…" Leatherhead said in agreement.

Donnie was now completely dumbfounded. He had never expected Mikey to secretly take and fix his duffle bag, despite the purple-banded turtle's doubts of it ever being fixed and used again. His heart swelled with gratitude for his immediate younger brother, but now, thanks to Raph, Mikey has been led to believe that he was no-one's friend because he had nothing in common with them and he was just a worthless object that was always in everyone's way.

"I've gotta go find him!" Donnie said in a worried tone.

"Wait, Donnie…Maybe you should give Mikey some time to calm down and let him come home on his own…" Leo advised.

"I have to go now, Leo; there's been a report earlier of a bad rainstorm coming tonight, and Mikey will end up stuck in the middle of it if I don't find him soon…!" Donnie protested.

"Seriously!?" Leo and Raph said in disbelief.

"Yes! Here, take a look!" Donnie snapped as he grabbed the TV remote and turned on one of the TVs to reveal the weatherman on the news.

"We will be experiencing heavy rain and thunder tonight, which may cause some disruptions and delays for the rest of the evening. We advise that you stay inside until the weather changes…"

The others stared with wide eyes and mouths as they could not believe what they were both seeing and hearing.

"Oh, no…Donnie's right; Mikey is out there and he doesn't know about this…!" Leo exclaimed with worry for his youngest brother.

"Then, Donatello must make haste if he is to bring Michelangelo back home safely!" Master Splinter urged with worry for his youngest son's wellbeing.

"Yes, Master Splinter! I will be back soon…!" Donnie replied before he rushed over to the coat rack to grab his trench coat and hat, and then he went straight out of the lair's door to go and search for Mikey.

After seeing him leave, Master Splinter turned to Raph with a now stern face.

"Raphael, I wish to speak with you alone in my chambers…now…" The old sensei demanded firmly before he walked away from the others to head for his room.

At first, Raph was reluctant to go since he knew the reason for Master Splinter summoning him alone to speak with him, but after seeing the glares that Leo and Leatherhead were giving him, he decided to put his nervousness to one side and follow Master Splinter to his room.

Leo and Leatherhead watched him go before the big croc's face turned from angry to downcast with sadness for Mikey, which the blue-banded turtle noticed straight away.

"Come on, Leatherhead, let's go and get a cup of tea…There's nothing more we can do now until Donnie and Mikey return…" Leo offered kindly.

Leatherhead nodded and followed Leo into the kitchen to have some herbal tea, which would help calm his nerves and anxiety down.