Chapter 6: To Tell or Not To Tell
A/N: Hey, sorry for the slight delay. I wanted to get this chapter out quicker, but with the whole Boston bombing fiasco, I thought it would be best to wait and see what came of that. Luckily, the suspect is in custody and can't hurt anyone anymore. My sympathies go out to all those affected by the bombings and my deepest respect goes out to the law enforcement agents who caught him. Good work, you guys.
Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed thus far. You've kept me going, and that's a good thing. And, Guest, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Here's your update.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot of the story.
The next day, Mikey was still thinking about the text message he had received. Was it from April, or was it someone playing a joke on him? Should he tell his brothers about this? No, they would probably blow him off like they had when he'd told them about the Kraang alien. They would think he was making it up and not pay him any attention. He would just have to keep it to himself for now.
He exited his room and went to the dojo, ready for training. He found Leo seated on the floor and Don was next to him, wearily rubbing his eyes. Then Raph came in rubbing his head. What was up with that? Mikey wondered. Was Raph getting sick, too?
"Good morning, my sons," Splinter greeted them as he exited his room and came toward them. "I hope that all of you are ready for training today."
"Hai, Sensei," the Turtles chorused.
"Good," Splinter acknowledged them. "We will begin with some warm-up stretches to loosen our muscles."
As Mikey joined his brothers in stretching, he noticed that all of them seemed to not be into it. They looked as though they were lost in their own thoughts. After warm-ups, Splinter set them into pairs for sparring since he wasn't going to be teaching them anything new due to Leo's recovery from his illness. Sparring didn't go well for any of them. Mikey was paired with Don, and it seemed like each time Mikey tried to attack, Don forgot to block. Something was definitely up, and he wondered if maybe weird stuff was happening to Don too.
Splinter seemed to be guessing the same thing. "Yame!" he ordered, putting an end to the matches. All four Turtles stopped what they were doing and knelt in front of their Sensei.
"It appears to me that the four of you are not focused," he began. "Something is on your minds, and I would like to know what is keeping you from being focused on your training." He looked at each of them sternly, his eyes resting on Mikey last.
"Well, Sensei, today's our eighteenth Mutation Day," Mikey answered. "April talked about celebrating with us and baking us a cake. I guess we're all just bummed she's gonna miss out anyway."
Splinter's stern look changed to one of sympathy. "Is this true, my sons?" he asked the others.
"Hai, Sensei," the other three replied.
"I see," Splinter mused. "And you are remembering that today was the first day you met April three years ago. Yes, I can see why you would be sad. Perhaps we should postpone training to give you boys some time to recover."
"That would be fine, Sensei," Leo replied. "Thank you." Mikey looked at him in shock. Normally, Leo would insist that they only take a day off of training because he was so into it. Yes, something was definitely up.
"You are welcome," Splinter replied. "Now, run along."
The Turtles rose, bowed to Master Splinter, and left the dojo. Only Mikey stayed there and looked at his father. He thought about telling Splinter about the texts, but he was afraid Splinter wouldn't believe him.
"Michelangelo, do you wish to talk to me?"
"Oh, no, Sensei," said Mikey. "I just wanted to thank you again."
"Do not mention it," responded Splinter. "I can help you with your cake if you would like."
"No, thanks, Sensei, I can do it."
"Very well." Splinter patted his son on the shoulder and left the dojo.
Mikey sighed and went to his room. Why couldn't he come clean about the text messages? He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever. Maybe his brothers could help him solve this mystery. Were they getting texts, too? If they were, then maybe someone was targeting them. If April was back it would surely be a big news story, and she would surely get in touch with them right away so as not to worry them. Was someone else sending the text, and if so, what was their motive?
Or maybe it was someone pulling a prank on them. It had happened a few times after April's disappearance where people would say that they had seen her only to reveal that it was a hoax. But how could someone else have Mikey's number? Only his brothers and April had that, and Mikey knew that his brothers would NEVER play a prank on him like that no matter how many times he'd played a prank on them.
Then Mikey figured out a way to find out the truth. How had he never thought of it before? He got out his phone and found the text that had been sent to him. He hit Reply and typed," Is this April?" and hit Send. If it was her, then she would reply back right away.
"Hey, Mikey, could you come down here?" Leo called to him.
"Sure!" Mikey called back. He stuck his phone in his belt and hurried to see what Leo wanted.
"I was still wondering if you wanted to make that cake," Leo said. "I could help you if you like."
Mikey had almost forgotten about the cake he'd wanted to bake with April even though Splinter had just mentioned it. He had thought up all the ingredients and everything. He thought it was nice of Leo to want to help him with it. "Uh, sure, you can help if you want," he replied.
"Thanks, Mikey," Leo said. "I think Raph and Don want to help, too."
And so, they set to work making the cake. They had a lot of fun laughing and joking as they prepared the ingredients. It had been a long time since they'd done anything together except practice and patrol. Mikey was happy, especially when Leo started a fight with the remaining batter that was left over. Afterwards the kitchen was a mess, and Splinter laughed when he saw it, happy that his sons were feeling better though dismayed that they had made a mess of the kitchen. After they cleaned up, Leo and Raph went to get the pizzas for the party while Don and Mikey stored the cake away for later and set the table.
The party was fun, though the Turtles were still thinking about April. They didn't talk about her, but they all knew they were thinking of her this day and what it would have been like if she'd been able to share it with them. Splinter was glad that they were together and having fun at the same time. The pizza was devoured and then Mikey brought out the cake that they had all worked on. They all smiled and waited to be served before they dug in.
Once the cake was finished, they ended the party with a video game tournament which pitted Leo and Raph against Don and Mikey. Splinter observed the games in his chair and smiled to himself as he watched his sons' antics. The tournament ended when Mikey beat Raph and won.
"Well done, Michelangelo," Splinter praised him.
"Thank you, Sensei," Mikey replied.
"Raphael, what do you say to your brother?"
Raph punched Mikey on the shoulder. "Good job, bro," he said. "But that doesn't mean this is over. I'll kick your butt next time."
Mikey laughed. "Nice try, bro," he said. "But that doesn't mean I won't kick your shell again."
"All right, it is time for bed," Splinter told them. "Growing boys need their rest."
The Turtles bowed to Splinter and parted ways to their rooms. Mikey went to his and relived the tournament and how awesome it was. He hoped that maybe they could do this more often instead of going their separate ways all the time.
Still smiling, Mikey sat on his bed and set his T-Phone on the bedside table where he saw there was a new text message. With his heart pounding, he opened the text, hoping that maybe it was his friend.
That's a good question, Mikey. All will be revealed soon.—A.
Mikey was confused. What did that mean? Was April saying this because she was in trouble and was afraid to say anything? If that was the case, Mikey was determined to get her out and stop whoever was holding her.
A/N: So, another chapter down. Did you like it? As you can see, the answers haven't been revealed yet, and the mystery continues. So, will A be revealed? Will the other Turtles tell each other about these texts? Keep on reading to find out. And in the meantime, feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.