Michelangelo paced in front of the door of the lair. "He should have been back by now. Don't you think?"
His brother seemed completely engrossed in the game. Just one look at Leonardo told anyone watching that he was a novice video game player. Leo tried his hardest to help out his character by punching his hands and kicking his feet. Unfortunately, his efforts were not helping much. He'd already lost ten times.
Mike watched his brother in amazement, as he came halfway off the couch in an attempt to help the computer generated fighter jump. He shook his head. "Leo?"
"Hmm?" Front kick, from both Leo and the video combatant.
"Leo, don't you think Donnie should have been back by now?" Mike asked worriedly.
"Hmm…" Leo replied jumping a few feet in the air but alas his character didn't and was kicked in the teeth.
"I mean, he could be hurt or something. Couldn't he?" Mike glanced to the door. "Laying in a pool of blood and vomit, and…"
"Mmhmm," Leo murmured. He winced as his guy's head was in serious danger of flying across the screen.
Mike turned and frowned at Leo. "Leo, are you listening to me?"
"Hmm.." Came the distracted reply.
"LEO!"
The video game ended in blood and guts flying around. The head of the unfortunate character ended up on the ground. Leo threw his controller and growled. "It cheats."
Mike's eyes widened in disbelief. "You haven't been listening," he accused. "Our brother could be dead or worse!"
In truth, Leonardo was just a tad worried about Don as well. And Raphael for that matter as he wasn't back either. "Don's fine. He probably just went to complain to April"
The older brother in him was fighting the urge to go search for his brothers.
Mike looked dangerously close to hyperventilating. "He's been captured! I know it! Splinter's gonna be pissed at me!"
Leo glanced over to his brother to see if he was joking. He wasn't. "Mike, if Donnie's been captured…" Spoke slowly as he considered what he was saying. "I think Splinter will….forgive you. Someday?"
Mike studied his brother for a moment to see if he was joking. He was. "LEO! This isn't funny!"
Leo chuckled quietly. His mind was avoiding the thought of something happening to Don and was latching on to Mike's worry that Splinter's first thought would be how pissed he was at Mike. "Sorry, Mike. But any minute now, Don is gonna walk through that door and he'll…"
The door opened and the most awful smell permeated through the lair.
Mike covered his mouth and beak. "Ewww what the hell is that?"
Don stormed in the lair. He looked more brown than green and his face radiated a level of pissed off usually reserved for Raph. He glared at Mike. "DON'T ask."
Leo got to his feet holding his breath against the stench. "Donnie, what happened. You look like…"
"Shit?" Don asked heatedly. "Is that what you were going to say Mr. Funny Man?"
"Actually," Leo said backing away, not because of Don's temper. That was about as frightening as a half drowned kitten. His brother smelled horrible. " I was going to say you look like you need scrubbed down."
"And some serious deodorant," Mike added one hand pinching his beak. "Dude, what'd you do? Take a bath in the sewer sludge?"
"It was more like a shower, Mike," Raph said walking in. His voice and his face both reflected the amusement he was feeling.
"Thanks to you!" Don shot back. "Whoever heard of rigging up a bucket above the piping? That's something a five year old would do!"
Raph folds his arms. "It worked, didn't it"
Before Don could think of a reply to that, Splinter came from his room. His keen sense of smell having detected the stench in his room. With incense burning. While asleep.
"What is the source of this smell?" he wondered his nose wrinkling in disgust.
Three hands shot out and pointed to Don.
Donatello just stood there for a moment. "It wasn't my doing! It was Raph. He was the one who put the raw sewage over the tunnels."
Splinter made a face. "Donatello, please go on and get cleaned up. We can talk about it afterwards."
"Don't forget to wash behind your ears," Mike advised his hand covering his lower face. "And all parts lower."
With an almost furious scowl, Donatello turned his budding temper on Raph. With all that had just happened, he had forgotten why he was mad at his brother in the first place. "Did you tell Casey about some 'arrangement' with Splinter?"
"Donatello," Splinter cut in smoothly before Raphael could answer. "Please go and clean up. The smell is most…overpowering."
"Why did you make me do Raph's chores?" Don demanded, his anger now finding a new target. "That was supposed to be Raphael's punishment." If calm, cool, logical Don were in residence, he might see that this situation was nothing to explode over, but something to talk about rationally. This Don however, was not so cool and collected. He felt like he was being picked on by everyone all day. He was mad as hell and he wasn't gonna take it anymore.
Splinter nods slowly. "Yes it was Raphael's punishment." He studied his son somewhat hopefully. But, there was a part of him remembering of Don's more…colorful temper tantrums as a child. They never ended well. And they were usually brought on by his son being pushed beyond his limits. Like now.
The other three turtles were frozen to their spots watching the show. It was so very rare that any of them argued with Splinter. It was rarer still that the arguer was Donatello. Maybe that was why Splinter didn't end the next tirade with a quick smack of his stick.
"Then why am I doing them?" Don asked angrily. "Are you just trying to piss me off? Is that the point of this whole thing for me? To be Raph with his hair-trigger temper? To live life for no other reason than to be angry?" Don's hands gestured wildly flinging goop onto his brothers, who for a miracle didn't notice right off. They were too shocked at the way Don was speaking to their father. One did not mouth off to Splinter and live to tell about it.
"We will discuss it," Splinter told him calmly. "But first you must clean up. This is a good way for you to become ill, and I do not want that."
But Don was not to be put off so easily. If he was to be Raph today, than dammit, he was going to give it his best shot. "Casey told me…"
His father cut him off. "I SAID, we will discuss it. Alone. Come, you must clean up." He glanced to his sons. "Clean up this room, please. Find some sort of air freshener."
Splinter motioned Don in the direction of the bathroom.
Once they were gone, the remaining turtles looked at each other.
Mike went to get something to clean himself up with. As he wiped off his arms, he smiled at his brothers. "Well my brotherly underlings, get to work. Leo, you can get the floors and walls. Raph, you can do the air freshening. Of course, I'll supervise and make sure…"
"Shut Up, Mike," Raph growled and stomped away.
Mike turned to Leo and before he could utter a word, Leo, in true Mikey fashion ran after Raph. "Hey, Raphael, wait up! I'll help you!"
