Different As It Always Will Be
Phase I:
Chapter Six: The Unknowing Knowledge
"I've got you, Donnie," Leonardo choked at the words. His little brother was so panicked, fighting so hard. "I am never going to let you go," Donnie's eyes were still wild, like a trapped animal. He was struggling to breathe, as if he had asthma, and trying to move, but anything that he had left in him was gone.
Raphael slid up underneath Donnie's other arm, helping Leonardo carry him back to the infirmary. Donnie was practically limp in their arms, wheezing and doing his best to catch his breath.
Together, they gently placed him back on the bed. Raph reached for the straps, but their Master and father placed his hand over his hot headed son's. "No. We saw what happened last time. And I do not think he will be going anywhere else right now," Simply gesturing the others away, Splinter leaned over their exhausted brother, whispering to him.
Slowly, Leonardo backed out of the room, his brothers following suit. Mikey attempted to take a seat on the couch beside Casey and April while Raph paced, but Leo himself did not know what to do. His mind, as trained and skilled as it was, could not understand what had happened. He did not want to say anything, but it was the youngest amongst them that dared to speak.
"Man..." Mikey's voice pierced the silence. "I mean...man..."
Raph huffed, pulling out his sai. "I'm going to kill them. All of 'em!"
Casey jumped up, blind anger in his eyes. "Count me in! We done seen this too many times, but this one is one of our own. Nobody touches one of us!"
Nodding his head, Mikey gripped his nunchaku. "I get first shot."
"Guys..." Leo spoke quietly, his voice cracking as tears began finally welling up. His voice was so low he barely heard himself, and his brothers most certainly did not listen to what he said. "Guys!"
All heads turned towards him as he walked into the center of the room. Eyes peered around the sewer tunnels, eyes of so many of the others that they had helped. Genuine people who were relying on them to keep their cool, even in the hardest situations. "We have to think this out."
"I have!" Raph snarled, plunging his sai into the air. "I'm gonna split them all in half!"
"But that's not our first priority," Leo posed, his arms crossed. "Which is very unfortunate, because I would be first in line to dish out everything that the Kraang deserve. We have to be smart. More smart than ever before. They are not stupid. They play on everything that makes us human, including our emotions. They are probably counting on us storming their front. We can't do that. We don't go into a battle already fighting what we're feeling. We will make mistakes. Right now, we have to be here. We have to be here for each other, for Sensei. For..." Leo's voice cracked. "We have to be here for Donatello. Our brother is home. That is reason enough to celebrate. Only yesterday we questioned if he was still alive. And here he is, sleeping in one of our beds, and not lying on a stone cold floor. Wen he wakes up, he is going to be confused. You heard what he said..."
"He said he wouldn't be fooled again," Mikey replied, his head hanging low. He sat down again, grinding his teeth together. "He thinks we're Kraang."
Raphael growled. "But he wants back at 'em, just like us."
"Then we let him heal. And if he's ready-" Leo was caught off by his brother.
"When he's ready," Raph corrected.
"When he's ready," Leo stated firmly, "We will let him make that choice. But I am not going to lose another brother, or anyone, now that we've got him back. That is not a risk I am willing to take."
Casey grunted, but placed himself beside April again, wrapping his arm around her. "I got you, babe. I sure ain't gonna let them do anything to ya."
Dr. Rockwell stepped out of the room, rubbing his temples. Closing the door quietly behind him, he shook his head.
"What's goin' on, Doc?" Raph snapped his attention to the good man, beating Leo to the question.
"He is...resting, surprisingly enough."
"Will he make it?" April's muffled words were the ones everyone was afraid to say. Leo felt a chill crawl straight up his spine the moment they hit his ears. He didn't want to think about it. Some had come back from worse, others had left from less. It was all a matter of the person. Some that came back did not stay...but chose to leave this world because they could not adjust from what had happened to them. He could not think about that, dare to imagine his precious brother taking a blade to his wrist the same way another had.
Rockwell cringed so softly, Leo was certain he the only one who caught it. "Well...my friends, it is too early to tell that. He is...as stable as he can be right now, but there is not much more I can do at the moment. I am giving him fluids, but I have to manage everything slowly right now. Too much of something good, and his body may reject it," Pausing, he sighed. "Do not hold your breaths for answers. Matters like these take time. But you all know that far too well..."
April nodded, but fresh drops of grief started dripping down her flushed cheeks. Casey held her tight, but Raph stormed off, and headed for the dojo. Leo could only hope that he was going to take a small piece of his anger out on his punching bag, instead of trying to sneak his way out again.
Pulling his legs around him, Mikey sat alone on one corner of the couch. Walking over, Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, little brother. Everything is going to be okay. You'll see. This is Donnie we're talking about. He always bounced back from late nights in the lab, to training with the rest of us, and running with us on the surface. He can come back from anything."
"He's not Superman, Leo," Mikey shrugged his hand off of him, giving him a mournful look. Getting up, he turned back, gazing at his big brother. "None of us are."