Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Just been busy with school and home life. Here's the next chapter, I tried to do research but it didn't really come out good. Enjoy.
Chapter 7: Giving In
One month, one long torturous month had gone by since Donatello was taken from them. There was nothing more that the turtles and Splinter could do at the time. Every day since the failed rescue attempt at the Foot HQ it had been the same thing. Every night they would go out and search the city, looking for any place that could be used to hold Donny captive, but their search turned up nothing. Sometimes Splinter would join them, not sure if staying the lair was a good idea for him.
Currently they all sat around in the lair, all quiet as they waited for the sun to set so they could continue their search. It was hard for them to continue their everyday activities knowing that their brother was still gone. They came to miss the sounds that would always come from Don's lab, it felt so alien not hearing them. They miss all the hammering, welding and even all the small explosions that happened. No one even step foot into Don's lab, saying it didn't feel right doing so.
In the dojo Leo tried to practice his katas, trying to set his mind at ease and pass the time till they had to go out again. But as he did his routine he notice the mistakes in his form, which would always be flawless. This has been happening throughout the month, he couldn't concentrate enough. He knew the reason why and couldn't overcome it. Kneeling down on the floor and holding himself up with his weapons he couldn't help but think about things. It had been a hard month for him, especially since he had to help keep his brothers in spirit.
Mikey was somewhat easy to handle, mainly he had to say some reassuring words and actions but now it was getting difficult. It was getting harder to keep hope alive in his brother, but he kept at it the best he could. Raph on the other hand had been the wild one. It would seem like as the days pass almost anything would set the red clad turtle off. He would always say how they needed to be doing something instead of staying in the lair, but Leo kept protesting that they had to wait till dark so they wouldn't be seen.
Of course that would set Raph off and they would get into a heated exchange with one another, all of which would end the same way. With Raph getting fed up and storming off to his room. Leo wasn't sure what else to do now, he wasn't sure how to keep the hope alive. He had to try, not for his sake but for the hope of finding his brother one day. That's one thing he missed about his brother, the advice he gives.
Every now and then Leo would be frustrated, after fights with Raph or personal problems. Of course the others would want to know what's wrong and he didn't tell them, but Don never pried. He would ask if he was ok, but nothing more. The leaf green turtle didn't know how his brother did it, but eventually Leo would vent his frustrations to the purple clad turtle, which of course Don would listen without interruption. After his rant Don would ask if he was ok and they would talk about the problem and then give advice on how to overcome it. All of which always proved to be true and worked. It was talks like that he missed and it was something the advice he could use right now.
In the TV area Michelangelo sat down on the couch, the TV sounding but hitting on deaf ears. Right now the orange clad turtle didn't care what was on, he just wanted some kind of sound right now. He would play his video games but he wasn't in the mood, heck he never seemed to be. Nothing but silence would remind him further of the situation they are in. Mikey knew that they are doing what they can to find Donny but they haven't even covered half the city yet and nothing turned up. It was hard keeping his spirits up as every search turned up with no results. He knew Leo was trying to keep his hope alive but it's hard with every disappointing result in their search.
What he found worst of all was the fact of Raph and Leo fighting constantly, almost every day. He was getting tired of this, there was something more important to do than fight like they did. Heck he tried to diffuse the situations himself, most of which were successful at times. But when he could he had to get Master Splinter involved, which was always a sure thing. Once it was done everything returned to its normal silence, which still brought back the reminder of the situation.
He missed his brother a lot, nothing felt right without Don around. Everyone became so accustomed to his presence and his up lifting spirits. Heck Mikey would rather have Don's racket over him not being here. He hardly slept at night because of reoccurring nightmares, which he couldn't deal with by himself. It wasn't a secret he had nightmares most often out of the four but Donny knew of a more personal secret. Sometimes when Mikey had a nightmare he seek comfort of Don, who would always let his younger brother stay with him for the night. Of course being embarrassed of this he asked Donny to keep it a secret which he kept. Mikey knew he could always trust most of his secrets to Donny, which is why it seemed they got along better. He wanted Donny back, not just his brother, but his friend.
Up in his room Raphael laid in his hammock, starring up at the ceiling. There wasn't anything else to do and staying in his room till dark was the best thing to do otherwise he'd get into a fight with Leo. Which happened more often than usual, and the worse thing is that he's getting tired of it. The month had been a tiresome one, and it was already getting to everyone. Raph didn't want to admit it but he was worried more than he had ever been. Of course he was concerned when the news of his brother being taken was confirmed. That feeling grew overtime as they searched for Donny, but grew worse as they turned up empty. Sometimes at night when they called it a night Raph would come up to his room and shed some tears.
The emerald green turtle wasn't one to show his caring emotions, to him that showed weakness. Always when he was alone he would express this. Of course he's a hothead and is quick to lose his temper but now there was no one to talk to for that, Don was the one who helped him with it. At times when Raph would get angered, either by Leo, Mikey or something else and he started to get ticked off Don was there to talk to him. His younger brother would always say things that would calm and bring back his rational side. It was if Don acted as a counselor to him for his anger. Every time the red band turtle calmed they would sit down in private and talk a bit. It was then he was given advice on what to do with his anger, which helped big time. He would end up going on as if his bout of anger never happened.
Always Don helped when it was necessary and wouldn't even complain about it. He was always there for Raph when he needed him and that's one thing he had been real grateful for. But now he's not here and no one is here to talk to him about it. Now things are as bad right now and he wanted to find his brother. The first he was going to do when he was found, he didn't care if Mikey and Leo were there, is hug his brother. He misses him so much that he would ditch his moral against showing emotions to anyone. He just didn't care about that anymore.
Donny didn't struggle as he was marched through the base he was currently in. Both arms tied behind his back and both legs shackled with rope so he couldn't run. Instead of the black bag it's a black bind fold and a set of noise cancelling headphones placed on him. The former purple clad turtle knew what was going on: he was being moved.
This had happened at least two times during his imprisonment, always the same routine so he knew the drill. Soon he crossed a threshold and was now outside, once again using his senses Donny tried to get a feel of where he was. The sun hit his skin, so chances are it was either morning or noon, he couldn't tell since he never had a window. Both feet walked on a rough dusty surface, which meant a dirt road. A small shudder escaped him as a gust of wind hit him. This would have been a huge clue to where he was but thanks to the headphones he couldn't hear any trees rustling or something.
Stopping for a second he was then thrown into something and landed hard on a bare surface. From Don's knowledge it was the van that transported him, waiting for a minute he started to feel the vibrations of the vehicle starting. Once the confirmation of the van starting Don then started to think about a few things, since it was going to take a while before they get to the next place.
It had been a long month for the turtle, very much confusing at that. Ever since Shredder left the tortures began again. Those same Foot ninjas who wore the colored cloths kept beating on him. They resumed part where he had to repeat the phrases they told him. Of course he refused and they beat him. This would go on and on for a long time. They continued with the sleep deprivation, trying to get off focused and weak. They didn't use the electrodes, just loud sounds for when he almost nodded off. He soon started fear when they came.
Sometime later he could feel the vibrations stop as he was left where he was for a minute or so. Then hands grabbed and pulled him out of the vehicle, as always he didn't struggle since it didn't prove useful. Once again he walked on a dirt road and the sun could be felt on him, so it must still be day light out. Soon he entered the building and was escorted down a hall, which he assumed. A minute passed as he felt like he entered a room and just like that the blindfold and headphones were removed.
Don's eyes blinked as the light blinded him some but he was able to take in his environment. He was surprised, most of the time he would be taken to his cell, but now he was in a small dojo. Raising an eye he turned only to be met with a fist.
"Ah!" he cried out as he stumbled back, arms still tied behind his shell. Shaking his head he then looked up at who hit, both eyes raised as the same familiar Foot ninjas with the color cloths were in the room with him.
"Have a nice ride Junko?" the one wearing Blue asked.
"What's going on?" Don asked in surprised, backing up some.
"We thought we let you have a chance to get even with us," The one in red said as the three approached. "So you best put up a good fight."
"My hands are tied, how is this fair?"
"Not our problem," the one in orange said. After that left his mouth the one in blue moved and threw a punch, Don was quick enough to jump back to dodge it. But with the rope shackles around his ankles the short length caused him to stumble, but then a powerful punch to the plastron was delivered by the one wearing red. Just as he was about to double over he was grabbed up by the head and pulled up before being kneed in the same spot. Still holding him the red one then tossed him, stumbled, over towards the one in blue.
Donny barely had enough time to register a right hook across the face. Stumbling in pain another blow hit him on the shell, but once again his rope shackles prevented a lot of movement and he tripped and fell to the ground.
"What's wrong Junko, not up for a fight?" the one in blue asked.
Don panted as he tried to get back to his feet, though not being able to use his hands made it a bit harder. Even though some pain radiated he still tried to get on his feet. Getting to his knees Donny was caught off guard when one punched him in the plastron, knocking the air out of him once more. He fell forward till his head hit the ground, lungs finally contracted and he sucked in as much air possible.
"Come on Junko, you can do better than that," a kick to the side made the olive green turtle cry out in pain as he fell on his side.
He then was turned onto his shell as the one in red pressed a foot on Don's throat, pressing in lightly and cutting a bit of air off. "Come on…I know you want to fight back, so why don't you!" the more presser was applied as Don started to make choking sounds, he struggled but his restraints didn't let him do much.
"Ease up, we don't want to kill him," the one in orange warned.
"He's right, who else could we get to beat on if he dies," the one in blue seconded.
"I guess you're right," he removed his foot, which Don took the chance to gulp up as much air possible. The one in red then kicked him hard on the side, knocking some of that air out.
"Hold up," the one in blue spoke as he raised his hand to his head, talking softly. Apparently he was on a comm. With someone. Donny was glad for the break, as it gave him a chance to get in as much air possible before his beating resumed. "Bad news, there's something we have to do real quick."
"Right now?" the one in red seemed to whine.
"Yes," their leader nodded. "Get him back to his cell and we'll continue with this later."
Feeling relieved Don was then picked up by the Foots in red and orange and then the bag was placed back on his head before he's escorted out of the room. A few minutes later he entered new room and felt his hands and feet being untied, only for the stiff rope to be replaced by cold metal on his wrists and ankles. Once the metal was locked onto him footsteps could be heard walking away before the door closed.
Sighing Don reached up and pulled the bag off of his head, revealing his new cell. This one is a bit bigger than the previous location. Although there were still the same cold stone walls, no window, concrete ground and of course the metal shackles that held him in place.
The olive green turtle sighed as he sat on the ground, shell against the wall. Right now he didn't have anything else to do, so he was left with his thoughts. The transfers to the other places were always like this. At first Don was confused at what was going on, when they first came and took him out of the building and into the vehicle. It dawn on him after being driven somewhere else and taken to a different cell is when it all come to him. Apparently the Foot were moving him to different places after a certain amount of days. If his brothers ever managed to figure out if he was out of town, they would have trouble finding him. This only made despair inside of him to rise, since it would be much harder for him to be found.
His mind wandered off till he thought about the strangest thing out of this experience. It seems that every time the Shredder stayed at the base Don was in nothing bad would happen to him. No tortures, sleep deprivation, hunger or anything of the like. There would be some anger, but at the Foot ninja instead of him. He would bring a medic in to treat his wounds and check up on him. Plus the fact that Don would be allowed time to exercise and Shredder himself would bring him food to eat. After the first time there wasn't any complaining on it. If Donny didn't know better, it would seem like Shredder was being nice to him, which is really weird. There was something going on and had to find out.
Deciding not to think about it at the moment Don decided to at least get some sleep, who knows this might be the only chance he get in the next few days. Resting his head against the wall both eyes slowly closed and soon he fell asleep.
Both eyes opened some time later as his door opened up and the same three foot from before came in, but this time this was different. Both eyes widen as they were now equipped with weapons. The one in orange had nunchucks holstered on his belt, the one in read and sais in the same place, and the one in blue had twin katanas holstered behind his back.
Both of Donny's eyes narrowed into a glare as his teeth gritted. He knew they were playing a mind game with him by wearing his brothers' colors but now they carried their weapons. They really wanted to make it as if his brothers were causing the pain, he knew that but that didn't mean it wouldn't work later on.
"It's time to resume things Junko," the one in blue spoke, as the other two went over to remove the shackles. The last think he saw was the black bag going over his head.
Sometime later Don could feel himself being strapped to a chair, metal manacles being locked around his wrists and legs. He tried to struggle but the all too familiar crackle of a stun baton stopped him from doing so. Once firmly secure to the chair the bag was removed, and again Don was blinded by the only light in the room. Once they adjusted he found himself alone in the room and an empty chair in front of him. "No…not again."
Donny knew what was going on now, it was another session with the psychiatrist. Ever since that first time earlier in the month there were sessions with the same Doctor, who was bent on picking at his brain. Every time they were alone together the guy would try to get the genius turtle to talk about personal things, but of course Don would refuse. But even that didn't stop him from getting his buttons pushed until he accidently spilled something without knowing.
The door behind him opened, he didn't need to look to see who it was. Dr. Adams walked in front of the turtle and sat down in the seat across from him, the pad and pen in his hands. "Hello again Junko."
Donny just glared at the male, not even giving him the satisfaction of a response.
"I see you're still giving me the silent treatment," he wrote some things down. "You know I can't help if you don't say anything." All the got him was a glare.
"How can he help me? Nothing is wrong at all. He's just trying to know all the secrets I have," Don thought to himself as he kept his mouth shut.
A sigh came out of the male as he leaned forward, "You know I thought you would continue to do this, so I decided to change things up today. You'll going to talk during this session, and you're going to answer my questions.
This was the only time Don decided to speak up, "As if I'll be willing to do that."
"You will," he then got up and headed behind Donny, banged on the door and then it opened. The doctor and a random Foot ninja, carrying a small tray came in. Both of Don's eyes looked and he saw the contents of the tray, a small clear bottle with a clear liquid inside and a small syringe next to it. "What are you planning?"
"Now you're talkative are you? Well it's too late," he grabbed the contents and stuck the needle into the bottle and filled the syringe up.
Just the sight of this cause Don to struggle in the restraints, failing at trying to get free. Once the syringe was filled and the needle primed the doctor then placed fingers on his arm and felt around for a vein. After finding one he then pierced the skin and injected the unknown substance.
Don's breath hitched as he felt the needle poke inside of them, then felt as the substance was injected into his system. He watched as the doctor put the empty syringe back on the tray and sent the Foot ninja away and then sat on the chair.
"It'll take a minute for the effects to kick in."
"What did you inject into me?" Don asked, eyes narrowed.
"Just a little something that'll make things move along," he rested the clipboard on his leg and reached for the pen.
"What do you mean?" he sneered.
"I'm taking a new approach for this session."
"Like…what?" the olive green turtle shook his head. All of his sudden his head felt a bit cloudy, like a haze.
"Ah, I see the effects are starting to kick in," Dr. Adams smiled.
"What…did you put in me?" Don asked once again, now curious as to what is running in his system.
"You're smart, you can figure it out."
Donny's head then started to feel light headed, "I thought…you're suppose…to help me?"
"Yes, but with your problems," he started writing things down.
Don wanted to remain silent right now, but for some reason he felt like talking, which was odd.
"Good, now then, enjoying the effects of the drug?" Dr. Adams asked as he leaned back in the chair.
"N..No…" Don found himself surprisingly saying. "What the shell? Why did I say that?" Don thought to himself, not sure why he decided to answer the question.
"Well now Junko tell me, how are you feeling?" he got ready to write things down.
Don automatically was going to say nothing, but for some reason his wanted to talk. He opened his mouth willingly, "L…Light…headed…"
"Just a side effect of the drug, don't worry its normal," he spoke happily as he wrote things down.
It was then it dawned on Don, he knew what he had been injected with and it was bad. "Sodium thiopental…" Aka truth serum. Don had read about this on accident. Apparently this was a special drug that is used for interrogations. Once injected into the body the recipient couldn't do nothing but tell the truth when questioned, no matter how hard they did. This drug wouldn't wear off for a while, it would still give the doctor enough time to get any answers out of the turtle. "Not good…not good…"
"Now tell me, how have you been feeling these past few days?"
Once again Donny couldn't stop himself from talking, another effect of the drug. It was like he was in the mood for speaking, "W…Worried…and…confused."
"And why is that?" Dr. Adams asked in a friendly voice.
"I…I'm…being moved…a lot."
"And what about the confused part?"
"S-S-Shredder…is not…harming me."
"Don't know what to tell you, I'm not told anything of his plans," he wrote more things down. "Honest opinion, what do you think about me?"
Both of Don's eyes narrowed, this was something he's ok with saying. "I don't like you…You're trying to…find out things that aren't true. And I think you're actually employed by the Foot to fill my head with nonsense. You can't make me lose hope with my brothers coming to save me."
"Sadly that's not true, I'm only here to help you out with what's going on with your mental status." Don stayed silent, not having a response for that comment. The sound of the pen writing down on the paper could be heard. "Here's something I've been wanting to know for a while. How did it feel when your bandana and weapon were burned?"
The olive green turtle's body tightened as the question was asked. This is something he didn't want to answer but yet he had the itch to speak and so he did. "I…I…felt…a feeling of…loss."
"How so?"
"They were…a part of me…so it was…like losing…a piece of myself."
"Go on," he male encouraged, now interested on what he's hearing.
"You have something…for so long, using it…your whole life…and like that it's gone, taken from you and destroyed…right before your eyes." Don hated disclosing this kind of information to the guy, but as long as he's under the influence of the drug there's nothing he can't do about it. He wanted to lie about it so much but the drug prevented him from doing so.
"Well, like I've said in one of our earlier sessions, it must have been like part of your identity. Basically to you those two items defined who you are and losing that is like your identity being destroyed.
"That's not what…I'm defined as…my identity is more than that."
The brunette didn't make a response, knowing the words must have been true since the drug wouldn't let him tell a lie. So he decided to move on to the next things. "How have you been dealing with the tortures?"
Once again Don's body tightened, this was another question he didn't want to answer, but yet his mouth opened up again. "I don't…want it to happen…any more…the pain…is too much…"
"What else does this guy want to know?" Don thought to himself.
"I've also been informed that they have been giving you ways to stop it but yet you continue to disregard that."
"I will not…do that…it's like betraying my…family."
"Still clinging to that false hope huh?" he sighed, setting his pen down. "You say highly things about your family but something tells me that's not how you feel. You're probably only making a front to hide your true feelings of how you feel about them."
"I'm not…doing that."
"Oh…them tell me, how do you really feel about your family?"
Donny couldn't believe he would ask a question like that, his mouth opened up to answer the question. But the words that came out of his mouth shocked him. "I feel as if…I'm taken for granted…by them," both of his eyes widen as that response left his own mouth.
"No…that can't be true…by the drug is made to make me tell the truth…so…is that really how I feel?" He argued with himself.
"Please tell me more," he doctor resumed writing the information down.
"It feels like they…take advantage of all the things…I give to them. Always asking me to fix things…and not even getting a thank you…most of the time. It feels like…I'm almost invisible to them."
"Why do you feel that way?"
"Because…I keep to myself…and don't really interact with them."
"Do they hurt you in anyway because of your intellect?"
"I'm sometimes…called names by them…but I know…they're teasing…yet they take it too far at times."
"And yet you still think they'll come to save you?"
"Yes," Don nodded, that he knew for sure.
"Why would you want to be saved? From what you told me it seems like they only use you for their own selfish desires, they don't take your feelings into account nor do they do anything for you in returned for the services that you provide to them. They should be grateful for all you done, but it seems like they treat you like a tool, nothing more than for their personal use."
Those words hit Don big time, he didn't want to believe what he was told but yet didn't make any kind of rebuttal. But yet it feels like those words were true to how he felt. "Is this how I really feel about them? How can I feel this way without knowing myself?
Just as Dr. Adams was about to say something some beeps could be heard. Reaching into his pockets he pulled out a beeper, looking at it he frowned. Sighing he placed it back into his pocket and stood up. "As much as it pains me I have to end things, something important came up." Walking until he's right next to the turtle he spoke. "I'll leave you here until the drug wears off, I believe your three friends have some things planned for you." With that he left Don with his own thoughts, which were comprised of shock and disbelief. He didn't want to believe that he said that stuff about his brothers but yet there was a drug in him that made him tell the truth so it's hard to take in. He spends an unknown amount of time in silence, looking at the ground, trying to get a good grasp on his feelings.
"Renounce your family," the Foot in blue command.
Donny panted as he tried to recover from the pain that had been inflicted on him. After being left alone for a while the Foot ninja came back and took him to another room, to an all too familiar table. Being strapped to it horizontally they pulled back the same rat from before. Not only were they going to have it bite him but now they were using the whole phrase thing again. Every time he refused to respond to their words they make the rat bite him.
"N-N-No…" Don weakly said. "AH!" he cried out in pain as the rat was squeezed, prompting the rodent to reach forward and bite the olive green turtle. A trail of bite marks lining his arm, showing how long they had been at it. Donny managed to keep a count, this had been going on for over an hour and the pain is starting to become too much.
The Foot ninja walked around with the rat until he's standing next to Don's other side. "Acknowledge the Shredder as your Master."
"No…" he responded in a low voice. Once again the rat was squeezed and it bit and locked its teeth into the wound on Don's arm. The olive green turtle cried out as the rat was twisted, like a knife stuck in a stab wound. He cried out more as the pain radiated more until the rat was roughly pulled off.
"How much…longer are they going to keep this up?" Don thought to himself as his breathing increased with every ounce of pain caused. "They must really want me to say it, but I can't…but yet I want the pain to stop."
"Admit your brothers don't care about you," He spoke, holding the rat out again.
Donny could only shake his head no, but that caused another bit to happen. "AH!" he cried out as once again as the teeth clamped onto his arm, locking in. The olive green turtle continued to cry out as the rat is twisted, making the bite wound much bigger than it is.
The rat is then roughly pulled out, causing Don to grit his teeth and take heavy breaths. "Please…make it stop…" he cried on the inside. It's starting to become too much and the turtle is already at that breaking point. "I don't have to mean it…I can just say it…and the pain will stop…It means nothing if I don't mean it…right?"
Once again positioning the rat by a wounded part of his arm he spoke out, "Acknowledge the Shredder as your master."
Don remained silent as both of his eyes closed, he fought back a tear as his mouth trembled as he opened it. "The…S-Shredder…is my…master," he whimpered out. Finally after a month he gave into their demands.
The three Foot present smiled as they heard the response they've been waiting for all month long. "Good Junko," the one in blue spoke out as he pulled the rat away a bit.
It was then the one in red came up, "Forsake your family."
Don whimpered as he opened his mouth again, "I…f-forsake…my…f-f…family."
That response caused some evil chuckles to come out of the three Foot inside the room. They seemed pleased at what's going on right now. For some reason it felt as if someone punched Don in the stomach after saying that. It's then the Foot in orange walked over to the restrained turtle. "Admit that your brothers don't care about you."
Don's teeth grit as a small tear fell, for some reason he had trouble saying this. It's like a taboo he couldn't say, "My brothers…d-don't…care about me." More evil chuckles came from the three, obviously enjoying this.
Even though he didn't mean what he said, Donny could feel a pang of guilt saying it. He didn't want to say any of it, he just wanted the pain to stop. Yet that feeling of betraying his family still built up.
"Acknowledge the Shredder as your master," the one in blue command.
"The Shredder…is my…m-master," Don said again, but with trouble. The feeling of betrayal built up, making him feel sick.
"Forsake your family!" the one in read commanded next.
His mouth shook as he tried to say it, but had trouble, "I forsake…my family."
"Admit your brothers don't care about you!" the one in orange commanded last.
"My brothers…don't care…about me," Don struggled to say, each time repeating it became harder than before. It was as if pieces of him were being ripped from him. Even though he didn't mean it he still felt as if he did.
This went one for a few more minutes, the three Foot ninjas keep on telling him to repeat the phrases and Donny complied even though it pained him. They took great pride in watching him say the words, liking the agony the turtle is going through with every word said. After sometime of doing the one in blue pulled the rat back completely and put it back in the box.
"See how easy it is to comply Junko?" he spoke with glee. Donny didn't respond, opting to look away in shame. He had nothing more to say and even if he did he didn't want to.
"Take him back to his cell, we'll give him a break after doing what we told him to." Don could tell they were smiling underneath their masks.
After the words left his mouth the two in red and orange started to unlock the restraints to pull him up. Once again Don didn't struggle as he was lifted up to his feet. He gave into the pain and did what they asked, all so it could stop. The olive green turtle didn't mean any of his words, but for some reason he felt guilty, almost as if he betrayed his family.
A/N: Hope you like. I'm trying hard to get these chapters done before a preset deadline I give myself but until I get a break from school that's becoming harder. I thank you for waiting and try to have the next chapter up soon.