Narration, English
Other languages
'Thoughts and names'
Dreams, flashbacks, memories
'You'll find out another time,' he had been repeating sarcastically that line in his head ever since Morisaki had spoken the words. He had heard them two days ago during a routine visit to the multifunctional room. From previous conversations with the man it wasn't difficult to guess that 'another time' had meant 'you will find out after everything' or 'you will see when it will be too late to protest'. Not that anyone would listen to those protests.
The rest of their plan hadn't raised any doubts either, you would have had to be really stupid - and he was far from being stupid - to not understand the scientists' sudden interest in his carapace. And since he knew that the experience wouldn't be avoided, he could only pray for the postponement of the procedure as long as possible, which actually didn't make any sense because, sooner or later, what's the difference?
It was morning, actually a dozen minutes ago was the time when someone would have usually brought him breakfast. There had never been any delay before, Eika would have come in, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied, would have given him breakfast without a word, would have checked the parameters and browsed the room as if he had been hiding a bomb under his bed or something. Meanwhile, neither the woman nor anyone else was seen or heard. He began to get nervous.
As if on cue, the door squeaked softly, swinging open. The expected Eika finally graced his room with her thin and short presence, but she wasn't on her own. Kuroba was with her, but instead of his bloated folder, he only brought a small notebook with him. He also carried an inkpot in his left hand. He didn't have anything to write with except for a tiny pencil. What struck the reptile the most, however, was that the woman didn't bring him breakfast. Instead of the tray she held a small semitranslucent box in her hands.
Eika went on with her standard vital signs check and put the box on the monitor with all data for a moment.
Kuroba lounged comfortably on the stool and laid out all his belongings of the morning on the table. He took a tiny bottle of water from his pocket and handed it to the patient. "Good morning, Donatello-kun. Today we're going to have a little fun, but first, let me offer you a few sips of water so that you have some strength to engage in a conversation," the psychologist said in a light voice, presenting the bottle carefully. "Don't worry, it's just plain water, such small bottle are very popular nowadays."
The mutant sighed softly, rising to a sitting position. His human companions even helped him adjust the pillow to make it more comfortable for him. He accepted the bottle with a frown and swallowed all its contents in one gulp. He smacked his lips twice then nodded, yes, it was plain water indeed. He looked at Kuroba unscrewing the cap in the inkpot. The man was waving his crossed leg and humming something under his breath.
"Excuse me," the turtle began. "I won't get any breakfast today?"
"Oh no," the Japanese replied, opening his notebook. "Forgive us, but today's business requires your presence with an empty stomach. Don't worry, you'll get food as soon as possible."
Kuroba nodded to Eika, Donatello hadn't paid even the slightest attention to her. But now the woman stood over him with a huge syringe in her hand and something in the mutant froze for a split second. The situation was frighteningly similar to what had happened right before his first surgery except that there were only two humans in the room now. But it was too early for surgery! What about the meeting with Kyoko?!
"There's no reason to panic, Donatello-kun," Kuroba assured, noting the mutant clenching his hands on the blanket in stress. "We got permission to carry out a small experiment. Don't worry, we won't put you to sleep. You just have to relax and cooperate with me, okay?"
Donatello's eyes were fixed on the long and thick needle, the reptile swallowing nervously. He licked his lips slowly, nodding uncertainly. Eika hastily wiped a part of his forearm with a cotton swab, just above the vein, and after a while the needle was half under the skin, embedded in the vein. The sting itself didn't make any impression on him of course, but the drug injected into his bloodstream seemed to be a little searing. The feeling reminded him very much of that injection which had immediately transported him to the land of eternal happiness after which he had waken up to a nightmare in real life. "I can see a very strange smile on your face," he said slowly, watching Kuroba intently.
"Strange? Why do you think so?"
"You're clearly amused by something and it's not the same as before." Donatello tilted his head to the side. "You're happy just like a child at the sight of a present, but I have no idea what's going on..."
"It's gonna be so much fun," Kuroba muttered softly to himself, opening his notebook which, as it turned out, had very thick pages. "This experiment was a good idea."
"Akira," Eika spoke. "You're acting like a little child when they see the presents under the Christmas tree," she added with a small laugh in her voice. It was the first time Donatello had heard the joy in the woman's voice.
"I'm just excited, Eika. I haven't played with ink for a long time. The last time was when I was maybe four years old and on vacation in Hokkaido at our grandfather's."
Eika rolled her eyes smiling with a frown and slight shake of her head. A thought running through her mind, 'A man will always be a child'. Since Kuroba remained busy with his preparations for the experiment, the woman decided to observe the mutant for him. She was waiting calmly for first signs that the drug was working. The turtle didn't know what signals to expect, so he was waiting impatiently with her.
When his vision blurred for a brief moment and he shook his head lazily, he knew that the expected moment had arrived. Eika said something to Kuroba, but even if he had understood Japanese at a higher level, he wouldn't have gotten anything because the sounds were blending along with the vision. Fortunately, it was only a short moment and when his senses of sight and hearing returned to normal, he felt his body relax involuntarily and all stress flew away. He was still in control, but he felt strangely cheerful and lazy as if he was laying on a soft cloud, without pain, fear or anxiety. He should have been panicking, but the drug he had been given prevented him from doing so rather successfully. The substance didn't just calm him down, it affected his thoughts and would probably affect his behavior as well.
He didn't even acknowledge that he had said something, but it must had been something very funny or stupid, or both, because both Kuroba and Eika laughed out loud, making him as confused as a small child. "So," the psychologist started cautiously, wiping a tear from his cheek. "As I've mentioned before, we're going to have a little fun today, okay Donatello?"
"Okay," he replied calmly with a small smile, nodding his head vigorously as if he didn't quite have that control he felt so well.
"Focus,, I'll explain the rules of the game. I will pour a few drops of ink on the pages, then close the notebook, squeeze it, and then open it again. We'll be able to see symmetrical blots forming on the pages. Your task, Donatello, will be to describe what the shape of the blot reminds you of. Do you understand so far?"
"Sure thing I do, I'm not stupid," the reptile replied in a slightly drunken-like voice.
"Of course," Kuroba laughed. "To motivate you to play for real, Eika will be your opponent." The man pointed his hand at the woman. "Your competition will look like this, you both present your ideas about the blots, and I as a judge will choose better and more interesting propositions."
"That's not fair!" Donatello groaned offended. "You like her more then me!" He waved his big hand at Eika. Fortunately for her, there was no direct contact.
"Hahahahah! Where did you get this idea from?"
"Because you are nice to her and not to me," the mutant muttered.
"Hahahah! That's not true. Hahahah! Whatever, I'll be fair, I promise." The psychologist poured a few thick drops on the first sheet of paper and closed the notebook. "Eika, sit over there on the other side, good luck. Good luck, Donatello."
Oh, there was a lot wrong with him if he had spoken in such a manner, like a little child. The worst thing was that he was fully aware of that, but couldn't help it, his thoughts were coming to his mind and he was spilling them out without thinking.
"Looks like we already have a first blot," Kuroba murmured, slowly opening his notebook. "Yes, it's time to start our competition. Focus. San, ni, ichi... Ta-da!"
The psychologist turned the notebook, showing the symmetrical shape to 'the contestants'. Donatello and Eika had a look at it, but only for a few seconds, because the speed of their response was what mattered the most. That's why the room was immediately filled with mutters and muffled screams, full of 'eee' and 'yyy' and the rivals were waving their hands and pointing at the blot and Kuroba with their fingers, trying to outshout each other.
"Mmm... Carrot!"
"Parsley!"
"Pineapple?"
"Mmm... Weird cheese!"
"What?! Nani?!"
"Weird cheese."
"There's no such thing!" Donatello snapped.
"Remember, creativity." Kuroba tapped a finger against his temple. "Okay, next blot, wait... And start!"
"Eee... Tree!"
"Root!"
"Labyrinth?!"
"A system of tunnels!"
"Hmm, interesting..."
The game dragged on several minutes, Donatello had really gotten into the game, not only because of the injected substance, but also because he had nothing better to do anyway and he hadn't felt so comfortable for a long time.
The shouting was over when the last two pages in the notebook remained clear and Kuroba stopped the reptile and Eika from unnecessarily screams. "Okay, let's check the results... You both scored the same number of points, 14 points for each for you. Therefore, the final blot will decide about the victory. We're gonna change the rules of the game so please, focus. After I make the blot, each of you will have to say what the blot reminds you of and then tell a short story related to the blot. Eika, you have to say what you think the blot looks like and make up a short story about it. You'll go first. Ladies first, so Eika will go first."
"Ooh..." Donatello groaned, disappointed.
The man poured the last drops of the ink on the pages and closed his notebook tightly, gathering all information about Donatello's behavior and mood after being given the new drug. After a moment he opened the notebook and glanced at the ink blot that had formed. 'That should be interesting', he thought, then showed Eika the blot.
"Okay, this reminds me a bit of... a butterfly turned upside down," Eika muttered slowly, tapping her chin lightly with her finger.
"Hmm, interesting, really." Kuroba raised his eyebrows. "Go on."
"So, once upon a time lived a big black butterfly, the only one of its kind. Not only was it distinguished by its size and color, but most of all by the fact that very heavy antennae forced the butterfly to fly upside down. It also couldn't fly high enough to avoid confrontation with frogs. So it was constantly in danger. Until one day a man found the butterfly and decided to take it with him. Since then, other animals haven't seen that unusual butterfly again, and no one knew what its further fate was. The End."
During the storytelling, Eika's eyes often wandered, she was searching for the right words. It was obvious that she wasn't the best at making up stories. She was stumbling, muttering softly under her breath, clicking her tongue and making weird faces. IT could be clearly seen that she didn't have the ability of faking stories in her blood.
When she was done, Kuroba wrote something down without a word, then looked at the mutant. "Now it's your turn, Donatello-kun."
The turtle sat in a more proud position, puffed out his chest, and looked triumphantly at poor Eika. "Hah! I have no idea what you've just said and you probably don't understand anything I'm saying right now, but let me destroy you and your story with mine!" he shouted confidently, which amused Kuroba. He got a a short sneak peek into the last blot and began to speak. "A very nice pattern, it resembles a bear cub lying on its belly with outstretched limbs. It has two long and thin tails, with large pompoms at the ends."
"An interesting vision," the psychologist said. "What kind of story will you surprise us with, Donatello-kun?"
"A fucking awesome one," the reptile said almost growling, sitting more comfortably on the sheets.
"The story took place in a mysterious forest somewhere in Europe. One late winter, an unusual bear cub was born. All animals from the area gathered at the bear's lair to welcome a new inhabitant of the forest. The mother of the little one was very surprised herself that she had given birth to only one cub, as usually there had been two or three cubs. However, there was something else that amazed the sow and every other animal. The cub had two long tails, each ending with a large, fluffy pompom.
When it was the time to introduce the cub to the animals, the sow was very stressed by their reaction to her son's unusual tail. Her fears turned out to be correct. On the first meeting with the baby bear, some of the animals laughed under their breaths at the sight of the two tails, some looked with disgust. There was a negative feeling in the air that the bear cub couldn't understand.
The sow decided to cut her young and herself off a bit from the rest of the forest inhabitants, her love for her offspring was stronger than any other feeling. The cub was named Nauha, he spent a happy year and a half with his mother, doing great. Over time, other bears got used to his presence, and so he was accepted into the bear community in some sense. The remaining inhabitants of the forest stayed unconvinced about the bear cub, calling him a freak or a twist.
Finally, the time had come for Nauha to go to a forest school for young forest dwellers. The cub didn't understand his mother's anxiety about the new friends' behavior. He became convinced of everything when he first met the other youngs. The worst were the wolf and fox pups, they were very brave, witty and mean, they attacked him verbally and humiliated him at every step.
It wasn't long before Nauha decided to flee the forest. The other animals words made him believe that he was only a burden to his mother and a disgrace to his species. Nauha ran and ran, never stopping, never looking back. It took him all day to escape until he stumbled upon a strange creature he had never seen before.
The thing was moving on its hind legs and making weird, complicated noises. When it spotted Nauha, it paused, focusing its eyes on him. The cub suddenly felt threatened, so he started calling for his mother, but she didn't come to the rescue. When he realized he was too far from home, he tried to scare the creature away himself by growling, but to no avail. A two-legged being came up boldly and stretched its front paw toward him. Then both tails of the bear cub instinctively darted toward the paw and struck with all their might.
The unknown entity stepped back, massaging the sore spot, and Nauha started the counterattack. His tails slapped madly with tremendous force, scaring the two-legged creature away until it fled with a weird whine. Nauha had no idea that the whole incident had been watched by a male deer. The stag knew the forest well, as well as the strange creature that Nauha would later find out to be called a human. The stag approached the bear cub and offered his company during the way back home, as it wasn't safe in that area.
Nauha returned with the deer to the familiar territory, where all the bears and some other animals were searching for him. The stag told the forest dwellers about the cub's heroic deed, which impressed most of the animals. From that moment, Nauha would be respected by every creature and become a hero of the forest."
Donatello took a deeper breath, pleased with himself. Kuroba and Eika were staring at him as if he had grown a second head or something, they had certainly not expected such a story. Of course, Eika hadn't understood a word of it, but just listening had been enough to impress her.
"Well," the psychologist cleared his throat. "I don't have to say who won this round, and thus the whole game."
"Congratulations, Donatello-san," Eika muttered quietly, stealthily preparing another needle.
"So I'm gonna get some kind of reward?" Donatello asked, still feeling strangely funny.
"Oh, yes," Kuroba assured.
At the same time Midori entered the room with a small slight, but also a frown. The mutant focused on the professor, so he didn't realize when Eika injected him with yet another dose of an unknown substance, this time a bigger one. He felt the needle only after the fact, when the Japanese woman got it quickly out of his body.
"That dose should be enough." Eika cleared her implements from the view.
"Donatello," Midori began. "How are you feeling today?"
"Maybe you can't see it, but I'm panicking," the reptile replied.
"Don't worry, you're okay. Now I'll ask you a question and you'll answer, okay?"
"Sure!"
"How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, showing him a hand with three fingers straightened.
"Six, but that's not possible," he muttered.
"You're right, it's not. What is a square root of two hundred and fifty-six?"
"Sixteen."
"Correct."
After that, nobody spoke up. Kuroba got up and picked up his notebook and inkpot, making room for Midori. Eika also packed her stuff, but while the psychologist stepped out into the corridor, she moved to the multifunctional room. It didn't bode well, but at the moment Donatello was more concerned with the fact that his eyesight and hearing hadn't returned to normal after the second dose of the substance.
"Hey, Midori?" he said, yawning slightly.
"Yes?"
"Is it 'the time'?"
The woman continued to frown, studying him intently. Her body was slightly tilted, her back arched, her head also tilted to the side, and her hands clasped together on her lap. She was hiding something, or rather signaling that something was going to happen.
He could feel a sudden rush of adrenaline lingering, but something was off. The situation didn't meet all the requirements to indicate 'the time'. 'The time' meant that the time had come, but in his understanding the lack of a certain factor absolutely ruled out the possibility of 'the time'.
For a moment he felt dizzy, the world seemed even more blurry then before. The voices mixed into a single noise, and the excessive amount of light stung his eyes. Somewhere in all this, he almost missed a certain colorful spot which produced quite characteristic high sounds. The spot approached him, surrounded by many other spots.
Midori's voice mingled with the squeaks of the small spot and Morisaki's grim muttering. Hold on, how did he get here? It didn't really matter, because other familiar noises returned, and the room was no longer as white as it used to be.
Everything was moving and making noises, and in all the chaos he almost missed the little squeaking factor that actually indicated 'the time'.
Waking up was even more difficult than after the first surgery, due to several factors, such as much larger anesthetics dose, which apparently worked too well, because he could barely feel his head and the rest of his body seemed to be some sort of non-existent creation. Donatello would have laughed at the thought and imagined himself in the form of a lonely head, if not for the seriousness of the situation. A small, green, lonely head, maybe even levitating, who knows. Of course, that was impossible, this vision didn't agree with the madman Morisaki and his happy circus in coats' plans.
This time, there were no voices or other sense impressions to wake him up. It was just that his consciousness returned and that's it, nothing more, end of story. The machines around him hummed softly, the rhythmic beeping rather spelled good news of his condition. However, among various small noises, he could hear a sound of a pencil, or more precisely, its lead, leaving lines on a sheet of paper. Meaning he was not alone.
The reptile had no idea who was accompanying him, but he didn't want to reveal that he was conscious. He started analyzing his position. The first weird thing, after crossing the numbness from the odd things list, was that he was lying on his abdomen. That much he could deduce from his sense of gravity. His head rested on something pushing against his forehead, so that he was able to breathe freely, although he had the oxygen mask to help with that. Either the psychos had forgotten about removing the mask, or they had screwed up something during the surgery and the mask had turned out to be necessary.
There probably was no point in worrying about it now, as it seemed that the medical team had full control over every detail. He decided to see if he was able to move the facial muscles freely. Fortunately, he didn't sense any problems, maybe except the mask, which was a bit disturbing.
There wasn't much else he could do at the moment, so he slowly opened his eyes. Of course, the view of the floor wasn't very fascinating, but it confirmed his previous assumptions about lying on his front. His eyesight was back to normal, every spot and scratch on the floor was clearly visible to him, edges sharp enough. It was similar with hearing,the sounds didn't blend together and he had no problem locating their source.
The pencil lead continued to wander on paper, being the only proof that he wasn't alone. He had some concerns, he felt another drop of control as he had no idea who he was dealing with or what to expect. If it had been Aigo or Eika, they would have called Morisaki immediately. Russell or Kuroba would have began to speak and that would have been enough to send the mutant's patience to the moon with a first rocket. Midori would have definitely greeted him with a warm word and perhaps explained this and that, asked about how he was feeling or just done something nice.
There was also the possibility that the person sitting with him was unfamiliar to him on enough level so he wouldn't predict their behavior. For example, fat Kiwa was still a big mystery for Donatello, so he could easily surprise the turtle. The reptile didn't know anything about the blond man Mayers or people called Tokugawa or Harrison.
"Hello?" he whispered uncertainly.
The pencil lead stopped scratching the paper, and a slight knock indicated that the pencil had been put down or thrown on the table. The unknown visitor got up from their chair and walked closer to the bed. Their behavior gave Donatello no certain answer, but rather suggested the appearance of another new face entering his hard-for-some-time life.
Two small feet in white socks appeared in his visual field. By its size and shape, the reptile concluded that he was accompanied by an adult woman, but she was not Eika or Aigo, nor was it Midori.
The woman crouched down by his head and placed her hand on his temple, stroking it gently. The mutant panicked a little, had he come across another crazy fanatic?
"Gomen, but I can't speak English well," the angelic voice said, the woman struggling to pronounce the words. "You know my language a little, don't you?" she asked.
"Just a little," he replied. "Who are you?"
She didn't answer right away, continuing her light and even pleasant touch. Her hand was trembling slightly, as if she was afraid to touch him, and she was as delicate as if she was dealing with with a small animal or a very fragile material. "We've only seen each other once," she whispered. "It was a few seconds, and yet the sight of you stuck in my head for almost a month, until now."
Despite intense thinking, he couldn't remember meeting this woman. He didn't recognize her voice, her behavior didn't lead him anywhere.
"I was scared out of my mind, but when I think about it now, you looked much more terrified than I was," she continued. "Poor thing. I even broke a plate at the sight..."
Then he remembered!
He found a young woman in the kitchen. She wasn't wearing white coat and at the sight of the mutant her mouth opened and the plate which she had wiped fell down from her hands.
"You were there, in the kitchen," he began slowly. "You are not a scientist, you are not like them. You live here and take care of the house. You are Kyoko's mother and this psycho's wife. You are Morisaki."
The woman sighed heavily, apparently she understood a lot of English, and only using it caused her problems. Her hand was still stroking his head, though it felt a lot heavier, despite its delicacy. "Hai," she finally admitted. "My name is Morisaki Kasumi, I am the wife of Morisaki Akutarō and the mother of Morisaki Kyoko."
Donatello frowned, feeling guilty of her tone of voice. She sounded ashamed of who she was, and yet he couldn't blame her for that. However, his accusing and concerned tone influenced her very strongly. She was an emotional person, he could sense good intentions from her. "Please, don't be sad," he said quickly, not even paying attention to whether he really said the correct words.
"Wakaranai!" she protested, then took a deep breath and decided to switch to English. "Akutarō was a great husband and a great father. He loved Kyoko more than anything. But... I think he got lost somewhere along the way..."
"Anyone can get lost in life."
He didn't know how to console this lovely Japanese woman. He had no intention of making excuses for what her husband was doing, but it wouldn't help her if he expressed all his anger in front of her.
For the next minutes, they were just breathing loudly, absorbed in their own thoughts.
"What's your name?"
"Donatello."
"A beautiful name. Please, call me Kasumi."
"Could you please take my mask off?"
"Hmm?"
"The mask. It bothers me when I'm speaking."
Kasumi tightened her hand on the plastic mask, her other hand pulled on the rubber band pressing the mask against Donatello's snout, and carefully removed it from the mutant's head. The reptile felt much better, but was still unable to move the rest of his body.
"Akutarō doesn't know I'm here," the woman said softly. "I should go now."
"Wait, don't leave me, please."
It was very childish, but he didn't regret the words. There was something about Kasumi that made him feel safe, a bit like when he had been with his family and friends. He couldn't see her worried face, the frown, and the sad smile.
He didn't feel it when she took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "I have to go, but I'll come back. I promise."
A few soft steps, the sound of the door handle, he was left alone.
The all-seeing eyes of the cameras didn't miss the moment when the reptile regained sensation in his limbs and partially in the rest of his body. First, he began to wiggle his fingers and toes, then regained control to his elbows and knees, next every bit of his limbs surrendered to him. The relief was short-lived as the rest of his body started feeling right after the limbs.
The first prick of pain came from the thoracic spine, it was tiny, but it grew rapidly and moved lower and lower until it reached his tail. He tried to endure the pain bravely, but what had happened to his carapace overwhelmed him. The knowledge of what had happened hit him harder than Hun's fist had ever done. Physical pain mixed with emotional pain, and the first hot tears streamed down his face.
He wasn't sure if it was his luck or misfortune, but a few people walked into the room. Someone rubbed his arm with wet cotton wool, and then sweet morphine was injected into his bloodstream. The dose was lower than the previous ones, but it made the pain more bearable.
"Let us hope it's just a postsurgical pain and not complications," Morisaki muttered, sitting down on the stool by the bed. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Donatello."
The turtle gritted his teeth, slowly turning his head toward the mad doctor. The movement itself didn't cause him any headache or neck pain, but the nerves in the back were making things very uncomfortable.
"You've probably guessed that 'another time' has come and it's after 'the time'," the man laughed, while the mutant answered him only with a growl. "You have to forgive us the pain, but we are slowly running out of painkillers. We have used up almost all of it on both surgeries and we need to save what we can. However, I don't think we have enough morphine for the rest of the project."
"Then just get more," Donatello said through gritted teeth. He really wanted to destroy his tormentor verbally, but was stopped by the funny noise coming from his belly. "Ugh..."
"I can hear you're hungry. I'm not surprised, the surgery lasted several hours, it started before eleven in the morning, and it's..." The doctor looked at the clock. "almost eight in the morning the next day."
He hadn't eaten in over thirty-six hours! No wonder his stomach was screaming for food.
"Morisaki-san." The conversation was interrupted by Midori, who stood in the doorway with a folder in her hands. "Harrison-san is asking you for an urgent consultation."
"Very well, I'm going to see him. Talk to the patient. Eika will bring him something to eat in a moment."
The man gave Midori the stool and stoically left the room. Eika followed him, she was probably the one responsible for earlier injection.
Professor Yuiragi made herself comfortable and put the documents on the table. Her gaze was lifted, fixed beyond Donatello's current field of vision. The turtle concluded that they were not alone.
"How are you feeling, Donatello?" she asked calmly, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.
"How do you think?" he replied, his face slightly twisted.
"You must be in a lot of pain, but unfortunately we only have a few doses of anesthetic left, and there's no sign that someone will take care of the next delivery," she said with visible regret on her face. "On the scale from one to ten, how much does it hurt after the injection?"
"Ten," he muttered softly, trying to keep his emotions under control. Midori was similar to Kasumi, just as kind and caring, she didn't ask him questions for the sake of brutal knowledge and reports, but really cared about his condition.
That made him want to cry. He wanted to cry like a baby and hug her. He wanted her to hug him, console him, just as Splinter had done when he and his brothers had been still little turtles. He wanted to be able to cry and not feel bad about it, not feel weak or inferior or a loser. He wanted to close his eyes and feel the tenderness and love to imagine that he wasn't there at all. In his mind, he was in New York, at home, with his brothers and Splinter who were able to cheer him up and make him feel better in a bad situation.
Unfortunately, the reality was different. In reality, he was laying in a white room, cut off from the world, paralyzed by pain and partly by fear, far away from his family and friends, surrounded by madmen who knew no mercy, had no heart, didn't know what empathy was, and the only people who cared for his fate could do nothing, unable to help him. That was his reality.
"Shhh..." Midori took a paper tissue from her pocket and wiped his tears with it. "Don't cry, Donatello. You're strong and very brave."
Her words didn't help much, and she herself wasn't convinced of their rightness. She helped wipe the mutant's face and patted his elbow lightly, then her gaze went to another person.
"I think we can wait with the examining until noon," a male voice said. The reptile recognized Mayers' voice by the tone color and accent. He had yet to get to know the blond.
"I think so too." Midori nodded. "Donatello should eat and rest first. He can't stress during the examining, because it will only make our job difficult for all of us."
Dr. Mayers left the white room, passing Eika in the doorway. The woman was carrying a tray, full of something that smelled beautifully. The smell quickly spread throughout the room.
It was hard not to notice that the team working on the project tried to play the good ones and make the whole pain up to him not only with an excellent breakfast, but also with a wonderful dinner. If they thought he would forgive them, it would be over his dead body.
Apart from the breakfast and dinner visits, the mutant hadn't had to endure the presence of humans until the early evening. Donatello hadn't even bothered to think about anything in his spare time, he had had no strength or motivation for it. Besides, the pain in his back was too intense to let him focus on anything.
He tried not to react when Morisaki, Yuiragi, Kiwa and Mayers entered the room and began to remove the bandages without a word. They took their time with the task, apparently it took a calm and gentle hand not to accidentally damage something. Speaking of damage, the reptile remembered that he was to ask about the mask that had previously been put on his snout. Somewhere in the back of his head he had a feeling that the surgery might had 'accidentally' damaged his respiratory system.
"It looks very good," Dr. Kiwa said shortly. "The ribs and vertebrae are in good position, and so are the shoulder blades."
"The muscles and skin will take longer to heal than after the first surgery," Midori muttered.
"The shape of the bones and cartilage parts couldn't have come out better. As for the layers of fat, muscle and skin, less than two weeks should be enough to heal," Dr. Mayers said.
"Two weeks is a lot of time." Morisaki scratched his chin. "Too bad, we'll have a small delay, but it's nothing. We'll shorten the time for rehabilitation, it will be more intense than assumed, but it's a piece of cake for him."
"The nerve fibers will get used to pain quickly, long before it actually wears off. So I don't think the pain is a good excuse."
"Information worth remembering. Thank you, all of you are dismissed for now."
Again, Donatello was alone with Morisaki. The mutant was too exhausted to show his hatred or put up a verbal resistance. In fact, he didn't even have the strength to talk about anything, no matter who the interlocutor was.
"I guess you already know what the surgery changed, Donatello?"
"Yeah," he sighed heavily, staring at the floor. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now."
"It's normal, you are tired and sore. You can go to sleep, we won't be tormenting you today. You can also ask fro supper first if you are hungry."
"No."
"Your choice. We should start working on your new body in a week."
When the door closed behind Morisaki, there was silence in the white room. Only every now and then the quietness was broken by a barely audible sob.
Donatello had spent the first four days after the surgery in the same position. Feeding him had been difficult and problematic, he had felt unwell lying on his stomach, the painkillers hadn't been working or the supplies had been running out, and his physiological needs had been again dealt with through the catheters.
So when the hated William Russell came on the fifth day and told the patient that his position would be changed, the turtle thanked the heavens, and perhaps for the only time in his life he was happy to have the Canadian in the room.
Of course, Kuroba came with Russell for the visitation in the morning. There were also Eika and Midori, but they stood a few steps behind. The duo of psychology specialists were to conduct another boring interview with Donatello. The women's task was only to assist in changing Donatello's position on the bed.
"We also have bad news for you," Kuroba said.
"How scaring," Donatello sneered weakly. His sad and pissed off mood had returned to him that day morning.
"We're out of painkillers. We don't have morphine, or even the usual pills."
"Well, those drugs of yours were shit the last few days anyway."
"Donatello." Midori walked over to the bed, having decided to take the lead for a moment. "We were saving up the last dose of morphine for now. Your back isn't fully ready for activity yet, so you will receive the injection in a moment. This will make it easier for you to move and sit down. Eika and I will change your bandages and prepare the bed for the new position so that you are comfortable and in as little pain as possible."
"Okay..."
For a moment nothing happened, everyone was waiting for Eika to prepare the syringe and inject morphine. The woman took her time, it was the last dose of painkiller for the entire project after all. A moment later, she muttered a warning under her breath, quickly rubbed a piece of olive green skin, and pierced it with the needle.
It may have been strange, but Donatello immediately felt way better. Eika moved away and joined Midori. "When you feel better, try to prop yourself up on your hands or elbows," the older woman said.
The turtle bent his elbows tentatively and lifted himself up gently. The pain in his shoulders was slight, but strong enough to be noticeable. It was increasing slightly as he raised his elbows, until Donatello was able to prop his hands on the sheets. Then he took a deep breath and pushed himself up, hissing silently from the pain that spread all the way to his lower back. The reptile tried to bend his torso as little as possible, which wasn't really possible.
"Very good, take your time, we don't have any big plans for today, we have time."
"Try to get up to a kneeling position, Donatello," Midori suggested, looking at the bandages on the mutant's back. They weren't dirty with blood, which was a good sign of the healing process. "You're doing great."
It was easy to say for her, she had no idea how much Donatello wanted to pass out at the moment. The pain was tearing his muscles apart, literally. Not only his muscles, but he could hear, and most of all, feel the bones hitting each other and grinding, and the unpleasant cracking in his new spine made him want to throw up.
But it worked out. After several very painful attempts, the mutant moved to position where he propped himself on his hands and knees, panting loudly. A mixture of sweat and tears was dripping from his face, his limbs were trembling with effort and concentration, his tail was curled and his head was a little light-headed.
"Donatello, we'll change your bandages now, okay?" Midori asked, placing her hand on his huge one.
"Okay," he replied with difficulty.
Morphine slightly decreased his sensitivity to pain. Donatello couldn't imagine peeling off all the gauze and bandages from his unhealed tissues. The gauze shouldn't have stuck so much to the wounds, yet he felt the women tearing off all the dressings from his body. They did it slowly and carefully, but it was not without slight damage. Midori herself hissed when she saw the skin peeling away from the muscles.
"Okay, let's do it quickly so that there won't be more unnecessary complications."
It didn't take long to change the dressings, and they turned out to be very pleasant as they soothed the pain to some extent. Both women were slowly finishing, while the patient felt he could no longer hold his arms straight and lowered his front body, leaning on his elbows.
"And it's done, you're new as newborn," Midori said cheerfully, trying to cheer the turtle up. Now I'll ask you to roll over on your back and sit down for a while, and we will prepare the optimal support for you. Try to move your back muscles as little as possible for your own safety and comfort."
"I'll try," he muttered a little more confidently.
He found himself in the situation surprisingly quickly, mainly thanks to his concentration. The new bandages allowed him to concentrate more because he wasn't constantly thinking about the pain.
"You're doing great." Professor Yuiragi patted him gently on his shoulder. "We can leave you three alone now."
"Wait! Please."
"What is it, Donatello?"
"After my first surgery, Dr. Morisaki visited me with Aigo. Why was she gone now?"
"Oh, the doctor's niece has been passively watching your surgery closely, and there's no need to torture you with her presence now."
"Ah, yes..."
"Personally, I think it's very good. In her presence, your well-being takes a drastic turn." Midori winked at him and turned to the exit. "Eika, we're leaving."
"Hai."
Donatello swallowed loudly, looking from the door to Russell and Kuroba. He had been seeing the latter more recently and, surprisingly, he was not nearly as annoying as his Canadian supervisor. Not as much. When both were present, it didn't take much to make the mutant go mad.
"Easy, Donatello. You need to rest, so we won't take long." Russell smiled and sat comfortably on the stool. "You had your second surgery, so a short psychological interview is necessary."
He really didn't have the strength to bother with them, he didn't even feel like teasing as usual. He nodded slightly, because in some ways he agreed with the necessity of an interview in such a situation. Of course, that didn't mean he liked the idea as a patient.
"You're going through a long and hard road. First, we took your front shell, then your back shell. This is a huge physical and mental change for someone like you. Personally, I'd compare it to taking an armor from a longtime knight and telling him to go naked to battle. Tell us about your feelings."
"Hmm..." he sighed nostalgically, trying to collect his thoughts. "Let's say it this way. I've already cried, the greatest emotions have subsided. I was severely crippled after all. I believe that what you are doing with me is pointless, leads to nothing, and some of you are just sick sadists. It makes me so damn sad, because my suffering doesn't really serve any purpose. And I won't stop thinking like that, it will be my leitmotiv for the rest of my miserable life that I'll spend here, under constant control, like a tortured animal, to the delight of a group of people without a hint of mercy in themselves."
"This is probably the first time you opened up to us like that," Kuroba commented softly. "Good, the more we know about your feelings, the better we'll be able to try to improve your mental situation."
"You described it perfectly, 'to try'," Donatello replied. "You have no right to be sure you'll succeed. I believe you'll never be able to reverse what you have done."
"We take care of our duties to the best of our ability. Many people do this and indeed, it doesn't always bring the expected results. But that's no reason to quit trying," Russell said firmly, and the two gentlemen turned the pages of their folders. "You are in great pain and you know that in the later phases, whatever the pain may be, we won't be ab;e to reduce the pain, if it does occur. How o you feel about it?"
"First of all, due to the lack of access to information, I don't even have a way to prepare myself mentally for the future, and as employees of this and no other branch of medicine, you know very well that the knowledge alone would help me a lot." The reptile raised his eyebrows a little, trying to prove something.
"Indeed, you have no idea what awaits you and whether it will be related to pain, and if, then to what extent." Kuroba nodded. "We can't give you any information, but as your therapists we can take some initiatives further."
"I think that if we conduct this interview properly, Akira and I will gather enough data and evidence to be able to win the privilege you so seek."
The mutant frowned, looking a little suspiciously at both men. Could it be another bait? Very unlikely, because where was the windup supposed to be? On the other hand, when he thought about it in a very roundabout and clever way, maybe Russell could get him something and count on gaining more trust from him? Nice idea, but what benefits would this madman get from Donatello's trust? It was hard to tell if the duo was up to something or if they honestly presented the options.
One thing was for sure, they wanted to persuade him to make more honest confessions. He was reluctant to do it at first, but he had nothing to lose. He could always lie or bend the truth a bit. He didn't have to tell them all his secrets, all he had to say was how unwell he felt in this place and what overwhelmed him the most.
"So? Are we going to have a nice long chat, Donatello?"
After a long thinking, which lasted over twenty-four hours, Donatello still doubted he had done the right thing to keep Russell and Kuroba focused for so long. It could be said he had a guilty conscience or something like that.
The teenage reptile was struggling with his thoughts as the time to heal was nearing its end. He knew this not only because Morisaki had simply told him about a week of lying down, but also because of two other factors. The first: clearly visible changes in his back, indicating fast healing. The second: a simple hunch.
The clock showed a late afternoon hour, and Kyoko was standing outside the door. There was no other option, it was impossible to miss it. When she was allowed to come to the door, she made a noise, like any little child, when they wanted something. This had happened before, but that day a feeling made Donatello believe that this time the door would open and the bratty little girl would be able to see him.
The reptile gave a little laugh as he glanced at the clock. It just so happened that this day was the beginning of November, one of the turtle's least favorite months. A month full of autumn blues, sadness, and a gloomy atmosphere. Oh yes, that little three-year-old scum fitted perfectly into his description of November. It was true that the mutant had never been interested in what November looked like in Japan, but it didn't matter.
"Kyo-chan, be a patient princess," Morisaki said outside the door.
The patient rolled his eyes, his mouth furrowed in disgust. Great, they had managed to very quickly make him express negative feelings toward the innocent little girl.
The moment of unhappiness didn't last long because, well, if dreams did come true, sometimes the nightmares also had to come true. The door opened with a soft creak, slowly, like in a horror movie, only the white surroundings didn't fit.
Morisaki stepped inside, hands clasped behind his back. He walked slowly, majestically, without hesitating. There was a slight smile on his face, and if Donatello hadn't known him, he would have thought of him a lot positive things.
The man walked over to the bed and looked straight at him. "Hello, Donatello. I can see that you're feeling better and better, maybe you are even getting a little bored. But don't you worry, here I am and I have a surprise for you." The Japanese glanced at the door. "I brought guests."
Kasumi was standing in the doorway, holding Kyoko in her arms. The reptile's first glance fell over the little girl, whom his mind treated as a threat, totally unlike her mother.
The toddler was unable to move freely, so he looked at the woman to take a better look. Kasumi was a short woman, shorter than Aigo, but taller than Eika. Her hair was straight and cut short, reaching her chin. Her eyes were quite big, but not too bulging, and their color was amber. She was rather thin, with clothes hanging on her body, though she didn't appear to be pathologically skinny.
There was compassion on her face, and the woman was clearly dissatisfied with what was happening in her house. As an extremely empathetic person, she couldn't understand or come to terms with her husband's job, but she didn't have the willpower to actively disagree with him. Moreover, she was concerned about her little daughter, who was easily being manipulated by her father, cousin and other employees participating in the project.
Kasumi entered the room slowly and closed the door behind her. Kyoko squirmed in her arms, holding out her greasy hands toward the mutant with excitement in her eyes.
Morisaki leaned over Donatello. "You will behave, or it gets nasty. Do you understand?" he growled quietly.
"I don't have the strength, though I have some will," the turtle replied. "Besides, I have a reason not to explode today," he added, allowing himself a slight and mysterious smile.
"Interesting." Morisaki smiled, glad to hear about that.
"Easy there, Kyo-chan," Kasumi whispered in the girl's ear. "Donatello is a little sick now and we mustn't disturb him too much."
"Ryū!" Kyoko squealed.
"Come closer, we're safe," Morisaki assured, making room for his wife and daughter.
"Ryū," the girl repeated in a quieter voice. For her, the mutant was like some work of art that she could stare at for hours to no end.
"How are you feeling, Donatello?" Kasumi asked softly.
"I had better days," he replied shortly, not wanting to interact with her too much. If Morisaki somehow didn't know about their earlier conversation, it was better not to lead him on that trail.
"Mama, I want Ryū," Kyoko squeaked,
"Not now, princess," Morisaki murmured, stroking his daughter's head. "You have to be patient. Today you can see how much he has changed."
The man shifted his gaze to Donatello, pointing discreetly with his eyeballs at Kyoko. The mutant had promised to behave, so he had no choice. He shifted into a half-sitting position and raised his hand to the little girl, keeping his face neutral.
She covered his thick finger with her hands excitedly. "Ryū nice," she said.
"Very nice," he replied passively.
"Okay, Kyo-chan, enough for today."
"Why?" the little Japanese whined.
"Daddy and Ryū have to work together. Don't worry, princess, you'll be seeing Ryū more and more."
"Yes!"
"Say goodbye to Ryū."
"Bye bye Ryū!"
"Bye," Donatello said.
"Get well soon, Donatello," Kasumi added.
The woman hurriedly left the room and closed the door. The mutant looked at Morisaki again. The Japanese seemed pleased with the course of the meeting. "Congratulations, Donatello," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. "We have officially completed the first phase of our project."
"Where's the cake and confetti?" the turtle asked sarcastically.
"I see you're back to your funny mood. Good, we started to miss your hilarious remarks. Before we move to the second phase, we will have a long rehabilitation and exercises with the help of the multifunctional room.
"Forgive me for my boldness, but how many phases does the project involve?"
"Three, the second one will be the longest and the most changes will happen in it. We start rehabilitation tomorrow. Better don't be too optimistic. It will take a whole month for you to get used to your new body."
If Donatello had had ears, they would have fallen down.