Narration, English
Other languages
'Thoughts and names'
Dreams, flashbacks, memories


Around the middle of the month, there was a slight chaos in the working part of the building. Not that Donatello knew what was going on, he only heard a lot of footsteps in the corridor. People were walking this and that way, slamming doors, talking loudly, several voices at a time, several languages at a time. For three days everyone had been milling around like ants in an anthill, so something must have been going on. It might have been or might not have been related to the project. Perhaps the police had gotten into the secret experiments of these psychos? Or maybe everyone had to leave the building and move to another place for some reason, and that included taking the mutant with them? There were many possibilities, but nothing frustrated him more than the lack of answers. Despite so many months full of questions left without explanations, he still wasn't used to that state of affairs.

As for himself, the pain was subsiding very slowly but surely. His skull and neck were no longer sore, his limbs tingled a little, but otherwise he was able to move them. The tail and wings still ached, and hadn't it been for years of training with his brothers under Splinter's watchful eye, the reptile wouldn't have been able to endure the pain.

When he wasn't devoured by dark thoughts, he was turning his head curiously and gently moving new parts of his body, watching them carefully. It had to be admitted to the Shino&Midori team that they had done a great job. The wings looked fully functional and large enough to be able to lift his body into the air in the future. If they ever let him fly, that was.

Kasumi appeared in the doorway carrying a tray. "Everyone is busy with something important, so I brought you dinner."

The turtle, ehm, the dragon, nodded. BAF-114, the substance responsible for his fire-breathing ability, had completely messed everything in his mouth and throat, rendering him speechless for a time. He could still talk, but the pain didn't let him.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but since no one is watching the cameras..." The woman closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. "I think they'll be moving you soon," she whispered. "But I'm not sure where. Anyway, I prepared something cold for you."

He nodded again, narrowing his eyes slightly. This was his way of thanking her. It was rare for anyone other than Eika to bring him food, and Kasumi was a very nice change in that.

He slowly reached out for the bowl, but paused for a moment. His hands still had the same almost human shape, but there were four fingers instead of three, each ending in a sharp claw. It was still hard for him to believe that he had become a mythical creature, moreover a creature considered a dangerous beast. Of course, being a mutated anthropomorphic turtle was also difficult to grasp, but in fifteen years of his existence he had already gotten used to it. The dragon was new to him.

Kasumi put her small hand on his wrist and tugged lightly toward the bowl.


Any sound that caught his attention vibrated funnily in the appendages on his head. Donatello found out that he was able to analyze sounds better, as well as localize it. It could be quite a useful new skill, it was worth remembering and not spilling it to the humans at the closest opportunity.

His appendages vibrated, the footsteps in the corridors fell silent, the dragon listened. Whatever had been going on in the building for the past few days had come to an end. Everything was telling him that it wasn't the police. Such a shame. On the other hand, if the government had found him, who knew what they would have done with him.

Suddenly, the metal muzzle slid over his snout and tightened, and the chains shortened. A lot of people entered the room, all dressed in white coats. He didn't know all of them, but he recognized the most important individuals, including of course the star of this circus, Morisaki.

The man had a shortwave radio in his hand and stared at the ceiling with the others. Curious, Donatello also looked up, but but there was nothing unusual there according to him. Frowning his snout and forehead, he turned his head toward the doctor who put the shortwave radio to his mouth. "You can open the cage," he muttered.

The mutant was still frowning, thinking about the word for the cage, while the ceiling above his head seemed to crack in a straight line, perfectly in the middle. Then both parts began to lift like a double gate, making a lot of noise. Donatello watched this phenomenon with concern. The more the ceiling 'opened', the more sunlight entered the room. The last time the reptile had seen the sky and the sun was nine months ago!

He stared at the cloud-clear blue sky for a moment, feeling a single tear rolling down his cheek. After so many months in confinement, such a sight would have caused a storm of emotions in anyone. Despite still being a prisoner, the sky gave Donatello a small sense of freedom.

"The cage is open, you can proceed to the transferring."

"Copy that," a slightly distorted voice from the radio replied.

The distinctive sound of propellers cut through the air, and powerful gusts of wind blew into the cut off from the outside world white boy was strangely not nervous, because what else could they do to him? He assumed that the transfer was the last stage of the project, and when it was over, he would be able to assess his situation and look for some loopholes that would allow him to escape.

Huge metal claws emerged from the helicopter hovering over the room, descending lower and lower. Quickly, the arms of the claws appeared on the dragon's both sides. "Wait for further orders," Morisaki spoke again, then took a step forward to stand out from the crowd of his associates. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to these beautiful wings, would we?" he asked no one in particular, then turned to Donatello. "Spread your wings above you so our claws won't crush them."

The reptile obeyed with extreme caution, at a snail's pace due to the pain. The new 'limbs' lifted away from the claws and unfolded completely, spread slightly to the side.

Nobody in the room tried to hide their amazement and immense fascination at seeing the wings in all their glory. Morisaki himself stared at the thin skin with a twinkle in his eye.

The claws tightened around the dragon's middle at the man's silent command. Then the latches on the reptile's wrists and ankles released and fell to the floor. The chain from the muzzle also fell off, leaving the metal trap around the snout. The dragon shook his head in displeasure, but otherwise did nothing to be punished for.

The helicopter moved forward when Donatello was out of the room. The boy took a moment to look around. The building he had been held in was quite big, but even from the outside it was immediately obvious which part of the house was intended for living and which part served as a secret science base. The living area had windows, the walls were a pale orange color, the spacious garden and garage gave the impression of a warm house from suburbs of a small town.

What worried Donatello very much was the forest. A vast forest stretching from all sides to the horizon, and no a sign of civilization except the Morisaki house and the helicopter. Tall trees, large crowns, high density of plants were a brilliant camouflage for the probably illegal laboratory. The question was, how did people get from here to the city?

The helicopter flew over the building, behind there was a large yard. Well, the place was more like a cleared section of forest, seeded with grass. There was a building almost as huge as the entire facility. At first glance, it seemed prepared for a big herd of cows. Great, Donatello thought, from the room in the madhouse to some old filthy barn.

The roof of the barn swung open like a cardboard box, revealing the building's nearly empty interior. The helicopter stopped over the barn and the huge claws began to descend, slowly getting Donatello inside. The boy rolled his eyes at the sight of wooden structures. Had they suddenly gone stupid? Escape from that wooden barn would be nothing for the fire-breathing dragon!

When the reptile was inside, several people he didn't know, dressed in black, approached him. They were all men, they held a long and extremely thick chain in their hands. One end entered into an unspecified construction in the corner farthest from the barn exit. The other end ended in a metal hoop, also very thick and probably extremely heavy, because the men could barely keep it off the ground.

The barn didn't smell the nicest, the walls were covered with some weird dried substance. After a moment, Donatello realized that the wood was covered with a fireproof varnish. But not only the varnish gave off that unpleasant smell, the whole barn had a rather musty odor which effectively irritated the mutant's nose, as it was more sensitive than before the project.

There was no floor, only the ground sprinkled with hay. In the corner farthest from the exit, the layer of hay was thick, covering much of the ground as well as the walls.

While the dragon wondered why his lair was so big, Dr. Morisaki entered the barn along with Professor Harrison. The infamous metal briefcase gleamed, reflecting the summer sun.

The men in black, as Donatello made fun of them in his head, gripped the metal hoop and began to pull, every man in his own direction. The diameter of the hoop began to widen. The reptile realized that he was looking at his new collar.

"That's enough," Morisaki muttered. "Put it on him."

The mutant was beginning to feel a slight discomfort because of the claws still tightened around his middle. He knew that until they put a collar on him, the claws wouldn't let go, so he decided against teasing the men and actually help them. The collar was heavy, so the dragon lowered his head to make it easier for them to put it on him. Morisaki raised his eyebrows a little but said nothing.

The collar tightened around the reptile's slender neck instantly, not pressing hard enough to strangle him, but enough to make him feel its weight. Donatello didn't understand why it was so thick and heavy.

As expected, the claws released him on Morisaki's signal, and the helicopter moved away from the barn. The men in black also left the barn, leaving him alone with Morisaki and Harrison. Only then did the mutant notice the silver briefcase.

"Welcome to your new home, Donatello," Morisaki said in a slightly mocking way. "Hope you'll like it," he added.

The dragon's eyes roamed the walls and ceiling again. After having spent so many hours with Russell and Kuroba asking him about stupid things, he had to admit he felt let down. This wasn't what he had expected after the transfer.

"You have to forgive us for the gloomy colors," the Japanese continued. "As you can see, we managed to install some extras that I hope will help you feel better in your new place."

Indeed, the beams right under the ceiling were wrapped in purple ribbons, and there was a pile of purple blankets by the metal... something... He really could feel at home, he thought sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Professor Harrison took a syringe out of his briefcase. It was huge, the biggest Donatello had ever seen. A bright green-yellow liquid bubbled inside.

Morisaki twisted his face at the sight of the reptile's worried look, glanced at Harrison, then let out a soft laugh. "You have nothing to be afraid of," he said. "We're moving to the last phase of the project, which will be very short. We're not sure if it will be painful though, we'll see. The substance G-5 doesn't require assistance form my employees." The man shrugged, as if he wasn't talking about the probable agony the mutant would suffer.

The boy could do nothing, and since he had decided that he would make it to the end of this crazy project, his only reaction was to snort into the metal muzzle and pretend to be offended. He turned his head away, not wanting to see the professor give him another mystery drug.

The man stood next to the dragon and grabbed his arm to examine its structure. After a moment, Donatello felt a slight prick, a warm liquid rushing into his bloodstream, and the removal of the needle. It didn't even hurt, it was like a regular vaccine.

Harrison grunted contentedly, packet what belonged to him and fled the barn at the speed of sound.

Morisaki stepped closer to the reptile. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Donatello shrugged as much as the pain in his wings allowed and shook his head from side to side.

"No pain, no discomfort, anything?"

The dragon shook his head again. The man hummed as he paced around the barn. The reptile watched him, feeling the flow of the substance in every blood vessel in his body. Whatever the substance was, it was already working, but the effects were yet to show.

"Well, all I can do now is to give you time to get to know your own home." Morisaki headed for the barn exit. "The third phase should be finished in the evening or tonight. After that, you will have to rest again."

The doctor left the barn. Donatello shook his head, dissatisfied with the muzzle left on his snout.


Nothing happened for the rest of the day. The only thing was the reptile feeling the presence of the injected fluid within himself. On the day of his transfer, he had been on a forced starvation diet again so that the G-5 substance hadn't met any interference. Donatello still had no idea what the names of all these modified mutagens were supposed to mean.

In the evening he noticed that he had swelled up a bit. It had started out inconspicuously, with the abdomen, and it had looked as if he had overfed, even though he hadn't had a bite of food all day. Touching his belly with his tail, he felt a slight pain and hardness.

When it got dark outside, his limbs and tail were already swollen too, and his wings and head became heavy. Donatello thought it might have been the lack of feeding getting to him. Such a large animal shouldn't be left without food for the whole day, after all. So he decided to lie down in a corner full of hay and take a nap.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but it was still dark outside when he opened his eyes. He was awakened by a blow to his head and pain in all parts of his body. The boy moved his snout, but felt the impact again. He quickly curled up in the hay, looking for the most comfortable and least painful position. Focused on pain, he didn't pay much attention to the difference in the ratio of the width of his tail to the width of the beams of the wall.

He opened his eyes again as it became lighter outside, but the sun still hadn't risen above the horizon yet. Pain pulsed through his temples and, somewhat embarrassingly, between his hind legs. Most likely, he should take care of his needs somewhere, but since the substances had interfered with his body, he was extremely reluctant to get rid of the contents of his bladder and undigested remnants of food. The main reason was the excessive interference in his cloaca, precisely he had been deprived of his penis. He was reminded of this humiliating fact with every need. Plus, the urination was still painful, it stung, it burned, and Donatello simply felt stripped of his identity, not only as a turtle, but also as a male. The mechanism of urine excretion itself was no different from before the procedures, but the whole situation was very heavy on his mind. Who wouldn't mind the fact that they were literally castrated against their will?

The reptile moved his paw slightly, then immediately froze. He felt as if thousands of microscopic needles were digging into his skin, muscles and bones with the movement. With a low, guttural growl that mimicked a pained groan, Donatello looked around the barn, trying to ignore the migraine, the pain in his pelvis, the stinging in his paw. Something was off, but the dragon was unable to figure out the reason for this thought.

It was already quite bright outside, it'd be a sunny day. The rays of the morning sun streamed into the barn through the cracks between the beams and through the half-open door. The mutant looked at the tip of his tail. This part of him didn't seem to be as numb and painful as the rest of his body. He lifted the tip of his tail with gritted teeth and steered it toward the wall.

Then he noticed something new. Just a few hours before, the tip of his tail had been about one-fifth the width of the beams of the walls. Now, the tip was more than three times as thick as before, covering more than half of the board.

A quick calculation helped him come to the right conclusions, which coincided with the pain and the thickening of his tail. During his sleep, the G-5 had begun to affect his body and had caused his rapid growth. No wonder everything hurt. A sudden growth in such a short time wouldn't have been possible to achieve by the forces of nature, so artificial acceleration of this process couldn't have been done without any disadvantages for the creature.

The dragon sighed loudly, the sound more like snorting of a horse. Two puffs of smoke billowed from his nostrils, and the gust picked up some hay from the floor and scattered it all over the barn. Donatello was dismayed, sore, and increasingly angry. It was hard to tell what annoyed him the most. Perhaps the people responsible for his suffering. Maybe the lack of access to information and data that concerned him. Or was he himself the cause of his irritability? Well, if he had been more clever, or had at least listened to his family, he wouldn't have been here, and nothing that had happened in this place would have happened.

The door to the barn opened wider, the figures already familiar to Donatello stood in the 'threshold'. Two people, very often staying in each other's company, being the most miserable but also the only entertainment that had been given to the mutant. He rolled his eyes at them and growled softly.

"Good morning, Donatello," William Russel l greeted him. "As I can see, all phases of the project have been successfully completed, so my cooperation with this team is coming to an end."

The reptile couldn't help the mean smile that crept over his oblong snout and was clearly visible despite the muzzle. Perhaps this was his last meeting with this man? Oh how he wished it to be true!

"Although the project is officially over, a permanent part of Dr. Morisaki's team will be watching over you," Kuroba murmured. "So you should start getting used to the fact that you will have less and less pleasure to talk and listen to conversations in your first language."

"Ah, yes, all the non-Japanese part of the team will be leaving this place soon. It seems to me that for some reason this information made you very happy."

The reptile snorted a laugh so loud it made his stomach ache. Still, he laughed, trembling all over, more and more hysterically. His keen eyes never left Russell's silhouette as he burst out laughing, though he was far from being happy. He couldn't stop, and one nagging thought popped into his head: had he just started to lose his mind?

He suddenly growled, as if he hadn't burst out laughing a moment earlier. His limbs began to move slowly, first fingers and toes, then hands and feet, then elbows and knees, until the dragon hissed in pain, but kept moving. The huge green body finally stood on all his legs, his tail flapped a few times in the air, banging on the wall of the barn, and his wings unfolded and folded as if the dragon wanted to shake off the numbness in their bones and muscles. His eyes no longer looked like two bland round chocolates. Their irises and pupils were oval in shape, standing upright, staring intensely at the Canadian. The mutant's head was low, his position indicated that he was lurking.

However, Dr. Russell didn't move a finger. He and Kuroba stood within Donatello's reach, but they weren't afraid of him. This only enraged the teenager more. But before he could take a step, something dawned on him. The blood-red before his eyes terrified him, and he backed away, brushing his head off and moving to a more relaxed sitting position. Never before had he had such thoughts. He had wanted to tear the man apart! It didn't matter who the man was or what he had done, Donatello would have never hurt anyone in such a brutal way! And yet, he hadn't just thought of it, he had been ready to do it!

Russell and Kuroba had no idea what had just happened, only that their reptilian friend had given up on the act of violence he had been planning. His irises were big and round again. The dragon panted slightly, trying to continue ignoring the pain.

"I'm here to do my last interview with you," Russell said. "The questions are structured in such a way that you answer briefly, 'yes' or 'no', or you may not have an opinion or answer 'so-so'. You can give answers by nodding or shaking your head."

"When we're done, you'll get food," Kuroba added.

As if on cue, Donatello's stomach spoke. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a decent, filling meal, let alone the last time he'd had a tasty one. On the one hand, he couldn't wait to be served something to eat, but on the other hand, he was afraid of what they were going to feed him now. If they thought he was a legendary-like type of dragon, he shouldn't expect anything good, right?

"Okay then, let's get started." Russell opened his folder. "Do you feel any pain in any part of your body after this night?"

He nodded. It was obvious that everything hurt him, was it so hard to notice when he tried to move?! Who would be able to move without pain after such a terrible ordeal?! He rolled his eyes as Russell wrote down the answer.

"Is the barn generally suitable for sleeping or stretching your body?"

He couldn't deny that the place for his lair was soft and warm enough, and the barn seemed just the right size for his new body. But could it be called conditions suitable for him? So what if he had a place to sleep, straighten his wing or eat, life was more than your own little space. And looking at the measurements of the barn, he could only dream of moving around to keep fit.

He tilted his head to the left, then to the right. 'So-so'.

"Hmm, I guess you just need to get used to the new environment," Russell said, tapping his chin with a pen. "Okay, I have one more important question. Are you fully aware of your body? Can you feel every bit of it?"

There was no doubt about it, since every inch of his body ached. So he nodded quickly.

"Good. Now that the physical questions are done, we can move on to what we really came here for. Your mental health must be in a deplorable state, we don't need to talk about it any longer. Akira will take care of you in this regard. What we'd like to find out now is, do you remember exactly everything you think you should remember? I mean, memories from your life and the project which shouldn't be affected by anything."

Donatello shook his head in pain, thinking hard. He had a weird feeling that his answer would determine whether he would be punished for something or not. He didn't seem to had missed anything, except of course the times he had been high on strong medications and drugs. Those moments were excluded by the question, but that didn't mean he didn't remember many other moments, especially those from the 'Childish Dream' Project that could potentially be problematic for Morisaki's team.

The reptile had no idea what to answer. If he admitted that he remembered everything, there was a chance they would be trying to erase his memory, and by experimenting with that, they might accidentally erase his memories of his life as a turtle. Then he would lose the only thing he had left of his family. On the other hand, if he lied and pretended not to remember most of the events of the project, firstly, it would arouse suspicion, and secondly, these pseudo-scientists would for sure take interest in the case and eventually start poking around his brain.

Donatello had a bad experience with such poking thanks to the Triceratons. For a long time after being abducted and tortured by aliens, the turtle had had nightmares and panic attacks.

The dragon nodded cautiously and tensed the muscles of his forelegs.

Russell made a note with a low grunt. His body language revealed little to the mutant. "Do you think that the project affected your way of thinking, giving opinions and perceiving the world in any way?"

An equally difficult question, the answer to which he had to consider carefully. First of all, he had to understand why he had been asked such a question. It was simple: they were afraid that something would change, that Donatello would behave differently. Perhaps they were afraid that he would go wild? There must have been something like that. All the time they had been collecting information about him, they had learned about his rather gentle nature for a powerful mutant ninja. For sure they'd like him to stay that way forever. Such a calm, ready to settle, he would be the perfect pet.

Did that mean he'd have to lie? The dragon wasn't sure what was happening to him, but the fury and redness that had possessed him moments earlier shook him to the core. If Morisaki had found out about his sudden outbursts of aggression, he would have surely implemented even more aggressive measures to somehow deal with it. As much as the idea of becoming a bloodthirsty beast terrified Donatello, he had to admit that this new nature might come in handy when planning an escape later.

The reptile squinted his eyes, shaking his head and dropping his body back down on the hay. Suddenly, he felt very hot, and this intensified the pain he still felt all over his body.

The teen didn't even notice that Russell had hidden his folder and pen. "I'm afraid that was the last question I was allowed to ask you as part of the project." The man frowned as he looked up at the dragon, but smiled. This smile was unlike any other Donatello had ever received from him. There was something much more sincere about it. "It was a great pleasure getting to know you and working with you, Donatello. I'm always happy to meet new, intelligent people. Or, in this case, mutants. This project was undoubtedly one of the biggest and most advanced ones I had the opportunity to participate in. I will definitely use the new psychological experiences with you in my work with patients."

Had the reptile not been too concerned about his sudden condition, he would have shown what he thought of this monologue in some way. But the heat and pain that accompanied it prevented him from fully focusing on Russell's words. All he knew was that he really wanted to laugh at him. Instead, he struggled to lift his tail and tried to fan himself with it.

"I'm afraid our friend isn't feeling well," Kuroba muttered.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll get over it when you finally feed him properly." William waved his hand, downplaying the symptoms.


For the next hour the dragon was left alone. The pain persisted, but the desire to cool down was stronger. In fact, Donatello was so determined that he ignored the pain to fan himself with his wings. But how long can you swing a body part? Of course, at some point the muscles would get tired.

He interpreted the noise muffled by the walls of the barn and the distance as the official end of the project and a farewell to the non-Japanese part of Morisaki's team. On the one hand, it sounded very official, on the other hand, the cheers, applause and singing suggested that people were having a party.

And a feast.

Oh yes, he could smell it. Lots of good food. Intense smells of spices, warm food, sweet drinks. They must have been celebrating near the barn, probably somewhere between the housing with laboratory building and the barn. From what he had observed earlier, Morisaki owned quite a large land deep in the forest. It was possible that a part of the forest also belonged to him.

He already managed to think they'd forgotten about him. They had promised him dinner after all, and the unfilled stomach hurt no less than the rest of the mutant. Donatello sighed heavily, folding his wings and staring at the hay.

Suddenly, the walls of the barn started shaking. The dragon lifted his head and waved his snout around, taking in his surroundings. Somewhere in the air he heard the swish of helicopter blades. Was this how they bid the part of their team farewell? This didn't make sense. And why was the whole barn shaking?

He quickly got an answer to that question. As the sounds of the flying machine seemed to hang over him, the roof of the barn slowly opened as it had done before when he had been moved. The helicopter was hovering over the barn. Powerful gusts of wind fell on the inside if the barn, they were a relief to the stinging pain of the reptile. The boy sighed in relief, clinging tighter to the floor and relaxing. He closed his eyes and sighed again, breaking away from his careful observation of his surroundings for a moment. The wind was just too pleasant.

Meanwhile, the helicopter began to slowly lower what it had brought. The pilot carefully followed Tokugawa's orders. "Okay, you can lower it down. But do it slowly. We don't want anything to break off and fall, as it might make the dragon angry," Tokugawa muttered in a bored tone. The man was sitting inside the building, at his desk in front of the many screens, staring at them, his head resting on his hand. "Put it in the center of the barn."

"Copy that," the pilot replied, looking out the window to make sure everything was working properly.

The metal cord on which the thing was being lowered into the barn creaked, but it wasn't until the thing was on the level of the barn ceiling that the sound reached Donatello's ears. The dragon opened his eyes, and when he realized that people were dropping something into the barn, he looked up, curious. His nostrils flared violently.

A huge red-brown mass in the shape of a bull landed safely in the center of the barn. The hooks holding it released it and the metal cord was pulled back inside the helicopter. The roof of the barn closed, the helicopter flew away.

Something hissed and the muzzle slipped from the reptile's snout. Now the smell of a freshly slaughtered animal had become more intense. Donatello looked at the still warm corpse. In such heat, the bull would quickly decompose, rot and begin to smell unimaginably disgustingly. And there was something exciting about it. Strange bloody thoughts ran through his mind, and the reactions they evoked in him were even stranger.

A small, tiny voice in the back of his head screamed that this wasn't right, that this was bad, that it was against his morals, against his upbringing, against his pacifist nature. And though Donatello wanted to listen to that old, rational, more 'human' self, his primal instincts took over, and the crimson red in the corners of his vision reappeared, blinding him. His irises took the shape of thin ovals. A low growl escaped his throat. The dragon slowly got up on all fours, but stayed low. His head barely left the ground. The wings clung tightly to the sides of his body, the tail beat several times on the hay, setting the dry blades in motion. They rose with the dust, but they didn't disturb the beast's focus on his future meal.

With a muffled roar, Donatello lunged at the bull, and with one snap of his mouth, he tore the meat from the animal's side and swallowed it like a crocodile. Oh sweet food! As the dragon tore at the bull and played with the food, the battle between the two Donatellos was going on in his mind. The gentle turtle cried, despaired, wanted to vomit every bite that the huge reptile was devouring. The lost dragon rejoiced, each bite giving him strength and excitement. The smell and taste of blood aroused aggression and desire to bite the long-slain bull in him.

Blood spurted in all directions as the dragon shook his head, tearing at the meat. Disgusting, wet sounds and the hollow sound of breaking bones filled the barn. Donatello tore the bull's hind leg from its hip joint effortlessly and broke the femur with a single snap of his jaws. He ate everything, left nothing, inedible parts didn't exist for him. He even ate the bull's horns, though he had played with them for a while. They served him well as toothpicks.

When he was done, he licked the floor thoroughly, not wanting to waste a drop of blood. He sniffed the ground in his search for more food, but there was no sign of the bull. Annoyed by this fact, the dragon walked along each wall, picking up all the smells. Finding nothing he could consider edible, he returned to his lair and collapsed there in some great pain.

The blood red slowly faded from before his eyes, his irises returned to their more round shape. The dragon began to pant because of another wave of heat, boiling especially the most sore parts of his body. He didn't even notice how the mechanically controlled muzzle returned to his snout and tightened tight enough to prevent him from biting or, worse, breathing fire.

The moment of silence in the barn was broken by muffled sobs.


It couldn't be said he was full. One bull, no matter how big and rich in muscle, wasn't able to satisfy the dragon's appetite. But that wasn't the main thing on his mind. After devouring the bull like a feral beast, the reptile had wept for the rest of the day in self-pity. His gentle nature was just another thing on the long list of what Morisaki had taken from him.

The devoured carcass sat heavily on his stomach, or so he told himself. His digestive system had actually been enjoying the delicious food, though Donatello's head had told him he had wanted to vomit every bite. What a lie, his body was too happy with this gift. Besides, he hadn't eaten such a large meal in a long time.

However, one bull was definitely not enough. Donatello was still hungry, but he didn't know if he should tell anyone. Well, of course he should, if he didn't want to starve to death. On the other hand, he was afraid to experience this 'wildness' again.

He hadn't had a visitor that day, which gave him mixed feelings. He had been convinced that Morisaki would have wanted to see him in person or that he would have brought Kyoko. Even if none of the above had happened, he certainly hadn't expected to be alone for the rest of the day.

It was getting dark outside. The sun had set, and though the sky had not turned a deep sapphire color yet, shades of gray-blue and purple had taken over the sky for good, casting a gloomy shadow over the world. The mutant was able to see it through small cracks in the boards here and there. Well, if someone had been going to show up, they would have done it long ago.

The dragon sighed, staring at the ceiling of the barn. He hadn't moved the tip of his tail since he had eaten the bull. Now that his emotions were more firmly in check, he could reconsider a few things, recalculate everything coolly.

Coolly. The evening brought little relief to his pain, but it was better than nothing, and Donatello was grateful for the cooler nights. Thanks to them, he was able to strain his neurons and synapses. So far he was sticking to his plan, which wasn't difficult. The whole project was so damn well planned that even if he did resist, these people would force him to his knees. Total submission was to allow him to retain at least some dignity, but also the strength which he undoubtedly needed to gain if he ever wanted to get out of here. He also needed to build trust with at least part of Morisaki's team. Professor Yuiragi was a good person, but her friendship wasn't enough to get anything done. There was also Kasumi, but she wasn't a part of the team and she had no authority here. Eika, on the other hand, couldn't speak English, although after deeper consideration, an alliance with her wouldn't give Donatello anything either.

He had to consider other options. He didn't have many. As far as he knew, he had never met a part of the team. Of the available options, he had Morisaki himself, and that could be ruled out immediately. The list included Kuroba Akira, Kiwa Kippu, Morisaki Aigo, Tokugawa Osamu and Shino Soku. It was true that Donatello had never seen Tokugawa who had been hiding behind the cameras and microphones, but he decided not to exclude him from the list of potentially useful acquaintances.

Dr. Kiwa was deathly afraid of him, even when he hadn't been a dragon yet. He also looked like a materialist and wasn't young, which made the reptile wonder if there was any point in considering the short and fat doctor. He had no idea what potential Akira and Soku had in them, he had to explore these areas even more thoroughly.

As for Morisaki's niece, he had a problem here too. The girl slowly grew into a younger and female version of her uncle, she waded into science with little to no soul at all and didn't care about the suffering of others. But she was young, not out of high school yet, with her whole life ahead of her. Donatello could take advantage of it, but he'd have to become friends with her first. Could he afford it? There was only one way to find out.

For now, he needed to rest and recover. His body still ached from his sudden growth, and the June heat was laughing in the dragon's face.


For the next few weeks, little happened in Donatello's 'new life'. He reluctantly revealed that one bull was not enough for a complete meal at the earliest opportunity. He needed at least three, but he could easily eat five at once. Somehow he wasn't surprised when Morisaki replied that it wasn't a problem. For this madman, nothing to aid his project was a problem. If the dragon needed more food, he got what he wanted.

The boss of the project, however, didn't show up in the barn every day. He came every three, four, five days, always alone. During these visits, he said little, mostly talking about new projects that weren't half as big and wonderful as the one starring the dragon. He also talked a lot about the forest, the nearest city, the name of which he had never given to Donatello, about Kyoko's kindergarten and other things that built his everyday life. Despite his inner reluctance, the dragon absorbed every piece of information carefully, looking for any clues or inspiration for his plan.

His daily visitor was Kuroba Akira. If Morisaki spoke little during his visits to the barn, the young psychologist was almost silent. He didn't ask any questions, used short sentences, sometimes whined about his life, which in his opinion was clearly going nowhere. The mutant listened to his monologues, if only to try to find some thread that would take their relationship to another level.

His body hadn't fully recovered until late July, when the worst heat of the year was coming to an end. The boy had endured it quite bravely, although not without tears.

When it was boiling outside, something inside Donatello began to lose heat. His soul full of love and kindness gave up. It decided that it was of no use in that state to the mutant and wouldn't help him escape from this hell. As much as the reptile didn't want it, he understood that if he didn't harden inside, not only wouldn't he be free, he wouldn't survive long in these conditions.

On cooler July nights, he made a new plan – for his own good and to save his own life, he decided to freeze his own heart. Not only the heart, but also the mind. Into oblivion he threw away his former nature. Everything was taken from him, and so he himself took the last part of himself away. This allowed him to better control the dragon's aggressive side, and he also gained better control of his anger when Morisaki tried to throw him off balance. He became merciless on the inside, making a warm and pleasant appearance on the outside. He left no room for love or empathy, and as a result he grew to hate not only Morisaki.

Most of all, he grew to hate little innocent Kyoko.

It only made sense when he thought about it very hard. If it hadn't been for her childish fantasies, her crazy father would never have come up with an idea as crazy as this project, right? Little Kyoko had been the stimulus that had awakened the monster in Morisaki, because that's what Donatello saw every time the man set foot in the barn.

Besides, telling himself this temperature contrast was very comfortable for him. The deceptive impression of spiritual coldness allowed him to feel a little more cold. It didn't matter that it was purely psychological and the dragon was almost melting from the heat. The important thing was that it worked, at least for a while.

One August afternoon, while he was contemplating his fragile mental health, an unexpected visitor came to the barn. Donatello registered no one at first, deep in thought, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was currently lying in his lair, his head between his front paws, and he sighed loudly from time to time, trying to ignore the hot day.

The barn door closed silently behind the visitor, who obviously wanted to remain unnoticed by the dragon for as long as possible. However, the musty air, stuffiness and lots of dust mixed with not very pleasant smells forced the intruder into a short but intense fot of coughing.

Donatello shifted his sight from the ceiling to the human silhouette without moving the rest pf his body. But he quickly raised his head and widened his eyes, clearly interested. The reptile tilted his head to one side and spread his wings slightly, taking a more comfortable position for the raised neck.

When the cough stopped, the visitor spoke: "What are looking at, Ryū?" Aigo choked out, coughing up the last particles of dust that got into her mouth.

The mutant frowned. Of course, he understood such a simple sentence, but the girl's tone had no justification in his opinion. Well, maybe Aigo had actually sold her soul to some devil. Probably the same one her uncle had sold his soul to years ago.

Donatello raised one brow, never taking his eyes off the teenager. The brunette looked grumpy. Not that her expression had ever looked any different. Aigo apparently had a habit of looking bored and tired of being a relatively social creature. The reptile had suspicions that she was rather a recluse among her peers.

His questioning gaze didn't leave the girl, and it seemed that it annoyed her. Aigo finally moved away from the entrance and came closer to the dragon. Her face showed confidence, but her body language betrayed a certain uneasiness.

"You're probably wondering why I came here when the project is over?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't sure if the mutant understood her, but she continued anyway. "I heard you claim to know our country, so it shouldn't surprise you that I'm not at school right now. We have a summer break, and I usually spend all my holidays here, away from the city. I guess you understand?"

While it was true that Donatello didn't know every phrase, he still caught the meaning of sentences. So he nodded slightly. Aigo, on the other hand, looked around the walls and ceiling with a critical eye, as if she were some overseer who had come to evaluate other people's work.

Meanwhile, the dragon allowed himself to think more about the girl. He couldn't figure out why she had come to the barn. The teenager hadn't explained that after all. She had only mumbled about the vacation. If she was a part of the team in any way, she had nothing to do anyway, as the project had been closed and only the people who looked after their scientifically created pet remained. Aigo was interested in biology and chemistry, and partly in technology. Could Morisaki have some next plans for Donatello that he hadn't mentioned yet?

"You must be surprised by my presence." The brunette took two steps closer. "But I didn't come here to do boring speeches." With that said, she uncrossed her arms and took a small plastic object from her shorts' pocket. "This is a muzzle remote control." The girl held up an oblong device the size of a large USB flash drive. "I'll take your muzzle off, and in return you won't burn me to death," she muttered in a low tone, keeping her seriousness. There was some kind of a threat in her voice.

If he had wanted, he'd have burnt her alive in a heartbeat, but what was the point? It would only make his situation worse. He himself decided that Aigo was still young, and her wonderful mind was still suitable for being rescued and put on the right track. So he nodded again, squinting slightly suspiciously.

The girl kept her word, and moments later the heavy metal muzzle slipped from the dragon's snout and fell to the hay with a dull thud. Donatello moved his head to the sides, shaking off the unpleasant feeling of being muzzled. He opened and closed his mouth several times, then exhaled quickly through his nostrils, almost snorting like a horse.

Aigo hastily put the remote in her pocket and took a step back.

"What did you came here for?" the dragon asked hurriedly.

"Officially? To get a close look on you."

"And unofficially?"

"If my uncle or anyone other than my aunt found out, I could say goodbye to my future career as a scientist." The teen sat cross-legged in front of the giant reptile, slouched slightly, put her right elbow on her knee and rested her cheek against her fist. "I have great biology and chemistry teachers and I'm doing fantastic with latest technological stuff. But I have a problem."

The mutant tilted his head again, frowning at the girl. If he wanted to become friends with her, he had to understand her better first. And she needed to get to know him better. "What problem?"

"To better combine all these disciplines together, I need extensive physics knowledge, and no one wants to teach me that."

Donatello's neck straightened, the reptile showing his genuine astonishment.

"I heard you claim to be a scientist?" Aigo raised her eyebrows. Receiving no reply, she added: "I want you to teach me physics. Think about it. We can help each other. From now on, no one will speak English to you. I could help you improve your Japanese, and in return you'd give me physics and math lessons."

He couldn't help the snort that escaped his throat. "I don't need a teacher. Knowing the basics of the language, all I need is listen to it to learn it better," he replied in broken Japanese.

"You've been listening long enough, and yet you made about five mistakes in that sentence," Aigo replied gloomily.

The dragon turned his head away for a moment, weighing his options. Aigo proposed a change in their relationship herself, and that was what he had wanted. He didn't need anything else in return. However, he couldn't just accept her offer without giving his own conditions, because that would be suspicious. He had to think of something fast before he screwed up.

"Very well then," he replied. "If you teach me, no secrets will be hidden from me. But it's not enough for physics and math lessons. And, since you can't understand physics in Japanese, how am I supposed to explain it to you in Japanese if I don't know such an advanced language?"

"That's why Professor Yuiragi has been helping me learn English for the last few months." The brunette erected her spine, showing Donatello her small but proud smile for the first time. "I think we will do well somehow, right?"

The dragon tapped his tail lightly on the hay, curving his snout in a dragon's smile. "Before we start, it'd be nice if you treated me more like a human being. Our bodies may be different, but our brains function the same."

"Actually, I barely treat you different than I treat other people." Aigo shrugged.

"So we can start with the fact that my name is not Ryū."

"Well." The brunette stood up and dusted off her shorts. "We can always start over. My name is Morisaki Aigo, I am Dr. Morisaki's niece." The girl bowed barely noticeably. After that she sat cross-legged again and rested her head on her hand. "You said your name was?"

The dragon's expression softened.

"Donatello."