*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Author's Notes: Here is chapter 32 of 'Slash's Revenge' and I must warn you, it's a little angsty.

Thank you so very much to all my readers, followers, and friends. I'm so truly grateful to every one of you. I feel incredibly blessed to get to do what I love and that is to write and share my passion with others. Thank you, again and again and again!

Okay, on with the story…

CJ

Chapter 32 – Deception

"Is he awake yet?" The shrill way Mikey kept posing this question was akin to a small child repeatedly asking 'Are we there yet' from the back seat of a vehicle.

Close to his wit's end, Leo's face adopted a grimace, but the disgusted expression was quickly contradicted by the obvious sadness in the leader's tone. "I'm afraid not, Mikey." Letting out a ragged breath, Leonardo lowered himself down onto the couch that encircled the pit of the lair. Off to his right, was April. To his left, was Mikey. Behind him, Raph looked to be going another ten rounds with the practice dummy, like he didn't know what else to do with himself.

He wasn't the only one…

Casey had gone home hours ago, clearly not cut out for the waiting business. Mikey wasn't faring much better. It was plain to see that he was getting more and more restless by the minute. Fifteen long hours had crawled by since Donnie had fallen asleep and the youngest turtle was definitely struggling to sit still while the family tried to pass the time.

"I don't get it. How can a guy who rarely ever sleeps be asleep for so long? Doesn't he realize we're all bored out of our minds?"

The insinuation that Donnie was being selfish by making them wait was almost laughable. Like they were the victims here. Leonardo couldn't help but to shake his head. His baby brother could turn virtually anything into a 'poor little Mikey' moment.

"He's been through a horrendous ordeal, Mikey. He needs time to recover. We have to be patient." Leonardo felt like a hypocrite, pointing out that his baby brother needed to be patient. It wasn't as though Leo had exactly been a fountain of strength this whole time.

"You know I suck at being patient, dude!" Folding his arms across his plastron, Mikey sullenly leaned against the back of the couch and puckered his lower lip out into a shameless pout.

If what Mikey had just said hadn't been overstating the obvious, Leo didn't know what was. "Oh, we know. Believe me, we know."

In response to his eldest brother's snide comments, Mikey let out a disdainful little snort and sunk his weight even further into the couch cushions.

For the first time in hours, Leo's mood lightened enough to allow a thin smile to form, but only for a split second or two. As soon as his gaze drifted back towards the dormitory area, his happy face descended into a sorrowful frown. It didn't seem right to smile so long as his genius brother was still hurting.

Poor Donnie…

Leonardo felt like he should return to his wounded sibling's side, but Master Splinter had specifically asked the eldest turtle to leave the room until he came back out to get him. It had seemed a bit strange to Leo that his father was essentially kicking him out, even when Donnie was still unconscious, but the leader hadn't questioned Sensei's motives at the time. The oldest brother had actually welcomed the chance to get up and move around for a while. But now that he was staring at Donatello's door from the outside, Leonardo found himself longing to go back.

The leader was half-tempted to go barging in there and demand to know what was going on, but he didn't want to suffer the wrath of Splinter. No turtle in their right mind would.

Leo just hoped that whatever was happening inside that bedroom was going to help bring his smartest brother back, because if Donnie didn't wake up soon, Mikey was going to drive them all nuts.

Donatello laid curled up on his side, back facing the door, his eyes sealed tightly shut. He could hear his father's voice gently trying to coax him into consciousness, but he refused to reveal that he was indeed awake. He just wanted to be alone right now. But he was never alone. The voices were always there…

Constantly reminding him…

"None of them care about you."

Constantly making him feel utterly worthless…

"They've left you for dead."

It hurt so very much.

He just wanted it stop…

"Please, look at me, my son."

While the wounded turtle continued to hide behind closed eyelids, Master Splinter loomed over his second youngest child with a heavy heart. His suspicions that Donatello was conscious were proving to be true. He could see the fresh tears glistening on Donatello's bruised cheeks. He could hear the shift in the boy's breathing, from slow and steady to short and irregular. He could sense the tension building in his son's already corded muscles.

"Donatello, I know you can hear me. You do not have to respond, but I need you to listen to me. You have not eaten anything in days. In order to regain your strength, you must consume something. Please, my son. Michelangelo brought you some homemade soup. I believe it is still warm."

Other than the occasional shudder and the rise and fall of his chest, Donatello was completely motionless underneath the thin veil of his blanket.

"All right, my son. I am going to step out of the room for a few minutes. Perhaps while I am away, you can try eating a little soup. If you do not, I fear we may have to find other means of providing you with proper nourishment. Is that what you want?"

Still stubbornly refusing to open his eyes, the injured turtle pressed his face deeper into his pillow, hoping to conceal the tears he couldn't control, but his father never missed a thing.

"Donatello, please."

Master Splinter's voice was soft and soothing, so it was easily drowned out by the gravelly voice that continued to echo inside Donnie's brain…

"Smart one, my shell! How many times do I gotta tell you? I'm your master now!"

"You can beat me all you want! I'll still never call you master!"

"Why? 'Cause you have that filthy rodent always telling you what to do? He doesn't give a crap about you. You're nothing but a disappointment to him. You think I didn't see the way he looked at you all the time? Like he regretted you were his son."

"That's a lie!"

"Is it? While your brothers are constantly stepping up and making him proud, you're constantly proving what a failure you are. I've seen you fight in those little practice sessions – always going down first. You're a terrible ninja. Your precious Master Splinter knows it. They all do."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what? Telling you the truth? You're weak. A disgrace to your family. Splinter doesn't even care enough about you to come looking for you."

"Wh – What?"

"That's right. He quit looking after the first night I took you. Just left you for dead. I'm sure he's happy you're gone."

"I'm not gonna fall for your lies!"

"Lies? Ha! If I'm lying, then why hasn't he found you yet, huh? You've all said it, time and time again. Splinter's the greatest ninja there is. So why isn't he here? If he's so great, why hasn't he tracked you down?"

"…"

"Oh, poor little Donnie boy. Nobody loves him. Not even daddy."

"S – Stop it!"

"Don't you worry, Donatello. I'll whip your sorry shell into shape. It'll be fun."

"No! NO! N – ahhhhhh!"

The memory nearly made Donnie cry out in agony, as he flashed back to being beaten with his own chain. Though he tried his best to hold still, his entire body started to shake from the phantom pain. Then, without warning, he suddenly felt something wrap around his upper arm, and for several horrifying moments, he was back in that place.

He was back with him…

As gentle as the touch had been, Donatello cowered away from the physical contact, curling himself up into a fetal position. All the while, his eyes stayed screwed tightly shut. This time, not to create the illusion of unconsciousness, but to protect himself from someone who wasn't there, despite the fact that the rational part of his brain kept telling him he was home. Not there.

A pitiful whimper, barely audible, made its way out of Donatello's throat, exposing his fear like an open wound for all to see.

Upon hearing and seeing his son's terrified reaction, Master Splinter quickly realized his error and pulled his paw away. Soon after, Donatello appeared to calm down, though his body was still racked by visible tremors.

"I am sorry, my son. I did not mean to frighten you. It is only me. Please, do not be afraid. I would never hurt you."

Donatello wanted so much to believe his father, but he kept hearing Slash's voice in the back of his mind…

"Splinter doesn't even care enough about you to come looking for you."

"You're nothing but a disappointment to him."

"You think if I would've taken the almighty, fearless leader, your dear old rat dad wouldn't have found him by now? He would've combed every inch of this city to find his precious Leonardo, but not you, Donnie boy. No, not you."

Just as Donatello was about to breathe out another whimper, Master Splinter's words finally cut through the dark cloud filling the genius turtle's head…

"Oh, my son. We are just so grateful to have you home. Every day you were away from us was more painful than the last. I love you very, very much, Donatello."

Though the wounded turtle still did not open his eyes, he did feel an unexpected sense of warmth wash over him, almost like someone had switched on a heat lamp directly above him.

These were not the words of a man who didn't care.

Nor were they the words of a man who regretted the genius turtle was his son.

They were the words of a devoted father. One that Donatello had always trusted with his life.

So why would Donnie believe a cold-blooded monster over the man that had raised him from a hatchling?

Still, the sad truth remained…

"You think if I would've taken the almighty, fearless leader, your dear old rat dad wouldn't have found him by now? He would've combed every inch of this city to find his precious Leonardo, but not you, Donnie boy. No, not you. He doesn't care a thing about you. No one does. That's the real reason why your family hasn't found you yet."

"How's it feel to know your family thinks so little of you, they've left you for dead?"

They never came for him.

They never came…

"I promise to be back in just a little bit, my son. I need to speak to your brothers for a moment. Please try to eat something. If not for me, do so for your younger brother. He would be most disappointed to discover you have not touched your soup."

When Donatello failed to react, a dejected Master Splinter turned and silently exited the room, heading straight for the main living space of the lair where he found April and his other three sons.

Sinking down onto the couch, Master Splinter let out a heavy sigh that instantly captured the attention of all four teenagers surrounding him. The many hours of waiting around had them all a bit on edge, but none more so than Raphael.

"What is it, Sensei?" Forgetting all about the practice dummy he had been pummeling for the past forty-five minutes, Raphael vaulted onto the couch so he could better read Sensei's expression. Once seated, the hothead didn't like what he saw. His father looked as though he was going to be sick. "Is Donnie okay?"

Master Splinter rubbed a paw against his aching forehead before answering in a somber tone. "That all depends on your definition of 'okay.'"

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" Now it was Leo's turn to question his father. The leader's sapphire-blue eyes doubled with worry as he once again stared off in the direction of Donatello's room. Something deep down inside had told Leo he should've stayed with Donnie.

Why hadn't the blue-masked turtle listened to his gut instinct?

"No, nothing happened, Leonardo. Therein lies the problem."

"'Therein?' Isn't that like a 'Lord of the Rings' character or something?"

The sound of the two eldest turtles slapping their foreheads was just slightly louder than the low groan that came from Master Splinter.

"What? It's a legitiment question!"

"Legitimate, my son."

"Yeah. That's totally what I meant!" Mikey grinned that silly, little lopsided grin that only he could master, but it did nothing to lighten the mood. Everyone was too caught up in concern to even notice.

"So is Donnie okay or not?" The bite in Raphael's tone warned his patience was almost nonexistent. He was a couple seconds away from completely losing his cool. He needed to know how his wounded brother was and he needed to know now.

"Yes, he is 'okay' physically, per se, but mentally is another story."

This immediately sparked April's interest and her large, blue eyes rose to meet Master Splinter's grief-stricken gaze. "Wait! Is he awake? Did he say something to you?"

"Yes… and no. Sadly, I believe Donatello is pretending to be unconscious so as to avoid interacting with us." Though he had tried to remain composed, there was no mistaking the pang of despair in Master Splinter's voice. He resented the fact that his intellectual son had been so stripped of his faith, the boy couldn't even bear the thought of facing his family. Master Splinter had to wonder just what kind of hateful lies Slash had filled his child's head with.

If Donatello refused to talk to them, how could they possibly begin to repair the damage that had been done?

"Why would he do that?" Leonardo seemed more offended than hurt by the revelation, as though Donatello had committed an act of high treason by deceiving them.

Raphael, the other hand, wore his hurt right there on his proverbial sleeve. "Isn't the answer obvious, Leo? He doesn't trust us."

"Then, we have to make him see that Slash is the one he can't trust. Not us."

"That is far easier said than done, Leonardo. Donatello's emotional state is extremely fragile right now. Until your brother opens up about his ordeal, we can only speculate what dreadful things were said and done to him."

"So how are we supposed to help him if he won't let us, Sensei?"

"That is a very good question, Michelangelo. I am open to suggestions. I tried to get him to speak to me to no avail. He refuses to open his eyes, nor will he eat anything."

"That's not cool! A dude's gotta eat. We can't just let him starve himself. What're we gonna do?" On the verge of tears, yet again, Mikey sunk his top teeth into his bottom lip to try to stop it from quivering out of control.

"If your brother does not start eating on his own, I am afraid we may have to take more forcible measures."

With a disapproving shake of his head, Raphael petulantly folded his arms across his chest. "What? Like shove food down his throat? I don't think that'll go over too well."

After all that Donatello had been through, the mere thought of force-feeding him made April's stomach turn. She was quick to offer a less aggressive solution. "Maybe we can try feeding him intravenously."

"Inter-Venus-ly? What does that mean?" Face crinkled in confusion, Mikey scratched the top of his bald head with a forefinger to better demonstrate his lack of understanding.

"Intravenously, Mikey. She means we should try feeding him with tubes." Raph's relatively calm answer was accompanied by a newly softened expression that Mikey hadn't anticipated from his hotheaded brother. If he didn't know any better, the youngest turtle would've sworn that Raph was trying to be –

Nice?

Nuh-uh. No way!

"I don't think that'll be necessary. If he's awake, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to convince him to eat. Donnie's a genius, so he understands the importance of proper nutrition. He just needs someone to talk a little sense into him is all." Pushing himself to up to his feet, Leo confidently volunteered for the task, bound and determined to get his injured brother to see logic.

Not surprisingly, Michelangelo was the next to volunteer. "I wanna go with."

April was about to chime in as well when Master Splinter held up a paw to wave her off. "Perhaps it would be best if just Leonardo went in right now. We do not want to overwhelm Donatello."

"But Leo was just in there! Why does he get to go?"

"Patience, Michelangelo. Let us give Leonardo some time alone with Donatello. Perhaps he will succeed where I failed."

"But if anyone's gonna get Donnie to eat something, it's gonna be me!"

"If Leonardo cannot convince him, you will have your chance, Michelangelo. I promise you that."

Figuring his baby brother wasn't going to let up any time soon, Leo decided to leave Master Splinter to deal with Mikey's barrage of questions. With Mikey conveniently distracted by his own self, the leader in blue quietly slipped out of the main living space and down the dormitory hall.

Once inside Donatello's bedroom, Leo quietly pushed the door shut behind him so as not to startle his wounded brother. The oldest turtle then tiptoed across the floor, making his way over to the bed where his second youngest brother still laid curled up in a ball underneath his blanket.

"Donnie? It's me, Leo." No sooner had the words parted from Leonardo's lips when he was already wincing over them. If what Master Splinter had said was true and Donatello was, in fact, faking his unconsciousness, Leo really didn't need to introduce himself. His genius brother knew darn well who he was.

"Donnie, I know you're awake. You can stop pretending now."

There was no response.

Leonardo was half-tempted to roll Donnie over and shake him until he opened his eyes, but he knew that would only further frighten his already traumatized brother. Donnie had been put through enough torment. Hence, the reason he was feigning being asleep. Leo needed to summon all his patience for his injured brother's sake. But that wasn't as simple as it seemed. Especially when Leo saw the untouched bowl of soup sitting atop the nightstand.

His younger brother was starving himself.

This had to stop!

"Please, just turn around and look at me, Donatello." Leo's tone was firm, but his genuine concern for his brother's well-being came shining through.

Still, nothing. Not even a twitch.

"You can't hide in your room forever, Donnie. I won't let you. I'll drag you out of here, kicking and screaming, if I have to."

A pitiful whimper sounded out, indicating Donatello was indeed listening.

It broke Leonardo's heart to hear his brother's sorrow.

"Donnie, you have to eat. Please! We didn't save you just to lose you."

Another whimper bordering on a sob sounded out; this one even harder to hear.

Tears rolled down Donatello's face as he finally spoke in a small voice that was brittle and tragic. "Not worth saving."

"Donnie, no. Don't say that." Leo nearly choked on his own breath while staring down at his younger brother who still flat-out refused to open his eyes. If anything, Donatello's eyelids were cinched shut even tighter than before, as if they could somehow shelter him from the pain.

Much to his dismay, they couldn't.

Nothing could.

"Just… Just leave me alone." Burying his face into his pillow, Donatello tried to hide the sloppy tears that continued to fall against his will. He cursed himself for showing such obvious signs of weakness, knowing he was only substantiating that he was, indeed, the frailest brother, but he couldn't help it.

Everything felt like it was falling apart.

"Donnie, please. I – "

"Just go."

With these gut-wrenching words, Leo turned to leave, not wanting to upset his wounded brother any more than he already had.

As the eldest turtle walked away, he could feel the tiny flame that had been burning inside of him start to grow, glowing bright red just like the brother's mask who had started the fire in the first place.

To be continued…

*More Author's Notes: I think it probably goes without saying that the next chapter is a rather dramatic one. I'm super excited to share it with everyone.

Please, if you are enjoying this story, I ask that you take a quick moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review and/or comment on it. I would love to hear from all of you. It's always nice to see who's still reading 32 chapters into to the story.

I hope you are all doing well and that you continue to stay safe. Thanks so much for reading.

Take care.

CJ