CHAPTER THREE
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Donnie and Mikey were both bored.
Because Donnie was bored, he decided to go to the library and slowly turn the pages on some old books he had read a million times. Because Mikey was bored, he decided to go to the library and annoy Donnie. Since one of them was just sitting there and the other couldn't sit still, Mikey soon found himself on the top rung of the library ladder exploring the titles of the room's oldest books.
"Hey Don, look at this!" Mikey shouted, pulling out books one by one, "There's a whole section on knights and heroes!"
"Uh huh." Don said, flipping a page, "One of our ancestors wrote them."
"Wait, really?" Mikey asked.
"Well, he hired people to write them." Donatello went back to his book.
"Huh. That's interesting, I guess." Mikey said, a little deflated because Donnie wasn't interested.
"Hey Don, when do you think Leo and Raph will be back?"
"Dunno, Mikey." Donnie responded.
"I wish we could have gone with them." Mikey said.
"Yeah."
Mikey slowly replaced the books onto the shelf, then paused.
"Hey Don," he said, "This book looks different."
"How so?" Donnie asked, without looking up.
"I dunno. It's got a picture. And it seems older, I guess." Mikey said, taking the small book off the shelf and down the ladder. "Look."
"Interesting cover," Donnie said, looking up briefly.
"Right?" Mikey said, getting excited, "I mean, it's actually got a picture on it!"
"They didn't usually make them like that." Don pointed out, still staring at the cover, "So that guy with the sword is the hero, right?"
"I guess," Mikey said, "It's kinda crazy that the sword is on fire."
"How would that work?" Donnie asked, taking the book, "I mean, I know it can be done, but what kind of chemicals-"
He opened up the book, entitled The Sword that Sneezes, and turned to the first page. Mikey sat down next to him to look over his shoulder.
"Donnie, look!" He shouted, pointing at the obvious.
On the very first page where the following words:
The following is a true account of the tale of the Sword that Sneezes. The King of the Turtle Palace, King TrueKing, created this sword not to conquer the innocent, but to protect the world.
"Look Donnie!" Mikey shouted, "It's a true story!"
"Come on Mikey," Donnie said, rolling his eyes, "It's obviously just a story."
"But Don, this is the Turtle Palace! Remember how the turtle is our symbol? King TrueKing must have been our ancestor!"
"Mikey, that's obviously a fake name." Donnie said.
"Oh yeah? Let's look that up!" Mikey said, rushing over to a pile of books in the corner, "Come on, Donnie! Isn't the list of Kings and stuff over here somewhere?"
"Well yeah," Donnie said, "But I've memorized the list. There's no-"
"Found it!" Mikey shouted, bending over a book that was already open, "Look at this, Donnie!"
He pointed to one of the names, and Donnie reluctantly walked over.
"Like I said, I've memorized them all." He said.
"But did you memorize their nicknames?" Mikey asked, "Look at this! King Titian IV had like, five nicknames, and one of them was King TrueKing!"
"So did this other King over here," Donnie said, pointing to another name.
"So that means it's real!" Mikey said, "Donnie, come on! Don't tell me you don't think one of our ancestors made a cool sword?"
"Well, I guess that could happen." Donnie said.
"So the sword's real!" Mikey said, "This is so cool! Come on, let's read the story of our hero ancestor!"
Grabbing Donnie's hand, Mikey pulled him back to the chair where the book was. Donnie rolled his eyes, but didn't protest.
"Come on come on come on," Mikey said, sitting Donnie down, "Let's keep reading!"
Donnie picked up the book to placate his younger brother-and maybe also to satisfy some of his own curiosity.
"The sword that sneezes," he read, "struck fear into the hearts of many evildoers throughout the country. Nay, not just the country, but the whole world."
Mikey was so excited he couldn't sit still, and was bouncing in his seat.
Donnie continued, "When King TrueKing retired and left the throne to his children, he buried his sword deep within his castle-"
"WHAT!" Mikey shouted, jumping up, "The sword that sneezes is here, in our home! Donnie, we've got to find it!"
"Mikey, calm down." Donnie said, rolling his eyes. "We don't know where the sword is. It's a big castle, and this book is really old. What if another ancestor found it already?"
He didn't think to tell his brother the sword might not even be real. The entire book was obviously just a fictional story.
Mikey took the book from Donnie's hands, and continued reading in a frenzy. "He buried his sword deep within his castle, in a place no one with evil intentions could ever hope to find. Only someone who cares deeply about the people and wants to make them happy will be able to find the first clue to its location. Clue! Donnie, it says there's a clue!"
Mikey triumphantly pointed at the words in the book.
"Look Donnie, it's got to be real! The book says there's a clue!"
Donnie looked at the book thoughtfully. "You know, you might be right Mikey." He said, changing his mind about the book, "Well, it doesn't hurt to try."
Mikey shouted happily, and then gently placed the book onto the table.
"Right," Donnie said, "First things first. There's got to be some clue here about how to find the first clue."
"We already know how, Donnie." Mikey said, rolling his eyes, "We have to make them happy. So, that means we'll have to make them laugh."
"Laugh? But how will that reveal the first clue?" Donnie asked.
"Let's worry about that later." Mikey said.
Donnie thought for a moment, then shook his head to clear it. "Alright," he said, "But if we're going to make the subjects laugh, there's probably some place we have to do it. Here, let's see if we can find a clue in the book."
He reached over and flipped through the pages.
"Donnie, stop!" Mikey said, stopping him with one hand on his wrist, "You're missing all the pictures!"
"Pictures?" Donnie said, "Right! It must be in the pictures!"
He flipped back to the first picture of a giant. The two of them stared at it for a while.
"You know, it's a little weird that the first picture in the book isn't the sword." Mikey commented.
"It's just a giant. Seems pretty normal for a story like this." Donnie said.
"Wait. Donnie, what are the other pictures?" Mikey asked.
Donnie flipped through. "An enemy armada, a tree of the forest, the entrance to an enemy city, oh hey here's the sword now-"
"Stop." Mikey said seriously, "The clue is in all the pictures before the sword! It has to be!"
Donnie decided to just roll with it.
"So, what do they all have in common?" He asked.
The two brothers poured over the pictures. There was nothing in the background of any of the pictures at all, so there was no clue there. There weren't super tiny words hidden in any of them, or a picture of anything hidden in the drawings.
"I've got it!" Donnie shouted, "It's not in the pictures. The pictures themselves are the clues!"
"What do you mean?" Mikey asked.
"Look!" Donnie said, pointing at each picture as he flipped the pages, "A giant, an armada, a tree, and an entrance. G, A, T, E! It's the palace gate!"
"You're right!" Mikey said, jumping up, "Come on, bro. Let's gather as many soldiers and people by the entrance and make them all laugh so we can find the next clue!"
"Right!" Donnie said, "Mikey, you go get ready to entertain. I'll get the palace soldiers and citizens together."
"Got it!" Mikey said, and the two of them set off on their self-created adventure.
Within the hour, an urgent message came to King Splinter as he sat in his throne room.
"Your majesty," the messenger said, kneeling respectfully. "Forgive me for interrupting your time with the people's grievances, but this is an urgent matter."
"What is it?" King Splinter asked, waving his hand meaningfully. Instantly the room was emptied of everyone except the messenger, for privacy.
"It is regarding your two sons," the messenger began.
"Leonardo and Raphael?" Splinter asked, frowning. Had they come into trouble already? It hadn't even been a full day yet.
"No, your majesty. I speak of His Highness Donatello and His Highness Michelangelo."
The King frowned in confusion. He understood Michelangelo getting into trouble, but Donatello as well?
"Their royal highnesses are presently engaged in providing entertainment for the soldiers and the people," the messenger said, "For which we are of course eternally grateful. However, they are blocking the palace gate so that no one may enter or leave the city. Several patrol units are late for their scheduled rounds."
The King wasn't sure he entirely understood what his sons were thinking, but he stood up and began walking silently out of the room. Palace guards and important advisors joined in step with him as soon as he walked out of the main hall and the castle.
Mikey and Donnie were currently dancing and playing instruments in the center of the gate with their backs to the palace, so they didn't see their father until he was directly behind them. The people and soldiers did see him though, and stopped laughing. To clarify, they loved their king very much. They only stopped laughing out of respect for him, so the smiles never left their faces.
"Dad!" Mikey shouted as he turned around, looking very happy, "What do you think? Am I good?"
"You are doing very well, my son," Splinter said, even though he had no idea what it was that Mikey thought he was doing, "However, I have received a report that you both are disturbing the flow of traffic through the gate. My sons, while I encourage you to have fun, I ask that you do so elsewhere."
"Understood, Father." Donnie said, his face falling.
Splinter didn't like to see that, so he stuck out his hand and rubbed Donnie's head before turning to leave. Although Donnie acted embarrassed, Splinter knew that he secretly liked it.
"Thank you all for coming out today!" Mikey shouted, turning to the crowd. He did a couple of tricks with a ball while he dispersed the crowd.
"Maybe the sword that sneezes is just a fairy tale after all," Donnie whispered to Mikey, "I thought it was too good to be true."
"Or maybe we got the clue wrong." Mikey spoke back.
"Or maybe we made fools of ourselves." Donnie whispered.
As the King walked away, so did his entourage. The palace guards and advisors turned and followed him, but one of the older advisors walked up to Donnie and Mikey.
"Ah, young princes!" He said, "I want to thank you for your deed today. I have never seen the Palace Gates so happy."
"Huh?" Mikey asked.
"Palace gates?" Donnie asked.
"You see the color of the gate?" The advisor said, pointing, "If you pay attention, those gates change color based on the mood of the people. I have never seen such a beautiful shade of green."
The two brother looked over, and discovered that the city gates were in fact a deep green.
"In times of unrest," the advisor said, "The gates are more cold, an unfeeling stone grey. I thank you both for bringing us all happiness."
The advisor turned and walked away. Mikey and Donnie looked at each other, and raced towards the gate.
"Donnie, what's going on? Is it magic?" Mikey asked.
"No, it's science!" Donnie said, investigating the wall of the gate, "I'm not exactly sure how it works, but this whole gate is made out of something that picks up on moods. We did it, Mikey! We found the first clue!"
"Donnie, look!" Mikey said, "This isn't all green. There are lines of grey all over the place. Too bad they're not words, though."
"They probably disappear when the gate is grey, so you can't see them unless the people are happy. Those lines must be the next clue to the sword!" Donnie said, "Quick, Mikey! Get me something to draw them with! We've got to write them down before the gate goes back to normal!"