#siw raph

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 14 - Only a Teacher, Never a Father

For most of Mikey’s childhood, Splinter’s bedroom solely remained ‘off limits’ to the brothers. And on the rare occasion that they did find themselves in the mysterious nook, it was most likely for the purpose of awaiting a punishment. Despite the soft, crimson carpet and the smoky scents of flickering candles spread out the room, the space never felt warm. Even the majesty of the hand-painted mural on the wall did nothing but remind them just how small they truly were. 

Mikey winced at the sensation of sweat seeping into his jittering palms, his darting turquoise irises finding their home everywhere except his father’s face. He was sure he’d picked and pulled at every stray thread on his hand wraps, causing the ends to fray. He couldn’t help it! Energy always had a special place in his soul, usually stemming from joy, laughter, or a good beat. But the adrenaline causing his palms to become the ickiest of slip-n-slides was foreign and very much unwelcome. 

He hated not knowing what to do. And when he was unsure, he would fidget; That was something he could pour the nervous energy into, by twiddling with his fingernails, picking at dry skin, or pulling and twirling material around his fingers. Sure, it would leave his wraps a glorified ball of yarn encasing his arms, or his nails would get a little too short, but it was better than catching himself spouting off random words in a chaotic mess that barely resembled a sentence. They had Don for that, and the youngest would never steal an iconic habit from his temperamental, genius brother.

The stress building inside of the youngest wasn’t helped at all when he saw how his older brother had handled training. Raph was rarely one to make a verbal sound during exercising, always keeping his pain just as secret as his bleeding heart. So it really threw Mikey for a loop when his fiery brother had not only groaned loud enough to be heard, but had also somehow injured himself before a spar even broke out. It twisted the youngest’s tender heart when he saw his tough brother whimper through the pain that had pulsed through his arm. And when Mikey had asked what happened, his older brother bit his lip and shoved his discomfort back into unseen shadows. Just like always.

 After Splinter had caught them talking, things just went downhill from there. The dojo became as silent and cold as falling snow as they finished their stretches and tumbles. Not a single diss was given from Raph as the brothers exercised, which twisted Mikey’s brain and gut even more; Instigation and insults were as common as bruises in their home. Especially in the room where they trained and sparred. So that further proved to the youngest how unwell his fiery sibling really was.

A determined scowl grew on the youngest’s face.

He’s got another thing coming if he thinks this is over. Soon as I’m done here I’m gonna drag his berry-hued butt to Sensei. Or Leo. Maybe both.

“Ahem.” 

Mikey flinched at the seemingly calm and patient sound that rumbled through his father.

Oh crud. I totally got lost in my head again.

“S-Sorry, Dad!” The youngest whimpered, as he straightened his posture and did his best to give his full attention to his waiting sensei. He purposefully placed his hands at his sides, hoping that would be enough to keep himself from picking at his wraps. With a forced breath he lowered his shoulders as his father knelt down in front of him. Mikey inwardly struggled not to rise up and help his aged sensei when the master let out a strained grunt as he knelt on the mat.

“Now that I have your undivided attention,” Master Splinter spoke with faded brows raised and the glimmer of an amused smile, “We can finally begin. Firstly, I will start by telling you that you are not in trouble.” 

Mikey couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the news. “Oh, good! PHEW!” He nervously laughed, dramatically swiping his hand across his forehead and flicking off beads of sweat.

“Yes.” Splinter softly chuckled along, most likely attempting to soothe the frayed nerves of his youngest son. “There is nothing necessarily wrong, but there are… changes that will soon be happening to you.” 

His father’s gentle but worrying words felt like a stone with soft, smooth edges but a staggering weight hidden within. Part of Mikey wished his father just acted like Raph sometimes, and replaced the babying tones with iron, blunt force. At least that way the pain would be over quicker, and the youngest wouldn’t be left anxiously waiting for the bombshell to go off.

He tried to swallow the girthy stone of his father’s words, nearly making him choke as he squeaked, “What do you mean by ch-changes?” He asked cautiously, waiting for the rock in his gut to become a stick of dynamite.

His father’s face shifted, conflict pulling taut every wrinkle. Mikey unknowingly tensed as a decision was made behind his sensei’s mossy irises.

“I shall start with where you are in your training.”

Oh. That’s it? Really??

“That’s it?” Mikey asked, bringing volume to his inner thoughts without realizing it. A stern glare from his father silenced both his mind and his words.

“No, it is just where we will start.” Splinter corrected with a subtle twitch of wavering patience from one of his ears. “Do you recall what your older brothers did when they turned thirteen? How their training and passions intensified?”

��Uh… That’d be a nope.

“Um… Not really, Sensei…” Mikey admitted, his gaze straying to the floor. “I was kinda in my own world back then.”

It was true. He’d always been a bit more of an “airhead” as Raph so gently put it. When he was a kid, his world consisted of drawing, singing, and watching movies. When he wasn’t doing those, his time was put into schoolwork and hanging out with his brothers. 

Things didn’t begin to change until Leo and Raph turned eleven and twelve; One fateful day they both emerged from Sensei’s room, Leo sobbing and Raph bleeding from a deep cut across his right eye.

Ever since that accident their father changed; Bed times became more strict, schoolwork was watched with a prying eye, and laughter became scarcely heard from their dad’s mouth. He especially became really hard on Leo, pulling him aside all the time for Bible Study and training rather than allowing the oldest to just… be a kid. There was no doubt that Leo had messed up that day when he cut Raph, but part of Mikey really wondered if Sensei had gone too far with the rigorous spiritual and physical exercises he had put the eldest through. 

If Mikey could look through his oldest brother’s eyes, would he see Splinter as Father, or would he only be known as Master?

“Mm.” Splinter thoughtfully hummed as he began stroking his beard, “It is true you were not the most observant of my students… Which is part of what makes it further frustrating when your raw talent is squandered with childish behaviors. If you truly put your all into your studies and training, I could one day see you as a master yourself.”

Mikey’s posture struck rigidly at the combination of his father’s insult and compliment as if he were hit by a flash of lightning. “T-Thanks?... I think?” He shrugged, dazed from the aftershock.

Master Splinter sighed as his ears drooped. This was not going according to plan at all. “The purpose of my words, Michelangelo, is not to uplift, but rather determine.” He stated, lighting a spark on the wick of dynamite wedged between Mikey’s heart and lungs. “Like your brothers, you will soon have to decide a role in your team. Can you recall the positions they chose?” 

The flickering sparks traveling through Mikey’s gut made his heart rate pulse uncomfortably. He had to make a conscious effort to not grip his chest to slow it down, for fear of revealing his anxieties to his already patience-challenged sensei. Regardless of the discomfort attacking his body, he tried his best to push through. 

“Uh, let’s see… Leo obviously chose Team Medic and Leader,” The youngest recalled, tapping one of his fingers as if counting, “... I’m gonna say Raphie went with Team Tough Guy?” He asked mischievously, as he tapped a second finger.

“Not quite.” Splinter monotoned, as he softly shook his head. “Raphael chose the role of Team Strategist. You out of everyone in this household are aware of his skills in recognizing weak points, as well as always being aware of his surroundings.”

Fair. The jerk’s gotten way harder to sneak attack thanks to his newly found spidey-sense…

“Yeah, he can always tell if you busted your ankle or slept on your neck wrong-” Mikey drawled, swaying his head, “- and then he’ll wait till you’re out of breath or distracted to deliver the final blow like BAM!” He shouted, emphasizing the onomatopoeia by slamming his hand into his opposite palm.

“Yes…” Splinter hesitantly agreed with another tired sigh, rubbing at the fur below his graying eyes. “Which is why he now plays the strategist of the team. And what about Donatello? What role did he choose?”

“Haha, probably Team Egghead.” Mikey spouted jokingly, to which his father responded by releasing another, heavier sigh.

“Michelangelo…” The great Master exhaled, his patience now wearing as thin as the frayed strings hanging from Mikey’s arm wraps.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist!” The youngest weakly defended, quickly scrambling to reach and catch his train of thought. “I bet he chose to play Team Tech Wizard or something like that? Oh wait! Is Team Brain a thing?”

“That’s…” Another exhausted sigh huffed through Splinter’s nostrils. “...Close enough. Yes, your brother became the Brain of the group, using his intellect and common sense to guide his team through difficult decisions and situations.”

Mikey paused, letting all the information settle and flutter back down to solid ground. “So… what’s left?” He asked, genuinely considering the fact that his brothers took the best jobs offered on the team.

“The choice you must make does not depend on the options, my student. It depends on who you are becoming, and where your best qualities lie.” Master Splinter corrected, his tone heavy with the seriousness of a samurai, but soft with the care of a loving teacher. “I could already tell what roles your brothers would choose far before I began training them. It was evident through their individual skills and souls.”

Mikey shifted where he knelt, continuing to make a conscious effort to focus on the words being told to him no matter how heavy, serious, and scary they were becoming. “How could you tell?” He asked timidly, afraid his father would chide him for not knowing the answer himself.

Instead of judgment or annoyance billowing onto his father’s expression, there came a gentle, reminiscing smile.

 “Your brothers made it very easy. Donatello has always been a logical soul, seeking knowledge for the purpose of winning arguments or protecting himself from anything that would harm him or his philosophies. I would catch him late at night with his nose buried into the pages of a book, even as a toddler. This natural yearning for knowledge pushed him to grow academically.”

“That’s why he was able to get a job, right? Cause he was smart?” Mikey asked, though this time he did already know the answer.

The soft expression gracing his father’s face twisted, whiskers twitching as the Master scrunched his nose. “Your brother earned his profession by his cleverness just as much as his intelligence. He succeeded in deceiving the eyes of his employer… as well as me.” His brows descended, creasing with conviction. “Had I known what he was up to I would’ve put a stop to it.”

“Why? Doesn’t he pay for a bunch of stuff? Why wouldn’t you want money?” The youngest inquired, confusion clear in his large irises and tilting head.

“It was not about the income.” Splinter replied, his voice withering. “Truly, we do need the money if we are to continue eating a healthier diet, but I am still wary of the dangers of being revealed to the-”

“-Wait.” The youngest interjected with a raised hand, his expression turning sour and offended. “Are you seriously telling me that the only thing Don gets with his money is VEGETABLES?!”

Another, long, exhausted sigh weaseled out of his father. “Yes, Michelangelo. If it weren’t for the hard work of your brother we would solely be living off of the dry, stale pastries from the bakery down the street.”

“Why’s that a bad thing?!” Mikey burst out, his hands waving in all directions like the stray sparks of a firework. “Those snacks are so good! Why give em’ up for… for…” Mikey failed to hold back a sudden gag, “-Healthy stuff??”

The wrinkles etched into the great Master’s face suddenly became more prominent.

“As I and Donatello have been trying to convince you of for the last thirteen years- you, my son, need vegetables in your diet. Living off of baked goods will not equip your body with the nutrients it needs.”

Mikey’s offended expression smoothed out to be more placid as he huffed, “That’s why you eat the pastries with the fruit filling. Duh!”

“We are getting off topic.” Splinter deadpanned, his pointed ears dropping lower with every second that passed.

“Okay, suuure,” Mikey hesitantly retreated despite his strong feelings on the matter, “Don’s always been a nerd and Raph’s always had a good eye at spotting weakness, but what about Leo? With how stressed out he is all the time, it’s hard to imagine he chose to be Team Medic and Leader…”

…It’s almost like he was forced to. Mikey silently finished in his mind.

With how hard their father became on the oldest, it really wouldn’t come as a surprise if in the end Splinter just decided to pawn off the positions on Leo, whether he wanted them or not.

“Your oldest brother was not so obvious in his skills, but over time it became clear to me by Leonardo’s tenderness and care that he would make an excellent healer.” Splinter admitted after taking a moment to think. “How he would dress you and your brothers’ wounds after training, or would always have a first-aid kit nearby, it made it obvious to me of his skills in caretaking for his family.”

That tracked. As far back as Mikey could remember, his oldest brother was always standing nearby, bandages and hugs at the ready. It didn’t matter if the boogeyman appeared in the shadows of a dark room, or if you scraped your hands raw sliding down rope. Leo was always there, ready to help and heal what had been hurt. 

A slight twinge in the youngest’s right ankle forced him to reposition on his mat as a faint mist of guilt draped across his heart.

No matter how many times I’ve messed up, Leo’s always been there.

 “Despite the anxieties that drown your brother constantly, he is always able to do what needs to be done.” Splinter continued, his thin voice slowly gaining strength.

Mikey thought back to the moment when Leo told him how Lotus’ surgery went, or rather how it had quickly gone dreadfully wrong. A pang of sympathy burst in his heart when he saw the shadows under his oldest brother’s eyes, the trembling of his gloved hands, and the telltale weight of crushing guilt weighing his shoulders down. His brother’s haunted words echoed back like the whispers of a ghost.

“She felt… everything.”

Not only had the oldest been forced to do a surgery for the first time, but he did it alone. The pressure that Leo always carried to be perfect and do his best must’ve flattened him once he realized the mistake he had made. However, Mikey had made it clear to him what happened was just a really bad accident. 

He was still waiting to see if the oldest had accepted that fact or not.

“As for his bestowed role of Leadership,” Splinter went on, “that came to be as naturally as his birthright of eldest. From a very young age, Leonardo would always pester and direct you and your brothers. Even when you would play together, he would give you the imaginary roles you were to act out. And you all, not quite having wills of your own yet, would willingly take his commands.”

Mikey couldn’t help the grin blossoming on his face as those warm memories filled his vision and steadied his heart. “Haha… yeah, I remember those days.” He said with a gentle fondness of the times long past, when life was just a little less complicated.

 “It filled my heart when I watched him guide you all, protecting you from unknown dangers and becoming a foundation you could rely on.” Master Splinter reminisced with a similar smile. Then the vibrance decorating his aged face faded, a troubled expression quickly taking its place. “But, as with all strengths and skills, it all depends on how you harness them… I wish I had been quicker to recognize that Leonardo’s leadership had twisted into manipulation.” An unseen weight pressed down on the Master’s shoulders as he hid his face within his palm.

Mikey’s irises shrank as his eyes widened in surprise, his breath stuttering in his throat. “Th-That can’t be true.” He whispered in unbelief, brows creased and a slight quiver to his lip. “Leo wouldn’t trick us like that!”

“By God’s grace and teaching, he doesn’t anymore.” His father replied, words heavy with exhaustion. “But for far too many years he would use you and your brothers to do his bidding, getting Donatello to secretly finish his homework, or causing Raphael to lose his temper so he would be forced to his room, leaving the television solely to the eldest.” 

That… can’t be right. 

“But, Sensei… I don’t remember any of that! Are you totally sure?” Mikey asked, trying to keep his voice from going too high and causing another embarrassing squeak.

His father lowered his hand revealing his weary face. “The worst of sins, my son, are the ones done in secret, to the point where even the bearer does not know what they are doing.”

“No, that- that isn’t right!” Mikey defended, passion to defend clear in his growing tone, “You just don’t know him! The Leo I know wouldn’t do that! He’s always been kind and caring and c-compassionate!”

“-Michelangelo.” Splinter warned, his voice low and singed at the edges.

“-No!” Mikey cried, his tongue sharpening as his words continued to point accusing fingers, “No, you’ve never seen the true Leo. You just think of him as -as something you need to fix!”

His father’s irises shifted, a hardness suddenly overtaking the moss-like hue. In an iron tone demanding resolution of the subject he stated,

“Sacrifices had to be made for the good of your brother’s soul.”

… Even if that means you stole someone’s childhood from them? 

That they’re always stressed and worried that they’re not enough? 

That they can’t ever FORGIVE THEMSELVES?

Mikey’s fingers curved into fists as a small, dark seed began to sprout within him. His gaze fell to the floor, dragged down not by guilt but something else; Something planted and sharp like a thorn crawling its way up a rose.

“That’s not enough reason to break him!” The boy’s fists began to shake as he remembered the dedication forced into his oldest brother, and how through the years it wore Leo down. Where once a mischievous and silly boy played, now stood a teen with anxiety and pressure; Always building and never soothed.

All by the hands of his sensei.

 His father.

Just say it. 

“... Why did you train him instead of love him?” Mikey hissed, his turquoise irises igniting with anger like heat fueling the rays of the sun.

The hurt bleeding into his Sensei’s eyes was quickly flashed over by a flame of indignation.

“Michelangelo.” The great Master’s voice rumbled in whispered threat like a storm brewing in the distance. “Do not act as if you understand the decisions I have been forced to make as teacher and father. Your brother chose that road himself, and I had to discipline him accordingly. Leonardo was traveling down a path of selfishness, and it needed to be pulled from its root.” 

The flame of his father’s words burned the youngest like a branding iron on delicate skin. The dark seed within him was engulfed by the blaze instantly, leaving nothing but ash and fear. Guilt and shame quickly followed, rattling Mikey’s body like the turbulence of a fierce gale. His jaw fell slack, hanging from his chin and gathering spit. His turquoise irises were nothing but pinpricks trembling at the kindled anger burning within his father’s words. 

“Dad, I-I’m…” Mikey choked out, finally grasping his purloined breath and voice. His hands trembled in his lap as his face burned with shame. He whimpered, bowing his head in a silent plea for forgiveness. His eyes squeezed shut, no longer able to stomach his father’s wounded expression. “I’m s-sorry.” 

Another sigh, this time steadying and cleansing, left his father. A calloused but soft palm again planted itself onto Mikey’s quivering shoulder, causing a small jolt out of the distressed child as he raised his head. 

“I forgive you, my son.” His father’s voice gently soothed, the flame within still flickering but nearly quenched. “But I never want you to speak to me like that again. Am I understood?”

“H-Hai.” Mikey squeaked, his voice pulled thin from the guilt and shame tugging at both ends of his windpipe.

An uncomfortable silence sucked the life out of the room, leaving Mikey and his father in an awkward limbo, neither knowing what to do or how to save the conversation. Instinctively, Mikey began to pick at his nails as he pushed back the brimming tears in his eyes.

Dad’s never yelled at me like that before… 

The unnerving chill of discipline loomed in the air, causing a slight shiver through the youngest.

Finally, thankfully, Master Splinter spoke up. “I need you to be thinking and praying about what position you shall take on your team. You will not be allowed on any missions until your decision is made. Is that clear?”

Mikey silently nodded, his expression scrunched and movement slow; The charred burns from his father’s words still stung the child’s heart, leaving him uncharacteristically speechless and still. 

“There is some good news as well.” Splinter added with brows raised, “After your role on the team has been chosen… you will be allowed to pick your very own weapon.”

Mikey’s picking fingers froze instantly.

Wait, WHATTT???

“Dude- er- Dad- WHAT?! I’m gonna get my own sword or bow? Aw, SHELL YEAH!” Mikey cheered, his signature grin returning in all its bright glory. He leapt off his mat, prancing around the room, kicking and punching into the air with an invisible weapon. “H-YAH! HEEYAH!”

When Mikey caught the gaze of his father’s regretful eyes he stopped prancing around, returning to his mat sheepishly. “Haha… Sorry…” He shrugged, still wearing his shining smile.

On the outside, Mikey was using every acting skill he knew to appear calm. But on the inside was a different story.

LET’S GOOO!!! I’m gonna FINALLY go on missions too!!! HAHA YES! No more hanging back at the lair~ I’ll officially be part of the team! Well- Okay, I still gotta pick a role, but it can’t be that hard, right? I just gotta go with my gut! My personality and soul~  

…Okay, how do you figure out what kind of soul you got? Do you just describe yourself and go from there?  I can do that! Okay, I’m bright, and cheery, and fun, and optimistic.

So… what role would be best for someone with the personality of the sun?...

Hmm.

…This might not be as easy as I thought…

“Michelangelo Hanten, are you listening to me?” 

Oh Frosted Flakes I did it again.

“S-SORRY!!” Mikey cried out, raising his hands defensively in front of his face. It offered him a clear view of his hand wraps- frayed and worn.

GUHH MAN! Another set of wraps ruined! DANG IT!

“Now…” Splinter huffed, the annoyance on his face quickly shifting to uncomfortable dread, “There is… one more matter we have to… discuss.” 

Mikey couldn’t help but tilt his head, his brows slanting in question at the sudden strange behavior from his sensei. Master Splinter always spoke and moved with precision and dignity, never slurring his words or tripping on a single step. So at the sight of his master becoming tense and shifting in his seat, it really made Mikey start to freak out again.

“Okay?…” The youngest whimpered.

Master Splinter cleared his throat, straightening his robe with soft swipes of his hands. “Now um…”

Master Splinter just said “um”.

 It’s the END OF THE FRIGGIN’ WORLD. EH- EH- EH- ABORT! ABORT!

“... There comes a time in every person’s life when their body…”

What’s happening?

 “...begins...”

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

 to change.”

Mikey’s eyes widened, a look of growing dread smearing his once excited smile like rain over chalked pictures. Without realizing it, his body’s natural response to his growing distress and embarrassment was to begin pulling his head into his shell.

Now he knew why Raph was laughing.

ABORT! ABORT! SAVE YOURSELFFF!!!

Anddd that's all for this chapter! XD

A lot of you had commented your theories of what Splinter had to talk to Mikey about, (most of you landing on the dreaded TALK from a parent), but I wanted to do just a bit more than that in this chapter. :) In my story, each of the brothers had to go through this rite of passage with Splinter when they turned thirteen. Splinter, being the wise master that he is, chose to begin "the TALK" with more pleasant news to keep his sons calm and less nervous. His hope was to excite his sons with the choosing of their roles and weapons and then... eventually deliver the SLEDGEHAMMER of discussing other certain aspects of growing up that aren't so pleasant...

(Also what Mikey said yelled to Splinter about being so hard on Leo- I may or may not have just been using him as a microphone to voice my own scolding of how Splinter, *COUGH* 2012 *COUGH* , is normally shown to treat the oldest of his sons. Like- bro- HE'S MORE THAN JUST A STUDENT, DANG IT. Yes, there are times where we got to see a more gentle side of the ratman, but CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH- Okay rant over... XD)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reblog!

A BIG THANK YOU TO @poetique823 for reviewing and critiquing my chapter! <3

@indieyuugure @writer-in-wonder @allyheart707 @oddartistl3 @risebabyx2 @joyjoygorl @carrots-bear @imagionationstation @howtotrainyourdragonprince @jasminegazer @brightonstudios @ninjaturtlefan-dee @rottmntlover14 @eggbem @lydjachan @sashatrout @chaosborb

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, comment down below! (That way when I post the next chapter you'll get the notification!)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[brightonstudios]

Guys please check out @truths33k3r4 comic it's absolutely amazing. The high quality art paired with an incredible and captivating story is just insane! That ending to book one had me on the edge of my seat! I can't wait to see what happens next!

[writer-in-wonder]

hi! here's my masterlist :)

Here are all of my complete fics I've written! Just context: reader is written as a person in her early 20's. It is strictly platonic as she is a little sister figure to MCU characters. Strictly found family and platonic. :)

asks are currently open! i feel a lil uninspired so i thought i'd open asks as i work on two new fics - just send me a question or comment and i’ll answer! can be about my writing, marvel, other fandoms, getting to know me, life, etc. :)

requests are not fully open as i don’t have lots of time to write and wouldn’t want people waiting for the post, if that makes sense. but you all are welcome to send ideas you might have and i can make note of them!

currently writing: “nightmare” - Bucky and the Wilson family help reader in the aftermath of a bad dream.

tmnt:

TMNTember day 8: bribing a tattle-tale sibling (SIW Turtles)

When Raph, Donnie, and Leo make a hole in the wall playing ball, they have to figure out how to make sure Mikey won't tell Splinter (this is the Day 8 prompt from the TMNTember challenge with the Strength in Weakness TMNT AU from @truths33k3r4 !)

mcu:

post-tfatws

just talk to me, kid (samxplatonic!reader)

Reader is stressed and Sam can tell. So, of course, he tries to help. If only she would open up.

no one likes a showoff (samxplatonic!reader)

Sam loves working for the family business, but reader honestly kinda hates it.

academic weapon? (samxplatonic!reader buckyxplatonic!reader)

Sam and Bucky try to reason with reader as she fights to be an academic weapon.

mango smoothie (samxplatonic!reader buckyxplatonic!reader)

Reader gets a filling at the dentist and Sam and Bucky take care of her.

april fools (samxplatonic!reader buckyxplatonic!reader)

AJ and Cass convinced reader to help them pull an April Fools prank on Bucky and this is the aftermath.

night no. 3 (buckyxplatonic!reader)

Buck has another nightmare.

pre-thunderbolts

D.C. visit (buckyxplatonic!reader)

Bucky doesn't want the reader anywhere near his work as a Congressman in D.C. So why is she sitting on his couch? How did she even get in?

bucky vs. brainrot (samxplatonic!reader buckyxplatonic!reader)

Bucky has his first Congressman goof and the internet makes him regret it.

the first step (sam x platonic!reader)

Sam finds the reader on the boat in the middle of the night. What is she up to?

post-thunderbolts

so much better (thunderbolts (john, yelena, alexei)xplatonic!reader)

The team finds out reader is talking to a boy. Chaos ensues.

who’s landon? (thunderbolts (john, yelena, bucky, alexei) x platonic!reader

Alexei, Bucky, and John freak out when they see you sobbing, but there’s more to the story.

father’s day alexei x platonic!reader yelena x platonic!reader

You give Alexei one of those cheesy Father’s Day gifts.

incorrect quotes:

people who do not live here

bucky for congress

game night

grandpa

band-aids

the energy for this

headcannons/headcannon lists:

mamma mia

john’s acts of service

mac and cheese and alexei

being a little sister figure to joaquin torres

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 11- A Sun, A Moon, and a Misunderstanding

Normally when someone woke up early, they would be warmly greeted by the soft rays of sunshine peeking through the window, or perhaps the cheerful melodies of a bird singing their song…

But for a mutant teenager with tendencies to sleep through alarms, that was not the case.

Mikey jolted upright after getting pelted by Raph’s pillow.

“IF YOU DON’T GET UP, I’M GONNA SMEAR BACON GREASE ALL OVER YOUR PAINTIN’.” Raphael warned in his ‘it’s WAY too early for this’ tone.

Raph was a lot of things: hot-headed, passionate, cool but rude… but a bluffer he was not.

Mikey launched himself off his bunk bed just as Raph began reaching for one of the many slabs of bacon decorating his black and red-rimmed plate. Landing perfectly, the youngest cheerily jogged up to his fiery brother with an impossibly large grin for such an early hour.

“G’morning to you too, Raph.” He sarcastically greeted, despite the stretched yawn cracking his jaw. “Sleep well?”

Raphael turned towards him with a piece of bacon between his fangs and unenthusiastic expression dragging down his face.

“... It wasn’t exactly a peaceful slumber, Mike.” He grumbled before chewing and swallowing the steamy slices of smoked meat. 

Oh… right…

“Ooooh yeah…” Mikey hissed through his teeth as he remembered the events of the night before. He rubbed at the slight ache in his neck. “I hope uh… I hope Don’s doing better now…” 

Raph’s expression softened. “Yeah… I hope so too, little brother.” He whispered as he reached an arm out and wrapped it around Mikey’s shoulders. Mikey quietly hummed as he leaned further into his big brother’s touch. “I think he’ll be fine. He’s a tough guy. Just needs some time to get over what… happened. Probably wouldn’t hurt to pray for him too, hmm?”

Mikey nodded with a smile beginning to spread across his lips. “Yeah… yeah, I can do that.” 

“Good.” Raph grunted as he finished off another slice of bacon, licking the smears of grease off his fingers. “Now get your sorry shell into the kitchen before Sensei has your head.” He spoke sternly, as his grip around Mikey’s shoulders rose to wrap around his neck in a playful gesture that all youngest siblings knew well.

“-GAHK- RAPH! GHH! LET GOOO!” Mikey chuckled and growled as he struggled in his older brother’s grip. The two continued to tussle, and despite the empty plate still in one of his hands, Raph remained the victor. Sure, Mikey was nimble and fast, but compared to Raph’s strength and battle smarts, he didn’t have a chance. It had always been that way. Sometimes, if Mikey got the element of surprise on his side, he would have a better shot at beating his big brother in combat- but unfortunately, it was super difficult to surprise someone who watched you like a hawk. It didn’t take long for Raph to catch on to Mikey’s tactics when they sparred.

Eventually, the grip around the youngest’s neck loosened, silently stating that their tussle was over. Mikey subconsciously rang a wrestling match bell in his head. 

DING! DING! DING! Winner once againnnn~ Raphael!

“Alright- we gotta get goin’.” Raph declared in a gravelly tone, still getting over the extra heavy gravity of the early morning. “Thanks to you, now we’re both late.” He began to walk to the doorway, swinging his plate in the air in a “COME ON” motion as he made a brisk exit into the hallway.

Mikey began to follow his big bro to the door, but stopped at the sound of a weak groan emanating from the eldest’s bed. 

OOh! Lotus is awake!

“G’morninggggg sleepy shelllllll~” Mikey sang warmly as he strode across the room. Bending over Leo’s- er- Lotus’ mattress, Mikey got a good look at this newcomer to his home. Her skin was a misty shade of jade, speckled with blues and purples all over her wrists, arms, ankles, and neck. Mikey’s smile faltered and fizzled at the sight of the painful bruises etched deep into Lotus’ skin. His attention was then drawn to the intricate markings displayed on her arms and head; A crescent moon adorned the sides of her face, as elegant stars were Masterfully painted onto her arms. As his gaze trailed down, he also noticed small glimpses of markings on her toes and feet too, mirroring the look of a ballet dancer’s shoes.

Beautiful.

Mikey’s gaze zipped back to the head of the bed as a startled gasp harshly broke through the silence of the room. The youngest’s body tensed as he watched Lotus jolt awake and clumsily shuffle to the corner of the nook. Away from him.

OH SHOOT- 

He raised his arms submissively in the air, shaking his head. “N-no, no, it’s okay!! You’re safe! I’m… not going to hurt you! Promise!” He tried to make his voice as calm as he could, but he didn’t quite succeed, leaving his words shaky and unsure. 

What do I do- what do I do- What do I DO???

Mikey watched as Lotus’ chest rose and fell with strenuous speed, forcing staggered gasps to claw out of her throat. A tinted pane of murky glass seemed to cover her darting irises, revealing to Mikey that she hadn’t quite woken up yet. His hands clenched at his sides as ideas began tumbling through his head in unorganized chaos.

Whaaat do I DO- Is she having a panic attack? Can she breathe? What if she can’t BREATHE?!! LEO HASN’T TAUGHT ME CPR YET-

Leo.

… What would Leo do? 

Mikey silently ransacked his brain, searching for the misplaced memories like a toy he had lost one too many times. 

Finally, the memory revealed itself to him.

“You want to be gentle but firm.” Mind Leo softly instructed him, “If you speak with too much uncertainty, you’ll most likely scare your patient, or they won’t take you seriously. You need to uphold a sense of authority in the situation. Own it. Your patient will see your confidence, and will hopefully trust that you know what you’re doing.”

… And Leo says I don’t pay attention during his medic lessons~ HA!

Okay. Gentle. Firm. Certain. Confident. GOT IT.

Mikey kept his arms in the air as he slowly knelt down. Lotus’ glazed eyes followed his careful movements, looking a little less murky and a bit more clear. 

Gentle.

“It’s okay, Lo. You’re safe. I-I think you just-”

Firm. 

“... You had a nightmare. No one is going to hurt you. You’re in the lair, my home. There’s no bad guys here. Just me and my family.” Mikey spoke in his best Leo impression, with the hand gestures and everything. He may not have had the natural confidence needed here, but he sure as heck could fake it by acting like someone who would.

Certain.

“I think you just need to get up and stretch your legs. That always makes me feel better if I had a rough night!” Mikey smiled as bright as he could as he began to slowly stand back up, still keeping his hands in the air. He again watched Lotus’ irises as the dusty clouds of nightmares continued to part, revealing a soft lavender from beneath. Her plastron rose and fell much slower too, making Mikey’s smile grow ever brighter.

It’s working! THANK YOU, MIND LEO!

Mikey edged closer and sat down on the rim of the mattress, holding out his hands. “Is it okay if I take you to go get breakfast? You gotta be starving!” 

Lotus let out one last, shaky breath as her body slumped against the wall. She looked him dead in the eyes, almost studying him. It felt weird. Mikey tensed and squirmed under the vibrant hues of purple burning into his face, but despite the discomfort-

Confident.

He kept his eyes locked onto hers. When he didn’t back down, Lotus’ posture tensed again as she dragged her gaze to the sheets below her. At first, Mikey was afraid he scared her again, and with each second that passed, his artificial confidence continued to lessen. For what felt like hours but was probably only a minute, Mikey sat there with his arms outstretched, waiting for Lotus’ answer. He could tell she was thinking by how she bit and chewed on her lip.

Eventually, with a deep, agitated but compliant sigh, Lotus softly nodded her head. That was all Mikey needed before he plucked her into his arms and ran down the hall with her.

“SWEET! Dude, you’re going to love this! Raph makes the best fried egg sandwiches! Uh… that is- if he saved us some- And there’s bacon that I can fry up too, or if you’re a cereal kinda gal I can get my cherished frosted flakes from my hiding spot! When you have sibs you kinda have to hide some stuff if you want any- That’s just how it is with three older bros- Not sure if that’s normal haha- Do you have a favorite kind of cereal?” 

Lotus’ response was a small gag making her lurch into his plastron with a *thud*.

“OH CRAP- Are you still sick??” Mikey yelled out as he skidded to a stop in the middle of the hallway, making Lotus twitch and burrow further into his chest. “Oh... was that… too loud?” 

Mikey sensed a tense, minimal nod against his plastron.

“Sorryyyyyyyy.” He whispered into her ear, forcing a full-on shiver to rattle her thin body. 

… I think I suck at this.

Instead of jammering on again, Mikey did his best to be quiet as he walked to the living room, quickly being greeted by the sight of Leo and Raph doing their Bible reading. The faint aromas of smoky bacon and fried eggs still hung in the air, with a teeny whiff of burnt toast from the toaster. 

“Good morning Mik-” Leo began, but halted instantly with an uncomely squeak at the sight of Mikey holding his still recovering patient in his arms. “MICHELANGELO HANTEN HAMATO.”

Raph’s head shot up from his Bible with a surprised expression blooming into one of morbid curiosity.

Oh dang- full name- haha I’m a goner.

“Y-yeahhh?” Mikey weakly replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a plastic smile on his face.

“WHAT are you doing with Lotus? She’s still recovering- she needs to rest-” Leo jarringly ranted as he got up off the floor, closing and tucking away his Bible. His arms were waving like crazy with each fragment of a sentence he got out. “- Are you being careful with her leg? Is she in any pain? WHY IS SHE SO QUIET- …Wait… Why is she so quiet.” Leo’s bellowing voice swiftly shifted to hushed monotone as his gaze fell onto the limp mutant wrapped in Mikey’s arms.

Wait, he's right! When did she go boneless on me???

“Lotus?” Leo whispered as he crept closer, his arms reaching out with gentle care. The girl in Mikey’s arms didn’t react at all. “Lotus, are you alright? Do you feel okay?”

A teeny, tiny, strained groan squeezed past Lotus’ lips. She moved a little, pulling her head slowly from Mikey’s plastron to face Leo. She… did not look so good.

“Dizzzzzyyyy…” She queasily moaned as her body returned to being limp, her chin landing softly into Leo’s ready, open palms.

“GYEE- I’m taking that as a no.” Leo stated briskly as he gestured for Mikey to bring her to the couch. The youngest nodded and complied without hesitation.

Yes- Please take the position of Medic again- I am NOT cut out for this yet... Mikey inwardly groaned to himself as he followed Leo to the couch. Without a word needing to be spoken, Raph shut his Bible and leapt off his cushion, giving Mikey full access as he gently placed Lotus down.

“Let me guess- Mikey talked her ear off and now she’s in a coma.” Raph jokingly taunted.

Oh hahaha so funny.

“I did not!” Mikey squawked in mild defense, placing his hands on his hips. He turned to the oldest who was now kneeling and assessing his patient. “Seriously Leo, I just asked her if she wanted some breakfast! She’s gotta be starving after hurling her guts o-” 

Mikey winced as Raph slapped him in the back of the head.

“... After being sick, she’s got nothin’ in her stomach!” He said while rubbing at the now sore spot. “And she nodded when I asked- I didn’t just take off with her!” He continued to defend himself, while also giving his oldest brother the context he needed to figure out a solution. Leo was always good at that.

Guess it’s just an older brother thing. Or maybe a leader thing? Both. Both? Both. Both is good.

Leo puffed air through his teeth as he finished looking at Lotus’ incision.  “Mikey- as always you got the right heart behind your actions-” Leo said as he turned to look at the youngest with an understanding smile. “... But I think you jumped the gun a bit.”

Mikey’s face slowly crumbled like a week-old cookie.

Leo’s eyes widened as his hands shot up in a steadying motion.

“W-wait. What I mean is, I think you made her motion sick by carrying her. That kind of movement can be very disorienting, especially to someone who doesn’t walk all that often. You most likely threw her center of gravity off- which is why she’s so dizzy now.”

Mikey’s smile remained hidden behind the opaque wall of guilt that was quickly forming around him.

“You didn’t know!” The eldest continued, attempting to lessen the blow of shame crashing down on the youngest, “But now you do, and… you can be more careful.”

Mikey’s head fell down solemnly.

It’s not even nine AM and I’ve already colossally screwed up.

 “Lotus has a long way to go in her recovery. I need to sit and make a plan with Don over what she should try to eat- as well as I need to make sure she’s not allergic to anything...” Leo began to list out, getting lost in the many medical checklists Mikey knew occupied his oldest brother’s head. “... Not to mention I need to get some blood samples to see if there’s anything in her veins left from the lab… Wouldn’t hurt to check on the bruises again and make sure they’re healing properly- and I need to see what Don’s got on that implant we found in her-”

Leo’s sentence was cut off by a frightened whimper.

“Lo?” Mikey said as he and Leo turned to face her in concern. Mikey’s expression fell faster than an avalanche down a mountain, sending a cold chill through his spine as he looked down at Lotus. She was cowering.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Leo spoke tenderly, as he instinctually rushed to comfort her. His voice swiftly shifted from a rushing river of anxiety and plans to a quiet stream of gentleness and concern. His hand rose to land on Lotus’ arm, but hesitated midway. Crystal irises met with frightened purple, most likely asking for silent permission to touch her. 

 Mikey watched with adoring fascination as his oldest brother once again proved why he was the best pick for Team Medic.

 “I know that sounds like a lot, but we’re going to take it one day at a time.” He said as his hand slowly landed onto Lotus’ wrist. “We’ll go as slow as we can. No surprises. I pr-” 

Leo seemed to choke on the word “promise”, acting as if its name was foreign and poisonous to his tongue. Lotus reacted similarly, as her soft, shaken gaze hardened into a glare of warning. 

Raph twitched next to him.

Leo’s shoulders rose in a tense arch as he retreated his head to his chest, letting out a small sigh. “... I hope.”

That seemed to be the correct answer, as Lotus’ harsh expression placated and her posture loosened. 

I guess I can’t blame her�� Leo did say back in the Medbay that he had screwed up with the Lido- whatchamacallit juice… Something about it not working? Or… Not lasting long enough. But- that wasn’t his fault! Why would Lotus blame him for that? It was a total accident! 

Mikey thought back to the events of yesterday.

Huh… Maybe that’s why she was sick. Maybe she had a… a… what do you call ittttt~ Oh- Allergic reaction! If that’s it, then there was no way Leo could’ve known! 

… But then… what was that glare about?... 

Mikey knew like the back of his hand how to identify different kinds of expressions. As the youngest, it was his birthright to annoy his brothers endlessly. And throughout the years, he quickly learned how to gauge each of their reactions- whether they were growls, glares, taunts, hisses, or the usual shout. 

Leo always responded the same. A quick verbal warning, followed by the usual threat to tell their dad. Easy and predictable. Boring.

Don was a wild card. It completely depended on the day, how work was going, and how many brain cells had died due to his customers’ stupidity. His reactions ranged from a simple warning hiss to physically chucking books. On a severely bad day, his freckled brother would give chase after rushedly telling his client on his headset that he’d “be right back~”.

Raph was the middle ground. But he hadn’t always been that way. In his younger years, he would almost always react to Mikey’s pranks with violence, wrestling or biting the youngest until he apologized or ran away to dad. He never truly did any harm, but more or less just frightened Mikey away.

And then things began to change rapidly. Raph and Leo fought more. They drifted apart and spoke harshly to each other. Any time they would begin to argue, tears would relentlessly begin streaming down Mikey’s face. Soon after, Don’s gentle hand would guide the youngest out of the room where the two would sit in the brothers’ bedroom and color, surrounded by muffled shouts echoing through their no longer peaceful home. Mikey hated hearing his oldest brothers fight so often. They wouldn’t try to argue out a truce or understanding, but instead inflicted more verbal wounds on each other. Their words became sharper than the blades they had been gifted for their fourteenth birthdays. More blood was shed through insults than in sparring practice. Eventually, Master Splinter completely drowned both Raph and Leo in homework, having hours of Bible lessons in their dad’s room.

All that to say…

Mikey knew what bitterness looked like. And that same weariness of two souls separating in painful warfare returned to his heart when he saw how Lotus had looked at his oldest brother.

I don’t want this to happen again.

“BOYS.”

Every living soul in that room tensed at the lightning CRACK of Master Splinter’s call.

Oh we’re all dead. 

Mikey didn’t have to look at the time to know that he and his brothers were beyond late to practice… And now they were about to reap those consequences. All the brothers quickly ran to the door of the dojo, simultaneously calling back “Yes, Master Splinter!”

When they all entered, sporting the walk of shame with their heads slightly hunched inward, they quickly found their places on colored mats placed neatly on the ground.

Once Mikey’s knees planted themselves onto the thick fabric, and his nostrils breathed in the fresh scents of Sensei’s candles flickering in the corner of the room, a realization sparked inside of him of how long it had been since all the brothers had done their training together. Ever since Don and Raph were taken, Leo and Sensei were spending nearly every waking second searching for the twins. While they were gone, Mikey was forced to stay home thanks to his annoying ankle still healing. It was incredibly boring and beyond aggravating to be forced to rest and heal while his family was searching for its treasured missing pieces.

Throughout all those weeks of searching and healing, the brothers didn’t step foot in the dojo together. Mikey knew Leo would go in to train late at night, with the youngest frequently waking to the echoed *taps* of the punching bag being wailed on…

But this was the first time they were all back together for training; A big step in the right direction to recovering from their wounds, and grow stronger again as a team.

Mikey’s thoughts came to a screeching halt at the sound of Sensei clearing his throat to get his attention.

Leo was the first to speak up as usual.

“Uh- Sorry, Dad… We had a little situation with Lotus-”

“- Do you mean the female turtle?” Their sensei asked, tilting his head and perking his ears in question.

“Yeah, that’s what she told us to call her… Anyways, she wasn’t feeling great so we just had to make sure she was okay.” The oldest spoke meekly, his eyes meeting their father’s in due respect. Leo gave a cheesy grin with a weak chuckle. “We um… we didn’t mean to be late…”

Splinter’s expression didn’t change all that much, his ears slacking to their normal height. His whiskers twitched as he let out a thoughtful hum, making the brown and white fur adorning his face bristle just the slightest. A long, five fingered paw rose to stroke the white beard hanging from his pointed chin.

“Hmm. I see.” The old master mused, raising his hazel brows in contemplation. “I suppose it would be fine if you skipped your training today, Leonardo. Please, go take care of our guest. But I still expect you to practice those katas after dinner. You are excused.” He said with a gentle wave of his hand, allowing Leo to stand up, give a graceful bow of his head, and return into the living room.

Lucky.

“Michelangelo.” 

Mikey twitched at his name being called and straightened his posture, giving Sensei his full attention. “Yeah, Dad?” He asked, doing his best not to allow his voice to crack. Going by the fact that a muffled snort escaped out of Raph, he didn’t quite stick the landing.

“I would like to talk with you privately after training is over. There are some… matters we must discuss. Now that you’re thirteen, I must tell you about some changes that will be happening.”

Raph snorted again, but was instantly cut off by a loud *THWAP* of Sensei’s staff bopping the fiery brother’s head.

Confusion and dread pooled into Mikey’s breakfast-less gut.

AM I IN TROUBLE???

And that's it for this chapter!! :)

We have officially reached the "healing" arc in my story. These coming chapters are going to be a bit more slice-of-life, but don't worry, there will still be a lot going on! It felt really nice to write a chapter in Mikey's perspective again. He's just so bright and cheery, and he gives me the best opportunities to sneak in easter eggs from other shows with his dialogue or inner thoughts. ;)

AND NOW Y'ALL KNOW WHAT SPLINTER LOOKS LIKE. YIPPEE KAI YAY. ~ (I had to use 2012 Splinter as reference guys- I'm sorry I just can NOT get that ratman's anatomy to LOOK RIGHT- XD But I am happy with how his overall design turned out!)

A BIG THANK YOU TO @poetique823 for reviewing and critiquing my chapter! <3

@indieyuugure @writer-in-wonder @allyheart707 @oddartistl3 @risebabyx2 @joyjoygorl @carrots-bear @imagionationstation @howtotrainyourdragonprince @jasminegazer @brightonstudios @ninjaturtlefan-dee @rottmntlover14

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, comment down below! (That way when I post the next chapter you'll get the notification!)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

(CONTENT WARNING!- Nightmares, medical-based trauma and situations! Panic!)

CHAPTER 10- Never Again

“Raphael.” Leo tightly warned, raising his hands onto the sides of his brother’s face. His normally calm tone plummeted into the negative degrees, replacing the warmth of brotherly concern with the chill of interrogation. Unfortunately, this was the only strategy that worked on his stubborn little brother. Kind, gentle words only added another brick to his growing wall of pride, coming off to the fiery sibling as demeaning and condescending instead of loving. The eldest deeply regretted how long it took him to realize this fact about his brother.

 It would have saved them both a lot of heartache growing up.

 Instead of getting lost in the past, he shoved his way back into the present, where his brother was shaking and crying, and not telling him why.

“RAPH. I am warning you- If you don’t tell me what’s going on in the next three seconds, I’m going to drag your shell to dad.”

Leo allowed a faint snarl to escape through his teeth, hoping that his go-to threat would work like always. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure if he would be physically able to haul Raphael to his father’s room- Despite how much the eldest had trained, Raph had always been faster and stronger. 

That didn’t aggravate the eldest in the slightest.

Not… at… all.

“I said I’m f-” Raph began, attempting to twist his head out of Leo’s grip, but the eldest’ hands remained planted on his brother’s face, snapping Raph’s gaze back to his icy irises. 

“You. Are. Crying.” Leo pressed in harsh whispers as he tightened his grip to emphasize how seriously worried he was becoming with each second. “You don’t do that. That’s not a thing that you do, and worse- you’re doing it in front of me… So…”

The eldest’s vice-like grip softened to a small caress, wiping away another escaping tear off his brother’s face. Leo’s harsh glare melted with the true warmth he felt for his hurting brother. 

“... I know something is seriously wrong.” He whispered with a gentleness his brothers all knew well. His breath shuddered as his hands slid from Raph’s face down to his shoulders. “You… were held hostage at some- s-some mad scientist’s lab for over two weeks, Raph… I have no… idea… what they did to you…”

Leo watched as Raph’s eyes kept overflowing with silent tears, reminding the eldest of a wordless history filled with pain and devastating fear that had been plaguing his brother for weeks. 

Leo couldn’t hold back the memories of finding his missing brothers at that horrible lab, rushing through the doors of the facility, maneuvering his way through the halls to the sound of screaming.

His brother. Screaming.

. . .

Don’s freckled face was nearly unrecognizable without his signature glasses and violet-hued mask. Those monsters had taken away all their gear- leaving them more or less naked and unidentifiable; Inhumane. Nothing but another creature for those psychos to study and pull apart… Not only had those heartless heathens stripped him down, but they had also strapped him down to the confines of a reclining chair via leather straps that painfully dug into his skin. 

Don’s expression began as listless while he focused on breathing through the pain of whatever vile concoction was being injected into his veins through an IV. But then a sudden realization sparkled behind his heterochromatic irises, and Leo nearly shattered into a million pieces when his genius brother locked eyes with him for the first time in weeks.

“R-Raph?...” The freckled brother shakily called, as he leaned forward, squinting his eyes.

The frail sound of his sibling’s plea for familiarity and safety sent an arrow of guilt piercing into Leo’s heart. Before another second could be wasted, Leo ran to Don’s side. With a quick shuffle into his belt, the eldest pulled out a pair of glasses, sliding it oh so gently onto his freckled brother’s face. Once Don’s breathing steadied, he looked up and lost his breath all over again. 

“Leo…” He gasped in between shuddered breaths. “LEO!!!” 

With the cry of the eldest’s name, Leo began to hurriedly disconnect all the equipment from his brother, who was now softly sobbing and shaking his head as if this was all just a dream. 

“T-This… This can’t be real…” 

Leo couldn’t even reply as he carefully began pulling out the IV from Don’s bruised arm with all the gentleness he could afford. Tears of relief and shame and love and sadness all poured from his face as he set right to work on un-doing all that had been done to his beloved sibling. He rapidly wiped away his tears as he reached behind to pull out one of his twin katanas. With a number of practiced swipes with his blade, all the straps that once held down Don fell to the floor. 

Now freed from his confines, Don arched himself forward, trying to push himself off the heightened medical chair. Slowly, and with Leo’s help, he finally had both feet on the floor, but not for long. As if a large gust of wind shot through the room, Don’s body began plummeting to the floor in an exhausted heap. As soon as Leo sensed his brother’s weakness, he swiftly sheathed his katana and reached out. Within a matter of seconds, he was on his knees with Don pressed tightly into his arms.

“I’m here! I’m here- I’m so sorry. I love you- I love you I love you-” He cried out, finally being able to say what had been on his heart for the last eighteen days.

“Leo…how…” Don quietly sobbed into Leo’s neck, smothered yet crystal clear, “How did y-you? H-how are you here? Are y-you okay? Did you… Did you find R-Raph?”

Leo winced in sympathy as he listened to the gravelly scratches carving their way painfully into Don’s throat with each word he spoke.

“Shhhh. Shhhhh.” Leo whispered into his brother’s ear, “You need to… to rest.” A whimper weaseled its way out of Leo’s throat, leaving his whole body shaking with emotion and adrenaline. He was supposed to be the foundation of his team; the stronghold that would protect his brothers no matter the costs- the firm walls that would keep his family safe from the cruel, outside world.

And yet here he was, dissolving into shifting sand in his beloved brother’s skinny arms. His facets of honor and maturity crumbled into broken shards of childishness as he let out a painful sob, finally unleashing a grain of the agony he had carried on his shoulders during the weeks of his brothers’ capture. The doubts and fears that plagued his sleepless mind were finally put to reassured rest.

Don was okay.

The stale air of the lab made Leo’s skin tingle with discomfort as he latched onto his little brother with all his might, vowing right then and there that he would never allow this to happen again. With a sense of determination he had not felt in some time, he pressed further into his brother, spreading warmth where only shadow and pain had touched. Each bruise and bandage littering his little brother’s skin was a testament of the eldest’ failure to protect those he loved.

Never again.

The moment was abruptly sliced in half as a blaring alarm began to scream.

~

Leo blinked. And there he was again, kneeling at Raph’s side, with his hands on his shaking brother’s shoulders. 

“It… It was a nightmare.” Raph simply shrugged, though his voice wobbled and shuddered like a glass cup during an earthquake. 

After wiping away the last hints of tears, Leo sighed with the tiniest glint of a smile.

Still playing the tough guy… But at least he’s speaking again.

Leo released one of his hands off of Raph’s shoulder and planted it onto his knee, steadying his own swaying form from the sleep he was currently missing.

“Do you want to talk abou-”

“-No.”

Before his sore legs gave out underneath him, Leo flopped down onto his butt with a somewhat content sigh, using his arms to hold him upright.

“Should've guessed…” He whispered as he slouched back. The smile on his face was still present, alighting the cold, dark room with a small ember of warmth. “Well… I’m… here when you’re ready to talk.” 

Raph turned his face to look down at his brother, silently contemplating Leo’s offer.

 The eldest would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt how cautious Raph was being around him. He’d noticed it for years, slowly watching as hour-long conversations after practice would turn into quick, hollow “hey”s before his fiery sibling briskly left the room. Late nights of reading comics and trying to catch their favorite movies on tv slowly lessened as Raph wanted to be by himself more. 

In all honesty, despite his own pride, Leo couldn’t blame him. He and the second oldest would get into horrible fights growing up. Every small conversation turned into a horrible argument. Any compliment had poison at its tip, sharp and designed to sting. And no sooner had those hurtful words escaped their lips, their fists began flying.

Leo once noticed, mid argument with Raph, that Don had carefully guided himself and Mikey out of the room. One more glance revealed tears falling out of his baby brother’s eyes, and a hardened, disappointed glare across Don’s face.

His and Raph’s actions had begun to affect his brothers. That’s when it became clear that something needed to be done.

So he and Raph just- stopped talking. Leo did his very best to back off unless necessary, and slowly over time their home became quiet again. 

But silence is a two-edged sword. What can be felt as peaceful can also be sensed as cold and apathetic; The natural quiet of a forest’s winter trails compared to the restrained hostility boiling under a volcano’s depths.

A cover-up. A simple bandaid rather than a full surgery. 

Not enough.

Through the years, Splinter had begun training Raphael in better handling his temper. Every day before practice, Leo would see Raph sluggishly dragging his feet into Sensei’s room, and through the door, he, Don and Mikey would listen in on some of the fiery brother’s lessons from their father. Splinter would guide Raph through his Bible, reviewing verses of pride, arrogance, and the need for love to be in the world. He then went over how important it was as christians to show Christ’s love to others. And especially, the ultimate need for that love to be in their home.

During that time, Raph wasn’t the only one Sensei honed in on. Seeing how Leo was half of the problem in the arguments bringing unwanted chaos into their home, he too had to be taught many lessons. The Bible verses his dad focused on weren’t very different from the ones he overheard Raph learning. Huh. Interesting. One specific lesson planted deep roots into Leo’s heart, leaving an impact that would be with him for years to come:

“Your love for your brother needs to outweigh your longing to win.”

And then… one day…

Raph appeared climbing down from the forbidden manhole cover with a shattered wrist and a bleeding crack chipped into his plastron. No matter how he was asked, persuaded, comforted, or threatened, Raph never told anyone how it had happened.

After that day everything began to change. 

And then about a year ago, he and Raph started talking again. 

Even now, as Leo looked into the eyes of Raphael as he finally calmed down from his panic attack, he could see the tenderness and healing within his troubled brother’s soul. Compared to the others in his family, Raph held the record for how many physical scars he had. For a long time, the brothers held him with the highest honor, as if he were a victorious war hero returning from battle… But Leo knew better now. The deep slash across his little brother’s eye was dealt by his blade. An accident, yes, but a permanent reminder of his past recklessness as a child; A lasting testament of who he could never be again.

As for Raph’s second scar- the small lightning bolt cracked into his upper plastron…

… Leo still doesn’t know where its origins stemmed from. And the fact that Raph had held that secret within, warns the eldest of unseen battles that were being fought behind thick, impenetrable walls. Battles he may have helped to fight, had he thrown down his own barriers.

Those times were long gone, and he would not squander the second chance God gave him.

Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth again.

“Okay… New subject-” He said as he sat up and leaned his elbows onto his crossed legs. “...Maybe this will help get your mind off of your nightmare. If you could think of anything to geek out about to me- right now- what would it be?” He asked with an inviting grin to his more-than-cautious brother.

Raph’s confusion only showed through his expression for a few seconds before his eyes were looking to the side, pondering over Leo’s question. “Uh…” He thought, tapping at the blankets draped over his legs. “... I guess… How kids’ tv shows go too easy on ‘em.” 

Huh. Oooooookay.

“Alright! Tell me about it.” Leo gestured vaguely with his hands at Raph, waving them in swooping motions to propel his anxious brother to keep going.

Raph’s nervous expression returned, but he persisted through his anxiety, sitting up as well, and playing with the blanket fibers between his fingers.

“Well… you know… Nothin’ real happens in them. Like- Okay listen to this-” Raph said, as a miniscule spark ignited behind his irises and spread to his expression and posture, silently revealing that Leo’s plan was working. 

Leo nodded with a small, but growing smile.

“Tell me, oh Team Medic, what would happen to a person if they fell off a three story building?”

Leo sat back with a sigh as his brain began pulling out pristine files from its shelves.

“Um… my personal guess would be they’d have at least a broken ankle, if not a seriously sprained knee…” He listed, as he began counting with his fingers for each injury that came to mind. “...Possibly a concussion depending on how they handled their landing- and most likely a good amount of scrapes and bruises to the knees and arms.”

Raph nodded emphatically to Leo’s medical diagnosis, gesturing stiffly with both arms as if to say THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYIN.

“RIGHT. So- ya know- there’s a thing called uh, what was it again- CONSEQUENCES.” Raph shout-whispered, still keeping his voice small, but making sure his words made up for the lack of volume. “So, you tell me, how… does FRIENDSHIP save you from breakin’ your neck after falling off a flippin’ building??!!” He quietly roared. Somehow.

Leo had to stifle a chuckle as he watched his brother become as animated as the cartoon shows he was complaining about. It was hilarious to see such fire in his brother’s eyes that didn’t spark from anything occurring in the real world. 

“That… doesn’t make any sense, dude.” Leo attempted to speak, but was unceremoniously interrupted by a snort escaping his nose. “Gah-geez!” He hurriedly whispered to himself as he smacked a hand over his mouth to somehow smother his growing laughter at the situation. 

Raph’s passionate expression softened at the sight of Leo fighting for his life to keep the serenity of their bedroom so his little brothers can sleep. Then his kind smile crackled and sparked into a mischievous grin.

After what felt like an eternity, Leo had finally gotten his laughter under control, plastering a stoic expression over the small gusts of laughter still tucked away in his throat. But all that hard work was blown to oblivion as Raph began to cross his eyes and flare his nostrils. Before the eldest could stop himself, another snort shattered the peaceful silence of the room.

My one weakness- THAT LIL BRAT-

In utter defiance and revenge, Leo thrust himself forward onto his knees and slapped Raph’s arm in playful, empty warning. With a hushed hiss he chittered,

“YOU STOP THAT THIS *SNNRT* THIS INSTANT, YOUNG MAN-”

“Ya mean turtle?~” Raph winced as he rubbed at his slightly stinging arm.

Then the brothers went silent as they took a single second to think. At that moment, they pointed to the other and whispered simultaneously, “ Mutant.” And then they were both fighting for their lives to not wake their brothers.

Despite their best efforts of shushing each other, smacking their hands over the other’s face, and trying to regain stoic countenances which always backfired, they were quickly interrupted by a meek, worried voice.

“Don?” 

Raph and Leo’s laughter was snuffed out instantaneously as their immediate instinct to protect their brothers pushed past any humor with full force. 

“Mikey? What’s wrong?” Leo asked with a slightly raised voice since Mikey was in the bunk above Raph’s bed. “Why are you calling to-” 

Leo’s sentence fell away into the shadows surrounding the bedroom as he gazed at Don in his bunk bed, cradling his head between his clenched hands. Shaking.

“Don?...” Leo asked, again raising his voice since Don’s bed was further away. At his call, the freckled brother turned his head slightly, the glistening of tears shining as they fell in threads down his face. 

“DON!” Leo outwardly cried, no longer attempting to remain quiet as the newly revealed emergency played out right in front of him. He pushed off his knees and used Raph’s mattress to propel himself off the floor into a quick sprint across the room. By only running on instinct to protect his brother, he didn’t have to think as he effortlessly leapt over the spare mattress and climbed up the ladder to Don’s bunk, landing in what Mikey would call a “spiderman pose”. 

“Is he okay?” Raph called from the ground, as Mikey briskly flipped off the side of his bunk, landing perfectly, and rushing to Raph’s side.

Leo suppressed a deep groan.

Mental sticky note- REMIND MIKEY to not risk damaging his ALREADY HEALING ANKLE.

With a disgruntled sigh, Leo turned his attention back to Don. In the moment he had, he ploughed through the medical checklists he could think of, assessing what was wrong with his genius little brother. However, it was clear without any medical expertise that Don was having a panic attack.

Him too?... What is going on?

Suppressing his growing questions, the eldest reached out his hand and placed it on Don’s trembling knee. Over the years, Leo found that physical contact worked as a solid anchor for his frightened brother; a grounding force that would pull his mind away from the fantasies that plagued his logic. Don had explained to him that when someone was having a panic attack, they were losing themselves to the lies in their mind. In order to remedy this and pull them out of it, they needed a firm foundation of truth to stand on. 

“I’m alive.”

“I’m not dying.”

“I can feel my heartbeat.”

“I can hear my breathing.”

“God is with me.”

“I’m safe.”

Leo stretched forward to place more pressure on Don’s knee.

“You’re alive, Don. You’re not dying.” He spoke firmly.

“Mmmhmm…” Don grunted as he shakily lowered his hands from the sides of his head, and slid them down to the nape of his neck, pulling down with constant pressure.

“You’re home. You’re not alone. I’m right here.” Leo pressed further both verbally and physically.

“Y-Yeah…” Don breathlessly agreed, as he tried to take a deep, calming breath.

“Whatever you saw wasn’t real. It was just a dream, okay?” 

Don’s expression twisted at those words, and he stuttered, “That’s.. n-not true, L-Leo… It… wasn’t as m-much a nightmare, as it was a m-memory…”

Leo’s own expression fell at Don’s fragmented words sputtering and glitching like a tv set trying to hone in on the right signal. He hated seeing his intellectual brother so shaken like this. Don had never been one that needed to fight his own body just so he could speak. Normally his rants and logistics would smoothly escape his lips, coming out clear and precise in neat rows filled with elongated vocabulary. 

Only one thing would have stolen that from him; something so scary and traumatic that it would resonate and affect him now.

“You dreamed about the lab, didn’t you?” Leo whispered at a volume barely audible as he slid closer to Don’s now relaxing form. He lifted his hand from Don’s knee onto his shoulder, but still kept a grounding pressure.

Don, once again at a loss for words, simply nodded his head defeatedly.

Not needing any more confirmation of Don’s condition, Leo pulled himself closer and held out his arms. Don had to know the option was there if he needed it.

At first, the freckled brother simply stared at Leo’s outstretched arms, as his pupils zipped back and forth in consideration. Then after he properly reviewed his options, he gently shook his head. “I think I’m okay now.” He sighed, gripping onto the soft, fur blanket over his legs. “I’m… okay.”

Leo nodded in understanding before he was forcibly pushed to the wall of the nook as Mikey and Raph joined him on Don’s bed.

“Don, ya good?” Raph asked in genuine concern for his twin, searching his brother’s expression and body for any wounds. 

Don nodded with an exhausted but real smile.

“Are you sure?? You were crying, bro. Last I checked, computers can’t cry.” Mikey playfully nudged Don’s arm, but the smile on the youngest’s face read of no ill will. “You want to talk about it?”

Don’s smile fell a little as he made eye contact with Raph, and both twins sighed in mental understanding. 

“I think he’s alright now.” Raph spoke up quietly, as he started pushing Mikey onto the ladder. “Let’s give him some space, Mikey.” 

Despite the youngest fighting and squawking in obvious displeasure, Raph remained persistent and continued down, pulling his little brother with him. Leo couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“...T-Thanks, Leo.” Don whispered, as he stretched out and placed his hand onto Leo’s arm. “I really… appreciated this.”

Leo’s smile brightened as he tapped his hand onto Don’s. The cool texture of his brother’s smooth skin brought its own wave of comfort to him, reminding the eldest of a truth he had unknowingly taken for granted for years:

They’re home.

Before any more tears decided to fall, Leo wished his brother good night and slid down the ladder, making his way back to his mattress, saying one final, silent prayer.

Thank You, Lord, that my brothers… are home. Thank You that they’re here and safe. Please continue to guide them as they recover from their time in the labs. Please guide me with what to say to them. And…

 Thank You for giving me a second chance.

Aaaand that's it for this chapter!

Man alive, it feels so good to be back. This chapter took a while to figure out because of the scenes with Leo and Raph- There were many options that I had to choose through over how Raph would react to Leo trying to calm him down from his panic attack- but this version won out in the end. :) To quote a very important Book, "Laughter doeth good like medicine". So I knew how I wanted this scene to go. :) As has been a running tradition in this book, there is a lot of hidden storytelling in this chapter~ Especially regarding Leo and Raph.

Feel free to reblog and share!

BIG THANKS TO @poetique823 FOR YOUR HELP!!! <3

@indieyuugure @writer-in-wonder @allyheart707 @oddartistl3 @risebabyx2 @joyjoygorl @carrots-bear @imagionationstation @howtotrainyourdragonprince @jasminegazer @brightonstudios @ninjaturtlefan-dee @rottmntlover14

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, comment down below!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

(Warnings for this chapter are at the bottom of the page to keep from giving away spoilers.)

CHAPTER 9 - Dreams of the Haunted

Raphael watched as Lotus finally stilled in Leo’s arms, her stuttered breaths and sniffles slowly descending into silence. Her panicked words twisted and pulled at his mind, deepening his growing concern for her. Frustration began building in his heart as he watched someone so frail and scared fight a horrific, inner battle.

And all he could do was watch.

It brought him no comfort that he was the one that possibly sparked such awful memories in the frightened girl. How she looked at him… It was as if he was the ghost inhabiting all of her nightmares. As if it were him that caused her to flail out of bed in sporadic jolts, wearing beads of sweat on her trembling brow.

 The familiar, sticky tentacles of guilt quickly slithered around his heart, constricting the limited air in his lungs, and filling his mind with useless reprimands.

You shoulda just left her to Leo.

It’s your fault she’s afraid all the time.

She’s scared of you.

Raph shook his head in an attempt to focus back to the matter at hand.

The “matter” that now laid limp in his oldest brother’s arms, softly sighing and nestling into his plastron. The fiery brother watched in silent adoration as Leo stroked the young girl’s shell, successfully calming her enough to make her fall back to sleep. Raph remembered seeing Leo do the same calming motion when they were kids, using it to settle a frightened youngest brother surrounded by darkness, or steady a stressed nerd with too much homework, or simmer down a heated temper with nowhere to go but out.

Raph had used it once or twice as well. The faint memory passed through his mind like a soft breeze as he remembered Leo’s shuttering body hidden fully in his shell after another nightmare. However awkward that night had begun, Raph still recalled it with a warm endearment, remembering all of his brothers combining forces to bring comfort to their newly titled “leader”. Yeah, it was cramped and full of mushy feelings and tears; Three things Raph himself normally hated more than Math homework, but it was all worth it to be there for Leo. 

It was all worth it to bring comfort to their comforter.

As Lotus let out one final, heavy exhale, Leo skillfully weaved out of her embrace, laying her down gently onto the pillow and carefully draping the blanket over her. She didn’t stir the slightest, seemingly sinking deeper and deeper into the cushion of the mattress and the grounding weight of the blanket. Leo sighed as he looked down at her, his shoulders and body falling as if another weight had landed atop them. Tenderly, he reached out and wiped away the last of her tears speckling her cheeks. 

And he wonders why he was the best pick for Team Medic. Stinkin’ show off.

As Leo pushed himself off the floor with a winced grunt, he patted the dirt and grime off his knees and legs. Raph’s eyes involuntarily widened at the dark patches of dirt littering his oldest brother’s body. Normally the brothers kept their room a bit more tidy than that, but…

…a lot had happened. And some things carried more priority than household chores. 

“Raph, come on!” Leo shout-whispered, knocking the fiery brother’s train of thought clean off its tracks. “She’s asleep. Let’s go.” 

Raph gave a slight nod and followed his brother into the hallway, the two siblings being as silent and swift as wind sweeping across snow.

 They walked side by side in the hall, remaining quiet even after they were far past the brothers’ bedroom. Raph couldn’t help but subtly peer his eyes across to Leo, gauging what was going through the leader’s head. It wasn’t abnormal for the eldest to go silent, far from it in fact. Especially after something big happening, Leo would normally not speak as he contemplated the next best course of action. This had actually formed into a problem when they were younger, with Raph and Don’s impatience being stretched to their limits as they had to just wait for their leader to find a solution without a single conversation being had. That had sparked many unneeded forest fires of fury between the twins and their leader. 

Raph couldn’t help but snicker to himself as he remembered how ticked off Don had gotten, spouting off facts and insults in tandem when he wasn’t kept in the know-how. 

“Raph- What was that?” Leo asked suspiciously as he turned his gaze towards the fiery brother. “... Why… are you laughing??” He asked with a slight tint of incredulous confusion in his tone.

With Leo’s frosty irises now locked onto him, Raph found it a little hard to open his mouth and make words come out. 

“Uh… I was…”

Just speak, it ain’t that hard!!

“...Um…”

Leo’s Mom Glare™ suddenly shot up to a “should I be worried??” expression.

JUST. FRIGGIN. TALK.

Raph forcefully rolled his shoulders to release some of the energy building in his body.

“Heheh I was… rememberin’ how ticked off Don got when you went quiet on our missions. You remember the crazy insults he called you?”

Leo’s interrogative gaze flickered and dissipated as he turned his face to the ceiling and sighed with a smile.

“Ahhh yes…” The eldest huffed as his grin grew in nostalgic amusement. “Dad caught him swearing so many times so he just decided to make up new insults…Ah man, which one had you and me cracking up that one time?”

“Ooof, dude. How could ya pick? There’s too many good ones HA!”

“... Was it “Lint Licker”? Or maybe “Shiitake Mushroom head”, HAHA!!!”

Hearing the past substituted insults ignited a warm, soothing flame to ignite in Raph’s heart, leaving him clutching his stomach with how hard he was now laughing alongside his brother.

“WAIT WAIT- HAHAHEEE- Do you remember the time he called you a “Mother Clucker”?! BROOO I couldn’t even breathe I was laughin’ so hard!!!”

“OH DANG- HAHA!!! I can’t believe I forgot that one!!!” Leo was now clutching at his side too, leaning his shell against the wall of the hallway for support as he cackled and sniffed away tears from his eyes. “Don was so mad his face was as red as your mask!!!”

Now Raph could barely breathe with how hard he was laughing.

“Heee… He just sat there- HAHA- With his arms crossed holdin’ his breath- HAHAHA!!! You were afraid he was gonna pass out!!”

“He almost did!!! You had to catch him!!!” Leo’s voice cracked and broke with the laughter erupting out of his throat. Without meaning to, some of his words shot to an extremely high pitch, only worsening Raph’s guffaws to the point where he collapsed to the floor, splayed out and pressing down onto his torso.

There the two brothers were, one propped against a wall, the other laying flat on the ground, laughing.

Despite all that they had been through.

Here they were.

Laughing.

As their chuckles petered out to sniffs and snickers, Leo pushed himself off the wall and walked up to Raph’s prone body. The eldest reached out his hand with a big, real smile gracing every inch of his face. Raph couldn’t help but return Leo’s kindness with his own grin, gratefully accepting his big brother’s hand and allowing himself to be helped off the floor.

“Come on…” Leo laughed again, gasping for air, “Let’s go check on the Clean Up Crew.”

Raph nodded with a knowing smile as the two continued down to the living room.

“MIKEY!!! DON!!” Raph called out with his hand cupping the side of his face. “WHERE YOU GUYS AT??” 

After being answered with silence, Leo and Raph ventured into the kitchen. Walking past the doorway, the first thing Raph noticed was the “used” trash bin propped near the sink. The second thing he noticed, or rather was SMACKED ACROSS THE FACE WITH, was the pungent smell of lavender fumes filling up the entire room. Both his and Leo’s eyes immediately sprung up with more tears as they began to flap their arms to wave out some of the potent aroma. It didn’t do much, and unfortunately, living in the sewers, there were no windows to open and let out the powerful scent. So they just stood there for a bit, waving their arms, until finally both of them gave up in between hacks and coughs and simply retreated to the couch instead.

Comparatively, hacking and choking on fumes was apparently a much more effective way to beckon for their little brother instead of just casually calling to him. 

“What the shell happened to you guys??” Mikey yelled as he ran through the lair’s entrance into the living room. He was out of breath and wearing far-too-big gloves on his hands.

“Us?? *COUGH COUGH*- What- a-about you?? WHY were you *HACK* up top?!” Leo sputtered indignantly as he turned his head to look at his thirteen year old brother that was apparently alone in the big, scary world that towered above them.

Raph chuckled as he watched Mikey roll his eyes and tsk at the eldest’s obvious concern.

“Leooo I’m fineeee. I literally just took out the trash, CHILL.” Mikey grumbled as he pulled off the oversized gloves from his fingers.

“I will NOT CHILL.” Leo retorted right back, now wearing his patented Mom Glare™ and speaking as if he were Mikey’s parent rather than his oldest sibling, “You, young mutant, are thirteen. You aren’t allowed up top by yourself, you know that.”

“Yeah~ I’m fully aware, Mom-o-nardo. But Don was busy trying to hold in his lunch, so I took care of it.” Mikey sluggishly declared, his words dripping with nonchalance. “You’re welcome~.” He flicked his hands with the dramatic flair of a magician, tossing the gloves onto a nearby side table, effectively making them ‘disappear’ from his person. 

Raph let out a silent “Ooooh~” as he turned to see how Leo would react. And as always, the eldest did not disappoint.

“Do I need to tell Master Splinter of your little solo errand?” Leo asked in a tone that was as cold and sharp as an icicle’s tip. 

The youngest’s face fell immediately as Leo played his highest card:

“I’M GONNA TELL DAD.”

Classic oldest sib move, Raph thought to himself. Game set match.

With an offended pout only a youngest sibling could pull off, Mikey growled and stomped his way into the kitchen.

 He quickly regretted his decision.

Raph and Leo couldn’t help the satisfied grins crawling up their faces as they heard Mikey begin to cough violently, clapping his hands over his snout and hightailing it back into the living room. He unceremoniously crumpled to the floor in a hacking heap.

Raph leaned further into the couch cushions and rested his head over his crossed arms, while he watched his little brother writhe dramatically on the floor. With a quick glance, he saw that Leo was subtly checking if Mikey was actually okay or if he was just being dramatic. He obviously came to the same conclusion Raph did as the two oldest siblings sat back and watched, the smiles on their faces never leaving for a second.

“Yeah… seems Don did one shell of a job “decontaminating” the trash bin, huh lil bro?”

Mikey’s head lifted from the ground long enough for him to spit out, “I BET ASTRONAUTS COULD SMELL THAT.”

Leo shook his head as he rolled his eyes, allowing a faint smile to grow on his face. Raph couldn’t help but ask himself how long it had been since so much laughter and smiles had graced the rooms of his home. 

In order to keep the bright composure he was carrying on his face, he pushed aside that thought and just sat as he watched his brothers just be kids again.

. . .

Images flashed past Raphael’s eyes as his body was forcefully shoved through a long, grey hallway. Echoes of horrified and pained screams blared into his skull. Shadows peeled from the walls and engulfed him, slithering their arms into tight bands around his biceps and ankles. Despite the fear penetrating every cell of his body, his mind remained completely hollow, as if he didn’t carry enough strength to create a simple thought. 

The only voice that could be heard in his mind wasn’t his own.

It promised safety and warmth; an easy way out of this trap. Its gravely whispers poked and scratched inside his head, trying to tangle and pull apart any chords of willpower he had left. He could sense the bristling flame of his determination and spirit continue to flicker into nothing. With each seductive, hushed word, a vital part of his identity was extinguished, replaced with an empty husk of compliance.

He wanted to scream, to run, to fight. He longed to beat the shell out of the siren that continued to whisper and enchant his body to bend to its will. 

His mouth stayed shut. 

His legs remained still.

His hands hung limp at his sides, bristling the tipped edges of his sais.

Now watching as if a spectator in his own body, Raph’s legs began to move. They pressed forward with an unnatural uniformity, pulling him closer to a pair of doors leading into a frighteningly familiar room. Raph watched as a pair of crimson-tipped fingers unlocked the door, beckoning him to continue on his way inside. No matter how much Raph’s spirit bit and snarled and yanked, his body complied with the voice’s wishes.

His form climbed into a cushioned chair surrounded by heavy machinery littering every surface. The haunting shine of scalpels and saws glistened on trays set up near his head. His wrists and ankles were slid into metal cuffs as his body unnaturally relaxed into the reclining chair. Lights began flashing as the machinery around him began to glow in a sickly neon green.

“LET ME GO!!!”

Raph’s spirit froze at the sound of the new voice screeching at the doorway. It was a voice he could never forget; A voice of someone who drove him crazy, and pushed him to always do his best in everything he ever did. A scratchy tone that would sometimes pop into a high-pitched crack, leaving him dying laughing on the floor and dodging random office supplies being hurled at him.

His best friend.

“I SAID LET ME GO!!! WHERE’S MY BROTHER?” Don snarled as he was dragged into the room by two hulking jerks, twisting and yanking at the freckled mutant’s chains. He winced as they threw him into the similar chair positioned beside Raph.

NO!! PLEASE NO!!!

Raph’s pleads and screams never left his body’s lips. He could only watch as his twin was forced down into the chair, the two men not being gentle in the slightest as they tugged Don’s limbs through the cuffs with a loud *CLANG*.

“RAPH!!” Don yelled to the hollow husk of his twin in both concern and relief at the same time,”RAPH WAKE UP!! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!”

The fiery brother couldn’t look away as Don’s face fell when his twin didn’t even acknowledge his existence, nevermind his words.

“...R-Raph?... What did they do to you?!- WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!!” Don ignited in a furious explosion of raw, protective instincts as masked doctors began filling the room.

Even with Don’s kicking and screaming, clawing and biting, and choice vocabulary that would send his father into a coma, the doctors still swiftly worked around him, preparing the machine that menacingly hovered above the two twins. Nurses began attaching small, metal nodes onto the sides of the brothers’ temples; Don’s on the left, and Raph’s on the right. The freckled brother didn’t stop squirming and fighting for one second, using all his energy to somehow escape his binds. But Raph remained still, his mind fully possessed by the siren that dwelled inside.

With a small *click* the machine began to operate. Raph watched as his twin began to scream, not in protest, but in pain. His body twisted and jolted as if he were being impaled by a lightning bolt. 

NO! 

Raphael’s spirit began to burn. 

NO…

His anger blazed in an uncontrollable pyre.

I… WILL NOT… 

His body’s hand twitched.

..LET…

His placid face began to sneer and snarl.

YOU…

His eyes burst open.

HURT HIM!!!!!

His spirit lunged through its prison, disintegrating the coils of control the siren once possessed. The chords of his identity and soul found their purchase in the core of his mind, planting themselves deeply, and never allowing such intrusion again. With the fury of a lion and the love of a protector he screamed,

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

Electricity sparked and stuttered through him in an instant, coursing through every muscle and fiber. It pulled his limbs taut, causing a deep ache to ignite in his bones. His skull rang with loud static, and his body twitched uncontrollably.

His body.

He fought against his binds, shattering the metal into pieces.

The lights on the machine flashed and popped, spraying the surrounding doctors with shards of glass. The panels of the contraption began to shake, as the device rapidly began to overload. 

The room was swallowed by the following explosion, bathed in an iridescent, blinding white.

Raphael and Donatello gasped simultaneously as they shot up, flinging their blankets off their chests.

Sweat beads trickled down Raph’s face as he shuddered and snatched onto his blanket. His fingers pressed deeply into the fibers, cushioning his nails instead of allowing them to penetrate skin. The thick, warm feel of the fabric pulled him back from fantasy, and planted him firmly in reality.

I’m home…

I’m safe…

I’m okay…

He chanted these words over and over in his mind until a cool, slurring voice broke his concentration.

“Raph?... You a’right, man?” Leo groggily whispered from his place on the spare mattress in the middle of the room. In the darkness the eldest’s frosty irises glowed as they locked onto Raph. 

Before the fiery brother could turn away from his sibling’s concerned gaze, Leo was already pulling away his sheets and blanket, tidily folding them over the edge of his bed, before silently crossing the room to Raph’s bedside.

CRUD CRUD CRUD-

NO- SHOO- GO AWAY- NOT NOW-

Raph immediately turned over, flopping to face the wall of his nook away from Leo.

“-I-I’m fine, Leo. Go back ta bed.” He subtly hissed through his fangs, hoping and praying that he was not about to get a big ol’ talk about feelings from the oldest. 

“Yeahhh, I’m not gonna buy that.” Leo yawned as he sat down on the floor beside Raph’s mattress. “A fighter you are. An actor you’re not. Now what’s going on?”

“I said I’m fine.” Raph curtly mumbled into his blanket.

“Still don’t believe you, try again.” Leo sighed as he rubbed at his eyes.

“I SAID I’M FINE.” Raph finally snapped a little too loudly, twisting his body to face his oldest brother. 

Leo winced at the volume of his brother’s expected outburst, then simply shook his head with an unimpressed frown. But before he could say another word, his expression changed as he noticed something about his fiery brother’s face. His mouth parted minisculely as he reached out his hand. 

Raph’s temper and pride demanded he swat it away, but his curiosity and love for his brother won out against his stubbornness. He remained still as Leo’s hand softly landed on the side of Raphael’s face, rubbing something wet off it.

Oh crap I’m crying.

DANG IT NOW HE’S NEVER GONNA LEAVE…

The concern over Leo’s face softened slightly, as he asked again, in a firmer “I am the oldest but I’m also your leader” tone, 

“What’s going on?”

Once again, Raph was completely trapped. Not by a psycho scientist, or by some evil, government organization, but by his perfectionistic, calm, and deeply concerned oldest brother.

There was no way he was going to get out of this one…

And that's it for this chapter! :) You all have been begging to see more of what happened to Don and Raph at the labs, so I present to you a nightmare~. This chapter was certainly tricky to figure out at first- with so many different scenes compiled together, it was hard to keep a steady flow for my reader, but I'm really happy with how it turned out! :) AAAAnd yes, I did say that I would only draw one panel for each chapter, but I COULDN'T HELP ITTTTTT!!!

Feel free to reblog and share this!

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for helping me and encouraging me through this chapter!

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl, @carrots-bear, @howtotrainyourdragonprince, @jasminegazer, @indieyuugure

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, please comment down below! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

(CW- Nightmares, past medical trauma, being held down, and mind control!!)

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 7 - Imprinted

(CW- Nightmares, trauma, vomiting, flashbacks)

Lotus woke with a thrashing gasp, the air in her lungs stolen by another nightmare. Her hand shakily rose to her plastron as she tried to calm her pounding heart. The echoes of the monster’s threats slowly faded from her mind, but the adrenaline and fear still loomed over her like an inescapable smaug. The dream still had its hold on her, morphing reality as it saw fit. Shadows seemed to come alive as their claws shot out from the darkness. Every wall sprouted eyes and began to close in on her. Her stomach twisted in discomfort as she fought to forget her dream, closing her eyes and reminding herself again and again that it was over. 

“I’m fine… It’s… It’s done..” She choked, still trying to regain her purloined breath.

Once the ghostly chorus of the phantom completely faded, she wearily opened her eyes. Everything had returned to normal, the shadows creeping back into their crevices awaiting the next time she would try to sleep. All the eyes had vanished from the walls. The room had stopped shrinking.

Before she could slump in relief her gut twisted again, making her wince as the discomfort only grew.

That’s weird… 

Lotus was fully aware of the repercussions of nightmares on her body. There were times she would wake drenched in sweat or shaking. Other nights she woke up so tense that her body physically ached, forcing her to stretch out her tight limbs and loosen up before attempting to sleep again. But this was different. Normally the discomfort would soften as she calmed herself down, the turbulence of her racing heart slowly returning to a steady beat. But this… this wasn’t normal.

The throb of discomfort only continued to grow, forcing Lotus to clutch her arms around her torso. Her stomach grew more and more tight, as the sharp pangs squeezed whimpers out of her lips. Nausea crept closer.

This isn’t good… This ISN’T GOOD.

She scrambled to think back to the last thing she ate, but came up empty. The last few days were a complete blur, smeared together in a mishmash of memories that left her with no decipherable answers. 

Seems this is becoming a recurring theme in my life.

Her bitter thoughts took a screeching halt as her stomach lurched.

Panic came flooding back into her heart in an instant as she shot her hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to contain what she knew was coming.

No no nonononono!!!

With as much strength as she could muster, she frantically pulled herself upright. She could feel the acid quickly clawing its way up her throat, cutting off her gasping pleas for this new nightmare to cease. 

And as per usual, she quickly found that she had no control.

In a split second attempt to spare Leo’s mattress, Lotus jerked her entire body off the bed, landing hard onto the grainy tiles below. The impact of her fall sparked a terrible ache to ignite in her still healing leg, but the pain was quickly thrown to the back burner as the vile taste of acrid fumes filled Lotus’ mouth. Her head swayed as dizziness overtook her.

She closed her eyes in a tight wince as she shakily braced her hands onto the ground. Not a second later, her stomach’s contents disguised as stinging lava splattered over the floor, sealing her fate.

I’m sorry… I’m sorry! I’M SORRY!

The imprinted instinct to run and hide from her shame grew with each embarrassing second, but her limbs refused to carry her weight. In order to keep from landing face first into the mess, she used her swaying form to roll her body to the side. Once again, her head rang with the impact of hitting the floor, and her leg screamed at the rough treatment. Even with the remnants of acid burning her throat and nose, she couldn’t hold back crying out from the pain.

Her hands clutched onto her thigh, squeezing hard to hopefully stint the agony quickly spreading throughout the incision site. Tears began streaming down her cheeks as she pictured how pathetic she must have looked lying on the floor next to her own puke. The fact that she couldn’t listen to her instincts and hide made things so much worse. 

She was trapped, pinned down, and at the mercy of the first person through the doorway.

Her fears were made real as she heard the rush of footsteps come racing towards her. 

They can’t see this!! I… I can’t let them see this!!!

It’s just another mess for them to clean up! I’m being such a PAIN- They’ve been so nice and THIS is how I’m repaying that kindness?!? 

By becoming a hindrance?? A pest? 

What a way to say “thank you”, you charity case. 

Her bitter tears burned alongside her stinging throat as she hid her face into her shoulder.

Pathetic.

The racing footsteps finally made their way into the bedroom, and Lotus’ stomach squeezed as they raced towards her. 

Her mind was overtaken by the cold voices of her past.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??”

“UGH, DISGUSTING.”

“SEND IT TO DR O’NEIL, IT’S SICK AGAIN.”

More tears streamed down her cheeks as she braced for the same reprimands for what she had done. She tensed her body awaiting whatever punishment her captors saw fit.

“LOTUS! What happened?!?” Leo’s voice cried out as gentle hands were placed onto Lotus’ trembling shoulders. At the physical contact, her body let out an unavoidable flinch, bringing out a startled gasp from the oldest brother.

“Lotus.. What’s wrong?” He whispered as he drew back his hand.

“Are ya blind? She’s sick!” Raph yelled exasperatedly, but Lotus could sense little glints of concern hidden behind the fiery brother’s tone.

When she finally turned her face towards the brothers, she caught sight of Don frantically leaving the room. From what she could see of his expression, his face looked as though he was… afraid. Her sight was quickly brought back to Leo and Mikey leaning over her, asking her a multitude of questions that blurred into a cacophony of frantic voices. Once Leo caught on that she couldn’t understand what they were saying, the eldest slapped a hand over Mikey’s mouth. With the racket of panic silenced, Leo sighed and started over.

“What is going on? Are you in any pain?” He spoke as calmly as he could, though the facade wasn’t as effective thanks to the worry etched over his face and tense posture.

Lotus wanted to shrivel up and die. 

Before she could attempt to cover up the fact that she was indeed ill, her body once again reminded her of who was in charge. Another searing zing shot up her leg, and she had no choice but to cry out as she squeezed tighter to the offending limb. 

“Well, there’s your answer.” Raph flicked his hand gesturing to Lotus, “Come here, we’re gettin’ you off the floor.”

“Careful with her leg!” Leo warned, as Raph moved to pick Lotus up. “Hopefully she didn’t pull any of her stitches…”

Lotus’ stomach flipped at that horrifying thought. 

If she had pulled some of them, Leo would be forced to re-stitch her wound. That horrible experience was one she never wanted to relive. Her mind briskly reminded her of the pain she had felt at that moment in time, the prick and pull of the needle, and the fear that had forced her body to be sick.

Please, NOT AGAIN.

Another whimper squeaked out from her as Raph lifted her up, resulting in the fiery brother looking down at her in concern. He made sure to move extra slow so as to not reignite the pain in her leg. It somewhat worked. 

“Careful- Careful!” Leo hurriedly spoke as he ran to check on Lotus’ incision. “Alright Lotus, you need to hold still, okay? Don’t move- I just need to check something real quick.”

Swallowing down the urge to shudder at the familiar words, Lotus cried a silent prayer pleading for there to be no damage to her stitches.

Agonizingly slow seconds crept past as she waited for Leo to speak. To distract herself she tried looking around the room again, identifying the vast diversity of colors and textures strewn about the room; The dark crimson wall of Raph’s nook, the bright splotches of blues, yellows, and oranges on the wall underneath Mikey’s bunk bed, and the patterns adorning many articles of clothing haphazardly dropped and thrown across the room. 

The distraction helped a little. Her heart cautiously returned to a normal beat, and her mind began to empty out all the panic that had plagued it. She took a slow inhale and then let it out, allowing her head to carefully lean onto Raph’s plastron. She could hear his heart beating from under the hard, natural armor, and she leaned further as she let its steady rhythm overtake her anxieties. 

“Okay,” Leo began, making Lotus jolt out of her dazed stupor in an instant, “your stitches seem fine.”

If she could, Lotus would have jumped out of Raph’s arms and danced. But seeing how she was still weak and pathetic at the moment, she settled for just letting out a sigh of relief, dropping her head back down onto Raph’s chest.

“Now.. can you explain why you were sick?” Leo spoke as he gestured to the spot where Lotus had thrown up. Mikey was already finished cleaning the area on the floor with a slight grimace on his face. He gathered the used paper towels and threw them in the trash bin Don was holding.

Lotus’ brows creased as she noticed how pale Donatello looked. He held the trash bin an arms length away from himself, and his face twisted with way too many emotions all at the same time. His eyes remained strictly focused on the furthest wall as he was led by Mikey out of the room.

“Lotus? LOTUS!”

She twitched as her attention was yanked back to Leo, the eldest’s eyes drawn into tight, interrogative slits.

“Why. Were. You. Sick? Are you okay???” Leo asked with a hint of annoyance camouflaged under his calm tone.

Lotus shook her head to knock out all the interrupting thoughts clouding her mind, as Raph gently placed her onto Leo’s bed.

“S-sorry, Leo… I’m… I’m not sure why I’m sick.” Lotus’ voice was quiet and strained, trying to be careful of her still burning throat. It also didn’t help that her leg continued to pulse with deep aches, causing some words to cut off in sharp grunts or gasps. “My… NGH! My stomach h-hurts…”

“Alright- That’s okay!” Leo gently spoke, the annoyance quickly being forgotten as his question was finally somewhat answered. He held out his hands in a steadying gesture. “Do you think you were allergic to the crackers Mikey gave you earlier?”

Huh??

Lotus’ pained expression twisted again, not in discomfort but in confusion.

“W-What are you talking about? I didn’t eat any crackers.” She spoke in mild, whispered bewilderment, “At least… Not that I can remember…”

She turned her head to peer at the side table next to Leo’s bed. There was no plate or crumbs anywhere, so most likely she was never given a snack, right? Unless the dishes were taken away?.. But wouldn’t she have remembered that?

Am I missing something here????

She turned to face Leo again, but froze when she noticed his expression. His irises had shrunk to half their usual size, and his breathing caught in his throat. He joined his hands as if he were about to start praying, but his eyes remained wide open.

“...Are you telling me…You haven’t eaten anything all day?”

Lotus didn’t mean to shrink under Leo’s accidental scrutiny, but the eldest’s gaze was becoming more and more sharp by the second, and she could only withstand his “Mom glare”™ for so long.

“...Um…” Lotus squeaked under the growing pressure of Leo’s glare. She turned her gaze to Raphael in a desperate plea for support. The fiery brother refused to be helpful in the slightest, simply shrugging and holding his hands in mock surrender at Lotus’ pleading expression.

 She tried to gulp down the pebble stuck in her windpipe.

“...No?...”

Leo’s head instantly dropped onto the tips of his praying fingers with an exasperated sigh.

“Mikey…~” He groaned under his breath.

“Aw, come on, bro.” Raph mumbled to himself.

Confusion still twisting her features, Lotus was grateful to finally have Leo’s glacier glare off her, but she still had no idea what he was talking about. 

Her stomach twisted again, and all the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

“... I was supposed to eat before I took the pills, wasn’t I?”

Leo kept his face down as he groaned, “Yes.”

Lotus grit her teeth as she fought to keep her composure, her face scrunching into a barely contained snarl. Anger began to burn inside her, draping the shadows of doubt and bitterness over her heart once again. 

Here she was in the same situation as before; A victim of careless caretakers.

Nothing has changed.

I am such an IDIOT.

“That’s why I don’t feel right? It’s because of you? Again?!” Lotus’ voice grew in volume and venom with each accusation spat. “What is wrong with you?!?! WHAT WAS IN THOSE PILLS??” She yelled, as her hands whipped to point at the side table.

Leo’s head shot up as his hands separated, rising in placating surrender.

“N-no! It… it was an accident! Mikey was supposed to bring you something to eat so you could take the painkillers, but… he got… distracted. Something kinda…” Leo began to taper off as his shoulders rose stiffly. 

“...Came up.” Raph finished in a grumbling tone.

Lotus flung her arms in the air as an empty laugh erupted out of her snarling teeth. “Oh yes! A lot of something definitely came up.” She pointed to her aching stomach to prove her point.

Before Lotus could react, Raph had already stepped in between her and Leo, his arms tightly crossed, and his eyes in a piercing glare.

“HEY. You don’t know what happened back there.” Raph intervened, his low voice imitating a growl of warning, “Like Leo said, it was an accident. He’s not perfect, no matter how hard he tries to be.”

Leo’s whole body tensed after Raph’s words, the eldest’s expression flashing from fear to surprise to hurt.

Lotus unconsciously cowered at the sudden presence of Raphael’s towering form. His shadow looming over her brought back many unspeakable memories to light. She fought hard not to whimper or hide, but the fear lashing at her core stung and bled. The memories of a monster distorted her view of Raphael, smearing her reality with the darkness of her past. 

“Hold still, creature.” 

The searing anger burning her lungs and clouding her mind vanished as the ghost of Lotus’ past hissed all too familiar words.

“No. Get away!” Lotus cried out as she shielded her head with her arms. 

She had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere that was safe.

There was no haven that could protect her from the memories.

She was trapped all over again.

“I’m sorry! I’m s-s-sorry!” She whimpered into the crooks of her arms.

A beat passed as she waited for her punishment.

“Lotus… Is it alright if I touch you?” A kind voice asked, shining dim rays through the smaug of memories.

The voice was unlike any she had heard in the labs: Kind, soothing, gentle… But it wasn’t female like the good doctor. Its tones were lower, smooth like the facets of a diamond, and radiating with warmth.

Her instinct told her she could trust it.

Another beat passed as Lotus shakily nodded her head. Soon after, she felt the cool scales of a three-fingered hand land on her forearm. She winced, expecting the hand’s grip to tighten and yank her away. 

Instead, it delicately pulled down her arms.

 Her glistening eyes widened as the ghost before her vanished in the warm rays of the bedroom. As her last tears fell, the blurs of green, red, and blue morphed back into Raphael and Leonardo.

They looked so worried.

Leo’s face had fallen into a horrified frown, and Raph looked as though he had just accidentally ran over a puppy. Their expressions filled with concern brought a soothing confirmation to Lotus that they weren’t her old doctors. They couldn’t be.

Because they looked as though they cared.

She looked down to see Leo’s hand still placed on top of her forearm. There were no scratchy squeaks of latex, no icy grip, and not even five fingers. No one was tying her down. No one was cutting into her.

Instead, she felt a soft warmth emanate through the contact of Leo’s fingers on her skin. The grip wasn’t tight, yet it was still grounding. 

It felt so foreign and so right at the same time.

Emotions began to clash inside her, her past and present fighting in a mighty battle to gain control. Distrust and bitterness clawed at the growing rays of hope. Fear and trauma bit and scratched at the faded hands of peace.

Lotus took a leap of faith.

“I’m sorry. I-... I just… I h-h-hate feeling like… like t-this…” Lotus whimpered as all the fear drained from her body, taking her strength with it. “I’m.. I’m sorry, Leo.”

The corners of Leo’s mouth perked into a kind grin as his icy irises melted with compassion. Raph simply closed his eyes and nodded his head, his expression turning stoic, but not lacking sympathy. Lotus could still catch his concern peeking through as he stayed close to her bedside.

“It’s alright, I forgive you.” Leo spoke softly, as he delicately squeezed her arm. His smile grew the tiniest bit more when he saw that she didn’t flinch. “ And I… can’t blame you for being angry. I just should’ve brought you the snacks myself. It was my fau-”

Before Leo could finish his apology, his words were cut off by Raphael gripping the lip of the eldest’s shell, and yanking him forward so they were face-to-face. Leo let out an indignant yelp at the jarring motion. Raph poked an accusing finger into Leo’s plastron, rumbling in a tone that left no room for argument.

“-You say it’s your fault again and I’ll pelt you in the head with the back of my sai.”

Leo’s face flushed in an instant as he sputtered and squirmed in Raphael’s grip. 

“RAPH! Nghhh.. P-Put me DOWN!!”

As confused as Lotus was as to why the brothers were arguing, she made no attempt to ask. Even though she had gotten more than enough sleep in the last… Day? Days? Her body still ached, resulting in another large wave of exhaustion dragging her consciousness down further into the expectant darkness of sleep. 

Her eyelids began sinking…

Her thoughts fizzled out like the dying flames of a candle…

Just as her eyes closed and darkness filled her vision, a chilling presence emerged from the shadows, beckoning her to follow it deeper into the black of her nightmares once again. 

“-NO!” She gasped breathlessly as she forced her body to jerk upright.

Leo and Raph instantly stopped their tussling, whipping their heads in the direction of Lotus’ distress. Raph let go of Leo and they both drew closer to Lotus’ bedside, asking her what was wrong and why she was shaking.

 Her answer came in a frail voice drowning in terror and hopelessness.

“I’ll…I’ll never be free.”

Aaaand that's it for this chapter!! Now you're all finally seeing more of Lotus' perspective in this story. Some of her true colors revealed themselves in this chapter, as well as some answers about her past. And now we'll all see how the brothers will handle this broken girl. <3 This was one of my darker chapters, as you just read it focuses a good amount on Lotus' trauma, and how her captors created her view on the world and herself. This will be the base of her arc in this story.

Also, you probably noticed I only posted one illustration with this chapter. This was on purpose, cause I wanted to leave room for you guys to create your own picture of the scenes that occur in this chapter. :) Whether it be through your imagination or through fanart! This also helps me to not have as much work to do per chapter, so I can get more chapters finished and posted for you all faster! :)

Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to reblog this!

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for giving helpful critiques and suggestions with editing the chapter!! :)

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl

(If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, just comment down below!) :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[truths33k3r4]

So for the expression challenge… you know imma make you do a feelings one… so can I please get ma boi Raph with D9? ❤️‍🩹

Here's the next SIW Expression Entry! D9 for Raphael, (with guest appearance of his stressed out medic brother~)

This expression sang "Raphael getting unwanted first aid" And I had to trust that feeling. Plus, I'm VERY aware that you, MJ, are a lover of hurt/comfort as much as I am. ;) Soooo yup! This was fun! XD

Thank you, @howtotrainyourdragonprince for the request!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Emotion challenges are so much fun!

A 1-4(any of those) for Lotus because she deserves to smile! ☺️

My next entries for my SIW Expression Challenge!! A2 and A3 for Lotus! (With guest appearance of Raph~)

You know what, I AGREE. This poor girl needs so many things- and a smile is certainly on that list! <3 So, here's what Lotus will look like in the future of SIW, as well as some clues of the hobbies and roles she'll be trying in the team. :) Have to admit, it felt quite nice to draw Lotus smiling and genuinely enjoying herself. :)

Thank you, @coloroflite for the request! It was lovely to draw my traumatized girl having a good time for once. ~^^~

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Here's a little sneak peek of my upcoming chapter of SIW~ I just gotta finish one more illustration and then it will be ready to be posted!! :)

Hope you all have a great day/night! And thanks for being so patient! XD

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

SIW Sillies ~ Look They're Bondingggg (ANIMATED)

EHhehehehe I'm having fun practicing animating- can you tell?.. XD

Audio isn't mine- I just thought it would be funny to animated Mikey ticking Lotus off and Raph getting a good laugh out of it. :)

Enjoy!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Hey, everyone!!!

A while ago, I started noticing that some well-known artists were creating "Voice Claim" videos to show their audience what their characters sound like. (Thank you, @indieyuugure for the inspiration to do this!) And after watching their videos, I thought to myself- "Hmm... I want to do that!"

So, for the last few months, I have been searching and gathering intel trying to decide what my characters from my story, "The Strength in Weakness" would sound like. Finally, I had all my voices picked out.

Then the new year came, and with it, a whole new burst of creative inspiration and drive. One of my main goals this new year, was to practice animation more. And then it clicked: I was going to animate every scene I had picked out for my characters.

I have been working for the last week on this video, and now I can finally present it to you all!!!

~VOICE CLAIMS FOR "THE STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS" CHARACTERS~

Leonardo - It took me a LONG time to figure out my Leo's voice. In my chapters, I describe his tone being cool, calm, and very gentle. However when he's angry or feels threatened, his voice sharpens like the edge of an icicle. This specific tone was NOT easy to find in a VA- A tone that can be as tender and smooth as silk, while also snapping to cold and commanding in a mili-second. I went through many options, but eventually landed on the cool, kind voice of Kirby Morrow, from Scott in X Men Evolution. :)

Raphael - THIS DUDE- THIS....MUTANT- Took the longest to find his voice. Apparently looking up "Brooklyn-accented character" was as useful as a UNO card in a game of poker- A huge part of me wanted to just steal the voice of 2003 Raphael- (Cause he's amazing), but my stubbornness to keep the voices unique won out against that. Eventually I had two options left- Christian Bale in Newsies, or Renegade Knuckles from Sonic Prime. I couldn't find enough audio to use for Christian's voice, so I chose Renegade's instead. Vincent Tong delivered his gravelly, Brooklyn/New York accented lines in a way that fit perfectly with my version of Raph. :)

Donatello - It did not take me that long to see how perfect Jack De Sena's voice was for my version of Don. Sokka, (the original character voiced by Sena), is my favorite Avatar character- and his passion, intelligence in engineering, and squeakiness were just too good not to pick for my angry, freckled genius. :)

Lotus - My precious little oc took a bit of time to get the right voice.. In my story, (at least where I'm up to), she's mostly quiet, but has her explosive moments of suppressed anger or bitterness. She's also quite passionate and argumentative when it comes to someone "lying" or "manipulating" her in any way. She's very conscious of everything happening around her, always taking note of changes in emotions, attitude, and body language. This took a bit of searching, but eventually I found the perfect tone and attitude in the voice of AJ Michalka. :)

Michelangelo - After finding Kurby Morrow's voice, I remembered that his character in X Men Evolution had a little brother... With a chill vibe... and a surfer dude tone. And I was sold on the relaxed, surfer dude, innocent voice of Matt Hill. :)

Originally, I wanted to animate and record the voices for my Splinter and my main villain, Specter. But um... Life got busy again- as well as I was too scared to try drawing- NEVER MIND ANIMATING- Splinter... Soooooo yeahhh that didn't happen... But hope you guys enjoy this all the same. :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

Day 9- Sibling's Voice Changes Overnight. (LOW) - SIW

I'm not sorry at all. Mikey is thirteen in my story- so of COURSE I had to have the highest pitched brother get the deepest of a voice. XD It was also super nice to draw Lotus interacting normally with the brothers too! (Yaknowinsteadofgettingchokedbyonefromanalternatereality) I also got to draw my turts in some clothes again!!! :) I don't do that enough it seems....hmm.

Anyways, enjoy! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

~ TMNTember Prompts List ~

[truths33k3r4]

The Strength in Weakness Update!

Hey guys!!! These last few weeks have been insane with finishing up the SIW animation, but just today I finished the first draft of the next chapter! Hopefully by sometime next week I'll be able to post it! :) Thank you all for your patience! Here's some fun lil sketches to make up for it!

Have a great day/night!!

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

This is what happens when me and @allyheart707 are chatting about how adorable her turtles are with tails- It made me wonder....

..What would my SIW turtles look like? How would they react to having tails when they've lived their whole lives without them?

Hehehehehe chaos ensued quickly after~

Ok- Now that I'm done this little fun project, I can actually get back to writing the next chapter of SIW! See you guys later! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[truths33k3r4]

DAY 13- Realizing They’re Poisoned after the Battle is Long Over” - SIW

(Sketch form for now!)

(TW for stab wound, blood, poison, collapsing)

Nice to finally put the spotlight on my favorite tough guy, Raph. :) This comic took a WHILE to complete, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! (So far~) I may add or subtract panels once I finish these sketches digitally, but we’ll see. :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa