The humans had decided to make Donnie's little area much cooler than before.
For one, the pond was cold enough to send shivers down Donnie's spine. It felt good, though, and helped significantly with his headache. Secondly, the whole section was somehow maxing out at 60'F. Donnie found this temperature much more comfortable than the blistering 90.
His little heat stroke hallucination had left him feeling hollow, so he tried to spend more time around the kids, with Venus, in the pond… basically anywhere he could go to do virtually anything so he could take his mind off of home, and his brothers, and April, and… heck, even Casey.
Donnie was currently in the pond, floating. He was staring at the dull grey roof of the terrarium, trying to distract himself from where he was and what the situation was. Lately, a plan had been forming in his head. He wanted to escape.
Not for the same reason as when he arrived, though. No, this time, he just wanted to feel… what, exactly?
He only wanted to see his brothers… his friends… Casey… he wanted to run around the rooftops of New York City, feel the cool air make his face go numb from the cold. He wanted to tease his brothers, build new things, smell the fresh air again…
He wanted to be free .
At first, he thought the pros would outweigh the cons. Surprisingly, he found enough cons to make him hesitate in his escape plan.
One: the kids. He was their teacher, they his students. He remembered when he was little, when Splinter would go to the top to search for some food, or a new toy for them to play with, or… whatever he would look for. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey had always sat at the turnstiles, waiting for him to come home, hoping he would be back soon because they loved him and they missed him and were maybe a little frightened that he would leave them forever.
Donnie knew how terrifying it could be to see your father figure, or even your oldest brother, leave. They said they would be back, but to a child who wasn't related to them by blood… would they? What reason would they have to come back? Pity? Genuine care? Guilt? Adoration?
These kids were only five, but Donnie was afraid they would think he had abandoned them if he left which, in a way, would be true. Would Venus volunteer to teach them, or would they be given a stranger for a teacher? Maybe a human? Maybe another nasty human. He didn't want that, not for these innocent children.
Two: Venus. The only reason she had started warming up to basically anybody was because Donnie had made her feel comfortable around others. Maybe not all the way, but enough for her to get some much-needed social interaction. Who was to say she would keep it up if Donnie left?
Three: his brothers. Of course, he wanted to see them, but would they want to see him? He had no idea what happened before he was captured, but what if they had gotten into an argument? What if one of them had messed up down the line? What if they just didn't care…?
Donnie shook his head at this thought. Of course, they cared! Why wouldn't they? They were brothers… brothers always welcome each other back, no matter what…
But there was a tiny voice that mentioned that none of them had come for him. It had already been three and a half months, yet still nothing.
Donnie ignored the tiny voice, telling it that his brothers wouldn't know how to find him or where to look. They couldn't use his tech to save their skins!
If they were desperate enough, they could figure it out.
But then, Donnie rationalized that he had a very strong password on his computer that he never told his brothers. He also changed it every day so that no one could hack into it. The voice went silent.
He felt someone slip into the water and make its way toward him. Donnie recognized the controlled yet reckless footsteps, the way he struggled through the water, yet was so determined to reach his goal that he almost didn't notice how much he was struggling.
Donnie felt him climb carefully on top of his carapace. They lied there in silence for a while.
Donnie watched Buddy, not saying anything. Buddy's eyes drifted from his face to his carapace, studying every scratch and chip.
"Where did you get these?" he asked. Donnie smiled at him: of course he did. The kids' grammar had increased drastically since he became their teacher.
"Battles," Donnie said. Buddy blinked at him, moving his head to look Donnie right in the eyes.
"What kind of battles?" he asked. Donnie's smile fell slightly, but he kept it on his face. There were some good memories, most bad…
"Big battles," Donnie said. "My brothers and I fight bad guys."
"Like superheroes?" Buddy asked enthusiastically. Donnie chuckled slightly and nodded as much as he could. He didn't want to capsize.
"Kind of… we're ninjas, actually."
"Cool!"
There was a light in Buddy's eyes that made Donnie's eyes water. The smile on the little turtle's face made his heart break a little bit. Donnie recognized the expression on Buddy's face. It was the same expression that Mikey had whenever Donnie asked him for help in the lab.
"Do you guys wear masks and use weapons and stuff?!" Buddy asked. Donnie laughed a little bit and gently lifted his arms. Buddy got the message and climbed down, allowing Donnie to move around in the water so he was sitting. It was a rather small pond, not very deep.
"Yes and yes," Donnie said. Buddy's smile somehow grew.
"Do you all wear black masks or different colors?" he asked. Donnie found his interest in this topic a bit surprising, heart-warming, worrying, and suspicious. Why did he want to know this?
"Different colors," Donnie said. "Leo, my oldest brother, wears blue. Raph, the second-oldest brother, wears red. I'm the third oldest, I wear purple. And Mikey- "
Donnie's voice broke a little when he said Mikey's name. He had no clue if the little turtle caught it, but if he did, he chose not to say anything. "Mikey is the youngest of us," Donnie finally said. His voice was softer now, the smile almost gone. It was small, but there. "He wears orange."
"Do you all use the same weapons?" Buddy asked, softer than before. Donnie smiled gratefully at him. Buddy was trying, he really was, but he was only five. There would be no satisfying his curiosity, not forever.
"Leo uses twin katana," Donnie said. Buddy tilted his head to the side. Donnie thought for a second. "Two swords."
Buddy nodded.
"Raph uses twin sais. They're like forks, except they have a shorter handle and the prong in the middle is longer than the two on the sides."
Buddy nodded again. Donnie could tell he was not entirely sure, but he had gotten the gist of it.
"I use the bo staff… the giant wooden stick," he said. Buddy giggled.
"And Mikey uses the nunchaku," Donnie finished off. "Or, you know, nunchucks. Our weapons can do something special, though."
"What is it?" Buddy asked. Donnie smirked at him.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" Donnie asked. He didn't necessarily mind if Buddy told anyone, but he didn't want him spoiling this to the humans. He still didn't fully trust them. Buddy nodded serenely. Donnie took a deep breath.
"There's a button on my bo staff," Donnie said. "If I press it, a blade will come out of the top."
"Whoa," Buddy breathed. Donnie smiled at him.
"When Mikey pushes the button on his nunchucks, it'll extend into a really long chain with a blade attached to it!" Buddy's eyes were so wide that Donnie was a little afraid that they would pop out.
"That's so cool!" he whispered. A big smile broke out on his face, one that seemed like he was holding it in the whole time. "You're an actual NINJA!!!"
"Just don't tell any of the humans," Donnie whispered. "It's a secret that me and my brothers have to keep in order to stay safe."
"Like a secret identity?" Buddy asked. Donnie nodded.
"Yeah, something like that," he said. Buddy nodded.
"Can I tell my friends?" he asked. Donnie smiled.
"Just not Venus or the humans," he told him. Buddy nodded again before smiling, then jumping up and giving Donnie a big hug. His sudden movement caused water to splash up all around them, dousing them both. Neither cared.
"I promise!" Buddy exclaimed. Donnie smiled thankfully at him.
"Thank you, Buddy," he said.
The next morning, when Donnie woke up, the kids were already gone. Donnie yawned and rubbed his eyes. He walked over to the pond, about to splash some water on his face to wake himself up more, but he froze. There was something on the metal wall just beside the pond.
It was a crayon drawing of what appeared to be four turtles, all of which had different colored masks: one in blue, one in red, one in purple, and one in orange. Each of them were holding some kind of traditional Japanese weapon: two swords for the blue one, two salad-fork-resembling objects in the red one's hands, a big brown stick in the purple one's, and two short sticks with what appeared to be a string attaching them being held by the orange one.
A single tear made its way down Donnie's cheek.