CHAPTER 12- Discipline and Consequences
Mikey couldn’t help but swallow a nerve-filled lump in his throat as his hands twitched and pecked at any loose threads on his belt and hand wraps. The mat cushioning his knees both felt soft with familiarity but firm with lack of use. It squeaked under the pressure of his body, startling him out of his thoughts.
“Good morning, my sons.” Splinter spoke softly as he approached Mikey and Raph on their respective mats on the ground. A wisp of a smile graced the ratman’s aged face.
Mikey hadn’t seen a hint of that smile in weeks.
“Seeing how… long it has been since our last session, I want you both to become familiar with the basics once again: stretches, rolls, and the like.” Master Splinter stated as he gestured to the mats at the center of the dojo.
“Dad, come on!” Raph interjected, holding up his hands at his sides. “It’s only been a few weeks- it’s not like we forgot how to spar. Do we really have to go back to level one??”
Mikey nodded at Raph’s complaint, subtly, so he didn’t bring any unwanted attention to himself by their father towering above them.
Raphhhh, ya better be careful with your words, bro…
The youngest watched as the great Master’s face tightened, the lines of age being pulled taut as a frown replaced his smile. Deep within his moss eyes, past the frustration and exhaustion, flecks of sadness began to appear. But as quickly as they came, they were consumed.
“Yes, Raphael.” His father replied with an ember of warning alighting the tips of his calm words. “You and Michelangelo have been through much, both physically and mentally. In order to heal, you will need to find and build your foundations again. That means reverting to, as you say, ‘level one’.”
Raph slouched as a defeated moan rumbled from his throat.
Sensei’s expression became tighter as he whipped his tail down onto Raph’s left hand with a THWAP. Mikey had to hold back laughing as he watched his fiery brother yelp and shake his stinging fingers.
“Perhaps now you see, Raphael, why I want you to start at the beginning. Respect is a vital component to one’s foundation. It seems you will need to learn that once again.” The great Master chided, as he repeated his gesture to the center of the dojo.
The two brothers fell silent again as they rose from their mats and entered the center of the dojo. Throughout the next ten minutes, they pulled and loosened as many muscles as they could. The youngest couldn’t help but flaunt his flexibility as he did so, reaching his toes while falling into a perfect split.
Mikey himself wasn’t really a fan of training; Not like Raph or Leo. But somehow, as he sat and stretched on the dojo floor, a wave of nostalgia and calm spread over him like a warm sunray. It soothed his nerves, and helped him to relax as he pulled at the muscles of his body. Various pop songs made themselves comfortable in his head as he began to zone out. Unlike most of his brothers, especially Don and Leo, when the youngest zoned out he wasn’t becoming lost in his thoughts, but rather lost his thoughts entirely. His mind became hollow, to the point where if you yelled inside of it you would only hear an echo. Despite the emptiness, he was still able to focus on what he was doing, his fingers curling around the very tips of his toes as the muscles on his thighs and calves began to burn.
The song “I’m a Believer” came to a screeching halt in Mikey's mind by a barely audible wince to his side. Following the natural instincts to find the reason for his brother’s discomfort, the youngest subtly turned his head to face Raph.
It’s probably nothing- he might be a little sore because it’s been so long since he exercised, right? Maybe he got a leg cramp- oh I HATE those!
Mikey felt his smile crumble when his eyes landed on his older brother; He was no longer stretching, but instead was cradling his right arm to his chest. The breaths coming from him were tight and shivering, mirroring his posture.
Without a second of hesitation, Mikey ran to his brother’s side.
“You okay?” The youngest whispered, trying not to alert Sensei who was sitting peacefully in the corner. If Raph was truly hurt, their father wouldn’t punish Mikey for speaking up- but… if this wasn’t an emergency, there was a good chance he would be disciplined for interrupting training. Best not to take that chance.
“I’m fine.” The fiery brother’s voice painfully creaked.
“No no, Raph-” Mikey continued to whisper, “See, Opposite Day is on Thursday. Today’s Monday.” He jokingly sassed, trying to bring some levity into Raph’s discomfort. It worked as well as he thought it would, which was barely. No smile cracked and fizzled onto his brother’s pinched face, but the pain contorting his expression lessened. The youngest supposed he would take that as a win, but much preferred a smile as his prize.
“Seriously, dude,” Mikey tried again, lowering his volume and tone even more at the sight of Splinter’s pointed ears twitching, “I’m the master at acting, and I know for a fact that this is nothin’ but a performance. So let’s skip this dress rehearsal and exit stage right. What’s goin’ on? What’s wrong with your arm?”
Raph’s mismatched irises finally met with Mikey’s. The younger brother was shocked to find a sense of pleading in his older brother’s expression. Raph shook his head back and forth and then gestured to Sensei. You can’t let him know, Mikey read through his brother’s tense body language.
Why not?? Mikey mentally replied as he raised his eyebrows with a frustrated expression.
Raph hid his face again, lowering his chin to rest atop his shivering hand. With his other, he signed a name.
Instantly, it clicked into Mikey’s brain; If Sensei found out that Raph was hurt, their father would send him to Leo to get patched up.
But… why was that so bad? Did they get into another fight ALREADY???? I thought they made up!
Mikey’s brows scrunched in blatant disapproval for what his older brother was implying. “Dude, if you’re hurt, you need to get it checked out. No and’s if’s or but’s!”
Raph’s reply came in the form of a horrifying glare that could melt steel.
“NUH-UH,” The youngest harshly whispered with a dramatic shake of his head, “You are going to tell Dad-”
“-Tell me what, my wayward student?” Splinter’s aggravated voice whispered into both his sons’ ears, resulting in a chaotic whirlwind of girlish shrieks and flinging limbs. Raphael immediately let go of his aching arm, holding it in the air in a defensive position in front of his face. Mikey simply fell over after flailing his arms and failing to keep balance.
“DAD?!” Mikey and Raph simultaneously shouted in breathless huffs.
A commanding stare encouraged the two boys to silence themselves. “Seeing how you have both supposedly forgotten the rules of the dojo,” The great Master spoke sharply as he began to stroke his beard, “you shall memorize them as you clean it top to bottom after your training is over.”
This time Mikey had to suppress a groan of his own, knowing full well not to test his father and earn himself any more punishments. He peered at Raph’s lightly tinted fingers to really cement the fact that lesson was learned.
The youngest’ whole form tensed at the rumbling thunder of his father’s voice calling his name.
“Yeahhh Sensei?” He asked like a mouse pleading with a cat, a pitiful squeak escaping with his last word. Not so subtly, he began enlarging his sky-blue irises to resemble when he was younger, hoping that would hold the same effect on his father it always had when he was a kid.
“Only once you are both finished, I want you to join me in my room. There’s much for us to discuss- and it seems this blatant disregard for the rules of our home is a good sign that the timing is right.”
Nerves pierced into Mikey’s body like the strike of a lightning bolt.
Oh man… I’m actually gonna die. This is it- it’s over. I need to write a will; a final testament on how funny I was and how much my family will miss me-
“Am I clear?” Their father spoke with a harsh tone that extinguished any remains of rebellion left in his sons.
With that, Splinter returned to his seat in the corner, this time not taking his eyes off his sons for one second. A loud tap of his tail hitting the ground was enough to spring his children back into their exercises.
Before returning to the last of their stretches, Mikey tossed Raphael one last glare; A looming promise that this wasn’t over.
Don entered his office with dread pooling into every corner of his mind. He was gone for eighteen days- How on earth was he going to explain this to his boss?? Could he try to fake that he had an illness? Maybe he could say his “skin condition” got so bad he had to stay at the hospital…
UGHH Would they even buy that????
Don clicked on his monitor and computer, listening to the satisfying, calming hums of the machinery. His posture loosened the slightest bit as he made himself comfortable in his chair. The cushion of his seat felt stiff at first, and he noticed the flakes of dust layered on the rims of his screen.
Don grumbled to himself as he reached for a micro-fibre rag and began cleaning his devices.
I’ll definitely have to do a full inspection of the lair after work- Make sure there’s no new leaks and all the bolts are tight… We probably need to get a delivery of groceries soon, too… Where did I keep that list?
Don’s fingers began filing through every piece of paper on his desk. Before he looked through the drawers, his eyes were drawn to the purple sticky note half-adhered on the wall. The wires of his brain connected in an instant, as his memory flashed him to yesterday when he wrote on that very note:
Tell Leo about the implant.
“Right…” He outwardly sighed, remembering all that was contained in those dreaded files. Images of a tragic car crash and two bodies draped with red-tinted sheets slithered into his mind, jolting his body with the same chill through his heart. The smudged words detailing the children that were lost in the accident haunted him.
Aware of his oldest brother’s plan to check over Lotus today, Don knew better than to get in the way of the Team Medic and his patient. So, at that moment, he decided he would explain the events of yesterday’s file explorations to his brother… after work. That will give them both time to deal with their current problems before, well, adding on even more.
His thoughts froze as his monitor began to glow, entering the login screen. Don’s fingers instinctually rose over his keyboard, hovering just enough so he wasn’t touching any of the keys. Hesitation gripped him along with a sudden, horrible realization.
… I can’t remember my password.
It was something so menial, so pathetically small that it never should have been a problem. And yet, here he was, sitting at his desk racking his brain for something as simple as his computer password! Yesterday his computer had already been turned on so he didn't need to type in the passcode. It may or may not have given him a mini heart attack thinking his poor monitor had been on screensaver the whole eighteen days he was gone- but Leo had quickly reassured the genius that he remembered to turn it off.
With a loud groan of surfacing frustration, he yanked open his right desk drawer.
THIS IS RIDICULOUS. PREPOSTEROUS. DEPLORABLE. COMPLETE AND UTTER HOGWASH.
With little grace and even less patience he began rummaging through it, searching for the little post it note where he kept such unneeded, obvious information. Finally, his slender fingers grasped onto the very paper.
Glad I could at least remember where the POST IT was… He self-chastised as he slammed the drawer shut. After the computer accepted the passcode, the screen lit to reveal his inbox of emails had grown a staggering amount.
After taking a short moment to pray, and bracing for impact for the load of emails demanding where he’s been for the last eighteen days, he clicked onto the little envelope insignia.
At first, it was as he expected- a long line of alarmed messages from his boss and teammates. Don couldn’t help the flattered smile subtly growing on his face as he read through the concerned words from his human co workers. They might not be the same… “breed” of people, but they were still his team in a way. Despite their blatant differences, he still had effective conversations and interactions with them. A lot of his co-workers were very kind, welcoming him into the company his first week with warm phone calls and messages.
… More caring souls that he failed.
A weighted sigh left him as he hunched over his desk, knocking his forehead into the level wood.
How am I going to fix this… God, what do I do…
Lifting his head, he began making a plan on how he would explain his absence. Before he could click the button to create a new message, his eyes reached a reply email from his account in the long thread of worry and panic.
What the??? I never sent this.
Curiosity and dread clashed violently in his stomach like soda and mentos.
Did someone hack my account?!
Before his fears could take over like they did last night, he took a breath. Then, with a slightly trembling hand, his cursor clicked on the email in question:
[“This is Donatello’s brother. I’m so sorry for scaring you all. For the last few days, Donnie’s been missing. Please don’t alert the authorities, we already have a team searching for him. I don’t yet know when he’ll be back- but I promise we won’t stop until we find him. If any of you are willing, please, I’m begging you to pray that we find him.
Don’s eyes widened as breaths continued to evade him.
Don leaned closer to his monitor as he began to read his boss and co-workers’ replies to Leo’s explanation. They still had many questions, which he really couldn’t blame them for, but overall their words overflowed with mercy and understanding. They all knew Don’s track record with coming “in” to work everyday; He never missed a single shift- he worked hard and finished every project given to him. No matter how crass the customer, he would always find the problem and fix it.
Guess it pays to work your shell off and never take a sick day.
As he continued to scroll down, he followed the conversation Leo had with his team. His brother’s replies were always short, but clear, never leaving room for misunderstanding. At first everyone thought it was some joke- asking if Don had just gotten drunk and was laid in bed with a hangover, or he was busy with some girl and forgot about his job. But Leo never failed to uphold his honor in the sight of his co-workers, explaining as much as he could about the horrible situation, and dodging through every invasive question like an enemy on the battlefield.
For very clear reasons, Don knew why his brother was too busy to answer every email. And finally, with the last message sent, all of Leo’s explanations finally paid off.
[“Thank you for answering our questions. Please keep me updated on if you find him. He’s a valuable asset to our team- and I’d hate to lose him.
He did it. His selfless, considerate brother did it.
Don was truly amazed at Leo’s cunning in how he communicated to his co-workers. Not once did he lie in his explanations, but he didn’t give any vital information away either. Heck, he even asked them to pray for his family! Don knew from experience how little beliefs and faith were to be brought up in business affairs, always worried he would get in trouble for creating a heated argument and possibly costing his family some much needed income. With the responsibility of being the provider of his family, the risk was too great. Instead, he always let his differences speak for him and his faith; His work ethic, conversations, and never joining in on “juicy” gossip of his team.
He was never outrightly asked if he was a christian. But he hoped and prayed it was obvious enough to not be questioned. Now that his co-workers partially knew of his and his family’s faith, he wondered if it left them thinking, pondering, doubting…
And now, he was going to clock in and return to his work force like the friggin’ prodigal son.
This is going to be so AWKWARD… “Hey, haha so funny thing! I was captured for more than two weeks but BOOM BABY I’m BACK!” Yeah right.
His fingers rose above his keyboard, positioned to begin one of the strangest conversations he’d probably ever have.
[“As you’re aware, I have been gone for some time…”]
[“... But my family found me”]...
[“... But, thankfully, I found my way home. I can’t get into details of what happened…”]
Because you would literally never believe me.
[“... but I want to give my sincerest apologies for failing to do my duties, as well as scaring all of you.”]
His fingers were now naturally tapping across his keys, the words in his mind revealing themselves like a magnifying glass over a crossword puzzle.
Yeah… This… sounds right.
[“I hope I can make up for all the time I lost.”]
… This sounds too right...
Eventually, with many rewrites and multiple inspections for any grammatical or spelling errors, Don’s cursor shakily drifted to the [SEND] button on his screen.
With a gulp of dread shoved down his dry throat, he sent the message.
The responses were immediate, and so full of undeserved grace.
Don’s lip quivered at the ten messages lined up on his email of all his co-workers celebrating his return, asking all the questions they could on if he was alright, and if there was anything they could do to help. Some, he was surprised to see, even told him that they did pray for him and his family.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
God, thank You. Thank You so much- this is so- I can’t believe they’re all being so kind- And they’re not angry! Not even Ron! I’m not fired! I can’t believe this!!! Thank You. THANK YOU.
He closed his eyes and let the tears of relief fall in steady streams. A song alighted into his mind as delicately as a dove, and he intently listened to its words, knowing and recognizing their purpose in his heart.
“Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul~
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole~
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me~
Thy great salvation so rich and free~
The tears continued to fall, warm and soothing down his cheeks, as he sat and really meditated on how blessed he was. How even through the pain he and his family had undergone, God remained good. No matter how dark the valley they had traversed, the light of hope still shone brightly through it all.
Thank You, Lord, that your mercy never fails me.
And that's it for this chapter!!!
MAN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK!! It's been past a whole month since I posted a new chapter, so I wanted to thank you all for your patience! :) This chapter was a bit tough to finish, but I'm happy with how it turned out. :)
Feel free to share and reblog! :)
A BIG THANK YOU TO @poetique823 for reviewing and critiquing my chapter! <3
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