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Uncle Tello woke up in his enormous room with disheveled blankets and a somehow missing mask. He groaned and reached down in an attempt to feel his adoptive nephew. Poor kid passed out midway through his brilliant revival rant last night after being so convincing that sleep wasn’t needed. His hand fell into pure blanket and he glanced over his shoulder to confirm Casey’s absence.
Rolling over onto the empty blankets, Don muttered to himself, “Where could that kid have gone at this hour of the day?” A sigh escaped his throat as his arm draped over his face. “Maybe ran off to figure out how he found me? …That was a big piece of our puzzle we’re missing.” He dropped his arm above his head, making a mental note that his mask had been found there. Eyes carefully looked over his surroundings. The colors are so vibrant here. Plants were somewhat familiar and thriving. When was the last time he felt rays of sun coming down onto him? The warmth brought a feeling of safety, like there was…hope?
Donnie sat up with a desperate ‘huff’, suddenly extremely aware of what was being planned for his brothers to be revived. Sure, he had done this once before. Sure, he documented the process to a ‘T’ so it could be repeated by almost anyone (including Leo). Sure, Casey Junior was here to help, but something wasn’t sitting right. Something felt wrong about this. Dee’s brows furrowed and his knees came instinctively to his chest.
“What the hell is this?” he questioned himself. “W-we know- I know what needs to be done for this…” Thoughts began flooding his brain like a tsunami. ”Denial”
“What if these calculations only work for Raph?” “Denial”
“W-what if we can’t find all the materials?” “Denial”
“What if this doesn’t work in this timeline?” “Denial”
“What happens if something goes wrong?” “….”
“Why in the hell am I only thinking of worst-case scenarios?”
“I don’t know, maybe DENIAL?”
Casey’s words from their last conversation silenced his constant questioning. Were any of their combined efforts even worth it? Could this unprecedented experiment even be replicated? Could the Great Donatello…have been wrong? Air had been cut off from his lungs this whole time, like a wall of future regret and past anguish made a home in his throat. Thoughts set fire to his mind- he couldn’t stand losing his brothers a second time, let alone by his own hand. Tears threatened their way into the genius’ eyes, whether from lack of air, or the overwhelming feelings creeping in didn’t matter. Something clicked as the salty water began to creep down his face- he was alive.
The breath that came after this realization acted like a fire extinguisher to his burning thoughts.
‘Why wouldn’t it work here?’ a smirk formed on his face as His Brilliance got back to work. ‘It has to, the physics would be the same-mostly-. Calculations can be reworked for any situation. Materials can be bought, made,...or stolen. And replications?’ He looked at his own hands as his legs lowered to the ground.
“I’m my own proof this is gonna work”
Blinking the remaining water from his vision, Donnie looked back up at the light now pouring in from above. He knew, in some heart-string-pulling way, that for the time being, he was going to need to be the strength, razz, and face-man of the Hamato’s until he and Casey could bring his respective brothers back. Don gave a signature “scoff” to himself.
“A man of science being ruled by emotion…how embarrassing. The results are here.” A smile replaced the smirk that had been sitting on his face. A small shiver ran down his back. Guess the light can only give so much heat….
Donnie grabbed his mask and robe earnestly and marched his way to the bathroom. “If I’m gonna be thorough, I’m gonna be thorough, comfortably.” With the door partly closed, warm water began to run in hopes the heat would well replace that of the sun.