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Somewhere off the coast of New York was a little ship. It was tossed around on the sea as a cruel storm raged on around it. The world around it was completely dark; the midnight sky obscured by the darkness of the ominous clouds above. It seemed as though all light was simply drained of the scene, the only sign of life out there on the water was the dull light coming from one of the ship's windows. Everything else within the ship was put out, except for that singular room, where 4 young turtles lay. Lightning flashed, momentarily illuminating the ocean, which was quickly followed by a monstrous clap of thunder which caused an additional window to light up. Small silhouettes could be seen scurrying through the hallways, all headed to that one room in particular.
Raph woke up with a start by the thunder outside and immediately began to panic. He stood up, trying to peek out the windows to see if they were under attack, but found absolutely nothing out there on the water. He panicked more as he saw the pitch black abyss that was the ocean beyond his window, assuming that it had simply disappeared. Raph quickly checked his brothers' hammocks to see if they were okay and present. Leo and Donnie were nowhere to be found, and Mikey was hidden away within his shell, shaking slightly. Raph frowned, gently picking him up and carrying him with him as he went to look for the troublemaking twins. Everyone had to be accounted for. Raph quickly darted through the halls of the ship, struggling to keep his balance as the ship rocked back and forth violently. He shut his eyes tight before finally running into Splinter's chambers- or more, he ran into the door connected to it. Raph fell back, holding Mikey close still. Raph rubbed his head from where he'd run into the door and reached up to the handle.
The door opened with a creak and the light from Splinter's room poured into the hallway. Raph let out a relieved sigh as he spotted Leo and Donnie inside, the both of them already climbing over Splinter and crying. Raph set down Mikey near Splinter's chair and joined Leo and Donnie, holding onto their father tightly. After a moment, Mikey peeked out of his shell and joined his brothers in crawling on their father, desperate for attention and the comfort that came with it. Splinter peeled the toddlers off of his face and arms and set them each down on the floor, a look of concern displayed in his expression.
"My boys, what has all of you awake at this hour?" Splinter asked, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
Mikey answered first, "The sky is mad!" He wailed.
"And- and the water's all gone! It disappeared!" Raph added with a sniffle.
Another flash of lightning could be seen outside, followed almost immediately by thunder. This only prompted more crying from the toddlers.
"Ah. I see," Splinter murmured in understanding. He nodded to himself before extending his arms to the young turtles as he sat down in front of them. "My boys, the sky is not mad, it's just a storm. And the ocean isn't gone, it's still there. It's just a bit dark outside, and you can't see it, but it's still there," he said in an attempt to reassure them.
"How do you know?" Donnie piped up. "How do you know it's still there?"
"I just do. It's like family. Even when you cannot see us, we are still there." Splinter answered, pulling them closer. "Let me tell you a story."
The storm continued on around them, flashes of lightning lighting up the room as a roaring boom of thunder sounded right after. The young brothers shrieked, scrambling quickly to their father and looking up to him expectantly. He wrapped his arms around them all and held them close as he began.
"Once, a long, long time ago, there was a little ship- much like ours, actually. But this little ship sailed... uh- underwater! Yes. The little ship sailed underwater, and was captained by three little fish. They were excellent navigators who followed the sun and the stars. The fish would sail along and explore the whoooole sea floor, and they found lots of treasure along the way. But one day, everything was dark. The poor little fish didn't know where to go. One of them decided to go and find the sun. The other fish wanted him to stay, but the brave little fish knew that he needed to bring back the sun so that his friends could keep exploring. And so the little fish left; he set out on a great journey and disappeared. The other little fish couldn't see him anymore!"
"But where did the little fishy go?" Leo interrupted, tugging on Splinter's sleeve with a frown.
"We don't know." Splinter shrugged.
"Aw. Is the fish okay?" Raph asked as he moved closer to keep listening.
"We don't know that either. The other fish just have to hold onto hope that he's okay. Now, do you want to hear the rest of the story?"
The turtles all nodded and fell silent, listening intently.
"Right, where was I... Oh- yes. The brave little fish had swam away to go bring back the sun, and now the other fish couldn't see him! But, they had hope that the brave fish would stay safe. Then, the other fish saw something. What was it?" Splinter feigned a surprised gasp. "Light! The brave little fish had brought back the sun!"
The toddlers were all grinning for the little fish's success.
"The other fish waited patiently for the brave fish to come back, but he was nowhere to be found," Splinter continued, earning new frowns from the turtles. "The two little fish waited all day and all night, but their brave fish friend still hadn't come back to the ship. One of the fish began to lose hope, but the other one was a very smart fish and told him 'Do not lose hope! He's still out there, and he's perfectly safe.'" Splinter said, imitating the fish by making his voice higher. The brothers' smiles returned. "But the other fish was still very sad about their friend and asked him, 'But we don't know where he is! How can you say he's safe?' And the smart fish told him, 'Because I just know it! I can feel it. Right here.'" Splinter put his hand over his heart. "The other fish was still sad that their friend was gone, but he decided to take the smart fish's advice and hold onto hope. So, the two fish kept on sailing. They still went on adventures and found lots of treasure, even without their brave fish friend, but they never lost hope, and they knew deep in their hearts that the brave little fish was safe and happy. Who knows, maybe he was looking for them, and would have lots of stories to tell them when he came back, but for now he was still off on his own adventures, making sure that his friends could always find the sun. The end."
At this point, they were all fast asleep, curled up and piled on top of each other; all except for Mikey, who had a slight frown on his face. Splinter tilted his head curiously at him.
"What is wrong, my son?" Splinter asked him quietly, so as to not wake the others.
"Why did the brave fish's friends leave him?" Mikey looked genuinely confused, his eyes shining as they filled with tears. "Why did they sail away before he came back?"
"Well, because they know that he will find them. It might take him a long time but they know that their friend will find his way back to them."
"Oh... Okay. So they do find him?"
"Yes. And do you know why?"
"Mmm... no. Why?"
"Because they never gave up on him. They had hope, and that was enough." He smiled at his son and brought him closer, right to the center of the pile. Mikey's smile returned as he snuggled close to the rest of them, quickly drifting to sleep. Splinter sighed contently and laid down, his arms wrapped protectively around his sons. And as the storm slowly began to die out, Splinter murmured a quiet prayer that his sons would never have to swim alone in search of the sun.