22The silence felt like it was going on for an eternity. Leonardo didn't look at any of his companions; he honestly didn't know what he was expecting when he decided to tell his companions this piece of news. Yes, he had wanted to explain what Yoshi had told him to someone he knew, someone he could trust. He had never thought about how his companions would react to this.
He didn't want his friends to dismiss him and treat him like he was a monster because he had an unfortunate relation to one. And Donnie…how was this news affecting him. He had wanted Donnie to hear this because he didn't want to keep secrets from him. Yet, he had done this knowing the Shredder was an anathema in the brown haired boy's existence. Donatello had spent weeks, months, possibly years being tormented by this sick bastard who only took pleasure in domination and control over whoever he wished. In all honesty if he could purge Oroku's DNA from his veins at that moment he would have.
"But he only sired you," April stated as someone finally spoke up. "Yoshi was the man who raised you and by all rights he is more of a father to you then the Shredder ever was or deserved to be."
"Yeah dude," Mikey said "it doesn't matter who you are related to. A true family is made up of those who love you and care for you."
"Mikey's right," April agreed "In many ways we have been a family ever since we have met and became friends. Why should that change now?"
"Because…" Leo sighed as his eyes finally turned to Donnie who had mostly been silent throughout this exchange. "We have someone who has been hurt by the monster I share blood with. I understand who this man is, I haven't been hurt by him in the same way you have, D. But he has hurt me too…and if I had been raised by him I likely would have suffered the same fate you have….and worse…I would have been raised to follow his sick minded thinking."
"What about your mom?" Raph asked. "What happened to her…?"
"She was killed…" Donnie finally spoke up as he shook his head as though trying to process all this news. "It's something Karai told me one time. She had said she had been seven years old when he had started grooming her. Her mother had caught sight of him…teaching her…" Donnie hesitated not wanting to say because of how casual it would sound. To give context he instead pointed to his mouth and then towards his crotch. The only person in the room who didn't understand the meaning was Mikey, but even he understood that was being done was not something that typically done to girls under the age of ten.
"That's…" Casey growled with disgust. "That's messed up, yo."
"Knowing worse would happen…" Donnie continued "She immediately told her secret lover that her husband would be out of town in two nights. He had agreed to drive her away from the hell house himself, but she insisted they meet somewhere more inconspicuous. A coffee shop, since she knew that her husband's friends would be left to keep an eye on her she suggested that she could go to a movie with Karai. She would then create a ruse to distract them such as saying she was taking Karai to the toilets or she wanted to get some snacks for the movie. When they were distracted she would slip out of the theater and to the nearest coffee shop to meet him. Unfortunately, the Shredder had found her secret phone and read her text messages. He let things play out the way Tang Shen had planned, however once they were in the car. Oroku appeared to them and ordered the mother and child into the house. She didn't tell me what happened to Tang Shen except that it was inhuman and Karai was forced to watch as her mother suffered and died under then hands of her vindictive husband. After that he called his late wife's lover to let him know that she was dead and his bastard daughter would suffer the same fate if he tried to save her."
There was a stunned silence in the room after this admission. Though Leo's anger smoldered deeper beneath the surface then it did for anyone else in the room. Anger and rage over what this monster had done to his mother, his sister…to Donnie. He prayed that if he ever did meet Oroku face to face, he would make sure that he knew it was his own flesh and blood that would be his down fall.
"I think that's enough of this for now." April said, as she fought back overwhelming emotions that threatened to consume her. "Mikey, why don't you help me make some dinner. Raph, Casey, please help set the table."
Leo noticed that April didn't involve him in any of this. Instead he sat down in one of the vacated arm chairs as Donnie continued to remain seated on the couch.
"Why did you want me to know all this?" Donnie asked his voice hardly above a ragged whisper.
"Don't talk right now." Leo sighed as he turned his attention to getting a fire started. Evening was starting to fall and a chill was starting to set in. He knew what he had explained would be stressful to the other boy, but it couldn't be helped.
"If you feel I'm a key to where Karai is…" Donnie said though there was bitterness in his tone. "She and I parted ways the day we escaped. I have no idea where she is but I hope it's as far away as possible."
"I hope she is safe from the Shredder as well." Leo said knowing that Donnie was not going to let this go. "The reason I told you this is because I don't want to keep secrets from you. D, I love you…I don't want to hurt you." Unfortunately, this admission was not met with welcomed.
"Love me?!" Donnie nearly shouted, it was clear he was becoming agitated by the minute. "If you knew anything about me at all, you wouldn't want anything to do with me. I'm a whore, Leo! I've been with more people then you can possibly know."
"Not by choice," Leo protested. "You had no say in any of that…"
"If I'm with you I'll just be a whore for you!" Donnie continued to say in distress. "I'm not worth any of this, I'm spoiled. I don't know how you can even stand to be near me. No one could honestly love me; I don't even remember what love even is anymore. I'm worth….nothing…."
"Donnie!" Leo cried out as the brown haired boy broke into a violent fit of chest rattling coughs.
"What happened?" Raph asked he came into the living room. Leo was standing over the coughing boy, one hand worriedly petting the boy's mouse brown locks.
"I shouldn't have said anything." Leo sighed anxiously as he gathered Donnie into his arms as the boy's coughs ceased. He could feel his flesh burn where his body came in contact with Donnie's feverish form. Donatello went ridged in response, but he was too drained by his illness to put up much protest. "I should have known all this would stress him out."
"Don't say such things, Leo," Raph growled "you did nothing wrong! The only person who did wrong is the Shredder. He is the one that needs to be treated like an animal. Its better you told us all this now, rather than having us discover this news later and find out you already knew about all this."
"But Donnie," Leo sighed despondently as he cradled the brown haired boy against his chest. His hands stroking slow, comforting circles into Donnie's back. The other boy had started to relax as he settled against the dark haired boy's body. "I don't even want to think about what sort of hell he's been through at the hands of that man, and now the even the school isn't a refuge for him anymore."
"So then, what's the plan?" Raph asked. "We got Donnie out of the city before The Shredder could get him. That's good, but what's next step. We can't stay here forever, I hate to break it too ya I rather not have Casey lose our apartment because of this. While we don't have to worry about rent here, there are still essentials we do need to pay for and that takes money we don't have."
"I was thinking that maybe we move to the next state over, such as Massachusetts or Vermont, or New Jersey if we have to." Leo sighed; even as he said it he felt the whole thing felt unrealistic. "It would be difficult for a time as we start our lives over. We may need to live in the van for a while. All of us could apply for a job training program and make our way in the job world."
"Wait!" Raph said "Back it up…So your plan is that we all just keep running? Just abandon everything, uproot our lives, cancel our dreams, and just keep running? Yeah…I think you need do some more thinking there chief."
"No..." Donnie added his opinions to the conversation. "you have lives and families…don't throw them away for my sake. I can't let you do that, I'm not worth it!'
"I'm gonna have to partially agree with Don on this one." Raph explained. "We can't throw away our lives just for him. Besides packing up and running to Florida or wherever is not going to do him any favors. Donnie here needs to be someplace where he can stay calm and rest for as long as he needs it. While in the meantime the Shredder is still out their looking for him, and is probably being a rough trick to some other kid like Donnie."
"Then what can we do?" Leo asked "What should we do?"
"Well everything is up to Don now, isn't it?" Raph stated as he propped his elbows on the back of the couch regarding the two boys. "You've revealed that you are the Shredder's son and one he doesn't know about…yet. Let's consider our options, first we could leave New York and go into hiding here or where ever. All we would have to do is wait roughly three to six decades for the sick bastard to die of natural causes.
But you have a half-sister out there, don't you. Yes, Karai is your maternal half-sister, yet how do you know you don't have other half-siblings out there who are also products of the Shredder's perverse loins. Any of them could be skewed to that assholes way of thinking and all too willing to carry his legacy. So even if he dies, the cycle doesn't stop.
Second option we create new identities for ourselves, maybe take a page from Mikey's imagination and say you, me, Mikey, and Donnie are all brothers.
However the catch is in order to do that. We can dye our hair and put in contacts like you do so we all appear the same. But then we would have to have fake information created for each of us to prove we are related. Such as forged birth certificates, fake ids and that also takes money we do not have. I think you see the trend I'm going with here...and even if we could get the false identities, there is no way you can convince anyone we are related. I mean look at us…"
"We can say I was the true born child, and the rest of you were adopted." Leo suggested "Or maybe you guys were all siblings and I was adopted. People would have to believe that."
"Adopted by whom and where?" Raph demanded. "There are records kept about such things, once again you aren't thinking things through. You think that just because you like Captain Ryan that you think you can get away with everything like he does. Unfortunately things like that don't work in reality. Which brings us to the third option…we expose this monster for who he is and end the cycle he has created once and for all."
