Humpty Dumpty
Oct. 31st, 2013 05:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleept<3 <3 <3 For My Beloved Drew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
His wiry, old tail moved slowly beneath his robes as he moved from one bed to the next, tucking in each of his children for the night. Their little beds were as makeshift as their family. Their sheets were threadbare pieces of cloth taken from rotten sheets, old towels, and sweaters that were considerably too large for the tots, all of which had somehow found their way into the sewer. Their mattresses were thin pillows, and their beds no more than crates.
He felt for each of them as he kissed each tiny, green head good night, but his concern did not spring from the same matters for which they wanted him to care this night. They were displeased with his bedtime story, even though Leonardo and Donatello would never say so. Raphael muttered, "I still say smashing pumpkins would be more fun," and turned from him as he approached.
Splinter swallowed his own sigh of disappointment and turned instead to kiss Mikey good night. His little hands grasped tuffs of Splinter's graying fur; Splinter stilled as the baby held tightly to him. He kissed his forehead again. Mikey murmured something about candy and turned over, releasing him.
Splinter blew out the candle at the entrance to this part of the lair and turned to take one last survey of the little ones. He had never asked for them, but now that he had them, he would never surrender them for any price. He wanted only their happiness and survival, but what they had asked from him this night, he could not give without relinquishing the latter.
"It's not safe, Raph," Leo whispered to his angry brother the moment their Sensei moved away. Splinter's ears shifted backward as he listened to their conversation. "You know that. How many times has Master Splinter told us the above world is not safe?"
"Yeah. You didn't have to go and be mean and upset him again," Donatello added.
A smile with just a touch of sadness passed over Splinter's furry lips. He was touched to hear Donnie, usually so shy and quiet, speaking up for him.
"All we know," Raph retorted, "is that he says it's not safe. I'm gonna go find out for myself one of these nights!"
Splinter's body stilled as every single one of his inner alarms cried out. If any of his children left the lair -- if they ventured above ground -- they would surely be killed, if not worse! He had seen what the humans did, how they acted, and the fact that the greatest majority of them would do anything for a "quick buck" as they often called money. The quicker and easier they could make it and the more they could get of it, the better to them, regardless of what they had to do or who they hurt in the process.
His fur stood on end. His ears flattened. His whiskers twirled of their own accord, and he knew, in that moment, that he had to act. He could no longer allow Raphael to doubt his word. He had to prove to him that the outside world was lethally dangerous, and he had to do so without actually allowing his sons to be put in that danger.
Some of their comments from earlier that night floated back through his mind as he stood still, listening for further information from Raphael's conversation with his brothers. Mikey had been upset, because he'd wanted to go trick or treating like a normal child. Even Donatello thought going to the surface world on Halloween night an ideal chance to meet humans without them guessing that their unique personages were anything more than intricate and greatly detailed costumes. Only Leonardo had remained steadfast in not wanting to go to the above world, but Splinter had witnessed the desire in his young son's eyes.
They were tired of the sewer. They were weary of seeing things in the books and magazines that floated down here to their home which they could never have. They wanted more, but yet, they wanted nothing more than what any child should readily be given. They wanted a nice, warm, and comfortable place to lay their little heads. They wanted clothes in better condition, food that actually tasted good, and friends. They wanted to feel the sun on their skin and walk in the open in its light.
Splinter sighed audibly this time, his head lowering. His ears, tail, and whiskers drooped. He wished his children could have all they wanted, but it simply was not safe. Then, in the next moment, he heard Raphael muttering to himself as he tossed and turned on his crate that he would wait until Splinter was asleep and then make his move. Another night would not pass without him seeing the upper world for himself.
Splinter darted through the lair, acting swiftly and preparing for what he now knew would come to pass this very night.
~*~
He looked in on them a little while later. Donatello and Mikey were both sleeping soundly; he made a mental note to speak with Michelangelo again about the many reasons why he should not be sucking his thumb. Leonardo and Raphael appeared to slumber quietly, but his instincts told him otherwise. His gaze slowly swept over each of his children as he made several mental notes and waited patiently.
He understood why they wanted to travel to the above world. He sympathized with the things they wanted. He, too, had his desires. He would love to have a robe without quite so many holes, and he had not had a piece of cheese since these children had come into his life. Still, he was an adult. He was accustomed to having to do without and understood the ways of the world all too aptly.
It was in a child's nature, no matter how accustomed they were to doing without, to want the things they felt they should have. It was not greed that made them yearn for the outside world. It was simply full of things they should already have. They should have to make do as he did.
His head lowered; his ears flattened once more. His whiskers twitched with thought. He had to start making more trips closer to the surface world and scavenging more. Leonardo was now to the point that he could watch over his brothers a little more often, and he had to find better things for them. He had to make them better beds and give them more enjoyable things to do. Perhaps he could even find a way, by the time Halloween came again next year, that they could all receive visits, even if only little and brief, from the Good Witch or the Great Pumpkin, as the Americans seemed to want to call the benevolent, Halloween spirit.
His ears twitched to the front. His tail jerked lightly. His eyes zeroed in on a certain red bandana. Raphael was starting to move, which meant it was time for his plan to go into action.
~*~
He had waited patiently despite his young age. He had waited until he could no longer hear his father moving around in the lair. He had waited until his younger brothers were snoring loudly. He had waited until Leonardo should have fallen asleep, if ever he was going to do so tonight. Now, at last, he moved from his bed.
"Raphael!"
His dark eyes blazed. Anger set in his jaw. "I'm going up, Leo, and you can't stop me."
"No? What if I call for Master Splinter?"
"You would, you tattletale, but he's asleep! I'll be long gone before your whining mouth wakes him!"
He stilled as his bare feet touched the floor and something cold closed around his green ankle. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but he swallowed the yelp that rose in his throat. He was a ninja; he did not know fear! He reached for his sais only to find them gone from the side of his bed.
Ice slid through him. His panic rose. He fought to stay calm. Something scaly brushed across his other foot. "Uh . . . " His voice trembled; he kicked himself mentally.
"What is it, Raph?"
"Uh . . . Uh . . . Uh, mind if I borrow your sword a minute, Leo?"
"Why? You can't use your sais to run away?"
"They . . . They're missing!"
"What do you mean your sais are missing?"
"I MEAN THEY'RE GONE, LEO!" Raph shouted, losing his cool. "THEY'RE FREAKING GONE!"
"Hmm? What's . . . going on, guys?" Donnie asked sleepily, Raph's yell having broken through to him.
Mikey slept on, snoring loudly and clenching his sweater-sheet.
"MY SAIS ARE GONE!"
"You must have misplaced them, Raph. Weapons do not get up and walk around by themselves!"
"I didn't misplace them! Something took 'em!" He kicked at the thing holding his ankle, determined not to let his brothers know he was in a bind or that he was afraid.
"That's ridiculous! Who would have taken them? We're safe here, Raphael! That's why Master Splinter doesn't want us going to the above world! This is the only place we'll ever be safe!"
"Because we're freaks," Donnie mumbled sadly, and then he yelped as something slid across his green shin. "G-Guys," he stammered, "th-th-there's s-something in -- in the bed with me!" With a cry, he lurched himself from his crate and onto Leonardo's. The impact sent Leonardo's crate crashing to the floor. Both children hit the floor hard and began to cry.
"Oh, puh-leaze," Raph retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Here I am with the bad guy on me and my sais totally gone, and you two wanna be cry babies? Just give me a damn weapon, and I'll -- " He broke off as something grabbed the stiff tip of his tail where it stuck out from underneath his shell. He screamed and jumped onto Mikey's cot.
Leo and Donnie paused in their crying. "Yeah, right, Raph," Leo snickered. "That's why you just screamed like a girl and ran to Mikey for protection!"
"I didn't jump on here for him to protect me! I'm going to protect him!"
"Huh uh." Leo giggled.
"Hum, guys," Donnie spoke up nervously, "I hate to be the downer and all, but, hum, if there's something in here . . . "
"There's something in here!" Raph exclaimed.
Leo nodded slowly, his big eyes trying to look around them but unable to see anything much for the utter and complete darkness in which they had been cast when Master Splinter had blown out the last candle in the lair. "We all felt it."
"Then, hum, shouldn't we be getting help," Donnie asked, "calling for Master Splinter, or at least getting out of here?"
A light came on somewhere. None of the Turtles knew from where, nor did they give themselves time to search for the source. What they did know was that they most certainly were not alone and they were under attack! A huge monster wrapped in trailing, white bandages moaned and waved his arms at them. They screamed but began to look around for their weapons. The monster moaned again and came closer. They screamed once more, this time waking Mikey.
The baby of their group blinked his eyes rapidly as they slowly opened. Once he was awake enough to see the creature flailing at them, he, too, screamed. "IT-IT-IT-IT'S A MUMMY!"
"It's okay, Mikey," Raphael tried to reassure his little brother. "I'm not going to let him hurt any of us." But how, he wondered, was he going to do so without any weapons at all? Maybe Donnie, who was still screaming, was right. Maybe it was time to call for Master Splinter, but then he'd have to admit that they really weren't ready to go above ground. After all, if they couldn't handle a monster in the sewers, what chance did they really have with the humans above ground? Of course, on the other hand, if he'd had his weapons, the monster would have been shish kebabed by now!
"IT'S A MUMMY RAT! IT'S A MUMMY RAT! OHMYGOD! IT'S A MUMMY RAT!" Little Mikey bolted from his bed, the room, and his brothers as the Mummy waved his arms at him. Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael looked at each other in his wake. All of them wanted to do the same thing, but none of them wanted to be the first to admit just how scared they were.
"Maybe we should go after -- " Leo started to suggest, but his words of advice were drowned out as the Mummy roared.
All three little boys screamed, their eyes almost popping out of their small heads with the fear that flailed within them. As one, they turned and ran from their bedroom. Splinter noted that Leonardo was the last out of the room, and then he, too, bolted.
~*~
Splinter met the four, screaming Turtles halfway to his room. Mikey threw himself at his leg and held on for dear life. Splinter bent and swept all four up into his arms. Even Raphael clung to him. "What seems to be the problem, my sons?" he asked, his fur and whiskers bristling with his concern.
"Th-Th-Th-There's a monster!" Donatello cried as Leonardo and Raphael looked at each other. They were supposed to be too old now to believe in such, but still, they couldn't stop trembling.
"Yeah, a big, ole, ugly monster Mummy rat!" Mikey cried.
"What makes you think it was a rat?" Raph asked him.
"I saw its tail! It was long and scaly and -- and -- and -- just gross!" he cried, shaking from head to foot. He looked up at his adopted father. "Not at all like you, Sensei!"
"Suck up," Raph muttered.
"Let us see this monster of yours," Splinter spoke soothingly. "I will make it leave you alone."
The four babies held to him tightly as he walked boldly back into their room, carrying his staff high and at the ready. Only Raphael did not hide his face as they returned to the scene. "I would've whupped him," Raph boldly told his Sensei, "but he took our weapons!"
They surveyed the little ones' room together upon their reentrance. Leonardo's bed was still toppled, and the sheets were messed. Their weapons, however, were back in their places, and there was no sign of the monster. "It certainly does appear that something happened here," Splinter mused aloud, his tail swishing beneath his old robe, "but your weapons appear to be in tact."
Leo's head slowly rose from the comforting protection of his father's shoulder. He looked around their room in puzzlement, then reached out, and touched Donnie. Donatello also surveyed the room; despite his intelligence that already far eclipsed the others, he, too, was puzzled by the return of the weapons and the lack of the monster they had all seen.
Raphael jumped down to the floor, walked over, and picked up his sai. He jabbed the small weapon into its place on his belt. "This don't make sense." He pouted.
Little Mikey continued to hide his face in his father's fur. "It was here!" he murmured. "I know it was here! We all saw it!"
"Yeah," Raph frowned, "we did!" He grabbed his other sai before it could disappear again.
"I was afraid something lie this might happen," Splinter said, his body sagging with a heavy sigh. "You see, my sons, Halloween is a very dangerous time." He looked over at Mikey, still crumpled against his shoulder. "It's not just about costumes, chocolate candies, and trick or treating. Monsters come out on Halloween more so than on any other night, and they're always hungry."
Donnie gulped, his eyes growing as large as dinner plates. He sucked his little tail back into his shell for safe keeping. "That Mummy wanted to make turtle soup of us, didn't it?" he tremulously asked his father.
"I fear you may indeed be correct in that presumption, Donatello. I had thought you would be safe here. We have never had intruders to the lair before, after all, but I suppose I was wrong. Whereas the humans have not yet found us, that one monster, at least, did. I shall be ready for him when he returns, however; I promise you the Mummy will not lay hands on you again, my sons."
Mikey shivered. "What about any mummies or any monsters?"
Splinter smiled with a touch of sadness and remorse at his children. "As long as you remain with me, my sons, I will give all that I am to keep you safe."
"Sensei?" Leo asked quietly from where he had jumped down beside Raphael to survey the room. He started trying to put his bed back together.
"Yes, Leonardo?" Splinter asked, looking down to the young Turtle who would one day be his brothers' leader.
"What's worse?"
"Hmm?" Splinter's left ear quirked. His tail swished again. He leaned a tad forward toward Leonardo.
"Humans or Mummies?" Leo stole a sideways look at his brother and was pleased to see that Raphael was listening aptly to their conversation.
"That's a good question, Leonardo, and one that I admit is a trifle difficult to answer. You see, like Mummies, humans are monsters, but like all of the different beings in this world, there are both good and evil humans. The vast majority, however, is evil."
"What do you mean, Sensei, 'the vast majority'?" Donatello queried. "Like, how many?"
Splinter sighed. "The Mummy most likely only wanted to eat you, my sons, but if you were to venture above ground and you met a hundred humans, one of those might be willing to tolerate you. They could never be trusted and would not trust you. They would not even like you and would never understand you. But at least one might not hurt you."
"And the other ninety nine?" Donnie asked.
"Oh, about thirty would try to eat you as the Mummy wanted to do tonight . . . " Mikey threw his pudgy, little arms around his father and held him more tightly. Donnie shivered. Leo looked frightfully up from making his bed. Raphael tightened his grips on both of his sais. " . . . but the other sixty nine would want to make money off of you. That would be far worse than being eaten. They would take you apart like you took apart that radio the other day, Donatello; only when they took you apart to find out how you work, none of us or them would ever be able to put you back together again."
Michelangelo shivered extremely. Splinter patted him. "It's like Humpty Dumpty," Mikey whimpered, "but way bad!"
"That is why I can not allow you to go above ground, my sons. You could not face this Mummy alone." He shook his head sadly; his tail, whiskers, and ears drooped again. "You would not a chance of surviving in the world above, and it is not a pretty place. It is far uglier and crueler than that Mummy will ever be."
Donatello clung only a little less than Mikey to their father. Leonardo swiftly finished putting his bed back together and then walked up to Splinter. "I . . . I know you sad we were ready to be on our own some, Sensei, but I don't wanna sleep alone tonight."
"You're not alone, Leonardo; your brothers are with you."
"Still . . . " Donnie started to say, but Mikey cut right to the point.
He squeezed Splinter hard. "We wanna sleep with you tonight!"
"Do you?"
Donnie and Mikey quickly nodded. Mikey refused to relinquish even a small amount of the grip he held on his father. Leonardo jumped back up into Splinter's arms. Only Raphael looked away.
"Raphael?" Splinter asked, reaching a hand down toward him.
"I guess one more night won't hurt," the red bandaged turtle relented slightly. "For Mikey's sake, of course. I don't need no protection."
"No. Of course not. You are a very brave turtle," Splinter approved, still holding his hand out, "but still, for tonight, I think it best we all stay together." Raphael finally took his hand, and Splinter lifted him into his arms. He held all four boys close to his furry chest and heart as he made the way, with a secret smile, to his own bedroom. It was best they stay together not just tonight but always. With time, his sons would come to see and accept that fact as a part of all their lives as simple and true as the need to breathe. They still had a lot of growing to do before they came to that acceptance, but in the mean time, he shouldn't have to worry about them wanting to go above ground for another year at least. He held them close and, when they weren't looking, kicked one last bandage off of his foot.
The End
His wiry, old tail moved slowly beneath his robes as he moved from one bed to the next, tucking in each of his children for the night. Their little beds were as makeshift as their family. Their sheets were threadbare pieces of cloth taken from rotten sheets, old towels, and sweaters that were considerably too large for the tots, all of which had somehow found their way into the sewer. Their mattresses were thin pillows, and their beds no more than crates.
He felt for each of them as he kissed each tiny, green head good night, but his concern did not spring from the same matters for which they wanted him to care this night. They were displeased with his bedtime story, even though Leonardo and Donatello would never say so. Raphael muttered, "I still say smashing pumpkins would be more fun," and turned from him as he approached.
Splinter swallowed his own sigh of disappointment and turned instead to kiss Mikey good night. His little hands grasped tuffs of Splinter's graying fur; Splinter stilled as the baby held tightly to him. He kissed his forehead again. Mikey murmured something about candy and turned over, releasing him.
Splinter blew out the candle at the entrance to this part of the lair and turned to take one last survey of the little ones. He had never asked for them, but now that he had them, he would never surrender them for any price. He wanted only their happiness and survival, but what they had asked from him this night, he could not give without relinquishing the latter.
"It's not safe, Raph," Leo whispered to his angry brother the moment their Sensei moved away. Splinter's ears shifted backward as he listened to their conversation. "You know that. How many times has Master Splinter told us the above world is not safe?"
"Yeah. You didn't have to go and be mean and upset him again," Donatello added.
A smile with just a touch of sadness passed over Splinter's furry lips. He was touched to hear Donnie, usually so shy and quiet, speaking up for him.
"All we know," Raph retorted, "is that he says it's not safe. I'm gonna go find out for myself one of these nights!"
Splinter's body stilled as every single one of his inner alarms cried out. If any of his children left the lair -- if they ventured above ground -- they would surely be killed, if not worse! He had seen what the humans did, how they acted, and the fact that the greatest majority of them would do anything for a "quick buck" as they often called money. The quicker and easier they could make it and the more they could get of it, the better to them, regardless of what they had to do or who they hurt in the process.
His fur stood on end. His ears flattened. His whiskers twirled of their own accord, and he knew, in that moment, that he had to act. He could no longer allow Raphael to doubt his word. He had to prove to him that the outside world was lethally dangerous, and he had to do so without actually allowing his sons to be put in that danger.
Some of their comments from earlier that night floated back through his mind as he stood still, listening for further information from Raphael's conversation with his brothers. Mikey had been upset, because he'd wanted to go trick or treating like a normal child. Even Donatello thought going to the surface world on Halloween night an ideal chance to meet humans without them guessing that their unique personages were anything more than intricate and greatly detailed costumes. Only Leonardo had remained steadfast in not wanting to go to the above world, but Splinter had witnessed the desire in his young son's eyes.
They were tired of the sewer. They were weary of seeing things in the books and magazines that floated down here to their home which they could never have. They wanted more, but yet, they wanted nothing more than what any child should readily be given. They wanted a nice, warm, and comfortable place to lay their little heads. They wanted clothes in better condition, food that actually tasted good, and friends. They wanted to feel the sun on their skin and walk in the open in its light.
Splinter sighed audibly this time, his head lowering. His ears, tail, and whiskers drooped. He wished his children could have all they wanted, but it simply was not safe. Then, in the next moment, he heard Raphael muttering to himself as he tossed and turned on his crate that he would wait until Splinter was asleep and then make his move. Another night would not pass without him seeing the upper world for himself.
Splinter darted through the lair, acting swiftly and preparing for what he now knew would come to pass this very night.
~*~
He looked in on them a little while later. Donatello and Mikey were both sleeping soundly; he made a mental note to speak with Michelangelo again about the many reasons why he should not be sucking his thumb. Leonardo and Raphael appeared to slumber quietly, but his instincts told him otherwise. His gaze slowly swept over each of his children as he made several mental notes and waited patiently.
He understood why they wanted to travel to the above world. He sympathized with the things they wanted. He, too, had his desires. He would love to have a robe without quite so many holes, and he had not had a piece of cheese since these children had come into his life. Still, he was an adult. He was accustomed to having to do without and understood the ways of the world all too aptly.
It was in a child's nature, no matter how accustomed they were to doing without, to want the things they felt they should have. It was not greed that made them yearn for the outside world. It was simply full of things they should already have. They should have to make do as he did.
His head lowered; his ears flattened once more. His whiskers twitched with thought. He had to start making more trips closer to the surface world and scavenging more. Leonardo was now to the point that he could watch over his brothers a little more often, and he had to find better things for them. He had to make them better beds and give them more enjoyable things to do. Perhaps he could even find a way, by the time Halloween came again next year, that they could all receive visits, even if only little and brief, from the Good Witch or the Great Pumpkin, as the Americans seemed to want to call the benevolent, Halloween spirit.
His ears twitched to the front. His tail jerked lightly. His eyes zeroed in on a certain red bandana. Raphael was starting to move, which meant it was time for his plan to go into action.
~*~
He had waited patiently despite his young age. He had waited until he could no longer hear his father moving around in the lair. He had waited until his younger brothers were snoring loudly. He had waited until Leonardo should have fallen asleep, if ever he was going to do so tonight. Now, at last, he moved from his bed.
"Raphael!"
His dark eyes blazed. Anger set in his jaw. "I'm going up, Leo, and you can't stop me."
"No? What if I call for Master Splinter?"
"You would, you tattletale, but he's asleep! I'll be long gone before your whining mouth wakes him!"
He stilled as his bare feet touched the floor and something cold closed around his green ankle. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but he swallowed the yelp that rose in his throat. He was a ninja; he did not know fear! He reached for his sais only to find them gone from the side of his bed.
Ice slid through him. His panic rose. He fought to stay calm. Something scaly brushed across his other foot. "Uh . . . " His voice trembled; he kicked himself mentally.
"What is it, Raph?"
"Uh . . . Uh . . . Uh, mind if I borrow your sword a minute, Leo?"
"Why? You can't use your sais to run away?"
"They . . . They're missing!"
"What do you mean your sais are missing?"
"I MEAN THEY'RE GONE, LEO!" Raph shouted, losing his cool. "THEY'RE FREAKING GONE!"
"Hmm? What's . . . going on, guys?" Donnie asked sleepily, Raph's yell having broken through to him.
Mikey slept on, snoring loudly and clenching his sweater-sheet.
"MY SAIS ARE GONE!"
"You must have misplaced them, Raph. Weapons do not get up and walk around by themselves!"
"I didn't misplace them! Something took 'em!" He kicked at the thing holding his ankle, determined not to let his brothers know he was in a bind or that he was afraid.
"That's ridiculous! Who would have taken them? We're safe here, Raphael! That's why Master Splinter doesn't want us going to the above world! This is the only place we'll ever be safe!"
"Because we're freaks," Donnie mumbled sadly, and then he yelped as something slid across his green shin. "G-Guys," he stammered, "th-th-there's s-something in -- in the bed with me!" With a cry, he lurched himself from his crate and onto Leonardo's. The impact sent Leonardo's crate crashing to the floor. Both children hit the floor hard and began to cry.
"Oh, puh-leaze," Raph retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Here I am with the bad guy on me and my sais totally gone, and you two wanna be cry babies? Just give me a damn weapon, and I'll -- " He broke off as something grabbed the stiff tip of his tail where it stuck out from underneath his shell. He screamed and jumped onto Mikey's cot.
Leo and Donnie paused in their crying. "Yeah, right, Raph," Leo snickered. "That's why you just screamed like a girl and ran to Mikey for protection!"
"I didn't jump on here for him to protect me! I'm going to protect him!"
"Huh uh." Leo giggled.
"Hum, guys," Donnie spoke up nervously, "I hate to be the downer and all, but, hum, if there's something in here . . . "
"There's something in here!" Raph exclaimed.
Leo nodded slowly, his big eyes trying to look around them but unable to see anything much for the utter and complete darkness in which they had been cast when Master Splinter had blown out the last candle in the lair. "We all felt it."
"Then, hum, shouldn't we be getting help," Donnie asked, "calling for Master Splinter, or at least getting out of here?"
A light came on somewhere. None of the Turtles knew from where, nor did they give themselves time to search for the source. What they did know was that they most certainly were not alone and they were under attack! A huge monster wrapped in trailing, white bandages moaned and waved his arms at them. They screamed but began to look around for their weapons. The monster moaned again and came closer. They screamed once more, this time waking Mikey.
The baby of their group blinked his eyes rapidly as they slowly opened. Once he was awake enough to see the creature flailing at them, he, too, screamed. "IT-IT-IT-IT'S A MUMMY!"
"It's okay, Mikey," Raphael tried to reassure his little brother. "I'm not going to let him hurt any of us." But how, he wondered, was he going to do so without any weapons at all? Maybe Donnie, who was still screaming, was right. Maybe it was time to call for Master Splinter, but then he'd have to admit that they really weren't ready to go above ground. After all, if they couldn't handle a monster in the sewers, what chance did they really have with the humans above ground? Of course, on the other hand, if he'd had his weapons, the monster would have been shish kebabed by now!
"IT'S A MUMMY RAT! IT'S A MUMMY RAT! OHMYGOD! IT'S A MUMMY RAT!" Little Mikey bolted from his bed, the room, and his brothers as the Mummy waved his arms at him. Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael looked at each other in his wake. All of them wanted to do the same thing, but none of them wanted to be the first to admit just how scared they were.
"Maybe we should go after -- " Leo started to suggest, but his words of advice were drowned out as the Mummy roared.
All three little boys screamed, their eyes almost popping out of their small heads with the fear that flailed within them. As one, they turned and ran from their bedroom. Splinter noted that Leonardo was the last out of the room, and then he, too, bolted.
~*~
Splinter met the four, screaming Turtles halfway to his room. Mikey threw himself at his leg and held on for dear life. Splinter bent and swept all four up into his arms. Even Raphael clung to him. "What seems to be the problem, my sons?" he asked, his fur and whiskers bristling with his concern.
"Th-Th-Th-There's a monster!" Donatello cried as Leonardo and Raphael looked at each other. They were supposed to be too old now to believe in such, but still, they couldn't stop trembling.
"Yeah, a big, ole, ugly monster Mummy rat!" Mikey cried.
"What makes you think it was a rat?" Raph asked him.
"I saw its tail! It was long and scaly and -- and -- and -- just gross!" he cried, shaking from head to foot. He looked up at his adopted father. "Not at all like you, Sensei!"
"Suck up," Raph muttered.
"Let us see this monster of yours," Splinter spoke soothingly. "I will make it leave you alone."
The four babies held to him tightly as he walked boldly back into their room, carrying his staff high and at the ready. Only Raphael did not hide his face as they returned to the scene. "I would've whupped him," Raph boldly told his Sensei, "but he took our weapons!"
They surveyed the little ones' room together upon their reentrance. Leonardo's bed was still toppled, and the sheets were messed. Their weapons, however, were back in their places, and there was no sign of the monster. "It certainly does appear that something happened here," Splinter mused aloud, his tail swishing beneath his old robe, "but your weapons appear to be in tact."
Leo's head slowly rose from the comforting protection of his father's shoulder. He looked around their room in puzzlement, then reached out, and touched Donnie. Donatello also surveyed the room; despite his intelligence that already far eclipsed the others, he, too, was puzzled by the return of the weapons and the lack of the monster they had all seen.
Raphael jumped down to the floor, walked over, and picked up his sai. He jabbed the small weapon into its place on his belt. "This don't make sense." He pouted.
Little Mikey continued to hide his face in his father's fur. "It was here!" he murmured. "I know it was here! We all saw it!"
"Yeah," Raph frowned, "we did!" He grabbed his other sai before it could disappear again.
"I was afraid something lie this might happen," Splinter said, his body sagging with a heavy sigh. "You see, my sons, Halloween is a very dangerous time." He looked over at Mikey, still crumpled against his shoulder. "It's not just about costumes, chocolate candies, and trick or treating. Monsters come out on Halloween more so than on any other night, and they're always hungry."
Donnie gulped, his eyes growing as large as dinner plates. He sucked his little tail back into his shell for safe keeping. "That Mummy wanted to make turtle soup of us, didn't it?" he tremulously asked his father.
"I fear you may indeed be correct in that presumption, Donatello. I had thought you would be safe here. We have never had intruders to the lair before, after all, but I suppose I was wrong. Whereas the humans have not yet found us, that one monster, at least, did. I shall be ready for him when he returns, however; I promise you the Mummy will not lay hands on you again, my sons."
Mikey shivered. "What about any mummies or any monsters?"
Splinter smiled with a touch of sadness and remorse at his children. "As long as you remain with me, my sons, I will give all that I am to keep you safe."
"Sensei?" Leo asked quietly from where he had jumped down beside Raphael to survey the room. He started trying to put his bed back together.
"Yes, Leonardo?" Splinter asked, looking down to the young Turtle who would one day be his brothers' leader.
"What's worse?"
"Hmm?" Splinter's left ear quirked. His tail swished again. He leaned a tad forward toward Leonardo.
"Humans or Mummies?" Leo stole a sideways look at his brother and was pleased to see that Raphael was listening aptly to their conversation.
"That's a good question, Leonardo, and one that I admit is a trifle difficult to answer. You see, like Mummies, humans are monsters, but like all of the different beings in this world, there are both good and evil humans. The vast majority, however, is evil."
"What do you mean, Sensei, 'the vast majority'?" Donatello queried. "Like, how many?"
Splinter sighed. "The Mummy most likely only wanted to eat you, my sons, but if you were to venture above ground and you met a hundred humans, one of those might be willing to tolerate you. They could never be trusted and would not trust you. They would not even like you and would never understand you. But at least one might not hurt you."
"And the other ninety nine?" Donnie asked.
"Oh, about thirty would try to eat you as the Mummy wanted to do tonight . . . " Mikey threw his pudgy, little arms around his father and held him more tightly. Donnie shivered. Leo looked frightfully up from making his bed. Raphael tightened his grips on both of his sais. " . . . but the other sixty nine would want to make money off of you. That would be far worse than being eaten. They would take you apart like you took apart that radio the other day, Donatello; only when they took you apart to find out how you work, none of us or them would ever be able to put you back together again."
Michelangelo shivered extremely. Splinter patted him. "It's like Humpty Dumpty," Mikey whimpered, "but way bad!"
"That is why I can not allow you to go above ground, my sons. You could not face this Mummy alone." He shook his head sadly; his tail, whiskers, and ears drooped again. "You would not a chance of surviving in the world above, and it is not a pretty place. It is far uglier and crueler than that Mummy will ever be."
Donatello clung only a little less than Mikey to their father. Leonardo swiftly finished putting his bed back together and then walked up to Splinter. "I . . . I know you sad we were ready to be on our own some, Sensei, but I don't wanna sleep alone tonight."
"You're not alone, Leonardo; your brothers are with you."
"Still . . . " Donnie started to say, but Mikey cut right to the point.
He squeezed Splinter hard. "We wanna sleep with you tonight!"
"Do you?"
Donnie and Mikey quickly nodded. Mikey refused to relinquish even a small amount of the grip he held on his father. Leonardo jumped back up into Splinter's arms. Only Raphael looked away.
"Raphael?" Splinter asked, reaching a hand down toward him.
"I guess one more night won't hurt," the red bandaged turtle relented slightly. "For Mikey's sake, of course. I don't need no protection."
"No. Of course not. You are a very brave turtle," Splinter approved, still holding his hand out, "but still, for tonight, I think it best we all stay together." Raphael finally took his hand, and Splinter lifted him into his arms. He held all four boys close to his furry chest and heart as he made the way, with a secret smile, to his own bedroom. It was best they stay together not just tonight but always. With time, his sons would come to see and accept that fact as a part of all their lives as simple and true as the need to breathe. They still had a lot of growing to do before they came to that acceptance, but in the mean time, he shouldn't have to worry about them wanting to go above ground for another year at least. He held them close and, when they weren't looking, kicked one last bandage off of his foot.
The End
