Transient | A ROTTMNT Future Story

under siege

"Sad name, but it was the one that fit." Donnie seemed to say to himself.

"What does palliate mean?" Leo turned to the rock for answers. Once again, his brother didn't respond. "Sure wish I could look it up."

"My data logs are getting more and more morbid when I listen back to them." Donnie said. "I think I'm going to switch back to audio entries. Besides, I suspect that there will be nothing new to show off in the coming days."

Donnie angled his head low. He slapped the clipboard over his face, the small metal hanger tag of the board shaking. When he looked back into the camera's lens, his eyes were glossy, but no tears had fallen yet. He sighed and blew his lips, a trilling high sounding noise escaping him. He forced out a squarish, blocky smile. Leo knew that smile. It was the "I'm overwhelmed/uncomfortable/unhappy and this is how my body wants to respond" smile.

"I'm stressed out of my gourd! I just have to keep reminding myself that this will be over soon."

"Donnie!" Leo jumped.

Regardless of the faint and garbled aspect, since Donnie likely filmed his data logs on a toaster, it was Raph's voice. There was no doubt about it. It was not made from code or artificial intelligence, or layered with other voices that drowned the real one out. No. It was Raphael's voice. Although it hurt from the memory, the voice sang nicely like windchimes in Leo's head.

"What are you doing? We have to get everything ready! Mikey already found a cave! Let's go!"

"I'm coming! Okay, end of log." Donnie lurched for the camera, and then the screen was black.

Leo was fearful. "That's it?"

He exited the video tab and went back to the data log files. He painstakingly scrolled to the very bottom.

7_21_32.MP3 was the final log in the folder.

"That's...that's it."

Leo ran the cursor over the file. He wasn't quite ready to click and listen. Leo tried to recall what happened the day before Donnie's birthday. Karaoke? That sounded about right. Leo tapped on the trackpad two times. Blasting out of the laptop's speakers was a bubbly voice that very much was Donatello's. It was inappropriately contrasting to the sad voice of yesterday.

"Data log, entry July twenty-first, two-thousand thirty-two. Also known as seven dash twenty one dash thirty-two. Tonight is great! I love being the center of attention on karaoke night, since I obviously sing the best."

"What the-no you don't!" It was Leo's own voice. His memory didn't prove useful in remembering the moment. "My voice is the best!"

"Boy, no it's not!" Mikey. He had so much attitude in the comment, but it very clearly harbored no ill will.

It was Raph's turn to inject himself into the conversation. "Can I sing?! And y'all listen without getting into a fight about who sings the best? It's not Leo, by the way."

The Leo on the MP3 recording clicked his tongue in annoyance while his brothers snickered obnoxiously.

"Anyways, tomorrow's my birthday! I'll have another progress report by then. End of log!"

"Who are y-" Past Leo's sentence had been cut short.

There was a moment of agonizing silence exchanged between Leo and the laptop's unmoving screen. That log was of no use to Leo. What was even the point of it being there? Did Donnie not know how to sort through his files? Or delete the useless ones? It was all so painfully frustrating, to the point Leo contemplated smashing the laptop on the ground and watching the keyboard coverings hit the floor with the beautiful sounding clicks of hollow plastic squares. Instead, Leo swiftly removed the blacked lower half of the three-dimensional gorgeous man from the device and pieced the USB back together. He then carefully shut the laptop and set it gently on the ground. Leo daintily placed the adonis-esque man on top, letting the object rest horizontally.