Legacy Mutation (Book Eight)

Chapter 52: A Cry For Help

Song: In My Room - Thousand Foot Krutch

Donatello waits patiently while Leonardo and Destiny talk to each other softly, trying to work out their problems but finding it difficult. Their voices are still harsh and quick despite the fact that they're whispering, something that makes the observing purple-masked turtle sigh heavily.

"Leo? Des?" he calls. "I need to talk to you both."

They look up, both face instantly creasing with worry. Donnie tenses, noticing how his brother and sister's faces have grown to look more and more old from the stress and the grief surrounding them. They're getting sick, both in mind and body, and if nothing improves, the intelligent terrapin fears that they'll waste away too.

Raphael and Michelangelo wander by, murmuring to each other under their breath. They stop momentarily to notice their other three siblings, but notice the tension in the air and continue on their way.

"What is it, Donnie?" Leo asks.

Destiny's tail flicks as she waits for the reply. Donnie opens and closes his mouth a few times, wishing with all his heart that he didn't have to bring this topic up.

"Dean..." he starts. "We had a scare with him this morning while you two were out."

"A scare? What was it?" Destiny asks, her eyes wide.

The purple-masked turtle inhales and exhales heavily. "He had a seizure, and then his heart stopped. I brought him back in time, but...but..."

"But what?" they both demand at the same time, stepping closer.

He gulps, running a finger over the top of his plastron the way a human would adjust their shirt collar.

"We need to talk about options," he starts. "And trust me...this isn't easy for me to bring up."

Destiny and Leo's blood seems to run cold, freezing them like statues. Destiny is the first to speak again.

"And those options are?" she squeaks.

"Maybe we should sit down...just in case," Donnie suggests, motioning to the couch. The mutants oblige, and once they're sitting comfortably, he starts again. "Dean's condition isn't improving. His bones are healing, albeit slowly, but they're healing. Same with his scars...but that's not what's worrying me."

"Cut to the chase, Donnie," Leo says through gritted teeth, his fists clenched in his lap.

There's silence for a moment as Donnie tries to get the words right. "If Dean wakes up, we don't know how bad he'll be. He might be able to walk, but flying...I would be surprised if that ever happened. He'll be scarred both physically and mentally, and who knows what the state of his mental health will be at." He folds his hands behind his back. "It'll be a fate worse than death, if that is the case."

He winces a little, as if waiting for their reaction. The hidden meaning behind his words doesn't seem to sink in, or at least the two parents are in denial about what he's saying.

"You need to choose, for the good or bad of your son's life, whether or not to turn off the machines and let him slip away," the purple-masked turtle says, his voice laced with sorrow.

"Turn off the machines? You're saying we should let him die?" Destiny reiterates, appalled by the thought. "No. We can't. We won't."

Leo still doesn't say a word. Donnie purses his lips and looks to his sister.

"Look...I know it's tough, but you have to think about what's best for Dean-"

"I am thinking about what's best for him," she hisses fiercely, her eyes snapping with that same ferocity. "He's sixteen years old, he hasn't had a chance to have a real life yet!"