Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Chapter 35: A Little Bit Different

"What happened?" Raphael repeats. "More like what the shell is wrong with her! She's gone crazy!"

Donatello frowns. "Be sensitive, Raph. She just went through something terrible."

"We should take her to the dojo. Master Splinter can help her," Leonardo says, moving back to Michelangelo. "Mikey, are you—"

"I can do it," Michelangelo interrupts.

He snakes his arm underneath Annalise's legs, shifting her upper body so that he can cradle her better, and he stands up. He turns and leaves the laboratory, his family watching in silence until he's out of earshot. The conversation restarts.

"She's completely haywire," Raphael says. "What's Sensei supposed to do about that?"

"Maybe the healing hands?" April suggests.

"Therapy," Diaval mumbles. He looks at Destiny, his head tilting a little. "Worked for you."

Destiny nods, her ears flattening a little as she sighs. "Whatever it is, I just hope it isn't too serious," she says. "I understand if it is, though. It looked like a special kind of hell in there."

They keep discussing the situation, except for Donatello, who returns his attention to the still-motionless Sarina. He moves closer to her, half-listening to his family's conversation. He reaches over and tilts her head sideways, allowing a better view of the cord in her neck, and he purses his lips.

He gives the cord a little wiggle, just enough to disrupt it in its setting. Maybe the movement will send out a signal inside the cyberverse, leading Sarina back home.

She gasps, her eyes flying open as they flood with bright blue light. Donatello squeaks in surprise and nearly falls over, making everyone else turn around. Sarina sits up, holding her head as a soft groan leaves her. Destiny perks up, tail wagging.

"Sarina..." Donatello breathes.

She yanks the cord from her neck and blinks a few times, readjusting to the real world. When she sees her family, a weak smile graces her exhausted face.

"Winging it...worked," she croaks.

Donatello laughs and throws his arms around her, planting kisses all over her circuit-patterned face. She giggles softly at her boyfriend's affectionate welcome, sneaking a few kisses from him too, and only once she looks out at everyone else does her smile fall.

"Annalise and Michelangelo are missing," she comments. "Was everything alright?"

Leonardo's shoulders slump. Raphael and Destiny suddenly become very interested in their feet while April scuffs the ground with her shoe. Diaval lets out a long whistle.

"Annalise went nutso," Casey says, twirling one finger next to his head in a "cuckoo" motion. "So now Mikey's in the dojo talking to Splinter."

Sarina sighs and slumps back on the table. "I should have seen this coming," she murmurs. "She already seemed unstable when I found her."

"Nutso, as Casey so lovingly put it," Donatello says, eyeing the boy for a second, "was actually more of a panic attack. I think, in some way, she was still trapped, at least mentally."

"Her captivity mirrored a twisted sense of reality," Sarina says. "I don't blame her for feeling...jarred."

Her words remind Raphael of something. He pulls out his t-phone and goes on YouTube, expecting to see the video where Annalise was trapped. Instead, there's nothing. Not even an error message. He frowns and searches up her channel, but nothing comes up. It's like it never existed.

"Uh...Sarina?" he asks. "Annalise's channel is...gone."

She yawns and her eyes dim a little. "Ah, yes, that would be my fault. I'd talk more, but I'm rather exhausted. I apologize."

"I'll take you to bed," Donatello says. "We can talk more once you've gotten some rest."

She manages a nod as Donatello scoops her up. With her safe in his arms, he leaves the lab. A tense silence blankets the remaining six teenagers, Destiny staring at the stagnant teleporter while Raphael can't take his eyes off his phone.

"Come on, everyone," Leonardo says. "Standing around isn't going to do us any good."

One by one, they trickle out of the lab until Destiny is the only one left. There's a soft knock behind her and she turns to see Diaval lingering in the doorway, eyebrows lifted a little, and he waves at her. She sighs and follows him out, shutting the doors behind them.

----------

Master Splinter kneels next to Annalise while Michelangelo hovers and flits around them like a nervous hummingbird. She stays asleep, her breaths and the twitching of her fingers the only proof that she's alive.

"She was frightened, you say?" Splinter asks.

Michelangelo nods. "She was punching and fighting and she didn't calm down until Diaval used his magic on her!"

He looks up at his son, a sigh escaping him. "Michelangelo, are you aware of disorders and their causes?"

The turtle's face flickers as his eye-ridges knit together. "Lisey said something about putzd in the cyberverse while we were all chilling in Minecraft," he says.

"Putzd?" Splinter repeats. "Michelangelo, I don't think that's a word."

"Well, she kept spelling it out and it spelled putzd! P-T-S-D."

The rat blinks then lets out a soft chuckle. "Ah, you mean Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is just an acronym," he says.

Michelangelo's mouth form an "o" shape. "That makes sense," he says. After a second, he kneels on Annalise's other side as his expression crumples. "Are...are you thinking that Lisey's gonna get PTSD?"

"I am only imagining it as a possibility," Splinter admits, reaching out to rest a gentle hand on Annalise's shoulder. "For someone unaccustomed to the strange and unnatural in the way that we are, an experience like the one she had can easily hurt her mental state." Michelangelo's shoulders slump and Splinter continues, "Panic attacks like the one she just had could reoccur. In fact, it's the sort of thing that could very well hinder her ability to carry on relationships or live normally...unless she gets help."

Michelangelo sniffles and blinks hard, hands trembling. "Y-You...you mean she'll be like Des?" he asks. "W-With the screaming and...and..."

"Not exactly like Destiny, but...yes, I would be surprised if those memories didn't linger, just as Destiny's do." His expression is grave as he gets to his feet. "The mind is a fragile thing that must be cared for if it is to be healthy."

Michelangelo takes in his words, eyes stinging and face hot. He looks at Annalise again, at her eyelashes as they flutter in her sleep, at her blonde hair, at her peach-toned skin. She looks so fragile, like a touch could shatter her, and the idea of her own mind becoming a battlefield hurts Michelangelo in more ways than one.

"What can I do?" he asks, looking up at his father. "I want to help her, Sensei."

Splinter smiles a little. "All you can do is be there for her while she recovers. Be someone she can rely on, just as you always have been," he says. He folds his hands behind his back. "You have always been the happiest out of all of us, Michelangelo. Remind her of what happiness can be."

He turns to leave the dojo, Michelangelo pondering those words as he goes. Just as Splinter is about to leave, Michelangelo perks up, a few more questions nagging at him.

"What else can help?" he asks. "What should I tell her mom?"

Splinter strokes his beard. "Therapy is always a good start. As for her mother, just tell her the truth. The truth is always the best option."

He steps out. Michelangelo nods to himself as he props his head upon his hand, elbow perched on his knee. When Annalise wakes up, he'll be here for her.