Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 45: Questions Answered

Destiny watches Diaval over the lip of her teacup, the warm scent of fruit reminding her of all the tea she's drank during visits with Murakami back home.

Diaval sits across from her, his own teacup settled on the stone surrounding the fireplace's base. His gaze is on the first aid kit in his lap, where he's rifling through the various items.

"What wound?"

Destiny blinks a few times. "What?"

He looks up at her briefly. "What kinda wound?" he repeats, his eyes flicking to her ribcage.

She bites her lip, setting her teacup down near the fireplace. "Katana."

"It's deep?" he clarifies.

"Not as deep as it could be," she returns. "It doesn't need stitches."

"Y'sure?"

"Can you just give me the kit?" she nearly snaps, her teeth gritting. "I can do it myself while we talk. I don't need you being some sort of doctor."

Diaval feels a sudden jolt as he looks at her, letting him know that she wants Donatello to help her, not him. He hands over the kit, the desire fading slightly from her mind like a wave retreats from the sand.

He retrieves his teacup, turning it so that he doesn't drink from the chipped side. He gave Destiny the cup that he hadn't dropped and broken before, leaving himself with the chipped one. He doesn't care.

Destiny shrugs off her jacket, setting it on the floor as she searches through the kit for a cleanser of any kind along with bandages. She takes them from the kit, then halts as she glances down at herself.

She looks up at Diaval, who's sprinkling chilli flakes into his teacup with a bored expression on his face. She looks down at herself, trying to figure out other options, but finds little. Setting the items down, she grips the hem of her shirt and starts pulling it up.

"Hey, could you turn around?" she asks.

Diaval's eyes flicker to her. His eyes don't waver from her face. "Huh?"

Her cheeks gain some colour. "I can't bandage it with the shirt on, okay?" she mumbles. "So..."

He stares at her for a bit before his lips part in an "o" shape and he nods. He scoots his chair around until his back is facing her. She exhales and tugs her shirt off, dropping it next to her jacket before getting to work.

Diaval swivels his chair back around as she gets her shirt on. He takes a long sip of his tea, eyes on the amber liquid.

"Got that from the turtles?" he asks. She nods. "Didn't get any help?"

"I was running. I just patched it with my old shirt for a while," she says. "I thought it had finally started to close up. The river must've torn the scabbing."

"Hm."

Destiny slumps back against the couch, tucking her legs up into a loosely crisscrossed position. She folds her arms over her chest.

"Now, I need answers," she says. He takes another sip of tea, showing no sign of having heard her. She continues anyways. "I've been getting headaches and visions ever since I ran away, and since you're the one who put them there, you're the one who can take them out."

His eyes are almost sad when he looks at her, although his face remains the same. "Can't."

Her eyebrows furrow. "Can't? Like...you can but you won't or something else?"

He lowers his head. "Shredder's using the magic. 'M not in control."

"How could Shredder use your magic?"

"Long story."

"I've got time."

Diaval stares at her, then takes another gulp of tea before telling his story, or at least, what he can remember and put into understandable words.

He tells Destiny about how Baxter Stockman created a serum that would allow Diaval to use his magic from a distance, so long as Destiny had the serum in her bloodstream as well. He tells her about how, in order for the serum to take effect faster, Destiny would have to be weaker than she usually is so that her body would have a harder time fighting off the serum's effects. This is why she was so severely beaten when she was captured.

Diaval goes on the explain that, while he was unaware of this, Shredder devised a second plan that involved a third serum to be created, one that allowed Shredder to manipulate Diaval's magic and what he caused Destiny to see.

"So how'd you find out about it?" Destiny asks.

"Karai. She heard 'em talking, told after..." Diaval trails off as vivid imagery of a crazed wolf impregnate his mind. He clears his throat. "After that night."

"Oh...continue?"

He does. He says that, from what Karai told him, the serum took advantage of Shredder's surplus of hateful feelings towards the Hamato Clan and anyone involved with them. That hatred was transferred to Diaval through the serum, infecting his magic and thereby infecting Destiny with tortured images of her dead friends. Destiny realizes that Diaval meant "influencing" when he said that "Shredder's using his magic", but decides not to correct him.

Diaval doesn't tell her much about what happened after her incident. He tells her that he gained a moment of clarity, one that urged him to stop her, and that's the only reason she didn't end up killing her friends.

"Shredder found out 'bout what'd happened," Diaval says, his fingertips tapping against the teacup in his large hands. "Got punished, then ran."

Destiny takes a sip of her tea. "So you came here? Why?"

He looks outside, taking in the wide expanse of unbroken sky and field. "Like the open space." His eyes flicker downwards, falling into thought and not what's directly ahead of him. "And...can't hurt anyone out here."

They sit in silence. A bird chirps outside as it flies overhead. The smell of spice and tea wafts into Destiny's nose. The chair creaks when Diaval shifts even the slightest bit.

"What you're telling me, basically, is that you can't do anything," Destiny says, her hands tightening around her cup as she feels her throat tighten. "The serum is stuck in both of us, and as long as it's there, I'm in danger. Shredder's hatred and the serum are...messing with our minds?"

"Mhm." He drains his tea. "Just gotta wait it out."

"Wait it...you think it'll just go away?"

"Maybe. I dunno."

An exasperated breath leaves her as she rolls her eyes. "That's just great," she groans.

Diaval's eyes rest on her, their pink colour turning lighter in the sunshine coming in from outside. "You could stay here."

Destiny can't hide the shock on her face. "What?"

He shrugs. "It's peaceful, safe, could get better."

"Together?"

His jaw shifts, clenching, but he nods. "Mm."

The wolf mutant looks at her hands, fiddling with the white tips of her fingernails and she mulls over the offer. There's a lot to think of and he's offered very little to actually use as deciding factors aside from what she can interpret from his broken way of speaking.

He's the enemy and he's the one who caused you to attack the turtles, April, and Casey, one side of herself argues. He doesn't even know how to help! He's an idiot!

Yes, but Shredder used him too. Shredder abused Diaval's power and hurt him in the process, the other retorts. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere else to go.

She lets out a long breath and nods. "I guess I'll stay for a little bit," she mumbles.

His lip twitches upwards for a second as he stands up. "Mmkay."