"Alright, bros...it's that time again," Michelangelo announces, standing proudly with his shell obscuring the TV behind him. "It's rerun night, and today, in honour of Sarina, we will watch Super Robo Mecha Force Five!"
The turtles cheer and clap, hooting and pumping their fists. Sarina smiles lightly and clasps her hands together in anticipation. Destiny's tail wags hard enough to smack Raphael in the back of the head and he quickly decides that he doesn't want to sit on the floor anymore. Splinter enters from the kitchen with a tray that's laden with popcorn and drinks.
As Michelangelo puts the VHS into the player and Splinter passes out snacks, Donatello feels his t-phone vibrate. He stands and hops out of the pit, snatching up the phone and checking his texts. April's name decorates the screen.
A: I can't come tonight. Sorry.
He frowns and starts to text back. Meanwhile, the show starts up and captures everyone else's attention, except for Sarina. She glances over at Donatello occasionally, noticing that he's becoming more and more visibly agitated by the second. He's already deviated from texting to calling, speaking in a low voice with his shell turned to his family, one finger plugging his free ear.
"You haven't been here in at least a week," he says. He listens to the response, mouth falling open. "What? We told you that there's nothing to worry about. Sarina's on our side."
Sarina again turns to look at him, her heart starting to pound. His eyes narrow and his entire body tenses noticeably as he starts to pace back and forth.
"I wouldn't lie to you and you know I would never put you in danger," he insists. "At least, not purposely." Another response. He bristles. "April, I'm serious. There's nothing and no one to be afraid of."
Her response seems to flip a switch in him. He pulls the phone away from his ear and shouts into it, effectively jolting everyone else away from their TV watching.
"Sarina is not a Kraang!"
Raphael pauses the TV as everything goes quiet. Donatello takes a deep breath and brings the phone back, his volume back to normal.
"Please, can we talk about this?" he pleads. The answer makes his face harden. "Fine, don't come. Forget I asked," he mutters.
He ends the call and stuffs the phone into his belt. As he turns to go back to the events going on without him, he instead finds multiple pairs of eyes staring at him, blue and green and brown alike.
"Wow, Donnie, what's got your shell in a twist?" Raphael asks with a teasing smirk.
"Nothing. My shell is perfectly untwisted," Donatello snaps. He plops himself down on the bench and crosses his arms tightly over his chest. "Just play the show."
Nobody touches the remote. Captain Dash stays frozen on the screen, finger aimed out at his unknown spectators. Donatello looks to each of his family members, frustrated.
"Seriously, go," he repeats.
"Donnie, something is bothering you," Leonardo says. "What happened with April?"
"It's not important."
Skeptical glances pass through every face. Sarina clears her throat and raises her hand, her stomach clenching into a tight knot as the attention falls on her. She can't look Donatello in the eye.
"Judging by what I could overhear, April has some kind of problem with me," she says softly. "I am sorry for...whatever it is that I have done."
Donatello's expression softens. "No, it's not your fault. It's..." He purses his lips, then moves slightly to address his entire awaiting family. "April is concerned about Sarina's motives and out of that wariness, she doesn't want to visit unless Sarina is gone. She wants Casey to stay away too, but I can't speak for whether he's going to listen."
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Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)
Fanfiction"However, you say I am human in a sense, that my body is simply fused with the robot that I have been raised to believe I am. Could you teach me...emotion?" The Kraang tried to take over the city of New York twice, and only once did they succeed. Th...
