To Crack a Shell - ROTTMNT

7 - Lie, Cheat, and Steal

"This is the third time in as many days, and it still doesn't make sense," Donnie tells the screen. "He's perfectly fine and in a deep REM sleep until werh , his pulse drops to a disturbingly low rate while his temperature climbs high enough to cook his brain. Yet his brain remains un cooked and everything goes back to normal about ten minutes later."

The dictation program transcribes his sentence. Donnie continues, "I have yet to witness this phenomenon for myself but both Raph and Casey have stated that, during these moments of fever, Mikey's ninpo is active. Jones has explained it might be a branch of Mikey's ninpo called 'gold vision'. As uninspired as the name is, it (supposedly) is a means of allowing Mikey to see past the third dimension. He can see mystic energy unaided, catch glimpses through time and, most interesting to me, beyond.

"Both Raph and Casey have questioned why I haven't done more to prevent these fits of fever. I have been telling them I don't know how.

"In truth, they may be the proof I need for Project-LH. Repair is proceeding as planned and the storage unit is functioning optimally. However, if there truly is some mystic element I need to add, then some certain... errands need be run. If not for the project, then certainly for myself. I am... not sure how long normal products will continue being effective."

>>>

"You are no longer allowed here."

"Look me in the eye and tell me I care."

Despite Raph's best glare, the bat yokai librarian is unmoved. "I will look you in the eye and tell you I can forcibly remove terrapins who are loud and destructive."

"I need books for communicating with spirits."

The librarian barely holds back a scoff. "My, my, how far you've fallen. What, did one of your color-coded companions get his soul trapped in a cursed bottle?"

"He's my brother ."

"I'm sure he is." The bat's long claws stamp a book.

"He's dead."

The stamp stops above another page. The librarian inhales slowly and sets down the stamp. Her fingers thread together and she looks Raph in the eyes. "What you are suggesting is a path from which few return. I caution against being desperate."

"Your caution is noted."

The librarian scowls. "Fine. Just return the book by its date." She scribbles on a piece of paper and hands it to Raph.

Raph takes it and is teleported to the Necromancy and Seance section. Rows upon columns loom over him and stretch to every side.

The snapper sets his jaw. If Leo was finding some way to cheat death, then Raph is going to find some way to cheat life.

>>>

Normally Casey is fine with secrets kept from him, but this is getting ridiculous. First Donnie takes off fully armed without any explanation of where he was going. Then, after Mikey had another fever attack, Raph suddenly leaves! What next, Splinter decides he's finally going to come out of his room?

Master Leonardo always said patience was the main thing Casey needs to work on. Pretty much everything else he was good with, but patience? Nope.

Casey knows how to get information. He'd gone on missions with Donatello plenty of times to steal plans and intel. If taking the information he wanted was the only way he'd be able to know what was going on, then so be it.

Besides, Donnie left his lab unlocked and his computer on. So, partially, it's his fault for leaving information unattended.

Casey logs in with Master Donatello's old password and starts combing through logs.

Most of the recent entries are labeled under "Project-LH." The reports are too vague to glean anything. Other entries are from personal journals. Casey starts skimming the journals, noticing their tones drastically shifting from cold calculation to furious rants, often within one entry.

A stark goal threads through all the entries starting on the night Leo died. Over and over again, a promise to fix it. "Fix it, fix it, I can fix it."

Fix what? The status quo? That wasn't going to happen. This family wasn't going to be the same again.

Casey browses a few more logs before closing and locking the computer again. A nearby door catches his attention. He tiptoes over and unlocks it. Behind this door is the mysterious secret tank.

The entire room is padded and soundproof. Circuits and wires snake along the walls like electric vines, and support beams divide the walls into triangular segments. Tubes and cables connect to the central unit in the middle of the floor.

The central unit is an enclosed metal tank shaped like a dodecahedron. Its door has a small circular window, and a control panel sits next to it.

Casey cups his hands around his eyes and peers into the circular window. Dull purplish light glows inside, but there's nothing visible. Casey backs away from the window in favor of inspecting the control panel's keypad. He tries a few of Donatello's combinations, but none of them work. For a moment he considers breaking the panel and forcing his way in, but if the tank was sealed with the beta Shell Code as he suspected, it wasn't going to open anytime soon, even with Casey's future knowledge.

Back in the main lab, Donnie's computer blips. Casey scurries back and checks the popup. A security camera feed shows Donnie's heels passing into the lair's entrance tunnel.

Casey shuts the door to the tank and hurries out of the lab. He makes himself look like he's walking toward the kitchen as Donnie enters.

The sight of the turtle makes Casey's heart lurch into his throat. Donnie is breathing heavily, his steps labored and deliberate. His battle shell's spider arms hold pieces of metal and odd trinkets, and his arm hangs by his side, gripping his bo white-knuckled. Moist stains are splattered across his skin and shine under the lights.

"Donnie?" Casey steps closer. "Is that blood?"

"It's not mine," the turtle says. He marches to his lab and shuts the door.

Heavy footsteps accompany Raph's return. Casey approaches him, but the snapper veers away and tries to hide a book he's holding. "Sorry, Casey. I got something to take care of."

Once more, Casey is left alone. He jams his palms into his eyes and bites back a frustrated yell. He knows less now than when he started.