Family is Forever

Breaking Purple: Part 1

Aria's POV:

Donnie & I are in the kitchen adding the finishing touches on a recipe Donnie's been trying to perfect for a while now.

Donnie: *evil laugh* "At last, my greatest creation. The ultimate evolution in breakfast sandwich. A toasted avocado baco-bagel-rito... with cheese. And a sandwich of the same caliber for the lovely Aria Draxum, minus the avocado."

Me: "Thanks, Don. Bon appetit."

But before Donnie can bite his sandwich, Shelldon zooms in and out of the kitchen, knocking the sandwich out of his hands. Donnie manages to catch the sandwich, but it breaks apart, and the cheese covers Donnie's entire face, shoulders, and arms.

Donnie: "Shelldon! I told you no drone racing in the lair!"

Shelldon: *scoffs* "You guys have a giant skate ramp in the house and I can't race?"

Donnie: "No, you can't."

Shelldon: "Why?"

Donnie: "Because I said so, emailed so, and texted so."

Shelldon: "That's so unfair! I'm sick of this shell-pression."

Shelldon storms off as Mikey wraps an arm around Donnie's shoulders.

Mikey: "Problem, Donald?"

Donnie: *sighs* "It's Shelldon. Aria & I just upgraded his operating system to version 13."

Mikey: "Wow, 13. Feels like yesterday he was just a twinkle in your toolbox."

Donnie: "Yeah, and now he's a pain in my shell. He charges until noon, he's always coding back to me, and now he's drone racing all over the house."

Mikey: "Shelldon's at a delicate age. You need to nurture his spirit, or you'll drive him away."

Mikey snaps his fingers, and just like that, Donnie sits in Splinter's chair in the living room as Mikey stands beside me in a vest and glasses.

Mikey: "Good morning, I'm Dr. Feelings, and this is my lovely assistant, Aria Draxum. Welcome to our seminar: 'Hug It Out'."

Donnie: "Dr. Feelings? I thought you were Dr. Delicate Touch."

Mikey: "Dr. Delicate Touch feels nothing. Lesson 1: 'Because I said so' is not an answer. You need to learn a healthy way to express your feelings to your family like you would to your girlfriend."

Donnie: "Yes, feelings. Hot, cold, hungry, sleepy."

Me: "No, feelings like love, or in this case, anger."

Mikey pulls up a PowerPoint of photos. The first one is of Donnie yelling at Shelldon.

Mikey: "Remind you of anyone?"

Donnie: "Nope!"

Mikey switches to a photo of Splinter yelling at Donnie, both he and Sheldon looking annoyed at their father figure. Mikey switches back and forth between each image as Donnie's eyes widen in realization.

Donnie: "No! Anything but that! Ok, teach me, Doctor. Teach me."

Suddenly, we hear a loud crash from the lab and follow it to find Shelldon having crashed into one of Donnie's inventions.

Donnie: "My dark matter accelerator. Shelldon!"

I gently massage Donnie's shoulders to calm his anger.

Me: "Donnie, remember to express your feelings."

Donnie: *clears his throat* "Shelldon, I feel frustrated when you destroy my priceless inventions."

Shelldon: *rolls his eyes* "Eye roll."

Donnie: "You did not just-"

Mikey clears his throat.

Donnie: "Fine. Fine. I feel very, very-That's two very's-Annoyed when you eye roll at me."

Shelldon turns away towards his tablet, much to Donnie's annoyance.

Donnie: "That's it! You are grounded, young man! Literally."

Shelldon: "Hey!"

Mikey & I: "Donald/Donnie!"

Donnie cuffs Shelldon to a ball and chain as I catch him before he can hit the ground.

Donnie: "That is a restraining bolt. From now on, you do not go anywhere or do anything without my say-so."

Shelldon: "0-1-0-0-1 you!"

Donnie: "You watch your mouth young man!"

Shelldon trudges away in anger as I facepalm at how this was not how I expected this conversation to end.

Donnie: Sorry, Dr. Feelings, but I feel this was a job for Dr. Actually Solves Problems."

{Time skip}

Donnie recreates the avocado baco-bagel-ritos to enjoy in peace.

Donnie: "You see this, doctor? With Shelldon grounded, Aria & I can finally enjoy our toasted avocado baco-bagel-ritos in peace."

Donnie eats his all in one bite as Mikey & I share a contradictory look.

Mikey: "Don't you think it's time to take that restraining bolt off?"

Donnie: "You know, Angelo, you make a really good point. It is probably way too easy to take that off, I better go perma-tighten it."

The three of us walk into Shelldon's room to find 'him' hiding under a blanket.

Shelldon: *monotone* "Greetings, Donnie, other turtle, or Aria. I am still charging. I am very sorry for everything I did. No need to investigate further."

I roll my eyes while Donnie bears a confident grin.

Donnie: "Ha, you see that? I really got through to him."

Me: "Did you, though?"

I pull off the blanket to reveal a boombox replaying the recorded message.

Donnie: "He ran away?"

Donnie smashes the boombox and flies out through a sewer pipe.

Mikey: "Donnie, wait!"

Me: "I'll follow him to ensure they both come home in one piece. You stay here and tell Splinter we'll be back before dawn."

Mikey nods as I don my hang-glider and follow Donnie as he looks for Shelldon. We stop at Repo's junkyard as he and a man are talking.

Repo Mantis: "This is top-notch scrap! Where'd you get all this?"

Loose Lips Malinowski: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Loose Lips Malinowski don't talk about sources. I'm not just gonna tell you I got it from the drone races where wayward teens go when they run away from home after a fight their misguided parental figures will regret for the rest of their lives. That's where I got it from."

Repo Mantis: "Ah, shame. All this senseless carnage could be avoided if people simply communicated."

Both men move to reveal a pile of broken drones.

Donnie & I: "Shelldon!"

TO BE CONTINUED