My name is Hamato Donatello, I doubt anyone will ever read this but this is my life.
I lead the morning practice like I always do these days, watching my brothers copy me flawlessly as I run through katas and basic training. I try to run weapon training sometimes but it’s just embarrassing, all of them have mastered the bo staff but I’m not as advanced in their individual weapons so I normally practice by myself.
Mikey has always been the cook so predictably he goes off to make breakfast while Leo stays in the dojo to meditate. Raph comes with me to make some adjustments on his bike and I pretend not to notice the layer of dust that has gathered over his ‘baby’.
I start to pack up our tools even before Mikey calls us all for breakfast; the same time every day, eight O’clock on the dot, you could set your watch by it.
When Raph and I arrive, Mikey and Leo have their foreheads touching and I can’t help but smile at the simple sign of affection between my oldest and youngest brothers, they really were made for each other those two. Once they notice us they quickly pull apart and set the table for breakfast, Raph smirking next to me as he takes his seat.
I join Leo for some silent meditation, after we have eaten, and find it surprisingly easy to block out the sounds of Mikey and Raph loudly watching TV in the common room, the background noise is comforting compared to the alternative silence.
Meditation doesn’t last too long for me anymore, blocking out reality isn’t easy and meditation brings it all back to me in a way that makes my skin crawl.
I stop the meditation to show Leo some of the improvements that I plan to make to the lair. It is obvious our leader understand me, but he nods and shows that he is willing to help whenever he is needed.
Every day is pretty much the same which means… yes I can hear Raph moving into the dojo to train now. I decide to spend some time with my youngest brother who has now moved on to videogames. He had already started a game but he let me play too, and I manage to beat the robot easier than I have in the past.
Mikey keeps looking at me with that adorable grin of his, he loves it when I play games with him since I am usually too busy to hang out with him much anymore.
I play a few more games with him before checking on Raphael in the dojo. He is pushing weights so I automatically move to spot for him even though I know he does not need it.
Raph is almost completely silent apart from the low grunts as he pumps iron and I watch his emerald green arms moving flawlessly, it’s as if the heavy weight weigh anything at all to the strongest turtle.
It is soon time for bed and I leave Raph to finish his workout as I clean up ready for tomorrow, turning off the TV and packing away Mikey’s games consoles. I only need to wash up my own dish since the others are empty and therefore already cleaned.
The others have already retired and Raph should be leaving the dojo right about….
Raph is still working out? He always finishes precisely at this time every day so why not today…?
I quickly hurry to see if something is wrong and it quickly becomes apparent that there is. Raph’s punch bag has come off its hinges and is now lying on the floor, but the hot head is still punching as if it was still there, his fists only meeting thin air as he continued to punch outwards.
I guide him into my lab, with him still punching aimlessly, and lay him on the worktop as I fiddle with circuits and inner mechanisms to try and fix the problem.
The others wake up once they feel me enter the room, their eyes flickering into colour as they watch me work on our brother.
Tears prick my eyes with frustration as I manage to get Raph to stop punching, but his eyes flicker to black and his head falls limp as his power cuts out. Out of all my brothers it would be Raph’s AI that decides to be difficult
I made these AI Robots to be perfect replicas, wanting to capture everything that made up my brothers, even programming them with similar habits to my missing family.
Mikey’s rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and adorable smile which could brighten up the darkest night without even trying.
Leo’s dark calculating eyes and ability to solve any problem presented to him. I even made Leo and Mikey to interact like a couple to make them more realistic.
But Raph was the hardest. Capturing his fiery spirit was almost impossible and I paid attention to every detail, including the chip in his plastron.
Everything was perfect, we were all together again; Me, Raph, Leo and Mikey, and we were happy.
It takes almost a week to get Raph operational again but when he is, his green eyes light up and his hands find my shell to pull me in close to his mechanical plastron to just hold me while I cry.
The last week was hard without him. How do you pretend that everything is perfect when you are constantly reminded that your family isn’t real and you have to work on your brother’s metallic shell to make him ‘live’ again?
It was almost impossible, but now Raph is back and I can go back to my perfect little word again.
I can go back to pretending that it’s like they never left.
