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maddys-nerd-blog · 6 months

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Hey guys!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts! I’ve been super busy, but the good news is I’ve got another TMNT fanfic done! This time it’s a one shot, and it’s based on a whumptober prompt!!

This one I just recently completed! It’s also a kind of introduction to my OC, Lilium!

For context, in this AU, it’s an OC x Donatello story that has a ongoing plot I’m currently working on alongside my Familia AU! It takes place during Season 4 of the 2003 series!

Enjoy! 😄

I’m Never Leaving You

A TMNT 2003 One Shot

Whumptober Prompt: Shock

“You are pathetic.”

That was the hundredth time Karai had said those words in the past couple hours. Lilium wasn’t sure if the kunoichi was trying to ingrain the saying into her head to get her to crack, but they were becoming grating.

Of course, that was small potatoes given her current situation.

The butcher shop was empty, having been closed for a few weeks due to failing a health code inspection. Aunt Katie was pretty annoyed at first because this was her favorite place to get roast beef sandwiches, but who would have imagined that such an ordinary place would become the impromptu hideout for the Foot?

Lilium sat on the scuffed tiled floor, her hands tied behind her, hair a frizzy mess that hung around her back. Locked around her throat the electric shock collar hugged the Siren symbols imprinted into her flesh, burning beneath the heavy metal devise that beeped ominously, a warning for if she dare try to shriek. Her broken nose was clogged with blood, most of it having leaked down her face and drying around her split lips to make her look like a wreck. The formerly cream colored leggings she wore were muddied and caked with stains of crimson and dust. A failed escape attempt two days ago. Her raspberry blouse was tattered and torn around her stomach and elbows from where steel toed boots struck her abdomen.

It wasn’t the words themselves that got under her skin. It was the cloying fear.

Ever since she’d gotten kidnapped, the cold claws of dread sank themselves deep into her core and started digging. Being a captive to someone as ruthless as Karai was one thing. But this time, it was personal. It had been a month since Karai had taken the mantle of being the Shredder. And in that time during the turtle’s much needed recovery process, she’d become… unhinged.

Lilium didn’t really know Karai outside of her connection with the Foot. Donnie had told her the basics of her relationship with Shredder, but otherwise? She’d only known her as the cutthroat ninja who would do anything to please her master. Even if it meant killing teenagers.

And her unpredictability was scaring her the most.

Stalking around the girl, the woman observed her with a blank glare. Lilium refused to look at her, lest she receive any kind of verbal or physical scolding. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground, where droplets of her blood had fallen in front of her knees. Don’t do something stupid Lily. Just stay calm…

“You are pathetic,” repeated Karai, her voice laced with callousness. “How is it that you were able to defeat several of the Purple Dragons? Sheer dumb luck?”

Lilium refused to respond.

Karai’s hands were suddenly grabbing her hair. Unforgiving, the woman yanked her head upwards and forced her to meet dark obsidian eyes that reminded Lilium of ravens. Her lips were curled into a furious snarl. “Answer me, child!”

Lilium grit her teeth, a pained whimper sneaking past. Even so, she refused to speak.

“If you do not speak, there shall be punishments. It would be wise to obey, lest I begin breaking your bones,” Karai’s words were hard as stone. She meant every word of her threat. Her scornful expression only spoke one thing; Don’t try my patience.

Lilium grit her teeth, eyes narrowed at the woman with disdain. “Is it y-your favorite hobby t-to kidnap kids? To beat them up…? Cuz that’s pretty sad.”

“For a girl with a sharp tongue, you should understand when it is time to curb your words.” Karai shoved Lilium’s head away, scornful. “Your mother did not teach you well.”

Her frustration ticked at the comment. Clearing her throat to better get her words across, Lilium snapped back at the nutcase. “At least my mom didn’t teach me to be a hateful bitch with daddy issues.” Lilium let that comment fly like molasses spilling from a jar; slow, biting, a low blow in every sense of the word. She’d learned from Raph, so it seemed.

If she’d struck a cord, Karai was doing a good job hiding it. Or she didn’t care. The ninja had the resolve of a cheetah, unfazed and unimpressed. Lilium watched as the armor clad monster stepped back, crimson lips curled into a sharp grin, devilish and razor-like. “You believe yourself to be clever. But you will understand that you are not as strong as you think.”

Lilium mentally prepared herself for the worst. She expected a slap to the face, a kick to the stomach, or the collar to start going off.

But Karai, instead, reached into her belt and unclipped a scalpel from a side pouch. The slim knife glinted dangerously beneath the buzzing lightbulbs over her head. Lilium’s breath caught in her throat with panic.

“Let me get one thing very clear,” Karai knelt to her level, scalpel twirling around her fingers, keeping it in view to let Lilium’s fear grow. “I am not above taking you apart, piece by piece, to see how long it takes until I can break you. I could use your vocal chords as a source of power to bring your friends to their knees. I could even use you as a battery.” She brought the knife towards her, the tip of the blade pointed directly at her temple. “You are just a means to an end. If I take your life, you shall go unnoticed.”

Lilium’s heart was in her throat. Horror encased her features, breathing quick and shallow, her instincts going berserk as the tip of the knife was pressed into the skin of her forehead.

“This can all cease if you just tell me where I can find the turtles.” Karai let a faux tone of pity tint her voice. “I will let you go home if you give me what I ask.”

Lilium grit her teeth so tight her jaw clicked in place, molars gnashing terribly hard in her mouth that she was sure they were cracking. Oh God this was bad, this was very very bad. Her body was shaking against her will. She wanted to throw up, she wanted to scream but she couldn’t. How could she possibly surrender her friends like this? How could she be given such an ultimatum? She couldn’t hand the guys over to this psycho! She’d probably torture them worse than what Lilium had been forced to go through! She could hand them over to Bishop and THAT curdled the contents of her stomach to the point of near vomiting. Donnie had already been out through that shit once, he didn’t deserve any of it. They’d all been pushed too far to the brink. They nearly DIED.

Momma had raised her to always do the right thing even when you were afraid. Donnie showed her how to be brave.

But she knew how deadly Karai was. She knew first hand how horrifying Bishop was. She was scared. She was only fifteen. She wanted to go to college, she wanted to live, she wanted to go home and believe this was all a nightmare. She wanted to be with Donnie, to hear his voice, to hug him and cry her eyes out. To hear him reassure her that it was all just a bad dream and that nothing could hurt her.

Lilium couldn’t help the sob that cracked through her teeth, the knife pressing further into her skin enough to start drawing blood that slowly trickled down her forehead and riding along the curve of her nose.

“Tell me,” Karai gripped the scalpel tight in her fist, applying more pressure on the scalpel. It punctured this time, sinking deep into her forehead. “Or this will get worse.”

Things weren’t already worse than they were now?

Lilium’s throat burned under the uncomfortable collar, magic trying to escape but unable to find an exit. She screwed her eyes tight when the knife started to drag towards the right, creating a vertical cut about two inches long, blood trailing down her face. Sucking down air in rapid succession, the girl prayed it would be over soon, she prayed she’d die faster than this, she prayed for help. She wanted to go home she wanted to go home she wanted to go home she wanted to go home—

“Karai,” entering the threshold with a deep bow, a thin lackey dawning the standard black Foot garb quickly dropped to kneel at the doorway, his head lowered. “Forgive my intrusion. I bring news.”

The jonin finally removed the scalpel from her skin— Lilium hadn’t realized she was crying until the stinging in her eyes became sharper— sending a cold glare to the henchman. “What is it?“

“I’ve received a status report,” he dutifully replied. “The package is secured. Our soldiers are en route to deliver it to you.”

Something sinister crossed Karai’s face. There was almost satisfaction behind her wicked smile as she looked back to Lilium. The bone chilling gaze in her heartless eyes was enough to make her shrink back a little in fright out of what she’d do.

“It appears my forces have not disappointed me.” Rising from the floor, Karai put the scalpel away into her belt. “I must go and oversee the package’s arrival.” Another ominous grin crawled up her lips as she observed Lilium’s shaking form. “Perhaps if you behave, I shall bring you back a treat.”

Lilium found it hard to swallow. What could that possibly mean?

Lilium was left behind in the back room as Karai made her leave with the lackey. The girl stared, scared out of her mind, mind racing with all the possibilities of what Karai was going to get. What could it be? A new shipment of guns? Mutants? New alien tech to track the turtles?

There were dozens of things. But one thought persisted in the scared haze of the Siren. I hope the guys get away in time…

********************

It was two hours that Karai had been gone, and in that time of dreary silence and a pounding migraine that rocked her skull like a battering ram, Lilium had dozed off. The need for sleep had overtaken her, despite every fiber of her being protesting not to. There were injuries she probably didn’t know about, internal ones that needed attention, but how could she assess the damage done to her when her hands were tied? When her magic was locked behind a shock collar? Without the ability to heal the worst of her wounds, she’d passed out. She’d fallen into an uncertain slumber, twitching painfully, unable to dream in the horrid environment she was trapped in. All she could do was sit there in the middle of the room and wait for whatever was to come.

In between short lapses of consciousness, Lilium thought of better things to distract herself from the ringing in her ears or the blood clogging her nostrils. She pictured herself running through Central Park on a beautiful sunny day without the fear of being chased or hunted. She imagined everyone she loved at the family dinner table, enjoying every kind of pizza they could think of. She saw glimpses of a starry sky, the taste of dark chocolate faint on the back of her tongue, earbud in one ear with the other being shared, holding onto a three fingered hand with a thrumming heartbeat that worried if she’d gotten this wrong, only for said hand to slowly squeeze back to affirm the unspoken question that hung in the air; Am I in love with my best friend?

She thought of a grand party being thrown in the wake of the Triceratons finally having found peace, the lair awash with brightly colored lights and music, of aching feet that were surely going to be blistered in the morning but not giving a damn because this was a celebration. She remembered slipping away from the too loud shouts and crowded dance floor and finding refuge somewhere in a long tunnel that led into a small passage beneath Madison Square Garden. She remembered the same three fingered hand suddenly finding hers in the dark, a lamp in hand, a bashful smile as he asked her for a dance, leading her into a slow, steady waltz with no music, no tempo, no high energy beat that bounced the walls. Just them, a lamp to light the way, and Lilium’s voice humming along to the melody of Mandy Moore’s greatest hits.

Those were better than the grim reality she was forced to endure.

Around the three hour mark the doors were violently slammed open, startling Lilium wide awake from her thoughts. All of a sudden her eyes were flooded with lights blinding her, squinting against the painful sting and the spots that spun around her sight. If she wasn’t so injured she’d have tried to move back and get as far away from the incoming entourage.

Five Foot goons marched into the room, following Karai as the woman made her way into the lonely threshold with her head held high, looking pleased with herself. There were distinct dark red stains marking the chest plate of her armor, making Lilium freeze at the unsettling sight. Oh God…

“Good news, girl,” Karai announced, stepping aside to create an opening for her men. “I bring you a present.”

The tone in her voice sent chills down her spine. Oh no. What kind of present was she talking about? Knowing her track record, Lilium doubted it was something cute and cuddly. She couldn’t imagine Karai skipping merrily into a clothes store just to find something worth tormenting her over. The woman was as ruthless as a viper, unforgiving and dangerous; it was going to be something painful, and whatever it was it was going to hurt. Badly.

Two more men came into the room, dragging someone between them. The figure appeared unconscious had it not been for the angry grunts. Their arms were behind them. Their ankles were bound, uselessly dragged under them. Lilium’s heart rate escalated faster, faster, ever faster as they came into the light and she saw who this newcomer was.

Olive green skin. A shell. Purple mask.

Purple mask. No. NO!

“NOOOO!” Any type of patience Lilium might have had snapped like a twig. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. She struggled to get to her feet, voice cracking uncomfortably from the shriek that tore out of her throat, the collar beeping in rapid warning to remind her of her punishment. “DONNIE!”

Donatello snapped his head up at the sound of her voice— Lilium’s panicking only increased. Other than the bruises scattering the skin around his arms and face, he looked unharmed. His gear was gone, his knee and elbow pads missing, his belt taken, his bō noticeably absent. The second his eyes locked onto hers and he took in the brutal state she was in, it was as if a switch was flipped in his brain.

“LILY!” He cried out, thrashing against his bonds with as much power as he could give. “Karai, you promised she wasn’t hurt! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you!”

Karai just smirked at the ninja with disdain. “I never had to assure you of her well-being. Be grateful she still breathes.”

“DONNIE!” Lilium’s voice was shrill against the pain. Tears pricked her eyes and blurred her vision, but she didn��t stop screaming. The collar started beeping louder. “I’M SO SORRY DONNIE!”

The genius was thrown to his knees with a thud. He grit his teeth, but he didn’t let the sudden jolt of agony in his legs perturb him from calling out to the girl. “Lily! Lily, look at me! I promise you’re going to be alright!” His eyes turned hateful as he looked up towards the woman who’d done this. “What did you do to her!?”

“Only what I would have done if I had found one of you,” Karai cooly answered. “It is her fault for disobeying.”

“Disobey…?!” Donatello sounded disgusted.

“I gave her direct instructions and she broke them. I only saw it fit to punish her.” Karai strode towards Lilium once more, heels clicking loudly in the quiet of the room. “But now that I have acquired YOU, perhaps I will finally obtain answers.” Once Karai moved behind the girl, a clawed, steely hand coming to fall upon her shoulder. Lilium shuddered. “You, Donatello, are going to tell me where I can find your brothers, your master, and your human friends.”

Donatello’s face turned to stone. Without missing a beat, he snapped at the warrior. “I’m not telling you anything.”

The claws on Lilium’s shoulder sank into her skin. She bit her lip to refrain from crying. Karai was silent for a moment, waiting for something. “Are you certain?”

Donatello glared at her icily in response.

The claws sank deeper into her shoulder. Lilium’s heart quickened.

“Very well,” Karai spoke calmly.

Lilium’s eyes locked onto Donatello with worry. His gaze followed something behind her she couldn’t see, the alarm in his face prominent. “What are you—“

The collar went off.

And Lilium’s world only knew fire.

A strangled scream ripped through her throat. Electricity blinded her vision and powerful volts created a hellfire unlike any other in her throat. The metal burned from the staticky currents of electrical torture that ruined her voice. Sensitive muscle tissue became numb from the inside and started to erode. Uncontrolled spasms of agony rocked her body forward as she finally dropped to the ground, writhing blindly. She couldn’t see anything but black spots that tinted the edges of her sight into blurry messes of tears that poured down her face, her teeth gnashing hard to stop herself from biting her tongue. The smell of human flesh burning stuck in her sinuses.

In the background she could vaguely hear Donatello screaming in horror. Muffled pleas of mercy went unheard in her wailing, the electric shocks making her deaf to everything else.

Then, after an excruciating eternity of electric hell, it stopped.

Lilium curled into a ball, wheezing, spitting blood. There was an intense ringing in her ears. Her head hurt. She could feel her throat bleeding under the collar. Even taking a breath felt like a chore with crushed windpipes.

“— MONSTER! Leave her alone, your fight is with me!”

“Tell me where your brothers and Sensei are, and this ends.”

“YOU’RE CRAZY! Shredder is gone! You won’t get him back by doing this—“

The collar activated once more, and Lilium’s back arched as another hellish pain overcame her. Screaming at the top of her lungs as the volts somehow got more intense. They weren’t this harsh before. Had the power been increased?!

“STOP IT!” Donatello hollered in desperation. “STOP! PLEASE STOP!”

The volts grew higher. Her throat constricted and suddenly Lilium was choking. She couldn’t breathe. Foam gathered at the corners of her lips, blood caught in her lungs and threatened to fill them. Sensitive skin near the bottom of her jaw and windpipe felt like it was cracking from the severe intensity of the burns.

“PLEASE! SHE’S GOING INTO SHOCK! HER THROAT WILL TEAR! SHE’LL DIE! KARAI, PLEASE!”

Black dots started coloring her eyesight. Donatello sounded farther away than she thought. Why couldn’t she concentrate…?

“EASTMAN!”

The collar abruptly shut off. Even then Lilium didn’t move. Her body twitched, choked grunts pushing past bloodied lips. Her lungs were jelly, her throat was toast. She wanted to curl up and die. Despite the world being blurry, Karai’s steel armor came into view overhead as she matched Donatello’s gaze with an expecting glare. “Speak.”

“Eastman and 87th! You’ll find a parking garage with a false bottom in the floor! That’s where our hideout is!” Donatello rasped. He sounded petrified, out of breath, like he’d just had the air ripped out of his chest. “I swear! Please…! Please just stop… she’s had enough.”

Donnie, Lilium thought with broken dismay. No…

There was silence. Karai stepped over the fallen girl and disappeared from view. Donatello wasn’t talking now; he was breathing too quickly, like he had just re-emerged from under the water. Was he okay…?

“Gather our men and head to the location the freak provided. We are going to have a family reunion.”

******************

At least the new leader of the Foot kept her word to some extent, whether or not she was going to make good on the false promise of leniency. They were left alone shortly after Donatello gave her what she wanted. Karai and her men left, a few of them stayed behind to guard the two prisoners until they were needed. What could they be needed for? Lilium didn’t know. It wasn’t like they were going anywhere in their state, let alone escape.

Donatello and Lilium were left in the dimly lit room with the bloody floor and the stench of burning skin lingering. The collar was reactivated to prevent the girl from screaming any further, while Donatello had been gagged. Why? To stop him from talking, to stop him from comforting her? Maybe it was some kind of punishment for his delay in giving Karai an answer; not being able to communicate.

It had stayed like that for an hour. Lilium and Donatello both trapped in this terrible situation with nowhere to go.

Her magic couldn’t do anything now, strength and stamina depleted from the torture. The only thing that made noise was the shock collar that chirped softly. She hated it. The girl could taste bile and blood in her mouth, acidic and coppery, making her nauseous. There was a knocking deep inside her skull… it was as if everything was torn apart.

Was this what Donnie went through on the Triceraton fleet ship…? Did it hurt as badly as this…?

A featherlight tap on the back of her shoulder brought out a panicked jolt. Against the protesting migraine, Lilium snapped her head up, fight or flight kicking in… only to find Donatello there, sitting closer to where she was lying, his eyes filled with sorrow and guilt.

Her heart broke seeing him. “D-Don…” she couldn’t even form the words of his name. She sounded as if she’d decided to swallow staples for fun. It BURNED to speak. “I…”

Donatello mumbled something incoherent behind the gag, his tone laced with concern. He scooted close enough to accidentally nudge his knee into the side of her head. While gentle, it still made her wince due to the headache.

His presence offered reassurance. Lilium found herself resting her brow against his knees; it hurt to breathe, but at least the collar wasn’t as tight around her lacerated throat now. Was she simply imagining things?

Donatello mumbled something to her again. Her exhausted eyes lifted to meet his despite the pressure building in her head. Smiling weakly with red lips and a ghostly face, the girl tried to put on a brave face for him. “‘Re… you… okay?”

If he wasn’t trying to stay sturdy for her, he would have cried. But he nodded regardless, making a noise of affirmation.

She grinned. “Good…” she sniffed— blood still clogged her nose. When the collar beeped ominously Lilium froze— she missed how Donatello went rigid above her, eyes glued to the devise, staring in panic as if waiting for the inevitable to happen. It was only when the chirping continued that the two understood the warning; no talking.

Somehow, this hurt worse.

Lilium grit her teeth and laid her head against Donatello’s knees, face screwed up in turmoil. This was just sadistic. This was especially cruel. Who knew language could be so vital to the mental stability of two teenagers that desperately needed the confirmation that the other wasn’t going to die? When you couldn’t verbally communicate with someone, when you couldn’t talk, when you couldn’t use your words to ask if you were okay, if your friend was hurt, if your friend needed help, it was driving her crazy. If she talked she risked being electrocuted again, probably risked death. Donatello couldn’t speak with the cloth tied in his mouth, voice locked behind an obstacle that muted his words into gibberish. He was forbidden from making sure she was going to pull through this.

Tears finally started to trickle down her cheeks. Sobs were frail and withered, but the long rivers marking her skin were enough to show her despair. Heart breaking, finally, finally unable to withstand the pain the girl wept pitifully into Donatello’s knees. She couldn’t do this, she couldn’t be strong like Donnie, she truly was pathetic. She’d been used as bait to lure out the person she loved and now he was going to be hurt and his brothers would be captured too—

Then… music.

Music reached her ears. Quiet, hushed, just loud enough to reach her ears and hers alone. Had she gone insane?

Lilium blinked in bewilderment, hiccuping, trying to locate the sudden shift…

She found Donnie instead.

He was… not singing— he literally couldn’t with a gag in his mouth— but he was… humming.

He was humming the lyrics to a Les Mis song she loved. Lilium almost couldn’t believe it.

A Little Fall of Rain; A song she’d used to audition for school. The musical she memorized by heart. The song she’d practiced with for weeks because EVERY girl her age was singing I Dreamed a Dream or On My Own. The song he’d sing with her just because he could— for someone who focused so much on his tech or inventions, he had a beautiful voice of his own; it was gentle, inviting like summer rain. She’d listen to him for hours if she could. It meant something to her.

And hearing him humming it to her here, knowing it was special to her, knowing it brought her happiness, trying to offer comfort when his words couldn’t do so…

Lilium’s sobs picked up. She pressed her forehead into his knees, the cut that had stung horribly earlier now adding to her migraine. She wanted this to be over. She wanted this nightmare to be done with. Everything she’d gone through had been in vain; Karai was going to hurt people and her friends were in danger. Magic couldn’t save them now. She put Donnie in danger…

How could she possibly forgive herself for this?

Donatello’s eyes shifted towards the door behind him, watching it carefully. Still humming the song to keep her calm, he pulled on his bonds to test their strength, but again, no dice. Lilium could see the irritation in his face, teeth gnashing into the cloth.

Then he paused. Something clicked behind his eyes. An idea?

Taking a deep breath, Donatello shifted his legs to tuck them beneath him, effectively kneeling. Her head still rested against his knees, but Lilium frowned in quiet confusion. “D-Dee…?”

Donatello shook his head, trying to offer reassurance. He steadied himself, taking another deep breath as he stretched his arms far behind him to reach for something she couldn’t see. He grunted with the strain of his shoulders, trying to locate what he was looking for.

He seemed to grab onto whatever he was trying to find, judging by the relieved look in his face. Passing another cautionary glance towards the door he waited with baited breath, staying completely still until he was certain nobody was coming in. Lilium couldn’t help but think, is he trying to get a knife?

But, after a couple minutes of struggling, Lilium couldn’t hear the sawing of a knife cutting rope. Instead, much to her surprise, she watched as Donatello shifted a little where he sat, grunting with effort, before the ropes around his ankles came loose and fell around his feet, freeing them. Had he used just his hands to get himself out of his bonds? Holy shit, she couldn’t help but think. That’s pretty clever.

Donatello adjusted his position to sit properly, kicking the ropes away from him. Finally able to use his legs the turtle crouched beside Lilium, turning his back to her. His hands flexed against the ropes binding them, fingers reaching for something he couldn’t find this time.

“D-Don?” She managed, confusion evident in her broken voice.

Donatello tried speaking again, but unfortunately nothing he said made sense. “Mmhf mmnh,” he continued trying to look for something that wasn’t there, fingers grabbing at air. He was looking at her with an expression of imploring, as if he were asking for something. “Hrrh phhn.”

Was he trying to talk to her…? Lilium helplessly shook her head with confusion. “I don’t—“

A sharp jolt of electricity burst through her throat. It felt as if someone had stabbed her straight through the windpipe. The choked scream that came out of her caused Donatello to whirl around to look at her, his eyes suddenly brimming with panic. The nerves in her throat were shot, scorched from hours of being shocked, the pain a searing fire that melted her windpipe. A whine turned into an agonized whimper as her body shuddered from the punishment.

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. It hurt to do anything.

Fingers quickly found her temple. Lilium didn’t have the energy to move any longer, stamina depleted from the battered form of the girl. The three digits brushed through messy bangs as if trying to locate something hidden there, combing through them as fast as possible. All the while he made these frantic chirps, clearly distressed when she didn’t make any motion to turn away from him.

She didn’t think everything around her could be so lopsided. The colors of the room began to blend into one another and blur into a confusing hodgepodge of nonsense like Alice in Wonderland. Her stomach twisted itself into knots and the front of her head was pounding so hard it made it difficult to see straight. Why was it hard to focus? Why couldn’t she move anymore?

The fingers were raking through her hair quickly until they snagged onto something and pulled it free. They felt around with another hand to find the collar, feeling it’s unyielding hold and desperately trying to pull on it. Lilium didn’t even flinch.

Donatello twisted his wrists enough to turn the left hand towards her, pinching something tight in his fingers as he guided what Lilium vaguely recognized as a hairpin into an open slot in the shock collar. It barely registered to her foggy consciousness that he was picking the lock.

He must’ve been turning and adjusting the position of the hairpin so much that his hand had to hurt, but he wasn’t letting up. Donatello stubbornly kept moving the flimsy lock pick up and down in the lock mechanism to get the damn thing to pop open. But this was Karai they were talking about; it wasn’t just going to give so easily.

Something in the front of her head knocked against her skull with a powerful pang. Glossy eyes fluttered against the pulsing pain, a wrangled whimper caught deep in her voice box. Something began to trickle free down her nose again. Noise was starting to fade around her. She couldn’t even hear the muffled voice of Donatello almost crying out to her, the hairpin twisting and shaking in his hand, a fearful pitch to his tone. He sounded far away…

Something loud clicked against her throat. A shrill chirp from the collar went off, before a very distinct pop.

Then the collar unlocked, opening just barely enough to allow the pressure around her neck to loosen. It became easier to breathe. Even then, Lilium didn’t have the strength to move. She couldn’t even feel the relief of the collar being deactivated. Something started leaking out from under the metal.

Was… her throat oozing?

But all at once, muddled sounds came through the room. A door was kicked open. Footsteps raced towards them, hands were quick to ease Lilium into a comfortable position. Rushed, panicked voices phased into a cacophony of confusion, flashes of red, blue, orange, gray and lavender passing by. Frantic hands touched her face, pressed down on her throat, wrapped her in something warm to shield her. Yet she couldn’t see anyone clearly, nor could she speak to question what was going on or why everyone was shouting.

“Don! Don, Jesus, are you okay—“

“My son, you are injured—“

“Bro calm down—“

“She’s DYING! She’s DYING, I need to help her!”

“Dear God in Heaven, hallowed be thy name—“

“Lily please look at me, don’t go to sleep! Lily?!”

But the voices were garbled, as though she’d been sinking underwater. All noise faded in the background. Before Lilium could begin to comprehend what was going on, the girl felt herself slip into a state of complete oblivion.

And nothing after that mattered when her world turned into a quiet void.

********************

Putting the last of the gauze away in the medical kit, Donatello tiredly breathed out a long, heavy sigh. Bloodied rags, a basin full of red-tinted water long since grown cold, spools of bandages around the desk and switching thread lay abandoned. He tried not to pay too much attention to the frightening amount of switches that crawled around Lilium’s thin throat.

Hours had gone by since the rescue. He was grateful Leo was able to follow the tracking devise hidden in the back of his mask— a fatal mistake Karai had paid for with their escape. While it hadn’t been easy for his brothers to get through the mess of ninja that guarded the deli, Father had taken them out single handedly. He’d looked so worried for him when he came running into the room, claws clutching his cane in an iron grip. It was integral for this plan to have gone smoothly to avoid the likelihood of death… but look where that ended up.

Donatello had only sustained minor injuries. He’d been lucky all things considered. Small cuts on his wrists, shallow enough to heal in a week, bruising that would pass over the next few days. He couldn’t say the same for Lily.

Three broken ribs. A sprained ankle. Broken nose, a severe concussion, seizures every few hours because of the electrical shocks.

Her throat was… charred. Suffering extreme third degree burns lacerating her entire neck, her Siren symbols almost looked as if the burned skin had peeled them off, leaving deep impressions of them behind. Pale skin had turned a vivid scarlet and had ripped the flesh open as soon as the collar was pried free, causing concern the moment she started bleeding out. He and Ms. Yasaki had spent a little over two hours painstakingly sewing each ligament shut with slow, precise care to ensure her survival. Once the magic had stopped the curatorial artery from gushing blood, things were easier to maintain.

“You did a good job,” seated at her daughter’s bedside as the girl lay as still as stone on the cot set up in his workshop, her mother dabbed her brow gently with a wet cloth to prevent a fever. Thick bags under her eyes showed the strain of how much magic she’d pumped into her daughter’s injuries to save her life. While she spoke to the worn out turtle, her gaze didn’t pry away from Lily. “You got the collar off before it could go any deeper.”

“It still tore her throat open.” Donatello murmured, closing the medical kit shut with a slap. “I could have killed her if I hadn’t been rushing.”

“How could you have known?” Ms. Yasaki brushed the hair stuck to Lilium’s sweaty face away with a tender hand, looking crestfallen to see her child in such a state. “It was that monster Karai who put that thing on her, not you. You understand?”

Donatello hung his head. He tried not to look at his trembling hands, stained with Lilium’s blood that still ran warm in his palms. He felt sick. “I should have found her sooner…”

Ms. Yasaki was quiet for a moment. Her hand still brushing through long locks of black hair that remained damp from being scrubbed carefully hours earlier. “Donatello. It’s because of you she got a fighting chance to make it out of there. Because of the damage, Karai would have killed her if you didn’t get the collar off in time. You did all you could. That’s all anyone can do at that point.” With a tender brush of her hand, magenta magic hovered over the stitches holding Lilium’s throat closed. A soft hue glowed from her palm, washing over the raised wound where her Siren marks had nearly vanished. Donatello watched with muted awe as the mystic energy brought forth the unnatural symbols that marked her skin like a tattoo back to normal. While faded in color vibrancy, they remained intact once more.

“All we can do now is help take some of the pain away and pray for a successful recovery. It’s up to Lily to pull through the rest of this.” Ms. Yasaki retracted her hand from her throat. “Have faith.”

“Ms. Yasaki…” Donatello found himself saying. “What if she can’t sing again because of this…?”

Her mother was silent. She let his words mull over her. Gentle, sorrowful eyes stared down at her child with remorse over the likelihood over the possibility. “We’ll have to cross that bridge once we get there.” The answer was melancholy, as if she couldn’t bare the thought of telling Lilium her one source of happiness was going to be taken from her.

It crushed Donatello to have to hear such a thing. He couldn’t even picture her reaction to the news. He moved to the sink and started scrubbing his hands clean of the blood, lathering soap up to his elbows to try and stave off the unnerving feeling of uneasiness. The red tinted suds that flooded the porcelain as the warm water ran almost made him dizzy. How much blood had she lost already?

Ms. Yasaki finally put her hands in her lap, trying to put on a brave face in spite of the stress. “I’m going to wash up and put on some supper. You’re probably starving. Do you want anything?”

Donatello couldn’t think of eating anything. The thought of food made his skin crawl; supper was the last thing on his mind. Drying his hands off as he pulled a stool close, he eased himself down at Lilium’s bed side, his gaze falling to rest upon her sickly face. Reaching down to take Lilium’s hand into his own he numbly replied, “Coffee. Please.”

The request made Ms. Yasaki frown with sympathy, but she nodded regardless. Turning her heel with quiet dignity she made her leave, and suddenly Donatello found himself back to square one.

Just him and Lily once more. Except this time it was stifling with the quiet.

It had been close. Way too close. All that time planning and strategizing, all that effort, wasted. He hadn’t been fast enough to stop this. So many times he believed he could make it, that he could finally save someone and avoid the trauma. It had been one of the reasons why he allowed himself to get captured— Raph volunteered initially to be the bait to find Karai’s hideout, but he didn’t know Lily like he did. He didn’t know how to calm her down, he hadn’t been around her long enough to understand how Lilium reacted to stress. Donatello could have given her the attention and care she needed in that situation. But even with all of the extra prep time he hadn’t been able to prevent Lilium from getting her throat deep fried.

He lifted his head to look at her. Despite the awful scarring wrapping around her neck and the cut on her temple, she looked peaceful. He couldn’t tear his eyes off of her wound no matter how hard he tried; Blistered, raised stitches pinning it closed, dry blood caked around the Siren symbols. The colors of her mystical markings weren’t as vibrant as they should be, rubbing him the wrong way. It was insidious to have targeted her throat, a vital weakness for a Siren. This wasn’t just torture. This was personal.

Had Karai known that? All that pain just for the sake of revenge for the man who raised her to be a killer. All this misery inflicted just because she wanted to hurt someone weaker than her.

Donatello squeezed Lilium’s hand. It was warm, frail, dainty in his own. They couldn’t have been more different, but they somehow found a middle ground. Their mutual adoration of each other was the defining factor to allow them to stay as close as they were. One year, four months and seventeen days. That was how long it took for him to process how exactly he felt about the girl who took a chance on him in that decrepit record store where the only thing that mattered was the music playing around them.

He couldn’t admit the truth out loud in fear of ridicule or harm to come to either one of them or their families, worrying over what kind of reactions they would have if they knew. He loved her. He loved her and he’d nearly lost her tonight.

Donatello used his free hand to run his fingers through her hair in the same soothing motions he knew she liked. He hoped it brought her some kind of levity whilst she slept. “Hey Lily,” he murmured, deciding that the silence was too maddening to handle any longer. “I dunno if you can hear me, but I’m here.”

Lilium didn’t respond.

“I’m… sorry for not being able to save you fast enough. I’m supposed to be the smart one, I’m supposed to have all the answers, but when I saw you in there and I had to see Karai hurt you…” he stopped himself, unwilling to remember to grizzly events of the evening that would forever imprint itself into his psyche and remind him of how close he’d been to watching her die. “You didn’t deserve any of it.”

He lifted her hand close to his chest, a thumb brushing across the ridges of her knuckles softly. He hated how scratched her skin was, how chaffed and sore her wrists were under the clean, crisp bandaging. “I need you to know, no matter how long this takes, I’ll be here. I’ll always be here for you.”

Donatello couldn’t tell if she could understand him in her unconscious state. He didn’t know how long the road to recovery would be, but even if it lasted months, he wouldn’t leave her side. Not until she woke up.

She hadn’t given up on waiting for him. He couldn’t give up on her either.

So, with that in mind, he started singing her favorite song while she slept. If only to lift her spirits as she lay there, resting from the hellish ordeal she’d been forced to endure. If only to provide her with comfort as she recovered, to let her know she wasn’t alone.

“Don’t you fret, M’sieur Marius.

I don’t feel any pain.

A little fall of rain

Can hardly hurt me now…”

********************

Okay… first of all, OW.

Her entire throat felt as if she’d drank hot sauce and scorched the muscle tissue within. Something was wrapped around her neck, and the skin around it was itchy and raised. It didn’t feel like the collar…

Her entire body was rigid, too sore to move. The muscles in her legs and shoulders were hurting, but she somehow didn’t feel bothered by it. She felt… comfortable. She was no longer laying on cold, hard tiles; whatever she laid upon now was soft as silk, a cushion was supporting her head, although it marginally felt nicer than the floor. Her hair felt… lighter. Cleaner. The area around her throat felt weird, like it was being pinned shut. What was happening?

Lilium had to fight just to pry her eyes open, being met with the familiarity of a warm glow coming from a desk lamp keeping the place alight. Overhead she spotted a few of the stick-on stars that glowed in the dark. The bed she was occupying was tidy and spotless, dark purple comforter tucked around her being to provide extra warmth.

Lilium winced, coughing slightly, the catch of coppery saliva making her throat ache something fierce. “Wh-wha—“ the attempt to speak failed with her voice dying in a thin raspy hiss.

Someone nearby gasped. It was followed by something clattering to the floor. A rush of footsteps before a presence came at her bedside, a shapeless mass of green and blue blurry in her vision.

“No way…!” He sounded elated. He turned to call out, “Don! DON! Get in here!”

The figure returned. He appeared to be smiling. “Hey, you’re finally awake! You had us all worried!”

“Lee…?” Lilium coughed on the name that was lost on her tongue. Man, it was hard to talk. Eating sandpaper was probably better than the rough gravelly feeling of her throat.

“Take it easy,” Leo cautioned with the same gentle tone in his voice. “You’ve been out of it for days.”

She blinked at that, baffled. Was she hearing that right? “Days…?”

Leo reached for something she couldn’t see. He came back with a small glass of water, gaze kind but encouraging. “I know you’re probably not up for it but you should drink something. It’ll help.”

Water sounded like nirvana. She allowed the eldest brother to help lift her head up, trying not to aggravate her healing neck. Taking time to savor the clean, reviving taste of the cold drink that cleared the pain in her esophagus. Once she’d had her fill Leo helped her lay back down, the pounding in her head too terribly strong but her throat no longer stinging. “Wh-what… h-happ-end?”

Leo frowned with sympathy. “You’ve been through a lot. We got you away from Karai, don’t worry. Although you’re going to be recovering from your wounds for a while.”

“Th-that’s… nothing new,” she rasped, hating how scraggly she sounded. “Is… Is Do-nnie…?”

“He’s okay.” Leo assured her. “He’s fine. He’s been waiting for you to wake up.”

He has? She thought with worry. Now she just felt guilty. He’d already been through enough, being roughed up by Karai too. He shouldn’t have wasted all that time on me… “Do y-you know… wh-where he is n-now?”

As it turned out they wouldn’t have to wait long. Suddenly the doorway was filled with three other turtles, Lilium spotted Raph and Mikey in the forefront with…

Donnie— who was unharmed, the only signs of his rough treatment being the fading bruises on his arms— standing breathlessly amongst the trio, a screwdriver hanging limp in his hand, whatever he’d been working on forgotten.

Their eyes locked. His breath hitched in his throat. Lilium couldn’t help the blurring of her own gaze as tears prickled her vision, a shaky grin on her face. “Don-nie…”

In one moment he was at the doorway, in the next he’d moved effortlessly to her side, screwdriver clattering to the ground. His hands found hers, gripping them in both of his, holding them to his plastron with eyes that looked glassy under the light, everyone else behind them forgotten. The smile that took root on his lips was filled with warmth, full of nothing but affection and relief.

Finally, he spoke. “Hi.”

Lilium couldn’t help the tears that trickled down her face. “Hi.”

She couldn’t really explain the emotions that spread across his features; a soft chuckle escaped him. He brought a hand to her face, his thumb brushing across her cheek. Gently he rested his brow against her own, content on staying where he was, shoulders shaking slightly to contain the sobs he struggled to stifle. He was doing a better job than she was at keeping it together.

“You’re… y-you’re okay?” Lilium murmured, searching his eyes for any further pain.

“I’m fine,” he nodded. “I’m okay. I’m so glad you’re up. I was worried the damage was too severe, you were unresponsive…” his fingers brushed across her temple, moving the hair out of her eyes. “I knew you were in there, I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough—“

“No,” Lilium shook her head pleadingly, taking his face into both her hands. “I’m s-sorry for not be-being strong enough. She g-got what she want-ed…”

“No she didn’t. Karai didn’t get us, we got out. More importantly, she didn’t have the chance to find out I gave her the phony address until we were long gone.” He gently took her hands off his face to better talk to the Siren, never once making the motion to turn away. “It was close but we got you to safety. We…” he hesitated, steadying his words to maintain his stability. “I… thought we’d lost you.”

Lilium frowned. Unconsciously her hand reached up to her throat, where it still hurt to talk. “Ho-how bad was it…?”

“Bad enough.” Donatello answered, and she could tell he didn’t want to elaborate further. “But I was here the whole time. You weren’t alone when you were out of it. Your Mom too. She’s been dropping off Tupperware full of dinners for us, as a thank you for getting you out.”

That wasn’t a surprise, but it still made Lilium giggle. “Wh-what kind of f-food?”

“Pasta, mostly. Last week it was casserole,” Donatello chuckled a little. Unconsciously his fingers reached up to play with her bangs, the habit a welcome distraction. “… I missed you so much.”

Lilium’s cheeks warmed at the soft confession. “I missed you too… I just w-wish she didn’t t-take you there. I hate see-ing you hurt…”

“Hey, look at me,” Donatello gently tipped her head up, meeting her eyes. “I knew what I was getting myself into. If I never let Karai bring me to you, we never would have found her location to get you home. Nothing mattered more to me than getting you out of there,” he offered her a smile. “If I had to make that decision again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Her face flushed, turning warm under his kind gaze. “S-still…” Lilium murmured bashfully. “I’m glad yo-you’re safe, too.”

There was a softness within Donatello’s gaze, still holding her face within his hand with all the affection in the world, keeping her close as though some invisible force would tear her away from him. Nimble fingers caressed her cheek, taking in every detail of Lilium’s face with only his eyes. In the silence between them she raised her head a little, bumping her brow into his as she asked, “W-were y-you… sing-ing?”

His eyes widened, taken aback by this recollection. “You remembered…?”

“I thought… I h-heard you… in th-the deli…” she smiled a little. “A-and you did… it again… one o-other time.” Giggling under her breath, Lilium added, “Kn-knew you… you h-had a p-prett-y voice.”

If it was possible for Donatello’s cheeks to turn darker from the genuine praise, he would have outright turned forest green. “Well… I knew you liked it when I did. Master Splinter said that if you hold a strong connection with someone they can hear you, even in sleep.” He tucked her hair behind her ears, showing off a set of beaming eyes. “Glad it worked.”

Lilium grinned, cheeks tinting a shade of pink. “C-could y-you… sing again?”

Donatello couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Any requests?”

“Les Mis?” She chirped. “O-only if y-you want to…”

“I’ll take an educated guess on which song you have in mind.”

“Am I r-reall-y that predictable?”

“No. I just know what you like.”

*****************

And there ya go! If you want some trivia on Lilium I’d be happy to share! Thanks for reading!

@queen-with-the-quill @tending-the-hearth @figuringitoutasigoalong @wasted-and-ready

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt oc #tmnt donatello #oc x canon #whump #whump writing #whumptober prompts

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