[Open]

[i_speak_softly]

Characters: Donatello and OPEN
Date: April 27, and some number of following days, depending how this goes
Location: All over the city, but starting at ME-3B and hopefully ending at WA-3B
Situation: Leo ordered Don to get off the networks, so the brainy Turtle sets out to find his brother the old-fashioned way.
Warnings/Rating: Probably nothing exciting.

It takes Don the rest of the night to pick over the components of his console, put them back together again, and boot the machine in his best approximation of safe mode. This still doesn't solve any of the issues - unsurprising, since Mike Weston had told him the problem was in the network - and he checks his messages as carefully as possible.

Leo has left him a cryptic instruction. Not daring to reply, he memorizes it, then shuts down the machine and hits the street.

Where the water meets the steel. A shipyard? Don heads toward the edge of the city, where one is likely to be, but inquiries direct him westward towards the Water Sector.

As he walks, Don wonders if the sector border is what Leo meant. But the border is a long one - it took Don an hour to get across the city by car, and he can tell he hadn't crossed nearly all of it - and he doesn't know which side of the line his brother is on.

Or wait! What if Leo meant a weapons forge? Submerging a steel blade in water is a critical step in the sword-making process, and that's just the kind of thing Leo would think of when giving coded orders on short notice. But a place like that would most likely be in the Fire Sector, and that's really a long way… Maybe he can hitch a ride?

Comments

[michaeljangelo]

Mike moves about the kitchen, multi-tasking with the greatest of ease. On the kitchen table is a tea-tray mostly laid out with cloth napkins and everything. He's humming Escape under his breath, and using the song to help him keep time on the steeping tea.

"....if you're not into yoga. if you have half a brain. if you love makin' love at midnight, on the dunes of...the...Cape."

He stops in his tracks as his two cousins approach. He wasn't expecting them, honestly. If he were, he might have chosen a different song.

Then again, probably not.

"...would you have preferred coffee? Because I can make coffee. I'm sure there aren't some grounds or beans or something around here that Raph hasn't just up right eaten."

[i_speak_softly]

"Does your Donatello not drink coffee?" Don asks curiously, as he circles the kitchen looking for grounds. Along the way he scoops up anything else that looks edible. He may have largely forgotten to feed himself since arriving in Keeliai...

"Some welcome," Don says to Leo, though they both - or maybe all three - know he doesn't mean it at all. "Your apartment should be quarantined, the technology is subpar, and you didn't even start a pot."

[duelkatana]

"You should have called ahead," Leo chides dismissively as he drags the small wooden box of medical supplies down from the shelf. There's no fire in his response either - it's almost automatic, even, right down to the twist at the corner of his mouth that betrays the fully serious-sounding reply.

Don's hunt for food and coffee is noted, and Leo keeps his eye on his scavenging brother as he places the box on the table. He says nothing for the moment, letting Mike choose to intervene if he wishes - management of food resources had long since fallen to their cousin after moving in together, and he's good at making sure people eat. Exasperatingly good.

Instead, Leo busies himself with sitting and lining up a row of rudimentary medical items - some salves, vials of labeled medicine, surgical needles and thread, swabs, forceps, and a handful of more modern instruments pilfered from the Metal Sector. It would barely fall under acceptable standards for a home medical kit and has clearly seen some use over the past couple days, but it's something.

[michaeljangelo]

"On the rare occasion we managed to find some, both Raph and Donnie drank coffee. One of the few things they ever agreed on was that I make it too weak, so I leave them to it and get my caffeine the way nature intended: Jolt and Mountain Dew."

Any attempt to remove a single thing from the tea tray before it is 100% set and ready to go will be met with a swift smack across the knuckles. Mike may be little, but he's fast. Very fast.

He lifts the lid on the teapot, so as to remove the wire infuser and stop the steeping process, and in doing so floods the room with the aroma of the freshly brewed tea. This particular blend of leaves and spices is one Mike calls: Splinter's Blend. It's as close to the real thing as he's been able to cobble given the supplies available to him.

"Just as an aside, Leo? If Stick Boy here insults my kitchen the way he has the rest of our stuff, I am going to have throw a knife at him. You know that right?"

[i_speak_softly]

"I did," Don shoots back, referring to their brief conversation over the network. "Or should I have specifically announced my impending arrival before you made me yank the motherboard?"

Conversational requirements satisfied, Don turns his attention to the medical kit, which he rates as marginally adequate. Its current somewhat-depleted state does not escape his notice, and he directs a series of meaningful looks in Leo's direction, starting with What has been going on here?, advancing to Did you know Mike was even poorer than we are?, and finishing somewhere around Did he really just call me Stick Boy?

[duelkatana]

Touche, Don. So well-parried that Leo actually cringes before letting his silence stand as his admission of defeat. He leans back in his chair and stretches his sore muscles, just barely managing not to roll his eyes at Michaelangelo's threats. He has no sympathy for your new nickname. Better Stick Boy than Bookend, little brother.

Leonardo catches those meaningful looks Don throws him, and being as well-versed in "sane sibling" telepathic communication as he is, only shakes his head faintly. You don't want to know seems to be the all-encompassing answer, followed shortly by I'll explain everything later and several shades of You'll get used to it.

"Guys," is all he says, in his best Play Nice voice.

[michaeljangelo]

"What?" Mike starts, hands already going up in a mock surrender. Can't you see how blameless he is in all this? Totally blameless. In conclusion: Blameless.

All things that would be fare more believable were he not smirking just so.

Surrender quickly shifts to Game Show Prize Presenter as Mike indicates the existence of nigh-on perfectly prepared tea and biscuits.

"Tea is served. Now...drink up, especially you," he says giving Leo a rather pointed look.

[i_speak_softly]

Oh. Too pointed.

"Sorry," Don murmurs, and turns his attention to shoveling food into his face. Later he will demand his strategy-minded brother's take on the situation here in Keeliai, but for now he limits his inquiries to: "What do you need me to fix first?"

[duelkatana]

Leo actually pauses at the apology, blinking in mild surprise. Right. This is Don. If there's any of his brothers who can pinpoint his subtler moods from the smallest tics, it's him. Living with the emotional bulldozer that is Raphael for the past year must have made Leo complacent. Either way, he shrugs it off; no harm, no foul, especially when it's Donatello.

"The consoles would be a good place to start," he says, obediently taking the cup of tea from his cousin. They'd learned their lesson the first time - any water they put in their mouths since this chaos started has been distilled. "They've been dark since the attacks started. And since they're the only form of communication here..."

Well, you do the math.

[michaeljangelo]

Mike holds his position until he sees Leo take his cup of tea, then he returns to quietly futzing about the kitchen. This time, should any one be paying him any attention what so ever, it would appear as though he's making a couple of sandwiches. One with meat, one without.

In between stops to add things to the meal, he stops to sip at his own tea. He pulls a face with each sip.

Nope. Still not a fan of tea.

[i_speak_softly]

"The problem is not in the consoles," Don says, keeping half an eye on Mike while sharing his information with Leo. It won't take long for him to learn and adapt to his cousin's every habit. "It's in the network. I have contact with some other hackers and we're working on a debug port, but access is limited because the servers are using magic transfer protocols."

He raises a hopeful eyebrow in the direction of the sandwiches, then adds: "Tell me about these attacks." He's guessing Leo doesn't mean DDOS.

[duelkatana]

Leo's never felt so happy to understand so little of a sentence in his life. He understands the gist of the reply to be I'm working on it, so he leaves it at that. Don's sudden arrival to this world is timely in more ways than one.

He lifts the tea to take a sip, but Don's question gives him pause; slowly he sets the mug back down, leans forward, his brow line hardening as he steeples his hands.

"I wish I had more to tell you. About a week ago, the consoles went down, followed by a series of explosions that went off across Keeliai. Some caused major damage to structures, while others..." he grimaces and places a hand on his chest. "... released those spores Mike told you about. With all three of us down for the count, we haven't been able to keep tabs on the situation since."

So network or no network, they're scheduled for an intensive patrol of the city the moment it's physically plausible. Leonardo's fully planning to debrief Raph and Mike over what they've already seen out there as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Which leads him to: "You've been searching the city for us. What's it look like out there?"

[michaeljangelo]

The sandwich containing meat gets wrapped in wax paper and placed in the icebox, while the vegetarian one is put down in front of Donatello. Mission complete he returns the left over ingredients back to the various storage containers.

Mike takes what's left of his tea, and moves away from the table, towards the kitchen window. He pulls back the shade and looks out the window, keeping his eyes peeled for Raph.

[i_speak_softly]

"Like the Battle Nexus and D'Hoonib both tried to move into Jersey City," Don replies, with a sideways smile. Then he gets serious. "I must have arrived just after the explosions. It explains why there are so many burnt-out-looking buildings."

Without thinking much about it, he shifts his chair to be out of the line of sight of anyone passing outside the window. Then he continues: "People seem... uneasy. I could tell something had happened."

While searching his memory for any other useful observations, Don picks up the sandwich and takes a bite. Realizing he got the vegetarian one, he turns to Mike, a lettuce leaf hanging forlornly from his beak, a What did I do to deserve this? expression on his face.

[duelkatana]

Ouch. That bad. All the better that Don's now here to expedite their recovery. Leo's gaze slides away to Mike as he tries to pummel his brain into getting started on formulating some plan of action. It's not much use; the throbbing in his skull is starting to get a good hold on him again. It's only a matter of time before his body demands more rest, despite him not having been the one running around outside for the better part of four hours. What a pain.

He turns to Don with a question about the kedan populace, but stops when he sees the... frankly comical look on his brother's face. And the lettuce. Whatever Mike put in that sandwich, Don was clearly not expecting it.

"Problem?" he asks with a glint of humor, his eye ridge lifting.

[michaeljangelo]

Mike's attention may be diverted by looking out the window, but that doesn't mean he's not listening. Proof of this can be found in his cringe at the mention of "Jersey City." He has no idea what or where the other two places are, but he's been to Jersey City.

He prefers the sewers to Jersey City, which really says all that needs saying, in his honest opinion.

The room then goes quiet enough for Leo to ask if there's a problem, and that...well that gets enough of Mike's attention that he let's the shade close and turns back to look towards the table.

Donatello's face is...hysterical, and Mike can't help but smirk at the other turtle's expense.

"You got a thing. Right here," he says gesturing to his own chin where if he were Don there'd be lettuce.

[i_speak_softly]

Don slurps up the lettuce, and knows he totally deserves the others' laughter. He's more bothered by the cruel sleight-of-hand that left him with the meatless meal.

"What happened to the other sandwich?" he asks plaintively.

[duelkatana]

Leo allows himself a huff of quiet laughter, turning his face slightly away. Well, so much for that debriefing. It's all right; it's a pressing matter, but he has no shame in admitting that right now, he's just glad for the presence of his family. If only Mikey were here too, it'd be...

Ah, but he's not that selfish. Muting his smile, Leo simply takes up the mug and pulls at his tea, content to listen for Michaelangelo's explanation of his misdeed.

[michaeljangelo]

"I put it away for Raph," says Mike, not quite getting what the problem is.

Until, and you can see it plainly on his face when it does, realization dawns.

"I...I just thought that...crap, I'm so sorry."

Mike goes to the ice box and retrieves the other sandwich.

"I just, assumed you didn't eat meat either."

[i_speak_softly]

"Either?" Don says blankly, as Mike brings him the sandwich. Who around here doesn't eat meat? He looks to Leo for an explanation, then back to Mike, not finding either of them an especially plausible candidate.

[duelkatana]

Leo, on the other hand, is quite used to the madness of alternate-dimension turtles, and picks up the meaning of his cousin's words pretty quickly. He looks mildly surprised as he sets his tea back down.

"Your Don is a vegetarian?"

[michaeljangelo]

Mike half shrugs, giving Don a curious look before swapping one sandwich for the other.

"It's kind of a new thing, only since we moved in with April. Now that we get to be choosers, you know?"

As opposed to full-time beggars.

"It's not like it's something we ever talk about, I just noticed one day, and at meal times I made it easier, that's all."

Playfully picking the pepperoni off his brother's pizza, giving him extra portions of sides, rather than the meat main course. Most importantly though, distracting Leo and Raph from noticing any change was occurring.

[i_speak_softly]

The information gives Don a creepy feeling up his shell. He's thought about being vegetarian, sure - but he's never done it. His life doesn't allow for that kind of luxury. The idea that in some other universe, a different version of himself actually made that choice, makes reality seem to shift a little.

He suddenly finds that he doesn't really want the other sandwich.

"When did you move in with April?" he asks, partly to change the subject, and partly to find out in what ways his life could have been better, if something had been different.

[duelkatana]

Leo is silent as he taps a finger on his mug. It feels unwise to him, in a way, to live their lifestyle and develop food preferences that could cause problems if circumstances suddenly forced them to into another diet. It's not his place to make that kind of call for a set of brothers that aren't his, but he just hopes the other Don knows what he's doing.

At his brother's question, however, the tapping stops and his expression goes carefully still. Mike's world seemed more similar to his than the Little Ninja's, and if the events surrounding their reason for moving into April's place are more parallels... well, he just hopes they aren't.

[michaeljangelo]

He moves back towards the window, and once again peeks out from behind the shade for signs of an impending Raph attack.

It's only when he's purposely not looking at either Leo or Don that he answer the question.

"Not long after we met April. Almost a year ago, if you don't count all the time I've spent here. Stockman's Robots attacked Splinter in the Lair while we were with April on a mission. When we got back he was gone."