Burnout

Shellshock

"Who would've eaten that? It looks horrible!" Raph had enough energy to be angry in the morning as well as in the night, it was a shame I didn't have that level of energy. I could get a lot done with that. 

"Well it wasn't me. Mikey wouldn't have, he's the one that told us, and your reaction tells us that it wasn't you either, Raph." It was almost like Leo was playing detective or something. "Sensei doesn't eat pizza, so it must've been Donnie."

"For a genius, he really is an idiot." Raph sighed, and I couldn't help but agree with him. "I'll go check on him, see if he's doin alright." He stomped up to my door. This was just my luck. I got back into my hiding spot and held my breath, I had to be as silent as possible. I heard him try the door, and luckily, it didn't budge. I'd set it up to not let anyone inside, and I'd make a machine to help with that later. "What the heck?"

"What?" Leo's voice was barely audible from where I was hiding, but I was quiet enough to hear him.

"It won't open!" The banging on my door told me he was even angrier than I thought, which was only worse for me. "Donnie! Let me in or I swear to God I'm gonna throw you out the window!" It was a funny threat and he likely wasn't going to do it, but I wasn't going to take any chances with it. "There's no answer!"

"Well, try other entry points maybe? He might be asleep."

"You know he's a light sleeper! A bird could chirp and it'd wake him up. If he ever sleeps at all, that is." He had a good point.

"Raph, just try other ways in if you can't get him to respond."

"Ugh, fine!" I heard him try almost every other way into my room, even the vents, but it was no use. I'd outsmarted him this time, and for once, my smarts were helpful in keeping me away from the danger. "I've tried literally every way I could find!"

"Do you think he needs help?"

"No, what I think is that he's hiding from me! Only little babies hide like this, Donnie, come out here right now!" That same insult over and over again, it was as if he were a broken record. Leo likely would've stopped him at this point if they hadn't made that deal. "I'll get April to go in there and get you herself if you don't come out here like a real man!" April? In my room? Oh God, she'd see what a mess I am and she'd never want to see me again! I realized I was letting this get way out of hand and made myself calm down before I even made a sound. I didn't know why I was so scared to go out there, they were just trying to make sure I hadn't eaten anything bad, I just wasn't ready to see them after what happened last night, I supposed. April wouldn't be able to get inside either, anyways, so it's not like his threat would work. 

"Yo Donnieeeeeeeeeeeee! Ya in there?" Mikey was right up against my door, and I could hear how much he was smashing his face against it. I'd need to disinfect that, I didn't want anything he might've been carrying. It was ironic since I'd eaten spoiled pizza the other night without even noticing. A wave of nausea washed over me, but I held it back. I could hold a lot back. Nausea, screams of frustration, tears, anything really if I was determined enough. I stopped paying attention to what they were saying, it wasn't going to affect me all that much. As long as I stayed in my small safe space, everything was going to be alright. My heart was beating at a much faster rate than it should've been, I felt a bit dizzy, and I felt like I was going to puke, but it didn't really matter. It was concerning, though, and I'd probably put myself in this situation since I'd barely slept or taken care of myself lately. It wasn't long before I heard a familiar gentle knocking on my door. It was April.

"Donnie, can I come in?" I wasn't about to let myself get caught over April being here, they thought that I was easily tricked. I would've laughed at the thought if that wouldn't have given away my position. "I really don't think he's in here. I think he would've at least let you guys know he's ok if he was in here the whole time." Maybe they'd just leave me alone.

"We need to talk to Splinter to see what we should do at this point." Leo sounded frustrated. I didn't mean for this to happen, but I really didn't want to go out there. I wanted to maybe, but if I did, I just couldn't bring myself to. 

"We can't just bother him with every little problem, Leo, we're not babies!" 

"Raph, we're going to Splinter, I didn't ask you, that's an order from your leader."

"It's always with this leader stuff!"

"Shut it, Raph, we've got more important stuff to do." They all walked off, so I listened in through the walls to hear what they said to Master Splinter. 

"Sensei, we have a problem..." Leo sounded worried.

"What is it, Leonardo?"

"We can't get into Donnie's room and we're not hearing anything from inside. We think he might be missing, but we're not sure. Even April couldn't get a response."

"This is serious indeed, thank you for bringing this to my attention, my sons. I'll find a way in the room and see what might be going on." He was obviously thinking the worst, but I wasn't going to just go out there now, they were going to be even more mad at me. I knew he was going to find a way into my room, he was the best ninja ever, after all, and when he did, he'd find me. I'd probably get in trouble and I'd look stupid in front of April and get made fun of again. It wasn't long before I heard him in my room, he wasn't going to sneak around since I wasn't an enemy. He walked so close to the closet so many times but never went in, so I thought I was safe. I took a single breath, though, and that was all it took for him to find me. He picked up the box I was in and brought it into the main area. I could hear confused murmuring through the edges. "Would anyone like to join in the unboxing? I found this very strange and mysterious box that seems to be breathing." He sounded amused, so at least someone was having fun. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping they'd fall for the clothes I'd put on top of myself and not look any further. Mikey opened the box eagerly and immediately fell for it. At least one person did.

"It's just some clothes, are you alright, Sensei?" 

"Ah, you haven't honed your senses enough yet, young Michelangelo. What about you, April? What do you think?" 

"I don't know, it looks a little small for someone to be in, doesn't it? I don't think anyone over the age of 8 could fit, especially with more stuff in there." She was so cute, even when she was wrong.

"Ah, and you, Raphael?"

"I don't care anymore! Let's just find him! I don't care about a stupid 'magic box' or whatever!" He stomped off. I was so glad that he didn't know I was in there. 

"Leonardo, what about you?"

"Why would he have clothes? We don't have to wear clothes." Why did Leo have to be right? I should've done something smarter, something like using blankets. 

"Ah, good observation, my son. Now that we all know what is wrong with this very odd box, why don't we open it and see for ourselves?" It took no time at all for Raph to tear through everything, tossing all of the clothes to the side, to find me. He picked me up by the shell and shook me around, making me dizzy.

"Donnie I swear to God! Get out of there right now or I'm dropping you!" That would definitely hurt, and I didn't want him to, but I didn't want to get punched in the face either, since that would hurt more. He kept his word and dropped me. The motion made the sick feeling bubble over, filling every cell in my body, and the shock of pain as I crashed against pavement wasn't any more pleasant. I groaned as I felt my shell slightly crack, which wasn't too unusual. It was only topical, like if you were to get a bruise or something, and it'd heal in no time. It didn't stop it from feeling painful. "Get out of the shell, dang it!" I tried to...

...but I couldn't.