Chapter II
The happiness that filled the turtles’ lair after the birth of Machiavelli lasted for only a year, before it was washed away by a deep sadness. Than the age claimed it’s tribute on Master Splinter completely. The source of strength and health that the the mutagenes and the long years of Ninjutsu had given the rat sensei had finally run out. The great ninja master could no longer hold on to the bonds of live.
The whole family suffered from the loss of Splinter, but most of all Leonardo. For days he stayed by his master’s and father’s site and cried. He always knew that the day would come when his sensei would close his eyes forever, but after the birth of Yoshi, Leo had taken a great comfort in the illusion, that Splinter would stay with them throughout his entire life. The way the old rat had swing his grandson trough the air, the way he would lift him up, showed still so much strength in him, that Leo allowed the very small hope in his heart to expand. It had been foolish, he knew that now. And the leader had never felt so helpless and alone in his whole life.
Splinter had told him, that he was ready – ready to lead his brothers, protect the family, be the guidance that they need. But as Leo looked down at the lifeless body of his sensei, he felt not ready at all. How was he suppose to be a good leader, a good mate and a good father all at once? In Leo’s head was a big black space, like he never had any training, any experiences, any knowledge. He felt small and useless and so very scared. No, he was not ready at all.
He repeated that phrase over and over again, when he was alone with his father, begged him to come back, told him, that he was needed, that this family would not survive without him. It took Leo a week, before he stepped out of his father’s room.
They all dealt differently with Splinter’s loss. Donatello locked himself in his laboratory and cried. He felt useless, he felt, like it was his fault. Just like when they came back from 2105, when Master Splinter had been vaporized into thousands of data bits. Only this time, there was no way to bring him back. Searching for something that was still alive was possible. It was like Don’s father had said: Where there is life, there is hope. But where there was no life…And still Donatello felt, that he could have done something. He had seen the future. He had seen the technology that could make life longer. But in their time nothing of it existed. “I could have thought of something than. Invent something, like I always do”, he blamed himself. He failed and this time he had no chance to make up for it. So Donatello sat in his lab and cried.
Michelangelo cried too. He locked himself in his room. He knew he should be able to deal with it right now. He was no longer a teenager, he was a young adult. Loss was part of life. And after he and his brothers and Venus and Mona Lisa had been through so much, he should be prepared. But he wasn’t. And just like that, Mikey realized how less he actually had changed. His brothers had all changed. Vee and Mona had changes. They fell in love, they had a relationship, they had families of their own. Now there were two younglings running around in the lair. The next generation. Mikey could have laughed. He always considered himself somehow the next generation – in comparison with Leo that was. But Leo was a father now, so was Raph. And Don had Leatherhead – as a friend or a boyfriend, Mikey was not sure, but Don had LH. And he, Mikey, had nobody. He was alone and he had no father anymore, who would cheer him up, who would dry his tears, listen to his complains. Now, the youngest turtle was forced to finally change, to decide, if he should wear his everlasting grin as a mask or but it aside and let his joyful youth go.
Raph dealt with his sorrow the way he dealt with everything that was stressing or upsetting him. He punched his back. He punched it so long and so hard as if he was expecting for his father to come out of his room and tell him, that he had to control his anger or he would crumble under it. No, Raph did not expect Splinter to come out, he hoped, he would. Maybe if he punched the back hard enough, the vibration of the force would somehow make Splinter’s heart beat again. But it didn’t. Nothing would do. And that was the worst part. He could do nothing about Splinter’s parting from life. And forced to just endure it was torture for the hot headed turtle. Raph came to believe, that everything could be changed, when one just get of his shell and do something about it. But that was something different, maybe the only exception. An exception, that one day his own son had to learn. It pained Raph even more to know, that one day he would make Machiavelli as sad as Splinter was making him now. And for a little terrible eternity, Raph regretted the birth of his son. He wished, that he and Mona had not been compatible, that no life could emerge from them. And that he thought about such a thing, made him even sadder and angrier. And he punched his back even harder. The fabrics gave in and Raph’s fist grabbed sand as he hit again.
Vee and Mona had their own way to deal with Splinter’s loss. They tried to not think about it. For Vee, it was not the first time, she had to say goodbye to a parent. When she was five years old, her parents perished in a car accident. She could very well understand how the brothers felt. Had it not been for her uncle Baxter, she would have been an orphan. Alone in a cruel world. And even he could be considered lost for a some years. Lost to madness, lost to evil, lost to pain. Vee liked to believe, that Yoshi’s birth had given her uncle a light in his life, something, that he could see worthy to live for. Baxter Stockman might not see his grandnephew as much as a granduncle might, but she was certain, that he would do nothing to harm the turtles anymore.
Mona had to say goodbye to her family in another way, but nevertheless, the feeling of total loneliness was something, she could very well understand. Just like Vee, she decided to not think about it so much and instead focus on her child. She believed it was what Splinter had wanted. To go on with life, to focus on the future instead of the past. But there was also another reason, why she didn’t want to think about the rat sensei so much. Just like Don, she felt it was her fault. Don might be the smartest of them all, but he took the part of the engineer, while Mona took the part of the doctor. She had always been good at chemistry and biology and if it hadn’t been for Bishop, she might as well had become a real doctor. So it had been her responsibility to take care of the old ninja master. But life was nothing that could be contained forever. Mona knew that, but she could have tried to keep Splinter alive for as long as it could be.
After two weeks the family finally grieved enough and decided to honor the sensei’s last wish. All of them traveled to Japan. They visited the Ancient One. In a cinerary urn they had carried Splinter’s remains to his home land and buried him next to his beloved master Hamato Yoshi. At his grave, the turtles had finally found the strength to look forward and to bit their father fare well. When they returned home again, Master Splinter’s room became a room of honor. All valuable things connecting to Ninjustu and Japanese tradition as well as a few of his very intimate belongings remaind there. The brothers, Venus and Mona Lisa agreed, that it should be a place of learning and guidance for Yoshi and Maciavelli, when their training began.
