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[Something breaks.

Casey bows his head, then, and just. Starts crying. It's not a noisy cry, no sobbing or sniffling or blubber. Donatello might not even notice. The tears fall unhindered and he can't think of what to say. It's a preemptive grief, a helplessness he's struggling to fathom. Back when it first happened, he was even more useless, inept. Now he had more skills that are useful and still, useless. He's trying. He's trying so hard. Useless.]

Why… [he whispers, practically against his will,] Why are you doing this to us?

[It's not what he should say, he knows. And yet. The words demand he speak them, lest he shatter. It's not about me. It's not about me. it's not about me. It should never be about him. He's not suffering, he's not dying. He's tired.

But he's- Uncle Tello's-

busy.]

[Yeah, he doesn't notice the crying. In fact his attention doesn't leave his notes until Casey asks that of him and really?

The answer just slips out easily.]

I'm not doing anything, except saving you the trouble of wasting your time on something useless.

[Does he mean the whole blood transfusion, or himself?

... Honestly he does mean himself here.]

[Casey's getting that impression, at this point, especially based on what he'd said during their last fight, and it continues to absolutely terrify him.]

It's not... it's not useless. It's never useless. You're never useless...

[A sigh... Casey doesn't get it, or at least he feels like Casey doesn't get it.]

If I wasn't useless I wouldn't have gotten sick, I would have bought you all more than two years... I would have done a lot better.

If- if that's what makes you useless, then I must be even less.

[He knows that isn't true. (It isn't about him. Still. Always.) But what he really doesn't get is the self-flagellating hypocrisy, the rules being different for Uncle Tello only. No one is supposed to be useless. Even if he'd accomplished nothing in his life except loving his family, never. Never, never.]

... You're a child, Junior.

[Children are allowed to not have a use or purpose, except Donnie. He's always had to prove himself, to do everything he can to make sure his family knows he loves them. Cares for them. By doing everything he can for them.

If he can't, can't even do that? Then what's the point?]

So were you, when it all started! So was sensei, and Uncle Raph, and Uncle Mikey, and-

[So many. So many of them. He's older than most of them were, now, when it happened.]

You did so much. Two years in that hell is huge, don't you get it? It's huge. And you bought us so many years before you died. You took care of me, in the lab, you took care of all of us with your tech and your security and your food science. You're one of the biggest reasons I'm even alive. You don't need to accomplish stuff to not be useless for me, for sensei, but if you do- you want a list? I'll write you a list. I love lists. It's gonna be huge.

[And he's going to slam a hand on the table in front of him, after Casey says his piece.]

I should have, I could have done more. Leo and Mikey shouldn't have had to use the time portal spell! More than you should have survived, and it's my fault they didn't.

[The sudden smack on the table startles him, and Casey flinches, falling back from his crouch to land on his butt, one hand half-lifting. It's not exactly fear - he still trusts, believes, always, in his family - but the accidental strike from earlier has him on edge and overly cautious.

Contrasting Tello's rising volume, Casey just gets quieter. He has to fight. He doesn't want to fight. But he has to. This isn't right.]

...it's not... it's not. Saying it loud won't make it any more true. It isn't your fault.

[He doesn't mean to, possibly, scare Casey. He's just mad, and this is a lot better than him hissing and being hard to understand.

At least that's his logic.]

Except it is, Casey. You can say it's not, but that doesn't make that true either.

[Just going to throw Casey's words back at him.]

You don't get to decide for us. And... [He sniffs, wiping a gloved hand against his nose and eyes, thinking quietly for a long moment. His mind is racing, what else, what else...] You're not even looking at it... scientifically. You're being emotional.

[It's not necessarily a bad thing - Casey's always been overly emotional, he can't often shut it off - but his uncle's always prized logic and reason. He can try. He can work through it.]

[That draws him up short, and he just glares at Casey.]

You can leave, and not come back.

[Casey just... stares back at him, half like he's unable to parse what was said, half because he refuses to.]

I know you're not deaf, Cassandra Jones Junior.

[He'd never hit Casey on purpose, so he'll just be stern instead.

But boy it's tempting to bite.]

You can't- [ -do this, he wants to say, but things tend to not go well when you try to tell Uncle Tello he can't do something, even if that's not literally what Casey means.] You can't stop me. You can't make me not care. Even if you yell, or- you can't.

[He does scramble to his feet, though, and takes a few steps back.]

Try me.

[And he's getting up, and he will most certainly go to try to either scruff Casey by his collar or grab an arm. And very firmly carry/drag his nephew out of the lab.]

Edited 2025-10-12 04:40 (UTC)

[Casey yelps, protesting, and one hand goes briefly to his side pouch for something before he thinks better of it, apparently. Instead both arms and even his legs try and wrap around his uncle. Escort him out if that's what needs to happen, but oh, he can make this so annoying. He will continue to care kicking and screaming.]

Stop it! Let go!

[He's getting more annoyed at Casey's flailing. He's going to shake the teenager a little as he growls.]

Don't make me hurt you.

[Casey goes still, briefly, but doesn't let go.]

That's where you're at? You'd rather give threats than talk about it?

[Still heading to the exit, which is easier with Casey going still.

His voice is flat, somehow flatter than Casey has probably ever heard. At least from Tello.]

I don't make threats, Jones.

[That's... definitely a new voice. And maybe not one he should be testing, but Casey Jones Junior is the child of first Cassandra, and then Master Leonardo, and both instilled within him a high degree of stubbornness and the pushing of limits and buttons. Raised similarly by the extra village of Mikey, Raph, April, and Donnie himself, all varying levels of Annoyingly Stubborn. So the tone doesn't stop him from responding:]

Do it, then!

[He's not giving up.]

[Oooough, you're making this hard Casey Jones. Donnie truly expected his nephew to give up by now, especially since there's the door to the outside world.

But he sighs, closing his eyes as well? Casey might feel that, ninpo being activated and in his free hand the purple pixelated energy that is Tello's ninpo taking shape.

He wants Casey to get that he's serious? Then fine, he'll be serious, as the ninpo settles into the form of well... gun.

Not an actual one, it looks pretty real but Tello knows how to make something look real and be completely harmless when he needs to. And right now he needs to.]

Fine then. [Voice still that flatness Casey has never heard, his jaw set and well. He will point the gun at Casey, although if Casey pays attention he might notice two fine details. One; Tello doesn't have a finger on the trigger and two, which might be harder to spot; there isn't any firing mechanism on said ninpo gun.

He really meant it when he said he didn't want to hurt Junior.]

[It works enough, for a moment. There are some lines you shouldn't cross, some things that can't be unseen. Having your beloved uncle pull a gun on you is pretty up there in the "that's fucked up" category, and there's no faking the shock and horror that crosses Casey's expression. He means it? He means it. Would he actually-

He notices, though. It takes a few seconds, but he notices. He's not a big gun person but he's been around them plenty, knows how to hold and how to fire. He's seen the schematics for so many weapons, studied how they work and how to fix them alongside his uncle, for those who can't create them out of thin air. His uncle's ninpo has always been so perfect, an accident like that just doesn't happen.

Casey focuses, reaches out with the ninpo connection that now exists between them. Feels the flaws. That gun won't work. And while he's still learning how to control it, and can't create weapons yet, he can use tech that already exists, manipulate and mod it a little, add to it.

Add, say. A firing mechanism.]

Fixed it for you.

[His expression returns to one of defiance. It's a bluff, and Casey called it. Whether or not the gun stays out now is the real test.]

[Honestly? Donnie isn't sure what pisses him off more. The fact that he was giving Casey a way to leave without things reaching this point and he didn't take it, or the fact the teenager felt the need to "fix" the gun.

Either way, he's mad now. And that is most certainly a finger on the trigger now, as he will put the weapon up against Casey's head.]

If this is what you really want, then fine.

[This is basically Casey's last chance here, Donnie isn't too sure what he'll do if Casey pushes him further.]

[Casey doesn't move. He trembles, his hands clench tightly, his jaw sets. There's a slight pressure against the gun on his forehead, as he leans into it, trying to push it backwards without grabbing it outright. There's no denying that this is tearing at his willpower, he's on the brink of tears.

But.

He doesn't move.]

You know what I want.

[His uncle's lying to himself if he thinks for a second that this is anywhere close to what he wants. Is he really prepared to pull that trigger?]

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