castaside | [Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

MK had excitedly moved to chat with Donnie. He wanted to speak with him about an idea he had. Then he saw the turtle had withdrawn into his shell and was chirping like crazy. He blinked and watched. Oh that didn't look good.

He found himself chirping in concern just once. Just to alert Donnie he was here.

[It is a lot of AAAAAAAAA chirps. Not necessarily BAD, just]

[There is some over stimulation of emotions.]

[Some crying in the shell.]

[There is a pause at the chirp.]

[A chirp in response. Patience.]

[He'll be a minute to wind down.]

Mk blinked as he stared. Okay. Patience. He could do that? Yes? Uh...right. No staff. Can't fidget without it. Can't fidget with the laser sword. That's not...oh! The keychain. He took it out and started to spin it on one finger. That worked.

Spin. Spin. Spin. Wait. Spin.

[It takes a few minutes, but he does manage to finally slowly pop out of his shell. Wiping at his eyes.]

....

[He waves a hand.]

Mk came out of his focus on the keychain and smiled a little.

"Hey," He waved back. "Can I ask you a smarty smart guy question?"

What. [His voice catches.]

[He holds up a hand.]

[A deep breath. Let's it out.]

What is it? [The words are slow, but they do come out.]

Mk swallowed. Oh he heard that crack.

"It's okay," He said softly first. Then cleared his own throat as if he didn't just say that. What?

"If you had to uh smart guy science reason, which level is the block on? For the elevator? Would it work like that?"

"Smart guy science reason wouldn't really say how the elevator operates," Donnie said. "It would be Macaque reason. I'm kind of surprised he has any associations with elevators at all. Maybe he picked it up from Choco's heart."

He's seen the elevator.

He just knows the elevator was Bad, but maybe Macaque didn't.

"This is a Heart and Hearts all have their own kind of logic. Like mine didn't have a way deeper into the heart that was a door you could find. People had to build the door. Because that's how I connect to the world and people. I build things," he said.

"So for what level, it depends on what level Macaque would put the block, from conscious to subconscious reasoning."

Welp. Science failed him again. As usual. Same with math. This is why he didn't trust science and math. They always let you down when you needed them most. Except in the Cloud. Then it was awesome. A story for another time. MK shook his head to focus. Okay. So the elevator didn't work on big brain logic. It operated on Macaque logic. Shadows. Stories. Theatrics. Wait. There were shadows everywhere. Okay. He looked around for a moment. This eyes widened. He had an idea.

"Okay. OKAY! Right! It's all Macaque logic. And Macaque logic is about lessons and things that are kinda hard to get at. And being all dramatastic. For me, anyway. But he isn't like that with you, is he? That's the trick! Maybe we should put in the memories that fit best how he uh opened up to us! If we do that, it'll open the elevator and let us go through faster. Better maybe!"

Science is GREAT, this is just isn't a well documented scenario to science properly.

"He did put me under pressure for our first lesson, but level of dramatics is hard to gauge as someone who is naturally dramatic and not the best at reading rooms," he said. "But opening up memories aren't a bad idea. Likely the consequences will not be too bad, and it just might help us move faster."

"That sounds like Macaque! Oh memories," Like attempted murder. FUN!

"Cool! We got the makings of a plan now. I know the memory now, I think. Now we just gotta decide where to put what, right?"

"I rather suspect we can only do our void," he said.

MK blinked. Oh. Right. They were labeled, weren't they?

"Right! I...forgot the buttons had labels. Oops. So we just put the ones we choose in the holes. Guess we get ready and see who puts in what now. And we can try to stick together. At least for the start."

"Usually sticking together with someone is a pretty good idea. Not the fastest way, but as long as Red Son is all right, we have time," he said.

He just has to figure out his.

And have...

A lot of feelings.

"I'll keep Red Son grounded. You can count on me. Promise," MK smiled.

"You gonna be alright? We're here to listen, if you need to talk. Just to remind you."

"If I talk now, I'll end up a mess. Its usually better to push through while we're doing things," he said. Its not a dismissal that he's having a rough time.

Just not a thing to deal with Right Now.

"I get that. We'll push through then. And we'll talk later. You got this, guy. We got this," MK gave a thumbs up.

"Right. Yes, we can do this," he said.

Just.

After he has a Very Intense Confessional to Macaque when confronted with family feels.

What parts of that confession MK catches was the sweetest thing he'd seen in a long time. Donnie put out everything and Macaque made it known how he felt. Donnie was part of Macaque's family now. Accepted, cared for, and loved. The warm feelings struggled against the boiling tar of jealousy. The warmness won out in the end. Donnie needed that. He needed it and it was obvious. MK wouldn't say anything. It wasn't his moment to comment on or intrude into. He just looked at his own shadow and smiled.

"You are a big old softie on the inside. You really are."

The shadow crosses its arms and shrugs semi-awkwardly. You get the feeling that being called out on being a softie flusters Macaque slightly, but the shadow is also smiling.

Mk chuckled.

"Don't worry. Anyone asks, you're still the dangerous, scheming, and vicious Six Eared Macaque. Your secret is safe with me."

The shadow raises his hand for a fistbump?

Mk fistbumped back.

[Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

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