Chapter 1
It all played in slow motion. The over grown dinosaur called captain Mozar threw him into the chair. Straps were buckled around him and tightened to the point where it was hard to breathe. Michelangelo squirmed and wriggled, but it only rubbed patches of his arms raw. They were beginning to bleed. The dinosaur brought a big, scary looking machine over from the other half of the room. It had a large point on it. He lined the point up directly with Mikey's head.
What had the Triceraton warrior said? "It'll hurt worse than you can ever imagine!" Mikey had chuckled it off then, but now he was scared. Really scared. He wanted nothing more than for his big brothers to show up and save the day. Then they could all go home and eat pizza. Raph would tease him about getting captured. Leo would remind him about safety. Donnie would ask him about all of the tech in the spaceship. And his father, Master Splinter, would just be glad to have his son home safe and sound.
But Mikey was not at home with his brothers. He was not about to eat an entire pizza. He was not about to get teased, lectured, and cross examined. But he was about to be in a lot of pain. He didn't doubt it. Especially after all of the other Triceratons horrified looks after Commander Mozar gave orders to use this 'mind probe' thingie. Mind probe. He didn't even know what it was. He didn't even know what it would do to him.
He cringed as the Triceraton hit a big red button on the side of the machine. The huge machine instantly lit up. It made a powering up sound. Mikey watched in horror as a pink beam of light came shooting towards him. He struggled and screamed for help as it drew nearer and nearer, faster and faster, closer and closer. Finally, it made contact.
Mikey let out a scream that tore his throat to shreds. Pain wracked through his body, which lifted into the air from convulsions. Oh, the pain. The red hot, searing pain that spread throughout his entire body. It was everywhere. It was never ending. He wanted to die. He wantedto die. He wanted it to stop. He screamed over and over again. The straps cut at his arms, tearing his skin.
But worse than the physical pain was the mental pain. He felt like his brain was being stabbed over and over again by knives that had just been removed from a hot fire. Words cannot describe the agony that he went through. No one will ever be able to experience what he experienced. No one could even dream that they had the slightest idea of what it felt to be him right now.
Strangely enough, he started having flashbacks. His life was being played on a movie screen in front of him. He tried to resist. He knew that this was what the Triceratons wanted. His memories. Of his brothers, his father, his home, the Kraang. But he couldn't retaliate. He was strapped down and in so much pain that he couldn't move. His body was shaking from the pain. He had to give in.
"I'm gonna get you Raphie!" five year old Michelangelo shrieked as he ran towards his big brother. The little red masked turtle took off running in the other direction. Mikey shrieked as he followed Raph through the lair. They ran past Master Splinter, who was meditating peacefully in the corner. Raph ran in a zigzag pattern to try to throw Mikey off, but to no avail.
Mikey leapt forward and tackled Raph to the ground. But Raph wasn't defeated yet! He flipped Mikey over onto the ground and started tickling him, his green hands running up and down Mikey's arms. Mikey screeched and wriggled, but Raph showed no mercy. "All right, Raphie, you win!" the freckle faced turtle giggled. Only then did Raph get off of him.
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"Daddy, I had a nightmare," seven year old Mikey said, while walking into his father's room. He clutched nervously at his brown teddy bear. "I wanna sleep with you!"
"What was you're nightmare about, my son?" asked Splinter groggily. He opened his arms and let the little turtle climb onto his lap. Tears ran down Michelangelo's face. Splinter rubbed the back of his little shell comfortingly.
"I dreamed that the boogey man got me!" Mikey said. "He was big and scary, and he had a metal body, and a creepy pink face that was all squishy and ugly!" Splinter sighed upon hearing this. Ever since his youngest son had run off into the sewers without permission and run into a Kraang, he had been having nightmares. Splinter didn't blame him. Thank goodness he had gotten there in time to keep his son from being taken away from him.
"Come, Michelangelo, let us go inspect your room for the Boogey Man," Splinter chuckled. "I think you'll find it was just your imagination." He walked with Mikey in his arms to the door that was sparpainted orange and had 'Mikey' written on it with clumsy handwriting. That was the courtesy of Donatello. They went insode. Just as Splinter predicted, there was nothing there. But Mikey was still scared.
"What if he's hiding?" he squeaked. "What if he comes out when you're gone?" Splinter sighed. He was just about to offer that Mikey slept with him, when a small voice beat him to it.
"You wanna sleep with me, Mikey?" a certain blue masked turtle asked. He yawned and looked up at Splinter, who beamed. Mikey's face lit up.
"Yeah, Leo! Thanks!" he said brightly. He followed Leo back to his room, with the teddy still in his hand. They both climbed into Leo's bed and Mikey snuggled up next to his big brother. They were both asleep within minutes.
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"I'm bored!" thirteen year old Michelangelo announced. Silenced answered him. He groaned as he flopped down onto his bean bag chair. Leo was meditating, Raph had gone on a training session with Splinter out in the sewers, and Donnie was working with who knows what in his lab. There was no one for him to play with.
Play video games? Nope. He had long since beaten Raph's high scores. Prank people? Nah, he would only infuriate his brothers, and they wouldn't play with him for another couple of days. Practice katas? Boring! Read? Never! He groaned again.
"Here Mikey, I fixed this up just for you!" Donatello said brightly, while walking out of his lab. He handed Mikey a rather beat up looking device.
"What is it?" he asked.
"A Nintendo DS!" Donnie told him. "Cool, right? Splinter found it in the trash. I guess some human kid though it was broken. Only a couple of modifications and it worked fine for me. I want you to have it."
"Really Donnie! I can really have it?!"
"Sure Mikey, it'll keep you distracted and out of my way while I work in the lab. I knew you where about to come in and ask what I was doing," Donnie teased him. Mikey grinned. That was what he was going to do, but now he didn't need to.
"Thanks, D!" he said, while opening the DS and powering it up.
"No problem!" Donnie called over his shoulder as he walked back to the lab. Mikey's smile could not be matched.
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The memories kept flashing before Mikey's eyes. Leaving the sewer for the first time, meeting April, the many malicious mutants he had battled over the years, the Kranng, the Foot, Shredder, befriending Bradford, un-friending Bradford, Xever, Stockman, Karai, hanging out with April, meeting Casey, hanging out with Casey, Leo getting hurt, the Invasion, the farmhouse, taking back New York, the Mighty Mutanimals, the second invasion, being captured.
Every detail ran through his mind. He saw it all in clear, vivid picture. The pain, the agony. It coursed through his veins. It ran through his entire body until it was released out of his mouth in a blood chilling scream. Then a new wave of pain would engulf him.
Then everything went black. Just like that. It all ended. The pain, the memories. It all disappeared. All he could see, all he could feel, all he could hear, all he could smell, all he could taste, was blackness. Every sense he had, including the incredible sixth sense he had built up in his ninja training was completely blocked off. By nothing. He floated about in an abyss of nothingness.
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"MIKEY!" Raphael screamed as he watched his little brother go limp. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. They had gotten their just in time to hear Mikey's last scream before it all went quiet. It had sent chills up all of their spines. Now all three of them were desperate to get to him, to see if he was all right, or if he was...they couldn't bear to think about it.
In a blind rage, Raphael attacked Commander Mozar. Leo yelled in fury as he took out two Triceratons at once. Even Donatello, the usually calm, non-violent turtle was in such a fury that the devil himself could not have stopped him. They took out every Triceraton in the room and rushed to their little brother's side.
Raph held Mikey's hand. It was covered in blood. Actually, Mikey's entire body was covered in blood. He squeezed it hopefully. What if Mikey was dead? What if Mikey had died? Raphael could not stand it. And not once had he told his little brother that he loved him.
Leo stood at Mikey's head. He wished he could take Mikey's place. He would do it in a heart beat. He was the leader, he was the one who was responsible for the entire team. He should have been prepared. He should've realized how mighty the Triceratons really were. Instead, he had underestimated them. this was all his fault.
Donnie put his head on Mikey's blood covered chess and put two fingers on Mikey's neck. He searched frantically. Nothing.
Then, he found it. A pulse. It was very faint, but it was there. Donatello wanted to shout in joy.
"He's alive!" he told his big brothers. They were as happy as he was. But now, they had to keep him alive. He wouldn't last long in this condition. They needed a plan, and they needed one quick!
