Chapter 1

The three oldest turtles were in the living room after a battle with the Foot. Leo was the first to speak. "Mikey have gone too far, guys. He can't focus and he's a burden to this group."

"I agree with you, Leo." Raph said.

"Mikey is so useless; sometimes I wish he's not my brother. He's a failure as a brother and a ninja. Maybe kicking him out of the group is the best solution for us." Donnie said.

Leo and Raph nodded in agreement. None of them knew that their little brother had heard everything that they said.

-(Page break)-

Michelangelo woke up from his nightmare and found himself in a dark and spooky place. He tried to move but his wrists and ankles were restrained by chains. A small stream of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, running down his jaw line and dripping onto the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back his tears. Deep cuts and endless gashes covered his arms and legs. He was in pain physically and emotionally.

Mikey remembered the guy who captured him. He said that Mikey was going to make him a rich man. The guy shot him with a tranquillizer dart gun, making him woozy and unable to defend himself from the rain of blows that descended on him soon after.

Mikey's POV

Why did I run away from home? Oh yeah, I remember now. My so called family hates me. I know sometimes I am a pain in the shell, but I'm just trying to make them smile as we were outcasts and only had each other. Why did they say all those things about me: useless, weak, failure, a burden. Maybe they were right; I am nothing but trouble. I guess that's why I left home in the first place. I was an easy target and now I have lost everything: my home, my family and my freedom.

Oh man, I don't feel too good. My headache is getting worse. I'm feeling dizzy and my eyes feel like it's on fire. Maybe this is due to the tranquilizer that guy gave me or the amount of blood I lost. Hey, why is every going dark again? I feel like I'm going to pass out or close to death. Maybe next time I wake up, I'd be in heaven. I know you guys won't miss me, but I'll miss you, bros. Darkness overtook me again and the last thing I heard was someone yelling my name.

-(Page Break)-

In my world of darkness I heard a faint voice call me. I can't understand what they're saying, but the voice sounded familiar. I tried to focus on the voice and slowly it became stronger and clearer.

"Mikey?" Donnie's voice penetrated through the fog of my mind. I hummed tiredly in response.

"Come on, bro, wake up," Leo encouraged with a note of stress in his voice. "Open your eyes."

I whined and squeezed my eyes even tighter.

"Open those baby blue eyes right now, knucklehead." Raph growled.

With a groan, I slowly peeled my eyelids open and looked up fuzzily at my three brothers. I am home. But what happened? I was in that dark and creepy cell only a few moments ago.

"My son, you have been in a coma for the past two weeks. I'm glad you're back, little one." My father said, putting a gentle paw on my forehead. He continued to tell me what happened after they found me hurt and bleeding in that room.

"We were so worried that we were going to lose you due to the blood loss and the infection from your wounds." Donnie added.

"What happened to that guy that caught me?" Mikey questioned, asking the question that was bugging him ever since he woke up.

"Don't worry about that guy, Mikey. Pops gave him a lesson he'll never forget. He's never going to hurt you again." Raph replied with a big grin on his face.

"Mikey, why did you run away like that? We were so worried when we found out you got captured by that wacko. It scared us how close you were to never waking up again." Leo said with a distressed look on his face.

"Guys, I'm sorry and you're right about me being a burden to this group. I know I cause so much trouble for my family. I am useless, weak and a failure as a ninja too. That why I left in the first place as I don't deserve to be part of this group."

"You're not a burden or a failure, my son." My father told me, resting a paw on my shoulder.

Raph glared at me threateningly. "Baby bro, you're not going to leave again. Not now, not ever, you got that?"

"Mikey, I'm so sorry I don't want to lose the only little brother I have." Donnie said.

I looked down at my hands. They're just saying that, aren't they?

"Mikey, we- no, I'm sorry for saying all those things. I let my anger get to me. You have so much raw talent and have the potential to be a better ninja than me, but it's just that you never focus. I don't know what to say, baby bro, I've never felt so scared in my life. Almost losing you made me realize that you're the glue that keeps this family together." Leo said.

Mikey shook his head. "No, Leo, you're right. I'm useless and a burden to this family, you guys would be better off without me."

"Michelangelo, stop talking like that." My father reprimanded sternly. "We'll talk about this later. For now, I want you to rest."

"Yes, father." I lay back down, closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me once more. A sleep I didn't want to wake up from. I want the darkness to take me away so that I won't be a burden to my family anymore. In my mind, there's only one choice for me now: dying.