Me:Yes! I got this in before Christmas! Booyahkasha!

To Be a Hero

Chapter 2

By: Soniclover28

Michelangelo slowly drifted back into consciousness, and his eyes lazily blinked themselves open. He yawned and rubbed his baby-blue eyes, noticing he was in a bed of some sort. He then realized that someone was lying beside him, and the freckled turtle recognized the emerald green skin to belong to his older brother, Raphael.

He glanced around the small hold he was in, and, after finding a window that was leaking morning sunlight, noted that Donnie and Leo weren't in the same room as him.

'That makes sense—' He thought, 'It'd be too crowded in here for two more people, and I guess we should all be partnered up, anyways.'

Instead of rousing his older brother, Michelangelo continued to lay in his makeshift bed, and his gaze turned towards the ceiling in thought.

'Let's see… I'm in another world that wants us to save its people from… something. There's another set of me and the guys here. Oh, yeah—and there's a prophecy about us that says one of us 'will lose a life'. Nice,' Mikey thought, blowing a stream of slightly frustrated air through his mouth. The thought of losing any of his brothers scared him—possibly even more than losing his own life.

'Maybe I'm thinking about it the wrong way,' Mikey backtracked, 'Proficiencies—no, prophecies—are basically riddles, right? So all we have to do is figure out the riddle and follow what it says to do.'

'Let's see…'

"Four mighty Warriors"

That seemed pretty self-explanatory. The four warriors were most likely Mikey and his three older brothers. 'Duh.'

"Running for his life."

Okay, so that wasn't so self-explanatory… Maybe the four warriors were supposed to run for someone's life? Maybe one of the four warriors'? Maybe someone else…? 'Okay, so, we'll put a pin there.'

"Their destinies are tied,

And they fear for their lives."

That one was kind of simple. The brothers' fates were the same, and they were scared for themselves. 'Okay, so, two down.'

"They see the solution,

But they do not see his part."

'There's that 'he' again. Okay… So… if we don't 'see his part,' that must mean that we don't know how he's useful in the prophecy—whoever he is,' Mikey thought.

"They see his pollution,

But they do not see his heart."

'We see his… problem…? We see his problem but not what he thinks about it…? Hm…'

"Hnngh…" Michelangelo was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a grunt come from beside him. He sat up and looked down to see his big brother currently joining the land of consciousness.

Green irises slid out from under matching eyelids, and they blinked themselves into focus as they beheld a pair of baby-blues staring back into them.

"Mikey…? Hey, you're up," Raph blinked, and sat up next to his brother. He rubbed one of his eyes and yawned. "How long've you been awake?"

"Not long," Mikey shrugged. "Your snoring kept me company."

"Oh, whatever," Raphael rolled his eyes and lightly shoved his little brother. Mikey chuckled and stood up, and started doing his morning stretches. Then, he paused.

"How long've I been out?" He asked, and started pulling his leg up over his head.

Raphael stood up beside his little brother and started doing stretches, as well. "Well… You nodded off about two hours before we did, so…" He glanced at the window, and replied, "About twelve hours."

"Ah, okay." Satisfied with the answer, Mikey did two flips and a handstand for ten seconds before deciding he was loose enough to start the day. He waited for Raphael to get done, and together they exited the room. Raphael led the way into a small hallway and then through the dojo he'd seen last night, and, finally, into what looked to be a kitchen.

Donatello and Leonardo were already there, sitting on their knees at a low table with what looked to be breakfast setting in front of them. Mikey had to swallow back some drool as a crispy, sweet aroma filled his nostrils.

"Look who decided to wake up," Donnie greeted, flashing a gap-toothed smile.

Mikey smirked, "Didn't have much choice with Raph snoring the whole night.

Said turtle rolled his eyes and walked deeper into the kitchen, taking a spot at the round table, and gesturing for Mikey to do the same. The freckled turtle complied, and, as he was about to ask how to get some of the food Leo and Donnie had come to find, Shigatsu came through a second door in the kitchen holding two more plates of breakfast. Smiling, she placed them in front of Raphael and Mikey, who immediately picked up a pair of chopsticks and were prepared to dig in.

Leonardo cleared his throat, and both turtles paused. Immediately realizing their mistake, they set their chopsticks down, placed one of their fists into their palm, and simultaneously thanked Shigatsu for the meal.

"Itadakimasu."

"Iie," Shigatsu smiled, waving them off, but happy of the appreciation.

Once she was gone, Leonardo gave a hum of satisfaction, and Raphael simply gave him a glance and picked up his chopsticks again. Mikey smiled and started eating as well.

His plate consisted of steamed rice and a sweet roll, and, even though it wasn't pizza, it was still one of the best tasting things Mikey had eaten since he'd been in this new world.

'Besides the fact that this is the only thing I've eaten in this world,' Mikey thought with a small smirk to himself.

"So, Mikey, I was wondering…" Donnie started, picking at a clump of rice with his chopsticks.

Mikey took a bite out of his sweet roll as Donatello started speaking, and shifted his gaze to the turtle as he chewed his food.

"What was it like when, y'know, Hahen did that 'life-spirit-search-thing'…?" He inquired, "Raph told us that Shigatsu did it, too…"

Mikey swallowed, and turned his gaze down towards his rice in thought.

"It's… different…" Mikey answered, his finger tracing the naturally worn design on the wooden table he sat at. "I don't really know how to explain it… but… it was like… um…" He paused. "It was kind of like they were looking at a photo album, but my memories were the pictures, and my thoughts were the captions. They looked at all of it… From the time Splinter bought us at that pet store, to when that other freaky turtle showed up in our lair."

He finally tore his baby blue eyes from the table and met the gazes of his brothers. They were silent, and they were letting this new information sink in.

Raphael suddenly looked alarmed. "Didn't that weird turtle do that spirit thing on you, too?"

Mikey blinked, and suddenly remembered the deranged turtle placing his finger on his forehead. Memories started flooding into his head—memories that weren't his.

His head started pounding, and he suddenly gripped his chopsticks so hard they snapped. His world started to spin.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" He heard Leonardo's voice, but couldn't react to it. His eyes started to glaze over, his face started to pale, and his form started to shudder.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor, gasping, while the sight of his brothers kneeling beside him danced across his vision.

He froze mid-gasp.

Everything went white.

"Mikey, help me!" He cried.

The freckled turtle merely gave a sinister smile as rain started to fall from the dark skies, and lightening crackled through the air, providing a brief light to shine on the terrified turtle underneath him.

"Mikey...! Please…! I-I'm slipping!"

The water started to loosen the turtle's grip on the edge of the cliff, and he desperately dug his fingers into the ground.

The freckled turtle cackled madly, watching as the figure before him struggled to hold on to the only ground he could see for miles.

"Mikey!"

Tears started to mix with the rain rolling down the desperate brother's face.

"Please!"

Suddenly, the lightening cracked again, this time so close the ground shook from the boom that followed…

…And the little brother's brother felt his fingers slip off of the ledge, his face twisted into complete and utter terror, and he fell downwards to his doom.

He screamed. He screamed his little brother's name. He screamed for help. He screamed for an answer.

And then he was silent.

The bandanna of the evil turtle turned black, and his eyes glazed over. Tears started to fall from his eyes, yet he wore a wicked grin.

"Mikey!"

The turtle had killed his brother.

"Mikey!"

The turtle had killed his brother.

"Michelangelo!"

"Michelangelo!"

Mikey gave a horrible, gasping sound as the conscious world slammed into view. He realized he was crying, and shaking, and clutching someone's hand, and—oh, the terror he felt.

"Mikey, what's wrong with-…?"

'I killed my brother…'

"Mikey, snap out of-…!"

'I-I killed my brother…'

"…hyperventilating…go and get…!"

"M-… stay…me!"

'What have I done?!'

"…Look…me…!"

'What have I done?!'

"…eyes open!"

Mikey tried to scream, but he was suddenly aware that he couldn't breathe. Pain slammed into his chest, adding to the panic-driven adrenaline pumping through his veins. His free hand clutched his chest, where it felt as if a knife were being driven through his plastron.

His eyes started to focus on the figures surrounding him, and he tried to speak.

"C-can't-…! Br-brea-…!" He gasped.

"Mikey, listen to me." Michelangelo was suddenly aware of someone bending his knees, as well as the sound of Donatello's voice. His brother.

"D-D-do-…-nnie…!" Mikey wheezed, squeezing whoever's hand he was clutching harder. He squeezed his eyes shut when pain wracked his chest again, causing more tears to spill down his face.

"Listen to me," Donatello repeated, hard determination evident in his eyes. "You have got to calm down. You're hyperventilating due to a panic attack. I don't know what happened, or what you just saw, but you have to clear your head and take slow, deep breaths. Can you do that for me?"

Mikey closed his eyes and gave a nod. He tried sucking in a slow breath, but it hitched, and he ended up blowing it back out just as fast.

"C-c-can't-"

"Yes, you can. Try again; you're gonna be alright, but you have to try."

Mikey tried again, this time breathing just a tad bit slower than the first attempt.

"Keep going, Mikey, you're doing great," Donnie gave a reassuring smile.

Mikey gradually breathed slower and slower, trying to focus on nothing but Donatello's chocolate irises. Though he was still technically gasping, it wasn't as bad as when he first started to panic.

"There ya' go; now, we're gonna try and sit you up, okay? You'll breathe easier that way."

Mikey nodded, and took another quick breath. His eyes shifted over to the hand he was grasping, and looked up to see Leonardo with genuine worry in his eyes. Realizing he had his hand in a white-knuckle grip, Mikey released him and Leo helped the freckled turtle sit up.

"Mikey, look at me." Donnie demanded his attention again, and Mikey's baby blue eyes trained themselves on his techno-talented brother.

"Follow my lead," He said, and then he took a slow, deep breath. When Donnie did it again, Mikey did it with him, and, somehow, he felt a wave of calm rush over him. He breathed deeply a few more times, and, finally, the pain in Mikey's chest ebbed away, and his breathing returned to normal.

"Better…?" Donnie asked after a few moments.

Mikey wordlessly nodded, and his gaze shifted down to the floor. After the dizziness in his head faded away, and the tears finally stopped rolling down his cheeks, Mikey raised a shaky hand to wipe the wetness from his face, realizing how damp his bandanna was, now.

"Little one."

Mikey slowly raised his head to gaze blearily at the sight of his father—no, Hahen—towering over him with his hands folded behind his back.

"Are you alright?"

"Hai," Mikey muttered, his gaze flickering back down to the floor.

"Then rise," He said, and then, after he saw Leonardo preparing to assist him, added, "On your own."

Leo gave a look of surprise to the Splinter look-a-like, and, after a few seconds of hesitation, stood himself.

Mikey shakily got on his hands and knees, and, after taking a deep breath, hoisted himself to his feet. He met Hahen's eyes with his own weak ones, and the old rat sighed.

"You are strong," was all he said.

Mikey blinked. "B-But I just-"

"Your will is strong—stronger than I expected it to be. Your 'doppelganger', as you called him, was not able to withstand what you have just fought through." And then, Hahen smiled softly; "What you have just seen is nothing more than a figment of your doppelganger's imagination. You are safe—and so are your brothers."

At this, Mikey's eyes started to fill up with tears of relief. "Y-you mean… He was just messing with me…?"

Hahen nodded slowly, and then he placed a paw on Michelangelo's shoulder. "Stay strong, little one."

With that, Hahen gave him a bow and left the room. Shigatsu, who had apparently been there with Hahen, glanced Mikey's way before following the rat out of the kitchen.

Michelangelo almost collapsed right then and there from relief.

'So it wasn't a vision of the future, or anything. It was just that freaky turtle's way of saying 'hi'.'

"…Mikey…?"

Michelangelo turned to see his three older brothers' concerned faces.

His brothers.

"You are safe—and so are your brothers."

They were safe.

Slowly, his calm demeanor faltered, and he threw himself into the arms of his brothers, who wrapped him in an embrace.

"Mikey, I'm sorry…" Donnie whispered to him. "I shouldn't have asked."

Mikey shook his head against his brother's plastron.

"S'okay, Don," He whispered back.

"Some things are just better left unsaid…"

Me: You like? You no like? You review, yes? Yay!

Itadakimasu - Thank you for this meal.

Iie - No problem.