Splinter stood in the large, exquisite looking field that was powdered with mixtures of colorful roses and daisies that stood out against the strong color of green that showed the youth of the grass. Splinter took a moment and felt the feeling of the cold strands of grass in between his feet. He looked out ahead, feeling the cool breeze flowing through his fur as it glided towards the mountains that marveled compared to the rest of the scenery. He could smell the spring time illumining the field and felt as though he was at peace.
Master Splinter sighed and realized this wasn't a time to relax as much as he wanted to. The images of the events that took place yesterday stood freshly in his mind. A monstrous canine dominating over his son and the sick, twisted demon standing in the corner, admiring the sinful acts that were taking place. He felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up and couldn't help but to snarl at the thought of that man. This anger, this… Hatred, was only something similar he has felt towards the shredder after the death of his master. But this, this feeling, it made Master Splinter see red. The hollowness he saw in his sons eyes, the shock, the fear, it made Splinter want to tear the mans throat out. He and the Canine who had taken that piece of Michelangelo away from him. Splinter was very forgiving for most cases, was able to understand certain actions that have been taken place, realize the reason why such actions were used but this? Splinter would love to bury the two beings alive and dance on their graves.
He also wanted justice for his most emotional son. Raphael was feeling the effect of the passing in the spiritual connection and watched as he started to disconnect himself. He talked to his son and reassured him it is his choice to talk to his brothers and highly recommended it. But, he could see in his son's eyes that this was something he wanted to deal with alone. But, he could see the dark circles under Raphael's eyes, the slight tick of fear that shined in his sun blazing eyes. His fear that he failed Michelangelo. And although he knew Leonardo and Donatello were also struggling with this new since of fear and guilt, Raphael has considered himself as the protector of the family and to even get the sense of his brothers suffering, he knew he was having a hard time living with himself.
Although as much as he wanted to stay and help Raphael through a confusing situation, he knew he no longer had time to waste. He was able to get Usagi to tell him where the Daimyo went and quickly followed the directions. He was brought to a private sector, created for the Daimyo's pleasure. It was peaceful and Splinter would love to someday get the chance to come here and meditate on his wondering thoughts but for now his only objective was to find the Daimyo and bring him back to find his son.
He continued his walk till he was stopped by a large pond. The water sparkled under the raze of the sun, rippling slightly from the movement of the creatures that lived underneath the water.
"Hiyaaa!" A small voice cried. Looking over, Splinter brought his walking stick over his front to protect himself from the flinging object. Looking down, he saw his walking stick collided with a wooden sword that was wielded by a small child, his green eyes were fierce for a mere moment and suddenly soften and smiled brightly. He brought his sword back behind him and bowed.
"It is a pleasure to see you again Splinter-San." The young boy spoke. Splinter smiled down at the young boy, recognizing him as the son of the Daimyo and bowed back. When he stood up he saw that the young boy had grown a few inched since their last encounter and his red hair grown as well. He smiled looking at the innocence that now overcame his appearance. Remembering the older version of the young boy, he recalled his power hungry persona that nearly cost all their lives. But now, he looks to see nothing but a playful young boy who sees the beauty in all. His heart clenched and thought of Michelangelo. No matter how old Mikey got, he always kept that side of him safe, never allowing the outside world to influence him in any way keeping that smile that was so bright it could light up a room, plastered across his face. Splinter feared that things might change after this even had occurred.
He brought his attention back to the boy and smiled.
"Hello little one. Where might I find your father?" He asked gently. Giving a smile, the Daimyo's son turned and waved for Splinter to follow which he graciously obliged. They walked for a short while till they came to the other side of the pond where the Daimyo was sitting on a mat, sipping coffee looking out in the distance, completely at peace with himself. The Daimyo looked over and stood up in surprise to see Splinter walking up with his son.
"Splinter-San, It is very nice to see you." He bowed. "But I am on a vacation with my son. What do I owe the visit?" He asked. Splinter bowed back at him and looked at him with a serious expression.
"Please forgive me for my intrusion Daimyo but a situation has come to rise and is in need of your assistance." Splinter explained. The Daimyo let out a huff of laughter before taking a seat back on his mat.
"It is a serious intrusion onto my kingdom, Usagi and the guards will have no issue taking action." He took a sip of his tea.
"Daimyo this isn't about your home." Splinter could feel the impatience beginning to rise but kept calm to try and reason. Before the Daimyo could retort, his son spoke up.
"Father, may I go catch some fish? I can practice the move you taught me." His eyes sparkling with determination.
"Yes my son, you may. But please, do not go out too far." He warned. His son bowed to him, going out to the water in looks for fish. Splinter felt the young child did that on purpose to allow the adults to talk. Splinter looked at the Daimyo with a stern look to show he was not in a joking mood.
"What is this about Splinter-San? You are acting more rash then you would. If it is of importance, my son and I will be home within a weeks time and I am sure we can solve any issues that has come to rise." The Daimyo tried to reason. Splinter closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his back and took a calming breath.
"I fear I do not have a week to solve this matter Daimyo. I am wasting precious moment here trying to speak to you." He tried to hide the venom in his voice as well as he could.
"What exactly has gotten you so angry my friend?" He asked. With an intake of breath, he sighed.
"My son has been taken." He said bluntly. There was a small pause, allowing the Daimyo to understand what he was just told.
"Leonardo?" He asked. Splinter shook his head.
"Michelangelo." He said with a low voice. The Daimyo picked up his cup and played with the top of the rim for a short while.
"That is a pity. Not surprising, but a pity." He said looking up at Splinter who had refused to sit down. Splinter felt a sting of anger.
"What do you mean 'not surprising'?" He asked, unable to hide the anger on his face.
"Now please don't get offended my friend."
"I am offended now tell me what did you mean by that Daimyo." Splinter demanded. "Are you saying my son is weak?" A small snarl appeared and Daimyo took note.
"Now please don't jump to conclusions. Your son is most certainly not weak; I mean he is the Battle Nexus Champion. But what I only refer to is that he does have a tendency of allowing his mind to go up to the clouds and leaves him open for an attack and nothing more." The Daimyo tried to explain.
"My son was stolen from me from my home. They took us all down in one fall sweep; my son would never allow himself to be caught so easily no matter where his mind might be." He narrowed his eyes to the Daimyo with such fierce, he didn't even notice that his son had stopped his fishing to watch the two adults. Slowly, the Daimyo stood up and faced Splinter.
"I am sorry, that was not my place to speak. Now I suppose I will ask, what do you wish of me?" He asked a little attentively. "Do you know who took him?"
"From my sources he was taken by a man named Rictor." He told him. Splinter watched as the Daimyo physically took a step back. He shook his head slightly.
" I am sorry Splinter-san, I am unable to help you." He said. Splinter was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He felt the anger pulling in the bottom of his stomach.
"Excuse me? I don't understand why you cannot help my son." He said with venom drowning his words.
"Its not that I do not want to help you but I have tried to search for Rictor once before and was unsucceful in trying to retrieve him. There is nothing I can do." He said, sitting back down picking up his cup of tea once more.
"My son Donatello will be here this time and help you and your men locate his hideout. My sons will help you in anyway possible." By this time he was so angry at the Daimyo for not even considering trying to help him, to help his family.
"It isn't that simple. This is too big of a problem that has feted into something that is uncontrollable. I am sorry Splinter-San; I cannot assist you in such a impossible task. And besides, your son is strong as you say. I am sure he fight with honor." As he was about to take a sip of his coffee, Splinter swung his walking stick and smashed the cup in the Daimyo's hand and made him look up at him.
"My sons have risked their lives to protect you, your son, and your precious home countless times and asked of nothing in return. They have faced impossible odds for your needs. Michelangelo is scared and breaking with every moment I sit here speaking to you in circles. My family needs your assistance and I will not take no for an answer coming from someone who owes his life to me and my family." He snapped at the Daimyo. He couldn't hold it back anymore. The thought of just leaving and letting the Daimyo get his was a crushing thought to Master Splinter. To think that his son is suffering so much and yet the here he was, this powerful being, too afraid of the challenge made Splinter sick.
As the Daimyo was about to retort about Splinters tone, a small voice cut in.
"Father." His son spoke softly, catching both of their attentions.
"Leonardo and his brothers have helped us a lot right? So, I think we need to help them. I like Michelangelo and I don't think its fair if hes in a scary place all by himself. I think we should try father. Please?" The boy pleaded. He looked at this small boy and saw so much of Leonardo in him. His persistence, his right to honor. He was a great fighter and will be raised with high expectations but he also saw Michelangelo in him. The small being filled with so much compassion and understanding and just hoped that his words would reach the Daimyo more the Splinters.
Moments passed as the Daimyo sat there a thought of his options. As much as he wanted to help Michelangelo, he feared the outcome will not be great. He had attempted hunting him down once before to only have the entire chase back fire and he lost dozens of men. He looked into Splinters dark eyes and saw the pain that swelled. His fear and his worry oozing over his expression. With a defeated sigh, he stood up and took his sons hand and looked at Splinter.
"If it was my son that was taking by that maniac, I would do anything to get him back." He said, squeezing his sons hand softly.
"Very well, we will return and help you look for Michelangelo." He stated. A bright smile spread across his sons face and Splinter relaxed slightly. He knew that this was nothing more then one step into getting his son back and knew there was still much to do.
With nothing more then a nod, they began to head back to the Nexus where they would see how Leo, Donnie, and Raph where doing and see what they came up with.
Fight. Fight, you are weak. You must fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.
Voice repeating themselves. They're overlapping one another, sounding like nothing more then a crowd of people. They are getting louder and louder.
You're weak. You won't win. You need to fight. Win. Never stop fighting. Fight.
Mikey couldn't help but feel like his body weighed a ton. His head was pounding. The voices, they were roaring greatly in his head. He can't make out what there saying but he wished they would stop. He moved his head slightly, feeling the floor with the side of his face. The ground felt different, it wasn't the dirt feeling but instead a could metal. He placed his hand on the floor, and with a painful slowness, he pushed himself up. The room was spinning too fast for him to comprehend and fell back onto the floor His stomach felt like it was in a knot and felt a pressure in his throat. His breathing was coming in sharp pants, trying to focus on what happening. Suddenly, a rack of coughs flooded his sense as he rolled to his sides and allowed the coughs to come freely. They were moist coughs and were painful.
As his episode finally subsided, he attempted once more to try and sit up. He could still here the voices. The sounds echoing, flooding all of his thoughts. He growled to himself, wishing the room would just stay still long enough to figure out what was happening. He sat up most of the way but felt the stomach acids push up and couldn't hold back anymore. He leant forward and allowed the flood of bile and other liquids to exit his body. He felt the coughing come around once more as he leaned heavily against the wall. He felt terrible. Everything hurt. His body was on fire. Feeling the sweat rolling down his neck, he took some breaths to relax. After what felt like a decade, the voices finally subsided and the room came to a halt. With slow movement, he moved his head to look around to see he was still in his cell. He looked down at the floor to show that it was still dirt and rock, but why did it feel like metal or steel? Mikey ran a shaky hand over his hand, trying to get back the last thing he remembered.
He scrunched his eyes shut as it hurt to even think. He felt the arm that was supporting him getting tired and maneuvered so his shell was against the wall. His breathing was raspy and his chest hurt greatly. When he tried to think again another coughing fit would arise. After once again trying to calm down, he looked forward to see the blank wall. And that's when it hit him; he was alone in the cell. He quickly surveyed the cell once more and saw his friend was no where to be found. Did they take him out? Was he hurt? He was a loser in the games; he should have never even left the cell.
Mikey scrunch his beak from the smell of the cell. Ever since day one, the smell of this place was unbelievably putrid and horrifically ghastly. He thought maybe because of the unsanitary living conditions he was in; he had developed a virus of some sort. A full body shiver took over as his breathing felt as though it was being constricted. He vaguely remembered what has happened since he was last conscious. He remembered the Canine, Miles was his name. Then Rictor. It was as if no matter how much Mikey forgot, he was still consumed of the image of the Lizard creature that basically controlled his life. Mikey bared his teeth at the thought of this monster. He truly and unmistakably hated this man.
Mikey sat there for a long while, listening to the sounds of the rusted pipes bash against the running water, small drops echoing in the small cell. Every so often, Mikey was denied oxygen when he was gagged by the uncontrollable cough. He felt a sting under his tail that was painful if sat on wrong. He didn't want to think of any damage that might have been done, he couldn't. He won't let something like that hold him down. Although he felt ashamed and disgusted by such an act, he knew they did it on purpose just to watch him crumble. And although Mikey wanted nothing more then to curl up and allow his emotions to flood, he can't have that. But, he felt it. That burn of failure, being immersed by the perception of weakness, he couldn't fight back. He felt humiliated, contrite that maybe in the end he isn't good enough. He looked back at the wall to see that the names where still not there. He tried so hard to remember them but they weren't coming to mind. He let out a faltering gasp and wishes he wasn't alone right now.
The sudden sound of the cell banging open made Mikey flinched and looked up to see the guards. He only had two guess on where he was being taken too. He was either being taken to his fight, or to Rictor himself. He really wished he was going to the fight but knew that was nothing more then a dream.
He was practically dragged to Rictor office, feeling too weak to move much. The grip the guards had around his arm was painful, and hissed slightly at the pressure building on his biceps. When they made it to the too familiar office, he was pushed to his knees and kept his gaze to the floor, looking to see his bandana tails where soaked with sweat from his neck.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up." That too familiar voice spoke. Mikey growled quietly, wanting nothing more then to pounce this guy and beat him into the next millennium. He felt his face being jerked up and his gaze went dark. He watched as Rictor smirked at him. His body moved on impulse and freed his hand from one of the guards and quickly got Rictor in the face, making the man step back. Mikey earned himself a hit from the butt of the rifle the guard was holding, knocking him to the side. Another coughing fit erupted from his chest.
Rictor stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, playing with the blood that dribbled from his torn cheek. He smirked as he looked down at the small turtle. His body shaking, the sweat forming, the pain that showed on his face it was like he was given a bonus after all his hard work.
Rictor signaled his guards to pick Mikey back up, whether he was coughing or not, and made sure he couldn't move. He turned away and paced slightly.
"I come to brief you on your next fight and this is how you repay me? Michelangelo I fear you have become quite inconsiderate of the things I have given you." He spoke with a sly smirk. He loved looking into his eyes now. How dark they were becoming. When he first met the small terrapin, he remembered how much his eyes were filled with so much life and how much hope he had. And now? He can see the hatred, the burning passion to fight. It was there. Just like Rictor hoped to.
"Where my friend?" Mikey asked with a croaked voice. Rictor tilted his head.
"Your friend?" He asked.
"Yea. My friend. My roommate in my cell. He isn't there anymore what did you do with him?" Mikey demanded. He promised to save his friend and he wanted to keep that promise but first, needed to find out where he was.
Rictor, confused but soon understood, smiled and walked closer to the small teenager. Mikey couldn't help but his heart flutter. He didn't like being around this man, not anymore. He felt like vomiting again and he just wished he would get close enough he could do it all over Rictor.
"Oh trust me when I say, you will see him in time." He smiled before signaling his guards to take Mikey to get him ready for his fight. Rictor watched as Michelangelo was dragged out, confusion engraved into his face. He pulled out a small file and wrote a few notes down before breaking the pencil in half and dropping it to the floor.
"Time. Time is something a creature never fully understands. A unit used to every person every day. It tells you when to go, when to arrive, when to awaken, and when to sleep, we fear to loose this thing called 'Time' for someday, our time will be up. And we as creatures we'll be counting down till the very end." He told himself, watching the monitor as the guards forced Michelangelo into the small container that sent him off to his fight. He watched as he began to squirm slightly, knowing that he wished he wasn't in such a small area.
"And I will wait till the end of time to watch you burn."
A/N: Hello everyone. I know this chapter was a bit shorter but the next one will be better I promise! So, I know I kinds OOCed the Daimyo a little but I needed to fuel Splinters anger a little more so I hope that worked XD
By the way, because I got a couple of questions on this, I made Mikey have claustrophobia because it sort of fits a fear he might have. Leo being afraid of heights, Raph afraid of bugs, Donnie afraid of knowing too much, and Mikey afraid to be alone and in a closed area. He's a free loving guy who moves around a lot so I thought it would fit :). But I hope that clears that up. But I hope you enjoyed and please review!