~These wounds won't seem to heal

There's just too much that time cannot erase~

"I'm s-sorry, I d-didn't m-mean to" Mikey cried out and instantly buried his face deeper into Donnie's plastron. Donnie could only return the hug and tried to calm down as much as he could. Slowly he began to rub Mikey's shell, waiting for him to finally calm down enough to talk.

"Listen Mikey, we don't blame you. it was Shredder who made you eat them" Donnie tried but Mikey didn't seem to listen. Donnie sighed and tightened the grip on Mikey. "Hush Mikey, I'm here" He soothed and continued to rub his shell.

"Leonardo, what happened?" The voice of Master Splinter cut in as he joined his sons in the living room. Only to find his two youngest hugging and his youngest crying. Raphael was still at Mikey's side and Leonardo was guarding them with a pained expression.

"They did something awful Sensei" Leo whispered and tried to keep the hurt out of his voice. Slowly he looked over to his sensei, to reveal his own eyes filled with tears. "They made him eat t-turtles Sensei" His voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke that horrible sentence.

Tears were now slowly rolling over his check. He just couldn't believe how awful that must've been for Mikey, eating a turtle to stay alive. It was like eating a human in order to survive.

Sensei had completely the same reaction as they did. His eyes were wide and his face was filled with sorrow and hurt. Hurt for his youngest son, who was forced to eat his own kind to survive. He knew they were practically human. They walked, talked, breathed and lived like a human but they still had their turtle sides.

They were still coldblooded. They still carried around a shell, a plastron and even a tail. And no matter how much they were human, they were still turtles. And eating other turtle's was easily considered eating the same species. Like a human eating a human.

"My son" Splinter whispered and walked over to his crying son. Mikey sobbed before pulling out of his hug with Donnie and held out his arms. Wanting his father to pick him up. "It is alright Michelangelo" Splinter soothed and for the first time in so long Splinter picked up one of his sons like he did when they were young.

He supported him by letting him rest on one arm, and pressed Mikey against his fur by holding his shell. Mikey sniffled and borrowed his face in his father's neck. "It is alright" Splinter soothed and pressed a kiss on Mikey's temple.

"I think that is enough for today, Donatello can you assist me? I wish to speak to you." Splinter spoke gesturing to Mikey, who was now asleep in his arms. Donnie nodded and followed his father and little brother towards Mikey's room.

"I just can't imagine how Mikey must've felt" Donnie whispered as he watched how Splinter tugged in Mikey. Poor little guy was totally exhausted from his little trip to the living room. Donnie sighed and joined his father at the side of Mikey's bed.

Splinter sighed too and rubbed his son's head. "It must have been a horrible experience" He agreed and sat down next to Donatello.

"What do we do now? I mean he has to eat" Donnie obligated after they were seated. He was truly devastated by the news. Of course, they were mostly human but they were still turtles. And eating other turtles was like a human eating a human in order to survive. it was just cannibalism.

"I think it is best to supply him with food another way for the time being." Splinter suggested, gesturing to the IV next to Mikey's bed.

"I guess you're right" Donnie mumbled and slowly stood up. "I'll be right back" He added before leaving Mikey's room. He felt so heavy while walking towards his lab. He hated giving any of his brothers an IV tube, but this time it was necessary. There were only a few other occasions they really needed one but never it was because of such a reason.

When he crossed the living room he noticed Leo and Raph weren't there anymore. He frowned slightly but when he heard voices coming from the dojo he shrugged it off. Of course they would both go to the dojo. Donnie made his way over to the lab and quickly grabbed everything he would need.

When he eventually walked into Mikey's room again Splinter was still next to Mikey and softly singing a Japanese lullaby he would always sing to them when they were little. Donnie smiled slightly and made his way over to the IV stand.

Using his previous experiences he quickly attached the sack of liquid food to the stand and attached a clean needle to it. Splinter had already grabbed Mikey's arm and was presenting it to Donnie. The purple clad turtle nodded gratefully and searched for a vein to inject the needle in.

After a few seconds he finally found one and he carefully inserted the needle in his flesh. Securing it with some medical tape so he couldn't remove it that easily. Then Splinter carefully placed his son's arm on the blanket again and bowed his head. He too thought it was devastating to force his son to eat like this.

But they had no idea what Mikey was given these last few days, and if that was even healthy. Not like eating turtle was very healthy but they had no idea what and especially how much he had been given. Just to be sure Donnie placed the breathing mask on Mikey's face again and unintentionally trailed his fingers along the bandages on his eye again.

Once Mikey would wake up again he had to check on that again. But he still needed to monitor if his sight was still intact so he had to wait until he was awake. Donnie sighed and sat down next to his father.

"Sensei, will he ever... you know.. get better?" Donnie whispered after a few silent moments. Splinter looked up to Donatello and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Physical wounds will heal but I am afraid his emotional scars run deeper than the heart can fully reach." Splinter admitted truthfully. Donnie's face fell. He hated knowing his little brother will probably never be the same. "Do not fret my son, Michelangelo is strong. And he will overcome this"

"But you just said..." Donnie whispered but stopped midsentence. He couldn't talk about him like this. It wasn't right to say his little brother was never going to be the same again. Donnie glanced over to Mikey's lifeless body and he immediately felt the tears forming in his eyes.

"Michelangelo will never be the same as we know" Splinter admitted truthfully, and it was. The things Shredder had done were unbelievable and would always hunt him. "But I believe he can still recover. He is strong, and he will overcome this tragic event" He spoke and ran his fingers along the long cut on Mikey's arm.

"But the scars will always remain."

*Sniff sniff*