He woke up with a start, eyes opening, blinking at the dim light that patched on the cold stone floor.

Shredder stood over him, silent.

Mikey spit out, "Do you need something?"

A harsh slap across the face.

Mikey smirked. He knew how to be annoying. He was in his element.

"By the way, your armor looks like a kid made it! What did you do, ask Karai to make it for you? Next to her macaroni pictures of you?" He taunted.

A kick to the ribs. Mikey heard a crack, then felt excruciating pain. It blossomed into waves of agony.

He held his breath. It faded, only slightly, but came back when he needed to breathe.

Ignoring it, he gritted out,

"What? You didn't think she actually loved you, did you?"

Shredder roared, and started beating him into oblivion.

A punch to his face ripped his skin, and broke a bone or two.

Another kick to his ribs fractured three of them.

Mikey's vision went white with red-hot pain.

When it came into focus a minute later, he looked up to see Shredder's foot positioned above his leg.

Mikey grinned maliciously.

"I bet you aren't man enough to do it. That's why Tang Shen chose Master Splinter over you, isn't-" He was cut off by Shredder brutally stomping down on his leg. The bone cracked, then gave way, splintering the skin as it came through.

Mikey lost control, and screamed. His voice came out raw and full of pain.

Tears coursed down his face.

Tears for not being able to bear the torture as Leo would have, tears for not being able to figure his way out, like Donnie would, tears for not having Raph's brute strength to rip himself out of the chains, and tears for not being able to hold up to Master Splinter's expectations. He sobbed for himself, for what would happen to him.

He cried for the world that day.

TMNTMNT

Mikey woke up, eyes sore and face wet.

"Ouch." He whimpered.

Forcing himself to look at it, Mikey glanced down and saw a bone sticking out of his leg.

"Aw, I think I'm gonna hurl!" He whispered, vision going blurry.

Shaking his head, Mikey fought to remain conscious.

"No, Mike, you gotta stay with it if you're ever gonna get outta here."

Looking for something to brace his leg with, Mikey's eyes fell upon a long bone. It looked suspiciously like a tibia, the long bone that Mikey usually referred to as the 'shin bone'.

"Shell no! Then I really would hurl!"

He desperately searched for anything else.

He was in luck.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He cheered quietly.

Right next to him was a branch of some sort.

It...it looked almost like the tree back in the lair...but, that was probably just a freaky coincidence.

Maneuvering his arms so he could reach his leg, Mikey took the stick and some bits of cloth that he found (he did not want to know where they came from), then set them aside.

He had to set the bone back in.

He took a stone and set it between his teeth.

He grabbed ahold of the leg.

His vision went white for a moment.

"Okay." He gritted out. "This is gonna hurt, a lot."

Mikey figured it was best to do it quickly, like ripping a band aid off.

Working fast so as not to lose his courage, the turtle pushed on the bone until it snapped back into place with a sickening 'squash.'

He screamed, out loud.

Blessedly, his vision went dark.

TMNTMNT

The turtles left Master Splinter and the humans, except Astrid, behind.

This was their brother.

No one messed with the turtles and got away with it.

Especially not Mikey.

No one.

TMNTMNT

When Mikey woke up again, he was greeted by the sight of his leg, now horrifically red and swollen.

"Great." He muttered.

Reaching for the stick and cloth, his eyes fell on a little girl.

She looked to be about four, with bright blonde hair, and pale skin.

He murmured, "They wouldn't."

At the sound of his voice, she stirred.

He relaxed, seeing she was still alive.

Even those monsters couldn't kill a little girl, could they?

This was a question that haunted him as he smiled at the little one.

She rubbed his eyes and sat up, confusion clear in her eyes.

They were a bright sky blue, the kind that comes after a rain.

When she saw him, she gasped.

"Shhh, I know, it's okay. I'm a little different, but, I promise, I won't hurt you." Mikey said gently.

She nodded her head, blue eyes wide with surprise.

She was small, but had surprisingly broad shoulders for such a little tyke. Her limbs were long and graceful.

The little one's facial features were delicate, with a stubborn chin and flashing eyes, framed by thick lashes.

She was heart-breakingly adorable.

Mikey couldn't resist the urge to help her.

"I'm Mikey. What's your name?" He asked. The throbbing in his leg was getting harder and harder to ignore.

"My name is Sora." She whispered.

Japanese for sky. It suited her, Mikey thought wryly.

"Well, Sora, how did you end up here?" He thought getting the question out was the best idea.

He was wrong. Tears welled up in those humongous blue eyes, and started spilling out onto pale cheeks.

"My-my mommy and daddy were taken by those awful people." She sobbed. "They got away, but they couldn't get me."

Mikey's breath caught.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything will be fine, I promise. And when Mikey makes a promise, he keeps it!" Too late for realism, he thought, frustrated.

When she didn't reply, but sat there, shivering, he said, "C'mere. It's a little warmer over here."

She obliged, crawling over to where he was chained down.

To his satisfaction, he saw the shivers lessen.

"All right, Sora. I have to do something. I have to put this stick next to my leg, and tie it with some cloth." Mikey told her, taking the objects in hand.

"Why?" She asked, inquisitive.

"My leg is broken, you see, and for it to get back to normal, I have make sure it is straight!" He replied cheerfully.

She nodded.

He took a deep breath, and put the stick next to the leg. That wasn't so bad.

He picked up the leg to nudge it towards the stick. Waves of slicing agony ripped through him.

Mikey couldn't help it; he gasped.

Soren came next to him. "Mr. Mikey, are you okay?" She was concerned, big blue eyes looking at him, scared.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He managed to gasp out.

Working quickly, Mikey took the cloth and tied the stick to his leg.

He bit into his hand to stifle the scream that tried to escape.

Soren impulsively hugged him tight, little arms barely reaching across his shell.

He couldn't think. The pain was worse than anything he'd ever imagined. He couldn't remember why it was important he live. He could feel darkness coming to take him away, but fought it. He didn't know why he fought it, but he knew it was important to fight it. He had to. But why?

Then he remembered why he had to get out. This little girl needed him. He had to fight for her.

He hugged her back, hot tears splashing down his face. She hugged him tighter.

He smiled for the first time in days, weeks, he didn't know. All he knew was that, for the first time in a very long time, he had something to fight for.

The smile became more menacing as he hugged her tightly.

He would get them out of this. He wouldn't break a promise. Not if it meant destroying himself in the process.

TMNTMNT

"Donnie, it's been over two weeks!" Raph shouted. "There's gotta be something in there that tells us where he is!"

Donnie sighed heavily, aggravated. "Raph, I wish there was. There could be, it's just that there is a massive amount of data in this thing." He waved a data chip in the air. "Thing is, I don't even know if I'm translating this right. There isn't exactly a handbook for the Kraang, no 'Kraang 101.'"

Raph took a good look at his younger brother, and immediately felt ashamed. Donnie had black circles under his eyes, looked pale, and was swaying slightly on his feet.

"I'm sorry, Don. I know this is tough on you, too." He told his brother, face hot.

"It's fine. I get it. You and Mike were always close." Donnie said seriously.

Raph shook his head. "It's more than that, Don. It's like, even though I beat him up a lot, he was still my baby brother. I'd do anything for him. For any of you."

Donnie nodded. "I know. That's why you've always been a great brother. When we need you, you'll help us."

Raph frowned. "Problem is, I couldn't help Mikey. Mikey was always there for me, you know? When Leo and I got into fights, it was Mike who calmed us down. He'd send Leo in the direction of the dojo, and would head towards me. Even though he knew he'd get beaten up, he always came to me. It was like he knew that I felt-felt rejected, felt like I wasn't good enough. Leo was always the chosen one, always the one who got everything right. I was the one with the temper, the one that was destruction personified."

Donnie watched Raph as he paced around the room.

"And, you wanna know what Mikey said to me?"

It was rhetorical.

"He told me that I was just as talented as Leo, and if anyone screwed things up, it was him! Him! For God's sake, Donnie, Mike really thought he was the problem! He said to me, and I'll never forget this, 'Raph, you're the strong one, Donnie's the smart one, Leo's the perfect one, so, where does that leave me? I'm stupid, not really strong, and I can't be as brave as Leo. I mess everything up. Don't try to deny it, 'cause we both know it's true. All I do is mess around, because I don't really know what to do. The only time I'm ever good enough is when no one is around me, so they can't get hurt by me. I'm a disaster just waiting to happen.'"

Donnie's jaw dropped. "Mikey thinks he's useless?"

Mikey, in a word, was hyperactive. He bounced off walls whereas other people tended to avoid them. But he was talented. He had the kind of raw talent his brothers dreamed about. Mikey instinctively knew how to defend himself. Even if his focus did leave something to be desired, he was athletic and agile. Quick on his feet, and able to change directions in a split second.

But his abilities stretched far beyond the battle field.

Mikey was the youngest and the most empathetic. He had almost a sixth sense of how to deal with people. He could be the most annoying person in the world sometimes, but when you needed someone to talk to, Mikey was there. He'd check to make sure you were okay, and if you weren't, he'd help. He knew how to keep everyone happy. Now that was gone.

"Don?" Raph was looking at him strangely.

"Raph, you look-you look..." He yawned. "Out of focus."

His vision was blurry.

He had the oddest sensation of falling before darkness overtook him.

TMNTMNT

"Mikey?" A soft voice woke him up.

He yawned, before attempting to stretch.

"Mm-hmm?" Opening his eyes, he saw Sora shivering. He held her more tightly, trying to transfer some of his body heat to hers. It got pretty cold out during the night.

"What if they try to take me?"

The question startled him awake.

"I won't let them." He replied firmly.

She smiled and snuggled closer.

TMNT

"Huh?" Donnie slowly returned to consciousness, only to find his older brothers watching him.

"Wh-What happened?" He asked.

Memories began filtering in.

"Mikey! I-I gotta help him!" Donnie tried to sit up, only to have two sets of hands push him back down.

"Woah, easy there, Donnie. You gotta rest a little." Raph told him gently.

"Yeah, Don. You passed out on us back there." Leo said, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

"B-But Mikey." Donnie stammered.

"Will understand if you need to rest. He wouldn't want you to die on us, now would he?" Leo pointed out.

Donnie looked between the two of them.

"So, just to be clear, you aren't letting me out of my bedroom. At all."

There was an emphatic "No."

Donnie sighed dramatically. "Well, that could be a bit of a problem."

They cocked their heads to the side.

"Why?"

Donnie smirked.

"I have to pee."

Their faces reddened as they realized what they had said.

"Well, I mean-"

"Didn't mean it like that"

"Oh, just go pee!"Raph told him, turning his back on his brothers and marching out, muttering about disgusting little brothers and annoying older ones.

Donnie smirked smugly.

TMNTMNTMNT

"Well, isn't this sweet?" Mikey heard the Shredder's dark voice and instantly snapped awake, pushing the kid behind him.

"What do you want?" He asked, nerves on edge.

"Nothing." The Shredder replied.

"M-Mikey?" Sora sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes.

At the sight of the large armored man, she squeaked, and dove behind Mikey again.

Shredder laughed and grabbed her by her neck, choking her.

"All good little boys and girls should be sleep." He murmured.

"But you aren't good!" He threw the little girl on the ground, and she screamed.

Mikey shouted at him, "Don't hurt her! She's just a kid, for god's sake! Hurt me, instead!"

Shredder said, "Hm. Interesting thought. Very tempting offer. But, no." He kicked the kid lightly, not enough to do any damage. "All boys and girls also have to grow up."

He picked her up and started slamming her around. She screamed, "Mikey! Help me!"

Mikey was angry. He had never been so angry before, so furious that his vision turned red.

Then Shredder took out a blade, and was about to start slicing her up when a chain popped.

He turned and saw Mikey, struggling to free himself of the chains.

Mikey went crazy when he saw the sword make contact with Sora's body.

He began pulling as hard as he could on the chains, ignoring the screaming agony that arose from everywhere.

A chain link popped, then another, and then another.

As soon as he had one arm free, the other went too. Using his anger to fuel him, Mikey tore his leg from one chain, not noticing how it tore into his leg, making it bleed.

Forgetting that his other leg was broken, he put a massive amount of force into breaking the chain. It snapped, and Mikey rose from the ground.

He walked backwards, and disappeared into the shadows.

Shredder watched them carefully. "Where did you go, little turtle?"

"Right here!" Mikey came out of the shadows, landing a kick to Shredder's ribs, before snatching the little girl and spiriting her away.

That wasn't the end of it. Both of them knew it wasn't.

Shredder heard a noise beside him. He turned, punching into thin air.

A laugh came from the opposite direction. He felt a punch land on the back of his neck, and he stumbled.

He quickly recovered, and swung into thin air on that direction.

Nothing.

He heard something in the ceiling right by his head.

Shredder looked forward and realized he'd been lured into a corner.

As he realized that, a brutal kick to his head sent him flying to the patch of light.

This time, he didn't even get up before Mikey was on him.

He was pummeled by two fists, pounding into his flesh.

As he was sure the final blow was about to come, they suddenly stopped.

Shredder looked up.

Mikey was above him, eyes distant, but brimming with hatred.

Then those eyes focused on him.

Mikey held Shredder's own sword next to his throat.

"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, hurt a child again, or else I will come to take you down. And next time, you won't be alive when I leave."

Shredder shut his eyes when he felt the sharp metal biting into the soft flesh of his throat.

Then, it was gone.

He opened his eyes to discover that Mikey, the girl, and his sword were gone.

He was chained up, and, in true Mikey fashion, was stripped of his pants, revealing his boxers.

In his mouth was a gag made out of cloth from the clothing of previous victims.

In front of him was a tree branch. A leaf was sprouting from it.

Later on, when he was rescued, he would see something scratched into his helmet; 'Don't Forget'.

In the meantime, he hung there and hoped that he payed his guards well enough for them to check up on the prisoners once in a while.

Hey, guys! So, this is one of my major chapters. I hope you like, and as always, please review!

~EmberAmberFirdaus~