Two chapters anniversary! :D Man, times flies when you're having fun. It's officially the 7th of June, which means it's my one year's anniversary. I just wanted to thank all of you who has followed me so far, reviewed my stories and read my stories. You guys mean the world to me and writing wouldn't be as fun without you guys (How to make a message too corny xD) But seriously, thank you all so much!
I stared, for a long time this seemed to be the only thing I was able to do, stare at Donnie's arm. A moon-like shape was imbedded on his arm, not breaking the skin but leaving a mark nevertheless. There was no doubt, Mikey had bit him. And yet I just couldn't believe it. Even though the evidence was right in front of me, I couldn't believe he would do such a thing. Why would be bite Donnie? Mikey seemed fine when Don carried him outside the infirmary. His legs and arms were all wrapped up again and the blood had been washed away.
I swallowed and took my eyes off of Donnie's arm, slowly trailing towards my little brother. His head was casted downwards and he was looking down with tears streaming down his face. I sighed at the sight, trying to keep my own tears at bay. I said we'd fix this, I said everything was going to be alright but only seeing the mark on Donnie's arm made me realize we were far from okay. We couldn't fix this like a broken bone or a dislocated shoulder.
I shifted slightly and wrapped my arms around my younger brother, pressing him closer to my body. This couldn't be fixed, Mikey couldn't be fixed. He was too far gone to be 'fixed'. They made him into an animal. I don't know how they managed but they did, and they were going to pay for it. We still don't know what happened in that lab, we have no clue other than the physical wounds on his body that would always leave huge scars, but we had no idea about his emotional scars.
We knew they ran deep, they changed him completely. The happy and carefree little brother we used to know was gone. He was far gone, too far gone to be 'fixed' but I wasn't giving up hope just yet, and neither were the others, we just couldn't. We just couldn't give up on Mikey, not when that certain act made Mikey into this. None of us would stop until Mikey was back again, even if it would take years to do so.
"We'll figure this out Don, we'll fix him eventually" I stated, and even when those words left I could feel a part of my heart fading away. He was far gone, too far gone to be 'fixed', it didn't matter. They just had to believe. Mikey could be cured, we just had to believe and be there for him the best we could. Using my thumbs I wiped the remaining tears off of Don's face and gave him a reassuring smile, but even without seeing it I knew it wasn't reaching my ears.
"I just want my little brother back, I hate seeing him upset but this… this is something else" He proclaimed and despite all my efforts new tears were streaming down his face again. I sighed sadly, taking his arm to rewrap the bandage.
"He needs time Don, and so do we. We just have to be careful with him, he has come a long way already. Remember when he didn't want to talk at all?" I started, wincing at the painful experience. "He got over that as well, he'll be okay in time" I just hoped my voice was confident enough and Don believed my lie, or wouldn't notice me lying because I wasn't believing it. It didn't matter, as long as he believed it. He didn't need to worry, that wasn't his job.
It was mine.
I pulled out of the hug with a frown casted on my face when I heard hurried footsteps nearing us. I recognized them immediately. Sensei was already silent as the wind, and nobody could ever sense or hear him coming, Mikey could be silent when he needed to be but mostly chose not to be, and considering he was still on crutches it could only be one person, Raph. I instantly knew his footsteps but what worried me were his panicked breaths.
"Leo, Don!" He yelled before even entering the dojo, I quickly jumped up, immediately alerted by the panicked sounds of my younger brothers. I wanted to open my mouth to ask him something, I didn't even know the reason why Raph had freaked out like this but I had this feeling it wasn't good. He was breathing heavily and his face was flushed, like he had just seen a ghost or something. And only one thing came to my mind, Mikey. But before I could say anything Raph had opened his mouth already.
"April's in trouble guys, we gotta help her" Raph called out, worry covering his whole face. I felt so bad at the moment, at first I felt so relieved it wasn't something with Mikey, I don't think either of us could've been able to handle that. I felt relieved, that is until I realized what the consequence Mikey's well-being had, April's safety.
"Slow down Raph, what happened?" Donnie called out before I could even react.
And yet Donnie was far from calm. He was upset, he couldn't hide that, tears were still lingering on his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot. But it wasn't the sadness that was now on his face, it was confusion, worry. He was obviously worrying for April, one of the human friends they had, one of the best friends they had. The girl who had been with them over a year, the one who saved Mikey from that hell-hole.
"April called ma.. those guys were back again and... April was hidin' in her closet and then she screamed... and then nothing" he breathed out, trying to catch his breath. "We gotta help her guys. It were those guys that captured Mi-" He stopped, he just stopped mid-sentence, and only when he did I recognized the small figure standing behind Raph.
The red-banded turtle stiffened when Mikey neared him and it was clear he had sensed him long ago. Mikey just stood there, balancing on his crutches with all his might to stay on his trembling legs. Silent tears were streaming down his face but his face was filled with determination. He knows, just the look on his face tells me he knows about April already.
"I know about them Raphie.. don't hide it from me" He whispers. My face hardens and I curse inwards. Of course Mikey knew, he was still a ninja of course. But this wasn't the time to think about that, If Raph was telling the truth we had to move right now. It was my job, I was their leader.
"Don, get the shellraiser ready, Raph get Mikey to Master Splinter and meet us at the shellraiser, I'll grab our weapons" I said, leaving no place for them to argue. I always hated using that voice, I hated commanding my brothers. But it was necessary right now, April needed us right now, we needed to move fast.
The trip was nerve-wracking. I was driving as usual but unlike all the other times I was completely ignoring every streetlight and ignoring every traffic rules. The only thing that mattered was getting to April as fast as possible. She was our friend, she counted on us right now. And in a way, we were the ones responsible for her mess.
We didn't need any talking to know what we were supposed to do. Some simple hand movements were enough for them to understand. My sea blue eyes, as Mikey often described them, fully disappeared and were replaced by my white ones, my face set with concentration. From the corner of my eyes I saw my two younger brothers doing the same thing, their eyes being replaced by white ones and them grabbing their weapons.
The shellraiser was parked in the alley next to April's house and all three of us took off. Donnie left, Raph right and me in the middle. I was mostly the master in keeping my emotions in control, unless Raph was bugging me again, but mostly I had my temper under control, especially in these scenarios. Stealth and silence were very important in these situations, baiting your enemy and stick to the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
That changed however when I reached the first floor of April's apartment. My blue eyes overpowered again and they widened. I cringed slightly but at the same time I could feel anger bubbling up inside of me. In the middle of the room was April, her hands tied behind her back and three armed men standing around her with guns in their hands. One of them was actually pointing it at her while the other two were looking around, probably waiting for us, or Mikey.
I gritted my teeth, they weren't going to take away April as well. Not when I was around, this time I wouldn't fail my family. I didn't even think twice and before I knew my shoulder was going straight through the window. Glass flew everywhere and immediately three pair of guns fixed on me. My eyes narrowed and once again my white ones took over while I charged at the three men.
Three guns weren't even close to stopping me. I could feel the bullets passing me but not even one hit me, not even close. The only thing that was preventing me from killing them was the decision we'd made back at April's house, letting Mikey confront with these people again. That was the only thing that would keep them alive, for now.
"I'm warning you, if you hurt my family again you won't be as lucky as you're now" I hissed, my voice coming dangerously close to Mikey's. I was hissing at them, the same sounds my little brother was producing when he was scared or threatened but at the same time it didn't even come close to the hissing of my baby brother. Two of the three had already fled but one was still standing in front of the open window, ready to jump. I pointed my sword at him, but he merely snickered, and yet a determined look on his face.
"We won't stop until we have him back. We'll wait until we can cut him open again" The man snickered, he was trying to get to us, I knew he was. I tried to block him out but I could feel rage bubbling up inside of me. He had captured Mikey for a year, he had hurt him and turned him into a terrified animal, he had hurt April in the hope of getting Mikey back, and he thought all of this was just a joke. He enjoyed cutting open my little brother. I wasn't even bothering to stop my raising anger.
"You fucker!" An angry voice screamed next to me and without even looking I could tell who it was, Raph. A sai came flying towards the snickering man but before it could hit its target the man was gone, his laugh echoing through the room. The sai hit the wall due to the angle and Raph angrily walked over to his fallen weapon, picking it up with anger clearly written all over his face.
He put his sai back in his belt and looked out of the window, a snarl on his face. He was pissed, I could see that but at the same time there was something else. I growled in annoyance and turned back to April. She was looking at me with big eyes while Donnie was undoing her restraints. And even when her arms were freed and Donnie helped her up, she kept staring at me, fear clearly present in her eyes.
I sighed miserably and walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her and bringing her closer to my plastron. I smiled softly when she returned the embrace, wrapping her tiny arms around my shell, though she could hardly reach my shell at all. She eventually released me and I looked at her with worry in my eyes.
"I'm okay Leo, they just scared me that's all" I let out a dry laugh, was I that easy to read? I frowned however when I noticed her wrists. There were red marks around her wrists were the ropes had bitten into her skin. I gently reached for the wrists and exanimated them up-close. My fingers ghosted along the marks and I closely studied her reaction, she stiffened slightly but didn't seem to be in pain.
"Those creeps will come back eventually, we have to get April to the lair" Donnie stated, exanimating April's wounds as well but calming down once he saw they weren't that bad. I nodded to him and handed April over to Donnie, the red haired teen was still a bit dazzled by the attack and slightly leaned on Donnie. My second youngest brother looked over to me and gestured to the window, and much to my confusion Raph was still standing in front of the window, where the man had been just minutes ago.
"Get April home, we'll walk home" I mouthed towards Don and he gave me a simple nod before taking April with her. "Raph" I said softly as I turned towards him. My immediate younger brother stiffened slightly but didn't react or turn around. He didn't even acknowledge me consciously. I walked over to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, worry on my face.
"They enjoyed it" He spat out, still not looking at me or really acknowledging me. And to my surprise I saw tears burning in his eyes.
"They enjoyed cuttin' him open, ya saw the look on his face. He thinks it's a fuckin' game" Tears started to roll down his face, slowly and torturously. And for once he didn't care about me seeing him cry, it wasn't often when he was like this. He mostly hid his emotions from us, covering it up with his anger. The last time I'd seen him cry was the night we discovered Mikey was still alive. And even then he didn't cry as much as he was now. And yet he wasn't sad, he was angry with those fuckers who dared to hurt our baby brother.
And only then it dawned on me, Mikey was getting to him as well, just as Mikey was getting to Don. My immediate little brother was breaking down in front of me because of everything that happened in the last few days, and I hadn't even noticed. Mikey's death has been so hard, probably the hardest thing we had to go through, until now. The shame of realizing we had left him for a year, the confrontation every day we saw him, the tiny improvement in the last few days, and the knowledge that he'll never be the same again.
Donnie and Raph were already breaking under the pressure, I wondered how long it would take for me to crumble. No, I couldn't think like that. I had to be strong. I should be there for my brothers. I couldn't put myself first, I had to look after my brothers first. They were allowed to because they were my little brothers, it was my job to look after them, I couldn't afford to break down like this. I was their leader, their big brother. It was my job.
"They'll pay Raph, we'll make sure they do. And we'll cure Mikey" And again a part of my heart faded away with my lie. I felt sick even saying those words, I hated lying to my brothers. And I felt sick for doubting myself. I wanted nothing more than to believe Mikey would get better, but the emotional state he was in… he was too far gone to be 'fixed'. He would always be haunted because I sent him away that night. My fault.
"Damn right, they'll all pay for what they've done ta Mikey" Raph growled, angrily wiping his tears away. "They know where April lives Leo, it ain't safe to let them live any longer, you know that" He suddenly states, finally directly speaking to me for the first time during the conversation.
"I know Raph, it's just… I believe it'll be better to take Mike with us.. if he's up to it." I softly said, wincing when Raph suddenly turned around with an angry expression on his face. He wasn't angry, just fully at least, he was trying to hold back.
"I get ya Leo, I really do but think about April! They want Mikey back and they know April's address, her dad, her friends, Casey, everything! We're fuckin' mutant turtles, we are the only 4 of our kind, they won't stop until they have him back, including us." Raph hissed. I sighed, it was true, we were the only four of our species. Dad pointed it out numerous times when we grew up. We couldn't show ourselves to the humans, in fear that we would be captured.
He told us many times about the things that could happen to us, cruel some may say but in a way it had also prevented Raph from going topside, and possibly getting himself captured. Raph had always been the stubborn one and ones he'd found out about 'humans' he wanted nothing more than to explore the surface, despite dad's obvious rules about not being allowed to the surface. Dad had caught him near a manhole cover one time, almost reaching the surface. That's when dad told all of us, about all the things they'd do to us.
We were still young and grew scared of the surface. Well we weren't scared, just not interested anymore. When we grew older that changed however, we were able to protect ourselves and like any other teenager we wanted to explore new things, go against all the rules. But we never went topside without dad's permission. It's also one of the reasons Raph works out so much, he wants to be strong enough to protect us from all those evil humans dad has told us about.
No wonder this whole thing is bugging Raph like this. He felt like he had failed, everything he had trained for was a waste. He couldn't protect Mikey from the humans on the surface while he had trained for it for years, he failed. That's what he thought at least. None of us blamed him, not even Mikey. And it wasn't his job, it was mine.
"I'll talk to Mikey once we get back home, okay?" I knew why Raph was like this, I understood why he was acting like this, he wanted to protect April but I couldn't agree with him just yet, I talked about it with Don and he too thought it'd be a good idea, if Mikey was up to it that is. But at the same time we couldn't wait for Mikey to agree, Raph was right. April would be in danger if we let them live, only for the possibility of helping Mikey a little bit, we'd risk too much. We had to go tonight. With or without Mikey.
When I walked into the dojo I was surprised to see both Sensei and Mikey meditating. Our energetic brother never liked meditation, he could never sit still but right now he almost seemed death. The only thing keeping me from rushing towards him was the steady rise of his plastron. His eyes were closed and he seemed peaceful, like nothing had happened. That was until you travelled to his limbs. His arms were wrapped up from his upper arm till his wrists. And his legs were covered from his knees till his ankles. And underneath those were the horrifying scars that would almost remind us, would always remind him.
"Sensei, Mikey?" I asked softly, not wanting to startle my little brother. Father cracked an eye open, looking over to me before shutting his eyes again. I frowned slightly, what was he doing? But my question was answered when Mikey suddenly opened his eyes as well. Dad was helping him to the physical world again, and as soon as Mikey opened his eyes, dad did as well. Looking over to me for a second before turning towards Mikey.
"You were doing great Michelangelo, we'll resume this tomorrow" Splinter said in a kind voice and handed Mikey his crutches. I walked over to him and helped Mikey with getting up since he was still injured. Occasional hisses left his mouth but for once they weren't meant to threaten us. It were his wounds that were bothering him, and causing him pain. Once he was finally standing up I decided to open my mouth.
"April's safe in the lair, but we need to discuss something very important" I said, looking at both Mikey and dad. My little brother let out a soft whimper and crept a little closer to dad, who wrapped a comforting arm around him. I took a deep breath, it wasn't personal, Mikey was just taken back by the urgency in my voice. He understood what I was referring to.
Dad nodded to me and looked down at Mikey. The blue eyes turtle nodded numbly and followed dad out of the dojo. I followed them, keeping my distance from Mikey so he wouldn't feel threatened. I knew he wasn't afraid of me, just the thing we were going to discuss. He knew it was going to be about him, and he was right. It was about the things that happened to him, or the people who did those things to him.
When we left the dojo, four pair of eyes landed on us. April was sitting on the couch next to Donnie, her wrists wrapped up slightly so she wouldn't irritate them. The burns weren't bad and Don already treated them. She just needed to wear the bandages for a day just to make sure that the cream would do its work. Casey was sitting on a bean bag chair and Raph was sitting on another couch.
I kept my face straight as I walked over to Raph and sitting down next to him. Dad helped Mikey sitting down on the couch and I winced as Mikey let out a hiss in pain. Even after all this time his wounds were still bothering him. Which wasn't very surprising since they were huge but it still wasn't pleasant to see him in pain every time he made a wrong move.
"Mikey.. this is going to be very hard and you have to completely honest okay?" Don suddenly started, keeping his voice low not to freak Mikey out. Everyone looked at the injured turtle and it was clear he was starting to get uncomfortable. He once again crept closer to dad and reached out to him. Eventually he nodded, looking up to Donnie.
"The people who hurt you are now after April, they know she rescued you" Donnie started hesitantly, he really didn't want to freak Mikey out but he had to say it. Shock was clearly present on Mikey's face, fear, but at the same time concern as his eyes switched to April. Tears welled up in his eyes as they landed on April's wrists.
"Oh Mikey, don't worry. They didn't hurt me, I just have some slight burns, nothing to worry about" April tried to soothe but it obviously wasn't working and the tears kept coming. "Don't cry Mikey, I swear I'm okay" She softly said and walked over to him, sitting down next to him and presenting one of her wrists to him. She smiled comfortably and gently unwrapped one of her bandages. The marks on her wrist weren't as bad as before and they were healing well. In a few days they would be gone completely.
Mikey shuddered and gently reached out for the wrist. There were still slightly marks on her wrists but they weren't as violent as they were before, and obviously the cream that Don had used was helping the wounds. The injured turtle took a few steady breaths and nodded slightly, letting go of April's wrists.
"It's not bad Mikey but they could do something worse. They can't stay alive if you don't want April to get hurt badly." Donnie continued once he saw Mikey calming down slightly. "We are going to .. well finish the job tonight and we all thought it would.. that it would be a good idea for you to come with us" he finally finished his sentence. A heavy silence surrounded us and we all looked over to Mikey with curious expressions.
Dad wasn't looking very pleased, he knew about our plan and even though he agreed, he wasn't happy with us killing. It went against our honor, we only killed when we really couldn't do anything else. But luckily understood the situation right now, we could do something else but at the same time we couldn't. We couldn't allow to let them live. They could hurt April, Casey or her friends. They wouldn't allow a mutant turtle to walk around freely, they wanted Mikey back.
"You don't have to do it Mikey, only if you want to but we believe it'll be good for you to see the ones that hurt you defenseless" I tried to explain but my explanation made Mikey only frown even more. Raph sighed and placed a soft hand on my shoulder, like I had done with him back at April's house. I sighed and closed my mouth, just looking over to Mikey.
Mikey sniffled slightly and wiped his tears from his face, looking up to me. Determination making its way on his face.
"I will go with you"