Chapter 7: I remember...

The three turtle tots peeked out of their room and saw their 'older' brother watching television. Despite all Mikey's warnings, they were still curious about the surface. No one will notice if they went topside for a few minutes, right?

Leo was against the idea at first. He didn't want to get in trouble with Mikey or Master Splinter. "We shouldn't do this, guys," he whispered. "What if we get in trouble?"

"Big brother's busy with the TV, he's not going to notice," Raph told him. "Come on."

He sneaked past the kitchen and kept an eye on the older turtle, who's back was to him on the sofa. Mikey was too engrossed in the TV and scarfing down ice cream to realize that the tots were sneaking their way out the lair.

Raph made it to the entrance and gestured for Donnie and Leo to follow. Donnie and Leo exchanged glances before carefully sneaking past the unsuspecting turtle. The three tiptoed out the door and into the sewers. They found the nearest manhole cover and climbed to the surface...

A few hours later and Mikey was holding his stomach and trying not to hurl. The quart of ice cream was empty, but his stomach was not happy. The monster movies scared him and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to sleep for a week. Not to mention all that ice cream made him feel worse.

"Ugh...I thought this was 'future Mikey's' problem, but I guess I AM 'future Mikey' now..."

"I told you those monster movies were not a good idea before bed."

"Huh?" Mkey looked around in confusion. That voice sounded like Donnie, but no one was there. It wasn't in an 'I told you so' tone. Donnie's voice had sounded like he felt bad for Mikey.

"Hey, Donnie?" Mikey asked the empty lair. "If you're here, then can you please give me some medicine or something? My stomach hurts."

He blinked and looked around. He was alone and he didn't hear the voice anymore. Maybe he was just imagining it?

He grabbed a trash can and puked. He felt a little better, but still felt sick and lied on his stomach for a while. His thoughts drifted to his older brothers and he oddly wished they were around. Raph would probably tease him, Leo would probably shake his head and scold him, and Donnie would probably try to comfort Mikey while in pain. Mikey didn't care. For once, he really wished his bros were there with him. Okay, maybe his bros were there in child form, but he wanted his older bros more than anything.

He remembered all the times his brothers were there to support and encourage him. Especially that one time with Leonardo...

It was back in their first lair before Stockman's Mousers destroyed it, and they were all probably about 10 or maybe 11. They were training and his bros all received their weapons. But not Mikey.

He had sat on the sidelines watching Splinter present the weapons to his brothers and their looks of pride as they accepted them.

"Remember, my sons," he had told them. "Your training is still incomplete. It will still be a long time before you have perfected the use of wielding your weapons."

The three older tots cheered and couldn't wait to try out their weapons. Splinter had noticed Mikey's disappointment and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not despair, Michelangelo. You will join your brothers when you pass your ninja skills training. For now, you are not yet ready."

"Yes, sensei," Mikey had nodded, but still looked depressed.

"I will meditate now. But I want you to practice the skills you have learned until I return." With that said, Splinter left Mikey and the tots alone.

Leo had received only one katana blade for the time being, but he was proud to have obtained it. He swung the blade at a sandbag and left and huge cut in the middle. He smiled, but then noticed Mikey walk away to practice in the opposite corner of the lair, shoulders slumped. He had felt thoughtful and decided to check up on Mikey while Donnie and Raph were involved in their own training.

"Hey, Mikey. You okay?" he had asked. Mikey nodded, but didn't turn in his brother's direction.

"I just wish I had my weapon, like you guys."

"Everyone learns at their own pace, Mikey. You'll get your weapon eventually."

"But I don't want to wait for 'eventually'. I want my weapon now!" Mikey huffed and crossed his arms, clearly upset. "It's not fair!"

Leo was thoughtful and had come up with an idea.

"I can help you train, if you want? I'm sure Master Splinter won't mind if I help you in one or two lessons."

"You would do that?" Mikey had asked, this time turning to his brother with hope.

"Of course," Leo had nodded. It had made Mikey smile a bit.

Leo helped Mikey advance in his training whenever Splinter was unable to give Mikey more training time, or if he was busy training Donatello and Raphael. Within a week, Mikey received his nunchuctus from Master Splinter. He had been so proud of himself! His brothers had been overjoyed as well.

"Thanks, Leo," Mikey had smiled. Leo had fist-bumped him.

"I knew you could do it, Mikey!"

Leonardo was the one turtle who praised Mikey even for the little things. He was there to pick him up whenever Mikey felt down. That's one thing Mikey loved about Leo; he was able to work on everyone's level, even if he could be bossy at times.

"I didn't think I would miss Leo THAT much," Mikey mumbled to himself. He was thinking that maybe he shouldn't have lashed out at Leo before changing time. "The last thing I said to him was that I wished I was the older one and that I was going to change my destiny..."

Maybe it was guilt, but his stomach still felt like crap. It didn't feel so bad anymore, but he really wished the pain would go away.

"Gee, I'm starting to wish Donnie was here. He'd know what to do in this situation. He'd come up with a cure in just minutes."

His thoughts drifted to a time when they shortly arrived at their new lair after the Mousers attacked...

Mikey had caught the flu and Splinter forbade him to do any form of training until he recovered. Donatello was examining him and placed a hand on Mikey's forehead.

"You're burning up, Mikey. And you look worse than you did yesterday. You have to stay in bed."

"But it's soooo boring!" Mikey had complained with a stuffy nose.

"I know," Donnie had told him with a small smile. "But you won't get better if you don't rest."

He had began to rub the cloth over Mikey's forehead when a thought came to him. "I'll be right back. I have an idea!"

Mikey had decided to pull the covers over himself and lie quietly. His body was aching with pain and his head hurt. The medicine Donnie had given him earlier didn't appear to be helping, even though Donnie had promised it would.

"I'm back!" Donnie announced as he entered the room. Mikey only moaned in response.

"Is that anyway to welcome your cure?" Donnie chuckled. Mikey pulled the covers down to see what Donnie was talking about and managed a small grin, despite the pain. Donnie was holding a book, but it wasn't just any book. The Turtle recognized the dark green colored surface.

"That's the Lone Turtle, isn't it? I haven't read that story in years!"

"I found it in storage a few days ago. Remember when we begged Master Splinter to read it to us every night?" Donnie asked, sitting on the bed beside Mikey. "Then when I learned to read, I'd read it to everyone by flashlight?"

"Yeah, I remember," Mikey managed a weak nod. "He was our favorite hero."

"I was thinking about reading it to you again, if that's okay?"

An old favorite sounded good to Mikey. Donnie lied down beside him, letting Mikey rest on his shoulder. The story was about a turtle who lived alone, hence the name. But he wasn't just any turtle, he lived in the swamp fighting creatures from outer space and was given supper powers. It sounds like a story from the comics, but the Turtles once believed the Lone Turtle was real when they were younger. The Lone Turtle was kinda like a role model to them and encourage them to study ninjutsu and fight crime. Although Master Splinter played a big part in their training and development, a lot of their early years was inspired by this book. Donnie had always come up with different voices for each character and this time he had not disappoint Mikey. Mikey laughed at Donnie's corny voices and the story was aimed for younger generations, but it still brought a warm and happy feeling to their hearts to read such a story again.

"Why am I thinking about them so much right now?" Mikey questioned himself. "I'm still mad at them." His thoughts drifted to Raphael and he frowned again. If anyone would be glad for Mikey to be gone, it would be him. Raph always did curse about his life being ruined by having Mikey as a younger brother. Raph always said rude and nasty things to Mikey when he was angry, but there were times Raph wasn't so bad. If fact, whenever Mikey was in a pinch Raph was there to get him out of trouble. He may be the brother who picks on him the most, but if someone hurt Mikey, Raph was mad enough to 'murder' whomever was responsible. Maybe Raph wasn't trying to be mean half the time, maybe he was only trying to encourage Mikey to stand up for himself?

Mikey's chest ached. He wasn't sure if it was still from having indigestion, or if he really missed his brothers.