Chapter 6

Unknowing of his older brothers' torment, Michelangelo managed to sleep through the night. He was woken up by Jax the next morning and given some breakfast.

"There are a few rules we must establish since you're going to be staying under my supervision for a while," Jax explained as Michelangelo scarfed down his breakfast. "The first and most important will be trust. Neither one of us trusts one another completely, but it's going to be important since we're working together. The second rule is that if you're ever uncomfortable with anything, you'll have to let me know. We'll work on your training gradually so you will learn how to get used to it. But nonetheless, whatever work we do at prison, it must be done."

"I have a question," Mikey asked as he swallowed what looked like eggs to him. "Do I have to still wear this mark?" He pointed to the band mark on his forearm. "I mean, if I'm going to be your assistant, then I shouldn't have a need to wear it anymore."

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about it," Jax shook his head. "You're still a prisoner on this planet. Even if I could, I wouldn't release you of the band. It's illegal for anyone to free their prisoners, slaves, or pets from a prison mark unless they receive special permission. Getting permission is difficult and could take months, and most of the time the request is denied."

Mikey frowned. He'll just have to be stuck as a prisoner for a while. Jax noticed his disappointment and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. As long as we both work together, everything will become easier." He then went to the shelf and took down the chains. Mikey tensed and began stepping away.

"And what do you plan to do with those?"

"I can't let you walk around freely, remember? As long as we go out in public you'll have to wear these. It's the law. For now, Let's get you used to wearing them."

Mikey turned away, not wanting to let the Triceraton chain him again.

"Let's just take this slowly, okay?" Jax tried to reason gently with him. Mikey kicked him away.

"I won't let you put those on me!"

Jax frowned, but he put the chains down. "Okay, we'll work on that later."

He bent his arm towards Mikey and the Turtle held up his hands for defense. He turned away again and flinched as he felt Jax put his hand on his head.

"It's okay," Jax assured him. "I'm only touching you. I promised I wasn't going to hurt you, didn't I?"

Mikey dared to open his eyes. It's true that Jax was trying not to startle or scare him, but the Turtle was far from ready to trust the Triceraton completely.

"What about my bros? What have you done to them?"

"I haven't done anything to your brothers," Jax told him truthfully. "They're still in the prison."

"I want to see them!"

"I can't allow that."

"Why not?" Mikey glared.

"If you wish to see your brothers again, then I will have to try and arrange a meeting. I'll have to get permission from their assigned commanders. It can be hard to arrange because of scheduling a proper time that could not disrupt their work," Jax explained. Mikey turned away again, pushing the Triceraton away.

"Get away from me! If you want to kill me, then why don't you go ahead and do it?"

"I have no intention of killing you," Jax tried to assure him again. Mikey curled up in a corner and held his head.

"I said leave me alone!"

Jax hesitated before nodding and standing up. "Alright. You need some time. I get it. We'll try again later."

"I'm never going to listen to you!" Mikey denied.

"I know that's how you may feel now, but like it or not we're stuck together." Jax turned and left the cellar. Mikey waited a few minutes to make sure Jax had left him before standing and began pacing the room. He couldn't relax, not until he knew his brothers were okay. Jax can try all he wants, but there was no way Mikey was going to bend to his will! Jax was still a Triceraton after all. Even if he seemed nice on the surface, Mikey still didn't trust him.

He felt his foot brush against something cold and hard. He looked down and noticed the chains. He kicked them away with an angry shout. He ran up the stairs and tried breaking the door down, but to no avail. He was going crazy! He had to get out!

Jax was looking over the file Erkon had given him the night before. The report was written by the supreme leader Zanramon himself. Zanramon had certainly painted a gruesome picture of the Turtles based on his own experience with them, but it made Jax wonder if it was all really true. Surely the Turtles had their own side to the story as well.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard banging somewhere. It sounded as if it was coming from beneath his feet.

"What the..?" Jax questioned. Somehow he felt he should check on the Turtle.

He went to the cellar and took out the key. As he opened the door, Michelangelo pushed against it in desperation to get out. Jax managed to keep Mikey inside before the Turtle had a chance to escape.

"Settle down!" Jax tried to tell him. Michelangelo didn't listen and struggled to get out of the dinosaur's grip. Jax brought Mikey back down the stairs and tried pinning him to the wall to safely secure him.

"I said calm down!"

Michelangelo kicked at the Triceraton with a yell and managed to make the larger creature stagger. Mikey wiggled out of his grip and punched Jax in the face. Jax grabbed the Turtle's wrist.

"Michelangelo!"

The Turtle hesitated and it gave Jax enough time to get his bearings together.

"That is your name, isn't it? Michelangelo?"

Mikey pulled his hand away and kicked the dinosaur off balance before the larger creature could react. He turned to make an exit for the door, but Jax quickly got to his feet and grabbed Mikey around the waist. He pinned the Turtle to the floor.

"Alright then. It appears I have no choice." He reached into a box and took out something with a needle. Mikey shrieked and desperately tried to free himself from Jax.

"I'm sorry," Jax told him with pity as he tried to sush him. "This is the only thing I can think of that will help to calm you down."

He injected the needle into the Turtle's neck and Mikey felt his body getting numb and heavier. Jax let him go after a moment when he noticed the Turtle starting to calm down and stood up.

"Just try to relax. We'll talk once you wake up."

Mikey felt the world around him fade away and he soon drifted to a peaceful sleep.

When Mikey regained his consciousness, he found himself laying on the mattress. He was confused at first and couldn't remember what had happened before. He felt someone touch his shoulder.

"Are you alright now?" a voice asked him. Mikey blinked a few times before he could focus on the voice. He looked up and realized that Jax was kneeling beside him.

Mikey began to tense up again, but Jax gestured for him to calm down.

"Take it easy," he told the Turtle quietly. "You're okay."

Mikey waved him away and curled up in the corner with his back facing the Triceraton. Jax continued. "I'm sorry for what I did, but it was the only thing I could think of to do. You've could have hurt yourself and didn't appear to be thinking clearly."

Mikey gave him no response and Jax stood up. He sighed and rested his hands on his hips.

"Look, I'll leave if you want me to. But I'm not going to let you leave my property either. If you go out there alone someone might see you and kill you. Is that really what you want? You may think you know what it's like here, but everything you may think you know about us Triceratons is wrong."

"Just leave me alone. I want to go back home, to Earth. I want my bros back," Mikey spoke in a voice Jax almost couldn't hear.

"Fine," Jax nodded as he turned to leave. "But remember this; I'm the only one you can depend on here. You want to stay alive? I'm the best chance you've got."

"Even if I can't get out here by myself," Mikey said a little louder. "My bros will come for me."

Jax frowned, a look of annoyance crossing his face. It gave Mikey a little satisfaction. He managed a grin.

"What? Finally getting on your nerves?"

Jax snorted and Mikey could see the familiar look a of anger he had seen on other Triceratons. He expected Jax to raise his fists and prove to Mikey once and for all that Triceratons could not be trusted. But the creature did nothing.

"One day, you'll understand."

"Understand what?" Mikey asked with a glare. Jax turned from him and marched up the stairs.

"That there are some things in life that cannot be changed."

Then he shut the door.

Jax stood quietly for a while outside the door. He looked up in the morning sky and sighed. He rubbed his temple.

"What are you doing, Jax?" he questioned himself. "You almost lost your temper. He's just a kid."

His anger melted away from his eyes and was replaced by sadness. "He doesn't understand that sometimes it's best to give up hope. He'll learn that one day...eventually."

He shook his head and took out the file containing the report again, staring at it in silence. "What have I gotten myself into?"

That's the end of chapter 6! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Please don't hesitated to leave a comment and let me know what you think.