Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything associated. I just own the furball with an attitude.

Unshed Regrets

A/N: Just for the record, I really wasn't going to post this. But since it kinda ties into Journey's End, I decided to throw it in. I have to say though, this is positively one of the shortest and most depressing things that I've ever written in my life. I shouldn't be too surprised I suppose, since I was feeling like total scum when I wrote this. So please, if I made it seem a little too angsty, I had my reasons.

When I try hard, I can remember a far off time when my life was happy. I was with people who loved me and tried to protect me from the evils of the world. They tried to make sure that I remained innocent and oblivious to everything but the goals and dreams that made me happy.

Being the naïve child that I was, I accepted this treatment without question. How could I not? That had been the only was of life that I had ever known and it never occurred to me that things could be any different.

Time changed that as the years went by and I gained new experiences outside the guidance of those that sought to protect me. These experiences opened my eyes to how the world really worked. It wasn't the unusual but somewhat safe place that my elders had led me to believe. The world was a deadly arena where one has to fight for their survival in more ways than one.

No one wanted me to fight like they did, even when I began to understand how the world really worked. They thought that I was too young to handle the stress and strain of the situations that were often faced by those older than me. Nothing that I said ever changed that and they would always force me to stay behind whenever challenges had to be met.

For awhile, even if I fumed and pouted, I dealt with this as best I could. I stayed behind like I was told and waited for everyone else to handle the major problems. But eventually, even this became too much for me. And then, despite what everyone told me, I acted in the way that I thought best.

Acting on my own more than once got me into trouble. I would get lectured and scolded by my elders, punished in some form or fashion. Again, I dealt with what came my way and then moved onto what happened next.

Yet, even that has its limits. A time came when I couldn't take this anymore. I acted on my own again and it's that that has landed me where I am now. I am no longer with people who shield me from the hurts of life. I am no longer with people who love me and will offer me comfort when I am in pain.

I now sit alone, whimpering and aching with a pain that covers my body and runs deep into my soul. I would cry, but my tears are long since dry. I can do nothing now but sit here, waiting for when more pain comes and I am driven even further from the comfort that is lost to me.

If I could cry however, I would scream out for the loved ones that I left behind. I would beg them to come and save me from this hell that I've let myself be trapped in. Plead with them to take me back, to let me apologize for the pain that they suffered because of me, to just let me be with them again.

All naïve and wasted wishful thinking. Where I am, they can't hear me. I'm too far-gone for anyone to hear me no matter how loud I cry. Still, in my dreams or memories, whatever they are, I cling to the comfort that was once mine for the taking and I cry for it. I cry.

A/N: *sigh* Again, I wrote this when I was depressed. It's supposed to be when Maggie ran away and then ended up being trapped in a cell in a Dimension X prison. She's crying for her family to come and rescue her, even though she knows that they can't come for her. I hope that this was at least good enough that no one's gonna flame me for taking my sorrows out on
Maggie. Either way, thanks for reading and I'll see everyone later.