Rating: T for occasional language. Also see other warnings.
Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.
Summary: Bradford has always blamed Michelangelo for his misfortunes and especially for his mutation so when he manages to capture the young ninja, he's going to make sure he knows exactly what it's like. 2k12 AU.
Warning: Warnings for physical and mental torture in this story abound, as well as for implied and highly disturbing situations. Trigger warnings may apply for some chapters. There will not however, be gruesome details. Some things are best left up to the imagination. Some language applies to this chapter also.
Concrit, thoughts and comments always welcomed.
Minnie1015: Well, good thing that wasn't the real Christmas present. I made sure to post then so I didn't leave you guys on that cliffie on the day itself XD This chapter's the real present, haha but that said, it wouldn't be one of my chapters without a cliffhanger of some sort. Still, it shouldn't be as bad as the last one XD
Merry Christmas! Whether you celebrate Christmas, something else or nothing at all at this time, have a wonderful day and stay safe and well!
How Much is that Turtle in the Window
ch 16
To his horror, Mikey was dragged to another shipping container, set up much like the one he'd traversed the ocean to Japan in. The difference was that this one was already hot as hell from the sweltering Japanese summer. Too terrified to enter, he hesitated at the doorway so Bradford kicked him inside, not caring about the way he helplessly slammed head and shoulder first into the back of the container from the powerful kick.
As Mikey groaned noiselessly, Bradford clipped the end of the leash to the wall and roughly grabbed his head, fixing the muzzle back in place far too tightly as always.
[Damn mongrel!] Bradford spat furiously, [Do you have any idea how much trouble you've fucking caused me?]
Shaking and unable to answer, Mikey stared up at his tormentor in terror.
[The evening you were dognapped, fucking Hakuba gave Master Shredder a report about you, telling him how well your training was going. Now Master Shredder demands you returned to him as a living trophy...]
Mikey shook his head rapidly in fear and Bradford picked him up, slamming him into the corrugated wall once more before dropping him painfully to the ground with his chin slamming down onto his metal paw. Mikey moaned silently in agony, fighting to stay conscious as Bradford continued to viciously kick him.
[... but you had been stolen!] Bradford roared in fury, spittle flying and hitting him in the face, making him flinch in disgust. [And you willingly chose to go with them!]
'Please...' Mikey cringed, blinking up with desperate, bleary eyes.
[You might be cowering like the whipped dog you are right now but being with them obviously put some fight back into you so I'm going enjoy beating it out of you once more!] Bradford snarled. [After all, we can't have Master Shredder seeing any kind of fight left in you when you are handed back over to him since he wants you 'cowed and obedient'!]
At that moment, the sea container suddenly jolted as a crane hooked onto it, lifting it into the air. Between his ringing ears and aching body, Mikey lost what little balance he had, while Dogpound easily held his ground with only a giant paw lightly against the wall for stability.
Time passed before the container settled in its new position and they heard the sound of the hook being detached. That was when the monstrous dog mutant pushed Mikey to his plastron, stepping on him as he forced the leg braces onto him once more.
[Get to your feet, you damn mongrel!] Bradford spat the moment he finally stepped away from Mikey.
Shaking in pain and fear, Mikey struggled to his hands and knees, swaying dangerously in place as his body threatened to keel over and dump him on the ground. He stood there panting, head hanging as he looked down at the ground in front of him.
[Get to your corner and stand there.]
What? Mikey risked a glance up in horrified disbelief; he could barely stand as it was and his Alpha wanted him to walk the few yards to get there and then stay on all fours?
[Now, Spot!] Bradford snarled angrily, backhanding him in the head and knocking him hard to the ground yet again.
For a moment, Mikey lay stunned but when Dogpound began to growl in warning, he hurriedly pushed himself up again and vision swimming alarmingly, stumbled drunkenly toward the indicated corner. There he shuffled slowly around to face the rest of the shipping container. While he really didn't want to see Dogpound, it was generally better to keep the monster in sight over not knowing when or where from any sudden attacks were coming.
Dogpound grinned maliciously. [From now on, you only eat, drink and defecate on command. You obey orders immediately, without delay.]
Mikey's eyes flashed wide in horror. Well, it wasn't like he could eat or drink with the muzzle on so tight that he couldn't even prise his jaw open but... but he already needed to go. He glanced over at the sandpit in the other corner with desperation and Dogpound's venomous grin only widened. Well, he'd just have to sneak over when the monster went to sleep and hopefully, it wouldn't be long before that happened.
[If you don't obey orders fast enough, you'll be punished and...] Dogpound paused and then laughed mockingly, [if you openly disobey even once, I'll arrange a new playmate for you who will undergo the same training you've been through.]
Mikey narrowed his eyes. What kind of threat was that? He'd heard his Alpha order his brothers killed... For a moment, the hatred he felt for the former martial arts celebrity waned and tears filled his vision, making the room even more blurry. Then Dogpound continued and hatred filled his soul once more.
[I was thinking perhaps that red-headed human friend of yours. What was her name again?] Dogpound pondered slowly. [May? June? Oh, that's right!] he grinned malignantly down at Mikey. [April! April O'Neil!"]
In his dazed state, Mikey frowned a moment - the name sounded so familiar - and then realisation dawned as he realised. No! He couldn't! She didn't deserve to go through what he had - the beatings, the loss of hands and ability to walk and talk, the humiliation, the... the... abuse... Mikey stared up at Dogpound, silently pleading with him not to touch her.
Bradford guffawed in spiteful delight. [Yes, I see wanting to keep your friend safe will keep you obedient. Can't have Master Shredder finding out your training was broken, after all.]
Mikey hung his head in shame once more.
[And to make sure you don't disobey while I'm asleep, that corner has a camera permanently trained on it,] Bradford leered, pointing up towards it. [I'll review the recording when I wake up to make sure you did as you were told.]
With that, Dogpound shone a spotlight in Mikey's direction, making him squirm uncomfortably from the direct brightness, before pulling a heavy curtain across the middle of the container and separating them.
[Goodnight, Spot,] Bradford mocked as Mikey heard him settle onto his mattress. Then the sweltering shipping container was filled with heavy silence until finally the sound of the monster's rumbling snores filled the air and all Mikey could do was stand there trembling and swaying, feeling sick from the beating and heat and unable to even scream his frustrations, fear, anger and loss to the world.
-:-
As the day progressed, Mikey fought to stay on all fours even when all he wanted to do was give up and allow his body the rest it so desperately needed. More than once, his limbs caved, collapsing beneath him but he immediately struggled back to all fours, eventually using the movement to edge closer to the wall which he leant on for support, head hanging in exhaustion all the while. The snoring stopped and started at random and the occasional muttered complaints about 'interminable heat' and 'damned mongrel' reached his hearing. The ache in his bladder became unbearable and more than once he was tempted to disobey orders and just go, until a barely remembered face framed with red hair swam before his eyes, blues eyes looking pleadingly at him. Tears began to dribble down his face. His nightmare was far from over, in fact, it was just beginning anew now that he'd seen his family again and had the taste of freedom tease him.
Oh god... his father... his father was dead now because of him... and his brothers... well, he didn't know they were dead but there'd been so many ninja converging on them that doubts plagued Mikey's fatigued mind non-stop and he couldn't see any way they could've escaped with their lives. Even if they did somehow survive... he'd been taken from them again and was being transported back to the Shredder. This time he really wouldn't ever see them again.
He hiccuped as a broken sob tore its way from his chest.
How was he supposed to survive the trip back?
What else could the Shredder do to him that his Alpha, Mai, Master Hakuba, Three-Five-Eight and dozens of other Foot hadn't already done to him over and over?
Mikey had no clue and just thinking about it terrified him but he knew deep down that Saki would find something. His father was dead, soon to be a trophy mounted on Shredder's wall, and his brothers probably were too. That meant there was no one else left to take his vengeance out on but Mikey himself. Dogpound was highly sadistic but he had nothing on the Shredder who blamed his father for everything that had ever gone wrong in his life, even when he himself was always the cause.
He was beyond screwed.
His shaking intensified and his aching shoulders hunched in on themselves. His kennel at the Foot Compound was paradise compared to whatever was to come. At least there he had fresh air and sunlight. The same wouldn't hold true in Shredder's lair, that was for certain.
And his father... he gasped desperately for breath between the sobs.
He couldn't take much more and would have happily given up then and there if he didn't now have April's safety to think of. He had no doubts about Dogpound replacing him if he were to die. After all, with Splinter and probably his brothers dead, he was the only Hamato left. April wasn't a Hamato and while Dogpound and therefore Shredder probably didn't realise she was family regardless of name, they did know she was a close ally and friend. That would leave her as the last tie to the object of Shredder's stupid, unwarranted vengeance. Therefore... to protect her, Mikey had to live... whether he wanted to or not...
Another sob broke free and then pain rippled through him from the shock collar around his neck. Mikey fell, convulsing, to the ground, unable to even draw breath to scream. The shock went on for seemingly a lifetime before finally stopping and he lay there, gasping harshly for breath.
[Get back to your feet, mongrel,] Bradford growled angrily, [or I'll turn on the collar again and I thought you were told to hold on until I gave permission to go!]
Mikey grimaced as he fought to do as his Alpha demanded but all his limbs did was scrabble weakly for purchase in the disgusting puddle under him as they twitched incessantly from the recent shock and previous beating.
"Get up!" Bradford roared in fury.
He tried, he really did but his abused body refused to cooperate.
[Bah! Disgusting animal! Lay there in your own filth, then! I'm going for a walk and you better be back on all fours by the time I return and if I catch you leaning against the fucking wall again, your friend will pay the price!]
Mikey's eyes slid closed as anguish flowed through him. His Alpha was asking too much of him... It seemed that no matter what happened, Dogpound would find a way to bring April into this... seemed to be looking forward to it, in fact, simply because he could see how much doing this to her too would hurt him.
[How does Lady sound for the name of your soon to be mate?] Bradford suddenly mused.
Mikey's eyes snapped open to stare at Dogpound in horror once more at the implications. No! He wouldn't, he'd never do that to her, no matter how much he was hurt... but... but that was the whole point of Dogpound bringing April into this, wasn't it? To hurt him more by hurting her.
[Too grandiose? Maybe,] Bradford laughed raucously, [but what else could be more fitting for a female dog once on the cusp of womanhood as a human? Hmm, I wonder if she'll be able to breed?]
Mikey fought to stand again and made it halfway before his body gave out once more. Bradford simply laughed and then left as the helpless tears flowed from Mikey.
-:-
All too soon, the door to the shipping container began to slowly creak open and Mikey blinked in panic and struggled to all fours, this time thankfully succeeding even if he stood wobbling unsteadily in place. He stared with trepidation towards the door, unable to see anything beyond the glare of the spotlight shining on him.
"Oh my god, it reeks in here!" A horrified voice gasped, choking and spluttering from the stench.
"Shh! Do you want to attract the entire ship to our location?"
"Personally, I'm surprised we didn't already attract attention by the sound of that door opening alone or even the sounds of the fight itself," a third voice muttered petulantly, huffing along with the sound of something heavy being dragged, "and seriously, Raph, I can't believe you're complaining about the smell when we live in the sewers."
Mikey blinked, not even daring to hope. He was probably just hallucinating or dreaming again. Yeah, that was it. The last twenty-four hours had taken their toll on him and he was currently laying unconscious in a puddle of his own waste and dreaming his brothers were still alive and had somehow managed to come for him despite all the odds.
The dragging stopped and the door slowly creaked closed. Then there was silence. Finally...
"Mikey?"
Oh god... please, please, please let this be real...
Mikey whimpered silently as three silhouettes appeared beneath the blinding light. He lifted one heavy paw and reached out towards them, blinking rapidly. Then, the figures rushed towards him and that was the last Mikey knew as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed in exhaustion.
-:-
"How long until he wakes up?"
"I already told you, Raph! I don't know!"
"Calm down, Donnie," Leo soothed gently, "We're all worried about Mikey."
"I-I know, Leo but it's just that you and Raph always expect me to have the answers even when I clearly have no idea!" Donnie blurted in frustration. "Mikey's exhausted! Physically, mentally, emotionally. On top of that, he's been treated abominably! He's been beaten repeatedly and while thankfully none of his injuries are life-threatening and he doesn't appear to have any broken bones, he clearly has a concussion. He also has electrical burns from that shock collar and is suffering from extreme dehydration after being kept in what is essentially a hotbox all day without being able to drink thanks to a damn muzzle that was so tight it cut into his face!"
"Not that that bastard even left him with anything to drink in the first fucking place," Raph muttered darkly.
"Exactly," Donnie replied sounding as though in pain. "So no, I don't know when he's going to wake up."
"I just hope he sleeps long enough for us to dispose of the body," Leo said quietly.
'Eh? Body?' he thought muzzily to himself, far too exhausted and stiff to move. It would have been nice to open his eyes and confirm by sight that his brothers were really here but it was almost as nice just hearing their voices. He only felt bad because they were clearly worried about him and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to let them know he was okay.
"Huh? Why the hell would you hope that?" Raph asked, clearly puzzled and annoyed. By the comment or situation, he had no idea.
"The last thing Mikey needs right now is to be confronted with Bradford's body. Especially after all he's been through at the hands of that monster!"
"Are you serious, Leo? That's exactly why he needs to see the body! Just telling him Dogpound's finally dead isn't going to cut it. Not after what just happened! He needs to see it for himself!" Raph half exploded. He was clearly struggling not to get too loud.
"No, he doesn't," Leo retorted tightly. "You've seen exactly how much that monster has terrorised him! He was so scared of him that he tried to return to him immediately after we first rescued him! The last thing Mikey needs is to see him."
Mikey shifted uncomfortably; why was he on his shell? Seeing the body was for him to decide, not Leo and much as the thought of laying eyes on his Alpha again terrified him, Raph was right, he needed to see his tormentor dead for himself or he wouldn't be able to believe it. Suddenly, he felt a hand resting on his forehead, thumb rubbing away soothingly and he managed to open his eyes, at last, to see Donnie staring down at him worriedly.
"Hey, buddy, how are you feeling?"
Awful. Mikey blinked twice as he struggled to get up.
"Mikey?" "Mikey!" his relieved and worried brothers called, immediately crowding him and making him feel trapped.
"Hang on, let us help you," Donnie murmured gently. He looked over at their brothers and Leo quickly shifted to the other side of Mikey and helped Donnie lift him to a sitting position.
Mikey gazed around the room anxiously. The curtain was drawn again and he was on the opposite side, Dogpound's side, on the mattress. The mattress? His eyes widened in fright as he stared down at it and almost freaking, he looked up to meet Raph's gaze.
"It's okay now, little brother. He's gone this time, really gone, I promise!" Raph quickly reassured, coming and crouching down in front of Mikey with a drawn smile to distract him from his surroundings. "We saw to it ourselves this time."
Mikey blinked twice even as his breathing began to quicken. Not that he didn't trust his bothers but he needed to see, needed to know for one hundred percent! Mikey tried to push forward, determined to get up and look around for himself but Donnie and Leo held him gently but firmly in place.
"I'm sorry, Mikey, but you need to rest," Donnie stated in his 'doctor' tone.
But! Mikey blinked twice. No, he needed to...
But Donnie couldn't see his protests as he was already turning away and reaching out for something. Moments later, he was back, cup in hand. "Here," he offered gently, lifting it to Mikey's mouth, "drink this."
For a moment, Mikey tried to squirm away but he really was extremely thirsty so for once he caved to the help offered and tried to drink greedily from the cup, protesting wordlessly again when Donnie pulled it away all too soon.
"Slowly," Donnie warned sternly. "Take a couple of breaths and then you can have some more."
For the next few minutes, Mikey just drank and breathed before leaning heavily on Donnie, the exhaustion and pain taking over once more.
"It's okay, just rest now, it's over," Donnie reassured softly as he and Leo eased Mikey back down onto the mattress. Mikey frowned. No, there was something important he needed to do but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was. Suddenly, a massive yawn split his aching face and he stopped fighting his brothers, instead caving to the comfort of the sinfully soft mattress and his brothers and before long, he was asleep once more.
-:-
When Mikey woke again, he still ached all over and the splitting headache from earlier was still ever-present but he felt a lot better than he had before. He was still exhausted though and he couldn't help but yawn widely, almost dislocating his jaw in the process.
"Hey, you feeling better, Mikey?"
Mikey sluggishly turned his head to see Raph seated beside him on the ground next to the mattress and blinked once slowly. Then he turned his head the other way to see Donnie asleep beside him and Leo on the other side of Donnie.
Raph smiled tightly. "They were exhausted too so I told them I'd keep watch," he explained quietly as Mikey struggled to sit up without disturbing Donnie. Raph soon reached over to help. "Donnie said to give you more water if you woke again. Think you could drink some?"
'Yes please!' Mikey blinked eagerly, desperate for more of the precious liquid. It was still so hot in here! Though it did at least seem better than it was the day before but maybe that just was because his brothers were here with him.
Raph turned away, fiddling with something for a moment and then Mikey heard the sound of water being poured before his brother turned to him holding a cup and helped him to drink. Mikey felt himself heat up in embarrassment at needing to be helped like a baby but put up with it without argument.
"You should get some more sleep now," Raph murmured when Mikey had finished the cup.
'No,' Mikey blinked. He was still wiped but he wasn't sleepy and anyway, he was fed up with sleeping. All he wanted right now was the company of his brother so he gingerly crawled off the mattress and over to an alarmed Raph, leaning against him.
"Wha-what are you doing?"
Mikey snuggled closer, seeking the comfort and warmth he knew Raph gave so rarely but always in times of great need.
"You... I..." a sigh. "Fine... you can stay for now," Raph groused reluctantly, even as he snaked a strong arm around Mikey and pulled him in closer. Mikey smiled triumphantly, closing his eyes and trying to remember being home, safe in the lair with his family. Trouble was, while he could remember the feeling of home while being held like this, he couldn't actually remember a thing about his home other than that it was in the sewers and that troubled him. Most of his memory had returned in the time since he'd been reunited with his brothers, at least, the memories about them had but he couldn't have told anyone what his bedroom looked like, where the dojo was or even the kitchen which he had some strange protective feeling over. All he could picture when he thought of home was the cold featureless kennel he'd lived in for much of the last year and the horrors of the Foot compound. He twitched anxiously in Raph's hold and snapped his eyes open again, not wanting to remember that place anymore.
"You really should try to sleep more, Mikey, you need rest to heal."
'No!' Mikey urgently blinked up at Raph.
"What do you mean, no? No, you don't need to rest..."
Mikey blinked twice again.
"... or no, you don't want to sleep?"
'Yes,' he blinked.
"That bad, huh?"
'Yes.'
"Nightmares?"
'Sort of,' Mikey struggled to lift a paw – his arm ached so much - and rocked it back and forth slightly before dropping it with a clang once more.
"What do you mean, sort of?"
Mikey sighed in a combination of misery and frustration. It wasn't nightmares per se, more memories that plagued him every time he closed his eyes. God, but he hated being trapped in his own head like this. He wanted to talk, needed to explain things but it was impossible and thanks to his Alpha, he'd lost the one chance he might have had to be able to communicate again for weeks.
"Right..." Raph muttered, also with a sigh. He began rubbing his hand up and down Mikey's arm and leaning into his brother once more, Mikey sighed again, allowing his gaze to drift languorously across the room before finally landing on his own body. He frowned at the sight of his legs, seeing the welts left behind from wearing the braces so long and lifted an unfeeling paw to press on the angry mark.
"What are you doing?"
Mikey shrugged, unsure. He couldn't feel the ridge or even his own skin through the metal but he could definitely feel the bruising in his thigh. As always, Dogpound had strapped them on far too tightly, even though Mai had them designed to be secure without needing to practically strangle his flesh.
Suddenly, a large emerald green hand wrapped around his paw and lifted it away. "Are you worried about the braces?"
Shaking slightly, Mikey slowly lifted his tired gaze to meet Raph's for a moment before hurriedly looking down once more.
"You don't need to worry about those things ever again," Raph spat angrily. "We got them off you when we cleaned you up earlier, along with that fucking shock collar and leash. Right now they're on the other side of that curtain but once the sun goes down, they're going over the side of the fucking ship! You'll never have to see them or wear them ever again"
His eyes widening in shocked relief, Mikey lifted his gaze again, staring over at the curtain dividing the shipping container in half.
Gingerly, he worked himself free of Raph's arms and sat up. He really didn't want to go over there to revisit his personal hell but... he pulled away from Raph, standing unsteadily on all fours, then began walking towards it.
"Hey! Why are you going over there, Mikey?" Raph asked in sudden alarm.
Mikey turned his head to him, blinking six times. For a moment, Raph looked disturbed, almost betrayed and guilt threatened to swamp Mikey as he realised that that was the last thing he'd 'said' to Leo before he'd been captured and dragged away again. He gazed at Raph pleadingly, begging him while desperately trying not to jiggle in place and a defeated expression settled on his brother's face.
"Right... when you gotta go, you gotta go," Raph muttered, "but the toilet's that way," he said, pointing in the opposite direction to a hidden section created by a row of boxes and crates.
Mikey blinked in confusion but turned around and followed the path Raph indicated, wobbling uncertainly with every step he took. Suddenly, hidden from view of his brothers, Mikey froze as he stared at an overly large chemical toilet. Which... he couldn't use. Hell, he didn't even have room to turn around in. Dogpound may have been huge but unlike his Alpha, he was trapped on all fours, making him longer than Dogpound was wide. Defeated, Mikey began backing painfully out and trudged his way back toward the curtain.
"Wait, why are you going through there?"
Mikey stopped dead before looking back in the direction of the porta-potty. Then he lifted one paw slightly and looked pointedly at it.
"Oh... right... you can't use it," Raph realised with a cringe. "You uh... want some help then?"
'No!' Mikey blushed furiously. He'd just continue using the sandpit. At least with the curtain across, he'd have some privacy... He could always point out the camera later and hope Donnie would do something about it for him. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Mikey pushed past the heavy curtain and choked on the stench on the other side. Holy crap but the stench of dead animal left to rot in the heat of the sun was overwhelming on this side!
Blinking watery eyes, Mikey realised he'd smelt the scent all along but it hadn't been strong enough to really notice before now and he wondered what it was. Then... he saw.
Dogpound.
He'd come for him yet again and Mikey was still trapped in here with him.
-:-
* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.
