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.
Concrit, thoughts and comments always welcomed.
Minnie1015: What an awful thing to say (and yet so true... *is ashamed*) No way were they losing Mikey again, haha, and since they basically knew where Dogpound was taking him, they just had to catch up and thank goodness for the fact that big ships usually need to sail on tides since it gave them the time they needed to wipe out the Foot attacking them and catch up XD Thank you so much for the kind words :-) Happy New Year! May 2021 be better than the steaming pile of 2020.
ViolaHarmony: I did the updates faster because of Christmas and didn't want to leave you guys on a nasty cliffhanger, heh. Likewise, I am putting this chapter up for New Years so as to start off the New year right XD They are ninja, they are trained to kill should they need to. Even the cartoons have shown their willingness to go there if necessary - 2k3 when Leo beheaded Shredder; okay, it was shown as a silhouette and later turned out he was still alive since he wasn't human but still, killing moves and intent. Even 2k12 has as well, just less obvious. Can't think of the ep name and too lazy to go look it up but the one where there were a bunch of deformed, warped Shredder mutant clone things running around. One of them was knocked by one of the turtles down into industrial fans. Based on the crunching/grinding noises and the scream, no way that wasn't a killing blow. Yeah, you're right, Dogpound would NEVER have stopped coming after Mikey and since they were in close quarters on a ship out at sea, they had to act and fast.
Sorry to say but Raph's never been the most patient or empathetic. He is rough and abrasive. He has his sweet moments but few and far between and usually when others can't see him. This is especially so for 2k12 Raph. He's extremely happy they found Mikey and got him back but he also has nearly a year of pent up worry and anger over Mikey having been taken in the first place feeding his emotions and thoughts. He's not the type to get help for that, even if they were under circumstances where that was possible. Unfortunately, he's going to put his foot in it big time from time to time, purely due to not thinking before he speaks.
A/N: Here is your new year's pressie, from me to you. A chapter I feel fitting to bring on the new year because of how it ends. After this, I will be back to fortnightly updates on this story since I have other stories to work on and also post but I will continue to endeavour to get something out each week.
Happy New Year!
How Much is that Turtle in the Window
ch 17
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 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.
Mikey screamed silently, gasping for breath and scrabbling backwards into the curtain in terror. Panicking, he struggled to break free of the thick material entangling him only to bring it down on him instead, trapping him within its folds.
"Shit! Mikey!" Raph yelled in panic. "I'm coming, bro!"
"What's going on?" Leo asked in a tired but clipped tone.
"Fuck, Leo, I'm sorry. Mikey went on the other side of the curtain to..."
"You were supposed to watch him if he woke up, Raph!" Leo snapped sharply.
"I was!" Raph protested loudly. "He needed to... to go and I just... I didn't think, okay?"
Suddenly, the curtain was pulled free and Mikey gasped hysterically at the sight of Leo's face. He sobbed in relief, launching himself desperately at his oldest brother for comfort and safety.
"Get him back to the mattress," Donnie demanded as Leo hauled him to his feet and half-carrying him, led him away. "Raph, help me cover up Dogpound. We told you Mikey wasn't ready to see the body."
"I'm sorry, Donnie! I didn't mean for him to find Dogpound like that!"
"Why didn't you tell him where the actual toilet is instead of the damn sandpit?"
"I did!" Raph snapped impatiently. "He couldn't use it so he came over here instead!"
"And you didn't stop him?"
"I told you, I didn't think!"
Heaving and safely ensconced in Leo's arms on the mattress, Mikey sniffled and hiccuped as his brothers argued. It really wasn't Raph's fault and it was unfair of them to blame Raph like that and honestly, he wanted to see Dogpound was truly dead for himself, he just... didn't realise he was there and wasn't ready for it at the time but unfortunately, he couldn't tell them that right now. Even if he still had his voice, he didn't have the emotional capacity to do so right now.
"Of course you didn't, you never do..." Donnie muttered in disgust. "I should never have agreed to sleep until I was sure Mikey was okay!"
"You were running on empty and you said it yourself that he wasn't in any danger!" Raph snapped furiously. Then he calmed down and sighed. "Look, I really am sorry, okay? I never meant to upset him."
Peeking past Leo, Mikey saw Donnie nod unhappily.
"I'm not the one you need to apologise to."
"Yeah..." Raph looked Mikey's way and he quickly ducked behind Leo again, still trembling violently from his scare. He was so ashamed. Maybe he couldn't be a ninja anymore after everything that happened but he was still brought up to be stronger than this, even if he always was the weak link in the team...
When he was sure Raph would no longer be looking his way, he peeped past Leo's arms again to see Donnie and Raph finish tucking the curtain over the hulking remains of Dogpound even as Leo tried, unsuccessfully, to shield Mikey from seeing it. When they were done, they picked their way across the short distance of the shipping container and knelt or sat down beside Mikey and Leo on the mattress.
"Are... are you alright now, Mikey?" Donnie asked hesitantly.
Still sniffling slightly, Mikey pulled out of Leo's arms enough to blink yes uncertainly at his brother.
"I'm so sorry I didn't warn you about that, Mikey," Raph apologised, his face full of anguish and unable to meet Mikey's eyes.
Mikey hesitated a moment, unsure how to answer to reassure his brother that he'd be fine, then he blinked once and wincing slightly from the strain, shakily reached out with his closest paw to rest it on Raph's arm. Raph stared down at the metal shackle uncertainly before looking up into Mikey's face.
"You... you forgive me?" he swallowed.
Mikey stretched his mouth into a broad smile he didn't feel and blinked once. 'Yes.' Then he pulled his arm back, letting it thunk down heavily in relief.
"Yeah, if it hurts that much to lift it like that, then don't do it," Raph admonished with a worried frown.
'It's fine,' Mikey blinked, hoping Raph would somehow understand but Raph's frown only deepened and the familiar frustration surged through Mikey once more, though he fought to cover it up as quickly as he could. From the looks his brothers exchanged, he wasn't fast enough and he buried his face against Leo's plastron again, no longer able to meet anyone's eye.
"This is all my fault... I'm sorry, Mikey..."
Huh? In disbelief, Mikey forced himself to look back up at Leo.
"I was the one who said to bring Dogpound's body in here..."
Donnie and Raph both snorted indelicately.
"It's not like we had any other choice, Leo!" Raph retorted in annoyance. "Think any of us liked doing that? It's beginning to reek!"
Beginning to? Smelt like he'd been dead for weeks! Mikey's breath hitched again at the thought. Only thing worse than his Alpha was a zombie Alpha. What if... what if he somehow rose from the dead. His terrified gaze slid over to the curtain covered corpse and for a moment, he was sure he saw twitching from where the monster's hand would be but suddenly, emerald green filled his sight and Mikey looked up to realise Raph had moved to block his view.
"… what happens when rotting flesh is kept in a hot box."
"We know, Donnie. We've all experienced that plenty of times during summer in the sewers," Leo said wearily. "The point is, though we didn't have any choice but to bring him inside with us, it was still my decision and therefore my fault."
'Why?' Mikey blinked his confusion.
"It was still early and there were too many sailors on deck. We couldn't risk being seen throwing the body over the side at the time and since there was the chance of someone having heard the fight and coming to investigate, we had to bring the body in here with us," Leo explained, correctly interpreting Mikey's question.
"Not to mention the fact that we were still far too close to Japan's shores," Donnie added solemnly. "The body may have eventually drifted ashore on the prevailing currents. It's better to wait for tonight or even tomorrow before throwing it overboard. Of course, without access to the ship's navigation system and a map to the ocean currents, I can't be certain of the best time for us to dispose of the body and there could still be risk of it washing ashore somewhere, no matter where or when we dump it but hopefully we'll be far enough away for scavengers to pick it apart before that happens."
Mikey shuddered again at the thought.
"Then," Leo spoke up again before Donnie could get too deep into his explanation, "there is the most important reason."
Which was? Mikey blinked uncertainly again.
"We were worried sick about you," Leo said softly, cupping a hand under Mikey's chin and lifting it gently. "After we got on board, which was a very close call, by the way..."
Speaking of which, Mikey was so desperate to know how they escaped the factory both alive and so fast as to catch up to him before it was too late but dammit, he had no way of asking.
"... we quickly discovered where you were but thanks to the rising dawn, we were unable to get to you without risk of being seen by the crew. That and we were worried about what he'd do to you if we broke in."
What about what he was already doing... Mikey shuddered again as he remembered the beatings, cruelty and the threats.
"We know Bradford was already hurting you again and I'm so sorry we waited but if we broke in then, he would have seen us and if he didn't outright kill you before we could get to you, he would have hurt you so much worse than he already was..."
Feeling beyond helpless and pathetic, Mikey looked down at the mattress again, frowning.
"We had no choice but to wait until after dark and he came out or we could be sure he was asleep..." Leo continued, sounding so guilty that Mikey had to look up again only to see Leo drowning in it. Swallowing back his trepidation, Mikey moved close to his brother again and buried his face into his plastron again, wrapping his arms around him as best he could.
Leo hesitated as if frozen before returning the hug and Mikey was sure he felt something wet hit the top of his head. Suddenly, he sensed movement from behind and before he could turn and look, two more sets of warm, muscled green arms wrapped around both of them and Mikey finally let the tears roll down his face as he felt safe and loved for the first time in a very long time.
-:-
Emotionally wrung out, Leo had fallen back asleep and since Raph had yet to sleep, Donnie volunteered to stay up on watch. Mikey lay uncomfortably between the two sleepers, Leo clutching him as if he might vanish in the night again.
Suddenly, Donnie started in realisation. "You never made it to the toilet, did you?"
Mikey grimaced in pain from his full bladder, 'No,' he replied, embarrassed and desperate.
"Come on then," Donnie said softly, leaning across and working to gently pry off Leo's death grip before helping him off the mattress.
'Thanks.' Mikey shot Donnie a grateful smile.
"I can help you with the real toilet if you like, buddy," Donnie offered but Mikey quickly blinked no.
Gingerly, since he was still in pain, Mikey edged his way past Bradford's stinking body towards the sandpit, stopping only briefly to stare up at the camera, pointing it out to Donnie. Once his brother was sufficiently distracted, he took the opportunity to go before making his way back to the bed and curling up on his plastron. Leo's arms immediately wrapped around him again and though he started at the sudden contact, Mikey soon wriggled gratefully closer into it.
"Was that camera Dogpound's way to keep watch over you even when he left or slept?"
'Yes,' Mikey shuddered, remembering how his Alpha used the camera to threaten April.
Donnie fell silent for a while and Mikey watched him carefully from where he laid between his brothers hoping desperately that his brother's insatiable curiosity and need to know what happened to Mikey wouldn't lead him to track down the footage and watch. He shuddered again at the thought of Donnie seeing his shame first hand, especially since he'd never fought back.
"Mikey," Donnie suddenly spoke up again after some time. "I know you can't be feeling too well right now but I need to know how bad it is."
'How...' Mikey thought hopelessly.
"We need to expand your way to communicate."
'Really...' Mikey sighed. The sheer amount of blinks were already becoming too much. Surely Donnie couldn't expect more out of him.
"I was thinking if you are ever feeling sick, stick out your tongue like you are pretending to throw up, okay?"
Simple enough... Mikey stared at Donnie doubtfully.
"And as for how bad or if you are in pain, rate it between one and ten but with one being really bad, okay?"
Tedious but at least his brother considered how hard it would be for him if he was really sick and had to blink ten times. He gave a single blink.
"So if you are ever feeling sick, you need to tell me, okay, Mikey?"
'So we can play twenty questions?' he wondered sarcastically before sighing and reluctantly answering, 'Yes.' To be honest, while he hated this, it really was nice to have someone actually care about him again.
"So how do you feel?"
Mikey thought about it for a bit, then blinked five times.
"Pain, not sick?"
'Yes.'
"Your head?"
'Yes.' Mostly. The rest of him ached too but it wasn't too bad other than the tenderness in his throat from both the collar earlier and Dogpound's grip and his right shoulder that had slammed into the wall.
"I did find a first aid kit in here earlier. I can check to see if the pain medication is okay for us to use if you like," Donnie offered kindly.
'No.' He'd had far worse than this and besides, after the things he'd been given in the past ten months, taking tablets of any sort freaked him out. If he had any say in the matter, he wouldn't do it. Of course, he shuddered and closed his eyes tightly a moment, if he was ordered he'd probably have no choice. He hoped desperately Donnie wouldn't do that to him.
"Are you sure, Mikey?" Donnie asked worriedly, studying him as if to catch a lie.
'Yes,' Mikey replied again irritably, closing his eyes after. Conversation over, such as it was being so one-sided.
"Okay. Well, you should try to sleep more then," Donnie replied uncertainly. "We're all here if you need us. Okay?"
Mikey didn't even bother to answer, just laid there with his eyes closed and face buried in Leo's plastron, pretending to sleep in the heat.
-:-
At some point, he must have managed to actually sleep because when he next awoke, it was to three voices talking softly and not one of his brothers at his side. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around to see them all by his Alpha's body, Raph and Leo working together to lift it.
Mikey stared in confusion a moment before suddenly realising they were ready to dump it. Breathing in sharply, Mikey jumped to all fours and quickly trotted over, pleased to discover his balance better than earlier even if he was still somewhat shaky, especially with the faster movement.
"What are you doing, Mikey?" Leo asked flatly. "You should still be in bed."
'No.' He stared at the covered head for a moment, refusing to move, before shifting his pleading gaze to Raph, the one brother who he knew would understand.
"He wants to see the body."
Good ol' Raph, coming through for him in his time of need.
'No," Leo said flatly again.
"It's a bad idea, Mikey," Donnie said softly, getting in between him and the body of his tormentor. Mikey tried to dart around him but a wave of dizziness hit and he stumbled, his aching right arm folding painfully under him.
Raph put his end of the body down. "He'll never get closure if he doesn't see it."
'Yes,' Mikey agreed, shrugging off Donnie to push himself up again. To be honest, he wasn't sure that was quite the case but he needed to see, just to convince himself it really was over, that Dogpound could never hurt him or April or anyone else ever again.
"It doesn't matter if we think it's a good idea or not," Raph continued stubbornly as he fought for Mikey. "This is his only chance. If it goes badly, we'll still be here for him afterwards. If he misses this chance then we'll all have to live with the consequences forever, no one more than Mikey."
"And if he freaks out again?" Leo demanded, also putting his end of the body down and crossing his arms as he challenged Raph.
Mikey bristled. Yeah, it was a good question and it might happen but honestly, last time...
"You can't blame him for his reaction last time!" Raph snapped irritably. "He didn't know the body was there and walked blindly into it!"
'Yes!' Mikey blinked, jutting his jaw in determination as he agreed - not that he was certain anyone was paying any attention to him right now but that was completely beside the point.
"What if it gives him nightmares?"
"He's already getting those! Why do you think he doesn't sleep well?" Raph countered, annoyed at the continued resistance. "Seeing Dogpound is really dead might actually help ease them. Look, Leo, Donnie, we owe it to Mikey to let him decide. This needs to be his choice! Not ours!"
Mikey turned and gazed up at Raph gratefully. In the past, Raph rarely stood up for him but he always did when it was truly important and Mikey was never more grateful for that than right now.
"I hate to say it but Raph may actually be right for once," Donnie agreed reluctantly, "and it's not like we'll be leaving Mikey alone afterwards."
Leo's face softened. "I see the point but I still don't like it."
"Neither do I but we can't take this last chance away from him," Donnie pointed out, wincing painfully at the thought.
Leo turned and crouched down in front of Mikey, meeting his eye level. "Are you sure you want to do this? You really don't have to. No one will judge you badly if you don't."
'Yes,' Mikey replied obstinately. He did have to. He peered nervously past his brother and swallowed.
'Fine..." Leo sighed in resignation. He stepped back, turning as he did and pulled back the curtain covering his Alpha's furry, hate-filled face.
Mikey took a hesitant step forward and then another and another, stopping half a metre from the body and stared. For a moment he toyed with lifting a paw and prodding at the monster's head to test he was really dead but it wouldn't have helped since he couldn't feel anything through the thick metal anyway and besides, the idea of actually touching that thing disgusted him. As he watched, his emotions ran rampant, shifting from fear to anger to hatred and cycling back to fear again.
Once upon a time, he'd looked up to the man Chris Bradford was, foolishly believing they could be friends since they had so much in common and the man had encouraged him before finally showing his true colours and turning on Mikey, attempting to use him as bait to trap his family all in an effort to find their father. Since then, the man had an intense hatred of him, seeking him out specifically and attacking him at every chance, blaming him for everything that went wrong, for every failure.
For his mutation...
The man had been sadistic and resentful, the mutant, far, far worse.
Mikey didn't like to hate. It was an ugly emotion that took up way too much time and energy but right now, it was overwhelming. His Alpha... no, Dogpound, had taken everything from him! Even his will to live for a time and he got off so easily, dying in battle against his brothers.
How was this fair?
He was dead and Mikey never had the chance to tell the monster just what he thought or to fight back and… and he was never going to get that chance now.
At... at least Dogpound could never hurt anyone again...
Mikey bared his teeth at the stinking corpse in an angry snarl. He hated him so much and he couldn't even say it!
… he couldn't even say it...
Suddenly, tears filled his eyes and he began to shake.
Even in death, his Alpha had won... and Mikey... he was just a helpless animal owned and without rights or a voice of his own.
He turned his head, unable to stand looking at his nemesis any longer, yet unable to simply walk away.
"Okay, he's had enough," Leo said softly. "We need to get rid of the body now before we lose our chance."
Mikey was vaguely aware of Raph agreeing and the two of them lifting the body once more. Donnie crouched beside him, "Will you be alright for a moment? I need to open the door for them."
'Yes,' he quickly lied, unable to watch as his brother stood and rushed over to the door, leading the other two out with their burden.
Moments later, Donnie was back and leading Mikey back to the mattress that still reeked of Dogpound. Mikey choked and pulled away, laying on the floor instead.
"You'll be much more comfortable on the mattress," Donnie insisted gently.
'No,' Mikey blinked back, refusing to move.
Donnie remained silent a moment before, "Okay. Do you mind if I turn the light off?"
Not caring either way, Mikey shrugged.
"We really need to air this place out, not to mention try to cool it down a bit and we can't keep the door open even a little with the light on in here. It could attract attention if anyone were to investigate for any reason."
Mikey sniffled. Surely just having it on and the door open for even a moment would be too much risk regardless. It was why Dogpound had always left him in the dark when he left on the original journey to Japan. He could only imagine the reason he had left the spotty on Mikey this time was because of the thick blackout curtain that hung between them.
"Stay there, I'll be right back."
With that, Donnie jumped lightly to his feet and switched the light off before going to the door and opening it a little. Then he was quickly back by Mikey's side, sitting down and placing a comforting hand on his shell and rubbing.
"We really are lucky that the end of this container faces the rear of the ship. The chances of anyone seeing anything are extremely slim."
Mikey turned his head away, sniffling slightly again and Donnie fell silent before laying down beside him and wrapping his arms around him, drawing him closer.
"It's alright to be upset, Mikey," Donnie murmured soothingly. "You've been through a lot. No one expects you to just pick up and be your old self after all that."
Mikey bared his teeth again and hissed the air between them in an approximation of a growl.
"I'm sorry but I needed to let you know you don't have to try to hide your feelings from us. We are your brothers and no one is going to tease or mock you for them; not for something like this. We're here for you now and we always will be, even if we aren't the best at showing it..."
'Just leave me alone,' Mikey groaned, wishing like hell he could tell Donnie that, even if he didn't really mean it deep down. God, with the lights off, he'd even lost his ability for the most basic communication.
Donnie rolled over onto his shell, removing his arm from around Mikey but still keeping the other arm pressing against his side. Mikey told himself he couldn't be bothered taking the chance to sidle away.
"I'm so sorry I took so long back at the factory... if only I'd been faster at working out the particulars, I could have removed those damn manacles... and if I'd been able to do that, maybe Bradford wouldn't have had the chance to take you again," Donnie muttered sorrowfully. "Though I have to wonder just how he found you without the tracking chip."
Mikey sniffed loudly three times but Donnie didn't take the hint.
"Someone must have seen us after all."
Ugh... how could someone so smart be so dumb sometimes? He sniffed exaggeratedly again.
He didn't know why Donnie not listening to him bothered him so much. Sure, he'd lost his voice and all but really, nothing had actually changed. It's not like anyone had ever even listened to him in the first place anyway.
Suddenly, a faint sound at the door caught his attention and Mikey lifted his head, eyes narrowed in fear as he tried to make out what he'd heard. To his intense relief, the silhouette of Raph appeared, followed by Leo a moment later.
"Hey, why's the door open and the light off?"
"To let in some fresh air," Donnie replied as if it were obvious.
"Oh, thank god for that," Raph groaned in relief. He pulled out a small penlight from a pouch on his belt, shining it around the container.
"Why are you two on the floor instead of the mattress?" Leo asked in surprise.
"I don't know," Donnie frowned. "Mikey refused to go back on it, despite the fact it would be far more comfortable."
"It was Dogpound's. Probably smells like him," Raph said drily, briskly walking past them with purpose. Mikey shifted his head to watch as Raph picked up his braces, shock collar and chain. Raph smiled tightly. "Over the side of the fucking ship," he repeated with a barely noticeable wink in the dim lighting.
"We're going to scout the ship a bit before coming back but we'll be back before too long," Leo promised.
"Be careful."
"Always," Leo replied, even as Raph snorted derisively.
Donnie was silent for a couple of minutes after they left again and when he finally spoke, it was in surprise. "Smell! Dogpound sniffed you out. He must have come across your scent out on the street!"
Mikey turned his head to stare at Donnie in disbelief. It was too dark to make out his expression.
"And... you tried to tell me that just now, didn't you?" Donnie sounded like he felt sick with the realisation.
Mikey didn't even bother to answer. What was the point?
"We have to do something about this problem. We can't wait for the three or four weeks to get home without you being able to talk to us."
Mikey shrugged. What was he supposed to do? His vocal cords were paralysed and his hands encased in metal. It was impossible.
"I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few days and I believe I have an idea that will work," Donnie offered quietly.
Really... he only hoped Donnie wasn't trying desperately to give him false hope because he really wasn't sure he could handle it if so.
"Can you..." he swallowed nervously, "move or something, just to show me you're awake and listening?"
Mikey just continued staring into the darkened shadow that was his brother's face for a moment more until Donnie sighed.
"Right... well... I guess we can talk about this when you wa..."
Mikey quickly shifted his paw to press against Donnie.
"Mikey? You're awake?"
'Yes', he tapped once; of course he was. Wasn't like he could sleep anyway with Donnie yammering on at him. He just desperately hoped that Donnie would realise the tap was replacing his blink.
"D-did you hear what I said?" he asked nervously.
'Yes,' he tapped again.
A sigh of relief. "Good, good. Well, believe it or not, you're on the right track of what I had in mind."
Mikey tapped his confusion.
"I do have a quick question though..."
'Yes?' Go on... Mikey encouraged just as nervously.
Donnie shifted and sat up to peer down at Mikey in the darkness.
"Does tapping like that hurt in any way?"
Mikey thought seriously about it before pushing himself upright and answering, 'No'. It didn't hurt at all, just felt a bit awkward as he wasn't used to the movement. 'Why?' he asked, tapping his confusion again.
"Because I want to teach you a new language you can use by tapping," Donnie admitted slowly.
A new language? Donnie's big solution was to teach him a new language? His breath hitched in his throat as a sob threatened to break free. 'No!' he tapped harder than necessary on the ground of the shipping container. Donnie didn't have the patience to teach him anything new, hadn't had for the past few years, in fact. He was far too stupid to learn... something that had been drilled into him time and time again his whole life.
And especially recent months...
'No!' he repeated with emphasis, shifting back to all fours as quickly as he could and stumbling his way to his corner to get away from his brother as tears threatened to fall yet again. Donnie trying to teach him another language would only end up in frustration on both of their parts, anger on Donnie's and upset... fear... on his. He loved his brothers so much but every time one of them even raised their voice now, he was reduced to a quivering mess. He couldn't handle it anymore.
Seriously, why did Donnie have to get his hopes up like that? Mikey fought the sob that threatened to again break free, choking on the lack of air caused by the tightness of the stupid metal collar.
"Mikey! Mikey, wait!" Donnie cried softly, getting up and running lightly after him. "Will you please just hear me out?"
Why should he? It wouldn't work... He curled up in his corner, pressing tightly into it.
"Is this because you have a hard time learning?"
Against his better judgement, Mikey tapped once, ever so softly. It was enough.
"Look, Mikey, I promise I won't get mad at you or lose my patience. We'll take it at your pace, okay?"
He uncurled from the corner and peered up at Donnie who crouched behind him, listening.
Donnie took a deep breath, steadying himself. He reached out and pulled Mikey up to a sitting position so they were at eye level to each other, even though it was far too dark to make out any details.
"I know you've always had trouble learning new things but that's only because you have trouble focusing but here's something else I know, whenever you really want to or need to learn something and when it really counts, you've always been able to manage. Always!"
Right! Mikey snorted disdainfully. Donnie had no idea how much hard work and effort went into those few times, how much it exhausted him to try and it really wasn't something he could keep up for too long.
"I'm serious, Mikey. The time you saved us from those parasitic wasps is a great example of that. I bet you could still make the cure from memory, even now, well over a year later."
Mikey was sure he heard a slight smile in Donnie's voice and he sat up a little straighter. This was the first time he'd heard any real acknowledgement of what he'd managed to do that day.
"Here's the other thing I know that I'm not sure anyone else has ever noticed, you actually have a great memory. I'm not sure I would quite call it photographic... but it's up there. For you though, it seems that if you concentrate and try to focus, it doesn't go so well but when you just let yourself absorb things without thinking about them, you're amazing, little brother."
Really? Did he... really, actually mean it? Mikey's eyebrow ridges rose questioningly. Whenever he'd mentioned things like that before, he'd been scoffed at and mocked so hearing it now... he wasn't quite sure if he should trust in Donnie or not.
"What I'm trying to say is that I believe in you, that you can do this because you have more reason in the world than anyone to try right now," Donnie insisted eagerly. "So would you be willing to try? Because I really need to hear your words again and... and if you can talk to us then I might be able to find a way to help you."
'You can't...' Mikey thought sadly, 'but...' what harm could it do to at least try? Maybe Donnie wouldn't snap at him over his ineptitude or maybe he would and if he did, he could freak out for a while and then just try again. Whatever Donnie had in mind wouldn't be talking obviously but... but Mikey needed so much to be able to get his words out. It had been killing his soul little by little ever since Mai had done this to him. The sheer frustration and helplessness, he was so sick of it all and if Donnie's plan could help him to feel a little less helpless in any way... 'Yes,' he finally tapped.
A broad smile broke out on Donnie's face - Mikey could hear it in his voice, see it in the way he straightened in excitement.
"Great! Now what I had in mind is basically an old communication code that uses dots and dashes, basically tapping sounds known as dits and dahs to represent letters. Now, I know you won't be able to elongate the sound for the dahs but we can work around that easily enough, I'm sure. Alternatively, you could blink in Morse too but that won't help in the dark, not to mention we'd have to be looking directly at you for that. Using sound is far better!
"You have no idea how glad I am you agreed to this, Mikey!" Donnie gushed in excitement. "I can hardly wait to teach you Morse Code!"
Mikey just stared at his shadowed brother. What the hell had he just gotten himself into?
-:-
A/N: A good chapter to start the year on. On that note, HAPPY NEW YEAR from Australia, where it is a little past 1 am on New Year's Day! May 2021 end up being a far better and kinder year than the steaming pile of crap 2020 was.
* 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.
