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.
A/N: Possible Trigger warning applies for this chapter.
Minnie1015: Heh, I think with this chapter it's more like one step forward, ten steps back but yeah... that's sadly the normal process... I'm glad you think so. I love a good long story too. Enough so that I have trouble writing short most times XD
T420000: Thank you :-) Honestly, I'd like to see that also. XD
How Much is that Turtle in the Window
ch 24
It was a number of hours before the human awoke and Mikey had been convinced to return to the mattress sometime after he was moved out of sight. However, despite the pleading of his brothers, he refused to sleep, instead keeping a constant fearful eye on the break in the wall of crates keeping the threat and the brother currently on watch duty from view.
A muffled cry of fright suddenly rang out and Mikey shuddered, wondering if that was how he'd sounded all those months back, before his voice was taken from him forever.
"Good afternoon," Leonardo greeted coldly from behind the wall.
"MMPH!"
"The only reason you are still alive right now is because we have some questions for you and whether you continue to live or not will depend entirely on how much you cooperate with us. Do you understand me?"
More muffled cries sounded, prompting Leo to add, "Nod if you can understand me."
"He spoke Japanese earlier," Donnie called sleepily.
"Thank you, Donnie," Leo muttered drily. [Do you understand English?]
Another muffled cry sounded and Leo repeated his instructions in Japanese. Moments later, a hoarse voice whispered, [Please don't kill me, I will tell you whatever you want to know!]
[Why did you come here?]
[To see if Bradford-sama was alright.]
Mikey scowled, baring his teeth in a silent snarl.
[And why would you do that?] Leonardo asked flatly.
[We had an arrangement for meeting at midnight each night,] the guy answered, his voice aquiver with fear.
[And you didn't come to find him sooner?] Leo asked in disgust.
[N-no. Bradford-sama can be quite... bad-tempered when disturbed and in the past has not always turned up every night but only every second or third night.]
[It's been a week,] Leonardo accused darkly.
[I-I have been busy with my duties and could not make the time before tonight,] the man answered shakily.
[And what are your duties? Who do you really work for?] Leo immediately demanded.
[I am the Umi Ryuu's purser. I am responsible for ship's administration, including ship's supplies and the cargo manifest.]
[And that is how you knew of Dogpound's and Mikey's presence onboard?] Leo asked in a low tone that had Mikey shivering.
[I do not know who those... people are?] the human questioned in confusion.
[Dogpound is what we called Bradford after he mutated and Mikey was his prisoner.]
[Ah, the strange turtle-dog creature I heard so much about, Spot. Urk!]
Unable to help himself, the air rushed from Mikey's throat in his best attempt at a growl yet.
[Never refer to our brother by that name again!] Leonardo snarled furiously, angrier than Mikey had ever heard him, [or I will not be responsible for what happens to you!]
Raphael suddenly pushed his way past Mikey and stormed furiously to join Leo as Donnie moved to sit in front of Mikey, blocking his view of the crates. He reached out to embrace him but hesitated as Mikey shifted to see around him.
"Don't pay any attention to him, Mikey," Donnie murmured gently. "He doesn't know you. He only knows what he's been told about you by dubious sources."
And that was supposed to make it better? Mikey looked plaintively at Donnie who sighed miserably.
"I wish you'd talk to me. You haven't said anything since Leo and Raph returned and that was hours ago."
Unable to meet Donnie's gaze, Mikey turned away.
"Don't let them beat you," Donnie pleaded to him desperately. "You're stronger than that."
But he wasn't. Breaking down again earlier was proof of that and the unreasonable fear still filled his soul. He couldn't do anything to stop it, even with his brothers all there in the same room as him.
A rough gasp for air suddenly sounded loudly across the room, followed by a pained, croaking voice, [I-I am sorry, Turtle-sama. I will not do so again. I... I did not know any different.]
[Well, now you fucking do!] Raph spat in his rough, out of practice Japanese. [Next time, I won't stop my brother from killing you because he'll have to be the one stopping me!]
[H-hai, Turtle-sama!]
[I'll ask again, who do you really work for?] Leo demanded, followed by a shuffling that had Mikey's eyes widen in fright.
[The Umi Ryuu's captain!] the human cried softly in terror.
Lies! He was so lying! Mikey blinked twice to Donnie, praying he'd understand and he did.
"He might work for the Umi Ryuu but he's been paid off by the Foot. He called them Mikey's masters earlier," Donnie called out tightly across the room.
[Bradford-sama said Spo... Mikey was a turtle-dog and since dogs have masters, I assum...]
"And there I thought you said you didn't understand English," Leo observed coldly.
"Little!" The human cried in fear. [Need to have some English for my job but not very good with it!]
"Raph, can you come and keep Mikey company? I have some questions for this guy myself and you guys aren't getting anywhere very fast," Donnie called, turning his head towards the wall of crates.
"Huh? Uh, yeah, okay," Raph replied in surprise and soon reappeared to sit down beside Mikey, resting his hand comfortingly on his shoulder.
Donnie flashed a reassuring smile at Mikey and quickly disappeared. The next thing Mikey heard was soft, muffled voices but he was unable to make out the words and he frowned as he peered intently at the crates blocking his view.
"Yeah, I don't like it either, being kept in the dark like this," Raphael muttered quietly. Mikey glanced up at him, worried.
"Hey, you don't need to feel scared of that bozo. Coward even pissed himself when Leo had him by the throat, he was so shit scared," he scoffed with a forced laugh.
Just like he had only days before... Mikey clenched his eyes tight in shame, wishing Raph would just shut up. Despite his best intentions, he so wasn't helping.
"So... uh... why don't you give me a lesson in Morse code while they're doing their thing," Raph suddenly suggested, obviously trying to distract Mikey from what was going on across the room. "I could do like Donnie does and give you some random words and you could uh... show me how they sound."
Mikey just looked over at his brother who brightened at the seeming interest and Mikey felt sick.
"Let's start with our names, just the shortened version. Wanna do mine first?"
No... Mikey turned away and settled down on his plastron. He laid his head on his arm and closed his eyes as if going to sleep. Hah! What a joke! How was he supposed to sleep with that Foot in the room? He couldn't even sleep when it was just one brother who was active.
"Mikey?" Raph questioned, sounding hurt. "You've gotta talk to us again sometime, you know."
Did he? He really didn't see the point anymore, not if all they wanted to know about was his pain and humiliation and besides, it wasn't like Raph understood Morse Code anyway.
Then there was that overwhelming fear the human brought with him. He just couldn't get past the idea of if he showed he was more than just the 'dumb animal' they expected him to be, that there'd be repercussions. Bad ones.
Maybe the human was truly what he said he was, an employee of the ship who simply knew of him and his Alpha but every instinct screamed at him that he was more and that if he messed up, word would get back to the wrong person and he'd be inflicted with punishments that made all the others look like playtime when they inevitably dragged him back.
And he knew that was exactly what would happen if Master Hakuba or Mai ever got a hold of him again.
So no, he didn't 'gotta talk to them again sometime'.
He just couldn't take the risk.
-:-
Sometime later, Donnie returned and sat cross-legged on the floor beside the mattress. Mikey peeked through slit eyelids to see Donnie gazing down at him in concern but he showed no signs of life, despite the fact his brothers knew by now he couldn't possibly be asleep.
Donnie sighed and turned to address Raph who shrugged unhappily at him.
"So, what we were able to find out is that he was paid off by the Foot to turn a blind eye to Dogpound's activities when he emerged at night. As the ship's purser, he was in a position to not only know much of the cargo, at least whatever was declared, but also have knowledge of crew movements since he is in charge of all the administrative duties aboard."
Raph grunted in acknowledgement and Mikey shifted slightly, drawing Donnie's attention unintentionally. Sighing slightly, Mikey settled in deeper, still pretending to sleep.
"Part of their meeting up from time to time was so he could give Dogpound a head's up of where the crew were supposed to be, when, along with getting any extra supplies Dogpound deemed necessary. Only this time, since Dogpound had yet to make an appearance, he became worried and came looking for him. Apparently, due to Mikey attacking and trying to kill Dogpound on the original journey to Japan, it was arranged that if anything happened to Dogpound, he was supposed to keep his quote, valuable cargo, unquote, alive to ensure safe delivery at their ultimate destination."
Mikey squeezed his eyes tight. Just perfect, now they knew of his great failure. They'd be totally disgusted by him because of it.
"Mikey tried to kill Dogpound?" Raph asked, sounding impressed. Mikey frowned slightly in confusion.
"With his own chains and from what I can gather, he very nearly succeeded," Donnie replied solemnly. "So even though he's been trained and conditioned since, the fact that we'd rescued him before being recaptured meant he was considered a risk again and a safety net was put in place because of that."
"Dayam…" Raph breathed in awe. "Who knew you had it in you, little brother!"
"Hanzou-san said that besides keeping Mikey alive, he was to call ahead and report what had happened to the Foot in New York, ensuring they'd be ready for him on arrival."
"Shit! So, he hasn't called ahead yet?"
"Apparently not but either way, it makes things more difficult," Donnie replied worriedly.
"How so?"
"We can't risk letting him go..."
Mikey felt a coldness rush his soul and he shuddered.
Raph snorted derisively. "Really? You just worked that one out now?"
Donnie ignored him. "We can't trust someone who's been paid off by the Foot as we could never ensure their loyalty but..."
"But what?" Raph grunted darkly.
"He's not evil and doesn't seem like a completely bad person..."
Seriously? Mikey shot upright, glaring at Donnie for his naivety. The man was Foot! He was ninja and ninja were trained in subterfuge and trickery. They were liars!
Donnie met his gaze for a moment, then pointedly focused back on Raph."We can't just kill an innocent man," he said obstinately.
"So what are you saying?" Raph growled, reaching over to Mikey and squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. Mikey ripped away and shuffled as far away as he could without leaving the mattress, glare still fixed on Donnie.
"That Leo has a hard decision to make about Hanzou-san's future..." Donnie admitted reluctantly.
"You've got to be... Ugh! I'll go speak with Leo myself! Make sure he makes the right fucking choice!" Raph snarled. Then, getting up, he turned to address Mikey who immediately looked away. "Don't worry, little brother, I'll make sure we get rid of this trash!"
"Ugh... Raph never thinks things through!" Donnie complained as Raph stalked away.
Mikey huffed angrily and Donnie glanced up to see him glaring at him again.
"If you have something to say to me, Mikey, then spell it out," Donnie bit out tiredly. "I'm not a mind reader!"
Oh, how he wanted to. So much! But how could he when the words had been beaten out of him over and over and one of those that helped do it was in the room with them?
-:-
"We don't have enough to feed ourselves with and you want to add another mouth?" Raph demanded in disgust, having argued with Leo and Donnie all day on the subject of Hanzou-san. Mikey, for his part, was huddled in the corner, stuck listening to his brothers bicker and the occasional increasingly grating word from the human in question.
Leo, more than willing to do what was needed in the heat of the moment was hesitant to kill Hanzou but Donnie was adamantly against killing an innocent human who only had the misfortune to be paid off to look the other way and step up if necessary. He even went so far as to point out that if he didn't agree, the Foot probably would have killed him since he was a risk to their safety and operations, so lose-lose for the hapless man whatever he'd chosen. Mikey had been forced to listen as Raph rightly pointed out that Hanzou couldn't be trusted and was a danger to them and look at how Mikey's reacting to his presence.
Several times, his brothers turned to him, trying to get him to weigh in on the conversation but Mikey found himself unable to answer, found himself losing the words more and more in his terror, even within the confines of his own head. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe with that Foot soldier in there with them and he couldn't communicate beyond his simple blinking which he had used all this time with his Alpha and Mai alone.
As the day went on and the sun heated the container once more, the sour stink of sweat began to rise above the sharp scent of the soap used and so did Mikey's fear as he slipped more and more into the mindset he'd been forced to adopt in order to survive for so long.
[You don't have enough food? I could... I could get more if you let me live,] Hanzou offered desperately. Leo, Raph and Donnie ignored him.
"You really want to kill someone in cold blood?" Donnie hissed back.
"For our safety? For Mikey's? Fuck yes I'd do it!" Raph snapped furiously. "Take a look at him, Donnie! Go on! Look! We're fucking losing him more and more every minute! He won't talk to us! He won't drink! He hasn't even moved from that corner in the last few hours, he's so fucking terrified! We cannot keep that guy here and we cannot keep him alive because he will turn us in and put us all in danger!"
Leo sighed in resignation, "I hate to say it but Raph has a point, Mikey has to be our priority," he said dejectedly. Then he held up a hand as Donnie went to argue. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do, Donnie but realistically, what other choice do we have?"
Donnie winced at the logical argument, "But killing someone in cold blood... I can't be a party to something like that." He stood up and began to pace the small space as he thought frantically. Numerous times he stopped and opened his mouth as if he'd thought of something, only for his face to fall and begin pacing once more.
[I... I could promise not to report what happened,] Hanzou offered in a trembling voice from behind the crate line where Leo stood. [I am a man of my word and will swear it on my honour.]
Raph snorted in disbelief and Mikey, beginning to feel the voice somehow familiar, cringed, pulling in on himself all the more.
[Please be quiet, Hanzou-san, I'm trying to think,] Donnie bit out testily.
"Well, you have until midnight tonight," Leo decided finally. "If you can't come up with anything by then... well..."
Donnie shot Leo a horrified look. "How about we at least give Hanzou-san a fighting chance. Let me hack into the navigation system and see if we're anywhere near land. If so, we can put him in a life raft and he can try to make his way there."
"Are you insane?" Raph all but yelled, only quieting when shushed by Leo with a harsh sound. "And what happens when he reaches land and reports to the Foot! We'll be met by them when we reach port!"
"We were expecting that already anyway since Dogpound brought Mikey aboard!" Donnie snapped irritably. "Hence why we need... no, never mind, I'm not saying that in front of Hanzou-san but you know why!" he said sharply.
Raph grumbled unhappily, still not liking the idea.
"Alright," Leonardo decided, taking a deep breath. "Donnie, I'll give you your chance."
"Thank you, Leo," Donatello sighed in relief.
"In the meantime, any suggestions on how to help Mikey?" Leo asked, glancing at the bowl of untouched water in front of him.
Donnie and Raph tried enticing him to drink multiple times from a cup they held but he couldn't do it and in the end, Donnie placed a bowl down so he could drink without asking for help first.
"Yeah," Raph snarled, "get that piece of shit out of here!"
Mikey squeezed his eyes closed tightly and buried his face in his arms again. He just wanted that monster gone. Why wouldn't they listen to Raph and just do it?
"You aren't helping by being so aggressive," Donnie pointed out in a superior tone.
"And you aren't damn well helping by sticking up for 'Hanzou'," Raphael growled back, viciously air quoting in his anger.
"I'm not 'sticking up' for anyone, I just don't agree with cold-blooded murder!" Donnie snapped in annoyance. "I..."
"Will you both please calm down?" Leo asked through grit teeth, "For Mikey?"
Donnie took a deep breath and slowly let it out before walking over to sit beside Mikey while Raph, scowling ferociously, stormed over to the crate wall and went through to the side that hid the sandpit and chemical toilet from view.
"I'm sorry, Mikey, I know you're really scared right now but you know I can't condone murder," Donnie apologised sadly. "Hanzou-san can't hurt you though, he's tied up and Leo's keeping watch over him."
Mikey lifted his head and flickered his gaze briefly at his brother before settling it back onto the crate wall.
"Besides, you heard him when he came in here, he wasn't looking to hurt you, he was actually going to take care of you if you were alone and needed it."
Mikey scowled. Yeah, take care alright and then deliver him to the Foot... to Shredder... A chill coursed through him and he shuddered again at the terrifying thought.
Suddenly, an olive green hand appeared about a foot in front of his face and he flinched.
"It's okay, it's just me," Donnie murmured softly, keeping his distance. "I want to check your temperature. Is that alright?"
Mikey blanched as the memories of someone else taking his temperature flooded his mind before glancing at Donnie again, grounding himself. Seeing the concern filling his face, Mikey forced himself to blink once.
Donnie sighed in relief and brought his hand to Mikey's forehead.
"You're overly warm, buddy. Are you feeling sick at all?"
Yes... 'No,' he eventually managed to blink when Donnie's face somehow became even more concerned. He felt sick but not in the way Donnie meant.
Then Donnie instead reached for his paw and hesitated, "Right..." he muttered in dismay, causing Mikey to glance at him again, this time in confusion despite the fear keeping his gaze otherwise locked on the wall hiding Hanzou, "Can't access your hand for the pinch test... Well, it's probably mostly dehydration anyway... I hope. Mikey, you need to drink something. It's extremely hot in here and you haven't eaten or drank anything since before Leo and Raph left last night. Aren't you thirsty?"
Yes... but he couldn't bring himself to answer.
"Why won't you drink at least? You're really scaring us, buddy."
Aware of Donnie studying him intently, he felt his cheeks heat up as the blood rushed to his face and he would have sunk lower to the ground if he wasn't already as close as he could get. Then finally, Donnie swallowed audibly.
"You've been acting more like when we first found you," he mused worriedly. "Last night you wouldn't even respond to me until I called you..." he trailed off, unable to bring himself to say the name again. "Do... do you need to be commanded to drink or something? Will that get you to drink?"
Mikey cringed at the thought and wished he could deny it but with that Foot in the room, he was too terrified to fight his training, even with the security of his brothers being so close.
Donnie reached over and pulled the bowl close, placing it in front of Mikey. [Drink Spot,] he commanded, his voice cracking in pain as he spoke the disgusting name.
Hating himself for doing it and crying internally for help no one could or would give him, Mikey found himself leaning close enough to do as commanded.
"Oh, Mikey... I thought we'd gotten past this..." Donnie murmured, sounding close to tears himself. "Don't worry, we'll help you, okay?"
As he drank, Mikey's gaze flickered up to land on Donnie's face briefly again and his heart broke at the sight.
"And... and... I really can't condone murder but... I-I promise we-we'll get rid of Hanzou-san as soon as we can tonight. I c-can't let you keep suffering like this."
-:-
Jolting awake in fright, his eyes flew open, gaze darting all around the shipping container as he stood, searching for his brothers.
There was no one here!
A lump filled his throat, making it hard to breathe past the collar as he fought hard not to panic. They promised to be there always so where were they? They said they wouldn't leave him!
Donnie... Leo... Raph... he whimpered silently as he took a single step forward away from the corner.
Chichi...
Suddenly, a sharp scent filled his nostrils and he froze, fresh terror filling him anew. He knew that scent! Oh, fuck! He knew it! But... but how was he here? Why hadn't he realised who that was earlier?
Shaking in fear, he shook his head, retreating back into the corner like a whipped dog when he noticed a dim light rising over the wall of crates.
That light could only be from a T-phone.
Donnie...
Last he knew before finally falling asleep from sheer exhaustion, Donnie had been unsuccessfully using his T-phone to try to hack into the ship's computers and navigation again.
It must have been his turn on watch and so he was over with him, supposedly watching him while working but... but then... where were Leo and Raph? Why weren't they there?
Mikey looked frantically around the sea container again but couldn't see his brothers no matter how hard he peered into the dimly lit area.
{D...} he forced himself to tap fearfully. He had to warn his brother about him. Donnie was far more important than his stupid, crippling fear.
There was no response so Mikey tried again, making an effort to be a little louder and hoping like hell that he didn't understand Morse Code or he was totally screwed.
"Huh?" Puzzlement filled Donnie's voice and Mikey somehow knew it wasn't because he'd heard him trying to call out to him. "Your face doesn't ma..."
Thunk! The echo of a shell hitting the ground assaulted Mikey's hearing.
Donnie!
Terror-stricken, Mikey immediately jumped to all fours and raced across the small room to the crate which he hesitantly peered behind.
There he saw him leaning over Donnie's insensate body, about to strike again. Without thinking, Mikey slammed down a paw, attracting his attention and Hanzou looked up and smiled in recognition. Mikey freaked at the sight of the intense hunger in the man's eyes.
[Hello, Spot, did you miss me?] he purred unctuously. [I missed you.]
Mikey shrank back, the fear taking control once more as his tormentor turned his sights fully upon him.
[We saw what happened in here before this one,] he motioned dismissively at Donnie, [dismantled the camera, so I was sent to find out what exactly happened to Bradford-sama if possible and to retrieve you.]
Mikey took a small, shaky step backwards, his eyes fixed unerringly on 'Hanzou'.
[Hideki-sama misses you too, by the way,] Hanzou's smile turned chilling. [So much so that she plans on finishing up her current projects and transferring to New York to have continued access to you.]
Mikey cringed, his heart beating furiously in his chest in panic. He couldn't let her touch him ever again. He wouldn't!
Where were his brothers!
The Foot ninja rose slowly and took a menacing step towards Mikey. Mikey took one back. The ninja's smile slowly widened, [Spot, stay!] he commanded and Mikey couldn't help but do as he was told, even as he screamed inside, telling himself to move, telling himself to get to Donnie, to go find Leo and Raph! Anything but what he wanted him to do.
Hanzou chuckled in cruel amusement as he stepped close and ran a hand slowly across the lower part of his shell, dipping down between his legs and squeezing the flesh suggestively. [It's good to see your training has held, Spot,] he told the terrified turtle, [despite being in the company of these... pathetic creatures who mistakenly think you their brother.]
Despite the fear coursing through him and the inability to move, Mikey bared his teeth in a silent snarl.
Hanzou laughed again and gave his tail a quick tug. [Just give me a minute to finish this thing off and then we can leave, Spot. I have a lifeboat waiting out there ready for us, complete with a beacon to lead the Foot right to us and a brand new collar and leash for you, for your own safety of course. We can't have you falling overboard or anything, not with those heavy paws of yours. You'd drown. New leg braces will have to wait until we reach land but by the looks of things, your paws work well enough to keep you on all fours like a good dog anyway.]
Shuddering and screaming for help internally, Mikey watched in horror as Hanzou finally turned away, head canted ever-so-slightly as he stalked towards Donnie, lethal intent in every step.
Then, facing Mikey again, Hanzou smiled lewdly at him while running his hands slowly across Donnie's helpless body, searching every inch and lingering around his hidden pouch as Mikey watched on helplessly, gritting his teeth and desperately willing his brother to wake up. Now! Please!
[We're going to have so much fun waiting for our lift to arrive. I bet you can hardly wait, right Spot?]
Then, as Mikey's stomach roiled at the insinuation, Hanzou's hands moved on, finding a kunai tucked within Donnie's wrappings and licking his lips, the human ran the edge along his thumb, testing it.
[This'll do. Just be patient, Spot, this won't take but a moment,] Hanzou promised and he leant over Donatello's prone form, knife poised and ready to strike.
-:-
A/N: The next couple of chapters are going to be hard though there will not be any graphic detail. If you can't handle it at any time in the next few chapters but still want to know what happens, feel free to PM me for a summary of the relevant chapter. FFNet has a PM function and I also have Tumblr. DA is also an option, though I don't remember to check there very often. My user name is Zelgadis55 across all platforms.
Hai - yes
Chichi - a little kid's word for father. I headcannon 2k12 Mikey using this when he's feeling especially vulnerable.
Concrit, thoughts and comments always welcomed.
