Hi! I'm not dead! Yay!

It's been... too long. I know. And I have been working on stories I promise! Better stories than this one! They're just kinda long. And I'm really bad at finishing things.

pownxmanonnie- Thank you! Hopefully you'll like this one too

lizzybudd- Ah thanks. That's like exactly what I was goin for and you made me feel like a good writer lol. Thanks for sticking around after all this time :)

This story was inspired by instagram. This one post where this dog broke out of their kennel to comfort crying puppies in another room. And that was tonight. That's right, I wrote this in one night. lol its not awesome bc it was written in one night. *finger guns out of the room*

Enjoy! I hope!

the leader of the bad guys sang,

Something soft and soaked in pain,

I heard the echo from his secret hideaway,

He must've forgot to close his door,

As he cranked out those dismal chords,

And his four walls declared him insane. -

Raph can't offer his brothers any comfort. They cry and they scream and Raph wants to help them but he knows he can't, even when they're one room away. If they were back at the lair, or in any other situation, he would at least call out for them; offer some solace for them in the sound of his voice.

It's too bad he can't speak anymore.

Raph isn't too torn up about losing his voice; it could be worse.

Mikey's blind. His little brother can't see at all and he'll stay that way for the rest of his life.

Donnie can't use his hands. Shredder did something- cut up the nerve endings in his wrists or something. Either way, the end result is the same. Raph's little brother will never make another invention, never feel the keys of a computer on his fingertips.

Leo is out there, somewhere. Shredder insists he's dead, but Raph knows better. He has confidence in Leo's ability to stay alive- especially when his brothers' lives are on the line. Raph would like to think of this as the only reason he knows Leo is alive, but a voice in the back of his mind tells him that if Leo were dead, Shredder would have certainly hung his corpse where they could see it.

Raph had been too loud. Too confident. Too comforting for his brothers. His voice had been heard in the dark, strengthening their resolve. It had cursed Shredder and his men. Most importantly- his voice refused to scream.

So Shredder had it removed. He'd told Stockman to remove Raph's voice and "Be careful not to kill him, or you'll take his place," which had effectively kept Raph from dying on that table.

Mikey's world was always so bright; Raph suspected his innocence had cost him his eyes. Shredder had no other reason why except to break Mikey's world.

Donnie hadn't had a clue what they did to him when they brought him back from the white room- he hadn't had an answer to Mikey's question of whether or not he was alright.

"I don't know, Mike. I'm not sure-" Donnie's sudden cut off made Raph's breathing speed up. Mikey's worried cries had brough Don back, with a wavering "I can't feel my hands" followed by a wail of "I can't feel my hands."

It didn't matter anymore, none of it did. No one could see in the dark; the pitch-black room seemed to eat away at any light that seeped through the door. No one dared to speak; there was nothing to say. No one could feel their hands; the blood flow had been cut off for so long.

Mikey cried and whimpered and sometimes sobbed. Donnie whined every time he moved. Raph could only gasp and rattle his chains.

That had been about a week ago. Shredder had separated Raph from them since then.

He could still hear them; Shredder had intended it to be that way. He had made an opening in the brickwork next to Raph's head. He couldn't call out for them.

It had been too much one night. The cries and the whimpering had been louder; Shredder had promised to kill one of them the next time he came back. It would be slow and painful, and they had no idea who Shredder had picked.

Raph knew Leo was still out there, looking for them. He feared their oldest brother would be too late.

But they cried and whimpered and gasped. Raph pulled at his chains, just as he did every night.

Mikey choked on a sob from next door and Raph pulled a bit harder.

Donnie shifted weakly in Mike's direction and whimpered. Raph pulled harder. He had a goal, and if one of them was going to die tomorrow, it was worth whatever Shredder would do to him.

The chains groaned and Raph panted. The cries stopped for a second, replaced with "Raph?" and "Raphie!" and "Don't do that, you know what he'll do."

Raph wheezed as the final pull broke the chain as well as something in his shoulder. He barely caught himself from face-planting and allowed himself a small smile at his achievement. Donnie sighed and Mikey moaned through the wall.

Raph picked himself up on shaky legs and made his way to the door. He pulled and pushed with all the strength he retained, and the lock on the outside broke.

The door swung open as Raph peeked into the hall. There were four doors.

One led to the white room, two led to their cells, and the last one was made of metal. It was the way out. A single bulb lit the hall, illuminating only the doors. Raph glanced back into his own cell and could see only darkness. He checked to see if the metal door was locked. It was.

Raph forced his weight against the door that led to his brothers until it gave in. It was as dark as his own cell.

Raph put a hand on the rough wall and felt his way along until Donnie said "Hey." He knelt down and cupped Don's face before pulling at his chains. Donnie hadn't been pulling on them constantly as Raph had; they weren't even remotely loose.

"Raph," Donnie called softly. "It's okay. Please stop."

Mikey's soft sob caught Raph's attention and he made his way around Don to the corner where they had his little brother locked away.

Raph avoided Mikey's face; he didn't know the extent of the damage to his eyes. Instead, he pulled at Mikey's chains.

Mike lifted a weak leg and kicked at where he thought his brother was standing. It was a weak hit, but it sent Raph down on his back, away from his brother.

"Don't," Mikey gasped. "it won't do anything."

Raph's breath caught in his throat. He'd landed on his shoulder first, hurting it more than it had been. If Raph had his voice he would've cried out.

He caught his breath and crawled over on his side the few feet it took for him to reach Don. He laid his head on Don's lap, uncaring of the few tears he had left to cry.

They laid like that for hours; Raph would move from Mikey to Don every now and then.

When the door opened, Raph was leaned on Mikey's shoulder.

Don didn't look; his eyes were on Raph's, wide and scared.

Raph couldn't see who it was because of the darkness.

Raph gasped as he tried to stand, ready to defend his brothers.

He tightened his fist, and the figure stepped forward.

Was it Shredder or Leo? Hmmmm...

Well, troops. Morale is low, anxiety is high, and Lieutenant Richard is dipping his sloppy joe in milk. I propose a new battle plan- let's all jump on the count of three. No, Joey, not off a cliff. Okay, jump! Dammit troops, this is why we aren't a real army.

It's because we don't jump and- Lieutenant get OUT of the cow this INstAnT I don't care if ol' Bessie ate your spicy pancakes!

That's it, I quit. Joey, you are the new commander of this army. Don't let Richard touch the cow.

Goodnight everybody I have missed you all!